comquest

With so many awards and accolades, I expected this film to be compelling and entertaining. It was not for me. The first half is mostly talk with too many flashbacks and flashforwards. The second half has its exciting moments but there are too few to keep momentum.

The actors do reasonably well but the movie is simply too long to hold interest. I guess that's why the director inserted very loud sounds periodically to wake up viewers who drifted off to sleep, including my wife.

The story could have been told more effectively in two hours or less. I'm glad we streamed it at home so we could break it into two 90 minute segments. I would not watch it again.

As a fan of Yellowstone and its spin-offs, I was looking forward to this series -- especially since Taylor Sheridan is credited as the writer. I also like Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman.

Episode 1 was just okay, but left hope that the series would improve. Episode 2 was unnecessarily brutal and stupid. It had no redeeming values.

Episode 3 was a confusing mess. I had no idea what was happening most of the time.

The script does a poor job of storytelling, setting the scene, developing the characters and keeping viewers engaged. Episode 3 is where I get off. I would rather watch Yellowstone reruns than this garbage.

The first time I saw the original Avatar I was fascinated. The story, the beautiful visuals, the character interaction and the action scenes were like nothing I had ever seen or even imagined. The film is truely a masterpiece.

Perhaps I expected too much of this sequel but overall I was disappointed. The visuals were still great but nothing else really seemed new or creative. Just more of the same, different part of the planet and different time with more violence, more animal cruelty and far less character building.

Out of the 3+ hours, only about 20 minutes were really compelling and new. The battle scenes ran so long as to become tiresome and chaotic -- often reminding me of Terminator movies.

3D was only noticable occasionally and not worth the extra cost in my opinion.

Even Natalie Zea, a fine actress, can't save this mess. Episode One was pretty amazing but it's all (:: excuse the pun ::) downhill from there. At times it's hilariously dumb but most of the time it's just boring and repetitive. I'm on ep. 3 and find it hard to not laugh out loud at some of the idiotic dialogue.

Prehistoric creatures are introduced so regularly you could set your watch by their appearance. I guess that's to keep you from dozing off. It's not working for me, however. Zzzz 😴

I was a big fan of Lost but its strength was a cast of characters you actually cared about and an ongoing sense of mystery. La Brea just doesn't have that going for it.

If space travel is this hopelessly boring, I think I'll stay on Earth. Even Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette and Daniel Dae Kim couldn't save this turkey.

*** Possible Spoilers *** Much of the storyline made little sense: 1) How did such a big guy get into such a small space that had to be opened from outside?

2) Why did he stowaway?

3) How did he stowaway?

4) What's his background?

5) How did he seem to adapt so quickly to tasks assigned?

The cast did a admirable job but the storyline is just garbage. Don't waste your time.

I absolutely loved Peanut Butter Falcon. The story is compelling from the start and I was hooked by the quirky characters almost immediately.

Zack Gottsagen is simply amazing in his role as Zak and does an honest portrayal of Downs Syndrome. Dakota Johnson's Eleanor is lovable at first sight and Shia LaBeouf is great as Tyler. The chemistry between the three major characters helps to keep you interested throughout the movie.

Now that it's streaming on Hulu and elsewhere, I hope the millions more will enjoy it as much as I did.

I really wanted to like this film because I loved Julia Garner in Ozark. Her character was the most interesting and her performance was stellar.

She does an admirable job here, too, but there's so little to work with. It's a day in the life of an administrative assistant. That's it. My wife could relate because she held this position for years and recognized many situations she had also encountered.

I kept hoping something interesting or exciting might happen but it never does. There's no plot, no character development, very little dialogue and no reason for this movie to even exist.

If you love Julia as much as I do, rewatch Ozark where she really shines. No actor can save this sorry mess. Don't waste your time.

My wife and I only lasted for about 30 minutes. We both agreed this was one of the most chaotic movies we ever watched.

Nothing but lots of noise, people all shouting at once and ZERO character development or story development. After 30 minutes, all we knew was that Adam Sandler's character was somehow involved in buying and selling gemstones to a wealthy black athlete in NYC and he owed money to many unsavory characters.

