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ScottBV
Reviews
Hack (2002)
A pretty fun little TV show
Not a bad show, and David Morse is good in his character. The only issue is that most of the episodes take about 20 minutes to rev-up, that's when they're not arcing a story line. Sometimes it's just ponderously slow. And when the plot does get going, it's suddenly solved. Boom. Like that. They go from figuring it out to the epilogue without busting the guy on camera - he's just suddenly nabbed. Okaaaaay. Run out of money much for the episode? And to the extra whining that his name is not in bold in the credits... when you're an A-Lister, maybe it will be ;)
But like I said, it's a pretty decent show with an interesting premise.
Numb3rs (2005)
Overall pretty good for a different approach, however...
Numb3rs starts out with a good premise - using math to solve crimes - and it uses that device effectively in differentiating itself from the other crime-dramas en vogue. The first 2-1/2 seasons are pretty good with each episode and it's story being self-contained, plot and clue development pretty good, standard action and chases, and a reasonable epilogue.
Then half way thru Season 3, the writers/producers began tinkering with the the show and what had worked. They began introducing arching story lines, not the least annoying of which was the math genius's new love interest. That and the actress couldn't act. And at this point, the show jumps the shark. And as the series progressed, they began giving her more screen time - really irritating. Then they dumped Farr's character, Morrow and Sumika's bubdding interest and brought back one character they were right to get rid of, and finally half wrote out Peter MacNichols' character. Basically, they messed up a good thing. Oh, and they started getting all Liberal agenda on viewers at that point too.
Overall it's a good show, and if they had just stuck to what worked when they started, it'd have remained fun. Rob Morrow, Judd Hirsh, David Krumholz, Alimi Ballard, Diane Farr, Dylan Bruno, and Aya Sumika really gelled as a team. It's not a bad series for entertainment, until season 3.
Titanic II (2010)
Bad as a movie, fun as a game
The movie opens with some guy surfing off what appears to be a Canadian ice shelf; when a large chunk of ice falls he rides the wave. Unfortunately for him, a piece of ice the size of Manhattan breaks off. Unfortunately for the viewer, that's the end of the story.
But since I gotta fill up ten sentences (and there isn't really ten sentences of material worth in the movie). Play a game of "Spot the goof" with your friends: every one takes a swig of beer when you spot: anachronisms, errors in geography, continuity errors, factual errors, etc. It's a great variation on the Newhart game...
Gave it a 4 because it's still fun to watch in order to pick it apart for how bad it is. Get friends, pop-corn and just rip away...
Les bronzés (1978)
Les Bronzés is the real deal
Most of the reviews have already explained much of the plot, story, etc... so I'll take this in another direction: what its really all about.
While "Les Bronzés" is a comedy, much of it is based on real-life situations that actually happen and what goes on in these vacation villages. I know because not only did I grow up in France and understand their psyche, but I worked for the company parodied for a while.
From the attitude of the GOs, to the naiveté of the GMs, the goofy activities in the village to the sleeping arrangements - the nightly banquets to the evening shows - pretty much everything is portrayed spot on. And *that's* what makes the movie really funny. This movie is a classic in France.
Some of the humor will be lost in translation, however, the subtitles are pretty close to conveying the jist of humor when they cannot be accurately translated. It's a must see for any francophile looking for a good laugh. And if you liked this one, Thierry Lhermite is also in "Le Diner des Cons", which was just remade in Hollyweird as "The Dinner Game".