sonofhades Reviews

Leviathan (2014)

Long and dreary below average film

[5/10 · 10 June 2020]

I had quite high hopes for the film from the start. Unfortunately, my hopes came burning down with charred skeletal remains of wings. The film had a plot of sorts, but it actually ended in middle of the story - only to return to it at the end of the film. It was as if the screenwriter could not decide which of the two plots they had designed was the one carrying the film forward.

Most of the time, the film seemed like a random collection of events. The scenes had some string attached to them, theoretically binding them together, but even that felt far stretched and thin. There were scenes that could have been cut off from the movie without having an effect on the plot. I understand that it is hard to edit your own baby, but in this case, cutting this to 1 hour and some 20 to 30 minutes would have done this a huge favor.

Nice scenery and an impression on Russian life that most western people have no experience of. Reminded me of childhood trip to Soviet Union. The buildings were pretty much in the same shape already in the 80s. As a film this does not stand out from the crowd.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Disney Copy & Paste Remake instead of a sequel.

[5/10 · 19 December 2019]

I fear that I am a tad bit older than the target audience of this movie. This may give me a different perspective to this than the average movie goer. For example, when the film started and the texts scrolled on the screen to reveal the plot of the movie, I was laughing out loud as I found it parallel to one in Spaceballs, which is actually a rather good movie. This was not. A slightly below average action Jackson without any original content of any interest.

Having said that, did anyone else feel they were watching a mash-up of the original Star Wars Trilogy? Just a few key things from the Episode VI Kylo Ren redemption = Darth Vader? Emperor Palpatine as the final boss in Episode VI in a pretty much the same kind of battle scene that the main hero is forced to watch? Kylo Ren trying to convince Rey to dark side in order to kill the Emperor? Hoverbike chase? Might of technology fails against things like crossbows and ... mounted cavalry. Flight inside a structure while chased by Tie Fighters?

Then there were of course a few golden oldies like: Another desert planet where key information is found and then inside a droid that has to be taken somewhere to see the data. Prisoner rescue inside Star Destroyer and subsequent escape from the place.

Not to mention a few leaps of faith regarding Logic. 10 000 star destroyers built on one planet that apparently is in ruins and has no resources, population to man the ships and no production place. Sure. Emperor seems to lift these up to the air with force, being weakened clone of his former self. Yup. The new star destroyers each have a giant penis gun under their belly that can destroy planets. This was one of the times I could hardly stay in my seat for laughing so much. Dead Jedis have the power to lift up x-wings. Fine. Hyperdrive now instantly jumps to different location (Remember the good old days when trip to Alderaan actually took time) with Tie Fighters with same capability. Yes, technology apparently has improved quite a lot. Except for any other parts in the era. Kylo Ren and Leia have their bodies disintegrate (remember how Vader had to be burned after death). You can apparently teleport from a planet about to be disintegrated when you have given the only available ticket off planet away. Disintegrated Death Star (Ep VI) leaves a hulk on a the planet formerly known as the Forest Moon of Endor. The list could be almost endless.

One of the odd things was that Finn's apparent love for Rey never got fulfilled. Kylo Ren Instead gets the kiss - as expected. The audience was provided a possible race appropriate love interest for him as Hollywood apparently is not ready for interracial relationship on a major movie in 2019.

All in all, this was a visually stunning compilation of remade scenes and special effects. Directing and editing had lost something called plot in the process. Sometimes as a viewer I got completely lost when screen cut to the next scene. Acting was pretty decent, but not that great. None of these characters have the charisma that Han Solo had. This movies is something that the world could have lived without. If you want to see a good sci-fi movie / serie, go watch Guardians of the Galaxy - movies and/or The Expanse / Farscape / Babylon 5 - series instead of this.

The Handmaid's Tale: Heroic (2019) Season 3, Episode 9

One of the best episodes of the show

[9/10 · 4 August 2019]

I fear many people fail to appreciate the effort the show put here. It showed the full and relentless control of the state over their minions. If someone decides that you need to stay at a location, isolated from normal contact. It showed that not all subjects of the realm are willing to participate in the cruelty, but are powerless to stop it. There was a lot of food for thought.

I am not surprised that the younger generation does not understand this. This episode would be a bummer to watch while you have a smartphone crying for your attention at the same time.

I loved the attention to detail, the clinical environment in the hospital room, the small gestures other handmaids tried to provide comfort to June. The difficulty in standing up after long time spent on your knees and the bruising it would cause. I felt the orderly was providing June and exit (suicide) when he showed where the scalpel was put. Everything the characters did seemed deliberate and played out to perfection.

