Change Your Image
lennybuttz
Reviews
Salem's Lot (2024)
Please Stop Making terrible Movies of this book!
Do we really need another move about Salem's Lot? No, we don't. This is the third move based on the book and there was also a disastrous sequel, Return to Salem's Lot. I have watched all 4 movies and I can honestly say I didn't like any of them.
I was 16 when I spied a shiny black covered book on a table at a rummage sale. I was drawn to it and had to pick up. The title was in raised letters the same color as the rest of the book, Salem's Lot. There wasn't much of a description on the back of the book and I'd never heard of the author before. I had no idea who Stephen King was but I wanted the book and it was only 50 cents so I dug the change out of my pocket and bought the book.
This was the most incredible book I'd read in years. For half the book I had no idea what it was about. I didn't even guess that it was about Vampires! When I finally discovered what was actually happening my eyes almost popped out of my head and I didn't put that book down until I finished reading. By the time I got to the end I was sweating out of every pore of my body, my heart was racing and I was breathing like I'd just run around the block as break neck speed. I hated that it was over.
I was so excited when the first movie came out, I can't remember if it was billed as a mini series or a 2 part movie. It was horrible. It obviously had a small budget, none of the characters looked what I imagined them to look like, the story was different. I couldn't figure out why anyone would make an extended movie and not make as close to the book as possible?
This movie was terrible. I think it's nice that Hollywood is using so many homely actors to play main roles but I'm sorry I miss handsome men staring in movies. Lewis Pullman is not a handsome man. There's something off about his face. He looks like he was born with a cleft pallet and had it corrected. Again, things like that bother me, they make me feel uncomfortable. He had greasy hair, those funny lips a wide flat face and a plain monotone voice. How did he get this part? I'm guessing he got it because he worked for scale?
I did enjoy seeing Alfre Woodard in the movie. She looked good and I suspect she just did this movie for the money and maybe to get her insurance updated and her union dues paid. Even though her part wasn't great she did the best she could with what she had.
I was pretty sure this movie was going to be a disappointment but I had to watch it just in case they did follow the original story line and it was good. That didn't happen. It barely had any connections to the book. Gary Dauberman said he wanted to make Vampires scary again. He obviously has a very relaxed version of what scary is. We barely saw the Vampire and when we did, he didn't look scary he looked gross. He was icky for sure but icky doesn't translate to scary.
This was sort of like A Reader's Digest condensed version but not really. They cut out a lot of the book that made the story scary and intriguing. What was left over was just a hodge podge mess.
I can see a director watching the first 3 movies and thinking, "I can do a better version of this incredible book" it wouldn't be hard to outdo all of the previous movies but he did what I thought was impossible. He made a worse version than any of the previous movies.
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New (2023)
Boring and Distracting
I really liked the original Teagarden mysteries but when I found out what Cameron was doing I was no longer a fan. I'm OK with her having her own personal beliefs but she should have kept them to herself. I was hoping they would replace her and keep going with the movies.
I am disappointed with this rendition. Frankly, it was boring. New writers? I am sorry I know Skyler has had acting jobs before. I never saw any of her previous work but, YIKES! This lady couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. She's horrible absolutely horrible. She really reminds me of Lindsey Lohan, she looks a lot like Lindsey and sounds like her. OMG why is this 30 year old playing a girl who is supposed to be in her early 20s?
You know what this is? It's The Blob where they have an obviously much older actor playing a teenager or close to it. C'mon, did you see the bags under her eyes? Is she wearing a wig during the whole movie? They must have cut some corners and made the actors style their own hair because that red matted teagarden mop is a Hot Mess. Obviously they didn't hire a profession makeup artist because they should have been able to cover up the lines better than they did. The other lady with the curly black hair. Yeah that looks like K Mart wig if ever I saw one. Another horrible hair style.
The writing was terrible, the dialogue was terrible the presentation of the dialogue was terrible. Cheers for Marilu Tenner still being able to act at her age. She looks great, a better life through surgery. She was never known for her acting abilities either. She had some moments here and there but they were few and far between. She doesn't get a lot of screen time so I'm OK with her.
Have these writers ever written for television before? They writing sucked, the plot was stupid. It reminds me of the Andy Hardy movies when all the kids got together and said, "Hey! Let's put on a show!" except the actors in the Andy Hardy movies were talented.
If there's nothing else on to watch and you're not in the mood to read or you're up to date on all your podcasts, it's 2am and you can't find anything else to watch. This will help you fall asleep. Just keep the volume low so you can stay asleep.
What's the deal with all the male characters looking like gay boys. The boys are prettier than the women some of the boys are Freaking H-O-T HOT but seem totally gay. Aren't there any actors left in Hollywood who can at least act straight? It's not that I have anything against cute gay boys believe me I don't. I just find it difficult to believe an unbelievable story line when these cute gay boys are younger and prettier than the women and they kind of pretending to be straight. Yeah, so's my Aunt Fanny.
Anyone But You (2023)
Old Fart Young Chick
Remember when actors went to school for acting and they took classes. They even studied under expert teachers, they learned how to use props and where to look and how to act natural.
I don't think that happens anymore? I love my elder actors, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford and so many others but these guys are way way too old for the roles they're playing and I'm kind of sick of it. I want to see an age appropriate actor playing their own age in a movie.
