milly_ele Reviews

Saltburn (2023)

Boring and Tasteless

[1/10 · 21 April 2024]

I think my title speaks for itself, but I need to fill this space with 600 words so here it goes. I paused this movie so many times because it either got really raunchy or it was just plain boring.

If it was supposed to be funny, I missed the humor in it. And how did this sociopath get away with even the first murder? Since he drank from the poisoned wine bottle, he made himself throw up. He threw up right at the scene where the death took place. Police would have scoured the area and used that as evidence. At the very least, he would've been brought in for questioning. If bit then, when the 2nd murder occurs and he is, again, the last person seen with the victim. Just plain dumb!

Entre tierras (2023)

Boring and Absurd

[1/10 · 7 April 2024]

The year is 1967, not 1467! Why is an unknown old man coming to a far away town and choosing a bride that is to marry by proxy? The family decides that the youngest daughter will marry this old man because they need the money, yet there are 3 grown children and a mother who can all work so how badly can they need money if they live in a small house and don't spend much. It turns out the groom is the old man's nephew who hates his new bride yet has a sudden change of heart. He goes from being a lazy drunk to a sober, loving husband. And why is the main character's ex creepy boyfriend also smirking? Even when things go wrong for him, he takes out a tobacco and grins. Super low budget, bad writing, awful plot - just terrible!

This Is Us: Miguel (2022) Season 6, Episode 15

Farewell Miguel

[10/10 · 1 April 2024]

What made this episode so sad is that Miguel is the only character that has never been unlikeable. We always see the flashbacks of Rebeca and Jack and, it's obvious, they were in love. But I'm sure everyone has wondered about Rebeca and Miguel's story. I wish they hadn't left Miguel and Rebeca's story for the end. It could have been stretched out between 2-3 episodes too. I noticed that his daughter was missing. I would have liked to see him reconnect with her as well.

When he fell in the snow, I thought he was going to die there. But it was also great that rebecca still remembered him despite her horrible disease.

This Is Us: The Night Before the Wedding (2022) Season 6, Episode 14

Sophie is Boring

[31 March 2024]

I'm thinking fans want Kevin and Sophie together because they were high school sweethearts. But, in reality, we don't know much about her. She's hardly in any of the episodes and doesn't stand out in the ones she's in. I can't tell you anything about her, except that she works in a hospital. She's an undeveloped, boring character. For the family's sake, I wish Kevin would have married Madison. She's the mother of his children after all. If not Madison, then Cassidy. We got to see a story between them. They've gone through stuff together. Kevin and Sophie have puppy love and a few episodes of small talk between them.

Thumbs down on this episode!

This Is Us: Katoby (2022) Season 6, Episode 12

No Reason to Break Up that Family

[1/10 · 31 March 2024]

The writers wanted to change Toby's personality, I don't know why. I liked how his and Kate's relationship started. They were both in a bad place and helped each other out of it. Toby had a lot more work with Kate. She was self hating and obsessed with her weight. She couldn't manage to have the least bit of fun, but Toby helped her through that. I think it's because he loved her as she was. That's why I don't understand why the writers would want to break apart that relationship. They're a family with kids. It's so wrong!

And Phillip (or whatever his name is) is super boring and forgettable too!

This Is Us: One Giant Leap (2022) Season 6, Episode 2

Rating the Nicky half of it a 5, ZERO for borefest Deja

[5/10 · 29 March 2024]

As unrealistic as it probably was, the Nicky portion of the episode was great. His character has developed and I love the friendship that has blossomed between him, Rebecca and Miguel. It's not unimaginable for people, even those content with their lives, to think "What could have been?" It was also nice to finally see Rebecca taking Miguel's feeling into consideration. We only see flashbacks of her and Jack, but her story with Miguel, while different, should be interesting too. It's obvious that Miguel loves her and she loves him, even though it's a calmer, more "mature" thing than what she felt when she first met Jack.

As far as Deja, who cares and why was she brought into the show? Her useless character wasn't enough so they brought the useless boyfriend too. What a waste of airtime!

