Change Your Image
jarakanda
Reviews
Instant Dream Home: 9 Is Enough (2022)
Not a fan of their choice to work with this family
Like at least one other review mentioned, I was really put off by the reinforcement of sexist attitudes, the overt mentions of the family's religiosity, and the normalizing of having this many kids (irresponsible on many levels, and might indicate that they're Quiverfull people). I'm only a short way into the renovation portion of the episode and I may skip this one. I've really liked the other families so far. While the family in episode 2 was probably also very religious (another large family who home-schooled), it didn't bother me or feel in-your-face at all, and I liked that they were an ethnically blended family.
Over the Moon (2020)
Loved certain things about it
As a Chinese person, I LOVED seeing so much wonderful cultural representation and the all-Asian cast. As a kid, there was very little of this type of thing available to me and I'm happy that my four year old enjoys this movie and sees positive representations of this part of her heritage.
I thought the visuals were stunning, and the animation and character design were lovely.
Otherwise, it was... fine. I feel like the movie started off strong. I got teary during the first part. Then the story just got kind of confusing and I felt very little emotional connection to the characters. The singing is good, but I didn't find the music as catchy or memorable as some other recent musicals. I'll watch this again with my kid and I prefer it to something like Frozen, Cars, or The Good Dinosaur, but I don't think it's as good as my favorite Pixar films like Wall-e or Monsters, Inc.
Dream Home Makeover (2020)
Pros and cons
It's fun to see the before and afters and a bit of the process, but all the talking to the camera and the time spent on the personal lives of Shea and Syd and their family feel like filler. These parts take up a huge portion of the show. It feels like Fixer Upper, where a lot of the focus is on Chip and Joanna Gaines and their kids vs the actual home makeover, which is all I'm interested in seeing. I hope Netflix will start creating shows more like Grand Designs.
PEN15 (2019)
Weird, funny, cringey, spot-on
I just finished Season 1 and I'm really looking forward to seeing more. I'm a few years older than the protagonists, but so much of the show still rang true for me. It's inventive, brilliantly observant, and weird.
As a half Asian person myself, I loved seeing the parts of Maya's story that related to her mixed identity.
Stay Here (2018)
Love this show!
It's addictive and interesting. I do wish that they revealed info about the costs of the renovations that are performed. They all seem like really high budget makeovers, which makes them feel less attainable for those of us who can't hire interior designers.
Zumbo's Just Desserts (2016)
I don't understand why Gigi is on the show
I came to the comments on this show just to make sure I'm not the only one who doesn't understand Gigi's role on the show or who cringes every time she shouts at the bakers.
I feel bad for her because I'm sure she's been directed by the show's producers to act the way she does, but how could anyone have thought she would be a good addition to the show?
It's still a fun show to watch - I like the formatting with one challenge for all contestants and then one with just two.
I agree with other reviewers that the editing often makes it fairly obvious who's going to win or lose. It also seems like the producers try to get the contestants to say braggy things and then make them look foolish.
Sugar Rush (2018)
Fun show with some frustrating aspects
This was a great show to put on as I was doing things around the house. I made my way through the whole first season pretty quickly. Overall, I recommend it, though it lacks the charm of The Great British Baking Show.
As a couple of other reviewers have noted, it's so obvious that the contestants have been told their challenges ahead of time! Why don't they just drop the façade and let the audience know? I hate the fake conversations where they have to pretend that they're coming up with their creations on the spot.
I also feel like it's confusing and unfair that the clock doesn't stop (or does it?) when the judges talk to the contestants after round 1. There are several references to the clock continuing to run during this stage, but it's unclear if it actually does.
I agree with other reviewers that the host is a bit off-putting, but fairly neutral and bland. I could have done without his hitting on Candace (so uncomfortable for both the audience and for her, especially in the #metoo era).
Stage Beauty (2004)
VERY disappointing
I glanced through the other user comments before deciding to go to a screening of this film last night. Honestly, I don't have any idea what most of you were talking about, and I regret sitting through the whole thing. I kept hoping it would get better, but no such luck.
I didn't realize that it was an adaptation of a play, but that's exactly how it came across. The acting was very theatrical and exaggerated, and while I realize that this must have been the director's intent, it just didn't work.
Everyone else in the theater seemed to enjoy the film, so maybe I was just missing something? The jokes seemed crude, clumsy, predictable, and while vaguely amusing at times, weren't good enough to make me laugh.
The editing was clumsy, the music was devoid of sensitivity, and I felt completely disconnected from the characters. I fully agree with one of the other comments - no chemistry between Danes and Crudup. I like both of them, so it was sad to see their talents (and Rupert Everett's) squandered on such a waste of a film.
With such a fascinating premise, I expected the film to be great, but in every respect, it failed.
Fa yeung nin wah (2000)
Gorgeous, sad... see it
I was expecting a far different film, because I rented it knowing nothing about it but its good reputation. If you like beauty, I recommend it. Sort of like in Amelie, the colors are brighter than in real life, the brights brighter, the darks richer, the palette carefully chosen. The shots are well-framed and every scene has been thought out. Definitely a visually stunning movie. The storytelling is sophistocated and stylized as well. It is very slow in parts, but intentionally so, and the fact that it was didn't bother me. My only complaint was that I felt so sad after I finished watching, but it's not a real complaint - it's more of a testament to the good film-making skills of Wong Kar-Wai. Yay! Good film, go rent it. (Get the criterion collection's version if you can because it includes some interesting extras - scenes that tell a lot more about the story but didn't make the final cut).
Manic (2001)
Don't see it if you get motion-sickness
I went to see this film with pretty high expectations, based on what I'd read about it. Within the first minute or so, I grew wary. Those who left comments regarding the shaky and frenetic camera work weren't kidding. I haven't done well with Dancer in the Dark, Italian for Beginners (though this is much shakier) or Blair Witch Project (which is about equally shaky). I really wanted to watch Manic, especially since the screening I was going to have a Q&A afterward with the director, two of the actors, and two psych professionals. I thought maybe I could at least listen to the film with my eyes closed, but I was feeling too bad by then, and left the theater after which i promptly lost my dinner.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I love films, I love filmmaking, I love pretty much everything relating to the field. I'm not ignorant, but I don't understand how gratuitous camera-shaking makes something edgy, cinema verite, or documentary style. The content, lighting, film quality, and treatment of subject matter make a movie edgy or can convey realism equally well and usually better than this movie did. It is real in the aspect that if you handed the camera to a seven year-old (i know, because this is how the movies i made when i was seven years old looked) and had them film the events in the psych ward, this is what you would come up with. The acting and details were very good. However, it seems like the goal of the film is to give the viewer a window into the world of the institution, and to achieve this, the director would have been far better served to invest in a tripod.
can someone please try to explain to me why shaky camera is necessary? email me, i'm serious.