bettinahooper Reviews

In Treatment: Brooke - Week 3 (2021) Season 4, Episode 12

Acting Masterclass

[10/10 · 12 June 2021]

This episode may be the most perfect 20 minutes of performance I've ever seen.

I'm old; I've seen an awful lot in every form and don't think I'm forgetting any greater performances.

Gonna watch it again- now. I know the story so this time, I can just sit back and admire.

Carried Away (2009)

Universal and Engaging

[8/10 · 10 June 2021]

I've been disappointed by the self involved, self satisfied navel gazing that indie movies have become over the past 15 or so years. Carried Away touches on some truths we can all relate to. I'm glad to have found it offered on Amazon.

I hadn't realized the film is well over a decade old: excellent and engaging direction and script and some fine performances make it both timeless and timely storytelling.

Amazon is currently offering 'the director's cut'. It's pretty clear when you watch the film why a directors cut was necessary. It's a shame to think that those who saw the general release didn't actually see this film. It actually means something to us all.

Butter (I) (2011)

Delightful and Timely

[9/10 · 28 May 2021]

I don't know how I missed this film for 10 years but I'm glad I did: there couldn't be a more opportune moment for the politics of this brilliantly observational, funny and intelligently framed film about the original Karens.

(Sorry K- xo) Terrific script, direction and a whole bunch of top notch character performances make this film a delightful and thoughtful experience.

Just watch and enjoy.

Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)

Superb Performances....but

[7/10 · 29 April 2021]

Wild Mountain Thyme is the second adaptation of a stage play I've seen in a week. Although this is far better than most, play adaptations are always problematic

This is in part because plays can be longer than films: stage audiences get an intermission and (not to be insulting) have longer attention spans. Plays can also tell stories in ways that films can't. Throughout the film, I felt that much was missing from the original play but have no idea what, like reading an abridged book.

While a very good production with (again) superb performances all around, it only made me want to see the play. On a stage.

The Vicious Kind (2009)

Engaging tale of American Misogyny

[10/10 · 18 March 2021]

And the damage done generation after generation.

Everything about this film is superb: script, direction, performances, cinematography, editing, sounds, score.

The Vicious Kind is a perfect film. Just watch it, but bear in mind it's way closer to an emotional horror film than a comedy. (Where did that even come from?)

A Discovery of Witches (2018–2022)

Star Trek with Old World Creatures

[10/10 · 10 March 2021]

I just searched this title and one review called it 'A Nerd's Delight' .

Why yes, it is. The series doesn't go as deeply into the biotechnology, genetics, string theory (quantum physics) or wines as the books, but yeah, it's still there. 'A Discovery of Witches' weaves modern science and folklore into a tapestry while discussing the future of humanity.

Add to that an exquisitely crafted production and superb performances that evolve and even de-volve as necessary with the characters, and well, you've got one of the best series I've seen yet.

I'm old, I've seen a lot.

The witches, demons and vampires of this smart story aren't for fans of the twilight pablum, but more for Trekkers, Trekkies and anyone who likes to think. So yeah, nerds like me.

Sister of the Groom (2020)

Strange & Unique Midlife Fairytale

[8/10 · 4 March 2021]

In a both broad and nuanced performance, Silverstone heads the cast of Sister of the Groom as Audrey, woman attending her brother's wedding on a date which was switched at the last minute to the weekend of her 40th birthday. Over the course of the weekend, Audrey's resentment piles up against Clemence, the young and careless bride, highlighting Audrey's own midlife issues.

The film has many funny moments but is not a comedy. The excellent script is full to bursting with character, backstory, history and humanity but the real spine of the story are Audrey and Clemence, portrayed in an excellent performance by Mathilde Olivier, despite an almost too dislikeable character, an oversight on the part of of writer director Amy Miller Gross.

Sister of the Groom was better written, constructed and cast than most films out there. Gross is definitely a film maker to watch.

Home with a View of the Monster (2019)

Engaging Horror

[8/10 · 2 March 2021]

A good film starts with a good story and a good script. This flick has that. Excellent direction, the perfect set ( because a movie like this must have a great set) and good to excellent performances make for an clever, engaging, fun psychological horror film.

The low rating of this film is clearly trolled. I'm glad I ignored it. You should, too.

