Reviews

The two adult children of the main character are so bland, boring and whiny they absolutely pulled me out of the show. Every scene they're in. Every time.

I don't understand why the author of the book and the showrunner, for the miniseries , chose to give these atrociously dull characters so much screen time. The compelling story belongs entirely to the narrator, Eleanor, who has led an incredible life full of hardship and joy across several countries.

The whole concept of the audio tapes willed to Eleanor's children is a wonky framing device to...contemporize the story? Or to give the story cross-generational appeal to boost book sales or bring in more viewers?

I fast forwaded through as many scenes with the siblings as I could, then just gave up. Here's what I gleaned from as much as I saw: Those kids did NOT deserve that amazing mother.

Why, oh why, do the professional critics keep calling this series a "thriller"? It's a (labored and predictable) family drama. And I'm getting notes of pretentiousness throughout.

There's also much talk within the show about oenology. I'm well into the second episode and haven't learned anything about any wines so far.

It's gorgeous to look at and the acting is fine. Almost two hours, though, and there is nothing surprising, new or compelling that's happened. The daughter had a falling out with her father; the mother doesn't want the daughter wasting her time in her father's business...very basic, quite bland and completely forgettable.

Nothing worth imbibing here. This wine is corked.

So having heard and read so much good buzz around this show, I probably went in with too-high expectations. Even so, the first three episodes were a huge disappointment.

I was told "Yellowstone' was something like a Western-ish version of "Succession." Sure, there's a powerful head of the family, and interesting siblings to follow.

Problem was the tone and storylines are so incredibly low-key, I just never felt the high-stakes drama like "Succession." For me, (I'm an Old, so pardon the vintage reference) the show hit a lot like watered-down "Dallas."

I hate agreeing with mainstream publication reviews. But one nailed it. They compared watching "Yellowstone" to sitting in on a land zoning commission hearing.

Listen. I love a good snappy narrator. Grew up with "Sex and the City" -- and even Carrie overdid it a bit in those 1st first seasons with the witty voiceovers. But. This. Is. Unwatchable. I truly struggled to complete the first episode because Lizzy Caplan (whom I love, but not in this) is constantly in your ear, narrating every millisecond. The author of the book apparently adapted her novel for the series. There isn't much *adaptation* however; she just seemed to lift pages and hand them to Lizzy to narrate in the sound booth. One other reviewer here already nailed it: The show is an audiobook.

Knew nothing about "You" before I watched it, but WOW! That show grabbed me right from the start. Like "You", reviews of this series called it a thrilling "twist on modern romance." Lies. All lies. Basic characters. No differentiation between their (bland ) personalities. No surprising plot twists. And I can't recall one word of interesting, intriguing dialogue. Worst of all? The bad, supposed-to-be-seductive boyfriend has NO charisma. He also looks much older than the college-age dude he's supposed to be portraying. (Maybe don't hire an actor with a receding hairline to begin with, and then shave it back so he looks even older?)

We (started to /tried to/ attempted to) watch this on D+. BIG Toy Story fans (weren't up to seeing it in the theater.) Beautifully imagined, without a doubt. But about 30 mins.in, we just looked at each other: "Who is this for?" "What is the point of this?" were the big questions we had -- and that's putting aside the issues we had with the absolutely t-h-i-n connective tissue to TS. I just read a spoiler review with the twist at the end. And...I'm glad we got out when we did.

Here's my theory about why this series doesn't quite work: It's not a fit for network TV. The murder miniseries is a co-production of NBC News & Blumhouse. Yeah-- what? The news division of a legacy broadcast network + the top indie-horror movie studio? Not a fit. I think the producers were going for a black comedy tone that absolutely would work on Netflix or another streamer. ("Pam" is currently streaming on Hulu, but the show originally aired on NBC.) Because it's so tied to old-school TV, that dark comedic tone doesn't go far enough here. Had it been on HBO or Netflix, the producers could've REALLY gone for it. All out camp and/or satire. The limits of linear TV reign in the gallows humor and leave "Pam" in a weird, uncomfortable-to-watch middle ground.

Drawn in right off the bat to the mystery. And the lead, Erin Doherty, is mighty compelling, inhabiting these many creepy/inventive personas. (personae?) Was pretty let down by the finale though. Just fizzles and then, literally fades out. Honestly, it felt like a chapter was missing? Or they cut the shoot short..due to Covid? You'll dig the journey but the destination is a disappointment.

Oy, The Kids. Great performances from Colin Firth/Toni Collette. Compelling story pretty much all the way through. But. Those. Insufferable. Spoiled. Whiny. Adult. Children! To top it off, The Kids really add nothing to the mystery/story -- other than a parade of cheap wigs with terrible early '00s highlights.

