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Reviews
Ted (2024)
First Good Comedy in Years (Bring Back Sitcoms)
Ted is a very enjoyable show. I laughed a lot.
This show refreshingly reminds us that good comedic television is still possible when it's not dictated by committees and quotas.
I love the early 90's suburban family setting. This kind of thing is timeless.
I liked the casting of all the characters. The father character made me laugh the most, while simultaneously being the most aggravating.
I just wish there was more. 7 episodes is really on the skimpy side. But I love how the episodes are all a little long, like 30-40 minutes each. Ending every story in 20 minutes, like the old sitcoms do, is sometimes a little rushed.
Of course it brings to mind sitcoms from the 80's and 90's. It's slightly updated to modern times, ie the content is edgier, more perverse etc
I hope this gets picked and we see more. Sooner rather than later. Get to it Seth!!!
Lady Ballers (2023)
Surprised at this well done button-pushing comedy
Ladyballers exceeded expectations. I expected a very pointed message with some weak comedy and production flaws.
The Daily Wire probably can't get many Hollywood actors onto a project b/c the actors would be afraid of backlash, even if the film had no political leanings--but still, they managed to find some good talent. Jeremy Boreing and Billie Rae Brandt both have star-quality. Fischer and Cone also great, but really the whole team worked. I was looking for weak links in the cast and didn't find any.
The cameos were okay, not bad. The best being B. Cooper and M. Knowles as the news anchors. Their arc was hilarious and their delivery was perfect. And quite fearless with the costumes, I love that.
The humor landed pretty well, some parts better than others. Most comedies are like this. I didn't find the "how much" guy very funny. I loved the badger stuff, that made me laugh pretty hard. I also enjoyed all the shots they're taking at the journalist class. That's long overdue. The Jeremy's razor commercial in the middle of the movie was very funny, pulled off in just the right way.
And obviously the satire's message is spot on. Everybody knows these things are true, everybody knows the emperor is naked, but everyone's afraid to speak up.
Satire isn't just preaching. There are definitely some preachy moments in the movie (and I didn't mind them probably b/c I agree with the sentiments), but this still works as satire b/c the ideas are embodied well by the story on the whole.
It also had better production value than I was expecting. They definitely dropped some money on all the extras in the last game. The score/soundtrack was a highlight, very good music, which is important. The tone was consistent. The cinematic elements were all competent. Lighting was good. I'm not a fan of the murky "realistic" lighting movies are obsessed with now. Just make it look good.
And the end delivered. It was perfect to see the lady ballers get their comeuppance and get a taste of their own medicine. I loved how they worked in the coach giving "inspirational" speech trope and played with it in various ways.
And I liked how genuinely heartwarming the ending was with the little girls team. The old comedies usually try to pull some heart-strings in the end and typically fail, but here it definitely worked. The father-daughter relationship was very lovely.
I expected a movie I would be a little amused with and probably have to endure, but we ended up enjoying it thoroughly and we didn't interrupt watching it once.
I'd give the humor a B+. The heart/feeling an A-.
And the satire an A.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Adrift (2022)
Feeling Optimistic
The trailers were drawing attention to all the wrong aspects. Like it's gonna be good b/c of you know, representation. This doesn't make a story good or bad. People are deeper than their gender and skin color.
Galadriel is a by the book Girl Boss, so you know already that she's going to be right about everything and she's like super righteous and unlikable. Her predictable arc will entail a moment when everyone has to say "Galadriel, we should have listened to you. We should have recognized your Girl Bossness from the start." etc So righteous. Eyes bulging. Shaking with girl boss righteousness.
But now, despite that, two episodes in and I like where it is going. I like most of the characters and there's some interesting things happening. The hobbits are done so well. The Dwarf city and king and queen were great. I like Arondir and Bronwyn's subplot. The look and feel of the world is quite good. I like using the maps to show us the different parts of the world. The music is pretty good too.
Let's see if it keeps moving and doesn't get weighed down by too many characters. But I'm feeling optimistic. So far, good job.
I'm not going to compare it to LOTR anymore. It's something different and should be judged according to it's own merits.
