bristolm99 Reviews

The Bounty Killer (1965)

One Of The Worst -- Ever

[1/10 · 13 May 2015]

I gave this movie a look because of some of the cast members, then found myself watching it because I couldn't believe how hilariously bad it was.

With one of the most cliché-riddled scripts and some of the most horrific acting, the cast and crew created one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was so bad, in fact, I think if I were a self-respecting cast member I would have pooled my money with my fellow actors, bought up all of the prints and hauled them off into the desert for a decent burial.

Why anyone would distribute this flick; theater owner would exhibit it; a backwoods TV station/network would buy it, is beyond me. Unless you too are in need of a good laugh, don't waste your time on this turkey!

The Americans (2013–2018)

Slow Starting Americans Descends Slowly To A Stop

[1/10 · 13 May 2015]

After a weak 2013 start I still held out hope this show eventually would find its legs and be a winner. Instead, at the end of the show's third season I found myself unfulfilled and asking in the words of the Peggy Lee standard, is that all there is?

Each subsequent episode starting with the second season and plodding on through the end of season three became a chore to watch. Any mystery, intrigue or excitement seemed to have been drained from the show in season one.

Also not helping this show's credibility as compelling cold war drama is the laughable, grossly improbable (and literal) pairing of Martha and Phillip as FBI mole and handler, respectively; the bedroom and hand-to-hand combat skills of Phillip's slight if not frail wife, and a rather miscast John Boy ... or rather ... Richard Thomas heading up an FBI counter intelligence unit. Indeed, for excitement and drama one might have better luck taking in a May Day parade through Red Square.

By the end of season 2 the story barely seemed to be nudging forward, and by the end of the third season the show had plodded to a virtual stop.

I can't recall when I felt more cheated after watching an episode, or two...or three. Watching the show I found myself asking: surely something big -- or some big things -- are about to happen? Surely! My God, please, something has to happen, doesn't it -- won't it? Surely nobody in their right mind would try, let alone think, they could get away with presenting so little after promising so much!

In the last analysis, maybe the most telling point regarding The Americans and its inability to deliver on its season one promise is a comparison with another TV drama winding up its third season. A friend of mine recently remarked, "For heaven's sake, the story line of Bates Motel advanced further in its last three episodes than The Americans has in the last three years.

In the process its (Bates Motel) cast and writers delivered some of the most compelling television in recent memory."

And I have to agree.