isaacthe Reviews

3 Body Problem (2024– )

Writers are intellectually egotistical... so, British

[8/10 · 26 March 2024]

But still a show worth the watch and overall well done.

Some characters got obnoxiously stale with the same stick up their rumps the entire season with seemingly no development or change, which you can never know on this side of the screen if it was the actors choice or the directors. Nonetheless, there were numerous brilliant and full performances from many that far out weighed the limited performances of one or two, making for a well rounded group of characters.

The writing was overall good, but ironically left some pretty novice holes for someone pretentiously referring to C. S. Lewis as a terrible writer simply due to the writers nonsubtly repeated bias towards theasim.

Some parts were hilariously poor planned with a good number of plot holes any half sober viewer would point out: "Wasn't the whole point of this plan to avoid mass destruction to a ship, unlike shootin the damn thing with a missile? Well the whole thing is a flaming pile of rubble now, I guess you sure got lucky you missed slicing up the thing you didn't even know what was, and more lucky you found it"

"Heli's and swat canvassing the whole area and no one sees the broad shot through the calf crawling like a snail wide out in the open?"

"Same broad who seems to be their only means of assassinating anyone at any needed time across the globe, lives in a generic, unsecured, vulnerable trailer without means of immediate transportation? Why would they not set her up with a batcave of sorts."

"Fifteen plus years the judgement day cruisers have been talking to these things, they've already read half a book on fairy-tales, they've been monitoring all our activity globally, they ask more questions than a three year old, and they're JUST NOW stumbling across the concept of a lie?"

I could go on and on about little overlooked lazy plot holes in the writing, and wouldn't even mention them if the writers hadn't been so obviously and obnoxiously egotistical about their own abilities and intellect. But if you're going to jab historically renowned writers of the past, you had better be at least on par with your peers of the present.

They are not.

But, they did adapt an engaging story from someone else's work that seems to be written well (only guessing from the compelling main plot that I assume was copy pasted from the source material).

So I'm still thankful it was made.

I think this is worth the watch and am looking forward to future seasons. Not looking forward to waiting. Boo hoo first world problems.

But I'd really appreciate seeing the conclusion of this series before the whole world blows itself up in world War three, and I really can't be so sure anymore (he says half sarcastically through gritted teeth).

So please show runners, do make haste.

Watching the Detectives (2007)

Out of left field adorable

[8/10 · 22 March 2024]

It starts off a little dated and rough.

But dang, the premise is so fun and truly breaks molds of rom com.

I really wish there were more films that followed a formula like this.

The characters weren't two dimensional, and the actors really made them more than the writing.

Why does imdb require me to write a full thesis for a review? *heavy sigh*

Filled with so many fun laughs. I genuinely belly laughed a number of times. The writing was creative but still down to earth so there were times you felt like you were just having a classic day with the fellas, but then other times you're in a new reality of twists and turns and adventure.

Stillwater (2021)

I'm not sure what the message was

[8/10 · 20 March 2024]

But everything was done well. Very engaging story. Very real. Nothing about this film felt like they were following a story formula or classic type.

This felt like simply watching a real story of real people with ups and downs.

I do wish I could ask the writers what their intent was when writing this. Why they felt this story was important to tell. What they're hoping audiences feel and take away from this.

It makes you sit and reflect on it.

What would you have done? If you could go back and redo it, would you?

What is family? What is moral? What is love?

Maybe that's what they wanted, was to just make you think.

But this whole story seems so specific yet so unexpectedly random.

Amazing performances mostly.

Great directing.

River Wild (2023)

10 stars just for Adam Brody

[10/10 · 10 March 2024]

I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not even 10 minutes into this film but Adam Brody is miles above the rest of this cast.

He should be an A lister.

The amount of unique personality he brings to a story is unparalleled.

I think him and Dylan Obrien should play brothers.

Honestly haven't seen Brody in anything since his teenage television show years, but it's cool to see him in a film playing a different type of character.

Production seems pretty great.

Good cinematography.

If this film has bad reviews I'm guessing it's the writing, directing and other cast.

