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Cyrano (2021)
Dinklage delivered a phenomenal performance.
I would love to give this show higher ratings, but I can't. I have mixed feelings as the musical scores distracted from the story and broke the tension. Here I was wrapped up in the moment so carefully crafted and executed by Peter Dinklage only to have someone burst into song and kill the moment.
Dinklage's performance was phenomenal and he stole every scene he was in. That is not the say the other actors didn't deliver, but Dinklage conveyed a solid performance allowing to see and feel every emotion the character was experiencing. His use of facial and physical expressions left those around him appearing as extras.
I can't speak to the singing and songs as I tuned them out each time they started.
Grimcutty (2022)
Missed Opportunity for Horror Greatness
Where were the writers? What were their goals when they wrote this? They obviously didn't want to create a great horror movie. At the end I was left wondering if they even tried to write a horror movie or check boxes in the liberal social inclusive/exclusive check sheet.
The story concept was great and offered the potential to be one of the next A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but failed when it came to story, acting, and effects.
Keep in mind, the goal of all stories is to encourage the viewer to suspend disbelief for the duration of the movie. Throughout the movie there were important plot devices that were left unused, unrealistic response to the environment, and worst of all predictable actions and reactions by the characters.
The only thing I think this movie did was check several liberal social media boxes.
The characters were as shallow as a 10 second Instagram video. Some died, yet you didn't care. It was like watching someone throw away paper. You were left saying, and so what.... Honestly I can't even remember their names. We called them the father, the mother, her, and so on. Look I am not trying to be mean, but I have stepped in puddles deeper than these characters.
Yes there was a completely diverse list of ethnic groups. White men were not heroes and for the most part pushed to the back. Not really a thing, but you cant help but take notice that the writers had issues with men or were writing for those who did have issues with me. Men were portrayed as angry, abusive people who could only respond in anger or stand there with their mouth open while the women did everything to resolve the story plotline. At the end we find out that it is a man that is the source evil of the story. So yea, we have the check next to "Men Bad, Women Good" The two women in the room with me comment on how lame the males were and they were completely unbelievable. It was like, you are father, yet you don't act like one. At one part you think one of the males was going to go on a murderous rampage because a child didn't do what he was told. Um, yeah.... child... that is what they do. Duh. And here is where we start having issues suspending disbelief. I want you to believe this is a father, yet we are going to make him act like completely contrary to a father.
Grimcutty looked like a prop from a Halloween store that was made by paper mache. Very disappointing. Dark Crystal has way better puppeteering than this show.
I think the worst part was towards the end where the women decided to lie to the men and even considered killing one if he didn't do what they wanted. Ugh, talk about promoting the idea that people are disposable and violence against males.
On the overall, this does match up with the low expectations of todays movie goer and movie industry. Cheap, shallow, something you dont have to think during, and easily forgettable.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Same caliber of movie as the 1980's Ice Pirates
3 out of 10
No amount of CGI and callbacks to the original three movies can save a weak storyline with shallow characters. Over and over we hear the same sad overused lines about it all being for nothing. We see male characters give up only to find hope in some female's action. Seriously? You are a hero archetype and your booty is that weak?
The movie lacked suspense or any kind of build-up that lead me to believe the characters might not make it up. Our overpower (OP) Mary Sue was neither impressive in movement, words, or actions. In many cases, the group I was with and I called out what was going to happen before it did. Yawn.
The story would have made a good Scifi story of the same caliber of movie as the 1980's Ice Pirates, but this was no Star Wars episode.
Lastly, how can you have the final chapter of "The Adventures of Luke Skywalker" without any of the main characters? Just sad.
Joker (2019)
A great and unnerving story powered by Joaquin Phoenix's flawless performance.
6 out of 5.
What are you expecting? Mark Hamill's Joker? Heath Ledger maybe? Jared Leto before he went to a punk rock bar or maybe Jack Nicholson and Tim Burton? Let me offer you one word advice. Go in without expectations. The movie is far more darker than Tim Burton can imagine and more mentally disturbed than Ledger's protrayal.
In this movie there is no dramatic music pounding in the background. There is no superhero. Honestly, you can drop the entire Joker/Batman thing and still have a movie that is truly a masterpiece. What there is, is a great and unnerving story powered by Joaquin Phoenix's flawless performance. He commanded every scene with the skill unmatched by anyone I have seen in a long time.
