Michael Swinford

Finally finished the HBO production of Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet, Guy Pierce and Evan Rachel Wood. Some miniseries I fly through. This version of the classic, Mildred Pierce took me about 3 weeks. One of the reasons the Joan Crawford version is so well liked, is because Joan Crawford being glamorous. It's much more a nior film, and it absolutely works that way. This time around they have taken any of the glamour out of this and made it into a "serious" series. That's totally fine except this went on for too many episodes, and pretty much spells everything out from the beginning. Kate Winslet, who I love does her best, but in my opinion can't save this. The final two episodes were great, but didn't make up for the lack of color, both literally and figuratively. Honestly, I had to make myself watch the second half. To me, in this treatment, I didn't really invest into any of the characters. This I think was due to writing, new plot twists, and the pace. It was ungodly slow. Big kudos to Evan Rachel Wood though. Even though she is not given much to do until the final episodes, she has a stare that could cut glass.

I missed this show when it first ran. I started watching it yesterday and binged all of the episodes, and just finished tonight. I had heard and read the gay community disliked it and were actually pretty brutal towards the show. How sad. Reading the reviews that dogged it I was surprised at how hateful and immature most were. There were big complaints that it didn't include enough of a range of gay men. Several complained it was "too white." Are you kidding? Did we watch the same show? These scripts and these actors were absolutely well written and very bravely acted. The range of characters and settings was actually very realistic, from the wealthy British man to the couple who work in a homeless shelter for LGBTQ+ youth. Perhaps not everyone lives in a wealthy neighborhood in San Francisco, but some certainly do. Some complained that Looking didn't represent the community. They should have said it didn't represent their community. This series was at it's heart about a certain group of friends making their way through life and love. Just like real life. I'm so glad I finally watched it, and bravo to the actors, writers and the director.

*spoilers* If you are looking for a laugh out loud comedy, look elsewhere. This film aims to make us look at ourselves in a light that we are living in. It left me uncomfortable and anxious, and I think that's exactly the point. The performances are great. I actually forgot about the actors playing the characters, with the exception of Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill. Cate Blanchett is perfection in this. It's hard to say what I feel about this movie. It's so well done and pretty spot on. Replace Meryl's portrayal of the president with tRump, and the asteroid with Covid, and it's definitely a mirror to these days we are living in.

Really "good" not great. I thought the little girl playing Annie lacked energy and actually seemed out of place. I love Harry Connick but this wasn't his best. He seemed unsure and clunky. Nicole Scherzinger looked amazing but lacked acting ability IMO. As a whole it was charming enough, just seemed kind of thrown together. My favorite performance was Taraji P Henson. She stole the show for me. Solid "B-"