Brody is carrying the story so far and he's enough to make me happy to watch the whole film even if it ends up not great.

To Catch a Killer (2023)

Who is Shailene Woodley selling tickets to?

[7/10 · 7 March 2024]

The people funding and pitching this film, I'm genuinely curious who they think their market is.

The story was surprisingly good. A great detective story.

Some of the less than subtle pandering and woke box checking was a little heavy handed. But not obnoxiously so. And it's okay for me as a human to live inside a world painted by a writer with different opinions than mine: More qualified female protagonist shows herself capable by having a new angle and more focus than her higher ranking, disinterested white male counterparts.

(Log that with arguments that never happened that I win in the shower)

The brilliant detective is in a progressive gay marriage.

Little soap box about how we're all suffering from mental illness because life in the 21st century is just inherently oppressive.

People are mean and don't understand mental illness.

Yada yada

These are the tropes that live in the writers reality rent free.

That's their reality.

I love what Ben Mendelsonh brings to a story.

*heavy groan* but back to Shailene Woodley.. Most actors bring themselves into a role. So what character does Shailene Woodley bring to ever role?

Gosh she's hard to root for.

Never a smile. Always an air of superiority and annoyance with humanity.

Like other people being alive is an offense to her.

Never laughs.

Any good deeds are done with a sense of shame on someone else for doing something wrong that her deed needed to right. So the focus isn't on the good deed, it's on how someone else is a terrible person.

There is nothing positive she brings to a role ever. The audience is just left feeling shamed and a burden for breathing.

So really. Who is her audience?

What miserable, hate filled, wine drinking self proclaimed intellectuals that are never wrong about anything are rooting for this girl?

.....oh.

Self Reliance (2023)

Dang. Yeah. Had so much going for it, then fizzles

[6/10 · 18 January 2024]

The premise is one of those concepts you immediately jump on board and are intrigued by.

The cast was great.

The hobo James/Walter was a hilarious addition.

All the odd bits. It was going perfectly.

Then when him and Anna Kendricks character split ways the film suddenly just fizzles til the end.

You're sitting there waiting for a twist like : actually he's schizophrenic and this is the hilarious but tragic reality of suffering from this.

Nope. Just fizzles and ends.

Love Andy samburg.

Love S. E. Rogie on the end of the soundtrack like Palm Springs.

This could gave been a classic like palm Springs if they leaned more into the romance building aspect. Commit!

Not what's his face with the nose that looks like it's been broken 8 times from New girl,'s strongest work. And I usually love him.

Not enough to remember his name obviously.

Although I did love how he played the main character. Very relatable.

Dang.

Started so good. That act three just fell flat unfortunately.

The Breach (I) (2022)

Likeable "meh"

[6/10 · 4 November 2023]

Clearly didn't have a huge budget.

So what. At least they got some money and made a film. I love this genre, and I think they made a film that overall works.

Cinematography and lighting was great.

Some of the exterior day wide shots looked a little amateur. But then all the night scenes and interior were right on par with big budget films of the same genre.

Writing. I was surprised the writer and director weren't the same person, because there were a lot of lines that I'm sure looked good on paper that should have been thrown out on the day or in the final cut. Luke warm comedy or not so witty attempts at saying something clever.

Acting. Not bad. Just bland. I'm sure they'd all do great on Television like NCIS or something. But none of their performances go beyond what was written on the page. None of their personalities show through enough for you to really care about any of the characters.

Directing. All of the acting notes and writing notes could have been greatly improved by a good director. The Actors could clearly make words believable, a good director could have pushed them out of their comfort a little more.

The script had good structure. A good director could have tossed some of the obvious exposition and silly side lines.

So, I'm gonna blame whatever is lacking about this film on budget and directing. Because all the other bad parts could have been helped there first.

Still enjoyed it. Probably would enjoy it a lot if you were stoned or on some other substance that lowers your expectations.

Don't do drugs. Lol.

No One Will Save You (2023)

Lot of lines for her to memorize.

[8/10 · 11 October 2023]

10/10 on performance. To tell a whole story without words was ambitious and they did it well.

