dogonlion Reviews

Baby Reindeer (2024)

Ridiculous!

[1/10 · 3 June 2024]

Have we gotten so used to the low quality TV programs on streaming services that we've lowered our standards so to think this is a good series? Nothing in this is remotely believable. What is the reason for this guy not being able to get rid of his crazy stalker? Why did he even get involved with her in the first place? It's not like he was attracted to her from the beginning. This series is trying to make something out of nothing. And why all the secrecy? Why can't he tell people that this woman is stalking him? Why is it that when he almost got rid of her he goes back to pick her up? I know why. Because they needed to make the show last a few episodes. This is one of the worst series I've seen in recent years. You want something good to watch from the UK, try Bad Sisters.

Madame Web (2024)

As bad as they say

[1/10 · 28 May 2024]

I opened my mind and thought people were going into this prepared to hate it because Dakota Johnson suffers from the curse of those who became more famous than they deserve. I was thinking, it can't be as bad as they say. Believe me when I say, it is. The script and screen play are the worse part of the movie. It feels like it was written by film school freshmen. So the actors didn't have much to work with to begin with. I believe Dakota Johnson would have been great for this if given a better material and the appropriate direction. I believe the production lost sight of the kind of movie they were doing and what the audience for this would expect. There's way too much talking and since the script is bad it's really annoying. One hour into the movie and really not much relating to the actual story of madame Web happens. I'm tired of the portrayal of teenagers in movies as annoying brats who are rude and never listen. I raised 2 teenagers who never behaved that way. I met all their friends from school and sports and never experienced the stuff I always see in movies and tv shows. But I digress, back to the movie. The going forth and back of Madame Web seeing the future was very annoying. Of all the movies in that category i cannot think of a worse one. Some people thought Catwoman with Halle Berry was bad. Well, compared to Madame Web, Catwoman should have won an Oscar. Now I even think the current rating of 3.9 here is way too high. I couldn't finish the movie. I quit at around 1 hour and 15 minutes. I'm glad I was able to doze off for 15 minutes during that time and got some much needed rest. Movie theaters are very comfy to sleep in while watching a horrible movie.

The Serpent Queen (2022–2024)

The Boring Queen

[3/10 · 25 May 2024]

This show is just talk, talk, talk and more talk. Why not make it a play and take it on the road. It could have been a radio broadcast too. TV is supposed to be entertainment of which this series have almost none. My idea of entertainment is not listening to my TV. Yes the costumes are great and the locations are amazing. This show is made of conversations that take place in various locations. There's no need of a director for that. Aside for Samantha Morton and Ludivine Saignier none of the actors have any star power. Even actors playing kings and princes have no charisma. I could not go through any episodes without dozing off. If you want to see some good period drama series, try the Tudors, Reign, The white Queen, The white Princess. You will realize how dull The Serpent Queen is. Watch Samantha Morton in Harlots. And what's up with the modern music that keeps you from believing you are in 16th century Europe? 3 stars for costumes and cinematography.

The Fall Guy (2024)

Not good

[3/10 · 24 May 2024]

This movie is all over the place. Silly plot with scenes thrown here and there. Let's put some action here. Now let's put some romance here. Now let's put some humor here. Nothing holds all that together. It's kind of like that movie Babylon, just a lot of noise and flashy stuff. I fell asleep after the first action scene and when I woke up there was another amazing action scene and some more romance. It made me wonder if they've started using A. I. to write movie scripts already. The movie is way too long. Over 2 hours. I couldn't wait for it to be over. Ryan Goslin is a good actor but that's it. Emily Blunt has no charisma and looked like she had to leave her kids to make some money and wanted to go home as soon as she could.

Challengers (2024)

Mediocre!

[2/10 · 19 May 2024]

I really don't understand the high rating here for this movie. This is a poorly written teenage drama. It actually feels like reality TV. I'm not a fan of zandaya's acting in general but it is worse here because of the ridiculous dialogs. This movie doesn't know what it wants to be. It keeps going back and forth in time and that is so annoying. Frankly I don't know how they managed to put this movie in the theaters. This should have been a TV movie. Even the music is horrible. Everything feels cheap. The picture feels like it was shot with somebody's iPhone. There's no filter, no color grading. I was done half way through the movie. With all the garbage on streaming platforms we have really lowered our standards.

