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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
It Definitely Redeems the Trainwreck of the Last Film
The first 20 minutes and the last 30-40 minutes were definitely the highlight of the film. Both are long action sequences that feel creative and have some real stakes.
After the 20 minute intro, we go only 15 minutes before another action/chase scene which is also impressive but not as good as those other two.
We get another 10 minute break. Then another 20 minute action/chase scene which has some thrills and laughs but is a little too long. At this point in the film, the action is feeling a bit repetitive.
Then we get another 10 minute lull. Then another 20-25 minute set piece that is more of a slow-burn. But the climax of the set piece was really good.
Finally, we are approaching the end of the movie. The weakest part of the film is the set piece 20 minutes before the last 30. This part feels like it's just thrown in out of tradition with not a lot of originality.
At this point in the film, I was wishing the film had been more daring or weird. But finally we get a payoff in the climax where it does get daring/weird, thankfully.
However, a good 30 minutes of run-time could have been trimmed from the 3rd and 5th action sequences that would have made the film a lot more. Take 10 minutes of out of the third. Eliminate the fifth altogether.
Another issue of the movie is it follows this pattern. The good guys are go somewhere. The bad guys show up too. The first two times, this makes sense. But the next two times are a bit incredulous on how they show up when they do.
Still, this movie does the Indiana Jones franchise proud. The first three films are masterpieces. The fourth was at least entertaining for half of it but the second half was awful. This one was merely just good.
If it had just been more succinct and off-the-wall, we could have been also looking at a 9/10 movie.
No Hard Feelings (2023)
Far better than most romcoms - actually funny
However, the film loses steam in the last 30-40 minutes because it becomes a lot more serious. There are still some jokes and many are funny at that part of the film. But the tonal shift of the movie felt a little jarring.
It also is incredibly sweet and not really cheesy. Only a repeat of a gag earlier in the last 10 minutes of the movie seemed a bit cheesy.
Jennifer Lawrence needs to do more comedies though. She has a ton of charisma for romcoms.
As a guy, I haven't liked many romcoms, but this one was far more modern compared to those 90's and 2000's ones. Trainwreck was another pretty funny movie to me as well.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
One of the funniest plots ever
This X-Men has its central conflicts over trivial matters. It's laughable that the central conflict is that Charles lied to Jean and told her her father was dead because he didn't want her. Charles apologizing to Jean during the climax to get her to wake up is just ridiculous. The other conflict where one of the xmen dies is also ridiculous as it was clearly an accident.
Finally, Jessica Chastain's villain is just devoid of personality. The side characters like Storm, Cyclops, and Night crawler are the same. The film spends no effort in US getting to know them. Apocalypse was so forgettable that I don't remember them at all.
The only positives to the movie are the beginning set piece which sees the X-Men actually doing something positive for the world and the world looking up to them as heroes, the final battle on the train, and Magneto, Raven, and Charles actually seeming to have developed as characters. The latter three were the heart of the franchise. I like that Magneto and Raven turned into heroes, and that Magneto and Charles became friends again.
Only if the movie had an actual plot worth caring about and dialogue that wasn't terrible.
Green Book (2018)
Painful and Stupid
White guy acts racist to black guy. Black guy's white driver steps in to save the day. Repeat.
White driver acts ignorant about everything. Black guy corrects white guy or acts offended by him. Repeat.
White driver and black guy get closer. Repeat.
These are the three types of scenes in the movie. What's the point of the movie? It's not a feel good movie. It's depressing.
Dr. Shirley puts up with Tony. I didn't see them as friends at all. So, I didn't get that criticism of the movie in terms of historical accuracy.
However, making Tony the main character was not very good. He is not a very redeemable character. Nor does Tony ever seek redemption.
Penny Dreadful: The Blessed Dark (2016)
The Main Story Fizzles, but Sub-Plots Shine
Episode 7's end saw Vanessa ready to kill Dracula, but after hearing a speech by him, she not only decided not to kill him, but to also give herself to him. This moment was extremely unconvincing and an example of forced, lazy writing unbecoming of the show. The worst was yet to come though as episode 8 and 9 sees this main story line become increasingly hokey.
For example, at the end of episode 8, Ethan is attacked by vampires who easily would have killed him if it weren't for him turning into a werewolf. Yet, in the finale, the vampires become little more than cattle, easily killed by the likes of Sir Malcolm, Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Seward, and Catriona Hartdegen, who have no supernatural abilities but also seem never to have to reload their guns. It is really this whole sequence that drags the episode down.
