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Star Trek: Discovery: Red Directive (2024)
All show no go
Star Trek Discovery looks fantastic. The ship, the uniforms, the tech, all slick. As for the story line, the characters, and the dialogue, well, boring, slow, and oh so tedious. The endless intervals of emotional reflection and mutual admiration by the characters is terrible. We get intervals of sci-fi action, but nothing original. And the plot. A puzzle? Really? And a poem, full of riddles to solve. This is some basic writing, not worthy of the amazing production.
Throughout the Discovery series, the characters have not developed. They are all so shallow and lost, always hurting, and always talking about it. They are more like children than intrepid time and space travellers. With all that has happened, interdimensional travel, time travel, even characters coming back to life, they remain the same. I have not warmed to any characters except Saroo, who stands out as a charismatic character that has developed significantly.
Overall, I find the Star Trek Discovery series bland and uninteresting. All show, no go.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody (2023)
To boldly go where no one should ever have gone.
Imagine the Terminator singing 'I Did It My Way', or the crew of Nostromo breaking into the tunes from 'My Fair Lady' every time the Alien attacked someone. Sure, it might be funny, but certainly ridiculous, and not something you would take seriously. Star Trek Strange New Worlds S2E9 is arguably one of the worst episode of any Star Trek series since Deanna Troi's mother visited the Enterprise in Generations, or the bucket of fish guts that was the final episode of Star Trek Enterprise 'These Are the Voyages'. It is true that other series featured singing performances, the original Star Trek certainly had some cringe worthy episodes, where crew members, including Spock and Uhura, sung terrible songs. I have tried to forget seeing these. Subspace Rhapsody is a gut-wrenching, cringe inducing pantomime.
We are asked to accept that a Star Ship in the 23rd century is enveloped by an 'experimental quantum probability field that causes everyone on the U. S. S. Enterprise to break uncontrollably into song' and has them expressing their emotions via a 20th century style musical, and a bad one at that. More Sci-fi, less soup opera, please. I sincerely hope this doesn't ever happen again to my beloved Star Trek.
You (2018)
offbeat, unpredictable, and very entertaining.
' You ' is edgy, the story flows like a train wreck in slow motion, that is metered out calmly by the main character, Joe, telling himself and you the viewer, that he is one step away from being the good guy. Only Joe is not and never will be the good guy.
Penn Badgley is so smooth, perfect for the role of Joe, who is an unhinged serial killer who fixates on the woman that ultimately become his victims, well them, and just about everyone else that relates to them. Joe has a troubled past, a battered mother, and the father he killed for it. Joe learned to love Books from a deranged foster father, who sealed the deal for Joe the serial killer.
You never really root for the killer in this show, but you find yourself intrigued watching Joe apply his twisted logic to everything he does, every horrendous act of violence he enacts. 'You' is offbeat, unpredictable, and very entertaining.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
A Stop - Motion Masterpiece - Artistic triumph.
There is so much creativity, Art and storytelling genius in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio that it is difficult to know where to start a review. 15 years of the most incredible creativity and collaboration went into this masterpiece. Every scene is perfectly imperfect. That is to say, the creation of Pinocchio's world is so completely consistent it is astonishing. I thought I was looking at CGI but later I learned that every set was hand built, every Puppet engineered, every movement was created by the character artist.
This is the story of a wooden puppet that is brought to life for the sake of a father who has been devastated by the tragic death of his son. The story of Pinocchio is familiar to most people although this story has been extended, emphasizing the life and death tribulations of being a human being.
The characters are just amazing to look at, and the actors voices are perfectly matched. Brilliant performances by Gregory Man (Pinoccio) , Ewan McGregor (Sebastian J Cricket and Narrator ) , David Bradely (Geppetto). Then there is Count Volpe (Christopher Waltz) a standout character for me, both in appearance and perfect voice over by Waltz.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is rated PG. I would suggest that the imagery is a little haunting and could even be just a little scary for very young kids. I highly recommend that viewers watch the Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Behind the Craft also available on Netflix. I would watch the Movie first though.
