Reviews

So hard to watch this family! The images and film over decades juxtaposed with a story being pieced together is powerful. It does move a bit too slowly and I pined for more details but I guess that was the point- no one wants to talk about the abuse that continued across generations relentlessly in this family.

Most striking to me was the reluctance of the mother and grandmother to admit what they had experienced. It was heartbreaking to watch the daughter struggle to communicate with these women! To think they couldn't- or wouldn't- protect their own children over protecting "the family"- its horrible.

There is indeed something sick and dark running through the genes of this family tree. Very difficult to watch the old films showing how grabby and abusive many of the men are- and they seem so proud of it. Chilling.

A hard watch but very interesting.

Its ironic that in 60 years the ACLU continues to protect criminals rights over victims.

This film recounts a fascinating journey of a woman who after being raped by a viscious predator must fight for her rights and dignity. Thanks to the detectives and district attorney, the scumbag confesses and is arrested and eventualy convicted. But in due course, slimy defense attorneys with nothing better to do nearly destroy the poor woman's life with endless appeals for the criminal.

So "Miranda Rights" was named after a rapist.

Acting is good, happy to see Luke Wilson in a dramatic role, I really like him.

Loved the 1960s clothes and sets.

I fully enjoyed the first half and quickly developed high hopes. Willem DeFoe is amazing in his role as the Dr. Frankensteinish "God". Visually stunning- a strange world, timeless- victorian steam-punky, colorful and beautiful. The costuming and set decor is extraordinary. It captivated me.

About 1/2 way in- in the "Ship" Act 3 I think we are introduced to Harry. And here everything begins its descent. Harry's preachy monologues are so boring. Harry explains it all to Bella. Alas, the usual modern PC film trope: Capitalism bad, man is inherently evil, the poor are victims of Big Bad Capitalism. Oh sweet lord, what a snore. I am so tied of every modern film ending here. To add insult to injury now prostitution is the epitome of feminism? Another preachy friend, this time a lesbian hkr-with-a-heart-oh-gold (haven't seen that before - insert eye roll) appears. So wise is she: a street walker, yet a genius philosopher, right.

It started out so promising. Imagine if Bella had progressed to being educated, solving world problems, understanding the meaning of her life, becoming deep, having purpose. But No. Sigh.

I have hung in there to episode 5 now. I am just now starting to see some connections between episodes. Sort of. Its a strange show, but somehow I keep watching.

Episode 1 was weird and episode 2 gave some context. Episode 3 and 4 were rough for me- I hate vomit and sex scenes, so there was a lot of fast-forwarding. Also some of the characters are irritating, I am skipping through their parts too. Honestly its most of the cast. Hillary and David are awful and the introduction of Hillary's mother is not a positive development.

Looks like I may be the sole reviewer who doesn't mind Nicole Kidman's face. I believe she is still beautiful and can play an older mom who had her kids in her late 30s to mid 40s. The bigger problem is there is zero chemistry with her and the husband. Maybe less than zero.

Also her "friend", husband, and other expats are supposedly in Hong Kong "working" (and apparently making BANK) but they never work. The husband, "Clarke", looks Chinese- but doesn't speak ANY Chinese? How the F does he work basically in China and not even speak a word of the language?? What's his backstory? No idea yet. I just learned they "miss" New York- how / why did they move to HK? The political backdrop is finally addressed in episode 5. Will it play a part in the story? Hope so it may help.

The expat characters are really impossible to like. They are a vapid, hollow, alcoholic, entitled, filthy rich lot who have zero redeeming qualities living in splendor, wearing designer clothes.

I am more riveted watching the lives of the Phillipine staff you begin to see in episode 5. I had no knowledge of these people working as servants in HK. Its heartbreaking. The scenes of them on their day off about the city were really interesting and well done.

Hopefully things will start to come together. I am rather over it after this episode if things don't improve.

Watch at your own risk.

I had never known much of Griselda. I remember her mugshot (can't forget that face if you've seen it) in the news but never really paid attention, so I came into this story rather blind. I had enjoyed Narcos, so thinking I would be into it, like a Narcos with a twist because its a woman, I settled in for a nice, comfy binge.

