unitedcapt Reviews

Sweet Virginia (2017)

Needs work

[3/10 · 2 April 2022]

It starts well and slowly builds. There's a couple little side-bars you're unsure of; 'the guy in 128...what's that about?' The dialogue suffers the same as so many movies these days. WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS WHISPERING? FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUST TALK NORMALLY. Anyway, I agree with other reviews. It seems they just decided to end it without much more work. Had much potential. Seemed a waste of time when the credits rolled.

Being the Ricardos (2021)

Could have been better

[6/10 · 23 January 2022]

I must have seen every I Love Lucy episode multiple times as a kid. I was interested to see this depiction of the real people. The story started out interesting, but Nicole Kidman never appeared anywhere close to Lucille Ball. I thought the other 3 actors were closer, especially Fred. Kidman's looks and acting just didn't cut it. I had to work too hard to imagine her as Lucille Ball. The story and drama were interesting but seemed over-cooked, making the movie too long.

211 (2018)

Good enough

[6/10 · 7 January 2022]

This movie could have been better but, unlike many these days, I watched it to the end. Some poor dialogue and maybe acting, but good storyline and suspense. At least they weren't mumbling and whispering so much like many movies these days where nobody knows what was said. However, it was odd how the police shots kept missing while the baddies didn't. But nice to see how our society was once free of masks. Except for those baddies....good old days.

1922 (2017)

Depressing, with a dialogue problem

[4/10 · 28 September 2021]

I usually trust my instincts at the beginning of movies I think are a waste of my time. This one's story kept me watching. At the end, I knew I should have just quit early. However, the most annoying part of this was Thomas Jane's speaking. Some have said this was the speech of those folks in 1922. Yet he's the only one who appears to have his jaw wired shut. His teeth never separate while he speaks, in some bizarre effort to sound authentic. All it did was make me activate the sub-titles. Many movies these days have similar problems; fast-talking, whispering, mumbling and otherwise poorly enunciated speech. I usually like King's movies; not here.

Fractured (I) (2019)

All around good flick

[8/10 · 22 September 2021]

I think I spend more time looking for movies than watching. I liked this because it was; 1. Well written story 2. Well cast 3. Well acted 4. Contained dialogue I could actually hear and understand. (what's with all the fast-talking, mumbling, whispering going on in movies?)

It held my interest to the end, and I'm hard to please. Nice job.

Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album (2000 Video)

Rubbish

[2/10 · 21 September 2021]

No doubt that Lennon was a creative, interesting musician. But it becomes quickly obvious the negative impact that Yoko Ono had on The Beatles. She is seen trying to contribute to whatever they're doing. He dutifully listens to her then goes on with his work. The people around him seem to understand they must tolerate her presence. The film itself becomes unwatchable from the boring clips of them being silly and, just boring. She clearly had her hands in this, and it's obvious without him, she is never heard from. Grapefruit? Good luck, honey. Show me the film where The Beatles privately discuss Yoko. I'll watch that one. Since I'm not on drugs, this isn't entertaining.

Breach (IV) (2020)

Just the trailer...

[1/10 · 27 March 2021]

I saw the user 3.0 rating. But, stuck in a flight having seen all else, I decided to say screw it and watch anyway. Then I weakened, and watched the trailer. I couldn't even watch that. When the trailer is so bad...maybe find a movie I just saw last week a much better plan. Bruce, people are talking.

Save Yourselves! (2020)

Rooting for the Aliens

[2/10 · 1 February 2021]

When you're on a long flight and out of options and done eating and sleeping, watch this. Like myself. The more Jack spoke, the more I was hoping for his early elimination by the second gen tribbles. Baby Jack was great. But I kept thinking my contempt for Jack has pinnacled, until he spoke again or did something. Like him finding and preparing to shoot and finally shooting that gun. Somehow, I know all of this was supposed to be funny, yet it just wasn't. Maybe bad acting, or writing, or casting, or too miserably close to the truth of our actual culture. Should have trusted my early instincts to turn it off and forced more food down.

The Trial (2010)

All good

[8/10 · 31 July 2020]

It's so hard to find a movie lately that is;

• easy to follow
• dialogue you can actually hear and understand
• a good story
• not dropping continuous, solicitous profanities for no apparent reason
• not flashing around in some bizarre time warp
• has a definitive ending that doesn't result in you wanting that small part of your life back.

