Mysticpuma Reviews

Masters of the Air (2024)

A missed opportunity to tell a great story, this had too many 'side quests'

[4/10 · 20 March 2024]

Wasted opportunity. The series was like wanting to watch a play through of a great game, but all they did was side quests with occasional dips into the main story.

***SPOILERS***

Things they really should have had in a series called "Masters of the Air".

A historical researcher that could have pointed out they should have had B-17G's in the series, that the D-Day briefing wasn't on the date they showed as D-Day was delayed, someone who was aware that Mustangs never flew through a bomber group at close formation, they flew above and also someone who should have known that when the enemy fighters turn up, the Mustangs don't climb towards them without jettisoning their drop tanks.

An episode in the US with the young men leaving their families, flight training and then the transfer to the UK, there was absolutely no character building, the men looked very similar and there was no emotional investment if we lost someone.

An episode from a Luftwaffe pilots point of view. They could have detailed exactly the opposite sides view of attrition of men. The 8th lost thousands, the Luftwaffe lost thousands of Fighter Pilots, we could have seen the war weariness of an experienced pilot as so many young inexperienced pilots came to their groups, headed into the skies and took on the B-17's and Mustangs. Then looking around back at base at so many empty revetments. This would have corresponded perfectly with the "Bloody" 100th.

An episode from the 8th air force fighter pilots, finally getting their Mustangs and being able to escort deep into Germany and see what the 100th faced, then taking on waves of enemy fighters, returning to base and not being able to believe what they have just witnessed.

An episode (not completely but based around) the ground crews. Literally one mention where one man fixes a magneto! These were the engine room of the Bomb Group. They worked tirelessly through the night to get the aircraft ready to fly in the next mission. Often the episodes would show the B-17's coming back, shredded, battered, barely making it to base........yet magically they were back in the air the next day. There was so much respect from the crews for their ground crew, the ground crew would wait with trepidation for their aircraft to return, if it didn't, they would often be concerned it may be down to something they had done. The shot of Whisky the crews received on RTB, they would often save this and give it to their Ground Crew as a thank you for their efforts.

D-Day!!! I mean, what an absolute cop-out. They spend the entire start of an episode detailing how important this is, the magnitude, build up to it......then we literally see a few more seconds of footage than in the intro titles and Crosby is told "yeah, you slept through it, you should have seen is Cros". Yes, we bloody well should! They spend all that time and then basically say "stuff happened", then we are in August. God, I was irritated!

Things they really shouldn't have had in the series.

The absolutely useless story about Crosby's girl in the UK and her SOE storyline. Pointless waste of screen time.

Pointless story about sex with a Polish woman in London

The empowered female Subaltern (Crosby's girl again) being in the Officers mess to deliver an agenda affirming message.

Let's be honest, the entire Tuskegee Airmen side quest. There was absolutely no way they should have been in the show, literally it shoehorned them in, even saying they were based in Italy and with the 15th Air Force and the only way they could leverage them in was via Operation Dragoon. This was nothing to do with the 8th Air Force and to think of all the Fighter Groups they could have chosen from P38/40/47/51 pilots, (maybe the 352nd "Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney") rather than follow history, they go thousands of miles off course to use the 332nd simply as a token gesture. That really stood out as beyond pathetic! Then during the interrogation the Tuskegee airman says about racism "My country is trying to do better", just modern day propaganda.

Moving on.

I'll be honest, when the show got things right, they really did get it right. The aerial combat (mostly) looked superb. The CG really gave a sense of scale, and really helped sell the story. Sadly, though, the CG also had times when it looked 'wrong' or 'off'. This isn't the fault of the 332nd, but the entire sequence of the Mustang trying to release its drop tanks was probably the low point of CG in the series.

Overall, I'd give the series a 4 out of 10, that's based on most of the aerial combat. The characters were never really fleshed out, the CG was temperamental, too many side quests and not enough time spent on the base or with our main characters.

