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3 Body Problem (2024)
Science Fiction or disaster movie?
When I first started the Netflix series "3 Body Problem" I was aghast at the first scene. So much gore and emotional trauma portrayed in a very political sense. I hesitated to continue watching. After reading some reviews and finding out the science foundation I decided to continue watching. The first act was slow and somewhat disjointed. The second act was excellent and developed the science foundation much better and drove more interest in the story plot line. The third act and conclusion was a total mess with a typical Benioff rushed conclusion. Knowing the novel is a trilogy, it certainly indicates a 2nd season is on the way. It is reported each episode for season 1 cost $20,000,000. Seems extravagant.
Wednesday (2022)
A Horror and Mystery story
Wednesday is not really an Addams Family story. The creators, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar took one character from the original idea, an ensemble, and wrote a series on her. But instead of using original canon, they reimagined the Wednesday Addams as a detective and the story into a horror story with the aesthetic of Tim Burton. This seems to be continuing a pattern after Ryan Murphy totally ruined the character Ratched from "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest and turned her into a murdering psycho, instead of Ken Kesey's sociopath. Burton basically does the same thing. And not only is it a horror story now, but Wednesday is a amazing bad detective using his own aesthetic. Jenna Ortega does a decent job with the little amount of character development needed for Wednesday. Shout out for Emma Myers who steals the show as Enid Sinclair.
The Batman (2022)
Just another Batman movie
Another version of DC comic hero Batman. Almost 3 hours long with a new director and current stars. With a simple plot involving The Riddler it rarely shows Bruce Wayne and when it does he rarely shows any back story or emotions. Gotham is corrupt, Riddler is trying to fix the corruption with major disasters and assassinations. Batman is trying to stop Riddler from stopping the corruption. He succeeds! Corruption continues in Gotham! The obvious connection to modern US political and corporate corruption is obvious but with Batman basically supporting the corruption! Way To Go Batman!
For a movie 3 hours long, with no real subplots, it seems rather long and rambling. Casting seems mediocre with Robert Pattinson cast because of his chin I suppose. The aesthetic is suppose to be artsy, but the extremely low lighting just makes it difficult to view. Really, with such big budgets the cost for usable lighting shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, this has been done before with different actors and costumes, and done better.
Euphoria (2019)
Top 10 Myths from Euphoria
10. Modern cars do not have child proof locking doors
9. Modern garage door openers do not have sensors to stop a closing door to prevent people from getting squished.
8. Americans high schoolers don't have jobs.
7. American high schoolers have plenty of money to buy drugs.
6. There is no alcoholism addiction problem for teenagers.
5. 17 year old opiate addicts in withdrawal and a limp can out run a team of cops in cars.
4.17 year old opiate addicts in withdrawal can parkour with the best of them
3. Rap entertainment is so moody.
2. High schools have million dollar budgets for stage plays.
1. Child Disney dancers make great drama actors.
Pieces of Her (2022)
Toni Collette saves the show
If not for Toni, this TV series would probably not have been green lighted.
The producers turned a 90 minute whodunit into an almost 8 hour mini series by adding scenes that supplied no context or meaning to the story. This is amateurish and selfish.
The production, direction and teleplay is some of the worst. The disjointed jumping back and forth between flashback and current time was chaotic and difficult to follow. This is not only poor writing but poor direction and production.
But the casting was even worse. Somehow the show runner approved Jessica Barden to be cast as Jane, a 20 year younger version of Laura. But Jane (Barden) is 6 inches shorter than Laura (Collette) and has ZERO resemblance.
Jessica Barden does a good job and remains a fan favorite.
Ali Wong: Don Wong (2022)
Not Monty Python's Funny Walk
About halfway through Ali, started making colonoscopy jokes, and actually got a laugh out of me. Then I realized what was so off putting about her performance. She walks around stage is like the colonoscopy camera remained. Awkward!
