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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Legion in TV
Aug 3, 2017
Writing (4 more)
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A mind bending new take
This show was so fresh and offered an extremely interesting and original new take on the X Men universe. Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza are phenomenal as are the rest of the cast. The show was writing by the guys behind Fargo, so as expected it is a very well written script with sharp, meaningful dialogue and some genuinely shocking moments. There are some very experimental methods of filming used and for the most part they totally work with the surreal tone that the show achieves.
The only reason I can't score this a perfect 10 is because I found the ending of the first season to be very anti climatic after all of the clever, tightly woven build up. Still though, this is a great new show.
The only reason I can't score this a perfect 10 is because I found the ending of the first season to be very anti climatic after all of the clever, tightly woven build up. Still though, this is a great new show.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) in Movies
Feb 6, 2019 (Updated Feb 6, 2019)
When bad movies happen to good actors.
I like Mila Kunis and adore Kate McKinnon on SNL but this movie is a huge clunker. There is nothing to save the poor plot and script. It's supposed to be a comedy/action film but fails at both. It's kind of all over the place and difficult to follow not because of complexity but because of the randomness of situations and scenes. The few funny moments were probably ad-libbed. The trailer was the best part of the movie, everything else was just awful. When the actors were on the press junket for the film, I recall them saying how funny the movie is. I think they don't always realize that movies that may have been fun for them to film are tedious for viewers to watch. Fun does not equal good or funny.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Fisherman's Friends (2019) in Movies
Mar 20, 2019 (Updated Mar 20, 2019)
Punishingly trite, manipulative and formulaic (not very) based-on-a-true-story rom-com melodrama. Jaded urban over-achiever finds himself stranded in remote rural community, learns to appreciate the value of The Important Things in Life; meanwhile a crew of hairy fishermen sing songs with lyrics like 'Nacker-nacker-toory-ay'. Cornwall and its inhabitants are arguably patronised a lot.
Utterly predictable and not very funny (well, we did laugh a lot during the bit with the funeral, but we're not very proud of that), the script overdoses on feelgood platitudes while not bothering all that much about things like characterisation or internal logic. The music is not that bad (if you like that sort of thing), but sheesh, you can go and buy a CD for that. In the end this is a sort of lobotomised version of Local Hero with added folk music.
Utterly predictable and not very funny (well, we did laugh a lot during the bit with the funeral, but we're not very proud of that), the script overdoses on feelgood platitudes while not bothering all that much about things like characterisation or internal logic. The music is not that bad (if you like that sort of thing), but sheesh, you can go and buy a CD for that. In the end this is a sort of lobotomised version of Local Hero with added folk music.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Meg (2018) in Movies
Apr 2, 2019
Jurassic Shark
Megashark vs Jason Statham movie has its moments but suffers a bit from lacking a clear sense of what it actually wants to be: family-oriented disaster movie, cheesy B-movie fun, or special effects blockbuster. Some people get stuck at the bottom of the sea, top diver (Statham) is recruited to get them out; in the process an enormous prehistoric shark is unleashed.
Actually feels a bit like one of those ultra-calculated Chinese blockbusters we are beginning to see (cf. Skyscraper); perhaps this explains why it is always just a bit too bland and clean to really succeed. You can easily imagine Dwayne Johnson starring in this instead. Statham manages to bring his own brand of nuttiness to the affair, far outshining the rest of a pretty nondescript cast. Script is predictable, special effects are okay, ending is unexpectedly inventive. More fun than it sounds.
Actually feels a bit like one of those ultra-calculated Chinese blockbusters we are beginning to see (cf. Skyscraper); perhaps this explains why it is always just a bit too bland and clean to really succeed. You can easily imagine Dwayne Johnson starring in this instead. Statham manages to bring his own brand of nuttiness to the affair, far outshining the rest of a pretty nondescript cast. Script is predictable, special effects are okay, ending is unexpectedly inventive. More fun than it sounds.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Red Joan (2018) in Movies
Apr 21, 2019 (Updated Apr 21, 2019)
Good-looking but turgid romantic melodrama. Sweet old granny (Dench, not in it much) is hauled in by special branch when her history as a Russian mole on the A-bomb project nearly sixty years earlier comes to light. Most of the film is made up of flashbacks of her as a young woman, dealing with the reasons why she spilled the radioactive beans.
