Change Your Image
andrewimcdiarmid
Reviews
Dexter (2006)
A great bad show
Where to start? I like this show, I honestly do. Sounds like there's a 'but' around the corner, right? Correct!
An ex-girlfriend got me into this show and immediately I was hooked. It was about a violent serial killer but had this playful, cartoon like gloss across all of it so it wasn't dark to the point of being draining and unenjoyable.
The issue I have with it is, like many shows that go on as long as this one did, eventually things start to come apart at the seams. For this show, it's the characters.
Getting out of the way that this is in many ways, comedic noire, and there is a certain amount of use of suspension of disbelief involved and expected, it's okay to ignore the mounting stupidity for a bit, but the problem is that it is allowed to escalate to the point you can no longer ignore it, and it boils down to the characters on the show being its downfall, not just the storylines.
For the sake of brevity, here is a rundown of the show's characters from best to worst, and how they tie into the s**tshow that finally dooms an otherwise good show:
THE GOOD
Issac Sirco: The best of Dexters nemesis', someone who seems serious and legit. Acted with serious chops by Ray Stevenson. You understand his pain. He's got depth. It doesn't feel like you're watching an actor play a part. He's also not over the top like many of the nemesis' before.
Hannah McKay: Some people didn't like her, but I loved this character. Her and Dexter had way more chemistry than he had with Lumen, and Hannah stuck around for awhile because of it. Their love seemed real.
Rudy: Ahhhh, The Ice Truck Killer! Played to perfection and with the right amount of twist by Christian Camargo. He was an evil SOB, but who cares? Very likable character because he is true to himself. You understood him and why he did what he did (even though in real life it's obviously NOT okay!)
Vince: Sure, he's a pervert, and sure, there's no way in hell he'd ever have that job for as long as he didn't because, even back when this show was set, sexual harassment was a thing. Still, he's dorky and affable and you learn to appreciate his Masuka'isms.
Sonya: Yes, I'm including the nanny to Harrison who lasted all of one season then, for no stated reason or even understandable reason, disappears like a fart in the wind.
Jaime: The nanny that takes over from Sonya, only younger, hotter and inexplicably available to babysit Harrison about 29 hours a day, even though mathematically, a day contains only 24 hour. Except for a totally out of character spat she has with Deb, Jaime is golden and deserves a spot in the good characters list!
Deb: You love her, you hate her, she cannot stop swearing which is funny throughout the show. For some reason when she shoots LaGuerta who's been a total pain in the ass and a total backstabbed, Deb feels bad. I get it, she shot an innocent person, but she HATED LaGuerta almost the entire show and with good reason. Why does she suddenly feel bad?
Batista: What a good guy. A bit of a dolt, if you ask me, but what a very solid dude. Very empathetic and a friend to all, Sgt Batista only suffers from one thing: His love for acting like a human doormat! Sure, he stands up for himself but also allows others to take advantage of him and despite being a dad, he never gets to see his daughter. Not once does she show up in the show. Also, for no good reason, somewhere in season 4 or 5 , he marries Maria Laguerta, which leads us to...
THE BAD
Maria Laguerta: What an annoying character. Whiny, irreverent and daft, tone-deaf to an infinite degree. She makes a bed of her own mishaps, then whines to everyone that she's getting rail roaded. It's like buying socks then complaining her feet are hot.
Joey Quinn: In all honesty, you sometimes like Quinn, and he's played well by Desmond Harrington, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why he was added besides them needing an antagonist. At one point he threatens the boss of a strip club where his girlfriend works because he's angry at that same boss for saying he'll send Joey's lady to a club out of the country. The threat he (Joey) issues is that he'll call immigration on the dancers insinuating he'll have them deported. One of whom is his girlfriend whom he's trying to keep around. He also insinuates that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher (which, of course, he is) because of a sketch that looks like him but that's it, and then follows Dexter around, gets suspended and almost fired, then keeps pushing that directive then asks Deb to marry him. He's a moron.
Tiffany: Shows up to replace Mike, who was a good character played extremely well, who gets killed. Tiffany shows up and tries to act like she's part of the gang without putting in the wrench time. Nope. She's not even really necessary either, so it's even worse.
THE UGLY
Stan Liddy: The worst character on the shows entire list of characters. Played annoyingly by Peter Weller, the character is that guys considers himself quite clever but is in reality, just annoying as hell. It wouldn't be so bad except for his perpetual INSISTENCE on following up on a case he's already been fired from and then antagonizing Quinn, who was the one who hired him! When he dies you're very happy!
