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Reviews
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Wow, what a miss
It's the writing silly. It's impossible to make anything of this mash of bad ideas that don't congeal into a cohesive story. It's just one silly slapstick thing after another. And that would be fine it it was funny. But it's never funny! It's also not scary. It's not even amusing. I could hear the audience behind me wanting to laugh but they could barely muster a chuckle.
The child actors were fine but not given much in the way of good lines to work with. I actually felt bad for the returning adult actors, few of which needed the paycheck, but there they were. Delivering bad unfunny lines that in my opinion degraded a great original movie that never needed a bad sequel, much less a half a dozen of them. Spare yourself and run from this badly haunted franchise of CGI unfunny, unscary and unentertaining ghost goop.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023)
Wow, how did this get aired?
I tried, I really did but it just was unwatchably stupid. I thought maybe the bad reviews were just from haters of anything that smacks political but this is just bad. The best thing in it are the monsters and they are rarely in it. The monsters, to their credit probably opted out of their contracts after seeing just how bad the human writing and acting was. The story is just a mess and mostly wanders aimlessly between family drama, the past, the present and the I don't care what comes next. The three young principle actors main job is to pout and complain about, well, everything. Just like spoiled 12 year old kids. Oh the dialogue is endlessly dumb and boring. The adults make horrible decisions that make no sense and the plot just completely gets lost. I gave it a five only because the monsters tried their best to hold this mess together. But even they quit. I'm with them.
Outer Banks (2020)
Cast, setting and crew deserve better writers.
Whelp, it started out great. I would give the first season a solid 8 but the writers lost their way or are just plain lazy. Not sure which. By the time you get to season 3 it is the same story different day. It's almost like Groundhog Day every episode repeating itself. The actors are really quite good. The setting is really great which are the two things that hooked you to begins with. The lost treasure and beautiful young cast is a great combo. But as each season has progressed the same silly decisions and bad tropes recur over and over again with the cast barely escaping but willing to do the stupid thing again. Rinse, wash, repeat. The set, cast and setting deserved better writers.
Emily in Paris (2020)
Why oh why?
While in Paris I was introduced to the hostile Perisian inhabitants. I was warned of course that they do not like Americans, but I was not prepared for the kind of indifference if not outright hostility they can have toward non natives and likely Americans specifically. I guess I never knew exactly why. Emily in Paris might be why. Vacuous and self obscessed Emily and her ever present sidekick iphone are painful examples of influencer Americans that are truly unlikable. The cast is NOT the problem. The cast is actually quite good. The sets and backdrop and fashion are all terrific. It's Paris after all, queen of all beautiful cities! The writers are the villains here. They take the worst of shallow Americans and the worst of angry Perisions and mix it up. Not a great outcome unless it's unintentional black comedy? Maybe watch it with the sound off?
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Same as the last but slightly different
I love James Cameron and he always has a wonderful cast both in front of and behind the scenes. He works with the very best. You'll love the sci fi tech and stunning visuals in this movie. The world building is exceptional.
That said, we saw this script before. Same bad military jarhead guys doing the same bad things to haunt and torture the peaceful natives. This story needs to be told, because militaries and resource hungry countries have always invaded relatively defenseless countries under the guise of saving or helping them, only to steal their resources. But this retelling is almost exactly the same as the last avatar, down to the same bad guy. And the story tellers beat you over the head repeatedly with the family dynamic. So the writing was really lazy and it shows. And the way it ended, I am expecting more of the same from avatar 3.
They need new writers with a new dynamic story. Sorry James. It's technologically beautiful but intellectually lame. Go anyway, but don't expect anything different from Avatar 1.
The English: Cherished (2022)
Timeless
It's like a long western poem written by a master. It's one of the most beautiful and gut wrenching things I've ever seen. You knew from the first few scenes this would be a great work. The writing, directing and acting were so strong. However one of the best role players wasn't a person but a place. The setting of the open west and what this country might have looked like was haunting and beautiful. What we did to the indigenous is also haunting and ugly and beyond sad. This is more an experience than a production. And while the cast was superlative it's the writing and direction that stole the show. It's a diamond set in the roughest of circumstances.