stantims2 Reviews

That's My Jam: Billy Porter & Patti LaBelle vs. Darren Criss & Sarah Hyland (2023) Season 2, Episode 2

Criss is the star of this episode

[5/10 · 15 March 2023]

Criss is a star. His talent is remarkable. I've seen him in a range of shows, and become more impressed each time. His rang of talent is shockingly broad LaBelle should never have been on the show. Even with the producers providing softball setups, she struggled. Her voice is still amazing, but she has virtually no knowledge of music made in the past two decades, or more. The other two were filler. Porter was over-the-top "theatrical". Even if this is his real personality, it's annoying. Hyland's voice was forgettable. Her cutesy personality is adorable, of course, but pales in comparison to almost every other performer who has appeared on this series. I hope this weak episode, other than Criss' appearance and contribution, is an exception.

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014)

A fascinating, different kind of documentary

[10/10 · 12 March 2021]

A friend told me about this. It's not a topic I would normally find interesting, but I was mesmerized from the first scene. Its homespun, down-home interviews with a professional film crew and engaging set of stories, along with plenty of scenes giving tastes of how very, very hard this event is. Unlike so many documentaries that get dull with an oppressive amount of detail and back-story, the film doesn't show you everything and tell you everything. This is a good thing. It left me wanting to know more, but feeling good with what the film delivered. I couldn't find one flaw with the film, and plenty of extras I didn't expect.

Voices of Fire (2020)

Not what you might think it is

[2/10 · 4 December 2020]

I gave this series a bad rating, because it isn't a series about creating a gospel choir at all. It's about auditioning potential soloists, with triumph-over-adversity stories and who sing runs. Even the last episode, the choir's debut, wasn't actually a performance of the choir, but a montage of soloists. Also, while the profiles were interesting, and could move you to tears, the soloists were only adequate singers, and the choir didn't sound good, and was nothing special. It got old fast, and never got better. I must say, though, I really enjoyed the choir master, and the only reason I gave it a second star. I think his story, and the challenges and how he goes about improving choirs, would be a more interesting documentary.

Gay of Thrones (2013–2019)

Brilliant show

[10/10 · 3 November 2020]

This show has extremely clever writing, and the lines are delivered in a very fast-paced manner. It's a wild ride, and plan to pay attention the entire time, because if you don't, you're going to miss some really funny lines. It's the Usain Bolt of banter comedy.

The Cabin with Bert Kreischer (2020)

Hit and miss

[5/10 · 3 November 2020]

Bert is consistently very good throughout this series. However, the episodes go as the guest comics go. Some were hysterical, some were okay, some were boring and one was truly horrible.

The Cabin with Bert Kreischer: Fresh Perspectives (2020) Season 1, Episode 4

Ms. Pat destroyed this episode

[1/10 · 3 November 2020]

She not only felt the need to be the center of attention in every scene, but her narrow-minded, ultra-critical and mean-spirited "humor" consisted entirely of tearing down the opinions, values and experiences of other people. We should keep in mind that the show we saw was edited from hours of footage, so this is the best of what the cast had to deal with. She single-handedly decimated this episode. I can't fathom why the producers even aired it.

ReMastered: The Lion's Share (2018 TV Movie)

Greed

[3/10 · 8 November 2019]

This documentary provides a good background on the origins of a popular song. It's a story about greed, but the "victims" are the most greedy of all. The premise is that Solomon Linda wrote and performed a song, and he received no credit or royalties for it, and others made money from Linda's work.

It's not clear Linda even wrote the song component, Mbube. For all anyone knows, he heard around campfire in the bush, and then was the first to record it.

Then, there are the various attorneys being accused of ripping off Linda's estate, and not paying royalties due. There is some indication of this.

Then, there's the anglicized version, Wimoweh, which is derivative of the original.

Then, there's the famous version, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which offers lyrics. "Mbube" just means "lion", according to multiple sources in the movie, so I think we can be sure that the tune doesn't became famous with the lyrics: lion, lion, lion, lion...

The do-gooder journalist tries to right things for the poor daughters of Linda, who themselves did nothing to earn the money, and then they, new attorneys and the journalist do not go after everyone whoever made money on the song, but Disney, because they used it in a successful movie and have deep pockets to go after. (Does Disney even use the song if they know that it would be royalty-bearing? Would they have used the original tune or the commercial version with lyrics that were not Linda's?)

