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biobearmarkley
Reviews
Sing 2 (2021)
A wonderful follow up
All the positive reviews are spot on. Sing 2 is as good, if not better than the original.
However, while most reviews talk about the characters and potentially the character development, none mention the true star of the movie - Misses Crawley. She shines brightly in this while not having a singing part.
Masters of Illusion (2014)
Not exactly Masters of Illusion
I have fond memories of growing up watching the original run of this show. Unfortunately, it seems that the producers of this new version seem to be suffering from extreme adhd. It took me a couple of episodes to realize that it wasn't a clip show. It has been overly edited, with really bad cameras and cutaways that often cut just slightly too late allowing the TV audience to see a flash of how the tricks work. Another problem is that the acts are almost carbon copies of the original series...no innovation. Same tired tricks that were explained in the secrets revealed series. Most rushed with little craft.
While it may contain more performers than Penn and Teller's Fool Us, it lacks the continuity and polish.
The Librarians (2014)
Post Season 1 Review
Being a fan of the original movies, I must say that I was excited about the prospect of this show. Having watched the entire season, I must say that the show is better than I expected.
Sure there is a good bit of cheese and predictability (especially if you are knowledgeable about the myths and legends being used as the topic of the episode). Regardless, the writing is clever, entertaining, and reminds me of the first season of Once Upon a Time. Not to mention that the characters are endearing and while there are weak spots, the casting seems to be perfect for what was needed for each character.
Main Spoiler: The season finale left my wife and I a little on edge. Since the show is not guaranteed to be renewed, the final episode ended with everything nicely wrapped up so that if the series is canceled there isn't the disappointment of Alphas. However, it also ended with two story lines to follow, so that a second season would have a point to start from. Unfortunately, based on how the season ended, the new season would look to change the format to be following either Eve and Flynn or Cassandra, Jones, and Stone.
If you haven't seen the show or the movies, but are a fan of the history professor as adventure seeker genre (Indiana Jones, the Mummy, and Sahara), give the show a watch. You will be glad you did. Just a heads up, the house in the woods episode would be best watched during the day if, like me, you are not a fan of horror films.
Ancient Aliens (2009)
Fantastically Entertaining....utterly amusing..... guaranteed face palm.
I enjoy this series because compared to the schlock on the TV these days this one actually is intellectually stimulating. The show is woefully inaccurate and the Creation of Man episode made me want to find the "experts" and smack them upside the head with a bat made of the scientific research that they were unceremoniously ignored. Aside from that, the actual Da Vinci code, Illuminati, Free Mason, Ooga-booga claims are still entertaining. If even one of the shows' claims is found to be true, it would definitely rock our understanding of the world. If you can hold your temper, or history and science were not your strong subjects in school, this show will at least let your creative side and "what if" thinking have some fun.
One thing that constantly bugs me in the show is that the amount of money they have to produce it, they could easily attempt to recreate small scale versions of some of the ancient machines described in the show.
For example, the Pyramid as a power plant episode showed a demonstration on how the chambers could potentially have been used to produce microwave energy. Sweet.... now how about building a small scale replica using the measurement from the pyramid, create the appropriate obelisks and test that hypothesis that the microwaves would be conducted by the obelisks to supply power? If it works... wabam! Evidence to back of the hypothesis!
Worth a watch... definitely more intelligent than most of the popular shows.