Change Your Image
JayhawkJuJu
Reviews
Dance Life (2024)
Dancing was fantastic. The dancers not so much
The formula has been established. You can't make these types of documentaries work without focusing on the people so that's what this did. The dancing was fantastic. I don't know anything about dancing but I thought they all looked professional (movie or Broadway ready) and I'd be happy to hire any of them.
The problem was that the dancers weren't all that interesting or mature as people, and so I didn't care about them. Very stereotypical: the beautiful one who wants to be seen for more than her looks, the insecure gender-fluid one, the bullied late-bloomer, the brash, straight-forward one, the moody guy(s), the I-want-fame-at-all-costs one, the one with a tough upbringing...I did find Emily more interesting than the others. I wish her luck...
The formula needs adjustment as I wanted more. Yes you can be the best dancer in the world, but the viewers need more character development from the dancers. And I didn't see much progression (yes in the dancing but not much in terms of their development into well-rounded people).
The interviews didn't exactly portray them in a good light. More like needy--and many times--narcissistic babies. One boy while crying: "I know I like need to be better and like engage more with like the people around me but I like just don't know how to like do that?" Or Archer: "someone like looked at me like funny on the like subway and now I'm like feeling down." I heard 'Like" so many times, I almost didn't make it through all 5 episodes. Like OMG, for sure.
Cassie was indeed brilliant, but at one point they mentioned she was getting married. Yet she said something like her focus was 100% on her career. Well what happens when her husband starts to resent her international demanding career that requires travel and probably 60-80 hrs a week in town? Yet no one was raising any questions. I wish her luck in her marriage, but I worry about her perspective.
There was one girl who talked about using her talent as a vehicle for running some sort of business. I thought she was the smartest one of the bunch, as the reality of professional entertainment and sports careers are brutal:
-NFL: The avg QB career is 3 years. The avg WR career is 2 years. The average OL career is 3.5 years.
-NBA: avg 5-6 years.
-Broadway Dancer: avg wage of $34/hr or $70K/year. Try living on that in NYC.
-Hollywood Actor: avg pay of $51K in LA (2021)
And these are the top 1/2% of all athletes/actors/dancers because they have a career at all. But the famous Britney Spears choreographer lectured her implying that she wasn't dedicated enough. On the other hand, does the dance company implicitly (or explicitly) applaud Arabella for neglecting her academics; she has a spinal tumor that needs to be fixed, but if she does, it means she won't dance again. What will she do when her body gives out, as I'm sure it will? When she had a stress fracture at one point, she just popped a pain pill. (YIKES!! Was it a narcotic?) It was implied that she had nothing more than a high school diploma...and mediocre grades at that. I felt bad for her being encouraged (by someone-not sure who?) to put her eggs in one basket while knowing that that basket will fail sooner than later.
Episode 4 was supposed to feature the dancers yet it was boring as hell, and I fast-forwarded through most of the second half...blah blah blah, they're stressed and nervous. It means everything. Agents will be there. I'm sure I didn't miss anything...I hadn't heard anything revolutionary up to that point anyway.
I just felt like it could be much more inspiring but missed the mark.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Most Boring Movie of the Century w A-List Actors
Hey Let's Make a movie that centers around a "hero" who is a communist sympathizer (albeit questionable how much) who hangs with communists and works in universities filled with communists. In other words, communism didn't infiltrate our universities in the 60s like we all thought. It was infiltrated by pretentious intellectuals whining and complaining all the while taking advantage of all the benefits of the American life and educational system. Lots of drinking and partying, living in fancy houses, Ivy League access, hobnobbing with people who have a direct line to the president of the USA.
(The painful irony is that Wikipedia says that Oppenheimer's dad was an immigrant without a penny to his name and no formal education, who came to America, got a menial job, worked his way up to executive level and became a millionaire. Yet his son, who grew up in a mansion in Manhattan, is sympathetic to communism?? And I thought he was a genius!!!)
