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Reviews
Shôgun (2024)
got GOT, nope
I read a review on this comparing it to an expansive saga that was beyond GOT but now I'm not sure if they were on something or watching something else. The blame had to fall this time mainly on the director. Ok, maybe this would make more sense if I remember the original or read the book and maybe it makes more sense with the last two parts, but all I got from this was some convoluted story and some pretty pictures and eye candy. Of course you have to have some bad blank female and an attack on our obviously patriarchical culture but c'mon. Nothing really makes much sense and the historical parts that ham fisted in are too much and too repetitive. It's true, that the japanese considered the portugese as uncivilized savages but do they really need to keep hammering this. (interesting aside, in the greek days anyone who wasn't greek and spoke creek was referred to as a barbarian or one who babbled, which got adopted by the romans and the name barbara literally means woman of the man who babbles, google it). The japanese culture was minimalist because they all live on islands and because they had to place a moratorium on cutting trees before there were no more trees. The japanese were also a warlike society and there was constant infighting but if everyone committed suicide so easy you have to wonder how there was anyone left, or how does someone hit forty, when they could be cutting themselves open for almost any bloop. Japan was also a much more open society regarding sex, hence the fisherman's wife and much more patriarchal than depicted. But, they didn't wear the classy outfits like shown. That's for 2024, not 1600s. The worst part though is the story which makes very little sense if you know any history at all. It's very hard to follow the story between the long takes of someone's face punctuated by a twitch here and there. That's nobody else's fault except the director. It's the director's responsibility to tell the story and doesn't include repetitive historical references which most people wouldn't understand today. And one thing glaringly missing is the japanese side to religion. In two episodes they haven't mentioned anything but the adoption of christianity and the persecution but nothing about shinto or buddhism which would have been the primary religion of choice. C'mon.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test (2023)
what next, special forces for babies
What an extremely silly show this is. Do they have to take 20 mile hikes with 30lb packs, no. At first the show seemed somewhat believable but then each episode got more ridiculous. In one ep, they have to hold their breath underwater while seated for some reason in a helicopter. I know the water is cold but 15secs, c'mon. In another episode they are instructed to punch a guy in a padded suit with a helmet. Just stand their and flail at him till I tell you to stop. My fav was the young woman constantly complaining about how being a big celebrity has caused her a lot of issues. Never heard of her. Or the guy who is supposed to have ms and is withdrawn for health reasons. Um, don't they screen these people first. He was my fav though as he was always going on about how he knew people and he knew stuff and then he'd be the one to fail miserably. Put him on a rope and he falls off. Claims he's a juijitsu expert and get's whomped. That was funny and entertaining and then they booted him.
Active Measures (2018)
just more propaganda
The russians have a proverb: history is unpredictable. Still, I don't get people who rattle the saber and pop the flag and then claim that they know the difference between truth and propaganda. I won't argue that the movie is all fake news because I don't know personally of the 'active measures' they talk about but the movie is completely out of context and anyone who doesn't know that, has either been asleep in history class or just ignorant. To be fair, the american educational system isn't the best with respect with american history but c'mon, use something called google and learn the truth. Even if you don't want to read there are plenty of other documentary movies about the US involvement in the italian elections for example, in the sixties and the australian elections in the 70s. I'll give you a hint, look up william colby and christopher boyd. And those are just the ones I can think of. There's more 'active measures' by the US than is well published. So, is this propaganda or a political narrative, or the truth about russian espionage. Who doesn't believe the russians are involved in the US, raise your hands. No one, right because it's no surprise that the russians spy on the US and use active measures any more than they should claim the US doesn't spy on other nations, including supposedly allies, and use active measures.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
where's the beef
You know the commercial I think in the 70s or 80s that was so popular and it was about where is what's important. Everything about the production was spectacular and almost never seen. This is on the level of 'heaven's gate' which was a tremendous flop in it's day. Tons of details and lots of moving parts and presumably designed meticulously for the time period. The acting was amazing too and especially leonardo dicaprio for his understated portrayal of someone dragged easily into a web of murder and conspiracy. His ticks in the movie are fun to watch but where's the story. The production design, the staging, the photography, the acting are top notch in every scene but the story is missing and so you lose most of the emotional bond to what the story claims to be, which is cultural racism that is so bad that murder is overlooked. As one character put it, you'd get more attention if someone killed a dog. The story is missing and so are many parts that the story claims to be about. Scorsese is great at scenes but not story telling most of the time. Not sure how accurate 'kundun' is but it's also an amazing production and it has a story told in an amazing way. This is just a lot of money throw at a film that's too long and pointless. He should have rewatched 'kundun' before this one. Btw, I checked and kundun wasn't written by scorsese but this one is so maybe that's the problem.