Overall, a missed opportunity.

Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight (2023 TV Special)

Disappointing Documentary which doesn't really offer much insight

[6/10 · 12 October 2023]

Let's start by saying, we all know Wayne Couzens was/is a monster.

I tuned in to watch this as I am interested in criminology and have watched and seen many fascinating film/documentary breakdowns of the men and women behind some of the World's most heinous crimes.

Initially, the Documentary starts with the series of events that led to the disappearance of Sarah Everard, then it cuts to the alleged victim of a completely unrelated Police Officer, who failed in her attempt to bring a sexual assault claim against him. I use alleged as the Officer is still employed so was obviously found to have no case to answer.

We come back to the Wayne Couzens arrest and what he said during the moments officers entered his house. There is no explanation as to why or how they targetted him so fast, just straight to his house?

Abruptly, we get a news report of Sarah's body being found.

We then hear from another victim of an alleged assault, once again the officer is still employed.

And so the programme continues.

Then, rather than focusing on the title of its own programme, it heads off down a route where is adds other officers found guilty of offences or had offences alleged against them but were found to have no case to answer, all from an alleged or victim's point of view.

The above is a brief summary of how the programme bounces around and while it sporadically covers the Wayne Couzens subject, it then becomes a very obvious targetting of Police Officers and Staff, explaining how many offences have been reported, how the Police are corrupt, the issues with the Police, etc, etc.

Sadly, it becomes clear very quickly that rather than an evidential breakdown of what is a truly horrific murder, the narrative turns to complain about an entire Police Force.

Overall the initial subject being covered had so many unanswered questions, but it showed pretty much everything that has been broadcast before and failed to add anything of value to the case, other than to use it as a springboard to say how corrupt the entire Police organisation is (in their opinion)

The Long Shadow (2023)

Overall disappointing when you see the underlying message

[5/10 · 8 October 2023]

This could have been a fascinating breakdown of the most prolific serial killer (pre. Harold Shipman) but chooses to ignore him and focus on his targets rather than examining his (skewed/perverted) justifications.

While it's an interesting perspective, it soon becomes clear that the series is a propaganda tool to tell us how poorly women were treated by the Police and how men should be ashamed to have an XY chromosome. A perfect example of this is where the women march through the streets with lingering shots of anti male placards, and the song "Bridge over Troubled Water" is sung not by Simon and Garfunkle, but by a woman. These are all subtle markers placed in the Visual and audio narrative but so obvious wants it becomes clear the message being pushed onto the viewer.

Looking back at the events in the cold light of hindsight it's so easy to be critical, but opportunities were missed, more women died but the series doesn't give us any insight into the mind of the killer, it actively tries not to give him any airtime as it doesn't want to dwell on the male, it really wants to brush him under the carpet so the victims are the focus and the failings of the Police are showcased with great pleasure.

What were Sutcliffe's motivations, what was his back story, why did his wife not come forward, why did she protect him, what were the 9 times he was interviewed, was there any mention of the money he used that was tracked to his workplace, how did he evade capture for so long, why did the Police Officer go back and check the location, how many more victims were there, once he was captured dis they find any evidence at his property, in his car, any souvenirs?

There are so many unanswered questions and the obvious reason was, they don't want to empower the offender and give him any more airtime other than the bare minimum.

Ultimately it feels like an unfinished project, created to focus on how badly women/prostitutes and Women Police officers were treated in the buzz word "misogynistic" climate.

This could have been so much more but once you see the anti male undercurrent, it's easy to see where the heart of this project lies.

How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)

Started out great, now it seems to be grasping at straws

[6/10 · 14 November 2012]

I have watched all the episodes of this show from the start and initially enjoyed it. Unlike some here, I appreciated the clever editing in some shows but slowly this has diminished. Currently the show seems intent on dragging out the sage of "HIMYM" and it really needs to get to that actual story. I understand that the need to weave the time-lines together is a good writing trick, but sadly we don't appear to be getting anywhere nearer. Ted is looking for his soul mate and we know that the woman under the Yellow Umbrella (who we haven't seen the face of) is supposed to be her (but we wait for 'another' twist) which will mean it isn't!

