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Reviews
The Orville: Gently Falling Rain (2022)
One critical blunder
Early in the episode, Ed remarks that certain videos are untrue. From a writing standpoint, the videos really should have been completely true. This would have painted both sides as equally flawed and put The Orville (and all human leadership) in the position of choosing between two difficult choices. It's a simple, Star Trek kind of plot design.
Instead, one side is the enemy and The Orville gets painted into a very well defined political viewpoint. Of course we know this may be true behind the scenes, but it is better not to bleed it into the show.
I think I am personally levelheaded enough to continue watching the series, but I can still see myself simply forgetting to watch the next episode. I'm sure a good number of people will. If this plot decision actually served some real benefit, maybe an argument could be made here, but it does nothing to help the plot of the episode or the show.
The episode is fairly strong in general. It could have been much better with some blurred morality. It certainly isn't good enough to merit shedding viewership.
The Expanse: Winnipesaukee (2021)
Excellent episode
I get it if people don't like episode 7 or the Naomi story-line, but leave those grievances with that episode and stop taking it out on this one. Naomi is on screen for maybe 5 minutes, if that. There's no family drama involved. The set piece that this episode is named for is awesome.
The Expanse: Oyedeng (2021)
Naomi would not freeze in space
Space is cold, but it is also a vacuum. So for starters, the science is accurate. They even fattened up her face in special effects. You can see the swelling. I do wonder why the writers even opened this can of beans though, as it is just asking for trouble.
Otherwise, I will say I don't especially care for the whole Naomi and her son story-line. I didn't care for it in previous seasons when it was background and I still don't now. If I did then I might feel more strongly about this episode, since it spends so much time on that thread. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is terrible though. I've little doubt the season would have been better served to binge watch, than forcing people to wait a full week between these sorts of episodes.
Probably it should have been an 8 episode season but it was given an order of 10. That is an issue with TV that goes back to the dawn of TV. So, overall, I do understand the not so thrilled feeling of some fans here, but I wouldn't be so dramatic as to say that it ruins anything either. It's just the same old time fill that happens when a show has to be a certain number of minutes and episodes long and that length exceeds the material.
The Expanse: Tribes (2021)
Great episode
I don't know what has people in a bunch. Does an episode have to have action and big events to be good? Every scene in this episode is tight and concise. I haven't read the books, so I can't make that comparison, but this isn't Disney doing fan fiction after burning George's scripts. This is the actual authors adapting their work into a TV show. They have every right to make changes. If it's great, then it's great, and this is great.
Sex Education: Episode 8 (2020)
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy
I was curious going into this episode why it has been vote stuffed with 1's. Obviously a portion of the viewer base is unhappy with it ... but come on, it's not a series finale. The loose threads will go on in season 3. This show is colourful by design, and it does lean on circumstance a lot sometimes. Maybe that's a flaw in writing, but the writers at least have embraced that from the start. The whole setting is something of a fantasy. This episode delivers as well as any other.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
I'd rather go to the dentist than see this again.
I really wanted to enjoy this. I knew going in that I disagreed with many of the plot choices but I was hoping it would at least be entertaining. It wasn't. It was filled with cringe dialogue like bad fan fiction. All the moments that were supposed to feel important lacked any kind of emotional impact. It hurried along at a breakneck pace and yet a lot of it was filler. It's just a bad movie, and that makes me kind of sad.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 6: The Prisoner (2019)
Next level
There has been some level of mixed reaction regarding episodes 4 and 5 for being 'side missions'. I suppose this one is as well, but it doesn't matter. This episode is completely superior on every level. The writing, the directing, the music. It doesn't much matter if it's Star Wars or not. It's just great.
Grey's Anatomy: Make Me Lose Control (2005)
Network Television
I'll go spoiler free here and be vague. A significant plot-line is resolved in this episode. It's especially divisive, but instead of facing up to the difficult questions, the show takes the easy way out and avoids debate. I think that were this show on HBO or a streaming service, that might not be the case. The series as a whole is well written, but at least up to this point, it is also too often very safe and approachable. This episode in particular is as witty and enjoyable to watch as most of the previous ones. The subplot around blushing was a real dud though and is mostly why I give this entry a 7 instead of an 8. Also, the mushy soap moments will give varying mileage depending on your tastes. I tolerate them, personally, but I do feel like previous episodes nailed the landing a bit better.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 2: The Child (2019)
Masterclass of film making
This episode should be shown in film schools to teach students how to direct. Every shot is perfection. As they say, 'Show, don't tell'. You don't need words to convey a story.
The Orville: A Happy Refrain (2019)
Deft Hand
This is precisely the kind of plot that could have been executed poorly, but instead, it ends up being one of the best classic 'Star Trek' episodes ever produced. It can stand on an equal footing with any best of list. It's not epic, just a fantastic bottle episode.
