Change Your Image
wds0007
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Spider-Man (2002)
Set the standard for superhero movies
I remember this movie fondly as I was a big Spiderman fan of the Marvel comic in the 1970s. I just spent a Wednesday afternoon watching it again after many years ad now that I have the perspective of the Marvel productions that came after it I must say it holds up well. Really well.
All the Marvel movies suffer from the same problems. The standard origin story leads to a showdown with the big bad guy in which the hero just manages to prevail. Toss in multiple fistfights and generous doses of CGI and you have the basic standard thing repeated for each character. There's little else to it.
But the 2002 Spiderman was woven around a human drama and a large part of the movie concentrated on that. Tobey McGuire was a perfect choice for the lead character. He played the nerd loser who had real heart and cared for his aunt and uncle while in love with Mary Jane. That gave us something to cheer for besides just the battles with the bad guy. It led to several great scenes as well as the now iconic kiss. Willem Dafoe was excellent as well giving the Green Goblin a human side as well as a really scary villain. And JK Simmons killed it.
The subsequent Marvel movies really lack in any true character development. They were fun to watch for a while and it was impressive how they coordinated all those movies to resolve in the last Avengers movie. But I'm burned out on this approach. I can't imagine seeing another one.
The 2002 Spiderman and the next sequel were terrific. The third installment, not so much.
Shôgun (2024)
Good series but can anything do real justice to the book?
Ah, 1152 pages of an intricate story is very hard to approach. Ten hour-long episodes cannot really capture what made the book so great but I give them credit for trying.
I'm not sure a lot was gained by making so much of the dialog in Japanese. I'm sure that went over well in Japan but the majority of their audience was surely in English speaking countries and that just turns off a lot of viewers.
The heart of the book was the love story between Blackthorne and Mariko and that is not found in this series at all. I sensed zero chemistry between the actors and we never really saw much to justify their attraction to each other.
I'm sure the showrunners had their reasons to depart from the book as much as they did but I didn't care for doing that. If you had not read the book I am unsure you would really understand this story from the series. However I hope it will inspire people to go and read this magnificent work of historical fiction.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
OK show but has serious writing problems
I watched the first three seasons of this lately to see what all the fuss was about how good it was. Here is my opinion.
The show has appealing stars and corners the market as far as physical characteristics goes so I'm sure it satisfies the young adult crowd. Charisma Carpenter was amazingly beautiful and the rest of the stars were quite striking too.
The effects and makeup were fair. I guess the money wasn't there for that. The Oz werewolf was so bad they wisely avoided showing much of him.
The dialog could get quite witty.
But the writing...
Sure, we know this is a vampire story so we relax suspension of belief a lot. But even in such stories there needs to be a minimum of reality. BtVS just doesn't care. A high school where a student or teacher is murdered every week but remains open? No problem. Rarely does the death of someone cause much concern with the authorities. Buffy's true nature is a secret among the students - until the end of season three when ALL the graduating class suddenly seem to be aware of it AND gladly pick up flame throwers, bows, and swords and attack a huge monster AND a group of vamps. And why wasn't Buffy's mom at graduation?
One episode has Angel saying goodbye - the next one has him back with no reference to what he said. In fact they split up so many times it got boring.
Xander and Cordelia in a relationship after how many episodes of hating each other? And then bang - that goes away instantly after Xander starts going after Willow. And then bang THAT goes away so Willow can sleep with Oz?
These were just some of the issues.
Whedon just doesn't care if the stories make much sense. It showed.
Resident Alien (2021)
This is a really funny show
It is interesting to see the amount of time they put in developing all the characters. Of course Alan Tudyk deserves the lion's share of credit for making it so much fun but you have to give the black sheriff a strong runner up award - it's the way he combines his tough guy face with humor from the hood. Oh, and I loved it when he met the sheriff from Jessup and introduced himself as Big Black and she responded naming herself as "Medium Brown".
I really hoped the antagonistic relationship with Max would continue, loved seeing Max outsmart him. Even the Darcy character has really good moments.
Bluey (2018)
One of the best
So I had the grandkids (ages 8 and 6) for a sleepover and let them pick a show to watch. I always watch their choices too so they don't select something inappropriate and saw a few episodes of "Bluey". I had never heard of it before.
I have always been a fan of animation. My childhood saw the transition from Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes to Hanna/Barbera - in other words moving from practically an art form to a cheap poorly produced product. And I noticed the differences even as a kid. Things like the conveyor belt background, the same sound effects, formulaic story, etc.
Bluey is on a different plane. It's kind of like the "Ted Lasso" of cartoons - it unabashedly is trying to make you feel good. It shows the family as a loving, nurturing environment where children are not pandered to and adults are capable of learning just as much as the kids.
I am thankful that they retained the original voice actors and didn't try to use others to was the accents away. These actors are uniformly excellent especially the kids. I noticed the kids are not credited and after a search discovered that they were recruited from the families of the crew. The anonymity was for their privacy. Nice.
