ssih Reviews

The Veil (2024)

What's with all the smoking

[5/10 · 8 May 2024]

I really wanted to like this show because I've loved Elizabeth Moss in everything I've seen her in. This seemed like a borderline spy thriller, so it had that going for it as well.

There are a few things that I find odd and I don't see what purpose they can have with the plot. Why is she always so giddy? In each scene, she looks like she was kissed by her big crush for the first time just a moment before. Will we ultimately discover she has some emotional disorder that prevents her from being serious?

And WHAT is with all of the smoking? Not just smoking, but ultra-close-ups of the characters lighting up. It's gross. I get the impression that writer Steven Knight is just sick to death of people telling him where he can and can't smoke and this is just a big "screw you!" to them.

It's off-putting enough to me that I don't think I'll be finishing the serious.

Shoresy (2022– )

An acquired taste

[6/10 · 28 May 2022]

After the first episode, I was planning on skipping the rest. But the second one was sitting there and I was kinda bored. I played hockey in my mis-spent youth, so I had that going for me.

They have a handful of gags that they repeat a lot. The first episode seems dedicated to getting you *completely* familiar with these, ad nauseum. However, as the series progressed, they actually developed a plot and used these repeated gags as spice, rather than as the entire main course. By the end of the series, most of the characters are less moronic and more quirky.

I don't love the series, but I'll watch more of it if it gets produced.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2022)

Stories about time traveling are always problematic, but...

[9/10 · 20 May 2022]

Time traveling is impossible. Obviously, if it was, we'd have been visited by the future. Shows like this are always problematic, because unless you're totally willing to abandon common sense and surrender yourself completely to the story, you can't help but ask questions. Why didn't future Henry warn young Henry about the meeting with Clair so that he could break up with Olivia? Why wasn't Claire more understanding that Henry was totally unaware of her arrival and why wouldn't he have had a girlfriend? Why not memorize the lottery numbers and tell your earlier self so that you'd be rich?

But this show is good enough to permit ignoring these thoughts and just enjoy the chemistry between the two leads and how well they *did* address some of the complications of time travel. Can't wait for future episodes.

Outer Range (2022– )

A show can't survive on cliffhanger endings alone

[4/10 · 14 May 2022]

I was SO excited about this show after the first episode. Told several of my friends to watch it. Now I have several apologies to make.

I don't expect to be spoon-fed all of the answers, but there are a *lot* of questions that never got addressed. Somewhere around the third episode, I started to suspect this. So many small things that were forgotten after the dramatic fade to black. What was the deal with the bears? Why was Cecilia Abbot so horrified to see the dead baby bear and why couldn't she decide what to do with it? Biting her hand with the corpse?? What happened to the assessor? Does Royal lose the ranch?

Is this simply a town of emotionally disturbed people?

I got to the last episode and almost didn't watch it because I just knew that it'll be a big disappointment. I felt like Charlie Brown with Lucy holding the football for me to kick. Some reviewers predict that some questions will be answered in season 2. I'll never know.

Buffering: A Rewatch Adventure (2016 Podcast Series)

They're having too much fun to do the podcast

[5/10 · 2 March 2022]

I'm a fan of Buffy. Not a fanboy, but I enjoyed the series enough to watch most of it twice. I've enjoyed a few episodes of this podcast, but only those where it is only Jenny and Kristin. It seems that more often than not, they have a guest on the podcast, and now we have to spend forever discussing how this new guest discovered the show, their relationship with the show, and what they think about the show in general. Sorry, but unless it's one of the stars or Josh Wheden, I don't care. I'm listening because I want to hear what they have to say about the episode. Do their opinions align with mine? Can they offer any insights that I might have overlooked? But they spend too much time on personal stuff, and when they add a guest, this problem gets much much worse.

