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joerowling
Reviews
Altered Carbon (2018)
Interesting concept, intriguing characters, very inconsistent writing.
Well where do I begin? This show is very well produced. The slick look really draws you in. It is clearly inspired by blade runner though certainly not a cheap knock off. The characters are good, meaning interesting and certainly not morally good. If anything overwhelmingly the characters are morally corrupt. The so called protagonist is not a very good person and quite frankly if they kill him off there's not one part of me that would care in the slightest. The journey he is on and the high production value keep me watching despite how abhorrent a person he is. The writing is what keeps this show from being great which is truly a shame. It has the potential to be one of the greats but the sometimes insulting writing is a lot to take. When I say insulting I don't mean it's going to offend woke wussy people that get offended by just about everything. I mean it's insulting to one's intelligence. There's the scene where the one person that hasn't been to this particular location telling another person how they can get out when that other person has been in that place before. There's a woman who gets a bionic super strong arm that can bend metal yet she consistently fights people and doesn't seem to have super strength except for at key moments. And if they have this technology to upgrade then why don't these elites upgrade themselves to truly be super sapians? It's ludicrous. It makes no sense. There are countless other examples I could give but I won't drone on about it. In the end it is an interesting story. The acting is mostly good. The visuals are stunning. They clearly put a lot of money into it. It's just a damn shame that the writing is inconsistent and convoluted. I'll give it 7 out of 10 because it's that captivating. It could have been a near perfect show if the writers had made better decisions. Oh well.
The Stranger (2020)
Bad writing, bad acting. What a mess.
Wow, where to begin with this wreck. Do I start with the broken pieces scattered about or should we start a body count? I've never seen such a great cast of actors do such a terrible job. It's not all their fault, the script and flow of the show is dreadful. There are so many plot holes you would think the world is filled with black stars waiting to suck you into oblivion. The mother is poisoning her daughter and leaves mountains of evidence laying around in the garage for anyone to find. And while a random teenager finds it immediately the police officer husband/father doesn't come across this? Ludicrous. The flashback scenes with the main family are dreadfully not believeable to even the dumbest of minds. It's completely "acted" and phoned in. There is dialogue that is pointless and terrible. You would think they hired the guy that did The Room, it's really that bad. There's a "chase" scene through town and into a train yard that is laughably bad. Seriously one of the worst chase scenes ever and I have seen some bad bad chase scenes in some bad bad cinema. This is soap opera level acting and scripting. Some of the worst directing ever put to a decently budgeted vehicle. If you like terrible soap operas by all means dig in, you will love it. If you have any reasonable intelligence that requires a show to not be stupid and terrible, skip this show. If it gets a second season it's a testimony to the idiocy of society. Paint drying could possibly be more entertaining. I'm only giving it a 3 instead of a 1-2 because I have to acknowledge that they put some financial effort into making this show. They could have put them in a rented office space and said hey this is a field in England just use your imagination. So I guess technically it could be worse than a 3? I guess....
The Witcher (2019)
Solid show. Lots of fun.
Well what can I say about The Witcher? I have no background to have had a previous bias. I had never heard of the... video game? Book? Whatever it's based on I have no idea. As for the comparison to GOT I have never seen that show. Would like to someday but as of this review I know squat about GOT other than it was great but they blew it in the last season. So I hear. Anyway, back to the review. I really enjoyed this 1st season. Cavill is fantastic as Geralt. The fight scenes are great, really well coordinated. There really aren't any weak performances. Some are great some are pretty good but none bad or even sub par. The costumes, set designs, cinematography and CGI are all top notch. They clearly put a lot of money into this production. The flow is excellent. Not a whole lot of wasted screen time. It was hard to follow the time lines but upon a second viewing it all came together for me. It's even better after a second viewing. It seems to me that it's an allegory that sums up the corruption of our own world. Powerful nations do terrible things but justify their actions by saying it's for the greater good. There's xenophobia but it's aimed towards the different types of creatures that are oppressed. Especially the Elves. People of different color don't discriminate against each other. While some woke people will scoff at this I found it refreshing and interesting. It's not earth and it's more interesting to me that they pit Elves and nations against one another more than worrying about skin color. It's a nice break from all the terrible xenophobia we deal with in our own existence. History is written by the winners. It's all pretty aligned with the Roman/British/American rule that we have seen in our own existence. They do a good job of showing class systems. The fairly rich complain about the Royals while they beat their slaves and tell themselves they are better. Again this reminds me of the real world I live in and reflects properly how full of it a lot of people are. The story is very interesting. There are only a few things that don't seem to add up to me but I won't spoil it. It's nothing that ruins the storyline. There's just a character or two that are weirdly hypocritical about certain things. Which again reflects us, we're certainly hypocritical but still there's one thing a character complains about that this character made happen then acts like said character was forced to do. Maybe I missed something or the book or video game or whatever explains better. Again it doesn't ruin the show it just seems odd to me. Looking forward to season 2. I hope they don't screw it up!
