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Reviews
Jury Duty (2023)
Hilarious
This is the most original show I have seen in a long time. So many things work so well to make this show a hit. The basic premise is like this. Imagine if they filmed the show "The Office" but hired a normal guy and told him it was an actual workplace. I mention The Office because it has the pacing and humor of that show.
The actors are great, especially the guy that plays the judge and the lady who plays the bailiff.
The other characters are all unique and work together to create a great ensemble. James Marsden rounds out the cast playing an over the top version of himself that has made me laugh out loud. Definitely binge worthy.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Good but not great.
So while I would highly recommend seeing this film in the theaters I would like to state what I thought did and didn't work.
First, the action scenes and fighting choreography was great, but there is sometimes too much of a good thing. The film seemed to be redundant at times as John would fight a bunch of guys for 20 minutes straight then drive to another location and fight a bunch of guys for 20 minutes straight.
The new characters introduced in this film were pretty cool and it was great to see actors like Scott Adkins and Donnie Yen get cast in a major block buster after paying their dues for many years in lesser known films.
The filming location were great and and the cinematography was top notch.
John came across in the film as somewhat one dimensional as he barely spoke 300 words in the nearly 3 hour film, but of course actions speak louder than words.
Personally I would have liked to have seen the film dedicate a little more time to show the history and inner workings of the high table as I have always felt that this mysterious and ritualistic organization really helped make the films unique.
I'm summary, god action film, but missed some opportunities to make it really memorable.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Nice bridge movie.
Although not as good as the first one, this movie stands pretty well on its own. Once you watch the ENTIRE movie (hint) you will understand that this movie serves as a bridge to say goodbye to Chad while introducing us to the future of the Black Panther character.
Not a whole lot of action but there was some terrific acting mainly by Angela Bassett with solid performances from the rest of the cast. I liked the actor who played Namor and I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Winston Duke. Mr Duke has the rare ability to be both an action and comedy performer.
Director Coogler had a very difficult task in directing this movie knowing that there would be a lot of real emotions from the fans on how they dealt with the passing of Chad. I think he handled this perfectly in my opinion. At the end of the day there is nothing you can write in a script to replace Chad.
In summary, solid Marvel movie with great acting and BEAUTIFUL cinematography and musical score. Looking forward to what adventures await the Black Panther in the future.
Willow (2022)
Why all the hate?
First let me state that I am a huge fan of the movie. The thing that worked in the original movie for me was how "cool" the villains were.
I've seen the first 2 episodes of the series and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were able to come up with a new set of original and horrifically cool bad guys.
Aside from the villains, the show puts together a pretty good ensemble of "quest" members. Yea, there is a little bit of the typical Disney wokeness here and there but it doesn't distract from the story. There is also some dialogue from some of the younger cast members that comes across as anachronistic, but it actually comes across as funny.
Really looking forward to seeing what direction this series goes.
Halloween Ends (2022)
Ends not with a bang, but a whimper
Of all the Halloween movies in the franchise, this one has to be the absolute worst. It takes 40 minutes into the movie before Michael makes an appearance and then it's only about 10 seconds or so.
This is NOT a Halloween movie. It's barely a horror movie. The "best" we get is an extremely watered down version of Michael Myers. Towards the middle of the film it sort of goes in this "Natural Born Killers" direction which is completely laughable.
The final battle between good and evil is very anticlimactic and at that point you are just glad the movie is almost over.
What the town and the police do next made me laugh out loud. I understand what the writers were trying to do but it wasn't very well grounded.
I love the Halloween franchise and can watch the movies over and over with the exception of this one.
Andor (2022)
A great sleep aid.
I don't have a lot of time to watch television, less time to devote to a series. With that said, the first episode has to grab my attention. Sadly this one did not. The characters were dull and the plot seemed to lack momentum. I'm sure some people will say "Oh it really gets good by episode 5", but I'm getting tired of seeing about 2 hours of decent entertainment stretched across 10 episodes.
Disney seems to be missing the target by a wide margin lately, especially with Marvel. Obi-Wan was fantastic but this one fell flat for me.
