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Reviews
House of the Dragon (2022)
Not a patch on the GOT
HOTD has the look of GOT but lacks the depth & variety of characters, the result of which after a while it becomes rather tedious.
But probably it's biggest difference is the complete lack of lighthearted comedy that existed in GOT brought by characters such as between Tyron & Bronn or Jamie & Brienne.
Then there is the strange decision to change the main two actresses half way through season 1 when it jumps 10 years, especially considering there is visibility very little difference between the two 'queens'.
And finally there is the lack of any real storyline other than inter family rivalries, the result of which it becomes more akind to a soap opera than an 'epic drama' that GOT was.
The Last of Us (2023)
Over-rated, a duller version of The Walking Dead
Watching The Last Of US as a stand alone series without having played the video game.
The Last Of US isn't a bad show it's just not very engaging & is just a duller version of The Walking Dead.
The biggest problem & contrast to TWD is that other than Joel & Ellie there aren't any characters that hang around for you to build a vested interest in. No spoilers but everyone they come across either dies or they leave them.
Probably the most pointless episode is S1 E3 where they introduce two new characters, do their whole backstory only to show them to grow old & die together. The only connection to the storyline is that Joel happened to come across them in his past (in the same episode) & they became 'friends'.
Pedro Pascal is good but the standout is Bella Ramsey as Ellie who is a delight & the only thing that keeps the show interesting.
Not sure where they're going to go with it in future series, but doubtful I'll be rushing back to watch.
Argylle (2024)
I enjoyed it but not Vaughn's best work
I'm a huge fan of Mathew Vaughan's work (with the exception of Stardust) & I enjoyed this one too but it didn't quite hit the mark.
The plot is good with plenty of twists & turns & it has Vaughan's style all over it including the unique stylised violence.
Bryce Dallas Howard makes a good nerdy author & Henry Carvil is hamming it up well as the over the top spy, but the big let down is Sam Rockwell . Somehow he just isn't quite right for the part of action star & comedy lead in Aryglle.
There's a lack of chemistry between Rockwell & Howard that holds the film back.
The usual soundtrack we all know & love in Vaughan's films also isn't quite right either.
So all in all the film just isn't as polished as you'd expect from Mathew Vaughan.
The Lake (2022)
Annoying
If you like camp, gay humour then you'll like this, if you not you'll probably find it annoying.
The main character is a very stereotypical gay, camp man who has a daughter who he gave up for adoption & they constantly refer to her as his 'birth daughter'. Why not just his daughter?
She's also annoying preaching on about global warming, ruining the environment etc.
It doesn't help that there's only 7 years age difference between the two actors & so it the relationship feels so completely false.
Too much of the time centres around these two characters with gay jokes & innuendoes we've all heard before.
Plus there's also a gay teen son & gay love interest just fo pile it all on.
There are numerous instantly other forgettable characters with only Julia Stiles really standing out.
Atlanta (2016)
OK, it has it's moments
I can't understand why Atlanta has such a high rating.
Don't get me wrong there are genuinely some very funny moments in some episodes but there are too many very weak ones. In these creators seem intent on preaching about racial issues or just being weird rather than actually producing comedy.
So do yourself a favour give all the episodes that don't have Al, Darius or Paperboi in them a miss. They have absolutely nothing to do with the storyline or character development so you won't actually miss anything.
Another weakness with Atlanta is that after Paperboi becomes successful they don't seem to know where to take the series & really the last series goes nowhere & ends without a real ending.
Without the weak episodes I'd give it 8/10 but as is I couldn't justify anything above 6/10.
A Walk in the Woods (2015)
Is this supposed to be a comedy?
I've never read a Bill Bryson book so I came into this fresh with no expectations.
I like Redford in his serious drama roles but he really can't do comedy, even his one liners that are supposed to be sarcastic jokes come out flat.
Nolte was always good in his gruff roles in a duo, particularly in 24 hours opposite Eddie Murphy, but even he can't lift this film.
From the trivia it states Bryson was in his forties when he actually did the hike, why didn't they get someone like Owen Wilson who can actually do comedy roles like this?
Do your self a favour, watch The Big Year instead with Owen Wilson, Steve Martin & Jack Black.
Good Omens (2019)
Series 1 fantastic, series 2 rambling & pointless
I loved series 1 it was funny, imaginative & actually had a running storyline that went somewhere.
Series 2 just rambles on with no apparent direction & follows no storyline other than Gabrielle has lost his memory & no one knows why. Something that happened in the first half of the first episode.
Throughout both series David Tennant is fantastic as Crowley & Michael Sheen is an excellent foil.
I just don't know why they couldn't of actually come up with a storyline for the second series.
I guess that once you've done the whole 'end of the world' storyline you really don't have anywhere to go.
I just hope if they do a third series that they put somemore thought into the plot.
Series 1 - 9/10
Series 2 - 5/10
Average - 7/10.
