janoffpeter Reviews

Plane (2023)

Ridiculous at times but delivers what we came for.

[6/10 · 11 December 2023]

We reassure ourselves with the age old concept of "now that's entertainment" by countlessly being confronted by an impossible and ludicrous series of events and accepting them with a bit of a smirk. Gerard Butler being a dependable action hero and a decent performance from his-tough guy duo bro- played by Mike Colter provided the formulae that most of us action film junkies recognize and even require to reach a state of normalcy. That bilateral relationship is what the rest of the movie is based on and revolves around. What then happens in the frenzied revolution around that central action based duet is a stride and steady stream of hard hitting adrenaline pumping action which is what we are here for and in fact demand. The details below that particular level of testosterone are hopelessly flawed to the point the viewer will chuckle and look away. Every possible character in the scale between good and bad is however included and represented in the mix. The flaws and goofs too many to start mentioning would be awful spoilers as they in part actually hold up the quality of the film. So I say enjoy the action, enjoy the star quality lead and his sympathetic swashbuckler of costar, and their actually quite well played ruthless adversaries, and take in the plot flaws, goofs and impossibilities in their respective levels of tact. And you'll leave this movie with one more satisfying action fix under your belt.

Bosch: Legacy (2022– )

Not nearly as good as the original

[6/10 · 2 December 2023]

Folks there are times when I wonder why I don't think the same way about things as others do? I was a staunch lover of the original Bosch series. I enjoyed the characters the plots and subplots the twists and the jokes. The old cop dialogue fans truly love brother! It had everything for me except that I had hoped Bosch's wife and daughter would get written out of the script The wife made a delayed yet well written exit but the daughter? I'm going nuts watching her stubbornly being written into every other scene in Legacy. The short comeback appearances of J Edgar and Crate and Barrel are like breaths of fresh air and where did the old Bosch go. He isn't as bold and sharp as a PI especially because he doesn't spend his days at the station. I miss the old series and am starting to lose patience with the poorer quality of writing and please god help us. Can't Maddie take along leave of absence? Her character has been squeezed out to the last drop.

Beckham (2023)

Slow start but it gets there. Good stuff!

[8/10 · 7 October 2023]

This is a a compelling and thoughtful documentary of the life and times of football legend David Beckham. It actually taught me a few things that I wasn't previously aware of. It is a well composed mosaic of clips from his life matches and interviews with him, his teammates, coaches and several other people associated with his career including his family as well. This was definitely where the rubber meets the road in terms of an honest and genuine portrayal of his character and his achievements. Those included the various pitfalls of being an extremely talented and successful athlete while a veritable superstar in the world of sport sponsorships. I never actually considered how much flack he took throughout certain periods of his career and how much effect his family values would have on his rise and eventual fall from the peak of his career. You can't take MAN United out of the boy and there was in my opinion the crucial point in that David's world collided with being an A list personality. The working class boyish foot soldier from Manchester United became a megastar and those two worlds wouldn't interweave totally without any friction or pressures Great historical football clips of his greatest goals and some insight into his friendships with the lads at MAN and also his life during his contracts with Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSG and finally The Galaxy in LA and his Miami based endeavor. It made me wonder what do guys like him do to feel that adrenaline again when it's all over. I would go batty. But he is cool calm and collected throughout the course and for that I think he should be saluted and it's only fair that his life be presented in a positive light. The first two sections were a bit rambling before it started to consolidate and then he scored big time NPI with the remainder. It's also fair to mention that if you didn't like Posh Pice beforehand you won't now either.

East New York (2022–2023)

Too good to be true. And unfortunately it was.

