Cheezwiz

I am utterly floored that this got any awards attention at all. Floored. And the info about the years it took to make makes me even more incredulous. Poorly, sloppily written, cliche piled upon predictable cliche. And the dopey ending! Each and every character was unlikeable including Close's titular character. Hated the narcissistic dolt of a husband, the one-note surly son, and I found myself unable to sympathize with Joan at all (really lady? you stayed married to this twit for close to 4 decades, and you're only starting to boil over now?) . I'm not saying Close's performance was bad, just that it didn't seem extraordinary enough to merit awards hype. Yes, THIS. This is a big part of why I hated the movie. Nothing in the story made sense in terms of her motivations. Of course there were successful women authors at that time. She just takes one person's word for it and gives up? I rented this on iTunes and am frankly kind of pissed that I wasted $6 on it. Will continue to catch up on other Oscar nominees. This one was a big dud.

The problem I had with the Mother character, is that she only seemed to see Cleo's value when she realized she herself would be facing life as a single parent. There would be no way for her forward as a breadwinner in a cushy publishing job, without Cleo to manage the children and the household tasks. She did display kindness and understanding when Cleo revealed her pregnancy, but apart from that, she seemed to regard Cleo as part of the furniture, as did the children much of the time, although they loved her. Cuaron did a good job of illustrating their thoughtlessness even after Cleo's dramatic rescue of the two youngest children. The parking attempt scenes in the garage were quite funny - mostly because I'm terrible at parking myself!

When Glenn Close started winning awards for this, I was all, "huh? whuuuut? What is this movie and where did it come from?". I'm usually up on independent/foreign releases and I follow festival media coverage, and this one seemingly appeared out of nowhere. So I just watched it on iTunes, and man, I'm glad I didn't pay to see this in the theatre - I didn't think this was a good film AT ALL. It was clunky, hacky, and full of familiar cliches. I'm completely baffled as to why it suddenly got all kinds of awards love. Glen Close gave a decent performance, but I certainly don't think it ranks as one of her best. If she is awarded an Oscar, it will be one of those lifetime consolation "sorry we didn't reward you earlier" awards. The characters were all supremely unlikeable and behaved illogically. I did think Close's daughter Annie Stark gave a good performance as the younger flashback version of her character, but the rest? A big meh from me. I know a lot of people are rooting for Close to win, but I'd like her to win for something better than this. At this point I'm on team Olivia Colman all the way!

Yes, I had trouble putting my finger on why I wasn't blown away by this movie, despite the excellent performances, and gorgeous photography, but I think you've defined it. I felt I should have been touched by Cleo's story (and the actress did indeed do a wonderful job) but there was a detached quality to the filmmaking that left me curiously unmoved. I also felt that Cuaron was seriously trying to draw parallels between the mother's life journey and that of the maid, however the mother was such a privileged and unsympathetic character (often vacillating between showing kindness and cruelly taking her rage out on Cleo), that this device didn't work for me. I dunno, I guess I found it beautiful looking, but inert. It just didn't rock my world the way it seemed to for others.

You're absolutely right - I had completely forgotten about that detail, and had somehow turned her brother into her spouse in my mind for some reason! In any case, she wound up in pretty dire circumstances through no fault of her own. It was a great story, from the illustrated bookplate opening to the heartbreaking conclusion.

Yes, I loved that too - their interactions were very formal, but you could see that they would be well suited to one another, and that there might be some brightness ahead for Alice, who had endured what was likely an unhappy marriage, and was now stuck on a difficult cross-country slog. I've seen Zoe Kazan in a few things (most notably The Big Sick), but she didn't really register with me. She was adorable in this though. I've never heard of Bill Heck before, but he was perfectly cast as the gentlemanly wagon master -I will keep an eye out for him in the future. (Also the Jack Russell terrier was great too!). I just loved this segment so much, I wish it had been a feature-length movie, but it probably would have been too sad.

I enjoyed this overall. I loved the first segment for it's outlandish silliness - Tim Blake Nelson was perfect in the role. My absolute favourite was "The Gal Who Got Rattled" - so unexpectedly sweet and sad - even more so if you still had the words on the opening title page in your head at the conclusion. I loved the old-fashioned device of opening to an illustrated book plate to introduce each segment, and wondering how the words on the page would fit into the story. I thought it worked especially well for that particular segment. The rest of the stories were, for me, pretty uneven. I thought Tom Waits was perfectly cast as a half-crazy old miner, but I felt it dragged on for too long. "Near Nogales" would have been somewhat amusing, but it was ruined by the presence of James Franco, who I loathe. "Meal Ticket" as well as the final segment were simply too bleak and depressing. All in all for a Coens flick, I would rate it just ok, but worth seeing for litmus test of which stories you like the best!

