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Reviews
Perfect Match (2023)
Reality TV at its finest and worst
You can watch this stuff and just laugh at what is going on thinking people cant be that inane. It must be scripted. How do these people really think they are going to find someone on a vacuous show like this. Reality is none of them are really interested in anything other than another 15 (seconds) of fame. We have created generations of narcicists. It all comes to a head when you read the followup articules and realize almost none of them made it past even a week after the show. And the engagement, yeah didnt work out, surprise surprise. The only reason the Bachelor is still around is the occasional home run. This show is everything that is wrong with those under 30. Gets 3 stars (and a watch) just for pure script of how silly stuff can be.
The Diplomat: He Bought a Hat (2023)
Stop doing what you accuse everyone else of
First off I really like this show. Until this episode I would have rated it a 9. This one gets a 5 for one singular reason. He stopped running campaigns because it was stolen? Hint to the ****** (insert your own pejorative word) in Hollywood. No elections have been stolen unless you are willing to acknowledge that it can happen both ways. This was one clearly in reference to Bush Gore and clearly not Trump Biden. Frankly a lot more truth to the Trump/Biden one but as someone who voted for Trump and who personally knows someone who saw official misconduct at 2am that morning in Detroit I am willing to let that one go, IF you let Bush Gore go. If not get off your horse.
Squid Game: The Challenge (2023)
Amusing
All the low reviews make me chuckle. Take it for what it is. As to the American angle, you could do this show anywhere and the same traits would come out. They are just magnified. I was actually modestly surprised how unruthless people were. And that is where the person who shall not be named comes in. Perfect commentary on everything that is wrong with the world. Backstabs and then complains when someone tries to hold her accountable for the backstab. Only on episode 8 but if she wins then my faith in the unvierse will be shaken as I am big believer in Karma. By the way she should have known that everyone was going to have more the possibility of more than one roll (had to eliminate 3) so her excuse to counter-nominate the person seeking to even the score was shallow at best. I guess her college didnt teach her that (not surprising given where she went to school). And her reaction to Chad going is priceless (and she talks about Karma). Never rooted against someone so hard in my life (so the script is working).
Madam Secretary (2014)
S1-3 excellent, S4+ drop off
This was on track to become one of my favorite shows. Unfortunately it dropped off reasonably hard starting in S4. Too many extreme liberal viewpoints with little to counterbalance them. Writing this because.the climate stuff got just too fringy. Predicting the apocalypse which is not borne out in that time frame or to date. Not going to argue about it (wont convince the other side as even Tim Daly's character couldnt argue against THAT religion). Will watch out the rest only because I like most of the characters and the gist of it. And you wonder why streaming isnt making money. And by the way we dont owe Narau anything and it STILL isnt underwater....
Grey's Anatomy (2005)
Downhill fast
I started watching this show when I was in Medical school. As a 40+ yo (went late in life) I loved this and House. Watched until last season as it just became unbearably preachy. If you want to watch the show then start with Season 1 and be prepared for it to be great through about season 5 or 6. When some of the originals start to leave it starts to be less interesting. Sad thing is I have liked alot of the characters over the years but Shonda has started to get too preachy (in her other shows as well). At this point I pretty much cant watch anything she makes which is sad because I liked her earlier work....
Sisu (2022)
What Tarantino used to be
This is like an early Tarantino film. Not winning any Oscars but a very good watch. One part action one part humor. The man just never gives up. Eventually it gets a little over the top but by that point it is actually pretty funny. Gets a major thumbs up in the day and age of sequels/prequels and rehashes given its original story. I didnt have subtitles but hell you didnt need them. You could tell what was meant by just how the actors played it out. I especially liked the role the women played towards the end of the movie. Overall a rather dramatic replay of the concept of what happened to both the Germans and the Russians in WW2. Dont F with the Finns.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Plodding
I will let the title summarize it but my true contribution to this thread will be a simple observation. Before I watched it, I read ALOT of the reviews by people on this site. I have never seen so many 5-6s with words that would normally reflect 3 or lower. Its as if no one is willing to say the obvious, namely that this movie is just not that good (like almost all of Phase 4). Ultimately I think everyone at Marvel struggled to deal with Boseman's death and how to pay tribute without allowing his death to overshadow the entire movie. I would point to one user's comment that they should have waited longer but of course Marvel cant do that. My $0.03 (inflation you know) would be to pass it on by if you didnt like Phase 4. I certainly wouldnt pay real money to see it.
The Winchesters (2022)
11 episodes and I am done
On a Supernatural bender day as I am giving up on both follow-on shows on the same day (Walker and the Winchesters). This show is just boring. Too much nonsense and the Acreta (sp?) are just a boring foe. There is so little tying this together and there is so little plot development in each episode. Finally, the cast is ho hum at best. I dont see any future stars coming out of this mess. Jensen go back to the starting board brother. And what is up with the CW, as it appears to be hitting rock bottom. Where are shows like Smallville, the Originals, the Vampire Diaries, Arrow (early seasons), and of course Supernatural?
