Paul Garner

We suffered through about half of this slow, ambiguous production before giving up. Suspension of disbelief is always an issue for me, and this was immediately a challenge due to the very obvious African facial features of the lead actresses. Clare's dyed hair wasn't a 'thing' in the 1920's. White women considered dyed hair for strumpets, and you'd be hard pressed to find a photo of a black woman of that period with bleached hair. From Josephine Baker to Ethel Waters to Dorothy Dandridge to Hazel Scott, the elite black women of the day weren't going blond! It would seem, then, that passing for an elite white woman would not include hair bleaching. Some of the sets were so bare and devoid of interest that one had to wonder if the film had a budget at all. Long navel-gazing moments between characters we didn't even know yet were unnecessary and taxing to the audience's interest. (Thinking of Clare and Irene's second meeting with its bare backgrounds and looooong silences that conveyed nothing.) Kids acting up wouldn't be tolerated in that day, especially in a black household. "Children should be seen and not heard" was an oft heard admonition. The lack of AUTHENTIC music in the club scene was unfortunate. What we hear has nothing to do with what was going on at the time. Ellington was active at this time in the uptown Cotton Club, and this should have been the go-to source for the sound-track. RESEARCH, people! Do it right! The "black and white" cinematography of today's Netflix productions (Mank, e.g.) is always a huge disappointment. Are you using an iphone app to change color to B&W? Because there is none of the contrast, sharpness of line and definition or accuity of shading found in real B&W films. I'm not even talking about noirs, just any run of the mill 50's flick like Ed Wood's Plan Nine or the 1968 "Night of the Living Dead". Poor character development, very slow moving and opportunities missed. I'm eager to read the book soon.

Poor. Englebert Humperdink in closing was great to hear, though.

Pure pap. Hung on through the first episode thinking it must get better, there must be a reason HBO would invest in this... But no. Simple, predictable situations and stereotypical holy roller characters with many bad lines to recite. Lots of juvenile name calling and insults between the siblings--think Schitt's Creek without wit. The local minister who confronts Eli with fears he'll steal his congregation when the Gemstone megachurch expands to a nearby area also satisfies our collective immaturity by hurling loud insults at Eli in a local restaurant--it is out of character that such an earnest minister would do this. Or maybe I don't spend enough time at Cracker Barrel. Televangelists are easy targets, but I'd be much happier watching 1980's re-runs of Robert Tilton pleading with destitute people to send him their last dollar as a test of their faith that God will fix everything. Bob is "God's anointed messenger", as he likes to remind us. I love it when Pastor Bob speaks in tongues, but he's at his best when he puts his hand up and asks the viewers to come over to the TV and "put your hand on mine". Comedy gold! Look for "Pastor Gas" on YouTube starring Reverend Tilton.

This is the only series on Netflix that I have binged in the true sense of the word. The writing is superb, combining mystery and hilarity. Don't miss it.

I saw this on HBO Max and was only interested in seeing a few minutes of the beautiful Louise Brooks. After 15 minutes I realized I would be watching the entire movie. The acting is compelling and the movie is well-paced, especially as silents go. Interestingly, this was released in 1929, two years after soundies had been introduced. As usual with a silent, there is nothing "missing", and, if anything, one is more drawn in to the emotion expressed on the faces of the actors when that is all they have to work with. The setting is Berlin of the roaring twenties, a la "Cabaret", with plenty of decadence and moral turpitude in evidence. I'm certain this was later banned in the 1930's by the Reich--it even features evil American jazz music, complete with a banjo and saxes in one scene--though jazz doesn't figure in to the score. There are also references to Lesbianism. The directing is first rate and I was especially taken with the (uncredited and beautifully performed) score--which is original except for its use of the Romeo and Juliet Overture-minus the famous love theme, ironically. Or perhaps not ironically, given the theme of the movie! Loved it, interesting on many levels; don't miss this one.