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Reviews
The Mandalorian: Chapter 19: The Convert (2023)
The Convert: Pros & Cons of living in the New Republic
PRO:
The Human Resources staff don't just sit around and gossip; they ask important questions !
CON:
They still don't actually do anything.
PRO:
Humans without talent still can find work pushing a cart around the office!
CON:
Humans without talent still can find work pushing a cart around the office.
PRO:
They've finally replaced stinky Uber drivers with droids!
CON:
The droids still don't watch the road while driving.
PRO:
The subway trains can fly!
CON:
The subway trains still transport a lot of sleaze bags
PRO:
Ugly Mandolorians can get laid with their helmets on!
CON:
Even a hot Mandolorian's helmet smells worse than your kid's hockey gear.
PRO:
Get forgiven for taking off your helmet, by going for a swim on a nearby planet!
CON:
But you gotta bring back some water cuz no one has invented video recording.
The Last of Us: When We Are in Need (2023)
Better episode but predictable in a key way.
So What was predictable about this episode!?
Well it employed the Christian Plot Convention Rule (CPCR):
I'll quote the rule definition in case you've forgotten it:
"Anytime a Hollywood-produced show presents what appear to be devout Christians, you know they're gonna be evil. Bet the house on that."
Strangely, the showrunner in the About The Episode interview claimed that the Christian leader David presented himself as a "good father, at first."
Huh? Who in the HBO audience actually thought David was good?
David quoted the Bible for God sakes! (At least it sounded Biblical!)
Whenever anyone watches HBO we know the CPCR is in effect. Any Christian who quotes the Bible must ultimately be presented as a right wing fundamentalist who's either been hoodwinked into faith or a phony. David was of course, a phony.
David was also a would-be child rapist. So in the minds of the HBO executives he definitely wasn't previously a public school teacher before becoming a preacher. For sure he was charter school faculty. Definitely not an elite private school "educator" like the ones that teach the HBO Execs's kids.
Am I getting off track here? I'd still argue you're getting a lot of insight. So calm down.
Anyway, it was predictable but still fun to see Ellie teach the guy a lesson, HBO-style.
The good surprise of this episode was that the mandolorian guy didn't save Ellie, she had to save herself. That was a great choice.
Overall not terrible. Good job HBO!
The Last of Us (2023)
Kathleen helps TLOU Jump the Shark
With a little Suspension of disbelief, I can believe in zombies. (Have you been to the tenderloin in San Francisco recently?) But the idea that Kathleen could lead the rebel forces in this brutal world, defies all possible logic. What do we think the Taliban would do with Kathleen? She wouldn't survive a week. She looks like she should be cast in a pharma commercial for acid reflux treatment. With the same wardrobe. If I'm being generous, I can buy her motivation to get revenge on Henry. But her absurd calm psycho dialogue absolutely ruined this episode and took the show off of the watchlist. By the time the episode resolved via deus ex machina, I was already looking at Twitter.
Meltdown: Three Mile Island (2022)
Fortunately, 0 deaths, 0 cancer cases. Unfortunately, gov corruption and idiotic media frenzy.
The story of corruption and mismanagement is not that surprising. Still kinda interesting. But in typical Netflix fashion, long winded and repetitive.
But the real lesson of this documentary is how far we've come in nuclear tech.
We see the complete lack of computer technology in the 1970's. This makes it clear that the US should continue leading the way and sell Gen IV tech to the rest of the world -where the other 95% of humans live, and where carbon emissions are growing at an extraordinary rate. My beloved France and Germany are already returning to nuclear. But the rest of the world is polluting like crazy. Enough is enough.
Don't Look Up (2021)
A few laughs but mostly political sanctimony
I gave Adam McKay a chance because of the greatness of Step Brothers. However this movie was far more political than I was expecting. The comet is supposed to represent global warming. The movie makes it clear that McKay thinks anyone who doesn't see the urgency of global warming has been fooled by those evil Republicans. The few funny jokes in DLU were far outweighed by constant simpleton insults directed at "rednecks" and Trump & family (of course). This isn't entertainment, it's idiotic sanctimony from imbeciles who are incapable of the math required to analyze or problem-solve real solutions to something like global warming. I wish he'd go back to writing about something he actually knows about - like immature slackers who know what time Cops is on.
Succession (2018)
Ted Turner probably hates this show
Fascinating study of a powerful media company owner who has a dominating personality and children who are having difficulty making a name for themselves outside of the shadow of their father. The parallels between the dying beast that is CNN and the Waystar network have got to drive the Turner family crazy. I imagine failed political candidate Teddy Jr. Was somewhat the inspiration for Connor. I'm only in the beginning of Season 2 but I'm loving the rise of Shiv, the daughter. Great show.
Death Wish (2018)
Fantastic movie
From the first scene I was hooked. Willis was great. No silly over dramatic crap. Just a good guy taking out the trash.
Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby (2019)
Gave it a chance. Had to turn it off.
I thought maybe there's a chance this could be funny. He had some good bits on the news desk with the other SNL talent. But holy crap, listen to the first few minutes and he's already trying to remind us of his SNL days. So lame. Not to mention the partisan politics. No thanks.
Homeland: Paean to the People (2018)
Contrivance / deus ex machina problems ruin season finale
Don't you hate when a villain has the hero dead to rights and then decides to make a speech? Or drop his gun to fight hand-to-hand? If you do, then perhaps you had some questions during the escape from Moscow:
1 Why would the Russians allow Saul (and Russian spy Simone) to get off the ground and fly for hours in Russian airspace, until they confirmed Simone's whereabouts? If this was remotely plausible, the Russians would have gotten everyone out of the van and confirmed their identities. And then let the Americans go on their way. Would the acting American president have any moral authority to detain the Russian embassador at that point?
2 How about the Russian diplomat stopping the van with Saul and the poorly disguised Simone and then stepping away to take a phone call with no one else's assistance. The only way it could have been funnier is if he answered it and it was his mother calling. "Mother, I'm really busy right now! Nyet! I call you back!"
3 How about the portrayal of Republican Senator Paley who's immediately convicted and the President spitting on him? Played like a superhero movie. Those dumb evil Russian-loving Republicans! They're so dumb they would probably try to give the Russians a plastic reset button to repair Russian relations. Er... wait...
Anyway, if you haven't seen this episode, I recommend you just wait til next season. The producers are promising to get out of the US politics and go back to terrorism - and perhaps come back to reality.