Aside from that, we knew nothing about any of the characters nor did we have a inkling as to why we should care about them. Reading a dictionary would be more rewarding that this cinematic crap.

NOTE: This review applies only to Season 1.

The premise is intriguing and the acting is quite good, but the pacing is so slow that it often becomes boring. The story would have been more effective as a 2-hour movie than it is as a 10-episode series. You can tell that every episode was padded with yawns to fill the 30-minute time slot. The plot is so simple, it could be written in no more than five paragraphs.

Julia Roberts, Stephan James and Bobby Cannavale all turn in good performances, but there just isn't much to work with here.

Julia Roberts is laid back most of the time and seems to be on sedatives. I've seen the film described as a "thriller" so I watched all 10 episodes waiting for some thrills. They never happened. It just isn't worth the time.

Did you ever wonder what would happen if The Love Boat and Star Trek had a baby? Wonder no more. It would be Avenue 5. What a waste of a talented cast ... and your time. If you love space operas this will disappoint. If you love comedies this will be a groaner. My advice? Fly in the opposite direction.

Very disappointing. This production is historically inaccurate and downright boring most of the time. Even a great actor like Helen Mirren can't save it.

Producers should have saved some of the money spent on gaudy sets and costumes for better writing and research.

If you spend more than 15 minutes watching this garbage, you have no life.

I usually like sci-fi flicks that venture into space, but this one is a big exception. The premise that a crew made up of spoiled, whiny teenagers is the only chance Earth has of surviving the effects of an alien artifact* just doesn't fly.

Another Life has no redeeming qualities. It flat-out sucks. The acting, script, dialogue and CGI effects are unbelievably awful. I can't believe Netflix released ... or should I say perpetrated ... this clinker.

*The alien artifact enters Earth's atmosphere looking like an undulating rubber band in the shape of an infinity symbol. When it hits the ground it becomes a huge foil Jiffy Pop pan that grows into a tall cylindrical shaped object that appears to be made of ice, glass, mirrors and glitter.

Another pedestrian movie from Disney's Marvel Universe. Overblown battle scenes, dubious plot and tepid acting except for Samuel L. Jackson and Jake Gyllenhaal. I've seen most Spiderman flicks, but this one ranks at the bottom of the pack in my book.

Most characters were somewhat less than interesting. The international locations were one of the few highlights. If you're a Marvel fan, wait for the movie to show up on Blu-ray, streaming or Redbox. If you're not a Marvel fan, skip it altogether. Don't waste your money on this one.

Damon and Amber are often hilarious and their chemistry makes this sitcom appealing. The writing is often good but the situations could be stronger at times. Overall, I enjoy watching every episode and hope the series lasts and improves.

NOTE: This review applies only to Season 1.

The premise is intriguing and the acting is quite good, but the pacing is so slow that it often becomes boring. The story would have been more effective as a 2-hour movie than it is as a 10-episode series. You can tell that every episode was padded with yawns to fill the 30-minute time slot. The plot is so simple, it could be written in no more than five paragraphs.

Julia Roberts, Stephan James and Bobby Cannavale all turn in good performances, but there just isn't much to work with here.

Julia Roberts is laid back most of the time and seems to be on sedatives. I've seen the film described as a "thriller" so I watched all 10 episodes waiting for some thrills. They never happened. It just isn't worth the time.

I was really looking forward to this series. I usually like Sean Penn and, as a Designated Survivor fan, was glad to see Natascha on the cast. But wow! I watched the first two episodes and could not have been more disappointed.

How do you make a series about space travel so hopelessly slow and boring? You spend most of the time dealing with family issues and government hearings. Episode one had a few exciting moments, but I had a hard time staying awake for two. My wife fell asleep about 20 minutes in.

Character development is terrible. New characters are introduced and you are given few, if any, clues about their background or how they fit into the story. It isn't clear until episode two that Sean Penn's character is a former mission commander.

I hope they make it to Mars someday, but I won't be along for the ride. I think C-Span might be more exciting than this rubbish.

