As a person who grew up on STTNG, I have mixed emotions about what to say about Picard. One the one hand, there is very good fan service going on here with lots of cameos from TNG actors, and even several that are regulars, plus regular callbacks to themes and stories from the original TNG series. If you've wanted to see that crew in action again, you get it here, partially. Quality varies greatly episode to episode, and season to season, some are much better than others, with Season 3 being the best. But what really detracts from this series is the main character himself. Picard is a shell of his former self. He is now a greatly dimished and feeble looking and sounding old man, unfortunately. There is just no hiding it. He is hunched and weak, always out of breath, and the delivery of his dialogue is strained and forced. Like the famous episode from TNG where he says "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" All of his lines are delivered with the same forced feeble stacatto. There are some good moments, especially in Season 3 as mentioned, but it's just not the way you want to remember the Picard. I give a 5 for all the fan service, but only a 5 because it kind of ruins your memory of a great character.
Reviews
51 Reviews
Emily the Criminal
(2022)
Great performances, but an awful statement on Modern Society
16 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
As I get older in today's hyper partisan atmosphere, I begin to see the underpinning politics in most movies. As do others, even if they don't realize it when they title their reviews things like "the anti-hero for today". In truth, I think this movie is a reflection of everything wrong with society today. It trades heavily on the over politicized idea that Aubrey P is a millennial burdened by crushing college debt, and this somehow justifies all her bad decisions. And that's really the bottom line; everything in this movie is a result of the main character's bad decisions with no willingness to ever take any responsibility. It starts off with Aubrey working a menial job to make ends meet because she racked up 70k in student debt going to school to get a completely unmarketable degree in Art, which she never even finished because she assaulted someone, which, by the way, we later learn that her only regret was that she didn't assault the person more severely so they would have been scared to call the police on her. Then we see her getting caught in lies with employers, and storming out as if it's somehow the employer's fault. She dips out on her workmate, and then we're treated to a preposterously over the top scene where her boss suggests she has no rights and treats her subhuman "because it's not a union shop". Then her best friend gets her an interview at an ad firm that could potentially lead to a prestigious career, but she's completely unwilling to consider it because it's an unpaid internship to start - even though she's already making money in her illegal credit card fraud scheme and could easily have done it, and she again turns around and somehow blames the employer AND the best friend. Then, finally, she pushes her love interest into attacking and robbing his brother, and when he gets mortally wounded and the cops are coming, she takes the money and leaves him to die and flees the country. This is an AWFUL story about a really horrible person. The fact that people consider her a anti-hero in this story is a terrible indictment on they decay of modern society.
Simulant
(2023)
Very Disappointing Execution for this concept and these actors
9 May 2023
There's really nothing original about this film whatsoever, which was very disappointing. Straigh combo of "I, Robot" meets "Surrogates", but slower, more disjointed, and flat. For a movie that had several very good actors with numerous good performances under their belts, Simulate felt very poorly acted. It's possible that the script and the lines were stale enough that no one, no matter how good, could have made them feel any different. But, suffice it to say, the move felt like it came up short to even B level cinema. The pacing was very slow, the camera shots were often fuzzy, and the sound was bad. I'm not sure what they were going for with this film. As much as I like Robbie Amell, this just wasn't a good performance for him. And, simiarly, I like Sam Worthington a lot, but his was really bad in this.
Resident Evil: Afterlife
(2010)
Wants SO HARD to be The Matrix, but still good.
18 April 2023
The interactions with Umbrella evoke The Matrix so hard in this movie it's unmistakable. Alice is Neo, Wesker is Agent Smith. The fight scenes, the aesthetics, the costumes, the acting, the sfx... let's call it homage instead of ripoff since the overall movie is still pretty decent. It's better than #2 and #3 in the series, which is saying a lot when a sequel, especially a multi-sequel, tops its predecessors. This move is 13 years old now, and the sfx and action scenes still hold up great. A lot of great side characters played by a pretty good supporting cast, too. You forget these movies were based on a video game originally.
Fear the Walking Dead
(2015–2023)
Trading on TWD Name Recognition only goes so far...
9 March 2023
This review is based on FTWD Season 1. I finally finished all the seasons of TWD years after, and figured why not start watching FTWD now? It is clear from the poor quality of Season 1 of this spinoff that this show is trading purely on the name recognition of TWD. Maybe it gets better in latter seasons? I don't know, because that name recognition bump is the only explanation as to how it got past Season 1 without cancellation. There are no characters to like at all in Season 1. In fact, most of them are downright unlikable. Maybe there is some redemption arc in later seasons that make these characters interesting to watch? But, in Season 1, I would have been perfectly happy if they had all been eaten.
