deboraey Reviews

The Hustle (I) (2019)

Poor, really poor . . . even worse than you can imagine!

[2/10 · 22 September 2023]

Actually I had zero expectations for this movie and in the beginning, the first 20 minutes, I found it quite entertaining and funny. But after that it's a complete turn-a-round and you almost can't believe what you're seeing next: the story becomes completely retarded, stupid and utterly boring. The rest of the movie is actually full of really, really lame jokes and very, very bad comic scenes. I had never seen Rebel Wilson on screen before and I find her acting (in this movie) way over the top, completely uninspired, too loud and very, very irritating.

How someone like Anne Hathaway can accept such a role is beyond me! . . . Avoid at all costs!

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Worse than I could have possibly imagined !

[1/10 · 21 May 2023]

AVATAR THE WAY OF THE WATER shows viewers a magnificent water world with all sorts of beautiful majestic creatures, and also has some superb action scenes that are really quite stunning.

But once stated this, her's my final ordeal: it is a very bad and shallow movie, empty, hollow, and in a way extremely boring and even depressing!

It is a huge disappointment because, in spite of all the (extremely well-done!) CGI and spectacle, the movie after some 30 minutes becomes quite boring and eventually really really sucks on the whole!

Ultimately a movie first of all depends on the storytelling. And let's face it the story is terrible and extremely shallow - it could have been written by an 5 year old. A great deal of the script simply makes no sense at all, and there are also numerous plot holes.

If there is going to be an AVATAR 3 . . . Don't count on me!

De bunker (2015– )

Real "top notch" from Belgium: superb series!

[10/10 · 18 May 2023]

In my (humble) opinion this is one of the best TV series ever made for Belgian TV!

The casting is great with especially Hilde Van Mieghem (of course!) and i personally also loved Sachli Gholamalizad and Pieter Verelst, newcomer in series 2.

The story lines are very interesting: well written and very "nowadays". Stable writing with a new story for each episode, and on top of it there is (in series 2) the continuing search of Rob for the murderer of his 5 year old daughter.

Ultimately the direction makes (or breaks) the movie or TV show: DE BUNKER is a succes story and continues to really stand out.

See it if you can. It's not only very entertaining but the show really has something for everybody.

Arcadia (2023– )

A complete waste of time . . (and money!)

[1/10 · 23 April 2023]

I am a real SF-fan, living in Belgium, and in my (humble) opinion this series totally sucks! . . .

I believe that science fiction should always try to push our imagination beyond reality. But creating really good SF is no piece of cake, because SCI-FI stories only work if we're kind of "plugged in" for the ride. Anything that may ruin the illusion as a whole, ultimately undermines, diminishes, and in the end totally destroys our fascination for the story.

Now, in this case, why does'n ARCADIA deliver?

First of all the acting (with one or two exceptions!) is really, really poor. Maybe this is due to the story itself, because I sometimes think the actors had problems believing in their character and in the story as a whole.

Secondly the created dystopian environment is totally and unbelievably fake! Think of it: getting a "bad" score for eating sugar (does your "chip" records it or what??), or getting no "real" milk when you have a low score . . . ? Also - probably due to lack of really huge financing - the laughable mix of "retro" elements (motorcars, guns, etc . . ) with more "modern" technologies and architecture. But these combinations are completely unconvincing and sometimes even laughable. On the whole it seems like it is SCI-FI made in the year 1970. And also the locations don't look realistic enough to spark one's imagination. Because all that it is hard to feel any emotion whatsoever because nothing really seems "real" and thus "believable".

And third: the essence of the story is a total cliché, used dozens of times, and usually done in a much better way: a dystopian society in a near-future world, where humans allow technology to enter their lives for the benefit of convenience and luxury, with of course all the excesses of nepotism arising among the people.

Also let's not forget that pretentiousness is also a seductive pitfall when it comes to SCI-FI! And with ARCADIA this is undoubtedly the case.

