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Jude7714
Reviews
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (2023)
Feels Like I Just Spent 3 Hours on Twitter
Horrible docuseries. Thank God Mike Exner agreed to participate and save it from devolving into a complete conspiracy theory fest. Mark Dickinson of Inmarsat and Pete Foley also lent sanity to the series, albeit for only the few seconds of interview time Netflix thought it appropriate to include. Even Blaine Gibson (who I admittedly assumed would be one of the nuttier personalities) was one of the few more rational voices.
I feel for these families. Really, I do. But it's clear that some of them are struggling so much with their grief and with not having answers that they're buying into far-fetched theories they would likely never have entertained 15 years ago. I hope they're given closure one day but the idea that this was some global conspiracy involving no less than 3 major countries to take down your average commercial flight is not going to give it to them. And shame on The Intercept's de Changy who's profiting like a MFer off both this tragedy and the heartbreak of the victims' families.
I agree we need answers but none of the ridiculous conspiracies posited in this docuseries is a plausible explanation.
I would have much preferred a FACTUAL docuseries focusing on the accident itself, the investigation that followed, and the 239 souls lost. I mean, you could have just interviewed Mike Exner, Mark Dickinson, and Pete Foley. Hell, you had them right there. I would have loved to hear their theories about what happened.
Angelyne (2022)
Not Sure I Understand The Negative Reviews
The negative reviews seem to be from people upset about the topic of the series, rather than the series itself. I thought it was excellent. Who knew Emmy was a character actor? She really blew me away. I kept forgetting it was her. I don't think she could have picked a better project with which to follow up her time on Shameless. Brilliant career move.
The Gilded Age (2022)
Don't Be Silly
Some of these reviews are a little comical. Do you really think we want to watch a bunch of people walking amongst piles of garbage and holding their noses to shield themselves from each others' stench? I'll forsake a little historical accuracy in exchange for something pleasurable to watch. If I want to see 100% historical accuracy about the era, I'll watch a documentary.
Downton Abbey wasn't always historically accurate either nor did it always depict relationships between the classes as they likely were back then. Who cares? It makes for a good story. I enjoyed Downton Abbey and have enjoyed the first season of The Gilded Age, particularly the season finale. I'm very much looking forward to Season 2.
How to Become a Tyrant (2021)
Well-Done Series
The Trump implication is definitely there even if they don't mention him by name. They absolutely took pains to draw the parallels. I'm sure he was the main impetus for creating such a series.
Also, to the idiot who said they just swapped out the words "Biden" and "Democrats" for "Hitler," that's the opposite of a tyrant, genius. Tyrants lead by creating a cult of personality: "I, ALONE, can fix it." Sound familiar?
Mare of Easttown: Illusions (2021)
Oh Please
This review contains spoilers. Just so you know...
The bad reviews are from Evan Peters fans. The end.
The Report (2019)
Now That I've Gotten My Political Rant Out of the Way...
I posted a review earlier to a particular reviewer who dismissed this as "liberal propaganda." Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'd like to review the movie itself.
I don't see how anyone can call this story partisan or "liberal." The investigation was ordered by a Democrat. That fact is inescapable so you're going to hear the story from that point of view. Aside from that fact, I found the story to be quite fair and equally critical of both Republican and Democratic administrations, as well as equally favorable of certain Republican and Democratic Senators. It also provides a pretty solid argument for both perspectives: those who approved of the "advanced interrogation techniques" and those opposed. This movie was about the events, the subsequent investigation, and how certain people across two administrations responded to it. Political leanings are irrelevant. I thought the film did a great job of drawing that line.
The pace of the film was quite good given the administrative and paperwork-heavy nature of the 7-year investigation on which it's based. The torture scenes were uncomfortable to watch as they should be; a stark reminder of what "enhanced interrogation techniques" actually means.
I also found the acting superb. Levine as Brennan and Bening as Feinstein were particularly stellar. And I feel like I'm the only one who likes Adam Driver these days but I thought he was the perfect choice to play Daniel Jones. The passion, intensity and righteous indignation he brought to the role made me feel the same frustration I imagine Jones must have felt.
This is an important story regardless of your political beliefs. I think it's worth a watch, especially if you're unfamiliar with how the events unfolded and why there was such a fundamental disagreement at the time between opponents and proponents of the practice.
The Murder of Laci Peterson (2017)
Bunk
The three most compelling pieces of evidence were completely ignored. You can argue all you want that, based on what you saw in this series, he didn't receive a fair trial or was "convicted by the media" but you'd be fooling yourself. The jury had more information than the media ever did.
First, as others have pointed out, Scott had already told Amber that he'd "lost" Laci. Laci was a month away from giving birth. How was Scott going to get around that? He'd started planning a future with Amber - how was he going to manage that? If he proceeded to divorce Laci, he'd still have his baby to contend with whether that be in the form of visitation, child support payments, or even brief discussions with Laci to discuss care plans. Once that baby was born, he'd be tied to Laci whether he wanted to be or not so his only choice would be to come clean with Amber. Do you think Amber would have stayed with him after learning he'd not only lied about being married but also about his wife's death? Do you think Scott was willing to take that chance knowing he wasn't even willing to come clean to her when he was at a vigil for his missing wife and unborn son?
