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Reviews
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Pique (2001)
Chad Lowe deserves an award
This was a creepy episode.
But also amazing in several ways.
First, you have the introduction of B. D. Wong as dr Huang, which will become a fan favourite, I promise.
As soon as this character arrives in the SVU universe, you get some of THE BEST episodes in SVU.
Cabot, Huang, and the regular 5 (benson, stabler, tutuola, cragen, munch) are the dream team.
This is pique SVU. Yes, that's a pun.
The interrogation scene between Stabler and the suspect takes up a good chunk of the episode and it really shows the range of both actors quite well.
The mental breakdown at the end is phenomenal and I'm shocked that Lowe didn't get even a nomination for this episode. He does such an unbelievable job.
10/10.
9-1-1: The Devil You Know (2022)
Ignore the low ratings - this is PHENOMENAL
If you're a fan of true crime, this episode (and the end of episode 2) are for you! It's shocking, scary, sad, suspenseful, and heartbreaking.
Athena makes it her mission to find out what happened to little girl who went missing all those years ago - Tanya - whose bones were found under her parents' deck /sunroom floor.
The flashbacks have Tanya as a little kid (10? 12?) who wanted to sneak out and party with her older sister. She ends up at some party in the middle of nowhere, drinking with her sister and sister's friends. And this is the last time she is seen.
What happens is truly evil and it's so scary to watch this little girl run away from a 17 year old pedo, running for her life, knowing she won't make it. Terrifying.
It's an emotional episode. I certainly cried. But Athena caught the bad guy - her own childhood friend - and he's put away.
I'm not sure if people gave this a low rating because it's copaganda (in which case.. why are you watching 911!?!), if it's because it only had Bobby & Athena out of the main case, or if they don't care for true crime.
But I enjoyed it. And I recommend watching this.
Cuerdas (2014)
Beautifully written
This is one of those shorts that will affect parents (especially those with differently abled kids) with a huge impact. It's mostly a happy story about not treating disabled people in a nasty way.
The first half is wholesome. It involves a girl - Maria - who comes up with creative ways to play with the new boy in a wheelchair (who also doesn't speak). She believes he will walk again one day. She ties a rope to his foot and pulls it so he can kick a ball and also uses the rope to pull on his wheelchair so he can play all kinds of games. She has this vivid imagination and it's wonderful.
But the second half takes a sad turn. The boy comes to school very pale looking and the teacher says he's too sick to play today. Maria still tries to spend time with him, oblivious to how sick he is. Then she comes to school and sees his empty chair. She assumes he has suddenly began walking. But she overhears teachers talking about the boy, who has passed away in his sleep.
It's gut-wrenching. I was bawling. Up until that point, it really did seem like this boy was going to grow up with Maria and they'd be friends for life or even get married. It had seemed like he may get some sort of ability in his legs again (he kicked the ball once on his own). And then it just all comes crashing down one day.
The only comfort you can take from the boy's death is that is passed in his sleep, so it's assumed no suffering, and he had a smile on his face. Maria made the rest of his life amazing and that's beautiful.
The film then skips ahead 20 years and shows Maria as a teacher to disabled kids. She has now dedicated her life to caring for kids that were just like her friend.
I recommend it, but just be warned that you will likely cry.
Run the Burbs (2022)
Give it a chance
This takes place in the suburbs around Toronto or at least the GTA, so enough about the 'not enough white people' rants. Toronto is diverse. This isn't Saskatoon, folks.
Also, I've read some reviews that say they don't show their culture enough or use their language, but that's just in the first few episodes. Again, give it a chance. It's explained later on that Camille doesn't know the traditions, language, or celebrations from her Indian heritage because her mom passed away when she was young and her dad stopped trying to keep up the culture. Her dad is also a teacher at a white school and Camille went to a white school, so they didn't want to stick out, which I've heard is legit what many BIPOC kids do, especially kids of immigrants.
Andrew does speak Vietnamese and you see him speak mostly Vietnamese when he's around his parents and sister. And they have celebrated the lunar new year in each season as well.
The jokes land and I laugh out loud at each episode.
I don't find Andrew or some other characters to be "over" acting; I just think of them as having that energetic, outgoing, extroverted personality.
If you're a millennial parent, you'll probably find a lot of humour in this.
You don't have to live in a nice suburban community to understand the characters.
I also think season 2 is funnier than season 1, so there ya go. Give it a chance. It gets better.
