joejohn-821-884251 Reviews

Search Party (2016–2022)

Starts out promising and then slowly and steadily devolves into some of the worst TV I've seen

[5/10 · 11 March 2024]

Let me preface this by saying that I am currently at the very end of season 5 and I should be finishing the show soon.

Season 1 was pretty good. A few of the actors on the show really carry the show while some others really drag the show down. However, as the show progresses the writing just gets worse and worse. I would say the show pretty steadily becomes worse and worse by each season/episode, and eventually you land in Season 5 - which, IMHO, is just awful. (It honestly feels like there are no writers in season 5... therefore...)

I'm wondering if one of the reasons why this show got so bad was because it was affected by the writer's strike in Hollywood.

Regardless, I expect much better from HBO than this. Not happy to have wasted my time with anything past season 2 really... and I didn't even think season 2 was all that good.

Old (2021)

Taking off one star for the poor dialogue and writing

[5/10 · 15 October 2022]

The premise of this movie is actually pretty interesting. That said, you'll see many other reviews on here that complain about the same things that I mentioned in my review title. I wanted to initially rate this movie a '6', but I think that is because due to the other movies that I've seen from M. Night Shyamalan - some of which have been ABHORRENT IMHO (i.e. 'the Happening') - this one, by comparison, wasn't all that bad. Still not a good movie though.

The writing and the dialogue in this movie are both pretty bad IMO. It seems very unnatural. Not sure if some of the dialogue was improvised or if this is the fault of the writers, but the dialogue just isn't good. I felt like the way the characters react to their situation is also very unorganic and illogical.

Now that I'm over the required character limit for this review, I'm going to quickly wrap-up. My take on this movie is as follows: this movie is interesting in the way it is structured and how it resolves. It also has an interesting premise, but there are several aspects of the execution of the movie that are deeply flawed- namely the dialogue and the writing.

TLDR; if you have a couple hours to kill, there are worse movies you could watch.

The Leftovers (2014–2017)

Kind of a mess, but can be entertaining depending on how you approach it...

[5/10 · 29 September 2022]

First off I want to say that, like several other reviewers on here, I suspect the ratings for this show have been inflated. Perhaps a real-world group akin to the 'Guilty Remnant' has spammed IMDB with 10/10 reviews for this show. :P

Anyways, I'm now watching this show for the second time, mostly because I like a few of the actors in this show.

Obviously, based on my rating of 5/10, I had some major issues with this show, and honestly, the issues that I had are too numerous to name and/or list here in this review.

How should YOU approach this show? I would say just watch it as long as it can hold your attention and entertain you, and maybe you'll make it to the end, maybe you won't. :D I don't recall there being some sort of huge payoff at the end of this show, but I do recall there being a somewhat interesting, if not silly, resolution.

For now, what I will say is that this is one of those shows that is probably more about the journey than the destination. Also, I believe this show is sometimes, if not oftentimes, a dark satire on melodrama in general. When watched using this mindset (especially the season 1), I feel that the show can be a much more entertaining experience.

Equilibrium (2002)

Not kinda good because it's good- but kinda good because it's SO BAD...

[6/10 · 26 September 2022]

I've watched this movie twice now. The first time around when it came out back in 2002, and now a second time just the other day (in 2022).

The first time I saw this movie I hated it. I thought at the time that the "Gun Kata" (the name of the made up gun-centric fighting style from the movie) was ridiculous and stupid. I thought the rest of the elements of the movie pretty much followed suit. At the time I probably would have rated the movie a '3' or a '4' out of 10.

However, after re-watching the movie the other day to confirm that it was terrible, I was tempted to give this movie a '7' because of how entertaining I found it to be. Don't get me wrong, this movie is BAD!!! But it's one of those movies that is SO BAD that it ends up being quite funny and therefore enjoyable.

I would like to give examples of where the movie crosses into what I can only assume is extreme satire on the part of the people who made the film, but ultimately, I wouldn't want to spoil any of the hilarious surprises for the viewer.

If you unironically really really like this movie, then I don't know what to say...

Mindhunter (2017–2019)

Amazing show! However, I encountered a very specific technical issue while watching season 2...

