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toncincin
Reviews
Wicked: Part I (2024)
Amazing!
Let me first say - NO ONE IS PAYING ME FOR MY REVIEW!
Secondly - I have seen the musical play THREE times on a professional stage. Unfortunately - not on the Broadway stage - but at The Buell in Denver.
Is the movie perfect? NO. That's why I am giving it a 9. It is a little long; but after seeing the play - I am not sure what they could have cut out. The play runs close to three hours WITH an intermission. There are no special effects in the play - you must use your imagination (which is one of the reasons why a play is fun). NOW ON TO THE MOVIE!
They did a wonderful job of taking a highly successful play to the big screen. The special effects are really good and enhance the telling. They did not spend too much time on any aspect of the story. The music. The acting. The singers. All really good. No - not all singers are great singers! I loved Michelle Yeoh singing. She's not a singer - but she did a great job. Same with Jeff Goldblum.
For the record - this is not the Judy Garland Wizard of Oz. This story is based on a book by Gregory Maguire. It tells the story of how the Wicked Witch and Glinda came to be the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North. It has no Dorothy. No cowardly lion. No tin man. And NO scarecrow (stay tuned for part 2 ... that's another story). The witch Dorothy's house falls on is in part 1 - but that won't be explained until part 2.
I was quite concerned with the casting chosen for Elphaba and Glinda - but was very pleasantly surprised. They both were wonderful. Ariana Grande shows just the right amount of innocence, self-importance, conceit, selfishness needed for Glinda. Cynthia Erivo shows Elphaba's lack of confidence, lack of self-esteem, wallflower personality. Fiyero's lack of caring, mindlessness et al was perfectly portrayed by Jonathan Bailey. Again - stay tuned for part 2 to learn more.
This movie is fantastic! Go see it - but DO NOT expect The Wizard of Oz. It's not THAT story. If you go expecting it - you will be disappointed. If you go expecting to be entertained ... you will love it. Pay close attention ... the original Elphaba and Glinda from Broadway gave cameos. It was a nice touch and tribute to the two who first made the characters come to life!
Rescue: HI-Surf (2024)
Booooorrrrrriiiiinnnnggg
We have watched since the first episode. It's not getting any better. It's boring. The characters are boring and unlikable. The scenery is nice - but a TV show cannot exist on scenery alone (unless it's Aerial America). The stories are really stupid. The turmoil between characters is ridiculous. The Captain (Uncle Sonny) is not a good leader. He's moody. He's mean. He's silly. He's ridiculous. Arielle Kebbel's character is wishy-washy. She should stick to Hallmark movies. This show is crisis-after-crisis. Of course, people are this crazy ... so that part is probably true. BUT there's nothing to endear us to these characters. I just plain DON'T CARE about any of them ...
The Girls on the Bus (2024)
MAX cancelled a smart, intelligent show
So over these networks cancelling good shows. This one - in particular - was witty, fast paced, and headlined smart, intelligent women. Too bad MAX never promoted this show. I found it in September 2024 - quite by accident - looking for something to watch before going to bed. I was hooked immediately. The writing was great. Quick moving storyline. Great acting. Sucked me right in. I watched it over 8 nights. Loved the ending - left me wanting more ... only to find out that MAX cancelled it shortly after the last episode aired in May 2024.
What the heck MAX! Perhaps if you'd marketed it properly - more people would have tuned it. Just the fact that I found it accidentally FIVE months after it ended - says a lot about how little the show was pushed by the network.
BTW - I am not a Democrat - and did not support Hillary (whose campaign this was loosely based on) - but this was still a VERY good show. MAX gave up on it - obviously even before it aired.
God's Country Song (2023)
It was OK
Seemed a little rushed. Trying to fit TOO MUCH story into 90+ minutes. Music career. Child he didn't know about. Excessive alcohol drinking. Bar fight. Estranged father. Brother died. Meeting a woman. Supportive mother. The root of story kind of gets lost with so many subjects being brought into play. BUT I'm not sure what the root of the story was supposed to be! Way too much going on. Focusing on ONE would have been much better - like the child he takes on after finding out about him. Bonding ... the other stuff could have been dealt with as a background- but the way it was presented ... all the stories were "background." Not ONE was a focus. Would not watch again ...