In the end, the journalist discovers he's been duped, for all his ill-conceived intentions. Poor daughters? Nope. Just inheritance mongers off the blood, sweat and tears of others.

Black Summer (2019–2021)

Quickly irritating

[2/10 · 14 June 2019]

Interesting idea to weave together points of view of the crisis. However, too many bad things happen too quickly to the various characters, none are likable and Michelle Lee does a horrific job of over-acting, in every scene she's in. Fortunately the episodes grow shorter in length as the series runs. It gets my second star for that.

The Silence (II) (2019)

Ridiculous premise with a ridiculous story line

[2/10 · 14 June 2019]

The only good things are that they use sign language and the budget is much higher than a typical Syfy channel movie. Ridiculous premise because there is no reason to believe that the creatures would evolve to be carnivorous or crave something that they haven't been living on. Ridiculous story line, because there are all kinds of ways that the humans could wipe them out faster than this movie runs. There are loads of goofs, but a good game might be to have a group of people watch it again and have a competition as to who could find the most. What a waste of Tucci's talent, so an extra minus-one for that. Nets two stars.

The OA (2016–2019)

Shaggy dog story, in the worst way.

[1/10 · 10 June 2019]

This series is ridiculous. All you need to do is to start writing down your "why questions" as the series starts, from the very first scene. Why is she standing on the bridge? Why does she look back? Why does she jump? You'll have at least a few dozen of these in the first season. How many get answered? Hardly any. What about in Season 2? A few dozen more. Hardly any from Season 1 or Season 2 get addressed, either. There will be more seasons, and you can count on even more nonsense.

Even if you can conjecture of the boatloads of plot devices used, if you pick one, there are several illogical conclusions you'd have to draw. There's no human or computer who can make sense of it, and put the pieces in place.

The tree. The water. The house. The Echo. The multiple "guides". Flower stems as earwigs. Flower petals as food. The dove. The paintings. The game.

Two of the three leads offers no consistent behavior. Homer has multiple dimension lives, and even two in the same dimension. Prairie conveniently remembers some things, but is ignorant of others. She slowly gets some of it back, but then acts like she's a lunatic. How does she "fully integrate" if, say, she's dead, in another dimension? Which is the case. Hap, at least, is the same cad throughout, so there's that.

I defy anyone to figure out what a telepathic, intelligent, alien octopus with a Japanese accent has to do with this concoction.

I think the executive producers will make a ton of money, teasing the audience with "intelligent writing" requiring an "open mind". Just think of Lost meets Fringe meets Twin Peaks meets the Sixth Sense.

If you thrive on self-torment, this show is for you. For the rest of us, skip it.

Tin Star: Wild Flower (2019) Season 2, Episode 8

The worst episode

[2/10 · 5 June 2019]

By far, this the worst episode in the series. The ridiculously melancholy portions detract immensely from advancing the plot. There is so much more that could have been done with the screen time than extend the somber moments so that we could, what, feel for a character that was one of just about all of them who were fed up with the situation they found themselves in. What made this character so special? Even the big reveal isn't that big a reveal, and doesn't even contribute to the story. It's just a reveal to have a reveal.

Alien News Desk (2019)

Great spoof

[10/10 · 28 April 2019]

Love the writing and the topics. It move fast through topics. Can't get bored.

The Void (I) (2016)

Ridiculous hodge-podge

[2/10 · 31 December 2018]

The only thing creative is the liberal infusion of all the different horror genres into one movie, that makes it utterly nonsensical. Don't bother.

History of Horror (2018–2021)

Mostly very good

[9/10 · 29 December 2018]

Most everything about the series is good: topics, interviews, clips. The only reason to remove a star is that each episode picked one film to do a deep-dive on, and it chewed up too much time for the episode.

Spectral (2016)

Loved it

[9/10 · 12 December 2018]

I really liked the premise. However, I'm always concerned when the enemy seems impossible to defeat, and the heroes find a way, after not figuring it out for a while. Also, there's a little more thought put into the "how" and "why", in more in-depth ways that other sci-fi movies.

