Reviews
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist (2024)
Need a much better ending
The show was pretty good until the last episode; had it not been so obtuse I might have given 8 or 9 stars. The series stars (and is produced) by Kevin Hart and the cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Taraji P. Henson, and her Hustle & Flow castmate, Terrance Howard. The story takes place in 1970 in Atlanta the scene of a heavyweight boxing match with Muhamad Ali facing Jerry Quarry. It is based (loosley) on actual events. It stars Hart, known as "Chicken Man" who is a small time numbers runner and self-described entrepreneur who tries to organized a party with all of the country's biggest Black Gangsters who are in town for the fight. Cheadle plays an Atlanta cop who is assigned to be a bodyguard for Ali who arrested Chicken Man years earlier which resulted in a perison term.
While Chicken Man is putting together the party, there are others who plan to rob the party and now use Chicken Man as a fall guy. The story now is how to find the true robbers because everyone thinks Chicken Man was behind the robbery, the police and the big gangsters. Each episode was better than the previous one until episode 8, the finale. It was silly, unblieveable, and rushed. All in all I still agve it 7 stars. It is a watchable series in my opinion.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Too Preachy
I used to love this show, even better than the original. Their stories were much more complex. In addition to exposing the amount of sexual assault and child trafficking, they told a good story and the character development was top notch.
Now it's going down hill and getting way too preachy. I watched the first episode of the new season and there were several instances of Dick Wolf on his soapbox preaching. One second they're complaining how it's "open season on cops" when the police are accused of brutality. Instance after instance the characters were complaining how tough their jobs were and how the public didn't appreciate them and are always picking on the cops. OK I get it. How about you stop the preachign and whining and just write good stories like you did a decade ago?
Boardwalk Empire (2010)
Not as "great" as it is billed.
I don't know where these people gte these 10 star reviews and say how "great" this series is, it's not. It started out pretty good and went downhill starting in season 3. This series should have been 4 seasons, not 5 and 10 episodes a season instead of 12. It reminded me a bit of Dexter in the way they introduce a new character every season and then kill them off and start with another one.
Some of the stroylines were just plain ridiculous. And they made technical mistakes that never should have occured. Nucky tells a character they need to soend 2 years in prison and all their indiscretions will be forgiven. Also in the episode his wife while visiting a hospital sees a woman who is bleeding from a miscarriage. End of episode. The very next episode, we see the first person being released from prison. OK. Then we see Mrs. Thompson VISITING the lady who miscarried in the hospital. Was this 2 years later?????
There were 2-3 stroylines taht weren't needed. The one good thing I could say is the photography, set direction, and cinematography were outstanding. It captured the 1920s perfectly. Other than that, this was a 5 star (out of 10) medicocre series. Too many mistakes, too much 1920s music (It sounds like this is a musical) and storylines that go nowhere.
Magpie Murders (2022)
Murder Mystery with a great 'hook'
There are times when writers and directors use a 'hook' to make a story different or unique. The 'hook' in this series is different and terrific. This isn't your run of the mill English Murder Mystery; it is dual mysteries running parallel.
Alan Conway is a writer of a series of murder mysteries featuring a Poirot type detective named Atticus Pund. His editor is a lady named Susan Ryeland. The 9th novel is called "Magpie Murders" and when editor Susan reads the manuscript the last chapter is missing. The story is about the murder of a very nasty man named Ser Magnus Pyle a wealthy aristocrat in an English village named Saxby on Avon. Before Susan can contact Alan about the final chapter, he is found dead. Was it suicide, an accident, or was it murder?
What we have is Susan going to the village to try & find the final chapter while at the same time the murder mystery around Ser Magnus' death is brought to life. We see Atticus Pund investigating the murder of Magnus and then it switches to Susan investigating what happened to Alan and the last chapter. As the story progresses, we discover the characters in the book are patterned after characters in Conway's life.
The story doesn't get boring and every episode reveals another suspect since it appears Ser Magnus was patterned after Alan himself. Both men were just nasty human beings with dozens of viable suspects. So, we have two mysteries and parallel investigations, one in real life, the other a novel. It's a great hook.
All I can say is this is a very enjoyable series with lots of twists, turns, and great acting and direction. I highly recommend this series. It's got 3 murders and no guns, car chases, explosions or steamy sex scenes. It's pure entertainment.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
I feel dumber after watching this nonsense.
