kelandry-27735 Reviews

The Thinning: New World Order (2018)

Too rushed. Would have been better as a TV show

[2/10 · 13 August 2021]

The concept itself isn't bad. There's some holes in the worldbuilding, but overall, it's a decent idea. However, it was stupid to think the plot could work in two movies totally three hours.

The plot is too complex and there are two separate stories being told in this hour and half movie. Not even an hour and a half actually. Movie plots should be simple. Characters should be stereotypical/tropey. Worlds should be easy to understand. Many movies get away with doing more in one of those categories, but not all three. THIS DOESN'T WORK. Especially with the experience level of the makers and actors.

Everything is super rushed. In less than 30 minutes into the movie, eight months have passed with almost nothing shown. It wasn't because nothing was happening. They just didn't show it. None of the development is shown, which gets confusing. It's not fun either. And this continues. We basically get a few larger plot points here and there with absolutely none of the development shown, no idea how much time has passed or what has happened until a character tells us, and, oftentimes, no real explanation how we got from point A to B. Almost an hour in and the whole thing felt so disjointed.

It's really a shame. I would love to see this redone and fleshed out as a tv show. Even just one of those stupid seven episodes per seasons shows, as long as there was at least two seasons. I think the characters, plots, and world have a lot of potential. There's a million holes, but it could still be an engaging story. They just need the time to be explored and developed properly.

The Thinning (2016)

Mediocre, but worth watching if you're bored

[5/10 · 13 August 2021]

I had been wanting to watch this since I saw the ads for it forever ago. Now, I kept my hopes moderate, even more so when I realized it was a movie and not a tv show. Youtube making movies???? That's not exactly something they're known for. Plus, stories like these often do much better in a tv show where there's time to do a lot of world building and character development. You just can't do enough in an hour and a half.

That said, it's okay. As I expected, the lack of build up makes the whole thing fall flat, and there's more holes in the world building than a peg board. The characters are alright though. And, if you ignore the holes, the plot is pretty good for a movie.

Probably the worst part was the ending. There is no way for this movie to stand on it's own. It's the beginning of the story. Very little development happens. The turning point is towards the end and unleashes a ton of questions. Nothing is resolved. Even the reunion scene at the end feels short. The whole thing feels like it's gearing up for the real or main part of the story instead of putting focus into the part it's trying to tell right now.

Sure, lots of movies with sequels do this. But The Thinning doesn't do it well.

Overall, it's enough to sort of satisfy my itch for a different dystopian story. It's fairly mediocre though... which is what I'd expect from a company that doesn't have much experience in the movie industry.

Caliphate (2020)

Highly recommend

[10/10 · 22 December 2020]

The start was confusing to me but, after that, the show was amazing and the end ripped my heart out.

I didn't like the the protagonist Fatima. Despite her role, we never learned much about her to make her interesting and she was portrayed as crazy, impulsive, and even cruel through much of the show. I understood why she acted the way she did sort of but it still made it difficult to enjoy her.

However, the writing and actors for the other characters easily outshined the police characters and made the show 100% worth the watch. Pervin, Sulle, and Kerima were wonderful characters and their storylines kept me on the edge of my seat.

As for the overall plot, it's really insightful. I was a bit worried, as I always am when shows touch controversial and sensitive topics, but it turned out they did a good job with it. It's exciting and respectful. The pacing is perfect. The multiple storylines are well connected and interwoven. It tries to show both sides objectively. The last episode (I'm writing this after the first season) really punches you in the gut. It's just a wonderful piece. It will probably make you uneasy or angry at times but it's a must watch.

Chernobyl (2019)

Not perfect but it's worth watching

[9/10 · 16 December 2020]

I wouldn't go so far as to give this ten stars but I did think it was well made. I'll start with the good.

1. It's in English. I don't mind subs but this show was made for an English speaking audience so having it in English makes sense. It's more accessible. It also breaks down some of the barriers between English speakers and the Russians. It separates the events from the country a little. It's easier to look at these people and relate to them and recognize these events aren't just possible in the Soviet Union. With something about a country we're typically taught is an enemy full of enemy people, I think this can be important for some viewers.

2. They got a lot right. Perfect? No. But if you want 98% accurate, watch a documentary. If you want 100%, give up. A lot of it was accurate or changed to help tell the story in an entertaining way. The purpose is entertainment 1st. Education 2nd. But it manages being fairly educational.

