smartU2 Reviews

Ice Dogs: The Only Companions Worth Having (2016)

Ugh.

[1/10 · 20 January 2024]

Having trouble already with this documentary. States how essential that dogs are for humans and humans are for dogs to live here. But, then, you are shown the failure of a dog to keep it's pups alive while chained outside in minus twenty-seven degree celsius weather. Do you think that the idiots who were responsible for this dog could have - should have - brought her into some type of protection like a barn - at least? Perhaps, they would have been blessed with puppies to raise and more dogs to help them and the mother would not be sitting out on ice at minus twenty-seven degrees licking her FROZEN DEAD puppies and WHIMPERING her heart out. I hate A'HOLES like this.

Outlander: Through a Glass, Darkly (2016) Season 2, Episode 1

Found this problematic

[6/10 · 18 July 2023]

Like many others have mentioned, I thought that I had lost an episode or two or three in the transition between the two seasons - #one and #two. But, okay, after accepting how it was done, then, I am asked to believe that Frank Randall knew he was sterile when he's being told about Claire's pregnancy but got excited as if "they" were having a child? Perhaps, it is possible, he thought: "oh the doctor was wrong...I am not sterile." But, then, on top of all that, it seems apparent that they have not yet been sexually intimate, since his return: they sleep in separate rooms. He gets invited into her room just for a discussion. It's unbelievable to me that given the obvious emotional distance between them that they have had yet even one sexual encounter where he could have fathered a child...or does he believe that she's harboring his sperm inside her for the last two years of his absence? A highly educated man? A scholar? The writing makes no sense at all. His knowledge that he is sterile and then his joy to hear that she is pregnant which turns to outrage when he hears that it is not his - with all signs indicating that they have done nothing sexually intimate since her return is poorly thought out.

Jack Ryan: Persona Non Grata (2019) Season 2, Episode 6

Badly written

[1/10 · 17 December 2022]

I have really enjoyed this series...both the first season and the second season. Truth be told, I have watched both seasons, twice, and I am looking forward to the third season (fingers crossed.) Unfortunately, this particular season irked me - and even more so the second time because I knew that it was coming and, therefore, perhaps, had more critical ability. The scene where Matice is killed. Argh. First of all, it does not help that he was a really great character and John Hoogenakker did a fine job portraying him. But, his last scene, alive, was irksome because it was completely unbelievable and written just for the sake of bang-bang-shoot-'em-up drama. The character, Matice, was a father. There is absolutely no way that this character would have had both his hands up, unarmed, with half a dozen guns pointed at him - and not shooting at him - and then turn around and smile and say "F you!" in some cavalier manner like he was ready to accept death. A father of a young son would've bit his tongue with the enemy. Better writers would have had him taken into the government with charges and used his American status as a means to excite the current president's agenda and somehow allowed the character to be saved and continued on in the series. Perhaps, the actor wanted to leave the series but, again, it could have/should have been done in a more believable manner. For example, once home, he decides just to drop that line of work and live to see his son become a young man. Waaaay more plausible. Gave the series a 10 but this episode...

Bodyguard: Episode #1.6 (2018) Season 1, Episode 6

Absolutely loved this series until....

[1/10 · 10 October 2022]

THIS EPISODE. Oy-vey. Anyone who gave this episode a 10/10 has "Gullible" as a middle name. The writing in this episode is absolutely horrific solely because of its implausibility during the last 30 minutes of the final episode. What a dastardly thing to do to an otherwise outstanding series. It is as plain as day what has happened to Officer David Budd from the moment one lays eyes on him. He has obviously been bludgeoned and his thumb is clearly taped to a "dead man's switch" regardless of all the lines and suppositions that these police officers have drawn up to this point. It's incredibly hard (read: impossible) to believe that these bozo coppers keep talking to him like he did all this to himself for - uh - what purpose? Otherwise the entire series was intricate and intelligent and it is as clear as day that they writers used all their brain cells on the first 5 episodes and felt exhausted and...well...I'm guessing...let their 12-year olds, home on summer or Christmas break, write this absolutely implausible, moronic final episode. I did rate the entire series highly but, I can only hope, that writers read these reviews and somehow start giving their audiences credit for much higher intelligence than their pre-pubescent kids.

