johnbthomasiii80 Reviews

Law & Order (1990– )

Season 23 is HORRIBLE on so many counts

[2/10 · 10 February 2024]

I've been watching Law and Order since it first aired. I've watched rerun after rerun even when I know whodunnit. It's always been a great procedural:thirty minutes devoted to the crime and thirty to the trail and verdict. It's a formula that worked.

I haven't liked the last couple seasons because the format and the scripting and acting wasn't up to par with the series prior to its cancellation, but I watched.

Season 23 is absolutely disastrous! The studio must have stripped them of any budget for this series! Here are my gripes: First: it is obviously not being shot in New York. How do you NOT film in New York? New York is a character, not just a setting! It adds flavor and realism. It's all interior shots now. If they ARE filming in NYC, then they're leaving out the biggest character of the show!

Second: the writing is juvenile. I doubt any seasoned writers are used on this show now. The writers are given a basic idea and then a template for what they must include and whatever they churn out is good to go without any script reviews or revisions. Sure the previous series wouldnt stand up to reality, but at least my five year old wouldn't say,"they don't really do that do they?" Plot lines are so simplistic that it's ridiculous. The previous series had some twists and turns and banter between prosecution and defense but that is all missing here.

Third: the actors and the acting. THIS is where I really doubt that this series is shot in NYC.

Jerry orbach Tovah Feldshuh Chris Noth Patty Lupone and far more than I can name here were all Broadway actors. They could act! They could deliver lines and would make even idiotic dialogue better by speaking it.

Hugh Dancy seems to be the sole British actor who cannot act.

Sam Waterson is so decrepit that they are finally taking his character off the show( I'm surprised he's able to stand - and don't get me wrong- I loved Waterson and I know they pulled him in to make the transition from the previous series to this new one). But the poor guy is struggling.

The cops and their lieutenant are so NOT in sync with each other. They are stiff and have zero chemistry. This is especially evident in that they recast the one cop before this season. His character was just too objectionable.

The courtroom: I loved how the previous series had a regular rotation of actors playing judges. This series has no such thing and this is also especially where the acting and poor writing show up the most.

Supporting characters: where are they? Where is Dr Olivet? Where is my wonderful female Medical Examiner or the nerdy but cute lab technician? Where are the Yiddish and Russian accents delivered from capable stage actors? In the last episode some guy was supposed to be a big deal Irish actor in the show but his accent was so bad that it shifted from Irish to Scottish to generic British to mid American all in the same scene. Why not hire someone who can act? There were season after season of episodes where the same actor played the victim and the criminal and a supporting part and a lawyer and it was AWESOME because they could act and you knew that you were watching a cadre of NY actors. This new series is so streamlined by poor writing (and I'm guessing : lots more commercials which reduce time) so much so that there is nothing left to provide depth and nuance.

After Waterson is retired next week, I don't see any reason to continue watching. Dick Wolf may have raised the dead but he certainly isn't keeping his creation alive any longer. It's a shame it was not allowed to die on a high note as it had rather than resurrect a monstrosity.

Reptile (2023)

Del Toro is awesome and the acting is aces but there are too many loose ends

[6/10 · 3 October 2023]

Reptile is a movie that starts out, absolutely fantastic builds to a crescendo about halfway through, and then falls apart through all the red herrings, macguffins, and unresolved loose ends, that it presents in an effort to give us a dramatic end to this murder mystery/procedural drama.

Benicio Del Toro delivers possibly the best performance I've ever seen him give he can often seem slimy, slick or creepy but in this film, he comes across just as he intends you to see him, which is as a man with a spotty history as a policeman, but greatly desiring to get onto the street and narrow. He is supported by his dutiful wife Judy, played by Alicia Silverstone in a really strong performance.

Justin Timberlake gives us a turn as the bereaved boyfriend of the murder victim, Timberlake and his mother, played by Frances Farmer, who is very underused on the real estate company that Timberlake and his girlfriend work for.

Quickly the suspects add up. There is the girlfriends soon to be ex-husband; then there's Eli who Timberlake and farmer have screwed out of his families property. There's also some sort of a weird creepy guy out of the church that's getting painted in the middle of nowhere. This is apparently a piece of property that the girlfriend sold but revisited. This plot point is never revisited, nor dug into any further, yet the paint that they've been using to paint the church appears on the victim and on the victims soon to be ex-husband.

