Inquisitionist
-
Posts
3.4k -
Joined
Content Type
Blogs
Gallery
Downloads
Discussion
Posts posted by Inquisitionist
-
-
On 3/29/2020 at 11:54 PM, chocolatine said:
I caved and read the book this weekend because (a) there's not much else to do during a statewide stay-at-home order, and (b) I didn't want to wait several weeks to find out what's going to happen on the show. I maintain my first impression that the book is poorly written. In the same way as many other recent bestsellers it's driven by a sensationalist plot, and suffers from shallow characterization and overused cliches. Since Hulu's previous literary adaptions were The Handmaid's Tale and Catch-22 - two of my favorite books of all time - this one was a huge disappointment.
Having said that, the Mia character works much better in the book than in the show. Book Mia is aloof and a little "too cool for school", but she's always civil with everyone (including Elena) and warm towards the Richardson kids. And while she's supportive of Bebe she doesn't egg her on or get personally involved like Show Mia.
My friend Jill, who reads everything, nailed it on Goodreads. It's been a while since I slogged through it, but I think there are both pros and cons to the changes with Mia's character. I like that she's no longer the saintly earth-mother contrast to Elena, but the characterization has swung too far in the other direction.
-
On 3/18/2020 at 11:49 AM, OtterMommy said:
The actress playing Izzy is doing a great job of adding depth to the character that isn't there in the book, and I really appreciate that. I'll be interested to see where it goes.
I think this is true of many of the performances. As I read the book (and I was among the few who did not rave about it), I thought "This would play better on the screen with writers and actors who could flesh out the stereotypes that Ng has created."
I had forgotten that Mia and Pearl were not black in the book. I do like the depth this adds. And while Washington is playing Mia a bit too sneering and contemptuous for my taste, I like that Mia is shown to have flaws from the start rather than being the saint-like earth mother of the book.
According to IMDb, the actors playing Pearl, Lexie, and Izzy are all 4'11". I know Reese is tiny (5'1") and they probably didn't want the younger actors towering over her, but good gosh, they are munchkins!
-
On 3/19/2020 at 8:17 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:
her Emmy bait monologue about being a mom.
That's exactly what it was. Real people don't talk like that.
On 3/20/2020 at 12:17 PM, CurlyATX said:It seems to be a very deliberate choice by Kerry Washington to have Mia be very abrasive and contemptuous to the Richardson family. ...
I was also surprised at the brisket/meatloaf thing. As someone who had immigrant parents, we didn't have meatloaf so I have no idea about the Ritz vs breadcrumb debate. And which is more "elegant".
Mia is written that way but I agree with others that Washington's incessant sneer is wearing on me. Don't the other characters see it?
And there was never meatloaf in my immigrant household either. Can't believe people eat that. 🤪
-
1 hour ago, Bastet said:
It seems he gets on Twitter for about an hour each day to toss out insults and engage in petty bickering.
Isn't that what Twitter is for? 🙄😄
-
17
-
-
3 hours ago, bobalina said:
Rev Dooly was in the original movie. There were always black people on the mountain. In the beginning Ike had an assistant who was black and if course Verdie.
I stand corrected. Thank you.
-
1
-
-
A black minister on Walton's Mountain in 1933? Now that's wishful thinking.
14 hours ago, Kyle said:Ben has been eliminated from the new movie. CW Boss: “There are too many kids running around! Eliminate one of them!”
Or did they just rename his character? Who the heck is Toby Walton?
ETA: the family photos do show just 6 kids. Maybe Toby is a cousin...
-
1
-
-
On 11/13/2021 at 11:20 PM, cpcathy said:
I think she sounds off. I can’t believe this song is ten minutes.
Definitely some off-key moments in that long drone.
On 11/13/2021 at 11:24 PM, DollEyes said:Arguably the longest 10 minutes of TS's ex Jake Gyllenhaal's life.
I doubt he worries about it. They dated for 3 months 11 years ago and she's still whining about it?
On 11/15/2021 at 4:59 AM, chediavolo said:Use your fast forward, it’s a mind saver! I’m old, I ff’d through 90% of the musical guests. You can’t beat the music from the 70’s SNL.
I watch SNL on Hulu on Sundays. I almost always Ffwd through the "musical" guests. I gave TS 3 minutes and couldn't believe how long I still had to FFwd after that.
-
3
-
-
15 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:
I never watched Bosom Buddies, but I enjoyed Peter's performance on Newhart. 😢
-
10
-
-
On 9/16/2021 at 8:28 PM, chitowngirl said:
And Holt has a name for a sex tape! 😆
Of all the LOL moments in the show, this was the LOL-est.
On 9/16/2021 at 11:27 PM, Mediocre Gatsby said:When this show started, I didn't know Andy's work very well. I thought at best, the show would succeed if he could surround himself with good actors, like Seinfeld did. Well, Andy's a better actor than Seinfeld, and he surrounded himself with even better people. This show was better than I ever expected
I remember seeing a promo for the show on a United flight and thinking, Good lord, what has Andre Braugher sunk to? I tuned in for him and stayed for the ride. Just amazing work by everyone.
On 9/22/2021 at 5:32 AM, Ms Lark said:Great finale! What fun. I hope Andre Braugher gets recognized at the Emmys next year. He was excellent in this final episode.
Yes. Simply the best.
