rhemfelt1 Reviews

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

Don't listen to the critics, it's much worse than that.

[2/10 · 19 February 2022]

I'll give it 1 star for a handful of interesting visuals. The premise, plot, and dialogue are wall-to-wall disasters.

It's like they accidentally wrote a film that is satirizing itself.

South Park: Pip (2000) Season 4, Episode 14

I was pretty confused at first, but it's grown on me a lot.

[8/10 · 20 September 2021]

The first 10 minutes were definitely a head scratcher, the main characters are entirely absent, but the episode really grew on me. Malcolm McDowell is hilarious, and the "alternate" ending to the Charles Dickens masterpiece is hilarious.

I got the feeling that Trey and Matt were having a lot of fun with the episode, so I did as well. It's definitely not for everyone though.

Boogie Nights (1997)

A wonderfully unflattering but highly empathetic mosaic of flawed lovable characters.

[10/10 · 6 March 2021]

It's important to note, this is not a film about the pornography industry. It's a mosaic of outcasts desperately searching for acceptance and finding it in highly unconventional places. For all of their character flaws and amorality, Paul Thomas Anderson crafts and presents them in a brutally honest, yet non-judgmental manner. Anderson empathetically captures both the glitz of the roads they choose, but also harsh reality. By the end I'd fallen in love with a seedy cast of characters ostracized by family and society.

I was not expecting a movie like Boogie Nights to tug at the heartstrings, but the final act of the film always gets me. It's a wonderful payoff that more than justifies the buildup and runtime.

Wonderful steadicam sweeping walk-and-talk cinematography, and a phenomenal soundtrack, Boogie Nights is right there with There Will Be Blood as Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell (2008) Season 4, Episode 11

YEEEEEEEEESH!

[10/10 · 10 February 2021]

I don't normally take to the episodes that dip into fantasy settings or the supernatural, but I love this one. Having a non-fantasy framing story really helps with that.

The mix of olde English accents with their modern Philly slang is great. All of the characters fill exactly the role they would fill had they been around during the American Revolution. It's all tied together with that trademark early-series Always Sunny charm and profanity.

Not sure why it's rated 7.8, I loved it.

Breaking Bad: Down (2009) Season 2, Episode 4

Underrated and understated

[8/10 · 24 January 2021]

It's a slower episode, but it's one of the hardest for me to watch. It's heartbreaking to watch Jesse unable to catch a single break over and over again.

It's important character development in that it shows a little more depth to Jesse. It also plants the seeds of Jesse's evolving character. The first hints of his maturation from just a goofy 1-dimensional burnout comic relief to serious lead with goals and emotional range.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention (2009) Season 5, Episode 4

Easily my favorite Frank episode

[10/10 · 19 December 2020]

How is this not rated above 9/10?

The sharp/strange chemistry of the entire gang comes together in full force here. The seeds of Frank's true bizarre debauchery are planted here. The episode starts strong and strange and never loses steam.

The intervention is full of the entire gang all yelling over each other at once, but if you stop and listen to each individual line (mostly improv) it's all gold.

Dexter: Scar Tissue (2013) Season 8, Episode 4

The first major indicator of the 8th season's quality falling apart.

[6/10 · 31 October 2020]

Up until this point in the season there really is hope for a decent passable end to the show. I honestly enjoyed the 1st string of episodes this season. There was a ghoulish main-season villain, some entertaining monsters of the week that Dexter stalks and table-kills, and his personal life seems to be unraveling with secrets from the past. The very end of the episode is the first clear indication of confused, rushed, lazy, poorly thought-out plotlines.

It's glaringly apparent by Debra's actions at the end of this episode that the writers either don't care or know what to do with her character anymore.

It marks the beginning of Dexter not being Dexter. Episode 3 of this season is Dexter's very last table kill. There are 9 episodes in a row with not 1 single table kill. They start to completely neglect to develop Dexter's rivalry with the main season villain and the same muddled confused writing from the episode's very last scene plague every other episode up to the finale. The rest of the season is basically just Dexter seeking family counseling and quietly weighing the pros and cons of leaving Miami for good.

