anyone thinking of watching this who's an adult: yes, this feels rushed, but it's GOOD. like i thought i loved the movie and went back and rewatched (did not, was just distracted by logan lerman i think) and this is miles away better. here's my theory: i have a feeling if you sat a kid in front of this every weeknight before bed they wouldn't have much to say about the pacing, or what feels glossed over or lacking. it has a pace geared towards late elementary to middle school attention spans and i think a pace for young adults or college students would have what feels missing but it ALSO would be aged up to compensate for the demographic. to my knowledge, the aging up of the movies was part of why the creator of the books was unhappy with them (could be wrong though).
either way, if you think the quick pace will ruin the experience for you, i'd suggest marathoning all the episodes in one or two sittings like a movie. it's a quick and fun watch, and that might off-set the rushed feeling.
one of the better true crime pieces put out lately by netflix. if you feel like getting more aggravated after watching this—vallejo's police also participate in a pastime called badge bending.
more important than a review: if you stream this and after a few episodes it goes from very normal subtitles to incomprehensible ones, let me save you some trouble:
• "vomit" i'm pretty sure means "confess/admit", "are you sane" is "are you crazy"
• "ulam" is just another way to romanize the more commonly written "wooram" (the other name romanizations are easy to keep up with)
• "chikusho" is the japanese semi-equivalent of the korean "shibal" at least in terms of usage and comes up every time a character says "shibal" or even "aish" or "jinjja" which is ridiculous (but also, why is there a japanese romaji word in english subs?? maybe the odd english subtitles were made by the same person who made the japanese subs for the show)
• the show very clearly uses the konglish for "mafia" but when the weird subtitles come on suddenly it's "werewolves" (which is fine i mean the games werewolf and mafia are the same but SERIOUSLY, they SAY mafia??? come on?????)
• which reminds me "chairperson" is "student president"
• worst part: the pronoun use is ALL OFF. just WILDLY wrong. nearly every time you see i/we pronouns that don't make sense with what you understand from the rest of the contextual clues, it's meant to be he/she/they pronouns. they also switch he/she pronouns a lot when talking about female characters (see: jungwon in the last ep). it's not too difficult once you know what's going on but there's definitely some moments in the last few episodes that i just don't think i fully grasped because of the pronoun mistakes.
i have no clue why the subs were normal for a few episodes only, but MAN. sometimes i understood the korean more than the subtitles and that's saying something since the last time i really spoke any coherent korean was maybe 2017
anyway onto the series itself, it's imperfect and plenty goes unanswered but it's an entertaining guilty pleasure kdrama that i happily binged over a few days. if you like this subgenre like i do it'll be very easy to enjoy and suspend disbelief for. acting's pretty solid as a bonus!
it's kind of a silly show but most procedurals are and i can suspend a lot of disbelief for them. also i love trent's actor thanks to agents of shield. i do wonder if this still would've premiered had it not been for the writer's strike though.
also gotta agree with everyone else - the notion that they'd just call him sir forever is laughable at least from the perspective of trauma recovery
i decided to stop watching man in the high castle for a bit because dystopia's a little harder to enjoy in 2023 and only planned to watch a couple episodes of this—but i just finished it in two nights and my whole heart almost exploded into confetti by the last episode. it's so funny and wholesome and genuinely one of the most entertaining pieces of reality tv i've ever consumed. also, the last episode gives such a cool behind the scenes look at how they produced this! i'm really glad they gave us that because it's like the cherry on top of an already awesome piece of work.
one of the lawyers makes a really timely remark too—he mentioned the team told him "help you're like the one person who's competent at both of these things" meaning practicing law and writing for (semi?) scripted television and between that and the incredible production crew behind the scenes reinforces how important these people are to legitimately good content and entertainment. AI has nothing on james marsden playing james marsden and the crew who wrote these hysterical characters.
for anyone thinking of watching—it's a great series, highly recommend. but to be perfectly clear, if you're unfamiliar with its source material, this is loosely inspired by the billy milligan case, emphasis on loosely. the only real overlap is the idea of dissociative identity disorder being used as a valid insanity defense and a few family details. the majority strays very far from the reality, and i think that's honestly for the sake of making it more palatable for viewing. this tells its own fictionalized story, and i just want to emphasize that for anyone going into it blind who sees the adaptation credit in the opening.
super entertaining, a little dramatic and silly. it's trash and i like it. for anyone debating bingeing it in full, the ending was a pretty decent wrap up.
someone in an article i read described this as uncanny valley and tbh it really is the uncanny valley of production vibes. half dramatization half "reality" 100% unpleasant to watch. i'm quitting after episode one.
the music in this show is INCREDIBLE
highly recommend the making 1899 special! it's fascinating tbh.
