Change Your Image
ericnhall
Reviews
Fool Me Once (2024)
Formulaic trying to be twisty only to turn out really bad.
This has all the elements a war vet with secretes about blowing up innocent civilians, Big Pharma feeding bad drugs to the unsuspecting masses, Billionaire aristocrats with zero empathy as long as their family name is protected, and sociopathic murderess running around as common as ticks on a deer.
They try to make it a tragedy by having the hero do what's right even when it means cold blooded murder.
This is truly bad for something that was obviously pretty high budget. The acting was pretty good overall, but the story was awful.
The final scene is so stupid and unbelievable that it makes something that was bad even worse. The last couple of episodes is like watching a train wreck -- it keeps getting worse and worse but you can't stop watching. You have to find out if they actually will follow through with it or if there is a final twist that clears the protagonist. Nope. It's as bad as it seems it's going to be.
Don't waste your time on this one. It's very frustrating.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Season 4 was yet another letdown
This is specifically about season 4. Season 1 was OK, it had potential. Season 2 was awful and stupid. Typical leftist Hollywood BS. Season 3 had its moments and was pretty good overall, but there were some major character motivation moments that ruin it. Then there is season 4...
Deus Ex Machina is the writer's crutch here.
It's very clear the writers and producers wanted to kick more Republicans in the balls, and the rest of the script didn't have enough of that, so they had to invent that right at the end without any setup or real foreshadowing. They just drop it on us at the end.
This (R) Senator from Texas wanted to detonate bioweapons on random US cities for no apparent reason and with no motivation. He works with nefarious international criminals to make it happen, apparently. I say apparently becauses none of that is in the actual show until right at the end.
It's so incredibly stupid that it ruins the entire rest of the show The stupid, stupid patronizing speech made by the Jack Ryan character at the end was cringeworthy and belittling. We watched this entire series for THAT???
So, I give this season a 2. I'd give season 1 a 7 for potential. I'd give season 2 a 0. I'd give season 3 a 7 for almost living up to the potential, but season 4 is back down to a 2.
These Hollywood writers are really crap. Jack Ryan is a great character that can have so many great adventures, but these leftists in Hollywood just have to inject their politics into the scripts and they ruin everything.
The Orville: Future Unknown (2022)
Unwatchable -- Preachy
And they just had to ruin the season -- they just can't help themselves.
Those Moclan episodes are bad enough even though they keep proving the opposite of what I think they're trying to prove. But this episode is a massive clunker.
This episode is all about preaching. It's about how the profit motive is evil (even though all these schmucks are making bank on this show). It's about how old people (us) are greedy. It's how if you invent tech, you should just give it to everyone. Yeah, they're preaching communism.
Sure, the show does go over the top on their idiotic notion that they rate based on their 'reputation'. But that's just as bad as the like/dislike voting that the girl was trying to escape. Yet somehow it's OK on Orville since they are so enlightened?
Anyway, this episode is unwatchable. It's stupid, derivative, preachy, and basically boring. I couldn't finish watching it. It was that bad.
Too bad. Because when they want to do good episodes, they certainly can. This episode is flat out lazy. But I guess they had to prove their woke cred after doing good tv without being preachy.
The Terminal List (2022)
Well done revenge flick
This is a standard trope for stories and movies. The highly skilled soldier/fighter/spy type faces unimaginable personal loss and goes on a rampage to avenge his loss.
In this case, it's mostly against the powers-that-be who think they can use and abuse people because they are in power. That's always a satisfying story.
It's over the top. No doubt about it. But it's well done and reasonably accurate with regards to the military stuff. It's heart wrenching and complicated so it's engaging. It is revenge porn, and it doesn't try to complicate that. Still, even though it's not original, it's engaging, entertaining, and satisfying.
There are no sops to the woke virtue signals which is very refreshing. So many shows ruin everything by force feeding that kind of baseless crud on audiences. This show does not. It's sticks to the story. It's meat and potatoes.
Yellowstone (2018)
Overdone, but entertaining.
OK, so much stuff in this show is way, way over the top.
It's more of a Hollywood slicker view of a cowboy life rather than reality. Granted, it's a story and bound to be overblown, but they go way, way too far.
No, wranglers do not regularly commit cold blooded murder.
