ednk Reviews

Frasier (2023– )

Even Lilith can't save this reboot

[3/10 · 17 November 2023]

Just finished episode 7 of the reboot of Frasier. And in this episode we are delighted to see Lilith return to her awkward self. The first few puns were fun, really fun. Especially Frasier's first reaction to see Lilith was recognizable. But then it went downhill... joke over joke with the hate for each other, but no validation of each other. Yes, in the original series the hatred for each other was there and explicit, but in this reboot episode it feels like this hatred is the only thing that gets any (canned) laughter. Sadly, it's over the top. It may have worked long time ago, but in today's woke climate, the jokes are too much filtered, but sadly not polished enough. It feels really disappointing to see top class actors like Kelsey Grammar and Bebe Neuwarth in some kind of restrained version of themselves. Most jokes in all of the previous reboot episodes are 'meh', and besides the intro joke to Lilith, most jokes in this reboot episode 7 are below 'meh'. The other actors in the show, like Freddie, Eve and cousin David, are really wrongly cast. Alan, best friend to Frasier, is so annoying it hurts the eyes and ears.

I can't believe I'm gonna write this, but this reboot should not have been made. It takes away the refined and articulate humor that once was Frasier. I agree with a previous user review where it was stated that Frasier has fallen low when they have to resort to jokes about Baby Shark Shark tunes. That would've never happened on the original series. Once again, when you have made gold, don't touch it, don't break it, don't even try to reboot it.

Paper Girls (2022)

An honest review

[5/10 · 14 May 2023]

When this show started, the first 4 episodes were like a rollercoaster. So much happening that it was a bit hard to follow. The premise of the show good: 4 girls meet on a paper route and somehow time travel together. The storyline really bolts full speed ahead. Until episode 5, then things take a very bad turn and the show slows down to almost a very boring, very long, very dreadful "feelings" theme. I was not expecting that. I clearly felt that some other director or screenwriter had taken over. Going into episode 8 (the final episode), things are so unhinged that the ending is completely not well written, nor does it explain things.

I completely understand why Amazon didn't order a second season. It was messy and all over the place in the second half of the season. It could've been a good multiple season story, but now we will (probably) never know. Don't expect to get all the answers from the ending.

Poker Face (2023– )

What is this, a reboot of Murder She Wrote in reverse?

[3/10 · 14 February 2023]

Just finished the second episode and our hero is some con artist woman with a super power: she can tell if people lie just by looking at them or having them say a few words. On the other hand, she seems to always forget words. So, this is a kind of running joke throughout the episodes. The worst gag with that is when she enters a diner and can't come up with an animal name and she starts drawing it on a piece of paper. Then the answer comes to her with a song. And guess what? The whole diner starts to sing with her. Come on!

So, basically, it a Thelma and Louise theme, she is wanted and on the run. But then it goes into Murder She Wrote. While being on the run she comes across all kinds of mysterious deaths, mostly inflicted deaths from people that are around the places she passes being on the run. The 'special' thing is that the viewer gets the solution first hand in the first minutes. And then the story unravels while our main character pulls all kind of tricks out of her sleeve to find the truth and makes the world a better place.

I am sorry, I'm really trying to like this. I really am. But this is garbage. Not funny, not clever, not even entertainment.

The Peripheral (2022)

I really really wanted to like it, but...

[6/10 · 28 October 2022]

The CGI, the settings, the overall feel looked awesome in the first episode. Very promising. Until the annoying characters started having silly conversations and stereotypical behaviour. Just finished the 3rd episode and it's just another cat and mouse game story. The gadgets, the mumbo jumbo words, it all sounds and looks cool. But the biggest turn off for me was in the 3rd episode where Flynne and Burton, playing siblings, bicker about who takes the lead in the fight to resist. It's this stupidity that is a big no. The villains are typecasted and the resistance is a mess. Take Flynne, one minute she's like a kung fu fighter, and the next minute she's like a scary little deer running into the headlights of a car. Nope, not the right choice to go.

