CaptnCnck

IMDb member since March 2019
    Lifetime Total
    75+
    IMDb Member
    5 years

Reviews

When You Finish Saving the World
(2022)

What??? "Musician"???
This is ridiculous. To call Wolfhard a musician is an insult to virtually all musicians. I had to stop watching after four minutes, because my ears could not stand the assault any further.

This may or may not be a decent movie, but it was too horrendous for me to continue with. To each his/her/its/their own.

Apparently, I need to add more characters to this review for it to be accepted. If I can bear to watch more, I may come back and revise this review. Producers: please find real musicians to cast in movies that allegedly feature music.

I guess an argument could be made that because the music/performing is so bad, it's realistic. But so what... if I wanted realism, I would watch a documentary.

Night Watch
(1973)

Worst acting by Taylor!
This one was a tough slog. Elizabeth Taylor's acting is unbelievably bad, and I can't see how so many users think she turned in a good performance. It is absolutely cringe inducing. The twist ending makes up for a lot, and Taylor's performance at the end is better, but suffering through that hammy acting for the majority of the movie was a painful exercise. Billie Whitelaw was much better, I thought.

I gave five stars because of the ending. Without that as the saving grace, it would have been only three or four stars at most for me.

Whether it's worth watching is hard to say. I almost gave up, and had to watch in instalments, but the "twist" ending was sufficiently interesting/redeeming to compensate somewhat.

For fans of campy bad acting, this one is a gold mine. You will definitely get your money's worth.

Renfield
(2023)

Cage is hilarious
Cage and Hoult both give great comic performances in this entertaining but flawed movie. Awkwafina's character is a bit hard to take, and the inconsistency of Cage's accent, which comes and goes, is pretty annoying. I would've preferred it if they simply allowed Cage to speak his lines in his normal American accent. And why a fake British accent? Isn't Dracula from Transylvania?

As others have observed, it's too bad Cage didn't get more screen time. He definitely made the most of every scene he was in, but as the most engaging actor/character in the movie, the film would've benefitted from more of Cage's patented, inspired zaniness.

I also thought the movie ran a little long. It could probably have been trimmed down a bit.

Killing Eve
(2018)

Unwatchable, Overrated Show
I can't understand what people see in the show. Talk about overrated!

Some good actors (Bodnia and Comer, especially), but terrible writing. Completely unbelievable. Inexplicable character behaviour and developments, etc. I suffered through the first season, hoping it would improve, but there's no way I will watch another minute.

I was not impressed with Sandra Oh's performance, and her character was preposterous.

Avoid! There are so many better shows to watch.

Why is it saying my review is too short - now I have to add more characters just to fill it out. This is not worth it. The show is bad enough. And my review is getting worse.

Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes
(2021)

One of the best shows ever
This is a perfect 10 for me. Brilliant writing and phenomenal acting from the entire cast. Completely original and unexpected. Never seen anything remotely like it. Incredibly funny and an unbelievably diverse and creative mix of genres.

Special mention must be made of Elias Holmsen Sørensen (Odd). Incredibly talented and hysterically funny actor, but is also great with drama; what a revelation. You really feel for the poor guy in this role as the pressure keeps mounting. Hope to see him in something else soon.

Must watch in the original language (Norwegian) with subtitles. No dubbing allowed!

Killer's Kiss
(1955)

Interesting film history; terrible movie
This movie is proof that even great artists can create rubbish. Unless you are a Kubrick completist, which - judging from all the rave reviews here - a lot of people obviously are, this is an abysmal movie, and watching it was an exercise in masochism.

There is some impressive gritty black-and-white cinematography, with a few truly striking shots, especially in the latter half.

The boxing scene at the beginning was well done, and there's a very entertaining fight scene in a mannequin storage room at the end. In that scene, Frank Silvera's wild performance with the axe is worth the price of admission. I'm surprised neither he nor Jamie Smith were seriously injured during this scene.

Apart from these few "high points," though, this is a horrible movie. Terrible story, insipid dialogue, laughable voiceover narration, cardboard characters and appallingly bad acting, even when allowing for the time period.

If you are looking for a good movie, if you are looking for entertaining film noir, look elsewhere. I love film noir, but this effort was one of the worst movies I can remember watching (film noir or otherwise). It is slow and unbearably cliched. The 65-minute duration felt like an eternity.

Minor Premise
(2020)

Boring and pointless sci-fi
I'm not sure what the point of this movie was. I really did not enjoy it. Tedious and seemed much longer than the actual run time. Not sure why so many people found this to be a good movie.

