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Based on a True Story (2023)
Appealing to low IQ audiences
Rather than turn in a serial killer who they have discovered, a married couple decides to instead get them to confess by creating a podcast with the killers participation, and plan on turning them in after they confess to everything.
Decent premise but horrible otherwise.
Sorry I wasted my time with this show.
Will not be watching season 2.
Season 1 wraps up zero plot lines or story arcs.
Characters are all very unlikable and irredeemable, as well as unintelligent. The acting is the average. The writing is crappy mindless filler.
I have no idea how this got picked up for another season perhaps it was all one season originally and they just decided to split it in half and milk two seasons out of it?
NOS4A2 (2019)
Had Potential...HAD.
This is a super natural science fiction show with decent acting and good production value. The episodes do go into multiple timelines and back stories over mixed together but overall it does not become too overwhelming or confusing to follow. The biggest problem I have is the writing got lazy and lazier, the further into the show you go.
It begins mysterious, dark and serious, but becomes a low IQ teen dream. At a certain point the slow burn or a buildup or stepped revelations of how everything fits together, just stop and they go "freestyle anything goes nothing needs to be explained or have integrity to the rest of what you've seen". The characters they create are interesting at first but then they abandon revealing how the supernatural aspect of everything works, and they have contradictions of how their powers - vulnerabilities are used/portrayed. I am not saying all vampire movies should include a fear of garlic and crosses, but within a single movie itself, there should be consistency and ability of the audience to buy into the world that they are creating. Personally that is one of the best part about science fiction is learning the rules and ways that the fantastical world and characters operate. This show does not respect that or hold consistency with the supernatural powers or worlds it creates. I called it lazy writing because they couldn't create something and stick to it, let alone expand it or dive deeper into it. So if you are a low IQ teen maybe the holes in the plot arent a big deal but if you're paying attention you will be scratching your head by the end.
Season one: 6/10
The first season was above average and kept a good pace as it moves along introducing us to the characters and their stories.
The 2 main characters are the bad guy, who is some kind of energy sucking vampire, with his power somewhat connected to the condition of an old car... and the good girl, who is a high school chick from a tough family, just discovering and starting to use her supernatural abilities.
Season one also introduces and does an alright job of developing some side plots and side characters but overall the focus is building up to a direct confrontation and fight between the good girl and the bad guy.
Season two: 3/10
Was wayyyy below average and almost a waste of time to watch. Multiple characters seem to have forgotten everything they learned-experienced the previous season and the writing became more and more unbelievable and the characters more and more unintelligent, as the season went on.
I'm done with this show whether they continue to make it or not.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
One of the worst ripoffs ever.
This movie could be made for about $10,000. No fancy sets, no big cast, no bloody special effects, etc. They should've at least spent money for a good story.
The fact that this is a major movie in the present day and age is a disgrace. Within 10 minutes of meeting the main characters you get the feeling 'can they just die already'...Clueless couple of stereotypical morons...who are also rude and billowing with self-importance. Some of the acting and line delivery by the male character was laughable, but mainly they were bad because they were written badly.
There is many instances where the 'plot' if you can call it that was pathetic as well, because of the writing. This movie set 20 or 30 years in the past it would make a lot more sense why they were unable or unwilling to use their phone for GPS, to reach out for help, to get a place to stay, to get a tow truck, etc. Etc. Etc.... Most movies will throw in something about the location offers no cell signal and that kind of explains why, maybe a tongue is broken or lost or stolen ..but in this movie they had service and phones and refused to utilize them. Extremely unrealistic.
It is just a pathetic excuse for a horror movie I could go on and on and on and on but in short: It's not scary the story is not interesting it is not bloody there are no characters to root for and there is no substance or depth provided for any character in the story good or evil.
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Disappointing Slog
Some bartender aspiring to be a comedian leads on a female customer and they start a weird relationship where they abuse each other more and more. The show takes place over a period of years, And at the end the majority of the scenes prove pointlessly irrelevant to any overall plot - story arc.
It is a shame this is a true story. And it is a shame that I didn't just read a short article about the case and get all the details and move on with my life without wasting hours watching this.