The Orville: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes (2019)
Fantastic
While watching this show I've been thrilled to see the spirit of classic Star Trek return to the air in an age where that property has been all but destroyed by poor management. I've wondered a bit if this show can truly cement itself as being on the same level, mainly because Seth will never be Picard, and the cast lacks any character as good as Elim Garak. But episodes like this one, in only its second season, give me more 'hope' that it may just find its way there somehow.
The Orville: Primal Urges (2019)
Series worst episode could hae been its best
The plot of a dying civilization about to be absorbed by a star could have been one of the series best episodes. Instead we got something so awful that it is almost like Seth was trying to sabotage his own show. Razzie contender in every category imaginable.
The Orville: Krill (2017)
The good and the ham
I wanted to quickly review this episode because out of the first six, I felt it was easily the worst. It's not bad exactly, and I do love the strong classic Star Trek vibes this show brings. It is just that the show needs to know when to tone down the ham and get serious to maximize its potential. I suspect that the second season has learned this lesson and I'll discover that as I move along. Here though, the slapstick humor between Ed and Gordon completely kills the vibe, even if it is entertaining. It's good for entertainment, but sacrifices any potential to ever match some of Star Trek's best Klingon or Romulan episodes. If this show is going to hit the top level, it needs to know when to be full on serious, and this opportunity to establish the Krill on a similar amplitude to the Romulans is absolutely wasted on the humor. Also, the story element of the kids was good, but a bit too hammy in its handling. I suppose the classic Star Trek series had plenty of ham in the early going too. This is a solid show, I just wanted to voice my opinion on the matter in particular to this episode. Sometimes the humor is good, but to be a great show instead of just a good one, The Orville needs to know when to get full on serious.
Fubar (2018)
Do your research
You wouldn't make a new movie called 'Strange Brew', or 'Kids in the Hall'. You wouldn't make a movie called 'Fubar' either, unless it was actually the next entry in the 'Fubar' franchise.
Serenity (2019)
Maybe don't steal the name of your movie from Firefly
I suppose this movie bombed because it's bad. Really though, even if it was just average, it would forever be buried by the fact that Firefly has the rights to this movie title. You wouldn't start a new rock band and call yourselves Led Zeppelin would you? It's a silly way to ensure your movie is dead on arrival. There is only one Serenity, and this is not it.
Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park (2016)
Solid, but some missed opportunities
The difference between a good season of TPB and a great one can be illustrated by missed opportunities. The episode with the 200mph task should have focused on time travel, period. A full episode devoted to the boys thinking they went back i time could have been an all time classic, but instead, it's just a momentary gag. Also, the hangover scene was only a gag but it should have been an epic finale to the season. What happened last night? It was long forgot a couple minutes in. The guest stars absolutely elevate, but aren't always hitting the mark. The basketball player for instance just kind of shows up and stands around for a few. Cool and all, but it could have been more.
Overall though, plenty of good. Season 2 is better than Season 1. It's not among the best of TPB, but it's certainly an addition to the catalogue i'm glad to have.
The Emperor's New School (2006)
Better than the movie. Disney at it's VERY best.
It helps that the characters this show is based on are among the best Disney has ever come up with. The writing is what really makes this show. It's a total classic. Given, you need to appreciate the type of humor to enjoy it, and this is hard to explain. The humor is akin to the old school scenarios of 40's and 50's Disney, with modern spins. It never degrades into fart jokes or anything of that type. It's not adam sandler humor either, though I have enjoyed that. It is the exact same humor of the movie, only expanded upon for the length of time a TV show permits. So if you didn't like it in the movie, you won't like it here, but IMO The emperors new groove was the best thing to come out of Disney since Gargoyles.
A+
The Langoliers (1995)
A movie quality TV release.
4.5/5 The best parts of 'The Langoliers' are the acting and the directing. This never feels like a TV show. It feels like a solid theatrical release that is at times, inspired.
This isn't perfect of course, but the only flaws that stick out like a sore thumb are a few odd lines of flat dialog. This all adds up to about 3 or 4 minutes of drag out of a three hour release. This is important, as 'The Langoliers' is all dialog, like a stage play. In fact, this could be made into a stage play with little effort. So the fact that the dialog is almost entirely solid is very important. It is not the best you will ever hear in film, but it is good enough, that top level acting talent will make it great. That is, fortunately, exactly what 'The Langoliers' has in David Morse, Dean Stockwell, and particularly Bronson Pinchot, who deserved an Emmy for his performance. His character stole the show throughout, and his scenes in particular, were the most inspired here.
