claireaemcgee Reviews

Troop Zero (2019)

The shove-it-down-your-throat overly accepting crowd has arrived

[1/10 · 19 October 2020]

So bored of these films that go far out of the way to be "different" and just want everyone to overly praise people for being bizzare. Basically participation trophies and everyone wins. I'm not a normal person and don't fit any social norms either, never have been. But the idea of bending out of the way to be weird never suited me either.

You do you... but IRL if I saw a group of little girls pee themselves on purpose to dance around and compete on stage I'd most likely question their parents a bit, leave if possible, and be thankful I'm not stuck with them on the ride home. The poor girl would be embarrassed but anyone with any common sense or feeling would understand that she's a nervous little girl and it was a complete accident. That doesn't lend a whole group of girls the grand idea of purposely soiling themselves to make her feel ok.

I watched this when I visited family. We just looked around when it was over and agreed that it was such a dissapointing waste and were all thoroughly annoyed that the advertised cast duped us into thinking it could be a good film.

Let your freak flag fly but please don't try to soak it in pee and whip it in people's faces.

Utopia (2020)

"How much evil do you have to do good?"

[2/10 · 15 October 2020]

(Or something along the lines of that quote)

When Rainn/Mike responds "None.... None evil."

Lawd. I was trying sooo hard to be interested in the scene but the Dwightness of it just about killed me on my couch.

It's much too confused in the beginning and lost my attention. I backed up some scenes multiple times but would forget and after 3-4 rewinds I'd just let it keep playing. Finding it really hard to care or get invested in the story or characters. Possibly because they went straight out the door killing people quick and after the excessive killing the characters still don't create enough attachment to care.

Big Little Lies (2017–2019)

Makes absolutely zero sense.

[5/10 · 4 August 2020]

Only reason I give it 5 stars is because some of it was pretty great acting but let's think about it...

Celeste takes photos of the boys and Perry walks up and says something like "post those, everyone will love it".

This indicates that she's on social media... Jane wouldn't see her on social media? Somebody she's divulged deep secrets to? Frequents coffee and children's events with?

And Celeste wouldn't have any family photos with Perry?

Jane sees him and immediately recognizes him so why would she have missed him online?

Selling Sunset (2019– )

epitome of misery

[1/10 · 31 July 2020]

I wanted to see beautiful home designs... not scripted garbage and catty melodrama. Trashy people.

Hoarders (2009– )

Zero

[1/10 · 8 May 2020]

Fake AF. SERIOUSLY. We're supposed to believe people who recreate and/or film dogs chained inside a house filled with human excrement and dangerous debris after there's a psycho that's guilty and proven do be a child and animal abuser with footage of a "hoarder" with the same exact video quality. You filmed crazy amounts of abuse and weren't actively responding to the situation at hand? For s#!ts and giggles? Whether or not it reinacted falsely. It's kitschy bull s#!t. If you are tackling problems... good for you. This is highly edited garbage and false.

Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)

Way overhyped

[2/10 · 11 April 2020]

I've been trying hard to pay attention to it and suffer watching it to give it a fair chance but the constant brooding, smoking, near constant whispering (unless it's screaming very loudly about murdering a person) cut with SO MANY dramatic modern rock montages it just seems to downgrade the hardwork put behind so much of the art behind it (hair, costumes, makeup, set dec, etc). The story feels messy and tired. I find myself falling asleep or losing interest and have to rewind to find out I haven't missed anything that alters the narrative.

Hunters (2020–2023)

Can't stop feeling like I have ADHD

[1/10 · 17 March 2020]

Literally so hard and boring to watch. I've hit rewind countless times after I realize that it's become background noise (trying to make sense of the dragging storyline) only to get distracted again. I'm only on episode 5. *yawn* I know the actors tried to put a lot of effort into it but it was not worth it.

Treasures of Ancient Egypt (2014)

Watchable

[6/10 · 22 November 2019]

I learned a little bit more about Egyptian culture... but good gracious Alistair wore his overly pretentious descriptions of the artifacts straight into the ground.

Carnival Row (2019–2023)

Saw it while visiting a friend...

[1/10 · 23 October 2019]

She said we'll binge watch tv, snack, and drink wine. She fell asleep immediately. I struggled to stay awake, too (head bobbing). After 4 terribly boring episodes I still couldn't get on board with this trainwreck. It's sooo over done with the "ooh omg, just what I've always waited for" *feigns fainting* "steampunk fantasy" (what are you people, lil' bo sheep fan girls?)... way too ridiculous. Can't even believe they got the funding to shoot or air it. Blech. Complete garbage.

