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Maestro (2022)
Masterpiece
Maestro is the best television I've seen in years. Every character is well developed including their virtues and flaws, woven into a complex story line. Each episode focuses on one particular character while simultaneously moving the storyline forward. There are no superfluous scenes. The structure of the narrative is very clever by gradually revealing the fatal end of the primary antagonist leaving the viewer trying to figure out who did it. The acting, cinematography, music, soundtrack, writing, scenery are all outstanding. There are literally no flaws in this series. This is perfect television.
Goldfish Memory (2003)
Smart well acted light comedy
There are very few current feel-good films. This charming film is reminiscent of movies from the 1960s. The multiple story lines are light and fun. The editing is effectively keeps each story moving at a fast pace such that it never becomes dull. All of the actors are splendid and portray realistic characters albeit somewhat exaggerated for comedic effect yet their portrayals are subtle; nothing over the top. How refreshing to watch a film primarily about sex without showing anything explicitly. The scenes of Dublin make you want to book a flight to Ireland.
The soundtrack album with Damien Rice is also wonderful.
Glass Onion (2022)
Total waste of time
This was one of the worst things I've seen in the past year, right alongside shotgun wedding. Most of the blame I attribute to the writing. I simply felt embarrassed for the actors. I don't understand the appeal.
Daniel Craig is so unbelievable as a southern gentleman sleuth. The accent was so affected he looks as though this is his first role ever. Edward Norton does not do much better. Mike Myers is a master of playing ridiculous characters hilariously but no one in this cast has his skill. The production is very richly filmed but the storyline is completely uninteresting and humorless. No more sequels please!
House of the Dragon (2022)
Three stars is a stretch
GOT had loads of dark humor on top of great dialog, plots, acting, directing, etc. Sadly this series is missing all of that. Remember the adrenaline rushes in GOT, especially when the dragons made their grand entrances? Remember the suspense? Remember the great actors? Sadly this series is missing all of that also. What can I say that is positive? I'm still viewing it in hopes of finding it. One article I read indicated that the dragons would have distinctive personalities. Perhaps they do only in comparison with the human actors. HBO currently lacks so much content right now maybe due to Covid. Here's hoping that changes soon.
Goodbye, Columbus (1969)
Nostalgic and Naturalistic Perfection; A Timeless Story
This is one of the marvelous films from the 1960's and it captures that era and demographic beautifully. I saw it in the theatre with two of my best friends in 1969 when we were 14. The movie rating had started a year prior and the theatre attendant should not have let us in as were not accompanied by adult. But it had a rather profound effect on my then and watching it now brought back those familiar memories. And for that reason, the film deserves ten stars. The comedy is subtle. The acting throughout is superb. You don't need to be Jewish to appreciate it. It is basically a snapshot of college age kids in their first serious relationship. It captures the animal attraction that we feel at that age and how quickly our feeling can change when a character flaw and immaturity are suddenly revealed. It is cliche to say but they really don't make movies like this anymore. Fortunately, this one passes the test of time.
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Visually stunning sets- predictable/forgettable script
What a disappointment to see a film with so many talented people involved in a bizarre and predictable storyline. Why would anyone want to remake this movie? Watch Todd Browning's Freaks instead in which real carnival sideshow characters were cast. That film had a real statement to make and would be worthy of a remake in the right hands primarily for the benefit of better cinematography. Those characters had character. Unfortunately, Nightmare Alley is soulless.
Station Eleven (2021)
Humanity prevails after an apocalypse.
The readers reviews of the novel on amazon are mostly one star or five stars. And so are the imdb reviews. People either love it or hate it. Patient viewers that relish a slow pace and admire excellent acting and production values will appreciate it. The writing and storyline is sophisticated, unique and somewhat challenging. It requires an investment on the part of the viewer. At the end, I felt greatly rewarded. The character development is very good. There was not one character I did not understand and appreciate. Gael Garcia Bernal has a small but pivotal part and he is brilliant as usual. In fact every cast member did an outstanding job such that I cared about every character. The ending is very sweet and satisfying but I can understand why it is not everyones cup of tea.
