Reviews

A pretty decent watch, nicely shot, decently acted, well directed, pretty well thought out, and tense and tragic without being miserable and gritty. Give it a go.

I didn't really have any expectations for this show- but it's fantastic. A lot like Futurama, but with absolute permission to use anything and everything Star Trek branded. It's funny, it's clever, it's diverse, and it's nostalgic. I'm really happy that someone realised Star Trek has historically been a fun show despite tackling more serious topics, and not every modern reboot needs to be unwatchably gritty, because this show is brilliant. My only real complaint about it is that the episodes feel like everyone is talking at double speed- as if they wrote a few too many pages of dialogue and everyone has to talk really fast to get through it in the allocated number of episode minutes. This makes it extremely difficult for me to follow, and I can only imagine people with auditory processing issues are going to miss the vast majority of the dialogue. I'd love to see, in season 2, a few pages cut from the script so that the actors can be directed to take just a mite longer to read their lines and it doesn't feel so rushed!

This film was bizarre. Weirdly, the entire thing was an overdub- and probably would have worked slightly better had they thrown out the footage and just animated it! There's very little in the way of plot, the ending felt kind of thrown together, and the voice acting- as it is voice acting- is a little over acted for a live action film. I can only assume that their location sound was too bad to retain, but the overdub really doesn't sit well with the film- it's overloud, and there's no ambient sound. Most of the scenes have no real purpose. It's not the worst indie film I've ever seen, though. I got through it, and I even laughed out loud a couple of times, although sadly over things I don't think were supposed to be funny! If you like The Room, you'll probably enjoy this.

As far as I know, Wiseau wasn't involved in the making of this film, but it certainly has his stamp all over it. It's The Room of Christmas movies. If you enjoyed The Room, you will probably enjoy this.

Apparently it's based on a play, which might explain why most scenes start with the actors walking in and end with them walking off. Also why they seem to sit around for ten minutes at a time, chatting exposition. It doesn't explain, however, why so many of the shots are out of focus.

I'm not sure if the play was altered at all for the silver screen, but I'm guessing not.

There's a lot to not like about this show- the often outdated humour. Once again a non-disabled actor playing a disabled character. Was it just too difficult to find an actually blind fabulous queen to fill that role? Because I feel like it wouldn't have been all that hard. There were a couple of cringeworthy 'gags' which show the age of the show creators that probably would have been well received in the 90s, but don't play well in the age of understanding and acceptance. As well as some pretty much expected transphobia (expected due to Ru's previously exposed transphobia) from some of the characters- now transphobic characters are one thing, but when it goes unchallenged and it's written by someone you know has expressed transphobic views, that's another. So overall- there's a lot I didn't like about this show. However... it's ultimately a bloody good show nonetheless. It's well acted and directed. The kid is fantastic. Ableism aside, the cast is great and the chemistry works well. It's certainly enjoyable and I did watch to the end. Particularly interesting was the relationship between AJ and another kid they meet along the way, but unfortunately it was pretty short-lived. So by all means watch it, you might even enjoy it. But it's certainly not without problems, hence the low rating. Because it's 2020, and I'm not here to make excuses for ableism and transphobia just because the show would have been great without them.

I found this show pretty run of the mill- standard sci-fi stuff. Some of the characters are pretty unlikeable in the beginning, most have some redeeming features, but what really holds the show together despite not having a particularly innovative script, is a really stellar cast. Some great performances.

I expected this to be a hate watch (I'm not averse) but it's surprisingly not bad. It'd work much better as a comedy drama though... without any change in tone, just removal of the laugh track which kicks on after every line (most of which aren't punchlines) and honesty really kills it.

I love Rebel Wilson. She plays a fantastic dry, flat talking best friend. Unfortunately she was cast in the same exact role here, leaving it somewhat leadless which is a shame as I have no doubt she can carry off a lead role. The script tried really hard- and it showed. A stunning cast let and some gorgeous aesthetics let down by a script straight out of high school writing class. Enjoyed the cliched soundtrack though.

Unlike the other low reviewers, I didn't find the agenda-pushing nature of the show grating- storytelling media has always had some moral, some agenda. What I didn't like was the misery, the satanic elements (surely we've moved away from witches as agents of Satan by now?), the depressing, dark sets, the heavily stylised and not very good cinematography- a lot of literally dark shots where it's hard to make out details, a weird tilt shift which is almost like vaseline smeared around the edges of the lens- everything except the very centre is blurry and it's very jarring and immersion-breaking.

Performances and direction were decent enough, dialogue wasn't terrible despite the writing being shaky, but the concept- which I guess is based on a particular recent comic series- is just not for me, and as mentioned, the dreary sets, blurry or dark shots- I can't see myself sticking with this. Also, I was pretty horrified to see fully nude shots of a 15 year old character. I only watched the pilot, but the glorification/glamourising and general promotion of satan worship- the literal evil devil satan, and the 'path of darkness'- made me extremely uncomfortable, and I watched the show Lucifer avidly!

I guess the best you can say about this show is that it's gone some way to change the title/clarify its direction so people aren't misled into thinking this is a remake of the fun, but very dated, teen sitcom. Still- I definitely preferred when teen entertainment was a fun distraction from the realities of life, and not a gritty mirror of misery!

I'd put off watching this- it looked a little more poignant than I felt like watching, but I'm glad I got around to it, because I ended up really enjoying it. Despite a slightly dodgy accent Keira was really engaging and likeable, despite her character's shortcomings. After seeing Rockwell in other films I probably wouldn't have cast him as a caring and responsible Dad, but he's perfect- a very good actor, and the character is a nice change from the usual 'Everything fell apart when my wife died/left, I don't know how to raise a child' trope of single fathers. The characters are rounded, the film is well written and the ending appropriate and satisfying. Chloe Grace Moretz is the perfect balance of teen rebel and actually relatable human being. It's really perfectly cast, well directed and generally enjoyable. The only real downfall is the supporting characters- they're rather shallow and convenient/expositional and it's in sharp contrast to the realistic and rounded mains.

I'm an avid fan of fluffy, contentless films from this genre, so it's quite hard to find an example of it that's truly awful. But this film nails it! From the unrelatable, unlikeable character played by the usually charismatic Taye Diggs, the unrealisism of Liu's character falling for such an a**hole (from a meet cute which devolves in to 'oh no, a fat guy with no shirt on')- Glen Powell wasn't really utilised at all and came off like a bland Alan Ruck, and Zoey Deutch has a lot of potential, but this film managed to wash even her out. I watched it with a group and we just kept saying 'Oh no...' This film is basically everything that's wrong with the romcom. It would have been a million times better if they'd given Taye Diggs a character who wasn't disgusting, or Lucy Liu had point blank refused to date him- which was what we'd expected from the outset.

Heavily featuring the Justice League, this fun little meta adventure follows Flash on a journey of self discovery. Silly, sassy, with all your favourite voice actors and all the self-aware nods Lego usually brings. Lots of familiar DC faces and places, it's no Citizen Kane but it's a ball.