All in all, this was an episode that actually provided us with a good script, solid directing and excellent playing by all actors involved - Janine's actor did splendid job with her part. On top of that the sound... you could literally hear the train of thought leaving June's station with sanity on board. I would go nuts with the beeping sounds from the life supporting machines myself.

It was pretty close to perfection, but the recovery at the end was a bit too fast imo and that leaves this at 9/10 instead of full 10.

The Land of Steady Habits (2018)

Midlife Crisis

[7/10 · 29 June 2019]

Perhaps as a middle-aged man, I can relate to the main character a bit better than some other reviewers. I liked the setting of the movie. It did not show the happily ever after situation where most movies end. Instead, we see the results of a failed marriage. A lonely, broken man who wonders where it all went wrong. We did not need flashbacks of the past that much, just the situation which the main character was. It was also apparent that he had failed as a father as well and tried to become one a tad bit late.

In fact, the main character tries so hard to pick up the pieces of his lost life and ends up with some decisions that might sound unrealistic to some others, but if you know someone who has suddenly changed their life in middle-age, it sounds about right.

Someone had criticized the movie because it was about rich people problems. True enough, the setting was Hollywoodish. For example: I had a laugh when a specific apartment was described as "small". Despite that, I felt this was about people, not about wealth. What I was hoping was a bit stronger ending, somehow the "climax" of the story was a bit weak emotion-wise.

All in all, a movie worth watching for. And if you're a bit older than the average superhero movie fan, you might actually enjoy this quite a bit.

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

Surprisingly strong ending

[9/10 · 20 May 2019]

This finale left a rather good taste. I was expecting a random slaughter of most of the remaining characters. In that respect, I was pleasantly surprised as the episode had a rather logical ending. It was evident that Dany would die. A mad Queen is no better than a Mad King. I somewhat expected Arya to be the one to deal the blow, but it made more sense that a Targaryen would be able to survive the situation. A dragon would not harm him.

There were quite a few errors (gazillion Dothrakis and Unsullied left alive) caused by the previous episodes having such strange decisions by the writers. Episodes 3 & 4 of this season in particular were horrible. It would have made sense to have them surrounded by a larger number of men of the Westeros and Grey Worm to do the math from that. Apart from that, this ending was so much better that I had to rate it higher than previous episodes.

Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019) Season 8, Episode 3

What has been seen cannot be unseen

[3/10 · 8 May 2019]

Unfortunately. If I still drank alcohol, I would now try to drink myself senseless in order to forget what I have just witnessed. There was some mercy in this episode. Much of the episode was as if I was watching a black screen. I could not make out what was happening, which was fine as I could do something else instead at the same time as I was "watching" this episode.

At 20 minutes to the episode, I had to pause it. It felt as if I had already wasted an hour of my life. All logic went down the toilet. It was as if someone had vomited their most depressing thoughts on this episode.

There were a couple of decent effects, a few scenes that might have been used in another setting instead of this episode. Music suited most scenes, but in a few I was expecting bombing run by Stukas on the basis of the sound effects.

The wasted potential here is screaming its heart out. This could have been so much better. They just needed to have a bunch of chimpanzees to write the script instead of these "writers" who ought to be given a dunce cap to wear and placed in the corner to shame. Actually, they should be stripped naked and made to walk the shame away. I wish every copy of this episode was placed in a single pit and burned with wildfire so that no-one else in the history of this humankind would be made to suffer the same as I have.

Granted, some acting might have been performed well. It was hard to tell because the director had opted for darkness and pyrotechnics. Unfortunately, I have seen better pyrotechnics at an average rock concert.

It might take a few weeks before I dare to look at the next episode. Might be that this anticlimax just ended the GoT for me and my family. There are just so many better shows available right now. Sadly, none of them are in the fantasy genre.

If I'd wanted to watch action sequence after another, I would have chosen a Chuck Norris / Steven Seagal / Van Damme film instead. They have better choreography in the fighting scenes and more believable story line than this.

1 point for the music. 1 point for the pyrotechnics. 1 point for zombies who acted better than the average actor in this episode.

Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2019) Season 8, Episode 2

Sadly, still best fantasy around

[6/10 · 27 April 2019]

This was a slightly better episode than the start of this season. Having said that. it is not much. It was only slightly better than an average tv-show episode on a 1-10 scale. I am very surprised that many people are rating this with 10, i.e. perfect score as this was far from perfect.

