When you are strolling though Netflix looking for a movie and you come across one with two beautiful actors set in an exotic location you think, “This should be good”. Sometimes you are right, and you find a hidden gem. But sometimes you are wrong and come up with a dirty piece of gravel. At least you feel strongly one way or the other. This movie does not fall into either one of these categories. This is what I call a “Nothing Movie”, and that is the worst movie to review.

If a movie is good, it is exciting to talk about, and if it is terrible, it is exciting to talk about. But if it evokes no emotion at all, who cares?

I am not a huge fan of Laura Dern, but she has been good in everything I’ve seen her in. The main two that come to mind are Jurassic Park with dinosaurs and Wild at Heart with Nicolas Cage. Liam Hemsworth was good in the Hunger Games movies, and Expendables 2. In none of the movies I named were Dern and Hemsworth the main thing you were looking at.

In Lonely planet they are doing the heavy lifting. They have to have chemistry. They have to be interesting. We have to care about the decisions they make, and the outcome of what they do.

Laura Dern plays Katherine Loewe, a successful writer who goes to a writer’s retreat to break her writers’ block and finish her novel after a messy breakup. Liam Hemsworth plays Owen Brophy, some sort of investor that is never quite explained. His girlfriend Lily, played by Diana Silvers has written a best seller and has dragged Owen to the same retreat. Owen is an outsider in this situation and is left to walk around trying to find a cell signal so that he can buy a property for the investment company he works for. In doing so he meets Katherine. We know instantly that they are the stars, this is a romantic movie, and they are destined to be together. Sadly, there are no sparks. No titillating conversations, and at no time do you really care if they get together or not.

When the thing that you know is going to happen to separate them so that we can cheer for them to get back together does happen, you don’t care. In fact, you don’t care enough to pause the movie while you go to the bathroom and get something to drink.

The movie is 1 hour and 34 minutes, or as I call it 94 minutes I can never get back, it is Rated-R for regret, and language, but mostly regret.

It was never going to be good, but it didn’t even have the decency to be bad. To say it was bland would give it too much credit for some type of flavor. I wish I had seen it in a theater and paid money to see it. At least I would have the satisfaction of being pissed off, it robbed me of even that.

My Score: Nothing

When you are strolling though Netflix looking for a movie and you come across one with two beautiful actors set in an exotic location you think, “This should be good”. Sometimes you are right, and you find a hidden gem. But sometimes you are wrong and come up with a dirty piece of gravel. At least you feel strongly one way or the other. This movie does not fall into either one of these categories. This is what I call a “Nothing Movie”, and that is the worst movie to review.
If a movie is good, it is exciting to talk about, and if it is terrible, it is exciting to talk about. But if it evokes no emotion at all, who cares?
I am not a huge fan of Laura Dern, but she has been good in everything I’ve seen her in. The main two that come to mind are Jurassic Park with dinosaurs and Wild at Heart with Nicolas Cage. Liam Hemsworth was good in the Hunger Games movies, and Expendables 2. In none of the movies I named were Dern and Hemsworth the main thing you were looking at.
In Lonely planet they are doing the heavy lifting. They have to have chemistry. They have to be interesting. We have to care about the decisions they make, and the outcome of what they do.
Laura Dern plays Katherine Loewe, a successful writer who goes to a writer’s retreat to break her writers’ block and finish her novel after a messy breakup. Liam Hemsworth plays Owen Brophy, some sort of investor that is never quite explained. His girlfriend Lily, played by Diana Silvers has written a best seller and has dragged Owen to the same retreat. Owen is an outsider in this situation and is left to walk around trying to find a cell signal so that he can buy a property for the investment company he works for. In doing so he meets Katherine. We know instantly that they are the stars, this is a romantic movie, and they are destined to be together. Sadly, there are no sparks. No titillating conversations, and at no time do you really care if they get together or not.
When the thing that you know is going to happen to separate them so that we can cheer for them to get back together does happen, you don’t care. In fact, you don’t care enough to pause the movie while you go to the bathroom and get something to drink.
The movie is 1 hour and 34 minutes, or as I call it 94 minutes I can never get back, it is Rated-R for regret, and language, but mostly regret.
It was never going to be good, but it didn’t even have the decency to be bad. To say it was bland would give it too much credit for some type of flavor. I wish I had seen it in a theater and paid money to see it. At least I would have the satisfaction of being pissed off, it robbed me of even that.
My Score: Nothing

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Lamar's Reviews

Lamar Reviews - "Lonely Planet" (Airdate 11/15/2024)

Lamar Reviews - "Martha" (Airdate 11/8/2024)



Martha Stewart has had one of the most interesting lives I’ve ever heard of. Also, she is one of the strongest, most determined, and definitely most focused women you’ll ever come across. She was a “daddy’s girl” that learned about gardening from a man that demanded perfection. She spent hours in the kitchen with her mother. She became a model at 16 so she could pay for college. She went from 50 cents an hour babysitting, to 50 dollars an hour posing. From there she became the first woman stockbroker on the New York Stock Exchange. She started a catering business, then started writing cookbooks. She developed a new magazine, Martha Stewart Living that sold more than 2 million copies per issue. Turned that into a TV show, and eventually put it all under Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and went public to become the first female self-made billionaire in the United States. She continues to be the majority shareholder. Went to prison for insider trading that saved her $45,673.

