stephengibbons-2 Reviews

Prince and the Revolution LIVE! (1985 Video)

I Only want to see you.... No seriously!

[8/10 · 10 February 2024]

I just watched my BluRay copy that I got for Christmas. Purple Rain is, imo, Prince's greatest musical achievement.

This isn't a criticism of the performance in any way, but an observation of the video production alone.

What I wouldn't give to have some better lights in this place. The entire affair is so dimly lit that it's a testament to the music that we still hang on until the end. How in the world isn't there a spotlight following Prince everywhere he goes on that stage? And Prince goes nearly EVERYWHERE in near total darkness.

The house of mirrors effect used during the entirety of "When Doves Cry" is tiresome. Thankfully it's only for that track alone, which is still a shame because it's one of his greatest hits and you find yourself looking elsewhere during the whole song just to save your eyes.

I think the house lights went on once the entire show, which is a bummer because that crowd deserved to be highlighted a bit more.

All 8 stars in my rating are for that incredible band and the genius leading them.

Celebrity Jeopardy! (2022– )

Fire your publicists, it's an utter embarrassment

[1/10 · 24 April 2023]

Remember when SNL imagined Jeopardy with vapid, ignorant celebrities?

Well ABC straight up stole the idea.

Watch as millionaires stare blankly at the cameras when asked questions like "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb".

This is astonishingly bad.

The 30 minute format we all know and love is now a bloated affair, 30 minutes is now collectively spent between rounds as the host makes inane small talk with the dumbest contestants ever. You'll be yelling at your TV halfway through episode one.

None of these people know how to play the game, their wagers are a joke, "true daily doubles" almost never occur because they're all afraid to go big.

Also, was Mayim EVER interesting or charismatic?

She's pleasant enough but man is she a bore.

Triple Jeopardy is a nice touch though so there's that.

Jack Ryan (2018– )

Weakest season by far.

[6/10 · 9 January 2023]

Jack Ryan stories , when they're well written and directed, are set apart from others in the spy genre by the titular man's high intellect and moral code. He's referred to as a Boy Scout more than once throughout the franchise. That quality, while better showcased in earlier seasons, is muted this season. This season substituted a better story with more action, much of it sloppy and unrealistic.

John K is a likable Ryan, but he was lost in his own story this season. Less incessant running around, more character development please.

The only quality character arcs belonged to Luka and Petr

Lots of trendy boxes got checked off this season, but unfortunately the box next to "great script" and "great director" were left unchecked.

.

I loved him as Bunk in "The Wire", but Wendell Piece has always felt out of place in this series. He's too old to be playing field agent, and let's face it, he's far too out of shape to be believed. Also, why's he walking around Moscow in a suit and tie? If you're working IN THE FIELD, shouldn't you try really hard not to look like a Fed?

Find a more out of place person to send running around Gorky Park.

I'll wait......

Jim Greer was a great character in Red October because he helped move the plot along from the safety of Washington DC. James Earl Jones wasn't running around on a submarine chasing bad guys. He delivered a commanding performance as Jack's boss while Alec Baldwin saved the world. If we're rebooting the franchise, why couldn't Greer be casted a little younger?

In fairness to everyone involved, nothing's ever come quite so close to the perfection of "Hunt For Red October"

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

One star for every billion Disney paid Lucas.

[4/10 · 30 June 2022]

It seems Disney couldn't find a good Star Wars script if it were stapled to their hands.

As for the nonsense about the "toxic fandom" and their thoughts about the Reva character: a weak script and poor acting get the criticism they deserve.

You can't just wish away an underwhelmed reaction by fans. At some point you have to respect that these are people well versed In the product you shelled out billions of dollars for. Listen to them for a change.

If you really must persist with this "The Force is Female" edict, well then the Star Wars Universe is rich with excellent female characters, both heroes and villains.

Assaj Ventress anyone?

The Nightsisters?

Darth Talon?

Darth Zannah?

Mara Jade?

Instead Disney hands the writing over to some crackpot committee and the best they came up with was Reva.