The White Queen (2013)
like following the mafia without nicknames
This show has a great cast but if you're not familiar with the war of the roses, good luck following this. It's certainly not for anyone with stages of dementia as most of the characters have the same names like henry and edward. At least in the mafia they had nicknames. About the worst story telling I've ever experienced. Even if I had a family map I don't think I could follow. Let's see ew (and the only one with a nickname) puts h on the throne, then puts his brother on the throne but doesn't get of h but puts him back on the throne and then tries to take him off. Took several hours to tell that. And it doesn't help that all the scenes and productions all look the same and everybody is clean and wearing clean clothes and all (mostly) have the same accents and ... boring. The white princess came first but produced after, was a bit easier to follow but still convoluted for no reason. This would have been much better if they stuck to a smaller period, and stuck to the history and tried to explain to a non-brit audience. Makes you wonder about the current monarchy and maybe that's the point. The current monarchy are a nice german family, which proves royalty aren't inherited or elected so how did we get here as we remember today the service of those who sacrificed before.
Oppenheimer (2023)
like teaching a donkey quantum physics
It's a waste of time and just annoys the donkey.
Supersillious and boring. It's mostly a very poor telling of the bomb and a poor impression of actual history. I would recommend rhodes books on this period. I won't give the details but easy to google, even though rhodes actually liked the movie, I recommend his books anyway. Don't know why he was positive considering all the flaws. I've been around very smart people all my life and I just don't buy any of this made up drama and I doubt the caricatures even come close. Most really smart people like oppenheimer have a very low emotional intelligence level. Think of the weird kid in school you made fun of. None of that comes thru. And what about lewis strauss who was a southern boy who did well in business, a good fried of truman, although truman was a democrat, strauss obtained quite of bit of power as the typical, and hated, american right winger of the time but never elected to office. "the ugly american" should have been his nickname even though the movie outplays his and oppenheimer's jewish background and connection. I can't fault the movie but I never read or heard of jewishness being an issue though there were sure a lot of anti-semitics in gov at the time. Anyway, strauss was a huge proponent for building the bomb and the h-bomb and using atomic energy, before the media was convinced of it's dangers. He was vindictive and thin skinned with a self inflated ego to match, so much of the opening of the film doesn't hold. Before manhatten, oppenheimer was a relative unknown to the public. He might have been a celebrity among a small elite of physicists but in public/media known, he was probably as well known in public as quantum physics was. And, btw, einstein wasn't a follower of quantum. He's quoted as saying "god doesn't role dice" referring to the theory of quantum physics and how it related to his theories of relativity. A paradox for sure because it was long held that relativity could be applied to space, time and large objects of mass (which oppenheimer was mostly known for) but not ojects at the atomic level that had very strange properties like enjoined particles or a particle existing and not existing in the same space and time at the same time. Physicists have been working to resolve the paradoxes for decades and explain a theory that applies to everything. So, oppenheimer was known for his work on black holes and such where quantum physics doesn't apply so why is this move so focused on that. And for the record, einstein wasn't on the project because afaik he didn't fit. The greatest discovery was spontaneous fission but later heisenberg, a german discovered that certain elements could be fissioned with neutrons and it was meitner another german scientist who made the connection and used einstein's famous formula e=mc2 to work out the yeild. The science was mostly done; the project was mostly an engineering problem for which einstein wouldn't have fit. Ok, it's not a documentary but c'mon. I've never met oppenheimer but the characters are so flat and uninteresting the movie could be about leslie groves and nobody would notice. Maybe the quantum physics of acting and story telling is what they were going for. Despite all the flaws in story telling, the movie is just boring.
