Reviews

A young family's (two dads and their daughter) vacation is cut short when four strangers show up telling them the end is nigh and in order to prevent the apocalypse the family must chose one of their own to sacrifice. Every time they refuse to chose, one of the four strangers will be slain.

That's really all you need to know.

While this premise makes for some tense moments it ultimately falls short because it feels rushed and lacking in vital plot building information.

The four strangers (who are in fact the four horsemen on the apocalypse) found each other online after having shared visions of the world's end. However, we learn next to nothing about their visions, how they came to find one another, really nothing. As a result, we care very little about them and their eventual demise lacks considerable punch.

I think this would have worked better as a series which could have fleshed out the four horsemen, their visions, their coming together, etc. I think this would have allowed for more potential twists as the family try to figure out if this is real, are they crazy, etc.

I'm sure we all watch Shyamalan movies now trying to pick the twist before it comes, and this time he tricked us all by having no actual twist.

A fictionalised version of Pete Davidson's life that is funny, if a little uneven.

I had no problem with the gross out humour, but some of the jokes did fall a little flat, as did some of the dramatic moments, and at least one episode (the fast and furious send up, lol) was just downright ridiculous.

However, it definitely made me laugh and it was no chore to keep watching all episodes.

The season ends on a somewhat of a cliffhanger, so it will be interesting to see if it gets a second season.

If you don't like Pete Davidson or his style of humour then this is definitely not for you so give it a miss.

I am still undecided on this one.

Travis Fimmel's performance was great, but it seems they went with a bunch of non-actors for all the islander roles and I'm sorry but it shows. There was some very poor acting on show here, to the point that some of the scenes with Isabelle's family were painfully stilted and took me right out of the story.

The murder mystery was engrossing enough to keep me watching until the end, but must admit when the killer was revealed in the final act it was a bit anticlimactic.

I am curious now to find out more about the protagonist's missing brother and his relationship with his father.

Recently decided to relive my early teens and re-watch this. What an absolute time capsule.

This was kind of like Australia's version of Degrassi showing kids dealing with real, gritty situations.

Agree with previous comments that some of the acting was exceptionally bad and what is it about Aussie tv/movies from the 90s and earlier where everyone seems to speak with the most nasal aussie twang you've ever heard?

Also remember even as a teenager being bewildered by the actions of some of the characters which just seemed so unbelievable. An example, in a later season a snobby exchange student quickly makes herself public enemy number one with the students, so decides to climb on the roof of the school and perform a classical ballet dance. All of a sudden everyone thinks she's cool and they all like her. Pffft. At my high school she would have been teased mercilessly for pulling something like this.

Loses some of its charm after the fourth season when there is a noticeable shift from a cast of characters showcasing vast multicultural backgrounds to a predominantly white Anglo cast and it starts to feel a lot more like Home and Away.

Also, I know everyone at the time mooned over Drazic and Anita, but for me it was always Katerina and Charlie. On rewatching it was very noticeable that Drazic was actually a total asshole more often than he wasn't.

Watch for nostalgic fluff purposes only and do not take too seriously!

I watched this somewhat sporadically when it was originally on network tv and remembered enjoying it so decided to revisit recently when I found it on Netflix.

I did not heed the advice of other reviewers to stop after the first two seasons and instead soldiered through all four, mostly just to see how they wrapped it up.

As mentioned by most reviewers, the first two seasons were great. Storylines revolve around a group of twenty-somethings from different walks of life making their way through life. There are flawed and even (sometimes) unlikeable characters navigating careers, relationships and their sexuality, stopping short of the unbelievable revolving door partner swapping that similar dramas often employ.

Unfortunately it starts to lose its way in the third season. Some mainstays from the first two seasons have now left with little explanation and they are never heard from or spoken about again. One character who spent most of the first season in perpetual angst after discovering her boyfriend is actually gay, seamlessly transitions into a gay relationship herself with virtually no explanation or self exploration. One of the main narrators finds herself in a badly overacted abusive relationship and none of her friends say a word about it. In spite of this, there were still some enjoyable moments to be had in this season.