Manifest (2018)
Worse thasn "Lost"
Reminded me of "Lost." Not sure how this lousy series got the green light, but it is a good illustration of how remakes and re imagining of TV can go from bad to worse. With C-list actors, a bad script, and dialogue that is soapy, "Manifest" is pain that never ends. Of course, it has been renewed for a 4th season where if there is a finale, it could be worse than "Lost" and "Game of Thrones", combined.
The character tropes are pretty clear. The kindly but benign professor, the overly sensitive boyfriend, the crazy conspiracy theorist, to the caterpillar eyebrows heroine, there is nothing new here. You seen this before, and done better. Avoid!
FBoy Island (2021)
This is not a reality or game show. It's a screed!
This series is totally scripted. There are no game rules. One of the women is a an actress and one of the guys is an actor. Nikki Glaser is the host and her scripted lines and comedy bits are similar to her misandrist chauvinistic standup bits. Which are not funny.
SPOILER: The producers changed the finally revealed rules at the finale. They actually took back the money they had awarded! This will make it difficult to do a second season.
Moxie (2021)
Another Netflix inclusion flick.
Amy Poehler gets her licks in at an inclusion movie for Netflix Original. The movie ends up having high production value, decent acting, but poor screenplay and story. This movie does not escalate nor de-escalate the goal of grrl power or feminism but is just straight down middle of the road B-movie coming of age pablum. Most of this movie was forgettable. There were two items that were memorable. Lauren Tsai as Claudia is a scene stealer and breakout actor. The cover of Moxie magazine claims the athletic vote was rigged! (I'm guessing the producers missed that one in post production.)
Ginny & Georgia (2021)
Huge fail for Netflix and politically incorrect inclusion policy
Please, don't green light anything Sarah Lampert creates in the future. The insights were non-existent while misogyny and tone deafness were the size of Jupiter Nothing can rescue or redeem this attempt at casting and writing using inclusion, and in fact puts a pall on the idea. .This could hurt Netfix a great deal.
In the Dark (2019)
In the Dark. no need for 3rd season
The first season was pretty good. A blind woman who is a drunk and promiscuous trying to solve a murder. Oh wait, that is not new is it. But the story was done pretty well, with decent acting from B and C list actors. Perry Mattfeld in the lead role is good enough to move on to bigger and better roles. The first season was had enough good ideas to keep the thrill and suspense factor going for 13 episodes.
The second season though, the writing fell down completely with plot holes, and plot devices so numerous as to make it almost unwatchable. Most of the time the creators and writers can at least keep the plot going for 3 seasons the collapse on the fourth. But this team collapsed on the second. There should be nothing in the tank to go forward for a third season.
Hollywood (2020)
"Hollywood", pretending to be WOKE in 1940s America
Let it never be said Ryan Murphy is subtle. You'll be hit over the head with a ton of bricks in the impossible to "suspend your disbelief" story of post WW2 Hollywood. Though pretty costumes and fancy colorful cars fill the screen, the story portrays a culture that has people always eventually winning. With minimal character development, Murphy implores you with fairy tales of woke elite power brokers, to believe a fanciful culture where money hungry people "do the right thing."
In a meta plot, Murphy uses a movie entitled Peg, to show how Hollywood movie moguls can change and modify a screenplay to change history and people's minds. Of course, he is doing the same thing in this movie where he changes history to forward his agenda. This fails because it is so obvious and heavy handed.
Schitt$ Creek (2015)
Fish out of water story that is a remake of Green Acres!
The Rose family moves from the big city to Schitt's Creek, a podunk town in the middle of nowhere. Oh wait, this sounds familiar. This is a remake of the Green Acres series from the 1960s! it's almost like they ripped it off!
Johnny Rose is Oliver Wendell Douglas. They both wore suits all the time!
Moira Rose is Lisa Douglas. They both wears fancy dresses and speak with an accent!
David Rose is Eb. The crazy son!
Alexis Rose is Arnold the Pig. Alexis does an amazing imitation of a rabbit with the way she holds her hands!
Roland Schitt is Mr. Haney. Both crooked and dense as lead!
Both families live in ramshackle homes. Both have crazy characters. Both eventually learn how those other characters are great people too.
Wynonna Earp (2016)
Mashup of western and horror movie.
