steveo122 Reviews

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

They turned it up to 11.

[7/10 · 25 May 2023]

Eventually I'll see the whole thing but I've turned it off four times already before it's halfway through because they won't stop sounding stupid when they talk and turning it up to 11 means they think they have to talk more while stunt people dance and twitch around waiting to be killed/maimed in 'look what we can do' set-ups that turn the wick/high table world of mystery into a ridiculously lethal episode of "Wipeout" and curiously leading at least to a better class of tedium.... 'They' did the same thing with the road warrior franchise by turning Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome up to an over-the-top 11.

The last sentence added to meet the 600 character requirement which is imdb's way of telling me they don't need my input anymore.

Reacher (2022– )

The right ingredients, wrong recipe...

[4/10 · 5 February 2022]

The right ingredients, wrong recipe... I was trying so hard to enjoy it (ep.3) when an incredibly stupid plot advancing dialog exchange caused me to blurt out an obscenity and write this.

Remember "McMillan & Wife"? And the era of easy-as-pie-TV-crime capers? I halfway expect a cameo by Dick Van Dyke or Hal Linden... That's the level of stupid stupid TV-cliché plotting and writing that brings it down.

It's a testament to the skill and professionalism of the actors that you can hardly tell they know they're not selling Shinola...

Edit: halfway through episode 5: my god this is stupid...too stupid to even FF to the fights.

Dropped 2 stars I'm gonna wait until someone puts together a fight highlight reel.

Season 2 is a threat.

Copshop (2021)

Carnahan writing '80s stupid is good stuff

[7/10 · 14 October 2021]

An 80's drive-in flick...done with more skill than 'the way they used to make them', which is to say, still stupid but better made, looking and entertaining.

The script has surprises and humor; the atmospheric build up, with all the formula tropes, is controlled; the dialog serves the exposition; the acting is good; the lights are on and the camera is steady...it does what it came to do.

Alexis Louder made a mark.

And yes, "Boss Level" is enormously good (more) fun.

Squid Game (2021– )

maybe...

[8/10 · 6 October 2021]

The inclusion of the cheesy acting and writing in the VIP segment in the middle of so much quality work was the koreans trying to broaden american interest by recreating the cheesy acting and writing usually popular in american action movies...

Real Time with Bill Maher (2003– )

once was...

[5/10 · 23 August 2021]

Followed for years and years but now that bill has entered his 'I can't be wrong' phase I find myself tuning him out as he talks to people who know sht.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

This is a 'product' designed by several committees of experts...

[5/10 · 2 July 2021]

This is a very good idea for a science fiction movie that could have rivaled how good "The Edge of Tomorrow" could have been if it hadn't been turned into a Tom Cruise (albeit entertaining) vehicle.

This would have been better made by a mid-range budget team like the ones who make things like "Spectral"; this was spoiled by too much money.

This is a 'product' designed by several committees of experts in their field and every role is cast with a headshot, every aspect (script/plot/ directorial move/character arc, etc.) ticks off an ambitious cliche checklist, all in support of a lead who satisfies the box office, not the role.

I like Pratt fine but he belongs where he belongs. There's nothing wrong with him trying to expand but there is something wrong with everybody pretending the supposed 'macho hero' isn't a goofball.

There are some very good FX ideas and I had to finish writing this so I could get to the mouse and start fast forwarding to the only reasons for it.

Nobody (I) (2021)

high scores if you haven't seen wick/extraction...

[7/10 · 16 June 2021]

If what I've read is accurate, it was odenkirk's idea...and there's an observable difference between the quality of a good wick-like project seeking a non-traditional gimmick choice like odenkirk to make it 'box office unique'...and the quality of a project that is chosen and wick-paint-by-numbers-put-together by odenkirk to make him look good, which it does in an entertainingly serviceable way. If the bus sequence stood out, that's why.

Should have/could have had more 'wick-finese', the high bar, or more comedy/satire worthy having lloyd in the cast.

Run with the Hunted (2019)

Obviously you'll have to decide for yourself

[7/10 · 15 June 2021]

This is waaaay better than expected. The director kept things well controlled and for the most part, understated, while telling a gritty, somewhat brutal Fagin-esque myth/story with good performances from everyone, including the kids.

Infinite (2021)

A very intriguing concept...

[5/10 · 10 June 2021]

A very intriguing concept turned into a big slick shiny MarkieW look-at-me object requiring constant 'juvenile fiction' level narrative exposition and incessant suspension of disbelief to the point of disassociation with reality, One of those scripts that won't even obey the parameters of the physics set by the world they created thus making 'stupid' the subtext of what would otherwise be really cool action and ideas.

