No plot, just everywhere with what's going on. A few times I chuckled but it was still one of the worst movies I've ever seen. A lot of head scratching attempts at comedy, but the unforgivable scenes were the ones that treated sexual assault like a joke, along with some homophobia and racism throughout the movie.
Reviews
5 Reviews
How to Get Away with Murder
(2014–2020)
A poorly written prime time soap opera
3 January 2018
My wife loves this show. I have learned to be okay with it despite cringe-worthy writing and acting. As a lawyer, I am especially critical of the way it portrays the profession. The cast is constantly breaking rules of ethics in ways that no lawyer would. They would all be disbarred and in jail. The way that the show portrays the practice of law is absurd and an insult to the profession.
Much like a soap opera, the drama is manufactured dreck and the acting is often over the top. There isn't much nuance to the show. They throw you one crazy far-fetched scenario after the other without any regard to consistency in the story or characters. Plots are rarely set up with any care, any plot line that runs into a corner is simply forgotten or bailed out by a deus ex machina. It's a sloppy show that is only watchable because of the constant cliffhangers that always promise but rarely deliver.
Much like a soap opera, the drama is manufactured dreck and the acting is often over the top. There isn't much nuance to the show. They throw you one crazy far-fetched scenario after the other without any regard to consistency in the story or characters. Plots are rarely set up with any care, any plot line that runs into a corner is simply forgotten or bailed out by a deus ex machina. It's a sloppy show that is only watchable because of the constant cliffhangers that always promise but rarely deliver.
Suits
(2011–2019)
Good show, but they should have consulted real lawyers
3 January 2018
As a lawyer, the problems I have with this show are the same I have with many shows about lawyers. It is often clear that the writers don't know anything about how being a lawyer actually works. I can forgive missing some of the more nuanced things, but they should have at least gotten more of the basics right.
The biggest glaring problem is that Mike Ross did not pass law school and therefore does not have a license to practice law. A lot of the show's drama is built around the fact that the firm has to hide this to allow him to continue on. However, every state bar has a database where anyone can simply look up your license. Not to mention there are many other checks in place that would prevent a nonlawyer from getting away with pretending to be a lawyer for so long. The show would be just as good if they had simply brought him in as a paralegal who helped the other lawyers and then financed him through law school or something. It's really an unnecessary plot point that comes up again and again and distracts from an otherwise pretty good show.
My other quibble is that every character in this show constantly breaks rules of ethics and behaves in ways that lawyers don't. I don't understand why writers of lawyer shows don't simply consult with a few lawyers before finalizing their scripts. Sadly, this is common in pretty much every show about lawyers. In spite of this, the show is really good, especially compared with other shows of its kind.
The biggest glaring problem is that Mike Ross did not pass law school and therefore does not have a license to practice law. A lot of the show's drama is built around the fact that the firm has to hide this to allow him to continue on. However, every state bar has a database where anyone can simply look up your license. Not to mention there are many other checks in place that would prevent a nonlawyer from getting away with pretending to be a lawyer for so long. The show would be just as good if they had simply brought him in as a paralegal who helped the other lawyers and then financed him through law school or something. It's really an unnecessary plot point that comes up again and again and distracts from an otherwise pretty good show.
My other quibble is that every character in this show constantly breaks rules of ethics and behaves in ways that lawyers don't. I don't understand why writers of lawyer shows don't simply consult with a few lawyers before finalizing their scripts. Sadly, this is common in pretty much every show about lawyers. In spite of this, the show is really good, especially compared with other shows of its kind.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - World Premiere
(2016 TV Movie)
Easily the best Star Wars installment since Return of the Jedi
18 December 2017
I recently saw "The Last Jedi" and was disappointed. While the Force Awakens was okay, overall I have been disappointed with every new Star Wars movie other than Rogue One. Rogue One develops the characters and tells a good story rather than relying too much on special effects like the other 4 newer Star Wars films. This film is worlds better than the other recent two Star Wars films and the only one of them I would put even close to on par with the original trilogy.
Gifted
(2017)
Absolute mess of a movie
15 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
In the opening half hour or so, we see a gifted girl who lives with her uncle going to school and trying to fit in despite her obviously superior intellect. I will say that the main character, the "gifted" girl, is played by a very good actor. Everything else about this movie was a mess.
After an okay start, the movie gets to the convoluted main plot point, which is that the girl's grandmother (the uncle's mom) shows up to try to take custody of the girl away from her uncle, who is her guardian and parental figure. The girl is 7 years old, so where has the grandmother been this whole time? We never really get a satisfactory explanation. It becomes clear that grandma wants custody so she can put the girl through more intense study so she can become a math genius and solve a great math problem that has yet to be solved. The girl's mother had made solving the problem her life's work and had apparently died before solving it. The uncle gained custody of the girl apparently because his sister had wanted her daughter to live a normal happy life, unlike how her life had been, and therefore put her with her uncle and then took her own life. So grandma feels the girl's potential is being wasted with uncle, who is not pushing her enough in her mind. Grandma wants to put the little girl to work solving this great problem while the uncle wants her to live a happy, normal life.
