shrimpheads-78954 Reviews

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping (2024– )

Tragic in multiple ways

[3/10 · 10 March 2024]

The subject matter is interesting and tragic but completely one sided. We don't really understand why most of these kids were sent here, and, while I dona doubt many were victims of misunderstanding parents, evil stepparents, etc, I wanted to know more about why their parents took this extreme measure. I'm a a parent, not a gen z-er, and love my children more than anything and would go to any length to help them. If I were to put them in a reform school it would be because their behavior was extremely bad/impossible to manage. I therefore am pretty sure there are stories to tell in that side that were not dealt with. This is a common issue with gen z, who have been raised to believe that they're not responsible for their own behaviors and actions.

Obviously the Ivy Ridge people were dumb, over the top and horribly abusive, but this is NOT new, not particularly shocking to anyone over 40 and therefore not nearly as interesting to a wider audience.

It's tragic on so many levels: tragic what happened to them, tragic that none of them seem to be completely reformed anyway, tragic that their generation is so often so messed up just because their parents didn't know how to parent. I'd like to have learned more about that and what led them there. That's the real story.

One Piece (2023– )

Surprisingly Entertaining but...

[7/10 · 24 September 2023]

The main cast is good and I can see why they were selected, but the Luffy character is clearly a heavily-accented Mexican and the many scenes of him as a child are played by an American boy with no accent and who doesn't appear to be Hispanic. I found this consistently distracting and a weakness in a mostly stellar production.

I was not a fan of the Manga, or really any Manga, so I did not expect to like this as much as I did.

The wigs all look fake, but I think that's an intentional tribute to the source material. Either that or they produced this in Spain. (Have you noticed the bad wigs in every Netflix show out of Spain? It's hysterical.)

Lioness (2023– )

One of the Best Shows of 2023

[9/10 · 10 September 2023]

Despite a plot outline that's hard to swallow, there's a lot to be impressed by with this show.

Saldana is as good as always, and supported by an artfully selected supporting cast.

Though I struggled to accept Saldana's character having established a "normal" family (doctor husband and two daughters) and the fact that everything that could go wrong with that situation does in fact go wrong, I couldn't help but root for her. The funny part is, I don't think her character was likable and I had little respect for her choices, but I wanted her to success because the story was very raw and real in most ways.

I can't say much else is wrong. It has great performances, great dialogue, sympathetic and highly flawed characters (very tricky to pull off) and a kick-ass finish.

Champions (2023)

It felt real

[3/10 · 10 September 2023]

I LOVED this movie. It felt real: from the performances, the dialogue, the situations and the choices the characters made.

I love that Bobby Farrelly uses cognitively or physically impaired non-actors in his films. It's the only time I don't get triggered by questionable acting, and it makes me feel good to see them making their mark. It's heart warming and funny at the same time.

If you like basketball or don't like basketball, there's something here for you. If you like films that make real life interesting and funny, this is for you.

Woody and Kaitlin Olson (The Mick) are great together and I just wanted to hug the kids in this thing they were so good.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Another multiverse mess

[4/10 · 12 August 2023]

So far Spiderman has done it best but none, including Spidey, are really doing justice to the multiverse concept.

This film went off the deep end early on and the producers let the unhinged director make art. If I want to look at art, I'll go to a museum. I generally watch movies to be entertained. This failed me as a form of entertainment. What it did succeed in doing is irritating me, making me feel like I submitted to someone else's arty LSD trip that made absolutely no sense.

Did it deserve all the Oscar's it won? I honestly don't care. The Oscar's haven't made sense to me in years. The Academy has its own ideas about what it wants to laud. Let them do it. You do you. I'll do me, maybe in several different dimensions., everywhere, all at once.

Untold: Johnny Football (2023) Season 3, Episode 2

This Failed Johnny

[4/10 · 12 August 2023]

Watching this documentary, you never feel any sympathy for Johnny. He comes off as a complete jerk who has not matured at all, who has no regrets despite an epic fail that was obviously the result of very poor, regrettable choices, and as someone who was clearly enhancing his natural talents.

I feel like there is a decent human being with deep regrets and a potential for redemption. A good journalist / filmmaker would have tapped into that Johnny, or let us know that that Johnny doesn't exist.

