Wild Prairie Rose

 Wild Prairie Rose (2016)

Directed by Deborah LaVine

Screenplay by Sharon Greene

Stars: Tara Samuel, Troy Kotsur, Suann Spoke, Betsy Berenson, and Maya Brattkus

I was scrolling on twitter and saw that Troy Kotsur retweeted this movie. He said that it was his first independent movie before breakthrough role in CODA.

The movie takes place in 1952 where Rose (Samuel) comes back to her childhood town somewhere in South Dakota to take care of her ailing mother, Pearl (Spoke). As the mother deals with arthritis, Rose comes up with an idea to make a movie for her mother. Rose enlists the help of local repairman, James (Kotsur) to film the movie. She realizes that James is deaf, not dumb as the townspeople think.

My thinking is that this was a TV movie at some point. The movie feels like a ION/Pureflix type of movie. The beginning of the movie is a slog to get through. The movie really starts when Rose meets James.

I'm not saying that the movie is great. The movie is cute. Perfectly fine.

 

Rating: 6/10

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! (1955) 

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig

Based on the stage musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on the play, "Green Grow the Lilacs" by Lynn Riggs

Stars: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, Eddie Albert, Charlotte Greenwood, and Barbara Lawrence

Full disclosure. I have never seen a live version of Oklahoma! I am familiar with a couple songs, but nothing else.

When I read the byline of the movie, I was expecting something along the lines of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or Fiddler on the Roof (both of which I have not seen, but I heard rumblings about them.) 

 This movie is more about two sets of love triangles. One with Curly (MacRae), Laurey (Jones) and Jud (Steiger) and the other with Tom (Nelson), Ado Annie (Grahame) and Ali (Albert). I was more interested in the first triangle than the other. One of the biggest problems of the movie is Ado Annie. I hated her character.

The other gripe I had with this movie is the dream ballet sequence. It went on forever-- at least fifteen minutes. I hated all of it.

This was solid movie with obvious flaws.

Rating: 7.5/10

Deep Water

Deep Water (2022)

Directed by Adrian Lyne

Screenplay by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson

Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith

Stars: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Dash Mihok, Rachel Blanchard, Jacob Elordi, Brendan Miller and Finn Wittrock

This movie was touted as a a return to form for director, Adrian Lyne to his sexual thrillers from the 80s. This movie is not a big weekend blowout party, but a person sitting at home in the dark say, "whoo."

This story about a couple Vic and Melinda (Affleck, de Armas) who seem to have a picture perfect life, but something dark and sinister in under the surface. Melinda is a serial cheater and Vic is privy to it. Vic wants to stay in the marriage for the sake of their kid. Maybe? Who cares?

This was boring. Seriously. The movie was so dull and lifeless that I was checking my phone, leaving the room to do something more interesting than watching this movie. For years, I did not get the Affleck that he got. Now, I understand why he gets it. He doesn't embody the characters. He is saying lines. No emotion, no nuance in his performance here. My face was the facial expressions that Vic had.

I do not like this movie. The "action" starts in the last twenty minutes of the movie. It was sloppy. Stupid. Dumb. Idiotic. There was a glaring continuity error during the climax of this movie. I had to pause the movie and watch it again. Nobody saw it. The director or editor saw it. Face palm.

Rating: 1/10

Top Ten Favorite Movies of 2021

 Here is my list for my favorite films of 2021:

 

10.

The Hand of God

 

9.

Dune

8.

Drive My Car

7.

Licorice Pizza

6.

tick, tick...boom!

Short Term 12

Short Term 12 (2013)

Written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Stars: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Stephanie Beatriz, LaKeith Stanfield, and Frantz Turner

This movie was recommended for me from Film Twitter. So, thank you for turning me onto this movie. I have never heard of it until earlier this month.

This movie tells the story of at-risk youth counselors Grace and Mason (Larson, Gallagher Jr)  as they try to navigate keeping their relationship private and helping the kids in their care.

LaKeith Stanfield was a standout in this movie. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his supporting performance.

The unlikely friendship between Grace and Jayden (Dever) was the heart of the film.

The performances across the board were solid. I had a problem with the third act of the film. It seems like Malek's character, Nate didn't have that much to do. I thought he would have a substantial role in the movie.

Rating: 7.5/10

Terrible Movie Thur - Friday - Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich

Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich (2013)

Written and directed by Philip Gardiner

Stars: Philip Berzamanis, Jane Haslehurst, Bob Lee, Nathan Head, Rudy Barrow and Jack Burrows

There is a reason why this review is coming out in the wee hours of the morning on Friday. I was watching this "movie" and I was so bored that I fell asleep 45 minutes into this 77 minute "movie."