It's obvious to me this was simply a money grab by producers and the Studio that released this mess. The script is terrible, as is the direction. Even the special effects aren't very good either. What also irritates me is two actors who I have always liked their work. Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens are both annoying as heck. Henry is as annoying as Jar Jar Binks and Stevens tries too hard to be like Hans Solo. Both terrific actors with a terrible script. Again, this movie is terrible. Rebecca Hall an actress I have also admired does a credible job but she looks like she's lost some weight. But, some people will like it. Some of the battles between the titans will be great to a lot of people, that's what the studio is banking on but as far as script and direction, the movie stinks.
Doctor Who (2023)
what happened to Dr Who?
I have watched the new Dr Who episodes for 2024, and I have been urgently waiting and waiting and this is the mess I get. Space Babies and some other nonsense about a "Maestro" that steals music. The show is stupid. The new Dr is stupid. I hate it. The script is terrible, the acting is terrible. I cannot believe what they have done to this wonderful series. A lot of people gave up when Jode Whitaker took over as the doctor, I didn't, I thought she was great and the series was pretty good. There were some weak storylines but all in all I thought the series was still good. Not now. It's terrible. It's not the new doctor, its the scripts; they have been stupid and silly. I'll watch one or two more episodes and if it doesn't get better, I'm done.
The Beekeeper (2024)
Worse Jason Statham movie ever.
I have been a fan of Jason Statham for years. I first saw him in The Transporter and then I saw some of his earlier work like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and, The One. He has never failed to deliver...until now. This is absolutely the worst movie he has ever done and that I have seen in years. The script is horrendous, the direction even worse. I realize in action movies at times we must suspend disbelief, but this is ridiculous. A half a dozen trained super soldiers armed with automatic rifles cannot hit our fleeing hero who is about 75-80 feet away. Or there the time he walks up unarmed to a group of LEOs who are looking for him and he beats them all up. I love the way guys with guns just stand there while our hero is beating up their comrades before turning on them and beating them up.
The plot if you want to call it that is our man Jason is a retired "Beekeeper" apparently some secret organization of Govt. Agents. He lives on a farm renting out a space from an elderly woman (Phylicia Rashad) who was conned out of her life savings and retirement income by a shady outfit. Our man Jason goes on a rampage to destroy the culprits because it was the right thing to do. I'm not going to tell you all the ridiculous happenings beause there isn't enough time or space. Just know this, it is a terrible movie. Jason should be ashamed of himself for putting out such a terrible movie, he is even a producer.
Fallout (2024)
Worth a look
I've only played Fallout 4, so I am not a fanboy of the game from the first release like so many people are. Still, the series did not disappoint. The first thing I thought when I saw this was the Art Director deserves an Emmy. The place looks exactly like the video game. The cities, the towns, the abandoned buildings are right out of the video game. The Art Director did a masterful job in creating a wasteland of destroyed cities.
Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins were terrific. The reason I didn't give the series an 8 or 9 star review is because of one character, Maximus/Titus. I didn't like his storyline, and I especially didn't like the actor, I thought he was terrible. He always has this forlorn, sad look on his face, and he always whined. I just didn't like him at all especially the attempts at humor. Goggins on the other hand was terrific as usual.
For those who don't know about the game, we are in a "Mad Max" type environment after a nuclear war has almost completely destroyed civilization. We have people living in underground vaults hoping to repopulate the Earth one day after whatever is left on the surface has died. But the surface dwellers aren't too keen on dying out just yet. We have various factions of all the different groups and of course radioactive monsters. The story is done bascially in two different perspectives. We experience the present while remembering the past and how the world got where it is today. It tells how and why the vaults were built and how we came to war. Accompanying our protaganists is a sound track made up of mostly 1940s and 1950s songs. It's fine for a while but they overdo it a bit.
All in all, I think this was a very good series and I can envision at least 3 more seasons. I highly recommend this series.
Road House (2024)
A waste of time you will never get back
Some movies you just don't remake; Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and ROAD HOUSE! And another thing, Gyllenhaal is no Sawyze. I like Jake but he's no action star. Whoever thought to do a remake of the classic film starring the late great Patrick Swayze must have been on drugs like the person who wrote the terrible script. The bad guys in this mess were comical losers. The 'boss' was the son of the real boss who is in prison so his son a loser in his own right is running the business like the mope he is. I hope the writers & director intended to make this a comedy because that's what it seems like to me, a stupid, action comedy. And not very funny either. Don't waste your time on this mess.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Unbelievably bad
Full disclosure, my review is after one episode; it was that bad. In the movie Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie are both spies of some sort, meet, fall in love and get married not knowing the other is a spy. In this TV version, they both apply to work at some secretive organization and are then sent to live in a home and pretend to be husband and wife.
