Brandon-Donlon Reviews

Outlander (2014– )

Captured me right from the beginning, keeps me hooked.

[9/10 · 25 February 2019]

Outlander is a truely magical TV show, everything about the show is quite close to perfect; the costumes, the show features some very authentic looking 18th century apparel. The characters in the show are also very likable, and others very unlikable for all the right reasons.

This show can put you in a very confusing Love/Hate scenario with so many of the characters, it's something that I have not experienced much with other shows. The main actors of the show Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan have a chemistry that is so perfect. It is like watching reality take place. It seems that these actors were destined to play the roles in this tv show.

I'm not really a book person, I've not finished many books in my life. Nor do I have the biggest collection of them. But this show has left me with a burning desire to purchase the books just so I can feed my new found addiction to it.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Initially avoided this movie, but when I watched it I felt like an idiot.

[8/10 · 25 February 2019]

To start off this review I'd like to say that before I ever watched this movie I had the opinion that it was going to be rubbish, solely because of how blown up the movie was. Everywhere I went it was "The Greatest Showman". I thought that perhaps it would be a mediocre film at best, blown out of proportion by a craze.

Boy was I wrong. Even at the beginning of the movie you are thrown straight into the extravagance of what the movie was about to become. What is basically the story of a simple man becoming a legend in the show-business, is the most flamboyant and breath-taken musical movie I've seen. The soundtrack for this movie is beyond brilliant. Having been impressed by Hugh Jackman's vocals in Les Miserable I was not surprised he pulls it out of the bag in this movie yet again. But Zac Efron really stood out in this movie and that truly surprised me.

When you finish this movie you will have the great songs stuck in your head, and you will be fully satisfied having finished the movie, your next plan will likely be getting the soundtrack and reliving the magic all over again.

The Predator (2018)

It's got action, its got aliens and its got decent one-liners.

[6/10 · 25 February 2019]

Is this the movie of our generation, ready to define hollywood movies for the next decade? No

Does it try to be? No

The Predator is a fast-paced action-adventure movie with many comedic tones throughout the movie. It's not perfect and sometimes you can get lost in the action and forget what exactly is happening but when you're in the mood for such a movie The Predator is a good void-filler.

When bullets and plasma rays aren't flying towards you, very quick one line jokes are, when caught, the jokes can be good chucklers, but sometimes a joke misses because of how much is going on. The humor to add isn't your typical humor, it seems to be more the style of black, war-related humor you'd find more in movies like Range 15, Jarhead. Or series like Generation Kill. It really isn't for everybody, which is a good definition of comedy in of itself.

If you've got nothing better to do, want to kick your feet up and sink into a movie without having to think about anything, you will enjoy this movie.

Robin Hood (2018)

A modern, lighthearted take on an overdone story

[7/10 · 25 February 2019]

The classic tale of robin hood is known by everybody, its probably one of the most popular fairy tale stories. But it's also a story that has been done time and time again in Hollywood, each time it is done it tries to make a completely different interpretation of the original fairy tale.

Robin Hood (2018) is no exception to this, what many are shutting down for its complete straying from the original tale of Robin hood. Is actually a very refreshing reboot of an over done, and frankly quite boring tale of a skilled bowman stealing from the rich and redistributing to the poor. A children friendly take on socialism really.

It's a very enjoyable story in its original form sure, but how many times do you have to reinvent the wheel for it the become boring? Not many times I've found when it comes to Robin Hood movies.Robin Hood (2010) and this 2018 remake of the classic tale are very enjoyable, fresh faces. This remake features all your favorite characters from the tale in a new light. With some spectacular, albeit heavily CGI action scenes to go with it. The action scenes are really quite intuitive and feels like a modern shooter movie in a way at times.

If you watch this movie expecting it to be like the original Robin Hood tale, you may not enjoy it, but, if you are tired of the same tale and want something new you will enjoy this movie.

Band of Brothers (2001)

Stays true to the sources, beyond brilliant.

[10/10 · 22 February 2019]

Having read the sources from which this TV Mini-Series gets its material it is unbelievable how true to the source the writers remained. Its fairly typical for writers to take the reigns on creativity and change some things for the screens but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Instead what we get is a high quality re-enactment of the war from so many perspectives, this is probably the most well balanced show I've seen, and to fit so much raw emotion and story telling in just 10 episodes is unbelievable. I was disappointed that it ended at 10 episodes, but at the same time I was relieved. Because of the short airing the writers were able to compress so much into this show.