This series (8) more than any, I have felt that the writers are doing their best to work out how to get to 10-series. Still we have the Ted and Robin ongoing saga, Marshall and Lily have become virtually insignificant and Barney just doesn't seem to be doing anything.

I felt that this series (so-far to episode 5) nothing has actually happened.

Whether the writers are tired or the actors have no motivation, I just don't know, but currently all the spark and 'fun' seem to have sadly withered away.

Personally speaking, we need Ted to meet their mother and then see how they got to the wedding and births a damn site quicker than we currently are. Interest is fading fast and soon it'll be called "Who cares how I met your mother".

(BTW I think the mother is the woman that Ted bumped into in the nightclub very briefly, but for no script progress purpose (so-far!))

Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009 Video)

I feel tainted after watching this travesty! Why destroy the memory?

[1/10 · 7 January 2011]

It's difficult to even know where to begin! Firstly I have to repeat a common theme through all the posts I have read and that is, DLM was (still could be) a fantastic show. The wry take on the irony of everyday life, things we take for granted, death just another one of those things, the interaction,humour and frailty portrayed by the cast had me completely hooked.

I think I made the mistake of watching the Two Seasons back-to-back on DVD and then expected the film to be a finale giving closure to all those who were left in the wilderness when 'The Suits' decided to cancel the show.

Well, this is obviously what the suits decided it could have been', but to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park; "Yeah, but your scientists (Suits) were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should".

Okay, let the ranting begin, apologies, I will go off at Tangents but seriously if you spent time watching the series and followed 'The Rules', this film decides that the most fundamental rule set out in the Pilot episode doesn't matter! We don't decide who lives or dies, we take the soul to save them suffering, as-per the young child in the train-wreck. If you leave the soul, it will decay and become distorted and twisted and not the person that once-was.

The film then says, "Nah......doesn't matter!" You have Roxy 'saving' a man from drowning and pushing his soul back into his body!!!!? She is one of the strongest personalities in the show, abides by the rules (apart from ripping a man's soul from his body in temper, before putting it back) and even moved into Law Enforcement, so strong is her moral conduct. Yet here we have her breaking a fundamental rule?

Okay, I have read all the posts and see that Sarah Wynter takes a hammering for her portrayal of Daisy. Now I agree that she played Daisy Adair completely out of the character we had become to know. A character who's frailties and subtle cracks in the tough exterior were beginning to slowly ebb out and expose who she really was. A sad and lonely person who's years of reaping had left her emotionally damaged.

This character played by Laura Harris was mesmerising and brilliantly acted. What I refuse to say though is that Sarah Wynter is at fault for completely closing all the doors on that subtlety and instead went back to the self-centred version we saw in her first appearance.

Now, lets be honest, Sarah is an Actor who is told by the Director how he/she wants the character to be seen, there are also the writer's who gave the Director the duff-est of scripts to work with, I cannot blame Sarah for her portrayal just the idiots who decided that Two-Seasons of character-building was not really what the viewers needed or wanted! Are they kidding. Laura Harris's acting and character building made the viewer sympathise with her. In one-fell-swoop, they decided that Sarah would be merely a shadow (almost a Graveling!) of that dynamic, set in motion through the brilliant scripts of the show.

In the Laura version I am sure that when Daisy forgot the words on stage, she would have broken down and ran from the stage. Her chance at fame at-last in her grasp, snatched cruelly from her and sentencing her to more years of misery in a world she was yearning to depart?

