Jon Loder's Reviews
A fun, yet somewhat shallow, whodunit comedy.
A fun, lighthearted, whodunit series where every case gets figured out Pirot, holmes, Dupin, style. Carrie Preston brings this good natured, character to life. The stories are mildly interesting with the bad guy being revealed Scooby-Doo style. (Yes, I did it! I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids!) It's basically a female version of Monk but, instead of OCD, it's loud colors, large handbags, and no sense of personal space. Enjoy, but don't expect too much.
Created: 11-19-2024
One of my favorite re-watch movies.
I have no idea why anyone would label this movie as woke. It's very entertaining. The CGI is great. Tom hardy is outstanding. The story is, well, it's a superhero movie. It's outlandish. Just let go and enjoy it. The little quips between Venom and Eddie make the movie.
Created: 11-11-2024
Very intersting and factual
This single-season series by NatGeo is just a thumbnail sketch of what can be said about the dynasty that rules the fledgling nation of North Korea. It's a good way to get a basic grasp of what's going on north of the 38th parallel and how it came to be. The transition of power from Kim Il Song to Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un is an interesting story. Kim Il Song was carefully chosen by the USSR to rule the post WW2 nation after the Japanese occupation. From there, it's the oft repeated example of socialist dictatorship being backed by Soviets. This series is fact-based and well presented.
Created: 10-28-2024
Safe, non-woke youngster entertainment
The voice actors are first class, the animation rivals any around. The movie had a lot of great bits like when Sam first figured out that the lucky penny was real. There was the kind of animated slap-stick that make the Minions so entertaining. Simon Pegg was, as usual, top-notch. The chemistry between Simon and Eva was outstanding. The problem with this movie was a lack of any real plot. The story line was scattered and forced. I would love to see this cast of actors and animators try again with a screenplay worth watching.
Created: 10-28-2024
As usual, sequels go downhill with each iteration
Dirty jokes can be funny. Being dirty doesn't make them funny. That is, unless you're a boy in middle school laughing over things that start with "milk, milk. lemonade." Unfortunately, this movie broke new ground on vulgarity without humor. There's some innuendo about homosexuality. The Negasonic-watsit character is still there with her "partner." I'm not a fan of the multiverse story lines. This movie was just plain boring to me. I actually paid $29 on Prime because... you know... Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. I knew it was going to be a must-see. I regret the purchase.
Created: 10-10-2024
I rank it number 4 in the Gru series
1 & 2 are tied for first, 3 is in third and this one falls to number 4. It just didn't seem to have the same level of cleverness that makes these characters great. It is worth watching. Just don't get your hopes up. As far as wokeness goes... There's a short allusion to Boy George that was somewhat out of place. It was presented as a flashback to a high school talent show. I didn't think that was worth a 1/5. Maybe about 1/15. That rounds to zero on a scale of 1 to 5. I hope they make another one. The series is great. Steve Carrel, Kristen Wiig and Pierre Coffin have raised the chemistry of animated casting to a new level.
Created: 09-16-2024
Real sci-fi. Not a bad watch.
Special effects? Not really. As a matter of fact, the radiation suit being worn by the protagonist, Abby, has a gap below the helmet. You can clearly see her bare chin a couple times while she's outside in the dangerous radiation. There are some scenes where you can see the camera equipment. The production team may not be on the A-list.
The acting is very good. The story isn't bad.
Woke elements?
Early in the movie, there was a forced encounter with misogyny. It was unnecessary but, it's there.
There's kind of a futuristic Erin Brockovich or Love Canal theme. There are some real concerns for this kind of thing. It does happen. I think the reason we have a problem with it is because the woke crowd brings up the legitimate situations to benefit their agenda. An example would be stopping a petroleum pipeline over environmental concerns. The result being petroleum transport by highway and rail instead. It's more expensive, more harmful to the environment and has much more risk of disaster but it makes a lot of money for the railroad owner who stirred up the environmentalists against the pipeline. The theme in the movie forced a legitimate concern.
Created: 08-13-2024
The movie is great, the story behind the movie is even more so
A teenage girl started writing a novel at age 15. It was published in 1967 when she turned 18. It has since been listed in the 100 most influential novels of all time. The librarian at her high school sent a petition consisting of 15 pages of signatures from students to Francis Ford Coppola who was riding high on his success with The Godfather. Convinced, he cast a bunch of unknown actors such as C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, etc. This may be the most star-making movie in history.
This is not a shallow movie. The stories of teenage angst in tumultuous class division are amazingly well depicted. Any more descriptions of this movie would be spoiler material. Just watch it. You'll be glad you did. Having read the book, I can attest to the story line remaining intact on the screen. Coppola allowed Hinton (said teenage author) to co-write the screenplay.
Created: 08-09-2024
A great compliment to the movie itself.
If you want to enjoy The Godfather even more, watch this miniseries first. The movie is even more watchable when you know what it took to make.
Created: 08-05-2024
It's the standard by which I judge all movies
There's a reason that this movie sits so high on every "greatest movie" list. Actually, a lot of reasons. It's a story about a good-hearted man being placed in a situation that compels him to abandon his resolve and follow the path in life he was trying to avoid. Every time I re-watch this movie, I keep trying to find that one place in Michael's journey where I would've done something differently to avoid the path to corruption. I haven't found it yet. The story behind the making of this movie makes it even more watchable. The Offer is a miniseries about the making of The Godfather. I highly recommend that.
Created: 08-05-2024
