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scott1-912-252003
Reviews
Insurgent (2015)
So bad, I was irritated.
I read all three books and loved the first movie because they tried to follow the original story and did a pretty good job of it. I really like the actress and follow her in other movies. She's also from my hometown.
But this sequel simply sucked. If I were the author, I'd be angry they butchered my story.
It was obvious to me that they were squeezing the middle and last book together into some hurried mishmash of warped destruction of both. Make money quick, was the goal, I'm sure.
Just so you know, this movie is nowhere near the original story in content or quality. The original storyline is really good and the third book explains everything, when the characters go outside the fence. I won't spoil it for you and say what they find. The trilogy ends tragically, unlike this dumb movie version. I guess they were trying to dumb down the plot for what the director perceives as a YA bubblegum audience. That is really too bad, because they could have really had something.
What a disappointment.
The Age of Adaline (2015)
Outstanding film
I rarely give a movie a perfect 10, but this one deserves it. The acting was brilliant. The pace and imagery, fantastic. The dialog and plot were outstanding. This was a very emotional story and it was so well done, I watched it twice in a row, which I never ever do with any movies because then they are spoiled for me. This movie was even better the second time, because I watched it with my wife and she really liked it, which makes my experience better too. My kids (ages 11 & 13) even liked the movie, which is a feat in itself.
Blake Lively did a real professional acting job in this film. She was so very convincing, and was so perfect as the love interest for the two male characters, that I could see myself falling for this woman. If this film can accomplish that, it was extremely well done. Blake Lively is not only beautiful, but had a class and sophistication, mannerisms and even her walk was attractive.
The story was very complex, deep, historical, and very emotional because you can feel the pain bottled up in the main character (Blake Lively).
Don't miss this one. They don't make them like this anymore.
Backcountry (2014)
Mediocre film, great actress
First let me say that I cannot believe the high reviews on this film. Are you kidding me? The plot lacked any depth, intelligent dialogue, or meaning whatsoever. Basically, this was as shallow of a story as it gets. Two dummies go hiking and get lost. One get's eaten. They probably deserved it with all the stupid moves they made. I understand they are in Canada, land of the helplessly unarmed, but I would never go into the wilderness (bear country) without protection. Bear spray only works up close and personal, and only if you actually use it rather than sit there like a scared bunny...watching your significant other get mauled into a pile of guts. More unrealistic stuff... she is too scared to spray the bear or even hold the can, but she can walk back toward the bear and her boyfriend's gut pile and find the ring? And stand there for a full minute, staring at the scene? huh? Then she runs aimlessly into the woods and becomes a real Darwin candidate by tripping, falling, rolling, knocking herself out on a boulder. Yeah. She sure screams a lot while trying to escape...but since a bear can smell you from two miles away, that wouldn't matter I guess.
Dumb stuff aside, really, the only saving grace here is the hottie actress. Without her, I bet the reviewers here would have had less of an opinion of the film. And don't tell me it was her acting. She was okay, but really, you just like her pretty face. Be honest.
The tension was there, so I'll give the film that. The idiot main characters made so many dumb moves, I wanted to scream at them. So that's an emotional reaction, if the director was shooting for it.
The Irish guide exchange made absolutely no sense at all. That was thrown in like someone got bored with the script and needed something...anything to happen before the bear attack. And I thought maybe the guide was put in the script early in the movie so he could show up later...you know...to save the girl or something. Nope. Maybe the director introduced this character to show how ill equipped, dumb, insecure, and pussifyingly urban-helplessly unrugged and non-man the main actor was in that environment. This is my guess here.
I enjoyed watching the movie for two reasons. The pretty face, and the bear attack. Yes, I hoped she made it back alive, but they probably should have had the bear eat HER. Why? Because then the film would have been able to show the absolute injustices and lack of reason in the wild. The idiots survive and the innocent, pretty, halfway bright, although helpless girl is taken away right before he could propose at the end of his stupid fantasy about the Disney lah lah land he thought he was taking her to. Then you could have been outraged by the bumbling idiot who took this sweetie into the wild and got her killed. Then the Irish dude could have showed up and put him out of his misery and made it look like the bear did it, or an accident at the falls. Then you would have had something.
August: Osage County (2013)
Fantastic acting, work of art.