God's Favorite Idiot (2022– )

When you know in the first five minutes this is a big mess

[2/10 · 15 June 2022]

Ten minutes (yes, I gave it another 5 minutes) and all I've seen is a screaming Melissa McCarthy, trying to pull off a very naughty and irritating character. Unfortunately the supposedly fun part is very cringy and not funny at all.

Basically it's a co-worker love story of will they or won't they get together. Added with the twist of some divine intervention. But quickly the story goes downhill with jokes on toilets about poo, Melissa's drugs abuse and something about glowing.

No, no, no, nope... not good at all.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022)

Not good

[2/10 · 25 April 2022]

The first episode is about the alien trying to find a message, somewhere 200 miles away. The jokes are lame, the conversation is even more extremely lame. The tantrum the girl gives in the car about the alien mocking her father is so stupid, you can't get around it. There is absolute no tension, no strong story, only things like "you are essential", "you are vital to the mission", "she's a predator, it will become clear". Bla-bla-bla. Not good, not good at all.

Life After Death with Tyler Henry (2022)

More grimm than I thought, good backstory

[8/10 · 19 March 2022]

I was expecting a sequel to his E! Series. Happy, joy joy, powerful readings. That is not what this series is about. Tyler Henry grew up, came out of the closet and still is trying to connect the afterlife with the living people.

Is it scripted? Maybe. Is the info that Tyler delivers vague and random? Maybe. But are the believers feeling more comfort after a reading from Tyler? 100%. I don't feel like Tyler abuses his (non)existent powers. It's not like he's charging insane amounts for a reading. Nothing like that. He is probably the most polite person on earth and shows very much empathy to his clients.

I was surprised that this new series took a darker turn than the E! Series. For the fist time we get to see what's behind the ear-to-ear smile that Tyler always delivers. There is the backstory of the grandmother who was a murderer and a child kidnapper. In true Netflix style, that story is laid out piece by piece up until the final episode.

So what is a bit wrong with the readings that Tyler is doing in the show? First of all, it is regular people, not celebrities. Some are related to celebrities, but that's it. So any info that Tyler shares is non validated by the viewers. Only the person in front of Tyler can confirm or deny. I truly believe that the readings were genuine and sincere. But... and here comes the big but... the producers of the show made so many editing mistakes. You can clearly see that they cut out phrases and words and stitched them together, to give it a better impact or feel. And they failed. In each episode you can see several shots of Tyler scribbling and the same paper gets more or less scribbled on shown. That is manipulation. And this also what happens with Tyler's words. In one shot he sweats, or holds something in his hands, in another shot his hands are totally somewhere else. All cuts made by the producers to try to amp up the speed of the readings or slow down. Like the face shots where Tyler says nothing and only looks or listens to the other person. For me, that was a big mistake in the series and actually frustrated a lot.

Nevertheless, I do believe that Tyler is capable of something. You can see the exhausting in his eyes of always being overwhelmed with all the worlds sorrows. Going through so much heartache and often violent deaths, that does something to a person. I am very concerned about his health. Not only physically but also mentally.

Abbott Elementary (2021– )

What a relief to see that comedy is not exhausted.

[9/10 · 5 February 2022]

I'm not easy to please, certainly not for comedy, but boy, this one, knocks it out of the park so far. The writing and the jokes are laugh-out-loud sometimes. Each character is well developed, and fits a perfect picture from someone we all have in our lives. The goofy teacher, the older teacher, the Italian teacher, and the nutty principal.

For me, the nutty principal stands out the most. The face impressions are hilarious, next to the funny storylines she brings.

Don't overthink comedy. This is not a ground-breaking genre, but it is great to see that not all comedy is exhausted. The camera shaky thing, is because (in episode 1) they reveal that a camera crew is following the teachers for a documentary.

Up to episode 6 and I'm still full aboard.

The Ravine (2021)

No! No! No!