That is the plot of the series and it goes downhill from here. John Smith (Donald Glover) is so annoying I couldn't wait for the episode to end so I could watch something else. He's like a 6 year old child constantly asking dumb questions. He's like the kid that keeps asking "Why?" and you answer and he replies "Why?" And his questions are dumb. I get he's thrown together with some woman he's never met & they're supposed to be married and it would help to know a bit about her but his timing is terrible. In one scene they are in the middle of their first assignment and he's asking dumb questions via text. There's a time & place for these questions, not in the middle of an operation.
Then there are the insulting shortcuts they take with reality. They do stupid stuff. Maya Erskine as 'Jane Smith' on the other hand is delightful and very likeable. Don't get me wrong, I have always liked and enjoyed Glover's work but this performance is terrible.
*SPOLILER ALERT*
The couple make a delivery to a house; they walk out and are walking down the street and the house explodes. They are on a residential street and the neighbors come out to see what's going on and what do our erstwhile secret agents do? They start running down the street like two guilty people; a Black man and a Japanese woman. Who wouldn't remember those two?
This is just a bad series in my opinion and I only watched one episode. Bad script, bad direction, and except for Maya Erskine, bad acting.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023)
Dumb, lazy, predictable.
This is a week 7 edit. This series gets worse and dumber as it goes. I've lowered my rating from 3 stars to 1, this is undoubably the worst series I've seen in a while. There should be a way AppleTV+ could be sued for false advertising. After 7 episodes they have shown less than 5 or 6 minutes showing any of the "monsters" This is a legacy of Bait and Switch. The episodes are advertised to be 41-50 minutes long, they give us 40-49 minutes of boring storylines, terrible dialogue delivered by unlikeable characters and at the end of each episode they give us 30 seconds to a minute of a monster scene. A total waste of time. I'm sure people that like monster flicks are going to hate this but the show starts out acting as though this would be an intelligent series and not just CGI monsters. It fails in the intelligent department. Ever since Indiana Jones came out mimicking the serials of the 40s where there would be these cliffhangers that the audience would have to wait a week to see the results moviemakers have fallen in love with putting our heroes in really, and I mean really tough spots, only for them to escape easily and get away from danger.
This Godzilla/monster movie like most of the recent ones in the past 20-30 years try to have some sort of plot, unlike they were in the 60s when I was coming up. Forget the plot, SHOW ME THE MONSTER! What turns me off on a film that proports to be 'different' or a serious film and then they turn out to be unbelieveable and full of plot holes. This movie is like that. The plot is stupid. Just show me the monsters and be done with it. Sometimes Hollywood gets it right, Alien, Edge of Tomorrow, War of the Worlds succeeded in making a believeable 'monster' movie but also included a good script and acting. This garbage doesn't do that. It's a 1 star out of 10. I have wasted too much time hoping the show would get better, it hasn't after 7 episodes. I'm done.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023)
Boring and lazy
Just because the subject of a TV series or movie is a hero or fascinating, that doesn't mean the actual program is going to be good. I see people giving reviews that seemed to be based on the subject & not the program itself.
The writing and direction is lazy. By that, I mean they take shortcuts and do things for effect that aren't based in reality. I knew from the first episode this was essentially using the reputation of a remakable man to make a series specifically to make money and not put out a good product. Let me explain when I say the writing & direction is lazy. They're trying to show the hardships Bass Reeves endured. He was a man born into slavery who became a famous Deputy U. S. Marshall. So, the film makers felt the need to show some of his hardships. SPOILER ALERT: Bass having a disagreement with his slave owning master, beats the living daylights out of him. Then he goes to the stables, gets a horse and rides off. He comes across three men who I suspect are slave catchers. They question him why he is riding out there so he shoots and kills all three. Then there is a commercial break. Upon returning from the commercial, our hero is struggling, walking in the wilderness and his feet are bloody because he has no boots on. This is the lazy part. They needed a bit of action so they have him shoot 3 men and now we need to feel bad for his hardships so they show him with bloody feet. Where's his horse? Are you suggesting he left the house with no boots? Why? Well, let's say he did, he just shot 3 guys who were wearling boots. They also had 3 horses, so how does he wind up with no horse and no boots? Lazy writing and direction. They needed to have some drama & this is what they came up with. Then there is a gun fight in episode 2 where you can't see a damn thing because it happens at night so you just sit there while bullets are flying.
