marcus-28749 Reviews

Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014)

Addictive Soap Opera Trash

[4/10 · 4 March 2024]

Kinda like reading a Mills and Boon Novel. You enjoy it, and might even get right into it, but kinda feel like you need a shower after. Based on a Hero (new club president) who refuses to kill the Villain (old club president), so of course the Villain piles up the bodies and wreaks havoc. Add to the mix a dysfunctional, deceptive and overprotective mother, and a neurotic and needy, whining girlfriend, both of whom manipulate the hero like a puppet, add some rat informants, CIA, IRA and cartels and hey presto you get a bikie club akin to Days of our lives with melodromatic outpourings of emotion. A bunch of guys who rob, kill and stab each other in the back, and bang on about "Brotherhoood". In the end, it's good for a binge.

Mountain Men (2012– )

USED TO BE GOOD...

[4/10 · 18 November 2023]

Yeh, I was such a fan of this show. You could turn on, tune in and gain all the wisdom from the old timers who had been trapping for fifty years, or go hunting with a native american who served six years in the military as a sniper and custom built her own insane off road vehicle. At season twelve, they changed the cast. And all of a sudden you have hobby farmers, and "new to the wilds" people who keep saying every five minutes how much they love living wild and free, and when you watch how they do things, you think "That's OK I guess, but I probably wouldn't have done it like that". Anyways, like I said, I used to watch this show and learn something every episode. Shame really.

Culprits (2023– )

Average heist plot....

[5/10 · 11 November 2023]

Ingredients for a Heist series : Take one black Gay lead (to be politically correct) who seems to be a very poor judge of character and leaves his gun lying around in other rooms when he needs it and ldoesn't evacuate his family when he needs to, Add a totally untrustworthy con woman who tells everyone how much she likes lying and how much she can get away with. Then place your trust in this woman, add a "specialist", who despite being highly regarded as a "specialist" makes some pretty basic blunders and dies easy. Add a few token arab characters, Add a shadowy assassin who seems to be everywhere at once, and is backed by guess who "a shadowy cabal of shadowy shadow beings, add a few gay sex scenes and try to build tension and conflict from a plot and actors that clearly lack both. Shoot scenes in a few different countries and Hey Presto, you have culprits.

Secret Invasion (2023)

Paranoid, delusional, maybe even harmful

[1/10 · 19 October 2023]

We live an age where an American man stabbed a six year old child 27 times after watching fake news over and over obsessively. In this age, Marvel comics thought it would be a great idea to support the paradigm of shape shifting reptilians that want to control the planet. Good for you. What a great contribution to humanity, preying on the feeble and weakest minds that inhabit these delusional fantasies. Hey, I know, lets spend millions to appeal to all the paranoid schizophrenics, all the crackpot conspiracy theorists, and push them a little closer to the edge of insanity just to make a quick buck. Totally deplorable. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me a little less hopeful for humanity.

The Lesson Is Murder (2023– )

Terrible....

[2/10 · 22 August 2023]

Some of the most profound quotes were stuff like "It just really caught me off guard...although there was that one time when he tried to drive a car into his girlfriends parents house" Or maybe "Hands up everyone here who has stress in their lives ? (everyone raises hands) "And yet none of us killed anyone right ?" Wow. A series dedicated to the mastery of the blatantly obvious. Clearly designed for the mainly illiterate American market, a place where 20% of Americans can't locate the US on a world map, and 12% think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Another triumph for total mediocrapy.

Biohazard: Death Island (2023)

3 minutes of this is a really really long time....

[1/10 · 25 July 2023]

Einstein said all is relative, including time. Take Milla Jovovich away, and add CGI, and hey presto. I would have enjoyed pulling my own teeth from my head and eating them than watching this utter crap. I'm not sure why Hollywood execs always seem to think it's a good idea to save money and sack the main actor (The same thing happened with the Witcher), but it is such a loser move made by losers for losers. What an abominable bunch of crap this series has turned into without mIlla. I have since deleted all the recent movies, and am now rewatching Milla in all her glory. Best wishes to all you who reckon this is watchable.

Buried in the Backyard (2018– )

A bit much to swallow....

