dushieblue Reviews

The X-Files (1993–2018)

Just wasn't the same without Mulder

[8/10 · 1 June 2008]

I don't hate Doggett and Reyes, I do however believe that they were fit for support characters at best. The reason I loved the X-files was the combination of a larger story, the humor and the relationship between Mulder and Scully. After Mulder left the X-files just felt empty. I'm pretty sure Doggett and Reyes weren't suppose to be exact replacements for Mulder and Scully, but I found them to be, although likable, very uninteresting. Although after season 7 the show with or without Mulder and Scully got to be less interesting, because both Anderson and Duchovny seemed to have lost a little of the charm that was so clearly present during earlier seasons.

All in all, this show was amazing on all fronts, but shouldn't have gone on for more than 7 seasons. Now that they are making another movie: they shouldn't have killed off so many characters. Although I love Skinner, he is pretty much the only one left from the beginning.

Bottoms Up (2006 Video)

Bad movie, bad acting, bad everything!

[1/10 · 2 April 2008]

I'm not even going to start on how bad this movie was, because that analysis would be a hundred pages long. It was just completely uninspired and unfunny, period.

I will however say something about the acting: G.O.D.A.W.F.U.L.!!! Jason comes across like he's bored out of his mind and has no charisma whatsoever. Paris can't act her way out of a paper bag. When you can't pull off a shallow character like this with some humor and charm, then you REALLY need to stay away from "acting".

All in all you really need to stay away from this stinker if you want to enjoy yourself. If you want to be surprised at just how awful Paris Hilton is of an actress then by all means...

La Femme Nikita (1990)

Starts out good

[6/10 · 26 March 2008]

I have to admit I watched the TV-show first. After seen all the episodes and being thoroughly impressed I decided to watch the original film. To be completely honest the film left me wondering if that was it. The main characters of the film, Nikita, Marco and Bob are brilliantly played and the writing for these characters is amazing, but the story didn't effect me at all. To have a great movie on your hands you need a great story that feels like it HAS to be told, characters that interest you and actors who fill up the parts like they seemed to be destined to play these characters. This film got two of the three right, but the story felt random and not very believable. The real highlight was how Nikita changed. In the beginning she simply didn't seem to care about anything and came across as if she grew up in the woods, but as the film goes on you see a woman emerging and in it the irony that it took a job as an assassin to make her human.

All in all, I sadly have to disagree with most of the comments. The TV-show is still dear to my heart because they captured the concept so amazingly. But if you want to see some top-notch acting, the check this film out.

Alias (2001–2006)

Really?

[1/10 · 24 March 2008]

This show could've been so much more. The first two seasons were entertaining. Not good, just entertaining. After that the show became so ridiculous I had a really hard time watching the last seasons. I think this mostly has to do with J.J.'s writing. If the plot holes won't bother you, the pointless mysteries will. He starts out with a great concept and suspense, but it ultimately goes nowhere. The whole Rambaldi-storyline (ow, how I've come to hate that name) resulted in absolutely nothing. They also started throwing in zombies, vampires and adjusting DNA to make doubles. Seriously? Sydney Bristow has no redeeming qualities and is put in absurd situations. They make her out to be a superspy, but then she turns around and cries or roundhouse kicks what seems like a thousand bad guys who have all seen her face. They also throw in tranqguns, are you kidding me?! For all the rounds she fires she can't seem to quite hit a bad guy and comes across like some girl scout instead of someone fighting global terrorism. Michael Vartan can't act his way out of a paper bag. He is nice to look at, but a completely useless character. The only characters that keep you wondering are Jack, Sloane and Irina (although they completely ruined her character at the end).

The writers also don't seem to have any guts. One cliffhanger which could have been great was at the end of season 3, when Sydney finds documents in which she is stated as some kind of running project and her father as supervisor. As we all know they changed that into a stupid and pointless subplot in the first episode of season 4. Either the writers simply chickened out or they realized what kind of hacks they really were and they would've never been able to pull of such a potentially great storyline.

All in all, if you want to see Jennifer Garner in skimpy outfits and wigs: check this one out (expect for season 5, because of the pregnancy). If you want believable acting, great story lines and something to ponder then check out La Femme Nikita. Made for far less money, but so much better and braver writers. Although Alias in not a complete rip-off like some might suggest, if you watch La Femme Nikita after you've watched Alias you will come to the conclusion they did steal a storyline here and there from LFN and the concept of the show, but for all their production value couldn't pull it off like LFN could.