I wrote that a half hour in and didn't need to change it by the end.

The Education of Fredrick Fitzell (2020)

Despite the slow burn...

[7/10 · 6 June 2021]

Many will call this beyond understanding and so for many it will be beyond appreciation.

Despite the slow burn...if you stick with it like I made myself do and pay attention to the details...this is a very well written and directed drug-effect/fantasy/mystery/nightmare with underlining gossamer metaphysical ramifications that are never or very rarely dealt with in film as delicately as they are here.

I don't know for a fact that you have to have taken acid in the '60s and experienced going into the bright florescent lights of reality in the morning after spending the night in a multicolored fantasyland...but I know for a fact that I knew exactly what they were getting at.

Maika Monroe gave me the feeling that they asked for a 'brittany murphy' type.

Wrath of Man (2021)

Slick production; good set pieces

[6/10 · 26 May 2021]

It's been done before and at least "Le convoyeur" has a lead actor who can act.

Now it's been done again, this time re-formed to be a Jason Statham superhero movie (with overtones of "The Rock" (1996)) and Guy Ritchie-flavored truck-testicles hung all over it.

"When Katharine Hepburn appeared in a play on Broadway, 'tis said that Dorothy Parker cracked: "Miss Hepburn ran the whole gamut of emotions-from A to B." Statham has no interest in "B".

Bushwick (2017)

Way more good than bad.

[7/10 · 16 May 2021]

As a lower-budget action movie, one can see this either as a film that didn't have enough money to be all it could be, which it is, or a movie that is a fine example of how to create the illusion of epic/spectacle by creatively using the limited money you've got, which is better. Even after reading some disparaging comments on how it 'misses the mark', I still feel the latter view is the one that applies and so was very impressed with how well this worked. The not-quite-what-you-expect script manages to keep one's mind off of the implausibilities while the extra-long-tracking-steady-cam work adds to the tension more than it annoys. Directorial choices are good as are the performances.

As far as meat-head turned movie star, a la Arnold & Dwayne, either Bautista or his manager is picking the right projects for him in his quest to become an entertaining/reliable action star.

Outside the Wire (2021)

I got bored fast-forwarding though it.

[3/10 · 17 January 2021]

I gave it a half hour of 'doubt/benefit' thinking that once they got done with the exposition dialog establishing the plot they would shut up and start the story. No, that was the story. Talk for twenty minutes, throw in some fx then stop and talk for another twenty minutes. I might as well be watching the latest season of "The Expanse" (don't get me started). I began to FF to get past the stupid and never did.

The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud (2020)

makes the Grillo team look even better

[1/10 · 11 January 2021]

Movies cost so much to make that even if everybody in the room knows it's crap it still has to be sent out to make as much money as possible. It takes only a few minutes to see Adkins cannot pull off acting part.

Grillo/Gibson/Carnahan/"Boss Level"...is how to do it right.

The Expanse (2015–2022)

season 5 - yakyakyakyakyakyakayak...

[3/10 · 30 December 2020]

No no no.we did not come back yearning for more and deeper personal dramatic opportunities for the actors, writers of insipid tv scripts and less effects. wtf happened? Edit: The Expanse S05E08 If I were to judge this show on this episode I would consider it to be a silly soap opera with silly face paint and silly accents pretending to be set in space. Maybe 5% of this episode was 'in space'. They used to make crap like that in the '60s when all aliens were humanoid with funny looking foreheads and whatever crew would spend all their time on a planet that looked just like the hills above los angeles. This has nothing to do with the excellence of the first two seasons. Point removed.

The Midnight Sky (2020)

Clooney + science fiction + netflix money = assumptions.

[8/10 · 26 December 2020]

This is not a toy. This will cause a.d.d. heads to explode. This is science fiction for people who read deep science fiction novels for the human dramas dressed up in futuristic possibilities, dramas that will never stop, no matter what the world. Extremely well done and if you're lucky it will bite.

Unhinged (I) (2020)

"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!"

[10/10 · 8 November 2020]

No, I didn't finish it and have no intention of doing so. It was perfectly built to rub your/our noses in what we've come to enjoy so much.

Fargo (2014–2024)

I have never been so disinterested in seeing the final episode of a season of Fargo.

[4/10 · 19 October 2020]

Fargo.s04e05 5/10 I've held out hope until now This time none of it feels organic.