Maria LaGuerta: She makes a return. Yes, she's THAT annoying. Despite the fact that she's actually right, her finding out the details of the Bay Harbor Butcher case is acquired through her being like a mosquito buzzing around your face and not going away.
James Doakes: Good lord, somebody give this dude some Valium. Over the top in his harassment of Dexter because he's 'weird', Doakes takes too far TOO FAR. A lot of what he does are arrestable offenses. He gets a miracle of a job offer from LaGuerta's connections in private security after jumping Dexter in the bullpen and beating the living daylights out of him, and chooses to stalk Dexter that night, instead. Your eardrums finally get a break (he doesn't speak, he yells) when he is offed in season 2 it's a merciful pop for all fans of the show.
It's a good show, but as mentioned, Suspension of disbelief is stretched to its limits and for me, made the show too ridiculous to enjoy by its ending. Which is the worst finale of all time.
A good show, with way too many holes in it.
Tiny House Nation (2014)
Better than average show
I've found the tiny house idea fascinating for awhile. As the concept went from a fancy trailer where the occupants would have to borrow utilities and bathroom use from another house to the tiny homes of today where it is its own free-standing home, it has (no pun intended) grown exponentially. This show is a visual storytelling of people who decide to (for mostly economical reasons) go tiny.
The shows hosts are entertaining, although, I don't know if it's just me, but I find the main host John a little bit annoying. Every episode he screams out something about 'tiny homes' and each it seems to be an over the top way to create some sort of feigned excitement, but I just find it annoying. I get this is likely part of the gig, but it feels unnecessary. He also walks through each job site with a selfie-stick and talks about the progress that's been made so far and you get the sense that they'd all rather he go away and let them do their work, but otherwise he's a fairly affable host and the show is an enjoyable watch. The other host, Zack, is less grating and seems to also find John a bit much but it's very much part of the concept of the show, like a big brother and little brother thing. The banter and set up works well most of the time.
One thing I would have liked to have explained is how much of these homes are paid for by the dwellers and if anything is covered by the show. I don't believe anything is paid for by the show, but the way they make adjustments to what's added or how the house is set up seems to be done without consulting the home owner and thus, without concern for the cost. It's a bit confusing.
Other than this, a fun show. Some of the houses are honestly quite amazing. You get the sense that not all the owners will stay in a tiny home forever, but that's discussed openly on the show and cautionary warnings are issued so the show subjects don't get into a concept over the reality.
Worth a watch!
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Not for the faint
This is a tough show to rate. The story unfolds like the disaster I feel the person it is about is. Make no mistake, this is in no way me thumbing my nose at mental illness or addiction but this series should, if anything serve as a cautionary tale of when to stop. I compare it to Requiem For A Dream which was a slow, dredging, painful clawing out of someone's soul and then it reaches deeper into that soul and kills whatever will is left over.
I don't know if the writer here got any better, the story flip flops back and forth so much, but he seems incapable of not walking back into the fire. Everyone has things that that little voice says one way or the other is bad news, and this guy, he has no idea it seems on how to run away from that. It's painful to see someone who appears incapable of defending themselves. Just when you think he's learned his lesson, he proves you wrong. It's not the drugs he's addicted to, it's the depravity. I think many of us have things like hating ourselves or a repeated mistake that sticks in your brain, but this guy had issues beyond that which don't appear over by the final episode, where the inevitability of his demise seems like manifest destiny.
Well done and a voyage through pain, but this gets filed under will only watch once, just like Requiem. Too much pain for even the masochist to find tolerable.
Loudermilk (2017)
A decent show which could have been better
Netflix kept showing me the preview for this until I caved and tuned in. Hot take is? Not a bad show. But not great, either.
It does just enough to keep you watching, but it puts suspension of disbelief into a whole new stratosphere. There are a lot of shortcuts taken to hold some weak stories together. The worst character by far is Cutter. In real life the actor who plays him has had addiction issues of their own, which I totally sympathize with. And maybe that makes his character real in a way I can't know if it's realistic or not, but from my viewpoint he's ridiculous. I get that this show is a satire in some ways, but Cutter is ridiculous. He would go to jail for most of the offenses he does while being a sponsor. The thing is, within this there are multiple chances for it to be a conduit for hilarity. The over the top angry huge guy who's so pissed off because all he wants to do is help. But instead it straddles the line on what it is trying to do and never really seems to make up its mind.
This is the show as well. It seems to not be too serious but it could have those moments, yet it stops short of those. It isn't full comedy either. You don't know.
