ribboninthesky1

Personal space was an issue for Sirens on the Freeform show as well, heh. Your translations are hilarious!

I never watched Gossip Girl, so I wasn't familiar with Penn Badgley. His sardonic narration plus the great production values saved this for me. That said, I wasn't the least bit sympathetic towards Joe, and I'm sure I was meant to be. I mean, for all of his "I just want love" schtick, he murdered Beck entirely out of self-preservation. So glad that Karen got out alive - she was the only functional, sane character in the entire series. Also, was Joe meant to be so thin and borderline sallow? Because it was made clear he wasn't in great shape, and he looked like a solid wind gust would have knocked him off his feet. I get that with the Benji and Elijah murders that he caught them off guard. But I kept thinking Peach should have been able to take him down easily. Hell, even Paco could have, if he wanted. In any case, I was hoping Beck would get out and live. For all of her flaws, she's not a killer, and didn't know that Joe has a titanium skull that is impervious to all blows. She was focused on escape, so her last actions didn't bother me.

I suspect this is why most genre shows are rarely popular outside of niche audiences. I've been out of work for a few weeks, and binge watching a lot of Hulu, Netflix, and some cable. I like getting into a show, but the inexplicable dropping of what should be important plot points can kill a show for me. It's also reminded me that non-American shows can be just as dumb or poorly acted as American ones.

Ha! I was rolling during that scene. The entire season is basically a bunch of nonsensical stuff, mostly with Cal telling someone to fuck off or Adrielle telling someone to do something, and then later, inexplicably telling them to do the opposite. Dylan especially. I thought the Freeform show did a better job with the writing and mythology of the Sirens, but Tidelands was better acted (outside of Pataky).

You are not alone. I always thought Aaron Eckhart did a better job, especially when Harvey Dent went off the deep end. As for Marvel films in general, I've never been that impressed with them. They've largely been meh for me, I've only enjoyed Black Panther and The Winter Soldier. I shall always loathe Tony Stark, although by the end of Civil War (the last Avengers film I've seen), Steve was right there with him in getting on my last nerve.

Matthew Goode has been yummy for years, thus why I opted to watch the 1st episode. Glad someone else mentioned Twilight, as I thought the same. Teresa Palmer is a blonde Kristen Stewart in this, from the blank, mouth-breathing facial expressions, to the bags under her eyes. I watched this on Sundance Now, which has made the 1st 2 episodes available until it officially premieres on Jan 17. Diana got on my nerves quickly - why would you call your aunt for advice, and then get upset when she gives you advice? She seems like a teenager, and I'm not particularly interested in a coming-of-age story featuring a full on, albeit immature, adult. And the last scenes of the episode had me chuckling unintentionally. Not even Goode could sell it. It's beautifully shot. I'll probably watch the 2nd episode, and see if it gets better.

Questions that need answers! On a shallow note, I don't find the real John Meehan all that handsome. He looks rather average to me. He was handsome in his 30s, based on the Tonia wedding clips I've seen. But by the time he meets Debra? Eh. Knowing what I know, I feel like the drugs, the jail time, the grifting, and the general malevolence of his soul had taken their toil on any physical attractiveness he once had. But, eye of the beholder and all that. I think that's why I'm okay with Eric Bana not looking hot in this. He's not supposed to. At the heart of it, my perception of Debra is a person who is more afraid of being alone than being lied to and robbed. There's a healthy desire for companionship, for love, to share your life with someone, and then there's...whatever is going on with Debra. I've only read the LA Times articles, and not listened to the podcast. At this stage, I find myself more interested in Tonia's story than Debra's. She was married to AND had children with this man. I believe they were married for 10 years. What was that like for her? I suppose I find Tonia more sympathetic because she was young, it was presumably her first marriage, and she didn't have family members hiring PIs or anyone to tell her that John wasn't who he said he was. This was also the early 90s, so the convenience of hopping on the Internet and doing a Google search wasn't an option.

Where I struggle with Debra is the "John barges into her room, lays across her bed, and refuses to get up when she asks" scene. If it were me, I would have been terrified what this stranger would do. And then the way he just wordlessly got up and left? What happened when she invited him home would have negated any positive elements at the beginning of the date. And that's in addition to things like the way he was dressed for a first date. I don't expect a suit and tie, but a normal man would look like he put some effort into it. This episode focused a lot on Arlene, presumably as a way to explain how Debra came to be who she is. Thing is, it made me more confused about Debra in some ways.

Agreed, his behavior on the first date was creepy and majorly off. I realize there are male narcissists out there who are very good at putting on an act from the very beginning to draw women in and make it hard to break free (I suspect that's what happened with Tonia). In this context, John's behavior was off from act one, scene one. Debra chose to ignore it.

