Change Your Image
asclepias45
Reviews
Yellowjackets (2021)
Overuse of Flashback Scenes
I gave up after watching the first episode. The plot goes back and forth between the present and the past at break neck speed. I loathe plots where flashbacks are used as much as in this series. The series might have been better if the plot would have picked one time period and stuck with it.
The Most Dangerous Animal of All (2020)
No evidence = No case closed
Stewart's claims are all based on wild, zero evidence claims like: My dad lived within 100 miles of the Zodiac Killer crime scenes- therefore he must be the Zodiac or My dad looks like the artist's sketch of the Zodiac because he had glasses and a 1960's mens haircut- therefore he's the Zodiac.
The only redeeming quality of the show is that in the end, it debunks Stewart's claims.
1. The DNA sequence numbers were not released to the public .Debunking Stewart's claims of a DNA match.
2. The Zodiac fingerprints are so bad quality that no serious forensic expert can use them to find a match. Plus Stewart compared the wrong fingers!
3. Stewart's handwriting analysis is bogus because as it turns out the hand writing that supposedly matches the Zodiac's actually more matches the hand writing of the minister that filled out Stewart's father's marriage certificate. When this was revealed, we hear the preposterous theory that maybe the minister and Stewart's father were co-Zodiac Killers ! LOL.
Gary Stewart's theory TOTALLY discredited!
Midway (2019)
Much better than expected
Seeing the trailers and early critics reviews, I expected a movie similar the 2001 Pearl Harbor- a film dominated by the sappy "love triangle".
"Midway" while not perfect, did not fall into the same trap. Overall, the film focuses on the battles from the attack on Pearl Harbor through Midway.
The best parts of the movie are the battle scenes, which in the end save the movie. The special effects are very good, although some are over the top, like the laser-like machine gun fire and powerful some over the top explosions.
The film would have been better without the omnipresent loud background music that over powered the dialog. The acting was decent, but the scenes switched rapidly from one to the next, so few individual scenes lasted more than a couple of minutes. This lead to little character development. War movie cliches in the dialog were frequent.
The film would have been better had it focused solely on the Battle of Midway- the intelligence effort to discover the Japanese attack plans, the preparations for the defense of Midway, the deployment of the U.S. naval forces, the actual battle.
In the end it was decent entertainment; saved by the battle scenes. Not a war movie at the level of quality as "Dunkirk", but not as disappointing as "Pearl Harbor".
Ghost Hunters (2004)
Passable Reboot that needs improvement
This review is for the 2019 reboot.
I had high hopes for this reboot of the show. After watching the first half a dozen episodes, the show is passable entertainment, but I feel it needs some improvements.
1. There is too much reliance on using their custom made meters to communicate with the spirits. Many a segment in their investigations involve asking a question to the spirits and at the same time, the lights flash on their devices. This is of course attributed to the spirits communicating with the investigators. Sometimes this communication involves using the Maglite flashlights that one must twist to turn on/off. Realistically, one can twist these flashlights in such a way so they are just on the threshold of turning on/off by themselves! I'd love to see the team use flashlights with push buttons to turn the flashlights off/on; although this might remove flashlights as a tool to communicate with the spirits entirely!
2. Too much reliance on EMF "spikes" to indicate paranormal activity. Too often, spirits are deemed "present" simply because their were EMF "spikes" during the investigation.
3. A lot of "I sense something" moments, usually from the new cast members. Again, like the first points seems like non-evidence of paranormal activity. Most of the new team seems over eager to find paranormal activity based on the most flimsy evidence.
4. Note to the team: Rely more on video and audio evidence. It's ok if there is no such evidence and a location is deemed not haunted.
There are positives to the new show. The new cast all seems well intentioned to make the most of the investigations and for the most part, the show is closer to the original show than the Hawes "Ghost Nation" spin-off.
Ghost Nation (2019)
Mediocre so far
I was not impressed with the premiere show. When this trio was on the old "Ghost Hunters", there was an obvious effort to debunk. Now we see a heavy reliance on "talking to ghosts" with their alleged response to flashing lights to conclude that the ghost of so and so was present. Likewise too much emphasis is placed on EMF evidence.
The Addams Family (2019)
Wasted Opportunity
A great opportunity to introduce a new generation to the Addams family was wasted with this movie. Plot of the movie is non-existent, as are the laughs.
On a Knife Edge (2017)
America's Disgraceful treatment of Native Americans
Excellent documentary that covers multiple years of life of the Dull Knife Lakota family on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The film focuses on the family's struggle to survive financially and culturally, as they battle racism and lack of economic opportunity.
The documentary highlights the disgraceful treatment of the Lakota people. First their lands were stolen. Next, their culture was destroyed by government programs that stole children away from their parents to be placed in boarding schools where they were forced to abandon their language and their culture. Today native Americans face hopelessness in a country that still treats them with much disrespect and racism.
There is some hope in the form of the younger Lakota generation, including George Dull Knife, as he and other AIM members try to preserve their heritage.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
Not as Good as the First Film
9/10 lines meant to be funny fall flat. Two weak plots, as if the writers weren't sure which to go with, so they threw in both.
Plot one involves Snowball the bunny as a superhero saving a circus tiger. The "cute bunny" super hero plot gets old fast and gets annoying.
Plot two (the funnier plot) involves Max going to his owner's uncle's farm and awkwardly interacting with the "farm life". Some laughs here, but not enough to save the film.
Thud Pilot (2018)
Great Documentary
Interesting documentary. An aspect of the Vietnam War I hadn't seen. I have the utmost respect for these pilots and their ground crews.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
A few laughs...
The franchise seems to be running out of ideas plot-wise. A few laughs in the movie, but these are few and far between.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)
Hard to Follow, Muddled Screen Play
It was a real struggle to finish this series. I'd seen portions of the 1970's movie and had high expectations for an updated series.
The acting and filming locations were good. The sceeen play left a lot to desire. There were frequent flashbacks for most of the characters. Most flashback scenes were hard to tie to the main plot and so frequent, it was hard to differentiate which scene was a flashback or a scene in the current time period. The flashbacks seemed to be an attempt at injecting supernatural aspects into the plot, but I think this failed.
The ending was anticlimactic and left a lot of unanswered questions.
Lore (2017)
Interesting Show
Like others have stated, the series was not what I expected, but it was enjoyable none the less. Prior to watching the first episode, I expected a complete tale without the frequent narration contained in each episode. But it was an interesting mix of re-enactments and narration of the historical context behind each episode.
My only advice to the producers of the show would be to confine the narration to the beginning and end of the show, because the frequent narration throughout each episode kills any build up of suspense during the re-enactment portions of the show.