Change Your Image
rcoulter-31439
Reviews
The Wall (2016)
Good idea, but I smell a rat...
At the time I wrote this, there were 6 other reviews and I read them all. My favorite was by "atlasmb". I must admit, the concept for this game is intriguing -- you get money in your "game bank", you answer crappy trivia questions to hope to get more in your bank, but if you miss the answer, you have an equal chance of losing money in your bank. Then at the end of the round you have to perform an act where you can only lose money. Each time the odds of gaining or losing money are 50/50. So it's basically a demented PLINKO ripoff. The Price is Right might have a lawsuit (snicker).
Now here's the part that bugs me -- there are several phases of the game where drama is intentionally built. I'm not talking extemporaneous drama (like people just saying what's on their minds), NO, I mean scripted drama, like on your basic crappy reality show. It's all too-well rehearsed, and no amount of editing can hide that. I gave this show a 5/10 because I don't even know if this show is "real". And we'll never know...everyone involved has (no doubt) signed legal documents that if they come forward they get their pants sued off.
So welcome to the new world of reality game shows, where actors replace contestants, and life just gets more disappointing. Nice try producers, just make more Hell's Kitchens...at least Gordon makes me laugh.
Bright (2017)
Ouch my head...needed more work, felt rushed.
I was hoping so hard that because Will Smith was the star, this movie would be awesome. It almost was, but I can start with the good news and go from there. This movie is set in an alternate reality where certain mythological races live among humans. Each race has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The plot centers around individuals called "Brights." Brights are the only ones who can manipulate an elven form of technology called a "wand." If you know how to use one, and if you are a "bright". these wands can be used as weapons, tools, or healing devices. These wands are so rare, they're almost mythical -- some people don't believe they even exist -- finding one is like seeing Santa Claus or Bigfoot. When a wand is found by the police, it is up to Smith's character and his partner to keep it safe from the good guys and bad guys until they can find someone they can trust. Therein lies the problem, they can't trust anyone -- even the proper authorities might kill them for just having seen it. Their only clue for what to do next is a terrified young female elf, who is the sole survivor of the raid where the wand was discovered.
Sounds great, right? Well it is, except for the poor dialogue (sometimes you don't have slightest idea what is being said or why), the poor filming (sometimes scenes bounce around so much you can't keep track of what's where), and the poor editing (hard to describe this part, just that a lot of scenes don't make sense). A way to sum-it-up would be -- think of the Fifth Element if someone tossed it in a blender and re-released it. It's basically the Fifth Element but with much less refinement. Overall, I gave it a 4/10, and I called this movie "Will Smith's punishment for After Earth."
However...I think I know why some people liked this movie...if you can follow it, your own subconscious should be able to clean up the "mess", and it won't seem as bad once you get to the end. :)
Happy! (2017)
So far I'm HAPPY!
I still haven't figured this one out, but here's my guesses as to the plot. First, we have a depressed heroic ex-cop, who likes killing "bad guys." Then we have an "imaginary" blue unicorn who claims to be his daughter's imaginary friend, and tells him that his daughter has been kidnapped. So here's my assessment -- either 1. The horse is a real supernatural manifestation of his daughter, or 2. The horse is actually Sax's imaginary manifestation of his desire to be a good man again (a hero if you will). But you might ask "how does the horse 'know' things in reality that Sax can't see?" There's the catch -- either Happy is truly supernatural, or it's just Nick's training kicking in, and giving him instinctual insight he used to have before he "went dark". That's the main reason I like this show -- which one is it -- I can't wait to find out! Somehow Nick probably knows he has a daughter, and through underground "hearsay", he's heard she's in trouble, but he chose to ignore it. His brush with death created Happy to bring him to the realization he must help his child. That's my guess, but you'll have to watch to find out more.