Agreed! I wish more movies and shows would use bright yellow for subtitles - it usually shows up much better on screen. White is a common colour that turns up in backgrounds and makes subtitles disappear. One of my movie/tv pet peeves!

Agreed - I kept thinking that if these two had not been amoral psychopaths, they could have forged completely different paths in life: Sweat as an engineer, Matt as an artist or illustrator. Tilly, on the other hand, was hopeless.

Same! Same! Same! I also thought the panic attack was possibly a new ruse she was carrying out because of missing the opportunity to drug Lyle's beverage. But instead, being the selfish dimwit she is, she was really just wimping out. Everything in the show is new to me as well, so I'm sure I'll be diving down some research rabbit holes once I've watched all the eps. And Ben Stiller? Who knew? Seriously, well done, Ben! The beginning sequence was mind-boggling. I honestly don't know how they managed to continually explore the nether regions of the prison and find their way back to their cells each time. I would have been hopelessly permanently lost down there. And the scene at the beginning where Sweat finally opens the manhole cover on his trial-run was amazing. How he had the self-discipline at that point to return to his cell, I'll never know. Considering he did ALL the work, I was actually rooting for him to leave Matt behind and just bolt.

For some reason I kept passing this show up, but a friend recommended it after it got awards attention, and now I'm hooked. I never paid attention to the real-life case a few years ago, so it's all new to me! This is a great show with amazing actors - and yes, I can see why Patricia Arquette got lots of attention at awards season. She is unrecognizable, and is so great at portraying such a dim-witted, pitiful, needy character. The title of the show refers not just to the two prisoners, but her yearning to escape a dead-end life as well. I understand why people find Benecio Del Toro a bit creepy - he's certainly not handsome in any conventional way, but he's a favourite of mine - he brings a certain charisma and intelligence to his roles. I've always had a soft spot for him after seeing his performance as a decent conflicted character in "Traffic". Paul Dano is great (and underrated ) as well. And the guy playing Tilly's husband! Good GOD he genuinely looks like someone beat him over the head with an imbecile stick! (and no, the actor portraying Lyle looks nothing like him in real life). Was also delighted to see Bonnie Hunt pop up in this! I just love her and haven't seen her in ages - where's she been? Props to Ben Stiller (!?) on the directing. They really nailed everything: from the looks of the main characters, to choosing to film in the actual village of Dannemora. What an absolutely godforsaken place it looks like in winter! I didn't know where in New York it was situated, so I looked it up on Google maps. It really is the ass-end of nowhere. Much closer to Montreal Canada than any other city in NY state!

I wish more people were watching this show - I absolutely love it! It's like a beautiful travelogue combined with a documentary on international food preparations, combined with some practical home-cooking techniques. The cinematography is gorgeous and in the same vein as "Chef's Table". Perhaps the same people are behind this show? I'm too lazy to look. I've watched Episode 1 on Fat as well as Episode 2 on Salt, and my mouth has been watering during both episodes. Oh man, that ragu with homemade pasta! The foccacia bread! Those short-ribs! Can't wait to watch the episode on acid, as I'm a total citrus freak! Samin is such a great narrator & host, and is wonderful at relating to people from many different cultures (and speaking at least a bit of their language which is impressive). I'd never heard of her before this show, but she's comes across as so personable on camera - someone I'd love to be friends with. I'll definitely keep an eye out for other projects she does in the future. I'd love to see her do a series on her own ancestral cuisine from Persia. It's something most of us in the West aren't as familiar with, but is full of interesting seasonings and flavours. And as other shows (Anthony Bourdain, Rick Steeves) have proved, Iran is a fascinating travel destination.

Totally agree - this was repetitive and took up far too much screen time. I would have liked to have seen more time spent on folding and storage techniques.

Awesome! Lascelles apparently lived until the early 1980's, so hopefully he (and his amazing dogs) will continue to be featured in future seasons. I'm sure he probably wasn't as colourful in real life, but the actor portraying him is an absolute riot, and I squee like a fan-girl every time he appears on screen!