I initially found Jenny on one of her other podcasts, Veronica Mars Investigations, where Helen Zaltzman keeps her more grounded. The contrast between the two is great and I love listening to Jenny on that show. I'm still listening to this podcast, but before I start, I skip around through it and if it's not just the two hosts, I skip it.

Turner & Hooch (2021)

For kids ONLY

[5/10 · 15 September 2021]

I'm giving this five stars as an average between '1' for adults and '10' for kids. The dog is cute and I *do* love dogs. But from an adult's perspective, the show is terribly stupid. The dog is left in a room for five minutes, and when Turner returns, it literally looks like a bomb went off. Sure it's a big dog, but how did it tear the door off the hinges?

And whenever they're someplace where the dog can do damage, how is it that Turner invariably drops the leash? Don't tell me the dog yanked it away, because. Josh Peck takes his shirt off, and the man has some serious guns under there. My 95 lb wife would have more control over that dog.

The writing is awful and the jokes are forced. But again, I'm writing this from an adults perspective. Five-year-olds will love this.

The Other One (2017– )

Not one likable character

[3/10 · 29 October 2020]

A few actors that I've enjoyed in other shows, but not here. There are two factions of characters - caustic, annoying & selfish on one side and hapless, spineless & pathetic on the other. It's a cringe-fest that offers no actual entertainment. I couldn't finish it. And don't tell me that if I'd stuck with it I'd like the end. There's simply too much good tv out there to waste my time enduring the insufferable in order to get to a nice finish.

Tales from the Loop (2020)

Some interesting ideas, but they didn't explore them fully

[3/10 · 18 April 2020]

Don't listen to the people who tell you not to listen to the people who gave this a bad review. They're not as insightful as they'd like you to believe.

Oh, and has anyone mentioned that this series is just a tad slow?

I was initially pretty excited about this show. TONS of interesting things laying about and I was looking forward to finding out how they all came to play. But it rarely happens, and then not sufficiently enough. It seems that they simply wanted to offer an alternative backdrop to fairly mundane stories.

A girl discovers that she can stop time. Excellent!! So many things I'd like to play with under these circumstances. But aside from putting a funny hat on a guy stopped in time that's riding a bicycle and doing a little petty shoplifting, it was nothing more than a love story of two people with issues and baggage. The exact same story could have been told without the time stoppage.

And then there was a story about an old man dying. Sad, yes. Interesting? Not so much.

I think next time, I'll check the reviews sooner once I start to see the writing on the wall.

Counting Cars (2012– )

Fun for a few shows, but it gets old and repetitive

[4/10 · 23 February 2017]

I will admit that I really liked this show at the beginning. Danny seems to be a great guy, and there is a pleasant mix of wacky and competent workers there at the shop to make it interesting. And for a while, it was fun seeing the amazing conversions and restorations they'd come up with. But after a season or so, it starts to get old fast. It's the exact same script. Perhaps it's a '78 Roadrunner this week rather than a '79. But Horny Mike will invariably be annoying Ryan, and Kevin will chew out Danny for spending more than he should. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The should could be a LOT better. One of my greatest annoyances (aside from the repetitiveness) is the way they go from a piece of junk directly to the finished product without showing any of the process. I'd love to see how they fabricated that replacement piece, or the installation of the engine. But they feel they've got to wow you by going directly from the unfinished car to the spectacular restoration.

While I don't agree with some that the entire thing is scripted, I do believe that a lot of it is, especially the "drama" within the shop. We see Ryan working on a mundane detailing job when Horny Mike comes in to be a pain, and there just happened to be three cameramen filming at the time? What are the odds??

I believe that the segments where they pull over car owners or knock on the door of a car owner are, for the most part, candid. But I'll bet that before two scary guys walk up to someone's door, dressed in black and sunglasses, they probably have the female segment producer go up first and explain what they're doing.

