ggomes-01525
Joined Jan 2023
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges2
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews11
ggomes-01525's rating
Mob land started with an intriguing premise and the potential to stand out, but unfortunately it quickly collapsed under the weight of modern clichés. It seems almost mandatory for new shows to present obnoxious women in significant roles, reflecting the worst qualities people have to offer. Sometimes I wonder if the writers actually dislike women, since nearly every female character is written as unlikable and unrelatable.
On the other side, the so-called powerful men come across as easily manipulated, weak personalities who never feel convincing in their positions of influence. This imbalance strips the story of any real tension or authenticity. Instead of nuanced characters, we get caricatures that make it hard to invest in the narrative.
It's a shame, because the series clearly had the foundation to be something much greater. Strong world-building, a decent concept, and solid visuals are all wasted when the characters are reduced to neo-clichés. In the end, Mainland is more frustrating than entertaining-a wasted opportunity.
On the other side, the so-called powerful men come across as easily manipulated, weak personalities who never feel convincing in their positions of influence. This imbalance strips the story of any real tension or authenticity. Instead of nuanced characters, we get caricatures that make it hard to invest in the narrative.
It's a shame, because the series clearly had the foundation to be something much greater. Strong world-building, a decent concept, and solid visuals are all wasted when the characters are reduced to neo-clichés. In the end, Mainland is more frustrating than entertaining-a wasted opportunity.
Cop Land is proof that you can gather some of the greatest actors of their generation and still end up with a cinematic funeral dirge. Stallone shuffles through the film as a deaf, overweight sheriff who spends most of his time looking lost, while De Niro and Keitel appear to be cashing paychecks between naps.
The pacing is glacial - two hours of mumbling, staring, and corrupt cops glaring at each other across smoky rooms. If you're hoping for action, suspense, or even a heartbeat, you'll be waiting longer than Stallone takes to get out of a chair in this movie.
By the end, when the so-called "climax" limps across the screen, you don't feel uplifted - you feel like climbing up the nearest overpass rail just to remind yourself you're still alive.
Pros: It eventually ends.
Cons: Everything before that.
The pacing is glacial - two hours of mumbling, staring, and corrupt cops glaring at each other across smoky rooms. If you're hoping for action, suspense, or even a heartbeat, you'll be waiting longer than Stallone takes to get out of a chair in this movie.
By the end, when the so-called "climax" limps across the screen, you don't feel uplifted - you feel like climbing up the nearest overpass rail just to remind yourself you're still alive.
Pros: It eventually ends.
Cons: Everything before that.
If bad movies were illegal, Gladiator II would have Ridley Scott rotting in a dungeon. What an absolute embarrassment.
First, the storyline. Instead of building on the emotional weight of Maximus's sacrifice, Scott erases it. Rome is still corrupt, the Senate is still powerless, and everything the first film achieved is nullified. Why did we even sit through the original if this sequel spits on its ending?
Then the lead. Paul Mescal has all the charisma of wet cardboard. This is supposed to be our new Maximus? Russell Crowe could command the Colosseum with a glance. Mescal looks lost, mumbles his way through cringe-worthy dialogue, and never convinces you he's anything more than a confused side character. It feels like he was cast because the industry decided he's "the next big thing," not because he's remotely suited for the role.
And yes, Denzel Washington does his best - but let's be honest: his character is a cartoonish arms dealer invented for "representation points." A Black powerbroker in Rome is plausible, but the movie goes overboard with modern diversity optics, even shoving women and random ethnicities into the Senate like it's 2024 Brooklyn. It's ahistorical, distracting, and insulting to viewers who know anything about the period.
The visuals? Bloated CGI nightmares. Baboons, rhinos, naval battles inside the Colosseum - it's like Scott took a history book, set it on fire, and used Fortnite cutscenes instead. The editing is clunky, the pacing is rushed, and half the movie feels like deleted scenes mashed together.
Dialogue is the final nail: full of clichés, melodramatic one-liners, and pseudo-profound nonsense. Instead of the sharp political intrigue of the first Gladiator, we get soap opera theatrics dressed up with blood and sand.
And here's the real insult: this thing cost $250 million plus marketing. A quarter of a billion dollars - for this? The box office barely covers half of it after splits. Audiences deserved better, and shareholders deserved a lawsuit.
Verdict: A cynical, hollow cash grab that dishonors the original, wastes enormous talent and money, and proves that Ridley Scott should have stopped two decades ago. Gladiator II isn't just a bad film - it's a betrayal.
First, the storyline. Instead of building on the emotional weight of Maximus's sacrifice, Scott erases it. Rome is still corrupt, the Senate is still powerless, and everything the first film achieved is nullified. Why did we even sit through the original if this sequel spits on its ending?
Then the lead. Paul Mescal has all the charisma of wet cardboard. This is supposed to be our new Maximus? Russell Crowe could command the Colosseum with a glance. Mescal looks lost, mumbles his way through cringe-worthy dialogue, and never convinces you he's anything more than a confused side character. It feels like he was cast because the industry decided he's "the next big thing," not because he's remotely suited for the role.
And yes, Denzel Washington does his best - but let's be honest: his character is a cartoonish arms dealer invented for "representation points." A Black powerbroker in Rome is plausible, but the movie goes overboard with modern diversity optics, even shoving women and random ethnicities into the Senate like it's 2024 Brooklyn. It's ahistorical, distracting, and insulting to viewers who know anything about the period.
The visuals? Bloated CGI nightmares. Baboons, rhinos, naval battles inside the Colosseum - it's like Scott took a history book, set it on fire, and used Fortnite cutscenes instead. The editing is clunky, the pacing is rushed, and half the movie feels like deleted scenes mashed together.
Dialogue is the final nail: full of clichés, melodramatic one-liners, and pseudo-profound nonsense. Instead of the sharp political intrigue of the first Gladiator, we get soap opera theatrics dressed up with blood and sand.
And here's the real insult: this thing cost $250 million plus marketing. A quarter of a billion dollars - for this? The box office barely covers half of it after splits. Audiences deserved better, and shareholders deserved a lawsuit.
Verdict: A cynical, hollow cash grab that dishonors the original, wastes enormous talent and money, and proves that Ridley Scott should have stopped two decades ago. Gladiator II isn't just a bad film - it's a betrayal.