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jaggill_viper
Reviews
Fallout (2024)
Could have been great, settled for less
I never played the games, so I'm watching this as objectively as I can and keeping an open mind. After watching most of the episodes, I have some mixed thoughts. There are some excellent moments that build tension and drama very well. Then there are moments that seem completely out of place. These great moments convey a graveness and severity that is almost always broken by some ill thought out joke or plot point. If you do it once unexpectedly or set it up well, it can be funny. Doing it poorly over and over just makes it seem odd and breaks the viewer's engagement.
The show will put in the time to build up a critical situation, they'll show a very violent gore filled scene and then cap it off in a shallow attempt at comedy. If it was written better, it would probably have worked, but it comes off as haphazard and awkward too often. It's almost as if the writers or showrunners don't want the show to be taken too seriously or become too frightening for the audience, which is strange for a post apocalyptic drama. It also lacks consistent quality writing, flow and consistently engaging plot points that would allow it to take comedic liberties.
There are some great elements. Some characters (Ghoul, Wilzig and the elder) and plot arcs are interesting. They will show a great scene then lose the momentum they just built by shifting to others that are poorly done. It is so strange to have these amazing visuals only to then be awkwardly interrupted by unnecessary moments or a weird soundtrack that is out of place. The raid in the first episode leaves so many unanswered questions and just seems so implausible and forced. The character take so many actions that don't make any sense. The 10/10 reviewers don't have any issues with the plot or show at all???
The characters don't seem to question these strange inconsistencies either. Even when they do, the other characters have no answers and so they just move on as if it never happened! This is another symptom of lazy writing. I understand that they are trying to keep some mystery while building the plot, but ultimately there is too much that is glossed over or is missing entirely. There are good moments and the writing can be good but there are always a few moments every episode that leave me shaking my head. It's a shame that there is so much going for this show but the writers just keep falling short.
Road House (2024)
Clown show
This movie has some of the laziest writing and unrealistic CGI that I have seen in a long while. The original movie was a classic because it built up a believable story with strong and interesting characters that are appealing. This movie casts an array of talentless and physically unappealing people. Couple this with terrible dialogue and no character progression and it makes it impossible for the audience to care about any of them.
The dialogue is simply atrocious. There is no mystery to the plot, everything is just thrown in your face in the most blunt and clumsy way possible. There is no buildup to the scenes or smooth logical transitions. Instead the plot jerks forward with plot holes everywhere. The story moves on to its predestined outcome without a care for logic, consistency or drama. There are so many things that happen that don't make any sense.
The "roadhouse" which is not a roadhouse is in the middle of nowhere. How can a large entertainment business survive in the middle of no where? Where are the customers coming from and why would anyone want that small strip of land? Also the Brent family built the area up and have a lot of businesses (legal and otherwise) but have no money and are in debt so they want to make a massive investment? What? Which is it? None of this makes any sense.
The plot points where Dalton cleans up the roadhouse and transforms the clientele is completely glossed over. There is no methodical change and buildup. Only a rush to the next plot point. There is no character development either. The acting is often terrible. Dalton and Knox are just smiling stupidly for most of the movie. It's a parody of itself and the characters can't help but smile along. Terrible movie that was not worth the time.
3 Body Problem (2024)
A potentially great series that settles for being decent with some flaws
I have never read the source material so I have no insights on how it compares to the novel or even the other adaptation. I have tried to watch this series with a completely open mind and no expectations. With that said, I actually enjoyed the first 5 episodes of this series and would give them 7.5/10. I watched a lot of episodes in one weekend. However, the show starts to lose steam and struggle after the fifth episode.
This series has had some issues from the beginning but I was willing to overlook them to see where the compelling story was headed. Some of the plot points and concepts are very interesting but the execution in showcasing them can often fall short. Sometimes scenes are great, other times there are glaring issues. The problem is that many of these issues are amplified 10x in episode 6 and beyond.
After the big revelation, the episodes mostly become a melodrama about uninteresting characters. Many of them don't seem to actually care about the events that just unfolded or the main plot line. They are too busy being involved in their own personal problems rather than putting all of that aside to focus on what is most important. The main scientist friends group drama is mind numbingly boring to watch at times.
Jin and Auggie can be arrogant and obnoxious. This is extremely off putting as most of their esteem seems completely unearned. These characters are not believable as accomplished scientists. There are millions of scientists and other intelligent people that apparently can't keep up with an alcoholic that never does any work or a physicist that has nothing going for her other than a boyfriend out of her league.