Finally, we discover that the whole business is a result of police corruption and drug trafficking and money laundering. The police corruption goes so deep. We are not quite sure who's clean and who's dirty. This also leads to all sorts of loose ends that we are provided.

There's a scene with Del Toro at a therapists office as required after a shooting and he talks of a dream. Then later he has a dream or does he? It would seem that the dream which is very plot specific reveals the killer out right and no point do we get any indication that his realization of who the killer is wasn't a real occurrence rather than the dream it is presented as. But so many questions abound.

Why would any self-respecting policeman on the teak hang on to the vehicle that was used by the killer to kill the victim?

Was the killer actually the police chief and not the boyfriend? We don't know we're never told.

Why does Timberlake's character show up just days after the murder of his girlfriend with a girl that looks almost identical to that girlfriend in a restaurant where he runs into the detective leading the case? Further why would he have showed up with this girl and does she have any relevance to the plot that follows? No. It's another blind alley.

Is del Toro's partner in on the corruption? At the end we don't know.

What was the point of the police pulling Del Toro and his wife over after the party? If only to lead them home? It's possible it was to reinforce the fact that the police corruption goes deeper than he is aware. However, if this is the case it never comes up, or is never revealed at the end of the film. We just don't know what happens.

Who actually killed the victim in the film? It is never really divulged who that is. We are led to believe it is the boyfriend, but then if it is, why is the car that was used by the killer parked in the chief of police house?

Eli is killed off screen and this time we know Timberlake is in on it but we're not allowed to see who else is present in the room and it is never revealed to us even though it is alluded to.

Finally, the climax of the film has some of the most confusing things in it. Del Toro gives the evidence to the police captain, and they both go to see the chief of police to confront him with what they have. Now Del Toro's character has given over the evidence that Eli provided him to the police captain, whom we assume is on the take and Del Toro is unaware. This fact when realized really makes Del Toro seem like a rookie detective and not the seasoned guy he supposed to be.

When the chief of police whispers to Del Toro to leave because he's been found out, and that the captain is in on it, before Del Toro can leave, we must assume that the head of the DEA, who is a friend of Del Toro's is responsible for murdering the chief of police in his own home. Hearing this gunshot, Del Toro goes in to the bathroom where the captain has retreated and confront him and kills him. Then Del Toro's friend comes down the stairs after having killed a police, chief and attempt to kill del Toro. They have a gun fight, and Del Toro mortally ones his friend Dave. Then Del Toro picks up his phone and calls 911. We don't see police cars. He doesn't speak to the police or 911 yet in the next scene, we see Timberlake being arrested by the FBI while playing golf and then the next scene cuts to Del Toro Having his wife dip, his hands in hot wax, supposedly/assumedly to remove any gun shot residue he might have on his hands. But why? What is the shooting a good shooting? Or a bad shooting? We'll never know. The Director decides to leave us right there. We don't know if Del Toro is a good cop, who discovered a nest of vipers as the title would lead us to believe or if the FBI stumble across this whole thing on their own, and after their investigation, finally get around to arresting Timberlake. We don't see Francis farmer arrested. We don't see the police force getting arrested for this corruption and drug smuggling and money laundering and murder.

So while the film has incredible acting, and has a really neat premise, it just sort of falls apart at the end, because all these questions are left on answered, and there are just too many little bits and pieces that are thrown in that have no reason to be there.

.

Law & Order: The Reaper's Helper (1990) Season 1, Episode 3

Realistic for 1990

[9/10 · 22 September 2023]

As someone who lived and managed to avoid infection through the AIDS plague that was the 1980s and 1990's, this was a very real portrayal of what many of us were thinking about. AZT was a lousy treatment and caused it's own set of problems, but it is all there was at the time. I personally vowed that I would kill myself if I got AIDS. I knew many men and young men just out of their teens who died horrible and painful deaths as a result of getting AIDS.

Things might be different now but then there were few options. I had family but they would have disavowed me and they had already disowned me for being gay.