[2/10 · 2 January 2022]

The movie starts with a decent story. A guy supposedly kills his wife and one of their sons and commits suicide afterwards. Their other son survives. The movie focusses on the backstory with the family members who are trying to find answers. At first the viewer gets the impression that the story attempts to unravel like a detective movie, but it's not. It is really not.

Without explaining the plot, there is a lot of Christianity involved. Yes, you read it right, God and angels are a part of the story. The ending of the movie is utterly nonsense about Christianity. I hardly could believe my eyes watching the last part of the movie.

Finch (2021)

Mèh, nothing new, nothing spectacular

[5/10 · 5 November 2021]

A man (Finch), a dog (Goodyear), two robots. Apocalyptic times on earth, somewhere in the future. What's the story? Finch creates a robot with human features, so that this robot can look after his dog Goodyear, once he dies. Yes, Finch is dying of radiation poisoning. First hour of the movie is about the robot learning to become human. Finch acts out like a grumpy old grandpa. The robot has childish behaviour and needs a learning curve. (Not quit believable, but for the sake of the story, let's get along with it).

Into the second hour, there is a revelation how earth became so apocalyptic. Don't expect an intriguing story there. It's pretty plain and simple. The robot finally learns how to act and behave. And the story takes half an hour to become a Disney magic moment. The end. Seriously? Yes, seriously.

This type of movie would have been a big succes in the '80s or '90s, but not today. The emo, drama, suspense, it has a all been done before and before and... before. Is this the movie that Apple spend so much money on? Once again, it proves that money and top actors (like Tom Hanks) are not a recipe for success. Don't get it wrong, Tom Hanks delivers like he should deliver, but it all feels too much like a written character on paper. If you want to see a movie on a rainy afternoon, with your kids, this is the movie to see.

La Brea (2021–2024)

Excruciatingly bad

[1/10 · 25 October 2021]

This show is so bad. They try to rush in stories without any background. There is no story telling, only fact telling. It's supposed to be a story about a sinkhole that transported people to another era in time. Instead of figuring out how this is possible, the stories focus on drama like "who did what behind the other one's back". So basically it's a people-to-people problems series, instead of focussing on "how to survive" or "how to get back to the normal world". Yes, they argue complete episodes about how to return, if at all that is possible. But it gets lost in the other problems that seems to be the focus. The story telling is so bad, probably because they cut the dialogues on the editing table. It all seems so forced and unnatural. Further more, so many things are completely wrong. People survive fever and wounds in like two days. There is always one person who is skilled in medical, in car repairing, in food from the forrest trapping. But nobody seems to be bothered to gather water, to make shelter, to make weapons to defend themselves. None of them even have to use the bathroom or need to wash themselves, but still remain in heavy make up that is flawless after many days down below. Add some 'conspiracy' from the government to it and that's the stupid, extremely stupid, story. Plus the suspense (if you can call that) of animal attacks, maybe other people they don't know about, and voila, that's the story. I really can't believe this series was given a green light.

Maybe this is a very expensive series, but it got lost in the bad dialogue, the bad writing and the extremely bad acting. None of the characters have any ounce of believability.

The Bite (2021)

This is bad, like real bad.

[1/10 · 1 September 2021]

Finished the first episode, couldn't not believe that such known actors were capable of delivering such bad acting. Five minutes in the second episode, and my despair is confirmed. Bad story, bad writing, bad acting and even worse than that.

Okay, I get it, during Covid-19, it was almost impossible to record good tv shows. But that does not mean they should give up trying. Clearly this series has been thrown together very quickly and nobody knew what they were actually doing. Maybe on paper the storyline was funny, but the result is very, very bad.

A few examples, without telling any spoilers. A doctor who is working for months on her computer, doing Zoom consultations. Clearly she is able to work with multiple screens, multiple computers. But when things get heated, she forgets how the unmute button works. Really? Do the producers think we are that stupid? Another example, the dominatrix sees a guy growling and attacking her like an animal, but still thinks the guy is having a bad reaction to bath salts. Come on guys, how dare you to think we, the viewers, would be so stupid to believe this?

