The new movie "Primetime" is about the television series that ran from 2004 to 2007, "To Catch a Predator". The year 2004 marked the final season of "Friends", and Seinfeld went off the air in 1998, setting the stage for an investigation show that tried to trap sexual predators of young girls and boys on national television. Amazingly, this show achieved #1 in ratings several times during its three-year run.
The lead reporter for this show was Chris Hansen, who would show up inside a house where the predator was waiting for some young person to arrive; then Hansen would question and humiliate the suspect, and then they would be arrested. The show followed this exact same series of events in every episode, which is probably why it only lasted three years.
For reasons unknown, a decision was made to make this television show from 20 years ago into a movie called Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen. This movie looks like it was shot using low-grade film, as if it were a cheap documentary. I have no idea why a decision was made to turn a bad television show from 20+ years ago into a bad documentary-like movie. The high rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 87% makes even less sense.
Like the television show from 20 years ago, this movie is a series of the same scenes repeated several times over. It was slow and boring and predictable, and as a movie, it never should have been greenlit. I rate this film a big pass, mainly because it never should have been made in the first place.
Movie Reviews From a Screenwriter's Perspective
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Friday, September 25, 2026
Movie Review: Heart of the Beast
The movie "Heart of the Beast" is arguably the greatest dog movie ever made, with the best acting performance in Brad Pitt's career. Like "The Revenant" (2015) starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the months of hardship in the wilderness and danger in this film were as impressive as any movie I have ever seen. There is a high probability, for the same reasons DiCaprio won an Oscar for The Revenant, that Brad Pitt will win a Best Actor Oscar for this film.
Both Pitt and DiCaprio are very wealthy and successful actors, and it was hard to understand why either one of them would take roles like these at any stage in their careers. There were many parts of this film where it was impossible to figure out how they were able to shoot scenes of imminent danger with a high probability of major injury or death to both Brad Pitt and the dog Odin (Uber II). Then add months of living in the worst conditions in the world to film a movie.
Odin is a highly trained military/combat German Shepherd who served alongside Brad Pitt's character, retired Army Special Forces veteran James Belmont. Odin lost his leg in the war in Afghanistan, has several scars on his face, and lost several teeth when he was hit by a brick. The intelligence and physical abilities, even with a prosthetic leg in this movie, are off-the-charts incredible. At times Odin seemed more like a superhero than a dog.
In the first 10% of this movie, a traveler played by J.K. Simmons runs into James and Odin for one night of drinking and talking before leaving them. I thought that this part of the movie seemed out of place and more filler, unrelated to this survival story.
This movie was filmed in New Zealand, but it represents the wilderness of Alaska, where James Belmont pilots a small plane that lands only on water. As in just about all stories about Alaska, its harsh wilderness and flying a small plane mean things do go wrong, putting James and Odin in severe danger many times in this impressive but fictional story. Through their years together in the war and now in Alaska, the love between Olin and James is as powerful as any relationship I have ever seen between a dog and a human being. There are many scenes in this movie that are hard to watch because the connection between this man and dog is so strong. The ending was as powerful and difficult to watch as any movie I have ever seen.
As almost everyone knows, the bond that humans have with dogs and cats have never been complicated. Human relationships with dogs and cats have always been simple and binary, without any of the insane complications that come with humans. I have never seen a movie where the well-known phrase "dog is God spelled backwards" has been truer.
The Rotten Tomatoes rating for this movie is 88%, with my rating in line with the audience rating of 97% and a strong recommendation to see this great film.
Both Pitt and DiCaprio are very wealthy and successful actors, and it was hard to understand why either one of them would take roles like these at any stage in their careers. There were many parts of this film where it was impossible to figure out how they were able to shoot scenes of imminent danger with a high probability of major injury or death to both Brad Pitt and the dog Odin (Uber II). Then add months of living in the worst conditions in the world to film a movie.
Odin is a highly trained military/combat German Shepherd who served alongside Brad Pitt's character, retired Army Special Forces veteran James Belmont. Odin lost his leg in the war in Afghanistan, has several scars on his face, and lost several teeth when he was hit by a brick. The intelligence and physical abilities, even with a prosthetic leg in this movie, are off-the-charts incredible. At times Odin seemed more like a superhero than a dog.
In the first 10% of this movie, a traveler played by J.K. Simmons runs into James and Odin for one night of drinking and talking before leaving them. I thought that this part of the movie seemed out of place and more filler, unrelated to this survival story.
This movie was filmed in New Zealand, but it represents the wilderness of Alaska, where James Belmont pilots a small plane that lands only on water. As in just about all stories about Alaska, its harsh wilderness and flying a small plane mean things do go wrong, putting James and Odin in severe danger many times in this impressive but fictional story. Through their years together in the war and now in Alaska, the love between Olin and James is as powerful as any relationship I have ever seen between a dog and a human being. There are many scenes in this movie that are hard to watch because the connection between this man and dog is so strong. The ending was as powerful and difficult to watch as any movie I have ever seen.
As almost everyone knows, the bond that humans have with dogs and cats have never been complicated. Human relationships with dogs and cats have always been simple and binary, without any of the insane complications that come with humans. I have never seen a movie where the well-known phrase "dog is God spelled backwards" has been truer.
The Rotten Tomatoes rating for this movie is 88%, with my rating in line with the audience rating of 97% and a strong recommendation to see this great film.
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Movie Review: The Weight
The new movie, "The Weight," is about a financially desperate single father, Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke), and his six-year-old daughter during the Great Depression. While looking for another run-down apartment after being evicted, Samuel is arrested by the police after they assault him for no reason in an alley. He then finds himself on a chain gang building a road, once again desperate to do his time and get back to his daughter after the huge injustice of being imprisoned after being attacked by the police for no reason.
I was surprised to see Russel Crowe (J.J. Clancy) in a small part as the warden of the chain gang, who had some good acting scenes in this relatively low-budget movie. Ethan Hawke deserves credit for taking this role, which was shot almost entirely in the dense woods of Oregon, with several intense fight scenes and dangerous scenes on a river. One day, the warden of the chain gang gives Murphy an assignment to transport gold bars with four other men he trusts for fifty miles through the difficult terrain of the Oregon wilderness. A promise was made by the warden that if he successfully transported all the gold, then he would be released from prison immediately. This sets the stage for some well-shot action scenes and the addition of an Indian woman, Anna (Julia Jones), who holds her own during the long, difficult trek.
I thought this story was well told and does hold your attention throughout, with no boring parts. The Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93% is too high; a more accurate audience rating is 78%, with my rating of 82% and a recommendation.
I was surprised to see Russel Crowe (J.J. Clancy) in a small part as the warden of the chain gang, who had some good acting scenes in this relatively low-budget movie. Ethan Hawke deserves credit for taking this role, which was shot almost entirely in the dense woods of Oregon, with several intense fight scenes and dangerous scenes on a river. One day, the warden of the chain gang gives Murphy an assignment to transport gold bars with four other men he trusts for fifty miles through the difficult terrain of the Oregon wilderness. A promise was made by the warden that if he successfully transported all the gold, then he would be released from prison immediately. This sets the stage for some well-shot action scenes and the addition of an Indian woman, Anna (Julia Jones), who holds her own during the long, difficult trek.
I thought this story was well told and does hold your attention throughout, with no boring parts. The Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93% is too high; a more accurate audience rating is 78%, with my rating of 82% and a recommendation.
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