hughjman Reviews

Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore (2013 TV Special)

Loved the second part

[8/10 · 14 May 2024]

I was really kind of bored for a while but then from the time she came back onstage, it was great. (In the first part, I did love her saying "Kyle" repeatedly.)

The kid comic was great. I think Kristin has great material when she steps away from the taint-vagina stuff. That's been done to death by others, but her other material (in the second half) is very unique.

I was really kind of bored for a while but then from the time she came back onstage, it was great. (In the first part, I did love her saying "Kyle" repeatedly.)

The kid comic was great. I think Kristin has great material when she steps away from the taint-vagina stuff. That's been done to death by others, but her other material (in the second half) is very unique.

She's a helluva performer.

Maestro (2023)

An okay enough watch, but where is West Side Story?

[4/10 · 18 February 2024]

It's not a strict biopic, really, it's more about the marriage of Bernstein and Felicia. It was okay enough to watch all the way through but a few things threw me.

First, though, I thought Cooper was good. I don't remember if Bernstein's voice really sounded nasal to the degree as in this portrayal. Sometimes the voice distracted me, sometimes not.

As for the "nose controversy," I'm Jewish and it was fine by me. It made Cooper actually look like Bernstein. I find that when someone's playing a very well-known real person, it takes me out of it if they don't look like them.

I love Carey Mulligan as an actress. Still, I found her very English accent a little off-putting, as Felicia was born in Costa Rica and grew up in Chile.

The big miss for me was the lack of West Side Story. The instrumental opening to it does play in the background of a scene that takes place much later than WSS's original Broadway run, but WSS was such a crucial turning point in musical theater that the lack of it stood out for me. It's the musical elephant in the room. They wouldn't have had to do an extended "making of WSS," but there was a perfect place to hear some of it: in the scene that I believe was meant to take place at its opening night.

For a fan like me, Leonard Bernstein IS West Side Story. And vice versa.

Cooper's approach was ultimately a conundrum for me. Say you came to it knowing nothing about Bernstein's magnificent works? You wouldn't understand from the film why he merited a movie. The marriage stuff isn't interesting enough without being balanced by his work. And as someone who has been a fan (particularly of WSS) for decades, it's a case of Where's the beef? It would have worked much better for me if the focus had been 50% the marriage, 50% the music. Or at least 25% the music. I almost certainly would have rated it a good deal higher in that case. And I might have watched it multiple times, as I do when I'm really grabbed by a movie.

Without the music, there's no answer to "why was this movie made?"

Imagine "Bohemian Rhapsody" with no Queen music.

Sidebar: If you're an ex-smoker like me, be prepared: there's a LOT of chain smoking. And if you're like me, it might make you yearn for a cigarette (or 50). Fortunately, cigarettes are too expensive now.

American Fiction (2023)

Two movies in one but ultimately didn't work that well for me

[6/10 · 11 February 2024]

I went into this expecting to love it because I've loved Jeffrey Wright ever since "Angels in America."

The first half hour to hour got me interested but then started to not work for me.

Logline: "Terms of Endearment" meets "The Producers."

It felt like it was trying to be a relational human drama on the one hand and a farcical satire on the other. Because of the former, the latter never built the momentum it needed. And vice versa. As such, the pacing comes out herky jerky while also feeling lackadaisicle. It never feels like the stakes are building.

I felt like the writer/director copped out at the end. Wright's speech and the reactions to it, both of which I really would have liked to see, were abruptly abandoned for a "clever" ending. In retrospect, I understand the irony of the clever ending -- that that outcome is what a white audience might expect according to this film, but it took a few hours for that to dawn on me-- if that's what they were going for. And even if that's the satirical ending they were going for, the rest of the movie doesn't work as satisfyingly as it might, for me.

No complaints about the acting, everyone was very good. (Wright was his usual excellent self. And I was very happy to see Leslie Uggams.) The book biz satire scenes were pretty funny. But in my opinion, the whole thing felt like a refreshing soda that went flat.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Better than the book

[8/10 · 20 January 2024]

The true story of what was done to the Osage is tragic, riveting, and important. The movie told it very well, although I can see that the film somewhat centered the white characters too much at the expense of the Osage characters, whose tragedy it was.