An Ice Palace Romance (2023)
It was just OK ...
Another "big city girl returns home" story from Hallmark - only to find it is where she belongs. I sure wish they would come up with different storylines. This one has been done to death. The leads are OK. There was some compatibility between the two. The skating daughter was cute. Lori decides to help coach her - even though she gave up skating long ago. Although, I have never heard of an up-and-coming skate champion giving it up because she fell. Ummmm ... I've watched the Olympics ... many skaters fall on the world stage and pick themselves up and continue. They don't just quit. Seemed pretty unrealistic to me. AND PLEASE! Stop with the flamboyant gay men! I know a lot of gay men - the majority do not behave like this. HALLMARK - in your quest to be "all-inclusive" you are defining this ALL WRONG. I'm certainly OK with gays being included in your stories - I am over you depicting them ALL as flamboyant. It's ridiculous. You should know this - you cast a lot of gay men in straight, romantic roles (Jonathan Bennett, Luke McFarlane, Peter Porte - to name three). Give it a rest!
Outchef'd (2022)
Complete stupidity
Food Network expects the viewers to believe these people have NO IDEA they are competing against another chef. Do these people (who supposedly LOVE watching Food Network) really NOT know what is happening? This show really insults the intelligence of the viewers. So over Food Network doing these ridiculously stupid competition shows. Whatever happened to showing the viewers HOW to make certain dishes. That's how they started. Now it's just competition after competition. Reality Television at its most ridiculous. This show really takes the cake ... one of the dumbest shows ever. Complete waste of Eddy Jackson ...
Amish Affair (2024)
Couldn't even finish it
So ... I stupidly tried, once again, watch a Lifetime movie. Couldn't even finish it. It just was not good at all. Sad that Ryan McPartlin was in it - because I generally like him. His character was pure slime with ridiculous lines. The writing/dialog was really bad. The story stupid. Why do I even try with these movies!!!! The only reason I knew about it was that TVLine hyped it (how much were they paid???). I figured if they "endorsed" it - maybe worth watching. MY BAD. I DVRd it - watched 35 minutes of it and deleted it. I can't see that it was going to get any better ... who watches this drivel and likes it...
Burden of Truth (2018)
Pretty good series
We found this show on Hulu about six weeks ago. We've watched it all - finished it last night. It is a pretty good series. The characters are believable and the chemistry between Billy and Joanna is amazing. We really liked how all the characters worked through their personal issues - nothing was 100% resolved - but showing it is always a work in progress. The characters are quite passionate about their beliefs/cases. BTW love Kristen Kreuk and Peter Mooney. Would love to see them together again. Star Slade hasn't been in much - but she was very good in this role. AND how we disliked "David Hanley" played by Alex Carter. He was so evil. Great acting all around. Enticing storylines. Highly recommend.
The Good Doctor: Goodbye (2024)
The best series finale
This one even beat This is Us (dare I say!). It was handled beautifully. It showed Shaun's growth as a human being. His career. His family. His emotional growth. It was sad - but quite uplifting . I loved that they showed how the other doctors' lives were enriched over the years. It handled the death of Dr Glassman perfectly. We knew he was going to die - but it wasn't shown (thankfully). His stepping in to save Claire was magnificent! We are going to miss this show so much. It didn't preach. It wasn't political. The stories were all wonderful - even in sadness/death. Kudos to the writer for coming up with such a beautiful series finale. Sad. Hopeful. Uplifting. We need more shows like this one.
A Whitewater Romance (2024)
Terrible movie ...
First let me say that I am NOT a Cindy Busby fan. She always plays the SAME character ... all the way back to playing Ashley on Heartland. I set my DVR for this - with VERY low expectations. My instinct was correct. I watched for 60 minutes - and deleted it off my DVR. Bad plot. Bad acting. Just plain stupid. Benjamin Hollingsworth was severely miscast in this movie. He does better playing an innocent young man (as he has done in many past roles). Believing him as an outdoorsy type was a stretch. The supporting cast was bad also. Come in Hallmark! Give us better movies with better storylines and actors. This one was just plain and simple BAD.