Ultimately this tells you nothing g interesting or real and it's not worth watching, which is sad because Johnny Football was magic.

Paradise (I) (2023)

Stupid premise

[1/10 · 7 August 2023]

Netflix has done it again!

I actually became angry watching how stupid this show ñ's story was "progressing" in the very first episode.

The issue isn't the acting or production efforts, but the implausibility of the story-which is the MO if virtually every other Netflix series out of Europe.

1. There is no way the main character is a nice guy, doing what he does.

2. There is no way his wife would get herself into that situation, unless German doctors are very naïve and uneducated. I'm assuming that's not the case.

3. No one with a single ounce of self worth would execute the activity upon which the entire series is based.

Stupid, idiotic series. Why was this made?

The Messengers (2007)

Good actors can't save this one

[2/10 · 21 July 2023]

The writing is so laughably poor, I. Any fathom how these actos didn't tear up the script and refuse to read the lines. It's like the writer(s) copied lines from low quality children's stories and then put in some cliches they found in ESL books or videos - things boring people say to keep you around when you're trying to escape from them because of how incredibly boring they are.

Anyway, it's not scary. It's badly written and poorly directed and edited. What's with the black and white flashbacks that actually make very little sense?

I feel like it should be renamed, "Aren't You Embarassed?" In recognition of how the actors must feel now that this thing has been haunting the digiverse for so many years.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023)

Mother of the Year!

[5/10 · 3 June 2023]

Why did they even bother giving Mrs Maisel's character children?

Neither she nor her parents do any caretaking of those poor kids. It's a constant puzzle that is distracting and a clue to how clueless and careless the storytelling is in this series.

The sets, costumes, performances and lighting are nearly flawless; so it's sad that the writing is so mediocre and the stories are so rough and basic.

Personally, I don't find any of the "jokes" funny at all. I don't think I laughed at one of her jokes and even the supposedly brilliant Lenny Bruce material is blah. It's not really a comedy. It's kind of a drama, maybe? It's got a certain appeal because the actors are generally very good.", though I do find many of them to be very annoying-Mrs. Maisel in particular. I'd run from the room if she started her narcissistic rants in my space. I found myself confused about why people think she's talented, but she plays to a niche group maybe. She is unusually vulgar for the time/setting, but that aside, I just wish the writing were better/funnier and more considerate.

Dead Ringers (2023)

Unnecessarily vulgar

[4/10 · 25 April 2023]

The characters seem to give or attend a number of dinner parties where literally everyone is extremely rude and vulgar.

I don't doubt some people can be like this, but having attended a number of dinner parties and family get-togethers over my 50 years on this Earth, I have never once heard anyone talk like these people do.

I find this aspect of the show takes me so far away from any sense of reality that it prevents me from becoming invested in any way. It also makes the characters, including the protagonists, fairly unlikable.

I think it's a potentially good show, but it is just way too unpleasant to spend time with these very unrealistic, rather disgusting characters. If the writers and producers actually know anyone who converses and behaves the way these people do, I genuinely feel sorry for them. I think they're very unfortunate. If the characters are meant to be unrealistic and over-the-top, I'd advise to mix the unpleasantness with something less repulsive so it's less unpleasant to watch over the course of several episodes. You can get away with unpleasant in a 2-hour film, but you're asking people to reinvest several times.

The Night Agent (2023– )

Good despite expository dialogue and bad acting

[7/10 · 1 April 2023]

Basso and Buchanan must be very good actors to manage the poorly written dialogue the way they do, though I do think the supporting characters have the most expository and cliched dialogue to work with, so that may be unfair. That said, despite the ridiculousness of the storyline and the headache-inducing dialogue, the story is really compelling. I find myself very interested in seeing what happens next. It's a good, entertaining show that would benefit greatly from a dialogue coach and a good writer to tune it up.

I'd also tone down the random bursts of profanity that seem dropped in for no reason and don't mesh with the characters who use it. They also need better wigs. Fake hair is distracting.

Beast (I) (2022)

Poorly executed good idea

[2/10 · 7 March 2023]

I was really looking forward to this. The trailer did a good job making it look interesting, but it's so not interesting.

The story has holes up the wazoo, and the motivations of the characters are completely implausible. The director and writers come off as amateurish and/or inconsiderate of the audience's intelligence. I honestly found myself fast forwarding through parts because it was so annoying to watch.

