jiballini64 Reviews

House M.D. (2004–2012)

Mmmmkay

[4/10 · 28 March 2024]

So, I've never watched this show until now (2024). I saw a few shorts of it and it looked interesting. Now that I've watched a few episodes, I'm a bit confused about all the hype.

This is so embarrassingly formulaic. Here's the breakdown: Person gets admitted to hospital with something Doctors misdiagnose Patient gets worse Doctors have meeting always with whitboard in use Patient has a seizure and must be defibrillator Patient goes into coma Doctors are still confused Parents/guardian/friends put pressure on and/or want to move patient Doctors try something else (unsuccessful) In the meantime, patient has had more blood and tissue taken than a grave robber Lots of "testing" in the lab and/or fossicking around the patient's home Eventually, the doctors stumble on the cure.

Most of the time, I've guessed the cause and/or ending half way through the episode.

There are no spoilers because EVERY episode is EXACTLY THE SAME!!!!

Oh, and no mention of the lifetime of debt for the patient and their families to pay for tests, ICU, 4 specialist doctors, umpteen days in hospital, medications, procedures yada, yada, yada, as this all takes place in a US hospital.

This Is Going to Hurt (2022)

What a toss-pot!

[7/10 · 9 March 2024]

The main character is quite hateful. He has no empathy, and little skill it would seem from the way he lurches from one disaster to the next.

Yes, the doctors do enormous hours as do the rest of the staff. Why Adam gets to treat everyone like rubbish, is a mystery. As a few others have mentioned, why does he drive such a junker of a car?

This was pretty bleak and endlessly depressing. I knew I was in for a bad ride when they butchered the David Bowie song in one of the early episodes.

The junior doctor, Shruti, was as dismal as the rest of the crew and seemed equally inept, whilst also on the verge of tears 99% of the time.

Watchable but not exactly enjoyable.

The Terminal List (2022– )

So dark!

[6/10 · 27 October 2023]

And I'm not referring to the plot, which is really rather silly. I read the book and then realised there was this series to watch. I REALLY struggled to see what was going on as it looked like it was filmed through a dark brown filter. That part was so bloody annoying and distracting that it detracted from the story, which was thin to begin with.

The acting was passable, if you like Mr Gung-Ho, the rock-jawed hero. It's not like any of the cast needed to be graduates of RADA, as the script and screenwriting didn't require a huge range of emotions from any of them.

More Taylor Kitsch with his shirt off would have got an extra star but, as I was squinting to see anything, I probably wouldn't have seen much!

The constant flashbacks to a kid big enough to hike up a mountain, but too immature to know that a bird hitting a window has broken its neck (and is dead) and still saying "Daddy" in every sentence was like being slapped and told "he's doing this for love of his family". Gag.

I managed to watch all of it but I played Squardle while I watched, just to get to the end.

For the love of God get some kleig lights!!!!!

The Other Two (2019–2023)

I tried to like this...

[4/10 · 4 October 2023]

But I just couldn't. Since when does being a completely talentless, promiscuous, loser make you amusing?

So, "the other two" are the siblings of a teen singing sensation who are totally unsuccessful in whatever it is they're supposed to have as jobs. One sibling is gay, not the sister, surprisingly and the other is a moronic sl**.

Cue "hilarious" hijinks, lots and lots of gratuitous sex, lots and lots of inappropriate conversations in inappropriate places and that old cliché, one (or both) saying stuff that no-one ever would say out loud EVER.

This show could have been funny had the two siblings and the mother not been so formulaic. As it is, it's cringe-worthy rubbish.

Lioness (2023– )

Utter Rubbish

[2/10 · 1 October 2023]

This came highly recommended from somewhere. If I remember where or whom, I'll hunt them down and smash their TV!!!

What a load of sh*^! We have the requisite Eur-Afican looking lead (a woman, of course) leading a special operations unit in Syria where an "asset" has been discovered by the evil baddies coz she has tattoo of a cross on her body. Did someone say "DUMB"???? I'm no military expert but I'd have thought that checking for stuff like that was Undercover 101.