Also to mention the actors chosen are probably what make this even more, it almost seemed at times that they were born to play the role as they are so memorable. Watching this doesn't feel like watching a tv show, but it feels like watching history right before your eyes.

It is a truly wonderful experience. To anybody who has watched this and enjoyed it, I highly recommend "The Pacific".

Siren: Primal Instincts (2019) Season 2, Episode 5

Start was terrible but introduces an interesting turn of events

[3/10 · 22 February 2019]

The writing in this episode was probably the worst I've encountered in this series, the previously slow paced conversations that Ryn had have now been replaced with something much worse.

In the beginning of this episode we see Ben, Ryn and Maddie laying together in the bed, at first it seemed to be suggested that intercourse had taken place but it seems when dialog comes in this wasn't the case. Where this scene starts to go downhill is when Ryn decides to suggest a threesome after learning that humans don't just mate to create children but because it feels good. This was a really disappointing low for this show.

Most of the events following where mediocre to see the least, mostly just filler as they don't really add much to the show. But what stuck out and sparked my interest was the new developments with the Oil Company, whom have not only found possible oil deposits and are planning to begin drilling. But it seems like Ben's Father and Brother have some role to play in this arc.

3 stars only because this new development on the Oil Company has re-sparked my interest in this show.

Siren: Oil & Water (2019) Season 2, Episode 4

Starting to take a turn for the worst, still possible to recover

[5/10 · 22 February 2019]

This show has been great so far, some of the arcs within have been very interesting, but its starting to take a turn which is making me worry for the future of the show.

The most off-putting element comes in the final part of this episode, a love triangle between Ben, Ryn and Maddie. Nothing good ever comes from a love triangle in a show, it's cheesy and destroys any chance for a very enjoyable romance arc in a show.

If the writers know what's good for the show they would address this issue. Many of the other little things in the show were easy to ignore but this is impossible to ignore.

Siren: The Mermaid Discovery (2018) Season 1, Episode 1

Great for a pilot episode

[9/10 · 21 February 2019]

This episode was quite enjoyable, while the pacing for some scenes could have been better, for example interactions with Ryn (Eline Powell) are a little too dragged out, even understanding that the idea was that she isn't used to the situation. Still feels like they could have shortened some of the scenes by quite a few seconds. Aside from the pacing which is perfect for almost the entire episode, this was a very grasping episode. It also introduces what I believe to be some of the most interesting arcs of this series; the interactions between Xander and the mermaids, and the interactions between Ben(Alex Roe) and Ryn.

Siren (2018–2020)

Not perfect, has its flaws but has great potential

[7/10 · 21 February 2019]

To address some previous points raised, yes the script writing isn't the greatest at times, some of the actors aren't the best, but the show does lead with some good actors(Alex Roe, Elaine Powell, Ian Verdun). The show can be cheesy, it can be cliche but there are redeeming factors that allow you to look past this.

While this show is obviously trying to be as "diverse" as possible if is definitely not some feminist show as has been said. At times you question the casting agents decision rather than paying attention to what's actually going on. For example Ryn's sister being played by a black actor. Now you can argue that "human races don't apply to mermaids", which, mermaids being left up to fiction allows such claims. But it is still very distracting from the actual plot.

The real gem of this show is "Ryn", played by Eline Powell, this actress I have never come across before but she is really standing out in this show for me. Her chemistry with "Ben"(Alex Roe) is quite special and their scenes are really what makes this show for me. All the other arcs of this story really seem like filler that you have to push through to have more of Ben and Ryn.

**Currently I give this show 9/10, because I can see through what's wrong at the moment and have good intuition that the show is heading in a good direction.**

Dropped the show to 7/10 stars, as of Season 2, episode 4. Hopefully things improve, what was a show heading in a good direction, is starting to stray away from the original uniqueness of the show that was enjoyable. The cliche's are becoming too common, love triangles and predictable story arcs.

Since this show is still airing I will continue to update this review, so rating is subject to change.