There was a lot of potential here. Too bad it turned out the way it did. I would reserve this for a night when you plan to cook something complicated and need background noise, or maybe leave it on when you're traveling as a way to deter intruders. Just don't watch this to be entertained.

Absentia (2017–2020)

Please stop asking Brits to play Americans

[5/10 · 26 December 2022]

Half the cast is British and none do a very good job with their American accents. I don't know why directors insist on asking British actors to do regional American accents. Are there really no Americans able to handle these roles? It's distracting and takes a lot away from your ability to suspend the enormous amount of disbelief being asked of this audience. There are very few actors able to handle regional accents.

The two leads are good and the show has some general appeal but it's mostly annoying because it could have been so much better with more precise casting (and/or directing) and less general ridiculousness.

Wednesday (2022– )

Not Familiar Addams

[2/10 · 24 November 2022]

The casting for his is so strange. CZJ is as gorgeous as ever, but fails to evoke the right Morticia vibes. Without the quirky mannerisms and innocently self-righteous tone, this Morticia is all dry and no quirk.

Let's forget about Gomez going from half Latino to full, he now has a NewYoRican accent, has gained 100 lbs and lost all of his weird humor. Wednesday is doing what she can with this role-doing a good job with the dead-pan humorlessness Wednesday is defined by, but again, there is no underlying quirky juice to make her at all funny. She does things that are funny from time to time, but the jokes fall flat because her character delivers with a kind of anger that goes a little too deep.

I think if you're not familiar with the original show, or the Sonnenfeld film, you probably won't mind all this, but for me, it's just not my cup of poison.

The Northman (2022)

Native American Cultural Appropriation

[4/10 · 24 October 2022]

Peyote trips, Totem poles, loin cloths and tomahawks were apparently big in Scandinavia. Who knew! Glad this movie cleared that up.

I'll say the acting was fine, the story was fine and the cinematography was interesting.

The only thing that felt Scandic to me was the nekkids running around in the woods and all the bloodshed and cold, uncomfortable weather.

I'd suggest viewers not expect too much action and compelling drama and they'll enjoy it more. It's more of a slow burn than an edge-of-your-seat action drama.

Overall I felt the production efforts, talented cast and potential were outweighed by all the trippin'.

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Slow and one dimensional

[3/10 · 3 October 2022]

I have been watching steadily but getting more and more frustrated as the story continues to go, in seven episodes, where it could have gone in two. It's borderline torture and so disappointing after the complexity and pace of GOT.

No one is particularly likable or interesting. The story is not original or compelling and I have not gotten through one episode without nodding off.

Bad writing is an epidemic in premium streaming services in the COVID and Post-COVID era, but House of the Dragon doesn't just have bad writing, it adds an extra kick in the butt to viewers by having bad wigs. One of GOT's feats was making everyone's fake hair look real. Dragon just doesn't even try. Maybe the wig budget got cut or the containers from China with the good wigs were stuck in customs. Note to producers: hair is just as important as costumes and lighting.

I'm sad this show is such an expensive mistake. I really want to like it.

Abbott Elementary (2021– )

Appropriated Content Has Potential

[4/10 · 1 October 2022]

Someone watched too many episodes of the US version of The Office and transferred it to an inner city elementary school. Original it is not, but two of the characters are pretty funny, one is Semi-likable and the rest need a lot of work to become not-annoying or likable or funny.

I never found the style of The Office something worth copying. It's been done to death since and I don't get why, but if you like that sort of thing, maybe you'll like this. I hope it gets more original and finds it's way because the idea is good and some of the characters have good stories behind the obvious cliches they've been handed so far in season one.

Do Revenge (2022)

So triggering

[3/10 · 25 September 2022]

I would never choose to watch something like this, so I'm not the intended audience, but I found myself watching it anyway. I have nothing against teen movies when the 20-somethings playing them speak and act like kids, but when the writers are too dense to even try, I just get so triggered I literally can't even.

The casting was also lazy for reasons anyone who watches Netflix can gather. Is Netflix run by Louis B. Mayer or the guys from Vivid? Have those same studio engineers gone woke or not? It's hard to tell if they're making fun of woke culture or trying to indoctrinate their viewers, or just hiring poorly.

