Change Your Image
duron600
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Painkiller (2023)
The lying is ironic
The bad guys in this show are the pharmaceutical pushers who lie and deceive. Ironically, the moral message of the show's writers is also deceptive.
First of all, Oxycontin is not heroin. OxyContin is a brand name for a prescription medication called oxycodone, which is a semi-synthetic opioid. It is a legal and medically prescribed drug used for the management of moderate to severe pain. OxyContin is formulated as an extended-release tablet, meaning it is designed to release the active ingredient slowly over time, providing long-lasting pain relief. It is a legal medication when prescribed by a healthcare professional and taken as directed.
Heroin, on the other hand, is an illegal street drug. It is chemically diacetylmorphine and is derived from morphine, a natural substance found in the opium poppy plant. Heroin is a highly potent and addictive opioid that is not approved for medical use in the United States and many other countries. It is commonly associated with illicit drug use and is not prescribed by healthcare professionals.
Secondly, bureaucrats are not heroes that uphold civilization - in fact, quite the opposite; bureaucracy is the scourge of civilization, ever growing, ever encumbering, ever slowing growth and freedom.
Matthew Broderick is great in this, though.
The Diplomat (2023)
Yet another Evil Conservative story.
I just can't take another "right wing/conservative bad" story. At best, it's lazy writing. At worst, it's propaganda.
This Evil Conservative (EC) trope seems to have infected almost every show and movie, in the last five or so years especially to an obnoxious degree. Another recent, also sad, example is Old Horses in which Gary Oldman, amazing as always, has to bring down yet another EC who hates immigrants for no good reason.
What is about this cliché that is so attractive to writers, not just in Hollywood but throughout the UK and Europe as well?
It's sad because the acting is great - Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell doing a great job as always - and the dialog is fresh and even slightly funny once in a while.
For any writers struggling to come up with villains that aren't of the right-wing cliché, perhaps take inspiration from Kingsman: The Secret Service wherein Samuel L. Jackson plays a stereotypical "liberal elite" madman Valentine. Or how about a villain who schemes to flood Europe with muslim immigrants of military age to destabilize the continent so that he can gain tyrannical power over it? If that feels too close to comfort, maybe you're on to something, dear writer. The EC cliché has served you well but now it is old and tired and needs some time off. Please.
The Outlaws (2021)
Ruined by woke
Simply not funny. The writers seem to have had a moral agenda to push, rather than a desire for telling a good story.
It would be a nice feature if IMDB put a "woke agenda" warning label on anything made after 2010.
Et tu, Merchant.