Reviews

And adolescent, sexual tripe I wanted to shower after it. There's bad and there is BAD. This series goes beyond the pale in bad dialog and written by a horny, inexperienced teen. And with a lack of any sophistication, it was as if the writer's only experienced the world through comic books and shopping malls.

The writers have a vision of what they believe the "rich" think and act like that is so low rent, it's hard to describe. The worst of Usher's children is the obscene club promoter boy in that cheesy leather jacket- who is so offensive and crude, you have to wonder if the writer's didn't genuinely hate the characters.

It's a perfectly AWFUL series. One of the worst I've ever seen.

And with a strong "9" for having the nerve to feature them in such a reprehensible light.

From the husband- with his limp, "hang dog", open mouthed face while he endures a variety of richly deserved insults. He finds it impossible to stand up for himself. Inexplicably, the worse his wife and producer treat him, the more he apologizes to * them*

To the wife- who is so phoney, manipulative and solicitous in her desperate need to appear on the side og righteous social awareness in the eyes of the locals, she's willing to risk her parents fortune and her own entitlement to appear enlightened (read: woke)

To the Producer- who will stop at *nothing* to show the stars in the most horrible light possible and hence increase the show's ratings. He relishes the "gas lighting" he performs in the husband.

Final thoughts- I found them all exhausting, especially the local artists who talk in empty " art speak" while the wife fauns over them and can't stop calling them all "amazing". Also, the music was incomprehensible.

As I said, a strong "9" for having the nerve to show us such awful people and their trust in the audience to be masochistic enough to stay with it until it's impossible conclusion.

" I never wanted a film to end- halfway through"

" You'll never see a Charlie Day film, ever again."

"I get it. But I didn't like it."

"Gets Old...FAST."

"...an homage to Buster Keaton and Seller's 'Being There'. But didn't deliver an entertaining film".

"Why it's not funny..,( 950 character).

" _Not_ "Being There".

"A 98 minute long, dragged out, failed SNL sketch".

"(I) can take only so much satirical, un-funny comedy"

"I never left a theater angry at a film before"

" Day's performance was phoned in".

"Bad Score. Bad Cinematography. Bad Plot Structure. BAD Pacing". Characters were so poorly introduced and actual conflict was really dumb".

" Just a total snooze fest".

" $30 million budget returning only $800,000. A" Producers- type of tax con? A Money Laundering scheme or just some billionaires vanity project???

" Film was forced down your throat...the peddling of cheap movies as art".

Someone apparently I'll-advised Day that his silent film haminess and his "confused with everything" innocence would create some kind of magical, throw back, cinema. It didn't. And it didn't work on any level whatsoever.

Yes. We ALL get what Day was trying to affect.

But the sheer volume of desperate "un-funny" was absolutely unforgivable.

No other way to put it. True Detective Night Country is a boring, annoying, pretentious and HIGHLY UN-LIKABLE POS.

As dull as watching snow melt, there's not a likable or interesting character on the show. It's also as DEPRESSING as hell. I waited 4 episodes before I wrote an IMDB review and there's not a whole lot to write about here.

The plot, with its screaming ghosts, jump shocks ventures into hackneyed, meme material. Jody Foster, who is universally moved has NEVER played a role like this. TOTALLY un-likable! Why??? I just don't get it.

Did anyone even read the script? We're they all just a bunch of "yes" people who were SO thrilled to be doing a Foster series that they were simply too star struck to even pay attention?

Who knows? But when show writers and producers start blaming fans for the universal "hate", you know it just _ain't_ the fans.

I'm not going back to it. I'm done. I don't care what happened or why it happened.

As far as THIS viewer is concerned, T. D.has been trading on the magical success of Season One and sadly, never reaches those mysterious and wonderful heights.

Shows and documentaries about UFOs and the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence often falls into the predictable "History Channel" type of sensationalized schmaltz. You already know that internet meme... The History Channel guy with crazy hair, (Giorgio Tsoukalos) who answers ALL mysteries with the word, "Aliens".

So it's a rare thing when a UFO movie/doc not only sticks to realistic science but still manages to be exciting and informative without the conspiracy theory / Area 51 nonsense. I see quite a few reviewers here seem to be offended by the realistic science covered in this show. But it's that darn "Theory of Special Relativity" that always rains on the "True believers" parade. True UFO Believers approach the subject with religious fervor simply because it IS a belief system, as opposed to a rigorously tested science. Have many people witnessed the impossible in the skies? Yes! Sure! And who am I to say they didn't?

