jamison0601 Reviews

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

There is middle ground

[8/10 · 9 November 2023]

Reading these reviews its easy to think "well, you either love it, or you hate". I am in the middle. I will say, I wish IMDB allowed half stars as I would rate it 7.5. Had I not read the book, it would get a 9.

Any production company taking this on really had an impossible job ahead of them. The book is hallowed ground. No matter what, there will be people that hate the show. I absolutely loved the book, it's truly brilliant writing, I'm not sure any series or movie would ever do it justice.

First off, it must be noted that the lead actor is indeed, blind. Some of the reviews talk about how she really didnt know how to "play blind" which is just hilarious. She is definitely not how I envisioned Marie, but I think she did a great job. Her scenes with Hugh Laurie were wonderful. Speaking of Laurie, he was also very very good. He drew me in and I cared about his character. Mark Ruffalo...not so much. I really like Mark Ruffalo, but he was incredibly miscast in this role. Whatever that accent was meant to be...it wasn't. It seriously took away from the character completely. His actiing was not bad at all...but lordy, that accent was a complete distraction.

Dear readers of the book. Prepare to be severely disappointed with the ending. To me, it was blasphemy. It couldnt be more different from the book in many ways. The entire final chapter in 1974 is completely ignored. Blasphemy I tell you! That being said...if you have NOT read the book, I suppose the ending is satisfying, though felt very rushed. The entire series felt very rushed. Knowing the book, it easily couldve, and shouldve, been 8 episodes Overall, I did enjoy it. But its pretty essential to separate yourself as a viewer of a decent series, and a reader of one of the most gorgeous, brilliant books ever written.

The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023) Season 1, Episode 3

The characters are in the game

[10/10 · 31 January 2023]

To all of the people leaving homophobic reviews...do your research if you're not into the game. Bill and Frank are in the game. The difference is Frank is already dead in the game. You are showing your ignorance through pure homophobia, threatened by two masculine men in love.

Ok, now that thats over...what a fantastic surprise of an episode. It was a great way to give not only back story on Bill, but also Joel and Tess. It was interesting to see what lengths people would go to to protect themselves and loved ones over the years. We gain a little insight into the QZ's, raiders and that Ellie is racking up the secrets she's keeping from Joel.

So, sorry homophobes. If you couldn't get past seeing two big hairy masculine guys kissing, you missed a whole lot of other details about the series.

Dark: Adam und Eva (2020) Season 3, Episode 3

This is where they lost me

[2/10 · 12 August 2022]

Series 1 and 2 were amazing. But this new, unnecessary alternate world has just thrown the show into a incredibly confusing, repetitive mess. So disappointing to see such a brilliant show implode. Just finished episode 4 and it is not getting better. Will be awful if there is not a satisfying ending. And for pete's sake, Jonas take a shower. Old Martha looks like she just walked out of a salon in haute couture, and he wont take a shower...

Endeavour: Striker (2021) Season 8, Episode 1

Disappointing - save one thing...

[6/10 · 4 July 2022]

Have to say that this was a very lackluster start to a highly anticipated return. I had seen a behind the scenes trailer where Evans mentioned this would be the season they'd really begin to introduce the character quirks and flaws of the future Morse with intention. Especially the drinking, apparently. As far as the episode itself, I found it quite boring. Very little action, or the intense suspense that makes Endeavour so brilliant.

That being said, it was great to see Endeavour and Thursday back working together in peace. With the competition and acrimony that has built up over recent series, it was easy to forget that their partnership was one of the things that made it special. The climax of series 7 was truly brilliant and I'm glad that was the end of the rift that was becoming tiresome. Side note...there were so many references to Sam in this episode, seems we may see a return.

The last line of this episode made the whole show for me. Hoping next two episodes will improve, though based on the individual ratings, it may not happen.

And Just Like That... (2021– )

Serious Hate Campaigning Going On Here

[8/10 · 29 January 2022]

Ok, admittedly, it's got a lot of faults. I almost didnt go back after episode 1. But there is clearly a hate campaign happening here. It aint great, but it's definitely worth more than the current 5.4 rating.

The over the top woke stuff was just too much to handle in episode 1. And I am liberal gay man here, and it's just way, way too much. It's really difficult to know if the writers are preaching, or if it's partly tongue in cheek satire. Because of that confusion, its not funny, and its not helpful.

