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dtatz
Reviews
Almost Human: Are You Receiving? (2013)
This series is off to a good start
This series doesn't pretend to be original, which is just fine. Instead it does a very good job blending familiar concepts.
I like decent sci fi. Now people may complain about material being familiar, but it doesn't mean the material this is borrowing from was done well before. Sci-fi as a genre has an awful lot of garbage.
So this show is fulfilling that role, while being a decent crime drama. But here is what I really appreciate. Rather than being sci-fi by name only, as in we throw cool hi tech devices in there just to look cool, each story, thus far, has tapped into familiar events, while reinterpreting them for how they would be with this future tech. It does this very well, showcasing how advanced technology makes it easier for bad men to do bad things, but also showing how it can help the protagonists.
Simply put, this episode, and the series has good mechanics. I am really liking the chemistry between Urban / Ealy, the visual effects are solid, the comedy generally feels appropriate and not forced and works, and each episode so far seems to try and include bits of substance.
My assessment, it's not a "game changer", instead it's a better crime drama than most crime dramas, and it's better science fiction than a lot of current science fiction. And so long as that continues, I will take it.
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
Where is the line?
Some people might have different ideas of where the line is, but I personally believe that where ever that line is, this movie crossed it. While parts of do have an element of entertaining value, much of the movie spends most of the time trying too hard, and is over the top and just plain stupid or sick. Not worth it.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
So much for quality
This movie reperesents laziness in many ways to me. Even though it does take an awful lot of effort to make a movie, especially one of this flavor and magnitude, it seems Mr Lucas just even trying hard enough. The movie replaces many elements of realism with overly cartoonish CGI. The movie seems to almost fully abandon using real sets and people. The actors spent most of their time in front of a blue screen. To add to it, we are presented with overacting that would struggle to find it's way even into B-movies, which is supremely sad because much of the cast is quite talented. The script in itself, presents a boring, flakey, and shallow love story.
You want fantasy, go check out Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson has it down. Since they least they have some real sets, and use some miniatures, we at least have sense of solidity at what we are watching.