Jack_C_ Reviews

Resident Alien (2021– )

Actually gets better with later seasons

[9/10 · 15 March 2024]

How can you go wrong with a show featuring Alan Tudyk, Linda Hamilton, and Chris Sheridan- creator of Family Guy? The marquee names drew me in, but the hilarious and beautiful characters kept me glued to screen.

Alan's character, Harry, is best described as a sociopathic, almost autistic alien who crashes on Earth whilst on a mission to wipe out the human race. He must learn to blend in while trying to reconstruct his mission. In the process, he forges an almost friendship with the characters Asta and D'Arcy, and hilarity ensues.

Nearly every character is well fleshed out and loveable. D'Arcy is easily my favorite as her comic relief is backed by one of the sweetest, most sophisticated personalities in modern television.

Give it a shot. You'll cringe, cheer, laugh, and fall in love with the entire cast. I binged the first two seasons on Netflix and am half way through season 3 on Peacock. It is a feel good binge despite the nonstop genocidal tone.

Wilderness (2023)

Not enough

[6/10 · 13 January 2024]

The story barely carries all 6 hours, 5 or less would have been ideal. There are too many shots of Jenna's broken hearted face, made less believable by her heavily botoxed forehead. Scenes meander and characters take forever to develop. I almost stopped watching after the first episode but was glad I carried through.

I love odes to female empowerment as much the next person. I also get that the writers and directors are showing her prolonged suffering. After all, 'there is only so much a person can take'. I only wish there was more to alleviate the dreary darkness.

Jenna's performance is powerful, as was Oliver's pathology. The rest of the cast felt like one dimensional stuffed animals. All in all, a worthy binge, but you have to be in the mood for darkness.

I Am Not Okay with This (2020)

So good

[8/10 · 24 December 2023]

Can't believe the bean counters at Netflix canceled this show. It has everything from great writing to great acting, and it is accomplished with hardly any special effects. Wasting $150 million on garbage like Harry and Meghan and not letting this modestly budgeted show finish is just plain incompetence.

All 7 episodes are easily binged in a night. It is full of F bombs and adult themes, so recommended for older teens and above. It checks all the boxes of a typical high school teenie drama, but also dives deep into what happens when someone with average intelligence, childhood trauma, and social awkwardness gains superpowers.

Go ahead and watch, but know you will be frustrated by the unresolved episodes.

The English (2022)

Don't watch the ending before bedtime

[9/10 · 12 December 2023]

The glowing reviews are well deserved. The writing is brilliant, the humor dry, and the cinematography breathtaking. Watch on a big screen TV with HDR, any less would fail to do it justice.

This is a dark, dark show. The wild west with all of its warts- robbery, racism, murder, and rape, are major recurring themes. The darkness is offset with beauty, love, and an enthralling story. There is not a touch of lowest common denominator tropes that dominate the BBC and major streaming services.

You can't help but emphasize with deeply flawed characters trying to survive in a brutal and lawless world. There are a handful of true villains, but the rest are a deep shade of gray with understandable motivations. I'd avoid watching the last episode before bed. I could not sleep for hours.

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

Beautiful and heartbreaking

[8/10 · 19 November 2023]

WWII is so overdone that I almost always click away from new entrants to the genre. Hugh Laurie and Mark Ruffalo's presence piqued my interest and the heartbreakingly beautiful cinematography kept me glued to the set. You will not regret binging this show.

Aria's perhaps one of the worst pretend blind actors I've ever seen. The young girl who played Marie was the real deal and set my expectations for the rest of the show. Watching Aria's eyes track fellow actors was distracting as heck and caused me to lose suspension of disbelief through multiple points of the show.

Getting though nonsense scenes and comicbook villains rewards the viewer with a heart wrenching tale of love and redemption. Worth the three hours.

