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ncoriordan
Reviews
3 Body Problem (2024)
Annoying flaw at its heart!
I'm at episode seven and overall for sci-if fans it's worth a watch. Story is interesting, science is at both the same time good and a little bit iffy! One particular scene whereby many innocent women and children etc are killed for the flimsiest of reasons seems only to be there in order to have a spectacular scene! But the part that annoys me the most is that so many of the key people all happen to know each other or are in relationships, or just plain related, most of them the stereotypical super smart twenty somethings. This is obviously done to simplify and reduce the amount of characters and to have a quick door into their private lives and struggles, but for me it's the most unrealistic part of the whole show!
Fool Me Once (2024)
Too much, just too much!!
As with virtually all British thrillers, and particularly the Harlen Coben adaptations, the show suffers from having too much, too many characters, too many plot twists (one about every 15 mins) There were so many potential suspects I was beginning to expect a knock on the door from the police to interview me! Too many detectives, the police, the lead actress, the children, the hacker!!
Too many different stories going on here, most of which are not very interesting!! Maybe you can fight your way to the final episode but unfortunately there were too many episodes for me and I gave up at episode 5!!
A Man Called Otto (2022)
Cringe!!
Hmm, I fear Tom Hanks is going down the road so often trodden by ageing actors, never let the script get in the way of a good pay check! As a review it's unusual for me because I did not finish watching the film, thankfully it did not cost me money to leave the Cinema! Or I would have stayed for what I presume is the expected end,with redemption for the character!
The film is full of frankly tired tropes! The grumpy old man (Hank's bearing a strong resemblance at times to Walther Mattheau,) but done too much so that it becomes unbelievable and just silly (and annoying). The over exuberant Mexican neighbour, and her disablingly dumb husband, the other neighbour who appears as a simpleton with his funny walk that is fine for purely comedy effect, but is 30 years too late! The totally predictable 'events' that stop the character carrying out his plan. The cute children who help bring him out of himself. Then we have to endure flashbacks of a younger Otto, played by Tom Hanks own son, another nepobaby!
I left after about 50 mins of cringe inducing scenes and so don't actually know or care how it ended, but I'm probably safe to think that his grumpy heart gets melted by the kindness of his neighbours!
This film would be fine if it was put in a time machine and sent back to the 80's, but we have moved on!
Better Call Saul: Saul Gone (2022)
Solid end.
Still don't understand the over exuberant 10 stars, think there's an element of convincing themselves that the show is better than BB (which it is not)
I have to say I kept thinking about the finale of Seinfeld with the return of characters and a bit of a forced feeling to it. I still don't quite understand the reason for Saul throwing his life away. Are we to believe his actions somehow exonerated Kim and saved her from a potential civil suit? If so it's a rather thin reason and not explained well at all!
But those are the negatives, overall the tone was about right and the wrapping up was fine. I do however think they could have dispensed with a lot of the recent Gene narrative and showed a bit more of Saul's world crumbling during the BB denouement.
Better Call Saul: Waterworks (2022)
Don't get it!!
I'm astonished that this episode at the time of writing is rated 9.8! There seems to be a collective suspension of critical thinking in a deluded effort to make BCS better than BB. Yes the final scene was very good but it hardly makes up for the tedium that precedes it. Did we really need 10 mins of excruciating detail to establish that Kim leads a mundane life, another age wasted on Saul searching a marks house, part of, let's face it, a rather uninteresting storyline! An episode where you could spend five minutes scanning your phone and rest assured that you would not miss much!!
BCS is good, occasionally great but I just always get the feeling that's it a bit too satisfied with itself!
Better Call Saul: Fun and Games (2022)
A logical conclusion
A lot of people were wondering where BCS would go after last weeks episode as a lot of the stories were concluded. But they seemed to forget that there is still a lot to be tied up, what will happen to Saul in his post BB life, how did Saul behave during the BB era, we only saw him from the view point of Walt and Jessy, so there is a lot of story yet to tell. I think the last few episodes will be a far calmer affair as the cards are all put in place to tie up everything.
As for this episode it was a very nice watch, bittersweet in places and the real Saul emerges. The only thing that did not quite sit with me was Eladio siding with Gus over Hector, to me I don't know if that rang true.
I see some people claiming it's now better than BB, don't quite know where this is coming from, maybe sone attempt at coolness, while the recent episodes are up with some of the best of BB you cannot forget a lot of the overblown and downright uninteresting storylines we have had to watch. I always ask would you watch it again, I've watched BB in its entirety 3 times, I may watch the last series of BCS again but I certainly won't be returning to the first few.
