Bravo! This mini-series hit right at the heart of the insidiousness of sexual assault and rape; what it means to be assaulted and what it means to be (dis)believed, and what it means to seek justice. It's incredibly sad and unfortunate that this is such a worldwide epidemic, where victims of sexual assault are regularly dismissed, shamed, or even blamed for being a victim. This mini-series got into the details behind all of this by telling a compelling story of what it was like to be in these various positions.
The casting for this series was especially strong, and the performances were marvelous. Toni Collette and Merritt Wever were tremendous as the investigative detectives, and their chemistry together was fantastic. Kaitlyn Dever, as a teenage rape victim, was believable and sympathetic. Her portrayal of someone who'd been assaulted was detailed and nuanced, and she did justice to the many survivors of sexual assault. Danielle Macdonald was also terrific as another rape victim.
I have to say that as well done as Watchmen was, it wasn't as strong or nearly as important as this mini-series. I felt that this should have won both the Emmy and the Golden Globe for Best Limited Run Series, Best Writing, and Best Casting. This was truly a remarkable achievement; not something that comes along every day.
This was brilliant! It was immensely funny, energetic, introspective, and entertaining.
This was the finest writing for television since The Twilight Zone created by Rod Serling. Nic Pizzolatto generated a masterpiece of American television with this season of True Detective.
While viewing this episode, especially the ending sequence, I was reminded of an incredibly fitting tale once retold by the great orator and baseball announcer, the recently deceased Vin Scully, upon his induction, many years ago, into the Baseball Hall of Fame:
"There is a legend in the West of an Indian chief who was wont to test the manhood of his young braves by making them climb up the side of a mountain as far as they could in a single day. And at daybreak on the appointed day, four braves left the village. The first one came back in the late afternoon w/ a sprig of spruce to show how high he had climbed. Later that afternoon, another came with a branch of pine, and much later in the day, the third came with an alpine shrub. But, it wasn’t until late that night by a full moon with the stars dancing in the heavens that the fourth brave arrived. “What did you bring back? How high did you climb?” asked the chief. And the brave said, “Where I was, there was no spruce nor pine to shield me from the Sun; there was no flower to cheer my path; there was only snow and ice and barren rocks and cold, hard ground. My feet are torn and bloodied; I’m worn out and exhausted; I’m barehanded, and I have come home late. But,” and then a wondrous look came into his eye, and he said, “I saw the sea.”"
What can be stated about this program that hasn't previously been stated? In all aspects, it's terrific. The writing, direction, acting, flow of the storylines, and feel of an oft-forgotten culture is tremendous. I felt that that the particular efforts of Devery Jacobs and Paulina Alexis were amazing. They both played quite difficult, delicate roles, and they absolutely nailed them!
Some of what I greatly appreciated about this show was how deeply-ingrained the culture of Native American peoples were into the storylines. This show existed on so many levels at once, and all done so well, it was truly astounding. It was quite the achievement in television. Most importantly, the writing didn't gloss over life events that affect us the most. This show encapsulated a tremendous sense of loss on the behalf of many characters, b/c that was a fact of life on many Indigenous reservations. The fact that the writers didn't create a singular episode from it, but instead, used it as an overarching storyline was to their credit and should be commended.
This show could be difficult to watch at times, b/c it wa so powerful, but the lives of the characters were important and deeply-rooted in a community that mattered. This was the type of television we should be watching, not just b/c it was so fantastic, but b/c, it was so important to how we relate to one another.
This story had so much heart rooted in its message of family, friendship, and togetherness in community. It's unfortunate that we were only honored with three, short seasons of this masterpiece, but in a way, I believe that its brevity will cause it to linger in our collective conscience for a long, long time. These characters, especially the four at the core of the series, Elora Danan Postoak, Willie Jack, Cheese, and Bear Smallhill, left an indelible mark of how friends and family were there for one another through thick and thin. I'm glad that I got to spend some time w/ all of them, and learn of their culture and community, while gleaning a bit of understanding of what makes them who they were as a people and as individuals. Mvto, Rez Dogs.
This was a truly phenomenal effort in all aspects of filmmaking. Anya Taylor-Joy was simply mesmerizing in her role as young woman battling both her inner demons and her otherworldly talent for a game that, at certain points in her life, seemed dead set on destroying her. This is one of those rare, remarkable shows that comes along every once in a while that leaves you feeling satisfied, yet wishing there was more.
