[A summary of my movie and TV reviews from last month, posted to Attrition.org, mixed in with other reviews.]
Outside the Wire (2021)
Medium: Movie (Netflix)
Rating: 1 / 5 Keep it outside your watch list
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Netflix
I wanted to like this movie, I really did. But it just starts out absurd at so many levels. It feels like someone wrote the script, a second person made serious edits, a third, and so on. Until you get a cohesive plot, but missing logic throughout. An unsupervised AI in a sci-fi body, contrasted by robot “Gumps” that are idiots and can’t shoot too well, a command structure that of course sends the new guy on a crazy mission, a drone operator that knows the streets of every city apparently, and that AI who is never wrong … of course is wrong? This had potential but it was squandered.
Coyote Season 1
Medium: TV (CBS All Access)
Rating: 4/5 No moleste por favor
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
If you are wondering what happened to Michael Chiklis, he’s back! This time as a just-retired Border & Customs agent that finds himself on the other side of the border trying to do right by his former partner’s family. This quickly leads him down a path where he finds himself involved in the cartel and that is just the first messy part of his new life. No car chases, no shoot-outs, just a good slow build drama worth the watch.
Underwater (2020)
Medium: Movie (Multiple)
Rating: 0.5/5 drown yourself in booze before watching
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
Another disaster porn meets horror movie of sorts! And like most (all?), it’s a perfect string of coincidences and a boring recipe that advances the ‘plot’ forward. Just the right amount of suits! They are all magically the right size, even for people that have never used them! Science and physics take a backseat! T.J. Miller, the bad writer’s comic crutch, who literally has to say a ‘funny’ line every single time! Ending? Predictable, stupid, and a bad attempt to get philosophical (?) making it that much worse. Skip this trash.
The Next Three Days (2010)
Medium: Movie (Netflix)
Rating: 4.5/5 … are pretty dramatic
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Aisha Hinds, Jason Beghe, Lennie James, and a cameo by Liam Neeson… and I missed this movie? Maybe bad previews originally? I’m glad this popped up on Netflix’ recommendations; this as a well-done movie. Simple plot, but great casting, and fed you enough morsels to string you along to make you anticipate how it would end. This movie delivered all around with flawed but real characters at every turn and the willingness to leave some threads unpulled, where other movies might have wasted time on it.
Seungriho / Space Sweepers (2021)
Medium: Movie (Netflix)
Rating: 4.5/5 Modern space cyberpunk
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Netflix
Set in 2092, with Earth on its last legs, we start out following a rag-tag crew of a ship that tries to collect space debris, which they can sell for cash. Barely scraping by, each living the life for their own reason and varied past, the money to get them out of poverty is always out of reach. When they find a surprise in junk they collect, it starts a crazy adventure that promises money they could only dream of. This South Korean movie has excellent production value, good acting, an aggressive plot, and brings the feel of a future that is part dystopia, part cyberpunk. The only challenge was keeping up with the subtitles during the fast-pace scenes. This is a fun ride with a good dose of the feels.
Silk Road (2021)
Medium: Movie (Apple)
Rating: 2/5 Long and meandering like its namesake
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Apple TV
This is the 2021 movie, not the 2017 movie, about the Silk Road marketplace and the person behind it. The actual story is fascinating and full of suspense and drama. The impact the Silk Road marketplace had on part of the world for a while was incredible. This movie adaptation was probably fairly accurate, but also fairly dull for anyone already familiar with the subject matter. If you don’t know about the marketplace and saga around it, you will probably enjoy this movie a bit more.