The Batman (2022)
Harking back to the original Batman concept
Batman, as he was originally conceived nearly 80 years ago, was a violent vigilante detective, who killed villains without mercy. Shortly after his debut in 1939-40, Batman was toned down from a killer to a crime fighter with a moral code, refusing to become totally lawless like his enemies. 'The Batman' 2022, portrays the darker and more dangerous superhero with a tenuous moral code. Robert Pattinson plays a disturbed and quietly raging Batman that could kill if pushed too far in the worst of circumstances. More than once, this Batman is tested and comes very close to losing control.
The Batman is locked in a battle of wits with the Riddler, Paul Dano who was poorly cast for this role and is unconvincing, more annoying than scary. Important people are being viciously murdered. In a constant race to save the next victim, Batman opposes and then joins forces with a skilled Cat Burglar, Selina Kyle played by Zoë Kravitz. Batman keeps showing up at Police investigations, escorted by the soon to become commissioner, Police Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright). The Riddler leaves riddles addressed to Batman, and with a bit of help from Alfred (Andy Circus) and Gordon, and Selina, Batman solves each terrible clue, leading him to the Riddler's next victim. Batman has some very nice and believable tech at his disposal, a realistic Bat Cave and one of the best Batmobile's I have seen. The 1969 Dodge Charger is awesome.
This is a long movie, an epic at just under 3 hours. I was surprised how the seemingly slow plot and brooding dark atmosphere never got boring. I found that The Batman quietly and effortlessly told a great story. The only exception was the conclusion which was a little rushed compared to the hours it took to get there. This is a quiet, dark, and gritty Batman that somehow falls just a little short of expectation. I enjoyed the streamlining of the characters, removing all the camp and theatrics usually associated with the Batman character. The Batman is well primed for a sequel too. Overall, a great movie that I will watch again.
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)
Some episodes are better than others
I tend to get bored with the ritual introductions of the kind that preceded each episode of this horror series. To be honest, I found the intro's hard to follow. As for the episodes, there were a few stand outs, the others lacked a decent story line or an ending that made any sense.
Episode 2. Graveyard Rats was the best. It was funny scary with some eerie horror, not too much. 9/10 from me.
Episode 3 the Autopsy, an alien horror story, gruesome and scary, but again, a good balance. 8/10
A very strange but interesting episode 4. The Outside 7/10.
As a stark contrast Episode 7. The Viewing is terrible, a long tedious build up, with some second rate acting and then a monster. 2/10
The other episodes get a 5.5 from me. Overall, a difficult series to stay with given these extremes in quality, intensity, and appeal.
Tayna pechati drakona (2019)
Ok to sleep through
Well, let me say firstly you can save a lot of time and just watch the promo, because, that is as good as it gets. I managed to watch the whole silly, nonsensical mess, others fell fast asleep. Jackie Chan is in a dungeon in chains, Arnold is the London Tower Jailer, the Princess is pretending to be a boy, some other guy is making maps in his five wheel wagon, there is a Dragon with long eyelashes and a fake one and a Witch too. The dragon flies without wings, the guy in the mask is Peter the Great ?????. Seriously, it's hopeless. Actually gave this slop 2 stars but after writing this I took one away.
Elvis (2022)
The Tom Parker story
Apart from having several distorted facts, this Biopic's dual focus, of Elvis and his manager Colonel Tom Parker, was a unique perspective and for this reason the movie had some worthwhile elements. The movie was more like a collage of scenes, milestones and the dramatic turn of events in Elvis's life, like the death of his mother Gladys Presley. Unfortunately, the scenes were a bit hollow, like a weak pantomime. Austin Butler was adequate in his portrayal of Elvis, however, there are any number of impersonators who would have been much better, Shawn Clush for example. It certainly did not help that Butlers makeup seemed to get worse as he portrayed an ageing Elvis, in one scene he looked more like a Ken doll. Tom Hanks was mild and underwhelming as Tom Parker, you might even say forgettable. Some bad casting, average daytime soap opera standard acting and a failed attempt to impersonate Elvis. Overall, I was very disappointed with this movie, especially after the enormous amount of hype it has received.
The Bad Batch (2016)
Violent, Silly, Pointless and so dull.