The Holly (2022)
activism is not a career choice
I lived in denver in the 80s so I was curious what this was about since I never heard of this area or 'the holly'. And what it's about, I still don't know as I couldn't threw the whole film w/o tapping out. Sure, I heard of the bloods and crypts and the latin kings and so on and I remember the 80s but just because you grow up poor doesn't mean you join a gang or turn activist and raise money or start a program. Don't have a clue where that comes from. The scene where they interview these young black men on the street. They're not like anyone I ever met in denver or anyone else but they're definitely young men I wouldn't hire to mow my lawn either. You can't live the gang life and expect you get rewarded with a white collar career and they're not products of their neighborhoods but products of themselves and brain washing by the media. Same goes for anyone claiming to be an activist. The road to h is paved with good intentions. I didn't get to the gentrification part but that's part of capitalism. When I lived in dc, I was frequently taking a subway at potomac ave and I saw gentrification first hand. At night, looks like some scary urban street scene from a scorsese film. During the day, look close because the people with money moving into these brownstones and turning them over have the best doors. You won't see them in the neighborhood like shopping or anything but you can tell by the door it's secure and expensive and baricaded behind there are people with money. And they're not all white like the media makes them out to be and they are not tearing down the neighborhood; they don't want to be part of the neighborhood but they want is a box they can afford that belongs to them and nobody else. American home ownership and making money is what it's all about. With all that the black power movement every spouted, what did they ever do to advance that for black people or even reduce black on black crime.
UFO: Episode #1.2 (2021)
koolaid cocktail party is at 3
For as much as they claim otherwise, these are just anecdotes and stories and rumors with no evidence or proof. One common thread on shows like this is to put forth people who claim authority but haven't been indepedently investigated and then tell the story out of context, but with their self appointed authority. Like the ex-sailor who claimed he was a 'computer technician' and he was responsible for all the 'mainframes' on the ship (his words), which, if you knew anything about mainframes and computer history, it's a gibberish claim. No idea what he's talking about because in the real world, there were no mainframes installed on ships and for the time period he was talking about, it's difficult to understand why anyone would even have one on a ship in that year. And then there is the ex-pilot fravor and his unidentified wingman in the episode. They don't even describe the whole context of the situation but if you google it, the incident allegedly took place in 2004 just before PBS (yes, public broadcasting company) did a documentary series called 'carrier' that profiled fravor and his wingman who was actually a wing woman, one of the first female navy aviators. The episode leaves out all of that and you have to wonder if pbs knew of the incident would they have gone ahead with the series. And why didn't they mention this, and why is the whole situation resurrected again years later and why didn't they have clear pictures because even in 2004 the technology existed to capture images. We can detect a missile in the air flying from thousands of miles away, surely we can take pictures that don't look like they came from a polaroid. And particularly funny was the way they showed these lights on an implied ship monitor showing these horizontal lights in brackets, without any explanation and behind narration of something completely different so the view has no idea what they're looking at but only that they look ufoey. But they're not a ufo at all. It's the lights of a plane landing on a carrier ship. The screen is designed to monitor the plane flight path so the plane is properly aligned to land and give feedback to the pilot. There's nothing ufoey about it at all.
Never Seen Again: Kristen Galvan: Bissonnet Street, Part 1 (2023)
gaslighting to the extreme
What is gaslighting. It's people telling you reality that you must believe or else those who own the fair tales will claim there's something wrong with you if you don't, and that's exactly this story. I sympathize with her family but this show is just one long cliche explosion that stinks of nonsense. I don't know this young woman but as I type this, I'm just blocks from an area that is a favorite for prostitutes in my area and has been for more than 30 years. And one reason it never gets cleaned up is because the city, county and the police refuse to do anything about it. They've made these women out to be victims like they were coerced into doing something and didn't know it was wrong. Or they did know it was wrong and didn't care because people like the producers of the show have made them out to be victims. It's the 'pretty girl' syndrome where people want to believe that there's this julia roberts girl looking to be rescued when in fact, there's no such actual creature. These women on my streets are no julia roberts.
