Rat_27 Reviews

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

I made it less than 40 minutes

[2/10 · 22 December 2023]

I do not like writing reviews on content that I do not finish, but I saw all that I needed to see of this one. Some of the few things I saw that made it unwatchable were the ... strike that. It's one thing, and one thing only. The 100 pound female that is tilling fields and absolutely man handling most of a squadron of armed and armored soldiers. There was also excessive use of the slow-mo cam, and a really jarring backdrop of a ringed planet that just looked ... stupid. The main bad guy that we have been introduced to so far is over the top bad. I could be wrong, but I am guessing that there will be no actual depth or any nuances to his character. So, he is obviously a standard issue white guy. Duh.

Again, this is only a partial review, but it truly felt that the show had entered an unrecoverable nose-dive, and it was just going to only get more and more annoying. It felt very "simple". Almost, color-by-numbers, if you will. Maybe it gets better after the 40-minute mark, but I'll probably never know.

Ahsoka: Part Three: Time to Fly (2023) Season 1, Episode 3

Inane dogwater for simpletons

[2/10 · 31 August 2023]

This episode is pathetically bad. I see one review that says it was "amazing", and I have to wonder what they saw.

The episode starts off with a reenactment of Luke's lightsaber training onboard the Millennium Falcon. We can't do a side-by-side comparison, because this scene is over twice as long. (I had to queue up Star Wars to check - The original is 2 minutes in length. It starts at 58:10 and ends when Han gets the notification bell that they have arrived at Alderaan, which is exactly at the 1:00:00 mark.) This rendition takes 5 minutes to accomplish the same thing.

There is some irrelevant nothingness in the middle, and then comes the absolute worst dogfight in Star Wars history. Ahsoka's ship is intercepted by 6 fighters that have their laser cannons set to tickle. It takes many shots to the rear, but comes out relatively unscathed. It also only has one defensive gun, which happens to be rearward facing, so any competent group of fighters should have no problem in destroying it. This is not the case. It continues it's approach to an installation with fixed turbolaser cannons, but those are only able to deplete 90% of the shield and temporarily disable the ship. While the ship is floating helplessly, the remaining fighters are still unable to destroy it, because Ahsoka is able to use her lightsabers in both a defensive AND offensive capability. That's right, she destroys an enemy fighter ... with a lightsaber. I don't know about you, but a ship that can travel in space shouldn't ever be so close to another ship that you can reach out and touch it. That seems too close. Anyway, then they just fly away from their pursuers. Yup, that's it. They went left and the bad guys went right. Apparently they were tracking them visually and not using any tracking instrumentation. Then Ahsoka and crew turn the lights off and the bad guys just fly right on by and can't find them. ... Seriously.

The episode ends with the first time a male character appears as Ray Stevenson sends some droids off into the woods to find the down ship. He is on screen for all of 30 seconds if you needed a stark reminder that the Force is female.

Very little happened in this episode, and what did happen was laughably bad. The 2 main scenes in this episode are blatant rip-offs of Star Wars scenes, but the piss poor version of them. This season (series) will only have 8 episodes, and this was a complete waste of one of them.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

Don't waste your time

[3/10 · 28 December 2021]

Nothing to see here, this movie is complete 'garbage tier'. They do their best to lure you in with 'member berries, but it isn't nearly enough to sit through this dumpster fire of a movie. There is maybe 2 hours of dialogue in this movie, and ... nothing relevant was said. Morpheus was smarter than Neo for skipping this this one, and allowing his character to be recast. Same with Agent Smith. The only reason this movie gets a '3', and not a '1', is because Keanu Reeves gets bonus points. I remember pausing the movie at one point, and realizing that there was somehow still way over an hour to go, and it depressed me even more. Avoid at all costs.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 1: The Mandalorian (2019) Season 1, Episode 1

Definitely has potential to be great

[8/10 · 13 November 2019]

I liked it. I see the negative reviews, and am not on board with many of them. I thought the CGI was fine, and I enjoyed seeing the IG unit in action. I liked the interaction with the woman at the forge, and I hope to see his armor transform throughout the series. I'm definitely on board with this one, and want to see where it goes from here.