Downton Abbey (2019)

Dissapointing in a theater setting

[7/10 · 13 September 2019]

The theater experience ruined it for me. Maybe other people enjoy hearing other people chortle whenever there is a very contrived, predictable joke? I especially struggled to enjoy it with all the whales around me struggling to breathe and loudly, repeatedly insulting Cora for being "too old" and supposedly looking bad. I was ready to stand up and scream, "Have you seen yourself, you fat cow?! ...Struggling to sit in your seat without making gasseous noises everytime you move a millimeter!". Maybe I'm just used to binge watching the series snuggled up at home and not laboriously trying to ignore others. I just really don't feel this series is meant for a theater, I would've rather it ended the way it already had. Of course you can't fault the actors or the stunning cinematography. I just feel like Julian is milking it a bit too much. I struggled to stay awake near the end. I'll rewatch later without the cheering, clapping, and sitcom - audience laughter at every slight joke and hopefully enjoy it much more.

Flavorful Origins (2019– )

Why?

[1/10 · 3 September 2019]

Why is this guy's voice so annoying and awful? It's completely ruined it. There are SO many good voices out there for narration. Can't even get through it.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023)

Good, but...

[7/10 · 23 August 2019]

It isn't a comedy. She's supposed to come off as a comedian but none if her plights or jokes make me laugh. It's more of a drama experience of her trials and tribulations. It's watcheble, enjoyable, and well produced. It's fun to see the detail and effort put into makeup, wardrobe, and set decoration. Not sure if it's all accurate for the era (not alive then) but it is a valiant effort to recreate it. If you know how many people are behind the scenes at every second you watch any film production, your mind might explode. No one can fully grasp how much work goes in. The end game though... idk how they can end her story. Will she fall in love again and find a partner or have to stay a solo independent, strong woman? There aren't many options to where the story can progress. Honestly it's been a while and I've forgotten the ending to the last season.

Wanda Sykes: Not Normal (2019 TV Special)

Did she ever stop going on about Trump?

[1/10 · 12 June 2019]

Yes, everybody hates Trump. Anyone with functioning brain cells would wish he'd just cease to exist (or at the very least someone in his staff would smack him upside the head wih his phone and take his social media away). Trying to mine jokes and profit off of his stupidity is ancient, exhaustedand, and needs to go away (kind of like every Kardashian flooded news headline). I slowy drowsed off to sleep after a good maybe 30-40 min. Disappointed and thought Wanda would have funnier material. It really isn't funny ragging on Trump since it isn't a joke that he or any other corrupt idiots are in positions of power.

Spoiler: Old news.

Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (2019) Season 5, Episode 3

Refreshing our knowledge that Miley Cyrus is still a horrible actress

[1/10 · 8 June 2019]

Awful, just completely awful episode. To wait between seasons for this wad of garbage is just shameful.

Swiss Army Man (2016)

I was curious and REALLY wanted to like it.

[1/10 · 19 March 2019]

I've taken innumerable amounts of psychoactive drugs in my younger 20's. A little bit of shrooms, too much molly, but mostly LSD. Nothing to be proud of. I'm not sure how harder drugs work on people, I'm not willing to go there. This just didn't land well with me. It was just waaaay too much. I appreciate the entire crew trying to piece this together and make it watchable but it was too chaotic and the constant trying to be extra weird is over the top. I really don't know how Paul and Daniel got on board for this... Dan is supposedly sober now? Yikes. Hopefully after this movie. Art direction and cinematography is fine but the whole story and the incessant "dead" fart and boner gags really sets the whole project into a nose dive with no revival. The acting was suitable but I'll completely blame the writers for making it an impossible film.

Mayans M.C. (2018–2023)

With it's main appeal being a SOA spinoff...

[1/10 · 18 March 2019]

I wasn't expecting the same level of drama and what not. SOA was a way over dramatic hyped up fantasy of what it would be like to be in a "biker gang". Still, it gave emotional pull to some characters. Mayans just kind of throws you further into drama you have no idea about and things switch back and forth with tiny leaks of info, it's just bad story telling all around. Spinning way too far in too many directions. Even though I'm adequate in comprehending Spanish I was always too bored to listen and not invested enough to rewind. I can't even imagine trying to "stay tuned" after commercial breaks. I gave the first season a chance and watched the whole season but can't remember all the details. There's really no character to like and they went way to crazy with the split plots, too fast to enjoy anyone. And with the whole romantic history is Kurt Sutter really going to have EZ steal away his old chick from the kingpin after she aborted his baby and had another man's? She's going to go riches to complete rags? *yawn* fake news. I might glimpse season 2 if I'm insanely bored and have absolutely nothing else to do. I feel horrible for the actors getting handed this poor storyline and script and trying to puzzle together a complete mess.

