jimgigs Reviews

Mayans M.C. (2018–2023)

Went awry

[4/10 · 25 October 2023]

First couple of seasons, maybe 3rd also were good. Like a 7-8. Went downhill in 4 and off the cliff in final season.

EZ turned into some kind of psycho. Went on some kind of warpath, leave a trail of dead bodies that it seems the cops had no interest in pursuing. Made all kinds of crazy deals to move drugs. Then when his operation is burned to the ground and he misses a shipment, there are no repercussions, it's like it never happened.

The final episode was actually perfect for how bad the show had gotten. Totally rushed, and inane. Reminded me of end of GOT, the huge build up of the war with the sons and that whacko issac, and they just show up in broad daylight with bats and wail on everyone with hardly a fight back. Then Isaac takes a few punches and EZ shoots him and it's over, the Mayans are kings and Samcro is finished. After that the club turns on EZ, finding out he was a rat after all this on the word of the ex fed crackhead. Next scene the feds and that weirdo potter show up, shots ring out and you can presume the rest of the club are all dead in the raid. Really lousy ending to what was a decent show that had potential.

Don't waste your time.

Wrestlers (2023– )

Back to my roots

[8/10 · 2 October 2023]

As a 50 something year old that grew up watching NWA, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and read all the wrestling rags, this doc was a treat. As WWE gobbled up all the small regional wrestling orgs, the sport lost its heart and soul. With that I lost my love of the sport. Watching this doc rekindled my fire for the antics, the small venues, the art of wrestling. The doc itself does a great job of portraying the grind these guys go through, all hoping to hit it big someday. Also really gives you a behind the scenes look at the dynamics between the talent, and the owners that are trying like hell to turn this thing around from a money loser to a player in the wrestling world. Al Snow is awesome as the guy that puts the shows together on a shoe string budget. The talent is best described as a band of misfits, all laying there bodies on the line for a few bucks and the dream of hitting it big. The best thing about it to me was how well the talent performed. I'm now hooked on it, watching there events on you tube. These guys deserve to make it, and I hope there are more out there like me giving this wrestling a second look. A must watch for a wrestling fan.

Your Honor (II) (2020–2023)

2nd season is total garbage

[5/10 · 29 August 2023]

The way this show ended made the GOT ending seem like a masterpiece. Season 1 was a great premise. A good man, a judge is faced with a moral dilemma when his son accidentally kills a mobsters son. He goes to great lengths to protect his son and cover up the crime. When, everything unravels by the end of season 1 you have a satisfying finish to a well laid out story. Season 2 was the exact opposite. An absurd story line, a 14 year old black kid who is basically Superman, as he can't be killed. Car crashes, bullets to the chest, trained heavies tracking him down. None can touch this super human. Then the way he's portrayed as some sort of victim when he kills a kid in cold blood, and is ultimately by let off the hook is beyond absurd. Add in the absurd premise that a mobsters wife would be so emasculating towards her husband was idiotic. This show went off the rails with terrible writing, I guess trying make a statement the patriarchy or something. Just watch season 1 and forget season 2 exists.

The Whale (2022)

Depressing

[6/10 · 25 February 2023]

I found this film quite depressing. A morbidly obese man living out his last days wheezing and moaning. The plot was not very compelling. It appears Charlie, an English teacher, was at one time married with a daughter. He left that behind 8 years prior after falling in love with a male student, abandoning his daughter. In those 8 years his gay lover it appears committed suicide, and as a result Charlie started eating himself to death. The timeline seems a little short for this progression to me. His daughter Ellie renters his life, and she is really an unlikeable, miserable person with zero redeeming qualities. Mixed in is also some sort of boy pretending to be a missionary??? He keeps coming back trying to save Charlie, but his back story is revealed and it makes little sense. Charlie is cared for by his ex lovers sister, a nurse that while caring for him, enables him to continue his slow suicide. None of these characters add much to the story, all are unlikeable. Brendan Frazier did a wonderful job playing this broken fat soul. That's about it. The movie itself was pretty lousy, the supporting characters were forgettable. I wouldn't say not to watch, but don't expect much other than being repulsed and depressed.