First, our main characters decide to attack the vampire lair at daylight when they don't have their two greatest weapons, two werewolves, available. Second, the sequence occurs above. Third, we have Ethan who sneaks his way past Dracula to Vanessa. Why Dracula, who could kill the four powerless characters mentioned above in an instant (as he quickly throws them around like dolls), does not attend to protecting his bride, makes no sense. But we also have Vanessa, who earlier in the episode was shown to have completely changed into a merciless villain wanting our other main characters dead, now discoursing with Ethan for a few minutes before asking him to predictably kill her. What the heck? So, Ethan obliges and then we turn back to Dracula, who somehow is still engaged in battle with the four powerless characters. How did Sir Malcomb, Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Seward, and Catriona Hartdegan survive, let alone not even get injured? Surely, getting tossed against a wall by Dracula should have caused some bones to break. This quarrel stops when Ethan emerges carrying a dead Vanessa. That's understandable, but then Dracula just runs away. Why wouldn't he seek revenge on these characters? It's all a just a big mess.
Thankfully, the episode is redeemed by Lily, Dorian Gray, and the Creature. I would have to admit Dorian Gray's inclusion in the show never really felt necessary until the Season 2 finale, when I assumed he and Lily would become the primary villains of the show. Even the Creature and Lily weren't that necessary. But the show stuck with these characters and it paid off. For Lily and Dr. Frankenstein, we get the most emotional moment of the show where finally both characters reveal their humanity and reject their both of their immoral campaigns. Then Lily returns back to Dorian who has killed Justine, only to reject him saying she doesn't want to live like him anymore. Dorian brushes this off predicting Lily will get lonely eventually and seek him out. Still, Lily leaves despite this truth regarding her eternal life.
The Creature's arc is complete when after the death of his son, his wife requests he bring their son to Dr. Frankenstein to resurrect or else not come back to her. He opts not to abide her request, and for a man who forced Dr. Frankenstein to resurrect a female for him so he would not be lonely, this is remarkable as he is essentially opting for a life of loneliness. Watching him submerge his dead son's corpse in the river was heart-wrenching.
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this show ending. Season 3 was terrific up until the end of Episode 7 and since only the main character was lost, the show could easily move go on. Still, maybe the showrunners might botch Lily, Dorian Gray, and the Creature's arcs just like they did Vanessa's.
Sense8: Happy F*cking New Year. (2016)
A Rushed, Sloppy, and Jam-Packed Two Hour Special
"Happy ****ing New Year" takes places over four months time. That's considerable given that the whole first season could not have been more than two months. So, it's no surprise that it feels like we miss out on a lot of side character interaction. Equal time is spent almost on each character here when in the first season's episodes, they had the wisdom to focus on only a few characters per episode. That being said, an awful lot of plot progression happens for Lito, Kala, Sun, and Wolfgang. But Wolfgang's plot line is particularly confusing, because there just is not enough time in 120 minutes given to him.
The most important story line for the show obviously involves Will and his possession by Whispers, which endangers all of the Sensates. It would make narrative sense not to advance his plot too much for the special and to focus on the other characters. Instead, the main thread is teased at us a lot and confusingly the only one concerned about it is Riley, since she is physically present with Will. Rule-wise, what is also confusing is when Will interacts with Whispers, the other characters are not present to these conversations. We are not given an answer to why this is the case. Even worse, they do not even seem to be discussing these events with Will afterwards.
That is what is the most lazy aspect of the episode: the strategy of the Sensates' overall mission. An intelligent decision was made to subdue Will with drugs constantly (this scene would have great to see, but we don't). But after that, everyone just went on with their lives, not putting any great haste into trying to wrap up their drama. Obviously, for Kala, Capheus, and Lito, this would be a lot easier than for Nomi, Wolfgang, and Sun.
When it comes to maintaining Will's subdued state though, Riley cannot even keep this up consistently and even takes him out for their shared birthday and for Christmas. Even when danger strikes near the end of the episode for Will, Riley still cannot keep Will subdued after that, as we see Will in the final scene present with everyone.
Also, in four months time, Nomi, with all her computer skills, makes zero progress on the overall mission on gathering information on the secret organization, and is shown not even attempting to do so.
With all of these lapses in logic, one has to wonder what about the show's future quality.