Shameless (2011–2021)

I've seen both. The American is better. (But not by a lot)

[10/10 · 29 April 2011]

I was halfway through the American series before I even KNEW there was a British series. I think a was a little disappointed that we didn't create it, but I was also happy that it was one of the few shows that we copied without ruining it. When I checked some of the user reviews, I was surprised to see how many thought the show to be appalling. OK, not everyone will share my love for the show, but to rate it SO badly? But when I looked, the author of nearly every bad review was a fan of the original show. This simply sounds like a case of liking what you know. "I don't care how good their cooking is. It ain't as good as my Mom's!"

Once I finished the American series, I gave it about a month to settle in and then started watching the British series. But I'd like to think that I was objective enough to judge it on its on merits, and not simply that it's different than what I'm used to.

Since, as many have pointed out, the script is nearly word-for-word identical, the difference lies mainly in how the actors portray the characters.

So I'm going to give my character-by-character head-to-head appraisal of UK vs. US. I'm going to use the character names rather than the actors' names for simplicity. Starting from the youngest...

Little Debbie: UK wins this one hands down. No contest. She steals every scene she's in. Who can not fall in love with this girl???

Carl: This one's close, but the UK one is (at least in the first season) a little more deranged and fun to watch.

Ian: Another close one, but this goes to UK, too. US Ian is somber and good looking, but UK Ian always seems a bit panicky, and the wide-angle closeups of his face make him look pretty bizarre.

Lip: This is solidly with the US. I like US Lip's darkness. He seems more responsible and intelligent. UK Lip is just kind of impish and unsure. You can depend on US Lip and he offers some of the only real family support to Fiona.

Kevin: Dead heat.

Veronica: Very different performances by each, but in the end, I like them the same.

Fiona: This was a difficult one to call, but I'm giving it to the US. And this is probably because I saw them first. I just like her better. Hard to put my finger on the reason.

Frank: Sorry, UK, but I just don't like your Frank. I understand the character is usually drunk, but he seems that way even before he starts drinking. He seems clinically stupid. US Frank (Macy) is equally as obnoxious, entitled, selfish and deluded, but he only seems drunk when he's drunk. At other times, his pontificating is fun to listen to. You feel good about hating the guy, because he's like this by choice. With UK Frank, you have to pity him. I feel like I'm laughing at someone who's mentally challenged.

I Am Legend (2007)

One star for Will, one for the effects and one for the dog

[3/10 · 20 June 2008]

We've got ratings to protect children from graphic violence, sex and other "adult" themes. We really need the same thing to protect adults from mindless dreck that can only be withstood by teenagers. This was such a film.

I'm giving this film three stars. One for Will Smith (this movie wasn't really his strong suit, but he still had his moments), one for the special effects, and one for the dog (just because I like dogs, and this was a very handsome dog).

I understand that science fiction films require a certain departure from logic, but this film was simply off the charts.

Examples: Only three years had passed and we have wheat growing in the main thoroughfares. There are herds of deer. Where did THESE come from? I'll buy that there might have been a few in Central Park, but... Manhattan appears to be full of zombies. With Will Smith as the only human, what are they all eating?

I could go on and on...

The scene with the deer galloping down Broadway was beaten to death in the promos, so that's nothing new. Beyond that, the plot was tedious and unbelievable. The chemistry between Smith's character and Anna was non-existent.

Will Smith should stick to what he does well - being the coolest guy in the room. When there's no one else in the room, he's got no snark.

When it came down to it, it was just Night of the Living Dead with special effects and a comedian trying to be a dramatic actor.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

The Emperor's New Clothes

[4/10 · 19 February 2008]

Like others have said, I was swayed by the ultra-high rating this garnered. It stars about 300 actors that I respect, and the Coen Bros - well, say no more!! But when it was all over, my wife and I were asking ourselves if our time might have been better spent re-grouting the bathroom tile.

The four stars I gave it were primarily due to Tommy Lee Jones, who does a better job on his worst day (i.e., this film) than on most actors' best. He's done this role several times before, and simply added a "burnt-out and tired" twist to it. Some of the down-home good ol' boy banter was fun.