Bad science fiction - like this really is, let's face it! - can fail in what it means to tell an epic tale, bloating itself with unneeded characters, haphazard world-building, and incoherent plots. Without consistent internal logic, the audience is frustrated by questions it shouldn't need to ask.

This is too bad because terrible science fiction movies fail to be entertaining, forget how to make us wonder, and worst of all, make us question our love for the genre.

Under Fire (2021– )

Totally overrated!. . . .

[3/10 · 6 October 2021]

I was hugely disappointed seeing this . . . I had no connection to any of the characters in it, and couldn't have cared less what happened to them. Many of the characters were awful stereotypes with no depth at all. The script was rather boring, the sub-plots were ridiculous and very cliché-like. The camera movements and direction were really often irritating (especially the moving camera gives you a headache after a while).

One or two of the actors tried their best and were good but that isn't enough when the material is so awfull.

Furthermore, I don't know how they did it but the colours made this series look like it all happened in the 1950's!

Also the city of Oostende looks like a very grim and depressing place especially from the many scenes in the rain and half-light, so it seems a rather miserable place to live.

Now in fact Oostende is a very lively and beautiful town and it doesn't deserve this very ungroomy representation.

I decided to stop watching the series after seeing two episodes because I coudn't stand it anymore and frankly couldn't care less about what happened next.

I have watched many series and OK this isn't the worest series I have ever seen, but it has a boring storyline, boring and cliché subplots and a total lack of character development. In short this is a totally overrated series !

Crossbones (2014)

Crap. . . . . pure crap!

[1/10 · 6 September 2021]

What can i say except AVOID THIS PIECE OF CRAP!

The writing is too stupid to sit through and the script is simply ridiculous.

Even for people who are seeing this only for the action: only morons can find themselves in this uttermy stupid storytelling.

I am not going to waste any more time on this stupid mini-series . . .

The Colony (2021)

Please DO NOT believe the bad reviews! . . . . top dystopian SF-movie

[9/10 · 15 July 2021]

I nearly did not see this film because of all the bad reviews . . . But boy was i pleasantly surprised: this is really a very good SF-movie!

I highly recommend it to real SF-lovers! . . Give it a chance and you won't regret it.

The Lost Room (2006)

This is not SF and simply absolute crap!

[1/10 · 29 May 2021]

This is the single WORST so-called SF that I have EVER seen. This filth seemed more like like a parody or Mad Magazine satire of of a very bad insane fairy tail. The acting was horrible (sorry Krause!) The special effects are horrible. The writing? Terrible. The story ? Pure crap. This movie is so insanely BAD it actually made me kinda sad. Everyone responsible for this mockery should be ashamed of themselves. If you are a SF-fan, please, just stay away. . . .

The Sinner (2017–2021)

SEASON 1 2 and 3 in a nutshell:

[9/10 · 8 January 2021]

Season 1 is really top! Season 2 is OK . . well yeah . . just OK! Season 3 starts exiting . . . but after 2 episodes becomes boring and in the end SUCKS!

You (2018–2024)

First season was good but the second season went totally down the hill ! . . .

[8/10 · 3 August 2020]

It was a really strong and very entertaining first season - with a main character that somewhat reminded me of DEXTER - and one kept wondering where it was going to. So i obviously started to see the second season . . . What a dissapointment: the story became just so unbelievable that one has to try to turn one's brain off completely. Well OK there are some rare entertaining moments but in fact the storyline is totally unbelievable and contains lots of plotholes (for instance where did the cage aome from? ? ? ) and completely ridiculous characters. So disappointing since it started out entertaining and very original, but i stopped watching before the end of season 2. . . because it became absolute crap.

GR5 (2020)

Exellent television!

[9/10 · 20 May 2020]

Please give this really excellent TV production a fair chance and don't believe the 3 previous very bad reviews!