Just like I wrote 20 years ago about the awful prequels, if you stray too far from the core of your story (The Jedi and Sith in the prequels, Obi Wan and Vader in this), you better have written characters that are either on par with your legends, or somehow surpass them.

They most certainly haven't in either case.

I added a star for how good it looks, as well as a star for the fantastic duel in episode 6. They got that right at least.

Servant (2019–2023)

The most expensive interior designer sizzle reel ever created

[3/10 · 17 June 2022]

When are we going to stop falling for the M. Night SHAM??

It's a never ending slog filled with very dislikable people running in circles and asking "Where's Jericho?", while I'm sitting here asking "WHERE'S THE PLOT??"

After 2+ seasons I couldn't possibly care less where Jericho is.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses (2021– )

A fun distraction for the movie fans

[7/10 · 3 January 2022]

For the first few minutes I was feeling some major cringe, but once the game started I was hooked. A lot of the questions are very challenging (who can possibly remember what date someone entered a memory in the pensieve??) The contestants were pretty sharp and I thought the winning team was a surprise. Very tight finish at the end.

Yes there's a scripted element to the show. For starters, those contestants weren't picked randomly from the owl post (do you think they had craftsmen backstage making those ornate nameplates on the fly?) My only major complaint is how two categories in the Magical Games round were never picked once in all four episodes. I would have liked to see those played in the game.

Is it corny? A little, But it's fun to challenge your Potter skills along with the teams, and you'll definitely have a favorite team if you play along.

Safe (2018– )

A Telenovela in the English Countryside

[6/10 · 11 May 2021]

If you like the way a telenovela drops a drama bomb before every commercial break, but you also don't speak a lick of Espanol, then this one's made for you. By the 4th episode we had to keep watching just to see how the writers could possibly keep stacking such a ridiculous house of cards. And that ending.... Ay dios mio!!

6 stars for the entertainment value.

True Detective: Form and Void (2014) Season 1, Episode 8

Flawed finish to a perfect crime story

[8/10 · 22 April 2021]

Just finished the series fur the second time since this first aired.

My thoughts here are on the final scenes at the hospital. Needless to say this is a spoiler:

I liked the shot of Rust sitting up in the hospital bed looking defeated by his body's refusal to die.

We all know what his plan was after he closed the book on the case, He basically spelled out the clues to Marty.

Rust wanted to turn his own lights out, and yet there Rust is after all was said and done in Carcosa.... Surviving.

In my opinion, that's when the credits should have rolled.

The "happy" end with he and Marty feels like a deleted scene. It's a sweet moment for sure, but it somehow feels out of place.

Perhaps the producers felt this was a bigger redemption for Rust.

Reign (2013–2017)

Costumes = British accents

[5/10 · 21 April 2021]

Although most of Europe is represented in this story, every actor speaks with a British accent.

If you have any semblance of an ear for the English language, this gets confusing when French, Scottish, and Portuguese all sound like they were raised doing Shakespeare in a London theatre company.

Red Dog (2019)

"I'm glad I took the ride"

[10/10 · 1 February 2021]

Slice of life docs are really fascinating to me because after you've seen all the blockbuster superhero nonsense, hanging with actual human beings is gratifying. I don't know Luke Dick, I don't know his music, but I took a chance on this story and I really loved it. His mom is a true blue, authentic American lady. And all the people that surrounded her in this story are cut from that same rebel cloth as Kim. I loved when Luke asks her why she shies away from being labeled a feminist and Kim tells him that she didn't need to belong to any cause or believe in things she didn't believe in to fit in. She's an independent and individual spirit that lives beyond any foolish dogma. I was really impressed by this story and it makes me excited to be a good Dad someday.

Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)

Still holds up, despite the clunky class war commentary

[8/10 · 24 January 2021]

The director uses one of the greatest novels of the 20th century as a prop like some college freshman. "Robbie the Creep" tells Baby that "Some people matter, some people don't", then hands her a copy of "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. Anyone who's ever actually read the book would laugh at such an ignorant, clumsy attempt at class politics. The book is about the underdog, the maverick choosing their own way in spite of the pressures of the mob.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi (2020) Season 2, Episode 5

I needed the force to see anything

[7/10 · 27 November 2020]

I had to change the settings on my tv just to make out what was happening. Glad to finally meet Ahsoka, but why'd it happen in near complete darkness? Dawson is fine, expecting the exact same charm that Ashley Eckstein brought to the character would be foolish. But that name they came up with for The Child? Really?? Did they use one of the many Star Wars name generators available on the internet?? Feels uninspired.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Important details left out of the film that would have made it great rather than good.

[7/10 · 18 November 2020]

In these apocalyptic times I've started rereading all the books and following each with their respective film. There are a couple very important details in the book that would have given this film much more emotional depth.

1) The history of the Marauders Map. Why skip this? The film never even bothers to tell you who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs are!! Connecting Remus, Sirius and James as boyhood pals is essential to our emotional connection to them. The fact that Sirius, James and Peter taught themselves to become Animagus to show solidarity with Remus and his curse is such a deep show of fealty in the book. Why leave that out? Without that, nobody knows who Prongs is or why that's significant to Harry's patronus.

2) Crookshanks assisting in catching scabbers/Peter, as well as helping them get into the Womping Willow. Hedwig is the only familiar that ever got any true attention in the films after all was said and done. Upon this newest reading I found the cat's part a particular highlight.

Mischief Managed 🤓

Hotel Mumbai (2018)

Say goodbye to your fingernails

[10/10 · 28 October 2020]

Absolutely gut wrenching reminder that religion poisons the world.

Alone: Fire and Ice (2019) Season 6, Episode 11

The only glamorous thing in the wilderness is a hot meal

[9/10 · 27 August 2020]

As a longtime fan of "Survivor", I am amazed at how the premise of winning a pile of money for outlasting a group of people in the wilderness fascinates me. But to see it stripped of the MTV-like confessionals and tabloid flavored "alliances" is so refreshing and exciting. In that show I always choose my favorite and I root hard for them. On this show I rooted for ALL of them. It was truly gut wrenching watching these warriors fall, and thrilling to see them earn even the smallest victories.

My only criticisms are ones of post production: 1.Give us a graphic that shows where each survivor is in relation to the others geographically. I always wondered if it were remotely possible to cross paths with another survivor. 2. give us stats on the survivors, such as distance traveled each day while ranging, And a kill count for all their hunting and fishing, Height and weight stats at the start.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2020)

The greatest SW series since there were fireworks on Endor.

[10/10 · 30 June 2020]

Oh Fandom.... The return of our beloved series is bittersweet, but then it's always been so because we all knew what Ahsoka, Kenobi and the Jedi did not: They were always doomed.

The Clone Wars has consistently been the elite SW property for nearly 20 years, if we count the original Cartoon Network micro episodes (and why would you not??).

Nothing in the movie theaters can touch Clone Wars, which is why we felt abandoned and betrayed by Disney when they pulled the plug on the series once The Dark Mouse executed Order 66 on everything from this series to an entire generation of supreme SW literature in the expanded universe. We were called every name in the book for daring to criticize the newer, softer, WEAKER version of Star Wars.

When it was announced we'd be getting a final season of the series I was thrilled. I've told anyone with ears about Clone Wars since the first season in 2008. The animation was always gorgeous, and the writing was so far beyond the drudgery of the prequel films.

At the center of the series were the clone troopers themselves. Instead of mindless robots, we lived amongst each of them, learned they had big giant hearts like the rest of us. We rooted with heavy hearts for the troopers, knowing full well that Order 66 awaited us all. This greatly enhanced the drama in the series. And instead of making the series solely about Anakin and The Jedi vs Sidious and the Seperatists, the creators gave us fresh and complex characters in Ahsoka and Ventress. These were the greatest characters in the series without exception. The pathos of Asaj Ventress made her an anti-hero we couldn't get enough of. Ultimately it was the boundless joy, loyalty, and undaunted hope of Ahsoka Tano that will forever be the true heart of this series.