But aside from that...

I don't mind letting reality slide if I'm watching movies like Star Trek, or Dracula, but I got the impression that this wasn't intended to be based on the supernatural. What was this gas tank that the murderer was carrying around? It managed to blow holes through deadbolts without his hand twitching. I'm no physicist, but most people should have a vague grasp of the "equal and opposite reaction" principle.

And while I understand that he had that nifty Radio Shack transponder, it did nothing but beep. But somehow it managed to bring him right to the correct hotel. And even without the transponder, he magically divined that Llewelyn Moss went to Mexico.

Woody Harrelson shared the same clairvoyance, as he was able to walk to where Moss tossed the money and figure out where he threw it. Agent Fox Mulder would have been impressed.

And as clever as Llewelyn Moss was, you'd think that once he found the transponder in the money, he might - you know - toss it out the window? Maybe on top of a moving truck? Nah - that would be cheating. And when the killer is standing on the other side of the door, he cleverly remains directly in the obvious line of fire. The only thing he didn't do was to yell, "I'm right here!"

I can only explain all of the high ratings on the fact that the Coen Brothers did the film, and they obviously can't do any wrong. If I didn't like the movie, it must be that I didn't understand it, and I'll be damned if I'll let the world know that I don't have the necessary depth to appreciate this obvious masterpiece.

Cloud 9 (2006)

I was embarrassed for Gabriella Reece

[7 January 2006]

**** Spoilers within... ****

There is a point in the movie where you visibly see Burt Reynolds get the idea of taking bubble-headed strippers and making them into champion beach volleyball players. To anyone who has played any sort of volleyball, or any sport at all for that matter, this was truly the "gouge my eyes out with a fork" moment of the movie. From this point forward, we were watching all of the realism of a Muppets movie, but with far less intelligent dialog.

Now while I don't follow championship volleyball at any level, I *do* know that players like Gabriella Reece play like they do thanks to a lifetime of dedication to the sport. And there was no amount of quick camera shots and stunt doubles that made this stinker vaguely believable.

The "comedy" was lame and you could see the plot twists coming down Pacific Coast Highway a mile away.

The Longest Yard (2005)

How can you not compare?

[5/10 · 13 November 2005]

Everyone is instructing us not to compare the current to the original version. How is that possible? That's like going to a restaurant, being served a lousy steak, and being asked that you not compare it to other good steaks that you've had in the past.

To any guy who was watching movies in the 70's, The Longest Yard is legendary. Burt can act big enough and mean enough to convince us that he could survive, and become a leader, in the prison community. Adam Sandler is Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Billy Madison and Little Nicky. He can't pull off the ex-NFL quarterback gaining cred in the joint. It was simply bad casting.

The rest of the casting, beginning to end, was superb. Most of the writing, and the additional comedy, was great fun. But Adam Sandler? Why not Woody Allen? The movie really needed someone that can pull off "tough". Josh Holloway, aka "Sawyer" on the TV show "Lost" might have been a good choice.

If they didn't want us to compare it to the original, they shouldn't have remade it.

The Office (2001–2003)

How is this funny?

[1 February 2005]

This show could easily be renamed to "The Uncomfortable Silence". Basically, that's the entire premise. I just don't understand how this can be stretched into multiple series, never mind more than a minute.

Ricky Gervais' character is a jerk who think's he's funny, but no one is compelled to laugh at him. So for about a hundred times per episode, he says something that isn't vaguely funny. Everyone stands around looking uncomfortable. So he explains it. More silence. And he makes excuses for why no one gets the joke. More silence. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. It's painful and tedious.

This is the first British comedy that I haven't loved. I'm a big fan of Faulty Towers, Ab Fab, Coupling, and I think that Green Wing is the funniest show currently in production. But The Office is about as much fun as watching someone with a terminal illness.

