dawsonmckay-780-71082

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Reviews

Monk
(2002)

Thankful For Secondary Characters
In all the shows I've ever watched, there has never been a titular character as distasteful as Adrian Monk. He is wholly odious, loathsome, and wildly selfish, to the detriment of everyone around him. He is constantly weak, scared, and behaves like a petulant child, his only redeeming trait being his Sherlock-like ability to solve crimes, which is largely what keeps the show interesting, The writers do a great job on the mechanics of the cases and most of the episodes are compelling because of it.

The secondary characters are fascinating, well fleshed out, and likable. Frank Levine's portrayal of Captain Leland Stottlemeyer is perhaps the best written and acted character in the show, and is easy to root for.

I've watched through the first five seasons thus far, so the show is definitely worth a peek. Just know that you may hate Tony Shalhoub for a while after watching.

Ghost Town
(2008)

NEEDS A NEW TITLE
Incredibly dark emotional start, this film is almost Romantic Comedy while playing with the idea of being a Drama. What it winds up being is a very nice little journey with some soft surprises that just make it a lovely watch.

Greg Kinnear is always lovable, even when playing a bad guy, his brief role on FRIENDS is a great example of this quality. Tea Leoni, though she has a long list of credits to her name, always reminds me of Deep Impact, a film she was largely supposed to carry, and failed. But in Ghost Town, she is perfect.

As is the case with most comics turned actor, Ricky Gervais isn't expected to act much as long as he's funny. His character here isn't funny at all, in fact he's quite dark. Gervais is pretty much just Gervais, but the scenes requiring emotional depth are handled with a shocking ease and believability that really help you empathize with the character.

The use of Alan Ruck as an almost background character was honestly distracting, though he was wonderful in the part.

It did not feel like a "Ghost Town," but it's easy to understand how that placeholder title simply became the film, as it's difficult to really describe this movie in a title.

It's dark in a way most of us can relate to, it's warm, it's charming, it's sweet.

Varsity Blues
(1999)

Clearly Written By Someone Who Knows Neither Football Nor Texas
This film is riddled with ridiculous stereotypes, terrible accents, and thinly veiled attempts at painting Small Town Texas culture as stupid and backward.

Being from a small Texas town, I can assure you this is nothing more than how Hollywood writers see Small Town America, and it couldn't be further from the truth.

It's dumb, lazy writing that falls flat at the end. Complete waste of time.

The Vast of Night
(2019)

Compelling Nothingness
Brilliantly directed and acted, it is a compelling film that does nothing.

The Prince
(2014)

Beyond Campy
Actually, this film would have to work hard to get up to "campy" status. It's mostly just bland. 100% felt like Bruce Willis and John Cusack both just needed a little "walkin around money," because neither was prominent or good in this. Writing is garbage. The lead actor should be in the credits of a real movie as "key grip" or "assistant to..." He has no business trying to carry a movie.

How this film got as high as a 4.6 (as of this writing) I'll never understand.

Cheers
(1982)

Wasted Second Chance
There's a lot to love about this show. Sam (Ted Dawson) is a dog, but he knows it, and he also shows occasional sincerity and an unquestionable love for his friends. Carla (Rhea Perlman) is enjoyably mischievous. Norm is dangerously close to being a one-note character, but George Wendt successfully keeps him lovable for eleven seasons. John Ratzenberger's Cliff Clavin character is simultaneously annoying and likable.

It's understandable a series may lose a lead from time to time, and Cheers mostly does a good job replacing early favorites. Shelley Long's (Diane) ill-advised departure to go try to be a movie star, and Nicholas Colasanto's (Coach) real life death gave way to Kirstie Alley's Rebecca Howe character and Woody Harrelson's Woody Boyd.

It turns out Woody is a fantastic character, as simple and lovable as was Coach, but also surprisingly wise at times. He is well written and artfully performed, delivering some of the most truly laugh out loud moments in the show. Rebecca, on the other hand, is a loathsome train wreck. There is nothing at all redeemable about her incessant whining, and Alley doesn't do anything but amplify what's been poorly written. The series would've been better without her.

What was truly mind-boggling, though, was their bringing Diane back for the last three episodes, put her and Sam back together one last time, only to have them break it off. Again. This completely invalidates the couple's realization they needed each other, and makes worthless the emotional investment of the viewer. If Long doesn't come back, that's one thing. But having her there and the possibility of a happy ending for her and Sam, only to blow it up? That's Sitcom Writer Malpractice.

Bright
(2017)

Two Hours of Missed Opportunities
It doesn't expand on relationships that it shows glimpses of, that are supposed to tether you to that part of the story. Also does a super flimsy job of building the separate parts of the society in which they live. This script failed to make me care about a single person or event.

The Good Place
(2016)

Weird. Fun. Different. Surprising.
I don't even remember what it was about this show that caught my attention and caused me to watch the first episode. I wasn't a Kristen Bell fan prior (didn't dislike her, just had no opinion), but after binge watching the entire first season I love her and I love this show. From a writing perspective, it kinda goes to that place some shows venture into where you feel like you're loving it too much and there's no way the writing can keep up with your expectations, but it's compelling enough to give it a chance. Can't wait to watch season two!

Big Mouth
(2017)

Pretty Raw, Pretty Great.
This show is absolutely not for everyone. While it's cartoony in so many ways, it does cover a lot of very real feelings and experiences we all went through at that age, and has fun doing it. If you're not easily shocked and have a good sense of humour, you'll enjoy this deep, dark look into the coming of age time for these kids.

Plus, John Mulaney.

Gods of Egypt
(2016)

Alt Title: How To Burn $140 Million.
First, the good. There are a few scenes that are fun to look at.

Other than that, this is one of the singularly most horrible films I have ever watched. The script sounds as if it was written for a high school drama class (by one of the students), and some of the actors (Thoth) appear equally qualified.

You can tell the producers are big believers in effects, as you could probably count on one hand the number of scenes that weren't green screen or cgi. As is usually the case with this type of production, the effects became the story rather than serving to help tell a story.

George Clooney keeps a poster of his Batman movie up in his house as a cautionary tale to what can happen when you pick bad scripts. I can only imagine the leads in this film, all accomplished and capable actors, have a "Gods of Egypt" poster similarly hanging in their home offices.

If you never watch this movie, you've missed nothing.

Despicable Me
(2010)

Despicable See
Since Toy Story 3 is in theatres, it's rather knee-jerk to compare Despicable Me to the animation giant. But you shouldn't. Despicable Me doesn't have the heavy, dark tones of the final Toy Story and, therefore, is probably better suited to smaller children. As with the best family films, though, adults will love this story as much - if not more - than their little ones.

And here's why. It is incredibly rare to see a single dad portrayed in such a positive light. While Gru has an admittedly "bad" vocation, there are unbelievably sweet moments between him and the three children, probably aided by the juxtaposition of tiny girls to a large, "bad" guy.

The nepotistic supporting cast from Saturday Night Live (even Jack McBrayer works for Tina Fey) is fantastic. One pleasant surprise was from Gru's minions: they did not steal the show. Not that they should've- the little yellow guys were funny and entertaining, but one would expect from the previews they would ultimately be the best part of the film... and I'm happy to report that wasn't true.

Despicable Me is LOL funny throughout, warm, goofy, and will not disappoint. I'd say you're a despicable parent if you don't take your kids to see it immediately.

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