Lily Gladstone is magnificent. Leonardo D is very good. (I don't know why he wasn't nominated for an Oscar.) DeNiro always gets the job done but it's kind of funny that he's just a few years younger than his real-life character was when he died after a long stretch in prison. (Actually, I think Leonardo and Deniro are both about twice the ages of their real-life counterparts when the actual murders took place.)

I liked that they didn't include the whole story of the founding of the FBI, which the book went into at great and somewhat boring length and so detracted from the Osage story, I felt. On the other hand, the film may have cut that part too much, and maybe could have spent a little more time on Plemon's character figuring things out. It's just kind of a done deal when he shows up.

It feels kind of anticlimactic at the end, but that's likely because it's a true story. I'm glad Scorcese didn't invent a big bang fake ending.

I loved the surprise at the beginning. That was really cool.

I know some reviewers have trouble with the length - and it is, indeed, long. I think it worked because you realize that Ernest went along with what was done to Mollie for a very long time - and she was suffering all that time. It also allowed viewers' dread to build up. Full disclosure, I watched it in two sittings - it's not a movie to start later at night unless you want to be up till the wee hours.

Barbie (I) (2023)

Loved Ryan Gosling but not the movie

[5/10 · 17 December 2023]

I don't get the hype.

But I'll start with Ryan Gosling was very funny. Margot Robbie was very good, too.

But...

The dialogue is on-the-nose simplistic. No subtext, no nuance.

Most of the music didn't do anything for me, but I did like "I'm Just Ken" and Billie Eilish's song at the end.

Only one line made me laugh: Ken's "I want to play the guitar at you." And Ken's double sunglasses were funny.

The "real world" wasn't any less cartoony than Barbieland. The Mattel execs were too silly, not funny, and Keystone Cop-py.

All the movies propositions, or whatever, have now been around at least 70 years. Likely more (suffragettes). And they're hammered at you, rather than shown.

I did like learning about the inventor of the Barbie doll, but that was one brief scene.

That said, I can see Gerwig has directing talent and great inventiveness. But for me, this movie was kind of meh. Sometimes I like movies better on a second watching, so I watched it twice. Still didn't like it.

I agree with the filmmakers' philosophy and message, but it didn't work for me as a movie.

Maybe I'll try it a third time down the road. It's possible I just wasnt in the right mood for it.

A Dangerous Son (2018 TV Movie)

Let the sister live with the aunt

[5/10 · 10 August 2023]

This isn't an easy watch, but it was worth watching. Heartbreaking, and at times, even more heartbreaking.

The thought I had repeatedly about the persistently terrorized and beaten sister Elexa was that she should be allowed to live with her aunt, away from her mother and abusive brother. That little girl deserved to live in a calm household where she's not fearful all the time.

This isn't an easy watch, but it was worth watching.

The thought I had repeatedly about the persistently terrorized and beaten sister Elexa was that she should be allowed to live with her aunt, away from her mother and abusive brother. That little girl deserved to live in a calm household where she's not fearful all the time.

I Saw the Light (2015)

Kind of tedious with a very good performance by Hiddleston

[5/10 · 23 July 2023]

A little tedious, but I liked it better on the second viewing. I don't know why. There is a monotone quality to it.

What might have livened it up is if Tom Hiddleston had lip synced to Williams' recordings. Williams had a distinctive voice that's hard to replicate. Hiddleston did a nice job on some of the songs ("Honky Tonkin'" especially) but his singing is pleasant but not distinctive. When Williams sang, it felt like he was living the songs, not just performing them. "You're Cheatin' Heart" and "So Lonesome I Could Cry" -- two of the saddest songs ever -- just fizzle here.

Hiddleston does an excellent job in the acting department, though.

As a Williams' fan, I was glad to learn a little more about about Williams' life. They briefly covered his death, but the sadness of it - - that he died in the back of a car and no one realized he was dead for some time -- was skipped over.

The Last of Us (2023– )

Finale too abrupt but series was great

[10/10 · 14 July 2023]

I don't usually watch these kinds of shows (never seen Walking Dead, for instance). But I became an instant fan of Pedro Pascal when he hosted SNL. He and Bella Ramsey are exquisite in their portrayals, truly great acting.

