Reviews

7 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Pilot, Part 1 (2016)
Season 1, Episode 1
1/10
A bunch of dundering boobs screwing up space and time
14 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
(Writing this after seeing the entire thing, constantly waiting for them to coalesce into a cogent team.)

These incompetent, dysfunctional boobs traipse gaily through space and time, ostensibly to correct anomalies which have been created by time pirates/bandits, all the while creating anomalies of their own with no thought as to the consequences. As a result, the entire universe is in a state of flux brought about by their unwillingness to follow the most basic rule of time travel -- DON'T INTERACT WITH YOURSELF!

They are so dysfunctional that they cannot pull off a single mission without screwing it up.

The furtherance of the emasculation of men, by the Hollywood elite, is in full form. The men are incompetent and the women are the strong leaders with the clear heads.

The leader goes AWOL; and they have to choose a new leader. The man they choose couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel. Of course, after he freezes under the stress of having to make a decision, he hands off the leadership to the strong, gay woman.

They care more about their libidos than the mission. In one episode, the team are getting their a--es handed to them and the "leader" takes that time to have a tryst with another woman thus threatening the welfare of the team.

In another episode, George Washington is being marched to his own hanging; and two of those trying to prevent it take the time to get randy in a tent they captured from the Huns.

Whenever they have an opportunity to kill the bad guys, and save humanity, they either decide not to or are talked out of it by another team member.

Whenever they have to choose between the life of one of their own, or the possible extinction of all of humanity, they always choose the one over the many.

Their continued bad decisions make the series painful to watch.

They also think nothing of killing people in the past who are of "no consequence" such as British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Who knows whether that Private's great, great, great great grandchild wouldn't find the cure for some terrible disease?

In addition ... we are treated to characters being introduced without so much as a "Howdy do." If you haven't been a watcher of "The Flash", "Supergirl", or "Green Arrow" you are just left in the dark. Characters just pop up and we are left to discover just what it is that they do, what powers they possess, or what they will add to the dysfunctional team or whether they will improve or diminish the quality of the group.

So just why WERE those Dominators so angry with Barry Allen aka "The Flash?"

(SHRUG) I don't watch "The Flash." (Or "Supergirl" or "Green Arrow")

Overall, the execution is poor; the story lines convoluted; and the characters disappointing.

HOWEVER ... the CGI and sets are fantastic.
2 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Jessica Jones (2015–2019)
3/10
Poorly written, scripted, and acted
29 December 2015
While the premise is sound -- people with super powers, some using them for good while others use them for bad, are pitted against each other -- the acting is B grade mediocrity; and the plots within the premise are, at times, laughable. The scene at the police station comes strongly to mind.

How many times can one blurt at the television "All you have to do is ... (insert plot line suggestion here)"? It becomes obvious within a short time that the characters will do the wrong thing time after time. Predictability is not this show's strong point.

While Marvel usually makes characters who are fit for watching by the whole family, this one's descent into foul language and soft core pornography takes this character into the adult realm from which she will not return.

All in all, it is a groaner which needs some serious script massaging -- hopefully by new writers. It can be saved, but will it? Not with the current crew running the show.
8 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Earth to Echo (2014)
4/10
The Blair Witch Project meets E.T.
16 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
If you have problems with motion sickness you need to avoid this movie. The entire thing is filmed with hand-held cameras, that are occasionally mounted on a bicycle, and that is as steady as it gets. It moves slowly and takes forever to get to the good part that lasts only a few minutes.

The E.T. resembles a warmed over mechanical owl from "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963).

The premise of kids saving the extraterrestrial being -- and helping him escape this island Earth, ala "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" -- is as hokey and improbable now as it was then.

The camera work sucks out loud, the premise is hokey and predictable, the actors are stilted, and the bad guys aren't even good bad guys. Acting does not exactly abound. There is one special effect that is quite spectacular in its own right and saves this film from a rating of 1.

In the credits there was one person, whose function I missed, who was named Johnny Recher which I found to be quite apropos as this film is a real retcher with all of the constant motion of the camera.

Not a good film. I wouldn't want to see it again nor would I buy it on DVD; but I cannot say that I wish I had my 89 minutes back. How they managed to spend $13 million on this thing, which virtually has no sets and is filmed entirely on location, is beyond me.

Dramamine is your best friend if you go to this groaner.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
District 9 (2009)
9/10
Don't let the plot development fool you
11 September 2009
The plot development is tedious and at times you are asking yourself "What did I get myself into?"

The "cinéma vérité" documentary style at first throws the viewer, especially if one is unaccustomed to, or dislikes, this style.

Then all hell breaks loose; and the viewer is drawn into the film and the cinematic style fades to the background.

The person you started watching as a nerdy, bureaucratic wonk turns into a determined, focused individual set upon not only his survival but the survival of the alien beings in his charge.

While this is no "Enemy Mine" the camaraderie of the main character human, and main character alien, is poignant and inescapable.

Well worth the money; well worth the time; well worth watching; and well worth purchasing the DVD when it becomes available.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
Great short; and still available on Bittorrent
4 February 2009
The entire 10:15 minute presentation is done in a very non-threatening and non-medical way that even preteen children can easily understand. It dispels many of the myths surrounding menstruation that were going around in those days (1946) While sex is not explicitly mentioned, the part about fertilization is. This is also, purportedly, the first Hollywood production to ever use the word "vagina" in the dialogue.

It is cute how the animated character is shown topless in the shower in a purely animated character way with no defining features as was the way of the day. Many of the Betty Boop cartoons showed her undress without revealing any defining features either. Max Fleischer was a bit of a card and did this with many of the Betty Boop cartoons which required frame-by-frame viewing to find them.

There is no mention at the beginning or end of the film as to who the female narrator is. In fact, there are no credits whatsoever other than those mentioning Kotex and Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

This title is nearly impossible to attain; but for those who are Bittorrent downloaders, it can be found out there in the ether. This is one of those "keepers" that will become increasingly hard to find as older short subject features fade into obscurity.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Smallville: Arrival (2005)
Season 5, Episode 1
Who was Sam Loeb?
15 May 2008
At the end credits of this episode there is a page that says:

"In Memory of Sam Loeb (1988-2005) A True Superboy"

Purusing the credits at IMDb I can find no one named "Loeb"; nor the mystery thirteen-year-old mentioned.

It is always a bit annoying when the producers include mystery memoriams at the end of a movie or episode. It is nice that they choose to do so but it would be helpful to know who they were.

It leaves the audience with this mystery person who may or may not have been germane to the plot. If they are an actor we want to know which one.

So who was Sam Loeb?
0 out of 25 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Great story poorly done
24 September 2007
I am sooooo happy that we went to a matinée. I would have been really p.o.'ed if I had spent a bunch of money on this one.

The story line is great and would possibly have been able to have been saved if they had used real actors who could really act. The plot development went on for -- ev -- er and I wish I could have even that 50% of my money back.

The effects and graphics were good but if you are looking for a movie then wait until it comes to a Red Box near you so you will only waste one dollar.

As movies go, this one should have been left in the can.
4 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed