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Reviews
Black Mirror: Loch Henry (2023)
Dark
Part of me wonders if, in hindsight, it would've been better for everyone if they had just stuck to doing a doc about the egg dude.
At the end, the protagonist has uncovered the horrifying truth about his parents' torture and murder spree, parents that he apparently never really knew. His mother ends up driving his girlfriend into a situation that gets her killed, and finally kills herself.
With the release of his award winning doc about the whole thing, he is successful now, and his home town is entering a revitalized golden age of prosperity due to the notoriety, but at what cost? He's lost the woman that he loved, and he will always be linked to the horrific actions of his parents until the day he dies. Alone, you can see that he's absolutely crushed by it all.
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
A bittersweet ode to a risky era of early flight
A great movie that showcases the transition of flying from the crazy dangerous barnstorming era post-WW1 to the more regulated profession that it would ultimately become.
Of course, not everyone liked that transition, and Waldo Pepper was one of them. A WW1 flying vet, Pepper tries to keep operating and making a living as the regulators make it increasingly difficult for him to do so. His own risky dealings results in the deaths of several people.
In the end, he sees no way out until an old flying adversary shows up who Pepper realizes feels exactly the same way he does. Nostalgic for the old days with real world problems closing in on them. Without speaking a word, they both decide to go out doing what they love, and have a final dogfight to the death. Both aircraft are critically damaged and it is only a matter of time before they will both crash...and with that the movie comes to a close as they enjoy the last minutes of their lives doing what they love.
The Orville: A Tale of Two Topas (2022)
This is what The Orville is all about
I was critical of the first two episodes as they felt very un-Orville.
Episode 3 and 4 were a lot closer to form.
In retrospect, they were like a good opening movement to a great concerto that culminates in episode 5. A solid story, solid writing, solid performances, some great comedic moments, and several moments that will bring you to tears.
To coin a phrase from the episode itself, it is perfect.
To give any details would spoil that perfection, so just take my word for it, it's incredible series television.
The Orville: Shadow Realms (2022)
Tired, cliched, and dark...again. What happened to this show?
Well, the trend continues from episode 1 of me asking myself "Is this The Orville?" while watching an episode.
For a second, I thought we'd get a nice humorous scene with Bortus smelling the drink at the reception, but no, we have an immediate cut to something less interesting.
I'm struck with the difference between this season of The Orville and the new Strange New Worlds. It's like the Orville has basically forgotten how to be an ensemble science fiction show, while SNWs is excelling at it.
The Orville: Electric Sheep (2022)
WTF was that?
Looking forward to an episode of fun, maybe the odd moral dilemma, and light heartedness. And we got none of that...at all...and the Orville goes right off the rails.
Isaac saves the Planetary Union from utter destruction ...and the survivors WHINE about him still being around?
He made the conscious choice to turn his back on his own people and help us. If it weren't for him, everyone in the Planetary Union would be dead or being hunted down.
Even the testing of the fighter ...in a live fire exercise ...IN AND AROUND THE SPACEDOCK?!! For a moment I thought 'Oh probably lower power laser settings.' NOPE, a drone explodes into flaming wreckage hurling towards a station section. Jeesh. It was like a microcosm of the episode...pretty to look at, but what a train wreck.
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
Could not believe how good this was
Several times during the movie I thought "I cannot believe how good this is. Just spectacular." No doubt in my mind this is a 10 out of 10. If you haven't seen it, get it, watch it...now.
Dexter: New Blood: Sins of the Father (2022)
After a great episode 9, they phone it in for the finale
Dexter purposely killing an innocent.
Chief Bishop googling a bunch of circumstantial evidence and thinking she has a win. Hey, you tried that two episodes ago and it didn't work out that well.
Bishop mentioning ketamine in the BHB cases, but Dexter used M99. Sloppy writing, the show runners don't even care apparently.
I was expecting Dexter to be killed as the final finale, but that was very poorly written and executed. Dexter goes out with a fizzle.
All the Way (2016)
Just gets warmed up and then...ends
A tour de force performance from Bryan Cranston. The man is hardly recognizable except for his skill in nearly convincing you that you're watching the actual LBJ.
As much as I think LBJ wanted the presidency and may have been involved with how he got it, I can't dismiss that he was a powerhouse for passing great legislation and this film shows that. He did it through a combination of posturing, persuasion, payoffs, and threats.
Sadly, it's just not damn long enough, it feels like part 1 of an epic mini series, as it covers a short period of LBJ's administration from Kennedy's assassination on November 22nd 1963 to LBJ's sweeping election victory less than a year later on November 3rd, 1964.