Elvis (2022)

Music video

[6/10 · 8 August 2022]

Austin Butler was excellent as Elvis, and he's the only reason to stick around for this 2 and a half hour music video. It wasn't much of a movie. A wildly paced mish mash of gyrating hips and swooning girls. Beautiful vivid sets and an excellent soundtrack. Unfortunately narrated by Tom hanks using some kind of weird annoying accent. I googled the real colonel and he sounded nothing like that. Hanks may have broke the record for the amount of lines by 1 actor in a motion picture. After an hour and half or so I just wanted him to shut up already. A better writer could have made this movie an absolute gem with Butlers excellent performance. Instead, we got the life of Elvis as told by his promoter, a weasel of a man that eventually had to payoff the Presley estate for screwing Elvis over his entire career. This left the substance of Elvis the man out of the story. Which is too bad, because the king of rock and roll deserves HIS story to be told.

We Own This City (2022– )

Uneven

[6/10 · 7 July 2022]

The series delves into the real life corruption of a Baltimore police gun task force. Like in The Wire, Simon really gives you a good look at the mess that is Baltimore. The on location shoots let you see the rundown crime infested inner city first hand. It also shows the corruption and ineffectiveness of city leaders and politicians. Everyone is in it for there own preservation, whether the mayor, police commissioner, or anyone else with authority. The performances were all pretty good, I felt the lead, john beranthal got a little cartoonish with the accent, and the way he acted at times, but I have no reference of how the real Wayne Jenkins acted. I enjoyed seeing many familiar faces from The Wire in all different roles as that was an all time tv series for me. The story is a bit rushed at times and the jumping around of timelines was unnecessary to me. Simon also had to add his shots at trump so he can continue attending cocktail parties, even though trump has zero to do with the disaster of a city that is Baltimore. Overall it's a decent mini-series worth watching. I'm just waiting for Simon to realize it's the useless democrats that he supports that have run Baltimore into the ground, and make a series about that. Instead he just reuses the same tired tropes of blaming Republican boogie men and other nonexistent factors for what ails Baltimore.

The Investigation (2020)

Worth it

[8/10 · 24 December 2021]

I thoroughly enjoyed this short series based on a real life event in Denmark. Soren Malling was excellent as detective Jens Moller. A man determined to get justice for the victims family, even at the cost of his personal life. He was great portraying a man that has been torn apart by his years dealing with solving murders. The supporting cast was also very good, especially the grieving parents, and the female detective. I also really liked that we never see the accused or the victim. It adds a little suspense to the story. It also doesn't allow the viewer to possibly empathize with killer and keeps the focus more on the victim of what can only be described as a very heinous crime. I also wasn't bothered by the subtitles which I usually can't deal with. As someone who knew nothing of this case it was definitely worth the watch and a very well done true crime story.

Outer Banks (2020– )

Mindless fun but annoying

[5/10 · 18 August 2021]

Season 1 was a fun watch. Just a mindless show were you suspend belief and enjoy the ridiculous ride. Season 2 was absurd, and the characters began really annoying me, especially kiara who is insufferable. The storyline in season 2 just wasn't the same fun ride as season 1 was to me. I forced myself to watch the last 3 episodes and the season finale was full of complete stupidity. Overall not terrible, and I'm sure I'll watch season 3.

The Act (2019)

king is really good

[6/10 · 26 July 2021]

Joey King does a real a good job as gypsy, the poor girl who was held hostage by her insane mother dee dee, played by patricia arquette. Arquette is ok as dee dee, but after awhile she seems like a cartoon character with her exagerrated accent. That and the writers makes her every line some major melo drama. The story is a good one, almost too outrageous to be true. Was probably better suited as a full length feature film, as the creators did not use the 8 hours of screen time to add anything worthwhile to the story or character development. Just a prolonged, slow ride to the inevitable tragic end that anyone who followed the real life events already knew about.

Let Him Go (2020)

Disappointing

[5/10 · 8 July 2021]

Diane lane and Kevin Costner play a long time married couple set out to get there grandson away from an abusive step father. There only son dies in a horse riding accident, leaving his young wife widowed. Diane lanes character is a very over bearing mother in law to her. When she remarries and soon after up and leaves town, the stage is set for the grieving lane to go after them. Costner, a retired lawman, and her head off together. Thru multiple flashback scenes you get a real sense of there lives together, as they shared happy times and heartbreak. So far, so good. This all changes as the story turns into an inane, violent theatre of the absurd. You see, it seems this new husband of hers comes from a family of backwoods nut jobs. There cartoon character of a mother leading the way. Fingers are cut off, bodies start piling up, and eventually the majority of the cast, including Costner go up in flames, literally. As Diane lane, her grandson and daughter and law ride off looking in the rear view mirror. A ridiculous ending to what could have otherwise been a nice story.