The infected are kind of silly but it's really hard to make zombies who aren't kind of funny. For me, the sense of dread when they were on the verge of appearing was very strong, much more so than any "horror" I felt at them.

I wish the finale had been longer - at least 90 minutes, but really two hours. I actually thought there was one more episode so that could be why it felt abrupt to me.

There is a plot device that seemed too handy to me - when the cult guy really brings medicine for Joel. There was no reason for him to do that.

Still, I give it a 10. The series was riveting and the leads' acting impeccable.

Plus, I only notice sound when it's very good or very bad, and the sound in this series is great.

Welcome to the Rileys (2010)

Great natural acting, moving story

[8/10 · 25 June 2023]

I really, really like this movie. It's definitely an "indie," not a big Hollywood movie. It has a good and compelling "small" story. Gandolfini, Stewart, and Leo are wonderful. Their acting is very natural, resulting in believable human beings. I found it quite moving. Well-written, too. If you like smaller-story indies, you might very well like this.

I really, really like this movie. It's definitely an "indie," not a big Hollywood movie. It has a good and compelling "small" story. Gandolfini, Stewart, and Leo are wonderful. Their acting is very natural, resulting in believable human beings. I found it quite moving. Well-written, too. If you like smaller-story indies, you might very well like this.

Not Dead Yet (2023–2024)

Enjoyable

[7/10 · 28 April 2023]

I enjoy this show. It's not really a comedy or drama - it's just somewhere in the middle. The writing is smart enough that I don't feel it's a wasted half hour. Gina Rodrigues, the lead is wonderful.

I enjoy this show. It's not really a comedy or drama - it's just somewhere in the middle. The writing is smart enough that I don't feel it's a wasted half hour. Gina Rodrigues, the lead, is wonderful.

I enjoy this show. It's not really a comedy or drama - it's just somewhere in the middle. The writing is smart enough that I don't feel it's a wasted half hour. Gina Rodrigues, the lead is wonderful.

Mae Martin: SAP (2023 TV Special)

I smiled often

[6/10 · 30 March 2023]

I keep submitting this review and it doesn't post.???

I can't say I laughed uproariously during this comedy special, but I did smile pretty often. Mae is very engaging and it was a pleasant watch. I'd watch future shows by them.

As I remember, the doggy style section and callbacks were the funniest parts.

Mae has a fun stage presence. Very likeable.

There seems to be a trend in comedy specials where to me, they seem more like one-person shows than all-out comedy. Rothaniel, which I also enjoyed, was another one, as I remember. I guess the difference is that these shows seem much more personal-story based, and that's okay.

Women Talking (2022)

Very good while also being tedious at times - figure that out!

[8/10 · 12 March 2023]

I think this movie is definitely worth a watch.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tedious at times, but it's also riveting. That it can be both simultaneously is kind of amazing. The first 90 minutes or so are very much like watching a play, so you need the same kind of patience you bring to theater.

I did have some problem with how eloquent the women were - but not enough to hinder my interest. It's just that they haven't been allowed to learn to read or write to keep them intellectually "hobbled," as slaves were. But they speak in an educated way, and occasionally one of them will use a word that just doesn't seem believable if someone hasn't read books or lived in a culture where learning is encouraged.

If they weren't so articulate, it would add a layer of how will the women survive economically if they can't read or write and their vocabularies are stunted? These women are so eloquent, I don't worry about any of them getting jobs, and I would think that would have been a concern of theirs, too. Do they know what "jobs" are - I would think so since August is a teacher - why doesn't anyone ask him what to expect out there? But it may be the movie just didn't want to go there, which is okay.

I also found it not quite believable that their culture would allow a transgender person to exist in its midst.

For me, the most powerful moment comes at the end, when Autje turns around and faces forward in the wagon. It's blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but it's so powerful.

The acting is very good as is the directing. It's very much an ensemble piece and the ensemble is terrific. Jessie Buckley, as always, delivers to the nth degree. Rooney Mara is totally wonderful -- although I did wonder if the character should be younger. I can't imagine this culture would let a woman stay unmarried so long. I never saw some of the others before - all very, very good.