I'm honestly curious what a screenplay for something like this looks like.

Personal preference, I wish they built up the suspense of the aliens longer.

It pulled a lot of homage from "Signs", which did a great job holding the full reveal of an alien til the very very end.

The alien encounters in this felt more like a jurassic park suspense where you clearly see the creatures early on and now she's just running from different forms.

They could have delivered the same plot and message while still being conservative on showing the aliens.

3rd act.

The annihilation moment was kind of out of left field and completely unexplained before or after.

That scene could have been removed and made the film no different.

The fight with her friend... Everyone saw that Beat coming 50 miles away and so they could have added some twist element to how it happened that would have added something to the story.

Nope. Just a classic fight between kids that went accidentally too far.

Given the emotion in the letters and it being 2023 where everyone is trying to get their cutting edge points I was thinking that at LEAST, the protagonist revealed she was in love with her friend, who rejects that type of love, and out of fear of her secret being exposed accidentally kills her trying to stop her.

Or something like that. Not even that. Which honestly is kind of a breath of air to me, cause Hulu these days seems to make content exclusively to people groups.

But still. That was it? Don't even know what the fight was about.

Also why the mom died? Where's the dad?

Why everyone 11 years later still hates this girl for accidentally killing her friend when she was 12.

I dunno The concept was fine. Pretty cool premise.

I'll always show up to support these films.

But sometimes I wonder how a script gets passed so many drafts and table reads without anyone saying "hold up".

Or maybe they do, and the writer and or director just ignores it.

Probably the latter.

Alone (2015– )

Love the show, worried about where it's headed.

[10/10 · 9 March 2023]

I've watched every season religiously.

I think it's the greatest show out there.

It inspires me, teaches me, and gives me a longing to get outside.

I kearn new things every time I watch it.

I love seeing parts of northern Canada and other wilderness areas. Their location selection is amazing. I started watching originally just because where season 6 was.

Season 5 was rough because the poor people didn't have any food. Slim pickings in Mongolia. I think the winner was barely at 50 days and all he ate were leaches and mice.

Word to the producers (who will never read this) learn from past company, business, and television mistakes.

"Don't fix what isn't broken".

You are going to have a vocal minority of your viewership complain about it getting boring. Seeing similar things each season.

I promise you, don't change a thing and 80% of your viewership that is silent and doesn't get in in the chat waves will faithfully watch each season, every year, for the rest of time.

Obviously the small twists are awesome. Season 4 with the teams was fun. Season 9 making them fly fish because "regulations". Those are fun.

What I mean, is don't change what the show is, thinking that we're going to get tired of watching people simply survive. Hunt. Eat. Build. Forage. Etc.

Season 9, I don't know what producers encourage applicants to talk about or film before they get dropped out there, But the editing and direction definitely seemed to be "hey let's emphasize mental health and 'overcoming your past'". Which are very real things, but when manufactured, you get a victim culture like Jacques who uses the word "Traumatic " to describe an otherwise moderately challenging childhood.

His father was struggled with alcohol. Not uncommon.

Parents get a divorce. Not uncommon.

Difficult yes. Added adversity to overcome. Yes.

Traumatic? We're your parents murdered in front of you? That's trauma.

Up until the 1930s, children worked in factories, often times dieing very young from malnutrition and diseases. Usually missing parents. Terrible conditions to grow up in. They never used the word Traumatic.

Your audience are people that take interest in survival. Mental/physical fortitude. Ingenuity. Personal growth.

Please don't become a show pandering to new age vocal outliers. Culture fluxes and flows.

The things being demonstrated on this show are timeless and more resilient than my current weaker generation.

I'm not a back in my day boomer. I'm 31. I'm a millennial.

Don't let my generation ruin this show with cultural pressure to be constantly introspectively pandering to self absorbed ideology.

They have every other show coming out currently to pander to them. Keep this show our one haven to escape the nonsense of our worldly bickering.

Let contestants just muse to the camera without direction.

Don't let your editors hone in exclusively on the this is how my childhood made me feel moments.

Alone works because you just put a camera on nature and click play.

