rapiddevil Reviews

Ahsoka (2023– )

Charlie's Angels With Lightsabers

[6/10 · 29 January 2024]

Nothing quite screams modern Disney like a couple of women of colour with noodle arms, running around trying to save the galaxy.

I watched this as I love the Jedi element of the Star Wars franchise, but I didn't realise that of the 6 characters in the first 6 episodes, 5 were women. There are shows that call or this of course, but why in Star Wars? I should have known when Kathleen Kennedy's in prints were over it.

More about the show....it stats very slow, but does get better eventually, when more characters enter later on. This was left too late. One of the biggest issues in the show was Natasha Bordizzo/Sabine's portrayal/character, I couldn't warm to her at all. It just seemed like a performance out of drama school. The old 'chick with a chip on her shoulder with great sense of entitlement' routine.

The plus things are also a minus. 2 of the best characters were he criminally underused Lord Baylan, and the mysterious Shin Hati. There was such an interesting story to tell with these two, yet they didn't tell it. Too busy with the girls with noodle arms, what a shame. Tragically, I feel we're unlikely to see the development of this relationship due to the sudden death of the great Ray Stevenson (RIP) shortly after filming.

There's also little to nothing told about the Jedi order, which is a shame. We do learn about some past demons with Ahsoka, and just as much about Sabine, which was a waste of time for such a dull and uninteresting character. Special mention to Ariana Greenblatt, who despite a very short few scenes, stole the show as young Ahsoka. I think the show would have been much better if they focused half the series on her as a young Ahsoka in the days of her padwan learning, and then progression to Rosario Dawson's character, rather than a couple of flashbacks.

The show does get better, but I can't say much without giving spoilers away. I am glad I stuck with it. It's a decent show that I feel wasted a lot of it's potential and could have been so much better. That said, I will watch the 2nd series. I think this merits 6/10.

Black Mirror: Beyond the Sea (2023) Season 6, Episode 3

Best Episode Of The Series

[8/10 · 24 June 2023]

Finally, Season 6 has a true episode of Black Mirror. I don't just mean this is the best episode of the series (which it is) but an episode that is much closer to it's roots than the other 4. Whilst Season 6 has take a different direction and become somewhat lost, this is much better.

An excellent cast with great chemistry, excellent acting, a true sci-fi focus and a very dark storyline. Black Mirror is at it's best when it focuses on technology that could happen in the future (it has actually predicted some things that have come to pass). This episode is way into the future but it could happen, and makes you think about it.

This was the only episode of the series that I could say an enjoyed from start to finish.

Black Mirror: Demon 79 (2023) Season 6, Episode 5

A Modern Day Twilight Episode

[7/10 · 24 June 2023]

I've got very mixed feelings about this episode, I feel like I could have given it a 5 or a 9, so I settled on a 7!

It really reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode. Like most episodes in this series, it coasted along (for far too long) waiting to be defined by it's ending. The ending was very good in my humble opinion, and saved the episode. The lead character was good.

It seems like every new season on Netflix needs to have some political angle in order to be made, and even Black Mirror has succumbed to the inevitable white supremacist storyline. In addition to that, an evil Tory. I'm not a fan of politics in TV. Certainly not in Sci-fi and most definitely not in Black Mirror! Whilst not irrelevant to the storyline, it's becoming an old trope that's getting boring.

Overall, a decent episode that's worth a watch.

Black Mirror: Loch Henry (2023) Season 6, Episode 2

Boring murder mystery - get back to basics BM!

[4/10 · 19 June 2023]

Have you played the video game Forsaken? Where there's an obnoxious teeny American annoying the heck out of you throughout the entire thing? This is part of the problem in this episode. Add to that the needless vulgar language throughout, and the fact that absolutely nothing happens for almost 40 minutes, this is a terrible episode of black mirror. It doesn't belong in Black Mirror at all in fact. It's a badly done murder mystery, seemingly targeting younger viewers, in a bad way, like episode 1 of the series did.

One of the most underrated BM episodes is 'Shut up and dance' (S3E3). Imagine that executed extremely poorly, and then some. Ok, when it does burst into a bit of life, it's not bad watch (for 15 minutes) but if you made it that far you should be congratulated.

Black Mirror desperately needs to get back to basics, this season is meandering into mediocracy.

Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful (2023) Season 6, Episode 1

Clever but too 'chick lit'

[6/10 · 18 June 2023]

An underwhelming start to the series.

As always, it's a very clever concept by Brooker. The power of AI is very fashionable at the time of writing, combining this with the Netflix platform is a great way to convey the idea.

