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ironpawpaw
Reviews
The Challenge: USA (2022)
A Mediocre, Trashy, Competitive Reality Mess
I tuned in because I love Survivor. I will not be tuning in again. Tyson - and maybe Danny - are the only contestants saving this show from becoming unwatchable. Big Brother and Love Island are notorious for casting people that are vapid and fickle. The lowbrow drama they bring to the episodes seems forced, and the quality of the shows is rather cheap and amateurish overall.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
An Inconsistent, Incoherent Mess
This is by far the worst Mortal Kombat film I have seen. Everything about this film is inconsistent. The artwork changes in quality from scene to scene to the point that it feels like the animation team only cared for the tournament scenes.
The characters are inconsistent too. One minute Sub Zero gets his ass handed to him by 2 of the cyborgs, then by Scorpion. Later, the cyborgs give Scorpion a beating, but suddenly Sub Zero can neutralise all 3 of them, only to struggle with Scorpion again.
Some characters are heavily protected by thick plot armour. Johnny Cage gets taken out early by D'vorah, yet he's fine. However, Stryker and Kung Lao get absolutely brutalised for shock value. In typical fashion, no female fighters or exteas are allowed to be killed in a gory way. It's always the males who get splattered all over the screen - which is ridiculous considering this is Mortal Kombat.
Raiden sacrifices his godhood in order to participate and defend Earth realm, yet somehow is completely needed to the point of being almost as useless as Johnny Cage. Raiden's death and Lou Lang's sudden yet unexplained ascension Into godhood in the space of three minutes was baffling.
It's all a frustrating mess. Rather avoid it and save yourself the frustration.
Taskmaster NZ (2020)
Pale Imitation
I went in with an open mind and was not impressed. The Taskmaster himself is a dud and the tone of the show is way too PC. There's no biting satire, just a bunch of failed attempts at slapstick and #awkward humour. One contestant was penalised for including a line about child soldiers in her submission for a task where she had to write a national anthem for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The standout character here was Angella Dravid. She actually sells her brand of awkward humour well while coming off as sweet and sincere. She is a beacon of light in some murky, tepid waters.
Criticisms aside, I will give season 2 it's fair chance and also approach it with an open mind. I hope it finds its flow, because the world needs more high quality Taskmaster to keep us smiling through the difficult times we find ourselves in.