The last half hour is pretty exciting. The music is very good, especially in the last part. And when "Daydream Believer"(a favorite song of mine) reappears at the end, it broke me a little. Good job, whoever did the music.

There are a few directing and script choices I could nitpick, but overall, it's very well worth the watch. I actually watched it twice and will likely watch it again. Great job, Sarah Polley!

Till (I) (2022)

Heartbreaking and enraging

[10/10 · 20 February 2023]

It's a hard movie to watch, but that's as it should be.

If you know the true story, there's a dread that accompanies the first part because you know what's going to happen .

I don't understand why Danielle Deadwyler wasn't nominated for Best Actress - which she would have won - or why the movie wasn't nominated. I won't be watching the Oscars this year because they're totally bogus.

The enraging part is both the murder and that none of the murderers were punished. They actually confessed to Look Magazine and they were not punished. More recent attempts to bring the awful woman who started it all and lied on the stand failed. It's almost too much to bear.

The movie is excellent - but an emotionally difficult watch. As it should be.

Lopez vs. Lopez (2022– )

So disappointing after his classic show

[3/10 · 18 February 2023]

I totally loved the George Lopez show with Max, Carmen, and Angie. I'm always happy to watch reruns of that.

This is nowhere in that league. The writing is bad, except for a decent line once in a while. It's overacted, possibly to make up for the bad writing. The child character is written totally overly precocious. Too bad they couldn't get the writers from the old show. Or is the network requiring the writers to write in this fashion? If so, maybe the show would be better if the network just let the writers write at the top of their game. Or even at the middle would be better.

And maybe the actors would be better if they had good writing.

I'd give the old show with Angie etc. An 8 or 9.

Note to network: The laugh track doesn't make us think it's funny.

Adding: I saw an episode that was noticeably better. Not great yet, but not cringey like the other ones I saw. The acting and writing were better. Maybe things are on the upswing.

Your Place or Mine (2023)

Sadly, not good

[2/10 · 11 February 2023]

First off, I really, really like "The Devil Wears Prada," which I've watched repeatedly. This is the same writer.

"Your Place" to me is just facile and lazy writing. During the first hour, I kept debating whether to stick with it. Since there was nothing else on, and I was tired from the workweek, I did. When Jesse Williams (from Grey's Anatomy) showed up, I perked up because, well, it's Jesse Williams! The movie did start to move a little faster then. Faster but not better.

There's no real tension in the movie until the last scene, which feels tacked on just so there can be a climactic "I hate you, no - I love you!" scene. Everyone gets what they want effortlessly. Want a top NYC editor to read your friend's book? Both he and his assistant read it overnight and of course, want to publish it. Debbie/Reese is taking a graduate class but never has to study. Want your friend's kid to be on the hockey team? Even though his mom hasn't let him play hockey, he makes it on the first try.

It's a lot of telling, not showing. We're told they've had this 20 year best friendship, but we don't see anything that would lead us to think that. We're told they fell in love the first night, but we don't see it.

I think because I already have good will towards Reese and Ashton, I automatically root for them from the top to the extent that I care, which isn't much.

Zoe Chao is the one really funny character, but that may be more the actor than the writing. I was happy to see Steve Zahn but then his character was just dumb. The young actor playing Jack was very good. I didn't like it, though, when Jack was given preternatural insight for his age.

There's no actual comedy, except for Zoe Chao. Maybe if the writer had rewritten it a bunch of times and made the dialogue better. I can't remember one line standing out or making me laugh.

I know the writer can do much better, given she also wrote "Devil Wears Prada."

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Song choices were meh

[5/10 · 17 September 2022]

First off, I think the song choices in the first PP were much better. (Also, in either version I couldn't understand, since they did each song so well impromptu, why did they have to rehearse?)

The use of "aca" with words was pretty cringey. I mean these are college kids, I think they'd realize how stupid that is. I get that it's a convention of the movie, but it never worked for me.

I found the first one a decent enough way to pass some spare time, and the same with this one. But the songs really weren't a payoff worth the wait for me this time. And the main reason I would watch is for the music.

I am a fan of Rebel Wilson, though.

Don't Make Me Go (2022)

Stupidest ending ever? Ruined it.