The Last Duel (2021)
Modern characters dressed up for the Renaissance Faire
If you want to see a replay of Rashomon, then rewatch Rashomon... one of the best films of the 20th century that I have watched several times. The Last Duel lacks pretty much everything that makes Rashomon wonderful.
Cinematically, the film is beautiful. Jodie Comer was beautiful and performed excellently. Costumes and scenery are great. Adam Driver and Matt Damon give solid performances as they usually do. Ben Affleck is embarrassing to watch.
The biggest problem is the writing and editing. Most of the dialog is silly and repetitive and propels the story at a snail's pace. Retelling the story from three perspectives when the basic set of facts do not vary creates such a time drag. The differences in their versions are so nuanced that it is ridiculous to present three complete retelling of the entire sequence of events.
The duel at the end is okay. But by that time, I really did not care which character won. I was hoping they would both die.
Finally, this films totally lacks humor.
Watch it if you like Jodie Comer. I could watch her all day. She is a great actress but she cannot compensate for mediocre writing.
Dopesick (2021)
We need more programming like this!!
Excellent mini-series for all the reasons identified in the other reviews.
This same crew should tackle the Trump family and 'stop the steal' campaign. Mary Trump would be willing to assist. Rudi Giuliani would be a recurring character.
Special shout out to Michael Keaton. I've never seen a more genuine performance out of him. The entire cast is great. And so nice to see Phillipa Soo!
And Just Like That... (2021)
SATC meets This Is Us
Most of the negative reviews on here seem too harsh.. until I watched Episode 5. Episode 5 takes it from banal to absurd. Absurd is fine if funny but there is absolutely nothing fun or funny in this latest episode. This isn't writing.. its typing. I look forward to watching because its like catching up with old friends sense the four star rating. But Sex and the City 2 looks oscar-worthy in comparison. I'll keep watching in hopes of improvement or because I love a train wreck.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Aaron Sorkin is genius personified
This film accomplishes many things. First and foremost, it explains the characters of both Ball and Arnaz, their mutual attraction and mutual frustrations that were alluded to in countless interviews and articles over the past sixty years. This film provides a very clear profile of who they were, what they accomplished together, how they collaborated, and how they loved one another until they died. And this film puts everything in context with the effective use of flashbacks. The synergy between these two people was phenomenal. Both were brilliant, but neither achieved individually what they accomplished together. And the casting was terrific. Nichole Kidman has appeared in some very popular dogs recently, so this was a refreshing
change.
Aaron Sorkin consistently delivers exceptional writing and directing. I sincerely hope that he decides to tackle the current political MAGA/Trump/Insurection crisis that he recently pondered in an interview. This is where we really need his clarity and talent today.
The Mosquito Coast (2021)
Picaresque Adventure
Paul Theroux is an outstanding writer and Justin Theroux is an outstanding actor. The entire cast and production is great. I don't understand all the negative reviews. Based on the negative comments, everyone that gave it a poor review must love the Brady Bunch and Ted Lasso. This is not Breaking Bad or Ozark. It is a television original in the picaresque novel vein. Looking forward to Season Two.
Invasion (2021)
Good escapism
After viewing five episodes, I do not understand all the negative reviews. True that the alien story unfolds slowly but that adds to the suspense as you gradually learn the nature of the aliens. Overall, the mini-series moves at a decent pace since it bounces between the parallel storylines. The characters are rather trite and their behavior unnatural at times but this is sci-fi. There are plenty of surprises to make your heart race. The acting and videography are quite good.
Utmark (2021)
Episode One, "An Eye For An Eye" is a gem
I have only watched episode one so far and was very pleasantly surprised. This is one of the best first episodes of any series as it sets up the characters and the premise of the series very efficiently and humanely. The videography is splendid as is the acting. But everything starts with the script and the writing is perfection. Update: Highly recommend after finishing season one. Quirky like Bagdad Cafe. Very good character development. And there are a LOT of characters interacting with each other so getting each character's story line developed requires fast paced editing which gives the overall production a rather fast pace. Great writing, editing and acting.
Only Murders in the Building (2021)
Not my cup of tea
If you like silly fantasy plots, cool set design and scenes of NYC, then you might enjoy this. Good cast for sure but they cannot compensate for lame writing. I only watched the first episode but that was enough to put me off. I cannot bear to watch episode 2. Maybe it is trying to be a Wes Anderson type production. If so, it's a miss as I did not even chuckle once.
