EPMD57

I did not finish the movie. I got 40 minutes in, but the leads just kept bickering with each other. The lead male was irredeemably bad on their first date, and she wasn't exactly the most lovable person either.

Watching a couple be jerks to each other gets old very quickly. Maybe the last half of this movie is great, but the first half was so poor that I didn't even want to find out.

Also, the mystery storyline was odd. At one point I realized I had no idea what the leads were doing and why they cared. For two people who seemingly hated each other, I don't know why they were spending so much time together.

There are WAY better movies in this genre.

If you want to write a love story then you better have your protagonists be at least somewhat likable. The Adam character was impossible for me to like. Who could like a bitter, depressing, jerky drunk driver? If you can get 20 minutes into this movie without hating him then you probably weren't paying attention. When he starts interacting with the other lead, he doesn't get much better. And to quote her, "He isn't even that good looking..." so I wonder why she bothers with him. From everything we saw, she should hate him.

The mother in the opening scene was also a tough watch. I can't believe a director saw that and decided it was acceptable.

David Howell is a genius player and a key part of this show, but I much prefer him in the role of proper chess analyst during actual chess broadcasts. This reality show version of chess is too corny and too ignorant of what is actually happening on the board. They want to focus on narratives rather than chess.

If you are a chess player then you are unlikely to enjoy this. You don't really get to follow the games since the show only wants to give you superficial talking points. Howell does his best to simplify his expert analysis, but I don't know any chess fans who want anything reduced to beginner commentary.

I gave up before the end of the first episode. If someone wants chess competition, check live broadcats of chess games. If someone wants dramatized chess then watch Queen's Gambit. Even documentaries of past chess world championships are much better choices than this show.

Howell deserves better.