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Found (2023)
Only one way forward
The concept of the bad guy being forced to help solve crime has a limited shelf life. Unless. The more episodes I watch, the more I'm convinced Sir in the basement is just Gabi's imagination. She's come up with this fantasy to deal with her trauma.
There's no reason he hasn't yelled for help when people were in the house. There's been no explanation on how she got him in there, how she does his laundry, etc. And there's no future for the show.
However, if he's actually caught, she sees the reality, boom. Then next season, she comes out of a stint in a mental health facility. And she decides if her fantasy Sir can help, then the real one can as well.
It gives the show a way forward. It gets Gosselaer out of the basement ( and into prison) . It allows the romance of Gabi and Trent to continue.
Imitation of Life (1959)
Annie saves the day
I love this movie. Sometimes I wonder why since Lana Turner is so over the top. What I constantly see overlooked however is that Annie is the real worker here. She's the one who does the envelopes, makes the deals with the landlord and the milkman. If it weren't for her, Lora and her daughter would have been on the streets. Lora dismisses her even at the end, assuming Annie has no friends, scoffing at her funeral plans.
Lora never demonstrates she is a good actress. She seems to have lucked out in life - first with Annie. Then meeting the right agent.
And the spoiled daughter, Susie. Did kids really write a note and get accepted into college within days?
As I said, sometimes I wonder why I keep watching it. I think it's Juanita Moore's performance. She's not melodramatic, just practical and strong.
It's definitely a movie of its time. And I'll keep watching it whenever it's on.
Quantum Leap (2022)
Trying to like it
I loved the original show. And I like Raymond Lee. But while the original show focused on why Sam was there, this show spends too much time on why Ben leaped in the first place. There's too many scenes with his support staff. The person Ben is supposed to save is secondary. It slows the episodes down. Sam worked on figuring out how to save the person, Ben waits to be told.
And so very few people notice or comment on why Ben is talking to himself. He's in an elevator talking to Addison and NO ONE notices!? The show hasn't bothered to try and explain that one, which is annoying.
I have a feeling the show runners will try to bring Scott Bakula in for a guest appearance to jack up the ratings.
Alert: Missing Persons Unit: Zoey (2023)
Ripped off from the headline!
I really want to like this series. I like Scott Caan.
This episode is so obviously a Jeffery Epsyein/Ghislaine Maxwell ripoff, but with college kids. Not the most original.
But if my kid was missing and some person said the way to help was to rub eggs on me, then read some wax impressions, I'd be screaming for the Chief of Police. The Kemi character is off putting. Burning sage in an office? Claiming to be married 12 times throughout the centuries? Why would I want a nut job to be looking for my kid? Then with one picture and suspect computer skills, she zeroed in on locations in seconds. Yikes!!!.
And the lead detective having sex with her co-worker/fiance in the supply closet? Time is so important, but we have 10 minutes to be completely unprofessional. That's distracting.
And the Keith sub-plot? Ripped off from the guy who pretended to be Timothy Pitzen. Someone better start coming up with new ideas.
Criminal Minds: Just Getting Started (2022)
Didn't make me want to Subscribe to Parmount Plus
The pilot is off to a shaky start. This 'putting the band back together' episode felt like a weak way to excuse the missing members of the team (Reid and Simmons).
Rossi and Prentiss did not age well. It's not the grey hair. Was it the actors? Was it the makeup? Joe Mantegna really looks like he's been ill. The chemistry of the whole team was missing. Talking to a screen is not the same as the team interacting.
But besides that, the story lines are odd. After that bloated finale where Garcia and Alvez (as a sub for Morgan) suddenly lusted for each other, the show tries to Retcon us into thinking it was just a dinner - for her. Garcia went from a free spirit to a Martha Stewart clone, with flowery wallpaper, a cookie-cutter apartment and Anglophile get togethers.
When Rossi first re-joined the group, there was this big talk about them working as a team and not being lone wolves. Now, they're all split up and solving cases on their own. Guess they don't NEED to be a team.
The case of the trained 19-year-old with the sophistication of a 40-year-old ended with a whimper and a cliff hanger for the case Tara is working on the other coast.
But I will have to say, the worst part when, MINUTES after the unsub shoots himself, Alvez tells JJ that "ballistics" determined it was a suicide, not self-defense. Really? A lab test that is "the study of the effects of being fired on a bullet, cartridge, or gun" was performed on site and it was a suicide? How did THAT happen? It would have been more believable if the girl had said the guy killed himself.
I hope, for viewers, that this improves. I, for one, will not be paying money for a streaming service for this weak retread.
The Simpsons: Lisa the Boy Scout (2022)
What the heck was THAT?
If the creators of The Simpsons wants to stop making it, just do it. For the last several years, there had been more emphasis on the couch gags than the actual stories, but this episode takes the cake. Clip after clip after clip of unfunny scenes. It's like they're TRYING to drive us away.