The more you try to bend that to your direction, the less it will be what it was.

And you will lose interest from your audience.

We want reality.

Not "reality".

Riverdale: Chapter Eight: The Outsiders (2017) Season 1, Episode 8

I've enjoyed the show but it's floundering

[5/10 · 1 February 2023]

Maybe they're just being smart and pacing themselves, but it feels odd that a show with so much potential is floundering already before the end of the first season.

The murder mystery has been sidelined for way over dramatic side stories that I can't even pretend to be invested in.

The delivery was self aware, well acting, engaging. All the sudden I'm sitting here in episode 8 counting the seconds until it's over.

Everyone has suddenly become over the top soap opera canned actors.

Maybe that episode just had a bad director who was pushing for that. But yikes.

I came to this show as recommended because I enjoyed "Outer Banks", which also had its fair share of filler content that made me want to check out at times, But I was super digging the first few episodes of this.

Hell yeah, it's "Twin Peaks" but done well, using the characters from the Archie comics. Brilliant.

The vibe was moody, mysterious, classic high-school in the misty trees murder mystery with enjoyable characters.

Now everyone overreacts to EVERYthing. Emotionally unhinged and cringy reactions.

Please give us one character to enjoy if everyone else is going to be unrelatably emotional about spilt milk.

Otherwise I might not make it to the end of this season, let alone the rest of this season.

Ugh.

I really want to like this show. Vancouver is such a beautiful place to film and they don't make enough shows there anymore.

The premise is everything I want out of television.

The execution is starting to suck.

Also it's comical how bad the parents are in this show. Except the two single dads. One of which is a biker drug dealer who for a yet to be disclosed reason has is son living homeless while he himself lives in a house. Yet he's still better than most the other parents.

Like every parent we meet is the worst human being ever. The writer has mommy issues I guess.

Alaska Daily: The Weekend (2022) Season 1, Episode 4

Filler Episode..

[7/10 · 29 October 2022]

Not sure why this episode is the highest rated so far. Probably because it just came out. Time will bring it down.

Love the show, but I'm not a fan of filler episodes in any show.

There was SOME plot progression. But definitely a pre mid season finale lul where the audience sits back and learns every side characters back story through irrelevant side quests. *eye roll* These episodes are fine when binge watching. But sucks when you wait all week for the next episode and it's an hour of ads and filler content.

86 mire characters? Sheesh. Since when did IMDB force everyone to write a whole term paper just to share their opinion on a show or episode.

Whole review could have just been: meh, can't wait til next episode.

Fall (I) (2022)

Good til the 47 meters down crap

[6/10 · 13 August 2022]

Same ol crap.

But wait. What really happened was..

Go home whatever writer, producer, director that went that route.

For 150 characters.

I'm extending this review to say well done cast and whatever element of production made the climb feel so real.

I climbed cell towers til I almost died, and that scene gave me PTSD that I didn't expect.

You captured very well what it's like to be up there.

But still.

I hate you for rehashing the worst part of the story of 47 meters down.

Flower (I) (2017)

Solid acting

[8/10 · 23 July 2022]

I understand why some people didn't love it, it was way more indie feeling.

And the story felt like it was written by a highschooler, but I think maybe that was the point?

Everyone wildly controlled and guided by impulse and emotion. It made it gard to predict every beat, and that made I authentic to me.

Wasn't a perfect film, but I think for what it was it surprised me.

And I love to see actors free from a rigid script and the director dropping their own ego to let the actors live out the scene.

I'm going to be watching more from this director going forward just because this film.

F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

We're family for watching

[5/10 · 10 March 2022]

This movie is like the visual manifest of an 8 year old describing a movie to his friends at recess.

I still like to pretend that the series ended after 5.

Everything since has been my first sentence.

I do wonder who their focus groups are for this.

But you just keep watching them, because you already saw the 5, 6, 7, 8 before, so you "might as well" watch this one too.

Vin Diesel is on his way to becoming Steven Sehgal at this pace.

The Handmaid's Tale: Holly (2018) Season 2, Episode 11

Takes woman whole episode to get ready to go

[3/10 · 5 March 2022]

Sounds about right.

