jsalavar Reviews

The Bear (2022– )

Season 2 - total chaos and exhausting

[3/10 · 1 July 2023]

I'm not sure about everyone else, but I am grown tired of the chaos that is season two. The constant yelling matches are exhausting and the Christmas episode was hard to watch for that reason. It's almost seem like the writers feel that the more chaos they create, the better the show. It just wears you out.

Also, anyone familiar with construction, be it home or commercial, knows that half of the stuff they portray as they redo their space is total b.s. Who scrapes a wall with a putty knife before painting it? Again, more reason for shouting matches.

And I'm very curious as to where they'll take Cousin Richey's character after the "forks" episode, because his character was wearing very thin on me.

Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)

Was good until the Kate/Holly fiasco

[6/10 · 10 January 2023]

They did such a good job of finding actors to play the younger versions, except when it came to Kate . And even though her appearance was questioned in the series, there was never a response. For the casting director to expect us to believe that Kate was at one time Holly is an insult to our intelligence.

Apparently Holly moved to Australia, had extensive plastic surgery and spent years on a stretching rack to grow 6 inches.

Kelly has always had a reputation of not being able to finish his series and this is just another example.

I would rate episodes 1 through 4 a high seven. Episodes 5 and 6 a four,

Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

Plays like an extended episode of series

[7/10 · 2 June 2022]

The movie was enjoyable and it was great to reconnect with everyone again the film suffers from being a large ensemble fighting for screen time. Because of the efforts to try to let us see all the characters and get an update on their lives, the film comes across as a bit choppy.

If you're a fan of the series, definitely go see it.

The Morning Show: Confirmations (2021) Season 2, Episode 8

Too much chaos

[4/10 · 8 February 2022]

Between Chip and Bradley's brother, there's just way too much chaos in this episode to make it enjoyable. I couldn't wait for their scenes to end. It was exhausting.

Loki (2021–2023)

I wanted to like this...

[5/10 · 16 July 2021]

But in the end it's just not that good. Marvel has had a few disappointments in it's short history and this is one of them.

IMDb says my review is too short so like much of this show I'm just going to ramble without really coming to a point.

And ramble

And ramble.

Lawdee, how many more words do I need to complete this review?

Garth Brooks: The Road I'm On (2019)

Full of clichés and too much whispering

[6/10 · 8 July 2020]

This is one of those times you think "this could've been so much better". I agree with some of the other reviews on here where it seemed like it was a self-promoting documentary. There's aspects of it I enjoyed just from a "oh I forgot about that" standpoint.

Too much of it seemed staged, especially as they are preparing for the big stadium concert there at the end, where he was giving them a peptalk. A pep talk to a band that has been performing in stadiums for 20 years.

And the constant close-ups with him whispering were a bit much.

Becoming Bond (2017)

A very good martini

[8/10 · 24 May 2020]

Well done. Entertaining and informative. Well worth the watch.

Ozark: Boss Fight (2020) Season 3, Episode 4

Marty can't grow a beard but still a solid episode

[9/10 · 31 March 2020]

He's in captivity for how long and never even grows a 5 o'clock shadow?

American Pickers (2010– )

21 seasons since 2010?

[8/10 · 10 March 2020]

Enjoy the show but how do they get 21 seasons out of a show that has run for less than 10 years?

House of Cards (2013–2018)

Stay away from Season 6!

[8/10 · 18 July 2019]

Seasons 1 through 4 were fantastic and deserve to be rated 9 or even higher. Season 5 begin to show dinks in their armor and Season 6 was a complete embarrassment.

The ONLY reason to watch Season 6 is to listen to the opening theme song, which I consider one of the best in TV history. Once it's done, turn it off!

Creed II (2018)

Typical Rocky Formula but still entertaining

[7/10 · 18 April 2019]

My only issue is that they're trying to pass Michael B Jordan off as a heavyweight. It looks like a middleweight

Captain Marvel (2019)

An unfortunate necessity

[4/10 · 8 March 2019]

The only reason this movie exist is to bring her into the next avengers flick. Unlike many of the other Marvel films, you most likely will never watch this one again .

