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Reviews
True Detective (2014)
Way over the line
Someone needs to tell the meatheads at HBO that we really don't need gratuitous, graphic sex scenes every 15 minutes and people yelling obscenities every third word. These would have been very interesting shows except for that.
Even as good as Matthew McConaughey and Woody. Harrelson and Jodie Foster are, they can't carry the total lack of talent in the screenplay. Some good whodunnits were totally ruined by this.
If you haven't watched these shows, don't waste your time. Unless, or course, you are simply interested in watching some second-rate porn movies starring people who obviously were in it for the paycheck.
Murdoch Mysteries (2008)
A little over the top
I like Murdoch Mysteries overall. It's fun escapism. However, they do go a little bit overboard. I know Murdoch is supposed to be this super-genius guy, way ahead of his time, knowing everything and inventing all these great things to help law enforcement. But the writers really do need to do some basic research if they want to make it believable.
For example, in one show, they have Murdoch discussing how Taekwondo could have been used to cause the damage to a body. Taekwondo, as a recognized martial art, did not come into existence until 1958. Kinda hard for it to be used in the 1890s. My wife and I both teach Taekwondo and that one had us yelling at the TV.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Waste of time
The first Avatar was a great movie. This one should not have been made. Total waste of time and effort. Pretty pictures but that's all it has. The story was all about how evil and uncaring the humans are, yadda yadda yadda.
This seriously shows how little creativity is left in the movie industry these days. It's all about wpw, we got lucky and made some money on this movie, so let's do it all over again and see if we can make some more money off it. Oh, and let's have the primatives with spears and bows beat the hell out of a trained mercenary force. That's always good, right?
Don't waste your time and money on this.
The Diplomat (2023)
Could have been better
Great concept. This could have been as good as, or even better than, Madam Secretary. What's the issue? FAR too much unnecessary profanity and gratuitous sex and nudity. All of that totally detracted from what should have been an excellent show. Granted, Keri Russell has a very cute butt. However, showing it off didn't add anything to the value of the episodes.
Having said that, if the unneeded sex and profanity is removed, there is some really good acting and great writing to be had. And the scenery in many of the shots is absolutely beautiful. It's just disappointing that they couldn't bring the show up to its potential.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Should have stopped after the first one
Jurassic Park was wonderful. Very good adaptation of Crichton's novel. The sequels? Meh and more meh. And Dominion is a perfect example of how Hollywood has *one* good idea and then beats it into the ground over and over because they have no imagination or creativity.
The best thing I can say about Dominion is that I got to watch it for free, so I wasn't out any money on it.
Inventing Anna (2022)
Slow moving
This series starts off very slowly and never seems to gain any traction. The people are not likeable. And oh my gawd, the music chosen absolutely sucks like a Hoover on steroids.
Don't Look Up (2021)
Should be titled Don't Look At
For a movie that contains as many big name, Oscar winning actors as this does, it is amazing how badly it sucked.
Possible spoiler alert: the high point of the movie is the critter eating Streep's character. Oh, well - at least they got paychecks, right?
The Twilight Zone (2019)
So near, and yet so far away....
This show tried to follow Rod Serling's concept. I'll give them that. But the scripts have been, for the most part, ruined by massive injections of Teh Librul and wokeness and other crap.
If you people had only kept your politics out of the show, you would have had something good. As it is, you wound up with something scraped off the bottom of my shoe.
Descendants (2015)
Hard to believe
I never thought I would give a Disney movie one star, but I did. This was such a great concept. They could have done so much with it, and all we got was a cheezy third rate musical.
Even Disney strikes out occasionally.
Solyaris (1972)
My Hoover doesn't suck as much as this movie
We finally got around to watching this. I wish we hadn't.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Outstanding remake
When my wife and I got married, our theme was Beauty and the Beast. I sang the title song during the ceremony. Needless to say, we really love the 1991 animated version and we were somewhat cautious about seeing this remake.
Our fears were totally unfounded. This was awesome - Disney at its best. The talented and lovely Emma Watson is just perfect as Belle and the Beast is....well, very beastly! Gaston is still a colossal jerk and the ballroom scene when Mrs. Potts sings Beauty and the Beast had us both in tears.
We are going to go see this movie again, probably a couple of times more!
Ithaca (2015)
A waste of time and money
Tom Hanks is a good actor. Meg Ryan is a good actress. They've had chemistry in the past. It ain't here for this movie.
First off, this is not a Tom Hanks movie. He has top billing, but he is on screen for maybe two minutes. Second, this was Meg Ryan's directorial debut. It's a dog, and I don't have high expectations for her continued career as a director.
The story is completely disjointed and really doesn't have any kind of plot to speak of, other than a teenager being all angsty.
Save your money, folks. Don't rent this movie and don't waste 90 minutes of your life watching it.
Divergent (2014)
Reasonably good movie overall
Yeah, as has been mentioned, there are plot holes. Big deal.
I go more for character development and acting skills. Miss Woodley, I think, does a very good job with what she has to work with. Overall, her character is believable as she morphs from someone fairly mild-mannered into a much more decisive, leadership role.
The main reason that I didn't rate higher than an 8 was that, frankly, I'm getting tired of all the dystopian, hate-the-government movies lately, and the books that they are based on. I wish Hollywood had some creativity left in it and could come up with the occasional movie that actually has a positive spin instead of a negative one. I know, I know - movie's gotta have conflict for the hero to overcome, etc., but still....it's getting really old and tiring when it's all negative.