Un illustre inconnu
(2014)

Not very believable, but...
Not very believable, but... excellent performances all around. Even the child actor is excellent, and the two leads are fantastic. Supporting cast is also very good. Bizarre story, but definitely not derivative, not the same old thing!

If you are a fan of French cinema, or European films in general, it's worth a look. It is quite slow, especially in the early stages, but if you are patient, the pace and plot pick up quite a bit.

Endless Night
(1972)

Incredibly boring
I'm surprised by all the positive reviews. I found this a dreadful movie to force myself to get through once I paid for it, and the twist ending didn't help. If I hadn't paid for it, I definitely would have bailed at numerous points.

Acting overall was quite poor, and in some cases terrible. Story, characters, dialogue and virtually everything else was very boring, poor production values, etc.

When the "best" thing about an alleged suspense-thriller murder-mystery is a tiny bit of gratuitous nudity with Britt Ekland thrown in at the end, you know you are in trouble.

Repulsion
(1965)

Creepy and disturbing Polanski excellence
I always enjoyed Polanski's The Tenant, and just saw Repulsion for the first time. By far, this is a better and even more disturbing film.

If you like conventional Hollywood plot-driven movies, Freddy Krueger-type horror, then of course you will be terribly disappointed. But if that's your thing, why on earth would you even take a look at something like this? If you like classic European 60s movies, innovative/influential movies, film history, and truly creepy, disturbing movies full of tension and atmosphere, this one's right up your alley.

Catherine Deneuve is fantastic in this film, and there are so many memorable scenes and images. Great B&W cinematography. Great score by Chico Hamilton. Great use of incidental music and sound effects. Nightmarish depiction of a shabby 60s European apartment deteriorating by the minute, difficulty discerning what is real and what is some delusion of the character's, open to interpretation, etc.

A terrifying, stylized and stylish portrayal of a young woman's descent into madness. A creative, haunting and unconventional movie. Definitely a keeper, and not for sheeple drones!

R100
(2013)

Fantastic, bizarre, original and hilarious!
This is one of the weirdest and most enjoyable movies I've seen in quite some time. I did watch it in installments, which may have been the result of its extremely unusual nature, I'm not sure. But persistence in watching and finishing the film really pays off. The film gets funnier and more absurd and creative as it progresses.

Would highly recommend it to those who like black comedies. Highly original and I can't think of another movie I've seen that is remotely similar. If you like stuff that's well off the beaten track - all the formulaic remakes, etc. - this one is definitely worth a try! One of a kind!

The Blood Beast Terror
(1968)

Truly horrible, but not in a good way
I enjoy B-movies, Hammer/Amicus horrors and the like, and sometimes the cheesiest are the most fun. But this dross is the exception. Simply a dreadful movie. Unbelievably dull; even Peter Cushing can't save it.

The most "fun" scene was when Peter Cushing's character tries to comfort his "daughter" (Vanessa Howard): placing his hands on her hips to steady her. Cushing apparently can't manage to prevent his thumbs from wiggling up Howard's torso and caressing the bottoms of the beautiful actress's breasts. I'm sure it was unintentional, but it definitely was noticeable. If the movie was anywhere near as boring to make as it was to watch, I can hardly blame Cushing for the wandering thumbs incident.

When that's the high point of the movie, an unintentional grope by a bored actor, you know you're watching a real stinker!

Do not waste your time on this movie. It is absolutely not worth it.

The Woman in the Window
(1944)

Enjoyable but terrible ending
Great to see another Fritz Lang movie, and the performances are very good, especially for that period.

But the ending? The hoariest cliche of them all? Basically, "Oh, It was all just a dream!" Really? That's the best they could come up with?

With a better ending, I would have rated this an eight or possibly a nine.

Captain Black
(2017)

Truly impressive indie production!
Johnson wrote, directed and starred in this low-budget outing. Fantastic performance; comedy and drama (and everything in between). Johnson gives a very poignant performance, not a false note anywhere, extremely convincing.

One minor plot point that threw me (how did he get Kitt's/Maria's number to text her when he didn't even know her name; it seemed to be somehow based on the Hallowe'en party photo), but so what.

The rest of the cast is also very good, and some of the bit parts are excellent, with some VERY funny dialogue. Great writing!

Highly recommended. Definitely not a run-of-the-mill Hollywood outing!

Servant
(2019)

A 6 rating is generous
M. Night Shyamalan did two great genre movies: The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. The rest are in the bad to terrible range for me.

This show is mediocre. As others have said, the first season is better, but they run out of ideas very quickly. The second season is very hard to take. The main actress/character is incredibly grating, though I suspect this is intentional (and not a bad performance, per se). But after a while, who wants to be constantly irritated like this? Not sure that counts as entertainment: more like suffering.

