Reviews

....and sometimes it feels like I'm watching a Hallmark daytime Christmas movie.

Particularly the last 2 episodes.

I like "Virgin River". I like the small town community values. Love the scenery. Like most of the characters. Like Mel (saw Alex Breckenridge playing a mathlete in "Freaks and Geeks" recently...20 years on she actually looks better). Like Jack. Like the Doc. Hell. I Like most of them.

What I don't necessarily like is it's ability to shut down what could be highly charged drama story lines.

It's too comfortable. Too easy to watch..and really...I guess there's nothing wrong with that.

There's a lot of ugly viewing out there and one may see "Virgin River" as a pleasant relief.

I kind of do.

I shouldn't compare. Both completely different shows but...although "Bosch" is probably technically the better show (I've only watched the first 4 seasons), I probably found myself enjoying this one that little bit more.

It flows better. At times I found "Bosch" a little choppy. Scenes changed a little too suddenly, usually when one is starting to become interested with what was happening. So annoying...not to mention the boring surveillance tape review overkill from the 2nd season.

Anyway, welcome to Haller's world. This show looks great, sounds great and yeah, the characters and the acting are also pretty neat.

The story lines have you guessing to the end plus it moves quickly and maintains the interest. Even the courtroom scenes are a treat.

Looking forward to Season 3.

....how pretty wonderful "Sex Education" is.

Funny, Confronting (sometimes squirmingly so) and generally a "No holds barred/ nothing is taboo" refreshing series.

I have just watched all 4 series's and I thought I would re watch the 1st episode to remind me how much all of the core characters have evolved over the 4 years.

Ironically, I found Otis was the only one that was still kind of floundering.

Aside from the funny "Gross out" moments (school excursion incident could have been an "Inbetweeners" episode) there is a lot of heart and emotion to experience over the 4 seasons.

The acting was generally great (Gillian Anderson was a treat) and also Emma Mackie was for me a stand out. Her Maeve Wiley was a big part of the heart of the show.

By the 3rd season the nudity toned down a bit and the much maligned 4th season to me started out a bit jarring.

New school, characters I cared about have disappeared, new characters that I didn't really like. The trans-gender issue was a little overplayed..and yeah, a lot of political correctness...but there was a lot to love also.

The funeral episode was golden and the last episode did a good job with most characters "finding themselves"..probably a little too well. Real life isn't like that. There are always loose strings.

Anyway, loved the production, the area is was shot looked like quite a beautiful part of the U. K (this show would not have worked if it was U. S produced) and the soundtrack featured so many random wonderful songs.

This isn't for everyone but, if you can get through Aimee & Adam's opening scene without turning off or storming out the room, you are probably half way there. For those who want to open the mind and yeah, maybe learn something, enjoy...because there is a lot to love.

Mother with a shadowy identity changing past? Netflix seems to thrive on these story lines. Ginny and Georgia, Pieces of Her (right down to the wrong place at the wrong time first episode) but one can't go past the indestructible Erin Carter.

Think Uma Thurman playing "The Bride" in the Kill Bill movies, and you may have some idea how awesome Erin Carter is.

The only difference is one is revenge, the other is protection. Protection to the ones she loves.

She's human. She cares. She has a heart. She kicks arse.

Wonderful entertaining series. Forget the Marvel and DC universes. Erin Carter is my new super hero. Hey, even the kids great !!

I would love her story to continue.

Having just finished the powerful Netflix Series "Painkiller" (harrowing..but it was kinda fun seeing Matthew Broderick having a couple of Ferris Bueller moments), I thought I'd watch this Scorsese movie that I'd never seen (I dunno. Maybe I wanted a Margot Robbie fix).

I was kind of blown away with the comparisons between the 2 productions.

Both were based on a true story.

Both revolved around Money, Power, Greed, Substance abuse, manipulation, charismatic leaders and Sell Sell Sell (all the good things in life eh).

Oh yeah...there is always the Rise and Fall.

This is good Scorsese. A little overlong...but we kind of expect that from him. DiCaprio is excellent and is surrounded by some wonderful performances. Classic scenes after classic scenes, however doesn't necessarily make a classic movie.

It is outrageously pretty bloody good though.

Worth watching at least once.

Some years ago I saw a mock preview online of a then non existent Mayfair Witches Series or Movie. As mock previews go it looked very impressive. Much better than what we eventually received.