The problem....is that it's just too quirky and chick litty for my taste. The music play a big part. It's like watching an episode of sex in the city. The first thing I did once it finished is to check the credits. Brooker wrote it (fair, it's clever) directed by....a woman. And it really shows. That's not to say there aren't brilliant female directors, but this was like an episode of one of the many Netflix series out there that has a 99% female target market. Dare I say, this probably isn't the typical target market for Black Mirror.

I enjoyed the concept but disliked the execution. These kind of themes don't have to be executed in this way. After all, one of the great Black Mirror episodes was about dating (Hang the DJ. S4 Ep4). That was done brilliantly. Black Mirror needs to get back to basics.

The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

Good Effort!

[8/10 · 13 April 2023]

Let's get the basics out of the way. These exorcism movies have been done to death. It's pretty much impossible to be original with this niche genre.

However....as far as they go it was pretty good! The best I've seen for a while.

Russell was good, apart from sounding more like a Serbian veteran than Italian.

Was it scary? Not really. There were times when we were laughing at it rather then be scared. They made a valiant effort at adding a Da Vini Code style of plot so that it wasn't a rinse and repeat of other similar movies.

There were pretty good effects on the possessed one. Good acting all around, which is rare for this type of movie!

Overall I thought it was a good attempt. Everything was done reasonably well without anything being outstanding. If they wanted to take it to another level I feel there could have been more shock/scare moments that genuinely wanted you to grab a cushion to hide behind. But that's subjective on my part.

Worth a watch!

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Itza Mia

[10/10 · 13 April 2023]

This is an absolute masterpiece of how a video game adaption should be.

Our family went to see this on the first day of release, 2 middle aged adults and two children under 8.

We grew up around the time Mario was invented. We're Mario fans. I owned a Snes and the first game I remember being addicted to was Super Mario World. Our kids love Mario, in particular the games Mario Kart and Mario Party. In other words, we are the target market.

It was an absolute hit with all 4 of us. For the adults, it was perfect. Why? Because it was 100% true to it's source material. There were little easter eggs. Right from the 2d castle from Mario World at one point. The power ups. Getting the flag on the course. Absolutely brilliant. They even nailed Mario Kart.

The casting was brilliant. They were all good but I particularly though Jack Black and Seth Rogan were great casts.

The kids loved it. It was funny without trying too hard. All the voice actors made the characters likeable. The animation was brilliant.

Above all, there was no political agenda with the movie, which is so rare in this day and age. They just allowed it to be focused on the Mario franchise and entertaining people. No virtue signalling of any kind was so refreshing.

Thankfully I didn't look at critic reviews before seeing the movie. I almost fell of my chair afterwards looking at some of them. Every Mario fan I've spoken to that's seen the film loves it. At the time of posting it has broken box office record. No surprise when you make a movie that satisfies fans rather than Hollywood elite.

Well done to everyone involved in making the movie and thank you from a big Mario fan!

Ricky Gervais: SuperNature (2022 TV Special)

A breath of fresh air, Taboo!

[10/10 · 29 August 2022]

Old school comedy from Ricky. Absolutely no fear from being cancelled. Some of it's a bit dark, some of it crude. That's Rick's stand up style. If you don't like that kind of comedy, don't watch it, simples!

He takes on various minorities and themes. As he says in his own words, he doesn't discriminate against any of them, because he's inclusive of all in his show (lol).

For whatever reason, taboo subjects have always been funny and have always been exploited by comedians. Perhaps it's because we don't hear it discussed in everyday life? Either way. Ricky does this will precise skill. He doesn't fear cancellation, he just does his routine and talks about topics that cancel culture would have off limits, if it got it's way.

It's skilful because it's jokes. There's no aggressive insults, no hatred, no inciting violence or any of that. It's just comedy, people!

Any comedian with the bravery to discuss these themes should be treasured. I was laughing out loud throughout the routine and very much look forward to his next show. Loved it!

Tekken: Bloodline (2022)

Completely Unfulfilling

[4/10 · 29 August 2022]

I played Tekken as a kid and I don't mind a bit of animation so I thought I'd give this a watch. I have very mixed feelings about it.

As other reviewers have alluded to, there's simply not enough episodes to a) develop characters and b) give any definitive answers to all the questions it poses. Will they be answered in another season? Perhaps. But it feels like everything akin to the video game has already been done, so where will they go from here?

