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jkarpphoto
Reviews
Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal (2022)
Power and corruption, party agnostic
So much griping about references to Trump. They also "slammed" other presidents like Clinton and Bush but some reviewers are too concerned about their precious DT. I think this was a great series, even if CNN did produce it. The takeaway is that the allure of absolute power exists in any person regardless of party affiliation. And retaining that power will ultimately compromise a person's ethics, integrity or his willingness to live up to the principles and laws of his country. Any reviewer stupid enough to assume this is the only definitive source on Watergate needs to get off of cable news and go actually investigate the truth. Being intellectually bankrupt is not an endearing quality.
The Bible (2013)
Reread the disclaimer before commenting
Personally I found the series enjoyable. I did NOT watch it with the intent of learning a biblical truth. I find biblical truths from the Bible, not by any movie, song or commentary of the subject of the Christian faith. Most comments here are titled "Inaccurate" and then proceed with talking about everything that's missing rather than what's inaccurate. There are those out there, the late AW Tozer for one, who believe any representation of the Bible through entertainment media is an abomination. That would include ALL the acceptable Bible based movies, TV shows or contemporary music. I'm personally not that extreme. I took the producers at their word, "in the spirit of...". Sure some of the casting was a bit odd and there were some things presented that were a bit off from fact, but the theme and general story is on course. I personally enjoy these types of shows but treat them as "empty calories" compared to the abundant sustenance of Scripture. You never know, these types of shows just might spark some curiosity in someone to go learn more about the Christian faith.
Fantasia (1940)
Beware negative reviews
Most people tend to forget this movie was made in 1940. To call it boring, dull, cartoonish ( uh, it's a cartoon) is being unfair considering when this was made. Sure, compared to the over the top CGI effects of today this movie pales in comparison. This movie was ahead of its time in terms of artistic expression. I saw this back in the 60s when I was a small child and was thoroughly captivated. The dramatic images, again for its time, and the combination of actual classical music made this an enjoyable film for all ages. The negative comments are a reflection of this current age where people demand instant gratification given they have the attention span of a gnat and move from one stimulus to the next the way a swarm of locust moves across the land.
The English (2022)
Good start, weak finish
Interesting and captivating for the first three episodes but stumbled badly after that. Lot of characters introduced each episode but little development. And devoting a significant portion of a flashback episode trying to decipher the ramblings of a cartoonish Irishmen was almost enough to switch to reruns of Yellowstone. Through five episodes it's unclear what the revenge quest is all about. The lead blames someone for the death of her son but there's virtually no plot development to explain who the son was and how he died and by whom. Not sure the writers had a fully developed story before they started shooting.
Yellowstone: Tall Drink of Water (2022)
If Trump was a cowboy
A selfish, self serving family, brazenly committing every crime imaginable, daring anyone to do anything about it. If the Monica Dutton character could be any more stereotypically pathetic she'll soon be standing there shedding a single tear next to a garbage dump. Each year the characters become even more cartoonish and ridiculously over the top. Taylor Sheridan just took characters from Legends of the Fall, A River Runs Through It and Dances With Wolves along with their plot lines to make an interesting season 1 but apparently he had no strategy beyond that. Guess that's why he switched to single season dramas. Think it's time to stick a fork in this one.
The Chosen (2017)
Enjoyable series but....
Seems many comments are about perceived intentions about the series which seems misplaced to me. Is it historically or biblically accurate? Mostly. There's nothing I would declare blasphemous from a Christian perspective although there are a few things I considered artistic license. Is it so off historically to be off putting? No. If you're an atheist I'm not sure what would motivate you to watch other than looking to post a scathing review. If you're a Christian then perhaps this fills the desire for some wholesome TV. Is it intended to create converts? I hope not. If nothing else it should spark interest into learning what the Christian faith is all about but until then I say enjoy the show. Let's not make more of this than we should.
Follow up to my initial review after season 2. I stand by my earlier review but season 2 embellishments and character portrayals left me with little desire to watch season 3. There's nothing remotely biblical about Jesus struggling to come up with what amounted to be the sermon on the mount. That his character had to decide on what clothing he would wear goes against everything about Jesus' nature. The Matthew character is played as if he were mildly autistic and the Simon character was incredibly miscast since Simon Peter of the Bible was noted as a big, strong man, whereas this character is small and somewhat fragile. I used to think AW Tozer was wrong when he said we should avoid all cinematic depictions of biblical stories and stick with the Bible so as not to buy into a distorted view of God. Perhaps he was right.
Away (2020)
OMG! face palm
Ok at first I thought some of those reviews were a little harsh but to be fair by the time I got to episode 7 I realized they were right. Really find it hard to believe the first crew to Mars, heck, ANY crew going to space would be so wrapped up in their emotions like a bunch of high school kids. Most people would know that people who are presupposed to being easily rattled and emotional would've washed out of the astronaut program long before they stepped into a simulator. There's nothing wrong with the characters being the way they are as long as this series took place in some urban settling but in space? Come on. This series is just a remake of "Friends" but set in space. I'm waiting to hear Swank's character say "we were on a break!"