ryanmkincaid Reviews

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Do we realize that

[4/10 · 22 April 2024]

This is all Phoebe's fault right? Like she's the real reason the main bad guys escaped from his prison in the first place. And for once the mayor (forgot his name) was correct in taking her ghost busting privileges away.

Ultimately this movie is bad and tries its best to shoehorn the original GB characters as well as characters from Afterlife and new characters all into this movie. It's bad and a letdown.

I'm a huge fan of sequels if there's a story to tell, this one isn't it. The franchise was good at 2, the remake was cringe so Afterlife was a step up albeit with flaws. But this falls right back into the cringe category again. It's not as bad as the Star Wars sequel trilogy but it's getting up there.

Ferry: The Series (2023– )

Completely falls apart after episode 6

[6/10 · 28 December 2023]

After such a brilliant start the series stumbles then falls flat after episode 6. It's as if the writers realized they wrote a great story but needed to rely on cliches to end the first season.

After Marco is arrested his attorney brilliantly gets him out of jail only to have him first confess to his wife and then let her convince him to turn on Ferry. Couple that with stupid idea to allow Danielle to live under their roof as they plot to take her husband down.

I've been a fan of the Ferry character since the first 2 seasons of Undercover, and while I hated how his character fell on his sword to protect the cop that took him down in season 1, I chalked it up to him being second banana. This series however continues the trend of bad writing with the characters in this universe.

Great start but they didn't stick the landing.

Silent Night (2023)

Would have scored this higher if I didn't know who the director was

[3/10 · 23 December 2023]

This film is a low point for John Woo. No one is expecting Oscar worthy acting or a solid story telling but a director with a reputation for directing classics like Hard Boiled and The Killer should hold his head in shame attaching his name to this film. John Woo has a style and as a fan of that style seeing something that looks like everything else we see in lower tier action films you will also be surprised by how low this rates. There are no redeeming qualities to take away from this really bad film.

You want a good John Woo film; see above. Want a better revenge flick; see John Wick; want a better Christmas inspired action movie; see Die Hard. DO NOT SEE THIS!!!

Invasion (2021–2024)

Am I the only one that utterly hates Aneesha?

[4/10 · 28 September 2023]

Her character and her kids take up so much screen time and she's just a character you absolutely loathe. I find my rating of a 4 to be based on the fact that you're supposed to like the protagonist in some form or another and I find myself just hoping that her character dies. I understand that we as the audience are supposed to understand her motivations of protecting her family but the writing fails at this. When you compare her to similar characters in similar shows; think Rick in the Walking Dead or Jack in Lost she just fails in getting me on her side. My low rating is based on her horrible character. There are other flaws in the show but after a season and a half, I can say the main target of my ire is her character.

The one redeeming element and the only one that keeps my coming back to this show are the kids in England and their adventure. It reminds me of similar kids adventure shows from my childhood such as The Goonies. Season 2 plays on it as they journey to Paris and it works.

Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023)

Season 8 is painfully bad

[4/10 · 16 June 2023]

Please do not hire the writers and show runners of season 8 for any other projects. It's painful to watch. Like watching a loved one die from cancer.

How a show with so much potential could deteriorate so horribly is beyond me. I thought I saw some bad story arcs but the Padre one is awful and leads to nowhere.

I don't know why they would create 3 new shows based in this universe when they don't care enough about the 3 we already had. I don't know where the show lost it's way but maybe it was around season 6.

That being said when this show finally ends (as of this writing I'm watching s8e6) there will be plot holes and unfinished storylines which will no doubt leave you as frustrated and disappointed as I am.

UPDATE

I'm watching the final episodes of this last season and I've come to the conclusion that this franchise has run its course. I thought TWD final seasons were poorly written but no, these final episodes of Fear are utter trash. The show runner and writers should never be given work after this garbage.

Silo (2023– )

A slow descent to nowhere

[4/10 · 11 June 2023]

With a premise this intriguing it's hard to mess it up. Still it ends up ruined. I struggled through the first 7 episodes, falling asleep during the last 2 and forced to rewatch them again. The character that Furgesion portrays goes from underdog to unbearable. The scene that cements my general hatred of her is after pleading for her to be open and a good working colleague from her deputy, in the next episode when he tries to reach her on the radio she ceremoniously turns it off ignoring his pleas for help.

Rule number one when storytelling, don't make the audience hate your lead character.

Boring, drawn out, directionless, and utterly arrogant, I can't recommend this series.

