Reviews

Wow. This is what great storytelling looks like. Riveting. Great acting. Great casting. Great cinematography. It feels like Memphis circa 1972. Make no mistake, this isn't a warm and fuzzy, feel-good experience. It's gritty. Painful even. And it's brilliant. Can't believe it wasn't renewed for another season. Or many seasons. As another review noted, it's akin to Breaking Bad...in all he best ways. No it isn't derivative. Not even close. But it taps into that same human condition that makes BB so compelling. The protagonist is, well, he's many things. Lovable. Pitiful. Flawed. Noble. Damaged. Compassionate. Loving. And capable of doing some downright evil stuff. Easily one of my favorite shows.

I thoroughly enjoyed the limited series. If you need long action sequences a la Marvel, you might get bored. But the story is compelling and even engrossing nonetheless. The late 70s and early 80s setting was masterful. Clothes, cars, decor, fads (eg jogging). My high rating of an 8, however, is largely due to the acting and cinematography. There are several iconic scenes that I watched more than once. The two male leads were great. Co-star Lynskey (Betty Gore) was even better. Then there was Biel. Wow. What a performance. I never considered her to be a bad actor before, I just never considered her. At all. No more. Can't wait to see what she does next. Lastly kudos to the producers for making this a 5 part series. A movie wouldn't do it justice. But more episodes and definitely more seasons would've been overkill. Just right.

Perhaps the joke's on me. I fell for the bait ("#1 on Netflix!!!"), so I clicked. Oof. This isn't good. Plot holes galore. And the ending is absurd. I was downright angered. I finished it bc I felt I owed it to myself. I wish I had those 8 hours of my life back. I don't enjoy disparaging someone's art but I'm not sure this qualifies as art.

Great acting. Great story. Very well done overall. An engrossing series. But if you don't care for dark themes, don't watch. No spoilers BUT for those who don't like any sort of insights beyond what I stated above, stop reading. I didn't care for the ending. I wasn't disappointed. But nor was I satisfied. With such a story, however, not sure what a better fitting ending would've been.

First six season: 9 stars. Truly amazing on every front. Season seven: 7 stars. Still good but didn't live up to preceding seasons. Final season: 3 stars. Ruined it for me. I understand how some can give it a pass and focus instead on the good seasons. I can't. It's a debacle. And it's not as though I hold finales to a higher standard. For example, unlike most, I thoroughly enjoyed the finales of Dexter and Seinfeld. Is it too much to ask that finales don't suck?

I'll skip the obligatory "I never write reviews, but this show was so good blah blah blah." But the truth is, I never write reviews, and this show is so good. Admittedly, "good" is not always easily defined. Yes, it's often cliche, but that isn't accidental. And that, to me, is part of the appeal. The show has a little bit of everything, yet it's still fun. I mean that. It's so enjoyable. Finally, I will also admit that a large part of my adoration for the show is due to the fact that it bridges the generation gap for me and my twelve year old daughter. I loved Karate Kid when I was twelve and now we are bingeing Cobra Kai. I'm grateful for that.

Season 1 was brilliant, but I thought the second and third seasons could've been consolidated. Even still, when it was all said and done, the pay off was worth it. Highly recommended, but don't get frustrated by some of the mind boggling minutiae.

...you'll enjoy this iteration too. No, it's not a "monster" movie, but neither was the prequel. And, in fact, neither are most monster movies. It's a movie about the human condition, and the true monsters are, well, you'll have to watch for yourself and then you can decide. If you want thought provoking, give it a whirl.

Superb acting. Aisling Bea, where have you been all of my life?!? I enjoyed every scene she was in, and wished she'd been in more. Supporting cast is also outstanding, especially Desmin Borges. And Paul Rudd is, well, Paul Rudd. If you're a fan, you'll remain a fan. If you aren't, I'm not sure this will change your mind. But I thought he was brilliant. I might rewatch the series solely to focus on his acting.

Sci-fans might be disappointed and even frustrated. There's some sci-fi featured, but it's scant and under-developed. But this is more than mere rom-com. It's smart, quirky, thought-provoking, endearing, and so on.

I'll avoid outright spoilers but you might consider stopping here if you don't like to know anything plot related. The quirkiness of the ending was something I didn't appreciate. At all. It almost ruined it for me. At first it did. But after reflecting on the acting and overall narrative, I've come to endure it. Short of the ending, I would've easily given the series an 8 and maybe even a 9. If there's a season two, and I (think I) hope there is, I'm hoping that the ending will be somehow remedied.

If you have 42 minutes to spend with no distractions then I recommend the film. Turn on subtitles, put in good headphones and just digest. I'm not an anime fan. And I can't really articulate what the film is about. But when it ended I felt like there was a message and it's one I appreciated. It made me love the album even more. While watching it I considered turning it off several times but stayed with it. And by the end I wanted to go back and watch it all again. Let it play through the final credits as the story continues through the end of the finale. Don't overthink the premise. Just lay back and let it happen, and remember to breathe.