Samaritan
(I) (2022)
Stallone can still Deliver. Worth the watch.
27 August 2022
You have to keep in mind that it's geared toward a child main co-star, so it has that kind of childlike naivety. It's not a heavy lifting mental drama, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's pretty good for a direcf to streaming release. I really liked the washed up old superhero in hiding angle, and it did have a couple of sneaky surprises. It was much better than the ratings currently portay (5.9 as of this writing) and worth the watch. It's hard to beleive Stallone is 76. He can still deliver, although, there are few times where his stunt double really sticks out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, those moments do not detrack from the overall ride and fun.
The Black Phone
(2021)
Well put together and executed Thriller.
19 August 2022
This goes to show that big budgets and explosions aren't always necessary to make a really good film. This is a relatively straight forward creepy thriller, but does a good job intertwining supernatural elements in its storytelling. It has real character, is engrossing, and you become dramatically invested in the characters. Ethan Hawke continues to be an extremely underrated talent who, while not having a ton of screen time, continues to elevate the projects he takes part in. And the end of the film delivers.
The Sandman
(2022– )
Visually Stunning! But Marred by modern day politlcal treatments
15 August 2022
Sandman was a favorite DC comic growing up, and I have mostly enjoyed this adaptation. The effects, costumes, ambiance, and cgi worlds shown to us in the first few episodes are visually stunning, and a real tribute to how far cgi sfx has come. But the series quickly gets marred down by Netflix's predictable modern day politicial dei treatments. One of the most iconic characters, John Constantine, is now Johanna Constantine, and in a same-sex interracial relationship. As if Netflix wanted to check as many boxes at once as possible. Including this is fine, but why not just introduce a new character that fits these characteristics instead of changing an iconic character from canon? The dei treatments in other episodes are supper heavy handed, feel forced, and actually detract from the overall story. It could have been an 8, otherwise.
The Terminal List
(2022– )
Really Good Show! (Critics are predictably ignorable)
6 July 2022
This show is genuinely intriguing. For the first few episodes you are wondering what is real versus what is imagined by Reese because of his head trauma. But, this show is a good solid production. Exciting, dramatic, and even touching at times. It's despicable how much critics hate Chris Pratt IRL because he is vocal about traditional family values, and equally wrong that they bring that obvious animous into their reviews, rather than just giving an honest take on the quality of the show. When users en masse dislike a 'woke hot mess' of a show, critics are quick to call it review-bombing, but if they do the same thing to a great show because they don't like an actor IRL... perfectly fine? I highly recommend you watch this show, not only because it is genuinely good, but as a middle finger to critics who are incapable of keeping their political biases out of entertainment reviews. 93% user rating. Enough said. Enjoy!
Spiderhead
(2022)
Tale of Two Halves - Second is much better.
21 June 2022
This move was very much a tale of two halves. In the first half, it felt like it started right in the middle of something. I wondered at forst if I had missed something. This continued until the second half, which dramatically sped up and got more interesting. I'm not a fan of narrators or line text at the start of movie, yet Spiderhead's buildup was a confusing slow reveal over too long for what ultimately turned out to be a very condensed and simple plot. It was ok, for what it was.
F9: The Fast Saga
(2021)
This Franchise Has Become a Parody of Itself
19 June 2022
Fast 9 had a few funny moments, but otherwise was as astoundingly absurb as you could imagine. When F&F hit it's stride the movies were over the top with near unbelievable stunts, but just believeable enough for you to suspend disbelief and have a good time. Now? Nope. Not any more. Now it's a giant laugh fest at how ridiculous the entire plot and action sequences are. The franchise has become a parody of itself, a full fledged living MEME.
Voyagers
(2021)
Lord of the Flies... in space... but worse.
26 May 2022
The title of the review says it all. This is a poor version of Lord of the Flies set in space. I have to borrow from another reviewer who simply said "it's surprisingly awful." That pretty much sums it up. But, hey, if you want to watch 100 minutes of petulant teenagers acting like petulant teenagers, go for it. I feel sorry for Tye Sheridan being saddled with this on his resume. He's the only good part of this movie. If I had not been multitasking throughout, it would have been a solid DNF.
Reacher
(2022– )
Good series, but hate how Childs (Hollywood) portrays the South
13 February 2022
I generally like the Jack Reacher books, and have read many. It is unfortunately they based this Show off Killing Floor. I did NOT care for the book for the same reason I did not care for many moments in this series. Having grown up in the South, but traveled everywhere, and lived in Georgia for 25+ years in particular, the south as portrayed in Childs' book is a Hollywood stereotype perpetuated by people who have obviously never spent any actual time living there. The butchered Hollywood southern accents attemped here are pretty hilarious and insulting at the same time. And no one in 2022 spits at someone and calls them a "Carpetbagger" that should go back to the North. This isn't 1865, or even 1965, for that matter. But, what else would one expect from a English author writing on American things. The stereotypical trope is all he really knows about the subject.
