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Strange Days (1995)
Strange Y2K Days
Well, this was one big mess of a movie but I found it enjoyable. I did not see the movie when it came out back in 1995 but stumbled across it in my internet wanderings recently. I bought a DVD on eBay and fired it up like it was 1999.
The actors all carried this movie as the plot was confusing, especially how things worked out in the drawn out ending. Ralph Fiennes was excellent and Angela Bassett was fantastic. Juliette Lewis was great as well even though her character's actions at the end were inexplicable to me. Oh well, it's a movie, right? Also, you could pretty much figure out who the bad guy was well before the crazy reveal. If you enjoy big, over-the-top crazy movies then check this one out.
The movie also scored nostalgia points for me since I was working in downtown LA back in those days. In fact, I had to give up my tickets to see the Eagles at Staples Center on NYE 1999 because I had to do system testing for Y2K. A bitter memory that I recall 25 years later! Lol.
Who Is Erin Carter? (2023)
Quien es Erin Carter
I went into this series expecting the worst. A far-fetched plot featuring the usual tough, short, skinny woman punching dudes and flipping them over her shoulder. It is all that but Evin Ahmad does a great job with the role so it's actually an enjoyable watch. It's wacky as hell but the cast puts an earnest effort into it and they are a likable bunch. It was a bit odd seeing Douglas Henshall playing a bad guy after watching him in Shetland, though.
I thought Ms. Ahmad looked familiar so I looked her up on IMDb and saw that she was in that series The Rain. That one started off good but faded badly by the second season. No fault of Ms. Ahmad's, though.
They could've used a better continuity reviewer on this show. Erin Carter is chased through a hospital and she dons dark green hospital garb. Later, they show wearing a teal green nurse uniform and the bandage on her arm has changed. Doh!
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: Alouette (2023)
Les Morts-Vivants
The change in scenery to France is rather amusing but enjoyable. There are a lot of improbable happenings; nuns fighting off armed men, a weird kid born of a zombified mother, a group of kids living on their own who watch Mork & Mindy, etc. Still, it's a good change and features some nice scenery. Better than the dreary goings on in Fear the Walking Dead.
The writers can't help themselves, though, as they drift into gender and race issues. A white, stereotypical hick from Texas is introduced who is hoarding all the supplies in a castle from the diverse, female-led kids school. A guy from Texas in post-apocalyptic France? The standard "bad guy" for today's show writers must travel to distant lands. As another reviewer points out, the kids don't even move into the superior supplied and defensible castle but stay at their holistic school. Then there's the jerk boyfriend, or whoever he is, that wants to dump the pregnant sister. Sigh...
Despite the goofy stuff, though, I'm actually enjoying this season. The flintlock rifles are a nice touch, too. Lol.
Invasion (2021)
Invasion of the Vanities
I watched the entire first season and just finished the first episode of the second season. As other reviewers have astutely pointed out, it seems like the more recent episodes were written by the same people that wrote The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. A diverse cast making bad decisions as they navigate the post-invasion apocalypse. This is Sharknado-level entertainment.
There are some really dumb scenes like in the opener of S2 E1 where the Japanese scientist is running down the street pulling Molotov cocktails out of her tight shirt and chucking them at the aliens with great effect. Those cocktails are kind of sloppy so she'd be covered in accelerant, especially with three of them tucked away. Meanwhile, no one else seems to have caught on that fire is an effective weapon.
Then she petulantly pitches another fit (she does this a lot) when the corporate baddies pick her up in a helo. Like she was going to turn the tide pulling more magic firebombs out of her running suit?
In another scene, the dopey, brat son tiptoes to the Army truck to steal gas in front of a platoon of Army guys. How did they last this long? Their insane mother won't even let them rest a few days in a comfy house. At the end of the episode, the hostile scientist woman is mind-melding with the alien, who I imagine will have some of her lover's awareness so maybe she can strike a deal to save Mankind, er, Womankind. "She's the only one on the planet who can save us..."
There are no adults in the room anymore writing these shows. The writers are not schooled in classical literature. They know nothing of character development. They have no practical experience in life aside from gazing at their smart phones and spouting slogans. This is frustrating because we live in an era where these shows are delivered in amazing 4K with great sound. Unfortunately, the product shown is inferior.
