Macfeetie

I'm not sure what people are griping about. I guess they think they could do a better film. (Bloody doubtful) There's nothing all that wrong with this movie. Some good performances, decent soundtrack, effective atmosphere. I think audiences just look for something to complain about.

It's not gonna win any awards but it's an entertaining watch.

Perlman is solid. Larter is strong. And the "bad guys" seem legitimately and worryingly nefarious.

Admittedly, there' a bit of an interesting interpretive scene the puts a speed bump on the road through the action, but it's short and somewhat logical.

The narrative may raise a few questions of continuity, and I can see a lot of grumbling about the writing. But when people site examples like The Mentalist as counter examples of good writing, you have to question the validity of the criticism. And I actually liked the Mentalist.

Again, this ain't palm d'or quality, but it's more interesting than a CBS formula crime drama.

When I saw the ratings, I thought I was in for a bad film but I took a chance anyway.

It's not brilliant, but it's a good little flick.

Simple, but somewhat thoughtful and timely in a world where the manipulation of truth to influence people's actions has become an interesting & relevant conversation.

Based on some historic realities, it spins a tale that about the truth, remembrance, and the ugly sides of war.

The performances are reasonably solid though - again- not earth moving or award winning. Felton holds his own. Harriet Walter is strong. And Barry Ward shows some real charisma in an ancillary role.

It would seem the reviews were a tad harsh, imo.

With the likes of Taylor Sheridan penning, ultra-violent scripts on today's television, I begin to think I've seen the apex of sheer butchery on the screen. But then I happen upon Gangs of London. This series makes Breaking Bad look like a Lifetime original, or Hallmark Holiday special.

Imagine Deadpool without the humor, heart, or clever satire.

Even the first season left me mildly shocked at the gruesome violence but then by season two midpoint, I now find myself laughing, just as hard at the dialed up carnage as I would in a Deadpool vignette.

Having visited Yellowstone, in person years ago, I leveled mocking criticism at how much violence seemingly went on in such a sleepy town. And while one might admit that the crime rates in London are higher than a rural, Wyoming town, I'm ashamed I thought the body count in Yellowstone all that absurd.

What I find myself thinking after watching this series, and series like it, is why the hell are audiences eating this drama-based human abattoir up?

Have we as a television audience...society become so desensitized, so bored, and blood lusting that a program set in a contemporary setting must grossly exceed the violence found in films about World War?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some mamby-pamby pacifist or a shocked Pollyanna senior citizen. And I'm not suggesting the acting in this show isn't impressive and compelling.

Neither would be accurate.

But the stratospheric heights of gratuitous savagery in this series is - at worst - morally pornographic and - at best - comically exaggerated and fatuous.