Goliath (2016)
Three Episodes In...Low Quality TV At Its Finest
The only thing this show has going for it is its top casting. Why these actors would choose to star in such a poorly-written show is beyond me, though. This show is supposed to be about lawyers and yet it's like they barely put any effort into portraying any realism at all. Billy Bob Thorton's character seems pretty emotionally involved in the case, but never puts any work into it until the third episode, none of which we actually see. We also get these scenes of William Hurt in his top office, as he's the head of the Goliath law-firm and the acting in these scenes are just way over-the-top.
Still, after three episodes I found myself wanting to watch more of it as the trashiness and low quality have a certain appeal oddly.
(I WON'T WATCH ANYMORE THOUGH. I MUST RESIST BAD TV.) Bottomline: The TV drama market is saturated with quality shows currently. Skip this one and watch something else. If you've never seen The Good Wife, a lawyer/politics show, or Damages, a lawyer/thriller show, watch those first before venturing into this one.
You're the Worst (2014)
Great First Season; Mixed Second Season
Every show sort of goes through a rough patch at the beginning of the show. You really cannot make a judgment on it until several episodes have passed. With 30 Rock for example, it was absolutely awful for around 5 episodes, and then immediately became amazing. With You're the Worst, it takes about 3-4 episodes for it to get going, getting better with each episode during this time. By the time the first season is over, you've witnessed a very emotional, funny, and "real" romantic comedy.
Season 1: 9/10 What's surprising is that Season 2 has a lag with its first 3-4 episodes too. After that it almost reaches the quality of Season 1 for 6 episodes before struggling again for its final 4 (an opinion most fans of the show would probably disagree with given the high ratings for the last two episodes).
So, what does the show look like when it is NOT ON its game? Its humor is unnecessarily crude and mean-spirited (written mainly for shock value) while its characters are almost completely unlikable and one-note. Now, there is still crude and mean-spirited humor when the show is ON its game, but the difference is that is not the only humor that is there. The show is fun and clever, especially with situational and character humor, and the drama really hits it mark well because the characters become less cartoon-like.
Part of the problem with Season 2 is that the character gains made in Season 1 are almost completely undone at its beginning which does not feel earned because we didn't see these character gains come undone. Later on, we see certain character gains come undone on screen, but they don't necessarily make sense to have happened either.
Much praise has been given to Season 2 due its fairly realistic portrayal of clinical depression in a relationship. This story line is really well-done in that it raises awareness for mental illness, destigmatizing it along the way--that is until the last episode of the season when the character who was going through clinical depression just snaps out of it. Even though this can happen, it does not feel earned and to me negates the destigmatization of mental illness the show had done.
Season 2: 7/10
Deadpool (2016)
The Character Works, but the Rest Doesn't
I have to admit, I did chuckle a number of times during the movie's onslaught of nonstop jokes. However, that's really all the movie has going for it. The fight scenes are not involving (mainly because Deadpool is invincible and has a lackluster villain). The love story doesn't really work either for such a violent character nor does the back story. Fox probably shoehorned all these elements that really drag the movie down--the superhero movie clichés--because even though they were taking a risk in making this R-rated movie, they didn't want to go all out with it. All those clichés really stand out against all the parts that do work because they are so lackluster. It felt like no effort was put into any of those areas mentioned above compared to the effort put into making the character as good as he was.
The potential is there to make a good movie in the future with Deadpool though and given the massive box-office success the film was, I'm sure the sequel will be better able to focus on giving us a plot worth caring about and more innovative action sequences.
Add-on: Some of the jokes are very rape-y and off-putting.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Silly, But Entertaining (Even For a MCU-hater Like Myself)
Captain America: Civil War a combination of the seriousness of Winter Soldier mixed with the ridiculousness found in The Avengers. It shouldn't work but it does, and is the best film in the MCU.
There's an action scene in the latter half of the film at an airport that has been really hyped up that fits that profile. On paper, this is a scene idea that could break your movie. I can imagine that if I was the director of this movie and Marvel told me I needed to have this scene in the movie, I probably would have walked off the project. "That's just too much ridiculousness for me in one scene," I'd argue. Somehow the Russo's made it work and I commend them for that. It's not the best scene ever. In fact, I'd say it's just okay. Still, it didn't break the movie and I call that a success.
Overall, the movie is solid throughout (though the beginning action sequence is sort of blah). People have said that the villain isn't strong as usual for a Marvel film. I'd argue the opposite actually. He seems sort of generic at first, but once he reveals his cards, he's actually pretty great. He's a sympathetic villain in my opinion and is probably the best superhero villain I have seen on film since The Joker. He's nowhere near that level of greatness. I'd say he's more along the lines of Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2. The only problem is that he's barely in the film.
