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Reviews
Good Times (2024)
100% trash
I'm not sure what Seth McFarlane was thinking when he decided to be an executive producer on this animated series named 'Good Times'. Nor what showrunner Ranada Shepard was thinking. However I think I know what original showrunner Carl Jones was thinking when left - no way he wanted to be associated with this fetid trash.
The title 'Good Time' misleads viewers into thinking this trash is an homage to the original series - it isn't. The family names, public housing and being poor are the only relationship to the iconic show. A drug dealing baby, numerous shootouts, frequent use of the N word, singing cockroaches and a male character walking around with his testicles barely covered up after taking a shower will quickly convince you this garbage has nothing sensible in common with the historic show (celebrating its 50th anniversary this year).
All aforementioned happened in the first episode of which I found so offensive and unfunny I turned it off without finishing it. Ms Shepard has stated viewers should watch all ten episodes before passing judgement- that's not going to happen. Apparently most viewers aren't impressed- released on April 12th it ranked as a lower rated Top Ten Netflix show a week later but fell from the rankings the second week. Viewer reviews have been mostly scathing and damning.
Damsel (2024)
Predictable and mediocre
This film was recommended by a friend who never recommends anything to me concerning films. I decided why not and watched it.
It was a bit below average and predictable. The special effects were decent and where a large portion of the budget went apparently.
Some of that money should have been spent on the script.
A king desperate to save his kingdom agrees to hand over his oldest daughter's hand in marriage to the prince of a kingdom offering enormous compensation. From the beginning this deal stunk from the way the future mother-in-law treated the bride's stepmother to the cryptic mention of rituals at the nearby mountain.
Angela Bassett and Robin Wright are A-listers given very little to do in the means of great lines of script... That's a waste of talent and this movie could have used them better here. 'Damsel' lacks any surprises so having these two interact more with better lines would have been more than welcomed.
Millie Bobby Brown was miscasted as the lead - she simply didn't give that great of a performance. Stiff, one note and inadequate.
No spoilers here - you don't need any once you get through the first 75 minutes.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Gettysburg Address (2024)
Keeps getting worse...
Wash, rinse and repeat... And so it goes as 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' continues to circle the drain this season. A once innovative and laugh out loud comedy keeps demonstrating this season how it has overstayed it's welcome.
Episode 6 is the worst so far this season- not one funny line or premise. JB Smoove's character died long ago as a comedic distraction. Suzie no longer has the energy to go into one of her funny profane rants at Larry's expense and Jeff has no funny lines to give.
It appears Cheryl comes on for nostalgia because she barely has lines now.
The show is badly showing its age. It's limping to the finish line with barely a pulse. If Larry ended it now without any further episodes that might be an improvement for what had been broadcasted this season.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Fish Stuck (2024)
Best of the season, that's not saying much
Episode five has been the best episode of the season which is sad because it was simply below mediocre.
Richard Lewis was in this episode and the show paid tribute to him with a picture card before the episode began which had his name, birth year and 2024.
Rest in peace, Mr. Lewis.
The same issues crop up in this episode however some of the 'CYE' comedic comedy shines brightly. Larry's new lawyer (Sean Hayes) offered some new energy and genuine laughs. Vince Vaughn's new girlfriend stole a few scenes of her own (especially when she puts her hand to her mouth- not much off a spoiler but you will know it when you see it). The lawyer's husband also was a refreshing character with some good lines.
Job Smoove's character overstayed his welcome 3 seasons ago... Trying to crowbar him in bad been a major mistake. He's not funny anymore.
The Tracey Ullman character can go also- nothing funny about her. 'CYA' could drop both characters (Larry takes them on a trip and they fall into a volcano - problem solved). Keep the new characters and finish off the season.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Sooooo bad...
What a joyless forgettable trainwreck this film is. 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' has zero charm, very little humor (which it was aiming to mine like Hulk did) and a tired script.
The CGI was akin to what you would see from a grade D video game. It was over saturated and pasty. The director didn't spend enough on the special effects to make stand out (it's weird to see people underwater talking and no water disturbance emanating from their mouths).