Do yourself a favor. Drop your expectations. Forget about Batman. Go to the movies and watch this in the dark. Oh yeah, hit the bathroom before you go in. You won't want to get up for any reason.
ReBoot: The Guardian Code (2018)
Reboot or Power Rangers reskined?
The fun and charm of the original Reboot came from the concept of you seeing life inside the computer. Though be it cheesy, the environments showed thought, creativity, and were just enjoyable. Many episode took a tongue in cheek approach to many of our favorite franchise and word played on technical terms.
In Reboot-GC we have none of that. What we do have, and it is painfully obvious from the very first episode, is another version of Power Rangers along with many other franchises that performed poorly.
In Reboot-GC we see a group of kids find a hidden room in a school that was hidden behind a hologram. (I guess no one painted wall or cleaned the basement.) In this room is advanced technology that just happened to be built by the father of one of the kids. This technology allows the kids to go into "cyberspace". (This term is important as you will constantly be reminded of the term "cyber". Why? Because everything is labeled cyber this and cyber that. ) In "cyberspace" the kids fight with a resurrected Megabyte who is now controlled by The Sorcerer who is a human who dresses in a blackish hoodie, (Because media portrays hackers as people sitting in the dark dressed in hoodies.) who pounds on the keys of his keyboard as if they were some old arcade game. Each episode the "bad guys" try to do things, and the kids race to cyberspace to cyber-beat them up, before leaving and returning to their non-cyber class. That is all the shows in a cyber-nutshell.
I am going to put aside all the similarities between this series and Power Rangers as well as the several other franchises it rips off, and focus solely on the technical aspects of the show.
The actors deliver a performance equal to those found on B movies. I am just going to leave it there.
The series offers two story lines; cyberspace and the life of the kids. Both paths are shallow, and offer little to not value to the viewer. Even on a level of entertainment there isn't that much there. The series is obviously written for the age groups between 7 and 14 years. Adults in the series are dim, easily fooled, and often portrayed as either oblivious to the world around them or jerks. The kids, Mighty Rebooting Cyber Gamers, skip class, run out on basketball games that they are playing in, or other activities to deal with the "cyber threat" of the dark code created by the hoodie dude who constantly tells the viewer what he is doing as he randomly pounds on a keyboard. At the same time, you have the Federal Internet Security team of adults who see everything that is happening in "cyberspace" from their computer, which looks like they were stolen right out of The Matrix, but always fail to do anything, because of reason like...duhhh which way did they go George? Oh! And the "cyberspace" story line, yeah it is the same each episode. Run in, blow things up, run out. Thing is, they don't even blow things up in a cool way. The environments are weak, and offer none of the excitement of the original series.
The graphics, like the acting, is substandard. You have seen better in other franchises.
Well, I guess somewhere they decided they were tie in to the original series because, well, that is cool and people will respect them. But, when they do, they portray the adult game as a fat nasty slob who lives in the basement of his mothers house. Really?
Conclusion: This is not Reboot. This is a situation where someone wanted to make a new franchise that would follow the path of the Power Rangers. So they took a bunch of ideas from other shows, and their own misconceptions about the internet, computers, and the IT profession and made something up. Then to sell it, they found a popular franchise name and smacked it on there.
Before writing this I sat down with family and friends and we watch the series. We watched one and half episodes before family and friends left saying it pained them to watch the series. That left me to watch the other 8 episodes alone. I am a big binge watcher, but I just couldn't do more than one episode in one sitting. Later episodes I actually did other things while the show played in the background. Oh yes, every now and then I would look over, back it up, watch a minute or two, then turn back to what I was doing.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
A great pick for family movie night.
8 out 10. This is a typical science fiction drama movie that seems to be targeting younger movie goers. This is important to keep in mind. We have seen this story hundreds of times. The difference with this movie is that it doesn't rely on blood and gore, profanity, or sex to sell the story. It truly relies on the actors to tell the story and make it believable. The combat sequences are exciting, but not overly blood. Maybe not bloody at all. It was kind of refreshing to be honest with you. You could take a child to see this without the fear of them becoming traumatized over the blood and gore, or your little one seeing naked people. The ending is typical, and no you shouldn't be surprised by what happens. You children might, and that is great thing.
