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David-Easter
Reviews
Valor: Pilot (2017)
Military spaghetti western
If the pilot is supposed to convince me to watch the series, the CW has a way to go. The voices and lips were out of sync for the entire pilot. Reminded us of the old spaghetti westerns.
I don't know if Christina Ochoa, being from Spain, has an accent and either had to lip sync or have someone else do the lines but Milli Vanilli did a better job 20 years ago. And that does not excuse the rest of the cast.
We'll watch the second episode but if the CW can't sync it any better than the pilot, we won't be watching episode #3.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Couldn't see the movie
First off, I'm willing to admit that my rating might (maybe) have been higher if I had been able to watch the movie.
Our son loaned us the BluRay/DVD and we settled down to watch the movie with no per-conceived ideas. We are not Harry Potter fans but did enjoy those movies. We did not even realize that this story was by the same author and in the same universe.
Part way into the movie, we were debating whether our inability to see what was going on was due to (a) lack of lighting in 1924; (b) the director trying to establish a dark feel movie (unlikely based on the apparent subject matter; (c) a cover-up of poor/cheap CGI.
In any case, we just gave up. We like to watch movies but we also like to actually see what is happening on screen.
IMDb claims 4 more in this series. They need a new director.
Super Cyclone (2012)
Better than "Plan 9 From Outer Space"
The writing was amateurish. That's assuming it was written ahead of time and not pieced together on the fly. The special effects were less than "special". In fact they were worst than a high school play (Why in such a bad storm is the sun always shining?). Casting was an embarrassment. The actors should be ashamed of themselves, especially Ming Na who is capable of much, much more. As for Nicholas Turturro...how they casted this part was a complete mystery. The Global Asylum is known for low budget films. This must have been one of the lowest. This movie is so bad, as to appear planned. And that's where I have to disagree with "ipiercexpo", but only on one point. This movie somehow also failed to be as bad as "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Disgrace to the original series
Too much action...no substance. Typical network re-make: (1) use name(s), title, and theme; (2) use standard action formula and hack writers. Formula: Show horrible murder is committed by someone (or group) who are too much for the Hawaiian Police. Governor calls an unofficial Five-O in (yeah right, how many governors have this kind of time). The Five-O team, which apparently only has to work occasionally, assembles from their diverse personal enjoyments. A laptop accesses unbelievable resources. Grace Parks dresses sexy. Unshaven Alex O'Loughlin shows off tattoos. Civil rights are violated en-masse. Crooks and henchmen suddenly become stupid and are taken down by 2, 3 or 4 members of Five-O. "Book'em Danno". The stories (sic) are full of holes and mostly unbelievable. Cartoons generally go better than this. If this is what the public wants/likes today, my condolences. Leonard Freeman and Jack Lord are turning over in their graves. Prediction: 1 season at best...followed by the new "Law and Order: Hawaii" where we see every one of these cases thrown out of court.
Power and Beauty (2002)
Poor production
The first flashback for Judith Exner is in her bedroom at age 18 in 1952. The camera pans over items, including a Princess phone.
Princess phones were not produced until the very late 50's or early 60's. If this doesn't give you an idea of the production values, check out the car model years and the actors who do not remotely resemble their character.