Avoid!

I Hate Suzie (2020– )

God awful writing

[2/10 · 22 February 2023]

As a comedy this is a flat out failure. There isn't a funny moment at all in the first season across 8 episodes. Billie Piper whom I absolutely adore, is wasted in this sometimes cruel depiction of a woman whose sex tape is leaked to the public. She is written in a manner where the viewer hates her and never relents. And then magically they writers wait until the final episode to show us compassionate moments from the main character's past which are touching and are supposed to make us emphatic towards her. But it's too late. There is no forgiving this character who instead of feeling regret towards cheating on her husband, continues fantasizing about other men and then to add insult to injury, tries to set her husband up to commit his own affair with one of his students. This show is manipulated, hated, and did I mention unfunny? Bypass this and save yourself the time.

Make My Day (2023– )

Losses gas by episode 5

[5/10 · 6 February 2023]

Too much exposition and an inability to match the sense of urgency in story with sloppy storytelling hampers this series in an unbearably bad way. Knowing that the motley crew has a finite time left to abandon the planet, instead of evacuating to the few remaining escape shuttles left, they instead spend precious time arguing in a lab. This time of exposition which is quite unnecessary is frustratingly painful to sit through as a viewer. Couple it with characters that you grow to hate (I'm talking about you, Jim) it grows exhausting to watch. Couple that with an I'll timed birth sequence and you just want to turn the series off by episode 6. It's bad. Animation is gorgeous but story is awful.

1899 (2022)

Great premise that fizzles too early

[6/10 · 5 February 2023]

I was wholeheartedly excited when I first saw the trailer in the fall of 2022 and had set up its premiere weekend to binge watch the entirety of the series. But after getting to episode 6 the series just faltered and I found myself struggling to get through the episode having watched and rewatched 2-3 times. Now it's February 3rd and I'm now watching episode 7. Not sure if it's just me but I don't want to recommend this even though I've ranked it a 6. Plus with a ton of higher ratings from others it MIGHT just be me. But I really don't care to watch this show again. Consider yourself warned but I can't in good conscience recommend this nor can I in good conscience tell you NOT to watch.

Willow (2022–2023)

Pretend this was never advertised

[3/10 · 18 December 2022]

Utterly disgraceful to the original. Horrible writing and direction. Disjointed and all over the place. I remember the movie fondly and while it wasn't great, I thoroughly enjoyed it enough to seek it out during the DVD craze of the late 90's. This series is absolutely horrible with zero saving Grace. If you have a liking for the film, do not watch this as it is yet another example of Lucas Films under the direction of Disney ruining a George Lucas property.

It feels cheap, less of an epic and more of a 3 camera sitcom. Not something produced by the house of mouse. I think my rating of 3 stars might be too much unpin second thought.

Tales of the Walking Dead (2022)

A weak entry into the franchise

[3/10 · 14 August 2022]

I thought the first episode was dull and disappointing but episode 2 proves to be so much worse. This review is based on the stupidity of the second episode's writing, but the first episode is also bad.

I won't into too much detail but the aspect of the homeland security's son; in 3 sequences the the son leaves the safety of his father's car and jumps into the cab of the gasoline truck: why? In no real world situation would a kid just up and jump into a strange truck unprompted. The kid is younger then 10 years old (something about the kid with a bandaid on a toy reference). Then there's the part when the same agent goes towards the zombie that attacks his wife and the same son not running away from the zombie but instead going towards the zombie.

The writing on TWD franchises has been lazy and stupid these last few years but this single episode just proves how thoughtless the writers are.

STUPID STUPIT STUPID.

Reality Z (2020)

The characters are stupid

[4/10 · 6 August 2022]

Nothing redeeming about this waste of a Saturday afternoon. 10 episodes and the characters we meet in the first episode don't last past episode 5. They all die. So while editing the episodes I guess the editors spot the craptastic flaw and insert a couple of scenes to introduce the new cast for the second half of the season.

But premise might have worked if not for the stupid character decisions that make this show frustrating to watch.

Blackout (II) (2021– )

Unnecessarily terrible

[4/10 · 29 June 2022]

Characterization poorly written, scenarios that are illogical and glaring plot holes. The series has an interesting premise but the execution is awful. Save yourself the time. This show is bad.

