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Reviews
Clickbait (2021)
Engaging, but unsatisfying
I binged this in a day. It definitely lives up to its name. Each episode ends with a nice "wait, what if SO AND SO..." -- just when you think you know what's going on, they'll play with your perception and give you yet another red herring.
But the end just doesn't work. Dumb decisions by certain characters and a resolution that just doesn't ring the way you want a mystery to are pretty heavy marks against it. On top of that, the acting is mediocre and the whole thing feels like a budget thriller at best.
Fine for an afternoon of binging while you're getting over a cold, but not worth your time otherwise.
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
An okay movie... unfaithful to the characters of the original series.
I like the 2009 reboot of Star Trek. Into Darkness was interesting in it's complete reversal of the Kirk/Spock roles in the original 'Wrath of Kahn' -- but Beyond, while hearkening as much as it could back to the original series, just betrayed the characters tremendously.
First, the bad...
Spock is directed, written and acted poorly. He is much too emotional. Instead of his scenes of emotion being a fleeting moment that shows his humanity, he is a whiny character who has little presence on screen. You just don't end up caring about him much.
Kirk's character is phoned in by Pine. He seemed to be enjoying himself in the first installment of the series, but so much less so here.
And finally, our enemy, Krall played by Idris Elba, just wasn't menacing. Maybe this is a problem of "Star Trek" in general, but it fails compared to the Borg or Kahn in the original series and for the action movie this wishes that it was, a strong antagonist was required. The writing failed to deliver.
But there were some good parts:
Simon Pegg was thoroughly enjoyable as Scotty, but Karl Urban's 'Bones' was the standout character here. The attitude was perfect while totally making the character his own.
All in all, nothing worth bothering to see unless you just have nothing to do.
K-PAX (2001)
Good movie--what was the message?
K-PAX was the first movie I'd seen in a theatre in about 4 months. I really liked Kevin Spacey's work in it, and several of the mental patients gave nice performances (David Patrick Kelly). Bridges was so-so, but good enough for the part.
I guess the funny thing about this movie is that while it was emotionally involving (I felt myself tearing up a couple of times), I couldn't tell what the point was. There is a voice-over by Kevin Spacey at the end that I considered completely unnecessary.
Basically, the whole thing was good, with well done characters, but lack of direction a-la Pleasantville.
Opposite Sex (2000)
Potential--not what I expected.
While all the promo spots for this "Sex Comedy" depicted 3 boys having their reign over a school full of girls that seemed to fall at their feet as though they were the oasis they had been looking for, the show itself was quite different.
I turned this on last night expecting to see what every teenage boy might DREAM of: A school full of beautiful women--demanding to have their sexual needs met, and a low supply of boys. Instead, you get a smart comedy that depicts how these girls are a little hostile, a little resistant to change, few are begging for sex, and Jed (the character through which you see most of the action) properly reacts to this strange situation; He feels outcast and lied in a time when every kid wants to be accepted--even though there ARE 300 beautiful women around him.
You can already see where some of the show is going--probably a smarter, funnier, and much more entertaining version of "Saved by the Bell" at it's best, judging by the pairing of 3 female leads with the 3 males in the opening sequence. At it's worst, it could be just another teen-comedy.
Judging by the pilot--I'd be leaning towards the smart and witty side, with a little teen-fantasy thrown in for good measure.