There are many instances of just stupid dialogue, stupid scenes. This is not a good series, it's just based on a remarkable man.
Bodies (2023)
A pleasant surprise.
I tuned into this for 2 reasons. One was Stephen Graham. The other was a trailer I saw where the DCI was telling his squad that they were looking to bring down a killer who had also killed a cop. I thought it would be a cop show that spent 4-6 episodes hunting down a criminal. And, it started that way. A lady cop is chasing a guy with a gun (never understood why British cops chase armed criminals) and she catches up to him on a backstreet standing over a dead body with a bullet hole in his eye and a mysterious tatto. Oh yesh, he's also naked as a jaybird. I'm like, cool, this looks good. Then, the next minute we're in 1941 London. I'm like OK, there's probably a clue or something. Now we're following another cop who receives a phone call telling him to pick up a body and take it to the waterfront. He gets there to the location which happens to be the same street the cop in 2023 was at when she found what he is about to find; a naked dead guy with a bullet in his eys and a strange tattoo. Okaaay. What is going on here? So we spend a few minutes in 1941 & all of a sudden we're in 1891. And guess what? Yep, another body and it happens again in 2053. What is going on??? Well folks, that's what the series is about. I must admit it was the 5th or 6th episode before it started to become clear what was going on. Bu episode 6 things that you didn't understand in episode 2 make all the sense in the world.
Bottom line, this is a very good series. There are some confusing scenes but that always happens with time travel. I highly recommend this series. All will be explained. I read one review where the guy was so bent out of shape because someone said the word "Date" and he doesn't think the word date was being used in 1941. That was one of his complaints. (The term was used in 1896, Google it) Then there is a guy ragging on & on about ONE scene in 1941 about how people acted in London during a bombing raid. Then there are the time travel experts that get all scientific and philisophical. It's just a TV show folks not brain surgery, allow a bit of leeway if the other 98% is entertaing TV. As long as the director doesn't get truly ridiculous, like 6 guys with machine guns shooting at out hero and they all miss and the hero takes them out with his 9mm. I can allow for a few scientific errors. Anyway, this was a very good series. It won't be for everyone but it is very well done.
Unforgotten (2015)
A Masterpiece of a Series
British TV series (Mostly Cop Shows) are about 90% of my TV viewing habit other than sports and the news shows. Unforgotten is the finest TV series I have watched since Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty. The show is first class on every level, writing, direction, and acting. The series is about a squad of London dectectives who investigate cold cases of murder and suspicious disappeances. The story has what is called a "Hook" that makes it unique and a one of a kind series. The detectives are called in when a set of bones are found in shallow graves or abandoned buildings. Meanwhile, there are a half dozen scenes of people that appear to have nothing in common. A young drug abuser living in a squat, a priest, an aristocrat, an educator, various people all seemingly unconnected, some even living in other countries. Bit by bit, as our dectives hunt and find clues to the identity of our victim, it becomes clearer that these people may somehow be connected; if not to each other, then to the victim.
The main two stars are Nicola Walker as DCI Cassie Stuart the head of the squad (Series 1-4. Series 5. Sinéad Keenan replaces Walker) and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DS Sunny Kahn her right hand man. And they have excellent chemistry. The writing is excellent and each member of the squad are competent, dedicated police officers and go about their job developing clues to determine who these bones are, and what happened to them.
In each episode we learn a bit more about the victim and the people that were introduced in the first 1 or 2 episodes.
I highly recommend this series if you're looking for a good police procedual that is competently done, well acted and well directed.
The Irrational (2023)
A waste of time, try watching paint dry
I rarely if ever watch TV series on the "Big Four" networks. They are usually just formula, scripted episodes where there is a crime, a filler, and with 3 minutes left the crime is solved. The filler is actually the most important part of a TV show and most network TV is silly and contrived.
