Reviews

I like Idris Elba, the cinamatogroghy was fine, dialogue was okay. But unfortunately there some seriously sloppy plot holes at the end and no closure on multiple interests.

The ending showdown between Idris got hyped up and then it ended so blandly. The last hijacker's daughter was allegedly being held hostage yet was still convinced to land the plane despite her daughters life being in jeopardy and when she lands we see her calling her daughter smiling like everything is fine now? No word if Idris gets his wife back or if she sticks with her current BF. One of the hijack masterminds gets away with millions I guess and retires happily? Multiple chances to retake the plane were not taken, and the pilots didn't think to hop in the unmanned cockpit while the hijackers were being jumped? Idris is the one passenger on the plane with half a brain. And we let the crazy lady and a stranger land the plane while we have a perfectly capable co-pilot on board? Seriously, what the heck happened? The last 3 episodes were more of a letdown than anything :/ if you enjoyed this and you can look past the plot holes, there's no shame in you liking this. But personally this felt really hyped in the first few episodes and finished too sloppy for me to give it 7 stars, so 6 it is.

The first season has some chessy/forced writing, which is understandable with the first season of any show. Season 2 and 3 really improved their writing which made the show way more enjoyable. Then season 4 starts a rocky slow decline into a pile of rubble that contains a few gems that are pretty but not worth the time to stop and pick up. You have to be a solid fan in order to watch this entire show from start to finish or you're a real trooper that can take a beating from the horde of mindless episodes gnawing at your brain like a wave of zombies.

Why was the writing so weak you ask? 2 points in particular! The inability to actually develop characters/story with even the slightest complexity. Lastly, claiming to be a strong supporter of transition, change and equality when really they completely contradicted themselves with racial stereotypes, slurs, and tokenism.

In regards to the inability to develop non-complex story and characters: they are terrified to let go of ANY character. And heaven forbid them to allow a character to make a choice that will lead them astray from supporting their Glee club and not change their mind later for a very in-exciting cameo with almost zero purpose. Once characters start graduating, it's like they all are unable to grow up and branch out as adults. At first I thought it was sentimental and heartfelt... but later it just gets weird and they look like grown individuals who aren't ready to move on from their Highschool days. Also, if a character ever struggled with something or possessed a mindset that was wrong, it ALWAYS gets resolved with a stubbornness as strong as rice paper. You start to see that the writers don't even care to explain why anyone is around or why they all happen to be on the same moral page like a hive mind.

Lastly, the offensive swath of unaddressed racial/sexual orientation stereotypes and offensive jokes peppering the show. The coach of the Glee club (seen as the almost morally perfect Gandalf of Highschool life) can be seen restricting their homosexual student from participating on the girls team (when it's girls vs guys) and the student relevantly listens. However, we later are introduced to a new student who is male but identifies as a girl and dresses like a girl and yet the ethically spotless glee coach allows this character to take the role of females in songs and dress as a girl with absolutely no hesitation. We also see a school for troubled students whose school principal/warden is black (and opposes cheating) and all the students (except maybe 2) are not white, and later the principal is seen contradicting herself by cheating and the reason is never addressed... shouldn't this be concerning? Sadly, the worst of the offensive content and neglect is aimed at Asians. Tina can't seem to win, she really does get avoided by the spotlight, she fights against her stereotype and yet people don't really care, the girl can't win. Additionally, the first 2 seasons, Tina has almost no lines and no prominent spots in any performances. Her character development and Mike's is hardly existent and the focus on these 2 are noticeable neglected. Any kind of mission or dream they want is often forgotten in the following episodes. It was very disappointing to see a show that supported people shattering the boundaries and breaking incorrect expectations end up forcing that very narrative on certain people anyways.

Forget the blood soaked sadistic films that people rage over every year. This is a seriously disturbing and perfectly freaky flick. loved it! most people are scared to get in the water after seeing jaws, I'm scared to visit my grandparents house at night now... maybe thats not such a good thing. This film doesn't rely on a the stereotypical crutch that horror does today. there is no shock value, they aren't trying to make your jaw drop from someones organs being ripped out or demon possession, elderly people are scary enough if they want to be. I also hate movies that are filmed from the perspective of a home video, but this was done right! It had its mise en scene and didn't make me want to hurl from shaky cameras. The acting was very good, nothing over the top or amateur, it was very believable. I'm not a huge horror fan, but I'm definitely going to buy this one. M. Night is starting to become one of my favorite directors and I hope to see some more of his work. The objective is suspense, not gore and demons.

