Change Your Image
mtlincoln-48202
Reviews
NASA's Unexplained Files (2012)
Turning off the sound is the only tolerable way to watch
Even with the sound turned off, using only captions, it's still the most overacted, melodramatic pile of space poop. Incidents that could be presented in 5 minutes are overblown and hysterically beaten to death. I kept watching just to look for the tiny bits of actual information buried in the eyebrow waggling, faux astonishment of the alleged scientists.
I think the biggest source of anazement of all this is that the talking heads involved allowed themselves to be presented in such a ludicrous light. They all come off as tinfoil hat wearing clowns. How is it NASA hasn't sued the pants off the producers of this farce is beyond me.
Bob's Burgers (2011)
Awesome but beware the binge
Don't get me wrong, I love the Belchers. They do take a couple of episodes to adjust to but with the perfect Archeresque voice of Bob (same actor voices both Bob and Sterling Archer, in case you didn't know) to smooth the way, you soon fall in love with the family. Everyone else in the show? Not so much.
The voices and acting of everyone, liked or not, is superb. In fact, it may be why I would cheerfully run over them all, aside from the Belchers, with a bus. Everyone is so well nuanced that their annoyingness (is too a word!) is magnified. Teddy and Gayle especially are horrible creatures.
It might be because I binge-watched several seasons while laid up with a broken leg and the annoyingness (see note above) just overwhelmed me. So, take it all in moderation, and love this show as much as I do.
And throw Teddy in a wood chipper.
Altered Carbon (2018)
Next time, leave out the platitudes
I definitely preferred the first season to the second. The reveal of the Big Bad and the entire domino fall of the "murder mystery" was art. The second season was tolerable, made so by the inclusion of Poe's ongoing storyline.
To be honest, Poe is my favorite character in the entire show. He has more humanity and humor in him than any of the actual (meat) humans.
The main thing which lowered my score on this whole show is the tendency to go for the motivational poster cliche dialogue. Once or twice? Fine,make your point in 60 point font on black velvet. But every other sentence from Quell is from "How To Sound Profound For Dummies" and had me rooting for whoever had a gun aimed at her.
The action is pretty. The city scenes are interesting visually. Whenever Quell, and sadly a lot of the time Rei, opens their mouths
? Do yourself a favor and hit mute.
Junior Bake Off (2011)
A Hill ruins the landscape
I didn't expect to like this version of the Great British Bake Off, simply because I feared that, being child centered, it would be cutesy and condescending. But what I found was the kids are fun to watch, and the judges are fair and gentle but not pandering to the kids, but encouraging.
And then there's Harry Hill.
I have never cringed so hard. He is an embarrassment to the show and himself. When a nine year old seems to slump in a weary "oh god here he comes again" at Harry's approach, you know he's the fly in the cookie dough
I doubt I'll watch any future episodes and it's a shame it's down to one person that could easily be replaced. His jokes are forced, he can't read a room, and kids don't like him.
Anthracite (2024)
A quirky "thriller" ruined by manic pixie girl trope
Honestly, it could have been a decent rainy day, watch casually little movie. But they decided to stretch it past a tolerable mystery movie into a mini series stocked with characters so annoying it ruins any possibility of enjoyment. I'm looking at you, Ida.
I imagine their reasoning behind the lead female character's behavior is her health issues and unconventional upbringing. I don't think it would be beyond rational that such a person would learn to act normally once exposed to society. Not this time.
Maybe someday this will be made with better characterizations and less trendy techniques, all inserted solely to appeal to some vague idea of what someone wants to watch.
I doubt it.
The Social Dilemma (2020)
A lack of historical perspective
I will admit, before I get into my dislike of the film, this was a slick piece of propaganda in and of itself, even as it fusses and moans about social media being mainly propaganda.
However, what they fail to point out is distrust, civil division, and marketing ploys are nothing new. They've been around since cave paintings. They point out the numbers for this or that have gone up. What they fil to say is the proportionally the population has gone up, reporting of incidents of whatever "outrage" they target has increased.
Do I doubt civilization is trundling off to hell in a hand basket? No, but it has been since humans and more importantly civilization evolved.
I noticed most of the speakers in this film are tagged as being the founder or creator of their own business or organization. Yet here they are, using a form of social media to advertise their views and agendas.
A lot of screen time to beat a dead horse.