Next idiocy, we recruit ANOTHER super bad-arse chick to go undercover. We have the gratuitous nudity, swearing and beating up of people left-right-and-centre. Once again, I've never been in the military but I'd have thought that there'd by some kind of psych evaluation to weed out those with some massive chips on their shoulders as chicks 1 and 2.

Then we get to the hubby and kids of chick 1. He's a wonderful and gifted surgeon who cooks. Despite these two amazing parents, our mixed race (as is de rigeur for EVERY SINGLE THING MADE these days) are spoiled, violent little turds. Dad attempts punishment by taking mobile phone away and Mum gives it back. Way to punish poor behaviour!

The children serve ZERO purpose in the story. I got halfway through Episode 2 and had to turn it off. Mind numbingly bad.

Dear Child (2023)

Oh boy

[4/10 · 13 September 2023]

I thought this was going to be good. It wasn't. The acting from the little girl is suitably "creepy" but the rest of them are a bit dopey.

All the police are incredibly stupid with Old Mate from elsewhere being the worst. Who in their right mind browbeats a poor women who's in intensive care? Why would he even be allowed in? Also, Nurse Ruth sneaking the kid in there? Are there no staff monitoring this woman?

We have a weird grandpa who seems completely unhinged, and who runs around being extremely suspect.

Last but not least is the worst child psychologist in Germany assigned to the little girl. I've made it to episode 3 and I'm done. I may skip to ep 6 just to see who the baddy was/is and then I'm out.

Suspects (2014–2016)

I tried...

[5/10 · 31 August 2023]

But when you find yourself playing games on your phone with this running in the background, you know it's not exactly "gripping".

The main dude policeman is SO bad, it's utterly ridiculous. He behaves so unprofessionally, he should have been suspended pending an enquiry and then sacked! If any policeman carried on like that, I'd like to think their career would be curtailed asap.

The filming is different but not always in a good way. I get that it's supposed to be gritty and realistic but it just becomes annoying after a while as with the sound. All echo-y and tinny in the interview rooms.

And, last but not least, I must mention the solicitors, as has most of the other reviewers and their complete indifference to the clients they're supposed to be representing. I'd engage one that wasn't a deaf mute, if I was any of these suspects!

Hidden (2018–2022)

All three series...

[7/10 · 3 August 2023]

...the lead chick cop (lesbian, of course) needs to wash and brush her hair! Yes, me on my favourite soap box.

I enjoyed, hmmm... is that the right word? I found all three series intriguing and loved the way we had English and Welsh spoken throughout the episodes.

I did, however, find myself distracted by herself looking so scruffy and in need of a good wash 99% of the time. At one stage junior cop tells her to go home, get some sleep and have a shower, so it wasn't just me! She also needed a decent bra and a few less cigarette breaks. Between the BO and the stench of stale smoke, I sure wouldn't want to be stuck in a car with her.

Despite all that, I love the fact that this series isn't all blood and gore, car chases and waving guns around.

Catfish: The TV Show (2012– )

Shite!

[1/10 · 22 July 2023]

So, socially isolated people are preyed on by horrible people on the internet. But that's okay, coz Old Mate has a "perfect" wife and "amazing" child that we get to see far too much of in the show.

Is he trying to rub his happiness in the faces of all these hapless, gullible victims? That'd what it looked like to me.

And then there's the "surprise" visits to the supposed catfishers homes. It must be such a surprise NOT, when a full TV crew turn up with kleig lights and cameras to film Old Mate and sidekick rock up with this episode's obese/mentally ill/socially isolated individual who has FALLEN IN LOVE with an online entity they've never met!

What a load of rubbish.

Instant Dream Home (2022– )

Don't let these clowns anywhere near my house

[2/10 · 8 July 2023]

What a dog's breakfast of a show. I'm not sure what purpose old mate serves as the presenter. She does nothing but yell at the camera, as far as I could tell.

It always bemuses me when people in renovation shows go "We don't have any room" but don't have anything stored properly. Just piles of crap strewn everywhere. If you sort some of your s*#t out, you might have room for it!