This supposedly brilliant duo of elite scientists does their level best to show you how naive or immature they are. They make disparaging remarks against Raj and Wade while acting like moody teenagers. Raj and Wade are both intelligent, cogent and exude competence. Wade carries his scenes so well and is a pleasure to watch. Wade is clearly focused on what is important and is actually trying to win a war of survival.
Meanwhile, the 2 most brilliant women are seemingly irreplaceable but can't decide if their values line up with the men enough to help save humanity from extinction. Auggie is beyond insufferable and Jin is mostly bland. Thankfully, there are some great characters and plot points to work with. I hope they trim the worst elements as they have the recipe here for a great series.
3 Body Problem: The Stars Our Destination (2024)
Going downhill fast
This show has had issues before but they are amplified now that it's mostly become a melodrama about uninteresting characters and petty issues. Many characters don't seem to actually care about the events that just unfolded or the impending alien invasion. They are too busy being involved in their own personal problems rather than putting all of it aside. The narrow focus on the 4 scientist friends group drama is mind numbingly boring to watch at times. Saul and Will are often uninteresting at best. The Jin and Auggie characters are very arrogant and entitled.
This is extremely off putting as most of their esteem is completely unearned. They do their level best to show you how foolish, naive or immature they are. These characters are not unbelievable as the elite and accomplished scientists they are supposed to be. They act morally superior and make derogatory remarks against Raj and Wade (who are actually trying to win a war of survival) while acting like spoiled children and moody teens. It is completely out of hand and they are in need of adult supervision (along with the writers apparently).
The writers seem incapable of actually making these characters behave intelligently. They can't decide if they should grace humanity with their unique knowledge or do...nothing. It's unbelievable that these 2 can't be replaced. There are 1 million physicists in the world and millions of other intelligent people that apparently don't hold a candle to an alcoholic that never does any work but somehow produces cutting edge fibers or a physicist that has nothing going for her other than a BF out of her league. Auggie doesn't even run the company that makes the fibers! Meanwhile Raj and Wade are out there actually making a difference.
Halo: Halo (2024)
Mixed bag that is often lacking but improving
There are some good elements here. Sometimes you really have to adjust your expectations and too often your standards to actually enjoy it. This episode, like the last one, offers a vast improvement compared to the rest of this extremely disappointing season. There is more focus on the Covenant and the intergalactic war which is finally taking a more prominent and visual role. The showrunners seem to have even found enough pennies to afford the CGI for some proper ships, battle scenes and to show more of the actual scale of this epic war against an alien race.
The improvements don't stop there. There is also less melodrama and the dialogue has improved with its new found focus on what matters. The actors are better except for the ones that seem out of place and annoying to watch. You know which ones. The show has finally started focusing more on what is actually important to the plot of Halo instead of using the plot as a backdrop or a means to carry out a boring emotional drama as before. These areas have improved and should be praised; however, there are still areas where this show is at the very least still lacking.
The camera work still needs improvement to adequately capture scenes and the quick motion during fight scenes. There is less disrespect of the Masterchief and focus on his grinding internal mental struggles that have previously made him look so weak and ineffective. Now he is confronted with choices in battle and faces dilemmas about his path forward. This is a welcome change but it is still hard to forget the character assassination that they performed on him and all of the Spartans already. At least he wears his armor and helmet for some of this episode. I can't believe how I even need to praise this.
They also introduce a critical part of the Halo series. Its introduction is a mixed bag at best. It's interesting how they show elements of it but there are so many logical errors leading up to and during its introduction and the strange behavior on the part of certain characters that it takes away from significance of it. Parts of these scenes are very haphazardly done and frankly it would be a bigger problem for me if not for the greater disasters this series has already suffered. But for the "silver timeline" it's good enough I guess. It has good moments but other times it leaves you shaking your head in disbelief at some of the choices.
They are not doing the source material any justice and have perverted the themes and concepts that make Halo so appealing as a sci-fi saga. They really need to trim some of the most offending elements. I hate Kwan with a passion and hope for her to meet her final end every time she appears on screen. Her plot armor is just too thick. Soren sounds constipated all the time and I don't care for him or his family. The Spartan 3's are unlikeable, unbelievable and frankly annoying. These are easy characters to kill off and yet what do the showrunners do? Instead, they kill off characters that are somewhat appealing and likeable.