Sells itself as an exciting thriller but it is more of a slowww character study of 2 equally moronic people. The stalker and the stalkee are equally unlikable and by the end of the show I couldn't wait for it to be over.
There are a handful of above average scenes and points the show makes, but not nearly enough to justify watching the rest of it. This show could have been great with half the episodes maybe... but that isnt the case as its drawn out endlessly + there is no payoff...there's no big scene no extreme twist, no wild crimes...Just details and minutia about stuff that's not that interesting.
Anthracite (2024)
A fun above average mystery
A girl goes looking for her disappeared father and finds out major secrets about herself and a city. Plenty of twists and killings, but for the most part the characters maintain more of a lighthearted borderline comedic vibe.
This show isn't great but its better than the average in several ways.
Ida is a star and lights up the screen in her scenes! She is mainly outrageous and hilarious, but also shows darker sides of personality. The show would have been 1 star without her performance/character.
The setting/scenery is another major plus for this show. The show avoids the pale/dreary stereotypical look of euro crime series. It also shows many beautiful mountains, drives, buildings etc, putting the viewer deeper into that region more firmly than most shows.
The pacing of the show could have been better. The show starts strong then glides a bit and then they packed too much into the final episode, could have added one more episode or paced it better to fit.
Twisted Metal (2023)
Salvageable but shakey start...
Post apocalyptic wasteland where armored vehicles with mounted weapons are the only 'safe' way to travel between the few remaining cities. The main character is a mailman who does the dangerous journeys as a job, And the show follows his quest one 'final' run, to earn citizenship in a city. Despite the forbidding setting, the tone of the show is comedic borderline cartoonish, but it does deliver on some laughs.
My biggest problem is a lack of the fundamentals of what "Twisted Metal" is...A video game of car battles. The show needed more fights, explosions, vehicles, action, etc.
The way the season ends shows promise that season two might live up to the name that series carries. But season one as it stands isn't great, And could have fit what was presented into half the episodes, then given some real twisted metal action this season instead of taking an entire season to set up the story. By another name it would get a better rating but considering all the source material they had to work with the writing falls short. The games themselves have very cinematic cut scenes, tons of characters with detailed backstories and satisfying story arcs...show would be better if they just adapted that material to film.
Clickbait (2021)
Average Mystery Show
A man is kidnapped and publicly shamed, And the question is who did it, did he deserve it, and why.
The Good- I like the set up of the episodes where each one gives us previously unknown insights into the progression of the story from the perspective of different Characters: The sister, The wife, The son, The Brother etc.
So even though the viewer knows the basics of what happened and has seen it from multiple perspectives already the show stays fresh as things are shown from different peoples viewpoints...and who took what actions are revealed episode by episode to give, The Answer.
The Bad- too much filler and tangents with many subplots going nowhere. A lot of the characters just seem to be going in circles doing the same things over and over again.
The Ugly-The pacing over the final couple episodes present too many machine gun style conclusions.
The biggest problem with the show is that it's just not that good in anyway. Not bad but, Its just your average show...
no truly memorable lines, twists, no memorable scenes no memorable performances no memorable characters or anything that is going to stay with me about this show.
Wilderness (2023)
Better than I expected but not what I expected.
This show is about a wife who decided her husband deserves to die for being a serial cheating liar. Due to the title and trailer I thought this was a 'road movie' suspense murder mystery, set mainly in the 'wilderness'. The show is mainly set in the city/society, but that didn't ruin it for me.
The show involves some very emotional themes (betrayal, love, parenting, trauma, honesty, revenge, guilt and malice to name a few) and is much more suspenseful than action thriller. The slow burn exploration of those themes is where the series excels, and I thought the internal monologues/voice overs did a great job of deepening the connection to the characters.
There are some good plot twists and an overall nice story arc. They play a little bit with timeline but nothing confusing that detracts from the flow of the show.
I did have some issues with the details here and there, especially with police procedure and capabilities. Totally unrealistic in some ways where major in your face evidence was never pursued...where they didn't make basic steps or find basic info for their case...but its more of a character study than an investigation show, so my ability to enjoy it was not destroyed. It also could be interpreted as bad police work rather than unrealistic...but thats a stretch and you would need to believe they were so solely focused on one suspect they failed to follow evidence and investigation basics. I think it was more the writing not reflecting the reality of actual murder police, which again, was not the rocus of this show so I can get past it. And, there were also other aspects of the police side that were very well done, letting us in on their mindset.