Kimi (2022)

Wait til the ending

[6/10 · 13 February 2022]

I was about to write this film off. The terrible mismatch score took what could have been a good thriller to an almost comedic performance. But the ending is worth it. Satisfyingly enjoyable. This movie breezes by. The editing is a bit slow in the action sequences and the escape sequence in the office building is haphazard but I don't deny enjoying the justice dealt out in the final 5 minutes. It suffers from a terrible score. Not sure how someone ok'd it but again, the film was saved by the last five minutes to me. I really want to give it a lower star rating, but 24 hours later I still enjoy replaying the ending in my head.

Y: The Last Man (2021)

Trash!!!!

[1/10 · 3 November 2021]

How could you write a series where every single character is hated? I wish there were zombies so I could root for them to kill everyone. This show is horrid. 10 episodes and nothing happens. Just a whole lot of women fighting. This show sets the women's movement back centuries. After we get heroic portrayals of Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Linda Hamilton as the blueprint of strong female leads, and THIS is what we end up with? Terrible.

Halloween Kills (2021)

Trash!!! Straight up trash!!!!

[3/10 · 16 October 2021]

I wasn't expecting it to be a masterpiece. I didn't expect much in jump scares. But a bunch of dumb dim witted morons running around? Come on. The characters are just stupid and make this film unbearable to watch. It's bad.

The Drowning (2021)

So... DNA test don't exist in England?

[1/10 · 8 February 2021]

Save yourself 4 hours. That glaring plot hole makes this unbearable to watch. It's one thing if she say the kid in passing and spend the next 3 episodes trying to track him down but she's literally in his house in the same episode. Plenty of time to grab something with his DNA and just find out if it's her son. The complete absence of this logical step to prove her right or wrong is more than just lazy on the writers, it's purposefully stupid. This thing should have been written as a 2 hour movie AT BEST.

30 Coins (2020–2023)

The character development is bad...

[4/10 · 31 January 2021]

... And that makes this show hard to watch. The stupidity of characters to ignore the forces they are dealing with only for them to stumble into foolish and implausible situations drastically steals any thunder 30 Coins could have. A brilliant opening is ruined by the most infuriating ending you could think of. I don't know if it's bad editing or just lazy story telling but I have an issue when characters do purposefully stupid things just to move the story along. I invite you to just watch the first episode and consider just this little sampling of foolishness: 1. You check on a 2 day old baby and it's bigger than the woman taking care of it and you don't get everyone to come investigate? Just the mayor? Not the priest? 2. You walk into the same house with said mutated baby and you don't bring protection or an army with you? By the way the baby was born by a cow; nope nothing to see here, huh? 3. Women and man are attacked, woman abandons man to get help. (My issue here is the scene makes the woman look cowardly, but she's supposed to be the hero). 4. Woman possessed by devil/demon and shot with bullets is still alive but allowed to ride unrestrained in an ambulance with another patient. 5. Priest and cowardly woman from before retreat to a church to get weapons to protect themselves. Priest tells woman to stay hidden. She instead comes out in the middle of a battle then hides in a... you know what I'm done. The ending is stupid, the characters are written as stupid, and the editing is bad in this first episode. If you watch, take a drink when you see something stupid. I'll give it 2 more episodes but the overall high ratings clearly are bought and paid for. If you're not desperate for something to watch (like clearly I am) skip this entirely.

Undercover (2019–2022)

Great series ruined by horrible second season finale

[6/10 · 30 November 2020]

I initially loved the first season and I strongly recommend it. The second season was equally strong but the finale is so terrible it ruins the entire show. The final 10 minutes of the episode is just poorly written: a woman pumped with 2 doses of heroine manages to recover and help a man with a gut shot fight off a henchman? That same henchman spills the beans on a shipment of arms so easily? A grandmother determined to keep her grandson doesn't attempt to kidnap him when she sees police at her front door, mind you she is fully aware and accepting of her criminal sons. The criminal from the first season can easily get out of jail because of evidence he has on his arresting officer and doesn't. He can also hurt the same officer's family and doesn't? Terrible second season, not sure if I'll give the third one a chance.

To the Lake (I) (2019–2022)

Ignore the high ratings.

[3/10 · 15 November 2020]

The problem I have with zombie outbreak films is that there's just too many out in the world for writers to be this clumsy and/or lazy to write characters this stupid. I'm not sure where the high ratings stem from; every character is written poorly making terrible decisions throughout the entire 4 episodes I've seen. They are un-likable, shallow and 2 dimensional. Another critic posted about terrible action; I didn't see that here. Just actors doing their best with shoddy character development. Honestly, this could be miles better, there's redeeming points but they are so few and far between that I can not in good conscience recommend this series.