The court battle that ensues is beyond ridiculous. They should have consulted some lawyers and educators before making this film. Setting aside the flawed way it portrays the education system and mathematics, the court battle is pathetically unrealistic. First off, after 7 years with the uncle basically being the girl's dad, no court would change custody unless it was in the best interest of the child, which is the legal standard. No evidence is given that the uncle is unfit, yet the grandmother appears to convince the court that he shouldn't have custody. Before the judge has to decide between the two, the two sides agree to let some unknowns adopt the girl, which is an insane and unrealistic compromise that no one in real life would agree to. In fact the uncle has no incentive whatsoever. He would be better off losing custody to the grandmother, with whom he gets along, so that he could still see his niece from time to time.
Anyway, after the compromise, uncle is cut off from seeing neice by the adopted parents. The adopted parents put the girl's beloved cat up for adoption, which prompts uncle to go save the cat and storm over to confront the adopted parents. Uncle learns then that the grandmother is living in the adopted parents' guest house and is working the little girl all day trying to turn her into a math wiz. The whole situation is preposterous. I guess the adopted parents were cool with being used to defraud the court (a felony) and let a crazy woman live on their property and basically abuse a little girl in the name of science? The girl's beloved cat was given away simply because grandma went from being a reasonable character earlier in the movie to a crazy vindictive one with no warning and no setup. On top of this mess, the resolution is that the math problem has already been solved by the girl's mom and uncle has been sitting on the answer this whole time. Uncle reveals this and grandma then gives the girl back to the uncle and the movie is over. Why didn't uncle bring this up earlier? Why would grandma fight so hard to get custody and then just give up after one problem is solved? If she is so obsessed with using the girl's brain to solve important math problems, aren't there more problems to be solved? In fact we are told earlier in the movie that there are 7 great unsolved math mysteries and only 1 (now 2 apparently) have ever been solved.
The plot makes no sense, the conflicts make no sense, the characters are inconsistent, and the resolution to the conflict makes no sense. Terrible movie with contrived and often cruel emotional knife twists that make no sense. Almost nothing that happens in this movie is realistic. Basically every few minutes I was shaking my head going no that isn't how that works at all or why is this happening this doesn't makes sense, wasn't set up by the plot, is inconsistent with this character, etc. I can't believe how many good reviews its gotten. An absolute mess of a movie with no clear message.
After an okay start, the movie gets to the convoluted main plot point, which is that the girl's grandmother (the uncle's mom) shows up to try to take custody of the girl away from her uncle, who is her guardian and parental figure. The girl is 7 years old, so where has the grandmother been this whole time? We never really get a satisfactory explanation. It becomes clear that grandma wants custody so she can put the girl through more intense study so she can become a math genius and solve a great math problem that has yet to be solved. The girl's mother had made solving the problem her life's work and had apparently died before solving it. The uncle gained custody of the girl apparently because his sister had wanted her daughter to live a normal happy life, unlike how her life had been, and therefore put her with her uncle and then took her own life. So grandma feels the girl's potential is being wasted with uncle, who is not pushing her enough in her mind. Grandma wants to put the little girl to work solving this great problem while the uncle wants her to live a happy, normal life.
The court battle that ensues is beyond ridiculous. They should have consulted some lawyers and educators before making this film. Setting aside the flawed way it portrays the education system and mathematics, the court battle is pathetically unrealistic. First off, after 7 years with the uncle basically being the girl's dad, no court would change custody unless it was in the best interest of the child, which is the legal standard. No evidence is given that the uncle is unfit, yet the grandmother appears to convince the court that he shouldn't have custody. Before the judge has to decide between the two, the two sides agree to let some unknowns adopt the girl, which is an insane and unrealistic compromise that no one in real life would agree to. In fact the uncle has no incentive whatsoever. He would be better off losing custody to the grandmother, with whom he gets along, so that he could still see his niece from time to time.
Anyway, after the compromise, uncle is cut off from seeing neice by the adopted parents. The adopted parents put the girl's beloved cat up for adoption, which prompts uncle to go save the cat and storm over to confront the adopted parents. Uncle learns then that the grandmother is living in the adopted parents' guest house and is working the little girl all day trying to turn her into a math wiz. The whole situation is preposterous. I guess the adopted parents were cool with being used to defraud the court (a felony) and let a crazy woman live on their property and basically abuse a little girl in the name of science? The girl's beloved cat was given away simply because grandma went from being a reasonable character earlier in the movie to a crazy vindictive one with no warning and no setup. On top of this mess, the resolution is that the math problem has already been solved by the girl's mom and uncle has been sitting on the answer this whole time. Uncle reveals this and grandma then gives the girl back to the uncle and the movie is over. Why didn't uncle bring this up earlier? Why would grandma fight so hard to get custody and then just give up after one problem is solved? If she is so obsessed with using the girl's brain to solve important math problems, aren't there more problems to be solved? In fact we are told earlier in the movie that there are 7 great unsolved math mysteries and only 1 (now 2 apparently) have ever been solved.
The plot makes no sense, the conflicts make no sense, the characters are inconsistent, and the resolution to the conflict makes no sense. Terrible movie with contrived and often cruel emotional knife twists that make no sense. Almost nothing that happens in this movie is realistic. Basically every few minutes I was shaking my head going no that isn't how that works at all or why is this happening this doesn't makes sense, wasn't set up by the plot, is inconsistent with this character, etc. I can't believe how many good reviews its gotten. An absolute mess of a movie with no clear message.
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