It's full of cliché characters and storylines. As the series developed, it purposely shrouded it's self in so much mystery (posing more questions that it answered in each episode) that the rating was always going to be determined by how they answered them in the final episode. The problem was....they didn't. They literally didn't answer any, which led to the conclusion being completely unsatisfying. In addition, the final episode featured more flashbacks than it did real time action. It was almost as if they were assuming the viewer hasn't watched the first 5 episodes. Bizarre.

We learned almost nothing about any of the side characters in the tournament, with some pretty shocking writing to attempt a cliché story with King.

The first 3 episodes were building the backstory. The 4th episode was by far the best, almost all of the tournament in that 1 episode. The 5th randomly, out of nowhere went on a big virtue signal about women being better fighters then men and something about having to justify being a fighter due to being a woman. Really? In a Tekken video game? Who wants this kind of stuff? Then the 6th, as I've explained, full of flashbacks with no questions answered.

The fights were decent, although it was basically taking turns to attack, seemingly with no counters or defence (ok, some blocks, akin to the video game). Think the Rocky movies where the fighters just take shot after shot with no defence.

Overall, such an anti climactic ending made this so disappointing. I watched it all hoping for closure. I got zero.

Top Boy (2011–2023)

Brilliant London Based Gang Drama/Thriller

[9/10 · 22 May 2022]

The first thing to point out, there are 4 series in total but 3 & 4 are the recent releases, c. 10 years on from the original 2. S3/4 are significantly better than the first 2. You don't need to watch the first 2 (on Netflix as Top Boy: Summerhouse - separate title). But it does give you some insight into some of the characters and the dynamic between a few of them, Dushane and Sully in particular, and the latter's relationship with Jason, which all seems a bit random off the bat in series 3.

This review is mainly for S3/4:

This really is a gripping watch. A significant improvement on the first 2 series mainly down to the brilliance of Michael Ward (playing Jamie), who completely steals the show. This is backed up by a great performance by Kano (Sully), who to my surprise is a very capable actor who's brilliant in this. Asher D as the main character is ok, and there are brilliant supporting acts all around, in particular from Jaq and some of the child actors ('Ats' is really good!).

The first episode, set in Jamaica is a little slow. I spent half of the time trying to understand some of the thick accents but stick with it as the show moves forward quickly.

I could write all day about how good this show is. The characters make it great, the best dynamic is the hot and cold relationship between Dushane and Sully, along with a similar up and down relationship between Jamie and his 2 brothers. Then, away from these friendships, who will make it to 'Top Boy' status. The difficult part as a viewer is you're rooting for all 3!

The show is mainly a hard hitting gangland thriller but does also feature some extremely hard hitting storylines. As inevitably on a new Netflix show, it does walk a thin line into woke storylines for the sake of it in S4 but it delivers them so well, the majority fit in with the exception of a gay prejudice attack, which has no real relevance. The very powerful storylines are a windrush style deportation and an extremely well done mental abuse/coercion plot. This was downright uncomfortable viewing at times but was integrated into the man plot with a fantastic villain. There's also several sub plots on kids getting into working for the drug lords, which gives insight on the challenges a lot of kids face IRL in these areas.

These things are going on while all the while 'Top Boys' are vying for position as the king of summerhouse, not always with each other too, there are lots of external threats and gangs that cause mayhem.

All in all a brilliant show and I'm really looking forward to the upcoming series 5.

Finally - the ought to put a 'teeth kissing' disclaimer in series 3 & 4, as almost every sentence either starts or ends with one.....you get used to it.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

Vanity project? Or the 4th instalment of The Matrix?

[5/10 · 24 December 2021]

I'll start this review by saying the original Matrix is one of my favourite movies of all time and I'm very much the target market for this new instalment.

It's largely a disappointment. They spend the first hour going over old ground, setting a very quirky back story and repeating a ridiculous amount from the original(s). It's not until this part of the movie is set that they start moving forward with the new story. Unfortunately, that's very much aligned closer to the 3rd movie than either the first or the second.

As the plot developed I had theory that the entire movie is a metaphor for Lana Wachowski's transition (or possibly her entire life). Then towards the end of the movie some grade A virtue signalling confirmed this to be true. Note to IMDB: This is not my opinion of any 'real life' matter, but what I believe to to have been the rationale for the movie's plot.

Therefore like so many sequels, it re-writes a lot of what made the original such a great movie.

I've had to think hard to consider what could be positives about the movie. With the exception of Keanu doing his usual slow talking as Neo, the acting is pretty good and there's some good new characters. Keanu and Carrie-Anne do a great job of bringing the exact same personalities to the characters. Neil Patrick Harris is particularly good. Jonathan Groff is good as Agent Smith but the way they've written the character really lacks purpose.

