robertka1 Reviews

Knightfall (2017–2019)

Very entertaining and enjoyable

[10/10 · 10 February 2018]

I have just read other members' reviews and I am astonished at the so-called critics. I must a question here to all those people who criticized the History Channel and Knightfall: do you people watch a movie or TV series to have a good time and enjoy it, or do you simply watch looking for mistakes and errors? I have studied ancient and medieval history in depth in university in France and I honestly couldn't care less about inaccuracies in movies and TV.

Do you remember when you were a kid and went to the movies to watch Knights of the Round Table, Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward, Prince Valiant, Robin Hood, etc etc? You just enjoyed the movie and thought about it for days afterwards. Well, folks, why can't you simply just enjoy Knightfall for the action, the drama, the adventure, the mystery and all those things that make this series memorable?

For some strange reason, people try to get attention by revising history and correcting "facts". After all, how many series has anyone seen lately on the Crusades, the Roman Empire, on Knights and damzels in distress.Let's just enjoy that series.

Crossing Lines (2013–2015)

How to ruin a great show

[7/10 · 9 January 2018]

I gave here a rating of 7 out of 10 because of the horrible season 3 which ruined everything. Had this been for season 1 and 2, I would have given it a 9 out 10.

In most action series, there is a member of the team that is killed at some point and that is realistic. Unfortunately, in this short-lived series, it seems the director or the writers decided all of a sudden that the show should have a completely new face. A never-heard of proposition. What do they do for that? Eva goes off in Spain in search of her father, she is inexplicably scared and then we assume that she is killed. No explanation. Hickman decides he's leaving after that case. A therapist fatally shoots Louis and, strangely enough, Hickman asks her to call an ambulance. Season ends.

When Season 3 starts, you don't know who's who and again there is no explanation. I honestly thought I was accidentally watching a different show. This 3rd season is the pits. We get an unknown to the show (Elizabeth Mitchell) to be the head of the team even though she seems lost, miscast and not belonging there. Other members have no chemistry between them, they look like they were thrown together for no reason, seem uneasy in their role and the only explanation you get is the odd remark every now and then, if you can catch it. I sadly and regretfully switched to another show.

NCIS (2003– )

Season 14 (Spoilers)

[7/10 · 3 May 2017]

Am I the only one thinks that Season 14 is lacking something N.C.I.S. used to have? I am kind of disappointed with this season. Sure, I watch each and every episode and look forward to the next, but; somehow or other, the action seems to revolve less about homicides and N.C.I.S. purpose and more on the personal relationships of its members. Furthermore, the cases that N.C.I.S. got this whole season seem to be very lame compared to the cases from previous seasons. I am writing this because I noticed that while watching the episodes of this season, if I get a phone call, I pause the recording to answer the phone, while in the past, I would let the call go to voicemail so as not to interrupt my watching. I feel that the departures of Cote de Pablo, first, followed by Michael Weatherly took something from the show and that whatever was lost has not yet been replaced. Ducky has fewer lines while Palmer seems to get more attention and is just as funny. Abby is Abby and McGee is not as prominent as before. In my opinion, I feel that the writers seem to also have lost their touch.

This really saddens me because last year, I bought the DVD's for all the seasons which I had missed, and I remember binge-watching them like there was no tomorrow. Let's just hope that things pick up for the next couple of episodes or for next season.

NCIS: A Many Splendored Thing (2017) Season 14, Episode 16

2 goofs (Spoilers)

[9/10 · 23 February 2017]

As always, I LOVE this series and look forward to it each and every week. 2 goofs surprised me in this episode: the first one is when they show the victim's first name as RENEÉ. René is a French name for boys. When it is used for girls, a muted e is added, making it RENÉE with the accent on the first E and not on the second E. Even though this is a goof, it is really mild when compared to the second one.

The second and very strange goof is when Bishop, after handcuffing Chen to the pipes, declares that she got the program Chen had had done to blow up the tower and she pulls out from her purse a FLOPPY disk! She then proceeds to insert it in a slot in a green metal concoction on the wall, goes outside to meet the rest of the team and the whole building with the tower and Chen inside blows up.

