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sean-miller47
Reviews
Under the Bridge (2024)
Is the bridge a metaphor for talented writing?
What began as a compelling story about a missing girl turns into another utter garbage cultural diversity character study.
The first episode is okay because, while it introduces you to all the unlikable characters, it breaks open what could be a fast-paced mystery/investigative drama by getting right to the central event. However, the actual disappearance and proceeding events serve as a hook for a show that is written to focus on drama between two lesbian ex lovers and a group of teenagers in foster care that are so out of touch with current times, its laughable. It is like watching Mean Girls but with 13 year olds who believe they are gangster - oh yeah- and this is in Canada. The narrative perspective could've served a better purpose by being creepy and focusing on an investigation, but it instead focuses on boring/unlikable characters that were written almost purely for dialogue. The writing comes off as petty and shallow as the characters themselves.
Misanthrope (2023)
How to Catch a Killossal Piece of Crap
There was absolutely no detective work in this movie. Every piece of evidence and "deduction" other than the toilet being removed from the condo was pure speculation and conjecture. The inconsistency in writing was astounding - the scene where Ben Mendohlsen says they should not create a character profile and keep an open mind is quickly followed by ballistics showing it being an XM21 sniper rifle - IMMEDIATELY they request to search local databases for PTSD and military psych patients, thus exploiting the triviality and meaninglessness of his former comment. The clues and evidence lead your mind to decisions; not conjecture. And the coffee room scene where Eleanor speculates that the shooter quenched his thirst for blood at 29 kills without any logical thought behind it. Mendohlsen did a great job for a terribly written movie. Everything else was a cheap knock off of Sicario with a police spin - the dark music, the character archetypes. It's like the director and writer just completely fought off the thought of consulting anyone in law enforcement. The one main difference between this and sicario was a forced attempt to comment on things like the inequitable treatment of women in our police force, racial tensions, blah blah blah - it all made for a farcical attempt at a crime noir. Half the time the flow of writing made no sense and the other half, it made sense only in that it was trying to push for unrealistically PC and Hollywood based themes. Could've done with less drama between the two protagonists and more police work.
The Retaliators (2021)
Fun at Times but Very Lame Overall
This is like some soft core porn producer decided to try and break into Hollywood with a warped "forgiveness is not the answer" message. This had a lot of potential, which reflecting on the whole movie is crazy to say because it also had SO much wrong with it. Right off, Bishop (the protagonist) is like the same age as his daughter... nbd moving on. A great opportunity for this movie to have dived deeper and explore fight/flight or why some people choose "the high road" is when Bishop first backs off from a potential fight. He later uses this story in his sermon and misrepresents what he did/said in order to preach that it's always better to take the high road. It seemed like the writers were insinuating that his morality was just a mask for fear and a reliance on God or someone else to sort out his mess, but this could easily be missed or maybe I misinterpreted, but I don't think he ever said merry Christmas to the tree stealer. But then later on, he grows a spine.... For the worse when he decides he's going to free a bunch of rapists, murderers, etc because... it's not man's place to enact justice? Something about this guys moral code is just fantasy and hinders the movie because this action/mistake is, for some ridiculous reason, the catalyst that makes him decide when all the criminals are free, that he is going to suddenly enact an awesome blood fest orgy in order to survive. The action sequences are great, just about everything else sucked. 5 finger death punch was completely unneeded, the writing stunk, music was weird, character development convoluted or non existent, and Michael Lombardi was better suited as the police detectives murdered wife than a vengeful pastor. He worked for the written character, but the character was written solely to convey that sometimes you can't help but do bad things - but in a way that made him insufferable.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
2nd Rate Plot with Few Funny Moments
I've been waiting for this movie to come out of theaters for almost a month and am pretty disappointed after buying on prime.
The marketing team did a fantastic job of stringing together funny segments of the movie for trailers to make it look like a ridiculously hysterical and original plot line, but unless you're a cult fan of Nic Cage, the plot itself collapses under "the unbearable weight" of nic cages "massive talent". As people in positive reviews remarked, the plot is centered around Nic Cage dealing with his dwindling career and getting caught up in espionage. While on paper this seems like a hilarious premise, there aren't enough funny moments to classify it as a comedy, and the premise is too ridiculous to take it seriously as an action movie. All together, it's just an oddly strewn together film that combines what people imagine Nic Cages life as in the beginning with another Bruckheimer- like action movie, all while utilizing the "cameo" character to seemingly pay tribute to Nic Cages acting career.
Pedro Pascal was great, and the acting all around was decent, but the movie just relied too heavily on the persona of Nic Cage, who I can take or leave depending on the movie.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Fun & Nostalgic
I have to say I was reluctant to give this a try because I'm tired of the overall lack of originality in Hollywood, but this one surprised me. Acting was decent, plot was ehh but captivating and very nostalgic of the OG. Thought the plot became a little too continuous/mirroring of the classic, but overall, it was still an enjoyable flick and even potentially worthy of the big screen.
Dune (2021)
Dumping $100M + into Sci Fi does not make it great
This film was great in just about every aspect money could buy, but it lacked a plotline that kept the viewer on the edge of their seat (which I'm assuming was the intention of such a high budget reboot). Where Lord of the Rings succeeded in throwing in subplots and explaining mystic and fantastic aspects of the realms of middle earth, this movie failed to achieve the same awes and enchantments with its own world. The plot line was very simplistic and almost had the pace of Game of Thrones, except for the most part nothing happened. All together, I can't point to any one thing that could have made the film better while sticking to the novel - partially due to never having read the novel. All I can say is that some things are better left untouched by hollywood.