Most of the episodes this season have been small minded, trope filled, canon disrespecting and plainly boring episodes that are more focused on personal melodramas. This episode improves on a lot of these past mistakes but for many viewers this will be too little and too late. The show is lacking still. No Keyes, no pillar of autumn, no grand reveal of the ring, no amazing scenes to show MC racing the Covenant and reaching the Halo. This whole Halo but not Halo routine has some good moments but it is hard to stomach at times. Too often it disrespects Halo canon and what it and its characters stand for. But it is becoming more watchable and still has room for improvement.
The Gentlemen: Where's My Weed At? (2024)
A low point for what has been an enthralling series so far
The series started off very well and has a lot of potential. It gave me a lot of hope compared to the drivel that is being shoveled into our faces too often these days. It has style, drama, interesting characters and a compelling story with a few interesting turns. However, this episode does fall flat. It carries on some of the worst elements of the previous episodes with few redeeming moments. It was a slog to get through at times with how cringey some of the scenes were.
Edward bailing his brother out again...without any consequences for him over and over is becoming annoyingly repetitive. Their actions in this episode are more reminiscent of a poor comedy than a enthralling drama/thriller with comedic moments. Logic is thrown out the window and some of the characters' actions are best described as idiotic. The series needs to either tighten up Freddie or get rid of him as he's becoming not just a drag on his brother but the show in general.
There is still more than enough going for the show that I will keep watching and hoping the next few episodes turn this around. Hopefully this was a just a bumpy part of the road and it will smooth itself out next episode. The series itself has a lot of good characters and there are enough ingredients here to make an excellent show. I just hope that the producers can pull out the best aspects of the actors and storylines to bring this season home in the end.
Halo: Thermopylae (2024)
Better
Let's start with the positives, which can be rare for most of the episodes in this season so far. The visuals have improved. The acting is not as bad here either. There are definitely fewer awkward scenes with tedious dialogue. The plot is more focused on what the characters should be focused on given the plot. The characters seem to have clearer motivations and their actions seem much more realistic because of it. It has improved in many ways. The Cinematography has improved but it is also short lived.
They are still not showing critical scenes like the Arbiter's Covenant ship traveling to the Halo. They don't show the Covenant fleet arriving. Important images that would convey what is happening are left out. There is not enough world building in general. They need to show more of the scale of ships, fleets and the war progressing. They need to show where things are, how far they are and how they are getting there. Less tedious drama and more visualization would go a long way. SHOW don't tell.
How do so many humans know about the Halo now all of a sudden? They seem to know its significance and what it is capable of without explaining how they found out. Critical facts like this shouldn't just be glossed over and taken for granted. This leaves the viewer with too many unanswered questions. The plot still is littered with these holes which is frustrating as a viewer. There is not a natural progression to the plot. It feels forced as if relevant scenes or information have been skipped over. It could be much worse though.
While they have made improvements, the show still has a long way to go to redeem itself. They really need to scrub the tedious and unlikeable Kwan plot, the Soren family plot, the ONI sub plots and all of the unrealistic actions/characters. They need to spend more time and money on CGI to show the world they created with the larger scale of an intergalactic war. Build up this world by showing us critical visuals. You can't depart from the canon and then not show/explain critical parts. Besides this, they have done vastly better here as they focus more on the Halo part of...HALO.
Halo: Onyx (2024)
More of the same
After the first season, I was hoping they would fix the glaring holes that litter this series and hold it back in almost every way. The plot continues to march on with little change and disappoints even more. Now we have shell shocked 5 foot tall women with no muscles that are apparently Spartans who talk back to their COs. Master Chief is now warring with the Humans in Onni or whatever it is called. Seeing him harm his own people just seems wrong and out of character.
The showrunners have no idea what the show is actually about. It's as if the covenant are just a minor inconvenience to the human soap opera that the showrunners are hellbent on showcasing. The covenant are not treated as the existential threat that they are. The show is written by people that seemingly have no understanding of anything remotely related to the UNSC, military operations, space, combat or logic. Nothing is believable in this show and everything just seems out of place or completely off.
On top of that, none of these actors are believable in their roles as they don't seem to fully understand them. The acting is simply too subpar to enjoy. They are not helped by the dialogue which is profound on rare occasions but is too often pedantic and meaningless. The writing is most often what I would describe as drivel present only to move the plot forward. I am unable to really enjoy any aspect of it at this point. I am hate watching this show now.