I absolutely love the show though, and I'm confident Clyde Phillips will deliver us a sendoff Dexter deserves with this upcoming bonus season, with Scott Buck nowhere in sight.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang Tends Bar (2017) Season 12, Episode 8

Brings the show back down to earth, and I love it

[9/10 · 26 September 2020]

As the episode entirely takes place in the bar and is lower in scope, it feels more like earlier series episodes. I love that just doing their job and serving drinks to customers for money is their "scheme" of the week.

After some of the zany insanity of a lot of later series episodes, this return to normalcy is a breath of fresh air. At times you almost forget that they have a job serving drinks at a bar, and it appears that they have too.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: McPoyle vs. Ponderosa: The Trial of the Century (2016) Season 11, Episode 7

Always Sunny jumping the shark here

[7/10 · 25 September 2020]

The episode was just too zany and over the top for me. Pretty much every side character is ramped up into a Scooby Doo-like character, and previously established character quirks are escalated beyond what is even remotely entertaining (to me).

I loved the Pondy side story with his kid though.

If you're into their courtroom episodes and slapstick humor then you'll probably love this episode. It's just not for me.

Seinfeld: The Boyfriend (1992) Season 3, Episode 17

This is how you write a sitcom

[10/10 · 29 August 2020]

This episode has both an A story and B story that are woven together so tactfully and purposefully that it's entirely possible you don't even realize there are 2 separate storylines.

The A story of Jerry and Elaine "competing" for Keith Hernandez's affection is hilarious, and the B story of George working harder to keep unemployment than anything else in his life is also hilarious.

The 2 storylines weave in and out and continue to feed each other hilarity. And of course the undisputed highlight, Jerry's dramatic JFK "magic loogie" demonstration.

Even the commentary on the social minutia of life is hilarious, helping someone move being the male platonic version of "going all the way."

You probably won't even notice that it's both a 2-parter with 2 separate storylines, great sitcom writing.

Breaking Bad: Open House (2011) Season 4, Episode 3

A slower episode, but important pieces are moved into place

[7/10 · 26 June 2020]

Pros:

• First appearance of Bill Burr as Kuby
• Hank is brought back into the Heisenberg investigation
• Huell's awkward introduction to Walt and Skyler

Cons:

• This is Marie at her most obnoxious
• Jesse's increasingly sketchier parties get a little repetitive

It is a slow episode, one of the slowest of the series, but it's easy to overlook the extremely important piece that is moved into place: Hank is moved much closer to Heisenberg

Child's Play (2019)

Possibly the only horror classic reboot that isn't terrible

[7/10 · 19 June 2020]

It definitely has random moments of questionable character logic and physics-defying gore, but it's the first iconic horror film reboot I've ever seen that wasn't just terrible.

It was different enough from the original that it doesn't fall into the shot-by-shot pitfall like the remakes of Psycho and The Omen. It was similar enough in its nature to the original that it still feels like a Chucky film.

They build tension over the first 2 acts in the same way that made the original Child's Play spooky. There are some great moments for those who appreciate gratuitous gore.

The "technology gone wrong" approach instead of the supernatural angle made it feel more like Black Mirror than Poltergeist, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. It's no masterpiece, but the acting, production, writing, and special effects are leagues above every other horror remake that's come along.

Dexter: Remember the Monsters? (2013) Season 8, Episode 12

They don't give us even 1 single thing that we would have wanted

[1/10 · 16 June 2020]

What we wanted here was an ending, but we didn't get one.

Even just 1 of these things would have provided an at least adequate ending to his story:

• Dexter is revealed to be a serial killer
• Dexter has to go on the lam (not voluntarily become a lumberjack)
• Dexter is killed by Daniel Vogel (or anyone else)
• Dexter goes to prison
• There's a manhunt for Dexter
• The entire series is revealed to be Dexter's life flashing before his eyes right before he's executed by the state of Florida

Even just 1 of those things would have made the journey through lackluster 8th season worth it. We've been waiting for 8 seasons for Dexter's secret to be revealed to the public, I don't understand why the writers couldn't also have that happen since Dexter's "on the run" anyways. I don't think they could have chosen a worse ending, even if aliens came down and zapped Dexter through the heart it would have at least been an ending.