This final season was unbearably short, with the final 4 episodes slowly building a climax to the entire series. Why they couldn't make it two seasons is a mystery to me. The first half of the 12 episode finale is full on Star Wars adventure. The arc with Ahsoka, Trace and Rafa was great and it deserves further development. I suspect we'll be getting their stories in future projects.

The whole tone shifts drastically in the final 4. The colors of the title screen, the classic Lucasfilm graphic, and Kevin Kiner's AWESOME score all add to the high drama of the finale. The music was so good in the last few episodes. Anyone who's consumed this entire series will immediately feel the score shift as it portends the tragic conclusion of the Clone Wars. Kiner pays obvious tribute to Blade Runner with a minimalist synth score and it's SOOO satisfying. Watching a ship leave a planet's atmosphere with the same cold, beautiful music we're used to hearing in Blade Runner only further validates the art form of science fiction. There's no substitute for Sir John Williams, but to watch the creators shift gears artistically with the music was a thing of beauty for me.

I only wish that Disney would make similar choices. We're currently at the mercy of an Empire that cares nothing for great art. Even though they threw us all a juicy bone with this final season, that's an exception when it should be the norm. Regardless of what Darth Disney has to say on this matter, the Expanded Universe exists, and it's far greater than anything they're dumping into the movie theaters. But I digress.....

I hope the future brings us creations as excellent as The Clone Wars. I hope we get this entire creative team back together for another expansive series in our beloved Star Wars Universe. Maybe Disney could nominate the animated faction to tell all those superb stories from the SWEU? Darth Bane? Thrawn? Darth Plagueis? The possibilities are endless. Our hope is also endless... Because we are The Fandom.

Dracula (2020)

The Count falls for a 6?

[8/10 · 17 June 2020]

Lucy is a hard 6. I found myself quoting Michael Bluth every time she was on screen: "Her?"

However the series is a fun new take on the original novel, and I especially like how they creatively explained vampires and their troubled relationship with the crucifix. Van Helsing is a fantastic character here, especially in episode 2.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

A great surprise.

[8/10 · 21 February 2019]

I didn't know the original Manga book. But I needed something fun to watch and I love great visuals. So I caught the midnight show in iMax 3D and hoped I wouldn't be bored. I loved it. It is STUNNING to look at. Alita's design is gorgeous. The characters aren't boring or cliche. And they managed to produce a hero fable about a young girl without constantly reminding me about girl power etc. Proving that when your characters are well developed and the script is strong enough, you don't have to resort to pandering to your producer's political vanities( which is something I can almost certainly predict about Captain Marvel. My gut tells me that movie's going to smell a lot like The Last Jedi 🙁)

It's unfortunate Alita under-performed opening weekend. The film deserves bigger success. I really hope we get an even better sequel.

The Breaks (2016 TV Movie)

Really, REALLY good.

[9/10 · 7 January 2016]

The best thing about this story is that its ORIGINAL. It's not some tired biopic formula that stunt casts semi-famous actors to portray musical artists. No, what makes this so fresh is the way it tells its original story while using a great soundtrack of early 90's hip hop as it's backdrop. The story surrounds two people primarily. Nikki is a driven, bright graduate who loves hip hop so much she aims to save it from the industry vultures, as well as from itself. But she's got dues to pay before she makes it. DeeVee is a young producer searching for that one MC, a diamond in the rough with a voice and flow to set the art form on fire. He finds it in a very dangerous man, in a very real and dangerous place. Wood Harris plays the label mogul, and as always, he's fantastic. I could watch Avon Barksdale sell used cars. There's a lot of great moments in this film, especially the one at the end. There's no way this 120 minute movie is the end of the story. There's got to be more in store for these characters. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Green Lantern (2011)

Finally saw what all the crying critics were crying about.