[6/10 · 3 October 2023]

This show has it all. It has a far bit of grit and some grime to go with it. It's got the necessary components and acting that usually are included in shows such as Law and Order and the old classic Hill Street Blues. There are a few iconic actors and formulaic characters played by the fabulous bases-loaded veteran Jimmy Smits, street wise character actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson and the iconic Richard Kind who plays the lovable precinct savant. Those three basically keep this thing afloat. Then we have a couple of newly established mainstream stars such as Darien Sill-Evans (typecasted) and the leading lady Amanda Warren pretty ho hum and "too beautiful" to be chief. Personally I enjoy the fresh faced rookie played by the young Olivia Luccardi. Episodes 1-8 or 9 I was thinking this is just too good to be true. A solid binge series! But as we all know when something seems too good to be true it generally is. After episode 9 this morphs into a jungle of cliches and the formulaic aspects advance and it become overwhelming. It's now cheesy, boring, and romantically bludgeoned . It's not believable not that being realistic was ever a pre-requisite but if you are looking forward to the next episode before the present episode ends and then all of a sudden the momentum drops off of a cliff and the series becomes a soap opera. Well, you know it was too good to be true. The show starts off like "Hill Street" but dissolves into something more like "Power".

Billions (2016–2023)

This show and "Justified"

[1/10 · 2 September 2023]

Would someone please explain why TV has become so unwatchable? Is it the vast array of labor strikes out west that cause every script and every character development to fail so miserably? Does the phrase "the bigger they come the harder they fall" apply directly to TV writing nowadays. Much like the the demand for 600 characters to leave a review the script writers must be getting paid by the syllable count. This series not wholly unlike "Justified" was refreshing and exciting during the first two or three seasons. It gave us the inside dope on the fine feathered bloodsuckers of Wall Street and Justified allowed us into the flamboyant world of southern state law enforcement both in relentlessly entertaining cartoon format. After a few seasons of both series the scripts got bogged down with name dropping and on a need to understand basis for tuning in. Both series were page turners on our screens that we religiously doted upon and our screens seemed empty for 6 nights a week until they turned up again for our weekly injection of pure sublime wit and fantasy. But like waking up from a beautiful dream to find a grey, dull, irritating and cheesy thickness to each series' characters and scripts was like a slap in our faces. My wife has told me to watch less TV. And at this rate I won't watch any by 2025.

Baantjer het begin (2019)

As Real as it Gets!

[8/10 · 26 August 2023]

Skimming rapidly over choices of what to watch I stumbled upon this little diamond in the rough. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find anything to watch these days. The entertainment industry has gone from bad to worse in recent years notably in terms of quantity versus quality. There's no shortage of what to watch but most of it's terrible. This title could have easily been looked over and lost in the thick sauce of half baked productions. But no, it came in much better than expected. And my demands are very high seeing that I lived in Amsterdam in the late 70s. I am also a stickler for historical accuracy. This one has it right nicely down to the old pre-euro currency denominations in Holland and Belgium as well as Amsterdam cop cars and uniforms of the era. Even the landmarks of a more trivial nature hold their own such as the location of one of the city's hospitals and a "telefoon" booth overlooking a RLD canal in the Jordaan (don't quite recall if there was one). The car models, license plates and taxi meters all accurate. Long story short this crime drama was incredibly accurate and directed by someone who takes great pride in depicting Amsterdam of the 80s. There were a few too many generic labyrinth like non existent alleyway scenes but otherwise historical punctuality in my opinion. I would have liked to have seen a few more easily identifiable streets such as Warmoesstraat and Zeedijk depicted but close enough. The plot built around a Buddy cop team with a ball busting chief was also quite formulaic. But not to worry there's a pretty decent twist thrown in and the plot layers mesh well too. All in all a groot thumbs up voor this one.

T2 Trainspotting (2017)

They call it art

[2/10 · 1 April 2023]

What an extraordinary display of bad taste. This was Pink Flamingos on steroids. From beginning to end it was a test of nerves. Should I continue to watch this despite my total disgust for every single person and detail of the film except for the cinematography? If you cherish your time and don't want to be human by the posh overly hyped director I humbly suggest and recommend that you skip this. The first was what it was for the era and this would claim to be a gratifying sequel yet it doesn't come close to the first which was not very memorable. The introduction credits roll out against the background or backdrop of children playing in 70s Edinburgh and the film is sketched around the characters as adults reunited for criminal antics. Not even as good as I am describing. A total letdown. Just say no.