Raised by Wolves: The Beginning (2020)
Series with such early promise, ending with a ridiculously stupid payoff
It's like the writers burned out and/or ran out of ways to carefully unravel what was going on, something they had done an incredible job with in the first half dozen episodes.
And it all ends with one of the silliest scenes in a science fiction series. Laughable. Such a crying shame.
9/11: The Falling Man (2006)
Was not expecting it to be this thoughtful and sensitive
Going into this, I was worried it might be sensationalism of an incredibly tragic day and the fateful decision of many of those trapped.
It wasn't. The story is told with sensitivity and class.
Fair warning that the first few minutes are gut wrenching as it briefly recounts the events of that terrible day, including those who decided to jump rather than burn or suffocate.
I find it odd that some people judge the jumper because of our prehistoric views on suicide. I do not. They were in an impossible situation. Who are you or I or even a god to question that final decision by them? Indeed, I think it says a lot about them that they made that fateful decision, the last thing that they could decide for themselves in their lives.
It's also comforting to know that identifying some of them brought closure to some of the grieving families and loved ones.
Really well done.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Surprised people this stupid didn't end up dead on the first day
Loved how it started, showing us how everything hit the fan on day 1. Went downhill from there.
We then return to the end of the first movie. The deaf daughter wires together a microphone and a portable amp to help ward off the creatures with the help of her hearing aid that is set to a frequency that disrupts the creatures ability to hear, disorients them, and leaves them vulnerable, some how, to conventional attacks.
The deaf daughter then fails to use the device at several important moments. The mom is also not free from behaving stupidly as they enter the territory of another person or group and fail to look for boobytraps, stepping right through a tripwire. UGH.
The deaf daughter goes off on her own looking for the source of a radio station constantly playing 'beyond the sea' instead of actually transmitting important information. Surprising considering how otherwise intelligent the character is. The mom convinces the neighbor they intruded upon to go after the daughter, which he does.
It just gets more stupid from there. The son with a gravely injured leg is somehow up and at em with a limp in no time. The mother decides to leave the gravely injured boy to care of the baby. The neighbor and the deaf daughter finally make it to a safe haven on an island with a radio station. Instead of insisting that they play the hearing aid's disruptive frequency over the radio immediately, potentially saving lives immediately, they're just like 'Ya, guess we'll do that in the morning'.
Jeesh, what an awful movie. Would love to see Rifftrax tear these two lame ass movies apart.
Wayne (2019)
Entertaining from start to finish
An ensemble story filled with crazy humor, crazy action, crazy violence, and a hard core soundtrack that centers around Wayne, a very weird, very awkward, hyper-violent anti-bully teenager with a heart of gold.
***We need a second season, Amazon. You can't let this series end like this.***
I See You (2019)
Wish I could forget I had ever seen it...AND WATCH IT AGAIN!
Anything more would spoil this gem.
I wish so much that I could forget it and re-watch it again to re-live the weird, amazing, and surprising experience this movie was.
Star Trek: Picard: Maps and Legends (2020)
Wow, what a betrayal of Star Trek
Picard hero of the Federation? Hell no, this is the new and improved xenophobic and isolationist Federation. Sure, the Romulans saved us from being conquered by the Dominion, but what's past is past, screw em!
And you know what, Picard is so annoying that a flag officer at Starfleet Security is thinking about knocking him off. The Terran Empire would APPROVE! The new and improved Starfleet...brutal and apathetic. Why even call it Star Trek at all?
Titans: Dick Grayson (2018)
They know his weakness...
...and they use it against him.
Wow, what an ending. For most of the episode, I was like "WTF is going on?" but finally came to realize that they were breaking Robin, slowly but surely. Robin has seen a reflection of himself in Batman, witnessed his own fall from grace, seen his own worst fears become realized...but it doesn't matter, because there is no fear anymore. The fear is gone, the code is gone, there is nothing left but the darkness.
Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019)
Taking inconsistency and incoherence to a new level
Jon just lets Grey Worm kill prisoners. WTF?
Tyrion has to convince Jon to do the right thing. WTF?
Later, Tyrion gets pardoned for this but Jon doesn't. WTF?
Drogon decides to melt the Iron Throne and flies off with Dany's corpse. WTF?
Jon and Tyrion should have been executed by the Unsullied immediately but somehow we timewarp several months into the future and they're still alive. WTF?
A Stark is King of Westeros, but Sansa insists on northern independence. WTF?
And the Iron Islands and Dorne don't seek independence themselves. WTF?
Arya becomes an ocean-going pirate. WTF?
Oh, and finally a big thank you to D&D for really screwing over Jon Snow.
Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019)
Visually stunning, thematically ridiculous
Talk about conflicted.