Very honest and real portrayal.

The Lost Patient (2022 TV Movie)

Don't pay attention to the negative reviews - this is one helluva good psychological thriller

[9/10 · 11 June 2023]

The Lost Patient is an incorrect translation. The film is called The Patient in French. This is a French language and French film. Normally I am skeptical of cohesion in French films - but this one had me on my toes from the get go. The writers and the director are firing on all cylinders.

Thomas is the central character. He is the only living witness to a gruesome mass murder of his family. He barely survived himself.

Flash forward three years and Thomas is coming out of a coma. But something isn't right about him. He is seeing a psychiatrist and physical therapist but something is off.

The story is told via therapy sessions and flashbacks that Thomas has.

It's gripping stuff and as someone who knows from having lived through similar, this is a very realistic and well done thriller.

The ending is worth the wait.

Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)

Mishmash of other better films - don't bother

[2/10 · 17 May 2023]

This is really a waste of time and I'm very sorry I spent my time watching it. The script is contrived and the "legacy" bit is so hokey when it is revealed that it just makes you want back the time you wasted watching it. There are so many aspects of this film that made me want to throw up my hands in exasperation: poor cinematography in that our perspective makes us believe something is happening that is not; a vast mansion that apparently only has a couple of rooms; laughable macguffins; nonsensical character development and interaction; and many more. BUT the most agregious problem is the overall plot and the final reveal: it literally - and I do mean literally- makes zero sense.

Voight is pathetic and Rhys Meyers is obviously drinking/on drugs again. Casting in general is questionable.

There is a seed of a good idea here, but all involved lost sight of it very early on.

Don't bother.

Wolf Pack (2023)

Meh...it took eight episodes to get to the point that should have been the ending of episode one

[5/10 · 24 March 2023]

There's dramatic pauses and then there's overwrought forced drama. Wolf pack is the latter. Jeff Davis produced Buffy so you would think he'd know how to write a better and more concise script, so I'm guessing he's here for name alone. There's no joy here. There's no fun banter. It's just a bunch of depressing teens moping around and creating exposition.

It took eight episodes to give us the answer we should have gotten in episode one. This show is slow SLOW SLOW....and the payoff isn't worth it - even to see BTVS at it again.

I don't think there will be a second season of this dud. I really wouldn't bother.

Smile (V) (2022)

Interesting concept that ends up rehashing other films

[4/10 · 23 February 2023]

Did you see IT FOLLOWS, THE BABADOOK, or several other similarly themed films? If you did then you saw this film as well.

I really love slow boil horror films. I love a film that is t filled with cheap jump scares but I love a horror film with some sort of a genuine payoff. SMILE does not pay off. There are so many opportunities for this to have really been terrifying - I mean the lead character is a doctor in an emergency psych ward..... Some sort of malevolent evil is stalking unsuspecting people and instead of turning it into a very claustrophobic and deeply psychological nightmare, the filmmakers give us a cheap backstory ripped right out of FINAL DESTINATION and then dilute it by broadening its scope without providing anything substantial.

You can see the ending coming as soon as you see the first death. And frankly at 1 hour 57 minutes, it was about 1 hour and ten minutes too long.

Don't bother.

Don't Worry Darling (I) (2022)

Still don't know what this Gil was about

[4/10 · 14 February 2023]

Don't Worry Darling it's s attempting to say something, I'll be damned if I know what that is. In the beginning there is a sexy unease but it doesn't maintain it. It feels reminiscent of the Stepford wives, tue Matrix and oddly enough Edward Scissorhands. However in both of those films you can make sense of what is happening. The big reveal in this seems to allude to a dystopian future. But it doesn't make sense. If the men are leaving victory every day to go to work - what are they doing? Ultimately I found the script vague and the direction stilted and the acting weak. It is definitely it a film I'll want to re-watch.

Prayers for Bobby (2009 TV Movie)

Very realistic in its presentation. Sadly for a classmate of mine, his parents didn't champion him after he committed suicide.

[9/10 · 29 January 2023]

I could write about my classmate "John Smith" and what I know of his struggles with his homosexuality, but the book and this film already do it. His parents were high in the Southern Baptist church and they had several very attractive children who were all tasked with living the righteous life.

