biba_yu Reviews

Moon (2009)

Great (almost) one actor movie

[10/10 · 12 May 2024]

This is a very well crafted, intriguing, sf space thriller and it's acted amazingly well by Sam Rockwell who is almost the one single character in the movie, except the voice for AI Gertie and a bit of scenes from his wife calling from Earth. Other than that Rockwell carries the movie by himself and does a great job doing it.

This movie is never boring, it's calm and even slow, nothing dramatic or packed with action, but it's still not boring and that's a serious skill. The story is smart and leads you slowly into the center and core of it. It also shows very interesting and original perspective on the specific theme, which I don't want to spoil.

And not to forget, soundtrack is great and follows the movie perfectly. I recommend it, and I can watch it multiple times.

Baby Reindeer (2024)

Very dark, tough to watch drama

[9/10 · 4 May 2024]

This was very hard to watch, especially from the point of someone who people also tend to want to use a lot and someone who was harassed a lot. From that standpoint it can be pretty relatable, but probably, not for everyone. Some Donny's actions are hard to understand, but later you start realizing why is he doing what he is doing. You start to understand. And that's not easy.

This is not black and white drama in sense that there are "good guys" and "bad guys", there is no villain who at the same time isn't human. Extremely damaged, even dangerous, but still human, human with severe issues.

It's very well made series, and I am quite surprised that the writer is also the actor as main (title) character and he did amazing job.

Unexpected surprise from Netflix.

From (2022– )

Scary and engaging but maybe too many unresolved mysteries

[9/10 · 1 May 2024]

Mysteries in horror show can be a good thing, but just like most reviewers here, I am thinking of "Lost" cop out or some similar series that just kept on pilling mysteries and not explained one single thing.

Or, and this is not a spoiler because I have no idea how this series will end, it would be equally bad if the series ended like "and they were all dead" or "they were all in coma" or "they were all in purgatory actually" or something like that, without explaining all those signs and symbols and mysteries, because that type of cop out was done do death.

Other than that, as most reviews here stated, these are great, very scary, very well acted horror series with well made characters and unpredictable plot so far.

Just don't ruin it with some stupid done to death ending. Go more the way "Dark" series did, which ended with everything explained and tied up at the end, and don't go lazy "Lost" route.

Beacon 23 (2023– )

Feels like a part of some long running sf series

[4/10 · 25 April 2024]

I only watched first 3 episodes, so my opinion might not be on point, but so far, this feels like a later season of some long running sf series that lost the plot, ideas and pretty much still runs for fans and money. It looks nice and expensive and acotrs are good but I see no point of these series.

There is no story, nothing to follow, nothing to expect, no goals, no heroes, no villains, just two people stuck in some space ship and something happens in each episodes that makes no impact on anything. Characters are not relatable and we barely know anything about them, they are not humanised or defined enough. There is literally no point of these series. I started watching because the cast was promising and I like sf but this is just boring.

The Resort (2022– )

Weird, but interesting, original and funny

[9/10 · 25 April 2024]

This is a weird little series, and it's pretty tough to determine its genre. It's quite originally made series, with great casting of very likeable, well chosen actors, and strange, yet compelling story with a lot of little pearls of wisdom you can pick up if you are paying attention to every detail.

Characters are sweet, funny and likeable and actors are very well chosen, good job there! The presentation is lovely, with great scenes and lovely images, and everything lookes beautiful to watch. It's also quite funny and silly and the mystery is compelling.

On the not so good side, it feels unfinished and underexplained, like they run off the money or ideas or something and had to finish the series fast. It just ends so abruptly.

I still quite enjoyed watching it, every scene and every dialog. It's really nice little gem.

Liaisons (2015– )

Very funny and looking like high production

[9/10 · 19 April 2024]

I didn't expect to like this series, but I actually loved it! The actors are amazing, and it's very funny and it looks surprisingly expensive and well produced. It has a lot of funny and silly moments and misunderstandings and a lot of great characters.

European series and movies, especially from Balkan (where I live too) are highly underrated and I recommend to give them a chance. This series is one of such examples.

It's a comedy spectacle about various relationships, it has everything. Puberty and growing up, business, getting older and being an addict, marriage problems and affairs. Main characters are Tony and Mika whose marriage is seriously on the rocks, and Tony decides to start an affair with younger woman. However, the things go in all the wrong ways. I don't want to spoil much, just watch it.

Pity though, the series didn't last, and we are left with only two seasons.

So Help Me Todd (2022–2024)

Very funny and smart

[9/10 · 19 April 2024]

I didn't expect for this show to be as funny as it is. It's rare to find series where you can't lose even a minute because you will lose at least few good jokes or some important scenes. There are no "fillers" in this series, it's fast, it's very funny and it's smart, with great acting, stories and characters. I really can't find anything bad with it.

Marica Gay is unexpected comedic genius, and so is Skylar Austin, and most other characters are also incredibly funny. Some stories are not that interesting as others, but in general, these are very enjoyable series and I fully recommend it for watch.

Toolbox Murders (2004)

Very creepy, gory, super-natural horror

[8/10 · 7 April 2024]

First of all, Angela Bettis. She is very underrated actress and she is awesome! The other actors are also very good, very well fleshed characters and very memorable. The atmosphere in the movie is dark, occult, and really creepy, I love that. It's extremely gory, and the gore is pretty much on screen, so prepare for that. The story is simple, but unique and effective. It's not too overdone to death, it has a nice premise and it flows pretty naturally. What I also like is that characters are not typical horror "stupid youth" but normal people, well, some of them are normal (those who have seen the movie will know), but still no one is acting too stupid and unnatural just so that story and killings would work.

This is very decent, gory, weird and super-natural horror movie that is quite underrated and deserves more attention.

Everything I Know About Love (2022)

Entertaining, funny, touching and really well made

[9/10 · 29 March 2024]

I didn't expect to like this series, I didn't even plan to watch it, until I checked reviews and gave it a chance. Actress Emma Appleton is amazing, she won me on first scene. She is really great in this role, and even though I am totally different person than Maggie, she managed to make her relatable and make me understand her and like Maggie a lot. Other actresses are not far behind, they are also amazing, even the supporting actors are great. Characters are well defined, multidimensional and deep, which is also great.

Story is a bit all over the place, I admit, it's hard to see the one particular theme or concept or story that has beginning and end, it's a bit messy. But then again, so is life.

In general, I enjoyed the series a lot, it was sweet, funny, and sad and touching at times, and even though I am total introvert and nothing like main characters, I managed to understand them and like them all a lot. Of course, as all young people, they were reckless and not responsible at times, but that's normal when you are in your 20s.

One thing I didn't like, and that's very subjective, is background music, mostly a kind of indie songs which were really overwhelming for me personally, too loud, too long and taking over some scenes too much. I didn't like them at all, but then again, that's just me.

Other than that, I really recommend this series.

One Of Us Is Lying (2021–2022)

Fun thriller crime series but...

[5/10 · 12 March 2024]

I have to say I watched the entire series but I didn't read the novel. The series have some good and some bad sides. It's fun to watch, and it looks pretty polished and expensive. Acting is mediocre and crime cases are not that interesting to be stretched over so many episodes. Characters are also not far from two-dimensional clichés, without many challenges and more story depth for each one of them.

It's kind of fun to watch, but not very good as crime thriller or high-school series. Actors are all over 20 years old but they are playing children, which is not good since they are mostly highly sexualized, not as much as in Euphoria but also not appropriate for underage children. It's easy to miss this because actors are clearly adults, but when you focus on the fact that this all is happening in school, and that they are children, in series, it gets seriously uncomfortable to watch how they are presented, with accent on how "good looking" they all are. I honestly hate that cliché, would you stop presenting children as "attractive" and sexualized in obviously adult series? Why was it so hard to put the whole story in college, for example?

I think the series is fun, too stretched and with mediocre acting and script, and with lots of usual Hollywood clichés, but watchable. What I don't like is presentation of characters who are literal children, masked with the fact that the actors are adults. High school kids do not look like that! And they should not be presented as "hot" or "sexy" (ugh, I hate even writing this!).

