circusinternational Reviews

Stranger Things: Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister (2017) Season 2, Episode 7

Skip this episode and you'll be happier

[1/10 · 10 March 2024]

It's crap - has a completely different feel to the rest of the series and has Eleven with a bunch of random characters you'll never see again. Just awful.

Repeating to make minimum word count.

It's crap - has a completely different feel to the rest of the series and has Eleven with a bunch of random characters you'll never see again. Just awful.

It's crap - has a completely different feel to the rest of the series and has Eleven with a bunch of random characters you'll never see again. Just awful.

It's crap - has a completely different feel to the rest of the series and has Eleven with a bunch of random characters you'll never see again. Just awful.

Wilderness (2023)

On reflection, she looks in the mirror a LOT

[5/10 · 21 September 2023]

The opening credits are the best part of this show. I give them 3 of my stars just for that. The rest of the show - only 2 stars.

So much of this show is filled with the protagonist staring at herself in the mirror. Cut that out and you'd be down to 4 episodes.

Then there is the endless filming her stress, panic, and steely faced reactions/ stares. That would knock out another 2 episodes.

If you're going to take a famous Canadian landmark like the Banff Springs Hotel, it's best to set those scenes in Banff rather than the USA as it is too unbelievable. It's an iconic, well-recognized hotel!

Finally, a hotel of that size and expense has cameras. The gym in NY showed camera footage, why didn't the detectives also have hotel footage? It would be easy for the detectives to watch who came and went at that hotel, and what time. It's silly to suggest they wouldn't have that info at their fingertips.

So - three stars for the opening credits and two stars for the show itself.

Severance (2022– )

Absurdist theatre meets Black Mirror

[9/10 · 6 March 2022]

This show is a brilliant merge of Theatre of the Absurd (for example Samuel Beckett) with tech takes like Black Mirror.

Such an original combination, played out brilliantly by the actors and with excellent cinematography.

It's a show you will either love or hate. If you want fast paced drama with loads of action and little need to think, this is not the show for you. If you want to be intrigued, while uncertain whether to laugh or scream at the absurd situations the characters endure - you will love this show.

Four episodes in, I find myself questions whether it is cruel or not to allow yourself to separate work and personal life. For the side of you living outside the workplace - this is surely utopia. All the benefits of a steady income without the stress of working! For the side of you that is stuck in the workplace, the work never seems to end - the workdays all run together with only a second spent outside work as you enter the elevator, only to find yourself entering again with no memory of the fun outside, of fresh air, or even the chance to sleep. Is this like slavery for the person working - even though they are technically the same person enjoying benefits outside but don't know it?

And what on earth are they doing in that workplace? Totally absurd and I can't wait to see where this takes us.

The Woman in the House (2022)

Riveting and silly thrill ride!

[9/10 · 1 February 2022]

Don't take it too seriously - this is just a fun spoof that will keep you guessing.

Excellent casting and a plot that will have you questioning your own theories at every turn. And occasionally yelling at your screen or smacking your head.

Be sure to read the tombstones!

Invasion (2021–2024)

Finished Season 1 - I'm done

[4/10 · 11 December 2021]

I watched this glacial-paced series, hoping I would be rewarded if I was just patient. Instead, I'm kicking myself for all the time I wasted. Long-winded character development and drama; I found that I truly stopped caring about what happened to these people. So little to do with an actual invasion, too much slow-paced and lacklustre drama.

I will not bother with Season 2 - if there is one.

Signs (2002)

Brilliant - until the last 10 minutes

[6/10 · 31 October 2021]

This movie was heading towards a perfect score, which I rarely award, but it blew it in the final 10 minutes. The tension was there - the acting from all cast was excellent! It felt authentic. And then the most ridiculous ending. What a disappointment!

Emily in Paris (2020– )

Mon Dieu! Excruciatingly irritating American in Cliché Land

[5/10 · 7 October 2021]

I gave it 5 stars because I actually watched every episode.

The main character is irritating with her saccharine demeanour and constant insistence that she knows better than everyone, yet is unwilling to spend more time learning the language.

The outfits she wears are completely unrealistic - there is no way she could possibly afford that wardrobe and if she could - she has nowhere to put it all. She herself points out that she only has one drawer in her apartment.

The relationships are unrealistic too - no, you won't just meet all your best friends in the street in Paris, and not every guy will fall in love with a screechy girl like that.

I will not be bothering with the second season. 10 episodes of this crap was painful enough.

Luxe Listings Sydney (2021– )

Inflated egos and a complete waste of time

[3/10 · 20 July 2021]

I started watching because I was interested to see the properties, their staging, and challenges/strategies for selling them. Instead, I had to wade through endless egotistical and often sexist crap to see brief glimpses of properties, but zero insight.

The men in this show are so full of themselves that it was nauseating to watch. I felt bad for their protégés while simultaneously lamenting that the young, ambitious people on the show are learning from obnoxious mentors and will themselves, likely be the same in the future.

There may be stunning properties on this show, but ultimately Luxe Listings displays the worst of Sydney.

Dancing Queen (2018)

Excruciating

[1/10 · 29 June 2021]

If you like the idea of constantly watching someone put on make-up while talking vaguely about dancing and of watching kids cry and moms freak out, Athens this is the show for you. It's excruciating- there is barely two minutes of cohesiveness as the show constantly flits between Justin and his drag persona Alyssa, and so much time is spent watching him put on or take off make up. If you want to watch a dance show, there are plenty of better ones. If you want to watch a show about drag queens - again, there is better out there. This combination of the two just doesn't work.

Tiny Pretty Things (2020)

Binge-worthy, I watched it in one weekend

[10/10 · 15 May 2021]

The actors in this show are incredible dancers as well as versatile actors, often handling wildly difficult scenes. I couldn't stop watching. I hope there is a second season! It was a guilty pleasure (plot) mixed with the beautiful dancing.

Tiny Pretty Things (2020)

Highly Addictive!

[10/10 · 15 May 2021]

The dancing is incredible, and the acting great. I'm on episode 6 in one day.

Kissing Game (I) (2020)

Intriguing and binge-worthy

[8/10 · 29 April 2021]

I was riveted and found the cinematography, script, acting to be top notch. The contrast between the simple farm life and the dazzling rave parties was mesmerizing. I hope they make another season.

Holding the Man (2015)

A movie so beautiful I immediately purchased the book

[10/10 · 29 April 2021]

I love this movie. As a straight mom to a gay teenaged son, I feel relief that so much has changed since this story was set.

But that aside - this is the most beautiful love story. I felt their joy and sadness.

As soon as I finished watching the movie, I purchased the book and enjoyed it immensely. I recommend watching the movie first.

Outstanding!

The Boys in the Band (2020)

Disappointing - better to keep it as a live play

[5/10 · 29 April 2021]

I was so disappointed with this film. It is all dialogue - so better left as a live theatre piece. But either way - I found the characters difficult to care about as so often they were nasty to each other. Worst birthday party ever! I can't help but think that in real life, most people would have just left the birthday party and decided that they needed better friends.

I watched to the end as it had good reviews, so I kept expecting something to happen that would make it worthwhile. That in some way I would feel better for having seen it. But no, just another couple of hours wasted.