LAERTE-SE - Laerte Coutinho. Documentary on the Brazilian cartoonist and now transgender Laerte. She is now mid-sixties and didn't cross gender until 2009. I've never heard of her but she is well known in Brazil for magazine and newspaper comics. Still not on hormones and no surgery planned, didn't even change her name but lives full-time as a woman and passes fairly well. Many of her comics shown but need English sub-titles unless you can read the Brazilian Portuguese. Quite interesting getting a 3 on the Moizmeter.

ALL WE HAD - Katie Holmes, Stefania LaVie Owen, Eve Lindley, Luke Wilson, Richard Kind. Katie's directorial debut about an aimless woman and her 14 yr old daughter. Always packing up “all we had” into their beater and heading nowhere in particular, they break down in a small town and for the first time, start taking roots, altho not without many troubles. A little tedious at times getting a 2 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

Farscape , I just started the third season. Each episode keeps getting better. It is riveting.

Panfilov's 28 Men A high quality war film made on a modest budget (indeed crowd funded) that is better than Saving Pvt Ryan It is a legendary story that was much exaggerated for wartime propaganda, but a very good movie and a fine story. Remember as said in The Man who shot Liberty Valence “when the legend becomes history, print the legend.”

bravo1102 wrote:
Farscape , I just started the third season. Each episode keeps getting better. It is riveting.

That was the greatest tragedy of the show. :(
It kept getting better and better and then… poof, gone.
Who cares about Firefly? It never really gave us much and we didn't lose much. With Farscape though we lost SO much more.

moizmad wrote:
LAERTE-SE - Laerte Coutinho. Documentary on the Brazilian cartoonist and now transgender Laerte. She is now mid-sixties and didn't cross gender until 2009. I've never heard of her but she is well known in Brazil for magazine and newspaper comics. Still not on hormones and no surgery planned, didn't even change her name but lives full-time as a woman and passes fairly well. Many of her comics shown but need English sub-titles unless you can read the Brazilian Portuguese. Quite interesting getting a 3 on the Moizmeter.

Sounds very interesting!

I just sat down and completed watching all the episodes of Master of None Season Two in one evening (on a work night!) I really liked the first season, but season two was so much more. It was a beautiful work that had a storyline and flow that reminded me a lot of Louie. It brought up interesting concepts like modern day dating using apps, religion, and relationships.

My favorite part of the series was the usage of different languages. There was a whole half-hour block where people were communicating in ASL. In addition, Italian was used frequently.

I am really happy that a show like this exists because it shines a better light on millenials instead of a derogatory one.

CHRISTINE - Rebecca Hall, Tracy Letts, Michael C. Hall, Maria Dizzia. Based on true story of TV newscaster in Florida. She wanted bigger stories but her boss had her covering flower shows etc. She also suffered from depression, still a virgin, socially awkward and a bit of a plain jane. Super performance from Rebecca, they had her drabbed down, wig, bushy eyebrows, no glam make-up. Leads to stunning finale. A 3 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

Key Largo. The John Huston movie with Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and more. Sometimes you gotta sit down and remind yourself what a four star movie looks like.

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN - James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Andrew Scott and can't remember actress' name (her part was totally unnecessary anyway). New take on the old story from Igor's (Radcliffe) point of view. For starters, Frankenstein's assistant's name was NOT Igor, it was Fritz! The new monster had nothing on Boris Karloff and was only there at end. Didn't capture my imagination altho I always like Andrew Scott in anything. A 1 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

LITTLE FISH - Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, Dustin Nguyen. From 2005. Near Sydney, Cate and just about everyone she knows is struggling with heroin addiction. I found it hard keeping track of who related to who but basically Cate is drug free for 4 years and trying to start her own business but can't raise the cash. Dustin has just returned from my town Vancouver, and he really was here doing 21 Jump Street many years ago, and he fools Cate into thinking he's a stockbroker and can raise her cash, but he's really a drug-dealer and things get messy. I got lost at end with the bit about “the money” and may have to watch again. A 3 on the Moizmeter.

PASSENGERS - Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne. Interstellar spaceship is carrying 5258 folks to a new life on distant planet. Chris' sleep pod awakens him only 30 years into 120 year journey and no way to return to hyper-sleep. All alone he awakens J Law which condemns her to same fate. Things start to go wrong. Sheen is robotic bartender and Fish is Captain who also awakens early but is not well. Apparently ship is travelling at 50% of light-speed which made me wonder how Chris' space walks were possible, was he also zapping along at that speed outside ship? Not much action and no monsters but a love story betwix Chris and Jenn, getting a 3 on the Moizmeter.

THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER - Tom Sweet, Berenice Beju, Liam Cunningham, Robert Pattinson, Stacy Martin, Yolande Moreau. Directed by actor Brady Corbet (Funny Games). Little boy Tom, who looks like a girl, deals with disinterested parents in 1918 France. Spends alot of time alone, has a few tantrums. I had to sleep on it to figure out ending and I think I have. Hint: Pattinson is the clue. A 3 on the Moizmeter.

