prizm4 Reviews

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024)

Episodes 1-4 are great, Episode 5 is race-baiting garbage.

[1/10 · 14 April 2024]

Episodes 1 to 4 are excellent, watch it if you have a chance.

Episode 5, however, is garbage and the rest of this review is about that episode (since reviews in the individual episode section on IMDB go into a black hole and are never seen by anyone).

The initial Drake Bell section is fine, but after that it became race-baiting trash. One black girl on The Amanda Show was told by a director that Amanda is the star of the show, not HER, so she should essentially put up with unpleasant things in the script.

Sure enough, this episode cuts to the black mother of a different cast member saying, "That's racist!".

Really? Did these people not watch the previous episodes of this series? It's FILLED with child cast members of any colour being treated horribly and either told to deal with it, or were too afraid to say something.

Watching more of this episode, it seemed like the people being interviewed were somewhat being encouraged to find racism in what happened. You could see one black guy that was hesitant to go down that path, but he was basically egged on by the black girl next to him. I couldn't finish this episode.

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV: Breaking the Silence (2024) Season 1, Episode 5

Episode 5 is race-baiting garbage, don't bother

[1/10 · 14 April 2024]

Episode 5 is garbage. The initial Drake Bell section is fine, but after that it became race-baiting trash.

One black girl on The Amanda Show was told by a director that Amanda is the star of the show, not HER, so she should essentially put up with unpleasant things in the script.

Sure enough, this episode cuts to the black mother of a different cast member saying, "That's racist!".

Really? Did these people not watch the previous episodes of this series? It's FILLED with child cast members of any colour being treated horribly and either told to deal with it, or were too afraid to say something.

Watching more of this episode, it seemed like the people being interviewed were somewhat being encouraged to find racism in what happened. You could see one black guy that was hesitant to go down that path, but he was basically egged on by the black girl next to him. I couldn't finish this episode.

Totally Killer (2023)

Feels redacted

[4/10 · 13 October 2023]

It's like they had a good script, but were forced to give it to some SJW writer who scribbled all over it with a red pen. Every time someone says something 'inappropriate', the main character has to tell the person how offensive or unacceptable the remark was. God forbid the audience make up their own mind whether they feel 'offended' by a fat joke.

It felt like the movie was breaking the fourth wall every time this happened.

And do we really need more of this western hollywood trope where the main young female is a snarky, rude smartass, and her guy friends are usually portrayed as stuttering, ball-less wimps?

You also had to really suspend your disbelief when the movie tries to make you think that these girls knew anything about science. C'mon. That aspect and some other production quality issues could've been executed a lot better (CGI blood was poor, and every time there's a song playing outside or in a house, they never edit the music to make it sound like it's coming from a car or from a room in the house).

But overall it's not a bad watch if you can handle the cringy moments. I rate it a little higher for the 80s characters and some of their great lines (there's a good script underneath it all).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

Embarrassing garbage.

[1/10 · 4 October 2023]

Garbage. The Turtles talk like they belong in a little kids show for 3-8 year olds. What is this, PJ Masks? Paw Patrol?

Splinter also acts like an idiot and looks like an old version of the rat from Pixar's Ratatouille.

The turtles make references to real-world pop singers, and are upset because they can't finish watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which the movie actually shows real footage of. How lame can you get? Ferris Bueller? An old 80s movie that would not interest today's little kids at all?

Did they use the cheapest movie they could find to avoid copyright? Why reference real-world pop culture at all? All it does is cheapen the brand. So cringeworthy.

Oh, and that was like the 4th product-placement I noticed in the first 15 minutes before switching this embarrassing thing off.

If you want a real Turtles film with a good script and characters that don't act like brainless idiots, go watch the original 1990 movie.

The Whale (2022)

Unrealistic characters and a confusing mashup of ideas

[2/10 · 17 March 2023]

Brendan Fraser and his main character was well done, but the other characters are typical hollywood stereotypes. You've seen this trope a hundred times in modern western movies (as opposed to asian movies): A condescending, belittling, rude-from-the-start young female, who is opposite a stuttering young guy who always wimps out and has no guts to stand up for himself.

It's not real life behaviour and feels fake and unbelievable. The daughter was meant to be rebellious, flunking out of school etc, but her rude behaviour with the young guy she only just met simply makes no sense. Watching these cliché hollywood characters is like nails on a chalkboard and I almost turned it off halfway (there was not only one female like this, but two).