It does continue through the rest of the episodes, but thankfully tones down a bit. Sort of. Well, not really, but there are other things to focus on in the stories.

That being said, i am finding it enjoyable. You can't go back to such a fantastic show and expect it to be the same. It never is with reboots. But I am enjoying it, possibly for nostalgia sake. Miranda is the biggest disapointment. Cynthia Nixon deserves WAY better writing than this. The Che character is so unnecessary.

I can't imagine another series after this, and thats a shame. This couldve been so much better. But I'm still enjoying it.

Miss Scarlet & the Duke (2020– )

Hopefully It Will Tighten Up for Series 2

[10/10 · 1 April 2021]

If there was a half star, I would give it 7.5 stars. The show captured us for the first 4 episodes. But we almost gave up after the horrible 5th episode, having only been saved by a tense final scene and cliffhanger.

The show is what it is. A frothy, sometimes fun, sometimes tense, crime show with a never ending undercurrent of frustratingly unrequited romance. Very formulaic, having all been done before. The stunning, feisty, scrappy woman demanding to be taken seriously. The dashing, angst ridden, hardened detective sometimes made out to be an idiot by the stunning feisty lady, the stereotypical goofy gay best friend (in this case, strangely made out to appear a bit of a feeble minded mess of a man), the sassy stable mothering housekeeper, and the ghost advisor that appears to give advice from the beyond, the edgy criminal from another country that normally would never have anything to do with a lady, end up having everything to do with the lady. Seriously, its all been done before.

The 5th episode was infuriating. What's already a highly unrealistic premise (for the Victorian age) bordered on the ridiculous. It's one thing for the main character to be driven, with a desire to do a great job. But it's entirely different to not have a shred of common sense. For a woman desperate to prove herself, she negates her true skills by making ridiculous decisions putting herself and others in peril. Terrible writing in this episode. Her likable scrappy-ness in the previous episodes quickly turned into her character descending into a petulant child. Hard to understand why the writing made such a 180 into her being highly unlikable in the space of one episode.

The typical banter of two stubborn, feisty, beautiful people pretending to hate each other, but being magnets to each other is just so old. But in this case, the writing is just so repetitive. Seriously...just join forces..solve cases together and let yourselves fall in love. It would be so much more fun for the audience, and it could be a nice take on a "Nick and Nora" theme, rather the overdone adversaries that want each other yarn.

The Victorian backdrop is stunning. Gorgeous costumes, hair and makeup, sets, and set dressing are all fantastic. Computer enhanced backdrops are quite well done. The acting is very good. The actors deserve much better writing. There are moments of true tension and drama. Some of the costumes and scenes in the last two episodes are quite frightening and very well done.

Overall....will we watch season 2? Of course. It is an enjoyable show. I just hope they tighten up, decide what the show actually is, and stick with it. Give the characters some happiness and stop dragging on the endless, unnecessary bantering that is so overdone.

Mystery!: Cadfael: The Holy Thief (1998) Season 4, Episode 1

Technically terrible

[6/10 · 14 July 2020]

What could have been a really good episode was severely hampered by terrible editing. The plot was good, and Cadfael's sleuthing excellent. But the edits were so sharp and did time jumps so quickly, it was sometimes difficult to follow. We found ourselves saying "that doesnt make any sense", or "wait, how did she get out of there without being seen" etc, numerous times. Unusual for a normally really well done show.

But, it's Cadfael. Always enjoyable, and the last 30 minutes or so seemed to level out. Derek Jacobi, perfection in the role as always.

Keeping Up Appearances: A Crafts-Woman Scorned (1995) Season 5, Episode 9

Time for the series to end.

[3/10 · 24 June 2020]

It was a shame that this show was taken just too far during the 4th and 5th series. Patricia Routledge said she had to leave the series because she felt it was becoming too over-the-top and repetitive. This episode is exactly that. Hyacinth's eccentricities are just infuriating and Richard's (well...everyone's) putting up with it is just too much. Daisy, Rose, Onslo, Father and Onslo's dog saved the last two seasons.