If you are a Shyamalan fanboy or fan-girl, you will probably love the show. Otherwise, your mileage may vary.

I'm not sure how this counts as being "from" Shyamalan: the majority of the episodes, even in the first season, are written and directed by others. Maybe the concept was his, but given how weak the concept is, and how desperately in search of a plot the writers seem to be, that's not much of an accomplishment. Marketing, I guess...

Capitani
(2019)

Entertaining detective/crime drama
Enjoyable show so far, still in progress. Acting is very good overall: generally understated performances. Interesting to see a show from Luxembourg. Good use of comedic moments in early episodes, which add variety/interest.

Obviously, you have to ALWAYS watch a show or movie in its original language and turn on subtitles if you want to appreciate whatever it has to offer.

I imagine most of the people complaining about bad acting are watching a dubbed version. Either that, or the only kind of "good acting" they are aware of is typical, over-the-top American histrionics. If that's what you like, then why not stick to watching only American shows.

One unexpected bonus is that each episode is only a half-hour.

Just finished the series. Didn't understand the ending, but oh, well. Not the first time that has happened!

The Sinner
(2017)

Season 3 Blows
I have to agree with others. Season one was great, season two was pretty good, and season three is completely ridiculous.

I keep watching, but each episode gets more and more ridiculous. What kind of detective behaves like this? Even Inspector Clouseau is more rational and intelligent! Bill Pullman is a great actor, but season three's scripts absolutely suck!

Bajo Cero
(2021)

Excellent, fun film
Gutierrez is excellent in this, as he was in the Occupant.

Very enjoyable action/crime movie, not perfect, and the ending is pretty predictable, but still better than 80% of the formulaic U.S. garbage we are continually fed - with bad pop singers pretending to be actors.

Give it a chance, especially if you like Spanish/European films.

Batwoman
(2019)

The horror, the horror...
Guess I'm late to the party. Wanted to watch the first season but "missed out." Finally got a chance to start the second season. What was I thinking?

Got halfway through the first episode of Season Two and... holy smokes... What a dog!

This show is the worst written and worst acted thing I have ever seen. And if that's not true, then I have repressed a lot. Maybe both statements are true...

If you don't value your time, by all means, go ahead, but what a waste of resources!

Sensoria
(2015)

Creepy and suspenseful
This is a pretty good Swedish horror movie. Very suspenseful and atmospheric. Reminds me a little bit of Roman Polanski's The Tenant: not the plot, but the creepy atmosphere. Performances are very good. Pace is slow, but that is why it's so suspenseful and creepy.

If you only like Hollywood schlock, then this definitely isn't the movie for you. If you want something a little different, and you like suspense/horror with good, understated acting - and you like European movies - then it's worth checking out.

Swedish with English subtitles.

iBoy
(2017)

Barely acceptable time-waster
The best that can be said for this movie is that there are some good performances, decent production values, effective dark lighting, etc. But the story is ludicrous. And there simply is not enough payoff to justify the 90-minute runtime (which felt closer to 2 1/2 hours).

Probably best enjoyed by teenagers or those in their early 20s; adults should avoid it.

The Queen's Gambit
(2020)

Virtually flawless drama
Absolutely fantastic series. First episode is a little slow, but after that, the series is completely gripping. Writing, directing, acting, production values: everything is top-notch.

Anya Taylor-Joy is a revelation; the character development and her finely nuanced performance is astonishing. No idea how a 26-year-old actor can turn in such a virtuoso performance. The rest of the cast is also uniformly excellent.

The last episode was a bit of a letdown, somehow, but not enough to affect my opinion of the series or to make me lower the rating.

Bravo, Netflix!

My Octopus Teacher
(2020)

Perfection
This is not much of a review. Others have already said it. But this is one of the best things I have ever seen. Just watch it for yourself. It is profound and beautiful and moving. A fantastic accomplishment.

De twaalf
(2019)

Excellent performances, and disappointing plot
Although the acting is great all around, the story/plot is very confusing, and by the end of the last episode it all seems to make very little sense.

Given that there are 10 episodes, and each episode is close to an hour, I feel it's a poor investment of time.

Reckoning
(2019)

Reckon Not
Aden Young was very good in the excellent series Rectify (Sundance TV; currently on Netflix). I would recommend that show without reservation.

However, I gave up after watching the first episode of this series (Reckoning). It just didn't seem that engaging, and having read a few user reviews, I wasn't inspired to invest any more time.

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