This was a smartly funny, darky comedy. It was a solid effort on behalf of all involved. I really enjoyed it.
I love seeing white nationalist and neo-Nazi mutts get what they deserve.
This was a really solid first effort for Zach Braff writing and directing. I enjoyed the film. It was an eclectic character piece about connecting w/ oneself and making our pieces fit together w/ others. And, the soundtrack for this film is still one of the finest of all-time. It's difficult to believe that this film will be 20-years-old this year.
This show was always best, when it led with its heart. They combined the proper amount of emotional idealism with comedy, and they produced a winning formula. This show is one of the few that got better with age. In fact, I can't think of another serialized program that did what Scrubs was able to accomplish. Forgetting the ninth season, which was really its own separate show, I felt that the eighth season was the best of all of them. They wrapped up storylines and allowed pieces to fit together, without having to force them, and they gave each character hope for the future without dismissing their past. The eighth season finale, the de facto series finale, was one of the best I've ever seen. I'm glad that I rewatched this, because it was a series, and characters, worth revisiting.
Edit: I realized that upon finishing this rewatch, it was exactly 14 years to the day, since the final episode of the series aired.
The stories were interesting, if not disturbing, the cinematography could've definitely used quite a bit of work. The extreme close-ups, the shots of highlighted text from documents, while people were speaking, it makes it difficult to watch, and follow, at certain points. My rating was based on the content, which was solid, but the framing of it could've been much better.
I'm still not sure what to make of this mini-series. I love the Maya Lopez/Echo character, an Indigenous woman who is deaf with a disability, that cross-representation is so, so awesome for a number of greatly underrepresented communities. Yet, this story felt incomplete. It seemed as if they had created a much richer story, and possibly filmed quite a bit of it, then cut it out for some reason. That this was only five episodes was one indication and that the final three episodes all decreased in length, w/ the final episode coming in at less than 30 minutes, was another. Also, much of the first episode seemed to be taken from the Hawkeye mini-series.
Usually, when a mini-series ends w/ an episode that's significantly shorter than the rest of the series, it's not a good indication, as it often feels like leftovers from the main story; not so much an epilogue as that the filmmakers didn't really flesh out the story completely, and that was what they were left w/. This series felt less like that, b/c the storyline continuity seemed off throughout, and as noted, episodes got shorter and shorter. It just really left a sense that so much was left behind during the editing process. It really seemed that there had to be more to this story in order to make it fuller and more robust. I had a difficult time understanding how this might of occurred, since Sydney Freedland, of Reservation Dogs fame directed four of the five episodes, and she was more than capable of bringing home a stellar series. It seemed as if Marvel's hand in this might've taken the ship off-course.
One thing that I really wanted to see more of was the relationship between Maya and Bonnie. They played it up as if they were sisters forcibly removed from one another's lives, but they barely utilized Bonnie. She seemed more like a set piece used to move the story forward, and that was through no fault on the behalf of Devery Jacobs, who's a tremendous, young actor. I will say that Alaqua Cox did a tremendous job as Maya Lopez/Echo. For someone w/out a lot of acting credits to their name, she really held her own well, and she did herself proud as a representative of the Indigenous, deaf, and disabled communities. I also greatly appreciated the message that strong, intelligent, capable women could accomplish anything together. I really hope that her character is used to better effect in the new Daredevil series.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially the soundtrack. I thought that the writers did a great job blending the singing w/ the dialogue. Granted, I don't watch many musicals, but I thought that they did this quite deftly. The cast did well together, and it was a sweet, somewhat childlike, story. I also appreciate that they didn't entirely make this a precursor of the 1971 film, and they went in a different direction to create their own tale.
This is easily one of my favorite comedies. The cast is great, and Amy Schumer is at the top of her game in this. Tilda Swinton and Vanessa Bayer are fantastic in their roles, and the whole film just smoothly sails based on fine, comedic performances of Ms. Schumer's supporting cast.
This really was a one of a kind, first of its kind, film and thus, the eight out of 10 rating. Much of the acting was barely passable, especially by Tyrin Turner, although Larenz Tate really stood out in his role and made this film what it was. Thankfully, there were qualified actors around Mr. Turner, so they held up the scenes well, for the most part.
It's not the best made film, as the cinematography and acting could be better, but overall, it's a really interesting story of white man raised in a Hispanic family's rise to power in a Hispanic prison gang. It's a story loosely based on the life of Joe "Pegleg" Morgan, the first non-Hispanic member of the Mexican Mafia.
