Cheezwiz

The children definitely do seem like little props to show off designer wear. They may grow up alternately spoiled with material things and neglected emotionally.

Yes! I just watched it recently on Sundance. The series was well done, if a bit too long. I'm actually old enough to remember when the incident originally happened - it was featured on 60 Minutes, and I then saw a network TV Movie about it which starred Brian Dennehy as the bad guy murdered by the townspeople. I too am very opposed to vigilante justice, but man, those people in the town really were left without any recourse. I never kept up with the story afterward, so the update in the Sundance documentary about the town''s declining fortunes was a bit of a jaw-dropper. I didn't mean to derail the thread, but I think that was kind of the point the filmmakers were trying to make with this installation of "Crime Scene", that sometimes even when things are eventually found to be tragic accidents with no perpetrator, they can often take place in locales that have been marinating in despair or darkness. A sort of vortex of negativity, if you will. @MerBearStare The example you gave of coming home to your roommates is an excellent one. I really do think certain buildings/locales can absorb the energy of bad things that have happened there. I have also experienced the opposite - on an annual heritage home tour I have gone on, a couple of homes made a huge impression on me, not just because of their architectural beauty, but just a special ambiance that made me feel really warm & happy, and wish I could LIVE in them, or at least come back for repeat visits. I really think those homes were loving ones. Thank you all for coming to my woo-woo Ted Talk!

Yes, the conclusion the show came to was close to what I figured likely would have happened. I never delved too deeply into the conspiracy theories after the story hit the media, and the coverage eventually petered out. Very sad, she was obviously a sensitive introvert who was wrestling with some very serious mental issues. It sounded like she was having a major psychotic break while she was at the hotel. I did like how they systematically debunked all of the conspiracy stuff in the final episode, and even the one YouTuber guy admitted a lot of the keyboard theories were ridiculous. I wish they hadn't devoted as much time to the amateur internet sleuths - the show could have easily been condensed into 2-3 episodes and been much better for it. That one weird obsessive guy they kept interviewing who wanted a photo of her grave was certainly side-eye worthy. I felt bad for the Mexican death-metal guy - he was correct when he said The Cecil Hotel claimed both him and Elisa, just in different ways. I'm not saying there are literal ghosts wandering the hotel stalking people, but I do believe that energy collects in certain places and affects those immersed in it, much the same way heat gets absorbed into a wall and bounces off on people. The sheer amount of awful stuff that has happened there (and I don't mean the standard miserable OD's which are bad enough) is sort of staggering. Interestingly, I watched another documentary recently called "No One Saw A Thing" which kind of plays with a similar theme: a bunch of townspeople shoot a man who had been terrorizing the town for years to death. This man was admittedly heinous, but no one came forward, and no one was ever charged. Immediately afterward, the town's fortunes began to nose-dive, and a series of other ghastly high-profile crimes - which would normally be statistically very unlikely - happened there. It will be interesting to see what happens to the hotel under new owners. Really, given its history, I think the best option would be to set a match to the place.

I thought everything about her was a bit odd - she seemed to still have a bit of an aura of "stunned bumpkin" about her, and a weird devotion to the hotel years after she had left. Given the hotel's awful neighbourhood and sordid reputation, maybe there was just a real dearth of applicants?

YES! That's exactly what she was reminding me of, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it! She does seem like a misplaced Coen Bros. character! I could sort of understand why she initially took the job - hotel was meant to be cleaned up and turned into a generic Best Western type chain operation. But I'm baffled as to why she stayed so long. Ten years? TEN YEARS! I would have run screaming from that place after Day ONE! Edited to Add: I too would have preferred more time on the history rather than the internet sleuths.

