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markthespoon
Reviews
Bad Sisters (2022)
Bewildering overrated
I don't understand the love for this show. It's poorly directed and ridiculously drawn out - each episode should have been a brisk 30 minutes but are punishingly stretched to almost an hour.
It's rarely funny and full of utterly unbelievable plot contrivances. The acting is mixed - Anne Marie Duff and Eva Birthwhistle are good but I thought Claes Bang, who is usually excellent, phoned in his performance while Eve Hewson can't do comedy. Mainly though I didn't care about any of the characters.
On the plus side it gets an extra star for the welcome inclusion of Michael Smiley, who is an adornment to anything he appears in.
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
A curate's egg of a documentary
I've loved the BVSC album for years so I was very excited to watch the famed documentary. And it was great to meet the musicians, particularly the legendary and mesmeric Ibrahim Ferrer.
But the film is so flawed I found it hard to enjoy, even with the wonderful music. My main problem was how horrible it looks - the early digital footage looks cheap and ugly, and is particularly shocking coming from Wim Wenders who gave us such beautiful imagery in Paris, Texas. Why couldn't he have used proper film? It feels like a slight on the musicians. Additionally the hand held camera work frequently seems shoddy.
The other issue is the Cooder Problem. Yes there's too much of Ry, and seen from the vantage point of 2022 there's definitely a smell of 'white saviour' about his presence. But at least he was deserving of being featured, given his crucial role in bringing the band together. But why is his son being interviewed? This was the point where the film tipped into being a vanity project.
Having said that, the footage from New York is charming and the movie is just about justified by the live performances. But I won't be watching it again.
Music Box: Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (2021)
Insane footage, too many talking heads
The video of the festival is unbelievable and terrifying. Thankfully music festivals are much better organised now, maybe overly corporatised and sanitised but at least the safety of the attendees is given proper priority. And surely nobody misses nu-metal.
Where the documentary fell down somewhat is that too much time was spent on pretty spurious attempts to draw wider lessons about American society in the late 90s. What ultimately Woodstock 99 proved was that if you keep a load of knuckle-headed drunken idiots in a totally unsuitable environment for three days, there's a big risk they'll go feral. That is at root of what happened, not that people were depressed that Kurt Cobain was dead, or angry about Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, or whatever other deeper causes were suggested.
Seinfeld: The Gum (1995)
A masterpiece
A true work of genius, precision tooled to perfection. Every joke builds on the previous one beautifully. One of the greatest Seinfeld episodes. One of the greatest sitcom episodes full stop.
Bosch: Legacy (2022)
Bosch: Mehgacy
Four episodes in and I'm bored of this show. The storylines are slow and uninvolving. The production values are way down on the original series - they clearly have a much reduced budget. The title music is horrific. The acting is wooden. And most of the interesting characters from before are gone (more burget cuts?).
I don't know if I'm going to bother persisting. At least here in Europe we don't have to put up with ads every ten minutes.
The Office: Livin' the Dream (2013)
CHRIS-TOE-FUR!!!
Andy seems to have morphed into Michael, but at least Dwight is happy.
Creation Stories (2021)
Just a mess
Genuinely one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's received respectable reviews but I don't understand why. Completely incoherent, terribly directed, and badly acted. The only time I laughed was when "Tony Blair" turned up, but I was laughing at the film, not with it.
The Office: Get the Girl (2012)
No mas
Andy and Nellie should get together and then drive off a cliff because the two of them are ruining this show
Bonding (2018)
A comedy that isn't funny
I didn't smile once, never mind laugh. The gay guy comes across as the sort of stereotype you'd get in a 90s sitcom. Best thing about it is the lead girl. Second best thing is it's short