slippyC73 Reviews

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Better than Part 1...

[8/10 · 21 April 2024]

But still leaves a lot of background and other important facts out. Like some others have mentioned, Chani's story was a complete departure from the original literature. I can live with that vision if that's where they want to carry it, even though I think it doesn't currently make the story better. Maybe in future installments, if they really want to veer from the literature and make it their own(which could end up disastrous). I'm also disappointed that they never really got across the importance of the spice It's almost like an afterthought or pawned off as some kind of drug(a lot of the political stuff is tied up in this, where a lot of the missing parts of the story lie).

The main thing I did like about this one over Part One, they cut down on the overuse of the long dreamy sequences. That really killed it for me in the first one. It dragged the movie out to long without enough meat on the bone(backstory). I felt like this one fleshed out things more, even though it wasn't necessarily the way it played out in the books.

As it stands, I am a little more eager about a 3rd installment; whereas before I didn't really care if a Part Two ever came out.

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

Before the movie was even viewable it had 5.x rating(were a lot of votes too).

[7/10 · 21 April 2024]

Don't know why titles are allowed to be voted on before they are even watchable. Sure, there are movies that have screeners. As far as I'm aware, this was not the case with this movie.

It looks like Zack has got a real hate train rolling against him. If people don't want him to keep producing things, best thing they can do is stop watching his material. I'm sure Netflix will get plenty of viewers of both installments of this flick. Will the ratings against the installments be enough for Netflix not to renew?

Guess time will tell.

I enjoyed both of these and would rate either better than Dune: Part One. Dune: Part Two might be slightly better, even though they veered from the book and I didn't really like the direction they took with Chani(also they left out a hell of a lot of background information, but was at least coherent this time).

Anyway, this isn't a review about Dune. This segment of Rebel Moon was more fleshed out than the first. Also, while there was still slo-mo in the film, it wasn't as dominant as the first one. There was nothing groundbreaking in this film. It was just a good, action-packed Sci-fi. Most of the movie was action. You get more details about characters and what drives their anger/hatred.

If you are wanting a thinking mans Sci-fi or mystery or thriller, then this might not be for you. In general I prefer that genre of Sci-fi over this type. It was still fairly enjoyable and I hope they do continue to flesh out the story with continued development of the franchise.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Liked it better than the first part of the new Dune.

[7/10 · 23 December 2023]

Which from my perspective, isn't saying a bunch. The story was fleshed out more in Rebel Moon, which is of higher importance to me. Yes, there could have been more background story; but it wasn't a hinderance to the logic of the movie(like it was in Dune). The CGI and Filmography was better in Dune. There were a couple of places in Rebel Moon, that the CGI was kinda subpar and I would have expected better. Especially one of the scenes when they were looking out the back of a ship as it was rising from the ground. Such a simple background scene, looking out a bay door, seems easy compared to some of the other complexities.

I don't know why so many people had problems with the story? It wasn't groundbreaking, but it flowed and made sense. The only reason I understood the new Dune is because I had seen the '84 version and the mini-series('84 would have been enough to understand it though). It was entertaining, I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it like I did with the new installment of Dune.

The only reason I'm comparing this movie to the new Dune is because they are both kinda Epics within the same genre. I don't know any other movie I can really compare it to recently. Also I would rate this movie around a 7.5, to be a little more fair. It's got good action, it's got a decent plot of pulling the different heroes together, it's sci-fi like it says on the tin. Like I said, it's not groundbreaking; but it is an entertaining movie.

Loki (2021–2023)

Ouch, what have they done to Loki?!?!?!

[8/10 · 7 November 2023]

My rating is from season 1, which was phenomenal! Very few series or movies do I rate above 8(I've only ever given 1 thing a 10). For me, Loki season 1 was the best Marvel series that had ever been created. WandaVision was the only other decent series that had been a spinoff of the most recent movies. I even preferred Loki the series to his movie appearances(maybe because it was more focused).

But WOW, season 2 has been a real flopper! The main problem, for me, doesn't even have anything to do with him going soft. I can live with that and it is fine if they wanted to take it that direction. What I can't live with is the lack of a main part of Loki's personality, "Cleverness". It just isn't Loki! Regardless if they wanted to send him down this redemption track, cleverness is a defining personality trait of Loki. It doesn't matter if you want him good or bad, you take that away and it's really just not him anymore.

