Tron79 Reviews

3 Body Problem (2024)

1 Season Problem

[5/10 · 28 March 2024]

I was excited to see what D&D would do with their new series. It started slow, then the characters and the story drew me in. I enjoyed seeing familiar actors from Game of Thrones. The Sparrow was back as another religious leader. There were shocking deaths of main characters, just like in Game of Thrones. I was thinking, Dave & Dan were doing a great job because they had a complete story to work with this time. But then it fell apart. What was with the crazy plan to send a brain into space? What was the purpose? I didn't understand how the Earth would benefit. It's not like the brain would be talking back to us on Earth. How would we know any more about the enemy? And how did the aliens send the virtual reality headsets to Earth? I don't think the people on Earth could manufacture them, could they? The aliens certainly wouldn't give people on Earth advanced technology. Their whole plan was to stop us from advancing.

I was the most disappointed with the last episode. Yes bugs are resilient, but I needed something more. At the end of season one, our scientist friends were either dead or burnt out. I felt sad that Will's brain was trapped floating in space forever. I'm left to root for Saul, the pot smoking reluctant "Wallfacer" as Earth's best hope. I understand now that this season was just a setup for next season, but I needed something more to keep me going. At the end of Game of Thrones season 1, they had the image of Daenerys Targaryen surviving the flames with her dragons hatching. That kept me going! In 3 Body Problem we just have an image of swarms of bugs flying. I will say I hope someone finds Will's brain!!! That really bugs me that he's just floating out there. I'm thinking this could be a 400 year series before something happens. I was left curious what would happen next, but the reality is that it could take 2 years before season 2 and it may never get renewed. I don't want to have to freeze my brain to wait until the next season drops. It may never drop and then I might just remain a frozen monkey forever....

Reacher: Fly Boy (2024) Season 2, Episode 8

More Child and Less Santora

[6/10 · 21 January 2024]

I was revved up to watch the finale. As the episode unfolded, I kept asking myself if Lee Child wrote this part. The villain was an executive. It seemed out of character for him to try to punch Reacher and interrogate him. He's not Kingpin from Daredevil. They did show him holding his hand after punching Reacher. I thought Reacher's excuse for why they shouldn't shoot him didn't hold water. I thought they would have just shot him anyway. Something just didn't seem right to me with the way the scene was written. Then Reacher jumps onto the helicopter and becomes Superman holding onto the gurney with Karla strapped in while he's being punched for who knows how long. Yes, he has huge muscles, but the scene completely pulled me out of the story. I can believe Reacher is a highly trained extremely strong brutal fighter. I can believe he can take down several bad guys with his fight moves and strength. I just couldn't get past the story choices by Nick Santora in the finale.

I read an interview with the Nick Santora, and I found that Lee Child had a different ending. In the book, Reacher stows away on the helicopter and there's no gurney scene. That sounds much more believable to me. I don't think the book included the warehouse interrogation scene either. Nick Santora said he thought those action sequences when the hero leaps onto a helicopter are the scenes people go home talking about. I found myself talking about it, but not in a good way. I really wish Santora would have stuck to what Lee Child wrote.

I still enjoyed the conclusion of the episode with the diner scene and distributing the cash. I loved seeing Reacher get excited about his unlimited use (for one year) bus ticket.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Not a Computer Game

[6/10 · 24 December 2023]

After the first fight scene, I thought this must be a computer game adapted for the screen, but after researching I found it was not. I started losing interest during several backstory monologues, but I kept watching. I turned it off several times to do other things. After three days, I successfully completed the film. Sofia Boutella's look and fighting style kept me interested. They didn't do much to humanize her, which would have helped people connect with her more. She was all tough all the time. I could appreciate her skills and bad assness, but I had trouble connecting to her backstory, because her character wasn't written with much depth or vulnerably.

I can appreciate the scope of the project, and it was worth watching to see the special effects, some of the aliens, and well choreographed fight scenes. One scene with a giant spider mother was a cross between a Witcher monster and the Borg queen from Star Trek. If you like sword battles, one of the characters who is added to the team about mid way is pretty awesome to watch. There was an awesome flying sequence with a large bird creature that reminded me of flying with a dragon. I hope they bring the bird back for Part 2. I would have liked to have seen the giant bird more in Part 1.

There were too many unoriginal elements to give this a strong recommendation. People familiar with the genre will recognize an alien saloon scene and bad guys dressed in WWII German uniforms. That being said, I will most likely tune in to Part 2 in April. The chemistry between actors, fighting skill levels, and some interesting aliens are enough to make me think I will tune in to see more.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

The ending is the point

[8/10 · 19 December 2023]

I read other reviews that didn't like the ending or didn't see the point. Many of us are just fine if we have our screens on and can see our favorite TV show. We can block out the rest of the world no matter what is happening. We watch our own channels on our own devices. The daughter, Rose, in "Leave the World Behind" was perfectly happy leaving her family as long as she could watch her TV shows. With a treasure of DVDs at her disposal that included her favorite show "Friends", Rose was more than happy to live forever in isolation forgetting about the outside world. When Rose's brother asked her "Why do you care so much about that show anyway?", she said, "They make me happy." I thought the movie was right on point showing us where our culture was heading.

