Reviews

I have been playing fallout since its inception. I recently started gaming on a gaming laptop now, so I've been porting games I had on my Xbox and PlayStation platforms to it - and Fallout 3 and 4 are the most recent things I installed. I'm almost finished with a replay of Fallout 4 on it, and so this show couldn't have come at a better time.

They got SO many things JUST right. It's not over the top, but it is not at all subtle. The look, the feel, the atmosphere, even the music, everything they did, they nailed it. I'm simply amazed at all the tiny little details that are here, that often aren't even in your field of view - you simply catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye, and you pause, rewind a bit, and check it out. And yes, it was what you thought it was. Even those tiny little things they managed to get in here.

I get it, many people whining because it didn't follow the games and such. For me that's a bonus. That's what I would want. Otherwise I'm simply seeing something I've already played through countless times and know like the back of my hand.

No, this is fresh, but it follows the natural flow of what I would expect in this post apocalyptic world. It is the world I've come to love over years and years of gaming, through totally new eyes that caught everything.

Actors seem to be doing just fine so far, and they are introducing them and letting the viewer get to know them in bits and pieces as the story grows.

Normally with an adaptation like this, I can find something that bugs me. I've been bug free so far, this is simply a purely enjoyable ride, with amazing humor (I don't know how many times I've laughed out loud at something that was just so unexpected but was EXACTLY what you'd expect from the world, if you follow that twisted phrasing). It's dark, it has plenty of unexpected moments, and it is absolutely, 100% enjoyable. Everyone involved should be very proud of the product they've made.

My son was very young when this came out, so this has been one of our traditional Christmas shows we watched every year since. He always enjoyed Curious George, and I really loved how this one showed all the things they did together in the days leading up to Christmas that built their own memories.

The songs are great, and one of the things that he always loved best about it. So enjoyable that we have the MP3's so we could listen to the soundtrack in the car during the Christmas season.

The only reason I didn't give it the 10 stars is that there was such a focus on George and what toys he wanted, and how the Man with the Yellow Hat thought it would ruin Christmas if he couldn't get the right gifts. Seemed a bit too stressed since the entire show leading up to that point was about all the OTHER things that Christmas means.

But it's enjoyable, and a staple in this house now every Christmas.

This is an example of one of the bad episodes in this series, that I normally love. They take characters and make them act as if they're so stupid and so incompetent that they can't even walk, thinking that's funny. All it does is render the rest of the good parts of the episodes down. The show is outstanding when it comes to great interplay between the characters, witty conversations and one liners, and good character arcs for each character in the series, showing growth overtime, and how they mature. But then you get an episode like this that relies on just absolutely pathetically written physical humor, and it brings the whole rest of the episode down to its base level. And trying to force characters into actions that really really break credibility just to try to bring some new conflict in doesn't help either.

I don't get all the complaints about this movie. One person said it was a bad copy of Zootopia? I just don't see that. It's telling a story that has been told before, but it is still its own story.

Animation was unique in this one, and nicely done. There are some techniques that were unique here. That's always one of the things I enjoy with each new Pixar movie, you can see where the technology has improved a bit since the previous movie.

Voice actors did a good job, although I'm not familiar with most of them. There was only one that seemed a bit flat, the rest seemed to really bring their characters to life.

Story - yeah, we've seen the basic story before, but it has its own unique stamp in here and was enjoyable.

I liked it. I went into it with a totally open mind since I had seen so many detractors, but I wanted to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. Definitely adding this one to our collection. Is it as moving as Wall-E or Toy Story? No. But it's better than they've done for several years now. Hopefully this shows that Pixar is back on an upswing.

Here it is, 2023, and I'm watching this series for the first time. A friend made me start watching all of the Star Trek shows so that I could be prepared to start watching Picard. So far I've enjoyed them, and the doctor in this series is actually one of my favorite characters just because of his snarky behavior. This episode is just so filled with hilarious little moments that are so directly opposite of the much more normal serious tone of the show, especially considering the dark nature of the episode immediately before this one.

I actually made a comment to that friend that today, in an earlier episode, I had my second laugh out loud moment of the series. Considering this is season six, and it was only yesterday and today that I had laugh out loud moments, it's obvious that they don't go for laughs and this one nearly as much. And then this episode came along, and I've lost count.