i don't mind the ending because netflix canceled it. as an ending point and a Reveal it's fine; i'd have lost interest entirely in a second season in that setting i think. but i loved the international cast and wish more projects utilized it, as complicated as it might be. i used to be an esl instructor and my favorite thing about that was getting to watch students interact across language barriers on break when they'd rather rely on body language and other cues than keep practicing their L2 language (it gets exhausting for the brain very quickly).
decent acting and a quick binge if you're bored, but after suffering through all of pretty little liars i'm a little exhausted by the scary faceless tormentor trope.
enjoyable but i'm so tired of shows doing cliffhangers before there's a guaranteed next season. or at all. i hate cliffhangers period.
the taglines and trailers for this were a little unnecessary; i think the director did right by the family and i'm glad that steven stayner's children and wife got a chance to tell their story the way they wanted it to be heard. hulu didn't need to market it as a mystery or salacious true crime story because it's not really a mystery for anyone familiar with the genre and certainly not one for anyone from that part of california. its a devastating story and it's a worthwhile watch even if you're familiar with the case (having the actors who played the brothers read interview transcripts was fascinating, honestly), i just think whoever decided how this would be advertised played into exactly what this series highlighted about the way media behaves around human tragedy.
my main criticism is the inclusion of the mitigation specialist's remarks about the stayner family history. i think that shouldn't have been mentioned at all unless it was going to get addressed by someone other than a member of the defense team.
haven't finished it yet so can't say for sure, but i love the acting in this. all incredible actors playing people who are at times stupid, obnoxious, and pitiable. i've got emotional whiplash from how back and forth i go on david tennant's character in particular.
gonna watch this just to spite the angry white man in the comments who's upset about black people and gay shit being on tv
there are a lot of people who will benefit from seeing this. i hope they all watch it, and learn something. the way that anthony handles expressing himself and his feelings is something i'm still learning how to overcome in my thirties and something i watched my brother go through, too. an affect like this isn't a sign that there's nothing there; it's a sign that there's so fucking much there that it'll choke you if you feel it.
if you watch this as a thriller or survival story, you're going to be disappointed. it's a drama, and it's a story that resonated with me as someone with a parent who has a personality disorder (rather than a mood disorder, like liv's mother). i liked it and i cried some. but if i'd continued expecting a thriller after the first episode (and the genre tags include thriller, so literally no one can be blamed for expecting that) i probably would have felt incredibly let down by it. i mean netflix literally specializes in entertainment; surely at this point we can use genres correctly??
disclaimer: i haven't played the games and never watched the jovovich movies. my gummies kicked in around episode 7, too.
this was entertaining. acting isn't always great and suspension of disbelief was difficult at times—how this girl survive the apocalypse but also routinely stand there and stare at giant insects instead of running immediately?? i mean that's what i'd do, yeah, but i'd also be the first to die in an apocalypse. for me and my trash taste, though, it had good cgi and the representation didn't feel forced to me. just bear in mind i'm an outsider with zero knowledge on the franchise. lance reddick was delightful, honestly. and it was watchable both before and after i got high, which is more than i can say for some horror.
my favorite character was baxter though.
genuinely entertaining, engaging and a solid example of what edutainment can be. and a good reminder to participate in local elections, no matter your political ideology! i moved to a swing state early in my voting history and voting in local and state elections quickly became a major aspect of my political participation. i recommend it to anyone who feels disillusioned by politics, because it's always more interesting and personal on a local level.
it's honestly mind blowing what vfx is capable of. really immersive and interesting. plus if you're a millennial, look forward to googling things while you go "idk that sounds fake" and finding out that way more has changed than just some dinos having feathers. like wtf new zealand is part of a submerged CONTINENT
colin firth's one failing in this role is that he's too wonderful, it makes me root for him in a way i never rooted for his real life counterpart in the docuseries.
excellent dramatization though - i'd say watch the docuseries first if you find the episodes difficult to follow or too confusing to keep your attention. knowing the real story won't make it any less enjoyable a watch, promise! it'll just keep you in step with the moving timeline and family structure.
very much worth the watch if you like the genre of true crime but are tired of the more exploitative media. this was handled very respectfully and imo there were some truly meaningful moments with the families of victims and survivors and even the judicial branch that aren't often seen in true crime documentaries. something that also makes this vastly preferable to the ted bundy iteration of this series? you don't actually have to listen to gacy nearly as much as you might fear you have to. the show does a good job of only including monologue that hasn't been heard for the most part and briefly intersperses it between other people's accounts and experiences.
there's also a great moment where on the tapes he's asked what he'd want done differently and he starts to say having the story told the way he wants it told; then someone reaches into frame of the old-fashioned tapecorder that's "playing" the tapes and stops it, shutting him up, and god, if that isn't a vibe for criminals like john wayne gayce.
actually, revising my previous comment.
