penrosevans Reviews

Burning Palms (2010)

Woman as victim

[3/10 · 7 March 2022]

Except for a couple I fell asleep during (please note) the stories made the woman the miserable victim each time. This could SO have been better. Especially with a dream casting.

Star Trek: Spock's Brain (1968) Season 3, Episode 1

In spite of some of the low ratings....

[8/10 · 22 November 2020]

In spite of some of the low ratings, I've seen this concept played out to good ratings in various ways in other sci fi, a good example being the Doctor Who episode "Bad Wolf" of 2005. I'm sure there's dozens more.

I think people forget this show was done on a shoestring. Half a shoestring. So little money that in the first or second episode they literally couldn't afford to hire a live actor to play the dead woman on the floor ($43 was scale in 1966 I think?). They literally had to use a mannequin.

By Game of Thrones standards, yeah, Spock's Brain is a bit silly. Let's see what Game of Thrones looks like if we only spend $1.5 million per episode on it. That's $200,000 inflated to today's market price. Like a game of Musical Chairs!

Killing Eve (2018–2022)

I know now why the dichotomy of opinion

[6/10 · 20 November 2020]

People rate this show so highly, but it has so many cringey moments of bad script or flat acting.... Its because there is so little really good writing out there of female characters no one really does it well YET, so outside of stereotypes, tropes and filler this is a veritable 1969 moonwalk for these writers. If it's ignored at the awards shows that will tell us all something.

Taboo (2017)

Historically accurate it is not, for sure. But GREAT

[7/10 · 20 November 2020]

After reading the other reviews I realized I needed to suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy this. Or go elsewhere. Beyond that This is truly entertaining, EXCELLENT and certainly in the top 5% of Great Stuff! However I just wish these great writers could write more decent parts for women. It seems like to get a place at the table female characters have to be as wild and weird as possible and or to be a stereotype, "prostitute with a heart of gold". In this production the lovely trans or crossdressing folks got the good lines, which is ok, too; but that meant the writers KNEW HOW to be funny and irreverent and multifaceted, just somehow weren't for the few women in this. The writers really missed huge potential opportunities for levity, depth, and connections with female viewers. In conclusion Generally, I conclude that this series was written by men for men. And that they didn't know how to write for women characters because there are so few good ones written. A self fulfilling pattern.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

I'm not much of a star wars person, but I love this

[9/10 · 17 November 2020]

I really liked this, and I'm not a big star wars fan. This felt really fun. Some of the characters are so wonderful I hope they find a way to shoehorn them into the stories yet to come.

Catch-22 (2019)

In addition to the excellent review by push mary in the stream

[6/10 · 17 November 2020]

In addition to the excellent review by push mary in the stream: this reminded me very much of the series M*A*S*H plus the "suicide is painless " central character existential issues from the movie. In fact I would say it was more that than catch22. Loved seeing Hugh Laurie and George Clooney, but this didn't have the teeth it could have. Perhaps another generation of filmmakers will have more chutzpah.

Mortal (2020)

Needs a sequel!!

[8/10 · 10 November 2020]

While this was low budget by Hollywood standards, it was better than the last Marvel production I saw at likely an exponentially higher production price. This had a great story, stunning locations (I mean stunning), great acting, solid premise.

It's all here and Yggdrasil too. (The Tree! Look it up!) Need a Sequel!

Saturday Night Live: Adele/H.E.R. (2020) Season 46, Episode 4

Grand Slam!!! Great show!

[10/10 · 25 October 2020]

The absolutely best one is "I'm worried about the election, if trump loses I'll have nothing to talk about "

It's TRUE. Pundits everywhere sit with bated breath. ------ What will we do, America?

The Hustle (I) (2019)

All t Hollywood writers are away writing books... because scripts don't pay

[5/10 · 25 October 2020]

I'm beginning to think all the good Hollywood writers are writing books now instead of scripts because scripts dont pay well enough. Movies are getting along on less and less plot. Utilizing cringe instead of humor or just writing horror.

United We Fall (2020)

I only saw the pilot, top marks

[10/10 · 14 October 2020]

Out of possible ten I give 11

Being reasonable, it takes a few episodes for a series to find its feet. Based on the pilot episode I saw on hulu just now, this show has seriously great potential for a long run. Producers should keep in mind the a,b,c plot threads of successful Modern Family series, however, and potentially add extended families. Good luck and great start!