The writers gave us absolutely nothing to work with here. Dexter dying by driving into a hurricane is kind of a ridiculous death for someone like Dexter, but at least that would have been an ending. The writers gave us absolutely nothing to work with here.

Dexter: Goodbye Miami (2013) Season 8, Episode 10

Why are the writers ramping everything down?!

[3/10 · 16 June 2020]

Literally every aspect that has made Dexter a great show in the past is missing here.

• No manhunt
• No threats to Dexter being exposed
• No kills
• No thrills
• No development of rivalry between Dexter and the main season villain

I'll simply never understand why the writers decided that the second half of the final season of Dexter should be where they ramp everything down. This should have been where all the stops were pulled. This should have been where Dexter faces his biggest threats ever from both the main season villain and Miami Metro Police.

Instead we get a full hour of Dexter calmly lamenting on his decision to leave Miami. I sincerely have absolutely no idea what the writers were going for at this point.

Black Mirror: Crocodile (2017) Season 4, Episode 3

Can we move on from the brain implants?

[7/10 · 13 May 2020]

A decently written episode, but they do the brain implant/virtual reality theme absolutely to death.

It's my biggest qualm with later seasons, they just do episode after episode of the exact same thing. One of the earlier seasons' greatest strength is the variety of tech themes that they explore. The implications of brain implants/VR are interesting, but there's an inherent lack of creativity on the writers' part by falling back on it over and over again.

It's almost guaranteed that 3/4 new episodes are going to be brain implants/VR.

Black Mirror: The Waldo Moment (2013) Season 2, Episode 3

Episode has potential, but ultimately falls flat

[6/10 · 10 May 2020]

I ultimately appreciate the message the writers convey here about the intersection of politics, pop culture, comedy, and technology. However, everything about the Waldo character falls flat. Waldo is unpleasant to listen to and look at. It doesn't help that the writing for the Waldo character is terrible, he's neither funny nor insightful in any way. The actor voicing him does a terrible job at it, the timbre is unpleasant and he doesn't sound like any kind of professional voice actor. He sounds like if you asked any rando on the street to immediately come up with some kind of fake voice.

I suppose the lack of depth to Waldo's insights was partially intentional, a statement on the influence of shallow comedy on real politics. Either way nothing about the Waldo character works, to me, hiring an actual professional voice actor could have gone a long way here.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

It's an epilogue, it's important to view it from that perspective

[10/10 · 27 April 2020]

I think people were generally expecting too much from this. It's not a mile-a-minute thriller, the ticking clock of Walt's cancer has been removed as the intensity framing device.

It's a footnote, a post-script to the series. It's not Felina Part 2. It's simply a character study to give us closure on "I wonder if Jesse makes it?" As such, it succeeds admirably. It does just enough fan-service to leave us satisfied, but not so much that it detracts from the story or feels forced.

Most importantly, it resolves a major loose end plot without disrupting or demolishing any of the perfection left to us at the end of Felina. There were dozens of possible writing missteps I was worried about that would ruin this perfect canon, but the writers skillfully sidestep all of them. For that I give it an easy 10/10.

Breaking Bad: Ozymandias (2013) Season 5, Episode 14

The single greatest hour of television, ever.

[10/10 · 22 April 2020]

I fully expected this episode to a powerful climax of several plot lines, but my expectations were completely subverted at every turn.

I fully expected either some ex deus machina to swoop in and miraculously save Hank or a episode-long drawn out dramatic confrontational character study between Walt, Hank, and the Nazis. I was completely blown away by the pragmatic guts of the writers to have Hank taken out very early in the episode, and very unceremoniously.

They also had the guts to have Walt's secret identity come to light. After seasons of numerous miraculous close calls about Walt's identity almost being exposed, it finally is. This ignites the manhunt and satisfies the development of plot lines we watched being built for years.

Some of the most powerful revelations and plot points tastefully happen offscreen, or at least not directly in the camera shot: Hank's death and Skyler telling Walt Jr the truth about his father.