Yay! Glad someone started a topic on this. I've only watched the first episode, but I've enjoyed what I've seen so far. I'm from Vancouver, so you can probably imagine the press this story got at the time. I was initially hoping this story was going to wind up on the new Unsolved Mysteries re-boot at some point, but lo and behold, a whole mini-series has appeared just on this case. I must say, I was a bit stunned so many heavy-hitters were involved in making this: Ron Howard and Brian Glazer? Joe Berlinger? When I heard the announcement about the show, I was honestly expecting some indie low-budget doc that Netflix had snapped up, so the glossy production values were a surprise. Apparently this is the first in a series of Crime Scene shows that Joe Berlinger has planned, that will focus on the locales of notorious crimes. I really like the concept - it reminds me of a great series that used to air on A&E called "City Confidential". Crimes don't happen in a vacuum, so I love learning about the context and history around incidents like this. Curious to see what he chooses next as his subject matter. Re: the hotel, yikes! What a contrast between that stunning lobby and the rest of of that dump! I feel sorry for anyone who got fooled by first impressions and stayed there. L.A. is certainly a weird place, there is literally almost nothing worth seeing downtown, and unfortunately a lot of tourists don't realize this. It was like that when I visited as a kid (there was lots of car traffic, but it was like a ghost town in other respects), and it appears to be the same now. I honestly don't know what to make of the woman who was the former hotel manager. She seemed almost comical to me - as if she were still working for the hotel and trying to uphold some shreds of propriety? Especially when she expressed shock and disbelief that the cops would ask about the employees and garbage disposal routine. Like, seriously, lady? You've worked in this flop-house for a decade, and you're shocked the cops would be investigating how a body might be disposed of in this classy establishment? Looking forward to watching the remaining episodes.

I just finished all of the episodes, and was totally entertained. It's definitely staged and scripted, and it reminded me a lot of Selling Sunset in its watchability. These people are ridiculously over-the-top, but most of them, even if they're a bit dim and obsessed with material goods seemed surprisingly not awful. I think I enjoyed watching Kane the most - the world is his playground, and he loves to have fun, but he's not arrogant or mean-spirited, and is very supportive of friends when they need it. He seems more observant and intelligent than he's given credit for. He totally cracked me up when he was jumping up and down and waving at the Confederate flag paraders in Charleston. Kevin is great looking, and I guess supposed to be the audience surrogate as the token "poor", but he's... not very bright. I wanted to like him, but I found his badgering of Kelly when it was clear she wasn't interested in him really off-putting. Kelly seemed nice enough, but not terribly intriguing apart from the on/off again romance with the Power Ranger guy. She needs to kick him to the curb pronto, but probably never will. They'll be locked in a continual cycle of breaking and making up. It has to be incredibly frustrating for her friend group to witness. That guy is seriously unhinged - not only was the Paris footage upsetting to watch, but he was so scary when he started interrogating her about her dating after they'd "broken up". I hope she leaves him before he starts abusing her physically (if he's not already doing that), or before she gets pregnant and is tied to him forever. Agree with the poster above that she needs to go to therapy on her own. t seems like she's only with him because she's physically attracted to him, and he just keeps reeling her back in after his rages. Just the little glimpses we saw on a scripted show were really disturbing. Kim - definitely looks like a lost Kardashian/Jenner. She seemed okay, but it was frustrating watching her refuse to grasp that her behavior at Anna's was rude and inappropriate. I was curious as to what happened with her family - how her parents split up. Did the Dad just abandon the family, or did the Mom choose to leave? I wondered if "Michael" was just an assumed name that Tony took, and the Dad's second wife calling Kevin & Kane with the news about him was just a cover story so he could go on with with his life and not have to see KIm. Wouldn't the PI have uncovered the real info if it were true? Cherie/Jessy - Cherie looks just like an anime character to me. Sweet and clueless. Man, Jessy did NOT look happy when she proposed to him publicly. Good for her for drawing a line in the sand. Dude, you have two kids with this woman, what are you waiting for? Christine - got the villain edit, but her many outfits were fun to watch. It was more fun to watch Anna shrug her off like the try-hard annoyance she is. Ugh, her kid is going to grow up to be an insufferable little emperor. Anna intrigued me the most. To me, she looked like a hot mess when she first appeared. I think it may have been her odd posture and overdone plastic surgery, (also the sledgehammering of her closet) but she seemed impaired/stoned at first. Instead, she wound up having some very sane observations about the people around her, and decent advice. For the daughter of an arms-dealing oligarch, she was surprisingly impressive in her attitudes - eccentric but very warm and generous. Ultra-secure and confident, because she literally does not have a care in the world, yet not lording her status over others. I think she would be fascinating to talk to regardless of her wealth - I wish the other cast members were more respectful around her. I'd like to know more about her background. Her son appeared briefly in a couple of scenes and looked totally normal. On a shallow note, I was mystified as to how someone that epically wealthy can have such terrible hair?! Jamie - I didn't understand the point of her at all. She barely spoke, and when she did, she wasn't interesting. She probably comes from lots of money, but to me, looked like she should be clerking in an insurance office. I would definitely watch if there were a second season.

