smb12321 Reviews

Will Trent (2023– )

Disappointing for Fans

[3/10 · 23 March 2023]

When I first heard about this I assumed it would recast the novels. Wrong! Slaughter's stories are dark and complex. The show is pure "light cop" (think Castle) and has every cliche - serial killers, redneck Nazis, retired jock with night club, body falling out of window, witness shot after revealing truth, cop kills partner and blames a black guy, blah blah

Will's flickering accent and looks (the "real" Will is tall, muscular, blond) disappoint. Amanda and Faith are now black (Faith steals the show), Sarah is missing and Angie is not the Angie in the novels. A non-binary character takes care of Will's dog - tokenism at its best (or worst). My grade - 3/10.

Redemption (I) (2022)

Great action but so predictable

[5/10 · 12 March 2023]

Another day, another brooding female detective. In Liverpool Collette gets a call and learns that her long lost daughter is deal Through an unrealistic chain of events ends up working in Dublin where she is told it was suicide.

In Dublin, she meets her boss, a large female with attitude, the black detective who called her and an Asian female cop who befriends her announcing immediately she is gay. Malcomson then meets her grandchildren - a filthy-mouthed girl and gay grandson. Sounds like most shows today.

Needless to say the plot was an old Britbox regular though the acting and cinematography were top-rate. Looking back it seems silly and contrived. Malcomson was authentic and tough while making stupid decisions and even mistakes. You knew the daughter was innocent just as you knew she had not committed suicide just as you knew there would be still more action (granddaughter problems) In the end, redemption. Blah blah.

40 Days and Nights (2012)

It has to be a joke

[1/10 · 4 February 2022]

This was so horrific it's almost genius. It makes Devil Girl From Mars look like a French art film. We start with young folks riding in the Sahara / California when a tidal wave puts an end to that! It's a syfy movie - a growing storm expands to cover the Earth and it rains 40 days & nights. Only an engaged couple can save us - he builds arks and she collects DNA. The ark holds 50,000 (never seen) and the inside resembles an abandoned factory.

The work crew consists of 3 guys hammering. CGI consisted of video game clips, weather reports, etc The "control room", a closet with boxes, had 3 unmatched chairs (we never saw the panel). The 3 "officers" in those cheap chairs just sat and stared, looked around, made odd expressions, punched a button but never said a word. We returned to the mimes over and over. Weird.

Clothes were strictly Goodwill - cheap, old and unmatched. Helicopters were cheap boxes with open doors as folks sat calmly without belts, There were zero signs of movement whether copter, train, boat or car. My wife wondered why the camera shook so much - perhaps he could not withhold his laughter.

Life (I) (2017)

Old-fashioned knockoff

[3/10 · 9 November 2017]

This is so "Hollywood". A group of astronauts (with the correct gender, race, nationality mix) returns from Mars and docks at the ISS. They've found "something" on Mars and for some reason are waiting 6 months to investigate.

Now enter "Alien" and you can guess the rest. There are so many logic errors you stop asking why. Why would life arise now and why is it intelligent and why is it rapidly growing and why don't they just.... You get the drift. Per Hollywood we have to get wisecracking with cringe-worthy dialogue. What a waste of resources and talent!

Dark Matter (2015–2017)

Lost In Space for Dummies

[1/10 · 5 July 2015]

You're watching Syfy if your space ship has candy bars, a sexy android *who speaks robotically), a kung-fu Asian and a crew of mostly 20ish models who seem about as mature as the Little Rascals. It's the far future and those evil corporations are still up to no good. Despite FTL and atomic 3d printers we transport goods across the galaxy, use people instead of robots for dangerous tasks, live in shanties, drive pickup trucks and fight with pistols (except kungfu man who uses a sword). .

Spoiler Alert ***** Can this get any more trite, predictable or formulaic? Zombies in space, "plots" where nothing happens, Starwars-like bars, dialogue so bad the actors seem pained when not confused. They run up and down the same hall 20 times a show and at least twice an episode are "called to the deck: The ship must be the largest in creation; every episode a new chamber or secret room is found.

The crew is Diverse - nice white pretty boy, arrogant ethnic boss woman, lost kid, token black, Asian, bad boy,and sexy android who speaks like it's 1960. There is no story arch - each episode stands on its own, Lost in Space vignettes. What's sad is that this could have been incredible - a dark, moody story of mystery and passion. Instead we get forced huor at the dumbest times, a showmance and a plot to nowhere.

Mr. Robot (2015–2019)

Ultra-Conventional

[5/10 · 26 June 2015]

I'd hoped for something...different, new or original. So what do we get? A "hero" who may be delusional whose biography is like a check card for Hollywood - loner, substance abuser, hoody wearer , gritty apartment in bad part of town, tech job, hates Bush, Facebook, Apple and corporations. I mean, how unoriginal can you get?