Like a lot of shows, it strings together things that would never happen so there can be excuses for certain story lines. One thing that also gets overcooked here is how much of a crank he is. Yes, we get it, he's an asshole. But in episode two he goes off on some guy for almost a solid minute for using the expression'As the crow flies'. Like I said, overcooked.
There is a lack of explanation on how certain characters stay sober when they've been wrecks before. This show is like a person on the verge of making a really good point but then committing to nothing.
Fun to watch, but could have been much better.
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Add this to the 'Good Bad Movie' list
I have actually seen this movie twice and completely forgot until I was about ten minutes in and kept seeing scenes I was sure I'd already watched. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it's a decent bad movie. The connnents about the lead character being insufferable? Completely accurate. And at the end, she gets her guy and all her ill-advised, cringe-worthy behavior is then justified. Which it shouldn't be. I do like the fact that she stands up for herself and who she is to Justin Long, and that snaps him out of his cocoon of distance-based protection, but otherwise this movie does make the female characters seem very needy, which doesn't seem to be what you'd want to project. Drew Barrymore and Scarlett's characters are less like this, but I find this movie leaves you feeling a bit confused in how you feel about the characters. Still enjoyable, a lot of formula stuff, but a good bad movie this is!
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Formula type and predictable but enjoyable
I was recently scanning through a list of 'good bad movies' and think this one could have made the list. Filled with good actors playing formulaic scenes and scenarios, this won't surprise you too much but it's still enjoyable enough.
Hathaway plays Andy, a recent college grad who in the process of looking for a job, has an agency send her to interview for an assistant to one of the most demanding icons of fashion reporting. This is one of the first moments where suspension of disbelief is thrown into the mix. Why would the leading fashion publication for the leading opinion in fashion need to outsource? Maybe the point is that THAT'S why they need to do it, because it's such an insufferable job that no one wants it?
The characters are pretty one dimensional, only showing emotion when it helps tie together a scene, and you can see on most ways how the story is going to play out, but there are a few surprises , and the performances by Streep, Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci are all pretty good. The boyfriend and friends of Andy are predictable but serve a purpose.
Won't blow you away with any deep emotional or philosophical breakthroughs, but it is an enjoyable enough 90 minutes!
The Proposal (2009)
Not a good movie even by romcom standards
The movie was going to be terrible as it's a predictable rom com that leans heavily on stars to support a weak storyline, but even by those standards it was terrible. Spoiler: After zero chemistry and a not very believable portrayal of a Canadian by Sandra Bullock (although it did go against typecast) Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock fall in love. The only saving grace of this movie is the comedy of Betty White and the sexy as always Mary Steenbergen. Other than that it's a flop. Everyone in the film is just running their paces through a tired rehash of an already done that idea. Don't waste your time, it's a dud.
Freelancers (2012)
Not great, not as bad as some reviews have said
Usually when you haven't heard of a movie full of A-listers, it means it's not that good. This movie instantly reminded me of Righteous Kill. DeNiro and Pacino were great in Heat and it was significant because it was their first time in screen together since the Godfather, but Righteous Kill fell flat. It was ceremony without substance. Here, it's not quite that blatant, but the movie isn't good. The suspension of disbelief level isn't terrible, but it's there. There's some great actors in this film but the story doesn't come off as believable, and it's a lot of almost but not quite there. DeNiro is good, Dana Delaney is gorgeous as always, and Forrest Whittaker holds it down but the story and movie never quite get there. As stated in the headline, it's not as bad as skme have written, but it's not great either.
Ted Lasso (2020)
Love this show
This is the type of show where the characters feel like friends more than a part of a show. From the start of this unlikely hiring, the story seems to get what it's about. Unlike other shows where it leans on presumption to connect the dots, Ted Lasso gets exactly what it's facing up against and rolls with it. Sudekis plays the affable American with the thick accent who everyone wonders why he's there and assumes he's dumb as punch when in fact, he might get it better than everyone but never assume he knows more than anyone.
As with many shows, there are some characters who come and go, but the new characters are exactly that: new. There isn't the same recycling thing that other good shows such as Suits went through, they're new and relevant to the story. Romances in the show seem to make sense for the most part. Even Sam and Rebecca (Cheers, anyone? 😉) while far fetched, is kind of cute, but when it's cut off, is never revisited so you're not stuck at home feeling like your intelligence or the intelligence of the show is in question (See 'The Ozarks. Unwatchable even mid-way through with the ridiculous twists that went way too far). The development of characters like Trent Crimm, Jamie Tartt, and Roy Kent really make you appreciate that this is a show with a lot of thought put into its storytelling.
One of the better shows I've seen recently. Sad it's now over.
