Bruce Carmel

It’s visually spectacular. Didn’t like or care about any of the characters. The plot doesn’t move forward much. I didn’t care what was going to happen next. And Paul Dano is terrible. The Riddler is written as evil and twisted. He’s just a bad actor in glasses.

The “quest” of this movie got boring for me. I didn’t like or care about the characters. They are so one dimensional and self-involved that it got tedious. They each have their one thing that they care about and don’t consider others. The demise of the “villain” makes no sense. The anti-video game subplot isn’t resolved. And the family…The sister is a mean-spirited brat. The parents aren’t nice to their kids. With the father, it really borders on abuse, but we’re supposed to think he’s a funny eccentric. The ending is supposed to resolve it with some underlying love, it but it didn’t do it for me. They were unpleasant for the whole movie, and a few moments of “nice” at the end didn’t make it “feel good” for me. The framing story is so undeveloped. I didn’t care about them either. I did tear up at the end, so that gives it a couple stars. But I’m a sucker for anything about father-son relationships.

I don’t watch a lot of TV. I watched the first three episodes when I was stuck on an airplane. I was hooked. I watched the rest of the first season in one night and started season two right away. I saved a couple episodes because I didn’t want it to be over. The characters are so likable and I really care about them. I wanted to find out what would happen next. I kept tearing up and I’m not a big crier. I love coming-of-age stories, especially gay ones. My only criticism was that one position in the cabin. Not anatomically possible. Can’t wait for season three.

I loved every minute of this. It’s just all Fran. She’s ornery as can be but completely likable a charming (to me anyway.) I didn’t notice the film making at all—it’s invisible. It’s only the subject, her opinions and stories. That’s a great film! Damn the discussion of sports was frustrating. Just played for a laugh. I wish you would have said more. Did that end up on the cutting room floor?

I probably would have been satisfied with a formulaic Cinderella/makeover movie. It's probably a different kind of formula, but one I like better with good acting, interesting characters, and funny dialogue. Brittany is likable and I was rooting for her but she's far from perfect. Sometimes she's even infuriating. This movie gets extra points for it's diverse cast. Why can't more movies do that?