Echoing another poster, just looked up to watch a replication of a bridge that collapsed with no obvious reason. Ridiculous simulations with no bearing on the event, or bearing even on what they said they were trying to simulate. Did no one run the simulation BEFOR Ethey filmed it? I am a marketer but even I know that you can't simulate an underwater earthquake in a bathtub as the energy will be directed up due to the structure of the bathtub, instead of along the seafloor in a flat plane radius. This is not up to the standard of a high school science project and these people should stick to cosmetics reviews. I had such high hopes for the show.
Reviews
14 Reviews
Amber/Johnny Depp hit her
2 September 2023
I was watching the testimony of Amber relaying how Jonny had hit her after she asked about a tattoo on his arm that she couldn't quite read. She was discussing her reaction and it was then when I recognized what Amber was saying was in a monologue I recently worked on - Older Elizabeth in When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell - from Australia I think from the '50s. It goes: "I looked around and saw how dirty the room was". The line is from a very powerful monologue where Elizabeth is confronting her husband about being an abuser. Sorry Amber - a bit on the nose. Her entire act was altogether too shallow and painful to watch, my god, poor Johnny.
I May Destroy You
(2020)
Shallow, self destructive, narcissistic
9 February 2023
As a woman who lived in London I recognized alot of the social aspects of this and it reminded me of my time there. Where I started to feel I didn't recognize the scene was by episode 9 when I actively came to dislike the lead, who seemed to take a big swing towards anti white racism after her white italian boyfriend dumped her. Also the incredible bad choices people made also seemed familiar but what is lost is owning responsibility for your actions. Is this representative of the scene today? So many of this cast point the finger and get angry at others with no shred of accepting responsibility for their own role in outcomes. Back in the day I'd have spoken hard truths to these narcissists and it would have been ugly but these lamers need to hear it. This series presents a culture that is shallow, self destructive & narcissistic.
People are great
17 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The helicopter and fixed wing pilots who flew in a no-fly zone at their own risk and the guides who lost their lives trying to help are real Heroes. It was excrutiating to see real life footage of the eruption as the people suffered terrible burns, but worse was imagining what they went through after. The aussie guy who lost his parents made me very sad. The americans were over the top, placing blame. Could have cut some of that mulch out. Overall the story is about everyday heroism we are all capable of, and the failure of institutions driven by concerns of liability vs efficiency and compassion. Esp when the heli pilots ignored the instruction to go to the airport with their victims instead of straight to hospital. Those pilots are real heroes.
This wasn't about explaining Royalty
28 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This started well, and had lots of gripping promise, but took a left turn quite quickly and turned into an anti Windsor PR exercise. Another issue was there was very minimal effort put into explaining or even acknowledging the history of royal dynasties that weren't western. I would have liked to know more about the Thai and Chinese royalty. But where this really tripped the wire was the information presented about slavery. As a historian I can tell you it was factually biased to the point of being incorrect. That whole section, which hijacked this Explainer episode, seemed to be the point of this episode as if any content presented was in service of arriving at that section. This wasn't an explainer. It was a low quality transparent smear of western royalty.
Wild Mountain Thyme
(2020)
suspend disbelief and go with the flow
27 November 2022
Another viewer said this was about "feeling" and I believe that's how you'd enjoy this, by feeling it rather than criticizing accents or getting huffy about this or that unrealistic thing. I loved it, made me yearn for a different world where people where people valued Kardashians less and personal values more.
It's asking for more of a review so I'll say that this is about ordinary people who do quirky things, but in a way that is relatable. The accents suggest Ireland but in a land where regional accents are so specific, it would be impossible to get that right anyway. Remember how they found the Yorkshire ripper by his phone message and they could trace the town he was from by his accent? Yeah, same in ireland. I loved this for taking us back to a more innocent time where people were real, but also good at heart - which is probably more fantasy than fact but wouldn't it be nice?
It's asking for more of a review so I'll say that this is about ordinary people who do quirky things, but in a way that is relatable. The accents suggest Ireland but in a land where regional accents are so specific, it would be impossible to get that right anyway. Remember how they found the Yorkshire ripper by his phone message and they could trace the town he was from by his accent? Yeah, same in ireland. I loved this for taking us back to a more innocent time where people were real, but also good at heart - which is probably more fantasy than fact but wouldn't it be nice?
Hot Money
(2021)
Informative on financial aspects - a bit goldilocks though
22 June 2022
I enjoyed very much and was informed by the business and economic discussions which have knowledge value outside the climate discussion, however the film works hard on climate fear which is dealt with a bit hysterically as tends to be the case when millennial Trustifarian elites discuss the topic.
