a_lowther Reviews

Ricky Stanicky (2024)

back in my day....

[4/10 · 4 May 2024]

The great comedies of the 00s had rewatch-ability, that's what we've lost in these modern comedies. In this movie they tried to pigeon hole a weird hard-knocks backstory for a character, but it just didnt need it. They should've just kept the vibes high, it was a good time stupid raunchy comedy the first half, but took a dive.

From about 1:10-1:30 killed all the fun we were having watching the movie. They did an okay job wrapping it up but really needed an editor to make this an okay movie.

Also you can tell that it's a scripted comedy. Unlike the will ferrell movies of old where you can tell they were riffing for 10-20 takes and the funniest one was chosen, this is just actors delivering lines.

Anywho just go watch "That's My Boy" it's what this movie wants to be.

Shrinking (2023– )

the new ted lasso

[9/10 · 14 September 2023]

Similar feel good vibe to early seasons of Ted Lasso, but so much more funny. I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

First episode was pretty standard, but it really gets cooking around the 3rd one in. Still haven't finished it, but it's drawing me in more with every episode. Definitely recommend.

Came for Jason Segel and Harrison Ford but Jessica Williams, Cristina Miller, Lukita Maxwell, and Luke Tennie are all such great surprises. They all have great comedic timing and chemistry with each other. Every character adds to the story and the new plot lines don't distract from the main but add to it.

Mystic River (2003)

good performances, rough story

[6/10 · 19 March 2023]

Figured out Katie's killers when they found the body, so wasn't much of a who-done-it for me. Didn't have a big surprise at the end since I saw it coming.

First half hour was meh, the middle was great once the plot kicked into gear but things fell flat at the end again after the reveal. They definitely had a strong middle but didn't do a good job with the set up or the resolution.

Acting was good by the leads but script and direction was pretty rough at times. Clint is lucky he had such good actors because without them it would've been a mess.

The Dave and Jimmy plots were good. Sean not so much, the wife calling was dumb and didn't really pan out. I get what they were going for but it fell flat and was not a flushed out idea.

Should've ended with the car driving off like the opening and missed out on the whole parade scene. Didn't really add a thing was just corny and unnecessary. Would've been better to leave a little mystery about how things end up.

Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)

nothing special

[5/10 · 6 March 2023]

Production is good, but story and characters aren't exciting or interesting. Never heard of the book, seems like some sort of Fleetwood Mac fan fiction.

The VH1 interview style thing at the beginning was interesting, but other than that is very blah. Sam Caflin looks like Kenickie in Grease, a 30 year old trying to play a high schooler, he feels out of place compared to the rest of the cast.

The episode started with younger versions of all the characters for a couple scenes but quickly went to the older cast members, which was very confusing. They should have stayed with the younger actors longer or just not done it at all.

For a first episode there wasn't much time spent getting to know the character and setting things up, instead it just seemed like it was rushing past having to introduce the characters, which didn't help with wanted to learn more about them and the story.

Don't think I'll finish the show. I'd rather rewatch 'That Thing You Do!' and maybe a VH1 behind the music special then slog through more episodes of this show.

Soundtrack was good. Patti Smith and Carole King 👌

A League of Their Own (2022)

Fun reboot

[6/10 · 10 September 2022]

A modern take on the classic film, with lots of good little easter eggs for fans of the movie. Glad they got to explore queer storylines and make a show for all the friends of Dorothy. All the plots off the field were great and I loved all the characters they created. I enjoyed the series and it got better as it went on but definitely had to force myself to keep going with it, it almost lost me near the beginning.

For a baseball show it was pretty upsetting how bad the actual sport scenes were. The CGI is distracting and none of the actors seems to be all that athletic. I understand the acting performances are important, but besides the few notable leads it seems like you could've cast some better ball players to make the baseball more believable and less reliant on CGI. It's a little disappointing as a girl who grew up playing sports seeing them making women's sports look bad. If you go back and watch the original try outs montage from the film it's a much better job with the sports.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

i do not understand these reviews

[6/10 · 3 June 2022]

If you're taking into consideration all great films this is a 6 at best.

The first 2 minutes are fun then it immediately gets boring and predictable. Instead of using the new characters to drive the plot they make us revisit tom's character who hasn't grown since the last movie and we throw goose's son in to move him forward except it's not well done it's just cheesy and boring.