Having said all of that, I still enjoyed watching the movie despite is being hugely disappointing. That's why I've still given it a 5. I do expect the vast majority of fans to give it lower than this. As for any new fans, you'll be completely lost. I'd advise anyone watching it to ensure you're familiar with the first 3 movies.

They really should have left the original trilogy well alone.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019 Video Game)

Does the hard work, elementary errors stop it from being a classic

[8/10 · 16 December 2021]

Synopsis: Years after surviving the purge of order 66, Jedi Padawan Cal Castus sets out to find his place in the galaxy and restore a new Jedi Order.

The game looks, feels and sounds like star wars. They've done a great job bringing part of the star wars universe to life. However, you definitely don't need to be a star wars fan to enjoy this game. I'd describe myself as a casual star wars fan, so I appreciated those little SW easter eggs.

Gameplay is a mixture of Uncharted like platforming/puzzles with fun lightsabre combat. Some of the cinematic gameplay is epic, there's a few sequences in particular that will live long in the memory. Some of the puzzles are actually challenging! There was a few times when I was scratching my head but got there eventually.

Combat and character growth is done really well. Instead of levelling like most RPG's you only grow your character by learning new skills (some being extra health and force; what you need to use special skills). Apart from a few skills, you don't automatically gain extra 'HP' or 'strength'. I was a little sceptical at first but by the time I'd maxed Cal I was so much stronger with the use of some fantastic abilities. Using the force to knock troopers over ledges or pull them towards you for a lightsabre insta kill never got old.

The game is naturally challenging. As a casual but PS4 veteran I went with Jedi Master difficulty (3rd highest out of 4) and the game always kept me on my toes, occasionally shouting expletives at the TV. Some of the boss fights are VERY challenging, so only choose this difficulty if you class yourself as a decent gamer. There were several bosses that took me 6 or 7 tries before I got it right, partly because healing isn't straightforward, it needs good timing. I'm glad I choose the higher difficulty but I am a determined gamer.

The storyline is good. Characters are decent without being memorable and there's some good humour to boot. The main characters grow well throughout the game and you learn more about the adversity that they've been through in the past and how that shapes their journey.

I won't spoil any storyline but the end sequence/storyline is absolutely jaw droopingly epic. What a shame then, that you can't replay it without going through the entire game again. With it being an autosave game, this is such a disappointing choice from the developers.

And so to the drawbacks of the game, which I'm sorry to say are elementary and I felt worthy of deducting 2 stars. Firstly, no fast travel in a game with only 4/5 worlds that are largely linear is insane, particularly as you HAVE to revisit them all to get towards the end of each world. Yes, this means going from the start to the end at least twice, fighting the same enemies, going through the same platforming. This is CRAZY. I feel like they did this intentionally so that you progress your character but this is a lazy way of ensuring adequate levels of combat. Don't cop out and do more worlds. Most veterans will revisit anyway for collectables etc. I had my character maxed with an additional 5 unused skill points at the end, so there's no shortage of character progression (granted, I did bag all the collectables).

Then, there's no way pointing. Couple that with the holomap (map) that's extremely difficult to navigate (imagine the classic 3D map of the umbrella company in resident evil and making that into a maze). What this means in practical terms is that it's so easy to get lost. Then, there's occasional paths you take where you can't go back, so if you take a 'wrong' turn, you have to go all the way around to get to where you were before, to try to take the 'correct' turn. This gets infuriating.

To top things off, the game opens up 'shortcuts' as you progress through a world with the intention of saving most of the above. The only trouble is....they're not marked on the map once you've gone through them once! So you have no idea where they are. Unless you remember them from your previous steps, half of the time you miss them and go the long way.

Another frustration is having a world where it's unclear where you can drop to and where you can't. I'd estimate I intentionally died over 100 times to see if I could drop/climb to a particular ledge. Some look identical to the ones you can. Basically, there's too much that you can't access. Fortunately dying in this fashion puts you back instantly where you were but does punish you by taking a little bit of life away.

For a game where they got so many things right, particularly the hard stuff, like combat, characters, cinematics, music, tension etc to fall down on the very easy things of navigation and maps is unforgiveable.

Other minor gripes include occasionally getting pinned by weak melee enemies and not being able to move/block/attack and getting tickled to death. Also on PS4 the running dynamic is terrible. You have to keep L3 pressed down and forward simultaneously to run. This is more difficult than it sounds as if you stray slightly on the button you stop running. This can get you intro trouble if you're getting pummelled with blasters. Years and years ago most PS4 games recognised that the way to do it was click the L3 button down once and then hold it forward will keep you running until you stop going forward. Again - extremely basic.

