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Omnicient9
Reviews
The 100 (2014)
Lord of the Flies...
OK, so it's Lord of the Flies meets Silent Running.
I'm not that far into it, and so far so good. Everyone keeps commenting that you need to get past the first few episodes, maybe even the first season. Well I liked it ok from the first episode.
It's not the best thing ever done for TV. Hell, it's not the best thing ever done on the CW (wasn't Charmed (the good one) originally on the CW?
A comely cast of teens and all the predictable teen angst, rivalry, mean kids, virtuous kids, yada yada yada.
Seriously, this isn't something you're going to learn anything new from, but at least you'll have a pleasant enough time not learning.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Lawrence of Arabia remake
I realize the white savior trope goes back to the dawn of time, but this rendition paid homage to some of the classics, my guess is, to insinuate itself into that pantheon of greats.
With nods to The 10 Commandments, "lead them to paradise", Lawrence of Arabia (spice=oil, and those hypnotic blue eyes), and even that commercially unrivaled Force that is STILL with us despite Disney's corrosion, this particular version offers better sfx than classic film making.
The sound, the battles, the explosions, all great fun. But the curiously unexplored evolution of a Reluctant Messiah into they pure Machiavellian prince ala Apocalypse Now's Willard and Kurtz (or Conrad's Heart of Darkness) was the real winner in the 2nd installment of a sci-fi underdog.
Good Girls (2018)
Nope
The first two seasons were tiresome, but watchable. The third season lost me after the 2nd episode.
I just got wear of the same show, episode after episode after episode after episode.
Seriously, so much time was spent "developing" the characters and their families that the show just kept getting worse and worse and more stale with each episode.... AND THEY NEVER DEVELOPED THE CHARACTERS!!!
Wide eyed girl 1 - thinks shes tough but cowers and cowers and cowers.
Wide eyed girl 2 - thinks she's moral and ehtical but keeps committing one crime after another that just doesn't need to be committed
wide eyed girl 3 - nympho bimbo that can't think her way out of a wet paper bag ...the Gilligan of the show.
The whole thing just didn't move. And that's a shame because it really could have been something, instead of 4 seasons of stilted nothing.
Fistful of Vengeance (2022)
Plot? What plot?
Bummer. This movie sequel to the Wu Assains ltd series was a total drag.
I enjoyed the Wu Assains. I ultimately fast forwarded through this one because it was nothing more than a few tired car chases, and fighting just for the sake of fighting.
Total bore.
Don't get me wrong, I love watching a good fight, when there is enough to it to actually care who wins - if ANYone wins. This was nothing more than an exhibition of poorly staged martial arts for an hour and a half.
Too bad. It could have been a good watch with just a modicum of effort.
Still, Lewis Tan is incredibly hot, so I kept watching just for he eye candy.
Glamorous (2023)
Sad
Uugghh...
If I could leave it at that, I would, but apparently, I have to use more characters.
I could take a page out of this show's script and just regurgitate one lame platitude after another and hope SOMEthing has even a whiff of value, but instead, let me just tell you how awful this show is.
Kim Cattrall isn't bad. Sadly, the writers really missed the golden opportunity she could've brought. She is however the only reason I gave ANY stars at all in the rating
The rest of the show...awful. Did I mention that already?
Awful. Just awful.
A very VERY bad and hackneyed knock off of Ugly Betty.
SO unoriginal. SO trite and SUCH bad dialogue.
Oh well, it's gay, so we have to like it right?
Wrong. I'm gay. HATED IT!
Shadow and Bone (2021)
Just Say No
A series of books written by an American made into a movie by an American for American audiences streaming on an American platform and all the actors are inexplicably English.
I know longer watch or stream anything with English actors, and television commercials with English actors or voice overs (GEICO) no longer receive my business.
It's not that I have anything against the English (well, other than their embarrassingly unearned superiority complex) it's just that let them make their own movies in their own countries for their own audiences.
I'm quite over them, no matter HOW cheaply they work.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
Awful. Just awful
As sequels go, this one was a real stinker.
I've just grown so weary of flashback cinema. Seriously...it's not clever, it's SURE as hell not unique, it's not a vehicle that stirs more emotion or engages the viewer, it's just lazy, hackneyed and cliche.
