matukonyc1 Reviews

Masterminds (2015)

Wasted opportunity

[4/10 · 17 March 2024]

So the real story of how Ghantt and his accomplices were caught is that the Chambers ("Geppetto and his wife) moved into an exclusive gated community in their county, paying for a six-figure house in cash. The neighbors clocked them right away as not being who they claimed to be. The authorities actually figured this out long before they found out that Ghantt was in Mexico. Having Chambers turn him in makes the movie less interesting, and just an excuse for childish SNL humour. I also think that making Ghantt put to be a clown is unnecessary to the movie's plot and makes the whole movie worse.

'Orrible (2001)

Weird and Funny

[9/10 · 22 September 2023]

I'm an American, and I'd never heard of Johnnh Vaughan, but I loved Ricky Glover in "Getting On" so I gave it a go. The first episode is not that great, but keep watching, because the subsequent episodes are hilarious. It's sort of like a combination of "Peep Show" and "Minder" -two childhood friends, one a fantasist and the other a socially awkward weirdo, navigating love and friendship together.

I get the feeling that people have something against Johnny Vaughan, but whatever it is, it's irrelevant to the show, which I highly recommend. Episodes can be found on that video website owned by Google.

Nope (2022)

Ambitious, Funny, Too Long

[7/10 · 8 August 2022]

My only issue was the length. The movie is a pastiche of tropes, which is great, and I dig Peele's sense of the absurd and silly, but the movie was way too long. I think I dozed off at some point in the theater and don't seem to have missed anything.

Hard Cell (2022)

Coordinated Bad Reviews?

[6/10 · 12 April 2022]

It's not a great show, but it's a good and reasonably amusing show. I can't help but think that the Daily Mail comments section decided to post one-star reviews for some reason other than the quality of the show. Did Catherine Tate make the Tory Brexiters angry?

Somebody Somewhere (2022– )

Ambitious But Formulaic

[7/10 · 11 March 2022]

This show has great actors and writing, but the whole "My Hometown is Dull But Full of Quirky Iconoclasts" trope is tired and silly. I mean, anyone who left the town they grew up in left for a reason. I'm sure there are at least some quirky iconoclasts in every town, but let's face it, they're more likely to be Q Anon believers than nice, considerate, and witty nonbinary people living their best life. It's a fantasy.

Cunk on Britain (2016–2018)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 1 February 2022]

Diane Morgan is possibly the funniest actor alive right now. She's brilliant in this series, a parody of the self-important BBC history documentary. Well worth your time.

Catching the Black Widow (2017 TV Movie)

Amateur Production

[3/10 · 13 September 2021]

Watching this is rather confusing. The actors don't appear to be professional, and the script is all over the place, making it hard to understand why anyone depicted is doing what they're doing, despite its being based on actual events.

Charlie Says (2018)

Great performances

[8/10 · 26 July 2021]

Clearly people with nothing better to do have been trolling the user reviews to express "outrage" about the depictions of the Manson girls in this movie. Of course the Manson story is 50 years old and a major flashpoint in American culture, which in itself says a lot about America. People who commit horrific crimes are just as human as the rest of us, which is what this movie achieves rather well. Matt Smith is an actor who can really ham it up, but as Manson he delivers a solid and realistic performance.

Jett (2019)

Pastiche of Cliches

[3/10 · 10 July 2021]

I love Carla Gugino, but this series is an incomprehensible pastiche of cliches and animal print outfits posing as film noir. Glamorous thief? Check. Who has daughter? Check. Bisexuality? Check. Giancarlo Esposito? Check. Cocktails in dimly-lit hotel rooms? Check. What it does not have are characters, a coherent plot, and interesting dialogue.

Home Economics (2021–2023)

Unchallenging But Amusing

[7/10 · 6 June 2021]

This is a standard ABC comedy that appears to have attracted MAGA trolls to IMDb so that they can write negative reviews while carefully avoiding racist keywords. It's not hilarious but neither is it awful, and the premise is interesting although it might be a lot more streamlined if there weren't quite so many children in it, since the conflict is about the adults. But yes, it's got all sorts of people in it and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to it. I only watched it because of the troll reviews, and while I didn't love it, you might!

Baroness Von Sketch Show (2016–2021)

Very Funny

[9/10 · 26 December 2020]

It's sad to read all of the troll reviews from deplorables. Like any sketch show, it has its hits and misses, but it's really funny and fresh. Obviously the relative lack of moderation on IMDb has attracted the kinds of people who think mentioning the word "lesbian" is PC woke madness.

David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)

Very Funny But Difficult to Watch

[7/10 · 20 December 2020]

It's just as funny as "The Office" but so cringeworthy it's almost difficult to watch! Gervais does this character brilliantly, though.

Mr. D (2012–2018)

Subtly offbeat

[9/10 · 16 December 2020]

This is much funnier than I expected from the reviews. It has familiar tropes but somehow feels unique, and actually makes you laugh! It's hard to put my finger on why it works, but it works. It has an absurdity that I like, and the comic performances and timing are top notch.

The Undoing (2020)

Trite Drama, Very Rich People

[5/10 · 12 December 2020]

Despite an especially well-cast Hugh Grant and a solid hair, makeup, and wardrobe budget for Nicole Kidman, "The Undoing" is a trite thriller that adds nothing to its genre. Must Grace, a woman happy in a marriage that may not be what it appears to be, be quite so rich? Surely, Grace as upper middle class would do, but instead we get a character living in a upper Manhattan "apartment" (as Grace refers to it) that's basically a brownstone. Upper-middle-class women have problems, too! Though we are shown that Grace is no snob when she suggests perhaps moving to Schenectady, quite inauthentically.

