groundedGeek (4 KP) rated This American Life in Podcasts
Jan 10, 2018
The episodes are "investigative" in nature where the host has interviewed people and tells the true story as they go, but like many "documentary" style features in this day and age... they can sometimes be driven to tell the story they want you to hear, guiding you to the conclusion that fits their narrative rather than simply providing the facts and letting the listener draw their own conclusions. To be fair, this makes it more entertaining... because simple fact-finding would likely be boring in podcast form. It's not necessarily a criticism... Michael Moore is an example of the worst purveyor of this kind of "documentary" style... generate a conclusion, craft the clips, audio and narrative to support that conclusion... voila... Michael Moore movie. While I don't prefer that style of "documentary" because it is obviously biased, there is no doubt that Michael Moore knows how to sell his story and makes entertaining films. TAL is not quite the same, it's probably unfair to put them in that category, but there is with some of the hosts, a definite feel that they have the conclusion they want you to draw firm in their mind when they provide the accompanying stories...
Other times there isn't any agenda, they simply want to provide you with fascinating stories about fascinating people in this fascinating country... and when they do that, they do it spectacularly. I feel like my criticism above could possibly be misconstrued as a knock on the show, but discerning listeners likely recognize when this is sometimes happening and it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the journey the show takes you on. It's not a knock, it's a fun show.
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Murder on the Orient Express (2017) in Movies
Nov 6, 2017 (Updated Nov 9, 2017)
Unfortunately for me though, Kenneth Branaghs lavish retelling of this classic murder mystery is all style and no substance. Branagh himself is actually very good, and hugely entertaining as the worlds greatest detective, Hercule Poirot. However, most of the remaining all star cast just seem wasted in their roles and I just felt like I was watching a big, glossy BBC detective drama on a Sunday evening rather than a thrilling cinematic experience.
I made it through the setup and the murder itself. I also made it through some of the questioning of the many suspects too. But I think that's where my body gave up. I don't think I missed much though, and I was awake again in time for the ridiculous reveal and the explanation as to why whodunit actually dunit, but overall this was just a pretty big disappointment for me.