There's a well known chain hardware store nearby and sometimes I'll walk there because this is still a semi free country. So the other day I walk to this place and as I'm crossing the street, I'm joined by 3 ladies and one is bragging about her john giving her $500. Believeable yeah, but the idea that this woman who is probably carrying a knife and wouldn't hesitate to use it, I'm supposed to believe that she's got some pimp behind her making her be out there. Seriously? And this is why the police won't clean up the area because they view prostitution as victims and part of a chain of production that is run by bad men. Well, I've been around a bit and I've personally never seen children on the street or harmless prostitutes and most of the people interviewed in this program aren't from the streets. They've been watching participants who only think they know the streets, and everything they say is just made up nonsense and that includes the badge wearing police officer. I'd really like to meet this guy and take him to my town. Thirty years ago, prostitution was a crime and it's still a crime but now it's also a political football because the police don't want to spend the resources. If there were women walking the streets though 10 miles to the left, then they would give it their attention but so long as it's in my backyard, it's ignored. Rather, they put up billboards and signs about human trafficking and they make tv shows like this one saying it's just poor kids.
But, it's all fairy tales because these ladies in my area are not victims, even the young ones which are schooled not by pimps but other ladies walking the street. I mean the reality is that if you go to a hotel with one of these ladies, you're more likely to get a knife than what you want. What's holding them back is attention. They'll do whatever to take your money but without attracting attention and the reason is because they can, and 99% of them lack the job skills or education to keep the lifestyle they have.
I sympathize with the family but the idea that this girl just got caught up with the wrong crowd and then she was forced into prostitution, and then forced into sex slavery just defys common sense and insulting to the kid too. Children are exposed to adult situations and themes and decisions at an earlier age. This isn't the 1950s anymore.
When they got to the part of moving girls around to avoid the police, I had to stop watching. Are there pimps, sure. And are women held captive to the sex trade, sure. I don't frequent the streets for prostitutes but I can guarantee that woman plying the trade in my area are not coerced by men. Most are out there because they have no jobs skills or education and can't make enough money working at mcds to support their lifestyle which is mostly living in hotels, and drinking or doing drugs. It's no coincidence that where you find prostitution you find other types of crime, like theft, larceny, drug dealing, personal assaults and so on. You don't find street prostitution in the better parts of town because it's not tolerated and besides, the women working the streets won't be close to the infrastructure and other crimes they depend on like buying drugs or other crimes for money. The woman on the corner bragging about getting $500 out of her john is proud of that no thanks to the pimp, if she has one. She's no victim and most likely she's the one who is scary and the one you should avoid.
Don't believe me well watch again and remember the part where this expert on human trafficking says that when she gets a new victim she says "I pull her records from the court". Afaik, it is illegal in any state for the police or the court to share records with anyone. That's a felony. Sounds cool, right, but the woman says on camera that she committed a felony because she has no official capacity and especially to get records on a minor. I hear interviews like this all the time on these fake cop shows and that's what it is, fake. It's all nonsense. Don't believe me, try and get someone's criminal record and prove me wrong.