Molly of Denali: Grandpa's Drum/Have Canoe, Will Paddle (2019)
Truth& Reconciliation
This episode is such a sad, but sweet episode. It's so necessary to hear the stories of what these kids in residential schools went through and ensure people do not forget.
And I just love that they made this in a kids cartoon, so it's simplified to explain to kids about what older generations of Indigenous kids went through.
It's absolutely sweet that Molly went through such trouble to help her grandfather heal.
This show is really good at teaching kids about the Alaskan Indigenous culture and especially the language. And mommy is such a loveable character. Her relationship with her grandpa is truly heartwarming and wholesome.
This episode always makes me tear up.
Ghost Whisperer: Slam (2008)
Cute love story
I'm really happy with how it ended with Lucy and Ned and Krista. It's so sweet that Lucy and Krista were the ones emailing each other and falling in love. And I also liked that Ned isn't weird about it or jealous after he finds out that his crush is a lesbian. Everything about how that all turned out was cute.
I'm not at all liking this computer geek who's blackmailing Melinda though. I never trusted him and now he's basically threatening her :/ I don't know how this will turn out, but I hope her secret doesn't get leaked. It just reminds me of when that happened in Charmed and the chaos it brought.
Ok so obviously the one big nitpick is that Ned is not the same actor.. he's tall and blonde and doesn't look anything like the other actor. I know they're trying to show him older and stuff, but at least try to find somebody who looks similar.
Coroner (2019)
Awesome
I'm only 4 episodes in but I find the series to be intense and wholesome. I love the mystery that keeps you wanting to binge the show. The characters are great and relatable too.
I get Charmed vibes from this show.. mixed with Pretty Little Liars.. and a bit of Bones but the main character is much more relatable than Bones.
I'd recommend this for anyone who loves mysteries, murder shows, cop shows, or forensic science.
Prodigal Son: It's All in the Execution (2021)
Right wingers can die mad
Omg people are giving this wonderful episode low ratings just because they hate that there was a reference to how Black people are treated by the police. Imagine how mad Black people are that this is actually their life? Like seriously die mad about real life being portrayed in Hollywood then, ya Yankees.
The Good Neighbor (2016)
So underrated!
Such a crazy movie. I didn't expect it to go the way that it did. This is one of those movies where you question in the end who was really the good guy.
Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)
The show is better..
Though there are a lot of great Easter eggs for the fans, I don't think I'll watch this movie again.
The plot was odd and definitely did not flow as well as other movies do.
Sometimes there was side pranks that honestly didn't seem to further the plot at all, so I'm not sure what that was about.
It was sort of like they wanted to make a few different movies that didn't really go together, but they put them together anyway.
If it didn't have the Paula Abdul plot and was just a road trip with bonus content and fun side pranks / missions, this would've been a better film.
It was just a choppy film and had a lot of unnecessary content. The whole thing with Murr and his secret parties was maybe only funny for the Jokers themselves because it wasn't all that funny for me, and I am a fan of their show.
The tiger prank with Sal would've been funnier if it wasn't in the trailer so it was more of a shock. They basically stole that from the Hangover so it wasn't that bizarre anyway.
Sal as Santa Claus in summer? I don't know what that was. They didn't explain if that was part of the trip or just a random deleted scene from the show that was in there.
Like I said, it was choppy.
If you're really into the series and the Jokers, then I guess it's okay to watch for the inside jokes and pranks alone, but if you don't know the show, don't bother.
And if you want to watch it at all, don't watch the trailer. The trailer gave away all the jokes so that the movie wasn't as funny.
I laugh a lot harder watching the show itself. I was mostly straight faced watching this movie.
I don't understand the reviews that gave 10/10 and said they were bursting in laughter throughout the whole thing. Maybe they didn't see the trailers or were in a movie theatre with a big crowd.
Dear White People (2017)
LOVELOVELOVE
I see a lot of people hating on this show just because of the controversial subject matter. Get over yourselves. You're exactly the reason why this show was made.
But, anyway, if you love dramas with several complex characters and lots of sex scenes, that also throws in some activism, then this show is for you!
I love how each episode shows a different character's perspective too.. it really helps the audience understand everyone.
Seriously, this is unique and awesome!
The Good Place: Janet(s) (2018)
D'arcy (Janet) steals the episode!
D'arcy Carden is amazing and it's easy to forget that all the characters are played by just the one actress. She captures every character perfectly.
Escape Room (2019)
Worth a Watch!
It's definitely a fun ride. Beautiful scenes and rooms.
The actors and actresses are so in depth about their past traumatic pasts and it really brings the movie to a next level.
Worth watching!