Instead, this movie is more dedicated to having The Avengers show off their powers and battling it out. That's the main conflict here and in the end it is sort of a weak point of the movie as nothing's really resolved morally.
The movie puts forth that The Avengers should be held accountable for their actions and be controlled by the UN because of the collateral damage they cause. Iron Man and some Avengers agree with this. Captain America and his friends disagree. Eventually though Iron Man comes around. But why did he actually? There's really no justifiable answer. Besides Iron Man, you wonder did the other Avengers that sided with him change their minds too? That's not even answered. So basically the premise of the movie has no real conclusion. In fact, the movie just ends out of nowhere.
In my opinion, this conflict is hard to resolve as I do see both sides of the issue. As a viewer though, I would have liked the movie pick a side and then justify why it was the correct choice.
But in the end, it doesn't really matter because as soon as more aliens or whatever supervillains arrive, The Avengers are going to put all this bureaucracy aside and fight the bad guys in future installments.
Side Note: The way the script is put together is actually similar to Bruce Lee's Return of the Dragon in that throughout that film, Bruce Lee put a lot of care and thought into it. It was quite brilliant in action and comedy. But for whatever reason, the movie's ending is dumbfounding. It's like Bruce Lee just got sick of writing his script and thought, "Eh, screw it. I'm tired. I'll just write some monologue that doesn't make sense and say 'The End'." That's what it feels the screenwriters of Captain America: Civil War did too.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Good Film, but Tarantino's Weakest
The Hateful Eight is basically Reservoir Dogs in a Western setting, but it takes twice as long to tell the story. The reason for this is that it shows the back story of the situation in great detail unlike Reservoir Dogs. The first hour takes places outside the box and the rest of it in it.
This first hour could have been taken out of the movie though or edited significantly. The dialogue in this first hour supplies a lot of back story for the main characters, but then they talk about this AGAIN and AGAIN as each main character introduces himself to the another new character. Hence, the movie could have just started with the characters in the box.
I adore all of Quentin Tarantino's films, but I have to say The Hateful Eight is his weakest. Even though he is a master of building up suspense, the journey to the suspense takes way too long. (The payoff is great though.) The biggest detractor to The Hateful Eight is that it's not very fun. All of his previous pictures had moments of fun, whether through humor, the alluring dialogue, the style, or the action scenes. Here the tone is bleak throughout and the dialogue is very dry.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
No Originality (Sans one plot point)
This will be a spoiler-free review regarding anything not in the trailers or posters!!!
The Force Awakens is just so-so and is only slightly better than Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Its main problem is that it felt "forced", no pun intended. I think the film lacked the time necessary to develop a great story, which in interviews with J.J. Abrams you'll read about. They first started a script with Lucas's ideas. They scrapped those and then they were in a time cramp of just a few months to develop a plot/script. George Lucas spent at least 7 years dreaming up the original trilogy and had another 15 dreaming up the prequels.
There is a lot of potential here, but given the time lapse of 30 years that takes place between The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, there are too many aspects of the plot that don't make sense.
1) If you were like me, you were probably thrown when it was revealed in the trailer that there is an Empire still (called The First Order here). How this is possible is not explained. We are just supposed to accept that they exist and are a powerful threat. For me, this just doesn't make sense. The Empire was defeated and the galaxy cheered. How could the new Republic allow such a rebellion to happen and for that rebellion to build another death star? The rebels (heroes) of the original trilogy didn't build a death star, because usually rebels are outmatched. Here it is almost treated that The New Order is more powerful than the government. Plus, how could Luke Skywalker (the most powerful person in the universe) let this happen? 2) "Nothing will stand in our way... I will finish what you started." The new villain Kylo Ren says this in the trailer to Darth Vader's helmet. What did Vader start? Why does Kylo Ren even admire Darth Vader? These are questions that are not answered and make problematic the character of Kylo Ren's motivations.
There are more I could go over, but then I would be spoiling the movie. The villains are just a mess in general.
The heroes, on the other hand, are pretty great. Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia are amazing to see again. Rey and Finn are extremely strong characters. There is a lot of humor that works here and no cringe-worthy lines. The quips and reactions seem genuine and realistic, unlike say those in Marvel-Disney films. The big plot point is quite original and very unexpected. There were a lot of plot points I saw coming and was proved correct, but this one blew me away.
