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kmaulden-24103
Reviews
Star Trek: Prodigy (2021)
I'm 59 years old...
And I LOVED this. Like many others that have posted here, I didn't think I would like this at all. I only watched it because it popped up a few times on my Netflix feed and figured I'd watch an episode just to check the box, so to speak.
I watched four episodes that evening, then five the next, and the rest two days later. Here I was, a 59 year old watching cartoons. The truth was, I was hooked and couldn't belileve it. I've been a Star Trek fan for as long as I can remember, and this was absolutely Star Trek at its finest. I loved the tie-ins to the past shows and Janeway's hologram character. Everything was exactly on point - the writing, the animation, the storyline, the characters, all were outstanding. I didn't expect the humor to be as good as it was either. I really hope this returns with another storyline because this was an outstanding effort all around.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody (2023)
Star Trek Meets Frozen
Alternate titles to my review: Well THAT was Different, WTF Was That?, and What Have They Done to my Star Trek to name just a few.
Alright, I'm torn here. On the pro side, they definitely tried something different, and kudos to them for that.
Yeah, that's all I can think of for the pro side, so on to the con side. They did their creative thing, but I don't think it worked. They could have simply had the alien presence cause them to speak in rhymes and it would have been just as effective. The singing and dancing got old after the first thirty seconds. Thank God for my Fire Stick fast forward button, which moves 10 seconds forward with every press. After 7-10 presses, no more singing! Heavenly.
So yeah, they tried something different, but please let's not do that again.
But hey, about that last episode with the cartoons. The premise and plot of the situation was sufficient to entertain, so cute little cartoon figures were quite unnecessary. I guess they want to try to lure us into watching Lower Decks. Sorry, but you failed. If I wanted to watch that, I would. But I don't, so I'm not.
Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale (2023)
A Swing and a Miss
My wife and I both love Jim Gaffigan and have seen everything that he's ever done. I'd say 95 out of a 100 of what he puts out there is 10/10 material, and my wife and I end up sore from laughing so hard. I hate to say it, but it sounds like this special was one of those contractual obligations and only really called it in.
It wasn't the death and diarreah subject matter - we've heard countless comedians joke about that, and some are funny and some aren't. Unfortunately, the jokes just weren't funny. And oddly enough, you could tell from the audience's reaction as well because it didn't seem as if they were enjoying it either.
From about the middle to the end when he branches out and discusses his family - we thought that was good. I thought about giving this a five because it balanced out in the end, but he's so capable of 10/10 that I couldn't justify anything better than a four. Sorry, Jim.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Seasons 1-3 Great, Season 4 Missed the Mark
OK, so as indicated, Seasons 1-3 were great and for various reasons, I would advise anyone considering watching to jump on board. Great plots, great acting, full of action and adventure - all that good stuff. If I were rating those individually, I'd give them a 10 overall.
However, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in Season 4. The plotline is pretty weak, but I get it sort of. After your character has repeatedly stopped evil people and saved the world, there's not much else left to do, and a simple 'drug dealers are bad people' plot doesn't cut it anymore. That said, I didn't feel drawn into this like I did during the previous seasons. It wasn't bad by any means, but it was just a bit lackluster for me.
And one more thing. Unfortunately, Hollywood has decided that minorities cannot fail in this new era. It's gotten to the point that when I see a minority in a management position of any type, I know that in the end they are going to win and/or succeed. And before you throw around the 'R' word, let me tell you that I have no problem with minorites succeeding - I just don't want to know ahead of time that their success is guaranteed simply because of their status. How about throwing us a curve ball once in a while?
Ray Donovan (2013)
Started Great, But...
I think I'm like a lot of people here who were kind of duped into thinking this was going to be the dramatic version of "Arlis$" the brilliant comedy from (I think) the 90s where the agent had to fix his clients' screwups. And that's what it was at the beginning - but unfortunately it turned into a soap about whiny family members and a way-too-long and drawn out cancer drama. I don't know how many times I wondered why Ray didn't just kill his dad, but I get it, that wasn't in the script.
Also, Abby tended to say "f#cking" WAY too much. I mean come on, I get cursing to bring home a point or during an argument or when something hurts. But her character overused it to ridiculous levels.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
We ALL Know Why This is Getting Raves
Hollywood is imploding - their business model of creating good movies to lead viewers to theaters has been crushed and replaced with streaming television.