Hell or High Seas (2021)
why
Why would you go into the military if you can't live as a civilian. I know it's not popular or pc to criticize veterans but all I saw in this documentary was someone complaining as in, I was special, now they discarded me and I'm broken and unless we get help, we're going to commit suicide. That's a fairly immature attitude and it doesn't matter if you're in the military or not because you have more serious issues that need to be addressed. Issues that would come up if you went in the military or not. Nobody forces you to become a rescue swimmer and if, for whatever reason, you have to stop why do you need special care. You weren't guaranteed a lifetime path; nobody is. I don't believe this has anything to do with vets or their issues but more about politicking and eliciting support on an issue that most people address mostly on emotion. Just because you were a veteran doesn't mean you should have lifetime special care. What if you work say delivering healthcare in dangerous 3rd world countries. Doesn't make you a military veteran. If you stop doing that work, are you subject to ptsd and possible severe depression, sure. Doesn't make you special though. Doesn't mean I care if you sail to cape horn or not. That's your personal adventure which I care very little about and ironically people who do that who are not in the military can come out of with ptsd. Consider donald crowhurst. I have more sympathy for someone like that. Not a veteran but driven to try sailing solo around the world. Was it because he was on a cause for veterans that we should all support, no. It's interesting that the main character in this says at the end that he bought an apt with his gi bill. Military veterans in the US are substantially compensated compared to the people that they are at war with. The discrepancy is absurd and is it really worth it because after afghaistan, the longest war in US history, the country is turned over to the people we were at war with as if nothing really changed. If we concentrated on not wasting lives and how much war was costing in many aspects maybe we would save even more lives. I could support that, not some opportunist waving the flag for his own causes.
The Killing Kind (2023)
senseless scentless
You know how you smell a plastic flower even though you know it's plastic. This series is like that. I like brit crime dramas, even the ones that come out with twists at the end from nowhere you could have predicted as you're trying to be armchair cop. But this is not even close to the same level. It's slow, convoluted, silly, repetitive and dull. So spoiler, it starts with this woman thinking she's being stalked and then 2 episodes later, she's stalking the stalker and working with him to find out who the real stalker is. And much of that between are just scenes of her going from one lace to another. Lots of watching her like some mad obsessed stalker. Maybe the director was the actual stalker. If she was, that might make sense. On top of that all the characters including the main are pretty unlikeable. Who cast this anyway? All the actors seem to come from the 'furtive look school'. Sorry but. Emma appleton comes off in this as a sleep deprived teenager on meth spouting dialogue that makes no sense. Didn't they pony up for a story editor. Their role is to make sure that the story is told with some common sense. At times though, it is funny as the scene where the police, the stalker and the stalkee all show up at this trailer park to interview this potential other stalker. What in the world were they thinking? I mean, imagine you're the guy living in this small trailer with no curtains on the window and then these people show up 10 ft from your door and then the cop knocks first, and then his ex lawyer shows up just after the cop and then they all end up going to the bar after.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010)
silly video game
I've tried several times to watch this show. It's the most confusing and perplexing production out there. How can something so highly rated be so bad? Who are the people watching this. Maybe it's because I don't play role playing video games like this one but that's exactly how it looks, like a video game for teenagers. Because, it's exactly like a video game. The silly storyline and jargon, and especially the effects that look just like they were produced for a game. Swatches of flood thrown against the screen as some character has his throat slashed midair as he's charging like some show pony. My fav is the ones with the crowds in the background of the scene. It's like an 80s version of leisure suit larry. Funny the first few times but then you have to wonder if they copied this from another game because it's so cheesy. The only watchable parts are the women with perfectly made up hair and perfect skin. Did I mention this show is not historically correct. Nice eye candy but not worth it because I'm not 15 any more. Maybe I'll try watching in reverse but then no more. Leave it as a mystery forever.
Reign (2013)
silly soap opera
The only reason I'm submitting this review is to add my voice to the complaints that this is not historically correct and not the same type of show as the The Tudors even if it has the same production appearance and some of the same cast. I'm not looking it up but whoever produces this has the same eye for casting and production design but the writing is silly soap opera level. The costuming is amazing. I doubt anyone in the elizabethan era wore such finery but it's eye pleasing and so are the young woman wearing it but the rest of the production design is on the same level as your high school play. Unlike the other show, it doesn't have the same nude scenes and sexual situations so maybe I should have said junior high school play. And it doesn't take much attention to keep up with the simple plot lines. You can do your taxes while watching and not miss a beat.