Behind Her Eyes (2021)

One of my all time favorite thrillers.

[9/10 · 26 February 2021]

My husband and I are going to have to watch this separately: I've read Pinborough's book twice- this excellent and faithful adaptation has already made me involuntarily shout 'evil!' at our television and I'm only on the second episode.

Everything about this is clearly a labor of love. It is all one could ask for in bringing Behind Her Eyes, an extraordinary science fiction/metaphysical thriller to the screen.

20/20 (1978– )

Deserves Attention in 2021

[8/10 · 20 February 2021]

20/20 is no longer a segmented magazine/reporting show. For now, each episode is a short documentary that reports and reveals a specific true story, more often than not, the story surrounding a specific crime.

Most of the docs are very good, but some are excellent, with inspired storytelling techniques crafted by superb direction and editing. A few have been so well done, I wonder why they haven't been nominated for awards.

I am not particularly interested in 'true crime' or 'inside looks', or reality TV in general, but I am a fan of fine film making and 20/20 has hit that mark a couple of times each season over the past few years.

Song One (2014)

Exquisite Storytelling

[10/10 · 19 February 2021]

I normally wait around for a second or third watching before awarding 10 stars to a film, but I'm too old and experienced to second guess myself on Song One.

It's not a new film: for a split second, I wondered how the heck I had missed it but then remembered an incredibly drippy, 'Rent''-ish Irish film about songwriters that came out about the same time with 'Once' in the title and knew right away, wires were crossed.

Song One is an exquisitely directed and written fairy tale about sorrow, regret and love that will remind you that in the hands of the right director, Anne Hathaway is one of our finest actors.

Here's the spoiler: people who don't like this seem to need the big clinch and musical number to tell them 'they all lived happily ever after'. This film delivers big on the happily ever after ending, but without the musical number and without the clinch. It's just great storytelling.

Firefly Lane (2021–2023)

A Lovely, Human Tapestry

[9/10 · 6 February 2021]

Perhaps I should say a lovely later 20th century American human tapestry. I have never felt that a show or film captured my experiences as an American woman as exquisitely as Firefly Lane, a drippy title for an engaging and powerful series that weaves together the story of two 'besties' in a series of 3 connected and coherent timelines spanning the years between 1974 and 2004.

There is much dedication- perhaps too much sincerity- to bringing this story to life. The script, performances and direction are all very good, at times sublime. The soundtrack is pretty clearly budgeted and brilliantly creative.

Kuddos all around to this utterly engaging series that reminded me about explaining to my daughter why we never wear white jeans and reminded me of many, many other moments in my life. More than anything else, it reminded me of the Beatles song, 'In My Life'.

No, I have not read the book.

Modern Persuasion (2020)

On FLEEK

[3/10 · 22 January 2021]

The 'modern day' working girl patter of this script kept me wondering how long this movie been gathering dust in a can on the shelf of some Toronto warehouse

The performances are pretty good but the script and direction, which somehow manage to make the Austen plot seem plodding, have all the hallmarks of a five year old Canadian Lifetime movie. I can't believe I paid to rent this.

Yearly Departed (2020 TV Special)

Amazon Pull this NOW

[1/10 · 30 December 2020]

How tone deaf can your programmers be????? With 334,000 US Covid-19 deaths to date, a comedy funeral format that begins with citing the death of casual sex in 2020 is just plain wrong. No. Can't do it.

Black Narcissus (2020)

Convent-ional Soap Opera

[7/10 · 23 December 2020]

Nothing; not other worldly cinematography , superb performances, excellent editing and remarkable direction can save Black Narcissus from it's source material, which is far too heavy handed and moralistic to be considered a classic.

7 stars for extraordinary effort but I barely made it through Black Narcissus, the original Soap Opera.

The Grinch Musical! (2020 TV Movie)

Just No

[2/10 · 15 December 2020]

I did not expect to like this but I didn't expect to be horrified. O'Hara and Morrison are riveting as 'Old Max' and the Grinch but their talent, sincerity and effort are not near enough to save this Ill conceived, bizarre production peppered with truly terrible numbers.

I'm bowled over: and not in a good way.

