mjknott-82328 Reviews

Saint X (2023)

POV problems

[3/10 · 1 June 2023]

This series was flabby and convoluted. Even worse than the unlikeable characters and scattered plot was the breakdown in point of view when we "find out" what happened to Alison after she leaves Edwin and Gogo on the beach. No one is with her, so how do we (or Claire) know who she met next at the resort, or that she swam to the key? Or that she fell? You can't have an omniscient narrator jump in at the last minute to explain everything. It doesn't work.

From what I gather, the novel deals with serious issues about Caribbean tourism-issues of race, class, and exploitation. Unfortunately, the adaptation shied away from those themes and veered into the all too common tropes of self-discovery and repressed feelings.

8 episodes!

Life & Beth (2022– )

Judging Amy

[7/10 · 16 April 2022]

This series has some brilliant comedic moments, especially in the earlier episodes. The "botched horse proposal" was classic (even more so when David Cera delivered that line) and there is genuinely witty dialog.

But there are some problems. The scene where Beth and John have sex on someone's front lawn is disturbingly close to a sexual assault, given that the homeowner was, in fact, home. Beth's suspicion that whole episode was a voyeuristic plan is a haunting moment, and is so disturbingly plausible as to be a deal-breaker in the relationship. But the relationship doesn't end there, which means she's willing to overlook it. In reality, whether it was planned or not, trust is broken and consequently any hope of a future for them.

Also, the flashbacks to Beth's difficult teenage years are well-acted, but when you get interested in the present-day characters, flashbacks can be a bit of a letdown.

Let Them All Talk (2020)

No script?

[2/10 · 12 December 2020]

Colossal disappointment, especially considering the acting talent. Seems like they threw out the script at some point and decided to "let them all talk." That would explain the many painful silences (none more painful than the final scene) and the tendency of the actors to talk over each other. The most meaningful dialog in the movie-between Meryl and Gemma-occurred without sound, but they really nailed the facial expressions.

The Undoing (2020)

Please undo this series

[2/10 · 1 December 2020]

A complete sham. A good Agatha Christie story could do in under two hours what this series failed to do in six. I won't say the end was predictable-more like so absurd that it makes you want to throw something. There must be some financial benefit in stretching a series to an intolerable length. Does the director get paid by the screen-minute? "Ok guys, we have to fill three more hours. I want long pauses between sentences, and lots of staring."

Virgin River (2019– )

Not plagiarism but still not good

[2/10 · 25 August 2020]

A lot of reviews complain that this series is a copy of Hart of Dixie. It may be similar, but the series is based on a novel published in 2007. Hart of Dixie was produced in 2011 so who's copying whom?

That said, this series is a cringefest with many gaping holes, a patchwork of nonsensical plot lines. The inattention to detail is inexcusable. Here's a town with one child, no police force, a mayor who should be in jail for meddling in other people's affairs, and a weepy heroine who garners no sympathy.

Mistakes are rife: does a nurse practitioner sit in a hospital waiting room covered in blood, making no effort to get cleaned up? During a power outage from a thunderstorm, why is one person freezing while others gather at the local restaurant? Aren't thunderstorms warm weather events? If you don't know someone very well, do you really build her a house to keep her from leaving town? If there's a group of violent drug dealers nearby, who make a habit of threatening people with guns, do you protect them from the law and give them free medical care? When you pull out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey, and pour one glass, drink it, refill it and drink it again, never filling your companion's glass, haven't you forgotten something?

And Hope, oh my, how does a busybody like that get elected mayor when even her friends kick her out of their bridge club?

Being Rose (2017)

O Rose, Thou art sick!

[5/10 · 23 August 2020]

This movie could've used a little levity. I think that about a lot of these movies, even the sad ones. It's a shame when decent actors are handed a script that has more blank stares than dialog. More focus on the A-list actors and less of the B's would have made this worthwhile.