Mike Mills

I absolutely loved it - it did NOT seem like a long movie; for me, there really weren't any boring parts at all. I also loved the live musical - however, I feel like the movie is even better, despite being 2.5hrs and only covering Act I. My only minor complaint with the movie is that I feel there were too many interruptions during the "Defying Gravity" portion at the end; the live musical did that bit better, focusing on the song at the end of Act I. The movie had some extended scenes (like when Elphaba is falling and eventually grabs the broomstick) that kind of interrupted the most powerful song of the entire show. Other than that minor nitpick, outstanding movie. Note that the movie is mostly dialogue-driven, with the songs accentuating and augmenting regularly throughout. (I mention this in case anyone might have seen Les Misérables, with all dialogue being in song, and gotten turned off by it...)

All I can say is wow! Don't think of this is a "superhero show" - there are none in it. It's a psychological crime drama, and it is, imho, fantastic. However, I can't tell you why it was so fantastic, for me, without a spoiler - I won't go into detail at all, but there is a psychological element here that develops over the course of the show - don't read past this if you don't want that aspect spoiled! -- *** SPOILER ALERT *** --- --- --- The show is brilliantly written in the way The Penguin (aka, Oz) seems redeemable (to some degree) in the begginning, and you believe his narrative. But by the end - and I mean the last episode - it becomes clear that he is truly a narcissist psychopath. And the narcissist aspect is developed through the entire series, with the audience brought along and buying his lies along with the other characters in the show. That's all I will say - it's like a masterclass in narcissism with audience participation. If this sounds at all interesting to you, then this show is a must-watch for sure.

In short: Do NOT pay for this movie, IMHO. I'm gonna coin a new phrase, similar to "jumped the shark" (refers to an episode of "Happy Days"): "Twisters" really 'puffballs' the science. Somehow, in 2024, the movie "Twisters" manages to be even far more ridiculous than the original "Twister". I mean, there is simply no way that a light utility trailer with 12 (give or take) barrels of ANYTHING is going to stop an EF5 tornado. But it does at the end.... But wait, there's more! A cowboy ("Tornado Wrangler") in a pickup truck invented an ingenius method of being able to comfortably let a large-ish tornado pass right over/through him: He rigged his truck to drill two spikes about 6 inches in the ground. Of course that would hold his truck safely in place! Ohh, but the incredible writing doesn't stop there - an important part of this movie has to do with a nifty new radar that they hope will help forecast where tornadoes might pop up. But the sheer brilliance of this movie is that they document how to just blow the puffball of a dandelion and watch what happens in the wind, just like the main character (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) did. That's right: Dandelion puffballs can save lives!!! Get the word out, okay? That's SCIENCE!!! Seriously - do NOT pay to see this movie. Do not play it on streaming services when it becomes available there, either. Doing so only encourages more awful movies to be made. The single worst part of the original "Twister" was where the two main characters leash themselves to a pipe and are perfectly fine after an F5 (that was before the EF scale) tornado passes right over/through them. Of course the wind alone, not to mention debris of any size, would have ripped them to shreds. But, nevertheless, the original was still an overall fun movie. This new one should not exist at all; it should be laughed right out of existence.

I loved Station Eleven, and am giving it five stars because, for me, it hit all the right notes. My feelings about this show are quite a bit more subjective than objective, compared to some other shows I like. It's hard to explain why that is without spoilers, but for me the show had an emotionally satisfying ending, despite some lingering questions that may affect some opinions more than others. The show is very well-acted, and if you think you might be interested in a post-apocalyptic story that wraps with hope and redemption, then you should definitely give it a watch. Also, MAKE SURE to watch at least the first three episodes. The first episode is all about the world "ending", then the second episode comes along and makes it seem like it might just be a bunch of people doing post-apocalyptic theater shows from there on. But that isn't it, so keep watching at least through the third episode.

I wish we could have more shows like 'Beef', an excellent drama/comedy with characters that really pull you in. All around great acting, writing, everything. Best show I've watched in a long time; most stuff on Netflix these days is pretty meh - 'Beef' has been a very pleasant surprise.

Edit: I've now finished the entire series, and I can say that the acting and writing improves significantly toward the end of the first season. The concept of the show - sort of a redemption story for the Devil - is very good and interesting. More importantly, the actor that plays Lucifer does an absolutely phenomenal job in that role. The rest of the cast and the writing aren't bad, but they're not particularly great, either. It's just that the actor (Tom Ellis) playing Lucifer is so good in that role, you just kinda wish the show could have been given the budget to elevate the rest of the production to his level. Nevertheless, a good show. It has some "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vibes to it, so if you like that show, you'll probably like this one, also.

Overall excellent, except for the relatively few scenes involving Wednesday's extended family, particularly Gomez, who just seems miscast. The one problem I have is that the opening episode and certain scenes with her parents steers too much toward comedy, rather than trying to make a serious, "believable", universe, such as Sabrina or Harry Potter. The actress playing Wednesday does an absolutely brilliant job delivering her lines in such a way that you can interpret some of the things she says as just her having a dark sense of humor. She is perfect at this. Outside of Gomez, the acting among the main characters - especially Wednesday and Enid, of course, and others at the school - is just so good that the show deserves a "real" universe that helps the audience suspend disbelief, rather than cause it. Think Sabrina, Harry Potter, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer as examples of how I think this show should have been done. And the weird thing is that most of the time it is actually written that way; it's just the opening episode and other scenes with her parents that subtract from what should have been a horror/fantasy, rather than attempting a horror/comedy. Despite those few flaws, Wednesday is still a very good show with some outstanding performances that deserve to be seen. Hopefully we will get more seasons of this show that maybe tone down the comedy a bit and make it a tad more serious.

Very good, but feels like it was originally intended to have more episodes and then had to cut things out. And it does seem at times that it can't quite figure out whether it is trying to be a tragic love story, a Western, or something else altogether; which probably could have been sorted with more episodes. In the end, though, it is a show worth watching.

First, if you like character dramas, then you will probably like this movie; just go see it. The movie starts out strong and ends strong; there are some nits to pick in the middle, though. SPOILERS First, I doubt that a young girl could survive for years on her own in a marsh/swamp environment like that. I mean disease, parasites (the younger version went barefoot all the time) - not to mention all the other potential dangers. Second, the teen version of the main character is suddenly cleaned and groomed, and starts wearing nice clothes that aren't even dirty. Even a white dress in one scene; doesn't really seem like the right kind of attire for that environment and income level (at that point in the movie, at least, before her first book is published.) Third - she went from not being able to read at all to knowing a whole lot of scientific details on local flora and fauna. That seems like a pretty big stretch. But those nits aside, the characters and story are solid and pull you in. I will say that the detail around the books the main character wrote in the movie was pretty well done - it seemed so plausible I had to see if the movie was based on a true story (it is not; I haven't read the book, btw.). Of course, I don't think anyone could legitimately go from not being able to read to then knowing so much scientific detail, but if you put that aside, it was a pretty neat idea that leaned into the main character's life on the marsh in a deeper way. So anyway - if you like these types of movies, then I'm pretty sure you will like this one.