lunga Reviews

The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (2022)

Hot garbage, but I did end up liking it.

[4/10 · 20 February 2023]

Plot holes you can teleport throug and the "evil" character more annoying than evil. Oh and spoiler alert. EVERY. BODY. DIES.. Sweet old lady? Dead. Campy cohorts? Dead. Minions? Dead, every one.

The series if filled with silly side missions and plot driven missteps. Throughout the series, I kept yelling at the TV "Just shoot her/him!!".

But dangit, I kept watching. There is something about the main characters that kept me watching through the hot mess. A combination of good acting and natural chemistry was enough to look past the campy costumes, and the "magic" that was mostly "meh", and really didn't do much. Thats what the 30 second skip button is for.

Shoresy (2022– )

Great spinoff from the superbly talented Jared Keeso

[10/10 · 23 May 2022]

The magic formula of rapid-fire banter, extreme vulgariry and just a touch of heart continues in this spinoff of Lettekenny. Being a "southerner" and never played a game of hockey, some of the jokes went way over my head, but was still, just a treasure to watch. The shot of those five, big hockey meatheads standing around in Shorsey's kitchen, eating ice cream cones, each with a protective bowl to catch any drips, I'm sure is a nod to Moms everywhere, but it also gives us an idea what these guys are going to be like. Its small details like this, not necessarily the big laughs that get me.

I hope to see more this show and Keeso, in the future.

Halo (2022– )

Its pretty good.

[8/10 · 20 May 2022]

I'm not a fanboy and I've never played the video games, so I came into this with no expectations other than a video game movie/sieries was probably not going to be good.

I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the fact that it wasn't 8 hours of shooting and explosions. Some of the story is trite but they come by.it honestly. It is a video game franchise after all.

The art direction and special affects are top notch and MOST of the cast did a good job. I have to say that Charlie Wilson who played Makee, seems to have graduated from the Overacting Academy and SIRI, i mean Cortana was just as annoying and useless in the show as it is in real life.

Tokyo Vice: Yoshino (2022) Season 1, Episode 8

I'm done Are people this stupid?

[1/10 · 29 April 2022]

A compelling story so far, but this episode has gone off the rails. The first seven episodes make every effort to prove how smart the lead characters are and in one episode they flush it all down the toilet.

Slow Horses (2022– )

Better than the book

[8/10 · 8 April 2022]

This is an unusual case where it is better than the book it was based on. The books are SLOW, often going over unnecessary details not relevant to the story. All that is gone in the translation to visual media. The story is tight and while some details have changed, its to better fit with the format.

Production values are top notch and Gary Oldman is great as Jackson Lamb. I don't know where some folks got that this is some woke drama, but the gender and racial makeup is on par with the original source material, so that guy who wrote the review needs to put his big boy pants on and join the real world.

Moon Knight (2022)

Its pretty bad.

[3/10 · 31 March 2022]

There's no easy way to say this, but this is very well filmed and expensive looking schlock.

The excellent acting, production values and investing scenery doesn't help what essentially is a bad story. I'm not talking about the lazy, cliche'd screenplay, but the original material.

I haven't read the comic, and if you told me about it to encourage me to read it, I'd give it a hard pass, so I was reluctant to just dismiss the TV version outright, but he translation to TV medium doesn't improve it.

Sometimes things should stay a comic book.

Welcome to Flatch (2022–2023)

Falls flat(ch)

[1/10 · 18 March 2022]

Yet another fake documentary format comedy. Can we stop doing this? It is not funny AT ALL. I mean AT ALL. It's not even semi-amusing with likable characters, like so many other shows out there.

Network television is getting worse and worse every year.

Pieces of Her (2022)

It's not drama when they can stop what they're doing and have a ten minute honest conversation.

[2/10 · 5 March 2022]

This started strong, but as it goes on, you realize all the tension is from lies. Once the cat is out of the bag, it's all filler.

Acting is good, directing is good. Writing, not so much.

Fistful of Vengeance (2022)

Stopped watching after 30 seconds.

[1/10 · 17 February 2022]

Everything is green. It's not a Hulk movie. Why would you make a movie and color is so everyone looks nauseous? I don't know if it was the platform or the movie, but the dialog was also out of sync?

Law & Order: A Death in the Family (1991) Season 1, Episode 13

This is a good one.

[11 January 2022]

This episode had lots of twists and turn that came to a surprising conclusion.

Excellent performance from Wendy Makkena, who played Officer Nicki Sandoval and of course. Michael Moriarty as Ben Stone. Makkena also did a 3 episode stint on NYPD that was pretty good too.

Dexter: New Blood (2021–2022)

Forgot how bad it can be.

[3/10 · 8 December 2021]

I stopped watching the second episode when just 10 seconds after Dexter discovered he hadn't cleaned up very well, from the night before, a bunch of cops show up. I mean that is just lazy writing. Now I'm starting to remember how bad some of the seasons were.

