shawcarvetht

IMDb member since July 2015
    Lifetime Total
    25+
    IMDb Member
    9 years

Reviews

The Apprentice
(2024)

Good acting. A dull story
As a Brit, I find the Trump shenanigans in the news both absurd and astonishing, yet oddly entertaining at times. This film seemed to capture some of that chaotic energy, but unfortunately, it didn't hold my attention for long. The acting was solid and well-delivered, but the story itself felt rather uninspired. While the premise had potential, it never really developed into something gripping. By the halfway mark, the plot seemed to skim along without much substance or depth. It left me feeling quite disengaged, and overall, I found it pretty dull and forgettable. I was hoping for more complexity or nuance, but it just wasn't there.

The Fall Guy
(2024)

Action packed but unbelievably boring
We regret not having left after the first half hour.

The cinema was almost empty for the showing.

There's next to nothing of a plot or story to hold your interest. With the film receiving ratings over 7.5 on average, it makes me wonder whether the ratings are manipulated. I regret not delving deeper into the available films before choosing this and deciding to pay for tickets to watch it. Don't waste your time.

More characters are required so I'll add an in interesting fact: Honey never spoils. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
(2023)

Bland Narration and Lackluster Performances Diminish the Potential Magic in 'The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar"
"The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar" falls short of expectations, earning a mere two stars out of ten in my opinion. The film, centred around Henry Sugar, a wealthy gambler intrigued by the extraordinary abilities of a man who can see without using his eyes, fails to captivate due to its lacklustre execution.

The major flaw lies in the film's presentation, resembling more of a book narration than a cinematic experience. The actors deliver their lines without the necessary intonation, facial expressions, or genuine acting that could have brought the narrative to life. This lack of engagement leaves the audience disconnected and disinterested.

While the director's attempt to stand out by adopting an unconventional approach might be commendable, it ultimately backfires. The film's unusual style, far from being intriguing, becomes a source of monotony. The absence of dynamic performances and visual appeal makes it challenging to stay engaged, leading to a noticeable loss of patience. The film's potential to be a compelling exploration of the extraordinary abilities of "The Man Who Sees Without Using His Eyes" is undermined by the director's failure to translate the story into a captivating visual and emotional experience.

In essence, "The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar" fails to live up to its intriguing premise. The lack of creativity in the presentation, coupled with the absence of compelling performances, leaves viewers feeling bored and compelled to abandon the film prematurely. Despite the unique storyline, the execution falls flat, resulting in a disappointing cinematic experience that warrants a two-star rating.

Jurassic World
(2015)

Unlikable characters
All of the main characters are unlikable which makes it become hard to continue watching. There is product placement every 5-10 minutes - company's brands are individually shoved at you.

For the length: WcIKpU2vHGQQwn7nSavU ACzzZqTLfyJk1QnUZUc3 fEjkiIwkQQOgv5b4tROU pmNue6QmcVrbjRQbnLTe q6TMjADlJAeFlhZ1r8L5 F7cCUWM2KXry4mk0bAQk vW8O6GaEpu03xucKDWqE Jc18us6yGPpnAZo0TGM6 CAQn5C70kqQtUmlSqbYM 4PvVpqrPoRwUxTzROXKK XSPkT1FGsZh67APab3Sh 0OYimFsRVW0Aq4qmnjqd NY0Bp0NxwYrvdbhtnrna XMTsQ3sVyLE2Hkn9emUk MmHOGy07SOyWL0LXSIWR vqSoRHJDOfd9A5JIgots Yen2Kqym8dml9EeSl2Ka QEvgrXyLaZ42wHgbibcL x4VdnzJYDxYYbvyvud6L 4cKrc7FP91i102mTYLzc NX9UHbXw2Lsf75SQ27J1 LNpwPa7zgie4HqfPdkCY tHJHoATQcOAkH7X6gBur 0fJ9Dbd9QPJVdUP4guSw aDiEGLYodCqGZySUU7HG utyv3lQAFk9YXCIYK3LI 8SFjxheNMURXWn39cpTc XZlRZYtOEwJAL9kmnsoy pGljyZx99IjfNuQpcrP2 m7XCrRGN3l5KwjHNNHrn.

Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022)

Tiresome
I saw the first one which was fantastic. I wasn't sure what to expect given the mix of ratings but took a risk. The cinema room had about 5% of seats occupied for the film. One couple left part way though.

It became clearer during the film based on the characters and dialogue that the target audience is young teens and parents.

Something that can be applauded is the creativity of the wildlife animations.

Fight scenes created some excitement but didn't lift the film out of the muddy waters. The really dull plot spoilt the film and made it very tiresome to watch.

Now I'm wondering how many of the 9 and 10 star ratings are real. It's making me question my trust in imdb.

Merlin: The Diamond of the Day: Part Two
(2012)
Episode 13, Season 5

Wow, that was bad
The series has been great. This final episode was unbelievably bad. So many plot holes, weirdly illogical decisions, sections of weak acting. It leaves you angry, feeling 'what is the point of this?!' 'How did it become so bad?' 'How could they degrade the show like this?' You could still watch it to get some kind of ending but the experience may frustrate you a lot.

They still require 233 characters so I'll have to write a bunch more. I've googled and found some phrases from Shakespeare.

We have seen better days.

Neither rhyme nor reason.

Cruel to be kind.

It's Greek to me.

What's done is done.

Prey
(2022)

Interesting at times but bad in general
The story has good potential. The art was great. The predator was great and interesting to watch with its great arsenal. Great scenes of action. The big pitfall was the lead actress and her character. There was next to nothing to know about her character, the actress showed next to no emotion in her acting, next to no change in facial expressions and not much dialogue. It meant there was little to like about the main character; the person who is meant to be the protagonist that you're following throughout the whole film.

When you're not interested in the main character, and most of the film is focused on her, it becomes dull to watch. She breezes through challenges and upstages all other characters effortlessly. You end up taking much more interest in the predator.

Everything Everywhere All at Once
(2022)

Unentertaining
The main actors and actresses were good. There was not much of a story to follow and no structure to anything. Everything was a mash of very brief absurdities / bizarre happenings (hence other reviewers referring to it as an acid trip). I kept hoping it might get better and saw it through to the end. It was really long and boring. Confusing if asking oneself - why is this still going on and what has happened to the story?

Based on reading the positive reviews, it seems like viewers feel positive from finding hidden messages about emotions and human behaviour. Perhaps too, from happenings in the film triggering personal memories.

Maybe you'll like it if you consider yourself full of emotion and have good memory.

Not entertaining if you like what you're watching to have something of a structure or a story. It was a sore disappointment.

The rating of 8.1 and top #200 makes me wonder if a lot of bots are involved. Always check the newest reviews for more reliable ones.

Hannibal
(2013)

Gripping and engrossing
It's astounding. Great acting. Taxing to watch at times because of the strong characters, and the engrossing and often dark story. Hard to think of anything like it. Very impressive.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(2022)

Bizarre, nonsensical plot
It's surprising to see a 7+ rating. Read the latest and most helpful reviews for a better picture. The plot barely made any sense so often left you clueless, even after having seen all the past marvel films. It felt like a huge waste of time to have watched it.

It's still very entertaining to read the user reviews of the film.

Britain's Got Talent
(2007)

The auditions are fun
It's great if you get hold of downloads of the episodes. You can skip to the auditions, past the intro and the pain of watching Ant and Dec, and look out for some fun acts. You lose a lot of the novelty once you're past the auditions. It's looks like complaints of things feeling staged relate to the producers trying to capture everything repeatedly and wanting to make it perfect in their eyes by having a load of material to choose from.

Mad Max: Fury Road
(2015)

Dull
There is a lot of action throughout but it's still very dull film. It was a sore disappointment. One thing I liked is the creative costumes and effects. It's surprising there are so many high reviews.

