ttimgents Reviews

The Ripper (2020)

The last two episodes make the show.....

[8/10 · 22 September 2023]

The first two episodes are interesting. Pretty much detailing most of the murders. When done watching the series, felt that the first two episodes really could have been done in one episode.

But the last two episodes of the show made me boost my score from 7 to 8. As the show becomes more about the women victims and about how the mass of women - in the cities and towns where the serial killings occurred - were effected and responded.

Unfortunately not enough about the killer. His psychology, his motivations, his background.

And one thing that I don't quite understand and they did not explain: why only a 30-year sentence for 13 murders and 7 attempted murders.

Offering to the Storm (2020)

Motivation and police procedures...

[5/10 · 6 September 2023]

I found the first "episode" run of the mill. The second and third episodes were dragging so I was jumping ahead 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute at a time. Found the actors, cinematography, and locations fine. But that just doesn't cut it.

Script is the big problem. I have no idea if the movies deviate widely from the mystery novels they are based on. One major thing that I irked me - and it may be due to my skipping forward - was why the lead character cheated on what seemed to be her beloved husband (and son). I'm afraid I'm going to have to go back to the third movie, and God help me the second movie, to understand that.

The other thing that bugged me - and this occurs in so many bad police procedural movies - is her proceeding to a crime scene or suspect interview without a backup. My only guide to this are TV police or crime shows and movies that I believe are more realistic. I assume proceeding without backup is done to crank up the tension. I get it if a private detective proceeds on their own, but not if a police detective does unless the police detective is penalized for such.

Smokin' Aces (2006)

I'd give it a 9 if... Justin Bateman low-key terrific...

[8/10 · 23 August 2023]

I would rate this movie a 9 of 10, but it is so over the top violent and profane that I could not recommend to all my acquaintances, so I need to drop it a point... Though I suppose it wouldn't be the movie it is, if it weren't so violent and profane.

I would also give it a 9 just because of Justin Bateman's terrific, low-key performance of the character "Rip" Reed(?). Not the usual Bateman persona one runs across in comedies that he's in. And I've got no problem with that persona: I really enjoy him in those roles.

But this is a nicely done understated performance that has been overlooked in reviews that I've read. Honest to God, he should have been nominated for multiple best supporting-actor awards during awards season. I haven't looked up awards for this film to see if he had been nominated for any. Movie is worth a relook just to catch his performance in the few short moments he is on screen.

Shock and Awe (2017)

Didn't feel real....

[6/10 · 1 June 2023]

To quote Derek Smith's review in Slant Magazine (Jul 9, 2018): "Rob Reiner's film rests on broad, sweeping proclamations about the importance of factual reporting."

Very little of the dialogue, conversations, and confrontations seemed like what they would've been in reality. And for such a short film, the inclusion of wives or girlfriends or the wounded veteran seemed unnecessary. And scenes and dialogue with those characters seemed very unrealistic. And regarding actors, thought that Rob Reiner and James Morrison were inadequate.

I was tempted to score this movie a 5 of 10, but the ending showing the real persons pushed me to score the movie a 6. If nothing else, the movie makes me want to read Landau's and Strobel's reporting on the war and their accounts of what was presented in the movie.

Beef (2023– )

If this does not sweep Awards...

[10/10 · 30 April 2023]

If this series does not sweep all the awards in all categories in all television divisions, I really have to wonder how awards ceremonies determine winners. This show feels like some kind of watershed moment in television production, television writing.

And though set in a particular ethnic environment with particular ethnic characters, which made the show very interesting, I'm glad no big deal was made of that. This show is about our universal humanity, each of us figuring how to deal with and overcome our inherited and learned weaknesses and with the unexpected, the deserved or undeserved catastrophic event.

And of course it deserves a second viewing.

True Detective: The Big Never (2019) Season 3, Episode 3

Glacially slow....

[6/10 · 15 April 2023]

Episode 1 was pretty good: I rated it 8/10. But I had this premonition that things might proceed very slowly in future episodes.

Episode 3 absolutely fulfilled my premonition: painfully, glacially slow. Not that there need be shootouts or car chases, but there should be enough camera movement and stimulating dialogue to make the time pass.