Heres the problem. A million plots, dozens upon dozens of characters we have to keep apart and who all looked alike, hard to follow, hard to understand, dialogue speaking at breakneck speed. Self righteous Politicians acting selfishly as if that's a shocking revelation. Scene after scene after scene that didn't change the outcome of the movie but they were included because why?
I'll tell you why. Nolan has no discretion, judgment, or discipline as a director. Yes Nolan loved all his scenes so much (with his A-list actors no less) that he couldn't cut any of them, making a marathon of an experience. There is no actress I love more than Florence Pugh, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but her entire part should have never seen the light of day. Yes It was an opportunity to use her talent, but it contributed nothing to the movie's pace or direction or storyline and added at least 30 minutes. In fact she was the most interesting person in the whole movie. They should have made an entire movie about her tortured life. But a DIFFERENT movie.
At one point during the last hour, I thought the movie was wrapping up, only to realize it opened up a whole new line of questionings during the hearings. I involuntarily sighed out loud in exasperation so badly my husband was embarrassed. The whole theatre knew how frustrated I was this didn't end.
This was supposed to be a movie about Oppenheimer. I guess it was. But I didn't care about him. His wife. His lovers. His associates. The politicians. The President. Anyone. I didn't care one iota about any of them. And what I did care about (like fatalities and aftermath- not to mention the alarming rate that Ivy League universities were being taken over by communists) was conveniently ignored.
Won't recommend to anyone except as a cure for insomnia. This is Hollywood's The English Patient for 2023. Snooze fest.
Champions (2023)
Vulgarity Cheapens it
This movie was a mixed bag. It could have been a great family film for all ages. It's not going to be Oscar-worthy and yes it's very formulaic and predictable. My kids enjoyed the plot and rooting for the Friends. I loved its positive portrayal of the special needs community, making many multi-dimensional characters with friends and family and jobs, etc. The forgiveness scene with Darius was touching. This almost made up for quite a few shortcomings.
The vulgarity is a definite negative. The first scene sets up sniping between Woody and Olsen after their tinder hookup. Haha so funny. Try explaining that to your elementary kids. Hearing a player joke about his sexual exploits and his "three-way" was also uncomfortable with kids in the room. Irrelevant to the film and unnecessary. My thing is know your audience. This isn't advertised as a Seth Rogan rated-R raunchy type movie. A bit of a bait and switch.
The blackmail scene with the restaurant manager was also uncomfortable. It was played for laughs but a bit mean spirited and cynical. They could have aired a story on espn and wrote one for the local paper and raised the $$$ in 5 minutes. And my kids would have seen that you don't have to blackmail people to get what you want.
I think Harrelson is capable of more depth and didn't go far enough. Would have loved to have seen an espn interview at the end where he explains why he turned down the nba job...could have taken it to another level. Showing they weren't just temporary "cute" friends of his but actual people he loved. Some of the conflicts could have also been resolved at a deeper level.
White Nights (1985)
Great but bad pacing tanked it
The opening sequence is phenomenal. The plot is believable enough to help the viewer "suspend reality." It was going along nicely. I felt like the dancing made sense as it easily incorporated into the plot naturally. Ie Porgy and Bess scene .
The film grinds to a halt because Hackford decides to include a sub-plot, where Darya gets taken into custody. Absolutely the fault of the director whose poor pacing decision tanks the second half of the film. Adds at least an extra 30 min to the film.
Honestly just cut that part making a final
Run time between 1:30-1:45 and it would have been perfect. No one is really expecting Oscar bait material. They want to see dancing with some semblance of a plot.
If they had skipped the sub-plot, planned the escape, gotten out "just in the Nick of time,"happily ever after, my score would be 8 or 9. Yes some dance scenes would have to be cut but Hackford needed to be a disciplined director. Such a shame. The modern music was dated (and forgettable) but I guess hind sight is 20/20. If they had stuck to classical or even recognizable classic rock for those scenes, this movie would be a 10.
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000)
Underwhelming and disappointing
He comes across as a sheepish wimpy guy who can't quite make up his mind whether to fight the Nazi's or not.
