andreolimarco Reviews

9-1-1: Pay It Forward (2023) Season 6, Episode 18

Poor realism

[6/10 · 13 August 2023]

I know this is fiction, but in this episode there are too many things that can't be real.

A single truck makes a major bridge to fall? Seriously?

Air ambulance crew usually have specific equipment, for instance helmets with radio communication stuff...

Then an expert paramedic with a puncture in his stomach is so naive to pull off what's preventing him to bleed to death?

And, eventually, the fastest labour in history of medicine! Usually, primigravida women have pretty long labours...

Ok, again, it's just fiction...

Hope the new season will be more interesting and not just about Buck's love agony..

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Boring and overrated

[5/10 · 2 April 2023]

I decided to watch this film after listening to someone saying it was very funny.

I don't disdain the actors in the cast (Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd...) so I decided to give it a chance.

After the first 20-30 minutes I began to fall asleep. I had to go back and rewatch the parts I've had missed.

I really don't get the purpose of this. It's not funny, the few jokes which should be funny are childish.

I think I never laughed through the whole movie and it's a major issue for a comedy which should aim for being amusing, especially if it is a "brainless" comedy.

I am rather disappointed.

Community (2009–2015)

Good, but not as much as I expected

[7/10 · 3 November 2022]

I'm two episodes away from the ending.

I waited to write a review, but after the first 3 seasons I think the series sinked more and more.

Don't know what is the problem, but it simply got boring, excepting few episodes.

The characters are very stereotyped and in particular I found very hard to stand Abed. On the other hand, I believe Jeff is the most equlibrated one, surely written to be the wise one of the group.

I didn't really get some episodes, maybe some are too tied to a certain culture I don't know. I don't know D&D and indeed I didn't understand (and didn't like) the second episode about D&D (the first one was "censored" on Netflix).

Some episodes I kept checking the timeline to know when they were ending.

In other cases I literally fell asleep (22 minutes of episode, pretty easy to stay focused, but I couldn't).

In conclusion, the series is a 7 for me, but just because I had really high expectations.

Good acting, sometimes a bit exaggerated (the Dean, a bit too much...). Watch it if you like pop culture and you don't have nothing better.

Devil in Ohio (2022)

Why so many negative ratings?

[7/10 · 19 October 2022]

As a fan of everything concerning horror and thriller, I couldn't be unable to avoid this series. I didn't expect a masterpiece of the genre, especially after seeing and reading some reviews.

After watching it in 2 days, I can state that I can't understand what people really expected from this series.

For me it's a clear 7 out of 10.

The plot isn't so original: it is the story of a girl who is found wounded in a farmland outside the city. She has a pentacle carved on her back. A psychiatrist, Dr. Suzanne Mathis (Emily Deschanel), is told to take care of the girl and discover where she is from and why she seems she was beaten and abused.

This causes a series of events that will distress Dr. Mathis' family, especially the middle daughter, Jules, who is equal age of the girl.

As said before, it isn't a masterpiece and has most of the clichés of the genre, someone noticed there are some incongruences, some behaviours of the characters which seem specifically wrong, against any logical reason. The fact Dr. Mathis doesn't care about protecting her family when she understands something very strange is going on.

But, when we became aware of her past, I think some of her behaviours can be understood: she identifies with the poor girl who is abused by her family, it is normal for her to sympathize.

The story behind the cult is well written, also not very original, but, let's be honest: after years and years of cinema, tv and stories, how hard can be to produce something 100% genuine?

Again, someone complains about the finale. For me it is perfect! Tough to swallow, but it is a credible ending: Dr. Mathis could not abandon the girl, even after the cult seems to be dismembered, her past probably does not let her to do so.

The fact the girl returned by herself to the community and was not kidnapped was my first option and indeed that was the correct one, it was impossible nobody had noticed someone was abducting her against her will.

Solid 7 for me.

If you like the genre, don't let you be influenced by negative reviews and watch it.

Devil in Ohio: Sanctuary (2022) Season 1, Episode 2

Better than the pilot

[6/10 · 18 October 2022]

I decided to watch this series because of my passion for the genre. I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't expect something a little different, more mature.

It's a sort of teen drama/horror/thriller that has to be taken for what it is.

This second episode is definitely more interesting than the pilot, maybe they decided to keep the pilot more suitable for most of the audience and now they will push more on the thriller/psychic side.

Let's hope, because the part of the detective who is trying to discover the truth is pretty interesting, hope they won't screw everything up and maintain this pace.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Good Ones (2021) Season 8, Episode 1

Not spontaneous

[6/10 · 22 September 2022]

Finally the last season in available. Couldn't wait to watch it.

To be honest the premiere isn't that good, they decided to deal with the "Black Lives Matter" issue, I am not judging the decision they made, but the execution is not as good as you can expect.

