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Reviews
Ozark (2017)
The worst bleeping ending ever
This is more than just bad writing. It is like ending a train wreck when the locomotive goes off the tracks.
Don't waste your time getting invested in these characters because the writers just ended it in mid sentence. What a joke.
Beyond the Edge (2022)
B List "Celebrities" Whining
Rather than "Beyond the Edge", a more accurate title would be "B List Celebrities Whining." The only reason I gave it two stars is that Mike Singletary and Paulina Porizkova deserve better than to be stuck with a bunch of whiners you never heard of. Metta World Peace? What a wus. Jodie Sweetin? She could roll her ankle going to the bathroom, and then moan about it all day. The rest are mostly Country Music "Stars" you never heard of, and Ray Lewis WHO KILLED A GUY in 2000. Actually Ray seems pretty level headed compared to most of these losers but he may kill somebody else....
The host, another guy you never heard of, makes Jeff Probst look like Don Pardo. WTF.
I think I will do my taxes rather than watch next week. It will be more enjoyable.
I am pretty sure Netflix passed on this show.
Inventing Anna (2022)
MisCast Lead
It is an interesting story, well paced and keeps your attention (as we expect from ShondaLand). But Julia Garner is over her head in the title role. She speaks with various accents; she is supposed to sound upper crust German/ Russian, but her garbled attempts sometimes sound Irish, sometimes Scottish, sometimes Southern, and sometimes I don't know what. She would start a sentence in Irish and end up sounding like Holly Hunter.
It really distracted from an otherwise well told story.
The Comey Rule (2020)
The reviews are hilarious
Anyone who rated it less than 5 stars is either a Trumper or a Russian. Because it makes Trump and the Russians look really bad.
It was nice to see Brendan Gleeson's Golden Globe nomination: he doesn't sound like Trump, nor look like him other than the Orange hair and Ferengie ears: but he captures Trump's narcissisms, and pure meaness, and does it in a way that explains so much about how screwed up 2017-2020 was.
Any democrat or objective person will probably enjoy it, although democrats may be infuriated once again about how Comey helped Trump beat Hillary.
This is history. It is history from Comey's viewpoint, which is one lens that is worth watching.
This is a must watch; especially compared to most of the crap on Netflix.
On the Verge (2021)
"Big Little Lies" Rip Off
This show is just like Big Little Lies, except for 2 things:
1) no big stars in the cast like Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, etc., and 2) a script that makes the characters interesting. The characters are just unlikeable, or annoying, or both. Elizabeth Shue is the one exception (but she plays a woman who basically vapes cannabis all day- reminded me of some friends I had in College).
I gave it four stars because it is better than some of the made-for-Netflix drivel that is out there. That is setting the bar pretty low.
I guess if you are sitting at home vaping dope you should give it a look...
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (2021)
Don't be fooled by the title
I watched this due to the 20th anniversary of 9/11; my mistake.
It really should be titled " an armchair quarterback's second guessing of every decision America made in the middle east in the last 20 years."
It's a load of bleep.
Dune (1984)
A Complicated story makes a complicated movie
I remember going to the theater to see this, and when you bought your ticket, they handed you a "cheat sheet" of definitions unique to the story. I had read the book, so I already knew what "Bene Gesserit" meant; however my friends who had not heard of Frank Herbert were pretty lost. A lot of people were expecting Star Wars and DUNE 1984 fell short from two major aspects: 1)explanation and development of the numerous complicated plot points, and, 2)the dinky early 80's special effects. Star Wars Industrial Light and Magic were literally light years ahead of what Dune presented (basically lot of miniatures that looked like, well, miniatures.)
Rather than comparing Dune with Star Wars, a more valid comparison is Lord of Rings with it's themes of religion, politics, and warfare/ competition of various subcultures including alien species like Elves, Dwarves. Orcs, etc. Peter Jackson did a marvelous job of setting up a similarly complicated story and cutting things that were not essential to the primary plot. As an example, I would have loved to see Tom Bombadill in the movie, but I also understand that you can't get people to go to three 6 hour movies. So Lynch leaves holes in the story and hands out a cheat sheet instead- not real effective and the box office reflected that...
Just FYI, I gave Lynch 6 stars for having the guts to try it. Watching a Guild Navigator fold space by shooting spice gas out of his butt is not something you get to see everyday-
Looking forward to the 2021 version.
