Ranbl Reviews

Yellowstone: The Reek of Desperation (2019) Season 2, Episode 3

Best one so far

[9/10 · 18 January 2024]

This was truly an episode for people who like quality acting.

So many beautiful scenes.

John and lynell cuddling talking about lost love.

Beth and Jamie talking of desperation.

Becker brothers bullying the real estate developer.

Rip and Beth talking about loyalty.

All great dialogues peak of the series so far.

Wendy moniz and Kevin Costner play so well off each other. She is the essence of beauty and elegance.

John is the classic bad patriarch does it all for family and on the road there destroys their lives and achieves the opposite.

I actually like Beth better as a cold sniper than as a wrecking ball as she was on season one.

Lions for Lambs (2007)

Almost there

[8/10 · 25 November 2023]

Robert redford is a great filmaker. This movie raises a lot of great question which may have been its intention. But just like him one of his protagonists janine roth knows what needs to be done but is too tired to do it. He knows there needs to be awakening but stays shy of calling for it loudly. Janine knows her time to fight for truth was during vietnam and first gulf war but now she's 57 with debt and low prospects of getting a new place. Redford could have been a strong agent of change but he let life go by. This movie is exactly that. Asks big questions takes no risk and life passed it by.

Supernatural: Abandon All Hope (2009) Season 5, Episode 10

Top 5 episode of the entire show

[10/10 · 4 October 2023]

This is definitely one of the best and gut wrenching episodes of the entire show. And the best acting is done by Alona Tal abd Samantha Mathis as joe and ellen. I was sad to see them leave but what a way to go. In a blaze of glory.

"I will spend my last night on earth with a little thing called self respect" line was so good but i wished they did make love.

Alona tal was one of the best and she exited in her best work. Ellen getting to see joe go and revenge her immediately. Later in the promised big showdown the good guys lost which raised the stakes cause we realized we can't just use a mcguffin like the colt for easy win.

Supernatural: Jus in Bello (2008) Season 3, Episode 12

One of the best with one minor issue

[9/10 · 29 September 2023]

This is really one of the best episodes of the entire show. Humor, huge battle, dire consequences and lots of growth.

Katie cassidy with her best guest appearance and ruby went from great to freaking amazing. By willing to make the sacrifice play she showed the winchesters how high the stakes are and what level of commitment needed to win this war.

Following the groundhog episode I was ready for a procedural follow up but this episode went even higher.

Later season had bigger battles and apocalypses but this episode is the peak of supernatural the naive first seasons.

If you want to get someone in this is the one you show them.

Blacklight (2022)

Barely passable

[5/10 · 15 October 2022]

Aging action stars always have a hard time to know when it's time for different roles. The premise of ocd agent facing psychological and family problems while dealing with moral dilemmas all can work. When you try to squeeze them all to one movie none of them flash out.

Mr neeson is a very skilled actor but the success of the "taken" movies stirred him on a very specific path. Sometimes this movies work and sometimes they don't. Unlike other action stars he actually made serious movies but now the powers that be seem to call him just got this movies. Watch if you have nothing else to do. No other reason.

Castle: PhDead (2015) Season 8, Episode 3

The inevitable decline

[6/10 · 29 August 2022]

We all read about the bad relationship between stana katic and Nathan fillion and on this season it's palpable. The chemistry is gone and they basically run separately. They share the screen for a few minutes each episode if at all. This episode is where they just drift apart.

Without the silliness and chemistry the show lost its biggest assets.

The show should've ended in season 7.

The silver lining is Alexis. She really got into the game this season.

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Lie to Me: Sweet Sixteen (2010) Season 2, Episode 12

One of the best

[9/10 · 22 August 2022]

The tension has never been higher on this show than on this episode.

There are better cal episodes and better Gillian episodes but not one when they face each other.

Bones: The Proof in the Pudding (2010) Season 5, Episode 12

Best episode of the series

[9/10 · 16 July 2022]

Bones at their best. Solving a mystery with science action abd lots of heart. The idea if reexamine history by exhuming the dead is a series issue with consequences. Probably the most thought provoking episode of the entire series.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi (2020) Season 2, Episode 5

Epic episode

[9/10 · 21 June 2022]

I am not a starwars fan. But i enjoy the mando series a lot and this episode was epic. Rosario dawson as Ashoka tano was beyond my wildest expectation. She was all i could hope for and more.

Blue Bloods: For the Community (2016) Season 7, Episode 5

Odd story line

[7/10 · 7 June 2022]

The woman that's suppose to be deported had a baby on american soil and and was married. How is it that marrying a citizen and having a baby has no merrit. I am no expert on immigration but it didn't feel right.

Interceptor (2022)

It could have been better

[5/10 · 4 June 2022]

The movie is basically die hard on a sea rig. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The movie could have been about the psychological battle with kessel but they decided to make it about the fights.