She was sentenced to 5 months in prison. Of her trial she said, “Those prosecutors should have been put in a Cuisinart and turned on high.”

She returned to daytime tv with the Martha Stewart Show, which was not her wheelhouse. It was not her brand. She said, “Mark Burnett, the producer, missed the point of “Martha Stewart”, live audience and crummy music, ugh!” That was more like prison than being at Alderson Federal Prison.”

Because she could not be the CEO of her company, it went down the tubes, and she sold it off, losing over a billion dollars. But she has 2 mottos, “Learn something new every day, and “When you are through changing, you’re through.” She said, ‘If you don’t like the garden, change it, rip it out and start all over again.” Which is exactly what she did.

She got invited to Justin Bieber’s roast on Comedy Central. In the introduction Kevin Hart said, “For all the black people that are confused about that old white woman on the couch, that’s Martha Stewart.” Nobody had warned her that she would be roasted too. They all expected her to go soft, she did not! She was the star of the evening. I re-wounded and watched her jokes 3 times. For those of you that don’t understand the term re-wounded, there was this thing called a videotape, that you could re-wind, and if you didn’t before you returned it, you had to pay $2. But that’s another story. She sat beside Snoop Dogg and she said, “For 7 hours he was smoking blunt after blunt and I was just getting higher and higher sitting there.”  Snoop asked her to hang out, and the comeback was on!”

Netflix 1 hour 55 minutes, Rated-R for language.

Oldest Sports Illustrated Cover ever, she is the original Influencer. The is a very interesting, eye-opening, and inspiring documentary. It really is a must see, just to watch how she handles the questions, and how honest and frank she is.

My Score: 5 Ice Cold Budweisers

Lamar Reviews - "Martha" (Airdate 11/8/2024)
 
Martha Stewart has had one of the most interesting lives I’ve ever heard of. Also, she is one of the strongest, most determined, and definitely most focused women you’ll ever come across. She was a “daddy’s girl” that learned about gardening from a man that demanded perfection. She spent hours in the kitchen with her mother. She became a model at 16 so she could pay for college. She went from 50 cents an hour babysitting, to 50 dollars an hour posing. From there she became the first woman stockbroker on the New York Stock Exchange. She started a catering business, then started writing cookbooks. She developed a new magazine, Martha Stewart Living that sold more than 2 million copies per issue. Turned that into a TV show, and eventually put it all under Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and went public to become the first female self-made billionaire in the United States. She continues to be the majority shareholder. Went to prison for insider trading that saved her $45,673.
She was sentenced to 5 months in prison. Of her trial she said, “Those prosecutors should have been put in a Cuisinart and turned on high.”
She returned to daytime tv with the Martha Stewart Show, which was not her wheelhouse. It was not her brand. She said, “Mark Burnett, the producer, missed the point of “Martha Stewart”, live audience and crummy music, ugh!” That was more like prison than being at Alderson Federal Prison.”
Because she could not be the CEO of her company, it went down the tubes, and she sold it off, losing over a billion dollars. But she has 2 mottos, “Learn something new every day, and “When you are through changing, you’re through.” She said, ‘If you don’t like the garden, change it, rip it out and start all over again.” Which is exactly what she did.
She got invited to Justin Bieber’s roast on Comedy Central. In the introduction Kevin Hart said, “For all the black people that are confused about that old white woman on the couch, that’s Martha Stewart.” Nobody had warned her that she would be roasted too. They all expected her to go soft, she did not! She was the star of the evening. I re-wounded and watched her jokes 3 times. For those of you that don’t understand the term re-wounded, there was this thing called a videotape, that you could re-wind, and if you didn’t before you returned it, you had to pay $2. But that’s another story. She sat beside Snoop Dogg and she said, “For 7 hours he was smoking blunt after blunt and I was just getting higher and higher sitting there.”  Snoop asked her to hang out, and the comeback was on!”
Netflix 1 hour 55 minutes, Rated-R for language.
Oldest Sports Illustrated Cover ever, she is the original Influencer. The is a very interesting, eye-opening, and inspiring documentary. It really is a must see, just to watch how she handles the questions, and how honest and frank she is.
My Score: 5 Ice Cold Budweisers