I didn't buy the whole splitting time between the surface and his throne in Atlantis... A king over vast kingdom like his and her treats bring king like a 9 to 5 job? How is he able to do that AND be home in the evening to change diapers, drink beer with his dad and do laundry?! Completely laughable (which was unintended humor)!
A run of the mill bad guy (with zero acting skills) who spins the entire movie grimacing and stomping around who isn't allowed to kill any character of substance.
So the movie has a neat happy ending for all the good guys! Weee!
The DCEU had to die but on such an insignificant bad note.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Vertical Drop, Horizontal Tug (2024)
Episode 3 & the season isn't improving
So far this has been a very sad farewell swan song season for Larry David and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.
I have a lot more respect for those who decided to cease before it goes bad- Ray Romano ending 'Everybody Loves Raymond' while it was still highly rated but he felt it was time is a great example.
Larry did the show (and his reputation) a great disservice with this season and last season. The money's great but the product is awful.
Larry finds himself in several awkward situations- it was too many scenarios and rendered the episode as unfocused.
There were two things that were a bit amusing but not enough to save this sinking ship called season 12.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Lawn Jockey (2024)
Awful...
The only way to improve this season is to cancel the show. Nothing's funny and with this episode there was no surprise as to what was going to happen with Larry and a rather offensive lawn decoration.
How did it get so bad? Larry David should have ended the show two seasons ago however I can imagine the checks coming from HBO most be pretty, pretty, pretty good.
At the very least they can cut JB Smoove's character any time... He adds less than nothing now. The whole premise of him freeloading off Larry ceased being funny long ago.
Susie Essman's character has been partially neutered - the bombastic cussfest she used to throw at Larry are tired and without any grit to them.
Maybe she's tired and is simply going through the motions... The whole cast had sunk to all time lows of seeming disinterested in the witty improv 'CYE' was known for.
I'm probably done with watching any more episodes.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Atlanta (2024)
Decline continues- the show is so unfunny now
Last season was awful... Unfunny and showing its age 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' hit a new low with season's 12 premier show.
I didn't laugh once. I didn't smile or chuckle. None of the premises were clever or inspiring. Bringing in a fresh face hasn't improved the humor or intrigue.
'Curb Your Enthusiasm' reminds me of a once great athlete who hasn't got the courage to stop playing when it is clear he/she no longer can perform at even a mediocre level.
I kept watching last season hoping that the dreck I was watching would somehow be replaced eventually with the clever improvisational humor the show is famous for yet it never happened.
Larry and Jeff- pull the plug already.
Fargo: Bisquik (2024)
Huge letdown
This 5th entry of the 'Fargo' series was so good... The characters were rich and well represented by the actors with the storyline being strong and compelling. Each chapter this year added layers to the previous chapter making season five arguably the best of the 'Fargo' seasons.
Until the final episode... Weak, nonsensical and unsatisfying. I was disappointed in how Noah Hawley tied up all the loose ends yet left a major one wide open. Trooper Witt's fate actually angered me because of it being an all too familiar fate for characters like his.
I was bored with last fifteen minutes... It included mumbo jumbo silliness from one of the most evil characters this season which further angered me about Witt's fate.
Fool Me Once (2024)
Sooo bad Lifetime would be ashamed to air it
After 1.5 episodes I'm already out... The lead actress is a stiff and unbelievable as an ex-military badazz. The mother-in-law actress looks as if she cashed the check and isn't going to do much more than looked bored and bothered.
There is excessive overacting by the entire cast... Maybe they were embarrassed to be in this garbage?!
The premise is the ex-military badazz has two tragedies happen within months that may be related to her husband and sister. I thought this had the makings off a decent miniseries however besides the awful casting the directing and pacing are just as bad.
I imagine this is what something looks like that even Lifetime would say, "Too cheap and awful even for us!" It is so bad I didn't make it through the second installment.
Don't waste your time.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Proming yet ...
A very promising beginning but such a huge letdown.
A successful couple, on a whim by the wife, rents a luxurious Air BnB away from the city. After settling in and beginning to enjoy the house the couple decide to take the kids to the beach. At the beach something very threatening happens and the couple returns to the house.
