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james_holst
Reviews
Ted Lasso (2020)
It's Ted and not the talking bear
It's nice to finally have an optimistic show. This is just one of those shows where the episodes are just fun and nothing more. Ted is nothing more than an escape for our nutty world and I for one am all for this.
You cannot take this show seriously that's the secret to really enjoy Ted Lasso. It's like listening to a band who really are not great musicians but are a lot of fun. Not to say the actors are bad or the writing is bad, it's rather good actually, but the story line is just not realistic, it's extremely predictable, and takes some unrealistic turns.
If I had to say one thing negative about the show is that the show is basically about alcoholic sex attics who try to project that they are there for group/team/clique but rather they are clearly out for themselves. The show is in essence a double entendre. However enjoy Ted. It's awesome.
9/11: Minute by Minute (2021)
This documentary crashed fast
Dear god what is their piece of garbage. They can't even get the right footage on here. Showing modern technology instead of what was in the period. Please this is garbage wrapped in a ham sandwich wrapped in garbage. This is making the film Ishtar look really good. Crap crap and more crap.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Welcome Back 1986
For a sequel 36 years later it's excellent. The main thing I did not like about this movie is that it just brought too much from the old movie out and it was a little bit cliché and predictable. Maverick let go of Goose in 1986 we know that because he threw his dog tags into the ocean and that should have been the end of that there. But they bring it back which they did not need to. Also the pilots were cliche as well which was sad, they had an opportunity to bring in a new perspective and it was 1986 all over again. I thought the the flight sequences were excellent, I thought the love interest was believable. However I thought the mission and the "enemy" was a little out there. It's an enjoyable movie and a solid effort you'll be entertained for sure. However overall I rate this movie a "meh."
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Who are you going to call? A new writing staff
This is a whole bunch of meh. I will say I thought McKenna Grace did a fantastic job. Things they could have dumped in this movie the characters of Trevor, Gary, Lucky, Domingo. They just were not needed. Second this movie lacked plot because of the sun stories that just went nowhere. The cameos by the original actors could also be cut because, well, if the ghost just kept on doing what he was doing there would be absolutely no need for anyone else. Would have I loved to have seen more integration of the original cast yes but honestly they were there to pick up a paycheck. As for the movie itself if you have never seen the franchise then this movie holds its own, if you have then this movie is Ghostbusters 3: The Quest For More Money.
Bicentennial Man (1999)
It's a decent movie
This movie has a good plot, it has good acting but it's really simple, you either love this movie or hate this movie and it's all based upon whether you're a romantic or you're not. If you're a romantic you love it, if you're not then you hate it.
Encanto (2021)
Cliche and predictable
First the animation was outstanding. The plot was about as formulae based as a Hallmark Christmas movie. This was rather painful to watch. You knew exactly what was going to happen, it didn't really have a morale and it was boring. Not Disneys best effort.
Challenger: The Final Flight (2020)
Solid documentary
They did a nice job with this documentary. I wish they cover each meme EE if the crew from an individual perspective as there seemed to be more focus on the backup member than they actual astronauts on the crew but then again this has been the overall problem about telling this story over the decades. It's a good documentary to watch, informative, accurate, and fair.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (2020)
It needed more depth
This is a tragedy first and foremost and I'll give kudos to Netflix for giving the victims a much stronger voice than other reports gave them in this documentary . However, victim access seemed like this was the only thing the documentary team could get access to as the rest of the documentary was yeah we know this and.... The Epstein /Maxwell side was vague at best and the documentary showed that they used the same formula over and over again. It seemed like the documentary did not go deeper for some reason whether it be access, liability etc. As one of the victims rightfully stated there are more people involved why have they not been exposed? That's what I was wondering too with this documentary.
Magellan (2017)
Take it with a grain of lack of realism
The storyline is interesting, the science is horrendous, and the acting....well is about as bad as the science. It's not a horrible story line but honestly it is poorly portrayed, full of gaps, and, quite frankly, full of it. The movie is bearable to watch but someone needs to hit the reset button on this one and add somewhat of a sense of reality rather than a spoiled, jerk, his frat boy friends, and his 1950's housewife.
The Midnight Sky (2020)
Stay on Jupiter
Here's the good news: Actors: Awesome, Sets: awesome, Music: Awesome, First 30 minutes of the Movie: Awesome Here's the bad news: Please stop hiring writers to write sci-fi/drama from the Hallmark Christmas Movie writer's guild. Honestly folks you need to learn something about science, science fiction and not just write what your understanding of science, technology and protocols is which is apparently pulled directly from your derrière. Two hours of my life lost.
Ad Astra (2019)
What the heck was that?
I just don't get this movie if you can return from Neptune to Earth then why the heck would you have to go to the moon first to get there?
Honestly, this is the kind of logic this movie uses and it just gets worse and worse. I wish I could get on but I am being attacked by moon pirates...yeah you heard me right moon pirates.
For All Mankind (2019)
The concept is good but....
This is a good series to watch it is interesting. It does start out slow and on it about episode 5 it finally gets its stride. I like where this is going overall and it's is certainly with the watch. I get that they are changing the history of manned space flight but don't change the the history of people. The problem with this series is it's too progressive for its time and they should really show the culture of the time. I assure you a changed space race would not change this and the writers should know this.
Greyhound (2020)
Absolutely worth the watch
Greyhound is really one of the better if not the best war movie of the last 20 years. The epic disasters of recent years thanks to CGI and quite frankly bad cliche writing has made most recent war movies that of the Ben Aflack vomitable "Pearl Harbor" quality but thankfully not this movie. The director and the writers have forgone the outrageous battle scenes and cocky arrogant Mavericks and made this a more true war movie which is more realistic and enjoyable to watch.
Greyhound gets started pretty fast and stays that way to the end which is great. Tom Hanks just completely pulls this character off, but what else is new, and the supporting cast do an excellent job. Which just add to the quality of this film.
The downside to this movie are two things: 1. This should be his last crossing for Hanks not his first. if you watch it you'll see why I say this and you will see how this first point is also important for my second point. 2. The movie should end with the suggestion that both the Elizabeth Shue character and the Tom Hanks charter suggest at the start of the movie. Otherwise, as the Big Bang Theory character Amy Farrah Fowler says about the worth of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, "The outcome is no different whether Elizabeth Shue's character is there or not." This is not Elizabeth Shue's problem, she is a fine actor and needed to be utilized much more in the plot, this is the writers and directors fault as it seems they needed to add 10 minutes to a script which was already relatively short movie. The addition of this sub plot was most likely to meet the minimum length requirements of the contract they signed with Apple which is a weird thing to say in a movie review but seems the only logical assessment of why the heck she was in the movie in the first place (Hey Director am I right?).