Difficult to review movies this bad because it is tempting to just say, well this movie is just bad and that's it. It seems that in an utopian future, people deemed to be "Bad Batch" are banished to a desert wasteland. The waste land is sparsely inhabited by cannibals. Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) is captured and partially eaten, that is, her right arm and right leg are cut off and eaten. How she survives this is not clear but she manages to escape lying on a skate board. Rescued by a desert vagabond (Jim Carey), she ends up in Comfort, a small community of drugged up crazy people over lorded by The Dream (Keanu Reeves). Well, she gets a gun, finds the woman who cut off her limbs, Miami Mans (Jason Momoa) wife, kills her, takes her daughter to Comfort. Miami Man now looking for his daughter, blah blah blah, Arlen ends up hanging with Miami Man after rescuing the little girl from The Dream. Remembering that Miami Man actual ate Arlens leg and arm too, but that's OK because they like each other now. Gees you know I just relived the painful dullness of this movie and I hate it even more now. Skip it, it's time you can't get back.
The Father (2020)
Compelling, profoundly real and so sad.
This is an amazing movie. I felt so uncomfortable while watching because the tragedy that unfolds is profoundly real and so sad. Anthony Hopkins plays Anthony, an old man in the grip of dementia. His helplessness and confusion is so quietly portrayed in a succession of absolutely brilliant scenes that will confuse you ,making Anthony's experience feel all the more real to you. His daughter Anne, played by Olivia Colman, is broken hearted and desperate to help her Father. The performances are just so extraordinary. Anthony Hopkins is flawless and I believe this is his best ever acting role. Olivia Coleman also gives a stunning performance and I could feel her heart breaking. This is what I would call a masterpiece.
Don't Look Up (2021)
Reality check
Corrupt, sociopathic, sycophantic politicians taking advantage of the gullible the lazy and the deliberately ignorant, contrived, manipulated and fake media, insane billionaires selling ever more intrusive technology, manufactured social influencers and their inane self-promotion. A world where reality is debatable and people are confused, scared, lost. Don't Look Up has all these things, Is it a comedy? Well, I laughed a couple of times. I think this is a great film but not because it made me laugh. This movie made me feel a little anxious and a bit relieved at the same time.
I was relieved that the movie was looking at the state of the worlds social and political landscape, and anxious because it was all so true. The Pandemic has highlighted the inexplicable and unpredictable reactions around the world, with some challenged individuals even believing that Covid is a hoax. "Don't Look Up" manages to highlight the collective ignorance of the planet in a scenario that seems plausible given these recent events.
Wherever the movie wavered or stalled, it is saved by the engaging performances of Leonardo DiCaprio as Dr. Randall Mindy and Jennifer Lawrence as Kate Dubiasky . Randall and Kate try desperately to make the world understand that a comet is going to end all life on Earth. The world has become so lost, so corrupted and so confused that this proves to be almost impossible. With an ending that is just a bit unpredictable, "Dont Look Up" is a satiric commentary prompting us to think as Randall does in a moment of content realization that "the thing of it is, we really did have everything didn't we ?"
Time Under Fire (1997)
Starts off badly but slowly gets worse
This will be a short review.
Really stupid plot, a time portal under water, accessed by a submarine.
Some of the worst acting you will find, especially from Richard Tyson, who was not just bad, but very weird, just woeful. I am surprised Bryan Cranston hasn't engaged a Lawyer to get this abysmal schlock removed from the planet. He is terrible in this, and keep your eye out for the wig on Jeff Fahey, WOW!..Arguably the worst wardrobe ever used in a movie. Not worth going into any detail here because there is nothing worthwhile in this shocker. The movie is worth a laugh if you have nothing to do for 92 minutes. I mean NOTHING else to do.
The Mule (2018)
More dead horse than Mule
The Mule started out well enough, the story - Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) neglected his now estranged wife and daughter to pursue his passion for cultivating Day Lilies. Now Earl is a cash strapped old man who's flower growing business is now bust because of internet shopping. While making a precarious attendance to a family occasion, Earl is approached by a man who tell him he can earn money driving and gives him a number to call resulting in Earl making multiple drug runs for a Drug Cartel.