I get the comparison with Brain Dead and Santa Clarita Diet. Which were very good shows and cancelled too early. But this one? It should've never been produced.

Beckett (2021)

Oh no, not again...

[3/10 · 17 August 2021]

Here we go again, a cat an mouse game, prolonged in a two hours movie where the anti-hero develops skills during his flee that make him look like he's on top of the world. From limping in one shot, to running in another shot, from knocking down people with a cast around his hand, to shooting, to fighting, all at the same time.

The plot is super easy, man and woman are on holiday in Greece, get into a car accident, woman dies and man sees something he shouldn't have seen. But does not know that at the beginning. Then the running begins where he is surrounded by either very good faith people (who will help him, no questions asked), to incredible stupid chasers, where he seems to be able to escape from during 2 hours.

Nope, not good, not a good movie at all.

Gary Unmarried (2008–2010)

Secret little gem that I missed in 2008

[9/10 · 17 April 2021]

I recently discovered this series. I thought: oh no, another laugh track, stupid joke series. But no! Even in the first episode I kinda laughed at a lot of the jokes. I'm now almost at the end of series 1 and I feel like the urge to binge watch it. It stays funny. Good job! Too bad they cancelled it in 2010.

Rebel (2021)

Why, oh why do they chew out the same crap

[2/10 · 9 April 2021]

So I was excited to see Katey in a new series. Only two minutes in the first episode and I couldn't help myself raising my eyebrows and roll my eyes. Yes, this is another Allie McBeal meets This Is Us, with some drama purchased from one of the dozen FBI series. Sorry, this doesn't cut it anymore in 2021.

Why can't they be original? Why do they always recycle all ideas and try to spin it as a new idea?

I wish I could say something nicer about it, but I really can't. Another show that will probably get axed after 1 season.

Mr. Mayor (2021–2022)

Someone tried to copy 30 Rock, but did not succeed, oh wait...

[2/10 · 21 January 2021]

Yes, pun intended. The show feels like a cheap version of 30 Rock. And producer Tina Fey is know for witty humour, but times have changed. And what would've worked a couple of years ago, with 30 Rock, is not considered funny anymore today. Comedy does evolve I'm afraid.

Sorry Tina Fey, one day you're in and one day you're out. Auf wiedersehen.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020–2021)

Cringeworthy, don't they never learn?

[1/10 · 6 October 2020]

I must admit that I also stopped watching the original The Walking Dead, because of the tiresome, long dreary storylines. But The Walking Dead was good in the beginning, the first seasons. This new World Beyond version is boring from the start. So this will be a hard one to watch for the next episodes, which I probably won't. I agree with the other reviews that the kids are a bad angle for this show. The dialogue is very basic, and the scenes are even more basic. At least for diversity they got it right, an obese white not so bright kid, a black kid, a mixed race kid and a white nerdy kid. Two boys, two girls. All the rest, the spooky secret organisation that is above all, is stupid beyond imagination. Another show down the drain.

Indebted (2020)

Big yawn from beginning to the end

[2/10 · 17 May 2020]

Fran Drescher is utterly awful in this comedy. It's like she's all the time on heavy tranquilizers spawning out stupid jokes. Then we have Steven Weber, the father/husband, who is so obnoxious, it really hurts your eyes. Whereas Adam Pally was funny in shows like Happy Endings, this time he misses the ball each and every time he opens his mouth. His acting seems so off, that even his visual comedy gets lost. Ditto for Abby Elliott. All jokes are so forced and old, that it is not funny, not even for the least. Include the annoying laugh repeat on every stupid joke and the show gets on your nerves really quickly. What a waste of a show.

