Change Your Image
randishme
Reviews
The Morning Show (2019)
I was expecting to hate this show
When I saw that AppleTV made a show about a show I thought it would me more like a close up view on how the cable news networks cook up their fake news. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that it is a serious and amusing show about how real people behave in the show making industry. In the first season they model the plot line after the Today Show. Aniston is Katie Couric or someone like her and Steve Carrell is Matt Lauer. Martin Short plays Harvey Weinstein and Billy Cruddup plays Zucker. Marcia Gay Harden plays Maggie Haberman of the NYT and so forth. There's even the button in Carrell's dressing room that shuts and locks his door from the desk like Matt Lauer had at NBC. What I like most about the show is that it shows all sides of the me-too issue as there is a continuum of inappropriate work place behavior that so many people participate in. How do you meet someone new when all you do is work? They take it seriously and that's important. Aniston has become a much better actress than her Rom Com movies make her out to be and Witherspoon is always a good actress. I've only watched the first season but I am very grateful that there is no mention of our national political divide. They barely get political and I'm thankful for that. Bravo to Apple for making such good programming. I'm happy to pay for it.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
A most interesting time
This movie was made while Angelina was still married to Billy Bob and Brad to Jennifer Aniston. Both were cheating though Angelina was at least separated. Ironically Vince Vaughn is in the movie and he became Jennifer's first boyfriend after divorcing Brad. The best part about the movie is the chemistry between Brad and Angelina. The premise is absurd but the movie is mostly just fun. Sadly their marriage also failed so I suppose that is the Hollywood way and this movie now stands as a marker between relationships for all involved. Ironically everyone mentioned is now divorced except for Vaughn who wisely steered clear of marrying an actress.
For All Mankind (2019)
Rewriting history
This series is an ideological dream for progressives. If only they could rewrite history and erase all of the actual struggles women experienced in order to arrive where we are today. It is an insult to women to think that only if Ted Kennedy had become president instead of Jimmy Carter we would have fast forwarded to the passage of the equal rights amendment and jumped over the decades of being called honey on the job. It isn't enough that we are actually running the world today. At first I thought this series was a novel idea because who knows where we would be today if we hadn't switched space exploration for the shuttle program. It is an interesting idea to contemplate. Unlike most ideas though this should have been a movie to summarize and conjecture about how much further ahead mankind would be if we'd kept at it. I couldn't get through the entire first season because erasing my entire adult experience as a woman in the work place was a bad idea and didn't feel right. Perhaps a younger person would like it but I lived through those years and want to honor the journey.
Defending Jacob (2020)
If it quacks like a duck
This series goes out of its way to make you believe one way and then leaves you more or less empty at the end. I am going to read the book now because commenters/reviewers have said the ending is different in the book and the ending of the series was a disappointment. One thing that is both sad and a commentary on life today is how stupid the high IQ child named Jacob is. Even though he tests as a highly intelligent he is as dumb as a rock and wants people to think he is guilty in order to gain attention or popularity among his peers. Social media is ruining people who would otherwise do well in life and that's why I gave the series the rating I did. It was the one good point that was well done. The rest of the series is a did-he or didn't-he series that fizzles out.
Victoria (2016)
Mishmash of history and what wish we it was
According to this series Victoria was all about girl power when she became Queen. The poor women who lived during her reign were telling each other not to marry or give up their power to a man. It's absurd because women were considered a man's property and responsibility back then. If you weren't married and pregnant your place in society was on the fringe. Women couldn't get a good job nor could they vote or carry a conversation amongst men. We don't like that today so we're very busy rewriting history to make it different so we can feel good about it. That's why I don't like this series. It's fluffy. Charles Dickens was very busy writing about being poor in London during this dreary time in history but you barely see any of that here. Also the Victorian era was known for its prudishness but they don't even allude to it in the series. I really wanted to see the real history of the era but came away disappointed so skip this if you want an accurate portrait of Victoria and the era.
McMillions (2020)
Hilarious
This is a story of a group of fraudsters who blame one guy for their crimes. Because there was someone in a position to enable this fraud operation a bunch of people got very wealthy and took no responsibility for their action. The group members were made to share 12% of their ill gotten gains with the man who helped them each steal a million dollars. You the viewer is supposed to feel sorry for the criminals because they had stress after stealing a million dollars from McDonald's. That's hilarious and tragic. Not one of the thieves spent a day behind bars. The man who helped facilitated the fraud did go to prison for a short sentence. There's never a been a better time to steal in America. It's practically legal now.