"In February 2022, it was reported that Blumhouse Television and NBC News Studios had declined to share profits from The Thing About Pam with the family of Louis Gumpenberger."
really? you're profiting off of the man's death and despite the family winning a 3million suit against pam hupp which they'll never see a cent for, you don't see a reason to donate part of the profits to them?
gross.
i like the dark comedy vibes that some of the recent true crime adaptations have taken on because there are some true crime stories that are genuinely batshit crazy. i think all things considered, this adaptation was respectful toward victims and that's all you can ask from a true crime adaptation. renee zellweger was unbelievable in this role, and the supporting cast was great too.
best part was the snippets of real footage at the end—amazing how some of the most unbelievable dialogue was 100% verbatim.
i think it's pretty obvious from the way she described her behavior during their time away from new york that she pretty much dissociated to a degree and engaged in a lot of willful ignorance. it's just unfortunate that the horrendous relationship she had with this asshole affected far more people than just the two of them.
either way, not enough leon
i honestly liked it a lot. like i said in another comment, it sits better with me since all the footage involving wild animals is just cgi. kyle mclachlan and kate mckinnon humanize howard and carole in a way that the documentary failed to do, likely because the real howard and carole are a little boring and not quite reality tv fodder the way joe was. dean winters as jeff lowe was a delight, too. all the casting was great, while i'm at it.
either way, i think that it's a fun background watch and there are a lot of great moments. it's capitalizing on the tiger king popularity but hey, at least it does so relatively responsibly. if you hated carole after watching the documentary, though, it's probably not for you.
tbh. im just glad i didn't have to relive travis maldonado's death in hollywood fashion.
this is charming and entertaining but if you're not actually a comics fan i don't think you'll see value in watching it. i have a feeling most of the comments complaining about the "point" of this series are from people who are fans of the superhero genre in movies/tv but not necessarily comics. if you're familiar with comic books, this feels a lot like comic books but animated, honestly.
first, since the show never gives any kind of message in this way: for anyone who's ambivalent to or already has negative opinions or therapy, please know that finding a safe, ethical therapist who knows just how important the doctor-patient relationship truly is can be difficult but is also highly rewarding. i've been in therapy a number of years and during stressful times i may go once a week, while most of the time i'm happy to go every month or two months. i take medication for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder but therapy is what gave me the ability to actually live and thrive—medication was also necessary, but simply allows me to function. the shrink next door and the real events behind it are horrifying, but trust me when i say that they are not representative of all therapy, and that if you ever think you might need to talk to a professional, to please look into your options. it's not just for people who have mental illnesses and it's not just for people with trauma. everyone, truly, can benefit from it.
onto the review:
not a terrible watch, but i do think the investigative podcast into the story was the right format for this kind of thing. it wasn't enjoyable to watch as a piece of entertainment. it's very sad and disappointing, much like the real story is.
i will say that the end, with the epilogue text, was my least favorite aspect of the series. ending on the note "marty has never returned to therapy" is troubling—i don't expect the man to ever feel safe doing so. but the message isn't a clear one. you can't tell whether they're saying this because they want you to be mistrustful of therapeutic processes or because they want to illustrate the damage that can be done by an unethical therapist. that lack of clarity is irresponsible, as people can be put off of the idea of therapy very easily, despite it being an incredibly valuable and important tool. it seems a little silly to say, but i think that this show would have benefited from the pre or post credit call to action that a lot of netflix shows have implemented regarding traumatic subject matter. even as someone who has a very positive relationship with therapy, watching this (and listening to the podcast) was difficult.
i'll be honest: there are a lot of closeups and repeated video segments of karla and paul that could have far easily been omitted or just used once, and more time could have been dedicated to the victims and what their lives were like before they were killed. a lot of series purport to want to draw more attention to victims and then do nothing of the sort.
i sat through the first two episodes sincerely hoping the second two would be closer to reality, and they are. i'd say this series is best as an introduction to the case and not something that provides a great deal of new information. i will say i love how law enforcement continues to be featured on true crime docs only to be surprised when everyone is disgusted with how little remorse they show. i mean, there are people who wept on screen about this case and what it did to them and none of them were members of law enforcement who could have prevented this from happening at multiple turns.
mostly worth watching for law professor alan young's constant indignation, he's pretty representative of how everyone feels about karla homolka.
all the trappings of a good bbc drama. the gq quote saying tom hiddleston is the only man who should be allowed to wear a suit probably said it having watched this, or at least dreamed of this.
i think the greatest part of this was the intentional inclusion of what roper actually did to make his money. it wasn't terribly graphic, but burr recounting what made him go into arms dealing and then the fireworks display were both unsettling as all get out. the series confronted viewers with both the excess of wealth and the reality of how it was accumulated at every turn and i mean, if you're ever in need of a reminder that there are things you would never, ever do for any amount of money? this show's a good one.