Tallulah has a dynamite cast and is engaging throughout. That is, until the ending.

Ellen Page is great as the title character and often displays the wry, endearing humor that made Juno such a memorable film. Seeing her and Allison Janney together is a real treat. Both women are wonderful actors who exhibit powerful chemistry together.

The premise is interesting, too. Is Tallulah justified in taking a baby from a drunken, unwilling mom? Perhaps. Although it's still kidnapping.

Then comes the ending. I was very disappointed that so many questions went unanswered. It's like they ran out of time, just stopped filming and ran the credits. Who got the baby? What happened to Tallulah? Did she stay with Nico? The sloppy ending left me feeling unsatisfied and, frankly, cheated.

After seeing the trailer and so many glowing reviews, I was really looking forward to "Arrival". Everything pointed to one of the best sci-fi movies in recent history, but the film failed to deliver on nearly every count. It's a snooze fest. What a disappointment!

Amy Adams did turn in an excellent performance as Dr. Louise Banks. She is really the only reason to ever watch this film. It's slow, boring and devoid of anything that borders on entertainment. I've seen it compared to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" but that was a compelling story with stellar production values. "Arrival" is neither. I've seen sci-fi movies from the 1950s with more convincing visuals.

The story is as muddled as the visual effects:

• The alien vessels look like giant grains of black rice.

• The creatures are basically large squid floating in dense fog.

• They bring us a "universal language" that they demonstrate by squirting ink on a window pane and refer to as a "weapon" (apparently there is no word for "language" in their universal language.)

• Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly, the supposed physicist, didn't seem to know anything about physics. He did nothing but follow Louise around.

• Most of the story line involves Dr. Banks and Ian going back and forth to the big black rice ship trying to communicate with the foggy squid. Their painfully slow progress is as exciting as watching a snail derby.

The ending is laughable. As I filed out of the theater, I turned to my wife and said, "I'm totally confused". She laughed and said, "I was about to say the same thing."

We overheard other people near us expressing similar reactions. One man said, "I didn't get it, did you?" and another said, "What did we just see?!?"

By midway through "Arrival" I was praying for its rapid departure.

I spent the first 20 years of my life in Battle Creek, Michigan. I grew up there. It's my hometown. Breaking Bad is my favorite crime series of all time. It goes without saying that I had high expectations for a TV series that would combine my hometown with the creative pen of Vince Gilligan. I have also liked Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters in previous roles.

I was hoping for greatness as episode 01 unfolded. I anxiously awaited a gritty, edgy, unexpected story line and unforgettably quirky characters like those of Breaking Bad. What I got was a slow, boring, run-of-the-mill detective show filled with lackluster characters and devoid of any real suspense or thrills.

As for Battle Creek, there was very little content connecting the actual town to its television namesake. Most of the series is filmed in California, and you could pretty much tell that from the look and feel. A few Battle Creek landmarks flashed by car windows once or twice. That was it. "Battle Creek" could take place in any small northern town.

Vince Gilligan needs to research some of Battle Creek's real-life cold case files if he needs some edgy stories. He'll find several that are stranger than fiction dating back to the 1940s and 50s.

I'll watch two more episodes in the hope that some innovation and inspiration may appear. If not, I'll catch the next train leaving the "Battle Creek" station.

I never heard of the movie Boyhood until it won a Golden Globe for best picture and was nominated for several Oscars, so I watched the DVD.

Movie of the year? The critics must be kidding! I understand the uniqueness of shooting a few scenes every year for 12 years, but the end result should be entertaining. Boyhood is not.

I'm a huge Seinfeld fan, the TV sitcom purported to be "a show about nothing". In fact, each episode was about something, be it a whale, a puffy shirt or a Chinese restaurant. Boyhood, on the other hand, is REALLY about nothing. It follows a boy slacker from age 5 to 18. The only character who is in any way endearing is his dad, played by Ethan Hawke. I never developed a connection to anyone else in the film.