As with many cable series that I have watched over the years, it seems as if a particular season's episodes could have been compressed into half the number of episodes presented. I'm assuming difficult to do because producers are contracted to come up with a certain number of episodes per season, which is understandable. Still.....

The Scapegoat (2012)

Preposterous...

[6/10 · 8 April 2023]

That people who knew John Spence for a lifetime do not recognize that John standing is not John Spence seems far too preposterous. His mother doesn't? His wife doesn't? His mistress doesn't? Just too hard for me to believe such: I had to discontinue watching this movie early on.

And that John Standing could not find a way to make his true identity known to the family and to the police and other officials - that just seems unbelievable. Again, too hard for me to go along with.

Maybe such goings on could be believed by the good part of a 1950s audience. But just seems entirely too difficult for a majority of today's audience members to believe.

Confidential Report (1955)

Only because it's an Orson Welles film...

[4/10 · 5 April 2023]

Plainly and simply, a bad film. If it weren't an Orson Welles film, it would probably be an impossible film to find.

A bad script and story, though don't know what problems Wells might have had in getting a what might have been a better story up onto the screen. Cinematography nicely done.

And casting nicely done: at least in terms of being interesting to look at. Hard to judge their acting based on the dialogue they are given to recite.

Hopefully this is not a viewer's introduction to Orson Welles films. So much good work elsewhere and otherwise. This is only interesting in terms of being a part of Orson Welles is troubled biography.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

A classic masterpiece?

[6/10 · 26 March 2023]

As some other reviewers have mentioned here, interesting topics presented, but a narrative that is uncompelling. I wasn't all that impressed by the dialogue or acting either. Interesting as archeology: for getting some idea of what was on the mind of some Italian artists and thinkers back in 1970.

And to make matters worse, the closed captions did not appear until about 5 to 10 seconds after its associated dialogue was spoken. Whether this is true for all viewings of the film, or it only occurred with the streaming version (Prime Video) that I watched, I do not know. Hopefully this will be fixed so that the film can be enjoyed a bit better, no matter what a viewer's opinion of the film might be.

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Even though a PC guy...

[9/10 · 19 March 2023]

Don't know that I can say I liked it. But I appreciated it, was entertained by it, and engrossed in it. The 2 hours/40 minutes went by quickly for me: entertaining dialogue, compulsion to know what action and surprises next.

By the way, not only entertaining dialogue between Gibson and Vaughan characters but also between Tori Kittles and Michael Jai White characters. (Is that being PC?)

Two things bother me about the very end of the movie that short change the "realism" of the movie. When Richmond's wife receives the gold, the realism might be enhanced by her wondering how she's going to turn that gold into cash. And when Henry Johns is seen in his new digs -- highly-visible, big spending only "11 months later" -- something should occur that indicates to us he'll be looking over his shoulder for a good long time.

I'll recommend the movie, but be careful whom I recommend it to.

Dim Sum Funeral (2008)

In the end, a cheat....

[7/10 · 18 March 2023]

First of all, I'm not of Chinese heritage. A European American, so I cannot speak to accuracy of Chinese or Chinese-American customs or family life and relations. Having said that, I enjoyed the movie up until it was discovered -- I thought this might be a possibility -- that the mother was still alive and had set up this situation to bring her family back together. And then on to the happy ending.

As script writing, storytelling, it's a cheat. If the first 80 percent of the movie had been farcical, the last part of the movie might have been more acceptable. But the early part of the movie had been relatively serious, with a few moments of humor. Once the mother exposed herself, I thought the initial reactions were legitimate, more honest. I suspect that her children would not have reconciled themselves to their mother so easily, if they ever did. Especially Meimei, who reconciled immediately, but who had been most affected by her mother's dishonesty about her parentage Still, giving the movie a 7/10 for that first 80 percent of the film, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

By the way, just what the hell was Viola's relationship to the mother, the family? Did I miss something? Guess I could watch the movie again.

Perry Mason: Chapter Nine (2023) Season 2, Episode 1

HBO Perry Mason series should have started here....

[9/10 · 7 March 2023]

Having watched only two episodes of Season 1, I would say that this Season 2 episode is where the HBO Perry Mason series should have begun. This is what I had been hoping to see when I tried out Season 1 - visually and story-wise.

