robinparker311 Reviews

Everything Now (2023)

NOT Euphoria!

[9/10 · 23 October 2023]

I truly don't understand the number of people that I have compared this to Euphoria & at the same time criticized for supposedly 'copying' that show, when the only real things that this show has in common with Euphoria are a black & queer/bisexual protagonist (who also happens to be a teenager).

There is the addiction issue, which many will say is a form of addiction (and I don't fully disagree w that premise) but otherwise, there is nothing other than these superficial character traits that the show has in common with Euphoria.

It seems more to me that many viewers are unable to see beyond the surface & will only see Mia's character & think "she's black & she's queer, this is just like Euphoria" when, in actuality, this show is very unlike Euphoria in many many ways.

I don't want to put spoilers in here, so I won't get too far into her character, but it seems to me that (especially these days & particularly in the US & the UK) all people want to look at are the superficial/outward qualities of someone and/or their personality & dismiss it as the most important thing about said character(s).

Can't people get past the fact that teenagers have always had complications in their lives & have always had emotional struggles, while the color of their skin & who they find attractive is the furthest thing from what you would call a character description?

People comparing this to Euphoria are clearly not looking beyond the fact that Mia is black & queer when giving this show bad reviews, claiming it is a copy.

I just wish people would see other people, whether it is an everyday life or in movies/television as who they really are, and that there is much more to people than simply their sexual history/preference & skin color.

I guess that's clearly just too much to ask of a 2023 television viewing audience.

Bunheads (2012–2013)

FUN!

[8/10 · 19 May 2023]

OK, so this may not be 'Succession' level quality, but it is so much fun. It definitely has a very Amy Sherman Palladino (OK and the husband Daniel) feel about it which is straight up fun, let's face it.

I don't know for sure how I missed this show for so many years, but wound up home sick w strep throat & wanting something new, light & fun (yes, that word again) & this completely fits the bill.

Give it 2-3 episode before you decide that it's just silly (it is) & you will become fully invested in the characters, the feel of the show & personally, I can almost promise that you will enjoy yourself.

It may be a bit of a 'chick show' (in the way Gilmore Girls was), but I just decided about 5 episodes in that I couldn't have found something more perfect to do for a few days while stuck at home sick.

Enjoy.

Mrs. Davis (2023)

7 so far, looks like it could be a 9 or 10

[7/10 · 21 April 2023]

I agree w both of the (only 2) other reviewers here. There could be a fantastic story, but it is so wide-open, something that really hasn't been done before & it's truly COMPLETELY impossible to know where they are going w this.

It's impossible to know who are the good guy(s) (girls/woman/women/machines) and/or who are the bad guy(s) here & that's really refreshing.

One thing is certain - you are not going to predict anything from the first cpl episodes.

By the middle of the 3rd there are still questions as to who is who, what they are trying to do & whether or not anyone is who they say they are. Very VERY interesting & I feel that it deserves the 7/10 if it for no other reason because of the acting. Betty Gilpin is (as usual) FANTASTIC & absolutely perfect for this role.

I'm curious to see what kind of written reviews there will be after everyone has had time to see the first few episodes.

I say go for it, let's see how the chips fall - if nothing else, it's definitely different.

Words on Bathroom Walls (2020)

Simply beautiful

[9/10 · 14 March 2023]

This movie was beautiful. It showed how mental illness is just a portion of a person & it also did a very good job of showing the challenges that an otherwise normal teenage kid faces when suffering from such an illness. The main character, Adam, is a clearly sensitive, kind & intelligent young man.

He faces & attempts to improve the symptoms that go w the challenges of his illness, in part to satisfy his mother, but also because he simply does not want to continue to suffer. At the same time, he really doesn't want pity, but knows all too well that the stigma that goes w mental illness is very real. And being in high school kids know enough about mental illness to be cruel, but are still young enough to not really know how to handle it w sensitivity.

What he does seem to not quite grasp is that more people care than he realizes.

To avoid spoilers, I won't say much more about that.

I've read some of the other reviews & while I don't have THAT much knowledge about schizophrenia (beyond college & grad level psych classes), I have studied it & I have to emphatically disagree w those who say that it is fully unrealistic. Adam suffers from what would not be considered the most common manifestation of clinical schizophrenia, but it's certainly not unheard of.

So don't listen to those who say that it's completely unrealistic. That is simply untrue - in Adam's case, it's just not 'textbook schizophrenia'.

