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Reviews
Conviction (2016)
Such a shame it's over!
This show centers around a team in the newly created Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), led by the rebellious First Daughter, Hayes Morrison (Hayley Atwell) and her old flame D. A. Conner Wallace (Eddie Cahill). The show is set in New York City though filming occurs in Toronto, Ontario in Canada.
The team work on a system of investigating past convictions they feel might have been victim to questionable judicial process. The team gives themselves a 5 day deadline to fix/solve the issues of the cases they take on. They pick their own cases to investigate which often lead to releasing of the wrongly convicted.
The thing I love about the format of this show is having closure at the end of the episode. Too many are changing out their format to drag out a storyline so you don't find out whodunit til the end of the season. I only discovered this show recently and streamed it all over a couple of days. I can't believe there's only one season. The acting is good, the stories are good, and I believe it could have been a success if given a proper chance. I believe the change from broadcasting to streaming content might be responsible for the delay in viewers finding little gems like this show.
I hope they consider, either bring it back or making something like it again. I really did enjoy it.
Bless This Mess (2019)
Needs more Cow Bell... And more seasons as well.
I have just discovered this sitcom a couple of short hours ago on my streaming service subscription. I'm certain I will be binge watching this TV show till the final episode. I have not seen a sitcom that truly makes me laugh with relevant subject matter for an extremely long time. The entire cast are talented and hit the mark with perfection.
I even begged my terminally ill husband to watch it too, for the many times when he needs an escape, and a good laugh to cheer him up and take his mind off death and dying. Every waking hour he has left is a precious thing, so any of his entertainment must be worthy and value for money(time).
I am shocked that there has not been any more episodes produced after 2020. I'm hopeful that this was because of the pandemic and that someone with intelligence will get it back into production. "Bless This Mess" is most certainly a rare, diamond gem of a show.
I Believe in Santa (2022)
Yes corny, cheesy, unrealistic and a little crazy, but...
Yes it's corny, cheesy, unrealistic and a little crazy, however... the moral of the story is much deeper than the surface.
I didn't watch any trailers or read any reviews prior to clicking play on this movie, so I had no preconceived ideas about what I was in for. I was even thinking there for a bit, that maybe Tom was Santa, how fun would that have been? I was so way off. This was when I almost stopped watching, but I decided to have a little faith that it might get better.
This movie is about having faith in something. Life, religion, Christmas and ergo a person's belief in Santa is made magical by the people. Family, friends and community that come together to celebrate the joy of living. The spirit of giving and sharing with those less fortunate, a time for forgiving, and kindness to all.
Faith is so important to our mental health, it makes the harsh reality of our existence easier to bare, so why not Santa? Us as a community, we make the magic of this holiday season, no matter what or who we worship. You don't need to believe in a God to have faith, you can simply believe in the goodness of community and the human race's will to survive. Or as this movie would have it, believe in Santa Claus.
Together we make the magic.
I gave this movie a higher score then I originally intended, purely because so many people missed the point. It makes me wonder if this movie had an A-list celebrity cast, would the concept have been more readily accepted?
Dance Monsters (2022)
Whacky concept perhaps, but adorably entertaining
Whacky concept perhaps, but adorably entertaining.
I was originally going to skip over this and give it a miss, but Netflix starts playing their content before you even decide to watch something. I became intrigued and extremely curious about how this was possible. I'm not even a fan of reality dance shows, but my curiosity had me wanting to know more.
Before I know it, I'm half way through the series and completely hook, line and sunk. I was loving it. This show is so out of the box, I don't think it's ever been done before. My love for animated content that the whole family can enjoy kept me watching to the end.
I even paused it after the 2nd episode to ring my sister and tell her she must watch it with her daughter. My sister is a former dancer and actually loves all those dance shows like "So You Think You Can Dance?".
I also watched the 'behind the scenes' special on Netflix's YouTube channel to get answers to many questions. The music along with the dancing monsters made for a really magical and entertaining experience. I hope they do another series.
Sugar Rush Christmas: North Pole (2020)
Sugar Rush on Roids
Sugar Rush Christmas is basically Sugar Rush on Roids, alla Christmas. The whole show is funnier with the Christmas aspect infused into each episode, even Hunter March gets more amusing at Christmas, he's like an overgrown kid in a candy store. His banter with Candace, Adriano, the guest judge and the bakers has me in stitches throughout.
This particular episode was a huge stand out for me, hence the individual review on the episode versus a single review for the entire title.
The North Pole theme could seem a little monotone overall but it had some exceptional bakers as contestants. Maybe this was intentional for this very reason. The two bakers who made it to the final round made the judges job extremely difficult and it's a shame they weren't put on different shows because they would have both walked away winners if not made to go head to head for the 10K.
