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samcallan
Reviews
The Sinner: Part VI (2020)
More ugh
Holy cow!
The characters keep doing the stupidest things.
Really Sonya? Really, you are scared of this guy but instead of calling the cops you take porn shots of him?
The only thing that keeps me watching is my obsession with finishing series that I start. This season might drive me to seek professional help for this condition.
I can accept a certain level of "that could not happen in real life" in a show, but there is a limit there as well.
The school situation is even dumber. They would have made it much clearer that he was not to return to the school and not leave it to an email.
I had a root canal that was less excruciating than this season as been.
The Sinner: Part V (2020)
Ugh
I am behind on watching. Jeez, the people are really acting stupid. I cannot see even an odd detective like Ambrose doing some of the very stupid things that he has done in this season. Even compared to the dumb ass things he did.
I cannot see how he could possible continue to be employed as a cop. Heck, I would have fired him long ago.
The NYPD det coming back in to talk to Jamie after says he wants an attorney is a clear violation of procedures. Once a person asks for an attorney, the questioning really has to stop as anything learned could be excluded.
Anyway, I am debating not finishing the season and looking to see if Season 4 is any better. But then part of me has a compulsion to finish...
The Coldest Game (2019)
The reviews...
First, why is it so many reviewers review the movie they want to see and not the one they saw. Some seem to want a documentary and not a work of fiction.
Few care that there are chess mistakes just as few care that there are far more inaccuracies in any TV medical drama. In this movie chess is a catalyst for the action.
It can be a little plodding at times. At the same time, you need to pay attention. I watched part of it while texting with a friend and had to rewind to see what I missed. It has elements of 1960's cold war movies with some twists.
Pullman is good, as usual.
It is a pretty smart movie and worth the time.
Homeland: False Friends (2020)
Whiny soldiers
Note: I am behind in watching the series so posting as I can.
I like Haqqani as a character. He has depth.
But the whiny soldiers in Afghanistan are really over the top. I get that people can be superstitious and maybe soldiers being more than average. But the treatment of Max seems way over the top.
I really like Costa Ronin especially on The Americans. Is he destined to play only Soviet/Russian spy characters? I am curious about the relationship between Carrie and Gromov.
It seems odd that the Pakistanis would be able to do all of this after the US Embassy incident. Why would they be allowed anywhere near the peace talks? Seems like the US would be ending recognition and running ops against them.
X Company (2015)
Passable
Under self-isolation, so I am scrambling for shows.
This one is okay, but some things really bug me.
1) Women are given far too much of a role than would have been in WWII from what I have read. The agents in the field had a lot of flexibility.
2) The speed at which information goes back and forth between Canada and France is so unrealistic. On a pretty short time frame. photos from an incident that occurs in France show up in Canada.
I do enjoy the characters although they are pretty stereotypical.
The show takes only a few risks in losing major characters. It is war and the life expectancy of an agent in occupied France in WWII was very short.
It is a series that is not great, but watchable and passes the time.
9-1-1: Broken (2019)
This show gets sillier every week
I have no idea why I keep watching. Seems that each episode gets sillier than the previous one.
SPOILER
I suspect that having a cargo plane drop water on a residential area with people would not be allowed.
The Enemy Within (2019)
Ugh
Spoiler...
Wow...this was really bad.
The overacting of Chestnut and Carpenter yelling at each other in the pilot. Were they told to try to one up each other with overacting?
Farcical plot lines where Carpenter is so brilliant and the only one who can figure out anything? The lame looking at everyone's watch, shoes and etc and immediately discerning everything yet she misses the mole put into their midst?
Nope, I give up.
Magnum P.I. (2018)
Made in 20 minutes
I had sworn I would not even try the show, but I found myself up early one morning and tried it.
I will also admit I went in with trepidation as the highlights made it look more like a Fast and Furious movie. Were there that many car chases in the original? Shoot outs?
One of the charms was Magnum was not a superhero. Selleck based his character on Jim Rockford--who was flawed and tried to avoid shoot outs and fights.
The introduction of the characters and their back stories was heavy handed. I get the feeling the producers knew they were dealing with a bad idea and wanted to develop the characters really, really fast rather that in a slow way.
Making Higgins a woman just means the clock has started until Magnum and Higgins are sleeping together or being talked about as "Maggins" or "Higgnam". Also we are told that Magnum has met Robin Masters since Masters is now a former embedded journalist. So much for the run of trying to figure out who Masters really is and if Higgins is really Masters.
I know good shows sometimes get off to a rough start. I never thought Hawaii 5-0 would make it either.
Since the main male characters are all vets, will the series make any "very special" episodes that have the character(s) dealing with PTSD? If they do, I feel like it will be over the top and heavy-handed.
Finally, I was reading about the Original (can we go Star Trek and refer to it as Magnum:TOS?) and that the writers wanted Magnum to be Bond and that Selleck insisted he be more like Jim Rockford (Selleck had been on that show). Looks like these writers went back to the original premise.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Heightened Emotions (2016)
Correction
The episode is sort of weak, but it was inspired by real life Olympian Suzie Favor Hamilton who after her Olympic career turned into a high priced escort in Las Vegas.
Other reviewers say the Olympic Committee would never let her compete, but there would be nothing USA Track and Field or the USOC could do to prevent her from competing if she met the requirements. In track it is pretty straight forward in that if an athlete finishes in the top 3 at the Trials and has met the minimum height standards she would go.
Hitler's Olympics (2016)
Good doc except for one thing
My only frustration with the documentary is the perpetuation of the myth that Luz Long helped Jesse Owens in the long jump. There is no contemporary evidence of it occurring. Owens did not tell the story until,sometime in the 60s. The author of Hitler's Games researched this extensively, but the myth will not die.
Designated Survivor (2016)
Cannot figure out the show
This show cannot figure out what it wants to be. Political thriller? West Wing-lite? Conspiracy theory show?
Then some of the basics are really frustrating like the gun bill vote needing 51 "ayes". First the fellow calling roll switches between calling senators "Senator So and So" and "Mr or Mrs So and So".
Then I guess no one writing for the show has heard of a filibuster and what it takes to break one. Of course maybe the new senators decided to scrap the filibuster and go with simple majority on all votes.
For an "independent" the president seems pretty liberal.
Finally it seems far fetched that a conspiracy of this magnitude could be pulled off. But hey it is TV and Kiefer Sutherland's previous show also had some far fetched plots and huge holes to go with them.