kimdy62 Reviews

The Morning Show (I) (2019– )

This is a BEYOND excellent series...

[11 February 2020]

Main reason? Storytelling. Secondary? Each and every character seemingly playing against type, though we have seen Aniston playing similar(ish) characters, but never once this deeply, or this humanly. She kills it. Reese? Her character hasn't surprised me yet, but she owns it, 100% - Billy Crudup? Okay, he is really difficult for me. I have disliked him for forever, no real idea why honestly, but just a general distaste. Because of this, it's hard to watch him in whatever he's acting in. Having NO trouble with him in this series. He plays his character with depth, and subtlety, making us assume one thing about him, 100%, then throwing us in a different direction, and again, subtly... He's oddly not bothering me in this. Mark Duplass? Awesome as he always is... Steve Carell? Seen him in ONE other role played as a bad guy, and he was an ass and a half in that one. A movie, otherwise charming as the dickens, titled "The Way, Way Back" (awesomely cast! Starring these folks and more: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, etc.) - Having loved Steve Carell for years and years, that movie was the first I ever saw of him as a 100% ass. He owned the part, but good God, you just could NOT like him, period. In any case, he's beyond bad in this series, and it kind of sneaks up on you, truly. If you don't find yourself sitting there with your jaw hanging at some point, saying "wth just happened, who IS this guy?" *shudder*, well, then I give it to you, honestly... The series builds nicely, there are surprises you don't see coming, and the characters are all excellent actors at the top of their games. VERY looking forward to there being a second season plus of this. Please Apple, don't break my heart like so many have before... In any case, the series starts on a slower vibe, and builds very nicely to the conclusion where all are essentially in the same mentally discombobulated place as the characters, sitting and saying "OMG!" to themselves, time and again... Enjoy! Especially enjoy the range of actors playing parts so very different from their usual, and playing them with skill...!

With a Piece of Chalk (2012)

All of the below covers it, short as it is...

[21 January 2020]

Beautiful: so very sad, gorgeous, awesome wee plot, hard to watch, brilliant in its music, same in its skills, and heartbreaking, in a good way, in its story, etc.

John from Cincinnati (2007)

Never before, and never since...

[22 September 2018]

I watched this series as it played on HBO the first time... Like so many of the shows, on all networks, I knew it was gone even before they announced it. This one though? This one I found myself bawling through from time to time, inexplicably. I was oddly reminded of being a child and reading the Chronicles of Narnia books, being certain that if I just opened my closet, ever so slightly, in the deep dark of night, that there MIGHT be a branch, and snow, and magic within... That's what I felt with this show, in every episode, magic. Period. If your imagination is active, you might well see the magic in this show too...

Rise (2018)

This show is SO not Glee...

[18 March 2018]

The ONLY similarities are that both shows contain singers, period. Glee was about a Glee Club of oddball, yet all exceptionally same-like singers, all singing to voice overs, badly timed, and using voice box technology. Because, after all, we were too stupid to notice that part, right? . Rise is a new concept. It is a drama club, a whole new animal. There are true talents throughout, NO use thus far of any Voice Box technology, and excellent syncing between what is being sung, and the person doing the singing. I like the storylines, I like the characters, I live the teachers, and the music is edgy, today, and meaningful. Yes, I know, Spring Awakening is older, but its use is well up to date and meaningful for the plot. . So, yes, there are a few oddball similarities between Glee and Rise, but you know? Rise singers can ALL sing, well, and appear to be doing so, for real, on the screen, even if we do know it's voice over - Glee? ALWAYS knew, as the words and the sound were always off. In addition? Glee was far too stereotyped, and people were always randomly singing their lines while wandering through class... Hated that, truly. I am very looking forward to seeing where this one takes us...