The Vow (2020)
Self help cult
At its core Nxivm was a group of extraordinarily insecure people who were in search of a purpose. They were lead by a short chubby guy who's charisma doesn't translate on film. I saw him as creepy and unattractive but sometimes you have to be there to feel the pull. The guy, Keith Reniere was unsuccessful as a man building a traditional life with a career and family so he used his innate skills as a manipulative schemer to build various pyramid schemes that ended with the sex cult DOS. The series spent a whole lot of time trying to convince the viewers that anyone could fall for this scam but I didn't buy it. That's why I only give the series 7 stars. I liked learning more about who the cult leader was but in the end it looks just like Scientology though that cult has been much more successful than Nxivm was. Funny that they compare themselves to Scientology by saying that Scientology is a cult but they aren't. At least the key members finally came out and admitted they belonged to a cult. I would read a memoir by Alison Mack should she ever come to her senses and write one.
Lost Girls (2020)
Searching for a point
This movie was made more than 10 years after these murders took place in Suffolk County NY. They were never solved and the police are portrayed as lazy and stupid. The girls were all prostitutes so nobody cared that they all disappeared and were later discovered murdered. I watched about 75% of the film and could still see no point in continuing since all of the murders remain unsolved to this day. With 10 dead bodies the FBI never appears to lend a hand and the police bumble along solving nothing. Amy Ryan did a good job and is the only reason I watched at all.
Halftime (2022)
I don't dislike JLo
Jennifer Lopez is a product. She isn't a singer or actress even though she thinks she is. She is a celebrity who was carefully packaged for public consumption. If she was a real singer, you'd hear her sing a ballad once in a while. If she was an actress, she'd have success outside of the romantic comedy category. She is a dancer and a celebrity. When you you think of her, you always think of how she starts her next relationship before exiting her current one. Remember how fast she married Marc Anthony after breaking up with Ben? She got back with Ben at the exact time she admitted her breakup with A Rod. She is afraid to be alone and that's sad. She has been extremely successful though and that is the only reason to watch this documentary.
Tenet (2020)
For a minute I just listened
This isn't a movie review. Rather it's a revelation about the moment I wasn't watching and just listened to the dialogue. I could've sworn that I heard Denzel Washington's voice and so I looked at who was playing the principal role and realized it was Denzel's son. I didn't know he had a son who was an actor. I'm impressed by his acting skills and was heartened by how identical his voice is to his his father. A new Hollywood dynasty.
Night Sky (2022)
I was convinced I was waiting for a good reveal
I was very disappointed that after 7 hours and 55 minutes all we get is a 30 second visual of something that we don't even know what it is. If not for the good acting of Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons, I would be angry. I hung in there and the story just never advanced from from the first episode reveal of a backyard portal that takes this elderly couple to another planet. There's some other story lines about the portal because there is more than one portal on earth. These stories also lead nowhere with absolutely no movement. Mysterious guy is mysterious guy. You get nothing about him except he is naive and gets in trouble. The mother daughter duo are mysterious and remain this way. Thankfully I only wasted 8 hours of my time. This series should not have such a high rating. For similar entertainment on Prime check out Outer Range. Much better and while you don't get the whole story in season 1 at least you want to see season 2 to find out more.
One Tree Hill: Touch Me I'm Going to Scream: Part I (2008)
On watching a second time
I watched this back when it first aired and everyone wanted to know who Lucas called to get married. At the time I was also interested to know but watching to now more than 10 years later I see that Lucas went from 'I don't hate you' to 'will you marry me' in one scene. In fact, the entire previous season Lucas couldn't stand to be near Peyton. So as much as Lucas and Peyton are my favorite OTH couple, the build up for their reconciliation was poorly done.
Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan (2021)
If you believe that multiple personality disorder is real...
Why would anyone believe the monster personality is the 'interloper' and the good guy is 'the real personality? If this guy really had a monster raping young women inside him then that guy needs to serve time in prison. It is way too convenient to blame an alter ego that isn't really you. These crimes happened right around the same time Sybil was published. Sybil was an abused women who had this disorder. She wasn't committing crimes though so it is more believable. In 2022 the world is full of the mentally ill functioning in society. When sick people commit crimes, they need to go to prison to pay for their crimes. All prison systems have mental health professionals these days so getting treatment while serving time is sadly the norm.
The Night House (2020)
So slow
The description of the movie said there's a house set in the woods. The house is on a lake. The house isn't creepy and the only reason anyone would feel tension while watching is because of the music. I was easily nodding off before the movie was half over. Like Rebecca Hall and think if she had better material, this could have been a good movie. Instead the story was silly and lacked both complexity and a gripping storyline.
Predestination (2014)
The ultimate twisty story
It seems like anything you say about this movie will give away an enjoyable moment of the film. Ethan Hawke does a great job with this role in every incarnation of the moment. It is a very clever plot that is easy to follow so even if you watch it a second time, it still fascinates.