I did think that there was a great deal of nostalgia sprinkled throughout the episode, and that may wear thin after time. Roasted Salacious Crumb made me laugh, and I have watched it more than once to see who is in the background. But, on that note, Mandalorians ARE a background story, so I am very interested to see how Favreau depicts this world for the audience.

Black Summer: Heist (2019) Season 1, Episode 6

Ammo fool, you need ammo

[1/10 · 1 May 2019]

Grabbed rifles, a couple of handguns, and ... zero bullets.

Black Summer: Summer School (2019) Season 1, Episode 3

"Do you know how to use this?"

[1/10 · 1 May 2019]

After all of that effort to make sure they keep a weapon, including losing one of their team, he then wastes HOW many bullets to never drop his target? Apparently 12, because he only had 2 left when he got to the diner, and he used 1 on the real Pvt Spears.

Black Summer (2019–2021)

These are easily the worst zombies to date

[2/10 · 1 May 2019]

So, the infection is in the air, or it's some massive chemical spill or something, because people turn into zombies almost instantly after death. In most other zombie films, there is the one wounded survivor in the group who has a zombie bite, that eventually turns, and that is how the audience finds out about the outbreak. OK, so they are on their feet immediately. What do they want? Are they after brains, like the George Romero version? Are they hungry? Why do they want to eat people? Are they just mad, like 28 Days Later? Why? When that first zombie got up, she was PISSED. How the hell was she running so fast? Didn't she just get wrecked by an SUV doing 40? It launched her body 15 feet and killed her, but then she was able to run people down without even so much as a limp. Running on broken legs doesn't work, because of the way the skeleton is designed. And then she took two shotgun blasts to the chest, and was STILL combat operational. I am not sure if anyone else noticed, but that was a chunky ass zombie. That booty never did that much cardio when she was alive. Zombies aren't supposed to be stronger and faster than humans, and these even seem capable of problem solving.

tl;dr - Zombies turn too fast, and they are too OP.

The Walking Dead: The Calm Before (2019) Season 9, Episode 15

Has anyone else seen Face/Off?

[3/10 · 1 April 2019]

I wanted to dig this episode, since everyone was talking about it, so I tried. ... How in the HELL did she get that face to stay on? No slipping at all? Shut the front door.

This series has required a lot of disbelief, and it's getting worse. Once upon a time, one had to be covered in greasy, grimy, gopher guts to walk among the dead, and now all you need is a Halloween mask? Whatevs.

I didn't recognize several of the heads on sticks, and I vaguely cared about one. Maybe. He was only relevant in relation to the King and Queen. A lot of people are calling this the "Red Wedding" of TWD, and I would have to disagree. The show will go on with zero impact from the loss of these characters.

... keep purging.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

How to love the friendzone

[1/10 · 10 March 2019]

This is a garbage tier movie. It only serves as product placement for Disney, and it will not survive the test of time. All of the pop culture jokes will be lost over the next few years, and that is half of the movie.

There is not a strong plot, and it is hard to separate Venelope from Sarah Silverman's voice, and that gets to be annoying and grating.

No one needs to watch this tripe.

Bumblebee (I) (2018)

Please make it stop. I want off.

[2/10 · 25 December 2018]

This movie was terrible, awful and bad on so very many levels. I gave it plus 1 star for the soundtrack. I grew up in the 80's, so I liked the music choices, and I laughed at the music rejections. I have no intention of ever watching this crap again. I see the headline review give it 10 stars, and call it the "best transformers movie ever". I could not possibly disagree more. It is not only a bad Transformers movie, but it is a bad movie as well. The effects were all right, but that isn't nearly enough to carry a film.