My Dad was a perfectionist and a Master Builder, so I was taught that everything had to be done in a "proper and tradesman-like manner". The lack of preparation before painting and the slap-dash way they throw everything together would have dearly departed Dad rolling in his grave.

Most of what they do would fall apart in no time flat. Luckily, the owner in Ep 1 is blind so she won't see the appalling painting and finishing.

Wrath of Man (2021)

Anyone who says this is good...

[1/10 · 5 June 2023]

Hasn't watched it. What a wretched mess. The storyline is the most basic of revenge plots with the set-up of the original "crime", for which Statham has to take revenge, completely ludicrous. I mean, if I'm going to buy food from a food truck, I ALWAYS park miles away right near a construction zone. Then feel obliged to take revenge for the kid I see twice a year that I left in said parked car. Hmmm... and that's probably the most sensible bit in the whole film.

We then have the work colleagues who have no character development whatsoever, the gang of baddies who are holding up armoured cars, although NOT the gang old mate Statham takes out single-handedly who just happen to hold up his armoured car on Day 2. Or is it 5 months ago? Or 6 weeks ago? Or 7 days later? Or, who the hell knows? The timeline is all over the place.

The plot holes are enormous, the acting non-existent and the ending is indescribably idiotic. I could go on but won't. This movie is craptacular. Avoid!

In Limbo (2023– )

Perfect!

[10/10 · 4 June 2023]

A very real situation dealt with in true Aussie style with humour and feeling. As other reviewers have said, a "ghost" being in limbo and unable to "pass over".

Hilarity ensues as Charlie and Nate try and figure out what unfinished business is keeping Nate in limbo.

This also deals with the confusion, anger and grief experienced by those left behind when someone dies unexpectedly.

It also has snippets of the aftermath of divorce and how differently people cope with the fallout from that.

I've made this series sound quite depressing and full of angst but it is anything but. It is extremely clever and beautifully produced.

Nate's unlimited supply of colourful shirts is an added joy. Whoever sourced them is a genius!

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

This is stupid

[2/10 · 31 May 2023]

I started this ages ago and couldn't remember why I abandoned it. Started again and was quickly reminded why I turned it off that first time. What a pile of poo.

As most all the other (non nerd) reviewers have said, the child actors are abysmal. The character development is non-existent and the plot holes are so big I could fly a 747 through them.

So, we can build androids, space ships, incubate babies in aspic but didn't think to pack cold and flu capsules??? For crying out loud! Oh, and we didn't warn the kids about staying away from the big holes in the ground?

If we're attempting to rebuild the human race, one would think basic hazard avoidance and a first aid might not be a bad idea. But, maybe that's just me using common sense? Hmmm... This is really stupid.

The Glory (2022– )

This could have been great...

[6/10 · 7 April 2023]

...but the acting was ridiculous. Lots of overwrought women shrieking and overacting. The facial expressions on the main bully chick were farcical and her two girlfriends were caricatures at best. I lost count of the amount of times they called each other "b*#*@". So much slapping, hair-pulling and destruction of property.

Most of the cast were overacting like crazy and the main character had one expression. The best out of a very poor lot was the helper lady who was being beaten by her husband. It all got a bit wearing after a while.

It's a shame as the topic being dealt with is universal and, apparently, happening with increasing frequency.

Mr. Mercedes (2017–2019)

I don't think it was just me...

[7/10 · 1 March 2023]

But did this show turn to merde after the first season? The first season is superb. Reasonably good premise, very good acting, and an okay script. Perhaps, one too many people with mental health "issues" but that seems to be the new black.

I finished Season 1 and thought, you beaut, there's two more! I soon changed my tune after watching a couple of episodes of Season 2. What a crock! I didn't watch the credits but I'd be extremely surprised if Dennis Lehane had anything to do with that dog's breakfast.

Why don't these series quit while they're ahead? I did find the drunk, Irish detective rather hackneyed and his dalliance with one of the other characters a stretch of the imagination but Season 1 is still enjoyable.

The Snow Girl (2023–2024)

It's not TERRIBLE but it's not great, either

[5/10 · 4 February 2023]

So, we have main chick (reporter) who is damaged and has an "unfortunate" back story which comes out in dribs and drabs. Apart from her ridiculously prominent red lips (she has a permanent pissed-off pout), there is little to no emotional range in her acting. I think this is intentional to show her damaged psyche.