This is an excellent series. It had all the ingredients of a thrilling crime series and a compelling family drama. The only remark i have is that it's sometimes a bit confusing because of the many flashbacks. But as the story progressed and the link from the past to the present becomes clearer, the series gets even more strength and depth.

I found Violet Braeckman excellent as Zoë, the real "main" character, and she is supported by an really excellent and large cast who come in and out of the story. Lucas Van den Eynde and Viv Van Dingenen were also compelling as Lisa's parents. But to me Braeckman was a revelation and i hope to see more of her in the future.

The atmosphere on walking the hiking trail Grande Randonnée 5, with the heavy physical effort and mutual tensions between the different characters was (in my opinion) superbly depicted.

Also important to mention are the utterly superb locations we are able to see on the route of the GR5.

In short: to me GR5 is top notch. . . an excellent piece of television.

Geub (2019– )

Unfunny, distasteful and misogynous! Avoid. . .

[1/10 · 16 April 2020]

This so-called comedy is more embarrassing than it is fun; in fact I found it very distasteful "comedy" to say the least. The constant flow of rather vulgar, slightly misogynous and mostly sexual oriented "fun" is not enough to keep anyone's attention. The characters are totally uninteresting and very very unreal, the story is simply dumb. The one or two times one laughs it is more to hide a feeling of shame than because it is really funny. This is modern day rubbish that attracts only to the brain-dead and closed-mined. . .

In conclusion it was a total waste of time. Avoid!

Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

If you're a true Star Trek fan (like me!) I strongly recommend avoiding it ! . . .

[1/10 · 4 April 2020]

This is a complete mess of a Show. It gave it a 1/10 because 0 is not an option. The writing is both awful and simply ridiculous in many ways. The acting is appalling, especially by Patrick Stewart. The fictional science is unbelievably stupid and frankly even ludicrous. The entire series is build around the icon Picard but Patrick Stewart is a disgrace for taking on this role again and allowing the legacy of Picard to be mutilated in this way. I can only hope that there will be no second season of Star Trek Picard. . .

My Brilliant Friend (2018– )

A different view on the series!

[1/10 · 6 February 2019]

MY BRILJANT FRIEND is being introduced to the public as a truly art- series, based on an italian bestseller series of books by Elena Ferrante, and so a lot of film critics are talking (or rather blabbering!) about how good it is and how artistic and wonderful they find the series and all that stuff. . . well . . .tss. . .

OK maybe i don't get it . . . that's possible but i DO like independent and art movies and so i was immediately interested in the series . . but now it seems that i was totally misled by all the good reviews here on IMDb. . .

With this review i want to give a totally different view on the series (please note that i only saw season 1 and i haven't read the book!). I find the series not the least bit interesting or artistic, but rather very superficial, largely melodramatic and sometimes even hilarious (and absurd!) in a ridiculous kind of way, rather unemotional and, last but not least: very, very, very slow-paced and boring. When i say unemotional it is because one never gets the full reasons or even any explanation about why things happen. For instance why does (the infant) Lila throws the dolls in the cellar, or why doesn't she wants to win the school contest with the boys, or why does she throws rocks to Nino etc etc. . ?

One never gets a any insight in the emotions of the characters and so never fully understands why they act as they do (is it frustration, jealousy, mere stupidity or what? . . ? ).

I suppose in the book it all makes sense because all emotions are given or probably even thrown at the reader; but as a viewer of the series one can only guess of course . . but anyway . . . it's all-in the dark and it makes it all over the top melodramatic and thus sometimes even absurd.

And of course with countless horse-drawn carts, period vehicles and extras like the incessant repetition of women and men screaming, overwhelming explicit violence, and numerous misunderstandings to fill the stage, our attention is often distracted from the story itself. The casting was rather mediocre: only the two youngest actrices were extremely good in their roles (especially Elisa del Genio as young Elena!); the rest of the actors didn't match up with them.