Not the only thing, but one thing I thought the film maker dealt with dishonestly was holding up the netherlands use of bicycles as a virtuous and "non fossil fuel" mode of transport, as if North American's would not ride their bikes IF THEY COULD. Our topography, geographical distances and weather means that only a small portion of us can rely on our bikes to get where we need to go. Many urban centres in NA are similar to Toronto where we have 9 months of ice/snow and a very hilly city and much larger distances than they do in say Amsterdam. I know as I lived there that you can't compare the 2 situations. Torontonians don't have the public transport infrastructure to rely on it. And we have rules against bringing bikes on trains. So one cannot realistically use their bike for a work commute. My train ticket is $18 from a suburb to downtown where you can connect with the underground trains or buses for an additional cost. . It costs $300-$450 per month to park at the train station (not downtown, money can't buy a parking spot there) and then there's the cost of the train ticket itself. I would like to ride my bike to the train station, but that costs $$ and you are not guaranteed a spot and often there isn't one and you aren't allowed to lock your bike to the fence (it'll get removed). And my bike was stolen 4 times. Worse if if you need to travel to another urban centre - a budget rail ticket costs $400 to Montreal last I priced it (1 way). Although the film does arrive at the need for governmental intervention in the matters of infrastructure, a valuable observation.
Not the only thing, but one thing I thought the film maker dealt with dishonestly was holding up the netherlands use of bicycles as a virtuous and "non fossil fuel" mode of transport, as if North American's would not ride their bikes IF THEY COULD. Our topography, geographical distances and weather means that only a small portion of us can rely on our bikes to get where we need to go. Many urban centres in NA are similar to Toronto where we have 9 months of ice/snow and a very hilly city and much larger distances than they do in say Amsterdam. I know as I lived there that you can't compare the 2 situations. Torontonians don't have the public transport infrastructure to rely on it. And we have rules against bringing bikes on trains. So one cannot realistically use their bike for a work commute. My train ticket is $18 from a suburb to downtown where you can connect with the underground trains or buses for an additional cost. . It costs $300-$450 per month to park at the train station (not downtown, money can't buy a parking spot there) and then there's the cost of the train ticket itself. I would like to ride my bike to the train station, but that costs $$ and you are not guaranteed a spot and often there isn't one and you aren't allowed to lock your bike to the fence (it'll get removed). And my bike was stolen 4 times. Worse if if you need to travel to another urban centre - a budget rail ticket costs $400 to Montreal last I priced it (1 way). Although the film does arrive at the need for governmental intervention in the matters of infrastructure, a valuable observation.
Voices in the Tunnels
(2008 Video)
Exploration of what it means to really "drop out" of society
15 February 2022
When society doesn't want you and it's mutual, what do you do? This is similar in concept to a film about people living in the storm drainage tunnels near Las Vegas - if you don't fit in the system, can't pay rent where do you go? I was spell bound by the gentleness of the people the filmmaker interviewed. We do live in a demanding society, with few options for those who don't fit. Well worth a watch.
No Time to Die
(2021)
Favourite Daniel Craig Bond
3 November 2021
My favourite Daniel Craig Bond. Rami as villian = perfect. Loved the interaction between Paloma and Bond, cute without being saccharine. Lashana would make a great 007. My favourite daniel craig bond movie. See it in 3D, it's totally worth it.
Race baiting and offensive stereotypes ruined this
3 November 2021
Mr. Mercedes
(2017–2019)
Gripping, Entertaining - great story
3 May 2021
For entertainment value, this can't be beat.
I binged my way through all 3 series over the course of 10 days -- I want more. There's themes for a Season 4 to explore. Most powerful of them is the Brady/Lou connection and how that might develop. There's potential there to do the predicted or go in a different direction - either would be gripping.
Why did I not give it a 10? The obsession of some of the characters with the author: I suppose you can rationalize it out but it didn't feel authentic. And overall: Was that much gore needed? Further, why was everyone so OK with the detectives daughter being pregnant? Presumably a single mother as no partner was mentioned. She's a young and dysfunctional person with prison time under her belt and a substance abuser to boot and no work experience or education to fall back on. Given grand-dads health profile, could he truthfully be a safety net for a newborn/toddler/child/teen? He'll probably be dead by the time the kid is 10 with much of those years well beyond being able to manage a young child. The stats for that kid aren't promising.
But none of this takes away that this is an excellent piece of entertainment.
I binged my way through all 3 series over the course of 10 days -- I want more. There's themes for a Season 4 to explore. Most powerful of them is the Brady/Lou connection and how that might develop. There's potential there to do the predicted or go in a different direction - either would be gripping.