Radioflash (2019)

Did this start out with a different script?

[4/10 · 8 October 2020]

It's like they started with a different script then ran out of time, daylight, money, good weather. I REALLY would have liked to have seen the original in that case. As it is, too many weird things that don't make sense.

Ava (IV) (2020)

Truly not a bad movie - and I've seen bad movies

[7/10 · 1 October 2020]

This is not a bad movie, I've seen bad movies and this is not that. Granted, the characters needed development, but everything else was there. I don't usually watch fight scenes, but when Jessica Chastain fights, actors are going home with bruises. There were no action doubles, Colin Farrell and Chastain were getting hurt. You cant do krav maga for a week or whatever of shooting and not hit someone accidentally when you're supposed to be just coming close. The fight scenes were pretty vicious.

I've never seen John Malkovich do a fight scene before either. Kind of intense.

Bright (I) (2017)

Top notch David Ayer Effort

[10/10 · 21 August 2020]

Ayer always provides good stuff, but this is better than usual.

Top notch world building, solid plot, maybe needs a bit more character building but the action more than makes up for it. Car chases, fight scenes, gun fights; everything guys look for in exciting movies I'm pretty sure.

Really the only complaint I have is that the heroine is just a bit silly sometimes. Although she does create a real contrast to the antagonist -- a real meanie.

Love love love Will Smith. Joel Edgerton is a real surprise these days. You sort of forget he's in there.

Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)

2 reasons to watch, trigger finger on Fast Forward

[6/10 · 1 August 2020]

Yes it's just a war movie shot by someone without clear plot idea (I will bet there was a committee telling Green what to do. I will bet lunch). BUT! The monsters are spectacular. Utterly beautiful. Watch it for no other reason and it's still better than most drivel.

2 scenes stand out, do not miss one second. They both ring with poignant truth to stay with you later. 1. When Sophia Boutella and an army guy sit in a circle of lamps and watch the desert sky. I wont spoil it by saying more. Just watch carefully whenever Boutella is onscreen. 2. A little boy has a pretty tin box for his "treasures" as all children do the world over. Army guy and boy dont speak the same language but this is a magical moment. Again, I wont spoil it by saying more.

I fast forwarded through some of the movie, I didn't understand the attempts at pathos but these two moments stick out for me.

Dont miss any monster scenes. Really really good effects. Lucas eat ya heart out.

Await Further Instructions (2018)

Solid episode of Outer Limits

[7/10 · 26 April 2020]

This is either exactly like an episode of the American series Outer Limits or original Twilight zone. Only British. And updated. You will love it or hate it within ten minutes. 15 tops. Somewhat predictable, but decently carried out. It is ESPECIALLY impressive since it's low budget.

Moving On: Butterfly Effect (2009) Season 1, Episode 5

Lack of plot points

[2/10 · 19 March 2020]

It didn't seem like much time was spent developing the script on this one. No character development, 15 minute story stretched to half an hour through repetition of conversations.

Invasion (2005–2006)

If this series had been assigned a budget it would have rocked

[7/10 · 6 March 2020]

The only thing wrong with this series is it has no reveal. No monsters, nothing to see, no real effects. Great writing, great cast, great direction and they all trooped valiantly on episode after episode putting everything they had into it... just like Flashforward and other exquisite series killed off in infancy for lack of vision. And silly shallow stuff marches to the top of the ratings. Where's the imagination? No wonder everyone is into creating mini drama in their lives, it's what they see on TV, then vice versa.

Ready or Not (I) (2019)

Out of a possible ten, I give it 12.

[10/10 · 3 March 2020]

I don't care for horror, but this is an EXCEPTION. It's well paced, different, cleverly written. Great characters, especially Andie McDowell!

The Baytown Outlaws (2012)

Offensive. Heartbreakingly, soul-staggeringly offensive.

[1/10 · 18 February 2020]

American Indians scalping people, Rednecks beating up scantily clad women.

I expected more from Brodie- Sangster and Longoria.

The Corruptor (1999)

Still VERY good. Well worth watching

[9/10 · 17 February 2020]

Whether you've seen it before or not (I wasn't sure I'd seen it before) it was VERY GOOD.

If this came out tomorrow the only thing you'd notice is: there are no cellphones and Mark Wahlberg looks more like Marky Mark which is precious. And thank goodness a little less extreme violence than usual. And there's a proper plot. And real characters with challenges. A solid movie. Review February 2020