Where do I start? The plot of this "movie" is a British agent, Alpha One (Berzamanis) discovers a plot that some members of the 3rd Reich survived WWII as they are intertwined with occult forces to make a 4th Reich. I guess?

The movie was trying to be like a Jason Bourne movie, but not. Maybe a Splinter Cell game, but failing spectacularly.  It was part Sopranos, but only the therapy scenes with Dr. Melfi. There was random bullshit was on the screen whether it was numbers, yellow or blue god rays, lenses flares galore or anything.

You cannot hear the actors most of the time, because the sound was inaudible. The royalty free music that was used overpowered the speech in this. I tried to put on closed captioning, even the dictation gave up trying to figure out this garbage. I did know what was happening. The fighting choreography was atrocious. The plot was nonsense. Maybe the sleep fairy was sparing me from enduring anymore of this abysmal experience.

The only good thing about this movie is you saw Berzamanis shirtless. That's it.

Rating: .5/10

Flugt

Flee (2021)

Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Written and starring: Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Amin Nawabi

I thought I was done with watching Oscar movies this year, but I had to see this one that has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Animated Feature (?) and Best Documentary Feature.

This movie tells the story of Amin about his harrowing journey from being smuggled out of Afghanistan during the rise of Taliban during the late 80s.

I understood why Rasmussen chose to make the film animated because Amin wanted to protect his identity and those of his family that are placed in different parts of Europe. I get that. I don't know the criteria for Animated Feature, but there are parts of the documentary that are not animated.

The structure of the film is mix between recorded conversations and reenactment of events. I love this movie, but I had a couple gripes with it. I wish I learned more about how Rasmussan meet Amin. Where did they meet? How did he know about Amin's story? I felt that the movie was blase with what happened to Amin's family. The movie was also blase with Amin and his relationship with his partner, Kasper.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Adam Project

The Adam Project (2022)

Directed by Shawn Levy

Screenplay by Jonathan Tropper and T.S. Nowlin & Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldaña, Catherine Keener and Alex Mallari Jr

I was entranced in the Oscar season that I wanted to see a regular movie. This came out recently and I wanted to check it out.

The basic premise of the film is that Big Adam (Reynolds) time travels from 2050 to 2022 which he stumbles upon his younger self (Scobell) as they try to figure out how to get back to his own timeline.

Reynold's sarcasm can be hit or miss in movies. If he is playing the merc with the mouth or playing a vampire killer with nice abs, good. If he is playing a fighter pilot with a green construct suit or playing a romantic lead, it falls flat. I enjoyed the humor in this movie.

This preteen boy is dealing with a lot with bullies in school, dealing with being the smallest sixth grader alive or having to live without his father.

The dynamic between Young and Big Adam is the anchor of the movie. Without that rapport with each other, this movie was have not worked as it did. The third act of this movie was a lot to take in. Some people would think it was mushy. I enjoyed it. Reminds me of Field of Dreams. 

The biggest strike against this film is the serious rotoscoping of one of the characters. Took me out.

Rating: 7/10

Terrible Movie Thursday - A Million Little Pieces

A Million Little Pieces (2019)

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson

Screenplay by Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Based on the "memoir" by James Frey

Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thorton, Giovanni Ribsi, Odessa Young, Juliette Lewis, Dash Mihok, Ryan Hurst and Charlie Hunnam

The title of this movie sounded very familiar to me. I could not for the life of me remember where or when. Then, I remembered that this "memoir"-- I am using memoir in quotes for a good reason-- was figured on The Oprah Winfrey Show around 2003. Three years later, it was revealed that the situations in the "memoir" were exaggerated or completely fabricated.

I thought that it was weird why make a movie out of this. Whatever. Here we are. This fictionalized events center around 1993(?) when 23(?)-year-old James (ATJ) as he hits rock bottom with his addiction to drugs, alcohol, and pills. The whole movie is about his choppy road to recovery.

I am unfamiliar with the filmography of STJ. This is not the best introduction to her oeuvre. I understand that she wanted to go for the depths of addiction and show its ugly side. Fine. Sometimes, the movies fell into melodrama with James' tantrums, his relationship/friendship/kinship with Lilly (Young) and the relationship with his brother, Bob (Hunnam). 

 The visuals were not impressive to me. I had a real issue with Ribsi's character, John as this fey man that wants to jump on James' bone. Perpetuate those stereotypes that all gay adjacent men want to fuck all straight men and we are trying to convert everyone. Forever eye roll.