I thought this series was quite well done. I only vaguely remembered hearing about this case when I was a kid, and didn't know the particulars at all, so it was an interesting watch for me. I really liked how the show provided a lot of socio-economic background & context for the murders. My God, what neglected impoverished looking areas those were where some of the victims were discovered. Little wonder some women felt desperate enough to engage in occasional prostitution on the side to feed their families. I would have liked more background on some of the women, and how they were mis-identified. I felt incredibly sad for those who had left behind young children. I read that one of Wilma McCann's daughters committed suicide as an adult, because she felt haunted and dogged her whole life by her mother's murder. Unbelievable how badly the cops botched things because of their misogyny and tunnel vision. Imagine being approached by surviving victims who had been attacked with the same MO and had good descriptions, and totally ignoring them because they didn't fit the profile. And the perpetrator was interviewed NINE times and always managed to escape detection. I was curious about the one woman who was an art student, who was attacked in an alley way near her college and survived. From her account, it almost sounded as if once the perpetrator had finally been arrested, she realized that she knew him, or had met him prior to the attack - but the show never returned to that thread.

I finally got around to watching this and really enjoyed it. I agree the happy ending was a bit pat, but I enjoyed the performances and the cinematography. I haven't seen Paul Bettany in anything in years, and thought he was fantastic, playing someone who was coolly sophisticated on the outside and deeply troubled on the inside. I also thought Peter Macdissi was wonderful as his long-time partner - just a lovely performance. I totally believed them as a couple. Definitely worth a watch if you're in the mood for something touching and heartwarming.

I've found this whole series to be a tough slog. I think the issues it brings up are interesting, but man, it's been S-L-O-W. Each episode has been under an hour, but they have all felt three hours long to me. This was actually one of the stronger episodes in my opinion. I completely understand that characters don't have to be likeable, but for me, there's literally been no one for me to root for. With the exception of Bill, Moody and Pearl, almost everyone on the show is a total asshole. I'm not invested in the adoption storyline either, because I actually think both parties are wrong in that situation. It's taken awhile for the show to build intrigue, but there are some story threads that are now tantalizing me. I am dying to know whqt Elena did to her old boyfriend. Clearly the show is setting up that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, with Elena & Lexi being blithe users of other people. I hope Bill dumps Elena's ass. I was actually glad to see Mia give it to Lexi with both barrels - it may have been harsh, but was deserved and needed to be said, even if Mia is a total hypocrite herself. I initially felt some sympathy for Izzy, especially considering the way ALL of her siblings along with Elena treated her, but I'm not liking her much either. Curious to see whether it's her that burns the family home down. Otherwise, eh, I don't care much about anyone on this show.