The acting is good. I don't feel any actor put on a noteworthy performance, but it wasn't Pet Cemetery bad either. I think the thing that bothered me most is how Valerian sounded like Keanu Reeves. But with that said, there were scenes where the main actors really brought life to their characters, and others not so much. But I think we see that with all the movies of late.
The special effects were great, and far more realistic that other movies we have seen lately. The Mül people and world is fantastic. Sure, they are all cgi, but it works very well. I didn't see a time when the cgi was out of place.
Some of the characters are your typical character. We got our bad guys, the guy that changes him mind, the extras that read their lines, and those that just walk across the screen. However, I found Bubbles, Jolly the Pimp, Bob the Pirate, Empress Aloï, and a few others to be very refreshing. They brought far more life and character to their characters than your typical characters did. These character you couldn't help but like right away.
The story keeps a good pace, and tries to introduce new and fresh ideas on some of the old James Bond style chases. I believe they were successful to a point. If you want to be critical, it's going fail for you. There are a lot of times you could ask "how does that work?" If you just let it go, and enjoy, then these scenes will be a delight. Again, this seems targeted to young movie goes.
Conclusion? Get your popcorn and sodas, and just watch it with the family.
Bright (2017)
They did not reinvent the wheel, they only made a really cool one.
Before writing this review I encountered a post where the poster described the show as "They did not reinvent the wheel, they only made a really cool wheel." I think that perfectly describes this movie.
The movie has strong influences from movies like Alien Nation, Lethal Weapon, Dirty Harry, and Lord of the Rings. The story is very common place in that the protagonist (Daryl Ward/Will Smith and Nick Jakoby/Joel Edgerton) find themselves unintentionally in life threatening situations due to stumbling upon a world threatening plot.
The story takes place in an alternate dark universe where the creatures of legend (Orcs, Elves, Centaurs, Fairies) exist and have lived together for thousands of years. Now, in the 20th century, they face social issues that our world faces now. No, the story does not explain a great deal of the history of the races, other than the defeat of an evil warlord some 2000 years ago. The story does touches on social issues we face today. Unlike some newly released series and movies, Bright does not attempt to convince you that one side of the issue is right and that opinion should be accepted. Nor does it try to show you how right the idea is. Instead, Bright successfully shows you the issue and the impact it has to those around it, and leaves it up to you to decide if it is wrong or right. It does not attempt to preach, or make light of the issue, but it does strive to ensure the viewer sees both sides of the issue clearly.
Will Smith (Daryl Ward) delivers the same performance he did in Independence Day, Men in Black, Wild West, Bad Boys, I,Robot, Suicide Squad, and well I could continue, but I think you get the idea. It is Will Smith being Will Smith. Now, there were some scenes where Smith provided a strong dramatic performance, but then seemed to slip back into his tired old worn out Will Smith performance. Smith is a strong actor, but he seems afraid to stay outside his box too long, and retreats back to it for safety. It would have been nice to see him stay out of the Will Smith character, and focus on being Daryl Ward.
Joel Edgerton (Nick Jakoby) delivered a strong and constant performance over and over. In several scenes he upstaged Will Smith. Though Joel had makeup, he continuously delivered performance after performance that conveyed to you what Jakoby was thinking, feeling, and how he was reacting. His use of facial expressions, body language, and voice acting gave his character life. In many ways you found yourself connecting with Jakoby more than Ward. I found myself delighted in watching Edgerton deliver his lines and performance.
The other actors played their parts well, but to be honest there isn't much to talk about. They are there, and that is it. They walk on, say their lines, perform their action to move the story along, and little more. They did well.
Conclusion:
It is a fun watch. I felt the concept and the writing was brilliant. I also enjoyed seeing how mythical creatures are portrayed in a 20th century environment. This is a good watch. I wouldn't say this is a popcorn movie. In order to enjoy this movie I think the viewer must pay attention to the environment surrounding the action. Take the time to look at the Elf, the art on the walls, and how the Orcs interact with world around them. The magic of the movie isn't in Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, but in the world around them.
Knights of Badassdom (2013)
Feast your eyes upon this awesomeness and rejoice!