Frontline: Putin's Crisis (2023)
what nonsense
The story is supposed to be about a so-called mutiny in the russian army but if you want any details you won't find much here. Most of this is just rehash of previous frontline shows about putins rise to power. Somebody sat in an editing room and then mashed this up from previous frontline shows and put a sexy label on and called it 'latest news'. The same tired and cliche story that they've been telling for years by western media that has rehearsed the message so many times that they actually believe it. Western media gets behind a message and then enforces this kind of censorship that's even more restrictive than the censorship they complain about. It's the same story told and over and makes no sense but the same so-called experts, only experts in emotional language and marketing, not russian history. I so much miss the days of Solzenitzen. The story of this shadowy figure that mysteriously and without explanation manages to take over russia and who cares if there's any algebra to it or not; message: putin is a tyrant who stole russia and now he's our enemy. Long live goldstein. If you want to know why this german sounding mercenary group is now front and center you won't learn anything from this rehashed meme. If you want to know how a mercenary group not quite two divisions is able to threaten moscow militarily, don't watch this; not covered. The germans tried to take moscow with about 60 divisions and failed but we're supposed to believe that a mercenary group with less than 2 divisions are able to overthrow the political and military systems in russia. Does this episode explain that, no. One week western media posts about nukes being stationed in belarus and then the next week it's about putin taking over belarus, soviet style and then the next week, this wagner group is sent to belarus on timeout for complaining. No arrests, no recriminations, no explanation. Makes no sense but don't watch this because you won't find any answers.
Jack Ryan: Proof of Concept (2023)
a DELUXE HILUX
Lost me half way thru the season. I guess I'll have to watch this again but I found the series went off the rails and landed with a splat in in the last episode. However, for car enthusiasts, check out the mud flap on the toyota truck when they are diffusing the bombs. It says 'hilux' which is funny because toyota doesn't sell the hilux in the US. From what I've read, it's available in many other parts of the world and once was sold in the US but they discontinued back in the 90s. Btw, very popular brand in other countries. Not going to submit this as a goof though because, again, from what I've read, you can import these in the US if you pay a stiff tariff fee. Probably some other red tape as well. Wouldn't make any sense but then most of this season doesn't make any sense either. Plus, can you really just drive one of these over the border, dunno. Is it actually a hilux too? They claim to be looking for tacoma trucks so why would it have mudflaps that say 'hilux'.
The Ashley Madison Affair (2023)
total nonsense
The interesting part of this biz and website is that after the data was hacked, a huge percentage of the actual activity was not about people hooking up. Yes, they claim in the series that there were 6 to 1, men to females and there were men complaining about the site but that's only a small part of the documentary. That number needs a fact check though because some sources on the web claim that 99% of all the profiles were from men, which says most women were actually men on the site. Google for yourself. Anyway, most of it is about the ceo, his marketing techniques and the backlash against the morality as if that was the actual activity, which it wasn't. Even though they had people claiming to, or representing actual users that engaged in cheating. Actually, that didn't happen. Actually, the site was a mating marketplace for men seeking sex for which there was very little interest from women. So, as they say in the film, the biz was monetizing men but you wouldn't get that impression watching the whole series. What they should have said is that the website was designed to dupe men since they paid for the service and what almost all got in return was bogus contacts and contacts to sex workers. What came out after the data hack was that the website is a fraud but it still survives because 'meet girls' businesses always manage to find those looking for a fantasy. I can't personally understand it since there are other competitors now that are free but it's part of the human experience that goes back thousands of years. So not only is this poorly made but also poorly researched and preys on a fantasy that ashley madison never provided.
The Bear (2022)
over the top trainwreck
The first season was fantastic. An original story with training wheels, it wasn't perfect but very entertaining anyway. So why is it that relatively obscure people get a taste of success and then they seem to deliberately go off on self indulgent tangents that ruin a good ride. HOC is still the best example but this 2nd season is coming on strong. It's silly, pretentious, over the top fine dining like nonsense to satisfy some deep need to unchest the real untalent. Every episode comes on like everyone's bent on getting their psych baggage out with every melodramatic cliche they can come up with. Plus, let's get a bunch of name brand actors too and let them run amok. Shove them in a room and give them free range to ad lib for 30 mins. And then on top of that, they want you to believe that the background characters are experiencing the drama of a restaurant when none of them are qualified to even work at a mcds. If you really think this show resembles fine dining, I've got some coupons for you. The creator and producers not only ran the show off the rails in the second season. They ran it off the rails, over a cliff, into a lake that blew up from an underwater volcano. Can't wait for the michelin man to show up.