No Sudden Move (2021)

Odd premise that doesn't work

[5/10 · 8 July 2021]

The movie starts off intriguing enough, but winds up falling flat. Three low level hoods, cheadle, del toro, and culkain, are hired by the the seedy Frazier to pull a job. Watch after an accountants family, while culkain brings the accountant to his job to steal something out of his bosses safe. Of course it goes sideways, and that's we're the convoluted story begins. It seems everyone involved has a bounty on there head for 1 reason or another. And what was in that safe you ask??? The secret plans for the catalytic converter...huh? Doesn't seem like the type of thing mobsters would care about, but I guess the guy from studabaker i think that was the car company hired them to steal it. That's were soderbergh starts checking the liberal boxes. Environmentalism, check. Greedy corporations, check. Bad rich white guys, check. Urban gentrification, check. Throw in an implied lesbian relationship between two bored housewives, and bam, the movie is allowed to be made. The ending is a twist wrapped in a twist tied up with a twist, but very unsatisfying. What a waste of a talented cast. It seems to me movie making and storytelling is pretty much dead these days. Although, I just heard Tarantino on Rogan say he's gonna make 1 more movie, so I guess that will be the last original, actual film ever made....

Mare of Easttown (2021)

Very well done

[8/10 · 28 June 2021]

Very well done show and a great performance by Kate winslet. Her portrayal as the deeply flawed, but excellent detective, Mare was award worthy. The rest of the cast also was very good especially jean smart as mare's mom. The story itself was a typical whodunnit about a murder and some missing girls. It was a little like true detective, without the weirdness. The only bad thing I can say was that it was too short, only 7 episodes. I wanted more Mare. HBO hit a home run with this show.

StartUp (2016– )

Unsatisfying ending

[6/10 · 21 June 2021]

If season 3 is the series finale i would say this was a good show with a lousy ending. The acting was good throughout the series. The characters were all deeply flawed, except maybe Mara, who was probably the most redeeming of all of them. The story line was good season 1 and season 2 but then kinda staggered in season 3 and ended with a whimper. I would be interested in another season more to see were the writers took it. Mainly to tie up the major loose end they left concerning the fbi/cia storyline.

I Care a Lot (2020)

Disgusting

[1/10 · 23 February 2021]

The lead character is the most despicable human being ever put on screen. I'm sitting there watching this horrible movie, actually rooting for a human trafficking mobster to destroy her. That's how horrible she was. Just a complete lowlife scum with no redeeming qualities. I Never thought any character could be more hated then king Joffrey from game of thrones, but I found her. Besides the fact the lead is such a terrible person, the movie itself is equally as terrible. The most ridiculous, idiotic chain of events unfolds in the second act. It was so far fetched and absurd that I just fast forwarded to the end to see if the lead makes it out alive. I didn't even care how or why, I just wanted to see if it happened.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

snoozefest with bad cgi

[4/10 · 31 December 2020]

This is easily one of the worst sequels ever made.The cgi in the opening scene was hideous, and it stayed that way throughout. The story was poorly written and the plot was uninteresting. Also the first scene showing WW as a child, what was that about?? Didnt we get the back story in the original, was a waste of time. Movie is filled with cliches, especially the kristen wiig character(the nerd with glasses and frumpy clothes) Until of course she mkes a wish on a rock, and bam shes loses the glasses and now shes hot. Gal Gadot is perfectly cast as WW but she cant save the bad dialogue or poor storytelling. I'd be willing to give part 3 a go if they ditch the entire creative team behind this installment.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

wonderful

[9/10 · 11 November 2020]

Very entertaining story from start to finish. Easily one of best series ever put out by netflix. it manages to have you on the edge of your seat watching chess, thats correct, chess, unreal. I loved the relationships she has throughout, including her love of the game. Should win every award its eligible for, especially the lead. She was wonderful. Those eyes, its like she was looking into her opponents soul with that glare. This is a must watch series.

