Johnny McDobbsy

Great Scott! Adolescence (2025) has got to be one of the most phenomenally well-made and monumentally disturbing series I've seen in quite some time. At the very least, since the start of this year. It's thought-provoking and terrifying, in equal measure. Now, I wouldn't want to ruin anything important for you, so let's not get too bogged down in the details. But basically what we're looking at here is a 4-part story about the detrimental—often disastrous—effects that various aspects of our modern, hyper-connected culture are having on young people forced to grow up in it. It's absolutely brilliant, and you should definitely watch it. There; that's pretty much all I can tell you. I'm sorry. :| Oh, wait! I almost forgot to mention one of the best parts! Each of the 4 episodes are filmed in one singular, solitary and lonesome take. And I'm not talking any of that sneaky filmmaking trickery we see so much of these days. You know, the kind where they blend composite shots and/or hide the screen wipes and transitions in the shadows. Nothing like that. Each of the nearly 1-hr episode is LITERALLY filmed in one long, glorious take. And trust me; it's even more impressive than it sounds. I've seen pretty much every rendition of the "super long take" trope that's ever been put to film, and this bad boy had my jaw on the floor SEVERAL times throughout its run. It's a truly unique accomplishment, and I hope the filmmakers are very proud. So! If I were being forced to saddle this masterpiece with something as mundane as a number, I believe I'd feel pretty comfortable right around the 4.9/5 (9.8/10) mark. Yeah, it really is that close to perfect. In fact, the only complaint I MIGHT have is that every so often the dialogue can feel a bit....rushed, maybe? Whatever you wanna call it, it can occasionally come across as a bit too "neatly fitted" to be from be real world. So yeah, that would be it, my ONE negative comment. Seriously, don't wait. You're gonna wanna see this one, especially if you have children. :[ All right, all right. You win. I'll stop yapping and let us both off the hook. If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day. Cheers.

These are my relatively vague initial thoughts and impressions on The Gentlemen (Netflix series, not 2019 film). There will be ZERO plot OR character spoilers in the following paragraphs. Can't stand spoilers. All right, now even though we've only got the one season to work with, they've already announced a second, so we know more is on the way. That said, this early on my read would have to go something like this: The Gentlemen is without a doubt one of my favorite Guy Ritchie projects in FAR too many years. Although, I guess TECHNICALLY it would only be since the 2019 film of the same name, of which this series is sort of a soft reboot and/or retelling. 🫤 But anyway, back to the show! To sort of condense it into as few words as possible, it's fast paced, exceedingly witty AND intelligent, sexy, classy, emotional, and most of all, it's also knee-slappingly HILARIOUS when it wants to be. Basically, it's got all the classic Guy Ritchie qualities that so many of us grew up on. So if you (like me) are a HUGE fan of "Lock, Stock", "Snatch", "RockNRolla", etc., this bad boy will surelybecome an instant classic for you as well. Aaaaaand that's pretty much all I can tell you at this point in what will hopefully be a MUCH longer story. As I said, vague. But it's for the best; I can assure you. I'd hate to spoil something crucial for a potential viewer—which I'd be quite liable to do, were I to keep typing. So in the spirit of sweet, sweet brevity, let's wrap this thing up with a nice, neat little (relatively meaningless) quantification: Okay, after having given this an inordinate amount of thought, I think I'd inevitably land somewhere right around the 4.2-ish/5 (8.4-ish/10) star range for this unexpectedly high-quality little gem.......yeah, that feels appropriate for the time being. Now, said (utterly arbitrary) quantification will have to be rounded to the nearest whole star, because Google is lazy and/or lame. 😐 I mean, SERIOUSLY, Googz, when are you gonna add either ½ stars, or an x/10 framework for these reviews?! But yeah, this has been some unreservatively tremendous television so far. I can't wait to see what comes next! 😁 I appreciate you reading my review, and I hope you have a great day. Cheers.

