spinosa5 Reviews

Manhunt (2024)

Not very believable, poor acting, unrealistic portrayal of Lincoln.

[5/10 · 16 March 2024]

Abraham Lincoln has been depicted in film many times, notably by Daniel Day Lewis. It is true, of course, that we don't really know what the man sounded like, but we do have multiple photographs of him. I've never seen a less-believable looking Lincoln than in this series. The actor playing him looked way too young, and we all know that Lincoln was prematurely aged and careworn by the time of his death. Many of the other roles were played by poor actors, none seemed believable. On exception was Tobias Menzies as Secretary of War Seward. He's an accomplished actor and carried the role acceptably. One nice thing is that in affecting an American Accent, he lost his usual nasally grating voice. Overall, based on watching part of one episode, I'm going to take a pass on the rest of the series. Too slow, just not engaging.

Bodies (2023)

Made it through only two episodes and done with it.

[4/10 · 21 October 2023]

The premise was very intriguing and a great idea for a unique murder-mystery. We tend to like British detective TV shows (and there are a lot of them), so went into watching this show with great expectations. (Dickens reference intended). Unfortunately for us at least, the story-telling was disjointed, confusing even. The choice to use split-screen to move between eras seemed clunky. The real issue, however, was that we just didn't care about any of the characters. There was no attempt to introduce them, little back-story and the result was like watching shadows of real people. We bailed after the second episode and got on with our lives.

Yellowstone Supervolcano: American Doomsday (2021 TV Movie)

fascinating and full of information

[8/10 · 9 September 2023]

This documentary was much better than I expected. The explanation of what the Yellowstone Caldera is, and now it will inevitably erupt are well explained. Comparisons to historic volcanic eruptions (Mt. St. Helens, Iceland Pompeii and others) show the incredible forces and well-documented destruction that have occurred. Then it is pointed out Yellowstone will be of a magnitude so much greater that it may destroy North America, and possibly the world. I didn't find it over sensationalized and the animations were well-done. One thing I measure docs like this is by the quality of the experts who are interpreting and documenting the story. The folks presented here are real, with impressive credentials and do a great job sharing their expertise. I definitely recommend!

The Days (2023)

Interesting concept, but so slow-moving that I gave up

[6/10 · 2 June 2023]

I was fascinated with the idea of a view of the Fukushima nuclear disaster from the Japanese point of view. The event is presented from the views of the nuclear plant operators, management, the federal government and various agencies. Individual characters have some development, and you can see what they may have experienced. Unfortunately, each episode developed very slowly, and it was obvious to me that there wasn't enough material to really flesh-out 8 episodes. It's a shame because this was a monumental event in modern Japanese history. After three episodes, we started fast-forwarding and finally gave up in the fifth episode. Loved HBO's Chernobyl by contrast and I could see there is opportunity for a worthy dramatization of this disaster. I have seen documentaries, and it should be noted that this is still unfolding, and the environmental damage is on-going.

Against All Odds (1984)

Lead me to a tropical vacation for the first time in my life

[7/10 · 25 May 2023]

First, about the movie; I remember seeing it with my ex when it came out in 1984. It was pretty good, I'd rate it a solid 7 on its own merit. I'd never seen the original, so I don't compare it to that. Now the real story for me is it was a frigid cold blizzardy night when we saw the film. We walked out of the theater after seeing those beautiful Mexican locations and decided in the car "we gotta go there" . We booked a trip within a week and I had a movie poster up in my office and literally gazed at it and imagined myself being there until we actually went. Cancun, Tulum, Chichen-Itza were great and it was thrilling to actually stand where Rachel and Jeff did. Only difference is we didn't have sex on the beach.

The Last of Us: When We Are in Need (2023) Season 1, Episode 8

How did those towns people survive for 20 years?

