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Shefhammer
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Reviews
Silo: Truth (2023)
Awful
Losing interest rapidly. Ferguson is an absolute queen but even that isn't enough to sustain interest when the plotting is so glacial and the dialogue so tedious. Does Apple think it has discovered a new, superior way of lighting TV shows because I have news for them - they haven't. This and Succession are so dark at times you may as well just listen to it and switch off the visuals. There are literally scenes where 90% of the screen is total blackness. Which idiot thought that was a good idea and did they used to work in radio?
I like the premise but the characters are just not compelling enough to overcome a plot that is barely offering any interest at all. I'll give it one more episode and then unless things change, I'm out.
Malibu Road (2021)
Feels like a student film
It's hideous I'm afraid. Can't even remember how I came across it or how it ended up on my watchlist but the premise sounded intriguing and the poster looked good. The alarm bells rang immediately though with a poorly acted and tediously banal opening monologue. The credits were high school level. The first scene post credits was bad high school level acting... both stiff and chemistry free. There's zero timing between the cast and the dialogue is stilted. The direction is poor and the whole things lacks any creative spark. I think the good reviews and scores are presumably because only friends and family have seen it. Brings me no pleasure to say that everyone else should avoid.
Do Revenge (2022)
Drivel
Badly acted. Appallingly written. Complete and utter drivel from start to finish. They put 25 different ideas I to a blender and came out with this absolute train-wreck of a movie. The plot and tone of the movie veer violently from sentence to sentence, let alone scene to scene. Character motivations are non existent, nothing is real, the acting is absolutely atrocious - I know I said that already but it bears repeating. Do yourself a favor and skip this utter bore-fest. I think the budget went mainly on the soundtrack, which is quite good, but everything else is inept and I honestly think this is one of the worst things I have ever seen.
This Is Going to Hurt (2022)
Frustrating and excellent in equal meausure
There are some baffling decisions that make what could and should be a triumph fall short of greatness. Woeful cinematography. Awful song choices. Insanely frequent flashbacks of a premature baby that offer nothing at all to the viewer. We get that the main character is struggling with that because it is etched on his face at all times. We don't need 25 flashbacks an episode. They kill off one of the best minor characters in episode 3. A terrible decision. There is clearly some wit in this - the source material is too good for their not to be - but they really have overdone the misery. Ben Wishaw is a very good actor but I think he is either miscast here or has been encouraged to play the character as a charisma vacuum and so dour that it is off the charts. What on earth he offers his boyfriend is beyond the comprehension of the viewer. At least show us one reason they might be in love. I'm still watching but it's at times quite frustrating.
Hacks: 1.69 Million (2021)
Stop with the HBO Woody Allen Vendetta
Hot on the heels of HBO's most egregious and one-sided "documentary" Allen v Farrow we now have to endure throwaway lines in otherwise very good shows that continue to try and throw Allen under the bus. Quote, "I have some Woody Allen records" -"You should probably get rid of those." Why exactly? Is that supposed to be funny? Insightful? It's neither.
It's just hateful and if not slanderous it does seem like HBO has a vendetta against a man who faced one solitary accusation 30 years ago, an accusation that has precisely zero corroborating evidence. Allen was thoroughly investigated twice and who was independently cleared twice. He has accused Mia of fabricating the whole thing. Mia has twice as many accusers (Moses and Soon Yi) as Allen. That's an uncontestable fact. Why did that line make the final cut? An HBO higher-up should have cut it but then I suspect the same exec who commissioned the disgraceful hit-piece let it slide.
I suspect few are as irritated by these kind of throwaway lines as I am but it takes me out of a show I was enjoying and I just don't understand the motivation.
Jean Smart was terrific in this episode as she has been throughout and I'm glad she won the Emmy.
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
First rate Hitchcock.
One of Hitchcock's early British works and his best at the time of it's release. Almost like a rehearsal for North by Northwest, 'Vanishes' is an extremely engaging film bringing together the strands of thriller, mystery and comedy and effortlessly weaving them together. The script is consistently witty and there's a whole host of well defined, engaging characters that play against each other perfectly. Definitely one of Hitchcock's best, which means one of the best films of all time.