nrgins Reviews

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024– )

A decent series but way too slow

[7/10 · 18 June 2024]

The premise of this series is interesting, and the acting is very good. And it has some well-known guest appearances.

Still, most of the episodes were WAYYYY too slow for me! Especially towards the beginning of the season. So much time spent with them talking -- and not even in an interesting way. Just talking on and on in a very boring way. The show could have been better with a little less talking and a little more action.

I will say, though, that the slow pacing reminded me very much of Donald Glover's other series, Atlanta, with people talking on and on in a very monotonous, boring way. So, if you liked Atlanta, then you'll probably like this series. But it definitely wasn't my cup of tea, for the most part.

Towards the end of the season the show picked up, and the last few episodes were pretty good. But, man! Those first few episodes were hard to get through! I gave up watching the show several times. I only finished the season because I wanted to see how it ended. But the early episodes were not enjoyable at all.

This season ended on a very interesting note, and it'll be interesting to see where it picks up next season. I may watch a little just to see where it goes. But I'm definitely not committed to this series.

Last Night in Soho (2021)

Great Film; Keeps You Guessing

[8/10 · 30 November 2023]

What starts out as a story of a young girl searching for success as a fashion designer turns into a gripping psychological thriller that takes several twists and turns and leaves you guessing until the end.

Great performances by the two leads, as well as the late Diana Riggs and Matt Smith. Well produced, nicely edited, very stylish. All in all an engrossing film that keeps you wanting to watch until the end. Definitely worth a view.

While not the most important, the sound track, set designs, costumes, etc., are also first rate.

All in all, it was a lot better than I had expected, and was glad I watched it.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2022– )

Was this the same David E. Kelley??

[5/10 · 16 August 2023]

I just watched the first episode of The Lincoln Lawyer. Is this the same David E. Kelley who wrote The Practice and Ally McBeal? Wow! This show was soooo boring! I mean, sure, it had a plot; it had characters; it had dialog. So, for all intents and purposes, it was a television show. But, man, what a dry piece of cardboard! And compare that to the truly superb writing of Kelley's former works? Just incredible.

Anyway, I'm just stunned at how dead the show was. I mean, it could have been written by an AI, it was so procedural and cookie-cutter.

Anyway, enough ranting. I'm out. One episode is enough for me.

Heart of Stone (I) (2023)

Fun movie with a pretty shallow plot

[7/10 · 13 August 2023]

So, I watched the first 5 minutes of this movie, and the dialog was so stupid and cliche that I stopped watching it. But then I read a couple of positive reviews, so gave it another go. Am glad I did.

Look, this isn't a great film. No great plot; no great dialog; pretty corny. But it's a fun (though completely predictable) ride.

Gal Gadot is great in it. Everyone else is "OK." And the plot is *yawn* your typical "we have to get the bad guys and save the world" plot. Nothing out of the ordinary or special.

But, like I said, it's a fun ride. Gadot does a great job, and the twists and turns the plot takes are fun and interesting.

So if you're looking for a deep action movie, this isn't it. But it's a fun movie to watch, if you can get over the silliness of it all. And the special effects and action scenes are great. So it's worth it for those.

Girlboss (2017)

A nice, fun, quirky, well-done show

[8/10 · 13 August 2023]

This show got a lot of negative reviews, causing me to almost not watch it. That would have been a mistake. I thoroughly enjoyed this show (except for a couple of episodes early on, which weren't great), and watched it straight through to the end (a rarity for me; I get bored with most shows).

Most of the negative reviews come from either: a) people comparing it to the book, and saying the book is much better; or b) people saying it could have or should have been done differently in a more serious way; or c) people saying it's not that funny.

Well, it's not a comedy. It's not like Friends or Seinfeld or It's Always Sunny or some other comedy. It's a drama that has a lot of funny moments.

The lead actress is great. And there's a host of supporting characters who are also great, including some notable names (Jim Rash, from Community; Norm Macdonald; etc.).

All in all it's a great little series about a woman in her 20's with no direction in life who finds her calling modifying and reselling vintage clothing, and the personal problems and growth she experiences along the way. It's quirky, serious, funny, and all in all an enjoyable series (except for a couple of episodes early on, as I noted). Definitely recommended.

Interceptor (2022)

A fun movie if you don't take it too seriously

[5/10 · 11 August 2023]

I enjoyed this movie. It was a fun "one person saves the world" sort of movie. The lead actress was good. The movie was ridiculous; the dialog was super corny; the fight scenes were OK, nothing special. All in all, it was a silly, stupid movie that was completely ridiculous and that has you chuckling at how silly the thing is. But, like I said, the lead actress was good, and it was fun to watch her fight and claw to save millions of lives. So, basically, if you're bored, and looking for something fun and stupid that you don't really have to get too invested in, it's fun to watch. But if you're looking for something of substance, don't bother.

In from the Cold (2022)

Great show -- if you can suspend disbelief

[8/10 · 31 July 2023]

Loved this show! The premise is fantastic. The plot is fantastic. Each episode is engaging. And the lead actress is just wonderful -- really good. The other actors are very good too.

