ercfunk-445-950046 Reviews

Halo (2022– )

Disgusting treatment of a massive IP

[1/10 · 21 April 2024]

There isn't a lot this series gets right from the games. It actually makes the Mario Brothers movie from the 90s look like an amazing adaptation in comparison. They got the armor to look the way it should (mostly) but then take the helmet off which could be overlooked now and again hut they have Master chief do it all the time.

The relationship between chief and Cortana is trashed from the start which really sucks. They make the UNSC look like monsters.

Like, seriously, this isn't a new IP. Halo CE came out nearly 25 years ago. How hard is it to just tell the story as it should be? This show will go down as being the worst game adaptation in a long line of bad adaptations.

Fallout (2024– )

Fun show

[8/10 · 12 April 2024]

I would really like to rate higher than an 8, but my biggest complaint is that they didn't do enough to bring non gamers up to speed. As a fan of the game franchise I really liked the show. My wife who's never played was totally lost.

The best solution they could still do is add in a short video, maybe in the animated pip boy style that educates the viewer on the wasteland. Approach it with the concept of someone that knew nothing about the series.

For the show itself, I really liked it. The cgi looks pretty good. The acting has been excellent. So far (about halfway through) the writing has been just as good as the games. I would honestly give this a 10/10 IF they could find a way to bring in viewers that know nothing about the franchise without getting them completely confused as to what's going on.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Mediocre

[5/10 · 24 December 2023]

The acting isn't bad, the production quality is pretty good. The story feels old, tired, and way too long.

If Zack Snyder wanted to do a Sci-fi like this, he should have tried to get with an established franchise. Gamesworkshop's warhammer 40k has a load of great stories that this could have been tweeked to fit. If they had then it wouldn't have been so boring.

There's action, but it's dull. There's reason to cafe about the characters, but you still don't. It's just not a good movie. The fact that there's going to be a part 2 is just absurd. Part 1 is a waste of time, i doubt I would bother with part 2.

The Flash (I) (2023)

Decent story, good cameos, horrendous CGI

[6/10 · 24 July 2023]

This is a much more difficult movie to give a fair an balanced rating or review for. The story itself was pretty good. I think this movie gets hit by the "cheese grater effect": too many problems lined up, enabling a disaster. The execs just want to finish the DCEU and restart/reboot it. Ezra Miller went off the deep end and, rightfully so, people didn't want to see him in this. That left the studio up a creek unless they wanted to spend time doing massive reshoots to replace him. Personally I think they should have as it would've given the effects team more time to fix the CGI. Speaking of the CGI, it was bad. So bad the criticism calling it PS2-like is warranted. While the story was good, I have to agree with people saying the CW show did Flashpoint better. It was amazing to see Michael Keaton back as batman. Yet with all the superman cameos, I didn't notice Henry Cavil in there at all. They could fit in Nicholas Cage as a nod/joke, but couldn't give Henry Cavil a brief cameo?

All in all, if they wanted a top seller, they should have just canceled the movie and made a 3rd Keaton batman movie unrelated to any DCEU and acted like batman forever and batman and Robin never happened.

Take Care of Maya (2023)

Infuriating but well made documentary

[8/10 · 5 July 2023]

The documentary is done in a very fair fashion. They do a pretty solid job of trying to take care of the family as they film. For example, Maya was breaking down into tears during an interview and you could hear the voice behind the camera ask if she needed a break. When her brother was in a similar situation and the dad went to comfort him, the documentary team gave them space. I applaud them on that.

The story itself is one that will piss you off. I'm not even a parent and it makes me furious. The way this whole story unfolded, several doctors should have their licenses pulled and preferably a jail sentence.

Unfortunately this isn't the first story I've heard where the family of a child with an illness, especially a rare illness, are blamed of abuse. We need to start writing to our reps about figuring a legislative solution to this issue. If a parent takes their child to a doctor and then follow that doctor's instruction then they should NEVER be accused of medical abuse. Full stop. If a doctor thinks medical treatment is being done unnecessarily, then why the f&*% isn't the investigation on the doctor that prescribed that care? This needs to end.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022)

Started well, then fell apart

[6/10 · 29 June 2023]

Chiwetel Ejiofor does an outstanding job acting in this series. The show started the first few episodes with a lot of promise and it was pretty entertaining. Naomie Harris' character is supposed to be highly intelligent but instead she's written to be a highly emotional ridiculous character. (I blame the writing, not the actress)

Once the series hits halfway, you can tell there's a shift behind the scenes where they decided to go from a series to limited series and end it at the end of the season. This is where it all falls apart. Nonsense everywhere. Terrible characters making stupid choices all the time. Everything that made the first half good was reversed.

From (2022– )

Pretty good so far

[8/10 · 11 June 2023]

I've seen season 1 and about 3/4 of season 2 as I write this.

