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Xhasha
Reviews
Shirley (2024)
Disappointing
Shirley Chisholm has been up there among my heroes. She was a small, thin woman with a distinctive voice and speech pattern. And when she spoke, one couldn't help but listen. Powerful, powerful leader.
I feel this film did not do her justice. Don't get me wrong, it was okay. But okay does not cut it for someone as important as Shirley Chisholm should be considered.
One thing for sure, she had no Island accent. I did not feel Regina King channeled her well. Not were the other actors very strong. Everything was surface. No introspection, no deep thinking exposed.
Perhaps it would have been more interesting to see how she got to Congress and her achievements there.
Human Footprint (2023)
Visuals & Noise make it unwatchable
I have been wanting to see this for quite a while. The subject is fascinating and also so very important. I was hoping for a very informative series with amazing photography.
Sadly, this is not what I got. Warning: my husband and I lasted under 10 excruciating minutes of a visual and sound assault.
The voiceover was fine. But we could not focus o what it was saying. Images flashed from scene to scene in a fraction of a second. And the background music was well, inappropriatively pushy. Staccato. Everything stuttered.senses reeled.
Perhaps they calmed down later. Sadly, we were both beset with head clutching headaches. So we stopped watching.
What a pity.
Dark Winds (2022)
S1 was great but S2.....
I loved the books; read them many decades ago & they stayed with me. The tv show is similar and I absolutely loved Season 1. I gave it a rating of 10 and could not wait until season two.
I've downgraded it to 6, and I truly believe I am being generous. What happened? The acting remains good. But the underlying theme is something we have all seen before, just not on a reservation.
But the real issue I have is with the cinematography. The whole first episode of S2 was night scenes. Which nowadays means the screen is so dim the viewer has to gues what's going on.
In another, it's shot thru a red filter & dim light. I couldn't tell what was happening.
Its all a hot mess.
Invasion (2021)
Question: why?
Why do people say the cinematography used in recent SciFi is brilliant when most of the time the screen is so dark you cannot see anything?
And the dialogue is lame?
Why is that true for this tv series?
Why is this a series of unrelated vignettes that don't explain what is happenung?
Why is it so ponderously SLOW?
Why did they make this?
Guess why I'm out if here.
Dune (2021)
Cant see a thing
One might as well read the books, because you have to imagine whats going on in this film. Most of the time you cant see a frigging thing! I am sick and tired of every film making me peer at a dark screen. And it is so slow-moving!
Foundation (2021)
Disappointing monotone destruction of amazing Novels
Pretty much monotone. Cannot see anything on the screen unless there is no light in the TV room. Most dialogue is slow, ponderous, muted. I have no problems with the race, gender etc of the characters. But they could be played by better actors. I read and reread the Foundation series...couldn't put the books down. With this production, I keep checking the time. Is it over yet? It does not keep my attention. My advice: ditch the series; read the books.
Debris (2021)
Yikes, how awful!
Weird alone doesn't cut it. And this weird had no coherence. Its not sci-fi, not horror, not fantasy, just a mish mash of them all. Given the poor sound quality and even worse acting and direction, I would rate it even lower if I could. Sigh...I really would love a good sci-fi series.
Miss Scarlet & the Duke (2020)
Disappointing
We were looking forward to this show, but after the first episode, are not sure we want to return. Costumes and settings were very good, but the main character, Ms Scarlett, is a walking, talking stereotype ...a one dimensional character. And as to the talking, she mumbles and slurs some of her words. At the end, the show felt...smothering.
The Undoing (2020)
Disappointing, run of the mill thriller
Sutherland and Jupe made the series bearable. Kidman is wooden (and plastic) and Grant's lost his charm, though not his grimaces, which have become exaggerated. Too many elements made no sense either...they did not flow logically.
Virgin River (2019)
Last season a 7; devolved to a 2
We were excited that finally there was a season 2. We had enjoyed the first season and settled in for a good time. But, sadly, the show has settled into mediocrity. The worst is that each scene was so predictable based on wat came before. Just a ho hum soap opera with wooden performances. The secon show, second season is the last for us. I already know what's coming next.
The Mandalorian (2019)
Dark...in that I can't see what's happening
It seems a decent story.However, the nighttime and indoor scenes are so dark I can't see what is going on. And there are a lot of such scenes.
The OA (2016)
Hot boring mess
My spouse and I couldn't make it through the first episode. It set up a mystical mystery. Blind girl missing 7 years suddenly reappears, sighted, calling herself the OA and with horrible scars. Quite frankly, it was so badly paced and scripted that we just don't Carey's know what happens next.
Flesh and Blood (2020)
Great cast, but...
The framework lets know you right away that some tragedy had struck, then it goes back in time to show you what leads up to it. This cast a whole pall over the soap-opera as the backstory unfolds. This is a conceit which has gotten overused recently and I do not enjoy it. You may.
Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
Wow
This was a surprisingly satisfying film. Beautifully written, filmed, directed and acted. I recommend it highly.
Perry Mason (2020)
At the end, its...boring
I am so tired of sepia tones. Screens so dark you need to guess at what is happening, and where. Is this de rigeur for noir nowadays? The acting is stiffly ponderous, most likely a directorial conceit because these actors are masters of their craft. Nothing can quite overcome the thin script. All in all, what a disappointment.
Hunters (2020)
Inaccurate telling of Holocaust is Dangerous
This is kind of interesting, although horribly overacted. Everyone is a "character" that dies not become a person. But the reason I give it a 3 is that I think it so wrong to make things up about the camps. Buchenwald and Auschwitz need no made up horrors...there are plenty of real ones. This can be used by Holocaust deniers.
The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (2018)
Riveting
A wonderful series that takes place in the mid to early 50's. Well written, acted and directed. We found this series thoroughly enjoyable and disappointed there is only one season. I cannot understand why people gave poor reviews. Glad we gave it a try.
Carnival Row (2019)
Disappointed
Everything is overdone, except the colour. If you like grey, this is the film for you. It should have been visually stunning, people with wings drooping down their backs like limp capes, people with horns...cyberpunk costuming and environment. I think I got a glimpse of a centaur. But, oH my, The story is about racism and anti-refugee feelings. And way too much explicit sex that there is no way I can watch this with teens. I had hoped for an escape into fantasy. What I saw was a sledgehammer revealing the hatreds we see in our everyday reality.