As a certified tech, this reminds me of some of the movies in the early 90's where secret agents would be fighting over incredible massive data and files and everything would incredibly enough would be on a floppy disk. First of all, floppy disks only hold 1.44 Mb, enough for a small document. A program Bishop refers to would need a lot more than a floppy to be carried around. Secondly, even if you had enough on a floppy, which is still impossible, you would have execute that program on a computer. Bishop just shoves it in a slot and the thing runs by itself. But the best in all of that is that Bishop is technically inclined, why would she use an antique floppy disk from the early 90's in 2017???

Criminal Minds (2005– )

When key characters are replaced, you are playing with fire (Spoilers)

[8/10 · 20 November 2016]

I was watching some episodes of Season 12 when I noticed the absence of Thomas Gibson. The story line that he is not coming back sounded a little strange. Then I read here all sorts of pros and cons on the firing of Thomas. Surprisingly enough, and coming from "pros" is that CBS/ABC Studios seem to have only taken a look at a little corner instead of the entire picture.

I have watched each and every episode of the entire series since Season 1 and one of the strengths of CM is the great chemistry that existed between the cast members. Sure, some agents came and went but that was OK because the main characters were always there. The resignation of Mandy Patinkin was a hard kick in the main structure of the show but, thankfully, Rossi's arrival "fixed" it.

Then, Shemar Moore left and you could tell there was some kind of gap somewhere. Now, Thomas Gibson was fired and swiftly replaced by Paget Brewster. What is a very weak link here is the fact that Emily Prentiss has been working for Interpol for awhile and she was over in pursuit of a criminal. Realistically, agencies like the FBI don't simply grab an agent from another agency PLUS puts him/her in charge of a division. There is something called courtesy between agencies of allied countries. It would have made a lot more sense, since Rossi did not want the position, to give it to JJ, a regular field agent with seniority from the beginning.

A structure can only take some many kicks to its heart before it crumbles. Ratings are unfortunately weakening, fans are boycotting it and Season 13 is a huge question mark. The stupid CBS/ABC Studios and their executives should have thought of that instead of their idiotic macho pride. Sometimes "pros" do not stand up to their title.

The X-Files: Home Again (2016) Season 10, Episode 4

Hard to decide (spoilers)

[7/10 · 9 February 2016]

I loved the original X-Files and watched the vast majority of the episodes whenever my time allowed it. Last year, I bought the complete series and enjoyed it a lot, sometimes even watching some episodes again.

I was delighted when I heard that X-Files was going to be back; however, so far I am a bit let down. Why? Because, unlike the original episodes where there was always action, plus exciting cat-and-mouse plots, where the excitement was ever present that you didn't want to even pause, this season is a little strange.

First off, there is a lot less action and thrills. Mulder and Scully sort of take turns talking about the past, about their personal problems, about whether they should have accepted to come back. So much so that they seem to be doing the viewer a favour to be present. Take episode 4 for example, a lot of time is spent on Scully being present with her mom. Events are taking place; yet, she is at the hospital and is soon joined by Mulder. Agreed, Scully's mother having a heart attack is exceptional I felt that too much time was spent on that. I got the impression that "The X-Files" was changed to "The X-Files: a Reality Show". Still, I am going to continue watching this season in the hope that the writers decide to let go of the nostalgia for Mulder and Scully and turn toward more excitement. Why, you ask? 'cause I Believe . . . .

Richard the Lionheart: Rebellion (2015)

Pitiful confusion (spoilers)

[2/10 · 17 January 2016]

I always enjoy movies about the crusades, medieval wars and vikings; therefore, when I saw this title, I checked the rating and couldn't believe that it would be so low. Maybe it was rated by members who did not appreciate this kind of movies. Man, was I ever wrong!

First of all, nothing makes sense. The whole premise is excruciatingly amateurish. At the beginning, someone sees a wolf, as if that has some meaning; however, it does not. Are they imitating Game of Thrones? At around 37:00 minutes, the lord and his imposed guest enter the castle from the main door. A couple of minutes later, the exact same scene is shown again with the same dialogue!! Was the editor smoking something? Towards the end, during the battle between Wilhelm and Richard, Wilhelm swings the sword around in preparation for the fight and you are shown the scenery around them in a crazy, twisted way FROM THE SWORD POINT OF VIEW as if the sword could see while being swung around!! All the female actresses showed their nudity, this had nothing to do with the plot. Was that to add sizzle? Finally, the volume of the music score. To give some depth(?) to the story, all of a sudden the volume is increased very loudly. Bottom line, a very confusing plot and dialogue. King Louis, trying to sound French, sounded more like he had a Jewish accent! I could go on and on.

