jhph12 Reviews

Outlast (2023– )

True crime

[1/10 · 14 March 2023]

It is not a wilderness survival show - it's more of a traditional reality tv show where the producers encourage bad people to act horribly for laughs and our "entertainment." Started good. But then had to watch the show be taken over by two contestants who are just horrible human beings (Jill and Amber). I do hope they can be prosecuted for their actions against the other contestants (theft, destruction of property, etc?) and if they won, the other contestants should sue both them and the producers (they have a case if the acts depicted were real and not fake or scripted) - I could not make it to the end watching that bs. The producers will hopefully never be allowed to make another show again. If you thought you've seen it all in reality tv where terrible human beings are allowed and encouraged to behave their absolute worst, this show goes further and allows and encourages crimes between contestants. I felt like a worse person for actually making it to the fourth episode and definitely felt dumber for doing so.

The Last Duel (2021)

Long and not much depth

[6/10 · 5 March 2023]

Story starts well but then begins to drag about half-way through and moves like molten lead from there until the end. The three perspectives do not add any depth, with each retelling being a very predictable retelling of events already heard. I did not feel that I learned anything new, different, or deeper with each retelling. Instead I got the same story from a pretty predictable and cliched perspective of the next involved individual. Thats it. Felt like a really long watch. I found myself just trying to gut it out. All that said it's an ok movie, just not much more which was a little disappointing given the star power involved. Adam Driver does a good job, and so do most of the cast - really thought the actors did the most with what they had to work with. The story is a good one, the screenplay misses the mark though and maybe so too did the overall interpretation of the events. Movie was at its best when revealing life in the early Middle Ages. Was at its worst when attempting to make grand morality statements - just a pretty obvious and much too shallow treatment of medieval customs, code, and morals - all placed in a one-dimensional lens. The soundtrack was predictable and a rough listen at times.

Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall (2022)

Good-Too Much Contextualizing

[6/10 · 17 March 2022]

Is worth seeing. Good documentary, but kind of weirdly felt like there could have been more and less. The more would have been as some others noted (spouse, boyfriend, escape, etc.). For me, the less would be the interviews where different individuals contextualize the murder into other issue areas. Not sure those were very inciteful and detracted a bit from the telling of a very real human tragedy.

Five Corners (1987)

A Little Gem

[8/10 · 29 November 2005]

This film is a little gem. A very good quirky understated drama. The story is well-developed, reasonably believable, and directed quite nicely. The story is set in a New York neighborhood in the time period of early 60s - both aspects are portrayed well in the film - realistic and believable but not so hammed up as to come across as phony. The acting is superb. Tarturro is great - plays the part of a local psycho bully very well - quite edgy and frightening but not over-the-top. Both Jodie Foster and Tim Robbins also do really well in this movie and is probably the best of that time period (the 80s) for either actor. Would recommend the movie for anyone looking for a good drama or for a movie with some social commentary that does not overwhelm the story.

The Constant Gardener (2005)

Outstanding film, bumpy ride

[8/10 · 8 October 2005]

Agree with most of the other comments commending this film and won't repeat what they have written. Would only add that the cinematography, use of colors, etc. is quite outstanding. Great shots of Africa - disorienting, beautiful, frightening, majestic, alluring, and more. The camera work is disrupted a bit though by the jostling camera technique at a number of points. This technique seems to be in vogue as of late and is a bit overused in the film. Overall, a great movie - great performances, plot, directing, etc. Will appeal to those looking for some social theme, love story, element of realism,adventure, etc. but also those just looking for a very good story and movie.

Alfie (2004)

Quite good

[8/10 · 25 August 2005]

On it own terms, this movie is surprisingly good and I can't understand why it was savaged by a number of critics when it was released. It may be one of those quirky movies where myself and only a few others thought it really worked and the critics are right, but I thought it was quite original. It really walks the line well between being light/fun and a movie with content. It is not a shallow film. Jude Law is almost a perfect fit for the part and he does well in it, as do all the women characters. The movie is very stylish in pretty original ways. The stylishness was glamorized/fictional but not in a phony, gimmicky, or tragically hip sort of way. Some thought the characters were not fully developed, but I think that is consistent with Alfie's outlook/faults - we (the audience) would like to know the women more. The director portrays them so we would, but seen through Alfie's prism, we don't get that opportunity, although as he develops we do get to see additional character development. I thought this worked well in the film, but others might disagree. Where some saw a lack of plot, I thought the trajectory of the film also was well done and its ending was great, more true than simple problem - resolution type story lines. A final thought, at least one reviewer did not like the Stones/Dave Stewart soundtrack. Again, I loved it - the first Stones music in some time that I liked, particularly in the context of the film. Overall, I would recommend this film without hesitation.

The Godfather Part III (1990)

Ehh O.k.