No, they do not sit at a table in a bull ring waiting to get gored.
No, they do not get into fist fights all the time.
And so many more ridiculous things they have in this show.
Having said all that, it's still entertaining. So many of the characters, although over the top, are entertaining. To an extent, they are the id and people would like to be like them -- to an extent.
The plot is fairly complex and the intrigue and conflict is interesting. The scenery is beautiful. It gets addictive.
Doctor Who: Flux: Chapter One - The Halloween Apocalypse (2021)
The sound makes it unwatchable
Doctor Who has generally had issues with sound and actors who cannot enunciate.
But the last few seasons have been awful and this episode is far worse.
The background music is overpowering. The special effects are stupid loud. And the voices are utterly drowned out. This is not my system. I have no issues with other shows.
Whoever mixes the sound on this show is an incompetent moron. I hate them and hope they get fired. You are ruining the show.
Of course, the.stories have been lame since Moffatt left. But Jodie Whittaker is just awful as the doctor on top of it and the companions have been lame. Jodie's enunciation is some of the worst making the sound even worse. It's impossible to know what's happening when the main character's lines are unintelligible.
I realize that some of this is because I'm American and the accents are difficult for us to understand. I have spent significant time in England and don't have issue there. So, it's more than that. It's the sound mixing and actor's desire to rattle off lines quickly for no good reason.
Do bertter.
Lucifer (2016)
Fun, and mostly light, but gets deep at times
This is a fairly light hearted show that occasionally gets more interesting and deep. It's a good pallet cleanser if you are looking for something fun.
But, the surprising thing is, perhaps unintentionally, especially at the end of the series, the writing actually gets deep. It looks at the question of fate verses free will and they fall firmly on the side of free will.
The show is a parody of religion, to a degree, but again, that ending makes it much more aligned with solid Christian ethics and morality than I think the producers and writers ever intended to get. But since those elements are absolutely required to make the story what it needed to be, they had to go there. Maybe willingly.
What happens is very good. It makes for a complete story that is satisfying and uplifting. I fully recommend this series simply because of that.
Sure, there is a whole lot of really bad acting. Sure, there are some typical leftist Hollywood storylines. The part where Amenadiel is learning to be cop are particularly bad -- unwatchable in fact. Sure there is lots of debauchery and a naked tookus or two every once in a while. But, it's always about Lucifer learning things and most often, those things are about morals and ethics.
So, it's fun, fairly light, a bit trite, but also has good messages mixed in. Enjoy.
Doctor Who: Rosa (2018)
This is not Doctor Who
This is not what the Doctor does.
The Doctor has always explored the human condition. In that exploration, there have been plenty of episodes that deal with racism. What makes science fiction great is we can explore these ideas without delving into history or even using humans. We can be extremely creative about how we explore these things.
Instead, in this episode, we get bludgeoned over the head with the issue. We get preached at. We don't explore anything. We are given a history lesson, and although captures the essence of the narrative that people want you to know, it doesn't accurately capture the history. Not to say that segregation was not really despicable. and that Parks was not a hero. It was and she was. But the historical accuracy of the story was wrong. If you are gong to go back in history to preach at people, you owe it to the audience to get it right.
If this is where the show is going, then it won't be worth watching anymore.
Taken (2017)
Meh. Season 1 OK. Season 2 is worse. (Edited, Season 2 unredeamably bad)
Edit: I have officially stopped watching. This show is now horrible and not worth the waste of electrons to watch it. It needs to be cancelled.
Typical Hollywood interpretation of a Black Ops, Off-book, special ops team type of show.
The first season was OK because it was mostly about Bryan trying to fit into the team.
Season 2, they drop the team, and get a convicted hacker on the team (how original), and one other person. That's it. It gets much less realistic and the whole team element just dies.
Then, they dive right into the the Social Justice Warrior mode. It's the same kind of crud that ruins otherwise good shows. Hollywood just can't stop making up things that are supposed to reflect the way the real world works but are not even close to reality.
The whole corporate raider episode and the stolen pensions was so laughably wrong that it makes you wonder just how smart the writers, directors, and producers are. The entire premise of this episode is sickening. And, I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who think it's pretty close to the truth. This is how people get stupid.
