I would give anything to see a movie about a girl coming of age without it becoming a cautionary tale that ultimately girl shames the heroine. While the story is interesting to a certain degree, I have to say it also depicts just how flaky the seventies were. From the mom to the dad to the boyfriend to the girl herself, all the characters are flaky drug addled or simply immature people who should not be given custody of a dog much lest a child. To praise this film as coming of age for girls is a slap in the face of girls who do finally come of age and are not in fact girl shamed by the people around her. I am not impressed by this film as a so called coming of age story. I am however impressed by the performances. Do not go into this movie thinking the girl is going to come out triumphant, owning her own sexuality. She doesn't. By the way, made me change the language because I used the term sl&t shaming, so I subbed it with girl shaming.
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
(2015)
Brilliantly Acted, but still a coming of age girl shaming movie
30 October 2019
Penny Dreadful
(2014–2016)
It has its moments, but could have used more organization
3 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The plot is similar to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but not. There seems to be a mad dash to get the story out there but there is no real story to tell. The first season is about the search for Mina Harker, who is a vampire, and the twisted story line of Vanessa, who was her best friend. Intermixed is a host of characters who come into the room, stutter and stammer about something esoteric and then leaves the room.
In season two, there are witches and another clumsy attempt to tell a back story. And what is going on with Dorian Grey? I don't mind the gay thing, or bi thing, whatever it is they are trying to do with his character, but now is the time to see the picture of him that leaves him young and the picture takes on the sins.
The werewolf story line is very thrown together. You can tell the story was added at the last moment in the end of season one to give Josh Harnett a reason to be there. Its just that if you are going to make him talk about having full moon blackouts, it might have been useful if he actually had black outs.
On the upside, the costuming and the set design is beautiful and lush and has the feel of Victorian period places, and I like the actors for the most part. No one is too beautiful nor too ugly and they seem dedicated to what they are doing.
In season two, there are witches and another clumsy attempt to tell a back story. And what is going on with Dorian Grey? I don't mind the gay thing, or bi thing, whatever it is they are trying to do with his character, but now is the time to see the picture of him that leaves him young and the picture takes on the sins.
The werewolf story line is very thrown together. You can tell the story was added at the last moment in the end of season one to give Josh Harnett a reason to be there. Its just that if you are going to make him talk about having full moon blackouts, it might have been useful if he actually had black outs.
On the upside, the costuming and the set design is beautiful and lush and has the feel of Victorian period places, and I like the actors for the most part. No one is too beautiful nor too ugly and they seem dedicated to what they are doing.
The Breed
(2001)
Strange Vampire Movie but Weirdly Satisfying
19 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The Breed is one those strange grey area films where you either like all of it, like some of it or hate it for taking up film. Me, I am sort of on the middle ground.
If you are a fan of the romantic vampire stuff, this film is not really for you. But if you like vampire stories with a strange sci-fi edge, you might get a kick out of it, especially if you are into vampire and sci-fi literature. They use a lot of name dropping of famous vamps from literature and it has an over all Gothic-steam punk feel to it and pays homage to 1984 and the old film Nosferatu, rather than Dracula.
It also serves as a buddy film/cop film as well an odd couple fish out of water sort of story. Adrian Paul and Bookem Woodbine are really strange casting choices but considering how weird the film really is, it works for me.
This film also echoes another dystopian film called Perfect Creature and goes a step further with a sort of campy over top art house vibe. Take a look at this film with an open mind. It is not a great vampire film and it is not a great sci-fi film but it is entertaining if you just relax and let it be what it is: Weirdly Satisfying.
If you are a fan of the romantic vampire stuff, this film is not really for you. But if you like vampire stories with a strange sci-fi edge, you might get a kick out of it, especially if you are into vampire and sci-fi literature. They use a lot of name dropping of famous vamps from literature and it has an over all Gothic-steam punk feel to it and pays homage to 1984 and the old film Nosferatu, rather than Dracula.
It also serves as a buddy film/cop film as well an odd couple fish out of water sort of story. Adrian Paul and Bookem Woodbine are really strange casting choices but considering how weird the film really is, it works for me.
