Sue (Eden Sher) wins the optimist scholarship. One hundred dollars all for her. I shouldn't have been surprised. She is an optimist, even proclaiming that she can't wait for the next moment.
However, she is super stressed out for the majority of the episode, she sloshes through working extra shifts, applying for tons of scholarships, some of which she doesn't have a prayer to win, and even does her community service at the old people's home, cutting up meat for them. However, that falls through when she doesn't cut the meat right, and an old person chokes. Yikes.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is horrible at her job and almost gets caught. She fails to mail the appointment reminder cards so no one is coming to work. Being Frankie, she finally addresses all the cards, but forgets to put stamps on them. Fortunately, she gets some stamps and mails the cards so people start showing up for appointments, using the gas mask to keep the person from spilling the beans over the reason why they haven't been there in so long.
Mike (Neil Flynn) misreads a situation with Brick (Atticus Shaffer). A girl prevents Brick from entering the building, and it looks like she's a bully, but it turns out that that is Brick's friend, Piper (Ava Allan). Brick tries to get Mike to apologize to her, and though he feels sorry about the situation, he doesn't believe he should apologize. But Brick wins out, but Piper isn't one for the apology, as Mike truly embarrassed her in front of her friends. She doesn't really accept his apology and Mikes becomes even more angry, which makes the situation worse but at least Brick isn't too mad at him this time.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) need to gain weight so they can remain on the football team, so they are eating everything in sight at the Heck house. Mike has to go into his bedroom to keep a bag of chips from Axl's grubby hands. This plot line is pretty lame, but at least Axl keeps his scholarship, though he is still a tiny man on the team.
Now, back to Frankie and Sue. Frankie decides to take Sue to a spa so she can relax, which leads to the best scene in the episode. Sue laments that she isn't super smart, like Brick, or athletic like Axl. And several of the sports teams that she made were totally by accident. She is totally average and it upsets her. But Frankie has never been worried about her, so does everything on her own, while she had to constantly nag Axl for years. Sue finally calms down and relaxes which leads her to getting at least that one scholarship, never more deserved.
All-in-all, the episode was better than last week's, though I don't really know what the writers were going for with the Mike and Brick plot line, but that one scene with Sue and Frankie made the episode really good and worth a second viewing. But I didn't think Frankie would be that bad at her job, she seriously needs to pull it together. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Guys (aka Axl and Hutch) at a buffet, please use utensils when putting food on your plate.
-Brick is crazy for thinking that Mike should meet Piper at a park to apology, and bringing candy wouldn't make the situation any better.
-Brick makes the situation worse by telling Piper's parents that Mike touched her, which he did but in a fatherly way, basically harmless.
-The spa is truly horrible. I would not have gone in the water if I were them. But they were told and did obey the warning to keep their bathing suits on the whole time.
-The snacks the spa provides are horrible, as the owner literally pulls stuff out of his pocket. Gross.
-Frankie surprises her boss, Dr. Goodwin (Jack McBrayer) with a song she wrote (pulled out of her butt) for him. He writes some back for her, It's cute in a creepy way.
-I wish they would give Axl a new girlfriend, though Hutch is a pretty cool character.
-I wonder why Brick's math teacher is giving him a hard time. Well, that's probably a plot line for a whole separate show.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
The Middle: The Wind Chimes
This episode massively disappointed me, especially since it was the first new episode in three whole weeks.
Sure, it was great to see Rita Glossner (Brooke Shields) back, after spending nine months at a spa (aka jail), but boy, is she off her rocker. But so is Frankie (Patricia Heaton), in different ways.
Frankie takes everything out of proportion, everything bothers her while nothing, almost nothing bothers Mike (Neil Flynn) but he will go to bat just to make Frankie happy. Because if Mama's not happy, then no one is. I didn't expect that plot line, where Frankie hates Rita's new wind chimes which make so much noise, she can't sleep at night, to end that way. Frankie tries to be nice, but that backfires, with Rita throwing the chocolates at the Heck house, to spite her, Frankie throws one back at her and it hits Rita, leaving me gasping. Luckily, this plot line has a happy ending, because the Glossner boys hit everything with bats.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is exercising his creative juices when he calls a pretzel company to complain about the lack of salt but instead gets inspired when the company wants to hear ideas for new products. Brick takes the whole thing way too seriously and all the products he comes up with have already been created but he delights in spinning things into something new, an advertising man. He even takes his ten cents off coupon as his first paycheck.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) find a battered couch behind a dumpster which will be perfect for their apartment next year though just getting it back to campus poses a huge problem. Eventually, they leave it in the woods where Axl gets angry at Hutch just because Hutch met a girl while Axl had not. Fortunately, Hutch makes things up to Axl epicly, challenging Say Anything to get Axl back.
The plot line I had a problem with was Sue's (Eden Sher's). She and Darrin (John Gammon) are keeping their relationship private. That lasts only until Sue bursts into the house and announces that she is in love with Darrin. Frankie soon comes up with a problem. She doesn't want Sue to hang out with Darrin all the time, because Darrin has friends with kids and will soon be getting his own place. Mike puts his foot down though that doesn't really annoy him too much, because he trusts Sue. Sue is furious and that plot line isn't really solved and you barely get any Sue and Darrin together, which is always a bad idea. Besides, Frankie never looks on the bright side, maybe Sue and Darrin will realize how much work goes into having a child and not want to take that path just yet, but she doesn't think like that.
This time, the plots have plenty of overlap, which is nice, with everything coming to a climax in the Heck basement, Mike just wanting people to shut up so he can sleep, but because there are so many plots, some don't get the screen time and justice they deserve. Still, this episode wasn't anything like I thought it would be, and I do sort of like surprises. However, this is not one of the stronger episodes, but at least everyone is happy in the end and the plot lines could carry over into other episodes. Of course, the acting is always great. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Rita notes Frankie's pajamas and isn't surprised that she only has three children. Rita might be going through the change, but she still enjoys sex.
-Darrin calls Sue Sue Bear.
-Sue proclaims that she can hear bells while kissing Darrin, and Brick says then they are all in love Darrin, thanks to the incessant wind chimes.
-Axl likes Revenge. Who knew?
-Darrin could watch Sue make potatoes all day long.
-It's true. She should have kept their relationship longer because people do always try and ruin their external happiness.