Whoever wrote this season's version of Loki doesn't seem to have a clue of what makes Loki, Loki. If it's the same people writing and they've strayed this far, we are in real trouble folks. I don't see this show surviving past this season or season 3, unless there are some drastic changes.

The show isn't terrible, but the essence of Loki just isn't there. Currently I would rate season 2 around a 6 or 6.5(as of Season 2 Ep 5).

***Updated For Last Episode***

This looks like the end of the series, so I guess there won't be a Season 3. I did like the ending and it pretty much made the season. As I described above, throughout most of the season Loki lacked "cleverness"; iconic to the character.

I would up my rating for Season 2 as a 7.5 or so. To much of the rest of the season drug the final episode down.

Ragnarok (2020–2023)

Pleasantly surprised, then the hammer dropped in season 3...

[7/10 · 10 September 2023]

Wow, this show really played out weird. It's almost if somewhere in season 2 they found out that it was going to be OK'd for a 3rd season(but they thought it was going to end in the second, so they tried to stretch the story adding more imaginative features). The mood and feel of the story really changed in the 3rd season. It didn't feel like the same writers or something.

I did really enjoy the first two seasons and would have given those even an 8, which is a pretty high mark from me(I have very few 9's and I think only 1 movie I have ever given a 10 to). I had to downgrade the series because of the last season. Overall I would say it is really around 6.7, rounded up to 7.

I would agree that it ended on kind of a cop out. Without spoiling how it ended, I think a better ending would have revolved around him writing a modernized Nordic Mythology. If you recall, he was writing a report on the subject(and was suggested to modernize it, by Erik I think). This could have been the twist(if they were hell bent on ending it on a twist). Meaning the show was just really his imagination of the report/story he wrote for school. Which then led to the eventual graduation.

Man, wish they wouldn't have squandered the 3rd season like they did. It makes it hard for me to suggest the show to others, just because I know the payoff isn't there.

The Ark (2023– )

B grade sci-fi, but at least it's real sci-fi instead of drama disguised as sci-fi.

[6/10 · 29 August 2023]

This show isn't going to win any awards, but it is at least semi-enjoyable and sticks to the actual "sci-fi" label. There are so many shows on streaming networks these days that categorize themselves as sci-fi, mainly to draw in that crowd. Usually they start off with good to great sci-fi elements and then quickly devolve into melodramatic snore fests. It's as if they switch to hard drama to fill middle episodes to drag you through the season until some weak payoff. Personally I'm getting very tired of these bait and switch the major streamers are pulling(as a money grab).

I guess I better get on with something about the actual show, rather than raging about the abominations of other networks. Anyway, this show starts off pretty rocky. I don't even exactly remember what it was in the beginning that made me feel that way(been a bit since saw those episodes). After a few episodes the show starts to grow on you. The crew dynamics start becoming fleshed out and the binding story is at least coherent. Yes, there is quirkiness and some actors aren't exactly great. The elements of a sci-fi are there though and it is part of it's primary goal throughout the whole season, which is a HUGE plus to me.

The major problem with this show, and why it won't be looked at by many, is it's budget. It just doesn't look to have the backing power of major networks or streaming services these days. Even if it did, I would probably still rate this show as an A- because of some plot issues.

Invasion (2021–2024)

Decent if binged, probably to slow otherwise.

[7/10 · 27 August 2023]

Currently this show leans more towards drama than sci-fi(personally, a negative for me). If you enjoy honing in on character stories or character building, specifically of a tragic nature; this show might be for you. It's more about the negatives of what could go wrong, than accomplishments or empathy towards others suffering under such occurrences.

Is that necessarily a bad thing? No, it would be a reality under some circumstances and let's you better understand that perspective. One of the side-effects of these type personalities is the whininess that make the characters sometimes unbearable. The kids in the Malik family really tested my patience at times. This sounds awful, but I was almost hoping that the parents would just leave them behind(won't get into the father here). They did not listen and did idiotic things that endangered the whole family repeatedly. It's like they never learned their lesson to just shut up and do what they were told. In general this is to be expected out of children, but at some point it just gets overbearing.

