sthenwood Reviews

On the Line (II) (2022)

Stay away

[2/10 · 25 August 2023]

My disdain for this movie has nothing to do with Mel Gibson (other than his terrible acting in it) I am a fan of Mel.

It's unfortunate because the premise is decent and had they continued down that path it could have been a very good movie.

The plot has so many holes, I called the ending about 15 minutes in and called the "second ending" the minute the first ending happened. The acting all around was poor, amateurish at best save for the actress who played "the slut" she was actually quite good.

It is not the absolute worst movie ever made like some have suggested but it certainly isn't good.

The Immaculate Room (2022)

AVOID AT ALL COST

[1/10 · 14 April 2023]

The good news it's only 90 minutes long, the bad news is that it's 90 minutes long. An extremely boring, horribly acted movie. Dialog is amateurish with absolutely no drama, tension or suspense.

I can't say it's the worst movie I've ever seen, I've only ever turned off about 4 movie in my life that Ive watched more than 10 minutes of and I did manage to get through this without turning it off despite being extremely close on a number of occasions. I would say this is likely a top 10 - 15 worst movies ever made. Please, please please do yourself a favor, save your 90 minutes and watch paint dry.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

MCU's comeback

[8/10 · 2 March 2023]

After a horrible MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE phase 4 (a victim of there own success with the first 3 phases so brilliantly done) phase five curtain raiser gives us Scott Lange's third go around. Short story: it is FAR superior to number 2 and pretty comparable to the first.

While Thor's love and Thunder took the comedic percentage way to far and forced funny on you, AntMan 3 reigns in the comedy level and brings it back to an acceptable level.

Although this movie is very Star Wars esq. And actually has similar storylines, it moves along Scott and Hope's relationship nicely while giving us a glimpse of who and what the next version of the Avengers will be facing.

Passengers (I) (2016)

Critics don't know ....

[8/10 · 2 March 2023]

Passengers is a great example of why I pay zero attention to anything film critics have to say. Most critics are pretentious, wannabe theater snobs and are completely out of touch with what the average person enjoys or wants.

Passengers is a refreshingly new movie, not based on sequels with a strong cast, albeit very few in numbers and a very strong story/plot line.

Pay no attention to those who will say the story is morally reprehensible (I've seen some comparing the story line to date rape) those who make this claim are simply trying to make cancel culture brownie points. There is a tough moral question involved but one in which in certain circumstances could be seen as justifiable.

The Gray Man (2022)

Turn your brain off

[6/10 · 9 August 2022]

Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling are easily the highlight of the movie, their interactions are great and make the movie watchable.

Many of the action scenes require you to turn your brain off and power down your mind thats how far fetched and unbelievable (even by Hollywood action movie standards) some of them are.

The good news is I don't go into Netflix original movies with very high expectations so I walked away not being disappointed.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Love and Hate

[7/10 · 2 August 2022]

Ok, so trying to follow up on Ragnorak is a losing proposition no matter how good the follow up is. Ragnorak is simply one of the very best MCU movies there is. While they failed to get close to Ragnorak's greatness, they did manage to still make a pretty decent movie worthy of being in the MCU.

I was worried at first because I HATED the first 15 minutes or so. The use of the GOTG just seemed to forced and mis directed, but after that they did manage to redirect the energy and pump it up a notch.

My only criticism (other than the GOTG issue) was the inserted woke ism. I come to the theaters to get away from the issues of the world for 2 hours and just enjoy myself....now this isn't a unique Love & Thunder issue, its a Hollywood issue so I do give the director a bit of a pass for that.

The Terminal List (2022– )

Lives up to the hype

[8/10 · 20 July 2022]

This is a very good 8 episode thriller, anyone who is saying otherwise is clearly either a Chris Pratt hater because of his political and religious beliefs or they don't traditionally like this genre of shows/movies.

This isn't a "Right-wing" propaganda show, not even remotely close to being that. This is a good old fashioned action/thriller show.

Obviously you need to suspend your sense of reality in order to get through some of the action sequences, but that's what is great about it, you can turn your brain off for 8 hours and not have to worry about the state of the world, you can take a break and just enjoy yourself for those 8 hours.....like any good entertainment should do.

The best part is there is no preaching or attempted indoctrination with The Terminal List, just a lot of fun.

Shoresy (2022– )

Canadian humor at it's best.

[10/10 · 28 May 2022]

Only 6 episodes thus far and they damn well better come back with more.

The dry humor is refreshing and hilarious, and the one liners are gold.

The scenes where Shoresy is ref'ing the kids is the best and if you don't laugh you should check your pulse.

Ozark: A Hard Way to Go (2022) Season 4, Episode 14

Disappointed

[6/10 · 21 May 2022]

Firstly I must say that Ozark is one of the best drama shows ever. Having said that, the finale is a bit of a letdown. The car crash....why, why was that neccessary? I was thinking at the time, "This is such a cop out, killing off characters without them getting their comeuppance" alas I was wrong, oh so wrong.

The episode, judged on it's own isn't terrible, it's actually pretty good but for the love of God, why can't shows grow a set of balls and end the damn show with a decisive ending? The fade to black has been done, albeit at a far different level, and it just seems so cheap and lazy....and that drops the episode rating down to a 6.

Lone Survivor (2013)

Truly miraculous

[9/10 · 6 May 2022]

Anyone being critical of the authenticity and accuracy of this movie clearly has never read the book Lone Survivor written by brave SEAL member Marcus Luttrell.

Sure there are some obvious Hollywood exaggerations, but the meat and potatoes of the movie are backed up first hand by the lone survivor himself.

The casting of this movie is fantastic, as you see at the end of the movie, side by side comparisons to the real life SEALs and their Hollywood counterparts. Each actor looks very similar to the real guys. Wahlberg is the one who is the furthest from being accurate as he is much smaller and doesn't really look like Luttrell in the least but he does a fantastic job of acting and in his portrayal of Luttrell.

Operation Finale (2018)

Eye opening look into dark history

[9/10 · 26 April 2022]

First, despite his age, Ben Kingsley does a fantastic job as Eichmann. Although it does take some liberties with the facts (what history piece doesn't) there is enough truth to still call it a true story.

I would have liked to see at least a little of the trial, I understand it's about the hunt.

Shameless (2011–2021)

Was GREAT, not so much now

[7/10 · 26 April 2022]

I would put the first 5 seasons of shamless up against pretty much any show and it'd hold its own. Seasons 6-9 are still pretty damn good. Season 10 isn't very good and season 11 is virtually unwatchable. If i didn't have 10 seasons invested in this show I would have shut things down in the final season, its that bad.

I, like most people I suspect, tune into t.v to get away from the politics of our day to day lives. The last few seasons are inundated with in your face political agendas.

Queenpins (2021)

Fun movie

[7/10 · 25 February 2022]

This is "pain and gain" light, slower pace but likeable characters. I didn't have real high expectations going in but it was a pleasant surprise. Recommended for a little mindless fun.

Banshee (2013–2016)

Perfect 10

[10/10 · 23 February 2022]

This is, hands down, the greatest show that flies under the radar. Non stop action with an anti hero you cheer for every step of the way. Binge this as soon as you can.

Superstore (2015–2021)

Way too political

[5/10 · 23 February 2022]

Decent enough show for the first 4 seasons with enough laughs to make it watchable; however the last 2 seasons take a way too serious turn towards wokeism and the progressive movements and thumbs it's nose to anything or idea that is center or right leaning.