I tuned this in because A) I came across it while channel surfing and B) I like Jesse L. Martin and I decided to give it a shot. Total waste of time. Martin plays a college professor who is an expert in behavioral science. The authorities, in todays episode the FBI call him in on a hostage situation in the opening scene (It was to serve as context for what Martin's character was about and his talents). The head FBI agent on the scene is his former wife. I'm not sure if they are divorced or seperated and will be a love interets in upcoming episodes because I couldn't finish this tripe and don't plan on seeing any future episodes. It's a silly show. Martin's talents are wasted in this weak show. It's a typical formula show. I hate to be snobbish but this is why I watch mostly British Crime Shows, and mini-series on FX, AMC+ Paramount+ and other networks other than CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX.
Don't waste your time, this show is silly and bad.
Who Is Erin Carter? (2023)
Ridiculous
This series is stupid. It started pretty good and there are some good scenes but all in all it is a stupid show that is totally unbelieveable. The opening scene a woman is leaving her home in England with her 4 year old daughter. They get on a boat and are crossing the water. Next scene it is about 5-6 years later. The daughter appears to be about 11 or 12 and the woman is a substitute teacher in Spain. She and the daughter are in a supermarket and a robbery happens. She and one of the robbers recognizes her and they get into a tussle and the robber gets shot. It is apparent the woman can handle herself. And this is where the stupid begins. Over the next 3 days she is involved in three, count them 3 very brutal fights and all she has 2 little scratches on her forehead, even after one person shoves her face first into a blackboard. Two little scratches. It's obvious the woman has a past. We don't know if she's a criminal, secret agent, or what. Then there is her friend who is a policeman who helps her even though he sees her kill someone. He decides she must be in a position to help him with his problems. I read we get to find out who she is in the 3rd or 4th episode, I don't know, I stopped watching in the third episode. I saw some good reviews but they probably came from people who are easily entertained. This series sucks.
We Hunt Together (2020)
Don't pass this one up!!
The main reason I watched the series in addition to the rave reviews was Eve Myles. I absolutely loved her in Torchwood and the Apple TV+ series Hijack. However, after seeing this series, a new star is on my radar, the lovely Hermione Corfield who plays "Freddie", a beautiful, sexy, alluring, manipulative sociopath. And I loved every scene she was in. But that's not what makes this series superb, this show is the total package. It has everything, murder, love, sex, secrets, twists, psychological manipulation, and so much more.
First we have two police officers who are paired together to work a murder case. He, an African immigrant played by the wonderful Babou Ceesay. He is the DI, and is in charge of the investigation despite the fact it's his first day in homocide. He had worked in the Anti-Corruption unit (Internal Affairs). His partner, played by Myles is a sargent and a seasoned murder investigator. It's like mixing oil and water. He is an intelectual type, she is old school, hard nosed murder police. The sparks fly, but they aren't mean mostly funny. On the other side we have another African immigrant who is called "Baba" who has secrets and lives a tormented life because of his past, played by Dipo Ola. He meets Freddie one night and his life is never the same.
So, we have a murder mystery but there's more than the eye can see. Everybody has secrets, and I mean everybody.
All I can say is this is one of the best shows I've seen in a while. I came across it looking for something decent to watch. I have nearly every network out there, from Amazon to whatever starts with a Z and the choices are limited. This show is a winner. There is one reason I didn't give it 10 stars, despite the freshness of this series, they did do one thing I was so disappointed with. They fell into the formulactic trap by having these two detectives working their behinds off trying to solve murders and the "Suit" or boss is screaming at them to "LET IT GO!!IT'S OVER!!!" There's always some pencil neck boss sitting in the office telling our detectives to drop the case, it's over when we all know it isn't. Other than that silly part, this is a great show.
Painkiller (2023)
Expose' of flaws in American Capitalism
While Dopesick was a far better story, Painkiller delves into just how Purdue Pharmaceuticals literally pushed dope to Americans. The Sackler family made billions while not truly paying th price for killing tens of thousands of people. Matthew Broderick was terrific, much better than anything I've ever seen him in.
I'm not sure how much of this story was factual but the Edie Flowers character played by Uzo Aduba was truly a very dislikeable, arrogant and condscending person. If there was actually a US Atty that she played, it's no wonder it took years to get people to help expose Purdue. In one scene a person she was asking to help her expose Purdue was pouring their heart out to her showing remorse and crying and her resonse was "I'm not your psychatrist". Truly a nasty person.
Purdue's plan was simple, sell, sell, sell. They paid for Doctor's trips to exotic locations and the pressure was to not just prescribe more, but to up the dose.
The series tells the story of how big business can kill us and the Govt will always look the other way.
1883 (2021)
Not for me, really boring.