American Fiction (2023)

Bad fiction

[4/10 · 6 May 2024]

I was enjoying the first half of the movie then everything fell apart after that. How does a struggling writer going through the process of changing his whole style because he's desperate for money all of a sudden takes the risk of cancelling a multi-million dollar deal because he wants to change the title to something that can not be put on a published cover. Not remotely believable. That's bad fiction. I know Hollywood is trying to have a gay character in everything they do now but when a man who was married to a woman says "I've been gay for just a minute" it becomes stupid. I don't think this is how it works and I don't think the writers of the script know how it works or the they're not too bright. I don't think you become gay by flipping a switch and one day you like women, another you like men unless you were bisexual.

This could have been a great family drama if they had kept it simple and stuck to the subject matter but that's the issue with movies today. They try to deal with everything in one single movie. I stopped at half the movie beef cause I was getting irritated. 4 stars for Jeffrey Wright and company for some excellent acting.

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Movie lies Bleeding

[2/10 · 1 May 2024]

This movie was one of the worse movies I've seen in years. Right now the rating on here is at 6.9. I can't believe it's so high. This movie is a 4 star, tops. Nothing in it is even remotely believable. Even Ed Harris' hair looks so fake. The writing is awful. When the writer didn't know how to explain things, all of a sudden Jackie becomes Hulk ans turns into a giant even bigger than Hulk. Ridiculous. The movie, like its title, lied bleeding all over the place, plot holes after plot holes. It's sad to see actors like Kristen Stewart and Ed Harris end their careers this way. It's not like they're desperate for money. Why make movies like these.

Monkey Man (2024)

Way too long

[3/10 · 27 April 2024]

The movie would have been so much better if it was cut properly. The first 30 minutes were just boring. You don't really know if it's supposed to be an action movie or what. I understand the desire to show Indian culture but was it really the movie for that? If it was, then it should have been done better Black Panther style were the culture explained the story. The directing is pretty bad too. The closeups are way too close and there are too many of those. So close that it was blurry at times. So many of the scenes should have been deleted scenes. The director tries to put too much in one single movie. When you watch an action movie there's only so much of anything else you can take. I can't imagine John Wick with no action for 20 minutes. It would automatically fail at the box office because of what the audience expects. Maybe Dev Patel should stick to acting.

The Boys (2019– )

More talk than action

[5/10 · 18 April 2024]

From the first episode I found this show kind of boring. I think most people give it a high rating because it's a different take on superheroes. Superheroes are not the good guys here but is that enough to make this good? Most of it is dialogs after dialogs. There's hardly any action, which should be one of the first criterias to make a superhero show, whether the superheroes are good or bad. Most people say that it starts getting boring after season 2 but I think it just because they get over the excitement over the original concept. But I say it was boring from the first episode. Some people mentioned that there is nudity in this but I just finished episode 2 and so far all I've seen is male nudity. I don't know who they think the main audience of a show about superheroes is but that's not my thing. Anyway I gave it 3 stars because the few times when they have special effects on they are well done but I don't think I'm gonna keep watching this.

Update: I have updated my review and added 4 more stars. The rest of season 1 was better than the first 2 episodes. I still think this show should have more action, instead of all the action reserved for the last episode of the season. I think the character The Deep is completely useless and could have been left out of the show. Oh i forget he's the one the writers wanted to parade naked throughout the show.

Fallout (2024– )

Slow and Boring

[2/10 · 16 April 2024]

I've played some video games in my life, Fallout not being one of them. I understand how fans of the game are happy to see it as a series. They keep saying how much it looks like the game and how it's artistically accurate. But is that it? Shouldn't things happen clearly when you turn a game into a series or movie. A reviewer said it's more fun to watch someone play the game than watch this. I completely agree. I watched the first episode and didn't feel like watching the second. I started the second episode and waited, bored until 2 thirds into it before something happened. We don't get time to know the main characters and they just wander around saying lame dialogs. One cannot even compare this to the Last of Us series which has humor, action and characters you care about and really good script. Fallout tried to include cameos by familiar faces to make up for how lame this show is but even Walton Goggin or Michael Rapaport can't save this. Watch Walton Goggin in Justified where he's given a good script and be amazed. As for this Fallout... i mean Strikeout I'm done with it. Can't wait for the second season of The last of us.

