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Reviews
Painted with Raven (2021)
I love Raven
I've been a Raven stan since Rupaul Drag Race Season 2 (Yep, I'm spelling it out, 600 is a lot of characters! 😀) She changed drag makeup, she changed makeup in general & she's an Emmy winner. This show is great since it highlights her talents. Rupaul's wigs & lewks are sometimes questionable on Drag Race, but that mug is always correct & that's David's gift to us viewers.
The contestants are a bit... extra is a kind way to put it. Yet, they are just that, contestants. Not professional television personalities. There's a lot at stake, financially & for their careers. Let's have a little empathy for them.
And Just Like That...: February 14th (2023)
Best episode yet
One word: Aiden. He brought us back to the best of this show. That warm hug seemed to be exactly what Carrie needed.
Many of us have been in Miranda's shoes. High expectations we've found someone special, only to learn that exterior veneer is exactly that. I fell in love with a woman over the sound of her voice. I could listen to her read the phone book, but it didn't make for a meaningful connection.
Che looked great w/a hat on. So beautiful. Thought the hair was all wrong. Guess that's true.
Overall, this episode brought me back to those early days I was so glad my parents had HBO. This show, now, they should renew.
Yellowjackets: Friends, Romans, Countrymen (2023)
Very hard to watch this episode
And I'm not even done watching it yet. The pacing is horrible! I keep having to rewind it. Can't follow the storyline. I see the next episode has a much higher rating. I hope that's true & it starts to get good again. It was such a fantastic show
Not long enough/Dr: And I'm not even done watching it yet. The pacing is horrible! I keep having to reworked it. Can't follow the storyline. I see the next episode has a much higher rating. I hope that's your & it starts to get good again. I was such a fantastic show.
And even writing it twice, I didn't hit 600 characters. Now I hate hit six hundred.
Hacks: The One, The Only (2022)
Felt like a series finale
Sadly, all loose ends are tied up in a nice little bow, as is done in a great series finale. DV got what she desired & worked for. I can't imagine a way forward, but I do hope HBO surprises me. Amazing series!
The Good Doctor: Teeny Blue Eyes (2021)
C'mon!!!
So a patient presents with facial pain. He says he had seen 6 doctors who could not dx his problem, yet he was given high doses of opioids.
The ONLY viable dx is trigeminal neuralgia, which would be made by any GP. It is NOT "one of the hardest to diagnose," it's the only option.
C'mon writers, we're not idiots.
RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue (2020)
C'mon, you are all adults.
I have been a fan of Naomi's since her season, but every episode of this show, I like her less. She asked about the weakest link, it turned out to be HER & now she's making Asia pay for it. This show could be so good, but it's devolving into queens hurting each other. Were these choices made by production, of course. These are professional performers, yet performance is not the focus of the show. Pettiness is. Very disappointing.
Room 104: Swipe Right (2018)
Katya is fabulous!
I love Michael Shannon. However I sought this out & watched it for Katya, who is fabulous in this.
Hamilton (2020)
Best use of the television since 1927
We have shared many moments watching this ubiquitous contraception found in each of our homes. Many a World Series, so many Super Bowls, the Olympics... Roots, The Wire, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones... none eclipse this moment when Broadway, history & television collided, in our living rooms on the eve of the birthday of our country, during social unrest & unprecedented uncertainty. Bravo to the entire production, bravo to Disney+ for bringing this masterpiece to each of us. We are eternally grateful.
We're Here (2020)
So much better than most drag queen shows
Sure, I have been a Shangela stan since Season 3 RPDR (ROBBED All-Stars 3!) so I may be a bit biased. Sure, I live 30 minutes from Gettysburg, PA, the location of episode 1 & I wished I were there when it was filmed... yet I can strongly recommend this series to ANY fan of drag. It has heart, it's so much better than other RPDR spin-offs & movies. Bob, Eureka & Shangela each add their own touch to make this show memorable. I'm looking forward to watching the upcoming episodes. I hope you give it a chance.