[2/10 · 19 July 2023]

I just watched an episode of this totally far fetched show. A white woman goes missing....within minutes police were on the case, searching everywhere. Apparently the police found the partner to be "Believable", so, because they found him to be believable, there was then "no need to investigate him." Until a psychic made this amazing prediction that she was suffocated with a plastic bag. NOW CHECK THIS : The coroner examines skeletal remains several years old (like very little tissue, if any at all remaining). But they are magically able to determine the cause of death to be asphyxia. And the police said they were pretty sure it was a plastic bag over the head ??? WTF ??? How can you tell the difference between how someones nose and mouth have been denied oxygen from a corpse several years old ??? OK If a neck bone is broken, it signifies strangulation, but this is just too far beyond belief.

The Tax Collector (2020)

It would be a comedy if it was funny

[1/10 · 18 July 2023]

Some strange here. Take two guys, one who looks like he is trying to to come onto every guy he meets, and a scrawny jewish guy portraying a "super hard" latino. Apparently these guys are so hard, and so well connected, that they can humiliate everyone they meet, and then just drive around with no need for protection because everyone knows how hard they are. Total BS. And kinda offensive. It's like watching someone do blackface, having a jewish guy play a latino. Like they must have run out of latino actors in hollywood. Anyways, total fantasy devoid of reality and a bit of a shame to see it was from the guys who made training day. One out of ten for sure.

Master Gardener (2022)

Spot On !!!

[10/10 · 19 June 2023]

So good to see conflicted characters with dark secrets dancing around each other in games of power, control and lust. Joel Edgerton seems to have mastered "less is more" ( as long as it's happening below the surface). Well written script, and I even learnt a thing or two about plants. It always amazes me why Hollywood doesn't "hire out" for imported talent more often, considering what a talentless vacuum America seems to be. Hilarious, as I watched a movie the day before, with an American doing an "Aussie" accent which was New Zealand and South African more than Australian. Then I watch this movie, and Joel gets the accent spot on. Actually, usually Australian actors can do three or four different US accents flawlessly. Anyways the movie is good.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

OMG, Someone please end Anakin...

[3/10 · 19 June 2023]

So, I'm going through a rewatch of the entire Star Wars Movie and TV series collection. By far, without a doubt this particular movie was the worst. Nearly half of the movie is unwatchable due to a whiny / angry / self obsessed Anakin. I am totally revulsed by the character, the actor (Haydyn Christensen), the script writer, and anyone else involved in bringing this pathetic being into my existence. How on earth did George Lucas think it was a good idea to make such an unlikeable whinging and whining character ? Who wants to watch some snivelling teenager with no redeeming qualities at all ? What a mistake. No wonder there are hundreds of web pages and chat rooms devoted to "Why is Anakin so annoying ?"

The Witcher (2019– )

No Cavill, No witcher !!!!

[10/10 · 6 June 2023]

Absolutely in dismay. Once again, some hollywood executive absolutely destroys something good by refusing to pay the lead actor as their salary expectations rise in line with the popularity of the series. HOW WRONG CAN YOU GET IT ??? How on earth can anyone watch this series and not get that Cavill makes it happen. What an insane and absurd decision. I hope that season three falls to the bottom pits of hell and is forgotten in the mists of time. BRING BACK CAVILL FOR SEASON FOUR you bloated hollywood big wigs. He is the witcher, there will never be another. Fans of fantasy of the world, rise up and be heard.

Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023)

Decimation of a genre

[3/10 · 20 May 2023]

I'm not sure when the zombies stopped being the focus of zombie movies. This series is kinda like watching Days Of Our Lives if you add Morality. I kinda liked the era when there were new and interesting twists that kept popping up (such as using an L. P. Collection for self defence). Anyways, it seems that at some point Romero and 28 days later died and got replaced with soap operas where very little happens apart from interpersonal relationships. It seems people are either "Good" or "Bad" in this series, and in every episode there is one "Moral Outrage" eg "OMG I can't kill that person, even though they are now a zombie" OR "I have been a trusted group member, and now with very little motivation, I will betray my own group and get people killed" OR "I will persist with my way of thinking no matter the harm it causes myself and others" OR " I need to leave and go off into the wilderness to find my truth, my emotions trump any logic". If you thought nothing happened in the walking dead, just wait there's more...