Pretty typical adaptation from a graphic novel. Story line is a mash up of a western and horror movie. Wynonna is the granddaughter of Wyatt Earp who is trying to end a curse by killing demons and revenants using Wyatt Earp's pistol. The first season is pretty typical for a pulp fiction series. You have the bad guys, the good guys and a couple of meaningless side plots that add nothing but time to the episodes so it can be stretched out to 13 eps. Production value is very low. B and C-list actors make for a pedestrian series. The second season is just horrid and is typical of why graphic novels should not be adapted into a series because after the original plot is solved, the writers are left with having to invent new plot lines which never match the original author's talent. I mean come on! Writing a second season plot around the lead protagonist pregnancy was lurid and just bad. This series is a perfect example of why series should end after the original plot is completed. Oh, one thing was good ... some of the dialogue was funny.
Sex Education (2019)
British take on teen high school is totally twisted! In a brilliant way!
What a great take on a young adult high school coming of age story! This British take on it is totally twisted and fresh. Asa Butterfield and Gillian Anderson are definite standouts. But Emma Mackey steals the show! This is a don't miss series that appeals to all ages because it takes you to places you didn't expect but you feel redeemed during the journey and at the destination. Update, later seasons are pretty typically getting worse. This seems to be the norm for series that start off good then suffere bad writing in 3rd and 4th seasons.
I Am Not Okay with This (2020)
This has been done before . . . and better!
This series is a pretty typical adaption of a comic book teen coming of age comedy. It doesn't have a real hook and the use of the protagonist talking to herself is poorly done. The dialogue, the little that there is, has been done many times before. The angst is predictable and common. So the only thing new is the new superpowers Sydney has. Even that has been done before. There are many better adaptions done better. This one has nothing really new to offer.
6 Underground (2019)
Typical Michael Bay action flick
The only good thing about this movie is Melanie Laurent. The rest of the acting is pedestrian and just making their money doing a Michael Bay action flick with a plot done a million times. Really not much else to say but just not worth even watching on Netflix.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
The show runners could even notice the ST:D abbreviation was bad!
Star Trek Discovery. This is the version of the Star Trek franchise. I've watched the first two seasons and am familiar with the Star Trek franchise. This is a CBS attempt at streaming. The first season starts off less as episodic and more of a series with a one long story arc involving war against the Klingons. The second season as an overall story arc, but has a few episodic flashes of genius.
When this new series uses the old characters and does great. When this new series introduces new characters, it does not so great. The main protagonists, Michael Burnham, is featured throughout the two seasons and is the main focus. Thus, the series succeeds or fails on this character. The character once again, like previous main protagonists, breaks Federation rules so the ends justify the means, but those characters were likeable in many ways. However, the Michael Burnham character is not likeable and is basically irritating. The problem seems to be that when the writers and directors tried new characters and news story lines, they start to contradict the Star Trek canon. And not only that many of the characters are not likable or enjoyable. There are exceptions. For instance, Sylvia Tilly played by Mary Weisman is a character in the vein of the old Star Trek series and movies. Saru played by Doug Jones is an excellent example of how to develop a Star Trek character. When Captain Pike and Spock are brought in, a spark returns, because the new writers have something to work from.
Star Trek Discovery suffers most though from inconsistencies and a Star Trek canon. That's not just ignoring the high-tech differences of communication and spacesuits and engineering it's also ignoring facts like.... Spock doesn't have a sister. But then the writers and directors steal plots from all these future Star Trek shows. I love the Star Trek franchise but this version hurts it.
The Invention of Lying (2009)
Ricky Gervais does it again!
The Invention of Lying directed and written by Ricky Gervais was released in 2009. The plot is pretty simple in a world where everyone must tell the truth Gervais character suddenly is able to tell a lie. By doing so is able to become very successful in his job as a screenwriter for a company that does very terrible documentaries, find girlfriends, make money and generally be happy. Gervais uses his comedic genius to actually create a fairy tale world which is uplifting and meaningful.