One of the most enjoyable memories I have is Saturday B movie night. My friends and I would pick up three or four B movies, cook up some popcorn, nachos, soda, and watch the movies till the early morning hours. If you enjoy those nights, then KoB is the movie for you.
KoB has little to offer other than silly humor. The story is predictable, but that does not detour from the fun. I am not going to lie. If you are a person that is always super serious, and demands movies deliver a life changing message, or uphold seriously high standards, then this movie will be lost on you. You will most likely complain throughout it, and long afterwards. But, if you are someone like me who can watch a movie and just enjoy the silliness with no expectations, then you're in for a fun ride. You will, at some time, quote the movie, or joke about the scenes.
Keep in mind that everything about this movie is an exaggerated parody of something real in life or seen in other movies. It isn't that they tried to cut corners on cost, but they successfully focused on trying to be cheesy and over the top silly in delivery of lines, effects, and story. (No, not Monty Python silly.)
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
This is not the Star Wars you are looking for. - Mouseverse Version
Let's keep in mind is that this movie was not written and directed by George Lucas, so the movie has an entirely different look and feel. In turn, many people complained that this movie did not feel like Star Wars. Star Wars was bought by Disney, so much of the story formula fits into the Disney story telling format. Having four children I have watched a great deal of Disney movies. I mean nearly all of the animated movies. So, I recognized the format, stances, and interactions from other animated movies. Disney is great at creating enjoyable children oriented, light hearted scenes, but falls short when it comes to creating strong storyline. Instead they rely in a series of enjoyable scenes to satisfy the watcher.
I had to watch the movie a few times before writing this. My first impression was that the writers missed several opportunities to cash in on fan expectations for all the characters. Many solutions to plot situations felt as if the writer did not ask what would be cool to see, what do the fans expect to see, and fits within the legends of these characters. In many ways it was as if the writers realized canon was out the door, thanks to the Mouse, and here was their chance to change things and change they must. The sad thing was they must not have reviewed canon as well as legends. As a result we see several scenes that make no sense, or have no reason to even be in the movie. Hold that thought.
All Star Wars fans will tell you that the Star Wars universe was rich in stories that fit well together, and could have been used/included in the Mouseverse. It seems that this movie was an excellent candidate for incorporate some of the legend stories in this movie.
I have heard from many sources saying that the goal of the writers where to approach the characters from the stand point that they are just human, so there was a desire to not to show the characters in a superhuman light. Sadly, superhuman is the best descriptions of force users. In a way the writers literally cut the heart out of both the Jedi and Sith. Fans wanted to see Luke saving the day in "godmode". When the movie failed to deliver, they were understandably disappointed. Sure the mental project across the universe was cool, and how the scene played out was great, but it still feel short. You would think in a time when movie viewers are so critical of a movie the writers would have tried harder to hit viewer expectations.
One let down was the conclusion of the Snoke storyline. I literally sat there thinking to myself this can't be the real ending? I literally felt ripped off. Hopes for a awesome fight between force users, but no. Snoke was this great force user who has unbelievable powers. Fans expected to see the character provide insurmountable challenges to the heroes. There was a build up leading to a great confrontation as Snoke used his powers with just a flick of finger, but in the end nothing.
Having watched all the previous Star Wars movies, read many of the books, played several of the video games, I feet what was written for Luke was out of character. The character, once a leader, now seems to be over come by self doubt and self pity. I will say I did enjoy some of his more human responses to other characters.
Let's talk Poe. I quickly became annoyed with the characters continual and never ending Disney style pep talks, joyful shouts, and tantrums. Sure it very cool to have a pilot who can do cool things with his ship, but I just found it hard to take him serious when most of the time he was proving himself to be a tool. By then end of the movie I found myself hoping he would killed off.
The Finn character, or comic relief guy, distracts from the overall story. For the most part he is filler. Towards the end his part becomes a bit more serious, but still out of place.
As I stated earlier, there are several scenes that made no scenes or had no reason to be in the movie. One scene is Chewy's meal. It was latterly a few minutes of the wookie interacting with small critters, but it did nothing at all to move the story along. Another scene that left me scratching my head was when Leia was blown out to space, then Supermans back to the ship (Meaning flying back into the ship.), opens a door to the vacuum of space in order to enter the ship. Now in the case of Leia one could argue that there was something Star Trekish there to protect her, but the story never stated such. They never took the time to tell the viewer this is what happened and why. Another case of this can be seen when the Falcons dice are passed around.