All the time spent in the planes is absolutely sick and 10/10 action. But the other 60% of the film is about a 3/10.

The plot was predictable and very 'destroy the death star with 2 rockets'. I can think of 4 plots more interesting than what they went with. They should've focused on the younger characters but instead they spend 20 odd minutes on the worst stuff with cruise and connelly.

I get it's a fun good summer film. But everything everywhere all at once is a 9/10 and on the same scale this is a 4/10. Criminal for people to be rating it as high as they have.

Criminal Minds: North Mammon (2006) Season 2, Episode 7

Good twist, episode sticks with you

[8/10 · 24 May 2022]

I always remember this story, it stuck in my brain after seeing it over a decade ago. First rewatch today and it holds up as a great Criminal Minds episode.

Sure it's not perfect across the board but it's up to par with other good early CM episodes.

I assume people just don't like it because it's JJ centric, but I think it's a great story. Stuck kidnapped with friends and the killer will let you go, you just have to make one choice? I think if it was teenage boys, and Derek centric people would like it more, but anyways....

Criminal Minds: Cure (2018) Season 13, Episode 13

One of the best so far of 13

[8/10 · 31 March 2022]

Ive been a fan since the 3rd to 9th seasons while they were airing. I'm currently completing what I missed when I stopped watching and this was a great one for 13. The last 5 or 6 episodes have been lacking and slightly tacky at times.

It's nice to have a episode that has some longer plots starting than just a single case. I liked the interactions with Garcia and Reid, as well as JJ's storyline. The writers can just throw her into the "i'm a mother" stereotype they love to do, but this was a good one where they call back to some of her best story arcs.

This new plot they're going with seems a little recycled from Strauss hates Hotch and wants him gone, but hey, it makes for good drama. Excited to see where the rest of the season goes with this.

The Batman (2022)

nice change to marvel movies

[9/10 · 20 March 2022]

I usually dislike all the superhero movies. The marvel avenger types are getting old and I'm usually seeing them only because a friend wants too. This movie I really enjoyed. It felt more like a cop thriller and action movie, with a fun mystery to figure out, than a super hero movie. Gave me Prisoners by Denis Villenueve vibes, it was very dark and stylistic. It was also shot so well, every scene was interesting to look at and didn't have that green screen feel.

It was very long, but I enjoyed seeing it in theatres. Around 2 hours I was feeling a bit fatigued but it didn't feel like the time was wasted and once the climax started I forgot about how tired of sitting I was. Would recommend seeing on the big screen.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World (2022– )

rigger morris girl

[3/10 · 16 February 2022]

The first episode was one thing, but we're to #3 and the production messing with everything is already out of control. To save the show from being the world vs 1 UK queen they are protecting queens from the bottom and offering others up as bait. This thing is a mess. The show has the same problem of the UK version of being poor and offering no good prizes to these queens. It gives queens no good reason to want to win the lipsyncs and essentially makes them try and avoid burning bridges/passing off fans all for the opportunity of a co-song with rupaul? They put the judging on the queens to make the choice of who goes and to keep their control they make sure to rig the bottom to try and save the queens they want.

Catch and Release (II) (2006)

love a romcom, but this was rough

[4/10 · 12 January 2022]

Someone recommended it on tiktok as a nice relaxing romcom, I did not feel the same way. The plot was a nice idea but the performances combines with the edit was just so blah. Didn't root for the love story and didn't find it very funny at all. Also at 2 hours, the thing dragged on.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015–2024)

damn what an ending

[9/10 · 11 January 2022]

Binged the whole series after the news this morning he died. Was a bit of a typical true crime docu series until those last two episodes and BOY what an ending. Fade to black. Highly recommend, especially if you didn't know anything about it before hand like me.

Criminal Minds: A Beautiful Disaster (2016) Season 11, Episode 18

great goodbye to derek

[9/10 · 24 November 2021]

Glad to see baby girl get a writing credit on this one, her and Erica Messer, who's episodes I'm always a fan of, did a great job. Also directing was good and happy to see it was MGG. Nice to see him do another great goodbye episode like he did for Paget's first departure.

