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stultissimiamatorii
Reviews
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
This made money?
I saw the first one, enjoyed it.
Saw the first too-long of the second one. What a steaming pile of predictability. I gave up at the toasting scene.
I downloaded the first, so it took ten or twenty minutes to get it.
I checked this one out from the library, so it took a few seconds. I did not get my time's worth.
Did nobody tell the director that the protagonist is supposed to be a sympathetic character?
This got a 2/10 because I've actually seen worse. I can't remember when or what, which is probably a mercy.
Have I Got News for You: Victoria Coren Mitchell, Josh Widdicombe, Emma Dabiri (2021)
It's got Victoria Coren Mitchell! (Extended version)
Yeah, that's the biggest factor. Victoria's got the brains and eloquence that the show's host should always have.
Emma Dabiri was overshadowed. I've been assured she's a very intelligent woman but this appearance didn't really give her the chance to show it.
Josh. Less annoying than he usually is but to me he'll never be a plus on any episode.
The writing didn't stand out, neither great nor awful.
And yes, Victoria was even easier on the eyes than she usually is.
Have I Got News for You: Aisling Bea, Roisin Conaty, Clive Myrie (2021)
The extended version
The guests make the most difference in whether most viewers enjoy an episode. I'll skip that til the end.
This episode had some of the weak writing that shows up when the writers don't keep the host's style in mind. Much of the episode was lightweight subject - it's hard to believe that Boris Johnson's wedding was one of the biggest stories of the past week.
This was a below-average episode. Paul was disengaged more than usual, and unless the host is a force of nature like Brian Blessed or William Shatner it's not fair to have the new person in the host seat for their baptism of fire. Aisling wasn't horrible but she did seem nervous, as might be expected for any first-timer.
On the plus side, the person in charge of sound levels on the microphones didn't botch the job this time.
Ian's teammate for right for the show and seems right for the new host of Mastermind.
Other than Roisin, a below-average episode by modern standards. I'd give this a 5/10 except for one thing.
Roisin. We both loathe her to the point that I nearly didn't download the episode. It's no coincidence that her last appearance was an episode we stopped watching a quarter way through.
The Orville: Lasting Impressions (2019)
YMMV - reviewed by storyline
Obviously I had a different experience watching this than other reviewers.
The A story - Gordon gets a romance. I'll be the first to admit that the Kelly-and-anybody romance attempts had me expecting similar cinematic horror this time around and it started out that way. But without anyone to dislikable in the storyline it was just boring. There's nothing unbelievable about Gordon being the temporary-rebound-before-returning-to-boyfriend guy. I've seen such storylines many times over decades and while this one lacked anyone villainous, it also lacked anyone exciting. Maybe it was the chemistry, maybe it just wasn't strong enough storywise to get so much screen time, most likely it was just that Seth writes human romance very badly. This storyline gets a 4/10 from me. We didn't fast forward through any of it but the temptation was strong.
The B story - Bortas and Klyden get addicted to smoking. Definitely not high-brow but great comedy relief for an episode that badly needed it. Great timing, editing, and direction on this part of the episode. Having a marriage with two males has worked well as writers can play with the usual Hollywood tropes about husband and wife roles. This storyline gets a 6/10 from me.
The Kelly speech - This felt like it was written for Ed and I heard the whole thing in his voice. The only reason I can see for Kelly giving the speech was the actress demanding screentime. This part gets a 3/10 from me. Just wrong, wrong, wrong.
The wrap up - More of the A story, really. If you feel no investment in the characters, you'll get nothing out of this. When the most notable thing about a segment is noticing that orange is a really bad makeup colour for the protagonist...
The Orville: Blood of Patriots (2019)
No *clunk* moments.
You know those moments that just fall flat, that ring false for military characters or that make you think that a couple minutes' thought by the writer could have produced something that doesn't make you feel like you could have written better? None of those.
And it's nice to have a security chief who seems like a real security officer. It isn't a physical issue (though the last actress looked like a single punch would shatter her bones) but one of attitude. Not Garibaldi's level of paranoia but just the right level of caution and nothing to prove to herself.
QI: Rude (2020)
The guests make the episode and this one had great guests
This is easily one of the best episodes of the show's entire run. It's certainly the best since well before Sandi took over.
Phill Jupitus, Aisling Bea, and John Barrowman are all intelligent, educated people who can think on their feet and riff off each other wonderfully.
This is what the show should always be.
The Orville: Ja'loja (2018)
Did a network exec demand more romance?
Why?
I have no idea how many times I asked that question watching this episode. I do know that anytime somebody was thinking Kelly was a catch that the vowel lengthened considerably. I pity anyone whose first exposure to the show was the head-game-o-rama that is the first officer. First I called for the teacher to dump her during the argument, then I called for the captain, the teacher, anyone, to dump her out an airlock. The Disney beard characters of Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse were more emotionally mature and likeable when it comes to romance than Kelly. I can finally understand why so many Hollywood marriages end in divorce.
I hope that the rest of the romance elements of this episode were done as a response to some network executive demanding more romance on the show, because they were just painful to watch.
Somewhere out there is a TV show or movie so bad that it deserves the worst rating that can possible be given. That's why I rated this as high as 2/10.