The problem is that the film is so preoccupied with the protagonist's romantic life - she's in love with the dashing mysterious foreign guy! she's in love with her colleague! etc - that the nub of the issue never really comes into focus. Crucial character choices aren't properly explained and some potentially interesting historical material recedes into the background, eclipsed by hackneyed and corny melodramatic scenes that even performers like Dench and Sophie Cookson can't elevate much. Decent production values can't save such a sub-standard script.
The problem is that the film is so preoccupied with the protagonist's romantic life - she's in love with the dashing mysterious foreign guy! she's in love with her colleague! etc - that the nub of the issue never really comes into focus. Crucial character choices aren't properly explained and some potentially interesting historical material recedes into the background, eclipsed by hackneyed and corny melodramatic scenes that even performers like Dench and Sophie Cookson can't elevate much. Decent production values can't save such a sub-standard script.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Cosmic Voyage (Космический рейс) (1936) in Movies
May 12, 2019 (Updated May 12, 2019)
First Man it ain't, but this optimistic prediction of the first manned mission to the Moon (by the Soviets, in 1946) still has many points of interest. Bold (if somewhat geriatric) scientist Sedych decides to take a bold leap into the unknown and go to the Moon, against the wishes of the authorities. He ends up going with his young female assistant and a teenage boy; various hazards imperil the voyage.
There are obviously allegorical and political elements to the script, but in another way this is an attempt at genuine scientific accuracy; this is probably the first film to attempt to portray characters in zero gravity, and it does a pretty decent job. Some of the special effects are startlingly good for the period the film was made. You do have to cut it some slack, but this is by no means a slow or heavy film.
There are obviously allegorical and political elements to the script, but in another way this is an attempt at genuine scientific accuracy; this is probably the first film to attempt to portray characters in zero gravity, and it does a pretty decent job. Some of the special effects are startlingly good for the period the film was made. You do have to cut it some slack, but this is by no means a slow or heavy film.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Jurassic Park III (2001) in Movies
May 24, 2019
This is where the sequels really start coming off the rails
The third Jurassic Park movie is pretty poor. For multiple reasons.
The main reason has to be the script - it has to be - because the acting talent is not bad by any means.
Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni - all great actors in my opinion.
But it's hard to connect with any of them throughout the run time (I swear I hear her shouting "ERIC" in my sleep sometimes)
A lot (not all) of the practical dinosaurs have been replaced with shoddy CGI, and to top it all off, the movie just ends. Very suddenly! And I can't figure out why... It's a good deal shorter in run time than the first two. Maybe Joe Johnston just got bored.
On a final note, is a velociraptor talking a low point for the franchise? Or hilariously great? You decide (ALAN)
The main reason has to be the script - it has to be - because the acting talent is not bad by any means.
Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni - all great actors in my opinion.
But it's hard to connect with any of them throughout the run time (I swear I hear her shouting "ERIC" in my sleep sometimes)
A lot (not all) of the practical dinosaurs have been replaced with shoddy CGI, and to top it all off, the movie just ends. Very suddenly! And I can't figure out why... It's a good deal shorter in run time than the first two. Maybe Joe Johnston just got bored.
On a final note, is a velociraptor talking a low point for the franchise? Or hilariously great? You decide (ALAN)
Harry Potter’s Albus son gets a chance to prove what a hero he can be. However, things don’t go as planned, and an attempt to fix things only makes them worse. Can he fix them? Will his famous father be able to help him?
This is a play script. That means it isn’t nearly as immersive as the books we all love. It takes a bit to get used to essentially reading dialogue, but once we do, it becomes easier to slip back into Harry’s world. We get to see plenty of old friends as well as the new generation, and I enjoyed some of what we saw of the characters. The plot was a little out there, but I enjoyed the character stuff so much I didn’t really care.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-harry-potter-and-cursed.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This is a play script. That means it isn’t nearly as immersive as the books we all love. It takes a bit to get used to essentially reading dialogue, but once we do, it becomes easier to slip back into Harry’s world. We get to see plenty of old friends as well as the new generation, and I enjoyed some of what we saw of the characters. The plot was a little out there, but I enjoyed the character stuff so much I didn’t really care.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-harry-potter-and-cursed.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.