In their struggle to remain relevant, they have also found that their "old white boy" setup has come under fire. In their quest to reverse that stigma, it has been declared that every film made by, starring, directed by, or produced by minorities MUST be hailed as the next Citizen Kane.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is not Citizen Kane by any stretch of the imagination. It's not the worst movie I have ever seen, but it certainly wasn't deserving of the hype that has been placed upon it. I have little to add to the other reviewers who gave this movie around 3-4 stars, so I'll let those reviews speak for me.
To be honest, I wouldn't care if every single movie nominated for an Academy Award was done by minorities - more power to them, I say. However, race alone should bear no weight in deciding what is considered outstanding. As much as I hate to say it, this is clearly what has happened here.
Three stars for originality, and that's being quite generous.
Yellowstone (2018)
Season 5 Has Dropped Off
This was a great show in seasons 1-4 but it's dropped off quite a bit in season 5. When I see something on the screen that forwards the plot, I'm learning something and that's great. But when I see love scenes or endless shots of cowboys riding around against a mountain backdrop, I'm not learning anything - that's B-roll stuff.
Sure, in past seasons we had B-roll stuff and that was fine because the ratio between the two was well done. But this season has reversed that. I'm guessing they're stretching this out because they want to get in as many episodes as possible with Costner before he leaves. That's the only thing that makes sense because this season has been a whole lot of B-roll stuff.
After Life (2019)
A Rare Thing These Days
I laughed until I cried.
I cried until I laughed.
I thought about relationships.
I learned to appreciate people more.
...And that was just episode one.
Ricky somehow makes me laugh, then ten seconds later makes me cry. Then it starts all over again.
Ok, so you spoiled us with a third season. Now that this is over, you can work on something new, right??? We can only hope.
Away (2020)
WHY WHY WHY
Hey, let's create a show about the pressure of working on Wall Street and base it in Wichita, Kansas. No? How about a show about a ship and crew marooned on a tropical island? Let's base that one in Tennessee! Yeah, see, that would be STUPID.
So... will someone please tell me why someone takes the time to show me trailers for a SPACE series then reverses track completely and shows me a soap opera that takes place mostly on Earth?
Space Force (2020)
Not Bad
OK, Citizen Kane it ain't. But I didn't expect that, so I wasn't disappointed. I can't believe the cast they were able to assemble. I like Carell's character. He's not as much of an idiot as I was afraid he would be, and occasionally he has his moments. Carell's comedy timing is perfect and well-used. Malcovich's character shines as the 'man behind the curtain.' The parody of the various branches of the government and the not-so-subtle references to our current president are fun to watch. Overall, it's entertaining.
That said, I think there's room for improvement. I'm not sure what is being served by having the wife in jail - for 40 years. If that was the plan, he should have come into the show as being divorced already. You can't really expect to develop too many plot complications from that. The 'ignored child' routine is cliche and I wish they wouldn't push it so hard. I'm fine with profanity, but they could stand to cut a little of it. A well-placed F-word here and there is fine, but they could cut about half of them and still be fine.
Sure, the plots have been a little thin, and the premise is pretty outlandish. But it's not advertised as non-fiction. It makes me laugh, and that's something we need more of today.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Acting and Cinematography Great! But...
I wonder when people will stop heaping praise upon QT and other similar directors when their efforts are less than stellar.
It's like "hey this is a QT movie so we're required by Hollywood law to love it and consider it one of the best films ever made."
Instead, we're left wondering what the hell we just watched. No discernible plot, no direction, just a series of scenes strung together.
Both Di Caprio and Pitt offer excellent performances and steak the show. From what I'm not sure, but they had a great screen presence together. That was the only highlight of this mess.
Mile 22 (2018)
Great Action, Good Plot, but Whoa on the Wahlberg!
I thought the movie had some great action, and I liked the plot. Not bad, not Oscar-worthy, but worth my time. This movie would have gotten to at least a nine from me if it had not been for the WAY over the top performance of Wahlberg's character. I assume that he was performing the way he was directed, or at least I hope that was the case. After awhile I wanted to yell SHUT UP AND SLOW DOWN because he was getting to be a bit too much for me.
I understand the premise of the character and his anger problems but that's not really the issue. After seeing what happened to the character in the opening scenes, I understood where he was coming from. On a 1 to 10 scale, I'd say the character was about a 9.5 on the 'heart-attack-is-imminent' scale. If he'd have come across as a 6 or a 7, I'd have been much more into the movie.