Testy This probably would work better for a young audience, who can relate to school, tests, and the stereotypes depicted here. It is basically a tension building project with a few side annotations: daughter and father reconciling and our heroine coming clean. Left out to dry is a victim — someone they tricked and beat… Continue reading Bad Genius (2017)
Category: New Comments
Comments made since the IMBD era, for here
3 Idiots (2009)
Five Lives and a Funeral The structure is a compelling nesting. We have the linear story of two school chums plus one who search for a lost third buddy. There are a number of twists in this that make it more than just a framing device. We get a lot of storytelling craft in how… Continue reading 3 Idiots (2009)
The Beast of War (1988)
Mechanised Urges It is fine with me for a film to be just an anti war film, without all the embellishments of the more famous ones. Because of that I will advise you to find this and let it soak in. I write this at the beginning of the second year of the Ukraine war,… Continue reading The Beast of War (1988)
Z is for Zachariah (2015)
M is for… Any film is a matter of how life is abstracted and that is especially so in science fiction. In this film, we have three primary abstractions. The world. As with many science fiction movies, they simply make the world go away, except for our three characters. We get the slightest of explanations,… Continue reading Z is for Zachariah (2015)
Oceans Eight (2018)
Poor Planning So the overarching narrative here is that our scam artist planned this to the last detail while in the slammer. With the main trilogy, we never know, but the impression is that Danny and co agily adjust as difficulties and exceptions appear. The fun is partly in discovering the plan after it has… Continue reading Oceans Eight (2018)
Truly Miss Marple: The Curious Case of Margaret Rutherford (2012)
Unembellishments If you just come to this without the Christie context, you will be appalled. If you come understanding Christie, you will be doubly appalled. Here we have a quirky actress who plays a single quirky character. The character has some appeal in most of the fictional contexts we encounter. In those films, we suspect… Continue reading Truly Miss Marple: The Curious Case of Margaret Rutherford (2012)
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Counted Only Two I guess this was inevitable. I haven’t yet seen the latest Tarantino faux western, but chose to see this instead. Roughly speaking, it is what used to be called a spoof, before referencing, extending and adding a meta level became permissible. What impresses me about this is the risk of the filmmaker,… Continue reading Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Dead over Heels (2017)
Manipulating Evidence I came to this as a mystery that would be safe to watch with my 10 year old. He had done well with some others like Poirot, Holmes. I’ve taught him to be alert in narrative engagement, so he was primed to be challenged in a contest. This is a mystery in name… Continue reading Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Dead over Heels (2017)
Goodnight Oppy (2022)
Projections on the Wall-E I work in the broad area called AI. I also spent nearly a decade attached to the space station project (before it was international), and while my time was at Houston and with the engineering side, I know the kinds of folks shown here and their energies. This story is composed… Continue reading Goodnight Oppy (2022)
The Sea Beast (2022)
Competent Navigation I am seeing many complaints about the ‘wokeness’ of elements of this. I suppose that is just how America is put together now. Some large number of vocal folks will find lucid history not to their liking. For me, I find the modern reworking of tropes from Moby Dick and Treasure Island refreshing.… Continue reading The Sea Beast (2022)