That right there makes this film and every other one that uses the same premise invalid.
Reviews
12 Reviews
Bosch
(2014–2021)
A solid start with an excellent cast
24 February 2014
Gotta remember that what we all are reviewing now is a pilot and pilots have specific missions: to set up genre, mood & character
Bosch begins sharp and cleanly. It clearly establishes it's well-cast characters and their relationships to each other.
Titus Welliver plays the title character exceptionally well. His backstory is subtly revealed in the occasional dialog bit & look. The culmination of all this at the end is nerve-wracking. The other actors brought into play his co-workers and adversaries are splendid as well. I was especially pleased to see Alan Rosenberg turn up.
I imagine there will probably be a couple performances/relationships that will get tweaked, but that's to be expected....it's a pilot. But, there is absolutely nothing that screams out or even whispers "I was a bad idea, cut me"
The pilot starts the show with two concurrent story arcs, both of which are fairly represented and balanced.
It's nice modern version of the hard-boiled detective. Note: I have not (yet) read the books, so I have no idea if its faithful to them at all, but I enjoyed the heck out of it. I really hope it gets picked up.
Bosch begins sharp and cleanly. It clearly establishes it's well-cast characters and their relationships to each other.
Titus Welliver plays the title character exceptionally well. His backstory is subtly revealed in the occasional dialog bit & look. The culmination of all this at the end is nerve-wracking. The other actors brought into play his co-workers and adversaries are splendid as well. I was especially pleased to see Alan Rosenberg turn up.
I imagine there will probably be a couple performances/relationships that will get tweaked, but that's to be expected....it's a pilot. But, there is absolutely nothing that screams out or even whispers "I was a bad idea, cut me"
The pilot starts the show with two concurrent story arcs, both of which are fairly represented and balanced.
It's nice modern version of the hard-boiled detective. Note: I have not (yet) read the books, so I have no idea if its faithful to them at all, but I enjoyed the heck out of it. I really hope it gets picked up.
The After
(2014 TV Movie)
(Spoilers) Please don't like it just because you're an X-Files fan
23 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Actually, I don't think there are any true spoilers, but decided not to take a chance, lest IMDb cast me out.
Okay, that's enough now.
I watched it because I love Aldis Hodges and it was (golly, I still don't know what, but at the time I thought it was) science fiction. Disclaimer: I couldn't even finish it and stopped 10:34 seconds from the end. But, here goes:
* There is no character who could not have been more stereotyped if Chris Carter had actually sat down and brainstormed how he could do it. Really.
* There was no good backstory for any freaking character or situation
* WHY? Why would there be every single person out in the streets without anyone AT ALL having any idea whatsoever about why they're out there. I've lived through 3 NYC blackouts and there wasn't everyone out in the streets.
* Why didn't they take one or two or as many as it took of the cars in the parking lot to ram through the gate?
* the premise had some kind of potential but really failed at following through on any portion of it
* It was nice to see Adrian Pasdar, but as much as I genuinely like him, he still has not escaped Nathan from Heroes in my head.
* There was one, count 'em one, genuine believable moment and it actually came from one of the performers I least expected.
* ooh. look. A naked girl for half a spit. ooh. ooh.
* The pacing was so uneven, your mother would have every vertebra cracked were it a sidewalk.
* Really, the French chick sees a red balloon? Really?
This just proves that Chris Carter is living on because of the success of X-Files...something he should just go ahead and continue to do.
It was Bad. Really Bad.
Really.
Bad.
Really.
Okay, that's enough now.
I watched it because I love Aldis Hodges and it was (golly, I still don't know what, but at the time I thought it was) science fiction. Disclaimer: I couldn't even finish it and stopped 10:34 seconds from the end. But, here goes:
* There is no character who could not have been more stereotyped if Chris Carter had actually sat down and brainstormed how he could do it. Really.
* There was no good backstory for any freaking character or situation
* WHY? Why would there be every single person out in the streets without anyone AT ALL having any idea whatsoever about why they're out there. I've lived through 3 NYC blackouts and there wasn't everyone out in the streets.
* Why didn't they take one or two or as many as it took of the cars in the parking lot to ram through the gate?
* the premise had some kind of potential but really failed at following through on any portion of it
* It was nice to see Adrian Pasdar, but as much as I genuinely like him, he still has not escaped Nathan from Heroes in my head.