The Soulmate Search (2023)
Terrible acting
I struggled through this one. The acting was sub-par. The cinematography was horrible (felt like I was watching a home movie). The storyline was OK. However, I never could figure out why the friend with the boyfriend was thrown in there. It had NOTHING to do with the story. The actress playing the role was awful. Overacting - i wanted to slap that fake smile off her face. If I hadn't been in bed - before falling asleep - I probably would have turned it off . But it was so boring and bad - it was a good one to watch while relaxing before sleep. I've seen both if the leads in other movies - and they weren't this bad. I guess it has to do with what they were given to work with. SUCH IS THE CASE WITH MOST REEL ONE PRODUCTIONS ...
Extended Family (2023)
Canned laughter NOPE
Why the networks seem to think they need to tell us when to laugh is beyond me. WE KNOW WHEN TO LAUGH. We laugh when something is funny. This is not a funny show. I really like Donald Faison. I think Abigail Spencer is beautiful. Jon Cryer is really annoying. He was annoying in Two and a Half Men - but he played welled against Charlie Sheen. Well ... Charlie isn't here to raise him up. This show might have worked better ... without the laugh track. Let us decide what is funny. BUT I think I've decided it isn't funny at all. It's just plain stupid. It insults my intelligence. The laugh track insults my intelligence. The writers insult my intelligence. ENOUGH ...
Two stars ONLY for Donald Faison and Abigail Spencet ...
Twas the Text Before Christmas (2023)
BOOOOORRRRRRIIIINNNGGG
Merritt Patterson has absolutely no depth as an actor. I've seen many of her movies (on GAC and Hallmark). She is EXACTLY the same in every single one of them. Smiling and reciting her lines with an occasional giggle. Just not a fan. The only reason I watched this was because Trevor Donovan was in it. There's absolutely no connection between the two of them in this movie. Perhaps because they really weren't given the time on-screen together. One would think since they'd done a movie together before - they'd connect better.
The decorations! Geez ... NO ONE DECORATES LIKE THIS! The fall movies were the same. Completely over the top. Please be more realistic! AND the constant background music! GIVE IT A REST... it's quite distracting and ridiculous.
GAF needs to step up their game and put out movies that actually work. The quality in production and scripts is pretty bad ...
Country Hearts (2023)
Um ... just decide on what the movie is supposed to be about!
A lot of unnecessary fluff. A lover comes back to town - and the two kind of reject each other. The male bandmate has a crush on the lead singer and she has no clue. A barn burns down and with it goes "semen samples" for breeding. A wife wants to sing and hubby is focused on the winery ... with lots of underlying deception. Although wifey isn't totally 100% on board. Dad's wife is a country performer who is seldom home. The ranch has a bunch of overdue bills. The only issue that was sort of resolved was going to Nashville for a recording contract. The star comes home - something that wasn't even addressed for most of the movie. The dad gets a BIG check - FOR WHAT? It's never explained. Just too many stories going on with no resolution. Would be better as a series (although it does look like there's a Christmas movie coming...) This seemed like a pilot for a TV show. Hey ... they should call it as it is. BUT as a standalone movie - just doesn't work.
The Irrational: Dead Woman Walking (2023)
Ummmm ...
This episode was a ripoff from Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Season 6, Episode 16. In that story, Josh was a journalist and was poisoned with polonium. Josh was friends with Mike Logan from long ago. Josh contacts Logan and tells him the same thing "I want to report a murder - MINE." The writers didn't even change the line in this script! Same line used in this episode. Why oh why can't they come up with something different? Do they think the viewers won't remember? With L&O: CI reruns running on several different networks (as well as streaming on various platforms) - a lot of people WILL remember the episode! It's too bad - Jesse L Martin is a good actor ... and likable. Give him better stories and scripts - that aren't directly ripped off from another series.
Fire Country (2022)
CBS SUCKS
UPDATE AFTER SEASON 1 FINALE
We are done. This was the worst! Bode accepts responsibility for a FRIEND. WHAT? After defending himself over and over. The writers are horrible. The show is horrible. We won't be watching Season 2. (BTW-this show lucked out with its tine slot. It wouldn't have survived in a prime slot...)