[4/10 · 17 July 2022]

I would have given this a 7, maybe even an 8 factoring in the excellent acting of John Cho and Mia Isaac who plays his daughter. (Their acting gets a 10.) But near the end came a plot twist that ruined it for me. Totally out of the blue. And too far-fetched, too implausible a coincidence for the total believability the movie had very successfully established. The movie totally held my interest until then (again, thanks mostly to Cho and Isaac)... and then I didn't care about what happened.

It was as if it was one movie and then BAM! It was another. I wanted to see the original story play out. Granted, there's a throwaway line at the top of the movie that clues you in - it didn't me because I didn't give it tht much thought as I got wrapped up in the movie. In retrospect, that didn't matter and I don't think it would have changed my mind about the ending.

It was as if the movie projectionist switched to another movie 7/8 through.

For me, this is up there with "Pay It Forward" in the pantheon of disastrous movie endings.

Your mileage may indeed vary. And it's worth a watch for the excellent acting between Cho and Isaac. But the ending... it's like watching an Olympic gymnast who's gotten all 10s go SPLAT in the final event.

Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary (2010)

A weak link here or there but still tremendously moving

[10/10 · 5 June 2022]

I thought Alfie Boe (Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert) and Lea Salonga (Fantine) were amazing. Samantha Barks (Eponine) and Ramin Karimloo (Enroljas) were wonderful.

And so Nick Jonas, the unfortunately weak link here. I just think a big Broadway musical with the kind of demands this one has is not for him, or at least wasn't when he was just 17. I don't know how much can be attributed to age, since Rachel Zegler was about the same age when West Side Story was filmed and she certainly carried off those demanding songs exquisitely.

I think it's just he doesn't have the kind of voice Michael Ball has. That's the singing voice lottery. My singing voice sucks. NJ certainly doesn't ruin it and a lot of the time he's quite good and moving. But then there's Michael Ball (who's so nice, he'd never consider it a competition).

You just have to listen to Michael Ball at the end here to be reminded of the vocal power needed to do justice to Marius' songs. NJ's weaker voice keeps the songs from being as moving as they should be. Jonas' voice just isn't up to "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables" or the rousing moment when Marius declares , "My place is here, I fight with you" in "One Day More." When Ball sings that - cliche as it sounds - your heart soars. Jonas does however look like a college student more than most of the others (a kind of bewildered freshman at orientation, really).

I think because NJ was so young at the time, his casting also likely affected the physical staging of "A Little Fall of Rain." In the productions with Michael Ball, Marius holds Eponine very close during the song, and it's infinitely more moving. (After all, there's a reason she sings "And you will keep me close.")

I can't imagine why they didn't let Hadley Fraser, Grantaire in this version, play Marius as he did in London. He was and would have been astonishing.

Jonas just doesn't have the needed Broadway vocal power, but in his own venue (pop) I understand he's very good. I couldn't do Les Miz either. I couldn't even do pop. I can barely sing in the shower and no one wants to hear me do it!

Having said all that, I have to also say Nick Jonas was a wonderful and adorable Gavroche when he was younger. Maybe he just needs to time to grow into the Marius Part.

I understand now that Katie Hall (Cosette) was brought in just a few days before the concert, so I get now why some of her facial expressions really didn't fit what was going on, especially at the beginning of a scene. Aside from that, she was very good and has a lovely voice. Grown Cosette is kind of a thankless role, anyway, in the way that ingenue parts often are, where other roles are far more interesting and complex.

I still gave it the rating I did because even with some weaknesses, the music is gorgeous. Jonas carries off his part decently and it does seem worth remembering that he was only 17 at the time. Maybe there's a trade-off between someone who looks the age of the part and a more seasoned, older performer. It kind of makes me sad how much better it could have been, though, with Hadley Fraser in the Marius role.

Breaking Bad: Felina (2013) Season 5, Episode 16

Perfect ending.

[10/10 · 17 April 2022]

One of the best - possibly THE best - series endings ever. This show was always great but the episodes leading up to the series finale set a pace and dramatic tension that were mindbogglingly thrilling. Then the finale topped everything like a cherry on a really good sundae.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant finale.

Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (2022 TV Special)

Makes sense it's in a jazz club

[6/10 · 3 April 2022]

I liked him a lot on Saturday night live. He was great.