By the time the season concluded, I was bored by the slow pace of the show, utterly disappointed by the overall acting and sometimes very confused by the complex storytelling of this chronicle of poor people in post-war Italy in the 1950s.

Conclusion: I wanted to give it a 3 or 4; but because of to the undeserved very high IMDB rate, i decided to give it a 1 ! . .

And i am not the least interested in seeing the next season!

The Young Pope (2016)

It was a complete let down . . .I'd give it a 0 if possible!

[1/10 · 14 April 2018]

I was raised catholic but later in life became a true atheist. But i do respect the belief and views of people who are catholic or any other major religion. . . everyone has to decide for himself . . . obviously. Having this stated, now about the show: in 2 words APPALLING and CRAP! Why. . . well how many lines do i have? They gave the show an artistic and different look and i admit that the opening segment was intriguing; but pull back the artsy curtain and you see just another grotesque Hollywood piece of crap, mainly intended to make a mockery or even insult/undermine the catholic church. Now as an atheist i am not a fan of the catholic church; but this is all way way way over the top to say the least; for instance the pope clearly states at one time that "he doesn't believe in god" (upon seeing the reaction of the priest who heard it he says "it was a joke" . . but it's clear as hell to the viewer that it was not !) The young pope - the main character - looks more like a true mental patient who has some very serious issues to deal with such as megalomania, social disturbed, cruelness and somewhat sociopathic behaviour (all the weird flashbacks, dreams and illogical behaviour should illustrate that). Now tell me how someone like this could ever even be considered to be elected pope is truly beyond me. The talent of Jude Law and Diane Keaton is completely wasted and i hope they realize this. Now furthermore i find this show totally overrated, utterly pretentious and a total emphasizes of style over substance. In brief: don't waste your time with this truly presumptuous show because it is appalling, senseless, absurd (and at times even grotesque), horrible and in fact a complete waste of time.

Tabula Rasa (2017)

TABULA RASA . . . don't bother!

[5/10 · 10 December 2017]

----Spoilers ahead! --- I had high hopes fort his series but already after 2 or 3 episodes I realized it was not at all what I had hoped for.

During the first 4 episodes the story evolved far too slowly; so I can very well imagine some viewers simply stopped watching. And then the last episode - the finale went on in such a speed . . probably to stop the viewers from too much thinking about what actually was happening on he screen . . . But then do not try to analyze too much, as this would cause you to discover a lot of questions about the plot and its numerous defects and improbabilities.

Yes actually really unbelievable things happened like for instance a man who amputated his own hand with a wood saw and just walks about as if nothing happened and even drives a car and switches the gear with that hand (or what is left of it . . .).

But even so, my (very personal) biggest problem with this series is that there was nothing - really nothing - to hold on to in order to make you care for any of the characters depicted. And I blame this entirely on the - very - lame script! Also the constant retelling the story from a different time-line or some dream or psychotic perspective or whatever it was supposed to be is utterly annoying to say the least because it was very badly done. The initial idea for he story might be intriguing if it was handled in a different (better) way, but as a whole the series in my opinion now fails terribly.

Furthermore I don't know what happened at the end: it goes in an overdrive and it feels as if that last episode was written by a totally different team of writers, throwing out all semblance of creativity for a "GOTCHA" reveal disclosure kind of an ending. Tss. . .I think this is a good example of utter "grotesquerie".

The actors may be well selected, but none of them were really thoroughly convincing with the exceptions of Peter Van Den Begin as Vronski and most of all the girl that played the part of Romy; she is obviously a real natural talent and I feel she will be going places. Veerle Baats failed in my opinion, mainly due to constant overacting by terribly rushing around and looking angry and anguished all the time with little relevant dialogue and very long sudden memory flashes . . please give me a brake. In that way her character did not arouse much sympathy from the viewer.

It may be intended as clever arty-crafty stuff and the idea for the story may even be a good one if told in a better way, accompanied by a more decent script, and with actors who believe in the part that they are playing and properly directed, but, as it is,. . . for me: this is rubbish for the most part!