Vergara produced this, and from the first scene, one can plainly see it skews mightily to place Griselda in a favorable light. A desperate woman abused and scorned, alone in a strange city with 3 children to support, with extremey limited choices. If one turns off their common-sense inqusitive brain, it works. Griselda survives abuse, has no choice but to fight, stands her ground in a man's world, never gives up, fiercely loves and is generous with her old friends, always has a soft-spot for the underdogs... However once you begin to question her motives- this happened for me after she turned down the buy-out- the mask falls and Griselda is exposed for what she really is: a viscious, greedy, murderous monster. Once that happens, I had no vested interest in what happens to her, I didn't sympathize with her, I just wanted to see her arrested and locked up forever.

I did some research. This is someone who was OK with slaughtering an infant. The scene where she agonizes over murdering an eye-witness and his wife, leaving the baby alive? In real life, the 2-month old infant was killed. I don't like this kind of manipulation- intended to make you believe Griselda has a heart in there somewhere- but WHY? How is that needed to further the plot? Why fashion her into some kind of victim-hero!? She's anything but! For Vergara to manipulate the audience to feel compassion for this woman, its simply unconsionable.

The scenes depicting Griselda as some sort of Eva Peron to groups of immigrants were particularly galling. Did this actually happen? Or did really just threaten to kill their families to get them to steal like that? With this kind of "artistic license" who knows?

And finally, the prosthetics are ridiculous. Look at photos of the real Griselda. I mean, come on. I think Vergara is wearing a nose and some weird eyebrow/forehead makeup. Why? Griselda's real face was one only a mother could love so it would be far more interesting to explore how she held such power over men, because honestly, no way she captivated with her looks. She was unarguably an extremely unattractive woman with not much of a body from what I can see. Vergara plays Griselda as a sultry, buxom, gorgeous femme fatale, because well, Vergara IS a femme fatale.

So I got to episode 4, and yeah, stopping now. I see there is another film about Griselda starring..wait for it.. Catherine Zeta Jones. I think its disingenuous and frankly in poor taste to portray this horrible POS as anything other than what she was in life: an ugly, evil, amoral maniac who caused much suffering to anyone unfortunate enough to be in her orbit.

This was addicting and I binged all three episodes all at once. The descent into madness was palpable. The "leaders" are the typical power and money-hungry couple.

The part that bothered me is the trans "specialist" inserted in to educate us plebans in trans facts. How about a comment on the weird phenomena of the huge percentage of trans women-to-men? Clearly, this cult forced/coerced women to do all sorts of things including transitioning. It was obvious the cult leader dictated this BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH MALE PARTNERS to be the other half of the "twin" flame. How sick is that!? But instead of letting THAT sink in, here comes this guy to make sure we all know trans is perfectly normal, we have to believe they really wanted to transition, yada yada yada.. And then the epilog has to further lecture to tell us out of 7k transitioners only 1% "regret " it, I mean wtf? A cult is a cult- its Bad! No one was targeting trans people, but single women were surely being coerced and forced to become men. That is so alarming in itself but I felt the poltically correct had to insert their agenda of course to confuse the issue and dilute the impact of what this sicko was doing to victimize these women. Had there been enough "men" in Twin Flames to partner up, there would have been no woman told they were "masculine divine". These women were brainwashed!

And these people are not in jail? Crazy.

I will watch almost any stupid cooking contest to the bitter end, but my word, this took some real fortitude to make it to the finish.

There is just nobody to root for. Mercifully, we only had to sit through one over-dramatized sob story (someone says they had a "transplant" and you're thinking oh wow, what- heart? Lung? Kidney? No... a Tendon). The contestants are all annoying or talentless or both. And yet, each one was stunningly confident. They never admitted their mistakes nor did they seem to learn from them. Their dishes were just as insipid and boring in the beginning as they were at the end. Confusing. They all seemed to "stand by" their awful dishes.