Pretty much all the characters in the show operate under self-serving motives, which makes them hard to really get behind. The only exception to this is Caspar, who is always trying to prove himself because of his supposed handicap. He's about the only one that you can consistently root for.

This show follows a trend I'm seeing with some of the new sci-fi shows coming out(fantasy series fall in this category too). It looks like these streaming services are trying to dupe people who primarily enjoy sci-fi into watered down sci-fi that are heavily dramatized. It's so they can pin the sci-fi tag on the series to pull in the customer, only to then realize they are basically watching something else. Silo is another prime example of this(both happen to be from AppleTV, but there are other offenders). It would be nice to get back to some real sci-fi instead of these half-baked attempts at subscription grabs. I guess you can only expect companies to try and spend as little as possible with the greatest return. These studios are trying to get the sci-fi crowd without spending the money it takes to get those type crowds. Sci-fi and fantasy series overhead is higher with all the costumes, sets and computer generated content needed to make them successful. These current attempts at high dramatized sci-fi seem to be just money grabs. It'll be nice when enough flop to finally get back to some decent sci-fi.

One last thing about this series. It isn't bad, it just isn't really good sci-fi. The crowd you would assume this would cater to just won't find it fulfilling. That's the problem with this show.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022– )

Length of season hurts this show...

[8/10 · 10 August 2023]

While I enjoy the series, it seems they haven't quite got the formula figured out yet. When looking back at older Treks, as well as many shows of the past, episode count allowed sort of a forgiveness for the more mediocre episodes. Being constrained to 10 or so episodes doesn't allow for much wiggle room. Episodes that aren't up to par stick out much more since it takes up a higher percentage of the overall season runtime. You get a half-satisfied sense of fulfillment and wonder why more focus wasn't put on the core.

I've seen comments where people didn't like or complained about the crossover and singing episodes(believe it was ep7 and ep9, season 2 for future reference). In a longer season, I think these wouldn't have been complained about much(maybe even enjoyed for it's break from the norm). The issue is, there isn't enough time per season for BS'n around with comedic or artistic flare(not for whole episodes). It veers to far from the premise of the show with such limited runtime.

There needs to be more focus on the core. Gorn? I mean these seem to be where the show wants to go for the overarching baddies. Yes, the self-contained episodes are great! I'm glad Trek has gone back to that formula, but there needs to be more weaving of that storyline within a season. If it's not the Gorn, then wherever you are wanting to take the show needs to be sprinkled in a bit more. Also it would probably be good to throw a multi-part episode or 2 in the mix every once in awhile(chance to really build up characters and possibly another sub plot. DS9 did this a bit with Cardassians).

If the studio is not willing to stretch the seasons longer, then they need to focus more on what gets people excited. Otherwise people are just gonna walk away feeling half satisfied, until eventually it isn't worth their time anymore.

Foundation (2021– )

Want to like, but it's hard to have feelings or connect with the characters.

[7/10 · 9 August 2023]

***Updated at End for Second Season Conclusion***

Is it just me or do the characters seem a bit soulless? It's more prevalent in the second season. The first season I at least enjoyed the sub-plot of Brother Dawn getting deceived. Also Gaal's brief, unraveling story in the first season was ok. Besides Brother Constant, in the second season, just not really feeling it(yes, that char is a bit quirky).

I never read the books, but I can only imagine Salvor Hardin has to have more character than the person portraying her. I don't know if this person just can't act or if it's the writing. I do think Lee Pace works as Brother Day. He fits the look and his demeaner and cockiness pull off the character pretty well.

As of right now, think I'm on s02e04, the show is a bit drab. I'm gonna finish out the season and hope that it picks up. If not, I don't imagine this series will survive much longer.

***Update***

I have never came back and updated a movie or series like this before. I wanted to leave initial impressions of Season 2 for context. My previous rating was 7 for Season 1, first half of Season 2 dropped it to a 6 and now we are back to 7.

It wouldn't have been fair to the people reading these reviews or Producers to leave such a half-arsed review, since quality picked up in the second half of Season 2. When I'm referring to quality, I'm talking about the story. The visuals and atmosphere have always been high quality, since the beginning of the series(it's about the only thing that was consistent).