Perhaps when all the episodes drop I'll try to binge watch it on a free weekend.
Day Shift (2022)
Light and Fun
Nothing original as far as the plot goes, but it's worth watching. The Alpha/Beta male odd couple has been done before, but it made for pretty good chemistry.
Snoop Dog and Scott Adkins were good supporting characters, and let's face it, Snoop with a mini-gun will always be fun.
I will give high points to the originality of the action choreography. Old school stunts combined with difficult gymnastic style fight scenes.
Prey (2022)
Pleasantly Surprised
When I realized this was only going to be released on HULU I had my doubts. However, this movie was really well done. In many ways, far superior to the original and the other sequels. Great Direction, Acting, Cinematography and most importantly, EXCELLENT Action Choreography.
For me the original will always be my favorite, but this film is good enough to restart the series. Well done to everyone involved in this project.
Nope (2022)
Should you see this? Nope!
So I think I understand what message the writer / director were trying to say. I took it as the exploitation of animals for profit can have dire consequences. The issue was that this was presented in a "slow burn" fashion.
The story and characters were so dull that I literally almost fell asleep at the halfway point. By the end of the movie I had no emotional investment in any of the characters and didn't care how it would end. I just wanted it to end.
So in summary, great trailer but the movie was sub par horror sci-fi. 2022's version of "Signs".
The Twilight Zone (2019)
Absolute Garbage
The original show had all the elements of a great series. Each episode presented us with mystery, intrigue and shocking twists. None of this can be found in Peele's version.
He basically used the TTZ name to give it recognition. Instead of using talented writers, I get get the feeling they herded a bunch of hacks into a room and said "OK guys, let's tackle this week's social justice issue". They wrote divisive and insulting stories to pander to "the woke crowd". I'm sure they all felt they were making a difference, but this show is just unoriginal tripe. If you want to binge watch TTZ, then watch the original series. After that, watch the original series again instead of this thinly veiled leftist propaganda.
Jungle Cruise (2021)
Gets better as it goes along.
Great family movie. Think of it as Pirates of the Caribbean set in the Amazon. The Rock basically plays the same type of character as usual but it works. Emily Blunt adds class and talent to any project she is attached to so there is another plus for the film. Decent action choreography, but the movie had a surprisingly interesting backstory for the Rock's character that moved the needle from a 6 to a 7 in my opinion.
Unhinged (2020)
Frustrating to watch
A young mother frantically drives all over the city doing everything in her power to ensure that she and her family are killed by a 400 pound Russell Crowe.
Them (2021)
Looked promising but....
I was really looking forward to binge watching this one thinking it would be on the level of a Jordan Peele movie. I could only watch the first two episodes before giving up on it due to it being really boring.
Priest (2011)
It's OK.
Not bad if you accept it for what it is. A crazy Horror-Western-SciFi set in a dystopian future
The Little Things (2021)
Great cast, not so great story.
I'm a huge fan of Denzel, but he didn't have a lot to work with here. Even with the addition of Rami Malek and Jared Leto to the cast, there was just a lack of chemistry and it came off as dull for the most part. The unexpected and thought provoking ending salvaged it from being a "bad" movie. However, I would recommend you watch this at home vs paying for it at the theaters.
WandaVision (2021)
Don't give up on it
I almost quit watching about halfway through the first episode. It seemed kind of silly and over the top. However, this all changes when the show starts to take on dark and perhaps sinister undertones. I think this series will be a mystery that slowly starts to unravel with each episode.
Castle Rock (2018)
Taking a nosedive
This show started out very promising. After the first episode the pace got slower and slower and less interested. Just watched episode 7 and I'm about to give up on it.
It Comes at Night (2017)
Good movie, but I didn't like it.
The movie had a great cast and it was written very well. However my family and I left the theater disappointed. I get what they were going for with regards to the unknown or the unseen sometimes being more scary than what you see and know, but in the end I felt the movie was just missing something to make it actually entertaining. The best way I can describe it is that you will be tense for about 90 minutes or so waiting for something to happen that never really occurs.