Also, If I was a cop with a teenage daughter and have a new boyfriend with a mysterious past he's reluctant to talk about, I'm gonna run his prints. So there's that.

Michael C. Hall is just as great as ever though. Only he can portray that perfect awkwardness Dexter gets when relating to other people.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Incredibly meh (politics free review)

[3/10 · 5 November 2021]

Okay first thing. Super Soldier Serum makes you strong it doesn't make you awesome at fighting. Both Sam and Bucky have extensive training and real world experience in combat and using their tools/powers effectively. I"m not even going to get into the new Captain America, who spent all of his adult life using guns suddenly awesome at hand-to-hand combat.

Speaking of, throughout the movie, I noticed a lot of unnecessary punching. Don't they have guns? Buck and Sam both had guns in previous movies. Someone threatens to blow up a bunch of people and all you bring to the fight are your fists?

Okay then Sharon Carter shows up. I mean, how does she exist if Steve and Peggy ended up together? Does that mean he kissed his grand niece or whatever? Gross.

The worst thing was trying, badly, to portray the psychopathic teen mass murderer sympathetically. Tone deaf.

The humor and character development was nice, but not nearly enough of it, and the whole subplot about Sam's boat is just dumb. What they don't have gofundme in MCU?

Invasion (2021–2024)

I feel like the victim of a "bait and switch"

[1/10 · 23 October 2021]

The tittle draws geeks like me in and we're treated with 3 episodes of BAD melodrama. BAD. I mean BAD. Two episodes of a lady crying and taking a rape shower? Everybody's a graduate of the overacting school of drama. Oh okay. Lord of the Flies? Yea we read it in sixth grade. It was boring it's still boring . Hey, what about skipping that and adding more aliens?

The Watch (2020–2021)

First twenty minutes was a struggle, but it got better after.

[7/10 · 8 January 2021]

Never read a Discworld novel, so I have no preconceptions coming in, but I had to really try hard not to turn it off the first few minutes. The character introduction scenes are awkward, but things start settling in and an actual compelling story unfolds. Like Doctor Who, a good amount of suspension-of-disbelief is required to fully enjoy the experience. There were a couple of amusing bits and the chemistry between the Sam and Lady Sybil was natural, though with everyones hygiene, I don't think to many characters are going to be getting busy. As far as other viewers comments about being woke, etc. Get over it. Thats how things are now. Grow up.

It may not be your cup of tea, but at least give the first episode a try.

The Old Guard (2020)

Would have made a better TV series

[6/10 · 11 July 2020]

Charlize Theron and Charlize Theron's bum star as a 3000 year old badass who, I guess, runs around the globe playing world police with other immortal badasses. There are other things which happen and I won't detail because it will reveal spoilers, but its no surprise that someone else wants to know why there are immortals running around and they go out of their way to find out why.

A lot has been said in other reviews about the PC, feminist, 'woke" nature of the show, but I honestly don't care about any of those things except every time I hear someone use those buzz words, on both sides, it makes me cringe. Some folks are hurt because they don't think a woman can be a badass, but they're perfectly alright with suspending disbelief concerning immortal people healing after getting shot in the head and other nonsense that occurs. This hypocrisy illustrates, to me the persons true feelings towards female humans. Its gross. get over yourself.

I had lots of little nitpicks, like all the gun-fu fight choreography, but my main problem is that, while it had its moments in the beginning, the story felt contrived in that and we knew fairly early on, how it was going to end. This would have been much better if they would have dropped Charlize and Chiwetel and the idiot villain and created a TV series instead. The characters long lives, providing virtually endless storylines and interesting character development.

Unsolved Mysteries (2020– )

Lots of feeling, but not many facts

[2/10 · 2 July 2020]

90 percent of the TV show is about how people were feeling. I'm not trying to be cold and insensitive, but if you sincerely want to catch the perpetrators of these mysteries, you have to pile in as many facts as you can. The shows open with interviews of survivors, who seem like they are sincerely trying to assist in resolving the cases, but the focus is immediately trying to on getting them to express their feelings and possibly break down in front of the camera because the actual details of the cases would only take up about 15 minutes of each episode, Using the Unsolved Mysteries brand for this schlock does not do service to the survivors of these tragedies and to me they're being victimized all over again.

I hope something good comes of this.

Space Force (2020–2022)

Give it a chance. The first episode or so is a little rough.

[8/10 · 1 June 2020]

The first episode was a little forced as if they were trying to cram as many punchlines in as possible. After the first episode it calms down and they proceed with some actual good stories. All the performances are great, and Carell and Malkovich are just fantastic. Give it a try.

Devs (2020)

All atmosphere and no substance, but still compelling.

[6/10 · 19 March 2020]

Philosophical mystery for millennials. Nick Offerman is superbly talented, but only inane things one out of the characters mouth. The soundtrack and sound effects are jarring because they don't match the visuals.. Come on folks Broadchurch season 1 was great, but that doesn't mean we have to adopt that style for every mystery.