I won't get into spoilers, but I will say that the story picked up after the halfway mark of the Season. I think what made the beginning of the season, somewhat dreadful, was the multiple episodes spent after the sleep period on the main characters(I won't go into details here). It drug out to long, it probably should have jumped into the disciples quicker to build up those characters that were needed later in the story. It's hard to go into much details without revealing to much of the plot. I just wanted people to know, the story "does" get better.

The Witcher (2019– )

WTH is with s03e07? Rating 4 for season 3...

[8/10 · 28 July 2023]

Season 3 episode 7 shows that the writers/directors could care less about producing a good product. It is extremely obvious this episode was to stretch the season to 8 episodes. Wow, they wasted the hell out of precious screen time; they should have devoted to Geralt(considering it will be the original actor's last season).

If you watch season 3, I'd say the only episode you need to watch is episode 6. The whole first half of season 3 was lackluster at best(for future reference season 3 was split in 2 halves). Then they roll out the second half of the season, which is episode 6. You are thinking to yourself, ahh finally back to the good ol hack&slash(to bad this isn't the case). I have no problem with some drama, but this is not/should not have ever been the focus of this show. You watch this type show for the sword and sorcery, monsters, action and fantasy.

Henry, thanks for the run man! You were GREAT in this role. Think this role suit him more than any role I have seen him play(and I have seen most). Think he made a wise decision by jumping ship, if season 3 foreshadows the future.

Haven (2010–2015)

Great, under appreciated series. In my top 10 Fantasy/Mystery Series...

[8/10 · 18 July 2023]

The show in some places is a bit silly, I won't deny that. It is a Fantasy series after all, so there has to be some suspension of disbelief. I'm just now re-watching the series for a second time and the first season isn't as "on the-edge of your seat" as some of the later seasons. The good thing is there are stories every episode that are resolved with an underlying arc that the story follows(you get your payoff for time invested, unlike many series that drag stuff along). So many Sci-fi/Fantasy shows these days are basically long movies chopped into series. This really hinders the rewatchability factor of such shows and why older Sci-fi series like Star Trek are watched over and over again(not the new abominations, except for Strange New Worlds).

If you are in to Fantasy or Sci-fi who likes suspense/mystery/thrillers, this is a really good show to consider. Also, at least currently, you can watch this on Tubi(which is totally free).

Silo (2023– )

Ep 10 saved the series and only the rating slightly(filler suffocated the series)

[7/10 · 30 June 2023]

First few episodes started off pretty good. The show initially set you up for a mystery/sci-fi/suspense type show. Very quickly, around episode 3 or 4, the show started leaning more towards drama. I'm ok with drama being a part of the show and I don't think you can get away without at least some of it. The point I'm getting at is there's a lot in the middle we could have done without(a hell of a lot of filler). There were little nuggets thrown in here and there to keep the viewer strung along in hope of a payoff. Even up until ep 9, I was wondering if the investment into the original premise was going to come to fruition(frustrated with the series "From", for it's lack of resolutions).

---Spoilers Below---

Fortunately, ep 10 did resolve some of the questions from the initial premise of the show. My initial suspicion was the suits were possibly poisoning the people when they went out of the Silo(instead of filtering or providing oxygen) to give the illusion of contamination outdoors. I guess now we know the suits did serve a purpose beyond just filtration in a hostile environment(I won't say what here, I'll let ya watch to see).

The good thing about the way the series ended is at least there is a half-arsed closure if the series doesn't get picked up again(though I suspect it will). I will say the series actually ended better than I expected, because it did throw in a little twist that I hadn't considered(to keep from revealing, I'll just say the crater looking things).

The things I really didn't like:

1) I didn't like Rebecca Ferguson in this role or in Dune. I have seen her in some things that fit her better.

2) Common... This guy just annoys me.

3) Of course I didn't like the pace/dragging out of the story. Way, way to slow. I wish the writers/bean-counters/whoever would stick to giving us a good story instead of trying to string people along in hope of a better payoff. This can backfire and get your show canceled.