I know it's becoming common-place, but I hate movies that depict every male as weak or evil. The main male in the movie is John Cena, and you can tell that he is a bad guy from the trailer. as she says the word "terrible", he is shown for the first time. The love interest is portrayed as a geeky dude who has a crush on her, and part of the comedy of the movie is her shooting him down. He is a very weak and ineffectual character. Her little brother is an annoying little brother, and her step-dad is flawed because he smiles too much. There are two random characters in the middle of the movie, and they depict the male of the couple as an insufferable ass, and of course ... he is killed, while his girlfriend is spared (for absolutely no reason).

It felt like I was watching an 80's movie (which was referenced more than once during the movie), but the scenes were forced. For instance, at the beach party scene (central to most teen movies from the 80's), our heroine is given the opportunity to be one of the cool kids. It involved cliff jumping, which she should be good at, because she was on the school dive team? ... No idea why that would the case, but she wasn't wearing a bathing suit. So, when she backed down from the challenge, the common-sense response would simply be ... "I'm wearing jeans, and am not about to jump into the ocean." Instead, they make it a big scene of her losing face, and feeling bad. Then, there is a chance for the mean, hot girl to come up and be mean to her. Keep in mind that this is a beach party (on a cliff. whatever), and the mean, hot girl is wearing a skin-tight dress and heels. Sure. Why not? They NEVER come back to this part. This movie might be awesome if you are an 18-year old girl, but I am not, so I thought it sucked. Oh yeah, it was her birthday, and no one really cared. Does that sound familiar?

Later on, Bumblebee takes Charlie with him to go stop the bad guys from sending the message. I was wondering why he brought her at all, since she couldn't help. He stuffs her in a garbage bin to keep her safe. But ... why did he even bring her in the first place. He should have left her miles away, but ... the plot needed it. Lots of things happen to convenience the plot, so it makes me think that the author is ... not good. Bumblebee kills a Decepticon with a missile, but a missile hits the dumpster that Charlie is hiding in, and she is fine. Maybe that's why he hid her in there ... it was magic, or something. There is a point where Charlie tells Cena that the Autobot is "more human than you!" ... wat? That isn't even rationally possible. Again, might make sense to an angry teenage girl when people forget her birthday, but I am not in that demographic.

The writing was terrible, the character interaction was poor, and the plot was color by numbers. I will never watch this movie again, and I will likely skip anything written by Christina Hodson .

Lost in Space: Impact (2018) Season 1, Episode 1

Too much plot armor

[3/10 · 13 April 2018]

This will be short, but first off, I think it's astronomically improbable that there is a planet with Earth's exact atmosphere composition and gravitational pull. The middle part was pretty ridiculous as well, and I find it odd that Will stayed so fresh and so clean during a forest fire. To end ... how is it possible to melt the ice around the suit, and not boil the contents within it? This is some sort of ice that is not even vaporizing when burned by magnesium, and is freezing almost instantly. And, the "suit" is merely a helmet and a chest piece. If Judy is stuck in frozen ice for FIVE hours, how is she not a block of ice herself? There is no reason she should have survived this.

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 7 (2018) Season 6, Episode 7

Another filler episode

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

This entire episode is about the architect of the secret prison that the main bad guy is supposed to be held in. Both the good and the bad guys go through her daughter to find her, and the daughter works in a Western-themed bar, so we get a good ole fashioned bar fight.

IT guy gets jacked. Folds in 30 seconds under interrogation. Action guy #2 (Mac) gets close to a girl, but she gets killed. He then he goes on a revenge rampage and attacks men with assault rifles with his ... sidearm. Yup. Oh, he is fine, because 9x19 beats 5.56x45 in this world, or something. Whatever. We then find out that they were close in an out of sequence scene of them setting up a future date that will now never happen. I think it was an attempt to humanize the character more, or invoke some empathy for him, but I found it poorly done. I rarely like non-linear storytelling, and this was done in horrific fashion.

Anyway, the good guys get the information that they needed from the contractor (of course it's a woman. Everyone of any importance, or relevance this season has been female. The men are all bad guys, mooks or distractions.), but the bad guys escape with her in their custody. She was portrayed as a slightly bad person, so she's probably not going to make it. This show has been as subtle as a chainsaw.