There are people who can't handle the isolation and need the human contact. There are also people who get debilitated by worrying about what is happening in the world. I know a few people who can't function because they need to check the news 24/7. I would say most people are the opposite. I think I'm in that opposite boat. If I'm honest with myself, I care about what happens in the world, but I am more than happy when I find a good Netflix show instead of worrying about it. I would much rather watch my Netflix show than get involved in politics. That's sad, but true.

The one thing I didn't quite understand was what the animals were trying to tell the family. I don't think the animals were telling them to go to the house with the bunker, so I was confused about that part. I understood that the hack was throwing off the migration patterns, but they also said the animals were trying to tell them something. We walk around our neighborhood every night, and we regularly see deer in the front yards. One night last week there were four large deer close to the sidewalk. I kept walking and I wasn't worried much they would charge me! But it got unsettling when they were several large deer up close. I can only imagine if there was an entire herd like in the movie.

I think the movie was timely. COVID accelerated our isolation with everyone living in their own realities of happiness. I recommend watching this movie and thinking about how our world is rapidly changing. How many of us would be perfectly happy living in our bunkers of our own making with our own devices watching our own shows not needing to pay attention to the outside world? The movie takes it to the extreme with bombs dropping right outside, but I thought the point was powerful. My biggest concern today was whether the Bengals would win Saturday and when the next Reacher episode will drop on Amazon Prime. I tuned out what Trump and Biden were up to today and what was happening in Israel and the rest of the world.

The Adults (2023)

Do we ever really grow up?

[7/10 · 1 October 2023]

I never had a secret cartoon voice with my brothers growing up. But I was fascinated by the quirky relationship between the three siblings in "The Adults". I took a gamble on the movie, because Sophia Lillis was in it, and I remembered Michael Cera from Juno and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Seeing Michael Cera as an adult was sad. His sister Rachel was nicknamed Mopey Mopey, but Michael's character Eric was the one who moped around the whole time. He looked beaten down and barely squeaked out an emotion. This was juxtaposed to Sophia Lillis' character Maggie who had no problem showing her emotions. Since Michael's depressing character, Eric, was the protagonist, I had trouble getting through a number of his scenes, including most of his scenes when he was gambling in the shady backroom poker games. It was hard for me to see the man he had become after both of his parents died. From personal experience, after my mother passed away, it was hard to get the brothers back over for family dinners very often. Life got busy, and mom wasn't there to bring everyone together anymore. I see this with the three siblings in the movie.

The best parts of this movie were watching the three siblings reconnect through their cartoon language and their musical theater routines. Those elements felt real to me. My guess is that the writer based these on actual experiences. The longer Eric stayed with his sisters and fell back into his childhood world, I think the better adult he became. His sisters seemed to improve their disposition the longer he stayed with them also. It was interesting watching Rachel try out her cartoon voice with a co-worker who didn't get it. She was becoming more of herself, and perhaps eventually others will start appreciating her creativity. My older brother is the practical joker. He's also a very creative person as a writer. As a grandfather, he is teaching his 3-year-old granddaughter all kinds of annoying habits that he was laughing about, such as telling her that her dad went bald because a squirrel came and ate his hair. Perhaps he said a skunk came. I often block out what my brother says! Then, he gets a call from his daughter asking what he's been telling his granddaughter. She was asking her dad about the squirrel who came to eat dad's hair and if it was coming back to eat her hair! My brother thought this was hilarious. My brother is 72 years old and still not what you would call an adult. Perhaps we never grow up or if we grow up too much, it doesn't hurt to remember what we were like as kids.

This was by no means a perfect movie, but if you enjoy watching strong acting performances, I recommend it. It was another great role for Sophia Lillis. And I'll give an honorable mention to Mopey Mopey, Hannah Gross. I believed her, and by the end, I felt for her character. I wouldn't mind visiting with the siblings again one day to see their newest song and dance routine!

Wrestlers (2023– )

Raw and Real

[9/10 · 17 September 2023]

You can't get more real than watching Haley J in a death match with her mom. Haley came out swinging a tac covered baseball bat and throwing garbage at her mom. They both ended up slamming each other on a tac covered mat. They worked out years of real frustration while providing a compelling wrestler story for the audience.

All of the wrestlers had tough lives and needed other jobs to support their passion. The show set up the radio announcer Matt as the perfect heel. I was booing him. I felt very upset when he sat Bryan down and threatened to fire him if he didn't bring in more customers. I know from experience that good people are very hard to find, and you want to do whatever you can to keep them. Bryan was very creative and a hard worker.