But like Marvel-Disney films, this movie doesn't take any risks. It knows what audiences want and gives it to them for the most part. There is a scene with some major Deus Ex-Machina at the end that just had me roll my eyes. Then there is of course the plot point of the new Death Star, which baffled me. To use this threat for a THIRD time was just ridiculous and if you thought the use of it a second time was lazy, here the mission to destroy it feels tacked on just to give the give characters some things to do outside the plot we actually care about. You would think that Disney would have listened to all of the fan's complaints about everything post The Empire Strikes Back, but here they didn't.
Lucas's prequel trilogy gave us something new, a lot of which didn't work. But at least it was new! Those films (outside of The Phantom Menace) felt more compelling than this one. I personally loved Revenge of the Sith and The Attack of the Phantom (the highly effective edit of Episode II). There wasn't a moment in The Force Awakens that matched the highs of those films (and even horrible The Phantom Menace, which couldn't be saved by an edit unfortunately).
Still, The Force Awakens is enjoyable. It just doesn't deserve to exist unless the sequels really blow us away. Hopefully, that happens! Score: 6.5/10
Trainwreck (2015)
A Mess, but a Hilarious One (Review for Unrated version)
Trainwreck tries to do too much. It wants to be a comedy, a drama, and an edgy romantic comedy. It succeeds heavily in the laughter department. The rest is really never earned and feels forced. Each scene plays out like a skit to get the joke out instead of focusing on the drama and romance. So, when dramatic scenes finally do come along, they're difficult to take seriously.
The biggest mistake the film makes is attempting to be a romantic comedy at all. Amy Schumer plays a player. Bill Harder is the person that she falls in love with to make her change her ways. The film never gives us a reason for Amy Schumer's character to fall for Bill Nader's character though. There is no initial spark between the two characters.
If you've seen the previews, you are aware of the scene where Bill Harder calls Amy Schumer the day after their one night stand to ask her on a date. Amy and her coworker think something must truly be wrong with Bill Harder in this scene. Looking at it plainly, there seriously must have been. All Amy Schumer does is treat Bill Hader like garbage their first date and then decides to just have sex with him to his surprise. What guy would ever be interested in a woman that acted like this? It is all one big warning sign that Anmy Schumer's character is crazy.
Another big mistake the movie makes is casting Lebron James as a supporting character. He cannot act. Some good jokes are mined off of him, but he doesn't have the comedic timing to pull his role off. There is another athlete, Amare Stoudmeire , who displays much better comedic and acting chops in a small cameo. He should have been cast in Lebron's place.
I still give Trainwreck an 8/10, because it is really funny and sometimes that's enough.
Jessica Jones (2015)
First 9 Episodes Are Terrific; Season 1 Lags to the Finish Line
Daredevil showed some promise and a lot of flaws. Its side characters were a mess and its villain became a caricature at the end of its first season. Being that I have disliked pretty much everything Marvel has done to this point, Jessica Jones really surprised me. I was hooked by the shocker of an ending in episode 1. After that, the show rarely let's up.
However, episode 10 gives the season an extension of sorts that it didn't need by creating a plot point that doesn't make much sense. Hence, there are 3 episodes left of filler. What is this filler? Mainly, these episodes unnecessarily set the stage for Season 2, build the Marvel TV-verse, and painstakingly try to finish character arcs for side characters the show never made you care about in the first place.
In between this filler is still a wonderful game of cat and mouse between Jessica Jones and the villain (despite its unnecessary extension). The final confrontation is really great (unlike the corny one Daredevil gave us)! It doesn't fully make up for everything the show does in its final four episodes though.
In fact, I am a little nervous that the show will remain on this course with good reason knowing Marvel. They are all about universe building instead of just focusing on telling an intriguing story. Since Jessica Jones is by far the best character/story has done to date, I would have preferred her to have been left alone. Unfortunately, that just will never happen in the current superhero climate (DC is making the same mistake) and I predict it will be the genre's undoing.
Bottom Line: If you haven't been a fan of the Marvel brand, give Jessica Jones a shot. I've read professional reviews saying this is the first superhero made for adults. I wholeheartedly agree. There is gore, swearing, and even graphic sex scenes (sans nudity). I recommend watching this first season despite the warning signs Jessica Jones gives its viewers about the show's future quality. The season can stand on its own merits.
Spectre (2015)
A Disappointing, Throwback Unoriginal Mess
Part Die Another Day, part Roger Moore Bond, and part You Only Live Twice is a recipe for disaster. After three successful Craig films, the Bond/MGM machine puts no effort into the script yet spent $250 million making the film somehow. It really all started with the end of Skyfall. There were lots of throwbacks to that the old Bond was coming. Here, almost every scene is a throwback.
