Change Your Image
jclawrence78
Reviews
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (2022)
I wish it leaned more heavily on the dark comedy
The best parts of this show are when the creators (whose "Nobodies" I loved) slide in the comedy and lean into the ridiculousness of the genre. The changing gravestones. The "level four psychotropic." Rachel Ramras's "This is hard to say." That Sisephean mailbox project. More of that, please! I love a good mystery and I love a good campy spoof, and I just felt like this kept bouncing between the two. If a second season indeed gets made, I hope they go deeper into the dark humor/campiness. I was psyched that I pegged the killer early on, and the scenes involving that at the end were everything I wanted and more, so thank you for that, Hugh, Larry, and Rachel! (By the way, am I the only one who appreciates that their names alphabetize correctly whether by first or last names? Yeah. I had a feeling that was just me.) Anyway, watch it, with a very large glass of wine.
Ozark: Sanctified (2022)
Brutally Bad and Poorly Edited **Spoilers**
I love this show. Does it take liberties with reality at times? Sure, but it's a fantastic story and beautifully acted.
This episode, however, was a hot mess. The back and forth between the FBI and Omar and Javi, Maya's malleability (which was not believable all season, not just here), the FBI giving a hoot what Marty and/or Wendy have to say- it was all ridiculous.
Last episode ending with Wyatt proposing to Darlene after he'd seen her murder multiple people felt so abrupt (and by the way, having worked in Child Welfare for decades, they wouldn't have left Zeke in her care if her health was poor, and Wyatt would've needed to complete the application, training, and certification process, so that whole thing bugs me) and it seemed out of character for Wyatt to not want Ruth at his wedding.
The whole thing with Ruth getting seeds from some lady who apparently knew her mother- what was the significance of any of that?? She has a lovely box and these seeds, presumably to give as a wedding gift, but why those? Why from tat lady? And I STILL want to know what happened with those dealers who didn't want to sell Ruth the drugs. What changed their mind??
I don't know if COVID prevented them from filming scenes that would have made any of this make sense, but that episode sucked and was horribly incoherent. I really hope the second half of this season ends up being better constructed as it's too good a show to put forth such a jumbled, nonsensical last season.
Rise (2018)
It took a while to find its groove, but I think it's there
The first episode or two seemed to plod along, meandering, trying to find its footing while providing the introductions and exposition to get everyone on the same page. I wasn't sure I was going to stick with it, but I'm glad I did, as it has since picked up the tempo and the intensity, and I think today's youth would benefit from seeing themselves on the screen, much as my generation did with shows like "My So-Called Life." It doesn't gloss over the myriad issues kids today are facing (man, I feel so old saying these things), but it also shows the difficulties and challenges faced by the parents and adults. I hope the show is picked up again, as it has great potential and a talented cast.
Whodunnit? (2013)
Disappointing
I was very excited to watch this show after having seen the commercials for it. I love Clue (the game and the movie) and could not wait to see how well it translated to television.
I'm not sure I have ever been so let down by a TV show. Not only is the show extremely campy and clearly heavily staged, the faux deaths were beyond absurd. The show has the typical silly "reality" show drama, which I can overlook as I accept that that is just what is considered good TV by those who put these shows on the air.
After watching the first episode, my better half vowed that we had wasted an hour of our lives and that I should cancel the automatic recording, but quite frankly, I forgot. I watched the second episode, hoping things would improve, but I found it all even sillier.
There is a lot of potential there, but this show feels more like a scripted show being marketed as a reality show. I do hope that either someone else makes a better version or that (should this horrible show get renewed) the next season is done better.