There were scenes that could have been chopped off and the show would not miss them. One scene in particular caused nausea as sex seems to be the primus motor for the show's writers. Some characters have been reduced to comic sidekicks that are in for the laugh or two. However, the same joke has grown old and no longer amuses.

In fact, the level of dialogue has plummeted like a dead pigeon during the show along with the script that seems to have lost almost all logic. Many times I feel like I am watching a scene from The Bold and the Beautiful, where the character says something dramatic and the cameras keep shooting the poorly acted expression of the other involved person.

Much of the problem here comes from the multitude of characters in the cast. It is hard to give each person enough room in a single episode. A better director and screen writer would keep the focus of each episode on specific character's point of view or concentrate on only a few instead of trying to get everyone involved.

Perhaps this is what George Martin finally wanted for the show. All major characters in a single place with a glorious last battle to come.. If it truly was, then I am glad that he will not finish the story line in his books, which I still value, even if the show has turned mediocre. If only there was a better show in the fantasy genre, I would be watching that instead.

Boston Legal: Thanksgiving (2008) Season 5, Episode 10

It's a Hoot, that's what this is

[9/10 · 4 November 2017]

This was one of the best episodes in the show. I'm not quite sure if it was simple sarcastic view on the Thanksgiving culture of the United States or just pure genius in the dialogue as the writers were able to put so much emotional value to the discussions held at the table and between the characters who we've come to love during the series.

Alan Shore had his powerful speech against racism, i.e. inequality. This is one of the reasons I've loved Boston Legal from the start. It takes a lot of effort to point out the faults of the American way of life in a show that's pretty much a fun comedy built around dysfunctional characters that have to interact with each other while practicing law. The show has addressed (among others) Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Tobacco, NRA, "Democracy" and even corporate racism in various shows with characters producing powerful speeches that we will never hear from any "elected" officials since they take money from the aforementioned partners in this system.

On the other hand, this episode was clearly a beginning for a closure for several of the characters. I especially loved the fact that Denny had become friends with Melvin who is one of the better "sidekicks" in the show. He is far more memorable than any of the other opposing lawyers you have seen in this show. If only they would have somehow managed to bring Betty White into the dinner table, then...

American Gods: Git Gone (2017) Season 1, Episode 4

Filler episode that you can safely skip

[4/10 · 31 August 2017]

Especially if you're a fan of the book. However, my son who has not read the book thought that this was simply a boring episode that wasted x minutes of his life.

There are filler episodes in most series, i.e. episodes that you can safely skip since they: A) Do not add anything important to the storyline B) Reset the show. I.e. anything that happens in that particular episode has no effect on the rest of the series. Some parts of it may be in contradiction of events of previous episodes or storyline itself.

This is a pretty nice example of such filler episodes. There is little - if any - stuff that is of any importance. Dialogue and events are in contradiction of the storyline - and quite frankly, this proves why some authors write best-seller books and some have to be content to write dialogue for a television series. I wish these screenwriters had read the book - or even the scripts of the three previous episodes with some thought put into it.

At the beginning of the show, Shadow is in prison for assault. He is not a master of magic tricks to start with, but has learned coin tricks in prison because he had to spend time there and wanted to do something with the time at hand. Robbie is his best mate from years back who has got him a job. Now it felt as if he was nearly a complete stranger.

There are some beautifully directed scenes and some decent acting. However, the scenes are quite long cuts. There was this juvenile joke that was classic Adam Sandler - funny, i.e. some children in kindergarten might laugh at the joke: a woman farting loudly at the toilet seat. The rest of the world - not. Poor dialogue at the same time? Yay.

There are two main characters in the show: Shadow and Wednesday. I can see the screenwriters going "Hey, lets make an entire episode about a completely different character for fun. We'll cut significant pieces of storyline from the book to make room for this".

I wish someone had warned me about this episode. At least now you have been warned...

Cuckoo: A New Beginning (2014) Season 2, Episode 1

Terrible mistake

[4/10 · 19 April 2017]

What remains of a show when you replace one of the main characters with completely different actress, kill off the named character from the show? Not much apparently.

The first season was excellent piece of comedy. I fail to understand why the team bothered to put up another season with such drastic changes.

This episode left me with a feeling that the world would have been better off if the show had ended after season 1.

Ant-Man (2015)

Paul Rudd saves otherwise perfectly average B-movie

[5/10 · 25 December 2016]

I'll grant it from the start that Ant-Man is not my first choice for a superhero movie. Apart from Aquaman and The Wall, it was the stupidest thing one could think for a superhero.

As it stands, I watched the movie mostly because my wife is a fan of Paul. So far every other movie he has starred in has been my cup of tea. Unfortunately this one is not.

