agentmaxsmart Reviews

Star Wars: Visions: Aau's Song (2023) Season 2, Episode 9

Bad end to a bad season

[3/10 · 24 May 2023]

Okay, let's start with the good. Aau's Song looks great as far as design. The story is okay. Nothing special.

Okay, now that we got the good out of the way. Throughout the second season of Visions, the animation has been terrible. Whether it was CGI, stop-motion or CGI disguised as stop-motion, the animation has been choppy to say the least. It's like Disney tried to save money by taking out half the frames or by doing without in-between animators. And Aau's Song has maybe the worst animation from the whole season. I don't know if it's because of the animation in the Spider-Verse movie or what, but it seems this new style of animation is here to stay. And it's horrible. I don't know if it's the use of computers to animate, rather than than traditional cel animation. I don't know if it's cheaper. Don't know if people actually like this style or what. But for me, it's terrible, just terrible.

Bottom line; except for 2 or 3 episodes, this season was almost unwatchable due to this bad animation. Take also into account that most of the episodes were terrible story-wise too. Very disappointed, considering season 1 was fantastic.

Star Wars: Visions: In the Stars (2023) Season 2, Episode 3

The animation is headache inducing

[5/10 · 15 May 2023]

I don't know if this episode is actually stop-motion animation or CGI pretending to be stop-motion. In either case, the result is terrible. It is so choppy, it ruins the experience. Throughout the episode it was hard to pay attention to the story, what little story there is, and I began to get a headache.

The main characters were voiced well enough, but I couldn't care less about either of them. The result of being a short film, no doubt. But I've seen other short films that are able to convey emotion and caring for characters with even less time given.

I was actually going to give this a 3/10 before even finishing it. And I debated whether I was going to finish watching the episode, but I decided to finish it and I'm kind of glad I did. In the end, I did enjoy the short. I won't give away any spoilers, but let's just say the ending saves it. However, due to the horrendous animation, I doubt I would ever watch this one again, unless I had a bottle of aspirin beside me.

The Good Doctor: The Good Lawyer (2023) Season 6, Episode 16

Terrible pilot

[3/10 · 14 March 2023]

The pilot for The Good Lawyer. Every show has to have a gimmick & this show's is the lawyer has OCD. As a court-room drama, it fails on every level. It was not compelling nor suspenseful in any way.

The main character's OCD is played off in an annoying way. As dialogue continues, it is muffled & we get to stare at her face as she stares like a deer in the headlights. Something has to happen 3 times for her to move again, otherwise she's as stiff as a statue.

No one thinks anything is wrong as she stands there, staring at a chair. If her fellow lawyer didn't know she had OCD & snap her out of it, she'd still be there.

I'm sure it's supposed to show how annoying OCD is. But who wants to be annoyed watching a show? Not me.

The King of Queens: Sight Gag (2001) Season 4, Episode 2

Who would laugh at this?

[1/10 · 31 December 2019]

So, Doug get Lasik surgery for Carrie. She winds up blind & he starts to lie to her that she'll get better. The doctor says that if she's not better by the next day, she has to come in to get surgery to fix it. Doug lies to her again and says she'll be fine. Instead he forces her to attend her birthday party, while blind. Are you kidding me? What kind of husband lets her wife be blind? What kind of wife wouldn't divorce this man? Such a stupid premise. Such a stupid episode. 1 out of 10.

Chrisley Knows Best: The Wrath of Todd (2016) Season 4, Episode 2

Too mean

[1/10 · 3 January 2019]

I love the show, but this episode is unwatchable. Todd's insanity is on full display here. He's so worried that Savannah is failing Bible class, like it means anything. But let's not even bother with that. Let's talk about his treatment of his own son, Chase, for getting a tattoo. A tattoo of a Bible quote. He bribes his son into getting the tattoo removed, not only knowing how painful it is to have a tattoo removed, but he records the painful event & makes the screams of pain from his son his ringtone on his cell & laughs like a lunatic when he hears it. Is this normal? What a terrible parent. If this were the first episode I had seen of this show, I would never have continued watching. Terrible episode. Terrible parenting from both dad & mom.

Detective Conan (1996– )

If you can overlook the silly & useless premise, this is one of the best!