You can use it to pass the time not much more.

Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)

It's not what you think

[8/10 · 15 April 2022]

It's a very misleading series. It's not about the trial or the case or the guilt or lack of it. They don't even bother to show us Olivia's side it's more an indictment of privilege and high society. But it spends 5 episodes barely dealing with it until it explodes. It is superbly shot and acted but I ended up feeling like I barely got a glimpse of the true story.

Nobody (I) (2021)

Self aware john wick

[7/10 · 1 April 2022]

It borderlines on parody. The action is well done but cartoonish. To me this movie should have ended with hutch waking up realizing it was all a dream.

Watch if you are a revenge buff.

What's Your Number? (2011)

The leading couple saves it

[6/10 · 28 March 2022]

The script is one tired romcom cliche sandwich. But anna faris and chris evans are funny and charming and very watchable. It's a pass the time flick nothing else.

Tall Girl 2 (2022)

Starts slow but picks up

[7/10 · 12 February 2022]

It started like a second episode of the first movie but it got better. The surrounding cast actually got better stories this time instead of the evil blonde guy and mean girl. They are better, more interesting and the actors acted better. Stig, kim and fareeda are much more flashed out.

It was fun watch after the slow start.

The Last Duel (2021)

Doesn't reach its goal

[7/10 · 29 January 2022]

This movie is supposedly told in Rashomon style showing 3 points of view to the same story. In fact one point of view is not really of the same story and the two "conflicting" ones are not that different. So we are made to endure the same story 3 times. The battle scenes are great but the social commentary is weak and too subtle. We barely get a discussion on the actual issue. There was no need to relive the attack twice. By not deciding if it's an action movie or a social drama he misses both.

Eternals (2021)

When marvel tries to make a DC film

[3/10 · 28 January 2022]

Eternals make no sense in the mcu. It's dark. It creates a narrative of that makes no sense in a universe that had the thanos snap. We barely get to know them and they are as superficial as the dc heroes.

Don't waste your time it's just depressing.

Dune (2021)

Waste of time

[4/10 · 31 December 2021]

The book was great but the movie is awful. Almost all action sequences are in the dark full of dust so you don't get to see anything worthwhile. The characters are one dimensional. No inner conflict, no growth. Like comic book villains used to be before the mcu. The only one that was awesome was jason Momoa. Don't waste your time or money.

Chaos Walking (2021)

Scifi that makes you think

[7/10 · 26 November 2021]

This movie does not excel in relationships or growth of character. But it does the two most important things scifi needs to do.

It dares to conceive of a new reality and through it looks at our own faults as a society and as humanity.

For me this makes it worth the watch. So watch it and dare to imagine a better society and maybe you can make it happen.

The New Mutants (2020)

Girl interupted meets marvel

[6/10 · 5 November 2021]

If you see it as a horror film it fails. If you see it as a superhero film it fails. If you see it as a film about growing with fears and they just manifest to drive the point across it's very watchable. I cane without expectations and enjoyed most of it. Anya TJ was great.

Far from Heaven (2002)

Reserved 60s drama

[9/10 · 30 October 2021]

I see a lot of people complaining about the weakness of cathy. But that's the whole point. In the 60s in Hartford what she did and felt was radical. Judging it in 2000s eyes is silly. Understated and reserved is how a 60s housewife would handle this huge topics. I think Julianne moore is exceptional in this movie because she had to bubble her emotions and just let them surface occasionally. Otherwise it wouldn't feel real.

As Luck Would Have It (2021 TV Movie)

Great Rom com

[8/10 · 8 September 2021]

It's a classsic girl comes to town for one reason meets a guy and so on.

What makes this movie really shine is great performances by joanna garcia and alan leech and the sheer breath taking beauty of ireland.

I watched it for maddie Townsend and for tom branson to start with. But ireland was the real lucky charm.

He's All That (2021)

Missed the mark

[5/10 · 8 September 2021]

This movie didn't do anything new nor did we get an in depth look at the transformation.

But addison rae is really charming and showed she can carry a film. With better writing she can do a lot better.

The Defeated (2020)

A big disappointment

[3/10 · 21 August 2021]

The bigger issues of countries after a world war i expected to be weird and subjective. But I at least hoped the crime thriller side to have a satisfying conclusion. But sadly in some weird attempt to appear realistic they denied the viewers a satisfactory end.

A waste of 8 hours without true growth of the characters and without a well wrapped ending. You will be sorry you started.

Sweet Girl (2021)

Good idea but half baked

[5/10 · 20 August 2021]

The movie started as a classic revenge plot as you can see in the trailer. Momoa is decent but the story just doesn't have the money to cash that ambitious cheque.

You keep waiting for it to make sense but you get more head scratchers.

As he becomes a bigger movie star he needs to demand better quality scripts to meet his standards.