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (2020)
where's the rest of the story
Somewhat slick food show like many on the train of celebrityhood but poorly researched and revisionist.
Google it yourself Before wwii, more than half of americans were involved in their own food production because food was such a big % of the cost of a family. When my aunt and uncle bought their house in calif back in the 50s the house was only about 600sq ft but it was built on a 1/2 acre+ because a section was reserved for a garden. They had a backyard and then another fenced area for a garden. That's been lost. There's nobody around anymore and nobody to care what ordinary life was for ordinary americans up until about 40, 50 years ago. Now it's all about other cultures and immigration and suppression that anyone that existed before that was somehow not representative of america anymore. I'm all for celebrating the heritage of other cultures and food traditions but not at the expense of my own just to satisfy someone's weak perspective of history.
Billy the Kid: The Immigrants (2022)
sheesh, do some research
Maybe nobody cares about history but that's no excuse to be irresponsible. I know that the irish myth is that they mostly immigrated thru ny and boston but that's no reason to keep repeating the same myths without doing a little research. In the 1800s, the 2nd largest number of irish, scotch, and welsh was thru the ports along the southern coast and particularly new orleans. In fact around the time of the civil war there was calif but the west was still LA and TX, for the period which often goes overlooked by the current media retrospective history writers. Also, the path that they supposedly took in this episode is nonsense. Can I prove it, yes but not in the length of a tweet and besides, the producers probably don't care and future producers will just do the same as this group. Watch more tv than actually learn something. There are a lot of other errors too. I get it. It's not a documentary but you don't expect to see rayguns and uber cabs when you're watching a western.
Shazam! (2019)
just messin with you
This is a pretty avg film. I only watched it for mark strong but it's an interesting gimmick because if you google the title with 'sinbad' you'll find that many people on the internet claim that they've seen a movie before with the same title. That's probably not a coincidence. The film and title is just messing with an capitalizing an internet phenomenon. That's interesting. Make a mediocre film but don't lose money by naming it with the same title that never existed but many people think they saw. So what happens in the future. When someone asks have you seen shazaam, do you say, which one??
Chain of Command (2018)
who says propaganda is dead
This is a really slick and entertaining series but there's one problem. The taliban won. ISIS didn't but neither did the war service american interests. The chinese have benefited more but without going to war. Just like vietnam, the media keeps repeating that america is winning, and not just killing but capturing the hearts and minds of the populace to build their country in our perspective but then when the US packs up and leaves, not long after, the insurgency that were fighting sweeps thru and takes control back. This is after being in country for years and spending a tremendous amount of blood and treasure. So what do the think tanks in DC have to say about that. You can't argue about the characters and their virtue. As they say, most people just want the same as everyone else, or do they. In vietnam, even now, many don't want to accept that american leadership was fighting a war then didn't understand. But what about afghanistan, a country that hasn't been conquered in thousands of years of attempt. If you're all about the john wayne, captain america perspective you'll enjoy this but given the taliban has taken back afghanistan, iraq has pushed back on insurgency but still anti-american, isis on hold, but the civil war continues in syria, what did america really accomplish. This film, like so many before seems to make a good argument until you notice it doesn't complement the facts. So where is the followup to this story that explains what actually was accomplished by the US for all the blood and treasure expended.