Air (2023)
If you live sports, watch this movie
This story was revealed in the documentary 'The Last Dance' but the story of how it happened is told here, and it's amazing. It's amazing to think of Nike as a nobody in any way seeing as it's the biggest sneaker and apparel company in the universe but also how it drives culture so much and how likely, none of that happens if Jordan doesn't sign with them.
It sounds like exaggeration but it is not. I think it's important to note that the two could not have happened without each other, but (pun unavoidable) Jordan brought this company to new heights. Nobody does it like Nike does. With success of this scale, inevitably there will be doubters and naysayers. Most commonly it is that they're (Nike) isn't that great, it's just a track suit with a logo on it. But it goes beyond that, and it touches on something many neglect but is very important: emotional connection. It's not just a track suit or pair of shoes, it's an identity. It's seeing quality before you even touch the product. It's a company with unwavering belief and an athlete with the same. Jordan didn't even want the meeting but his mother convinced him he should take it.
Go check this out. I was worried when I saw the trailers, that it would be a glorified sneaker ad with little depth. I was wrong. The awkward exchange between Sunny and Mrs. Jordan after she tells him they will sign with Nike is telling of that. It wasn't all smiles and sunshine. According to this film, the start of the meeting at Nike was awkward and labored, with no indication that it would end the way it did, but a miracle was going to happen. A miracle that today seems ludicrous that it was ever not a forgone conclusion.
Just Do It 😉
Hudson & Rex (2019)
Not a terrible show
An easy to watch, family-friendly detective show set in St. John's that is easy to watch and good for when the other typical explosions first, ask questions later shows get you down.
This is a very Canadian show, not always a good thing but not always bad either, with characters that are very obvious and inoffensive, but I do find that many well-acted and realistic shows tend to get a bit too heavy and hard to digest at times. This show which is refreshingly set in the east coast instead of the usual (but awesome) suspects of Toronto or Montreal, has a fun but not very serious vibe to it. There is a romance that took a few seasons to blossom between Charlie and Sarah, but there is unfortunately zero chemistry there. The slo-mo scenes of Rex jumping are tacky, and it's at times like watching a walk through rehersal, but the how does have its moments. The supporting cast of Joe, Jesse and Sarah are likable and this is an entertaining show if you ignore the inoffensive nature of it.
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022)
A real look at a star in the everyday
It's funny what things can connect one human being to another. Or make one feel like they can relate to a total stranger who they have almost zero in common with, on the surface. We all think we know the celebrities we see on TV and in movies, and then a documentary like this comes along and shows us how little we actually knew about someone.
It would be easy to dismiss Selena Gomez. She was on Barney and Disney. We think she had it easy because she's been famous since she was a kid. She's got money, she's beautiful, she's trying to be famous for it all being an actress, singer and influencer. She's just a pop star.
But those are just generalizations and platitudes thrown out by those who are merely looking at public image and quick takes. This documentary shows what Selena Gomez went through and how, she's not immune to the same insecurities and feelings that the rest of us are prone to.
Her relationship with Justin Bieber, and how people judged her relevancy to being associated with him. Or blamed her for looking young. Or while she struggling for finding out what truly makes her relevant to herself, having to deal with all the shallow, vapid pop culture trivia that gets thrown her way that we, as the general public, eat up and find wildly entertaining but she's drowning, trying to reach out while doing these types of things like interviews and promos that want to focus on the silly and trite, and not on the person being made to feel like an object as a result.
This documentary gave me a whole new perspective on her and what these stars who do stuff that most of us dismiss as irrelevant and shallow, but they're getting hated for, and how at the end of the day much of it is entertainment, with no need for us to dislike someone for doing something that others enjoy, and even though we may feel like they're not that deep because we think what they do isn't, that the person doing it just may surprise us.
Suits (2011)
Stop at Season 3
This is a powerhouse of a series, with strong writing, fast pace and quick and witty dialog. When I started to watch this I couldn't stop. You fall and you fall hard for this highly entertaining show and it does not disappoint. Until season 3.
I don't know if it is because they used up all the good ideas in the first two and a half seasons, but around the end of season 3 this show just seems to lose it's momentum. A show about lawyers is bound to have arguments, but the amount of fights that occur within the walls of this firm are at a rate that make it seem like you're watching five year olds argue: Petty and relentless. All they do is fight, then make up. Then fight. And make up. The line about them being family is used a lot, but if anyone worked at a place where people fight that mouth they'd quit within hours. It's non-stop.
