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You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment (2024)
Not what I was hoping for...
As a woman in her 40s (er hum, prime) whose muscle mass is on the decline, I thought from the clips this would be interesting health documentary and educational.
Using twenty odd sets of identical twins, placing one on a healthy omnivore diet and the other on a vegan diet, the producers had a battery of tests performed on the subjects to see what effects the diet change would have on certain metrics: visceral fat; lean muscle mass; fat; weight; fitness testing etc.
I was hoping it would be a side by side analysis, where it would be strict scientific analysis, where the parameters were enforced - a bit like The Biggest Loser camp - to give a true comparison into what the correct nutrients and calorific intake on each diet yields. I was wrong, it was a bait and switcheroo. The majority of the content was a vegan product entrepreneur taking about making cheese from cashews; a high-brow, top dollar New York restaurant turned solely plant based; a retired chicken farmer telling of the ills and conditions the 4 million birds he raised for slaughter but has been reborn a mushroom farmer; and an assault anyone who dares eat protein... meat is bad; it's bad for you, it's bad for the animals and industrial farming is the biggest cause of pollution and killing the planet... and you don't want to be responsible for that now, do you?? So going vegan is a non-brainer. *Nods from the indoctrinated audience*.
There are upsetting shocking and sickening scenes of industrial farming (cattle and fish) in the US, and it is widely known that some of the practises are cruel, inhumane but the sheer level of secrecy regarding the origin of was alarming. As was the fact that all industrially farmed animals are fed antibiotics in their feed from day one, to make up for the squalid and cramped conditions they have to live in before they go to slaughter.
Nothing noteworthy happened with the sets of twins followed by the programme. They were allowed to return to daily life with a hope they'd stick to the diets and exercise regimes. The twins 'loosely' followed the plans, but that was just a rouse to get you watching, it was to demonise animal based protein and telling you by eating an all-plant diet, you could reduce your biological age, even though a scientist at the beginning said he saw no evidence to support that. The vegans are out in force with their bold, unsubstantiated claims again.
...and no, I wouldn't spend $335 at Eleven Madison Park eating wilted lettuce and speaking as a vegetarian, I've never eaten anything plant based I'd describe as 'transcendent', so to say that about vegan dish, colour me sceptical. I admire what they're trying to do but I very much doubt anything vegan will ever compare with the gastronomic delights of their previous menus, which awarded them three Michelin stars...and somehow gained again with their plant based menu. I'm calling time and getting off the carousel.
To wrap it up, this it was a four-episode advertisement for veganism diet. I'm a vegetarian and I'm not buying that codswallop. Meat, cheese and milk substitutes taste like bum, not 'like the real thing.'
The Help (2011)
Avoid the film. Read the book.
I can only assume all the high ratings have come from those who haven't read the book.
I like social injustice films/books. The tale of the down trodden, good triumphing over evil, friendships in the unlikeliest of place... A sense of hope and that fuzzy feel good feeling at the end. For me, book had that. The film, however, was a poor choice on how to spend not a good 2.5 hours of my life.
I can only assume the director was terrified at ruffling people's feathers as the end product a watery, tempered-down hatchet job of a production. The cast was evidently selected because they are familiar, well known faces, and not on their ability to fill the shoes of the characters.
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari (2022)
Could've been shorter.
It goes without saying, what happened was terrible. The lives lost; the trauma; the injuries sustained... absolutely horrible. As a tourist you do expect and demand tour operators to be well trained; responsible and can ultimately be held culpable if negligence has occurred and can be proven.
That being said... I found some of the comments and overall blame culture attitude of particular survivors to be difficult to palate and hard to feel empathy with. You. Went. To. A. Live. Volcano!! It's like climbing Everest and being shocked that it's a bit chilly up there! Even living an ordinary life isn't without its risk, but when you actively go looking for adventure and the wonderment of Mother Nature in her natural, yet unpredictable state - you are increasing the risk of something happening to you. No matter how unlikely, it's never impossible.
Pinocchio (2022)
A Disney film that misses the mark...
Saw this pop up on Disney, so I nipped to the shops to stock up on the snacks, threw on a blanket and cosied up for a bit of Disney magic...