This hideous exploitation of a reasonably good piece of television (until the last season, which SUUUUCCCCCKED) is shameful. Without tossing in spoilers, suffice it to say this was a true sleepfest rehashing some of the worst episodes of Breaking Bad and making them - if you can imagine this - even worse.
It's as though the character Jesse Pinkman wasn't even him anymore, and as it turns out, NEITHER WERE ANY OF THE OTHER RETURNING CHARACTERS!
Bad Job Vince. Bad Bad Job!
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
No
Using Poe for cover, this is a bad, VERY bad slop off of HBOs succession. The spoiled spiteful kids and grandkids of the rich and debaucherous.
It's all so tiresome trying tear down those you're so envious of by building them up.
There is nothing redeeming about this hackneyed and self-indulgent mess that Poe wouldn't even recognize enough of to spin in his grave. If the studios had watched this poorly written agony before caving into writers they would have done the whole world a favor by letting the strike drag on.
I won't offer up any spoilers primarily because something has to be good before it can be spoiled.
Unstable (2023)
Great show, worth keeping my subscription
I may have been overly enthusiastic in the headline, but Unstable is a refreshing pleasure to watch. Yeah, it's pretty predictable, but the cast is endearing, and the humor is easy without being stale or hackneyed.
I probably rated it higher than it deserves because I'm so excited to find something watchable on tv - streaming, cable or bcast. As prices to stream continue to soar, decent programming continues to plummet so if something is good, CELEBRATE it and for gods sake Netflix, KEEP IT GOING!! No hamfisted virtue signaling, no violence and gratuitous sex, none of the formulaic tripe we've been force fed for the last decade or so of abysmal insulting tv.
Give it a watch. You'll get what I'm saying.
Warrior (2019)
Disappointing so far
I suppose my greatest problem with this series is my own hope or expectation. Coming from the writings of Bruce Lee, I was hoping those who took the liberty of writing and producing this series would have taken greater interest or greater care in period accuracy. From the very start it was clear this would be little more than modern ghetto preaching. Sure the characters are Chinese in. 1870s San Francisco, but the dialogue, plot lines and virtue signaling is straight outta Compton. It's a bit embarrassing that the writers try to write 19th Century Chinese dialogue and drama using what they imagine to be cool in today's ghettos. "Get me"?
This was a wasted opportunity to portray a time where Chinese immigrants were treated so horrifically, and deprived of the right to own land or be in the presence of a white person.
The writers seemed to take great joy in bashing the Irish. As someone of Irish descent, this is very hurtful and offensive to me.
Finally, the hamfisted references to today's immigration problems were shameful "blame the men that pay the low wage, not the Chinese for taking it"...uugghh... seriously, the writers of this little bit of virtue signaling really need to work on their art and subtlety - the show would be better for it, the message stronger for it, and the audience happier for it.
Succession (2018)
The problem with succession
The problem with succession is the overuse to the point of being annoying, of halted and stuttering speech. As a vehicle, this affectation can be well used to emphasize a number of emotions like intimidation, fear, nervousness, etc. In Succession however, the affectation is so overused that it becomes trite, annoying, and finally cliche, stripping it of any efficacy.
The series has some genuinely fun play between the characters, plots, games and counter games but in EVERYthing seems to be overdone. One son is a bad knockoff of Dennis Miller in his worst days, the daughter can't get a sentence out to save her life, and the eldest son is a silly caricature that the writers seem to have lost interest in almost from the start. Brian Cox is, as always, a winner.
Again, fun to watch... sort of... but seriously, a little bit of a good thing can go a very long way when artfully used. Here, it was ham fisted and obvious, not artful, making the series a bit tedious to watch.
9-1-1 (2018)
Awful. Trite. Unoriginal. Hackneyed. Cliche
I just finished the first season. Seriously the worst of its genre. Typically, I really like Ryan Murphy's stuff. He has always infused the common with some bizarre uncommon presentations and twists that make for entertaining viewing. He must have just lent his name (and money) to this one because I've seen this drivel over and over and over for the last 50 years - more if you count the stuff from the 60s. The dialogue is flat, predictable, and trite. I can't seem to come up with any other way of describing this bad rehash of what was always bad and corny to begin with. How this mush ever got a 2nd season (let alone 6) is testament to the wrong people making bad decisions in hollywood. I don't know who's sleeping with whom, but there simply can't be any other explanation for this dreck making it on air in the first place.
