leboutaine Reviews

Out of Her Mind (2020)

Clever, Irreverent & A lot of Pascoe

[7/10 · 28 October 2020]

Ignore the poor reviews. This is clever comedy with some substance to it. I'm pretty confident the main reason for people giving 1's and 2's are men who don't like a woman explaining science and basic psychology to them. If a man wrote and starred in this I'm sure it would've done much better.

It's wacky, silly irreverent fun but with a bit of depth to it. Sure it's got Pascoe being herself but it's more than that. She hits on ideals, tradition and what it is to be human and what society expects of women. Not much on TV tries to deal with any of this - it's good to see.

It also shows Pascoe looking inward at herself and realising the ideals and expectations she has of others are particularly flawed. She accepts she is wrong about some things and wants to learn. She's not perfect but neither is anyone else. And sometimes the majority of people can value the wrong things but never realise it.

Really not sure why so many bitter, strange people have been so volatile in their negative reviews. It's hardly offensive or controversial unless you think a show which tackles modern ideals about sex, gender, marriage, love, loneliness, family and depression to be exactly that.

World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji (2020)

Inspirational, moving and fascinating

[8/10 · 22 August 2020]

If you like eco-challenge races, this is the show for you. There are people you will have heard of (legends like Nathan Fa'avae, Mike Kloser, Mark Macy, Marshall Ulrich and many more) as well as first-timers and those teams in-between. Eco-Challenge is quite frankly a ridiculous event. The elite teams make it look easy and even those at the very back make it look easier than what it is. The show may have some filler every now and then and its production is most certainly American, but it is genuine in conveying just how tough this event really is. If you're even slightly interested in the sport and hearing about why the teams that are there are there, then give it a watch. It has Bear Grylls in it too, so you can't go too wrong.

To counter some reviews I've seen:

22 out of the 66 teams that participated are from the USA. This is a USA production. Combine the two together and you get... you guessed it, more teams from the USA than any other country involved. I'm perplexed by these negative reviews banging on about this. Is the math that hard? It's easy to understand and it takes away exactly nothing from this show.

Also, a lot of other teams from other countries are given a decent amount of screen-time as we follow their journies:

Australia: Team Gippsland Adventur & Mad Myrs Brazil - Team Atenah Costa Rica - Team Costa Rica Estonia - Team Estonian ACE (earlier episodes) Fiji - Team Namako & Tabu Soro India - Team Khukuri Warriors New Zealand - Team New Zealand (favourites) Spain - Team Summit USA - Team Able Abels, Team Bend Racing, Team Curl, Team Endure, Team Iron Cowboy, Team Onyx, Team Out There, Team Stray Dogs & Team Unbroken

We don't even follow more than a third of the teams in this race. Why? Because it would be IMPOSSIBLE to do so. How would you go about filming and documenting every single (66) team's performance and then make a show to reflect all of those teams equally? It's absurd.

To other people moaning about the inspirational stories: We had a son assist his father who was suffering with Alzheimers. Another guy was running whose father killed himself. Another team made up of a man and his daughters, disabled army vets, a team of experienced racers over 60 years old etc... We also had the first all-black team in an eco-challenge, racing to raise awareness for LGBTQ as well as racial inequality. Another team consisting of two women from India to race for their equality.

If these things fail to resonate with you, I have to think the issue lies more with you than the show.

While the production may be 'Americanised' is it any wonder? It's a US production and most teams are from the country. And what does it take away from the experience? We are given inspirational stories to ponder whilst watching incredible athletes run themselves to the bone.

To anyone saying it looked easy... Are you crazy? The twin sisters who have scaled all major peaks including Everest called it far, far more challenging than reaching the summit of Everest (something only 5,000 people have done).

Another Ironman veteran said if you put 10 Ironman challenges back to back, this would be more difficult to do. I have absolutely NO idea what you're going on about - this looked incredibly difficult to do.