Honeymoon (2014)

Seriously bad. Really bad.

[1/10 · 4 December 2018]

Bad acting. Bad writing. Bad directing. I can't comprehend how this made it to SXSW. How much can we take of the lead actress saying over a hundred times, some combination of "I don't know" and "You don't understand"? Apparently, a full movie's worth. The audience, at the end of this movie, won't know and not understand. A mysterious light in the woods. A mysterious male-looking outline. A mysterious childhood friend who we meet as being very angry (with a mysterious reason of that particular emotion). A mysterious set of blood marks on her legs. A mysterious creature in her womb. A mysterious stabbing of her genitals (with no apparent ramification). A mysterious "aging" of her skin. A mysterious connection to another mysterious female. A mysterious reason why she's losing her memory? A mysterious "I'm trying to protect you" and then killing him. The entire thing is a preposterous waste of time.

Prodigy (2017)

Really well done

[10/10 · 22 November 2018]

Perhaps I'm over-praising this film because I had no expectations. It was all a very pleasant surprise, and I liked everything about it...especially its low budget. That is, because the budget is low, the writing, acting and directing must be so much better, and they are.

American Vandal (2017–2018)

Clever, in all kinds of ways

[9/10 · 13 November 2018]

Season One is really good. As a result, my expectations were pretty high for Season Two. It is equally as good (though a lot more gross). I would have given each season an 8, but the fact that both were so strong, an extra star. I would say, though, that they should not make a third season. Quit while you're ahead.

Taking Earth (2017)

Horrendous

[1/10 · 13 November 2018]

This is my first one-star review. I get that it's low-budget. I don't get the incomprehensible plot, and the phenomenally horrible acting. Both-thumbs-down on photography and editing, too. Perhaps someday this will become some camp classic, where the audience shouts clever lines at the screen. The difference is that the Rocky Horror actors KNEW it was camp. This crew is clueless.

Okja (2017)

Awful

[2/10 · 13 November 2018]

I don't understand most all the reviews. This is a children's movie, but rated TV-MA. The creature is an intelligent hippopotamus. The lead characters are caricatures. Tilda Swinton's and Jake Gyllenhaal's are out-right jokes, unintentional laughingstocks really. Perhaps it's a "message movie" and the message to the audience is to stop eating pork. The score is ridiculously amateurish. The chase scenes are slapstick. It only gets an extra star for the CGI hippo-pig and the South Korean settings.

Pandorum (2009)

Too convoluted

[3/10 · 12 November 2018]

There are simply too many twists and turns to attempt to guess what's going on. Also, the evil aliens are ridiculously powerful and there was no reason why all the protagonists weren't wiped out in the first 10 minutes of the film. By the time we got to the ending, I found my self not caring whatever the explanation ended up being. I gave it a couple of extra stars because the aliens were at least interesting in their viciousness and capabilities.

Psychokinesis (2018)

Too shallow and too silly

[2/10 · 12 November 2018]

It's for pre-teens, it seems, with the "good" laborers vs. the "evil" corporation and police, in a Greatest American Hero style of slapstick.

QB1: Beyond the Lights (2017– )

Solid documentary series

[9/10 · 10 November 2018]

It could probably be shorted a couple of episodes, but the editing, camera work and insights into high-profile high school athletes are really strong.

Daredevil (2015–2018)

Season 1 good, Season 2 bad

[4/10 · 9 November 2018]

Love the backstory, character development, villain and action choreography in Season 1. Season 2 is so unappealing. Daredevil gets the crap beat out of him every episode. Karen cries all the time in every episode. Both characters make multiple bad decisions and behave badly and recklessly, in every episode. It is monotonous and irritating. The only person even worth rooting for is...the lawyer. Season 1 is eight stars. Season 2 is one star. Average four stars.

House of Cards: Chapter 73 (2018) Season 6, Episode 8

Discouraging

[2/10 · 5 November 2018]

Way overplayed the baby thing. You cheer for no characters. Almost nothing wrapped up. The writers had 8 episodes to set the stage for a nice finish, but instead wasted all kinds of (slow-moving) dialogue on "character development", other than, of course, all the characters who get killed off right and left.