The only justification I can see for watching this is that there is so little to stream now that is new because of Covid.
The Prince (2021)
Great pre-show Satire!
Satirical version of The Crown but not as good which is why I only give it eight stars. But both series leave me with the same impression: What a useless institution this relic is.
A lot of dry humor is packed into each ten minute episode. These are good cartoons to watch before your main feature.
I don't understand all the negative one-star reviews claiming child abuse. Especially when they say they only watched five minutes of episode one. Maybe Prince Andrew would be a good person to address the child abuse angle. The appreciation of satire must have died with Buck Henry. I have noticed that many people really do not even recognize satire anymore. They watch satire as though it is a documentary.
The White Lotus (2021)
Flawless
The White Lotus has the style of a Wes Anderson film. Every character is perfectly cast and executed especially the always impressive Steve Zahn and Jennifer Coolidge. Hawaii is also a main character and is accurately and hilariously presented.
No Sudden Move (2021)
All style and no substance
Much effort went into creating moody 1950's set to the point where that was the only element on which I focused. If it was supposed to be suspenseful, it was not. If it was supposed to be empathetic, it was not. This would have been a better if they gave it to Woody Allen or Quentin Tarantino and replaced the catalytic converter plans with an egg salad recipe.
Sulla mia pelle (2018)
Alessandro Borghi is a marvelous actor
Borghi completely captures the essence of the title character Stefano Cucchi from start to finish in this depressingly familiar tale of police brutality. A flawless film.
Tenet (2020)
Tedium would be a better title
Many good novels and films about time travel have been produced. This attempt was tedious from start to finish. I kept checking the clock to see how much time was left. It felt like a four hour film. If you like noise and special effects, watch it. If you like plot and character development, this lacks those attributes. Robert Pattinson was eye candy.
Here and Now (2018)
Wonderful writing and outstanding acting
This series is reminiscent of "The Leftovers" in that it was cancelled prematurely. Viewers demanded a renewal (protesting in all white) and HBO conceded. "Here and Now" also deserves renewal when compared to the mass of mediocre television that gets repeatedly renewed.
This type of writing is difficult. Ignore the bad reviews. Those reviewers are probably anticipating the "Friends" reunion. The positive reviews listed are spot on.
The performances by Tim Robbins, Necar Zadegan, and Sosie Bacon stand out but every single cast member is exceptional and every character well developed. HBO please produce more programming like this.
The Head (2020)
Why is this named "The Head"?
The negative reviews provided by others provide plenty of reasons I regretted watching this series. The primary problem is the writing. There was so much implausibility in the storyline. Plus it is difficult to understand why the writers felt it necessary to drag this out for six hours. 90 minutes would have been more than enough to tell this lame story.
Girls (2012)
To each her own
The reviews herein are almost as entertaining as the show. I am only at episode 4 of season 1 but thoroughly enjoy watching this show. The first scene of the first episode had me laughing out loud and so far I'm still laughing. The humor is dry, subtle, clever, ironic and original. I can understand why many people would not like it so if you don't like episode one, move on to another series.
Sound of Metal (2019)
This is a Must See film. Riz Ahmed deserves an Oscar.
Wonderful writing for a top notch cast. This interior film moves at a swift pace so that it never drags. There are no wasted or superfluous scenes. Each scene moves the story along and reveals something new about the character(s). Riz Ahmed was amazing in HBO's "The Night Of". But his portrayal of the flawed Ruben in "The Sound of Metal" is outstanding. He is at different times stubborn, sweet, rude, ambitious, stupid, sexy, lost and confused. But mostly angry understandably. This is a very ambitious film and Ahmed totally met the challenges of portraying Ruben.
The Little Things (2021)
Very disappointing ill-conceived storyline
Based on the number of favorable reviews, this film clearly has an audience so kudos to Hancock for reaching that audience. From beginning to end, every character was illogically melodramatic. The plot is loosely structured. There was no character development. There is no empathy for the characters; not even the victims. It has a good cast and good cinematography. But that cannot make up for bad writing.