The people and the town were Gervais character all believe everything he says because everyone must tell the truth. Of course, this godlike nature of the keys character can create problems especially with his girlfriend played by Jennifer Garner. And the real power to this movie is how Gervais up makes it clear lying is essential to human nature and has a positive effect on a society.
The Invention of Lying as a great cast. Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, John Hodgman, and Rob Lowe. For great left be sure and don't miss this movie.
Messiah (2020)
Just a re-imagining of the Christ story
"Messiah" is a re-imagining of the story of Christ. This is a typical Barnett production with a blatant attempt to proselytize people into Christianity. With the added aspect of a possible CIA thriller thrown in "Messiah" tries to increase its audience with a little excitement. And this series will of course increase the divisiveness as in the United States. There were many subplots that were added that added absolutely nothing to the original story. Predictable and pusillanimous, this series has no socially redeeming value. It adds no value or meaning to Burnett's resume.
V-Wars (2019)
Just another vampire movie with nothing new, and many problems
This is a Netflix original series. Pretty much what one would expect. Filmed in Canada on a limited budget, production values pretty low. Expected that V-Wars said to be about a virus but is instead about vampires. The actors are all C listers, you'll never see them again, none of them will make any major movies. This movie will be forgotten in five years never to be seen again. There are a number of plot holes. For instance, the FBI agent is undercover with a biker gang rides a motorcycle. But later after he leaves the gang, he suddenly has a pickup truck because he needed to give the protagonists a ride. The plot is so jumbled up really don't know what the plot is. Also at the end it's obvious that they don't really conclude this story so they can have a chance to do another 10 episodes for Netflix. Pretty much middle of the road Netflix series. I give it a five as no one will see it in five years.
Downsizing (2017)
Dowsizing should be voted down
Downsizing.
When I saw Kristen Wiig it was going to be in this Netflix original movie, I immediately wanted to watch it I just wish she'd been in the movie more. Kristen was only in the movie for about 20 minutes before she was gone as a character and that was disappointing. Matt Damon was good. Hong Chau was excellent as Ngoc Lan Tran. The overall plot seemed to be pretty good, though there were gaps in explaining certain items were missing. One was why there were no birds of insects allowed where small people lived. At the same time it seemed to be two movies, at first it wanted to be a comedy but in the second half it was preachy.
The plot to this movie was intended to make the case for climate change a crisis. It did this pretty well, it also made the point that any solution would also continue current cultural problems like class division and income inequality. The direction seemed a little choppy and with some discontinuity but the production value overall was pretty good. I'd really wanted to like this movie by me and it is very difficult to recommend.
I'm with the Band: Nasty Cherry (2019)
Hard to tell what is going on in this one
Was this a reality TV show? Fiction? Non-fiction? It was hard to tell it was so scrambled with no plot or direction. The idea I guess was to throw 4 women into a house, then create a band. So was that sort of like the Monkees having fun on screen? But wait, Michael Nesmith actually had musical talent, none of these women have any talent. Well I take that back, Georgia Somary has some talent., but in the Art Department! I nominate this one for a Golden Raspberry Award.
Knives Out (2019)
If you like mystery who-dun-it movies . . .
This is one to see. With a great cast, and excellent script and screenplay, you will be thoroughly entertained.
Daniel Craig does the southern detective to a T. Toni Collette is unmatched in her portrayal as the gold digger. But wait! Don Johnson and Jamie Lee Curtis are so much fun on the screen again. Then the somewhat new comer, Ana de Armas hits one out of the park. Enjoy the walk down the path of mystery!
Daybreak (2019)
Destined to be a Cult Classic!
Someone said this is a genre bending series, even IMDB lists it under 9 genres! Perhaps Daybreak is a new genre, because it certainly breaks new ground. This series could certainly become a cult classic. It has all the ingredients from fast dialogue, to pop culture snarky references, great music, and just a fun plot. The sarcasm and satire will be missed by many viewers, and it may take a second viewing to "get it." Many new actors, except for Matthew Broderick, whose addition is a great meta-snark! But Alyvia Alyn Lind steals the show and Angelica, the pyromaniac.