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aradia22

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Everything posted by aradia22

  1. Ahhhh!!!! Pro-shot confirmed! https://tribecafilm.com/films/waitress-the-musical-live-on-broadway-2023 https://playbill.com/article/waitress-live-stage-film-starring-sara-bareilles-will-play-2023-tribeca-film-festival
  2. Interesting... she doesn't look anything like Imelda. Also, while she's not going to be a big draw, they definitely opted for someone with experience over a complete unknown. Of course, with Jose and Conrad, it was doubtful they were going to cast an actress right out of college. https://www.instagram.com/p/CrQYlXUPsrQ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Arielle-Jacobs-Will-Lead-the-Cast-of-HERE-LIES-LOVE-on-Broadway-20230420
  3. 1st tier songs: Czechia, Finland, and France 2nd tier songs: Israel, Belgium, Denmark, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK OK, this is my final list.
  4. Counterpoint, it's a Disney fairy tale. I don't want natural, I want FANTASY. Kat Blaque's old dye job would have been a great starting point. I know there were complaints about Emma Watson's Belle dress as well, but a lot of people have pinned their expectations on this movie. I just hope Disney is giving her the movie she deserves after throwing her out there to receive all this hate. I'm just annoyed at studios underdelivering and then claiming people don't want representation in movies.
  5. My only issue with Ariel is the red hair. The Little Mermaid doesn't have to have red hair. They could have done something fantastic with "mermaid" colors of purple, blue, teal, etc. But that's more of an issue with the creativity of the filmmakers. I'm hoping for the best but the visuals from the trailers mostly have me worried. Is that really Melissa McCarthy's makeup? Is Ariel really going to spend so much of her time talking to those weird CGI animals? Halle is the least of their worries.
  6. Is anyone going to Atlanta to see this? https://playbill.com/article/tituss-burgess-the-preachers-wife-musical-to-make-world-premiere-at-atlantas-alliance
  7. Personally I'm wary of being "political" so I tend to post elsewhere. Anyway, I couldn't find the Movies thread so feel free to move this if we still have one... https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/disney-lilo-stitch-live-action-nani-lilos-sister-1235373828/ On the one hand, Hollywood is not a welcoming place to people who don't fit Eurocentric beauty standards (aside from the few exceptions they let in the door, largely because of overwhelming talent) so you have a limited pool of people to choose from. On the other hand, I'm not convinced that Disney (or other studios) genuinely look through all the working actors even on projects like this where they're not really looking for name talent.
  8. I think you make fair points. But Taylor strikes me as someone who 1) craves legitimacy and 2) craves approval. She wants to be an artist, an intellectual, etc. Her aspiration is to be making great work. And she also wants to be told by established artists and institutions and critics that she is making great work. So I hold out hope that eventually she will stop thinking this is good enough. I honestly think getting a different producer might be enough. She'd still be making very similar songs but at least they'd have the oomph she once had with Antonoff but that has been producing diminishing returns for multiple albums now.
  9. Maybe they thought we needed a slow build to see Anna as a scammer but I feel like anyone coming to this show knows that Anna is a criminal. From episode 1, Neff (as a character) has just seemed like an idiot. Her boyfriend is right. The fact that she is still supporting Anna in the present timeline, not as a "hustler" but truly believing she does have money and was telling the truth makes her more of a moron. It also doesn't gel with what I know of the real Neff from My Friend Anna. The show really wants to make Rachel a villain but it presents Neff as bought and paid for and less savvy than she thinks she is. Neff sees herself as an outsider but she's fully bought into the world and capes for the rich and famous. I would like to see Neff's actress in a different role because she was great while she was being the best ever concierge but it was really hard not to roll my eyes at her this whole episode. The character thinks she's so smart when she's obviously being scammed and dazzled by actually getting to experience the luxury she usually just watches from a distance. The sexual harassment scene was pointless. It'd be like making a Martin Shkreli show and inventing a scene where he was abused by his nanny. It has no grounding in reality and only exists to try and make Anna sympathetic. I also agree that they don't know what to do with the lawyer. They don't know what to do with most of these characters. I continue to love Scriberia and I'd happily watch these actors in better projects. Maybe they'll have better roles on the next Shonda show. They did invent a backstory that justifies all Vivian's bitterness. But is there no paper trail or evidence of her version of events? Why put up with that if you have proof you were wronged? "You made a choice to hurt me for your own personal gain" felt like it was about Anna. I wish the show would focus on that rather than the girlbossing. Aby Rosen's sons aren't unattractive but they definitely got an adaptational attractiveness upgrade. They stepped up the fashion this episode so that was fun. I only remember Rachel's book vaguely but I think things played out differently. Neff was invited to be the videographer on the trip. And I don't think the payment was so neatly solved. I remember Anna being thrown out of the hotel with her stuff. Good eye. The lighting is terrible and Netflix makes it difficult to pause. I saw the same numbers but I thought the $420 was how much she paid for dinner. Why was there so much in her film fund if she was overdrawn? Anyway, I think we're supposed to understand that Neff quickly gives up on her film if it doesn't seem like things are perfect and she has what she needs to get started. Though depending on the film, I think you would need a few thousand dollars, not $2200. Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi for $7000 in 1992 money. It feels like they didn't want to commit to making Anna Chlumsky actually unlikable for a past transgression. It really seemed like it was going to be about getting too close to a source and crossing professional boundaries or at least an accusation of inappropriate behavior along those lines. That would fit with everything we've seen with Vivian so far and how she has gotten chummy with the lawyer and is led by her emotions and wanted to find Anna sympathetic at first. I think they wanted a more sympathetic lead character and they also clearly want to say some girlboss stuff but Anna as a real person doesn't fit the story they want to tell.