Effects, acting, music, cinematography - spot on, brilliant
Writing - SUCKED
Jaime's redemption arc thrown out the window
Jon's heroic assertiveness thrown out the window
Dany....OMG poor Dany. Rushed into a grief-stricken rage
Grey Worm turns into a murderer
Oh ya, the writing sucked. I keep thinking about how optimistic I was at the end of episode 2..only to have all that optimism crushed in 3 episodes.
Game of Thrones: The Last of the Starks (2019)
Aw, everyone got a little booboo on their face
No lost limbs, no scars, nope...you either died or you now have a little cute booboo on your face.
It's a time of war but Danny is just 'la-lala-lala' as she flies around with her dragons, not on any kind of alert even though she knows an enemy navy is out there. Speaking of which, she completely misses the fact that Euron's teleporting cloaked ships have appeared without warning.
Oh, look, heat seeking 'exocet' Scorpion bolts! These things should be almost ineffectual against dragons. In reality, you would need to launch a VOLLEY at close range to even have a hope of ONE finding its target.
Don't even get me started about Ghost. Saved Jon's life, guarded his body, saved Sam's life...and sent AWAY. JFC, that is NOT what Jon Snow would do.
And finally, the one chance to save the show, Missandrei grabs Cersei and jumpts to here death. THAT would have been EPIC. It would have been a shock worthy of the first few seasons. And end the episode right there! I would have been like "UGHHHH! WTF is going to happen now?! UGHHHH!"
But no, she gets her head cut off, Danny looks angry, and that's it.
Could the show get any worse? Well, I guess we'll see.
Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019)
What a fall from grace
Is this the same series that had me frozen in shock as Ned Stark, the protagonist, was executed in the second to last episode of the first season? Or had me screaming at the TV as the trap closed around the Starks at the Red Wedding? Or had the hair on the back of my neck standing up when the Night King raised the massacred inhabitants of Hardhome?
No, it's not. Definitely not. Darkness, shaky-cam off the scale, characters entirely out of character, forced unrealistic moments for shock value or for the visual. This is generic fantasy now, this is writing that is phoned in. This is NOT Game of Thrones.
Timeless: The Salem Witch Hunt (2018)
Flynn proves his worth
Wyatt is sidelined and Flynn is sent out in his stead.
Damn, Flynn is effective. He's fearless even without a gun, creating enough chaos near the end to allow Lucy and Rufus to escape along with every woman that was to hang in Salem.
I was hoping when they returned to the present that they would discover that the women's liberation movement had actually started far earlier and was part of the American war for independence, including one or two women who became founding mothers.
The Expanse: Triple Point (2018)
Everything comes to a head and hits the fan
Let's just FF to the beautiful center piece of this episode...
On the UNN flagship Agatha King, after receiving the comms that show Erinwright was involved in a conspiracy, Admiral Souther relieves Fleet Admiral Nguyen of command and broadcasts all this to both fleets. He is then executed by the fleet admiral, which is heard loud and clear by both fleets.
After the execution, two UNN ships rebel and start disengaging from the area. Nguyen, being an arrogant idiot, fires on one of them and destroys it. Like pouring gasoline on a flame, that just causes an all out melee to break out on the bridge and between the remaining UNN ships as they choose sides. When all is said and done, unfortunately Nguyen is left standing, well limping, with only two other officers alive. Several of the UNN ships even fire upon the Agatha King, which swats the attacks aside easily.
The MCRN fleet announces that it is remaining out of the fight but will render aid and assistance if called upon. Incensed, Nguyen launches the hybrids from the base on Io against the MCRN fleet, as a shocked Holden and crew look on.
What an episode with one hell of a cliffhanger!
Into the Badlands: Chapter XVI: Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire (2017)
An outlived welcome, jumping the shark, & over the top all in one episode
As I watched the last episode of the second season, I couldn't help but think "The first season was so much better than this." which is very weird because in TV series, the first season is usually the worst.
The biggest problem is the abandonment of any believability. From Sunny surviving the unsurvivable frontal assault on Quinn's men with hardly a scratch, Tilda's being mostly 'fine' after coming within an inch of death at the hands of her mother, to Quinn's surviving being skewered TWICE by Sunny, it was pretty terrible to be honest. Like another reviewer, I was like "Sunny, just chop his fracking head off already! If anyone deserves a decapitation, it's Quinn!!!"
Another thing that pissed me off is that M.K.'s character was left basically on autopilot for most of the season, plus they removed his power. Ugh, it was always a source of tension wondering when/if he would get cut and the mad possessed killing machine released.
Black Mirror: Hang the DJ (2017)
You'll quickly find yourself rooting for them
The story is beautiful, the cinematography is very organic, the two leads are perfect in their chemistry. You'll find yourself rooting for them, hoping that they will have the happy ending that they have earned & deserve.