I had a crush on "John" in high school and I know he sensed it and that he was terrified to reciprocate any feelings. Instead he toughened himself. It wasn't enough. He was out of high school only a few years; his family had found out and disowned him. His entire family! He tried to put on a brave face but the pain was too much for him and he killed himself.

However instead of what happens in the second half of ...Bobby, his family disowned and disavowed any knowledge of "John". He hasn't been spoken of in years and all photos of him have been destroyed.

There is no hate quite like Christian love.

Vipers (2008 TV Movie)

Laughably bad script and ridiculous premise - horrible FX

[2/10 · 28 December 2022]

The acting isn't terrible given this ridiculous script. I don't know how you mutate a venomous snakes venom but apparently I'm doing so five snakes miraculously turn into hundreds of fully grown vipers. And apparently these snakes eat people in bites like a canine or lion or bear.

This movie would have been better had they not tried to amp up the situation by turning to the ridiculous. The Pacific Northwest is not known to be a haven for snakes since it is quite cold there.

Finally, the budget on SFX was abysmally wasted. The digital snakes sometimes move like a snake would but more often than not the snakes are just too damned fast and (especially ridiculous) move in a linear manner like a child's toy being pulled on a string. Oh yes, did you know that dying snakes cry out like an injured dog? Neither did I.

There are points where you can see how it might have been better, but more often than not it's just laughably bad.

Into the Dark: Midnight Kiss (2019) Season 2, Episode 4

Very realistic relationship dynamics and interesting twist

[7/10 · 25 August 2022]

I felt I knew who the killer was from the start and it turned out I was sorta wrong...which makes me glad.

The relationship dynamics were incredibly believable to me as I was Cameron in my little group of partiers back in the day. So the incestuous was of the relationships really worked for me.

The storyline is very run of the mill, but the acting is good even if the script could use a little work.

And kudos to Blumhouse for requiring gay actors to play gay characters.

The Secret of Sinchanee (2021)

Could have been so much more

[4/10 · 21 August 2022]

I like weird movies! I like movies that are confusing and then come together in a grand a-ha! I kept hoping this would. It just never gelled enough. The acting wasn't bad and the setting was sufficiently moody. However, there were too many characters introduced with too little information - and the holes created were not sufficiently filled by the end of the two hour run time. There were multiple cool things posed, but those things just weren't explained or resolved.

I wanted to like it. I really did but it just disappointed...

Scream (I) (2022)

Good reboot and the original actors are looking great without plastic surgery.

[8/10 · 1 August 2022]

The Scream franchise lives and dies by its ability to be relevant and referential and timely. This reboot does that because it makes good use of the original characters, believably and well played by the older final actors: Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell and David Arquette. There's even a very believable and possibly insightful dialogue exchange between Cox and Arquette that may explain their real world divorce.

The films' script is terribly familiar and yet fresh enough that it feels new. A new crowd of young actors - where were the believable and talented actors in those low budget 70's and 80's movies?

It's a good fun slasher romp!

Closed for Storm (2020)

Worthwhile but odd documentary with obnoxiously annoying stock soundtrack

[4/10 · 14 December 2021]

Weird little documentary that tells the story of what happened to Six Flags over NOLA. Interesting but amateurish. The soundtrack is incredibly annoying - like it was borrowed from some 1950's school science film.

Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)

Loved it until the last episode

[4/10 · 14 September 2021]

Definitely cronenberg-esque, but it falls apart in the last episode and becomes yet another waste of time.

The Devil Below (2021)

Lousy script and piss poor logic

[2/10 · 21 June 2021]

The acting can't be classified as poor per se but the script and characters are so poorly written.... Character act out of character....the lighting is so dim that you can't make anything out....basic logic is absent. It's good actors wasted on a film even student filmmakers would disown.