Overall, a great game that's made monotonous at times by some very basic errors. This could have been 10/10.

Colony (2016–2018)

Overrated and a missed opportunity

[6/10 · 25 November 2021]

The good:

The cast are brilliant. Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies are excellent all the way through. Tory Kittles is fantastic with a Denzel-esc performance. As good as these 3 are, Peter Jacobson often steals the show with his epic portrayal of Alan Snyder. Thankfully these 4 make up the bulk of things, making up for the terribly wooden Alex Neustaedter (in fairness, he was bordering on a child actor when originally cast).

Character development is also very good. Throughout the 3 series, strong characters transition to weak and visa versa. Some go full circle. This is really well done.

The bad:

Whilst every episode is watchable, the show often meanders through without a great deal happening, particularly in the first 2 seasons. When something does actually happen, it's often just a rinse repeat of what has happened before. The first 2 series in particular are very 'samesy'.

Then there's the lack of a plot other than resistance humans fighting other humans. We learn almost nothing about the raps/hosts until series 3. Who are they? What is their purpose? What are their plans? How did they get here? All of these questions could be answered with terrific sci-fi action but there's almost nothing until season 3. Even then, I think there's about 3 episodes in total with cumulatively about 5 minutes featuring aliens and it's all done with narrative (no visuals). This is a sci-fi show for goodness sake!

In similar fashion, 'the factory'. There's so much they could do with this, particular as it forms a significant part of the overall plot and gets mentioned in about 50% of episodes. What do we get? 1 scene. 1. In the entire show. In season 3 when the show finally gets moving, again, the fate of the factory is something they could have had brilliant sci-fi. Instead, we just get a past tense 1 liner to conclude it's role in the show. Really? Maybe they just didn't have the budget for it?

The ending doesn't conclude anything either. I'm assuming a late cancellation of the show. It's just a series finale as you'd expect. It's a shame because season 3 does get moving and the overall plot becomes so much more interesting. I feel like they just needed 1 more series and a bit more money and they could have done great things in series 4.

So to conclude, the show is 1 big missed opportunity. Great cast, good acting, good plot potential but almost no sci fi. It ends up being more of an action drama. We get more family drama with the Bowman's than we get dealing with aliens.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Great Martial Arts Film

[9/10 · 9 October 2021]

This really is a good movie, particularly if you like martial arts fight scenes. It has a bit of everything, a good sense of humour, great fight scenes and even a bit of fantasy mixed in.

The two lead characters were particularly good. I really liked how they mixed the American and Chinese cultures throughout the movie.

The fight scenes were epic and there were plenty of them, particularly when they involved the 10 rings!

There were only a couple of things that I wasn't keen on. First, the appearance from Ben Kingsley (who I'm a big fan of) didn't work in my opinion. It wasn't entirely random, those that have watched the iron man movies will know this but it appeared to be an attempt to add some comedy value to the movie which just didn't work at all. People who haven't seen the iron man series will probably think it was clueless.

The second was the inevitable woke storyline (that seems compulsory with all hollywood movies now) that they had to slip in. A cliché one, girl doesn't get treated equally to the boys and so has to become better than them *sigh*.

Those things aside, I really enjoyed this movie and it was great to see at the cinema.

Tip: There is an end scene after the credits roll as IN ALL MARVEL MOVIES. The cinema put the lights on as they rolled but we knew one would come. We were the only 2 in the entire cinema that stayed and watched it.

12 Monkeys (2015–2018)

Fantastic show that gets better and better and time goes on.....

[9/10 · 6 October 2021]

What a brilliant, classic time travel show this is. Aptly, this is a show that arguably gets better with each season. My IMDB rating started off with a 6 in series 1 and subsequently gained a star for each season that passed.

Possibly it's biggest weakness is that season 1 is slow to get going so it's vital that you stick with it. Half way into season 2 you will thank me for it! It's also important that you're able to binge all 4 seasons without distractions. Yes, the story can be a little complicated if you don't pay attention, or go a week in between episodes. This isn't something you want to watch in the background, as there are nuances in the storyline happening all the time. To appreciate all the riches that the show has to offer, you must pay attention, particularly to the year that they are in. The show does well to make this clear.

The strengths? There's so much. Firstly, I'm going to give some credit to the network. I know it's not the done thing to do so but before season 3 aired, sci-fi made a somewhat bizarre decision to cancel the show but also order a 4th and final season at the same time. The result? It gave the writers the foresight to write a proper conclusion to the story which was EPIC! Yes, the ending was superb. Not only were all the questions answered but twists and plots solved that you didn't even realise were there. The story telling is brilliant. The show never goes stale and is able to remain relatively fast paced. 4 seasons was the perfect length for this show.