That was about it, what followed was cliché cop scenes, a handful of DEA cops bumbling around trying to make their mark and crack a big case. The cartel where a gang of intellectually challenged cry-babies, waiving their guns, threatening to kill Earl if he messed up. Eventually the dissident Cartel members kill the nice boss and he is replaced by a nasty boss who insists Earl does as he is told, which Earl had been doing anyway and made 13 successful drug runs.
So now the Cartel insist that the Mule aka Earl needs a Keeper. Why would you hire a mule to cart drugs and then follow them in another car? Isn't the point of having a mule to distance yourself from the crime? And then Earl (Clint) buys himself a big black truck and just has the drugs in the back, no problem. Even when there are bags of drugs right in front of an angry Cop, Earl is such a smooth talker the Cop doesn't notice them. Very silly.
Laurence Fishburne was the "Special" agent in charge. His scenes were all the same. Initially he says no to Agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) requests for resources to catch the mule, then he reflects, changes his mind and says "Get it done". I counted 4 times the same vapid scene.
I have never seen Bradley Cooper so passive in a movie, so without appeal, as if he was about to look at his watch and say, i gotta be somewhere else sorry.
There was a snitch of course, who supplied Agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) with the Cartels drug transport manifest showing where, when and how drug shipments where happening. What did the DEA do with it? Nothing, they just started pulling over any black trucks they saw! all while listening to the cartels phone calls, letting all the other mules go about their business.
Then there was the scene of Earl Stone's (Clint Eatwood) wife, Mary (Dianna Weist) dying. The scene was contrived and trying to be poignant, it wasn't though. Some wheezing, some small talk and it was over. And finally, the big trial, where Earl interrupts the proceeding and pleads guilty, the judge sends him immediately to federal prison, Earls estranged family all love him now and promise to visit him in jail, and we close with Earl doing what he loves, growing flowers in his prison jump suit.
Given Clint Eastwood won't be around much longer, I sincerely hope he gets to make another movie and this is not his last one. It was great to see Clint again, but this movie is a schlock. All in all, the Mule was more like a dead horse.
Glitch (2015)
No coming back for this dead horse
Glitch started out promising enough. Dead people coming back to life is a familiar plot idea but Glitch started out with a bit of edge to the story. Season 1 saw some good performances from Patrick Brammall, Emma Booth, and drop-dead gorgeous Hannah Monson. There was a lot of unanswered questions that where intriguing but the plot starts to wear thin. Cracks appear within the story because it just didn't develop, it's was just one riddle after another.
Most of the second series is padded out with pointless scenes and vapid dialogue. There are no revelations or even interesting twists to enjoy and interest wore thinner with each episode. At the end of the second series I was unsure if this show had the substance for a third series return, just a two-part finale would have done to conclude this dying story.
Series 3 is a mess. At one point it was as if the actors where free forming, making it up as they went. Villains changing into good guys, and then back again. People dying in the most ridiculous ways, like James (Patrick Brammall) hitting his head on a sink in the men's or Pete (Robert Menzies) falling down a few steps in his wheelchair, or even Charlie's (Sean Keenan) new boyfriend dying of a heart attack after being tasered. As the episodes progressed less and less people appeared, as if the entire population of the town had disappeared.
As for the universe unravelling our only clue for this was random fast motion film of things rotting, like small animals, and the Paint-shop quality dreamscape's of John Doe's (Rodger Corser) visions of the future, the Melbourne Observation Wheel and some fire. There was a bizarre and seemingly disconnected trip to the city with three party girls ,one happens to be a Scientist who is conviced the world is ending because Pete showed her a drip of water suspended in the air in the Men's bathroom. On it went, till finally everyone realises they have to be dead again to save the world. Really not a big enough idea for 3 series, one would have done it.
Detectorists (2014)
Pure Gold
Two friends, Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones) members of a metal detecting club, spend their time searching for that elusive find of gold. and talking about life, woman and quiz shows. They interact with other amazing characters, their friends from the club who are as eccentric as they are, and are genuinely nice people.