Anyway, it's not the worst piece of trash on Netflix, but it's definitely appropriating my generation's culture, which is, again-triggering..

Evil (2019–2024)

An atheist. a Catholic and an agnostic walk into a bar...

[6/10 · 13 September 2022]

We really liked this show's first season for its creepy vibe and clever writing, so we highly recommend watching season one. After that, not so much.

Season two seems to be written with the goal of making you giggle, but the trouble there is, the topic isn't really funny and the writers are clearly not comedy writers. On top of the "humor" issue, each episode pulls a Scooby-Doo and "disproves" the issue the trio is investigating while simultaneously ignoring many of the elements that still go unexplained. Each episode leaves you hanging yet we found ourselves not caring that much and moving in to see if it gets better. Season two, you lost us.

Excellent performances from all the leads-even the extremely annoying children (the show is trying to trigger you with the kids)-and intriguing premises have lured us in this far, but we are struggling to get to season three, baffled by the downgraded scares and increasingly uninspired and juvenile writing.

Our advice, watch season one and be done.

Triple Frontier (2019)

Unsympathetic team of losers

[3/10 · 10 September 2022]

It's very hard to root for anyone in this film. A bunch of bad, greedy, potty-mouthed losers. Why would so many decent actors make this film, this way? I was less bothered by not-great fake American accents from a couple of the actors (I find that distracting because I can't figure out why an American actor wasn't used since there are more than a few) than I was by how stupid the whole premise is, and how much I didn't want any of them to succeed. Not sure why I watched all the way through. I think it was the scenery and the hope that all of them would be eliminated/get their just desserts.

The photography and most of the acting was good though.

Netflix has to stop making crap like this just because they can get big names to particiapte for a paycheck.

Death to 2021 (2021 TV Special)

Brits are better at mocking themselves

[3/10 · 2 January 2022]

The British topics are better covered as it's pretty clear the writers and performers don't fully get it when covering the American topics here - and it's mostly US events covered. Do American writers/comedians pick apart British politics and celebrities? Not much. Maybe because they're less interesting? In any case, this has some good moments but is largely missing the mark and I think it's to do with the "cultural appropriation."

Toxic Shark (2017 TV Movie)

Mag-nificent!

[10/10 · 26 September 2021]

I have no words to describe the genius behind every facet if this film. The directing., performances, writing, and those SFX! Unbelievable! Just unbelievable. SyFy has done it again!.

Outer Banks (2020– )

Stop making teen shows like this

[4/10 · 17 September 2021]

It's INE thing to cast 20-somethings to play 16/17 year old kids, but can they at least be in situations that 16 year olds would realistically be in, and can they use language that 16 year olds would use?; and have teen-like interactions? And while you're at it, dress them and make them look like kids? I don't think it's that big a stretch to find 20-something actors who look like high schoolers.

After all, the stupidity of the storylines in shows like this make them appeal almost exclusively to teens, so why not go down an extra notch and actually make the characters realistic? Just a thought.

Incidentally, I only watched this show because someone in my house was watching. I felt compelled to watch the same way one feels compelled to watch enraged protesters setting fire to cities: horrified yet fascinated by the absurdity.

Glam (1997)

This is what happens when industry executives smoke crack with actors

[2/10 · 12 September 2021]

...they sign deals to produce BS that they'd never sign with your run of the mill NYU or UCLA recent film school grad. Actually I'm not even sure someone who went to "independent" film school would try to make something like this.

Poor Tony Danza used the C word on film for this? Such a poor choice. If you're going to push your envelope, go with a seasoned director next time.

The sad thing is this could have been a good comedy if the the writing, editing and directing were more nuanced. Instead, it's very annoying most of the time. 2 points for potential.

Hunting Humans (2002 Video)

I see potential

[6/10 · 28 August 2021]

The acting is not as bad as some say, the main dude is actually pretty good for what he has to work with. The budget clearly wasn't helping the filmmaker's cause, which is apparent from sound, lighting and editing - all of which are clearly done by newbies.

The plot is interesting and it keeps moving, so it's not boring. It's is annoying to hear voiceover for the entire film, but that is also a key plot point, so I can forgive that in this case. I'd love to see this remade with better resources and a little extra edge, pushing the envelope a little further.