The fourth season is mostly a train wreck. The bulk of the original cast has now disappeared with no explanation. The main narrator, who had spent the first three seasons as a shameless womaniser, inexplicably decides he loves one of his ex girlfriends (who had been portrayed as a bunny boiler crazy ex) and moved in with her in a different suburb. He and his housemate then say their farewells as though he is moving to a different country. He is then never mentioned again.

I get that the characters have to move on eventually to show growth and make room for new characters, but the way most of them were written out/disappeared is really just lazy writing. They must have known by halfway through the fourth season that the show was getting cancelled and it shows.

All the boys want to (inexplicably) sleep with Mandy Lane.

Amber Heard tucks her hair behind her ears for 1.5 hours and everybody dies.

That's it. That's the movie.

So disappointing. For a horror movie I didn't think there was a legitimate scare in it and also lacked much of the humour of its predecessors.

I'm obviously older than the target audience but the killers' motivation was one of the more stupid I've ever heard.

I liked the scenes with the OG characters, but Courtney Cox's face is so distracting.

Wait until you can watch this on cable for free.

I'm not actually sure with shows like this if I am really getting drawn into the story or if I am just totally sucked in by cliffhanger endings that force you to keep watching to get an answer to a question that was posed several episodes ago.

Still, I can't deny I did watch all episodes over a couple of days and enjoyed it enough that it didn't feel like a chore.

I would have liked to see some more characters and storylines fleshed out a little. Mallory, for example, was such a thoroughly unlikeable character that I couldn't imagine why Jeanette was ever friends with her to begin with. I also would have liked to see how she managed to strike up a friendship with Kate, rather than their storyline starting once they were already established friends. Also, am I the only one who thought Mallory seemed to have the hots for Kate? This would have explained some of her over the top reactions/behaviour in relation to Kate in the pre-abduction storyline.

The way they wrapped up the 'who saw Kate' question felt rushed and frustrating. Mallory's explanation that she had seen a female moving freely about the house, and didn't realise it was Kate she had seen until afterwards, seemed reasonable to me, and obviously Kate too as she forgave her pretty much instantly. So why then would that not have also been an acceptable explanation if it had been Jeanette who saw her as Kate initially thought?

I was not overly surprised by the reveal at the end.

Curious to see if season 2 will be a continuation of this story or a new one.

Mostly thought this was a great, compelling story - noting that some parts were pure fiction.

For me, it lost a bit of steam in the last few episodes when they suddenly tried to turn Anna into a sympathetic character. It was just too much of an about face after doing such a good job of painting her as thoroughly unlikeable in the preceding episodes.

I thought Anna Chlumsky was good, if slightly uneven. Julia Garner's European accent was very grating, but I'm not sure if that's how the real Anna sounds. Laverne Cox was great.

I was going to wait until after the last episode to write a review, but having watched nine episodes I'm doubtful the finale will be able to change my opinion.

I don't hate this series, but it is disappointing. The foundation of the original show was the friendships and how they bounced off one another. The banter is definitely missing and in the absence of Samantha, so is a lot of the humour.

Miranda has become a very unlikeable character, and while I see nothing wrong with showing real, flawed characters I'm just not sure I buy her big personality change. Also I think having Steve portrayed as a doddering old man is just lazy writing.

And speaking of lazy writing, probably my biggest gripe is that all of these important plot points and conversations are happening off screen and then we are told about it afterwards: the extended divorce conversation between Steve and Miranda when she tells him about Che, the conversation between Che and Miranda when she surprises them at their show, Carrie grieving Big, Stanley's departure, etc.

As I said though, I haven't hated it. There have been a few good laughs and I am liking seeing more of Anthony and some of the emerging supporting characters (once we got past the over the top wholeness of the first couple of episodes).

Like I said, I'm doubtful the show can redeem itself in the last episode, but I am hopeful it will continue to get better if picked up for a second season.

Loses points only for the final reveal, which was a bit anticlimactic, and the bafflingly awful, stilted acting of the American VIPs.

Otherwise, definitely worth the watch.

Plays like an extra long episode of a sitcom, with a very made for tv kind of feel.