I give this amateurish movie a rating of 2 for the many extras who wasted their time on this video (what else can you call it) and who I hope got paid.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

A really enjoyable movie (spoiler)

[8/10 · 10 January 2016]

Now, that's what I call a nail-biting movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat during the entire time. You watch intensely and you don't want to miss any syllable of what every one mutters.

I normally don't like stories that go back in time in the middle of the plot. It's like the writers forgot to fill you in somewhere in the story telling and are trying to explain why. However, in this movie, Tarantino fills in the gaps in a very clever way that adds to the mystery. You sense that no one trusts anybody and you ask yourself how they are going to last a couple of days, waiting for the end of the storm, locked all together. You further sense the tension which is so thick that you can touch it. Even the ending chapter keeps you trying to guess how it will all end.

This is a real masterpiece by Tarantino. I highly recommend it.

The Gift (VI) (2015)

Very frustrating and aggravating movie ***Spoilers***

[1/10 · 31 October 2015]

I do not know if I hated Bateman in this movie because I much prefer him in a comedic role or simply because of his role in this production.

First of all, after 2 or 3 evenings together with food and wine, most people more or less know some things about their guests. You would think that Jason, deeply involved in security, would have developed some sense of security for himself and his family; but No. Were they all drinking so much and enjoying each other's company that nothing about themselves was discussed? I find that extremely strange. Normally, when you meet someone from your past, obviously one of the first questions is normally something like "What have you been doing" or such. Here, Gordo said that he had a short stint with the Armed Forces and that's it. They have not seen each other for 20 years and obviously, he couldn't have been with the Armed Forces that long so the next question would have been about the rest of the time. Think about it a little: spend 2 or 3 evenings together with your wife and a friend you have not seen in 20 years. The vast, vast majority of people meeting people with whom they were in school MUST REMEMBER SOMETHING from that time. Were they all that shallow that no one speaks of the past??

Secondly, Robyn invites Gordo in their house the first time. That is normal courtesy. But then, he comes again and again. She's alone and nervous; yet, she lets him in!! Where do you see people inviting those that make them nervous and edgy into their house when they are alone? Is she that much of a bobo head that she cannot come up with an excuse to close the door?

Thirdly, when they are invited to Gordo's "house", they behave like children: Simon's obscene gestures and their going through drawers even though Gordo could see them from outside and he said he was being absent "for a couple of minutes"!!

Fourthly, how can Gordo kidnap their dog? People moving to a new place don't let their dog run loose because he is not yet familiar with the area and can easily get lost.

My wife and I walked out swearing before the end of the performance. Some people here gave this thing a 6 or a 7 rating: what were they smoking?

Dancer and the Dame (2015)

Chee-e-e-e-e-esy-y-y-y-y-y (spoiler)

[3/10 · 26 July 2015]

I have had German Shepherds for over 50 years and I love to watch any movie involving German Shepherds. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these movies are corny, cheesy and all the related adjectives you can think of: but, I like to give all productions a chance. Well, guess what! Dancer and the Dame joins that group! My wife fell asleep within 15 minutes. Every actor and actress tries very hard but fails to have a convincing part. They all seem like they are repeating without any feeling what they have memorized, just like robots. Sometimes we watch "Mike and Molly" and we thought that Billy Gardell was possibly going to bring some degree of comedy to this supposedly action movie. Big letdown! Sadly, I believe the only actor who got me to sit up and pay attention was the dog. When compared to the others, he was natural, interesting, awake and not looked bored or suffering through a flat and unconvincing dialogue. There were so many ridiculous situations that I lost track. Here are some: Dancer reportedly gained 89 lbs; yet, no picture of him before that gain, even Photoshopped. He goes to meet the therapist at her house, where do you ever see that??? If you know dogs, you can see that 2 dogs were used because they had different faces and the colors were close but not the same. Chief Murray ends his speech with "bla-bla-bla" and there is barely any reaction from the audience. I gave a 3-star rating solely for Princess, the dog, for being the only real actor who kept the plot together.