The lead actress did a great performance and although I could not see myself doing the things her or others did in this show, the story arc and development of the characters made me feel empathetic to all of them at certain points. The show was not what I expected but it was engagaing and brought out a while range of emotions including some good laughter.
Joe Pickett (2021)
A solid show
This show has a great production value and good actors. There are some beautiful scenes of the natural landscape throughout the season, and a lot of what happens during the show is outside. The setting and other characters do a good job and portray a lot of poor people's country life.
A new game warden comes to town and ends up tackling more corruption and than he bargained for. His family gets involved in the story but unlike other shows it does not seem forced or tiresome when they are on screen. Overall good writing and story arcs with more to be explored in future seasons I hope.
Survivor (2000)
Going Downhill Fast
The show puts a group of people with limited supplies into a remote location to live while competing on obstacle courses / physical-puzzle challenges that can help save them from being voted off the show. Last one standing wins a million.
Sometimes the vote is done by all participants or often broken into smaller teams-tribes. One of the most interesting aspects of the show is the social interaction-deception necessary for a player to survive all the votes and make it to the end.
The novelty of the survivor surviving against the elements has worn off over the years as more realistic shows like Alone, Naked and afraid, and others brought viewers closer to the experience of a true survival situation. So it is the gameshow-social aspect that is going to capture an audience.
Over the years they have added new twists to the game, new voting scenarios, advantages/immunities from hidden idols, banishment of players to solo islands, players coming back etc etc. Overall they did a good job through 40 seasons of keeping the concept fresh by adding-changing little details.
Even in season 40 they introduced a new coin token type system sort of like survivor money that seemed that it could be very promising in seasons to come, but then that idea was abandoned. Despite the signaling and claims from the show that it was going to get more hardcore it went the opposite way in the following two seasons... which have been the worst ever for the show, entertainment/enlightenment-wise and rating-wise.
I have seen every episode, every season. At first I didn't like the show, but my grandfather loved it and now that he's gone I keep watching because it makes me feel close to him. The last two seasons (41-42) have been horrible. The social aspect of the game has been severely sanitized, and the participants have been more like people at a rehab-retreat than competitors on a game show.
Will be interesting to see if the show can do something to return to greatness Or will continue the 2-year trend of trash TV.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020)
Missed Opportunity
Focus was on some author and her book, not on the criminal or crimes, pretty dissapointing. The Visalia Ransacker aka East Area Rapist aka The Original Nightstalker aka Golden State Killer has enough crimes to fill seasons worth of a tv series, so no excuse for putting fluff and filler into this one...
The Sinner (2017)
Season 1 still the best, but above average overall
Each season deals with a different murder investigation that all involve the same policeman. Throughout the seasons, parts of his own tortured past come out but he is still extremely dedicated to finding the truth and doing his job. He is not a beat em up shoot em up type, but more of an intuitive-investigator style.
The first episode of every season shows who is murdered and who kills them. Not until the finale of each season are all the details revealed to give the full picture of the crime. It is a unique formula for a series and they do it well. By design that means at least two timelines per season, but the show does a good job of eliminating confusion during flashbacks.
Overall season 1 was the best, and I would give it a 9 rating. The focus for the season is on a mother/wife and her repressed memories. At the end it felt like all the loose ends were tied and the pacing along the way as the mystery unraveled was captivating and rewarding.
Season 2, I would rate as a 4. It mainly deals with a young boy and other members of a rural isolationist cult. At times the season felt painfully slow & circular, but when they finally got on with it, the end was decent enough. Just nothing special and unlike season 1 the ending significance did not tie back to episode 1 as much, rather it was the events in present day timeline that had more impact.
Season 3 was a mess...but I will give 5 stars. This season mainly deals with a teacher who is a new father/husband with murderous urges. It kept me more on the edge of my seat than other seasons with a lot of action, but didn't resolve itself well. This season also had the same problem as season 2, as far as the original crime not being as mysterious or significant towards the end of the season. The main policeman seemed out of character & I'm curious if he will be even more unstable next time around, or get back to his old self. This one felt like it left the most loose ends of any season and even though I didn't fully enjoy it I will be watching when the next season comes out to see how things match up, as it stands they might do more of a sequel season or just move on again to a new crime/time all together...