THE LOBSTER - Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, John C. Reilly. Some say this is funny, not this woman, more like too stupid for words. At 2 hours I should be given an Oscar for sticking it out, kept hoping it would make some sense but notta, gets a 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

moizmad wrote:
THE LOBSTER - Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, John C. Reilly. Some say this is funny, not this woman, more like too stupid for words. At 2 hours I should be given an Oscar for sticking it out, kept hoping it would make some sense but notta, gets a 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

I liked The Lobster. I thought it hilariously deflated the mystique of romantic love in our society. I am guessing that whoever wrote it has not had good luck in their intimate relationships.


I am just starting in on the latest season of “Orange is the new Black”. It has been my favorite TV show since season one, but I feel that this season is a little bit improbable. It's supposed to portray a prison riot, but it feels more like a picnic.


I also recently saw “Akounak tedalat taha tazoughai ” (Rain the color blue with a little red in it) (2015), which is a Touareg adaptation of Prince's “Purple Rain”, set in Niger, and scored with the music of Mdou Moctar


Another good one is “Kiki” (2016) which is a documentary of New York's underground LGBTQ dance scene. It's sort of like the 2016 sequel to “Paris is burning” (1990)

Just a note to @Moizmad: I really enjoy your mini reviews, what with their straightforward plot summaries, minus spoilers, and rationales for your conclusions. I don't always have the same viewing experience, but I do enjoy your insights.


—
I recently binged on HBO's Westworld. I never saw the original film, although I remember seeing the film's promos. At the time I was 180 from being attracted to a horror film with a western setting. But when I get pneumonia I find I'm open to new experiences so I checked it out.

It has the expected HBO trademarks: great dialogue, good pacing, great acting, and a penchant for nudity (because it's appropriate to the story point and because ‘WE CAN! WE’RE HBO!). All in all, a nearly flawless production. It successfully suspended my reality.

So I liked it, and didn't. Wonderful eye candy, but so sad. The ending satisfied, but in the current political climate, it was also especially haunting. Also, I believe physical condition colors perception and, even though I'm recovering nicely, the pneumonia probably factored into my assessment as well.

I recommend it, but it hit too close to home for me – I won't be upset if this is the only season.

SNOWDEN - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, Zachary Quinto, Rhys Ifans, Shailene Woodley. Follows the career of Edward Snowden (JGL) who joined the CIA as a computer expert, working out of various international locales and promotions. Also his personal relationship with gf (Shailene). Then his discovery of his government's Big Brother activities which lead him to blowing the whistle and subsequent hideaway in Russia. Hey, maybe he was in on the Trump/Russian election hack? A bit lengthy and a bit tedious for me getting a 2 1/2 on the Hack-O-Meter.

EXTRAORDINARY: THE STAN ROMANEK STORY - Documentary. Stan claims he's been abducted by aliens many times, and provides the usual shaky, blurry, out of focus footage as proof. Any smart phone could provide pictures a thousand times better than that piece of crap he has. So these aliens travel thru inter-stellar space just to bug this guy by peeping in his window? And that alien was so phony it would have had me on the floor laughing. After an hour and 3/4 the only thing he convinced me of is that he craves attention. A 1/2 on the UF-O-Meter.

Digging these Moizmad reviews!

Better Call Saul season 3 -

Funny, suspenseful, poignant and sad, Saul Goodman is well on his way to becoming the slimeball lawyer he will be in Breaking Bad. He's not there yet; it's a two steps forward, one step back kind of transformation. This was the best season so far, with some events that are sticking in my mind still. A+ filmmaking on all levels.


The Honeymoon -

Newlyweds go to the bride's family lake house in the middle of nowhere. Creepy stuff happens. What's going on? The answer is way less intriguing than the question of what's going on. I saw that the film got a lot of bad reviews, but I liked it quite a bit. It relied on dread and suggestion rather than jump scares and special effects. High ambitions for a low budget movie, and I was quite impressed. It's not for everybody and the ending falls a bit…but not much. Excellent chemistry between the two actors.

thx Banes

SOLACE - Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell, Abbie Cornish.
Psychic Hopkins is asked by JDM (FBI) to assist finding psychic serial killer. Starts off OK but half-way starts getting silly. Hopkins is executive producer too, did he read the script? Did anyone? Luckily for Morgan, he gets bumped off fairly early, but poor Colin and Abbie had to tough it out as did I. A 1 on the Moizmeter.

JACK REACHER: THE FINAL INSULT - Tom Cruise and a cast of thousands. Strictly Saturday Afternoon Matinee material. Jack thinks he has a daughter? If you're desperate watch and find out. Never a dull moment, getting a 1 on the Moizmeter.

DOM HEMMINGWAY - Jude Law and a cast of thousands. After 30 minutes I gave it a 5 more minute probation, it got the kybosh. A golden goose-egg on the Moizmeter.

Currently starting on Supernatural and Preacher. I'm loving both so far which is odd because I normally don't like, well, television.

