Reviews

I had hoped that after a somewhat turbulent 19 years of the show, the departure of Meredith Grey would be one of the tear jerkers this show is known for. Alas! No it wasn't.

Her notice of departure from the hospital (and subsequently the show) is in the form of a quick email sent and the response, which could and should have been dramatic, was lacklustre.

There was also a great opportunity for drama as a result of the Grey house catching on fire but this to was handled with great nonchalance.

Can't believe I'm still watching it as it honestly should have ended years ago but... some episodes are just gold.

19 years man! Oh to be 19 years younger again....

There's a lot of build up towards a crescendo that just doesn't come....

There's definitely content to warrant a documentary of the church and the Houston's ....anyone with any sort of connection to the church here in Sydney has known this for years.

Unfortunately though these 4 hours waffle on and on and you just can't help but wish a decent editor had been hired to do the job and cut it down to something more digestible and interesting,

My only real comment is it's staggering that the Houston's have gotten away with what they have for decades. Specifically their financial dealings. The sexual abuse allegations outlined here may be what brings them down but they aren't the major crime. It's like Al Capone being done for tax evasion- there's more to it. Here the financial dealings are so outrageous and the church leaders need to go down for those...

Anyone who has ever said that - of which, let's face it, there have been MANY in the last couple of years - needs to watch this film and take stock.

While this may be based on events in the US, this should still be seen as providing a cautionary word of warning... "experts" are not always what they seem and services and laws set up to "protect" you don't necessarily work in the way they were intended.

Told from the perspective of 2 children and through the audio and video recordings from when the events were unfolding, this tells the harrowing tale of a family who had their sick child hijacked from them by child protection and the medical system.

It's heartbreaking, enraging and deeply tragic.

Watch with caution. And... Hold your kids close!

Whitney was definitely an extremely talented singer and performer too. It's fantastic that so much of her actual voids was used in the film and they were so careful to recreate her most memorable moments.

The movie could have and should have been fantastic as there is sufficient content for a mini series, boy just a movie, but it waffles in sections and is sometimes quite dull.

The nostalgia runs deep throughout though and for anyone who lives through it all in real time, particularly fellow fans, it is going to make you mourn for the beautiful soul that was stupidly taken too soon.

While they don't touch on the aftermath of her passing, particularly what followed with her daughter, it lingers in the air during the credits and I must admit the tears flowed thick and fast.

Gone way too soon.

This whole season was fantastic - particularly how the major event of the season and ultimately the whole series - was handled.

There's this dangling carrot the whole way through the season - actually starting in the last moments of the last seasons finale. We do t know who's getting married and then we don't know who is missing from the special day. This "is she / isn't she" question just sits there egging you onto the next episode.

This last episode ties up a nice array of storylines so that you feel satisfied of their conclusion. There is also some real 3d fleshing out of characters that have kinda been in the back ground throughout the series but are so important to Kate and Tully.

The last bit of this episode unfolds in such a deeply satisfying way that is completely true to the characters.

Get your tissues out and get ready for a truly fantastic end to a show that really started off kinda average and plodded along ok enough until it took flight! Sad that it's over now but it's as it should be....

The show is entertaining enough - particularly if you are watching it in the background while doing chores.

There is some decent acting it but unfortunately much of it is quite exaggerated and the laugh track is like having bad tinnitus - you just want it out if your head. It's so incredibly distracting that you wish you could go back in time and remove whoever was responsible for it.

Its also no surprise that a key character flies the coop half way through as it seems as if they were living ground hog day with their performance.

The biggest flaw though is how little one actually gets to see of "The Ranch"! It's apparently such a beautiful part of the US so it would have been nice to see it. Especially since the show is meant to be about it...,

There is lots of sweating and drug use and the humour is very Australian and that doesn't necessarily appeal to all but it's a great love letter to Sydney.

Beautiful scenes throughout including many around our area my home. In episode 7 @16mins in there's a wedding at the Breakfast Point Country Club and then the reception is in the hall where I got married too!

The drs surgery is my drs office, the family home is in Wellbank street and there are lots of Concord shots. Plus the drone footage over the harbour is wonderful as are the beach scenes.

Not the greatest of shows but enjoyable enough and really well shot.

The concept itself is interesting although, truth be told, the main characters "instability" is not all that dramatic.

The writing is good too and the pacing is great.

But..

Oh my god the cast! One after the after is overly dramatic and the performances of some are borderline unwatchable. It's literally held together by Rob and even then really only by a fellow fan for whom he can do so little wrong.