The Gentlemen (2019) is one of my favorite Guy Ritchie films since Snatch (2000)—a proper entry in his fantastic catalog. There will be no spoilers whatsoever in the coming paragraphs. Oh, just so you know up front, I'm not gonna get into the nitty gritty details of the characters, story or themes. I just wanted to give you my impression of the film—which is basically that above all else, this bad boy's slick, smart and sexy. It doesn't waste your time. It doesn't ramble on and on and say next to nothing. It uses every minute of its roughly 2-hour run time to move the ball down the field. I respect that—especially in this day and age. Moreover, it's also thrilling, hilarious and exciting. In some ways it's quite an enterprising production, and it seems willing to try new things. In other ways, it unfortunately does repeat a couple of very old, very tired tropes that we've all seen a million times over. I won't mention exactly what they are, but rest assured that we're only talking about a couple of VERY small quibbles anyhow. No big deal. So yeah, my overwhelming feeling about the film is that it was a helluva lot of fun. I cheered the characters on. I laughed my ass off, several times. I winced when things got dicey. It was tremendous. What more could you ask for? if I had to commit a crime so heinously boring and predictable as to slap a number on the tin, I believe I'd feel nice and comfortable right around the neighborhood of 4.2–4.3/5 (8.4–8.6/10) stars. Yeah, that feels about right to me. Now, that's gonna have to be rounded down to a solid 4 stars, because Google is lazy and/or lame. :\ All right, I'm gonna get the he|| outta your hair. If you actually made it this far, I very much appreciate you taking the time to read my horribly vague thoughts on one of my favorite gangster/crime comedies in years. I hope you have a wonderful life. Cheers.

There'll be no actual plot spoilers for Narcos: Mexico forthcoming; just a couple hopelessly vague thoughts regarding the series as a whole. Besides, I can't quite narrow down exactly what's going on with this one anyhow. Maybe you can help me out. So, even though I've seen Narcos (2015) at least five or six times over the last decade—and loved every single second of it—for whatever reason, I can never get past about a third of the way through season 2 of this bad boy right here. Now, I'm not saying it's bad or anything; it's certainly not. Everything about it is perfectly high-quality. It's well produced, well filmed, well acted, well scored, etc. But there's just something a bit more....generic (boring?) about it, when compared to the original. Whatever the culprit, I've tried to watch the show three times now in the last handful of years. And try as I might, I consistently find myself falling asleep halfway through nearly every episode, whereas the original kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish—all three seasons! All right, now let's get down to the business end of this thing. If I absolutely HAD TO put something as mundane as a quantification on it, I believe I'd inevitably land somewhere right around 3.5/5 (7/10) of whichever unit of measure makes you feel most comfortable. Yeah...that feels about right. Of course, it'll have to be rounded up to a solid 4—being that our own personal Lord and Savior, Googz, is so lazy and/or lame that it hasn't seen fit to bless us with either ½ stars, or an x/10 framework. So, I guess you could sum it up like this: The new model's not a terrible way to spend an afternoon or evening, but it just doesn't quite live up to the legacy of the OG, sorry to say. Okay, you win! I'm gonna stop yapping and get out of your hair. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day. Cheers. :)

No spoilers about the actual plot for Narcos, just a few of my thoughts. I'll TRY to keep it short and sweet. Not so great at that, but I'll try. I just wanted to jump on here and sing the praises of one of my favorite series of all time. It's easy to forget now, but this show was INSANELY popular during its run, Even in the States. And that despite the fact that it's in Spanish. It just goes to show that if you create a high quality product, people are perfectly willing to overlook some perceived "drawbacks" in favor of getting to the gooey center. I guess I'll start with the acting. Wagner Moura is absolutely PHENOMENAL in his role as Pablo Escobar. And no, I literally give zero shits that his Spanish/Spanish accent weren't flawless. Who gives a shit, really? I mean, other than Latin American historians that get their panties in a twist over every little thing...no one. That's who. That man gave a helluva performance, and for a Portuguese-speaking individual, his accent, vernacular, diction, etc. sounded just fine to me. Other standouts would have to be Pedro Pascal as the PoPo, and Alberto Ammann as the GAYngster ;). They were perfectly cast in their roles, and they certainly gave it everything they had. Respect. Look, I could sit here and gush about this show until the end of time, so I'm going to speed things up a bit. Direction and cinematography? Flawless. Editing? Crisp and clear. Sound design? Erm....crisp and clear. The score is fantastic as well, Even if it is a bit subtle for my taste most of the time. In some ways, that's the best thing for a story like this, and it IS skillfully and thoroughly woven into the narrative. I already spoke about the acting, so I'm just going to start winding down now. To make a long story short(ish), this is what they call top-shelf, world-class filmmaking. It's nearly perfect, and any rough edges (flaws) that it may have are 100% smoothed over by the sheer amount of talent behind the series' creation and the beauty of the story they're telling. I award Narcos with a more than perfect 10/5 stars. 200% Fresh! It's wonderful. Thanks for reading my (hopefully not too long) review for one of my favorite series of all time. I hope you have a wonderful day. :D