It does not look spontaneous, looks stilted.

It's a pity because this comedy is one of those which mainteined itself at pretty high levels for all the seasons.

Even the Holt-Santiago plot is nothing really interesting. Same as Terry-Charles one which is pretty pointless from my point of view.

Hope the season will "recover" to get the series a worthy finale.

New Amsterdam: Your Turn (2019) Season 2, Episode 1

A bit predictable, but well done

[8/10 · 1 September 2022]

The episode is well written even if, to be honest, it was pretty clear that Georgia was dead.

Why does Max bring Luna to the hospital day care if, after only three months Georgia should probably be at home recoverying from a major accident?

Moreover, in the end, before we see the flashback of her, dead on the operating table, she is still in bed and says again "it's your turn", just like if she couldn't be able to take care of the baby. Maybe she got paralyzed? Nope, worst case scenario: she is dead.

It's tough, no doubt. Max's greatest fear has become reality.

I think the season will be hard to watch, hope they won't focus too much on his pain, because I understand it's part of the show, but he doesn't deserve so much suffering.

That being said, they wrote a good season premiere, for sure.

New Amsterdam: Sanctuary (2019) Season 1, Episode 17

Lack of reality.

[5/10 · 25 August 2022]

I think I am a bit confused. The whole episode is - to me - a series of unlikely situations, speaking on the technological side.

Is it really possible a huge hospital hasn't the minimum standard of safety in case of power blackout?

Is it possible there is only one electrician available in case of malfunctions?

Is it really believable a whole city like New York remains without electricity for a snow blizzard?

I understand it's a show and the stories have to be written as more dramatically as can be done... but they should be realistic, too.

This being said, I always appreciate Ryan Eggold's talent.

Dexter: New Blood: Sins of the Father (2022) Season 1, Episode 10

Not that bad. Dexter was so... stupid!

[7/10 · 15 January 2022]

I've read some bad reviews about this episode and I have to say I wouldn't be so negative about the finale.

Surely everything happens very fast, too fast.

Someone says that is ridiculous that Angela couldn't figure out what happened to all those women but in a second solves Matt's homicide thanks to a small screw found in a fresh burnt house.

To be honest Dexter provides a plausible explanation that could have exonared him. But Angela doesn't believe him.

His mistake was, in my opinion, not to report Kurt was a serial killer. At that point, even if Kurt had said Dexter killed Matt, who could have believed him?

I am aware that Dexter's Dark Passenger probably took over and Dexter couldn't resist from killing Kurt...

Dexter's sacrifice for Harrison is the focus point of the finale. This is the best part of the episode, no doubt.

The low rating of the finale is not justified.

The Blacklist: Balthazar 'Bino' Baker (No. 129) (2021) Season 8, Episode 19

What the...

[5/10 · 6 July 2021]

The episode opens with a huge problem, imho: FBI veichles without bulletproof windows and body? Are you serious? This is a huge hole in the script: obviously they had to justify Ressler and Keen running off on foot, he is also seriously wounded... but come on!

The Chi: Brewfurd (2020) Season 3, Episode 2

Struggling to float

[6/10 · 17 August 2020]

Did they really write a scene with a massage that ends up with sex? Really? And guess what? The masseur is friend of the client's son! Kinky!

Apart from that, so far the only good reason for watching the show is the disappearence of Kiesha.

Westworld: The Absence of Field (2020) Season 3, Episode 3

Confusion

[5/10 · 31 March 2020]

The more I go on with this series, the more I am sure it's all an illusion. I mean, they wrote a messy plot purposely. Sometimes it's very tough to follow what happens on the screen, where they want to get at.

This season has a good point, Aaron Paul: he is very talented, much more than the other actors, in my humble opinion. I want to believe that Evan Rachel Wood's blank face is a wanted choice for the character she plays, an host. Not mentioning Tessa Thompson...

Raw (2016)

Very enjoyable horror

[7/10 · 24 March 2020]

"Raw" is the story of Justine, a young woman who is about to begin his university career in the Vet faculty, the same her parents attended before and her sister is attending now.

She has always been vegetarian, but when she eats some meat for some kind of initiation rite, which is mandatory for freshmen, she begins to feel something strange inside her. She begins a sort of metamorphosis, psychically and physically that will bring her in a spiral of horror. All of this while she is oppressed by older students' hazing.

The film is surely a metaphor of changes during and after puberty. It reminds another horror film - "Ginger Snaps", from 2000 - where the same theme was addressed through the myth of werewolves. This film is very "raw" with some cruel scenes, both from visual and sexual point, leaving little room to imagination.

Finale is simple but incisive.