Better Call Saul: Point and Shoot (2022)
Finally an episode that deserves its rating
Great episode and more so because it had none of the self aggrandising too smart for it's own good scenes that have peppered the show since the writers started to believe they were writing Shakespeare. This was all story and you could actually never have watched any episode of BCS and it would still make great entertainment. Hopefully with Howard out of the way we can dispense with those somewhat nauseating 'sting' scenes showing how smart Saul is and concentrate on proper story, that was always BB's strength, every scene drove on the narrative and this episode is a fine reminder of that!
The Boys: The Instant White-Hot Wild (2022)
A little bit worrying.
The finale was very underwhelming, with Butcher suddenly changing his mind not very convincing, plus I still don't understand why homelander left them alive! But the most worrying thing has been in the last few episodes, the sense of peril for the 'boys' has waned, in the last episode I was certain frenchie and the girl were doomed but they managed to survive, now the writers 'save' soldier boy and Maeve, is the show losing its edge!
Below Deck Sailing Yacht (2020)
My favorite of the franchise!
The first series is a bit slow the first few episodes in particular, but stick with it as the second series really takes off. With the arrival of Daisy the yacht becomes much more professionally run, Glenn's original perceived goofiness gives way to a seasoned captain and the charters actually run the best out of any of the various versions of the show while even more shenanigans below deck, but despite the turbulent personal dramas we don't get any of the nastiness towards crew members from their superiors or the cliques that form that taint the US and Mediterranean versions! Maybe the lower ratings stems from watching charters with for the most part nice guests and well run! The best part of the show though is when they sail, a nightmare for the interior crew but fantastic to watch, plus due to the size of the yacht we don't have to endure obnoxious guests buzzing around on jet ski's.
Better Call Saul: Carrot and Stick (2022)
Rambling
Problem with better call Saul is that it's a one time watch show, the whole get back at Howard plot is a typical example of this, I found it boring the first time round, I'm certainly never going to line myself up to watch it again! Speaking of that one of Saul's strengths has always been his likeability, most people kind of like Howard and so this whole thing leaves a bad taste in the mouth, maybe that's what the writers are intending, get us to hate Saul, but please at least try and make it entertaining! Also these 'look how smart they are at doing a con' sequences are frankly a bit old hat now! Unfortunately I find myself often playing with my phone during these sections!
Inventing Anna (2022)
Twee!!!
I feared the worst when I saw that it was made by the people who made Bridgerton, and unfortunately I was proved right. It kept that same twee flavour, the slightly outcast friends rallying behind the heroine, (with cringe inducing knowing glances and unfunny funny asides). The staged scenes where you were waiting to see the clapper board!! The over acting throughout!! (Except Julia Garner who is the only good thing about this production). The stupid disclaimer at the start 'this is a true story except the parts that are not!! Too smug for its own good!
The fact that this was a true story with real victims meant the whole bridgerton, everyone is just having a good time, vibe was just the wrong fit! Don't waste your time watching this, the trailers give the impression of a serious slick show and don't portray how cringe and fluffy this is!!
The Lost Daughter (2021)
Good cast wasted!
This is basically a typical introverted French film of the 90's but set in English. No music accompanying lingering shots, often up close, the type of thing film school students knock off as part of a realism assignment. You can count off the cliches! The plot itself is pretty thin and while it has a sense of mystery it's basically because we want to believe that such a stellar cast is there for a reason, but the fact is they are not. The films opening sequence fools us into thinking something of consequence happens but like the whole film that precedes it the ending is also one big anti-climax! Only saving feature is the performance of Jessie Buckley whose face the camera loves!
The Handmaid's Tale: The Crossing (2021)
She could easily fix this........
I'm giving up on this show, too depressing by far, June too smug by far, and I was thinking as I watched the show when they were throwing her friends off the building, she could fix this.. she had ample opportunity, she could ensure she not give away where the hand maids were, and save any more of her friends getting murdered, if she just jumped off herself!! With the added benefit that the show would also end!!
The Midnight Sky (2020)
What a load of....
If the film is anything to go by, the book it's based on must be worse. An apocalypse that's never explained (why bother trying to come up with a scientifically plausible apocalypse). Oblique reference to survivors underground but none of them able to connect to communication equipment on the ground! ( it is set in the future? Can't have been too hard to do) a major moon discovered around Jupiter (how was that missed) a spaceship getting hit by meteor showers and no one having the courtesy to warn them about the impending apocalypse, abandoned space stations ( why bother leaving if everyone on earth was going to die). George clooney just happens to be the father of the astronaut who he imagines as a young girl with him. And probably the stupidest of all, a pregnant astronaut coming back from a mission to Jupiter, I suppose if they could not figure out contraception for astronauts then it's not surprising the earth was doomed.
