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tobywalker03
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The Patient (2022)
Wow. They nailed it.
Steve Carell nailed this role. Absolutely a believable therapist and the writing allowed him to handle every moment and situation in a way that never made you stop and think "huh, not sure it would've gone down in THAT particular way.
The supporting roles also very VERY believable, with the leading character shining through just as bright.
I can't say enough about the writing and the obvious research into the psychology of experiencing psychological and emotional trauma and how this compulsion/disorder/manifested oddity in psychopathological thinking ultimately is formed and fueled. The writer(s) were clearly very intentional about presenting this interesting and alluring - albeit rare - piece of psychological strata in a very realistic way.
The story NEVER, EVER seemed to lull and drag-on with fluff and puffery. Every minute of every episode left you on the edge of your seat and engaged, intently involved with the current scene - FOR EVERY SCENE! I am usually someone who will prefer a film and actually intentionally avoid and be skeptical of a "series" for this very particular reason. Good stories and meaningful cinema have a compelling beginning, informative and enjoyable climb to the middle, and satisfying conclusion. The pit-fall of many dramatic series is that they lose sight of this and begin to detract from the overall product with unnecessary scenes and non-plot related rabbit chasing. This show did a marvelous job of not dipping into "that" pool at all.
This show is smart, engaging, insightful and very entertaining. 10/10. Couldn't recommend it more!
Shrinking: Fifteen Minutes (2023)
Back down to earth
So, after the first two episodes - which I found to be sincerely engaging and entertaining - the series seems to become just THAT: a series. An illogical attempt to make and force a story to tread water and chase rabbits that detract from the main plot And serve as fluff and filler to keep you doing the hokie-pokie, half-caring, half-not-caring about what the heck is happening.
Few, and I do mean few, series avoid this.. it leaves wanting to hit the fast-forward button and leaves you unfulfilled.
This episode marked the beginning of that for me. The entirety of it felt full of fluff and filler ... no substance. That's saddening too, because this series showed promise.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Great movie - miscasted.
Acting prowess aside, this IS a historical movie. Fred Hampton did not speak with an African accent. It's is just wayyyy too noticeable and a bit annoying.
Ratched (2020)
Plot is a hard swallow - even in the pilot.
As a fan and follower of AHS (in addition to a complete lack of new content delivered on NF), I decided to give this series the honest "college-try." I typically would have look at the synopsis of this series and rolled my eyes and moved-on, but I decided to give it a shot.
Some of the negative characteristics of AHS have spilled over into this series ten-fold, most notably: overacting and forced, farfetched plots that the writers/directors shouldn't expect someone with even the average level of intelligence and education to just shrug their shoulders and accept.
A glaring example of this can be seen in the pilot episode ... When Hanover approaches the governor for a meeting and is quickly dismissed, this makes you wonder "why, did they show this to us?" The answer is an eye-roller ... The politician later in the same episode approaches the doctor/institution director in an apologetic manner and persuades the doctor of all the "good pub" endorsing their facility would give him - listing A) benefits of new, rehabilitated workers being introduced to the economy and B) goodwill the governor would receive for contributing to a righteous cause.
These two things cringed me to the bone .... For one, the public opinion on the mentally-ill in America for the time period in question was not good, at all. The public response for introducing workers into the economy with an unbalanced mental history to work with/along side (and therefore take jobs from others - which would be a reductive outcome to the general public's well-being, not productive) would have most definitely been seen as taboo and met with defiant opposition. Secondly, the sheer fact that they're setting up the governor attempting to receive goodwill of the public by contributing to mental illness resources, but at the same time all-the-while exaggerating, intentionally underscoring and highlighting the draconian and archaic approaches to mental illness in the US at the time creates a contradiction I couldn't reconcile. With this juxtaposed with the other plot discrepancy, I ultimately decided to hop-off the wagon and discontinue the series at this point.
So, the character back-story that I couldn't care much to hear anyhow, told with amplified negative externalities seen in an AHS production, ("iffy" plots and melodramatic acting)proved to be just that without the positive rewards to the viewer while viewing an AHS season.
Give it a shot.... if you want: the production value IS there, but to the experienced eye, the plot holes and overacting aren't easily overcame.
Who Is America? (2018)
< Borat, but > Bruno
This series has lots, AND LOTS of bits that will have you laughing out loud to the point you're waking up your kids down the hall.
However, my one critique is that he seems to overly target American right as way of inflating tempers and outrageous behaviors of unknowing participants. I have no issue in making fun of myself at times, so it was all in good fun for me... But I have a strong feeling this particular show wouldn't sit well with many right-leaning viewers.
Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series (2019)
Just, doesn't "pop" like the old-series.
When Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fud dueled it out - you didn't blink an eye at the tricks and gun shots. It was a cartoon.
The whole animated series just seems "loony-toonish" to me, but I can certainly understand how to some it's just as good.
It will always lack "something" for me though - I'm not sure I'm able to exactly detail "what" that might be - as a stand-alone animated series.