The lack of imagination while in one of the most culinarily inspiring places on the face of the earth. Some of these knuckheads' dishes in the semi-finals/ finals: boiled cabbage, stuffed baked tomatoes, poorly executed (aka raw) pork chops, a leaden raviolo shaped like a gas cap, steamed asparagus. Really?? In Iconic food paradise TUSCANY?! After they had full access to that incredible market!! They should all be charged with a crime.

I stuck it out to the end and I was dumbfounded when the winner was announced. One of the worst and that is saying a LOT for this group- Holy Smokes!

I don't know what happened to Guernacelli- she has really lost her signature "bite"- her honesty and scowling countenance was her best attribute as a judge back on Chopped. Here she seemed to be defending the atrocities these "chefs" put out. Plus someone please get this woman a stylist. About 3/4 way in her makeup and hair improved, but on the whole, she is in dire need of a makeover.

The Italian guy- have NO idea what or who he is, didn't add anything to the show.

A real disappointment in every way.

Woody Allen films to me are like pizza- even when its bad, its still pizza. This one follows the familiar formula and I am ok with it. The setting here is London, and as usual, plays a starring role.

The major error for me was Josh Brolin. He is supposed to be the disheveled but utterly charming writer, but he comes off as a leery creep. (I was screaming at Frieda Pinto: Don't kiss him!) Unlike Owen Wilson's character in the delightful 10/10 Midnight in Paris, so endearing.

Naomi Watts and Antonio Banderas are wonderful as is Anthony Hopkins. The story is a bit convulted but Gemma Jones and Pauline Collins hold it together tighty. They are a delight to watch.

I won't spoil it for you, but all the classic Allen tropes are there, in a good way. Honestly watching it is like going on a mini vacation. If you appreciate Woody Allen, you will not hate this film.

I'm rating this a Nine for many reasons main one of which is Austin Butler is truly amazing in recreating The King. Not only does he uncannily physically resemble him, he captures Elvis' pure heart, expressions and mannerisms to a T. If he is not nominated for an Oscar it will be a travesty.

Hanks does a fine job as Coronel Parker, a classic villian reminiscent of Mozart's nemesis Salieri.

The film is a classic tragedy in 3 acts: Ascent of Elvis, Height of Elvis, Decline of Elvis. Not gonna lie its heartbreaking. The ending is almost too much to bear. Even if you aren't an Elvis fan, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to be touched. Elvis was larger than life, but he was a fragile, vulnerable soul inside- this film is true to that.

The performances really are stellar. I despise Parker with a burning passion, but you are supposed to. I did tire of him at times because I couldn't wait for Elvis to be onscreen. Luckily I never had to wait long. Butler's Elvis is in nearly every scene, stealing every one. I could not take my eyes off him.

Keep in mind this is a Baz Lurmann joint, and it definitely is showy, garish, lengthy. I wasn't a fan of the rap/modern music inserted but that is most likely because I'm old. The classic blues and soul plus Elvis' incredible reperatoire would have suffiiced just fine, IMHO they stand the test of time.

Why do these reviews have to be six hundred characters? Damn what is this a college paper!? How am I not there yet? I am keeping it going until I hit 600. Don't believe haters this is a flawed masterpiece but a masterpiece nonetheless.

You know its bad when a disaster movie's first 2 minutes is all the best parts of disaster movies flashed on the screen using stock footage and a cheesy narrative- this one particularly painful using an adolescent voice. Oy Vey.

Some key dialog I zeroed in on while baking cookies (relegated to background after aforementioned first 2 minutes): The world worked together and... Led by the world leaders: the United States and CHINA (bad guy Ed Harris) We need to be proud of our country like we once were!

Yeah how original, once again big-bad USA is ruining the world, this time its weather. Gerard Butler in space fighting satillites that control WEATHER. And, of course, the entire plot all tied up in a Gerbil -whats her name? Greta-style theory that evil rich man is the cause of global climate changes. Maybe she's right, but I like some escapism when I go to the movie. Why oh why does EVERY SINGLE MOVIE shove agendas down our throats?! SO over it.

Anyway this movie stinks. IF it had taken its time for the good part- normal everyday life descending into chaos due to disaster/ ruined earth- then maybe I would have stuck around. As it was, I was able to bake a good portion of my traditional Christmas cookies with this as a backdrop.