Lamar Reviews - "Martha" (Airdate 11/8/2024)

Lamar Reviews - "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" (Airdate 11/1/2024)



The first thing I look at on Netflix is documentaries. I was slow on the uptake of documentaries but I quickly discovered that the majority of them are very interesting, and really good. Just the title alone drew my interest. When I first started to hear about the “Catfishing” thing I was very skeptical as to why anybody would fall for that. I do understand it a lot better now that I’m familiar with more and more stories. I still look at these stories and immediately see tons of moments that in my opinion the person should have suspected what was happening. But I have to remind myself that I’m not emotionally connected to what was happening, and the victim is.

In the Sweet Bobby story, Kirat, a young Indian woman who is feeling the pressure to be married. In that culture to be of a certain age and not be married is looked down upon. She is contacted by this handsome, well to do man that is interested in her.They started an online relationship that lasted 10 years. 10 years without ever having sat down and seen each other face to face. How do you have a 10 year relationship without ever physically meeting? That really is the question. In this situation the desperation she feels in not letting down her parents in front of their community is enormous. I think that is the main reason she did not see the red flags in this relationship that were constantly popping up. It is very easy to judge her and blame her, while seeing all of this in hindsight. But, you have to put yourself in her place. 

There is also a second victim, Bobby. The real Bobby who did absolutely nothing to get involved in this situation. His images were taken and used one hundred percent without his knowledge. He knew nothing until an unknown woman showed up at his door, hysterical and accusing him of stuff.

This is on Netflix, the movie is 1 hour 22 minutes, Rated -TV14.



While I was watching this I was yelling at the TV, “how are you falling for this? Can’t you see this doesn’t make any sense? Well, if you are believing this, I can’t feel sorry for you!” But I did feel sorry for her. She truly did not do anything wrong. She just trusted someone who loved her, someone she was prepared to spend the rest of her life with. The only person in this situation to be mad at is the “Catfisher”, not the catfish, or the bait. And I honestly don’t get what that person got out of all of this. In some catfishing stories there is a scam for money, but there was no money involved in this story. The only commodity given or lost was love. And in Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, love can be a cruel and dangerous thing.



My Score: 4 Buds

Lamar Reviews - "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" (Airdate 11/1/2024)
 
The first thing I look at on Netflix is documentaries. I was slow on the uptake of documentaries but I quickly discovered that the majority of them are very interesting, and really good. Just the title alone drew my interest. When I first started to hear about the “Catfishing” thing I was very skeptical as to why anybody would fall for that. I do understand it a lot better now that I’m familiar with more and more stories. I still look at these stories and immediately see tons of moments that in my opinion the person should have suspected what was happening. But I have to remind myself that I’m not emotionally connected to what was happening, and the victim is.
In the Sweet Bobby story, Kirat, a young Indian woman who is feeling the pressure to be married. In that culture to be of a certain age and not be married is looked down upon. She is contacted by this handsome, well to do man that is interested in her.They started an online relationship that lasted 10 years. 10 years without ever having sat down and seen each other face to face. How do you have a 10 year relationship without ever physically meeting? That really is the question. In this situation the desperation she feels in not letting down her parents in front of their community is enormous. I think that is the main reason she did not see the red flags in this relationship that were constantly popping up. It is very easy to judge her and blame her, while seeing all of this in hindsight. But, you have to put yourself in her place. 
There is also a second victim, Bobby. The real Bobby who did absolutely nothing to get involved in this situation. His images were taken and used one hundred percent without his knowledge. He knew nothing until an unknown woman showed up at his door, hysterical and accusing him of stuff.
This is on Netflix, the movie is 1 hour 22 minutes, Rated -TV14.
 
While I was watching this I was yelling at the TV, “how are you falling for this? Can’t you see this doesn’t make any sense? Well, if you are believing this, I can’t feel sorry for you!” But I did feel sorry for her. She truly did not do anything wrong. She just trusted someone who loved her, someone she was prepared to spend the rest of her life with. The only person in this situation to be mad at is the “Catfisher”, not the catfish, or the bait. And I honestly don’t get what that person got out of all of this. In some catfishing stories there is a scam for money, but there was no money involved in this story. The only commodity given or lost was love. And in Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, love can be a cruel and dangerous thing.
 
