rich7354

On the plus side, the production was top notch with nice costumes and CGI.

However, the crux of this series can be summed up with that old favorite phrase from the Seinfeld TV series, "Yadda Yadda Yadda, Blah Blah Blah". Not only is the dialog dull, inane, and mostly pointless; it goes on forever and ever, without taking you anywhere (admittedly it is occasionally interrupted by some interesting action sequences). By the tenth episode I was glad that it had ended.

Other drawbacks are:

The character of Blackthorne. I don't know if it was the actor, director, or script, but this character was dull, boorish, and obnoxious (and he always had this confused, dumb look on his face). This is not something you want in a protagonist.

Mariko's character was uninteresting and boring. I did not even feel sad when she met her demise; my reaction was more "Oh well" (shrug).

For those that have never played the game, the basic premise is that the protagonist starts in an underground fallout shelter called a vault, and through various circumstances is forced to the surface in a struggle to survive.

This show gets that part right, but it's via a poorly written story that has no coherent thought process behind it. Sure, there's a general plot that is followed in each episode. Unfortunately, the writers don't seem to want to actually tell a good story, they just want to set up individual scenes that are loosely tied together... and don't even get me started on the plethora of plot holes and inconsistencies.

On a positive note, the show does a good enough job of capturing the look and feel of the Fallout world. However, it does not seem to populate that world with all of the enemies and monsters that you would find in the game. It gives you a few ghouls and radroaches here and there, but the actual Fallout world is teeming with these, as well as an abundance of other nasties to be dealt with.

Overall, I was very disappointed with this because, as the title says, I expected greatness and I got mediocrity.

What was this show suppose to be? A crime drama, a comedy, a mob film? Actually, it was suppose to be all of those; turns out, it was none of them.

It started with some very poor episodes, peaked with two brilliant episodes (thus garnering a solid 5 stars), and finished with some terrible ones.

The majority of the episodes just meandered aimlessly around a very loose central theme that didn't really go anywhere. For the most part, there was very little humor and very little drama. Most of the "plot twists" could be seen from miles away. The season finale was so bad, it had me cringing in my chair.

One final point: I believe the character of Freddy existed only to demonstrate how stupid Eddie was. Why else would he continue to trust Freddy to do ANYTHING, if he wasn't stupid?

I had no idea this series was based on some books, and actually didn't find that out until reading some reviews here after I had finished all eight episodes (I typically will watch a show/series, formulate my opinion, and then read reviews to see how my thinking stacks up).

The show started pretty slow, but still kept my interest to continue watching. For the first three episodes the writing was pretty tight, though it continued to move rather slowly. The next two episodes were pretty poor as the writers got lazy. In addition to introducing some pretty big plot holes, they also decided it was time for some melodrama. By episode six, there was no holding back. The writing got so bad it was almost comical. More melodrama, more and bigger plot holes, and just plain nonsense. This pattern continued until the end of the season, which gave us a finale that did absolutely nothing. It was like they wanted to do ten episodes, but ran out of money after number eight, so the season just ended.

I only started watching this because I'm a big Michelle Yeoh fan. From the first episode on, I knew I was in for a treat. There's plenty of action, humor, and drama. And though, they're the bad guys, Mama Sun and Charles were very likeable and it was easy to get invested in them.

Bruce, on the other hand, was a bit of a douche. Totally misguided and one dimensional, the writers did not do his character any favors over the course of the series. However, I'm glad my biggest fear concerning him was not realized. I really expected the writers to turn him into some super gangster by the end of the series. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

Though I really enjoyed the show, there were some downsides. Many things were very predictable and there wasn't much in the way of surprises. Additionally, I was disappointed see that certain characters didn't get their comeuppance... maybe in season two.

Never having seen the animated version, I had no expectations going into this. I didn't even know what the storyline was until I read it on Netflix. On viewing the first episode, I was totally hooked and binge watched the rest of the series. Here are my thoughts.

The good: Great visuals, great CGI, compelling story, and characters you can actually like (unlike so many shows these days). Add to that some very good action sequences and fast paced storytelling, and you pretty much have a recipe for success.

The bad: As with so many other shows, the writers do not seem to know how to write a great season finale... it wasn't terrible, but it was unsatisfying. Additionally, the acting and dialog suffered at times, particularly with the Aang and the firebender princess (can't remember her name).

Conclusion: I thought this was a very good effort and well worth watching. I'm looking forward to season two.

