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Reviews
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
Interesting premise terribly executed
Let me just say that i really wanted to like this series. i know you can find me bashing kurtzman and all the dopes involved with discovery all over the internets but i really gave this series a chance. this was supposed to be cbs's show of force putting trek back on the map... they failed.
about halfway through the series i thought to myself its not that bad there was a slew of annoying characters but it was tolerable... that is until the second half and the two part arcadia ego episodes.
the season finale was so ridiculously unimaginable i find it hard to put into words. the orchids served no purpose they were just eye candy for their big budget cgi department. picard dies and has his brain substrates replicated? did i get that right? ridiculous i know. my suspension of disbelief was shattered in this two-parter. eye rolls and fart noises galore.
the character work in the series is the worst ive ever seen, ever. im not talking about just star trek here im talking worst ive ever seen across any television series period. i thought the plot was good in theory but terribly executed. i mean sure rogue robots isnt exactly original but you can do so many things here with that storyline and the world of star trek, they just squandered it with terrible writing and character development.
character work:
picard - picard just wasnt picard here. hes a total beta in this series. constantly taking a backseat to the rest of the crew. never takes leadership, never offers words of advice, no repartee none of the attributes that made picard picard. idiot
raffi - a literal non entity. stuck with the terrible recovering alcoholic trope.
soji - spent the first half of the season banging some bucked tooth romulan kid with an emo haircut... the 2nd half she spent blaming herself for something she was unaware of lmao.
sutra - the android sutra (resembles an ig thot) can mind meld... you heard me right. a mind melding android lol.
agnes - spends the majority of her time moping with the occasional violent outburst was supposed to be incarcerated but the crew totally let it slide. datas human brother even let it slide (thats right. after data telling us for years lore was his only brother). (lol)
narek - goofy emo romulan that shouldve been killed 3 or 4 episodes in lasted to the finale...
elnor - romulan ninja kid cool in theory but terribly written. totally naive dives head first into any sitation without regard for his well being.
seven of nine - i kinda enjoyed her character here. im probably on an island here but i think the stress of being assimilated for so long and then trying to reintegrate into society would absolutely turn you into a revenge-fueled mercenary.
rios - comical at times, suave, one of the few likable characters here. unfortunately his slew of dopey holograms really killed and diminished him.
final thoughts/tl;dr: style over substance. these people cant write sci fi. i admire the adherence to trek lore but unfortunately, there was nothing original here. plagued by bad writing and character work the entire main cast is totally unlikable and too contemporary. picard himself sucks. i dont know who that man is but its not picard.
4/10 hey at least its better than discovery... barely
Jurassic World (2015)
They're prostituting the Jurassic Park franchise
Im glad i waited 3 years to watch this, i didnt miss a thing. it basically confirmed what i feared, its a monster movie with nonstop action and little to no story.
oh and the dopey genetically engineered hybrid indomimus or whatever it was called killed it for me. i know this is supposed to be sc-fi/action but that was a little overly goofy, i kinda tuned out and just laughed at the goofiness of whoever approved this script.
acting was horrendous as well. particularly the two young boys - whos names i dont even remember cause they were so forgettable, also the 'claire' character was a robot. there was a scene where the boy claimed to have failed his driving test yet he proceeds to haul ass in a manual transmission jeep. lmao. this movie is a joke in more ways than one!
these actors had to be... they had to be robots? please tell me they were animatrons or cgi or something? no human being can be this bland lol. with the exception of owen, he was ok.
do these characters return for fallen kingdom? if so i will flat out never watch that movie lol.
furthermore, seems like these movies regurgitate what the original jurassic park did; ill give the lost world some credit they did add a different perspective when they placed dinosaurs in our own backyards. i loved the scenes of the t-rex running in the middle of the street and roaming in peoples backyards, that was different that was cool. but these JW movies are so dopey and predictable and an obvious cash grab.
this is why the original jurassic park and lost world will always be the best installments in the franchise (change my mind). they told a good story and it was at the forefront of it all, they injected action into the mix just perfect and exactly where it was needed, they didnt just cram action scenes and cgi into every single scene.
Lost in Space (2018)
Entertaining sci-fi with meager writing
I heard about this reboot coming to Netflix but was unaware itd be here so soon - a pleasant surprise when i logged in tonight and the words "LOST IN SPACE" were starring me in the face... so of course i hit play!
Now, I wasnt around for 60's adaptation of the series but i do remember seeing the 90s film as a kid, and despite its cheesy writing was a gorgeously produced film with an all star cast I like to think gave the film some charm - which btw hasnt aged too badly and still watch from time to time. So if you havent watched the 90's film adaptation I recommend you do.
As for the 2018 series, its most definitely a family casual sci-fi you can flip on after dinner and have little Timmy and uncle Bob join ya. Which I believe the Lost in Space franchise was always intended to be. So i dont quite get some of the nerd ragers complaining about the show not being some sort of hardcore trekkie techno babble nerd fest. While i do enjoy that stuff myself I knew what i was getting into with LIS.
Now the acting is really spontaneous full of colorful actors with charisma, particularly the kid cast. As for the two parents, their writing is a complete snooze fest... your typical rocky marital status buffoonery that plagues tv nowadays. I really hope they remedy this because I cannot stand lazy uninspired writing in relation to the main cast.
