Steve Elia

By far, the shortest Borderlands game to date. It took me about 15 - 20 hours, and I have only 3 more side quests to beat. The loot system is awful, particularly due to the dice round-up. While it’s fun to finally create a character, they seriously dropped the ball on builds. The skill trees offer % increases on top of % increases and little else. What mobs are in the game are great, especially the goblins and mushrooms, but there’s not a lot of variety. By the second major map portion you’ve seen all the types. The overworld gets old quick (fyi to people complaining about random encounters, you can melee and prevent them), and the arena-style dungeons are lame. That’s also endgame: more arenas. I was very excited for this game and feel let down.

Valhalla is a step down from the original on every level. Its history is laughably off. The music is barely noticeable. The characters (the ones that don’t die the same episode they’re introduced) are boring, and we learn almost nothing about the daily lives of these people. The action had a lot of nonsensical moments like calling for a shield wall, followed by an immediate charge that breaks said shield wall. Worse still, they split 8 episodes between England and Denmark, something that worked on History Channel because the seasons were 12 - 24 episodes long. I feel like I watched a generic knockoff of Game of Thrones with Vikings.

I was giving this show high praise for weeks, because I found it interesting that Dexter was out of practice and sloppy, up against a better predator. Then the finale happened, and everything unraveled… *SPOILERS****** If there’s another season, I won’t be watching. I found teenage Harrison to be the worst character on the show, and now I like him even less. Why would I tune in to watch a whiny brat that was never taught the code? Then they set us up for a little reunion, what could’ve been a great, intense scene between Dexter and Angel, only to throw it out the window. I never thought I’d say this, but I prefer the original ending. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Boba Fett’s screen time in the original trilogy was about 10 minutes, and his greatest contributions were following the Millennium Falcon to Cloud City and nodding at undercover Leia. He’s then bested by a blind man that accidentally knocks him into the Sarlacc Pit. Since I never got into the extended universe beyond Timothy Zahn, I love the character finally getting some depth in this and Mandalorian. It feels like the parallel stories of the episode are meant to demonstrate that, above all else, he’s a survivor that’s tough to kill. In both instances, after the events of Mandalorian and the Return of the Jedi, he’s severely battered yet won’t stay down. I also appreciate learning more about the Sand People, as well as seeing Gammorean Guards do more than snort and get wrecked/eaten. Looking forward to see how the story unfolds, especially as Boba heals (rating subject to change by season’s end). I didn’t expect blood and gore. Star Wars films have never really had that level of violence. There were just a few, quick instances. Lucas’ vision was always family friendly. After all, the battle of Endor involved teddy bears, aka Ewoks, using sticks and stones. My biggest complaint was the length of the episode; it was about 10 - 15 minutes too short. I’m also not sold on the soundtrack so far, but that could always improve like Mandalorian (s2 had some of the best in the franchise in the final episode).

Spoilers not to be found, because there’s nothing to spoil. There’s a bunch of characters that are subpar rehashes in both personality and acting and a storyline/philosophy that’s the same as the original movie: the allegory of the cave. The action isn’t impressive or anywhere near mindblowing. There’s no tension. There’s no moment where you wonder or care if a character will triumph. I’m fully convinced the Wachowskis are incapable of matching what they achieved with the first movie. P.S - Insulting and dismissing other reviewers only proves how frightened you are of differing opinions. It does nothing to improve your take on the movie.

The praise for this extremely slow, predictable film reminds me of The English Patient. It’ll win awards and quickly be forgotten by most of humanity. I can’t believe I even made it to the end; it might have been the music that got me there. It certainly wasn’t the story.

I’m just here to offset the reviews saying a character that’s been around for 16 years (Kate Bishop) is in the show due to wokeness. In the comics, she took the name Hawkeye to honor Clint after he died. Also, this was never advertised as a prequel, Kate is on the main screen as a costar, and at no point in the first two episodes does Clint lose to henchmen that she beat. The exact opposite happens. Anyway, I was apprehensive about the show because I’ve never been a fan of arrow superheroes, but it already won me over. I wasn’t expecting so much comedy. The Tracksuit Mafia is hilarious, bro. Hopefully the later episodes have more action and go deeper into the Marvel universe. Also hoping this is a set up for West Coast Avengers, not just Easter eggs.

Even if you ignore the books this show is based on like the writers did, this is generic fantasy, at best. Kevin Sorbo Hercules level fantasy. Telling people you have to ignore or separate the source material means it’s a bad adaptation. If not for the trollocs I’d give this 1 star. People saying this is better than GoT…in what way? The clean clothing and sets? The bad acting? The bad music? The lack of blood and filth in combat? The terrible CGI and hand waving? How much were you paid to give this 5 stars?

I’m finally giving up on this show. I can suspend disbelief, but La Brea has pushed my limits. Messages in bottles and wedding rings are buried and found with ease 10,000 years later yet the cars and technology somehow vanish over the course of time, including a civilization. These people don’t hunt, gather, or bathe yet they’re all perfectly groomed and healthy, even a woman that’s been there for 3 years. Don’t even get me started on the wildlife…or lack of. This show should’ve been a comedy. It’s a complete joke.

First and foremost, people should go into this movie with the understanding that it’s not about ghosts and that paranormal, by definition, is something out of the ordinary that can’t be explained by science. It technically qualifies as Paranormal Activity, but the movie has nothing to do with any of the films prior in the franchise. It relies on jump scares and characters making the dumbest decisions possible at every turn, like going down a hundred foot hole in the ground. It’s nearly impossible to root for the main character that rummages through other people’s houses as if she owns the place. Overall, it was all right, more interesting than scary, and definitely not the best in the franchise. Nothing happens in the first 45 minutes, then the ending is completely outlined with a scene halfway through. There were zero surprises. Very disappointing.