The premise of the show grabs your attention immediately and it does do a solid job keeping your interest. The acting is mostly well done and the writing so far has been fairly solid. There's drama that's a bit needless but at the same time it seems to be a tool used to help character progression.

The main pause I have with this series is that I fear they might end up down the same path as Lost. A lot of the same people that were behind the scenes of lost are behind the scenes here. I'd really like to think they learned from that show and can make this one better because of it. But I can't help but feel like it could easily end up chasing after thoughts and ideas in the show without coming to any meaningful conclusions just like Lost did.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (2023)

All the cheese of the show

[6/10 · 19 April 2023]

TLDR: laughably cringy amount of cheesiness just like the OG show.

It was a fairly fitting anniversary "movie". It's like 50 min long so it's a bit of a stretch to call that a movie. If you were a fan of the original show as a kid then you might enjoy this trip down memory lane. It certainly is more like a B movie than anything else. The acting is on par with the show, but that's not really saying much to be truthful. What's more amazing is that they can keep a straight face during the shoots. The CGI during the megazorg scenes looks pretty rough. I know the show is from the 90s, but did we need CGI from the 90s too? It was shiny. I haven't seen shiny/glossy CGI effects since the early 2000s.

It was something that if you just roll with and laugh, a fun trip to the past.

Quantum Leap (2022–2024)

Enjoyable

[8/10 · 9 April 2023]

I liked this series. It did start a little slower. The chemistry didn't seem to be there between the 2 leads at the beginning, but it definitely was by the end of the season. They did a pretty good job recreating the series.

For those that cry on about the original, get peacock and go rewatch it. Seriously. It hasn't aged well. It's slow and quite dull the majority of the time. It's like watching mash. If you're over 50, you probably still enjoy both.

This show was well written and frankly better acted than the original. There were episodes that were pretty predictable, but the series as a whole did a good job keeping what will happen next more mysterious.

MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (2023)

Might as well watch YouTube "investigators"

[1/10 · 11 March 2023]

First of all, in typical Netflix fashion, what should have been about a 60-90min documentary is instead a 3 part series.

They might have some people sound like they know what they're talking about at times... and then the shoe drops and they go on and on about their crazy conspiracy theories that aren't even based in reality let alone answer questions. None of their theories offer any credible reason for why someone would do their crazy notions.

First you have the guy that thinks the plane went north and the dude that found pieces of plane is actually a Russian agent. Then you have crazy French lady that thinks America is the reason why the plane disappeared because they didn't want China to get a pallet of radios.

This isn't even entertaining conspiracy theories. At least have Joe Rogan on asking if people have tried DMT or if they think aliens made the plane dissappear or something.

I Am Vanessa Guillen (2022)

Terrible job at telling this story

[2/10 · 18 November 2022]

Seriously? THIS is what they came up with for this documentary?!

They barely cover what happened to Vanessa. Then they follow the family around trying to get answers and frankly, not finding any. Then they cover the legislation they try to get passed to change they way the military handles harassment and assault cases... but they never explain any of it.

This makes me ask, did they understand any of it? The process for reporting Harassment or assault? They push for this bill to pass but they don't cover any part of what the bill has in it. What would it change if it gets passed? Why didn't the filmmakers think that would be something viewers would like to know?

I have great sympathy for the family, however this documentary spends far too much time on them and not enough on Vanessa.

Hook (1991)

Criminally underrated

[8/10 · 19 October 2022]

I really can't understand why this movie has gotten so much hate throughout the years. I remember it as a hit. When it came out, all my cousins of around my age loved it, my friends loved it, I didn't know any kid that didn't at least like it. As for adults, isn't it a fun concept to see what it would be like if Peter Pan grew up? Who else could play a grown Pan than Robin Williams? Julia Roberts was perfect for Tinker Bell. Though I have heard she was a nightmare to deal with behind the scenes. The lost boys were excellent, a good balance of fun and humor, along with some serious parts in there too. Dustin Hoffman as captain Hook? I don't know if he won any awards, but that man should have. Probably his best performance.

This movie is a classic. F&@# the naysayers.

Interview with the Vampire (2022– )

Coulda shoulda woulda

[5/10 · 19 October 2022]

This is frankly a disappointment. Every character misses the mark. While this version of Lestat is miles better than Tom Cruise, he still doesn't measure up to the books. They messed so much with Louis' storyline he's essentially the character in name only. Claudia is ok, but not great. I think she's a little old to play the part. To be fair, it's a hard role to fill after the performance by Kirsten Dunst in 1994.

All that said, the production is done well, the acting is mostly well done, though the two main leads are just not as charismatic as they should be. (They did try) I find myself a little on the fence if I'd like to see them continue on with other books. At the same time I feel like this is AMC's rings of power. In other words, a massacre of the books.