3. They did a great job of making the characters human. Many of the characters did terrible and dumb things but their motivations were clear and sensible. They were often idiots but they were idiots because they were human. Because they succumbed to greed, pride, fear, anger, and ignorance. They were idiots because the system was imperfect. And it was really clear how things like this can happen anywhere. They made these people human and that's one of the most important things in a story like this.

4. They showed a lot of different aspects of the disaster. Not just the disaster but the initial clean up, the long term clean up, the different groups involved, the politics, etc. It gave a good impression about how difficult something like this is.

The bad...

1. If the target audience speaks English and the script is in English, it feels off to have a truck driving around making an announcement in Russian. And there's no translation. This goes for nearly all of the Russian audio included. It needed translations in captions.

2. As usual, mini series rarely have the time to cover everything they want to and need to. There's a lot of extra stories partly included here but not enough to time to get to know the characters involved.

3. There's some scenes that last way longer than was necessary to get the point across and they contain some highly unpleasant actions. Luckily you don't see a lot but there was not reason for it to take that long. It wasn't part of the main story and it got the point across with in the first few moments. It didn't need to torture the viewer longer.

4. There's a lot of loose ends. Either there isn't time to show the completion or the main character wasn't there so it just never happens. At times, it can be jarring. Again, mini series problems.

5. The actual accident at the beginning is surprisingly slow and lacking. I think they should have started differently, but it draws you in towards the end of the first episode at least.

I was disappointed that there wasn't much about the miners since I'd seen screenshots and people talking about them a lot back when this came out. Maybe it was from a different HBO show. Idk. But, overall, it's a good story and it does well for being a mini-series.

The Barrier (2020)

Loved it!

[9/10 · 5 December 2020]

I watched part of it with subs and part dubbed with subs. Obviously the dub isn't always as clear as the subs and the voices can come off a little weird but that's normal. It's a very exciting show and definitely worth binge watching! The ending was great and the whole thing keeps you interested. There's hardly a dull minute.

Daybreak (1993 TV Movie)

Not sure it aged well but it's a good movie

[7/10 · 28 November 2020]

Living in 2020 makes it hard to believe anyone would go this far to try and stop a disease. We can't even make people wear masks and stay home... But that doesn't mean it's not plausible for fear to win. It has in the past. The fact this was supposed to be in the near future doesn't exactly age well either but if you can get past that, it's a good movie. Definitely reminiscent of the times back then.

It's a nice story and kept me interested till the end. I enjoyed the ending too. The growth of all the characters. The story still being far from over. It's focus on Blue's journey as she starts a new chapter in her life. It's far from being a masterpiece of the decade but it's worth passing the time with.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

Didn't live up to the hype

[3/10 · 27 November 2020]

I only watched this because everyone seemed to be obsessed with it and raving about how good it was. I had high expectations of finding a new favorite show but maybe I should have expected less.

Admittedly, I don't like cancer stories and I don't like looking at a desert so that put me off. It wasn't enough to ruin the show though. I guess I was expecting something with a faster pace and more action and drama. But it felt slow and didn't make me feel anything at all. I like shows to make me feel something or react and feel invested in the characters. Breaking Bad didn't deliver that. After a couple seasons, I was bored to death and gave up.

Maybe it gets better and I missed all the good stuff. Maybe I was just spoiled because I came into the show late. Idk. But I don't get the hype for this show. The characters and story just aren't that great. You couldn't pay me to finish this borefest.

Burden of Truth (2018–2021)

Pleasantly surprised by this beautiful show

[8/10 · 26 November 2020]

Pleasantly surprised by this one and can't wait for the fourth season.

The plot with the sick girls is only the first season. The main characters, location, and much of the supporting cast doesn't change though as the lawyers continue to tackle emotionally and legally challenging cases. I wasn't sure I would like it even after the first episode but I've grown to love watching these characters fight for justice in this unjust world. They're interesting and real. The acting is great. I can barely look away from the screen.

But one of my favorite things is the season finales. There's no big cliffhangers or a bucket full of unanswered questions. It wraps everything up. There's always room to continue the story and stay interested in the next season but you don't have to wait a year to finish the main storylines. And, if it doesn't get another season, the end of the previous one feels like a good end to the story. It's satisfying and much less frustrating than most. They did a wonderful job.