Without adding spoilers, the show takes a sharp dive, regurgitating ideas from seasons 1-3 until the start of season 4 right up until the 9th season where it redeems itself to a degree...but then kind of ruins that by glossing over the end of the show with some ridiculous tidy up job to explain why it's ending and what the Donna, Harvey, Rachel and Mike are doing. It's all in the name of convenience, and it's a disappointing end to what was a great series. Mike, Rachel, Harvey, Jessica, Lewis and last but certainly not least, Donna, are all formidable characters in their own right, but one thing they all share in common is they don't have a lot of depth. It would have been easy to throw in a bit more development of their characters, but what you see is basically what you get. Many of the villains aren't that great, either. Daniel Hardman is dislikable, but in a bad way. He's not a person you loath because they're a good villain (that role belongs to Harvey's arch nemesis Tanner who is hilarious and dislikable all at once), he's hateable because he's this prissy, stuck up delusional character who thinks they're the smartest person in the room and that have the jump on everyone when all they are is incredibly annoying. He's not a good villain, and they keep him around far too long.
Mike is a good character, but no legitimate law firm, let alone one who only hires from Harvard, would ever hire this guy, let alone keep him for as long as they did here. All of the cases he tried would be thrown out and have to be retried, and the law firm as an entirety would be shut down and it's lawyers disbarred. Harvey is one of the most interesting of all the characters, but his depth is mostly fleshed out in the later seasons, and it feels like it's a little late.
Overall this is a great show for about 3.5 seasons. Near the mid-point they're just trotting out old characters disguised as new ones with different names. Katherine Heigl's character is completely unnecessary as is Alex Williams. They both are recasts of past characters and add nothing. Aloma Wright is one of the only characters who stays interesting throughout the entire show.
It may sound like I did not enjoy this show by my review, but quite the contrary, it was great. It just wasn't great for the entire run, and that's a shame, because the potential was there.
Beautiful Boy (2018)
Amazing movie
The story behind Beautiful Boy is not a new one. The struggle of those addicted to drugs has been played out on the screen many times. But the way it is portrayed in this film is so real, so visceral, it's like a gut punch to the emotions that is impossible to ignore.
I hadn't seen anything with Timothée Chalamet before, but this is an actor storming the acting world in how diverse his skill set seems to be. He has played a range of roles that seem to be at the peak of difficulty subject matter wise, from Call Me By Your Name to a drug addict here. I haven't seen the former but here, he is completely convincing as the son who just lost his way, how it affects his family and most specifically his father (played impeccably by Steve Carrell) and how he finally comes out of it all sober, but still an addict. There are no glossy Hollywood effects or plot twists here to try and overlook the unrelenting addiction the son goes through. It's refreshing yet still suffocating, how the movie shows that addiction never leaves the addict, but they can learn to manage it's ever present part of the addicts life. Many movies shy away from showing the gritty, ugly aspects of drug addiction, but not here. Chalamet's character falls so many times you start to wonder what it will take to allow him to finally kick this for good or if he will, but at the end its not something he can cure, that he's looked at it the wrong way in many respects, and he realizes he will never outrun his demons but he can learn how to manage and live with them.
The whole cast is amazing. The mother, the step-mother (Moira Tierney), the little brother. The movie does an incredible job of showing how, despite what carnage is brought to this family from the sons addiction and how it hurts those he loves so much, that he still loves them and in many respects that, even as he's lying to them about his use, the reasons he's asking for money or any of the other lies he tells them, that it's never to hurt them, but perhaps that the reality is too difficult to face, and that his intentions to sober up and be a meaningful member of the family are real, he just can't shut down his addiction, it always takes priority.
Watch this movie. It's incredible. Even if you've never had an addition, you will see through the eye of an addict, what having one is like.
Must see.
Skateshop (2021)
A really good bad movie
Okay, let's get this out of the way first: This is not a good movie. Not even close. There's no real depth to it, you feel like you're watching a movie instead of watching real life, and the acting is not good. But wait...
It's actually a bit entertaining. This is like Premium Rush was to fixie riders, but with less budget and the acting not nearly as good. It's tough to watch for large portions of it. The acting is actually pretty close to what skaters act like, I don't get the sense that it's bad acting in that sense, but only in the sense of it feeling like you're watching a bunch of skaters just hanging out. In that way, it's very real.
The shop owner Dave is actually portrayed well, and he seems authentic. One thing this movie showed well was the reality of a small business owner's struggle to stay above water. There are tons of shops like this, and the exchange between Dave and the customer saying they saw the same deck but for $15 cheaper and with free grip online, is something we've all seen or done ourselves at some point, but in the way it's portrayed here, you feel Dave's pain and how difficult it is for local businesses to make money. Honestly, it made me want to never ask a local business if they can match a price again. Skateshop definitely echos the ethos nice guys finish last, and that passion projects of our youth don't always pay the bills but that it's still important to value this dying breed of business.
