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Reviews
Madam Secretary: Invasive Species (2016)
An important subject that fell flat...
Contrived plot, with terribly written dialogue. There was no depth or any character development. In fact it brought all the hard work done on this series by the amazing cast and crew back several steps. This episode was obviously pushing an agenda, which to me felt like nails scraping down a chalkboard. It reminded me of listening to a undergraduate writing assignment acted out. Very disappointed in the episode from writers to director. I hope this is a brief mistake and this doesn't become the norm of Madam Secretary. Corners were obviously cut and it shows. I would go into further depth to make this criticism delve into everything that went wrong, but if the production crew that is paid to make these episodes doesn't feel it necessary to try and create a critically acclaimed episode, I don't feel it my job to detail the failure. The amazing actors in this series must have felt so awkward making this episode...
The Man from Earth (2007)
A theatrical play turned feature film? Needs revision.
It was one of those movies that made me cringe right off the bat for poorly written dialog, development of characters, and cliché directing choices...but I couldn't stop watching it.
My background is theatre, and I just kept thinking it sounded like a read-through of a 2nd draft script. The ideas are there, and carefully thought through and developed, but the dialog is weak and often forced. The writer tries to bring us into this world fast, but the emotions that he is trying to have us accept are not well planned or timed.
I don't blame the actors, although I thought some delivery was poor...but the writing should have aided them more with that. And I blame the director too, the shots of John looking off into the distance while people talked around him or at him were cheesy.
As a fan of movies like Gattaca, Children of Men, and what i consider a somewhat similar movie Last Night(although i don't know why i think that), I can't understand the 8.3 rating...except that I think it's given based on the ideas and not the actual movie. It was poorly executed, and the dialog needed revision. Don't use the excuse of lack of budget, it didn't need one. I would be happy sitting in that room or in a theater watching this exchange of ideas unfold on a living room couch, but it needed an editor. This is a real world, with educated people sitting in a room talking? I just didn't buy it.
I'd love to see this worked on again and revisited, on film, a stage, or in a book...it is a neat concept. Enjoy it the way I did, thinking about it as a cold read in some guys house in the woods.