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This show is ridiculous. The acting is bad. The stories are stupid. Bode is always the hero. Say what? Total crap. The mother/fire chief is the worst. She cannot act. Every scene she is in is forced - and not believable. I am so over it. Max Thieriot was good on Seal Team - but his character is totally one dimensional. He isn't strong enough to carry a series. His character is not good. His acting is not good. The stories are not good. On Seal Team, he had support from others. Not the case here...
SOOOOOO - CBS - please explain how you cancel a quality show like East New York and renew this one? East New York had great storylines, good acting ... and was intelligent.
Fire Country represents the dumbing down of America.. 100%!
The Love Club: Tara's Tune (2023)
Kind of silly ...
This is not a Hallmark production - it's something made and aired in Canada back in March. Evidently, Hallmark gained the rights to it. Guess they didn't want to fill the gap in May between Spring and Summer themed movies.
The premise of this one is silly. The apparently successful heroine wants to make her mother happy - so she fakes relationships. The icing on the cake is faking a wedding ... to make her mom happy? WHAT THE HECK! Why does she care so much about what her mother thinks? It is ridiculous - she's a grown woman! Her friends are over the top.
Acting is very underwhelming - much like the other three movies. Hallmark should be more discriminatory in the movies they purchase the rights to! Not impressed...
A Million Little Things: One Big Thing (2023)
Beautiful
The writers did a fantastic job dealing with death. The friendships - old and new - were highlighted in such a caring manner. We held off watching it until three weeks after it aired - well ... because we didn't really want to "deal with it." We knew Gary was going to die. We even knew how. It was handled in such a beautiful way. Highlighting the old friendships - Jon, Rome, Eddy, and Gary. The new friendships. The kids friendships. The video Gary made for his son's 16th birthday. Yes ... the episode was very sad, but at the same time it was happy. Friends remembering their "leader" and "brother." We, the viewers, couldn't ask for a better series ending. HOPE! Hope is alive ...
9-1-1: Lone Star: Best of Men (2023)
OH PULEEZ ...
We're going to get upset about something that happened.in 1918 ... give me a break! The times were different then. Just continue to divide the people. Yes ... the Porvenir Massacre was a horrific event...but it's 2023. Continuing to bring this up is ridiculous.
So ... now onto the farher taking care of the son! What the heck is wrong with the writers??? There's no way the son would be released into the 100% care of the father. He is not trained - which is required to take care of a paraplegic. If the father insists, in real life, the hospital would get an injunction to stop it from happening. AND how silly - he's going to quit his job to take care of him? What about his baby daughter?
The writing on this show is becoming deplorable...
9-1-1: Lone Star: Double Trouble (2023)
Stupid dream sequence
This show is really starting to get ridiculous. The dream sequence in this episode was beyond stupid. We ended up fast-forwarding through it. The story could have been told without the "filler."
Ridiculousness! Like Owen being asked to go undercover for the FBI. That doesn't happen! They don't just pick people off the street to go undercover. Just kind of over the silly storylines.
Well - I've said all I need to - but IMDB requires 600 characters in a review. I realize they want reviews with some "meat" Unfortunately - normal people can convey their thoughts in 300 characters. Good job IMDB.
Love in the Maldives (2023)
Beautiful scenery ... BUT
The story was kind of booooooring. The acting was meh. Jocelyn Hudon and her real life husband, Jake Manley. Had decent chemistry on-screen chemistry. Not sure I understand his frosted hair. It was a little over the top. The 80s is calling him.
DIVING: They go "diving" - she says she's scuba certified (and I assume he is too) ... and yet, they go "diving" with no oxygen tanks - only mask and snorkel. Now ... that would be snorkeling - not scuba diving. No - they are not tankless scuba diving - they had no tube connecting them to anything. They could be "free diving" - but I doubt that's what they want us to believe since it's never mentioned.
I do appreciate that they have an older single woman traveling alone. That was a nice touch. Gave a different perspective on traveling.