Other than that, mediocre, but fun tv series.

L'amour (presque) parfait (2022– )

Fun and nice visually but main character is AWFUL!

[4/10 · 6 March 2024]

I gave it a 4* for lovely visuals of Paris, beautiful actors who are good at their job, nice costumes, and in general, visual presentation is really nice. Series is also light and fun to watch.

But, here are the negatives... main character, Julie, for which we are supposed to root for, is just awful. I can't stand to watch her, she is horrible. Most characters are not presented well, even for a comedy, they say and do stupid and unrealistic things, and this maybe could pass in the 80s or so, but today, hardly. Ava's husband just kicks her out of their home and takes children away from her with really poor explanation and I am still not sure what did she do so wrong. Couldn't they just talk it out, is solution for her forgetting some stupid dinner to kick her out of home and we are supposed to be on his side? And children are like "ok, mom is gone, whatever". What?

Manon looks barely human, she is like some kind of French version of Samantha from Sex and the city. But ok.

Stephane is also poorly defined and I am not sure why did he even fell for Julie, why was he lying that he is gay etc. He is like undefined, two-dimensional hottie and that's it.

Mom and Dad are kind of fine, dad is the most likeable character in the series.

Max, poor Max is like barely a character. Like Stephane, and even more, he is just there to be a hottie for main character Julie. He has no spirit, no humor, he has a charisma of a kitchen table. None.

Julie... where do I even begin. She is selfish, self-centered, manipulating, rude, inappropriate, meddling, controlling etc. She wants what she wants, and she will use everyone around her to get it. She "falls in love" with a man she never met, she doesn't know and she will use all her friends to get him, she even separates him from his girlfriend of many years by lying to Max, runs him over with a car, stalks him to get into his way, and uses her friends to further separate him from his now ex and stop them from getting together again. Nice person ha! She always plays cute, which is easy because actress is tiny and very pretty, and plays ditzy silly girl but is calculated, fake and manipulative and totally selfish in all her acts. She even "outs" her roommate in front of everyone and sounds like a biggest bigot by doing so. He never gave her permission to out him, yet she goes around and screams "my roommate is gay you know". Cute? No.

So far, I have seen 4 episodes and she is getting worse and worse, and I don't understand why Stephane even cares about her anymore since she was using him constantly to get to Max in most inappropriate stalkerish ways.

So. Why are we rooting for her? Is she supposed to be so unlikeable or is it just bad script? Many things said in series made me cringe so hard. Her sister bragging that she is marrying before Julie, Julie's obsession with stranger and marriage, Ava's husband kicking her out of their home because she forgot some dinner, many very strange rude comments about gay people... What is happening, is it still like 1980?

All in all, you can watch it for lovely visuals and happy summer attitude, but script is not good, story makes no sense, and a lot of characters are just awful especially Julie.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024)

So far, boring as hell!

[2/10 · 5 March 2024]

First several seasons of Walking Dead were pretty awesome action and thrill, great characters and lots of twists and turns. Then it became more like money-grab and same old things over and over and over with too many time-fillers.

This new series look like another cash-grab based on previous glory. I watched first two episodes and it was nothing like all these praising reviews promised. It's bad. It's boring. It's just nothing. Sure, two main actors are here, but that's about it. Acting is fine, it's not actors' fault this series suck. It's the fact that there is no story, there is nothing to say. Both episodes are stretched out, filled with uninteresting characters that mostly die, filled with drama, and love story, and what no, but there is nothing compelling or new or interesting in this series. It's just "look, it's Andrew Linkoln back again?". You think that's enough?

Zombies are just a side issue, as before, more problems are made by humans, military to be precise and people obsessed with control and power. Yawn! Like we didn't see that before millions of times. Then there is a love story, which is filled with dreamscapes, flashbacks and honestly, I like both actors but they simply have no chemistry between them. Like none!

Seems like another cash-grab. Maybe I give it a chance with few more episodes and then I am done.

Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005)

Very funny and consistent

[9/10 · 27 January 2024]

This sitcom is really hilarious, but also, which is quite rare, not over the top or unrealistic. Characters are believable, not caricatures, or two dimensional, and casting is great. The show also managed to keep its quality over decades and still remain funny and relevant to this day. What I especially love about this sitcom is consistency. Many popular tv shows lost their charm and went into weird directions after a number of seasons and stopped being funny, but kept going because of money and popularity, this one knew when to stop. It was kind of abrupt ending but it worked. It stayed funny to the very last episode as funny as the first episode, characters didn't stray into unbelievable caricatures of themselves but stayed consistent, and stories were as good as in the beginning. Well, maybe Marie strayed a bit onto villain side but the actress Doris Roberts is so amazing that even that couldn't damage the show.

The fact that all episodes are pretty consistent and characters are quite believable, have fights but also show support and love when needed, realistic settings, just well done! Rare gem.

Married... with Children (1987–1997)

Perfect if season 7 or 8 was the last one

[8/10 · 18 January 2024]

This tv show is crude, cruel and raw, but honestly it's original and funny. Having said that, there is a real unbalance between first and last seasons. First maybe 5 seasons were perfect, just what the made the show so popular and original in the first place. The cast was great, each episode was pure gold and there were a lot of funny and cult lines from characters.

However, after season 5 the quality of show, as often happens, started to recede. And it got worse by each season, so much that I found seasons 9 and 10 unwatchable! I don't even want to think about season 11. It became different show, Peg was barely appearing, Kelly and Bud were adults and Bus jokes with women kept repeating again and again with totally unfunny actresses.

Sometimes, you just need to know when to stop. They started with that annoying public cheering about each character appearance like for 30 seconds. It's ok to do it once maybe, but after each appearance and in each episode it gets seriously annoying. Humor started to fade really a lot with season 9, too many side characters, repeating the same jokes over and over, non funny women just as eye candy, non funny side characters, No Ma'am club that started to get repetitive, not funny and stupid, non funny lines with canned laughter after each one, etc. It just fall apart! Simply not funny!

If the show stopped at least with season 8 I would give it a 10, but only because first 5 seasons were that good this is an 8 but for later seasons I would give 2, barely!

Know when to stop!

Married... with Children: Radio Free Trumaine (1995) Season 9, Episode 26

Horrible episode!

[2/10 · 18 January 2024]

I love Married with Children, first 5 seasons were perfect! 6-8 were fine with still some exceptionally funny episodes. Season 9 dropped in quality and started with meek watered down episodes which were much less funny than before.

This episode is horrible! Even Steve appearing didn't do zilch to improve it.

Keri Russell at the time wasn't as good actress as she become later and her comedic timing is horrible. Unlike Christina Applegate who is hilarious, Keri isn't funny in this series at all. I didn't chuckle once.

No Al, no Peggy, no Kelly, just bad, bad, bad! And the fake laughter annoyed me this time more than before.

House of 9 (2005)

Requires a lot of suspension of disbelief

[5/10 · 5 January 2024]

This movie is kind of fun, it's watchable, but it is not believable at all. I have to heavily spoil this, but...My God! As you know 9 strangers are trapped, literally walled in inside of some giant building and a voice tells them the one that survives will receive 5 million dollars. Even though they were all kidnapped and not there in any way voluntarily they immediately believe this voice. Why? Why do they think that someone or some people who kidnapped them and trapped them to die, give them almost no food at all will keep their promise and give them prize? What makes them believe even with the money they will ever leave that prison alive? I don't get their trust into their captor.

All 9 characters in the movie have no development, and with exception of Lea and maybe priest and a cop (and possibly that blonde lady from who we didn't see much), more than half of them are horrible humans, non-relatable, aggressive, angry, vain, even completely mental, why would be root for any of them? They start behaving like homicidal maniacs almost instantly without any really compelling reasons or development.. how did we even get to them becoming literal beasts? Were they all kidnapped because they were horrible? Was it their common psychiatrist or something?