I guess it's a testament to how incredibly boring the two leads are, in that during a sex-filled episode, I rolled my eyes and looked at my watch for most of it. There was nothing hot about any of it. What. A. Snoozefest. In addition to being dull, as others upthread have astutely pointed out, they're also both a couple of assholes. I'm sick of Simon's petulance, and Daphne is just ... a non-entity. I was much more interested in the sibling relationships at home. Glad Eloise & Penelope made up. I'm not terribly fond of Marina, but her explanation to Penelope was sincere and pragmatic. Curious if Colin and Marina will escape to Gretna Green. Still having trouble sorting out the two eldest brothers.

This is one of my big problems with the actress playing Daphne - I'm actually quite shocked that she's actually in her mid-twenties IRL, because I would have pegged her as being in her mid-to-late teens at the very most. She looks incredibly young and unformed to me. And as handsome as he is, this is why I haven't been finding her scenes with Lord Hastings swoony or hot - the whole masturbation scene felt cringey and creepy to me. Unfortunately the actress playing her is an extreme weak link - there's nothing captivating about her appearance-wise or charisma-wise. She looks like an ordinary unremarkable high-schooler, and I'm kind of mystified as to why she was cast in the role. I'm continuing to plod along with the rest of the show, as I'm enjoying the sets, costumes and general frothiness, and I actually enjoy the other Bridgerton siblings (It did take me until this episode to realize the two eldest brothers were actually separate people - one has sideburns and the other doesn't - it's the only way I can tell them apart).

Eh, I'm not loving this so so much. It just seems supremely silly. I'm enjoying the costumes, the opulence, and the secondary characters, but it just feels like an old WB or CW series dressed up in Georgian costume. Another problem for me is that the lead actress is not doing anything to hold my interest. Her character is supposed to be enchanting and spectacular, and I'm afraid she's just ... not. The fellas are certainly handsome, but the whole focus of the show so far seems to be Daphne, and I find myself tuning out whenever she's on. I don't care about her marriage prospects, or what ruse she cooks up with Mr. Hastings. I kept looking at my watch through the second episode. I do think the Bridgerton siblings are believable and fun when they're together on screen (though I wish there weren't eight of them - it's hard to keep them straight). I wish the show were about Eloise and Penelope instead. Oh well.

Oooh. I skipped that movie because of the mediocre reviews. Didn't know he was in it -maybe I'll check it out. He was my one fun discovery from watching this series. He is yummy. In summation, I don't regret watching the show - despite plot holes big enough to send a cruise ship through, I thoroughly enjoyed some of the performances, and it did keep me guessing. It was glossy but the writing wasn't quite up to the high level of some other thriller series that I've seen.

I remember him best from "Love Actually". He looked pretty much the same to me!

Holy cow! It totally looks like James Kennedy's girlfriend! I think her name was Raquel? I'm already forgetting. Anyway, I wound up liking her in the end, and I hope James doesn't treat her poorly if they're still together.

I'm partway through the Christmas episodes. I like the challenges, and have been impressed with what the bakers have come up with. Some of the creations sound pretty busy, but apparently taste delicious. I continue to covet the pretty dresses Candace wears. I would die for the green velvet number she had on in The Gift Exchange episode.

Yep, it's Nicole singing over the opening title sequence.

That did seem strange, and I was hoping they'd address it, but they never did. Like why would you go poking around in the outdoor fireplace upon immediate arrival at your family beach cottage in the dead of winter when no one would be sitting outside? The story had more dropped threads and gaping holes than one of my pitiful knitting attempts.

I guess I liked the ending more than most. I really was expecting a final twist with either Nicole or Donald Sutherland as the killer, so I was satisfied with Hugh as the culprit. I was also convinced Lily Rabe's character would be involved in a previous affair, but it turned out she was just spying for the prosecution. I didn't predict that Nicole's character would sneakily turn the tables and work for the prosecution, so that was a surprise. I did think Daddy moneybags giving chase in a helicopter was beyond ridiculous. For such a silly soapy potboiler, the performances were uniformly excellent. I have even more appreciation for Hugh Grant. I think he virtually abandoned the business for a period of time, but now that he's back, he just gets better and better. Everything he did with the character makes sense once you see the ending. I was genuinely frightened when he went unhinged in the car with his son, and I don't think I've ever experienced that in any of his other performances, so... well done, Hugh. Ditto for the actor playing their son, and the actress playing the defense attorney - they made this thing watchable. But yeah, I agree with the assessment that this was basically a Lifetime movie with a bigger budget and prestige actors.