Conclusion
SW:TLJ is a good movie to watch so long as you understand it is not Star Wars. Look, I get it, it hold the title, it has the characters, and so on, but with the changes in characters, story development and telling it just doesn't fit in to Star Wars. To be honest it fits well with Star Wars Ewok Christmas. Still, it is enjoyable to watch, and it isn't violent or feeling insensitive so most people can enjoy it.
Would You Rather (2012)
This hearkens back to the old B movie nights.
This hearkens back to the old B movie nights when we watched cheap movies with outlandish story lines. And to top it off, we have the Re-Animator himself (Jeffrey Combs) as the protagonist of the movie. Gwad! I love these movies!
So, remember as kids we played "Would you rather?" A common joke was slide down a razor or kiss a rabbit between the ears. Of course nothing ever happened, and we never hurt one another. Well, here they hurt each other. Why? Because the stakes are high dollar and it's a B movie. You won't a lot of action, and to be honest the movie is not gory. With that said, you will craw up into your chair in some cases, maybe turn your head a bit, and, no matter how good of a person you are, you will hope that someone, that special person, gets their up and comings.
So boys and girls, get your soda, get your popcorn, pull each other tight, and have your eww buttons and aww no buttons pushed real good.
Circle (2015)
A brilliant movie for the thinking person and movie enthusiast.
The Circle is a brilliant piece of story telling that dives deep into the human condition of self preservation. This movie makes it hard to stay objective. You will find yourself siding with one group of people, then another. You will roll your eyes, and even wish someone to be selected. You will see stereotypical behavior as the story plays out. Hey, I am trying to keep from giving too much away.
This movie is not one of the kiddies, nor is it one for the night at the movies with the popcorn and soda. This movie is for the artistic movie lover who enjoys movies that make you think. Yes kiddies, this is a thinking persons movie. There is no action, no real drama, and zero special effect. The entire movie takes palace in one dark room. This is why the movie is awesome. When a writer can make you think and hold your attention for over an hour with a dark room and no special effects, you have a winner of a movie.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
It's just fun to watch.
Keep in mind what you are watching. You are watching a superhero show. You will not be enlightened. There is not a brilliant message or message about social issues. This is meant to be two hours of fun, so it back, relax, and enjoy.
The story is well written and keep a good pace, so it is hard to get bored. There is a some humor in the show that many may find distracting, but I enjoyed. Some of the Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) the parts seem a bit out of character, but still I don't feel they took away from the movie. I could have done without the Skurge (Karl Urban) character, but still it did not take away from the entire show. You will find Hela (Cate Blanchett) character fun to watch. Now I will say that I feel her parts when too fast. I would have liked to spend more time spent on the Hela / Valkyrie fight. I really would have loved to see much more of the Hela / Odin conquest instead of looking at a few pictures.
while the Thor / Hulk story line was fun, I would have liked to seen a the world it took place on be more than the junkyard of the universe with the devil's anus as a way off the planet. There is funny, there is silly, and then there is signs that the writers should not have been writing at 2am after way too much to drink.
As always there are some wonderful special effects that give you that comic box Avengers larger than life excitement. Keep in mind you ware watching a superhero movie based on comic books. So, get some soda, popcorn, kick back and just have fun. Put the super critical thinking cap on the floor, and just enjoy the time. You won't be sorry.
Star Trek: Discovery: Into the Forest I Go (2017)
Nothing new again.
Once again Mike B. is telling everyone why they are wrong and she is right. She gives the same sad old speeches over and over while demonstrating contempt for the chain of command. After this many episodes you would think we knew more about the characters than we do, but no. Multiple characters are supposed to be in dramatic situations that should trigger an emotional response but... no. No one cares because the characters are nothing more than faces. To be honest, I can't even tell you their names.
Now there was a great mistake made in this episode. A good one. Well somehow our superhero all purpose Swiss army knife Mike B. manages to sit on the bridge of the Klingon ship during battle while the Klingons are there. During the fight the Klingons speak English instead of mumble. Well, it is still mumble English, but better than trying to read every last word they mumble. Let's hope they keep doing this.