Rabbit Hole (2023)

Bread and Circuses

[3/10 · 11 May 2023]

Giving the masses what they want. Bread and Circuses as one Roman put it, or appealing to "the lowest common denominator" as Goebbels put it. In an age where the masses are less trusting of Governments than ever before (maybe rightfully so due to the level of misgovernance),the ONLY POSSIBLE OPTION MUST BE whacked conspiracy theories (they must be true because governments sometimes lie and pursue their own interests). The only problem with the logic behind this, is that the masses are revolting. One in seven people in the U. S. think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. And judging by youtube, most Americans stopped in the street cannot point to and name any country on the entire planet (including the U. S.) This show is perfect fodder for the masses, giving them exactly what they want, crackpot conspiracy theories and mindless entertainment. I really wish Hollywood would pay attention to cinema from the rest of the world and lift it's game. But then again, Goebbels kinda had a point, appealing to the lowest common denominator seems to work (if you have low expectations.)

The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (2023)

Straight out of 1950's Hollywood....

[3/10 · 19 April 2023]

In a Hollywood device that is old as time, we have a true hero, a warrior, stoic and true to his word. Given all the characteristics to make us like him. Then they write a script to visit every type of betrayal and suffering that exists. The point is to cause you emotional turmoil as all these bad things happen to such a nice guy that you like so much. Lo and behold, at the end, his commitment to truth and valiant characteristics bring him this amazingly good Karma, proving the truth that we all know "good things happen to good people". Actually, it's more of a moral play than anything else. They probably should have a screen at the end titled "And the moral of the story is..."

Code 404 (2020–2022)

Belter British banter...

[9/10 · 29 March 2023]

Yep, the british do it better. Far far superior to the vapid, inane, ribald american stuff that passes as humour. Clever, funny, silly but enough to keep you engaged and giggling away. I still smile if i think of some of the innuendo dialogue between the main character and the puppet master. Each character has plenty of room for idiocy and mirth and each actor takes up the challenge nicely. I just wish there was more of this kind of stuff coming out of the UK. Kind of like 48 hours in a way, but sillier, and possibly funnier. Easy to watch and some easy laughs. Nice twist to a worn out genre. Highly recommend.

Transfusion (I) (2023)

Gritty as it gets....

[10/10 · 27 March 2023]

SO REFRESHING. After the usual Hollywood crap that even the writers of the script couldn't believe. Yet another Aussie belter. The characters speak like people actually speak. They have depth that makes you root for them, and despite their flaws and overwhelming adversity that life throws at them, they march on the best they can. Shadows of men, but the best shadows they can be. SO GOOD to see truth in cinema. To be honest i still recoil every time i see a Hollywood movie, and someone just walks away from an unlocked car. I never saw anyone do that in real life, but it apparently happens in Hollywood all the time. We need more of this, more broken heroes trying desperately to put the pieces back again.

A Town Called Malice (2023)

Meh....

[2/10 · 25 March 2023]

Kinda like a pop video clip, but with less substance. It's kinda nice to see flawed characters, but the script writing is disingenous, it could have been so much more with some clever criminal stuff. Instead we are left with characters with very poor (and totally unbelievable) motivations for the actions they take. It's kinda like the Sopranos, except without any substance, and poor actors drowning in thin characters who seem to be only one sided rather than multi faceted. Worth watching ? Umm, I guess if it was between watching a blank screen or this series, I would flip a coin. Wins the award for using the word "Schtum" more than any other series made.

Cedar Boys (2009)

Good Movie erased from history....

[9/10 · 19 March 2023]

Yet another one of those things where if it doesn't exist on the internet, it doesn't exist. This movie was groundbreaking, one of the first to give a glimpse into the lebanese underworld of Sydney, more than a decade before Last King of the Cross. I really liked this film. But, unfortunately, it might as well never been made. You cannot view it anywhere on the internet, not youtube, or any of the torrent or streaming sites. Great but doesn't exist is the same as just doesn't exist. Such a shame, as all it would take is a few people to get together and be dedicated streamers on P2P sites, and it would spread.

Treason (2022)

Beyond any logic or reason....