-Frankie ate the chocolates from the tax people but bought new ones for Rita and she actually used her good stationary, trying to suck up to her even more.
-The noise cancelling ear muffs at the dinner table are a bad idea.
-When Axl is mad at Hutch for having a girl over, he snaps and hopes that a deer tick bites Hutch in his private area. Gross and cruel.
Sure, it was great to see Rita Glossner (Brooke Shields) back, after spending nine months at a spa (aka jail), but boy, is she off her rocker. But so is Frankie (Patricia Heaton), in different ways.
Frankie takes everything out of proportion, everything bothers her while nothing, almost nothing bothers Mike (Neil Flynn) but he will go to bat just to make Frankie happy. Because if Mama's not happy, then no one is. I didn't expect that plot line, where Frankie hates Rita's new wind chimes which make so much noise, she can't sleep at night, to end that way. Frankie tries to be nice, but that backfires, with Rita throwing the chocolates at the Heck house, to spite her, Frankie throws one back at her and it hits Rita, leaving me gasping. Luckily, this plot line has a happy ending, because the Glossner boys hit everything with bats.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is exercising his creative juices when he calls a pretzel company to complain about the lack of salt but instead gets inspired when the company wants to hear ideas for new products. Brick takes the whole thing way too seriously and all the products he comes up with have already been created but he delights in spinning things into something new, an advertising man. He even takes his ten cents off coupon as his first paycheck.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) find a battered couch behind a dumpster which will be perfect for their apartment next year though just getting it back to campus poses a huge problem. Eventually, they leave it in the woods where Axl gets angry at Hutch just because Hutch met a girl while Axl had not. Fortunately, Hutch makes things up to Axl epicly, challenging Say Anything to get Axl back.
The plot line I had a problem with was Sue's (Eden Sher's). She and Darrin (John Gammon) are keeping their relationship private. That lasts only until Sue bursts into the house and announces that she is in love with Darrin. Frankie soon comes up with a problem. She doesn't want Sue to hang out with Darrin all the time, because Darrin has friends with kids and will soon be getting his own place. Mike puts his foot down though that doesn't really annoy him too much, because he trusts Sue. Sue is furious and that plot line isn't really solved and you barely get any Sue and Darrin together, which is always a bad idea. Besides, Frankie never looks on the bright side, maybe Sue and Darrin will realize how much work goes into having a child and not want to take that path just yet, but she doesn't think like that.
This time, the plots have plenty of overlap, which is nice, with everything coming to a climax in the Heck basement, Mike just wanting people to shut up so he can sleep, but because there are so many plots, some don't get the screen time and justice they deserve. Still, this episode wasn't anything like I thought it would be, and I do sort of like surprises. However, this is not one of the stronger episodes, but at least everyone is happy in the end and the plot lines could carry over into other episodes. Of course, the acting is always great. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Rita notes Frankie's pajamas and isn't surprised that she only has three children. Rita might be going through the change, but she still enjoys sex.
-Darrin calls Sue Sue Bear.
-Sue proclaims that she can hear bells while kissing Darrin, and Brick says then they are all in love Darrin, thanks to the incessant wind chimes.
-Axl likes Revenge. Who knew?
-Darrin could watch Sue make potatoes all day long.
-It's true. She should have kept their relationship longer because people do always try and ruin their external happiness.
-Frankie ate the chocolates from the tax people but bought new ones for Rita and she actually used her good stationary, trying to suck up to her even more.
-The noise cancelling ear muffs at the dinner table are a bad idea.
-When Axl is mad at Hutch for having a girl over, he snaps and hopes that a deer tick bites Hutch in his private area. Gross and cruel.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Call the Midwife, Season One Recap and Reaction
I am finally watching this show and I can say that it is just as good as the immensely popular Downton Abbey.
It is 1957, London, the East Side, where the people are poor and the babies are plentiful. Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) is the new midwife and one who has a secret which I'll get to later. The Nonnatus House is a convent with Anglican nuns and Jenny is surprised to find herself there and it does take some getting used to. The fellow midwives, a mixture of nuns and lay people, are a colorful bunch of characters. Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfait) is elderly and absent-minded and speaks in metaphors, Sister Evangeline (Pam Ferris) is very strict but means well, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) is the kindest and most motherly of the nuns, Sister Bernadette (Laura Main) is the youngest nun and the most under developed, Trixie (Helen George) is the pretty blonde, who is also a major flirt, Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) is very sensitive and another new midwife is Camilla, but called Chummy (Miranda Hart) who comes from a wealthy, but cold family. Chummy has many problems, including not being able to ride a bicycle which is a necessity for these midwives, but she does slowly adjust.
I'll deal with Chummy first. She gets a love interest, a policeman named Peter (Ben Caplan) who is kind and considerate. She is very happy with him but her rich mother, Lady Browne (Cheryl Campbell) is not impressed as she believes that Chummy is not living up to her class and Peter is beneath her so Chummy breaks things off though it deeply depresses her. Fortunately, thanks to her fellow midwives and a case, she apologizes and soon walks down the aisle with him, refusing all help from her mother even saying calmly that a white dress wouldn't be appropriate anymore, barely giving her mother time to blink. The two get married in the finale.
Cynthia and Trixie deal with an interesting case. A woman, Winnie Lawson (Tessa Churchard) becomes pregnant at forty-one and is not pleased. In fact, she was so out of touch with the whole thing, that her pregnancy wasn't even diagnosed until just a month before her due date. Though she isn't pleased, her husband (John Ashton) is thrilled as this will be his first child. The problem is, it isn't his child. Winnie married him because her first husband died and she wanted her children to have a father and though she knew she made the right decision, she still went out and had a one night stand with a black man which is how she got pregnant. Her husband doesn't even care when the baby is born, clearly African, in fact, he is thrilled and doesn't even question anything about it.
Jenny also deals with some interesting cases. In the first episode, she deals with a woman who is pregnant for the twenty third time. Yes, you read that right. They even had two sets of twins, meaning they have twenty-four children already. The poor woman hasn't even had her period in eleven years. (The pill hasn't been introduced yet.)You see, the husband (Tim Faraday) brought his wife, Conchita (Carolina Valdes) over from when he was fighting in Spain in the Civil War. She was just fourteen at the time. Even odder, despite being married from around twenty years, Len (aka Husband) learned no Spanish and Conchita learned no English so oldest daughter Maureen (Hayley Squires) translates. But they look truly in love and devoted to each other. Then Conchita falls down, suffers a concussion and goes into premature labor. At first, Jenny believes the baby boy is stillborn but then he starts to move. But Conchita refuses to let the baby, born roughly ten months early, be taken away from her to go to the hospital (the babies are mostly born at home). But what she does works and the baby gains weight and gets healthy.
