totymedli

This was so bad that it is hard to call it a stand-up. Her performance and jokes mostly revolve around sex, relationships, being single, and just being a failure in life in general. I understand that there is self-deprecating humor, but it has to be at least funny. It was interesting how, at the same time, she was so full of herself being a comedic success. I can't stand when mediocre comedians are unironically praising themselves.

She is super cynical about everything positive, especially if it is in other people's lives. Of course, it is exaggerated, but every joke is half true, and from her behaviour, she appears to be a toxic person. Her audience interactions ranged between mean and awkward. Her performance was overplayed and overemphasized. Just because you theatrically exaggerate everything, it doesn't become funny. The same goes for her constant and unnecessary profanity.

The whole show seemed like somebody who isn't satisfied with her life is just ranting about topics she didn't manage to succeed in and acting like she is just joking, but in reality, she is desperate.

This is clearly an ideologically liberal themed stand-up with all the sexual topics and constant bashing of Christianity. Which doesn't contribute to it being funny for everyone. But what is worse is that there isn't any philosophical depth in it. Most of the jokes were just mean and unrelated. There was very little truth factor in them, unless you are as desperate as her.

The Core is a generic action movie about preventing an end-of-the-world scenario caused by the Earth's core. After they convince the government that there is imminent danger, they assemble a group of scientists who use advanced technology to lead a huge digging mission to the core. During this mission, they have to overcome multiple unexpected situations and improvise solutions to save the planet.

The story is a linear hero's journey. The concept itself is interesting, and while the first half, which shows the discovery of the situation and the preparation of the mission, is pretty good, the actual mission is not that amusing. It was exciting to see how the situation starts to escalate, how they need to convince the government, then assemble the team, and demonstrate the technology to get to the core. There was a sense of urgency and a fascinating effort with some spectacular elements when it came to the technology. The scientific solutions were literally unobtanium (that's how they call it in the movie too), but it can be forgiven inside the movie's context, at least at the beginning. Unfortunately, as the story progresses, it becomes more and more ridiculous. When they do the mission inside the Earth, there are multiple serious infeasibilities the move had to look away from through plot devices or by just blatantly ignoring physics. The story also becomes really action movie-esque with the common plot elements that we've seen many times, making this second part a bit boring. While there is some generic moral in the story, like the value of sacrifice, this isn't a deeply (huh) philosophical piece.

Acting is okay, but this movie isn't about dramaturgical excellence.

The visuals were decent for their time. Even tho the effects are pretty obvious, most of them don't take away from the viewing experience even in 2025, except for the entirely CGI parts that feel cheap nowadays.

All in all, the movie has some interesting ideas and some cool scenes, but in general, it's mostly worth for just a one-time watch.

The series is about creating high-quality, custom, artisan confectionery. The teacher and host is the legendary Amaury Guichon. He is the main attraction in the show. Obviously, his skills and mastery in the field are unmatched; this, combined with his polite, respectful personality, put-together character that radiates excellence and perfection, is a treat to witness. He represents the highest level of professionalism both when it comes to skill and conduct. In each episode, he shows off one of his works that demonstrates a technique that he will teach, and the contestant has to implement. The participants race both individually and in different sizes and types of teams. The challenges and the team setups are fairly varied, so the episodes always bring something new in format. The creations they produce are usually creative and interesting. In the end, Amaury reviews the creations and announces the best teams/students and the worst ones.

The show itself is implemented in the fairly mainstream game show format. The production quality is decent, but there are big problems with the directing and editing. They place way too much attention on the personal stories and opinions of the contestant. The episodes are only half an hour long, and a significant amount of time is wasted on the participants talking about their rivalry, gossip, and self-interest. I understand that they want to bring an emotional element to the show and demonstrate the human side of the people over there, so a kind of empathy and sentimental connection can be created between the viewer and the contestants, but given how short each episode is, this just became annoying. We barely see their process and how they approach the challenge. The focus is on the drama instead of the unique craftsmanship they practice. This is especially bothering since most of the participants aren't that lovely. Everybody is obsessed with winning and how they will be perceived, which is understandable in a competition, but it isn't interesting to watch as a viewer. Show us the techniques, the challenges they face, and the art they are creating.

It is good to see that the competition is happening in a supportive environment and it isn't about the master chef constantly roasting everybody or shouting at them, but the contestants went overboard by being awfully sentimental even in such a safe space. Everybody gets overly emotional about the slightest negative feedback, despite Chef Amaury's super polite and temperate attitude. He should have been a bit harsher when it came to the negatives or during giving constructive feedback, and the contestant should have received that with more dignity. While there were some decently kind and professional contestants and some nice moments of camaraderie, in general, it seemed like they didn't get along too well.

All in all, it was a good idea with an outstanding host who holds a lot of value and potential, but the show didn't manage to deliver decent participants and butchered the final result at the editing table.