Combine that with the most popular left and right-wing conspiracies ("they" are secretly controlling us with debt and things, choice is an illusion, money is not real since we left the gold standard, business is evil, absolving debt is the answer, we are being tracked, etc) and you get the atmosphere. You never know if the scene you are watching is real or simply yet another delusion of our anarchist hero who bemoans loneliness as he walks the street at night or spies on random folks, Reminds me of Leverage that started great then became formulaic. My Grade - C

Ellen's Design Challenge (2015– )

Sadly Disappointing

[5/10 · 3 March 2015]

i had looked forward to this but Jeez, the problems. It's sad because the designers were talented. First, if Ellen can only pop in for one or two shows in her usual "outfit" to try and be funny then why call it her show? Second, the judging was almost exclusively female with phrases like "too masculine" heard frequently. Thirdly the judging was far more subjective than objective, the goal was furniture design - not satisfying individual taste.

Then the finale. The best two made it but the "disqualification" was dumb. Tim has a huge business and has designed numerous pieces. Yes, the pieces resembled one another - except for the lay of the wood, drawers, legs, lines and size. LOL

The Game (2014–2015)

Great character-driven series

[10/10 · 3 December 2014]

The BBC continues to embarrass the American "entertainment" industry with serious actors who are not rap stars, TV hosts or wrestlers. The difference in quality is apparent from the start.

That said, The Game is one of the best. I remember those times and especially the awful 1970's when it seemed that a USSR victory was almost inevitable. I remember being amazed that anyone in a liberal democracy would choose to betray their country for a backward, despotic nation that didn't even pretend to care about human rights.

The cinematography editors are to be congratulated for their portrayal of a London caught up in spies, the IRA and militant unions. The moody, dark atmosphere is near perfection as are the characters. Paul Ritter as the grown gay male smothered by a domineering mother is brilliant. Each episode solves a new problem that only raises the stakes. The question of what is real and what is fake and in the end, what is the Game, is slowly explored and finally answered.

Interstellar (2014)

Lost in space while looking for the volume button

[7/10 · 9 November 2014]

Most common complaint at the theater - music so loud much of the dialog was lost. "What did she say?" was heard constantly.. It wasn't cute, edgy or artsy - it was annoying. This is a potentially fantastic movie that got lost in the contradictions, logic problems and bad science. We travel the galaxies yet drive pickups , use paper books and can't grow plants? It's the old sci-fi movie curse of uneven technological progress, i.e. time travel yet unchanged health care, schools and churches.

Were "they" really us from the future? If a planet was close enough to a black hole to affect time how could it be habitable? What's with the five dimensional maze behind the books? Mystery for the sake of mystery? How did a quickly dying Earth build so many artificial worlds and why would these be any safer than our planet?

That said, the stories were very, very good - a rare case where the story back home rivaled that in space. Great acting by the daughter (young and old). Matt Damon's cameo was awful. He looked like a last-minute add-on and unsure about his weird role. Find the volume button and do some explaining next time.

Dinner Party Wars (2010–2013)

On the decline

[7/10 · 3 April 2014]

Love the show but lately some disturbing trends have emerged. There seems to be at least one couple who has never cooked, hosted, lacks manners, curses - in other words, the last folks you'd expect\on this show. Then there's a new emphasis on "games" and "fun". A dinner party (especially among strangers) is not about hot tubs, dancers, tattoos or educational classes. It's about food and conversation.

It seems as if half the guests should be registered with AA. It's like they came to drink and that's it. Others know so little about food they don't know whether something is or is not good. Still others are so clueless that it's obvious they've never cooked "fine dining."

The hosts are funny but Corbin is a tad critical (these are cooks at home - not graduates of the Cooking Institute of America). The woman is great finding humor in almost every bad situation. I enjoyed the time they kicked off the frat boys for getting hammered two straight nights.

CAT. 8 (2013– )

So bad it's good

[3/10 · 9 October 2013]

I gave a "3" instead of a "1" because of unintentional humor. It was so bad it was good. Start with the premise that a new weapon is tested for the first time in the presence of the President. Suddenly, "something goes wrong", the machine shoots the sun and creates a huge flare. Then satellites crash ONLY on large cities - London, Chicago, Boston, etc

Acting and plot are the real disasters. The politicians were as genuine as Daffy Duck/ The male hero is an older disgraced scientists whose divorced wife i kept confusing with the daughter. Said daughter's cop boyfriend looked like a model with zero acting experience. A young female scientist whines as she battles the evil Sec of Defense.

The special effects remind one of the first Star Trek episodes in their amateurishness. Volcanoes erupt, the ground splits lakes boil, earthquakes strike yet cell phones, internet and power continue unimpeded. LOL As the new Madam Prez dashes the dastardly nuclear plans of the Sec of Defense with seconds to go the scientists (older guy and young heroine) fall in LUV in the mismatch of the millennium. Boyfriend announces he's marrying daughter & divorced wife's new hubby proves he's a hero too. Invite some friends and keep track of the errors for a fun night. (This thing is - believe it or not - in two parts.)