I'm totally with reviewer alex-369-867786 -- and probably a few others -- who couldn't make it through Season 3. Alex369... says S3 "grinds to a halt" and he's right. By episode 4, the wandering storylines and new not-so-interesting characters just left me cold. I do recommend Seasons 1 & 2, which really REALLY tell a gripping, detailed arc. The finale of S2 is terrific, So 6 stars for that great work.

Not to pile on, but WOW, what a letdown in Season Two. Darker toned, sure. Even while exploring Cassie's alcoholism deeper this year, the writers piled on so many unnecessary plotlines -- and any of them could've been ejected from the cockpit. (OK, OK. Reviewers all get to write one bad pun :) Honestly, fellow viewers, if the season has JUST focused on Cassie in recovery without the convulated mysteries, wouldn't that have been...maybe fine with us...?

Sssssssslithers along at a snail's pace, and after 3 episodes I'm not sure -- nor is the show itself -- sure of what it wants to be. I think (?) it could function as a standalone suspense/ supernatural "Penny Dreadful"-ish movie. Only because there doesn't seem to be enough material for each episode as is.

Just going to agree with the other reviewers on the same page: This season is such a downer vs. The Hugh Grant/ Ben Whishaw story of Season 1. While the acting is super strong, the "scandal" is flat, predictable and just sad. Basic. Boring. Don't bother.

I appreciated Stewart's performance and the attempt at a new angle on the Diana story. But as reviewer hlahorner says, it's painfully slow. (In fact, hlahorner's whole review is a great summation of the movie's probs.) I'll add that there is an amateurish look and feel going on. Oscar-worthy? No. This shouldn't have been submitted to any film awards without the word "Student" in front of it.

Two episodes in and not a dribble dribbled on court. Sure, all the behind-the-scenes stuff is interesting...up to a point. Somehow, somewhere in this series does ANYONE handle a ball? Understand that the producers may not be able to get their hands on actual NBA footage of games from the era. But, jeez, to recreate a game all you need is a court and actors who, at least, can ACT like they're playing hoops.

Fun, fast, entertaining. Certainly wouldn't have seen it at the theater though, kinda scrimps on the production values and VFX. Misleading title given that the Starfleet crew only temporarily goes rogue. Was hoping they'd go back in time and beam the 1/6ers to Rigel VII, amiright?

Lord, punch me in face so I can see some REAL stars. Aside from Kenny Branagh and Gal Gadot, the cast is sad, lower-case d-Listers who bring nothing to this muddy, dull remake. Armie-Icky-Cannibal-Fantasies-Hammer? Russell Brand? (What is this, 2011?) The Anti-Vaxxer-sister-of-Black Panther? Annette Bening? (What is this, 1996?) Fading, below-the-deck talent.

Actually, "Showgirls" is something you want to re-watch with a pitcher of Margies and a bunch of friends. Halloween Kills is...well the first 1/3rd is kinda campy, gory fun...But then the story takes a BIZARRE turn into... something pretty much unwatchable. We rank it worse than H3: Season of the Witch.

Reviewer stevelivesey67 (scroll down just a bit) really nails it. I also felt underwhelmed by 'Belfast" after its multiple Oscar noms. I'll add: A very draggy middle part and unsurprising story arcs. It was only a 1 1/2-hour film but felt twice as long.

Great writing, incredible performances from every actor -- leads to secondaries. Great visceral show. For me, the story arcs just proceeded too slowly which was a little frustrating because ALL of these characters are interesting. Couldn't get far into S2, but really appreciated S1.

"Maria...I just bored a girl named, Maria..." He's pretty. He sings well. But every time the camera pans to Ansel Elgort's face: blank, dead stare. Kind of wishing they had, instead, cast the actor who plays Riff (Mike Faist, who's actually nominated for a British Oscar for Supporting Actor as Riff). He's much more expressive -- and a better dancer. Ansel creeped me out.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the narrative feels really disjointed. On top of that, there's a rape in the first episode, and that storyline gets pretty much pushed aside, at least through the four episodes. (I understand that Michaela Coel's character is burying that inside herself.) Even so, it's a biiiiiig mystery/question mark that just hangs there. And other plot lines concerning her friends didn't pull me in in the meantime.

I know, I know. Not a good idea to rate a movie 10 seconds after you've seen it. But we're huge del Toro fans, and this was a massive disappointment. Putting aside the meticulous cinematography, top-tier cast, costumes, production design...we knew exactly how this would end from the first 20-30 minutes. +Couple of glaring plot holes. (The motivations for Cate Blanchett's character are a nagging mystery.) Movie is probably a 6. But, man, we're P. O.'d.

Like other reviewers have said: The 2 leads are Terrific! But the writers/ directors have stretched out, what feels like a 2-night play experience, into 4 episodes. Lots of cowboy-themed filler that -- yowza! -- by the 4th episode just kinda leaps over a cliff. Worth a watch, just know this heading in.