To each his own of course, . . . but I say 5 out of 10.

Welcome to the Sticks (2008)

a movie for the brain-dead . .

[1/10 · 15 September 2017]

This is one of the most stupid and lazy movies i have seen in many many years. . ! Where to begin? ?

1) the acting is very mediocre and even terribly bad at times.

2) the script is a bunch of clichés.

3) the stereotyping of the people in different regions of France is utterly ridiculous and even offending at times.

4) if you don't understand or speak the French language a lot of the (so- called or so- intended) humor will make no sense at all and that's because the humor consists mainly of word games.

I don't want to waste any more time in writing this review; but i'll give you one advice: avoid at all cost!

The Bastard Executioner (2015)

This is a turd . . yes i have no better word for it: A TURD

[1/10 · 12 September 2017]

This is one of the worst things i ever saw on TV! Pure garbage, yes a turd.

Horrible acting, terrible and predictable scenario and an utterly bad and even ridiculous cast (Katey Sagal of all people . . and she is just terrible!).

The story is so lame . . who wrote this junk???

The show also displays extreme amounts of violence, gore, sex and abuse and extreme cruelness in a way that one gets disgusted to a point where one simply has to turn off the program . . so i only saw 3 episodes.

Avoid at all cost! Watch VIKINGS, ore THE LAST KINGDOM or other real good time-pieces; but don't waste your time on this turd.

Als de dijken breken (2016)

very very mediocre disaster-drama

[5/10 · 17 April 2017]

An unusually high tide and very strong gale conditions combine to produce a record high storm surge that overwhelms parts of The Netherlands and Belgium and floods large parts of both countries. The plot centers around various families who live through this catastrophe among which are the dutch prime minister and his wife. The special effects are impressive as one really sees large parts of the country largely submerged. I live in Belgium and it really makes you think how vulnerable we are in our houses near the Belgian or Dutch coasts, some 2 or 3 meters below sea level! This part of ALS DIJKEN BREKEN is all very well done and the effects artists responsible frankly deserved much better than to have their fine work punctuated by such a shallow and mediocre story. Indeed apart from the special effects it's not a very impressive or original series and sometimes it becomes even laughable in picturing the effects on the population. People that struggle to come to terms with the crisis situation and even have to suffer the loss of loved ones are portrayed in a very one-dimensional manner. Also it is as if there is barely any help for all those stranded people: there are no helicopters, no boats no rescue parties . . can you imagine! And yet many families in The Neterlands own a boat of some kind?? Some of the sequences in this movie are just plain silly: for instance the father and daughter that climbed into a pylon and sat there for hours and hours until . . . they get a telephone call and then . . get rescued!The ending is probably the worse - and most pathetic - I have seen in quite some time. Very much like they ran out of ideas. In overall the sad thing about this mini-series is that it could have been so much better, informative, imaginative and tense.

Moonlight (I) (2016)

terribly - and i mean really terribly - overrated crap movie!

[1/10 · 1 March 2017]

I had my doubts before viewing this movie and it turned out i was right! This is a terribly boring, slow paced, bad written and poorly directed movie. I forced myself to stay and watch it until the end because after all it got an Oscar for best movie 2017!? . . so i sat it through until the unbelievable end-sequence. . what a waste! I also can't believe people are actually giving this trash of a movie good reviews . . and THAT IT GOT AN Oscar! No, really everything you read about this movie is a lie: it's not a masterpiece, it will not "open your eyes" or anything like that! I even doubt if the people who wrote this crap actually SAW the movie! Chiron is black and gay. OK . . so? He got bullied at school. OK . . and? He is frustrated, feels not understood and is - unbelievably! - shy about sex. So . . ? Thousands of young boys may have experienced those feelings and circumstances and yet made friends and did something with their lives and explored their sexuality. . Chiron doesn't . . he flees and hides and suffers and moans . . sigh! This film isn't even close to being worthy of an Oscar; well i guess it simply won the Oscar for best film due to outside pressure from groups complaining that Hollywood is racist. AVOID THIS GARBAGE!