The directing is fantastic, though my only qualm is that airplanes land with the head pointing up, not down. Also, in reading a comment by another poster, I must point out that there are scenes where the characters stand staring for a short time before taking action. You can criticize this, but people do have a way of standing in shock at a traumatizing situation. Otherwise, the director and camera people make this feel like a theatrical release at the A level rather than some low budget TV episode. The visual representation is at times inspired at a level of 'The Shawshank Redemption', though particularly surrounding the Craig Toomy character and in portraying an empty world.
The driving point about your enjoyment of 'The Langoliers' sits squarely in the believability factor. It has a particular take on time travel that you must be able to accept, or you will start finding silliness in the film. It doesn't need to be a true take on time travel, just a creative one IMO, and 'The Langoliers' is creative. This film manages to explain its theories rather well, so true or not, it understands the ideas it presents. Is this as good as 'The Shawshank redemption' or 'The Green Mile'? I have a very hard time making that comparison. It's in a category of its own.
In closing, Bronson Pinchot puts on one of the most fantastic acting performances I have ever seen in a motion picture. Chances are, even if this film is not in your interest, you will appreciate his performance. It's a classic.
Land of the Dead (2005)
High on head explosions, gore, and action. Low on plot.
Each of Romeros dead movies are unique. This is the Hollywood action style entry. Lower on plot than Day and Diary of the dead, but still inspired and intelligent. A grade.
Land of the dead spends much of its time focusing on zombie head explosions, spilling intestines, and explosions, rather than the intricate character building that made Day and Diary of the dead so spectacular, but manages to retain an intelligent plot structure for the small amount of time that this is given any focus, and to be an A grade action/horror movie that is better than much of the competition. Romero is a master of directing talent. The plot that does exist focuses on the time tested issue of a split between the upper and lower class.In this case, the upper class lives in a luxurious high rise while the lower class is left in the streets. There is a struggle between the classes and their zombie rivals. This is all fleshed out by wonderfully shot, and never absurd, zombie blasting, intestine spilling action. The characters play their parts well, and remain interesting though as compared to Day and Diary of the dead, we know almost nothing about them of real interest. That's okay though. This is a certain type of movie, unique in the franchise, as is every other entry. The movie is beautiful to watch, fun to watch, and without a single minute that drags. This is a Hollywood, big budget looking glossy action/horror flick that is among the best of its type. It won't stimulate your mind the way the aforementioned two dead movies will, but is well worth the trip. Land of the dead does justice to a series of movies that continues to be fresh and unique with every entry.
Check it out.
Day of the Dead (1985)
This and Diary are my favorite dead movies.
Day of the Dead would make a great stage play.
There is no Hollywood gloss on this movie. It is very much a discussion between characters each dealing with their situation. Day even takes it one step further by developing the zombie to have human elements. The monster in this movie is not just something to be shot on mass, but something to think about. The movie is almost entirely character developing dialog in the small setting. It really could be performed as a wonderful stage play. The art direction in this movie is another high point. Though this movie was made in the 80's, the art direction still stands up today. Zombie makeup is applied to the smallest detail, and various other props, largely human bodies being ripped apart, and intestines are all very realistic. The movie is at many times, clever and insightful. Though for example, I very much enjoyed the 2nd dead movie, it was largely intelligent action with the odd conversation spot. This, the 3rd installment is almost all character dialog.
So, if you like your movies full of gunplay, action, and flatline characters with no personality, you will not enjoy Day of the Dead. If you like your movies more intellectual, and appreciate that element in the horror setting, you will love this movie.
Diary of the Dead (2007)
My favorite dead movie
As with Day of the Dead, Diary puts a very strong emphasis on the characters, and less on action, with great results.
The great thing about Romeros Dead movies is that no two are alike. This one is from the perspective of film students making a documentary of their experiences during the first outbreak. The premise allows for unique camera angles, and Romero's directing talent shows throughout. Shaky footage, shots from the floor, documentary style interviews, and even small details like the camera running out of batteries are used. There's nothing flashy or Hollywood about this. The characters are developed wonderfully instead of reel after reel of mindless zombie blasting. This is a horror movie as it should be. The dialog is smart, giving each character, even ones that make only brief appearances the human element. They are each dealing with the crisis in their own way, and portrayed for example in scenes where the camera man is so tied to his camera that he would do nothing to save his friends because it would ruin the shot. Brief clips that were 'downloaded' by the students (made by others experiences of the crisis) and incorporated into the film are vividly created to an eerie level. They also give Romero the chance to make more observations about how we deal with the threat of danger.
This is intelligent, A grade horror, and though all 5 dead movies are great, this and 'Day' stand as my favorite of the first 5 for their special attention to the characters rather than action. Highly recommended.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
Brilliantly shot and acted, but fails to portray the books most important concepts.
3.5/5 - Beautifully crafted sets and spectacular acting are marred by an inability to grasp some of the most important concepts in the novel. Particularly the Novels final, perhaps most crucial chapter.