Rube,Rube, where-for-art-thou Rube!? He got his Lights...ooooohhhh-p-leeeease!!!! What a cop-out! Lets be honest Rube was the man you just wanted to know what the heck was going on! His Authority when questioned, often brought a perfect response of "well you do that, then lets see what happens" attitude, which made the viewer wonder just what powers/options were available to him? Watching the 'Behind-the-scenes' feature, he nailed perfectly what it was that made the Second-Series for his character. He explained that each show just gave you a tiny piece of the jigsaw that expanded his character. The money in the undelivered envelope being terrible mistake, the wanted poster (alluding to a Bank Robbery), his daughter being found as a Reaper arrived, perfectly awaiting the line "I Reap what you Sow" (it never was said), as he met his daughter the day he died.

Why did he need that money? Did he die the day of the robbery and manage to post the money just before his fate?

Mason, a character who was the joker in the pack, but like Ying and Yang with the character of Daisy he felt a bond that almost became Brother and Sister, especially brought home when she refused his offer of the ring. Mason was a cool character, the naughty child who you just knew was going to one-day really make Rube show his colours while goading Roxy and Georgia, again an almost perfect balance of humour and again frailty as you see him find the record showing Daisy's last-words, then realising that she really is the damaged goods mentioned above.

I would write more but you get 1000 words.....give the film a miss...please!

The Event (2010–2011)

Frustrating use of tried and tested TV shows

[4/10 · 4 January 2011]

I may inadvertently throw in a spoiler so beware.

I have now watched all episodes of the show and don;t know whether it has done enough to justify decommissioning?

The first 2-3 episodes need to get your attention and give you a reason to continue watching and the fact that 'they' were going to be released was played upon so-much in the initial episode it became very obvious it was Aliens?

So many things frustrate me about this like the FBI Agents getting gunned down and nothing happening with it? I missed (I don't know how?) where the NSA guy with the bad leg injury was being held by the FBI lady and then in the next episode had his leg fixed and was in a field office? Maybe my fault, don't know how he got there?

The Doctor managing to fix the gunshot wound in a back alley, then the next episode the main character (who had the gunshot) is pretty much fully active and can swing iron bars and tackle gunmen?

Presidential Agents go off-duty for ages to put radioactive Isotope into Coffee and yet that is the only place that had no CCTV, yet they track Thomas from traffic light cameras?

The Agency involved in the cover-up manages to keep a huge base in the Snow undiscovered and yet we are supposed not to believe that if the US Satellites can see one Missile Silo, the 'enemy' Governments can't see this huge base?

Our hero (lead-character) manages to climb out of trunk of an FBI vehicle, in their car-park, goes undetected into the FBI building (through unlocked and unsecured doors) and then hacks into the FBI Mainframe (as one of their agents didn't consider getting her password changed once the felon(hero) knew what it was?

The final episode was intriguing and may just warrant a finale to show us what the signal was that Thomas sent, but how lucky it was that the agent our hero killed with the ageing 'serum' and was reported missing, didn't justify the changing of a swipe-card code, yet they evacuated the facility of all personnel and then just 'happened' to leave behind burnt (but not burnt) files that showed the Pilot of the first episode in the 1940's who hadn't aged. Lucky that it was 'found'?

My only problem with this is the usual plot line of; Each episode has the "the person knows the truth and all the answers", okay but we'll make sure that every time that it is about to be revealed he'll/she'll forget, deny it, be killed or go missing, ad-infinitum.

Typical of this was where the 'traitor' said he would tell everything if he could see his girlfriend. Then, she goes in, with a blade, before he has talked and stabs him. COME ON!!!!!! Get the information after showing her the girl through a screen (have the writers never seen a prison drama?) then after he has spilled the story they can meet in new clothing, not with hidden weapons....I mean seriously?!!!

So ultimately I am frustrated, but hope that they get a chance to at-least play out the next chapter to see if they can strengthen the story rather than leaving so-many ludicrous holes in the practical safety and intelligence that would be expected of a Government Agency?

Other than that, I hope it gets a chance?

Cheers, MP