Mom (2013–2021)

Wish they weren't cancelling it - it's better without Ana's Farias

[7/10 · 12 March 2021]

The Show has actually gotten funnier since we took the daughter character out of it and we've been able to have all these women talking to each other it feels much more like an AA version of the Golden girls which is something that we could sorely use right now

Trickster: Episode #1.6 (2020) Season 1, Episode 6

Not as good as I hoped it would be - but intriguing

[6/10 · 17 February 2021]

Joel Ouellette, the star of the show, is definitely watchable and a good actor however the scripting is just a little bit too rudimentary for the complex topic that it's trying to portray. That being said I'm hoping that the writing gets better if there is a second season and that we get a much clearer view of the different Native American cultures And myths or beliefs or religions that are being presented. For those of us who are not Native American it is very confusing and we don't get to realize distinctive differences or specifics about some of the most important parts of this potentially intriguing series. A series about Native American peoples deserves much better representation than this is giving it I hope that they will get things cleaned up so that we can see a second season and enjoy it.

The Boys in the Band (2020)

Good cast, but low energy - no comparison to Friedkin's version!

[3/10 · 19 October 2020]

I wanted to like this film. No, I lie. I was dying to LOVE this film. After all, I was only 6 when the original came out and saw it for the first time at 22 on VHS. It was a revelation to me -and hilarious - and a "Debbie Downer" because it made me realize I was an outcast. I've watched the original film at least once a year. I've bought it on VHS and on DVD. Then I heard that a cast of well knowns from my era (even if a bit younger) were a huge hit on Broadway with it and it was being made into a movie. Well, sign me up!

I watched it the night it premiered! After all, it was going to be the really great actors (both Broadway and TV and film) performing roles they knew inside and out. It was going to be better than I could imagine.

Imagine my disappointment. I waited. I did. I waited. I waited and waited for it to get better. It didn't. It was as flat as the lasagna.

There was no energy. Oh, Matt Bomer was more than fine - in fact, he was a bit to handsome for the part of Donald, but he delivered a good performance, if not one with enough energy.

Jim Parsons was a somnambulist, sleep walking through the most intricate of the characters - Michael. No energy in the first half and zippo in the last half - he really was not much more than Sheldon Cooper outed. Shrill.

And Charlie Carver as Cowboy, well, he was far too innocent and no at all streetwise. No comparison to Robert LaTourneaux.

No. I think the problem with this movie was timing...Don't get me wrong all the actors in the 2020 version had impeccable timing. It's just that a lot has happened in the 52 years since the play premiered. Stonewall had just happened back then. Now, it is taken for granted by most. Being gay was dangerous and illegal in 1968. Now it's largely legal as is gay marriage and consorting with other homosexuals is not dangerous nor a cause to be arrested.

Being gay is mundane today. There's no excitement (unless you enjoy having your blood pressure go up watching a Trump rally). Hell, gay is just one of the letters in the acronym that defines us. And no one is merely "gay" any more. They are bisexual, gender fluid, Asexual, Polyamorous, etc. It's all quite tedious to me.

But I suppose equal rights means equal boredom. Because none of these actors ever lived in the era (as adults) where same sex love was not only a sin but a crime, they just can't channel the internal emotion necessary to pass along the energy that the original does. And to give Friedkin and the editor of the original their due - the original feels more like a film than a filmed play.

Good job guys, but I'll stick with the original.

We Go On (2016)

Super psychological and spiritual thriller-not a horror film

[8/10 · 17 September 2020]

If you believe that death and dying are horrible things then maybe "we go on" is a horror film. But if you believe in the afterlife "we go on" is a really exciting thoughtful and engaging thriller/drama.

I don't remember this film being released into theaters which is a shame because I think it deserves a theatrical release. it may not be a big budget film but it is definitely an indie film that deserves your attention. the acting is quite fine and the special effects are also quite fine in keeping with the overall tenor of the movie. no this isn't trying to be some big slasher film with lots of gore and lots of jump scares because that's just not what it is. The production values are quite fine and it is no amateur film. this is nothing like the stuff that you would see in the early 80s where everything was out of focus and dark because the producers and the director had no idea what they were doing now.

this film is made with a competent group of people with an excellent script and I do mean an excellent script that really walks you through some things and makes you think.

