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noodlelube
Reviews
W.E. (2011)
Andrea Riseborough makes it
I was so charmed and impressed by the performance of Andrea Riseborough that I'm glad I watched. I can't believe she did not win awards or become catapulted to a household name with more major leading roles. This side of the story was well done, and really all the actors did a nice job. It's not their fault the the modern storyline weaved in felt so pointless. It just kind of was. Madonna did well with the direction and the music was great. I just wish it all hadn't been so bogged down by other story, which did not seem connected enough, got too much run time, and just left me wondering why bother.
The Outer Limits: Dark Child (2002)
What a shame
What a shame that they did such a rushed, sloppy ending and made some lazy, poor decisions along the way. It was an interesting story and had potential. The daughter was very good, and there was a great performance by the other abductee in the hospital. The mom, unfortunately, was not well played (or written), despite her being a great comedy actress.
It pretty much went to hell when the mom confronts the teacher publicly and loudly at the school. Not believable at all.
If they needed for people to know about it, and for it to later upset and embarrass the daughter, they could have just set it up so that they were accidentally overheard in a private conversation and then gossiped about. There was also zero surprise in the reveal of the teacher either, considering the flashbacks were really not vague enough. Wasted opportunities to make this much better.
Hick (2011)
Redmayne saves it, but clunkily put together & uncomfortable
The most uncomfortable part of the movie is the fact that a real human 14yr old girl played the part of this hyper-sexualized character. I'm sure they could have cast someone older to play the younger role. On top of that, either the director or Chloe, herself, insisted on so much excessive 'sultry-eyed', duck-faced pouting that is way overdone and dragged out.
For that, I was constantly reminded that she was Acting! Drama! And found it creepy and annoying.
I feel like most of the praise is from lecherous men just rubbing their hands together, licking their lips in anticipation. "Oh what a talented little darling!"
Yuck
On the other hand, I thought the entire rest of the cast did an excellent job, and especially Eddie in his ever changing tones of awkward charm, 'innocent' brattiness, to deeply disturbed. He nailed the atmosphere of it all, along with the perfect accent you didn't even need to think twice about, (or get taken out of the story to consider the 'acting' until afterwards). It just felt very natural.
The story itself is intriguing and compelling and I wasn't expecting the turns it took. I just wish it took the turns sooner. The first half spends too much time dragging out more of the insignificant points (and just letting the camera make love to Chloe), and then abruptly races through the more impactful and dramatic parts in the second half. Blake did well with what she had but I would have liked more treatment of her character and what happened to her.
Didn't seem like Chloe felt too much or was changed by events that happened either. Her ending seemed fairly shallow with a kind of joyous 'well home still sucks I guess, so YAY! I'm going to meet up with this random dude and do this now'
I mean, I was no angel myself at 14, and might have run off into the next unknown, but she had just been pummeled by a series of truly traumatic events. Just seemed a little too tidy and carefree.
Deadloch (2023)
Black & Oh SO Blue comedy
One of my favourite things in shows is creative dialogue, and people being absurdly candid, raw & direct... and maybe I'm a bit sick, but graphically gross descriptions just crack me the hell up.
It's something I loved about the Dexter series also, with sister Deb breaking the tension with her fancy sweary outbursts.
I understand that Detective Eddie is not for everyone, and of course she is over the top abrasive, but I effing loved it, along with the more relatively subtle character of young, keen 'Big Eyes' and her maddening fiancé. The whole cast was gold to me really.
It has a bit of a UK Office or Extras feel to me (or like a Best in Show/ Waiting for Guffman hint) with just enough cringey 'real' familiarity of working or living with these types of personalities and the excruciating frustration & awkwardness it produces.
On top of that, the mystery aspects are done well enough, with multiple misdirects and twists, which keep you intrigued and wanting to solve the puzzle. Brilliant.
White Collar (2009)
Not too shabby...but that 1 scene....
I've actually been enjoying this show as a light entertainment at the end of a night when I need to decompress and distract. I enjoy the characters, especially Mozzie and Peter. I was afraid that Matt Bomer would annoy me, as I find him rather hit or miss, but he manages to be rather charming...EXCEPT for during the pretty laughable scene in season 1, episode 8, where they are in a room with 5 minutes of oxygen. His acting as he supposedly ran out of air, and then later is 'revived' is so completely phoned in, I didn't know if I would get past it. In any case, I find it otherwise pretty watchable, especially if I'm messing around on my phone at the same time. I like that the female characters are often pretty clever, strong and respected, and the stories are engaging enough for me to keep going for now.
Life in Color (2015)
Little gem
Really impressed by the acting of Josh McDermitt! I was thinking about how familiar he looked, but I was not putting him together with his Walking Dead character. This is not just because of the lack of a dark coloured mullet, but mostly because he manages to alter his entire demeanor. I suspect this character is closer to his own personality and mannerism, which is a testament to how well he morphs into Eugene.
I found Homer really likable and relatable...and even though I found Mary much less likable, I did find her maybe even more relatable (in an uncomfortable way that made me want to slap both of us a little bit)!
Simple story, but done with realistic and subtle beauty. Nicely done by everyone involved.
Go with Me (2015)
66 swigs (or more)...Blackway!!!!
If you want to watch something as a drinking game, and you want to get really drunk...take a swig for every time they say "Blackway"... Apparently another review counted 66...and I was shocked, as only halfway through (when I gave up and stopped watching), it seemed like it had to be much more. Weak, lazy dialog and script with wholly unoriginal story. It's great if you want to exert zero attention and like the way the name Blackway sounds