Here is a man who did so many great things and ministered to so many people and it barely touched on any of it. Nothing from
His writings or showed him of much depth whatsoever, but they do include some spiel about how he admired Gandhi and encouraged his seminarians to listen to him. Huh????
He ministered to prisoners for a year and a half. They had one 5 min scene where he prays a prayer with a cellmate and that's it. His "cost of discipleship" book is considered a modern classic and they included nothing from it.
If I knew nothing about him, I would
Never think he made any difference whatsoever and wonder why anyone would bother to make a movie about him at all. This Does such a disservice to his impact during the war; what a waste.
Dance Academy (2010)
1st season is best
It's a mixed bag. The reality is that you can get superior actors who can't dance, or mediocre actors who can dance, or at least well enough to make it believable. This production chose the latter. Abigail the best dancer got the most dance scenes, which is a good choice by the director. So The acting didn't bother me. I've seen much, much worse and it's a show geared toward teens. No one is Meryl Streep but no one is bad enough to be distracting.
A strong positive about the first season: the doe-y-eyed main character has talent but her small town had subpar technique training so she was required to go off pointe while she re-learned many things so she wouldn't get hurt with more demanding repertoire. That felt very realistic to me. She didn't just go to the front of the line because she was the "heroine."
You'll find very stereotypical characters: mean girl dancer, naive small town girl dancer, renegade bad boy dancer, the boy whose dad disapproved dancer, the privileged legacy dancer who took it all for granted and threw it all away.
By the second season the writing got super sloppy. The soap opera drama got very tiresome very quickly. Falling in and out of love, love spats that could have been solved over a quick conversation. Plus the mean girl had guys falling over her while she treated them like garbage. Hey girls, just fyi...when you treat people like Abigail did, not only will you not have friends, you certainly won't have boyfriends. I think most of the complaints about the lead character are that the writers toyed with the character. Her acting didn't bother me too much; her storyline bothered me a lot.
Umm the plot line where the dance teacher breaks the main characters back...are you kidding me??? Yeah it's competitive and petty but are you telling me dance teachers at the Royal ballet dance company destroy peoples careers over jealousy by breaking their backs? That didn't work for me. At all. That's assault and she should be in prison.
Another example of sloppy writing: Kat gets a job in Paris. But she's one of the main cast, so she gets there and then acts like a bratty obnoxious twerp. She had no reason to act so unprofessionally (which gets her fired her first week) except that they needed her back in Sydney so the manufactured plot got her back there within an episode.
I was watching it to see if appropriate for my teenagers. Id let them watch the first season but I think they'd be bored with the following seasons. Not sure their attention span would tolerate the pettiness. As a mom, I did appreciate a certain innocence about it with its lack of sex and bad language.
Suits (2011)
Season 1 is Fantastic; Goes Downhill after That
Season 1 was fun, light, satisfying. Exactly what I wanted. Easy-breezy. Everything clicked. Season 2 was relentless with crazy evil people trying to take the whole firm down every minute of every day. It' just got exhausting to watch. Maybe watching it week-to-week it wasn't that trying, and it certainly wasn't bad in terms of quality. Watching it back-to-back on prime wasn't satisfying. It got heavy and moody and cranky.
I have to be honest. Megan Markle was actually quite good in Season 1. It's a soap opera. She's not carrying the show. She has to be a side-kick girlfriend/eye candy and she did that very well.
Thankfully, they gave the real meaty female parts to the awesome Donna and Jessica characters. They are both bad-ass in every sense of the word and Suits should be thankful they got actresses of such caliber because they carry off their scenes brilliantly.
Louis Litt is a royal pain, but the actor is very good. He vacillates between "loyal, dedicated, hardworking, high-contributing employee" and the "firm's and/or the associates' greatest enemy" a thousand times every episode. His courting and banter with hottie Harvard recruiter Sheila is hysterical to watch. The main two characters, Mike and Harvey, are also well-cast and have good working chemistry together to make the plot credible.
I've seen through season 4. And 2-4 weren't necessarily bad. I just think none of them could replicate the magic of Season 1.