It would have been nice if there were more episodes in a season though. I feel like they could have explored more of the side characters if they'd had more time to do so, especially in the first season. Instead, there's a lot of important characters to the cases that barely get five minutes of screen time.

The second season started slow and took a while to get to the point but the third season was better. There's some writing issues and some lose ends that just don't seem to have time to get tied up. But, overall, it's one of my new favorite shows and I will be eagerly awaiting season 4.

Reality Z (2020)

Maybe don't try to get rid of all the LGBTQ characters as fast as possible?

[6/10 · 18 November 2020]

I didn't think this was bad at all but I'm giving it a slightly lower rating because they seemed determined to kill off every LGBTQ character as fast as possible. It's a zombie show. Lot's of people dying is kind of what happens. But it felt like they were especially eager to show their LGBTQ characters long enough to say they had them and then kill them quickly. Not a fan of that. Would probably have been an 8 if not for that. Otherwise though, it's no masterpiece but it's good. I really liked the ending. If you're a fan of slightly more wacky zombie shows/movies, you'll probably like this.

The I-Land (2019)

Don't bother

[3/10 · 17 November 2020]

Honestly, the entire plot isn't very believable, even for a sci-fi show. Eventually it is but they wait till the last 10-15 minutes of the show to give you the information that makes everything that happened even somewhat plausible. It's still on thin ice at that point though.

It's just poorly written and there's not much point to it. It feels like it was trying very hard to be something with all the details. It just didn't work. The writing felt inexperienced or like a first draft. Episode 3 really killed it for me. They gave too much away at that point.

Don't bother with this one. It's not worth it.

To the Lake (I) (2019–2022)

Good but didn't like the characters

[4/10 · 10 November 2020]

I didn't like the main group of characters. They weren't poorly written or acted, they were just difficult to sympathize with for me. A lot of their behavior was just wasn't acceptable. And maybe it's just a difference between what's acceptable in cultures. I don't know what's acceptable treatment of women and children in Russia. I don't live there. But it made me uncomfortable.

The main guy, two sons, doctor, and a few very minor characters were okay. The one woman was questionable. But most of the other men were incredibly misogynistic and gross and a few were abusive and alcoholic too. The one mother was mentally and emotionally abusive towards her son and rather cruel towards everyone else. Another was just nuts. The daughter was manipulative, alcoholic, and probably a criminal, though I can see why given her parents. But most of them didn't become half way decent till the last couple of episodes and it was hard to watch.

I did appreciate the inclusion of a decently written autistic character. And the plot, although nothing new or unique, was good.

Granted.. There were some weird choices made. Like every time the autistic guy laid eyes on the daughter and had horny thoughts this slow song started playing, she moved in slow motion, and there were filters and bubbles and stuff. It didn't really fit the genre. Maybe in a romcom or a comedy but not this. It was so out of place.

Overall, for a Netflix show, it wasn't bad. Mostly just the characters and I think that's really just a culture thing. I still think it's worth watching if that kind of talk and behavior doesn't bother you.

I did watch the English dub but I always read subtitles too so I got both translations.

The Society (2019)

It should have gotten a second season

[10/10 · 9 November 2020]

Netflix should have stuck with the decision to make another season of this. It's honestly one of the best teen shows I've seen. It's exciting and relevant. It's well balanced. It's teens being teens but also stepping up and being so much more.

I went into it with low expectations. A bunch of normal high school students on their own and made by Netflix.... my hopes weren't high. I expected a lot of stupidity, parties, sex, booze, drugs, realtionship drama, and petty drama. I wasn't entirely wrong but it was less than I expected. Instead, it focused on making a community. These mostly privileged teens with nothing but a high school education had to form a government and figure out how to run an entire town without trained doctors, police, leaders, judges, or anything else. And that's the big focus. They deal with a lot of issues that all new societies face and that we even face now. And they handle all of this well. It's a lot of fun to watch.

The script and acting is well done too. I thought the actress for Cassandra did a poor job but she's not relevant for very long. It's well done, thought provoking, interesting, and exciting.

I wish I could have seen where all the plots would have gone. It left off at such a big moment. The only reason I won't recommend watching is the fact there is no more and you'll want more. But you'll be left with a big cliffhanger. Netflix really made a mistake reversing the decision to renew this one. It's one of the best things they've made.