I could not get into her book at ALL, because it seemed so extreme. The joke going around on the internet right now is that in reality she is someone who figured out how to monetize her obsessive compulsive disorder. Can't say I disagree! However, I've been surprised at how much I've enjoyed the show. I've watched episodes 1-5 so far, and am finding something about it very soothing and satisfying. Marie can be a bit much with her girly giggliness, (what is UP with her wearing a white top ALL the time?). But I like how non-judgemental she is, and she genuinely empathizes with some of the emotional challenges people face with letting go of items. She is also quick to admit that her home is not perfect, and that her children need to be scolded at times. It's unfortunate she doesn't speak English fluently, but her translator Iida is great as well. The most useful takeaways I've gotten from the show are the folding techniques. haven't tried them yet, but I can see how it would make things easier to see. I'd like to see more. Basically this show is a non-disgusting version of Hoarders, which I sometimes watched purely for train-wreck reasons, but found horrific and depressing. This show, on the other hand, is uplifting. After kind of a traumatic move from a place I lived in for two decades, I now have a horror of clutter. My current home is in pretty good shape at the moment, but I always have a nagging worry that I might backslide and start over-stuffing closets and drawers again, which is why shows like this fascinate me. My biggest weakness is books, but I did a major cull when I moved, and most everything I have now is neatly organized on shelves. They are special books with lots of pictures (art, illustration, photography, history) and they ALL spark joy for me! I've converted to buying novels for pleasure reading on my ipad, so they are not accumulating anymore. Thoughts on episodes so far: Episode 1 - Friend Family: agree with everyone else above. House was nice, but good GOD this couple was annoying. It did not surprise me to discover in the comments that the wife has already been on another reality show. She struck me immediately as a famewhore wannabe who is now in the midst of domestic drudgery. The constant "babe"-ing drove me up the wall. Husband seemed like a bit of an ass as well - I bet he thought he was marrying a hot chick who would be a super-efficient maid/housekeeper and cater to his every need. I agree they'll probably divorce at some point in the next few years. Episode 2 - Akiyama Family: Yikes these people were straight up hoarders. I'm not the most organized person myself, but seeing their house made me incredibly anxious. I thought I was going to have a panic attack looking at all that crap. The clothes! The absurd amount of Christmas decorations! Just shit piled up and spilling everywhere! Their poor kids. It was a relief (for their children's sakes) to see them get it to a manageable level. Episode 3 - Mersier Family: I'm not so sure that this was a tidying problem (although the husband and kids were hopelessly disorganized)as much as a sudden lack of space problem. I felt bad for them going from a four bedroom house to a tiny two-bedroom condo. Even if you're ruthless about jettisoning stuff, it would still be a tough transition. Plus the two opposite-sex teens having to share a room - that would be kind of hard. They seemed lovely though, and perhaps this is a temporary pit-stop until they can afford something bigger. Glad they all realized the Mom was responsible for too much physical and mental labour with regards to household stuff. Episode 4 - Margie: This was a very moving episode. Whether it's a spouse or a family member, we are all going to have to face sorting through a departed loved-one's belongings, so I thought it was a useful topic to feature. Episode 5 - Two Writers: these guys seemed sweet and happy in their relationship. There was nothing extreme or unusual for two young guys (in fact most of their apartment looked nice) but they had stuff-it (in the nearest drawer or cabinet) syndrome which I'm guilty of as well. Damn, their apartment was super-cute too! If I had to live in L.A. I'd love to live in an adorable character building like that one. Off to go fold my sweaters in half then in thirds!

I know the general purpose answer is he was traumatized and is protecting himself by refusing to admit the house is anything more than a house, but his attitude towards his siblings still seems off. He was very genuinely invested in being a good big brother, helping his dad, and being part of a family. It's strange that he treats them with such disdain. Agreed. Kid Steven seemed nice, and exhibited a caring attitude toward his siblings and parents. Adult Steven is a total jerk, and doesn't seem to have any connection to his kinder kid self - trauma or no trauma.

I've sort of been watching this in a half-interested way, because I do like Kiernan Shipka. I'm enjoying the set & costume design, and I'm generally just going with the silly flow of the witchy religious aspects, which I don't think bear any resemblance to real life wiccan /pagan or satanic practices. Like several others have mentioned, I'm not terribly interested in Sabrina's mortal friends, and am more entertained by the supernatural stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing what she studies at the Academy of Unseen Arts. I think the older actors are doing a great job, with campy fun performances. Minor quibbles: Blossoms on the apple trees when it's supposed to be autumn. Sabrina's aunts: One has a British accent, and one an American accent. Why? Presumably they are the sisters of Sabrina's warlock father, so why is one a Brit and the other an American? Miranda Otto is an Aussie, but surely she could pull off a British accent to keep things consistent. Halloween decorations are still up everywhere at school. Haven't we gone past Halloween? Wasn't that Sabrina's birthday mass? Shouldn't we be into November at this point? Things I like: Sabrina's cat. The cat is awesome and we need to see it more. I wish I could choose a familiar of my own. RIP lizard. Ambrose's hilarious alarm clock. I think this is my favourite prop on the show so far.