View at your own risk.

I began watching this and liked the first few episodes. Well, unfortunately the characters become more abhorrent as each episode ends. By the time I got to the end, I dislike them all. Immensely. And I am strictly speaking of the actors not IRL! Because Corden's reputation preceeds him- but not basing any of my review on his personal shortcomings.

The good stuff is the location details, some great interaction between characters, an engaging storyline, lovely imagery.

I probably won't be watching if there's a season 2. I just don't care for any of the characters. They can all get swallowed by a whale for all I care.

This is your typical food competition but focusing on cocktails. I love the set its beautiful. The concept is cool and the woman judge is great.

The thing is, everyone else contestants included are some of the most annoying people on earth. They all seem like characatures. Are they for real? A couple of them are barely tolerable. I can't imagine being that affected 24/7. LP is the only one who seems like a genuine person.

The bald male judge is so boring never adds much of interest, and "Tone" seems like he's in way over his head. Guest judges are interesting. I liked how the contestants knew who they were- me I never heard of them.

It does make you want to go make a cool cocktail tho!

Dahmer- one of the most hated, prolific of serial killers in history. Preys on young gay -usually minority- men. Red flags his family don't want to see. Its an amazing story, and the acting is great. Until around episode 5. Now the propaganda begins. The injected fictional side stories to focus on the Big R. Yep now I see where this is going and Heck No I am not wasting another second on this garbage. So tired of it. Every darn show, no matter what its about, always ends up here.

So if you want to see revisionist fictional history of Dahmer where every road leads to Racism, look no further. I'm out.

Since when do reviews need to be at least 600 characters? Is this being graded?

Didn't even make it to the end of the first episode. I should have known, really, with Adam Scott crying in a car, overwrought security, sterile office setting. I don't understand the rave reviews that describe this show as original groundbreaking and mind-bending.

I've seen this same genre of "office workers are mindless soulless serfs of the evil capitalist corporation" for the better part of 40 years now. It's not original, or ground-breaking. Its recycled pablum for the eite actors portraying the corporate drone and it's overdone and self-important, and I'm NOT here for it.

I went into this with an open mind. I like JLo ok, I am not a superfan. In my view, She is talented but as an overall entertainer, not some amazing actress.

Not ten minutes in, the political bashing (guess who is mentioned- Netflix never misses an opportunity to bring this guy in to everything) comes in. Then the Halftime Show development which I thought could be interesting. JLo and Shakira are chosen to do the show together. JLo doesn't seem too happy about that and I Can see why. JLo decides a stripper pole represents women's empowerment and so uses it in her show. I disagree that strippers and seggs workers are the epitome of women taking back their power. I think the stripper pole maybe is to promote her movie. You can see how everything is for publicity.

I am over these uber rich, entitled, famous elites complaining about how hard they have it. While the rest of us struggling to make paychecks last. JLo is literally a one in a 100 million success story. She hasn't lived in the bronx for 40 years, yet she acts like she is still a resident. She made it rather quickly and has been very fortunate in her career. Yet she plays the victim card constantly. Somehow we are lead to believe shes been slighted as a woman of color. Poor me.

She believes that Hustlers was a massive hit and a masterpiece of film. B, please. It was not well-received and the entire premise was distasteful to be honest. Yet she thinks she was unfairly passed over for awards because... you guessed it she is latina.

Lets face it, today being a person "of color" in entertainment is a huge plus not a negative. In times where everywhere is inclusivity - which don't get me wrong is not a bad thing- JLo isn't suffering. She has more riches that she can spend in 5 lifetimes. She lives in luxury. She has it all. I can not cry for her.

That is all.

What finally got me to quit watching? Dummy daughter chooses a WHITE BUTTON DOWN BLOUSE to wear while on the lam fighting for her life. Rrrrriiigghhhtttt.

Everything about this dumb show is ridiculous. The characters are grossly miscast. The plot (is there one?) is full of holes. It is so unoriginal- the scenes include all the cliche'd greatest hits: the Makeover, the Childhood Flashbacks, the "Witness Protection Program", "the Activists Against Capitalism"... barf.