It's really hard to suspend disbelief while watching and the acting is not helping, it's mostly bad. There was one point in the movie where the music mix was so overwhelming that I had to skip that whole part, maybe 5-7 minutes of sound torture. Who thought that was a good idea? It was kind of fun to watch and Kelly Brook is really cute, but other than that, the movie is pure trash.

Exhibit A (2007)

Cheap looking, shaky camera, not really horror

[3/10 · 4 January 2024]

After seeing a lot of great reviews for this movie I gave it a watch. To be honest, it's not my cup of tea. It looks cheap, very cheap, camera is shaky which is normal under circumstances (FF had hold camera), but it gave me headache and it was too blurry and confusing, and often couldn't see what is happening. Almost a whole first maybe 25 minutes of the movie is terribly boring, and blurry and shaky at the same time.

Then it gets weird as you can see the some psychological changes in certain character that seem to come out of nowhere, unexplained. Like someone suddenly made 180 degree mental change out of nowhere! Or maybe I missed something I was bored senseless.

The end is quite horrifying but not in a good horror movie way, more like an awful news about family tragedy you really really don't want to see. Like passing by the tragic accident and really not wanting to see it. It leaves a mark not of a good movie but more like when you see really bad tragic news and you feel traumatized and sad.

Not for me, sorry!

The Good Doctor: A Big Sign (2022) Season 6, Episode 3

Not the best episode

[5/10 · 3 January 2024]

Hm, Shaun's and Lea's marriage problems are so non-important and silly I can't even imagine why put it in an episode. I guess they needed a filler. I know Shaun is on the spectrum and some things are much more important to him than to other people but it still seems like an episode filler.

The case with the girl and her mom and stepdad looked rushed and not very well written, nothing really challenging or interesting except we learn that a new doctor has one leg missing.

Finally, dr Lim blaming Shaun for her paralysis is just stupid. The person that really is to blame is Villanueva's husband who actually did attack dr Lim, but she blames doctor who tried to save her life? Even if he did make mistake, it was for sure, not with malicious intentions, it was just trying to save her liver and made miscalculation in the process. Her trying to make dr Shaun absolute villain who is guilty for her condition is irrational and that's not how we saw dr Lim through the series. Anyways, not a good episode.

Margaux (2022)

Really bad movie, barely watchable

[2/10 · 2 December 2023]

Idea was actually good, not original, we've seen this before, same old AI killing people trope. In this case AI is the house. But, ok, it would be kind of interesting concept to be seen again, now in AI era.

Movie has a number of problems though. Really bad CGI, horrible flat, one-dimensional characters, flat, sloppy story stretched to 100 minutes, really bad dialogs and bad acting. Even the beginning wasn't promising, but I decided to give it a chance. The movie then gets overloaded with cheesy, pop background music that seriously annoyed me, even interfering with dialogs. The house Margaux talks like a creepy 50+ year uncle that is trying to hang out with 20 something by desperately using something he thinks is "youth jargon", and that was horribly cringe to listen and watch.

The idea how AI works, and how it develops, the "core" of it, programs, malware.. was all laughably bad, not even nearly convincing, just looked like something that could've been made at least 40 years ago when people had vague idea what computers or AI are.

It has no message, no actual story, no development, terrible ending, just bad, bad, bad... It's barely watchable so I give it 2 starts because you can watch it, but you will probably regret wasting time on this.

Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

High production horrible story, horrible characters

[2/10 · 24 November 2023]

I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 only because Reese is really amazing actress and I watched the series only for her. Having said that, while the story started somewhat engaging, it developed into horrific ways and ended terribly with no message, no development, no satisfaction whatsoever. Nothing to feel but pure anger that you wasted some 7 hours of your life on this crap.

Story was extremely bad. It was obviously trying to portray problems with racism and elitism but all was done in wrong ways. We were supposed to like Mia and feel with her but she was presented as a villain. Obviously, not on purpose, which is bad. She took money for baby, then she stole the baby, than she lied to that child all her life, forced her to live insecure life of hiding and moving around, abandoning her friends and any security that every child needs. And she did gaslit Pearl whenever the girl tired to rebel or question that way of life. Like she would say "you had everything you needed" but Pearl never had any security, home, stability. Then she condemned the same things she did. And, I don't know if this was just bad acting, or bad directing, but actress had always such look of exaggerated contempt and disgust it was painful and honestly annoying to watch. Whenever she did something objectively wrong she would pull the race card. I found her utterly unlikeable.