Bullsh*t: The Game Show (2022)
So different I loved it.
This was so different to any other game show I have watched before and I loved it. This game was so "out of the box", I thoroughly enjoyed every episode. I adore trivia and knowledge based games, so ended up binge watching the entire thing in one sitting. Can't wait for more.
Howie was brilliant, funny and engaging as the host, and I was laughing through much of the show.
A little more trivia not so specific to the USA, would be nice to see in future. Maybe even allowing players from anywhere in the world, or making different editions for other countries too.
It does seem as though it would be easy to exploit. They had a great mix of people from all walks of life.
Love Jacked (2018)
What went wrong here?
This movie has the ingredients for a very funny romantic comedy. Keith David playing Ed Johnson, Mike Epps playing the wacky Afrophile Uncle Rufus and Amber Stevens West playing the fed up daughter Maya. This great cast together with this storyline could and should make something really fantastic, funny and memorable. So what went wrong?
It was so difficult to force myself to reach the end so I could give it an honest review. A shame really. I'm not sure whether to blame the budget or the directing for this wipeout, but plenty of low budget films can and have made deep impacts.
I'm struggling to understand the high ratings from lots of viewers. And I'm a fan of romance. Maybe I am the problem here. I will try to watch it again when I'm in a different state of mind to see if it is better next time. I will edit my review if my view point changes.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)
I usually skip anything G rated as too juvenile for adults!
But that couldn't be further from the truth for this amazing Dreamworks production.
I decided to watch it anyway because of my love for the 3 main characters, Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch and Ed Helms. It was entertaining while remaining safe for a much younger audience than the regular PG movies are. It was creative and fun and most of all hilarious for the entire family. The music was en point with a brilliant theme song by Weird Al Yankovic. 1812 Ofarture was a brilliant rendition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture.
WoW! Just WoW! I'll definitely be watching if they decide to make another instalment of this franchise. I can see it being very successful should they decide to produce more movies.
Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991)
The acting was good but...
The acting was really good but the story didn't make much sense. I don't understand why Judy Davis's character behaved the way she did. Why were they so intent on snatching the baby. They didn't even like it's mother and it was no relation to them. They were all already taken care of financially so it wasn't even for money. Such a shame overall.
Hope Gap (2019)
Not my usual cup of tea.
I'll start by saying, I struggled to finish this. Mainly because I'm not one for watching movies with such heavy story lines. However, I was compelled to continue because the acting was superb, even the smaller bit parts were done to perfection. It was a very difficult topic, but as per the title, there was hope.
A particular scene between mother and son brought it round beautifully when things could have gone in the ugliest of extremes. And right then at that moment in that scene, I knew this would score a 10 out of 10 rating, plus I'd take the time to write a review.
Do you think you can guess which scene I'm referring to?
A California Christmas (2020)
I can't believe they made a sequel to this.
I gave one star for Manny and the second star for Leo. These two characters kept me watching to the end. The storyline was actually great for a Christmas movie, however the execution was a bit of a let down. The 3rd decent character was Wendy. I had issues with a lot of the scenes that weren't portrayed properly or accurately. I thought they could have done much better.
Inside: Twin Town (2011)
A documentary about a town with an extraordinary number of twins.
A report on Kodinhi, India, noted for producing an unusually high number of twins. It has Doctor's baffled and scientists searching for a common denominator that may hold the key to infertility issues so many around the world are facing.
The host of the program is being driven around by his interpreter who also happens to be a twin himself and is the father of twins too. And it's not just the people having twins, the livestock have joined in on this unexplained peculiarity and are also giving birth to twins.
It was a truly fascinating documentary that I watched on Netflix some time ago. I can't believe so much data is missing on the imdb entry for it.
Funny Story (2018)
Good start
The dialogue in the first and second scene was actually funny and made it seem like this could be a funny movie. The actors were all really talented. But the only comedy was at the start. Then it was a straight up drama from that point on. Walter (Matthew Glave) sang 'Unchained Melody' for his turn at karaoke. He was seriously good at it. (I would actually buy that version of the song).
As a drama this movie works. As a comedy it's an EPIC fail. Maybe someone needs to remove the comedy tag.
In the styling of Yoda, "Two funny scenes, a comedy, does not make!".
A Madea Homecoming (2022)
Hit or Miss?
After watching the trailer I was bouncing in my seat and called my husband to make sure he didn't miss this movie. I love Madea and adore the comedy genius of Mrs Brown's Boys. I truly thought this could be a match made in heaven. We have the ingredients of pure genius here after all.
It honestly pains me to admit this. But the movie fell flat on it's ass and not in a funny way. I want to know what the heck happened. How did it miss the mark so badly?
The Christmas Train (2017)
I'm extremely puzzled with this one. It was off the rails.