My excitement was misplaced. I almost feel guilty for not liking this, and I don't know why. When I read Tom Hanks was Gepetto, I had high hopes. Tom is great in everything...
I'd love to be specific and give a blow for blow account why I thought this was boring and why it lacked the je ne sais quoi of other Disney films - watching it was hard going. The dialogue felt over the top and jibberish. The energy of the characters was so intense they need a smidge of Ritalin to calm down.
Just disappointed.
The Lovely Bones (2009)
Move along, don't waste two hours of your life.
If you're going to make a film based on a book, the least the director could do is make the film in keeping with the chuffing book!!! God this film was bad.
Peter Jackson had so much scope to improve upon the 'best selling' novel, which was terrible after gripping first 100 pages. Instead he went for the visual effects hoping it would prop up this festering turd of a film. Our survey says X.
Cutting to the chase, what gripped me when reading the book was the shocking and very grim start: Susie getting raped, murdered and dismembered by a weird dude who lived down the street. Her bloody remains were shoved in a safe and dumped down a sinkhole. She even spoke of her body parts leaving a bloody stain on the garage floor when she was still warm. The absolute devastation felt by the father; the need for closure; the need for justice...it's what compelled me to finish the book - which went off on a tangent frequently, with crazy similes and a lot of content which added nothing to the story but this is a smack down of the movie. If, as a director, you're worried about the content of a book being sooo close to the mark and possibly outraging people, just don't attempt to make a film about it if all you're going to do is sanitise it completely for general populous. None of the 'good bits' were even touched upon.
There is no depth to the characters. Rachel Weiss is normally terrific but was wooden. Mark Wahlberg was not at all convincing as the completely shattered father (probably wasn't cast to be). Saoirse Ronan was not cast well. I did love Susan Sarandon as Grandma Lynn.
You know that they say? You can't polish a turd...
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
The book is outstanding. The film is meh.
I finished reading the book with puffy eyes and a lot of tissues. The film was poor in comparison. The director made the film twee instead of an intense, all-consuming first-love story. We've all had that 'first love', the passion, the angst, the discovery of ourselves but add terminal cancer into the mix, so the film should have been infinitely better than it was.
365 dni (2020)
Not too bad actually.
I think it could have been a better film in the right hands.
The sex scenes were so much better then 50 shades of dross. He's hot, she's hot, the sex scenes are not kinky but far from vanilla, one position for procreation purposes only.
The script was lacking but I just watched it for the sex. At least I'm honest. It wasn't half bad.
Hunters (2020)
Horses for courses... but not for me.
I've read a fair reviews raving about this series but I couldn't even finish it. I tried but my mind had switched off and I couldn't reconcile what I hoped Hunters would be, and what it actually is.
The premise behind it was solid and based on historical fact, which is why I was excited to watch it... That excitement died and I switched off episode 4.
What with the many comic book references and analogies, it is a bit of a mess. Mishmash of popular culture, slang, profanity, attitudes mixed into a grim but morbidly fascinating part for history and the fallout thereafter. Perhaps I'm judging it too harshly. I hoped and expected one thing and like a child with a smacked bum, I'm sulking a little.
Al Pacino was great - but when isn't he? The lead character I found to be wet and sanctimonious and I could get passed what a flannel he was. The 'accents' of some of the other cast makes that of Rab C Nesbitt easy to decipher in comparison.
Maybe I will give this another go one day. Doubtful, but anything is possible.
Miracles from Heaven (2016)
Christian clap trap
I tend not to read the synopsis of films and even after watching, it made one 'pray' reference... If it was clearly labeled as a Christian or faith based film, I never would have bothered.
The film was poor but as a 'non-believer', I find religious based films too much to stomach. If you are of a similar persuasion, pick another film.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Don't bother - utter shog dite
So this one had been on my watchlist for a while, due to hype it received and it being a 'classic'. I'm an 80's child but to say that this is/was in any way accurate to what teenage life is like or that 'we' can identify with at least one of the characters??? Rubbish. This for me is on par with Green Lantern. Charging head first into the wall would have been more entertaining. I won't be watching this again, not even if offered vast sums of money.