Category: Twos

Films rated two stars out of three

Private Gold 93: The Sexual Adventures of Little Red (2007 Video)

Ladies Fair Orient, Rosy Blooms Appear A couple years ago, I criticised this team. Today I applaud them. I am studying “folding,” various techniques for putting the viewer into the narrative. We have good science that indicates mirror neurons work intensely with porn and food movies. That means when you watch, you enter in a… Continue reading Private Gold 93: The Sexual Adventures of Little Red (2007 Video)

Sherlock! (2010)

Logical Circularity This comment applies to the three, presumably the only three episodes of the BBC Sherlock! (The trend seems to be to modernise famed detectives and so denote with an exclamation point.) (After this comment was written, there would be more) I come to this as I come to any version of Sherlock because… Continue reading Sherlock! (2010)

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Bad Influence This film marked a disastrous turn in American society. No, I’m not talking about the overtly racist content. Any nitwit can see that and adjust, though I suspect that my grandchildren will decry with equal vehemence the content of the films I now casually accept. The disaster that “Birth” brought was far more… Continue reading The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

Inside the Lines In most respects, this is a conventional film. It has a lot of story, more than one dynamic development, and character portrayals way beyond the normal. Its conventionalism is also reflected in the father dynamic, pervasive these days, the social message of antiracism, and the standard final monster battle. A few jokes.… Continue reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Parasitic Nests I have a particular interest in five different cinematic styles, worlds actually. One of them I have named the Hispanic style. It is characterised by: elements of magical reality, either in supernatural physics or synchronous connections. a belief that the world is rich, fecund. Occasionally female sexuality is interwoven. Characters are both in… Continue reading Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Billy Elliott (2000)

Battle Dancer This is a replacement comment. Though the dance was passable here, the story is so vapid and unembellished, I sat there looking for another movie. And I found one, battling to get out. It was clever and true, overlooked because of the mediocrity placed in front of it. You can find the tragedy… Continue reading Billy Elliott (2000)

Cheeky (2000)

Nonchalant Openness Some films are simply about the appeal of one character. That’s all that matters. There seem to be two types: those that depend on the charm of attractive women, and those that have to work some other engagement. Often that’s the acting challenge. I’m thinking in particular of Audrey Hepburn and “Funny Face.”… Continue reading Cheeky (2000)

The Big Picture (1989)

Guest Travels in Search of an Ironic Formula As the child of intelligent film critics, Guest was poised to start a career in midstream, already aware of the dominance of irony in film. He would go on to develop and shamelessly exploit a specific, detailed formula for films about and using irony: the “mock” umentary… Continue reading The Big Picture (1989)