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jlschumann
Reviews
Rick and Morty: Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie (2023)
This might be the worst R&M episode ever
I can't believe how bad and dumb this episode is. The only mediocre part was the rap which at least had a few funny lyrics. The rest of the episode was so uncreative in so many ways. Just dumb and pointless. Really the direction I was hoping this show would never go, where episodes just become "zany" and masturbatory with no interesting or redeeming qualities. They seriously need to revisit who is in the writers room coming up with this stuff. The story line was super boring. The events are completely forgettable. This show used to tickle your brain, and be interesting and fresh. It still is sometimes. But this episode is not. There is so much potential for unique and interesting aliens in this show, and instead everything has become "humans except that they're (insert object here)!" in a bland marvel plot which is not funny, interesting, or creative. Throw in a bunch of puns and you're done I guess. Embarrassing that they wasted an episode with Ice T on this, and a big let down for someone who looks forward to new episodes every week. I really can't believe that the people who brought us some of the most thought provoking and funny TV ever OKed this bag of trash.
Rick and Morty: That's Amorte (2023)
Dumb Story And Full Of Horrible Loud Chewing
Short version: worst ep of the season so far, and it's full of disgusting eating noises. The plot is nonsensical and lazy, whole thing should have been a 30 second segment of a better episode.
Long version:
I'm a huge Rick and Morty fan, it's probably my favorite show ever, but this episode was overly silly and didn't make much sense. Without spoilers, the whole premise was mildly funny for about a minute and then they made a full episode about it. It didn't have the intelligence of most episodes. The main thing everyone is after in this episode has absolutely no reason to come from where it comes from, making the conflict absolutely pointless and lazy.
Above it all, it's full of super nasty chewing noise. This is one of the few eps I will be skipping during rewatches.
Blue Eye Samurai (2023)
I Don't Get The Hype
I am not a huge anime watcher so maybe there are things in the genre that this show excels at. But as a casual, I did not find it that impressive. The characters are not very original, it's just Jin from Samurai Champloo & Kung Fu Panda along with typical Edo period caricatures. Overall the series just feels fairly derivative. The nudity is fun for a minute and it's nice to see an animated show that isn't afraid of boob, but overall doesn't add much to the story and feels a bit plopped in. It is also quite slow in tempo, I ended up skipping 10s ahead pretty often and not missing much. It's not a bad show, there are much worse out there, and it's worth watching if you have nothing else to watch. But I wouldn't expect anything particularly mind blowing or new.
Selling Sunset (2019)
Entertaining but trashy with terrible soundtrack
I enjoy watching this show even though it's a bit cringe inducing at times. What I can't stand is the massively uninspired, non-stop "boss chick" soundtrack. It's painful and constant and borderline ruins the show. Every scene.
Aside from that, the drama does feel relatively believable for the most part. The pacing is well done and the show stays entertaining throughout the seasons. Real estate is actually a pretty small part of the show, so if you're looking for an HGTV type of experience, odds are you will not find what you're looking for here. That said the inner workings of the real estate industry are discussed which can be cool to see.
Shantaram (2022)
If You Love The Book, Watch Out
So disappointed in this adaptation. It's not a terrible show, and the cinematography is great. But the writing really ruined it for me. Why adapt a book if you're just going to change the personalities of the characters? Why do so many TV writers think that their ideas are better than the original? I get that some things will be lost when going from page to screen, but there's no reason besides hubris to change the tone and plot so dramatically. It's a shame, and a waste. It could have been adapted so much better. They did keep a few of my favorite moments from the book, but only a few, and so many major plotlines were disfigured that it's irredeemable.
Some of the casting is done well, some poorly. Karla is phenomenal. Didier is mediocre. Prabu and Abdullah are not right at all. Not bad acting, but bad writing for sure, and probably the wrong people for the role. Prabu in Apple's version is not the positive, brimming with smiles character you've come to love. How can you make Shantaram and get it this wrong?
I think Charlie Hunnan does a good job playing the character as it's written for this show, which is not the Lin from the book. In the show, he loses his philosophical nature, his love for humanity, and becomes a much more self serving, less happy character. Too many moments in this show where I thought, "Lin would never, in a million years, do this."
All in all, this is an OK show, but the story and characters are far, far, removed (and worse) than the book. If you loved the book, you may want to avoid having your memories of it tainted by this darker retelling.
Wednesday: A Murder of Woes (2022)
Worst Episode of the Season
I don't know what happened with the writing in this episode. Atrocious dialogue reminiscent of "the sea is always right" in LOTR. All the characters start making nonsensical choices, purely to advance the plot.
The writing completely lost its pace and its charm in this episode, which is a bummer, because I found most of this season a surprisingly delightful watch. Not perfect, but enough appeal and uniqueness to keep me hooked. While they did tie up most of the plot points, it was rushed and completely devoid of character, with unbearably contrived dialogue and character choices.
Obviously no one will skip the final episode so I'm probably yelling into the void here, but if you felt the same and came to IMDB to see what others thought - you are not alone!
Acapulco (2021)
Well written comedy with heart!
Really enjoyed every aspect of this show. The set and costume, the soundtrack, and especially the characters. It's so fun and the story kept me wanting more from start to finish. The acting is also amazing. Highly recommend this show!