Every actor is at the top of their game, and the episode is absolutely devastating from start to finish. I never thought they would be able to top Face Off, yet they manage to pull it off. I'm extremely grateful that the writers rewarded our patience and had the guts to do everything right in this season that the Dexter writers did wrong.

Seinfeld: The Dog (1991) Season 3, Episode 4

Weakest episode of the series, but it has redeeming qualities

[6/10 · 21 April 2020]

Has a weak main plot line that is outshined by a great B-story.

The main story relies far too heavily on one joke: the dog barking and Jerry being irritated by it. It's a moderately entertaining joke the first time, but the episode falls flat after that gag is repeated over and over. It doesn't help that the "dog" bark is done poorly by a human, and is extremely monotone. A little bit of dynamics, variation, or realism in the dog bark could have a long way toward making that joke seem less repetitive. The dog's owner is unpleasant, but not in an entertaining way.

Some positives:

• The B-story with George and Elaine not able to talk to each other without Jerry present is great.
• The first introduction of a fictional recurring film reference: Prognosis Negative
• Mountain Lightning

Overall the episode is a dud, what I consider to be the worst episode of the series (even worse than the Finale or the clip show), but not completely without merit.

Dexter: Nebraska (2011) Season 6, Episode 7

Everything about this episode feels off, a low point in the series (up to that point)

[5/10 · 9 March 2020]

Should have been a low point for the entire series, and until the series finale it is the lowest point of the series.

The general idea of the episode isn't in itself horrible, but it very awkwardly/abruptly diverts from the main season 6 story arc and throws off the entire pace of the season. It's essentially a "bottle episode" that feels like it was thrown into season 6 at the very last minute. Aside from that, it's really just the execution that's lacking here. I'm generally on board with Brian Moser taking over as the voice of Dexter's conscience, but they reduced him to melodramatic cartoon villain-like dialog and campy delivery of lines. Excessive use of crooked cameral angles throughout the entire episode is reminiscent of what made Battlefield Earth so notoriously terrible. The scene where Dexter and Brian are shooting the gun out of the car is truly a low point for both the episode and the series. It feels like the writers and director of this episode had never seen a single episode of Dexter before and had no idea what the show feels like or how it flows.

Every single line of dialogue from Brian in this episode sounds like it was pulled from a 13 year old's fan fiction script. The entire premise of Trinity's family suddenly being murdered seemed very contrived and the entire subplot of the creepy pot-growing farmer trying to extort Dexter was a true head-scratcher. There's maybe 6 minutes of total screen time this entire episode that either moves the season/series plot forward or at least aids in character development of series regulars.

On top of all this (and quite secondary to my point) are a couple plot points where the writing makes no sense: 1. The witness protection people wouldn't move Jonah again after Trinity supposedly found their secret location/identities and tried to murder all of them? 2. Dexter is somehow able to grab a pitchfork from behind himself and stab it through Norm's stomach while Norm is pointing a loaded gun at Dexter. It makes sense that Norm was unable to see/react in time to Brian since Norm was staring and pointing the gun at Dexter, and Brian came at him from the side. But Brian wasn't real, Norm had his eyes and his sights set dead-on Dexter. (You have to suspend a lot of plausibility to watch Dexter, which I'm generally very okay with because it's fun, so I'm not too concerned with those last 2 points)

Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (2019) Season 5, Episode 3

Relies too heavily on novelty and the plot suffers

[3/10 · 25 January 2020]

Much like Bandersnatch, this episode relies almost solely on a single novelty to do most of the heavy lifting story-wise. Also like Bandersnatch, the result is a story that suffers severely for the novelty.

There is very little in this episode that even remotely resembles Black Mirror material, except for the fact that they've chosen to focus (once again) on the transferring of human consciousness into/through outside mediums. Which seems to be all they've focused on at all for the last dozen or so episodes, and has long since become extremely old/overdone.

One of the best things Black Mirror had going for it in earlier seasons was its thematic variety. Now you can expect at least 2 out of every 3 new episodes to be about a brain implant and/or storing someone's consciousness digitally.