Detectorists is one of those shows that you don't just watch, you join in, you get involved. Its real, its funny and its brilliant. Its pure gold.
Lost in Space (2018)
true to the original series.
If you are a Lost in Space fan from way, way back then you should really enjoy this excellent reboot. This is not a remake, but it is true to the original series.
There is enough variation from the original story to make this new series really interesting.
You can't have Lost in Space without the Robot and this one is fantastic. We still don't know at episode three where this mechanical creature comes from and is by all accounts an alien who befriends Will Robinson (Maxwell Jenkins).
The Doctor Smith character played by Parker Posey is diabolical and is an imposter named June Harris. Harris is a psychopath with a criminal history.
For me growing up with this show, it was all about these three characters. This series however has a great balance of strong interesting characters and enough SciFi to make it very entertaining.
The Titan (2018)
The Titan (ic)
Seriously! WHAT? A plan to turn a human into an eight figured flying fish so the human race can at some time escape a resource depleted over populated earth and live on a Saturn moon.
Rick Janssen (Sam Worthington), is chosen for a military experiment that kills most of the other lab rat soldiers because the forced evolutionary change is so unpredictable. The kicker for me was when Rick completed his final transformation on an operating table. Now resembling a squid, Rick was allowed to "go home for the weekend" Oh boy. This is one crappy movie. I mean, it is just that bad. It started out with a promise of Titans and ended like the Titanic. A total disaster.
The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
Silly amalgom of done before ideas
Watching The Cloverfield Paradox was a game of spot the parody. This movie had no original idea that i could find. Every aspect of the plot was borrowed from other movies. The crew of the Cloverfield station are tasks with perfecting an endless source of energy from the Shepard particle accelerator they built, to save the planet that has run out of energy.
After a couple of worrying misfires they inadvertently break space and cause multiple dimensions to collide and interact. While this hapless crew of childish idiots are killed by inter dimensional paradoxes, Earth is now being ravaged by monsters.
Only two of the crew make it back to Earth. After they stitch together a demolished space station with a glue gun, our remaining heroes fix the particle accelerator and complete the mission.
Some of the special effects are not bad but this movie is just a silly amalgam of done before ideas.
Wolf (1994)
Only because Jack is in it
Wolf had every chance to be a great movie. It certainly had the talent and a potentially great story line. Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) is an aging Editor for a publishing company who loses his job and his wife to a creepy co-worker Stewart (James Spader). Bitten by a Ware Wolf, Will gets smarter, has more hair and starts to go out at night and kill things. Unfortunately, when Will finds out about his wife and Stewart, he confronts them and bites Stewart. So now he will eventually have to have a Wolf fight with Stewart which he does. He meets Laura Alden (Michelle Pfeifer), his boss's daughter and we know where that's going.
There are some really silly wolf scenes with Jack jumping around and sniffing the air with a set of wolf fangs in his mouth. The wolf that bit him and his pack are all mechanical dolls and are just terrible.
I watched it to the end but only because Jack is in it.
Bright (2017)
Bright is Dull
Well , bottom line, Bright is not a good movie. Acting is average and the story line, its a hack job.
Will Smith plays Daryl Ward, a veteran cop in a fatasy world, alternate reality where there are Fairies, Elves and Demon Orcs. Joel Edgerton is Nick Jakoby , a good natured Orc, hated by humans and despised by his own kind because he is a cop and on top of that, he hasn't completed his Blood ritual. Yep very silly.
There are corrupt cops and outlaw gangs trying to get their hands on a Magic Wand, yep that's right...a Wand. Our heroes have it of course and together with a runaway Elf, they run, fight, run, fight, car chase, almost lose, use magic and finally fall in love with each other in that tough cop hate sort of way.
This movie is so stupid and so incredibly off you have to wonder why Netflix would produce this C grade schlock. Bright is dull.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
To boldly go where no Star Trek has gone before
For the first 6 episodes, i have had the impression that this really is the best Star Trek production ever made. Each episode is of motion picture quality. The whole look and feel is original. Rather than go with the same old, this series is seriously SciFi.