My Score: 4 Buds

Lamar Reviews - "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" (Airdate 11/1/2024) 

Lamar Reviews - Woman of the Hour (Airdate 10/25/2024)



Anna Kendrick is one of those actors who every time you watch her you wonder, “Why is she not a more Bonafide movie star?” She is memorable in every role she takes. She got a lot of exposure in the Twilight movies, but her claim to fame at this point is the Pitch Perfect movies. She gets to show off not only her razor sharp wit, but also her acting talent, and the fact that she can really sing. She was really good in 50\50 as a therapist treating a cancer patient played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The most critically acclaimed movie on her resume is Up In The Air with George Clooney back in 2009.

This time she is directing the movie she is in. It is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala who managed to stay under the radar until he was convicted of killing seven women and girls in 1980. He is suspected of killing more than 100.

Over the course of every woman’s life, she can tell you times that a stranger asked them uncomfortable questions or followed them down a lonely street. Of a first date that just didn’t seem right, and there was not a second. Or maybe a lot of dates with a guy that seemed great, but he turned out to be an obsessive jerk that frightened her, or worse. This is the subject that “Woman of the Hour” tackles.

Most movies about serial killers show the extreme violence and horrible death of the victims, forcing you to deal with the emotions of not wanting to see it, but being unable to look away. Kendricks doesn’t put us through that. It is not that she doesn’t shock the audience with the horrific thing these women go through, quite the opposite, she shows how easy it is to wind up in that position and shows the outcome. This allows our imagination to fill in the gap without having the opportunity to turn away. She doesn’t downplay the violent thing that has happened, she just doesn’t make the violence the star of what happened.

You have to pay attention because the film is full of time jumps and shifts in perspective. The movie starts with Rodney, played by Daniel Zovatto, murdering a woman. We skip ahead and see Sheryl, played by Kendricks, a struggling actress, in the middle of an audition where she is being objectified by casting directors. Then we go back to Rodney picking another victim. Then we go back to Sheryl getting put on the Dating Game by her agent. Then we are back to Rodney hunting victims. Then we are on the Dating Game where Rodney has become a contestant.

The movie is 1 hour 35 minutes, Rated-R for language, violence, and subject matter.

I think Ann Kendrick has done a great job with the first film she has directed. This is just another arrow in her quiver of talents. I hope she gets the career she deserves.

Women especially will be drawn to this film, it is from a woman’s perspective. We men need to watch it because we can never truly understand a woman’s perspective.

My Score: 5 Budweisers

Lamar Reviews - Woman of the Hour (Airdate 10/25/2024)
 
Anna Kendrick is one of those actors who every time you watch her you wonder, “Why is she not a more Bonafide movie star?” She is memorable in every role she takes. She got a lot of exposure in the Twilight movies, but her claim to fame at this point is the Pitch Perfect movies. She gets to show off not only her razor sharp wit, but also her acting talent, and the fact that she can really sing. She was really good in 50\50 as a therapist treating a cancer patient played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The most critically acclaimed movie on her resume is Up In The Air with George Clooney back in 2009.
This time she is directing the movie she is in. It is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala who managed to stay under the radar until he was convicted of killing seven women and girls in 1980. He is suspected of killing more than 100.
Over the course of every woman’s life, she can tell you times that a stranger asked them uncomfortable questions or followed them down a lonely street. Of a first date that just didn’t seem right, and there was not a second. Or maybe a lot of dates with a guy that seemed great, but he turned out to be an obsessive jerk that frightened her, or worse. This is the subject that “Woman of the Hour” tackles.
Most movies about serial killers show the extreme violence and horrible death of the victims, forcing you to deal with the emotions of not wanting to see it, but being unable to look away. Kendricks doesn’t put us through that. It is not that she doesn’t shock the audience with the horrific thing these women go through, quite the opposite, she shows how easy it is to wind up in that position and shows the outcome. This allows our imagination to fill in the gap without having the opportunity to turn away. She doesn’t downplay the violent thing that has happened, she just doesn’t make the violence the star of what happened.
You have to pay attention because the film is full of time jumps and shifts in perspective. The movie starts with Rodney, played by Daniel Zovatto, murdering a woman. We skip ahead and see Sheryl, played by Kendricks, a struggling actress, in the middle of an audition where she is being objectified by casting directors. Then we go back to Rodney picking another victim. Then we go back to Sheryl getting put on the Dating Game by her agent. Then we are back to Rodney hunting victims. Then we are on the Dating Game where Rodney has become a contestant.
The movie is 1 hour 35 minutes, Rated-R for language, violence, and subject matter.
I think Ann Kendrick has done a great job with the first film she has directed. This is just another arrow in her quiver of talents. I hope she gets the career she deserves.
Women especially will be drawn to this film, it is from a woman’s perspective. We men need to watch it because we can never truly understand a woman’s perspective.
My Score: 5 Budweisers

Lamar Reviews - "Lonely Planet" (Airdate 11/15/2024)

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