The finale "The Big One" lived up to its name with 60 year old Al Snow returning to the ring. He swung a huge Thor like hammer during his training. I will remember that image of him swinging the hammer showing just how much he still has the passion and the will to give up his body. The crowd chanted, "You still got it".

I found myself pulling for all of the wrestlers, and I wanted to see more. I highly recommend this series.

God Is a Bullet (2023)

Violent just to show the gore.

[1/10 · 22 July 2023]

The filmmaker seemed to enjoy showing one of the bad guys trying to reattach his jaw that was just blown off of his face. I was hoping to watch another great performance from ex Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, but I was left feeling sorry that I decided to sit through the whole movie. I witnessed multiple women who were violently punched in the face. Scenes of rape. A scene where a woman was shot 20 times in the face. A scene with another woman shot in the head. Another woman was shot in the back multiple times. The violence was taken to the absurd as one of the bad guys repeatedly pounded NCW's arm with a baseball bat as hard as he could after NCW's was just set on fire with a flame thrower. In the next scene NCW was just fine with a small cast on his forearm and a few facial scars that seemed to give his face even more character than his signature broken nose.

I thought the story showed some promise at the beginning. I was all in for the road trip. NCW got all tatted up and was traveling with another girl who was abducted 11 years ago by the same cult who took NCW's daughter. After repeated scenes of overly violent gore, I just wanted the movie to end. I found nothing redeeming. There were also multiple plot holes and continuity problems. When the cult leader shot one of the girls 20 times in the head, I thought the filmmaker just enjoyed showing the gore. I wish I would have said enough already and turned it off.

65 (2023)

Clever story & cool dinos with some misses

[7/10 · 14 July 2023]

I thought it was a clever idea to have someone travel from another planet to Earth of the prehistoric past. Earth of 65 million years ago was definitely dangerous for your health! You need to find a cave really fast, and even the caves have a disgusting bug creature who find its way into your mouth while you sleep. It was cool watching the little girl save the dino from the tar pit, and then the poor dino immediately gets eaten by a pack of other dinos.

I thought the action and CGI were exciting, and the girl was great helping our main character survive. My issues were: 1) Did they lose their script writer? That's the only reason I can think to make the girl speak another language. I missed hearing them talk.

2) They seemed too much like Earth people. I'm not sure exactly what they could have done, but they needed some of their own culture's mannerisms and customs. I think I remember a scene with his daughter in a hospital with an I. V. just like an Earth hospital. They could have been much more creative on how their culture and tech developed differently.

3) Even though the ending was OK, I would have liked to have seen them meet his wife. The reaction would probably have been mixed. She had to still be grieving over the death of her daughter. She would be happy to see her husband return, but she may have felt trapped with having to adopt the little girl. The emotions would be interesting.

I enjoyed watching, so I'm still giving it 7 stars. It could have been much better, but all and all, it was fun seeing the dinos and it was a happy ending for our two main characters, but not so much for the dinos.

Edits: I just wondered what kind of starship he had.

His round trip was only supposed to be two years. I know the nearest star system from Earth is a little more than 4 light years away. If it was a light-speed ship, you probably run into that relativity problem where people on Earth will be much much older when you get back. Maybe they had a warp drive??? Maybe they found a wormhole shortcut or figured out something from Quantum Physics to have a Probability drive. The ship looked pretty low-tech to me with a bad chair with a headrest that looked like it was from my old Nissan. And the seatbelts looked like old Earth seatbelts too. It didn't have shields, which added to the low techness. I guess it was easier for me to buy light speed on Star Trek, since they spent so much time showing the cool design of the ship and there was constant talk about the warp core and dilithium crystals that can't be regenerated.

The Witcher (2019– )

Season 3 - Monsters need to join a union

[6/10 · 10 July 2023]

Season 3 isn't all bad. The show did get me to feel invested in seeing Ciri find her true self. But it is taking a long time. The monsters need to get a better agent or join a union. They barely get one monster per episode. I suppose it's understandable because I never feel any doubt that Geralt or Ciri will take down the monster.

Season 3 attempts to step into the "Game" part of Game of Thrones and focus on politics. None of the characters seem clever enough to pull it off.

I can't take my eyes off of Yennefer, and that doesn't hurt. I am intrigued by the different Mages. I find Triss interesting, and I would like to see her more in the story. Geralt, Jaskier, and the Elf Warrior played by Robbie Amell are the only male characters that are interesting to me. All of the other men are forgettable to me, including the fire villain, the Brotherhood people, the various kings and princes, and others I can't even remember.

I read other reviews saying Geralt plays a secondary role in season 3. I agree. He does seem to be on the sidelines especially compared to season 1. I think the show got bogged down in the Ciri story. I would have had her find herself and control her power in season 2 so she could have more action sequences in season 3. Like Ciri, this show is having trouble finding itself. Is it an entertaining action show that doesn't require much thought? Or is it a character-based political drama interspersed with a great action sequence and amazing special effects like Game of Thrones? I would have suggested sticking to fun action with witty dialogue while adding more depth to the characters every season.