Well, what a pleasant surprise! I 100% thought that Netflix was gonna fumble this bad boy like they have SO many other adaptations from various forms of media over the years. Turns out, they actually put in the work, and those blood, sweat and tears DEFINITELY shine through in the finished product—a truly magnificent rendition, in my ever-so-humble opinion. :) That being said, I've got some good news, and some bad news......the bad news is that I can hardly give you any sort of detailed and/or worthwhile thoughts on the series at this point in time. After all, we're only (roughly) halfway through the novel's story as of the season finale. The good news is that Netflix greenlit season 2 almost immediately after airing these first eight episodes; it's quite clear that people are responding with overwhelming praise and support for their efforts so far. Congrats, Mr. Flix. So yeah, I'm SUPER excited to see where they take this magical world next. I'll come back in a couple years (or hopefully less) and bust out a proper review for you all, so go ahead and be looking for that one on down the line. Take care of yourselves, everyone. Cheers. ≠)

This is my hopelessly vague thoughts on one of my favorite animated series of all time, Arcane (2021). There will be ZERO spoilers of any kind about the plot/story itself. Every now and then, a shw comes along that absolutely sweeps everyone away and transports them to a fantastically and magically delicious world filled with rich, complex characters, gorgeous vistas and timeless, poignant stories and thematic elements. Arcane is just such a show. Now, I don't want to get too bogged down in the details—or waste your precious time—but suffice it to say that I find Arcane to be essentially perfect, even though that phrase is oxymoronical AF. I mean, the animation? 10/10. The sound design, score and voice-over work? 10/10. The previously mentioned themes that the show conveys so beautifully? 10/10. You get the point. I literally wouldn't change a single thing about how everything was handled, even if I perhaps might have gone another way with a couple of things. And you'll have to trust me when I say that this is an exceedingly rare opinion/feeling for me. Quite alien, in fact. Anyway, Arcane is abso-fu€k¡ng-lutely BONKERS good. 10/5 stars for me, and that's not a typo. If you somehow haven't heard of it, or maybe just haven't gotten around to watching it so far, well....boy, are you in for a treat! Do yourself a favor and pull the trigger on this one as soon as you get some free time. You'll thank me later. :) Thanks for reading, and have a great day.

These are my quick(ish), 100% homegrown, organic, USDA certified non-GMO, grass-fed, free range, free trade, cage-free, cruelty-free, and spoiler-free thoughts on one of the greatest amalgamations of horror, comedy and drama ever made. I am speaking, of course, of Angel (1999). Alright, so I just finished typing up a couple paragraphs on the progenitor of this series, the one of a kind, the fantastic, the fabulous, the bad ASS....Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). And basically all I'd like to do here is to point out that if it weren't for the GOAT, Angel would most certainly hold the title of the best supernaturally charged ensemble series of all time. It's that good. Speaking of her radiance, if you haven't seen Buffy yet, stop reading right this very moment, and don't even THINK about watching this bad boy until you have! Now, "fans" of the Buffyverse will tell you that you can totally watch Angel without having first seen the OG. And while that's TECHNICALLY true, why the hell would you even want to? I mean, who starts in the middle of a story anyway??? All right, now if I were going to quantify the awesomeness that is Angel the series, I think it would go something like this: 8/10 for the horror. 8.5/10 for the comedy. 9/10 for the production values (for the time period). 8.5/10 for the writing. 8.5/10 for the acting. It's not perfect, sure. But it's as close to perfect as it could have possibly been, and MILES better than even its closest competition—shows like Supernatural, Grimm, etc. Anyway, that's pretty much all I wanted to say. If you haven't seen Buffy and Angel (in that order, damn it!) up to this point in your life—and you fancy yourself a connoisseur of all things horrible and hilarious—then you need to get on this ASAP! Trust me, you'll thank me later. :) Buffy "The Magnificent Kicker of Ass(es)" Summers, long may she reign!