The Last of Us (2023– )

Possibly the worst

[1/10 · 11 March 2023]

Admittedly the first half of the first episode was ok and promising in a horror movie kind of way. However the series declines rapidly in every respect towards the end of the pilot. I have never been so disappointed by an HBO series as this. I couldn't stay awake because it was so boring, irritating, forced and contrived. The script and acting were so inferior that it went straight into the streaming trash can. Even Pascale's performance was sub par. Avoid it like the plague or at least like a fungus. I never knew a series could take such a serious subject as a global pandemic and really succeed in undermining the seriousness of it. Shockingly poor writing, directing ,casting and acting.

Glass Onion (2022)

A whole lot of nothingness

[2/10 · 27 December 2022]

It's sad when stars of yesteryear get together for a paycheck and totally mutilate a perfectly good script. The limpness of this A/B+ cast is simply well I'd say shocking but at least if we're shocking I would have been able to stay awake. My how the mighty have fallen. Both Ed and Craig deliver an air sandwich. Points however for the location and set. Everything else in this extraordinarily empty whodunnit is certainly a candidate for Turkey of the year. James Bond was unshaken and unstirrable. Such misery and so depressing. The therapists will love their patients talking about how movies no longer excite them. Steer clear of this unless you want a reason to up your anti depressant dosage.

Entrapped (2022– )

Fire and Ice works for me

[9/10 · 27 September 2022]

If you've already watched seasons 1 and 2 you'll feel right at home here. In fact you'll even know your way around the small North Icelandic fishing bill where most of it is filmed. Season three was named Entrapped which is an extension of 1 and 2s Trapped and most of the characters are static throughout yet Entrapped integrates a plot twist by way of introducing a biker mc gang and a pagan cult into the mix which heightens the tension. There are several new faces added to the short list of regulars. This final season was undoubtedly the best in terms of capturing Icelandic natural beauty. The Norse saga feel becomes all the more eminent here. Minor plot twists in terms of Andri the hero of the series played by the American born Icelandic actor Olafur Darri Olafsson. The Danish actor Thomas Bo Larson provides a convincing MC prez and the whodunnit plot on the Icelandic rocks rolls along fueled by the volcanic surroundings filmed and directed by Balthasar Kormakur. It would have been a full pot if it were not for the strange ending judicially speaking. Otherwise a nice surprise. Underrated Nordic crime noir works for me.

Loki (2021–2023)

Boring

[2/10 · 4 July 2022]

There wasn't anything about this that would make say this was one of their greatest projects. It lacks the wit and inspiration that you'd expect and Tom Hiddelston boy what happened to you? This got a great rating. Must be due to fanboy fervor that is always forgiving. A hopeless bore. Yeah you'll be on the edge of your seat but simply hoping something interesting will happen.

The Pentaverate (2022)

Ignore the bad reviews!

[8/10 · 23 May 2022]

Ok I like everything Mike Meyers has done but hats not it. This has all of the wild dippy spontaneity and infinite comedic insight of Austin Powers yet in a modern setting. I'm not sure how anyone can resist this. It's filled with surprises and upbeat. You won't be bored.

Tokyo Vice (2022– )

Fairly decent despite script flaws and writers' traps

[7/10 · 17 April 2022]

As noir goes fine and the Michael Mann's pilot was compelling. Cinematography was up to par and the use of Tokyo neon and reflections paved the way for... well that's part of the problem. This is a sassy bridge to nowhere. Yeah we get it's about an underdog and the understated Japanese cool. And we love the hotheaded and cruel bosses in both sides of this mirror world where criminals and law abiding citizens go flawlessly hand in hand down the orchid filled yet rigid primrose path of Japanese urban society yet considering all of the logistical and plot challenges the creators needed to overcome you'd think they'd weed out words like "rad"and "wack" that as such provide us with unforced production errors. To be honest for all of its greatness such mistakes are inexcusable thus not the 8-10 range it might have deserved. There are some overplayed formulaic relationships or clichés baked in that aren't simply superfluous to your average everyday noir spill over. Slick looking and quite beautiful Tokyo scenes don't quite make up for the artful wisecracking American teenage gab of circa 2015 when this was supposed to take place in the mid to late 1990s. Chronological script flaws are what bring most TV series dealing in historic timelines way down beneath where they deserve to be. Otherwise thoroughly watchable. Might have been better as a miniseries or even a feature film. What? Not wack?

