davemanson Reviews

The Creator (2023)

Stunning visuals/Garbage Script

[4/10 · 11 October 2023]

With stunning visuals reminiscent of Blade Runner and the more recent Rouge One this movie is stunning to look at. Unfortunately the script falls far short of living up to its inspired cinematography. It's full of plot holes and cringe worthy moments from it's extremely one dimensional villains. The plot twist are telegraphed from miles away and there are no real surprises to be had. Everything plays out exactly like you would expect it to. Which is a shame. The look and mood of this film is almost enough to save it. But in the end it falls flat and its potential is wasted. See it for the visuals. Forget it for its script.

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Unimaginably bad

[2/10 · 21 August 2022]

I knew it would be bad, but figured it would be kind of fun too. Nope. It's just bad. Really bad.

I guess it's ridiculousness and horrible script may have some comic value if your into that sort of thing. Otherwise, stay away.

Shining Girls (2022)

Starts out great. Gets real dumb

[4/10 · 26 June 2022]

Episodes 1-5 are great. It seemed to be building to a big reveal that would explain everything. Unfortunately that reveal is pretty dumb. Basically a deus ex machina, a plot filler to explain everything away without actually having to explain anything. Episodes 6-8 ruined what was a promising beginning. I can only assume the book handled it all much better and just didn't translate to television very well. It's a shame. This could of been a great show.

Mayor of Kingstown (2021– )

All grit and violence, no substance

[3/10 · 24 January 2022]

If you're looking for relentless violence and gritty urban scenes then this show has 10 hour long episodes chalked full of both. If you want anything else from your entertainment then stay away from this show. It has nothing else to offer. The first episode actually does a good job of balancing the grit, grime and violence by utilizing the charm and charisma of the great character actor Kyle Chandler. Unfortunately the writers let that asset go to waste way to soon and left us with nothing but doom and gloom.

Some positives, the show looks great. It has a real film like feel to the cinematography. There are some very good actors doing some very good acting in this show. The concept of a prisoner advocate is an interesting one, I don't think I've ever seen that before, but it's wasted here as the writers just use it as tool to deliver non stop violence and gore. Too bad. The first episode made it seem like the show would be great.

Dave Chappelle: The Closer (2021 TV Special)

Dave, come back to comedy

[1/10 · 16 October 2021]

Unfortunately Dave decided to use the special to attack a marginalized group for 109 minutes instead of trying to be funny. It was whiny, defensive and mean. Dave is a charismatic and captivating story teller. Unfortunately he decided that the entire special would be stories about the LGBTQ community. He could of made his points in a few anecdotes. We didn't need nearly two hours of this.

War of the Worlds (2019– )

Starts out good. Gets really dumb

[4/10 · 16 October 2021]

The first season is pretty good. Things get really stupid really fast in the 2nd season. With the human race facing extinction the survivors constantly make stupid decisions no one would make that was trying to survive. It's a shame the writing got so bad in season 2.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

Good show ruined by gapping plot holes

[5/10 · 3 June 2021]

There's a lot to like about this show but it has some pretty big plot holes that pull it down. Also, the entire mystery gets resolved in the finale thanks to a cheesy plot twist that happens do to coincidence and dumb luck. Not police work or detective skills. It kinda ruins everything leading up to that point.

Stowaway (I) (2021)

Plot holes like a Swiss cheese

[3/10 · 1 May 2021]

It's a shame that such a well shot and produced movie had such poor writing. There are many glaring plot holes but the worst of all, with out spoiling anything, is a scene where their lives depend on them tethering off a canister and they don't bother. Imagine that. Tie a rope off and live or don't tie it off and risk loosing it and dying. Seems like an obvious choose but......

The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

Not a doc at, it's agenda is very clear

[3/10 · 2 March 2021]

I was very surprised to see this was produced by the New York Times. It felt like it was made by Britney's fans with a very clear agenda. Hopefully a real documentary will be made with some journalistic integrity that doesn't just try to paint one side of a story.

Your Honor (II) (2020–2023)

Plot holes and convenient coincidences

[2/10 · 4 January 2021]

If you're at all sensitive to lazy writing, huge plot holes and coincidences that exist for no other reason then to conveniently move the plot along stay away from this show. It's maddening. Cranston's talents are wasted on this B movie level script.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Not Star Trek

[2/10 · 6 December 2020]

Star Trek in name only this series wants to capture the Star Wars fans. If you're looking for all action and sci visuals this will version of Star Trek will do. If you want the altruism and hope of the original you won't find it here

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

It's better the Last Jedi so that's something

[6/10 · 29 December 2019]

It would be hard to get much worse then Last Jedi but not impossible considering Disney owns the franchise. Luckily they pulled it off. Is it great? Nope. But just being better then Last Jedi feels like a win. Overall the movie is fine. Nothing special, just fine. At this point I'll take it. Here's hoping they leave the franchise alone for a while and regroup before coming back with another attempt at cashing in on this cash cow.

Patriot (2015–2018)

No season 3

[9/10 · 2 October 2019]

I was stunned to learn this show was cancelled. It was truly original, funny, dark and clever. I can't believe Amazon is bringing garbage like Jack Ryan back and canceling a critic and audience darling like Patriot. What a shame.

Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

What happened?

[5/10 · 15 May 2019]

There's still one episode left in season 8 but it'll be hard to redeem this season. It's an absolute mess that tears down everything it's built up to this point. The plots are cliche and lazy. Long running story arcs are thrown away and replaced by neat and tidy writing that's as safe as it is uninspired. What a disappointment and a sad end to a once great show.

Jack Ryan (2018–2023)

Cliche and poorly written

[3/10 · 6 October 2018]

I was looking forward to this series but it's a huge let down. The writing is cliche and dumbed down. If real CIA officeres, special forces and law enforcement were this bad at thier jobs in real life we'd all be in trouble. The writing is lazy and often groan enducing. Amazon really dropped the ball on this one. Hopefully it's not renewed for a 2nd season.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Garbage

[1/10 · 12 August 2009]

I'm a big fan of the previous 3 X-Men movies so I was looking forward to this one. I'm also a fan of the directors previous films. Unfortunately this movie was not in the same league as those films. Almost from start to finish the dialogue is cheesy, the action scenes over the top and the plot is ridiculous. It also seems to live outside the universe established in the original movies and throws continuity out the window. By the midway point I was ready to walk out of this movie but continued to watch it just to see if it could get any worse. It did. Gambit was my favourite character in the X-Men cartoon when I was a kid and was excited to see him introduced to the series. Unfortunately it seems the only reason he was in this movie was to please fans. He had nothing to do with anything in the plot. This was a terrible movie and a complete waste of time.