[1/10 · 7 January 2023]

So, Apparently the head of MI6 keeps secret a relationship with an enemy operative, even though the enemy have exactly zero leverage on him. Then, he enters a building unarmed, and without back up, even though he is unaware of the number of hostiles inside, and whether they are armed or not. Meanwhile, his wife snoops through his stuff (once again apparently without any leverage or motivation) and feeds it to the CIA. Being totally unbelievable seems to be genetically inherited as his daughter ditches her security detail for no reason other than she wants to walk alone along a deserted canal. Meanwhile, Olga Kurlyenko does her terrible overacting, constantly looking around fearfully (like all highly trained agents do). Then, she and manages to pick up everything she needs for an assassination at the job without any planning or bringing any toolds with her. LIKE WOW !!! If this is an accurate reflection of MI6, the UK is in real trouble. Please sack the script writer.

Homicide Hunter (2011–2020)

BEST BY FAR

[10/10 · 5 January 2023]

AS a true crime binge addict, I have watched nearly every series and documentary made in the genre. There is just no one that can compare to Joe Kenda. Firstly he is one of very few Homicide Detectives that have solved close to 400 cases. Second, he just sticks to the facts, and explains the relationships of cause and effect very clearly. Third, he does these hilarious dead pan one liners that are priceless. I have watched all eight series, as well as another homicide series made by Kenda, but this is by far the best, as the other series uses other detectives and is not as good. Kinda like watching the David Attenborough of Homicide. Highly recommended.

Fully Torqued (2021–2023)

NOT WHEELER DEALERS.

[1/10 · 5 January 2023]

Yeh. Meh. The story of a guy with money, who reminds you every five minutes how he loves to "give back". What he does is buys a car with no knowledge or understanding of how to work on cars at all, he then takes it to shops, who do very tame and lame modifications (and obviously get soem exchange for being on the show). I would really recommend if you like American style hype with no substance. Kinda like watching a one hour paid advertisement. Although I'm not quite sure if there is any technical value, problem solving, or anything that can be learnt from this show at all, in any way shape or form. For a guy who "builds cars", he seems to just buy mass produced stuff from a catalogue. Nothing custom at all. Go you good thing. If you can believe you can receive.

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

More truth than ten years of holllywood movies...

[10/10 · 24 December 2022]

Always great when somebody tells the truth. In between years of mindless, politically correct propaganda pumped out by hollywood, it is so refreshing to see an honest take on the entitled and vapid world of the uber rich, and also of the topsy turvy worship of wealth, bling and youthful good looks that dominates our culture, and led in an uncompromising charge by hollywood. Woody Harrelson chooses his roles with impeccable taste. All round, great to see, and we need far more parody and satire if we have any chance of having arts and media that are in any way truthful, and anything other than a paid advetisement.

The Chestnut Man (2021– )

Not the bridge....

[4/10 · 18 November 2022]

OK, I guess. It's a shame because the whole plot is not built on an especially clever villain or an odd yet somehow adept pairing of police officers. Actually the whole plot revolves around roadblocks thrown their way by their arrogant and inept commanding officer and mistakes made by their fellow officers. Sad really, as it had promise. Would have been nice to have some depth and tension to the lead characters, and have them in a battle of wits with a clever murderer rather than just being headed off at the pass every time by stupid colleagues. I would have loved to see these characters at their A game without the shackles around their feet.

How I Caught the Killer (2018– )

Meh...

[1/10 · 5 November 2022]

Not Homicide Hunter or The First 48. I just watched an episode where the detectives kept going on about how the victim was "Innocent" because they were a sunday school teacher. This show is full of assumptions and opinions. EG. Every detective I have ever heard says that "You start with the inner circle and work your way out", but apparently, the expert in this show reckons "anybody" could have committed the murder, it could be a stranger knocking on the door". Plus you get to listen to a five minute explanation as to what a polygraph is (like there is anyone on the planet that never heard of a lie detector). Shame, cos it kinda had potential.

New York Homicide (2022– )

NO HOMICIDE HUNTER....

[1/10 · 8 October 2022]

More like an hour long advertisement for the glory of New York and It's police department. Every few minutes they rehash what happened in the last few minutes, just in case you missed it. It's OK, if you like your true crime filled with subjective opinions. Give me Forensic Files, Homicide Hunter or The Murder Tapes any day. Facts beat Opinion in this genre. I guess it's a testament to the psyche of New York, (that they are the best in the world and don't need to do much apart from resting on their laurels). Shame, because without the pompous bombastic lecturing about their opinions, and more facts, it could have had some promise.