The chick in this movie is the right age but that dorky old fart is 10 years older than her. He's not handsome. He's not ugly he's like the best friend of the really handsome guy but not at 35. At 35 these average looking guys are married with kids not chasing after 26 year old bimbos they wait until they're in their 40s to do that.
Neither one of these people can act, they're not very attractive and the movie sucks. Where are the young good looking actors? We never had this problem before but suddenly we don't have any real actors entering the business just old farts playing roles their children are too old to play.
3 Body Problem (2024)
I hope you know Chinese
All the reviews were good so I gave this a shot. After 15 minutes of only hearing Chinese I gave up. If there had been subtitles maybe I would've watched longer but I doubt it. What I saw on the screen was pretty boring. It's great they are making shows for the Chinese speaking community but I am not a member of that community so this show is not for me.
Is it presumptuous of me to want subtitles? I don't think so. If you're going to market this show in America then you should add subtitles or have an English speaking version. I'm all for authenticity but I have to know what's going on and I don't want to just watch.
Tracker (2024)
I liked it. For the most part.
I thought the premiere was pretty good. I like most of the characters, not crazy about the gray lesbian dog lady but hey, at least she's not a cat lady. The other lesbian is cool. Justin still looks great without his shirt but he's getting kind of long in the tooth for characters like this. He's almost 50 and once that body is gone his acting parts are going to dry up because lets face it, Justin is not a great actor but he looks pretty.
Compared to most of what's available as a TV show this is still a pretty good show. It didn't have long quiet silences or long interludes filled with horrible music. The plot moved right along.
The one thing I did not like about this show is the history thing. Why do so many dramatic TV characters have to have some personal flaw or tragedy that they can't forget about? The horse is dead stop beating it come up with a new plot. It always ends up overshadowing the whole show and bringing it down.
I'd like the show to concentrate on what it says it's about, a guy tracking down missing people or things. I enjoy that. I don't enjoy all the dramatic angst about personal problems. Why can't we have a happy character who enjoys his life the way it is? I have enough problems in my own life, that's why I watch TV shows, to escape from reality for an hour.
I'll keep watching this show until it gets too emotionally involved in his past problems or until it turns into a complete soap opera. I expect I'll make it through the first season but if it doesn't have at least 12 episodes I won't be back for another season. I'm sick of waiting 14 to 16 months for a mini-series.
Oppenheimer (2023)
I Did Not Like It. Not at all.
You know how excited a new film student is about making his first movie and how he has all of these grand ideas of what he could do if only he had the budget to do them. Well Nolan had the budget and the freedom to do what he wanted and he damn well did it.
I give him credit for his conceptualization of making a movie as chaotic as the atomic bomb but as great as that conception is I did not enjoy watching it. If you ever experience motion sickness chances are you will experience that during this movie. It was disturbing for me to watch because scenes jumped so quickly from one decade to another, from color to black and white, good grief you really have to pay attention or you'll get lost in the hurricane. As if the fast changing visuals aren't enough there's that music. The music is also chaotic. Obviously the them of this movie is chaos.
Have you seen Wednesday playing Paint it Black on her cello? That performance raised emotions in me, strong emotions. There was so much going on taking me places but in Oppenheimer that violin music which sounded as if it were being played by a new violin student was excruciating. It reminded me of 2 cats fighting in an alley. It made my heart race but not in a good way.
I like Cillian Murphy but my goodness at times it looked like he was being recorded by an I phone. I don't know what kind of lens Nolan used for his close ups but it had a slight fish eye effect and to me, it was disturbing. Cillian looked menacing, delusional and at times like an animated corpse. His skin was pulled so tightly I wonder if he just had a face lift before doing this movie? His appearance was scary.
Nope, I didn't like this movie. There was too much going on and frankly I freaking hate movies that flash back and forth between present and past. I've always hated that scheme. I know some directors think it's clever but it's not, it's an old, old, old cliche. It's not original it's been done to death. I get more out of movie when it's done in chronological order. This was almost like watching 2 different movies from 2 different times that were spliced together by a film student making a mash up.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Suspensful, Surprsing a bit slow moving.
I did like this show and Kate Winslet is simply amazing. Her performance is incredible simply incredible, it's unlike anything I've seen her do before. If this had been a theatrical movie I'd consider her portrayal Oscar worthy. She spoke with a deep voice, I'm not sure if it's a Pennsylvania accent or not, it wasn't British but I wasn't sure where they were located? I suspected it was supposed to be in Canada because the county detective had a heavy Canadian accent. All of his O's had that "oot" sound. Maybe I wasn't paying attention or it sped by so quickly I knew they were in a place called Easttown but I had no idea if it is a real or fictional place. I had look it up after I watched the series to see where it was supposed to have taken place and I was surprised to see it was Pennsylvania. Hardly anyone talked with the same accent which I could understand if it were a big city but in small cities people usually have their own inflections. This was all over the place. I'd say more people sounded Canadian than American.
I did find it strange how so many people who supposedly grew up together spoke so differently but eventually I just let it go. If it hadn't been for Kate's performance I wouldn't have stayed with the show. It's a basic story line that copies the same formula such as the Broadchurch series and other European crime shows. It doesn't reveal much in the first episode and things move along very slowly. 3 or 4 episodes are mostly filler episodes. Frankly this would have been a great 2 hour movie. Compared to most series being made today this was good.