The Last of Us (2023– )

Shot in the heart

[8/10 · 13 March 2023]

Looking down at my mousepad, I see Arya hugging Jon Snow. My bias is undeniable. I came to "The Last of Us" as a huge Game of Thrones fan excited to see how Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey would work together. I read pushback on Bella's casting. I thought she immersed herself in the role and was very believable. She was tough and vulnerable. Most importantly, she connected with Pedro, and I loved their scenes together. A few years earlier, Pedro Pascal helped another 14 year old on a trek through alien woods in the sci-fi movie Prospect. I saw many similarities in his role where the protector becomes the protected.

I am not a fan of shooter games. With the number of mass shootings in our country, I don't think it helps to desensitize violence. I can see I'm a hypocrite, because I enjoyed Game of Thrones, and one of the famous lines from the show was "I choose violence." But there is something different about walking around a building with a gun killing person after person, and it hits too close to reality to make it entertaining for me.

For most of the series, they focused on the human part of the story and kept the shooting to a minimum. There were only a few episodes where you had to run from the Zombies. There were plenty of violent moments, but most of the series focused on quieter scenes between characters. The final episode turns more violent and felt more like a first-person shooter game. Listening to the showrunners, it was supposed to show how far someone would go to protect the person they love. I didn't buy that Joel had to kill everyone so no one was left who knew Ellie was alive. It's pretty hard to survive out there, and I would take my chances that someone may eventually hunt us down. But that's me. Joel didn't want to risk losing another daughter. Mercy can be seen as a weakness (going back to a line from Game of Thrones).

I felt that if the Fireflies would have given Ellie a choice and told her the truth before just sending her to surgery, Joel may have made a different decision. But when they told him she didn't know she would die, I think that pushed Joel over the edge. The irony is that Joel also takes away Ellie's choice by lying to her. You can see Ellie doesn't totally believe him but goes with what he says anyway. I think it's very unlikely the Fireflies could develop a vaccine under those conditions even with having Ellie's brain. Ellie would have died for nothing anyway. It's not like they had a full-functioning hospital with all the working machines and staff you would need. The last episode definitely affected me. I can see now that most of my review focuses on my need to debate what happened in the finale.

Joel and Ellie together were some of the best TV I've seen. I highly recommend watching Bella and Pedro onscreen. I feel conflicted about watching mass shootings, which is why I took off a few stars.

About Fate (2022)

Me and Earl and Emma Roberts

[7/10 · 6 February 2023]

Thomas Mann's glasses reminded me of Superman. At first I didn't recognize him, but when he took off his glasses, I realized he was that kid from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl! The bath house scenes with Griffin's Russian friends seemed bazaar and out of place, until I read this was a remake of a Russian movie. Those scenes were funny and helped make Griffin a likeable character. Was it overly sentimental? Yes, but I still enjoyed watching it. Both Griffin and Margot deserved the right partner, and there was no denying fate.

The last scene felt like it needed to be re-done. It worked, but something about it seemed abrupt. I found this movie because I was searching for Emma Roberts. It was a nice surprise that Britt Robertson was also in the movie.

His Dark Materials (2019–2022)

Couldn't get past Will

[7/10 · 28 December 2022]

There are plenty of positives to talk about which is why I gave 7 stars, but I can't get past that I never felt much from the actor that played Will, Amir Wilson. Dafne Keen improved. I remember feeling that she lacked a spark in the first season, but in season three, I thought she was much better. Amir, on the other hand, seemed to stay about the same all the way through for me. I just saw him playing the angry boy over and over again. I never felt the connection between Will and Lyra, and that was a big problem for me since their relationship was at the heart of the story. Dafne did start looking at Will differently in season three, and I could feel more from her.

There were plenty of positives, including the casting of Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Coulter. I think she deserves an award for her performance, especially in season three. She successfully transitioned her character from a villain to a remorseful loving mother. She was able to harness her manipulative powers to help save her daughter.

I do recommend the series. I read the books, and I was only disappointed a few times, mostly because of their lack of budget to be able to show certain scenes in full. I remember one of the battles early on was done almost entirely off-screen. But I will give them credit for doing a great job with the land of the dead. Remembering the book, I thought season three would be the toughest to show on screen, but I give the showrunners 10 stars for their adaptation of the amber spyglass with the restraints of their budget.

The Princess (I) (2022)

Joey wins the game.

[7/10 · 4 July 2022]

Forget the fairytales where the prince rescues the princess in the tower. This princess rescues herself. I had fun watching Joey King as the warrior princess. She must have had a blast learning all of the fight sequences. I read that she did more than 80% of her own stunts. She had the help of two stunt doubles who encouraged her.