This movie really had some potential. They had actors that have been known to be very decent. But this script was absolute garbage, the quips and humor was dull and stupid, and the protagonist of the film is stale and not very believable. At the end of this movie I found myself wondering what the point of this was. Don't get me wrong, I'm an action junkie and I enjoy intentionally stereotypical, over the top, comic bookish characters, but these were terrible. The only two assassins you get interested in are killed off in the blink of an eye leaving the stupidest ones left to finish the movie. One group of assassins is a clan of biker/redneck… people. Their clothing looks so new I cant take them seriously. They end up stealing a circus trailer so they can use the cannon to launch live clowns strapped with dynamite into a building. It almost sounds funny but it's shot horrendously. Which leads me to my next point. Don't use explosions if you can't do them right. These were the worst effects I've seen in a long time. There were unnecessary scenes where you could tell they used a green screen; many of them were used while the redneck clan was driving around. This was just all around disappointing. Which is a shame because the locations, lighting, and choreography for some of these shootouts were absolutely gorgeous! That is the only thing keeping me from giving this movie 1 star.

Kurt Russell is the man, you could place him in any role and he'd be awesome. But what the in the world did I just watch? This was just weird. People have been boasting a gritty horror western but all I saw was cheesy and not to mention gross. There was no suspense, they tried but it was very predictable. Characters were great; there was a nice diversity between them all and I think the actors were perfect for their parts. My biggest confusion though, is the purpose of this film. There was no story here at all, no moral at the end or thought provoking moment. An event does not count as a story; you need to go a little deeper. These villains were seriously large cavemen that ate people. When a character died I never felt bad for them, I felt bad for myself once because I watched someone get cut in half like a hog in a butcher shop. Being gross doesn't count as horror. Everyone can have a dark mind and come up with horrible deaths; the question is if you can make the audience clinch the arms of their chairs in suspense and them scared. The cinematography was okay, nothing crazy but certainly not bad. The town and terrain were very cool and believable. I just don't understand why they made this film. I felt like I went to a fancy restaurant and all they served was grilled cheese.

NBC has really stepped up their game with TV shows, The Blacklist is my favorite and I just checked out The Game and was pleasantly surprised but I feel this one is a dud for me. With a not so original story the few original things this show has are about as vague and cliché as her tattoos.

The characters are stale and not very colorful I don't know if the problem is the scripting or the actors (maybe both), they just don't seem believable nor capture enough of my interest to care about them. The male lead in the story "Kurt Weller" is a tough FBI agent who has been around the block and seen it all, he is rough around the edges and doesn't look like the kind of guy you'd want to mess with, or follow on a TV show. The unidentified woman whose past remains a mystery is known as "Jane Doe" suffers from a severe case of amnesia. She can act out an innocent/caring person very well, when it comes to anger or intimidation it's not very believable.

Humor is something I think they are trying very hard to produce from time to time to help offset the serious tone but it's poorly delivered. The story, pace, and mood is key but the lame humor attempts feel so forced and out of place that it kills it.

Every time the FBI goes out to look for clues and pursue people of interest they always have an excuse for her to tag along or they tell her not to go and then she has some form of valid excuse for them to take her. Hand to hand combat seems to be something they want to focus on and it was well done. (It's just not so believable watching a thin, 5 foot nine, 100 pound lady kick the stuffing out of people with ease.) The approach they took on amnesia was a lot more entertaining and in-depth than the usual.

Many of their locations, vivid Colors and lighting were very pleasing to the eyes; they definitely demonstrated their expertise in this field. Cinematically their choice of angles and camera movement was on point, nothing too cool but it certainly wasn't bad at all. There was a little bit of shaky cam but not enough to make me throw up so that's good!

Overall with production, the crew knew what they were doing and executed it perfectly; the story and preproduction is where their blind spot hides. The show is a mystery that I cannot figure out but it's also a mystery I don't have an interest in solving.