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Reviews
Outlander (2014)
I watched the first episode on a Free Starz Weekend, and had high hopes for the series.
I eventually ended up getting the Starz package, and one of the first things I did was go back and watch the full series. The first few episodes managed to keep me interested, but there are points after the midseason break which took me completely out of the show.
(Minor spoilers)
Did they lose the rights to film on the original location(s)? Why did they take their central characters out on the road? I kept wondering, "Will they GO BACK to where this started, at some point?"
Did the writers go on strike or something? Because there are a couple of episodes where it seems the characters are simply improvising as they go. And I'm not a fan of improv.
Were the different episodes produced and directed by completely different people who not only didn't compare notes with one another, but were actively trying to take the series in vastly different directions? I mean, why keep introducing new characters just to ignore them when their episode is over? And why not revisit some of them for some CONTINUITY!?
(Don't get me started on the shady practice of releasing Season One, Part 1 and then releasing Season One, Part 2, and charging full price for each half-season. That's just corporate greed.)
In summary, the cinematography is beautiful. The eye for details is amazing. The plot (and the continuity of the plot) is shaky, at best. I'd suggest new viewers watch not just the first episode, but the first two or three episodes, before deciding whether or not to stick with it.
Something tells me this is going to be one of those cable series that becomes a descriptive term. Like "They went all Outlander." As in "The series was popular, but then it went all Twin Peaks." Or, "Despite a core of devoted fans, after the excitement died down, the series was doomed to Outlander."
Home Sweet Hell (2015)
Remember when trailers weren't 90 second spoilers?
I won't type any spoiler here. Don't worry about that. But, don't bother watching the spoiler--I mean the "trailer"--for this movie. I remember when a trailer for a movie would show you a few short clips, some highlights, a couple of zingers... Now, it just shows you an encapsulated version of the film. First, it's the "set up", then it's the "...but THEN!" followed by the "...and you'll NEVER expect THIS person to kill THIS OTHER person!" closely followed by "...as the suspect is revealed to be THE OTHER GUY'S WIFE! You'll NEVER see that one coming! Or that she's CARRYING HER BEST FRIEND'S BABY!"
Really? I mean, COME ON! The whole premise of a shock rests on the presumption that the person cutting the trailer DOESN'T REVEAL IT IN THE TRAILER!!!
If The Six Sense was released now, in 2015, I'd sort of expect the trailer to reveal that Malcolm was dead all along. Or, if Silence of the Lambs had a 2015 trailer, it would include shots of Jodi Foster standing over Ted Levine's body, and Brook Smith sitting outside his house with a blanket wrapped around her, telling the EMTs how she was certain she was going to die.
WHERE WOULD IT END? Would Old Yeller's trailer show him getting shot? How about a trailer for the original Rocky, where the judges actually reveal their scores?
It's a combination of laziness on the part of the idiots cutting the trailers, and the collective impatience of the average potential viewer who's so used to looking up facts on their smart phone they've lost the ability to "wait and find out what happens".
I've heard JJ Abrams complain about this, but I haven't heard about anyone making an attempt to stop the film studios from doing it. Frankly, I no longer watch trailers, if I can help it. I'm tired of them spoiling movies that COST MONEY TO SEE!
The Legend of Hercules (2014)
Remember when a trailer wasn't the Cliff Notes version of the film?
This review does contain a few spoilers.
I watched the trailer, and what I saw was a 90-second version of the film, told in chronological snippets. I now know that Hercules falls in love with a princess, that she will be promised in marriage to another, that he will be sent away, that he will go through a lot to make his way back to her, blah-blah-blah.
I remember when a trailer made you interested in seeing the film, not when it was the equivalent of listening to the guy behind you summarize the film THEY saw.
The people making trailers these days seem to lack the imagination (or maybe the time) to find bits of the film that tease the viewer without spoiling the film. In fact, for trailers like this one, it should begin with the words "SPOILER ALERT" in bright red letters that take up the whole screen.
Get it together. Why pay money to watch a film, or to buy or rent the DVD, when you already know how it begins, what happens (again, in chronological order) during the film, and how it ends?
I can remember watching a comedy and afterwords thinking, "The only funny moments were the ones they showed in the trailer." But at least it got me in the seat to watch the movie. What this trailer showed me is that I probably wouldn't like the film if I DID spend the money to watch it. So why bother?
Arbitrage (2012)
Remember when a trailer wasn't the Cliff Notes version of the film?
I absolutely hate watching a 90-second trailer that reveals the plot, the plot progression, the beginning, middle and end, every significant event... Good God! I watched this trailer and when it was over, my first thought was, "Well, why sit through the whole movie? I've just SEEN the whole movie! Sitting through 90 minutes or 2 hours of film might fill in some DETAILS, but I know what's going to happen, and I know how it ends.
Will SOMEONE get a clue? There are still people out here who remember when you could see a trailer, see some shots of the film, get a HINT, a TEASER of the what the film was about, without getting what amounts to a condensed little brick of the film in question. MAYBE it's because we're getting used to information knocking others out of the way to be at our fingertips the INSTANT we have a question. Have we so completely lost our ability to experience suspense? I can remember seeing a trailer for Blade Runner (and this was after I'd SEEN Blade Runner), and thinking, "Whoa! What is THIS movie? It looks great!" If they cut it today, you'd know how it ends before it even opened in theaters.
To post here, you're warned about "writing a spoiler". This is my complaint in a nutshell: Today's trailers ARE spoilers. Please tell me that I'm not alone in believing this!