jennaluna-1 Reviews

My Crazy Ex (2014– )

Hilarious! And "inspired by" true stories, not "based on" them.

[9/10 · 11 May 2024]

For me, it was pretty obvious early on that the people who are telling their stories are actors. I've watched enough true crime/reality shows to be able to tell when someone's story is scripted. Although I will say that the actors do get better in later episodes - to the point that I sometimes forget they're actors.

It's not like the show is specifically trying to trick people. There's a difference between "inspired by" and "based on". The show says that the stories are "inspired by true events". The operative words here are "inspired by" - meaning the idea was only *triggered* by a real situation/person, but it doesn't follow the trajectory of the true story and really may only contain the essence of it. "Based on", however, means that it's much more of an accurate accounting of the true story.

More than anything, I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting another somewhat-disturbing true crime show, and then found myself cracking up at the absolutely crazy, hilarious stories.

Mr. Mercedes: Burning Man (2019) Season 3, Episode 10

What a fantastic ending!

[9/10 · 10 January 2023]

The last several minutes of this episode sure made for some great TV!

Morris attempting to save the burning manuscripts and then trying to read one while he was on fire was one of the best death scenes I've ever laid my eyes upon. Hat tip to the person who came up with that!

And Lou doing "catering" as the Ice Cream Truck Person...pure brilliance. Brady lives.

Having that be the final scene was a great ending to the series - especially considering that the show hasn't been canceled yet. I'd be curious to know how it would have continued, but I feel satisfied with that ending. I will say that I kept wondering if Brady would fully take over Lou and that she would become a killer - I could see that making for an interesting season 4.

Five Days (2007–2010)

Unlikeable characters

[6/10 · 29 December 2022]

This review is for the first season. I, like many people here, was intrigued by the premise and enjoyed the first episode. But the rest made me slowly lose interest. For one thing, it felt like the actual solving/conclusion of the case was rushed and barely dealt with. In fact, in the same episode, I had actually already forgotten what happened to her!

But the main issue I had with this show was that many of the characters were just so unlikeable; I had very little empathy for them and just wanted to slash their tires, kick them in the shins, and force them into therapy. I never expect every character in a show/movie to be likable, but oftentimes there's a powerful character arc where the person redeems themselves and/or their "origin story" is revealed and I feel more empathy for them.

And it seems that in most shows/movies, there just aren't as many characters who are unlikeable and stay that way the entire time. There were four people in this show that just bugged me/made me mad and never redeemed themselves to me. And there wasn't much backstory to at least explain why they were so awful. What really sucked is that they were all women.

Now that I think about it, I didn't feel connected to *any* of the characters - even the ones who were likable. They all just felt underdeveloped and flat to me.

Somewhere Between (2017)

An interesting premise with not the best execution

[6/10 · 17 December 2022]

I watch a lot of TV and rely on the rating scores on IMDb a good amount, yet I've never written a review (although I do love to add goofs and trivia and all that fun stuff!). I'm not very critical of shows and movies; I can get into a lot of things that other people are pretty critical of. So the fact that I'm drawn to write a review for this show says a lot.

That's not to say that I didn't like it. Overall, I did. It was suspenseful and has an interesting premise. But the most interesting part of the premise felt like it was ignored for a lot of the show - so much so, that I forgot about it most of the time until someone would acknowledge or question it in some way.

It also felt a bit rushed - especially the first episode. So if you give it a chance after that, it does get better. But what's funny is that even though it felt rushed to me, it simultaneously felt a bit long - I think they could have done with fewer episodes. I'm not sure how those two things can exist at the same time - but somehow for me they did.

I had never seen Paula Patton in anything and didn't know she did anything other than modeling. And after watching this and looking at her page, I'm a bit surprised by how much she's been in - but like several reviewers on here have said, she's pretty to look at. Now that's not to say that she's this horrible actress who only relies on her looks - this was an intense role and she did do a decent job in it. I just felt she "chewed the scenery" a bit. I also found her voice a little distracting. She sounded hoarse and sort of whisper-talked the whole time. I don't know if that's how she sounds all of the time or if it was a choice or what.

I do still think it's worth a watch if you like a show with some twists and turns.