Saturday, January 9, 2021
Battlefield Earth (2000)
It's the year 3000 A.D., and the Earth is lost to the alien race of
Psychlos. Humanity is enslaved by these gold-thirsty tyrants, who are
unaware that their 'man-animals' are about to ignite the rebellion of a
lifetime.
Trashy
sci-fi drama is pretty bad in almost all departments including a silly
plot and hammy performances; it actually seems like a parody, but
unfortunately, it isn't one.
Halliwell
(no star): "Asinine pulp science fiction is treated with the utmost
respect: the result is never less than ridiculous, from the aliens'
appearance to the juvenile narrative."
Maltin BOMB: "Clumsy plot, misplaced satire, unbelievable coincidences and a leaden pace trample Travolta's weird but amusing performance."
Maltin BOMB: "Clumsy plot, misplaced satire, unbelievable coincidences and a leaden pace trample Travolta's weird but amusing performance."
Friday, January 8, 2021
The Social Dilemma (2020)
Explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.
This documentary does an excellent job informing us about how social works and warning of its considerable dangers, especially the algorithms of 'positive intermittent reinforcement', but merely mentions the simple one root cause of it all: capitalism.
Thursday, January 7, 2021
The Fourth Estate (2018)
A look at how The New York Times covered President Trump's controversial first year in office.
Extensive, close-up and intimate documentation examining the inner workings of a newspaper in constant response to daily events; highly revealing, even in minor details.
Extensive, close-up and intimate documentation examining the inner workings of a newspaper in constant response to daily events; highly revealing, even in minor details.
On rewatching: still fascinating and well worth watching repeatedly.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Salon Kitty (1976)
Kitty runs a brothel in Nazi Germany where the soldiers come to "relax".
Recording devices have been installed in each room by a power hungry
army official, who plans to use the information to blackmail Hitler and
gain power himself.
Under
the pretense of saying something about the Nazi regime this film is
mainly a high-profile exploitation flick dwelling more on its sex scenes
than on any discernible message.
Halliwell (no star): "A voyeuristic movie with a gloating nastiness about it that is thoroughly dislikable."
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Monday, January 4, 2021
Challenger: The Final Flight (2020)
Four-part docuseries on the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster,
unpacking an indelible moment for a generation of Americans.
Comprehensive, informative and at times touching documentary about a major astronautical catastrophe is worth the watch, even though it doesn't add any new revelations.
Wild Guitar (1962)
A young Arch Hall, Jr. is given a shot at the big time by the
unscrupulous owner of a small record company played by Arch Hall, Sr.
(aka William Watters).
Silly,
cliche-ridden musical drama is not as bad as its credentials might
suggest: the music is OK, and Vilmos Zsigmond's camera work lifts it up a
notch.
Maltin BOMB: "Perfectly awful melodrama."
Sunday, January 3, 2021
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
When a murder occurs on the train on which he's traveling, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.
An Agatha Christie adaptation and a remake complete with a contemporary star cast simply adds production value and pace to the familiar plot, but not much more; still, it's entertaining, and has a nice touch casting Johnny Depp as the behated victim.