Then there's all the other ideas squashed together. Overweight, gay, partner condemned by a church for being gay, now they all hate the church. Daughter is out of control but Mr Whale only sees the positive side of his daughter's bad behaviour, much to his ex-wife's frustration.

None of these points are ever really resolved. There's just too many threads and no focus. The whole movie ultimately seemed like an excuse for the writer to have a go at 'christians who condemn homosexuality'.

I'm an ex-christian turned atheist, so I'm not 'offended' because it's anti-christian. But there was no real point to the story aside from having a go at christian beliefs. Wish they had just focused on Whale's struggle being overweight and trying to repair a relationship with is daughter (a toned-down, more realistic version of her), without adding all these other axes to grind.

10 stars for Brendan Fraser's performance. 2 stars for the movie just because Brendan Fraser is in it.

All My Friends Hate Me (2021)

Don't bother.

[2/10 · 10 December 2022]

This movie is pointless. Don't fall for the pretentious reviews.

The only shred of explanation for the behaviour of the main character's friends (a half-baked explanation glossed-over in the last 2 minutes of the film) does not hold water or make plausible sense, no matter which angle you look at it. The movie basically has no conclusion or point.

And no, this is not a "dark" movie and it's not a comedy. The only reason I gave this movie an extra star is because the acting was good.

And just to complete my review, I will need to reiterate that you'll regret wasting your time by watching this movie.

Paper Girls (2022)

Garbage

[1/10 · 10 December 2022]

A bunch of girls acting 10 years older than they should be, with typical hollywood 'sassy' dialogue that does not reflect the time period or their supposed age, nor real life.

On top of that, there's one girl (which I thought was a guy until the end of the episode) that is constantly dropping F words. It felt force and over-the-top, like the writers were aiming for a mature rating by filling it with unnecessary bad language.

I thought this might be alright for my 12 year old daughter, since the characters are meant to be 13-ish, but it's simply inappropriate. Neither of us liked the first episode due to the reasons above. Big fat fail.

Beavis and Butt-Head: Escape Room/The Special One (2022) Season 1, Episode 1

FAIL.

[2/10 · 13 August 2022]

These first two episodes sucked. Whoever wrote The Mummy's Tomb got Beavis and Butt-Head's characters all wrong. They are not so stupid that they don't understand basic english like "left" and "right", "push" and "pull". How do you think they get to their jobs at Burger World? The dialog and actions were all wrong for the characters.

The second fire episode was simply boring. Why is the fire saying these things to Beavis? It just didn't make sense and wasn't funny.

How can Beavis and Butt-Head make a comeback for a new generation if Mike Judge is letting these clueless writers ruin the original characters and humor?

Prey (I) (2022)

An R-rated Disney cartoon

[2/10 · 12 August 2022]

The dialog is horribly basic and shallow. If you close your eyes, the characters sound like they're from a typical, cringeworthy Disney Pixar movie. It seems like no effort was made to genuinely make these characters seem like they are from the 1700s. Did real Comanches use dumb modern sports phrases like "bring it home" to describe a victory?

The gore also seemed unnecessarily excessive. Every attack had to be over the top. Like they were trying to tick a box rather than use it effectively.

Oh, and I don't remember Predators acting like they know kung-fu and spinning their weapons all around so they look good for the camera. Even the main character seems to think she's Jackie Chan at times with her rope axe. Sheesh.

Don't get your hopes up for this one.

1883 (2021–2022)

Excellent series... if you can understand what they're saying

[7/10 · 6 August 2022]

Watch this with subtitles on.

Most of the characters sound like they've got 6 face masks on. There's a lot of garbled mumbling which is made even less intelligible due to the Texas/southern accents.

The boom mic holder should've been fired from the start. Or the director needs to get their act together and either make sure the dialogue is a good take, or direct the actors to enunciate their words properly.

Apart from that, this is a very engaging drama, and well-written for the most part. There's some anachronistic "I'm a woman, hear me roar" garbage occasionally, but thankfully it's outweighed by the good storytelling.

Overall it's really great to see a modern Oregon Trail story.

Radius (2017)

What a waste.