There's the helicopter action scene from A View to Kill. There is a train fight scene from From Russia With Love with a Jaws type character who has no dialogue throughout the movie. There's a torture scene similar to Casino Royale. There's a snow chase through the mountains that reminds me of the tank scene in GoldenEye. There's a bad guy headquarters similar to Dr. No or You Only Live Twice.
The dialogue is tacky and predictable. The villains are uninteresting and really just wasted potential. There tries to be a love story angle that is supposed to be as interesting as Casino Royale's, but there is no time spent on developing it. The main characters maybe spend at most a week together before the female lead professes her love for Bond with no discernible reason. The only aspect of their relationship that made any sense is the first time they have sex.
The worst offense this movie makes is trying to connect all of the Craig movies together, with the bad guy proclaiming that all those previous villains were under his command which is just ludicrous and really undermines the events of Skyfall the most. The second worst offense is that the bad guy is Bond's brother-in- law which could have been interesting, but the film puts no depth to their relationship. (This revelation is revealed within the first 30-40 minutes.)
If I were Craig, I wouldn't want to come back to this role either. Spectre does what Diamonds Are Forever, Octopussy, and Die Another Day did. It has dealt the franchise a major, possibly fatal blow. I don't think there is a point to making another Bond film. The Craig Bond was supposed to subvert tropes of the franchise. Instead, Spectre embraces them while trying still trying to be modern which fails miserably.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Mission Impossible Continues Series' Trend to Choose Action Over Plot
Mission Impossible 1, in my opinion, had the plot and the action to go with it. Mission Impossible 2 may have had an okay plot, but the action was over-the-top stylized and was just a bad film. Mission Impossible 3 didn't have much of a plot, but its action and villain made up for it and was the best in the series.
Mission Impossible 4 started the series on the path that puts action over plot as if there was no effort to actually make a plot. It had the series' best set piece, but the action was REALLY unrealistic. The worst was when Tom Cruise jumps off of a skyscraper into a lower part of it only to hit his face on the window above. This would kill him.
In Mission Impossible 5, we find more incidents of Tom Cruise being immortal. He hits his head on metal as he gets flown into a plane by wind. He survives a ridiculous car crash where the car flips over while falling down 3 stories too at full speed. He survives crashing a motorcycle into the ground.
Rogue Nation to include a villain who was as intimidating as Phillip Seymour Hoffman. However, the actor and the events in the film make him feel more tacky than anything.
Mission Impossible 4 and 5's action style is the same Live Free or Die Hard while Mission Impossible 1 and 3's style were more in line with Die Hard 1 and 2. Pretty much everyone agrees Die Hard 1, 2, and 3 are far superior to 4 and 5. I would think people would think the same about the Mission Impossible series.
Right now, Tom Cruise's new Mission Impossible films are not actual movies. They are just excuses to have well-thought action scenes that border on disbelief. They are typical summer blockbuster fluff.
3rd Rock from the Sun (1996)
Season 1: Delightfully Weird/Dark/Funny. Seasons 2-3: Too Safe
The first season of 3rd Rock From the Sun is brilliant. It feels way ahead of its time, especially since it aired on Network TV. However, like many shows today (Modern Family, Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Mindy Project), it tries to broaden its appeal after the second season by trying to make every character as likable as possible. You didn't like the characters in the first season as actually people. They were jerks and often evil (Sally especially). The only con of Season 1 is Harry's character which the show doesn't know how to make funny/know what to do with.
Aside from an occasional episode of brilliance, Season 2 and 3 feel like they are from from a mediocre sitcom like Two and a Half Men or The Big Bang Theory. I plan on watching more the entire series in hopes that the series can return to form. However, I am doubtful it will happen.
Prison Break (2005)
First Season Good, Second Season Great, Third Season Fantastic, Fourth Season Awful
I have basically said all need to in the summary.
I watched this series over the last two months through Netflix. This show is a lot like Breaking Bad mixed with 24. You have an ingenious main character who is always solving problems each episode.
First Season -Pros: the prison action -Cons: the action outside the prison which is all about a government conspiracy. This feels tacked on and unnecessary; the main character always is asked a question and gives a ridiculous one liner
Second Season -Pros: the prison action; more fully fledged characters; lots of deaths; stoppage of one liners. -Cons: at this point in the show you sort of just go with the conspiracy plot line which is a little better than before; the show's sense of time: characters appear out of nowhere throughout the show begging the question of how they got there so quickly
Third Season -Pros: ups the tension in everyway; introduces 2 great villains which the show sometimes struggled with -Cons: everything good in this season is wasted because the show is reset due to this season's unpopularity.