The Flight Before Christmas (2015)
The Leads Compete for a Razzie
First we meet the handsome fella, and I can't believe he was actually acting. His line delivery was just...so...cringe. I thought maybe it will improve with Amy Farrah Fowler because she's a pretty good actress. Nope, she decides to play "Stephanie" as humorless, snarky, unpleasant, and the last person anyone would want to be around for any period of time. And absolutely not the type of character you want to center a Hallmark movie around. I watched the first 10 minutes, fast-forwarded to the last 10, and I am 100% confident I missed absolutely nothing. Now I need 40 more characters to finish my review. OK Done.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Misses the Mark Completely
The first movie was pretty terrible but I absolutely loved it. And when Goose died, I cried. I still cry at that scene.
As for the sequel? I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. First you get to sit through Tom Cruise's hokey "commercial" at the beginning saying he did this for the fans. Was this to rehab his image? He's so creepy.
I'm not sure what the problem was with Top Gun: Maverick. Lots of talky drama and Military politics. Blech. You have Jon Hamm playing a meanie admiral bureaucrat the same way he played Don Draper. Hamm shows a serious lack of acting range. The 2nd generation fighter pilots checked all the boxes as expected: the latina, the black guy, the nerd, the arrogant jerk. A few more thrown in for good measure.
The first top gun was fresh and new. Perhaps the writers/directors/producers underestimated what needed to be done to make the sequel work? Their audience has since seen 35 years of schlock and formulaic and PC screenplays. What seemed novel in 1986 looks like laziness and boredom and stupidity in 2022.
The only stand outs were two ladies. Jennifer Connelly as the Bond girl (I mean, Maverick's girl)...stood out by a mile. I've never understood why she hasn't been in more movies. And Jean Louisa Kelly makes a cameo as Iceman's wife. Both exuded warmth and depth. JLK was on the screen for maybe 3 minutes and she made more impact than any of the fighter pilots who monopolized all the other scenes. (ironically she stole the show in Mr Holland's Opus too. She's been doing it her whole career)
Miles Teller isn't a bad actor, but in this movie, he's not likeable. At all. I didn't care about him at all. Goose was the heart and soul of the first movie. His son? The opposite. When you try to center a whole movie around an entitled, cranky, chip-on-his-shoulder son, you have Top Gun: Maverick.
The only rewarding part was when Maverick humiliates the baby fighter pilots who think they have nothing to learn. He smashes their GenZ arrogance into a zillion pieces and it was glorious.
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
Jean Louisa Kelly steals the show
Dreyfus has always been insufferable on screen. He continues his unlikeable cranky schtick as usual.
No he didn't deserve the Oscar because Jean Louisa Kelly (in a creepy jailbait storyline) steals every scene she is in, and sings like an angel. You get more invested in her than anyone in the movie, only for her To disappear, never to be seen again. How could a director be so cruel? And I don't believe for a second that anyone would crush on mr holland, and especially not a beautiful knockout like her. But I could listen to her sing all day long.
All in all, Dreyfus ruins another movie, although a crappy one that I'm not sure anyone could save. He is a whiny baby, a terrible person, husband, and father. The final opus is terrible. This movie is a disaster.
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Weak John Hughes Movie
Can't quite put my finger on it but this didn't seem like the pieces clicked together very well.
Normally I sympathize with the angsty teen against his parents but Keith spends his whole college savings on one date??? On a high school date? Are you kidding me??? You work your whole high school career and then spend it all on earrings that can't be returned??? How are we supposed to root for this character? The writer/director obviously knows nothing about life because he thinks it's deep to blow your college savings on caviar and jewelry and piss off your parents at the same time.
The characterizations were off too. Take the jerk boyfriend. The point of these types of guys is that they're charming on the surface and sneaky jerks behind the scenes and their sleaze is hard to nail down. This guy was an a-hole all the time and no one seemed to notice? Why not add a nazi armband to his shirt??? Nope these people are so obtuse, they wouldn't notice that either! On no planet would this guy be popular treating people the way he did.
