Cinema Disaster: Rollergator

As a note, the alligator is never, at any point, actually skating. It’s a Scott Shaw movie, so its all women doing the skating. Two of whom are so identical we have to tag them with jewelry.

This is actually scripted. With written dialogue. We think…the entire movie had a monotonous guitar soundtrack that was out of balance so you couldn’t hear chunks of what was being said. What we could hear had its amusing moments.

Half of the movie was filmed at a carnival, and we question whether Shaw got permission. Also, was it shot on video tape? Or just low quality film?

I wish I had more to say about this movie, but it was typically incoherent, the alligator was a crappy puppet without working arms, and at least we couldn’t hear Joe Estevas’ “acting” over that guitar.

(At least somebody tuned the guitar).

We watched this one so you don’t have to, people. Unless Scott Shaw’s brand of weird is right up your alley or compliments your mind altering substances nicely.

Shaw, you have so much to answer for!

Review: Knives Out

My friends talked me into watching this and I have no regrets. It’s not exactly a classic mystery…it’s only partly about who did it.

It’s also about race, class, and…appreciation. An elderly writer commits apparent suicide by slitting his own throat. Needless to say, not everyone buys it, most especially not the private dick anonymously hired to investigate.

He’s supposed to lay things at the feet of Marta, the nurse, who has now inherited not only the writer’s money…but his intellectual property. And at one level it does indeed look like she killed him. By accident. Which he then staged to look like a suicide, thinking he was dying anyway. Oops.

Everyone is good in this movie, but the stellar performance is Ana de Armas as Marta - she plays a difficult role requiring a lot of range so, so beautifully. I want to see much, much more of this woman.

The complexity of the story is woven with flashbacks and multiple apparent timelines in a way that makes excellent use of the medium.

Recommended.

Review: Pooka!

This was supposed to be a Cinema Disaster, but it simply…wasn’t. If it’s on IMDB it’s under another name, but the director, Nacho Vigalando is actually good. This movie is a holiday horror, which don’t tend to be good, but it has great camera work and interesting messages about domestic violence and about being subsumed by one’s job…literally. (Which has an added layer…the main character is Black).

The Pooka of the title is a toy, essentially a demonic furby, or is it? It could also be an omen, part of the actor’s subconscious…it’s beautifully ambiguous.

So, this movie is both too good and has too much to say to be a Cinema Disaster. It’s not great cinema either, but if you’re looking for something scary with a holiday theme this year, you might as well check it out.

It’s currently on Tubi, so the price is good too.

Daredevil 2.7 “Semper Fidelis”

The basic problem with superhero courtroom dramas is they tend to fall down in the courtroom drama area. IANAL, but this entire episode didn’t work at that level.

It has great fight choreography, awesome interpersonal drama, and…absolutely no basic knowledge of a specific legal issue.

It should be obvious to, well, a blind lawyer that Frank Castle’s trial simply can’t happen in New York. The very first thing they should have done was petition for a change of venue. Likely both the defense and the prosecutor would be in favor of this.

You always move venue when a trial is particularly divisive. That would have made a few things collapse, of course, and cost money…but unfortunately, I couldn’t get past it and I am not even that knowledgeable about the law.

Also, Matt, for the love of God, get rid of Elektra, she’s nothing but trouble!

Andor 2.5 “I Have Friends Everywhere”

This is such a quiet episode it feels like the entire thing is an establishing shot. That’s not a criticism.

Most of the focus remains on Ghorman, where Cassian is impersonating a fashion designer and the Empire is moving to incite rebellion as an excuse to crack down. Syril is playing double agent, and doing it so well…he’s probably still a bad guy. Probably.

But we also visit some of our other friends. Caleen, for example, is spiraling out in a safe house, and taking useless sleep aids. There’s a forgery in the collection…and the tech hidden in it might be found.

All of this is set up…all of it. You can feel that something nasty is on the horizon, but not exactly what, except it’s all about Ghoman. That much we know.

Who’s going to live and who’s going to die? We know some of those answers already, but…