needhamdave Reviews

An Unexpected Christmas (2021 TV Movie)

This one has the wonderful Bethany Joy Lenz!

[5/10 · 12 December 2023]

Lenz is such a pleasure to watch, and she was the reason I tuned in. Here, she seems to be acting double time to try and create some energy in a very dull production. The story is weak, but we all know how that works with Hallmark movies - as long as they stay on track with the basic storyline they don't have to give us much plot. However, they need to give us something more than one actress with sparkling personality. I cannot for the life of me figure out why her love interest Haynes plays his part more like he's watching (bored) with me at home than that he's playing opposite Lenz. Perhaps he got Christmas Ho-Ho mixed up with Christmas Ho-Hum. The team try's valiantly to make up for the dullness by giving us the at-one-time-off-limits LBGTQ relationship, but by the time that second couple comes together I had given up on this one.

Christmas on My Mind (2019 TV Movie)

80 minutes of frustration

[5/10 · 20 November 2023]

Girl gets amnesia. Girl can't rember why she broke up with her fiancé. Girl goes to see former fiancé with really only one significant question that needs to be answered. And since the movie has nothing much else going for it the audience will have to wait 80 frustrating minutes for the question and answer that any rational person would have had answered in the first 10 minutes of coming together. I don't know why anyone looking for entertainment would subject themselves to 80 minutes of frustration, waiting...and waiting. Not that it would matter how good the reason was after 80 grueling minutes, but even the reason is lame.

Heart of Stone (I) (2023)

Suspend your disbelief, and you'll have a good time

[8/10 · 12 August 2023]

This is a very very enjoyable popcorn movie that is suitable for all audiences. Lots of action. Characters you care about. And it will be a real breath of fresh air for those who concern themselves with MPAA ratings. I do, and I am constantly frustrated with the amount of entertainment we are given that requires that we sit through vulgar language and disgusting sex scenes. Hollywood basically gives adults two choices when it comes to streaming; 1. You will be lowering your standards so that you can watch what you are given, or 2. Don't lower your standards and watch an old movie. We should not give into the pressure to lower our standards, but we do.

Heart Of Stone is no classic, but I didn't feel dirty watching it. It is certainly entertaining. Gal Gadot is a pleasure to watch. It seems logical that if you are willing to suspend your principles to watch the schlock that is our normal fare, it should be all the easier to suspend your disbelief and just go with a, albeit improbable but, high energy, fun popcorn movie.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Is This What An Indiana Jones Movie Looks Like?

[5/10 · 9 July 2023]

After this dud, and the last one about space aliens, I no longer really know what an Indiana Jones movie is supposed to be. At one time I thought I knew. I remember being in a little theater in Pasadena, California watching the first one when it first came out. Wow! What an experience. Then there were two more Indians Jones movies that, though not perfect, had perfect pedigree firmly entrenched. Now, all these years later, the pedigree is all in the talent, but not in the storyline, and certainly not in the connection with the audience.

How could the many accomplished people behind this film not know they needed to give us characters we cared about? Doctor Jones goddaughter is in most of the film and she is just plain unlikeable. They must have known the audience would not like her because they wrote her to be the type of person that people don't like. I could be specific , but I don't want to give away plot points. But just think of traits in people you can not stand, and you pretty much know what she's like. It wasn't like she was a real person that they had to deal with. They created a character that we would not like and chained her to Jones, and to the audience, for 2 1/2 hours. I don't get it.

I liked the beginning and the end. The long, long stretch of the middle is either uncomfortable or dull or both. Dull action. Dull characters. The ending showed they knew what the audience wanted all along. So, why not give us a whole movie they knew we wanted?

Extraction II (2023)

I'm not sad I saw the first crummy one, only because it established their characters

[9/10 · 25 June 2023]

The first one of these was really not very good. It just so happens that I saw both one & two during the same week. I read that the second one was better so I rolled the dice on it, and it was great. The extended prison yard fight scene is a classic as far as I'm concerned. Throughout the movie I kept hoping for the action to ease up so I could take a breath. It was fun watching Rake against helicopters and other superior forces.

