Change Your Image
leonardwatson212
Reviews
Terra Nova (2011)
Great premise with lots of potential...
First let me say that all of you out there who instantly rate any new show as bad simply because it is a repackaging of a familiar story need to get a life. There is nothing new under the sun. Yes, this story is a combination of several other stories that have been done in the past every show, movie, song, etc is. Get over it.
Now with that said let's talk about this show specifically. Terra Nova is part Avatar, part Star Trek, and part Jurassic Park. In general, I found it to be enjoyable and extremely high on the entertainment value. There is enough action to keep you from getting bored, enough mystery to keep you asking why, and enough drama to tie it all together.
The low points: The show starts in what appears to be a post apocalyptic Chicago. There is very little background on how things got the way they are, what life is like in this time and place, and what the rules for living in this time and place are. You are kind of just thrown in to the middle and have to try and figure it all out. In the first part of the show one of the main character gets caught breaking a law that was never explained and ends up in a maximum security prison. Then almost instantly two years pass and he some how breaks out of this maximum security prison and into a high security building where he is going to be transported to Terra Nova with his family. There was way too little story/character development in this part. How exactly did he escape from the prison without getting caught? Where did all the money that was left to him come from? How did he evade security and get into the transport building? The writers really scrimped on the details of this part and could have made it a much better show if they had spent a little more time developing this pre-story. Another hole is just before the son leaves we see him talking through a window to some girl, apparently a girlfriend, he developed at some point but there is no explanation, just a tearful and reluctant goodbye. The trip from the future to the past is a bit anti-climatic as is the arrival in the past where you are left with a lot of questions and very few answers. Apparently, this is a one way trip with no return option but there is never any discussion as to why. Upon arrival the adjustment to a new life is a bit sketchy and moves a long just a bit too fast. There appears to be some kind of unresolved problem between the main character and his wife that has not yet been revealed. The main character goes from being punished for being a stowaway to being honored and reinstated as a cop/security officer way too quickly and with way too little difficulty.
The high points: The special effects are pretty good for a TV show. This is not a high budget movie it is a TV series so with that in mind I found the special effects to be pretty good. The characters are for the most part believable and realistic. The teenage son is a typical adolescent looking for independence and the actor plays it well. There is some sort of mystery surrounding a group of people who all came in one of the pilgrimages and are now exiles called sixers, it has yet to be revealed exactly who they are and why they have been exiled. This is part of the mystery that gives this show great potential. Another mystery revolves around the leader of Tera Nova, how he survived alone for 118 days before the others arrived, and his missing and apparently delusional yet brilliant son. There is the obligatory boy leaves girl boy meets new girl story but the New girl has some mystery surrounding her as well that could potentially lead to an interesting sub-plot. The dinosaurs are new twists on the classic dinosaurs from the fossil record. They are friendly and ferocious depending on species. It will be interesting to see how the people learn to live with the dino's. The action sequences are very well done and often have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
Overall: There are some things that could have been done better and this is a repackaging of an age old story but it is very entertaining and well worth the time it took to watch. I think that the show has the potential to turn into a real success and draw a huge following from sci-fi fans. There is something there for almost everyone. I will be intrigued to see how it plays out through the first season. If you have not given it a chance yet tune in and check it out. If your are one of the many who hate it just because it is not "original" then plug yourself back into the matrix and go back to sleep not everything has to be brand new to be good.
The Producers (2005)
Another film that should have been left on the cutting room floor
I actually wasted over 2 hours of my time watching this horrible film. Someone loaned it to my wife so we watched it the other night. It was awful. If I could give it less than 1 out of 10, I would.
What made it so awful? First, the story was constantly interrupted by excessively long musical numbers that added little or nothing to the film. Now I realize that this was supposed to be a musical, but in a good musical the music tells part of the story, or at least enhances part of the story. In this case the musical numbers went on forever and added nothing to the story line. In several cases I ended up fast forwarding through many of them because they never seemed to end.
The story itself could have been an interesting one but it could have been told in about 1/4 of the time this film took. The "jokes/humor" and I use those words lightly, were not very funny and lacked any connection to intelligent humor. The entire sequence of the homosexuality of the director and his entourage detracted from the movie only making it more revolting by portraying homosexuality as acceptable.