Watts' act also irritated me. She wants to be accepted yet does everything in her power to alienate everyone around her. Not very likable either.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Story is Crazy
Who wrote this story? So Meryl Streeps character gets pregnant and there are three potential fathers??? Let that sink in. Three, yes, three potential fathers. Hahaha that's soooo funny. (sarcasm)
Daughter bails on wedding at the altar so she can sail away with her boyfriend at 20 most likely to repeat the same mistakes as her mom. Hahaha that's so funny. (sarcasm)
I like abba's songs and the choreography isn't that bad, but the plot is Sickening garbage. I'm tired of watching adults acting like children.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
A mess of a movie
At first i thought this was pretty good. Especially the parts with Gosling and Stone. There were icky parts I tried to overlook but After ruminating on it for a while, the bad taste in my mouth gets worse and worse.
Pick a storyline. What a mess. Either the Carrell-Moore one or the Stone-Gosling relationship. The babysitter-kid relationship was creepy and the babysitter-Carrell plot line was even creepier.
The story of Jacob being redeemed by Emma Stone's love would have been a great movie. But he was too promiscuous and too unlikeable. Show his evolution as a person who stops using people and you could have an inspiring movie. Instead we get manufactured Hollywood garbage of coincidences and a slew of bad choices without consequences. (STDs anyone???) Don't try any of this at home kids.
And we all know deep down that people who act like almost everyone in this movie are toxic and should be avoided at all costs. Cheating. Using people. Lust. Adultery. Pornography. Stalking. But they're beautiful so it's ok? Nope. My advice: Run the other way.
Little Italy (2018)
Emma Roberts is Rom-Com Gold
I'm laughing reading other reviews, where people are expecting Oscar-caliber material. Nope this does not deliver that.
It reminds me of a certain other movie: Sister Act II. If you are American and you cannot predict every single scene and plot device in that movie, you should have your American card revoked. In the same vein, saying Little Italy is formulaic is the understatement of the century.
I think the common ingredient is a main actor with an "it" quality. Whoopi Goldberg: Yes. Emma Roberts: yes. Roberts is a rom-com director's dream come true: attractive, likeable, and exhibits chemistry with the other lead that is out of this world. I found myself waiting to the end just to see these two get together. The crazy supporting characters and side plot were simply irrelevant. I just wanted to see the guy get the girl.
Another factor that contributes: the McDonalds principle in effect. No surprises. You know exactly what you are going to get. Sometimes you just don't have the time or $$ to eat a steak or lobster. So mcDonalds it is.
So I guess all I can say is good job to Emma Roberts. She carried this movie-straight to the very last scene. I can't believe I'm saying this. But considering all the woke garbage coming out of Hollywood these days (ahem, Bridgerton), this was a breath of fresh air. LOL it's all so ironic. If I had a choice to watch Little Italy or Bridgerton again, I'd actually pick Little Italy.
Criminal: UK (2019)
If This is How the Police Do it in the UK, be scared. Very scared.
The first episode was super boring.
2nd episode: some girl tries to frame a co-worker for rape so she could get a promotion and a large payout for a vacation in Africa. The lead female detective spends the entire episode doing her best bitch-smug-you're-guilty-until-proven-innocent face. I wanted to punch her in the face. The male detective was no less smug. Then at the end when they discover the girl is lying, do they show basic courtesy to the victim by explaining to him why he was let free? Nope, because they would probably be slapped with a major lawsuit. So they refuse to make it right since they had dragged him out in handcuffs at his place of work. No remorse. Total apathy that they just ruined this man's life. Nice. He's dragged out by security for daring to demand some compensation for their actions.
The 3rd episode: some lady traps a pedophile online and reports his actions to the police. For the rest of the episode, the cops spend lecturing her about how she ruined HIS life. Yes, poor, poor, poor pedophile. Plus the pedophile's mom found out, had an anxiety attack, went to the hospital, and it's all the lady's fault???? How dare she help take one down for the police. I didn't make it to the end of this episode because it was sooo frustrating, and I don't intend to watch any others.
