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lindavhill
Reviews
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
The Soul of an Octopus
By Sy Montgomery is an excellent read for anyone who enjoyed this documentary!
Patrick Melrose (2018)
Not a comedy, dark or otherwise
I didn't get the memo that this was meant to be funny/tragic. I adore BC and the production is top notch. However, I find stories of self-destructive addiction to be extremely painful and tedious, especially when dragged through every long episode. Tortuous!
Wolf Hall (2015)
A quiet study of character
I had never heard of this mini-series (or the books on which it's based) before I binge watched the DVD set from my library. From the first episode I fell in love with the slow, calm, deliberate pace of the show. Finally, British dialogue I could follow without use of subtitles! And, while there is violence, it was not the crushing spectacle of most things we see today (I am a Game of Thrones fan, although I consider it a guilty pleasure, and find the battle scenes both tedious and overwhelming).
I don't recommend it for viewers with short attention spans. But if you appreciate character development and a slow build up of suspense, it doesn't get better than this. Mark Rylance is phenomenal as Cromwell. You feel as if you are inside the skin of the man as he does what he has to to survive. And Claire Foy manages to play Anne Boleyn as the master manipulator who doesn't see it coming. As hateful as she's portrayed, I still felt sorry that she got more than she deserved in the end.
I wish there was more of it, and I can't wait to read the books!
Free Solo (2018)
Be sure to see Meru as well
Having seen Meru on DVD I was really looking forward to seeing more of Jimmy Chin's gorgeous photography, this time in a theater. For a documentary about climbing, this is gut-wrenching but it doesn't reach the same cinematic heights Meru did. Understandably - so they wouldn't compromise Honnold's safety - the Chin team backed off from full scale, in-your-face coverage of the actual climb, which was a huge relief. As a result, it doesn't have the up close, in-your-face feel of Meru. Notwithstanding this the climb was crazy radical, and knowing the outcome didn't prevent me from almost bursting into tears of relief when it was over. I just wish someone had told the girl friend to shut up and get out of his head...
The Leisure Seeker (2017)
See "Still Alice" instead
This movie is an embarrassing string of one "senior" cliche after another which makes the "humor" not so funny. The son comes across as an hysteric. The best performance is from Janel Moloney playing the daughter. For a much more moving look at the effects of dementia on a family take a look at "Still Alice." No laughs there, but at least it isn't demeaning.
God Knows Where I Am (2016)
Painful, but beautiful examination of a lost soul
I knew this was going to be difficult to watch, but last night I finally pulled it up on my DVR. Wow. The filmmakers brought this woman to life and didn't sensationalize her death. Great use of simple but elegant recreations of the house where Linda Bishop spent her last months. The music fit perfectly; the voiceover was compelling. The interviews with friends and family started out light and loving, and you're wondering where did things go wrong for her? The tension builds as her story unfolds, and the unbelievable happens.
I appreciated the panel discussion with the filmmakers and a physician led by Hari Sreenivasan after the movie was shown on my PBS station (KCTS). It helped me better understand how this could happen, and how it relates to the issues of mental health and homelessness in the Seattle area.
Everyone should see this movie.
Fargo: Somebody to Love (2017)
Loved the season; hated the ending
As I sat watching the 10th episode (not knowing it was the finale until a return from commercial break informed me so) I was ready to urge a friend to start watching Fargo, if he wasn't already. The acting and writing is always top notch. As with "Lost," I may not always understand what's going on, but I enjoy the puzzle. Season 3 may have started out slow, but it really ratcheted up the tension over time. I looked forward to every episode to see what would happen to all these fascinating characters.
However, I was sorely disappointed by the unresolved ending. I knew the previous season's villains had received their comeuppance so I was innocently sitting there waiting to see Gloria's worldview of decency and justice prevail. Aargh! I hate being left hanging!
So I turned to IMDb for answers and I found mine in Fred Schaefer's 6/22/17 "That ending." review. Thank you. This is an analysis I can buy, especially given the times we're living in.
I can't wait for next season, but I hope they give us a villain who's easier on the eyes.
Kedi (2016)
Sweet, but ultimately sad
This is a lovely but highly romanticized documentary about stray cats in Istanbul and the people who are doing their best to care for them. And I could just leave it at that.
Unfortunately, when one knows better, one can't love a documentary that makes no mention at all of spay/neuter for street animals. All I could think of were the neglected animals which weren't shown in the movie (which anyone who has traveled in a non- first world country knows are there). I managed to catch a glimpse of only one cat with a clipped ear tip (the universal sign of a sterilized street animal), so, in the end, I found the movie sad. Feeding street animals without sterilizing them only increases their ability to reproduce and, while well meaning, is incredibly irresponsible. The filmmakers owed it to the cats to at least ask the question or make some mention of this.
Instead they focused on the pretty side of an essentially bad situation.