Hei_Shibing Reviews

Hijack: Brace Brace Brace (2023) Season 1, Episode 7

Awful, awful writing

[1/10 · 12 August 2023]

As the armed police surround the plane, they receive this helpful tidbit:

"The ringleader's got a beard"

To which they reply:

"Yeah, yeah - we've got him."

In reality, they had grabbed the first hirsute male to disembark. I'm not sure if the police have this kind of advanced technology, but sending an actual picture would've been helpful, if not just to save us from the last incongruous 5 minutes of this episode, which felt lifted directly from an unreleased Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

As for the woman who blasted a man's head to smithereens, hijacked a plane, then was let off "because it wasn't her fault" - what an absolute shambles of a plot development

The writing for this show was subpar throughout, but this final episode felt like a gust of wind blew through the writer's room, rearranged everything, and the producers just decided to go with it.

Sweet Tooth (2021– )

Horrendous nosedive in quality

[1/10 · 11 May 2023]

When Annoying Turtleboy started singing "thank you for being a friend", I knew this show was no longer for me.

So, what went wrong? The writers made the common fatal error of taking something moderately featured in the first season, and greatly exaggerating it in the second: in this case, it was the hybrids - singing turtles, muttering groundhogs, forlorn elephants, and farting skunks all made this an unwatchable, puerile mess - and that's before we even get to the plot holes, ham acting, and Deus ex machinas. For example, the last men set up a blockade: Jepp and Aimee sail through it - their last men pursuers crash into it. Nonsense.

Now, don't get me wrong - S1 was no masterpiece, but it was passable entertainment; S2, on the other hand, is a flaming heap of trash.

The Night Agent (2023– )

People are spoiled

[10/10 · 10 April 2023]

I understand that taste is subjective, but the fact that some have given this show a rating of anything below a 7 just goes to show how spoiled some people are, and how demanding they've become in what they expect from a show. For sure, TNA isn't going to change lives or mindsets, but it was well put together, the two lead characters had excellent, natural rapport and were absolutely NOT just a couple of pretty faces; they acted really well. Most of the supporting cast were great too - with the exception of the assassins, who were just awful in a "trying-too-hard-to-be-different" kind of way. The writing was on point, as was the plot and pace, with sufficient twists to keep you interested. Give this show a chance; ignore the 4 and 5 ratings - very unfair, to the point of being ridiculous. It really should be around an 8, but I've given it a 10 to offset some the spitefully low ratings some other hard-to-please people have given. Watch the show.

Superman & Lois: 30 Days and 30 Nights (2022) Season 2, Episode 9

I really want to like this show but...

[6/10 · 4 April 2022]

... there's one person who ruins it for me: Sarah. She is a selfish, self-centred whiner, what with telling Jordan "I kissed someone and now I expect you to be friends with them" followed by "I'm breaking up with you since you haven't put me first". If this show were called "How to Cuckold a Male Before He's a Man" then perhaps Sarah's behaviour would be appropriate, but it isn't: it's called Superman & Lois. I hope they drastically reduce Sarah's screen time, or eliminate her altogether, because she is insufferable. Other than that (and the absence of SUPERMAN) this was a good episode, particularly seeing Jordan come into his powers.

Everything's Gonna Be All White (2022)

My thoughts on this fine piece of "film-making"

[1/10 · 16 February 2022]

Hiya. Everyone ok? Yeah? That's good. Look, I'm just gonna get straight to the point:

I'm black.

I haven't watched this hot mess of a show.

I rated it 1/10.

Goodbye.

Project Blue Book (2019–2020)

An incomplete sneeze

[5/10 · 1 June 2020]

I watched this show all the way through from season 1 to season 2, and "like an incomplete sneeze" is the only way I can describe it. There are moments where you think there is going to be some sort of revelation, then it is snatched away at the last moment. The greatest example I can think of is in S02E06 where a man's eyes turn white (as he is apparently taken over by an alien), he walks through a fire which immediately extinguishes, and then, unscathed, the man repels Captain Quinn with some sort of energy burst. Keep in mind that at this late point in the show, I was still waiting for something to actually happen, so when this scene came along, I allowed myself to get excited, finally. Imagine my disappointment when our two protaganists not only fail to investigate or at least ask any follow-up questions, but later on, Hynek dismisses the man as a fraud; we are given no explanation as to how he reached that conclusion. And this is what the show has been like for me; a succession of incomplete sneezes. I wanted to like it, but ended up watching it only because I was starved of sci fi and there is nothing else on. Disappointing - I couldn't be less interested in a third season

Ad Astra (2019)

Pretentious drivel about Brad Pitt's face

[1/10 · 9 October 2019]

We get it: Brad Pitt has a remarkably chiselled chin. Now pull the camera back and let us see space.