Also, did it occur to anyone else that those other teams who basically weren't shown didn't want to be on camera? Perhaps they wanted to do their own thing? Perhaps a lot of the 'foreign' teams didn't speak English? Or didn't want to be a part of the show? Quite a lot of people won't have the screen presence needed, either. There's probably more footage taken of other teams that was just rubbish. Notice how not ALL of the team members from one team are shown? Some stand out more than others. These reviews that claim only the USA teams were part of the show are completely baseless and shouldn't be seen as legitimate critiques of the show.

Anyone complaining about a team talking about racial, gender and sexual equality for like 30 seconds every now and then needs to take a look at themselves. Normal people do not participate in these kinds of races. They do not do well even if they were to. The kind of people who do this sort of thing are elite, healthy and inspired people. They often have something pushing them on. This is often cathartic. That's how it is.

I notice nobody is complaining about how much screen time Team New Zealand got at the start? They DOMINATE screen time in at least every other episode if not more. A lot of ignorant people are giving their opinions - don't listen to them.

I would like to know what those people criticising the show for having so many American teams would do differently. I really would.

Basically, a lot of people reviewing seem to be anti-American, anti-liberal, anti-equality and would potentially rather watch a show with zero flair focused on teams from other countries who potentially can't speak the language, don't want to be filmed and have zero screen-presence. Sounds like fun...

Rant over, even though I could go on.

Snowpiercer (2020–2024)

The Film is FAR WORSE

[6/10 · 4 June 2020]

The film made far less sense. No spoilers, but that movie had so many holes in it you could drain lettuce with that thing.

This show is only a few episodes old. The premise is fine: bringing a homicide detective from the back to investigate a murder for the rich makes sense. It absolutely does. Think about it:

The rich on board - why would there be a detective there? There might be, but all the crew would ever need is security. Grunts paid not to think, just be hired muscle. No need for a detective. The poor climbing on board is somewhat odd. I get why they'd try (certain death otherwise) but the fact they all weren't thrown off is surprising. Perhaps there is an ulterior motive for them? We all know homelessness/poverty is something capitalism promotes as it further entrenches this idea of meritocracy and valuation of success by comparison. The poor is a mix of people from different backgrounds - more likely to have labourers in the back of the train compared with the mega rich in the front. No cure for global warming but managed to create a perpetual motion train with an around the world track. I'd like more information on this. Hopefully we get it in future episodes. The effects are great and it looks the part. Everyone who is saying the lead actor isn't good enough... What a surprise he's a black guy, huh? HE'S ABSOLUTELY FINE. He's not a bad actor. If anything the writing is a bit restrictive. He may be a bit theatrical for some but it doesn't mean he is a poor actor by any means. If he was white he'd be seen as 'energetic' and 'a break from all those wooden, brooding actors!'

It needs more time before we can properly judge it but it's something that probably be given the benefit of the doubt up till now. Those saying they turned off after the first episode.. I'd advise those people on working on getting a better attention span.

Space Force (2020–2022)

It's More Than Just a Comedy - Give it a Chance

[7/10 · 31 May 2020]

Space Force may have been made by the same guys who made The Office but its NOT trying to do the same thing. This will not be for everyone. It is not hilarious. It is not loud. It is subtle at times as well as occasionally being a bit more direct. But it's an acquired taste. As the season progressed I wasn't laughing at every joke, or struggling to catch my breath from laughter, I was enjoying a well-written darkly-comic drama that focuses on how ill-placed so many people are whether socially or professionally and how that is reflected within different spheres of influence.

The main character isn't Steve Carrel - it's John Malkovich. The shenanigans of Naird and everyone else revolves around him - it's a mirror to how the people in the know, the scientists and scholars, are constantly overlooked and not listened to while the big man-babies who scream louder are listened to. This is satire. It's not a bright, flashy super car of comedy like The Office was. It's a car that no-one would look twice at. But that's the point. It's a satirical mirror to our world that's not meant to be hilarious, but revealing. If we focus more on our characters' story arcs they are nothing soecial but interesting nonetheless.

I've given this a 7 because I can't give it 6.5. It's better than most people are saying. It's a really odd series and I'm not quite sure where it fits but it comes off as charming to me, not pretentious or too aloof or not funny enough, just charming.

