rayahermans Reviews

Amsterdam (2022)

Among the best ones of the centurty so far

[10/10 · 10 January 2024]

Can't understand the low score comments this film gets. Yes it's unpaced, unhinged, slow, etc but that's because you need to look at the tapistry behind the surface of what you see. You need to see the madness of what WW I was, and what it left behind. You need to feel the scars WW II left behind. You need to smell the putrid smell of insanity that people ooze out of their pores in wanting ever more.

It's a great story of madness, horror, hope, love, friendship, greed... a story of a history that is so unknown to the younger generations, for whom this tale is unbearable because you need to think, to imagine, to feel the deeper realities...

Black Site (I) (2022)

Not so bad as the ratings make it out to be

[8/10 · 24 December 2022]

Agreed, many things could have been done better. But then again what movie has an original story anymore... what cliché hasn't been clubbed to extinction... how many locations do you need to be deemed "good" ?

Yes, the first 90% are predictable, some of the scenes are somewhat exagerated or improbable, but somehow the last 10% make up in some way for this. It is certainly better than the 4 stars it has at this time (dec 2022) albeit not "the" best... the end leaves open a nice door to a possible sequel where some of the slack is taken out.

It's a nice evening filler without too much pretention.

Force (2014–2020)

Euuuhhmm perhaps...

[7/10 · 6 October 2022]

Seasons 1 and 2 are "police" series with humour. Beginning of season 3 is hard to get swallowed but at the end it becomes unwatchable. How silly and idiotic can the (main) characters become before it's a total 0/10. The Diplomat character in S1 and S2 is a good and suspenseful central theme and the only "good" thing about it in S3 is him coming out of the shadows. The events around it however are right out of a very cheap crime telenovella. At some points I thought I was watching a childrens series. As good as the first 2 seasons were, as bad it get from S3... couldn't go on after ep3.8. Pity of the lame ending...

Chicago P.D.: Equal Justice (2021) Season 8, Episode 6

This is enough

[5/10 · 22 September 2022]

Chicago PD had some good seasons in the beginning... and then they started to hop on the PC, etc wagon making it evermore unbelievable as a procedural series, as it was in the beginning years. I dont want my series to be absurdly one sided and/or trying to make me believe the world is something that it is not. One more series that is way past it's due date and that should have been ended long ago. I should have stopped watching long ago when the first signs of scenario mold started to appear, but then you want to give them the benefit of the doubt... pity that something that could have been remembered as an excellent series falls from its stand.

Chicago Fire: My Lucky Day (2021) Season 9, Episode 5

What was this ?

[5/10 · 21 September 2022]

How insanely silly is this episode ? Potential fire... you let civilians back into the building ? You use the elevator ? You don't try to use the elevator comm system ? You don't try to hold your 2way radio outside of the elevator cage ? 2 experienced firefighters start panicking ? Lifting the tolueen barrel with the pointy part of the halligan ? This is by far the most ridiculous episode if you don't take all the PC stuff into account. It's episodes like this that make people switch off good series. I think that all the potential firefighter scenario's have been covered and the series is far over it's top....

Chicago Fire: The Chance to Forgive (2018) Season 6, Episode 15

Firearm technical nonsense

[7/10 · 7 September 2022]

OK. Convey the message about being careful with guns. But the kid was old enough to obtain the guns legally so seeing it as "a child" that you have to watch is exaggerated. Secondly, I understand it's a show and it has to be somewhat dramatic but the "gunfire" in this episode is complete nonsense. Yes a round can cook off in a fire but without a chamber and barrel to contain and build up pressure it is impossible for the bullet to get the velocity and thus energy to cause the damage/wounds shown in this episode. At best 1 round chambered in a weapon could go off at 'normal' conditions but since the semi-auto weapons rely on a recoil that requires a counter pressure from the shooter (grip/shoulder) the weapon would not be able to load a second round into the chamber. This equates to 'limp wristing" a shot, a known malfunction in semi-auto pistols.

So conclussion: could have been done much more realistically...

Taboo (2017)

The Goof is a Goof in itself...