Pam & Tommy (2022)

Simply awful

[2/10 · 27 February 2022]

This goes sharply downhill after the 1st episode. The legend keeps it afloat but that's it. It's a pretentious poorly executed poorly written script. The dialogue is not out of the 90s. It's present millennial dialogue written for a millennial aged audience. The leads bear no resemblance to the the two. The casting was catastrophic. Avoid it.

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine (2022) Season 1, Episode 2

A Masterpiece !

[10/10 · 9 January 2022]

This episode will prove for many of its viewers to be profoundly meaningful on many levels of philosophical thought. It captures the timeless and beautiful essence of empathy and forgiveness despite the harshness of our universe. What a cinematic achievement.

The Unforgivable (2021)

Above average but not by much

[7/10 · 13 December 2021]

It's great these days to get to see a film that doesn't put me to sleep or leave me shaking my head and wondering what just I just watched. Some solid casting, a slow moving but decent script. Good use of mood and scene transitions. Never a Sandra Bullock fan but Ive never really disliked her either. There's something about her appearance that keeps me from taking her seriously. Vincent Donofrio is a steady well trained actor as is Jon Berthal both of whom lend good support. I was surprised to see Jon Bernthal used so sparingly and in such an understated roll but well done anyway. Sandra's character does look quite raggedy after being 20 years in prison and returning to a town without pity. Perhaps just a tad bit too much on the jaundiced side. Everything was going pretty smoothly and the tense understated tempo kept things going until the final half hour. That's when things began to fall apart. But hey an extra half a point for effort. These days when a director doesn't completely screw things up we are noticeably relieved. Let's face it Hollywood has become inflationary too. The standard in films and TV is very low these days thanks to Netflix that anything above a 6.5 is heaven sent. It's worth seeing and not a total waste of time unless you count heavily on a satisfying ending. I was left whispering yeah right under my breath but not a huge foul.

Succession (2018–2023)

Great script horrendously bad anyway

[4/10 · 23 October 2021]

The acting here is so poorly executed that seems like the people on set are trying not to crack up because they know fully well how bad they are at it. There's a whole lot if honky cussing and panties in bunches whilst you can just imagine what would be going through the minds of an inner city minority couple trying to watch this. They'd be like, damn rich white folks sho' nuff is crazy!

Clickbait (2021)

99 cent store of acting

[2/10 · 9 October 2021]

Normally people enjoy the idea of a 99 cent store or a dollar store. But when it comes to acting in these inflationary times (also regarding acting) this simply doesn't cut it. Drab and bleak for or all the wrong reasons. Formulaic without the actual components interaction properly. The actors are truly the bottom of the barrel. I never thought acting could be this easy or bad. And the leading female actress so appalling in every possible manner as to render her part inoperable. From her silly blond bowl cut bangs to her cheap ass black imitation (or not) studded leather jacket few if a any costume changes to the lack of chemistry between every actor in the cast. The final blow for me was the detective walking into his superior's office to find an overweight menopausal white police chief sitting there and spewing snotty karenesque criticisms at him, the underdog cop, just trying to do good on the force. Nope. I already gave at the office. But in fact the title does warrant two stars. Clickbait is really and truly what this piece of crap was. Behind marketing it with a solid talent like Adam Grennier there lies absolutely nothing behind this. As after a while you hardly see him. This is a vacuum void of any substance other than embarrassment for having watched 1 1/2 episodes. You can do better Netflix!

The Morning Show (I) (2019– )

Excellent production in many respects

[10/10 · 11 July 2021]

The sum of all its parts gives it a solid 10. Although much of the plot is predictable one is inclined to focus on each character individually and for that reason the plot delivers a vast array of separate but equal moving parts. Billy Cudrup could have possibly been replaced by Mathew Mconnaughey seeing they would have or could have been interchangeable. Jenny Anniston- I mean what can you say? A glowing performance from a multi faceted actress and of course the list of great A list actors is impressive. Even a minor part played by Shari Belafonte seemed to carry value whereby the whole NYC tv production environment feels so genuine through the diverse casting to give a feel of an NBC studio in real time. And somebody give me the name of the stenographer. Just stunning quality. Last but not least the me too theme had a double more subtle layer in that the series also presented the absolute generational friction which may have caused the whole me too phenomenon. Millennials just weren't taking it all lying down excuse the pun whereas the boomer crowd seemed to take sexual harassment at the workplace as all part of the game. Fabulous analysis and message. Great! See it watch it and love it.