"5 minutes"

Review needs 150 characters to post. That's more than I can say for this episode.

Another person in Gilead who can't function behind the wheel of a car.

Are they just handing out participation licenses in drivers Ed there?

The Handmaid's Tale (2017–2025)

Can anyone drive?

[7/10 · 21 February 2022]

Gilead had little to overcome with the incompetence of characters.

Sam, the "husband", was the easiest protagonist to nor root for. Dude makes zero sound choices.

He crashes on a standard turn.

Ambulance also crashes.

Girl who gets her G spot sewn shut steals a car and manages to drive a circle. Amazing. Simply amazing. Slow clap.

DID NO ONE IN THIS DYSTOPIA TAKE DRIVER'S ED??

There's so much good about the premise.

I'm a white male conservative, and I loved the show, regardless of it having the ability and premise to pander to every branch of the left.

Religious male whites oppressing females and biracial LGBTQ members.

But there was still just a great story here of strength to be told for women who are actually abused and people who are actually oppressed by the evil that manifests in the world.

But.

Man.

So many characters make so many snap fire choices that make zero sense.

All the guts in the world and no common sense.

And 50 episodes of hour long awkward pauses.

Can no one just answer or respond in a normal time cadence, EVER?

The show starts strong, but I really pushed to finish season 1.

Losing interest in these characters fast.

Especially Sam.

The writer did him dirty.

Secrets of Sulphur Springs (2021–2023)

What happened to the first Griffin actor?

[8/10 · 29 January 2022]

You just start episode 2 and it's suddenly a completely different kid.

I can't even find the name of the first actor on Google.

That's the biggest mystery this show provides; what happened to the main character?

Shimmer Lake (2017)

Pretty decent

[8/10 · 24 January 2022]

Fine writing.

Good atmosphere.

Good production level.

Great characters and choices.

Good acting.

-1 star for leaning too heavy on the memento structure to make the mystery harder to follow.

-1 star for still guessing the ending way too early regardless.

Still really liked it. Love small town mystery plots. This one had a hint of Coehen brothers comedy that I also enjoyed.

The writer flushed each of these characters out enough to build a whole series off of.

You don't usually see that depth in a short 90 minute feature for all the side characters.

Darkness Falls (2020)

"F it, I'll make it myself"

[5/10 · 6 January 2022]

When someone read Save the Cat, Formulated an idea off another favorite movie of theirs, And tried to write their first feature.

Then everyone who peer reviewed it probably gave a lot of suggestions like, "dialogue is too on the nose".

"Blatant exposition." "I get the idea but I don't see a strong enough motive in the film to get them there. They just suddenly are." Then the writer was like, yOu GuYs JUsT doN't gET iT. You have to see the vision like it is in my head.

Then made it themselves with a second mortgage on the house, then clearly edited themselves with unnecessary drawn out moments of getting into the car and driving away.

Bruh, cut it right when that door closes. We know what happens next. This ads nothing to story momentum.

Everything about this speaks amateur hour, "we take ourthelves thuper therious."

I know because, well, takes one to know one.

Like staring in a bug ugly mirror of my first crappy indie film.

But hey, he's got blue enough eyes to sell some tickets. That's the guy from... something? Right? I've seen that face for sure, must be a descent film right?

Stick to T-shirt commercials.

All Summers End (2017)

Talented leads

[9/10 · 29 December 2021]

Not what I expected when I watched it.

The person harping that nothing works, I'm sorry it didn't connect with you. Maybe the story was too drab and you can find yourself some edgy screenplay of a transitioning 9 year old oppressed minority to indulge in.

I personally found this story to be much more raw and honest than expected. I was expecting the cliche drama points.

I think this story came from a place of truth from the writer. There were too many moments that didn't feel scripted. Moments, that as I writer, I know what the formula would tell me to do. What the table of writers would pitch as the next scene.

But this felt organic. Like someone's real diary of a summer being played out.

That was refreshing, that like real life, I didn't know exactly what would happen next.

