Jon Loder's Reviews
Hard to watch
The story of Aileen is a sad tragedy. Although she was rightfully accountable for her actions, she was a product of abuse, and neglect. She was executed by the State of Florida in 2002. This movie was released in 2003.
I watched this movie years ago. I remember the story being well-depicted and thought-provoking. Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci are amazing actors. Charlize took an Oscar for her performance. That was well-deserved. If you can tolerate the gritty, raw, portrayal of the subject matter, it's worth the watch.
The problem I have with the movie is, there really wasn't a need for the graphic lesbian scenes. I really don't remember it being so graphic. I tried to watch it again recently. I couldn't get past the scene where Theron and Ricci were making out in the ally behind the skating rink. Families were walking past with the parents trying to keep their kids from watching it.
There was no LGBT agenda. If anything, it portrayed it as disgusting filth. It was just too graphic.
Created: 09-26-2025
Like the books, only different.
The books are great. This series is good. The individual seasons follow the stories of the books they're based on. Full season stories are, in my opinion, the only way to depict a good story. Detective shows that resolve mysteries in a single episode are hard to watch.
Perhaps there are some "woke" elements. One of the detectives working for the agency in the later series is a lesbian. Season 5, based on Troubled Blood, has the Agency working for a lesbian couple. You may have noticed my zero wokeness rating. That's because they were portrayed without any apparent agenda. I believe Rowling (Galbraith) to be above that nonsense. It's just simply an incidental part of the story. There's no scenes of affection depicted.
Grainger embodies the literary character of Robin as accurately as you'll ever see in a cinematic depiction.
Burk depicts Cormoran with some differences. Not better or worse, just different. The literary version is larger, more surly, has curly hair, and is missing the other leg. I don't know why that is.
If you haven't seen it, you have 6 (soon 7) seasons to enjoy on a good binge.
Created: 09-22-2025
Detective film noir with a great actor... with a twist.
It's hard to review this one without spoilers. The major twist shows up around half way through the series. Farrell is a great actor. I think he's highly underrated. I consider Phone Booth the greatest showcase of acting talent I've ever seen. He nailed this part.
It begins with one of my favorite cinematic styles, narrated detective film noir. I was hooked 10 minutes in. Colin Farrell carried this series. His narration was perfection. The supporting cast wasn't impressive, but it worked. The story unfolded a little slowly, but there was a reason for that. Remember the twist I mentioned?
WOKENESS:
In one of the early episodes, there was a honey-trap that, instead of an attractive female getting intel from a middle-aged man, the female part was played by a homosexual. I almost dropped out at that point, but I waited to see if it was one-and-done. It was. My suspicion is that it needed to check that box to get produced. Cinematic entertainment is being held hostage by perverse agenda.
Season two shows up on IMDB and it's obvious that it was intended. The ending was just right. The story was tied up, but an issue that was alluded to throughout season one was put in the forefront at the end to launch season two. It's not the frustrating loose end that holds the story conclusion ransom. I'm looking forward to season two.
Created: 09-22-2025
Marvel Studios may be coming back
I don't think anyone will ever repeat the chemistry that was between Thor, Rogers, Stark, Strange and the rest. Thunderbolts is in the shadow of one of the greatest franchises ever created. That's a high bar. The bottom line is, this is worth watching. It's got the same action/comedy/drama ratios as the Marvel movies we all love. As far as Wokeness goes, it's there. I read about gender-swapped characters. I found one. According to Wikipedia, Ghost was male in the original story. That's a woke element. The other female member, White Widow, was female in the original. Also, Dreyfus' hated character was in the 1960's Marvel comics as a leading member of SHIELD. That may be a woke element, but it's true to the original story.
If I were to rate this in comparison with the Marvel Studios Avengers franchise movies, It would be somewhere above Black Panther and just short of Ant Man. It's definitely above the second and third Ant Man flicks. This appears to be the first Marvel project for Director, Jake Schreier. Like I said, the bar was set high for this project. He did well.
Created: 09-20-2025
No woke, but kind of bland.
The dad was depicted as an overly-authoritative, bible-thumper. The wife, mother-in-law, and even his children showed him the error of his ways. I suppose you could give it a slight nudge on the woke-meter for that.
