Doctor Who Season 11, Twice Upon A Time (2017 Christmas Special) Review

 (on You Tube channel What The Flick published 12/28/2017)






I am glad that this panel is composed of a variety of Doctor Who viewers in terms of Who lore. This makes these discussions so much more interesting (plus I forget details of Doctors past). I have been hopping amongst the Doctors with a brief time with William Hartnell, skipped to Tom Baker and Peter Davison then re entering this verse with Christopher Eccleston and staying on. Really looking forward to the new Doctor, but hate waiting so long (until Autumn, 2018) for her episodes.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
R   1 hour 24 minutes
Finland

I saw on Amazon Prime 01/07/2017.



There is a minimal amount of English spoken in this movie. Most of the dialogue is only in English subtitles. This does not slow up this movie in any way. The on-point acting almost makes the foreign (Norwegian and Finnish) dialect irrelevant. This is a very funny movie. However be warned, there is gore and deaths on screen.

This movie goes into the "true" story of the original Santa and his elves. While the plot is straightforward, the cluelessness, but not stupidity, of the adult locals makes one unexpected character the hero and savior.

The editing is fast, no scene ever overstays its welcome. The actors are all well-cast. The standout is the son Pietari Kontio (as acted by Onni Tommila) of Rauno Kontio (as acted by Jorma Tommila). Pietari is a child of many abilities which seem to escalate in value as this movie speeds towards its well-filmed conclusion. The director (Jalmari Helander) keeps this movie going at a brisk pace leaving the viewer wanting more, but more is not needed.  The cinematography is beautiful, with at least a slight debt to the setting, Korvatunturi mountains within a national park in Finland.

This movie is for those interested in horror, humor and fantasy.

Before I Wake (2016)

Watched on Netflix 01/07/18  ( I rated this 3 out of 5)

This movie seems to have the film version of multiple personality disorder.  Perhaps there was an issue among its creators concerning the final product. Would it be a thriller, a fantasy, a horror movie, or a Lifetime or Hallmark Channel movie of the week? Certain ideas were intriguing, less so on their execution. Two standouts, in spite of the lackluster dialogue were Kate Bosworth as Jessie and Jacob Tremblay as Cody.  Thomas Jane  (as Mark, Jessie’s husband) was adequate, but miscast. He looked, sounded and mostly acted more like Kate's father than her husband. Thomas Jane’s hair (bad wig?) was visually distracting, but probably meant to make him appear younger. Kate Bosworth is 35 and looks 25. Thomas Jane is 48 and looks 58.  In the beginning of this film as they are in a social worker’s office to apply for a foster son, they are described as a "young couple”. 

Certain scenes dragged. There were 2 group therapy scenes that were both painful in their length and the trite dialogue. There were some interesting scenes in the movie's third act as Jessie (Kate Bosworth) pieces together mystery regarding her foster son with several coincidences (her job security clearance, a ridiculously easy theft of a highly classified folder)

While movie is about loss and literally making it through the day (and night) alive, due to many wild tangents that message is mostly buried.  The fantasy (CGI) elements were also a mixed bag, some beautiful, some very ordinary.  The last 10 minutes of the film did have clever technique of providing exposition to the viewer in the form of a "fairy tale" with flashbacks (and flash-forwards?) told by Jessie to Cody. This exposition both explained Cody’s backstory (which was not a surprise) and left an open-ended conclusion that seemed more in tune with the ultimate fantasy of people who grieve.  This movie is not a waste of time, but is not going to stay in active memory for too long.

Black Mirror (on Netflix)

Season 4 -- 6 Episodes  December, 2017
Anthology series with Tech themes

Episode 1 -- USS Callister   4.5/5 ✭
This episode begins with humor, getting darker by the minute.  While there is an obvious satire of a certain long-lived science fiction series, this episode goes much further. The costumes and set design was as thoroughly cheesy as this story needed them to be. The actors were beyond believable in all scenes. The ending was felt justified, exciting and still strange.

Episode 2 -- Arkangel         4.0/5✭
This episode was scary, but predictable. What elevates it, is the quality of the acting.

Episode 3 -- Crocodile         2.5/5✭
Just plain predictable - I bailed at about 15 minutes. So my opinion is not relevant to the entire episode.  Maybe I will check back sometime.