Last thing I will say. They delivered on an ending or at least a resolution to what they had been building up. Good job!!!

***Edited***

Watch ep 1, 2, 3, 9 and 10(pick 1 or 2 in the middle and you will enjoy the show a lot more). You could probably even skip 3(though I don't remember exactly when the old Mayor died and Juliette was introduced around ep3). Either ep 3 or 4 is when you learn why Juliette(Rebecca Ferguson) is interested in being the Sheriff.

From (2022– )

Enjoy, but probably not worth time investment(longevity questionable)...

[8/10 · 28 June 2023]

As has been said over and over, first season is better than second. Even though the first season was really good, the show drags on to long without enough closure to questions raised. The show is basically a tease without resolution. If the current trend doesn't change, I don't imagine this show will last past Season 3. It will end up being canceled without closure.

---Some Spoilers below--- That's not to say the show isn't good. Even the second season was pretty good, around a 7. The part of the plot that ended the second season was fine, just not fine where it was placed. Or if it was going to be placed there, then earlier in the season they should have closed up some of the questions from season 1. An easy example of something interesting was the guy that gave the Sheriff the blood worms. Or you could have fleshed out more of the radio. Or you could have got into the electricity. Or...so many other things that are left dangling. There's a hell of a lot there to work with, but it's like mystery getting introduced for the hell of it. There's a lot of potential, resolve some of the stuff and build "FROM" there.

The jury's out if the show will survive past 3rd season(which I don't even know if 3rd has been announced, but 2nd was good enough for 3rd). Just know you may be wasting your time if you get pissed when shows get canceled without being resolved.

Dune (2021)

Horrendous pacing, heavy reliance on visual ambiancy and light on dialog

[6/10 · 23 October 2021]

I don't hate the movie, you can feel there is a good story hidden under there somewhere. The problem is that story is never really brought to fruition. This is not because there is a second or third part that is out there over the horizon, it is the lack of bringing it to life in the here and now.

While there are a combination of things, I believe one of the main problems is just the lack of storytelling itself. This has always been raised as the Achilles heel of Dune in its past incarnations on the big and small screen. Being able to compress the encompassing story into the alotted screentime. Yet here we are again and it seems as if the Director has not learned anything from past mistakes. Instead he's decided to go his on direction and attempt to illustrate the story through a sort of visual ambiance, kinda dreamily extending scenes. While this can work, the Director fails to do this in a manner that visually translates over to a coherent story or finds a way to represent ideas visually to fill in information about the story. It almost feels as if this ambiance is there to fill some artistic prerequisite over actual function. While I do like the style, which seems to be a cornerstone for this Director, it does need to serve a purpose over being part of a list you check off.

The heavy reliance on this visual representation, without sticking to just good old dialog, really hurt this movie. Considering the runtime, there was ample time to allow some of these characters to be more fleshed out as well as tieing up some loose ends within the plot itself. The movie still could have easily been multi-part without the drawn out scenes and at same time telling a more complete story. It's a shame.

Other little tidbits: Pros Visually, the slight darkness and muttled palette seemed to fit the movie.

Props and CGI were good

Momoa, Bautista and Brolin fit their parts, but were held back/underutilized.

Skarsgard(sp?) did excellent job as Barron, didn't realize it was him at first; also held back.

Rest of cast was fine, except 1 which will be listed below.

Cons Audio/Soundtrack really brought nothing special to movie, little emotion. Completely forgetable.

Zendaya, ugg did not fit part at all.

Runtime for actual content, really bad.

Wasn't made obvious this was multipart movie until you're already invested.

Horrific ending. Didn't leave hanging, climatic or questioning in any way. Just ended.

Lynch's version is far superior in getting an actual story across(regardless if the story is what you wanted it to be).

Revolver (2005)

Will become a cult classic...

[9/10 · 7 December 2011]

Probably something a long the lines of "Escape From New York" status. It's got that darkness to it, but serves up your brain scrambled as desert. You don't even realize how complex this movie is until the second or third sitting.

It's not things that you wondered from previously watching it. It is more of noticing things that didn't even occur to you the first time you saw it.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT CROSS WITH CAUTION*** ;)

So were the cell-mates his imagination?

I'll leave it at that...