[8/10 · 18 April 2022]

This show is great... even though I feel it drags a little at certain points throughout its two seasons. (God, I really hope that David Fincher makes a third season of this show!)

Anyways, the three leads are excellent. The dichotomy between the two male leads is excellent. The cinematography, the tone, there's really not too much I don't like about this show...

However! I did encounter a technical problem when viewing season 2. I've watched the whole show twice now and I believe that on BOTH viewings I experienced some really distracting video artifacting in scenes (usually ones that were shot outdoors) when watching season 2 on a mobile device. This REALLY detracted from the experience of the show as it really broke the immersion of the viewing experience for me. After some perfunctory investigation, this issue does not appear to affect the show when watching in a web browser and I would assume the same for watching on a TV. Regardless... my guess is something is wrong with the mobile version's source files on Netflix's server. Someone at Netflix really needs to address this. Honestly, if this was the fault of the individual that encoded the mobile version files then that would be really shameful.

Rant aside, great show!

The Dark Tower (2017)

LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO MY BOY!

[3/10 · 7 March 2022]

If you are a fan of the Dark Tower books you are not going to like this movie. Imagine trying to condense all the books down to 90 minutes of movie... get the picture?

I read the books back when I was in college many many years ago. The books were good. This movie is quite bad. It is extra insulting if you've read the books because you know just how long and deep this epic saga goes.

Once again, if you've read and enjoyed the books, unless you want to watch something that I can say with 99.9% certainty that you will dislike, don't watch this movie.

If you HAVEN'T read the books, this is still a bad movie. :P.

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Would have been pretty good if they had not included...

[6/10 · 1 March 2022]

This movie was pretty slow. But, okay, I didn't mind that too much. I thought the special effects were alright if not kind of cool as they had their own unique flair ( - that has to do with dried zombie blood).

If you have seen this movie, you can probably guess what my one major gripe was with this movie - the multiple times that Adam Driver's character initiates a fourth wall break for the audience through dialogue (... and the one time that Selena Gomez's character also does so too?). I'm not really sure why the director decided to put these fourth wall breaks into this movie, but it is my opinion that the movie would have been better had that element been left out of the movie altogether. Oh well.

Xam'd: Lost Memories (2008– )

After a BRILLIANT setup, this anime falters in its back half.

[7/10 · 6 January 2022]

Why are there so few ratings for this great anime? I'm literally shocked by how few ratings there are for this title on this site - 477 ratings after 13 years??? Bizarre. Anyways...

...going by the number of ratings here, it must just be that me and a small group of people know what most simply don't - that Xam'd: Lost Memories is a great anime that is worth the watch!

Take a look at the production values... just watch a trailer for this series! This anime is from the renowned Studio Bones (and you can see in the credits that various other studios pitch in as well including one of my personal favorites - Gainax)!

This anime is great! The action sequences, the intro music, the animation, are all EXCELLENT! That said, where I feel this anime shines the brightest are in its character design, its story, and the world building.

However, this anime is far from perfect... and I must say with how the characters and story are developed in the first 13 episodes they really could have had something incredibly special here. However, unfortunately, the general quality of the anime takes a dip in its back half. The story becomes less compelling and messy, characters behave uncharacteristically, the the pacing and writing gets worse. There are just a lot of issues with the say, last 10 or so episodes of this series. That said, I still REALLY enjoy it because just how great the first 13 episodes are.

I recommend that you check this anime out!

MacGruber (2021)

My review (... that I've only told to about 40 other people)

[7/10 · 21 December 2021]

This followup to one of my favorite comedy movies of all time is LONG overdue! I'm pretty sure that they (Jorma Taccone and Will Forte) were going to make a sequel to the original film in movie-form years ago... in fact, I distinctly remember when they made an announcement about the MacGruber 2 movie script on Twitter, but I digress. My assumption is that movie sequel eventually somehow morphed into this TV show...

That said, MacGruber is back, baby! Look, I get it if some people don't like MacGruber; this brand/style of comedy is not for everyone. I really enjoy MacGruber and Will Forte's portrayal of the titular character. Heck, I've already watched this show in its entirety twice since its release just one week ago!

