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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Trollenberg Terror (1958) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Jun 22, 2019)

The Trollenberg Terror (1958)

1958 | Horror, Sci-Fi

5.8

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Independent sci-fi movie has the inevitable hokeyness of films of its period but shows flashes of intelligence, until the climax at least. Vaguely Lovecraftian alien creatures take up residence atop a Swiss mountain, rip the heads off passing mountaineers, turn other people into zombies to eliminate nosey psychics, and so on. Fearing the world supply of cuckoo clocks, cheese with holes in it, and multi-purpose knives may be in peril, a group of assorted boffins attempt to sort things out.

Well, at least it's original, if not always in the best of ways. Things proceed in a relatively effective way until the aliens decide to come down the mountain and attack in person, at which point they are revealed to be tentacled monocular blobs entirely beyond the budget of the film to convincingly realise. The same could be said of many alien invasion and monster movies of the 50s and 60s and this is neither the best nor the worst example of the genre from that period.

Kudos

MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated Why Women Kill in TV

Nov 26, 2019

Why Women Kill

2019 | Comedy, Crime, Drama

7.6

(8 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

This show was so much fun! 100% escapism entertainment, and absolutely reveling in it.

Throughout the season, you learn the various reasons why these particular women kill (all living in the same house in different time periods) - Ginnifer Goodwin in the 60s, Lucy Liu in the 80s, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste in the present - but the twists guarantee you'll never know exactly WHO they're going to kill. The entire cast is amazing, but Lucy Liu completely stole the show as far as I'm concerned. She perfectly embodies 80s excess (the hair! the clothes!), and she has some truly great lines. My favorite: when a hike across the Alps is suggested, Simone's line is "Good lord, are we going on vacation or fleeing from the Nazis?" 😄

The last episode was so well done; the way they shot it - so that all 3 timelines begin to blend together at the climax - was genius. The setup for season 2 was perfectly in keeping with the tone of the show, and I for one can't wait to see what they do with it.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Seberg (2019) in Movies

Jan 14, 2020

Seberg (2019)

2019 | Biography, Drama, Thriller

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Tonally awkward drama-thriller hybrid about the troubled life of 60s film star Jean Seberg (ask your grandparents, probably). Didn't know much about her (actually thought she was French), expected something arty and significant about the French New Wave - actually this borders on being another film about the Plight of Black America. Seberg (Kristen Stewart, watchable as usual) strives for significance, gets mixed up with the civil rights movement, finds herself surveilled and then tormented by the FBI.

Starts off quite interesting - Seberg is largely a forgotten figure nowadays, so the story is obscure - but as the thriller elements recede and it becomes more of a downbeat drama, the vitality and interest of the movie fades somewhat. If there is an irony in Stewart choosing to play a movie star looking to be more than just a pretty face in commercial schlock, the movie seems unaware of it. Pretty good performances, especially from Vince Vaughn (now quite well-established as a character heavy), but fizzles out a bit.