Having droned on like that, I like SciFi so I watch it anyway. I guess I'm part of the problem, eh? Whaddya gonna do?
65 (2023)
Wut
I liked this movie better than most reviewers so maybe I'm the problem. Anyway, I thought it was a decent film, kinda like the cheesy stuff I used to watch in the '70s and '80s. I think they blew it on one plot point, though, and that was the death of Driver's daughter. They show him leaving his planet in order to make money for his daughter's life-saving medical procedure. Then, halfway through, they reveal that the daughter died. Uh, why would they throw that in there in a movie that seems like it's striving for a PG rating? It would have been better for their target audience if he and the girl escape earth and then it ends with Koa and his daughter playing together in the surf. Where did the wife go? He takes off on a multi-year run after his daughter dies? Kind of "Netflix-style" writing, if you ask me. But who asked me? Have a good movie summer, everybody...
Karppi (2018)
Krappi
As others have eloquently pointed out, Season 3 was a bit of a disappointment. They threw in so many plot twists that directly involved the characters personal lives that it stretched the limits of credulity. This took away from the main plot of the psycho murderer. By the end of the show, I had a hard time remembering why the bad guy decided to murder all these folks in the first place.
Still, it beats most of the stuff out there on Netflix so I'm still giving it an 7. I know, it doesn't make sense but I like this show even when they goof it up a bit. Looking forward to Season 4 and the next cool car that Nurmi will be driving!
The Northman (2022)
The Bellowing Northman
This wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I hated The Lighthouse so I was expecting the worst. The Icelandic scenery was great. Still, we've all seen better sagas, me thinks....
Joe Pickett (2021)
Where have you gone, Joe Picket?
I've read a few of the books, including the one this series is based on. The characters are not like anything I imagined while reading the books. I made it through 5 1/2 episodes before I had to stop, after Joe took another beating.
In the series, Joe Picket is a near moron, gently guided by his intelligent, loving wife who sees him through one ass kicking after another. It's a miracle he hasn't been killed yet as he bumbles his way through a town full of vindictive hayseeds.
Joe is a guy who meticulously puts together his uniform but then wears his hat like a character in Hee Haw. He's haunted by flashbacks to his abuse-filled childhood. He stumbles his way through the day, endangering all those around him. The Joe in the books is a competent leader.
The usual liberal tropes apply here. The wrongly jailed black man, the pregnant lawyer wife fighting for the downtrodden, the incompetent, halfwit white male protagonist and a town full of evil white men. It could have been a lot better than this turned out. The author, C. J. Box, is an executive producer on the show. He could've had them stick more to the books more but, clearly, he's taking the money and running...
Lastly, I've noticed that these Paramount+ shows get an inordinate amount of positive reviews. The studio, no doubt, hires or encourages it's employees to talk up the shows. No way is this one a 7.2. To quote The Dude, "you have to see who benefits..."
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: A Quality of Mercy (2022)
Jim Carrey as James T. Kirk
As I watched this episode, there was something about the guy playing Captain Kirk that seemed familiar. After the show ended, it came to me. This guy was cast for his resemblance to Jim Carrey who, in the show "In Living Color", played Captain Kirk in a skit called "The Wrath of Farrakhan." Check it out on YouTube...
I have watched the entire season and finally came to the conclusion that us old Star Trek TOS fans are just being trolled. An expensive, elaborate troll job of epic proportions. Congratulations to Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet for this astounding achievement.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: All Those Who Wander (2022)
Gorn Flakes
This episode lost me from the outset. The Enterprise goes looking for a missing starship that had sent out a garbled distress call. What does Captain Pike do? He splits his forces by sending the Enterprise off on a delivery mission while he takes two shuttle crafts down to the planet, a planet that masks comm signals. Pike takes some key staff but also takes along some rookies.
What commander is his right mind would do that? An entire starship with 99 people on board disappears and you send off the mothership? No support if you get into a jam? The writing on these shows seems like it's done by a bunch of TikTok generation kids with short attention spans. There's no thought given to logic, just scenes thrown together to create tension or something...
Of course, we're treated to another scene of Spock struggling with his human side after he loses it beating up the side of a wall with no Gorn in sight. At least he got a hug from the fetching Nurse Chapel. Lucky guy...