I really enjoyed this show. My only real complaint is that I just wish they had released it sooner.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)

Old Navy commercial: the Movie

[5/10 · 21 September 2021]

Based on the trailers that I saw for this movie, I was pleasantly surprised by what was in store here.

Let me just say that, although I haven't seen all the trailers for this film, I'm guessing that the creators of this movie successfully hid the specific genre / overarching plot of this film - and to great effect.

Not the greatest comedy I've ever seen, but there were some funny moments...

IMO, it's worth watching at least once.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)

If you've watched the original series (and EoE), the 7.5 hours comprising these four movies may leave you disappointed.

[5/10 · 22 August 2021]

Disclaimer: I am a long-time fan that has been following this series for 25 years. For that reason, and due to how I first experienced this anime during my formative years, I believe that my opinion regarding these movies may differ greatly from, say, someone who had NOT watched the original TV series (and EoE) BEFORE watching these movies. For more info about how I experienced this series please refer to the "Context" section included below my review.

Review:

The Evangelion rebuild movies amount to an alternative / NEW telling of the Evangelion saga. That said, it is one that is visually striking in its updated and modern presentation although I, like many others, found many of the CG-heavy fight scenes in these movies to be severely underwhelming (as they looked choppy/unfinished/not great/etc.)...

I am an old-school NGE fan that found the "religious techno babble" strewn throughout the original series to be one of the most, if not THE most, annoying aspects of the series; something that could be forgiven however, IMHO, given the experiential heights that the anime takes the viewer to over the course of its 26-episode TV run and on through 'End of Evangelion'. I absolutely LOVED the characters, the animation, the fights, the music, the hardcore psychological introspection, and the plot of the original series and of EoE... even amid all the irritating "religious techno babble" nonsense. However, even though I felt the plot elements of the show tied to this "nonsense" made the show harder to enjoy... after reviewing plot synopses, summaries, and interpretations online, as random and illogical as these elements seemed, I convinced myself that they ultimately kind of fit together and made sense relative to the over-arching plot of the show.

Unfortunately, the Rebuild movies take the "religious techno babble" nonsense aspects of the series -and subsequently the illogical plot development/twists associated therein - to great new heights (which becomes painfully evident in the third movie). So much so that I feel that if the movies were to be viewed independently of the show, that the overarching plot may be more or less incoherent (as it is also missing SO MUCH of the context that was provided in the TV show).

Ultimately, since the Rebuild movies decide to more or less double - dare I say TRIPLE - down on what I found to be one of the worst aspects of the original series, I could not find them truly enjoyable. I have to admit that, out of all the rebuilds, I found the second movie to be the most compelling, and at the time of first viewing it, I was even excited to see where this new retelling of this saga was going... but that hype was extinguished after watching the third movie.

Although I've only watched the fourth movie once (approximately one week ago), I felt that the conclusion was a little too rushed and left me feeling empty (... similarly to how the original TV show ending left me feeling when I watched it about 20 years ago - which was completely remedied for me upon watching 'End of Evangelion'). I am going to leave out the details regarding how the movie ends and my critique there-in to allow this review to be 'spoiler-free'.

These Rebuild movies almost feel to me like a cash grab to an extent - one last cash-in on the incredible hype and excitement that was once garnered by just the namesake of this anime - likely created and targeted mostly at old-school fans of the series such as myself (as I can't imagine that someone new to this franchise could really deduce what the hell is going on in these new movies just by watching them by themselves). As an "OG fan" of this series, I cannot recommend these Rebuild films to old fans of the series OR to new viewers, as I feel as the creators greatly magnified one of the worst aspects of the series (the "religious techno babble" stuff) and because I feel that holistically these movies are somewhat incoherent from a plot perspective. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy these movies whatsoever. It was interesting and fun to see where this new retelling of this saga took our beloved main characters and it was also nice to get some definitive closure on their respective stories... however, I felt that the execution of these movies was lacking in several ways on several levels.