The show does such a good job of building the characters, their personalities, their histories, that you immediately know what their reactions are going to be in different situations. And this episode simply tosses all of that out the window.

I know some trekkie purists out there really didn't like this one, but I think this just might be my favorite episode of all so far. All the other episodes are so similar, this one really shows a creative left turn for the writing staff.

I stumbled on this when it was still live on TV, but never got to really catch all the shows. What I did see piqued my interest though, so years after the fact, I got hold of the episodes and binged the whole series.

Lots of things I have seen online dissing Rachel Bilson as a doctor. Yeah, she maybe could've done the part better, but she did fine as her character as far as I'm concerned. She played the part very well of the translocated New York socialite suddenly stuck in the slow paced south.

They did a very credible job with character growing in this series as well. Each character was well fleshed out and each saw their various arcs throughout all the seasons. It wasn't some static thing like many ensemble sitcoms are. It was fluid and the characters grew in believable ways.

If you're a country fan, you'll appreciate all the various cameos from some country singers. I was never a country fan but after watching all the episodes, I've become one to my shock.

The finale seemed a bit forced and abrupt, but it still was one of the better finales I've seen on any show. It really did a good job of trying to close the various storylines.

Actors for all the parts I felt did a good job, and they all seemed to play well off of each other.

I've read all the books multiple times. Gould did a good job with them, and the premise is just so cool, you can say, "What if..." Teleportation has always been my answer when everyone asks, "What power would you like to have?" For so many reasons.

This deviated from the book and that didn't bother me. I know some of the reviewers gave a lower score because it didn't follow the book. That has never bothered me, I never expect books and movies to be identical. Sometimes it's really done well and you end up with a better story. Sometimes, it's just different. This time it's different. Not better for me, but not necessarily worse.

People say that he's not a superhero, he didn't act like Peter Parker and such. To me, that's kind of the point. This seems to me to be a far more realistic portrayal of a kid with powers. Apparently Marvel has people convinced that as soon as someone has powers, they're just going to be amazingly altruistic. I seriously doubt that would be the case.s

Special effects were well done for the time. The visuals are simply stunning, and it's still amazing they got to film on site for the colosseum. This is a sugary treat for the eyeballs.

Not a fan of the main actor though, he's never impressed me and in this movie he gave a rather single dimensional performance.

I never sit down and try to make a movie fit my vision of what it should have been, or how realistic it is or should have been. It's a movie, it's an escape. I don't try to guess what will happen next, I don't try to solve puzzles. I like being taken for a ride by the filmmaker, and I LIKE being able to suspend disbelief for a while. And this one is an enjoyable escape.

This really was a gem. They had such a cast of characters that really seemed to work well together.

Stephen Root and Phil Hartman really stole this show though. Steven was just this great personality and his character was hilarious with so many non-sequiturs that came totally out of left field. Phil's character had some great one-liners and that velvety smooth voice gave him such perfect delivery.

The word play was outstanding, intelligent dialog and not the typical simpering, blathering junk that seemed so prevalent in the day.

The characters had good story arcs, and all were well fleshed out. Each was given the chance to grow and change over the seasons.

It was such a sad shock when Phil Hartman was murdered though. And without him, the show just wasn't the same and was cancelled after that next season.

Pixar is just amazingly adept at creating stories that make you CARE about the characters. Things you can relate to in your own emotional life. Even the ones that weren't as popular as others, like The Good Dinosaur, still had heart, and you cared.

This movie? I just don't get it. Why did they bother? This has absolutely NOTHING that Pixar is known for. Nowhere in this story is anything that could possibly engage your emotions. Nowhere is anything to really cheer for or, frankly, even laugh at. There were, I think, three points where people watching it laughed. The rest of the time it was just people watching the screen with this perplexed look of sadness on their faces, as if wondering why there were there in the first place.

The story feels forced. WAY too forced.

It is as if some of their magic ran out when they decided to stop having John Ratzenberger SOMEWHERE in the movie.

And I didn't care at all either way about their social justice stuff. It didn't help or hurt anything, so I didn't get up in arms about it like some. It really did nothing to further the story, but that's usually the case.

I hope this is not a new baseline for Pixar moving forward. The downfall didn't start with the acquisition by Disney, they still had outstanding movies after that. But it seems the deeper Disney digs itself, the more it's hurting Pixar's product.

