Reviews

I came from a family of Midwestern Wrestlers . My dad used to teach us all sorts of moves. He had been on the team at his high school back in Omaha. His dad , my grandfather, had been a wrestler with a traveling circus and slept in the belly dancers tent until my great uncle visited and made him come home. The gentle ,sweet, cheery quality of this charming movie is something I recognize from my own family. And...Take a look at the cast! It's fantastic! Plus, this true story is so cool.I expect I will watch it over and over. I am so glad I came across this little gem. People who just love sports movies, as I do, will also find "Fighting With My Family" super fun !

It's not too funny to experience Whitmer Thomas' autobiographical humor. Actually it's pretty painful. I stuck with it because he didn't attempt to hide all the things which had affected him, since his birth it seems, from the camera. I was curious. I was rewarded by this portrayal. It includes his deceased mother's twin sister (they were in a band together called Syn Twister-Whitmer sings a bit of their song , "He's So Hot"). It shows him with his aunt, his father, his cousin and others. They have gone in and out of his life. Most of all, his mother. This has shaped his life in traumatic ways. But then again, that is how a comic is forged. This is humor of the heartbreaking sort, but worth watching if you can handle it.

I do not like reality shows. They often seem so forced to me that I get frustrated. They are slow and boring. However, Next in Fashion actually is intriguing. The designs produced by the teams are worth viewing. The information offered by Alexa Chung (who is slightly more well known in GB than in the US) and Tan France ( who among us is not familiar with "the tuck" guy?) is very fun, and their judging skills are excellent. Thank the Lord, the fashions are cool. I think I'll watch this for a while!

I don't know why I am attracted to programs like this when there is always something during each show which is guaranteed to TERRIFY me. Perhaps it's because I am a child of the 60s and adored staying up late every Friday to watch Twilight Zone. Now, years later, I still willingly subject myself to any TV show which is creepy and smart. Evil fills the bill. Plus, the leads are sexy together and the bad guy is as frightening and smarmy as they come. There are a lot of fascinating plot lines which can be investigated. In other words, I can see a lot of potential in supposedly completed stories coming back to take the leads by surprise, and new stories beginning and ending in single episodes. I only have one complaint: when is the excellent actress, Christine Lahti, going to get her time to really shine? I hope it's soon!

If you love most of Shamalyn's films, you will LOVE this series. You have to be able to accept the concept, though. It's a hard one. A family has been struck with the saddest of all losses (no spoiler there). The mother seems to be be frozen in place until the "anti-Mary Poppins" arrives from Wisconsin to care for the reborn baby you have seen in all the trailers for Servant. The series is a thing of beauty however if you can bear the sadness and the ubercreepiness. The acting is terrific (hey, even the reborn flips and flops around like a pro stunt double). The Philadelphia settings are incredible. Additionally, you get to see M. Knight appear, in Hitchcockian mode,as usual, right from the start. The rain, the hooded jacket, the pull back shots, the close ups, the mirrored reflections, all of the fun of his films are in Servant. Don't miss this! It's a complete thrill.

This cooking show, coming from Australia, introduced me to a lot of cuisines I now like enough and am curious enough about to further explore. The competitors are very nice and work well together. I wish I could fly over from this side of the world and make reservations at some of these cool restaurants, like Dandelion or Africola, but enjoying this is the next best thing! It's very chill in sensibility and positive in attitude, Grade: B+

Behold the superheroes of Vought, smarmy and jaded. They are peddled by their rep (played by Elizabeth Shue, in a superb expression of creepy corporate greed). They don't do good for good's sake, and they don't care about you and me, or the cities where they supposedly fight crime. When Hughie (played by Jack Henry Quaid)'s girlfriend is plowed down by one of them and dies, he joins The Boys, to fight back against the supes and to right wrongs. Karl Urban is in this gem of a series, too. And he's GREAT. Watch his fight set to the strains of "London Calling" ...and yes, that's Simon Pegg playing Hughie's Dad! And yes, Seth Rogen has something to do with the script! I am dazzled by all this! Yay! What more would anyone want? Grade: B+

Yep. This is another movie where the main actress has total amnesia, and we are all wondering when she is going to get her memory back. If it's sooner, it would be better, because that would mean this creaky old chestnut about a woman in peril (Brenda Song) would be over quicker. Then again, maybe you are in the mood for a torturous flick where the injured girl improbably frolics in her wheelchair during a hospital scene with the guy who claims he's her husband...or is he? Who's that other guy and what's he got to do with this? Is it time to go check out what's in the refrigerator? You'll see the ending coming from a mile away. And don't worry, the Allstate guy, playing a detective here, will show off that resonant voice of his in every scene he's in. This film is so bad, it's good. Grade: D-

The taco, in all its humble glory, is celebrated in this documentary. All the different styles are chronicled, and where they first appeared (some of them really really ancient, and a blend of several cultures). This is enhanced by interesting commentary from experts (subtitled in English when appropriate). You are going to pine for a taco before you're done watching. The series has a certain drama and romance to the way it's presented, which makes it even more cool and entertaining. I hope they make more episodes (maybe traveling to other places around the globe?), just like I hope tacos are always around the next corner. Yummy delicious show!!!

The premise of this reality show is crazy. The couple supposedly have been engaged for FOUR years, but have only spent a total of 4 months together, so they want to get more "we time" under their belts as a couple before tying the knot. They want to accomplish this while traveling to various other countries and participating (often with pretty obviously forced consequences) in the lifestyles of groups in the places they go. They figure this will help them get to know each other better. But: Oh no! Sometimes the woman finds the man annoying because he is too attached to his camera! And: Oh yikes! The guy is driven crazy by how long his fiancée takes to find just the right place to go to the loo, in plain sight. But here's the thing: if you like scenic and unusual places, and you can handle two good looking Aussies chatting at your face in not terribly droll but fairly obvious asides, try this show. I would say it's sort of 30 day Fiancé meets Naked and Afraid. Kind of irritating, kind of interesting. What do you think? Grade: C

If you like the idea of "Chopped", only you are curious about how those art glass creations get blown, try this. Personally I am curious enough about a couple of the artists to follow them on Instagram now! It's a little bit the same, in that there are judges, and the competitors have to make things every segment , after which one will get cut and go home (well, except for once), and it's a little bit different, because watching people blow glass can be totally mesmerizing. Grade: B

This historical docuseries swings away at the story of Nicholas and Alexandra, their children, and the mad monk Rasputin (played with gusto and some sort of wild Cockney accent by British actor Ben Cartwright). It has tons and tons of sparkle and glitz, but it's missing heart. You are not going to become terribly involved with Czar Nicholas or the family's tragic story. There are some great photos taken during the time period, and even some film clips. This adds interest. However, that and the glamorous costumes are not enough to save this series. I suggest watching the film "Nicholas and Alexandra" instead, or perhaps reading Robert Massie's book about the fall of the Romanovs, "Nicholas and Alexandra". Grade: C