Context:

I started watching this series as a kid when I purchased the first (and ONLY the first) volume of the show on VHS tape around 1996. For whatever reason, it wouldn't be until high school that I continued watching the series after I visited a comics shop and traded in my entire VHS anime collection in order to rent and watch the rest of the episodes of NGE. After finishing the show, I subsequently downloaded and watched (what I recollect to be a fan-subbed version of) 'End of Evangelion'. Although, I believe I did that only AFTER I watched 'EVA: Death and Rebirth'. After graduating from college, I began purchasing the Rebuild Blu-Rays as they were released.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)

If you've watched the original series (and EoE) prior, the 7.5 hours comprising these four movies may leave you disappointed.

[5/10 · 19 August 2021]

Disclaimer: I am a long-time fan that has been following this series for 25 years. For that reason, and due to how I first experienced this anime during my formative years, I believe that my opinion regarding these movies may differ greatly from, say, someone who had NOT watched the original TV series (and EoE) BEFORE watching these movies. For more info about how I experienced this series please refer to the "Context" section included below my review.

Review:

The Evangelion rebuild movies amount to an alternative / NEW telling of the Evangelion saga. That said, it is one that is visually striking in its updated and modern presentation although I, like many others, found many of the CG-heavy fight scenes in these movies to be severely underwhelming (as they looked choppy/unfinished/not great/etc.)...

I am an old-school NGE fan that found the "religious techno babble" strewn throughout the original series to be one of the most, if not THE most, annoying aspects of the series; something that could be forgiven however, IMHO, given the experiential heights that the anime takes the viewer to over the course of its 26-episode TV run and on through 'End of Evangelion'. I absolutely LOVED the characters, the animation, the fights, the music, the hardcore psychological introspection, and the plot of the original series and of EoE... even amid all the irritating "religious techno babble" nonsense. However, even though I felt the plot elements of the show tied to this "nonsense" made the show harder to enjoy... after reviewing plot synopses, summaries, and interpretations online, as random and illogical as these elements seemed, I convinced myself that they ultimately kind of fit together and made sense relative to the over-arching plot of the show.

Unfortunately, the Rebuild movies take the "religious techno babble" nonsense aspects of the series -and subsequently the illogical plot development/twists associated therein - to great new heights (which becomes painfully evident in the third movie). So much so that I feel that if the movies were to be viewed independently of the show, that the overarching plot may be more or less incoherent (as it is also missing SO MUCH of the context that was provided in the TV show).

Ultimately, since the Rebuild movies decide to more or less double - dare I say TRIPLE - down on what I found to be one of the worst aspects of the original series, I could not find them truly enjoyable. I have to admit that, out of all the rebuilds, I found the second movie to be the most compelling, and at the time of first viewing it, I was even excited to see where this new retelling of this saga was going... but that hype was extinguished after watching the third movie.

Although I've only watched the fourth movie once (I watched it last night), I felt that the conclusion was a little too rushed and left me feeling empty (... similarly to how the original TV show ending left me feeling when I watched it about 20 years ago - which was completely remedied for me upon watching 'End of Evangelion').

These Rebuild movies almost feel to me like a cash grab to an extent - one last cash-in on the incredible hype and excitement that was once garnered by just the namesake of this anime - likely created and targeted mostly at old-school fans of the series such as myself (as I can't imagine that someone new to this franchise could really deduce what the hell is going on in these new movies just by watching them by themselves). As an "OG fan" of this series, I cannot recommend these Rebuild films to old fans of the series OR to new viewers, as I feel as the creators greatly magnified one of the worst aspects of the series (the "religious techno babble" stuff) and because I feel that holistically these movies are somewhat incoherent from a plot perspective. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy these movies whatsoever. It was interesting and fun to see where this new retelling of this saga took our beloved main characters and it was also nice to get some definitive closure on their respective stories... however, I felt that the execution of these movies was lacking in several ways on several levels.

Context:

I started watching this series as a kid when I purchased the first (and ONLY the first) volume of the show on VHS tape around 1996. For whatever reason, it wouldn't be until high school that I continued watching the series after I visited a comics shop and traded in my entire VHS anime collection in order to rent and watch the rest of the episodes of NGE. After finishing the show, I subsequently downloaded and watched (what I recollect to be a fan-subbed version of) 'End of Evangelion'. Although, I believe I did that only AFTER I watched 'EVA: Death and Rebirth'. After graduating from college, I began purchasing the Rebuild Blu-Rays as they were released.

