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crabby516
Reviews
All the Light We Cannot See (2023)
Huge, huge disappointment.
I waited for years for this story to become a series. I found the book to be a fantastic tale told in a way to see both sides of a story. The struggles and triumphs of the two young characters exemplified how courageous people can be in extraordinary circumstances. The series missed this completely. Primarily because it was a glorification of bad stereotypes that should have been removed from films and television years ago. Releasing a series set in occupied France and not using the language of the setting gives this production a cheap and almost satirical feel. Mark Ruffalo gave a fantastic performance. Young Marie and teenage Werner were excellent characters performed by skillful actors. They certainly captured the spirit of the book behind a disappointing adaptation.
Neumatt (2021)
Hit and Miss
I really enjoyed Season One. It was different and fresh. Season two I found much less interesting and very unbelievable. Frankly it seemed like an attack on Swiss women. Nearly every female character behaved in unrealistic ways. The main character Michi was constantly cleaning up the messes of others and getting no support from anyone. The Regula character is a farce. It is a shameful representation of supposedly a Swiss woman in business. The character is truly a bad caricature. Ironically on the writing team for this series there is only one episode written by a Swiss woman. Not sure what the message is supposed to be there.
The Watcher (2022)
Poorly-written. Over-acted. Under-directed.
I'm a huge fan of Ryan Murphy's productions but this was painfully pitiful. A collection of wonderful actors completely misused. Mia Farrow was the only bright spot in this ludicrous story. There were twists for the sake of twists, and inconsistencies for the sake of inconsistencies. Every character was a caricature and left me wondering why the actors chose to do this. However, if it were advertised as a parody then it wouldn't be so bad. Producers seem to be loosely basing their productions on true stories with hopes of connecting to an audience with the most basic primal need of curiosity. The Watcher was ridiculous and an embarrassment. True, I wasn't obligated to watch the entire series but I continued to hold out hope that the magnificent cast would save this show from itself. Didn't happen.
A Kid Like Jake (2018)
Challenging Perspective
I'm surprised at the number of reviews complaining that the character of Jake doesn't get enough screen time. As a non-parent I was glad to see that this story focuses on a set of parents that truly cannot see what the world including Jake can see. I think the writing and performances allowed me to grasp what it must be like to be a parent and be deaf and blind to others' (unsolicited and solicited) opinions. As with any parents' story this showed their strengths and weaknesses. Definitely worth watching.
The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012)
Let's take a decent story delivered by horrible acting and directing and stretch it out for 3 hours.
We hung in until the end hoping the end justified the means. It absolutely did not. This series was filled with over-acting, over-directing and over-dramatizing. The only highlights were some of the child actors delivered good performances with some thought-provoking lines.