Jon Loder's Reviews
Surprisingly entertaining
Dahl's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has been rehashed in the movies a few times without being able to outdo Gene Wilder. Side note: the title of that movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was used instead of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because Quaker was sponsoring the movie in preparation for their new line of Chocolate products, which failed miserably because of poor quality. But, I digress... This movie started out as a musical and ended as a musical but, the part in between was a well done prequel to the story we're all familiar with. The acting was top notch. The CGI was state of the art and the screenplay was very well written. It was hard, at first, to accept Paul Atreides as Wonka but, his superb acting quickly settled that into place. It's worth the watch.
Created: 02-14-2024
Surprisingly good
This movie has a social agenda. The difference between this and the typical agenda-driven movies, is that it's not based on deception or, even exaggeration. The agenda is to portray the ludicrous idea of men competing in women's sports using trans ideology. Funny? absolutely! After ruminating on this movie for a couple of days, I've come to the conclusion that the key character is Gwen, the Journalist.
Created: 12-13-2023
Perhaps predictable but, very watchable
No woke. None. The Equalizer franchise is unrealistic but, it's fiction. Enjoy it. Denzel plays a character that's best described as a super hero type, dispensing satisfying justice to the bad guys. It's a typical vicarious storyline. We all want to make the bad guys suffer for their wrongdoing and stand up for the weak. The third installment didn't disappoint. As usual, the first in the series was the best. As far as sequels go, they did a pretty good job of following through the success without wearing out what made it so good in the first place. Definitely watchable. Enjoy.
Created: 11-13-2023
Enjoyable movie
As a pool player, this is an essential. As a Walter Tevis fan, not so much. The pool culture was a little overdone. If a player acted like Vinnie did in this movie, he would've been shunned, not applauded in a real poolroom. The high points include some real players used in the movie. Keith McCready was a consultant for the character of Grady Sessions. He was so good at demonstrating, he was asked to play the role directly. He did a great job acting the part of a realistic top player. Another real player, albeit a cameo part, is The Miz. Steve Mizerak played (lost to) Fast Eddie in the big tournament. His "I didn't deserve that" line still comes up as a poolroom cliché now and then. As for the story, it is my opinion that this has the record for the movie differing the most from the novel. The only similarities with the book would be the title and the name of the lead character. Nothing else in the story is even close. Walter Tevis actually wrote a screenplay for the movie deal. Scorsese rejected that and opted to use the title and lead character with a completely different story. I would love to see that screenplay surface as a miniseries. Netflix did a great job with Tevis' novel "The Queen's Gambit." The bottom line is that this movie is entertaining and worth watching. You can also read the book without fear of spoilers.
Created: 08-03-2023
Gamers would appreciate this. Non-gamers would miss a lot
The wokeness is from a singular element. That is, the princess who needed rescuing in the video games has become the wise, strong one who led the weaker male characters to victory. If I'm not mistaken, the character of the princess originated in the video game, Donkey Kong. She was always the rescued one as the games progressed through generations.
That said, I would've missed a lot of what was going on if I didn't have my daughter and son-in-law watching it with me. They explained the nuances that carried over from the games. My grandsons enjoyed it thoroughly (ages 3 & 5). I won't be watching it twice but I didn't mind watching it with the family.
Created: 07-28-2023
Hardcore, graphic, homosexual scenes
The show was really enjoyable at first. The homosexual character started becoming more present in the story line until it featured scenes as graphic as allowable without being marketed as porn. Maybe a little beyond.
That said, season one wasn't a bad story at all. In season 2, the eldest went from being the cool-headed wisdom of the group to being an insecure, conniving backstabber. Meanwhile, the homosexual brother became depicted as the stable, honest one who wanted to go legit. In short, WOKE.
Created: 07-28-2023
Not what I expected...
What I expected was, an expository crime documentary. What I didn't expect was the actual criminal explaining his crimes with braggadocio. We tend to glorify criminal behavior in fiction. I would cite direct examples such as Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, The Sopranos, etc. There are even some less direct examples such as the Ravagers in Guardians of the Galaxy. The problem with Voyeur is that it was real criminal behavior being portrayed and even glorified. That man should've been in prison for what he did. If you can get by these details, it's a good reference for understanding the events, which is what a documentary should be.
Created: 07-19-2023
Some woke
One of the main characters, Nate Romanowski, was converted to a person-of-color for the series. If you're not familiar with the book, that wouldn't be out of place. Mustafa Speaks brings this altered character to a new life. It's just worth noting that the change was made. It would be head-in-the-sand thinking to deny that it was a PC move. There's also an obligatory homosexual that shows up in a knitting / gossip club now and then. I don't remember that from the books. Other than that, this series is similar to the Bosh re-hash style. Two or three of the novels are presented in a mishmash making up a season. Overall, it's worth the watch but, of course, the books are much better.
EDIT: Season two...
It's getting a little more woke. Joe is being turned into an emotionally crippled wimp while his shotgun-wielding wife takes matters into her own hands. Scene: Joe and his wife are holed up in a cabin waiting for the showdown and she starts letting him know how he isn't the strong pillar that he thinks he is. He breaks down and admits that he needs help. It's kind of a subtle anti-toxic-masculinity message.
Created: 07-19-2023
Another good show overrun with agenda
The first season had the token LGBT... relationship built in. I figured it was because of political pressure. I just watched the first 2/3 of the first episode in the second season. It's definitely agenda level depiction. In the first season, the "alternate lifestyle" appeared to be incidental. It's a shame. As a fan of the Gardner novels, I wanted to see where they were going with this. I'm quitting this one.
Created: 03-13-2023
It's kind of raw but I didn't notice any wokeness
Sometimes I don't understand what some people call Woke. I can't think of any LGBT.... elements. The story and acting are really good. The language is very raw and there are some R-rated scenes of nudity and violence. Perhaps the racial divide of prisons is triggering somebody's woke-meter. The Aaryn Brotherhood, Cripps, Bloods and MS13 are all very real and depicted in this series. After giving it some thought, the Aaryn Brotherhood is depicted as the worst of them. Perhaps that could be considered Woke.
Created: 03-13-2023