The difference between the two movies is that this one involved me a lot more, and I really felt involved with the main characters. I was already sold on the Kahn character from the first movie because she emotes so much trust and loyalty toward Rake. In this one she really gets to shine, showing those same qualities, plus an incredible toughness. And some of their lines together are wonderful.

Second Act (2018)

Big reveal

[6/10 · 15 May 2023]

Wasn't expecting a classic, but there were some big time mistakes. They made it painful to watch with too many of JLo's really bad decisions. However, the worst, and unforgivable mistake was having JLo wait to do her big reveal as a public declaration rather than privately to her daughter and the daughter's father. It played stupid because it was a ridiculous decision that seemed to go completely against the theme of the movie, which I saw as a strong female proving that street smarts is at least equal to book smarts.

When we rate a movie I think we automatically drop points based on key factors; for example - boring, a bad ending, horrible dialogue, unlikable characters, and as in this case, when there is a big reveal it is handled poorly.

Safe House (2012)

5 ninja stars

[5/10 · 22 March 2023]

There is no purpose for this picture. It doesn't go anywhere. You just watch various people shooting each other, and car chases, and people chases, and bloody fight scenes, until it ends. There is tension, but only because you think something substantial might happen, but it just doesn't.

I have absolutely nothing else to add. And yet, I am required to add another 230 characters just to finish this review. Wow! Very much how this movie was made I'd guess. They had a story worth about 200 words, but they stretched out their weak material to 3 times more than what it was worth just so the picture could meet the minimum character limit.

Glass Onion (2022)

Great movie, if you get called away and miss the last 15 minutes

[6/10 · 3 January 2023]

Loved the movie. It just kept getting more fun as more was revealed; the whole theme of peelig back the onion I suppose. Everyone was good in this movie, but I was especially impressed by Janelle Monae. She was extremely natural at playing her double part, and when the movie turned its attention to what she was up to, it was very entertaining. However, it was Daniel Craig's movie and in the last 15 minutes when Craig stepped away from the movie to allow Janelle to take over, the movie completely lost its footing. What a shame for everyone involved, but I think especially for Janelle because she comes off looking ridiculous at the end and that was not necessary. May have been the worst ending to any movie I have every seen.

Next Stop, Christmas (2021 TV Movie)

This is too, toot, cute!

[9/10 · 31 December 2022]

This one is really fun. You know how you watch some shows and it looks like the actors are having a good time, but it's a pain for you to watch, and you wish they would have made something where you could have had as good of time watching it as they had making it? Well, if you haven't had that happen believe me it's a thing, and it's unpleasant. So, with this movie it's like the opposite. It's the best of all worlds, because it's so free flowing you just know they were having a good time making it, but in this case you're having a good time too; you feel like you're part of the party. It's time travel with a train, as you know, and the protagonist keeps popping back onto the train and it is fun every time it happens. Certainly true to the Hallmark genre, but a cut above.

A Holiday Spectacular (2022 TV Movie)

Marquee event

[9/10 · 20 December 2022]

Hallmark puts their name on a dozen or more Christmas movies every year now, but informed viewers are aware that they stake their reputation on maybe just one of their Christmas movies each year. Look for it around Thanksgiving. Sure, they are happy to give viewers lots of feel good Christmas movies, but there is always one marquee entry every year that you don't want to miss. For 2022 this was the one. It has all the Hallmark superlatives, and shows them off in abundance. So basically, if you have ever watched a Hallmark movie and liked it, you will like this one.