Ted Lasso: So Long, Farewell (2023)
Ignore the haters, this is perfection
Ted Lasso series 3 has had it's critics often choosing to pick on ridiculous things like the length of the episodes, the excessive focus on characters / relationships & the lack of football.
But what Ted Lasso has always done is not entirely surcome to hollywood stereotypes of predictable storylines & this last episode is the same.
Wrapping up Ted Lasso the writers manage to deliver an emotional episode without all the obvious cliched stories but enough that everyone gets some sort of happy ending.
Personally I loved it & as far as I'm concerned it's as close to perfection as a comedy/drama gets.
Dead Ringers (2023)
Insanely brilliant!
If Rachel Weisz doesn't get an Emmy for her two performances, it'll be a crime.
The two diverse personalities of the two identical twins are so perfectly potrayed seamlessly during their interactions you'd swear two separate people were playing the characters.
Elliot is outgoing & ethnically challenged where as Beverley is repressed & morarly hampered.
Currently on episode 3.
It'll be interesting how they develop the storyline & whether they closely follow the Jeremy Irons film resulting in the downfall of the twins through their questionable & morally reprehensible behaviour.
I really hope they can keep it going but I fear it's a series that won't do well past series 1 as they'd run out of ideas.
Shrinking (2023)
Another unfunny Apple 'comedy'
So Apple have done it again, created another unfunny 'comedy'.
From the creator of Scrubs this is certainly not in the same comedic universe although it is entertaining to a certain extent.
Harrison Ford is playing the same grumpy character from Star Wars / Indiana Jones, but this time as a psychiatrist, which is always welcome.
Jason Segal is good as the widower whose's recovering from the loss of his wife but does come across as a bit of an a*sehole with the way he treats his daughter.
I don't understand why every series now has to have a major 'gay character' as some sort of requirement?
Not everyone knows a lesbian, a gay man, a transgender person so why does every series seem to have to have one as a major character?
Having Jimmy's best friend as a married gay man just seems out of place, we're not even given any explanation as to why they're friends or how they met.
2 episodes in it's entertaining enough to watch a few more but don't expect to laugh out loud while watching it.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
A dumb,dumb,dumb,dumb film
I watched this film about 10 years ago and hated it.
It constantly gets recommended as a good film to watch so I thought I'd give it another go.
Same result, in fact I probably hate this dumb film even more second time around.
The whole premise of this film is stupid, human sacrifices to appease ancient gods, but the way they go about it is just dumb. The level of coincidences that need to happen just to make the US sacrifices work is beyond belief.
The Jock's cousin just happens to buy a cabin in the woods that is above a control centre that is above the ancient gods themselves.
The Jock just happens to have the exact number of friends with the right attributes required to meet the human sacrifice needs.
The friends just happen to decide to go to the cabin on actually the right day to coincide with the day a sacrifice is required.
Other stupid parts.
1)The US sacrifice requires 5 young people of different types but the one in Japan involves primary school kids. But they are apparently interchangeable.
2) There are multiple sacrifices set up around the world but only one needs to succeed. So they just allow people to die needlessly despite another country succeeding (US & Japan run concurrently)
3) How did the Stoner survive after being dragged off by the killer zombie? How did the Controllers not know he wasn't dead?
4) What was the point of the Purge switch? It just released all the monsters to kill humans, they didn't kill each other!
5) Where did all the mythical monsters come from?
6) Why were the controllers enjoying it so much?
7) Where did the blood come from that was fed down to the ancients room? It didn't come from the sacrifices, so what was the point of sacrificing them?
Was this even a horror film?
The stupidity of the characters & the whole set-up it was more like a comedy but without the humour of the Evil Dead.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023)
Guy Ritchie does Mission Impossible
I'm a huge fan of Guy Ritchie's earlier work of Lock Stock, Snatch & Rocknrolla.
Not so much of his later Hollywood work, although The Gentlemen was pretty good with the exception of Charlie Hunnan.
Operation Fortune unfortunately follows the path of Ritchie's The Man From Uncle as being, uninspiring. There's nothing wrong with it, Jason Stratham does what he does well & Hugh Grant seems to be playing the same character that he did The Gentlemen.
The rest of the cast are pretty forgetable, it's not really the actors though but the script.
There's just something missing, Ritchie seems to have lost his edge when it comes to making films. Rather than being catchy & innovative they're just nothing new & as such dull.
Operation Fortune is basically Mission Impossible but without the sparkle of Cruise & spectacular stunts. Not that I'm really a fan of either.
The ending was obviously was setup for a sequel.
I just hope Ritchie gives it a miss & spends a bit of time finding what he used to have, inspiration to produce something new & edgy again.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Truly bizarre & awful
This film is like a sci fi Jackie Chan film, & that's not good.
Quite simply it's bizarre with a plot from a B movie sci fi film from the 1950's that makes little sense.