But even more importantly - perhaps most importantly - witnesses testified that the night before Laci's disappearance, Scott said he intended to go golfing the next morning. In fact, when first questioned by police, his alibi WAS that he had been golfing - an attempt to separate himself from the marina and the body of water in which her & Conner's bodies would eventually be discovered. When he was placed at the marina by the police, he confessed that he'd made the last-minute decision THAT morning to go fishing. BUT on December 20th - four days before the disappearance - he purchased a 2-day fishing license good for the 23rd and 24th only. So until the morning of the 24th, he had every intention of golfing but, on a whim, decided to go fishing instead, using the conveniently pre-purchased fishing license he'd obtained 4 days prior for ONLY two days, one of which just happened to be this day. Then he drove three hours to the marina, fished for an hour, and drove three hours back. On Christmas Eve. And then lied to police about it.
The witness sightings were also proven false or mistaken. Police received more than 80 tips regarding sightings of Laci in various areas around the city the morning she went missing. Clearly, 80 people did not see Laci that morning. The "witnesses" featured in this tripe of a series either couldn't recall the actual day they saw her and/or got the weather conditions wrong when describing their sighting. They were, in fact, so unreliable, that the defense declined to call even one of them to the stand. But now they're credible enough to be interviewed for this series??
This doesn't even TOUCH the other evidence regarding the missing cement, the anchors, Scott showing up at the marina in various rental cars to watch the police investigation, Laci's DNA being found on a boat she didn't even know about, and Scott being found near the border with dyed hair & a large sum of cash in his car.
Shame on you A&E. Do better.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Very entertaining! Clancy fans need to chill
JHC, stop taking tv so seriously. No, it's not a replica of your precious Jack Ryan novels. So TF what? I can't stand people who complain when something doesn't mimic their beloved books or characters perfectly. Imagine being so cynical that you can't sit back and enjoy a show as entertaining as this one because you can't look past your narrow view of what a story or character should be. Sheesh, relax and enjoy, for God's sake.
And for anyone considering watching this who HASN'T based his or her entire opinion of entertainment on how closely a show follows a book or set of characters, watch the damn show. You'll enjoy it.
The Lost World (1999)
It's Not THAT Bad
I was lucky enough to discover this series during a repeat episode from its third season. The writing was immensely improved in the second and third seasons compared to the sluggish, corny, and mostly humorless first one. The banter between the characters is much more natural in the later two seasons and O'Dell's acting improves dramatically - seriously, it's an instant improvement between the last episode of S1 and the first of S2. But by the time I finished watching the third season repeats, I didn't care either way. I now watch the first season with as much enjoyment as the others because the characters are so endearing. If you judged the series by an episode you saw from the first season, give it another shot with a later season's episode before throwing in the towel for good.
It's not for everyone but for sci-fi lovers like me who are willing to suspend reality in order to become immersed in a good story, it's quite enjoyable. Who cares if they fire too many bullets in a world where gunpowder is in short supply? Who cares if the dinosaurs look fake? Who cares if the land seems too vast for the amount of literal space it might take up geographically? It's a mystical plateau... with dinosaurs. I think you've pretty much steamrolled over the confines of reality right there. And, as a side note, if I saw a dinosaur coming at me, you can bet your a** I'd fire as many bullets as humanly possible - to hell with the rations.
Relax, free your over-analytical mind and enjoy the fun.
Grey's Anatomy: Song Beneath the Song (2011)
Hmmm....
Let me start by saying their voices are SOO phenomenal - who knew so many of these talented actors were also beautiful singers?? They even sung well together which is not always easy or even possible depending on the voices - so I can totally see the producers' temptation to do an episode like this.
That said, I wish they had showcased them differently. This was a super important and emotional episode, and the singing was simply distracting. I would have preferred the music to have served as a soundtrack to the episode, sung by the cast but in the background during musical montages. Maybe they could have had an accompanying video after the episode so you could see who sung which parts or something.
But Hunt breaking into song in the middle of Callie's life-saving surgery was just too hard to get past.
American Horror Story: Monsters Among Us (2014)
Soooo Good
This might be the best AHS season so far! Twisty the clown and Lange's rendition of "Life on Mars" are reason enough for me to keep watching. I think it shows plenty of promise for good scares and entertainment - like any horror story should.
For those who venture to call the show "vile", I urge you to consider The Exorcist, It, The Walking Dead, and Sons of Anarchy just for starters. AHS is no more disturbing than any of those shows/movies.
What they are doing here is not new or shocking . . . it's just interesting. And I'm glad the FX Network agrees with me, not you, so I can continue to enjoy it!