angie-83-103270 Reviews

True Detective: Night Country: Part 6 (2024) Season 4, Episode 6

Powerful Storytelling

[10/10 · 19 February 2024]

I've been on the Reddit threads watching the vitriol, and then tonight just perusing the headlines prior to watching the final episode.

Honestly, I was ready to be hugely disappointed. Thankfully, I'm an intelligent and independent thinker. As an EMS dispatcher in my own remote Alaskan community, and having now watched the entire season, I stand by my defense of the intricate detail to the truth of Alaska life that Night Country portrays.

From indigenous women's issues, the razor's edge of spirituality, paranormal, superstition, and the polar night, to the flawless storytelling, I give it a 10.

Faraway Downs (2023)

Intensely Genius

[10/10 · 28 November 2023]

You must actually get Baz Luhrmann to get the brilliance here. Haunting and eloquent. Insightful and poetic. Tragic and breathtaking. All at once.

This will no doubt be a show that I will watch again and again. And I will encourage my writing students to study the example that Luhrmann demonstrates in this masterpiece of how to put an audience squarely in the skin of the protagonists, give those characters believable, sympathetic qualities and a balance of flaws, and then take the audience on a thrilling ride.

This adaptation sweeps us up from the very beginning and transports us to another world. I fully expect Emmys all around. Nothing was left on the floor.

Beef (2023– )

Tight

[10/10 · 10 April 2023]

Started episode one just to have something on in the background while I was getting ready for bed. Ended up staying up all night. Watched the entirety of season one without even realizing the sun was coming up. I could not turn it off. Very tight storytelling. No wasted real estate. Powerful through-line that is tightly intertwined in every scene and within the two POV characters' lives, their choices, and the inevitable conclusion. Extraordinary script, direction, acting. Stakes, motive, pacing, timing, every characters' choices...unbelievably well-executed. Actually starting at the beginning again. I fully expect Emmys all-around.

Euphoria: The Theater and Its Double (2022) Season 2, Episode 7

Perfectly Genius

[10/10 · 21 February 2022]

Mind. Blown. Should win an Emmy and a Tony. Seamless editing. Stellar acting. Insanely visionary direction. I could hardly breathe. A rare piece of art, indeed.

Being the Ricardos (2021)

As a baby boomer who grew up with I Love Lucy...

[10/10 · 18 January 2022]

Aaron Sorkin, the entire cast, the production team did an outstanding job. I'd say, "Good thing I dismissed the negative and mediocre reviews," but I already know how mean and ignorant people can be when it comes to online reviews, and I know better than to let what's been said dissuade me from watching any film. But I'm particularly glad I didn't pass on Being the Ricardos.

Kidman, Bardem, Simmons, Arianda nailed their performances of the I Love Lucy cast. And Sorkin has made a beautiful and meaningful tribute while also bringing the beloved show back to life for me.

Them (2021– )

Exceptional Storytelling

[10/10 · 14 April 2021]

Enthralling and actually important, regardless of one-star reviews. All exceptional storytelling in horror (which is a more apt genre assignment for Them), blends the real with the surreal. That's why The Handmaid's Tale, The Queen, Narcos, ZeroZeroZero, Breaking Bad are so compelling, as well. Is everyone all up in arms over those shows? No. Is there truth in those stories? You bet. Watched the entire season in one sitting. Bravo. Well done. I'm thrilled that season 2 got a green light.

Flack (2019–2021)

Clever

[10/10 · 24 January 2021]

If Fleabag is your taste, you will love this. Ignore negative reviews. They don't know what they're talking about.

Embrace: The Documentary (I) (2016)

Powerful

[10/10 · 22 September 2016]

A must see film for every daughter, sister, mother, grandmother...and for every man. The empowering body image movement needed a credible voice. The thing is, while Taryn herself brings a simple clarity to the conversation, and while she interviews the some of the most compelling, inspiring women of our time, what she has done here is give credibility to that inner voice inside each one of us that whispers that we are all good enough, we are powerful, and we are beautiful.

While there are exceptional films that inspire us to level-up as human beings, rarely does a film inspire me to do an about-face, call me to action. I came home and dumped out my collection of diet pills.