lp-27434 Reviews

Devil in Ohio (2022)

Took one for the team

[3/10 · 24 January 2023]

So after a few minutes of watching this I realized that writing wasn't the best. The description of the show was intriguing but that is where it ended.

For some unknown reason we decided that the show was going to improve, but it obviously did not occur.

First off the writers couldn't decide the theme of the show...was it a high school drama, a scary horror show, a Hallmark movie or a family drama. Well they decided on all of them and gave us a very disjointed movie. The main family of five, each seemed to have personal social issues and they were each resolved in a very sloppy manner without any decent narration. Finally, the character with the issues that needs to be resolved appeared to have been acted by a robot...she was terrible. Of course, we had to have the stiff acting cop who is the smartest police detective ever and every other cop is either inept or crooked...how surprising.

I truly do not understand how this show was trending.

I recommend avoiding at all costs.

Monster (2022–2024)

Too many episodes ruined a great narrative

[5/10 · 4 October 2022]

The Jeffery Dahmer story was a very disturbing story to hear as it happened and I was hesitant to watch this series because I was resistant to relive this reality. Unfortunately for the viewers, the writers decided that dragging the story out was better than giving a concise narrative of actual events.

From my recollection, every storyline was accurately told in this series. However, I my opinion, repeatedly telling the side of the victim and their families takes away from the fact that Jeffery Dahmer was a demonic person. The victim storyline, while extremely accurate, gave the writers to attempt to show Dahmer as a sympathetic individual...which he was not.

The writers/producers at Netflix need to realize that fewer episodes with a good story is better than extra episodes with a dragged out storyline. The Dahmer story could have been told in 4 well written episodes...with better reviews.

Father Stu (2022)

Surprised at this story...pleasantly

[7/10 · 27 September 2022]

So, I saw the trailers for Father Stu and I was skeptical of this movie. I simply couldn't see Mark Wahlberg being a priest, but we decided to give it a try.

Well the movie starts slow in the typical Hollywood vein of bad guy turning good...but it kept me interested in seeing the outcome. Thankfully I had no knowledge of Father Stu's story so I had no expectations of what was forthcoming.

The family tension within Stu's family was the typical stuff and the tension with his love interest's family was entertaining. But when we see Stu wanting to become a priest and with street smarts earnest I didn't know how the story would proceed.

Well what made the movie good for me was not knowing, so I hope you watch this film until the end and I hope you enjoy it. It's funny and emotional.

The Little Things (2021)

A real sleeper of a film!

[5/10 · 16 June 2022]

When I saw Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto I quickly assumed I would enjoy this movie. Unfortunately that was not the case.

The movie starts out a little slow....and it stayed there. The acting was good, the story was intriguing but you just can't get into this movie. It appears the direction was purposely slow to draw us in but when the scene came to get us involved, you'll find yourself fighting to stay awake...seriously. We watched this movie and fell asleep half way through it. So we decided to watch the movie from "where we fell asleep" and we almost fell asleep watching it a second time.

I'm assuming my title review makes sense now.

King Richard (2021)

I looked forward to watching....but

[5/10 · 6 June 2022]

I was greatly disappointed. The writing seemed to have been done by a made for tv writer. I did not see acting worthy of a Best Actor nomination let alone an Oscar winning performance.

Ironically, the movie made the kids mother as the better role model than King Richard.

The Weekend Away (2022)

Couldn't keep me engaged

[4/10 · 25 May 2022]

I only watched this because it was trending on Netflix. About a quarter of the way through the movie I was more intrigued as to why it was trending than paying attention to the movie. The plot was easy to predict the good guys from the bad guys right away and the ending was not a mystery to me....and I'm not often good at that.

This is simply your made for television movie and it's only difference was the setting was Croatia. If you're looking for a way to kill 90-minutes it's okay to watch, but I doubt you'll be surprised.

Candy (2022)

Very well done

[8/10 · 20 May 2022]

I was pleasantly surprised with this limited run series. The story was told purposely slow, which actually pulled you in. The acting by all accounts was excellent and the direction was very good.

Jessica Bill seems to have found her niche in playing "off-balanced" characters. She did a great job in the Sinner and even better in Candy. The rest of the cast were also a little off but the director was very good at not turning this into a comedy. The ending was a bit of a shocker.

As the opening credits state, this show is based on actual events. Usually I research the story while watching shows like this. Fortunately I did not make that same mistake this time and I believe I enjoyed the show a lot more as a result.