That being said, it's a beautiful story about a beautiful human being w loving & supportive family & friends/girlfriend & his individual way of carrying on w his life & doing everything he can to be happy, while trying to achieve his dreams & keep safe the people he loves.

As I said, it's simply a beautiful story & really well done.

Enjoy :-)

Sausage Party (2016)

Why the reviews as though it's a kids film?

[16 October 2022]

Why ANYONE would think this is a kids movie with a name like "Sausage Party" is beyond me.

This is so obviously not a kids movie yet most of the bad reviews are because people started to watch with their kids.

This is not a movie for kids & I think that should be obvious from the title. Also, just read what it's about!

Giving a movie bad reviews because you're too clueless to recognize that this is an adult film is just, in my opinion, lazy parenting.

It's not fair to the movie that people review it poorly based on that.

Watch this movie for what it is, a very funny & crass ADULT film. It's FUNNY, just enjoy it, grow up (or be a BIG kid) & LAUGH.

Monster (2022– )

An absolutely amazing series!

[29 September 2022]

I don't ever write a review before I finish a series, never, but this? After just one episode (and admittedly, knowing how good Evan Peters is & how fantastic Ryan Murphy is I feel like it's OK to 'jump the gun' on this one), I can already tell that this is simply FANTASTIC!

Hopefully I can update this after I've seen the whole thing but one episode is all it took for me to know that this is just GREAT.

I remember the story so well because the whole country was so captivated by it, but Ryan Murphy makes everything extremely frightening & again, Evan Peters simply IS Jeffrey Dahmer.

There's something that Ryan Murphy does in all his shows that just goes above & beyond when it comes to the level of fear & reality/realistic portrayal of his characters & it definitely shines through in this series!

A + +.

The Lost City (2022)

Very simply? It's definitely 'worth your time'.

[8/10 · 27 July 2022]

While I can't say that this was the greatest movie in the world, it totally fits the bill for a silly romcom & unlike reviewers who clearly suffer from a pathetic level of ageism, Sandra Bullock is anything other than an 'old enough to be a grandmother' actress, when it comes to her performance in films.

This movie is cute, well acted, well cast & definitely keeps your attention. It's a silly, romcom that fits the bill for how it is being marketed.

Brad Pitt really does play a great character & it would have been nice if he had more scenes. His character is such a badass, but that's simply not how the story was written. As for the others: Sandra is great as Loretta - simply a classic Sandra Bullock character. She's uptight but lovable, a little snobby but deep down still humble & she's just silly enough to make it all work, Da'Vine Joy Randolph's performance as Beth is phenomenal, as is Loretta's social media asst Allison, played by Patti Harrison. I should also add the Daniel Radcliffe does a great job (of course) w his character, even though it's almost odd to see him as a bad guy. These are well cast, albeit silly characters & it 'works'.

This movie is not anything worthy of huge praise, awards or anything of that nature. It's just a fun, silly film, basically just being exactly what it says it will be - a silly adventure romcom taking place in a rather unique environment (which really is beautiful, BTW).

I don't know when everyone became such full-blown critics of every show & movie out there but had this been 10 years ago, at least 75% of these negative reviews would have been people who either didn't watch the movie, didn't bother to take their frustrations out on some IMDb review page, or just watched, shrugged it off & moved on. But these days everyone feels the need to complain about something, so take those reviews for what they're worth - people just want to criticize others constantly & everyone seems to think they are the next Steven Spielberg when half of the US (the world, maybe?) are just a bunch of frustrated, know at alls who really should not be writing reviews at all. :-)

I'm really not here to complain about the reviewers though, just trying to give the movie a fair review by pointing out that those who had the worst things to say tend to give one star on nearly EVERY review they post. These individuals only pop in here to diss films, so maybe don't take THEM too seriously :-)

Bottom line? I'd say just a ignore those negative peeps (remember, they give everything 1 star) in stride & give this fun flick a chance - I think most people will enjoy it.

And Just Like That... (2021– )

I'm not sure what people expected???

[9/10 · 21 March 2022]

First of all, it's 2022 & the world has changed SO much since SATC originally ran so all these 1 star reviews criticizing that the show is 'too liberal' or 'too woke' just makes no sense to me.

With the exception of maybe Charlotte, the 3 main characters have always clearly been left leaning women so w the changes over the years, do they not expect their characters to be in agreement w some of the more progressive/liberal ideals of the current time & therefore the writers, directors & production staff would also be in line w that kind of thinking?