The movie felt like a computer game. You start off as the princess waking up in your bed trying to get your bearings. You realize you are in the bedroom at the top of the tower. Your wrists are shackled. You are to be married away to the evil wantabe King. The first bad guy appears. Actually three bad guys appear. How do you get out of your shackles? How do you defeat the bad guys? What weapons are available? Do you remember your training from a wise Asian ninja master?

After you get out of your bedroom, it's time to make your way down the tower and meet the next colorful "bad guy" you need to defeat. The huge bare chested muscle man with the horned helmet was memorable. Most bad guys were generic. They all enjoyed grunt talking and grunt laughing. They all looked dirty and nasty.

It didn't hurt that this was the princess' home, so she knew about the hidden passageways. It also didn't hurt that she could power up with a handy sword she had hidden under her bed, once she made it to her actual bedroom. I loved the "siege" room that was covered in weapons and armor for her to choose from.

If you don't take this movie too seriously, I think you will enjoy watching Joey King kick some serious medieval guy butt. I loved how she kept tearing away her dress to make it more practical for fighting as she defeated more and more bad guys. The fights looked well choreographed. Joey King must have gone through a ton of choreography and fight training. They spent no time on the characters. The dad King was bland. The bad guy King wantabe was big on dramatic threatening speeches. They didn't bother getting into his backstory. His hairstyle distracted me. I kept seeing Richard's hairstyle in the Jennifer Garner movie "13 Going on 30". Richard was the magazine editor played by British actor Andy Serkis. It had a similar prefectly manicured black hair look. The Wantabe King's whip wielding girlfriend wins the award for tall manicured black hair.

If you are looking for a movie with well developed characters and dialogue, I recommend you watch Joey King's earlier film "Wish I Were Here," where she starred as Zach Braff's teenage daughter. That movie had a ton of heart and was well written. In "The Princess", Joey doesn't need a script. She just needs to find her fighting boots and a sharp sword to win the game. It was an enjoyable game to watch.

The Enormity of Life (2021)

Suicide is not funny

[5/10 · 25 June 2022]

The elephant in the room is the ending. For me, this was a well-acted and well written film. It could be a play. The movie is a series of one-on-one scenes between the main characters. Breckin Meyer went through life without feeling or noticing his surroundings. He was traumatized as a child by a mentally ill mother who tried to kill him several times. When Emily Kinney takes him home, it was poignant to realize that Breckin's character never noticed she lived right down the hall.

I loved the scenes between Breckin and young Jules played by Giselle Eisenberg. Jules has recurring nightmares about possibly being shot at school by an active shooter. She obsesses on cable news and knows all of the statistics of past shootings. Casey was helping Jules makes some progress. I loved their scenes together. That's what made the ending so difficult for me. Suicide is something I've lived through in my own family. Perhaps the ending is realistic that once someone tries suicide, it's very likely they will try again and succeed. It's hard to take that no matter what you do, the person can try again and succeed. Even though you try to understand their pain (or lack of pain or feeling of any kind in Casey's case), in the end suicide is a selfish act leaving the family to grieve and live with the consequences.

Perhaps Casey thought leaving Jess and Jules with an easier life was a decent gesture. Did he ever think how his suicide would further traumatize young Jules? How selfish could he be? Couldn't he see she was finally making some progress in her life with his help? My siblings became very angry at my dad for what he did. I just feel for Jules in this movie. The carousel in the back yard will just be a constant reminder of the suicide. I was hoping Casey would make a little progress to at least give his life a chance for the sake of Jules and Jess. Unfortunately, it may be realistic, since those who try suicide usually try again. But it was an awful ending for Jules. My heart broke for her. As she said, she liked him. She was finally making some progress to enjoy life as a happier kid. Then the ending happens to her. She already was living with PTSD symptoms, and then Casey throws a new trauma at her. This was not a comedy. I saw it listed as a comedy on IMDB. There was nothing funny about what happened. They tried to wrap up the ending as something uplifting, but the elephant in the room died and left a huge mess to clean up.

I am still giving the movie a 5 because I loved the one-on-one scenes between the actors. Up until the last 15 minutes, I would have given the film an 8, 9, or even 10. But the ending brought back my own trauma and just made me sad for young Jules and her mom Jess.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2022)

Gets me everytime

[10/10 · 13 June 2022]

This show ranks as my favorite on TV right now. Rose Leslie is a favorite of mine from Game of Thrones. She was excellent in the recent series VIGIL about a murder aboard a nuclear submarine.

Something about the emotions of the story and the performances of the actors get to me every episode. I feel for Henry, and I'm curious how he changes from an a-hole to a caring mature person. Avoiding spoilers, I'll be vague and say that the episode that shows his time "anchor" was heartbreaking. It included images I won't soon forget. I spotted Henry (Theo James) by accident in a PBS 2019 series "Sanditon" based on an unfinished work by Jane Austen. He was quite good as the tall dark, handsome, and very British leading man. Rose Leslie should win best actress award in a series. She's not the time traveler, but her emotions travel right through the TV screen and connect. I can't help but tear up every episode.