Almost done ...

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 6 (2018) Season 6, Episode 6

Call of Duty!!!

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

OK, nothing great happens in this episode. The Tough Chick and the IT Guy get busy. She has interesting ink, but a manly gait. The Captain has a moral dilemma about her actions in the field, and the team tracks the bad guys to Chernobyl. Anyone who played COD4 should recognize some of the landmarks that they show. I kept looking for that damn pack of dogs. Anyway, there is a ridiculous bar fight, and Tough Chick rescues one of the action guys. ... Again. The Captain has a one-night stand, but then blows up the guys' life. Here's the rub: the scene was meant to show her dealing (poorly) with her problem. She decks the guy and tells his girlfriend that she just got cheated on. But, he exits stage left, as he wasn't the focus of the scene. The grrl power is strong in this episode. Then Pickle Yuri shows up, but ... loses a hand fight with a 100-pound woman. He's a solid 260. Whatever.

Let's do the time warp again! While killing a trained, armed soldier The Captain gets exposed to the nerve agent. Oh no! However, she has enough time to see the warning sign that says Atropine (in Russian), and run out of the room before the first safety door shuts. They prop open the second safety door, which makes me question the integrity of a secure facility, but ... whatever. She is foaming at the mouth, and our action guys hold off some bad guys. They actually don't need saving for once. They then talk to the evil scientist who created the nerve gas, but he can't find the one syringe he has of the antidote. Yes, I am serious. There is a serum, and there is only one. Moving on. The Evil Scientist explains that her body is shutting down, yada yada yada, and they tell him to make more of the antidote. I'm still not kidding. So, he breaks out his My First Chemistry set and starts doing evil scientist stuff. Then he gets 360 noscope headshotted, but the inject her with the almost ready new serum, and she ... lives! Yup. There is another scene later that illustrates why this was so ridonkulous. Before we wrap that up, the Tough Chick gets in another dig at one of the action guys, because that's always fun.

So, during the episode the main bad chick was trying to pull as fast one on the Evil Russian Villain, but she gets caught. However, during his monologue, she grabs the now open container of nerve gas (why in hell he would have opened it is anyone's guess. Oh yeah, plot necessity.) and then she smashes it to release the gas. Everyone in the room dies, but she is able to inject herself with the Atropine (this is the missing syringe from earlier), and she lives too. Of course. However, everyone else in the room died within seconds. I guess the Captain just had a time dilation bubble around her or something.

The episode ends with another plot twist, but ... I really don't care. It feels unimportant.

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 5 (2017) Season 6, Episode 5

Mary Sue to the rescue!!!

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

This episode was the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a long time. I will try to make this review a tl;dr so you don't have to watch it. It's really REALLY bad.

Starts off with the new character from last episode, and we now see he's a bad guy. Actually, really bad. And, then we get another cartoon villain. And he's Russian. Perfect!

OK, bla bla bla, the team tracks the chemical weapons and assaults the lab. More terrible muzzle sweeps. Flags all around. Then they send in the Tough Chick undercover to the Evil Russian Villain's house party disguised as a hooker (wait ... call-girl, because she is still alive, Cyril.) and of course that works flawlessly. But wait, the Evil Russian Villain wants her to deflower his virgin son and make him a man. I'm not kidding. So, she goes in, plays video games with him for a while, and learns the secret access code to the safe room that they are trying to access. Leaves the room, and then starts a brute force attack on the keypad. She knows 4 digits, and assumes that it's a 6-digit code. Might have easily been 8, or the pattern inverted. Anyway, she cracks it in 3 tries, but the system doesn't seem to mind the failed attempts. There is also a camera in the hallway pointed at the door, but security fails to notice this. They DO notice when she is in the room, and then they move to apprehend her. She grabs the ledger from the secret compartment she finds in record time, and arms herself with a letter opener, and then proceeds to kill NINE armed, trained security guards. She is then held at gunpoint, but escapes when the two "main"(?) characters serve perfectly as a distraction (as they have been doing all season), and she leaps out of a second story window to freedom. Oh yeah, she then engages targets with a handgun from the back of a speeding motorbike ... shooting INTO a crowd of funeral goers. It's OK, she is an expert marksman, and only hits the bad guys. There is a nice shot up her skirt when she jumps out the window, but that's the only good part of the entire episode.