It's a quick binge watch. Enjoy.

Smother (2021–2023)

Nonsense

[4/10 · 3 May 2022]

I watched the first season and enjoyed it until the final episode. Finding out who the killer was and the families reaction was confusing. I don't see anyone justifying killing a family member, accidentally or not in such a manner. Maybe 1 or 2 people...but the entire family?

Then you watch season 2 and everyone is happy until they basically repeat the season with a similar finale. It's simply nonsense.

Road to Perdition (2002)

I loved the film but.....

[7/10 · 4 April 2022]

I've always been a Tom Hanks fan and I was awaiting this movie when it was due out back in '02. A lot of this movie was filmed near where I lived and grew up so it was cool to see the locales in the movie, and I knew several people who were extras and we were able to see them.

The story of the Irish mobster and their close knit gang was a bit cliché, especially the Irish step dancers at a wake...simply ridiculous. But the slow development of the story and the arc of the main character, Michael Sullivan, Sr. Was great. I've always love these type of films when they are directed well, which this film obviously was. The acting was second to none, Newman as always was great (despite his poor Irish brogue), Daniel Craig was a great nemesis to Hanks and Jude Law was an excellent creepy assassin.

I truly liked the film when it first came out but always felt like there was something that wasn't quite right with the movie. Recently I took the time to re-watch this movie and I realized what was missing. It came down to points

First, despite the fact that Hanks is supposed to be a killer he showed very little emotion after his wife's passing and his son was equally cold. Of course they were shown to be sad but those scenes appeared obligatory rather than well acted. Second, I didn't feel the chemistry between the father and son. The argument for independence to try to drive the car by young Michael came across as stereotypical and annoying. This may have been intended by the writers and director to show how the father's lifestyle kept him from being a better father but overall the interaction seemed to be a miss. Lastly, as much as I like Hanks...I just couldn't believe him as a hitman.

Overall, I still recommend the film.

Inventing Anna (2022)

Writing was questionable

[6/10 · 21 March 2022]

This is obviously an intriguing story and I'm glad this series was created, however it was too long. The writers appeared to attempt to satisfy opposing views on whether Anna was a liar or an actual heiress. Unfortunately that resulted in expanding the storyline down unnecessary paths. This series easily could have been completed within 4 episodes and I believe the ratings would have been higher.

The one main negative of this is having a lead character attempting to have a German accent and failing miserably. That became very annoying as each episode aired.

The Woman in the House (2022)

Good way to kill a rainy afternoon

[5/10 · 13 March 2022]

The premise of this show is good, but the first few episodes were painfully slow until the last 2-3 minutes, which made you want to see the next episode. We were enjoying the show and trying to guess who did it, but the ending was disappointing. One review accurately compared this to a Hallmark channels show, which I'm guessing was intentional...and it made the show a bit more amusing. The acting was good.

With the tease at the end of the final episode I'm assuming a Season 2 is already in the works.

Stay Close (2021)

Decent series

[7/10 · 9 February 2022]

This was a good series to watch, somewhat typical Harlan Coben storyline. You're always trying to figure out who the villain is and at the end you're somewhat surprised. The acting is good but a few of the characters take chances that are somewhat ludicrous due to the setting. These side stories take away from enjoying the series but overall it's still a good show to watch.

Ash Wednesday (2002)

Good movie but the audience needs to be patient

[8/10 · 29 January 2022]

A good Edward Burns moviie which doesn't follow his typical comedic path.

The story is a crime drama with lots of suspense set back in the 80's. The film develops slowly but at a plausible pace. There are surprises but they make sense and help the film develop. Sometimes the dialogue between the brothers leaves you wanting better dialogue but you can easily overlook that.

Enjoy this well written drama.

Confidence (2003)

Decent film

[6/10 · 29 January 2022]

This movie had great actors, a good story and some really good dialogue. But the story never really pulled you in and you find yourself waiting to get excited. Even though the ending was not what you expected (actually a very good ending) the middle of the movie never developed.

Some very good acting but either the writing or direction hurt the film from being better.

Entourage (2004–2011)

Great series until it wasn't.

[5/10 · 29 January 2022]

Entourage was a great, original series. When it began it was fresh and original, with storylines that were creative and hilarious.

Then they the second half of the series began and it slowly became unwatchable. Writers/producers need to learn that we don't need to watch our favorite characters "grow", they simply need to end series when they are still great and the characters are unique. Slowly molding the character and the seriries into a run of the mill series is frustrating.