This show is part family drama; part spy thriller; and part superhero show. The superhero part, while lots of fun, requires suspending disbelief -- which is easy to do in a movie like The Avengers, which you don't really take seriously anyway. But this series, with its spy thriller and family drama components, presents itself as a serious show. But then you have this superhero stuff that sort of puts it into another category.

Still, I loved the show. Binged the whole first season in a couple of days. Loved the lead actress. And am looking forward to more. Definitely worth watching -- again, if you can suspend disbelief at the superhero stuff.

TwoTwo (2023)

Incredibly poorly made film

[2/10 · 26 July 2023]

This film seriously feels like it was a project done by a college film student doing his first film. The writing is bland and pedestrian. The acting is mediocre bordering on bad. The premise of the film is intriguing. But the story spins in several different directions, resulting in loose threads that never get tied up, except for with the main character. The whole time I was watching it I felt like I was watching some kind of low budget amateur film that was just really poorly made. Terrible special effects and just an overall sad attempt at a film. The lead actress was pretty good, I'll grant you that. But other than that, it was just a mess of a film that I couldn't believe was even being shown on a streaming service. I watched it to the end, just to see what would happen, but I was relieved when it was finally over.

Shiva Baby (2020)

Excellent Film!

[9/10 · 4 February 2022]

Rachel Sennott is superb in this film. It's both a very powerful drama, as well as a funny comedy, and very cute. The pacing is excellent; the characters are well done; and all-in-all it's a very worthwhile experience.

I gave this 9 stars instead of 10 because the film feels more like an extended one-act play (which, I believe, is due to the fact that it was originally a short that was expanded) than an actual feature film. But, apart from that, I think the film is great.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)

Wonderful Film

[10/10 · 2 February 2022]

Excellent film. Bel Powley is just superb in it, as is every one else. The story is well-told, the film is creative, has excellent pacing, and portrays the main character in a very empathetic way. Enjoyed this film greatly.

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)

Loved This Film

[8/10 · 10 May 2021]

First off, the premise of this film is hokey. And there's a major plot hole related to the time-travel element (but what time-travel work doesn't have contradictions of some sort?), Still, all in all, it was a great film. Very well done, cohesive, well-acted, and a fantastic story. So, if you can suspend disbelief on some of the elements, it's well worth a watch. (And I generally find most sci-fi movies I watch disappointing, as they tend to focus on the spectacular elements, without really having a great or cohesive story). Recommended.

Stowaway (I) (2021)

Well, it was a movie!

[5/10 · 22 April 2021]

Well, it had actors. And it had dialog. And there was a plot. So I guess it was a movie. Nothing overtly bad about this movie. But nothing really great either. Just a movie about a problem in space and a plot that crawls along, with no real twists (except predictable ones), no great dialog, no great acting. Just a movie about some stuff that happens. OK to watch if you want to pass the time. Just don't expect a lot.

Chef (2014)

Wow, what a disappointing movie!!

[5/10 · 27 February 2020]

I was really disappointed by this because it had such high marks on Rotten Tomatoes. Really bad script. So ridiculous and predictable and poorly written. Basically, this movie is a vehicle for some very talented actors to perform (some with small parts), as well as to showcase well-edited food-preparation and presentation scenes. That's it. The acting is great, and the food prep scenes are gorgeous and mouth-watering. But the story and the script are just horrible! Like it was written by a 12-year-old. These fine actors deserved better.

Behind the Curve (2018)

A fascinating study on fringe theories

[10/10 · 23 February 2019]

I thought this documentary would be about the flat earth theory, and what they believe, and why they believe it. And it was that a little bit. But not much. So I was a bit disappointed at first.

But the documentary turned out to be about the flat-earthers themselves, and what makes them believe it; or what makes them not not-believe it. And that was fascinating.

In addition to showing a very-respectful portrait of flat-earthers, it also interjected commentary from physicists and psychologists, who offered their take on the phenomenon (which is actually quite large).

One of the important points that the physicists in the documentary made was that, it's easy to just dismiss the flat earth movement as silly nonsense. The problem is, though, that once people start adjusting their reality to fit a nonsensical theory, then it affects other parts of their reality, as well, and also affects the people around them whom they affect with the theory.

And so you have things like the anti-vaxxer movement, pizzagate, the deep-state theory, and many other things. It's all similar.

So this is a facinating study, not just on the flat-earth movement, but on fringe movements in general, and how they affect us all. And the more the anti-science fringe theories spread, the more they affect us, especially when people who believe them go into government, etc.

There are also a lot of other good points the documentary makes, especially from some of the psychologists they interviewed.

Definitely recommended.

Oh, and about some of the reviews here on IMDB, it's kind of funny that, while most people gave the documentary positive reviews, there were a lot of 1-star reviews. Some of the 1-star reviews were like, "They didn't provide any evidence for or against the flat-earth theory" -- missing the point that that's not what the documentary was about.

But the funniest ones were the ones who claimed that the filmmakers were "really stupid," because they set out to prove the flat earth theory, but only showed how wrong it was.

I guess there's a bit of irony there in the wrong-headed analysis about a documentary about wrong-headed analysis of science. :-)