There is tons of skating, I'd say half the film is a skate montage, but the movie does bring a lot of positive imagery and messages with it.
It's definitely a 'home sick and want to watch something where I don't have to think much' type of flick, but it's fun no matter what.
Skateboarding is not a crime :)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)
Love the Nine-Nine!
When I saw the ads for this show I thought it was going to be another one of those ridiculous shows that tried to frame absurdist humor as normal or like it was participating in a 'look how far we can take it' competition of absurdity. While it does use absurdity, it does so in a way that is obviously playful and tongue in cheek, and it's hilarious. Rarely does it seem like it's too much. Gina is the only character that you start to feel was embellished too much, but even with that embellishment it is never so far over that line that you don't enjoy the show.
The main characters are all likeable and have depth. One of my pet peeves is when a show or movie doesn't flesh out or develop characters properly, leaving the audience wanting more and the story not fully told while cheating the audience with short-cut storytelling. Not this show, as we see Jake grow up, marry Amy and become a dad, Santiago become Lieutenant and a mom, Charles become a dad, Rosa become a PI, Terry become a Captain and Holt become Deputy Commissioner. They're all different but they really do seem like family. When Jake and Amy say they love each other, you believe it. The show manages to be playful and silly while still maintaining an edge that is only occasionally preachy and over the top.
I have watched the entire series about 3 times, and it is still just as good each time. One of my favorite shows of all time. Watch it.
Nine-Nine!
Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
A gut punch
I hadn't heard of this movie before coming across it on Netflix. Mila Kunis is an actress I admire and I thought the film seemed promising. I don't think I was wrong, but as other reviews here have pointed out, the movie seemed to have a lot of promise but no specific direction.
The story is one of the things that is unclear. Is it Kunis' character Yani who was guilty and hiding something, or was it the other way around? It does in some way seem like clever storytelling that the viewer has to wonder this, but it also speaks to how it was well told in some ways, overall the story was a bit foggy and discombobulated.
The characters surrounding her are fairly cold and uncaring except her best friend who doesn't seem to be more than a throw in to the story.
The bad guy in this story is definitely unlikeable but so is her boyfriend, who at the end of the movie ends up being selfish and shallow, whereas he had been painted as more down to earth in the earlier segments.
It's not a bad movie, it's just difficult to know which direction it's trying to go. Kunis is strong in her performance as are many of the characters, but there is definitely (as other reviews have mentioned) something missing.
CSI: Vegas (2021)
Same old Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer makes a certain type of 'look how cool we are' shows/movies. It's his style and it works if you can ignore the lack of realism to it. People in real life find characters like the ones featured here, intolerable. For example, I just watched the episode yesterday where there is a celebrity chef who gets murdered. At one point, the CSI's walk in to the restaurant and start condescendingly questioning the chef who's taken over , in the middle of dinner service. This would never happen. CSI or not, that would be considered unprofessional. There's a time and place for this type of thing. Also, lab techs stay in the lab. They don't wander out with guns into the field. There's enjoyable Bruckheimer shows and movies, but you get the impression that mentally, he never left high school and the exaggerated cool thing is still stuck in his head after all these years. The original version of this show had a lot of these aspects as well, but the characters were more interesting and you liked them more. This time around having a weird department head is just old and formulaic. The older version was still unrealistic to a staggering degree, but it was more enjoyable. Pass on this version.
Man Up (2015)
Clever and funny
What could have been a disaster flick actually ends up being pretty funny and clever. These types of movies are typically pretty vapid, as anyone who's ever seen them knows, but it's refreshing when it's not painful to watch them.
The cast is good. Lake Bell does a surprisingly good job doing an English accent. Even the mannerisms are pretty spot on British. Simon Pegg plays the affable (but with enough of a dislikable side to them) date that Bell meets after Jessica, a woman on her train, gives her a book which is acting as the identifier for a date she's about to have. Instead of the woman on the train, Bell ends up being the person who Pegg thinks he's supposed to meet, and thus the adventure begins.
What this film does well is it doesn't over complicate the story with stupid site gags and over layering of characters and twists to try and make it funny because the outcome of the story is crazy. Pegg, Bell, the woman on the train (played by the lovely Ophelia Lovibond) and the ex (played hilariously by Rory Kinear) who's not really an ex but more of a pining ex-classmate, and the sister and parents are really the only characters in play. One of the things it also does well is the ruse (Bell not actually being Jessica, the woman on the train) is revealed a bit past the halfway point of the movie, but the rest of the story still plays out well without being too overindulgent in the details.