Brave New World (2020)

Too much sex and a messy ending with overdone themes

[5/10 · 2 November 2020]

It's probably been a decade since I read the book but, from what I remember, the original story was quite different. That's not to say this show was bad, but don't go into it expecting a recreation of the book. The story starts out pretty strong with likeable characters, an easy but engaging plot, and good visuals. There's definitely some of the things from the book included but there's a good bit that's changed. Then again, the book is old so some changes make a lot of sense. But it's mostly good and I really enjoyed the first few episodes and the characters in them. It seemed different from the book but looked like it might go some interesting places. The worst part in the first half is the amount of sex scenes. There's multiple sex scenes and origes every episode. You're constantly looking at bare boobs and butts it seems and it all gets very old very fast. It fits the plot and the society but sometimes it just starts to feel like the directors just wanted to see a ton of boobs and sex. Either way, it gets annoying by the third episode. Luckily, it calms down towards the end. But the ending episodes did more than cut down on the sex scenes. The further the story went, the more complex and messy the plot got. They really didn't have the time for the amount of things going on. And the characters got strange. We always had three main characters but their role in the story was always questionable and confusing. And then the complex and strange ending was... something. I'm not sure what. So much happened. Nothing really resolved or made a lot of sense. There was this huge event and loss and we... barely talked about it. Or anything. Aside from the messy ending, I didn't feel anything about this was particularly unique. Everything involving the computer/network thing seemed like every other AI/Robot/computer controls the world story ever including the conclusion that humans are the problem and the system isn't perfect and blah blah. It's been done a million times and it wasn't even done well this time. Largely because most of it didn't make a ton of sense. Like someone read a couple of sci-fi books and decided they were experts. Overall, I liked most of it and stayed entertained but I'm not sad it got cancelled. It's no masterpiece and the characters at the end weren't interesting enough to want to see more of anymore. Nor was there anything about the end that made me feel a second season was desperately needed. So, it's worth watching once. Get the 7 day free trial and watch it if you like dystopias. Wouldn't suggest paying money for it though.

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020 Video)

It's what you expect for the most part

[8/10 · 1 November 2020]

I've loved the Tremors movies for a long time. They are by no means masterpieces and the newer movies never could hold a candle to the first few. I honestly didn't like the last one much at all. But this one is probably one of the best newer ones despite being quite different. It does lack the comedy some of the other movies had and I missed that. I often loved the old ones because they were funny and wild. But I still found there were plenty of things to love about this one. I also think the last movie really failed at being funny or... much of anything... so I think the darker turn they took for this one was a good change. It also fits the ending better. I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and seeing the shriekers again! The nods to Jurassic Park and Predator were also fun and the change in weapons. It had some cool side characters that were very fun to watch get eaten too. And the plot was pretty much the same as every other movie but it works well enough. I never felt bored. On the other hand, the script is pretty eh and the characters aren't well fleshed out. But that's the case for pretty much all the new sequels. Like I said, they aren't masterpieces. Still, they're fun to watch. If you like the tremors movies, you should check this out.

3% (2016–2020)

A really good dystopian show

[9/10 · 10 September 2020]

I tend to just grab at any post-apocalypse or dystopian story I can find but I really loved this show and it's really well done. I do suggest keeping the subtitles on even if you watch the dub though. I kept both and sometimes the subs help make sense of things more than the dubbed dialogue.

The idea is that there's the inland which is basically a really bad post-apocalyptic slum and then there's the offshore that is technologically advanced and paradise in a sense. Only 3% can ever go to the offshore though and, to do so, they must pass a series of tests when they turn 20. They take these tests with all the other inland 20 year olds and are often pitted against each other. The whole show focuses on how the inequality isn't fair and trying to fix it through various methods.

I love the sets and the story but I especially love the inclusion of disabled character in the main cast and the fact that it's 20 year olds doing this. Having it be 20 year olds makes it hit closer to home for me and it also means that it's a little more believable that the actors are 20 even if they aren't. Instead of 30 year olds playing 15 year olds. It also has multiple main characters to focus on and none are ever always right. They all mess up and end up on the wrong side at times and I've always liked that in shows. It feels very realistic.