I'll give the movie a few credits. It had some humor effects that caused my to actually laugh out loud (instead of merely stating lol aloud) and some of the special effects used in the movie were decent enough. It also gave tidbits of information about ants.

Unfortunately the storyline was awkward. Granted, the original concept wasn't much better either so I'd guess the screenwriters had to do with the concept of ... sigh ... Ant-Man to begin with. The shrinking / growing up suit mumbo-jumbo is ridiculous from the start, but I expected it and was able to get past that.

It was just that the plot had enough holes in it that were fit for a truck to drive through. I actually laughed most when the sidekick character was worried about the well-being of a security guard he had knocked out earlier and dragged him off the building before it explodes, but paid no attention to the two guys he just knocked out.

Of course, a few days is always enough time to teach a man to fight martial arts well enough to beat dozens of people. I attended Karate for two years and probably could not hurt a fly with my moves.

The villain was a stereotypical bad guy with less depth than the world's shortest book (Swedish military victories since 18th century). Much like any of the bad guys in the very bad Steven Seagal / Chuck Norris / Van Damme movies I've watched in my youth (forgive me, I did not know better). In addition, in this movie he is stupid enough to aim for the super suit that will change everything when he already has a gun that can instantly remove any person from the face of the earth, leaving hardly any evidence of his/her existence behind. No, none of the powers in the world would pay any money for such weapon. Sigh. Supersuit has to have lasers that copy the sound world of imperial troopers.

The idea of shrinking has been dealt in movies such as Innerspace or Honey, I Shrunk the Kids back in the 80s and truth be told, while the effects are slightly better these days, the story of a good movie requires more than a guy who can instantly change his size and use his fists to beat people up.

Truth be told, superhero movies follow the same pattern. It would be more interesting to watch a movie about guys who have to clean up after the superheroes and villains have fought. They have to pick up the pieces, clean the neighborhood and rebuild everything. Only to start from scratch the next time the good/bad guys decide to have a go at each other.

That said. Paul Rudd plays his character decent enough where Michael Douglas and the rest of the cast show up just to collect their paychecks and fail to deliver anything resembling any sort of realistic emotion or character behavior. If you like the guy, you might check this movie out. If not, there's better things to do for the next 2 hours of your life.

Vikings: The Last Ship (2016) Season 4, Episode 10

A disastrous ending to a bad season

[4/10 · 30 July 2016]

Unfortunately, this is not the first - and probably will not be the last time a show that I love is broken by the screenwriters. Actually, I think the true culprits are the Hollywood executives who want to have a say in the way the show is made. More action, more sex scenes. These they tend to add since they haven't got any skill in how to do any work on a film project.

That's the feeling I get after watching this season and the flop finale to the season. There was just that many things that were utterly wrong. It is as if someone had tried to copycat Game of Thrones, but the director was blind and the screenwriters plagued with the same drug that Ragnar was supposed to take in the show.

There were just that many events that failed a simple logic test called why? Even the start of the season, Rollo betraying his brother after all the events in the first three seasons. Why? Progressing with the next episodes. There was never a justified or realistic reason for people's behavior. There were the internal squabbles of Mercia/Wessex which were of little interest in this season. Why show them at all? The Vikings had nothing to do with these kingdoms. Because Magnus was Ragnar's son? A plot twist that would have been explained by a single line in a dialogue at the end of the season.

The internal squabbles of Franks. Why show them at all? They were utterly boring - and illogical. It felt as if these were in just to show some tits and spanking scenery. In ep9, the emperor is the best buddy with Roland, in ep10, he kills him and his sister for apparently no reason at all. Why?

Then there was the Harbard character. His return to Kattegat was pointless. Why? Death of Siggy? Why? Floki suddenly becoming a seer that sees events that happen at Kattegat? Why? Come to think of it, have you ever seen lamer opponents for Ragnar in the show? King Harald Finehair and his brother? They told the queen that Harald wants to become the next "high king" by displacing Ragnar. What they did in the show? Killed a few unarmed folks. Why? Their characters added nothing to the show. Why then bring them to the show at all?

And then the final episode. The sacking of Paris that everyone was waiting for? The Vikings haul their ships overland to pass the two forts, then apparently build a battle arena that they drag on the river so that the lead characters can have a boxing match there that was on par with a F-category action movie. Certainly not on par with a B- category action movie, truly an action scene from the bottom of the barrel. Why? Why have a sea battle that is so idiotic and well... unlike anything that would resemble realism at all.

