lisacarlson50 Reviews

Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

Completely Stupid

[1/10 · 23 February 2024]

Let's face it. The Coen brothers are an acquired taste. Most of the their productions are strange. This one is no exception. There's violence and nudity. It uses the stereotypes already exhaustedly overused with lesbians and simply makes a mockery out of it. I have a sense of humor but I wasn't laughing. The two leads. Qualley and. Viswanathan, are likable. However, there's not much chemistry between the two of them. There's an assortment of other oddball characters who seemed to be pulled right out of a nightmare. I was in the theatre with only one other person who left 20 minutes in. I waited another 20 and left myself. Complete waste of time.

Nyad (2023)

Two legends, Two Hours, Terrific

[10/10 · 16 November 2023]

While the reviews seem to be all over the place I could not wait for this one. Maybe because I love swimming. I wanted to see it in the theatre but it didn't come anywhere close to me in St. Paul, Mn. Benning trained for a year with Olympic swimmer Rada Owen. But the main reason I wanted to see it was for Foster. She's been MIA for too long. It's one of her best roles and she steals every scene she's in. The movie is also about friendship and how these two navigate several years of knowing each other and supporting each other. You may not like Nyad but her tenacity is something else and required for living your dreams.

Painkiller (2023)

Don't Bother

[1/10 · 13 August 2023]

If you've watched Emmy-award winner Michael Keaton in Dopesick you have already seen the best representation of this story. The book by Beth Macy is just as excellent. This is a complete waste of Broderick and Aduba. It's a ridiculous knock off from the very sad story of how the Sackler family duped everyone to make billions. The one redeeming quality is real-life family members begin each episode with their story; the loss of a loved one. It's amazing Patrick Radden Keefe is even associated with this clown show. He wrote an outstanding book about the Sackler family. The Sackler family deserves to spend time in prison because paying billions is not accountability enough for all the heartache they have caused.

Barbie (I) (2023)

Creatively Brilliant

[10/10 · 22 July 2023]

Brilliantly written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Everyone in this is fantastic. It's a wink at nostalgia and commentary on society. Never played with Barbies but my daughter did. Tribute to the inventor of Barbie, Ruth Handler. Helen Mirren narrates. Kate McKinnon almost steals the movie. Not a movie for little kids but most of the references will probably go over their heads. My girlfriend and I laughed out loud many times. It's about 20 minutes too long for my taste. The music is spot on. It's a perfect summer movie. Guess what? It has value and substance. Margot Robbie is not only gorgeous but more importantly, she's highly intelligent as actor and producer. This movie is going to make bank!

Carol Burnett: A Celebration (2023)

Burnett deserved better

[2/10 · 27 April 2023]

The iconic Carol Burnett Show was apart of my childhood. We watched this wonderful show as a family. Is there anyone naturally funnier than Burnett, Conway, Korman, Waggoner and Lawrence? This special fell way short. Except for the wonderful clips from the show, Vicki Lawrence, Julie Andrews everyone else did not deliver. Even Cher didn't know what to say and Perry's dreadful rendition of the beloved theme song sounded like she was singing it at a funeral. However, being the professional she is Burnett took it in stride. It's too bad Conway, Korman and Waggoner have passed as their presence would have uplifted this show in spades.

The Diplomat (II) (2023– )

Oh My, dreadful writing

[2/10 · 23 April 2023]

I guess they had to premise this as something from one of the creators of Homeland and The West Wing. Well, first of all those shows are in a category all alone especially Homeland; this is no Homeland. Russell is simply not credible as a diplomat; maybe CIA.

The writing is terrible. The funniest is Michael McKean as the President.

It's trying to hard to be slick, smart and failing miserably. The constantly swearing is a turn-off. The relationship between Russell and Sewell is plain odd. The rest of the cast isn't terrible but they are not given much to work with except disdainful expressions.

Family Dinner (I) (2021– )

Bending over backwards to be sensitive

[2/10 · 2 April 2023]

If you lived in Minnesota back in 2018 you'll remember Zimmern's comments about the Chinese food environment in the Twin Cities; he was ironically attempting to open an asian food restaurant called the Lucky Cricket at the same time. The restaurant failed and so did he. After a divorce and Bizarre foods being canceled he's clearly trying to reinvent himself. I used to like him especially his story of getting clean. However, having a national platform as he did and disparaging a relevant food population was in poor taste to say the least. I can't watch him anymore because I don't really believe he's genuine.