This is a show about progressive women in New York City. Firstly, NYC is one of the most progressive places in the WORLD & the women (a writer, an art dealer & an attorney who is, at best, 'distrustful' of men - ie; VERY progressive, no?) are all living lives and/or working in progressive surroundings so in what world would 'Sex & the City' or 'And Just Like That' NOT be a story about liberal/progressive (or for all the critics out there - 'woke') characters & ideals? That being said, what do people expect from the storyline?

The ideas & storyline behind this reboot are no more progressive, woke or liberal than 'Sex & the City', but everyone is so freaking sensitive about Hollywood being 'too woke' or progressive that now EVERY single show/movie or what have you seems to be reviewed from the angle of how people view it politically.

So please try not to listen to all these people who are saying that the show is too woke - it is the same show we watched for years from the late 90s to early 2000s, it's just that everyone has become so sensitive to anything that leans in any direction politically. There's no way in this current day that anyone who is going to view something like this w a right wing objective is going to not be turned off by the progressive angle from which the story is told. But, IT'S NOTHING NEW!

And for those reviewers who watched less than one episode & gave it one star, I recommend that IMDb does not even allow reviews from people who don't even watch 1/10 of a series.

I found the show great, I liked it almost as much as the original. I do agree that Samantha was greatly missed but that couldn't be helped & I feel like they did a decent job of being sensitive to the friendship between Carrie & Samantha & definitely did show Carrie's sadness about their lost friendship & they made it very clear that, especially when things were hard, she truly missed her friend.

This was an enjoyable show, not the ground breaker that the original was but that was not possible. I felt like this was MUCH better than any of the movies & if you'd liked 'Sex & the City' & you watch w an open mind about the mindset of the characters who this show is about, you should enjoy this quite a bit.

Please try not to be swayed by all the people who criticize the show just for being the exact same kind of show it was 20+ years ago - sensitive stories about the friendships & lives of feminist minded women (w GREAT CLOTHES!) in one of the most exciting cities in the world.

I gave it an A+!

Inventing Anna (2022)

Don't understand these reviews

[9/10 · 7 March 2022]

I am very surprised at the number of people who gave this show a low rating because they found Anna's voice or Vivian's character annoying. The real Anna had a very annoying voice & it only takes a moment to watch a YouTube video to figure out that Julia Garner nailed that voice nearly 100%. Yes, those things ARE annoying, and Anna's voice is one of the things that makes her an unlikable person but many of the reviews here are criticizing the SHOW because nearly everyone is 'unlikable'. That's life. It's based on a true story, you can't make nice/fun people out of a story that didn't include any nice fun people.

Also, there are so many criticisms of how much attention is paid to Anna Chlumsky's character Vivian Kent. The entire story is written from Jessica Pressler's story on Anna, so how could the show be made w/o making her one of the main characters? As for her 'overacting', I wonder how many of these 'critics' have seen or heard Jessica Pressler, the reporter who actually wrote the story?

It just seems that so many of the negative reviews don't have anything to do w the quality of the show, they say "so-and-so is annoying", "her voice is annoying", "no one is likable" & so on but it's based on a true story so if people expect a millennial con woman to be lovable & someone w a very annoying accent not to be annoying then maybe stick to fiction?

As for the show, I found it very interesting. They're are a lot of different angles from which to view Anna's ambition/reasoning & an interesting group of 'friends'/business relations who seem to range from barely caring for Anna at all to being loyal to the end. Now of course you can criticize the characters for being loyal to someone who doesn't deserve it, but again, it's not the show's fault that someone might find a character or true parts of a storyline annoying.

I was hooked from episode one, spent a day home sick watching this & stayed up much too late because I really needed to know how they were going to show ending. I do agree they could have been a bit shorter but I can't really think of where they should have trimmed the storyline, I was personally interested in all the follow up activity (trip to Germany, etc.).

With all the bad reviews I hesitate to say "I'm sure you'll like it", just because I did, but I can say that if you can get past annoying characters who are portrayed by great actors who are just being annoying characters because that's their JOB, I think most people would enjoy this.