Then the boys get captured, and get rescued by the girls. And ... we get introduced to yet another Russian cartoon villain. His name is Yuri, and he likes pickles. There is some interaction with the main bad chick, and she gets back on her mission.

So ... all of this was to say that Section 20 got the ledger, but someone named Yuri is now after them.

I am at the halfway point, and I have absolutely NOTHING good to say about the return of Strike Back. This sucks. ... Next.

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 4 (2017) Season 6, Episode 4

Boring conclusion to a 2-parter

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

The plot is starting to congeal, but slowly. The Evil Chick is still on the loose, and her parts of her plan are starting to be revealed. The tactics displayed in this episode were laughable. It is starting to feel that this whole thing was phoned in.

One thing I noticed was the these two episodes had local bad guys. By that, I mean ones that were clearly not intended to be around for the whole season. But, for these two episodes, it seemed like the guy was more hung up on his sister than anything else. The chick flick vibe was strong in this episode.

Since we are at the halfway point of the season, there is a surprise twist at the very end. I'm 40% of the way through the season, and I'm now finding myself powering through it. I think it took me three tries to get through this episode.

... soldiering on.

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 3 (2017) Season 6, Episode 3

Slow episode to drag the plot along

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

Not very much happens in this episode. The guys go under cover, and it doesn't go well. It's pretty cookie cutter writing throughout, and the same lazy acting and character interaction. You need to watch this episode to understand the next one, though, as a new character is introduced. This one is probably the most boring of the 8 I have seen.

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 2 (2017) Season 6, Episode 2

Time and space are relative

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

So, our heroes receive a distress call from a downed helo. I can't find any reference to Ajir, Libya on the interwebs, but the location on the map is about an hour drive from Tripoli. Somehow, Section 20 has enough time to formulate an insert, extraction and exfil plan, kit up, and fly to this location in time to save the guy that they are after.

To close the episode, our heroes make a miracle sprint for 20 seconds, which should have gotten them about 150 meters. But ... spoiler alert: they make it.

Then the BDA team shows up, who I am assuming are American and they give our boys a "hoorah". ... I don't know what branch says that. It's not the Navy, Army or the Corps. Air Force sounds like the Army, so maybe it was the Coast Guard? If there had been an actual adviser with military experience (like I felt the previous seasons had ... well, 1-4 ), I would have expected them to catch that. No one says "hoorah".

Oh yeah, I'm starting to notice horrible muzzle sweeps that I don't remember seeing in the previous seasons. Again, I don't think that they have an adviser on set, and it is starting to show.

Bad acting, worse writing, lack of attention to detail, unrealistic time warps ... This isn't getting any better. Trudging on.

Strike Back: Retribution: Part 1 (2017) Season 6, Episode 1

Wave off! Wave off! Wave OFF!!!

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

Strike Back used to be my favorite show, and now it has devolved into absolute crap. I wrote my full review on the series page, but I will try to review the episodes, and why I thought each one sucked more than the next.

This episode starts with an extraction team that gets ambushed. There is no viable reason that one of the show's main characters survives this. His plot armor is +10, or it is just lazy writing.

Then we see who seems to be the main bad guy, getting chastised by a woman. And that theme continues for the next 8 episodes. This show is now about the bossiest chicks on the planet. Then the two action guys meet up, and they are saved by the Tough Chick. This is another theme that continues for the next 8 episodes. In fact (spoiler alert for my review of ep08) she even asks if they are getting sick of having their asses saved by these chicks, and I emphatically yelled at my television that I was. Then the Tough Chick makes a joke that would never fly if the genders were reversed, but ... hey, equality. Finally, we are introduced to the Captain, and her intro is about how hot she is. Then she comes in, takes charge, and is showcased to be even more hot. Finally, we get introduced to another villain, who is cartoon evil. All of these character interactions were sub-par, and the buddy vibe feels very forced. This ain't Stonebridge and Scott.