The Ipcress File (2022)
Bloody Good Show!
I liked it rather a lot really. The series looked great with top notch video quality and sound. The homage to the original camera angles and all was fun as was the period costume and cars.
I thought the actors all did a great job, including Lucy Boynton. I see some reviewers criticized her here, which is unfounded. She is a talented actress who happens to be a beautiful, blue-eyed blond. What are ya? A bunch of fairies?
As usual these days, the creators of this version turned the bad guys into the Americans rather than the Brits in the original movie. The main villain is now an American Air Force officer, a radical Christian with overtones of racism who got off on fire bombing Tokyo. Sigh... Meanwhile, the Soviets were portrayed as calm and rational. Who won the Cold War again?
After the fourth episode, I bought the Kino Lorber blu-ray of the original movie. It was great, an excellent video upgrade with some nice extras. Michael Caine was was terrific and the blu-ray had a funny interview with him. I would highly recommend this blu-ray to fans of the original.
Anyway, this series deviated from the original in a lot of ways. It downplayed Harry's role into more of a victim and elevated Jean's role and that of the CIA guys. The usual Hollywood stuff, trying to make a show based on a 1960s movie match modern entertainment standards. Whaddya gonna do?
Sorry to prattle on a bit. Still, despite it's shortcomings, I enjoyed it. Cheers!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Serene Squall (2022)
The Serene Squallor
The Enterprise enters a dangerous area of space and Captain Pike summons their new passenger, Captain Angel, to come to the bridge but she's not responding to hails. Instead of sending a red shirt, they send Spock like he's an errand boy off to find her. It turns out that Captain Angel was dancing to loud music so she didn't hear the calls. No wonder she left Starfleet. They probably booted her out...
Later, the Enterprise manages to escape a Tholian Web of sorts, thanks to Spock's efforts. Spock is understandably stressed out but Captain Angel and the rest of the bridge crew wise crack and grin their way through it like they're on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise. After this crisis, Captain Angel goes to Spock's cabin and tells him he's stressed because he's confused about his identity. She advises him that he's neither Vulcan nor Human but both. Right, got it... Thanks. The Enterprise could've blown up but it's Spock's identity crisis is causing the stress.
Intermittently, Spock's nagging wife T'Pring shows up to yap at him about his human identity. It is not logical...
Lazy writing emerges as T'Pring just happens to be in charge of a penal colony where Spock's half-bro is imprisoned. They use this "plot twist" to get Spock and Nurse Chapel to kiss, revealing their true feelings for each other.
Meanwhile, Captain Pike beams over to the pirate ship with his entire command staff and is promptly captured. This leads to the Enterprise being boarded and commandeered by a small band of pirates. How does this happen? Then, we're supposed to believe that Pike and the gang talked themselves out of their captivity. More lazy writing...
I would recommend that Pike be relieved of command and give Number One a shot at it. The Enterprise is run by wise-cracking women anyway so let's give them a shot at it!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach (2022)
Where the Suffering Reaches the Viewers
Captain Buster Poindexter gets bamboozled by his long lost paramour, a sneaky alien who uses her charms to get him to look the other way while they pursue a brilliant little boy that they want to use for something horrible in their bizarro world. Captain Pike "gets some" but later objects when he finds out what up. Angrily shaking his pompadour, Pike throws himself about but ultimately fails in saving the child. As the episode ends, he's having a drink while staring at the stars, the boy left to his miserable fate. I thought Pike should've been relieved of duty after letting the Gorn get the jump on him but he definitely should lose his command over this mess. No way would Captain Kirk have stood for this nonsense!
Moonfall (2022)
Bad Moon Risin'
The movie looked and sounded great in IMAX. Unfortunately, it wasn't as fun as The Day After Tomorrow or 2012. Of course, the movie is over-the-top but it skips stuff like how did they know a character was at a certain location, etc. The story jumped all over the place. Oh well, I hope the next disaster movie is better...
La nuit a dévoré le monde (2018)
Ennui
I thought the zombie apocalypse would weed out the morons first. Apparently, not in France. C'est la vie!
Prey (2021)
Das Woods
The woman walks around in the woods with her bolt action rifle at sling arms and the boys don't make a run at her. The scenery was nice.