I'm not going to lie, only started watching this for Jensen Ackles and if not for him I probably would not have persisted to the end.

Lost count of the number of rom com cliches, like putting an attractive girl in a ponytail and a frumpy outfit to make her the 'ugly' girl, but the cheese and cringe was in abundance.

Not really sure what the message was either, as one central character spends the entire movie espousing his 'looks shouldn't matter' philosophy, only to change his entire appearance at the very end in order to get the hot, shallow girl.

Get's three stars because it did actually have a couple of funny moments - not enough to actually make me laugh out loud, but did crack a smile a few times.

I saw another reviewer described this series a perfect example of a show that was kept alive too long thanks to its fandom (or words to that effect) and I tend to agree.

For a show that was very strong in its earlier seasons it started to somewhat lose its way around the middle and petered out towards the end.

The anti-climactic fight between Michael and Lucifer, after the whole fifth season being about how that couldn't happen because it would destroy the earth, was fairly unforgivable.

I get the last season was impacted by COVID and both the leads were going on to do other projects so they had to finish it, but it still felt so lacking. The last season of the show and they still packed it full of 'filler' episodes that didn't really drive the plot, and the takedown of the final Big Bad was really more explained to us afterwards, rather than shown.

IMO Dean's death was necessary, and I get they had to do it in a way that he would die slowly, thus giving him and Sam the chance to have their poignant goodbye, but the way he went was such an insult to his character.

Still, I am rating the show in its entirety, and over its 15 seasons I still think there was more good episodes than bad - even the last season had some that I liked. And the chemistry between the brothers was brilliant right to the end.

Terrifying true story that was easy to binge over a weekend.

Great performances by all, although the fat suit prosthetics worn by Jackson in the later episode were distracting, which in my opinion lessened the impact of some of the court room scenes.

The timeline jumping was also a little hard to follow at times, but mostly used effectively.

Disappointing ending only in as much as we never get a satisfying answer as to the protagonists motivations.

I did actually see this at the cinema when it first came out and remember thinking it was a bit ridiculous then, yet for some reason whenever it's on cable I always find myself re-watching it.

I'm a fan of inappropriate, gross out humour, but I did think it was trying a bit too hard in places, namely the p*nis song.

Still, Diaz and Applegate do have good chemistry, Jason Bateman is hilarious in his few scenes and while I couldn't say it was bust a gut funny I did laugh consistently throughout it.

Can't rate it any higher than 5 though due to the pretty paper thin plot.

Thought the first two seasons were great, and even though it declined in quality and the narrator was insufferable I did actually enjoy the much maligned third season. However this show really lost its way in the last season.

I struggled to understand how the jocks could go from such a culture of toxic masculinity and rampant homophobia in the first three seasons to accepting a bisexual football captain and being over the moon when he and his boyfriend were voted prom kings in season 4. Character growth is great but they compacted this over way too short a time frame.

Also felt the Monte thing was a bit muddled. The jocks motivation for messing with Clay was to clear Monte's name after he was posthumously accused of Bryce's murder, however they constantly insinuated that Clay was responsible for Monte's death. Monte was in jail for the horrific sexual assault of Tyler, and was murdered by a fellow inmate because of his charges.

Lastly, was really disappointed with Justin's ending after his redemption arc over the entirety of the show. If someone had to have a shitty ending to their story would probably rather have seen Alex brought to justice. Not really sure what the message was, life sucks and then it keeps on sucking??

Rating the show as a whole though, not just the last season.

Enjoyable watch, but so can see why men have hated this.

Cassandra's best friend takes her own life after a sexual trauma for which the perpetrators were not brought to justice. Cassandra then spends her weekends going out and pretending to be trashed in the hopes that she will be picked up by a sexual predator so she can then go with them and... give them a talking to?.. I can't be the only one that thought the trailer made out like she was murdering these men, or torturing them or something?

The ending did not quite pack the punch it should have and felt somewhat unsatisfying.

Also, while I though Carey Mulligan looked great, there were times she appeared significantly older than some of the other characters who were supposed to be her school peers and therefore the same age.

Enjoyable nonetheless.