The 3 books have left a lasting impression on me. The history, the vivid characters and the interwoven story lines, I found fascinating. Also I liked Rice's ability to show witches as real humans, not your typecast witch with a boil on the nose cackling around a cauldron.

Which leads me to this series which I have looked forward to. So much to complain about. Too much...most of which has already been covered by the rest of you.

My main beef is apart from Rowan, Cortland, Suzanne, Lasher and Carlotta (ahhh. The lovely Carlotta) and maybe a few others, no-one get's to keep their name. Mona becomes Tessa, Michael and Aaron become the Talamasca guy...and they didn't even make Rowan a blonde!!!

Having said all that, I did enjoy watching and picking it apart.

The first 2 series of Bridgerton were for me a guilty pleasure. I loved the scrumptious production, the deceptions and the scandals.

What I didn't enjoy so much were that some of the characters I found were poorly written.

I mean, who is this Queen and why does she involve herself so much in marrying off the young rich maidens to aristocratic royals?...and as for her mad husband king? We hardly ever see him and she probably only tolerates him anyway.

Probably not much love there eh?

Then again, I could be mistaken.

"Queen Charlotte" has depth and emotion to it that the first 2 series's missed at times. I found it totally involving and enjoyed seeing the pieces fall into place.

I especially liked seeing the early meetings of Lady Danbury and her eventual growing friendship with Violet Bridgerton (who I find so so lovely) and the unspoken connection that they have.

So much to love about this.

Plus an extra death and a lost testicle...which isn't too bad over a 40 something year span.

Just what the world needs. A series about the highs and lows of a lifelong friendship between 2 girls. It's been done so many times....but rarely this well.

After watching the 1st episode I thought "Naaa" but I persisted and I started to enjoy.

What I found initially off putting I started to appreciate how well it was done. I'm talking about the different time periods and the way they segued into one another.

Always entertaining. Acting by the 2 leads (teenagers and adults) great. Support acting. Great. Characters. Great... (but Johnny annoyed me at times. Do all us Aussie's all sound like that in the US?). Production. Great. Music. Mostly great (how often do we have to see that goddamn Abba song played out on the screen).

It got a little too sentimental (and yeah. Heart wrenching) towards the end but it wasn't afraid to take the piss out of itself at times. Kate's movie watching choices in the last episode was a bit of a crack-up.

Highly recommended.

Just finished watching all 4 seasons. Quality viewing held together by Bill Pullman. Always a good reliable actor (fun memories of "Spaceballs") but here he takes it to another level. Playing a cop filled with demons and insecurities, one can almost delight in the hesitant delivery he gives his dialogue. Minor annoyance is when it almost get's drowned out by the backing music.

Sure, it's not perfect and it's not one of those shows that you can guess the outcome because it's usually not till the last episode when new revelations brings it all together...which can be frustrating for some.

Series 1 was probably my personal favorite but the other 3 came close with the 3rd series probably my least favored. Main reason for that I think is I didn't care much for the sinner. In all the others one could only be sympathetic. The devoted mum and wife, the boy, most of the people in the goddamn fishing village!!

Some patience required but a really good watch.

A wonderful friend gave me the whole series DVD set of this very special show. A show that I wasn't aware of.

Having recently watched "Dead to Me", falling in love with Linda Cardellini in the process I was stoked to be able to see her 20 years younger.

Here, she comes across as unassuming and natural. I can imagine that's what she's like as a person. A real joy to watch.

So many great things here. The authenticity of 1980 school life, the music (a few goofs but pretty much spot on) and the family home (with 1 TV and 1 phone- Ah the days) The caring mother, the straight-laced father (with some classic one-liners) the drama and the humor. The poignancy. The list goes on.

"Freaks and Geeks" has aspects of movies like "American Graffiti", "The Breakfast Club" and "Stand by Me". Shows like the often compared "Wonder Years" and even the early episodes of "Happy Days" (before it sold out and became a caricature of itself). If "Freaks and Geeks" continued it would have been sad for it to go down that path. If the creators and producers remained in charge I don't think this would have happened. But "What If"....

As it is, it has become 18 episodes of legendary TV....and that may be just as well.

But this works. It doesn't matter what age demographic you are, everyone should be able to enjoy aspects of this series.

Just finished the 2nd season and I enjoyed watching the characters evolve throughout the 20 episodes.

It would not however be the show that it is without the wonderful character Georgia Miller. Georgia with the dark past. Georgia who is intent on sabotaging her own happiness.

She really can't help herself...can she?