Jenny also deals with the young Mary (Amy McAllister), a fifteen year old prostitute who becomes pregnant. She is taken away and put into a Catholic house where her pimp doesn't have access to her anymore. Though Mary is thrilled when baby Kathleen is born, the baby is taken without Mary's consent because she is too young to even give consent, and put up for adoption. Mary is devastated though I doubt few would have suspected what she would have done next. Another mom, after a heart breaking stillbirth, has a healthy baby girl they name Gillian, but this baby is snatched from her carriage by Mary because she just wants a baby to replace the taken Kathleen. Luckily, Jenny is able to talk her into giving up the baby and baby Gillian is reunited with her parents.
Now to Jenny's secret. When she was younger, she fell deeply, hopelessly in love with a married man who refused to leave his wife, leaving Jenny heartbroken. She cannot move on, not even despite the interest of a longtime friend. Finally, in the finale, she decides that she needs to let him go and not cling on to the feeling she had with him.
This show is realistic and the setting is brilliant, truly looking like the 1950s. The acting is also good, from the main cast down to the countless guest stars. The show makes you love and cry, fortunately rarely at the same time. There is really nothing bad I can say about this show, nor complaints that I can make. I cannot wait to watch season two. I wonder what the future holds. Grade: A
It is 1957, London, the East Side, where the people are poor and the babies are plentiful. Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) is the new midwife and one who has a secret which I'll get to later. The Nonnatus House is a convent with Anglican nuns and Jenny is surprised to find herself there and it does take some getting used to. The fellow midwives, a mixture of nuns and lay people, are a colorful bunch of characters. Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfait) is elderly and absent-minded and speaks in metaphors, Sister Evangeline (Pam Ferris) is very strict but means well, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) is the kindest and most motherly of the nuns, Sister Bernadette (Laura Main) is the youngest nun and the most under developed, Trixie (Helen George) is the pretty blonde, who is also a major flirt, Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) is very sensitive and another new midwife is Camilla, but called Chummy (Miranda Hart) who comes from a wealthy, but cold family. Chummy has many problems, including not being able to ride a bicycle which is a necessity for these midwives, but she does slowly adjust.
I'll deal with Chummy first. She gets a love interest, a policeman named Peter (Ben Caplan) who is kind and considerate. She is very happy with him but her rich mother, Lady Browne (Cheryl Campbell) is not impressed as she believes that Chummy is not living up to her class and Peter is beneath her so Chummy breaks things off though it deeply depresses her. Fortunately, thanks to her fellow midwives and a case, she apologizes and soon walks down the aisle with him, refusing all help from her mother even saying calmly that a white dress wouldn't be appropriate anymore, barely giving her mother time to blink. The two get married in the finale.
Cynthia and Trixie deal with an interesting case. A woman, Winnie Lawson (Tessa Churchard) becomes pregnant at forty-one and is not pleased. In fact, she was so out of touch with the whole thing, that her pregnancy wasn't even diagnosed until just a month before her due date. Though she isn't pleased, her husband (John Ashton) is thrilled as this will be his first child. The problem is, it isn't his child. Winnie married him because her first husband died and she wanted her children to have a father and though she knew she made the right decision, she still went out and had a one night stand with a black man which is how she got pregnant. Her husband doesn't even care when the baby is born, clearly African, in fact, he is thrilled and doesn't even question anything about it.
Jenny also deals with some interesting cases. In the first episode, she deals with a woman who is pregnant for the twenty third time. Yes, you read that right. They even had two sets of twins, meaning they have twenty-four children already. The poor woman hasn't even had her period in eleven years. (The pill hasn't been introduced yet.)You see, the husband (Tim Faraday) brought his wife, Conchita (Carolina Valdes) over from when he was fighting in Spain in the Civil War. She was just fourteen at the time. Even odder, despite being married from around twenty years, Len (aka Husband) learned no Spanish and Conchita learned no English so oldest daughter Maureen (Hayley Squires) translates. But they look truly in love and devoted to each other. Then Conchita falls down, suffers a concussion and goes into premature labor. At first, Jenny believes the baby boy is stillborn but then he starts to move. But Conchita refuses to let the baby, born roughly ten months early, be taken away from her to go to the hospital (the babies are mostly born at home). But what she does works and the baby gains weight and gets healthy.
Jenny also deals with the young Mary (Amy McAllister), a fifteen year old prostitute who becomes pregnant. She is taken away and put into a Catholic house where her pimp doesn't have access to her anymore. Though Mary is thrilled when baby Kathleen is born, the baby is taken without Mary's consent because she is too young to even give consent, and put up for adoption. Mary is devastated though I doubt few would have suspected what she would have done next. Another mom, after a heart breaking stillbirth, has a healthy baby girl they name Gillian, but this baby is snatched from her carriage by Mary because she just wants a baby to replace the taken Kathleen. Luckily, Jenny is able to talk her into giving up the baby and baby Gillian is reunited with her parents.
Now to Jenny's secret. When she was younger, she fell deeply, hopelessly in love with a married man who refused to leave his wife, leaving Jenny heartbroken. She cannot move on, not even despite the interest of a longtime friend. Finally, in the finale, she decides that she needs to let him go and not cling on to the feeling she had with him.
This show is realistic and the setting is brilliant, truly looking like the 1950s. The acting is also good, from the main cast down to the countless guest stars. The show makes you love and cry, fortunately rarely at the same time. There is really nothing bad I can say about this show, nor complaints that I can make. I cannot wait to watch season two. I wonder what the future holds. Grade: A
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Mom, Season One Recap and Reaction
I thought this show would be better than it turned out to be.
Luckily, the finale was brilliant and properly the best episode of the season.