***Be forewarned I will deal with spoilers of the novel from here-out to illustrate my point.***
I will begin with the single most important concept this film does not deal with, and that is the novels final and most important Chapter. Nineteen Eighty-Four the film almost completely ignores this final chapter. The Bookdoes far more to explain the aftermath of winstons treatment, and this is crucial to our understanding. Granted, the Books end can be perceived very different between individuals. I personally found it redeeming and hopeful of the future. The party meant to stamp the emotion, cognitive ability, and love right out of winston. Instead, they taught him how to really love, think about the world around him, and feel good natured emotion. To become a better man. The Ministry of Love had created in all their efforts exactly what they were trying to destroy. The party was fallible. It might fall, but Winston felt great gratitude towards Big Brother for teaching him these things. Winston loved Big Brother for it. Not in the way the party intended, but would he rise up against them? I do not know. The film did little to express the ideas of this chapter, and I would have had no way of formulating this idea of the novels conclusion based on it. I do not believe any viewer could come to an accurate conclusion of their personal theories of the novels final chapter based on the film. Some changes may always be necessary, even if just for keeping the running length below 3 hours, but this final chapter IMO needed to be shot word for word, scene for scene, in order, with every action meticulously displayed. The film even leaves out the crucial 'I betrayed you' comments by Winston and Julia to each other.
Many other small situational contexts were changed throughout, such as the timing of events, and characters involved. George Orwell set out events in the Book in a particular order for a reason. The changing of the timing of these events blurs the ideas a little, but not to the point of serious detriment. The film does however, botch up dealing with the Brotherhood. Little mention is ever made in the film about the Brotherhood. It was my interpretation that the Brotherhood was organized and controlled by the party. An ultimate form of control. Consider the line in the book referring that the party makes the revolution to establish the dictatorship. None of this was touched upon in the film. Winston does not bring Julia to see O' Brian, and the conversation between the three does not take place in the context of the Book. In fact, a viewer who has not read the Book may not even grasp that O' Brian is claiming to be part of the Brotherhood at all.
There are numerous other little changes I will not touch on. These two are the most important, and most detrimental to a film that is among the greatest ever made in the fields of acting and cinematography/directing. The scenes involving a crowd watching the telescreen are classics of cinema.
So my verdict? Do not see this movie if you have not read the book. You will not get an accurate representation of the most important concepts with which to formulate an understanding of the material. Even Winstons time in the Ministry of Love is portrayed on a level minimal to the length of coverage given in the book. Read the book, then see the movie for it's artistic merits and to understand from what direction it was made, filling in the various holes from your previous reading. As a film not based on prior material, it would be one of the greatest films ever made, but it is based on a book, with ideas that crucially must be represented here. Some of the most important, are not.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Breaks the mold. By far the best out of the three.
While I felt the first and third movies in this trilogy were entirely average, this second part of the trilogy is nothing short of excellent. Here's why.
This movie breaks the mold of survival horror movies. The usual formula places a group of characters together and kills them off one at a time over the course of the movie. In Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the story progression is much more open ended. We follow the stories of several different groups of characters in different parts of a city sealed off from the outside world to contain the outbreak of a virus. While many characters do die, in this case, it is happening to unique groups of people all making their own way to survive in a city over- run by zombies. Their story lines eventually converge of course, but the storyboarding developed to bring about this connection is stellar. As icing on the cake, all of these characters feel excellently cast and developed.
There are special effects in this movie, but they do not overpower the realism of human acting. The zombies, and most importantly, the Nemesis monster, are real actors in elaborate costumes and makeup.
The directing and set design are also excellent. This movie feels like a horror movie whereas the other two simply pass as alright action movies. The sets are intricately designed, with the very smallest attention to detail throughout. They are dark, filled with well placed streams of light and shadow, and dirty looking, in direct opposition to the clean, slick nature of the first movie. Everything really feels much closer to what the games envisioned in this outing. The directing is outstanding, filled with inspired camera angels, and the knowledge that true horror does not come from throwing scary beasts at us, but through the unknown about any scenario. The church scene is particularly inspired, giving us only the smallest glimpse of three attackers stalking the characters being portrayed. The level of suspense is masterfully built slowly to a climax around wonderful camera angels and the mood of the set. It is also no wonder why the acting in the movie feels so superb as well. It may not be the stuff of Oscars, but it is outstanding by action/horror standards. A great director can bring out the best talent from their actors and actresses. Another classic scene portrays frantic citizens of Racoon city trying to leave through the one exit in the barrier surrounding the city until one man at the front of the line succumbs to infection.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is an A grade movie, and by far the best of the series. If only all three were this good, and the director of this movie had been brought back for the third installment. It isn't a perfect film, but it is excellent in all the most important places. If you only buy or see one movie out of this trilogy, see this one. It is expertly crafted.