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Reviews
Some Kind of Heaven (2020)
For Many People...
Marriage is hard. For many people, being alone is hard. Hell, being human is hard, I don't care who you are. I was very pleased there was no talk of the politics of The Villages, but you will get the gist of the place. And if you're in the right mood to see real people caught up in the human condition , I think you'll enjoy. It stayed with me for a while.
Light of My Life (2019)
Yes, Virginia, we're all in this alone...
I watched this because I like Casey Affleck and many of his movies. He wrote, directed and stars in this post-apocalyptic film (produced by his own Black Bear Pictures) where a pandemic, ten years prior, has wiped out half the world's population...the female half, save a few. Affleck's character, Dad, is charged with his eleven-year-old-short-haired daughter nicknamed Rag (for Raggedy Ann, well acted by Anna Pniowsky) who is being passed off as Dad's son. They spend their days walking the woods and forever moving their campsite and hatching escape plans if danger appears. Dad is a sweet, bedtime-story-telling father trying to raise a daughter without having the rubber-meets-the-road explanation of why she's in such danger ("Well, Honey, there's a lot of bad men out there that have these needs and"...). Dad is also a fish out of water, a pacifist in a world of a goodly number of surly non-pacifists. The good news is there seems to be no guns around, as if the virus also destroyed them (?). Hammers still work though, but this guy wouldn't be caught dead with a hammer to defend his daughter from captivity and rape. Okay, I know that sometimes I have to suspend my disbelief to enjoy a film, but as a 73-year-old enjoyer of films, this is a bridge too far.
So I try to be charitable. Perhaps Affleck's target audience is pre-teens and he's preaching a non-Disney-style cautionary tale that nice, well-intentioned adults sometimes don't know what the hell they're doing and you'd better be paying attention, as Rag does, because you just might have to save yourself. And you guessed it, Rag saves herself and Dad, with a 12-gauge-and-only-firearm-in-the-film shotgun, no less. The last scene has Dad crying, a determined-I'll-take-it-from-here-look-on-her-face Rag hugging him, fade to black.
The film looks good (shot in British Columbia) and Kate Moss is fine in the few flashbacks as dying-from-the-virus Mom. I give this six stars for old people and a solid eight for advanced pre-teens. :-)
The Five (2011)
Keep Jesse Waters - Dump Greg Gutfeld
Jesse makes me smile and has always backed Trump. Greg mocked Trump during the 2016 primary...until Trump won. Then Greg got down on his knees in front of The Great Man. A lesson learned, but too late. I don't trust him. Juan is finally gone and replaced by Harold Ford or Jessica Tarlov, both there just to collect a paycheck with half-hearted opinions. To be fair, they have to play by Fox's rules, or go the way of Juan. They're there to technically provide the Fair & Balanced motto. That's okay with me. Sometimes Geraldo Rivera shows up as the token liberal, but he's always admitted he loves Trump. He's smarter than Gutfeld. I'd give this show an 8 but it's always the same three topics. Gets a little boring.
Succession (2018)
Watch if you're fascinated by Don Jr., Ivanka & Eric
Otherwise watch Deadwood or The Leftovers or The Wire or Rome or Watchmen or almost any other show that has an 8.6 rating. This high of a rating for a so-so drama is discouraging.
Small Town Crime (2017)
Excellent - even if you've seen a film about an ex-cop before
One of the reviewers writes, "Seen this scenario of a bummed out fired cop redeem himself far too many times". Might as well say, " Seen this scenario of a sports team trying to put the ball in another team's net far too many times". Then I say, "Don't watch basketball!". Good story. Interesting characters. The Brothers Nelms made a very fun film with some of my favourite actors.
Accused (2010)
Gut-wrenching stories beautifully acted
Best to watch when your head is in a good place. Well done, Jimmy McGovern. And thank you, Acorn, for the best monthly $5 I've ever spent :-)
Deadline: White House (2017)
A wicked-smart program hosted by a witty & passionate Republican?!
I never thought I'd say that about a Republican. And Nicole has, I believe, the best panel & guests in cable news. They actually seem to really enjoy being on her show. I rate her up there with Jake Tapper, Brian Williams & Chris Wallace. She has the best laugh in television & she makes me smile while I'm learning stuff. That's never happened before :-)