Otherwise, it's a decent Reacher story. Would have rated higher except for what is noted above.
Otherwise, it's a decent Reacher story. Would have rated higher except for what is noted above.
Love and Monsters
(2020)
Very good, but severely under publicized movie!
8 February 2022
Where did this movie even come from? Was it is theaters? Recently came up trending on one of the big stream services and it looked intriguing. What a pleasant surprise this movie was. Heartwarming, funny, and tense all at the same time. The creatures were really well done. They left the door open for a sequel at the end. Not sure this movie made the kind of money to spawn one, but I'd definitely watch it.
Moonfall
(2022)
Entertaining and Worth the Watch
8 February 2022
Funny moments, good big budget scifi sfx. The scifi backstory is actually a pretty novel, detailed, and interesting one, but they try to throw it at you through a firehose in the latter stages of the movie during a big reveal. It might have been better if they could have delivered that part over more time, but it also would have probably taken away from the "tone" of the movie, which was a dramatic armageddon style disaster flick. Overall entertaining and worth the watch.
Rising Wolf
(2021)
Barely SciFi. Not great acting. Let me save you the time...
8 February 2022
Dad and daughter kidnapped,
Dad tortured to give up girl's secret.
Torture... Girl has flashback... Torture... Flashback... Torture... Flashback... Girl suddenly remembers she has (ridiculous superpower) Uses power to escapes.
The end.
Now you don't have to watch this slow movie. The reveal is telegraphed and anticlimactic. And I hesitate to even mention, but a movie where they put an almost 30 yr old modelesque woman in kids overalls and sneakers and pretend she's a teenager, feels like the casting director is a creep.
Torture... Girl has flashback... Torture... Flashback... Torture... Flashback... Girl suddenly remembers she has (ridiculous superpower) Uses power to escapes.
The end.
Now you don't have to watch this slow movie. The reveal is telegraphed and anticlimactic. And I hesitate to even mention, but a movie where they put an almost 30 yr old modelesque woman in kids overalls and sneakers and pretend she's a teenager, feels like the casting director is a creep.
Raised by Wolves
(2020–2022)
Prometheus. Definitely not mistaken for Aliens
5 February 2022
This show is all the wtf of Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Aliens: Covenant, on steriods, and none of the good of James Cameron's Aliens. Just wierd for the sake of being wierd, with very little explanation and no feeling that the story has any real direction. If you liked Prometheus and AC, you might like this. If not, probably not. And this coming from someone whose favorite genre is SciFi.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
(2021)
Superb! Marvel Will Struggle to Top This One
17 December 2021
It's hard to write an adequate review of this movie without spoilers. Let's just say, bringing together characters from all three Spider-Man movie eras was masterfully pulled off. Very slick writing in this one. Great original storytelling, action, and feeling, with enough callouts to the other era films to satisfy the geek in every Spider-Man fan since 2002. Oh, and Willem Dafoe has still got it as the best Spider-Man villain ever. You will walk out of this one thoroughly entertained.
The Wheel of Time
(2021– )
Sort of Every Book Fan's Nightmare
15 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The WOT books spanned 23 years. Fans are practically scholars. So, naturally those fans awaited a screen version with both glee and dread, wondering what treatment it would get. It is safe to say that this is a book fan's nightmare. Some lightweight spoilers ahead.
WOT was already a series of great feminism and diversity. Yet Rafe Judkin's still felt it necessary to give it a modern day treatment of blurred race and gender lines for key roles. Ordinarily this would be no issue, but the races in WOT actually mattered to the plot. The Two Rivers was an isolated village where everyone was of Manetheran decent, except The Dragon, which made him stick out. In this adaptation, the isolated village is full of different races with different accents. It just doesn't makes sense.
Critical parts of the story are omitted. Backstories are confusingly altered. For instance, Perrin's backstory is so inexplicably altered in Ep.1 that it was almost an immediate showstopper. Yet, it omits anything to explain his eyes and connection to wolves, leaving those unfamiliar with the books simply confused. A stoic Lan is replaced by one that cries all the time. The jokster and comic relief, Matt, is replaced with one that's angsty and bitter. A completely unnecessary romantic relatioship feels forced between two integral Aes Sedai characters, and the actual main character of the books is practicaly an afterthought throughout the first six episodes, appearing less than any other main character.