[8/10 · 4 May 2022]

Funny to see that the Goof section above is a goof in itself in S1E2 at around 4min he clearly states that he wants to see/speak with Thomas Jefferson AND with the president. So clearly it is understood that Jefferson is not the president...

NCIS: Los Angeles: Where Loyalties Lie (2022) Season 13, Episode 10

This is the end

[8/10 · 22 March 2022]

I've had it with the woke stupidity... it's an ACTION series, not a lets-feel-sad-and-guilty-for-everything-thats-not-our-fault telenovella... 13 seasons is certainly too much, wonder where it started to go wrong...

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

What a pity...

[8/10 · 18 March 2022]

The wokeness and alphabet soup overacting has arrived to the Super Universe that was Star Trek... and made it worse... 7/10 to me means "watchable but only if there is really nothing else you could be doing..." Star Trek was already about respect and acceptance of differences... the added virtue signalling just is ridiculous.

Young Wallander (2020–2022)

Season 2...

[8/10 · 17 February 2022]

Episode 3 is a big disappointment... where other episodes and nordic noir series frankly normally contain some realistic storyline and actions this episode is just a continuation of totally unrealistic and unbelievably cliché scenes... hope it doesn't continue...

The Blacklist: Boukman Baptiste (No. 164) (2022) Season 9, Episode 9

I was so hopefull...

[8/10 · 21 January 2022]

That The Blacklist would stay away from the woke...

Alas, systemic racism, institutional evil, fake martyrs, ... it all passes the review... even "our people built this country" was thrown into the mix ? How and when did this happen ?

Anyway, hope this stops or TB could become the next series down the drain.

Another Life (2019–2021)

Starts in Minor but goes to Major quickly

[9/10 · 20 October 2021]

There are a lot of bad reviews for Another Life. It is true that season 1 has a slow and less than good beginning, it was even hard to keep up with viewing regularly. This however turns for the better with the each episode. At the time of writing this I just viewed season 2 finale, and this is many times better than the beginning of the series.

So final word on Another Life... It's a great show but you will need to go through lesser episodes in season 1 so you can end up in season 2 with some great science fiction !

Jarhead: Law of Return (2019 Video)

Declining series of movies

[1/10 · 4 October 2021]

Mistakes in combat/tactics realism, continuity (car mounted machine gun with and without armour plating),... big difference with the Siege instalment where even the left/right shoulder switches were done correctly...

Another series taken too far. The "I don't show up for anything with dum dum bullets" should be the warning... it's a dum dum instalment...

Invisible City (2021–2023)

Link

[9 August 2021]

Hasn't this been done already ? Grimm.... The basic storyline seems the same. Haven't decided yet on watching.

Disturbing the Peace (2020)

B movie with the expected faults

[7/10 · 11 July 2021]

Don't expect high quality from this one. It's a B movie, only Guy to keep it floating, you can't expect miracles. 7/10 means it's watchable but don't stay home for it...

For All Mankind (2019– )

Can't wait for next season

[9/10 · 7 May 2021]

Refreshing look on the subject, excellent cast, beautiful photography, captivating storyline... didn't feel bored at all !

Case (2015– )

Not what a Nordic Noir should be

[7/10 · 11 March 2021]

Of all the Nordic Noirs this one is the least attractive. Not one character makes a good decision, they all seem blasé as hell, fail at having common sense, have completely the wrong reactions...

Towards the last third of the series this obvious lack of realism becomes quite annoying...

Too bad, the story could be so much more.

Alien Code (2018)

Better than expected

[8/10 · 7 March 2021]

The story is a mix of other sf movie themes (there is some "Contact" and a hint of "Sphere in there). After viewing you're left with the "what's the meaning ?" question. With more than passable acting, photography and dialogue it's very watchable and, in my opinion, certainly above the B-movie grade. Time will tell if it had a message ;-) .

IO (2019)

Not for the fast-food-watcher

[8/10 · 19 February 2021]

Simple story that requires empathy to fully feel and live the characters. The end can be seen as open so as to leave the viewer the possibility to reflect after watching. All in all a good story, good acting but certainly not for the I-want-action viewer.