Art isn't always pleasant. Especially when you are looking at pure reality directly in the face of addiction, alcoholism, infidelity, and divorce. Some reviewers have complained that they thought the acting was good, but the story unpleasant. They didn't enjoy the story because of how awful the characters were, and subject matter as depressing. Well, this is what makes the film, and the character's dialog is absolutely ingenious. The first child (Julia Roberts) has a lot of pieces to pick up, and then she has to shatter them. She is the "adult" who can't stomach her mother's drug addiction, and left because of her father's alcoholism. But she returns to try and be a parent to her mother and younger siblings when her father goes missing. This all falls apart. Not because of her inabilities, but because everyone is so far dysfunctional, her efforts are in vain. Meanwhile, she has her own miserable divorce happening, along with her own child who reeks of indifference toward her. Meryl Streep is a master actress, who plays the drug addict beautifully. She is the destroyer of the family and herself, but she was raised by a real bitch of a mother in a really terrible childhood. Her husband, Sam Shepard is a cheating alcoholic who spent his early childhood years living in a car with his homeless family. Both parents are wise people, but suffer the demons of their youth. They carry this pain into addiction and coldness, which shattered their kids. The eldest daughter is the "parent". The middle daughter is a quiet mess loner, and the youngest daughter a clingy, vain woman who talks too much and gold digs to escape, no matter how terrible the fiancé' turns out to be. The absolute best part of this film is the family funeral dinner. These actors must have either rehearsed for a year, or improvised the entire scene. Either way, it was the best piece of team acting I've seen, ever. The dialog in this film was very intelligent and meaningful. I really identified with the Julia Roberts character's open thoughts about the world. Actually, I also could relate to the father and his brother in law, which is very rare for me. Most movies out of Hollywood are just too damned liberally tainted, with cliché' references to "Paris" and politically correctness. This movie did "Belize" and the argument about political correctness was realistic as hell. I really liked that Hollyweird did something right for once. In one particular scene, the aunt asks her husband to feel her sweaty back. They are playing around and that is really a director's gem in this film. It was funny and I also loved the interaction over who was drinking in the living room. The writer and director really had a grasp on real situational family dynamics. The Ferrari was hilarious and a nice touch. Lots of dark situational humor. I recommend this film to those who will understand the reason for it to exist, and for that you have to have a brain, or have been in a family situation which dealt with addiction. Remember that you are in the audience, not in the room with them, so you can take yourself out of that emotion if you want. If you decide you don't like the people/characters, you can still respect them, the acting, the situation, the masterful plot, and dynamics of the dialog. I gave this film a 10 because of the acting, humor, and realism.
Divergent (2014)
Left me thinking for days after
I took my 12 year old son to the movies on a "guys day out" last weekend. We left Mom and sister/daughter at home. Anyway, we had a great time and it was a good movie to take my kid to see. I must say this isn't a hugely serious review, but a review nonetheless. When a movie leaves me thinking about it for days or weeks after I watch it, there is something to that. There is also something to be said about how this story relates to modern present society. Square pegs go into square holes, and when someone is too divergent, they seem to suffer in our shallow, worker bee society. The movie was entertaining from the beginning to the end, however I felt like there was no closure in the final scene. This is probably because the story is a series, as it should be, if it's based on the books. I loved the way the movie made me think about myself. This is where the genius of this film blossoms. Everyone I've talked to about the film, and everything I've read on the Divergent fan site is rooted in how people feel about themselves and how they fit into our current society and culture. Because all the excitement, plot, and direction of the film is borne out of the Dauntless faction, I've noticed that everyone who's watched the movie now wants to be Dauntless. Why not? It's exciting and they are pretty bad-ass with the black clothing and tattoos. For me personally, I was Dauntless as a former cop who sports his share of ink, but now a full fledged Candor or maybe even an Abnegation since I'm one of five running our local government. Really, I'm Divergent like most people. We generally don't fit into one category as human beings and that's the moral of the story here. Human nature is eternal and cannot be curbed no matter how you structure your society. The film as a whole was really well done. The plot flows, the tension is always there, the mystery seeps in now and then, and the action is outstanding. The lead actress is pretty, yet tough and smart, but young and has a lot to learn. That is the point though. Bottom line is that I loved the movie and I'm still thinking about it a week later. I will definitely own the movie when it comes out on disc. I can't wait to play it for my wife and daughter.
I also found out that the lead actress is from my home town and went to my high school. I'm more than double her age, but it is very cool that she is from my neighborhood and went to my school. Because of this, the movie has even more meaning to it because, again, the story made me think about how I relate to this world and where I fit in.
You can also take the faction quiz on the fan site. Everyone in my family took the test. My son and I came out as Candor the honest. My wife Dauntless the brave, and my daughter Erudite the intelligent. Of course this was just for fun, but interesting because there is truth in those results. (my candor is coming out again). This movie will be very successful because it's a lot of fun and a great story.
Update (Spoilers!): I read the book and really enjoyed it. There are some differences from book to movie, but I have to say the movie (all things considering) did a great job with keeping the story in line with the book. Tris was never last on the points board. She was first initiate by the end. The stun darts were paintballs in the book. The movie skipped the very important scene with the factionless man on the street. Mom didn't sneak into the warehouse. She came to the pit on visiting day. Tris never visited her brother, didn't fight the first day, mastered the gun the first day, wasn't going to be executed by three with guns, but by drowning in a tank, etc. Lots of details left out or changed in the movie, but it was still done very well and reading the book AFTER watching the movie didn't ruin it.
Son of God (2014)
Just okay
Perhaps I expected more of a chronological narrative or plot flow to this movie, but I didn't get that at all. Basically, the movie lacked real depth and left out so much of the story of Jesus, that I left somewhat disappointed in the end. They jumped around a lot and used "visions" to explain stuff, instead of just telling the story from beginning to end. Bottom line is that it was not very well done. But for me as a Christian, there was anguish during the Crucifixion and I genuinely felt the raw emotion of the Son of God's death for our sins. I had some feel for the disciple's faith and awe for Jesus, but the movie didn't go into any detail. The story wasn't all that accurate either.