Walker (2021)
Jumped the shark
Today is my Supernatural jump the shark day. First up is Walker. Completely downhill over its 3 seasons. Last episode brought my time to a close. Dont bother at this point. Just trust me as its not like this moment hasnt been coming for quite some time. Jared was good in SN but he is out of his league here. And there is more action in an episode of the Good Doctor then on walker. Walker Texas Ranger was corny but at least it know its place in the world and delivered on its premise. This show just keeps trying to find that place. Probably reflective of how messed up its supposed nearest city (Austin) is. Grew up there and its lost its way as well. Now moving on to the Winchesters....
We Own This City (2022)
Overall not bad, but its like blaming the guns for violence not the people
Good series. Very interesting. But the ending is garbage. Paraphrasing, since the death of Grey and the resulting police slow downs crime has exploded. As always liberals dont understand causality. Cops dont stop crime. They deal with the aftermath and hopefully in so doing prevent future crime. Crime has exploded because what little impact they could have been stopped by DAs not prosecuting, bond being lowered, BLM induced rioting, and COVID, etc. To blame lack of policing flies in the face of defund the police.... You cant have it both ways.
Again paraphrasing, since then Baltimore has become one of the most violent cities in America? Baltimore has been one of the most violent cities since the Civil Rights movement. Dont make that city to be anything other than the failure it has been for the last 40+ years. Recent occurrences changed nothing other than reverting back to normal after a small downtick driven by overambitious (and often illegal) policing. You have to fix the gangs and culture to fix the violence. Cops cant fix the culture (hint teachers cant either). When you have no family, gangs can be your family. When you have no economic opportunity then crime becomes your opportunity. Stop worshiping gangster rappers, pro athletes, and movies stars and promote education and training. Stop calling black people who do exactly that Uncle Toms for bothering to break free of the cycle. It is NOT coincidental that the ONLY race embroiled in all of this so heavily are the Africans Americans. This series would have been better off asking that question in the context of the mess that was the Gun Trace Task Force.
Act of Valor (2012)
Take it for what it is
I rewatched this movie today. I think most of you are trying to review this as some sort of big budget Hollywood action movie. Some have said well actors are just more "believeable." You have no idea what these people are really like. Frankly 93% of you have no idea whatsoever. Of the 7% who have served, 95% of you have ZERO idea what it takes to be in this community.
I had the pleasure of having classmates and friends in this community. I have also worked with some of these sorts of folks, including the subject of one Scott's other famous war movies. Take this for what it is, not what you think it should be. Yeah the dialog can be corny and the delivery is how you (or a SEAL) might deliver it not how Tom Cruise would.
And to the person who wrote this:
"This movie presented a world view that I don't recognise. Apparently there are Philippine Muslims willing to act as suicide bombers. Really? Apparently there is an association, a vast conspiracy, between jihadists and organised criminals in Russia, Costa Rica and Mexico. Really?? The open shootouts in Mexico and Costa Rica are just disturbing. I thought these countries were allies of the US."
My friend you have no clue what the REAL world is like in your sheltered little American bubble. Spend some time in Bosnia, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela, and the Middle East. It makes the inner city of Chicago look like a paradise. People living on $2/day when poverty in the US would be closer to $40/day. People like the SEALs in this movie do what they do so you DONT HAVE to know what the real world is like. They do it so you can sleep in your comfy safe bed at night.
Law & Order: Free Speech (2022)
Left wing drivel
First off both sides suck. Those of us in the middle think the 10% on each end are just bat s*** crazy. That is the context of the my main complaint with this episode. When she says that it would be as big as convicting Trump of the Jan 6 deaths that is just too far. You didnt even try the cop who literally killed someone negligently. Absolute insanity. Keep the politics off the show (or at least show some class) or you will lose a viewer (or a couple of million).
Reacher (2022)
This is the show that should have been made
Cruise didnt do a bad job but he is not right for the part. Perfect casting pretty much across the board. Interesting fights scenes. Close enough to the books to be believable. I am not a stickler for direct conversions like some, it follows the heart and soul of the book series and that is enough for me. The rest is just nit picking.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
This is no GoT
I have read the books. I have read what has been published to date in GoT and around the same time when they were both ongoing series. Both are rich universes with lots of diversity and background.
All I can say is that it is a good thing GoT was made when it was. So far this series suffers from trying to be too woke. Its not enough that in the books the women dominate but we have to have the potential for the Dragon to be a female? That is a hard no. The scenery and CGI is hit or miss (some stellar, some not so much). The actors are similar, hit or miss.
Basically all I can say is that GoT basically does their universe substantially better in just about every way. The CGI, the actors, the music, the writing, all substantially better. This is by no means a bad series and I will watch it till it ends (and probably reread the books for the first time since they were finished) but my title says it all.
As far as the books go it is more personal preference, both are written by pretentious fools who expanded their vision too far and couldnt complete their respectives series (I am confident Martin will die with his series incomplete)....
Chernobyl (2019)
Best Miniseries I have ever seen
As a child of the 80s and as someone with a history degree this is perhaps the finest piece of storytelling I have ever seen. Highly recommend as a reminder of the what happens when we ignore the obvious and hide the truth.