This is an outrageous show, where the scum of the earth is pitied and cops abuse citizens without doing the necessary research to see if the facts of the case are even true. (So in the 2nd episode, the girl accusing the co-worker of rape...she posted about it on social media. It's not even her first time. A one-hour search would have revealed her intentions and prevented the whole entire ordeal).
Is this what passes for police work in the UK??? Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Horrible People Annoying Us With Their Whining
I had prided myself on never having watched a Woody Allen movie. They've never looked appealing, and I think he is a huge creep with no desire to support his work. But I decided to take the plunge...after all it is set in Paris. Owen Wilson is funny. Rachel McAdams was great in The Notebook. I mean, how bad could it be???
Bad. Very bad. Intolerably Bad. I couldn't even make it all the way through. Every character was soooo annoying, narcissistic, unrealistic, and unrelatable. Boring and slow. Dialogue was inane.
.
therefore, I will shout it from the mountain tops: "The emperor is wearing no clothes."
Don't waste your time on this dreck. I'd rather dig my eyes out with spoons than sit through the rest of this sorry excuse of a movie.
The Sinner (2017)
Season 1 is phenomenal
Season 1 is phenomenal because all the elements seemed to work together. Acting, tight writing, logical flow, satisfying yet believable ending. 10/10
Season 2 was the weakest for me. It all hinges on the reveal-the whoodunit-and it was forced and incredulous. After sitting through the whole season, it made no sense, wasn't satisfying and left a bad taste in my mouth. Something just seemed not to click about the whole season. It was hard to find anyone to root for, the kid looked nothing like his mother or father or any character for that matter, which was very, very distracting. Some actresses have the "it" factor, and the police women Heather character, doesn't have it...at least here she doesn't. So basing a whole season around caring about her career success didn't seem to work. Vera was pretty unlikable too. The police chief was inexplicably obstructive, heather's partner came off as an oaf. None of the "bad" guys got their comeuppance. Just meh across the board. 4/10
Season 3: very, very, very dark. If you're into a season with no redemption, then this is for you. Watching one of the most beautiful men on the planet self-destruct in such a total and complete way was a bit tough to watch. (Sorry but I'm human!) Imagine knowing someone for 15 years and then watching him fall apart so completely, so diabolically, over a course of a few months. It felt more like a horror movie (playing out your worst nightmare) than an actual drama. I also thought this season would have worked better as about 6 episodes, not 8. By episode 5, I was ready for it to be over. 6/10.
The Weekend Away (2022)
Blair Waldorf Not in Prada
20 years ago this might have been inventive and edgy. But this type of plot (vacation horrors outside the US) has been done a thousand times. I do like Leighton Meester. She does a decent enough job but can't redeem a movie without an original bone in its body. The creepy landlord. The corrupt cop. The confiscated passport. A "best friend" who doesn't make sense as a best friend. Recording via phone the murderer confessing to the murder. In any sense, I just couldn't believe those two would be best friends ever in any universe. The girl who gets killed is a horrible, unlikeable person and I spent the whole time wondering why Blair Waldorf was wasting her time away from her baby...
Five Feet Apart (2019)
Nothing original
The worst part of this movie? That teenagers and YAs will watch this and think this is "true love" and this is true to life. 17 year olds with no life experience act wiser than their years, parents that are either invisible or who act like children...the meaning of life reduced to some new age garbage.
The climax?? The main girl gets approved for a lung transplant yet wants to decline them because they're "only" good for five years. Never mind the people who have worked and served her for years, day in and day out, to keep her safe in case it becomes a possibility, and never mind her family or friends, but you know, true love...That's not heroic. It's called narcissism. Yet it's portrayed as heroic and its trite and shallow and lame.
The pacing was horrible. HORRIBLE. I was ready for it to wrap up; turns out there's more than an hour left. Ugh!! Fast forwarded thru a bunch of dead spots. Just so slow.
Btw Needs to be said: The main girl needs some serious eyebrow maintenance.