Granted, the fourth season was a bit of a downer when they lost Jim Gaffigan, but it was still a great show.

They had a great cast, and all the actors they selected for each role really did a great job of bringing that character to life. It was one of those shows that really let you get an emotional attachment to the characters and the stories.

Great dialog, not some vapid junk like we see in most shows in more recent years. This had a heart and a soul, and it was such a letdown when there was no fifth season...

My son and I loved Portal 1, and Portal 2 was an out of the park home run for a followup.

Gameplay still fun, but what really makes this game SO enjoyable is the voice acting and the dialog. There are just so many lines in here that are absolutely hilarious that my son and I throw them at each other randomly elsewhere in life.

Smooth gameplay, but man, the writers of the dialog in this game are the REAL winners...

For 6 years I heard the hype and the criticism and all the various allegations about this show, but somehow never heard a single song. I knew it was a big show on broadway, costing more than some people make in a month just to get in the door, which was one reason I never bothered looking into it. Just a bunch of rich people overcharging to do a show...

I happened to come across the soundtrack in 2022 though, and then learned that it was released to Disney. I didn't think much of the soundtrack other than the King George songs which I thought were hilarious, but some of the harmonizing was just amazing, a true signature of Lin Manuel Miranda. So I watched it.

And I was impressed, despite my misgivings about it all. I have never liked hip hop or rap, not even a little. But somehow in this, it worked well and it didn't seem like a negative to me.

The music was amazing, and even my son is obsessed with it now, wanting to watch it all the time and always wanting the soundtrack on in the car.

The set was so simplistic and basic, yet allowed for so many scenes so quickly and easily. And the story flowed smoothly. There were no boring parts, no slow points where you just wish things would move along quicker.

Characters seemed cast well with the original Broadway cast, and it was a treat watching them interact.

I never expected to like this very much, and I was bowled over completely.

Been a big fan of Ryan Reynolds since his days in Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. And while he seems to have been typecast into a certain kind of role for most of the roles he does (with a few notable exceptions that I thought were well done), he does such a GOOD job with that smart mouth kind of character.

This was an enjoyable ride right from the beginning. Yes, there are a lot of issues with any time travel movie. And if you're a person who is in it for the science, then don't watch this movie. But if you're in it for the fun, then this is worth the time.

Some typical tropes here, but again, done nicely. And some very good banter, some lines I have to make a note of since they were so good that I want to start using them myself.

Effects were nicely done as well. There was enough character development to give a little depth without bogging down the movie or going so far you snooze.

There wasn't really a moment that I felt I was losing interest. It kept me entertained from the start to the end.

This was a touching episode, paying tribute to Phil Leeds, the actor who played Judge "Happy" Boyle. He had passed over the summer between seasons, about three months prior to this episode. They had unused footage and were able to turn it into a story to not just cover the loss of the character, but to honor his memory. He was one of my favorite characters in the first season, so this was a wonderful thing to see the cast and crew do in memory of his work.

Who hasn't been in one of the situations they talk about here, a confrontation of some sort in public, at a store, anywhere. Life is full of moments like these, and most people just swallow the emotion and move along.

It goes a bit to extremes with the investigation about her "sanity" but this episode has one of my favorite lines in the entire series. Whipper makes a comment to Ally that she doesn't think Ally has both feet on the ground. Ally gets this perplexed look on her face, cocks her head slightly to the side in an adorably confused expression, and says, "You mean some people DO?"

Well acted all around though, and a lot in this episode that we can all relate to.

This movie REALLY dragged on for the first half. Even my son who LOVED the first one was ready to stop watching about 20 or 25 minutes into it. We hung on though and eventually it started moving a bit.

The problem is that it all seems so forced. Every situation is just really trying to push the narrative even if it doesn't help move the story forward.

The first one was ridiculous, but still had some endearing moments, and really seemed to have some spots for parents to enjoy with some references that would go over the heads of the kids. This one seems to go to the opposite end of the spectrum, and seems written towards the 8 year old mentality. While I don't mind watching most animated movies several times with the kid, including the first Boss Baby movie, this one just doesn't seem to be something we'll be doing that with.

But for younger kids the mindless plot and mediocre voice acting this time around won't be as much of an issue since there's still enough shiny eye candy to keep the children engaged.

There are few TV shows I've ever really loved, but this is the one I think that lead the pack for years.