After returning to the house trying to figure out what was behind the incident at the beach a gentleman and young woman shows up at the house. Immediately the wife suspects these new arrivals are not to be trusted despite preliminary evidence suggests nothing nefarious about them after they explain what led them to come to the house. The new arrivals say something happened in the city they cannot explain.
This had the makings of modern day Hitchcock mystery movie however it ended up like so many disappointing M. Night Shyamalan flicks (like 'Knock at the Cabin'): Unable to sustain any continuity of the characters, storyline or plot.
The movie ends with a cliffhanger however I don't care what happened to ANY of the people or what was going on- I'm glad it's over and I don't have to invest any more time with this. Only 1 thing gets resolved in the entire movie and it was the least relevant issue.... All else is left to speculation, possible propaganda and opinions.
Maybe that was the point? If it was I don't mind leaving questions open to further a narrative however explaining nothing but one pointless plotline is a recipe for 'WTF did I just waste my time on?'
Hijack (2023)
Too long and ridiculous
By the time I watched the final episode I was bored... 'Hijack' doesn't spend enough time building any suspense. I actually kept wondering when the hijackers were going to kill Sam (Idris' character) because he kept injecting himself into what they had planned out.
Of course he's the main character so I knew that wasn't going to happen... But they should have!
Characters are introduced then mostly abandoned... Certain things are inferred then never addressed.
The final hour is so full of plotholes I laughed at myself for wasting 7 hours watching this series. I can see a sequel coming from this however I won't watch it.
Mayor of Kingstown (2021)
1st season - great! 2nd season - not great.
Great first season: Strong character development, stellar scripts, acting and storyline. Each episode meshed together leading to the season ending episode. As eye-rolling as some of the scenarios were in season one they weren't too crazy that I didn't lose interest.
Season two is a incoherent mess... It appears series EP Taylor Sheridan made a mistake leaving the script writing in season two to others (including his EP partner, Ian Dillon). Things went off the rail where Jeremy Renner's character could do anything he wanted without any repercussions.
People being killed in broad daylight on their front porch by people who in the street puts gloves and shoe covers on in the middle of the afternoon before committing the murder- and no one sees them!
Mike walks around and kills an AB member in broad daylight and nothing happens to him despite their being a credible witness to it! We are to assume the police cleaned it up for him but what about the witness? Hey, you're not suppose to think about things like that when you watch season two!
Iris was a character that could have died in the first episode of season two and I would not have missed her. She was an unneeded storyline. Kyle, Tracy and Miriam become annoying and unfocused. The writing and directing isn't as sharp nor is the storyline. The ending was predictable and nonsense - for a master criminal Milo makes some pathetic errors in the finale which makes it predictable as to his fate.
The train went off the tracks in season two... I'm not sure if I'll stick around for season three.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Much better than the last one, highly entertaining even at nearly 3 hours long
Ridiculous, ultra violent and nearly 3 hours long 'John Wick: 4' is pure escapism at its finest. No one goes to see a 'John Wick' movie for anything remotely close to realistic fights or gun battles- it's about the body count, hand to hand combat and just how far the director will take things as John absorbs so much abuse yet hardly comes away with a scratch!
I usually avoid movies like this however will admit it took my mind off the daily crap of life. This one is much better than the last one- Halle Berry's character was more annoying to me than a female killing machine complement to Keanu Reeves' character.
There are scenes in Paris, New York and Berlin - topnotch cinematography that surpasses the other films. And the fight scenes are well scripted- kudos to the work Reaves and the stunt people put in to make them outrageously entertaining!
Is this the last film in the series?
Maybe... However if this brings in a ton of money rest assured there will be another one.
The White Lotus (2021)
Meh... Why is this listed as a comedy drama?
I had heard such positive praise for 'White Lotus' that I decided to watch it. My first impression:
- Why is this considered a comedy drama?
I didn't find one thing funny in either season one or two. The humor is allegedly dark however it's must be so dark that I'm watching the show with the lights off and simply can't see it.
It is certainly a drama... More of a high end soap opera with a few twists. After watching both seasons I cannot say this is one of the best shows I've seen in a while. It is OK yet given the hype and less than satisfying reaction I've had to it I graded lower than average.
I also don't like soap operas... I haven't watched once since I stopped watching 'Dallas' at the end of season 5.
