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sandy777
Reviews
Maestro (2023)
All Style and No Substance
A too surfacy story about Leonard Bernstein. I didn't learn much about him. I didn't gain an understanding of what made him great. I've liked Bradley Cooper better in other movies. His writing, directing, and acting all felt forced here. It was all style over substance. I don't understand why Cooper selected this project. What did he want us to learn about Bernstein? I learned he was self-absorbed, bisexual, and cheated on his wife often. And maybe talented, but I didn't get a good sense of his passion. The dialogue between the characters added nothing. They just shared uninteresting banter. Where was the plot? What were the stakes? Why should I care what's happening? Why was this movie made? I ask these questions of too many movies anymore.
Barbie (2023)
Some humorous moments, but the story fell flat
Barbie, a movie about the beloved doll and all her identities and her friends, what could go wrong? A lot apparently. It started with voice over narration and went downhill from there. There was too much telling rather than showing. Most of this movie constantly explained everything and often told me how I should feel about it. The writing felt like it was trying too hard to be profound and tried to oversimplify complex subjects and gender roles. There were some funny moments, but a lot of the humor and story were far from subtle. I never felt drawn into the characters and what they were experiencing. The story lacked stakes. I didn't care about Barbie or Ken. In the right hands, this movie could have been fun. But Barbie didn't seem to know what it wanted to be or what story it wanted to tell.
The Good Place (2016)
Good Premise, Poorly Executed
This mediocre series presented stereotypical characters, weak acting and repetitive episodes that didn't fit with the more adult questions the writers posed. I appreciate that this show ventured to tackle difficult philosophical questions, but the writers didn't want to deeply analyze the questions they presented. This could have been a great show if the writers weren't afraid of their premise. Shows can still be funny and deal with tough topics.
I wish it had tackled the definition of good. Sometimes what we consider good may not be good. We've become a society that encourages people to engage in unhealthy behaviors under the guise of being compassionate and loving. Also, motives can be selfish. We may do good to feel better about ourselves and so we can brag about what a good person we are.
I did like the premise that we can all change and become better people, which does advance the argument that we're all basically bad and we must choose to be better. I also liked the message presented that we all should be better about helping and encouraging others to be better people.
But the ending fell flat and brought up its own questions. If it's the good place, why would you want to leave? The good place presented here, seems boring and painful. This good place seems like earth or the bad place. The characters were possibly better people. I believed they wanted to be better people, but their souls were still empty and wanting. None of them have surrendered their will. They are still doing what they think is good and right. It's still all about them. True freedom only comes from complete surrender to a higher being. Otherwise, you stay a slave to your desires.
Are the writers saying that the only good place is ceasing to exist, that eternal life is not a good thing and we get to decide when we've done enough good in the world and helped enough people? That sounds like narcissism. The last episode felt too depressing and empty.
Unintentionally, the writers demonstrated why we need grace. We can never be good enough on our own to enter the good place.
The Diplomat (2023)
Too much unnatural, overly clever dialogue
I'm not sure why I watched all eight episodes of this series. I kept waiting for it to kick into gear. People who like shows like the West Wing would probably like this show. But the constant use of overly clever, unnatural dialogue left the show with no nuance. Every episode felt the same to me. The first episode piqued my interest. But none of the other episodes went anywhere new or added anything to episode one. They all came back to the conflict between Kate and Hal. And after eight episodes of their dysfunction banter, I felt like I was stuck in a time loop that never ended. This series tried too hard to be smart and clever instead of developing a story with interesting stakes and multi-dimensional characters.
Violet (2021)
Decent Story, but poor execution
Justine Bateman presented a decent story idea, but her weak execution limited its appeal. The voice overs and the writing of the main character's thoughts on screen distracted rather than added to the story. These weren't necessary to drive the story and came across as over the top and told information that either was evident or didn't need to be shared for a compelling story. I appreciate Justine Bateman's efforts, but she needs to trust her writing and directing abilities more. She suffers from the same insecurities as her main character. The story of Violet would have worked better if more subtle. Olivia Munn is a good lead actress, Justine should have let her sell the story, not the gimmicks.
The Bold Type (2017)
This show could have been so much more
This show could have been so much more. The simplistic storylines never provide any real stakes and the resolution of issues came too easily and predictably. The three main characters don't display realness or depth. They're portrayed as selfish and unwilling to embrace anyone who doesn't think like them. Sutton wasn't half bad until the writers slid her down her own selfishness rabbit hole in season four. The three ladies are just as immature in the last episode as they are in the first episode. I found the supporting characters more interesting.
Why did I keep watching the show? It's good mindless drivel to do chores to and I thought that over time it would get out of its own way and be a show that could start conversations and challenge how people think on issues. Instead, it became a slave to its own self-righteousness. It was never the show it wanted to be. It failed to rise to the challenge of dealing with the intricasies of today's issues. The writers tried to beat you over the head with messages instead of showing their subtleties and complexities.
Cruel Summer (2021)
Interesting, Well Paced Story
FreeForm finally has as show worth watching. Cruel Summer provides an interesting and well executed idea of moving between the same day at three one-year intervals. I give kudos to the writers for the ability to pull this off well. But this show also has interesting characters and plot twists. The two main characters are both good and evil and you're never sure who to believe. The two leads give strong performances. There were a couple episodes that fell a little flat. But mostly this show was well paced and compelling. The final episode (season 1, episode 10) was especially well done.
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Best Series This Year
On the outside, this Netflix serious looks like it would be boring, but once I started watching, I could not stop. I binge watch very few shows, but I watched the first five episodes back to back. This is one of Netflix's best series, if not the best. This well acted, well written series, leaves one wanting more after finishing the seven episodes. Every episode is outstanding. Great music, cinematography and editing also contribute to the excellence of this series. Anya Taylor Joy is incredible as are the supporting actors. This is definitely the best series I've seen this year.