Reviews

I completely enjoyed Greta Gerwig's outstanding movie Barbie. It was delightful to see on the big screen with the great soundtrack and the eye-popping colors. Margot Robbie was born to play Barbie and she made a great movie even better.

Someone asked why a 60+ adult female like me would go to see this kids movie.

For me, Barbie was such a huge part of my childhood. Playing "Barbs" with my best friend as a young girl is one of my most cherished memories. It was something just for girls when we were mostly excluded from being in any lead role in the world (our moms, aunts, grandma's were excluded too). No sports, few female leads in film or television, few jobs outside of the pink collar ghetto we were kept in. Barbie was beautiful and the center of her own story. For this reason I had to go on opening weekend to vote for the world of Barbie, to say, thank you.

Oh. My. God. It was so bad we were laughing at the end. A crashing bore. And terribly long. And dull. Yes, it was an interesting concept to film the kids growing up, but that was it. The characters were so bland. Parts of it showed the kids in abusive situations which was the only emotion I felt during this insipid movie and it just felt bad. I am a militant feminist and even I thought the way the men were portrayed in the film was offensive. Then to add insult to injury, the first husband was an unsuccessful musician and they would play his crappy songs and you had to listen to them. The only thing that would have made it worse was if I spilled my soda on my seat and was sitting in a wet chair. How this was nominated for an Oscar I have no idea. I like to see all the films before the Oscars are handed out. I thought it would be an interesting character driven story. No. I could not have cared less about any of these boring people. Worse Oscar-Nominated film ever. And best supporting actress nomination to Arquette? Please. Marion Ross from Happy Days could have played this role. Save your money and your time. I was never so happy to see the credits roll in my life.

What a shame. I really loved this series. Into season 4, the magic was starting to fade. The first episode of season 5 continued the slow decline. This series continues to bleed out like one of its gangland-gunshot victims along a country road.

I will see it through to the end, but it has been a real disappointment. Nucky has no humor or passion any more. Chalky is the only interesting character I care about a bit. Too bad. I still enjoy the production quality and the clothes. I just do not care much about the characters any more. I just want prohibition to end and have this series end as well.

This season Louie has been darker in tone than the previous seasons. I just finished watching In the Woods, it is brilliant. As a teen in the 1970s, Louie is able to set us right back into that time. Having read articles about him and his style, he says he is a perfectionist when it comes to show. I appreciate the quality of the story he creates. The reason for writing (and I thought someone else would have written this already)was one little part. As Louie is driving with his mom at the end of the show. The radio was on in the car. The radio story mentioned Ronald Reagan. It made me think of the early days of the "war on drugs" and where we are today. Locking up children and criminalizing our kids. RR had a heavy hand in this. I think the world is worse for this misguided policy. I would like to think that was what Louis C.K. was saying in his own way in this story line. The leniency shown to young Louie by his teachers and his counselor is not something we would see today. You are a genius Louis C.K. Thank you.