I'd recorded this show on my DVR, and just caught up. I read the LA Times series about this awhile back, and...it's a lot. The bolded - too funny! And yes, Ronnie's dress was cute! I'd prefer it a little longer for me, but she's young and skinny. I mean...why are you being rational and logical and asking valid questions? Debra would just give you that perpetually confused look because there are no good answers here. Yes, I have questions too. I agree with someone's prior comment that they're making Debra seem smarter in this series, and that's saying something. They definitely skipped over a few of Debra's decisions and behavior that would have made her look even worse. I've known and am related to people who are pushovers and non-confrontational. Debra is on an entirely different level. If she really saw a therapist in real life with her daughters, it really did her absolutely no good. And like others have posted, I'm very curious about her business and if that's truly how she became wealthy. I can appreciate that she's a creative and that they can be a bit eccentric, but she must have some really good, decent people around for her business to thrive. Because she's ripe for someone committing all kinds of financial crimes through her business.

I started watching this show again once I read that Clayne Crawford was out. Damon Wayans can go as well. Seann William Scott was a great casting choice. That said, I'm glad the show isn't going there with Natalie and Cole. Whether they go there with the DA or not, I much prefer the actress.

Yeah, I kept waiting for the reveal that Norman was abusive, had cheated, left her with no money, something. But nope, just whining about not being seen. Girl, if you don't get some therapy or some hobbies and stop obsessing over 1st world foolery. If I'm ever subjected to traffic jams because of such nonsense, I'm suing the heck out of that person. I enjoy the show, but don't have any investment in any of the heterosexual couples shown in S1 or S2. The actors with the best chemistry seem to be Aisha Hinds and Tracie Thoms, and they don't get much screentime together. I don't mind Athena/Bobby or Maddie/Chim. I just don't think the actors have much chemistry. Heck, the actors playing the store clerks had more chemistry in their two scenes than anything I've seen between the main cast members. I'm okay with Buck, but could not care less about his lamenting over Abby. Hopefully, he's moved on so he can stop whining about it. Loved how everyone was telling him he'd been single for months.

The death of the police horse was terribly sad. Still, I felt more for Hen reliving the pain of an absent father and having to make such a hard decision. Kudos to Aisha Hinds. And I felt for that widow who lost her husband all over again. Didn't expect to see Wes Brown - I wouldn't mind seeing him again. I watch this show mostly for Aisha Hinds and Angela Bassett, but Athena could use another officer to interact with.

I didn't watch the 1st season in real time, so I caught up by binge-watching. I think live-action comic adaptations are always tough, especially if you don't have the special effects/location budget. For me, the biggest mistake was centering the Struckers. I really don't care about any of them, Lauren included. If I ran the show, the siblings would have been killed off at the end of last season instead of Sonia, and Reed/Caitlyn would be written off. And some of the other non-white bit players could have been made more prominent.

I really wanted to like this, and I think it was a combination of factors why I didn't: Soderbergh didn't direct. The Ocean's 11 film had a convoluted plot as well, but it worked. I agree with someone's earlier post that it felt like Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett were phoning it in. Either that, or they played it TOO cool. I'll take a risk and express my opinion that one or both of them were miscast. They didn't vibe the way George Clooney and Brad Pitt did, and that relationship is the lynchpin of the film. I can think of at least two scenes in the Soderbergh film that highlighted the dynamic between them: for example, the poker lessons and after scenes, and the "you think we need one more?" scene. It wasn't particularly funny, not even in a subtle way. Sandra Bullock can be funny, but I think her wheelhouse is the physical, almost slapstick, comedy. It wasn't that kind of film. I originally thought Blanchett was the miscast, but the longer I ponder, the more I think they both were. I wonder what someone like Allison Janey or Jamie Lee Curtis would have done with the dialogue. As much as Mindy Kaling's voice grates my nerves, I think she would have been better with the witty banter needed to raise the entertainment factor. Someone else mentioned mumbling/having a hard time understanding some of what was said - maybe it was more clear in the theater, but from my home flatscreen, I have to agree. Especially between Bullock and Blanchett. I didn't mind the Yen cameo, but having him involved in the most lucrative execution of the heist felt lazy. In any case, Anne Hathaway definitely was the standout. I also think a lot of it was because her character had the most dialogue outside of Sandra/Cate, and was allowed to have a personality.

Quoting myself because, thanks to a Netflix free trial and 18 months later, I watched beyond 7 minutes. It got better. However... I'm gonna have to disagree with the bolded. For one thing, pregnancy is always a possibility when a fertile woman has unprotected sexual intercourse with a fertile man. This is a modern film, so a woman getting pregnant in her 40s is hardly unheard of. So yeah, it IS something she could have foreseen, though I understand why she assumed pregnancy wouldn't be an issue. Being responsible and careful is using recently acquired condoms, not "vegan" condoms apparently several years beyond the expiration date. Even the way she gets Jack into the studio for his DNA was immature, as was how she tells the men either of them could be the father. I mean, Bridget is who she has always been, and one can find it endearing or not. But being sexually active as a woman has unique consequences, and she didn't handle them particularly well. It's not being sexually active that's the problem.