Shōgun (2024–2026)

Dialogs only... Boring

[2/10 · 30 March 2024]

I actually found this series quite boring, i always doze off while watching it and have to rewind. All you see is people speaking Japanese. There's no entertainment value. This could have been a podcast and you wouldn't miss much. I can't believe people dare comparing this to Game of Thrones. Yes G. O. T. Is made of political intrigues and had a lot of dialogs but first we knew who was speaking and were familiar with their characters. G. O. T. Is a characters masterpiece. Furthermore G. O. T. Had epic battles, dragons, monsters etc. Shogun tricks the viewers by giving a little bit to make them believe more is there. In the first episode you have brief nudity for those who are into that and that's it. At the end of episode 2 you have 30 seconds of action to make you want to watch the next episode. But in fact there's not much happening. In the 3rd episode there is action but it's in the dark. Another trick by a cheap production because in the dark they don't have to worry too much about details. Also the big-headed, dead eyes actor who plays John Blackthorn is not very good. There are so many great British actors who would have nailed that part. I rated it 2 stars for the costumes and the sets but that's really all we've got here. This is no game of thrones. One episode of game of thrones cost more to make than this entire series.

Dexter (2006–2013)

Good after season 1

[8/10 · 17 February 2024]

I think most people who rated this show so highly are influenced by the general premise of the show. But that theme is actually rarely used. The vigilante who disposes of people who deserve it rarely happens, at least in season 1. Most of the show is about a serial killer and an investigation that drags on and on. I'm getting tired of stories of serial killers who want people to solve riddles and leave clues and codes that can lead to them being found. That almost never happens. They have to make these investigations drag to last over 12 episodes. The True Detective first season was an example of a well made one. Some of Dexter is so exaggerated like the attitude of Doakes towards Dexter. It gets old. I also get tired of flashbacks. I think it's a lazy way to tell a story.

Some of it is just plain stupid just like how Dexter finds the killer who kidnapped his sister and turns his back so the killer can stick him with a needle and should have killed him, then he has a nice conversation with that killer after he wakes up. What?

My review is based on season 1 and I will update it if I can make it through a second season but I don't think so.

Review Update: Ok, after watching the second season I can safely say that contrary to most people who think season 1 of Dexter is a masterpiece, the second and third seasons are so much better than the first. I raised my rating from 4 to 8.

Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

Good enough

[7/10 · 16 February 2024]

Let me start by saying that as a Rastafarian who grew up with the Bob Marley story as part of my culture I was almost certain I would hate this movie but I did not. When I saw who was playing Bob i thought he looked nothing like him. The actor looked too Hollywood and I still feel the same. He played Ken in the Barbie movie for crying out loud. However I thought he did well enough, even though parts of it seemed too much like mimicking. I think he should have marinated longer in that juice for it to feel more natural. The lip syncing was on point and when they did not use Bob Marley's actual voice i was not horrified. Even the Jamaican patois and accent was good enough.

As some reviewers have pointed, some of the movie felt rushed. There was enough material to make a longer movie. As I expected, they layed thick the idea of one love which, contrary to what is advertised in the west to make Bob Marley a softer and more commercial product was not central to his and Rastafarian ideology. Bob Marley was a black freedom fighter, a rebel and a revolutionary who used a guitar instead of a gun. That was the only difference. If the movie had been longer they could have highlighted his relationship with Miss World Cindy Breakespear which produced Damian Marley. The independence celebration in Zimbabwe was another highlight of Marley's life that was eventful. There were a few inaccuracies I think were intentional to make the movie shorter. Like the beating of his crooked manager that did not take place in 1978 Europe but in 1980 Gabon, Africa. All that said, for someone not too familiar with Bob Marley they won't really learn much about who the man was. For those more familiar, this movie is a nice entertaining accessory full of great music.

Anyone But You (2023)

Any movie but this

[1/10 · 10 February 2024]

Everything in this movie feels forced. The comedy is like "please laugh, please laugh". I guess that works on some. Nothing flows naturally. The way they love at first sight and all of the sudden start bickering is unrealistic. The bickering is annoying. Sydney Sweeney is a really good actress, I really liked her in The White Lotus, but she's hasn't been in a movie that uses her full potential yet. The movie is full of cliches. It even has the funny black friend with no love life. I'm really shocked by how much money this movie made. I guess as long as those kinds of movies make money they'll keep the same formula and keep factory produce them and soon will use artificial intelligence to write them.

