Change Your Image
abfabjb
Reviews
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (2024)
I'm going to give it a couple of more episodes....
I am going to be fair and maybe give it a few more episodes.
I should say that as a Torontonian, I was looking forward to this series blending a tv staple with the city I call home. I would think that many other Canadians will watch it just because it's not another show filmed in our cities, doubling as a place in the US. There have be countless times when I've been watching a tv show or a movie where I've recognized a place in my city but it's being passed off as New York or Chicago or Philadelphia. We're finally starting to see shows like Nurses and Transplant where we're passing off a Canadian city to being an American one.
Blending a tv juggernaut like Law & Order with a different country and a different culture may seem like a slam dunk. But this is where this show doesn't ring true. Maybe it's clinging too much to its original formula, and that's ok, but it's not New York and it's definitely not American. Even in the introduction, with the guy with the world famous Law & Order voice giving his intro then saying "these are their stories" and the gavel falls, he can't even pronounce Toronto the way people from the city say "Toronto" and it sounds inauthentic.
The actors are ok and I'm not quick to judge them as they will find their rhythm in their first season. When you look at long-running shows like Friends, Will & Grace or SVU, if you go back and view pilots and the first couple of episodes, they haven't quite fully realized their full character. Rachel Green, Karen Walker, and Olivia Benson were not quite themselves in the first few episodes. So I think the actors will find their rhythm as the show moves forward and if the show moves forward.
What doesn't work in the formula? It's too American, too slick, and although there are some Canadian writers on the show, Dick Wolf has final say and that's probably why it doesn't work well. He needs to be there as an advisor and not as someone who vetoes everything just because he wants the dialogue to be a certain way. I found a lot of the conversations and banter to be very American, not very Canadian, and definitely not Torontonian. If you took out the strategically placed landmarks, and asked me if the show and actors were in Canada or the US, I would have guessed the US, This might be trivial to most people, but just because you share a border with a culture, does not mean you are the same. Scottish people are different from the Irish. And just because France and Spain share a border, does not mean that they have the same cultures and values.
Was it horrible-no. Was it great-no. Only time will tell once it shakes out it's initial jitters.
Spinning Gold (2023)
Everything out of order
All of the music was out of order and stuff was skipped over. It went from Love to Love You Baby to Bad girls and skipped over I Feel Love, McArthur Park and Last Dance. And the Kiss stuff was not true to life. They had Shout It Out Loud before Beth before I was Made For Loving You. The movie was hugely melodramatic and overacted and I think they tried to drive the plot of debt over the top. And then to use Last Dance to close out the movie. This wasn't even a god time waster, in fact, have lived during these years, it was t like this at all and so many opportunities were missed. Apparently it cost a lot to make this movie, so I think they will not be making a profit off this stinker.
Sex and the City: Old Dogs, New Dicks (1999)
Big mistake!
Someone here gave the episode a 1/10 because they felt that views on circumcision were incorrect and have changed. That's hardly a reason to rate an episode for something that was part of NYC at the time (1999, season 2). They did mention that 85 per cent of the world's men are circumsized. Charlotte even makes a joke about the fact that she's never seen one because she's from Connecticut. So rating an episode based on a choice (based on religion or culture), is not really fair.
But there is a big mistake in this episode! In the drag bar BINGO scene, Samantha keeps waiting for N23 and it finally comes up at the end of the scene. However, anyone who has played BINGO knows there is no N23. N numbers in BINGO are between 30 & 45. 23 is under I, I23!!!
Monster (2022)
Difficult to watch
I found Dahmer difficult to watch, and it's pace is methodical and sometimes daunting, but it is effective in creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere. I personally found Evan Peters' performance good but annoying. I am not familiar with Dahmer's true voice and mannerisms and I would assume Peters studied them. If so, Dahmers himself had some very annoying voice and accent ticks, and perhaps Peters is just doing the best he can. Niecy Nash's performance as Dahmer's persistent neighbour is stellar. She deserves a SAG or an Emmy for her amazing portrayal. Her scene with Jesse Jackson is particularly poignant and impactful.
Ryan Murphy's take on the life of Dahmer May not be everybody's cup of tea, but such a topic unfortunately cannot be glossed over.
Hating Peter Tatchell (2021)
Good doc with extremely high volume music track
This was a good doc brought to us by David Furnish and Elton John. However, the instrumental background music track was so loud, I had to turn on the subtitles to understand what was going on. Since Elton is a musical guru, you'd think he would have caught this before it went
to Netflix.
Law & Order (1990)
Anthony Anderson is horrible
Such terrible acting by Anthony Anderson. Everything that comes out of his mouth sounds like he is on his other show, "To Tell The Truth". L&O is a classic. I was looking forward to this new season and I found it completely unwatchable but I will give it 3 episodes. If not, I'm out.
Dating Around (2019)
It felt like eavesdropping
First of all, all the complainers out there just don't like reality tv and are always poking holes in it. It's supposed to be entertainment and yes, it's edited for flow and to make the content interesting. I found the 6 episodes unique and they could be watched in an evening. I also feel the complainers have probably never been on a blind date and some can go very well and some can be awful. I found a lot of people complaining about how annoying some people are, or how attractive or unattractive people are and that's not the point. What I revelled in was I was thought someone would pick one person but they picked another or in one case, no one at all. And it was interesting that some dates ended sooner while others took a turn depending on alcohol consumption or just saying the wrong thing. In the end, this is what dating is like and maybe shows people what to do and what not to do when you're on a first date.
I loved that not everyone was attractive or young or straight and it was really great people watching. Give it a shot and try not to be so judgmental.
I think some of the reviewers here must be married or old fashioned or religious or haven't dated. It's a jungle out there and it's important to learn what works and what doesn't. And not everyone wants to hook up with a dating app. Some people are truly looking for connection.
Say Yes (2018)
I needed to watch it again
I watched this movie and needed to watch it again. There were some things that didn't seem plausible or ring true the first time around, and although the acting and character development was good, some things didn't sit right with me. How can a guy in his 30s who is married to a woman, and in this day and age, decide to flip the switch?
But when I watched it again, the writers, actors & director, really laid out the framework to make this movie, and this idea-which I don't believe has been taken on in movie form-into something modern. The fact that two of the three main characters were twins really makes the premise of this movie work. Lily & Caden are atheists, they are free spirits, and both of them don't believe in labels or defined sexual norms. One of the ideas they talk about is if societal pressures were stripped away, could you have a loving sexual relationship with the same sex.
For a guy to change his sexuality in his 30s is a stretch, but many have feelings bubbling under that perhaps they've never explored, and if extreme circumstances arise, could this really happen? Lily's prognosis leads Beau to eventually come to terms with changing his idea of what's normal to what's possible. And it is possible, we just don't talk about it, especially in the movies. So I liked this because I've never seen anything like it, and it made me think.
So if you have an open mind, watch this movie, then watch it again to understand where the creators were coming from.