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weatherdon
Reviews
Good Bones (2016)
Mostly good, a little not-so-good
I have to hand it to Karen Laine and daughter, Mina Starsiak when these ladies renovate a house they REALLY renovate. Many of these types of shows will take down a few walls, paint the walls then spend big on the kitchen, master bath and staging. Karen and Mina will take it down to the studs and sometimes the foundation. What's sometimes surprising is what little they realize in profit considering all the work they do. I also like that they are hands on, not just posing for the camera and not getting their hands dirty (like Flip or Flop). The one annoyance is when mother Karen tries lame attempts at humor, an affliction that surfaces on many of these types of shows when the principals start to see themselves as the main reason people watch instead of the renovation process itself. Desert Flipper sis a good example of this...and when Karen starts to go into a dance routine it is truly cringe worthy..
Desert Flippers (2016)
A Chronic Case of the Cutes
I love house flipping shows, love 'em. Too often though I've seen where the show's success goes to the hosts head. The emphasis seems to shift away from detailing the renovation process and becomes more a platform to emphasize the hosts 'personality.' In this case it's Eric Bennett's delusion that he possess comedic ability. They can hardly be in a two shot without getting an sample of his lame humor, and of course whatever he says she obediently giggles.
It didn't used to be this way. There's nothing wrong with showing personality, but the Bennett's should remember that the purpose of the show is emphasize the renovation process and what can be learned from it. The time spent on cornball jokes would be better spent explaining the process they are undertaking.
American Made (2017)
Worth Watching
Well paced movie with Tom Cruise's usual excellent job of acting.
Dunkirk (2017)
Worth Watching
Overall an very good film, however I wish it could have included an explanation as to why the Germans held back sending troops, tanks, etc. and relying mostly on air resources. That was half of this story untold.
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Movie with an in-your-face political agenda
Anybody who thinks that the left doesn't influence movie content should consider this ridicules film. Here the bad guys are the American army, this is made apparent in a scene where all the poor lovable apes are jailed and starved in a large area with an American flag is on display, and just to get the point across the Star Spangled Banner is played. The chief badest of the bad guys is The Colonel, and just to put the liberal icing on the hate cake they show a Christian cross in his quarters. We certainly don't want to show the bad guys as those who slam passenger jets into buildings, or who behead anyone who doesn't adhere to their brand of religion, or stone women to death who commit adultery, or drive trucks into innocent pedestrians in Europe. No, don't show them as bad guys, that would be politically incorrect and might hurt their feelings, the radical left movie makers would never allow it.
Flip or Flop Atlanta (2017)
A Lot to Like
I like this show a lot. One of the things I like most is that Ken doesn't try to be overly cutesy like Fixer Upper's Chip Gaines or Eric Bennett of Desert Flippers. Leave lame comedy to the professionals boys, just get on with renovating. I also like Anita's Let's Get Down & Dirty & Get To Work attitude. Too many other of these shows the female principle appears to be more concerned that no hair is out of place, they are always acutely aware that they are being recorded.
Zombie House Flipping (2016)
Staged Events Galore
If the producer of this show ever falls sick then give me a call, I have the staged format down pat. In many shows one of the partners will say that thee house is too far gone to fool with, but of course they decide to flip it anyhow. A design feature is decided upon but then the "decorator" guy or someone else decides to go rogue and do something different and more costly without clearing it with the others and they are all upset when it happens, but at the end of the show they all agree it was a great idea. They always have to stage a mini crisis in order to cut to commercial, but most of these shows do this. An example of a Super Staged Crisis comes when the bald old guy drives up in a pickup truck with glass pieces in the back, He turns too sharply and the glass flies out and is all broken. Of course in this scene a camera just happens to be there shooting the street where the pickup truck is about to appear, think of the odds. Or they choose some expensive granite and when they are bringing it in to the house from outside they loose their grip and it breaks. Of course they are holding the granite upside down so that you can't see that it isn't the granite that was chosen at the store. The camera just happened to be outside there too. The one thing I like about the show is that is shot in Orlando. The original Flip or Flop with Christina and Tarek and Flipping Atlanta are the high water marks of the flipping shows. I would include Fixer Upper but Chip's chronic case of acting cutesy is really annoying.