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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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Mare of Easttown OK/G
I finally got around to seeing this HBO limited series
consisting of seven episodes all ranging around the hour mark, meaning it’s
roughly a total of seven hours. I heard
so many good things about it, but that never makes me want to check something
out since there are lots of critically-acclaimed shows and movies I have no
interest in; this is a series I actually did want to check out though. Mare is a detective played by Kate Winslet,
Easttown is the small town in Pennsylvania which she resides. A murder of a teenage girl spawns an
investigation, in addition to Mare grappling with personal issues as well as a
missing case involving another teenage girl gone a year prior. Mare doesn’t exactly have the most glamorous
life, as you can imagine. What
detective, real or fictional, truly would though? I don’t even expect visual entertainment to
be original anymore, although when something is original and successful, great,
but it is very hard to be entirely fresh in any art form these days. If I enjoy something though, and it is
unoriginal, it works for me; and I believe I may have said it before, but
characterizations are always a huge factor in making a story work. Having said that, this miniseries isn’t
original at all; it is no different than many other detective/murder mystery
features. Let’s see…there’s a small
town, this small town contains people with secrets, everyone is a potential
suspect, there are several red herrings, and there’s more than one revelation
at the end. Yes, it may not be original
(show me something that truly is these days), but it is generally watchable, we
do get to know the majority of characters enough, and there are no loose ends
when it’s over. Some parts do drag (less
than more though) and it may not be as dark as the first season of True Detective, nor as compelling, but
this is a decent murder mystery for those looking to watch something new in
that genre (I am glad I was able to binge it instead of waiting every week as
you’ll be able to as well via DVD or streaming---it’s currently available in
both form). 9/17/2021
The Retreat OK/G
[SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW]
Wow, an LGBT movie that wasn’t half bad (I’m personally not
a fan of too many LGBT films because they’re often fabricated and
stereotypical). Well, foremost it is a
horror film of the survivalist/backwoods variety that features gay
characters. A lesbian couple,
non-stereotypical at that, head to a cabin in the woods away from the city and
this cabin (or retreat) is allegedly a gay B&B. I must’ve missed a location for this cabin
and/or city, but it was filmed in Canada (you and I should both know that doesn’t
mean it took place there). I hate to
stereotype, but something tells me it took place somewhere in the American
South (I could be wrong though). Anyway,
something is clearly not right when they reach this cabin---another gay couple,
males, were supposed to meet them there (we see something happen to them in the
beginning), but all that’s present is their car and belongings in the house and
the cabin is unlocked. It isn’t long
before these girls are hunted in the woods by a masked gunman. You see, these are a group of people that
capture homosexuals and film them being murdered in what they dub “the culling;”
they have followers that watch online as if it were a reality show (talk about
the dark web). This did, at once, feel
like a typical backwoods horror flick, but its strong homophobic subtext does
make it a bit more distinctive (and darker) than its ilk. There’s a bit of atmosphere to it too. Some of the violence is worthy, particularly
when our protagonists get revenge on their bigoted capturers. I, being of the LGBT community, wouldn’t say
this film is cathartic because I know it’s just a movie and thankfully haven’t
been through a similar ordeal (and hope I never will). It might be for some though, especially since
there are still homophobes out there (I hope not as extreme as these villains
though, but I wouldn’t doubt it, even in 2021) and the gays do win. Even if I did spoil pretty much the entire
feature, I think those that may be interested would still enjoy it. I can’t ultimately overlook its
aforementioned familiarity (read: clichés), but it’s not a bad film and better
than many modern ones of its type and, no, not just because it features members
of a group I’m part of. Like I said,
this is a horror movie first. 9/15/2021
Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
Apartment 413 >>>EH
The Last Laugh (2020) >>>EH
Murder in the Woods >>>OK
Nightbooks >>>OK/G
(Netflix)
---Sean O.
9/18/2021
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