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HankMoody2
Reviews
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
Lumet and I Have a Big Disagreement
The film opens with an extended sex scene between Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tormei. Suffice it to say that a naked PSH is NOT something I ever want to see, much less in congress with MT (who looks amazingly lovely without her clothes).
I felt this scene was unnecessary, gratuitous, and off-putting. Lumet disagrees, and in the trivia here on IMDB he says, "Sidney Lumet talked about the opening sex scene between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei: "I rarely use sex as a big dramatic device. Here I thought it was critical because you have to understand right away that this is what drives him. But I don't think Philip has ever conceived of himself in the nude ..."
Sorry Sidney, but the message could easily have been conveyed via post coital cuddling and banter.
And elsewhere in the trivia section were learn that MT was having weekly sex sessions with PSH's brother, although in the original script is was NOT his brother. Seriously, yes, it enhances the sibling dynamic, but otherwise, does that make her infidelity any different.
Odd film.
Leap Year (2010)
Incredibly Disappointing...Stay Away If You Can.
Filled with stereotypes, of a well-to-do, clueless American woman, the Irish, etc.
Insipid plot line, horrible shots riding in a car with a green screen backdrop out the window. Disaster after disaster befalls our intrepid heroine, as she pursues her man who she has been dating for four years now. (Never mind that early in the film we see the couple interviewing for consideration in a snooty, prestigious Boston apartment.)
Amy Adams wears $600 high heels (she tells us, after she has stepped in a cow pie). Her heels sink into the sand on the beach, who'd have ever suspected?
Save your time, your money, and your suspension of disbelief...this makes Hallmark films look classy.
Daisy Jones & the Six (2023)
Pretend Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll
I'm guessing that this Prime Video-pic was rated 8.2 by Amazon staffers, because from what I saw, it is more or less the same old story of a struggling band, going through changes, hitting the big time, and succumbing to the allure of easy women, drugs, and debauchery. E1 may be the best in terms of music, because the Band hasn't taken off yet, so much of the sound track is actual songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Whenever the band sings one of their own songs, you quickly realize they would be resigned to the Cut Out bin in your local record store.
Filled with cliches, stereotypes, and of course, the parallels with Fleetwood Mac. Not worth ten episodes.
As was said on Dick Clark's Dance Party, long, long ago, "Dick, I'd give it a 4, the lyrics were weak and the kids didn't really seem to be into it."
Sharper (2023)
Prepare to Suspend Disbelief
This story is filled with lots of cons and con artists, and it begins with Sandra, a heroin addict who is recruited to be trained to become a Vassar grad, attended 2012-2016, who then is pursuing a PhD at NYU. Her groomer drills her on her mythical background, fills her head with all manner of English lit facts, and since her backstory had her spending a year in Italy, she has to learn Italian. And somehow she accomplishes all this in a few weeks, thanks to Max, who uses her for his con.
And the cons continue, as Max endeavors to con his mother's (Julianne Moore) billionaire fiance, (Lithgow) out of cash, while she opts to stay for the long haul, knowing his health is poor and she will benefit from the will.
And then things get messy, as cons attempt to con the con! And near the end, we're supposed to believe that a BILLIONAIRE flies coach in a commercial airline, not a private jet? Seriously?
Sloppy and viewers are asked to be more gullible than the characters.
La vita bugiarda degli adulti (2023)
I wanted to like this, but ultimately didn't
There is much to like about this series...and unlike some other reviewers, I have not read the novel on which it is based.
The young actress playing Giovanna is quite good, and she is especially good when scowling, which is frequently. Her aunt Vittoria comes across as a self-centered ditz, always with a cigarette, with little explanation of why Andrea (her brother) has been so estranged from her all these years. The mother, Nella, seems to epitomize "long suffering."
But what I found disconcerting was that in the final Episode 6: Truth, we learn that prior to this episode Giovanna was only 15 years old, that her recent man-crush Matteo (?) is actually a professor in Milan (who enjoyed sleeping one of friends, Angela...something Giovanna learns on they visit Milan together).
Since we don't know what year the story is set in, it's not clear if his fondness for underage women (girls?) is frowned upon, especially since there are many other grating examples of misogyny throughout. The train cars are older, the girls don't have cell phones (and use a pay phone), but the Ferrari certainly is contemporary, even if not this year's model.
Central to the series story is a silver bracelet that Vittoria supposedly gave to Giovanna at her birth, a bracelet she claims she never knew of or received. Turns out her father gave it to the woman he has been having an affair with for many years, and eventually after the affair become public knowledge, she returns it to Giovanna. But it moves around some more, and plays a role in Act 6. Curiously, this bracelet is also seen at the bottom of the ocean in the pre-title sequence that introduces the entire series.
Bottom line, not for me. Your mileage may vary.
Love & Gelato (2022)
What a Waste
Sophomoric, trite, filled with cliches, and the most disappointing thing is contemporary teens are supposedly somewhat sophisticated. Not here. Watch only if desperate.
La casa de papel (2017)
The Golden Rule of the Heist...
Is to Buy Time. And boy, does this series do it. Season One crawls along, and instead of wrapping up everything in a nice little bow by Episode 13, nah, fooled you, we're gonna continue on, and on, and on. So many Suspension of Doubt in the story-- like the Professor somehow hooking up with Raquel, lead investigator on the case. Or Denver hooking up with Monica-- as if Stockholm Syndrome pops up in a few days, esp. after the victim has been shot in the leg, after learning she is pregnant by the wimping min director who first says he has no intention of leaving his wife and three kids, only to suddenly say, yeah, Monica, you're the one for me.
If this had wrapped up after one season, I would have written it off and said, okay, some good, some bad, but not worth watching the remaining two Seasons.
Not sure why it is rated so highly. The script and plot lines should have been edited with a weed hacker.
This is like The Never Ending Story, it just keeps going on, and on, and on...Should have ended after about ten episodes.
And brought to you be Estrella Damm beer...with product placement everywhere!