There are some good actors in this show. It's great seeing Jean Smart again, I've always enjoyed her acting. Julianne Nicholson was wonderful. There were a lot of actors in the show that I just did not like. Some of them were supposed to be likeable for example Mare's ex-husband, I think he was supposed to be a likeable character but oh man he made my skin crawl. A lot of characters made my skin crawl. I think this was done deliberately to keep us guessing on who the "bad guy" was. It was a little annoying how there were so many red herrings. At first it was intriguing then it was OMG how many suspects are they going to throw in front of us?
The suspense kept building from one episode to the next but the "bad guy" was revealed it was kind of anti-climatic? I wanted a little more oompf I wanted the writers to be better than they were. Overall I liked it, I loved Kate Winslet. If there's a 2nd season I hope they hire better writers but even if they didn't, I'd watch just to see Kate's performance. She really was phenomenal. She became Mare making me forget she was Kate. I think this was a very brave role for her to take on and I hope she gets some kind of professional recognition for what she did.
Black Adam (2022)
Still Not Sure What It's About?
I've never heard of Black Adam before this movie came out and I'm still not sure of who he is or why the movie is called Black Adam? I can say, I didn't like it. It was confusing because I didn't really understand what was going on. There was a long flashback scene but it didn't make a lot of sense to me and it didn't give a clear picture of what to expect.
I don't know, maybe the producer wanted to keep things as a mystery? I never heard of any of the "Heroes" in the movie. I'm not sure if I missed a movie that introduced the other characters but that's how it felt, like I came into the middle of a story.
I really like Dwayne Johnson as an actor. Man I loved his Jungle Cruise movie and many of his other movies but this felt like he was not into playing this character at all. He was very stoic. Maybe that's the persona of Black Adam? I don't know but if it is he's boring as Hell. He's not likeable but I don't think he's supposed to be likeable? I didn't hate him. I'm ambivalent. If he makes a sequel I'm not going to watch it. I didn't like the kid in the movie either, he was so prissy. His mom was cool, a strong character which makes it even stranger that the kid is such a priss. The kid was as unlikable as Black Adam.
There wasn't much of a story, mostly just fight scenes. The goofy uncle was comic relief, he was funny but I'm glad he's not my uncle because he was pretty useless. I almost liked Peirce Brosnan's character but again Brosnan didn't put any effort into playing the character. It was like several of the actors just phoned in a performance.
I am really stunned at how awful Dwayne Johnson was in this part. It doesn't make sense. I wonder if he was forced to play the character like paint drying on a wall or if he didn't like the director or being in the picture period? This is a big thumbs down for me.
A League of Their Own (2022)
Not very well done.
I read a bunch of positive reviews about this series but I can't agree with them. The one thing I absolutely hate about a period piece is when the director doesn't get the music right. If this takes place in the 40s why are we hearing music from the 60s and 70s? Is there a time travel thing going on that I missed?
The style of the clothes is OK but the colors aren't, they're way to bold and vibrant. Some of those dyes weren't even invented at that time. The heavy red lipstick is right but not every woman wore red lipstick. They did have other shades available. Then there's the hair, some of them have a period hairstyle, but many of them don't including the woman who I think is supposed to be the star of the show, Abbi Jacobson. Abbi's hair is a mess and has a serious late 60s style. If you don't know what hair looked like in the 40s google it and check out some photos then hire a stylists who can recreate that look.
You can't create believable illusion if you don't get the basics correct. The music from the future is the most annoying. I don't get it at all because it doesn't add to the story, sometimes it doesn't even fit the scene? I did recognize a few tunes from the 40s but I sure didn't recognize the vocalists. If you can't afford the royalties for the real singers then use music without words. It's better than having cheap imitations. Do it right or don't do it at all.
I'm not crazy about Abbi's character, I don't find her at all likeable. I do like D'Arcy Cardon, she has the right look, her hair is great and her character is very likeable. To be honest there aren't many likeable characters in this show. Chante' Adams is great and I like Melanie Field but Melanie's character needs to be more realistic. Nick Offerman? Who the heck is this guy? His character is horrible! He's a total phony baloney. He is the least likeable person in the series, is he based on an actual coach? I get it if that's the case but he seems very 2 dimensional.
The baseball scenes are kind of boring, not much effort was put into doing them. It's like they're put in as an afterthought. It actually feels like the show is mainly about the inequality of the time rather than about baseball. It's almost like there's 2 different shows mashed up into one. Amazon should have made a decision on weather they wanted to make a show about Women's baseball in the 40s or inequality in the 40s. Maybe they should have set the show in a different era so it could be more inclusive?
I think having a separate show for the inequality issues would have been a better choice. It's a serious issue and takes a front seat to the baseball story line. Yeah, I get it Amazon didn't want to get a lot of flack about having a mostly white show. It's not fair that black women were excluded but that was the time when this took place. Having a separate show dealing with the inequality issues would have been much more interesting and the story would have stayed on point.
Just because things happen in the same era doesn't mean they'll make a cohesive story if they're slapped together. It doesn't do either story line any favors. There's just too much going on. Gee, I'd really like this to be a little funnier. It's all very serious. The other thing that really bothers me about this show is the foul language. It's horrible! I grew up in the 60s a much freer time and women didn't talk like that in the 60s so I'm pretty sure most women did not use those words on a regular basis in the 40s. I can see them swearing once in awhile but at that period in time people cared about good behavior. Having a foul mouth is not good behavior.