Still a better than average police drama for sure.
No Time to Die (2021)
Terrible Pathetic Excuse for 007 movie...
Bond, James Bond... witty, sexy, deadly, cool, funny, classy, and so on, or so he used to be and is supposed to be. There is a mopey imposter written for this movie & there are many other action movies you could take and call the main man 'James Bond' and would be more true to the character than this.
And the joke ending... wow ...laughing out loud.
Just awful betrayal-abandonment of what is James Bond... Girls still looked good though & thats about it.
Tras el cristal (1986)
Freaky Dark Disturbing
This movie definitely belongs in the horror genre. Despite not having tons of Gore, nudity, body count etc. The film definitely leaves you with a uneasy feeling while you watch.
To imagine yourself as any single character in the film portrayed is terrifying for sure.
Trigger Warning: movie involves abuse of young boys by men.
Basically years after being involved in Nazi style sex experimentation, a young man attempts to pick up the very torch of those who tortured him...
The Offer (2022)
Worth a watch if you like The Godfather.
This show was well done and interesting.
You get to see aspects of hollywood, politics, and the mafia.
POSITIVES:
The story was very good and even though you know it ends with the Godfather being made and released, the show still manages to create a lot of tension and mystery along the way. I think this is the best compliment I can give the series and they did a great job because I had to remind myself at times that I already knew how things would work out even though it looked doubtful not certain actors would be gotten or the movie would be made at all.
NEGATIVES:
Colin Hanks gave his typical flat emotionless terrible performance, thankfully he had limited screen time.
Yellowstone (2018)
The cowboy-mafia empire
It is set in the beautiful mountains and valleys of rural Montana, and focuses around the Dutton Family's 'Yellowstone' Ranch. The show has a beautiful look to it, but overall its emotionally dark. The world of Yellowstone is run by the 'law of the jungle' where meanness and ability to apply force are decisive.
Their 'Rhode Island sized' ranch is target for the Native Reservation and various development/eminent domain schemes, thus the show touches on many subjects including urbanization, politics, substance abuse, industrialization, Native American abuse, family drama, rodeos, childhood trauma, parental expectations, suicide, gang initiation and more.
It can be difficult to find a true protagonist/good guy to root for, Casey is the one who stands out as a decent person. Nearly all of the adult characters are severely flawed with substantial criminal and/or mental issues. The scenes with Jamie and his sister in particular are especially uncomfortable: even though they are part of the Dutton family they might be the two biggest sickos in the series...
I will save story arc discussion until the show ends, having seen all current episodes, I can say I'm looking forward to the next season and it has definitely kept my interest.
¿Quién Mató a Sara? (2021)
Seems like network tv to me.
This show deals with some dark elements of society but at the end of the day it is kind of just base entertainment with nothing deeper to appreciate because too many reversals, side-plots, flashbacks and extraneous scenes...it demands your attention by jumping around but then doesnt reward you in the end.
There is a murder investigation/revenge tale at play mixed with family and friends drama. A generous amount of violence but most of it isnt important to the whole story, seems put in to keep people interested. There is a lot of sex too but it is more relevant to the plot usually.
The episodes usually move between 2 timelines: Their teen years before/during the murder and 17 years later as revenge is sought...season 2 and 3 add even more timelines in making things a bit jumbled.
The major story looses steam and prominence as it drags on & is not developed effectivly enough to matter episode to episode...and even at the end of the final season they are still flashing back to the earlist points in the timeline, driving home that the writers have no problem changing the foundations even as it comes to an end.
Everything is OK but not great...the show throws enough action and intrigue around to keep it above average but its still nothing I would watch again or recommend.
Bosch (2014)
One of the best police detective TV shows out there
This show has a great balance of character, plot and action... I can think of other shows in the genre that do one catagory or another better, but if we are taking into account all aspects combined this show scores high enough to be a top contender.
