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dissipatedfog
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Botched: Human Dolls (2014)
Work on your attitude (doctors)
Both of the women in the episode were victims of bad plastic surgeons. Obviously they are skittish about going back in for surgery, but they have had their bodies mutilated and don't have a choice. Both doctors complained that their patients weren't grateful enough or had a bad attitude, responding to the patient's first reaction to their surgery results. How about they be allowed time to heal physically and emotionally, and see the final results and then decide whether or not they're grateful? Especially the woman who had already gone through six nose surgeries from a car accident injury, the one thing she wanted was for a symmetrical shape and it didn't appear that way and her doctor got snippy with her because she wasn't telling him his great he was. This is the first episode I've ever seen, and very likely the last. These doctors are brats who don't seem to get that they have to make the patient comfortable, not the other way around. I didn't think either woman was outrageous, they were both reacting with the pain of their previous procedures hanging over their heads.
Telemarketers (2023)
The really scary stuff is in episode 3
The police unions being part of this is bad enough, but at least there are laws that offer some regulation. They can't legally say they are police, they have to say they are paid callers and they have to reveal what percentage of the donation will actually go to the police charities. But the calls made for PACs, political action committees, don't have to follow ANY of these rules because it's political and protected by the first amendment (somehow? I guess you can lie, which tracks in politics).
The AI robo calls that use recordings of former employers to make the calls are scary. The filmmakers got a robo call from somebody they used to work with - who had been dead for a year. But it was his voice, his name and they had a "conversation" that I don't think I would have pegged for AI, mainly because I didn't know they were doing this. I think I'd recognize one now, so I learned something.
New Amsterdam: Family (2022)
Max's messes (that do help a bit)
So Max prescribes something for a patient that he barely spoke to and didn't examine. Later the man ends up in a bad way due to the prescription and Max has to help fix the problem he created which makes him late to meet Helen's mom, at a lunch HE wanted. This is after he was stealing from Helen's clinic because he wanted help others but couldn't find a job. He didn't have a job because Helen fired him because he made the clinic a disaster by trying to "help" but mainly just made things worse. And yet people are complaining that Helen has changed. Of course she did, she now has to take care of Max and deal with his destructive acts of what he sees as heroism.
Max helps the way children do. It's so sweet and often includes some positive outcomes, but he leaves a wake of destruction behind him that others have to clean up. He never learns and doesn't seem to care about the negative consequences enough to consider what could happen ahead of time. Sure he gives that puppy dog look and acts sorry afterwards, but that's childish if he never changes his methods. He also tries to help people without asking them what help they need, which means he's made it about himself and not those he says he's helping. I was so happy when in season 3 (2?) Helen gave him the speech about being the white savior who doesn't listen and only does what he thinks is heroic. He seemed receptive at the time but his behavior didn't change. Honestly, at this point I'm starting to hate-watch NA.
New Amsterdam: Paid in Full (2021)
Do better Max
I'm liberal, I agree with most of Max's ideas even though the execution of those ideas is sometimes lousy. But where was his head in this one?
The way he interacts with Dr. Fuentes about the ransom shows how he just expects things to work out so he doesn't pay attention to details. I knew she was only promising to ask the HCC for the money, but he assumed that she'd promised to fix it because that's what he wanted to hear so he wasn't really listening, a Max Goodwin special.
Then his fix for the layoffs? This man talks about being an ally but decides to save the jobs of his mostly white friends, all of whom have high salaries and instead chooses to lay off mostly people of color who are paid less than the people whose jobs were saved. Lower salaries mean more staff need to be laid off to balance the budget. In addition to the race and class issues, after hearing that the departments were top heavy Max throws the ratio even further out of balance by keeping more of his department directors and getting rid of some support staff. He did get lay off 2 high-salary directors, both of them people of color. I don't know if I can forgive him for doing that to Dr. Kao.
New Amsterdam: This Be the Verse (2021)
Relying on old ideas
Iggy's testimony regarding recovered memories is way off. They became a big thing in the 90s and were then debunked but not with any actual evidence, just anecdotal stories that mainly involved disreputable doctors and therapists. Then in the mid-2000s studies started being conducted using perpetrator confessions, evidence and investigations to verify memories. As it turns out recovered memories are just as reliable as continuous memories. It's important to remember that neither is perfect but they are equally reliable. It's an easy thing to look up online and it's disappointing that this show would have the director of psychology testify using old information that was never actually studied, especially with such devastating consequences.
I'm also not liking the new medical director, Dr. Fuentes. The character has no depth, she's only there to throw a wrench in the works. It's a lazy way to insert drama into the show and it's not that interesting. We all know it's temporary and that everything she does won't matter in the long run so it kind of makes it boring, her whole story is just filler. It's especially frustrating because Michelle Forbes is great and does the most with what she's been given and I can't help but wonder how good the role could've been if she'd had better storylines.
John Mulaney: Baby J (2023)
Laughed until I cried
I generally like John Mulaney's standup so was curious to see how he was going to talk about the tumultuous times he's had recently. It was thoughtful and showed that he's really worked on understanding who he is, but mainly it was hysterically hilarious! I sitting was at home by myself and laughed out loud with tears streaming down my face throughout the set. I definitely plan on watching it again very soon. One thing I've not liked about about his comedy in the past is that he can sometimes come across as a little bit snotty but that was not the case with this show, I think it's his best one yet!
Bob's Burgers: Loft in Bedslation (2021)
Kim and Sons Hardware
Loved the episode, as I usually do. Writing a review to correct the other review here. The name of the local hardware store is Kim and Sons, not Kim Il-sung. The reviewer admitted they may have heard wrong, but that didn't stop them from writing a review to express their outrage. Maybe save the histrionics for when you're sure instead of writing a negative review over something you misheard. At least put the fact that you're not sure at the beginning of the review instead of an afterthought sentence at the end.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Like Greenaway, but hated this movie
I really hated this movie, which was and is surprising to me; I thought I was going to like it, but I remember sitting in the theater feeling befuddled. The Greenaway movie released prior to this, "Drowning By Numbers" (which I love) was recently described by a local movie house as the last movie Greenaway made before going completely off the deep end. I agree. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover was universally loved by my friends, but I didn't see the point. Tim Roth is and has been one of my favorite actors for years, and the main reason why I saw this movie, but the only thing I remember of his performance is watching him throw up. The only things about this movie I appreciated were the room colors. Other than that, I thought it was gross for grossness' sake.