Skruffbagg
Joined Mar 2014
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Skruffbagg's rating
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Skruffbagg's rating
I'm so confused about this film - is it a comedy? Tragedy? Horror? Is it a Christmas movie? Was it made for kids? Adults? Tweens? Nothing about this makes an ounce of sense.
One thing that is definitely not confusing; This movie is atrocious.
Clearly written purely as a Jack Black vehicle, he's hardly even in it and is simultaneously hamming it up and phoning it in. By no means his worst performance, but zero effort applied. The rest of the cast might as well immediately retire because their acting is some of the worst I've ever seen in a production of this kind. Keegan-Michael Key is the only person to come out of this with any credibility intact.
There are approximately 5 minor laugh moments in this film. One of them is because the scene is so bizarre and awkward you'll question what you just watched - The main kid's parents kidnap him from a carnival and literally bundle him into the back of their car off to a hospital for a brain examination. What? If you ever wondered what terrible parents are like, boom. There you are.
The ending is so ridiculous, cheap and grotesque I turned to my partner and said "what the hell did I just watch? That movie was terrible". I actually apologised to my TV for allowing this travesty to be shown on it's screen.
1hr and 45 minutes of my life I will never get back, on a Saturday night too. Infuriating.
One thing that is definitely not confusing; This movie is atrocious.
Clearly written purely as a Jack Black vehicle, he's hardly even in it and is simultaneously hamming it up and phoning it in. By no means his worst performance, but zero effort applied. The rest of the cast might as well immediately retire because their acting is some of the worst I've ever seen in a production of this kind. Keegan-Michael Key is the only person to come out of this with any credibility intact.
There are approximately 5 minor laugh moments in this film. One of them is because the scene is so bizarre and awkward you'll question what you just watched - The main kid's parents kidnap him from a carnival and literally bundle him into the back of their car off to a hospital for a brain examination. What? If you ever wondered what terrible parents are like, boom. There you are.
The ending is so ridiculous, cheap and grotesque I turned to my partner and said "what the hell did I just watch? That movie was terrible". I actually apologised to my TV for allowing this travesty to be shown on it's screen.
1hr and 45 minutes of my life I will never get back, on a Saturday night too. Infuriating.
Let me first of all frame my review by saying I'm a massive fan of the original movie.
I hadn't even heard of this until I accidentally stumbled across it on Apple TV, and given that my partner has never seen the 1981 original (disgraceful, I know) I thought we should give it a whirl.
This is absolutely not a remake of the film. Most of the story beats are there, but it is otherwise completely different and is very much aimed squarely at kids, with some adult humour thrown in. Admittedly it starts off... not great, just ok, but stick with it for a few episodes and it becomes very funny, especially the episodes with the neanderthals and Mansa Musa.
It doesn't have the writing genius of Gilliam and Palin, but I enjoyed it as its own thing, and not just an updated version of the much loved film.
It helps if you're a fan of Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords) and Taika Watiti (What We Do in the Shadows) as their humour is pretty off the wall and improvised, but if you're a curmudgeon who says things like "in my day blah blah blah..." then you'll probably moan about this.
If you have adolescent kids, you won't really go wrong here. If you enjoy offbeat, stupid humour you'll have some fun. It's not amazing, but it's much better than it has any right to be, and I had a pretty decent time watching it.
I have minor hope for a 2nd series, but we'll see.
I hadn't even heard of this until I accidentally stumbled across it on Apple TV, and given that my partner has never seen the 1981 original (disgraceful, I know) I thought we should give it a whirl.
This is absolutely not a remake of the film. Most of the story beats are there, but it is otherwise completely different and is very much aimed squarely at kids, with some adult humour thrown in. Admittedly it starts off... not great, just ok, but stick with it for a few episodes and it becomes very funny, especially the episodes with the neanderthals and Mansa Musa.
It doesn't have the writing genius of Gilliam and Palin, but I enjoyed it as its own thing, and not just an updated version of the much loved film.
It helps if you're a fan of Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords) and Taika Watiti (What We Do in the Shadows) as their humour is pretty off the wall and improvised, but if you're a curmudgeon who says things like "in my day blah blah blah..." then you'll probably moan about this.
If you have adolescent kids, you won't really go wrong here. If you enjoy offbeat, stupid humour you'll have some fun. It's not amazing, but it's much better than it has any right to be, and I had a pretty decent time watching it.
I have minor hope for a 2nd series, but we'll see.
Oh dear, where do I begin with this?
The Acolyte is one of the most embarrassing, nonsensical, badly acted and laughable shows ever committed to screen, and that's after only 3 episodes.
I gave it a chance because I love Star Wars, and Andor and (for the most part) The Mandalorian have been really good. This, on the other hand... who approved this?? The acting is so wooden and the plot is beyond stupid. Things happen that make zero sense - how does a temple made entirely out of stone burn down faster than a 1980s shell suit; "The Thread" replacing The Force, why? - and the scene in ep 3 where the witches are chanting/singing their ritual will genuinely make you question whether you are watching a comedy or a high school play.
I'm giving this 2 stars because some people worked hard on this; the special effects are solid enough and the set design and fight choreography are well done. That's it. That's all the good in this. Carrie-Anne Moss is great and a bona fide badass, but not really in this and she's barely even in it anyway. What a spectacular waste of actual talent.
The bad is everything else. My god, the acting is so horrific and embarrassing. I'm all for diversity but this is smashed in your face at every available opportunity, and is done so poorly. The characters are one-dimensional and do dumb things constantly. Honestly, I could go on but it's so boring it's not worth my time writing.
I won't be watching any more of this. I strongly suggest you don't either.
The Acolyte is one of the most embarrassing, nonsensical, badly acted and laughable shows ever committed to screen, and that's after only 3 episodes.
I gave it a chance because I love Star Wars, and Andor and (for the most part) The Mandalorian have been really good. This, on the other hand... who approved this?? The acting is so wooden and the plot is beyond stupid. Things happen that make zero sense - how does a temple made entirely out of stone burn down faster than a 1980s shell suit; "The Thread" replacing The Force, why? - and the scene in ep 3 where the witches are chanting/singing their ritual will genuinely make you question whether you are watching a comedy or a high school play.
I'm giving this 2 stars because some people worked hard on this; the special effects are solid enough and the set design and fight choreography are well done. That's it. That's all the good in this. Carrie-Anne Moss is great and a bona fide badass, but not really in this and she's barely even in it anyway. What a spectacular waste of actual talent.
The bad is everything else. My god, the acting is so horrific and embarrassing. I'm all for diversity but this is smashed in your face at every available opportunity, and is done so poorly. The characters are one-dimensional and do dumb things constantly. Honestly, I could go on but it's so boring it's not worth my time writing.
I won't be watching any more of this. I strongly suggest you don't either.