Endeavour: Degüello (2019) Season 6, Episode 4

Brilliant Episode

[10/10 · 17 June 2020]

Highest rated episode for good reason. Difficult to review without spoilers, so all I can say is its an incredibly satisfying episode. Everything you love about Endeavour is in the episode. And by far the most edge of your seat thrills series to date. Now if only series 7 was available to stream...

Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995)

Don't "Binge" It

[7/10 · 10 June 2020]

We always have a 30 minute comedy on hand to fill in gaps when it's too late, or we don't have time for a longer show. Yes..we watch a lot of TV. After taking over a year to watch every episode of MASH, we turned to Keeping Up. The first three seasons are so great. The casting and acting are perfect. Patricia Routledge can speak volumes with just an eyebrow raise or lip twitch! Especially on the phone. She picked up the torch from Bob Newhart when it comes to hilarious one-sided phone "conversations". The problem with binging is that it is easy to pickup the common repetitiveness of situations and dialogue. This isn't talking about the great "catch phrases", such as how Hyacinth describes Violet. After so many times, that one still makes me chuckle. But basic dialogue is very repetitive. Something we may not pick up on if we weren't watching it almost daily. By season 4, I was ready to give up. Hyacinth's silly perfectionism turns into delusional cruelty. What was fairly smart and cute comedy turned very slapstick and annoying. I would have loved to see Richard, Elizabeth and the Vicar have more of a backbone. That being said, the genius of Patricia Routledge really shows in the last two seasons because she is SO good at being awful that it makes you yell at the TV for Elizabeth to finally freak out, trash Hyacinths kitchen, and storm out in a rage. Overall...It's impossible not to enjoy the show. It truly is perfectly cast. Each actor owns their character and are all lovable in their own right. Patricia Routledge is a force of comedic nature, but ironically her character is my least favorite! The characters become familiar and comforting to see each episode. Great one-liners, even the recurring ones. Onslo's dog in the car never gets old. Speaking of Onslo...he owns the greatest line of the entire series...be sure to catch his last line with Hyacinth as they dance on the QE2! Keeping Up is classic, very British television. Enjoy...but maybe not binge!

Amazing Stories: The Heat (2020) Season 1, Episode 2

By Far The Best of the 5

[9/10 · 3 May 2020]

It's unfortunately painfully clear why this has the lowest ratings out of all the episodes. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the acting. The acting in this episode was far better than the other four. The most honest and heartfelt. The others were all on a par with the worst Hallmark movie, or 1970's after school special. Yes, the "back from the dead, I can't believe I'm dead, I'm going to help someone so I can move on from being dead" theme is far from original. But the main characters were highly likable and believable. The actors did seem like they were life long friends, and not just two actors who just met on set. It's repulsive to see that racism, homophobia and fear can even work together to give a really good television episode a bad rating. Another example of review campaigning. It's a great episode. Hopefully the woeful 3.8 star rating won't stop the good people of the world from watching it.

After Life (2019–2022)

Stunning. Gervais' Masterpiece

[10/10 · 30 April 2020]

This show make you laugh. It makes you cry. It breaks your heart. It fills your heart. It makes you want to be a better person. Hilarious. Heartbreaking. Beautiful.

Pose: Never Knew Love Like This Before (2019) Season 2, Episode 4

Stunning

[10/10 · 10 February 2020]

One of the most incredible episodes of television I have ever seen. Stunning. Angelica Ross MUST be nominated. And the writers. Just gorgeous.

This Is Us: The Waiting Room (2019) Season 3, Episode 15

Very disappointing

[2/10 · 7 April 2019]

This show is far above this cheap, formulaic, over done premise. Put a group of people in tight quarters for too long and see what happens. What happens is completely predictable. This has been done over and over, and again, this show is (overall) way too good to fall back on such an over done tactic. We already know how incredibly self centered and selfish Randall and Kevin are. How many more times can Randall disappoint Beth? Their storyline needs a serious shakeup. What also made this episode so infuriating was...where was Toby? Is it realistic that in 24 hours no one had any contact with him? Would he have not come out to the waiting room to give them an update? He also wouldn't have gone into surgery with Kate. So where was he? This just made no sense. One of the most cringe worthy episodes of the past 3 years.

Watership Down (2018)

Truly wonderful.