The premise for this series, a family of Ninjas doing the government's dirty work, sounded very interesting, and I really looked forward to the first episode. In that episode, we're introduced to the family, as well as a lot of family drama; and it was fairly slow paced. No problem, I say, I'm sure it will get better. Next comes episode two. Oh my gosh family melodrama goes into overdrive and continues through episode 3. I almost quit watching at this point, but decided to give it one more episode.

Fortunately, about half way through episode four, things kicked into gear and started to get moving. Lots of action, lots of humor, lots of emotion, and lots of fun. It pretty much kept up this pace all the way to episode eight (the season finale), though some things were pretty predictable.

Episode eight started with a lot of promise, and was easily the best episode of the series... until the last 15 minutes. In that short period time, the writers managed to almost completely wreck the entire series. What a shame.

Just finished watching season one and I'd rate this a 6.6/10. It has some very well choreographed martial arts scenes (and a few bad ones as well) that give the series its ooomph.

For the most part, I enjoyed almost every episode, though there was one serious clunker. That said, what kept this series from being truly great for me was the character of Leary. I despised every scene he was in, and he doesn't really add anything to the narrative. Also, his presence doesn't make sense to me, and where does he get the money to pay for everything he does.

One last quibble; there are not many likeable characters in this show, but I'm hoping that will change in season two, which I'll review once I've completed viewing it.

Season Two: 5.4/10 I guess I need to get use to disappointment when it comes to shows like this. Instead of improving the likeability of any characters they went further down the rabbit whole and made most of them worse.

I did like Hong, but I hated Sophie. Additionally, they seemed to focus more on Leary, which was a huge letdown. This season did contain a couple of gems, but most episodes were pretty poor. Out of the twenty episodes I've watched so far, this season contained the best one, and the four worst ones (and they were really bad).

One final thought on season two. Though the fights are well done, the mano a mano duels are comical... it's like watching old Saturday wrestling shows.

I'll watch season three and hope for something better. I just have to wonder how the heck this series is rated so high.

Season 3: 1/10 Well, the s#$tshow that was season three can best be summed up by the Everly Brothers "Problems, problems, problems all day long." And, for the most part, none of them get resolved. If I wanted to watch something dreary, depressing, and hopeless, I just watch The Handmaid's Tale. What a waste of time.

Like so many other shows, the writers poured a lot of thought and effort into the first episodes; but, again like so many other shows, they decided to abandon their recipe for success so they could introduce a lot of faux drama.

What made the first five episodes so good was the fact that the writers focused on Mr. And Mrs. Smith performing their missions. There was humor, excitement, romance, and intrigue. What made the last three episodes so bad was the fac that the writers abandoned all that so they could pursue some childish notion of drama and action.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will watch season two (if there is one); I just hope the writers give up on there pursuit of juvenile pseudo drama and return to the formula that made the series worth watching.

I'm not reviewing this based on anything technical, ie: acting, directing, cinematography, etc. My review is based on two things, and two things alone.

Number one, the story is dreadfully depressing; as I neared the end of the first episode, nothing good or redeeming has happened at all. It's just one sad scene after another. I was hoping that there would eventually be a silver lining in this otherwise somber and dreary cloud. With that thought, I paused the show, and came here to read what others thought. I read a plethora of reviews which confirmed my suspicion that nothing good ever happens, and that what I saw in episode one is the what I'll be seeing in every episode after it. Hence, I shrugged and decided to move on to something I could actually enjoy.

Number two, the first episode moved at a snail's pace. Long shots of the protagonist walking around, staring into the distance, or just doing nothing in particular.

In conclusion, I'm baffled by how this received such high ratings.

I happened to watch the two suicide squad films in reverse order, and though this one was not that good, it was far better than the second one. Unfortunately both suffered from the same issues... they were completely over the top with far too much excess in almost everything they did (the second one just did a better job of being bad, lol).

On the bright side, however, this one did have a certain amount of charm, and I did enjoy a bit of the banter between the characters. Additionally, some of the action scenes were very good. But, even given those few accolades, overall the movie was sub par.

I'm completely surprised by how much I enjoyed this "superhero" show from Marvel.

The first episode dragged a bit and was somewhat confusing at times. But, it had enough to keep me watching a second episode, then a third, fourth... well you get the idea. I think what kept me interested was the fact that Moon Knight is not your typical superhero.

