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Nooni Booshige (2019)
Disappointing twist in the storyline for the final chapter
This series started off well enough with a good sense of intrigue and humor. The characters were funny and likeable for the most part and there are some recognizable cast. Then the sudden "twist" and recalibration during the final chapter ruined it. I see what they were going for but I hated the last few episodes since everything before it was a lie. It was like having the rug pulled by the storytellers and I didn't find it at all clever nor heartwarming. Just plain lazy storytelling that some of these Korean dramas fall trap to. 12 episodes of wasted time and wasted effort of an otherwise good cast.
Christmas at the Drive-In (2022)
Boring script, lazy writing.
Ah, it's Christmas time which means the occasional watch of the Danica McKellat Christmas movie since I was a fan of hers on the Wonder Years. I've actually found the ones on Hallmark to be a bit entertaining but his one (I know it's a different network) was by far the most boring and predictable of the bunch. Last year's wasn't much better, feels like her Christmas fare is going downhill. Christmas at the Drive In made zero sense for these two people to grow a relationship even with the lazy writing of having them been school mates. The relationship felt a bit forced and hopefully they find better writers for Danica's next Christmas adventure.
Big (2012)
Brainless plot that rears it's ugly head half way through
Gong Yoo's talent is wasted in this role. He does a great job of acting like a kid trapped in a man's body but although his acting is commendable, this is one to pass on. The premise seemed to have potential but the "romance" would be deemed unacceptable if the male and female positions were switched. Some early laughs but it all falls apart midway when this unlikely relationship starts to form. Trudged through this tripe since I already had a lot of time invested and I was viewing with my SO. Skip this, like we should have. Of all the K-dramas I've viewed this is by far the worst of the bunch.
Beckett (2021)
Did I just watch a student project.
Beginning was slow with no meaningful dialogue which leads to the viewer not caring one bit about the characters. Plot was thin but workable and unfortunately, the director isn't much of a storyteller. No establishing shots, this thing was shot in Greece, so much missed opportunity! Wasted talent, poorly written script and dialogue, along with half-hearted performances and this is one movie to take a pass on.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Zack Snyder's Justice League is an epic exercise in genre film-making.
Essential viewing for anyone interested in the "comic book" genre of films that seemingly have been taking over the cinema in recent years. This isn't the Disney-esque take on superheroes that the previous movie tried to be. Yes, it is dark, there is a touch of humor but the film can also initiate a bit of self-reflection. Zack Snyder's Justice League is an epic exercise in genre film-making. ZSJL is broken up into different acts or chapters to provide the viewer with breaks during the 4hr runtime. I actually only used one of those breaks midway through the film and the time, surprisingly, flew by, which is a good indication of effective storytelling. This is the version Warner Bros. should have released in theaters in 2017, then the DC Extended Universe, could have continued with cohesiveness instead of the aimless, meandering direction fans of DC have suffered through since. Snyder managed to do what Marvel did in one 4 hr long opus, as he established the characters and fully fleshed out their motivations in one movie, instead of several. This time around, Cyborg and Flash aren't mere sidekicks to the DC trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, but the heart and soul, and key components to the success of the team's mission. We can fully appreciate Cyborg's anguish with losing his mother and his own life, only to be brought back as some Frankensteinesque monster by a seemingly absent father, all in the name of scientific discovery and experimentation. He hates himself and his loss is felt by the viewer, so his rebirth in later acts is something of a triumph. We also get to know Steppenwolf's motivation, it's clearly spelled out for us in the course of the narrative, and Darkseid being behind the scenes is acknowledged as the larger threat to planet earth. In short, the time invested in learning about these characters, their struggles and motivation, is time well spent and it breathes life into their reason for being, and unlike the 2017 theatrical release, the viewer really starts to care for, and root for these characters. Now, this isn't by any stretch a perfect film, there is a bit of self-indulgence by Snyder that really could have been left on the cutting room floor, like the villagers serenading Aquaman as he swims off and the woman who sniffs his discarded clothing. It is, however, a respectful homage to DC characters, a great example of how comic-based movies can be more than brainless action sequences strung together with dialogue in between only meant to move the story along, as well as a nod to classic cinema. Plenty to like about this film and enough that it should wipe away the painful memory that is the Justice League 2017 flick. Warner should really consider removing the 2017 version from distribution and sticking it in a dark vault somewhere on Apokolips.
Interior Design Masters (2019)
My takeaway is Brits don't have much taste
So without naming names, one of the bottom 3 designers won this competition. The better designers served as assistants to the finalists. The judging was horrid and her reasoning for why she judged the way she did made absolutely zero sense. The winner put her wants before the client over and over and won. Don't bother watching unless you enjoy being disappointed. After watching this tripe, I leave with the belief that Brits only taste is in their mouths, and if you've ever had English cuisine, it's quite bland.
Black Mirror: Crocodile (2017)
Preposterous
From start to finish this episode was by far the weakest of the bunch and asks that the viewer take a rather large leap of faith and disregard anything that has to do with reality or common sense. A couple of glaring stand out issues I have is that the recalled memory for the elderly dentist, who led the insurance investigator to Mia, couldn't even get the color of a jacket correct on a subject he was directly viewing but had enough information for facial recognition on a character who was in his peripheral vision?! Second, her downfall is a guinea pig, an animal that has poor eyesight and can't communicate. How did the recall people communicate with an animal to lead it to a memory, if these things even have memory? The child having been born blind and the guinea pig being brought into the home are piss-poor plot devices to lead the viewer into thinking that there was some sort of "twist" to this poorly written episode. This episode goes on the assumption that its viewers are brainless, un-thinking dolts. I'm literally insulted that the writers of this episode thought Crocodile would make for captivating viewing and thought-provoking storytelling. Black Mirror has had high and low points but overall has been excellent BUT this takes it into the basement. This was the epitome of dumb TV. If this was the first episode of season 1 (which was itself difficult to watch), I would have stopped watching there.