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martinpgibson
Reviews
Puppy Love (2023)
It's below average
The movie was a little too long. I couldn't really understand why someone like Nicole who has great looks and a steady job would just work so hard for Max who was flat out combative with her on their first date and has mental health issues which make him not ready to be dating anyway. That turnaround was not believable to me and the chemistry between them never seemed substantive. I just can't see someone like Nicole tolerating this when there would be literally millions of guys lining up for her.
Also the whole idea of basing the movie around their dogs getting pregnant with each other perhaps acting as an analogy of them having an actual baby together was just weird and overdone. Dogs having a baby is just no big deal, people don't go through a whole mental preparation process, buy paraphernalia and have mother father meetups for the pets mental health and drive recklessly in preparation for a pet birth. I know it's supposed to be fun but I think what makes a romantic comedy good is it's need to have a sense of realism, it shouldn't be a parody, the leads should feel like they are ready for a relationship and are ready for each other. It's because of this, the film just doesn't take off.
Room (2015)
Realism not quite there for me
I liked the movie overall. The acting was great. There were just a couple of parts around realism which made it hard for me to buy into. Firstly I understand that there was a bit of Stockholm syndrome and helplessness from the woman after making a first escape attempt, but I feel in reality there would have been more endeavours around escaping. Like for instance was not stacking the furniture up to the skylight not a possibility here? Especially if old Nick is working during the day? That bed stacked vertically would reach pretty damn high, coupled with the wardrobe and kitchen cupboards. The mother may be no MacGyver but she could have pulled that off. Even attaching a note to the tail of the mouse might have been a far fetched but perhaps worthwhile venture. Or maybe making a hole in the wall (or at least trying to). The screaming also in reality would have probably been quite effective. Skylights are not amazing sound insulators especially with neighbouring houses so close by.
Also when old Nick tries to recapture the boy during the escape felt half hearted. In reality he would have fought to the death to detain the child again. Even if the dog walker was onto something, giving up like that would not have happened. Or even if he did give up, I think unfortunately in reality he would have gone back to the shed, killed the mother and then killed himself.
But yeah, this aside, the movie is still an 8/10 from me.
Your Christmas or Mine 2 (2023)
Not funny enough, poorly written
Everything about this film is great except for the script.
The movie was way too predictable it was painful. The good old ring switch up, the good old getting interrupted just before the main character needs to say something important, the good old getting caught in a compromising position when you are totally innocent.
The jokes were not frequent or funny enough. Is this not a comedy?
And let's be honest when James ran into his old 'friend' growing up, it seems like they had better chemistry then with his girlfriend. Like James, what's wrong with your old friend LOL. At least she is friendly and doesn't rush to conclusions.
And yea as others have said the stereotyping is obnoxious. Both in terms of the poor and rich family. With a better script and dialogue this film could have been a real gem.
007: Road to a Million (2023)
It's ok, but could have been so much better
The staging of this show is very frustrating. With cameras pre-positioned to get the best angle of contestants going where they want to go. With contestants magically making assumptions of where to go without any hints. You can just tell there's so much crew/contestant interaction behind the scenes and safety officers and stunt coordinators doing their job making sure everyone is safe and understands how to handle equipment. Nothing feels authentic, nothing feels risky, there's very little contestant creativity or ingenuity on display. It felt like a ghost train; there are all these scary things on display but everyone is safely inside the carriage at all times.
And then there's the ending, it was disappointing no one actually won and in fact no one really got close. The production team have obviously underestimated the difficulty of the final challenges in particular, especially the shooting challenge. It's like they didn't properly test or amend the challenges based on the amount of people remaining. Which also begs the question, if 1 or more groups actually made it to the end, how were they going to fit all that content across the 8 episode series, that would have been super rushed, because it already felt a little rushed as it is. So they definitely need to reduce the amount of steps to a million.
Each group had different questions and challenges which was done purposely so it's less repetitive, but that pulls in the question of fairness. I felt like groups had an easier path than others at times. I think more effort needs to be put into keeping the challenges fair.
Then there's the quizzes throughout, I am not sure if I liked or disliked this. But one thing is for sure is that the wait time for the answer reveal was just frustrating. I get that they were trying to 'build suspense' but it was just irritating after a while.
And then just had to do the emotional backstory like they do on X Factor et al. We get it, all the contestants survived cancer to get to the show, they are so brave. I would prefer it if they didn't emotionally manipulate me to feel for the characters but rather have me discover their nature and stories through the course of the show.
These are all the bad things, but there's good things as well. Like Brian Cox does a good job of being the host even though I think what he does may need to change. The production levels were great. The cinematography was great. The actual challenges themselves were creatively conceived despite the executional issues previously mentioned. The contestant selection was pretty good. The music was obviously good.
So there's heaps of potential for them to turn things around in season 2 if there's one.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Season 2 is just as good
Some other reviews I think have been overly harsh to season 2. Season 2 may not be quite as good but it's still excellent. Both seasons do something that most tv series don't do well which is pacing. Both seasons feel like really long movies with just the same plot pacing as a movie. The series also doesn't do teasers, or at least not in an intentional way. They don't throw teases at the end forcing you to watch the next episode. Each episode has some level of resolution.
The series cleverly pull aspects from real life and twist them in a fictional way which help give a sense of realism to the stories.
If you like action, both series are action packed and suspenseful.
The weapons handling and tactics used during fire fights is very realistic. It is obvious they have a good consultant or two to advise in this area. Although the Americans seem to have a bit of an invincibility cloak around them in season 2.
All in all, a really great show and I look forward to season 3.
The Donut King (2020)
An incredible story, very well told
An amazing story about a man who started from nothing, gained it all, and then lost it all, and ended up right back where he started. It's a story about greed and addiction and the tragic consequences it can have on a family. The movie has an excellent moral teaching about the importance of contentment and not falling for temptation. The documentary is amazing as well. To get the original people reliving their experiences and reuniting was powerful to watch.
Living Proof (2017)
Good documentary
This was a great documentary, but in my opinion the major fault of the documentary was to not get the other sides perspective i.e. That of the MS Canada. Because this voice was not heard it made the probably very great treatment approach proposed by Mathew lack the credibility it deserved. It was shown in the film Mathew trying to reach out to them but the invitation was not sincere enough in that it was inviting them to his home turf, and this desire for criticism lacked the doggedness of someone like Michael Moore who would like camp out of peoples buildings to get a comment. Even if MS Canada truly didn't want to comment, then contact one of the drug companies or find a researcher who disagrees with the approach. But apart from that though, really great!