Reviews

I really liked the Boise Boys show. The guys were natural and a lot of fun. With this show, some of that is gone. The interaction between the two is not nearly as spontaneous, seems a lot more scripted, and not in a good way. In some cases, the clearly contrived scenes were cringe worthy.

I'm not as impressed with their designs this time, either, especially the decor. There were a couple of places in which I'd have to rearrange furniture, replace some ugly lighting, etc., and in another couple, I don't think the result was much better than what they had started with. Renovating homes to sell isn't the same as renovating for an owner, and they were better when they were doing their own thing.

Overall, when they were doing Boise Boys, everything from their designs to their interactions flowed better. Hoping for a better 2nd season as I just wasn't very interested during season 1.

I've watch both of the first two episodes and all I can say it, "Yawn".

The writing is just abysmal and even Grammar, who is a top-tier performer, can't manage to deliver the laughs. Never mind the rest of the cast, who are absolutely awful. Seriously. Just awful. Not one of the supporting cast had any of the needed vibe with Grammer to pull off the "funny" like the old cast did. It's just all so flat.

To put lipstick on this pig, they tried the canned laughter track. So obviously disingenuous, and so very loud as if to to say, "See, it's funny 'here' so you should laugh".

I didn't really have high hopes but any that I did have was dashed almost instantly. I don't know where all the high ratings are coming from but if this what what so many others think is great entertainment, I guess I must be from a different planet.

This movie is another technological achievement, but that's about all it is. The writing and acting were subpar, to say the leas. I suppose if I were in my teens, I'd think this movie was a great achievement (if I could sit through a 3+ hour movie at that age), but I'm older than that and prefer movies with some meat to them. I enjoyed the first movie. It had an actual storyline, even it it was a bit weak and predictable. But this? Really, it's just a beautiful visual assault and that's all.

Although I've not been a tremendous fan of Cameron's movies, this has to be a career low for him. He should have hired someone who can write a decent story and create decent dialogue. I don't recommend spending money on going to a theater to watch this one. Wait until is streams.

I like the concept of this show but it's not pulled off all that well. Sabrina's designs are generally ho-hum and sometimes miss the mark but they are all better than what the homeowner's put together, so there's that.

Sabrina promises to exactly recreate (her words, not mine) the high end room but rarely does so "exactly". I get that replacement pieces are often not going to be the same, and she well knows that too, so perhaps she should back off that promise.

The real highlight of the show is her design "assistant", Chris. He's a lovely man and I suspect he could actually do a better job than does Sabrina. I think she knows that as well, which is why she is sometimes competitive with him rather than working with him, and she's pulls an attitude. Sabrina seems like a nice person but has a bit of a "princess" complex.

In summation, high end designs aren't always great, replacements sometimes miss the mark by a wide margin, but it isn't a bad show, just not the best out there. It gets to be a bit of a bore after watching half a season because it's just more of the same, but if you spread out viewing the segments, it won't bore you to tears.

Although the carelessness and unprofessionalism of the crew were irritating at times, the first several seasons were fun to watch. Then a "rub" between daughter and mother began to seep in and the way Mina started to treat Karen was irritating. Karen now seems to be semi-retired and their relationship seems to be back on track, but without Karen participating 100%, Mina sometimes seems lost. The first several episodes of season 7 were "iffy" at best, but it picked up steam midway through the season and the show now seems back on track. Good to see because I wasn't really enjoying up to episode 7 and stopped watching for a while.

I have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed by the finished Castle project. Trying to figure out why, the word that comes to mind is "disjointed". As a whole, the rooms just didn't "flow". I'd say that I didn't care for about half of the styling choices that were made.

The kitchen is gorgeous but it just doesn't feel as though it fits in and while I get the concept of a "butlers pantry", it's more like two separate side-by-side kitchens, each with an entirely different feel to them.

The master bedroom is completely underwhelming and the master bathroom unimaginative. The drawing room is a huge disappointment. Unattractive furnishings, lighting and paint color. And the card room? I wouldn't want to spend any time in it at all. So very dark and depressing. And that carpet. Ugh. The "boys" bedroom is another miss color and style wise, and why was the drawing of the architect hung in that room? Totally out of place.