So would I LOVE to see great evidence of UFOs that simply can't be explained? Darn right, I would!!!

And yes, I was truly impressed with Dave Fravor's personal experience and credentials. But like everyone else, I would love to see that one incredible video. Until such time that it gets published, I'll keep sticking with real science, real scientists and academics who have devoted their lives to the pursuit of Cosmology and Physics.

I thought this was a terrific movie and highly recommend it.

Mad at myself for wasting my valuable time watching it- expecting to get better. Which it never does.

I can get behind indie cinema. I'm big on weird, quirky and odd. I love it!

Remember "Independent Focus on PBS in the 70's?. It features some of the oddest things ever created for cinema. And I ADORED IT!!!

But _this_ tripe_ suffered from something far worse. It was PRETENTIOUS.

It promised and simply did not deliver, either in plot, dialog, suspense or even continuity. It was snippets of theatrical mumbo jumbo. (There was one "10-Star" review here that was simply creepy. Its at the very top of the user review page) And there appears to be an audience for this film that...well... Read that review for answers).

There are so many bad reviews of this film that my own criticism doesn't even scratch the surface. Do Not waste your valuable time on this film- by far Wes Anderson's worst work to date and the worst film of 2023- hands down.

"Covenant" portrays the raw and terrible reality of the United States' broken promises to aid our Afghan collaborators after that 20 year war.

Ostensibly, a work of fiction but it's based on thousands of American allies who were left behind after we exited the war. That said, I believe Academy Awards are richly deserved here and the film's co-star, Dar Salim, was an absolute stand out.

This is a film as thrilling as it gets shows Director Guy Richie at his most mature to date. Since I'm not providing any spoilers here, let it suffice to say you will love every aspect of this movie- from beginning to end.

There's simply far too much truly wrong with this series to list. So let me simply start with the noise. Yes.... The NOISE. From screeching 6 year olds, screeching jazz trumpets, crashing glass windows, house alarms, satanic bellowing- it simply didn't stop. Was the director out of her mind or simply without talent and/or common sense?

And when the stories are left without any clear ending whatsoever, well, those lazy writing "cop-outs" were better left in the 1970's, which was when that stupid trend began.

But the mortal sin of these screenplay writers is the pretentiousness that saturates every episode. It's unbearable. The endless Morality Tales and finger wagging from Hollywood is SO tiresome at this point. Bottom line here. It's a plain lousy, annoying series.

I, like you guys, am a HUGE fan of "Justified" and so far, I am heartily disappointed.

I watched the great old "Justified" Seasons over and over. Five full times in total. That is a whole lot of livin' in Harlan County. The writing in the original show was perfect- the plot, the actors, the fantastic, complex characters, the INCREDIBLE dialog and the entire sense of "place" in that Southern County.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the stunning, Shakespearean monologues of Boyd Crowder!

And 'ol Raylan? He was the coolest damn lawman you would ever want to see.

Every person and every situation in every season made TOTAL and BELIEVABLE SENSE! Not so in this new series. The characters are cliched. The plot is standard, same-old 'cop show' material: tough lawyers, dirty judges, weary, old bar owners with secrets. And The Main Bad Guy here wouldn't last a single day in Harlan County!

And Raylan, outside of putting the BAD guy temporarily in his place only one time, has not done much of anything. But hopefully, many of these things will get better with time. Hopefully.

But here is the unbearable thing: Raylan's daughter. Her character is awful and so far the worst part of the show. These are some of her antics. (And we're only one episode into the season!)

* Laughing out loud court while her Dad is testifying on the stand, thus incurring the judge's ire and landing both her and Dad in a cell. This makes Dad look like a complete fool.

* Leaving the hotel room against Raylan's strict orders and wandering around the demolished, desolate, completely empty parts of Detroit's worst areas BY HERSELF. She's completely oblivious to the danger she's in. These are places where armed police themselves don't even go. And this is the daughter of uber street smart Raylan Givens$???

*Leaving the hotel room to meet with the BAD guy who's pretending her Dad sent him by to look after her. And she didn't even think to call Raylan? How did this dumb, naive, totally disobedient and snotty teenager come to leave her phone in the room (while Raylan was desperately trying to call her)? What teenage girl would ever go out without her cellphone?