I highly recommend this film but I encourage you to know that what you're going to see it's not some cheap slasher or horror film it's far more intelligent than that.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

Just not very good

[3/10 · 12 September 2020]

The Babysitter was such a fun and unexpected pleasure that you will want to like it's sequel. In fact, I was eagerly awaiting it. It's a shame it doesn't offer the same guilty pleasures. There are a few shining lights among the disappointing film: Judah Lewis as the beleaguered lead does his best with a script that is pitifully weak. Robbie Amell brings energy to his character once again and Samara Weaving still lights up the screen in her cameo performance. While the cast has expanded to almost double - it isn't double the pleasure.

It's still full of pop references as was the first, but they must have determined that the audience for the original had skewed much older than intended because the references are aimed at Baby Boomers not younger people. In one scene a boat named "Jenny" requires a code to start it. Immediately I knew it would be 867-5309 and I was correct. That's the thing about this film; there are no surprises. The script is predictable and you can anticipate the location of a joke AND even what the joke will be.

Now to be clear the acting throughout is competent given the phoned in direction and script. But the quirky characters that appeared in the first film are relegated to the background as a set of new and completely uninteresting generic characters are given a bit of screen time. Their existence were completely unnecessary and I can think of a couple of ways to have written the same script without them.

Shame. I really like the first film and the characters. This is an insult to them and the actors who play them.

Terrified (2017)

Accept that things are different in Argentina - then be prepared to be scared!

[8/10 · 10 September 2020]

Holy cow once you except that this movie is made in Argentina and they have cultural differences and that their homes are different than our homes and just go with it. if you do that you won't get bogged down by the differences. But I promise you will be in for a scary ride. the movie is in Spanish with English subtitles but you get used to it and the effects are frightening and I totally expect that there will be an American version of this made. Super scary and I would not recommend for children because children are badly affected in this movie.

Cruel Peter (2019)

Might get a better review if the entire film wasn't so dimly lit

[3/10 · 17 August 2020]

There's a lot of potential here with this movie it's got sort of a unique take on the bad child theme it's a combination of the exorcist the omen and a couple other films that deal with similar but it's quite hard to tell what the heck is going on since everything is so dark there are times when there's action happening on the screen and the screen appears to be completely black if this was intentional it was a poor choice it's just so darn I see anything that it's hard to get too involved in it

Odd Thomas (2013)

Terribly under appreciated film that is delightfully weird

[9/10 · 21 May 2020]

Anton Yelchin and Willem Defoe have so much fun on this fil that it's impossible to not have fun yourself.

Yelchin was destined to be one of this generations best character/leading actors. Cast in the lead in this film he proves he has the chops to carry the film. Sadly we lost Yelchin I'm a single car accident that angers and pains me to this day.

Yelchin plays Odd Thomas, a wacky/weird but lovable young man who can see dead people and avenge their deaths.

The dialogue is quick and witty and the actors are all fine to great. It moves at a breezy pace yet doesn't lack for creepiness, nor for sweetness.

There are enough characters that when the plots cranks up, it can be tough to keep up with them all. That said, it all comes together quite cleverly in the end.

The end. Odd Thomas has one of the most heartbreaking endings for a thriller/horror film.

This is the first film Stephen Sommers has directed that I have enjoyed. Too often his films are filled with bad cgi and crappy storylines. Not so here. Dean Koontz must have had a strong grip on this.

Most sadly is that this film has not received the credit it is due. It is far better than the box office and reviews would lead you believe.

Swamp Thing (2019)

Here's hoping some other cable network will pick up this show

[9/10 · 5 July 2019]

Swamp Thing is an excellent horror drama. It's well written, well cast and very finely produced. I'm 57 years old and far from being a comic nerd but I am a horror buff. It's rare that a well made film of this nature comes out much less a television show.

So I'm disappointed to learn that even before the airing of the first episode of swamp thing had finished showing Warner Bros. and DC canceled the series .

I've been watching the series and though I'm not done I can tell you which one I would enjoy watching more of I understand that DC universe is struggling with its acquisition.

there's going to be a shuffling and a shake up but I'm hoping that cooler mines will prevail and realize they've actually got something really good on their hands that needs to find a broader audience then what is available on the DC universe network. This hope of mine also applies to the new show Titans which is equally well done and well cast and I fear because the DC universe network is going to be shattered that two really good episodic dramas are going to go away so hopefully some network out there is going to pick these up and start caring them rather than letting them be closed down.