Either way, I always enjoy anything about Jesus Christ so I give this movie somewhat of a pass on how it went about telling the story. I genuinely hope that someday Hollywood will tell the story correctly, accurately and with some real depth so that people can learn about the Son of God and why those events in history are so important to Christians, world history, world events, and time.
Overlord (1975)
This movie is a work of art
Fantastic, hidden gem of a movie with artistic elements you will only find in very rare 21st century indie films. But this film is more than just artistic, it weaves superb acting with abstract imagery. Cinematography beyond compare. I've never seen anything like this...absolutely stunning black & white with mixed real WWII footage integrated into the movie. And the British Imperial war footage is not the expected randomized grainy short clip montage, in no particular pattern. These film reel shots are crystal clear, HD quality close ups of casualties, airplane machine gun attacks, explosions, bomb runs, fires from aftermath, foot soldiers, vehicles, all in context of the artistic goal, related intimately with the main character's fears, and with greater context of the current and desperate situation the Allies faced in Europe. I highly recommend this work of art for any and all film buffs.
Klondike (2014)
I liked it, but totally inaccurate
Folks, you see a number of reviews angry or frustrated with the tale because of its inaccuracies. Yes, that is true. I've read Bill Haskell's book, and he did not travel to the Yukon with a guy named Epstein. First Haskell went to Chicago and could not find good work. That's when he found himself in Colorado looking for some mining prospects. He traveled from Colorado with Joe Meeker after they met working some gold fields there. The entire story about how Bill Haskell met Joe Meeker in Dawson is pure fantasy. The gambling Epstein story is completely fabricated by writers. Bill Haskell was educated in a Massachusetts Academy from age 15 off the Vermont farm (sent by his farming father with high aspirations). After this, he denied college and Haskell worked in a Boston dry goods store. He was bored and wanted to travel west. He made it to Colorado and overheard some guys talking at a table in a restaurant. He inquired and they offered to sell him claims in a Colorado creek area. He couldn't afford a claim, but went to find those fields and met Joe Meeker there. The idea they travel to the Yukon was Joe Meeker's, not Bill's. Bill had $800 dollars saved up and between them, about $1700 total. Joe Meeker had been to the Yukon before. These were tough men, who put together a provision of 3500 lbs in San Francisco, and then traveled to Alaska, walking and surviving in brutal conditions. Bill Haskell got to Dawson before it was Dawson and he was good friends with Joe Ladue who developed the town. Bill Haskell worked for a cabin builder in Circle City for a while, after he split from Joe Meeker who stayed behind to mine in (if memory serves me right) Circle City. Haskell rode (worked on) a steamer up into the arctic circle and wrote about Eskimo hunters and other interesting sights he behold while up there. Once Bill Haskell got to Dawson, he worked in the lumber mill, built a cabin, and staked a claim on the creek...after Claim #60 down (stream) and stayed there through the winter because of all the stories he was hearing about gold finds up there. He had the claim, but wasn't convinced there was gold and had figured it was all bloated stories of fortune. The first summer and fall 1896, Haskell was actually in the "wood business" in Dawson. Joe joined him later, but Bill had another partner at the claim through the winter and it wasn't Joe Meeker, it was Joe Ladue. Haskell and his lumber yard/real estate selling partner made it rich off that claim. Before they got rich, he spent his days baking bread and helping with the claim. It wasn't until later in the summer, that they hit pay dirt. They kept those $40,000 coffee cans full of gold quiet and then they left town and went home after two years in the Klondike. Most of the gold collected up there by the miners was housed in a warehouse through the winter and went out with the steamboats in the summer months. Belinda actually married the "count", who is depicted in Klondike as an English bad guy. He was actually French and was a barber who claimed fame and royalty once he made it to Dawson. Belinda lost her first fortune to him and divorced after traveling to Paris. The divorce didn't happen until 1906, after he had kidnapped one of her kin and a bunch of lawsuits ensued over assets. She eventually made another fortune in the banking business, retired, and moved to Yakima. She died in a nursing home in Seattle in 1967 at 95 years old. She had sold her orchard and mansion in Yakima when her fortune ran out. SHE's the one with the Orchard, not Bill Haskell. Bill was noted in the Dawson town log in 1901 after he had returned, and was never heard from again. That part is true. And another truth is Joe Meeker falling through the ice and drifting down a fast river, ever recovered. Bill had left the Yukon after Joe Meeker's death. Haskell made a fortune in his claim after the brutal first Dawson winter. The Indians we saw in the miniseries was just nonsense dreamed up by the writers again. Most of the Indians either worked as pack/guides or did nothing at all, but survive. Anyway... we will never know the full story, but it was indeed fun to watch Klondike with all its Hollywood B.S. But what do you expect? The real story is so complicated and filled with real brutal harsh life, that the normal soft American audience wouldn't watch it. For what Klondike is, (a nice western), I enjoyed watching and really liked the music. I think if the writers did some real research on Bill Haskell's stories and accounts of his time in the Klondike, they could have come up with something really neat. As a published fiction author myself, I'm considering such a story.