Netflix specials...
Nightbreed: The Director's Cut 2 hrs (1990)
3/10
If you would like to watch really cool costume designs for two hours, this film is for you. If you don't mind if a film doesn't make much sense, you might like it as well.
Let me talk about how it doesn't make sense.
If you want to see the film, you might want to stop reading this, as I'll get into some plot points. It's about a young man, Aaron, who's had nightmares about killing 20-some people, and about a place called Midian where real nonhuman monsters live, a place where human serial killers can go to "be forgiven" and "find redemption". Aaron goes to his psychiatrist, who convinces Aaron that he really did kill a bunch of people. Aaron goes to Midian, but the story never describes how serial killers get forgiveness or redemption there, and that theme isn't addressed again.
The Midian monsters have a law, they can only eat humans who aren't real serial killers, even though there are no human serial killers in Midian. Makes sense, right? Aaron tells two monsters he's a serial killer, so they should accept him in Midian. But one monster says Aaron is not, and the Midian law reads they can eat him. The other monster protests, saying it's against their law to eat him, but doesn't explain why it's against the law. So a monster bites Aaron, changing him into a real nonhuman monster, and he's now accepted. But Midian never gives Aaron forgiveness or redemption, apparently we're supposed to forget about that.
The rest of the film a group of evil humans are trying to discover and kill the Midian monsters, who keep to themselves and hide in Midian, with Aaron leading the defense. Which sounds fun, but was rather marginal. The imagery indicates it's christianity that hunted down the real nonhuman monsters. Which I assume is symbolism, but for what is not revealed. Christ offers forgiveness to serial killers, and commands christians to love and help the outcasts, whereas human nature is to do the opposite. Seemed odd to me to insinuate the opposite.
Must Love Dogs (2005)
6/10
Romance with very light comedy, starring the always capable John Cusack and Diane Lane. It was just OK.
The opening kitchen scene was very stage-play to me, but the rest of the film was not. Cusack has a very funny line when he refuses to sell a boat to a buyer. Other than that, I'm afraid everything is rather forgettable. Despite warm performances, I thought the relationship presented is relatively shallow. Film has the usual romance trope (plot device) of something keeping our lovers separated for a time -- and it seems extremely unlikely, as most are. This is it in white text:
Lane has great romantic connection with Cusack, and while she knows Cusack is coming right back, she lets a guy kiss her on the mouth for many seconds in the doorway of her house, and it's a first kiss from a man she can't date for professional reasons. And Cusack sees it, walks slowly away, and she doesn't say anything like, "he kissed me, but I want to date you" or something obvious that keeps them dating. End.
The Da Vinci Code
6/10
Surprising lack of fun and suspense. There's some puzzles, intrigue on conspiracies relating to christendom, an assassin, and a reveal, but I didn't find it engaging, fun or suspenseful. The puzzles were especially dull and unengaging for the audience. Even the character narratives were too shallow for me. As a comparison, National Treasure was far superior, where it has fun engaging puzzles, and enjoyable characters one can care about.
Spanish Lake (2014)
6/10
Documentary covering how small Missouri community changed when, in 1970s, government policies lead to influx of poor blacks into middle class white neighborhood. Mostly interviews with people from both sides, with some key info on what caused the situation.
I thought there was too much unrelated material in the interviews; where it was showing people having a good time, reminiscing about the good old days, and personal issues; so much so it's almost more of a fan-film. There's some subtlety relating to the main issue in those scenes, but overall it wasn't nearly tight enough for my tastes.
30 for 30: The '85 Bears (2016)
10/10
Excellent documentary on the 1985 Superbowl Champion Chicago Bears. Insightful interviews, well presented information, news and sports clips. It was upbeat, fun, but also plenty of emotional content of the players and coaches. Although, I must declare, I was a huge Bears fan at the time. That might make me a little more interested.