I was excited at the start of the episode, but at the end I was scowling at the screen. ... I pushed on.

Strike Back (2010–2020)

What the hell happened to this show?!

[2/10 · 17 February 2018]

I just adjusted my review of the series from a 9 to a 2. It used to be a great show, and I was very excited to see that it was returning for a sixth season. I have never been more disappointed in a reboot than .... oh, wait. That Ghostbusters debacle. Because that is what just happened. It used to be a great show for everyone, and now it's a ridiculous chick flick. I just finished Episode 8, and it hasn't gotten any better. The girls are constantly saving the day, and the two actual "operators" are basically used for distractions and needing saving.

In the opening episode, the "tough" chick walks in on one of the guys finishing a shower, and makes a few jokes implying he wasn't well endowed. Imagine if that was reversed, and a male character was leering at some woman in an open shower bay, and then repeatedly pointing out how flat-chested she was. Yeah, the harpies would lose their minds.

This show went from great to pathetically awful in one season. #sad

Electric Dreams: Human Is (2017) Season 1, Episode 6

But my marriage!!!

[1/10 · 18 January 2018]

By this time, I had already started to cool on the series. And ... that is an understatement. I thought the first one was OK, the second one was absolutely horrible, and here we go ... Malcolm in the Middle guy. Nope. This one sucked even more. The show is about a military guy, but the main character is his wife. And ... she jeopardizes the ENTIRE human race, simply because the invading alien has given her a happier marriage??!?!?! Are you effing kidding me? Everyone might die, but ... as long as she gets her tingles, so be it? And, the admiralty witnessed two alien lifeforms. Confirmed one of them, and then what? Thought the other just went away and got distracted or something? Why?

This is a terrible show, and this was one of the worst episodes. Feminism has absolutely ruined sci-fi.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

There is a reason there is no buzz about this film

[1/10 · 25 December 2017]

This movie was terrible. There was no advancement in the story line of Star Wars. The characters are all inconsequential, even in death. The women in this movie are all superhero amazing, and the men are bumbling idiots. Take that as you will. There is a new twist on the cantina scene, but I found it mind-numbingly asinine. The movie lacks continuity, and plot lines that are introduced go ... no where. On the plus side, I saw some (two) cool things with an X-Wing, but then a really dumb one for comedic purposes. However, I also saw a spacecraft use gravity bombs. Yes, gravity. ... In space. There is more ridiculousness that happens in space, but I won't spoil it. But, it was truly a jaw-dropping, WTF moment in cinema. It made me wonder if the people who wrote this script had ever seen a Star Wars movie before. The only possible way it could've been worse was if the Klingons had shown up, or if their warp drive needed more dilithium crystals or something. I saw Star Wars in the theater 40 years ago. I do not intend to see Episode IX, even on cable. I no longer care what happens in this story. Disney has ruined it.

The Last Survivors (2014)

Please. For all that is holy ... skip this P.O.S.

[1/10 · 22 May 2017]

There is nothing redeemable about this awful piece of tripe. Holy isht was it bad. The whole movie is about some 17-year old girl trying to fix a Cesna. She goes through some hard times trying to find a distributor cap for the plane. ... That is the ENTIRE synopsis. Eff the Cliff's Notes. That's the movie.

Seriously, skip it. It's ... HORRIBLE. Bad acting, bad casting, bad story, bad cinematography, bad ... everything. THe final boss- monster fight is her and another chick fighting with a (I isht you not) katana. Yup.

Bad in EVERY way possible.

Now, if you are a North Korean prison warden ... you should put this movie in your inventory, and play it on repeat. Everyone else? ... Avoid at ALL costs. If someone puts this DVD in your Christmas stocking this year ... burn their house to the ground, and go pee on the ashes.