All these details, some important, some petty make for totally not-believable situations, poor and cliched dialog and "C-" quality, cop show fare.

Raylan has been done a great disservice with this show. He's a fish out of water in Detroit and working in a place where he can't do what he does best- fight crime and criminals like an old western, movie-type hero. Here his hands are tied up with lawyers, warrants and weary cops and silly daughters. I hope it all gets better!

The bad news is that it's not only one of the worst movies ever made, but that it hijacks the name and "story" of one of the greatest horror/fantasy/supernatural films ever made. And that is artistically unforgivable. A lazy, uninspired knock-off that all involved should take off their film CV's as fast as they can.

Naturally, the original brilliant writer/director, Victor Salva, had absolutely NOTHING to do with this abomination. And it shows!

As far as criticism, I don't know where to begin. Between the awful story, the intensely unrealistic and cringe dialog, the ultra cheap production values and most unlikable cast of bad, first time actors ever assembled, it's also one of the most poorly directed films you'll ever suffer through. Ever!

Obviously this piece of movie garbage was a cash grab, using the franchise name, and hoping to get out with a profit.

I could go on with how deeply flawed this movie was but, like watching it, it's simply not worth my time- or yours. Avoid this disaster at all costs.

I LOVED IT!

And I waited over 30 years for this perfect, authentic thrilling sequel.

I took my son to see the first Ghostbusters in the theater the week it premiered. I became a life-long fan, but I was terribly disappointed with virtually every successive *Ghostbusters* movie that was made. Not a single one of those films had the aura, the thrills, the charm and uniqueness of the original film- that is, until GHOSTBUSTERS-AFTERLIFE arrived to save the franchise.

And save it they did! The cast as PERFECT and I absolutely LOVED Egon's grandaughter, Phoebe. Watching her action in the gunner's seat in Ecto-1 was as thrilling as it was cool- and Phoebe is as COOL AS HELL!

I was cheering the heroes of the new Ghostbusters movie like I was 10 years old.

Never have I seen a sequel that paid such GREAT TRIBUTE to the original movie. "AFTERLIFE" was made and endorsed by every member of the original film. And apparently, THIS is the sequel that they were all waiting for. This is the REAL DEAL! Thank you Ivan Reitman and Son!!!

It's a 10/10 for any true blue Ghostbusters fan.

It's tough to create something both unique AND great. Real tough- Be it a restaurant or a TV show.

So when a series as good as "The Bear" comes along, it's reason to celebrate.

The Acting Talent: No matter what the "action", you simply don't want to look away. Working both as individual actors and as an ensemble- with Supers A-List guest stars, it's simply tremendous!

The Bear is as engaging as a series can get. Yeah. It has it all! Wonderful people. With Humor. Drama. Tenderness. Passion. Problems.

And...a truly wild Christmas family dinner that EASILY goes toe-to-toe with Lett's "August: Osage".

And the other stuff:

The fantastic sets, lighting, wardrobe, tremendously well-paced editing and a wonderful music track. The entire production crew is top shelf from beginning to end.

Additionally and very importantly, this series does NOT doggedly conform to the current trends in "social agenda" over art. Virtually every commercial, ad, film and series in the last four years has pursued the same, predictable cast of "social personalities" to a point of absurdity. Blessedly, this realistic cast has not been created with this cookie cutter agenda.

So curl up with this great series alone or with loved ones and enjoy the personal stories, the food and the acting.

And bring your appetite for the dramatic arts!

You're here.

On IMDB.

For one reason only.

You're a fan of great cinema. Very probably an industry professional. Perhaps a writer, actor, media pro, critic or maybe just a lifelong fan of the cinematic arts.

Whatever the reason, you know a great "thing" when you see it because you have a lifetime of watching cinema and TV to compare. And with the endless streaming Roku offerings, you now know more about the "good and the bad" than you ever thought you needed to know.

Enough said. "The Diplomat" is one of those efforts that checks every single box you look for in a streaming series ( apologies for the hackneyed phrase, but it fits).

Pure Intelligent Exciting Political Intrigue and created in a way that carries the viewer along for a mesmerizing and completely entertaining ride. And done with enough smart and honest humor to turn the most jaded critic into a fan.

If you liked or loved "West Wing", you'll see that "The Diplomat" has remembered just how smart the viewer can be and what it takes to entertain them.

No Filler.