The basic plot is that there is an evil cult that worships an Egyptian goddess who has been imprisoned by the other Egyptian gods. Said cult is trying to free her so she can rain down her judgement on our hapless planet. Our hero, Marc, serves a different god and derives his power (and a cool suit) from that god. Needless to say, they want to stop the cult's nefarious plan, but there's a hitch. Marc is stuck in the body of a meek/mild souvenir shop employee named Steven, who doesn't want Marc taking control of his body.

LOL, as I was writing the above description, it struck me as to how inane the plot sounds; but, believe me, the writers did a great job of making it work.

This series started off with two pretty good episodes and I was looking forward to enjoying it. Unfortunately, the rest of episodes ranged from mediocre to abysmal. This was mainly due to the plethora of horrible inconsistencies in the plot, story, and characters. There was no telling in which direction any of these would go from one episode to the next. Besides being a very weak heroine, the female protagonist suffered from multiple personality disorder. In one episode she would be strong willed and compelling, in the next a whining child, and in yet another, a misguided fool. All in all, I was terribly let down by the whole enterprise.

I'm writing this review during a writers' strike. Hopefully, the writers from this show have joined that strike and will not return.

Don't really know where to start with this steaming pile.

The premise was interesting (though not very believable), but the actual series just gnaws at your gut like a thousand rats devouring you from the inside. The lead characters were not just despicable, they were something from a nightmare.

I do have to give it credit for one thing; I actually laughed out loud... a lot. The whole plot, dialog, and story line were so preposterous that it could easily have been a dark satire. Who knows; maybe it was and I'm just too dense to have realized that.

In any event, this is a complete groaner from start to finish and never even comes close to redeeming itself.

And boy was this series stupid.

Let's see if I can recap how terrible this really was.

First we have our trite, boring, and tiresome lovers' triangle. The three participants being:

Marta - An entitled, self-absorbed, vamp incapable of actually having any real feeling for someone else (though she fakes it pretty well at times).

Niko - Probably the worst of the three. A consummate narcissist and d-bag with no redeeming qualities. How Marta could even be interested in him boggles the mind.

Bogdan - The self righteous straight arrow. He was probably the least objectionable of the three, only because his character was a bit more complex and I couldn't completely figure him out.

Next come the events that happen in 2022. This consisted of macho and testosterone laced dialogues and actions that stunk to high heaven. After the first two episodes, I fast forwarded through most of these scenes so I could get to...

... the final entry; a mediocre and bland sci-fi element that wasn't all that interesting and had no real climax, but was, unfortunately, the best part of the entire series.

One thing that bothered me to no end (even though it was pretty minor) is the fact that in 2022, Bogdan is significantly taller than Marta. In 2052, they're almost the same size. A small thing, but it demonstrates the production teams lack of attention to detail.

All in all, this was a pretty painful viewing experience.

This series was very strong out of the gate and kept me riveted for the first three episodes. We had some good acting, a tight story line, and a plot that moved along nicely, and didn't contain too many holes (though there were some).

Then, wham, with episode four it starts its descent into what eventually becomes a steam piling of you-know-what by the time we get to the totally abysmal episode six. In the final three episodes we are treated to plot holes galore (seems almost like every other scene has one), inane dialog that makes no sense and goes nowhere, and incredibly stupid plot twists that have no basis in fact, logic, or just common sense.

Finally, the fact that they decided to make the London police (or their anti-terrorist equivalent) look like the keystone kops just speaks to the lack of critical thinking employed by the writers.

By the end, I felt like I had been abused.

I must say, though not great, this was an enjoyable watch for me. The writing and story were entertaining, even if they did require some leaps in logic that fell short. The two leads worked well together and had good rapport and chemistry; I look forward to seeing them in season two. On the whole it was fast paced, and the tension kept me interested in what was happening.

On the down side, that same tension sometimes took too long to build before it was released. Additionally, the assassins received too much screen time and character development. Past knowing that they were hired guns for the bad guys, I didn't care about them at all. Yet, for some reason, the writers wanted us to get to know them.

Even though I liked the series quite a bit, one of the things that left me a bit cold was the trail of bodies... seems like just too many people died over the course of ten episodes.

No! Wait! I'm awake! Really!

What a snooze fest this was. The best part of the entire movie was the short tribute to the original Black Panther (and Chadwick Boseman) near the end of the movie. The rest was just a slow crawl between various mundane action sequences.