  10. I finally finished listening to Midnights. It wasn't the worst but she needs someone to push her and I don't think Jack Antonoff is that person. She's gotten really lazy on the vocals. So much of it is whispery talk-singing and not even the Ariana Grande kind. The production is often flat or it actively works against the song. There's barely a melody on a lot of these songs. I do think it would have been an easier sell if you cut like half the album because most of these tracks were not ready yet. If she's going to be pop, I want 1989 and Reputation Taylor. Just keep Anti-Hero, Karma, Bejeweled, Mastermind, The Great War, Paris, High Infidelity, Would've Could've Should've, and Dear Reader and perfect them. Re-record the vocals, clean up any dud lyrics and rhymes, and devote time to producing the songs so they all shine and have some life and energy.
  11. Does this count as the entertainment industry? Either way, WTH? https://www.npr.org/2023/04/10/1168962589/dalai-lama-apologizes-tongue-kiss
  12. Since I started paying attention in 2009, Jamala has been the only one I've genuinely liked. Netta and Kalush Orchestra were tolerable. At least I didn't actively dislike them. I'm going alphabetically and so far I've listened up to Latvia so I'll chime back in when I've heard all the songs.
  13. This was a little boring but it gave me some hope for the writers. Maybe it was just Anthony Edwards, but I was finally invested in a character and a storyline. I cared about his daughter and I was invested in how he was getting scammed. I mean, my heart isn't breaking for the real person, but the writers finally managed to produce something that felt genuine rather than just fully being generated out of old tropes. I rolled my eyes at all the girlbossing in this one and that TV clip at the end (avoiding politics). Like sure, all of that is true, but it doesn't change the fact that Anna is a criminal who intentionally scammed people. People of all genders can be terrible. I was curious if this was actually true. In Rachel's book all this stuff is conducted over email, which seems like a much simpler scam though phone calls would be more believable. Were real people actually fooled by voice distortion or was that just something they invented for the show? The stuff I've heard always sounds like a robot speaking. I know AI has gotten more sophisticated now with mimicking celebrities but she would have to have a "Peter" to base the voice on, not just distorting her own voice. It sounded so good on the show, I thought there was going to be a reveal that she'd brought someone new into her con. I truly think the writers must believe this is hilarious content. There's no other explanation for why they keep putting this stuff in the show. I think the point was that this was a version of his daughter he could help and save. Anna played a substitute for his daughter that he could be rewarded for believing in. And she also gave him hope that his daughter would also find her way in time.
  14. It's honestly kind of offensive at how poorly they handled Chase's character. In casting a South Asian actor, they should have been prepared to talk about race. Instead, it's all white feminism, he's suddenly patronizing (I wouldn't even say it gets to the level of misogyny much as they hint that), and they completely write off his race and how he navigates through the world and all this relationships because he was adopted by white parents? A MESS. I enjoyed Donna Murphy and the club of rich women who were dismissive to their assistants but the show wasn't brave or smart enough to really dig into that once Nora was convinced to champion female entrepreneurs. That basic credit card theft and needing to keep outrunning the lies is way more interesting to me than the bulk of the show they insist on presenting. The mercenary grift and petty revenge is something I understand from Anna. I wish it had been part of a different show. It didn't really seem to fit here but it was a fun idea. I think Nora spent around $27k before Anna added Chase's shirts. And Anna only spent $17k on subsequent visits so it probably didn't send up red flags. The $400k was spread out among other stores and all kinds of other expenses (e.g. travel, online shopping, etc.) I think Nora just liked having attractive young men around to escort her to events and fawn over her. She wanted the companionship but she was competitive with Anna and also saw her as lazy until she started to pursue ADF (unlike Val who works and Chase who was pretending to work on the startup).