The supporting cast is fantastic, and the sci-fi story itself isn't so bad either. It's mindboggling and fascinating to experience.

Pistol (2022)

Wanted more Maisie Scenes

[5/10 · 1 June 2022]

Maisie Williams was my link to Pistol. She was cast perfectly as Jordan, but unfortunately, Jordan had a very small role in the 6 episode production. The other Game of Thrones alum, Thomas Brodie-Sangster (ex Jojen Reed) has been much busier than Maisie since GOT. I remember his role as the knife wielding master chess player Benny Watts in The Queen's Gambit. Now he plays the off the wall music manager and swindler Malcolm in Pistol.

The band story turned out to be the least interesting thing to me about Pistol. After awhile it was more of the same of them getting angry with each other and fighting. I was drawn to the stories of the women much more than the guys in the band.

I enjoyed Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde. Looking at her filmography, she hasn't appeared in much yet. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does next.

Talulah Riley as the shop owner Vivienne Westwood had one of the best stories. I loved watching her as the revolutionary with her children as helpers.

The last episode focused on the US tour, so most of my favorite characters were left in England (including Maisie's). I found episode 6 pretty boring.

If I learned something, I did learn how awful it looked to grow up where these boys grew up. The series did impact me with just how bad it was in England for these kids. Sid's and Steve's stories were both horrible to watch them go through what they went through.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2022– )

It's not the movie

[10/10 · 29 May 2022]

I highly recommend this series. It has it all including great acting, characters you care about, and a who-done-it mystery with lots of twists. I hesitated giving it a try because I kept thinking of the Matthew McConaughey movie.

Seeing LisaGay Hamilton from The Practice in the trailer got my attention. The Practice was one of my favorite lawyer dramas. I also saw David E. Kelley was involved in this production, so I hit play. I couldn't stop watching.

Standouts include Becki Newton as Lorna, Mickey's Ex Wife #2. She could star in a spinoff of her own. All of her scenes were great. I especially loved when she explained to the soccer coach she was the Ex Step Mom. I enjoyed watching Mikey's relationship with his daughter played by Krista Warner. I could go on praising the show, but as Mickey said, an opening statement can get boring if you go on too long. I'll stop there and say this is a great series!! I'm hoping they get a season 2.

Station Eleven (2021–2022)

Halt and Catch the Georgia Flu

[9/10 · 8 May 2022]

I browsed through HBO Max and spotted Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis). I had no idea that the story was going to hit so close to home. From what I understand, filming started before 2020. The Station 11 book seemed like a prophesy for our own times. Luckily for us, even though COVID was deadly, it wasn't as deadly as the Georgia flu. I was particularly struck by the scenes at the airport with the forced quarantines. They still required masking up after a month of quarantine. Did our fear get the best of us? Were our government officials all Clarks? As we come out of the pandemic, I'm seeing people in various degrees of fear. Some are totally fearless like Alex ready to face the new world without the restraints of the past. Others are like Clark trying to hold on any way he can to a semblance of control.

I had to take breaks and come back for more episodes later. This wasn't a series I could binge in a couple of days. The story and the performances were powerful and disturbing. Matilda Lawler (young Kirsten) and Mackenzie Davis (Kirsten) should both get awards if they haven't already. I particularly liked all of the actors who played in the circus (traveling symphony). Gael García Bernal was fantastic as Arther Leander. Danielle Deadwyler also drew me in as Maranda. Jeremy Podeswa (one of the Game of Thrones directors) directed 3 of the episodes. I love his work. Also honorable mention to Enrico Colantoni of Galaxy Quest fame. I recognized him immediately as Mathesar.

It did make me wonder how society works and how technology develops. Will the station 11 society stay happy just going around the wheel forever or will they want more one day? This was a series that got me thinking, and I won't soon forget. Right now I am seeing the image of the children of the undersea following their prophet back out to the woods....

Moonfall (2022)

I just spent $19.95 on this...

[1/10 · 2 April 2022]

I give a star for John Bradley. I enjoyed seeing Sam from Game of Thrones in a major movie role. But I give negative stars for the rest. The script was gosh darn awful. The last minute shuttle launch was preposterous.

Halle Berry, John Bradley, and an intriguing sci fi preview got me to hit my remote agreeing to pay $19.95 on Amazon Prime. I was hopeful watching the opening scenes. But I noticed early on that Halle Berry's lines were poorly written. Things went downhill quickly once the Moon started to change orbit. It became obvious the director just wanted to show special effects of the disaster. I found out that Roland Emmerich was the director. Then it all made sense! He also directed The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla, and Independence Day. He's the guy who loves showing oceans rising into giant tsunamis that rush over land to totally destroy cities. Watch skyscrapers fall. Watch trucks fly. Watch the Earth crack open. And now, watch the Moon fall to Earth.

Unfortunately, they forgot to write a script. Let's put aside the physics problems. Just the fact that Halle Berry decided to trust the nanny with her son as the world was ending was too much of a leap for me.

