Underwater

Underwater                                                                 EH

A drilling crew is stationed deep in the Mariana Trench when something occurs (as is often the case in these cinematic scenarios), causing the survivors to work their way elsewhere in order to survive.  While it may resemble Alien under water (!), the plot reminded me more of Deep Blue Sea.  There be no sharks here though, but unidentified sea creatures there be.  The first creature we get to see is small, but wasn’t bad (practical at that) and I could’ve dealt with the others being similar.  The bigger creatures we get to see, however, look like poorly-designed videogame creations (yes, that means CGI).  After that I didn’t care much for the rest of the movie and that was only halfway.  This is yet another example of a film that could’ve been decent (or at least better) had the creature effects been better.  4/30/2020

Bonus reviews:

Outer Banks:  Season One                                          OK

New Netflix series taking place at the titular and popular North Carolina location in which there are two main types of people---the Kooks and the Pogues; the former being the “rich” ones and the latter being the “not-so-rich” ones.  The story focuses primarily on four Pogue friends amidst drugs, violence, and a treasure hunt.  There’s also a Romeo and Juliet subplot and, at one time, I was momentarily reminded of The Ring.  Before watching, I read descriptions like “coming-of-age,” “suspenseful,” and “Dawson’s Creek meets The Goonies.”  Three out of those four labels interested me.  Coming-of-age?  Yes, it was.  Suspenseful?  At times, but nowhere near enough.  The Goonies?  Sometimes, but not nearly as fun.  It felt more like Dawson’s Creek than anything (out of those aforementioned labels).  You want to know something though?  I’ve never seen an entire episode of that show, but I know shows of the type, those syrupy teen dramas (James Van Der Beek, the star, was even willing to cut up that show in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back).  Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of teen entertainment, particularly movies, but there’s lots of it I don’t care for as well, especially shows with several unnecessary seasons.  I don’t think this needed to be a series, at least not one with ten episodes ranging from 46 to 56 minutes each.  Part of me felt like I forced myself to continue at times, while a very small part of me was curious enough to keep going.  Put it this way, if they released an episode every week like the “old days (read: pre-binging days),” I likely wouldn’t have continued after the first 2 or 3 because I would’ve kept forgetting and/or lost interest.  Therefore, I didn’t care too much for it.  It was okay, but not even an iota more than okay though.  I definitely won’t tune in for any more seasons.  4/26/2020

The Willoughbys                                                          EH/OK

New animated film available on Netflix that reminded me of North, but whereas that film involved a child leaving his neglectful, unloving parents to find new ones, this one involved four kids sending their neglectful, unloving parents away to become orphans.  I think I might’ve liked it better had it been more like the Elijah Wood film; at least it might’ve been more fun.  This film may have had cute moments (most animated films probably do though), but it’s sappy over cute and I couldn’t wait for it to be over, making it ultimately forgettable.  I had no idea beforehand that it was based on a book by Lois Lowry (I’m a fan of The Giver, the book much more than the movie).  I wonder if the book is better…4/29/2020

---Sean O.
5/1/2020