When you have a work based on real events they often put a disclaimer 'the names of people and places have been changed to protect the innocent'. This adaptation is the exact opposite. Only the names of people and places are the same. The characters and the story itself are made almost unrecognizable to book fans. I hope those new to the Wheel of Time may find this adaptation entertaining, blissly ignorant of the source material.
WOT was already a series of great feminism and diversity. Yet Rafe Judkin's still felt it necessary to give it a modern day treatment of blurred race and gender lines for key roles. Ordinarily this would be no issue, but the races in WOT actually mattered to the plot. The Two Rivers was an isolated village where everyone was of Manetheran decent, except The Dragon, which made him stick out. In this adaptation, the isolated village is full of different races with different accents. It just doesn't makes sense.
Critical parts of the story are omitted. Backstories are confusingly altered. For instance, Perrin's backstory is so inexplicably altered in Ep.1 that it was almost an immediate showstopper. Yet, it omits anything to explain his eyes and connection to wolves, leaving those unfamiliar with the books simply confused. A stoic Lan is replaced by one that cries all the time. The jokster and comic relief, Matt, is replaced with one that's angsty and bitter. A completely unnecessary romantic relatioship feels forced between two integral Aes Sedai characters, and the actual main character of the books is practicaly an afterthought throughout the first six episodes, appearing less than any other main character.
When you have a work based on real events they often put a disclaimer 'the names of people and places have been changed to protect the innocent'. This adaptation is the exact opposite. Only the names of people and places are the same. The characters and the story itself are made almost unrecognizable to book fans. I hope those new to the Wheel of Time may find this adaptation entertaining, blissly ignorant of the source material.
Pig
(I) (2021)
Much More Than Expected. Touching.
5 December 2021
This movie is much more than expected from the preview or synopsis. It's about dealing with loss on many levels beneath the search for the stolen pig. It may be a much more profoundly moving experience for some more than others, depending on what they have experienced in their lives thus far. Cage's performance is very good, and there are a couple of scenes where I can see it reaching "award worthy", if this little known movie is given the attention.
Downhill
(I) (2020)
This is an awful movie.
19 November 2021
Was this supposed to be funny? A Dramedy? It missed the mark by a mile. You would think with these two leading roles there'd be a moment to at least crack a smile. Nope. It's slow, bleak, depressing, and just flat hard to watch. Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character is detestably unlikable. I made a note of the time at 37 minutes in, when I wanted to turn it off. I made it only to the 46m mark after that, before finally refusing to torture myself any further.
He's All That
(2021)
Holy Cringe-fest, Batman!
1 September 2021
If you've ever wondered if you can evoke actual physically embarrassed for the actors of a movie while watching completely alone in a house by yourself, the answer is yes. Watching this... yes you can.
Run...
Seriously. Run away from this movie as fast as you can.
Run...
Seriously. Run away from this movie as fast as you can.
Free Guy
(2021)
Even better than expected - Good story!
25 August 2021
With Ryan Reynolds you know what you're going to get. Those snarky quips and one-liners we've all come to love. But Free Guy has a surprising good story about what's going on OUTSIDE the game. The rest is as expected, GTA-like game references galore and major laughs. CATCH PHRASE!
Beckett
(2021)
The main character's ineptness is off-putting
25 August 2021
What an awful main character. He literally bumbles around the entire movie dazed and confused like he just fell from the sky and has never seen anything, nor understands how anything works. It's off-putting to the point you don't like the character, and I kind of wanted him to be put out of his misery.
Gunpowder Milkshake
(2021)
It tried WAY too hard. Very derivative.
17 July 2021
I had high hopes for this movie from the Previews. First off, I love Karen Gillian, and it looked like a solid fast paced Karen Gillan goes John Wick flick. Which, is kind of derivative on its own, but looked very entertaining nonetheless. I was excited. But it became an exponentially derivative mash-up in a hurry. Substitute a kid for the puppy (and car), The Firm for the High Table, a Library for the Continental Hotel, and of course be sure to include the never ending supply or Russian mafia cannon fodder. Bad spaghetti western music and "dramatic" slow motion sequences, when there was ZERO drama, evoked Quentin Tarantino Kill Bill in a hard way, right down to the satin bowling jacket . The studio set backgrounds were on purpose cartoony, Sin City maybe? But with more color. I laughed out loud a couple of places in the movie where you obviously weren't meant to laugh, but it was trying to be so hard it started to feel like parody. I should also note that, while I did watch it through completely, I had the urge to fast forward on multiple occasions, and my wife walked out of the room "to do something more productive" way before the midpoint. Ultimately, this movie seems to just borrow from half a dozen other cult favorites in hopes of synergizing it into a hit. But, being so obvious about it makes it... not.
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