With good acting from the other cast (although those girls can be "Really" annoying at times) this is pretty good entertainment...and it has depth.

Looking forward to Season 3.

I didn't know if I could watch this. Perhaps subtitles may help... You know the mark of a great series? If it resonates. If you keep on thinking about it well after you've watched the whole damn thing.

It's easy to see this as an Irish girl "Inbetweeners" (which I was a big fan of) but it's a lot more than that.

Sure, you have the situations the girls get into which are hilarious and at times unpredictable but you also get a history lesson. How many of us knew or even cared what happened in Northern Ireland in the 1990's? The beginning of the end from decades of turmoil.

"Derry Girls" opened my eyes.

However, what eventually won me over were the characters. The girls (and boy) were great but I had my reservations about Orla. She was quirky but compared to the others she was almost invisible. She had her moments but it wasn't till the last episode that her personality totally shone through.

And how many of us have known someone like Uncle Kevin. He was hilarious....and Sister MIchael. Genius!!

I loved the epilogue. It was a perfect way to sum up what the girls were all about.

In the last episode I was almost anticipating Bette Midler to belt out "Wind beneath my Wings" on the soundtrack.

That would have been a bit too cheesy...and although at times it came close to cheesiness it somehow rose above it.

Too many plot twists, at times a little over sentimental...but it worked.. It worked wonderfully.

It was funny, poignant, outrageous and somehow real. What carried it through were the two leads. Christina and Linda...or Jen and Judy whom some of us got to know and love. Their chemistry with each other was amazing.

I havn't watched Christina Applegate since "Married with Children" and I like the actor that she has become. I need to revisit "Mad Men" to check out Linda Cardellini". She was delightful.

The supporting cast were good also. The kids were great.

The ending to me was appropriate. We didn't see the aftermath. We didn't need to. It could have went either way. Life's like that. Loose ends don't always need to be tied up in a neat little package.

Do they??

Gotta love seeing those inside bits eh.

A bit of an uneasy watching hodge podge. Each episode starts with del Toro visiting his cabinet and grabbing something that seemingly relates to the oncoming story.

Hitchcock he's not.

Every episode has something going for it. Originality, production and mostly fine acting...but most of the characters are just so unpleasant, one doesn't care what happens to them.

My 3 picks are "Graveyard Rats" (Good Fun), "The Inside" (beware those late night infomercials) and "The Murmuring" (classic spooky ghost story).

I watched this first series in the cold hard daylight which probably lessened the enjoyment effect somewhat.

Probably more a late night thing (Duh!!!).

Yeah. He has his fingers in all the pies.

Ironically, there has been only a handful of "Great" movies adopted from his stories and most of those he wasn't part of that good old production team.

He famously resented Kubrick's "The Shining" because he thought it deviated too much from the original central character and concept.

Never mind it was one of the greatest horror movies ever.... and that's the central problem here.

No deviation and very "by the numbers".

Yeah. I liked the story. I enjoyed the movie. The mood, the characters and the acting were all fine and I guess there's only so much you can do to add on to the original short story.

I guess I was looking for that something extra to elevate it to somewhere close to great.

Na.

It only did it's job.

Different ones on Crockett Island may have been thinking that.

I watched Hill House and Bly Manor and enjoyed them to a point. I found both a little back and forward, sometimes confusing and a little unfocused.

Midnight Mass on the other hand has something the other 2 have not. A constant atmosphere of dread. Something the best horror has...(and it is "Horror") mixed up with a little religion... Pretty all of it takes place on the island and I kept on thinking of the wonderful "Wicker Man". There are some obvious similarities even though one's pagan and the other one is christian.

The acting and production is well done. The characters are mainly well drawn with probably most of us detesting the same horrible person.

7 ominous episodes is just right for this type of series. Highly recommended.

People die. Family's crumble. You live in fear.

On the other hand you can be like the Byrde family who coast through life happily meeting one crisis after another and still have time to run and own a casino and other money making businesses AND trying to keep on the good side of drug cartel bosses AND keep their close knit family together...

This series is excellent. The production, the characters,the acting and the unbelievable yet somehow realistic story lines.

Nearly every episode we get to see the death of at least one semi prominent character...some of which you actually feel sorry about.

Julia Garner who plays Ruth (What the f@c% are you doing here !!!) Langmore is my personal favorite character. Having watched the actor in "Inventing Anna" recently, I have become a bit of a fan.