The Crown: Fairytale (2020) Season 4, Episode 3

Believe it or not...

[10/10 · 2 October 2022]

Do I believe that this episode is factual? Pretty darn close. It is quite tragic. Yes, even through this stand in actress who plays the soon-to-be-princess Diana - one can imagine how utterly beautiful and charming she was when this pact with the devil - Prince Devil - Prince Charles began. There's a lot of blaming to the royal family of what happened to Princess Diana. Yes, there a lot of culpability to spread around. But, honestly, nothing brings it home any stronger than this single episode how incredibly culpable Diana, herself, was for this heartbreaking tragedy. Yes, she was just a teenager, practically. But, come on - even as a teenager - how many of you would have hung onto this "promise" of a future - a fairytale - when absolutely sooooo many signs were there about what was going on between Charles and Camilla? I do not care how incredibly well she has served the royal family since marrying King Charles - she is at her core purely evil. And Diana? Would she really have taken all that horrific demeaning treatment from Charles had she not wanted to sign up for a life of opulence?

Scarface (1983)

Ugh. "It's a classic." Okay. Generous with 5 stars

[5/10 · 4 September 2022]

Everything that other reviewers who gave this movie 1 star wrote is true. Too much yelling and flat uninteresting characters. No real chemistry between Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. There was much more chemistry between his little sister, Gina, and his partner, Manny. The acting was not great. A lot of really great actors given mediocre roles. Al Pacino was so much better in Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather. Don't miss The Panic in Needle Park which is worth 10 stars...but not this movie. Everything about Pacino's performance feels overdone and, yet, flat at the same time. The ending is totally absurd. Absurd melodrama. I have not seen the original Scarface but something tells me that it's a lot better.

The Birds (1963)

Hitchcock's schlockiest?

[7/10 · 30 August 2022]

I remember watching this as a kid and I was terrified. I was 6 years old when it came out so I must've seen it after it had been out for a few years. I do remember being terrified. As an adult - 50+ years later - it's amazing how bad the movie is. I watched it again because it's leaving Amazon at the end of the month and because it's a classic, it fell in that category of "I ought to." I had just finished watching Psycho also for the second time and thoroughly enjoyed that. Very well done. But this movie is so much more schlocky. That word keeps reverberating around in my head as I watch it. Some of the acting is absolutely horrific. Melodramatic. All good actors so I would have to look at the director "misdirecting" the actors. Rod Taylor's mother is horrific as is everyone when they are "losing it" in the movie. Melodrama takes over. Choices that are made seem off. Standing outside waiting to move forward with birds all around you rather than being inside the house. The young sister of Rod Taylor - Angela Cartwright screaming and crying in a convertible no less. I have to say that her hysteria was at least better - i.e., better acting - than the mother's episodes. And Jessica Tandy was an excellent actress. How did everything turn out so humdrum on the verge of annoying? Yes, it's a classic. Watch it once and be done with it. Hitchcock has done much finer work. I do enjoy looking up each and every actor throughout the movie as many good solid character actors are used in this movie. Tippi Hedren was absolutely beautiful - I was mesmerized by her nails. Great color and they managed to stay absolutely perfect throughout the movie. Her choice to enter that room proved that her character was - forgive the pun - "not the sharpest knife in the drawer." Her acting is relatively good; again, it is the poor writing combined not the best direction, I think. Yes, the script is a bit daft at times. Seven stars...I am being generous out of respect.