Chric Rock nope Jason Schwartzman nope WTF, seriously? Two comics? Two comics playacting as heavies is a skit, not a dramatic endeavor. Salvatore Esposito, who was very good in "Gomorrah", mugging like a cartoon villain, an Italian Snidely Whiplash. I swear when he first appeared I thought it was jack black in a fatter suit; Jack Huston's 'Acting 101' tics; the writing, with ponderous pauses with nothing but 'tone' behind them... There are moments and performances of note but the very high bar has not been met. Edit: Fargo S04E10 4/10 To start...chris rock...WTF? Casting two fkng comics in the leads and we were supposed to show acting class enthusiasm as they stretched their limitations? The directors studied and flailed with the 'Fargo' style but this series has been exceptionally stuck on the surface the entire time with no Coen inspiration until somebody tripped and fell. There have been some excellent sideline performances but the general, final answer, is that I have never been so disinterested one way or another in seeing the final episode of a season of Fargo.

Chrisley Knows Best (2014–2023)

judge/book/cover

[1/10 · 26 September 2020]

They say not to but I do and have done all my life and have a pretty good accuracy record and before seeing the scores on this page came here to say that I see/saw the publicity cover/photo of the chrisley person smiling and pointing in my direction and I was overcome with revulsion at the thought of getting anywhere near...the reviews on this page describe why despite the intentions of the publicity experts to fashion a BS form of invitation the rot underneath seeps through...a ocular form of 'reek' or 'stench'?

Eternal Beauty (2019)

excruciating

[8/10 · 26 August 2020]

I curse the sadistic bstrds who conned me into watching what I rigorously avoid seeing by casting Sally Hawkins. My first thought was about the appropriateness of a mentally unbalanced protagonist these days. But it's SallyfckngHawkins and she gives an exquisite performance of palpable human turmoil that causes emotional empathy - they might as well have filmed a wounded baby bird struggling to stumble its way across a busy sidewalk toward unseen cats - excruciating. Everyone is very good, even the vile ones...the plot, script and direction are noticeably stylized and always interesting.

Hollywood Weapons: Fact or Fiction? (2017– )

way too much filler

[5/10 · 17 August 2020]

Once again, a good concept spoiled by the stupid idea that the host is more interesting than the reason we came to see it.

Valley of the Gods (2019)

I'm perfectly comfortable if this is a 'sour grapes' response...

[5/10 · 11 August 2020]

"Entwines Navajo lore with a reclusive trillionaire and his would-be biographer, creating a fascinating, mysterious and idiosyncratic vision of America."

Alternative take: ,,,creating a montage of beautiful, enigmatic scenes layered in Navajo mumbo jumbo and pretentious philosophical affectations.

I watched the whole thing. It took several stops and restarts because I had to stop and look around for my interest in it. Allegories abound, either far too abstract for me or so simple I resent making the trip, despite the very high quality of the production and the exquisite settings and scenery. I'm perfectly comfortable if this is a 'sour grapes' response.

The Outpost (2019)

The criticism that the movie doesn't develop the 'minor' squad members is patently ridiculous.

[8/10 · 4 July 2020]

I've been watching war movies since the fifties and this is the most rousing-harrowing-insane-based on a real-alamo event war movie I've seen. Which up till now was the last third of "Come and See". For me, this is essentially the Afghan version of "ZULU". The criticism that the movie doesn't develop the 'minor' squad members is patently ridiculous. The movie is ABOUT them. If anything, this shows why you maybe shouldn't: it hurts when the stuff hits the fan and boy does it hit hard. A deserved heavy weight of poignance pervades the credits. Excellent work by Caleb Landry Jones. Scott Eastwood's DNA causes him to appear to be doing a weak imitation of Clint.

Inside the SS (2017–2018)

I haven't 'studied' the Third Reich, but I've paid attention since the mid '50s...

[8/10 · 14 June 2020]

I haven't 'studied' the Third Reich, but I've paid attention since the mid '50s and I thought I was done. I expected to be bored/disappointed by yet another over-produced re-hash but the predominant inclusion of colorized footage that I've never seen before and the somewhat understated/informative narration kept me interested to the end. Episode 3 is the same as Episode 1. I don't know why they did that.

Trackers (2019)

If you only want dim viewers...

[4/10 · 13 June 2020]

...this is the way to do it. Scenes with people talking to each other only for the purpose of explaining things to the audience is remedial script writing. It is also bad script writing. Excellent thriller set up spoiled by lazy or amateur writing/directing.