Mars (2016–2018)

An advert for SpaceX

[5/10 · 27 March 2020]

I'm sorry but what is this? It's a fictional drama with awful casting, terrible dialogue and pacing which makes the entire experience rather dull.

For some reason half the episodes are actual clips of real life scientists - mainly Elon Musk - talking about the logistics of getting to Mars.

I'm sorry - what? I don't want to watch a documentary. I don't want to be spoken to by arrogant engineers and scientists. I want the drama of colonising a new planet. Space exploration. I'll even allow a bit of fantastical non-realism. But this just feels like an advert for SpaceX and Musk.

REALLY odd. Really weird. Just not very good. The whole half real documentary/half fictional drama thing they try just doesn't work. Yet again another Netflix original that doesn't quite work. They definitely miscalculated their flight path with this one - this is a crash landing before it ever takes flight.

Avoid.

Seat 25 (2017)

Moronic dialogue, spoken by robots.

[2/10 · 10 February 2020]

The concept is an interesting one. Sadly it takes far too long for anything interesting to really happen.

It's not a film about going to Mars. It's about failing relationships. The monotony of everyday life. How most people are angry. Unfulfilled. Depressed. Fed up. All of that is fine, but the dialogue is incredibly basic. The delivery one-dimensional. The characters are as fleshed out as a horde of rotting zombies and the flashbacks and melodramatic piano does little to add much atmosphere to the story.

It takes an hour for people to find out she is going to Mars and only ten minutes later her husband changes from being an irrationally angry and unreasonable guy to actually communicating with his wife.

Something just feels off with the entire production. It's like it just doesn't know what it wants to be. The narration at the start of the film was interesting (hardly original but it worked) but then it stops and that's it until the end of the film. All the men are incredibly angry. There's a lot of implied xenophobia/Islamophobia throughout and a lot of similar shots used time and time again.

The use of the fence that separates her and Peter as well as representing another divide in her life. It could have been explored somewhat more; I get the symbolism but it felt like an afterthought/an underdeveloped idea.

The intermittent shots of her imagining 'life on Mars' were very much needed and added some creative depth and colour to the production but ultimately, they didn't do enough to save the film.

It felt like 3 or 4 people had 3 or 4 ideas and couldn't ultimately decide how to amalgamate them into something definitive.

Not sure it was even a wasted opportunity. It wasn't a film about going to Mars. It wasn't a film about relationships. Best way to describe it would be how a young woman lives in her head and is looking for a way out. But like others have suggested... Beige. Grey. Insipid. Lukewarm. Forgettable. And again... Such poor, odd performances from the cast members.

Monk: Mr. Monk on Wheels (2009) Season 7, Episode 11

Monk is a Maniac

[3/10 · 2 October 2019]

I'm sorry but this is WAY TOO OTT.

Monk has his foibles but he's meant to be intelligent and morally good.

There's been many episodes now where he's be shown to be ridiculously stingy and apparently judgemental and full of prejudice. This episode takes his neuroses further.

The ending is ridiculous too. Natalie has handled a gun before and she's not an idiot.

Ever since season 3 or 4 this show went downhill and became a parody of itself.

Amazed it last 8 seasons. I'm only still watching to find out what happened regarding Trudy. We only seem to get one episode a season about this though, the rest of the time it's just slapstick.

The show went downhill becsuse it still tried to be serious when really its been far too silly for a long time.

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus (2007) Season 6, Episode 10

Ridiculous

[4/10 · 30 September 2019]

Monk is a well known, renown police consultant who has single-handedly solved multiple cases for the police! Some guy dresses up as Santa and apparently he can do anything? Monk shot him in self-defence. Why would no-one believe him? Has he shot loads of people before? Is he trigger happy?

Such a rudimentary ploy to suggest everyone becomes a moron at Christmas. It just wouldn't happen. At all.

It would be easy to prove.. Just like ALL THE OTHER CASES THE POLICE SOLVE.

Stupid episode.