I could almost forgive the writers for recycling this exact theme again if the story was decent, but it's not. It's not dark, it's not funny, and there's not really any kind of sense of irony or statement on the current state of technology's role in society. They either just didn't bother to try to develop an interesting story or they were far too deliberate in walking on eggshells writing-wise to accommodate having Miley in the episode. It didn't help that the Ashley doll wasn't particularly lovable or charming, like you might expect.

I think it all boils down to one main problem: it was clearly written for and geared towards Miley fans, not Black Mirror fans. The result is a puzzling Disney Channel feel-good tv episode that doesn't break any new ground and doesn't make any commentary on the negative implications of modern technology in our lives.

How It Ends (2018)

What the hell was that?

[1/10 · 12 August 2018]

I can respect a show or movie about nothing when it's any genre but apocalypse/disaster film. This movie could make it as a simple popcorn thriller if anything actually ever happened. It's not deep enough, nor does it have good enough dialogue to justify the extremely slow pacing, ambiguous storylines, and sheer lack of action.

The writers use every single disaster movie cliche, which I honestly wouldn't mind if there was some kind of action happening. It's like the producers couldn't decide whether they wanted to make it a popcorn action flick or a deep psychological thriller, and ultimately fail to achieve either.

The Open House (2018)

They made 2/3's of a watchable horror thriller and then completely dropped the ball.

[1/10 · 10 March 2018]

I thought the first half of the movie was pretty decent (albeit cliche) in a sort of slow-build Hitchcock-ian way.

However, the last third rendered watching the movie a complete waste of time. I have no idea why they decided to go in the direction they did, but it rendered the entire movie useless and pointless. I rarely want my last 1.5-2 hours back after watching a movie, even really poorly made ones, but I really do with this film.

Overall:

Production value was a fairly solid 7/10. Acting was an adequate 5/10. Story direction was a very firm -1/10.

Black Mirror: Shut Up and Dance (2016) Season 3, Episode 3

The most intense episode to date

[10/10 · 30 October 2016]

I can understand the negative feedback to this episode just being shocking without any kind of message or purpose, but I like to think that was the point. The anonymity of technology has opened a door where people are able to be that horrible to each other for absolutely no other reason than the fact that they can be.

The episode is a terrifying glimpse into some of the worst/most extreme actions technology can bring out in people. To me that's what Black Mirror is; the extremes (both positive and negative) that technology can bring out in both ordinary and extraordinary people.

(spoilers below)

The episode starts out relatively tame and progresses steadily into more and more despicable levels. The final 5 minutes are probably the best 5 minutes of Black Mirror up to that point.

It is revealed that the blackmail was all for absolutely no reason as the anonymous blackmailers release all of the blackmail to their family/friends regardless of whether they complete the horrible requests or not...and of course...Radiohead.

The identity of the blackmailers are never revealed.

In short, the episode was interesting, a snapshot of what technology can bring to us, and invoked genuine extreme feelings in me as it progressed, which to me is the point.

A Talking Cat!?! (2013)

A cinematic breakthrough

[8/10 · 4 November 2014]

From the director of such homoerotic thrillers as Leather Jacket Love Story, Beastly Boyz, and Body Blow comes the thrilling erotic adventures of a young confused transsexual teen and his lovable but ineptly schizophrenic father.

There's also a talking cat.

Set in an imaginary land far away where the white spruce lined mountains of Wisconsin are only a mere 5 minute walk from the white sandy beaches of Hawaii, A Talking Cat's impressive 3 establishing shots of creeks and bridge will leave you breathless.

This wild adventure will take you through the intricate inner workings of unfinished logarithm data, a deeply troubled millionaire paranoid schizophrenic man-child, and delicious homemade cheese puffs.

The undisputed high point of the movie is the deeply touching underage homoerotic swimming lesson cut tragically short in a dramatic confrontation by a mother unable to cope with her daughter's unfortunate combination of ambition, competence, and integrity.

With a wonderfully crafted cell phone recorded/engineered voice-over cameo by Eric Roberts, this cinematic masterpiece is one the entire family can enjoy.