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Reviews
The Irishman (2019)
Scorcese and Cast Deliver
The Irishman displays your typical Scorsese-expertise; genuine storytelling, fluid cinematography & grisled-gang-violence. While its nealy four hours may cause some audience members to take a break or two, the film is still is stillbeautifull done, driven by the exceptional performances from DeNiro, Pacino and Pesci. Especially Pesci. Some inexplicable plotholes, and the lack of female character development are the only thing that keep this film from being a 'perfect ten' in my humble opinion.
Free Solo (2018)
Climbers and Filmmakers Delight
As an avid climber and cinematographer, I just can't get enough of this film. This will live on as a classic documentary film. An absolute aesthetic pleasure from start to finish. It must be seen in the theater if you can.
What surprised me the most was how powerful the human storytelling was in this film. The romance had my whole family in tears. I can't recommend this movie enough. See it!!
Population Zero (2016)
Stolen premise. Shameless.
The premise of this film is a poor re-hash of a novel called Free Fire. The highly sophisticated legal premise in this film does not match the juvenile nature of the rest of this movie.
#1 New York Times-bestselling author C. J. Box. Wrote the following on Rotten Tomatoes:
"This "documentary" is a poor re-hash of a novel I wrote In 2007 entitled FREE FIRE that was published by Penguin Random House. In my novel, a fictional murder that occurs in a remote section of Yellowstone Park where the murderer goes free because of an obscure Constitutional loophole. The novel was inspired by an essay by a brilliant Michigan State law professor named Brian Kalt who was credited in my novel but not Population Zero. Free Fire is still in print and it's been translated in over 27 languages. What happens in the book is wholly fictional.
I was contacted several months ago by a volunteer at a film festival who screened Pinder's and Levins's Population Zero. The volunteer said it closely mirrored Free Fire but without any attribution. That festival rejected the submission.
After consulting lawyers we learned that plagiarism has to be literal, i.e. Replicating actual lines of prose or dialog. Legalities aside, the premise, plot, structure, hook, and conclusion are strikingly similar to my novel. Anyone who has read Free Fire would agree. No reason to see the film, though. Except for the premise it really isn't very good."
C. J. Box.