Dunkirk (2017)
Ridiculous and insulting
I don't know the story of Dunkirk previous to this movie. That being said, seeing the numbers displayed filled my head with a Normandy like experience. Not so apparently as there seems to be not nearly close to hundreds of thousands of soldiers, more like a thousand at most. Where are the planes and other war machines in all this chaos? There are several planes that pop in and out, for all the talk of destroyers and impending doom there's almost nothing ever actually happening. The characters are about as bland as one could ever imagine. Understandably I don't expect these characters to be joyous and full of life, but they are so dull it's like watching paint dry for almost two hours. It's incredible that such a high budget was used for this movie. I can see how movies get expensive but this film does not evoke a big budget experience in the slightest. As a big Nolan fan this is a giant disappointment. Watch a classic like Saving Private Ryan or Full Metal Jacket. Skip this one. It's garbage.
Final Space (2018)
Can't find a reason to give it less than a 10
What can I say, it's quite a stretch to say this deserves a 10 star review. Everyone is a critic and I'm sure there are some out there that would give this show a 1 star review. For me, I can't find anything to take away from a 10 star review. It's funny in an adolescent and clever way. What's surprising is how much heart there is to it. There's interesting science fiction elements but not so much that it alienates the viewer. Really looking forward to season two. Just a great show, top notch.
Lucifer (2016)
Sometimes so good, sometimes so bad.
What can I say about Lucifer? At times it is clever and even brilliant, other times it is frustratingly ridiculous. It's as if really good writers do most of the work, then hand off the script to the worst writers ever while they go partying. I keep watching as it is fun popcorn television if nothing else. It just seems a shame because it has the potential to be great. I'm hoping that with it going to Netflix that it will break more barriers and go in a better direction. Lucifer has very strange ideas of moral ethics and what is considered evil. I groaned when he taught kids how to sell drugs, and that drug was pot. Not meth, not full blown heroin, not cocaine. Really, in this day and age that's the evil drug that will lead you to hell? Another problem is that often characters are paper cut stereotypes that border on offensive. Often minorities are pathetic stupid thugs. They try to push the idea that criminals are born evil and can't be redeemed, which to my knowledge entirely goes against the teachings of Christianity. Again in this modern age where prisons make the rich richer and half the prisoners barely committed a crime and are put through slave labor, it's just ridiculous and factually incorrect in American society. The actors are quite good which is why I hang on. Again, sometimes it's brilliant and sometimes it's almost painfully stupid. I'll admit it's mostly entertaining, I just take it for what it is and groan at the dumb writing when it pops up.
Pi (1998)
terrible movie, just terrible...