Fourth Season Pros: not sure Cons: the con for the 3rd season; it has a ridiculous plot; it feels like a Fast and Furious movie, which to me is a horrible movie series
This is a show made for network TV that begins to feel like a quality cable show by the third season. Unfortunately, audiences weren't ready for that and the show ruined its momentum. Had the creators stuck it out like Bryan Fuller does every week with Hannibal, the last season would have been far better. Back then TV shows had high ratings though. So, the show had to change to fit popular demand to bring it back to its roots, which didn't fit the plot at all.
Donald Glover: Weirdo (2012)
Very Hit and Miss
This special with Donald Glover is actually one of the better stand-up routines I have seen for providing me with actual laughter rather than just being entertaining (Louie C.K., Daniel Tosh, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Rock). Donald Glover is a pretty great physical performer and has facial expression ability similar to Jim Carrey. A lot of the time, the biggest laughs actually come after the jokes. You might think that joke was not that funny, but Glover is able to save the joke after it is told.
While Glover does deal with race for a few jokes, he deals with it in a much more unique way than many black comedians who really use a lot of stereotypical humor (Think Leslie Jones on SNL who is just dreadful).
If you got 60 minutes to kill and want to laugh about 10-20 times, this should do the trick.
The 5/10 rating is based on how much I laughed in terms of how many jokes were told. It was about 50/50. I have seen stand-up routines where I have laughed 95% of the time.
It Follows (2014)
Very Overrated and Has Nothing to Offer That Isn't in the Trailer
After getting an 83/100 Metascore, I had high hopes for It Follows. The premise seemed really creepy. But you'll find that this movie is just like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer only slower and not as entertaining (since those films are at least bad and entertaining). There's no real character moments to elevate this film to a score of 8/10.
The Babadook was pretty overrated too, but was better than It Follows. I had high expectations for both films. Perhaps critics have such low expectations for horror films that they just give any film that is slightly better than the norm a great score. Or perhaps I am not a fan of horror movies in general.
Halt and Catch Fire (2014)
Starts Like Suits, Becomes More Serious, Ends Like Suits
Mad Men is beloved. Suits was entertaining for 2 seasons, suffering in season 2.5. However, the characters that are really eccentric at first become much more grounded unlike with Suits. This is a straight up drama after the first episode. But after such a good season, the final episode ends in a ridiculous, outlandish way that is typical of a TV show.
I hope Season 2 fixes these inconsistencies. However, I am not really sure where the show will even go. I think Halt and Catch Fire could have just been a mini-series and it would have ended fine.
8.5/10
Notes:
-Expect a cool soundtrack. -Oddly, the Cardiff company that is supposed to be fictional in the show...well, there was a company called Cardiff that developed Software around that time.
Ex Machina (2014)
Just What the Trailer Showed
A movie should not give all of its cards away in the trailer. Ex- Machina does. If you take a Christopher Nolan film like Inception or Interstellar, there are tons of plot lines and acts in the film that were never presented in the trailers. You have no idea where those films are going to end up. This is what makes those films, in my opinion, so great. Ex Machina's trailer was great, as I really looked forward to seeing the film (very rarely does a film's trailer entice me enough to want to see it).
Ex Machina just feels incomplete. It needs a third act (another 45 minutes or an hour's worth). If a sequel is made, I will consider seeing it and perhaps rate this film higher. If Ex Machina is just a standalone film, it will always just be pretty good science fiction film.
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Disappointing, but for the Opposite Reasons as Everyone Else (Mostly)
Jupiter Ascending has the following positives:
1) Pretty good story.
2) Some impressive visuals (sometimes). There is an amazing battle (not because of the battle) that goes all around Chicago. I have no idea how they filmed it. I was in awe of the camera-work.
3) Some good dialogue.
4) Some good characters.
Here are the cons:
1) Action Sequences: You know how in the Star Wars prequels, the least interesting parts of the film were the space battles because they were all CGI. Here, the same rule applies. Every action scene has WAY too much CGI (and sometimes pathetic CGI) to the point that they are not interesting at all. Secondly, there are way too many action scenes. Had there been 1-3 action scenes, it would have made the film a little more enjoyable. Yet, there are maybe 10 actions scenes in this movie. Just like in a martial arts film like Ong Bak, the action scenes are of diminishing returns as the film goes on.