Overall though, it's just really well done. My only real complaint was the ending. It ends in season 4 and, admittedly, there seemed to be some plot holes in the end and things that just didn't quite add up. It wasn't enough to ruin anything and it wasn't the first season to have that issue. Season 3 had some holes too that bothered me. But it's still super enjoyable and I highly recommend to anyone who likes this genre.

After Darkness (2014)

Not as bad as the reviews would have had me believe

[6/10 · 13 December 2019]

This is hardly a masterpiece but it's not terrible either. If you go in expecting this to be filled with riveting drama or action or to simply be like many other films with similar subject matter, you're probably going to be disappointed. This isn't that. There's very little action and even the drama is relatively tame.

The story focuses on this broken family isolated in a mansion. They aren't in the center of what's going on. They aren't even paying attention to the news updates so the audience doesn't get much information. In fact, this almost apocalyptic event seems to mostly exist as a plot device to get this family back together and stress them out. The entire thing is just learning about this family and their history as they fight to survive what seems to be an apocalyptic event.

The science of the movie is well... is there any? We don't actually know much about what's going on, but it's probably not scientifically possible. That being said, it seems the idea of the movie might have been drawn from Lord Byrons poem, Darkness. So perhaps it wasn't meant to be scientifically accurate and instead just show a take on this dream that happened in the poem.

I think if you take the movie for what it's actually meant to be and do, it's not that bad. It's still no masterpiece and it's hard to watch sometimes, mostly because the behavior of the father really bothered me. This family is messed up. But if you like calmer movies with a little bit of an apocalyptic setting that focus more on individuals and families, you might actually enjoy this. But if you need riveting drama and action to keep you interested in something.. you should probably look for something else.

The Domestics (2018)

Not the worst....

[4/10 · 6 October 2019]

It's not the worst. I watched the whole thing and I didn't cringe so that's a start. Overall... the story just isn't that interesting. It's not terrible. But it's not interesting. And it leaves a lot unanswered. It starts off kind of weird with the government killing almost everyone with poison but we don't know why. Honestly, it would have been more interesting if they'd been searching for the truth about that. But instead, it's a couple that was trying to get divorced before the "apocalypse" travelling to find the wife's parents and sort of refinding their love for each other on the way. Which isn't a bad premise for the story. It could be interesting. However the character development feels weird, you know almost right away how the movie is going to end, and there's too many unanswered questions and things that don't make sense like a stalker/helper girl who follows and helps but only speaks like two words the whole time and we don't have any idea what her motive is for ANYTHING she does. It doesn't make sense. Or the little kid at the end. Or why the government poisoned it's people and how anyone was immune. And not just anyone... but approximately 10 million were immune if I did my math right. And it just so happened that whole families would be even though wives and husbands generally aren't related.. so how was basically every family we ran into whole?

Anyway.. for the most part it's a basic run of the mill post apocalypse find my family and do some action shots with guns movie. It's got a fun radio guy that's comical at points and if you're really bored and have nothing better to watch... it's not a bad pick.

Arcadia (I) (2016)

Could have been good... but it's not.

[3/10 · 6 October 2019]

The concept behind the movie is one that's been done many times. It's easy to make it interesting and exciting. And yet this movie still failed. The characters and setting is flat and underdeveloped. And the ending is just... bad.

The biggest problem is the first hour or so is just bland and boring. We get a brief introduction to the main character and one person he cares about for a couple minutes and then it skips ahead six years and we're left to figure out what happened on our own through clues. Basically the whole movie relies on the idea that you already know and care about these characters and their situation... except you don't. And they aren't interesting. The only interesting characters are side characters... and they aren't that interesting either.

But I digress. After an hour of nothing really, the movie picks up a little. But then we have these two major events happen that could lead to some interesting things. At the very least we should get a glimpse of what happens after to the main character and society. But we don't. We get a very confusing scene of a woman watering plants for about a minute and it's over. There's no conclusion. It feels like the end of the first episode to a series where there is supposed to be so much more and this was just the introduction. Except it's not. It's a movie. And there should be more.

Basically, it feels like they just ran out of actors and money and time and ... everything? So they just shot this and decided that was good enough to put out.

The concept isn't bad. But unless you like sitting for a hour of boredom before getting somewhere and then not even getting an ending, it's not worth it. I'd probably be giving it one star except I'm a bit of a sucker for the concept and I did manage to watch the whole thing... But it's not good. Wasted potential.