And, not to mention, it's a classic example of why this type of group does not exist in real life because of the total abuse of power. These people make decisions about who to persecute and punish without oversight and without rules. I know this is done for the fun of the show, but it's also getting really, really old hackneyed TV.
Jennifer Beals is actually pretty good in this. She carries the show more than any other character.
Bryan is just annoying. He's a walking man-boy who is supposed to have tons of spec ops experience but has no idea how to take an order or work on a team. He works off of emotion instead of intelligence. He's more annoying than anything.
9-1-1 (2018)
Really hit and miss. Awful to pretty good.
So many reviews so far about how awful the technical aspects are so I won't talk about that.
The corrupt female police officer is just horrible. How can they write a character like that? She abuses her power and responsibility to enact personal vendettas. She often has monologs where she lectures the audience as if she's the will of the director and writers. This stuff is some of the worst I have seen out of Hollywood. The scenes about how awful the airlines are and the stupid, stupid, only happens in the fantasies of Hollywood morons, lines where they say the CEO of an airline forced passengers to sit on a flight for 8 hours is both asinine and utterly disconnected from reality.
How can people do this? Be both creative and morally corrupt at the same time.
The pretty good parts are the rescue scenes and how that affects the people involved. If they would stick with that and making really good characters, then it would get 8 stars from me. But, as it is, it only gets 3. I can't believe they renewed this already. It's really not that good.
Conviction (2016)
Very poor writing, and weak acting.
I loved Hayley Atwell in Agent Carter. So, I was excited about this series. Its a major disappointment.
The the forensic analyst, whoever he is, is a lame actor. His character is weak.
The characters make stupid choices and Atwell's character has no redeeming qualities, even though they try to make her regretful and tortured. She's not. She's just a typical pampered, indulgent, narcissistic, modern person.
Atwell struggles with her American accent making her acting wooden and stilted. She's better than that, but the direction and writing is so bad no amount of good acting can pull it off. And, this is not her best work at all.
Episode 6 is where they jump the shark. The episode was offensive. It shows the shallow intelligence pool of the writers, producers, and the network. It is astounding that a show like this could have made it past editors to actually be aired. Everybody involved should be ashamed.
This show does deserve to get canceled, like it has. It's unfortunate, but hopefully Hayley can move onto something good now. This show is not worth your time to watch. Don't waste life on it.
The Blacklist: Gaia (No. 81) (2016)
A lost and virtually pointless episode with lame Hollywood propaganda
The Blacklist show can waffle around at times, and it is often rife with typical Hollywood liberal political hysteria, but this episode jumps all the sharks.
First, they present environmental fallacies and conspiracy theories as if they are accepted fact. All the characters stand around and nod as if it is the same as saying humans require air to survive when it is simply fantasy. Hollywood is all about creating compelling fantasies. We are all willing to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the stories. But, that doesn't give Hollywood the right to foster propaganda and to promote political agendas that are brutally and painfully absurd. To further the stupidity, the characters sympathize with the bad guy, making it seem his brutal acts are justified, that he's almost a hero, even though he's a murderer. This kind of tripe is standard for Hollywood. I guess we should just expect it and accept it. But there's something about ethics and responsibility that is so lacking with these people that it is monumentally aggravating.
The next thing that made this episode horrible was the whole scene with the helicopter. There is no way, in any real world where anybody could remotely access helicopter systems and do anything, let alone "shut down the rotor". The whole idea is so painfully stupid, that whoever wrote that scene, and whoever vetted it should be fired immediately and laughed right out of the business. This is the level of research these people do. This ties back into the first point. They produce shows with massive problems because they have no idea whatsoever of what they are presenting. Helicopters rotors are driven by engines. You can shut the engines down, but not remotely. If the engine shuts down, then the helicopter can still be flow, it will just be forced down. The pilot is still in control. I know. I have done it hundreds of time during my training.
It is not uncommon for Hollywood to get it wrong. But to so willfully and ignorantly produce something that is so incredibly wrong, it must be either intentional because they think we are so stupid we won't notice, or it is pure negligence. Either way, the people involved should be fired.
Crossing Lines (2013)
Started out as new and fresh, then turned stale.