Are there more lesbians in sports? I have no idea but the percentage seems to be pretty high in this show. I really don't think they would have been that open about their sexuality at that time. I am not a prude, not by any means but between the foul language and the overt sexuality, I find it distasteful and crude. I'm reminded of the quote by Spencer W. Kimball, "Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly." it doesn't add to the story, it's not believable. I don't believe some of the profanity used in the show was actually even used in the 40s. I wonder if that's the writers feeble attempt to be funny? If that's what they intended, it didn't work for me.
A lot of reviewers said they thought this show was well written, again I have to disagree. Most of the time they sound like modern women, not women from the 40s. The dialogue is mundane and pretty much sounds like it's the same person talking no matter who's speaking. The only difference we hear is when the Cuban woman speaks in Spanish. It sounds like it's all written by 1 person, if there is more than 1 writer I wouldn't be surprised if the head writer ruled over the others with an iron fist because there is a huge lack of imagination. "Oh, I can't come up with anything clever to say so I'll just have them say something crude. It'll be great!" sorry, I'll pass.
Dune: Part One (2021)
B-O-R-I-N-G!
Holy cow this movie is so slow moving, I was bored to tears waiting for something to happen. I was shocked to see the movie is 2.5 hours long and it only tells half the story?
Being a big fan of the Dune books I've read all of them several times and I have to say this movie is loosely based on the original Dune book. They got a lot of the facts wrong. I suppose since the books are so old a lot of people aren't familiar with them so the director figured he could get away with taking so many liberties but I found it quite distracting.
Please, Timothée Chalamet as Paul Attredes? What was he thinking casting that tiny whimpy boy as the leader of a revolution. His voice hasn't even changed, I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't started puberty.
I think most of the rest of the actors were well cast. I know most of them can act but it sure isn't evident in this film. You can only do so much with what you have to work with. The writing is terrible. If I didn't know the story so well I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on in the movie because so little is said.
The sets are disappointing the costumes are disappointing and the score is horrendous. The music is very overpowering almost like it's a character in the movie? I found the music depressing and tedious. A great musical director who's name I can't remember once said, if a movie is scored properly you don't really notice the music, you feel it. The only emotion this music invoked was pain.
I'd say don't waist your time or money on this dreck watch the original Dune by Dino De Larentus, it's true to the books and does an incredible job telling the whole story in 1 movie. It's exciting and emotional and it does have a great score as well incredible costumes, sets and actors.
The Morning Show (2019)
Still Beating that Dead Horse.
First of all I have to say Jennifer Aniston is Brilliant in this show. The depth of her character is amazing and she is the only reason I stuck with it as long as I did This is not the show I thought it would be. I'm not sure why but I expected it to be a comedy which it very much isn't. I think they would have done themselves a favor if they had included some light moments because the constant drama and overbearing darkness is incredibly depressing.
I kept hoping they'd just move on from the sexual misconduct issue and tackle other issues but oh my god they just kept beating that dead horse until it was ground into the dirt then they continued to beat it and beat it and beat it. Good Grief at some point you'd think they change the story line? Come to some resolution and move on to another subject. If this is the only issue they wanted to tackle they should have just made a 2 hour movie of the week.
I like Reese Witherspoon, I like her a lot, big fan of her movies and I'm sorry to say this but she is way too old for this character. This isn't a new character for her, it's a character she's played many times in many movies. Again, she's boring. What's with the racoon eyes? Is all that heavy makeup used to cover up wrinkles or bags because it sure isn't flattering. I'd rather see the wrinkles. What's up with her hair, what's up with everyone's hair? Did Jennifer have it in her contract that no one could have nicer hair than her? Honestly I've never seen Reese looking so terrible. I don't get it, at the beginning of the series she had long full hair then she shortens it and suddenly it's all thin and ratty? Reese if that's not a cheap wig you're wearing for the show then ask Jennifer about hair conditioner.
Billy Cruddup? His character is a total ass, somehow I don't think that's a stretch for Billy.
Mark Duplass? Who is this guy? He looks like a total schlub, he's not a very good actor and his character is a a spoiled brat. It's hard to believe that he's in charge of a major network news show.
Steve Carrel looks fabulous. I've never seen him look more handsome. His character's long winded whining is painful to hear. So painful in fact that sadly whenever he comes on screen I skip ahead. I don't understand why he is in this show at all? He's just filler, he doesn't contribute anything. They could have cut all of his scenes and ti wouldn't make a difference.
Nestor Carbonell, I love this guy, he is so underrated. He's a good actor and my god he still looks incredible. He should have had the Billy Cruddup role because he would have nailed it.
The most disturbing thing about this show is no one wants to accept responsibility for their actions. Something that has become way too common in the world today. Something happens that you don't like, blame someone else. Flirt with a guy, get his attention, spread your legs for him or open your mouth then when he doesn't fall in love with you blame him, crucify him. I firmly believe that people should never get involved with anyone at work. I do think it's wrong. If you allow yourself to get in that situation take some responsibility for it.
I think it's tragic that these women willing got involved with a man at work then blamed him for it not going the way they wanted. It takes away from the real victims who were sexually abused at work, women who were threatened with their job if they didn't perform. The first rule of sexual harassment is, tell the person to sop. These women didn't tell him to stop. It seems like this character would have stopped if he'd been asked to stop or told his flirting was inappropriate. If you don't follow the rules then you shouldn't be crying about the outcome. Accept responsibility for your own actions.
