b_parks-42863 Reviews

Wonka (2023)

Delightful although....

[8/10 · 26 January 2024]

I confess I was very skeptical of this film when I first heard of it. My childhood included the original books, the first written on the year I was born. The 1971 Gene Wilder classic film is also as important to me as "The Wizard of Oz" and no remake will ever compare. I am glad they avoided that mistake twice. Wonka is full of charm and wit that will make if a fun family film for many generations to enjoy and I applaud that effort. Even too much music for my taste worked most of the time. On the other hand this is not a story I think Roald Dahl would have written as a prequel. His original themes were Dark, and I don't mean people signing silly unreadable contracts into slavery for a room dark. He understood the cruelty in this world but also the hope.

I smell another film at the ending and lets hope Wonka is not always as delightful next time.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Better Than Expected

[7/10 · 9 September 2023]

I guess by reading bad reviews well before I thought the worst and that set me up to enjoy this film much more than I expected. That said it does not stand up to the original classic and my second favorite" Last Crusade" as if that would have been the end. Sure Indi got old and so did his cameo friends, but the story had enough spark to keep me interested and real Nazis always good for a villain even these days to older folks like me. So relax and enjoy without over thinking a franchise that was never that serious to begin with. It was a fun adventure with a touch of imagination lacking in many films today.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 22: Guns for Hire (2023) Season 3, Episode 6

I Have A Bad Feeling About This!

[4/10 · 8 April 2023]

As a major Fan of this series with few complaints this episode was a major disappointment for a number of reasons. The storyline felt like some kind of series filler because the writers ran out of good ideas. The over the top cameos became more of a distraction than genuine Star Wars. And lets be honest about some serious Bad acting that a lot of clever alien costumes in the background can't possibly hide. I do hope this was an aberration as we have two episodes left? Disney has been given enough chances to screw up this franchise so lets get back to basics and stop with silly experiments and dopey messaging that insults.

History of the World: Part II (2023)

Very Disappointing

[1/10 · 12 March 2023]

First off I paid to see History of the World Part 1 in the theaters and felt at the time some of it worked and some of it not so much, but it was a Mel Brooks comedy and a great cast. So I tried this show and watched the first two episodes to be sure I was not judging to hasty. While some of the jokes work they are infrequent and do not make up for the bad writing and limited acting. A clue is that this show has a long list of so-called writers and too many producers. It is clear nobody is in charge and certainly not Mel Brooks who I suspect has little influence here. I certainly hope as a fan he has something else in the works other than this mess that I won't even bother to call sketch comedy.

Clerks III (2022)

About What I Expected

[7/10 · 1 October 2022]

Clerks III has some funny and charming moments, but is also strongly rooted in original Clerks nostalgia and Kevin Smith's personal life health crisis. I am not saying that's a bad thing, just the way this movie will play out even for the most committed fans of the series. We all enjoying seeing actors and characters we consider old friends still hanging in there, and my being in my late 50's helps to identify with the darker side of the life and death situation. This was fun to watch but will never be the original of course, what film ever is going to be that?

I say just give this movie a try and enjoy.

Uncharted (2022)

Enjoyable Action Movie

[6/10 · 17 September 2022]

It was fun to watch and well acted although nor very plausible as a serious plot. That said it is done well enough to keep your attention. And more of a Goonies rip off than Disney Pirates (Not Original in concept people try watching the old Pirate films of the 50's and read a few classic books while your at it). It made for a nice evening without too much WOKE overload as so often expected in everything new these days. I think a little escapism in film is a good thing even when we say that could never be possible in real life. This is certainly worth you time now that the Box Office has done as good as it could and Netflix has it for free.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

Sorry Folks

[3/10 · 9 September 2022]

I did try and the visual effects and music are wonderful. Too bad that does not make up for poor storytelling far removed from any original works as written and some mediocre acting. It is the very same problem with the Hobbit film based on a very short story and over padded the closer we get to the final film I can just bare to watch. Some liberties are one thing, but this many are a farce. Once again Amazon is trying to cash in on the recent popularity of book based fantasy TV shows and when that wears off they will try and exploit something else no doubt. At this point I seriously wish they just would have left it alone.

Nope (2022)

Worse than I thought possible

[2/10 · 7 September 2022]

What a total disappointment lacking plot and character development other than the tech guy who is too enthusiastic to be real world. And the mad monkey antics gave the guy from Walking Dead a reason to have a part I guess? WTF was that all about other than to support a rather thin plot line at best.