This Is Us: Brotherly Love (2021) Season 5, Episode 13

Tired of Randall

[1/10 · 29 March 2024]

I'm so over Randall. In the flashbacks of him as a kid, we can see the typical thoughts of adopted children. They wonder about their birth parents and fantasize that they're some VIP or someone of the sort. But now that he's an adult, Randall should KNOW differently. His birth parents were drug addicts who chose to give him up. He owes his life to the Pearsons. But, instead, he's talking about microaggressions (whatever that means). I really hope this is the last of the ungrateful and whining episode. It seems that no one in that family can do anything without Randall considering it an act of racism.

This Is Us: Birth Mother (2021) Season 5, Episode 6

Poor Attempt to redeem Randall

[1/10 · 28 March 2024]

Writers must have been reading all the complaints about Randall when the first episodes of this season aired. So they resurrected a dead mother to try to make us feel compassion for him, but it was a BIG FAIL! Randall is a hypocrite. He would t have anything of what he has now if it weren't for the Pearson family. But he still complains about HIS feelings were overlooked because he's black and they're white. They took him in, loved him, cared for him and raised him when his own birth parents wouldn't. The Pearsons made him a part of their family, but that's not enough for him. He wanted his every whim attended to.

This Is Us: The Graduates (2019) Season 3, Episode 14

Bored of Deja

[5/10 · 24 March 2024]

The Deja character is very unnecessary and extremely unlikeable. She adds nothing to the show and does t mesh with the storylines. Now we're supposed to believe that Deja, who had been failing school until last year, is now caught up and excelling to the point that she could skip a grade!? She would have to be an absolute genius for that to happen. All we've seen is a sulky, angry unlikeable girl. Nothing in her screams genius.

So I just came here to say this, but since I have over 100 characters left I'll add that Kevin is the whiniest character on the show. People complain about Kate, but he wins by a milestone!

This Is Us: The Wedding (2018) Season 2, Episode 18

The wedding toast?!

[3/10 · 21 March 2024]

Now that this series is on Netflix I'm watching to see what all the hype was about. I'll write a review for the entire series when I'm done with all 6 seasons, but I couldn't NOT write one for this episode because WTH?! That toast by Kevin... Did he really make it all about the dead dad on his sister's wedding day. And it's not like the dad died 20 days before the wedding, he died 20 YEARS prior and he's making the toast all about the dad so many years later??

Since I have 100+ words left before this lets me finish, I'll mention Kate's dream. Dreaming about your parents' vow renewal ceremony, when one parent has been dead for 20 years and the other is remarried, is just weird!

Isabel (2011–2014)

A Must Watch

[10/10 · 16 February 2024]

After watching the series 3x, it still doesn't get old. As an admirer of Queen Isabel, I am fascinated by this production. It is as faithful to history as a 39 episode series could be. Of course some events are hurried; for example the Pope didn't die at the dinner table, instead he fell ill after a dinner with his son and died several days later.

Michelle Jenner grows into her role as the series progresses. By the end, she IS Queen Isabel. I would say it's any ensemble cast because everyone plays their roles so well - special mentions to Carrillo, Felipe el Hermoso, Juana La Loca and Chacón. It was also refreshing to enjoy a series without gratuitous and unneeded vulgarity and sex scenes.

Holy Family (2022–2023)

Convoluted Mess

[3/10 · 20 November 2023]

The series started off intriguing. There was suspense as to why the family was in hiding, but then the plot began to develop holes, fall apart and become entangled with subplots that didn't add to the story. The mother plays her role to perfection, but the supporting cast is just meh. Questions left unanswered: 1) if they were in complete hiding, why would they risk socializing and getting recognized?

2) why was the twin daughter allowed to go to school, but not the son?

3) why add the neighbor's child's death as it didn't contribute to the story?

4) why didn't the baby's mother and grandfather call the police?