Unfortunately Episode 7 took a plot dive into one of those soapy love interests in space stories with a time loop for flavor. This routine really became tiresome in other series like Voyager's B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris. Also ,the recurring theme of a Vulcan or Android or Borg trying to come to grips with human emotions has worn a bit thin. Its a shame its happening again in Discovery.
Sonequa Martin-Green is well cast as the only Vulcan educated human Michael Burnham the ships Science officer with a colorful past. Jason Isaacs plays a very convincing ruthless Captain Gabriel Lorca. The same diverse mix of other characters continues and some might say that the casting is contrived and politically correct but its not much different to the original Star Trek series casting or subsequent Star Trek series in this regard.
I hope this series doesn't revert to the old Star Trek formula. Its intriguing to see tech that seems too advanced for a prequel, some 10 years before Kirk captains the Enterprise. The Federation is slick and confident and fighting a War with the Klingon's. These are not the Klingon's you are used to, they are scarier and more like aliens in appearance.
Star Trek Discovery is different and it will surprise or even upset some fans, but i am impressed and i am a big fan, of every series. With endless time paradox options, it wont be hard for the writers to make all the seemingly unexplained differences fit together, but this shouldn't be the focus. Discovery is boldly going where no other Star Trek has gone and i find that interesting, entertaining and a little less predictable.
Fortitude (2015)
Fargo meets The Thing
Every component of Fortitude has been done before, much better and a lot quicker than this agonizingly slow series.
You get the feeling early that there is something unreal going on in the isolated Arctic town of Fortitude. The brutal and bizarre deaths are investigated by Dan Anderssen (Richard Dormer)and you can tell he knows something. There is a visiting detective from London, a Governor trying to launch a business venture and a few other characters that are mildly interesting. The problem is that this show moves at a snails pace and is very confusing to follow. Others watching with me fell asleep.
I think if you took the movie The Thing, stretch the movie out to 25 episodes, and mixed in some scenes from Fargo you would have a series very much like but a whole lot better than Fortitude.
Bloodline (2015)
A total let down
The first season of Bloodline was entertaining and suspenseful. The Rayburn family have a secret, they seem like royalty with a skeleton in the closet. Danny (Ben Mendelsohn) comes home and you immediately sense there is some serious trouble coming.
You know Kevin is a disaster waiting to happen and John is intense and a bit creepy. Then we find by the end of season 2 that the secret really isn't a big deal but 2 murders are. Things are unraveling and there is some big time crime happening that the Rayburn family are drawn into.
That is as good as it got. Unfortunately the last season was just a dizzy mix of flash backs, dream scenes, important plot details where abandoned, characters disappeared completely. It was like the market closed early and we were left browsing the stalls still packing up.
Enterprise (2001)
Unfinished series
It seemed relevant with the new Star Trek Discovery about to be released that i revisit Star Trek Enterprise.
This is forever one of my favorite Star Trek series. It could not have been an easy task to write a chapter of Star Trek that precedes Kirk and Spock. It would have taken imagination as well as a clear logical path to the next era. And this was done well.
The development of the Prime Directive, the advancement in technology from the interaction with other species, the use of the Transporter originally conceived for cargo only transport. Then there was the introduction of security alerts as procedure.
Most intriguing of all was the development of the Vulcan mindset and the significance of human interaction in their evolution portrayed so brilliantly by Jolene Blalock as T'pol.
And Enterprise captained by Archer portrayed magnificently by Scott Bakula, established the Federation, the basis of all other series. How did Archer and his crew do it? Through conflict, life, death and sacrifice.
So its understandable that you would be hard pressed to find a single Star Trek fan that isn't utterly appalled at the disrespectful hatchet job of the final episode These Are the Voyages. Leave this episode out of the equation, Star Trek Enterprise is the unfinished series that will forever frustrate Trek fans.
Time Lapse (2014)
High tech not needed for this great SciFi idea
Time lapse is a great scifi movie. No special effects just a great story that carries you along with it. Its tense, dangerous and intriguing all at the same time. I never guessed the ending because this movie isn't predictable.
Seeing the future and being able to change it starts off as a potential goldmine for these believable and interesting characters. Things go wrong for all the wrong reasons and our heroes lose control of themselves and their future.