Most Dangerous Game (2020)
All in all, not bad
Given that the theme has had numerous incarnations over the years, this particular version was surprisingly captivating. I never thought much of the Q.uibi idea, and this presentation reinforces why. I cut the cord on cable tv decades ago because I found it offensive to pay for tv, AND have to watch 3 minutes of commercials every 6 or 7 minutes. In this particular case - Roku - I didn't mind a few seconds of ads every 6 or 7 minutes especially since I wasn't paying for the privilege to watch those bad ads.
The film itself (I won't call it a series because a series should have a minimum of 20 episodes per season, otherwise it's just gaming the numbers to lay claim to multiple seasons) kept my interest and had me rooting for the hero. Ok, I'm easy. I can let myself go and be entertained by the obvious and meaningless. It's probably why I liked Liam's brother's blockbusters, The Avengers universe.
In light of all the dreck that's out there to choose from (especially the blight of reality torture) this one was a good time out for a couple of hours. And I appreciated the shots of Detroit too.
American Horror Story: Thank You For Your Service (2022)
An interesting homage
Ryan Murphy is clearly channeling Larry Kramer in this new installment of AHS. So far, the nods to 80s (and 70s) New York are kind of fun. From Bette Middler and Barry Manilow at the Ansonia Baths, to Mars in its earliest incarnation to Friedkin's Cruising, anyone who was in the scene at the time is giddy while watching. I squealed with the short clip of Robin Byrd, and appreciate the multiple references to "something is coming" - a theme that's been used in everything from 86ed to Angels in America to Rent and again, Larry Kramer's Cassandra calls.
So far it's been an enjoyable slice of nostalgia of a time and a place so dark and sad that the camp is actually enjoyable.
I can't wait to see what other NYC icons he'll bring us...The Adonis? Koch? Christopher Street Bookstore?
I see you all shiver with Antici.....pation.
Alaska Daily (2022)
So far So good
What a pleasant surprise. I can't say the writing is brilliant, but it certainly lands well more often than not. It's nice to tune into real tv, not reality tv.
The characters are mostly likable, and I find myself actually rooting for them.
I've only watched one episode so far, but I enjoyed it enough to write a review mostly to thank ABC for running good old tv, not the heinous flotsam that has taken over the airwaves for the last few years.
I hope as the season(s?) go on, the character development and plots continue to be interesting and entertaining and quality. God knows the barren wasteland can use a little oasis from time to time.
Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)
Thoroughly enjoyable
I haven't a single complaint about this wonderful movie. Of course the song, Wild Mountain Thyme pulls on the heart with aching sadness and soaring joy all at once, so emotions ran high throughout, and I watched through constantly watering eyes. The plot itself was a simple enough rom com...no spoiler there. It is funny though how Jon Hamm so effortlessly plays such wholly unlikable characters in everything he does. Christopher Walken is...well, Christopher Walken and elicits a smile. Emily Blunt.... I can't love her enough, and Jamie Dornan is surprisingly lovable as a honey bee. This is up there with About Time as one of my favorite movies.
Vengeance (2022)
Brilliant!
I don't know the last time I loved a movie this much. Ashton Kushner surprised me with his performance. It reminded me a bit of Billy Bob Thornton in Goliath. In fact the movie as a whole had a similar flavor. Laughing at everyone, crying for everyone, loving them all and hating none. It was one comeuppance after another only to shatter them all with a final fku. A visceral solution to an otherwise hopeless conundrum. I loved this movie for the actors' performances, for the sharp writing, both dialogue and plot, for the mood forcing cinematic direction and for all that is Texas. A hundred percent!
Beach Rats (2017)
One of my favorites
I'm not usually a fan of or impressed with young gay angst and the coming of age schtick, but I thoroughly enjoyed this.
It had a complexity not found in most films of this genre. I knew this boy. I was best friends with this boy. I still don't fully (or really even partially) understand what makes him tick. It's a raw passion that he doesn't seem too interested in understanding himself. Primal and of the moment, without influence or pretense...it's a fascinating glimpse at a rarely seen, but far more common than I thought, gay behavior or lifestyle. It's worth several watches.