Tár (2022)

Dislikable protagonist with a very slow smolder

[5/10 · 10 August 2023]

When creating a dislikable main character in cinema, best practice is to temper the experience. Audiences can accept the bitter pill if taken with a sympathetic supporting cast, humor, and/or action. Whiplash accomplishes it with great success.

Tar unfortunately forces us to tolerate her terrible persona for 2.5 hours without any payoff.

Cinematography, dialogue, and Cate's acting are the saving graces for an otherwise painful experience. Transitions between beauty and darkness are breathtaking.

Dialogue presumes you have a modicum of musical knowledge. The untrained audience will struggle to follow.

While Ms. Blanchette's acting is supreme, it is difficult to establish any sympathy for her character after the first 30 minutes. I found myself starting other movies and TV shows, and did not finish Tar until 4 weeks later.

As a character study of an unlikable genius, Tar succeeds. As entertainment, it fails miserably.

Man on Fire (2004)

Some plot holes

[6/10 · 29 July 2023]

The idea that a little girl in danger would be locked out of her tutor's home two seconds after leaving is just ridiculous.

That said, Denzel and Dakota's acting are top notch. Denzel's redemption arc from alcoholic war criminal to a bodyguard acting as a substitute father is powerful and heart warming.

Everyone in this movie gives 100%, from villains to heros. Action scenes are worthy of John Wick, before there was John Wick.

Character development is one dimensional. No one evolves aside from Denzel and Dakota. There are massive shortcuts in logic and many cringy moments.

Man on Fire is competent, but far behind Training Day and Equalizer, which are the best of Denzel's works.

65 (2023)

Like watching a grade school play

[3/10 · 10 July 2023]

Dinosaurs and Sci Fi have been beaten to death by formulaic Hollywood tools, and this movie is just another nail in the coffin. Combining Prospect and Jurassic Park sounds like a winner on paper, but not when the mission is carried out by some of the worst editors, writers, and directors in modern Sci Fi.

I had to fast forward through half the movie to remain sane. Adam Driver gave his best but no one can make lemonade out of a pile of turds.

Do yourself a favor, skip this on streaming. This movie didn't even last a month in On Demand before the studio decided to cut their losses and sell to Netflix.

Copenhagen Cowboy (2022–2023)

Fantastic if you fast forward during panning scenes

[7/10 · 14 April 2023]

The underlying plot of this horror sci-fi revenge drama with human traffickers, vampires, and a super-powered kung-fu fighting heroine is fantastic. I respect the director's artistic statement, but like The Bad Patch, I had to fast forward through most of the slow pan and slow zoom scenes to stay focused. Pro tip- when you hit your limit, fast forward in 60 second increments whenever the camera starts to slow pan and zoom.

The first 1 1/2 episodes is terribly bleak and painful to watch. Miu's lack of dialogue and physical movement could frustrate the average viewer. Stick through it and you will be rewarded with one of the weirdest, most creative TV series in the past decade.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

It's an art film!

[9/10 · 14 March 2023]

It's hilarious watching the pro wrestling crowd lose their minds over an art film winning the Oscar. This is a Studio A24 production, which means limited appeal and high intellectual expectations for the audience. We saw the same indignation over A24's Moonlight, which was also a powerful and gritty exploration of the human condition.

Yeoh and Quan, deserved their awards. Their multiple character arcs in the multiverse were believable and heart wrenching. Not going to quibble about Curtis, but I certainly could.

This is a quirky film about love, and the many ways we express and fail to express it to each other. (For those who didn't "get it")

Production value is amazingly high for a $14 million budget. It's clearly a work of love with A-list actors taking less than their market value to be a part of the production.

If you enjoyed other A24 films in the past, don't hesitate to watch this one.

The Menu (2022)

Eat The Rich

[8/10 · 13 February 2023]

The Menu starts as an homage to foodies, and turns into a savage satire on the excesses of the upper 0.1%. Plot twists are surprisingly unpredictable and over the top. Fan of horror and film noirs will find a home here.