It's also a great cast, particularly the supporting cast which often overshadowed the 2 lead characters. A special mention must be given to Emily Hampshire, who delivers one of my favourite all time performances as the quirky Jennifer Goines. She steals almost every scene she's in and particularly in season 4, produces some hilarious moments despite this being a serious show. It really is a special performance. Barbara Sokawa is also outstanding. Aaron Stanford grows throughout the 4 seasons and although I didn't have a great deal of empathy for the character to begin with, by the time it was all said and done I recognise he did a good job.

I wasn't and still aren't convinced with Amanda Schull but she's 'ok'. Brooke Williams also falls into this category but there are other good supporting acts across the board, Tom Noonan in particular with his passive aggressive portrayal of 'the pallid man' or 'the tall man'.

The show just missed out on the full 10 stars due to a few characters (above) and the lulls in season 1 and a brief one in season 3.

All in all, this a fantastic show with a beautiful and fulfilling conclusion. While so many similar shows end on a cliff hanger or slap you in the face at the end, 12 monkeys does the opposite, rewarding viewers for sticking with it to the end. There are several twists throughout, many only revealing themselves at the end and I believe those that like shows that make you think will appreciate this the most.

I'm so glad I spent my 'time' watching 12 monkeys. Brilliant.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

Fantastic Show - the beating heart of star wars

[10/10 · 20 September 2021]

I've just finished watching season 2 of the mandalorian, what an amazing show. After watching the whole thing I can't believe that I want to mention the music first, it's just fantastic. In addition, each episode is put into a short comic like strip of still pictures in the end credits, it's a real joy to watch.

The show has everything. It really is classic star was at heart but you don't have to be a star wars fan to enjoy this! Pedro Pascal from behind a helmet....is excellent. There's also plenty of appearances from classic races such as Jawas and IG droids!

This show was heading for a solid 9/10 but the finale to season 2 was so epic I had to go with the full 10. I can't give any spoilers here but what an ending.

I have been tempted to deduct a star for Disney's wokeness in regrettably sacking one of the cast after season 2 but as it hasn't affected the series or any of the plot, I figure it deserves it's full glory.

A brilliant show and an incredible effort from Jon Favreau. Well done.

Nemesis (I) (2021)

Terrible acting, plot holes, weird dialogue but still watchable

[4/10 · 14 September 2021]

'Nemesis' initially peaked my interest when I saw Nick Moran in the cast of a classic gangster movie. Whilst Billy Murray and Frank Harper's acting skills won't set the pulse racing, I figured I knew roughly what I'd be getting. I was wrong.

The first thing that immediately stuck out like a sore thumb was the strange dialogue, obsessed with everyone finishing each sentence with the other characters name. Remember the classic lines in Snatch:

"That sounds like hostility doesn't it John?" "Oh we don't like hostility, do we Errol?" "No we don't John".

It's like that the whole way through. Ok, I quickly knew who every character was but there's better methods of writing that can achieve that!

Acting was atrocious the whole way through, typified by the bizarre casting of Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott, who literally can't move anything above her lips. Whilst not a criticism of her as a person or her appearance, a basic pre requisite of acting in this kind of role does require an actor to be able to express different emotions between enjoying a nice glass or red wine or having a gun in their mouth. Sadly, she can't.

There are some classic cliché scenes, some bizarre ones and downright ridiculous ones. Very early on we get the druken copper going to the draw, putting the gun in his mouth and not going through with it. Never seen that before....

Then we have Moran at a complete loss with his life, walks in a bar and then a long chat with a guy he used to know completely changes his life around. Really?

Then to top it off we have 2 people with guns arguing over who's going to shoot a guy, when said guy is standing right there pointing a gun back at them. What? If he had anything about him he'd have shot them both whilst they were bickering. This was just blind ridiculous.

The main storyline actually wasn't bad but there's so many other random things going on with sub plots, it's just like a brainstorm of ideas bundles together and ends up a complete mess. A big meeting together between 2 big gangsters, taking up the best part of 10 minutes in the movie, which ends up having absolutely no relevance to the story at all. A filler scene, of which there are many.

Whilst generally being a terrible movie, it's curiously watchable. I don't know if I can give it any credit or it's just my love of the genre.

How anyone can give this a high score I've no idea. Movies are subjective, sure. But this is one of those that makes you very suspicious of any 9's or 10's. 'Mediocre' is a big complement to this movie.