Griselda (2024)

Good enough

[7/10 · 28 January 2024]

Before I get into my opinion on the show let me first say that the make up on Sophia Vergara is absolutely horrible. In this day and age Hollywood does that so much better. Everytime I look at her face, the cheap make up work makes me cringe. If you're gonna get a budget for a production like this the least you could do is spend some on real Hollywood make up artists. I know they were trying to make Sophia not as pretty as she usually is and chubbier but this powder they put on her face is ridiculous. Either you pick a different actress or just let us suspend our disbelief and enjoy Sophia's natural face. That said the show is entertaining enough to want to keep watching. I don't like the choice of color grading they went with to make the picture seem dated. Details are not good and everything seems kind of dark and grainy. I would never buy this on 4k disc because they purposefully messed up the picture to make it seem like I'm watching it on VHS. Sophia Vergara does a good job acting. I wish there were more action because the real griselda did some serious killing so there was plenty of material to use. The dialogue is not well written so the action would have made up for it. I gave it a 7 because it's still an enjoyable show.

Fair Play (2023)

Horrible, just horrible!

[1/10 · 21 January 2024]

The theme of the movie is very simple. Men are bad and act like spoiled kids when they can't get their way. This movie is not even realistic. Obviously the writer has never worked in today's corporate world. All the bad stuff that the employees say out loud would get them to HR in 2 minutes. This movie was designed to make you think it's erotic but there is no sex in it. Some viewers mention all the sex. Where? In the beginning there are 2 short scenes and after that the next bed scene is an hour later. As in any cheap movie the so-called sex scenes are fully clothed like in PG13 movies. And what's the obsession with showing sex while menstruating? I don't know if that was meant to be funny but I bet that didn't help the movie's rating. Anyway I'm glad I watched the second half in fast forward.

Role Play (2024)

Awesome!

[8/10 · 16 January 2024]

This movie was so much fun and I don't understand the bad rating here. It seems like people rate it for what they wanted it to be. For some, a romcom, for others an action movie or others a straight comedy. Well it's none of these things, it is what it is. It's a nice simple story if you want a break from the complicated. It is not to be over analyzed, just enjoyed. David Oyelowo and Kaley Cuoco deliver the goods and Connie Nielsen is the icing on the cake. There's is a decent amount of everything, comedy, action, drama. I've known Kaley Cuoco from Big Bang Theory but I'm looking forward to seeing her in more movies now. Bravo!

Society of the Snow (2023)

Perfect!

[10/10 · 14 January 2024]

I haven't given a movie 10 stars in a while but I had to give it up for this one. 10 stars because I don't think it would be possible to do better than this. True stories are hard to portray in movies, that's why so many movies based on true stories fail. Society of the snow nailed it. The acting is incredible down to the language. I watched with subtitles to not lose that aspect. The location takes you where it happened. It's beautifully shot. The movie was entertaining and did not feel slow. There is humor, hope and of course sadness. I even got choked up several times. J. A. Bayona is a great director. I didn't know he had directed The Impossible, and I loved that movie. With Society of the Snow he has created what will be the reference for this tragedy. There won't be a better way to tell that story. Bravo!

The Fall (I) (2013–2016)

Season 1 only

[3/10 · 9 January 2024]

Season 1 was ok even if I thought the Jillian Anderson character Stella was exaggerated. How come all the brunettes look alike? I couldn't tell them apart. I binge watched the first season but things started to break in the first episode of season 2. The killer started to make stupid mistakes and even breaks into homes with no mask on. What killed it for me is when he kidnapped one of the girls and when they were in the car a police car stopped right next to them and the kidnapped didn't try to get their attention. I knew that the writing was getting lazy. Also the little girl saw her mom forced into a car but no word about it, not even to her dad. What? What about the babysitter who suspects he's the killer but just hangs out with him and her friend at her house. It just got stupider and stupider. Are people ok with all those holes? Why is the rating so high here? I would rather watch a mindless action show that is just meant to entertain than this slow fest. This should have 5 stars on IMDb at best.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023)

Kind of boring after all!