Them (2021)
Not your run of the mill Horror Show
The series depicts extreme acts of racism by white characters throughout the narrative. Images including torture, sadism and extreme brutality may be disturbing to some viewers.
The writers make an effort to develop the characters, however other than the family of the protagonist (the victims), everybody else is bad.
It is a waste of your time unless you like watching people get fingers cut off with scissors...
I Care a Lot (2020)
Terrible Writing
Frankly the story starts in a promising way- which bad person is the antagonist, which is the protagonist? Then it just goes Bat-Bleep crazy-
At it's heart, it's about mistreatment of old people and the conclusion is, mistreatment of old people PAYS BIG MONEY. What a load of crap.
Don't waste your time. I should add that previously I have been a big fan of both Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage.
Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak: Part 3 (2009)
I Agree with George RR Martin
I watched this series every week. Early on, it was tremendous; then at some point the writing got kind of bizarre. I thought (hoped) that the finale would tie it all together.
George RR Martin was also a devoted fan of the series who hated the ending. He basically said (paraphrasing) "after all that, God did it? That's just bad writing..."
I gave it seven stars because the overall series was a 9 and the ending was a 5. I have to admit that if they came out with another series I would watch it-
Saturday Night Live: Dave Chappelle/Foo Fighters (2020)
Disappointing
I am a long time fan of Foo Fighters and Dave Chappelle, so was looking forward to this show. Foo Fighters basically did 2 ballads and they were OK but not rocking as they usually do.
Dave Chappelle was just bizarre, His monologue was 16 minutes long and was very uncomfortable, not just for me, but for the studio audience as well. Long stretches of silence and nervous laughter. It was not entertainment, it was an attempt at a lecture that didn't work. Why would I waste my time watching this?
There's a big difference between satire for the sake of entertainment versus a lecture on how to be woke. The show needs to decide which it wants to do.
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
The first season was great, then the writing got stupid
I would rate season 1 at 10 stars; season 2 at 7 stars; and season 3 at 1 star. It makes me sad to see such a great story get butchered by writing that makes no sense and contradicts itself.
Probably won't watch season 4.
Halt and Catch Fire (2014)
The male leads are nutjobs
I liked the show, the writing is interesting BUT... the two male leads, Joe and Gordon are absolute wackos. I would blame the writers rather than the actors.
Joe's character is basically a sociopath manic depressive; he usually steals great ideas, markets them, then blows them up. Everywhere he goes, there's a trail of debris and hurt behind. Why would I care what an idiot like does?
Gordon, on the other hand, has some real skill as a hardware and software expert, but he bounces around like a pinball and has a penchant for installing software without testing, which nukes entire computer networks. Would I want him on my team? Noooo.
Luckily the female leads, Cameron and Donna, save the day and the show. Mackenzie Davis is kind of the ultimate nerd girl, hot and brilliant. Kerry Bishe plays a similar in a bit more feminine manner, really rocks the role.
All in all a good watch, could have been a great watch.
Black Mirror: San Junipero (2016)
Fantastic
It is the best Black Mirror episode. My wife and I sat and cried.
Any reviewer who gives this less than 5 stars is homophobic. If you are homophobic you won't like the episode.
Jamestown (2017)
Promising story line torpedoed by BIZARRE script
I have watched all 16 episodes, and at times have been entertained. It's got everything: racism (against native americans); more racism (against african slaves); misogyny; homophobia; and even intersex discrimination (that's right they even have a poor hermaphrodite!) The producers and writers must have been smoking something (that's another thing- glorification of Big Tobacco).
The script has some "historical" characters and some fictional characters, but the Governor of Virginia, George Yeardley, is depicted as a power mad, morally bankrupt psychopath; if there are any Yeardley descendants around they should sue for slander.
So bottom line, I have to say that compared to most of the crap that is on TV these days, this series rates a watch but what a shame that they couldn't hire some writers....
Black Mirror: Crocodile (2017)
One of the best Black Mirror episodes
I am amazed at the negative reviews; this is a train wreck episode and I mean that in a good way. It is compelling television-
The twist is not something you would expect and maybe some of these haters just didn't like it-
The setting in Iceland is stark and it is a brutal story. Brilliant.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
Groundbreaking
Probably everybody will be doing this kind of thing in 5 years. Charlie Brooker was the first.
They need to create a whole new award catagory for this-
Camping (2018)
Don't waste your time
Really bad writing- I should add that I own an RV park and have been looking forward to this series. I feel sorry for Jennifer Garner....
Some AT&T exec should get fired for this crap.