And then the show hit the rock bottom. Skip next few years, have Ragnar's sons grow up almost overnight. Anyone else had a Bold & Beautiful moment there? None of the other characters had aged, yet the boys had become grown men. Nice touch. For me, it was bad enough to quit this show. There are better things to do with my life. Like rolling my eyes in disgust or twiddling my thumbs.

Game of Thrones: Home (2016) Season 6, Episode 2

There might be hope for the series, but the dialogue...

[7/10 · 5 May 2016]

After watching these two episodes from this season, I have to conclude that the managers running the show have been reviewing their accounting figures and decided to cut off their expenses. There just isn't an easier way for it than getting as many people killed off the show as possible.

Another thing I've been wondering is whether the show's screenplay is written by the same folk who write for: 1) The Bold & The Beautiful 2) Adult entertainment, i.e. porn.

First of all, the children in the show apparently grow up instantly like the children do in the soap operas. Several years for each year of the time that lapses in the world.

Recently the dialogue and suspense in the show is on par with the level of porn movies. There are constant remarks in the dialogue about sex and genitals. Many of these lines are put in the mouths of people who have not behaved in such manner earlier in the show. Other bits are completely pointless and add nothing to the show. Our family now counts how many times the f-word and other profanities are said aloud in each episode. The dialogue in the show used to be witty and interesting. Now much of the dialogue is just stupid and boring.

Then there is the thing about people appearing from out of nowhere just in the nick of time for the rescue. Resulting in the "how convenient" - experience... Sort of reminds me of how hot nurses/whatever appear from out of nowhere when a porn star is in dire need of some help with his sexual urges. Sigh.

On top of that, the end of this episode, the "cliffhanger" was a tad bit cliché and predictable from the start of the season.

Fortunately, there were a couple of good scenes that added value to the story and character development (Hodor as a child), but much of this episode was slightly disappointing.

When Trumpets Fade (1998 TV Movie)

Whoever was in charge of the music should be fired

[6/10 · 5 February 2016]

by a firing squad. Very seldom have I started to laugh in middle of a movie because the music playing on the background did not suit the action presented on the screen. This was probable the single most reason I could not rate this movie any higher. On the other hand, my son who watched the movie with me did not feel the music to be as painful as I did, so perhaps some people enjoy a drum beat and a jazz trumpet playing on the background of an intense action sequence...

Apart from that, this movie was perfectly average as a war movie. It had very few characters one could identify with. The main character seemed fine to begin with and there were moments where I thought the other characters could develop during the film.

Some of the explosions resembled fireworks a bit too much for my taste, but the vast majority of the special effects was what you could expect from a decent war movie. However, make no mistake: This is not of Band of Brothers - quality. Perhaps the closest resemblance would be with the Dirty Dozen or some other war movie from 70s/80s than any modern war movie.

A Very Murray Christmas (2015 TV Special)

Boring musical

[2/10 · 24 December 2015]

I guess every actor makes bad decisions when they are provided with enough money or they owe someone a big favor. Apart from that, I cannot understand why such stars like George Clooney, Bill Murray, Chris Rock and Miley Cyrus + a dozen other actors signed up for this. Sofia Coppola as the director? Just what did Netflix blackmail them with?

There is no plot. There is a few lines of dialogue between songs that are mostly sung by people who ought to concentrate their efforts on acting instead of singing. They're not bad at singing, but if you're watching music show, you want to see it performed by the best singers possible, right?

I wasted an hour of my life watching this show. There were exactly 2 times where I smiled. That's why I gave this film 2 out of 10.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

It is not a sequel, but a remake

[4/10 · 16 December 2015]

Sad but true. When the opening credits filled the screen (Episode VII... blah blah) I was already grinding my teeth because the plot sounded idiotic. Then the huge star destroyer filled the screen. The fun bit is that the star destroyer had some sort of antenna or whatever at the front and it looked liked the ship was showing the middle finger towards the viewers.

I have to congratulate the film makers as that was pretty much how the film worked from that point forward.

1) A droid has important information that must be delivered to the good guys (Episode IV, anyone?)

2) so the bad guys hunt for the droid on a desert planet (IV)

3) Storm troopers raid a village, killing everyone (IV)

4) A girl is captured by the bad guys and the good guys rush to the base to the rescue. (IV)

5) The girl and the boy have a friend zone relationship through the film (Ep IV, Luke & Leia, wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are siblings in Episode IX)

6) The stormtroopers, elite soldiers of the bad guys, still can't hit a barn door. On the other hand, the good guys always hit, even when they use a weapon for the first time in their life

7) Supreme Leader Snoke = Emperor with a silly name

8) The bad guys have a magnificent new weapon that can destroy planets (Ep IV)

9) They use it to destroy a planet loyal to the rebels (IV)

10) The weapon has shields that can be destroyed by going down on the planet and disabling the shield generator (VI)

11) The epic villain wears a mask that distorts his voice (IV) and sadly, looks better with the mask on than without it.