The Vow (2020–2022)

Way to long

[3/10 · 29 October 2020]

They turned what could have been a two hour documentary into almost 9 hours. How many times do I have to listen to this reiniere character bloviate with his pseudo psychological hogwash. Beside that, the people that exposed this guy are collectively not very likable. I soldiered thru 4 or 5 episodes and then just threw in the towel. I didn't care what happened to any of them. It was a very long, dull story about a con man. If your interested in this at all just google it, don't waste your time on this doc.

Kingdom (2014–2017)

Exhausting

[6/10 · 11 August 2020]

Show is high octane to say the least. Tons of sex, fighting, excessive drug use and drinking. I could only watch 2-3 eps in a row before I got exhausted. Highly entertaining but a bit over the top, and tons of plot holes.

Homecoming (2018–2020)

Season 1 was interesting, not season 2

[5/10 · 2 June 2020]

Season 1 was a pretty interesting story. The idea of using some weird drug to make soldiers forget war trauma set a foundation for endless possibilities. By the end of season 1 this weird experiment was exposed and all the evil corporate lackys went down. Season 2 opens with a pending military investigation into this secret project. Let's just say it falls completely flat to me. The writers really took the laziest most cliched route. And when they all "drink the kool aid" at the end I wished I could've indulged in some myself. Maybe then I'd forget I watched season 2.

Joker (I) (2019)

Highly overrated

[5/10 · 17 May 2020]

Joaquin phoenix is no doubt a great actor. This movie is basically a homage to him playing an insane person. Probably much ad-libbing. But the story itself was pretty poor. Not much in the way of setting up the making of one of Batman's arch enemies. Not very believable at all that this disjointed nut would ever be able to counter Batman someday. I think filmmaker forgot that was the point of the whole story. It's like they used the joker character to make some kind of statement about mentally unstable people, but if you made a movie called " depression" or " crazy person" no studio would fund it, and nobody would watch..very very overrated.

Dangerous Lies (2020)

Proof people are bored stiff

[2/10 · 5 May 2020]

The fact this terrible flick is trending in top 10 on Netflix is proof people are desperate to watch anything new. I knew it was gonna be terrible, but being I am one of these bored people I watched it anyway. It was even worse than I thought it would be. Just a complete waste of time. Think bad lifetime movie meets a worse script and acting. Dreadful

Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

Easy watch

[7/10 · 13 April 2020]

Good teenage party flick. All the stereotypes represented in a fun way. Has some good laughs, and it's not over the top raunchy. Cast is full of familiar faces. Nice, fun , easy way to spend a few hours watching a flick.

Coffee & Kareem (2020)

trash

[1/10 · 7 April 2020]

Movie is total garbage. Ed Helms must not be getting many offers these days to agree to make this lazily written piece of trash. Newsflash, a kid thats supposed to be in elementary school cussing every word and constantly talking in sexual innuendo is the opposite of funny. just another in a long line of terrible Netflix movies, i lasted 20 minutes before i shut it off. Don not waste your time.

Molly's Game (2017)

Not great

[6/10 · 5 April 2020]

I never read the book so I'm not sure how true the movie remains to it source material. I do know that if the portrayal of molly is accurate but if it is it's no wonder she became a drug addicted loner. She comes across as a know it all egomaniac with a terrible personality. This makes it hard to root for her, and I was actually awaiting her demise gleefully. There's no denying her smarts, and the way she ran her enterprise was a testament to that. Other then my hatred of the main character, the movie had some entertaining parts and characters. I actually enjoyed micheal cera's role as "player x". And whose to say it wasn't actually him, as implausible as many find that to be. (although I have a hunch it may have been Tobey Maguire, whose a known card player). Also the brutal scene between molly and the mob henchman was well done. Overall it's a decent watch, but nothing to write home about.

Ozark (2017–2022)

Excellent

[9/10 · 2 April 2020]

What a wonderful series. Extremely entertaining and full of really good performances. The always dependable Jason Bateman has hit a home run with Ozark. Has all the elements of a great suspense/crime drama. A little "breaking bad"esque as far as the premise, but fairly original story telling. Just finished season 3 and it may have been best season yet. Actually kinda wish Netflix would release its better new shows 1 at a time like hbo to give me something to look forward to watching for 10 weeks, instead of allowing me to just blow through in a few days. Now I've gotta wait a full 52 weeks minimum until season 4. And I will be waiting for the return of this fine show.