I don't know if it is intentional, but we're not made to care about any character and really are only waiting around for the main mystery to be revealed. Whats the shiny box for.

Overall it is interesting if you can sit through the cliches, or are really good at the 10 second skip

Haywire (2011)

Inane direction spoils an otherwise great movie.

[7/10 · 24 December 2019]

Okay, first things first. If you haven't watched it yet and are a Gina fan, go ahead. The beginning is bad, but stick with it....for a long time. It doesn't really get good until 3/4ths of the way through and has a satisfying climax. Unfortunately, the first hour of the movie is a series of montages set to a ridiculous heist movie soundtrack, interspersed with only a few good action and story moments. The "all star" cast was a total waste, given the material, but with good performances from Michael Douglas and Channing Tatum, who seemed the only ones who didn't phone in their performances. The standout here was Gina Carino, who's charm and physicality make this movie worth watching.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

I give it an enthusiastic meh.

[6/10 · 22 September 2019]

I wasn't a fan of the last installment, Spidergeuse, but had hopes that they would pull it out for a win this time. It was fine and entertaining, but it wasn't a Spider-Man movie. The side story with MJ and the rest of the gan was cute, and I liked the way Tom Holland played Parker as just a kid who wants a girl to like him, instead of trying to save the earth,. But, after so MANY giant CGI explosions, my brain short circuited and I quit caring about anything. The web swinging in downtown NY in the last 15 minutes was way more thrilling than any other part of the movie and that's where I think Marvel continues to miss the mark.

Ultraman (2019–2023)

How many "Iron Man" landings do we need?

[1/10 · 7 April 2019]

Got almost through the first episode. The dialog was mind boggling and the story was taken from a raffle jar full of cliched Ideas.

Catastrophe (2015–2019)

I can't believe how good this show is.

[9/10 · 18 March 2019]

I can't believe how good this show is.

To me, when we talk about the golden age of television, its not the glammed extravagant production or the shows with edgy content which to come mind, but little gems like Catastrophe which would not even be a possibility in the previous era. Though the plot is certainly a gimmick, we're let off the hook for our suspension of disbelief by the fact that the main characters' total disbelief that they've literally won the lottery of love.

The dialog is smart and the portrayals are honest and what I really like is that, so far, they haven't resorted to tired plot devices to build up fake tension.

Sometimes, in the midst of superhero and horror with Gonzo special effects, or perfectly coifed men and ladies, its nice to watch a show with just a single camera, two people with amazing chemistry and great writing.

I can't wait to see how things unfold.

BTW, if you liked this show, check out "Casual" on Hulu. its a bit darker, but in the same vein.

Iron Man: Extremis (2010)

This is fracking awful.

[1/10 · 3 March 2019]

What the hell is this? Cheap animation dressed up to be "artistic". Did they use flash to make this? Honestly, I didn't even get into the story because the visuals are so gross. The rest of the text here is to make the minimum length so I can post how trashy and cheap this is. I can't believe Marvel licensed this. Its an embarrasement. Don't they have some sort of final approval so stuff like this isn't made, cheapening the value of the brand?

The Punisher (2017–2019)

Great in Places, frustrating in others.

[7/10 · 22 January 2019]

I'm half-way through the second season and I thought for sure, by now, we'd be done with the whiny Billy Russo character, who is NOT at all a counterpoint to Castle. Every second of him on screen is excruciating and I can only think the actor is somehow related to someone in production. Perhaps its just a bad trend of mis casting people in roles that are supposed to be menacing. Think Michael Madsen as Mr Blonde, vs Lee Pace as Ronan.

I'm also getting tired of repeating the same conversation about moral dilemma over and over, often multiple times per episode, basically, it seems to fill in the time between the action. Speaking of action, its pretty brutal and amazing, but often times the fights seem to drag out longer than necessary, both for the story, or even beyond the expectation of human endurance. Punisher might be the baddest ass on the planet but he still only has human lungs and I don't remember ever seeing him doing ANY cardio in the episodes I've watched. Also, not a fan of Castle's sliding scale of awesomeness, depending on whether the plot requires him to get his ass kicked or not.

John Bernthal and Amber Rose Revah are mesmerizing as Castle and Desani and every second either of them are not on camera is a tremendous waste. The new season brings Alexa Davolos as a possible love interest and Giorgia Whigham as the young surrogate daughter Amy, with both of their talents wasted. I have no idea what happens to Billy Russo, and Ive read grumbling of cancellation, so I hope the writers get their act together.

The Innocents (2018)

So bad

[1/10 · 25 August 2018]

If you like vagaries and forced secrets, only forced to add suspense to an otherwise meaningless plot, where you're really only watching to find out what the hell is going on, than this show is for you and you only.