Christy (Anna Faris) celebrated her first year of sobriety and it wasn't easy. First, her crazy, neglectful mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney) reentered her life and those two certainly had their ups and downs, including dealing with Bonnie's lies, such as hiding substantial amounts of money from her daughter along with the true identity of Christy's father. Christy's father, Alvin (Kevin Pollak) is actually alive, owns a used car dealership, is married with two sons. He is trying to make amends for his despicable actions more than three decades ago, when he left Bonnie at the hospital with baby Christy. Bonnie still hates him, though slowly opens up after Alvin has a heart attack. She still cares about him, after all these years, even though she does try to kill him and then promptly makes out with him.
Christy's daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano) is pregnant by her boyfriend, Luke (Spencer Daniels), who is none too bright. This is the plot line I started out hating, I mean, seriously, another pregnant teenager on a sitcom? But then, in a plot twist that no one, not even the characters saw coming, Violet opts to give the baby up for adoption and even finds a nice couple willing to adopt. Then, during labor, while in a ton of pain, she nearly changes her mind, fortunately, in a tearful, humorless moment, Violet holds her newborn daughter and wishes her all the best the world has to offer. Luke, by the way, misses the whole birth because he can't stand the sounds and this is only after he can't find her room for he is high as a kite and tells the adopted parents to name the baby Smokey, whether it is a boy or a girl. Yikes.
Those are the main two plot lines, but there are others. A sober friend of Christy and Bonnie, Regina (the always lovely Octavia Spencer) is arrested and sentenced to time in prison. Another friend, Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy) deals with cancer. While taking care of her, Christy learns that she is horribly allergic to cats and Marjorie is way too lonely for her own good.
Christy also has two relationships. Adam (Justin Long) is kind and sweet and nonjudgmental. But it doesn't work out and that makes me sad. Her relationship with David (Nick Zano), an attractive and intelligent fireman, goes much further but the man is always drinking and has bongs. However, Christy doesn't end the relationship until she finds out that he is not faithful to her.
Bonnie briefly dates Chef Rudy (French Stewart), from the restaurant where Christy works, but that doesn't last either.
Now, that leads us to a main problem, Christy's place of work. She works at a fine restaurant, and though two of her fellow employees, Gabriel (Nate Corddry), her boss and former married lover and Chef Rudy, receive star billing, but rarely appear. There is no reason they should receive star billing, but at least Chef Rudy is an interesting character. He is bisexual and will sleep with an overweight man for a good restaurant review and stores pot in the restaurant's giant, oversized freezer. Gabriel is boring and one-dimensional.
The last main character is Baxter (Matt L. Jones), Christy's ex husband and father of her son, Roscoe (Blake Garret Rosenthal). Baxter is a complete dead beat, living out of his car, and buying his nine-year-old son a ticket to a rated-R movie which Christy won't let him see. In the finale, he finally admits that he is sick of his horrible lifestyle but doesn't quite know how to change. Roscoe can't even come up with many reasons why Baxter should value his life, then they both go for ice cream, Baxter asking his son if he has any money.
Overall, this show wasn't that funny and I hate laugh tracks which are included for this show. The acting was good, but the writing wasn't spectacular by any means. Luckily, Janney is brilliant and makes almost anything enjoyable, despite her extremely unlikable character. Faris and Calvano are also great. The others aren't bad, but their characters aren't as well developed as the three women. Luckily, the many guest stars are great, really great.
Though I will continue to watch the show, it needs to improve and narrow down the cast somehow and create more character development for the secondary characters. Finale: A-, Season: B-
Luckily, the finale was brilliant and properly the best episode of the season.
Christy (Anna Faris) celebrated her first year of sobriety and it wasn't easy. First, her crazy, neglectful mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney) reentered her life and those two certainly had their ups and downs, including dealing with Bonnie's lies, such as hiding substantial amounts of money from her daughter along with the true identity of Christy's father. Christy's father, Alvin (Kevin Pollak) is actually alive, owns a used car dealership, is married with two sons. He is trying to make amends for his despicable actions more than three decades ago, when he left Bonnie at the hospital with baby Christy. Bonnie still hates him, though slowly opens up after Alvin has a heart attack. She still cares about him, after all these years, even though she does try to kill him and then promptly makes out with him.
Christy's daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano) is pregnant by her boyfriend, Luke (Spencer Daniels), who is none too bright. This is the plot line I started out hating, I mean, seriously, another pregnant teenager on a sitcom? But then, in a plot twist that no one, not even the characters saw coming, Violet opts to give the baby up for adoption and even finds a nice couple willing to adopt. Then, during labor, while in a ton of pain, she nearly changes her mind, fortunately, in a tearful, humorless moment, Violet holds her newborn daughter and wishes her all the best the world has to offer. Luke, by the way, misses the whole birth because he can't stand the sounds and this is only after he can't find her room for he is high as a kite and tells the adopted parents to name the baby Smokey, whether it is a boy or a girl. Yikes.
Those are the main two plot lines, but there are others. A sober friend of Christy and Bonnie, Regina (the always lovely Octavia Spencer) is arrested and sentenced to time in prison. Another friend, Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy) deals with cancer. While taking care of her, Christy learns that she is horribly allergic to cats and Marjorie is way too lonely for her own good.
Christy also has two relationships. Adam (Justin Long) is kind and sweet and nonjudgmental. But it doesn't work out and that makes me sad. Her relationship with David (Nick Zano), an attractive and intelligent fireman, goes much further but the man is always drinking and has bongs. However, Christy doesn't end the relationship until she finds out that he is not faithful to her.
Bonnie briefly dates Chef Rudy (French Stewart), from the restaurant where Christy works, but that doesn't last either.
Now, that leads us to a main problem, Christy's place of work. She works at a fine restaurant, and though two of her fellow employees, Gabriel (Nate Corddry), her boss and former married lover and Chef Rudy, receive star billing, but rarely appear. There is no reason they should receive star billing, but at least Chef Rudy is an interesting character. He is bisexual and will sleep with an overweight man for a good restaurant review and stores pot in the restaurant's giant, oversized freezer. Gabriel is boring and one-dimensional.
The last main character is Baxter (Matt L. Jones), Christy's ex husband and father of her son, Roscoe (Blake Garret Rosenthal). Baxter is a complete dead beat, living out of his car, and buying his nine-year-old son a ticket to a rated-R movie which Christy won't let him see. In the finale, he finally admits that he is sick of his horrible lifestyle but doesn't quite know how to change. Roscoe can't even come up with many reasons why Baxter should value his life, then they both go for ice cream, Baxter asking his son if he has any money.
