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Star Trek: Picard (2020)
It's Not TNG; But That's Necessarily Not a Bad Thing.
If you've ever read a book and loved the characters so much that you wanted to know what happened to them after the last page, you will like this show. Assuming you liked TNG, of course. However, Star Trek: Picard is a great show even if you've never watched Star Trek in any version.
Sir Patrick Stewart is an incredibly talented actor (Logan, for example) and he doesn't hold back in this show. And, although this show isn't "TNG cont.," it definitely IS Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
I've never given a review 10 out of 10 before, but this show earned it! The pre-existing characters like Picard, Riker and Data are true to their TNG roots, and the new characters are compelling and well-written. The pacing, the plot and the writing are all great, too. The story overall is very entertaining but there are also moments that are particularly thrilling if you're a TNG fan, like the inclusion of the Borg character Hugh, from the TNG episode "I, Borg." There are several moments like that but they're never frivolous or wasted.
I was never a huge TNG fan but I binge-watched Picard. It's well worth watching!
The Wonder Years (2021)
A Good Show in its Own Right
Let me preface this by admitting I've only seen the pilot episode. That being said...
As a child of the '80s, who grew up watching The Wonder Years, I had mixed feelings when I heard about this planned reboot. Part of me felt like TV executives were recycling the nostalgia of my childhood for a quick payday, and I worried the new show would be more "Preachy" than "Wonder." On the other hand, some of my favorite '80s movies were reboots of earlier movies, like John Carpenter's The Thing; so I can't say reboots are simply bad on principle. I also thought that this reboot (if done well) might be a chance for a new generation to experience the same 'in-the-moment-nostalgia' that I had felt when I was a kid.
So it was with trepidation that I watched the pilot episode and I really enjoyed it! The writing, acting and pacing are all really good. I actually laughed out loud at a couple points, and I felt the emotional impact they were trying to convey at the end of the episode. I think this reboot will be really good if they keep doing what they did in the pilot! But that's the problem with this show...
Why did they piggyback off of The Wonder Years? If they had made an original family-oriented, coming-of-age show set in the late '60s it would naturally have been compared to The Wonder Years; but it would still be judged on its own merits as a great show. But because they chose to borrow on the wealth of the original show's fandom, people have no choice but to judge it based on the original show's merits, and this reboot sadly falls short.
Look, The Wonder Years was lightning in a bottle. The extraordinary combination of Joe Cocker's voice over that grainy home movie opening, Daniel Stern's soft yet evocative narration, and the timeless themes of family, adolescent struggles, and growing up in a turbulent time of great change all combined to give viewers a wonderful sentimental feeling toward the characters and the show as a whole. In short, the original perfectly captured the wonder of growing up.
I like Don Cheadle but he's no Daniel Stern. His voice lacks the same comic quality and poignant feeling that Stern put into The Wonder Years. When you heard Stern's voice over you immediately knew you were hearing the adult Kevin Arnold looking back on his childhood. Cheadle just sounds like he's narrating a story. That might have something to do with the writing and the timing, as well. When they filmed the original show, Fred Savage could hear the narration during his scenes so he could time his reactions accordingly.
Another thing I felt was lacking in this reboot is the interaction between siblings. Dean has an older brother, but as of the start of the series he's away in Vietnam. Whereas in the original you get to see and feel the brotherly love and antagonism between Kevin and Wayne. I grew up with two older brothers so that aspect of the show always affected me very deeply. As a viewer, I got to know and love Wayne Arnold the way I knew and loved my own brothers. In this reboot, even if they bring Dean's brother back from Vietnam, it won't be the same. Wayne was the older brother, yes, but he was still pretty naive and innocent. He was just a kid, albeit an older kid. But the relationship with older kids is a big part of being Dean's or Kevin's age. I'm sorry they left that out of the reboot.
But like I said, I think this reboot is a quality show and I hope they keep making it.
The Outpost (2019)
Finally!
I didn't even know this movie was being made, but I first heard about it when it was touted as a "pro-America military movie." I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but it sounded better than the alternative.
I served in Operation Enduring Freedom 7 and 8, in a little Forward Operating Base called FOB Tillman, named after Army Ranger Pat Tillman who died in that area (Paktika Province of Afghanistan, a few kilometers from the Paki border). We were one small Infantry company (A Company, 2/87) in a remote area, which was populated by neutral locals and Taliban forces. The American media called it a "hot zone," and it was. The similarities between the setting in The Outpost and the reality of my unit's experiences are startling. Obviously, I'm a biased reviewer.
That being said: I thought this movie was incredible! There were a couple of things I questioned the accuracy of, like soldiers firing full-auto M4s and the somewhat casual behavior of soldiers in an obvious death trap; but overall this movie gets just about everything right. Down to the small details like the water bottle used as counterweights to keep the exterior doors closed, and the local Afghan elder with the red dye in his beard. Those are the kinds of details that SO many Hollywood interpretations overlook. Also, the story this movie relates is an incredible tale of heroism, sacrifice and brotherhood, which really are common in the US military. Watching this film was a cathartic experience for me, as well as an enjoyable movie-going one.
Shooter (2016)
Just awful...
This series was obviously written by people with precisely zero knowledge or experience with firearms, shooting, ballistics, etc., and who couldn't be bothered to hire a decent consultant. In the pilot episode we're introduced to Bob Lee Swagger, a wildlife conversationalist and Collectivist. He's supposed to be out hunting and killing dinner for his family. Instead, he's shooting illegal traps and tranquilizing wolves because he just cares...so...much.
He soon comes across the poachers who set the traps and accuses one of being a dentist, which is obviously in reference to the dentist who killed Cecil the lion, which was a hugely popular Collectivist cause for about a week. He also wrongly claims that a .223 caliber round can't kill anything bigger than a squirrel...which is just retarded. Later, he looks at an image of a gunshot victim with a head wound and guesses, "that doesn't look like a .50 cal." Oh, really, sniper? Was it the fact that he still has a HEAD that gave it away?!? Also, professional snipers don't shoot for the head when they can just as easily target center mass.
Not long after, Bob Lee Swagger returns to his home. Is it a sparsely decorated, isolated cabin in the woods of Montana or Wyoming, suited to an outdoorsman living a Spartan lifestyle, you may ask? Why, no! It's a lakeside suite featured in Better Homes and Gardens of Washington, with all of his dangerous guns kept safely out of reach in the boat house. And this is all in the first few minutes of the pilot. Believe me, it gets worse.
Those responsible for this insult also made a couple of changes to characters from the movie. FBI Agent Nick Memphis is now a black woman, because Michael Peña wasn't enough of a minority, I guess. Also, Swagger's ill-fated spotter, Donny, was apparently just a little too white and Southern in the movie, so, he's black now. It could've been a really great show if the people involved were less concerned with an agenda and more concerned with character and story.