The story is once again shallow and lacking. It is as if the writers think the viewers will not understand anything about the story so they keep it very simple. Or maybe they are too worried about offending someone by doing something. Heck I have no idea. About half way though I found myself looking at how much time was left. Surely this is about over. Nope. Much of the story is so unbelievable that I think most people will just put their hands over their face and ask for it to stop.
Star Trek: Discovery: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (2017)
Well someone tried.
Putting aside that the characters are still unlikable and display no professional respect for each other nothing has changed. They are still shallow. Character development is restrained to restating, because you surely didn't get it the previous umpteen times they told you, the same old lines about themselves. I am beginning to think they should just put MB in a Superman outfit because it seems she is the only person that can do anything in the series while maintaining her hateful condescending attitude towards everyone. Actor performances are weak, unbelievable, and boring. It seems they make the same statements over and over, even from other episodes. By the end of the show I found I cared even less for the characters, and hoped that some would be killed off Game of Thrones style.
This episodes we look a bit more at the mumble race. I guess they are suppose to be Klingsons. Yeah, watched it and thought, to myself so what and who cares. The Klingon parts where no different than commercials on television. Just a few minute distraction from the story.
As for the "We love MB" story I found it to be a yawn-fest. I think each of the series has this story, but executed in such ways that the viewer was not only entertained, but encouraged to think. In this case, I found myself looking at my phone and wondering how will I describe this for IMDb without ranting about poor acting, writing, and what not?
On another note, graphics were nice.
Ghost Wars: Whatever Happened to Maggie Rennie (2017)
What you have been waiting for.
There are two things that stand out in this episode. First is the brilliant and award winning performance of Meat Loaf. To say he outperformed every actor is an understatement. This was his episode, and he owned it. Second, is the obvious change of director. Unlike previous episodes the director centered the camera in the action, and most importantly move the camera and the viewer into the action. The camera is placed in such a position that we can clearly see the actors deliver their performance. If this director had been on set for the previous episodes, then the series would be doing far better.
The story provides a strong story for those that love ghost stories, and family stories. We get a strong look into Meat Loafs character. We see the turning point in Romans desire to stay outside of the community as Meat Loafs character, while being true to the character, is redeemed in a way. More importantly, the viewer now fully understands who the character is. If you are a person who walked away from the show, or know someone who has walked away, this is the episode to share with them.
The Orville: Majority Rule (2017)
A look at the terror called public opinion.
Let me first start off by saying YES, this is the Orville's take on a subject that was touched on in the series Black Mirror. It is more simplified than Black Mirror's version, and instead of experiencing public opinion from within the system, we have people experiencing public opinion from outside the system. What do I mean? Well, look at Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform. Every day we see people passing judgment on other because of a 30 second video clip or headline. Often these people demand punishment that is far greater than the perceived crime. Now take that one step farther. Instead of just being public opinion, it now controls every aspect of life. Facts are replaced by public opinion. Strangers who do not know you vote to see if you are let go, or corrected. The cast, especially J. Lee, nailed their parts perfect. The story is fast paced and constantly driving their point forward. I found myself asking why this crew didn't go right to the obvious answer, but then realized that the answer used demonstrated another failure of public opinion.Honestly this has to be the best episode in the series so far. The acting is great. The writing is great. Agree with the idea or not, you will enjoy watching this episode.
Star Trek: Discovery: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (2017)
Nothing new...
No really NOTHING new at all.The characters are still shallow, undeveloped, and unlikable. The story is a retelling of stories from previous Star Trek stories. Sure, they tried to mix it up, but in doing so the left out the most important part of mixing up and old story; local and believable progression of the story. Like all of this Star Trek story they just changed things, told you they changed them, and followed it all up with just accept it. After 15 minutes into the show you most likely will be reading text, or looking at Facebook while it plays in the background. Once again we see the writers have taken an idea from somewhere else, then rushed through to make "edgy".
Star Trek: Discovery: Lethe (2017)
Nothing to hold your interest.
Once again we see the unlikable Burnham strutting around the ship telling everyone how wrong they are and how her way is the only way. We also get another dose of that long rage Vulcan mind meld, and the teleporting starship trick. In short, nothing Star Trek to be seen here. One of the greatest things about Star Trek was the the characters. You got into them. You understood them. You liked if not loved them. In STD you just can't like any of them, and those that you kinda like, are hardly ever on the screen.