Empire (2015–2020)

Lee Daniels

[1/10 · 11 March 2019]

I worked in film and only worked with this LOSER for a week and a half. He is completely not on this planet. He was rude AF, thoughtless, uncaring, racist, ageist, sexist. I got called "little girl" MANY times by him especially when he was pissing in public (in a downtown area) and drawing MORE attention to himself by repeatedly saying "don't look, don't look, little girl!" Like.. I NEVER WAS and certainly I don't want to see your junk. That's why it's a SEX OFFENDER crime to pull your nasty junk out in public to pee. He's an dramatic self absorbed LOSER. Jamal's character was "loosely" based off him. No wonder Jussie created his waaaay over the top hoax. Jussie has been in the industry for his whole life and can't even see straight. No one with any functioning brain cells would believe you're going out for wallgreens or subway at 2AM in the freezing cold with a death threat on your head and got recognized and attacked by guys equipped with a noose, bleach, and saying this is maga country... in CHICAGO. Dumb AF. He is so out of reality and sadly probably going to get off on the charges. Lock that boy up at the VERY least in a mental hospital. OH. And the narcissist TERRENCE HOWARD can get lost, too. Anyone who puts his hands on a woman like he has deserves a true beating in jail. As a survivor of domestic violence, these punks deserve to get smacked. Especially Jussie and hopefully he won't have pay for it. No way those men gave you a scratch on your cheek.

Everything Sucks! (2018)

I want to see more!

[9/10 · 10 March 2019]

So unfair this was cancelled. The young actors were ridiculously talented. This story could've gone so much further.

After Life (2019–2022)

Ricky Gervais won a fan.

[10/10 · 10 March 2019]

This was the most star studded event with great dry humor and anyone who has been through heaps of absolute crap in life can relate. It hits hard in a sarcastic sense that makes us that have suffered similar losses feel validated and can borderline laugh at for being acknowledged while still instigating care for more characters, no matter how obscure. I'm a bit more trusting of Ricky Gervais after his dark humor in "The Invention of Lying" and "Derek", I haven't investigated many more of his works but am certainly willing to now. This series is brilliant. Depressing, albeit very realistic, the script delivers things that have blown my mind and wanted to scream and show people for ages without ever being able to. I hate to imagine the pains he's been through in life to come from a deep place and be able to articulate such expressions in film. My heart is completely scrambled from my life experiences.

Leaving Neverland (2019)

You gotta be kidding me...

[1/10 · 9 March 2019]

Not even an hour in his mother deserves to be party to a crime for soliciting her son for sex and locked up. She's absolutely disgusting, how can she get on camera and incriminate herself like that? "Oh it was sooo wonderful and and there was a beautiful wine cellar and champagne that I really enjoyed and such beautiful suites and cooks and such superstardom... I was just so naieve and starstruck.... I just allowed him to sleep with my son every night." Get bent B---h! NO grown a$$ man would be sleeping with my child. She's pimping her son out to a pedophile and admitting to it.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Many things that no one approves of...

[10/10 · 4 March 2019]

I value and admire the work of the actors and for the period of time it was shot in, it is uncharacteristically insurmountable. The fact that it is still watchable as a drama and obviously not soaked in realism. It's still a strong standing film with obviously flawed characters that carry the drama well. Everything about the story is horrific, but it is still a story told well as a watchable piece.

Sometimes in April (2005 TV Movie)

Powerful, heartbreaking movie

[10/10 · 3 March 2019]

Just absolutely terrifying that people are willing to do this to others. There is no valid reason or point to subject others to such horror and pain. I can't imagine the fear and lasting rippled affects that this had in Rwanda. From the perspective of a survivor I would never again be at peace if my family was slaughtered.

Everything Sucks! (2018)

Should've gotten a further chance

[9/10 · 2 March 2019]

While the whole everyone's got to be gay themed cinema has worn very thin, this was entertaining and watchable (Sorry - not sorry against a popular opinion. Zero homophobia here just tired of the same narrative in media). I wanted to see the characters develop and I definitely got emotionally invested in the show. Worth a watch and I would definitely have liked to see it continue. Talented kids that are capturing the awkwardness of coming of age that never loved in that era. The 90's throwbacks aren't lost on this viewer.

Safe (2018)

Huge flaws

[2/10 · 1 March 2019]

It would take a lot of effort to find a school with a camera when her mum was that age and for her to find a VCR... "Do you have a VHS player for your dad's old porn tapes?" *yaaaaaawn* 2 stars because I finished the 1 season. The actors and picture are fine but the story falls through on so many levels.

Mayans M.C. (2018–2023)

Awful

[1/10 · 1 March 2019]

Really no one to care about. The blah-dee-blah comparison to SOA was the only selling point to get viewers in but it's a flat, boring tale. SOA was a one-off with unrealistic amounts of melodrama and loads shock tactics to keep viewers wondering what incredulous act is next. The spinoff is boring and tired. All of the drama in SOA can't be recycled and the whole show was just *yawn*. I had to struggle very hard to finish the whole first season to give it a viable chance. I feel bad for the actors involved in this, I know they're trying to make it work but it just doesn't. You can't sell a spinoff without mentally linking it to it's origins and I hoped it could stand well on it's own but all expectations were dashed and it grew more uncomfortable to sit through.