Now, there is something else. As I write this there are very few written reviews; I think there are 19. A large percentage downgrade the movie because in it they use black actors when there were actually no black members of the Rockettes at the time period depicted in the movie. There are various reasons this is supposed to be a crime, but the main reason given is that by doing so it shows Hallmark has given into political correctness. They are "woke". They have walked away from their good traditional family values. To those who give this idea credence, it is just plain wrong headed and you give those who believe in traditional family values a bad name. When the play Hamilton came out the idea of using black actors in traditional white roles was novel, but the more we have seen it the more it makes sense. We shouldn't be excluding black actors from projects because of their race if they are the right fit for the roll. You can criticize all you want if you find an actor wrong for the roll, or if anything politically correct is obviously being shoved down our throat when we just came to be entertained. Neither of those things are evident here. It's a movie. If it's made so that it looks more like what we are used to today that is no crime.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Return to a world you've been before, several times before

[7/10 · 18 December 2022]

I try to figure out what I would rate this movie as a stand alone, but I just can't do it. I have to compare it to the original, and by that comparison it does not measure up.

The important thing this movie lacks, that was so special in the first, is that movie had heart. Cameron introduced us to a whole new world, but more than that he gave us a story that made us care about those people. He made me care deeply and that is why the first move is such a favorite of mine, and I suppose why it has made more money than any other film ever. This new movie has sweet characters, but we care about them only as much as we care for any character we know is just a fictional bit of storytelling. That is one way this movie really takes a hit. But that is not the only way. When I bring up the idea of this movie as a stand alone it is not just the first Avatar we would have to ignore, but also the other movies that it draws from so heavily. Titanic. The Abyss.

Which brings up another issue. Cameron has done some amazing, creative work. This movie was amazing for its visuals, but otherwise the creativity seems to have been spent. I am left to think that Cameron wants to do Avatar movies for the rest of his life because what he has done before is all he's got left.

There are so many holes in the story here that it shocks me it took him 13 years to put it together. Sully acts out of character. Issues arise that come up but go nowhere. The story is sloppy.

Still, it is edge of your seat stuff. It is very entertaining. It is gorgeous. I did care about the characters, albeit only on a surface level, not deeply. If I didn't have to compare it to my favorite movie - which has so much heart that I love the way it makes me feel when I watch it over and over again - then it would be easy to be less critical.

A Christmas Spark (2022 TV Movie)

Jane is radiant

[6/10 · 9 December 2022]

Jane Seymour is radiant. Pairing her with her Dr. Quinn co-star was a great idea.

Can you imagine being in the position where you have this to start with and then all you need is a decent script; getting a writer who appreciates what they have to work with? I believe I have a clear vision of what it was like writing the script for this movie. They have an idea for a script that is so trite they realize they have to come up with a whole new script, and they are on the clock having very little time to get it done. Not having a creative bone in their body what they come up with is to have the leads involved in a play with a terrible script where they are forced to come up with a replacement script in two weeks. They succeed but when we see the final product it turns out to be imbecilic. That's it! That's the whole plot!

Quite disappointing.

Disenchanted (2022)

Just too scattered

[4/10 · 19 November 2022]

I think they tried to do too much here. The plot became convoluted and downright dull. I loved the idea of this movie and I hate to give it a 4/10, but when you watch something that is supposed to be fun, and you are fighting to stay awake, you can't honestly be very very generous. They didn't need so many plot lines. Stick to the basics would have been valuable advise here.

There were positives, of course. The evil cat was genius. Amy is still lovely. The songs are fine. The choreography was fun. Patrick Dempsey played his little heart out. But when you start to put your audience to sleep there is a major problem.

Stranger Things: Chapter Nine: The Piggyback (2022) Season 4, Episode 9

Total downer

[3/10 · 29 October 2022]

The season built slowly, and by the 7th episode it was as good of television as anyone could want. I was very excited to see how the final episode would wrap things up; give us some needed closure. But it didn't do that at all. It ended in anxiety and by either killing off or maiming some of its most enjoyable characters.