Le bal des folles (2021)

Don't look for so many answers, just enjoy the friendship

[8/10 · 30 December 2021]

In reading some of the other reviews, I see people looking for answers to parts of the story that are really 'subplots' of the main story. This is a story of female bonds & friendships - particularly an understanding & friendship between two women who, due to opposing 'sides' in the foundation of the plot (I won't specify, as it would contain spoilers), would not be friends had it not been for a mutual understanding & an open-mindedness of a caring person working in a facility filled w very few individuals of that nature.

It is also a story of friendship among women who were suffering the victimization of the times & the misunderstanding of what it meant to be so easily mislabeled as mentally ill.

It's a beautiful story & I don't know if reviewers who are looking for solid 'answers' are used to American cinema & don't respect or understand what MAY just be cultural film differences; or it may just be the idea that the story is really just about friendships, sacrifice & freedom, not a story ending in a nice, satisfying fashion - folding up neatly in the end simply for viewer satisfaction.

There are subplots in the movie that will be left unanswered & while that might be frustrating to some, they ARE simply subplots that leave the viewer in a position to decide for oneself what may or may not have followed in the storyline.

I highly recommend this, although it's not action packed along the way there is something very beautiful about the entire story.

The Resident (2018–2023)

Authenticity seems to be going downhill.

[4/10 · 8 December 2021]

Over the years this show seems to have become more & more unrealistic. I know it's a drama & I'm the first to admit that I watch every episode because the stories are good & it's kind of hard to not want to follow these lovable characters. I'm not a doctor or nurse but I worked in healthcare administration for 20 years & even w just my non-clinical experience I've seen WAY too many inconsistencies. If I was a nurse or doctor this would make me insane. One of the first episodes was about 'up coding' & they had signs all over the hospital encouraging staff to do so. This is a flagrant example of insurance fraud & ZERO healthcare facilities would ever BOLDLY encourage anyone to up code (use diagnosis or procedure codes that would get them paid more than the correct code).

Now, it's the sort of thing that healthcare facilities get in trouble for often & I KNOW it happens, but it is a huge no-no. This early annoying error was something I wrote that off years ago & continued watching the show.

Now, tonight in S5 E110 'Unknown Origin' I've seen a doctor walk in off the street (basically) saying that she's double board-certified in ER medicine & when asked if she had credentials to work at Chastain Dr. Hawkins just said "I'll vouch for her". This is simply NOT the way it works, ever. Yes, emergency credentials can be given but there's no such thing as someone (no matter how much this show wants to make uber macho Conrad Hawkins seem mine an everyday superhero) saying "I'll vouch for her" & allowing anyone to touch a patient w/o verified credentials or at LEAST emergency approval which includes medical license checked, malpractice insurance verified, DEA & CDS verified & a quick run of the NPDB (national practitioner databank) for red flags from MEC and/or in the most emergent case signed approval from the Medical Director or someone standing in for the Medical Director.

This is just something that I find REALLY annoying, given the fact that it could just easily be changed. These little inconsistencies make this look like a soap opera instead of a 2021 hospital drama Fox network is usually better than this.

Mythic Quest (2020– )

BEST work comedy EVER!

[9/10 · 10 August 2021]

I truly love 'work comedies' & I used to try to come up w an idea that would work in the environment that I was in (healthcare administration) but it seems like that would be too much drama.

This show truly beats even the very best work drama/comedy shows & I consider 'The Office', '30 Rock' & Parks and Recreation to be among the best of the best.

Something about this show is just a tad better than all of them & that is truly fine company for comparison. This one has more 'heart' (I found myself crying on occasion and yes, I am a sap). Absolutely fantastic characters, writing, unbelievable film editing & sound. Everything about it is just top-notch. You are so engaged in the characters by the second episode that this is truly a binge worthy show.

A++ to 'Mythic Quest'

2022, season 2 I have to edit this at the beginning of season 2 only to say that it gets better. The character development in this show is probably better than I have seen on any show, I would say it's on par w Parks & Rec (which I believe has seriously great character development). There's just something that each character brings to the table & somehow it just all works. Warning (haha, lack of) - despite the description/title you do not need to be a coder or gamer to enjoy this.

I was an IT tech & moderately decent ICD9/CPT (medical, pre- ICD10) coder (ie; NOT a 'real' coffee) & I'm not a gamer, but love every single minute of every episode.

Stowaway (I) (2021)

Don't understand the AWFUL reviews.

[8/10 · 6 May 2021]

OK, so this is not the best movie I've seen in my life but I probably enjoyed it more because the reviews are so horrible that I expected absolutely nothing.

That being said, I don't understand the reviews.

