Reviews

Middle of nowhere town with middle of nowhere people involved in a bog standard murder. Characters are boring and tedious and honestly you really don't care how it all turns out. Dialogue is typical Australian cinema: 10 words a minute pace which is a real struggle to stay awake to. Add the cliches and it's impossible to stay awake too.

And now I have to go through the stupid routine of filling out this review to 600 words because apparently that's a judge of quality. Even though 600 words is what the length of Eric Bana's script should have been. 44 more words to go. 23 now. 15. This min word thing is stupid.

Sheep farmers in Australia are as common as hot dog stands in NY. Why anybody would take this story out of unique Iceland setting and implant it into Australia is beyond me. It's a story for die-hard sheep farmers. At best a TV movie remake. I still see I have to add about 330 words before I can submit this review, which I know no one actually reads so it's kind of stupid of them to enforce it. Instead I will tell you a story about going to the river today - because my town in Australia doesn't have a beach, we have to a mountain river to swim when it get's hot (it's summer here 37C today!!). Min Character limit met so will finish my story on another review filler!

ChatGpt is goi going to write this part because everything I want to say is in the subject but I still have....491 characters to fill in before I can submit this review. 433 now. Finish it off ChatGpt:

"Bullet Train" is a fast-paced and action-packed thriller movie directed by David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Zazie Beetz, and a talented ensemble cast. Based on the Japanese novel "Maria Beetle" by Kotaro Isaka, the movie follows the story of five assassins who board a high-speed bullet train bound for Tokyo, each with their own target, only to find themselves in a deadly race against time and each other.

From the opening scenes, "Bullet Train" sets a thrilling tone that never lets up. The action sequences are spectacular, filled with intricate choreography, stunning special effects, and explosive set-pieces that will leave you on the edge of your seat. David Leitch, who has a background in stunt work and co-directed the original "John Wick," brings his signature style of kinetic and relentless action to this film, making it a visceral and adrenaline-fueled ride.

The cast is phenomenal, with Brad Pitt delivering an intense and charismatic performance as the seasoned assassin "Ladybug." Joey King shines as "Prince," a young and ambitious killer who seeks to prove herself. Zazie Beetz is impressive as "Marmalade," a sharp-witted and skilled assassin with a mysterious agenda. The supporting cast, including Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Hiroyuki Sanada, also deliver excellent performances, bringing depth and complexity to their respective characters.

The movie's screenplay, written by Zak Olkewicz, is engaging and clever, filled with sharp dialogue and unexpected twists and turns. However, the plot can be confusing at times, and some of the characters' motivations are not always clear. The movie also suffers from some pacing issues in the second act, with some scenes feeling dragged out and repetitive.

Overall, "Bullet Train" is a thrilling and entertaining movie that delivers on its promise of high-octane action and suspense. It's a must-watch for fans of David Leitch's work, as well as anyone who loves a good action movie. However, if you're looking for a deep and thought-provoking story, you might be disappointed. Nonetheless, with its stylish visuals, stellar cast, and heart-pumping action, "Bullet Train" is a ride that's definitely worth taking."

Zzzzzz - AI.

I seem to be unique in finding the daughter the most real character to watch. Her parents are just plain bonkers, and her brother is too young and naive to understand what's really going on around him. Her consistent dislike and distrust of her parents in season 2 is exactly how I started to feel, as the parents swung from agreement to outright hatred and betrayal of each other from one episode to the next.

Half way through season 2 I was feeling for the mother, but then she switches back to her activist ways thinking, which would mean abandoning the return to normal life she had just promised to restore to her children, what?! Haven't finished the season yet, so no idea if she pursues that, but its got to the point where I hope the daughter just gets up and leaves to make a better life for herself. Her parents are just awful people and her brother is oblivious.

Harrison Ford in the original movie was an awful obsessive and narcissistic character, but it was Harrison Ford, so you let it slide more. In this TV adaption, the father is a narcissistic bully with zero redeeming traits, the mother is borderline schizophrenic, the son is a wet sponge, and the daughter is wondering how on earth she got stuck with this crazy family and just wants a normal stable life.

Typical Lost/Walking Dead slow drama. Feels like every episode was written the day before it was filmed. However Lost or Walking Dead, had enough pace in first 2 seasons to hook people. This feels like they're went into the slow-play script after just 4 episodes. If it wasn't for the Lost writer on board, I doubt this would have been signed up for a second season.

Problem is there's a very small idea holding the whole series together, and that's not enough. It's now just dialogue dialogue dialogue about mundane things, then when you're about to fall asleep, something "mysterious" happens, then it goes back to 15-20mins of mostly irrelevant dialogue.

It's a shame because I enjoyed the actors in this. I'm going to wait until season 2 starts and see if they can pull this tight again. But they only get 1 more episode and then I'm out. I'm already skipping 30-40% of the last episodes as it's all just filler. There's too much other good stuff on for me to spend time on this.

Unfortunate how the script just started pointless meandering after 4 episodes.

Acting is hit and miss. Some is good, a lot of it is wooden

Dialogue is pretty cliché

No character development, so it's just two groups of people shooting at each other and you don't really care about how it ends

Obviously filmed on a farm and Queensland. Felt nothing like Vietnam.

As an Australian, I expected to feel more, but it was just a mechanical box-ticking movie that I didn't connect with due to the cliché lines, wooden acting, zero character development and off-location filming.

In the vein of Westworld, this is a tv series of people who should not feel, emerging from their cocoon and becoming human.

It shows both sides. It appeals to people who feel too much and would love to dull that intensity and be more free spirited, and it appeals to people too self-occupied or driven to actually appreciate what they have.

Every episode is quite a remarkable roller coaster of emotions for the viewers, while the characters on screen are doing their hardest to suppress the very same feelings with soma.

Think of the future, and then think of the future of that future, then you will enjoy Brave New World.

Failed as an action movie because there was no action. Failed as an emotional drama because parents made too many stupid choices. 5/10. A very bland movie. Zzzz

Casually watched the first 2 episodes late one afternoon while I was doing other things, but then found myself clicking "next episode" every time one finished and by midnight had blasted through the whole show! Helped a lot by a great suspenseful soundtrack, the "tv movie" budget kept my expectations low to start with, but by half way I didn't care and it turned out really quite addictive!

Pick some good wine and a casual quarantine evening with plenty of time and this is a good watch.