[6/10 · 10 August 2005]

Movie worth seeing if for no other reason than to close out the trilogy, the first two parts of which are among the greatest movies every made. This movie has its moments, but does not hang together real well. The highs include some of the early scenes, the Vatican scenes, and some of the scenes in Sicily, but the story is too inflated/overblown and unrealistic to fit with the other movies in the trilogy, which artfully walked a line between myth and reality. The helicopter assassination attempt treads into Bruce Willis terrain, Joe Mantegna (uncharacteristically) does not do well in this movie - his dialog is terrible at points (see the meeting of the commission), ditto Andy Garcia (blurting out "I want Joey Zaza dead" like someone suffering from Tourettes syndrome at various points). Talia Shire is uncharacteristically good in this movie, but her new found role in the family is jarringly out of place in the trilogy. Pacino does great with limited material. Overall worth seeing once, but if it weren't for its predecessors would stand out as one of Coppola's poorer efforts.

The Spanish Prisoner (1997)

Very Good Film

[8/10 · 20 July 2005]

This is a very good Mamet film, one of his best. It does suffer from a few Mametisms however, e.g. clubbing us to death with dialog signals to trigger the main character's eureka moments (the mother's dialog in the Boston airport security check line is excruciating), a plot with some holes in it, and the acting is pure Mamet. Some like his actors' style, some hate it, but overall it works well in this movie and the actors deliver in good form. Cambell Scott plays his part well, ditto Rebecca Pigeon (though weak and stiff as a temptress but otherwise great), and this is one of Steve Martin's best roles. The pace of the movie is really well done. The actions and events move forward and are neither overdone or underdone, and the suspense builds well to the climax. If you like Mamet, this film delivers. If you have your reservations, you still might respect his efforts in this one.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Pretty Awful

[1/10 · 22 May 2005]

The dialog in this movie is some of the worst ever produced - makes the script of Billy Madison seem creative. There is not a single moment of genuine conversation or communication between the main characters. It is one endlessly annoying parade of 'witty' clichés and repartees strung end to end for an interminable two hours. The awful dialog takes an otherwise average movie and turns it into a positively awful one. The story is passable. The special effects are good, though the action scenes are a bit more derivative than the first. The main characters are terrible actors but that doesn't really matter in this genre. In sum, avoid this movie if you can and for certain do not pay to view it, but if you are stuck with nothing else on cable at 4:00 am, watch it with the sound off (you won't miss anything) and you should make it through relatively unscathed and with most of your remaining brain cells intact.

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992 Video)

Re-edits Diminsh The Work Significantly

[6/10 · 23 April 2005]

Start with two classics and a pretty weak third, and then re-edit the two classics to include scenes that should have been left on the editing room floor (or added in an extra discs for only historians to see) and what do you get? A good opportunity to stroke one's own ego (the director), a chance to sell the movies again and ring the cash register, and a diminished and much weaker body of work. I really think Coppola's re-edits in these films (and in the Apocalypse Now Redux release) show how movie making is a collaborative art. The re-editing maybe heightens his vision of the films but diminishes quality of the movies at the expense of the input of others, who at time of original filming tempered his excesses. The scenes added to the segments from the original Godfather films are a bit hokey-too much-don't work (ditto for the scenes added to Apocalypse Now Redux). Had they been released in the originals, the films would have been good films, but not become the classic pieces of art that they are.

Straight Time (1978)

Quite Good

[8/10 · 29 January 2005]

This movie creeps up on you, gets a kind of emotional hold on you and digs in through the end. Really, a terrific 70s style film (should have been made in 1973). Dustin Hoffman is outstanding. He gives an understated performance that fits the atmosphere of the movie, the story and himself perfectly. It is one of his best performances. Theresa Russell, and Harry Dean Stanton also deliver excellent performances. A very good example of how story, and acting that is true to the story, matter so much in making a good film. Urls Grosbard does a good job of establishing the mood of the film and carrying it all the way through, without hitting you over the head with unnecessarily forced dialog or drawn-out action sequences, etc.

El Dorado (1966)

Absolute Drek

[3/10 · 9 January 2005]

John Wayne's and Howard Hawks' careers, while legendary, are characterized by extreme highs and extreme lows (like heavy metal and country music). This movie is an extreme low, and (like bad heavy metal and bad country music) borders on self-parody. Awful script, terrible characters, poor story, atrocious sets, horribly horribly bad costumes and makeup, I could go on for days. John Wayne acts to his formula and seems to go through the motions mailing in a performance, James Caan is farcical though it seems more his character's fault rather than his work. His Chinese man scene is poorly imagined, poorly executed, and embarrassing on every level. Ditto the poorly executed scene where Caan dives under the horses. Ed Asner's character is never developed. The women characters are ridiculous. However, Robert Mitchum and Arthur Hunnicutt do great jobs, Christopher George does fine, ditto R.G. Armstrong, but it all has the feel of a ship sinking, the ship being Hollywood's studio system and the old dinosaurs made great during its heyday. Hollywood had not yet found a way forward and continued to churn out crap such as this to validate its existence. The story is so bad, we could care less whether the bad guys or the good guys win this fight, its not much of a fight. There never is any real doubt that the bad guys are going to lose this one, they are completely witless throughout. Despite some very contrived impediments to make the good guys appear vulnerable on the surface, at no time do we believe that any of them are coming out of this thing with more than a scratch and a few stories to tell their buddies. If the names involved weren't so familiar and legendary, this movie would be completely forgettable or survive as an Ed Wood-type schlock cult film.