Spider-Man: No Way Home
(2021)

If logic means something to you, don't waste your time on this movie
The plot is just absurd. Very basic and drags on forever. You're left puzzled why it's made to drag on for so long, focused entirely on doing something illogical. One potential upside is you may find it satisfying if you have a strong memory of all past spiderman films. If you do end up watching this, you'll likely find yourself a bit bothered afterward, thinking - they could have just closed the story at 30 minutes, victorious. This was kind of a waste of time.

The Last Samurai
(2003)

Cheesy, dull
The first half was entertaining and intriguing. By the second half, it became a mix of: what? Why? So cheesy, dull and disappointing.

Love, Death & Robots
(2019)

Dull
Good animation Lots of gore and nudity.

Not much story or character development.

But, hey, what do you expect for 10-15 minute episodes.

Solar Opposites
(2020)

No good
Each episode has you pinging about between the main characters for brief glimpses. Fast-paced. It feels like there's little story or character development. It leaves you a bit puzzled. Disappointing given that Rick and Morty is the best and has you with high hopes.

Black Mirror: Smithereens
(2019)
Episode 2, Season 5

Mediocre
Alright episode. Nowhere near as good as the previous seasons.

Black Mirror: Striking Vipers
(2019)
Episode 1, Season 5

Damn. That was boring
Big fan of Black Mirror. The series has many amazing episodes. This one was very dull. Unique concept but disappointing.

The Social Dilemma
(2020)

Incredibly Dull
Very slow moving with droning music. It consists of nonstop interviews with characters sitting in front of a camera repeating what is common knowledge. I gave up after half an hour.

The Dark Knight Rises
(2012)

Disappointing
The film started well but became unbearably dull and bewildering during the centre of the film, largely because of the character Bane. For the hour or so while this character took centre stage, I pondered giving up on watching. The film returned to good form towards the end. Nowhere near as good as the previous two films in the franchise.

John Wick: Chapter 2
(2017)

Bizarre
Bizarre. None of those aiming with guns have much or any accuracy in their shots even the heaps of professional assassins who have clear shots. Any members of the public you see in the film don't notice all the action taking place. Suddenly it changes to a different city or country without any notice. It leaves you puzzling what on earth is going on and, soon enough, bored.

13th
(2016)

Gave up half way
The film looked promising. It didn't take long to lose interest. What I've come to expect from a good documentary is in-depth information, facts and explanations that engross you and spark greater interest. Instead, the majority of the film content turned out to be repeated 5-15 second snippets of interviews in which interviewees present opinions on historical events. The snippets of historical media clips that intertwined these are interesting but they were not joined together well or explored in-depth. The repeated, very brief clips of interviewees' views resulted in losing interest and giving up on the film.

Death in Paradise
(2011)

Quite good
I'm on season 4. I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2 a lot. Not as much from season 3. Wondering - how many of these reveals of the murderer have enough evidence to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt?

Uncut Gems
(2019)

I gave up after one hour
Little to no plot development or character development. You keep hoping for these things but it's Adam Sandler swearing and shouting at others, acting like some some of confident crook. I couldn't take the boredom and gave up after an hour of watching it.

Planet of the Humans
(2019)

Alarming
Perhaps one positive of it could be encouraging people to ask more questions. It made for some interesting thinking at first but as you go further into the content and certainly after reflecting on it, you realise it was a largely a selection of carefully chosen opinions and did not go into the science behind renewable technologies much at all or the discussion of any solutions. The film is about causing a stir, trying to attract attention and gain popularity. It was particularly surprising how there was never a mention of the huge gains in efficiency made in recent years or the innovations that counter the opinions the producer has shown snippets of. Read into the film-making and you'll learn a lot of the content in the film came from nearly a decade ago when renewable energy was in its infancy and prone to criticism. The huge investment of time and resources by the scientific community in the last decade has contributed to efficiency gains that are now making the return on investment from renewables attractive enough to invest in without a desire for there being subsidisation. If you take anything from watching this, read into advancements in renewable technology, energy storage technology and collaborative efforts in energy management between countries.

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