Did I mention that Galadriel was like really righteous?
Only Murders in the Building: The Tell (2022)
Getting better
So far the show hasn't been as good as season 1, but now I'm starting to get back into it.
I really enjoy seeing Martin Short being actually funny and clever again. Good episode for him. The party setup and the Son of Sam game was a great idea.
Kind of agree with the sentiment against Cara. She's off-putting here and doesn't have real chemistry onscreen with anyone especially Selena Gomez. Perhaps she does end up being someone nefarious. That would make more sense of this performance.
Also good seeing the superfans of the podcast popping in again. Would like to see more Jan too, such an odd and funny character, especially if she ends up helping them solve it.
On the whole I'm happy with it and looking forward to see what comes next.
Ted Lasso: Rainbow (2021)
Roy Kent! Some reservations...
Yes, Roy Kent returning in this capacity is a fantastic move. He is hilarious and fun in every situation and it's a great idea to have him around more.
And yes I get it, it's not just about sports, its also about feelies, but can it also be about sports sometimes? When the two are mixed the show is best. It doesn't have to exclude the dating/relationship/inter-personal dynamics, but the match as part of the plot, the teams ranking, playoff hopes etc, these are also interesting plot devices. I know shooting matches is much more expensive, but I'm really hoping this series doesn't start excluding the teams existence as a sports team and episodes that include matches etc.
The writing for the most part is very very good, so in this capacity it can get away with a bunch of pandering woke-ish stuff. Audiences will put up with it (the constant need to feminize many of the men for example) b/c it's done well and done in a funny way. Nothing is worse than preachiness mixed with bad writing. But preachiness mixed with good writing is still digestible.
Anyway, wondering where the tension will arise from now. This moment with Roy Kent returning was a cathartic emotional high, but it puts us in a funny position in which many of the tensions are resolved.
So there's a few options for where it can go. Either we turn to the season, the games, trying to actually make this a championship team -- b/c there is so much tension and obstacles to overcome there. OR, it continues to go on more focused on the interpersonal issues and then of course there has to be some kind of soap opera in which someone is going to start hating someone etc OR it can mix both.
Either way, it will be a more endearing and enduring show if it doesn't go full soap opera and gives us some soccer i.e. Football.
Ted Lasso: Do the Right-est Thing (2021)
Still a great show, but...
The little girl character is just too much. The show already had one 100% flawless new character that knows absolutely everything and is completely perfect all the time (the psychologist). One of those characters is enough.
But now a 12 year old girl is the most emotionally intelligent and sophisticated person in the room? Come on. Very lazy writing. Not interesting or funny. A child occasionally being like that is fine, but every interaction with her is just way too flattering. It's like she's an exceptional and really intelligent 30-year-old who also has good luck.
Luckily the show still has a lot of good things going for it and will be hard to wreck. Casting is great for all the characters. Ted of course is the best character.
The sub-plot in this episode abut the oil company and Nigeria was great, although entirely unrealistic (we can dream). In our awful real world the soccer player would have been silenced or let go in a heartbeat I'm sure, but it's nice to see. And btw it's China that's exploiting Africa now. They dominate that entire continent.
And it's nice to see Jamie back. Hmm, but will he be as fun of a character now that he's not such a bad boy?
Cruella (2021)
WE ARE THE CHILDREN THE DALMATIONS COULDN'T KILL
Doing the LUKE I'M YOUR FATHER plot twist is just so hackneyed. It's just so improbable that it has no effect. It's like the action movie with the action sequences when the hero just makes it by the skin of their teeth in completely unbelievable fashion (every single time).
Overall it's still a fun movie, but kind of ruined by some absurd and annoying writing. Once it get's going, the crux of the film, Cruella's rise and the fashion-fighting is pretty entertaining and magnificently presented, but the beginning and ending are ridiculous and the character development is confused and confusing.
Can we just have a bad guy? Does everyone have to be victimized by a more-bad guy? And Cruella's mother being killed by BAD CGI Dalmatians is laughably melodramatic. Did they really have to do that?