Brotherhood (2006–2008)

Ugh

[7/10 · 19 July 2022]

I think that the show could've been a lot better. But the first season, I cared about the characters. Some of the dialog and situations were a bit off or fabricate or unreal. But, still the acting was always good for what is there. I find that the second season feels weaker and I am concerned about the third season which I have not. Yet, gotten to watch. The character of Rose I find super annoying. Is she meant to be a aging Borderline Personality Disorder character? She has no depth or wisdom to match her gray - albeit spikey - hair.

Meet Joe Black (1998)

Hem and Haw

[8/10 · 26 June 2022]

I hemmed and hawed between rating it 7 or 8 stars. It is a very good movie. Especially if you really like Brad Pitt when he was younger. Gorgeous to look at and - honestly - a very fine actor. Not just a pretty face. Anthony Hopkins outstanding as always. Claire Forlani I had some difficulty with but I do not think that it was because her lack of acting ability but, rather, how her part was written. I found her breathiness annoying at times. My biggest criticism of the movie is the length. No, it shouldn't be a 90-minute movie but I bet if they really tried they could have easily taken 30 minutes out of it. Way too long for what it was. The ending was nice. Kudos to Brad Pitt for handling it so well...just needed to bring us to that point faster.

Line of Duty (2012–2021)

Again and again

[10/10 · 10 June 2022]

Yes, this is round two of watching the entire series. Damn it is a great series. Fine acting, great writing/dialogue and very interesting, relevant and believable plots. I have say here what struck me the second time through is how incredibly well the character of Superintendent Ted Hastings fits Adrian Dunbar's skill set. He is a fine actor and he carries this role like a finely tailored suit. FIts him perfectly. Fun to watch and a few subtle laughs here and there, well plotted throughout the trajectory of each season.

Line of Duty: The Probation (2012) Season 1, Episode 5

Gripping

[10/10 · 6 June 2022]

I loved this season and, especially, this episode. Lennie James did a phenomenal job as DCI Tony Gates. Actually, all the actors/actresses are top-notch. I read through all the low ratings - meehhhh....nevermind what they say. It's a great show. British crime show at it's best. Some of the best actors available.

Poldark (2015–2019)

10 stars...but....

[10/10 · 19 April 2022]

The acting is lovely. The characters are endearing...the villains play their roles very, very well. I watched the 70s version of Poldark and loved it and was very pleased with this production. I very much enjoy the dialogue which - to my untrained ear - sounds authentic. The costuming - especially the women - is totally gorgeous. Eye-candy, indeed. I will say that more than halfway through the 5 season, I have grown tired/bored with the "Ned plot" and, although I realize that Morwenna had been through a horrific scenario with Ossie Whitworth, I am extremely tired of her whining. Beautiful actress and talented but the whining is ad nauseum. A huge applause to both Christian Brassington, who played Ossie Whitworth, and Jack Farthing who plays George Warleggan outstandingly.

The Heat (I) (2013)

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS

[10/10 · 6 April 2022]

What a great team: Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. The are an excellent pair. Funny, funny funny and with great timing on their schtick. Absolutely laugh out loud funny....many, many times. I love Melissa McCarthy and I have a whole new respect for Sandra Bullock because of how well she works with her. They dovetail into each others' schtick, perfectly. Oh, and BILL BURR is in it.

Fury (2014)

FORGET THE NAYSAYERS

[10/10 · 6 April 2022]

Is the Movie a 10/10? Probably not. But, it's certainly not anything below an 8. All these low scorers and their reviews are obnoxious. "Oh, it's not accurate." Everyone of them tries to come off as some WWII history expert mixed with a director prodigy and cinematography genius. It's a fine movie. Is it "accurate?" IT'S A MOVIE. NOT a bloody documentary. Get over it and enjoy the show. The acting is very, very good.

Savage Kingdom (2016–2020)

Ugh. The narration

[5/10 · 31 March 2022]

I love Charles Dance. I think that he's a really outstanding actor The narration is overwrought. Best way to put it. I feel like just snippets of over-dramatized narration is happening. After 15 minutes of the first episode, I want not to hear his voice. Unfortunately, the editing and narration is closely linked. I get that this nature production is trying to do something different. Well, for me, it's not working. I do not like it when narrators to animal documentaries give these cutesy narrations. I find it incredibly annoying. However, there are some really great narrations out their. Gillian Burke comes to mind. This should not sound like a Shakespearean soliloquy tape-looped.