I only watched the first two episodes of Perry Mason Season 1 and could get no further. It seemed that the series did not need to reach that far back into Perry Mason's (the character) origins other than buy flashback. Regarding Season 1 photography and production values: they seemed a bit ugly, did not draw me in at all.

Before continuing to watch Season 2, Episode 2, I will return to Season 1 and give it another try. Regarding the remainder of Season 2, I hope it will fulfill the promise of its Episode 1. (Tjn - 03/07/2023)

Hunters: Blutsbande (2023) Season 2, Episode 5

Pistols need ammo refills

[5/10 · 26 January 2023]

Our Good Guys... They never seem to have to reload their pistols with clips... I suppose if on the side of God, miracles occur.

I've kept giving this show a chance, but this was kind of the final straw... I'll probably skip to the final episode to see if Schickelgruber gets his final, just due.

Note: What would be his just due ? Minimally seems that he should be murdered 11 million times, each time in the manner of each of his victims. And then be brought back to life one more time to rebuild all the destruction that occurred -- brick by brick, brick by brick, brick by brick, brick by brick....

Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi (2022)

Waste of time.....

[5/10 · 18 November 2022]

A waste of time. The show could have consisted of one episode, and that episode would have been Episode 4, the final episode, which does not bring the viewer to any discovery of what happened to a Emanuela. Full of red herrings.

A waste of time. The show could have consisted of one episode, and that episode would have been Episode 4, the final episode, which does not bring the viewer to any discovery of what happened to a Emanuela. Full of red herrings.

A waste of time. The show could have consisted of one episode, and that episode would have been Episode 4, the final episode, which does not bring the viewer to any discovery of what happened to a Emanuela. Full of red herrings.

Frasier: A New Position for Roz (2003) Season 10, Episode 24

9 stars but....

[9/10 · 21 September 2022]

A lot I liked about the show, in particular, putting in some drama, conflict that might last a few episodes... The first bit of drama In the series since Niles and Daphne have gotten married... And I think that the drama does not necessarily exist between Frasier, Roz, and Julia... But the conflict exists within Roz herself... Be interesting to see where this leads.

However, many other things bothered me during the show that made me want to give it a lower rating... Primarily - and it's been bothering me for the last 2 or 3 seasons - how easily humor is openly made in the workplace regarding Roz's sex life... I still laugh - but uncomfortably... And in real life nowadays, Bulldog and Noel and others would be long gone for harassment. (Tjn - 09/21/2022)

Harry O: Hostage (1976) Season 2, Episode 17

Not your typical Harry O episode....

[6/10 · 14 September 2022]

Very strange episode... From music to David Jansen's relatively limited screen time... And the filming on the backlot rather than on location... One gets the feeling that "Harry O" series days are limited... Very strange episode... From music to David Jansen's relatively limited screen time... And the filming on the backlot rather than on location... One gets the feeling that "Harry O" series days are limited. Very strange episode... From music to David Jansen's relatively limited screen time... And the filming on the backlot rather than on location... One gets the feeling that "Harry O" series days are limited.(TJN - 09/15/2022)

The Undeclared War: Episode #1.6 (2022) Season 1, Episode 6

Unsure how to grade the episode and the series..

[8/10 · 8 September 2022]

Upon finishing watching this episode and the series, unsure how to grade this episode and the series.. For now 8 of 10.. I could watch again and possibly come back and grade it lower or grade it higher.

I get the point of leaving the viewer hanging at the end of this episode and thus the series since that's where we appear to be in real life.. But suppose we viewers do expect some closure (forgive me for using this word) when watching a TV series.. Not necessarily closure regarding the story of the cyber warfare, but some closure on the stories of the characters we have been following throughout the series.

Also think that the content of Episodes 5 and 6 could have been squeezed into one episode.. Things seem too stretched out, too slow in each episode.. Having said all this, would not hesitate to recommend this show to anyone. (Tjn - 09/ 08/2022)

Frasier: Lilith Needs a Favor (2003) Season 10, Episode 13

Taken for granted...