To add to this, while Matt Bomer is incredibly handsome, I cringed any time he "danced" (in both films). Maybe he's sexy in his other work, but not at all in these films. I think there was a lot of miscasting with the early X-Men films. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart were the main cast choices that made sense to me, and the former was only cast because another miscast (Dougray Scott) had to drop out. Agree that Sophie Turner was a better Jean Grey. Also, Michael Fassbender made a better Erik/Magneto than Ian McKellen. In truth, whoever handled the casting of the later films did a better overall job.

I saw this a couple of months back, and thought it was terrible the first time I watched it. The second time, it was less terrible, but still incoherent. My favorite scenes were zombie!Superman handing everyone their asses, and his utter contempt for Batman during the "you won't let me live/you won't let me die" dialogue. Cavill has been wasted because of WB/DC's floundering. I thought Affleck was okay in BvS, but he was a bloated mess in this. Years ago, I wondered how Cavill would have been as Bruce Wayne/Batman, but we'll never know. In any case, I didn't expect this to be worse than BvS, but it managed. I wasn't sure where the studio could go from this mess, but Aquaman looks decent based on the trailers. I assume they'll try to recast Batman at some point, it'll be interesting to see how that goes.

I enjoyed this, but I've always unreservedly enjoyed the MI films. Tom Cruise is nowhere near the only problematic actor in Hollywood, as there are more than a few around here who are beloved without apology or reservation. So if other people can enjoy other actors' and separate the art from the artist, there's no reason it should be any different with Tom Cruise. Totally understand why people dislike the man. That said, he's a bonafide movie star and takes it to the max for Ethan Hunt. I knew Henry Cavill would be villainous based on the trailers, so I wasn't surprised watching the film. I've read more than a few times how bland of an actor he is. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I've been waiting for a good villainous role for him. This wasn't quite it for me, but it was damn close. When Ethan is holding on to the elevator, and the camera cuts to Walker's face looking down at him in complete annoyance and exasperation, I was rolling. Cavill's annoyed face amuses me, and I don't know why. I'll always believe he would have been a solid James Bond, particularly in the Daniel Craig/Timothy Dalton style, but I doubt that will ever happen. Cruise, the stunt coordinators, and the special effects team earned EVERY penny with this film. Really well-done. The location shoots were fantastic as well. I really loved the shots where Ilsa was following Ethan. I didn't realize Wes Bentley was a "name" actor. I know of him, sure, but I didn't think he was well-known at all. Michelle Monaghan usually bugs me as an actor, but I've always liked Julia. Glad she found some happiness.

The Claire/Luke argument just emphasized Mike Colter's weakness as an actor. I keep imagining Mahershala Ali in the role, and what he would do with the character. The miscast really drags down the show, because Colter just wasn't meant for this. I don't know what the casting people were thinking with him, and Theo Rossi as Shades. They're turrible. On a positive note, the dialogue seems much more natural, and the music still rocks.

Speaking of classic shows, I've been watching The Golden Girls again on Hulu. Ironic, but the show...has not aged well at all. I have no idea how or why these women were friends. I lost interest in the middle of season 3.

After watching the latest trailer for the upcoming Mission: Impossible film, I'm rooting for Henry Cavill. The trailer implies he will be Tom Cruise's antagonist, and even as someone who has always liked Cruise an actor and enjoyed the M:I films, I don't care. I am rooting for pornstache!Cavill (and Angela Bassett). Truly, I'd be okay with him stepping away from the Superman role permanently, since WB manages to get progressively worse with their films and the character. Alas, I suspect his character will be a one and done with the franchise, which is a shame, because it needs a new lead.

Agreed. Definitely why I don't post much at all these days. Hulu recently added the first season of Claws, and I've been watching and reading most of the discussion. There's a lot of (very reasonable) dislike for Virginia, but I found Desna to be just as stupid and reckless (and often annoying).

Ben and Ryn in the water already happened - I think it was episode 1 or 2. She tried to kill him. Would she attack in the water after she has apparently bonded with Ben and Maddie? I don't know.

I have no issues with Donna's actions and behavior. I totally understand and sympathize with her perspective. The problem, as I perceive it, is that the writers don't seem to. As for luring Chris with the siren song, I believe that Ryn explained, in an earlier episode, that once they're in the water and revert back to their true form, it's kill or be killed. After all, she attacked Ben in the water. So I guess it could be argued that Donna was in her true form, wouldn't remember her land interaction with Chris, and saw him only as a threatening land dweller.