Think of the most boring family you know. Then, imagine sitting on your butt for two and a half hours watching their home videos of the past 12 years. That's Boyhood. Plus, the method by which it was made is its own downfall. There are few logical segues from one choppy scene to the next. You rarely see resolution of various conflicts along the way, as you would in a drama. Instead, you are abruptly hurtled on to the next year for another pointless, often depressing vignette in the lives of a family of losers.

Who cares? The only reason I gave Boyhood 3 stars rather than one is the frequent appearance of the awesome GTO that belongs to the film's director and writer, Richard Linklater. That car is the only cool thing about Boyhood. The rest of it should have been left on the cutting room floor. Don't get sucked in by gushing critics, undeserved awards or excessive hype. It's not worth your time.

I was really looking forward to this film, as it's based on actual events that seemed interesting and appealing. What a disappointment!

This flick is so hopelessly slow and boring that we only made it through the first 45 minutes or so. By then, we were all falling asleep ... at 2:00 in the afternoon. Fortunately, we rented the movie for only $1.28 and didn't suffer a major financial loss.

It must take exceptional talent to combine such an intriguing story with a killer cast and end up with a total waste of film. The acting is so low key that Clooney and Damon both seem to be hooked on Valium. Plus, if there's a war going on, it's hard to tell. The cast spends most of their time sitting amidst rubble but rarely do you hear gunshots.

If you spend more than $1.28 to see this boring mess, then you are being foolish. My advice: skip it all together. The monuments in the nearest cemetery are more fun to watch.

From the very beginning, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" seemed to be missing something. Despite an all-too-brief appearance by Frodo and the return of several "Lord of the Rings" characters (Bilbo, Gandalf, and others), the story never became very compelling.

Sure, there were some nail-biting scenes, cool special effects and creatures galore but did you really care who won or lost? I didn't. I never felt the attachment to the characters in this film that I felt throughout the LOTR trilogy. I was never "on the edge of my seat" like I was so often during LOTR.

Perhaps 13 dwarfs were just too many to get your head around. Snow White pushed the envelope with Seven Dwarfs, but at least most people could remember seven names. Not so here. How many dwarfs can you remember by name? And don't get me started on creepy creatures! There were just too many of them and they got way too much screen time -- even Gollum. I got the feeling they were deliberately stretching scenes so the movie would play for nearly three hours.

It's not a terrible movie, but it lacks the heart and passion that made Lord of the Rings such a masterpiece.

I so looked forward to seeing this film, as I am a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln and all that he achieved against staggering odds.

First of all, let me say that Daniel Day-Lewis is wonderful as Lincoln. His performance is really the glue that holds the movie together. Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones were also outstanding in their roles.

My disappointment is with the script. This was an amazing story waiting to be told, but the screenplay does a very poor job of telling it. There is so little character development that important characters -- and even some leads -- are often not identified at all, and even if they are, you are told little about their role in things.

Parts of the film become really boring with excessive banter that seems to have little relevance. This film could have been so much more than it is with some good, old-fashioned story telling.

If Skyfall deserves a best picture nomination, then I am Mickey Rooney.

The title sequence, opening action scenes and the final 45 minutes or so are exciting and compelling. But I had to be shaken not stirred just to stay awake during the middle of this slow-moving, boring film.

The screenplay is poorly developed and fails to tell the story effectively. Naomie Harris is, in my opinion, the only actor who turned in a stellar performance. Bond (Daniel Craig) and M (Judi Dench) were so deadpan throughout the film that I swear they were overdosing on Valium. There are times when I felt as though I was watching the Walking Dead. It's not a crime to show some emotion every once in a while.

Is this the "new direction" of the 007 franchise? Then count me out. It would be more respectful to bury it altogether and film the memorial service.

I was looking forward to this series, but having seen the pilot episode, I'm not sure I will continue to follow The Following. While the premise is intriguing, the gore exhibited in pilot was way over the top.

I'm not squeamish and have enjoyed watching countless bloody thrillers and teen slasher flicks, but this episode was just too much. I'll watch one more, but unless they dial it back a notch, I'm gone.

Matt Damon seemed less than convincing and, aside from a few surprise twists, most of the storyline was less than inventive. I'll take NCIS any day over this.