In the end I expected much more from Matthew Broderick and Uma Thurman. If I were them I would be embarrassed by the fact that my name was attached this this fiasco.
There were virtually no redeeming qualities to this film and it should be avoided at all costs. It was not even entertaining. Mostly it was an endless bore that occasionally touched on the revolting.
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006)
Academy Award Winner - No, Funny -Yes!
OK, so this is not going to win any awards for being a great movie or a great screenplay, or pretty much a great anything. However, if you like Larry the Cable Guy and redneck humor you're going to love this film. It is Larry at his best. It is predictable and filled with some of Larry's classics, fart jokes, his sister, being a redneck, playing dumb. But hey that is what Larry is all about. If you do not like Larry's stand up routines or Blue Collar Comedy routines you will not enjoy this film. In the genre of dumb comedy, this is one of the best. All-in-all, if you want a great laugh this will do it if you want to see a great film rent Doctor Zhivago.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Leave the Ewoks at home...
This could have been a great film and could have brought the Star Wars trilogy to a find end. Unfortunately, Hollywood had to bring in the Ewoks. Cute, furry, little singing and dancing critters who's only contribution to the film was to give the retailers something to sell really made the final installment of the star wars trilogy a film to be avoided. Had they simply left them as an alien race that helped Luke and his friends they would have been fine but Hollywood and the licensing groups got together and turned them into something entirely unnecessary. Unfortunately, the Ewoks caused this film to fall from what it could have been to what it ended up being: A commercial for action figures and teddy bears.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
One of the worst movies ever made...
If I could give this film a negative 10 it would not begin to describe how horrible it is. There is little to no plot, the story never resolves, and it jumps around in time and sequence so much that it is impossible to make any sense out of it. I fail to see why so many people actually like this film, and why it continues to get great reviews. The only thing this film offers is a lot of graphic violence and blood throughout the entire movie (the only thing that Quentin Tarantino is good for). When you finally do reach the end you find yourself wondering why in the world you just wasted so much time. Time that could have been better spent cleaning your sock drawer.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
An OK movie if you enjoy British humor...
For the most part I do not find the very dry, insulting, and abrasive humor of Great Britian to be very funny. Most British comedies (and I use the word comedy lightly) are anything but funny. Monty Python is no exception. The vast majority of the movie is slapstick and dry. However, there are a few really great lines that come from this film. If you have some time to waste and want to see the only Monty Python movie that is worth wasting your time to see, then watch this one. However, should you miss this film the only thing you will really be missing out on are the constant repeating of the few good lines from this film by other people you know.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Yet another worthless effort by Tarantino...
Unlike most of Tarantino's films this one I would not give a negative rating to. It shares all of the things that I hate about his other films (bouncing around in time & sequence, unnecessary blood & violence, no plot and no resolution) with the rest of his films, but for some reason this one does not make me want to sort my socks instead. I would still say that you should not waste your time watching this movie unless you really just want to waste time. The only redeeming quality of this film is that you can watch this one film and and you will have just seen every Quentin Tarantino movie ever made, because they are all the same. Just be sure that you can handle the violence and the blood because that is about all you are going to get from this film.
CrossBones (2005)
In a tie for the worst movie ever made...
It is very unusual for me to really hate a movie. I can usually find some redeeming quality in every film. Even if the plot sucks and the acting is atrocious it is usually high on the entertainment value. This movie has no redeeming qualities and now occupies a tie for the worst movie every made with The Pirate Movie. Aside from trying to take off on the worst idea TV people ever came up with (Reality TV) this movie contains nothing to even hold your interest. Even the scenes of Redblood killing the contestants is not believable. Further, there is no point to his killing because it is never clearly portrayed in the film why he is killing everyone. The contestant interviews are pure filler with no purpose in the film and even the beginning of the film that is supposed to set the stage is boring. Additionally, the brags of the movie having a lot of T&A shots are grossly exaggerated. There is one scene in the beginning of the movie where a woman's breasts are briefly visible. After that all "T&A" shots are of moderately attractive women in bikini's. Do yourself a favor and do not waste your time or money on this film.