Change Your Image
lgm_pr
Reviews
Stranger Things: Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab (2022)
What a backstory!
SPOILER ALERT:
One : Vecna :: Tom Riddle : Voldemort
And yet to say that is an oversimplification and a disservice to the Duffer brothers and the amazing backstory they've created for Eleven and for the origin of evil in Hawkins. This episode was masterful, frightening, and so well acted by the entire cast. I can hardly wait to watch the final two!
Rescued by Ruby (2022)
Enjoyable family film
My daughter (11) found this on Netflix and watched it first, then begged me to watch with her. The rating is hers, but I don't object. She adores it because it's about a dog and because it stars Grant Gustin and she loves "The Flash," as do I. It may be a bit predictable, but it's based on a true story and has so many positive messages that are good for kids and families to see. I found it charming and enjoyable.
American Housewife: A Mom's Parade (2019)
Loved it!
I had no idea Katy Mixon could sing! I just wish Meg Donnelly had gotten to do more, given her considerable vocal talents. This was one of my favorite episodes of the show. And those who claim musical episodes "never work" probably just hate musicals in general, sadly for them. (Off the top of my head, I can think of two that are considered classics: "Girls vs. Suits" from HIMYM, and "Once More with Feeling" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Well done, Housewife team!
Sweet Magnolias (2020)
Very enjoyable
I read the first three books in the series on which this show is based years ago and thought they'd make a good movie or miniseries. This entertaining series delivers. The three actresses who play the Sweet Magnolias are all recognizable but not so well known that it's a distraction, and they have great chemistry with each other -- their relationship is the heart of the show. Everyone else is good, too; I agree Chris Klein's southern accent is unfortunate, but he's still not bad. Justin Bruening, who started out on All My Children and has appeared on shows such as Grey's Anatomy, is great: charming and oh so handsome. I also love Dion Johnstone, who plays the sous chef at Sullivan's, and the actors who play the kids appear the right ages and are quite believable. This is a charming, fun-to-watch show that's the perfect escape, and I hope it'll get another season
The Baby Dance (1998)
One of the most depressing films I've ever seen
I checked the spoiler box, which I consider to be a service to anyone who considers viewing this film -- you don't want to watch it without knowing what you're getting yourself into emotionally. This movie, although well-acted, was truly terrible because of the message it conveys.
First of all, it reinforces stereotypes -- Wanda and Al, the couple giving up their child, are redneck trailer-dwellers who just can't seem to stop cranking out kids, while Rachel and Richard, the Los Angeles couple who want to adopt the baby, are wealthy Jews who have trouble coping with the Louisiana heat. Second, it plays up the nailbiting premise -- will the richies pay the swamp folk any amount to make sure they finally get their baby? Will the poor couple renege and keep baby #5? It's so melodramatic, especially the fistfight between the two men while Wanda's in labor.
But third, and most unforgivable, this movie sends the message that it's OK to abandon a less-than-perfect baby. After everything the wealthy couple have been through, when it turns out the baby may be brain-damaged, they decide, ultimately, not to take it after all because that's not what they bargained for. I sobbed in disbelief. As someone who has tried and prayed to have a baby for more than 5 years, if I had an opportunity to love and raise one, I would take it, even if there were physical or mental problems to contend with. That child deserves to be loved and cared for no less than any other.
In the story, Rachel had supposedly had 9 miscarriages. What if one of those babies had gone to term and turned out to have some kind of problem? Would they have just abandoned it? After all, that wouldn't have been what they signed on for. Wanda and Al didn't take the baby home either, I guess because they didn't have the money to care for it -- that's why they sold it in the first place. I was very depressed after watching this film; at the end, the camera pans across all the babies in the nursery, each with its name tag and decorations on its bed, and stops on a lone, crying baby, separate from the others, with a little doll in her bed left by Rachel, but no name. I know it was only a movie, but I was just wrecked -- what would become of that baby? I thought it was terrible and sad, and I hated Richard (played by Peter Riegert, one of my favorite actors) for convincing his wife to back out. Don't waste your time on this one!