The only reason I watched this movie was to see ATJ naked. Go to Mr. Man to save you all the trouble of watching his. That's all.

Rating: 2/10

Terrible Movie Thursday - Manos: The Hands of Fate

 Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)

Written and directed by Harold P. Warren

Stars: Harold P. Warren, Diane Adelson, Jackey Neyman, Tom Neyman and John Reynolds

During my research of this movie, I found out that there was a MST3000 episode. I need to watch it. It would make the movie somewhat enjoyable to watch this awfulness.

I understand that this movie is a cult classic. Wow. This is a home movie that accidentally had a theatrical release.

If you don't know anything about this story, it's about a couple, Michael (Warren) and Margaret (Adelson) are driving out in the desert with their kid, Debbie (J. Neyman) when the family stumbles upon this building? farm? commune? where a cult lives.

I was confused. Were the actors lines dubbed? The dialogue was not syncing with their lip movements. Why was Torgo (Reynolds) dressed like a hobo? Was The Master (Neyman), Manos? Was he worshiping Manos? Was Manos a god? What happened at the end of the movie? Why the hell happened?

For a movie that was sixty-eight minutes long, there were some boring parts.

Rating: 1/10

2021 Best Picture Rankings

 Now that I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees, I will rank them from least to most enjoyable.

 

10.

Nightmare Alley

9.

Belfast

8.

King Richard

7.

The Power of the Dog

6.

Don't Look Up

Licorice Pizza

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper

Saying this off the bat, I hate the title. I do. I really do. What the fuck does licorice pizza mean? Whatever. This is the last Best Picture nominee that I needed to see. I like the movie, but I think the movie has some problems.

The dynamic between Gary (Hoffman) and Alana (Haim) was good. I was getting a little iffy with it because their a ten year age difference between the two. I didn't want an underage romance. The two leads are friends, but I have no idea why they are so jealous of each other when they are with other people.

My biggest problems of the movie were the cameos of Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper. They dragged the movie down. I was getting pissed off with them. I wanted them to go away. The third act fell apart for me. It dragged on. I was getting frustrated. There was also a problematic scene with an Asian character in this movie. I physically winced.

Rating: 7.5/10

Doraibu mai kâ

Drive My Car (2021)

Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Screenplay by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe 

Based on the short story, "Men Without Women" by Haruki Murakami 

Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Park Yu-rim, Sonia Yuan, Masaki Okada, Satoko Abe, and Jin Dae-yeon 

I was eagerly anticipating this movie's release when the Oscar nominationscame out. I have the praise this movie got. I went into it with high expectations and I was disappointed.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate the movie, but I think movie should not have been three hours long. I can sit through a three hour movie-- no problem-- but the movie has to keep my attention. This movie did not keep my attention. The film was a series of long monotonous monologues. By hour two, I could barely keep my eyes open.

The prologue of the movie aka the first forty could have been cut out entirely. The long pauses were cringe-worthy. I did not like a particular character in the movie, Kôshi Takatsuki (Okada). Whenever he was on screen, I wanted to have him gone. 

If the movie focused more on the budding friendship with Kafuku (Nishijima) and his driver Misaki (Miura), I would have been more enjoyable.

Rating: 7/10

Terrible Movie Thursday - Surf Nazis Must Die

 

Surf Nazis Must Die (1987)

Directed by Peter George

Screenplay by Peter George and Jon Ayre

Stars: Gail Neely, Barry Brenner, Dawn Wildsmith, Micahel Sonye, Joel Hile, Gene Mitchell, Tom Shell, and Robert Harden

Every since I watched Noah's Shark, I am fascinated by bad movies and how many ways that failed at being a film. I'm testing out a review once a week to highlight those disasters of cinema called Terrible Movie Thursday. I'm workshopping that title.

This movie was recommended me from my bad movie reddit group. I have never heard of the Troma Group, now I do. The trailer was very misleading. I was disappointed.

That title alone sold me. Surfers, not so much Nazis and them getting killed. I thought it was be a blackploitation movie. Not really. The movie is about a gang of surfers called the Nazis that try to take over a beach after an earthquake destroy part of their turf. There are also surfer gangs. 

 The trailer made it seems that the mom (Neely) was gonna pick off each member of the gang one by one. That's not what happens. It was mostly a boring gang war between the gangs. 

The only saving graces of this film are ogling the fit bodies of Adolf (Brenner) and Brutus (Mitchell) and the last fifteen minutes to keep my attention.

Rating: 2/10