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JohnThomasAmatoII
Reviews
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
For those of you ignoramus' that gave this movie a bad review....
You can kiss my green slimer!!! LOL! This movie was FABULOUS and AMAZING!!! Took me right back to being 14 years old again! The only thing I didn't like was the Mom for much of the movie but other than that, ace on line!!! It is not only nostalgic for us "old timers" but will attract the "youngins" too! Go see this on the big screen, definitely worth it!
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
After a 30 yr wait Most! Most non- non non- non-heinous!!!!
If you expect a repeat of the past, you'll be kind of right and kind of wrong. This was everything I could have hoped for and more in number 3! If you grew up trying to be excellent to each other, partying on dudes and air guitar in your way through life you won't be disappointed. Everyone put in fabulous performances and it's like both Keanu and Alex said in an interview, it's just a feel-good movie. Frankly I wish that this were real and it would spread throughout our country like wildfire bringing us back together again. The credits montage was actually most excellent this time and do yourself a favor dude, sit through the credits. You won't be disappointed and it is a most excellent time! Party on Bill and Ted, everyone else please be excellent to one another!
Sherlock: The Final Problem (2017)
Very surprising episode but even more surprised by...
So this will be pretty much spoiler free. We know from last episode that the Holmes sister has shown her face and it ended with a gun shot. This episode goes from there with some horrific twists, emotional twists and all in all makes a pretty damn good ending to the season. I see that only one in three reviewers "liked" it yet it retains an 8.6 rating as of my writing this. It looks like the people rating this episode don't agree with the majority of the reviews.
Was this season different from all the others? Yep! We've seen the death of Mary, Sherlock going full blown junkie and him having to get in touch with his emotional side for the first time really since the start of the series. People who are used to and like seeing him be an a-hole are kinda put off by this episode but really, this is where the character needed to go from last season...
Mary is nicely not-quite dead thru both John's imagination and a DVD left behind.
Mycroft shows some different sides to his personality and in this one he definitely doesn't disappoint.
The final scene had me smiling and thinking, "Yeah! Now this is some classic Holmes..." It was a right and proper way to end such an emotional season!
So if you're thinking of not watching this only because of some nay- Sayers then think again. If you skip this episode you'll only be cheating yourself.
Dark Matter (2015)
Solid start with a lot of promise and some interesting twists.
This show has a lot of promise and some big shoes to step into. All that said, I'm half-way thru Season One and have to say it definitely has shown it has some chops. All of the best science fiction shows in the past have taken their time building their characters and showing different aspects of their personalities. Also many change, grow and evolve over time so you have to realize instead of this being a quickie, one-off movie it is a prolonged relationship with seeing how this child of the imagination cult grows and develops. Remember Starbuck from BSG started as an alcoholic pilot with a self-destructive streak in and out of the brig. She ended up being the savior of the human race.
The story in a nutshell: Six people wake up on a spaceship without their memories. They have a hold full of weapons, a very advanced (and admittedly very hot) android along with a range of differing attitude that looked like a train wreck just asking to happen. What could go wrong?
The Good: A solid plot, good writing and some pretty good acting to pull it all off. They don't overdo the CGI but when you do see it, then it's pretty impressive. Hyperspace, warp speed, whatever you want to call FTL travel the effects are really well done and believable. Fight scenes are well choreographed and yeah, the girls kick-ass in this show right alongside the men. ;-) So far there have been very few moments that I've gone "WTF? That was totally unbelievable!" This is in "The Good" because they have been SO FEW which is relatively unknown in a show this new. Last but not least, this show has one well known science fiction actor (Roger Cross) who has come a very long way since he first said "I am Gwar!" (First Wave). He doesn't dominate the scenes which is nice but does provide a focal point to bring the others up to his level without anyone really noticing.
The Bad: There always is some bad but delightfully this is pretty minimal and gives good hope for the future of this show. The worst first: Some of the characters have a slight tendency to "over-act" both in their role and in their speech. Some of it is script I'm sure but some of it is because most of the actors in question are new to the sci-fi scene and think they have to overwork their roles. Hopefully they will just let the character emerge and not work so hard at bringing it out. Also the "minor" wounds need a lot of work. They look like someone just dabbed blood to make it look like they were wounded. Serious wounds like cut throats and electromagnetic burns are done very well but the makeup people get lazy when it comes to a busted lip or blood splatter. Minor improvements could be made to the CGI space and ship scenes. Maybe better backgrounds and get a little slightly more detailed in graphics composition? Also, WTF with all the loose object on a spaceship? What happens if they lose gravity control? LOL! Now I'm being petty so I'll move on... Last but not least they need to make it a continuous running show. Right now it seems like 1 Episode = 1 adventure. They need to get a little more complex and not be afraid of scaring us off by being more intelligent in their plot. I may premature here because I am only half- way thru season one but I don't think so. Science fiction fans are highly intelligent, able to follow complex plots and scientific jargon. So far a little of it seems slightly spoon fed and in some ways repeats of attitudes/situations taken from a few other shows.
The Armchair Critic rules this show:
A good, solid 7.7 out of 10 with the promise to become more. If they up their game on the minor things I mentioned, replace the blowtorches with laser welders and keep up the admittedly damn good work they're doing then they have the possibility of having a long lasting show which could leave it's mark in Science Fiction TV history. So far tho this program has it all, intrigue, mystery, sudden turns in plot and a tendency to make you laugh when you least expect it. The discerning sci-fi viewer should give this show at least a one season chance or at the very minimum seven episodes. There is some predictability but nothing to leave a bad taste in the mouth. More like trying a new drink and wanting to see if the next one is as good as the first. If you do, you should definitely keep your eyes open for subliminal humor. It's pleasing when they sneak it in on you. Keep up the good work and I'll be sitting in my armchair looking forward to season two when it starts next month.