Charlie's Farm (2014)

Typical meaningless horror flick (spoilers)

[3/10 · 23 June 2015]

Every time I hear of a new supposedly-"horror" flick, I go to watch it with expectations of something different and I am always, always invariably disappointed. "Charlie's Farm", Welcome to the club of ho-hum movies. Anything and everything frustrating is in this movie. I saw someone rating this as "a great film" with "the most amazing kills" and that "this film will put Aussie horror on world stage"! I have enjoyed most Australian movies but, unfortunately, this Charlie's thing does not do it. Plus, it has nothing new in it.

From beginning to end, clichés are blatantly present: movie starts with a couple of people, mostly screaming girls, being killed. Then, young guys with gorgeous girls insist on going some place (usually a farm) where rumors say there were multiple murders). Once there, they are out of reach and their phones are useless. They all play scary, supposedly funny tricks on each other (to build tension). With flashes, you get to see what happened in the place in the past. Then, members of the group are shown in bikinis or even completely nude for titillation. Gradually, each and every member of the group gets knocked off in a bloody way. Finally, the last 2 remaining members seem to be close to escaping this nightmare place. And here are the classic annoying clichés leading to the end: someone tries to fight the main killer like in a sporting event: ie, no hit or punch below the belt, waiting for the surprised killer to recover before hitting him again, etc. If a weapon is present, it is always, always, for a reason I never understand, thrown away after the killer is shot just once. As always, only one person is left. He/she always gets to a vehicle and always drops the keys to the floor (Thank God, this did not happen here). Surprise!! The killer reappears out of nowhere and finally kills that remaining person. That last body is dragged away while credits are rolling indicating the killer did not die and a very possible sequel will happen to continue the story.

Why can't we ever see the hacker/slasher/killer really killed at the end and the story ends right then and there? No sequel. Just an exciting horror flick with no clichés, a nice plot with a surprise unexpected ending that can be remembered, and not a blatant trial at milking the story for profit ad infinitum?

Digging Up the Marrow (2014)

If this garbage is the best movie Adam Greene made . . . . .

[1/10 · 2 May 2015]

This movie or documentary or whatever you want to call it is genuine, plain garbage, and I am being very kind. Very, very kind. From the get go, Adam's behavior betrays the whole thing. Whatever is said or discussed, whether serious or supposedly funny, Adam (director??) has got a constant and extremely annoying grin stuck on his face. That takes away any semblance of credibility. This whole thing is most definitely not a documentary. It is simply someone trying to pass a home-made movie into a fancy thing which it is not. We were a group of about 12 people watching this thing and, without fail, gradually, every one started talking about other topics and no one continued to watch it. I am surprised that this thing is even listed on IMDb. I gave a rating of 1 star because there is lower rating available. What a disgrace when someone tries to pull the wool in front of your eyes and miserably fails. Too bad Ray Wise was in it. He must be biting his nails for accepting to appear in this home-made movie. A word of advice to Adam Greene "Don't quit your day job!"

Last Knights (2015)

Finally, a decent old style action movie

[7/10 · 30 April 2015]

I am very picky on movies. If they can't keep my attention to see what's going to happen next, I leave. This movie had what I refer to as Old-Style action. By that, I mean everything was realistic. The fights were real and "on the ground" meaning, fighters didn't fly 10 feet in the air or walk on columns like you see in modern movies with Asian fighters. The plot was nice and smooth. The music louder with heavy bass for impact for scenes with landscape or action but very low during dialogue so you could understand what is being said without having to strain your ears. Admittedly, I was a little more patient at the beginning because of Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen whose acting I really enjoy. An actor does his job if he can get you to love him or hate him and Aksel Hennie, as the minister, played it perfectly. I could actually not find anything negative to write about. Very good and enjoyable.

The Mummy Resurrected (2014)

Calling this movie lousy is far too kind (Spoiler)(Spoiler)

[1/10 · 17 April 2015]

To make a movie, a budget has to be raised from investors. I bet all investors of this movie must be gnawing their fingernails in frustration for this loss. This movie was so bad that I do not know where to begin my review.

