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michael-gillanders1
Reviews
That's So Raven (2003)
This is the worst show I have ever seen....
This is the worst show I have ever seen. I cannot even bear to have it on in the background. My mother loathes it. My sister watches it, literally, just to annoy me- even though she ends up wanting to kill herself by the end, too. I don't have a *clue* how this is one of Disney's most popular shows- I guess it goes to show some people will watch any old crap. Raven, the lead, is a good role model- not being skinny-to-the-bone- and that is the one and only thing I respect about this show. Speaking of the lead, she's inexplicably annoying and her voice grates on me. Her friend, Chelsea, is so stupid, but it's not the Joey-Tribbiani-type stupid, that is hilarious, but the annoying I-don't-know-anything-look-at-the-stupid-white-girl stuff of nightmares. The other characters are so boring I can't be bothered to write about them. The premises of the stories are ridiculous, and sometimes make little sense at all. Nevertheless, it does make me laugh- that embarrassed I-can't-believe-I'm-watching-this-crap laugh that so often kicks in.
This is one of those shows that you either love-or-loathe, I guess. My family and I hate it with the intensity of a thousand suns.
Honey (2003)
Sugary enough to be honey
Despite what everyone else appears to think (points to IMDb rating) I thought it was pretty good. OK, so it won't win any awards and its racial overtones grate a little, the dance routines were great and the songs were catchy. A decent enough performance from Jessica Alba as Honey "Mary Sue" Daniels. The rap stars were a little pointless and the asshole director's sudden character change was sublime at best, unbelievable at first. Perfection for a 7-to-10-year-old wannabe-dancers, and for 13-16-year-olds seeking a fluffy undemanding chick flick,
Not fantastic by any means, but it's worth a look.
Veronica Mars (2004)
Rob Thomas is smarter than me.
Veronica Mars... what to say about it? It's lowly rated, with a scarily high Internet following, the latter with great right. The former, undeservedly. You think you know what is about to happen then BAM! you have no clue. I was convinced all of s1 that Duncan killed Lily, and never suspected for a single second it would be who it was. My favourite episode has to be "A Trip to the Dentist" with its multi-layered script, its fantastic acting (even from Teddy Dunn) and the way Veronica finds out who raped her, with the characters' stories, all similar, but from different points of views. But, really, there were no bad episodes in the first season. However, the second season got off to an extremely slow start. The first 5 episode of season 2 were average at worst, pretty good at best. But "Rat Saw God" was brilliant, and made me optimistic about Veronica's future. I won't spoil it, but WOW.
Clearly, I love Veronica Mars. Buy into the hype, buy into the hype RIGHT NOW. It really is THAT good. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
More than just a silly title...
Buffy. How to describe it? Meaningless teenage fluff as bad as the terrible B-movie? As silly as the title? No. Buffy is genius. Its very metaphorical, 'I had sex with my boyfriend and he turned into a monster' 'Be careful what you wish for' 'High school is hell', it turns these things into reality, but in a way which still touches you.
Buffy isn't perfect. There's a couple of episodes where you think 'Am I watching the right show?' but 90% of the time, you get TV gold. Episodes, like, 'Crush' 'Hush' 'Once More With Feeling' and 'Chosen', you feel honoured to be watching such a fantastic craft. Many episodes you feel like *every* word has been carefully picked out, so it matches the current lingo, and the characters.
And the characters... could they BE anymore interesting? It started out with four main characters, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles and to some extent Cordelia and Angel and ended with them all- miraculously- still alive, though Xander's depth perception may not be what it used to be. The only place you'll find something with as much originality and heart is Angel. But even Angel struggles against Buffy.
Fantastic acting + Genius writing + Spot-on directing + Extremely hot actors= Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
This movie rules!
Homeward Bound is a beautiful film. Y'know the part where Shadow falls down the ditch... thingy, I *cried*, considering I was only six, I cried! it takes a lot to make me cry! The dogs and the cat are excellently trained. A nice family movie, *not* for completely hardened non-fluffy people or animal-haters but could for soft-as-crap a.k.a. people like me.
A good film overall, 10/10!