[4/10 · 18 December 2011]

Looks cool. Sounds cool. The script is BEYOND weak. Moments seem forced. Reynolds is a perfect Hal Jordan however. I blame the director/producers for the mess they made here. What purpose did Brainiac serve? NONE. A wasted villain. Jordan's training in Oa was shorter than the stack of stars people gave the movie. The movie is redeemed at the very end in the final boss battle. In that scene, I was finally roused by the character, the stakes were established, the action was terrific. I don't want to spoil it, but believe me, the last 5 minutes are the best moments in the film, IMO.

For #2, if that happens, the direction and script have got to be sharper than this was. With a legion of nerds at the internet's fingertips, there is no excuse for half-assed money grabs.

Hanna (2011)

Good, not great.

[6/10 · 11 December 2011]

The good: The cast is excellent, Ronan is superbly cast. Bana, as always, is a rock. Blanchett is a creepy villain. The locations and the set pieces are gorgeous. The score is, if you like electronic music, a real triumph. The Chemical Brothers made some of their best music ever for this film. I like the fight scenes, they have an organic flow to them.

The 'not great': The script goes a bit wobbly in the third act, which causes it to feel overlong. And that final line and it's attempt at symmetry is a bit cringe-worthy.

I can understand why people love/hate the movie. It is smartly stylized, the acting is excellent, and I gave it 6 stars instead of a mediocre 5 because of that incredible Chemical Brothers score.

p.s. Saoirse Ronan will be nominated for an Oscar someday. She's that good.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

Love the movie, HATE Opie's kid.

[8/10 · 18 October 2010]

I sat this one out in the theaters. I heard all the haters cry about it, but knew I'd see it eventually. I finally saw it on my sweet ass Samsung and in BluRay. I really REALLY like this movie. It's much cooler than the last 2 films. I know that, for many a geek, T2 was the equivalent of Star Wars for anyone younger than 14 when T2 released. But I hated that movie then, and my hatred has been justified over time. T2 sucks for the same reasons the last 3 Star Wars films sucked. Garbage dialogue, horrible acting, and the pussification of iconic villains. Directors who ruin their masterpieces should be forced to sponge bathe lepers in Calcutta.

In "Terminator", Arnold was terrifying and BRUTAL. In "T2" he's a fecking truck- stop t-shirt. He's C3PO with biceps. And if I could go back in time, I'd beat James Cameron with a tire iron for thinking the banter between Arnie and Furlong was hip. It's nothing but insufferable assholery.

But 'Salvation' is down and dirty and the cast is superb. EXCEPT for the moon-faced daughter of Ron Howard. She's awful. And for such a throw away role, anyone could have played her. Why must we suffer watching the children of billionaires while they work out their "acting chops"? Seriously, I cannot express in words how utterly distracting that moon-headed Ginger is on screen.

The Golden Compass (2007)

Lacks Heart

[3/10 · 2 December 2007]

If I never read the book, I suppose I'd grade it a point higher. But I was, for the most part disappointed. The entire mystique of the text is the relationship of Humans with their Daemons. The reason millions continued reading the next 2 books in the series was the human/daemon devotion to one another. It's the heart and soul of the entire trilogy, and it's NOT the central focal point in the movie. It's barely mentioned. The chronology is inexplicably altered in the film as well. Why can't Hollywood co-opt novels in an intelligent way? Did they learn nothing from "Lord Of The Rings"? Any fan of those books will tell you that Peter Jackson's adaptation was so utterly clever in it's adherence to the 'IT' factor of the text. Hollywood truly believes the masses are fools, mouth breathing, move-their- lips- while-they're-reading fools. They must, otherwise 'Compass' might have retained more than a fifth of the novels luster. If you haven't read the book, then my review is lost on you, and all I can suggest to you is to read it, or buy the audiobook on iTunes(my new favorite medium for fantasy novels such as this and the Potter books) Those who HAVE read it I'm sure will agree with me once they've seen the film. Bear fight rocked, but it was too short. Overall, it's just another NICE movie about a little kid with a grand destiny. AND without spoiling anything, The film ended about 30 pages shy of the books ending. Those not in the know have no clue what they are really missing.