No, wait - do something with the plot first. Otherwise, this will just seem like a scientifically inaccurate hodgepodge of scenes where:

A man is rocketed to Mars to make a recording ... rather than save a "few" dollars and have him make the recording on Earth ... then transmit the recording from Mars. Oh wait, sorry - you needed him to be there in person, just in case the dad responds? No. When the dad responded, you immediately dismissed the son, hence underscoring the fact that you could have saved money and lives by having him record it on Earth. But then we wouldn't have seen Brad's chin recording that emotional, off script message to pop pops

During the random space pirate scene we hear the sound of gun fire (inaccurate) but later we do not hear the sound of a hatch being opened from the outside (accurate). I fully understand both approaches: pick a lane and stick to it. No chin comments here

Rabid filth monkeys in space eliminate the captain of a ship so that Brad can take over and demonstrate how chiselled his chin is

A man swims through Martian water, then climbs up through the backend of a rocket as it's taking off. He should at least have gotten a suntan from that. Would've complemented his chiselled chin

A man surfs on a sheet of metal from Neptune to his ship. Surfer chin

A man is 94 BILLION miles from earth with insufficient fuel for the trip home. Solution? Ride the wave of a nuclear blast. Yes. Of course. Reminds me of that time when my American friend's car was low on fuel - I gave it a little push and he rode the momentum from London all the way to New York. When Brad's ship lands back on Earth there is - of course - an extended shot of his impossibly handsome face, chin included.

Just to eliminate any doubt: I get that this film was about a father-son relationship, appreciating loved ones, etc. Still, it was an awful, pretentious mess of a movie. And the whole "what will he find on the edge of our solar system" malarkey was just downright deceptive. Awful, awful, awful. Aw. Full

The Flash: Legacy (2019) Season 5, Episode 22

A finale which suffered the same problems as the whole season...

[6/10 · 15 May 2019]

This season has been an exercise in the writers carefully sidestepping obvious solutions in order to prolong a tired storyline - without this, Cicada would not have lasted so long. Let's face it Cicada (and Shecada) should have been a freak-of-the-week villain, as he/she lacks the substance - and, quite frankly, the powers - to feature as the villain for the entire season.

Some of the sidestepping obvious solutions that were shown in this episode:

They can build a vault, force field, or any other "what ever the writers are calling it" powerful enough to indefinitely contain ANY villain, with ANY meta power, but they just couldn't go that extra millimeter and create a force field that could withstand Cicada's fancy dagger for more than a couple of minutes. Or how about just keeping her in the force field, separate from the dagger, since you have managed to separate him/her from it a zillion times

Dibney was able to figure out Thorne's plan before Sherloque, and even after Dibney left some significant clues - like, y'know, throwing his body in between the dagger and the blasty thing - Sherloque was still slow to catch on

Nora can run fast enough to reverse time; Barry can run fast enough to go back in time AND create speed mirages - but none of them are fast enough to search "one of the largest wooded parks in the country". So, how do they defeat their biggest enemy yet (the wooded park)? Walk slowly, on foot, using Cecille as an empathic detector. "We must be getting close", someone quips, after - how many hours of trudging through the woods. Terrible, terrible writing, and, as I've said, sidestepping the obvious solution

There was somewhat of a payoff when it came to the showdown with Thorne, but that is entirely down to Tom Cavanagh and his ridiculously impressive ability to carry a scene

This was a yawn-fest of a season, but I will watch season 6, if only to have something keep me occupied while I'm eating lunch

The Flash: Snow Pack (2019) Season 5, Episode 19

Shoddy

[2/10 · 25 April 2019]

Has ice powers. Fights Cicada hand-to-hand. Subsequently loses newly-if-not-somewhat-hastily regained ice father. Terrible writing

Whiskey Cavalier: The Czech List (2019) Season 1, Episode 2

An improvement over the pilot, but...