I love about 95% of their home renovation projects but the end result of The Castle project was somewhat disappointing. If I were to buy it, I'd have to have some of the rooms re-done. I'm not sure what went wrong. Maybe Joanna was trying too hard to get it right and ignored her usually spot-on instincts?

Ridiculous plot, terrible writing and pacing. Tom Holland has to be the worst Spider Man ever. He acts like a silly little boy who isn't very bright. Even the better actors like Cumberbatch and Molina appeared idiotic. Don't get me started on their stabs at writing humor. Not at all funny, very lame. I won't give specifics because if anyone who is reading this hasn't yet watched the movie and decides to do so, I won't have ruined any part of it and they'll just have to see if my opinion of this over-hyped and very expensive-to-make movie was worth watching. For me, it's a big NO. Too bad because I was looking for some good escapism, but I'm not 12 anymore and my standards are different now. Good writing plays a huge part in whether I like a movie and this movie was very wide of that mark. And I'll say it again, Tom Holland is just a terrible Spider Man.

Mike and Robert run a salvage business and they're great fun to watch. Always joking around and very funny. Mike is like a bull in a china shop in his approach, Robert more methodical, but it's clear that they work well together. Mike is also fairly creative and short bits of time are spent on projects that he designs and builds.

For a lot of folks, this show would be worth a watch but I had to stop half-way through the second season. I couldn't stand to see so many historical buildings being torn down. Not Mike and Robert's fault, they just salvage the good stuff out of them for reuse and repurposing, but it just made me sad to see these places mowed down "in the name of progress". I'm more into shows that save historical structures, not ones that destroy them.

Anyway, if tearing down historical buildings doesn't really bother you and you enjoy "salvage" shows, this is a great one to watch. Mike and Robert are a hoot.

Who's writing all these bogus reviews? People somehow related to the making of this film?

This was one of the most boring movies I've ever watched, although I admit I only made it half-way through. Maybe the last half was better but I highly doubt it.

Terrible writing, terrible directing, terrible camera work, terrible acting, and not worth your time.

That's all I have to say about this mess of a movie but I need 200 more characters in order to post this review so I'll just say this. It's disappointing that these bogus reviews so badly tilt the rating of movies and series. It makes their ranking so unreliable one can never tell what they're getting. In this case, one is getting not much worth the time.

I have to wonder if the people giving this series a rating of 10 are somehow related to the show. It's a very mediocre series at best.

The costumes and sets are very good, the acting is passable if not a bit forced, the editing a bit rough, but the writing is painfully prosaic and contains so many plot holes, one could use the script to drain pasta.

The storylines and characters are predictable, underdeveloped, unintelligent, tedious and, of course, "woke" taking the viewer out of the time period into what feels like a modern-day series with actors wearing silly-looking clothing.

Such a shame. I love a good period series, especially if mystery is involved, but this is just too amateurish to take seriously. If you want a mindless middling show, go for it. If you want something more interesting and done to a higher standard, skip it.

This is a pretty bad movie with not one likable character. Every single one of them is annoying. Cusack is a good actor but his character's revelatory moment at the very end does nothing to erase his eye-rolling whine fest during the entire movie. Jack Black plays his usual insufferable and arrogant self. Yawn.

Not much character development going on here but lots of quick little cameo appearances by notable entertainers. I like the concept here but it was so overworked that it ran out of steam before the movie did. They were trying way too hard to make the movie hip and different but it fell flat after about 20 minutes.

Not sure why this was marketed as a rom-com. Nothing funny whatsoever happened in the movie. Rather, it's a boring drama of one man's attempt to finally grow the hell up. If you're looking for something fun and entertaining, go elsewhere.

Aside from the ridiculous premise and tremendous number of plot holes, if you enjoy rom-coms, you might enjoy this one. Why? Hugh Jackman. He steals every scene. Well, OK. As silly as the premise is, it's still fun. Who doesn't like a little time-travel story?