It's the same thing with Deason Terry's character, if you allow people to treat you badly it's your fault. Don't allow people to treat you badly. Accept Responsibility for your own life. If you can't get what you want at 1 job get another job where people treat you the way you deserve to be treated.
This show can be summed up with 1 cliche, "If you always do what you always did. You'll always get what you always got" wake up and brake the chain. Love yourself, be proud of yourself and don't allow anyone to treat you like you aren't just as important as they are.
This show is not entertaining or informative, it's just plain sad.
Big Sky (2020)
You'd be better off rewatching Twin Peaks.
It's a good thing I didn't have high hopes going into this show because I was not disappointed. There are some really good actors in this series. People who have given us some great performances but not here. It's very strange, I guess an actor can only do so much with what they are given and if they have bad lines, bad direction or no sense of what their character is obviously they will give a bad performance.
The thriller premise of the show is alright, it's nothing new or surprising. Even though I've only seen the premier episode it followed a standard formula. I was just so shocked at the cartoonish characters in this rather serious show. It was like the actors couldn't even believe their own story line and were just phoning in their performance. It was kind of surreal. Speaking of surreal, I didn't stay to the end of the credits so I'm not sure where this was recorded but it sure did not look like Montana to me. It looked more like Canada which would not surprise me because what TV shows aren't made in Canada these days?
If you can live with the fake acting or over-acting as the case may be in some cases along with the unrealistic characters it might be alright. It's a thriller and I have the feeling it would have made a pretty good 2 hour movie but if this same plot line continues for the whole season I predict boredom and monotony. Like so many other "dramatic" series they take a story that's good for 2 or 3 episodes and stretch it out to 8, 10 or 12 episodes. Which means, nothing really happens until the last 5 minutes of the show and then it ends. When you come back the next week, it doesn't even pick up where it left off, it starts out with something totally boring, again or it does a flashback which is even worse than boring, it's pathetic.
It kind of reminded me of Twin Peaks except Twin Peaks did it way better, their quirky characters were intrigue while Big Sky's quirky characters are sad imitations of characters we've seen 100s of times.
If you liked the first show I suggest waiting until the last show where you'll get all the answers and you don't have to sit through weeks of mind numbing scenery and thoughtful looks across the horizon.
The Right Stuff (2020)
Boring and depressing
'After watching 6 episodes of this show I can't dismiss the idea that the director and writers of this series hate our first astronauts. Rather than an informative entertaining show about one of the most exciting times in our history we get a soap opera making the men look as bad as possible. None of them men in this series seem happy, ever, they all look like a bunch of depressed maladjusted misfits. If this were thee truth I can't imagine how any of them passed the tests to get the job.
Sadly National Geographic is involved in this production They're great at documentaries but as they proved with the Mars series they're not good at telling a story. This story is boring and at times painful to watch. It feels so dark I t feels like it's more important for the producers to tell the story of how mentally unbalanced and morally corrupt these astronauts are than of their heroics.
The story of NASA doesn't feel right, how they're projecting a K-Mart type jury rigged setting vs. what actually existed. I had the feeling that maybe 30 people worked at NASA in someone's back yhard.
I can't find any fault with the actors, all of them do a good job, well the best they can with what they have to work with.
If you're looking for a series depicting the excitement of of space travel you are not going to find it here. This is more of a soap opera than anything else and not a very good soap opera.
I am really over the long silences as if it's building suspense when we all know the real story. You can't pretend to have a surprise climax when we know the facts. It's boring and so depressing. I am really disappointed.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht (2020)
Troubled Waters
This could be the season that sinks The Below Deck Franchise. We have a milquetoast captain that seems to be on happy pills, A horny chief stew who can't even think of work because she's always in the galley trading disgusting sexual barbs with the "chef". Yes, Adam Glick is back for the 3rd time. This guy is a good cook when he wants to be but he is one of the most unprofessional cooks they've had on the serious. In his 1st season he added onions to all his dishes because the main charter guests didn't like onions. Why in the world would anyone in their right mind hire this goofball back to do 2 more seasons?
If I were spending $260, 000 for a 3 day stay on a sailboat in Greece, 1. I'd like to sail and 2. I want local Greek food cooked by a real Greek person not some Greek pasta salad thrown together by some crazy American who can't think past the end of his dick.
Tthe chief stew can't be bothered to check on the guests or do anything else outside the galley because she's got the hots for the cute "chef" she has no patience or understanding for the stews who are actually doing all the work while she yells at them.
On deck we have the Bickersons, a lovely couple that's been engaged for years and they bicker like they just celebrated their golden anniversary. If you're married or live with married parents you know how wonderful it is to listen to constant bickering and nit picking. Joy Joy I suggest several cocktails or 2 Aspirin 20 minutes before viewing.
There is a married engineer who is a total perv, doesn't seem to work much but is always hanging around the edge of the action throwing in his pervy comments. Yeah, he looks like an old perv as well. Then there's the deck hand who looks to be in his late 20s and apparently still breast feeds, oh my! We have 2 stews, one works, one complains and cried, nothing new about that. ho hum.
All in all the 1 word that sums up this show is, BORING! I was watching the 1st episode and thought it was a 2 hour special because time was dragging on so slowly but no it was just an hour of agony.
I love all the other seasons of Below Deck in all of it's other locations but this season on a sailboat that doesn't hardly ever sail is a total waste of time. Bravo should pull the plug on the show before it completely ruins the whole franchise.