I know Taylor Sheridan is red hot right now. Yellowstone is a huge hit so like any good Hollywood Capitalist, you milk the franchise for as much as you can, just ask Dick Wolf how that works. Unfortunately, this show is ridiculous. The problem I have with this is the script. It's weak and boring. It's a ten episode series that could have been done in 6 or 8. I know people like this and Yellowstone but TBH this isn't close to Yellowstone. This is more about teen angst. It reminds me of "Badlands" only in the sense of the story being narrated by a young girl while on a journey. Some people rave over the acting but Tim & Faith would be better not to quit their day jobs as singers. There is very littlw about this series to like. It's supposed to be a prequel to Yellowstone but it's more like "Beverly Hills 90210 The Prequel"
I don't recommend this series but I'm sure Mr. Sheridans fans are going to love this.
Deadloch (2023)
Too many negatives outweigh the positives
I might have liked this show had I been able to watch all the episodes, but I can't. The show tries to be different kind of cop show but it's that difference whih made it unwatchable to me. I'm not sure what the writers & directors were trying to do when they dreamed up Madeleine Sami's character but whatever it was they failed...miserably. The character is the reason I stopped watching, she's just too goofy for a cop. I guess there's some genius lurking beneath all the goofiness, ridiculousness, and sillness but I never saw it.
On the other hand, Kate Box was brilliant from what I could see in my limited view of the program. Basically, it's a murder mystery in a small town in Tasmania and the bigwigs send a detective to take over the case from the locals. The detective is crass, rude, arrogant, silly, goofy, and unbearable. I stopped watching after 1 episode. I just didn't like the direction the show was going.
Joe Pickett (2021)
Poor man's Justified doesn't cut it
I see these glowing reviews and wonder what show these people were watching. This show is not that good. It tries so hard to make the 'hero' into another Raylan Givens, cowboy hat and all and it is an epic fail. First of all the guy looks ridiculous in his goofy looking hat; nobody wears a Stetson like Raylan Givens. This guy looks goofy. Secondly, he's no Raylan, he is inept and somewhat bumbling.
Our 'hero' is a Game Warden not a U. S. Marshall and he stumbles on small town corruption and gets played by his so-called friends, beat up by the bad guys and treated terribly by law enforcement. What I disliked the most about this show was the stupid decisions most characters made. Nothing ruins a show or movie lie dumb, dumb, decisions by characters, like when a teenager in a horror movie who ventures into a dark basement saying "is anyone there?"
I just didn't like this show. The plot is weak and the characters stereotypical. I figured out who the bad guy was in episode 3 and it took our 'hero' until episode 10 to figure it out. Yeah, the 'hero' is incompetent too. However, what really frosted me was there was a side story about a character that was in 25% of the series, had a storyline where we didn't know if the character was a good guy or a murderer and he just rode off and his storyline never finished or explained. Maybe it will be in season 2, something I won't know because I won't waste another second on this mess. Bottom line, Joe Pickett is a weak show, a Justified wannabe and not good TV.
House of Cards (2013)
Average show, nothing to shout about it but you won't feel you wasted time.
I gave this show 5 stars. It has it's momments and it also falls flat. There are some great scenes and some so hokey I want to hurl. Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright are terrific how ever, the show does get really hokey in season 5 and season 6 is terrible.
There are.only 3 actors in all or most episodes in the 6 seasons. Robin Wright, Kevin Spacey & Michael Kelly, the rest of the characters (60-75) are in 40 or fewer episodes. And of all the characters, I believe there was 1 character that was likeable & I can't remember who that was. Everyone of these people are despicable. They lie, double-cross, misrepresent, back stab, steal, and even kill. These are nasty people and they're supposed to be a reflection of our politicians in Govt. If 1/10th of this show is accuarate, we're in trouble.
Kevin Spacey is worth the price of admission, so is Robin Wright & Michael Kelly, the Spacey character's wife & trusted aide respectively. It's all about politics and how dirty it is and the media trying to get a story. Even the Media people are sleazy. Kate Mara has a good run as a hard nosed reporter going after the big story only to be dragged into the swamp.
Should you watch this? Maybe. Like I said, it has it's moments but it also gets bogged down in too many double crosses, lies, backstabbing, and more lies. I can't tell who is telling the truth & will do what they say from those who don't. I guess that was the point of the show as it is a depiction of our political system. Bottom line, I am not unhappy I watched it but it only knocked my socks off about 1/3 of the time, I found another 1/3 acceptable and 1/3 a waste of time. One thing I found strange was the W. H. always looked so empty and dull but in the West Wing show it was a madhouse.