[9/10 · 1 January 2019]

Why compare this to the original movie? Because, well...it's not the original movie is it? Just like it is not the book. I love that movie, and I love this mini series. And above all, I love the book. It's funny how many of the poor reviews were written by people who obviously have not read the book. This is a beautiful adaptation of the brilliant 1972 book. I enjoyed the animation, I enjoyed the music, the actors voices were perfect. It had moments of beauty, tension, fear and emotion. It's unfortunate many only watch things to find fault. I found a beautiful, exciting, and heart-felt adaptation of one of my favorite stories of all time.

The Cazalets (2001)

No Ending

[7/10 · 3 October 2018]

The show was slow, but enjoyable, but absolutely no ending. It was almost like they just stopped writing, and that was that.

Gifted (2017)

Cliche after cliche, and that's just fine.

[9/10 · 27 March 2018]

Extremely formulaic. Rife with cliches. Plot arc we have seen 100 times. Shamelessly tugs on your heart strings. But, i loved it. Really loving performances. Octavia Spencer can do no wrong...except possibly worry about getting typecast as the sassy with a heart of gold caretaker character. The young actress who plays Mary is gifted herself. I literally can't stand the precocious kid thing. Both on movies and in real life, but she, both actress and character, had such a wide range, it was enjoyable to watch. The school teacher is cute as a button and gives a wonderful downplayed and nuanced performance. Captain America was good, but way over used the brooding head down eyes looking through his forehead pose. Great dynamic between he and his mother though. Those were interesting scenes I thought. Great date night or family night movie. This truly is a heart warming film. Don't pay attention to the idiots on here that are disecting it like it is Shakespeare.

Land Girls (2009–2011)

Very disappointing.

[5/10 · 2 February 2018]

I really wanted to love this series. Its England, its WWII...usually all I need to love a show. The acting is very good, best thing about it. But the writing is just dreadful. The characters are put in ridiculous situations. They are breaking each others hearts, stabbing each in the back, being generally vicious to each other...then in the very next scene they are sitting next to each other in church as if nothing happened. The continuity is non existent. Cliche plots where they hold on to secrets that just make things far worse and its just so unrealistic. It only makes the viewer frustrated, not left in suspense. Many of the characters are just not likeable, and for only 5 episodes a season, its difficult to bond with them, and then the actors dont return for the next season so it was moot anyway. Even Joyce lost me in season 2 by leaving Tucker in the rabbit trap. Ridiculous, no matter what happened between them, the adrenaline would have made her help him...not sit there having a therapist session. And when she was following Martin to the shed...on a horse and cart?? How stealthy was that...and then Martin didnt hear her? Ridiculous. Just two examples of cringe worthy plots and scenes. All that being said...great acting, great scenery, great costumes and set dressing. Definitely a nice 40s wartime feel. This show could've been brilliant, but the writing just ruined it. In a time of Downton, Victoria. Crown, Foyles, Home Fires, etc etc, this show was done a great disservice. It deserved better.

Five Came Back (2017)

Breathtaking

[10/10 · 4 April 2017]

I am an AVID WW2 history buff. I've watched countless documentaries on the subject over the years, but this one is truly breathtaking. Told from such a different perspective than I've ever seen before. What starts out at first glance as a film about filmmaking, it becomes SO much more. Delving into how the war had deep and profound effects on the 5 directors. Absolutely riveting, heartfelt, heart-wrenching and utterly breathtaking. Loved it.

Doc Martin: On the Edge (2006) Season 2, Episode 9

Love Doc Martin, Didn't Love This Episode

[5/10 · 16 January 2017]

Really disappointed in this episode. Unless it was done on purpose, for a funny Christmas episode, this was the most poorly written episode of the first two seasons. Completely over the top far-fetched.

SPOILER ALERT -

When Jonathon lets Al go to get the bag, it was completely ridiculous that Al wouldn't have called the police in another village. That is truly when the episode became difficult to watch. There were so many times that they could have take Jonathan down. And wait...Louisa just let's her Dad leave with a "Bye", after he just proved to be some sort of low rent arms dealer? Where are the cops? This show is usually so incredibly well done. One of the things I always say is that it has some of the best continuity of any show, they don't forget to tie up any loose ends. This one was all over the place and just plain ludicrous.

Still...its always great to see the characters and even at its worst, its still enjoyable.