[2/10 · 5 July 2022]

I was really enjoying this movie until it turned into a cliché early 2000s thriller. It had such great potential. The last act is such a disappointment.

The Orville: Shadow Realms (2022) Season 3, Episode 2

MUCH better than episode 1 of Season 3

[5/10 · 18 June 2022]

Sure, the plot progression was very predictable, but the glimpses of classic TNG style kept me interested. This was a welcome relief after the horrendous episode 1. I enjoyed the practical sets and effects too.

Although can I suggest the old 80s trick of spraying some water/liquid on the evil creatures to make them look sweaty/slimy? The suits looked a little too rubbery :)

The Orville: Electric Sheep (2022) Season 3, Episode 1

Boring and absurd episode... but still better than new Star Trek

[2/10 · 10 June 2022]

Ok, so without spoiling anything, the main character in this episode really had no other "logical" options? Like LEAVING THE SHIP or GOING TO ANOTHER PLANET for instance? Seriously, this subject of this episode is so ridiculously contrived and forced. If the reasoning made more sense, I might have cared a little more. It ruined whatever point they were trying to make.

In between sappy over-emotional conversations about the main character (get ready for lots of people standing around and 'feeling' about stuff), we get 60-second shots where the camera slow pans around the outside of the ship. I fast forwarded 30 sec and the shot is STILL going, with annoying, wanky orchestral music in the background. Oh, and I don't know how many times I saw the crew repairing a panel outside the ship. Didn't we already see this scene twice already?

Kind of aside, but I wish they'd fix the main theme music and boring intro credit sequence. It's been very bland since season 1. The theme 'song' has nothing catchy about it, it's just random noise from someone pressing keys on their latest orchestra plugin.

I really hope the later episodes are better. Last season went downhill and the whole "evil robot" plot from last season was a total misstep that they should just pretend never happened.

Still, as bad as this episode was, I'd rather watch this than suffer through the Nu Trek garbage that is Star Trek Picard or Star Trek Discovery.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

How embarrassing.

[2/10 · 3 April 2022]

This is not Sonic the Hedgehog. This is generic hollywood garbage with a Sonic skin slapped on it. The writing is horrible, the plot is lame, and a ridiculous amount of time is spent on side characters in Hawaii. So much so that it was like watching two different movies. And don't get me started on the completely out-of-place and cringeworthy dance subplot.

I liked the first movie. But this sequel took a massive nosedive. The plot is full of holes right from Sonic's first action scene. Why am I watching Sonic the Hedgehog DRIVE A VAN for 15 minutes like he was CGI Garfield or something, wondering how to get rid of a bomb?

How would YOU move a ticking bomb to a safe place if you had super speed? Don't think too hard, you might blow some brain cells like the writers of this movie.

The jokes are an absolute failure and full of stale pop-culture/music artist references. Which means kids won't get the jokes, and adults will only roll their eyes.

Some kids were also in the cinema, and I think I heard them laugh twice during the whole movie. It was that funny. The only jokes that landed with kids was a couple poop jokes. What a failure.

I went in looking forward to Jim Carrey, but even he had uninspired, yawn-inducing dialogue. He either had little control over his dialogue, or he's really mellowed out and just phoned it in for this one.

Sonic doesn't even fight like Sonic. Not once did I see him actually destroy an enemy while spinning. But then I forgot that I was watching the latest Alvin and the Chipmunks CGI disaster.

There were one or two tiny glimmers of hope of what this movie could've been. And a couple well-placed game references. But it's still an absolute flop and I can't remember facepalming so much... even Encanto was better constructed than this.

SurrealEstate (2021– )

Started off somewhat original, now it's going downhill.

[4/10 · 10 September 2021]

After a few episodes, this show is headed right down the same old hollywood ghost clichés.

Let's have yet another show about ghosts who are stuck here "because they have unfinished business". Get over this stupid cliché already.

One of the first episodes has the team laughing at the newcomer for trusting that a ghost is who they say they are. And yet in episodes that follow, our main characters are believing all the ghosts at face value. What?

The things that most of these ghosts have to do to "move on" usually don't make sense in real-world logic or internal show-logic. The writers just pull crap out of thin air.

"Ghost, just go to sleep and when you see a light, walk towards it". Umm.. how does our main character know there is a "light"? Or that the ghost should sleep (or *can* sleep)? Why can't all the other ghosts in every other episode just do this? Where is this information coming from!?