La Femme Nikita (1997–2001)

A gem! *one possible spoiler*

[10/10 · 24 March 2008]

Let me just first the state the lesser aspects of this show: It was clearly all shot in Canada. Nothing against Canada, but this is supposed to be an international anti-terror organization. Also, somewhere in the 4th season there were some pointless developments. For instance: killing off Birkoff only to have him be replaced by his twin with a terrible southern accent. Why? Also, the 'bad guys' were not well developed. They didn't seem to have a coherent plan or ideology.

Now the good stuff: Amazing, amazing writing and acting. Like I've said before: the 'bad guys' were not well developed, but to be completely honest they were really not needed, other than to show Section 1 actually doing it's job and fighting international terrorism. The focus was much more on the internal affairs within Section 1. Lines between good and evil were blurred or didn't exist at all. Moral issues were raised. For instance: how far is too far when fighting terrorists when their goal is to maximize civilian casualties. What I liked most about this show was that it raised moral issues without showing a political preference. Even a pacifist could relate to the difficult decision raised time and time again: kill one to safe a hundred? When do you have the right to make such decisions, and at what point do you go from being on the 'right side' to become like the ones you're trying to stop? Also, what makes us human? A large part of the show deals with the very essence of what makes us human, either it being having emotions and acting on them or not having them at all for the sake of others.

Another amazing aspect of the show is the acting. Peta Wilson does an amazing job of mixing emotion with the ruthless world Nikita lives in, while she tries to figure out just what amount of compassion will let her save as many people as possible without becoming a robot. You also see a gradual development in Nikita's character throughout the show. She becomes more aware of her environment, but still holds on to that little spark of humanity. Roy Dupuis is also amazing. Many have commented on his wooden acting, but that was the whole point of his character. When Nikita joins Section 1 he has been there quite a few years and has learned that showing any emotion will be regarded as a weakness. Even the development of the relationship between Michael and Nikita is superb. Throughout the show right into season 4 you always keep wondering if Michael does really love Nikita or this is part of some grand design. He saves her life time and again, but then plays around with her emotions for the good of the mission.

Operations and Madeline are also brilliantly played. Madeline always has this air of warmth over her, yet when you come to know her better you realize she's not much more than a calculating robot. Operations is also played to perfection. He seems to have some humanity left in him but doesn't seem to let him stop him. He also comes across as hungry for power, but within the barriers of fighting terrorism. Watching the show from beginning to end always keep you wondering if you will ever see a weakness in these two.

As for the last episodes of the show, season 5 did feel a bit rushed (although we can't blame the writers for that), but did conclude with a satisfying ending. The reason this show worked in spite of its small budget was that the writers didn't treat the viewers as complete idiots and weren't afraid to make loved characters do things that would be considered 'bad'. Nikita had compassion but shot someone when needed. Operations and Madeline ruled Section 1 with an iron fist, but also had to be at the very least as good as the other side in order to save people.

I simply loved this show, it wasn't simply entertaining but also made you wonder. Wonder about motivation, about morality and about the world being a grey area, rather than black and white.

Charmed (1998–2006)

Could've been so much better

[1/10 · 24 March 2008]

Let me first start with saying I rather liked the first three seasons with Prue. This show was never supposed to be a pillar of extraordinary writing, but at the very least mildly entertaining. The characters were flat and the sexual exploitation of the beautiful actresses was very visible. After Shanon Doherty left the show went downhill. Rose McGowan had an even more restricted character, probably because the awful scripts gave her nothing to work with. She also didn't seem to have many facial expressions and her deliverance was wooden at best. The story also went downhill from here on out. The show started on a rather superficial base and went completely overboard with pointless en unimaginative story lines. Mythical creatures were introduces, the line between evil and good was all too visible. The only bad guy who ever came close to being interesting was Cole, seeing as he was evil but also loved Phoebe. All other characters were generic with them constantly reminding us that they were in fact evil (they would just come out and say it. That's just bad dialog) and the charmed ones were good (also just coming out and saying it out loud).

Needless to say, if you are looking for an entertaining show: watch the first three seasons only. The quality is terrible from the start, but at least it's watchable. After that it goes downhill until the point you ask yourself why the writers seem to have the idea that the viewers are either retarded or small children.

The Ten (2007)

One of the worst "comedies" I've EVER seen.

[7 January 2008]

This movie was truly horrific. I like anything from black comedies to just very straight forward humor, but this wasn't funny at all. The writing seemed juvenile, forced and all over the place. I mean come on: the stories are based on the ten commandments. There has got to be some humor in ten random rules on which to base morality. Yet this didn't even come close to pointing out anything at all. I also can't seem to figure out how they got funding for this and all these normally very funny actors participated. I can understand how a movie can seem good on paper, but to not work on screen, but to know this wasn't going to work at all you barely have to be able to read. If you are planning to go see this movie: don't!