I guess it makes sense that this special is in a jazz club, because it's not really standup. It's more like sitting in on someone's therapy session, and in that sense it kind of winds around like a jazz song and keeps hitting certain themes repeatedly.

There are some funny lines here and there as he tells the story of his family, the kind you use to joke away pain. It's not a hahahaha hilarious standup special, it's more like a one-man show.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Grimly Great, Marvelous Music

[10/10 · 26 February 2022]

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are wonderful. Alan Rickman is fantastic - what a great actor he was. The other actors/characters are also great, as well. The haunted sadness that Johnny Depp brings through his performance keeps it from being simply a cartoon.

A few songs are missing here (and I missed them, but I do like it better without the chorus) from the stage musical but I think most are intact. And, of course, they're Sondheim songs, so they're magnificent.

The bleakness that visually overhangs the film works wonderfully - Burton did a great job.

The Lost Daughter (2021)

Left me mad at lack of payoff

[4/10 · 20 February 2022]

During the first half-hour, I thought this was going to be a super boring and slow film and was debating continuing to watch it. Then elements were added that started to make it somewhat interesting and Jesse Buckley was wonderful (as she was in "Chernobyl"). Dakota Johnson was very good, as always. A sense of "ooh, what will happen" grew. I stayed interested ... and then it ended. And the ending was dull. And nothing. Like if you watched West Side Story and no one showed up for the rumble. (Although at least you'd still have the fabulous songs/dances that preceded in that case.)So now I feel like I totally wasted 2 hours of my life. And I'm mad about that.

Maggie G (who I like a lot a an actress) does show promise as a director.

There's a scene that is a kind of metaphor to the experience of watching the movie (although I doubt it was intended that way). Young Leda and her husband (Joe?) are having sex and he loses his erection. She goes to the bathroom in a disappointed huff.

Just lots of red herrings that never go anywhere. In the end, it felt like a bait-and-switch.

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

A "Little" Movie With A Big Heart

[7/10 · 13 February 2022]

I just kind of stumbled on this on TV one night and wasn't expecting much. I'd never heard of it. It was kind of slow going at the start but boy, did it suck me in.

Shia LaBoeuf is magnificent. Over the course of the film, I fell a little in love with him and his character, Tyler. Dakota Johnson has a lovely, natural quality to her acting that I've always liked. Zack is wonderful.

It's a friendship movie and a quietly building romance, with the unobtrusive romance taking a backseat to the friendship that develops. And it's about how everyone needs adventures, however small, and love. And how people blossom when they have those.

It's a lovely and touching little journey with these three people, and it made me happy.

Memento (2000)

Cerebral, not really moving

[6/10 · 6 February 2022]

I'd always meant to watch this movie, mostly because I like Guy Pearce and have ever since L. A. Confidential, and because this movie got rave reviews when it came out.

At first I was intrigued. It's a movie you watch during which you're very conscious of the fact that you're waiting for a big payoff that you hope will knock your socks off.

It was pretty clever, after all. It would maybe make it more impressive if I knew why the cop was helping him (maybe they explain it at some point in the movie and I missed it).

It's much more cerebrally interesting than emotionally gripping.

I'd put it in somewhat the same vein as The Usual Suspects. I liked that movie much more, though, even though I guessed the ending, which I didn't with this one.

Belfast (2021)

Good-enough movie, good acting

[6/10 · 2 February 2022]

First off, I'm a big fan of Van Morrison's music, but I felt like this movie browbeat me with it. Branagh's a wonderful actor and knows the importance of small moments - and yet, at least once, there's a sweet small moment and before I had time to fully take it in, he blasted a Van Morrison song in my face. A few more times the music shows up in a HERE'S HOW YOU SHOULD FEEL way when we would have gotten there on our own.

Aside from that, it's a decent movie. I don't regret watching it. I might watch it again. These are lives you come to care about. The movie sets up enough tension that I was really worried for the last 10 minutes or so that the father would be killed before the family could leave town.

The acting was good, especially the mother. And may I say, if she was that gorgeous in real life, congratulations Mr. Branagh Sr. And family! I thought it was funny that she was wearing Laura Petrie pedal-pushers most of the time - maybe those were very popular then. It was the right era for it.