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michielkromhout
Reviews
Ted Lasso: Sunflowers (2023)
Worst episode so far
Maybe it's because I'm Dutch but I found this episode truly abismal. It's like watching Love Actually or something. The team decision process, the Amsterdam clichés, oh lordy. It's like someone on the writing team wanted to promote Amsterdam but failed. It's all overdone and just not funny. The houseboat-guy, the bicycle-junkie...the only realistic thing is the angry Dutch bikers 😀
I did like the Trent - Colin bit, the jazzy storyline and of course Piggy Stardust.
The last 2 episodes of season were not as enjoyable as the rest and I hope that this episode is like Ted&Rebecca s life and the Richmond team: they can't go any lower in quality.
Black Lotus (2023)
The worst I've seen in a long time
It's difficult to find the words to describe just how bad this movie is. The acting of everyone is abismal but I guess it's hard to act when the script is done by a beta version of ChatGPT that was trained on the worst B-movies of the 80s. There's even a shameless ripoff scene of the classic movie Amsterdamned (watch that one instead!) where a corpse is dragged over a sightseeing canalboat.
The cinematography is crap and it looks like they could afford 1 drone but were not allowed to fly it so they took quick illegals shots on 4 locations that you keep seeing.
And the action.... WHERE IS THE ACTION?!
There's I think 5 minutes worth of scenes that could be called 'action scenes'.
Person of Interest: M.I.A. (2015)
Nice plot but the action is getting stupid
OK, so the Maple-Ant-farm is a nice piece of plot. The microdots and brain-implants are somewhat predictable but OK. I've come to sort of accept Root as a ridiculous character so her insane focus on Shaw don't bother me as much as in the beginning.
My gripe now is that the action bits are going very dumb....well more dumb than before.
Lately every time any character fires a gun there's the target is not even in sight. Also, people regularly have an unending supply of clips. I don't expect ultra-realism here or even average realism but SOME realism would be nice!
Also, I wonder how Reese survived that bullet in his back from the (awesome) NYSE episode!
The Tick (2016)
Why was this canceled?! It's truly awesome!
Everything about this is unbelievably great. The Tick is just dimwitted enough, Arthur just pathetic enough, the writing balances between cheesy and smart and outlandish.
The one-liners! The alliterations of The Tick! Danger boat! The general plot! The backstories! John Hodges! Every character has something interesting and it's even effectively low-budget looking at the right times.
I'm halfway through season 2 so something can still go very wrong but so far I have no clue why Amazon would cancel this while they keep other drivel alive for seasons and seasons on end.
I can only hope another streamer picks this show up (including the writing staff).
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
Repetitive after a few eps but I did stick around
I liked the first few setup eps getting used to the visual style and the usual overthetop screaming voice acting of a few characters. The whole Cyberpunk definately had a Gibson-vibe. If only the story had somewhere to go except the very predictable. I admit the main characters final closure was better than expected and I did stick around for it but compared to Arcane this was meh. I was also missing 'animation' in this 'animated series'. I know it's the way this manga-stuff is done but in my memory even Akira had more frames back in its day.
Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff but I just could care less for David and his gang.
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: Melinda Gates (2019)
Lunar power!!
OK, so I'm writing this while slightly drunk but I found the whole thing quite entertaining. Melinda is sincere and I think genuinely interested in making earth a better place for women which it should be.
Looking back it's a shame Bill was an idiot but oh well, let's hope they keep up the fight against polio.
The bit with David making that horrible Worcester sauce& peanut butter sandwich while Bill is trying his best to keep up and enjoy it but really not buying it...I dunno...fake or real but it was well done
Also: Bill = professor Farnsworth from Futurama! It's very obvious when seeing him en profile!
The Flight Attendant: Brothers & Sisters (2022)
10 stars for that family scene
That kitchen scene was just great stuff all around from everyone involved!
Solid lines, believable acting, just gripping!
Sharon Stone especially nailed it there but Kaley and T. R. were good as well.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part II (2022)
Unconvincing action scenes, but at least Ewan's great
After 2 eps I'm already afraid every review will be called that... Or maybe I should have called this 'at least Flea's dead'.
And poor Rupert Friend...why did they let him - the actual actor and cool looking character - die instead of Reva? I hope she has one hell of a backstory to compensate for her current one-dimensionality.
And yet another stupid chase....followed by a low-energy fight scene on a roof. And then parkour-Reva.