[6/10 · 7 March 2019]

... the tired TV tropes still abound:

Funny black guy pivots into another stereotype, namely, the smooth talking "playa". He is also intelligent enough to have graduated from MIT, but not intelligent enough to know what a honeytrap is.

The handsome, sensitive guy ... somehow is not equipped to win over a widow, without a woman telling him what to say, word-for-word, in his earpiece. The incompetent/emasculated man trope lives on

A team of highly trained spies, and - of course - one spy explains the mission to the other spy WHILE they are on the mission. For crying out loud, find a different way to deliver exposition

When both the good guys and bad guys get to the McGuffin of the episode, the main villain - rather than take the opportunity to maintain their cover - completely blows it by doing the tired, old "explain my villainous intentions" speech

These are just a few. However, the locations were fantastic, the plot was engaging enough - although it could have been developed better without the above stereoptypes - and there is enough to make me think I will give it one last go, as I always try to watch 3 episodes before I throw in the towel

Whiskey Cavalier (2019)

Environmentally friendly...

[4/10 · 27 February 2019]

...in that it is recycled material. Typical stereotypes abound, including:

Two "hot" leads: will they or won't get together? Exciting

Fast talking black guy: entertain us, funnyman

Slow-moving villains: raises gun. Takes an eternity to fire. Hero lives to see another day

Civilians put at risk because agents lack subtlety: don't mind me, innocent diners, I'm just going to explode a window in your face

The usual tropes, which will grow old quickly. Thoroughly unoriginal

Black-ish: Black Like Us (2019) Season 5, Episode 10

Goodness me

[10/10 · 3 February 2019]

I went in expecting some laughs, came out with wet cheeks and puffy eyes. How the managed to portray the pain of our people in just 20 minutes was astounding, but two scenes in particular had me in tears: Diane's quietly-spoken reminder that she was the darkest in the family; Ruby's outcry that she is "not a monster" - both were unexpected tearjerkers, as was the whole episode. I encourage all who watch this to learn from it - and do something about the issue

The Flash: Seeing Red (2019) Season 5, Episode 11

Hey, Nora - can the father and daughter hug wait...

[2/10 · 1 February 2019]

...until I've slapped some power-dampening cuffs on this nearly-defeated villain who broke your back? No? Okay, hug first - after all, there are still 12 episodes to go, we'll recapture him later

Colony: Lazarus (2018) Season 3, Episode 8

More nothing masquerading as something

[1/10 · 23 June 2018]

In this episode, Katie stows away on a bus, only to discover that - *gasp* - the people onboard are being transferred to another bus. Edge-of-your-seat stuff.

What turns out to be the only interesting scene in the entire episode - Broussad and Dr Woman get their hands on some mysterious technology - is ruined by Dr Woman asking: "if this isn't human technology, then where is it from?" Broussad keeps quiet, but his look says "well, we have been, y'know, occupied by aliens for two and a half seasons..."

This latest travesty of an episode just confirms my suspicions: Colony thinks that it's clever, suspenseful writing, but in reality it has simply taken a well-worn, overused sci fi trope and stretched it so thin, it's transparent. This is why not much plot progression has taken place over nearly 30 episodes - the defining hallmark of that other more-questions-than-answers show, Lost. Wonder why that is?

I know, I know - I should stop watching this junk, but given the shameful paucity of other sci fi alternatives, I'll probably bite the bullet and keep watching

Fringe: Peter (2010) Season 2, Episode 16

Amazing (may contain spoilers, but does not reveal plot)

[10/10 · 5 April 2010]

For me, this episode showed why we must allow slow-burning shows to develop before start complaining and demanding answers to questions. It is two seasons in, and this episode just reached right back and resolved a lot of unanswered questions and plot lines. We find out more about Peter and more importantly, why Walter did the things he did. We see a little more about The Observer, an interesting development on Nina Sharpe (or rather, an insight into why she is the way she is - won't say anymore than that). We also see Walter's arrogance - ("there's only room for one God in this lab ... and it's not yours") and yet we are moved by his love and compassion for his son. In my opinion, this is the best episode of the whole show - in one swift move, it tied up a lot of loose ends. In the future, I will not complain about the filler episodes which are necessary to beef the show out, as long as they keep these kind of episodes coming regularly