No typical side stories.

No boring and meaningless banter.

No solicitous characters inserted for the sole purpose of pushing the socio/political agenda of the month.

Just fantastic, clever and eminently watchable actors at the height of their powers in a delightfully smart, funny and satisfying series I could not recommend "The Diplomat" higher.

Keri Russell has knocked it out of the park here and, after binging the first season three times in a row, I can't wait for Season Two!

I'm shocked that the producers allowed Jill and her two idiot followers to steal the sleeping bags of the other contestants. In sub- freezing temperatures, how could she even consider doing this? I couldn't believe it was allowed to occur. After that, she also entered another contestant's camp and harrased and began taking apart his camp right in front of him! His only resort would to be to physically attack her- which if course he would not do. She relished the idea if doing this and displayed the most reprehensible behavior- tainting him and smiling while she did it.

I don't remember a more truly disgusting person on television. As sample if what a phoney she was csn be seen when she cried when having to kill a squirrel for food. Apologizing to it and thank it for its "sacrifice"- as if she was a decent, feeling person.

She should have been pulled out of the show as soon as the producers saw her horrible behavior. As far as her life after the show, her friends, relatives and clients must be in shock and embarrassed by her. Shame on Netflix for allowing this to happen.

Victor Salva and the entire cast and every single member of the production have conspired to create the greatest monster horror film of all time.

I've watched it well over 3 dozen times and I am firmly convinced that this film is a cinematic masterpiece. If you consider only one, single element of the film, the "Creeper", it's easy to see how creatively unique the film is.

The Creeper's character is not only Invincible (Jaws), Evil and Relentless ( Jason), Sardonic in his humor (Freddy Kruger), he's also nuanced in his motivation and unique backstory. He listens to old jazz on an antique Victrola and drives a truck with a stick shift, but he's also talented with a sewing machine and needle and thread. And he sports an incredible set of bat wings to boot! What cinematic monster had ALL of these qualities?

The story is astounding in it's uniqueness. Salva has taken an age-old trope of evil and he's made the concept his own. This film, in my opinion, is the Platinum Standard against which all others should be compared.

Now that the film is rotation in streaming media channels, viewers who haven't seen it yet are slowly becoming aware of this masterpiece.

And culturally without peer.

Without hyperbole, it's safe to say that never has any work of science fiction literature or the cinematic arts have had such a profound influence on science, technology and the future trajectory of human kind. And that's only talking about the "science" part. Culturally, this brilliant series re-defined our place in the modern world for its young viewers. It accomplished this without resorting to preaching and showed us the wonderful possibilities of a world united. After 20 years of fear of nuclear war, Star Trek was a beacon of fresh and modern hope- a peace made through not only scientific advancements, but most effectively through mutual understanding and tolerance. And *that* was the greatest accomplishment of The Federation. Sure, many of the plot devices, dated romantic entanglements and old fashioned "gun fights" and brawls were drawn from popular TV westerns, action films and even soap operas. But these things were included to "normalize" the show to fit in with the rest of evening T. V. programming, as Star Trek's high-minded moral concepts and advanced science fiction were already unique enough. As far as it's influences on science, S. T. has too many to list.

One obvious example: I'm writing this on a smart phone- the immediate descendant of the cell phone designed by Martin Cooper who was fully inspired by the Communicators used by the crew of the Enterprise. In truth there are simply too many examples of Star Trek's influence to list, not the least of which is an entire generation of astronomers, physicists, cosmologists and even doctors who chose to pursue a career modeled after Star Trek' characters.

StarTrek's greatness can never be overstated.

A UFO movie for serious science fiction fans who don't need "shoot'em up" thrills or space alien battles.

The heart and soul of this little gem are the Math and Physics that our protagonist uses to solve a mysterious UFO sighting at O'Hare airport.

I gave the film three additional Stars for using actual physics, such as 'The Fine Structure Constant' and 'Columbs Law'. And this is the only movie that has ever featured these things as important plot elements.

The charming and very talented young cast were supported by cinema heavyweights David Straihern and Gillian Anderson. There is an ease and naturalism in the acting and directing that allows the movie to rise above similar in the genre. The story moves right among, the directing is mature and economical and they did a wonderful job all around with the simple, basic locations.

If you like intelligent science fiction with some gentle thrills in a unique story, I say don't miss it!

