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Reviews
Breaking Glass (1980)
Nostalgia
Saw this as a young teen in the early '80s. I still watch it from time to time. Great music and performances.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
Disappointing
Turning ABBA's biggest hits into a musical, and then a film, seemed far-fetched. The resulting Mama Mia was light escapism with an all-star cast. Unfortunately, the B-side songs and blah script weren't helped by the performances. There were cameos from the original cast., but even Meryl Streep couldn't save this sinking ship.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Fun Movie, Great Music, Excellent Cast
I like ABBA-- a blast from my past, singable pop classics. I love musicals. When I heard they were making a musical around ABBA songs, I questioned it. Usually music is written around a plot, not vice-versa. This is certainly a weak point. but this movie isn't about plot. It's a celebration of ABBA, a girlfriend movie, and I really enjoyed, despite approaching skeptical. The main reason for this is the cast. With an all-star cast, led my MERYL STREEP! leads an all-star cast. Amanda Seyfried is perfect as her daughter. The supporting cast, all recognizable, are also having a blast. They never take the film to seriously, but they are surprisingly good in their roles, much mores than I expected. It's a unescape from the world.
M*A*S*H (1972)
Brilliant Writing and Acting
I grew up loving this series-- when there were 3 networks (and PBS and UHF if you could arrange the antennas right). The writing and acting stand the test of time. Now I've lived in Korea for16 of the last 21+ years (teaching English) and I look back. There isn't a lot of "Korea" in the show (and when Korea is featured, it's often cringeworthy, esp actors speaking "Korean"). Of course, that wasn't the point. This was about the tragedy of war filtered through heartfelt "comedy". All of the characters, even as they rotated out (not unlike my many foreign friends here), had their moments. Laughter was never at the expense of someone. As I rewatch on youtube, I see why I liked this show, and how it helped form my childhood/teen years. I realize other than MASH (and one Korean student I had teaching HS in Wisconsin) I knew little about Korea (so little), but maybe it did play a part in my initial decision to move here. Over the years I've introduced the show to many young people and Koreans. Everyone appreciates the heartfelt messages. Not every episode (of 11 years) is a winner, but so many are exemplary, in many ways and at many times the best of television. Honest, real characters. Personalized and heartfelt storylines (sometimes you cry with laughter, other times with sadness) and just the perfect cast(s).