[8/10 · 9 December 2009]

Every review here will tell you the back story of "Case Closed". They'll tell you how the teenage Shinichi Kudo (a genius detective) is given an experimental pill by some thugs and is transformed into a child again. He calls himself Conan Edogawa & wherever he goes, a crime happens & he solves the crime. He keeps his predicament to himself & an inventor friend of his. The inventor gives him Bond type gadgets that help him get by, since he's a child again. One of these gadgets, a bow-tie, changes his voice, so he can sound exactly like anyone. When he solves the crime, he knocks out an adult with a dart hidden in his watch, hides behind the sleeping adult, talks through his bow-tie to sound like the adult & tells everyone within earshot who the criminal is.

Now, I love anime & I love this show. But, this is maybe the silliest premise ever in an anime. And it's an utterly useless premise. Having Conan as a child serves no purpose in the show at all. He still acts like an adult & most of the time, he's just hanging out with his girlfriend (who doesn't know Conan is her boyfriend) & her father (who is a detective & a very bad one at that). This little "kid" is allowed to walk around the crime scene (usually a dead body) like it's perfectly normal. He sometimes gives the clues he finds out loud. Most of the time, the adults take his advice, other times, they yell at him to shut up, even though he has given clues that have solved the crimes before hand. It just doesn't make any sense. If he's going to act like an adult, just make his character an adult. The side-story of the thugs who changed him is hardly (if ever) brought up again. It's pointless.

Luckily, most of the detective stories themselves are great enough to overlook the premise. Well, almost overlook them. Whenever I see Conan crouching behind a chair, speaking into his tie, I cringe at how silly it is.) The characters are realistic & the stories are very dark sometimes. Definitely not for kids (another reason the premise is stupid). The animation itself is top notch & each character stands out, so you can tell them apart when trying to figure out "who did it". I do recommend this show to anime fans & people who like detective shows. I would have given it a 10, but the premise is just too ridiculous. Still, knocking it 2 points is not bad.

Santa's Magic Toy Bag (1983 TV Movie)

It's a shame they don't play this.

[10/10 · 26 September 2006]

This was one of my favorite Christmas specials of all time. It's about an Elf named Phil, who is a total mess. He just can't do anything right. Santa tries him in a bunch of different occupations, but each time, he just can't seem to get it right. Santa decides to entrust him with guarding his magic bag. But Phil even messes this up & the bag is destroyed. With the bag gone, Phil decides to make a new one. The one he creates looks hideous, but it doesn't matter. Because Phil made the bag with love & with the spirit of Christmas, it becomes a magic bag.

It's obvious Dork has never seen this special, or has it confused with another one. Alf does not appear in this, although Paul Fusco does provide the voice of Santa.

The Producers (2005)

If I had never seen the original, this may have been decent

[4/10 · 13 May 2006]

No question that the original 1968 film is one of the greatest comedies of all time. Anyone who's seen the original is going to have a hard time not comparing this film to the original. As soon as this movie started, I knew I was in trouble. Let's just say that Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick don't even come close to Zero Mostel & Gene Wilder. But it doesn't stop there. There is nobody in this film that is better than anyone in the original film. I realize they needed people that could not only act, but sing & in some cases, dance. But one cannot look at the first 10 minutes of the film & think, "Those are the worst impressions of Mostel & Wilder I've ever seen." Broderick is the hardest to look at. He just doesn't come off as natural when he becomes hysterical or when he's explaining things to Bialystock. Nathan Lane fares better, but somehow the jokes come out very stale & unfunny.

