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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated
1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going
to review every single movie I see. I’m
going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the
rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings
for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses
under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Tiger King: Murder,
Mayhem and Madness G
As of late, I’ve seen just as many memes/posts on social
media about this new documentary series on Netflix as ones about the coronavirus. Usually when something becomes meme-heavy,
it’s either popular in a good way or a bad way, popular being the key
term. Naturally I got curious, especially
after hearing enough people say “good” things about it, so I tuned into this
7-episode (all 40-plus minutes but not quite 50) docuseries involving the
titular gay, once polygamist, mullet-coiffed redneck zoo owner going by the
name of Joe Exotic, in addition to some other, shall we say, colorful people. I, for one, can’t say I agree with the notion
of zoos, but I am a bit hypocritical considering I do enjoy going to them if I
can’t actually see the animals safely in the wild (I would welcome the notion
of putting us in cages or some protective casing and taking us to their
environments). I’ve always been
fascinated with wild animals, especially big cats (tigers, lions, panthers,
etc.), since they’re equally enthralling and frightening. Joe ran a tiger zoo in Oklahoma before
inevitably receiving disapproval from animal rights activists, particularly one
Carole Baskin from Florida (talk about enemies!
I mean, we all likely have them but most aren’t likely as potent as the
mutual hatred between Joe and Carole, more so on Joe’s side). Much like wondering whether Courtney Love
actually killed Kurt Cobain, Carole and an incident surrounding a vanished
husband dredged up similar ruminations and the information presented here made
a strong case in making it appear as if Carole definitely could’ve killed
him. Joe amassed quite a few enemies
during his time as a zookeeper as well and certainly didn’t come off as a
saint, but involvement with the wrong people (such as shady business partners)
made it appear he was ultimately the victim in the end. This series often made me wonder who I
should’ve been rooting for since several people were blamed for this and that
and everyone is usually going to think they’re right and/or the victim in any
circumstance (going by the prideful instincts of human nature). I knew nothing of this story before watching,
so all I can say is that it was, more often than not, an engaging, only slow at
times, fact-based docuseries informing me of more people/events on this crazy
planet we all share. 4/1/2020
Bonus reviews:
The Grudge B
What the frig is it with movies being remade more than once
now? First there was Black Christmas at the end of last year
and now it’s this franchise! I was a fan
of the original Japanese version, Ju-On
(although it has been a while since I last watched it), and the first American
remake in 2004 (also called The Grudge)
wasn’t that bad in my opinion (both versions directed by Takashi Shimizu). If you thought that first remake was corny, which many people did (whether they saw Ju-On or not and many didn’t), I have
some news for you! I don’t remember
being a fan of the first remake’s sequels, The
Grudge 2 and 3, but I doubt they
were as bad as this. I hated, hated,
hated this movie. A bit of R-rated
violence couldn’t save this completely uninspired dreck containing shitty
special effects and annoying jump scares, foreseeable at that. Bottom line, don’t watch this! Worst movie of the year as well as most
unnecessary remake thus far! 3/30/2020
Darkroom (series) OK
I would never have heard of this anthology series hosted by
James Coburn that aired at the end of 1981 into the beginning of 1982 had I not
seen it posted on social media. It
consists of 7 episodes all just shy of the 50-minute mark, containing two or
three segments each (only 2 had 3 segments).
The series as a whole was just okay, barely, and that’s probably why I
never heard of it, nor why it continued.
Some parts were directed by Rick Rosenthal (Halloween II) and Paul Lynch (the original Prom Night), and some parts were based off works by Robert Bloch (Psycho). I’ll give you a run-down of each episode:
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Episode 1---“Closed Circuit” was a bit ahead of its
time with themes of advanced technology eradicating the need for humans and
concludes somewhat darkly, but felt longer than it should’ve been, even for a
vignette. “Stay Tuned, We’ll Be Right
Back” was the shorter segment of the episode and is outdated with its “Butterfly Effect” notion of “change one
thing, change everything” after a man somehow gets radio signals from the past.
Episode 2---“The Bogeyman Will Get You” stars Helen
Hunt and was a decent tale faithfully based off a Robert Bloch short story (of
the same name) with a twist likely surprising for its time. “Uncle George” was a twisted tale in
retrospect, showing the lengths some will go to for money.
Episode 3---“Needlepoint” was a scant tale involving
voodoo with a slightly clever ending given the circumstances, while “Siege of
31 August” involves a farmer trying to repress something he did in the war
before eventually getting more than he can handle via his son’s toys.
Episode 4---“A Quiet Funeral” had a twist but was
pretty bland overall, and “Make Up,” starring Billy Crystal and Brian Dennehy,
was sort of noir-ish, strictly in its use of mistaken identities, but was kind
of silly.
Episode 5---The first one containing three
stories. “The Partnership” was a fun one
starring David Carradine, involving an old funhouse and a “sea creature” we
don’t really get to see. “Daisies” was
barely even a short story, more equivalent to a flash story, or even a drabble,
and wasn’t really necessary, while “Catnip” was a predominantly goofy segment
involving a biker, witch, and a black cat.
Episode 6---“Lost in Translation” ultimately reminded
me of The Incredible Shrinking Man (instead
of that movie starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson) and felt largely
unfinished. “Guillotine” was a
semi-decent Paris-set Victorian era tale with an ironic conclusion that, again,
felt too long even for an anthology segment; horror fans will recognize the
stern-looking evil nun from Silent Night,
Deadly Night.
Episode 7---The only other one with three. “Exit Line” and “Who’s There?” were segments
that also contained twists likely more shocking during that time; the former
involves a critic consistently harassed by an actor feeling her negative review
was unwarranted, while the latter is a decent character study involving a
single guy living below an unhappy couple.
Lastly, “The Rarest of Wines” involves siblings wherein one is unhappy
with what a recently deceased parent left them and eventually a tragedy results
from their selfish needs.
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In conclusion, it’s not the best anthology series I’ve seen
(and certainly not the only one on that list), but if you like anthology
shows/movies (like me) and have nothing else to watch, you can probably guess
what I would normally say next. There
are a couple different channels you can watch it for free if you’re interested
(USA and NBC are two that come to mind).
3/28/2020
Other
movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
Come to Daddy >>>OK/G
Edmond >>>EH/OK
Hunter’s Moon >>>EH/OK
The Peanut Butter
Falcon >>>OK
Simon Says >>>OK
---Sean O.
4/2/2020