  15. I felt the writers there. And yes, it was cringe. They stepped up the locations. The lighting is still bad but I'm satisfied with having some things look expensive. I did think Vivian getting sucked into the glamorous life was a cliche I didn't need. Hopefully they don't keep going in that direction. I have seen this same rather pathetic gay best friend character before... down to the bad relationship with his mother. I don't like him being recycled here. The actor is doing what he can but it's a disappointing choice from the writers. Actually, a series of disappointing choices. I can tell that everything is not expensive, but they're trying and I respect that. The more I watch this show, the more I wish it were following other characters. I would also watch all these other shows.
  16. Honestly, I think the biggest problem with the show is the writers had something they wanted to say, and that just doesn't fit with the actual Anna or the facts of the case. They're going so hard on the girlbossing, they're forgetting she was a scammer. I don't need her to be a master manipulator. It's okay if the rich people end up looking dumb, or at least easily fooled. I would prefer if the show leaned into that instead of pretending she was a brilliant grifter who knew how to manipulate people. They really seem to want to do a kind of a serial killer thing with all the jail interviews. Let this show be shallow. I came here to look at expensive things, see rich people be fooled, and see Anna stay one step ahead of detection until she finally makes too many mistakes. She sounds like Tommy Wiseau at her worst but I think the accent softens in other episodes. It seems like she was figuring it out as she went along. It's weird; I like Anna Chlumsky even though the writing for Vivian is so bad and cliched. I like her backup team of older reporters but it feels like the writers are giving them a lot of the vulgar language that they must think is hilarious. Like, you don't have to curse to prove you're a jaded adult. I wish they'd leaned into how baffling it was that Anna fooled people and how odd people found her more than trying to make her charismatic (especially because that didn't seem like part of her con). She was a weirdo who pretended to be rich, not someone who could read people and pretend kindness. Also, yes, loving the locations though the lighting on this show sucks.
  17. https://variety.com/2023/legit/news/bodyguard-musical-halted-mini-riot-audience-singing-along-1235577476/
  18. I got distracted by both crowns looking like they came from Party City. The death masks were at least a slightly plausible prop. And you can get good fake jewelry! Sigh... it's okay for women to age. It's okay for Sophie to be older. It's okay for Astrid to be older. It's even okay if their characters are older than they are. (Wikipedia says Alexandra Park is 33.) I could maybe see the argument that a younger Astrid would be more forgiving but that seems like a very tiny reason to mess up the whole timeline. I agree with the tone and invincibility issues and I've said as much on other episode threads. For me, it's also pacing. I don't mind a silly tone if the bad guy isn't that bad or the situation demands some levity. I expect them to win in the end but with the invincibility it feels like any old nonsense, including wacky hijinks, can happen on the way from point A to point B because none of it matters. Pacing is part of this. It's okay for things to be silly at first if they then hit a wall and have to take the case seriously. I think that happened a little with the MLM episode but only on the part of the blond woman facing off with Sophie. The husband stuff stayed pretty silly throughout until he was actually trying to attack Harry, which was still mostly played for laughs. Another work around is taking the case seriously but leaving room for charisma. Not silliness, but an enjoyable grift whether it's a glamorous party or manipulating someone as part of the con. I don't know that there's a lot of budget for glamorous parties (I'd rather they splash out on one or two rather than cutting corners on so many) but Harry romancing Carol or Eliot befriending the security/janitorial staff at the college feel like charisma plays. It was a tiny part of the episode but Breanna as a reporter flattering the museum director was a version of this. I'm too tired to keep unpacking this but basically I feel like if the structure of the episodes was altered, you could have levity and seriousness and episodes would still feel tense because most procedurals manage to feel tense even when you know they're going to figure out who did it by the end. While they weren't the same as the original series, I think some of the reboot season 1 episodes did a better job with the pacing.
  19. I would actually love to see a museum exhibit on Indian jewelry. The speed (or lack thereof) with which the team moved after Arthur's call was just ridiculous. So much dithering... they deserved to be separated by the security gate. Harry panicking in the vents was very silly but I did laugh. Eliot's speech about still feeling unredeemable felt like a darkness that hasn't been cloaking Eliot for a while. I haven't really investigated who is writing the episodes but there does seem to be a mix of stuff that's very loyal to the original series and characterization that either feels like character development or else sloppy new stuff from writers who aren't as familiar with the characters. Breanna doing an impression of Harry wasn't particularly accurate but it was a fun idea. It would have been better if she'd adopted Harry's touch and go New Orleans accent. Breanna as Eliot was funnier. lol, what? Astrid is supposed to be THIRTY? (10 years old + 20 years) OK, if Astrid has been looking for Sophie/Charlotte all these years then it's even more unbelievable that she didn't recognize her. Clarice Starling? Come on now... that movie won an Oscar. Breanna drugging the tea was brilliant. No useless details. And FINALLY we get Leverage International as backup. Arthur wasn't a great villain (and I still don't know how he managed so much of the con on his own) but he was appropriately smug. I really wanted Eliot to punch him in the face. I guess that counts for something. I'm disappointed that no one did punch him in the face even if the score is settled. With all the focus on Astrid and Sophie, it was easy to ignore how TRULY AWFUL the portrait of the Duke was. That barely looks like a person. Oh, NOW they mention Sterling. And I was a little sad McSweeten and Taggert got no mention when the FBI swooped in. I did find it sweet that Astrid called Sophie family at the end. I wish the onscreen reconciliation had been part of the flashback. I'm glad they wrote in that second reconciliation in front of the painting. I suppose I can buy that Astrid trusted Sophie enough to go along with the plan to catch Arthur and decide how to proceed afterwards. Anyway, they found a good actress. I hope Astrid returns.
