Alex MacKenzie

A Rom-Com with neither romance, nor comedy, what's not to love? I would say the script was the boat anchor that dragged this outing to the bottom of the sea. Followed closely by Dakota Johnson's distinct lack of acting ability. Really she is terrible. Chris and Pedro did as well as they could with the dumpster fire they were given to work with. The writer clearly has no idea how to write a male role as neither were credible and consistent with how men of their respective positions in life would actually act. I want my 2 hours back!

The original Dexter is tied with Breaking Bad for number 1 in my mind. I have seen the original 8 seasons of Dexter 3 times now. Just finished another run-through mere days before tucking into New Blood. In short, I am a serious fan. So WTH!? I get the woke. Everything is woke now. While all the woke nonsense makes me want to hurl things at my television, I could live with it (barely) if the show were well done. It is not. I am halfway through now and it is starting to feel like a show about annoying high school children. So why? Almost all of the original show-runners are back. Surely between them they could sit down and tap back into the magic that was OG Dexter? Deb is incredibly annoying. Like off the charts annoying. I get the need to convey some angst, but surely it could have been portrayed more subtly than her constant shrieking. Dexter is a shadow of his former self. The witty inner monologue is still there, but nowhere near what it was. Dex's onscreen persona is no longer magnetic and compelling, he is just simply one of the cast. I had high hopes. I would have loved to see another 3 seasons. I will absolutely finish watching the rest of this season. It is Dexter; how could I not. I am open to more seasons, but they're going to need reboot the reboot before that should be allowed to happen.

I've been a big fan of the franchise since the beginning, so had high hopes for this one to bring some of the original magic. With F9, it feels like all the parts were laid out, it just feels like someone had trouble pulling them together into a watchable movie. There were certainly enough talented (or at least semi-talented) actors/actresses to have a great cast. It felt at times like the talent was walking the well-worn path, and maybe that is the problem. Actions that are comfortable to us through familiarity seldom challenge us to rise to our best. The stunts were inventive though stretched the limits of credibility (not to mention gravity) a little too far. I guess in the 3rd decade of the 21st century, there aren't a lot of stunts that haven't been tried before, so it must be a challenge to give the audience something original. At times it felt more Marvel than some outlaw types in fast cars. The "chicks kick butt" narrative is starting to get old too (please, someone in Hollywood take note). Michelle Rodriguez said she was happy that the female characters were starting to get more into the action, but IMO, it feels contrived. Short of Ronda Rousey, there are very few females in the world who would ever be able to hold their own against a guy intent on seriously harming them. Sorry ladies, but its true. I think there are ways to portray strong female characters, but it is not dropping them into male roles. Hopefully someone is paying attention to the prevailing sentiment about this movie before F10 is in the can.