Green Wing (2004–2007)

An acquired taste, but easy to acquire

[22 September 2004]

It took me most of the first episode to come to grips with this show, but now that I've become accustomed to the characters and the constant speed-up/slow-down video methods used, I find that I really like it.

As someone who sees way too much US comedy that is utterly predicateble and done to death, it's nice to see something that surprises me, and I'm shocked about once a minute with Green Wing. The woman staff administrator (sorry - I don't know most of the actors' names) is an absolute howl. They should have 15 minutes of each show with her talking with Dr. Todd.

I truly hope this show sticks around.

BASEketball (1998)

I laughed so hard, I... Wait a sec... No I didn't.

[26 June 2004]

I expected little from this film and got much much less. I really don't care WHAT these to guys did before. I don't care if they cured cancer. They were abysmal in this movie, and I'll be sure to avoid anything else that they act in.

This movie insults the intelligence of anyone with an IQ even approaching triple digits. The acting was lame, the jokes were obvious or non-existant.

I only made it an hour and 15 minutes into the film. At that point, I said to my wife, "I can't take this any more." and she replied, "Oh, thank God."

The Worst Week of My Life (2004–2006)

Old, done-to-death gags

[15 March 2004]

As someone who sees far too much American comedy, I always look forward to British sitcoms. The writing is superior, and the average British comedic actor has a far better sense of comic timing than the American counterpart. So I was looking forward to this show, especially since it starred Sarah Alexander, who is absolutely marvelous in "Coupling".

Unfortunately, this outing really looks like it was produced by NBC. The gags are tired and lame. The groom-to-be is eating dinner at the future in-laws and lies about liking the lamb. He spits the meat into his napkin and transfers it into his pocket. Is anyone in the free world surprised when the family dog attacks his pocket? This show is a complete rehash of several of Ben Stiller's movies - Something about Mary, Meet the Parents, etc.

And here's the saddest thing of all. It's still better than almost anything created in America today.

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

One thumb up, one down

[14 March 2004]

I really think that anyone who absolutely loves children will love this movie, but (at the risk of offending all of them) it's not because this movie is any good. Some people just love to see children in a movie - the more the better.

But I tire of children saying lines that would be extremely witty coming out of a 30-year-old, but impossible for a 7-year-old. And although I love a farce - seeing things go horribly awry given an unusual set of circumstances - I can't find a lot of humor seeing a house get destroyed when the parents find it ok to let their children play roller-hockey indoors on beautiful varnished hardwood floors.

Steve Martin is a funny, funny guy. I saw occasional glimpses of his talent from time to time, but nothing like what he did in The Jerk, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, or All Of Me. He seems to be taking an awful lot of roles as the terrific but somewhat overwhelmed dad.

On the other hand, my wife just loved loved loved this movie. There's just no accounting for taste.

My Boss's Daughter (2003)

Yes, it *is* that bad.

[1/10 · 17 February 2004]

This movie is idiotic to a point that makes the average Three Stooges story have the depth of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. And I'm talking about one of the ones with Curley Joe.

This movie can only be entertaining to pre-teens. If Police Academy 5 kept you up at night discussing plot twists, you might be right for this movie.

I made it further than some people. I came to within 30 minutes of the ending before turning it off. DO NOT pay to see this movie. Wait till it is available for free before wasting the time. There are far to many movies that are better than this. As a matter of fact, ALL of them!

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

Bad news for "Plan 9 From Outer Space"

[8 October 2003]

"Plan 9 From Outer Space" just got bumped out of the coveted Worst Movie Of All Time position. Movie rating systems that go from 1-10 now have to go from 1-11 to make room for a new bottom floor.

After reading many of those who have commented before me, there's little more that I can add. I'm a good old-fashioned red-blooded American boy (plus a few decades), and I like seeing killer babes show us what they've got as much as the next guy, but simply wasn't worth it. I'd rather have worked some overtime. I could have used the extra money to buy a fork and gouge my eyes out when I saw this movie.

