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Reviews
House of the Dragon (2022)
Good reviews are false. Deliberately so to raise hype?
Who could like this series, who? The plot is so weak we don't care. The characters lack so much depth we don't care. The setting is so dull and dark and rocky we don't care. The dragons are so numerous and aimless we don't care. The theme is, well, entirely lacking, so we don't care. Umm, let's see... Oh yes, the casting is so bad we don't care. The greed of the writers and producers was so great in creating this nothing of a soap opera we don't care. I didn't want to finish episode 1, nor 2, nor 3, and now I just shut down episode 7 because, well, they gave me no reason to care. The ONLY reason I am watching all the episodes is because I paid for HBO MAX and want my money's worth. Where by the way is Big Little Lies new series? What happened to HBO? Where is another Soprano's or Rome? What happened to this network? George R. R. Martin, you need to stop counting the money, stop writing, and go into retirement because this is shameless. To be fair though, while awaiting House of Dragons at 9 pm, we watched White Lotus and really enjoyed that series. So, you get a green star.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Why is it a great movie????
The plot is good, James Stewart fundamentally good everyman, and, and what? The idea that his life was worth living is idealistic fantasy hogwash. Hoards of people now who are struggling with lack of money and despair are the real story. This is a way for the monied people to keep the rest of the herd in a fantasy realm of hope so they can keep hiring checkout clerks and nursing home janitors for peanuts. I have watched this movie on and off for years and always thought it hoakey and unrealistic. Only once I think did I watch it until the end, and I never go it.
Virgin River (2019)
Pure Cliche-Ridden Soap for people with twelve year old level of development
Can't ever remember seeing so much alcohol being consumed in a lower class soap. In the first episode, the protagonist consumes several, yes, several double shots of some kind of whiskey in less than a few minutes. He serves the heroine, a (rather large boned actress with a commoner's level of attractiveness), a couple of shots, which she puts down faster than I can say my name. (And she is a nurse with an advanced degree!)
He by the way owns a bar, and there are literally hundreds of scenes of people drinking and of the bar stock, etc... It is like the writer thinks this is okay. It is not healthy. It is a working-class cliched version of life. The guy is an ex-Marine, because you know, they are badass. So are his mates. When the mates visit, there is drinking and a lot of whooping and energy expended and no one looks remotely middle class professional. But, the public thinks marines are like this, so give the masses what they think, right?
The actors are mediocre because the script itself does not rise at any time above what commoners watch on tv every day--scripts and plots and cultural cliches written and consumed by people with the minds of twelve year olds.
I give this series a huge thumb down. I have watched bad television since television became popular in 1954, and have thousands of times wished that the writers and producers would provide programming which elevates the culture and the minds of the viewers. No, they have not and will not. Americans are really not well educated and have a bias against intelligence and education. Fortunately, my Roku television allows me to view a lot of European programming, which is far superior to the slop they serve up and which is lapped up by the masses in the USA.
Reign (2013)
They spent a lot of money on junk
This series is junk that has little relevance to anyone except the actors and technical staff (okay, I am including accountants, caterers and the like) who had temporary jobs at least. The audience? Can't imagine any intelligent educated people watching it, but hey, that was the idea right? It was aimed at the adolescent market and gee, they are taken for fools, so nobody got hurt. . Imagine if film financiers spent such huge sums of money to create really good productions.
Apaches: Veinte calles (2017)
Excellent Series
This is an excellent series which we watched via Netflix--the entire Season 1. I am not sure why my search on this site brought me only to the various episodes, but this review concerns the entire series, not just one episode.
The acting was very professional. Victoria Echegiu was particularly good. Like Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice," her portrayal of Carol was so good you felt she actually was Carol, not the actress acting the role. Although she is relatively short and slim, she acted in a manner to seem alluring and desirable as a mistress. The other cast was excellent, even the minor roles.
The plot was well developed, although the theme is muted. The setting seemed just a bit too nice for a working-class barrio but that is a minor issue. My wife and I can't wait for Season 2. The producers kept the main characters alive so there could be a season 2 if the money is appropriated and the actors are available. We can't wait for Carol to resume her love for Miguel and for him to give her a good stable life in the next season.
Well done. Like so many European productions, it is more cerebral and more realistic than the silly USA TV series. I am a citizen of the USA and ashamed of how dumbed-down our productions usually are. We can produce technical excellence, but more often than not write for the 12 year old mind. Some productions are excellent (e.g.; "Big Little Lies," the first season of "Detective" on HBO or "The Sopranos.")