All-in-all - I watched it from start to finish. It was just OK - probably will not watch again. The scenery warrants my 5 rating ... the rest of the story/acting was a 1-2.
Love in Glacier National: A National Park Romance (2023)
Glacier National Park?
NOT! Why not just call it "Love in British Columbia" ??? The people at Hallmark think we're all stupid. Glacier doesn't have any formal ski resorts within its boundaries. Cross-country - yes. BUT no chairlifts for sure. So over Hallmark using places that don't even resemble the actual location. Another example is in The Christmas Train - which shows the actors gazing at the beautiful, rugged peaks outside La Junta, CO - which is on the eastern plains of Colorado at least 200 miles from any kind of mountain - and nothing rugged as shown.
So let's talk actors: Ashley Newbrough is a mediocre actor in every sense of the word. I have not seen a single movie with her in it that's she been good OR believable. AND PLEASE! No one goes skiing in full makeup INCLUDING fake lashes and lipstick. COME ON! Stephen Huszar was OK. Just passable. The young lady playing his daughter was delightful - she lit up the screen in every scene she was in.
UNNECESSARY and UNFINISHED storylines: Teagan Moss is the sister. She and her husband have been going through IVF. She takes a pregnancy test and it's negative. She's devastated - AND YET - the next day she's very chipper - hot tubbing and playing in the snow with the daughter. It's NEVER mentioned again. What was the point? AND her sister (Newbrough) never asks her about it? NEVER!!! Then there's the "nemesis woman." She obviously has the hots for Huzsar's character...and seems miffed he's not interested - but that storyline too is never addressed after she huffs out of the party. What was the point there? Totally unnecessary.
We also have the confrontation between Newbrough and Huzsar about her avalanche software. They never really discussed it in depth - but he won't support it - so she gets angry and decides to go home. OOPS. The airport is closed due to snow. So ... she and Huzsar's friend use it and freak out because they are on a search and rescue operation - and HORRORS ... there's avalanche activity and no one knew it without her program. After JUST ONE use - he's sold and asks her to stay.
One of the most contrived, silly storylines ever. Thank goodness they were all safe ... but still nothing on the sister's IVF thing.
Overall - I give it a 5 - for the daughter and the scenery.
Night Court (2023)
Has potential ... BUT -
Lose the laugh track! You insult our intelligence telling us WHEN to laugh and WHAT to laugh at. If the show is funny - we watchers know WHEN to laugh. Do it in front of a live audience if you want to include laughter or applause.
It does have potential ... it's quirky like the original. Nice to see "Dan Fielding" back. He's still a lovable ass. The other characters are quirky too. Melissa Rauch is great (and no Bernadette voice to be found - thank goodness.
Lose the laugh-track and it will improve 70%. Put it in front of a studio audience and we'll be at 100%. Unfortunately with the laugh track - it's ruined.
We'll watch a couple more - but we're having trouble getting past the fake, LOUD, laughter ...
Undercover Holiday (2022)
Boring
I normally like Stephen Huszar on Hallmark. NOT THIS ONE. He is totally miscast. Noemi Gonzalez is unbelievable in this role. No chemistry at all. I am sitting here struggling to get through the movie. There was just a scene where she's sitting at the piano with her grandmother - and she's singing. Totally flat and unpleasant to listen to. She's pleasant enough to watch - and I am sure paired with the correct male lead - she'd be much better.
The supporting cast is just OK. Her "sister-in-law" is about to give birth - but just stands there rubbing her belly and smiling. Clue for the writers/director - most pregnant woman don't stand there rubbing their swollen bellies CONSTANTLY.
Overall - this movie was not good at all.
Infamously in Love (2022)
So bad ...
I never really expect much from movies airing on UpTV - but this one is the low-of-the-lows. The acting - if we can call it that - is deplorable. The lead actress is very pretty - but she cannot act her way out of a paper bag. The lead male - while more believable - is only a step above. It's like they all are simply reading their lines. Just uncomfortable. I tried to watch it before bedtime - talk about making me want to go to sleep. I resorted to finishing it while doing sone cross-stitch. Another one to have on if you just need some background noise. It was just AWFUL. UpTV needs to do better.