* There was one, count 'em one, genuine believable moment and it actually came from one of the performers I least expected.
* ooh. look. A naked girl for half a spit. ooh. ooh.
* The pacing was so uneven, your mother would have every vertebra cracked were it a sidewalk.
* Really, the French chick sees a red balloon? Really?
This just proves that Chris Carter is living on because of the success of X-Files...something he should just go ahead and continue to do.
It was Bad. Really Bad.
Really.
Bad.
Really.
Iron Man Three
(2013)
Made me want to watch Magnum P.I.
3 May 2013
I saw Iron Man 3 as part of the Iron Man Marathon. I have never been to a preview of this type of film where it got no applause at the end. The Star Trek preview did, The Thor preview did. The 1st 2 Iron Man movies did, as well as the Avengers movie...just not IM3. The was a bit of applause about 3 minutes before the end on behalf of a minor but beloved character...and the after-credit tag got some laughter.
RDJ, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle & Paul Bettany were, as always, deft with the material given to them. The guest actors were fine. Major KUDOS to young Ty Simpkins...I know they can't really bring his character back, but I loved him and Stark together. (This is the edit: I think the kid and RDJ had a real chemistry together. This does not mean I necessarily approved of some of the "just to prove a plot point" aspects of the dialog or some of the illogics of the plot that happened during their scenes together.)
I think Shane Black was a poor choice for director (and writer). I never got the feeling that he embraced that he was directing (and writing) Iron Man. It felt (ESPECIALLY the end credits) that he wanted to be directing his favorite cop show & this is what he could get. Some changes to the characters were made at the end which were both awful & rushed through.
Am I glad I saw it on the big screen...sure. Am I glad I saw it as part of the marathon (and, btw, bravo to AMC Theatres for the way they organized and handled the marathon)...absolutely. But, if it were to be included in an upcoming marathon, I would probably go out to dinner during it.
RDJ, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle & Paul Bettany were, as always, deft with the material given to them. The guest actors were fine. Major KUDOS to young Ty Simpkins...I know they can't really bring his character back, but I loved him and Stark together. (This is the edit: I think the kid and RDJ had a real chemistry together. This does not mean I necessarily approved of some of the "just to prove a plot point" aspects of the dialog or some of the illogics of the plot that happened during their scenes together.)
I think Shane Black was a poor choice for director (and writer). I never got the feeling that he embraced that he was directing (and writing) Iron Man. It felt (ESPECIALLY the end credits) that he wanted to be directing his favorite cop show & this is what he could get. Some changes to the characters were made at the end which were both awful & rushed through.
Am I glad I saw it on the big screen...sure. Am I glad I saw it as part of the marathon (and, btw, bravo to AMC Theatres for the way they organized and handled the marathon)...absolutely. But, if it were to be included in an upcoming marathon, I would probably go out to dinner during it.
Ca$h Cab
(2005–2020)
Love the show
30 January 2009
There's not much I can add, but I to answer one question and simultaneously rebut another posting.
Part of the reason you have to wait for answer confirmation and why Ben seems so incredibly knowledgeable is that he is being fed the questions and answers via an earphone in his upstage (driver side window) ear. Every now and again, you can catch a glimpse of the cable going down the back of his neck.
However, the fact that he can drive in all kinds of weather and conditions, listen to his prompter, ask the questions and chat with the contestants is amazing.
Part of the reason you have to wait for answer confirmation and why Ben seems so incredibly knowledgeable is that he is being fed the questions and answers via an earphone in his upstage (driver side window) ear. Every now and again, you can catch a glimpse of the cable going down the back of his neck.
However, the fact that he can drive in all kinds of weather and conditions, listen to his prompter, ask the questions and chat with the contestants is amazing.
Barnyard
(2006)
oh wow.....and not in a good way
16 September 2006
I just came back from Barnyard...the animation. wow. It was the *******longest******* one hour and twenty minutes in my entire life. wow.
There were a couple of funny bits, but ....wow...
Someone needs to take Steve Oedekerk and his entire production/animation/marketing staff to a farm and shove their heads underneath a bull. And, that was only the beginning of how awful and trite and clichéd (yes, the action bits were funny, I give it that (that's why I voted 2 and not 1 for this)...as long as you ignored the damn udders on the cows. yes, cows as opposed to heifers. In this movie, apparently heifers are girls and cows are boys!!...ugh) this film was.