Not always an easy watch. Sometimes I dreaded putting on the next episode worrying about what is going to happen. I put off watching the last episode for a while for this reason. Needless to say, it did not end well for everyone....

Not being previously aware of the story behind this series I found myself being fascinated on how someone who is basically a quite intelligent nobody can sucker so many prominent people.

She draws them in with her charisma, her big ideas and her cash flashing...and she does it so well....until it unravels.

I like that every episode chooses a perspective from each of her "Victims".

Some you sympathise with. Some you don't. Sometimes you are even on Anna's side.

I found her extremely dislikable, hated her voice, her disregarding rudeness and erratic behaviour but at the same time I couldn't stop watching her. Julia Garner does a very good job as does the actor playing the journalist (who brings to mind the Frances McDormand"s very pregnant role in "Fargo".

Another fun comparison is when Anna is having a meltdown I can't stop thinking of Gollum from "Lord of the Rings".

With it's Hip Hop/R&B soundtrack, this series has a shiny flashy feel to it which suited.

I enjoyed.

It said "Stop Watching". What will happen if I disobey? What will be the consequences?

Really. I'm well into season 2 and I kind of feel it's not going to get any better. Probably worse. It's becoming too episodic with every segment seeming to have a new revelation. A new twist. A new "It's all connected" scenario....but... It's fast moving, entertaining, at times intriguing and I kind of like the characters so...I guess I will disobey my "Calling". Just for the time being.

There is a wonderful episode of BoJack Horseman where he is doing a eulogy at his mothers funeral. He compares the relationship with his mum to Becker. Something that never ever got better.

Ah. The wisdom of BoJack. He was so right.

Becker is enjoyable. Even laugh out loud funny sometimes....but apart from a few character swaps (detrimentally) nothing changed. It was the same premise every episode. Surgery/ Diner/ Becker's unit. It was like a kind of Bermuda Triangle Groundhog Day...and the 6 main character's did not really evolve in anyway...but maybe, just maybe that's why the show worked.

Consistency. That's what we all like eh.

Love a US comedy without a laugh track. Easy to watch without canned laughter every time someone says something unfunny (worst offender there is "Friends").

I enjoyed Patricia Heaton in "Raymond" and here she is slightly missing something. I miss "The Looks" she use to give Raymond. Here. She is a little bit bland. Still, she is a lot more likable here than her following series "Carol's second act" which was cringe worthy.

I like the dad but the daughter I find annoying.

Only casually watch this now and then but I get the gist of it.

And I don't care. Everyone should put their brain in neutral and just sit back and enjoy the gossip, the scandal and the lives of aristocrats from a past era. However fictional it may all be.

Visually, gorgeous, finely drawn characters (who one get's to choose their favorites). Personally, I like Lady Bridgerton, Eloise and Penelope the most. Daphne (mainly from series 1) was likeable but a little "Jennifer Love Hewitt" at times. And one can't forget the characters one loves to hate... I also liked the effective use of the music, mainly played at "The Balls", String versions of songs written 170 years in the future. "Material Girl" anyone?

I don't usually like this type of stuff much but I found this one of those rare shows that I actually looked forward to watching the next episode.

Which was a nickname for Bruce back in the 70's. It was quite apt because of the "Car Song" connection....and there were a lot of those "Car Songs".... Useless trivia I know.

Ah the movie. Great movie. The plot's been done many times but the Springsteen theme made this movie a little more special.

The acting's good, the characters are very likable (even the dad) and there are many poignant and joyful moments.

I was an early Springsteen follower from 1975 but I tuned out a little in the early 90's. Watching this, it has made me re realize how special his words and music are.

For sheer entertainment moments, the 3 main characters running along the street singing "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road" was fun....but it brought to mind the "Every sperm is sacred" segment in Monty Pyphon's Meanng of Life. Funny eh.

Took me till episode 5 to get my head around this. Once I started understanding what and who is now and.... what and who was then... I started enjoying it more.

A lot of harsh things have been said about the actress playing Andy but I thought she did a good job as did Toni Colette and the supporting actors.

The drama was there, the shock moments were there and there were a few nice twists.

Worth watching. Just a little patience required.

Meandering. Enjoyable, Tense. Funny. Really good music.

Not totally aware about the movie's plot (???) I expected an ending with what really happened . Na. This is Tarantino.

He takes history and he turns it inside out. This history would be wonderful...but Polanski's future movies may have been somewhat tamer. Sometimes grief brings out the best.

Loved it how DeCaprio ended up looking like Jack Black.