Also, too many inconsistencies with her power after she obtaines her full power. And, at full power, she renders the rest of the avengers team useless. Hell, the dang cat renders the avengers useless.

Watership Down (2018)

Watch with subtitles!

[6/10 · 10 January 2019]

For years I've been waiting for something like this. I've always said the book should be a mini series and with the use of CG I was hoping someone would actually do it.

I have a hard time writing this being a tremendous fan of the book. Having the book practically memorized, I was sensitive to any changes but understood that some were necessary, like any film been adapted from the book.

I think the use of the lapine language was a mistake. Anyone not having read the book would be so confused with the dialogue. That is why I would recommend subtitles. Also you're able to see what characters are speaking since all the rabbits, with the exception of Bigwig, Bluebell and Strawberry, all look alike.

I think a lot of the deviations from the book were actually unnecessary. They could just stayed true to the book and still told a story within the allotted time. For example, why change Bigwig's cover story when he enters Efarha? Why birds instead of rats in the barn fight? Or why have Fiver captured by the cat instead of Hazel? Why exclude Dandelion from the dog chase? Why not use the punt on the river in their escape from Efarha?

I didn't like how they changed Hazel's character appear weaker and more timid. I think this was done in conjunction with making the does more prominent and strong.

The two rabbits they excluded that I missed the most were Silver and Buckhorn. Always loved Bigwig and his Oswala of two!

Overall, I'm glad they took a shot at it. It could've been better. Probably much better.

I would love to see someone's review who has not read the book.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Rehash of alien/aliens

[1/10 · 18 May 2018]

Bottom line, not a very good movie. Too many similarities to Alien and Aliens And way too many unanswered questions. I thought Prometheus was actually entertaining and this movie should've tied everything up into a nice bow but it did not. Too many holes in the plots. Nothing that ties anything to the original Alien. Still does not explain the ship that was found on uninhabitable LV-426

The Graduate (1967)

Would you believe...

[7/10 · 7 August 2008]

The story didn't make a lot of sense. First, Dustin's character was all bummed out at the beginning, for reasons that were unclear and didn't make sense considering he just finished a very successful college career. Second, he had one date with Mrs Robinson's daughter, which started off terribly but ended well. On their attempted 2nd date she finds out about him and Mrs Robinson and ends with her crying and running off. Those were their only two interactions and yet on their 3rd meeting, which takes place several months later, she's open to marrying the guy.

Oh, yeah, that is so true to life! (rolling eyes) Still, its entertaining and worth watching.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

A Sorry Remake of Aliens (1986)

[1/10 · 26 December 2007]

I just wasted $8. This was a bad remake of Aliens but simply set in Gunnison CO. There were so many similar scenes and characters in the movie, it was ridiculous. Dallas = Hicks, Kelly = Ripley. Oh, that one scene where Kelly takes control and drives the tank out of town... where have I seen that before? And they even borrowed the sound track! This should have been a straight to video product.

Oh, Strause brothers, you're both a-holes for showing a 12 year old having to watch his dad die and then having that same boy's chest explode. More a-hole awards to you for having a whole delivery wing of the hospital fall victim to the slaughter.

The Searchers (1956)

Forget the Character Studies. This film isn't that great.

[5/10 · 12 December 2007]

The Searchers has been totted as Wayne's greatest film so being a fan of True Grit and The Cowboys, I was excited to see it come on AMC recently. I TIVO'd it and watched it this week. Boy, was I disappointed. While I'll agree that Wayne's character has a dark side, I just didn't think it was well acted. And Jeffrey Hunter - where did he learn how to act?? His jerking movements of angst were laughable. In fact, I commented to my wife at one point that I couldn't see how Wayne kept a straight face acting opposite of him in some scenes. And honestly, I think Wayne had a hard time pulling off the dark character.

