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BenedictCummingham
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Reviews
What Lies Below (2020)
Who is this for? And what wasted potential...
The interesting bits in this movie are: alien sex, alien pregnancy, and alien birth, and this movie made them all boring. The motivations of the antagonist are banal and obvious. The movie has no surprises. If there is a deeper meaning here about mom & daughter relationships I'm just not seeing it. And whom does one blame for this bad movie watching experience? My gut reaction is - the director is a coward. The beginning of this movie starts with a bit of a campy yet slightly charming intro scene with care and vision that are not executed perfectly but one can see an effort was made. And then this movie just implodes. When this movie finally reveals itself for what it is it has already lost the audience. Boring drama. Hackneyed *and* uninteresting tropes. And once the audience is lost people like me just start looking for redemptive moments. Species wasn't a great film but I will forever remember Natasha Henstridge falling out of that cocoon. I reacted, "Wow! Filming that took vision. It took guts." The Fly (1986) is another ballsy example of this. But for this movie I will always remember the alien birthing scene where there's an obvious gap in the final cut. Not even a hint of what an alien baby looks like until it's outside in the antagonist's arms in the darkness. In this case it's not intrigue. It's not the best way it could have been done. There was no terror, disgust, or even thrill. It was just cinematic cowardice. So I ask again - Who was this movie for? ...'cause you missed my mark. And after reading all these reviews - Congratulations! You managed to displease everyone with this film. You don't need a great movie. You just need a moment to shock the audience into reacting with more than, "Oh...that's it?" And there isn't one here. 3/10 because I made it to the end.
Solos: Leah (2021)
*Criminally* underrated. Genius work by Anne Hathaway
This episode is about beating yourself up for being human. Watching this was extremely cathartic. I've watched this episode three times since its release. This episode will break your heart. I cry tears of empathy for 50% of the shows runtime. Hathaway slays it in *every moment* of this episode. It's not just good. It's great. I'm a big Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Black Mirror fan. If this was an Outer Limits, Black Mirror, or Twilight Zone episode I'd rank it #1. It's great. #1. If you enjoyed this episode's sci-fi elements also try: Primer (2004), Lightyear (2022), Predestination (2014). A fantastic episode well worth the watch. Directed by Zach Braff.
Birdgirl (2021)
Current weighted average of 5.6 is criminally low
The delivery of these jokes is *often* too fast for most people which is why I wouldn't call this show 'laugh out loud' funny. There is very little time to actually laugh because it's always on to the next line of clever dialogue. And this show is clever. The characters are zany and extreme and the writers do a great job of depicting these qualities while moving a often pointless plot along. Think pointless like Sealab 2021 but more clever and more topical. Ridiculous that it is rated so low. For what it is it's an 8/10.
Tom Swift (2022)
Show me, don't tell me
I don't mind inferring relationships and events through dialogue, but David Mamet this is *not*. The significant details in the narrative feel overtly fed to the audience, ham-fisted, and unearned. The analysis and conclusions made with certainty by the AI and Tom are just assumed to be correct while also being completely opaque and unjustified to the audience. There is no "Here's how we figured it out." it's "We just know now, you don't need to know how." The narrative is not elegant, sophisticated, or mysterious. And after the first episode the audience has already seen far too much for this to be an interesting show. There's no sense of discovery. The characters are uninteresting. I feel fairly confident saying after viewing up to halfway through the second episode that this show will *never* surprise me. It could be on TV for seven seasons and there might be....two? 'good'...somewhat interesting moments in that run? This show is going full speed nowhere. The only thing I like about this show is the opulent aesthetic. The fashion is amazing. The sets are luxurious in the extreme. But *why?* Why is that important enough to focus on when the writing is so poor? There's also no curiosity in the show. I just realized this after finishing this review. The characters/actors never express curiosity about anything. These characters were not made to guide us through the journey. We just experience it as it is thrown at us.
Mann & Machine (1992)
Surprised at how well a 30 year old series holds up.
Put this sci-fi series in context. This ran in 1992 between Star Trek TNG season 5 and 6. Aired within weeks of Alien 3 release, months prior to Universal Soldier being in cinema. It was thrilling watching this on TV for this then 12 year old. I recently sat down to watch some lo-fi VHS recordings of this series and set my expectations to low. As of now (December 2021) this series has not (to my knowledge) been released for purchase or for streaming. After watching I was surprised at how well it holds up in terms of entertainment. The main trope here: The anti-android cop gets an android partner and over time grows a mutual respect and even affinity. My issues: There is no profound sci-fi here. The CGI is 1992 television level. The fight choreography film strategy seemed to be a shaky cam + 1.25x speed + blur effect. It's only 9 episodes. Hopefully this will eventually be released in a high fidelity format. If you want to watch a very similar series (made 20 years later) check out 'Almost Human' (2013)
A Teacher (2020)
Kate Mara is superb
The acting, writing, and direction are superb.
The events themselves are believable.
The story is engaging.
Almost all characters are sympathetic.
The relationship dynamics written into the dialogue are masterclass.
Every detail in this series feels intentional, meaningful, and real.
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020)
Hilarious seeing all these overly harsh comparisons...
The Orville, Futurama, Rick and Morty, Super Store...
I think more appropriate comparisons might be Archer or 'Deep Space 69'
First off - the show does deserve some criticism. The writers need a lesson in the hero's journey. s01e01 is essentially a mid-season filler episode. A show's pilot should be more than that - a showcase of characters and their *interesting* flaws. If you're looking for social commentary or anything of substance really...this isn't for you.
That being said - I'm a simple man. Give me restrained zombie crew members spewing black blood in the rookie's face while other crew members disrobe to make decoys of themselves and I'm sold. I will continue watching this one and I suspect that I will enjoy it more and more as time goes on.
"That's my heart! It hurts when you pump it!"
"How much did I EAT?!"
7/10
ThunderCats Roar (2020)
Unwarranted hate for this show (Rated 6.5/10)
People being too hard on this show.
A solid 6.5/10. Rated 10/10 to counteract the hate.
Rachel Dratch's Late Night Snack (2016)
I wanted to like this.
Watched all the episodes and here's my assessment:
Hope & Randy - 5/10
Passive Aggressive History - 6/10
Joe + Nick - 7/10
D-Sides - 4/10
Reimagined - 6.5/10
real screen test - 6.5/10
Alec Baldwin's Love Ride - 4/10
Two Girls Music Video Duo - 5/10
Cocktales with Little Esther - 5/10
Don't Be That Guy - 4/10
Classified Comedy - 6/10
Benjamin the Cat - 2/10
Average: 5/10
I do enjoy the Rachel Dratch diner segues.