There's the obligatory gay couple, the bitchy team member that hates the newcomer before it even makes sense to hate them (the writers just need another subplot to resolve), and like so many modern TV dramas, everyone talks like they're aware they're being filmed. The conversations are just not natural.

The show has potential and it's worth watching a few episodes to check it out. But I don't know how much more I will put up with.

Synchronic (2019)

Interesting sci-fi, definitely worth a watch

[7/10 · 16 May 2021]

I initially dismissed Synchronic after reading the blurb as I didn't want to watch a boring movie about drug addicts. Thankfully, that's not what this movie is about.

I really enjoyed it despite a couple flaws (and really, a typical hollywood movie has more cringe-worthy flaws than this).

There was a technical problem where a number of dialog lines were muffled/slurred and I couldn't make out what they were saying without switching on subtitles. It's like they needed to position the mic better or reshoot the scene and tell the actors not to mumble. But overall an interesting movie, and I liked the methodical approach by the character to figure things out.

A couple things I didn't quite get, but are minimal:

• I didn't get how the written message connected with the character. Or why the message was spelled wrong. Or maybe it wasn't a message at all and I read too much into it?

• Couldn't a pill be taken to a chemist to figure out what it's made of and therefore manufacture more? If this was not possible, it should've been stated in the movie to close this loophole.

Fate (VI) (2016)

Audio mix was bad

[3/10 · 5 March 2021]

I don't mind giving very low budget indie movies a shot, we all gotta start somewhere.

However I tried to watch this on Amazon Prime and couldn't get through more than about 20 minutes. The reason was the audio mix, with the music constantly being louder than the dialogue. A couple parts of the dialogue were also a bit 'burnt', as though the audio had been amplified too high and it got distorted. Sorry, but the bad audio editing was a deal-breaker.

Primer (2004)

Realistic acting, incoherent script

[3/10 · 14 November 2020]

Primer is like a novel where every second paragraph has been removed, and the author tells you that if you can't understand what's happening, then you must be stupid.

For scene after scene, we are dropped into the middle of a conversation with no context. This is not smart writing, it's a failure to communicate. If people have to look up an explanation for a movie plot after watching it, you have failed as a filmmaker.

The concepts in the movie are not inherently difficult for most viewers to understand, it's just that it's been chopped up in a blender with half of the movie left on the cutting room floor. We're left trying to piece together incoherent and incomplete leftovers.

I appreciate two aspects of the film though: the back and forth dialogue between characters feels realistic and is well acted, and the fact that low budget films have the potential to be more engaging than the latest mind-numbing superhero movie.

For another low budget time travel movie that viewers might appreciate, check out "41" made in 2012. The filmmaker Glenn Triggs currently has it available free to watch on YouTube.

Uncut Gems (2019)

You reap what you sow

[6/10 · 21 August 2020]

You know what? Adam Sandler's character is realistic. There are people watching this film that will see themselves in his actions. They go through life making one bad decision and one bad judgement after another, and then they break down wondering, "Why does everything go wrong for me?". They genuinely cannot understand why.

This film is more of a character study, it's not about Hollywood formulas or feel-good characters. In fact I was starting to feel sympathy for the 'bad guys'. I didn't understand some of the terminology, but that's not really the point of the movie. You don't need to hear or understand everything that's being said. It's intentionally chaotic and draws you into his world.

Muppets Now (2020)

Sorry, this was bad

[3/10 · 4 August 2020]

The jokes were few and fell flat - I felt like I was watching Sesame Street. They need to stop with the variety show/celebrity guest star gimmick. Why do they keep beating that dead horse? I don't want to see celebrities interacting with Muppets, it's boring. It worked in the 80s, but today is a different time.

Give the Muppets their own limited TV series, with a comedic plot and story arc. These characters could really shine if given the right context/genre. None of this variety/reality show garbage.

The Hollow (2018–2020)

Season 1 is great, Season 2 was horrible

[4/10 · 18 July 2020]

You should definitely watch season 1. Not a lot of modern cartoons keep me interested these days, but this is an exception. Season 1 was very enjoyable and I'd rate it 8/10 stars. The concept was great, right down to the various nods to greek/biblical mythological characters. The later episodes dragged a bit where they were bogged down chasing the Ishibo, but overall it's a good watch. Thankfully, the season is also self-contained so it doesn't end on a cliffhanger.