By the looks of the general ratings here, closure is not what people want. I do. I expect it. I expect the creators of shows like this to put the work in to come up with an ending, and then if they are blessed enough to get the money to produce more episodes then come up with new beginnings. This was the lowest bar for a series to reach in going forward.

There were exciting pieces of this episode, but as a final episode of season 4, it was a failure.

The Old Man: I (2022) Season 1, Episode 1

Very uncomfortable with this

[3/10 · 28 October 2022]

If you're a people person you probably won't like this show. Maybe if you're a dog person, I don't know. But the way the Old Man feels a need to kill the people who are not allowed to kill him is unpleasant to me. I was uncomfortable with this and I won't be watching anymore.

I think it's silly the way the characters keep saying, "who is this guy?!" Like he's some kind of super spy when he is really rather clunky at everything he does. It is obvious he has not formed a plan as any super spy worth his salt would have.

I enjoy shows where I can get behind the protagonist. That is not happening here.

Please Stand By (2017)

Why is this movie a ten

[10/10 · 2 October 2022]

As a sweet film about autism I rate this movie a perfect 10 for what it portrays. It checks all the boxes for entertainment with an excellent story, script and acting. But that is not the reason I feel the need to write a review. I found the film a meaningful metaphor about life, and it is the metaphor that sticks with me. We are carried along with the main character to meet all kinds of people, and it is not hard to identify them as the types of people we, too are exposed to throughout our lives. Some will by their nature want to help us on our way. Some will put up barriers just out of spite. That is the scale, and most will be somewhere in between. Our mission is to make it through life no matter the situations we encounter.

I liked the movie a lot for the wholesome entertainment about an important subject. I loved the movie for its power to make me think and evaluate my life from both the perspective of the protagonist, and from the perspective of each person she comes in contact with.

Cruella (2021)

Surprisingly substantial

[9/10 · 14 March 2022]

I was prepared for Disney fluff and I was going to be ok with that. But about 1/2 way through the movie it dawned on me that I was watching something substantial. Both Emma's were giving wonderful performances, as if they were chosen because of their proven acting talent and not just their star power. They were given the gift of an excellent script and a very engaging original story. The movie had ancillary characters who would normally be written as slapstick oafs, which I alway find annoying; but no oafs here. This I really appreciated. Would that more directors knew we don't equate humor with characters who show a complete lack of self respect.

I will be going into Cruella II with high expectations based on the creativity and talent I saw here.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

Watched all the way through so I'm kind of an expert on this movie

[4/10 · 11 January 2022]

I'm writing this review on the same day I read that the movie is set to lose 100 million dollars for Warner Brothers. Wow! No matter how much I didn't like the movie, at least I'm not out 100 million dollars. I try to think if there was maybe a better way for Warner Brothers to lose 100 million dollars and I think this movie was a pretty reasonable way. I do wonder if they read the script before they greenlit the thing, and they said, "We can't possibly lose more than 100 million dollars on this movie, so let's do it!" And now they are patting themselves on the back because if they'd have lost any more than 100 million dollars somebody'd have some explaining to do. So, my recommendation is to not watch the movie, because on a scale of what this movie is worth to the average movie goer, I'd put it at right about minus 100 million dollars.

A Kiss Before Christmas (2021 TV Movie)

Very fun

[8/10 · 18 December 2021]

I liked this movie a lot. When reworking a tried and true story like this one it is all too easy to be lazy, cheep and sloppy in the casting and the telling, but no such issues here. I found every aspect to best effort. That and some clever creativity is really all that is necessary when you are just finding a new fun way to tell a story that has been told before many times in many ways (I could make quite a list of these Christmas movies where all indications are they sold an idea, took the money and then got lazy and sloppy, and proceeded to turn out a mediocre effort). The story here is entertaining throughout and there is so much great chemistry between the actors.

