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Reviews
Breaking Homicide (2018)
Boring, Boring, boring
So I've watched 3 episodes and calling it quitswith this show. As a true crime enthusiast & having seen 'em all, this one is a right snooze-fest. You may learn about a case you didn't already know about, but what a f.....g boring presentation. They are regurgitating facts & emotions (lots of tears as you would ecpect) but never really progress cases beyond what's already known. So much so that the show is bogged down & boring. This is a lazy, poor excuse for a true crime show.
People, I'm afraid Jo Kenda's Homicide Hunter (the Apex of true crime shows imo) has spoiled me for most of the newer generation of true crime shows.
I'd rather watch Married With Secrets or Who the Bleep Did I Marry, and that's saying something because as cheeszy as they can be, both shows are way more entertaining and engaging than Breaking Homicide.
American Monster (2016)
Boring As... with way too many home videos
Okay, what's with all the home videos of people we don't know from a bar of soap?! That's easy, lazy, cheap producing and incredibly tedious to watch. Some or all of the facts in these true crime stories may be accurate, but who wants to watch reels & reels of old, grainy video footage of people and families they don't know? Answer - not many, they will be changing the channel just like I did every time the video footage is used because it is sooo tedious. Too much old video footage is not helped one bit by the narrators voice which is flat & low key with insufficient inflection, making it hard to hear at times. The narrator is too soft-spoken, which screams poor direction. So, you've got all this video footage (at least 1/3 or more of the show) with boring, hard to hear narration that goes on and on and takes up at least 1/3 of the show. My guess is that true crime fans are not going to stick with American Monster, let alone watch one full show without losing patience. Lazy production gets lazy, undedicated viewers from my observations.
Being such a big Joe Kenda follower (that is one hell of an impressive man!) has totally raised the bar for me with true crime. As a result very few true crime series get my attention now, such as Homicide (with Joe Kenda), Ron Iddles, the Good Cop (Australia's Joe Kenda equivalent); Evil Lives Here and A Crime to Remember - all based 100% on fact.
Unlike American true crime productions, British & Aussie true crime is generally 100% fact so you know you're getting the whole story. There are also way less non-American true crime shows produced so the ones that are made tend to be high quality across the board. The same cannot be said about American true crime shows, however, where many details are often changed for whatever reason (names, dates, places and God-knows-what-else) and the end result is really a work of fiction that's so loosely based on fact that it barely resembles the real crime. No doubt this is due to the legal framework that American producers face being more convoluted/tangled and protective of immediate/extended families and the large number of true crime shows being produced there. That's all fair and good, however it leads to many facts being changed in true crime shows. Let's not even begin with what passes for dramatization and acting in some American true crime shows (worse than the worst, cheapest daytime soaps) - that's a whole other subject on its own, and it's generally not what dedicated true crime viewers are looking for.
As crime rates are higher in the USA there's no shortage of true crime stories to draw from and the innocent are protected at all costs, so facts are frequently changed in order to achieve that. Fair enough, but it makes me really picky about what's really true crime and what's partly true and partly fabricated - the extent of which the viewer will never know.
After more than a decade of being a huge true crime watcher,
American Monster does not even come close to making the grade of a quality true crime series. If you're looking for quality true crime, look elsewhere and give this one a big miss.
Love It or List It (2008)
Not as good as the Aussie version...
Can't stand this annoying show, and not just the stupid owners either - the presenters are annoying as @#$%, and they seem so contrived. The British lady is especially annoying as I find British accents spoken with American-style loudness & confidence very grating (think Piers Morgan!). I much prefer the Aussie version of this show. For sure, some (not all) of the home owners are annoying, but the Australian presenters are true blue in the Aussie tradition, one if them is also a Brit and they are more down to earth and less contrived in their delivery. The humour, in-jokes & banter between the Aussie renovation team seems more organic & genuine on the Australian show.
Axios (2018)
Another manipulative & boring leftist opinion piece
Not only is this show not news, as it claims, but it's boring, ultra-left (read Woke) and manipulative in it's delivery. Unless you're really into politics, don't waste your time. It really is annoying when shows like this are called "news", because there"s nothing ground-bre asking here, just a lot of opinions being aired. So called journalists/reporters need to learn the difference between actual, real news (i.e. They didn't "make" the news", they "report the news") and an opinion piece. This show falls into the latter. Not news, but a bunch of left-wing opinions. Opinions are not news, people. Also, Axios is extremely boring to watch. Dull & flat delivery. Even for an leftist opinion show it's bat...t boring.
Bob Saget: That Ain't Right (2007)
Huuuuge disappointment
Wow, I am really surprised that Bob Saget's stand-up work is so unfunny. Due respect for the dead, but hearing the F bomb 1-3 times each sentence does not make anything funnier, whether it was funny to begin with or not. Take out the swearing and his so-called comedy is not funny. Cringe-worthy, yes. He's obviously going for shock value after doing Full House & family shows for so long, but seriously, does swearing really shock anymore?! This is not clever or witty, just basic toilet humour peppered with the F word way too much. Excessive swearing doesn't and never has offended me - it just bores the crap out of me. A commedian's material needs to stand-up (no pun intended) & get laughs on it's own merit, because after a very short while (10 seconds for me), the swearing becomes lazy, a crutch, and really annoying. Even if the material & delivery are top-notch, excessive swearing actually serves to dumb-down the subject matter. Good comedy should not be dumbed-down. Jerry Seinfeld does this better than most.
I watched a few episodes of Full House recently and couldn't help but notice that Bob Saget's heart didn't seem to be in the show - his acting & smiles seemed forced. It was a pretty lame show and he actually comes across as being embarassed by it. I could be reading too much into that - 20/20 hind sight.
I have nothing against swearing & do it myself, but not to excess as so many people do these days, which is just lazy.