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Obliterated (2023)
Trashy & disgusting
Went into this without reading any reviews or watching the trailer, only knowing that it's a crazy action series with Shelley Henig and Nick Zano. I liked both of them as actors from previous roles... but after watching this I'm gonna think twice about watching anything with them.
I can't believe Nick Zano promoted this on his social media when he's a father of two.... and what did his wife think of all the unnecessary nudity?? The gratuitous nudity and all the other debased and disgusting scenes completely ruined this show. The plot was not good enough to raise it from the slop pit the writers created. Only good thing was that Ava & McKnight started to care about each other by the end. But I still won't watch a season 2, if they make one.
Save your time and watch Fubar, The Night Agent or The Recruit.
The Christmas Venue (2023)
Where's the Christmas cheer??
This was sooo boring. The leading lady was not cheerful - maybe that was the plot but she totally looked like she didn't want to be in this movie. And the leading man, oh boy, he was so emotionless. The plot makes no sense either - it's like now they've thrown a bunch of Christmas cliches in a hat, pick a couple and make a movie out of them, doesn't matter if they go together or not.
There was no chemistry between the other characters either, like the couple that was supposed to be married at the B&B. In what world does a rich girl (with such a pretentious mother) marry a guy that's shorter than her?
Overall, boring and cheerless.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Halfway thru...
Just finished the 3rd episode and honestly, my excitement bubble is deflating even more. I'm guessing most everyone started watching this for Winter Soldier and wanted to know how he's going to deal with PTSD, but the writers/directors ruined that with the awkward psychologist and all her talking telling us what's wrong with Bucky instead of showing, and you know, actually letting Sebastian act!
And the dialogue! Oh my god the dialogue is so cringy! It's like they got new writers in here that don't know the shorthand these characters have developed over the last 10 years! The only highlight of each episode is the action, and that is very sparse. I thought Marvel promised us big budget action and that's why we're only getting 6 episodes. There's more action in a CBS procedural!
Overall, kinda disappointed. From the previews (that higlighted most of the action) you'd think this is an action show but I don't know what they're trying to do here. A "realistic" look at everyday life after The Blip? Who the heck wants that when we had 2020?! And Bucky & Sam will never be "normal" people so making him go to a bank for a loan is ridiculous. Also, with all the racial drama it seems like the writers are trying to make our world collide with the Marvel universe, but this is not a CBS procedural! Who thinks a universe with aliens, androids and sorcerers would have the same problems we do?
So far, this just doesn't feel like a Marvel product. Even WandaVision's craziness felt more like Marvel! I really hope this gets better (that is, that the writers found their groove before the last episode) and be a worthy entry into the Marvel universe.
A New Year's Resolution (2021)
Pretty original... for a Hallmark movie
Regular Christmas Hallmark movies are so cliche, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This movie is more of a quiche - some work put into it, a variety of ingredients and leaves you satisfied at the end.
I love that both the female and male lead have relatively successful careers and neither one of them has to give it up in order to be with the other. They also don't have to go to some quaint small town to find their purpose or love of their life. The seriousness of the bank fraud was a little glossed over, but then again we're watching a romance not the Panama Papers.
Enola Holmes (2020)
This is Enola not Sherlock!
Most of the bad reviews seem to be people complaining that she's not Sherlock. Seriously?! The girl is 16 and just beginning to see the world and put her deductive skills to use. And Sherlock was not born with a magnifying glass in his hand either! But apparently since no one has done an "origin" story of Sherlock people can't comprehend that he had to start somewhere too, and so is Enola now.
And no, the movie is not too "woke". British women gained the right to vote in 1918, and this takes place in 1900 so it's not too far off for them to have started the suffrage movement.
The movie was beautiful, fun and had a good message. Not really a fan of breaking the 4th wall but Millie Bobby Brown is adorable so I'll give it a pass. The Tewksbury case wasn't very complicated but, again, following the clues to her mother makes up for it. Really the only thing I didn't like was the Mycroft character - he didn't seem clever enough (maybe I've been spoiled by Mark Gatiss).
Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019)
the worst of them all...
I actually thought the 2nd one wasn't that bad, they were still ESCAPING out of prisons.... so I decided to watch this one too, since I like Devon Sawa and hadn't seen him in anything in a while. Wow what a waste!
There is no prison, there is no plan. They break INTO a building ("prison" I guess) to rescue a hostage (Chinese tycoon's daughter) and Ray Breslin is only there because the bad guy just so happens to be the son of his former partner (who sold him out in the first movie) and he wants some kind of revenge.
Only good thing about this movie is the martial arts by Harry Shum Jr and that other Asian guy... lol
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Umm.... Transformers had better character development than this!
When I saw the trailer I thought "Wow! Something original and it looks epic!"
Eh, not so much. The CGI, now that's impressive, I give it a 5 just for that. But the sum of this movie is LESS than the parts. It has a badass warrior, it has interesting world-building, it has a formidable villain... but they didn't click together.
The doctor that puts Alita back together has a typical sob story but I saw almost no emotion from the guy. Rosa Salazar's acting came through better on Alita's CGI face than this guy's acting!! In general, the character development was terrible - Alita goes from complete amnesia, heck, almost dead, to jumping into the world and trusting the first cute guy she sees. (That romance was forced too) There's no character development on the villain either, he's just some omnipresent bad guy in the sky, no motives for why he's bad. And just when I thought the movie was going somewhere... it ends!!! Ugh! This movie was not good enough to make me want to come back for the sequel.