Halo: Reach (2024)
They killed the show with this episode
There is obviously no understanding of the source material and this new direction feels cheap and poorly thought out with a lot of unnecessary scenes with unappealing characters, poor dialogue and no buildup or care shown to important moments. In fact, it doesn't seem like any of it is important or of consequence. Even if you try to completely ignore the canon and just try to enjoy this as a sci-fi show, it is extremely hard to do so when there are so many glaring issues. Things just happen in the show and will apparently mean something later at some point just wait another 5 seasons thanks. It just doesn't seem to be going anywhere. It just is.
Everything seems small in scale, including the battles, with any combat cutting eventually to some stupid scene with a useless character somewhere else. Nobody cares about Soren or his family (that relationship just seems so unnatural and pointless). Did I mention everyone hates Kwan yet? Why is Makee back? How is Makee back? Oh who cares. The show seems lost and is simply filling in scenes between events that are supposed to happen without a natural flow or any consistent theme, logic or purpose. The story just goes on and on focused more on trying to get Spartans to deal with emotions and internal struggles than the FREAKING ALIEN INVASION that is happening. The battles they do show are small and frankly do not convey the scale of a planetary invasion. How did the covenant get on Reach? What happened to the air and space defenses? Where are the space ship fleets??? Where are all of the banshees, ghosts, dropships, ground troops and UNSC fleet?
Nowhere. They don't show an invasion or an epic struggle. Just small battles here and there. This is a haphazard drama about soldiers feelings and Kwan. This is not a serious sci-fi show about conflict, the struggle to evolve quickly for the sake of survival and the search for the HALO. What are these people doing with this show? Again, even if you forget the source material, this storyline marches forward haphazardly while leaving out critical parts. Even a blind person can see that Reach was a pivotal moment in a saga that is about humanity's struggle against a superior alien force. The showrunners seem completely oblivious to this and instead focus on lackluster drama between characters that are frankly boring or completely unnecessary.
An alien invasion filled with crazy potential battle scenes and heroic moments is taking place and here we are listening to boring dialogue for significant parts of the episode. The plot choices and writing continues to underwhelm and delve into absurdity. The choices the characters make are forced and unnatural. There is no sense of gravitas and the showrunners don't seem to know how to set up or properly film scenes. Camera work is shoddy. The scale of what they show seems so small compared to what could have and should have shown. It's a massive disappointment even if you ignore what the show is based on. It has become obvious that the writers and showrunners are incompetent beyond hope.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Completely over rated
I don't understand these glowing reviews. The movie was completely unrealistic and illogical in so many ways. None of it made any sense for anyone with the slightest clue about fighter jets. It was a bunch of cowboy yahoo bs with a 61 year old Maverick showing them youngins how it's done.
The plot is very contrived and quite frankly boring. I watched this movie a while ago and while I understand how people enjoyed the action, I don't understand the 10/10 reviews saying this is an epic blockbuster. The first movie was great yet somehow is ranked 6.9. This sequel is much worse and somehow has an average rating of 8.3. It doesn't make sense to me.
Invasion (2021)
Falls short
This show is boring human drama with an alien invasion happening in the background...sometimes. The aliens are also kind of stupid in the way they move and behave. I thought the story would improve with time but the characters are annoying and often make stupid and illogical decisions.
There is a lot of ethnic diversity if that is important to you but the acting is not good. Nothing really happens in many of the episodes and it's not very eventful for an invasion. Wish I hadn't watched so much of it but at least I skipped most of the boring parts. If I had to listen to all of the dialogue, I would rate it a 3-4.
Westworld: The Auguries (2022)
The descent continues.
I came in with an open mind and no expectations. Wow, that was boring to watch. I found myself struggling to pay attention to the boring characters and stale dialogue in seemingly pointless scenes. It was a struggle just to finish the episode and I regret wasting the time. The writing took a nose dive in season 3 and it has gone from bad to worse.
I don't find any of the characters appealing. None of the scenes mean anything. The action is generic and the plot armor is so thick that the characters could stop a train if they stepped in front of it. It's not as bad as last season but still renders the action pointless. At least they are hitting their diversity goals.
Some of the reviews mention that they don't understand anything that happened but gave it 8-10/10. I don't know what these people are on, but it has probably damaged their minds. The writing is objectively bad, the action is a predictable formality that never puts the main characters in real danger and there is no direction or build up.
The plot is missing and what they have shown doesn't seem engaging in the least. It's almost like this entire episode was just filler that should have been condensed into the first 10 minutes of an actual episode. There is nothing to hold on to other than faint hints of a possible plot that will take too long to arrive and be grossly underwhelming when it does.