[3/10 · 18 December 2023]

I really wanted to like this and I thought the slow pace in the first episodes was for the sake of character building but here I am on episode 8 and nothing really happening. I thought the story of the great Bass Reeves would be an opportunity to make a great western series. I thought this would be the aventures of Lawman Bass Reeves going from town to town capturing outlaws and delivering them to the law. Instead there's little action and so much talk. Different events just hang with no resolution. Although David Oyelowo is a great actor he didn't have much to work with. Also he's too short and stocky to be Bass Reeves who was very talk and slander in real life. This show will be soon forgotten by all. What a missed opportunity.

The Continental (2023)

Conversations inun dark places!

[2/10 · 1 October 2023]

Was there no electricity or sun in 1970's New York? Why is this series so dark? John Wick is dark intentionally but dark in a way you can make out faces. This is just bad dark. The series is made of dialogs in different places and action is almost non existent here. This is plain boring. Great series that rely on heavy dialogs have great writing. John Wick is not known for its writing so the action makes up for it. There's none of both qualities in The Continental. Many reviewers who say that only the first John Wick was great are not die hard fans. But for die hard fans like me The Continental won't do, even with has-been Mel Gibson in it. I'm quitting half way through the second episode because I can't stop dozing off Zzzz Zzzzz.

Foundation (2021– )

Dialogs, dialogs and more dialogs

[2/10 · 22 August 2023]

I'm not one of those who watches a show and keeps thinking about the books it's based on. I have never read the book so I don't care. But as it is this show is just boring. I watched the first hour and all I see is people just talking, dialogs, bla bla bla. There's no entertainment value. What's the purpose of making a TV show if it's just going to be people reading off the book or a script? Why no just leave it as a book or an audio book? What made the star wars series so successful is a balance of well written dialogs, action and great characters. This show feels like a play with the occasional CGI effect. Some people criticize the Marvel movies but you gotta admit they know how to capture and hold your attention. This is why we watch movies. I'm taking this one off my watch list.

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

Beau is a flop!

[3/10 · 15 August 2023]

I'm not a fan of Ari Aster. I didn't care for Hereditary. I considered watching Beau because Joaquin Phoenix is one of my favorite actors. After watching this i now question the sanity of Ari Aster. He obviously has some talent but I think he's going to need therapy before he can make a decent movie. With Beau is afraid we are witnesses to the chaos that must be inside of its creator's mind. In the first hour of the movie I thought "ok, we are seeing a case of schizophrenia". But after that it's like a train wreck. Even Looney Tunes cartoons are more believable than this movie. I'm not even going to go into details because the public at large has decided about this movie. It had a budget of $35 million and made $11 million worldwide at the box office. A punishment for those who thought it was a good idea to make this movie. They lost money big time with this flop.

High Fidelity (2020)

Low fidelity!

[1/10 · 12 August 2023]

I can't believe some people don't understand why this show was cancelled. Who wants to see a girl with a big hole in her life moping around past relationships? This show could never have a big audience, no way. The only thing cool about this show is the record store and something fun could have come out of that but they fail to talk about music most people would want to hear about. The record store becomes just a backdrop. Even her ex Mac who has a big role in this is played by an actor with no charisma. Cherise could have been funny and interesting but she doesn't have much to work with. Anyway, Zoe Kravitz is a good actress and I tried but like for most people, nope.

Angelyne (2022)

Emmy Awesome!

[7/10 · 28 July 2023]

I think people rated this show poorly because they don't like the fact that Angelyne had no reason for being famous and they think there shouldn't be a show on her. They're not rating the quality of the series which is undeniably good. I had never even heard of Angelyne but no matter what one thinks of her, she did succeed in becoming somewhat famous which is what inspired the series. That's a fact. So please don't shoot the messenger. Those who contributed in making her famous, fans who appreciate people with no talent just because of breast implants are to blame. What is so amazing though, is Emmy Rossum's performance. WOW. Too bad she won't get an Emmy award for all the wrong reasons. She's super talented, beautiful and nailed this role. The only thing I didn't care for is all the dreamy stuff, cars flying over the city etc. Overall it's very entertaining and if people can get over the real life subject and just enjoy the show, anybody should be able to enjoy this.