2) Some Weird Aliens: Like the Star Wars prequels, this film also has ridiculous (and bad looking) CGI alien creatures that to me just made me want to skip each scene that had them. Also, they were generic characters too. It is understandable that when doing a sci-fi film, there will be some world-building elements of some other films. Yet, copying off of the Star Wars prequels is not a very good choice here. You literally have a Naboo rip-off and a Mustafar rip- off too as planets.
Summary:
Had the film featured less action scenes, I would have enjoyed the film much more. The most enjoyable parts to the film were where characters just spoke dialogue. I had no interest in anything else.
This is definitely a skip. Unlike The Wachowski's previous 4 films, I do not think there is much of a chance that you will like this film. Speed Racer was panned and Cloud Atlas got extremely bipolar reviews. Yet, both have fans who love them (including myself).
I do not think this will be a cult-film unless there is maybe a director's cut that adds more drama scenes to it and cuts out some of the action sequences.
The Good Wife (2009)
Rare Show That Starts Great and Gets Better With Each Successive Season
The Good Wife in the first season starts as a procedural with some serialized elements (usually a season long story) that maybe takes up 1/4 of each episode. However, the serialized elements have overtaken the procedural elements by the sixth season. In fact, the procedural elements are barely even there at all in the sixth season.
Yet, the procedural cases are also pretty darn interesting. Sure, it's unrealistic here and there, but not by much compared to other shows (ex. Suits) and it's television. What elevates the show beyond another law show are the grounded characters and season-long stories.
Please go into this show knowing that it gets better and better. If you are not satisfied with the show by the time Alan Cumming (whose character Eli Gold is one the best) enters the picture in the first season, maybe this show is not for you.
Daredevil (2015)
First Two Episodes are a Mixed Bag; Gets Better At Episode Three
Season 1
The first two episodes of Daredevil are a mixed bag. On one hand there are great fight scenes. On the other there are story tropes. 1) You have a corrupt boxer who throws fights for money who decides to not throw a fight for his kid and dies. 2) You have a normal hero and an annoying side kick, Foggy, causing disbelief that these two would ever be friends. 3) Speaking of the side kick: you have an ultra serious show with a side kick there to provide comedic relief, which is more annoying than funny/entertaining. 4) You have villains that have tons of power and are so intimidated by some head gangster that they never meet.
You have seen all these tropes in other films or television shows. This fits the Marvel-Disney brand perfectly. Do not take too many risks and appeal to the masses, the same masses that think love The Big Bang Theory or Avatar.
Yet, after the show introduces more characters in the third episode (and features less of Foggy), it becomes more enjoyable like the first Iron Man. It helps that Foggy becomes less cartoonish too and more believable as a human being. The villain becomes less of a cliché. Some clichés presented in the first few episodes are gimmicks too, it turns out (similar to how Frozen did it).
The way television dramas have become amazing over the years, it might be hard to sit through a drama that starts mediocre and gets better over time. There are still some growing pains here and there in the rest of the episodes. There are some bad lines of dialogue, and even some ridiculous action scenes.
There is not a single episode of Daredevil in Season 1 that has blew me away. The best the series gets in episodes is an 8/10. However, beginning with episode 3, it is mostly consistently an 8/10.
Unfortunately, the last two episodes end the show on a whimper rather than a bang.
So, I have to mark this season down to a 6/10.
Season 2
Daredevil definitely improves in some crucial areas in its second season. The characters Foggy and Karen are no longer there to provide comic relief or to ask foolish questions. They instead become real characters.
Furthermore, the new main characters this season, The Punisher and Elektra, are very well-done. Their story lines are mostly well-done too.
The main weaknesses of this season lie in the show going in the supernatural direction (which is very hard to pull off) with its plot and having WAY too many fight scenes. Now, some of these fight scenes, especially in the first 6 episodes really stand out. However, they eventually get really repetitive. The conclusion is also somewhat predictable in its final episode, which is actually the show's worst episode in my opinion.
Still bringing the show down in the better episodes are some poorly written dialogue and cheesy moments scattered throughout the season. Some dialogues are terrifically written though, which brings to question why some scenes are so terribly written.
As to that problem with Daredevil not having a stand-out episode, that does change in Season 2, Episode 4, "Penny and Dime." I give it a 10/10. The two episodes that follow, in my opinion, are 9/10's. Yet, as a whole, Season 2 feels just as uneven as Season 1 (meaning the other episodes are mostly 7's and below). It's just barely better.