Hot Air (2018)

Utterly Charming and engaging

[8/10 · 15 December 2020]

Which is weird because Hot Air's story is pretty hackneyed and predictable: I guess fine, witty dialog, superb character development, excellent direction, editing and performances and terrific production can overcome anything.

Holidate (2020)

The Ballad of...

[4/10 · 7 November 2020]

...a ROMCOM that failed because it took itself too seriously.

I understand that romcoms were big business for decades but the times, they are a-changing. This film has moments of exquisite silliness but only moments; there's just too much rom and not enough com and the film, (as is obligatory in the genre), falls flat on it's face.

The elements for a terrific film are there. It's too bad that Holidate misses the mark.

Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2017)

Just Brilliant

[10/10 · 10 October 2020]

WOW! I went into this expecting a film about The Haunted Halloween House phenomena. What a wonderful surprise to discover one of the most finely layered documentaries I've ever seen.

It's Grey Gardens good. No kidding.

Just wow. Watch it.

Family (III) (2018)

Charming, Entertaining and Purely American

[8/10 · 22 August 2020]

A work superachiever is forced to help her estranged brother and his family and deal with a dad in rehab, martial arts, the Insane Clown Posse, her own adolescence and self imposed emotional isolation. It just doesn't get more American, more human or more charming.

Family feels like those sweet, character driven 1980's French farces like Cousin/Cousine or La Cage Aux Folles: a wholly original celebration of a Time and place. If you enjoyed the US version of 'The Office', this film is for you.

High Fidelity (2020)

Perfection

[10/10 · 17 February 2020]

Do you remember the first time you saw Raiders of the Lost Ark? It was the perfect movie; dialogue, cinematography, casting, performances & direction were flawless.

Well, this show is perfect. It tells it's story with an exquisite attention to detail & nuance I found missing (perhaps unattainable because 2 hours vs 10) in the film.

High Fidelity may not be everyone's cup of tea - but it is perfect..... And Questlove's curation of the soundtrack surpasses anything that I (or I will bet Nick Hornby) imagined)

The Soup (2004–2020)

I give it a 5-ish

[5/10 · 15 February 2020]

It looks like E! Hasn't noticed the cultural shift since McHale left...the new host , Jade Catta Pretta might be excellent but the formula hasn't changed during the 5 year hiatus. Has E! forgotten the shift between Tyler's 'Talk Soup' and McHale's 'the Soup'? It worked like a dream and added new viewers! The first (new 2020) episode comes off as a tired recap of past-their-prime housewife reality......figure this out E!!!!! Don't waste the talents of some clearly talented writers and a smart, charming presenter!

It's 2020! Fix this! We need you!

The First Temptation of Christ (2019)

I laughed once....

[1/10 · 9 January 2020]

Then realized the joke was unintended.

What a hackneyed, stereotyping, unfunny slog this was to watch. I went in expecting at minimum, a vaguely sophomoric homage to MPython and instead found a Keystone Kops movie written by the Keystone Kops; a movie meant to provoke with not a single 'idea'.

How do you do that? How does anyone set out to make a movie specifically designed to upset the Christian apple cart Armed with only a child's knowledge of Roman Catholic dogma and a rubber chicken? How does Netflix agree to showcase such an abysmal experience?

Don't even bother with this one- watch 'Dogma' instead; it's provoking, subversive, jam packed with ideas and so funny, it bears watching over and over because laughing makes you miss so much of it's clever, dogmatic ideas.

Changeland (2019)

Absolute Gem of a movie!

[9/10 · 6 January 2020]

Every aspect of this exquisitely crafted film is perfect- from the script to the soundtrack to the performances to the cinematography....and everything else in between. Changeland is a quiet, introspective movie in which little happens and everything happens.

Seth Green knocked it out of the park with this lyrical buddy road trip.

The Orville: Identity (2019) Season 2, Episode 8

Brilliant!

[10/10 · 23 February 2019]

I Spent most of this second season wondering MacFarlane had lost both his and The Orville's bearings....the stories were interesting each week, but much of it didn't add up.

Now it does. This is an absolutely brilliant denouement to a strange and kind of neurotic 2nd season story arc (how much do we humans want to believe in fairy tales?)

I can't tell you how very thrilled I am that I trusted in MacFarlane's genius and stuck with it. What a payoff!