firemanbob Reviews

Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche (2021)

Really, really well done.

[10/10 · 15 November 2023]

As someone who isn't a skier, but is active in outdoor recreation (I'd rather snowshoe), and lives in the mountains of Colorado, I was keenly interested in this movie when I saw the description. I was hoping for something great, and it is indeed great.

Told from the perspective of the people involved, and with no third person narration, this story unfolds with the events leading up to, and after, the avalanche.

You get an idea of what the people were like at the time, how much they've grown since then, and how much this affected them. They are at times very emotional, but always with a sense of honesty. They were mostly people (around my age, as far as I can tell) who were having a good time being ski bums, when tragedy struck. How they dealt with the tragedy is the main thrust of the story, and it is told with brutal forthrightness.

Even if skiing or winter recreation isn't your thing, this is still a movie to watch.

Small Town Wisconsin (2020)

Bleh. Tired of "dad's a jerk" movies

[3/10 · 15 August 2023]

This is almost unwatchable. Dad loses custody of this kid because he's a drunken lout and, well, an idiot. The only mystery is why he didn't lose custody of his kid before now.

He's a drunk, irresponsible, and stupid, even if he is well - meaning. He drives drunk, sets his kitchen on fire and almost gets thrown in jail at this child custody hearing. And somehow, we're supposed to feel bad for him, and that somehow he'll redeem himself in the end.

I'm pretty tired of the "dad is a drunken jerk" movies, and this is yet another poor example of how Hollywood sees men.

It's not that there aren't men like this out there. There are far too many, but would it kill Hollywood to portray men, and dads, in a positive light.

The Ritual Killer (2023)

Terrible

[1/10 · 26 July 2023]

The only thing this movie does well is waste a whole lot of good talent. Well, that and waste your time, attention, and good will. That Morgan Freeman is involved is truly astonishing...Has he taken leave of his senses? Or just hired a really, really bad agent? There is no good reason for him to have done this movie...or for anyone to have done this movie, even the cast of mostly unknowns that make up most of the cast.

The plot is preposterous, and the final scene defies good taste, common sense, or any sense of decency. Do yourself a favor.... Pass up this trash and don't give up 90 minutes of your life that you'll never get back.

Dirty Movie (2011)

Just because it's raunchy doesn't mean it's not funny

[6/10 · 7 January 2023]

This movie has something for everyone to hate. The dirtiest, raunchiest, rudest, nastiest most off color jokes ever created. Oh, and gratuitous nudity. If this offends you, don't bother. The premise is stupid, the production quality is as cheap as it gets, and I'm guessing that Meloni hopes no one ever sees this piece of trashiness. Still, it's pretty damn funny. It's not for everyone...hell, it's probably not for 99% of the population, and you have to assume that National Lampoon knew that going in and that didn't stop them. I'm almost ashamed to admit to how many of the jokes I had already heard.

Inside Man (II) (2022)

If nothing else, watch if for Stanley Tucci

[5/10 · 2 November 2022]

This is almost two different movies, one set in the US and the other in the UK. The UK storyline is ridiculously implausible and almost painful to watch. The US storyline, with Stanley Tucci as the central character, while also somewhat implausible, is at least fun to watch. While this is a murder drama, with details that can be a tad disturbing, Tuccl's character is witty, intelligent, acerbic, and even funny. There were times during the US scenes where I laughed out loud (although I have no idea if that was the intent of the filmmakers).

David Tennant deserves better than the completely unhinged character he plays...and the thoroughly idiotic storyline he's given to work with. In fact, the UK storyline is so bad (with the exception of Lydia Wells, who is the only bright star here), that it's hard to imagine so many people acting so stupidly.

Watch it for Tucci, suffer through the rest. Hell, it's only 4 parts, so you won't suffer too much.

The Fixer (1998 TV Movie)

One line from this movie says it all...

[1/10 · 4 July 2022]

This isn't a bad movie. It only strives to be bad. It's worse than bad. When you look up "bad movies" in the dictionary, it merely uses this movie as the definition. It would have to get a LOT better just so it could be bad.

This line, spoken by a "doctor" in as ham-fisted way as conceivably possible, defines how bad the movie is: "Call an ambulance. And a priest." As if a doctor would say that for a patient who isn't even dying.

If you have only a limited amount of time left on this earth, don't waste it on this pile of stinking horse manure.

