caincrue Reviews

Flashforward (2009–2010)

Could have been better...

[5/10 · 12 July 2011]

I remember when I first heard about this show, I was excited about the concept. The whole world blacking out for two minutes and people seeing their future. It sounded really promising. However I gave up after two viewings because the acting was horrific and the storyline execution was very weak. Recently I tried watching it again on Netflix and after ten episodes I am about ready to give up on it again. The acting is still awful, it's like watching a forest because the characters are so wooden. The show could have been so much better if they had invested more time into writing believable scripts and developing characters that the viewer cares about. So far the only character that is even remotely interesting is Dr. Bryce and he's only a secondary character.

What is really sad about this really good premise for a show is some recent sci-fi shows have done it so much better and the creators of Flash Forward should have watched those shows to learn how to write and develop characters that the viewer would care about. For instance Battllestar Galactica, Lost and the first season of Heroes. All of those shows had compelling story lines, characters with depth and shocking endings. That is another problem with the writing, the endings of each episode are so predictable, there is no shock value that makes the viewer compelled to come back each week.

I also believe what Flash Forward lacked was an "evil presence" that threatened the characters each week. The Flash Forwards and Suspect Zero were not enough. B.G. had the Cylion threat every week, Lost had the Others to worry about and Heroes had the sinister Sylar. This leads again into character development where the viewer can relate and feel for the characters. But with the bad acting and poor character development, this is unrealistic for Flash Forward.

Overall a great concept for a show that was poorly executed, the lack on compelling characters and poor writing makes the show barely watchable. One thing I did like about the show was the use of music in some montage shots. I'm not sure if I will finish the show, I gave it a chance, I'd much rather go back and watch Lost, B.G, or Heroes.

The Simpsons: Lost Our Lisa (1998) Season 9, Episode 24

Loose this Lisa episode

[4/10 · 23 March 2011]

After 6 great Simpsons seasons (seasons 3-8), season 9 is the first season where the quality really starts to go downhill. Lost our Lisa is one of my least favorites of all because the writing is so poor. The premise in which Lisa gets lost in taking a bus to see an Egyptian exhibit is fine, but the execution is poor.

My first problem is with Lisa taking the bus by herself. It starts off amusing with Lisa making small talk with the bus driver and he keeps tapping the "do no talk to bus driver sign", but where the episode starts to go bad is when the bus driver drops Lisa off in the desert at the end of the line. No bus driver would ever do that to a small child! i don't care about this being a cartoon, the Simpsons for years has been about heart, and sure they've had scenarios that are "out there" but the Simpsons and their characters have acted human. In my opinion this is an example of sloppy writing where they just wanted to get Lisa stranded. I can think of other ways they could have done it - like maybe have Lisa get dropped off at the North Springfield Museum (they did it once with the West Springfield Elementary), or Lisa getting dropped off on North Main Street rather than South Main Street... anything than a bus driver dropping an 8 year old off in the middle of nowhere... It reminds me a bit of Season 1's Call of The Simpsons where Maggie is missing and nobody notices which always upsets me, but I could forgive it because it was season 1 and they were still figuring things out - with this happening in Season 9 there is no real excuse.

The other major problem I have with this episode is the scene where the bridge closes on Homer's head - Once again the argument can be made they are cartoons, but they've spent the past 8 season making the Simpsons Human - Mt Burns get shot, Homer eats a poisoned Fish - Homer and Moe are almost burnt, Bart get hit by a car -I can go on, and in all cases they almost die - the Simpsons are mortal - but a bridge closing on Homer's head would kill him - end of story. Once again - poor writing - they could of have the bridge close on the cherry picker or he could have bumped his head on the metal (with a great doh!!!). Those are acceptable, the bridge closing on his head which would have squashed him like a grape is unacceptable.

In conclusion the Simpsons for me is about heart, humor and great writing, Lost our Lisa has no heart, poor writing and very little humor.... and sadly in continues like this for many more seasons...

Saturday Night Live: Seth Rogen/Phoenix (2009) Season 34, Episode 19

uneven

[6/10 · 9 April 2009]

This is a prime example of I don't think it's a bad cast this year, I just think there is some bad writing. There were some really funny moments, and some skits that just fell flat. The last skit about the Muppets was awesome, that would have been so much better earlier in the show. Also the Fast'n Furious spoof and Digital Short were really good. I'm also pleased that they are getting some good mileage out of the "La Rivista " skit. Howerever the report with music, Honky Tonk commercial, Milestone High and the opening monologue were just bad, I'm sorry but Fred Arminsen is just not cut out to do Obama. SNL is bad when they can't spoof the president. Weekend Update was average also, too many "guests". I'm also getting tired of Keenan Thomson, his appearance on Weekend Update as the French comedian has never been funny. Overall worth watching if you can fast forward through every other skit. (and the awful musical guest)

Saturday Night Live: Neil Patrick Harris/Taylor Swift (2009) Season 34, Episode 12

average

[5/10 · 2 March 2009]

I think NPH is great on How I Met Your Mother, I was hoping that this would be a real funny episode of SNL, but it just wasn't. There were no bad skits, just nothing overly funny or memorable. I smiled a lot but never really laughed out loud. Some of the humor seemed a little forced almost like the writers were reaching. The Digital Short of Doogie Howser was cute. Weekend Update was just average. The Broadway, Air Traffic Contollers,Therpay and Two First Name skits were probably the best. But they are skits that you will remember long after the show. So not an unfunny or horrible episode, just one that you won't remember that much after seeing it.