The Blacklist: Robert Diaz (No. 15) (2019) Season 6, Episode 22

Season finale

[9/10 · 17 June 2019]

The season finale itself is really good, but 22 episodes to discover that the President killed two people in a car accident while he was drunk? That's it? Yes, there is also all the story behind the real Red...

The Gifted (I) (2017–2019)

Boring

[3/10 · 21 February 2018]

I rarely get bored watching a TV series because I choose them according to my tastes. This on paper seemed good: I like super-heroes stuff even though I don't read comics. Unfortunately it quickly turned out to be very boring. The story is so predictable and has been seen in various shapes so many times. The acting is poor, I really don't stand the actors who plays Struckers' children. I also believe visual and special effects are below par. As for me, I won't watch the second season. I quit.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Just enough

[6/10 · 14 September 2017]

Despite all the enthusiastic comments, I have to admit I don't find Doctor Strange a masterpiece. Along with Thor, Strange is definitely the Marvel character I like less - I refer to MCU since I've never read any Marvel comics.

All in all the character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch isn't that bad, but the screenplay is very very weak. I don't know the comics, as I said before, and I believe that this character is enjoyable mainly for Marvel fans.

Anyway I give it a passing grade because the effort is remarkable, visually is astonishing and the actors did a good job (Cumberbatch above all).

Scott Derrickson (writer and director) passes from horror b-movies to a surprising Sinister and, eventually, to MCU. Noteworthy.

In & Out (1997)

Not unforgettable

[6/10 · 26 August 2017]

I watched this film because I wanted something light and not too much demanding.

The plot is pretty easy: an emerging actor wins the Oscar and during his acceptance speech he simply says thank to his school teacher, labeling him as gay. The problem is that the teacher is going to get married and his wife-to-be doesn't take it well. It's a shock. The teacher tries to prove he is not gay at all.

As I said, the plot is very simple, there are some funny situations, but as a whole this film isn't a masterpiece.

For sure the great part of the film is sustained by Kevin Kline who does a remarkable and believable job.

Despite it's only an average comedy, it worth to be watched at least one time.

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

Beautiful drama

[8/10 · 26 August 2017]

"Dirty Pretty Things" is sometimes sold also as a thriller film, actually it is an impressive drama, well written and directed.

The story is about an irregular immigrant doctor from Nigeria who lives in London and leads a double life: during the day he is a driver while by night he works in the front desk of a hotel, managed by a slimy Spanish man.

One night he discovers a human heart stuck in the toilet in a room of the hotel. Since that moment he is obsessed with that discovery and tries to understand why the heart was there. The film shows what poor people face to live a respectable life, especially in a big city like London, how they agree to a compromise to be happy.

Without any doubt, Chiwetel Ejiofor is a great actor, his gaze is pained and plays extraordinarily his role, perfectly identified in the character's suffering. Sergi Lopez also deserves a mention, creepy and slimy. In the cast there are also Audrey Tautou as a Turkish immigrant who illegally works in the hotel as maid and Sophie Okonedo who is a prostitute.

The Gift (VI) (2015)

Outstanding debut

[8/10 · 23 August 2017]

The Gift is a psychological thriller of rare efficacy and beauty in these times.

It is Joel Edgerton's debut as director who also carves out the role of the villain and his role is surely the most impressive, better played and also better written (by Edgerton himself).

Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall also do a good job, but the Australian actor (and director/writer) steals the scene, even though he isn't the main protagonist.

About the ending, I like it. I've read someone criticizing the fact that you don't understand who is the real father of the baby. But I think that the last 10 minutes are perfect as they are.

Edgerton's performance is outstanding: he really acts like a fool, with a frightening gaze.

One of the best thriller films of the last years. Deserves more than a viewing.

Snake Eyes (1998)

Great directing

[7/10 · 22 August 2017]

I think that the strong point of this film is the direction. Maybe the story is predictable, little original and so on... but it is undeniable Brian De Palma's job on camera movements and on the style is extraordinary. Do we want to talk about the - fake - long take at the beginning, that lasts more than 10 minutes, in which the whole meaning of the film is included? Moreover, I've seen much worse performances by Nicholas Cage.

It Follows (2014)

Good story, poor screenplay

[6/10 · 17 August 2017]

This film is a good thriller, but I think it is a bit overrated, in particular considering critics. Surely it's above the average of the modern thriller and horror films. It has a cool story, creepy atmospheres (the idea of setting it in Detroit suburbs is great!) and a disturbing soundtrack. What really misses is the script: it seems everything happens and happens, repetitive, but in the end nothing really happens. There are some incongruities, too.

I don't want to discuss the meaning of the whole film (the director said he had got the idea of the story from a recurring nightmare he used to have), if it's a condemn to certain sexual habits or whatever. Maybe we can find a denounce to parents who "abandon" their kids to themselves.

