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lmasong
Reviews
Recipes for Love and Murder: Bereft Woman (2022)
And now, for something completely different.
This is my first view of South African television, and I am enthralled at the view so far. I had my doubts about the Tannie Maria character in the first episode. I remembered Marie Doyle Kennedy in her harder edged roles from Outlander and Downton Abbey. But she has proven to be quite convincing as the chef with a soft heart for lovers in need of aid and comfort. I trust we will see following episodes in swift succession. The remaining cast are unknown to me so far, but they perform convincingly as an ensemble, and the setting of small town life in Karoo plays as authentic to my knowledge and taste so far. I found the trist between Martine and her friend as she named her gifted ducks a delight and then a tragedy as plot showed its ugly side. Perhaps we shall see if justice finds its way home to roost.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Ethan... Esther... Chaim (2022)
Appauling
This show has never been quite my thing
but on my daughter's advice I began watching. I like to finish what I've started to I kept on. Then I got to season four. And with each episode I have found myself more confused as to what this show considers itself. Is it an odd kind of nostalgia? Comedy that often has few if any laughs? Family drama but with a nudie show sideline? Then we get to the Jackie episode and I was never so appalled. The comments about Pat Nixen were beyond crude. This show has gone over the top in its attempts to be something different and I have lost all interest in the not so marvelous Midge Maisel. I have absolutely no interest in another season.
Outlander: Mercy Shall Follow Me (2020)
Are you kidding me?
I've awoken to this episode in a stupor.
Can this be for real? Not in the book. Not in the story line. A very far cry from what could or should have been. Gabaldon lost me with this one, even with her very not supposed unreal story to be. Too bad!
Outlander: If Not For Hope (2019)
Concern for Authenticity
What, pray tell, do the Mohawk intend for Roger? A weak segment in this epic. Firstly, Roger should not have been given off so cavalierly to the Mohawk. Secondly, why would they traipse 500 miles or so with a couple of white men to do nothing with them in the end but have him distribute firewood? Much to be desired in this segment other than to make Briana penitent, as well she should be. The entire story of Roger and Briana is given to a kind of romantic tom-foolery with little reality to speak of. This is not how the world works in this century or the past. Each of the characters, including Jamie and Briana, Roger and Ian,could have spoken a few words that would have prevented this entire episode from occurring. Not good copy for a script of this magnitude. Let's move on and hope for better.
The Resident: From the Ashes (2019)
Need a transfusion of A Positive
It's time something good happened to some of the staff on this interminable downer of a look at the current medical scene. I've pushed to finish season 2, feeling this was beginning to wear on the viewer. And then we get the opening episode of season 3. This kind of karma cannot endure in one place within the allotted time frame of this series. SOMETHING GOOD HAS TO HAPPEN SOMETIME! Give the viewers a break.
Virgin River (2019)
Been There, Seen That
Watching a cast of older actors with a mix of unheard of's and wanna be's needs a far better script. So far ever cliche in Hollywoodland has been included. The sets are good, the scenery bountiful, but let's hope the writers up their game. This needs a bit of a curve to work for a broader audience.
Peaky Blinders: Black Tuesday (2019)
Time to get real
When are these men going to get a decent hair cut? Isn't it 1930?
Stranger Things: Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum (2019)
Not as good as it should have been
Not with a bang but a whimper. A script that began with an interesting set of characters and a view of Good vs. Evil has devolved into a poor comic book version of special effects and gruesome substitutes for substantial characters. Subtlety is always more frightening than visual brutality. The writers could have made better use of it than the blood and slime and aggressive male dominance that they decided to employ. This series could have had a broader appeal and a larger following if it had taken a higher road.
Billions: Infinite Game (2019)
No one left to cheer for.
Billions started out as an amazing look at the way the money people play. Originally Axe seemed to have some heart with a wife and family and friends who respected him. Chuck a bit less so but he had relationships that spoke of feeling. What has happened is a descent into the madness and chaos that is reflecting our current real life/real time events. Is this entertainment? Is it a weekly lesson in what not to do, who not to be? I'm saddened by this down turn, especially considering the excellant writing and the superb acting qualities of the cast. Where do I turn now? Who do I applaud? I'm left feeling despondant for all their futures. I can't imagine the future for this series.
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
New York angst without Woody Allen.
How many more of these east coast elite films do we have to give creedance to before they're done. Would someone film this story about a family in West Virginia or Indiana or New Mexico? Not interesting, oh. Self indulgence at it's most pervasive.