AJ and the Queen (2020– )

Brainless entertainment with all the clichés about drag queens

[5/10 · 18 January 2020]

Just finished episode 3 from AJ & The Queen. And now I'm understanding what Mama Ru is trying to tell us. The first two episodes felt really awkward. Bad acting, bad lip syncing, a storyline that resembles so much to drag queen movies like To Wong Foo and Priscella, Desert Queen. The whole setting of AJ & The Queen feels like an old movie, where you have the good guy (Ruby the drag queen) and the bad guy (a former lover), and for a twist, a child with a bad attitude that is actually a sweetheart. The whole series gives you a Wizard Of Oz or The Wiz feeling. I can't get RuPaul out of my head acting like the Scarecrow played by Michael Jackson, exactly that same feeling. A goofy, pink glasses the-world-could-be-beautiful kinda attitude.

The story is told in a very simple way. Too simple for these days. At times, it feels like a Broadway show, where everything is played out explicitly for the viewer to see, even if you are in the backseat of the house. For example: Ruby comes home with her earnings of the night, enters the apartment, and places all her money right beside an open window. You can guess by a mile away what happens next? Indeed. Another scene shows Ruby opening a door to show an unused room, and you clearly see that it is a stage room with a life-size photograph. I guess RuPaul didn't expect us to view her series in HD, so every little mistake is blown up on the screen.

RuPaul wants to take us back to the good old days, where Dorothy clicks her red shoes (in episode 3 you will actually see a view of RuPaul putting her feet in some blue slippers) and everything is okay again. I understand the need to, literally, drag every cliché of the drag scene into the series. But girl, we've seen and heard enough of that. Life is not being on a cloud and thinking how good the world would be if there was no war, no money problems, and we would all get along together. Equality, breaking the barrier for guys in drag. We really get it, Ru. It's 2020 and still some people need to be confronted with their homophobic behaviour. The jokes are quit lame and feel like intended for straight people who laugh at anything. So I do take offence of the dumbing down of the viewer throughout the series.

So what does someone rate this on IMDB? Do you give it an 8 for effort? A low 6 for the bad acting? Or a bad 4 for a script that is so transparent that you can really put your brains off? I'm gonna choose the middle, and give it a 5 for now. One actor does stand out though, Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis Bell. Playing a blind drag queen, with all the offensive jokes (pouring a drink besides a glass, talking about a person who stands right behind him, etc.), his performance does stand out. Tia Carrera on the other hand... how bad can you act? Even with that eye patch, so we are sure to know that you are the bad girl (eye roll).

The Feed (2019)

Excited enough to keep me going for a binge watch

[7/10 · 5 December 2019]

From the first scene in the first episode, the series attracted my attention. Good! That's what someone needs to be wanting to see more of a series. Along the way, the episodes were a bit dreading, unnecessary sub-plots, and so on. But that's the case with almost every series nowadays. Nevertheless, the series kept my attention going. The CGI is done very good, the acting of most actors are okay to sometimes very good. Lady Stark (joke) convinces sometimes with her deep, too much cigarettes, voice.

Anyway, the plot is simple, AI is here to take over the world and our heroes need to stop it. All main characters are somehow connected to each other, not only through AI (something called The Feed), but also in the storyline. Predictable, yes and no. Sometimes if felt like a stretch, other times it was like 'didn't see that coming'. So overall this series is a good watch. My expectations are very low these days, with all streaming platforms bulging out stupids series that are cancelled after 1 season. This one has a good chance to be renewed for a season 2. If so, I will be watching it definitely.

Daybreak (I) (2019)

Parker Lewis can't lose, all over again, or at least an attempt to do it.

[6/10 · 26 November 2019]

I must admit, it was strange watching the first episode. The main lead talking directly into the camera, quirky jokes that only movie fanatics can understand, and so on. I'm now into the third episode of the series and I must admit that it has lost me on the way.

This series reminds me so much of the 90's series Parker Lewis Can't Lose. The same goofiness, the same joking around, the same camera wide angle shots. It's all there. The inspiration for this new series was not far from Parker Lewis, not that such a thing is bad.