Next (2020)

Solid Sci-Fi

[8/10 · 14 September 2021]

I've just finished watching 'Next' and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Excellent performances from John Slattery and Fernanda Andrade as the main leads in particular, back up a good if unoriginal, classic sci fi. The series is dark at times and intriguing. There's nothing new to see here but is still well done.

The series in my opinion is not 'woke' as other reviews have concluded. Yes, there is an early obsession with white supremacy but this is part of the early/mid plot that gets concluded half way through the series.

Next was cancelled after 1 season of 10 episodes and fortunately does not end on a big cliff hanger and subsequently and does get a satisfactory conclusion. Therefore, don't dismiss watching it because of it's cancellation.

There is room for improvement however, and could have been higher than my 8 stars. The main pitfall is the often needless and annoying relationship drama between characters, particularly the cliché husband/wife, father/daughter, will they get a room type storylines (thankfully not all the same people!) that dilute the overall plot. A few of the supporting cast really don't offer anything other than these drama filled, seemingly filler storylines.

Next is at it's best during it's darkest storylines, which I won't go into for fear of spoilers. What I would say however, is that there are times when you question your own surroundings!

Whilst by no means perfect, this is a good show that will appeal to most sci fi fans out there.

Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007)

My favourite show of all time

[10/10 · 7 September 2021]

What can I say about SG-1 other than it's just the best show ever made in my eyes. I recall watching it for the first time after enjoying the original movie.

SG-1 has so much to like and is brilliant in so many ways. There's 2 things that stand out above everything else. Firstly the cast are epic. Michael Shanks delivers my favourite performance of all time creating the geeky but brilliant and eventually super cool Daniel Jackson. Chris Judge creates possibly the most iconic alien personality of all time. RDA is excellent and funny with his dry sense of humour as Jack O'Neill and Amanda Tapping is simply brilliant as braniac Sam Carter. The main cast are well supported by legends such as Don S. Davis (RIP).

The other standout is how the series evolves from season 1 right through to 10. It's incredible how they start out as purely explorers meeting legendary alien races to become one of the genuine galaxy super powers by the end. There's too much to write to even touch the surface on how good this show is. Just watch it! (and if you've already done so, watch it again!).

There's too much to write in terms of how good everything is in the show, I could sit up all night writing about it.

The only disappointing moments were the inevitable retirements of a few iconic characters. Whilst the show perhaps struggled to regain the same panache in seasons 9 & 10, the new protagonist introduced in those seasons, the best by far, even that of the legendary g'ould means the show still retained much (if not all) of it's brilliance.

The other disappointment is that it never got a proper ending. The last episode was terrible. Thank goodness for the ark of truth, the true ending to the show.

Thank you to all involved in making SG-1, I'm still searching for another show that could come close to being incredible as this one.

The Orville (2017–2022)

Fun, light hearted, brilliant sci-fi

[9/10 · 7 September 2021]

I have to confess to being unsure about watching the Orville before doing so, as I generally 'don't get' Seth McFarlane's comedy, particularly family guy. That is to say, I didn't think I did. How wrong I was.

The show is literally belly laugh funny. There are a few bad joke cringe moments in season 1 but in season 2 it gets the perfect balance. There's at least 1 moment in each episodes where I'm laughing out loud.

That said this is not a comedy, it just has a terrific sense of humour. It's fantastic fun based sci fi. They explore, meet different planets/races and solve plenty of situations, including some moral and social dilemmas.

What makes this series truly brilliant is the cast and chemistry between them. When a show has a cast that you really care about as a viewer, you know they've nailed it.

The only thing that I thought was missing was a proper antagonist, a real hard hitting storyline and some proper classic sci-fi ship fights! Well....no spoilers here but let's just say that half way through season 2 it gets all this and more. It goes from being a good show to a great one.

I can't wait for season 3! This is a brilliant show and I'm now a converted Seth McFarlane fan.

Full English Breakfast (2014)

Literally the worst film I've ever seen

[1/10 · 7 September 2021]

I've previously spent a lengthy amount of time writing a comprehensive review of just how bad this film is but for some reason I regularly struggle to get my reviews authorised.

At this point I usually give up but I've made a special dispensation for this movie because it would be a crime for people not to know how bad it is.

Terrible sound, acting, story, everything. It's so bad that I actually think it may be a spoof, I'm genuinely not sure.

The Colony (2021)

Incredibly Boring

[2/10 · 7 September 2021]

Go slow, slow down, slown down further and then stop. That's pretty much this movie in a nutshell. I'm so bored watching it I've had to break my own rule (of watching a movie until the end) and give up half way through.

