All User Reviews

56/100 A new park ranger, who's previously lost her daughter in the forests, runs into a good deal of strangeness during her tour in the wilderness. I can easily see the low ratings on this but I liked it. It's a very slow burn but the main character held my attention with genuine concern. No outright scares but it does retain a certain level of cosmic dread which I found rather unnerving but intriguing. Eventually it drifts into a dreamscape that is both perplexing and haunting in equal measure. And that ending, which makes perfect sense in context, is really dark. Worth watching. -- D…

The very talented and beautiful Augie Duke stars in this movie about a couple who take an island vacation together. However, this is no ordinary vacation as they get stuck repeating the same day over and over again although only her boyfriend is aware of this. The days all end in the same rather disturbing way. They will meet mysterious characters along the way and you will eventually discover what's going on although not all answers will be provided. It does get a bit slow at times and only Ms. Duke was able to keep me watching until the end. The plotline is below average but I don't regret w…

I finally watched the movie because I wanted to know if it was as bad as the screencaps I knew looked... Okay, I think I have to split this in two parts: How is it as a Super Mario movie? Absolutely horrible! 😅 As in...it has nothing to do with Mario except from using several character names for characters that have barely anything to do with Mario at all. And the protagonists are plumbers. So, yeah, absolutely no relation to the actual franchise. -- How was it as a movie? That's actually harder to say. For about the first half of the movie, or maybe even 2/3, …

**The Fisher King (1991)** (Re-watching Robin Williams' catalog.) _Directed by Terry Gilliam_ The Arthurian legend of the Fisher King tells of an injured king and a pure-of-heart knight or fool who must heal him. Richard LaGravenese's screenplay is absolutely brilliant because it somehow puts both leads in both roles simultaneously. Jack (Jeff Bridges) is the wounded king, destroyed by guilt after his on-air rant triggers a mass shooting at a Manhattan restaurant. Parry (Robin Williams) is the fool, a homeless man living in fantasy after his wife was killed in that same massac…

When the ends of our lives approach, many of us may feel that we have tasks to complete before we pass on, undertakings that frequently carry some kind of highly personal meaning. These ventures are also often accompanied by a measure of relevant significance, one that marks a crowning achievement of our lives and serves as a basis for transitioning to whatever comes next. And these endeavors usually come with challenges to surmount, ordeals that require tremendous effort in their fulfillment at a time when such exertion may be hard to muster. Such is the case for Juan Debré (Diego Peretti), t…

One of the most mundane and average suspense-thrillers to come down the pike. I suspect if this was released today it'd be on Netflix. In any case, this is watchable but utterly forgettable. Nic Cage sleepwalks through his performance (so we get the Left Behind Cage vs Wicker Man Cage) while everyone else was okay, I guess. There's nothing original here and the only noteworthy element is it's a movie with one of the lowest opening weekends to debut at #1 ($7.78 million). **2.5/5**…

**Saraband (2003)** _Directed by Ingmar Bergman_ Even though some of Bergman's blocking and filming here have taken on a 21st century tinge (this was made for Swedish television), the narrative and film overall are still recognizably pure Bergman: the highly spiritual church scene of Marianne, the horizontal parallel faces, the tight close-ups like that of Karin and Henrik, and some wide vistas that are just so Bergman. It's ironic that the day before I saw Saraband, I happened to watch A White, White Day, and it is impossible not to compare these two filmmakers who are tr…

I’m already familiar with the movie Fabricated City, which The Manipulated is loosely based on. The series is a slick, high-gloss production that really knows how to build tension. Fast pacing, strong action, and consistently polished direction pull you in right away—and keep you hooked. The story grabs you from the start and keeps the curiosity going. I immediately found myself rooting for Park Tae-joong, who ends up in prison due to fabricated evidence. As the protagonist, he has to fight his way through an intense and brutal situation. Thanks to Ji Chang-wook, his struggle feels real…

The Decline (2020) is a tight, brutal, and incredibly effective survival thriller that proves you don't need a massive budget to create intense tension. It’s a great experience that benefits greatly from its cold, isolated setting and a grounded approach to a "prepper" scenario gone wrong. The film wastes no time. The setup—a group of people attending a survivalist training camp in the remote, snowy wilderness of Quebec—is fascinating. What starts as a series of practical drills quickly spirals into a nightmare after a tragic accident. The shift from a training exercise to a high-stakes…

"Almost an Angel" is a very good natured and extremely entertaining film which effortlessly and successfully changes tone with great agility and relative ease. This happens most starkly with the character Steve Garner. He is terminally ill and unfortunately the prognosis for him is grim. The film doesn't shy away from such deeply distressing facts as these and the real temptation here would be to somehow have Terry Dean's status as an angel come into play and provide a heartwarming and life affirming means of having Steve's health fully restored so he can survive, but this film actually does t…