What the heck happened with season 2!? The main characters do nothing but whine, complain, and fight with each other in every single episode! Writers, are you insane? This is not entertaining to watch! Who wants to eat at a restaurant where all the staff complain about everything right in front of you? That's what every season 2 episode is like. It is just frustrating and annoying to watch.

The characters also fell back into typical cartoon cliches where they act stupid and don't use their powers when they should. The mythologically-inspired enemies are also gone for the most part and replaced with bland cartoon enemies. Whoever approved the script for season 2 should be ashamed.

Mindhunter: Episode #2.1 (2019) Season 2, Episode 1

Not a good start

[4/10 · 20 August 2019]

Do we really have to have ANOTHER show/movie illustrating the stupid and extremely dangerous practice shown in the opening scene of Season 2, Ep. 1? Writers, please think about your large number of viewers. Have some integrity and thought about the effect that this sensitive material will have or can cause.

Anyway, for the first couple of episodes it feels like everyone is trying to say their lines as fast as they can. Is there a race to the end credits? Have the director and editor heard about realistic pacing? There's hardly room for genuine pause for thought or emotion.

Once again we have the tired hollywood fad of the obnoxious female character. You know the type that's in all the shows these days: the smug know-it-all female that always has a cold, sneering response to every other male character. Oh, and of course we have to give her the lesbian story arc, because of social justice and whatnot. Nevermind that it seems rather anachronistic.

Anyway, the show does start getting interesting again after the first couple episodes, but we'll see how it all stands up. The connections to real life events help make it interesting.

The Twilight Zone: Replay (2019) Season 1, Episode 3

Not ANOTHER evil white police officer character

[3/10 · 22 May 2019]

Do we really need to perpetuate this stereotype of racist white police officer AGAIN? Constantly making TV shows and movies with this kind of character is only fueling more paranoia and distrust. There are always some bad seeds in an organization. Constantly reinforcing this negative stereotype is not helping. They could've framed this plot around the racist officer, but also included positive police characters to show that most police are not like this. But no, every cop in this movie is evil and it's all "us vs them", which leaves you with an underlying feeling of dissension, not hope.

Come on filmmakers, provide some healthy role models (no matter what race or nationality). Something that gives younger people something to aspire to and not inciting more dissension and racism.

The Twilight Zone: The Comedian (2019) Season 1, Episode 1

Way too long, and should not have been the pilot episode

[4/10 · 11 April 2019]

It was an interesting story idea, but this episode should've been half as long as it was. There was just not enough material to make it last almost a whole hour. It just dragged and dragged.

This is the kind of episode you would find in the middle of a season. It was too weak to be an opening episode. What were they thinking?

Additionally, the narrator delivery was weak ("You're entering the Twilight Zone", etc). There was nothing dramatic or gripping about the voiceover, it just sounded like someone reading a script. It's like they just recorded one take and left it at that. Get the guy back in the recording booth and get it done properly with better timing and without rushing.

I really hope later episodes have more punch. The original series had some great episodes, but also lots of mediocre ones. Many episodes were just stretched out too long for one simple idea. I hope this latest reincarnation of the series doesn't fall into the same trap.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018–2020)

Horrible theme song, but more watchable than the original

[7/10 · 15 November 2018]

Positives: The animation style is great, the background art is beautiful and the subtle effects are nice (glowing She-Ra). The faces have an 80s japanese Studio Ghibli look, which was surprising to see but is a welcome change. I like that it's 2D and yet not the lame Flash-puppet style that so many 2D shows end up being. I like how the Netflix logo at the start has a nod to the Filmation logo from the original She-Ra.

I've watched the first four episodes and the storyline has kept me interested so far, even as an adult. To be blunt, most 80s cartoons really don't age well and are full of blundering-idiot characters and tedious dialogue. So far, this is definitely more watchable.

Negatives: The theme song is an absolute let-down. It is generic, unmemorable garbage. I was really looking forward to a modern update on the original theme, but this theme song is uninspired factory-produced trash. I'm still watching Season 1, so if it turns out to go downhill fast, I'll be back. But otherwise, so far it's kept me engaged more than I expected.