Oh, Lucelu, this is horrifying - your account sounds even more frightening than what I experienced! I had menacing figures by me during my paralysis episodes, but none of them were wielding weapons! Interesting that you switched to side-sleeping (as I did also). I wonder what it is about sleeping on the back that can bring this on? I have never seen sleep paralysis as part of a storyline in movies or TV shows before, and I thought Hill House did an excellent job of depicting it - clearly someone or someone(s) on the writing team had been through it. For those interested, there was a documentary that came out on Netflix a couple of years ago called "The Nightmare" that explores this phenomenon.

Yes, EXACTLY! I hated that particular re-working of Shirley Jackson's famous line so much. The final episode was a big let-down for an otherwise entertaining series.

May I ask where in the U.S. you're from? Looking at all her project prep, I get the feeling she may have a touch of OCD, not unlike Martha Stewart!

Thoughts after watching the first couple of episodes: The baked goods are super fun to watch, but not something I would ever attempt myself. Not so crazy about the puppets, but I would LOVE to have a tentacled thing pass me items from the back of my refrigerator. The werewolf seems alright, and the mummified cat at least has some funny lines. I want Christine's wardrobe. Whoever designed the sets for this show has basically created my dream house. Everything is so bright, cheerful and charming. I want to curl up with a cup of tea and read a good book in all of those rooms. Will watch more and report back - haven't gotten to the caramel spiders yet, but they sound delicious, and might even be something I could at least consider attempting. This show is one of the weirdest hybrids EVER of all the things I love: haunted houses, muppets, morbid humour, and sugary baked things!

Enjoyed the show overall, but waaaay too much speechifying in the final episode. Timothy Hutton was great, and I wish he'd been used a bit more in the show. The series was entertaining, but didn't stick the ending. The final episode made the scary malevolent house seem not scary at all, which didn't work for me. This show really was "This Is Us" with some spooks and jump scares thrown in. I definitely don't want a Season 2 - unless they find a good way to present the house's back-story.

Very nice work in this episode from Timothy Hutton & the actress who plays grown-up Theo. Lots of effective scares as well - the sound when the knocking on the door and windows of the funeral home was happening was great! I kept expecting to see something horrifying in the vanity mirror that Steve had fixed up for his Mom, but they placed the jump scares elsewhere! I'm having trouble distinguishing the various female ghouls who keep appearing. Who was the spook who Theo and her Dad saw in the funeral home previous episode? Who was riding in the car with Shirley and Theo? Was that supposed to be Nell? Was that Poppy who grabbed poor Luke at the end? Poor Luke - out of all the siblings, he's the only one who gets repeatedly physically assaulted by multiple ghouls! Under those circumstances, I'd be a big-time junkie too. Oh, and hey, Steve! You're still an ass. An even bigger one than before.

I have had this exact same experience Mabinogia. It 's utterly terrifying - at the time I actually thought someone had broken into my apartment, snuck into my room and was crawling onto my bed. I have also "woken up" to see a figure standing over my bed staring at me, not being able to scream or move a muscle. I remember desperately trying to scream "Who are you?! What do you want!?" and no sound coming out. And then gradually the figure would fade away and my muscle movement returned. The show did an excellent job of depicting what this feels like. I have been VERY careful to sleep on my side after watching this - I don't seem to have paralysis episodes unless I've fallen asleep flat on my back. No wonder people believed in supernatural bugaboos back in the day!

I felt so sad again for Nell this episode. And holy hell, there are even MORE spooks in the house! So we have floating Magritte man, zombie thing in the basement, the old lady in the bed, and now spooky wheelchair kid. Am I missing any? I wonder if we'll see the big dog all the children saw in this episode. I felt like I was probably missing stuff in the background or edges of the frame as everyone roamed the house with flashlights, and am tempted to watch again. I understand how all the siblings are pissed off at Steve for writing a book that exploited their shared trauma, and got many of the details wrong, but I feel they were foolish not to take the money he offered. They at least had the option of doing something positive with the earnings. Theo called Shirley sanctimonious, and that was a pretty accurate description. In no way did they all agree not to take Steve's money. Shirley loudly declared she wouldn't and assumed everyone had followed her lead. Why has Theo been living rent-free at Shirley's the whole time, when she is presumably making a decent living with her practice? I actually thought she was contributing to the household in exchange for her suite. Another mystery! **Oh yeah! and who is the handsome fellow Shirley keeps having visions of? - he's always raising a glass whenever she sees him**