jasondamore Reviews

Your Honor (II) (2020–2023)

Really could be better

[5/10 · 16 June 2024]

This started off great but started to go downhill with the stupidity of the writing and the casting. First of all, don't cast a guy to play a girl. Having no knowledge of the actor....as soon as I saw Jimmy Baxter's daughter I knew it was guy pretending to be a girl. I had to do research but it soon confirmed what my eyes were telling me, that's a guy. Horrendous casting decision.

With that aside, the writing on this show just could be so much better. The decisions some of the characters make are really dumb, and Adam is just an absolute idiot. Bryon Cranston is excellent as always but his acting can't save the bad writing.

The 8 Show (2024– )

Could've been so much better

[5/10 · 20 May 2024]

I was hoping to enjoy this as much as I did Squid Game, (with the exception of the American gamblers). This show started off intriguing...and once I grasped the gist, which didn't take long, I was interested to see how these characters would choose to extend their time in the game and increase their winnings. I knew violence would begin, but after it started the show quickly spiraled downward into stupidity.

First of all the characters really had no depth, and the decisions they made were just absolutely ridiculous. I get the metophorical symbolism with the hierarchy of the floors, but they should've made better decisions with the script.

There were a ton of plot holes too.

The greatest of all my frustrations with the show was why these characters (with the exception of two) decided to remain in their sweaty dirty piss and blood stained outfits for the entire time (which was months). While the cost of a new outfit was probably a lot, they all could've easily done this. Especially when they began pissing themselves from being tased, they remained in the outfits!

The dumb decisions made were just astronomical but that one above all just baffled me.

Also one cinematic plot hole that made no sense...none of the men grew any facial hair the entire time. Ridiculous.

Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal (2024)

Interesting Doc of Karma thru Hackers

[5/10 · 18 May 2024]

Throughout this series we see a lot of testimony from former employees at Ashley Madison as well as reporters and police saying how devastating this was. On the contrary, I feel (as probably millions of others do) that this hack was a great thing. We're made to feel bad for those who had their lives torn apart by the hack, one reporter even states that the hackers are to blame for the deaths attributed to this scandal, as well as Ashley Madison. I whole heartedly disagree. The only people responsible for the devastation suffered from this data breach were the users. The people who cheated or wanted to.

I'm not saying I'm better than they are by casting the spotlight on them. I'm not. But I'm simply saying is that just because a product is there, nobody is making you use it but you. And when you use it, you take on the consequences of your own actions. I've made many mistakes in my life and I own them. The users of this website who've had their lives destroyed have only themselves to blame.

Damsel (2024)

A really stupid dragon

[4/10 · 12 March 2024]

So the plot goes that centuries earlier the king and his "army" of about 10 guys slay the 3 dragon eggs before they can hatch and meet the wrath of one angry mommy dragon, while the king is left to suffer the same as the dragon did by sacrifing 3 daughters every generation. The dragon claims it can smell the royal blood of the princess, all though the women it has killed over the centuries range from every race, white, black, Asian, etc... The family is white....how dumb is this dragon? This is one time in which Netflix adding equity to their cast backfires on the plot big time.

In several parts of the movie the dragon (whom is fixated on killing Elodie) has her right where it needs her (cornered in the opening of the cave, in the crystal shaft, under its foot, right in front of it walking away) and either is distracted by something else and flies away or starts monologing until it loses the opportunity.

Despite the really moronic dragon, the movie was very predictable and a typical female power trip. Decent CGI and good acting give it 4 stars, but that's about it.

Wayward Pines (2015–2016)

The book series was so much better...

[4/10 · 28 February 2024]

I read the trilogy by Blake Crouch and while I think the whole idea that human beings as a species will evolve or devolve into murderous savage beasts in the next 2000 years, or ever for that matter, because of the harm we're doing to the planet is totally laughable. Climate change for one is a complete myth to raise taxes and create other political issues. Politicians and so called "scientists" have been warning us of a coming doomsday due to climate for decades now. And they always move the goal posts when nothing happens. I've lived through the threat of the returning ice age, then the oceans rising by 2010...it never happens because in reality our planet is a lot more resilient than we give it credit for and we haven't put a dent in its ecosystem. Yet, these scientists will continue to cry climate change disasters are coming because they're being funded by powerful elites to push that message.... Anyway, to get back on track. The basis behind the novels of humans evolving because of human eco damage is ridiculous but I decided to put that aside and try to enjoy the books. And they were very well written and also immensely enjoyable. I waited to finish all three novels before watching the series Wayward Pines. Even though I heard it was canceled after two seasons, I still wanted to watch it and compare it to the books.