Criminal Minds: Tribute (2016) Season 11, Episode 19

10/10 character episode

[9/10 · 24 November 2021]

It is such a rarity to get a good episode featuring the relationships of the characters and this one was fantastic. Loved seeing Prentiss back and the plot was a solid too.

Criminal Minds: The Hunt (2015) Season 10, Episode 23

Surprisingly really enjoyed this season

[8/10 · 11 November 2021]

Was always a criminal minds fan but stopped watching live around season 8/9. Just finished season 10 via streaming for the first time and it was actually refreshing after my binge of all 10 seasons. I feel like lots of the other seasons were in a rut and besides the classic episodes were very blah and repetitive with arcs of the episodes. This season feels like it took some risks and tried to mix things up. Sometimes it didn't work, but there was a lot of great moments that had fun with the characters and their relationships which i enjoyed. I really liked Jennifer Love Hewitt and will miss her going forward.

Criminal Minds: X (2014) Season 10, Episode 1

what every episode should be like

[9/10 · 4 November 2021]

I only saw a couple episodes from this season when it aired and don't remember much, but was pleasantly surprised with Jennifer Love Hewitt's character introduction. It was a run of the mill serial killer episode but the banter and character interactions made it a great one. This show has amazing characters but never has any fun with them, except maybe 2-3 episodes a season. Wish there was more episodes like this, reminds me of Law and Order SVU, they never have any fun with the characters and we barely get anything fun from them.

Criminal Minds: Blood Relations (2014) Season 9, Episode 20

scully and mulder on the case

[7/10 · 1 November 2021]

Would've been an 8 or a 9 if it wasn't so similar to one of the best and most disturbing xfiles episodes 'home'. Good twist into the reveal, but the axe booby trap was little on the nose, hopefully an homage by gubler who did a great job directing this episode. The son even got away in the end just like xfiles...

Ted Lasso: Beard After Hours (2021) Season 2, Episode 9

what a slog

[3/10 · 4 October 2021]

I'm sure it was a good homage to scorsese but man that was hard to get through. Honestly wish I had skipped it. Essential a bottle episode in terms of plot, it doesn't have affect much of anything.

The Handmaiden (2016)

lots of surprises

[9/10 · 25 September 2021]

Was sold on this movie as a wlw love story, so the twists of the different parts really had me. Beautifully shot, half the shots are pure art, but also so many moments had me laughing out loud. Thought about giving it a 10 but there was some problematic stuff that kept me from thinking it perfect.

The Prince (2021)

cringe

[1/10 · 30 July 2021]

The trailer is supposed to be a collection of the best material to draw you in and it was tough to get through. Sitting through an actual episode is something i never want to do.

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

recommended as a Tarantino alternative

[6/10 · 24 May 2021]

I think it was a great story, the pacing was just a bit off for me to really enjoy it. I feel it could've used a different director to fix my issues with it, but it was still a good watch.

Stonehearst Asylum (2014)

star studded cast but lacklustre

[6/10 · 22 March 2021]

I suppose the twists and Poe got all the talented actors on board but it was slightly boring for what it should've been. Reminded me quite a lot the recent remake of Murder on the Orient Express. Twists are interesting but everything else is just, okay and even sometimes mediocre.

The Killing (2011–2014)

I'm baffled. How is this 8 plus rating?

[3/10 · 24 February 2021]

I gave this show a fair shot, watched the first 3 episodes. I love British police procedurals, X files is my favourite, I should like this show, I couldn't keep going.

The pilot was bad: acting not good, boring characters, but thought hey, it's a pilot maybe it just needs to be picked up to get its full potential, NOPE. This bad acting and laughable lines and boring plot just kept going.

I'm honestly upset. This is one of the first times a 8 star imdb show has led me astray.

Ammonite (2020)

it's alright, but don't know what i got from it

[6/10 · 21 February 2021]

Beautifully shot. First half was lovely, but I don't know what it left me with. I doubt I will ever watch it again... which is never a good sign.

Watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire instead, it's actually written and directed by a women.

Bombshell (I) (2019)

good watch, cringey ending

[7/10 · 21 February 2021]

I liked it a lot, but the ending tried to put a lil bow on it all and lean into some sort of women's empowerment crap. The fact it was written by a man really stood out when that happened. Overall a good watch and great performances by the leading actors, the ending had me rolling my eyes which put a damper on things.