The Last Dance (2020)
This is perfect!
I'm huge fan of MJ, having watched him since his NC days. I watched every Bulls game during their championship seasons. I also scored floor seats to his last game @ the United Center when he came back w/the Wizards. (In case you're curious how he was received, arriving with the visiting team - to a standing ovation that lasted so long they had to blink the lights.) This miniseries is PERFECT, it's so well done, it's such a precious gift during quarantine. Watch it now!!
Ozark: Wartime (2020)
STOP making us listen to people eating!
Overall, I liked season 3. However, why did they put the mike so close to the actors every single time they eat? Many people find the sound of chewing to be rather disgusting. The solution is closed captioning & the mute button, which we used much more frequently than any other shows we watch.
Messiah (2019)
Fantastic!
Edge of your seat thriller, mixed w/deeper spiritual issues. Very well done.
The Affair: Episode #5.9 (2019)
The other reviewers are LOST
This episode was horrible. Whitney has always had a skewed view of the world. But this episode made that painfully clear. She sat on the plane w/one of her father's accusers, who clearly stated "yes, i wanted to F him & NO he did not want to F me" & admitted her work wasn't good at the time. Then she blamed Noah for the depression that followed after Noah, flustered by her advances, told her the truth about her writing.
So, Whitney believes a 20-something who has the AUDACITY to write a "memoir," who does that at her age? A memoir??? Whitney buys into HER world view, all the while the audience is thinking she has the worst motivations in the world to take down a professor who DID NOT sexually abuse her, but rather, gave her a reality check & she didn't like what he had to say.
WHY Whitney wouldn't get angry about what the woman said, I guess only the writers know. It made zero sense. Worst episode of this show (well, besides S3 finale when Noah was suddenly sane & in Paris... that was the worst overall.) Any thinking person watching that exchange would feel bad for Noah, not Whitney. Noah had just agreed to pay much more for her wedding than he could afford, was kind & empathetic towards her, and in the face of exculpatory evidence, Whitney chose to blame Noah. Glad this (once great) show is heading toward its denouement, the writers have lost their minds & ruined it.
The Affair: Episode #5.6 (2019)
sure, they're building to something, but it's WAY TOO SLOW
Why subject us to Anna Paquin's horrible acting? No matter what happens next, her blank face is ruining this show. Must be a pay-off someday for all the close-ups of Anna's expressionless face. Whatever it is, hire a better actor next time, not Paquin.
The Affair: Episode #5.7 (2019)
A twist justifying Paquin's boring character.
Anna Paquin... they dared complain about her small role in the excellent The Irishman... maybe her 8 lines were justified as she's been terrible in this show. Expressionless & unsympathetic through the slower parts, virtually expressionless as she got played. I didn't watch True Blood, maybe she was good in that. She was a fine child actor in The Piano, or maybe the role was so well written, any child actor would look talented.
This episode contains a real twist, action for a change, in a slow season, yet i expected a more sincere reaction from her character, Anna didn't pull it off. It's a well-written episode, adding a spark to what remains of the once great show The Affair.
Modern Love: Hers Was a World of One (2019)
Heartwarming story!
I knew I had seen her before, she was Art3mis in Ready Player One, great film, even better book. Anyway, this was my favorite Modern Love episode since it was so intensely real. Strangers thrust together in unusual circumstances often squabble, yet these characters were so alarmingly self-aware, it was touching. Poignant tale of an unconventional family. Great episode.
The Act: Free (2019)
Unsatisfying final episode.
We wanted to see the trial, we wanted to hear if Gypsy's story was told, in full, at court. We didn't want to see scenes we already saw. Slow, boring, unsatisfying... What a horrible ending to this show.
Big Little Lies: She Knows (2019)
I am hating this show now.
I LOVED THE BOOK. I loved season 1. This season is so poorly written. For example:
The bankruptcy judge was treating Laura Dern's character like trash. ANY woman would say "I did not break the law, HE did, this is not MY fault, so please get off my back! I didn't know anything about his crimes!!"