All I can say is what a travesty. Matt Dillon is an excellent choice for Ethan Burke, and Carla Gugino was also great as Kate...but that's where the great casting ends. Ben is supposed to be 12, he doesn't have a girlfriend in the books, nor is any of this "first generation" crap mentioned in the books.

The abbies in the books are terrifying. They walk on all fours with translucent skin and white opaque eyes and super oblong arms with sharp razor like talons. The abbies in the show are kind of pathetic. They look like naked men in gray body paint and semi pointy teeth. With executive producers onboard like M. Night Shamaylon and the Duffer Brothers, I'm extremely disappointed with this adaptation. The story hardly follows the storyline from the novels. In fact they're so vastly different, I don't understand why Blake Crouch agreed to this!

I really wanted to like the show. But I had to give up after the first season. It's just so different from the novels, and not in a good way.

The Trust: A Game of Greed (2024– )

Horrible contestants ruined it for me

[2/10 · 4 February 2024]

The women on this show were all atrocious human beings, even the old woman! Everyone crying victim to misogyny...when the women were the only ones who were greedy and looking out just for themselves! The men were all being honest and loyal to the group! Absolutely disgusting behavior by the women. I don't want to hear the sob stories...everyone has them, and one of them having a non-binary plant?! Seriously?! I had to shut it off. The two marines, the cop that was kicked off unfairly in the first episode and the other dude named Gaspare or something were the only likable characters. Everyone else was just fake and obnoxious.

Run Hide Fight (2020)

Could've been better but decent movie

[6/10 · 2 February 2024]

Of course the critics hated it because they're liberal morons who will hate it just because it's on DailyWire and no other reason. Shows how shallow they truly are. They can't even rate a movie based on the movie itself. These people are so full of hate for conservatives that they'll hate anything produced by them even if it's a masterpiece. Unfortunately though in my opinion, this movie was not.

Here's my take...it had a strong premise and an interesting take on a school shooting scenario, but could've been much better as many things made no sense.

The first being that there were absolutely no teachers or adults in the cafeteria at all when the van enters, and nobody seems to hear it. You'd think the security would lock the school down before running in with no weapon. Second, how the pranks are allowed on this high school prank day was ridiculously unrealistic and a fire hazard. And third, after Zoe makes it out of the encounter alive but badly wounded, she is able to not only hobble around with a bullet still in her leg, but leave the area unnoticed to shoot another bad guy using a loaded weapon the police just leave sitting on the ground unattended outside a school after a school shooting?! C'mon. Six stars is the most I can give this movie cause of those ridiculously stupid parts, let alone giving one of the bad guys the gun back! They could've made the same movie without those ridiculously dumb scenes and this could've easily have been an 8 or 9 star review.

Godzilla (2014)

Plot holes and boring characters

[4/10 · 20 December 2023]

I rewatched this movie because I recently saw Godzilla Minus One in theatres and was in awe of how well done it was. This movie on the other hand, was just another poorly made American blockbuster that focuses on explosions and fighting monsters with very little story and no character development, and the story that they do tell makes little to no sense.

First of all, the ONLY interesting character in the movie is Joe Ford played by Bryan Cranston, and they decide to kill him off very early in the movie! His son, Ford is just boring and wooden. I found myself yawning when he was on screen.

While the CGI of the MUTO's and Godzilla were well done, they only really appear at night which is kind of a cop out. The movie is very dark. For a budget of $160 mil, you'd think you'd want your audience to actually see it.

I don't know where to begin with the plot holes but there and way too many to mention here. One that stands out as one of the most ridiculous was the school bus scene on the bridge. Are you telling me that the military knows Godzilla is coming into San Francisco Bay so they line up tanks on the bridge (a bridge he can easily wipe out) after knowing that artillery fire has no effect on him, AND they also let citizens and school busses carrying children on the same bridge?! Plus I'm pretty sure the evacuation was to Oakland, so why are they taking the Golden Gate which DOES NOT go to Oakland?!

Another plot whole...these giant MUTO things are attracted to nuclear power, so they go after a nuclear warhead on a train when there's nuclear power plants all over they could've checked out first.

The mother's decision to stay in San Francisco and be separated from her young son was absolutely ridiculous and beyond stupid. They're evacuating the city cause giant monsters are gonna come but she needs to stay cause her husband told her he'd meet her there. Like he wouldn't understand she was evacuated. Insanely stupid.