The daughter Perl, was nice surprise, she actually seemed real and likeable and young actress was much better than the one playing her mom.

Bebe, who was supposed to represent poor, unprivileged immigrant, who had misfortune to lose her child to "privileged rich white couple" was presented as really mentally unstable person, who first in moment of pure hysteria put her own child in horrible danger of freezing to death, then regretted it, and cried hysterically for months, then barged into private party into private home uninvited and grabbed the baby, then tried to win the child back by using the money Mia gave her (while condemning also "buying babies") accepting all that money even thou Mia was a stranger to her, then kidnapped the same child and lived insecure, poor life as person wanted by police and illegal immigrant taking her own baby from possible privileged life with rich couple and lots of possibilities for great life to possible deportation or even being in the system when her mom goes to prison. And we were supposed to root for her? And that's what that poor baby needed?

Finally Reese's character, Elena, was obviously supposed to be a villain but Reese did such great job at making Elena real and relatable that even that failed spectacularly. I saw nothing that made Elena bad person except that she is white and not really poor (but not rich either, I think Mia had more money she just didn't use it). She was somewhat controlling but Reese masterfully presented that as Elena just being human with flaws. At the end to make her villain at any cost, they just gave her most meaningless lines that she like hates her youngest daughter (who honestly is spoiled brat) which came out of nowhere and suddenly the other 3 spoiled brats hate her and her husband hates her and they burn their own home with all their belongings, all their memories, valuables and everything they own down. Which spoiled rich teenager would ever ever do that? Another "happy ending" that made no sense and is actually horrific in many ways: 15 year old girl runs away from home "free" from her "horrible mom". In what world? That is awful, that's not freedom!

The whole point of this series is to force "white people bad and deserve to be punished". Wth did I spent 7 hours of my life on this crap!

Assassination Nation (2018)

Po*nographic, violent garbage with teenagers

[1/10 · 3 November 2023]

As soon as I saw that Sam Levinson is director and writer I knew what to expect, but I decided to give it benefit of the doubt. And again, I was disappointed. This is horrible, exploitative, money-grabbing on shock value movie with no qualities whatsoever. Of course, since it's Levinson, it's all about teenagers, semi-naked, in sexual situations, dressed so that sex workers would blush, horny like men who finally got out of prison after 20 years of being locked up in solitary. It's horribly exploitative garbage that relies on young girls dressed provocatively and on shock values and mindless violence.

I guess the message was maybe supposed to be that young girls are insecure and try to get love by being overly sexual but this approach hit all the wrong notes and as "Idol" appeared just an exploitation by itself.

I lasted 40 minutes before I got sick of this. I felt like a sicko myself for lasting even that long.

The fact is, I watched much more violent movies, horrors, slashers, and I am not really prude, I have no problem with nudity. But this was super sleazy, creepy and honestly gross, and not even acting was good, story was drowned in forced sexuality of young girls and forced controversy for the sake of controversy. I can't stand Sam Levinson, everything he makes is creepy and makes me feel sick.

This is a NO from me.

The Conference (2023)

Interesting, silly little Nordic slasher

[8/10 · 14 October 2023]

I am pretty weak for Nordic thriller, slashers, horrors, including not only Norway and Sweden but also Finland, and I always find them quite amusing, original and quite fan. This one didn't disappoint too.

I like how silly the movie is, it's pure slasher comedy on all levels. But also I like how "victims" are not just your typical "screaming and waiting to be killed" type we see in most Hollywood slasher, these people fight for their lives! It's not easy to predict who will be killed and who will survive you might be really surprised at the end.

And the sub-context of corporations and "team building", while celebrating a project that will damage a lot of people and nature is done brilliantly. One of the characters is maybe too much of "obvious villain" but it still worked for me.

