Reviews

After just watching this for the fourth time, and again marveling at its pure entertainment factor, I checked on IMDB's rating for it. I was disappointed to say the least.

This movie deserves 8 stars, but I'm giving it 9 to help boost its rating. I have found that entertaining movies that take themselves seriously have become extremely rare, so this movie deserves to be recognized.

Here's why: It is a movie, not some video of people on a movie set saying and *maybe* doing things that are just the producers' way of preening some self-righteous morality they perceive themselves as having. By that I mean this movie is a comic book come to life and its purpose is to entertain. The dark scenery, the slow-mo action, is *art*. Abraham Lincoln as the protagonist? Art. [*spoiler antagonists*]? ART! It is essentially a graphical/metaphorical representation of the struggle that Lincoln and the United States endured in the mid 1800s. The movie pulls this off by walking the fine line between being stylish and being goofy, much like The Matrix succeeded at doing.

Most of all, though, this movie deserves credit for being devoid of woke politics while presenting a fantasy representation of the root cause of insane woke politics in America. Slavery was/is bad. It's awful. It's any other bad word you can think of. But *Americans* fought and sacrificed their lives to end it. They deserve credit for that. They deserve to be proud of that achievement and to NOT be forever guilted into feeling shame for things *they didn't do*. For that reason, Lincoln was perhaps the perfect choice for the protagonist.

So please, watch this kick-a** movie and be entertained.

When looking for a new show to watch, I always check out the IMDB user reviews and they seemingly never fail. So, though I was concerned that I might be let down this time, I checked out Trailer Park Boys. I guess I was convinced by the reviews that said this show was "genius". Really? How could a show such as this be "genius"?

Having made it into the third season, let me start by saying that those reviews were spot-on. This show is a work of comedic genius. Either that, or the show's creators have gotten lucky for about 20 or so episodes. Regardless, the balancing act of subtle humor, obvious gags, and inane characters is completely entertaining. Perhaps best of all, though, the show has so far been utterly devoid of politics. And to top it off, despite every character being horribly, horribly flawed, I like them all.

Say what you will about Netflix, but they at least gave me the chance to discover this masterpiece twenty years after it was made.

I should not have liked this show. After deciding to give it a chance, I expected to not ever watch the second episode and maybe not even finish the first. In fact, at one point I almost stopped watching the first episode because after learning the premise, I was expecting a woke, virtue-signaling mess. Much to my surprise, however, there was no preening. The PC characters were just characters. Their stunk, too, and the villains weren't hackneyed caricatures of people who are easy to hate. And the premise was simply used as a way to move the plot along.

Best of all, though, less is more! Similar to the great movie Unbreakable, the show (perhaps because of a small budget) presented a story that straddled the boundary of the fanciful and the real. That story was mixed in with characters who just seemed authentic and relatable. It all made for engrossing viewing.

If there is a second season, I hope it doesn't deviate from storytelling and opt for senseless action and effects. Don't get me wrong, well placed action and effects are great, but too often they are used as substitutes for a well told story.

I stumbled across this on Hulu and I'm glad I did. This show is a treat for any history/archaeology buff. Who hasn't found some strange thing at one time or another and wondered what it was? That's the premise of the show only now we get to see experts figure out what it is. Sometimes it's mundane and sometimes it's not, but it's fun finding out either way. I think the thing that really makes the show is the archaeologists. They're all likeable. There is no condescension and no scoffing at what some amateur found. They seem to share in the excitement of the find and make it very fun to watch. I wish there were more episodes.

After being pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed two seasons of this show, I felt compelled to write a review. If you're looking to avoid yet another cheesy Game of Thrones knockoff but still enjoy historical period shows, this is the show for you. The Last Kingdom has all that is good in a show: Good acting, compelling plot, high production quality (great scenery and sets), and a diverse and interesting set of characters who are refreshingly devoid of teenage angst. Best of all, its lead character is, though flawed, one of the most likable characters I've ever watched. I really hope there are more seasons to come.