karencookstoo Reviews

Presumed Innocent (2024)

Jake Gyllenhaal can't act...

[1/10 · 7 July 2024]

Jake Gyllenhaal can't act. Or at least not in this series. I actually want him to go to prison for what he's putting me through. It's painful. Between his high voice, the fake screaming at his child, the manufactured outrage at being charged...it's awful. And there is zero chemistry between Gyllenhaal and his wife, who although younger, looks 10 years too old for the part. And the "other woman" - the murder victim? She is unattractive and unappealing. What was the supposed attraction in the first place? Who cast her? The only saving grace to me is Peter Sarsgaard. He's terrific. And why the remake anyway? Is it the unending hutzpah of David E. Kelley? What was he thinking? There is nothing better than the original. Harrison Ford was perfect. Did not need this.

The Bear: Fishes (2023) Season 2, Episode 6

That was John Mulaney?? Wow...

[8/10 · 7 July 2023]

Ok...Christmas at the Berzatto's was a bit...uhmmmmm...stressful for me, but I guess that's what the holidays are like in some families. From the chaos in the kitchen to the fork battle at the dining table, it didn't let up for what seemed like days. The episode actually gave me flashbacks to the Adam Sandler film, Uncut Gems, where the entire movie seemed to revolve around New Yorkers talking over each at the top of their lungs for two solid hours. But the acting was pitch perfect, and for me, Jermey Allen White was the standout. And he did it all without raising his voice. And who knew John Mulaney could act??? I literally had no idea.

High Fidelity (2000)

I really wanted to like this but...

[4/10 · 7 April 2023]

I think this movie is just too dated to be appealing anymore. Plus the accountant in my head kept asking the logical side of me - they sell nothing in this record store so how do these people pay their rent? Buy food? Go to bars? Do they all have trust funds? In fact, Jack Black's entire role seemed to exist to piss off and insult every potential customer. I also wondered where all those records are today. In a landfill? On the bright side, John Cusack was really cute in 2000 and Lisa Bonet was gorgeous. The remake made with her daughter - Zoe Kravitz - 20 years later is much better, in my opinion.

Normal People (2020)

This romance is so...interesting...

[9/10 · 2 April 2023]

She is the high school nerd and he is the high school sports superstar. Her mom is the powerful attorney and his mom is her house keeper. She seduces him but he can't/won't admit he's in love with her because of possible repercussions from his friends. Then the roles are reversed when they go to college. This story is so sad because haven't we all been either? Makes me remember high school, in a bad way for anyone that has been the one that is invisible. And shows just how cruel kids can be. When the power shifts it's almost cathartic for those who have been "less than". But in this case, everyone loses. They both are lost.

The Fabelmans (2022)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen...

[1/10 · 31 January 2023]

I left the theater tonight not sure what the appeal was for this film but knowing I'd just wasted several hours of my life. Was it the self absorbed narcissistic mother? The mamas boy, overly sensitive, coddled yet film genius Spielberg character? The wimpy father? The unappealing Seth Rogan as the boyfriend? And at 2 hours 31 minutes...each minute more excruciating than the last...it was unbearably long. There were several times I thought my eyes were going to stay in the back of my head as I guessed one scene after another before I was subjected to it. For me, The Fablemans can be summed up as Spielberg's tribute to himself and as such he apparently didn't know when to say "cut ". Stay away. It's awful.

Bosch: Legacy: Always/All Ways (2022) Season 1, Episode 10

Twin sisters from another mister

[7/10 · 4 November 2022]

I found it very strange they would cast what appears to be the twin sister of Maddie as the assassin. Some angular face, age, body type, hair, height, weight. I kept waiting for the tie in to this - like have Maddie mistaken for her and almost killed - or something. Anything. But nope. Just a doppelgänger. I also found the million different story lines weaving in and out of the series to be overkill. The murdered doctor. The billionaire's search for an heir. The rapist. The dirty cops. The Russian mobsters. Honey's shrink sessions. Bosch's sad early life and then Bosch in Afghanistan. It was way too many plot lines.