The Impossible (2012)

Last Days on Amazon

[1/10 · 24 March 2022]

Good riddance. Do not bother. There are sooooo many great movies out there. Why waste time with MEH movies? It is insulting especially since the TRUE STORY was derived from the plight of a Spanish family. Why not use Hispanic actors instead of these guys. A lot of money made for a few people while many, many people truly suffered in a horrific catastrophic event....and it was poorly done. Bad form.

The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2020)

Struggling with this film

[5/10 · 11 March 2022]

Melissa Lucio was not the first Hispanic woman to receive the death penalty in the state of Texas.

Josefa "Chipita" Rodriguez was the first Hispanic woman to be sentenced to death and hung in Texas in 1863. Texas had been a state for 20-odd years.

I believe that she probably did not brutalize her child. However, the child died from neglect. Involuntary manslaughter, perhaps?

The documentary is poorly done.

1883: The Crossing (2022) Season 1, Episode 4

UGH! Stop it PLEASE

[3/10 · 6 March 2022]

Sometimes, I come to the reviews to read them just to check out if I am imagining things or overreacting. I find solace in a few like-minded people. I like the series a lot. Historically, I often feel the need to over score a great series which is - in my humble opinion - underrated. 1883 would be one of those few series where the opposite is true. The entire series is a good solid 8/10 - and definitely, not a 9/10. We've got some overzealous raters here.

THIS episode was painful to watch. I'm a 64 year old woman and, honestly, I do not mind the cute story line between the teenage girl and cowboy beau especially when it is used as a foil for her mother and father's characters as they mind their kids. In fact, previously, the scene where Tim McGraw's character takes his son with him hunting is incredibly precious. That little boy is adorable and believable - imagine that!

But, I really struggle with the teenager's narration. It needs to stop. Altogether. It's boring. Her insight is - well - not insightful. It's dribble. And, we get way more than enough of her life in the drama without her narration on top of it. She needs to focus on her acting.

The piano playing was incredulous at best and annoying as hell at worst. And, then, this very deep, profound girl weeps - deeply - as what? Her playing is so incredibly good? That entire scene is so incredibly contrived from the time that she notices the piano and approaches it, you know what's about to happen. Almost.

Not in my wildest dreams (actually, nightmares) would I think that some writer was setting me up to endure this cheesy overwrought scene that doesn't go on waaaay too long - it shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Beslan: Three Days in September (2006)

Heartwrenching

[10/10 · 28 February 2022]

Very well done documentary about Chechen terrorists who took over a school with over 1200 people - many-to-most who were children from grade school to the 11th grade in Beslan as a means to bring an end to the Second Chechen War. I watched this as Ukraine is being attacked by Russia (Putin) in 2022. He really does not learn. At one point in the documentary, a woman from Beslan states the obvious: these terrorists are animals. I could not help say out loud: "No. They are not. They just want Putin out of Chechnya and to leave their children and families alone." Putin visits the town the day after everything is over and 331 have been killed and almost half of them were children. Putin had every opportunity to pull his troops out of Chechnya and save every single person in that school. Instead, he came a day after the carnage and did not even stop at the school. He is not a "leader." He's a megalomaniac just like his Putin-wannabe, Chump. These terrorists acts will continue in every country throughout the world - particularly in countries who do not respect another country's autonomy and right to govern themselves.

Outcry (2020)

Read My Lips: He didn't do it.

