THE COUNSELOR (2013) – My rating: 5.5/10

From the very first scene to the last, The Counselor was confusing, strange, laid back and uninformative.  I was not quite sure what the opening scene was trying to convey nor was I clear on why we were seeing what we were seeing.  I find when there are too many big name stars in one movie, it usually sucks.  This one really sucked.  I actually was engaged in conversation with some of the movie goers.  Not one of them understood the movie or liked it.  One lady said it was the worst movie of the year.  I almost had to agree.  All I can share is “if you live by the sword, you will most likely die by the sword”.  There was only one innocent person in the whole story and that person didn’t  live by the sword but died anyway.  I can’t even recommend The Counselor on DVD — it’s just a complete waste of time.  I gave it a 5.5 rating because it was well acted, even though it didn’t really entertain.

TAKE SHELTER (2011) – My rating: 6/10

Looking for an ending!
Why do critics and potential critics get so damn philosophical when critiquing a movie?  What ever happened to being entertained or even conveying a simple message?

I will be the first to admit, Take Shelter is a confusing movie!  The wife, given the circumstances of her husband’s background, justifiably did not believe in him. Somewhere in this story, she decides to stick by him. In the end, she and their daughter sees what he sees. The audience deserves to know why their daughter was deaf, whether or not the weather was what it seemed to him and some rhyme or reason as to what happened in the end.

WE WERE LEFT HANGING AND THAT’S NOT GOOD OR ENJOYABLE. THERE’S NO CLOSURE WHICH MAKES THIS A WASTE OF TIME. WHERE IS THE MESSAGE IN THIS? Also, this movie was too slow, I had to fight to stay awake. The end make me wish I lost the fight — scenes were soooo…long, too many breaks of pure silence and finally, an ending that came without explanation.

If you have to make up the ending according to your take on this movie, you will also have to make up the answers to why his partner ratted him out, or if the rain had color to it, or if they actually were at Myrtle Beach. I didn’t want to have to rewrite the story.

I can only give this movie a 6 out of 10 — I don’t like to be left hanging!