OK, the ending was pretty cool and I'm ending it up with 7 stars, instead of 5.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part I (2022)
Would have been 9 if not for that forest chase
Ewan is great. Everything looks great. Nice story setup and then...an infantile chase scene worthy of the finest Teletubbie episode. At least it was only 30 seconds or so.
I don't like Flea or that over the top Reva-character either but I sure hope they won't include anymore kindergarten stuff.
Ozark: A Hard Way to Go (2022)
A fitting end
Not sure what else to write without spoilers. I guess everyone got what they deserved...more or less.
I have no gripes against some characters being left unexplored or that there were some subplots that seemed to fizzle out ( that's mostly how everyone rolled in the Ozarks ).
I would have liked some people to survive and others to die but I'm mostly satisfied and I think the writers did a pretty good job finishing this before it got REALLY repetitive (instead of 'a little).
Ozark: Trouble the Water (2022)
Well, a happily ever after is going to be difficult
Not sure what to expect from the final 2 eps. There seems that be nowhere left to run, but at least there's two weights less pulling them to the bottom.
I like the unraveling of Wendy. I actually told her out loud she had it coming, which - to me - is a sign of good writing (others may find it unhinged of me but so what.... SO WHAT I tell you! 🙂)
Ozark: Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin' (2022)
Finally, things start moving
We're getting somewhere with the pressure finally making Marty stand up to...many things🤠
I'm also glad this Ben-thing (seems to) be over with John-Boy Walton seeking some alone time after telling Wendy her main personality flaw.
Ozark: You're the Boss (2022)
Building up to something good (I hope)
I had hoped that we'd see Marty do something clever in Mexico but besides the (implausibly) easy catch of that guy cooking the books, he shows he's really not cut out for anything besides that.
And Wendy is getting highly annoying with her smug face.
So.... I guess it's very consistent writing 🙂 but I hope the finale will be worth the current cringe-watch.
The Blacklist: The Protean (No. 36) (2021)
This hitman is #36!?!
Of all the sloppy hitmen this show has unleashed, this guy is the most underwhelming. As with the others, this guy is ridiculously good at finding the targets but then his behavior makes me wonder what he did to get to #36.
I won't mention the cringe fest that was the opening scene of Keen and her merry band of dimwits or Keen driving quite relaxed to the hospital (hello....9-1-1 is your friend) with her sister dying next to her or ...well, every Keen-scene.
Also: why is she bobbing her head like Reddington in the last few episodes? Is it a new acting skill she's copying?
The Blacklist: 16 Ounces (2021)
Can't remember I wished a character dead so hard as Liz
There's too much annoyment to write up but I think the lovescene with Ressler topped it all.
And then her gangsta look with the beanie. And her stupid plan to mess up Reds network after botching the bombing....
Ugh.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Something went wrong in the last 2 eps but still great
8 was glued to the screen for most of this!
Thrn....not sure how but it feels like the writers forgot they needed to write for more seasons or they got this message too late from 'upstairs' and they weren't able to cope. Anyway: the last 2 or 3 episodes didn't feel as cool as the rest. A bit too much Fargo-wannabe-ism in the present day storyline.
But! Still great entertainment with really solid acting by all (although Juliette Lewis went a bit overboard with her angry facial expressions imho).
The Protégé (2021)
Went from 2 stars to 1 in the last 30 minutes...
...but should be 0 based on the final 5 minutes.
This was truly a B-minus movie: predictable storyline, dumb battle-decisions by supposedly the best hitmen in the world, 65+ year old hitmen (Keaton and Jackson) that we're supposed to take seriously and a lot of implausible action. This would all be OK-ish if there would be some humour or whatever lightness in there to make it a bit like a FUN B-movie. It was like Red but without John Malkovich, or every Liam Neeson film without the overthetop oneliners...
Foundation (2021)
Love it so far after Ep 7 - never read the books.
It's very refreshing compared to some of the previous scifi things I viewed on netflix like Altered Carbon with all the predictable dialogue and mindless action.
I really like the time skipping-back-and-forth (which is a lot easier to follow than that crazy stuff from Westworld) and the whole thing with the Cleon-clones.
Not having read the books, I'm pleasantly surprised by the plot as well.
Hope it stays cool until the final episode!
Titans: Troubled Water (2021)
OK for 10-year olds (except for the language)
This really is getting worse by the episode in every way. How did Troy manifest in Wayne castle? Why isn't Superboy able to use his powers for longer than 1 second? Who cast Jason - were they impressed with his amazing evil-scowly-face? Why did those percentages and numbers and whatnot not lead to immediate water flushing to the ocean?