'White Locust' is like seeing an ad for a great steak dinner at a new place however when you finally get the finish product on your plate it isn't as tasty or appealing as advertised.
No doubt about it- season 3 will be green lit because of the still overwhelming praise being rained upon it. Maybe it will get better.
Black Adam (2022)
Ugh... What a boring movie
What has potential to be a crowd pleaser was more like a snoozer. There were times I thought Duane Johnson was going to turn to the camera, arch an eyebrow and say, "Are you smelling what The Rock is cooking?! "
I didn't know anything about the comic book character 'Black Adam ' before seeing this movie. The movie does a great job explaining his back story: a slave who sees his family executed due to his son defying the emperor. When the emperor tries to execute the son the gods decide to not allow it and saves him. They empower the son to be a champion of the people.
The slave also becomes empowered (not going to put a spoiler in here to explain how that happens) yet the gods conclude his abuse of those powers cannot be tolerated so they place him in tomb like prison for eternity.
Switching to current times the city is still occupied with the people being abused. There is a race on to recover the emperor's crown made from a rare earth mineral (an obvious rip off from 'Black Panther '). There are two factors going after the crown: those who want to hide it so it cannot be used for evil and those who want to use that power.
It is this retrieving of the crown that leads to 'Black Adam' being freed from his prison. He wasted no time killing as many as possible who were trying to recover the crown for evil purposes but not the people trying to recover the crown to hide it.
Basically anyone who aimed a weapon at him.
Once you open your movie with this amount of violence how can you top it and keep your audience entertained? The answer is this movie can't. Every thing after this is basically a rehash of the first 25 minutes. The grade B DC characters sent to 'arrest' him are ridiculous: 'Black Adam' has these powers and you send THESE three?! Superman wasn't available (maybe in a sequel)?
The ending was worse... I won't spoil it here other than to say stretching it out as long as possible was awful. By this time I was hoping that 'Black Adam' would decimate the city and save us all in the audience.
Amsterdam (2022)
Too long, unfocused and bloated
'Amsterdam'- this movie is billed as a comedy drama, however there are few laughs to be found.
Director David O. Russell has an A list cast but his script is confusing and scattered. Based on true events two American soldiers (Christian Bale and John David Washington) bond with each other while stationed overseas. After both become injured they are treated by a quirky nurse (Margot Kidder) who falls for Washington's character.
The nurse convinces the soldiers they should go to Amsterdam for fun and adventures. Once there they make contact with two men (Micheal Shannon and Mike Myers) who help them with their 'adventures' with a caveat: one day they will come calling for their help.
This buddy movie goes off the rails after that. I wouldn't going into any more details other than to say the 2 veterans become accused of a murder of someone they knew and eventually involves the nurse to help get evidence of their innocence.
I think the director would have been better off by cutting this movie down by 30-40 minutes (it's 2 hours and 14 minutes long) and leaving out some of the fluff not central to the story.
The 3 main stars are good in their roles (finally saw a film in which Washington was actually good in) and there are many more stars in this film (Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Robert de Niro, Taylor Swift, Ed Begley Jr.) which makes this one bloated affair.
This also could have been a two movie arc... The first movie about how they met and the second about the murder and their adventures after being accused.
The director stuffed everything into a meandering mess that started with the potential for great entertainment yet ended up with a 2.25 hour box office dud (looks like it will lose over $100 million dollars). I nearly fell asleep in the last 50 minutes of the movie and I actually liked the ending.
When this movie comes to streaming I'll pause it after 90 minutes and then watch the rest of it another day to see if my opinion about it should have been a two parter rings true for me.
Moonfall (2022)
Boring and terrible
So awful... I hope Halle Berry made a lot of money from this because doing garbage like this can hurt your career. Roland Emmerich makes the most overblown and bloated disaster movies without any subtlity or a feel for writing decent dialog.
The moon has become unstable and threatens to destroy Earth. So against all odds a flawed mission to the moon using an out of commission space shuttle prepped and ready to launch in literally hours is the only chance to find out why the moon is behaving this easy and to stop it.
The acting is off the charts bad... All involved should feel ashamed to cash those checks.