I'm six episodes through this season, and it's not nearly on par w/ the first season. The first season storyline was interesting, and it was about an outsider and loner who partnered w/ two people to bring his brother's killers to justice, although he still worked alone much of the time. The second season moves away from this premise, where he quickly sheds his loner persona and joins his old military buddies to track down some dirty, former cops. The problem here is that the story for the second season is lame and generic. It's the same thing that any movie about investigators/cops would use. I realize that this can't necessarily be helped, in this instance, b/c it's derived from the source material. However, I think that they could develop some original material for this character that would be much more interesting.
In addition, much of the season has the look and feel of those terrible network cop dramas, such as CSI: Miami or Law & Order: SVU. Even though these programs are episodic in nature, they still have a soap opera feel to them. They're not character-driven programs; they're story-driven programs. Reacher is the opposite. He's the main character, and he drives the story forward. I checked the credits of the directors, and many, if not all, of them have worked primarily in network TV dramas, many of them cop dramas. I think that that was a bad choice to direct episodes of this show. These directors hired recycled actors from the shows they'd previously worked on. I recognized three or four character actors, at least, who had been in this cop drama or that cop drama.
They also brought Malcolm Goodwin in as a callback to the first season, which I really liked, as he was great in the first season, but they utilized him so poorly. He essentially stood around during an interrogation by Reacher and his associate. It was really pointless. I noticed that they also did this during the sixth episode, where a young girl was being protected by one of Reacher's associates. She was in great danger of dying, and they utilized her more as a prop than as a human being. She was just there. I felt that this was really poor writing and direction. They could do a lot better than this.
This is such an underrated comedic classic. It's a great snapshot of what it took to make a film in the early-2000s. William H. Macy and Meg Ryan are both fantastic in their roles, and the rest of the players were perfectly cast. In fact, one of my favorite lines of all-time is from this movie. Meg Ryan was ordering a drink, and she said, "Gimme a vodka on the rocks with a twist. And, here's the twist: Make it a double."
The Stark mongrels all deserved to be deskinned just as much as all the Lannister subhumans. That's about all I have to say about this show. Sansa Stark may have been the most vile of them all. Everyone knew what the Lannisters were, but she connivingly worked her way into an undeserved seat of power. She should've had her skull bashed in, instead. At the end, the people of color and a woman win two wars and bring peace to the realm, and the whites decide to betray and murder the woman, and tell the people of color that they'll die, if they enforce justice for the murder of their queen. They should've slaughtered all those white mongrel subhumans right there in the dragon pit, starting w/ the Starks.
Everyone complained about how the eighth season was a complete departure from previous seasons. So far, I see no discernable difference. This episode would've fit well into any another season.
This felt more like a mid-season episode than one to end it.
The writing and direction on this show are so awful. We all get that the Lannisters are a family of sadistic subhumans. It doesn't require hour-long renditions of their horrendous acts to be shoved down our throats. It was satisfying seeing that cruel, sadistic, egomaniacal, narcissistic, sociopathic subhuman mongrel Joffrey suffer before dying, but Lena Headey is such a poor actor, she's incapable of emoting. That's mainly why she was good in the role of Cersei, since she's also an egomaniacal, cruel, sociopathic mongrel.
Mama Stark murdering an innocent woman for no reason at the end? They should've smashed that thing's teeth in, until it stopped breathing.
I just finished the final season, and given the show was what it was, a cultural phenomenon that was essentially about nothing of great importance, the final season was a mixed bag. For large stretches of the first five of six episodes, they moved away from their witty, back-and-forth banter that won them so many fans and dove into actual content that indicated potential future directions for the characters. However, they seemingly gave up on this idea, blew off the apparent changes that might take place in the lives of the characters, and had the show end on a disappointing note, where everyone was still in the same place, doing the same things, they had been in the first episode of the show. There was seemingly very little growth from any of them.
