armandlust Reviews

House of Ninjas (2024– )

Too Slow For an Action Series

[5/10 · 16 February 2024]

The story is good if you can stand the slow place and repetition. This is highly stylized, meant to emulate a 70s ninja flick, but it's not the 70s anymore and audiences will have a hard time dealing with the long pauses and stupid dialogue that just retells what's been shown and even said again. This needs to have ten minutes chopped from each episode. Episode four, the series starts to move, but then slumps again in episode five. The acting choices are tough to deal with and some comedy moments fall flat. But the kid who plays Riku is fun. Nagi has her moments. If you can stick it out, you start to feel sorry for Souichi. If you're playing a video game or have it playing in the background, you might even like it.

Nancy Drew (2019–2023)

Another Recycled Idea

[6/10 · 9 February 2020]

This started out well, but went down hill fast. It's obviously a repeat of the updated Riverdale. Sex right out of the gates. Okay. Another popular late 90's actor, Scott Wolf, now playing the concerned single parent. A single father again. The mystery of the dead teenager. The super-popular girl. A bunch of ultra-hot teenagers. The main character narrating meanful lessons. They've graduated in this version, but the parallels to Riverdale are everywhere. The initial mystery prevails but then another murder takes over. After a few episodes, it becomes obvious that it's going to be another melodramatic teen soap opera. The story gets pulled thin and the acting is only mediocre. It's watchable, but not a show that I could watch year after year.

Cosmos Laundromat (2015)

All Style, No Substance

[5/10 · 6 October 2019]

I love animation. I especially like discovering a new animator. Unfortunately, this isn't one that I will look up in the future. The animation was gorgeous, but the story just stops. If there was a part two, maybe that would make this abrupt ending acceptable, but since this one was released 4 years ago, I'm going to guess that part two is never coming out. Would it really have killed the animators/writers to write a complete story? Add in a minute or two to explain what that was? When I was younger, I would have rewatched this, tried to glean a deeper meaning, assumed I lacked an understanding of art and raved over the brilliance. Now I know better. The conclusion was a chintzy shortcut for a production team that didn't know how to write a satisfying, comprehensible ending. I wondered how this short could have gotten such a high rating, but then I noticed only 374 people have rated it. That's probably friends and family of the production. If you're a fan of animation, it is pretty to look at and has a nice style and it's only twelve minutes of your time.

Sausage Party (2016)

Wow, this is bad.

[2/10 · 26 March 2017]

Don't let the fact that several really wonderful actors and voice actors are listed on the credits. This thing is overwhelmingly weighed down innuendos and dirty jokes. Teenage boys and frat guys would like this; everyone else, pass it by. There's a stab at a plot, romance. It talks about how silly religious differences are. But that doesn't overcome all the sex gags. Endless sex gags. Endless. Please make it stop. I would have turned this movie off. My husband is a stickler for watching movies to the end. He panned it too. Wow, what a waste of time.

Shade (2003)

Made in the Shade

[10/10 · 15 April 2004]

If you're looking for a movie with lots of twists and turns, Shade delivers in spades. The film is full of misdirection, narrow misses and gradations of intensity. Though not a dark movie, the world we peruse (so artfully drawn by Mr. Neiman) is gritty and hidden is shadow. But it also delivers laughs. The soundtrack is excellent, truly complementing each frame and adding to the rhythm of the film. The characters are excellently executed: Stallone, Foxx, Byrne, Newton. But the movie is clearly owned by Stuart Townsend (hope he gets the kudos he deserves for this one). Performances by Bo Hopkins and Hal Holbrook were special bonuses. Both of these gentlemen perform so superbly that you forget they're acting. A delight to the very end, a must-see for anyone loving a good surprise.