Whoever wrote this must have thought they were clever with their self-hating scenes. They trashed themselves, Disney, FOX and anyone else they could get at. They were wrong, so very wrong. They managed to make a 30 minute show feel like an hour. Or more. It wasn't funny. It wasn't clever. It wasn't thought-provoking. It was just awful. They should be ashamed.
The Big Bang Theory: The Bus Pants Utilization (2011)
Sheldon Coopers transformation
This might be the episode that turned Sheldon from a socially awkward, but unaware person into a manipulative bully. Watching him repeatedly try to sabotage the others' work was painful. It was much funnier when he didn't get it, but didn't push it.
Remember the episode when they couldn't find a Sheldon approved restaurant near a Sheldon approved theater and they just left him? And he understood why? Now THAT Sheldon was funny.
As the show goes on, Sheldon gets worse. More bullying, more obnoxious, less endearing. This is the one that started his boorish behavior. Chuck Lorre, you done us wrong!
Black Narcissus (2020)
What just happened?
3 episodes and....nothing. A head nun trying to forget het past. An obviously unstable nun with her paranoia. What's with Sister Philippa putting flowers ahead of food? Just a lot of scenes and...nothing. Just nothing. No meaning, no spooky story nothing. And Diana Rigg was completely wasted.
House of Gucci (2021)
Lacking
This movie fails on all levels. There is zero chemistry between Gaga and Driver. The acting wouldn't make it in a fourth grade play. Even the big name actors are phoning it in.
The story lurches here and there. It even fails to be so bad, it's good. Too many times. The viewer is left thinking : what happened to this story point? How did this happen?
And it goes on and on....and on. Watch the trailer instead. It's just as bad, but it doesn't last 2 and a half hours.
Password (2022)
Not everything needs to be turned up to 11
The reason Wheel of Fotune and Jeopardy have lasted so long is that they stay away from the caffeine and other unregulated pharmaceuticals. There's no need for screaming and overreacting on this game show. You can practically see the audience signs: Scream! Groan! Cheer for no reason!
Keke Palmer's outfit made me want to put on sunglasses. Everything is just so over the top annoying. They ruined a great game.
The Final Straw (2022)
Peyton Manning should stick to football
Take Giant Jenga. Switch out blocks for random items. Add in a host who is trying too hard, lame banter that falls flat. Then introduce over-caffeinated contestants coached to trash talk other teams. And you have a slow moving game which is 60% talk and 40% game play.
Oh, and there's a guy running around in a panda outfit, just to amp up the randomness.
This first episode should be the final straw.
Rich & Shameless: The Crime Against Pam & Tommy (2022)
Revolting
This show has been on as background noise for half an hour and I already want to jump in a shower and scrub myself raw for listening to it. The people involved in stealing this tape and bragging about their involvement are so disgusting, it's insane. Yes, it's being turned off. Yuck.
Dune (2021)
Ok, but not great
The faithful adaption skipped over portions of the book where the Atreides interacted with the locals. Why does this matter? Because it sets up how the Atreides are different. How they don't sell water leavings, but give it freely. And why make a scene about packing up the bull head if they're never going to show it again? I think they missed an opportunity.
Elizabeth: Our Queen (2018)
A mix of old and new information
I love watching documentaries on the British royal family for some reason. A lot of this has been told before, but there are little gems sprinkled around, like previous unseen footage if her at Charles and Diane's wedding.
The only annoying part is that the documentarians used the same technique of speakers looking off to one side, then looking into the camera. Over and over again. Same people. Looking away, turning to look. It was rather off-putting.
Gone with the Wind (1939)
How can anyone have liked this drivel?
GWTW is filled with unlikable people doing unlikable things and glorifying slavery. Even the credits, calling the slaves "servants". Ugh. I've tried to get through this multiple times. I think I finally have seen all of it. Dreadful, overacting, horrible dialog, terrible plot. This should rank right along with 'Birth of a Nation'.
Bad Influence (1990)
Worst. Movie. Ever.
I saw this when it came out. How bad was it? It was so bad that when people in the theater started talking, no one shushed them. So bad that the dialog the audience was making up was better. So bad that it didn't make it funny-bad or so-bad-it-was-good. Take a hard pass on this one!
The Gilded Age: Never the New (2022)
Familiar story
This was better than I expected, but it seemed so familiar. Then the Russell's had their party and it dawned on me. "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" had this exact scenario. The big party, the snobbish invitees that don't show, the heartbroken hostess, the husband who couldn't care less. Mrs Russell hires a Lady's Maid who knows the ropes, the Browns hired the neighbor's butler.
I watched it because I got free HBO and I liked Downton, but is it worth subscribing? No.