So where does it go bad? Well, the script can't seem to grab my attention enough. Silly jokes, plot holes, too much going around that distracts the viewer. So is it the worst thing I have ever seen? No way. Some subtle jokes do get my attention. But some characters are way too shallow to be interesting. Hence the 6-star rating. It's a show to watch during breakfast or lunch (despite the graphic violence), but nothing more.

Dollface (2019–2022)

This has to be another low point for comedy... again!

[1/10 · 15 November 2019]

Why did I just watch? The first episode of a new show called Dollface. Even the name is offensive for woman. I understand the irony of the name, but come on, we are almost 2020. So in this show all women are making it in life but talk like sixteen year old girls. The screaming when greeting each other, just to name one. I didn't know that I could roll my eyes so many times in 30 minutes. How Kat Jennigs agreed to do this show is beyond imagination!

What a bad show with all the stereotypes from the year 2000. They really could've made new, refresh all girl show, but they totally screwed it up. The show tries to do kinda Ally McBeal when they put strange phenomena into the show. But in the first few minutes a bus driver has the face of a female cat. Yes, let that sink into your thoughts, a female bus driver with a cat face is talking to the main lead.

I give this show 1 star for the beautiful setting. It's very Hollywood, with nice scenery and all fakeness you can imagine. Don't waist your time, doll face.

Black Summer (2019–2021)

Nothing new, same suspense, same bad chases, done like a million times before

[5/10 · 11 April 2019]

Why do producers always try to copy other shows? This is exactly a copy of shows like The Walking Dead. Same suspense, same drama music, same build up. Nothing new, nothing exciting. I'm sorry, but I've seen this too much. The acting is pretty good, with good emotions, but the storyline is as thin as the paper it was written on. If you like these kind of zombie killing shows, then you will enjoy it. If you are looking for a good story, don't bother.

Note to producers and particularly Netflix: please give us original stories. Not knock-offs.

The Kominsky Method (2018–2021)

Not bad, but definitely not good enough to stand out.

[6/10 · 27 November 2018]

The first two episodes were a real turn off. It wasn't until the third episode I could enjoy the show. Maybe it's the slurring speech of Michael Douglas (no, I'm not making fun about his throat cancer, which he thankfully recovered from), due to his pearly white new teeths that haven't run in yet. Or maybe it's just that sarcasm is a difficult one for many people. The series does have top actors that keep the level up. And from time to time the jokes are really funny. But the "I need to pee" joke, after six or seven episodes we get the picture.

In conclusion: if you are staying home on a cold winter day, then you can binge watch this. Let's see what's season 2 will bring.

How It Ends (2018)

When bad scripts get approved, you get this movie.

[4/10 · 17 September 2018]

Okay, to sum it up, this has to be one of the worst movies of 2018. When your hero(es) are murderous killers one moment, and twenty seconds later they show remorse for the wrong things. Who writes this stuff? Is there really someone funding these movies?

The acting is weak, the storyline is very thin. It's basically a road movie about moving from point A to point B in search for a loved one. And of course, on this road trip, the bad people show up and make you feel like you are in an episode of The Walking Dead. People fighting to dead for a jerrycan of gas. One of the lowest points, for me, around 1 hour into the movie, when one character, who seems like a transgender bad ass, bad mouth kid, suddenly bursts out in tears about dealing with a situation. Rolling my eyes for most of the time during the movie. Jason Statham is your typically nerd person that desperately needs approval from his father-in-law and evolves in a true hero that can shoot without aiming, drive like the best car racer, be an outstanding doctor and is a smart as Mac Guyver. And of course, during the road trip, the guys bond and start to like each other. But to top everything off, the final plot of the movie is the worst it could ever be. Was there no more money to shoot a proper ending? Did it not make the cutting board? We will never know. But it sucks like hell (excuse the language).

This kind of movie is really not possible in 2018 anymore. We need a good script, good acting and a plot twist that keeps you wondering about a movie. Not some lame movie where dramatic music is trying to cover up the bad acting and the boring dialogue. I guess movie producers think that the public is still waiting for that next action hero that saves the day.