Anyhoo, she's a reporter and bumbles her way around a police investigation into a missing child. The female police detective (whose eyes are ridiculously close together) also stumbles through the investigation into the missing kid.

There's missing kid's parents who are not exactly "fleshed out" in the show are thrown in occasionally to show their angst and threaten flounder-face to find their kid "or else".

Why they let old pouty-mouth hang around the police station had me a bit baffled as she just stood around like a stale bottle of beer listening in.

Lastly, a HUGE hint to all viewers. DO NOT watch foreign stuff with English (or any language) dubbing. Watch in the original language with subtitles or you miss the nuances of the original acting. Plus, the mouths not matching the words is like one of those dreadful 1960's kung fu movies!

You People (2023)

Well...

[1/10 · 3 February 2023]

I've never liked Jonah Hill and this didn't do anything to change my opinion. My partner and I put this on as it was purported to be "funny". Yeah... not sure who made that determination but they were WRONG!

What a load of rubbish! We got about 20 minutes in and we looked at each other and said "What is this crap?!?" The TV was then turned off in disgust as we both rolled our eyes.

There can be no spoilers as there was no story. From the bit I saw it was people talking unamusing piffle to each other.

I will pad this out by asking how Jonah Hill managed to get his plain and grossly un-funny mug in front of a camera in the first place?

Black Snow (2022– )

I really wanted to like this

[4/10 · 3 February 2023]

Sadly, the acting was SO bad that it was nigh on unwatchable. The character around which the whole show is based, is supposed to be this drop-dead gorgeous teenage girl. Those doing the casting should have tried a LOT harder to find a lass who was actually attractive.

Then we get to the sister. Where do I start??? A loving, devoted sister who seems to resent the fact that someone is trying to solve her sister's murder! Huh? Why wouldn't you want her killer found? That whole dynamic stunk to high heaven.

The "actors" (and I use the term very loosely) that played the majority of the Islanders were dreadful. They were so wooden you could have lit a fire with them!

Thank goodness for those baby blue eyes on Travis Fimmel. The only thing that kept me watching, even then it was a struggle.

Treason (2022)

Oh boy!

[1/10 · 28 December 2022]

I wish I'd read the other reviews before I started watching this utter poop. All those 1 star reviews are spot on. I only got to the bit in the first episode where the wife of the ACTING HEAD OF MI6 is so goddamned STUPID that she takes a recording device from a KNOWN CIA AGENT to record her husband because she suspects him of some nefarious dealings. Well, yes dear, he's the head of a SPY NETWORK!!!!! At that point, I had to turn it off. Are people really that stupid? I read that the teenage daughter becomes increasingly obnoxious and gets kidnapped. One can only hope those responsible for this drivel also get kidnapped and forced to watch this on repeat a la The Clockwork Orange 🍊.

The English (2022)

Wow!

[9/10 · 28 November 2022]

What beautiful cinematography which adds depth to what is an intriguing, slow-burn story. All the others have written of the marvellous casting, the phenomenal acting and the twists and turns of the story but it is truly a thing of beauty, if a somewhat harsh and confronting kind at times, to watch.

I don't really pay any attention to who is starring in the things I watch and couldn't name anything else that Emily Blunt nor Chaske Spencer have been in but have to say both were wonderful in this.

The story unfolded continuously throughout the 6 episodes and kept me wondering until the final "reveal".

Wonderfully unexpected and will not disappoint. Be warned it is rather gory and not exactly light entertainment.

1899 (2022)

Why does everything need to be filmed in the dark???

[3/10 · 25 November 2022]

So, I spend a good few hours squinting at the television trying to see what the hell is going on! After a couple of episodes, I could barely tell one dude with facial hair from another. It makes watching something fairly tedious into a headache-inducing test of stamina.

As my evening viewing is supposed to be relaxing escapism, finding it like an ill-lit trip to the optometrist is not my idea of winding down after a day at work.