12) The good guys can only destroy the weapon with an attack by X-Wings on the exact target (IV)

13) The X-Wings have to fly in a tight trench in order to reach their target (IV)

The screen writers had absolutely no new ideas to show for their money. A bunch of monkeys could have written better dialogue. A 1st grader could have made a plot that had less holes in it. The special effects were pretty much of the same quality as in the first Star Wars movie that was released 1977. I'd expect something way better in 2015.

Equilibrium (2002)

Poor Man's Matrix

[4/10 · 2 March 2015]

I had high hopes for this film after seeing the rating it had got at IMDb. The disappointment was quite bitter for a couple of reasons:

1) Sean Bean dies (surprise) early in the movie. 2) Christian Bale does one of his weakest performances as an actor. 3) The film is actually a poor matrix clone, but with somewhat poorer special effects, stupid dialogs and well, characters whose survival was of no interest to the viewer. Actually, if the main character had been killed in the movie, it would have improved the story a lot. 4) All combat scenes are so unrealistic that i was expecting for the main character to awake from sleep at some point. Commando or Rambo III had more realistic firefight scenes than this movie. 5) This was supposed to be placed in a future where everyone took their doze of Prozac that made them forget all about feelings. Weapon tech and cars were pretty much the same as those in the late 90s. 6) People were supposed to have no feelings. The different characters in the movie showed facial expressions such as smiling, anger and even fear. 7) The neo-Nazi government had to use latex and leather for their uniforms with Biker helmets. I know the movie is now a decade old or so, but even sci-fi movies in the 70s had better costumes for their characters. Sadly.

Game of Thrones: The Children (2014) Season 4, Episode 10

Bad Finale, even if you have not read the book

[3/10 · 19 June 2014]

I am currently in a state of shock. Another series that I have loved was ruined by poor script that was probably written by someone who has been working on action movies of the B - or rather F - class. I had to downgrade my earlier evaluation of the series down another notch as well because the last episode of 4th season was so bad. 7/10 is still a good grade, but considering that 1st season was 10/10 material, well...

Action/Fighting scenes added no value to the series and truth be told, one of them was executed in a manner that suggested lack of funding or lack of skill in the special effects department. We have seen better quality special effects in movies and series produced 30-40 years ago. Computers were supposed to help to maintain the illusion that we are in a fantasy world, but then we have explosions and animated monsters that look very much computer generated and unlike the previous monsters shown in the show. We have already seen better animated monsters and explosions in the earlier seasons, one can only ask why? Why add such scene at all, if it is done so poorly.

Then there was logic that was thrown out of the window. Two characters end up fighting against each other for no reason at all - in the classic mano-a-mano fashion that action film industry is so famous of. After the fight (which would have resulted in two dead/dying people in reality) is all over, the winning character just exits the scene with the lamest excuse of all time. Not sticking around to even check what became of the enemy. Sigh. Nor the "motive" for the fight.

And about that duel/fist fight. When we try to kid ourselves to believe that this is a mystical land of fantasy, it does not help if the show's producers decide to forget all that has been shown in the show before. Why is Valyrian steel so valued in the Westeros? Because of its ability to cut through steel armor? No, after this episode, we know that such sword is so blunt that the blade can be held at bay by bare hands.

The producers waste several minutes in these two action scenes that they have little time to actually introduce meaningful scenes that would explain why (for example) Tyrion does what he does in the episode. If I had not read the books, I would have been completely at loss with the scene. My son - who has not read the books - almost stormed out in middle of the episode - because he felt that the episode and especially its action sequences were so stupid. My other son, who has read the books, did leave the room for a while because he had to calm himself down. He felt this episode did such injustice to the written story that he no longer wished to watch the series.

Strange to say - some of the acting in this episode was the poorest I've seen so far. Perhaps you would shed a tear or two when your one true love or two of your best friends die, but well, I could be wrong. Looking constantly as if you'd been hit with a log in the head is not acting. It should be reserved for Sylvester Stallone / Russell Crowe (in Gladiator) who know no other facial expressions.

