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doofusmcsweeney
Reviews
Shôgun (2024)
Feudal Canada
This is one show which would've benefited by being shot on location. The unmistakable evergreen forests of Canada immediately breaks a sense of immersion.
The story feels low stakes, with boring subplots and meandering political machinations. Two ridiculous scenes in the pilot would give Tarantino an orgasm. A group of Japanese soldiers are almost overcome by a starving, weak pirate and in the same scene one of the said soldier has his sword taken from him by one of the weakened pirates. They had diversity behind the camera but still played the Western fantasy of overcoming Eastern might with ease.
The show will probably do gangbuster numbers for the first few episodes but interest will fall if they don't pick up the slack. The characters at this stage are too thin, especially the Japanese who come across as one-dimensional and, in some cases, caricatures.
Yellowjackets: Burial (2023)
If everyone's crazy then nobody's crazy.
Yellowjackets needs to kick it up a notch.
It's becoming like The Walking Dead's season 2 on the farm. And we all know it turned into another drama going places its loyal viewers didn't want to follow. Either start divulging secrets or pick up the tempo because right now it's trudging water. If you were to cancel it now I can't say I would be disappointed unless it starts respecting its viewers.
The actors are the only saving grace hence my 6 stars and their commitment is why I hope for bigger and better things to come.
So far everyone's dealing with trauma in their own unique way but it's getting in the way of story momentum. Do better showrunners.
Strange World (2022)
Disney at its best
It's been a while since a Disney animated movie swept me along with joy - I dare say not since 2016's Moana. The animation is crisp and fresh, the characters are wonderfully 3 dimensional and the story has real heart.
It reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark in terms of exciting setpieces. I found myself not blinking during some of these sequences. Very much nail biting stuff. And at its heart is the age old tale of stepping out of your parents shadow and creating your own path but told in a heartfelt and at times very funny way.
Jake Gyllenhaal does some great voice work and a shout out to Dennis Quaid as his gruff tough dad. The only downside is that the women come across as afterthoughts in the story.
Take the family to see it. A must watch on the big screen.
Synchronic (2019)
Killing animals and pets should be banned.
I was with this as I'm a fan of the director's previous efforts. Then it happened...they killed the pet for no reason at all.
It felt like they did it because they could. It didn't add anything to the movie but immediately pulled you out of it and made the protagonist appear like an asshole. A stupid one at that.
Unnecessarily cruel and psychotic.
Central Park: The Shadow (2021)
Bravo! Standing ovation!
This was 26 minutes of award winning tv. Funny, insightful and frightfully raw. I had genuine tears in my eyes at the end.
This show should be on everyone's social media and be the talk of the town if there is any justice left in the world. Bitsy Brandenham (Stanley Tucci) continues to steal the show and her encounter with Hank (Henry Winkler) broke hearts and funny bones. The epilogue was icing on the cake with the most beautiful wordless minutes on screen since the opening of Up. Bravo all!
Dad Stop Embarrassing Me (2021)
Who gives a Foxx?
Full disclosure: I only watched the first episode and for that alone I feel like I deserve an award.
It was the saddest, unfunny 25 minutes of my life and I've seen Pootie Tang. This would not have made it to pilot in the 90's let alone 2021. I get it - if Jamie Foxx did this purely to give his daughter's career a push then fine. But why did it have to be a humorless bore?
Hopefully, Corrine Foxx learnt a few things here as writer/executive producer and I wish her nothing but success.
However, I don't know which hurt more - the disappointment of an unfunny Jamie Foxx sitcom or the fact I missed an opportunity for a power nap.