Ralph Fienne's Chef is an eccentric genius who feeds the upper crust on an exclusive island for $1,250 a meal. The diners are treated to the experience of a lifetime with philosophy, presentation, and cuisine prepared by a team of 16 top chefs and servers. Things take a dark turn midway through the meal, and all hell breaks loose. Plot continuity is far from seamless- suffering from a number of holes as one would expect from the genre.

To say more would spoil the experience. Enjoy the celebration of food, art, and class warfare. There are precious few well-done films in the genre, and it is worthy of celebration when we get one of this caliber.

Troll (2022)

Tired and derivative

[4/10 · 6 December 2022]

Troll is literally every Hollywood monster movie cliche thrown into a boring script with dumb characters. The movie adds nothing to the genre except to showcase how advanced CGI have become in 2022.

Every plot twist can be seen from 15 minutes away. The people in charge are as dumb as the boots on the ground. Years of conflict is resolved with a few minutes of dialogue.

I am on night 3 and not sure I want to finish this movie. The troll is awesome and the only reason for the 4 stars rating. I would advise checking out Trollhunter instead. The mockumentary remains the defining modern Norwegian troll of the 21st century.

The Colony (2021)

So very dumb

[3/10 · 27 August 2022]

If astronauts only had an 8th grade education, this movie would be the result. The plot is so dumbed down that it is painful to watch.

Visiting Earth for the first time? Don't bother sending rovers and satellites to do recon. Just send a poorly designed 1980's era lander with no water landing gear and no advanced hardware.

Meeting survivors for the first time? Don't talk to the only English speaker and spend all your time getting to know the little girl.

Production value is not particularly high, though the cinematography is excellent.

I can go on, but I am going to shut off this movie at 30 minutes. My leisure time can be better spent.

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Your time is better spent elsewhere

[2/10 · 23 August 2022]

The characters are bland, the politics heavy plot insipid, and even Matt Smith's acting could not rescue this bomb. G Martin should have stayed out of the script writing business and finished books 6 and 7 of GOT instead.

HBO clearly failed to provide any creative oversight over this series. Stop hiring no talent hacks. Season 8 of GOT should have been warning enough. $200 million down the drain.

Trinity of Shadows (2021– )

Falls apart

[5/10 · 12 August 2022]

The first 10 episodes are strong. Acting and script are believable and entertaining.

The story starts falling apart in episode 11. Nonsense legal drama are slapped on like a dismembered corpse. Characters take actions that would never happen in the real world.

I had to stop watching during episode 12. The sloppy writing became too annoying to swallow, even for this native of Taiwan.

Our Great National Parks (2022)

Low quality writing

[5/10 · 18 July 2022]

It's as if the producers spent all of their budget on President Obama and did not have enough left to hire quality writers and filmmakers. This animal documentary drones on like a wikipedia entry. Viewers see at most 1% of the parks featured and learn almost nothing about the history or species diversity of each park.

What a waste of talent.

Torchwood: Small Worlds (2006) Season 1, Episode 5

How do you run Torchwood with zero curiosity?

[4/10 · 10 July 2022]

Other than immortal Capt Jack, Torchwood is supposedly staffed by some of the smartest people in Earth. Yet, nary a question is asked of the oldest and most powerful beings on Earth.

The whole episode is cliche after cliche. The writers got lazy.

Ozark (2017–2022)

Who knew money laundering could be so entertaining?

[8/10 · 29 May 2022]

The first two seasons are masterpieces. Watching a family struggle with forced relocation after the money laundering genius father angers a Mexican cartel is just good times.

Art imitates life Ozark. The writers meld little known facts such as how Mexican cartels largely controls American horse racing and how most politicians and law enforcement are paid off by the cartels to look the other way.

The third season feels dialed in with Bateman morphing into an unemotional villain. Logic taks a leap out the window and never returns.

The fourth season recovered the tight knit story writing and drama we expect from the series. If you liked Narcos, Sicario, or Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, give it a try.

Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan (2012) Season 7, Episode 5

This episode was painful to watch

[2/10 · 22 May 2022]

Amy and Rory deserved a much better episode. Angel episodes have always been weak, but the number of convenient plot holes was frustrating.

Like the good Doctor, rip out the last page and never watch this episode. You don't need the aggravation.

The Batman (2022)

Pretentious, boring, with massive plot holes

[5/10 · 28 April 2022]

I don't mind minor plot holes in superhero movies, but this trash remake was just too blatant to ignore. We did not need to waste 3 hours of our lives to watch a vigilante out of his depth against a master super villain.

The acting is excellent all around, but the writers, director, and editor should be fired from the franchise. A mandatory flood evacuation into the first floor of a building when the city is literally made of highrises? A woke Batman who refuses to kill even if his car chase literally causes dozens of deaths? Batman forced to hang on by one hand even though he literally uses a grappling hook in the next scene?

Dano as the Riddler is perhaps the best super villain to come out of the DCU. It's a shame so much talent was wasted on a horrible production.

Adam Ruins Everything: Adam Ruins Going Green (2016) Season 1, Episode 26

Very possibly the worst lie ever perpetuated by this show

[1/10 · 28 April 2022]

Adam was likely paid by the fossil fuels industry to make this episode. We'll never know.

The EPA's emissions calculator clearly shows that even in coal heavy West Virginia, EVs generate less than half the emissions of ICE cars. Do not waste your time with this lying creep.

The Guardians of Justice (Will Save You!) (2022– )

Starts getting good in episode 4

[7/10 · 3 March 2022]

The first 90 minutes of Guardian are ADHD messes that flash hundreds of 1 second frames per episode. We are superficially introduced to the cast of jaded superheros, super villains, horrible politicians, and the dangerous world left by Marvelous Man's departure.

There is not enough initial character development to keep you focused, and I understand why so many viewers gave up. Acting is also intentionally cheesy with only a few capable of exhibiting real human emotions.

The mystery of a suicidal Asian superman was the only reason I didn't turn it off in episode 2.

It slows down to an enjoyable pace by episode 4. I really got into the story and character arcs. Give it a chance, but expect a dark dark parody with more head shakes than belly laughs. I am still snickering over the unexplained man in a glass cage and how Ravencroft stopped speaking Chinese that makes sense half way through his interrogation.

The show pays heavy homage to 8-bit video games like Mortal Combat, Japanese anime, Gumbi claymation, Adam West Batman, He-Man, Watchmen, the DCU, Terminator, and is easily as gory as The Boys. I am probably missing many other references, but these are the most obvious.

The last episode was more philosophical than I expected, but I agree with most reviewers, hate the ending.

If there is a season 2, please slow down the schizophrenic pacing so we can enjoy the animations. It feels like a lot was left on the cutting room floor to fit 30 minute episodes.

Ozark: Wartime (2020) Season 3, Episode 1

Dialed in performances

[6/10 · 17 February 2022]

Season 1 and 2 are masterpieces. Season 3 saw Bateman transform into a cold drug lord with almost zero expression and dialed in performances. The script feels forced, with ridiculous plot twists that would have never happened in earlier seasons.

I really wanted to turn it off, but I was invested in the characters and made myself finish.

Season 4 is much much better. Suffer through this season, and you will be rewarded.

The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

Not too bad if you fast forward

[4/10 · 16 January 2022]

This movie references Annabelle and is in the same family as the Conjuring. Pacing is awful and I did not care for any of the characters.

Watch the first 20 minutes or so, and then fast forward whenever characters start creeping through dark rooms. The scare scenes are decent though formulaic. I finished the movie in 40 minutes.

Station Eleven: The Severn City Airport (2021) Season 1, Episode 5

It all makes sense now

[9/10 · 29 December 2021]

I love this episode. The post apocalyptic airport scenario was engaging and the writing was realistic. All your questions from the first 4 episodes are answered.