MISS SLOANE - Jessica Chastain, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, Jake Lacy, Michael Stuhlbarg, John Lithgow, Sam Waterston, Alison Pill. Jessica plays razor-sharp Washington lobbyist who switches camps aiming for stricter gun control laws. Watch out, she has a few tricks up her sleeve and uses them to catch a couple of big shots with their pants down, even if she has to take a small fall herself. The cockroach bit was ridiculous and all that US constitution flag waving seems lost when you find out movie was filmed mostly in Toronto, Canada. Pretty good watch even tho it didn't do well at box office, probably cuz no car chases, explosions or fights to attract those with SAS (short attention spans). A 3 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

WOMAN IN GOLD - Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Bruhl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Max Irons, Francis Fisher, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern. Helen is Maria Altmann who escaped Austria just as the Nazi's rolled in and stole her family's artwork incl. Gustav Klimt's painting of her aunt (Woman In Gold). Now living in LA she works with lawyer (Ryan) to get the paintings back from an art gallery in Austria that she claims doesn't legally own them. This Klimt painting is worth over a 100 million bucks? why I don't know, maybe a map to a gold mine underneath? Still a good watch getting a 3 1/2 on the Klimt-O-Meter.

Honestly, just been watching the new Rick and Morty episodes and waiting for the next to come out. YAAASSS!

JACKIE - Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt, John Carroll Lynch, Caspar Phillipson. Follows Jackie in the week following the assassination of JFK. Wow, tobacco co's must have paid a bunch to have her smoking like a furnace most of the time. Good job by Natalie with the voice but not much in resemblence. Peter as Bobby not even a remote look-a-like and made no attempt at the voice. Didn't learn anything except Jackie was kind of dazed and confused. A fair watch getting 2 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

ALLIED - Marion Cottilard, Brad Pitt, Jared Harris, Simon McBurney. In 1942 Casablanca, Brad is sent to join Marion, a resistance fighter, to assassinate a Nazi commander. Dangerous deed done and both escape to London, fall in love and marry. They soon produce a little girl, The End, no wait, not quite, seems trouble looms when Brad is told Marion is a Nazi spy, yikes, say it isn't so! He doesn't believe it and goes to great lengths to prove her innocence. Will he? Watch and find out. Marion stunningly beautiful throughout but thot Brad seemed sort of stiff? A good show, getting a 4 on the Moizmeter!

Udyr wrote:
Honestly, just been watching the new Rick and Morty episodes and waiting for the next to come out. YAAASSS!

TINY RICK!!!


I also is watching Rick & Morty. I'm also waiting for the new Steven Universe…. LARS is now One with LION.

I watched Original Sin, staring Angelina Joeli and Antonio Banderas.
I still don't understand why she's supposed to be so amazingly beautiful. She's a pretty good actor, she really is, I wish she'd do roles that didn't focus on presenting her as a great beauty… with her weird alien bugface.
I know that's horrible of me to say.

Antonio is a decent actor too, but you realise that without his long black hair he's actually a short guy with a soft pudgy face and a big squishy nose… Though he “plays” sexy more genuinely than Angelina.

Ok, the film:
Good period thriller about sex and revenge, with all sorts of twists and turns. The sex and sexiness felt stiff and unsexy, but the twists and turns and drama were very good.

I just started watching silicon valley.
It's very good, frighteningly clever. Very true to life.

Not many TV shows or movies ever go above my head, the writers are generally always slightly out of their depth on whatever subject they're faking for the show. They can convince the uninitiated but if you have any background knowledge about most things you can spot the holes and mistakes pretty quickly.
With a lot of things I watch I play a fun game of spotting all the inconsistencies, logical errors, and lazy writing, then I forgive it and sit back and enjoy the show- with a little bit of smugness that I know better than the show creators.

But on THIS show the writers really DO know their subject! Or at least they know it better than me. Which I find scary and invigorating.

By the 3rd episode though they started to get lazy… The Canadian guy getting his US Visa in 5 minutes flt was just a supremely lazy joke. But the subplot about the genius tech billionaire working out that he could make a killing on sesame seeds because Cicadas would decimate the crops was moronic. Cicadas don't eat anything once they hatch…

So the show writers are really good when it comes to tech startups but not about anything else.

PRAY FOR RAIN - Annabelle Stephenson, Jane Seymour, Nicholas Gonzalez, James Morrison, Ali Afshar, Paul Rodriguez, John Ducey, John Heard. Annabelle learns her father was killed in a tractor accident in drought stricken farming community. She soon doubts it was an accident. Local farmers are being forced to sell their property for peanuts to some big unknown corp. and various factions come under her suspicion. Kept me guessing all the way and very well done. John Heard's last roll. A 4 on the Moizmeter.

MY NAME IS KHAN - A benevolent Asperger's sufferer, Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), sets out on a journey across America after 9/11 on a mission to win back his one true love. My Name Is Khan

Amazing film. Deserved an oscar or twenty.