A Midnight Kiss (2018)
Good Christmas/New Year's movie
I don't see how some say Carlos PenaVega is any worse than other actors for the Hallmark channel. He is actually an average actor... it's true that his own bouncing-off-the-walls energy came thru a little bit, but it didn't take me out of the movie because his acting was bad. What was sort of bad was the script - it gave too much time to the party planning and secondary characters instead of SHOWING the romance between the leads. Too much telling instead of showing... but overall, not bad for a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Christmas Made to Order (2018)
Feel-good Christmas movie
Starts off with a few cheesy lines (like most of these movies) but the dialogue did get better. Plot was also pretty interesting and I'm glad that Hallmark is starting to make more finding-love-in-the-city Christmas movies, because all those you-have-to-go-to-a-small-town-to-feel-the-Christmas-spirit-and-find-love movies were really, REALLY starting to get tiresome. PenaVega and Bennett were pretty good but my expectations are not high for Hallmark movies; still, they never took me out of the movie with over-the-top acting so that's a plus. I give it a 6.5-7 stars.
A Simple Favor (2018)
a DARK comedy
Some people are saying this movie didn't know if it wanted to be a thriller or a comedy.... guess what, it's actually a perfect combination of the two! I don't know why they are trying to put this in one box or the other, and then these same people cry that there's nothing new/original to watch. A Simple Favor is something different and these people are still not happy. So don't listen to them.
Go for Anna Kendrick. Go for Blake Lively. Go for Henry Golding (I sure did!). But don't expect them to play the same wholesome (?) characters as in other things because this is a dark and TWISTED comedy. This is not a thriller in the sense of an unknown stalker on your back porch, but more like becoming friends with a person and then starting to suspect they might be an ax-murderer. So how do you leave that relationship without making the crazy person mad and becoming a victim? ........
American Assassin (2017)
Orion, The Hunter, son of Poseidon
I found it curious that they keep naming special-ops programs that train former Navy SEALS as Orion. (Looking at you, Blindspot!) Apparently, the mythology is that Orion was the son of Poseidon (god of the sea) and he had the ability to walk on water and was a great hunter. Seems fitting!
The newest member of Orion is Mitch Rapp, and Dylan O'Brien embodies the character so well that you would never think a year ago he played a high school kid in Teen Wolf. Everyone loves his sarcastic, maverick character in Teen Wolf (really, he became the star more than the main character) and I kept looking for flashes of this character he's played so long to show up in Mitch, but they were nowhere to be found. Even in the two instances where he cracks a joke, it's filtered through the terrible experiences that Mitch went thru.
He's serious, in fact more serious than Bond or Bourne. Maybe that's because of the R rating. But I think it's because this movie (franchise?) is more grounded and relatable to current events. Bond seems to be in a parallel universe - with over-the-top villains, futuristic gadgets, and a British sense of humor that makes you feel like things really aren't that bad. Bourne is more grounded but the whole franchise he's trying to figure out what happened to his life.
Mitch Rapp, even though this was the origin story, is more about a cause greater than himself. His revenge plan is more serious than the other two. Maybe some people think Rapp and co. took themselves too seriously for an action movie, but I think it was a refreshing change.
Missing (2012)
NOT like Taken... in a good way
Really, I can't believe the ratings on IMDb anymore. People must watch one episode of a TV show and then come right over and rate it a 3.
After watching the pilot, I couldn't wait to see what would happen. There is a certain dynamic between the characters that makes the show realistic but also gives you some laughs (or maybe just smiles). And yes, I think the casting is pretty good. Cliff Curtis just has the face of a government agent (let me tell you, I know a few) and the Interpol agent is especially believable (he IS Italian).
As for Ashley Judd, I don't get why people say she is not believable as a mom that kicks butt. Before this show we had Gina Carano taking down men in Haywire so just because Ashley Judd hasn't trained her whole life or been in a similar role doesn't mean she can't do it. The premise of the show is that she was ONE OF THE BEST agents.
After watching 7 episodes, the plot is totally not like Taken. It has expanded a lot more and unlike what other reviewers have said, you can't tell where it's going. I have watched (and am watching) plenty of shows and this one is not stuck in a rut.
So give it a chance! :-)
Chuck (2007)
Unique, Funny, Smart, and Sexy
Chuck is one of the best shows on television! The plot especially is different from any other show and the writers have kept that same theme while Chuck's character has evolved. And in Season 4 the plot twists have been amazing! The plot is smart and there is some technical jargon but it is understandable. I also like that the show has a continuing story instead of just giving the characters a case to solve in every episode. This has made it possible to have several smaller characters return and they make the show even better.
The comedy part of this show comes from Morgan and Casey. Morgan is hilarious in everything he does but Casey's one-liners are the best. I would watch this show just to see those two! Oh, and not to forget Chuck and Sarah. The chemistry between the characters as well as the actors is undeniable and I think that is the greatest part of the show. They are believable and you feel for them when something goes wrong, too. I really hope that a Season 5 is in the making!