Dennis D

Seeing all these big-name I didn't notice when the movie came out was a blast. This classic has that old school feel, where a long, interesting story is given the proper time to mature and delight. I generally require a bit of realism in such adventures, but I get what the director was going for. Yes, there are many "eye roll" moments that would never organically play out. Victor's English comprehension is conveniently hit or miss and his character shifts from functional to bumbling and back through much of the film. After a while, I just accepted the minor flaws and enjoyed the ride.

Watched this series in real time way back when and just finished a rewatch. For me, it was easy to get hooked on the ever-winding storyline. The direction and writing were variations of good, very good, and meh. In prison, most actions made sense. After the breakout, it was one question after another ("How does bad guy know good guy's every move?"). The writers essentially abandoned the little details that make scenes fully believable for the sake of story progression. Not a deal-breaker, but moves PB well below an expertly written show like "Agents of Shield" SO many great characters- starting with T-Bag. Whoever dreamt up this guy and his mannerisms is genius. 5-stars for almost everyone else except Burrows. I'm guessing Purcell left his script at home as he had zero memorable lines....but did manage to say "shut up" on 53 occasions. As an actor, he was also the weakest "Linc". The repetitive theme was everyone questioning Michael's numerous plans of attack (99% success rate) while rarely offering better solutions. This process grew stale but I kinda get it. Otherwise, great to revisit this classic series. It is a pretty fun ride.

Opinion of main characters: Red: Drew the longest straw for scripts. Dialogue is 99% original material delivered at Oscar-worthy level. Cooper: Stayed within the confines of his character with ease. That constant look of intrigue or bursts of anger...his presence alone was perfect. His toe-to-toe exchanges with Red were second to none. Tom Keen: Excellent range. The actor can play any emotion, be any character, and sell it. Outstanding performance. His "All I know is I want to be with you, Liz" line might have been used 200+ times, though. Liz: Vital character, average at best actress for this role. She grew on me some but so little of her dialogue/acting/action scenes were believable. Aram: The missing star in my rating is almost exclusively tied to this character. I avoid using the word "hate" as very little in my life truly deserves its use. This might be one of those times. Use of the word "uhh" in TV dialogue never works, and he uses it in almost every sentence to beat us over the head with his awkwardness. He often goes off track with a random story that goes well past lame before someone quickly rights his train of thought and asks him to focus...pointless and annoying. He also makes a living asking questions that someone with an undeveloped brain would ask. My favorite is his information-sharing sessions where he uses inflection while orating critical details of each blacklister, while everyone else just speaks like normal humans. The choice of Aram is so bad that it's the sole reason for this review. Had to get that off my chest before moving on with my life...lol. Dembe: THEE perfect compliment to Red. Actor and character. Was tempted to add that star back for how convincing and necessary Dembe was. SO much to like about this simple man. Glen: Perfectly done. He annoyed me as much as he did Red (maybe a little less) and that was the point of his character. Such a unique and great choice of actor. Everyone else: 100's of committed performances really elevated the show. Neville Townsend's character really stands out but could easily name 2 dozen others that brought their "A" game. Now if they could have committed a bit more to the hundreds of fighting/action/shootout scenes, this show would have ticked more boxes. I'd still totally recommend as I've watched the entire series twice.

With volume turned off, this movie is moderately entertaining. A troll movie for grown ups works when great CGI and good pacing are present. The storyline wasn't developed much but I personally only cared about the beast anyway so not a big deal. It will be if a sequel is made though. As for dialogue- nonsensical and annoying. Mostly illogical and useless banter. If the potential sequel isn't significantly upgraded, RIP sequel. P.S. The bell scene without clearing the area first? Dokay.

Love the low music usage as it sets an ominous and realistic tone without distraction. Bateman was superb. A role unlike anything I've seen him in and boy did he deliver. Edgerton brought the heat as well. Nicely written and worth a watch.

