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maryatsec
Reviews
The War of the Worlds 2021 (2021)
Hilarious!
I laughed all the way through this and then I laughed at the reviews! Mark Ruffalo's bit had me in tears by the end. I wish I would have seen it when it came out, I could have used a laugh in 2021. Regardless, it is eight minutes well spent. Don't be deterred by the "ratings" left by those completely missing the point or those failing to understand parody. This was hilarious from start to finish. It hits many of the far right talking points and if you have ever been to the websites this short is satirizing you might be hard pressed to distinguish the film from actual content found on several. Thank you to everyone involved in this production.
The Ritual Killer (2023)
Why?
Disjointed, slow, no character development, why on earth would someone invest their time, money and energy creating this nonsense? Was the death of his daughter supposed to make us care about this character? That whole aspect was trite and heavy handed, evoking no sympathy. The entire cast was one dimensional and it was hard to care about what happened to any of them. There was no suspense, no surprise. Guessing what happened next could have been a fraternity drinking game it was so predictable. The bad guy's stunt double displayed the most talent. The ending was ridiculous. This could have been so much better.
1-800-Missing (2003)
Season one 10 stars, after that, a solid 6/10
The ability to suspend disbelief is critical to watching this series. It's definitely not a crime drama, but more fantasy, like Medium. Season one had substantial chemistry between Jess, Brooke and Sunny. It felt like they had developed a real respect and camaraderie for one another early on, eventually building a true partnership between Jess and Brooke and a strong team of four including boss Alan Coyle. The actors and writers did a good job with character development which allowed me to care about what happened next. You got to know each of them through individual and defining character arcs throughout the season. The loss of Gloria Reuben, Justina Machado and even Dean McDermott forced you to start over. There was absolutely no continuity. It was as though Caterina Scorsone kept her character but changed shows, like some sort of thrown together at the last minute spin off. The chemistry never returned. The supporting cast that played Jess's family, an integral part of her life, just faded away as well. The show was okay after that but I never managed to get invested in the characters. They had no depth. The acting was average, the writing was average. The only reason season 2 & 3 pull a 6/10 was Scorsone's solid performance. Justin Louis did as good a job as anyone could with a basically one dimensional character, Consuelos was cute and Fox was enthusiastic, but it never got close to season one. Someone did a disservice to the fans when they gutted this show and it never recovered.
More Beautiful for Having Been Broken (2019)
My favorite movie of the year for 2020
A truly magnificent story. I feel better for having watched it. The characters, despite their flaws or perhaps because of them, felt so real and pulled on my heartstrings at every turn. I was particularly impressed with the actor playing Freddie and I thought he imbued the character with so much honesty and love that you could only be completely delighted by him. I was cheering for Max and Sam from the beginning and their love warmed my heart, their break crushed my soul, and their reconciliation renewed my faith. The unspoken moments of realization in which their relationship grew were especially poignant and very well done. The ensemble cast including Kozak, Davison, Stewart, Lenz and Elliot all brought a depth to the film with their amazing talents. The settings were beautiful and the panoramic views were exceptionally magnificent. I had a bit of trouble with some of the dialogue which did not flow as naturally as I might have liked but that was my only criticism. All in all, an exquisite movie that has quickly become a favorite.