The ending is a bit nauseating, doing the typical love in one day followed by a romp to the bathroom (in Bell's parents house on their anniversary party, no less) but the movie is still entertaining and funny.
Definitely worth a watch, even if rom-come aren't your jam.
Pepsi, Where's My Jet? (2022)
A bit drawn out, but well made documentary
John Leonard was to me, what a lot of kids who saw this advertisement on tv were like. That's mentioned several times in the documentary but it is absolutely true. I remember seeing the ad (here in Canada) and wondering why there was no disclaimer. The movie says there was, maybe it was changed or there's a good chance I just didn't see it, but very clearly in the American version, it wasn't there. And so the quest began to have one American kid get a Harrier Jet.
Now, there's tons of discussion about the rights and wrongs, but to me it seemed pretty clear: He should get the jet. Pepsi, my favorite soda company, made a big mistake. The documentary makes frequent references back to the execs who were in staff when this commercial ran, and except for the creative guy, none of them take responsibility for the glaring fact that they messed up. That's all there is to it. Now, let's also be clear, you understand why. Even with statute of limitations, there may be a way that the case could be re-tried so they have to deny, deny, deny. But the fact is, the commercial showed three other products and the Pepsi points it would take to get them and then the jet and the points required to get it. The pamphlet that was found on the Cindy Crawford display said you could buy the rest of the points to get to a certain point level. And Pepsi seems to be guilty of some pretty sloppy contests in the past. All of this is to say, it seems obvious that Pepsi made a mistake they wished they hadn't and then refused to own up to it.
One of the things that I noticed the documentary didnt really touch on or rather, that it avoided, was what 'the kid' would do with the jet if he got it and why he wanted it. It WAS touched upon in several occasions but there didn't seem to be a final statement made by John about it. Probably intentional. The jet is worth a lot of money and it became fairly obvious he wouldn't be able to fly it if he procured it, so was his intent to acquire then sell it? From what I gleaned, it just seemed that his intent was that he merely wanted the jet, and hadn't thought too much past that, but for his friend to pony up $700K it would seem a given that at the end of the day, John sells the jet and makes away with a huge payout. One thing also not fully spoken about was if John eventually ended up getting anything from Pepsi and how his lawyers got paid for their work.
Regardless, this was an entertaining documentary. John's mother does come off as a bit of a conspiracy theorist but a doting mom, and those surrounding John (even to an extent, Michael, his lawyer) come off as people who really care for someone who was a good kid with intentions that were more technicality based than greed.
My take? He deserves that jet.
My Boss's Daughter (2003)
Very Bad
I knew it wasn't going to be be very good, but I don't think I knew it would be THIS bad.
It's Ashton Kutcher at the height of his rom-com phase. Tara Reid when she seemed to be getting all the hot blonde roles in rom-coms. A supporting cast and weak story line where the nice guy somehow gets cajoled into house sitting thinking he's getting a date with the boss's hot daughter. Even for a weak movie this is especially bad. The whole concept is supposed to be ridiculous but even for a comedy with obvious set ups it's terrible.
Save yourself the time and watch an Adam Sandler movie. Those have obvious stories and are predicated on sight gags but at least they're funny.
I Want You Back (2022)
Enjoyable enough
Right from the get go, you know where this movie is going. It's not that deep. There's one of two ways it can go: They get their exes back, or they fall for each other. I won't say which one it is, but it's going to be one of those two. The real question was, how well will they tell the story?
There's a decent amount of suspension of disbelief, but most of it is somewhat believable. The two dumpees meet in a stairwell when crying over their exes because they happen to work in the same build. Not entirely impossible. They end up hatching a plan to get back their exes and one of them is dismissive of the other as a possible mate in relation to why they might have gotten dumped. Also not impossible. They form a friendship that is ambiguous enough you start to wonder if it's them who end up liking each other over their exes.
There's the supporting characters. Scott Eastwood plays a believable personal trainer. I like Jenny Slate, and in real life, she seems like the type of woman I'd actually be interested in, but she doesn't seem to match up to Eastwood who comes off as he'd date a T Swift over Slate. Day is a believable character as a guy who works for a soulless seniors living facility and has always had other dreams. The actress who plays Eastwoods new girlfriend isn't in the movie very much, and seems largely invisible, but she is believable enough as the owner of a bakery that makes delicious pies.
Overall a pretty enjoyable flick. Keeps things simple so as not to try and be too complicated for the type of movie it is. In other words, it doesn't try too hard to be too much.