Patria (2020)

Excellent

[10/10 · 10 November 2023]

A perfectly portrayed narrative of the reality of what ETA was, did and stood for in its hey days. The settings were impeccable! (The set director for this series deserves many accolades)! Each apartment was decorated and furnished exactly as a person or family of that age and era would have done so. The rain and gloomy conditions that accompany the atrocities of ETA are subtle, but add so much to the narrative. This series perfectly defines ETA, but with the added element of effect the organization had on families and on the nation of Spain. The actors are top notch as well. I wish there were more series like this one.

The Girl in the Mirror (2022)

Too Confusing

[7/10 · 4 November 2023]

This could have been a stellar series had they not involved the whole demon storyline. I'm still confused about the grandfather and who he was. Was he a reincarnation of a body possessed by a demon? And how about the guy who awoke from the coma? Is he now a demon too? Did he turn his sister into a demon?

There were 2 storylines going on at once. All the while, I thought they were intertwined, but no! The spirits inhabiting dead bodies was a big enough plot. It was not hard to follow and there weren't any plot holes. I wish the writers had stuck to that one story. The series would have been easier to follow and could have allowed for more time dedicated to the lives of the surviving students post accident.

Person of Interest (2011–2016)

Authentic look into reality

[7/10 · 23 October 2023]

All I could think is "how much of this is accurate?" Since the show was filmed, AI has come a long way so for all we know, we are living the show now. However, I do think the show lost its plot. It started out great with Finch and John saving a different number each week. Then came the HR bit, which was tiresome but it never took away from the plot of an episode. When Samaritan was introduced, the plot was lost and John was no longer saving numbers, but it all became centered on fighting an invisible AI. The character of Root was too far fetched to be believable in any way. Where did she learn all her talents? Oh! And the ending was terrible! Why John and Elias?

Person of Interest: QSO (2016) Season 5, Episode 7

Ballet Dancer?

[5/10 · 22 October 2023]

So the machine creates aliases for Root. Fine! I'll take that, but how on earth could she physically be the jack of all trades? First of all, she's way too young to have knowledge and/or experience in every work profession possible. Then, we were made to believe that she can fight and shoot as well as the 2 trained government agents. Okay! I accepted that, although I was skeptical. But now she is a prima ballerina?? Ever since Root was introduced to the show, it has gone downhill. There's no explanation for her many abilities. She went from being a psychologist to a psychopath, to a trained assassin and today was a prima ballerina! What a bunch of crock!

Sharp Objects (2018)

True to the novel

[7/10 · 25 August 2023]

The series follows the novel to perfection. While I appreciate the fidelity to the book, it makes for a lot of confusion. I read the novel years ago, so the flashbacks and inclusion of every character's thoughts and actions proved a bit tedious and confusing.

However, the series was excellently cast. With the exception of Camille, everyone was exactly as they were described in the novel. While Amy Adams' portrayal was good, it's not how I envisioned Camille. She even seemed a bit too old for the part.

As for the predicable ending, that's how it was written. I can't remember if the book clarifies how am adolescent girl managed to carry all that out by herself. I wish an explanation would have been offered in the series.

O sabor das margaridas (2018–2020)

Excellent Plot Twist

[7/10 · 18 August 2023]

The story is told in a very engaging manner. I was intrigued from the very beginning. And the plot twist at the end is one that I didn't see coming. I love a good plot twist and this one didn't disappoint.

I didn't understand the reason for the subplots that didn't go anywhere (the teen photography thing, the peso teacher and the weird fetish guy). There were also many plot holes and I'd like to know the number of hours in a day in Spain. So much happened in one day that it's not even believable; especially all the events in episode 6. I'll attribute it to creative liberties taking precedence. Also, Mauro's daughter was terribly miscast. Not only is she a poor actor, but she wasn't likable enough to have us believe that 2 guys would be fighting over her - 3 if you include the teacher.