Having noted that I like the actual real storyline they started the final season w/, there were a number of things I questioned about the final season, as well. First, they introduced a number of new characters, something that's never a good idea during the final season of a show, especially an ensemble show such as Letterkenny. Second, they introduced these characters at the expense of other established characters who received little-to-no screen time during the final season. The characters essentially missing from the final season included Joint Boy, Coach, Glen, Bonnie and Mrs. McMurray, Rosie, Tanis, Dax and Ron, Aly and Bianca, Barts, Yorkie, Scholtzy, Fisky, and Boomtown, Mary-Anne and Betty-Anne, the Dyck family, and Anik. Of all these people, some were seen in the final season and had small roles, but most of them either weren't seen at all or had no lines. This was incredibly disappointing, and I don't know why they chose to go this route w/ the final season. Third, in the final episode, Jonesy and Reilly stopped by the produce stand to offer their thanks and respect to Wayne and Dary for all the times they'd stood by one another in times of trouble, and instead of showing any growth from Wayne and Dary, the writers chose to have them chirp the boys the same as they'd done in early seasons of the show. I felt that this was another missed opportunity to give validity to previous seasons. In other words, by not acknowledging Jonesy and Reilly, they essentially said that all the times they'd been there for one another didn't matter, and that was really a shame. I think that writing like that devalued their own show. Fourth, the whole idea of having each of the main characters move on to something bigger in their lives was a good idea, but they scrapped it all over nothing. I will never understand the decision to build this storyline, then forget all about it by disregarding it in its entirety. Finally, they spent a significant portion of the final episode, and the only segment of the season Glen was a part of, rehashing the episode Fartbook. This was really a head-scratcher, as it was one of the most lowest-rated episodes of the entire series as shown by its rating on multiple platforms. It was really a poor choice to include this, and it also said that the writers were really out of touch w/ what their audience wanted and expected from them. You don't see that very often in hit TV shows. The writers and producers usually pay great attention to what the audience responds and doesn't write more of something that failed spectacularly in previous episodes. I really don't know what they were thinking, but it wasn't a good look for the writers.
This show will likely continue to be one of my favorite comedies, but I really felt that the final season could've and should've gone in an alternate direction. They started off really well, and the whole thing imploded in the last two episodes for no reason. I think that they would've been better off simply sticking to their formula and doing the same bits they'd previously done w/out the teaser of having ending arcs for the characters. There really was no character arc for any of the characters on this show. Instead, it was more of a flat line.
I didn't particularly care for how this season commenced, but it picked up steam as it went. I really didn't like Paul Rudd's character. I felt that they could've done much more w/ him, and instead, they made him cringey and uninteresting. Luckily, they quickly moved away from this focus. Meryl Streep, however, was her usual phenomenal self. It's truly amazing how she's able to turn in amazing performance after amazing performance. She's truly a cinematic gem.
I felt that this was severely underrated. It was a funny, sweet, introspective look at not only race relations in America between the Black and white community but also individual families. Ethnicity is a touchy topic, and this film handled it adeptly while showing the heart and passion that goes into these discussions. I wish that this film had been looked at through this lens rather than solely one of a comedy.
I felt that this show never really found its footing, which was disappointing, b/c it had an interesting premise and relatable characters w/ one notable exception. I felt that Craig Roberts, as David in the lead role, was written in an odd fashion. This wasn't a knock on his acting ability but more in how the character was created. He, more or less, was simply there in each scene. There wasn't much affect from him, so his character came off as more of a bystander in his own life. Aside from him, the other characters, as written, were quite enjoyable to follow.
One thing I found questionable about the direction of the show was that, after the first season, they largely moved away from the country club setting. I thought that this was a poor choice, since the setting of the show was what made it unique in many regards. This show, as originally planned, had the feel of an adult summer camp-type vehicle. However, when they repositioned this show to follow the characters from the club to other areas of their lives, it lost much of the distinctive feel it originally held. I felt that this was a mistake in the direction of the show, and it ultimately led to its downfall, which was unfortunate, b/c it held so much promise and could've easily run for five or six full seasons.
I'd been putting off watching this film for years. I'm glad that I finally took the time to watch it. It's a really interesting film. It's great in the sense that it's an incredibly achievement in filmmaking. However, I can't help but imagine that if this were a traditionally filmed movie, where various actors played the same characters at different stages of their lives, it wouldn't be so well thought of. There was really nothing traditional about this film in the sense that it didn't really have a beginning, middle, and end the way that almost all films have. This was simply a story about life.
As I watched this, one thing that occurred to me was why this film was named what it was. The first 50-60 percent of this film didn't really focus on Mason. It was more a focus on the entire family structure. It wasn't until the latter half of the film that he became the main focus of the storyline. I felt that the film fell off a bit at that point, as I would have liked to have seen the focus remain on the family, rather than zeroing in on Mason. It wasn't a major issue; it was more of my particular preference for the direction of this tale.
Daisy Edgar-Jones was tremendous in her role as a terrifically talented naturalist, who had been abandoned by her family. She steeled herself against the harms of the world, taking solace in the marsh from whence she came. Throughout her existence, those who were part of her life constantly left, and it left an indelible mark on her being. In this film, she she learned to overcome the fears instilled in her by these losses, and she made a life for herself that many derided, considering it unusual. Nonetheless, she persevered, and in the end, she found someone she loved, and who loved her, to spend her life with, while she pursued her passion for the marsh and its inhabitants.