This episode is so poorly written that I started writing my review before it was done. I just didn't care. The story was so lame, the characters so unbelievable and shallow that I found nothing holding my interest. Serek might die? Um, no, he's alive in STNG that takes place after this, so no. Duh! The acting has not improved. This time around it was like pouring salt in an open wound. The actors are spot on when it comes to reciting their lines, but conveying emotions, feelings, or anything else is totally lacking. Now maybe that is what the director wanted, but if that is the case then you may want to look at new directors.
Did the crew of this ship really graduate Star Fleet Academy? No. Obviously not, because no one follows orders and those who are disobeyed ignore their duty to enforce Star Fleet protocols. Yeah, this is not Star Trek. My problem with this is that any military would not tolerate this kind of behavior for a minute. Watch the movie Patton. He tried to be the big dog, and got spanked by his superiors over and over. Once again, it is just not believable.
I did get a laugh at the end. The trailer for next weeks is a rehash of one of the STNG episodes and I think Voyager might have done it too. Oh well, you cant expect these writers to come up with new ideas on their own. Last time they did, they gave us STDs.
Ghost Wars: The Curse of Copperhead Road (2017)
Director fail ...again. Really?
Again, why is the director so afraid of moving the camera into the action at times? I don't understand with having an actor deliver their dialog when they are off camera, but only 8 feet away from the other actor? Was there two directors? I ask because at times it looks like a first year director was behind the camera, and at other times the use of lighting and camera angles was spot on. How about some consistency? Often the tension was lost by not moving the camera into the action. I felt outside the action, and thus could care less what was happening. I also find it highly annoying to watching peoples back when they are delivering a performance for the other actors.
The actors delivered a solid performance in every scene, and the background music was effective in setting mood and building tension. Special effects were much better this episode. Well done!
This story is a diversion from the story we saw in the firs two episodes. It is well written, and builds on the haunted town theme. If the director had used lighting and camera angles correctly this could have easily been the best episode of the series.
Star Trek: Discovery: Choose Your Pain (2017)
Choose your pain was painful to watch.
The story starts off with our uncaring hateful egomaniac narcissistic main character having a nightmare in an attempt to convince us she suddenly has regrets her actions. Yet, the scene is completely lacking any kind of emotional connection. A few scenes later we see this emotionally sensitive charter dismiss the white female special needs character attempt to be friendly. This is a very common pattern for this character.
I found it interesting to see the Discovery's Captain Lorca be so dismissive and argumentative orders from superiors. I guess this Starfleet has no respect for the chain of command. I will say that Saru is by far the most traditional character when it comes to the interactions aboard a military asset. I think this character is far more developed and interesting than any of the other characters in the entire story. Yet, because of the shallowness of the characters, I found myself uncaring about Lorca and his abduction. But never fear kiddies, our main narcissistic character, comes out of no where to tell everyone they are doing it wrong and need to do things her way. Like we didn't see that coming. Heck, even the computer on the ship stated the character should be eliminated. Over and over our narcissistic runs off at the mouth and disrespect anyone who doesn't agree with her. Now, for those that hate what's her face, Saru does drop the heavy on her.
I loved the nod to Robert April, Jonathan Archer, Matt Decker, and Christopher Pike. But, why? Why would you nod to franchise that you are ignoring?
Viewers will enjoy Harry Mudd. The actor did a spot on job with the character. In every way he upstaged every actor in the show, even those he was not in a scene with. It was refreshing to see an actor who displayed emotions. Now, I will say that Saru had his scene and it too was awesome. Acting, who would have thought about having acting in a movie?
Now, I will say, the story wasn't too bad considering it was stolen from Deep Space 9 and Next Gen, but then again this show has stolen from many different sources.
Yes, they dropped the F bomb and they are proud of it, twice. I am not sure why a franchise is boasting proudly about the f bomb, but ....sigh.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Star Trek in name only.
I really can't say I enjoy this show. I watch it because a friend has access, and I enjoy our discussion about the show afterwards. Also, our wives are awesome cooks, so needless to say we have a great dinner during the show. So there is that.
