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tomdylan-18159
Reviews
Dead of Summer (2016)
SEASON ONE - Starts off meh, ends off amazing
WARNING: LIGHT SPOILERS
On the surface, Dead of Summer is an average slasher show, you got your horror stereotypes, like the final girl, the slutty girl, the black guy, the jock, the gay guy, etc.. And in the Pilot episode until like Episode 3, yeah, it's exactly what you expect. Until it actually starts to actually be good.
One thing about DoS is the how it wants you to believe it's an average slasher movie, when it truly is something great. The same creators of Lost and Once Upon a Time? You know you got good stuff on your hands... Or do you? After watching the Pilot I was sorta confused: "Is this actually what we got?", but I kept watching and I think it was the best decision, because after episodes like 3 or 4, it gets going and suddenly you realize THIS is Dead of Summer.
Have I mentioned the horror stereotypes? Yeah, they start off like them, but the character development is truly amazing for a slasher TV show, in fact, it might be the best character development we have come to expect in slasher.
At Episode 6, we start seeing what DoS is all about: demons, rituals all on a seemingly innocent camp. This is where it gets good, finally you start seeing this seemingly clichéd characters into actual characters with personalities, but by far the best episode on the series is Episode 9, where we get a plot twist that makes so much sense but you still are shocked, and when that happens, you know you got something good.
In conclusion, Dead of Summer is a really good show. Don't let those first episodes and the IMDb rating fool you, it surprised me and the others who watched it along the way. The sad thing is those first episodes, and they don't help the show get a better rating then 7/10. It's a shame, but hopefully, if they renew this, I will certainly watch this. It is a surprise (even though a late one) to discover.
FINAL RATING: 7/10
The Nut Job (2014)
Too soon for a remake?
OK, before I start listing why the movie really doesn't work, I'll give it the only credit it really deserves: the animation is good and it's really the highlight of the movie.
And now that we got that out of the way, let's start listing the cons, and what better way to start off with no one other than the main douchebag himself, Surly. Oh dear god, Surly. Whom I think might be one of the most hateful and most douchebag characters that we are supposed to find likable in the medium of animation since Buck from Chicken Little. I mean by god, he is the protagonist. THE PROTAGONIST. You would think some likability would be found in what is supposed to be our protagonist, but no. Surly blows up the tree where they had all the food, but it's OK because Racoon is the bad guy? Oh and what about the fact that he basically abuses his supportive and caring friend but it's OK because they turn friends at the end and go dance to Gangnam Style?
The plot of the movie is literally "A Bug's Life + Over the Hedge". You've got your douchebag protagonist (Over the Hedge) that participates in a colony (A Bug's Life) ruled by this threatening villain who big shock turns out to be the bad guy (A Bug's Life)... I think I made my point clear. Also the tone of the movie is really mean-spirited. All of the characters are either idiots, comic reliefs, or jerks. You know except for that female squirrel whose name I have forgot like the rest of the characters.
And if your story isn't written very well, it only figures the humor might suffer. And it suffers indeed, completed with all your favorite fart jokes, burp jokes, pee jokes and with comic reliefs of which you will forget about soon as you leave the theater! How wonderful, right? RIGHT?
In conclusion, this movie is your poor man's Over the Hedge. And even Over the Hedge wasn't that great to begin with (sorry OtH fans) so you basically have this shitty, uninspired and most of all mean- spirited movie. If the sequel is any good (which I HIGHLY doubt) I might go see it online but for now, I'm done with the Nut Job franchise.