There really is no reason given as to why Godzilla wants to fight the MUTO's other than he's an apex predator. And after he destroys multiple buildings in Honolulu and San Francisco not to mention kills probably hundreds of thousands of people in the process he's deemed a hero for some reason. Stop trying to make Godzilla into the good guy! I hate when Godzilla movies do this!! He's a villian!

Lastly Ford is brought on as the only guy the military has who can defuse the bomb...yet he doesn't. And it goes off just off the coast killing zero monsters and probably killing hundreds of people after the radiation from it. Yet he's supposed to be a hero too. Who writes theses movies?!

No Hard Feelings (2023)

This movie tries too hard to be funny

[5/10 · 13 November 2023]

There are some humorous situations but I really didn't find myself laughing in the movie. Some scenes that were trying to be funny came off as kind of ridiculous or simply too stupid...such as when Maddie beats up 3 beach walkers who were stealing their clothes, while totally nude. I get the humor there, but the stupidity comes in when one of them tells her she has serious problems (which seems to be a repetitive line said to her in the film). Umm, they're the ones stealing clothes to leave two people stranded naked. What was she supposed to do? And the fact that Percy seems totally clueless as to how Maddie handled them and seems upset that she fought them to get their clothes back only to jump on a car naked to get his phone back was kinda dumb.

Other dumb parts were how Percy was adamant that he wanted to get to know a girl well who he truly cares about before losing his virginity and then after getting upset that Maddie won't come to Princeton to see him, goes to a house party where the girl he knows from school (after declaring he has no friends) is already there when he left her in the restaurant moments before, and then they're in bed together immediately as Maddie barges into the bedroom to find him. That part was absolutely beyond stupid.

Not to mention how Maddie is scolded by two teenagers when she tells them to f each other as an insult...and then the parents find it homophobic as well. Give me a break. Absolute stupidity.

In other scenes such as the macing of Maddie in the van, Maddie trying to climb stairs in roller blades and several others I felt as if the humor was being forced and just came off as dumb.

I did like the message the movie conveyed but overall the comedy just fell flat, several parts were predictable and many parts made no sense at all. Plus way too many uses of the F word. Not necessary.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Good but not great

[7/10 · 26 July 2023]

As a fan of Nolan I was really looking forward to this film. And while I didn't dislike it, I just expected so much more about the making of the Atomic bomb than the movie actually gives us. In both 2 minute trailers, we are treated to an intense pressure cooker of the race to build the first nuclear weapon to avoid having it used on us by the Nazi's. The trailers spend about 99% of their time focused on this one tremendous achievement, and the implications that it would bring to the world, both good and bad.

The movie was something entirely different. The acting was suberb. The score was excellent. But the subject matter wasn't exactly what was promised in the trailers. Again, I am a fan of Nolan. But I'm a bit disappointed with the build up the trailers promised as it did not accurately portray what the bulk of this film is about.

I, like many others was hoping to be treated to a film about the physical and moral challenges the making of such a weapon would impose. But instead the vast majority of the 3 hours is spent covering the intense political aftermath that followed the war. Endless scenes of political dialogue about espionage and possible ties to Communism. I mean, I would at least hope to have left the movie about the making of an Atomic bomb with a rudimentary understanding of how such a weapon actually works. But none of that is covered in the film. There's some talk about uranium and plutonium, but that's really about it. The big scene that is built up tremendously in the trailers is pretty underwhelming to be totally honest, and lasts less than 3 minutes of the movie.

With all that said, I did enjoy the film, especially the performances of Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr...but the bulk of this film is not what was advertised at all. It's more about the rise and fall of a complicated man and the ugliness of the beurocrats in Washington than the making of the Atomic bomb.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Sometimes not seeing is scarier

[8/10 · 25 July 2023]

When I saw this in the theaters when it came out I found it petrifying. On second watch many years later, not as much only because I know you don't see anything. But that's what made this movie so riveting when first watching it in a theater. You're in the woods with them, you don't know what's making those sounds, what's playing with their minds. Sometimes not knowing what's there is scarier than knowing. I personally loved this movie. It's original, it's raw, and it shows what can be done with a super low budget. Not everything needs to be scripted with special effects and CGI. Sometimes simply being in the woods at night with an unseen mennace is enough. Great movie.

Sound of Freedom (2023)

Very powerful film

[10/10 · 6 July 2023]

The film was well done and addresses the tremendous elephant in the room that Hollywood doesn't want to talk about (because they're complicit), child sex trafficking. While the movie focuses on the actions of Tim Ballad and the children he rescued from traffickers in Colombia, it shines a light on the worldwide criminal enterprise that most people are oblivious to. The first step in preventing a crime is spreading awareness. The acting in this movie was excellent, the pacing was great and it sends the message it needs to. I strongly hope and pray that the awareness of this problem grows because of this movie and we can end this criminal enterprise that the world elite feed on.