Meg Ryan does her usual thing, which borders on boring, and her character's "style" isn't one of her best looks. Whoever did her hair, which looked badly cut and stringy, should have been fired. And whoever was in charge of her wardrobe should have been fired as well. It was the drabbest and most unattractive wardrobe I think I've ever seen for the female lead of a rom-com. In one scene, she's wearing brown suede boots with a blue-grey silk evening gown. Seriously? Do they not think viewers notice those things?

OK, enough of dissing Ryan. I will say that in addition to Jackman doing an excellent job with his role, all of the supporting cast does an excellent job with theirs. Ryan is the only "bad actor" in this movie. If Leopold likes lovely women with class and grace, I can't understand why he would fall for Kate considering the way she's played by Ryan because her "Kate" has neither.

So if you love Hugh Jackman and can take Meg Ryan without too much difficulty, you'll likely enjoy this little romp. The story doesn't have a lot of "meat" to it, but there's definitely much worse out there in this genre.

Is Chris Evans supposed to be appealing because he isn't. Worse yet, the character he plays is unlikeable. Michelle Monaghan is clearly appealing, but the character she plays is also unlikeable. Considering they're the leads in a rom-com, that doesn't bode well for the movie. In fact, within 20 minutes of starting the movie, it was time to find something else to watch.

Playin It Cool tries too hard to be cool by trying too hard to be quirky and clever. It falls flat on all fronts and really has nothing going for it. Even if you're just looking for something to watch on a rainy Sunday, there's so much better out there to spend your time with.

Although not a great movie, "A Little Chaos" does have some charm. Rickman was superb but I did find Schoenaerts to be, as usual, a bit underwhelming. Like his role as Gabriel Oak in "Far From the Madding Crowd", his "quietly dignified" portrayals tend toward the too quiet, zero passion. Winslet and Schoenaerts have no screen chemistry so that didn't help. The acting by the rest of the cast was good, although Winslet has this odd look on her face the entire time. I imagine she was meant to be portraying a woman living with great grief but it didn't really work. Another issue the movie had was all the little character subplots. Too many that were just briefly included but too underdeveloped to add much to the story, which gave the movie a disjointed feel. Overall, the movie had great potential but it was just bland. While it had its moments, it didn't quite hit home. That's not to say it isn't worth a viewing on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and there are far worse movies out there. It's just not a movie that will leave a lasting impression.

This movie is beautifully filmed and the gist of Hardy's novel retained, but it lacked a bit of development and cohesion. First, the character of Frank wasn't well-developed, nor his relationship with Bathsheba, so that entire arc fell flat. There was time in the film to do that, but it was twittered away on a few unnecessary scenes.

Although Mulligan thought Matthias Schoenaerts was the perfect choice to play Gabriel Oak, I can't agree. Nothing horribly wrong with his performance other than his character just wasn't played strongly enough to my mind. I felt Schoenaerts' performance was a tad bit lacking.

If those two above-mentioned situations were a bit better developed, I think this would have been a much better movie. As a whole, however, as slow as it was, not at all a bad movie and Mulligan was superb in her role.

This is an OK movie. I was hoping for better considering it had a decent cast and the subject matter, Secretariat, couldn't be better. The greatest racehorse in history deserved an Oscar-winning production but got tepid instead. Pretty good filming and editing, but the real problem was with the writing and acting. Lackluster. Lackluster storytelling, lackluster character development and lackluster acting. Didn't really care about any of the characters except Secretariat, but a horse can't tell the story. Nothing exciting or memorable here, which is a shame. In fact, the 2003 movie, Seabiscuit, is far and away a better movie. Given that Secretariat is a Disney production, my hopes for something pretty spectacular were high. The movie has good introductory scenes. After that, it was almost a yawner all the way to the bizarre music choice at the end of the movie. A rousing tune that should make us feel happy and excited but was out of place given the story and the dullness of the movie. A real shame that they dropped the ball so badly on this one.