On the overall this new series is not even a poor imitation of it's predecessors. In my opinion it has not earned the right to even be included in the Star Trek universe. Instead it should sit on the same shelf as Highlander 2.
The most visible crime is that of continuity. There are several plot elements that completely disregard established canon, even though the producer/director, whatever he is, stated that the series would adhere to canon because if they didn't then it wouldn't be Star Trek.
The acting is okay, but I am assuming that the actors are giving the director what he asked for.
The second most annoying thing about this series is its attempt to pump every kind of current social idea into the series at one time. Instead of attempting to talk about one issue each week, they are dead set in pushing these ideas in our faces, and worst of all, they don't explore both sides, they only promote their own political and social beliefs. Klingons are suppose to be Trump supporters, black Klingons call a white Klingon a mistake of nature. White male characters are portrayed as either incompetent or warmongers who are later killed or completely discredited. There have a token special needs person.
Lastly, the main character is utterly unlikable. She is your typical angry black woman who thinks she knows best. Worst of all, she attack her captain after telling her captain that she should just do as she says because she is just that good, is arrested, and sent to jail. The character openly stated contempt for her crew mate because he was male, and...well...the list goes on. Her hateful looks are old after the first 15 minutes, and honestly who care. If their goal was to make us hate her, then they have succeeded.
Ghost Wars: The Ghost in the Machine (2017)
Can we get into the action?
In this episode we a better story line that moves the story forward. The acting is still a bit inconsistent, but so much as to distract from the story. The issue I have with this episode is the horrible directing. There are way too many shots where characters are hidden from the view of the camera, such as the discussion between Billy and the security officer, or all we see is the backs of the characters, such as the discussion at the bridge. Many shots are so far out it was as if we were removed from the action. Thinking on it, it was as if the director was lazy or afraid of making too many cuts. As a result, we don't get to see the actors act. The scene at the diner was shot from behind instead of moving around the counter in order to see the interaction of the characters.
I still think this series has a lot of potential if they get the right director.
Ghost Wars (2017)
2 episodes in and...
**This review is of the first two episodes only** The story is an interesting concept with a great deal of potential. The acting is good, and the special effects aren't bad. Nope, they are not high budget silver screen quality, but they work well for the show. The acting is inconsistent, which left me wondering if the issue resides with the director or the actors themselves. I finally settled on poor directing.
In many scenes the camera is positioned behind the actors as they speak, so you do not get to see their facial expressions. In episode 2 there is a scene where Billy is talking to a security office, but you can't really see the security officer. If you look just over the hood of the truck you can see his head and right arm. Other than that...nadda, and that is just one example. Their backs are acting great, and the back of their heads did an awesome job, but where is the actors themselves? Over and over we see the camera far away from the action, or off set so that half of the viewing area is of nothing related to the action. There are numerous situations where the focus of the camera is not on the action, but on some object that might have been important a minute ago, but now is not all that important. Luck for the viewers, this director only directed the first two episodes, so these issues may be corrected. As I was watching a friend and I spent more time talking about how we would have shot the scene instead of just watching it. That might tell you how annoying the poor directing was.
I hope, in future episodes, the director chooses better camera angles, and actually lets the actors cut loose with their acting skills. Meat Loaf is awesome, and Avan has done so well in other shows that I feel they are being held back by poor directing.
Black Mirror (2011)
A mix of Twilight Zone and Technology.
Each episode builds on a futuristic word where our technology has become highly integrated with our lives. So much so, that many aspects of live have become perverted by the technology. Many of the stories are disturbing from the aspect of human interaction and technological interactions. The graphics are great, the technological ideas are believable, and the acting is great.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016)
Don't dream it, be it.
If that one line had been in the minds of everyone involved the show may have been better. I found the changes to the show inappropriate. There was a specific formula within the show that allowed the character types to play off one another. Yet, that still would not have saved the show.
The actors did well at hitting their marks and saying their lines. It reminded me of myself when reading out loud in 4th grade. This is where don't dream it, be it comes it. If the actors embraced their characters and brought them to life, then the show could have been successful, but they didn't. Yes, they moved to their spot and barked out their words like good actors. Beyond that, there was nothing in their performance that made me want to believe they were the characters they were portraying.
If you want to see RHPS, go and watch the original at a theater that will allow people to act out the roles on stage.