Change Your Image
danagailbowman
Reviews
Good Grief (2023)
A beautiful film
This is a beautiful film that people are not giving it the credit it deserves because it's not a hetro romance story. The writing is fantastic, the acting superb, the storyline probes deep emotions and difficult subjects. Visually it is quite artistic. Lots of gorgeous artwork in the backgrounds. Personally I didn't really understand the purpose of the female friend of Marcus's character. She was so over the top with the self centred behavior. Dan Levi was superb, as always. I'm super sad that this film is not getting the credit, great reviews and praise it deserves. Give this really well written and acted film a chance. Dan Levi is underrated.
Reptile (2023)
Why the title, "Reptile"??
Solid acting, great story line. That being said, it was WAY longer than needed with a few elements that made zero sense or impact on the story. Finally, why give it this title, have a scene with a snake skin and then leave reptiles totally out of the story line? It was super fun to see Alicia Silverstone again and even better to see Benicio Del Toro in front of the camera instead of behind it. Only recently discovered that Justin Timberlake could act after seeing "Palmer" so this was confirmation that it wasn't a one off. Enjoyed it very much but next time leave the excessively long scenes on the editing room floor and either get a better title or incorporate it into the film.
The Pharmacist (2020)
Blame anyone
Seriously?? WTF is up with this weird father that he actually TAPED his wife crying and mourning the loss of her son?! I get that as a parent anyone would be destroyed by the loss of their child. I get that needing to assign blame is important to any parent who had no clue about what their children were really doing. That being said, I am SO sick of people blaming everyone except the addict for their behavior. People with chronic pain conditions now have to literally BEG for prescriptions for pain relief because Doctors are terrified of being labelled enablers. 100% true that many, many Doctors let greed blind them to people with drug seeking behavior and those Doctor's should be sanctioned and punished. However, people also need to face that their loved one made choices and those choices are what led to the final outcome.
Will Trent (2023)
Well acted, well written...sadly that likely means it won't last
I totally love this series. It's quirky, a bit eclectic, with interesting plot lines investigating the failings of the child protective programs. The unique look at the challenges that people with dyslexia face was interesting, if, perhaps, not very accurate. The idea of a law enforcement officer facing addiction challenges openly and with support is refreshing even if it isn't very realistic. The "cases" are interesting even if they really are only asides from the main story of the central characters.
Sadly, most of the shows that are intelligent and thought provoking never seem to last so I won't be surprised to see it cancelled after one season.
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
An Upgraded Hallmark Movie
The only thing that keeps this from being an absolute yawner is the acting. The main character, Kya, is convincingly portrayed, her lawyer is spot on, the shop keepers believable, the hillbilly boys that come out to take advantage of her do a good job, and so on. Biggest complaint is the wardrobe and make up. PLEASE!! She lives in a swamp and is barely surviving but somehow has clothing that is always spotless (without running water or washing/drying appliances) and often white that is completely form fitting?! Come on! Plus her hair is perfect and always shiny and clean despite not having indoor plumbing, or one would assume, ever having been to a hair dresser or owning styling products. She wears makeup with no clue how she could have gotten it.
The Fabelmans (2022)
Horrible screw ups in editing
I love Spielberg, that being said, this is not his finest work. I have no idea who the editing staff was, or if Spielberg bothered to watch the film before release but ugh! First there is the glaring issue of how young Sam has blue eyes and older Sam has dark brown eyes; I mean that's a beginner's error. Then we have these gaping holes, like where Sam's mother's mom was when she got sick. She was in the beginning of the movie and then just sort of vanished only to appear again when they lived in Arizona and she should have been in New Jersey?? And if she was in New Jersey, why was there a Shiva held at their home in Arizona and why on earth did the Uncle show up at their house and how did he even find them? The monkey; where did it go? Any many do many more. The story is disjointed, confusing and overlong.
Inventing Anna (2022)
Ugh that "accent".
Julia Garner should never have tried to put on an accent when she was horrific at it. I loved Anna Chlumsky and was pleased to see her in this project. Fun show over all.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Such a huge miss!
Nicole Kidman does a convincing job as Lucille Ball (though she is too old for the time period being covered) but Javier Bardem is so far removed from Desi Arnaz it's pretty sad. The miscasting of Vivian Vance's character is confusing - she should be older than Lucille Ball, not almost 2 decades younger and frankly, the actress they cast is far too "cute". WAY too much focus on the non event of Ball being accused of communism and not nearly enough focus on the pioneers that both Ball and Arnez were in the world of filming television, re-runs, and most importantly; not a SINGLE word was said about how Lucille Ball is THE reason that Star Trek even exists today. If more time was spent looking at the careers of both these legends it could have been a great movie instead of this mediocre one.
Rooting for Roona (2020)
What a horror show
This poor little girl would have been cared for and given surgery so much faster if she was not a girl. The fact the mother says her brother hits her, a completely captive and not able to move human being, and laughs about it says everything. They delayed surgery for over a year for what??
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Great movie with amazing Actors and horrible sound track.
When Actors are doing an amazing job it is neither necessary, or positively impactful to have dirges and dark opera soundtracks. Ugh, it was distracting and annoying.
Perry Mason (2020)
Essentially a character assassination of the real Perry Mason character.
This show should be headlined as a crime against the Erl Stanley Gardner books, and the Perry Mason television/movies that were based on those books. Perry Mason was a smart, classy, and tough attorney with a loyal investigator and smart as whip secretary. This "Perry Mason"; I use quotations because it is only in name that this show has anything to do with Perry Mason, is crude, crass, disrespectful to Della Street, and pretty much a total loser.
Shame on HBO, the writers, the directors, the producers, and so on, for taking an iconic character and eviscerating him.
October Faction (2020)
Horrible casting and over the top PC
I slogged through all the episodes hoping it would get better; it doesn't. From the obligatory PC "messages" about white privilege to the must include same sex relationships, this may as well be called a "Netflix not original PC message". The "parents" are supposed to be 35 and are played by people almost 50, the "17 year old twins" are closer to the age the parents are supposed to be (or at least look like they are). The monsters were the only group that seems to have been cast with any thought. Totally had potential to be an awesome show and destroyed by crap casting and PC BS.