  20. Yeah, one benefit to this is getting the infallible crew caught in a sticky situation. But it's just hard to believe that Arthur was the one clever enough to do it. It should have been someone like Sterling. True. Eliot is one person with an easy out.
  21. Woof. The painting bore some resemblance to Astrid but none to Sophie. Honestly, it could have been any random brunette. It looked like a police sketch more than a professional portrait. I immediately recognized the Princesse de Broglie painting in the Hanover gallery. Did they take over a real museum or did they use a normal set filled with prints of real paintings? They also had the Anne of Cleves in the lobby which definitely looked like a fake. lol at the idea of a British museum actually giving back artifacts Billy felt like a terrible person to trust. Weaselly. I'd expect him to tell Ramsay everything as soon as he left that room. I guess we're supposed to chalk that up to Sophie knowing how to read him and knowing he was really trustworthy in the end but it felt like a writing convenience. I was surprised that Astrid didn't recognize Sophie/Charlotte. I did not predict Eliot having to deal with a REAL bomb. That was fun. The actor they got for Ramsay wasn't bad but it was difficult to have too many feelings about a Big Bad we've never actually seen on screen before. He was pretty easily conned even with all his blustering. And did the building have metal detectors? Why not bring a gun or some other weapon? Anyway, bringing back Arthur helped a little in giving us a foe we'd seen before but it lacked the drama of original show takedowns of a bad guy we'd been following for a long time, or even the evil organization RIZ last season. But as I said in the Arthur episode, that actor is boring and anonymous-looking so... meh. I did like the foot race between Parker and Astrid though it was a little anticlimactic for Astrid to not actually figure anything out and just be given a gift from Sophie. I think they found a solid actress for Astrid. I'd be happy for her to come back in a future episode.
  22. I saw the Mary Balogh and just assumed they bought some romance novels to dress the set. And given how Hallmark movie actors already tend to look like stock models, I assumed all the movies were fake. I thought he said his "grandmama calls it The Firm" as a reference to the British monarchy. I think I've been watching too many mysteries. I was worried at first that she was only going to April so she could bring the evidence back to the bad guys. Jenna talking to April and also talking to Carol at the end read as grifter scenes so it felt a little odd coming from a completely genuine character. I could not place the voice at all. I thought it was Hardison and it was just going to be an audio cameo. I was expecting Harry to appear at the very end to do some lawyering but I guess if you set off a fire alarm, you can just have the police show up. I agree this would have been stronger. Maybe she wasn't trying to protect the assistants but she could have at least seen the error of her ways, realizing she hadn't processed her trauma. But Carol and Hank were great bad guys so I'm not too mad. They might be my favorite bad guy team of the season next to the MLM couple. Blond e-sports guy and the professor have been the best solo villains so far.
  23. This was a cute idea for an episode. It was nice to see a civilian involved in the case who was almost competent enough to get things done on her own. Also, it gave us time to enjoy the chemistry building between Jenna and Keith rather than just watching the established chemistry of the crew. I didn't quite buy Breanna as a great singer or a music label really wanted to pick up a classic jazz act. I thought it would be a ploy for the bad boss to harass Jenna... just pretending to go along with things to get close to her. I couldn't believe he actually wanted to sign Breanna. I kind of wished they saved the roasting of romance novels/Hallmark movies for another episode. I was amused when Harry turned out to be the Flemish guy. One time when a ridiculous accent makes perfect sense. Still, as fun as this was, I wish they'd been able to spend more time on it. Maybe they'll bring that world back for another episode. I need a gif of "What? No... My secret..." I was surprised to see another case where they slipped up on using one of the team twice. Now that Leverage International has been introduced, it really doesn't make sense not to call in an assist if it's just a small thing. Jenna played along but she could have EASILY blown the case when she recognized Sophie. Also, they used Parker as the maintenance woman, the bartender, and then the safe cracker though technically she was a safe-cracking bartender in that youtube video so the last two could plausibly be the same identity.
  24. Is anyone following Eurovision this year? I feel like it's getting close but I'm not that excited.
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