This started out as something different. Yes, it's a cop show. But it wasn't so boringly formulaic as the standard stuff. The international element, and the creation of the "team of experts" made it fun. Although some of the original cast were acting-challenged (and some were subsequently killed off because of it), the series had a charm and a magic that made it fun to watch. There were good episodes, marginal ones, and a few duds. But overall, it was good enough to get at least a 7 rating out of me.
Now, in season three, they completely changed the show. It's like the network finally noticed they had something good and stepped in to fix it. They did fix it. Like a prize bull being turned into a steer. They added big-name actors (other than Sutherland) and then proceeded to ruin the show.
The team is now boring. There are no Sherlock Holmes styled experts (except the computer geek who is thoroughly unbelievable, but that's always the case with Hollywood). The plots are straight out of the normal Hollywood playbook and are therefore dull and unbelievable. The plots are formulaic and are straight out of NCIS or any of another dozen shows. There is now nothing fresh here at all. It's very stale. I'll give it one more try, and if they fail in season 4, if they get a season 4, then i'm done.
It is very sad that they took a good show that just needed a bit of refinement, and turned it into something that would not have made it past the pilot if it had started out that way.
Blindspot: Cease Forcing Enemy (2016)
Ugh, just stay away from aviation
The who am I part of this episode is OK. But, the basic plot of the Black Sea part is idiotic. It then gets much, much worse with the sequence with the airplane. First, it's impossible to get into the cabin of an airliner through he wheel well without a blow torch and a lot of time. Not to mention there is no extra room in there. The wheel goes up, you get crushed. So it's once of the stupidest movie memes ever. Second, avionics bays are nothing like shown. Third, there is no way to shut down engines from an avionics bay. Third, you can't "short out" turbine engines. And lastly, the whole, you have to glide thing was so totally wrong that it made me puke a bit. Seriously, you have a million to spend on every episode and you can't figure out how to use google to look up some very basic things about airplanes? Disgusting. This kind of stuff totally ruins the show. I can buy the whole tattoo thing even though it's impossible. I can buy memory whipping drugs even though it's also impossible. But don't be stupid. Real stuff is real and you need to at least come close to getting it right.
The 100 (2014)
Action and drama... but a little heavy on the drama part...
Overall, this is a good series. The acting is generally good, and the overall story is good. There are plot holes and inconsistencies that do bother. It also requires a certain level of suspension of disbelief. It is speculative fiction and it is not trying to be accurate science fiction, so you have to allow for that. If you can't get past them using hand-wavium and techno-babble to explain certain things, then don't bother watching this show, or any other show like it. But, if you can allow yourself a little imagination and creative license, then it's a fun show with a lot of drama.
The drama is a bit much. It's a bit more like a high-school clique war than anything at times. The "Commander" claims to make decisions with her intelligence rather than her heart, but often the decisions she makes are just plain tactically and strategically stupid. Clarke suffers from making emotional decisions, and then turning around and doing the really hard things at the same time. To an extent, she's overly sure of herself and her abilities, and at other times, she's is so self- recriminating that it's sickening.
I'm making this show sound bad, but that's not really my intent. The bad parts are easily overcome by the good parts. There is good intrigue, and good people do really despicable things at times and bad people do the same. We do see some redemption, especially in Bellamy. Bellamy turns into the most interesting character so far, although Clarke is obviously the protagonist.
The complaints I've seen about the show being unrealistic are a bit insane. Sure, it's unrealistic. Do you really think that 4000 people could survive on a space station for 97 years? Do you really think that Grounders could really survive the radiation due to natural selection where the Mountain Men melt at the first hint of exposure? No, these things are not realistic based on what we know. But who cares? To nitpick on minutia and your opinion on how selection processes on the station are done for who lives and dies as shown in a few cases is to totally miss the meaning of the rest of the show.
Continuum (2012)
Could have been good, but ham handed theme ruins it.
Any spoilers here are about the overall theme rather than the key plot twists.
The writers build a construct where they setup a "protagonist" who represents the obvious evil in the world who fights against what so many characterize as "Freedom Fighters" all the while learning why what she represents is really the bad side. This construct has two problems: first, it adds a level of confusion to the plots and stories, and forces the writers to have characters do things that are grossly against the nature of that character and the writers are never able to reconcile any of that. Second, the writer's moralizing is ham handed and blatant and that type of thing always ruins the story regardless of what side of an argument you are on.