[5/10 · 7 March 2023]

The people from the town led by the charismatic but evil leader - how did they even survive all this time? 6 or 8 armed men go looking for Joel and Ellie, and get taken down one by one like amateurs. One guy enters the house where Joel is hidden in the basement, spots the door that Ellie tried to hide and creeps down the stairs. Without backup and of course Joel, who has miraculously recovered from a gut-wound due to 2 shots of penicillin into his stomach takes him down easily. Back at the town, Ellie grabs a cleaver and in one blow embeds it in a guy's neck and kills him, from an impossible position lying on her back. She's a small 14 year-old small, nobody could make that killing blow from that angle. Just small observations from a viewer that never even heard of "the game" and just rating this show as an independent story.

Kaleidoscope (2023)

Actually enjoyed this series, but maddening lack of logic drove me nuts.

[6/10 · 5 January 2023]

The casting was good; Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell and some others did a good job. "Bob" (good acting from Jai Courtney of Spartacus) was so volatile and without any self-control it was cartoonish, and you just knew he was going to screw up the operation. The other characters, however, were just willing to go along with him. Side stories about the FBI agent and her custody and addiction issues were pointless to the overall narrative. Just one example of filling up time to make 8 episodes when only 2 or 3 were needed.

OK; now the illogical stuff that just drove me crazy. 1. Leo going through the 7 "jobs" that needed to be done to overcome the security system. Several of them were dismissed by "don't worry about that, we've got it covered" but he didn't explain how. 2. The "gait analysis" security system. I had to look it up and it's a real thing, sort of, which could analyze "there is movement in the hallway, does it match to movements of any authorized person in our files?" Thousands of bees flying around masked Leo's movement and confused the machine, I guess. However, there was still movement in the hallway, and it didn't match anybody on file, so wouldn't that trigger an alarm? 3. A temperature alarm would trigger, presumably from body heat, if the vault temp rose about a set limit. Solution, drill holes in an abandoned water tunnel about the vault in the precise locations of the temperature sensors, fill them with a cesium compound (invited on the fly by Judy instead of using, like C4, TNT, dynamite - all the boring explosives). Then trigger the cesium to explode by flooding the tunnel with millions of gallons of water by blowing up a water main. Or maybe just use C4 and a blasting cap, but then the vault wouldn't fill up with water and what fun would that be? Or, just wheel a portable air conditioner into the vault and don't blow up anything. This is why Hollywood would never hire me as a scriptwriter. I could keep going, but who reads 10,000-word reviews. Final analysis, watch it, it's fun. Leave your brain at the door.

Lou (I) (2022)

Predictable

[5/10 · 24 September 2022]

Allison Janney is a great actress, but she's wasted in this dull, predictable story. The other lead actress is unconvincing, overacts every scene and stands around with her mouth hanging open most of the time. Everything is telegraphed, it's easy to guess what's coming next. The story has merit, but just isn't well executed. Also, lots of inconsistencies; two characters slide down a muddy hill, end up in a huge puddle and they are covered with mud. Next scene, their hair and clothes are dry and clean like it never happened. And of course, the evil Feds swoop in to coldly take care of things. In short, not the worst movie, but could have been so much better.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Rumble on the Wonder Wheel (2022) Season 4, Episode 1

This show has hit a new low

[3/10 · 3 March 2022]

We've been big fans of the show for the first two seasons, the third season not so much. But this first episode of season four is unwatchable. It opens with the main character doing a stand-up, in which she uses the f-bomb four times in about a minute. It's not funny when comics do that today, and it would have been unthinkable in the 1960's. We only got about half-way through the episode and gave up, after there wasn't a single funny line. Might go back and try again, but the show was already on the downward slide.

