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mrdcarroll
Reviews
Barbie (2023)
Funny and Creative
The voice over commentary in some parts had me laughing to no end. Most of the Will Ferrel scenes I could have been edited out, they were too campy and distracted from the rest of the movie, fortunately they were few and resigned to the later 1/3 of the movie.
To be honest I missed most of the big name actors, however Rhea Perlman was spot on perfect in her role.
Margo Robbie and Ryan Gosling were excellent as well, with Ryan giving an overtop hammy performance that allowed Margo to shine as the epitome of what Barbie represents, future possibilities.
Kate McKinnon was well cast and delivered flawlessly.
A couple scenes were overplayed.
As a moderately middle-aged man I might have laughed a little to hard in some places. It was well worth seeing, so much so that I even dressed up as 80s fashion Ken when I went.
Succession: With Open Eyes (2023)
What a great way to ruin a great show and great character
Did the writers just hate Shiv, or are the incapable of having a strong female main/lead character?
She was the smartest, most together character in the show outside the father, and they turned her into an incompetent buffoon for the finale
She could have owned Ken and Roman, instead they have her ride off into the sunset with her moron husband that couldn't pour piss out of a boot with the instructions written on the sole, who didn't even want to be a part of her life or be a father to her baby, and rewarded the man that screwed her over.
For most of the show she was always steps ahead of everyone else, and this is how they wrap up her story arc?
I they weren't going to have her as the reigning CEO, she still had Kendall by the short hairs, she could have force him to do her bidding, and could have ruined Matheson. This was the worst ending since GoT.
The Expanse: Redoubt (2021)
boring scattershot and confused, or maybe the writers got lost
First the Pro's about this episode
Drummer and her crewmates are kick ass
even the kid they wanted to kick off the ship for lack of ability to fight had a bad-ass scene as she became the medic willing to make the hard call.
Unlike the fiasco of last season, we are moving forward and have some solid scenes.
Now the Con's
Do we have 2 teams of writers for Phillip and the Secretary General?
In one scene she seems the intelligent leader with a plan to deal with the new realities and the changes in power dynamics, in the next she seems like a dinosaur/rapid dog clinging to the last vestiges of power. Same for Phillip, he's been built up to oppose his father and not wanting to be as cold/maniacal and wanting to actually build something, then in the next scene after someone successfully opposes his father he turns into a rabid cult follower, a fanatic even. From scene to scene these two keep running in opposite directions from their actions in the previous scene. It seems like the writers merged multiple characters into each one and are trying to use the dialogue and action each source character used but using just a single character.
Considering that there are just 2 episodes left and there has not been any hint that the show will be picked-up on another network, it seems odd that they are introducing so many new plot/storylines. Mars leaving the inner planet alliance, the missing ships, the settlers on the new planet, the strange dino-dog creature that bears a striking resemblance to the machine Miller animated back in season 3(?) fighting the gate builders or destroyer of the gate builders, the rebellion in the belt of Marco loyalists and general belter loyalists, there may even be more belter factions.
If Holden hadn't come down with a case of the stupids, they could have at least ended the current war and delved into a return to the past with the Inners fighting to control/police the belt, with the various belter factions fighting the apartheid system that is/was the old belt governing system, then setting up some plan to follow-up with those that fled through the ring gates, maybe to set-up some de-militarized zone, or new power balance between the ring planets vs the core system planets.
I don't see how they can wrap this up with a pretty bow, that is not a typical Hollywood feel good ending where the good guys win and everything wraps up neatly in the last few minutes.
The Expanse: Force Projection (2021)
Getting back into the swing
Holden is still a screw-up, saving the life of the terrorist leader just to keep getting laid, because it would have killed Naomi's kid, what a terrible decision on his parr, he gets weaker as time progresses
The writing is starting to improve after the disaster of last season. Still feels rushed and very cookie cutter, like we have to cover these topics, check the box type
What is the purpose of the girl with the dinosaur dog creature, not really enough time to expand or explore it unless they are trying to tell us that they are the ring builders, which could be true since it does look a little like the construct that Det. Miller animated on the alien world a couple seasons ago
Why resurrect Plax? With three episodes left not much his miracle yeast thing could do to save earth in general or humanity at large.
It's sad to see a once great production die a slow painful death, but at least I'll be able to bring myself to watch the last few episodes.
The Expanse: Azure Dragon (2021)
Starting a come back
The show has finally gotten back to the level of quality from season 3
Not sure about the side quest with the alien dog type creature, are they setting up future seasons outside Amazon or a spin off series?
Naomi still needs to be written out/killed off, she is more dram than asset at this point.
With the actions of Marco this episode to free his son, seems like it should have created more of a rift with the belter station authorities/rulership, but it is glossed over and forgotten almost instantly.
Did the writers and director just given up since they know the season is only 6 episodes long and is the final season.
After the bore-fest of last season I am struggling to watch this truncated season.
What's with the reference to the Proto molecule, if this is the last season and here are only 6 episodes? It does not seem to be conducive of wrapping up existing plot lines and story arcs
Amos and Drummer are still the two best characters and gave outstanding performances.
Dune (2021)
Dull - I want my money back and the 2h35m of my life
This thing had so many plot holes you could fit a sand worm/snake through them
Starting with we need the spice for interstellar travel, but interstellar travel existed before they found the planet with the spice
How does a hallucinogenic help with space flight exactly
Whoever casted Rebecca Ferguson as the mother of Paul needs to be fired. She is literally 12 years older than the actor that plays Paul and looks even closer to his age than that
We have a world of intergalactic flight and personal force fields, yet everyone fights with daggers, and no one has invented a stab proof vest.
If house Atreides is so powerful and the emperor views them as a threat, why would they act so compliant and how are they so easily displaced from their starting realm/world, and basically wiped out in a single encounter?
Spaceships but no computers, barely any communication devices except ship to ship and the weird implant that can receive and be directed towards a single recipient, but no way to broadcast from the wearer end
The cinematography was good, hence the 2-star rating, but none of the visuals made sense, and it didn't really help tell the story or add anything.
The Expanse: Strange Dogs (2021)
Better than last seasons
For a 6 episode season, tge pace was really slow
Naomi needs to be killed off she is more of a distraction and problem than anything she can contribute
Add in some bad acting and this show is circling the drain.
I Feel Pretty (2018)
Funny and cute
Its not some epic tale to last through the ages, not an award winning film or performance, Its a cute little rom-com centered around an everyday person.
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
Empty and Lacking
Not a tennis movie,
Not a movie about sexism
not a movie documenting the events
just a feel good movie where nothing is explored or explained
Hero good, antagonist bad, everyone cheer when hero beats bad guy