Horizon Line (2020)

Dreadful

[1/10 · 21 November 2021]

Take a couple of shallow characters, throw them into a deadly situation, have them make dumb choices, and then throw in some completely implausible situations (wing-walking? Really?), and you've got the recipe for this piece of dreadfulness. 90 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

Wild Prairie Rose (2016)

This movie deserves to be seen by more people

[9/10 · 13 June 2021]

More people need to see this movie, and see what great, simple, independent film making looks like.

I'll not give away any spoilers and the ending won't come as a surprise to anyone, but none of that matters. What does matter is the gentleness and simplicity with which this story is told, and without the mind-numbing schmaltz that comes with the typical Hallmark channel movie.

That characters are a bit complicated, the scenery is gorgeous (kudos to the creators for filming on location in a very small rural town), and the movie is true to the period it is set in, both in atmosphere and set design.

I lived in western South Dakota for a time, a long time ago (about as far west as you can get from the town this is set in), which has a wildly different feel, but I still felt strongly drawn to the characters, the town, and most importantly, the stunning scenery that is in this movie.

The characters are likeable, if a bit quirky, and well cast. Each actor fits their character well.

Take the time to watch this. You won't regret it.

Getting to Know You (2020)

Nice movie. Deserves to be better known than it is

[8/10 · 7 June 2021]

I saw this movie on Amazon Prime and decided to give it a try. I was ambivalent about my expectations. It could have been just some silly slapstick, or an over the top attempt at humor, or overly sappy. It avoids all of that. While the story line might be slightly implausible, in the long run, the characters act appropriately. I wanted the story in end differently, but the ending I wanted would have been too cliche, so kudos to the director and writers for avoiding it.

I don't believe I had seen any of the actors before, so I had no expectations. The cast did not disappoint.

Overall, it's a really good movie.

Death to 2020 (2020 TV Special)

Very funny. Picks on every one

[8/10 · 30 December 2020]

Very funny, often painful or uncomfortable to watch, it goes after everyone. It's funny reading reviews here from right-wingers who think it's unfair to them when the most outrageously stupid characters are actually "liberal". If you think this is too "one-sided", get over yourself. It's not a documentary, it's a comedy. And you're probably too stupid to understand satire. Only bad thing with this movie is that it doesn't end with the public hanging of a disposed ruler, like in some banana republic.

Two Pictures (2018)

Takes a long time getting to the point, whatever the point is.

[4/10 · 19 October 2020]

I really wanted to like this movie. Really, really wanted to like it. Story synopsis was intriguing, and cast was mostly people I had not heard of, which often yields pleasant surprises. But, this movie disappointed me. It meandered all over the place, and the event that "changes their lives" really only changes one life, and doesn't really have anything to do with the change in the other persons life. I normally don't mind quiet, thoughtful movies, as long as there is something interesting, or likeable characters. This was quiet, not too thoughtful, and mostly boring. The female lead character was pretty likeable, but the male, not so much. Despite the awards it got, you won't miss anything if you pass this one up, other than not wasting 100 minutes of your life that you won't get back.

To Hell and Gone (2019)

An epic movie? No. A good movie? Yes.

[6/10 · 19 October 2020]

Went into this with somewhat low expectations, but came away not feeling that I had wasted 80 minutes of my life. Not a high budget movie by any means, yet the production quality was pretty good. I didn't see the usual signs of a low budget movie: inept camera work, exceedingly cheap sets, high school level acting. The movie looked good, but to be fair, I spend a lot of time in Arizona and am familiar with most of the filming locations, so I'm a bit biased. The actors looked to be well cast, although one of the bad guys was a bit over the top. The female lead was very well cast. As far as the story goes, I agree with others that the story of the drifter was not as well fleshed out as it should have been. I would've liked seeing his part being more proactive and heroic. Overall, he was a likable character, but it was hard to tell if his actions in the second half of the movie were self-serving, or altruistic. I don't think this movie rates a "10", but it's certainly better than the low ratings here, too.

Life to AfterLife: I Died, Now What (2019)

Pure Psycho-Babble

[1/10 · 11 May 2020]

I was hoping for something with a shred of science behind it, instead what I got was bunch of people talking about what they think is in the afterlife. I know what I think the afterlife is, but that doesn't qualify me to be on this anymore than the hood-winkers who appear here.

The Dinner (I) (2017)

Looked forward to seeing Linney and Gere, but OH GAWD it was awful

[1/10 · 13 October 2019]

Twenty minutes into the movie, and I could hardly stand it. The character played by Coogan was such an insufferable, that I felt that the kids assaulted the wrong person. In most movies where many of the characters are pretty deplorable, there is still someone you can root for. Not in this this dreadful waste of celluloid. The characters are all self-involved, self-indulgent, self-important windbags. No one has a redeeming quality. Everyone knows someone in real life who is like any one of these characters, and everyone hates them. You'll hate them even more after watching this waste of time. I didn't think that Laura Linney or Richard Gere had ever made, or could ever make, a bad film (either together or individually), but they managed to get snared into this horrid flick. They should fire their agents for even suggesting this... thing. Do yourself a favor and give it a HARD PASS.