The concept of the corporations tearing down and then creating their own absolute ruling class is a trope often used by science fiction writers, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a ridiculous concept that is not remotely valid in the real world. It can be understandable to use because so many people see it as a bogyman. But, if you allow yourself to get past this tired and overused trope, you still have a level of warped moralization thrown in your face in virtually every episode.
It is hilarious that so many reviewers think the writers are trying to justify totalitarian government and brutality and make the good guys into terrorists. This, in fact, is exactly the opposite to what is happening. The writers clearly have an agenda that is anti-capitalist, anti-corporation, and anti- police (not a surprise in any movie/TV creative environment). They simply use Keira as a straw man to illustrate their point. Unfortunately, this manipulation by the writers absolutely ruins what could have been a very good show.
They try to make Keira sympathetic to the viewer as a person who is just trying to get home to her family, yet then they allow her to be amazingly brutal and cold in certain situations and overly willing to believe in anything anybody tells her that might allow her to get home while ignoring just how awful the "corporate council" can be. Then, she'll have revelations after she's been a bad girl and she'll momentarily see where she just might be wrong. But then she reverts again. The writers keep having her revert so they can keep their straw man argument going. But, this leads to an unbelievable character that you just don't care about at all.
The terrorism and brutal acts of Liber8 are constantly justified with a "yes, but" argument. They murder a bunch of people, but it's justified because they are trying to stop much worse things in the future. So, even though the writers pretend to make these guys out to be evil, they keep feeding in imagery and flashbacks to show just how justifiable their anger is suggesting that these people were made bad by the actions of the future corporations (rather than the slimy, murderous, sociopathic, zealots that they really are).
Many scenes include a level of relative moralism and framing real history in a way that supports the various Liber8 activities and Liber8 sympathizers in their collective stupidity. This TV show really is straight out of Saul Alinsky's playbook. The writers try to justify all this duplicity as trying to show both sides as a little right and a little wrong. Yet, it is obvious which way they are guiding the view to think. The entire show's reason for being is to manipulate political viewpoints rather than to tell a good story. This is why it fails.
This whole thing is pure fantasy, but unfortunately, not in a good way.
The Killing (2011)
Good, but morose and myopic
I really enjoyed this series overall. The acting is strong and the writing is mostly good. I felt that season 1 and 2 had especially strong performances from Brent Sexton and Michelle Forbes as the Larsen's.
The good things about this series is that it is complex and unclean. There isn't a lot of happy ending, just like the real world. I'm going to rant a bit about what was wrong with the show, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't well worth the time. It was. It was a very good series.
First, it doesn't rain that much in Seattle. That got really old watching it rain. Also, it doesn't rain like that very often in the PNW. It drizzles a lot. It doesn't pour down very often. But, most of the rain they showed was more like an Alabama thunder storm than normal rain in the PNW.
The first "bad guy" that isn't revealed until nearly the end of season two is a bit of a stretch. It's neither a passion killing, nor a random killing, nor a planned killing, so it's a bit of a mess -- at least it wasn't yet another serial killer (that comes in the next seasons). However, it is fairy believable and it does make for a disturbing and emotional mix. The part that was a bit tired and old was the police corruption and the political "favors" aspect. Hollywood likes to always add in these things as if they happen all the time. I know it's a show and they have to make it interesting, but it would be nice if they can come up with something a little less hackneyed.
Seasons three and four go down hill a bit. The entire Seward killings and the "Pied Piper" killer sequence is quite good with some really good acting by some young actors who play the street kids. However, by this point the viewer is starting to get sick of Linden's constant inability to just get over it. Being drug through her painful backstory again and again gets really old. Yes, this series was intended to cover a very short period of time so one cannot expect a person to get over personal trauma that fast. However, the viewer is watching this over many episodes and it just gets old. The Larsens have very believable progressions in grief. Why can't the writers do the same thing with Linden? Maybe it's the point of the series? Watching Linden kill her demons? Maybe so, but to me, it just got old and I just wanted to yell at the character and tell her to grow a backbone and get over it (as unfair as that would be in the real world).
The final sequence with Linden and Holder is distracting. I was much more interested in solving the current murder than I was reliving what Linden had done. It was pretty obvious what would happen in the end. It would have been much more satisfying if the two extremely experienced homicide detectives could have figured out something much better and less inept than they did.