Overall, I would only recommend viewing this movie if it happens to be on and you have a few hours to kill. I would not buy the DVD.

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Big Disappointment

[3/10 · 9 August 2007]

Why this film is called a classic, I'll never know. I've seen bits and pieces of it over the years and made an attempt to watch most of it last night. All-star cast but terrible editing and sound. Can't really describe it but it was almost like the movie was dubbed in parts, especially those parts where the "dozen" were razing someone.

Also, America's heavy involvement in the European theater lasted less than an year(June'44 - May '45). I find it odd that we would have troops conducting maneuvers during that time.

Too many other great war movies to watch. Don't waste your time on this one.

Big Jake (1971)

I've seen better. Much better

[4/10 · 30 July 2007]

I was very disappointed in this one. The movie moved at a good pace and the blending of technology and the west in 1909 was interesting but the acting by Mitchum stunk up the whole film. The motorcycle scene during the shootout and the soundtrack of the film was a rip off of The Great Escape. Also, while motorcycles may have been around in 1909, I doubt they were of caliber to make jumps across boulders and ravines.

Also, Wayne's constant reference to his dog as "Dog" was suppose to provide a little comic relief I suppose but it grew old after a while.

Also, when Richard Boone's ransom note demanded $1 million dollars, I immediately thought of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. I doubt gangs in 1909 would demand that much. I could be wrong but I see a ransom request of $200k or $300k to be more believable.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Teen Version of Raising Arizona

[8/10 · 30 December 2004]

Goofy yet funny. Teen version of Raising Arizona. What I loved about it was how Hess kept us guessing with respect to the time setting of the flick. At times it looked like it was set in the 70's and yet you had cell phones, references to 1982,internet access, etc. I loved the labeling on the time machine! Also, some of the students in the school looked 30 or older. Was that done on purpose? Seems like Hess hired whatever actors were available, regardless of age and said "you're playing a high school student".

Other things that made this flick look like something out of the 70's was the multi-level home and the mile long cord on the phone.

Casablanca (1942)

OK, why is this movie so great??

[3 October 2004]

I'm like Stepp, who posted similar comments on Sept 16th. We watched it for the first time last night and I failed to see what all the fuss is about. Was it a good movie? Yeah. Was it a classic? Not that I could see. First, I felt like I was watching the 1942 verison of the Gilmore Girls because the dialog by the actors was at a lightning pace. I couldn't understand half of what was said at the beginning. Unfortunately, a storm knocked out our signal for about 15 min so that added to the confusion.

The acting was OK. Again, they talked to fast at first, which is crucial when you're trying to figure out the plot. After that it went along fine. I even enjoyed the relationship between Bogart and the Chief of Police.

Bottom line, hundreds of movies have come along since then that could hold Casablanca's candle.

Grand Champion (2002)

Did you all see the same movie I saw?

[30 September 2004]

I'm reading these comments and scratching my head. Words like "well made", "excellent", "skillfully" are being applied to a movie that was filmed in 2001 but took three years to find someone to distribute the thing. Yes, it is simple G rated fair, good for family viewing but it doesn't mean it has to stink up the theater. "Babe", for example, is one of the greatest G-rated movies made (I think it's G-rated). That is how family movies should be made. Or look at any of the older Disney G-rated live action movies. None of those have the plot holes and acting pitfalls that Grand Champion contains.

Kids ages six and under will like this movie but after that most kids will look at you and say "what the???"

Grand Champion (2002)

Steered Wrong!

[7 September 2004]

First of all, IMDb has this listed as a 2002 release but it was just released in August 2004. Second, this movie stinks. Bad acting, bad editing, bad writing, bad plot. The entire cast and crew must have fallen into one of Hokey's cow patties before putting this thing together. My son and I laughed not because the movie was funny but because it was embarrassingly bad. I put it up there with Disney's Lilo & Stitch as far as stinkers.

Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis in this movie??? Barry Tubbs must have some goat pictures or something

Don't waste your money at the theater or on the DVD.