Why did I not give it a 10? The obsession of some of the characters with the author: I suppose you can rationalize it out but it didn't feel authentic. And overall: Was that much gore needed? Further, why was everyone so OK with the detectives daughter being pregnant? Presumably a single mother as no partner was mentioned. She's a young and dysfunctional person with prison time under her belt and a substance abuser to boot and no work experience or education to fall back on. Given grand-dads health profile, could he truthfully be a safety net for a newborn/toddler/child/teen? He'll probably be dead by the time the kid is 10 with much of those years well beyond being able to manage a young child. The stats for that kid aren't promising.
But none of this takes away that this is an excellent piece of entertainment.
Broken
(2019– )
Deadly Dressers?
3 May 2021
What was interesting about this was hearing the history of manufacturing and outsourcing in the furniture industry. Also, illegal logging and the evolution from solid wood to lighter furniture. And they spent a bit of time paving the way to saying ikea's furniture is much lighter than furniture used to be when it was solid wood - being the reason dressers were toppling on children. Such BS. What's changed is litigation and responsibility.
Before IKEA was a company, there were furniture items falling on children. My own brother climbed an 18th century wardrobe and luckily was thrown clear when it toppled. And that item was neither cheap nor light. Deadly Dressers? More accurate to say deadly irresponsible parents. Let's recount their actions: 1) Ignored instructions and warnings about securing the item to the wall 2) left their children unsupervised 3) took no responsibility for their own negligence. I was irritated by their self righteous attitudes. What's next? Spill hot coffee in their laps and sue McDonalds? Oh. No. That's been done.
These parents need a nanny state to do their thinking for them. The rest of us read instructions and if we care enough, will take the steps to protect our children.
Before IKEA was a company, there were furniture items falling on children. My own brother climbed an 18th century wardrobe and luckily was thrown clear when it toppled. And that item was neither cheap nor light. Deadly Dressers? More accurate to say deadly irresponsible parents. Let's recount their actions: 1) Ignored instructions and warnings about securing the item to the wall 2) left their children unsupervised 3) took no responsibility for their own negligence. I was irritated by their self righteous attitudes. What's next? Spill hot coffee in their laps and sue McDonalds? Oh. No. That's been done.
These parents need a nanny state to do their thinking for them. The rest of us read instructions and if we care enough, will take the steps to protect our children.
Man in Harmony with Nature
21 March 2020
One of the hunters was talking about the cycles of the season and the corresponding work that needed to be done. He said "one has a sense that everything is getting done at the right time and all the right things are happening" - it was clear from his heartfelt declaration that he was completely - all of them were completely in harmony with nature. The same hunter shared that you could take everything away from a man, but not his skills. He was proud of his skills which are substantial, from making skiis to complex, ingenious traps to log cabins. With an axe, for the most part. Throughout is a sense of accomplishment, pride and fulfillment -- and honest, transparent communication. It is all an eye opener from my western consumer perspective. Too few if any in today's urban world are as happy as that. I think there's learning here for us urban desk slaves.
On this note, an interesting perspective was the Tet/Siberian natives and the problem with alcohol. They seemed unhappy, and blamed their alcoholism and situation on the Russians and their vodka. What stands out is they essentially have no disadvantage in terms of opportunity relative to the hunters. If anything, they have a community to fall back on. I recognize this projection of blame, being from Canada, where we have thrown so much money at helping and getting literally nowhere except criticized and in debt. I feel compassion but not responsibility.
This was very enjoyable - I find their ethos of hard work, self sufficiency, transparency of feeling, kindness and pride in what they have accomplished to be very compelling -- illustrating as it does what is needed for human fulfillment.
On this note, an interesting perspective was the Tet/Siberian natives and the problem with alcohol. They seemed unhappy, and blamed their alcoholism and situation on the Russians and their vodka. What stands out is they essentially have no disadvantage in terms of opportunity relative to the hunters. If anything, they have a community to fall back on. I recognize this projection of blame, being from Canada, where we have thrown so much money at helping and getting literally nowhere except criticized and in debt. I feel compassion but not responsibility.
This was very enjoyable - I find their ethos of hard work, self sufficiency, transparency of feeling, kindness and pride in what they have accomplished to be very compelling -- illustrating as it does what is needed for human fulfillment.
Dirty Money
(2018–2020)
Excellent - Highest expression of expose journalism
14 March 2020
This series is a public service. The episode on cash stores was insightful and I related to this, having gone through a situation with an elderly mother, who very obviously has alzheimers: before she was institutionalized, she managed to rack up huge debts with those Cash Money places. No one knows where the money she took out went to. We went there to pay off her debt and asked them them not to lend her again - to call us, but of course they continued lending to her until we could get her institutionalized. What an ugly time for the whole family. They are predators and illustrate how the regulators have failed to allow such predatory lending practices exploit the most vulnerable of people at the bottom of the food chain.
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