[10/10 · 1 September 2022]

A regular viewer who likes "Frasier" can gets so used to the quality of the writing and acting on "Frasier" that his far into the series, a regular viewer can tend to think that episodes now are either average or below average.. But if the writing of all the episodes was always just average, this one would really stand out as the 10 star episode it is.. I don't think it can get any better than this.. This episode is loaded with double entendres and surprising little twist and turns... And it just might give a viewer a thing or two to consider: considerations about being a partner when creating a child via artificial insemination, and being more careful when taking a selfie or determining just who and what are the subject of the selfie.

The Three Stooges (2012)

Apologies...

[7/10 · 21 August 2022]

I'm sorry... I laughed... A lot... To my surprise... Maybe cause I watched it at home, for free.

First big, funny surprise... Actor playing Sister Mary Mengele (too soon?)... And surprise: perfect choice for the role. [08\20\2022]

Frasier: Rooms with a View (2002) Season 10, Episode 8

The final shot makes it a 10-star episode...

[10/10 · 19 August 2022]

SPOILER WARNING!! ... If you didn't pick it up on your first viewing of this episode, go back and watch it again to see and experience for yourself the subtle, final reveal at the end of this episode.

I was going to grade this episode 8 of 10... But the final reveal of why Daphne was on such an edge throughout the episode was brilliant writing: the final reveal being her imagining a future walk past a hospital room where Niles and a first child were visiting Daphne and a newborn second child... Daphne was on such an edge throughout the episode not only because she might lose Niles but because she might have lost the chance of having a family with him... Nothing said: just revealed by the camera... One wonders if she will ever express that openly with the family. Kudos to the writer(s) who came up with that idea. [08\19\2022]

Frasier: Kissing Cousin (2002) Season 10, Episode 4

Very nice episode..

[10/10 · 15 August 2022]

Zooey Deschanel a great guest star... I don't know if the role was written for her, but certainly didn't let the writers down.... Tom McGowan great, as always... He's been a nice addition to the show, in a role that could be easily overlooked.

Frasier: The Love You Fake (2002) Season 9, Episode 20

A worrisome low point?

[7/10 · 9 August 2022]

The past half year and I've opted to watch all "Frasier" episodes in order -- from Season 1 through Season 11... This episode seemed as if writing and acting were declining to that of an average, run of the mill, 1990s/2000s sitcom.

First came the writing, and then I suspect the acting to compensate for the writing... Especially Kelsey Grammer -- and this seems to be the usual for this season -- with the overblown, arch, over-educated, upper middle-class mannerisms and speech... Grammer's idea or done at the the direction of directors and show runner?

While the Cam Winston story seemed in the mold of the usual "Frasier" story, the Segway substory just seemed damned silly... I suppose the writers and showrunners are having some difficulty figuring what to do with Niles/Daphne since the tension of their relationship was resolved.

Still I give it a 7/10.

Frasier: Don Juan in Hell: Part 1 (2001) Season 9, Episode 1

For the first time...

[7/10 · 18 July 2022]

For the first time, this is an episode of "Frasier" that dragged for me, that seemed to take a long time... I think because Frasier's peculiarities and hang ups -- his indecision and insecurity about a woman he is dating, and his irritation with his hotel room and meal choices -- seemed to be really irritating rather than funny... Still, redeemed somewhat by funny moments elsewhere in the episode.

Trigger Point: Episode #1.1 (2022) Season 1, Episode 1

Well done... But

[9/10 · 9 July 2022]

I thought the episode was well done... But can this go on episode after episode... Remains to be seen... Of course, can't comment on accuracy and technical aspects since I am not knowledgeable about those at all.

No Time to Die (2021)

"Never work with children of animals..."

[10/10 · 12 June 2022]

"Never work with children of animals..." attributed to W. C. Fields... A child -- God bless her -- appears in this film too much, a child who could mostly be alluded to during the course of the film.... No need for all the appearances.

And relative to Craig, Leah Seydoux "a child" also... Can't an age-appropriate, seductive, intelligent, witty female be written into such a part.

Additionally, Craig's age starting to show up in this film... A wise choice on his part to drop out of the series: would have possibly looked ridiculous in an additional Bond movie.

Despite the criticisms, still enjoyed the movie, though could've been 30 minutes shorter... Also, a bonus enjoyment, my first real listen to a Eilish/Finneas song: enjoyed the lyrics, melody, composition, and performance.