I have no idea what episode I'm up to except to say it's my LAST. I won't be going back to see (or attempt to discern amongst the murk) what the "big mystery" is because I don't give two s*#ts.

I have seen "Dark" but don't remember any details except that it kept me watching. This one? Not a snowballs chance in Hell.

Now You See Me (I) (2013)

Fool me once...

[2/10 · 18 November 2022]

Could the FBI have been made out to be more of a bunch of buffoons? Honestly, Mark Ruffalo's character was so consistently fooled by the four magicians it was embarrassing to watch.

From the mass shootings in the US, I can believe that the dopey dude would think dragging out his gun in crowded place on more than one occasion was a brilliant idea.

Sadly, old mate didn't have one even basic idea let alone a brilliant one. It was tortuous!

I couldn't quite figure out what we had the French woman in there for. I guess she was the "love interest".

The ending of the movie is nausea inducing. Hopefully, all the actors who took part were only in it for big $$$'s, because this drivel is best left off the resume!

Valor (2017–2018)

1 star is over-generous

[1/10 · 18 November 2022]

It's not often you come across a show that has you rolling your eyes from the first scene. I'm not sure who is responsible for this steaming pile but they should be forced to watch the entire series over and over until they admit the horror they have inflicted on the viewing public.

Apart from the MONSTROUS factual errors (my sister worked for WFP in Somalia) and, not knowing anything about the US military, I found it completely unbelievable that little Miss Fake Boobs would be flying in a no-go country (fully made-up, of course) as a co-pilot of anything other than a kite or a drone.

All the other characters were equally absurd. The dude who looked like a hobo, the totally inappropriate CIA (?) woman and the rest of the clowns were unwatchable.

Do yourself a favour and avoid this turkey. 🦃

The Devil's Hour (2022– )

Mmm-kay

[7/10 · 6 November 2022]

I haven't quite finished this series and I will. Just because it's better than some of the other dross I've attempted (and abandoned) lately. The mother, Lucy Chambers, is an idiot. Her kid is clearly on the autism spectrum but she thinks by over-acting every aspect of their lives she's going to jolly him out of it.

She works for the department of child protection (or whatever the Pommy equivalent is) and should have more of an idea about kids. She doesn't seem to spend much time at work, either. All the school visits to berate staff, snooping around in strangers houses and leaving her phone everywhere but with her. Who does that in this day and age? We're all surgically attached to our phones.

Anyway, she shoves her oar in to the police investigation and seems to forget her kid is missing while gallivanting about all over place and yelling at her Mum, who has dementia (very helpful - NOT).

It better all come together in the last episode or I'll revise my review down a few stars.

Oh, and for that American reviewer who questioned the cars the Pommy police drive and why they don't carry guns, check the gun-related death toll in countries other than the US and it will explain much. From the little I know, they drive Audi's or BMW's.

In Australia, our uniform police carry guns but detectives rarely do. The majority of people in Australia do not own weapons of any kind.

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Oh gawd... Here we go again

[5/10 · 27 October 2022]

I saved this up for a day when I had lots of "inside" jobs to do or took ill and was stuck looking for something to distract me. Lo and behold, I fall sick and thought to myself "Oh, good time for House of the Dragon".

Let me start by saying that I think it contributed to the longevity of my illness and, in fact, may have worsend it!

There were some glaring lapses of logic e.g. Dude brings news from the king to his brother that the king is sending supplies etc, which are in serious short supply, and bother responds by beating said dude with his helmet. Huh? Brother then runs off to single-handedly fight the baddies that they've had under siege for months. Double huh??

It's all starting to drag so we throw in a scene in a "pleasure house" with a bit of nudity and a pash between brother blondie and daughter blonde (don't ask me their names coz the only name I remember is Jason but I couldn't tell you who Jason is or what part of the organ he plays).

Then, somehow, brother blondie kills his wife. Once again, no idea why. Then Queen, who used to be daughter blondie's best mate starts machinations of her own. I didn't care who was doing what for why by this stage. Oh, and daughter blondie is betrothed to gay, black dude after "launching her crack" at her bodyguard... or something.

I gave up.