takethefreedway Reviews

Hotel Mumbai (2018)

Crazy, hopeless India

[7/10 · 4 June 2022]

The madness of Islam, not even a religion at all, but a war stance. The infuriating utter incompetence of India. 9 hours for special forces to arrive, from Delhi, maybe an hour away! And nobody else willing to go in.

I know this hopeless, pulsing trainwreck of a country so well. And how easy it is to suffer at the hands of it, as these poor people did.

Honestly and well portrayed in this brutal movie.

Vice (I) (2018)

The kind of devil we allow to run this world

[8/10 · 6 March 2021]

Great expose of one of the many demons too ignorant and self-absorbed to realize or care about the untold mayhem and destruction they create in this world on a massive scale for little more than their own edification. ...And the human stupidity that actually tolerates and even celebrates them. There is a special seat in hell awaiting such enemies of life. A stolen heart will only delay the inevitable.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

Great stuff

[9/10 · 2 February 2021]

Despite the acting of the main character being not so rich, the questionable inclusion of the drug fantasy, and the subject of chess so unlikely to be so interesting, somehow the simple power of the narrative and how well it is handled make this a total winner.

The Crown (2016–2023)

Brilliant, a retrospective of simpler times

[9/10 · 2 February 2021]

How they make the simplest events, and even unsympathetic characters so consistently moving. Brilliantly done

Downsizing (2017)

Much better than reviews suggest - charmingly odd characters, and offbeat wandering

[8/10 · 5 September 2020]

This is a lot better movie than the average review suggests. For a start like Damon and such a whitebread title, that only juxtaposes surprisingly with charmingly odd characters, and an adventurous theme with heart. The Vietnamese lady is priceless, and the garrulous neighbour too. But I've noticed a surprising proportion of people have missing or underdeveloped funnybones, so comedy ratings are notoriously off.

The Hunger Games (2012)

Scary image of where we are headed. Appalling lead actors

[5/10 · 27 June 2020]

A timely and scarily accurate image of where Chris Hedge's says society is being led. But seriously, how did Jennifer Lawrence win Academy awards? She has to be one of the most appalling overactors in the history of cinema! Throughout! Didn't even get any better! Only the male lead is worse, but in his case plain wooden. The two of them would barely cut it in a igh school play. These movies could have been great. Due to them, just OK.

Planet of the Humans (2019)

The great Beast swallows all. How Rightwing-driven corporatism co-opted the environmental movement

[9/10 · 23 April 2020]

Fake Green. Micheal Moore's newly produced movie about how Rightwing-driven corporate capitalism & greed bought & co-opted the environmental movement. It is an absolutely ruthless machine of lies & deception. The great Beast swallows everyone & everything. As shown in 'Out of Shadows', the way it works is only those who sell their soul get a seat at the table. That is why I refuse to take part in what is destroying the world any more than the absolute minimum. It's called Integrity. Evil has overwhelming control of this world and is driving us to destruction. Very relevant also to the alt-right citizen media that is sucking in a lot of people right now - similar phenomenon. Watch for the bait & switch. These sellouts are not real Lefties any more than Gates or WHO. It's all a fake dichotomy to keep us happy & fooled. All out best motives are used against us - an insult to our intelligence. They must have a good laugh that they really can fool nearly all of the people nearly all of the time. They did the same with alternative music in the 90's - so wash and repeat, on an every bigger scale. Then the biggie was the GFC bailouts, enabling the granddaddy perhaps, the virus....? I read 'Abandon Affluence' 25 years ago. It was the only solution then as now.

Brimstone (2016)

Well-made but misguided & irresponsible

[5/10 · 16 February 2020]

Yes, let all us not-so-smart actors and directors iirresponsibly indulge ourselves squeezing as much sick, hypocritical ugliness as we can into 2 hours, successfully leading naive people to believe it was all because of religion. But no matter how well-made the effort, it wasnt. It was the same human evil that is in many people, that gets rationalized with or without religion. The reality is evil runs more unchecked today without religion. So, the whole premise of this movie, which actually amounts to bankrolled propaganda for an even more dishonest modernity, is false, fundamentally misguided and misleading.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Good usual action. Sick underlying political agenda.

[6/10 · 29 November 2019]

For all the suspenseful hoohah, a twisted and questionable morality bankrolled this. The now evil 'activists' ask the unquestioning action figures to ask why they never ask why they save the corrupt governments from 'humanity's last hope'. This is our implied directive too. Do our bidding and ask no questions. Sickness is programmed into us at every opportunity.

Roma (2018)

All honesty spoiled by excess #metoo pandering

[6/10 · 23 October 2019]

Tries way too hard to pander to post metoo Hollywood. Both male character total bad hombres, even worse in context of pure reportage style. Great crowd period scenes, but quite dull and slow. I could just accept the lack of a why in this without the heavy handed reverse sexism. But i am sure the Director gets plenty.l of attention from the ladies.

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

Ugly distortion the real & important meaning of 'anarchy'

[2/10 · 3 June 2017]

Only saw trailer, considering to watch it, but that was enough. In what sick world are any resources at all devoted to make this pernicious junk? Worse still to probably not even be aware that it is being used to obscure and twist the legitimate meaning of the word anarchy in the minds of the people as an important political option. Disgusting, reprehensible ignorance - I don't even care what Hollywood twist might be done in the fuller plot - the very scenario does the damage. The 'artists' who perpetrate such shameful crap should stay out of the public domain and concentrate on not being part of the problem.

Birdsong (2012)

Beautiful, underrated

[9/10 · 15 November 2013]

I rarely review unless I love a movie and feel something has been unfairly rated due to some anomaly. Here I suspect the anomaly is that it will only be fully felt by people who have known something of this these level of intensity of love and death. Our world has become somewhat numbed to these things. I am lucky and unlucky enough to have had a meeting just like theirs and the story and intensity of it touched me very deeply. It is not just a matter of being open enough for these things to happen, but open enough to recognize their significance. And even in the absence of a war, for such a spiritual heart, as in the Bhagavad Gita, life will always be trench warfare on some level.

Detachment (2011)

Brilliant - deep, rich, profound

[9/10 · 16 September 2013]

Brilliant movie - .............................. deep, rich, spiritually profound, seemingly harsh and relentlessly negative, but a compressed ode to the woes of samsara. Adrien Brody has all the depth to deliver this role like so few could........................................................... A man coming to the truth that what looks like failure is ordained to lead to the detached reality. How a man can inspire the highest love simply by becoming real and true - rejoice in this trueness.................................................This is what life is for.