It's bound to have a cult following in the same way The Firth Element does, an equally bizarre & awful film.
You can't fault the acting but the script & plot are woeful. As is the way it jumps around all over the place between the 'multi verses' with same actors playing multiple versions of themselves in the same place & the same time.
Confused? You will be.
It also comes across as just being.... silly.
So bizarre, confusing, awful, woeful & silly.
Riches (2022)
Could have been so much better
Riches is a show that could have been something outstanding if it wasn't for the unlike able characters, average writing & racial stereotypes.
All the black characters are horrible people, spoilt brats or constantly being victims of racism.
Where as all the white characters are traitors & crooks.
It was obvious who was behind the stolen money about half way through the series. Resulting in zero tension & suspense (even the fake arrest was obvious).
How no one noticed that all their trademarks had been transferred to another company & that they had been paying out millions of pounds in royalties was just ridiculous.
Even the 'cliff hanger' of the 6th sibling fell flat, why didn't the p.a. Say something at the will reading?
Her son inherits millions & she says nothing!
No where near the same league as Succession or any other rich family show, even Dallas was more entertaining!
Alex Rider (2020)
OK, not great
I'll start by saying I've not read the books but have seen the 2006 film which was OK but very much aimed at kids.
The series is more gritty but a bit slow,.
Dragging out over more episodes than necessary at the start for instance before he goes to Point Blanc.
The biggest problem is the actor playing Alex who has little charisma & just comes across as a moody teenager.
Jack is not much better, both of whom you don't really care about.
The series never explains how or why Alex managed to get his 'spy skills'.
Do nephews of bankers all get trained in martial arts & know how to pick locks with paperclips?
Alex is given zero background to build up his character. What happened to his parents etc?
So for series about a 'spy kid' having such problems about the lead actor & his character are a bit of a drawback.
So it's OK but not great, pretty average.
I'd recommend watching the infinitely better Chuck if you wanted to watch a spy series.
Loot (2022)
Occasionally funny
Like most Apple+ comedies (except Ted Lasso) Loot doesn't quite hit the mark but is occasionally funny.
Great supporting cast but the biggest miss is the lead actress Maya Rudolph, even with the average writing it would have been so much better delivered by someone else.
Ron Hunches as Howard is particularly good.
Mr. Corman (2021)
This is supposed to be a comedy?
Watched the first episode & it's not funny in the slightest.
It doesn't even try to be funny, it's just depressing about a guy with a loser dad.
The acting is good but why are they promoting this as a comedy on Apple?
Ted Lasso (2020)
Simply outstanding.
Absolutely love this series, the best comedy/drama series since Entourage.
Not sure whether it's because I relate so well to the football back story or the Ted Lasso character who's just so likeable.
The football language/terminology is spot on (with the exception of the the use of 'tie' instead of 'draw' in a a match result) that they must have British writers involved.
Season 2, which has rated lower, moves towards character development & has less football stories but is still very strong. That's fine, the show's called Ted Lasso not Richmond AFC.
Season 2 also relies less on repeating the US/UK culture clash that is Ted Lasso, that would end up being boring anyway.
Even the worst episode in the first two seasons (season 2 episode 9) is still better the the best of a lot of other shows.
Worth signing up to Apple TV+ for the 7 day trial just to binge watch this one show.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Valloweaster (2020)
Oh no not again!
So bored with the same 'challenge episode' again & again.
Please no more.
The Gentlemen (2019)
Don't expect Lock Stock or Snatch
Guy Ritchie burst onto the scene making the innovative British gangster film Lock Stock & Two Smokin Barrels, following it up with almost as good Snatch & the under rated Rocknrolla before heading off to la la land to make Hollywood blockbusters.
Now he's back to his roots making a new British gangster film The Gentlemen but unfortunately he brought Charlie Hunnam with him who puts on an appauling accent.
Hunnam's accent drifts from English to Irish to American, if he can't do an accent then why not makes his character American like his boss or better still give the role to the brilliant Mark Strong who has such a small role in the film if you blinked you'd miss him?
Unlike Ritchie's counterpart Mathew Vaughan, who still makes innovative & stylish films , he seems to have been corrupted by Hollywood.
Where as Lock Stock, Snatch & Rocknrolla had style & humour The Gentlemen falls a bit flat. It's storyline is good with a few twists & turns but lacks the panache & punch of his early work.
Colin Farrell is brilliant in a type cast role, as is Hugh Grant in the complete opposite of his normal role as a camp investigator looking for a quick payday.
The rest of the cast are good with the exception of Hunnam's accent.
Although The Gentlemen overall is a good film it's certainly no Lock Stock or Snatch.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
A hideous monstrosity!
By far the worst Star Wars film in the series, makes The Phantom Menace look like an Academy Award Best Picture winner.
Avoid at all costs if you grew up with the original trilogy.