Le monde en face: The Savior for Sale (2021) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

If you like art, mystery and seeing Russian oligarchs get screwed this is the documentary for you!

[10/10 · 17 April 2022]

Well done documentary on the Salvator Mundi, the lost Leonardo da Vince masterpiece of Christ that was discovered by an New York art dealer when looking through a minor auction house catalog out of New Orleans, Louisiana. He thought the painting was interesting and bought it for $1175. The documentary takes the viewer through the paintings journey - finding it, restoring it, authenticating it, marketing it and selling it. Twice. The last time for $450 million. Greatest sentiment in the piece was about how the art world is full of people who want to make huge amounts of money out of rich people. Is it an authentic da Vince? You decide. Totally worth the watch.

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Julia Roberts is completely miscast

[6/10 · 11 December 2021]

I like a lot of Julia Roberts movies, but in this movie she is supposed to be the beautiful, glamorous, sophisticated ex-wife of George Clooney's David Ocean. Unfortunately, she's not beautiful or glamorous and she walks like a linebacker. I just don't get the attraction for the Ocean character. Not seeing it.

Bancroft (2017–2020)

Looking forward a good cop show? This ain't it.

[1/10 · 27 October 2021]

The majority of the acting was completely amateurish. The plot was completely unbelievable. And finally I couldn't get past seeing Kaitlin Jenner in the lead's face so it was hard to concentrate. They are absolute doppelgängers.

The Split (2018–2022)

Lead character miscast and the wardrobe stylist for the female leads has left the building

[6/10 · 24 August 2021]

After putting together the timelines given during the series, Nicola Walker, who plays Hannah, is supposedly 4 years older than Nina - the middle sister. Unfortunately, she looks every bit her actual age gap of 14 years. It was also not believable that the unattached gorgeous lawyer she once dated would still be holding a torch for her 20 years later. She is short and frumpy and talks like she has a mouth full of marbles. What is the supposed attraction here?

Now for the clothes on the female leads. They didn't fit. Poor design. Poor quality. Almost every dress or skirt has an outside zipper detail, which flatters absolutely no one on this show. These lawyers work in a prestigious law firm representing multi million dollar clients. Their clothes do not reflect this. The Good Wife or Suits does a much better job of finding beautiful, flattering upscale clothing for female executives.

Cocktail (1988)

Wow...two different cruises

[1/10 · 12 March 2021]

Can't believe this movie was released/made at the same time as Rain Man. Worst acting. Worst script. Ever...

The Genetic Detective (2020)

If you love solving true crime, especially cold cases, this show has everything

[9/10 · 23 August 2020]

Cece Moore's explanations on ancestry data search are fascinating. If a person is not in CODIS (the national repository for DNA, typically from known criminals) it takes a whole lot more than a DNA hit in GEDmatch (the repository for DNA samples from Ancestry and other providers) to figure out who the criminal is. The DNA hit on a relative combined with birth records, census data, newspaper clippings and obituaries all come into play and family trees are constructed. Using a process of elimination, this eventually leads to the criminal. One episode involves an unsolved 32 year old murder Cece Moore figured out in 2 hours using these techniques. Great TV if you like to see real life crimes solved.

A Fall from Grace (2020)

Bad script, bad acting...bad everything.

[1/10 · 24 January 2020]

Defendant marries a man 25 years younger than she is in a whirlwind romance. He turns out to be a psychopath. Then, after she kills him, and after she pleads guilty, a first year just out of college lawyer - despite her orders to plead the defendant out - turns out to be a brilliant defense attorney and gets her off. Ridiculous. I know this - and so should any person with an IQ over 80 - even though I only watched it through part of the second episode. Apparently, Tyler Perry is so in demand he can "call it in" now. It shows.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Just about the most annoying film I've ever seen

[2/10 · 11 January 2020]

I realize I am a west coaster so this film may appeal to someone more used to an east coast vibe. But the constant screaming over each other, crazy unnecessary drama (caused by Sandler's gambling addiction) and the cadre of completely unlikeable characters led me and my movie partner to scream JUST SHOOT HIM ALREADY about an hour into what seemed like a 5 hour movie. The most satisfying scene was when he was actually shot in the head and he stopped talking.