The Circle (I) (2017)

Even after seeing the low score on IMDB I watched anyway. Don't make my mistake.

[4/10 · 16 January 2019]

Ok. This is a BAD movie. I'm not a fan of Emma Watson's acting for starters, but that's hardly the biggest problem with this film.

Where to begin??? The plot is highly illogical and the pacing is TERRIBLE. The writing is awful. Direction and editing... probably mostly direction though, are awful as well.

The couple pros in the film are (1) Tom Hanks (who seems to always be great regardless of the movie he is in) and (2) the themes about privacy and the lack thereof in a more and more connected world is somewhat thought provoking.

That said, two actors I do like quite a bit, Karen Gillan and John Boyega, are also in this but their parts are so terribly written and informed that I can't say it redeemed the film in any way although without them being in it the film probably would have been that much worse! Leaving me with the question: how were they able to get SOO many great actors into this stinker of a movie?!?!?

The bottom line? Don't waste your two hours and skip this one. (But if you're weak like me you'll let your curiosity get the better of you. 😢)

Hereditary (2018)

Definitely scary and tense... but a good movie???

[5/10 · 9 January 2019]

Basically what it comes down to is maybe I'm just dumb, but I found this movie to be very difficult to follow and ultimately I felt that it demanded too much from the audience in order to piece together what was REALLY happening in the movie during the first screening of the film.

The manipulation by the director and production crew is excellent however, if not a little cheesy and cliche at times. The movie succeeds in being very tense and even pretty scary at points. When watching this I felt a palpable dread during most of the movie, but a lot of that dread was fear and anxiety about what sort or horrific gore the movie might show on the screen. IMO THAT kind of horror is not the right way to do horror and not very skillful.

Anyways, I felt like the movie had a lot going for itself thematically, the acting in this movie is surprisingly good as well, but ultimately it was just too difficult for me to put together what actually transpired in the movie after my first viewing. And I feel that a movie that leaves people confused when leaving the theater isn't necessarily a good thing.

Not sure if I would watch this again at this point.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Laughably bad followup to the solid 'Rogue Nation'.

[5/10 · 28 July 2018]

I went into 'MI: Fallout' hoping that the movie would continue in the vein of the two prior films - 'Ghost Protocol' and 'Rogue Nation' - which I thought were both great.

To sum up how I felt when leaving the theater last night in one word, that word would be: disappointed. However, I left feeling just as baffled by most of the design choices made in this movie. (That said, the one thing that I actually really did enjoy was the fight choreography during the sequence that took place in the men's restroom near the beginning of the film which I thought was pretty fun.)

I felt like this film abandoned the cool, sleek, and sexy M.O. of the two prior movies in favor of over-the-top, balls-to-the-wall action in a vaguely similar vein to the tonal shift when they went from MI1 to MI2.

The film really begins to go off rails after the first act by overcomplicating the plot by having an ADDITIONAL character - other than the double agent working against the US that the audience has already been informed of - to seemingly double-cross the IMF, rehashing chase scenes that we've not only seen before, but seen in THIS very movie before, and in the later half of the movie (MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD) by having Alec Baldwin's character fight against Henry Cavill's character (that's right, you read that correctly... Alec Baldwin's character fights, albeit briefly, Henry Cavill's character in this movie). By the final act, the movie just turns into a parody of itself. Half of the people in theater I was in last night were laughing AT the film and NOT with the film at regular intervals during the last act, because what was being shown and said made so little sense. (i.e. By pure chance Ethan serendipitously meets his ex-wife Julia at a camp in the middle of nowhere b/c she just happened to become a doctor and wound up volunteering at the very medical camp where the nuclear bombs that Hunt's team have been chasing all across the globe the entire movie happened to be deployed to. The pacing and the tone shift with Ethan and team when he bumps into Julia is just mind-boggling as we watch Ethan's team stand idly by in the background while he and Julia have a conversation while everyone in the audience knows that in mere minutes two nuclear bombs in the immediate vicinity will be detonated unless they do something to prevent that from happening.)