A " documentary". It's quiet, slow, dreadfully dull presentation is supposed to imbue it with a sense of thoughtful and high academic curiosity. No. It's simply uninspired. Lackluster. With a bare bones cast and nothing to offer the intellectually curious or, heaven forbid, someone looking for a bit of UFO visit adventure.

But what is so unforgivable about this "mocumentary" is that they used actors for the roles of scientists, when there are GENUINE astronomers who could have been infinitely more engaging and informative ( even if it's a fake doc/movie)

If you are indeed interested in scenarios such as this, please peruse the great science channels on YouTube, such as "Cool Worlds" (Dr. David Kipping/ Dept Head, astronomy/ Columbia Univ) or "PBS Spacetime" or literally dozens of other channels who will blow your mind with actual facts and scientific possibilities.

In summation, this bomb of a film is NOT for anyone who values their time.

Sure, it's grand soap opera right out of a mash up, gothic romance novel, but it's thoroughly binge-able TV. And when you start yelling at the characters throughout the lengthy, epic episodes- you just KNOW you're hooked.

I found the writing, dialog, acting, editing, direction, lighting, costumes, practical special effects and set decoration to be top notch!

And with dramatic, "Oh My God" surprises at every turn, I give My Highest Recommendation to "Outlander".

My wife, who picks out truly great films, is more inquisitive than I. I'll spin right by something if it's not sci fi or something I already have a penchant for. Yet she puts it on and always gives it a chance. (She's a big fan of Kevin Hart, so knows he does great work).

Well, within minutes of the first episode, I was totally hooked. My work schedule went out the window, as I was immediately glued to the TV.

The storyline, directing, dialog and acting was as GOOD AS IT EVER GETS. And I'll mention the acting here twice, as Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes were absolutely superb as brothers and both richly deserve Emmys for their performances.

If you're a big fan of "Fargo", "A Simple Plan" "Snatch" and "Jackie Brown", I guarantee this nail biting series will knock your 'movie-crime-fan' socks off. Absolutely satisfying in every respect.

All in...I believe this series to be a strong "10".

They can shoot all of the Seinfeld apartment buildings they want. But even for the dark, snarky, uber-gay modern premise, they'll never enter the same universe as Seinfeld. What was originally very refreshing in the first few episodes, it quickly descended into just plain nastiness- and many of those times, absolutely and inexplicably reprehensible.

It's times like these, when the cast verbally tortures the poor woman who's trying to teach the waitstaff the Heimlich Maneuver, that the cast themselves descends into the realm of truly hateable. "Difficult" doesn't quite describe them, as any cleverness and uniqueness goes right out of the 9th. Floor window.

However, Andrea Martin is terrific as are the show's two stars and the surprising cameos of some VERY big stars, artists and celebrities However, if you can pass up the really bad segments of the restaurant crew, it may be worth a brief shot.

I just suffered through "Goonies" for the first time in my life while it's streaming on Peacock (Aug. 2021). A super annoying, pointless mess of pre-teen kids screaming over each other's lines the entire worthless time. It sure AIN'T an exciting comedy adventure. The reason for my bad review? I never watched the film back in the day, so I have no nostalgic reverie for it. The late 70's to mid 80's had the greatest comedy/adventure and adventure films ever made: Indiana Jones, Jaws, Close Encounters, E. T., BIG, Back to the Future(s)! But Goonies doesn't belong on ANY list of fun-film greats. It simply sucked. Pure and simplistically- just like the 'worse than luke warm' adventure plot. Did I mention the non-stop, yelling chatter? The NON STOP YELLING, SCREAMING CHATTER???

I just KNEW there was a reason I avoided it. I was right to avoid it. It's horrible. Insipid and worthless.

I was quite surprised to see that this movie only rated around 6.5. So it begs the question, exactly how enjoyable, clever, truly magical and unique does a fantasy movie have to be to rate close to or specifically a "10"?

I would guess that many felt that the film didn't compare to the quality of the book(s). I never read the books and probably never will. But taking the film on its own merits, of which there are absolute boatloads, this first in a series of box office smashes, delivers on every possible level.

The actors were perfectly cast and wonderful in their respective rolls. The effects, props, lighting, sound, music, dialog and story line fulfill every movie goer's needs.

Yes. I give it a very enthusiastic "10" and will continue to watch it a couple of times a year, along with other adventure films like Indiana Jones #1 and #3, DaVinci Code, Castaway and Jaws.