Virgin River (2019– )

Seriously? Who likes this?

[1/10 · 29 December 2019]

I could have written this, and I'm no writer. It makes day time soaps look academy award worthy. The plot centers around a sappy love story ending in heartbreak resulting in the female lead's need to run away to a small town where the hunky bar owner has obvious undiagnosed PTSD making them both "broken" and therefore perfect for each other. All of this ridiculousness is glued together by inane flashbacks whose placement make no sense and are always shown as the characters stare plaintively into the distance.

Throw in the obnoxious wife of the town doctor, the town gossip, the beautiful townie willing to be the lead character's sexual doormat for years, the token black character, and just for fun add in illegal pot growers living off the grid willing to kill anyone who mess with them but are ok with free medical services from the Animal House doctor.

The series is simply ridiculous and anyone with two brain cells can figure out the ending after the first 5 minutes. Basta.

Parasite (2019)

Maybe I'm too literal to appreciate this movie, but...

[5/10 · 27 October 2019]

First, the movie is simply too long. Second, so many unbelievable scenes, such as:

When the rich family goes camping (completely unbelievable) the poor family parties in the rich family's living room spilling food and grain alcohol everywhere. When the rich family comes home unexpectedly, they hurriedly sweep the food and spilled alcohol under the coffee table. How can the rich parents sleep on the couch two feet away from this mess but don't see or smell any of this - especially the husband with the fabulous sense of smell? Or at the very least smell the stinky family who are also hiding under the coffee table?

Poor family's home is flooded by sewage and rain water due to a deluge. The family goes home to try to rescue what they can, wading thru chest high sewage water in their house, but nothing is salvageable except the rock. That night they sleep in a shelter but wake up the next day dry with not a trace of filth on any of them. Oh, and their phones are still charged and work. I guess they were on their heads. And then they go directly to work at the rich guys house for the son's birthday party. The daughter in a lovely dress. The son in nice clothes. The dad in his chauffeur uniform. Huh?

Scenes like that make me crazy...

But I did like the fact that the first housekeeper was as corrupt as the poor family. That I didn't see coming. Or the Quentin Tarantino ending.

Where's My Roy Cohn? (2019)

Excellent documentary

[10/10 · 15 October 2019]

This documentary is a must see for anyone who wants to understand Trump's basic philosophy: deny, lie, attack, then own it and say so what if it's true and what are you gonna do about it? This same philosophy worked for Cohn, his mentor, until it didn't and he was left to die alone, disbarred and broke. It is my dream ending for the current occupant of the White House.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Brad Pitt is HOT!!! Movie is too long...

[8/10 · 28 August 2019]

Went into this movie without any expectations. In fact, I thought I was going to hate it. The scenes with Leo could've been cut in half but the ones with Brad were amazing. The movie was too long but the ending was fabulous. I highly recommend it.

Dead to Me (2019–2022)

Am I the only one who thought this show completely contrived and unbelievable? Apparently...

[3/10 · 12 May 2019]

First, Jen lives in a $5 million dollar house, drives a $100,000 Mercedes, is married to a man who doesn't work and has such anger management issues (even prior to the death of her husband) her partner finally had to part ways with her because of lackluster business. So, where did she get all this money? Second, why does someone who admits they are guilty of a hit and run resulting in a persons death, regardless of her boyfriends status as a money launderer, not go immediately to jail? Why is she a sympathetic character here? Instead, she gets to move back in with the victims wife and become best buds? Ridiculous. I did like Abe.