It's no something we've never seen before, but it's still funny, silly, little slasher, done quite well. I liked it.

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

Too long and too slow

[5/10 · 9 July 2023]

I have been trying to watch this whole movie for days, and I can't finish it. It's 3 hours long and everything is so slow, and quite honestly boring. I am trying to watch it now on 1.5x speed and it's STILL too slow.

It looks good, actors are great, especially Joaquin Phoenix, but I can't focus because it's so stretched! We don't need to see everything in slow motion all the time. I am really trying, I want to see the end but this is just too much, too long, too stretched, too many metaphors, some much needed weirdness, but not enough to fill all the time.

I wish movie was not longer than 2 hours and with less "time fillers". Phoenix did great job and overall visually it looks great.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2007–2011)

Fun to watch but just a fairytale without an edge

[6/10 · 6 May 2023]

This is series that are fun to watch, to be honest, but there is really no substance or trace of reality in "Secret Diary". First of all, prostitution is glamourized beyond reason. Literal titular hooker is living her best life, all glitz and glamour, all her clients are kind of hot men, she can live in luxury apartment and buy super luxurious house in London which is one of the most expensive cities in the world. She is happy, sexy, confident, rich and without care in the world apparently. She also takes clients to hew own apartment which is ridiculous as no normal person would do something that risky. Some clients even visit her like to talk to her. That is all too ridiculous and unrealistic and tbh stupid.

That is hardly reality for huge majority of women in this business which is hard, risky, dangerous and possibly often gross. This is glossing over the real life with glamour and bright colors and fun stuff. Unless you are really super class, high paid hooker and you really really love to do that, which is rare, this is way far from any reality. It's kind of offensive to struggle which real sex workers endure every day. I am sure they don't get offended if clients doesn't "react" to them as they expect. No one does that.

Another problem is that it has no edge that novel has, it barely has any similarities. It's very very loosely based on it. As someone who read the novel I see no similarities in story or character of real Belle and fictional one. Real Belle was not glamorous or rich, she got by fine, but she had her challenges. She was also very edgy with risky but sharp sense of humor and quite witty and smart, She was highly educated woman who still couldn't find a job or way to survive in London, but managed her temp job as hooker with lots of humor and wits. I see none of that in series. Hannah/Belle is NOTHING like real Belle. Her story is nothing like real story I have read. There are barely similarities.

Having said that, series ARE fun to watch. Billie is pretty to look at, except to be honest in last season she wore so much make up that it didn't look good, she looked way too harsh. Acting was good, there were lots of goofy scenes and silly encounters and some romances. I didn't like how Billie's voice tends to drop to whisper anytime she says anything, but I guess that's how she saw her character. Ashley/Bambi was awesome, and I bet they had to remove her because she overshadowed Billie too much. Interestingly enough, "the mistress" Stephanie was awesome, with a lot of character unlike bland "manager" from the novel, which is also good thing.

All in all, this is very fun to watch, funny and bright, cute and glitzy, but this is honestly just a fairytale, loosely based on very real novel - true story from real woman in business.

Mom (2013–2021)

Very funny but handles serious topics quite well

[10/10 · 8 April 2023]

First of all, I love the all female main cast! Allison Janney is comedic genius, and Anna Farris is right beside her. They have great chemistry together, and both have sense of comedy and great presence. The rest of the cast is not much far behind (if at all), Mimi Kennedy and Jaime Presley are great comedic surprise, as well as the rest of the main cast.

The male actors, like William who plays Adam are also great, he has perfect sense of comedic timing and always perfect expressions when saying something so it sounds even funnier. I like Steve Valentine who is very underrated and how he is cleverly inserted into series. All in all, the cast is pretty awesome.

Series are very funny, but also handle very serious topics extremely well. This is something that is missing from the shows like "2 broke girls" which handles serious topic as a side joke, and pretends that actions never have consequences. "Mom" works with very serious topics and presents consequences of characters' actions while still staying very funny and also very warm and that's rare in comedy shows.

I really love the idea, the presentation, the cast and the overall message of the series. I wish it just didn't end so abruptly.