This is a wonderful show completely appropriate for child and adults.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017)
One of the best series I've seen
I didn't even consider watching this when I first heard about it - the idea of a female stand-up comedian in the 50s just sounded like another lashing of the patriarchy and I've seen a lot of those shows. But this was something else. It was one of the best series I've ever seen.
The lions share of the credit goes to Rachel Brosnahan. She didn't have a lot on her resume although I remember her in House of Cards. Not exactly a role like this. But she is amazing - charismatic, witty, and absolutely gorgeous in those 50s fashions. She absolutely nails the role. Alex Borstein is incredible too.
The dialog between those two is what makes this show. It's fast, clever, and hilarious. Plus the show spares no expense on scenes and concepts. There's a mock performance of a Broadway-like show dedicated to waste removal that is very funny. You can find a number of skits like that incorporated in 5 seasons of the show.
I think they timed it well and went out at about the right time. And nailed the ending. I will miss this show.
The Diplomat (2023)
Big win for Keri Russell
This show is terrific. Keri Russell was good in The Americans but here she goes even farther. The chemistry between her and Rufus Sewell is a scorching hot love-hate affair and the fistfight between them was wild.
The plot is very very dense. You really have to pay attention to keep up with all the characters and what part they play in a complicated story. It's a weird mix of seriousness and frivolity - the idea that a CIA station chief would compromise herself in the way that she did is absurd but it ends up playing a crucial role in the story.
I loved this show. I would love to see another season. Not too sure they can hit this high a note again though.
High Desert (2023)
Not my cup of mud
Well, tried to give it a chance with two episodes. But Arquette so completely dominates the screen that it's all about her and her only. I get the character she's trying to do but it's so over the top and the jokes fall flat. Her attempt to browbeat a landlord is so formulaic I just cringed. She does seem to be constantly out of breath and you cannot help wondering if it's all that weight she's carrying.
The strange jump from the opening scene to present day was jarring. And you wondered "Did she not get arrested and serve time"? Who knows, they didn't explain.
It's just not funny. And this show is supposed to be funny.
Crazyhead (2016)
Hilarious horror-comedy
This was a jewel we just happened on while browsing Netflix. We had not heard of it anywhere but the title and some tiles that accompany it on the site were enough to convince us to give it a try. After all, cost nothing right? In one episode we were so hooked I was already grumbling about the short 6 episode season. Make no mistake - the best thing about this show is the banter. The back and forth between Rachel, Amy, and Jake is absolutely priceless. We turned on closed captions so we wouldn't miss a thing (especially since the English accents here can be a bit thick). It takes a lot to get outright belly laughs out of me but this show had me howling at times. Especially one scene where Amy punts a rabbit in the woods. Man I hope this gets a green light for another hopefully longer season! Give it a try.
Solomon Kane (2009)
Really good action flick
When you take a chance on a Netflix streamer you can either get a stinker of the Chiller movie of the week or a decent film. This one is the latter. The acting was good, the effects were solid (well maybe the demon at the end could have been better) and the story was interesting. The opening really caught my attention.
After seeing this you understand why they called it the Dark Ages, I was longing for dry weather and some color after a point. I did wonder what the point of marking the girl's hand was, it never came back into the story. Thanks to the writers for not taking on a useless love story. This is fine Saturday night entertainment.
Scary or Die (2012)
Too many crew reviews here
I'm sorry but seriously? SPOILERS BELOW.
After watching the first two stories I could watch no more. It was too bad. I logged in here to read what I assumed would be similar reviews. Instead I see WAY too many 6-10 star reviews.
Look, I recognize that many if not most beginning directors, actors, and writers enter the industry in the horror genre and that's OK. But I wish they and the associated crew members wouldn't try to bid up their efforts like this. Take the criticism to heart and learn from it and go on to make better movies.
The first story (The Crossing) was awful. Acting was way over the top. Characters were walking cartoons. Makeup was poor (especially the dirty teeth). The Mexican store clerk was so stereotypical he would've been at home in a Merry Melodies cartoon. SEEEE, SIGNOR! What was wrong with the sound? I had to turn up the volume to hear dialog, it was so poorly mixed.
When the driver started spouting profound statements before killing the two stooges I cringed. Please.
The cheapness of the production was enhanced by having the characters interact with things off camera. Like one of the killers prodding something but the camera didn't show it or the zombies eating someone but all we saw was his face.
The ending was stupid. Why did the agents shoot the woman? I mean, a white woman in obvious distress comes out of the desert and you SHOOT her? She obviously wasn't a zombie.
The second story wasn't quite as bad but made little sense. And another dumb ending. I had enough at that point.
This movie was poor and should have ratings that reflect that. Instead I see some as high as 9 or 10! Come on guys, let US review YOUR work. Go back and try again.