While I did enjoy some of the CGI, in particular the huge wall cloud of the approaching storm during the chariot scene some of the other affects are eye sores and clearly half assed, which makes me wonder what the budget for this series is. For example the alien robot looks like cheap plastic to me and so do the Jupiter ships during the evacuation scene, not to mention the 10 dollar space suits they were in in the first ep. I swear they looked almost identical to the ugly cheap copper colored ones used in Star Trek: Enterprise
So all in all, an entertaining new series with promising core of young actors and a touch of iffy writing here and there which doesnt derail the entire series for me (yet). Production isnt anything to talk about. Score is well produced I might add.
Maybe the series improves in some of these areas but as of right now its a serviceable series i see myself sticking around for.
7/10
Lost in Space (2018)
Entertaining sci-fi with meager writing
I heard about this reboot coming to Netflix but was unaware itd be here so soon - a pleasant surprise when i logged in tonight and the words "LOST IN SPACE" were starring me in the face... so of course i hit play!
Now, I wasnt around for 60's adaptation of the series but i do remember seeing the 90s film as a kid, and despite its cheesy writing was a gorgeously produced film with an all star cast I like to think gave the film some charm - which btw hasnt aged too badly and still watch from time to time. So if you havent watched the 90's film adaptation I recommend you do.
As for the 2018 series, its most definitely a family casual sci-fi you can flip on after dinner and have little Timmy and uncle Bob join ya. Which I believe the Lost in Space franchise was always intended to be. So i dont quite get some of the nerd ragers complaining about the show not being some sort of hardcore trekkie techno babble nerd fest. While i do enjoy that stuff myself I knew what i was getting into with LIS.
Now the acting is really spontaneous full of colorful actors with charisma, particularly the kid cast. As for the two parents, their writing is a complete snooze fest... your typical rocky marital status buffoonery that plagues tv nowadays. I really hope they remedy this because I cannot stand lazy uninspired writing in relation to the main cast.
While I did enjoy some of the CGI, in particular the huge wall cloud of the approaching storm during the chariot scene some of the other affects are eye sores and clearly half assed, which makes me wonder what the budget for this series is. For example the alien robot looks like cheap plastic to me and so do the Jupiter ships during the evacuation scene, not to mention the 10 dollar space suits they were in in the first ep. I swear they looked almost identical to the ugly cheap copper colored ones used in Star Trek: Enterprise
So all in all, an entertaining new series with promising core of young actors and a touch of iffy writing here and there which doesnt derail the entire series for me (yet). Production isnt anything to talk about. Score is well produced I might add.
Maybe the series improves in some of these areas but as of right now its a serviceable series i see myself sticking around for.
7/10
Star Trek: Discovery: The Vulcan Hello (2017)
I see potential here
With a budget of 8 Mil per episode, you'd expect this series to look boss and it did deliver on that end. The bridge looked sleek and the visuals were sharp. I often paused just to fully appreciate the ships aesthetics inside and out. It was a beaut.
As for the writing, this I could see angering many hardcore Trekkies. Yes, it was a little on the SJW side of the spectrum. That said, it did have elements of discovery and wonder sprinkled here and there, and that is a staple in the Star Trek franchise I don't see being abandoned anytime soon. So I think the haters should at least recognize that and give this thing a shot.
The face off between the Klingons and Federation was entertaining, it kept you guessing as to what they were planning. Obviously, with the Klingons it almost always means batleths, blood, and plenty of ass kicking. By the end of the episode, it did leave me wanting more, and that's what a properly written show should make the viewer do.
Excellent first show. I see plenty of potential and character development between the Captain and her number 1. I look forward to the next.
Stargate SG-1: Solitudes (1998)
Great sci-fi storytelling!
This was the episode that brought be back from the brink of giving up on Stargate after a terribly written season 1. Maybe the writers were trying to find their groove, they sure found it here.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The episode begins with Teal'c and Daniel being flung back to Earth through the Stargate. Believing Carter and O'Neill were right behind them, we would later figure out they were redirected to another Stargate after the wormhole was overloaded.
Intense recovery missions ensue but turn up empty. Folks, this is where brilliant storytelling begins. Carter blows me away with the best acting I've seen so far. It's pretty obvious she's the De Niro of the cast.
The dialogue between Carter and O'Neill in the cave was amazingly written. Carter alternating her focus between fixing the DHD to get them home and tending to O'Niells injuries just added another layer of intrigue. Carters frustration with the inability to get the Stargate working and O'Neill seemingly on the verge of death brought out character I didn't think she had. (it would later be revealed why the DHD didn't wanna work despite being repaired and in perfect working condition)
After a few clues (that I embarrassingly didn't pick up on) Daniel realizes Carter and O'Neill weren't redirected to another world they were actually redirected to a 2nd Stargate on Earth. Holy Twist, Batman! This was brilliant writing here. Layer upon layer. Something I hadn't seen very much of during season 1.
The only gripe I had here was when they figured out they were located in Antartica. With a seemingly dead O'Neill how the team mounted a rescue in time to save him is beyond me. It must take a few days to travel to Antartica from the US. O'Neill bleeding internally... and in a frozen cave he would've been a frozen popsicle by then. TV logic at its finest.
Season 1 has a knack for having hysterical logic. Luckily the storytelling here gives them a pass this one time.
Still an excellent episode. 9/10