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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Sinner - Season 1 in TV
Nov 30, 2017 (Updated Nov 30, 2017)
Barely any of the characters were sympathetic or relatable (3 more)
The ending was dissatisfying
So many wasted episodes
It was only 9 episodes long, but it felt far longer
A Sin That This Wasn't Better
This show came highly recommended to me by sources that I usually trust, but it turned out to be a total let down. The show opens with a young family going to the beach. The mother who is played by Jessica Biel, suddenly walks over to another young man on the beach and stabs him to death in front of over a hundred witnesses in broad daylight. She is then arrested and the show spends the next 8 episodes clumsily trying to explain why she committed this heinous act.
I like Jessica Biel, I like Bill Pullman and I like Christopher Abbott, who plays the husband to Biel's Cora Tannetti. I like mysterious shows about crime and murder. I should have loved this, but I thought it was a train wreck from start to finish. During the first episode we see the murder occur in graphic detail, then the next couple of episodes ask why she did what she did and then you start to wonder, "how are they going to manage to drag this out for another six episodes without it getting stale?" The answer is, they aren't and it gets old fast. In this sense, the writing is a mess.
Sometimes though, a show can have messy writing, but be saved by it's cast of characters. However, that is absolutely not the case here. Cora is the main character of the show, so I think we are supposed to feel some sort of connection to her, yet she is so grossly off-putting in every way, I was actually was hoping to see her get the death sentence. At first you see her committing this atrocity, which obviously causes you to take an instant dislike to her, but you expect as the show goes on and we learn more about her, that we will eventually feel sympathetic towards her. In fact, the exact opposite is true, every new facet of information that I learned about her backstory just made me hate her more and at no point did I feel like I was on her side.
There is also a flashback subplot going on, which shows Cora as a suspiciously old looking teenager, as for some reason Jessica Biel is still playing the role of the teenage Cora. Through this we see her family life growing up, but her family are some of the most dislikeable characters I have seen in a TV show in years. Her mother is a religious nut to the point of insanity, her father is sleeping with the next door neighbour and her terminally ill sister is such a little shit that you don't feel any sympathy towards her for her illness and you end up hoping she will die sooner rather than later.
I'll try to discuss the ending without giving away any major spoilers, but for those who haven't yet seen the show, you may want to skip to the final paragraph. At around the episode 5 mark, I was very close to giving up on this show, but I had heard that the ending was amazing, so I stuck with it. What a waste of time that turned out to be. The reveal itself was a huge let down and after everything was revealed, I still felt that the murder victim didn't deserve to die and I thought that Cora pretty much getting away with murder was so dissatisfying and undeserved.
Overall, this show is pretty awful. There are so many plot threads that go nowhere, the writing thinks it is far more clever than it actually is, actors that I normally like are playing entirely dislikeable characters and the whole thing seems far longer than just nine episodes. The ending isn't worth sticking around for and really the show is just tons of wasted potential. Do yourself a favour and give this a skip, there are far better shows available to watch on Netflix.
I like Jessica Biel, I like Bill Pullman and I like Christopher Abbott, who plays the husband to Biel's Cora Tannetti. I like mysterious shows about crime and murder. I should have loved this, but I thought it was a train wreck from start to finish. During the first episode we see the murder occur in graphic detail, then the next couple of episodes ask why she did what she did and then you start to wonder, "how are they going to manage to drag this out for another six episodes without it getting stale?" The answer is, they aren't and it gets old fast. In this sense, the writing is a mess.
Sometimes though, a show can have messy writing, but be saved by it's cast of characters. However, that is absolutely not the case here. Cora is the main character of the show, so I think we are supposed to feel some sort of connection to her, yet she is so grossly off-putting in every way, I was actually was hoping to see her get the death sentence. At first you see her committing this atrocity, which obviously causes you to take an instant dislike to her, but you expect as the show goes on and we learn more about her, that we will eventually feel sympathetic towards her. In fact, the exact opposite is true, every new facet of information that I learned about her backstory just made me hate her more and at no point did I feel like I was on her side.