Here we have a Christmas movie with potential with the Stella cast line up and story with good bones. But there's something wrong here. It's like those talented actors forgot how to act. Well if their careers weren't already derailed this flick was the train wreck that finished them off. 5 stars was being overly generous.
I Am Not Okay with This (2020)
I Am Not Okay with This...
...being cancelled. Just when it felt like some questions were being answered and the show was starting to really get going, they cancel the show. That's not a nice thing to do Netflix. And I am not okay with this.
One Night Stand (1984)
An oldie Aussie gem
I saw this movie when I was a teenager and could never remember the title. The story line stuck with me though. Recently stumbled across it on Amazon Prime when they licensed a heap of eighties, nineties and naughties content. YaY I now know the name of it. It is a great movie for the time period in which it was produced.
Penguin Bloom (2020)
Emotionally Charged Biopic!
This was a brilliant movie about the struggles of dealing with a new type of life when facing disability and finding feathered friendship with a baby bird who also is trying to survive in a world that isn't it's normal either.
If you're simpatico with wildlife then you'll probably find this movie very draining emotionally, especially if you have your own magpie friendship. If you're living with disability and depression you might also feel emotional throughout this movie.
Have the tissue box on hand because it's likely that you'll need it at some stage throughout the movie and if you don't, then I don't believe you have been paying attention. I am glad I have watched it, but I don't think I could ever watch it again. It took me a few hours to recover from it. But it's an absolutely brilliantly made film with top level acting from a talented cast. Everyone should see this at least once.
17 Again (2009)
This is a movie worthy of repeat.
I've watched this film many times. Every now and then something reminds me of it again, then I just have to watch it again. And again. And again. After all it's in the title. A total keeper for home movie collections.
As Hollywood destroy their faces with plastic surgery in a bid to stay frozen in time, albeit a little too literally, it's nice coming back to these feel-good movies for remembering how they used to be when they could still move their faces.
Friends: The One with the Race Car Bed (1996)
A Favourite Episode for Many
This is one of the best episodes with the funniest intro. This episode has the thinking scene where we hear the 6 friends thoughts. And Gunther makes a revelation.
Matt Le Blanc also does some of his best acting while teaching a class of possible never up and coming future thespians.
Solos (2021)
I feel like I've been fish slapped by the future!
I'm still a little unsure about what I just watched and how they connected. In saying this I couldn't stop watching. Each individual story I was able to follow, mostly. The acting is outstanding in every episode. If they were handing out Oscars, I'd put my money on Constance Wu, Uzo Aduba, Anthony Mackie & Helen Mirren. Oh stuff it give them all one, but two for Dan Stevens because he played 2 parts, and yes most definitely Jack Quaid(I'm expecting great things from him from his DNA alone).
Fuller House (2016)
Netflix delivers the warm fuzzies!
I loved the original series Full House and I loved this too, they did a great job.
I was extremely disappointed in Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for not even coming on for a guest appearance. These two who I had loved watching their various acting careers went way down in my esteem of them. But in saying that I loved the little digs at their snobbishness.
It's a shame it ended so soon.
Spinning Out (2020)
Do yourself a favour!
Do yourself a favour if you are trying to decide if you should watch this show. JUST DON'T. Load up YouTube and watch Oona and Gage Brown instead. At least this way you'll see talent on the ice-skating rink.
I think the pandemic is affecting peoples minds. I can't believe the reviews I'm reading along with the ratings of said reviews. Are we watching the same show or have aliens probed their minds and forced them to like this crap? I had to abandon this show at episode 5, I just couldn't push through it any more. The bipolar portrayal vexed me greatly. The mother looks younger than the daughter, everyone's acting is terrible except Amanda Zhou and Sarah Wright did an okay job. There's no way professional athletes working towards the Olympics would abuse their bodies this way.
As one reviewer wrote, ice-skating shows are like catnip for them. I feel the same, I'll watch bad content just to see more skating. But this show is complete rubbish. What a waste of money to produce it. Could have given it straight to a 3rd world country to help them fight the pandemic.
One star is too many for this production. It's a real shame because this could have been an epic show rather than an EPIC FAIL.
Virgin River (2019)
The Story has great bones!
This is a tough one for me to decide. The story has great potential but grrr the actors can and have done much better in other roles. Why is it taking so long for them to settle into their roles for this show. The actress playing Hope is over-acting too often and I think this could be what's grating on my nerves for this show.
Enrique Iglesias: Hero (2001)
Do you remember your first love?
If you've ever been in young love. A love so real it hurt to imagine ever being without the other, then this video might actually take you back to that time. I think the song and the video while cheesey did succeed at doing this. Especially when Enrique had his face almost against the piano keys playing a melody in the beginning of the clip.