Underground (2016–2017)

Too much flaws in this series . . . so the result really sucks!

[5/10 · 10 February 2017]

There are major problems with this show that makes it really unpleasant if not totally uneasy to enjoy the show.

The use of contemporary music is totally distracting and doesn't fit for a this period piece: the music and sounds statements are utterly modern, stylish and therefore completely out of place and time. Even so the modern quick jump editing in most of the action scenes that are completely wrong in this period piece. Same can be said about the dialog (no one in those era would talk like that!) and the costumes (some of the slaves seem to be better dressed than the overseers; and the black women are wearing make-up). . . and so on. Furthermore the scenes are presented in an very unclear and confusing manner and the action switches far too much back and forth without a great deal of consistency whatsoever. All those flaws totally ruin this series for me!

Wentworth (2013–2021)

very mediocre show!

[2/10 · 8 January 2017]

I just saw episode 3 . . . and decided to stop wasting my time on this very mediocre series! There are - and have been - far and far better TV-series on the subject of "women in prison". One of the best i ever saw was the BBC-series BAD GIRLS (1999) created by Maureen Chadwick, and it ran for 8 seasons! Also superb is/was the more recent ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, that added a completely new dimension on the women-in-prison-subject namely humor; and i highly recommend it. But Wentworth is nothing more than a badly written, poorly acted and directed, completely one-dimension staged leftover with contains elements of different movies and TV-shows on that subject. Furthermore the characters are so completely one-dimension (all-good or all-bad) that it's like the show was written somewhere in 1950. Take my advice . . . don't bother with this . . !

Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)

Dreadfully bad ! . . . avoid at all cost

[1/10 · 7 July 2016]

Giving this one a chance (because of Eva Green!) I realized pretty quick that it was a kind of combination of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Exorcist . . . and many others; and all this done very poorly without any imagination. The series is pure crap, although starring famous actors as Dalton and Eva Green. Even the authors themselves don't seem to know what's expected from them and what the show is all about . . . Some scenes (for example with Frankenstein's monster or with the Egyptian creatures) are so bloody, grotesque and morbidly ill that one can only be totally discussed. I didn't know what to expect but certainly not this pile of blood and vomit. Maybee it's what "real" horror fans want but my advise: avoid at all cost!

Life of Crime (2013)

Truly excellent series !

[10/10 · 3 December 2015]

I had to write this comment because of the two bad user comments that are in fact totally and utterly preposterous.

This is an excellent series: good story, superb casting and acting (especially Hayley Atwell!), exiting and in the whole an extremely entertaining BBC production.

The quality of the series is - as most of BBC's crime series - super: the three episodes in the three consecutive decades (198's0, 1990's, 2000's) are pictured remarkably good in the corresponding time image.

I'm not going to reveal much about the story - read the summary - but the series is well worth watching . . .if you like good crime stories no doubt you'll love this one!

The Duke of Burgundy (2014)

ridiculous, absurd and very boring . . . avoid !

[1/10 · 28 October 2015]

This film is all about the very special dominance-and-submission (BDSM) relationship of two lesbians, one of them is an entomologist and the other is her domestic maid. There is little plot to even talk about; and at the end of the film, the couple is seen going through the same play routine as seen at the film's start.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY is being introduced to the public as a sensual art- film, and so a lot of film critics are blabbering about how good it is and how many influences they recognize in it and all that stuff . . tss. OK maybe i don't get it . . . that's possible but i was misled by all the good reviews here on IMDb.

With this review i want to give another view on the film: i find this movie not the least bit sensual or erotic, unemotional, funny and even hilarious in a ridiculous kind of way, utterly stupid, absurd, superficial, largely melodramatic and, last but not least: very, very, very boring!