Also, when Meryl's character (who is ruining the show) was talking to Nicole's character - ANY woman would snap back - "You cannot possibly be blaming ME for your son raping another woman!!" She would also provide evidence, like pictures of her face, to prove to his delusional out-of-nowhere mother, that her son was in fact, a vicious abuser.
And ED, for the love of God!! How completely unbearable his character has become! I can't stand to see him on the screen.
Then, Meryl's character, who is supposed to be coming to terms w/who her son was, files for custody? To make her presence on the show that much more unsympathetic?? We watch for entertainment, not to be tortured by hateful characters. These woman mean something to us, stop destroying them.
I can't believe Liane M signed off on this mess. Or maybe I can, her last few books have been a shadow of her former talent. Rush jobs, without the complex plotting of her previous work. This season an affront to the fans of the book. If you loved the book & season 1, stop there. You'll be better off.
Big Little Lies: The End of the World (2019)
Meryl, this isn't your show. Nicole has been killing it.
I would HATE it if Meryl Streep got yet another shiny statue for her rather staid performance in this show. Did she see all the Golden Globes/Emmys BLLs received & decide to join the cast? This is the best role Nicole Kidman has ever portrayed, the pinnacle of her career, not to mention Laura Dern's stellar role. Meryl adds little to this show. This episode is great, not as amazing as the last, yet the original cast carries the story on their own, without Meryl's help.
Good Omens (2019)
Now... Neverwhere!
This show is amazing, such a true representation of the novel. My favorite Gaiman work is Neverwhere. Let's see this amazing team - the casting, the effect, the writing - take on Neverwhere.
Dead to Me: Pilot (2019)
Let's say, the pilot is shocking.
I. DID. NOT. EXPECT. THAT! The end of the pilot shocked me. Am I intrigued? Yes? Will the remainder of the show live up to that shocking moment? We'll see.
The Enemy Within: Chigorin (2019)
Absolute nonsense
So Shepard has a chance to talk to her ex-husband. She STILL doesn't tell the TRUTH about how she got arrested, despite living for her visits w/her daughter.
So, we are supposed to believe her daughter is better off thinking her mother is the greatest traitor of all time, vs believing her mother did what she did to protect her. Then, given a choice to clear everything up w/her ex, she chooses NOT TO???? So she loses her daughter again, despite all she did to protect her.
Why in the heck did I watch 10 episodes? Why did NBC renew this show, which suspends disbelief beyond human capacity?
Complete and total garbage!!
RuPaul's Drag Race: Snatch Game at Sea (2019)
So hot!!!
Plain-old 52 y/o straight white woman here - this episode LIT IT UP!!! It may never leave my DVR. I've rewatched Brooke Lynn's runway & this epic LSFYL @ least 50 times. This episode made me want to look sexy. One of the best episodes of any show I have ever watched (& I watch GOT, love Breaking Bad, The Wire...) this season just took a turn, not one of the remaining queens stands a chance in a lip-synch again either BLH or Yvie.
American Gods: The Beguiling Man (2019)
So tired of the critics!
Fuller is gone... so what?!?? I am so tired of critics disparaging this show in his absence. Critics clearly do not love book as we fans do. We don't nitpick every line in the script, every directoral decision. We love Neil Gaiman and appreciate this show for bringing his epic tale to life. Don't listen to the critics. If you loved the book, you will love this show.
The Favourite (2018)
Watch it twice
I am generally frustrated when I have to buy a movie on-demand in order to watch it prior to the Oscars. There's (I believe) a 90 day gap between cinema & other releases, w/an intial release gap during which the DVD/digital version can only be purchased. As an Oscar afficianado, that's how I wound up owning, rather than renting, The Favourite.
We were unimpressed during our first viewing. It was so different than what we expected. After reading professional reviews, I decided to watch it again. By then, the "what the H is this?" had worn off & I really enjoyed the film. I recommend other viewers do the same. It's a great film, very witty and entertaining, once expectations change.