Rabbit Hole (2023)
Silly and obtuse
This is a terrible show on so many levels. Level#1 Sutherland stars as the head of a security company that "Fixes" problems of rich clients. He and his co-workers do everything perfectly in order to get the job done. Everything falls into place, they never miss a trick. They do things that will never happen in real life. It's just too convienent.
Level#2 Sutherland is set up and is wanted for murder. His face is plastered every where, like on these outside giant videos in NYC. Yet, he decides to walk right into a police station pretending to be a cop, calls the cop working his case and looks through a window to see who answers the phone and tells the cop he's a witness and is in the front with evidence. The cop gets up from her chair and walks out of the room and he walks into the room, sits down at her desk and goes through her computer and files. Not one single cop in the room notices this wanted killer in their midst.
It's stupid stuff like that which tiurns me off. Just plain stupid. This is a terrible show, don't waste your time.
The Night Agent (2023)
Take it or leave it.
I gave this series 5 stars out of 10. As I state in my title, take it or leave it. It's "OK" TV, not great, but not terrible. There are scenes that are terrific, and others that have me screaming at the TV.
If I could have given 51/2 stars I would have. I didn't feel like I was ripped off and scamed by a crappy series, it was pretty good, but it suffers from what I call "Lazy writing" at times. Lazy writing is what I really despise in a movie or series. What do I mean by lazy writing? Well, the script writer puts our heroes in a really tight and dangerous situation or has them needing to escape a dangerous situation and they are able to do it without much effort. Everything that the heroes needs to fall in place that will allow them to come out on top happens. You need to escape from the White House when every single Secret Service agent is looking for you, no problem, just hide behind this wall as an agent walks right past you and then you go where he was. Be able to swipe a key card from a collegue in order to go in and out of rooms because your key card has been disabled. It's amazing how there could be a rogue in the W. H. and yet they are able to easily escape. That is lazy writing. Putting our heroes in the most diifficult situations and making the escape easy.
The best thing about this series was the female lead Luciane Buchanan. She is a terrific actor, had great lines, and is a fresh face I expect we will see a lot of in the future.
We have an FBI agent whose job is to sit in a room in the W. H. and man a phone that might ring. If it rings it means an agent is in trouble. One night it rings and our hero has a young woman on the line that says her aunt & uncle told her to call this number because there are men in the house trhat are trying to kill them and her. That's how it starts. From here on out we get the "Reluctant Buddy" story. Two people forced to work together who start off opposing each other. (Yawn) We have assasination plots, treason, murder, spies, secret agents, the whole 9 yards.
If you watch this it won't be a complete waste of time. But it won't be on any top 10 lists as a great series. If you aren't a perfectionist, it's a watchable series. Just don't expect a 10 star series.
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
DUMB, DUMB, DUMB
I am so disappointed. I loved the Luther series and Idris Elba. When I found out about the new movie I was pumped. Thirty minutes in and I'm beginning to feel nervous. An hour in and I came to the conclusion this is one stupid, dumb movie. Luther is searching for a younf man the bad guy has kidnnapped. In order to get Luther off the case, he sets Luther up and our hero is sent to prison.
I love Cynthia Erivo. A great singer and a good actor. Here she plays DCI Raine. How someone so stupid became a in charge shows you how dumb TV writers, directors and producers are. We have a serial killer that has killed at least a dozen people who contacted Luther while he was in jail to taunt him. So, naturally Luther escapes so he can catch the guy. Luther tracks the serial killer down while the cops are tracking Luther. Now remember, Luther is a well decorated hero cop who was set up & sent to prison. Luther identifies the serial killer and chases him while the cops are chasing him. The serial killer takes a hostage and the cops (Cynthia Erivo) is more interested in catching Luther than catching a major serial killer. (I told you she was dumb). The serial killer creats a diversion, and takes off and Luther follows him and the cops still are more concerned about brining in Luther than catching a serial killer.
Andy Sirkis plays the villian. He's like a Bond super villian. The guy has been committing the big crime the movie is centered around for over a decade. He has people all over London working for him because he's apparently blackmailing them. He forces then to do his bidding or he will exposing them to friends, relatives and even the police.
I'm sorry, but this movie is just bad.