There is also a flashback subplot going on, which shows Cora as a suspiciously old looking teenager, as for some reason Jessica Biel is still playing the role of the teenage Cora. Through this we see her family life growing up, but her family are some of the most dislikeable characters I have seen in a TV show in years. Her mother is a religious nut to the point of insanity, her father is sleeping with the next door neighbour and her terminally ill sister is such a little shit that you don't feel any sympathy towards her for her illness and you end up hoping she will die sooner rather than later.
I'll try to discuss the ending without giving away any major spoilers, but for those who haven't yet seen the show, you may want to skip to the final paragraph. At around the episode 5 mark, I was very close to giving up on this show, but I had heard that the ending was amazing, so I stuck with it. What a waste of time that turned out to be. The reveal itself was a huge let down and after everything was revealed, I still felt that the murder victim didn't deserve to die and I thought that Cora pretty much getting away with murder was so dissatisfying and undeserved.
Overall, this show is pretty awful. There are so many plot threads that go nowhere, the writing thinks it is far more clever than it actually is, actors that I normally like are playing entirely dislikeable characters and the whole thing seems far longer than just nine episodes. The ending isn't worth sticking around for and really the show is just tons of wasted potential. Do yourself a favour and give this a skip, there are far better shows available to watch on Netflix.
Top Fear: The Remaking of a TV Legend
Book
'Today and every day for me, up until May 2016, is all about the first episode of the brand new Top...
Perry Larkin (8 KP) rated RuPaul's Drag Race - Season 9 in TV
Dec 12, 2017
Contains spoilers, click to show
As a huge RPDR fan, I hated the way they changed up the finale, basically invalidating all of Shea's hard work. I honestly loved the top four but only felt one deserved the win. Sasha is amazing and I won't fight her wearing the crown, but I'm sad Peppermint lost the chance to win for all Transgendered Queens, I'm sad Shea lost after being the obvious winner from the first episode, and I'm sad Trinity's dark horse struggle didn't get her across the finish line in time. Overall the best part of this season wasn't shown on TV but only online in the new untucked. Hopefully this season's Farrah, Charlie, Kimora, and yes, Valentina too, will teach future contenders that being on the show isn't enough, and that they need to come prepared and ready to win.
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Dorothy Must Die in Books
Jul 23, 2017
the description of OZ (2 more)
The cowardly lion
the rest if the original gang
the plot just went in circles (2 more)
no real heroes
never really found it's footing
Not so Wonderful Oz (read in 2014)
This book had so much potential to be really amazing and different but in the end it just fell short. The characters were bland and the plot just felt like it was going around in circles trying to find a point where the real plot could take off. I know this is the first in the series so I am holding out a little hope that maybe the second book will be better.
The only thing I really liked was the description of OZ and it's more horror induced characters. I feel like this has more potential to be a good TV show or movie over a book.
The only thing I really liked was the description of OZ and it's more horror induced characters. I feel like this has more potential to be a good TV show or movie over a book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2494 KP) rated Scene of the Climb (Pacific Northwest Mystery #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Meg Reed has finally landed her first post college job. Unfortunately, it’s at an outdoor magazine, and Meg is not an outdoor kind of person. Still, she bravely faces her fear of heights to cover the final leg in a cross country reality TV show competition. But when she witnesses one of the contestants plunge to his death, Meg realizes she might be in over her head.
Meg is a great main character, and I loved spending time with her. The rest of the cast is equally as strong. The pacing was off in the plot a bit, but everything does come together for a nice climax. I will definitely be back for more.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-scene-of-climb-by-kate-dyer.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Meg is a great main character, and I loved spending time with her. The rest of the cast is equally as strong. The pacing was off in the plot a bit, but everything does come together for a nice climax. I will definitely be back for more.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-scene-of-climb-by-kate-dyer.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Quantum Leap in TV
Feb 14, 2018
Possibly the best TV show ever
Technically sci-fi (Sam is sent back through time into the body of people whose lives went wrong to try and stop certain events from happening) but each episode was a mini-drama in itself with a sci-fi overlay. Whether Sam became a pregnant woman, a struggling aging baseball player or a young man with down's syndrome, Scott Bakula's character had to work out who they were (starting with the standard "Oh boy" in the mirror), and with the help of his hologram assistant Al (Dean Stockwell) what events they would be trying to avoid. Once the task was complete, Sam would "leap" out, each time hoping the next leap would be the leap home.