Great Expectations (2023)
what the dickens were they thinking of
Despite the casting I think you could produce this story with donkeys if it was told and presented well. I'not one to say what dicken's intended or meant but I've been watching this story since I was a kid and so far I don't see any of that in this series. Great cast. How can you say anything bad about oliva colman. It's not her fault they made her look like a fool. She doesn't look like a woman jilted and aged unwell hanging on to the past. She looks more like the female ghost of xmas but made up for holloween. As I recall the story was mostly about envy, especially the envy for something out of your reach which ultimately creates the drama which makes the story timeless. Most of us can identify but it's rarely in productions these days because so much of the culture is narcissistic. So far I'm not getting any of that but a bunch of characters riffing on each other with their own silly purpose. I can't give the film a 0 because there's so much professional effort they got right but they forgot to tell a story, or whatever they're selling, not interested.
Missing in Brooks County (2020)
typical fund raising film posing as a documentary
As a documentary, I can't give this one star but if it was just about the topic, I would because it's completely off based to reality. Come and live in my world for a time and you can see for yourself the effect of illegal immigration. You won't see a comfortable two story house in houston suburb though. Production wise it seems quite a bit of effort went into producing a professional film but for what purpose. People go missing at alarming rate in the US because we allow a great deal of freedom of movement. Many consider that their human right but where does the right of the individual end where the community begins. So what does that have to do with missing persons? It's simple, the people found there shouldn't be there any more than I don't go hiking in the hills of wyoming. What the film shows is that a tremendous amount of resources are expended on people who make a poor choice and end up suffering for it. It doesn't matter who pays for it but if I went hiking, died, the media wouldn't write about it but I, or my estate would have to pay for my foolishness. And if I was dumb enough to make it difficult to identify my body, no one would probably know because I've never heard of any case where any effort is made comparable to what I see in the film. It doesn't matter who pays for this effort but all these resources could have been expended on another mission that would have had more impact and maybe prevent these deaths. Such as, prosecuting those making money off this human trafficking. Such as educating people about the dangers. Such as cutting off the resources on the US side from helping them. Such as making it illegal to help anyone who crosses illegally especially in areas like this. Such as creating stiff penalties for anyone providing employment or any assistance that allows them to stay in the US. I have met quite a few people here illegally but I've never met anyone who came here without help. I've never met anyone who didn't have help on the other side too. My sympathy goes out to all the families with missing family members but I won't be donating to this cause or condoning what they are doing.
Unforgotten (2015)
did the writers die too?
I've been watching this show for several years and this is not how I would rate it but this last season seems to have gone off the rails, over the cliff and down to grandmother's house. I can't fault the cast because it takes great strength I'm sure not to burst out laughing. Anyway, the last season is hopefully their last. Won't be watching again. Who writes this stuff. I suggest to the writers that they over to america and hang out with me in say chicago south central for a while and get a real sense of entitlement, and I thought all the puritans moved from england to america. I know going after royalty and the elite is an english pastime but that's no excuse to take a top notch drama and turn it into a propylene wetrag.
Living (2022)
another time, another place
The striking part of this film is it's uncanning resemblence to colorized british cinema of the 40s and 50s. It has the same photo frames and choreography that you would expect from that period. The production is a genius resemblance from films of another era and place. Most of the frames are uncanny mix of light and dark in the same shot that's so common of earlier films. The academy got it all wrong. The story is easy enough but getting the right lighting and stock result isn't easy as you have to reproduce the technology of the time. Sure, you can remake 'ben hur' but can you remake it so it looks like it came from that time period. Sure you can imitate polaroid shots but can you imitate a polaroid land camera from the 60s. The story is pretty simple and representative of the sentiment british bureaucracy run amok but then you can find plenty of examples in history of the same cliche. It's also rather hard to accept too because we're led to believe that this drone one day wakes and by a simple act, he's redeemed himself. Anyone who believes that must also approve of american cheese and bologna. Nighy puts on a wonderful performance but let's face it his range of characters over the decades is pretty narrow. Doubtful he's ever played roles also offered to tom cruise and visa versa. Saying, if you're looking for an action flick this isn't it but if you like cinema and have experience with british cinema from the time of rationing to today, don't miss this one. Unfortunately I found the story a big let down. A colorized remake of something like 'the 39 steps' would have been more entertaining.