johnc_22

I found the series to be entertaining and fairly well done, and it was good to see real Atlanta neighborhoods included, but it really is a shallow interpretation of a sprawling novel that goes very deeply into the characters in this series and what Atlanta was like in the 90's. In some ways the novel was too long, but by the same token this series is kind of too short to do the great parts of the novel justice.

In the book Atlanta and its culture, crime, racism, poverty, wealth and various classes are part of the background and deeply explored. While a bit of this is included in the series, Atlanta is just a setting and not the essence of what made up the novel (if you live here you know).

There are a lot of characters and events completely omitted by the series, and it would have had to be much longer to truly capture it all. The roles and backgrounds of the characters have been somewhat mixed up and mashed together I guess to tell a more entertaining narrative, but again, it's a disservice to a very entertaining novel.

If you enjoyed the series you'll probably really enjoy the novel.

What's the point? The premise of the film, the production values, the casting, the acting, the pacing, all are way better than the average Netflix movie. On the other hand, most Netflix films at least are written in a style that concludes, somehow, in an attempt to satisfy the viewer. This was just a practical joke of a film, and the viewers are the butt of the joke.

If you are wondering what the movie is like before it drops you off a cliff, think M Night Shyamalan, just if he made films that end 15 minutes before the actual story ends. I just don't get it and am surprised they were able to attract the A-level talent for this. There I wrote as much as I was required to.

Do not waste your time with this awful film. Sure, it's based on a true story, but usually such a film would have some redeeming quality. You know, intelligent dialog, good acting, at least one redeeming character, even credible depiction of a specific place or time. This film lacks all of those.

The acting is mediocre to bad. Emilia Clarke does an OK job but is given some horrible dialogue. At one point she utters the word "whilst" which had to be a slip of her British tongue that the lazy editors/producers/directors let slip, or just didn't bother reshooting. It definitely didn't come from some backwoods Kentucky trailer park crack ho.

Johnny Knoxville isn't even the worst actor in this sad sack of garbage, but I'm not sure who is.

Kevin Dunn is one of the best actors in the film but is given a bit role at the very end that has no consequence to the overall story or quality of the film.

The plot is jarringly uneven with massive jumps in time, place and events with no transition.

The depiction of rural Kentucky while probably somewhat based in reality, comes off as cartoonish and way over the top.

There is no hero in this film, not a single character to connect with unless you like your FBI agents homicidal and crooked.

This movie is gritty but only in that way that sand gets stuck in your bathing suit after a day at the beach. Abrasive.

The book might actually be decent, but you wouldn't know it from this train wreck. It's hard to understand how someone spends their money making something like this.

At 4 seasons it seems short compared to other "great" shows. Breaking Bad gets a 10, I'd give this a 9.5 if I could. It's hard to fathom why this show means so much to certain people, and certainly too few, but having grown up in early 80's and teaching myself to program, and remaining in the IT industry still today after a few start-ups, it all clicks and feels real. The first season, while uneven, ends with a taste of what the show will become, a show about relationships in good times and bad.

I finished the show several months ago, after having tried to watch it a few years ago, and I've not been able to stop thinking about it. I am watching it again to try to figure out why it has stuck with me more than any show I can remember. I only wish I could convince more people to watch it - get past the first few episodes and it settles in to one of the best shows every produced.

There is a ton of TV to watch these days but very few shows take the time to really develop the characters and relationships, and as result they lose my interest quickly. This show does it and makes it look easy - I wish there were more like it.

With the acting talent involved Netflix must have spent a good bit of money on this film. It's too bad they don't spend some of the money on writers and editors. While the plot starts with an interesting premise (an unexpected passenger on a two year space flight where only enough resources were sent for the intended crew) the execution is horrible. The commander makes dumb mistakes (that they'd never make without sign-off from ground control). The ending is just awful. It's like they just got tired of writing, or there was a certain character limit to the script and they had to wrap it up with no meaning. Really (more) awful stuff from Netflix. It's no wonder subscribers are leaving and their stock is in the tank.

SPOILER: it was an accidental death, a story which can be told in about 30 minutes, including the criminal facts. There is about 3.5 hours of excessive YouTube conspiracy theory losers.

Netflix has several very good true crime documentaries, this thing is a mess and a waste of your time. Skip it.

The Haunting of Hill House would be hard to follow up. Bly starts good but is a bit slow and you keep hoping for payoff. Unfortunately about half-way through the series, the back story just really messes up the pacing and leaves the viewer wading through an episode or two of new characters in which they are not invested. I was definitely hoping for better. The production values are excellent as is the acting but the plot and pacing are just missing something.

While I am a horror fan, I have not read Shirley Jackson's book so I can't say whether it's a faithful adaptation, or anything like that.

What I can say is that this series is excellently written, acted and filmed. About the only reason I can't give it a 10/10 is that the pacing was at times slightly slow, but the payoff was there. I appreciate a story told and finished. Too many TV series these days seem to run on as the writing quality fades just to keep viewers watching.

Netflix releases quite a few original clunkers but this is amongst the best shows they've produced. Highly recommended whether you like horror or not - this show offers so much more.

Lost meets The Blair Witch Project and fails miserably. Creepy music and jumpy cuts can't save this train wreck. Much like Lost this show only has the semblance of a plot, it's mostly just people traipsing through the jungle while unseen forces mess with their heads. The use of hand held video cameras and flashbacks to taped events is just a gimmick to hide the fact that there's no "there" there. Much like Lost each episode ends with the promise that something will actually happen NEXT week, sort of like the old bar advertisement FREE BEER TOMORROW. The acting is not to blame, just the writing and whatever network exec signed off on this. Keep watching suckers, this one will be on the chopping block.

It's unfortunate that the networks have no clue how to make compelling TV these days. FX, AMC, HBO and A&E all make better shows currently. Removing this garbage from my DVR schedule after the first 6 episodes.

This is a standard police procedural attempting to differentiate itself with the gimmick of Alcatraz prisoners suddenly disappearing, leading to the closure of Alcatraz, and then reappearing in modern day times and committing crimes. Sadly every episode follows the exact same plot sequence with no overarching storyline, just a series of episodes where a prisoner reappears and commits whatever felonies they were once imprisoned for. There are time shifts from modern day to when the prisoners were originally incarcerated at Alcatraz throughout each show to fill out the story of the particular prisoner for that episode.

I had high hopes but this is just another police procedural and pales in comparison to some of the better shows on TV that actually build characters that you can feel some empathy for (Southland, Justified). The CSI formula has obviously been successful with a large number of viewers and this show is not much different other than the slight twist mentioned above. Not a bad way to spend an hour but doesn't hold my attention.

I truly was surprised by how much I enjoyed the original Matrix. While I can't get Bill & Ted out of my head whenever I see Keanu, he sort of changed my mind with that movie.

Flash forward to today, 5/17/2003 and Reloaded. I was seriously anticipating this movie, and while LoTR Two Towers did not disappoint as a sequel, this did. I got the feeling that this movie was basically bait for the 3rd and final of the series. This movie is a jumbled collection of lengthy soliloquys held together by lengthy action sequences. The plot never really gels IMO, and an hour into the film I looked at my watch wondering when something would happen. There's no continuity here, with little character development beyond the main players from the first film, and definitely not enough to support the entire Zion twist.

Plot complaints aside, stylistically this movie is still top-notch, particularly the repeated dream sequence with Trinity, but I go to movies (and yes, shell out $$$) for more than eye candy, and I left feeling like I'd had a bunch of candy, but was still hungry for some reason.

Here's to hoping for more of a story in the final movie.

YMMV,

John