If you still want to watch this show let me suggest recording it so you can scan through the boring parts, you'll finish in 15 minutes easily.
Patsy & Loretta (2019)
Great Story and Sorry Portrayls
After I read Coal Miner's Daughter I yearned to know more about this special friendship and now it's great to see it. I liked the story a lot but I didn't like the actresses in either role. Both ladies could sing but they sure couldn't sing one bit like Loretta or Patsy. It was really distracting hearing those unfamiliar voices singing familiar songs. I wish they would have just dubbed in the real voices it would have made the movie more enjoyable and believable.
Megan Hilty did an alright job as Patsy I think she got close but was kind of raw, she certainly could have used more preparation and a voice coach. Megan shined compared to Jessie Mueller who was just awful! She looked really old especially at the beginning of the movie, she had those big bags under her eyes lookin like something the cat dragged and I'm sorry to say this but the girl is homely and she's got that big honking nose! Loretta was and is a beautiful woman, she sure didn't have a face that could stop a clock. I can't imagine why they hired this girl, she wasn't anywhere near the accent, in fact she didn't even carry an accent through a lot of the movie, she couldn't sing worth a lick and she sure didn't act the part so I can't imagine how she got hired?
Another thing that really bothered me about the 2 leads is their hair. My god, did they do their own hair for the movie? Half the time they looked like they'd been speeding down the road with the top down, hair all scattered and ratty, Patsy's hair was teased up way too high and Loretta's hair looked like a cheap Halloween wig and it was always messy. Those women sure did not go out in public or up on stage with such nasty looking hair. How could they get something so easy so wrong?
Talk about the wrong actors for the parts, Charlie Dick and Doolittle were short little guys and Doo had a belly but they gave the parts to 2 tall guys? It's a lifetime movie what do you expect they do stuff on the cheap cranking out movie after movie not much caring about quality.
They went all out on other parts of the movie making it look correct, it's too bad they spend a little less on sets and more on hiring the right actresses for the parts.
Despite the bad singing and unflattering mimicking I still like the story. It's too bad they didn't make this movie after Coal Miner's Daughter with Sissy Spacck and Beverly D'Angelo this would have been some movie then.
On Becoming a God in Central Florida (2019)
Not a Comedy, that's for sure.
I admit Kristen Dunst is great in this show but the show is crap. If you think it's funny to see someone in misery then you'll like this show. It's not funny, it's tragic. This show should come with a warning label if you're depressed because it just might push you over the edge.
I can't call this a drama either because it's not dramatic, it's just plain sad. I made it through 2.5 episodes and I just couldn't take anymore. Life is bad enough without watching a TV show about the train wreck some people make of their lives. I don't know what plans the producers have for this show but I can't wait and sit through all that misery to see if there's a happy ending because it seems pretty unimaginable at this point.
My advice, pass by this steaming pile of lost dreams and find a show that knows what it is, drama, comedy, thriller what have you. Something that has a point of view,. The upside of this show is Kristen's life is so miserable it's bound to make you feel better about your own situation.
Men in Black: International (2019)
In a nutshell, Boring.
When I saw the first ad for this movie I had my doubts but there isn't really much to choose from this summer season. Sadly this was not a good choice either. It was fun to see some familiar characters and references but that certainly was not enough to carry this movie.
Chris Hemsworth has played the fool most delightfully in past movies but here it doesn't make sense. How would such an idiot even get into the M.I.B.? I can't hate Chris' performance because he's just so damn beautiful and I've never seen a man look so incredible in pink trousers but as soon as he started talking my attention wandered.
Tessa Thompson was alright and about time they added a woman, I expected Linda Fiorentino to be Will Smith's partner in M.I.B. II and was greatly disappointed she wasn't. Tessa does a passable job but she isn't really all that interesting either.
I'm sorry but even Liam Neeson channeling the force was not enough to save this movie. Referencing past movies these actors have been in was way too corny.
Half way through the movie my fingers got itchy, they wanted to push the fast forward button, to put it into 1 word, the movie is boring. Yeah there's some action scenes and some cool CGI, been there done that give me a good story, make the characters interesting and make me get lost in the movie. Chris and Tessa in my opinion didn't have any chemistry, it kind of makes me wonder if they didn't hate each other off screen?
Even if you're a die hard M.I.B. fan I'd say wait until it comes to cable or you can rent it for $1.99, it shouldn't take too long for that to happen because this movie pretty much stinks. Your kids might like it, there are some cute side characters that I think might appeal to kids, one of them really stole the show and was way more entertaining than Chris Hemsworth.
The Hot Zone (2019)
Edge of you seat kind of drama.
What an incredibly frightening story, the most frightening thing is how governments refuse to see the truth because of negative reactions. The story is well written, the acting is incredible, great casting. Julianna Margulies is such a talented actor. For me if she's in a movie or TV show I know it's going to be good. This series is no exception, it's riveting.
Seeing the bio hazard symbol used in movies and TV shows has almost become a cliche and it makes me wary about watching it but this is worth watching. It's exciting and scary yet by the end I wonder when governments are finally going to acknowledge we have an environmental problem here on Earth that needs to be addressed. We can't keep living the way we are or it's all going to blow up in our faces.
It was nice to see Topher Grace again even though he had a goofy haircut it helped me from seeing Eric Foreman. For me, he wasn't a very likeable character he did a good job, although it wouldn't hurt for him to take a few acting lessons. His performance in no way comes close to most of the other actors on screen.
