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justin-mulvey
Reviews
Attack of the Murder Hornets (2021)
Important message clarion call for community effort
The show identifies the problem, but more importantly, shows you how you can help. The documentary is well made. There is one religious bee keeper who can't seem to decide if these bees are god's plan or ... not god's plan... or part of gods greater plan. There is also some useful science.
Richard Jewell (2019)
A Lesson Not to Tread on Others for Personal Gain
We are often blinded by greed, and neglect to understand how our actions affect others. Fabricating data can put a branch of science on the wrong track for years. Not telling the whole truth can turn public opinion and destroy lives. This is a lesson not to be Kathy Scruggs, as she was historically, or imagined. The reality doesn't matter. The emotional lesson to be a better person to others is loud and clear. Clint Eastwood is an outstanding director.
Chernobyl (2019)
Astoundingly Good and scientifically sound
I am a radiation chemist. I make drugs that selective deliver alpha particle emitters, sometimes gamma. I loved this series. Historical accuracy, style and great acting I am grateful for, but scientific accuracy puts a big smiles on my face. I too have a pair of lead underwear.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Remember why superman quickly got boring?
Superman was all powerful - every plot had to involve kryptonite, blocking the sun, or threatening someone he loved. After awhile this got really old.
Captain Marvel is more of the same. In the opening of the movie, she takes down a giant Kree ship herself from a position of absolute restraint. Then she flees without checking to make sure her team (with who we might assume she was captured in the mission just prior) are on the ill-fated ship. As she crashes into the concrete roof of a blockbuster, presumably at at least terminal velocity, she's not damaged at all. She's all powerful and mostly invulnerable.
Also, for a woman who has spent some time among British accented aliens (I guess that's how we are supposed to identify them as aliens) she still speaks and acts exactly like a girl from the midwest.
This and endless other criticisms not voiced boil down to the Disneyification of movies for the lowest common denominator American tastes and for the maximum profitability of films by making them vaguely enjoyable, but not at all good.
The problem here in my opinion is Disney, a company that will buy up everything they can and make it as unoffensive and likable as possible. They polish over the lack of depth in their films by adding excellent special effects (It did get 5 stars, not 3) and writers who are supposed to throw in little one liners to make us chuckle throughout and not get completely bored. It's a formula they apply to everything.
In all, unless you want to be dazzled a bit by some special effects, this film is not worth watching.
Designated Survivor (2016)
A great central story arc that is periodically covered in excrement.
This show grabs your attention immediately. The first few episodes are riveting, but soon after characters start making unrealistic choices which ruins a story based on difficult decisions. There are so many times when a phone call should have been made. For instance, Agent Wells racing to the VP inauguration to stop a shooter. Why didn't she call even local police and name the room?
Another major criticism are the side stories that just serve to detract from the main one. Nearly all of these involve the president's wife - the most annoying character in the series by far. She interjects small distractions about Syrian refugees or soon to be deported hispanic maids that add nothing. If they cut her character from the show completely, it might get 9 stars from me.
Naked News (1999)
Fun and news
Let's face it, the news can be pretty boring, and sometimes you need a distraction. These women have come up with something that works.
The last review I read talked about their bodies. Yeah, they're not all modelesque. Some have less than perfect boob jobs. One I saw was downright fat. But who cares? It's a fun concept. It makes me laugh. If you're looking for porn, go watch porn.
I also liked all the natural breasts, unabashedly displayed. I think the many teens who will find ways to watch this show could benefit from seeing women as they really are - sag and all.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)
If Children and Emotionally Spoiled Borderlines Ran a War
Snarky personalities from emotionally indulgent brats speaks to our self absorbed millennial natures. These characters have never known the districts; they have never known hard work or suffering. Their characters all seem like they were raised in 90's American empire suburbia where their parents told them they were great. Everyone is so concerned about their feelings, forgetting that they are at war. All of the male characters look like they just came from ten hours at the spa. A few "adult" characters provide a semblance of structure and order, but it seems more like a group of college chaperones with the focus quickly diverted back to the emotional concerns of self-obsessed youth.
The Jennifer as a media tool gets old to the viewer even more than it starts to get old to her character.
I did like the intrigue of Coin needing to control, and seeing The Mocking Jay as a threat. That was well portrayed. If only as an excuse to have Peter back on the scene which would otherwise be completely inconceivable.
No one has the resources to dump 100,000 gallons of oil into a large courtyard with multiple areas of egress.
Once they embark on their underground mission, the pace picks up and the so does the realism.