Donald Sutherland is solid as Kidman's widowed WASPy father, who lives in what must be an entire floor of a luxury building so we know that he's even richer than his daughter, and who seems to spend his free time sitting in museums staring at Dutch masters, as even the NYPD knows to find him there, but maybe it was a wing of his 50,000-square-foot pre-war apartment. Of course, people in television series set in NYC are always rich, unless they're poor for character arc purposes, but this is ridiculous.

The story is boilerplate, so if you like endless closeups of a wrinkle-free Nicole Kidman looking astonished (only her upper eyelids have freedom of movement) with her lips parted slightly, you'll love "The Undoing". Otherwise, you may find yourself, like me, fast-forwarding to get to the end, not wanting to miss out on the ending, but also unable to keep watching.

Napoléon (2002)

Hilariously Dated

[4/10 · 18 September 2020]

Watching this all-star, low-budget 2002 mini-series in 2020 is like watching a relic of the past. It's easy to forget how much better most television has become in the last two decades, but watching this is a real reminder. Stilted dialogue, bad wigs, cheesy battle scenes, and dubious historical accuracy make for a very old-fashioned viewing experience.

The dialogue is so cliched that at first I thought the dialogue was dubbed into English, but careful watching proved that the actors' lips were, in fact, actually uttering things like, "It's you who have defiled everything! I never want to see you again!" or "Napoleon! I believe in you!" or "France is so weak now. The people cannot stand another revolution!" I'm still not convinced that every actor is, in fact, speaking the dialogue in English.

As long as you're in the mood, you'll be entertained. And you will appreciate the quality entertainment to which we've become accustomed.

Lída Baarová (2016)

Sad Czech Debut

[2/10 · 14 September 2020]

I could not watch this film in its entirety. It has all the hallmarks of a bad television movie, and is possibly the worst thing I've ever seen from Netflix. The production is silly, the plot pedestrian and oddly framed. The scene where Magda Goebbels fights with Baarova while swimming in the Wannsee made me laugh out loud, it was so preposterous. It really was a waste of a good story, and it succumbed to the same shallowness exhibited by its characters.

Indebted (2020)

Dated and Unfunny

[2/10 · 18 February 2020]

As I watched the pilot episode, I thought, "Surely, this is a parody of a 1990s three-camera sitcom with a laugh track," and I kept waiting for them to break character or something, but the tired old jokes just kept coming and coming. I cannot believe that in this day and age anyone green-lit a sitcom so trite, shallow, and nonsensical. Why are 35-year-olds with young kids presented as if they're empty-nesters? Why do all of these people live in Stamford, Connecticut and yet are now bankrupt from knee surgery? How did so many talented people end up in this turkey?

Dirty John (2018–2020)

Great Adaptation

[8/10 · 1 December 2019]

I read the story in the Los Angeles Times and heard the podcast, and this is an excellent, well-written adaptation with superb performances, from Jean Smart and Connie Britton especially. I like how it plays up the angle of the Christian mother and the effect of her denial on the family. Definitely a must-watch series.

The Worst Week of My Life (2004–2006)

Painfully Unfunny

[4/10 · 8 November 2019]

This show should be funny, yet it's not. It has some of the best comic actors in it, and the writing isn't bad, but for some reason I didn't laugh once, and k watch UK television almost exclusively now. I can't put my finger on what isn't working, but it just isn't working.

Can't Cope, Won't Cope (2016–2018)

Realistic-Very Realistic

[9/10 · 8 June 2019]

Watching this made me think of things that I did in my 20s that I hadn't thought of in years. This was a brilliant depiction of living in the big city as a young woman, and the nature of friendships.

All Roads Lead (2013)

I Liked It!

[7/10 · 24 April 2019]

Like others, I thought this was an actual documentary, since it was recommended by Prime Video in the true crime category. I thought I recognized an actor, then I also thought, "Wow, these Rust Belt residents are pretty articulate and philosophical" until the woman playing "Francesco's girlfriend" appeared and I sensed something was not ringing true (I'm a black woman, so it wasn't about that). Some really great acting in this movie-especially David Yow, who gives a stellar performance.

Insatiable (2018–2019)

Quirky Show

[8/10 · 8 February 2019]

I too first heard about how 'offensive' this show is, and was surprised to see that it is everything but. As someone who used to be a teenaged girl who wasn't thin enough (or so I thought) , it seems very real to me, and in other respects just silly and funny. The writing and the acting are good, and it's very life-affirming without being preachy. I would have loved to see a show like this when I was a girl, and I'm enjoying it very much now.

In retrospect I seem to remember the first bad review was written by a man-how would he even know what's offensive to women?

Bancroft (2017–2020)

More Thriller Than Police Procedural

[8/10 · 2 February 2019]

I had put off watching this, as at first I assumed it was yet another Northern England police officer procedural, but it's really a thriller that happens to be set within a police department. The acting is superb, and Sarah Parish is outstanding as the title character. I wholeheartedly recommend "Bancroft".

At Home with Amy Sedaris (2017–2020)

Brilliant Show

[10/10 · 16 December 2018]

How anyone could call this show "hipster humor" (Sedaris is over 50) and "unfunny", I cannot fathom. This show has great characters, surreal writing, and is the most original thing on cable television at the moment. Perhaps it's on the wrong network and attracting negative attention from people who like to watch things like "Hardcore Pawn" and "Lizard Lick Towing".

Shrink (2017)

Fantastic Show

[10/10 · 21 October 2018]

A truly original show with some of the most talented comic actors around. So funny I've watched it twice, and was genuinely upset when I heard Seeso was shutting down and there'd be no more episodes. It has a wry humor that I very much enjoy.