There is some blood and gore but not too much. Because of the subject matter I would only recommend this series for a mature audience. It is well worth your time.
Blood & Treasure (2019)
Not bad if you're a teenager.
I could tell from the commercials this was not an A class series. I hope none of the actors made more than scale because they're certainly not worth it. I wonder if they searched dinner theaters across the country to find this cast? I think some of the actors could have pulled it off if the dialogue were better. The combination of ridiculous dialogue and bad acting makes for a complete disaster of a TV show.
The whole time I was watching I had the feeling this show belonged on Saturday morning TV show or maybe on PBS's kid's show or maybe on the Disney Channel. It would probably do quite well there if kids were interested in archeology, fat chance with today's kids who most like don't have a clue who Antony and Cleopatra really are.
It also reminds me of a foreign TV show that's trying to look like an American TV show where all the voices are dubbed by people who normally do voice work for animation. So many of the voices seem fake and very unbelievable. It's a talent of a good actor to sound believable and hardly any of these people certainly not the main characters sound believable.
Danny McNamara is kind of cute and it would have made things a little more interesting if they had taken advantage of this but every time they could have played up his sexiness they cut to the next scene. Near the end they did a close up of him where he's in the bright sunlight and squinting, holy cow talk about wrinkles, it made him look really old which is fine but it seems like he's playing a character in his 30s, not 50s. Obviously they weren't casting for talent so I don't understand why they couldn't find a cute sexy actor in his 30s to play the role?
If this show had been made for adults I would have expected a little more sexiness something to lure an adult audience in, likewise the action is also lacking in reality. I'm not sure if the producers even have a clear vision of what they wanted this show to be, comedy, drama, action, history, mystery? It's just a hodge podge of everything thrown together, stirred around and dumped out on the table. It was almost painful for me to watch until the end. I kept looking at the clock wondering when it was going to be over. The only thing that got me through it was working on a puzzle on my Kindle, that at least kept me entertained.
Avengement (2019)
Lots of Talking
This movie almost killed me, boring me to death with all the talking. Good grief I wanted to kill the guy myself just so he'd shut up. Yeah there's some fight scenes but I wouldn't call this an action movie. It was more about the lead complaining about the all the bad things that happened to him.The acting was pretty good, better than I expected, the story was OK if the writing would have been better.Maybe it's just me but watching 1 fight after another after another, it gets kind of tedious especially with all the talking in between fights. Another odd thing for me was there wasn't 1 single character in the movie that I liked. At first I was sympathetic with the lead character but his long boring dialogues really turned me off and lost my sympathetic vote. I won't spoil the ending but I found it unsatisfying. I'm sorry I wasted my time on this one.
Division 19 (2017)
Great Idea, Poor Execution
The poster and description of this movie caused me to think I was going to see something exciting. Nothing could be further from the truth. The description of the movie being about citizens watching inmates on TV is accurate it's also really boring. The whole movie is boring, It's like they all took acting lessons from William Shatner, say 1 word, pause for 3 seconds say another word, pause for 5 seconds say a word, stop talking for 5 minutes and look like you're thinking about what to say next then walk away.
They had a good story, actually they had a couple of good stories in this show but they chose not to go with them. I had the impression the writers were sitting in a circle in Forman's smoke filled basement coming up with all these great ideas which they forgot about when they came to their senses and they went with something really mundane instead.
Science Fiction? I would not call this science fiction it's bare more advanced that what we have today, in fact I think all the technology in the movie is available today it just isn't being used yet, or is it?
I liked all the actors, but it was confusing I didn't recognize any of the names but the faces looked familiar. I thought Nash was Ryan Gosling, he looked and sounded just like Ryan. I watched it all the way through hoping for something relevant to happen, TBH I was playing a game on my kindle for most of the movie and just listened to it because it moved so slowly.
It looks like a big budget movie but the story wasn't there. The dialogue what there was of it was good there just wasn't enough. Remember when writers used to be able to fill time with dialogue to keep you entertained and intrigued? Today's writers are lazy and just aren't producing enough words and the actors stand around looking brain dead.
I can't recommend this movie unless if you're looking for something to play in the background while you sleep, then it's perfect.
Teenage Caveman (1958)
Much better than expected.
When I saw the title for this movie I assumed it was a B movie made to play as a double or triple feature for an outdoor. It was much better than I expected. The acting was good even though the dialogue wasn't the best. To be honest I mostly watched it for the suspected beefcake. The young Robert Vaughn is quite handsome and I was hoping the costumes would be a little more revealing. There are a lot of shirtless men and some sexy thighs on view but nothing too exciting.
I found myself sucked into the story which seemed to have some holes in it. It's a story of questioning, something man has probably done since the beginning of time. We wouldn't be where we are today if not for questions. There is a relevance to this movie and a lesson that at the time of it's making was most likely pure science fiction. As we have seen many times, yesterday's science fiction is today's truth. One computer that used to fill a whole room was less advanced than the modern smart phone. Looking at today's world it's not so hard for me believe how drastically the future can change.
If you start to watch this movie all I can say is stick with it until the end, it may surprise you and like me it may cause you to think about things differently. One valuable lesson from this movie is it's OK to question the law but still it's in place to protect us until the time comes when it needs to be changed. A paradox perhaps but also a truth.
Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias: One Show Fits All (2019)
Does Netflix ruin everything?