I had two teenaged daughters so I could completely relate to so much of the show's humor. I felt that all the roles were played to perfection, parents and all the children.

It wasn't just some hokey lame junk like so many were. Yes, it had it's fluff sometimes, but it also handled some issues parents and kids really face, even if it wasn't drowning in the heavy issues every week.

The characters were so well fleshed out, that you really did get to know them in depth. That is something that many shows never really get a chance to do well. They focus on the non stop laugh track and often fail to find the depth.

Even now, nearly 20 years later, I'm binge watching the first season and a half again, since my son, now 17, loves it and wants to see it.

When John Ritter passed away, it was a great loss to the industry as well as to us fans, some of us who have known him for decades. He was from a previous generation for me but I still remember seeing some episodes as a kid of Three's Company. (And of course when the 8 Simple Rules show did the parody, I laughed because they captured so much of it so well).

Few shows can survive the loss of a major character like that though. He brought his own magic to this show that just wouldn't work with any other actor, so they did the smart, daring thing, and played his loss out in the show as well rather than write over it somehow or put someone else in his place. I don't think I have ever seen, before or after, any show that did such a heart felt tribute to a cast member's passing, but this show handled it just beautifully. And you could clearly see that they weren't just acting the loss, they all felt it, deeply. Which was one reason this show did so well, they really DID come across as a family, and it was easy to relate to the love / frustration that is part of ALL family life.

But after John passed away, the show never was the same. I felt that James Garner really did bring a good element to the show, and he also did a great job with the role, especially with the grieving daughter. But David Spade, as usual, really seemed to be the death knell for the show . He never fit in, and what used to be a wonderful series became a cringeworthy, bad sitcom that we already had too many of. I didn't even bother finishing the series out on live TV, and it wasn't until a few years later that I tried again. And realized after finishing it up that I could've skipped it and not missed much.

The first season is phenomenal, absolute 10 stars all the way, and they opened the second season with some of the most gut busting laughs I've EVER had for a TV show with their season opener. This show was on such an upward path, and then they lost John. And nothing, no show that starred John Ritter, could ever survive his loss...

Just more of the same ghost chasing and inane babble we've had to put up with for four years. Funny how this is supposed to be credible. Love all the bogus 10 star reviews.

Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it's low budget. Yes, it's Dean Cameron, so you know we're not talking Citizen Kane here...

But this is one of the funnest memories I have of movies in the early 90's.

I mean, Bo Diddly dressing up in skintight spandex like some mutant bumble bee with a gold record as a belt buckle... Toni Basil as a vampire mother doing some really fun dancing while threatening the female protagonist with a song... Thomas Dolby as a bizarre undertaker...

This was the epitome of some of those early 90's kind of cheese romances.

But for me, the real enjoyment is all the little things... References to Van Helsing, the riot that was his mirror image, especially with the funhouse mirrors... The little seemingly throw-away lines that so many people missed that just gave it some bite and some depth...

Tawny Fere - now Tawny Ellis apparently, she was stunningly gorgeous in this movie, wonderful voice, and just a joy to watch.

Yes, acting was not anyone's best strength, but the joy here is that they weren't meant to be.

I see some people deriding the music, but as a musician, I enjoyed the you know what out of it. First chance I had, I made MP3's out of them from the DVD so I could listen to them in my car.

So don't listen to the haters. It's not a deep movie, it won't have twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and sanity. What it has is some seriously cool musicians in a fun movie that is just a joy to watch and listen to...

The HTTYD series has been just about my favorite animated story. The first was amazing, and they just got better from there, unlike more of the recent slew of sequels that were good, but not as good as the original.

First off - the animation is just mind boggling. You can see how far technology has come since the first movie, and even since the second. The small details like hair are just amazingly well done.

We all knew there was going to be "cute" in this movie, between Toothless and the Light Fury... And there was, in spades. But unlike some things where it's too much, they never crossed that line. It was an overload of cute that didn't go overboard. Great job maintaining that very fine line between adorable and sickeningly sweet.

The story since the first movie has been about the progression of Hiccup and Toothless, their growth and maturity, and coming into their responsibilities. This movie is about the absolute perfect cap to the entire journey. I had a lot of story arcs I wanted to see nicely closed, and this nailed them all, exceeded my hopes. My 15 year old son and I both had tears in our eyes a few times. And a movie that can evoke that kind of emotion from us clearly knows how to pluck those emotional strings.