Hellraiser (2022)

As bad as the direct to video sequels

[1/10 · 14 October 2022]

Hellraiser is a franchise that potentially could work as a reboot, but not like this. If I had to guess, I'd say greed was the primary motivator for this movie, not passion. If you watch the original, it's a passion project. Clive Barker *wanted* to make the films. This one? It's just a cheap knock off with crappy CGI. It's sad when 80s practical effects looked more real than modern tech.

None of the characters were likeable, nor did they establish any reason to care about them.

This female pinhead doesn't have the same kind of presence Doug Bradley brought to the role. She seems more like a replaceable cenobite that really doesn't matter. To the point that they should have just given her an entirely unique design.

The cenobites themselves were bland. Between the CGI looking terrible and the designs being lackluster it just doesn't work.

All in all, watch if you want to experience not-so-exquisite suffering, else just skip it.

Monster (2022–2024)

Unwatchablely SLOW

[1/10 · 24 September 2022]

Holy hell this show is slow. We made it about half way through the second episode after suffering through the first. The end of the first episode gives you hope things are picking up but then it drags back to a snail's pace.

The acting seems good but whoever edited this shouldn't be allowed to edit anything ever again. The pacing is so off it just drags on and on.

This seems to be common with Netflix. Take an hour or two of content and stretch it out into several hours of episodes.

The Dahmer story has better adoptions. I'd recommend pretty much any or all of them over this agonizingly slow POS.

The Boys (2019– )

Amazing

[10/10 · 27 August 2022]

This show is simply awesome. The idea of superheroes being corrupt by corporate money is brilliant.

While there's a serious storyline, these guys could give Trey Parker and Matt Stone a run for their money on making fun of pretty much everything. They take shots at every movement, regardless of political side or angle, and its hilarious the entire way. They don't seem to be slowing down either, it only gets better.

Along with their punches on every mainstream topic, they also throw in a lot of out of the blue dark humor.

I honestly couldn't recommend this series enough, as long as you enjoy a bit of dark humor. If not, eh you probably wouldn't enjoy it.

Better Call Saul (2015–2022)

Good series, but couldn't stick the landing

[8/10 · 21 August 2022]

The vast majority of this series is excellent. It's not quite the show I had thought it would be, but still an excellent storyline. Seasons 1-5 were near perfect, almost rivaling Breaking Bad. Season 6 was like being on the expressway and then suddenly hitting a wall. The last few episodes were unnecessary and frankly ended as badly as Dexter.

The Outsider (2020)

Needs editing and less episodes

[5/10 · 15 August 2022]

The story is ok, but not great. The series felt far too stretched out. If they had cut down to about half as many episodes it would have been better. The pacing is incredibly slow and it's just not compelling enough to keep your attention for long.

Ted Lasso (2020–2023)

Excellent

[9/10 · 8 August 2022]

I'm not even a soccer fan and I enjoy this show. The characters are well written and acted, they have good development and it's a really enjoyable show. Season 3 might get me to up this to a 10 if they do it right.

Prey (I) (2022)

Good, not great

[7/10 · 7 August 2022]

They did a better job with this one than the past few predator(s) films. That said, there are parts that could have been done better. Keeping humans within the realm of what's physically possible for a human to be able to do for starters. I get it, it's a movie about an alien that hunts humans, but can't we keep some realism? That's what worked in the original Predator, the human side didn't try to do more than humans are capable of.

Maybe it's nickpicking, but its so close to being vastly better.

Westworld (2016–2022)

They killed the golden goose

[5/10 · 31 July 2022]

Season 1 is by far the best for the series, it only goes downhill from there. When they become self aware as early as they did, that was the downfall of the whole series. They could have stretched out the uprising over a few seasons and maybe different worlds rather than just a small stint into the Japan one. Instead they blow their load in season 1 and backed themselves into a writing corner. It's only become more weird and forced.

How to Change Your Mind (2022)

Zzzz......

[1/10 · 27 July 2022]

Not only does this documentary feel incredibly skewed towards being positive on drugs, it's boring as hell. Those giving this a 10 were probably on LSD.

The Black Phone (2021)

Good, but not great

[7/10 · 18 July 2022]

It's a solid enough movie. Ethan Hawke's performance almost feels wasted. He nailed his character but the rest of it is just ok. Really nothing special but worth watching.

The Messy History of American Foods (2022– )

Very slanted

[3/10 · 15 July 2022]

They have a decent amount of facts in the series but then they work in a lot of opinion and try to pass it off as fact. A lot of it is borderline woke propaganda. "Hey look at this point in history that's 'messy' if you look at it with today's values". No kidding, it's almost as if civilization... evolves. Whoa.

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Fast and Furious: Jurassic World

[6/10 · 7 July 2022]

They took all the good they did with the first Jurassic World and threw it in the trash. Dominion takes away any of the awe of the dinosaurs and somehow also makes all of the human characters more cringey. Seriously, who wrote the dialog, George Lucas? On top of all of that, the cgi is hit and miss. Sometimes it looks good, and sometimes it looks pretty crappy. Just one big disappointment.