Cell (I) (2016)

Was really hoping to like this one

[3/10 · 5 June 2023]

I haven't read the novel so I'm not sure how close it is, but as a Stephen King adaptation I was excited when I came across this on Prime. Seems many people are disappointed that this ended up being another zombie flick. Zombie movies don't bother me if they're done with some originality which this movie actually does. Instead of a deadly pandemic causing the dead to walk around and kill, this time it's a signal via cell phone. The premise was great, but then it started to fall apart quickly. For one, it seems obvious to the protagonist Clay that you need to be on a phone call to be affected. He's luckily saved from this just belore it happens because his battery died.. but when the chaos ensues it appears that about 99% of the city (Boston) has been affected. I know people are always on their phones these days but rarely are they actually on calls. I get that such an event might prompt people to make calls but still highly doubt more than half the population would be affected so quickly as most people are just browsing social media and would run.

Then we learn that these zombies have a hive mind and can infect others by making a weird noise in their ears. Getting dumber....and then our group of survivors enter a small pub for refuge and start drinking and dancing....that's where I shut it off.

The Shining (1980)

Just a jumble of nonsense with classic scenes

[5/10 · 19 May 2023]

I watched this movie probably for the first time ever in 2023. I thought I had seen it before, but after watching it I realize I didn't really remember any of it. With that said, I think what makes this movie such a cult classic is the famous director and the famous lines and stills, from "red rum", to the identical twins and bleeding elevators, to "here's Johnny" and the hedge maze scene. The story is truly all over the place and leaves the watcher guessing a lot on what is actually going on and who's going mad. Honestly, I don't think it was as good as the hype I've heard about it, though I did enjoy the classic scenes.

But honestly as a movie is has a ton of plot holes. The hotel is apparently haunted, and it's mentioned that it's built on an ancient Indian ground which is probably the reason. But the gift the boy and Halleran share called the Shining really doesn't make any sense with the movie. The boy has the ability to see things in the past and in the present in short glimpses, and also can communicate with other people with the gift. Ok, but what does that have to do with a haunted hotel? He hardly uses it for anything in the movie. Plus the imaginary friend Tony is never explained, and really has no point in the movie at all. The whole thing is just meant to confuse you. The scenes from the naked woman in room 237 who turns ugly, to the man wearing a pig mask near the end, and the skeletons in one of the rooms, it's as if Kubrick just took a mash of a million movies and threw them into one just to confuse the hell out of the viewer with none of it making any sense. I thought Halloran being called to the hotel would've resulted in something a little more than him being immediately killed...in the end the Shining gift Danny possesses was pointless and made no sense in the movie at all.

All in all I didn't find this movie to be very classic or even great with the exception of the classic scenes that have grown iconic for some reason over the years. The movie itself wasn't scary at all and made no sense. In the end we find that a man who looks just like Jack ran the hotel back in 1921. Umm...ok?? More unanswered questions. Not as great as people say it is. I'm not sure why this was ever a classic.

The White Lotus (2021–2025)

Loved and hated

[5/10 · 30 April 2023]

Only have seen the first season so far but my review is based on that. The season kept me entrigued and interested in the characters and the flashes of humor were pretty funny when they came, but then the show had its moments that made me hate it as well as most of the characters. To begin with, the family that goes on vacation together to practically spend no time with each other, and parents so bad that they're rich enough to spend $75,000 on bracelets but can't get another room for their kids and don't even notice their son sleeping on the beach every night. Then there's Paula, the daughter's friend who is so brainwashed that she's completely obsessed with race. I understand her sympathy for the ancestors of Hawaii but Kai wasn't one of them. The white people today did not take part in the events of the past so shouldn't have to take any blame for it. Her hatred for white people alive today was annoying and such complete ungratefulness for the family paying for her trip. Horrible character.

Then there's Shane, who reminds me of many self absorbed men though his spats with Armond made me laugh, but when he got away with murder at the end it was just completely ridiculous and unrealistic. Not to mention Rachel giving in at the very end and going back to him, huge disappointment. Then there's the older woman, who honestly didn't have many humorous moments and I saw her letting down the kind woman from the spa from a mile away. That was just predictable and very disappointing. I found myself hoping she'd go back to Belinda at the end and make the investment.

