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Reviews
The Laundromat (2019)
Preachy and All Over the Place
This is a strange movie that wanted to expose off shore banking and shell companies, which is fine, but there wasn't much in the way of a plot. The characters were entertaining because they were all exaggerated and over the top, but the story was just a bunch of random scenes from various related and unrelated plot lines that were thrown together and called a movie. I didn't buy how the Meryl Streep character went from unsophisticated retiree to becoming a money laundering expert overnight. She's like, I did some research and figured out about this bank in Panama that's owned by this corporation in the West Indies that does business with these Russian oligarchs, etc... As if any of us could picture our grandmothers doing anything like this. Then in the end it got real preachy as they're literally taking into the camera telling us how everyone's corrupt. I don't need pampered Hollywood actors telling me how bad rich people are. Especially when we know their politics would trump any concerns over corruption. Do you think Streep would say a word about Obama's $50 million Netflix deal or how Gore amassed a $200 million fortune after a presidential defeat. Yes you can criticize tax cheats in the private sector who are "stealing" money from government, but don't act like everyone in the government is an angel who is only looking out for the interests of the taxpayer. Politicians are as sleazy as anyone criticized in the movie.
Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike (2012)
Super Story
I haven't read the book so can't comment on it, but the story in the movie is so original and so important that I just loved it. I saw part one but honestly couldn't remember if they had changed the actors in part two or not, since none of them were well-known. The acting seemed fine. The movie looked like a medium budget movie. The special effects weren't great and some of the scenes weren't as large-scale as they could have been, like the steel mill, the protesters, etc... But all that was fine because the movie was great. I'd imagine conservatives would like it and liberals would hate it. It's great to see a glimpse of where we're headed when the government goes overboard with talk of fairness and equality. It leads to everyone being equally poor.
2016: Obama's America (2012)
It's disgraceful how little we know about Obama.
Since the national media jumped into the tank for Obama early in his presidential run, there has been little reporting done on anything in his past. They just fed us a few of the basic facts along with a big dose of larger than life myth and everyone believed he was our savior. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, you have to admit Obama's family story is very interesting and unusual. I think the more people learn about it the more likely they are to have doubts about him, and that is why it has never really been explored before this movie. What kind of people did he grow up with, where did he live, who influenced him, where did he get his world-view, what is his world-view? These are the kinds of questions the movie explores. It's good because it's not a partisan hit piece that just tries to find fault with Obama. Instead it's a reasonable exploration of who Obama really is and where he got his beliefs from. The history part of the movie you obviously can't argue with. Some of the descriptions of Obama's world-view are debatable, but the movie does a good job of supporting its theories. The main contention is that we look at Obama through the lens of the civil rights movement, when in fact he is more influenced by the African anti-colonialist movement. Meaning he sees America as a colonialist nation that built its riches on the backs of the third world country and needs to be weakened to be fairer to the rest of the world. It's a very destructive path to set our country on, which is why all the drones are giving it low reviews.
Cold Weather (2010)
Worst ending ever
As all the other reviews state, this movie is different. It's low-budget, slow, quirky, simple, odd, alternative... whatever. If you're open minded and in the mood then it's tolerable or maybe even enjoyable. It starts off slow and slowly picks up the pace after the mystery starts maybe half way through. Then there's more action and more interest as the characters try to figure things out. At this point you become more interested to find out what happened. But then at the most suspenseful point the movie just ends. I couldn't believe it. Artsy is one thing but no payoff at the end of sitting through 90 minutes of this movie was cruel. Maybe I didn't get it - I don't know. I just don't know how you can make a movie with absolutely no ending.
Four Lions (2010)
Completely original dark comedy
I loved this movie. Right from the hilarious first scene goofing on the would-be terrorists trying to make a jihad video, you know you're watching a movie unlike any you've seen before. I guess it would be considered a dark comedy because you have lots of comedy but at the same time the terrorists are still committed to becoming martyrs and taking out the unbelievers. The movie if filled with hilarious scenes as the group travels to martyrdom - from making jihad videos, arguing over bombing targets, buying bomb ingredients without arousing suspicion, attending a terrorist training camp, etc... I kept wondering how they were going to keep the comedy going as the group finally set it's deadly serious plan into action, but the film manages to not miss a beat. In fact some of the funniest scenes are during the group's attempt at terrorism at the end.
The thick British accents and lingo made the movie funnier, however this was also a problem at times, causing me to miss jokes because I just couldn't understand the dialog (lots of fast talking, mumbling, whispering, etc...). If ever a movie needed closed captioning, this is it. That's my only criticism.