West Side Story (2021)

So much to work with, too many mistakes

[6/10 · 15 December 2021]

Just saw the movie on a Tuesday night after it premiered over the weekend, so I know the movie had a soft opening. The reviews have been good so my take on the soft opening was that everyone knows the movie is a downer and that's not what people want to spend their money on. That, and there are no marquee names in the movie. Now the only hope to turn a profit is word of mouth, and sorry to say the word from my mouth is not so good. Not that the movie is bad, but Spielberg had so much to work with here, and on an unlimited budget, I think we should expect him to at least not screw up the things that worked in the original. Unfortunately he did that in some very disappointing ways. He took away one of the most powerful duets and gave the song to the only person who had a weak voice. He horribly moved an important song from the beginning of the original movie and placed it where the happy little tune stops the movie momentum dead in its tracks, then he depends on momentum to for audience buy in to carry through to the end, but the momentum is gone. And to be honest, the original movie used Rita Moreno for all her incredible gifts; her performance in the original is one my very favorites of all time, but Spielberg didn't know what to do with her here. She starts out strong but her performance goes downhill with the rest of the movie.

There are a lot of things to like here. But in the final assessment, given the material, this was a failure.

Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb (2020)

Difficult to sustain consciousness

[5/10 · 28 September 2021]

I am always up for watching a slightly fictionalized movie like Indiana Jones, being mesmerized by his Egyptian exploits. I don't generally (alright, ever) watch documentaries and the reason is because this is what I expect they are all like. I watched this one as part of my preparing to visit Egypt. I rated this documentary right down the middle because - even though I was incredibly bored, and almost had an anxiety attack wanting them to just get to the point - I wondered if perhaps boring might be a good representation of Egyptian archeological work. If so, this was done brilliantly. If not, then it wasn't very good.

Time Lapse (2014)

This movie will stay with you

[3/10 · 3 June 2021]

When a movie stays with you it's not always a good thing. Being a sensitive soul I found the movie disturbing, and since the story itself has no redeeming qualities it was not worth lingering disturbance. It has a clever premise, but certainly not an original one. The acting was great, but to what end? My advice would be to leave this one alone.

National Velvet (1944)

Mom's wisdom

[10/10 · 23 May 2021]

I intended to go through life without ever watching this horsey movie because I don't watch horsey movies. But one day when I was with my wife and 94 year old mother I relented, leaning on the past proven wisdom of the two ladies.

I loved this movie! It is so well done, well written and acted. Even the horsey story line had me riveted.

One other thing that I can't help but dwell on comes from all of the wise advise Liz Taylor's character gets from her film mom. Those are some of the best scenes in the movie. I could not help but think that if Liz herself would have taken that same advise in life like her character did in the movie I think she would have been a much happier person.

The Vast of Night (2019)

The Vapid of Night

[3/10 · 25 March 2021]

Taken as a whole this is a dull little film. Individually, the actors do an excellent job with their parts and it succeeds at placing us in the 1950s. But for what? The story itself goes nowhere. It's like it was enough for those who made the film to merely set the ambiance. Like it was a film school project and ambiance would give them a b- and that was good enough. I think as an audience we have seen so many of these kinds of films that we deserve some creativity in the story. Story wise there was nothing we haven't seen before in other dull sci-fi films. Maybe film school would give this picture a b-, but I was not looking for technique. I wanted the story to go somewhere. And for that, 3/10 stars is justified.

Shazam! (2019)

Just say Shazam and you're an idiot

[5/10 · 1 February 2021]

Let me explain my main gripe about this movie. The young hero here is very likable. He looks and acts like a cool 16 year old kid. Then he turns into Shazam and suddenly he is an adult that acts like a two year old. Maybe if the old Wizard who gave him the power would have explained something like, "My son, when you say the name Shazam you will gain incredible powers beyond your imagination. However, there is this minor downside that you will become a nerdy, incompetent, immature whiny baby too." This is a major flaw in the movie. It is annoying. Either someone was grossly miscast or somebody needed to tell these two actors to coordinate. As it is it looks like just what it is in reality: two different actors taking their scenes in their own conflicting directions.