Sports Night (1998–2000)

A rare, rare gem

[8 October 2003]

When Sports Night was in it's first season, I honestly don't even remember seeing it in the listings. But with over a hundred channels to choose from, I'm sure that I saw the name and assumed it was another sports show like ESPN's SportCenter, and I didn't give it another thought.

Then it walked away with three Emmys for a comedy series, and I said, "Hmm... Have to check that out next season." It was about two episodes into that second season when I said "Oh, my god, how could I possibly have missed an entire season of this???"

Thanks to Comedy Central, as well as a rather sloppily assembled DVD set, I've now seen every episode several times. And I hate ABC for doing such an abysmal job promoting this incredible piece of work. "Anyone who can't make money off Sports Night, doesn't deserve to be in the business of making money."

Anger Management (2003)

A new low for Jack

[21 August 2003]

Ok, here's the plot: Half of Adam Sandler's world goes psycho-idiotic on him and the other half blames everything on him. For 100 minutes. And Marisa Tome is cute. That's it. Now with the $18 you've saved on movie tickets, buy me something nice.

I don't know if Jack Nicholson did this on a dare, if he lost a bet, or if he went off his meds for a weekend and staggered into the wrong movie lot. This is the guy who changed the meaning of "Here's Johnny!", the guy who let us know who "can't handle the truth!!" We're talking about Randall Patrick Mc-freaking-Murphy! And now he's dumb and dumber with scary eyes.

Coupling (2003)

Too soon to tell

[31 July 2003]

Coupling is exactly like Friends in much the same as "Sex and the City" is exactly like "Golden Girls". Similar cast in numbers and sex. The similarities end there. Coupling is far more like Sex and the City and Seinfeld. UK Coupling's writer, Steve Moffatt, wrote this show about he and his wife, Susan Virtue (Coupling's producer), and their friends.

The UK version of Coupling is one of the best sitcoms I've ever seen. Whether NBC can do justice to it has yet to be seen. The timing in the US pilot was off and a lot of the natural comedy seemed a little too forced. I'm hoping that this will correct itself once the actors become a little more comfortable with each other.

But although the show is totally about sex and relationships, it's ONLY about discussing it. I've watched three seasons of UK Coupling, and I've barely seen any of them even kiss. It's all about the differing ways that men and women look at the issues.

But we'll just have to see. Will NBC assume that America is too stupid and dumb the show down, making the jokes obvious enough so that an 8-year old will understand, or will they keep the subtleties of the original?

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Here's something really good about this movie...

[8 July 2003]

...now that a couple years have passed, you can get it free at your local library. And it *is* better than the nonstop reality shows that are monopolizing TV this summer. But not by a lot.

This is a simple case of the Jurassic franchise getting too greedy. It doesn't have to be good. It'll sell on the coat-tails of the first two.

I thought that the first one was extraordinary. Great plot - lots of surprises, groundbreaking special effects, good acting. In the second one, they took away a lot of the build up and got to the dino terrorizing right quick, but they still managed to pull it off. The third one is just a matter of "lather, rinse, repeat". Been there, done that, nothing new here.

In the first two movies, the suspense was as terrifying as the attacks themselves - when the raptor breathes and fogs up the kitchen window - the water vibrations as the T-Rex approaches. In this one, it was just "dino-attack, unrealistic escape, second verse, same as the first".

And although this is fantasy, they took a lot of liberties. The T-Rex killing dino breaks through the cage underwater and has Tea in his mouth and is shaking her. You can see blood in the water. This is is a monster of unimaginable power, but in the next scene, Tea is unharmed. Billy is being attacked by multiple dinos, but he survives. An hour after Dr. Grant gets a very obscure message to Ellie, a couple of aircraft carriers show up. How many Joint Cheifs did she have to boink to pull that one off?