The Fall (I) (2013–2016)

Stop after season 2

[5/10 · 4 October 2020]

The series starts out strong but quickly loses its steam towards the end of the first season. Season 2 is pretty decent sans some poorly scripted character development. Season 3 is an absolute bore to watch. Incredibly slow, meandering and frustrating on the senses, I personally wished i hadn't invested time into anything past the first episode of the season. I do not recommend it even though I gave it 5.

The 100 (2014–2020)

Clark needs to die

[5/10 · 18 September 2020]

Not sure I've ever watched a show where the lead character needs to die at the end of the series in order to be satisfied. Every story needs to have a moral compass, but these last 3 years have seen characters be absolved too easily for acts that are too large to come back from. It takes away from the drama of true redemption and ultimately the viewer will start to turn on the lead. Clark has committed so many of these acts and betrayed so many of her allegiances that you start to hate her by season 5. Season 7 you'll down right root for her demise. I've come to the conclusion that the only satisfactory ending is if she's killed off.

Zoo (2015–2017)

Time to cancel

[3/10 · 21 August 2017]

Have been watching since day 1 but sadly it's time to cancel this show. After a very fun first and a some what mediocre second season, this third one is just awful. The writing has become lazy and the acting quality has had a sharp decline. No one involved with the show seems to care save the star of the show (Jackson's the character's name, I forget the actor's name). But after watching episode 8 of season 3, it's time to throw in the towel.

Top Gear America (2017)

Big Mistake in Casting

[4/10 · 7 August 2017]

When History got rid of Top Gear USA, I had hoped that it would land somewhere else. Then the rumblings sprang forth about BBC bringing Top Gear back stateside under the banner Top Gear America. I was happy again.

But then they re-casted it with new hosts and I'm thinking, "What's wrong with you producers? Did you not learn anything from the recasting of original Top Gear?"

The major takeaway about the Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May departure and their replacements was that the audience of Top Gear believes that the hosts are legitimately friends outside of the show. And we, as the audience were made to feel embraced by this trio of buddies and we follow them along in their adventures.

Think 3 Stooges if you must.

In Top Gear USA we got that from Tanner, Adam and Rutledge. These three guys are every bit believable as buddies. Their chemistry was fantastic, even though it wasn't as good as Jeremy, Richard and James, it was fun watching these friends tease each other in much the same fashion as their British counterparts.

Top Gear America's host are far, far, FAR!!! from that. There is no spark. The commentary during the "Star in a Car" segment is sooo dull and at times they just sit there and don't say anything as we watch the car race along the track at a speed of a school bus. In the opening episode we are even told that these guys were just thrown together, much like a manufactured boyband from a reality show. William Fichtner is really the only glue holding these guys together but that's because his years of experience acting helps him bring that presence to the screen. But he's not a comedian and lacks that comedic timing that is absolutely necessary with a show whose British counterparts are loaded with it and the original American version was coming into it's own as well.

I understand that Antron Brown is a driver and Tom Ford worked on Fifth Gear and in similar capacity as he is here but they don't give off the enthusiasm that Tanner, Adam or Rut when describing cars. I just don't believe that they like cars. They come off bored and I don't know why, especially when they've been given a closed track and a quarter of a million dollar super car to drive into the asphalt.

Compare Top Gear America's first episode of them driving in Baja versus The Grand Tour's episode driving the iron coast in Africa; night and day.

I don't expect Top Gear America to be anything like that of Top Gear but you definitely need to get the chemistry right with the hosts. Producers, you need a reset for your state side reboot. I'm telling you, take your format and bring back Tanner, Rutledge and Adam. Cause this new three "ain't it!"

Somewhere Between (2017)

Someone in creative needs to be fired.

[2/10 · 26 July 2017]

Man this is bad. A lot of the reviews are blaming the acting but the fault squarely lies on the shoulders of the writers that came up with this story (or adapted it from the original version) the director that lead the cast, and the editor that can't settle on a pacing. Honestly, this thing is awful.

UPDATE!!!

I've come back to update my review. After watching 10 episodes, I've lowered the star rating to 2 and squarely blame the abysmal writing for how bad this series is. If you haven't watched it yet, don't! If you've started, stop!

Atrocious!!! Shame on ABC for cancelling better written shows and saddling us with this crap.