Physical (2021–2023)

Blatantly awful screenwriting.

[1/10 · 10 July 2021]

This was shut down by yours truly in the first 20 minutes. An 80s period series which uses language and above slang expressions from our present era is a prime example of the cardinal sins of screen writing. When bombarded by cliche after cliche and slang mistakes already in the first episode there's really not much else to say. It can only get worse from here. I implore you not to waste your precious time on this. We only have one life to give and there are just too many awful scripts out there. It's all about the script folks. All about the script.

Coming 2 America (2021)

Simply Awful

[1/10 · 14 March 2021]

I'm not sure if this was the worst comedy ever. But it must range within the top or bottom 10 depending on how you look at it. In fact it was so bad I had to stop watching after 20 or 30 minutes. The novelty in seeing actors you haven't seen since the 1st which was pretty good just simply wears thin afternoons couple of scenes. Most of the actors have aged reasonably well except the star himself. Eddie looks horrendous. He is so awfully out of shape and really difficult to watch. On top of it there aren't any real jokes. Murphy see,s to have lost his magic touch. To be fair catches up with us all but calling this a viable sequel is simply a bold faced lie. There is no cinematic value aside from a few expensive costumes and props. Skip it and move on. PS Arsenio Hall was kind of the same as before I.e not funny.

The Flight Attendant (2020–2022)

Simply awful

[1/10 · 3 January 2021]

This is a horrendous mish mash of a whodunnit of which who becomes apparent because the story live divulges it leaving rather little reason to hang on. The never ending flashbacks of a woman wrongfully yet loosely suspected of murder will keep you on the edge of your seat and on your way to the bathroom and refrigerator. There are a lot of split screens and weird psychological filters Olin order to keep you mystified and a fair amount of fisticuffs. You will be so busy trying to justify a motive that it will leave you in a cloud and wondering how to get back hours you wasted watching this. Miss Cuoco lends a bit of comic relief and thus the two stars instead of just the one. Otherwise TV in all of its streaming glory is so watered down by its millennial producers that it lacks appeal in sociological terms thus a waste of my mature time. Steer clear.

The Undoing (2020)

Simply horrible

[1/10 · 16 November 2020]

Do yourselves a favor and steer clear of this one. Unless you like "so bad it's good" things HBO is airing. Kidman and Grant are so washed up has beens that they are simply painful to watch. Poorly written and directed tedious whodunnit with two redeeming factors a New York background and a real actor named Donald Sutherland. Even those two were near to fail as the cinematography special fish eye effects are repetitive and Sutherland who I deem a supremely gifted actor has got "doing it for the paycheck" written all over his face. All in all a crazy looking Botox drenched Kidman and a wrinkled, writhing, sniveling over the hill Hugh Grant look totally out of place and lack any chemistry with the script and each other. Both are difficult to watch.Avoid it like Covid 19.

7500 (2019)

Not the least bit credible

[2/10 · 13 August 2020]

The acting was ok but who would believe the captain wouldn't be able to land the plane at a random airstrip in Germany. Instead of over a half hour in the air in reality they could have landed in a few minutes. It's not as if there's a nearby airport only every 30 minutes. How stupid do they think we are!

Narcos (2015–2017)

It holds up somehow

[7/10 · 10 July 2020]

Despite a lot of sub par acting there are a lot of historical discrepancies and the production is enormously flawed. But the mystique of Pablo keeps things afloat. The other series depicting Pablo Escobar on Netflix is a raw less costly version of this saga of cruelty greed and narcissism. The other on is called Pablo Escobar El Patron del Maal. That is a pure Colombian TV production. Less sophisticated and a bit more soap opera like but more genuine.