It made me really sad that the $1.49 movie theatre is now $2.99 to get into because $1.49 would have been too much.
There were a couple of funny bits, but ....wow...
Someone needs to take Steve Oedekerk and his entire production/animation/marketing staff to a farm and shove their heads underneath a bull. And, that was only the beginning of how awful and trite and clichéd (yes, the action bits were funny, I give it that (that's why I voted 2 and not 1 for this)...as long as you ignored the damn udders on the cows. yes, cows as opposed to heifers. In this movie, apparently heifers are girls and cows are boys!!...ugh) this film was.
It made me really sad that the $1.49 movie theatre is now $2.99 to get into because $1.49 would have been too much.
Chicken Little
(2005)
Expected to hate it
8 November 2005
I really and truly expected to hate this movie from the trailers. I was out-voted by my husband and my son and my own inate desire to catch as much animation as I can. I still came this close to watching another film when we got to the multiplex.
Somewhere along the way, it became assumed that animated movies are just for children. Ummm...no. Not even Disney films. Early Disney was actually scary for young kids. I still have a scar where my sister bit me during Pinnochio.
It was pretty obvious from the trailers that this movie was not going to be a "little kids' movie". And, it's not. There's certainly enough in there to keep them occupied. But, are they going to really appreciate the visual puns such as the Bull that owns the China Shop and the bird that kept running into the window of said shop. There was so much of that running in the background throughout, that I was rolling with laughter.
As for the music, IT'S NOT A MUSICAL!! The film score/character development had 70s songs in it. Big whoop. If you don't know the music, it's not going to kill you and you don't really miss anything. If you do know the music, then it's an added layer, especially one bit of monologue in the later part of the film.
It did have more the feel of Warner Brothers than Disney which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing as I was always more of a Bugs Bunny than Mickey Mouse fan.
And, as everybody has agreed, the voice casting was superb even for the minor one or two liner characters. The characterizations were pretty evenly developed. A couple of the background characters were a riot.
It wasn't trying to be deep or meaningful. It wasn't trying to pander to the tots (and, I do not particularly recall a whole lot of potty humor...that comment stopped me cold when I read it). It was a fun little flick. And as such it succeeded
Somewhere along the way, it became assumed that animated movies are just for children. Ummm...no. Not even Disney films. Early Disney was actually scary for young kids. I still have a scar where my sister bit me during Pinnochio.
It was pretty obvious from the trailers that this movie was not going to be a "little kids' movie". And, it's not. There's certainly enough in there to keep them occupied. But, are they going to really appreciate the visual puns such as the Bull that owns the China Shop and the bird that kept running into the window of said shop. There was so much of that running in the background throughout, that I was rolling with laughter.
As for the music, IT'S NOT A MUSICAL!! The film score/character development had 70s songs in it. Big whoop. If you don't know the music, it's not going to kill you and you don't really miss anything. If you do know the music, then it's an added layer, especially one bit of monologue in the later part of the film.
It did have more the feel of Warner Brothers than Disney which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing as I was always more of a Bugs Bunny than Mickey Mouse fan.
And, as everybody has agreed, the voice casting was superb even for the minor one or two liner characters. The characterizations were pretty evenly developed. A couple of the background characters were a riot.
It wasn't trying to be deep or meaningful. It wasn't trying to pander to the tots (and, I do not particularly recall a whole lot of potty humor...that comment stopped me cold when I read it). It was a fun little flick. And as such it succeeded
A History of Violence
(2005)
I still haven't decided if I like it or not
27 October 2005
It is a well-done film with very strong performances by the entire cast. It is very pretty cinematographically. At various junctures of my life I have had the hots for each of William Hurt, Ed Harris, and Viggo Mortensen...so it was fabulous seeing them all together in one film. But, I still haven't decided whether it was brilliant or horrible as a whole....it's very odd. I wasn't surprised to feel that way right after, but 24 hours later, I still can't decide.
One bit of warning, there is probably 5-8 minutes of reasonably explicit sex (in my opinion, the scenes went on just a little bit past when they should have to convey what they needed). This is not really mentioned in any of the advertising. It made for an interesting time because I saw it with my 17-year-old son (we are both huge action movie buffs). Fortunately a) we get along really well and were not hideously embarrassed about it and b) we were the only ones in the theatre, so we could comment out loud about it.