I feel like ALL of the episodes with Margaret were self-pity episodes. It got incredibly tiresome. As much as I like Helena Bonham Carter, and as good as her performance was, she just didn't work for me as Margaret - the only thing she had in common with Margaret was was height. Very curious to see what Leslie Manville (who is amazing) will do with the part in upcoming seasons.

Actually the show was spot on. Google images of Maggie T. from that era. Her hair could have supported orbiting satellites. I think the show deliberately made it bigger as her term in office went on, but it really wasn't off the mark.

I knew that hammer was going to show up somewhere, because movie people are too dumb to dispose of evidence. So, my money is still on Sylvia or Gramps as the culprit. I don't think Henry did it - I think he's covering for someone or someone planted it. As mentioned upthread, it's interesting that the last place Henry practiced his violin was at Grandpa's. Although another twist could be that Grandpa is a flawed but decent guy who sometimes throws his weight around. Since we see him sitting in art galleries all the time, I couldn't help but wonder if he was a secret patron of Elena's Stuff I hope doesn't just get dropped: Seriously, what the HELL happened to the 500,000 that was loaned to Jonathan? And then he needs another 2mil from Franklin for bail, and no one asks about this? What was Jonathan's ruse about the faux conference about? Why was he setting that up well before the murder took place? I like the theory that Jonathan was actually planning to run away with Elena and the baby, and wanted the money for a new start elsewhere. I was convinced there was a hidden relationship between Grace and Elena, but that has not been revealed yet, so maybe not. I hope they explain how the culprit left the scene undetected if they were undoubtably splattered with blood and brain matter. Grace is clearly nuts, and I think the MIL's video might be a red-herring. Not sure if Jonathan is a full-blown sociopath or just an asshole who grew up with cold parents. Nicole's frozen face was bothering much more this episode than any of the others - from certain angles, she was looking more and more like the Joker. She really needs to cut that shit out. It's too bad that something with such a tantalizing premise devolved into a collection of cardboard cutout suspects - essentially this is an Upper West-Side version of Clue. Now I'm off to Pop Sugar to look at the archive of Nicole's coats!

That totally bugged me about Big Little Lies as well. If the actresses were playing their true ages, their kids would all be college-aged or even grad students, not in elementary school. Even if fudged a bit (they were playing younger women, or they had their kids later in life) the math STILL didn't really work for KIdman & Dern - at minimum, their kids would be tweens or high-schoolers. I looked past it because the show was fun.

This show is still fun to me, because I really truly don't know whodunnit! Definitely think the blonde attorney friend played by Lily Rabe is involved somehow - I think she also may have also been having an affair with Jonathan. Donald Sutherland is pretty sketchy too - as I suspected, he has a connection. I'm wondering if either Jonathan OR Elena had been blackmailing him for money. And how come he was hovering around outside Elena's apartment? I just love Donald Sutherland. That is all. Although his brown eyes distract me to no end, the boy playing their son is so, so very good as an actor. The scene at the jail where he crumples and tells Jonathan "we aren't a family anymore" just knocked me right in the feels. And Hugh is doing an amazing job as well - I'm finding myself rooting for him in spite of myself even though his character is a total scumbag. The actors playing the public defender & the high-priced attorney are also both kicking all kinds of ass. Hoping to see more of them in the final episodes. Because I held off on watching this right away (I mistakenly thought it was some sort of a political thriller, and those generally bore me), I only have to hold on until Sunday to see the final episode! It must've been torture for those who had to wait for weekly episode drops! I think whoever the culprit winds up being will probably ultimately disappoint me.