There are some intriguing facts about the moon that could have helped them write a decent somewhat conceivable story. John Bradley mentioned that it's pretty amazing that the moon is exactly 400 times smaller than the Sun and 400 times closer to Earth than the Sun. This is why we can see a total eclipse when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun. Is it just a coincidence or is it a sign of a higher intelligence? That could have been an intriguing premise. Unfortunately, characters and story were annoyances for the director. I got the feeling he was just having fun seeing a giant Moon about to hit Earth. I couldn't find any social commentary. The rescue believability was worse than even Armageddon! That's really bad!! The sad thing is that this movie will forever stay in my Amazon movie library now.

The Americans (2013–2018)

Addicted to the Americans

[10/10 · 25 February 2022]

I finished re-watching the Americans binging all 6 seasons in a short period of time. The first time I saw it, I remember thinking it had a pretty good ending. This time, I still thought it was well done, but I was left with a couple of questions that bug me. I wish people could write replies to these reviews so I could see your opinions!

How was Paige going to survive in America? I thought she had to leave the country, since people would know she was a spy or at least knew about her parents. She wasn't even wearing a disguise at the safe house in Washington DC. It was dramatic that she left, but now what??

I wasn't sure how Philip and Elizabeth were able to contact the ex Residentura who picked them up. It's not like they had his direct number! I would have thought that all of the numbers they knew were controlled by the "Center" (the KGB who wanted to oust Gorbachev).

Other than those flaws, I consider the Americans one of the best drama TV series. The story telling, acting, drama, and attention to detail were fantastic.

I loved how Philip talked Agent Beeman into letting them go. That was the best example of what it meant to be a good spy. There is always some honestly and truth in the relationship even with the lies. That's the only way it's believable. Philip really did care about Stan as a friend, even though he still had to do his job. As Philip said, he was his only friend. And it totally stunned Stan to hear that his girlfriend was probably a spy too. I just loved that scene.

Reacher (2022– )

Book him

[9/10 · 4 February 2022]

This felt like the books. I have to think Alan Ritchson is what Lee Child had in mind as opposed to Tom Cruise. I don't blame Tom Cruise. He physically didn't fit the role, and not much he could do about that.

I didn't read this particular book, but I have to assume the story ended in a similar way. Everything was going great for me until the bad guys let Reacher go to help them find Hubbell. Why? I would think they would have found him eventually. I also had a problem with the pool fight scene where Reacher gets repeatedly hit with a crowbar and seems totally fine without bruises.

I did really enjoy the series, so I'm giving it a 9. I'm looking forward to the next season adapting another one of the books.

The Expanse: Babylon's Ashes (2022) Season 6, Episode 6

About Armor and Dogs

[8/10 · 22 January 2022]

It's the morning after watching the final episode late last night. I had a thought of Detective Joe Miller, played by Thomas Jane. I realized how much I missed seeing his character. There was something about his story in the early seasons that kept me glued to The Expanse. I'm a sucker for a good mystery and a well developed character. I remember his unique haircut, his hat, and little scenes like the one in Julie's apartment. While investigating her disappearance, Joe took the opportunity to wash his hair, since water was so scarce on Ceres. As we raced towards the endgame in season 6, much of the mystery was over and it was mostly about action. The action was very cool. I loved the visuals of Bobbie's assault on the guns. The rocket chairs were bizarre! How do you fly a chair?? They did leave a few mysteries out there, such as what will happen with those entities. The final credits shows the ring space entities changing colors and possibly getting angrier! They left the mystery of the little girl with her zombie brother.

Joe Miller was one of the few main characters allowed to die (even though he still may be out there in a different dimension with Julie). Season 6 had too much plot armor for me. The cast and show runners were comparing the final season with Game of Throne's final season. Game of Thrones had its share of plot armor in season 8, but not nearly as much as The Expanse. Season 6 has about as happy of an ending as you could possibly write. Just about all of our favorites are still alive and happy. I thought either Bobbie or Amos should have died in the battle. Even Alex would have lived last season if it wasn't for Cas Anvar's off screen troubles. I thought perhaps they might kill off Chrisjen Avasarala, since the soldier made a comment about her taking a risk being up at the front. Peaches does find out she only has a few years to live, but at least for now she has a great relationship with Amos and feels at home as an important member of the crew. Even Naomi's son Filip managed to escape!

I guess there is something to be said for happy endings. It was satisfying seeing the crew sitting together around the table. It would have been a bummer for them to let Amos or Bobbie get blasted out of their chair before even making it down to the fight, but probably much more realistic. But forget about the realism. They were flying chairs after all! So I can see arguments for at least some plot armor. We do need some happiness in our escapism. The world can be dark and full of terrors in real life.

And what's with the parents down on that planet? Would you immediately try to kill your son, even if he comes back as a zombie? My first reaction wouldn't have been to stab him! I think I would have taken a few minutes to find out what happened. I can see why the little girl wanted to get away from them!

