Change Your Image
sprigent
Reviews
Nanny (2022)
Good for lore lovers
A touch away from perfection, but still a must watch. At first, some of the exposition felt really clumsy (the activism photographs in the apartment, the blm discussion at the dinner party) whilst not getting to the "real" story early enough. But by the end that pacing felt deliberate, a calm gnawing aching grief. Anna Diop is incredible, a phenomenally talented actress.
I found the story about the rich couple interesting, it helped add to the disorienting, oppressive atmosphere, but some of it either felt unfinished, or pointless. There were bits that felt clunky, like the first meeting of the grandma, but I think that might have been more to do with the editing than the writing or acting.
This film did one EXCELLENT thing that I'm really grateful for: it showed me an ending, what happens next. My nd brain spends a lot of time thinking about what happens to characters after the end of a film (I know that's stupid), so I'm really grateful when I get an ending that closes the book after the story is told.
The sets are also stunning. The sort of modern gothic richness that seemed thoroughly thought out, down to every last bowl in a scene. I wish people considering pressing play on this film knew what sort of story they were getting, but equally I'm glad I didn't, it was a really pleasant surprise (re the lore).
I'm also rating a star lower purely for the unnecessary exploitation of actresses. It's 2023, we don't need a woman to have her breasts out to understand it's a sex scene we're watching. I like boobs, a lot, but gratuitous use of women's bodies for titillation? Not so much.
Till Death (2021)
So stupid, & clearly made by men
So so sooooooooo silly. Suspending your disbelief can only go so far. She washes the blood from her face yet has a FULL FACE of perfect make up (including lip gloss & contour)! She endures a full day of violence, culminating in a car crash & a near drowning...& her make up is stillllllll perfect!!! Men of Hollywood (& the world) have no idea how frustrating & ridiculous that is!!!
The husband is an overacting caracature.
The idiotic one-dimentional villain wants revenge even though HIS crime (which he appears to have no motive for) put him in prison. Oh & of course he has a hapless sidekick.
If they'd advertised it as a comedy & tweaked it a bit it would have been hilarious.
Wrong Turn (2021)
A possibility good premise that didn't make the grade
It's a slightly different take on the "mountain people" horror, but felt like a made-for-tv Game Of Thrones knock off. Such daft direction & acting choices for just after a friend & loved one is smashed to death by a tree. Hard to suspend disbelief when it's this bad. Also the accents are WILD.
Sarah Beeny's New Life in the Country (2020)
A downtrodden posh woman's life among horrible men
This show is a scary reminder that even if you "have it all", you can still end up a downtrodden victim of the patriarchy,. Sarah, arguably the far more successful partner in her marriage than Graham (& his same four portrait paintings that get moved in to the back of most indoor shots) will still be ridiculed, gaslit, used & abused by all the men in her life, no matter her successes. All while following her husbands dream of life in the countryside, with little gratitude for her sacrifice.
The pair also seem to have bred four cookie-cutter misogynistic posh private school boys who treat their mum more as their servant than a loving provider. These ungrateful boys have dreams of their new stately home bedrooms being decorated in the style of.... gentleman's clubs, compete with fox hunting portraits! So fun, so normal, real everyday people!
Lots of realllllllly enjoyable shots of Sarah under incredible stress, managing the household, being everything to everyone, taking on all the domestic & emotional labour of these messy males (who absolutely weaponise their incompetence), while Graham sits at the table in the background doing busy-work.
The whole thing is a posh version of car-crash TV, watching a multimillion pound mansion go up, while your hopes for equality go further down the pan.
The First 48 (2004)
Mostly middle aged men showing off for cameras
I've only given this 3 stars because the cases are interesting. As for the cops, from city to city it's much the same, they're literally almost cookie cutter versions of each other. They show off for the cameras, saying nonsense things to seem cool (they're not), acting like they're superheros while trampling all over crime scenes. If the cameras weren't there I doubt the bravado & sincerity for many of the victims & their families would be there either. I think this show was made for a bygone era, & it just doesn't hold up to scrutiny now that we better understand how certain communities are underfunded & over-policed, & marginalised people are over-charged, with heavy-handed convictions.
Hypnotic (2021)
So rubbish it's almost funny
So bad. So so bad. Pacing is off. Characters saying & doing things that are too absurd to be able to suspend disbelief. Just a big nope. Glove lady from Hill House is nice to watch though.
Snapped (2004)
This show hates women: all hail the patriarchy
This show hates women. This show particularly hates women of colour. This show features an endless conveyor belt of people who hate women (particularly in law enforcement & the judicial system). This show perpetuates the myth that all genuine victims of domestic abuse speak out, & the belief that the ones that don't are lying. This show blames women who are victims of domestic abuse & do not leave their partners for everything they get. This show practically screams from the rooftop that if the "nice" guy from the bar/office/church hasn't beaten his partner in front of you then he doesn't do it at all.
The reason it's so shocking to the world when women kill is because we're so painfully unbothered by, & used to, men killing women.
Black Summer (2019)
A fever dream. Sponsored by the NRA?
Someone watched Memento, Irréversible, & a bunch of art films & thought "that'd make a great zombie apoc-horror show". In fairness, the chapter titles actually had me laughing by episode three, so they are less irritating that way. It's an interesting way to tell a story....for one episode perhaps.
This is also a mumblefest. Subtitles required. Oh & I think maybe sponsored by the NRA, guns galore.
The Sinner (2017)
Quality & common sense declines by season
Season 1 was great, really engaging, original & entertaining.
Season 2 was good, still enjoyable. The kid made it.
Season 3 is so stupid. Has become yet another crime show about an oh-so-tortured Detective & an oh-so-complex killer. It's crime drama by numbers at this point, just a drinking game of tropes. Fragile male egos all over the place, truly disappointing. And don't even get me started on how many times in ANOTHER MAINSTREAM CRIME DRAMA the Detective walks all over the crime scenes, touching stuff! It's maddening. Folks, it's 2020, we all digest True Crime shows & podcasts like it's oxygen, you can't get away with that rubbish anymore without it totally ruining the "suspension of disbelief". Just utter twoddle. I've left the rating somewhat generous because of the first two seasons, but honestly S3 is a one star.
I Am the Night (2019)
Fascinating real women, told via a fictional man
The story of the Hodel's, & of the Black Dahlia are truly fascinating & shocking. It's sad to see them, that in order for these stories of real women to be told, Hollywood felt a fictional lead male needed to be added. These characters could have stood solidly without Chris Pine, perhaps making for a much higher rating. Alas, as per our time, we need to leave it up to true-crime podcasts to truly entertain us & do justice to the story.