I am trying to recover from the shock and hopefully will return for season 5, but it better have better script, special effects and well... even acting. If not, then I certainly understand how Hollywood kills its best shows. They add more action/chase sequences and pretend that this is what the audience wants. When the audience exits, they kill the show and keep wondering what went wrong.

Non-Stop (2014)

Decent thriller 2/3 of the time turns into a bad action film

[4/10 · 4 May 2014]

Liam Neeson is a talented actor who has been known to give his characters an additional boost. So it was with this film, his character was down to earth with his complications, which was a big plus for the film.

However, while the thriller part of the film lasted for approximately 2/3 of the film and its plot was rather good, there were a few holes in the plot that caused it to be 7/10 thriller.

The real problem is with the way the film progressed towards the end. It recycled all the bad clichés of action films and in fact ruined the film. Any sort of realism that had ruled the thriller part of the film was thrown into the garbage bin. Quite frankly, it felt as if screenwriter got fired and was replaced by someone whose task was to copy ideas from popular action films. As a result the remaining plot started to resemble Swiss cheese (holes in every direction) and the role of the main character could have been played by Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren or any of the other action stars who cannot act.

In that respect I left the theater A) laughing at the stupidity of the plot B) disappointed at the waste of money/time.

The Walking Dead: A (2014) Season 4, Episode 16

Goodbye Walking Dead

[3/10 · 31 March 2014]

I seriously doubt that I'll return to Walking Dead after this season finale. One of the worst episodes of season 4 (and worse than any in seasons 1-3). One of the worst last episodes of any season. Of any series. At times it reminded me of Miami Vice - the bad guys as infinite ammo as in that show.

Rick went Zombie/Vampire on the "bad guy" played by Eric Roberts. That whole scene could have been written better by a chimp. Bad guy with his illogical choice to have Darryl kicked to death after he had protected Darryl in the previous episode? Against a long term member of his group, who got killed for lying?

The whole idea of tracking down someone who had killed a member of his group is a bit strange. Was there actually any logic there at all? Like, bikers just ditched their bikes in order to hunt down a single dude in a world full of zombies - where they had previously had to look for a house to settle in for the night and search for food? In previous episode, they were looking forward to finding a woman. Now one of the group - or based on the dialogue, they all are child-rapists who want to rape Carl on the spot? Asking Michonne to wait for her turn?

The bad guys have the upper hand in the situation, but they all get killed in a manner that is unreasonable. For example: The child-rapist threatens to kill Carl, but then proceeds to let Carl go and opens his arms wide to let Rick kill him? Sure. Sounds like a plan.

Then the whole Terminus matter. It was ridiculous to start with how easily they penetrated the place's defenses and got to the control area. Then Rick notices a chain hanging from a guy's pocket and deducts from this that the guy has Glenn's watch? The show's producers pointed out the Poncho (Maggie's) and Riot Gear (Did Rick actually see Glenn make it out of the camp in Riot Gear?). These were in my opinion better reasons for his alarm than the chain. I am just puzzled why they requested that Rick and his group display their weapons, but then they give the weapons back. If the whole idea was to capture them? Was that so they could have a cool alley run scene where people could show off their cool automatic rifles?

Seriously folks. If you know anything about weapons, the idea, that you can open fire with automatic rifle on rapid fire and shoot accurately just in front of someone, is so ridiculous that I had hard time to stop laughing. Or crying. Can't be sure since my emotions were so mixed.

Then Rick's final words in the episode? Cliché.

And then I come online and see people vote this episode with rating over 9? Have people never seen any other show on the television? I've loved the show in seasons 1-3. And it seemed tolerable until the episode when the Governor came to the prison for the final confrontation. After that it has been downhill for this show and I don't see any possible way to make it better. Or actually, I do, but I guess that is not what people want. It would require firing the whole screenwriter team and replace them with someone who has IQ higher than his shoe number. For me, it is time to find something better to do with my life, I am not going to waste another minute of it on this kind of ...

The Walking Dead: Still (2014) Season 4, Episode 12

Filler Episode, You don't miss anything if you skip it

[3/10 · 8 March 2014]

The episode was awkward watching experience. It was supposedly character development episode, but what was that development? It revealed nothing of Daryl's past that any intelligent human being should have already known by now.

And as far as Beth goes... She is turning another Lori. In my books that means a female character that is so whining and annoying that the viewer keeps wishing that the character gets bitten by the zombies.

What was so annoying about the setting was that it was unrealistic. If we can accept the fact that zombie apocalypse (unrealistic, yes I know) has happened, one would still expect the characters to act accordingly. In an adult manner that aims for survival. Risking life to look for a drink of alcohol. Sure, if you're an alcoholic.