Firstly, I don't understand how ANYONE could possibly say that there's no plot. It has a completely solid plot - they need oxygen to keep one or two of them alive & they don't have it. It's also not easy to get, find, develop or anything. THAT'S NOT A PLOT??

It has suspense, emotion, sadness, sensitivity, a bit of interesting sci-fi & a great cast. That being said, even though Anna Kendrick is one of my absolute favorite actresses, I think she was very badly cast. Not that she did a bad job, I just can't see her in that position. Anna is simply NOT a badass, she is quite literally (as calls herself, if you've read her book) a 'scrappy little nobody' & this role calls for a bit of a tough girl. She does a good job though & she WAS a good choice for being the 'sympathetic ear' that got the crew (& therefore the story) needed to get things moving.

I'd like to give it more than 7 stars bc I think this is TERRIBLY reviewed (I really don't know what movie you guys were watching, those of you who said it had no plot, didn't understand & said there were 'so many holes' in the story, etc.) & I just wanted to say that "don't give up on this movie bc of the reviews, it's an interesting watch".

Toni Colette is fantastic by the way. The whole cast is, I just thought Anna was not particularly well suited for her character but she did a good job with what she had.

Promising Young Woman (2020)

NOT your everyday revenge film

[9/10 · 18 March 2021]

WOW, I can't explain it but don't do much research - just watch it without expectations. You won't be sorry.

Death to 2020 (2020 TV Special)

I laughed for an hour!

[9/10 · 2 February 2021]

The only slightly negative review that I personally find accurate is that this DID focus quite a bit on the American election. Being in the US myself though, I found the entire thing absolutely hilarious. The sarcasm, the double edged wit & the nonstop dual sided political humor was just what I think everyone needed after all the horror of 2020 & the hope that 2021 will be an improvement. The cast?? On point, 100%. Among others, we saw Tracey Ullman as Queen Elizabeth, Hugh Grant as a pompous historian, Lisa Kudrow a pretentious Trump apologist/'maybe strategist'?, Samuel Jackson as the editor of what I think was called the 'New Yorkerly Times'?? & Leslie Jones, as a behavioral psychologist - who just found her ground immediately. The cast is stellar.

I suppose if you have just had enough of 2020 & don't want to find any humor in it then I don't blame you, but if you want to see something that will make you laugh (as long as you're open minded), takes swipes at both left & right minded individuals & just tries to give us something to laugh about from this year from hell, then I think you'll enjoy this

Boys State (2020)

I gave it an 8 but I could not stomach it

[8/10 · 4 October 2020]

Out of fairness to the documentarian I think this deserves an 8, because it is a very well-made documentary but personally, I found it impossible to watch. Some of these boys (and I know this is Texas, a very macho/conservative leaning state) make me think "this is what's wrong with today's GOP". The boys who showed so much machismo seemed to fare much better than the low key, kinder & simply, from my perspective, nicer boys. I'm sure you can tell by now that I am a liberal minded individual (and am therefore glad that there are no comments available on this review) & I cannot say that it's a not a well-made documentary but you had better have a stomach for macho, 17-year-old a-holes if you think you're going to enjoy this. Personally, I find it unbelievable that Cory Booker & President Clinton succeeded in this 'competition', but maybe it's not just the macho who survive? I can't watch the end of it so I don't know.

Seberg (2019)

Very good but unnecessarily slightly inaccurate.

[8/10 · 4 June 2020]

I'm not sure I understand all the terrible reviews for this movie. People criticize Kristen Stewart for her part but I thought she played an excellent part. Unless the critics personally knew Jean Seberg, how could they say that Kristen Stewart did not portray her well? I thought the story was compelling & surprisingly accurate (but not as much so as it could have been) although it could've actually been a better story if they were more accurate. According to the New York Times AND the FBI themselves (google it, the FBI admitted to ALL the wrongdoing in this movie & MUCH MORE), everything done to her by the FBI as portrayed in the movie is 100% accurate & then some. The FBI agent who is supposed to be 'sympathetic' toward the actress is inaccurate but I can understand the angle of having someone try to see her point of view. What I truly don't understand is why the movie had the very very confusing storyline of her attempted suicide & then press release saying that her baby died at 2 days old, when the press release in the movie happened right after the attempted suicide & she was pregnant at the time. It made it look like the attempted suicide killed her child, but she was pregnant at the time so that was unnecessarily confusing when the actual truth is when the FBI reported falsely that she was pregnant w a Black Panther's child she went into premature labor, gave birth & the baby lived for three days. The movie could easily have use that as part of the story, making it far more interesting, accurate & much less confusing. I really enjoyed the film but was COMPLETELY confused as to why a baby who wasn't full term (or even close) was pronounced dead at 2 days old, during a press conference that took place what after a suicide attempt. That's my only criticism of the movie. Otherwise I found it compelling (I'm reading EVERYTHING I can on the actress now & was already familiar w her story), well made & the portrayal if Jean Segel SEEMED to me to be good, although I'm a bit too young to have seen much of her in the press in the 1960s & 70s.