It's pretty obvious when Netflix takes over because swearing becomes common and the show is a bit more vulgar. I think it's a bit of a shame since it detracts from intelligent writing. It's very easy to drop in F-bombs for shock value rather than writing and acting with intelligence. I realize that people cuss a lot every day so you can say it's being "real". Maybe so. But people pass gas every day too. Just saying.
But, the biggest problem was really the overwrought emotional state of Linden and the way the characters just lash out and say the meanest possible things to each other and then somehow make it all better without much effort. Bull. If most people got treated that way, it would be the end. There's no coming back from some of the things these people say. The writers needed to work hard building in the conflict instead of falling back on an addict being an addict and an overly-emotional woman.
Daredevil (2015)
Very good. Well done.
It is nice to see shows given the time to develop these days. The Netflix and other titles that don't have to conform to network standards and don't have to generate instant ratings in order to stay alive for a full season are refreshing. Daredevil is one of these. It is mature, thoughtful, well paced, has great character development, great ambiance, and a really good set of stories.
The old Daredevil movie with Benny was terrible. It did not do justice to Marvel's creation. But, this new series does. It is intelligent and gripping. It is dark and gritty without falling into a DC Gotham level of gloom.
The acting is very good, except for some bad takes with Elden Henson playing Foggy that should have been redone or edited out (I blame the director in this case). I think that Vincent D'Onofrio does an excellent job as the deep and quirky Fisk. I find this Kingpin more interesting than even how he is portrayed in the comics. Fisk is disturbing to watch. He's is truly a terrifying character and D'Onofrio does an excellent job of it.
I love how the development of the "super hero" aspect of DD is very slow. It feels like a natural progression. This is something that is always missing from the movies and network TV series. I have very much enjoyed several Netflix produced content and am looking forward to more for this reason.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Disjointed and dull
The script was disjointed and simply didn't work.
I am a fan of sci-fi and fantasy and have been for many years. I understand that a certain level of suspension of disbelief is required in order to enjoy these stories. However, this movie comes nowhere near a reasonable level. The entire premise of the train is just too stupid to accept. I'm assuming the book did a better job of it, and maybe a lot was lost in translation, but still, this movie failed. It looked high budget and obviously had big name actors, so it's inexplicable to me why the plot and writing were so bad.
Why does the train have to keep moving? It's not like there's a schedule. The whole ending concept was ridiculous. There's a million other solutions to their problems rather then what they did. It's just an extremely lame attempt at setting up an Us vs Them, Have vs Have Not situation. The deal with the children was equally ridiculous. I understand it was an attempt to setup more conflict and make the Haves seem that much more evil, but it was just pathetic in the end. The whole explanation of why the Protagonist is so moody, his backstory, is also lame.
There's just way too much wrong with this movie to spend time talking about it. The only reason to watch this movie is if you find Chris Evans attractive. I don't so I wish I hadn't watched.
The Fall (2013)
Rich, but thin, story with major flaws
I like British crime dramas because they take the time for cinematography and character development. They generally spend the time to build real atmosphere that is lacking in many US created shows. I am a big fan of Endeavor, Inspector Lewis, Foyle's War, Broadchurch, etc.
The Fall is more similar to Broadchurch in its dark and brooding approach to the crime drama. However, The Fall has some major flaws in writing and presentation that really ruin it for the most part.
I found the acting to be good for the most part. However, character development was pretty much nil. Characters were exposed throughout the two seasons, but the characters themselves remain stagnant.
The biggest flaw is the main character. She is a mysandrist. She treats men like genetic flaws from the normal state (female) and obviously gets sexual satisfaction from dominating men. She uses men as wind- up sex toys and uses her job position to select sexual toys. It is very much an abuse of her job position. All of this is fine. If that's what the character is, that's what she is. However, the writers and producers do not treat this as a character flaw. They treat it like a strength and the preferred nature of society. This presentation greatly detracts from the overall story and gets extremely tedious as the series progresses. Viewers want to see a good crime drama, not an exposé on the writers warped views of feminism. This hatred of men is evident throughout the show. All the male characters are thin and uninteresting. They are all doormats.
