By Dave B.

​The Trader (Netflix) is another strong Netflix short documentary. Winner of the Sundance Short Film Nonfiction Jury Award, it depicts a day of the life of a merchant who purchases second-hand clothes and baubles from thrift stores in Tblisi, Georgia and sells them to villagers in the Georgian countryside in exchange for potatoes. 

By Dave B.

​I’ll keep this one short: Tau (Netflix) is a science fiction thriller about a woman who is abducted and experimented on by a reclusive billionaire attempting to design the perfect artificial intelligence in order to save his business. She’s kept imprisoned by an AI named Tau, who she must form a connection with in order to escape her certain death at the end of the billionaire’s experiments. I’m keeping this review short because Netflix continues to have the same problems with most of it’s science fiction efforts. They’ll be conceptually interesting, to a degree. They’ll usually be watchable. But no effort will have been put into the script, dialogue, and plot. 

By Dave B.

​Here’s the thing. There are a lot of things to dislike about Baywatch (2017, currently on Amazon). Some of the performances are lackluster, at best. The plot is substandard in every way. Most annoyingly, it can’t decide if it’s a comedy, a drama, or an over-the-top action flick. But despite myself and my tendency to be overly critical, there are a couple of things that I really like about this movie.

By Dave B.

​In most respects Otherlife (2017, currently on Netflix) is your standard movie about the potential perils of virtual reality technology. In the film, nanotechnology is used to alter brain chemistry to create a mental experience, such as a snowboarding trip, that lasts only a day. As is typical in these types of cautionary tales, the technology is glitchy, money is the primary motivation for the antagonist to seek to use the technology for dubious purposes, and the protagonist is long on good intentions and short on common sense. What sets Otherlife apart however, is its stylish visuals.

By Dave B.

​The Oscar-nominated short documentary Heroin(e) (Netflix) relays the struggle of three women in Huntington, West Virginia who are attempting to stem the tide of the rising flood of America’s opiate epidemic’s impact on their community. Fire Chief Jan Rader, drug court Judge Patricia Keller, and Necia Freeman of the Brown Bag Ministry make truly herculean efforts to wring a few victories out of a situation that is ultimately doomed to be an unmitigated, unalterable defeat.

By Dave B. 

​Flat out, the second season of Luke Cage (Netflix) is a marked improvement upon the first installment. The story picks up shortly after the events in Defenders (there are several references to events in Defenders, but it definitely isn’t necessary to have seen it to follow the plot, however having seen the first season of Luke Cage is probably a prerequisite). Things appear to be going well for Luke. He’s extremely popular in Harlem, he has a loving relationship, and he’s kept crime at a manageable level. Unfortunately, everything is about to change with the arrival of a new, charismatic super-powered “villain”, Bushmaster. 

By Dave B.

After a 14 year wait, Incredibles 2 (Disney/Pixar) has finally arrived.
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The sequel takes place shortly after the events in the first movie. Superheroes are illegal. The Incredible family is in dire financial straits. The world appears to have moved on from needing heroes to feel safe. As setups to movies go, all of this is pretty appealing. But there’s something amiss with this movie. 

By Dave B

By Dave B.

​Well, seeing as how it’s the four month anniversary of Nothing To Say Here and as I’m currently in the middle of a move (see you soon Cleveland!) I’ve decided to take a look back at some of the movies and TV shows that have been reviewed this quarter. So, with no further ado the Top 5 Rated Movies Reviewed on Nothing To Say Here:

By Dave B.

When I was a kid, I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books. Sure, I cheated at them all the time, but who didn’t? That was part of the fun. I even tried a zombie CYOA book on Kindle once. That was…an interesting experience. So when I heard that Netflix had partnered with DreamWorks on a CYOA program, I definitely had to check it out. Despite decent animation and extremely basic controls, I can’t help but be a bit disappointed by Netflix’s offering.