I was really really disappointed with this show. I heard people laughing in the audience but I couldn't figure out why? I thought it was pretty cool that this show as 90 minutes long, most comedians do 45 minutes maybe an hour but Gabriel does 90! It didn't take me long to figure out why he does 90 minutes, because his stories are really boring and long and totally not funny. I sit through all that talking expecting a good punch line and he just starts talking about something else. What? Did I miss something?
This guy used to make me laugh so hard I'd almost fall on the floor in fits of laughter, I smiled a couple of times but he didn't even get a chuckle out of me then I just started to feel sorry for him. It happens to a lot of comedians who have been doing shows for awhile, they lose the funny.
All the sound effects he does are funny when the story is funny otherwise they're really tedious. No wonder Netflix is in trouble they keep producing crap like this.
I did learn something Gabriel has a lazy ass son who's going to be in trouble if his dad doesn't get back on the funny train, because the gravy train doesn't last forever.
Ladies in Black (2018)
A really wonderful charming movie.
No CGI, no car chases, no explosions or fight scenes, how refreshing to watch a movie with a wonderful story featuring wonderfully normal people. I really had no expectations of this movie and isn't that the case when you discover a real gem? It's nostalgic, sweet, romantic like a classic Hollywood movie that is often watched on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's lovely and it made me feel good. The whole movie was enchanting, it pulled me in and kept me interested throughout and left me wanting more. The dialogue was wonderful, so many movies today substitute characters, story and dialogue for special effects and action. Here the special effects are a stunning recreation of Sydney in 1959. If I used 1 word to describe this movie, it would be charming.
Julia Ormond was incredible as Magda, an Eastern European immigrant in a not always friendly environment. It was exciting to watch Rachael Taylor's character blossom, the style of this era really suited her, the hair the makeup, the clothes, all I can say is WOW! She was incredibly beautiful. It was exciting to watch how her character grew and changed yet still had a spark of innocence. Angourie Rice blossomed as well, this was mostly her coming of age story, she wasn't quite an ugly duckling who is well on her way to becoming a swan, I hope.
We only get a peek of about 6 months into the lives of these fascinating people and can't help but expect everything worked out for the best. I do miss the time when women were ladies and men were gentlemen, when people were polite to each other and talked in a more respectable manner. It's refreshing to not hear people using crass vulgar in your face language. Something that really stands out for me is how different life was in that time. It was very common for people to leave school early because they needed to work and earn money to survive. People were more mature and independent, work was necessary, you couldn't be a 30 year old child living with your parents. Life was hard and you had to grow up and deal with your responsibilities. This movie brought back a lot of those memories for me and how life was so different.
It's kind of an old fashioned type of movie and I loved it. The characters were interesting and the acting was wonderful. The whole time I was watching this I didn't want it to be a movie, I wanted it to be a series so I could come back week after week and learn more about all the different characters. I strongly suggest you watch this movie, if for no other reason, it will make you smile and feel good.
Aquaman (2018)
Doesn't live up the hype.
I hate it when they withhold a movie for a holiday release so they have the potential to make more money. If a company decides to do then they better give me something to make the wait worthwhile. In this case they didn't come through for me, I was anticipating something better.
I will say I kind of liked this movie but I expected more, it left me feeling kind of disappointed. I think they sacrificed too much of the story for more action. It felt like they were trying too hard to include too much for 1 movie. I think it might have been better served splitting it up into 2 parts but then it wouldn't have been as exciting. This movie really needed a good writer, someone who could have condensed the story into something that flowed more smoothly. The dialogue was at times silly and out of place. Momoa trying to be funny is like Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to be funny as the Terminator, awkward. Momoa is a great straight man, he has good comedic timing and had some really funny moments in Stargate Atlantis when he wasn't trying to be funny. If they wanted humor in this movie, they should have used the same technique vs. using corny jokes.
Maybe because I'm older and grew up watching movies with incredible actors and dialogue but the CGI stuff doesn't impress me that much. Some of it was incredible some of it was just off and made the scenes look fake. I knew it was CGI and what they were showing was inaccurate, it took me out of the movie. I admire the movies that use CGI but don't make me aware of it. There were times I wished I'd had a remote control so I could fast forward through parts that were just way too drawn out. I wasn't crazy about the music, at times it didn't enhance the story and sometimes it was downright distracting. I think the music and background noises were overpowering, making it more difficult to understand what was being said.
I like Momoa as an actor, he is visually impressive but I still can't wrap my head around him being Aquaman. It was like he as an actor didn't believe he was Aquaman? Nicole Kidman's performance was not all that believable either. Maybe it was the CGI or lack of great dialogue but it didn't pull me in. The antagonists were the worst, their lines were laughable. I'm reminded of a quote from W.C. Fields "If you can't dazzle them with Brilliance than Baffle them with Bulls##t" they tried to dazzle us with Brilliant imagery so we didn't notice all the Bulls##t.
I love Super Hero movies but the biggest problem I have with them is they try too hard to be epic. Yeah I want a Hero and action but I want a good story as well. Too many times the story gets lost in the struggle to make it more Epic than the last Super Hero movie. I hate that they're always trying to outdo each other with action and special effects at the cost of the story. If you have a good story you don't need epic battles. I think this movie really sacrificed story for action. It's like when you go to a buffet and you eat a little of everything but you don't get enough of the few really good things. When you leave you're full but not satisfied. Although there were some great moments in the move it left me unsatisfied.