Saturday Night Live: Alec Baldwin/Jonas Brothers (2009) Season 34, Episode 16

lame

[3/10 · 18 February 2009]

Alec Baldwin has been one of the best host in SNL, but this episode was a real clunker. It's always a bad sign when the opening skit is unfunny, plus it ran on waaayyy to long. The monologue was weak as was the usually funny Digital Short. The Cougar skit was unfunny and the Jonas brother skit with Alec was just bad. Even Weekend Update was unfunny. Note to the writers.... the "Fix It" bit on Update has never worked, I can't believe they have let it go on. The only skits that were that even made me laugh were near the end.... the Vincent Price Valentines Day special was mildly amusing. Also The Wii skit was pretty good. If it wasn't for those two this would have been a "1" episode.

Balls of Fury (2007)

Not that funny

[5/10 · 15 April 2008]

I looked forward to seeing this but was really let down. I think I laughed out loud three times. When I first saw the trailer I thought it would be along the lines of Dodgeball (which I gave 9 stars). However I watched this wanting to laugh but having a hard time finding funny parts. It had the elements to make a funny movie - Chritopher Walken in a whacked out role, a cameo by one of my favorite comedians Patton Oswalt, an obsession with Def Leppard, a far out scheme to infiltrate a mob.... but the story was just badly written. I didn't hate it though, I just didn't find it funny as a comedy.

Also I actually preferred the alternate ending

The Break-Up (2006)

worth seeing

[8/10 · 8 June 2006]

I know this movie is getting some bad reviews, but mostly because it is being marketing as a romantic comedy. It really isn't. Although I did chuckle a few times, and the audience I watched it with did laugh at times, the movie is more of a drama. Actually it was the bad reviews that convinced me to see it. It is a painful movie watch, with long stretches of non-funny sequences.

The reason I enjoyed it so much is that I have been in a situation or two like this, where it obvious the main characters care for each other, but the things they do to each other just leave you shaking your head. It's easy to observe from the outside, but love blinds you and when you are in this situation, things aren't as obvious. Also the supporting characters added to the enjoyment.

Although I wasn't that fond of the ending, because this movie hit so close to home was why I liked it. It's worth seeing as long as you realize it's not really a comedy

Undead (2003)

Not what I expected

[7/10 · 13 April 2006]

I watched this with some friends who huge into horror movies. At first we didn't know what to expect but as the movie kept going, the more and more we enjoyed it. The movie is way more a comedy or sci-fi movie than horror. The humor is what makes this movie, whether it's the way in which they kill the "zombies" (like the whole scene in the supermarket), or the one liners. The movie owes a lot of homage to Evil Dead, but it stands on its own as enjoyable watch, for some of the stunts they pull off. Overall they pulled off a pretty good movie for the small budget they had and it a hell of a lot better than a lot of drivel that Hollywood is putting out right now...

The Aristocrats (2005)

very funny

[8/10 · 30 March 2006]

Someone gave me this movie because they found it boring. I could not disagree more.

I haven't laughed out loud like this at a movie in a long time. Yes the joke gets repetitious but the uniqueness at which each comedian tells it is what makes it funny. For instance Kevin Pollack telling it as Christopher Walken, The Mime, and Bob Saget the family comedian doing probably the raunchiest version in the movie. Some renditions had me crying I was laughing so hard.

But like the warning says if you are offended by bad language, incest, defecation, etc - this movie is not for you..

Go read Family Circus

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)

disappointed

[5/10 · 23 February 2006]

I thought this movie would be so much better, the reviews and hype made it seem like something I would really enjoy, but I found it very bad and I dare say - boring.

Now the fight scenes are impressive, along with the choreography. But what made me really dislike this was the story, the acting, and the bad props. Just a very shoddy made movie as they spent all the money in the action scenes. Now I have enjoyed many a Jackie Chan movie, and I know this guy could be another Chan, but this was a bad first impression.

I would rather watch Rumble in the Bronx about 100 times before I would see this again.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

worth seeing but not great

[7/10 · 3 February 2006]

A lot of people I respect really enjoyed this movie, so I thought I would also. Although it wasn't bad, I left wondering why it's getting so much play for Oscar. I found myself bored through a lot of the movie, especially the beginning and end. I just didn't buy how the two main characters fell in love. I also couldn't stand Heath Ledger's accent. How he got a best actor nomination is beyond me. I went in liking him but not really liking Jake G, I thought Jake's performance was great - especially the Thanksgiving dinner scene, my opinion of him has gone up... I also thought the women who played their wives were pretty good, their roles were fairly small but they did very well.

Overall the movie was okay, but the problem I had was I thought the story was weak, I mean it was originally like a 12 page short story so they had a lot of material to fill, and that is where I thought it was lacking.

I have seen all pictures in the best picture category and in my opinion the one that should win is Crash