The season had its moments but only giving this 5 stars for it lacking realism and characters that are just difficult to like. The only ones I really cared for were Belinda and Rachel, and in the end Rachel disappointed me too. Could've been so much better.

You (2018–2024)

Giving up after season 1

[2/10 · 20 April 2023]

The only good thing I can really say about this show is that the acting by most of the main characters was good. The story though was ridiculous and unrealistic. Not only does the protagonist Joe get away with stalking and killing people when forensic evidence would clearly point right at him, (urine in the jar), but his way out of it is a book that Beck wrote? There's literally no proof she actually wrote it, as it was typed, and any half wit would be able to put the pieces together. There's also a ton of plot holes. You can't continue to view texts on an old phone when the user activates a new one. Joe seems to have no problems understanding conversations out of hearing range when he's hiding. You also can't just walk into a mansion in Greenwich, CT. As a former Fed Ex driver who delivered in that town, those huge houses have security gates and alarms. Just ridiculous.

Some of the characters were simply unrealistic and it was blatantly obvious the actor who played Blythe is a man. Doesn't even look like a female. Elizabeth Lail was great as Beck, but her character was whorish and very nieve and dumb. And at the end Paco was hugely disappointing. He hates Joe and then sees him straight up murder a guy and decides to keep it hushed up and also fails to save Beck and doesn't even say anything after her sudden death. How did people like this nonsense?!

The Founder (2016)

Smart people move ahead

[8/10 · 30 March 2023]

The first time I watched this movie I came away disliking Ray Croc...as a quick thinking businessman taking over the business from the McDonald brothers and leaving them with nothing but the money he bought them out with. But after rewatching it years later I feel differently. The brothers had multiple opportunities to do what Croc was able to do, but seemed more interested in keeping to their standards and let an outsider outsmart them. They could have easily gotten a lawyer to take on their case pro bonk and won but seemed to just let Croc take advantage of them. In this world it's dog eat dog and Croc was the bigger and smarter dog.

Troll (2022)

If it looks like a troll, and smells like a troll...

[5/10 · 27 March 2023]

Could've been much better. I was seeing a lot of similarities to Jurassic Park in the beginning...the paleontologist finding bones, the vibrating water as the monster got closer, but then it sort of fell apart. The troll itself was great CGI but it takes more than that to make a good movie...the characters were moronic, the script was horrible. When the troll breaks out of the mountain, Nora Tiedmann instructs the military to pause the video and you can clearly see a large creature...yet they still question if the tracks are footprints. Then when they track the prints and they just seem to stop...obviously the monster is right there, as it looks like stone. Doesn't take a genius. But the dumbest of all is that Norway is full of folklore about trolls, they even have a large statue of one in the amusement park in Lillehammer that it appears directly behind and the military and prime minister STILL scoff at the mention of the word troll and the folklore. I mean it looks exactly like your freaking statue!! In the United States we have Bigfoot as our mythical cryptid...if I'm in the woods and I see a 10 foot tall hairy beast that looks just like a sasquatch...I'm not going to scoff and go no...it's obviously not a sasquatch...what could it be?! Who wrote this horrible script?!

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari (2022)

Scary to think about

[8/10 · 21 December 2022]

I am the type of person who would've done this excursion. I love nature, I love adventure, and appreciate the awesome power of the Earth and the dangers it possesses. This sort of tragedy is very sad though while I understand why they closed the island to guests after this tragic day I don't think it was totally necessary. You go on these tours because of the risk. You sign your life away before he tour because of this risk. As tragic as this was and I truly feel for the families, I think tours should still be allowed to this island.

With that said I think the documentary was very well done and did a great job of showing the viewer the landscape and power of the island as well as the culture.

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Finally watched it, disappointed

[4/10 · 2 December 2022]

Expected so much more from this. Great premise, horribly executed and bad acting. I heard about this movie many years ago and never got around to watching it until now. I was hoping for a great sci fi time travel movie. I felt like they were making this up as they went along. So many things just didn't make sense or written as if a child did.

In the scene were Ashton Kutcher's character goes back to when they blow up the mail box, he should've been killed. Movie should've ended. He was ran up to it and stupidly stands there waiting for it to explode.

Plus if he can simply go back in time by thinking of old memories, you don't need a journal or a video for that, you can just think of them.

I enjoyed the aspect of all the what ifs with different things changing in his life based on his decisions, but it was just horribly put together. The 7 year old kid talking like a wise ass to get the father to stop filming them, or to his father. Was just poorly written. And don't even get me started on the acting. Best job was by Amy Smart.