Beth finding a new shirt was one of the few realistic developments, I've been wondering all the time why the characters do not pick up new clothes from one of the houses they raid. Seriously mates, you would not want to walk around in clothes that stink of death and decay. I can still understand from logical (viewers have to identify the characters) point of view that they wear the same gear all the time.

However, drinking moonshine as your first drink would most likely end in alcohol poisoning. Possibly death. I know a 15 year old guy who drank a bottle of Scotch and rests at the cemetery. It certainly would not involve stupid drinking games copied from an episode of Lost.

And well... at the start of the episode, the characters have to crawl inside a car trunk to survive the night. They take the car's hub cab and broken mirror for equipment. No need to pick better stuff from the golf club, no. At the end of the episode they happily burn the cottage and walk into the night (full of walkers). Sure thing, drunk people could do that kind of thing, but in that case the scene should have ended with the walkers eating the stupid drunks who would not be able to walk straight after drinking moonshine.

The Honeymooners (2003)

Drama film worth watching

[6/10 · 24 January 2014]

To be honest, I was expecting a bit more laughter from this film as it was marketed as a comedy. In the end, this was a decent drama movie that did offer some laughs as well.

The shaky camera made the film resemble modern day's reality TV-shows, but after the initial shock wore off, it actually suited the plot.

The idea about the movie was rather good. Somehow the film started to remind me of films directed by Kaurismäki. Lots of awkward silence between the main characters. Perhaps Finnish and Irish folks have more in common than just the love for beer / other alcoholic beverages =)

Alex Raid who played the role of Claire had probably the stronger performance in the movie. Jonathan Byrne did perform some fine acting, but perhaps due to the screenplay - at times seemed at loss with his role. He seemed to play the "strong, silent type" that Tony Soprano preaches about in the Sopranos. Minus the strong =)

Sleepy Hollow (2013–2017)

Absolute Garbage

[1/10 · 7 January 2014]

In my (not even that humble) opinion, the first episode of any show should give a decent presentation of what is to come.

On the basis of the first episode, this is one of the worst shows ever. If it was a comedy show, I'd give it 5/10, but all the comical aspects were not intended. Such extensive use of clichés. Man and Woman as partners in solving mysteries (X-Files, anyone?). Mano a Mano scenes that made no sense. The use of firearms to such extent that any modern day director of an action film with actors who know exactly one facial expression would be proud of.

And to add insult to an injury. The acting on part of most of the "actors" was just that poor, bordering on ridiculous. Can't people actually act anymore. Facial expressions could give acting a bit more intensity if they actually compared with the emotion supposed to be shown...

Seriously. There was 1 decent computer animated trick, rest of them were of substandard quality. At least twice I actually burst out in laughter because the trick was so awkward. Frankly speaking, I've seen better homemade videos on Youtube.

The only thing that could save this show in the future would be Clancy Brown as he is a very good actor. However, his previous roles have been much better and more believable.

House M.D.: Everybody Dies (2012) Season 8, Episode 22

Worst Season Finale Ever

[1/10 · 18 November 2013]

Seriously. I had high expectations for a show that had entertained our family for 8 seasons. Watching this episode was painful to say the least. Dialogue was awful, just long discussions that were not in the spirit of the series, but rather tiring to listen to.

The only House-like "twist" at the end was stolen from a dozen stupid action movies, including the special effects prior to it. As an episode it was probably 3 of 10, but as a season finale, 1 out of 10.

So many actors had to be written into the episode as a farewell to the series, but it only made the episode feel forced. Not spontaneous or even fun to watch, but as if I'd been slowly watching an episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful".

I think only final episode of LOST has let me down as badly as this episode.

Total Recall (I) (2012)

Not really my cup of tea

[4/10 · 21 May 2013]

I'm a big fan of science fiction and fantasy genre. Therefore I was thrilled to see the remake of Total Recall in the theaters.

However, the movie was such a huge disappointment. I was actually trying to prevent laughing out aloud as the movie escalated towards the Mano a Mano fighting scenes.

Maybe first 30 minutes of the film were what I expected, but beyond that:

The plot was thin. The movie was actually a collection of various chase sequences. Either on foot or on vehicles. Some of the action parts were actually ridiculous (man vs. machine). The funniest part is that the two leading female actresses were wearing almost identical clothes and hair styles most of time and were kind of hard to actually distinguish which of the two was on the screen at a given time.

If you have the chance to choose between this remake and the original version, please do yourself a favor and watch the original. Life's too short to spend hours on a below average product.