As for the acting, I think anyone that thinks it was tacky missed what the actors did here.

It's like when someone hates an actor for playing the unlikable character so well. It's because they're a good actor, that you don't like them. Don't fail to recognize that.

And with teen emotion.. teenagers are emotional, irrational, annoying, unsensible at times. And raw.

Tye and the girl (I'm sorry I'm terrible with names) nailed it.

The amount of raw emotion they brought into these scenes is truly on another level.

If you were to watch true young teens going through these circumstances, it would be loud, raw, maybe annoying. It wouldn't be perfectly delivered platitudes from confident handsome young adults that always know the right thing to say. It would be what you saw in this film.

They captured reality.

And can you do anything else as an actor?

Is not that the highest goal of a story teller?

Thinking about how many takes they had to carry that emotion and still have it. If I didn't already know these two actors and the futures they would have after this film, I'd surely have them on my radar for up and coming stars. Well done you two. You put in serious work for these parts emotionally, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

Antlers (2021)

What happened?

[7/10 · 10 November 2021]

This is my favorite genre of film.

I always show up to show there's still an appetite for them.

The setting was perfect.

The set up was great.

Atmosphere and mystery 100%.

Creature was terrifying and built up well.

Then what happened?

Halfway through, the writing got lazy.

Like really lazy.

You have limited characters to dispose of, so make each death unique. Make each one give something new to the creature.

Nope.

Every. Single. One.

Oh, it's behind you.

Literally two characters they lined up and did the exact same thing, two minutes apart... Except one lives because he's a main character.

Then the final show down.... Did they run out of money?

Thing rips a cop apart, a building, could probably kick a grizzly's butt.

Yet she just walks in and pokes it to death, while it does the classic *monsters rawrs while moving arms menacingly yet doesn't actually strike* Monster suddenly fought like me after 15 beers.

First half. 9/10.

Second half. 3/10.

The gold was in your sights and then you got lazy.

The Next Three Days (2010)

Unlucky guy vs luckiest cops

[7/10 · 9 August 2021]

Protagonist cannot catch a break.

Ever. From his wife randomly getting booked with no chance, to getting mugged by moose and G-easy, to sucking at everything.

Meanwhile the cops catch EVERY break.

If you don't find yourself saying "oh come on, really?" At least once in your head, you're not invested.

Like, really?

Detective just happens to pick the one prius to check on out of 1000 in the city.

He just happens to let himself in the house and find it's status of being sold fishy enough to race to the hospital to check on the wife who has been locked up for 3 years.

He just happens to always pick the right place to look at exactly the right time.

The guy needs to hang up his badge and play scratchy lotto tickets with that kind of luck.

Hate those dumb prefabricated gimmics just to keep the chase going.

30 cases a day he has on his desk most likely, but this detective won't rest til he gets to the bottom of two dead drug dealers.

Blah.

Film was executed and acted well.

Just that crud. Meh.

On another note.

His wife. Whew. Dang son.

Major Grom: Plague Doctor (2021)

Fun. Loved the characters

[10/10 · 15 July 2021]

Hope to see more from this world and these characters.

It's great to see fun blockbusters coming from somewhere besides America.

The world has so much creativity to offer, but for a long time hasn't had the market to throw bug budgets at their scripts or something.

I love seeing that change. Not to bag on America.

But, the more good films being made, the more voices being shown, the better. In my opinion.

That girl is also way too cute. I'm in love.

Grom, lose the hat. You a handsome dude without it.

Bo Burnham: Inside (2021 TV Special)

Wow

[10/10 · 23 June 2021]

Prophetic. Transcendent. Ironic. Hilarious. Creatively inspiring.

Small Town Crime (2017)

Don't watch if your kids are sleeping

[9/10 · 22 May 2021]

First 17 minutes of the film, every scene change is initiated by a volume spike of his car revving and wheels squealing.

You have no idea when these abrupt scene changes will happen, and if you have the volume juuuust loud enough to hear the dialogue, The scene changes will wake up everyone in the house, despite your best efforts to scramble for the volume on the remote.

.. Movie was fine.

Goodjob.