Lucy's Really Lost Moments (1956)
Lucy and Desi play Lucy and Ricky playing Lucy and Desi
I found this to be historically interesting. Lucy and Desi alternately played their characters and themselves. They were so professional that you cannot tell that they were just months away from their divorce and Lucy's remarriage to Gary Morton. They mentioned that I Love Lucy was getting 50 million viewers per episode with less than half of the current population. No programming today gets that many viewers. Lucy and Desi appealed to everyone. The show they put on for the public was obviously not who they were. I think Lucille Ball was not subservient to Desi. She helped make him successful and was the driver of the ship.
Nine Perfect Strangers (2021)
It took me a while to decide how much I liked this series
In the first few episodes I felt this was a kind of Homecoming story because the plots seemed similar but that changed and the story became tenser and I was up and down through to the end. I recently spent time with a millennial who has a lot of experience with all of these psychedelic drugs so my opinion on them today is different than if I had watched this even a year ago. The writers make a lot of good points by discussing how unhealthy drugs are even when prescribed by a physician. People have been helped by taking psychedelics dating back thousands of years. Many indigenous cultures used these drugs to treat spiritual issues and that's really what they did here. While it felt unsafe at times, life feels that way too. The main complaint I have is that the producers tried to fool viewers into believing that was California. We don't have banyan trees here. The cast was exceptional and the story was complex enough to hold my attention all the way through.
Dexter: New Blood (2021)
I already miss Dexter again
I usually get a sense about how something will turn out but I didn't guess it here. Dexter is the consummate survivor and these writers are the best at keeping the tension of Dexter Morgan alive one hour at a time. The episodes are always tightly packed with detail, tense moments and excitement to see the next episode. Sadly it's over now but what a great ride. The cast was great. They found the perfect kid to play Harrison and by the end you may be asking yourself if Harrison came to town to do what he did. You don't get the answer to that question and that's okay. Clancy Brown was amazing as usual. And the white deer was magnificent in episode 1.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
When we rewrite history it is bad for everyone
This film accurately portrays how it was for Lucy and Desi all those years ago but it drops comments that only serve to confuse anyone who wants to know what happened and why. The plot point about Lucille registering as a communist did happen but the writers go on to say being a communist is like being a republican. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was behind the red scare, was a republican and anti-communist. So being a republican was nothing like being a communist. Republicans were in control of the government as Eisenhower was president. They were rabidly anti-communist and everyone, including democrats were indoctrinated to hate communism. Why confuse young people when most are uninformed about the most basic historical facts? During the 1950's everyone was uptight. That's just how it was so let's not take every possible opportunity to rag on people's political views. There are many more accurate ways to defame your political rivals than to make things up. Keep in mind the Cuban community, to this day, are heavily republican.
Planet of the Humans (2019)
This documentary set out to prove that renewable energy works
People need to understand that Michael Moore produced this film. They wanted to show how renewable energy works and that these forms of energy will replace fossil fuels. What they found is that wind and solar both depend on fossil fuels and that they cannot work without them. It also showed that when these renewable forms of energy fail, they need fossil fuels as a backup. Those are just plain facts and if we start there then we may come up with a better form of energy someday to replace fossil fuels. Since we aren't going to start by acknowledging the truth about wind and solar then we will fail in our endeavors to eliminate fossil fuels. Now I'm wondering if big oil and gas aren't the people selling wind and solar since they know these two renewables rely upon fossil fuels. Sadly the larger a mob gets, the dumber they are because they must appeal to even the dumbest among them.
Criminal Minds: The Wheels on the Bus... (2012)
Criminal Minds loses their own
Shows that last as long as this one are bound to have some bad episodes and possibly bad seasons. They lost their way during season 7 and then fizzled in season 8. Something bad happened in popular culture in 2012 generally speaking. It hasn't improved since. This is why I looked for an old TV show to watch but the closer it gets to today, the worse movies and TV have become. What's really surprising is that Joe Mantegna spoke the words in the script. I thought he had more integrity than that.
Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
He said he would never do stand up again
I wonder what it took for Netflix to get him to do this special? He talked about what a rough audience it is now due to the cancel culture trends. He felt there was very little he could joke about without offending someone. I commend him for setting boundaries and getting it done. People who don't understand him are young. I laughed out loud.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Surprisingly Good
I was not expecting to like this movie. I mean Linda, Arnold and James Cameron are all old now. I'm old too so that's not an insult. I couldn't imagine how they could make themselves relevant in a new Terminator movie but they did. They never explained how it was possible for Terminator to age but that's okay. I like the new characters and how it has roots in Mexico. It was modernized to include the features of today's surveillance state and gave a young actress a chance to create a strong female character. I would watch this movie again. It was that good and I never say that anymore.