Episode 4 -- Hang the DJ    4.0/5✭
This was a very enjoyable, relatable episode. It took a modern social conundrum and expanded it beyond all expectations. A lot a sexual activity happens, but under it made a statement in its almost boring repetition. The leads had chemistry and were easy to cheer for. I suspected, but did not figure out the ending until shortly before the main characters did.

Episode 5 -- Metalhead        3.0/5✭
A predictable dystopian tragedy with a pointless conclusion. However this episode is technically beautiful with cinematography (shot in black and white) that was striking and was the best character in this episode.

Episode 6 -- Black Museum   5.0/5✭
Only 5 minutes into viewing this episode, I stopped as I felt I knew the direction that this story would take. However due to a reviewer (DT on YouTube), I was encouraged to return. This episode is actually the best of  Season 4 of Black Mirror. The acting of all involved is believable. Even though much of the story is told in flashbacks, I never lost interest. The writing, editing and acting all kept my attention. Although , I have to admit to speeding through some of the scenes in the first third of this episode (regarding the doctor will newly gained amazing diagnostic skills) due to my own issues with the amount of gore depicted on screen. Aside from my bias regarding gore, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Thanks to that reviewer, I saw the correlation between the name of this series and the name of this episode. I cannot imagine a better end to a season that the themes explored in this episode. I am hoping that a Season 5 will be forthcoming.

Jeff Sessions, US attorney general has decided to have all states (even those who instituted statewide decriminalization of marijuana) liable to punishment for illegal substance possession, sale and use.

(my comment posted on Philip DeFranco (published 01/04/18)YouTube page


I am sure that multiple comments have said this...so I will too.  Reason for this idiocy? Well excluding the results of the November 2016 national election, opioids (large death/damage rate) = drug CORPORATIONS/political DONATIONS and marijuana (helps in many chronic neurological pathologies and provides relaxation/recreation) = small business owners/private individuals. Ironically more (non-damaging) mood altering substances w/o danger of prison or punishment might help us all get through the next few years.

The Shape of Water (2017)

R


I finally found and saw The Shape of Water. I did enjoy this movie, but the sex scene with Richard Strickland (acted by Michael Shannon) and that character's wife went on too long. I am guessing that it was just to showcase the basic nature of Strickland. However, I would have used those extra minutes to show more about the Doug Jones character, maybe in flashback format. This movie with fantasy, musical scenes, spies and evil military works best as an adult fairy tale. It is the monster movie that is meant for adults both due to its visuals and themes.  Doug Jones, Sally Hawkins (and of course Guillermo del Toro) made the fantasy believable and watchable.  While probably some CGI was used, the practical effects, especially in terms of the design of the creature, were a gift that elevated this movie even higher than its content.

Jodie Foster comment concerning: the current state of movies
(spoken about on John Campea's vlog published on YouTube 01/01/2018)





When I see comments made by famous personalities, like Jodie Foster, I consider the source (print or online media), author/interviewer credentials, context (what were the previous/follow up questions) and location (was this a comment done to interviewer #1M on one of those marathon press junkets). I am still going to see superhero movies (because they are usually enhanced by popcorn) along with the Indies or "slow-burn" movies (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Lady Bird, The Shape of Water etc.). Maybe Jodie Foster was being elitist or entitled, or just was tired, who knows. Clickbait or truth, this comment will not matter long term to us or to Jodie Foster.





COMMENT MADE ON SK News (published on 01/04/18) on YouTube

While I could not read the entire interview (RadioTimes.com did NOT like my ad-blocker) with Jodie Foster, I assumed that her statement was part of a larger article which might show the lead-in and follow-up questions. WE ALL LOVE JODIE FOSTER. So her comment in context may not be as entitled as it sounds as an excerpt. WE ALL LOVE JODIE FOSTER. Jodie Foster has directed an episode (Arkangel) on season 4 of Black Mirror. Obviously she does not mind fantasy. WE ALL LOVE JODIE FOSTER. As someone who has transitioned from child actor, to teen actor, to adult actor, to parent, back to adult actor, to director, to producer she has proven her maturity and talent, but needs to expand her auteur-life view. And finally, WE ALL LOVE JODIE FOSTER.