Overall, this show wasn't that funny and I hate laugh tracks which are included for this show. The acting was good, but the writing wasn't spectacular by any means. Luckily, Janney is brilliant and makes almost anything enjoyable, despite her extremely unlikable character. Faris and Calvano are also great. The others aren't bad, but their characters aren't as well developed as the three women. Luckily, the many guest stars are great, really great.
Though I will continue to watch the show, it needs to improve and narrow down the cast somehow and create more character development for the secondary characters. Finale: A-, Season: B-
Sunday, April 6, 2014
The Grand Budapest Hotel
This film is quite bizarre, but enjoyable nevertheless.
Wes Anderson, once again, directs a quirky crew with a quirky plot to go with the colorful characters.
It is also a frame film, with many flashbacks within flashbacks. The main plot concerns a young Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) who is hired as a lobby boy in the Grand Budapest Hotel without the knowledge of the concierge, Gustave (the brilliant Ralph Fiennes). However, soon Gustave takes to the young recruit, especially after one of his many flames, Celine (Tilda Swinton, in old person make-up) dies under mysterious circumstances. Thanks to her vengenceful and greedy son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody), Gustave is framed for the murder so he quickly escapes with Zero in tow. Zero helps him hilariously escape from an odd prison. Gustave digs a hole along with his cell mates and then sneaking through the prison and crawling through the swere, Shawshank style to escape and then criticizing Zero for forgetting a change of clothes for him and some perfume. They escape via the help of an intricate array of other hotel managers, including ones played by Bill Murray and Bob Balaban. Their mission is to find the escape butler of Celine, who knows the truth, which leads them through the countryside, up to some Alpine mountains where skiing is popular.
There are also subplots, the main one involves Zero's love interest, Agatha (Saoirse Ronan), the baker's daughter, with a large birthmark marring her otherwise pretty appearance. I wished for those two to have a happy ending, but alas, that was not to be, somewhat ruining the ending for me, but this film, which is peppered with funny moments, ultimately doesn't have a happy ending.
But the journey is so much fun. And the cast, with appearances by Willem Dafoe as the hitman behind Dmitri's evil genius, Edward Norton as the head of the soldiers who remembers Gustave from when he was a little boy, Jude Law and Tom Wilkinson as the same author, covering two different ages, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson as other concierges, Jeff Goldblum as the ethical lawyer who also meets an untimely end and F. Murray Abraham who is the older Zero and main narrator of the film. Yes, what a cast.
There is also the odd painting which Celine leaves to Gustave in her first will, Boy with Apple which Gustave steals, Zero replacing it with some obscene painting. This goes unnoticed by Dmitri for some time, proving that the painting is merely an afterthought for him, wanting her whole estate more.
The set is also rather elaborate with the hotel designed to fit two different time periods, plus the train and outside scenes. In fact, the film is almost worth seeing alone for the scenery.
The dialoge is also great, with Gustave describing the elderly Celine as being dynamite in the sack and then proclaiming that he's had older. In fact, that's why he can't admit his alibi for the murder because he was sleeping with someone else's wife at the time of Celine's murder.
Sure, this film is not perfect, with the two actors playing Zero don't exactly 'match', my mother's word. It's true, though it doesn't effect the film. I wished for a happier ending, and maybe just stuff that's a little less bizarre, but whatever. You should go see this film, just watching the characters run from place to place is hilarious. And that's not to mention the breathtaking cinematography and mesmerizing score. Grade: A-
Wes Anderson, once again, directs a quirky crew with a quirky plot to go with the colorful characters.
It is also a frame film, with many flashbacks within flashbacks. The main plot concerns a young Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) who is hired as a lobby boy in the Grand Budapest Hotel without the knowledge of the concierge, Gustave (the brilliant Ralph Fiennes). However, soon Gustave takes to the young recruit, especially after one of his many flames, Celine (Tilda Swinton, in old person make-up) dies under mysterious circumstances. Thanks to her vengenceful and greedy son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody), Gustave is framed for the murder so he quickly escapes with Zero in tow. Zero helps him hilariously escape from an odd prison. Gustave digs a hole along with his cell mates and then sneaking through the prison and crawling through the swere, Shawshank style to escape and then criticizing Zero for forgetting a change of clothes for him and some perfume. They escape via the help of an intricate array of other hotel managers, including ones played by Bill Murray and Bob Balaban. Their mission is to find the escape butler of Celine, who knows the truth, which leads them through the countryside, up to some Alpine mountains where skiing is popular.
There are also subplots, the main one involves Zero's love interest, Agatha (Saoirse Ronan), the baker's daughter, with a large birthmark marring her otherwise pretty appearance. I wished for those two to have a happy ending, but alas, that was not to be, somewhat ruining the ending for me, but this film, which is peppered with funny moments, ultimately doesn't have a happy ending.
But the journey is so much fun. And the cast, with appearances by Willem Dafoe as the hitman behind Dmitri's evil genius, Edward Norton as the head of the soldiers who remembers Gustave from when he was a little boy, Jude Law and Tom Wilkinson as the same author, covering two different ages, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson as other concierges, Jeff Goldblum as the ethical lawyer who also meets an untimely end and F. Murray Abraham who is the older Zero and main narrator of the film. Yes, what a cast.
There is also the odd painting which Celine leaves to Gustave in her first will, Boy with Apple which Gustave steals, Zero replacing it with some obscene painting. This goes unnoticed by Dmitri for some time, proving that the painting is merely an afterthought for him, wanting her whole estate more.
The set is also rather elaborate with the hotel designed to fit two different time periods, plus the train and outside scenes. In fact, the film is almost worth seeing alone for the scenery.
The dialoge is also great, with Gustave describing the elderly Celine as being dynamite in the sack and then proclaiming that he's had older. In fact, that's why he can't admit his alibi for the murder because he was sleeping with someone else's wife at the time of Celine's murder.