Bosch is an old school hard-nosed policeman, former military, deadly accurate shooter, smart enough to understand police politics but with enough integrity to still tell anyone he needs to, to F off. Lance Reddick from The wire is awesome in his role in this show, and there are other strong supporting cast as well.
This is a premium series so there is a substantial amount of profanity and sexuality, violence is there as well, but not as prevalent as the other two. In my opinion the show could have used slightly more action-violence.
The show still has some edge to it & it is not just a glitzy Hollywood production; its definitely a more noire feel of some dark classics coming through.
Working out of the Hollywood precinct his hard charging style stands out and is entertaining has he interacts with superiors and civilians. LA itself as a city gets a lot of play in the show, and becomes like another character as you get to see many sides of it, beautifully shot.
As is the case for most police shows, he is single, and trying to repair the relationship with his daughter... she does a good job throughout the series and does not become overbearingly annoying like many families tend to do in police shows.
This show is well produced with quality sound and visuals. He is a fan of jazz (me too) so you get to hear a lot of that and the music in general fits well within the episodes.
The writing is better than most cop shows, with effective story arcs running within seasons and multi season. Although it does happen at times, overall it is not the sort of procedural show where you will see a case solved every episode.
It does a good job of introducing and developing characters throughout, but especially in the early seasons. Overall this show can stand up against any other police series out there and hold its own.
The Wilds (2020)
Out of all the recent stranded-teen tv shows, this gets my top recommendation
Out of the handful of similar 'stranded teen' shows this plane-crash one did the best job so far at being convincing. Acting is adaquate and story unfolds smoothly for the most part as they move from pre-crash / island / post-rescue scenes throughout the seasons. Season 3 seems set up for a single timeline as the previous stories have all merged and become current at the end of season 2.
There is more realism than some similar shows when it comes to the day to day tasks / struggle that wilderness survival requires. However it falls short of being truly a survival show, just like all the other stranded-teen-isolation shows...
Season 1 had a nice story development with a decent finale, and many nice twists along the way.
Season 2 moved along the major story and did a great integration of new tribe into the show but the season was not as smart or smooth as the first. The last couple episodes + the finale seemed condensed & awkward how things were revealed, but the show's overall plot and story arc are intact heading into the season 3 and there was a nice twist at the end of season 2.
Shameless (2011)
Crashed and burned to a bitter end
First 6 seasons were awesome and worth a 9+.
If you came up lower class you will understand some of the lifestyles & conditions presented, and if not you can learn how many people live day to day.
A generous amount of action sex drama and jokes hooked me.
Plots are ususally an episode or two long but some run season long or multi season, mostly I enjoyed the show for all the little moments of comedy and streetwise attitude.
But after season 6 the show gets worse and worse until the absoluted waste of disgrace of a final season and even worse finale... The family's rivalries, schemes, sense of humor, happy go lucky outlook, and middle finger to societal norms get abandoned, for political correctness corporate line wokesm- it ended a shame and betrayal of who & what the show started out as.
Altered Carbon (2018)
Ive seen Season 1 only...
This is the sci-fi series youve been waiting for! Action packed, while being smart and surprising as well. Convincing actors and awesome visuals! The world they create and portray here is very detailed and interesting. If you like anything sci-fi or space related watch this show.
The story arc/development in season 1 is satisfying and absorbing, which why I'm in no hurry to watch season 2 yet, as I bask in the beautiful afterglow of what is season 1.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2022)
In the shadow of the Movie or Books, but still enjoyable.
Overall the show was not as thrilling or smart as I hoped...not bad, but nothing special.
The GOOD:
Acting of full cast was convincing although latino/irish aspect was strange at first.
Set up of him inheriting law firm/cases worked well in the first few episodes as it allowed major plots to develop while also showing some of his lawyer skills with quick conclusions to side cases in each episode. These early ones were the best episodes in my opinion. Eventually these cases dissipated and the episodes slowed down, sadly.
Innocence or guilt of Tech Husband was well concealed until the reveal.
I appreciate overall they kept screentime for family drama to a minimum.
Most of the plots and story arcs felt satisfying by the end of the finale, even if I didn't like how they got to their reveals.
The BAD:
Setting felt stuffy, as in too many office scenes...Not enough time in a LINCOLN or on the street.
Sound design balance was off making some dialogue difficult to understand.