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (2022)
Thud... Dead on arrival
I tried to hang in with this show... but I haven't laughed once. I stumbled across this show scanning around Netflix looking for something new however this has few positives in the area of comedy. It actually has all zeros in the area if comedy. It's well made but so ridiculous and over the top. It gives a bad name to dark comedy. The premise is great however the results are just not funny. The best thing I can say about it is that Kristen Bell has great stomach muscles. Bell plays an artist who cannot overcome the tradic death of her daughter. She no longer paints... She spends her days drinking red wine and spying on her new neighbor across the street and his young daughter. There appears to be quite a bit of mystery involving the new neighbor and the women in his life. The producers seemed to be aiming for a parody of 'Rear Window' but it lands with a thud. Nice try however what a waste of comedic effort and Netflix money.
Keep Breathing (2022)
Yawn...
Unfocused drama that became uninteresting by the 4th installment... The director and screenplay didn't know what direction the main character should go in (literally) and the ending was dissatisfying as they give up her ultimate ending minutes before the ending!
Old (2021)
Dreadful...
Simply bad all around except for some of the cinematography... Script, directing, acting and premise. Nothing surprising (I was so bored by the time the 'twist' was revealed I didn't care).
A complete borefest.
F9 (2021)
So awful...
Where do I begin with how bad this movie is?
- Vin Diesel's acting consists of him doing not much more than mumbling his lines.
- Tricked out super muscle cars make no sense (never have) transversing a jungle.
- No major city would put up with a large scale shootout without calling in the national guard or SWAT team.
- If going to outer space is so simple why won't every country cheap out and do it the way it's depicted in the movie?
None of this would matter if this was simply mindless exciting entertainment however this was a borefest. Nothing here that you mostly haven't seen before and when that happens I notice all the flaws much more.
It made money so no doubt there will be another one. I am more amazed that people are still watching these movies than by anything that was in the actual movie.
What a snoozefest!
The Laundromat (2019)
Dull & dark humor that falls flat
Director Steven Soderbergh's attempt at dark humor and storytelling about tax shells and tax havens isn't moving out humorous.
Meryl Streep, Gary Goldman & Antonio Banderas turn in fine performances in an unfocused mess with too many people. It is a complicated story that the director tries to cram in a small amount of time- the results are a film best suited as a miniseries.
You understand the scandal and how it works from the film... It simply comes across as a yawner that doesn't have enough time to be entertaining and educational. Soderbergh seemed to be determined not to stretch the movie out beyond a certain time limit... That's a shame because given another 1 hour or maybe as a 2 part miniseries that would have been much better.
Kimi (2022)
Not exciting or thrilling...
A soulless 90 minutes thriller which will tarnish Steven Soderbergh's rep for directing good films. There were zero twists- all things are completely revealed within 40 minutes of this film. The acting is very pedestrian- where did they get these stiffs from (including Rita Wilson and Zoë Kravitz)? Not a complete borefest however everything about it screams 'straight to video'. There are Lifetime Christmas movies with more thrills in them that this one.
No Time to Die (2021)
A fitting farewell to Daniel Craig's James Bond
A fitting farewell to Daniel Craig's James Bond
Seeing that quite a few James Bond fans are older than 50 my advice is to make sure to use the bathroom before watching the film- it is 2 hours 43 minutes long. I thought the movie would drag however after watching it I found the time went by without lagging much.
James Bond has retired and thinking of settling down with the love of his life however his old nemisis Spectre still wants him dead. When his friend from the CIA Felix Leiter (Jeffery Wright) offers Bond the chance to spoil Spectre's plans he takes it. MI6 has a new 007 (Lashana Lynch) who has been dispatched to also foil Spectre's plans.
Lynch is great as the new 007- her casting has caused much handwringing with traditional Bond movie fans. Not with me- she performs the role well along with Ana de Armas as Bond's Cuba contact. The women in 'No Time to Die' were given ample screen time to shine and for character development.
Rami Malek's villionous Safin was played bit too understated... Mr. Malek had stated he did this on purpose however I would have liked more from Safin.
All said this is a great ending to the Daniel Craig 5 movie arc involving James Bond and Spectre. There are surprises that I won't reveal and will probably cause many traditional Bond fans to not be happy with them.
Not me...I loved the film and look forward to the return of 007.