-
8
-
-
1 hour ago, galaxygirl76 said:
Not feeling this opening.
Me either.
1 hour ago, Thumper said:I liked the audience participation in the song — looked like they were having fun. I wasn’t sure if that was Rita Wilson or Cheryl Crow! 😜😂
Not fun for me. Who are they trying to pull in with this format? They lost me after about 4 minutes.
-
On 9/9/2021 at 4:14 AM, GussieK said:
I watched Oliver! again. It was great.
Carol Reed and team did a great job staging those big production numbers. On a walking tour of London almost 30 years, led by an actor/carpenter, we thought we were seeing the "crescent" of houses where Who Will Buy... was filmed (our guide said he recalled dancing there), but according to many reports, the entire movie was filmed on sets at Shepperton Studios. Amazing!
-
1
-
-
Woo-hoo! Thanks for the heads-up!
-
Quote
"They began texting immediately after filming and, just last month, David flew from his home in New York to see Jen in LA,” a source says.
Uh-oh, the big NY v. LA debate looms ahead. 🤣
-
3
-
-
On 11/20/2020 at 9:26 PM, Carolina Girl said:
There is a documentary out on Amazon Prime called Edward VIII - Traitor King. It explains how he came to learn about it. He was told this by someone who assumed that he would keep the information confidential due to a position he held in the British service
Well shoot, it's gone now. 😟
-
Markie Posts's guest-starring turn on Cheers, Season 2, as an old friend of Diane's was very good. RIP, Ms. Post. So lovely, so talented, so brave.
-
11
-
-
On 6/8/2021 at 9:18 AM, ifionlyknew said:
I don't think I have seen Matt in anything post Friends. But I am going to get Episodes from the library and watch it.
Episodes is really fun and it elevated my opinion of Matt's acting ability.
-
5
-
-
Great insights, possibilities! Thanks for sharing.
As I posted way back when:
QuoteI learned recently from a Fosse family member that heart trouble ran deep in the family with many dying at younger ages than Bob. So maybe his dancing kept him alive longer...
-
3
-
-
I've watched the first four episodes to placate Mr. Inqui, and I think that's enough to say the writing sucks and the acting isn't good enough to overcome that. And good lord, what kind of payday did Dustin Hoffman and Brian Cox get for those truly abysmal "performances"? 🙄
-
4 minutes ago, magicdog said:
Agreed. Although I always feel like that when I see in in Stand By Me. I can only imagine the career he could have had.
Somehow I've managed never to see Stand By Me. Must correct that.
-
3
-
-
On 1/5/2019 at 8:47 PM, AimingforYoko said:
One thing I really liked about the movie is that even though it wasn't her story, they didn't shortchange Victoria or her trauma. None of what happened to Fonny was her fault. She was a victim just like he was.
Victoria may have been victimized, but don't understand why she had to go along with framing Fonny. Her testimony that she couldn't identify her assailant (which apparently was the truth) could have exonerated him. Was her return to safety in Puerto Rico the price for her complicity? She seemed adamant in telling Tish's mother that Fonny was the one, though we know he couldn't have been.
On 2/12/2019 at 9:53 PM, tennisgurl said:While I thought all of the actors were great, the real stars to me were Regina King and the soundtrack.
I have to say that the soundtrack was overpowering at time, to the point that I needed subtitles to make out much of the dialog. This seems to happen in a lot of movies these days and I don't get it. Gone with the Wind had a sweeping score throughout, yet you can plainly hear every spoken word. Has technology gotten worse in this area?
I also thought the movie was a bit slow and more focused on atmosphere than storytelling at times, but by the end, I felt overwhelmed for Tish and Fonny and what had been stolen from them.
-
Did anyone else catch 1988's Running on Empty the other week? I've always had a soft spot for this film. Some of the plotting is too coincidental, but the performances are lovely. The one scene between Christine Lahti and Steven Hill as her estranged father is devastating. The film makes me incredibly sad for the early loss of River Phoenix. He was an amazing talent.
-
7
-
-
Terry Gross did a Fresh Air interview with Questlove about Summer of Soul and other topics. Well worth a listen!
-
1
-
2
-
-
I've watched many McCartney interviews on youtube and read a lot of articles, so I went into this thinking "What could he possibly say that I haven't heard/read already?" Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. This article gives some insight into why.
QuoteThe pitch to Paul, who had some downtime during the pandemic (though he continued to record), was less about McCartney as a cultural icon than about his bona fides as a bloke who plays bass (and piano, guitar, and drums, among many other instruments). Pollack continues, “We felt that what might appeal to Paul was to really focus on his extraordinary musical chops. … He really hadn’t been approached about that sort of focus before. And I think it felt fresh to him.”
And music producer Rick Rubin (whom I'd not heard of before) was a great choice as interviewer for this approach. Really worth watching even if you think you know everything about Paul and the Beatles already!
-
3
-
-
7 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:
Yeah no de-aging technology was going to make DeNiro look in his 30s again. I think of it though like Jimmy Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence where he was supposed to be playing much younger through most of the story even though he doesn't look like Mr Smith anymore. Theres no attempt with makeup to hide his age. You just have to overlook it.
When a film makes a big deal of using this technology, I find it hard to overlook! To each their own. 🙃
S01.E03: Seventy Cents
in Little Fires Everywhere
Like many things in this story.
Another contrivance.