The killer is also pretty much cookie-cutter unoriginal. He is interesting from the point of view of how he likes to invade his victim's lives and privacy. But the follow-through to his killings is ultimately boring. The writer tries to tie this man's aberrations as a normal part of male psyche. They keep trying to tie his behavior to his childhood -- which is simply idiotic. He's deranged -- as are all serial killers no matter what the BBC and Hollywood try to do. This tripe makes the whole investigation of the murders flawed since they are working off the wrong premise the entire time.
The final flaw in this series is that they have all the time in the world to develop the story. It's just one detective and one killer. But they still leave gaping holes and pull things in from out of the blue -- such utter coincidence that it defies credulity. For example, somehow, the thug who lost is son and is beating his wife, just happens to know the reporter trying to cover the story on a first-name basis. This leads to a series of events that allows the final episode to end abruptly. There are several cases where random things like this happen in the show and there is simply no reason for it. There was plenty of time to develop a real series of events that make sense. It's just plain bad writing, direction, and editing that leads to these gaps.
The ending is silly. It's extremely abrupt. I suppose they're trying for a cliff-hanger for season 3 (if there is going to be one)? But if they are, then it will be of soap-opera proportions. Pretty ridiculous.
I'm disappointed in this series overall because of the reasons above. It could have been so much better than it was if the writer/director would have focused the story rather than his own political/sociological perceptions and views.
Fury (2014)
Cliché', derivative, no plot, no understanding of the military, and distorted.
If you like distorted war movies like Apocalypse Now, The Thin Red Line, Jarhead, Inglorious Bastards, and their ilk, then you'll like Fury. One thing the listed movies have in common is a total lack of understanding of the Army (or Marine Corps). There is no understanding of real loyalty, honor, and courage. Fury is about abuse. Fury is about the worst of the worst. Fury has no real plot.
First, Brad Pitt's character is abusive. I've served with people like him. They do gain a following, but they do so via bullying, abuse, and coercion. He's the worst kind of leader and deserves no respect or pity. The scene in the town with the two women and the murder of the German soldier as a "learning point" for the newbie, Norman, is such cliché' that some keep trying to propagate that it's sickening.
The whole "we must hold this crossroads" plot point is so stupid that only somebody with no understanding of tactics would ever use it. If I'm the German SS commander, I just go around that tank once i know it's manned. It's no threat. I may send a tank or tank killer to clean it up later on, but to keep attacking it with my full force, wasting time, is just plain stupid. Nobody would ever do that.
So, this movie should be a total pass -- don't wast your time -- if you want to see a good movie. If you want to waste time and see some stuff get blown up, then enjoy yourself. For me, i was offended by this movie. Any future war movie with Brad Pitt involved or this Writer/Producer involved, I will most assuredly skip. I'd rather pluck my nose hairs than watch any more movies from the same team.
Elementary: The Best Way Out Is Always Through (2015)
Going downhill fast
The plots and mysteries of the show are getting worse and worse. It's obvious the writing staff is either out of ideas, or there are different writers who are more interested in insane social commentary rather than good story telling.
Overall, Elementary is a very good show. The quirky Holmes is always a fun character and this show's twist on the age-old character has been quite good. The Watson compatriot is also a good twist. The interaction between the two has been the strength of this show along with interesting murder-mysteries.
Now, the writers and producers are choosing to blather about various "social issues" having Holmes expound upon the evils of corporations or private prison business or various other pet faux-issues. It is offensive that the writers and producers think that because we like the show that we should also like to be lectured about perceived social ills. But, worse than that, it destroys the characters of Holmes and Watson. Both of these characters are supposed to be uncommonly intelligent and Holmes in particular, is supposed to be driven by logic, facts, and an uncanny capability to see the details that all others miss. For him to blather on about why privately run prisons are bad (against all real evidence) and that "corporations" get kickbacks for prison labor in unsafe conditions destroys the credibility of the character. There is no way, if Holmes were a real person, that he could possibly hold the insane and unsubstantiated positions that he seems to hold. These things shatter the fourth wall making the show virtually unwatchable.
Success breads stupidity and this show is no exception. Hollywood can't help but to politicize the things that they do. If this trend with this show does not stop, this show will go from being one of my favorites, to one that I no longer watch and will strongly recommend that no one ever watch. It's very sad, but then again, it's what I've come to expect from the shallow pool of social intelligence in Hollywood.