Sure, this film is not perfect, with the two actors playing Zero don't exactly 'match', my mother's word. It's true, though it doesn't effect the film. I wished for a happier ending, and maybe just stuff that's a little less bizarre, but whatever. You should go see this film, just watching the characters run from place to place is hilarious. And that's not to mention the breathtaking cinematography and mesmerizing score. Grade: A-
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
The Middle: The Smell
This episode wasn't nearly as good as last week's.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) begins by attempting to clean out the fridge, trying to find the item that just smells horrible in the Heck household. Finally, it is discovered that Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is the reason. So Frankie sucks it up and takes him out shopping for beauty products. At first, in a move she later regrets, she lets him pick out whatever he wants, but that doesn't go well because he over thinks the whole thing. Typical Brick. Frankie helps him because he clearly isn't ready to do this by himself. But then, this also backfires because he pours absolutely everything on to his body which means that the kids around him were getting sick from the stink. Finally, Mike (Neil Flynn) takes the reins and shows Brick exactly how things are done, but that doesn't mean Brick is any smoother with the ladies because he isn't.
Meanwhile, Mike is busy coaching Sue's (Eden Sher's) soccer team. Actually, Sue isn't even on the team until Bill Norwood (Pat Finn) recruited him but the feigned a new, busy assignment at work, leaving Mike in charge. Sue is also on the team though it doesn't look like she gets much playing time. Though the girls are good players, drama and personal issues get in the way. The girls won't pass to each other if they had an argument with the other girl and if their boyfriend dumps her, then it is lights out. Yikes. Finally, Mike pulls a Norwood and recruits another innocent dad to take his place.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) is still trying to figure out Cassidy's (Galadriel Stineman's) painting and asking other girls doesn't help. Sure, they do have some good ideas but it also makes Axl even more appealing and sensitive to them. Despite Hutch's (Alphonso McAuley's) pleas Axl doesn't call Cassidy for some time but when he does, he is able to work out the painting, which covers the history of their relationship. But they are growing apart and Cassidy doesn't want a boyfriend eight hundred miles away so they somewhat painfully break-up for good, probably, though this show has surprised me with this couple already so who really knows. But Axl will always have a special place in her heart. Axl takes the break-up harder than Hutch would have thought, but once some girls come along to comfort him, he perks right back up.
This episode wasn't as touching as last week's by a long shot, but it was still funny, just watching Brick drench himself in the beauty products and Sue falling off the bench. Last week was all about Sue but this episode gave each main actor roughly equal screen time, which is fine but nothing special happened. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Frankie goes as far as looking under the house to see what smells. Apparently, Mama Bats do nurse their young.
-Brick lost his back pack some time ago and doesn't remember the last place where he had it, thus the problem.
-Brick also writes down all the colors that he likes. Now that he's older he has grown to like periwinkle more.
-Sue, along with all the other girls on the soccer team, trash talk Mike. Naturally Sue does that to fit in but she doesn't really mean it. Mike doesn't address that issue. Mike doesn't smile enough and probably drinks too much.
-One of the reasons Mike agrees to help coach the team was the promise of beers after the games and he's done less for beers.
-Hutch is not pleased that Axl doesn't want to go to a party with him and is desperate enough to ask Kenny (Tommy Bechtold) to be his wing man. That won't end well.
-No mention of Darrin (John Gammon) which makes me sad. I want to see my favorite TV couple together again.
-Cassidy was also the first girl Axl ever loved and stuff. I wonder how involved that couple actually was and what was Cassidy's true reason for ending the relationship?
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) begins by attempting to clean out the fridge, trying to find the item that just smells horrible in the Heck household. Finally, it is discovered that Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is the reason. So Frankie sucks it up and takes him out shopping for beauty products. At first, in a move she later regrets, she lets him pick out whatever he wants, but that doesn't go well because he over thinks the whole thing. Typical Brick. Frankie helps him because he clearly isn't ready to do this by himself. But then, this also backfires because he pours absolutely everything on to his body which means that the kids around him were getting sick from the stink. Finally, Mike (Neil Flynn) takes the reins and shows Brick exactly how things are done, but that doesn't mean Brick is any smoother with the ladies because he isn't.
Meanwhile, Mike is busy coaching Sue's (Eden Sher's) soccer team. Actually, Sue isn't even on the team until Bill Norwood (Pat Finn) recruited him but the feigned a new, busy assignment at work, leaving Mike in charge. Sue is also on the team though it doesn't look like she gets much playing time. Though the girls are good players, drama and personal issues get in the way. The girls won't pass to each other if they had an argument with the other girl and if their boyfriend dumps her, then it is lights out. Yikes. Finally, Mike pulls a Norwood and recruits another innocent dad to take his place.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) is still trying to figure out Cassidy's (Galadriel Stineman's) painting and asking other girls doesn't help. Sure, they do have some good ideas but it also makes Axl even more appealing and sensitive to them. Despite Hutch's (Alphonso McAuley's) pleas Axl doesn't call Cassidy for some time but when he does, he is able to work out the painting, which covers the history of their relationship. But they are growing apart and Cassidy doesn't want a boyfriend eight hundred miles away so they somewhat painfully break-up for good, probably, though this show has surprised me with this couple already so who really knows. But Axl will always have a special place in her heart. Axl takes the break-up harder than Hutch would have thought, but once some girls come along to comfort him, he perks right back up.
This episode wasn't as touching as last week's by a long shot, but it was still funny, just watching Brick drench himself in the beauty products and Sue falling off the bench. Last week was all about Sue but this episode gave each main actor roughly equal screen time, which is fine but nothing special happened. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Frankie goes as far as looking under the house to see what smells. Apparently, Mama Bats do nurse their young.
-Brick lost his back pack some time ago and doesn't remember the last place where he had it, thus the problem.
-Brick also writes down all the colors that he likes. Now that he's older he has grown to like periwinkle more.
-Sue, along with all the other girls on the soccer team, trash talk Mike. Naturally Sue does that to fit in but she doesn't really mean it. Mike doesn't address that issue. Mike doesn't smile enough and probably drinks too much.
-One of the reasons Mike agrees to help coach the team was the promise of beers after the games and he's done less for beers.
-Hutch is not pleased that Axl doesn't want to go to a party with him and is desperate enough to ask Kenny (Tommy Bechtold) to be his wing man. That won't end well.
-No mention of Darrin (John Gammon) which makes me sad. I want to see my favorite TV couple together again.
-Cassidy was also the first girl Axl ever loved and stuff. I wonder how involved that couple actually was and what was Cassidy's true reason for ending the relationship?
Big Night (1996)
This film is realistic but the ending proves to be a disappointment for me.