Vigil (2021– )

I wish people had gills

[10/10 · 22 January 2022]

I loved this 6 parter. I was thrilled to see Game of Throne's alumni, including Rose Leslie (Ygritte), Stephen Dillane (Stannis) and Daniel Portman (Podrick). Rose Leslie was one of my favorite Game of Thrones actors. I thought this was a fantastic role for her. She was very believable as the assistant Scottish police detective. I liked how passionate she was about her job. I could feel how much she cared about her victims. I enjoyed watching her chasing down a suspect and fighting back during an attack. I also enjoyed learning about the relationship between her character Kirsten Longacre and the main character DCI Amy Silva played by Suranne Jones.

Rose's character stayed on dry land investigating, while Suranne went deep underwater onboard a British nuclear submarine. Can you say claustrophobia? To make things worse, Suranne's character happens to have a fresh memory of a tragic car crash when she was trapped underwater. I'm a person who hates the idea of being in a MRI machine with hardly any room for your face to breathe. I had flashbacks to the MRI when DCI Silva tried to squeeze into her submarine bunk for the first time. Without spoiling anything, the claustrophobia factor gets much worse towards the end of the series.

I loved how the series showed the unique relationships between the military, MI5, and the police. They were all extremely territorial, while at the same time they had to put up with each other and share some information. DCI Silva constantly fights the Navy officers so she can do her investigation. Kirsten Longacre deals with MI5 back on the mainland.

Stephen Dillane had a familiar look on his face as the head Navy officer back on shore. As Stannis in Game of Thrones, he always looked like he was pissed off and didn't want to be there. He had a similar expression here.

I thought the series had a very satisfying ending. I highly recommend this series.

Eternals (2021)

Disappointed, Confused and needed more Kit!

[2/10 · 14 January 2022]

How can all powerful Eternals be stabbed and in the next scene go to outer space without a suit? Why was there only one Eternal with the power to heal herself? How can they be fine in Outer Space without air when they seem like vulnerable humans on Earth? I was confused.

I was excited to see Kit Harington, but he hardly had any screen time. I knew going in that his Game of Thrones brother Richard Madden had a much larger role. But I thought Kit would be more involved as the Black Knight. I was sad that I will have to wait for a future movie for Kit to put on his Black Knight armor.

Most of the movie showed battle scenes between the superpowered Eternals and the Deviant creatures. The deviants reminded me of stringy dinosaurs. After awhile, the fights weren't very interesting. Most of the time I was confused. The Eternal's powers didn't seem very effective, and they seemed way too vulnerable.

Hawkeye (2021)

All about Kate

[8/10 · 3 January 2022]

I was hooked and binged all 6 episodes in two days. I was surprised it was less about Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and more about Kate (future Hawkeye? Played by Hailee Steinfeld). If you are looking for Hawkeye (Clint) to suit up, it doesn't really happen until the last episode. He has action sequences here and there, but he doesn't go full blown Hawkeye until the season finale. We do get some personal moments with Clint and his family early on. The reviewers who said the series was about nothing may have expected more Hawkeye action early on. The action scenes in the earlier episodes mostly involved Kate. The series really is about Kate. I would call it her origin story. Clint becomes her reluctant mentor. Like Clint, Kate doesn't have super powers, but she's developed amazing bow and martial arts skills. Her father was killed during the alien invasion of 2012. As a young girl, she witnessed Hawkeye fighting the aliens on the neighboring skyscraper.

I had a problem with Clint's fight with Yelena in episode 6. Clint should have had major injuries to his arms. She was pounding away at his arms with her baton. His new suit wasn't like Daredevil's. It didn't have special armor. Also, Yelena has enhanced strength like her sister Natasha (Black Widow). I suppose you could make the argument that Yelena wasn't fighting with her full strength, since she was still talking to him to find out the truth about her sister. But the scene bugged me (Edit: I find it funny that I wasn't bothered by Clint falling into the Christmas tree or Kate's rapid fall down the side of the building. )

I enjoyed Florence Pugh's performance as Yelena. I recently rewatched Black Widow, and her sense of humor picked up where it left off from the movie. I was confused about her time jump. She went into the bathroom, used the sink, and suddenly it was 5 years later. Yelena didn't know what happened either. I hope this is revisited next season. Perhaps it had something to do with the avenger watch. I'm amazed how different Florence Pugh looks from "Fighting with my Family." I loved her in that movie! It came out in 2019, so she has aged three years, but she looks alot different. It's not just the hair color. Perhaps she just added more muscles in the gym since then.

The special trick arrows were awesome, and some were pretty funny. They held back using most of them until that last episode unfortunately. This probably saved money on special effects. They could spend the bulk of their budget on episode 6.

I was sad that there were only 6 episodes. I loved all of the little elements, such as feeding the one eye dog pizza and lots more.