For starters, as someone who speaks and reads Arabic, I immediately saw red flags in the second scene when the girls are meeting each other. The signs behind them are an assembly of Arabic letters with no meaning; like writing "skejdifjglv fdkdpsa" and pretending that it is English, French or another Latin based language.

Normally, a daughter who meets her father for the first time in 20 years is a little awkward and reserved because they do not yet know each other. Here, they both hug and embrace like long lost friends. This is so fake.

Except for the last couple of scenes, throughout the whole movie, the daughter had a constant annoying big grin on her face no matter what the situation was, like "our friend just died" "Oh, that's OK". If she is only 20 years old, how can she read hieroglyphics and appears to be an expert in archeology and egyptology. These need a lot of experience and research and a 20-year old with a bunch of girl friends, all interested in archeology is a little stretch of the imagination.

The special effects were fake, like the forward moving bandages can easily be seen as playing in reverse bandages being pulled.

Strange ending: the mummy which was in the coffin has, all of a sudden, a decent looking woman's face; yet, she just lies there. Even though the daughter stabs her friend and her blood flows into the coffin, supposedly to resurrect the mummy, it still doesn't move. Again, even though, the mummy finally has a human face without bandages, the mummy killing the girls still has the original bandaged face. Was that a coordination blooper? As a movie buff, I give all movies a chance. I watch them before looking at reviews or ratings. I watched the whole movie hoping that somewhere along the story, a real thrilling adventure would take place. I was let down and extremely frustrated that someone could actually have the gall to call this video a movie with the caption "Evil has awakened". Please, go back to sleep. You don't scare anyone.

I gave a 1-star rating for casting pretty girls, although they really need acting lessons.

The Pyramid (2014)

Very good scary scenes but many holes (spoiler)

[6/10 · 12 March 2015]

Although the movie as a whole had huge gaping holes, I gave it a 6 rating because the scary scenes on their own were very good. Now for the big questions:

1- Why, if the NASA mobile unit was running on flat ground and something attacked it, when the group went to retrieve it, did they have to climb up tunnels, then climb down other tunnels before they got to it?

2- Why when bullets from the automatic pistol of the Egyptian soldier could not stop the Anubis creature, a simple slit from a cutting tool that the archeologist's daughter freed herself with hurt him enough that he backed off almost dying

3- The dead man whose body they found had a notebook showing notes dated 1887; yet, his body was not touched by the cats. Furthermore, even if the cats had, strangely enough, not touched him, his body still had its full shape, except for the face. A dead body is usually down to a skeleton after a couple of months and this body was there for over 100 years. It should have been just bones.

The Captive (I) (2014)

Great possibility but very frustrating

[3/10 · 16 September 2014]

At the beginning, you sense great possibilities and the plot looks exciting; then, flop down!!! To start, there is no connection between the mother working as a housekeeper and the rest of the story about a girl locked up. You figure it out and join the dots.WHY?? Why can't the story be told smoothly? The rest is a bunch of little stories put together with the only connection being that you see the same actors so, in your mind, you figure it out and fill the holes. Why? Another example, Rosario's big poster is shown at the beginning with no explanation whatsoever while Vince looks at it pensively. Who is she? a dead wife? A sister/cop killed in action? Mystery! Later on, you see Rosario but there is no connection between all of that and the charity event. Suddenly, Jeffrey and Nicole are kissing and seem to be having a relationship whereas, in the previous scene, he is just joining the force. When did that happen? You only discover that 8 years have passed in their casual conversation. And this goes on and on. There are so many holes you could have played cartoons during the movie. Like I said, there was a great possibility but somebody goofed big time.

Scary Movie 4 (2006)

King Kong

[9/10 · 22 April 2006]

Just loved every part and enjoyed it tremendously. I think this sequel is the best one of the lot.

I don't want to add any more comments in order not to spoil it.

I highly recommend it if you want to have a great time.

One question though: in the poster for this movie, the one where you see the actors, King Kong is in the back, I don't remember seeing him at anytime. Did anyone notice a sequence or a scene with King Kong?

One negative point:I also think the starting scene, as well as the closing scene, should have been edited a little bit better. Strangely enough and in contrast to the rest of the movie, they seemed amateurish!