Acting was very good - especially chalamet, and when there was action it was very well done, but this movie proved my assumption right that the hype was purely over casting and money.
Donnybrook (2018)
Slow Burning Nonsense
The title of the movie is misconceiving given the fact that the actual fighting tournament took up all of 10 minutes of the movie. As someone stated previously, this movie is meant to be a gritty look at everything that is wrong with this country, but with no character backstories it is very difficult to feel anything for any of the characters despite exceptional acting. The fine points of the film - particularly the cinematography - were well done, but the plot line was just about as shallowly thought out as it could've possibly been.
The Outsider (2020)
Blah
Very good acting, enticing first few episodes, but dragged out towards the end with no climax.
Hunters (2020)
Very Shallow Writing
I'm proposing a new drinking game to people that watch: every time the main protagonist says the "f bomb" or "Softa" take a shot. That pretty much encapsulates the depth in the script of this show. The characters are also written to be very shallow and static - the same protagonist hardly changes at all throughout the series. The writing takes very sudden and, to me, inappropriate turns towards humor, often times insinuating that white people as a whole are oppressive and lumps them together with Nazis. At one point a girl warning viewers of indications that a person is a Nazi simply states, "white people!" I kept watching because despite the poor writing, the cast does a pretty good job of playing their roles and I do like anything about hunting Nazis or WWII. This was a comic book rendition of something that should not be taken lightly. The subject matter, for its historical significance, deserved better.
Submission (2019)
Lame Warrior Knockoff
If you are considering this movie, first off do not watch it. Secondly, go watch warrior instead because this is so close to copyright infringement it's crazy. Eric Roberts is usually a decent actor starring as a B film villain, but not in this heartwarming drama which makes lifetime look like paramount pictures. No one else in this movie has a shred of acting talent. If you just want a upbeat movie to watch with the family or you're trying to get some action with the lady and don't want to miss anything of quality, put this on. Otherwise, save yourself the time and agony.
Homeland (2011)
Awesome smut
So I know I'm late to the party, but in retrospect I have to say anyone who rated this above a 7 for great acting and complex characters, I doubt you met a Marine ever in your life or a CIA agent. Up until I watched this show, I really liked Damien Lewis for his accurate portrayals of a hedge fund manager and a WWII soldier, but he does not pull off a modern day Marine. There is nothing gritty or blue collar about him. This is partly the fault of writing, casting, and Lewis's acting himself. Claire Danes character is vomit-worthy in all her vulnerabilities and cliche character flaws (including being especially moody due to a mood disorder which no one in the CIA knows about or recognizes and the fact that she sleeps with or tries to sleep with almost anyone with whom she works). I have to give it credit for being attractive in the premise of a possibly turned soldier, but it's constant sexbased dramatic subplots make it smut IMO. Awesome story but no character research and poor acting. If ditsy Claire Danes has ever survived a firefight then I survived Okinawa. And Damien Lewis is a politician/businessman. Not a Sergeant in the Corps.
Ray Donovan (2013)
Good show
7.8/10 I've read comparisons between this show and the sopranos and while I do enjoy this show, the writing and depth of characters does not even compare. Don't get me wrong, it's really enjoyable and I didn't want to stop watching once I started, but some of the characters are so static and contribute little to the dynamics of the show other than to drive plots for Ray himself. Really good acting all the way around
Child's Play (2019)
A Reboot Slaughter
This was the epitome of a Hollywood cash grab reboot. The screenplay was downright awful even for a slasher film. In this version, there is no possession with a serial killer but instead just AI gone rogue. Due to this, the whole first half of the movie is like a comedy with almost no horror or scares while they build up to the AI learning to be violent. It seemed to me like it was meant to follow the contemporary horror plot archetype of suspense followed by comedic relief followed by horror but they butchered it (pun intended). Whereas in IT and Stranger things the dialogue between the protagonists creates a lot of comedic relief, in Child's Play Andy is the only protagonist and therefore any humor from the other kids or Aubrey Plaza seemed forced and cheesy.
There were quite a few plot holes; the biggest being that Andy's friends initially didn't believe his story of Chucky being evil despite the fact that he attacked them with a knife before anyone turned up dead. I love Aubrey Plaza, but she was a miscast as the mom.
Overall, it was enjoyable at times but I think it would've made for a much better movie if they kept the Chucky as Charles Lee Ray. Doing so would've, in a lot of ways, made it a lot scarier and alleviated plot problems.
The Punisher (2017)
Season 2 Underdeveloped
As a huge fan of season 1, I was largely let down by season 2. It starts off with an exciting new storyline and characters, but then deviates numerous times from the original plot line to subplots with characters that never really amount to anything. In addition to the lack of plot focus, the line for Frank Castle between righteous killer and bloodthirsty psycho becomes largely blurred. Overall, it was still worth the watch but pretty disappointing compared to season 1
Overlord (2018)
Action packed blast
Definitely glad I saw this in IMAX. The mixed WW2/ zombie horror thriller made for an awesome action packed combo on the big screen. The casting could have been better tbh; Wyatt Russell was not convincing as a rough neck corporal and John Magaro was over the top as a cliche Italian American brooklynite. Regardless, it was suspenseful almost constantly and the cg was awesomely realistic. Had just the right amount of action, suspense, and jump out scares. The action, gore, and style of the movie had many Tarantino style undertones and, despite the casting, I thought this was one of the better if not best Abrams films.