[10/10 · 24 February 2022]

That one line by that 4-year old about what the truth is but he couldn't say it. Instead, he said Greg did it. Not sure what the heck is going on in that family. Something happened to that little boy. He did not concoct this out of thin air. But, one has to look at the family and what are they trying to do by directing this towards Greg Kelley and away from what friend or family member who is truly guilty of molesting this boy. Add this heartbreaking lie to a DAs office that is extremely political and wants to always win - especially on the 'big stories' - and there is the recipe for heartache and disaster for an innocent young man who had a golden life in front of him. That kid was lying. Or misdirected to lie. The other kid couldn't go through with this tall tale. Which brings me to the other point...if one of the kids reneged on his testimony, how is it that Greg Kelley was found guilty on TWO counts?

City on a Hill: Don't Go Sayin Last Words (2021) Season 2, Episode 6

Not believable. ENOUGH

[6/10 · 23 February 2022]

Sometimes, I see myself rolling my eyes. At the end of this episode, I say to myself: "enough." Incredulously, this obese middle-aged woman is able to pick up her grown adult, mortally-wounded son to get him out of Dodge, so-to-speak? And, it appears that she's not going to take him to the hospital? Well, regardless of the trouble that her family is in, it's unbelievable to me that she would see him there and not call an ambulance and take him to a hospital with a bullet to the gut. Also, Rohr's wife, Jenny, is getting on my nerves. Her character is, at times, stilted in her acting and dialogue. Also, importantly, I am tired of her singing. It adds nothing to either the plot or enjoyment. I realize after reading about her that she actually sang before she acted but enough. Not one more song - PLEASE. Otherwise, I like the series a lot. Just these two things seemed to have annoyed me thus far. Kevin Bacon continues to be despicable and funny - all wrapped into one - and therefore entertaining at every scene.

City on a Hill: High on the Looming Gallows Tree (2019) Season 1, Episode 8

Phew.

[10/10 · 21 February 2022]

Rory Culkin is no light weight in acting chops. He very much held that final scene with Kevin Bacon. His facial expression and tremulous chutzpah facing the rage of Kevin Bacon was outstanding. Kudos and accolades.

City on a Hill (2019–2022)

Surprise, surprise....

[10/10 · 20 February 2022]

A really good series. No wonder. A....what is the right term?...a gaggle or even, at times, a skein of great actors? Kevin Bacon does his role extremely well. At times a caricature of an in-your-face FBI agent who works by his own rules but guaranteed to always entertain. But, each and every actor is on-the-mark and the writing is contemporary, believable and intricate. Personally, it took a couple of episodes for the characters to jell but. It was worth the effort and the time because the episodes and the characters are engaging.

Primal Survivor (2016– )

Boring

[1/10 · 18 February 2022]

I very much enjoy watching documentaries of other cultures. However, this guy is annoying and a distraction. He is put in a situation - supposedly to highlight a culture's lifestyle and values - but, instead, he uses it as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement. Totally uninteresting and unbelievable. Oh, my. All that he can do! And soooo powerful. A Mega-Man....he is Not. I'd rather listen to David Attenborough than watch this lame duck pretend.

Hatfields & McCoys (2012)

Very Hard For Me to Watch - It was THAT GOOD.

[10/10 · 13 February 2022]

Really well done mini-series. Acting is phenomenal by so many people. Look up "Hatfields and McCoys" on IMDb and there's a very long line of productions on this topic. Rightly so since it is such an incredible piece of history on so many levels. But, none of those productions comes anywhere near this mini-series with Kevin Costner totally in his element. Gorgeous country/nature, too. The plot follows the history well-enough. It's a dramatization not a documentary. If I were a McCoy, perhaps, I would be a bit upset because - honestly, for me - I sided with the Hatfields. Perhaps, that could be a criticism but bible thumping and righteousness gets me annoyed every time and Randall McCoy is heavy-handed with it. One of my favorite lines in the mini-series was when Devil Anse Hatfield said to the ever-righteous Randall McCoy: "....you're just a huckleberry above a persimmon..." Can't wait to use that quip. The writing and the authenticity of language was realistic enough - although, admittedly, I am no expert.