Enjoy, it's well worth the watch!

Top of the Lake (2013–2017)

Clarice Starling, look out!

[9/10 · 20 May 2020]

One of the best series I've seen in a long time. Elisabeth Moss brings all her best to the role of Robin Griffin. If you like her in The Handmaids Tale you'll love this.

Never Have I Ever (2020–2023)

Eh.

[5/10 · 2 May 2020]

I've never written a review for anything that I didn't really like but something about this keeps you watching even though it's mediocre at absolute BEST. I found myself eye-rolling at the ridiculousness of it, over and over. The acting is not very good at all, especially the lead actress (it's as if she's just reading her lines from some teenage high school drama club play) & the storylines are somewhat more interesting but basically your standard 'kind of pretty but not popular/smart nerd girl tries to get in w the popular kids while dissing her true friends & family' story line. How many times have we heard that one before?

I'm not sure why I watched the whole thing except for the fact that they were short episodes & it was one season.

Really disappointed in Mindy Kaling, I thought she was much better than this. Had it not been for her involvement I never would have watched this. I'm not sure HOW this gets an overall 8+ rating unless it's being reviewed by all high school kids (& if so, I'm glad you enjoyed it & shared your opinion - maybe other kids will take YOUR advice & enjoy it 😊)

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020–2021)

Maybe not for everyone but it extremely refreshing. I love it!

[9/10 · 18 March 2020]

This show has a different take on what I guess one could call a super power. Not your standard super power but given the fact that the lead character Zoe uses her gift for good let's just call it a super power. She is able to see into people's minds by hearing/seeing them sing & dance songs & she can't help herself when she tries to use this 'information' to help them. It's very, very well done, a really cool & different idea (very different from "my crazy ex-girlfriend") & I hope it doesn't "miss" w the audience. I really enjoy it & I think anyone who is open minded would really enjoy it. Not quite a chick flick type of show but probably something that not all men would enjoy, simply because they may find it 'too sensitive'. Personally, I absolutely love it & find it REALLY nice to see something different & positive while remaining relevant.

This Way Up (2019– )

DON'T miss this one

[10/10 · 11 December 2019]

The only thing I can found disappointing about this shoe is that it was only six 25 minute episodes. It's a great story about two sisters & how much they love each other, how much they depend on each other & how much they make each other laugh (as well as everyone around them). Obviously there's much much more to it than that, but that's the premise and Aisling Bea & Sharon Horgan are absolutely perfect together. It's a very good way to take a peek into someone's life through another person who they love so much. Brilliant!

Dollface (2019–2022)

Clearly, either love it or hate it- my takeaway, fun!

[9/10 · 18 November 2019]

I'm reading all these 1 star reviews saying how this is SO 'non-PC' & so on & I think people just need to look at this as a straight up quirky sitcom. As a single female w a normal amount of close friends & an ex long-term relationship (which DID cause me to temporarily 'loosen' my relationships w friends) this was just refreshing & funny & not trying to be anything else. The quirky little 'hallucination like' situations the main character experienced were fun & added a little bit of something different. Granted, a few shows have done this sort of thing successfully in the past (Ally McBeal comes to mind first, then Fleabag & Offspring (did it best), etc.) & Dollface does a good job w that. Relationships/friendships ARE funny & the overly stereotypical 'girlfriend roles' that everyone is criticizing seem to me to be purposefully over the top but in the end it's really just a cute & pretty funny show about people & mostly friendship. personally, I liked it & found it very easy to tear through in a day & a half while stuck at home sick. I think most people it w an open mind would find this entertaining & funny. Everything doesn't have to be PC, some things can just be funny & there certainly is nothing offensive in here.

Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby (2019 TV Special)

I actually thought I couldn't love him more!