Truly brilliant and I have nice warm fuzzy memories of watching with my family throughout the early 90s.
Truly brilliant and I have nice warm fuzzy memories of watching with my family throughout the early 90s.
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Kitty's House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, #7) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
At some point, while watching any episode of a TV show like Buffy or a scary movie, you know that you have spoken to the characters on the screen, despite the fact that they can't hear you. "Don't split up! That's when he'll get you!" or "NO! No sex! The ones who have sex DIE you idiots!" And you've wondered how it is NONE of the characters have ever SEEN a horror movie in their lives, right?
Well, Kitty and friends find themselves in the middle of a snuff film being made by people who hate were-beings/vampires/psychics/etc. Kitty, at least, is smarter than your average scream queen. What ensures isn't exactly hilarity, but this being a Kitty Norville book there are a few bright spots here and there (although far fewer than usual).
Well, Kitty and friends find themselves in the middle of a snuff film being made by people who hate were-beings/vampires/psychics/etc. Kitty, at least, is smarter than your average scream queen. What ensures isn't exactly hilarity, but this being a Kitty Norville book there are a few bright spots here and there (although far fewer than usual).
David McK (3721 KP) rated Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) in Books
Jan 28, 2019 (Updated Sep 17, 2019)
The third Red Dwarf book, picking up from where the previous entry ('Better Than Life) left off, with Dave Lister on earth in an alternate reality where time runs backwards.
More so than either of the previous two books, this novel has a plot all of its own, with that plot containing elements of the TV show on which it is based. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the final portion of the book, which takes the episode 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse' as it's basis. The novel also has a role to play for 'Ace' Rimmer, tracing how his life differed from Arnold Rimmer's back to a single event in his childhood.
Written by only one of the two authors responsible for the previous books, this is also not quite as funny as either of those books.
More so than either of the previous two books, this novel has a plot all of its own, with that plot containing elements of the TV show on which it is based. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the final portion of the book, which takes the episode 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse' as it's basis. The novel also has a role to play for 'Ace' Rimmer, tracing how his life differed from Arnold Rimmer's back to a single event in his childhood.
Written by only one of the two authors responsible for the previous books, this is also not quite as funny as either of those books.
Stephanie Neve (104 KP) rated Arrested Development (2011) in Movies
Jun 23, 2019
Arrested Development was a beautiful cult television right up until it was picked up by Netflix. It is dry, witty comedy and hosts some of the best one liners in TV history.
Tobias Funke is quite possibly my spirit animal.
However season 4 was filmed differently as the cast all had commitments when they came back together. Even though the directors recut this to make it similar to the others (which improved it considerably) the plot still didn't hold up to the rest of the previous seasons.
By season 5 it was just a mess. The cast look tired and the aftermath of that awful New York Times article can be felt.
Just watch the first three seasons guys.
Tobias Funke is quite possibly my spirit animal.
However season 4 was filmed differently as the cast all had commitments when they came back together. Even though the directors recut this to make it similar to the others (which improved it considerably) the plot still didn't hold up to the rest of the previous seasons.
By season 5 it was just a mess. The cast look tired and the aftermath of that awful New York Times article can be felt.
Just watch the first three seasons guys.
James Koppert (2698 KP) rated The Snail and the Whale in TV
Dec 27, 2019
Another Julia Donaldson
This animation company saw great success animating the gruffalo, then the gruffalo's child and have continued the pattern until we are on Julia Donaldson's Snail and The Whale. Here we have characters true to the original illustrations gliding through incredibly animated water in this heartwarming story of a snail who lives on a rock but wants to see the world so gets a lift on the tail of a whale. It's made for small children and is full of innocence and charm and is very very watchable. What's makes Donaldson's books work is her charming simple stories but also her rhythm. The TV show keeps the rhythm but slows it right down to create a peaceful dream like film. They don't overcomplicated it, they just deliver the book and make it cute.