Superman II (1980)
Terrible in Every Way
It's Terrible. And I'm not just talking about the terrible special effects. I'll give that a pass-it was 40 years ago. But the casting. The audience should be rooting for the main characters. I didn't. Superman, chivalrous, All-American good guy, is wimpy, ridiculous and one-dimensional... undesirable in every way. And that's hard to do w Reeve who is gorgeous. Margot Kidder isn't believable as a love interest. Im supposed to believe Clark Kent would give up his powers for her???? Yeah, right. Never in a million years. She's loud and brash and treats him like dirt. What in the world would he Ever see in her???
These are worst types of movies. With some thought and good direction it could have been very good-like an Indiana Jones flick. It feels just thrown together with no character development, a plot that doesn't make sense, just weirdness all around. At one point, when the bad guys land in "podunk Idaho" amongst rednecks, some little kid comes out screaming Something like "hey leave my dad alone" In a British accent. The redneck bit was so insulting - small towns in Middle America are always filled w stupid rubes {sarcasm}-but when that kid came out, I laughed out loud so hard I had to pause the movie. That's not a good thing. It was so absurd.
I don't know what people are talking about. This is two hours I can never get back. Kids wanted to watch so I did it. But Absolutely nothing redeeming about it. Lost opportunity for sure .
Designated Survivor (2016)
Mediocre in Every Way
When 24 came out, it was groundbreaking but it also started almost 20 years ago. You know what has happened since then? HBO's Veep happened. Not to mention Cynicism. Bitter partisanship. The Clintons. Epstein. Weinstein. The list goes on and on.
Here we have One dimensional, vanilla, idealistic characters who "care" about serving the country. It's insulting. It's mildly entertaining for having something on in the background while you're ironing or doing dishes. As a serious show? Not even close.
The whole experience of watching season 1 was surreal. The actors play it straight but storyline is all over the place. It basically comes off as comical.
The idea had tremendous potential. So many directions that they could have explored. Under the correct direction, it could have won awards.
the Maggie Q plot was by far the best part (acting and writing.) everything else sucked.
Roman Empire (2016)
Mix of Documentary and a movie - should have chosen one or the other!!
I can't speak to accuracy as it's been like 30 years since I studied the Roman Empire. The acting is okay. But at least a few times every episode, the wooden delivery takes you out of that world and reminds you that these are subpar actors and writers. Honestly the worst thing about this is the sex and nudity. I thought it might be good to show my 16 year old son - yeah its not perfectly accurate but gives a good overview. But no, I'm not going to show him the scenes with our hero in a threesome. And it's infrequent-so either go full out or not at all. I think they added the sex to compete with Games of Thrones. I did like that the characters looked differently which helps to tell everyone apart. The narration with the historians were effective - if they had committed to accuracy with less "acting" it could have been an excellent documentary series. I mean the story has enough drama and has every plot you could ever want. You don't need to trick it up.
One of Us (2016)
Final Reveal Made Me Want to Smash TV
I really liked the main actress who played Claire. And Juliet Stevenson Is simply an amazing actress!!! Yes it was a bit cheesy in that every single person had a deep, dark secret. So over the top! But then the reveal comes, and i was not just disappointed-I was pissed. How dare the writers do that to us.
Anyway, here's a better solution (and more believable) to the "scandalous problem." At the wedding, when the priest says "if anyone has reason that these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace" then Grace's dad stands up and hands over the DNA papers. Done. And he saves his freaking $5000. Geesh. What a waste.
To sum it up, even with everyone's shady past secrets, Surprise, surprise, the Bible Beater did it, because that's what Hollywood writers think about those who go to church. A father disagrees with their son-in-law by murdering his entire family. That doesn't strain credulity at all. It was insulting and offensive and I'll make sure to avoid these writers in the future.
Versailles (2015)
Dreadfully Boring and Horribly Acted
I have no idea what series all these people are watching who are giving this 9's and 10's. The story, the acting, the writing, the terrible French. All of it dreadful.