It started at a slow pace, but built up, and once it got going, it didn't really slow down again.

The only reason I took a star off is that I thought the final battle was a bit too abrupt. But even so it was very well done, and the various points in it again reiterated the growth of both Hiccup and Toothless, and how they both have grown into their roles.

The music is excellent, nicely accompanying the scenes, bringing them depth without being obtrusive.

Both my son and I loved this movie, and thought it was about the perfect ending to the saga. We can't wait for it to be released on blu-ray now because he told me many times, "We will watch this one more than we ever watched the others, this was awesome."

The first thing that has to be said about this - the voice acting is just superb. I don't have a single game on any platform that has better voice talent. Everything they do, the emotions, the tone, it all comes through brilliantly. The interplay between the two male leads is just a joy to hear.

Graphics - for 2014, this was amazing. Now being upscaled on my 4k HDR TV, it's still gorgeous. The little things make a huge difference. There are details that are fun to find, and no matter how many times I replay it, I seem to find something new.

Sound - immersion is fantastic. Even the ambient noises, falling rain, far off noises, it all is perfect for placing yourself in the action, whether over a dolby stereo or headphones.

The game can be repetitive, but what video game isn't? It's not the grind that Destiny is, though...

This game was the ONLY reason I purchased a PS4. I got the original Infamous from Sony for free after their security breech, and the timing was perfect since I had just finished it, and a week or so later Infamous 2 came out. I waited for this one, and while I was disappointed like many to not have Cole having somehow returned, the dialog, the voice acting, the story, it draws you in and you really come to like this guy. The character building is phenomenal here.

You can play both sides, the good and evil, and I've done both many times. There are some powers that work best as the evil though, and I miss those while I'm playing the good guy. And vice versa.

And I'm not kidding about replayability. I can't tell how many times I've played it. My son loves having me pass the controls to him to do the spray paint tagging And even that's nicely done, and taught me how so many things like that are even made. I never knew about the stencils and such...

Yes it's now nearly a 5 year old game. But despite my absolute love of Halo, and all the hours I have with it doing multiplayer with my son, this is still my favorite game to fall back on when I've finished whatever new pretty shiny was released... Soundtrack is awesome as well...

I'll avoid spoilers here and keep it simple. The original movie is one of my favorites, it stands up to repeated viewing, was excellent in pace and composition. It flowed well, consistently, didn't try to do too much at once. The story was excellent, the voice acting was outstanding.

The sequel here - some of the best parts unfortunately were what we saw in trailers, as it often is. That's not to say there aren't other funny parts - there are. But overall it just left me, and my son, with the impression of them trying to cram far too many bits into the movie. It really stuttered along in parts.

We had a lot of eye rolling at the deluge of Disney when they first got to "the internet" and began looking around. This was the first part for us that started to detract from the story, which is, at it's core, actually an EXCELLENT story.

I wish they had focused more on what made the story flow well, what brought it out the best, rather than just try to cram as many bit part cameos as they could from other Disney franchises.

Voice acting was again well done. I think this would have been a much better movie had more things ended up on the cutting room floor, but it's at least worth seeing once. I'm sure we'll get it on blu-ray when it comes out, but we won't watch it nearly as much as we did the original.

It's never easy move forward on a show when one of the stars die. Other shows have done it in various ways, but I really think they nailed it with this one. I was glad to see these episodes after his death even though I didn't like the show after they went on with Spade in it. But this double episode for saying goodbye was, for me, a great series ending.

This had been one of my favorite shows when it was on the air, and I've always liked John Ritter, so when he died, it was a shock, and like many others, I selfishly mourned not just his passing, but the loss of the show. So when they aired this, it was an emotional roller coaster.

You can see that the cast had little acting to do in this show, and it's amazing the difference in a show when you have the real emotions of the actors directly in the show like this.

The blend of sadness, reminiscing, healing, and small attempts at moving on were well done, and the little bits of humor they injected in here really did work well with the scenes, and didn't feel disrespectful or anything. They were kept to a minimum and were tastefully done.

For anyone who has lost a loved one, you'll see echoes of what you felt in this show in many scenes. They really got the emotions in this story.

This would be a good standard for other shows to use when they deal with the death of one of the stars.