Showing posts with label TV/Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV/Movies. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Irma Vep (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Irma Vep (TV 2022): A TV series that remakes a 1996 movie of the same name, itself about the remaking of a 1916 French classic. Expect a lot of inside the movie industry references. Also a mentally unstable director and wild antics on and off set. The movie borders on the surreal. C+

Max

#VeryTardyReview

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Ferrari (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Ferrari (2023): Biopic of a point in the life of Enzo Ferrari and his wife and dead son and mistress and his son with her...it's complicated even for Italy in the 1950s. B-

In-flight

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Funny Woman (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Funny Woman (TV 2023): Dramedy about a Blackpool beauty queen in London in the 1960s, trying to succeed in a TV comedy. There are modern jokes about being gay or Black or Pakistani in London, but even those jokes seem as dated as the slapstick and jokes about sexism on a 1960s TV show. C+

Sky Max via PBS

#VeryTardyReview

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Black Bird (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Bird (TV 2022): Convicted drug dealer in prison accepts offer to entice a suspected serial killer to confess. Nice tight psychological study. Two questions were with me throughout: "Will they catch him?" and, "Will there be a plot twist?" B+

Apple TV+

#VeryTardyReview

Monday, March 11, 2024

Spaceman (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Spaceman (2024): Adam Sandler in his most restrained acting ever, plays an astronaut on a solo mission to Jupiter, going slowly crazy from loneliness and the breakup of his marriage back on Earth. Spoiler: it also has a giant alien spider...therapist? Less sci-fi than character study. B-

Netflix

Monday, March 4, 2024

Einstein and the Bomb (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Einstein and the Bomb (2024): Docudrama about Einstein's contribution and attitude towards the development of the atomic bomb. It gives insight into the man, not the scientist. Restricting dialog to words found in Einstein's speeches and papers weakens the drama in the dramatic re-creations. C+

Netflix

Monday, February 26, 2024

The Marvels (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

The Marvels (2023): Don't think about wormholes and "jump points" and the Supreme Intelligence and you'll enjoy this silly romp. Reminded me of "Everything Everywhere All at Once", Bollywood, Cats, and even Star Trek ("The Trouble with Tribbles"), all while three female superheros save the universe. B-

Disney+

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Boy Swallows Universe (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Boy Swallows Universe (TV 2024): Australian boy grows up in a broken home surrounded by deadbeat dad, drug-dealing stepdad, hardluck mom, and assorted bullies and crims. Somehow the kid manages not just to survive, but to thrive. Part fantasy, part crime story, altogether captivating. B+

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Daisy Jones & the Six (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Daisy Jones & the Six (TV 2023): Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. This is NOT Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, although the filmmakers wouldn't mind if that's what gets you to watch. The two lead singers are both selfish brats who are soulmates, but they are toxic together. It's the TV series that ends up poisoned. B-

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Society of the Snow (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Society of the Snow (2023): Spanish. Docudrama of the real life tale of survival of a plane crash in the Andes in 1972. No sensationalism. Respect for the dead and the survivors. 2+ hours of a slowly unfolding disaster punctuated by moments of sheer terror. B+

Monday, February 12, 2024

Good Grief (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Good Grief (2023): Good first movie by Daniel Levy, who wrote, directed, and starred as Marc, whose husband dies suddenly, upending Marc's life and revealing cracks in the lives of his close friends. Watching them all work through their issues is not as much of a bummer as you'd think. This ensemble would work in a sequel as a TV sitcom. B+

Friday, February 9, 2024

Gran Turismo (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Gran Turismo (2023): 2+ hour PlayStation commercial. Teen video gamer gets a chance to drive real race cars. Formulaic sports movie. Think Rocky and his grizzled trainer. The races blend together. Still, the movie manages to create suspense and excitement in the climax. That's more than I could have asked for. C+

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

The Brothers Sun (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

The Brothers Sun (TV 2024): Brothers raised an ocean apart are reunited when a gang war in Taiwan spills over to L.A. Michele Yeoh is the mother, both nurturing and steely. Lots of choreographed fights. Lots of violence leavened with humor and meet-cute romance. B-

Monday, February 5, 2024

The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures

Source: h/t DALL-E

The Academy Awards will be given out Sunday, March 10, 2024. I've seen all the nominees for Best Picture. That means my opinion means something. Right? Regardless, I've ranked the movies in order of my preference for "Best Picture."

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Dumb Money (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Dumb Money (2023): Dramatization of the 2021 short squeeze by an army of Reddit users on the hedge funds who were shorting GameStop. Movie strives to make audience root for the little guys, but in the end, whose pockets all the money ends up in is a bit murky. Movie-wise, it's so-so. But it's a fun watch. B-

Monday, January 29, 2024

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Anatomy of a Fall (2023): French. Could be titled Anatomy of a Marriage. It was troubled, but enough to murder? Was it an accident instead, or suicide? A courtroom drama where there's not enough evidence to know, so the audience has to read people, which puts a premium on fine acting. This movie has that. A-

I do have niggling questions regarding French court trials. Are people allowed to interrupt testimony and give soliloquys repeatedly? Are prosecutors allowed to use more time explaining their theory of the crime than asking witnesses to testify as to the facts of the case?

Friday, January 26, 2024

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

The Zone of Interest (2023): German. Within earshot of the horrors of Auschwitz, the commandant's family go about a happy, normal German life. For Rudolph, running a death camp is just a logistical challenge. For Hedwig, life is good. Both are indifferent and insensitive to what's happening next door. Chilling and cautionary. B+

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Echo (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Echo (TV 2024): One of the better Marvel efforts. A deaf Choctaw woman whose super power is channeling the spirits of generations of female ancestors must deal with anger issues left by the sins of the man who raised her. There's still plenty of violence but this is more of a character study. B+

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Oscar Snubs

Source: DALL-E

The 2024 Oscar nominations, as always, snub some worthy movies. This year, however, only one movie that received an "A" grade from The Wheel didn't make the Oscar Best Picture list. More on that later.

Monday, January 22, 2024

Role Play (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Role Play (2024): Kaley Cuoco plays a suburban mother who moonlights as a killer for hire, without her family's knowledge. Cuoco is unconvincing in the role, even more so when she is exposed and the movie turns into an action thriller. They should have tried a comedy. C+