Overall they tried to pack too much into the final 2 episodes, with far too many machine gun style conclusions, which made me wonder: what was the hold up? Most of these things could have been revealed or led up to or reacted to episodes earlier to make a more consistently exciting and smooth series.
The UGLY:
There seemed to be an absence of basic investigative/criminal law intelligence when it came to the big case: No reason why it was so hard for the main character to piece together the gunshot residue situation. From episode 1 we knew this was The Key evidence, but he put no focus on it until the answer was slapping him in the face for a whole episode...By the way it was portrayed, I bet everyone watching the show knew before 'the best lawyer' did...weak.
The season-long side-plot of the trafficking case of his ex-wife was neither presented well, nor consequential to most of the characters, and thus seems out of place taking such a prominent role in the final episode.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Best production value but possibly worst story development of any Stranded-teens TV series.
Proves that just because you are a show about 'exciting' things (plane crash, wilderness survival, being stalked, investigating murder) doesn't mean you will be an exciting watch...
Starting with some positives: This show has the best post-rescue/back in society segments compared to the handful of other stranded-teen shows. The casting was mostly great, matching the younger to older versions of the characters.
The writing does deliver on some decent laughs but overall it feels shallow and the pacing is crawling SLOW. The show seems to be setting up more and more screen time for the present day timeline in the season(s) to come, but still hasn't shown us anything great in the stranded timeline.
Writers went wayyy too heavy on pre-crash drama & too light on any gritty survivalism that would be required to survive as long as they supposedly did. The survivalism overall, including the interaction with environment & animals, is very inaccurately done.
Worst problem is overall story arc getting practically nowhere. So slow it feels like this pace will take 3 more seasons to wrap up everything they've started but kept hanging.
The finale failed, miserably, to impress, lost 1 Star for that alone. Later seasons need to really ramp up the reveals/action/realism to get an above average rating and prove season 1 wasn't a waste of time...
Bienvenidos a Edén (2022)
Unique show could still go either way to become one of the best or worst shows in the teen-isolation genre.
The GOOD: The writing works to create tension, desperation, isolation, and an adequate amount of action.
The show has a nice look to it cinematography wise, it is well shot.
It does an effective job of splitting time between those stuck on the island, and the searching of their relatives back in society.
It has a lot going on beneath the surface with enough bubbling mysteriousness to keep anyone guessing about multiple things at a time.
The BAD: The target captors for the island are depressed people, but the show makes them all out to be very gullible as well & the cast of islanders comes off as un-dynamic due to this portrayl. There is flat out too many scenes of sad people brooding.
The UGLY: Significant lack of reveals, resolutions, or revelations. By the time you get through the final episode in Season 1 they only concluded 10%, at most, of the shows plot lines.
If season 2 does not pick up the pace & make sense of the majority of things from season 1, I will most likely tune out for season 3, because there is point when so many loose ends cannot be tied up effectively or smoothly-and two seasons of 90% loose ends will not be rewarding enough for me.
As it stands, the finale was definitely satisfying on some levels and the show has left me wanting more...I just hope the writing can deliver and the series doesn't remain mostly unresolved because that would mean season 1 was made up of a majority of inconsequential scenes.
The Society (2019)
Good concept but written for juvenile minds...
The show is not a smart one, or a rewarding one. There was way too many plot holes and unrealistic actions/reactions to the situation. We are asked to believe that multiple basic day-one common sense survival issues were not addressed until weeks or months later...if ever. Yet they all got on the same page week 1 to consent to creating the most advanced civil structure out of any teen isolation tv show.
Some other situations like the trial & farming mission were written very poorly as well, like a joke, really as though the characters/viewers are very stupid...and yet somehow the same were also able to decide with the deep science that they are in a parallel reality (done offscreen) and how to do several advanced medical processes?
Many of the sideplots and character developments were interesting, which could have made this a great show, if the major story's development wasn't such a disaster. It was written and comes off 70% of the time like a normal teen highschool drama, which ignored the whole premise of being trapped-stranded-isolated & trying to survive-escape.
So, if you are a kid, perhaps the many errors in the story will slide-by, but for me they made the show uninvestible and there was no payoff for watching the whole thing...