So watch seasons 1-4 and forget the balance. You'll love them.

The Chestnut Man (2021– )

Very good police drama

[9/10 · 20 January 2022]

We just finished the first season and found this Danish police drama to be very well written. The story line was intriguing and had you guessing. The writers did provide some hints along the way as to who the murderer was but they still left unanswered questions until the very end.

Obviously the dialogue is dubbed and some of the translations/dialect of the voice over actors make certain conversations unbelievable it is still very good.

I'm assuming (hoping) for a second season.

Shades of Blue (2016–2018)

Great actors...terrible writing

[4/10 · 19 January 2022]

The show had an all star cast of actors but the storyline was flawed from the start. The story had the potential to be good but the writing would take a ludicrous path and miraculously they, "the good guys, aka corrupt cops" get out of it. The series finale was just lazy writing.

Blood Simple (1984)

Simply a great film

[10/10 · 3 January 2022]

The Coen Brothers kill it...Pun intended.

The writing, acting and direction was fantastic. The Coen Brothers wrote and directed a fantastic film noir and the acting was amazing. Great movie...simp,y watch it without a pre-conceived opinion and you will truly enjoy it. Remembered it's not a 2020'ish movie and respect the era! Enjoy. 7.

The Unforgivable (2021)

This movie is slightly above average

[6/10 · 26 December 2021]

This movie is not bad but it definitely isn't great. The story was full of cliches and the acting was acceptable. Sandra Bullock not smiling throughout the movie does not mean that she turned in an Oscar worthy role.

The only acting I liked was by Richard Thomas...who's acting normally bores me. His reactions to situations presented to him seemed the most realistic.

If you watch this mov you won't waste your time but you're not watching a masterpiece.

You (2018–2024)

Waste of time

[1/10 · 20 October 2021]

Thanks to all the honest negative reviews I didn't waste much time deciding to quit watching this series. Season one was good, but 1-2 episodes too many. Season 2 went off the rails. Season 3 lasted 10 minutes for me. Adios!

Midnight Mass (2021)

Not very good

[2/10 · 8 October 2021]

Due to an intriguing trailer we watched this. It started out interesting but it fell off the rails.

First, the church congregation is supposed to be Catholic but they act like evangelicals. They even had the pulpit on the wrong side of the altar.

But this story takes place on an island of only 120 people with every race, religion, sexual orientation of the human race represented. It's laughable. But when 1/2 of the dialogue in each episode was one of the characters going into a long preachy sermon, the writers quickly lost the edge this show could've had. The story was not scary and you were able to quickly see how the story was going to end.

The Many Saints of Newark (2021)

Missed Opportunity

[5/10 · 8 October 2021]

The public narrative of this movie was we were to see how Dicky Moltosanti influenced Tony Soprano's life and eventually Dicky's son Christopher. Instead they tried to vaguely introduce the main Sopranos character into a sloppy story with no character development. They should've kept the majority of the story on Dicky and Tony and not add in tid bits of characters.

The acting overall was very good but the directing and script left a lot to be desired. Very disappointed in a movie I was truly looking forward to watching.

Clickbait (2021)

Decent series but needed a better ending

[7/10 · 22 September 2021]

Overall I enjoyed this show. At times the writing dragged and some of the acting was painful to watch (the sister), but overall it was a good limited series. Unfortunately the last episode was a train wreck which really hurt the story. I probably should've rated the series lower due to the ending but overall I enjoyed it.

Maybe the producer will RE-release with a more realistic ending.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Perfectly told

[8/10 · 30 June 2021]

Very good espionage movie. It developed slowly(a bit too slow) which helped the storyline. Great cast and direction. No need to say anymore.

John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise (2021)

Well done documentary...brought back a lot of memories

[10/10 · 29 June 2021]

My wife and I watched the six episodes over 2 nights and thought it was very good. It brought back memories of watching the evening news with our parents to get an update on what they found at "Gacy's house" each evening.

We were both 12 years old when these crimes were discovered and obviously confused by some of the news updates. Though we will never forget the Gacy story, this documentary reminded each of us of information we had forgotten and 1-2 we were unaware of. Most of the show we recalled everything but the back stories made it very interesting, especially what the Des Plaines police officers shared. Great job by each of them.

Jay Levine should keep his mouth shut. He always tried to sensationalize every bit of information he shared when he was a reporter and he still tried in this show...yawn!