Wow, where to begin. Poor direction, terrible acting, lousy choices in set design... I could go on an on but I wont waste too much time, I wasted enough on this stupid film. While I'm not a mathematician or numerologist I am a smart man who has seen and studied many movies and styles of movies. As far as understanding the movie, there is little to worry about understanding the plot. There is very little information given to outline the plot, and very little plot. It's pretty simple, he is crazy. That doesn't mean he is not also brilliant, but assuredly he is a nut job. This matters little in the end as the story is fleeting and pointless. Now for the acting. The lead actor is one of the worst actors I have ever seen. His portrayal is labored and not believable. I can actually feel as though I can see Aronofsky off to the side saying "OK now get a bit more frantic, and break that computer there! Now look kinda scared and confused..." Ben Shenkman is actually redeemable and somewhat interesting, and Mark Margolis is a terrific actor and is the one actor who shines through. This is not nearly enough to make the film even remotely enjoyable. The woman and her goons that accost him randomly throughout the movie are some of the worst over the top actors I have ever seen, as is the little Asian girl. I don't enjoy bad mouthing a child actor (though she is a grown up by now at any rate) she was just so bad it's atrocious. Friends of mine (with whom I usually agree with when it comes to taste in movies) say this is the early version of requiem for a dream, supposedly requiem being the Hollywood "money" version. I must say I do not see this at all. Requiem is an amazing film, fantastic direction, acting, script, style etc. It is a strong film that shines a light on drug addiction, the pressure of adult life, actions, reactions and consequences. Pi is nothing like this, not even one tiny bit. It is a horrible mess of video and audio, it really does not deserve to be called a movie as it would signify that it has some kind of story and/or cohesion, which it absolutely lacks in every way. To be clear, I am not a hater of independent films or artistic films. I loathe Michael Bay and his ilk of directors. The fact is that good film making is just that, whether it is a low budget gem or a high budget Hollywood gold mine. I have no problem with black and white films either. That being said, filming low budget b/w film doesn't automatically make it deep and rich in texture. Much as you can't put $200,000,000 into a film and guarantee a blockbuster smash hit that gets great reviews, you can't shoot low budget and expect to make a great film based on almost no story and terrible acting.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Can A Movie Be Perfect?
I saw this film when I was fourteen, and at the time it was the most flawlessly impressive piece of storytelling I had ever seen. If I were forced to make a top 10 list this movie would certainly be right up there. Robbins and Freeman are both incredible, and as good as they are in other films I would still say it remains their finest work. The scenery and costumes, the prison which if I remember right was an actual prison back around the same time the film took place. It is all so rich with texture and detail that it draws you in. The story is great, Stephen King has written some amazing stories and this is a testament that he is not just a horror novel expert. The actors all take it to the next level and make it a pretty much perfect film. It is pretentious to say a film or any piece of art is perfect, however I honestly can't say there is anything I dislike about the film. No scene seems long and unnecessary, every actor is perfectly cast and feels very authentic. It really is the real deal. Like American History X and some other films it is a movie that everyone with a moderately high IQ and a love of cinema should see one day.
El laberinto del fauno (2006)
if you don't do subtitles don't watch this movie
This movie is one of the greatest ever made. The visual effects are some of the most engaging and impressive that I have seen and I have seen a lot of movies. It is not so much impressive in the way that CG is in Avatar but it is on it's own level. You just have to see it to understand. The story is very heavy and powerful. Some scenes were so shocking and powerful that I was actually shaking. There are horror movies that deal with strange and unlikely things like zombies, and don't get me wrong I love a good zombie or vampire movie. However, a film like this one that deals with war in a very smart and real way has a much bigger impact when something really bad happens than a movie that is clearly make believe. This movie deals with make believe and the surreal in a way that few other movies have been able to pull off well. What Dreams Come attempted this and did not quite hit the mark, this movie does a much better job of contrasting and blending what is real and what is imagination. Brilliant, brilliant movie. If you have a problem with subtitles do not waste your time, you will be disappointed and want to give the movie an unfair low rating which is an ignorant English speaking person thing to do. If you can deal with subtitles, watch this movie.
Wayne's World 2 (1993)
How Is This Movie a 6 out of 10!?!?!?!?
I am shocked to find that this classic movie is so poorly reviewed. This movie is very funny and has fantastic cameos. I know that many people have a real hate on for Mike Meyers which I don't particularly understand. I do think that the Austin Powers Series is overrated but still good. The first Wayne's World is a great movie. The sequel is one of the best comedy movies ever made. If you don't like comedies don't waste your time, that is pretty simple. If you like to laugh give this movie a try. The cameos alone are quite impressive. Couple that with the great writing that reminds me of The Simpsons in the earlier best years they had, and add in great comedic actors and you have a comedy classic that is worth watching.