Everything from this movie is borrowed and poorly at that. Even the idea that UFOs (excuse me UAP) might be predatory life forms not ships from outer space is not a new idea. How can you rip off Close Encounters, ET, Blazing Saddles, and the Skinwalker Ranch TV show to make a move?

This would be it and not even funny!

House of the Dragon (2022– )

A Great Start

[9/10 · 22 August 2022]

Having read the."Fire & Blood" History this is based on a lot of great material to work with. Keep up the quality of the character stories along with the special effects and this can be a winner. It feels a bit slow at first but I expect that to change soon enough as plot lines develop. I am also very pleased that HBOMax is releasing one a week rather than force viewers into a marathon in order to avoid online spoilers.

Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)

A Genuine Treasure

[10/10 · 19 May 2022]

You can watch this show many times over and still enjoy the small country town atmosphere and the comedy. As Ivy said of Compo "Every Day is Playtime." Who would guess that a BBC show about old people would be one of the longest on television? They must have done something right of course. There were cast changes and storyline changes of course but overall the spirit of the show continued until the very end.

As an American I have many BBC favorites and this is certainly one of them.

Moonfall (2022)

Some Curious Ideas Old and New

[7/10 · 19 May 2022]

I almost avoided watching because of the Bad reviews and that would have been a mistake. Perhaps the good Doctors charter was proof that most people simply don't get it and perhaps never will. And while much was borrowed from other science fiction films and ideas why is that a bummer when so many of the same audience go gaga for constantly recycled comic book characters and story lines?

This film is flawed in many ways but worth the time and consideration. My bottom line is that I thought it was good fun even if some of the more improbable special effects were a stretch of the imagination a bit too far.

Freddie Mercury - The Final Act (2021 TV Movie)

It should have been more about the Music

[4/10 · 21 April 2022]

A quote at the very end from a member of the band that "his music was his life" says it all. And yet this documentary is almost totally focused on AIDS and unrelated material having nothing to do with the band or his life and work. Of course being Gay and Aids was an important topic of any Freddie Biography but not then entire film.

Vikings: Valhalla (2022– )

They had to Ruin Vikings

[3/10 · 26 February 2022]

Overall not terrible other than yet another overdose of WOKE which ruins authenticity. I will most likely keep watching as a paid Netflix subscriber, but this show pales in comparison to the excellent original that I so much enjoyed. Good thing this is not on History channel because historically it is seriously flawed.

Don't Look Up (2021)

Dissapointing

[4/10 · 31 January 2022]

Rip Off of "Deep Impact" and over the top messaging. One dimensional characters with Chalamet throw in to look pretty. DiCaprio screaming and crying at the end look worse than Greta Thunberg angry fits at the UN. And yelling to the audience about "Science" came across worse than the real life bureaucratic COVID fear mongering Dr. Fauci.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Fun to Watch however,,,,,,

[6/10 · 24 January 2022]

You get the impression that the Marvel Comic Studios wish we could all lose our memories so they can make the same movies with the same actors over and over again!

Try something more original next time..........

A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

A Classic Christmas Tale

[9/10 · 25 December 2021]

What a wonderful story and presentation. In the true spirit of Christmas it tells us hope is indeed possible even when bad things happen to good people and the hurt of personal loss is hard. But it is not and end of the story and redemption even for the most misguided is possible.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

Much better than expected

[8/10 · 23 December 2021]

This film advanced many original Matrix ideas. I can see why some viewers were made to "feel" uncomfortable because the Analyst had their false emotional comfort reality nailed down!

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Can it possibly get any worse?

[2/10 · 20 December 2021]

As a fan of the many books I fail to understand how any reader can enjoy this series. Some Creative License is one thing, this is quite another. It looks as if Amazon simply chose something they could crank out as a poor imitation of Game of Thrones for as much cash as they could get out of it and they did. Who knows what they will do to Lord of the Rings!

The Last Duel (2021)

Long and Boring

[3/10 · 20 December 2021]

When will the Ambiguously Gay Duo give it a rest? Bad acting.and tiresome. Adam should have known better than to get involved with these losers in any production. The story was worth the telling perhaps once and no more. The impressive battle sequences are not worth the wait.