Above and Beyond (II) (2014)

A vanity project, not much of a documentary. And- this guy was not a hero

[4/10 · 21 November 2021]

It was an interesting story, but as I listened to his narration of the events, uncomfortable facts were apparent. His plane got shot down, 5 of the crew died in the crash and 4 were captured by the Germans. He ran away and hid. Then he spent 6 months underground, trying to escape. OK so far, right? He described his technique for getting help; find a catholic priest and ask to find someone to help him. Remember that anybody in occupied Europe was executed by the Germans if caught helping downed allied fliers. He told about stealing 159 bicycles to get himself around. He thought it was funny, apparently from his smirk and chuckle. What about those people who depended on their bikes for transportation in war-time occupied countries? Well, not a concern to him. He got involved with the French underground and ran a group of fighters who he led in aggressive attacks on Germans. They finally asked him to stop killing German soldiers and leave, because the Nazis executed French civilians in reprisals as a result. He thought that was rather amusing, too. BTW, his daughter who gushed about "My Dad" all through the film, was born when Sundlun got one of his employees pregnant. He was in one of his 5 marriages at the time, and only accepted her as his daughter when she sued him at age 17 to make him pay for her college. A perfect man? No, but who is. A hero? I don't see it.

1864 (2014)

A personal connection led me to watch this

[6/10 · 4 August 2021]

My great-grandfather fought in this war; I inherited the medal he received inscribed "For Deeltagelse I Kriegen 1864' (For Participation In The War). This war is not well known in the States, but I found and read a book about it and was fascinated to be able to watch a series hoping to learn something about what Christian experienced. As many have noted, the series was a bit melodramatic and drawn out. However for me it was a glimpse, at least, into an event that must have profoundly shaped my family history.

Stowaway (I) (2021)

One of the worst movies ever - here's one more reason

[1/10 · 29 April 2021]

Throw logic out the air lock, as many other reviewers here have already noted.

Here's a question: they need more oxygen to survive a 5 month trip to Mars because now they have an extra person breathing it. Never mind that the CO2 scrubber being broken (and they left all the spares back in the garage) is the real issue. Their solution is to bring back one tank of O, filled to 250 LB pressure. We see the tank is maybe 3-4 times bigger than a standard scuba tank. A scuba tank gives you roughly 40 minutes of breathing time. So HOW in the holy name of NASA can this one tank make an appreciable difference? Even chief engineer Mr. Scott couldn't fix this issue.

The Amish and the Reformation (2017)

Ironic

[6/10 · 18 April 2021]

Recently tried to watch this and gave up about half way through. It gives an incredibly detailed chronicle of the history of the Amish faith, going back to the reformation triggered by Martin Luther. The irony is that this could only be of interest to someone who is Amish, and they don't have TV's to watch it, right?

Perry Mason (2020–2023)

Captivating story with strong characters that captured an era

[9/10 · 22 June 2020]

First off, it has very little to do with the highly regarded Perry Mason TV show from the 1950's. I grew up in that era, but never really watched it. So my wife and I were able to watch this with no real pre-conceived notions and thoroughly enjoyed it. It does a good job of capturing the 1930's, good attention to detail, costuming, etc. We really enjoyed Matthew Rhys, and so many of the supporting cast. Lupe was hilarious (watch her sex scene with Perry and prepare to laugh). A stunning performance was the mother of the kidnapped child, played by Gayle Rankin of G.L.O.W. Add in a sense of despair, constant threats of violence by those in power, bribery and you can see the thin line Perry is walking and how this case affects him. Bottom line, forget the character's name and don't worry about comparing it to a totally different TV show from 60 some years ago

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo... (2019) Season 3, Episode 8

A disappointing end to a disappointing season

[3/10 · 12 December 2019]

The entire season felt flat, without a single laugh except for the last few episodes. And I am really getting tired of many of the characters. Their behavior is grating, arrogant, over the top, and they behave in unbelievable ways just to advance the story line. Would Rose really go to her family to get an increase in the trust fund, and then be so self-entitled that she throws it all away on a lark because she decides she's a feminist on the spot? The woman has lived a sheltered, naïve existence, and knows her life depends on that money, but now she takes a stand. And the wonderful Abe, just throws his career and the family home away on a whim. Miriam sails along, leaving carnage in her wake without a care for her children, parents, fiancé, Shy Baldwin or anyone else like she doesn't have a thought in the world except what feels good for her in the moment. These are not realistic people, more like cartoonish characters and I'm getting tired.