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jillianc221
Reviews
Inventing Anna (2022)
Celebrating the Con Artist
I really liked this show at the start. It was exactly what a Shonda Rhimes show should be, just the right amount of soapy, but didn't jump the shark like a lot of her shows do because A) it's just one season and B)it's based on a true story, but as the series went on I started to feel icky watching this. The real Anna was paid $320,000 for her story and you can tell that this is HER story. When it comes down to it, whatever her reasons were, this woman is a con-artist and shouldn't be celebrated. But where at first you're horrified by the things she does, by the last episode the writers are making it seem that she's a misunderstood genus and the poor friend she ripped off for $60k is a laughable hypocrite. Let's not lose sight of who the real sociopath is here. I don't know Rachel Williams, but the last episode of this series made me ill with the snide comments from the lawyer and the snarky looks from the journalist and her best friend in the background. Yeah, maybe she profited from the situation, but Rachel is a real person who got screwed and Shonda made fun of her like she was the criminal. On another note I'm not sure if the real journalist was this annoying, whether she was written to be annoying, or Anna Chlumsky is just a super annoying actress, but I just couldn't take her any more by the 3rd or 4th episode.
It just disgusted me.
Acapulco (2021)
Cute, but you don't need the modern part
This show won't be winning any awards, but it's very cute and feel good. I enjoy spending time in the world of Las Colinas. I just don't see the point of the present day part. The acting is terrible, and the dialogue is even worse. Ditch this part and focus on the show in the past and it would improve tremendously.
Motel Makeover (2021)
Entertaining Binge
I watch a lot of design shows and enjoyed the idea of making over an old motel rather than a house. I didn't agree with every design choice the women made, but overall I thought they did a good job with a difficult project. Like the other reviewers I did find their vocal fry way of speaking to be super annoying, especially considering they're Canadian and not from LA, but I guess I enjoyed it enough to get passed that.
Love Life (2020)
Started Great, then wavered
I really liked the concept of this. As a woman who dated in New York for over a decade until I found the right person (in LA), there are definitely a multitude of different situations and types of guys this could have covered to show how hard dating in NY can be. The first few episodes were great, but once it strayed from the original concept it just became a different slightly less interesting show. Where are all the terrible Tinder dates, or guy who turns out to be married, etc. So many missed story ops. On a side note Anna Kendrick's clothing in this is beautiful, but there's no way that character could afford most of it.
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)
Was Hoping For More
I felt similarly to how a lot of the other fans felt. I loved the original series but felt that the movie was a bit off (though I did thoroughly enjoy seeing the characters back again). Miss Fisher is all about the ensemble and it felt empty without Dot, Hugh, Ces, Burt, and Mr. Butler. I also can't believe I waited three seasons and a movie for a 2 second kiss from Jack and Phryne, especially considering all the naked men that she lounged in bed with in the series. They could have had some real heartfelt conversations between J&P like they did in season 1, but nope, everything was just kind of glossed over.
Also, the plot of this mystery was awful. Not well thought out, hard to understand, and the supernatural stuff went a bit too far. After rewatching the first 20 minutes I could see that they left clues that Crippins was Jonathan's father, but they were so incredibly subtle that it just came out of left field at the end, and I'm still not sure why he felt like he couldn't stop the curse by returning the stone? He wasn't going to get to keep the stone, so why did he choose death?
Finally there were so many little things that could have been better/made more sense: the graphics, the fact that Phryne would never have worn a conspicuous red dress to go break someone out of jail in an Arab country. How did she survive the train/get back on it without Shirin knowing? Also, how is this still 1929 when Dot looks 7 months pregnant?
They left the end that there could be a sequel. I'd love to see it on AcornTV, but only if they actually spend some real time on the script.
The Andromeda Strain (2008)
Go rent the original instead
I was reluctant to watch this because I liked the original and I usually hate remakes, but at 2:00am on a Saturday night it seemed like a good idea. I should have listened to my original gut instinct. There was very little about this version that was even decent. Despite the well known cast the acting was terrible. I don't know who told Benjamin Bratt he could act. The thing that made the original work was it's slow pace and the fact that the scientists were confined creating a real sense of being trapped with this unknown organism. It was a simple story that focused on the eeriness of a potential biological killer. The addition of all of the above ground subplots (the army, the reporter, Stone's family) only served to detract from the fear that the original created. I didn't care about ANYTHING going on above ground, and the stuff above ground made me not care about the people underground. This was truly awful. Go out and rent the original, Robert Wise was a fabulous director, and it's worth the $2.
The Last Kiss (2006)
Disappointing take on life and love
I was not impressed by this movie. Although the acting was passable, I was surprised to find the dialog by usually strong screenwriter Paul Haggis highly unrealistic. The characters had no subtleties to them, the female characters were especially unbelievable in this movie. This film had the potential to be an introspective look at the way relationships really work, instead it was a typical cliché of the late twenties guy not wanting to grow up, and the more mature woman accepting that she'll never find a truly responsible man. The story about the parents was added to show that things can flip the other way as well, but these characters weren't explored enough to have any real in depth understanding of their relationship. Even the publicists saw that this movie missed the mark as an introspective drama which is why they were forced to pitch it as a romantic triangle film which it clearly wasn't.