80 for Brady (2023)

Sweet, Kind and Funny with 4 amazing Legends

[10/10 · 19 February 2023]

If you're a fan of Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Lily Tomlin this is a perfect matinee movie to see. It's ideal to see with girlfriends as it's main premise is about long-term friendships and how they massively enrich our lives. While no longer a fan of football I loved watching these actresses relate to each other in any environment. My favorite is Sally Field who is the youngest in this movie. All of them look terrific for their ages. Billy Porter and Harry Hamlin are nice supporting players. There's no swearing, violence and some very mild sexual innuendo. It's a refreshing winner.

Emily the Criminal (2022)

A Winner

[10/10 · 18 December 2022]

The very best part of this movie is I didn't recognize anyone and the pacing, storyline and acting all worked together beautifully. It's a rarity when a show hits the trifecta but this one does. Plaza gives a nuanced performance in what could have been a cliched movie; but it's not with her in the driver's seat. You are cheering for her right from the beginning as there's nothing predictable. It's the best kind of experience. I really enjoyed it. Maybe they could turn this into a series if the writing is on board. There is some violence but this is a thriller and she has great chemistry with everyone in the movie.

She Said (2022)

A female ...All the President's Men

[10/10 · 20 November 2022]

Just as significant in a different way as the above mentioned 1976 movie this is female reporters investigating one man's reign in Hollywood where he got away with sexual harassment and beyond. For obvious reasons, women were afraid of Weinstein who thrived on power, domination and the humiliation of woman under the guise of a movie producer. It was a known secret about him and yet, he was allowed to continue this behavior for decades. Thank goodness for women like Cantor and Twohey who love their jobs and more importantly, are relentless when it comes to the story. Mulligan and Kazan are terrific as is everyone else.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

I was bored

[2/10 · 6 November 2022]

Well, given this movie made so much money there will be another because Hollywood is that greedy. I didn't have any expectations because frankly, I love the 1986 original. Kelly, McGillis, Meg Ryan, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Val Kilmer, Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast all worked beautifully and there was a fluid, high energy pace. Top Gun Maverick falls flat in the middle. While Jennifer Connelly is easy on the eyes her and Cruise have no chemistry. The rest of the cast is forgettable as well. Besides the fight scenes there's nothing original. If a sequel was going to be made it needed to be done 5 years after not 30 years later. A talented writer could have come up with a storyline and it didn't need to involve Goose or his family.

Tar (2020)

One of the oddest and most disappointing movies

[1/10 · 24 October 2022]

Ok. I knew this was probably going to be a toss-up because the trailer is a bit off. The good news is Cate Blanchett consumes the moment as expected. She's haunting and excellent. She'll probably be nominated for an Oscar.

She's in nearly every scene and is one of the producers. Unfortunately, this where the positive ends. This movie is over 2 1/2 hours and there's many moments I frankly didn't understand about the subject matter of conducting. The themes of ego and power are evident. There could have been some really beautiful music but it is essentially ignored. The relationships are not much better here. They are fraught with suspicion, manipulation and coldness. The overall tone of the movie is cold.

Alaska Daily (2022–2023)

2 time Oscar winner Hillary Swank is Excellent

[10/10 · 14 October 2022]

If you haven't seen much of her movie work then you'd probably not realize what a gift she is in anything she does. Million Dollar Baby is my favorite movie of hers with Clint Eastwood. It appears she's been doing more television recently. This show has a perfect Thursday night time slot on ABC for a genuine, decent drama. I've missed those on network television. The writing is obviously strong and the rest of the cast whom I generally don't know is also superb. The Alaska scenery is amazing. The show revolves around journalism and how important it is to every community. It's relevant and on-point.

So Help Me Todd (2022–2024)

Marcia Gay Hardin is the reason to watch

[10/10 · 14 October 2022]

Love Hardin in anything she does. I can't for a moment see Geena Davis in the role. CBS probably had to pay her to get her to come to television. The networks seem to be doing it lately with Queen Latifah and Hillary Swank. Hardin seems to be enjoying this role. She's smart, classy and funny here as an attorney and mom. Her co-star is equally good. The mother and son dynamic feels realistic. The rest of the cast is rather invisible but that could be elevated by the writing. It's refreshing to come back to network television when there's actually genuine writing and there's only one episode that drops each week.