Two Italian brothers Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) own a little Italian restaurant on the Jersey shore, but because Primo is such a perfectionist, the restaurant is not a popular one and thus will soon face financial ruin. It doesn't help that Pascal (Ian Holm), the owner of a popular, lively Italian restaurant tries to get them to fail by promising something that he never delivers.
And, voila, the plot. There are also minor plots between the two men and the women in their lives. Primo has a crush on the widowed florist owner, Ann (Allison Janney) but never acts on it as he is too shy while Secondo juggles his lovely girlfriend, Phyllis (Minnie Driver) but still has time to sex with the Italian Gabriella (Isabella Rossellini). Phyllis finds out about that and goes into the ocean, but doesn't kill herself, like I thought she was for a while, but she leaves him anyway, thank goodness. At least the future looks more promising for Primo and Ann as they leave the beach hand in hand.
The film ends up in the air, with the bank about to take over the restaurant and the brothers future unsettled, with the three of them (Marc Anthony as the loyal waiter Cristiano is the third.) eating a simple egg before their day begins again. I wished the ending offered us some answers. Sure, it is somewhat happy. The brothers are no longer on opposing sides, but even though Primo is a stick in the mud about his cooking, Secondo will always be on his side. They may end up going back to Italy to work for their uncle but they will never go to work for Pascal.
The acting is fabulous, with each actor nailing the accent, no small feat because Shalhoub and Tucci aren't from the same country or have the same origin. But they do not act like they are going through the motions of creating these fabulous dishes, it is as though they are have been making these dishes for years, just like their actual characters, smoking cigarettes like they've been doing it for years.
Tucci is also one of the co-directors. Campbell Scott, the other co-director, appears as a smooth talking car salesman, who fortunately cannot convince Secondo to buy one such car.
Though the film has an authentic flavor, I wished it could have been better. Grade: B
Two Italian brothers Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) own a little Italian restaurant on the Jersey shore, but because Primo is such a perfectionist, the restaurant is not a popular one and thus will soon face financial ruin. It doesn't help that Pascal (Ian Holm), the owner of a popular, lively Italian restaurant tries to get them to fail by promising something that he never delivers.
And, voila, the plot. There are also minor plots between the two men and the women in their lives. Primo has a crush on the widowed florist owner, Ann (Allison Janney) but never acts on it as he is too shy while Secondo juggles his lovely girlfriend, Phyllis (Minnie Driver) but still has time to sex with the Italian Gabriella (Isabella Rossellini). Phyllis finds out about that and goes into the ocean, but doesn't kill herself, like I thought she was for a while, but she leaves him anyway, thank goodness. At least the future looks more promising for Primo and Ann as they leave the beach hand in hand.
The film ends up in the air, with the bank about to take over the restaurant and the brothers future unsettled, with the three of them (Marc Anthony as the loyal waiter Cristiano is the third.) eating a simple egg before their day begins again. I wished the ending offered us some answers. Sure, it is somewhat happy. The brothers are no longer on opposing sides, but even though Primo is a stick in the mud about his cooking, Secondo will always be on his side. They may end up going back to Italy to work for their uncle but they will never go to work for Pascal.
The acting is fabulous, with each actor nailing the accent, no small feat because Shalhoub and Tucci aren't from the same country or have the same origin. But they do not act like they are going through the motions of creating these fabulous dishes, it is as though they are have been making these dishes for years, just like their actual characters, smoking cigarettes like they've been doing it for years.
Tucci is also one of the co-directors. Campbell Scott, the other co-director, appears as a smooth talking car salesman, who fortunately cannot convince Secondo to buy one such car.
Though the film has an authentic flavor, I wished it could have been better. Grade: B
Noah
This film was a huge disappointment, though, to be fair, I don't know what I was really expecting.
First of all, Noah (Russell Crowe) is not the kind, innocent, truly good at heart man I was led to believe exists in The Bible. Now, he is not corrupt like the evil descendants of Cain, torturing and raping women for the fun of it. Noah has killed, in order to save himself and his young sons and refusing to allow others in to the Ark despite his family's pleas that the room does exist. And then, even worse, he believes that the Creator didn't even want humans to survive the great flood, so they would all kill themselves. However, he did have a fatal flaw by saying that he and his wife would go first. Considering no one else was behind that plan, I doubt that after his death, the rest would have followed.
Probably the bigger problem is that these rock creatures, called Watchers exist in the film. They are eventually on Noah's side and protect the family from the Evildoers, sacrificing themselves in the process. Of course these are fictional beings so why exactly did the screenwriters, which include the director, Darren Aronofsky, decided to do that, bringing the historical value of the film way down.
Another problem is Ham (Logan Lerman), middle son of Noah. He is jealous of his older brother, Shem (Douglas Booth) who loves the adopted daughter of Noah and his unnamed wife (Jennifer Connelly), Ila (Emma Watson). Ham finally finds someone (Madison Davenport) in the village of the Evils (my word, not the official one), but when he helps her escape, her foot is caught, but because the rains have begun the Evils are running, Noah does not stop to help Ham so his love interest is trampled to death, leaving him feeling forever bitter to his father. In fact, Ham is so bitter that he helps the Head Evil (Ray Winstone) to defeat Noah in the Ark, in the ridiculous climax scene, but he realizes that Head Evil is, well, as the name says, evil, even eating the precious animals on the Ark. So Ham ends up killing the Head Evil, becoming a man. Once the storm clears and land returns, Ham sets off on his own, leaving the rest of his family behind to find his own path.
Now, back to the original problem, of Noah wanting his family to die. Naturally, his wife is dead-set against it and tries to talk him out of the whole thing, saying that good exists in all their children. Noah agrees but says that bad also exists in all of them. But what really sends me over the edge is when Noah goes to kill his newborn granddaughters. Which requires some background. Though Ila and Shem are deeply in love, Ila is barren. At first I though this was because of a bad stabbing her stomach received when she was younger. Fortunately, this is remedied when Noah's grandfather (Anthony Hopkins) brings his blessing upon her, for she has lived with the family for ten years. I predicted that he would make her unbarren, or fertile, and I was right. Ila does become pregnant, or in her words, with child. She believes that this is a good fortune, that the Creator has smiled upon the family, though Noah doesn't agree with her. The plan is that she and Shem will leave the Ark to have their baby away from Noah's grasp, but her water breaks before that can happen and with Connelly's help, delivers the baby while Shem stands guard so Noah won't come and kill it and then a second little girl is born. Boys would have been the better outcome because Noah wouldn't have killed them right away, they would have lived to old age and died as the last man on Earth. Noah will have none of that, and goes onto the top of the Ark where Ila is. I have never had children, but I would think that it would completely deplete you of your energy so I have no idea how Ila climbed to the top holding both babies. She sings them to sleep but Noah cannot stab them, because he loves them. I was so grateful that this didn't happen. My friend, who saw the film with me, said that if the babies were killed, she would never see a film with me again. So fortunately that didn't happen.