Monk: Mr. Monk Is Up All Night (2007) Season 6, Episode 9

Brilliant Episode

[8/10 · 30 September 2019]

Really good, witty, light-hearted episode. Classic Monk at its best. And to the reviewer who said Trudy's corneas wouldn't be viable for donation because of the explosion... Pretty sure at this point we've already been told she was alive after the explosion and spoke to a paramedic for a while before dying. Doesn't specify about her face, but good chance her eyes weren't ruined.

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Wrong Man (2007) Season 6, Episode 8

Impossible to Believe

[1/10 · 29 September 2019]

This episode is so bad I have to write a review as to why. This will contain spoilers.



Monk is told he made a mistake 14 years ago and as a result an innocent man has spent that amount of time locked up. Immediate Monk thinks this to be true. He doesn't even challenge the idea. He just accepts it. WHAT? The whole premise of Monk and what he is does not fall in line with that at all. He questions EVERYTHING.

(As soon as DNA is mentioned everybody just nods and agrees. DNA is far from conclusive in a lot of instances. Why shows like Monk fail to represent this is beyond me).

Apparently the witness has a photographic memory. Monk figures this out the same time we do. I laughed at this scene. As if this wouldn't have been established back then. Craziness. It's clear that Max just isn't a great guy either. Yet Monk is blinded so much by his apparent guilt (which he should be challenging) that he's acting like an idiot.

Randy has to be one of the worst characters on the show and history if television and this episode confirms it. The whole "it wasn't my mistake" got annoying after the second time he said it. It's inconceivable he's a cop. He's so inept and childish... He should not be allowed to use a gun or be in charge of prosecuting anyone.

The wedding scene was truly, truly pathetic. Even if Max was guilty - that was FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. Why would Monk willingly break up a happy couple for this guy? Why is Natalie enabling him so much? And his ex wife just drops this guy she's been with the last 5 years because of a garish tattoo?

Its a shocking episode. Poorly written. Annoying dialogue. Swiss cheese plot holes. It makes no sense.

Half way through season 6 and it feels like we're still in the awful season 5. There has been no direction to this series since season 4 ended. I want to stick around to find out what happened to Trudy and who the killer was but at this rate I'll be skipping to the final episodes.

Really, really poor episode.

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Big Game (2006) Season 5, Episode 3

Don't Watch if You Have a Cat or Value your Sanity

[4/10 · 24 September 2019]

For some reason the writers decided to make Monk weirdly stupid and far more neurotic in season 5. This episode is no exception.

He becomes obsessed with having a whistle. It's infuriatingly annoying. He blows it all the time. The cat went mental as he was near me when I was watching it. Incredibly annoying

And the police KEEP ON questioning Monk. It's far from believable. The guy is a prophet and gets everything right in the end. Randy doubting Monk is laughable - how does he have the authority to do that?

Unbelievable in all.

Game of Thrones: The Last of the Starks (2019) Season 8, Episode 4

Horrible Writing... Yet Again

[1/10 · 6 May 2019]

D&D are clearly in a hurry to get this season and the entire show wrapped up - this is horribly obvious due to how lazy the writing in this show is becoming. Season 8 started mildly (episode 2 was actually one of my favourite GoT episodes) but has always been predictable, lethargic and ultimately simple. The show has turned into a Desperate Housewives with a Dragon and the Neighbour from Hell. And it centres around one man. Yet again. Dany has had her character arc and development ruined by awful writing to further a really simple, basic, poorly construed plot. The last 10 years of a show are being undermined just to wrap everything up. There are so many plot holes and conveniences in this episode... The way episode 3 ended was bad enough but this episode is just a continuation of how poor that was put together. I'm at the point where I don't even really care how it ends anymore. Anything after season 4 is just fan fiction anyway and poor fan fiction at that. I can't wait to read the final books Martin writes and find out what ACTUALLY happens. Poor writing. Convenience. Character development of main characters ruined. Everything simplified. Basic angry people. Wafer thin content. Poor dialogue. And yet again Tyrion is an idiot. Horrendous episode - probably the worst. It's the only one that's ever made me want to write a review here at 6 in the morning on no sleep (other than the Dornish story line although that was so bad it just crippled me with total apathy to be honest). Worst episode in Game of Thrones history. Really, really bad.