Bridgerton (2020)
Too slick
As a fan of historical drama I find this very annoying to watch, whether or not you can accept the concept of this being a re-imagining of the Georgian age for me the forced diversity still just feels... for lack of a better word.. forced! But apart from that it's the rich colours that every one wears, the perfectly manicured beards, tresses, make up. The modern dialog, the anachronistic music, I could go on.
As a show itself it's pretty standard fare for modern young audiences But the object here seems to be style over substance. So while not dreadful, for me it's only watchable if you can ignore the slick pc correct production.
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Perfect antidote to these turbulent times
Really enjoyable series and for the reason that it is unashamedly a feel good series, yes there are some poignant scenes and even a tear jerking one toward the end but you never feel uncomfortable watching it. Most series would have had the janitor who thought her chess, arrested or fired after being accused or suspected of some form of abuse, after all a young girl spends lots of time alone with a man in a basement. Many writers could not have resisted the urge to mine this dramatic theme and pain us by seeing this man unjustly accused. When I saw they did not I knew that I ciould relax and just enjoy a high quality feel good show, much needed in these turbulent times.
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Boring
Now I wasn't expecting Terminator 2, but I was expecting a bit of fast paced chewing gum for the brain, but frankly this movie is boring. Too many characters we have no interest in, telegraphed plot and a poor villain, at least the first movie although cliche ridden and totally unbelievable, was entertaining.
Better Call Saul: Bagman (2020)
Almost....
In any other situation this would have been an amazing episode, but is suffers from one major flaw, we know both protagonists survive so it's totally lacking in suspense, unless your lucky enough to never have seen BB. So I just feel it is going on too long on something that won't really move the narrative forward.
Better Call Saul: Wexler v. Goodman (2020)
Good Episode.....but
This was a good enjoyable episode, well acted, funny in places, nice development with Lalo all going along well.....................until they ruined it with the last line. Ridiculous.
Better Call Saul: Dedicado a Max (2020)
The show has become a bit too self satisfied
Yes the writing is excellent, the acting is great , but I hate to say it, the show has become to smug for its own good. You just need to listen to the official podcasts to know that they seem to think that they are writing Shakespeare. Breaking Bad is probably the greatest show ever written but this show just seems to feel as if the writers know it and can do no wrong and due to this the show just feels too contrived and self absorbed.
Non-Stop (2014)
So bad, it's good
This film is so preposterous, has so many plot holes, so many cliches, so many bad accents, so many technological impossibilities, so many bad things that it actually is enjoyable, but not for the reasons the makers intended.
The Young Offenders: Episode #2.1 (2019)
Badly suffering from second season syndrome.
I'm amazed at the rating of 9.4 I am seeing. It's original selling point was really being a parody of a certain Cork city demographic, something many cork people would recognise. However it's now trying to move on from that and doing it terribly badly. You can see where it's trying to go in it's feeble attempt to move the main antagonist towards responsibility and adulthood.
Unfortunately the show is simply NOT funny and all attempts at realism have been abandoned as it searches for laughs by making the characters too stupid to be anyway believable. The opening bike scene being a prime example. Unfortunately the writing would be reminiscent of something a teenager would write for a drama assignment and the actors appearing to know they are spouting terrible dialogue.
By trying to make the show grow up they are losing any appeal it originally had, hamstringing the script writer and the laughs consequently are very few and far between. But then again Mrs Browns boys is hugely successful so what do I know.
Us (2019)
Don't believe the hype
The best thing about this movie is the song at the end.
The Handmaid's Tale: Mayday (2019)
Thought as much
Thank god we won't have to endure June staring into the camera for another year, that go to shot is now so over used it really spoils the show. As for the finale itself it was OK. Plot holes you could drive a truck through and you really have to suspend believe to allow you to think that the plan could ever work. how they easily smuggled over 50 kids onto a 737 is ridiculous, you have to put this in context, June and her husband coukdent get themselves out of the country despite being in sparsely populated border area, yet in the heart of the urban area no one missed over 50 kids and their Martha's. And of course the stupidest scene was all the kids gathered around Joseph as he read from a book, obviously trying to find some redemption for him. Yes the end was emotional but it does not excuse the common sense defying mess that preceded it,
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Eddie Murphy: I Just Wanted To Kill (2019)
Hard work for Jerry
Wow, so disappointed with this episode. Eddie Murphy was so low key and low energy. Jerry was like a talk show host confronted with a guest that didn't want to be there and lhad to lead virtually every bit of conversation.