I'd love to see more movies like this that present more variety in the vastly varied "gay community" than the stereotypical dreck that gayspolitation spews out too prolifically.
This Fool (2022)
Love it
OK... this one surprised me. I was expecting some pretty slapstick unfunny stuff, bashing on white people and the man and yada yada yada.
Surprise. It's such a light easy series. It's really enjoyable. And the two main guys crack me up - I laugh just seeing them before they even open their mouths. All the characters are truly endearing...no smart ass precocious and sullen kids, no whimpy parents who let said kids get away with being insufferable. It's really some good back and forth between the cousins and extended family.
I really hope this one gets renewed and gets a long run because it really is SOOOO much better than any of the dreck that's been passing for tv and crammed down our throats lately.
Muy Bueno!! See... I'm even learning Spanish!!
Tales of the City (2019)
Awful. Just Awful
The list of offenses in this trash is lengthy.
From the sullen teen to the convoluted and trite "diversity" it tried too hard to pack into this once charming anthology, this incarnation was pure torture and betrayed the light and campy feel in the earlier originals.
Should have left well enough alone.
Awful. Just Awful.
The Bear (2022)
2nd season crashes
The first 8 episodes were good. Better than most of what's on tv or streaming right now.
Back for season 2 and really disappointed. For some strange reason, they decided to employ the cant-complete-a-sentence style that drove me away from Succession, and now has driven me away from The Bear.
Oh well...
k..here..tell me if..you know. Well, um,, i'm .. so anyway.. the .. well if I ...no, but ...see what if... well, I know but..there's no, I mean its like if you know, if maybe the whole... well maybe not the whole but kind of if you think about you know.. like...
there...did you understand that "sentence"??
Enough already!
OH...and still wondering...why is it categorized/keyworded as a "comedy"?
Fourth Man Out (2015)
SO refreshing!!
What a great movie. No gay stereotypes (queens, gymbunnies, married couples playing house, etc). Just an honest story of 4 great friends supporting each other and showing that being gay aint no big thing.
Great movie. Great cast. Great humor. Definitely one of my all time faves.
Spread the word - more of these please!
Teen Wolf (2011)
could / should have been so much better
I'll start out by saying Tyler Posey is a creep. A gaybaiter who isn't that good looking, can't act his way out of a wet paper sack, and so he thirsts for gay fans by pretending to be gay .. no wait, bi, no wait, just once no wait bi, no wait i have lots and lots of sex with anyone and anything...creepy.
And that made watching the series tough enough. But after season 2 when they started with all the dream/reality jumps/dimension hopping, etc it just became a colossal bore. Then with those dread doctors? Seriously? Uugghh no amount of sketchy sound scratching and fast cuts could save that nonsense. Finally by season 6, the whole "hate"/nazi/neo-nazi born out of fear thing was so hamfisted and lame it just finished off the series with a stench and bad taste that is so symptomatic of the small screen and streaming devices of the day.
Dylan Obrien and Dylan Sprayberry and Colton Haynes each get a star bringing the total count for the series up to 3.
Fire Island (2022)
Thoroughly enjoyable.
I loved the opening sequence when the narrator suggested (tongue in cheek as it turns out) how much Fire Island has changed since those first Tea Dances.
Nearly 4 decades ago I made my first trip to The Pines. And the only thing that seems to have changed is the pall of AIDS no longer seems to hang so heavily in the air.
Great fun. I highly recommend it, and if you've never made it out to Fire Island...well...GO!!!!!!
American Crime Story (2016)
Another one out of the park for Mr. Murphy
I hate to sound like a fanboy here, but Ryan Murphy never fails to please and has yet to disappoint...yes, Glee was a guilty pleasure for a lot of us.
I didn't watch the 1st season of ACS - OJ, but loved the 2nd season Versace, and have just begun the 3rd season Impeachment. I can't stop cracking up. I just don't understand why he didn't get John Goodman to play Linda Tripp.
The make up is extraordinary, and seriously, you can't watch a single episode without laughing at Monica, Linda, and the gang - Paula Jones is an absolute gem.
LOVING this season. Thanks again Mr. Murphy for making TV "must see" again!