[9/10 · 11 November 2019]

I feel like I need to preface this review w an honest statement that I love basically everything about Seth Meyers & always have. Even the word 'basically' is questionable - I can't think of anything I don't love about him. So much so that some nights I only watch Late Night for the first 15 or so minutes because I will never (& HAVE never) miss Seth's monologues & topical commentary/comedy skits/parodies on the off chance that I just don't have time to watch the whole show. I have never missed even one of his opening bits or a single 'weekend update' piece & even his early improv, the little bit that you might find if you search really well, is totally solid. I also think he was the second best writer ever on SNL, second only to Tina Fey - pretty good company, right?

That being said, I was prepared to be at least slightly disappointed w his stand up. I've often thought about seeing him live but it's somewhat rare & usually nowhere near where I live. Plus, honestly, I get to enjoy him 5 nights a week (ok, that 'hinted suggestion' is a bit over the top, but it's another reason I love Seth - anyone who looks that good & is also that funny is just so lovable). So for what it's worth, I thoroughly enjoyed a fantastic hour watching one of my absolute favorite humans do some of the best stand up I've seen. Something about him is so entirely entertaining & witty, yet so easily relatable. Because of his relationship w his family (who DOESN'T love Larry, Hilary & Josh?), his undeniable respect for his wife Alexi & obvious love for his boys, I just can't imagine anyone not liking him. That's part of what's so great about this special - It's just 'Seth being Seth', but instead of monologues or lead ins & punchlines you get solid stand up. Also, admittedly, it's kind of fun to hear him drop a few F-bombs without being 'bleeped'. I'm not saying this is for everyone, some people may not like Seth (how that's possible I don't know, but to each his/her own, I suppose) - but if you like Late Night w Seth Meyers, if you liked him on SNL & you find him funny in general you will undoubtedly thoroughly enjoy this Netflix special. As I said, I was prepared to be disappointed because the bar was set so high (my own doing, but I'll blame him for being SO off the charts talented) but I was anything but disappointed. This is just GREAT stand up.

That being said, it's not my absolute FAVORITE standup show ever - people who JUST do stand up are often SO well prepared, have perfect timing & truly have their craft down pat, but it is definitely fantastic stand up & given all his other talents, I was surprised to see that he is simply so very good at stand up.

Check this out people, you won't be disappointed. Seth is a class act, a humorist at heart & just a good guy w a great sense of humor - watch it, you'll have at least one good hour that day.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

Great acting by Zac Efron but quite 'off' the real story

[6/10 · 4 November 2019]

I've always sort of considered Zac Efron just another (VERY) handsome face & never paid that much attention to how good of an actor he is because he's really never been in anything that I am interested in. That being said, he plays the Ted Bundy part very very well & I have followed everything there is to read/watch/research on Ted Bundy for YEARS, including the Ann Rule book 'The Stranger Beside Me' (an all-time great true crime writer who happened to work w Bundy on, of all things, a suicide prevention hotline - and she considered him a friend). There really no need for all this extra information but my point is that I have always had a great interest in the complicated mind of Ted Bundy & when I came across this I was skeptical but although it's a decent movie, it's very 'off' factually. Not in the real important ways, but it's done from his girlfriend Liz's perspective & it doesn't even properly portray his relationship w her. It starts before anything was known about him as a criminal & portrays her to have been part of his life all the way into the Chi Omega murder trial & also portrays them as being madly/magically/happily in love when, in truth, Liz & Ted had a lot of trouble, not to mention the fact that Liz was skeptical & suspicious of Ted. For example, You find out toward the very end of the movie that she had given his name to the police - everyone knows this is the case so they HAD to put it in the movie but it sort of just 'didn't fit' w the Idealic relationship they tried to portray (which simply wasn't true, according to everything I have ever read or seen in documentary/bibliography type of media. If you find the Ted Bundy story interesting almost everything else I've seen has been more true to life than this particular film. If you find the Ted Bundy story interesting almost everything else I've seen has been more true to life than this particular film. It's not that it's UNTRUE, It just uses too much 'artistic license' that it portrays a completely different story of Bundy's life & relationships which throws off a not very realistic portrayal of one of the most notorious killers of all time.

The Village (I) (2019)

Very touching

[7/10 · 22 May 2019]

Right now we all need some feel good stories of people who simply 'love first' - that's what you have with this group of characters. It's a lovey show & I, for one, sure hope to see a second season.