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michaeljohnsonfromnj
Reviews
The Idol: Pop Tarts & Rat Tales (2023)
Gratuitous and offensive? Yes. But I'm intrigued
No doubt whatsoever that this show is unnecessarily gratuitous with its nudity and ridiculous sex scenes. Not up for debate whatsoever, and I totally understand the controversy surrounding these things. Nonetheless, I am intrigued. My interest is almost solely based on following this ridiculousness. The Weeknd and Depp are both terrible actors, but the awfulness of their performances is almost too entertaining to miss. Rachel Sennott is legitimately funny and compelling as the assistant/best friend, and Levinson's direction is clearly portraying the battle for Jocelyn's reputation as a biblical tale that contains clear references to Satan, whom The Weeknd is more or less portraying. These frankly absurd elements are enough to keep me around for another week. This is definitely worth a watch, for better or worse.
Succession: With Open Eyes (2023)
A brilliant finale to the most brilliant show in a long time
Man, am I gonna miss this show. The writing from the jump has been some of the most thoughtful, gripping and brilliant work put out by any writing team since The Sopranos, and the finale was no different. This truly was a tragedy, and anyone expecting a happy ending was fruitlessly misled. That being said, nearly everyone escapes this show relatively happy besides our #1 boy, who's crushing defeat leaves us on the sourest and saddest of notes. Tom, Roman, Shiv, Greg, and the old guard all come out of this more or less satisfied with the results of the climactic board vote. But not Kendall. He has lost his humanity, his family, and now his entire life's purpose. A gut wrenching, brilliant, and satisfying conclusion to what is perhaps the best show of all time. I will really miss it.
Succession: Connor's Wedding (2023)
No words
I don't even know where to begin. This episode was a masterfully crafted gut punch of conflicting emotions, ranging from celebration to sorrow and everything in between. The entire cast, specifically Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen and especially Alan Ruck deserve every award under the sun for this absolute masterclass in acting. Mark Mylod as usual directs to perfection, Nicholas Brittell as usual knocks the score out of the park, and most importantly Jesse Armstrong, as usual, deserves the highest praise possible for his brilliant, poignant, and emotionally riveting storytelling. This is perhaps the best episode of the best show to air since The Sopranos, and there are still seven episodes to go.
Simply put, this episode is a masterpiece.
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Awful
What an awful movie. Aside from Vera Farminga, there is literally not a single saving grace. The plot was ridiculous. The acting was largely terrible, including Gandolfinis son (I take no pride in saying that). Cinematography was bland and WAYYYY too many callbacks to the show. Just a terrible, terrible movie.