You won't be missing out if you don't watch it, but it was enjoyable enough to see once.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
A tour de force performance by Mulligan
At first I wasn't quite sure where this movie was going, even after reading the plot line on IMDB. There were so many directions this could have gone from the exaggerated cartoon like portrayal to the mundane, but if you got the feeling the lack of predictability was going to be what kept you around, you'd have been right.
First off, Carrie Mulligan has become one of those actors that doesn't seem to do bad movies, so when you see she's in a film, you count on it being good. She is a tour de force in this film. From start to finish, she displays such human qualities on an almost unconsciously precise level. You can see her as a caring person, loving person and hurt person, but also as a sociopath and someone so dangerously close to the edge you're not entirely confident she won't or hasn't already gone over it or how far she'll end up going if she does.
That's the beauty of this film, is it keeps you guessing. It's not impossible to see some of the twists it takes, you will likely say once or twice that you saw whatever happens coming, but that's much like life itself, no one existence is totally unpredictable or predictable. This is also what makes this so good as well, the relatability of something most viewers have never been through. This movie tells the story without giving away the entire story until it's time for the viewer to know, a very powerful tool. Warning, there are some fairly graphic parts, some drawn out parts of the gruesome details of the story, but they appear at the climax of the story and serve to punctuate a point rather than try and glorify something grotesque.
There were a couple of small things that did suffer from some exaggeration. The boss at the coffee shop interrogating the boyfriend was a bit overdone, as was the conversation between Casie and Madison (the second one), but with the coffee shop boss you would assume it's because they care and the Madison conversation because they just want to move on from it. Either way, small details in an otherwise great movie.
A good cast of characters playing a wide display of not so great people in an amazing movie. For some reason I also enjoyed it being set in Ohio. Made it seem more human. The way it was filmed focused very heavily on the story, rather than the background, but having Ohio as the backdrop deglamorized it and made it human.
Great flick. Check it out.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
Not as bad as you'd think
While laid up sick and not wanting to wanting to think about what I'd pass out watching, I clicked on this and prepared to be bored out of my tree and do plenty of eye rolling.
Surprisingly, I didn't do much of either!
First off, Emma Stone is hilarious in this. She does such a great combination of self-deprecating and beautiful it's become second nature for her. From Super Bad to this, she has it down pat. Michael Douglas also turns in a great performance as the womanizing uncle with just enough self-awareness to know he's made mistakes but no plans to stop being that way.
McConauhey is himself and the plot is incredibly predictable as the writers clearly wrote a script where he could be himself for an hour and a half, but it's not insufferable, he does a decent enough job and the supporting cast also does what they're supposed to do to frame him as the man who cannot face his feelings head on. Jennifer Garner is great as always, playing the long-time love interest that got away.
All in all, entertaining. If you get stuck watching it, you might actually enjoy most of it.
Rookie Blue (2010)
A very good show
Don't listen to the obscenely low reviews, it's not that bad. I wouldn't go so far as to score it a 10/10 either. But a comfortable 8? Yeah, it's good for that.
First off, forget how realistic you think it is. It's TV, it's going to stretch the boundaries and cause the suspension of disbelief at least a bit. Not being a cop, I obviously can't say for sure, but I feel it's at least somewhat realistic. Would a rookie be able to talk to an investigator or sergeant the way the rookies here do? No. Would it be nice and tidy and glossed over like it is here? Not a chance. But the show does tackle a lot of tough topics heads on such as corruption, sexual identity politics and the dangers of being an officer. Is it convenient that they all seem to work the exact shift all the time and always end up at The Penny? Again, yes, but as others have pointed out, making a show requires a certain degree of creative freedom. In this show that happens to involve all that I've mentioned here and more. I mean, the main character sleeps with a lot of people not to be ostracized more for it from her fellow officers which I'm fairly certain would happen in real life, but there is a good amount of self deprecation and mockery sewn into the stories that allow these liberties to be passable.
One thing I noticed is, like it's USA Network counterpart SUITS, the show uses dramatic ebs and flows o to push each episode along. That's every show to an extent, but the degree to which it's done here is extreme. The characters have very short memories and anyone living in that type of atmosphere would likely have a heart attack within a months. Near the end of the show, it became evident the network decided to cancel the show before it's time, for what reason, who knows. By the story arc you can tell it was unanticipated and things had to be tidied up in a bit of a hurry.
Still, a fun show with characters who, despite being borrowed from Ford Models, are all mostly likable and not entirely one-dimensional.
Wasn't a fan of how the series ended, but it is a good show and entertaining for the entire ride. I'll miss hanging out with McNally and co!