Some of my favorite jokes from the original are just awful in this film. For example, in the original, Max says, "Well, you know what they say; smile & the world smiles with you." He then turns & looks into the camera & says, "This man should be in a straight-jacket." Crossing the 4th wall works so well. Yet, in this film, Lane says the line to a statue. During the out-takes on the DVD, we see Lane deliver the line to the camera, ala Mostel. But he stops, realizing that he's not supposed to do it the same way as Zero, but the new, lamer version. The Hitler tryouts are also ruined in comparison to the original. In the original, the man singing "Have You Ever Heard the German Band", points to the piano player & orders, "You Vill Play It!" Hilarious. In this one the same character turns & say, "Play the song, please." or something weak like that. And finally, when the man (who has become a mentally challenged man for this film) goes to sing "The Little Wooden Boy", he goes into a stupid little dance, & when he is just about to start, the director yells, "Next!" Nowhere near as funny as the original, where we see a man so sure of himself & so confident get ready to sing & then is cut off with the much funnier, "Thank you!" More problems arise with the changing of the story from the original. The main change is the omission of LSD (Dick Shawn's character). I heard they removed him as a hippie wouldn't work today. So, instead of just making him something other than a hippie, let's get rid of him & throw the character of Franz in there. Doesn't work. Then, when the play is finally put on, the director, a very homosexual Roger DeBris, comes out & sings, creating an obviously gay Hitler. And the audience then loves the show. How weak. There are other changes too, none of them good.

Now, let's get to the good points of this film. Some of the original songs are pretty good. Broderick redeems his bad acting for some good singing & dancing. Even Will Ferrel does a pretty good job. I can't say the same for Uma Thurman though, as her song is annoying & screechy! There are some funny parts in the movie, & they are all new to the story as all the original jokes fall flat (even without comparison). But there are not enough of the funny parts to save this film.

I can see how some may like the Broadway aspect of this film & I myself might have if the film itself didn't stink on the whole. So, I'll stick to the original film, this film had no reason to be made & now that I have seen it, it had no reason to be watched either.

Phil the Alien (2004)

So-so. Would probably be better without Phil

[5/10 · 10 March 2006]

I saw this movie on the shelf at my local video store & it looked like a good choice for a "sit back & watch a silly comedy" rental. The movie starts off pretty good & some of the dialogue is pretty funny. But I noticed two things right off the back. #1: The music in the movie is so much louder than the dialogue, that I was constantly raising & lowering my volume. It was either "blow out my speakers" loud, or "mumble mumble" low. So, this was annoying. #2: The guy that played Phil was terrible. He's like Jaimie Kennedy without the talent. I see he was not only the main actor, but also writer & director. Which usually doesn't work to begin with. Like I said, I thought some of the dialogue was good & the directing was alright. If he had hired someone else to play Phil, it may have turned out a little better. It's a shame because most of the supporting actors stand out more than Phil. In fact, throw out the whole alien part of the story & it may have been a great movie. Well, that & the sound problems.

As a plus though, the chick that played Ezri Dax on Deep Space Nine is in the film & she looks NICE!

The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)

Is this a comedy?

[5/10 · 21 July 2005]

Okay, let me start by saying I love Neil Simon movies.The Odd Couple ranks up there in my top 10. I love the Out-of-Towners, love Murder By Death, the Sunshine Boys & many of his other films. In fact, I can say I liked every one of his movies I have ever seen. This being said, I went into watching Prisoner thinking it would be a laugh-out-loud comedy. Instead, the movie borders on full-blown drama. Sure, there are quick one-liners thrown out from Jack Lemmon towards Anne Bancroft, but these seem more like insults than zingers. Throughout the film, every line I knew was supposed to be funny made me crack a smile, but there are no burst out laughing jokes.

I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for Mel Edison & his wife. But, instead I find him to over-react at every little thing. He's a weak little man who probably deserves a lot more than he got. You feel more sorry for his wife for having to put up with him. Then later on, when the roles are reversed, you could care less about either character. The funniest parts of the movie have to do with the radio announcements made throughout the film. But 5 or 6 of these cannot hold this film together as a comedy.

It's not a bad film, & it was somewhat enjoyable to watch. The acting by Lemmon & Bancroft are top notch. But it's just not funny enough.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Extraordinary!

[10/10 · 13 December 2003]

WOW! I just got the DVD & watched this film. I was totally blown away. Non-stop action, great characters, fantastic special effects. I couldn't find one thing wrong with this film. I heard people putting this one down & can't understand why. This is what a fantasy film should be like. Fantastic characters doing fantastic things. What a breath of fresh air in a sea of boring "action" fantasy films that I've been forced to watch lately. Nothing even comes close, this is a perfect 10. If you liked Baron Munchhausen or The Phantom, this will be right up your alley. Even if you didn't like them, check this one out.