As an horror fan, I recognize the effort made to propose a fresh product, with the right direction and atmosphere.

But, all in all, something misses, that flair that could have made it more terrific and unforgettable.

The World's End (2013)

The circle is closed

[8/10 · 28 June 2017]

The World's End is the last chapter of the Cornetto trilogy. I must admit I had totally lost this film and I had removed the idea I had missed the 3rd part of the Cornetto trilogy. Fortunately a friend of mine, who probably didn't know the first two films, advised me to watch this "fantastic" movie. So I bought the blu-ray.

Director/author Edgar Wright and actor/author Simon Pegg come back to close the circle, that circle opened with the terrific Shaun Of The Dead (which wasn't a parody of the zombie films, but a film with zombies who made people laugh) and continued with Hot Fuzz.

This time our heroes must face an alien menace. Five school friends, now in their 40s, go back to their youth town to try to complete the Golden Mile, that is to visit the 12 pubs of the town, drinking one beer pint in each pub, till the last one, The World's End. Everything seems strange since the very beginning, people behave in a strange way, they seem to not recognize the five lads. Soon they will discover something took control of the population.

The style is unique, great writing as usual from Wright-Pegg couple with tons of funny situations and lines. The cast is made up of Pegg himself, omnipresent Nick Frost (great chemistry with Simon Pegg, as usual), Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine and Rosamund Pike. There is also a small but significant role for former 007 Pierce Brosnan. Maybe the idea isn't so original, after all they are only aliens, even though here they are "good" and want to save the Earth population from self-destruction. The ending is the best they may have chosen.

It's hard to choose which chapter is the best. Personally I love Shaun Of The Dead above all, because of the horror component, but it's undeniable that both Hot Fuzz and The World's End are amazing and funny.

Wright and Pegg do have a huge talent about writing wacky stories. Hope they will continue on this path.

Enemy (2013)

It's not Saramago!

[6/10 · 27 June 2017]

Before I left for holidays, I bought a couple of books: Don Winslow's "The Cartel" and José Saramago's "The Double". The first I read was Saramago's because there was a film ready to be watched.

The book is awesome, but the film ruins it.

I understand Villeneuve wanted to give his interpretation of the novel, but there are too many differences, some of them also change the meaning of the book.

I can overlook some details (e.g. how Adam - the teacher - discovers the actual name of the actor - in the book he has to do a huge job of research, watching several films, to deduce his name; then he phones to the production to get his address and he writes a letter to the actor, signing it with his girlfriend's name) which aren't much essential, but some things should have been more similar.

Adam's girlfriend in the book is definitely nagging, she wants to marry him, but he is insecure because he has a failed marriage behind him.

The ending is substantially the same, even though in the novel the teacher and the actor's wife learn about the car accident where their respective partners die and they decide to live together, pretending the teacher is the actor (because everyone thinks that the bodies in the car are the teacher and his girlfriend).

Obviously in the novel there are no spiders.

Technically the film is okay. Good photography and good actors performance.

Timeline (2003)

Too many differences from the novel

[5/10 · 3 June 2017]

Usually the adaptation of a novel isn't worth the book itself, but sometimes it is. It's not the case of Timeline. I bought the book several months ago and then, when Sky Italy broadcast the film, I saved it on my MySky and I begun to read the novel. It's not the first Crichton's novel I read (before I had read Jurassic Park, The Lost World, A Case Of Need, Rising Sun and State Of Fear) and once I finished Timeline (taking a pretty long time because despite I love reading, I am not a regular reader) I decided it wasn't my favorite one.

Today I finally decided to watch the film. The cast looks cool: there are some not-so-famous actors, beyond stars Paul Walker and Gerald Butler, I knew. If you haven't read the novel you can enjoy it as a nice and decent action movie set in the Middle Ages. But if you've read it, well, you'll find some important changes and cuts.

The first thing I noticed once the film was finished is that Marek's character isn't well defined, since he decides to stay in the past, but the script doesn't tell us that he has a great passion for this historic period. So a person who hasn't read the book can't understand his choice; you can say that he's in love with Lady Claire, but it's a poor motivation.

Then, there are some sequences which aren't in the film: the mill and the tournament scenes are totally cut off from the screenplay.

Another basic question is the way the characters keep in touch with radio transceivers. It's important because through this narrative means, in the novel, the characters find out that there is another person from the present day.

Lesser important things: the existence of characters created by the film's writers who isn't in the novel (like the French guy who is sent with our heroes to help them with the language, even though in the novel there is a character who knows Occitan) or some changes in certain characters (e.g. Kramer is a woman in the book).

Even Doninger's end is slightly different: in the film he's killed by a knight, while in the novel he is sent in 1348, during the Black Death.