A Perfect Story (2023)

Not a perfect story

[5/10 · 11 August 2023]

The 5 star rating is because the filming locations were perfect. I hate to be a Debbie downer, but I couldn't follow this love story. The runaway bride leaves her handsome and successful fiancée, who loves her and she seems to love for a couch surfing bum. It's not realistic and there was nothing leading up to the reasons why she left her fiancée. They made him out to be a good guy so I had trouble following the whole thing. I understand the couch surfer's reasons for leaving his girlfriend, but he was no catch himself. And why were there 2 endings? It's not like this was played in the movie theater and 2 endings were needed so as to not spoil it.

Life Itself (2018)

A Must See

[9/10 · 5 August 2023]

I would have rated this movie a 10 had there been more to the ending. I really wanted to see more of Rigo and Dylan's life together. I know time and editing are issues, but I e say through super long boring movies before, so I'm sure an additional 10-15 minutes was possible.

The story is cleverly narrated and full of happy and sad surprises. The cast was incredible! There was no one to dislike or like, in particular, but I felt moved be each individual. I guess this is representative of true life. We fail to make real connections with most co-workers and neighbors, but their struggles will stir our emotions.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

Non typical true love

[10/10 · 25 May 2023]

I LOVED this movie! It tells a great story without depravity or vulgarity. It is a story of a dog's and his owner's true love for each other. It depicts what true loyalty looks like. I wasn't expecting the tragedy that occurred (as I hadn't read any reviews beforehand). Nothing could have prepared me for that or for the beautiful story that developed afterward. Even dog non lovers will have their heart strings tugged. The cast, including Hachi, was fabulous. There's nothing that could have made this movie better. Even thought the ending was expected, it was done so beautifully that it still made me bawl. Terrific and innocent movie!

The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (2023)

An Insult to the real King Aethelstan

[1/10 · 17 April 2023]

Ever since Netflix took over the series, the storylines have been predictable, lazy and uninteresting. The cinematography has been dull as well. But the greatest insult was the relationship between King Aethelstan and the new character. Aethelstan Hs been recorded as being very pious and holy. There was no reason to include a storyline that definitely would never occur in the life of a holy man during the Middle Ages. That story aside, are we supposed to believe that Aethelstan would doubt Uhtred who was like a father to him? I understand leaving the viewer to form his own ending - whether Uhtred lives or dies. But by just depicting Valhalla, it means Uhtred would never again be United with Beocca, his sons, Hild, Finan, Aethelfled...

Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi (2022)

More Confused after Watching

[1/10 · 7 February 2023]

The documentary starts off nicely, but quickly becomes hard to follow. Seems the family had leads and was receiving phone calls from the kidnappers, but this series makes Italian police look useless because no one ever bothered to follow those leads. Then there's Minardi, a lady who supposedly helped keep Emanuela captive. She's as convincing as my cat. This is followed by the Italian who claimed to be an American who was the kidnapper, yet has an Italian name and speaks with no American accent. Then there's Vatican documents that tell how Emanuela was shipped to a convent in England, yet no one can tell if these documents are real or fake. And why isn't Minardi, the kidnappers' accomplice, in jail?

Heirs to the Land (2022)

Scattered Script

[6/10 · 21 April 2022]

The series had potential had they not wasted so much time on the main character's love affairs with unlikeable women. A big part of the story, towards the end, is how his friend suddenly dislikes him, but nothing leads up to the reasons why. They spend the last few episodes hating each other with no explanation as to why. Apparently, everyone in 1400's Barcelona was saintly, except members of the Church. They were not all corrupt and evil.

The Last Kingdom (2015–2022)

Great start until Alfred dies

[8/10 · 12 March 2022]

The first 3 seasons were excellent! Once King Alfred died, Uhtred's story seemed to be in limbo.

Brida is an awful character snd should've been done away with at the same time as Ragnar. All that hate, only to have her come around right before Stiorra kills her is unrealistic.

Stiorra is another unlikeable character. She has zero depth nor does she add anything of value to the series. At least Uhtred's son adds to his father's inner conflict of religion vs destiny.

And, the ending was way too rushed. A glimpse of the future and Uhtred's life in Northumbria would have been nice. He spent 5 seasons trying to get there and then we don't even see how he enjoyed it.