I found this story to be quite accurate in its premise. Anyone with mental health issues realizes that while we may see the world in one way, invariably, others will see it differently. I believe that finding our mental health is about establishing balance between these differing worldviews. This film did a particularly strong job of showing how individual instances can be misinterpreted in ways that may make us appear less mentally fit than we actually are. It also did great service to show how that, coupled w/ actual mental health issues, can be compounded together to create a partially fictional narrative.
Cate Blanchett was, as always, terrific in her role. Billy Crudup, who I feel is one of the most vastly underrated actors working today, really did well in his role as the husband to a woman searching for her mental fitness. And, Emma Nelson was tremendous as the loving, concerned daughter who never gave up on her mother. I'm really hoping to see more from her in the near-future.
This movie was essentially a slice of life story about one week in the life of a parasite, who leeches off his supposed friends, while treating everyone around him like garbage.
I really enjoyed this film. It was both touching and entertaining. I believe that it was about searching for perfection in an imperfect world, where love and loss guide us on our journey to find meaning.
This was a really solid effort. The cast had great chemistry, the script stayed on point, and the film dealt w/ every day, life-changing issues in a very realistic manner. The cast was strong, especially Isis Hainsworth's portrayal of a young woman trying to fit in and battling in the face of sometimes debilitating mental health issues. I really appreciated how the script normalized her mental health crises w/out minimizing it, instead showing her day-to-day struggles and what it looked like, when someone who was non-neurotypical was the person responding to an instigating incident. Ms. Hainsworth really did the role justice. Jaeden Martell and Adrian Greensmith were also great as teenagers trying to fit in at a typical, American high school. I think that this film did a really good job in painting this tapestry.
This film is criminally underrated. I just watched it again, and I hadn't realized before that Jacob Tierney, of Letterkenny fame, had written and directed it. It's such a smart comedy, and it deserves more recognition than it's received.
This was a great piece of filmmaking, writing, and acting. This movie took on a subject that was difficult to navigate, and it came away asking existential questions about ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, and what it means to win and lose in the game of life. The acting in this film was as extraordinary as the writing. This was a sharply-written piece that begged the audience to question what we really knew about ethnic and gender groups outside our own. What I came away w/ in the end was that it's not possible to completely understand someone else's experiences and what makes them who they are, but it is possible to find the commonality of our shared existence, while acknowledging that there will always be differences among us.
When I first watched Community, it was already off the air, and I binged the entire thing. As I made my way through, it quickly became one of my favorite shows. However, upon rewatching it a few times over the years, it definitely lost some of its luster. While I rated the entirety of the program an eight, I still think that's being generous. In reality, this show was a handful of really great episodes, mainly those w/ a thematic nature, surrounded by a lot of bad television. Over the years, a number of fans leaned on the idea that this was dependent upon Dan Harmon leaving the program as show runner after three seasons, as the fourth season was considered weak in comparison to the first three, and the fifth was a return to greatness. I don't subscribe to this hypothesis, though. I felt that the fourth season, while not in the same tone as the first three, was just as good. The fifth season made changes that didn't fit w/ the current of the program, and as for the sixth, much of that was truly awful television. The ending of the show felt pushed together, b/c for all the Annie-Jeff will they, won't they talk, the reality was that the writers really didn't explore this much beyond the first couple seasons. Yes, there were the furtive glances and off-handed remarks, but in totality, there wasn't much exploration of this storyline. Thus, in the finale, Jeff's outpouring of emotion toward Annie was really out of the blue. And, more than anything, the homophobic jokes and toilet humor by Chang really killed any semblance of a mood. I saw no purpose to those, but it gave me some insight into Dan Harmon's abilities as a writer, and it told me that he really was overhyped. For every great idea he had, he had seven or eight that were unremarkable or outright terrible.
Through all of this, the show was solid throughout the first two seasons and midway through the third, but the writing seemed to take a nosedive at that point. While some of the program's best episodes were aired during the third season, the writers also began leaning heavily into certain characteristics of the characters: Shirley's cloying behavior, Annie's neuroticism, Pierce's political incorrectness, Troy's ridiculousness, Britta's , Abed's tenuous grip on reality, Jeff's superficiality, and worst of all, Chang's full-blown psychopathy and the dean's creepiness.
Recently, it was announced that a Community movie would be produced. I'm not sure how I felt about this, b/c many aspects of this show didn't age well. Dan Harmon also announced that the movie wouldn't rely on aspects of the show that made it really great, such as Dungeons & Dragons or pillow/blanket forts. This might be of concern, if Harmon tried to go w/ old tropes, rather than the fresh takes that made this show great, when it really hit its groove.
