abbeley Reviews

Futurama: The Impossible Stream (2023) Season 11, Episode 1

Loved it then, love it now!

[10/10 · 24 July 2023]

Despite the seemingly endless cancelations of a sometimes "secretly smart" show, the Planet Express crew has proven again why they are so "revivable"!

The episode provided just the right amount of "we're back!", fan service, clever writing and light jabs at its owners and current/ relevant things.

Going from the last "series finale" to this episode felt like nothing more than a normal between seasons hiatus!

For me, nothing felt forced or overdone, like some reboots do. I can only hope more people feel the same way and give us as much more Futurama as possible!

I've loved Futurama since the beginning and even on a full series rewatch, it still holds up for me!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

An AMAZING representation of a game we love!

[10/10 · 19 March 2023]

Dungeons and Dragons is a really fun game that my husband and I play with a great group of people every Saturday for 12+ hours per session, so we went into this movie with very, very high expectations.

I can honestly say, it did not disappoint! The depictions of spells, classes, monsters, etc. Were fantastic. Even where there were visual liberties taken rather than working "exactly" as it does in the game, (like the displacer beast), it didn't ruin anything or make us say "that's not how that is supposed to be".

Getting to see the spells and things go off the way we have been imagining, was soooo rewarding!

10 out of 10, for us, no question!

Call Me Kat: Call Me 'Cat's in the Cradle' (2023) Season 3, Episode 15

This used to be a cute lighthearted show...

[1/10 · 24 February 2023]

I, personally, watch sitcoms (and not dramas) for the comedy and lighthearted way people deal with things. This show started that way, even if a little campy. It was hard enough losing Leslie Jordan (not just in the show) but now the feel of this is now less comedy and more sad, just in general. Hopefully things will go back to silly and funny.

I don't mind "dramadies" but I don't go out of my way to watch them.

That being said, the show still has potential (for what it is) but the last couple episodes had me fast forwarding all of the drama.

It's worth noting that Carter is my favorite and the only reason I am still watching.

Cruella (2021)

If it had been called Estella... Cruella's twin... then maybe.

[3/10 · 30 December 2021]

This would have been a great movie if it hadn't been an "Origin Story" for one of Disney's most terrible, monstrous villians. Even if they could, somehow, after the fact, make her half as crazy and unempathetic to animals as Cruella is... it still wouldn't be good enough.

This character's likeability ruins the hatred you should feel when thinking about the world famous animal murderer.

Eternals (2021)

I almost let reviews keep me from watching....

[10/10 · 9 November 2021]

But...... I'm glad I didn't. I saw so many things about this movie being overly "woke" and trying to spread itself too thin with all of the characters. I can honestly say I did not go in with high hopes. I felt like those reviews and articles almost stopped me from watching a movie that I really did enjoy. I think the "boundaries" pushed were not shoved and ended being tastefully handled. I also didn't feel lost in the amount of characters. We actually went as a group of 12, very different, people, all of which really enjoyed it. I hope nothing stops a sequel from being made because I am very interested in seeing what happens next.

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021)

Bad writers, BAD!

[4/10 · 29 July 2021]

I fell in LOVE with Trollhunters the moment I first saw it. I enjoyed 3 Below, not as much, but still.

And though it was rushed, really loved Wizards.

When I found out they would be bringing all of these wonderful worlds together, I was ecstatic!

Unfortunately... stunning visuals, loveable characters (voiced by talented actors) and years of loyalty, couldn't help this movie. Without spoiling it, I will say (in my opinion), the characters felt like a side bar to an otherwise oddly irrelevant, misplaced story. The odd pacing and weirdly underwhelming dialog made things worse.

Then... there is... the ending... ooooh, that ending. It made me feel let down as a fan of the franchise, like everything I knew and loved about it was irrelevant.

I know this was intended to wrap up the Arcadia series but for the sake of its former glory, I hope they take some time to fix this mistake.

The Neighborhood: Welcome to the Movement (2020) Season 3, Episode 1

Covered the issues without going TOO far.

[10/10 · 19 November 2020]

I was pleasantly surprised. Though I hope they get back to the more light hearted stuff soon. We could certainly use it!

Black-ish (2014–2022)

Season 4 is truly terrible.

[6/10 · 1 April 2020]

I was really enjoying this show until season 4, all drama, no comedy. Hope they get back to the way they were.

Lady and the Tramp (2019)

Amazing live adaptation of an amazing classic!

[10/10 · 14 November 2019]

This movie did it right! Instead of changing things for "creative value" or adding an unnecessary subplot or message, it stayed true to the film we grew up loving for so many years!

An amazingly accurate adaptation of an amazing movie.

It took what could only live in our imagination and made it so real that you have to double check to be sure your dog can't talk too!

Eureka: Dr. Nobel (2006) Season 1, Episode 6

I've said before that I've seen the best episode of a show.....

[10/10 · 11 July 2019]

But here I stand corrected! This is by far the best episode of any tv show I've seen. It's heart warming, funny and filled with science....oh yeah, and a death ray! I loved everything about it!

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

Amazing CGI, terrible "plot"

[2/10 · 21 May 2019]

My personal opinion if this movie is that it is worth watching, but when it comes on t.v., not in the theater. The visual aspects of this movie were amazing and seeing some of the most iconic Pokémon brought to life was even more fantastic but unfortunately, that's where my positive review ends. If you are looking for a Pokémon movie small children can enjoy, this may be a great movie for you. But if you were excited about seeing the Pokémon of your childhood come to life in an epic story.... you may need to keep looking. The feel of this movie was very reminiscent of a regular episode of Power Rangers. With the trailers highlighting the humor of Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, I really expected a movie that would be fun for kids but funny and filled with memorable throwbacks for adults. The only throwbacks were the actual Pokémon and the only funny stuff was already shown in the trailers. The actors weren't great but that didn't really impact my opinion in this case. All in all it had immense potential and I hope they try again with another Pokémon movie in the future.

Bones: The Murder of the Meninist (2016) Season 11, Episode 12

I usually love this show but....

[1/10 · 8 May 2019]

..... this episode is the first (and hopefully the only) one that I have turned off because of how awful the storyline was. As a woman I was not left feeling empowered or even entertained, I was left feeling bad for men. They took a few valid concerns real men have and mashed them with criminally misogynistic messages. Every now and then there is an episode that clearly possesses the views of the series creators but this was ridiculous. That's with me not even acknowledging the terrible thing happening with Hodgins and Angela.

Glass (2019)

Not bad but had the potential to be awesome.

[6/10 · 28 April 2019]

The movie was okay for the trilogy but felt more like a messy clean up of awesome characters. Unbreakable and Split have all of the build up to be super excited about this movie but much like dub step, left us wanting the big drop and being let down. There were many things that were great about character development and explanation but the last 25 minutes bummed me out more than anything. It's worth watching but not worth paying for.

Bones: The Hero in the Hold (2009) Season 4, Episode 14

What all shows should aspire to be!

[10/10 · 15 April 2019]

This episode had everything one could ask for: a continuation story that we forgot about, a family reunion, an amazing story about comradery, a helicopter, an explosion, a great "Bones hits someone moment", and a ghost; somehow all put together in a fluid and wonderful way! My husband and I really like this show but this episode is certainly our favorite so far!

Charmed (2018–2022)

Ugh

[1/10 · 1 April 2019]

The original Charmed empowered women and made you care about the characters.... All while being entertaining. This "reboot" does the exact opposite and just makes the CW look bad.