Valley of the Damned (2019– )

It's ok, but ridiculous comment in promos

[4/10 · 26 September 2019]

Disclosure: I live in the vicinity of the "Village of the Damned", which is basically the area around Canon City, Florence and Penrose, Colorado. They're all nice little towns, and yes, there are a number of prisons nearby, including a federal supermax. During the promos for the show, the host, local news paper reporter Tracy Harmon says "before there were prisons, there were very few murders". This is a patently ridiculous comment. The presence of prisons doesn't affect the crime rate in the area, which is actually very low. Harmon doesn't back up her comments, and in the episodes I've watched so far, none of the stories are related directly to the prisons nearby. The first episode does tell the story of the murder of the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections by a paroled Colorado prisoner, but it's not clear that he spent time in any of the facilities in the "Valley of the Damned" (Colorado has other prisons in other parts of the state). While the show is pretty decent, the presence of prisons has not been shown in the series to have anything to do with any of the murders there, despite Harmon's laughable assertion in the shows promos.

The Project (2019– )

Bad. Just plain BAD.

[1/10 · 3 February 2019]

Holy cow, this is bad. I was going to ask which high school project this was, but I would've felt bad insulting a high school project. The sets are cheesy, the lighting looks like it was done with $10 flashlights, the acting wooden, the special effects look like a drawing your kid hung on the fridge. I hope that whoever bank-rolled this didn't invest all of their kids college fund to make it.

There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)

CineTurd

[1/10 · 14 April 2018]

It's a shame so many great names are associated with this god-awful movie. Typical of so many other movies made in the late 60's - early 70's, it's plagued by music that is painful to the ears, sets that look cheap and are unrealistically lit, and poor acting. I love westerns, I loved Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda, but not this waste of time. Give it a pass.

Beware the Masked One (2012)

Indie film with just the right amount of creepiness

[8/10 · 11 March 2013]

Who is the "Masked One"? What does he want? Is 13 an unlucky number for Carol? Are there 13 years of unfinished business waiting to be finalized? This taut, suspenseful short film has just the right amount of creepiness to it without going overboard or being cheesy. As the only on-screen speaking character, Rachel Mather does a very good job as the terrified and terrorized Carol, although I expected a more terrified expression at one particularly scary moment. I think she was certainly capable of it, and maybe needed another take to get it down. But, don't let that little "nit" keep you from watching the movie. Rob Bowen, doing duty as the writer, director, producer, location scout, camera man and who knows what else, handles all his duties professionally and the result is a clean, spare, suspenseful short flick. Give it a look.

Ladder 49 (2004)

Much better than "Backdraft" and more accurate...

[3 October 2004]

I've been a firefighter for over 25 years, and I still love my job.

I was excited when "Backdraft" came out, but always thought it was a good recruitment film and a lousy training film. Now, along comes "Ladder 49", and I'm happy to saw that it will be a both a good recruitment and training film (no, not a perfect training film). The firefighters are portrayed as regular guys, which most are. The depictions of firehouse life and the personal lives of the guys, especially the Jack Morrison character, were right on the money. The firefighting scenes, especially Jack's first fire, were very accurate. As opposed to "Backdraft" there are no firefighters running through blazing buildings without breathing equipment and unbuttoned turnout coats. The actors in this movie play the part very close to reality (they should, because the Baltimore FD put them through several weeks of firefighter recruit training).

The story line is very good. There aren't too many firefighters who haven't had second thoughts about their chosen profession at some time in their career, and the way this was handled in the movie was very true to real life. I'm glad to see that this movie portrayed Jacks wife as a supportive wife who understands and still accepts the dangers and uncertainty of being a firefighter. So many other movies portray the wives as bitchy shrews or sniveling cowards, and consequently portray all firefighters as being divorced. Nothing can be further from the truth.

The flashback method of story telling was a great tool, and I really liked the way it jumped to stages of Jacks life that were both mundane and yet significant in his development as a firefighter. The huge fire scene that continues through the movie is pretty realistic, but to be honest, there just aren't that many fires of such a massive size in this country. Still, it is as I would imagine a fire of those proportions would be.

All in all, firefighters should be proud of this movie.