This may be the finest series finale I've ever seen in all my years. It was such a fitting ending for all involved, as they held a funeral for Old Man Fixico. It was a community affair attended by everyone, and as Willie Jack had been under Fixico's tutelage, she spoke in his honor. She noted her growth and spoke of how no matter what everyone decided to do w/ their lives, the reservation would always be their home, a part of them and they of each other. What she spoke of really mirrored the show and its premature ending. She stated that "He was my good friend, and we were just really starting to get to know each other, and I'm happy for my time with him. Boa, I know I didn't get to spend enough time with you. But mvto for everything that you taught me." And who among us didn't have these sentiments when viewing this final episode. When Willie Jack was done speaking, she picked up a handful of dirt and spread it over Fixico's casket, as if metaphorically spreading the dirt on the casket of this series.
Over the course of the series, Willie Jack's growth was remarkable. She started as a kid w/ a smart mouth and grew into a caretaker of the community. She was the one member of the Rez Dogs who kept them together, through thick and thin, and helped show them realize just how precious their time together truly was. It's something that goes by in the blink of an eye, and you can lose it w/out ever realizing that it's gone. We never know the last time we'll someone, so it's important to remain as connected as possible, and that's what this show was about, the connective tissues that held this community together, and it was beautiful to watch it play out over the course of three seasons. I'll always be grateful for my time w/ Elora Danan, Willie Jack, Bear, Cheese, and the rest of the village community. From the bottom of my heart, mvto, Reservation Dogs.
Devery Jacobs really gave it everything in this episode. You can see from her performance that's an incredibly well-skilled actor.
The attention to detail is really what makes this mini-series so compelling.
This is a gem of a film. It's one of my all-time favorite films, in fact. What I really enjoyed was that there was plausible science behind the decision-making in this film. And, as well-made as this film was, the book is even better!
I thought that this was one of the best episodes of the series. Seeing Brienne of Tarth being anointed as Lady Brienne of Tarth was fantastic and so well-deserved!
The battle scenes alone in this episode were film-worthy. I really forgot that I was watching a TV show at one point, and it felt like watching a movie. I wish that they had shown that sadistic subhuman being ripped apart by its own dogs, but you don't always get what you want.
The murder of Princess Shireen was the last straw for me. The silver-lining was that she moved on to a better place, away from those who did this to her, those vile, subhuman mongrels that deserved to be deskinned and raped w/ sharp sticks, until they stopped breathing.
This was definitely one of my favorite episodes from this series. Alison Brie's acting and mannerisms in this episode are so spot on for her character. She was brilliant in this!
This episode was really genius in its portrayal of a character integral to the storyline.
This was, without a doubt, the best writing for television since The Twilight Zone series created by Rod Serling. Nic Pizzolatto created a masterpiece of American television with this season.
It was absolutely criminal that Netflix refused to meet the pricetag necessary to continue this series.
This is a tremendously empowering film for young women. Moana is the story of a teenage chief-to-be who braves the dangers of the open ocean in service to her people. She goes against her father's wishes, who wants her to remain safely on the island of her birth, and ventures out into the unknown guided only by her unfailing courage and her growing belief in herself.
There really is no comparison to Joss Whedon's version. Zack Snyder's version was epic. It had heart; it told a tale; it brought disparate pieces together as a whole; it tied everything together nicely. Whedon seemed to slap everything together believing, since he was making the first Justice League film, how could it go wrong? Well, he just found out.
What really struck me about this film, aside from how truly fantastic a film it was, was that the vast majority of this had already been filmed, and Whedon trashed it all. Aside from being a womanizing, misogynistic sexist (at the very least), he also has a gigantic ego. He took what would have been a great film that he simply could've put a bow on, disregarded it, and pushed out something that absolutely paled in comparison. The sheer arrogance it took to do that was just astounding.
Now that this film is out, and it seems to have gone over really well, I'm hoping that it keeps the cast together, along w/ Zach Snyder and his vision for this storyline. It'd be a shame for Warner Bros. to go back to Whedon's storyline.
Arya Stark is a fucking beast! W/ her hand, she shall bring death to all the subhuman mongrels. And, Cersei Lannister is NOT a victim. That was just the beginning of what that thing deserved.
This was such a fantastic way to end this run of 22 films. The characters were predestined for greatness solely based on their origins, so the stories were the key to making the films great. The writers really outdid themselves in wrapping up this 11-year arc. I walked away from this feeling completely satisfied in how each character's storyline finished. That's not an easy thing to accomplish w/ such a large, ensemble cast, but the writers managed this task quite deftly. While the Marvel Universe will carry on w/ more stories, in the form of both movies and television programs, this will likely be the high-water mark for their content, so my recommendation would be to enjoy it.