John Owen's performance, like that of the character he is playing, falls terribly short of his fathers.

Rather stupid scientists, pathetically moronic board members, a character with hair that looks like.that of Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons, a CEO that's almost more "unstable" than the boss it's named after and irritating music rounds up the show.

Honestly... just for die hard Rob Lowe fans.

There is a great story at the heart of this tale, the life of a very interesting man who clearly made something extraordinary from very little.

However.... This film does not tell that story, or at least it doesn't do it well.

In trying to be too "stylish" and "artistic" we ended up with a half story told by actors with trite accents that did little to enhance any "mood" but rather distracted and made it difficult to understand parts of the story. Thank goodness we watched it at home so we could keep rewinding!

Additionally, talk relating to the engine and the cars in general was poorly executed and made my car loving mechanic partner extremely mad. A movie about one of the men who changed automotive history should have had its mechanical details explained correctly.

Finally, there's a scene that is returned to repeatedly throughout the film with Ferruccio racing Enzo Ferrari. It is trying to explain - in yet another "artistic" way - that Ferruccio never felt he caught up to Enzo when all was said and done. It's not clear though and confusing and, more importantly, questionable since Ferruccio actually believed he'd done what he'd set out to achieve in regards to Ferrari.

Anyway... this could have, should have and would have been great... but it just wasn't.

This is a lovely movie set in gorgeous surrounds with the most over the top fantastic Christmas decorations.

A simple (and perhaps a little cheesy) tale of a young girl wanting a traditional "family" for Christmas. She is hoping for a lovely lady to join her and her dad to construct this once standard and now highly prized happy and "whole" family.

Whatever one thinks of the strength of the storyline, one thing is for sure- this is a movie about hope and love and who can argue with those things??

Christmas movies used to be feel good and sweet and this is definitely that. Added to which the cast are enjoyable to watch and the main cast members are very easy on the eye. What more can one ask for?!

Certainly beats the OTT and expensive Christmas movie I watched earlier today - whatever you do... stay away from "Spirited" 🤦‍♀️

Would have, should have, could have been fantastic but the singing and dancing made this almost unbearable. And I love a good musical. This isn't that.

Nor is it a comedy - despite the great cast. They do a great job but the final product is truly cringeworthy.

Tells the story of those who bring the "past, present and future" ghosts to a person who needs to be redeemed. Led by Scrooge himself.

The core concept has true potential but honestly I've never seen such a disaster of a movie emerge from something with such possibilities.

If it were not for my kid I would not have lasted past a few minutes in. Save yourself the time and cost if you need to purchase if.

The first season was so interesting and I recommended it to lots of people.

Then this one hit and.. as an Aussie... I was really excited to see what would be discovered and recounted about my homeland.

The scenery is spectacular (of course), the themes for each episode well thought out and the content is substantial- or at least I believe it would have been but... the hack job editing of this season is a real shame.

The flow in each episode is just not consistent and there are all these unnecessary parts that I'm guessing took the place of content that would have been more informative.

In this first episode, for example, there's a long winded and completely unnecessary chunk of time spent watching the guys canyoning down a waterfall. Why?

Meanwhile, they've neglected to show some of the majesty that actually is in the Blue Mountains including the Three Sisters, and views from the Scenic Cableway and Scenic Railroad.

Also, Australia is a very VERY big place and they seem to be bouncing all over it which isn't exactly "eco friendly" particularly given the sizeable crew they cart with them.

Finally, while it's great that some truly interesting businesses have been showcased, these were mostly "needle in a haystack" type places which may be inspiring but hardly "common place". But hey... maybe their showcase on this show may make their models expand elsewhere. We can only hope!

This should have been a truly interesting episode detailing the trajectory of Mohamed Al Fayed's life and accomplishments but too much is skipped over quickly or not explained properly. Luckily the internet can fill in blanks and guide one through so there's a lot of pausing required for this one.

The man is clearly very intelligent and a great businessman with determination and motivation and the episode does show this to be the case.

The timeline of the episode - of most of them actually- is not explained in enough detail and the historical points of significance could be better highlighted.

Mostly though, this episode is insanely slow with a very lacklustre score. Hard to get through which is a shame as there's honestly value in this story line.

This is sweet to watch with your kid / young friend or family member but it's no where near as touching as the original (so few remakes are though)

The famous folk that voice the animals are interesting- if one is watching in English - and the human characters are good - particularly Dakota. But... it's lightweight work at best. Not a great deal of range is needed - or given.