This film also echoes another dystopian film called Perfect Creature and goes a step further with a sort of campy over top art house vibe. Take a look at this film with an open mind. It is not a great vampire film and it is not a great sci-fi film but it is entertaining if you just relax and let it be what it is: Weirdly Satisfying.
The Fall
(I) (2013–2016)
Waiting for Season Three, but here is my opinion thus far
30 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I watched seasons one and two and I have really enjoyed them. My only question about the actors is Gillian Anderson. She is meant to play a strong sexually self aware woman who feels she should be able to have casual affairs in the manner she imagines men to have them but does she really have to be so uptight and cold. She may as well been riding B.O.B. for the sort of sex she was having.
Otherwise I don't mind her flat affect and her painfully slow delivery of her lines, I think it is to help her keep her accent consistent, it fits with her character as a woman who figures to play the man's cop game if she manages to shred all emotional response.
Jamie Dornan in the role is great, he is strange and erratic and has an appropriately off putting personality that keeps you on edge. When he does the mirroring thing with his superiors it comes off as really strange and and aggressive though he is mainly passive with other people except when he is with a victim. How he acts in season three will be interesting.
Another reviewer mentioned the fact that they were filming in Belfast and they needed to show a bit more of the city and other places and I agree and it is great to see the actual streets of Belfast and hear the language and the accents. That is one of the things that intrigued me about the show because I had never seen a show like it filmed in Belfast without it being about the Troubles, though the tension does linger and the show does not shy away from that fact and lets it play out organically.
I recommend anyone who is interested in police procedure and British and Irish television to give The Fall a look.
Otherwise I don't mind her flat affect and her painfully slow delivery of her lines, I think it is to help her keep her accent consistent, it fits with her character as a woman who figures to play the man's cop game if she manages to shred all emotional response.
Jamie Dornan in the role is great, he is strange and erratic and has an appropriately off putting personality that keeps you on edge. When he does the mirroring thing with his superiors it comes off as really strange and and aggressive though he is mainly passive with other people except when he is with a victim. How he acts in season three will be interesting.
Another reviewer mentioned the fact that they were filming in Belfast and they needed to show a bit more of the city and other places and I agree and it is great to see the actual streets of Belfast and hear the language and the accents. That is one of the things that intrigued me about the show because I had never seen a show like it filmed in Belfast without it being about the Troubles, though the tension does linger and the show does not shy away from that fact and lets it play out organically.
I recommend anyone who is interested in police procedure and British and Irish television to give The Fall a look.
Get Out
(I) (2017)
Movie was underdeveloped and derivative
23 February 2017
So I will be careful about spoilers.
The movie might have been interesting and I thought when I was watching the trailers it might be either some sort of underground slavery thing....it's not....or some sort of medical horror thing where white people are using black people to harvest their organs to the highest bidder....it's not that either.
The solution to the mystery of the film is just nonsensical and makes the drama of the entire first part of the movie feel like a cruel joke on whoever bought a movie ticket.
Don't waste your time on movie tickets, wait til it comes out on pay per view or comes out on DVD.
And no spoilers
The movie might have been interesting and I thought when I was watching the trailers it might be either some sort of underground slavery thing....it's not....or some sort of medical horror thing where white people are using black people to harvest their organs to the highest bidder....it's not that either.
The solution to the mystery of the film is just nonsensical and makes the drama of the entire first part of the movie feel like a cruel joke on whoever bought a movie ticket.
Don't waste your time on movie tickets, wait til it comes out on pay per view or comes out on DVD.
And no spoilers
H.R. Pufnstuf
(1969–1970)
Thought the Show was Spooky
30 October 2016
I remember thinking it was a weird sort of Sesame Street and I thought the creatures and characters were odd and off putting and really rather pointless. I was a child of the seventies in America and saw this show on TV in syndication but remember dodging it. So glad to see there are some people who thought this show was creepy, too. It sort of reminds me of that Creepy Pasta about Candle Cove, currently being made into a show by the SyFy Channel as Channel Zero. When I saw the show online, I thought immediately about HR Pufnstuf. Especially with the talking skull and Witchy Poo. I guess it was supposed to appeal to the more "hippy" parent who wanted an alternative to the Sesame Street Urban setting. In retrospect, HR Pufnstuf looks like what Sesame Street would be like if one dropped acid.
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