apowell802 Reviews

Gogol (2017–2019)

There's a lot to enjoy in Gigol

[6/10 · 29 November 2019]

What a wild mix of characters! Gogol's family servant, the doctor, the "police chief" and of course Gogol himself...all could be hilariously outrageous, including some very witty, sharp dialogue here and there. If they could have maintained the more camp quality throughout it would have worked better. But ultimately, the story, character decisions and development altogether became rather silly and (to me) not so enjoyable...particularly the religious and occult content. I round it up to 6. But it is great to see a quality production from Russia.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

Typical YA stuff from anything Lucas

[4/10 · 29 November 2019]

It's okay. Some characters are amusing and unique to see...but the Mandalorian himself is as bland as someone always wearing a helmet would be, and he is predictably safe in all the (poorly choreographed) fight scenes. Do not go into this imagining it's as good as a 9.1 rating. Even if you like it a lot it isn't close to that. Reviews are getting more and more absurd and presumably easy to purchase. After 3 episodes i'll give it a 6 rating, and that's a stretch, but i suppose i will finish season one to see what happens to the kid.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

beautiful visually, but very weak story

[6/10 · 3 September 2019]

This film is a Tarantino visual montage of a time in Hollywood which he obviously adores. But even though i enjoyed watching some of these well-acted vignettes, the lack of a real plot here made this one forgettable.

The Nice Guys (2016)

writing and plot wouldn't let this one get beyond mediocre

[5/10 · 1 September 2019]

Good chemistry at times, but a rough and confused mix of humor, camp and serious ultimately kept me from enjoying the movie, beyond a few humorous moments.

Aquaman (2018)

seriously, just watch the preview and stop there

[2/10 · 17 August 2019]

I watched on HBO and fully expected a young adult action movie that was silly but i had hoped would be at least a little entertaining and amusing while suffering a cold. WOW was i naive and wrong. Critical reviews are accurate...Aquaman is a real stinker! Written for (and by?!) 7-10 year olds, this is a vacuous 2 hours plus of utterly non-redeeming video-game-quality plot and acting. Just watch the preview and you'll get all you need... DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON THIS ONE!

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016–2017)

Enjoyable fantasy sleuth adventure series with a wide range of elements

[7/10 · 11 May 2019]

Overall i enjoyed this rather strange YA fantasy mystery, even with it's often silly elements, including the eponymous main character...who perhaps overdoes it a bit. But when you realize the plot mid-season 2 these qualities kind of fit in or (without giving anything away) make more sense relative to the plot. That said, there is also a lot of very adult intensity and some violence, as well as pretty exaggerated characters that pop up who are quite bizarre, and which kept me watching and amused. (Probably good for kids to be at least teens to watch.) So the series has a crazy plot and continues to add strange characters to the end, and they actually help move the story along. A similar campy quality to Dr Who but with darker realism and a plot that keeps you wondering what's going on until the reveal. Rather easy watching Saturday afternoon kind of YA series, and i'll give it a 7 because i appreciate something a little different!