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Reviews
The Traitors (2023)
Unbalanced Game
Even though the setting is gorgeous (Scottish castle) and many of the challenges were entertaining, the simple truth is that the game mechanics themselves were hopelessly unbalanced.
The traitors had every advantage over the faithful and having reality stars mixed in with 'normal' folks was unfair to the normals. If they make more of this game show they need to cast either all reality game show hacks or all normals and the game needs to be twigged somehow. I don't like the 'murder' aspect since the victim has absolutely no recourse to save themselves.
Alan Cumming was the best part of this show.
Frozen II (2019)
Not the sequel anyone wanted
Frozen created such a rich environment to play in that I do not understand why Disney chose to make this disconnected sequel. Why not fill in Kristoffs background? He's an orphan (presumably) raised by trolls. There has to be an interesting story there. Maybe he's a prince in disguise? Who among us didn't dream of that when we were young.
And instead of tossing Elsa out of the kingdom, why not give her a romance? She's queen of a medieval or thereabouts kingdom in Scandinavia right? So she will be expected by her people to marry and produce an heir and what an opportunity for Disney to fill the screen with princes from far and (reasonable diversity alert) wide and then Elsa can learn some other lesson about love and blah blah blah the gruff rude prince she couldn't stand turns out to be the best of the lot and they end the film with a double wedding and better songs than exist in the 'Frozen II' that Disney made.
I'm not even sure what F2 is about. Maybe making us all depressed? That's what it did for me anyway.
A Promise (2013)
I felt sorry for the Frau
The only reason to watch this film is to see yet another splendid performance by Alan Rickman.
The young man (Frederick) is a repulsive character. His treatment of his lower class love was heartbreaking. The Frau at least appeared to have some sense of morality since she spurned his sexual advances while her husband was alive. I felt sorry for her to be so in love with a man who did not deserve her.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Wasted Talent
I agree with other reviewers that this film is beautifully shot and full of talented actors, but the subject matter becomes rather sickening and the ending makes absolutely no sense. I cannot advise anyone to watch this film. Not even for Alan Rickman.
Babettes gæstebud (1987)
A sad beautiful film
It's hard to describe how a film where so little happens can be so beautiful and so moving. While there is sadness in this film and in this life there is happiness too. Babette understood this and she will indeed enchant the angels in paradise.
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Bill & Ted Deserved a Better Movie
I wanted to like this movie. It was nice to see and hear Bill & Ted again, but our dudes deserved a better movie. If they wanted to retcon Little Bill & Little Ted into girls, perhaps they should've tried to make them feel like real daughters instead of exact caricatures of their dads? And they have a time machine at their disposal to pluck the best musicians from all of history and they pick Hendrix (epic), Louis Armstrong (great), Mozart (obviously great), and three random people that I (at least) have never heard of? Why not Pete Townsend? Or Brian May? Chuck Berry? Heck pick a Beatle why don't you? Their choices were baffling.
The best part was the opening where Missie married Decon. Hilariously true to form.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Suddenly Human (1990)
Not crazy about the ending
While I enjoyed the chance to see an albeit reluctant Picard flexing his paternal muscles and they did a decent job of presenting this difficult dilemma, I think they made the wrong call in letting Joni/Jeremiah go back to his surrogate father.
I think they wanted us to look at this as an adoption issue wherein he had been adopted by the 'his captain/father' only to have his birth family try to wrench him away from the only home he knows. But let's be clear... his captain/father KILLED his parents. I don't think any court would side with a adoptive parent who participated in killing the biological parents. It's certainly complicated, but I really felt terrible for Jeremiah's grandparents who learned that their only grandchild who they thought was dead for 14 years is alive! ...and then they get the news that he's been given back to the same people who killed their children (Jeremiahs parents). It's horrific.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The High Ground (1990)
Mixed Messages
I don't know what Star Trek was trying to say here. We have a group of terrorists terrorizing a population and gleefully murdering men women and children with no explanation given other than that they feel oppressed. But in what way? We are shown no evidence of said oppression. Sure the police arrest a bunch of them after a bombing, but what do they expect the police to do? They say they want their freedom but we are given no details on their demands or desires. I felt zero sympathy for the terrorists and plenty of sympathy for the rest of the populace.
Lego Masters (2020)
Season One in Review.
In spite of some negative comments I'll make below, it's important to note that I did enjoy LEGO Masters and would watch it again if it comes back for a second season. However there are some real issues with the show #1 of which is that they don't show you enough of the building process or enough of the final creations. Which while somewhat understandable early on when there were more teams, got more annoying towards the end when they should've had plenty of time to pan around the builds slowly to show us as much as they could. In short please give us more LEGO and less drama in season two.
#2 The judging felt flawed. Granted part of the problem is that we didn't get to see everything the judges saw (see #1), but it often felt like the judges were playing favorites and would give good advice to their favorite teams and nothing to other teams.
#3 The game element needs to be toned down. Every week there is a best build and a worst build. Stick with it. The golden brick was fine at first, but I felt very strongly that in the episode where Christian & Aaron used the GB the judges were manipulating them to get them to use it so that they could then offer it up again as a prize. They were in no danger of going home that week, but they were made to feel like they were by the judges (my opinion obviously).
#4 The drama stuff was annoying. Specifically the baby talk. I was happy for them when they announced Amy's pregnancy the first time, but every time they mentioned it I got more and more annoyed because it had nothing to do with anything and by the way saying they need the money because they're having a baby means nothing when they're up against a guy who already has TWO kids. Just saying.
#5 I was gutted that Mark and Boone lost and I know I'm not alone in that. But it's not a matter of thinking their build was the best/better than their competitors, I actually thought both the top two made great builds, but because I had grown annoyed at feeling like Tyler and Amy were getting preference from the judges and because their child kept getting mentioned every ten minutes. BOTH teams were fantastic builders not only in the finale but all season long. I just wanted the other team to win.
#6 The host. I enjoyed Will Arnett, I just feel like I'd rather see more LEGO and seeing less of the host seems like an easy cut to make in order to gain more time for LEGO building which should be the main focus of the show.
Survivor: Surprise Enemy Visit (2005)
A Heartbreaking Episode
This is the one where the good guys lose the game and the bad guys win, but it's also more that that. It's a chance for the viewers to spend time with some great characters in Amy, Gary, Danni, Brandon, and Bobby Jon. I loved their tribe.
Amy was right that Survivor wouldn't ask someone like her to come back, but I wish they had. She was real and fun and you just don't see that many girls like her on TV.
Survivor: Big Ball, Big Mouth, Big Trouble (2005)
A Frustrating Episode
Margaret was a class act all the way, which is more than you can say for Judd who was probably the rudest, meanest contestant Survivor ever had. It baffles me that some people find him funny.