Fortunately, the film also has a happy ending, with Noah reconnecting back with his family, though this comes after a touching moment with Ila when it should have been his wife, saying that goodness still exists. The family, sans Ham, is together and Noah blesses his granddaughters, knowing that the future is bright.
Despite all the problems I have with the film, the acting is quite good, though some accents are all over the place. And because it's Hollywood, most of the actors are too attractive for their roles, their teeth too straight, too few scars on their bodies, hands not callused enough for building that huge ark from scratch. Still, they saved the film from being a complete disaster.
I did like the set design and the use of herbs in the film, to put the animals to sleep and to diagnose Ila's pregnancy. Sure, that's a small thing, but certainly one of the most interesting.
The special effects are fine, you can't truly tell that the animals aren't real. The cinematography and editing are fine.
The problem is in the screenplay itself. According to IMDb, the screenwriters used a graphic novel based on the Biblical story as a main influence which makes sense considering everything. I don't understand why they made the choices they did for the film, wondering exactly what message they were trying to send, wondering why they thought this film would be a success if they made the decisions they did. Of course, religious figures don't like this film, if I was deeply religious I would probably also be offended especially when the source material didn't need to be changed to create an intriguing film. Grade: B-
First of all, Noah (Russell Crowe) is not the kind, innocent, truly good at heart man I was led to believe exists in The Bible. Now, he is not corrupt like the evil descendants of Cain, torturing and raping women for the fun of it. Noah has killed, in order to save himself and his young sons and refusing to allow others in to the Ark despite his family's pleas that the room does exist. And then, even worse, he believes that the Creator didn't even want humans to survive the great flood, so they would all kill themselves. However, he did have a fatal flaw by saying that he and his wife would go first. Considering no one else was behind that plan, I doubt that after his death, the rest would have followed.
Probably the bigger problem is that these rock creatures, called Watchers exist in the film. They are eventually on Noah's side and protect the family from the Evildoers, sacrificing themselves in the process. Of course these are fictional beings so why exactly did the screenwriters, which include the director, Darren Aronofsky, decided to do that, bringing the historical value of the film way down.
Another problem is Ham (Logan Lerman), middle son of Noah. He is jealous of his older brother, Shem (Douglas Booth) who loves the adopted daughter of Noah and his unnamed wife (Jennifer Connelly), Ila (Emma Watson). Ham finally finds someone (Madison Davenport) in the village of the Evils (my word, not the official one), but when he helps her escape, her foot is caught, but because the rains have begun the Evils are running, Noah does not stop to help Ham so his love interest is trampled to death, leaving him feeling forever bitter to his father. In fact, Ham is so bitter that he helps the Head Evil (Ray Winstone) to defeat Noah in the Ark, in the ridiculous climax scene, but he realizes that Head Evil is, well, as the name says, evil, even eating the precious animals on the Ark. So Ham ends up killing the Head Evil, becoming a man. Once the storm clears and land returns, Ham sets off on his own, leaving the rest of his family behind to find his own path.
Now, back to the original problem, of Noah wanting his family to die. Naturally, his wife is dead-set against it and tries to talk him out of the whole thing, saying that good exists in all their children. Noah agrees but says that bad also exists in all of them. But what really sends me over the edge is when Noah goes to kill his newborn granddaughters. Which requires some background. Though Ila and Shem are deeply in love, Ila is barren. At first I though this was because of a bad stabbing her stomach received when she was younger. Fortunately, this is remedied when Noah's grandfather (Anthony Hopkins) brings his blessing upon her, for she has lived with the family for ten years. I predicted that he would make her unbarren, or fertile, and I was right. Ila does become pregnant, or in her words, with child. She believes that this is a good fortune, that the Creator has smiled upon the family, though Noah doesn't agree with her. The plan is that she and Shem will leave the Ark to have their baby away from Noah's grasp, but her water breaks before that can happen and with Connelly's help, delivers the baby while Shem stands guard so Noah won't come and kill it and then a second little girl is born. Boys would have been the better outcome because Noah wouldn't have killed them right away, they would have lived to old age and died as the last man on Earth. Noah will have none of that, and goes onto the top of the Ark where Ila is. I have never had children, but I would think that it would completely deplete you of your energy so I have no idea how Ila climbed to the top holding both babies. She sings them to sleep but Noah cannot stab them, because he loves them. I was so grateful that this didn't happen. My friend, who saw the film with me, said that if the babies were killed, she would never see a film with me again. So fortunately that didn't happen.
Fortunately, the film also has a happy ending, with Noah reconnecting back with his family, though this comes after a touching moment with Ila when it should have been his wife, saying that goodness still exists. The family, sans Ham, is together and Noah blesses his granddaughters, knowing that the future is bright.
Despite all the problems I have with the film, the acting is quite good, though some accents are all over the place. And because it's Hollywood, most of the actors are too attractive for their roles, their teeth too straight, too few scars on their bodies, hands not callused enough for building that huge ark from scratch. Still, they saved the film from being a complete disaster.
I did like the set design and the use of herbs in the film, to put the animals to sleep and to diagnose Ila's pregnancy. Sure, that's a small thing, but certainly one of the most interesting.
The special effects are fine, you can't truly tell that the animals aren't real. The cinematography and editing are fine.
The problem is in the screenplay itself. According to IMDb, the screenwriters used a graphic novel based on the Biblical story as a main influence which makes sense considering everything. I don't understand why they made the choices they did for the film, wondering exactly what message they were trying to send, wondering why they thought this film would be a success if they made the decisions they did. Of course, religious figures don't like this film, if I was deeply religious I would probably also be offended especially when the source material didn't need to be changed to create an intriguing film. Grade: B-
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