The story of Rickey Hill is interesting. He really was that good. If it wasn't for the illness, his rookie baseball card would be a keeper, and he'd be HOF.
It's true that he went 11 for 11 in his tryout. That's a 1,000 batting average. They missed the part where he climbed a fence to sneak into the scouting tryouts. They got a few other things right. He did marry his high-school sweetheart at home plate before a game. He also retired at age 22 because of the illness. He also never played in the Majors. Four seasons playing for Montreal's minor league teams was an accomplishment for someone with a spinal disease. I think the movie would've been better if it was closer to the real history. He was an example of persistence and dedication to succeeding.
Created: 09-07-2025
A raw depiction of a true story
Henry Hill was probably not as likable as Liotta. This film is very entertaining, and it does convey the basic story of what really went down. Nobody on the outside will ever know the full story. Henry pushed the boundaries to the point where he found out the hard way. His only survival move was the path of a "rat." That was probably a lot more common than most movies would make it appear. The acting is top-notch. The story is well told. The direction is, well, Scorsese. It's a worthwhile 145 minutes. Yeah, it's a long one. I love the narration style, Ray and Joe are great narrators. Pesci also ad libbed a very famous scene in the restaurant.
Created: 09-03-2025
One of the best mafia type movies.
Based on the true story of the longest criminal trial in US History, Vin Diesel plays the part of Jackie to perfection. Much of the script for the screenplay was taken directly from court transcripts. The documentaries and interviews indicate that this movie was exceptionally accurate. It was also very entertaining.
Created: 09-03-2025
Greatest soldier movie ever!
Everything about this movie is great. It's based on a true story. I don't know how accurate it is, but the underlying theme was well presented. It's a story about convictions being put to the test when faced with circumstances that don't fit neatly into the preconceived right vs. wrong world that was expected. The young draftee, York, is perceived as being cowardly because of his conscientious objection to war. His faith is tested in combat where his bravery becomes unquestionable.
Most of the pivotal facts are verifiable. He was a baptized Christian and conscientious objector. He did reconcile his faith with being a soldier. He did lead the attack on German machine gun nests resulting in the Medal of Honor. His community did build a house for him and his wife.
Created: 08-29-2025
One of the greatest series ever.
This is a "woke" evaluation site so... The only element that qualifies would be Gus Fring being homo. There's nothing in the series, or the prequel series (Better Call Saul) that supports that.
I read a story about Anthony Hopkins bingeing the entire series over a few days and writing a letter to Bryan Cranston telling him that it's the best TV series ever. Furthermore, he called Cranston the greatest actor alive. That's quite an endorsement.
I recommend looking at the impressive list of awards on IMDB.
Personally, I was hooked after season one, episode two. Walter recapturing the escaped dealer was priceless.
I've read criticism of the final season. The buildup was immense. There was so much tension by the 5th season, I don't think there was a better way to cap it off. It triggered a spinoff movie (El-Camino) that was very good. Also, the prequel, Better Call Saul, generated its own well deserved plethora of awards.
The production is top-tier. I especially liked the cinematography. Bryan Cranston is a woke, Hollywood Liberal along with Baldwin, De Niro, and the rest of that cesspool. If you can get by that, there is no woke in Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul.
Created: 08-29-2025
It's a good, bingeable show.
This is actually two story lines that bump against each other and eventually mingle. The story of Jimmy and his journey from con-artist punk to the flamboyant Saul Goodman is worth watching. To me, the better story is Mike Ehrmantraut. He was one of the best characters in Breaking Bad. There's a lot of backstory involved.
I'm having trouble figuring out what the extreme woke ratings are from. There's no LGBT representation. There are no minority heroes. I think minority advocates would have trouble with the depiction of illegal immigrants and drug cartel types.
Kim is a great character who shows zero emotions. Rhea won an award for playing her. She's smart and competent, but not woke.
If I ever figure out what is being called Woke about this series, I'll edit this review.
The production is outstanding. I recommend looking at the awards list on IMDB. I think they spent more time accepting awards than filming.
Created: 08-29-2025