A poor plot, and not forgetting to mention some lackluster acting, and the numerous spy/action film tropes and clichés aside, the movie was too cheesy and overly dramatic to boot. One scene that illustrates this, is the scene where Cavill's character, being chased by Hunt, gets away on a helicopter leaving Hunt behind standing on top of a tower in London while blaringly loud, overly dramatic orchestra music plays in the background ALTHOUGH Hunt wasn't ever even close to catching up with Cavill's character during the chase in the first place. Jarring stuff. And really, 'jarring' is the word that I'm looking for here in describing this movie. There were WAYYY too many scenes in this movie that simply snapped me out of the immersion/enjoyment of the film b/c they were either wayyy too cheesily written/acted OR because they were too silly and implausible.

All of this resulted in a rather forgettable and bad MI movie IMO. That said, I hope that they're able to get the franchise back on track when MI8 inevitably is released.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

A fun movie that had me laughing.

[6/10 · 12 April 2017]

Let me just start with a little sidenote: I watch and rate A LOT of movies and I RARELY ever write reviews on IMDb (probably mostly due to my laziness). But I thought I would attempt to put forward a level-headed review for this movie since some of the other reviews here are seemingly so incredibly extreme and polarizing. (Frankly, some of these reviews sound like they are either being written by crazy people or by people who don't really watch many movies.)

Let's skip to the end - the Bottom line: If you're a person that hasn't seen the original movies, likes comedy paranormal/sci-fi, and likes the actresses in this film, then you should at least give this movie a shot. (IMO, you would have to be a pretty serious person if this movie doesn't at least make you laugh out loud a couple times.)

If you're someone on the opposite end of the spectrum who LOVES the original movies (and perhaps the 80s cartoon series as well), if you DO watch this movie, try going into the movie with an open mind and try to understand what this reboot is trying to do; this movie isn't a piece of fan-service created solely to please the die-hard Ghostbusters fans that grew up in the 80s... this movie is a comedy and a vehicle for reviving the Ghostbusters franchise... updating it so that a whole new generation can enjoy ghostbusting. (And to people who love the Ghostbusters franchise, that last part alone should be a wonderful thing to you.)

Is this movie perfect? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Is it even amazing? Not really, but...

... at the end of the day, I found this move to be entertaining and funny (mostly due to the infinitely likable and charismatic Kristen Wiig and also because of the great quippy dialogue between all of the main characters)... and, IMO, too many movies these days often can't even deliver on one out of those two premises!

Antichrist (2009)

I found this movie to be very disturbing

[4/10 · 16 August 2015]

This movie was both thematically and visually very rich. As a piece of art, this movie was pretty darn good, but I found the content of some of the scenes to be just downright disturbing.

This movie definitely put my on edge at points.

It is specifically the VERY visually graphic scenes of this movie that I found utterly disturbing.

For better or worse, having seen this movie many years ago, this movie was certainly memorable, but I doubt that I will ever watch this movie again.

The title of this movie really says it all.

I guess that if you are into things of a morbid nature, you might enjoy this film, but be warned that there are some pretty graphically disturbing scenes of a sexual nature.

The Postman (1997)

If this movie just weren't so long... and clichéd... and boring

[3/10 · 19 October 2013]

This movie was more than a a single step backwards from 'Waterworld' which had released two years prior in 1995.

The pacing of the movie is incredibly slow and there were a lot of moments in the film where there's really nothing going on, where you're just watching a character's reaction (or non-reaction for that matter) for an extra 10 seconds. This movie could have easily been edited to be 15 or 20 minutes shorter without sacrificing any exposition at all.

The modern staples of a good action-drama film are more or less non-existent in this film. (MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD!!!0 Case in point, the final fight between Kevin Costner's character, 'the Postman', and Will Patton's character is laughably unchoreographed and motion-blurred.

The only two things that I felt held up in this film were the performances by Kevin Costner and by Olivia Williams. I thought everything else about this movie was pretty bad.