Change Your Image
donatello-28906
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Brilliant start, good twist. Let down by key actors
There are many tributes to the previous movies that are a warm welcome. The future scenes are tight and not overdone. When we travel back in time, we witness some great surprises - but everything stumbles when we meet Sarah Connor - she just isn't the original and doesn't quite pull it off. This "Gi Jane" clone tries way too hard to be far too assertive (the Usual "I'm a woman" tripe that's getting long in the tooth. She almost refuses to be rescued by a man - that was either terrible writing or terrible acting. How idiotic can you get). Maybe she should have paid attention to Linda Hamilton's performance - strong, but avoided the chest thumping "I'm a woman" tripe. Linda's Sarah just got on with things. Kyle compounds this situation by playing the equally awkward counter to Sarah, their relationship dysfunctional and annoying to watch. It was almost as if he wasn't sure how to play opposite an over the top Gi Jane - and who can blame him. Arnie did a great job - vulnerable and fallible. He was fantastic - not what I expected. Jason Clarke as John Connor was great in the first 30 minutes only. Again, his behavior becomes dysfunctional and unnatural. The special effects were fantastic. You really couldn't fault them if you tried. It's a shame that 3 of the 4 main actors didn't gel. Gi Jane was the weakest of the bunch. Definitely worth watching. If a sequel is made, drop the female Rambo cliché, fix the relationships and keep the great sfx up.
Yonderland (2013)
Missing the mojo of Horrible Histories
It takes a lot of work to create a good series. The cast is great, but the show is bogged down by several things that Horrible Histories mostly avoided. The first issue is the lack of development of characters. No one changes, no one learns. After watching 12 episodes, very little has happened. I've learned nothing, nor have the characters in the show. The second issue is that Debbie is supposedly super smart and all the male characters are stupid. This makes Debbie quite 1 dimensional (compare to her husband who is just plain stupid and constantly subservient as one example). She comes across as condescending (as another reviewer pointed out). It's a shame because she was far more diverse in Horrible Histories - breaking "modern gender stereotypes" that, surprisingly, this show suffers greatly from (summary: woman perfect, smart: men stupid. Same stereotype for the last 20 years). The show could also benefit from dropping the naked gags (or at least evolving them). One of the few gags that really hit the spot was the references to celebrities in the Sherlock Holmes style episode. The who-dun-nit was the best laugh I'd had in the series. Puppeteering and sets are diverse and look good. Needs to drop the stereotypes/sexism and be a little less condescending and a little more risk taking. If the writers aren't careful, Political Correctness will kill the series, as will the lack of a story arc.
Free Birds (2013)
Definitely under rated
This film isn't a classic. However, it's a totally reasonable popcorn flick. Other than some unnecessary stereotyping of American Indians, it's actually quite fun. Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson play off each other beautifully, creating some good laughs. There's also a good cameo from George Takei as a sassy time machine. Things get a little off-beat at times - there's a scene with a flame thrower and another with a sacred time knob. These scenes will either make you laugh or roll your eyes. The movie could have done with a little trimming to pick up the pace, but it's otherwise a solid movie. Definitely worth watching. I would recommend this for younger kids, or those looking for some light-hearted entertainment. While not as good as your average Pixar or Miyazaki, it's no trash either.
Horrible Histories (2009)
Fantastic! It broke the mold on children's television
for years, I've cringed at TV programming for children. Either the content is boring, politically correct or has no educational value. Horrible Histories is educational, funny and takes risks. It's also wonderful to see great representation by men and women in a balanced way (it's almost unheard of ... Although I'm turning a blind eye to the sexist "girl power" song that never should have been included - if you're not willing to say boy power, don't do girl power: you just demoralize young boys by doing so). The acting and writing is excellent. The historical facts are both fascinating and humorous. As a parent, my 10 year old squirmed through a number of gags (which is good - it is "horrible" after all). I often had to explain how things were mis-represented (eg. Caligula wasn't an idiot - he was very dangerous. People would have taken his lunatic ideas seriously for fear of death). Another example was the "take a seat" gag for the Stone Age sketches. I felt the need to dispel the fallacy that Stone Age means stupid. That's simply modern arrogance that we are only smart today. I was very happy to see a later episode showed Stone Age as not-so-stupid. Also, the show harps on about Vikings killing monks - it got very repetitive after the same point was repeated continually. But, don't let these small details put you off. The acting and writing is brilliant. It gets kids interested in history. It challenges our understanding of our ancestors. It's very entertaining for young and old. If you love Monty Python, you'll almost certainly love Horrible Histories. Keep an eye out for Master Chef, Tudors and Ancient Greece. The series deserves all the accolades it's been given.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005)
I don't know if it's possible to make a better children's TV series
Wow, wow, wow! What a brilliant piece of writing. A fantasy world, 4 elemental groups, a genius story arc with characters who develop and learn in a totally believable way. Ambiguous characters like Zuko and Azula who are not your stereotypical heroes or villains. The first few episodes are the weakest part of the series. The voice acting and writing picked up very quickly. There are so many great characters: Zuko, Azula, Iroh, Toph - even Sokka (the comic relief) was fantastic. If you were to let your kids watch 1 series, it would be a coin toss between fraggle rock and the last air bender. The last air bender has more violence - but the acting and story are so brilliant, it's hard to pass this one up. The writers went onto a second series (legend of Korra). It was good, but I can't help feel the writers lost the plot by comparison to this series. I can't recommend this show enough: my first rating of 10/10. As close to perfect as you can get.