This was a fantastic film. The acting was tremendous, and the pacing of the film was quite good for such a movie. I was really impressed w/ the overall production, and I learned quite a bit about the entire process of the atomic bomb coming to be. I will say that I was somewhat surprised that there wasn't any real focus on the long-term effects of dropping the bombs, however.
This was an incredible achievement in filmmaking. What Benh Zeitlin captured on film was astounding, and Quvenzhané Wallis' performance, by a six-year-old nonetheless, was something that has to be seen to be believed. As I watched this tale of a daughter and her ailing father living deep in the bayou of Louisiana, I couldn't help but think of the film Cidade de Deus, which evoked similar feelings of authenticity and cultural understanding. The world captured in this film also reminded me of a book I'd read years ago that mostly took place on an island off the coast of Virginia, where people had lived for generations w/out much, if any, contact from mainland America. It was as if they were leaving in a completely different country, and this had a very similar feeling. As someone who has lived their entire life in a major metropolis, it's incredibly eye-opening to see that there are pockets of first-world countries that have seemingly been left in the past, largely untouched by technological, medical, or educational advancements.
In a way, this was a simple story about those struggling to survive in the face of a dying homeland. But, it's also about the people and their connection to one another and their origins. I think that the message at the end of this film was that in spite of the harshness of reality, life goes on, and we adapt to ever-changing conditions, or we cease to go on with it.
This was an incredible portrait of what it means to be a displaced person. I greatly appreciated the fact that two-thirds of the film focused on the journey from a war-torn Syria to safe refuge in Germany. The inbetween trek was heartbreaking and frightening, and real-life sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa did an amazing job of portraying the harrowing journey. At its core, this was a story of the indomitable nature of the human spirit and our will to overcome all odds and obstacles. Displaced peoples will go through unimaginable travails in order to find a new, safe life for themselves and their families, and it's not anything to be taken lightly or dismissed.
While medaling in the Olympics would've been great, it would always pale in comparison to what the Mardini sisters chose to do w/ their lives. They're both champions of human rights, helping displaced peoples find their way safely to new lives. They are both to be commended for their choices.
For a number of years, I've supported an agency that assists widows and orphans in Syria. Their own government has waged an illegal war on the people of that country, and NuDay Syria has helped provide necessary services to displaced families. In addition to providing goods and services, they also teach the women a sustainable skill, so they can make money to support their family. It's really an amazing organization, and they're backed by the UN. If you're able, I highly suggest supporting them and those they help.
This was phenomenal. There was such great care taken in the attention to detail that it made so many scenes really stand out for how well fleshed out they were. The acting was superb! There were so many wonderful performances, there were too many to list, but Michelle Dockery and Merritt Weaver were exceptional. I'm not a big fan of the western genre, but this was so far above and beyond a simple western tale. This is one of the best mini-series I can ever recall having watched.
I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and this is my all-time favorite movie starring the two of them. I think that it's just great fun.
This film worked incredibly well on a number of levels. First, the beginning half of the film had these wonderful interactions among Katherine Langford, Hayley Law, and Charlie Plummer that showed amazing chemistry across the board. I can't think of a film in recent memory, where the cast was so well-connected to one another. Second, this film was a heartfelt metaphor on what it was like to suffer traumatic loss during our teenage years, where we weren't fully equipped to deal w/ that type of pain, yet. In our teen years, our minds hadn't been fully formed, and too many of us were required to deal w/ components of life we weren't capable of understanding. This film delved into those areas in an albeit completely new and interesting, if not somewhat comical, way. I was so impressed by Brian Duffield's script and his ability to direct this underrated gem. Katherine Langford again showed what tremendous range she had as an actor, and I very much look forward to more great roles from her.
I don't see why everyone is so upset w/ this episode. I really don't see their complaints as valid, as this was the culmination of everything everyone had fought for. It was an incredibly epic episode, albeit a big long.
Dracarys...and cities shall burn, and persecutors shall perish.
This was a bittersweet story about three people experiencing tragedies and hardships, some of their own making, seeking salvation, and ultimately finding family among one another. Ms. Joy Randolph and Mr. Giamatti were both terrific in this film, and it wouldn't shock me to see them walk away w/ Academy Awards for their efforts. This was a heartfelt film that showed no matter how our experiences may shape us, we still get to determine our own path through life. From time-to-time, we may be joined on this road by others, and that's what this film looked at: No matter how short our journey together may be, it always has the potential to leave an imprint that could be life-changing.