Couldn't POSSIBLY be worse, unless it was made in Nigeria, by some random prince. I am angry that I watched the whole thing. Granted, about halfway through, I realized it was in a flat spin, losing altitude, but I stuck it out. I suffered so that you don't have to. Eject. Eject. EJECT!!!

Saturday Night Live: Aziz Ansari/Big Sean (2017) Season 42, Episode 12

All political. Not funny once.

[1/10 · 23 January 2017]

It is unfortunate that Aziz Ansari hosted this, because I usually think that he is very funny. Admittedly, I have not watched SNL in a very long time, and I had heard that the writing has gone downhill. It's hard to believe that this is what passes for "comedy" these days.

Leslie Jones was Leslie Jones, and you know exactly what you are going to get with her. Is the phrase 'one-trick pony' inclusive enough? Good.

The music was good, but I like Big Sean, so that was easy to do. He is raising the score to a 1.

Most every skit has politically based, which meant they all had the same theme. Trump bad. Obama good. Got it.

It will be several years before I decide to tune into SNL again. This episode was a complete waste of time. I watched it because I read an article that was talking about the opening monologue, so I decided to watch it. ... I regret that decision.

Humans (2015–2018)

Shows exactly why Blade Runner squads would be needed

[3/10 · 21 January 2017]

I tried very hard to like this show, but it's really just a long chick-flick spread out over 2 seasons. There is very little redeeming about it. I see a lot of other reviews talking about how "heartfelt" the show is, and one person referred to it as a "thought provoking show rooted in reality with believable characters." Then they went on to say "It's human." I don't know if they ate paint chips as a child, or had some sort of oxygen- depriving injury during their formative years, but this is just plain incorrect. The show is about sentient androids. Neither the software, nor the hardware is anywhere close to a reality, so that's wildly inaccurate. I have absolutely no idea which character they think is "believable", so that is clearly an opinion I share no part of. I think the premise is fairly interesting, moreso because of the recent release of Westworld, but the idea of sentient machines has been in our media for a while. So, it's not original, but it tells the story from a unique point of view. However, that point of view is as left field as it can get.

This show depicts a man (we can actually barely call him that) who gets replaced by android labor. OK, that seems like it would be an actual "realistic" issue in a world that had a workforce that didn't require sleep, food or pay. One would assume that there would be zero menial jobs, so it is curious that the economy hasn't collapsed, but ... maybe that is TOO realistic for this series. The show anthropomorphizes the androids (which were obviously supposed to emulate humans), but other than this ghost in the code (which is supposed to be impossible), they would actually be the walking toasters that some people treat them as. And why SHOULD that be a problem?

Once the androids go rogue, it seems very clear that they are a viable threat. They absolutely should be put down. En masse. Based on the behaviors that they exhibited over the past 2 seasons, I would completely understand the need for Blade Runners once androids start walking among us.

The S02 finale depicted the most selfish, arrogant act I have seen on television. I am curious to see the start of S03E01, just to see how they explain it. By all rationale, thousands of people would have just lost their lives. All because of the daughter uploading code that basically destroyed a bunch of property that wasn't hers. But ... feelings.

All in all, I think that this show could touch on some really interesting concepts about humanity, but instead it's just another girl power show about pretty people with iPhone charging cables stuck in their butts.

Humans: Episode #2.8 (2016) Season 2, Episode 8

They just killed thousands of people

[2/10 · 21 January 2017]

When Mattie decided to change the world, she killed anyone that was flying on an airplane piloted by a synth. The audience was shown the ambulance that barely slid off the road because it miraculously was almost at it's destination, but what about all of the other ones? What about the ambulances that had critical patients in the back, but the driver decided he wanted to go look at the birds? I know that it was supposed to represent their freedom, and it was supposed to be beautiful, but if you think about it for a moment, it is an incredibly selfish and dangerous thing to do. And ... it was to save one person? Two, technically, but since there was no way the other was going to be allowed to live, so countless human lives were just endangered in a panicked attempt to protect Mia.

And the show is called Humans?