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The Wonder Years (2021)
A 'wonder'ful show for everyone
First of all, please try and judge this show on its own merits, not the color of the actors' skins (or even against the initial show as this is an original.) The racism in many of these "reviews" is horrifying, but I suppose not surprising to POC.
This is a wonderful show that mixes wry humor, the awkwardness of puberty and settling into one's identity. For the 12-year-old main character, his identity certainly includes coming to terms with what it means to be Black in the turbulent Civil Rights Era of 1968. This should go without saying, but this show isn't just for an audience of POC or an older generation, but for everybody to understand others' experiences...both with the heartbreak and the humor life holds.
Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021)
Hard to watch
I completely get the concept of the show - half slob comedy, complete with laugh track to jokes that aren't funny, and the other half the real side of life. But...the sitcom side needs to actually be sharp with its humor and irony. There have been plenty of laugh track comedies that were funny (King of Queens, for instance) and handled irony (Seinfeld comes to mind at the moment.) Right now all we see is Allison (the wife) getting mocked and belittled and it tossed off as "humor" in an abusive way. That lands with a loud thud. It's a shame because she's so good in the grittier dramatic parts of the show. I just wanted to fast forward the awful sitcom parts.
The Underground Railroad (2021)
Complex, genius series
I think the same people that don't go in for literary fiction and prefer Nicholas Sparks or John Grisham (and the same people that rate this series low) might find it a little too complex, some confused why there's a train underground, or even why the main character (an escaped slave!) looks "sad" all the time.
The Underground Railroad is an actual railroad (as in the book it's based on,) so in that one sense it's not historical. While the series will take you on some dreamy, trippy moments, (mostly within the world of the underground railroad,) it's a relatively straightforward journey about Cora, a slave running for her life from a Georgia plantation as an obsessed slave catcher tracks her halfway across the country. Along the way, we see how both of these characters have come to be who they are. That's the genius of this series, its depth of character development to the point you understand as a viewer how and why the slave catcher came to choose his profession.
While I love to binge series, and did so with this one, I'd suggest taking it slower with this series. Let its weight and power sink in.
Searching for Sheela (2021)
Self-absorbed nonsense
The title of this documentary is the most revealing thing about the film. The makers are searching for Sheela, but, trust me, they never find her. As she goes on a press junket (back to her native India for the first time in 35 years,) to presumably answer questions about her life, she gets irritated that she gets asked questions ABOUT HER LIFE.
As she is shown in the far superior Wild, Wild Country documentary, Sheela continues to be a world-class manipulator in her old age. She gaslights those who want to know if she committed past crimes, and why, by calling those who raise such questions ON A PRESS TOUR, boring. Without a trace of irony, she tells these journalists and her oddly adoring groupies that they need to look inside themselves so they can ask better questions.
The filmmakers don't bother to call Sheela on her BS, either with direct questions or by virtue of the documentary's construction. Fact checking is needed because Sheela never saw a fact that didn't have an interpretive story. Some differing points of views are needed as well. What does her family think of Sheela today? Former cult members? Law enforcement? Instead, what we get are fawning "journalists" apologizing and laughing for the questions they've asked, and taking Sheela's wrath for even asking them. Then there's the crowds of young people falling all over themselves to get a moment with Sheela, because she's apparently some kind of celebrity to be worshipped. Why? Before going to India, Sheela thought she would be killed there and needed security. But instead she gets groupies. That's never explored either. This whole documentary comes across like a Sheela-produced PR puff piece.
The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
4 stars for Andra Day only
I started wondering while watching this if anyone's ever put together a list of worst bio pics with best lead actor/actress performances. This has gotta hit the top. Andra Day is great; her voice so spookily sounds like Billie Holiday's, I kept thinking she had to be lip synching. She works every word in the miserable script with nuance and a wealth of emotion worthy of a blues singer. Her performance of Strange Fruit is as haunting as the song.
The movie itself, what a hot mess. Let me count thy ways:
- A jumble of scenes that seem oddly sequenced.
- The point of the movie (the government stopping at no means to keep Holiday from singing Strange Fruit, a protest song against lynching,) is so dumbed down it takes away from the true evil of what's happening.
- We don't get to see more of Holiday's childhood and how those experiences shaped her drug use and future abusive relationships since they're key to the story.
Billie Hol
The Flight Attendant (2020)
Wait for the story to unfold
What works particularly well about this murder mystery is its mix of just the right amount of comedy, drama, suspense and mystery. Kaley Cuoco's comedic timing is perfect, but she's able to pull off the more dramatic moments as we come to understand (and she does too) why she drinks so much and why the murder at the center of this story triggers a tragic childhood memory. The series has an element of a screwball caper that would just be one note without this emotional context.
The English Patient (1996)
Introspective, beautiful, perfect
This and "A Christmas Story" are my most favorite films. They could not be any more different, except for the theme of obsession. This film is not about shoot 'em ups, or moving on to the next car chase, or really moving on at all. That's why so many want more forward action in the film, and not the loops between the present and past (via the negative reviews.) The film is intense and haunting, just as the characters' pasts and the sadness they carry. You will love this if:
- You are introspective and wonder what makes someone act, speak, think, hurt, heal and hope.
- You wait for the unraveling and evolving of those answers to unspool at a pace that unveils who these characters were and have become in the story's perfect time. (Just like a book...as this is based on the book.)
- You can be patient to watch the process of the characters transform their pain, betrayal, and grief.
Making the Cut (2020)
Enjoyable
These reviews are harsh! While Project Runway definitely has its pluses, it's a fresh change of pace to watch designers who are (mostly) at a more advanced stage in their work and see what they can do with the show's weekly challenges. It's also a relief not to have the artificial drama (mostly) of the designers having to sew their own garments or being stuck with one trip to the fabric store or a tiny budget.
Love seeing Tim Gunn again. He elevates anything, anytime. And I like the different locations and getting a bit of a global feel (and still being able to fast forward any of the too-lengthy nonsense bits with Heidi wielding swords or whatever.)
But...the silly, sing for your supper and "try" to change the judges' minds? Let's get real. A waste of time. It's so much better to have a critique and an actual conversation.
As for Heidi or Naomi being divas? This is hilarious, especially when the two have a diva-off and scrap.