This movie is has a similar premise as The Call, featuring Halle Berry, which I remember nothing about but liking that film. While The Guilty is suspenseful, I was constantly wincing at much of the dialog from victims and fellow officers Jake's character spoke with. Some of it odd, some overly-dramatic, and a few poorly delivered lines. Jake's character was dealing with serious issues in his personal life as well, so I get the need to emphasize how damaged he has become. Even so, I don't see a scenario where he gets away with screaming at superiors throughout the movie. The directors seemed to have green-lit the cast to: ramble, repeat every line, use fake "concerned" trembly voices, leave everyone you speak to in the dark, repeat. Supporting cast contributions were minimal/ forgettable. All in all, the script and pacing were decent but this one can be skipped

I just finished Marvel's Agents of Shield, which, IMO, is mind-blowingly good in every conceivable way (to my surprise) and wasn't expecting too much from another Marvel mini series. Moon Knight lulled me in some after episode 1 but I progressively lost interest. Oscar Isaac is one of the few actors who can pull off any character you present him and he did that in spades here. Ethan Hawke also put on a splendid performance. No one else was memorable. Storyline started a nice pace then seemed to lose its crispness along the way. Like all other Marvel miniseries, this is a 1-watch for me.

Late to the party, but just finished season 1 (4/9/22). I never get excited over Avenger spinoffs of any kind and none of the individual miniseries (Loli, Falcon/WS, Wanda) were bangers for me. With that said, I definitely didn't think Agents of Shield would be a worthwhile watch. Fast forward 10 minutes into ep. 1 and I was hooked. Three things that stood out immediately: The director of this show is VERY adamant on believability. Actor facial expressions, reactions, interaction, fight scenes, technology, action sequences....all flawless. Very few shows accomplish this, or even try. Second, I have my favorites, but very few featured cast members are expendable. One could easily get attached to any or all of them. Third, the dialog is smart and sometimes thought provoking. Many shows out there choose to dumb down content which is a bummer. This is easily the best show of its kind and I'm incredibly impressed that Marvel put so much effort and craftsmanship into a non movie. I'm forever ruined by the fact Endgame and Infinity War were so special but Agents season 1 is a fine extension of greatness. I just pressed play on season 2 as I'm typing this and don't feel good about any of the new additions I'm seeing. Fingers crossed.

This is the only series of Spiderman movies I completely passed over originally. My Spidey sense told me there was no need to visit this space as I perceived it to be no better than any other iteration. Finally watched it and I was right. Garfield's portrayal was just OK. His dialog throughout the movie was generally short and meaningless. It's as though cast solely for having the look the director was seeking. Not a memorable line in over 2 hours of run time. He's either bumbling though a sentence, quietly walking away from someone, or delivering a quick line. Ridiculous theme of Gwen's father: 1. Ignore Spidey's heroics. 2. Paint him as the villain even though Spidey was the only one to confront the beast and save lives. 3. Pursue and apprehend the weaker threat. Otherwise, the movie's quick pace didn't allow for any memorable scenes or moments to really cheer for. Lastly, little details were glazed over quite a few times. Fiction is already unbelievable so it's vital that all dialog and reactions are as natural and authentic as possible. Countless scenes where one would expect emotion elicited none. All in all, if you ignore crisp writing and direction and just want to see Spidey do what he does, here you go.

I have no interest in telling you how to rate your movie experience or suggest whether or not you should lay down a Hamilton to see this film (IMAX). Plenty of other reviewers have for some reason taken that approach. This is more or less me thinking out loud. My rating has as much to do with a comparison to Marvel past as it does in rating this as a standalone. A few thoughts of mine that likely are not going to be popular: Kumail and Brian Henry were miscast. Neither felt like immortal material and both were added for comic relief. Neither delivered (IMO). Just about every Avenger has at least a few memorable quotes (funny or otherwise) but this cast had zero. Kumail really tried hard but nope. All cast members gave good performances but Barry Keoghan's work was the best of the bunch. I felt he bought into his character the most (followed by Don Lee- loveable and perfectly cast). -The plot didn't venture into far enough places to be exciting. Nothing more than a problem and eventual solution. I checked my watch 6ish times hoping it wasn't really 180+ minutes. -Yes, the effects were pretty next-level, but I wasn't as mind-blown as others. -Multiple characters are DC/X-Men knock-offs. -I didn't want any Eternal to die but wouldn't have felt invested enough to feel loss. Weird considering I was hooked on every Avenger from the jump and couldn't bear the thought of losing any of them right away. All in all, the stakes in this movie were high but the population most at risk had no significant role in this film. Missed opportunity. I will watch it 1 more time once it streams to catch things I missed but will not rewatch a 3rd time. I regret not seeing Dune instead.