It isn't a blockbuster but didn't need to be. It is entertaining and we enjoyed it.

Defending Jacob (2020)

The ending?

[4/10 · 1 June 2020]

This was an 8 episode series that's missing at least one episode. They creatively weave a story up to the very end. And then forget to include an ending. It held the suspense all the way, forcing us to consider possible endings. We didn't consider no ending. It seems like an abstract attempt at creativity in movie making that only leaves you thinking you want that part of your life back. I don't think movies or series should have a 'designer ending' that just leaves it up to the viewer's imagination. It was a well cast, well written story that builds up to an empty, meaningless ending. I gave it 2 stars, then 4 because it was well made. Loses 5-6 stars for the ending problem that rendered it a disappointment. Any of the greatest stories of all time all had SOME ending, good, bad or otherwise.

First Man (2018)

Abstract art; ruined.

[2/10 · 9 April 2019]

I kept waiting for the movie to start. It never did. The incessant background music over hushed tones and boring, clipped dialogue. This is what happens when somebody with an abstract view of the world tries to tell a simple story, and absolutely ruin it with "artistic license". Nobody talks like that, especially astronauts. I know astronauts. These people are how liberal arts/Hollywood types want them to be; running around in moody, dark, and complicated lives. The constant, weird background sounds and/or music is often so loud that you can't hear the lousy dialogue. If Armstrong was like that, he would never have been at NASA. Other scenes that seem to make no sense or have no meaning. Hard to imagine what actually got edited out; most of the movie deserved the floor. Sorry guys, you're trying too hard to just tell a simple story. Go see Apollo 13 and try again.

Hold the Dark (2018)

Worst because...

[2/10 · 7 October 2018]

One of those movies just barely good enough to keep you until the ending...at which time you've discovered there is no ending and you just wasted 2 hours. The red flag? All that whispering and hushed voices. I've seen enough of this to have known it means this is an 'intellectually deep' movie. Meaning it's crap. Another review tries to explain this depth- maybe, maybe not. Nobody is able to explain why what is happening is happening. But most of us who watch movies don't want an interpreter- just entertain us. The spoiler here; you'll hate yourself if you make it to the end.

Buried (2010)

Bad, unrealistic, but..

[2/10 · 16 July 2018]

Gave it 2 stars bacause I somehow went against my instinct to turn it off after 2 minutes and then it held me. It had some hope of becoming good so I kept watching. There never was a positive turn. All bad all the time and mostly unrealistic. I kept saying "that would never happen" or "they wouldn't have said or done that". There has to be SOME reality- not a figment of some twisted imagination right to the end. Total waste of time - wish I trusted my instinct. Movies are to be entertained, not disturbed. And it's not 'art'. It's just amateurish crap.

Killer Joe (2011)

Disturbing

[3/10 · 10 December 2016]

The movie is well made, but by the end, I found it to be so over the top with the graphic, needless violence and to a lesser degree, inappropriate sexual content.

I was enjoying the movie until it begins building to a point where it was uncomfortable to watch the exploitation of a young girl by a father-aged culprit. We are never told exactly how old she is- but she could be as young as 16, so I found this part of the story a problem.

The violence is average, movie-level action until a few scenes where it becomes too much and disturbing.

I'm sorry that our culture now finds this stuff acceptable and entertaining. I'm 59 years old and no prude, but it seems that Hollywood keeps pushing their content to places that used to be simply wrong. The millennial crowd are becoming desensitized to this and I'm sure that the younger, school aged crowd are as well. This film is not for them, but I know they watch. I don't really understand why a movie like this is accepted by the same people who feign outrage at a fraction of the violence against women and children in real life.

Time Lapse (2014)

Plagiarizing ripoff artists!

[5/10 · 13 September 2016]

I give this a 5 because I stayed with it to the end; its watchable. Kinda sorta maybe. However, it's a direct copycat of Twilight Zone season 2 episode 6: "A Most Unusual Camera". In reading the preceding reviews (this is my first- couldn't help it) that gush over the creative writing and story-telling, I wonder how these "writers" escape "Hollywood prison"? Have you noticed what happens to anyone in the music industry coming close to another tune? Major lawsuit. Why is this different? The story is SO close to Rod Serling's creation! The plot, characters, story-line, and even ending are purely copied. Shouldn't there at least be something in the credits of the writer's "inspiration"? Watch both and tell me I'm wrong.