There are laughs to be had though and lovely lessons to be learned for the little ones about friendship and promises.

What IS truly worthwhile though is watching how beautiful and simple life used to be back in the day. If only we could get back to something like that again....

Just knowing it was based on a true story made it touching from the get go.

As someone who has lived chunks of her life and loved deeply in Italy, this film hit home in so many ways for me.

It's a beautiful visual treat in the episodes where they are in Italy and the pacing gives one the feeling of small town Italy too.

A couple of episodes in you can start to feel something is "coming" and it takes its time getting to the crescendo of sadness. Then, once there, it sits in it a while before ending in a very American "happily ever after" kinda way which one is thankful for in this case.

Well acted, particularly by a beautifully spoken Zoe Saldana who is a delight to listen to in Italian.

Try to watch in decent chunks (I did it in 2 x sittings) so as to really get into the feeling it's conveying. Just have a box of tissues handy 💔

This show has been "lollipops and rainbows" during a mostly horrible time as we only got this show in Australia during covid/ lockdowns.

It's an unrealistic and hallmark card type of show with fairly simplistic storylines but the characters grow on you and their chemistry is so lovely.

This episode ties everything up in a big bow tie as only American shows can do. Everyone gets their "happily ever after" and you know what? After the events of the last 2 years we NEED some of that!

Each of the core characters received a nice "conclusion" to their tale and the ones who were missing but still relevant were mentioned. It's clear the road ahead for this fictional lot is "smooth sailing" and that's a great way to end a series.

Just ignore the fact that clearly all 3 sisters are clearly very pregnant 😂😂

This is clearly interesting to anyone even remotely aware of the Jeffrey Epstein connection- which Wexner can downplay all he likes but it was clearly exceptionally important to them both. Imagine how much could have been avoided had this relationship never existed!

The story behind the marketing genius of Wexner and the monumental rise of Victoria's Secret is fascinating in itself. As an Australian I was less aware of the size and scale of his business interests than an American would surely be however it's clear that one would struggle to find a person (at least in the western world) who had not heard of the flagship store.

The doco is enriched with first hand accounts of people who worked for and with the brand as well as accounts from journalists who have investigated the company - in particular with regards to the link to Epstein.

Its a shame that the doco didn't delve further into what is clearly a very dark undercurrent of the story - with Epstein and with other key personnel at VS. There was surely more that could - and should - have been said.

While it seems the story is far from "over" - both in terms of the brand and with the legacy of Wexner - it feels as if a portion of the story has been left out. Like an episode 4 is missing...

While the story is interesting and the cast is very good, so much of it is unnecessarily complicated between time periods and drawn out. It seems to be that Netflix has this magic number of 10 episodes for a mini series and as a result details need to be stretched to accommodate this.

I watched it while I was doing other tasks so some of it just washed over me - not altogether a bad thing since some of the scenes were difficult to digest. I miss the days of less is more....

All that said though, it is worth the watch. Just maybe have your hand on the remote so as to fast forward through parts that are either hard to take or just plain boring.

The first 4 seasons are fantastic. They do dip in quality when Heather Lochlear joins the team but they are still funny and well written.

The Major is childish and a little ridiculous but so well done in the first 4 seasons and the supporting cast are mostly quirky and interesting and their dynamic is so well executed.

The final episode is so well done and clearly the cast are truly and honestly saddened by MJFs departure. He has said that at the time he thought he may not act again and it definitely feels like goodbye for both the character and the actor.

Then MJF leaves, as do 3 other key characters, and Charlie Sheen begins. Despite doing what he can with what he's been given, the show tanks dramatically and becomes just dreadful. Poorly written, horribly executed and the canned laughter is beyond irritating.

If this is what modern comedic movies look like now, it's no wonder people are switching off films and watching (mostly old) tv shows instead.

Let's leave all the woke nonsense out of the discussion altogether as it's best to not give that rubbish too much attention at all but my goodness what compete drivel this is.

If it wasn't for Kevin and Mark being good actors, there'd literally be zero value in this movie.

Pathetic nonsensical plot line filled with infantile and stupid things that no sensible human would ever do in "real life". Watching adults do such things can only be funny to a dumb or drunk teenager.

Nonsensical screenplay, with little substance or humour. Poor editing. Truly pitiful acting by the vast majority and ... if all that wasn't enough... cringeworthy scenes so bad we fast forwarded through them just to make it end faster.

Do Not Bother.