This is my completely spoiler-free, (obviously) totally subjective thoughts on one of the greatest television series of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). I'm not gonna get into a whole, long thing here and use up a bunch of my time, as well as yours. I just wanted to say that when it comes to supernaturally charged ensemble comedy/dramas, you can forget about Grimm, Charmed (actually, forget about this one either way...yeesh), Alias, Dollhouse, Firefly (technically sci-fi, but you get my point), even the great Supernatural itself. Buffy is still the queen of them all. And by that, what I mean is that they all owe her a ginormous debt, and they can begin working it off by immediately falling to their knees and enthusiastically worshiping her in all her glorious glory. Nah, but it really is an undeniable fact that LITERALLY none of them would exist without her—at least not in any recognizable form, anyhow. Now, if I were to even ATTEMPT to quantify her excellence—to reduce her awesomeness to a mere set of numbers—I'd go with an 8.5/10 for the horror. 10/10 for the comedy. 8.5/10 for the production values (for the time period). 9.5/10 for the writing. 9/10 for the acting. 9.6/10 overall. Yeah, that sounds about right. Buffy's absolutely phenomenal, and if you haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to at least watch the first season. It's only 13 episodes long, and if you aren't totally addicted after that, continuing on probably won't change your mind. Not to mention, you'll have a much bigger problem: horrible taste. :) Anyway, you have a wonderful day now. Hail to the queen, baby. <3

This is my spoiler-free review for a SUPER solid supernatural series (S⁴), NBC's Grimm. I'll try to keep it short-ish and sweet so you'll have more time to go check it out for yourself. All right, it goes something like this: Grimm is a better than average show, but it's certainly no masterpiece. For starters, in the early seasons at least, the formula is EXTREMELY repetitive. Although, I do understand that the police procedural was pretty much the perfect format for introducing us to all the different types of creatures in this universe. Thankfully, as the series goes on, they inject quite a bit more serial storytelling, and quite a bit less episodic, into the mix. Unfortunately, there are dozens of plot lines and subplots that go absolutely NOWHERE at all. They're just dropped like a hot potato, with no explanation as to why. Continuity errors abound. There are just TON of missed opportunities that the writers were seemingly oblivious to. Only a few of the main characters have ANY background whatsoever, and of the ones who are lacking, they basically have zero family or acquaintances, zero hobbies, zero anything. It's a bit strange, to say the least. This show also has some of the cheesiest dialogue you'll ever hear! Sometimes it works in its favor; sometimes it doesn't. Okay.....that's (more than) enough complaining! All that being the case, I still had a pretty damn good time with this one. I really enjoyed learning about the mythology and the "monsters". I very much appreciated the tonal balance that the writers, directors and actors struck together. It keeps it light most of the time, but it can also get VERY dark when it wants to. I dig that about it, as I tend to LOATHE the whole MCU brand of "hardly anyone ever dies, and when they DO actually go for good, it's ALWAYS a perfectly fitting, dignified death allowing them to get all their goodbyes in and whatnot." storytelling. I think if I had to put a number on it, I would give it a more than respectable 3.9/5 stars/medallions/doubloons/whatever. Yeah, that sounds about right to me. Basically, Grimm can be a great way to spend an afternoon, evening or night, provided you aren't looking for anything EXCESSIVELY deep, and so long as you don't think too hard about any one aspect of the series. Thank you for reading my hopelessly vague—albeit, hopefully helpful—review for one of my go-to monster shows. Take good care of yourself, and always be kind to those around you. Peace. :)