Pookalook Reviews

Woman on the Run (1950)

Where Was This Treasure?

[9/10 · 23 December 2023]

I don't know where to start. This movie needs restoration. Why hasn't Hollywood today grabbed this story for a remake? It never lets up, and the dialogue is incredible. It's got everything. The moments of sheer terror were so beautifully balanced with laugh-out-loud humor. There was not a single wasted scene to the point I wanted to see a wasted scene so it wouldn't end so soon. Every actor was at the top of his or her game. There were genuine surprises so I won't spoil it by mentioning any of them. The movie made be a bit sad that so many films today rely on foul language and horrific violence because the stories are so weak. This movie was near perfect.

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)

Well made and boring

[5/10 · 13 November 2023]

I don't necessarily like to be entertained by a movie, but it must have impact in some way to be worth the time spent. This film was mainly about people singing old time favorites in between moments of storytelling. It was kind of a joke after awhile. Davies' movies are usually profound and moving. Benediction left me in tears and I really couldn't tell you exactly why that happened so suddenly, at the end, like someone had shone a spotlight on the most sensitive part of my heart, and it melted. I was anxious for Distant Voices, Still Lives to end because it was incredibly boring. The disturbing elements of the abuse of a psychopathic father never seemed real because they were never explained, just bizarre, and every element of the story seemed a break from another popular song from the era sung by the actors or some choir. Those haunting choir voices behind especially scenes of Christmas were very effective, so was the bomb shelter scene singing. Not much else. I didn't like reviewing this film. Davies was a genius and his passing seemed hardly noticed, which is a shame.

Banshee (2013–2016)

1984

[24 August 2023]

I remember when at 12 years old, I read 1984, and one scene in particular stuck with me my entire life. I'm now in my 60s. Winston sees a war film characterized by graphic violence, the description was for me at the time so horrific, I thought no one would go to see that kind of violence. The point was that the film depicted in the book showed how callous and dehumanized people had become, taught to applaud graphic violence and to channel their aggressions into watching people suffer. What we see as viewers of shows like Banshee is a type of violence I don't think even Orwell could have imagined. The point is, we've become desensitized to violence, though, after 2 episodes, I realized my 12 year-year-old self was still there, and I stopped watching.

Bullet Train (2022)

Vulgar Mess

[2/10 · 14 January 2023]

Based on the reviews, I thought this was going to be fun. But, like many films in this genre, it was a vulgar mess of F bombs and violence with no one to root for and no one particularly appealing. A movie that stands as an assault on the senses is just lazy film making. The pleasant music behind people getting their heads blown off and such graphic violence as to numb the viewer has no point but just to fill the too long running time with as much carnage and foul language as possible. Sorry, I stopped watching at about 45 minutes in, so, maybe it got better, but I doubt it. Movies that make you feel like you need a shower afterward are just no my cup of tea. I guess I'm old fashioned. I like a good story that doesn't rely on repulsive filler to propel it.

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

One of the Worst

[1/10 · 21 December 2022]

Interesting premise, but the writing was awful. Very predictable story whose every element was hinted at, telegraphed, orchestrated like a Hallmark movie, but not as good. Some compared the style of Where the Crawdads Sing to those movies made from a Nicholas Sparks book. That is an insult to Nicholas Sparks. Spark's stories at least have some element of surprise despite being dull and somewhat predictable as well, but at least they were kind of original. Some told me the Crawdads book was beautiful and haunting, the movie isn't. The acting was good. The lead actress was good, but it was never described why she was treated so badly, so ostracized by the community. Everything about the movie seemed manufactured, unreal, stupid. What a waste of time.

Jack Ryan (2018–2023)

Ist Season Was Good, Not the Second

[3/10 · 24 October 2022]

These feature two Jack Ryans. From season one he's the smart likable Jack. In season two he's the kinda stupid, and a little sleazy Jack. The dialog seems to have been written by two different writers. In season one, it's good and believable. In season two it's stilted, stale and forced. Every word out of Ryan's mouth had a scripted feel. And, strange as it may seem, the writers thought just making Jack's girlfriend disappear as though she never existed was an acceptable move. The shock of going from nice relationship Jack to sleeping with the first pretty face he sees in a bar Jack, not only made Jack sleazy, but it made him seem stupid and set up which the first season Jack would have been smarter to avoid. I stopped watching about half way into the 1st episode because I no longer liked the Jack he became in season 2.

Alaska Daily (2022–2023)

Awful Writing

[2/10 · 20 October 2022]

By the numbers first episode became unwatchable very quickly. I love Swank, but her acting never got beyond the stale script for this first episode and the score for the series is trite. Everything was so deliberate down to the looks on the faces of the actors responding to Swank to the cute music behind every move. Hillary's makeup was too much. Maybe it's not so heavy once she makes it to Alaska, but I didn't stick around to find out. Even the setup to go to Alaska was obvious right down to her vehement objection at first then the dinner you knew was coming to woo her. I went somewhere else after that. Tell me it gets better and I'll try again.