One bit of warning, there is probably 5-8 minutes of reasonably explicit sex (in my opinion, the scenes went on just a little bit past when they should have to convey what they needed). This is not really mentioned in any of the advertising. It made for an interesting time because I saw it with my 17-year-old son (we are both huge action movie buffs). Fortunately a) we get along really well and were not hideously embarrassed about it and b) we were the only ones in the theatre, so we could comment out loud about it.
Doom
(2005)
Despised it with every fiber of my being
23 October 2005
Had it not been advertised as being Doom (as in the game that I have spent way too many hours of my life playing from Doom I on including as many add-on levels as I thought were interesting) then I might have ranked it as an OK mediocre trashy science fiction shoot-'em-up.
However, as it had an existing backstory and monster population that they used little to none of, I was extremely disappointed in it....to put it mildly. I have ***never*** regretted spending money on a film as I did this one.
There were four things I enjoyed: 1) sitting in the dark exchanging cheat codes with my son at the appropriate moments; 2) the BFG; 3) something Sarge said (actually, the Rock (there being a slight difference in my head at the instant he said it)) near the end; and 4) the genesis of one of the monsters (virtually the only one that wasn't an Imp) that showed up at the end.....the only genuine homage to the original game...
However, as it had an existing backstory and monster population that they used little to none of, I was extremely disappointed in it....to put it mildly. I have ***never*** regretted spending money on a film as I did this one.
There were four things I enjoyed: 1) sitting in the dark exchanging cheat codes with my son at the appropriate moments; 2) the BFG; 3) something Sarge said (actually, the Rock (there being a slight difference in my head at the instant he said it)) near the end; and 4) the genesis of one of the monsters (virtually the only one that wasn't an Imp) that showed up at the end.....the only genuine homage to the original game...
Mad Hot Ballroom
(2005)
What happens next
17 July 2005
My two kids are ballroom dancers. We all went to see it and loved it. We laughed, we cried, we rooted for our favorite school. We critiqued the different teachers.
But, when it was over, I wondered what was going to happen to those kids who really loved it and talked about continuing it. It's not a cheap sport to participate and train in.
For most of the kids, it was a fun break from their outside lives (that was devastating hearing them talk about street life as if that's the way it is and always will be...sadly, that may be too true). But, there were a few kids with real talent and drive and they're going to have a tough time.
But, when it was over, I wondered what was going to happen to those kids who really loved it and talked about continuing it. It's not a cheap sport to participate and train in.
For most of the kids, it was a fun break from their outside lives (that was devastating hearing them talk about street life as if that's the way it is and always will be...sadly, that may be too true). But, there were a few kids with real talent and drive and they're going to have a tough time.
The Magic Show
(1983)
Keep as far away from the DVD as possible
30 October 2001
If you have fond memories of the Broadway show or adored the original score, please do yourself a favor and do not buy the DVD that is available. Do not spoil your memories.
West End Avenue is gone, the Goldfarb Variations are gone, Charmin's Lament has been changed out of all recognition.
The actor who plays Van Zyskind is adequate, I guess. Didi Conn (who I love, btw) is fine, although I don't think her voice really handles Lion Tamer too well. Anita Morris is great, but her performance has been hamstrung by the changes to her character. Doug, well, Doug Henning was a terrific magician...the inspiration of many performance magicians who followed...and it's wonderful to see him perform.
And, if all you want is his magic and not the magic of the original stage production and you don't care that they left in only two songs worth having (Lion Tamer and Up to His Old Tricks (although not arranged as well)), go ahead and buy it...if you can find it cheap.
West End Avenue is gone, the Goldfarb Variations are gone, Charmin's Lament has been changed out of all recognition.
The actor who plays Van Zyskind is adequate, I guess. Didi Conn (who I love, btw) is fine, although I don't think her voice really handles Lion Tamer too well. Anita Morris is great, but her performance has been hamstrung by the changes to her character. Doug, well, Doug Henning was a terrific magician...the inspiration of many performance magicians who followed...and it's wonderful to see him perform.
And, if all you want is his magic and not the magic of the original stage production and you don't care that they left in only two songs worth having (Lion Tamer and Up to His Old Tricks (although not arranged as well)), go ahead and buy it...if you can find it cheap.
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