How did that actor playing Crane (with good style imho) manage to find a role even more annoying than Pete in Mad Men?
Questions, questions...
Anyway, I'm giving this 2 stars instead of 1 because of the wanted poster for Krypto and that woman giving it the finger..
Star Trek: Discovery: All Is Possible (2021)
A trolley...Tilly leaves pulling a trolley
I understand the character send-off deserves some sort of Important Plot for her but this was some sort of copy-paste of that VOY episode where Tuvok has to unite Maquis & Starfleet cadets. With science out the window, equipment conveniently failing and alien octupuses not multiplying.
We'll forget about Burnham being The Savior with a solution so obvious,you'd think that...well let's skip though to the exciting part where Tilly leaves (and hopefully won't return). All her belongings fit in a trolley which sort of make sense with replicators but... IT'S A TROLLEY! WITH WHEELS!! IN THE YEAR 2900 or whatever.
...
Star Trek: Discovery: Kobayashi Maru (2021)
Progress! Burnham almost made it to the end without crying
So that's already worth 5 stars. And then another one for effort and because I want to know what blew up that planet.
There's the inconsistent shield and scanner behavior that let 'some' frozen methane through after being surprised by it... There's the must-have YA and/or LBTQ+-pleasing but really (REALLY) annoying Adira character.
And... there's Book.
I understand the need to have some sort of interpersonal relationships but every scene with Burnham-Book is really really horrible. They smile too wide&often, the dialogue is just unrealistic, they have 80s action movie unrealistic action scenes, they laugh it all off DURING the action so how are we supposed to feel any kind of suspense. All of it is just... annoying.
Anyways, onwards to episode 2 😁
Star Trek: Voyager: Year of Hell (1997)
Great 2-parter but what about Before and After?
At first I thought that the exact same gravitonic-variance (or whatever) as mentioned in Before and After would be used to quickly remind us that at least some info was already known. After all, that was about the only thing Kes learned about the Year of Hell. But no mentioning of it - the writers were sleeping I guess or they didn't watch that episode. Missed opportunity to get at least SOME continuity in this show, but oh well.
However, the whole thing ends with everything not happening in the first place. So how could this then be mentioned in the Before and After episode!? Maybe that was from an alternate timeline in which the Year of Hell happened but in a way that didn't involve it...not happening?
Star Trek: Discovery: Terra Firma, Part 1 (2020)
Finally no crying and the Mirror Universe. All that's missing is Lorca!
Really liked it. Georgiou had more to do than her usual one-liner nonsense. Burnham managed to hold back her tears and I'm hoping we'll be seeing Lorca next week!
The 'you forgot to reboot, Adira' was an insult to every person older than 8 but as compensation we got some nice evil-doppelganger stuff from season 1.
Too bad there's only 1 episode to go - mostly because I fear they'll be going into Warp 10 mode storywise and there will not be enough Carl, Moving and Lorca.
Star Trek: Discovery: The Sanctuary (2020)
Too fast
This is another episode (again directed by Riker's beard) where the whole thing just screams by. Why not take 2 episodes or 3 to get invested in the story. That way they could have done something more clever than sending out Book's ship out of Discoveries ass. But no, the Orion gives a 5 minute deadline so we have to GOGOGO and suspend disbelief beyond repair.
Instead they take their sweet time in the wrong story-arcs: we're endlessly waiting for something to be cleared up about Philippa while suffering her annoying pseudo-tough oneliners. And we keep on getting put to sleep by identical Adira+Stamets scenes.
At least Saru said 'carry on' and I like the blue and green color of the aliens 😁
Star Trek: Discovery: Forget Me Not (2020)
Great stuff
I liked everything about this one especially since the previous ep seemed rushed and could have been a 2-parter.
I liked the Trill stuff and Adiras backstory. Very imaginatively executed even in its cliché dreamy-dreamy-flashbacky-way.
The PTSD thing was handled well too. A bit of too easy conflict-resolution so they could have stretched that out over more episodes too. But , the hugging it out made me feel good anyway 😌
Hopefully we'll get more Philippa in the coming episodes as she's been portrayed a bit 2D so far.
A little critique: Burnham is overused and they should not have let the doctor convince her to go, or at least let him come as well so they could share the heroism or whatever