rsvpericgarcetti Reviews

Expats (2023–2024)

Distracted by Nicole Kidman's immobile face

[5/10 · 9 February 2024]

It's impossible to evaluate the show because lead actress Kidman's features are so distorted by her over-use of Botox & fillers that, at least for me, it proved too distracting to watch.

Why doesn't someone who loves her -- husband, best friend, agent? (uh, maybe not) -- help her accept that aging is not a crime so she can get back to the varied & fascinating characters she used to be known for? Hollywood seems to be more accepting of women aging than it once was. Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, all older than Kidman, are wonderful to watch.

Please Nicole, it's not too late!

Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist (2017)

Repetitive with multiple images of graphic carnage

[1/10 · 21 January 2024]

Expected much better from Executive Producer James Marsh ("Man on Wire") than this shallow dive into Dian Fossey's fascinating life and awful murder.

There is no suspense since the series starts with the murder and reveals the suspects early on. The filmmaker loses no time before she begins assaulting the viewer with lingering, repetitive and graphic shots of the mutilated corpses of several of Fossey's beloved mountain gorillas.

The film relies far too heavily on inept dramatizations. Interview subjects are nicely lit and all are interesting, but the director does them a disservice by using too many soundbites in which they essentially repeat themselves and each other.

Despite a deep interest in the subject, we gave up halfway through the series out of boredom and distress over the inclusion of so many stomach-turning shots of the damaged bodies of these magnificent primates.

If you want to know more about Dian Fossey's life, personality and contribution to the science, watch "Gorillas in the Mist," Michael Apted's magnificent 1988 film, rather than this badly made and exploitative series. (And, while I'm thinking of it, if you want to see masterful dramatizations, check out Apted's work with cinematographer Maryse Alberti in "Incident at Oglala.")