Perhaps the 2nd half will make it somewhat bearable as it does feel like there's a point to it but thus far it's just comes across as pretentious rubbish and I'm still coming to terms with losing most of my evening to it.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

A movie or a series?

[4/10 · 7 September 2021]

If I had paid to watch this movie at the cinema I'd feel cheated out of my money. Ok, so it's called part 2 but that shouldn't mean they literally split the actual movie in half and sold it as two different ones and 2 separate box office cash ins.

With the exception of Cillian Murphy (who of course, is always good) the movie is virtually identical. I had anticipated we might have some kind of storyline, possibly learn something new about the alien creatures, an ending with some kind of closure....no, not a bean. This is a series with 2 episodes, not 2 different movies.

If you're thinking of paying to watch this movie, save yourself the money and watch the first one again.

Stargate Universe (2009–2011)

Too serious, too angry and too boring

[5/10 · 17 July 2021]

As an avid fan of the Stargate franchise (SG-1 in particular) I've twice failed to get past the initial long episode (air) of Stargate Universe as I disliked it so much, this 3rd attempt I've been determined to get through it....and I almost have, enough to write a fairly comprehensive review.

The first episode does unfortunately set the tone for much of the series. People shouting, screaming at each other and generally just being scared and angry.

One big problem is that the series is just plain boring most of the time. What do Sci FI (and Stargate) fans want to see? Exploration! It's ironic that a show with a premise of a ship visiting unknown galaxies actually spends about 90% of the time on the ship. You spend more time meeting new crew members than interesting off world characters. Imagine if Stargate Atlantis would have spent 90% of the time on Atlantis. Get the picture?

Therein lies a huge issue. The series seems to be half way towards Sci fi, trying to please Stargate fans and half way towards trying to please some kind of new 'teeny' audience. Pointless sex scenes for example and relationship drama on earth, neither of which holds any appeal to the genre.

Other than that it's just too serious. Yes, it's meant to have a dark side, fair enough. But that little but of humour you get with Jack O'Neill or Rodney Mckay? Non existent. The amount of times I smiled watching 2 seasons I can count on one hand.

Characters often make or break series like this. Unfortunately the vast majority of them are cliche and mediocre at best. There are some exceptions. The brilliant Jamil Walker Smith (Lt Greer) (playing the cliche hard nut) often steals the show with an excellent performance and is possibly the only character that I genuinely care about. Robert Carlyle (Dr Rush) also delivers a terrific performance, which makes is a real shame that he plays an angry, annoying, shouting character all the time. David Blue (Eli) is 'likeable' but still falls short of the mark. There are others that are either completely cliche, boring or just plain annoying. Thinking about the brilliance of other characters in the franchise, this is possibly the biggest failing in the series.

On the plus side, not everything is as bad as the first episode and there are multiple times that I found myself watching an extra episode rather than going to bed like I should have! There are some (too few) intriguing moments and there are some very welcome appearances by most of the original SG-1 crew. It is well made. Although some of the quirky camera work took some getting used to.

All in all, pretty disappointing and no surprise it only got 2 seasons. If this hadn't had the 'Stargate' franchise behind it, it probably wouldn't have made it past the pilot episode.

Annihilation (I) (2018)

Boring, slow and completely pointless

[2/10 · 30 May 2021]

A truly pointless film. I've just sat through 2 hours of slow, painful boredom. I have a rule of always watching a film to the end as you never know when and ending may save it. Sadly in this case, it didn't happen. As if it wasn't bad enough, there wasn't even really and ending, just one last pointless scene.

Forgetting the main misgivings, even the little things were poorly done. A person dragged underwater by an alligator without a mark to show for it, tick. A person smashed in the face with a heavy automatic weapon without a mark to show for it, tick. No flashlight outside in an unknown world dark at night, tick.

The movie was weird, think donnie darko weird but with nothing happening. What was this movie intending to be? A horror? No. A love story? No. A sci-fi? Maybe. I can only hope that it was made for 3D and intended for cinema only use. I can imagine if viewed in 3D some visuals would have been interesting (disclaimer, watched at home in 2D).

Have you ever had a dream/nightmare where everything was jumbled up and nothing made sense, then you just wake up not knowing how it ended? That pretty much sums this up in one.

I've resisted the urge to give it 1 star due to Natalie Portman delivering a good performance. Other than that, it really is a waste of life watching it. There's no spoilers in this review but in all honesty it would have been really difficult to give any, because nothing happens. I literally can't think of a single thing I could put here that would spoil the movie's 'storyline'. If you watch this, make sure to have a lot of caffeine ready.