While by no means a perfect movie, it's very, very good. Great entertainment. Great characters and although a rehash of an old story, and parts of it were a bit ho-hum, it's generally creatively massaged into a new environment, although I couldn't tell if he was going for a Native American experience or an African one. Character development lagged a bit and I thought it weird how Weaver's character had such a different personality depending on whether she was in her human shoes or her Na'vi ones. As far as the acting goes, nothing real taxing here and the cast did a pretty good job. Neytiri was far and away my favorite character, Jake coming in as a close second. TBH, the only thing that turned me off were those tails. Not sure why but there had to be a better way.

All in all, great entertainment and even though there was some violence, no blood and guts so OK for younger viewers. I watched it twice on two different days because it was such a "new" concept, I wanted to be sure I caught everything. Enjoyed it the second time as much as the first time.

The female lead was cute, male lead was a bore. There were a couple of good supporting cast members but most were pretty unremarkable in every way. What makes this movie a real flop and not really worth the time is the writing. It's a very worn out story done a million times, only this time with a full Asian cast. That did not make it unique enough to be watch-worthy. A ho-hum story with an unexciting and predictable ending is not good entertainment even if just about everyone is beautiful. Character developed was practically nonexistent and 90% of the support characters were just frigging silly, caricatures really. The only reason I give this movie a rating of 2 is because while it has nothing of real interest going for it, there are actually worse movies out there. Save yourself the disappointment and find something to watch that's worth your time.

I'm not sure why this film garnered such accolades. The first time I watched it, I was underwhelmed. Several years later, I watched it again to see if I missed the point because it got such high praise. I didn't miss the point because the movie doesn't have much of one.

Every single aspect of this movie is underdeveloped and that's underscored by music that is monotonous, just like the movie. Considering how long they took to tell the story, I would call that a giant missed opportunity. Nothing in it really engages the viewer on any level because the story telling and acting was as monotonous as the music. About the only thing this movie accomplishes is being faux intellectual. Not a horrible flick, but certainly not worthy of all the faux praise it got.

The first two episodes were engaging enough, although I could see woke politics was going to turn into the theme of this show instead of just entertaining the audience, which is a bore in and of itself. Nonetheless, I kept going with it but about half way through episode 3, the story line begins to fall apart. Slogged through the 4th episode but by the end of episode 5, I had had enough. The acting is excellent but the writing put those great actors into an impossible situation, that is, trying to turn a bad script into something worth saving. Predictable, stereotypical, uncreative, uninspiring. That is, a complete bore.

I really wanted to like this show because not much worth watching is being produced these days that either isn't completely inane or making attempts to indoctrinate viewers. I suspect those who gave it anything above a 7 rating didn't watch enough of the show to give it a valid rating.

The presenters are a little quirky and a lot of fun making this show very enjoyable to watch. All three have a lot of restoration/renovation and historical knowledge, and a love for what they're doing. That, combined with top-notch craftsmanship and little history lessons along the way make this a very unique show and it has become my favorite in the genre. Highly recommended and I'm looking forward to season 2.

Mr. Hollenbeck is a lovely man who is clearly a success as a craftsman. Problem is, we don't get to see a lot of that being done. We see a bit here and there, projects completed by others as he wanders around checking things out, but mostly what we get is to hear a lot of his personal philosophy about "life". That's fine but maybe they should change the title of the show to "The Philosopher". No insult intended, but this is not a show during which one gets to see a lot going on during the process of taking something from dilapidated to refurbished, or from nothing to something. Maybe I don't get the focus of the show, or maybe they don't really know what the focus is?

Jonathan seems like such a good guy. Caring and real. I enjoy watching him and the passion he has for what he is doing. He is a definite 10. What drags this show down is the designer. I feel bad saying that because she also seems like a nice person but her design choices are either too much or too little, never striking just the right balance. I give her a 4. She has too much control for someone who's mediocre at what she does. Jonathan would be better off finding someone who is a top-notch designer. Anyway, I still watch because I like what he's doing a lot.

First couple of battle shows were OK but enough is enough already. Get creative and find something else to do because this idea has been beat to death. Besides, it's always the same old builders and designers. Yawn.

These two created some of the ugliest rooms I've ever seen. If I moved into that house, I'd have to completely renovate it. They have horrible ideas and horrible taste. Sorry. They seem like nice people but the result of this renovation job was just awful.