The introduction of a new super villain was weak and uninspiring as well. Characters that you loved in the first Black Panther movie were reduced to nothing more than cardboard cutouts just going through the motions as they tried to spin a web of faux drama. The entire movie just felt lifeless and humorless. Unfortunately, it seems that they set up a sequel that will just bring more of the same monotony.

While the first movie wasn't great, it had its charm, kept me entertained, and I enjoyed it... this movie, not so much.

In the first movie Ho is told that the time travel device can only be used three times, after which it will be destroyed. It also mentioned that it was already used at least once, probably twice. So, in keeping with that setup, the writers proceed to have the device used over and over again. Oops, that guy in the first movie didn't really know what he was talking about.

Unfortunately, the was just one small part of what was so wrong with this movie. The story had no continuity and just meandered along as one writer after another had a brain fart. Additionally, plot holes lurked behind almost every corner. There seemed to be no real rhyme or reason to what was taking place on the screen.

The end result was one massive failure for what could have been a good sequel.

This film definitely was not as good as I hoped it would be. I have not seen any of the series episodes, so I had no preconceptions going in and was drawn to it by the interesting premise. Well, apparently it's easier to come up with good premise than it is to implement one.

It's hard to describe, but on the one hand the movie ran along at a fairly rapid pace, but inexplicably seemed to drag at the same time. Also, given the weak (almost non existent) plot, things were extremely predictable and there weren't any gotcha's, twists, or turns.

A final note. Andy Serkis did his usual good job of playing gollum... poor guy, he's so typecast.

I think everyone probably knows the premise of this movie, so I won't reiterate any of that.

Instead, lets focus on a couple of different things.

First, the move has no real character. Except for the action sequences, which are quite good, the movie is relatively boring. It spends over half the its time just setting up the need, building of, and testing of RoboCop, and it does it at a snails pace.

Other disappointments are the anti-climactic ways several of the bad guys are dispatched. I knew the would get theirs, but I thought it would be more entertaining.

All that being said, I'll finish on a positive note. As I mentioned earlier, the action sequence (too few) and CGI were top notch.

While not great by any stretch of the imagination, season one was enjoyable and different. It had some unique things that made it interesting for me and kept me engaged. Though the dialog was a bit cheesy and definitely needed improvement, it wasn't something that dragged down the entire show. Even with the poor cliffhanger season finale, I was looking forward to season two.

Well, season two came and I dived in. Unfortunately, it didn't take long to go off the rails, to the point where I could no longer bear it. In retrospect, I have to chalk this up another case of writers doing a decent job on a premiere season, and not being up to the task thereafter... too bad.

Though I was disappointed that this wasn't an actual Hercules movie, it was surprisingly enjoyable and much better than I expected.

If you're looking for a Hercules story with mythology and monsters, this isn't it. Instead, you have an ordinary mortal who is capitalizing on the Hercules myth.

The premise is that Hercules is "just a guy" who happens to be very strong and leads a group of mercenaries from one fight to another. He and his band are roped into helping a king secure his throne from a would be usurper. Action, betrayal, and mayhem ensue and it's actually pretty fun to watch, despite the plot not being anything spectacular.

This series started on a very low note and, incredibly, finished even lower. Almost every episode was mind numbingly dreadful.

It starts as a space mission designed to save our dying planet. But, as you can guess, things quickly go wrong and never get better. We are dragged through ten horrific episodes of terrible writing, gaping plot holes, implausible (at least in the context of the show) events, and nonsensical characters.

These are seasoned scientists and space explorers who constantly act like spoiled children who only if their own self interest at heart. If you decide you need to watch it, do yourself a favor and fast forward through most of it.

Whoever thought it would be a good idea to take a master jedi and turn him into an angst-ridden, neurotic, incompetent padawan needs to stay as far away from Star Wars as possible; it pretty much ruined the series.

Of course, there were some good spots, it's hard not to have at least a few in a Star Wars story; and, though the final episode was very good, the rest of them ran from mediocre to abysmal.

Additionally, one of the problems that all prequels have, and is very evident here, is that we already know what the future holds. As a result, we don't worry about a character who is in trouble or about to die, because we know better. This also has an unfortunate side effect, the writers will kill off newly introduced characters instead.

One final note which concerns the acting. On the whole it ranged from decent to very good. Unfortunately, the actress playing Reva (I think that was her name), was just terrible.

If there's a second season, I'll probably watch it just because it's Star Wars, but I'm not expecting a lot.