The Good House (2021)

Authentic story with flawed characters

[10/10 · 4 October 2022]

The movie trailer is dead on. Weaver and Kline have great chemistry together. They obvious like each other because this isn't the first movie they've done together. This is the kind of movie Hollywood needs to revisit and put in theaters again. Many of us could care less about Super Hero movies. It's one of Weaver's best roles. There's an authentic vibe to the characters and storyline. It's a love story/. It's about family relationships and being a parent. The setting of the movie is beautiful. It follows pretty closely to the excellent book by Ann Leary. The rest of the cast is superb as well. It's paced well at 90 minutes. I loved it.

The White Lotus (2021–2025)

An Insult to Hawaii

[1/10 · 15 September 2022]

Hawaii is gorgeous and beautiful. Thankfully, there are plenty of shots of the beautiful ocean because you will want to dump most of these characters right in the ocean. The people who work at the hotel generally have no standards and act phony. The guests are not much better. They are petty, spoiled and disgusting. This isn't a show promoting strong women; these women make me want to run screaming from the room. Self-absorbed and ridiculous. But it begins with great writing which is sadly absent. This show won an 2022 Emmy and I cannot understand why. This is a waste of Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton and Molly Shannon.

Succession (2018–2023)

Don't bother

[1/10 · 15 December 2021]

This show has no humility. The characters are all unlikable. It's essentially a bunch of rich, dumb people who are bored with themselves and each other. A huge waste of time.

And Just Like That... (2021– )

Unnecessary and Terrible Writing

[1/10 · 15 December 2021]

There is a reason SJP is not doing press for this terrible reboot. Not that the original was anything to brag about.

She can't in good conscience defend the way the show has savagely expelled the best character from the original; Samantha. Let's give Cattrall credit for staying away from this bomb. Kudos to Noth as well.

Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)

Don't Waste Your Time

[1/10 · 7 August 2021]

Poorly written and acted. It's hard to believe this has Taylor Sheridan's name on it. His movies are usually much higher quality. I love Jolie but she's terrible in this role. Incredibly violent along with some unrealistic scenes. If I were Finn Little's parents he would not have been in this movie.

Nobody (I) (2021)

Odenkirk is the New Equalizer

[10/10 · 24 June 2021]

First, the music is the best. Odenkirk delivers in every scene. It's old style action which once it takes off it soars. It's not overly long because 90 minutes is perfect. Favorite movie of the year. Love Odenkirk!

Halston (2021)

Completely depressing

[2/10 · 18 May 2021]

It's like watching a train wreck. No wonder the family is not behind this 5 episode version of Halston's life. Remember this is a Ryan Murphy production so it's going to be hit or miss with lots of gay sex. The acting isn't terrible but the writing is terrible so how much can we expect from the cast? His family barely gets a mention and the only bright spot is the actress who portrays Liza Minnelli.

News of the World (2020)

Any Tom Hanks film is a winner

[10/10 · 1 May 2021]

It's always great to rent a movie where the lead is Tom Hanks because he does not disappoint. Here he plays a news reader after the civil war who of course, has a conscience about everything he does. His costar is Berlin born Helena Zengel who looks younger than her 13 years presents. This is a slow burning movie which is appropriately paced and a welcome after a year of pandemic heartache. There's some gun play which is probably a first for Hanks but the story focuses on a story which is what excellent movies have.

Your Honor (II) (2020–2023)

Don't waste your time

[1/10 · 3 April 2021]

This show is a complete waste of talented actors like Cranston, Martindale and Tierney to name a few. Tierney's attorney looks like she got her wig from a bad Halloween costume store. The first problem is the writing is terrible. The acting is not much better because the actors don't have anything to work with. The story doesn't make much sense, it's violent and it should have been named Your Honor is Clueless.

Goliath (2016–2021)

Excellent

[10/10 · 27 February 2021]

Bill Bob Thornton may be the star of the show but Nina Arianda as Patty steals every scene she is in and why doesn't she have her own show? She's terrific. The writing is a step up from some of the other shows; it's got grit. Each season has a new set of creeps for Thornton, an attorney, to bring to justice. Too bad it's ending after Season 4.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Terrible

[1/10 · 22 February 2021]

I love Frances McDormand. She's irreverent when it matters, gutsy and does whatever she wants. However, I can't believe this won any awards for Best Picture. It's not uplifting, it stokes the revenge line and the talented actors in this movie do not elevate it. Hopefully, the next thing McDormand does will be better.