Movie #2172 ........................."Hacks" (HBO)tv series

 Movie #2172 "Hacks" (HBO t.v. series) --- this was recommended to us by several people, and they were right --- we did like it a lot, but it took a couple of episodes to get into it.  If you want to like the main characters, it will also take you a while to warm up to them and let them pull you in to their world.  Their world includes an older stand up comedian, played by Jean Smart, who has been playing it pretty safe with her stand up in Las Vegas, but she can see the writing on the wall --- her boss is putting pressure to offer her less time for her shows.  So her agent offers an SNL type comedy writer( who made one mistake of writing a joke a bit too soon for it to be funny) to help the older comic out --- at first they hate each other, make fun of each other, and there's a lack of respect from one to the other....... but things change as the season moves on.  There are 11 episodes that run about 30 minutes each.  And they are worth the time to watch them --   and it gets better from one episode to the next, until the last one, which I thought was the best of the bunch!  4.5 out of 5.

"HACKS"     2021                10 episodes, each 30 mins 

                                                                                                                                                                  Explores a dark mentorship that forms between Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old.

Creators:  Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky

Cast:  Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder

Movie #2171 .........................."Cloudburst" (netflix)

 Movie #2171 "Cloudburst" (netflix - movie)  Based on Fitzgerald's stage play with the same name, I chose to see it because olympia Dukakis died recently, and I have always enjoyed watching Brenda Fricker.  But this film was a huge disappointment.  It had a lot of unnecessary nudity in it and crass language --- I never warmed up to the main character and not much happened in the film --- story is flimsy.  I did like Fricker's character and the young hitchhiker, but the women's  plight to be together was ruined  for me because I wasn't emotionally drawn into the film by the main character.  I give it 2.5 --- cinematography was stunning of Canada in many scenes.  I don't recommend at all.

"CLOUDBURST"    2002      1 hour and 33 minutes

 Set in the 1990s, A lesbian couple escape from their nursing home and head up to Canada to get married , and along the way they pick up a young, male hitchhiker.  

Director:  Tom Fitzgerald

Writer:  Tom Fitzgerald

Cast:  Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker, Kristin Booth, 

Movie #2170 ........................."Effie Gray" (movie - netflix)

 Movie #2170 "Effie Gray" (netflix)  I love Dakota Fanning --- I like watching art biopics, but this is so slow, I can't recommend it at all ---it is about sex (rated PG-13) getting in the way of a married couple --- he is always too busy with his art to pay attention to her --- and she falls passionately for another artist, who doesn't spend as much time doing his art, evidently, but doesn't do anything about his love for her --- all I can say is the film is slow and little if anything happens as long passages of time go by.    I'd give it 2.0 for some good acting, and beautiful locations, and Emma Thompson plays her friend and those scenes are good.   But this is definitely a don't bother film.   

"EFFIE GRAY"    2014        1 hour and 44 minutes                  

Based on the real-life scandal that shocked Victorian-era England, this movie tells the story of Euphemia "Effie" Gray (Dakota Fanning). At nineteen, she married the prominent art historian and critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise), but Ruskin refused to consummate their marriage. Lonely and frustrated, Effie is drawn to pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge), and finds a friend and champion in Lady Elizabeth Eastlake (Dame Emma Thompson). After five years trapped in a loveless marriage, Effie will defy the rules of Victorian society.—L. Hamre

Director:  Richard Laxton

Writer:  Emma Thompson

Cast:  Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge

Movie #2169 ........................."Mare of Eastown" (limited series - HBO Max)

 Movie #2169 "Mare of Eastown" (limited series - HBO Max)  This was rather a dark show (literally, the lighting was turned down really low with lots of night time scenes) with a lot of characters to keep track of and they all seem related to Mare, the lead character.  Kate Winslet is playing a dark, quiet, angst-driven character with lots of baggage she is carrying around ---- she is scarred in many ways.  One wonders how she gets up every morning --- then, someone dies and we have several possibilities for the murderer.  What I didn't like about this show, in particular, was the way we were yanked around mostly in the last episode. And I personally didn't think the ending seemed as plausible and satisfying as it could have been.  --but maybe that's just me.  However, Kate Winslet is soooo good that she carried the film --- and her sister and daughter and of course Jean Smart as her mother were all very effectively supporting.  I'd give this a 4 out of 5.    PS --- I am still wondering why a few of the characters were even in the show/  I don't want to say particular names  so that I don't ruin the ending of this show.

"MARE OF EASTOWN"       MINISERIES, 7 EPISODES, each about 1 hour    2021

A young woman is murdered in a small Pennsylvania town. On the case is Detective Sergeant Mare Sheehan, a highly skilled crime investigator. She has spent all of her life in Easttown and knows everybody in it. However, her life is dark and troubled, due largely to the recent death of her son.

creator:  Brad Ingelsby

Cast:  Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Guy Pearce

movie #2168 ........................."Kim's Convenience" (Season 5 - netflix)

 Movie #2168 "Kim's Convenience (Season 5 - netflix)  So sad this is it -- the young guy in the show was just cast as an the Asian marvel character and so it gave a good excuse to everyone involved to go on their merry way and leave this show at its end.  You can tell it could be an okay end, but probably not one that was stunning, if they were really sure at the outset of the season.  Anyway, the series deals with the mom's possible MS diagnosis, the relationship between jung and his dad, of course, and jung and his girlfriend at the rental car place.  And the never-ending search for the right place to live and the job for the daughter --- the very last episode has a nice dinner where they all come to some sort of ending with the arcs of their characters, and the funniest in the series was the worker at the car place wearing really short short pants --- we were on the floor laughing. This show has always tickled us , and we used it sparingly in between all the heavy drama we were also watching --- and this show is great for a buffer.  We highly recommend it ---- 4.5 out of 5 for this season.

"KIM'S CONVENIENCE"       2021              SEASON 5 -last one       Netflix

the misadventures of a Canadian -Korean family running a convenience store in Toronto.

Kim's Convenience tells the funny and heartfelt story of the Kim family. Mr. and Mrs. Kim are Korean Canadian convenience store owners who have worked hard to give their now-twenty-something children, Janet and Jung, a better life in Canada. This single camera comedy finds laughter in the trials of running a literal 'Mom and Pop' shop while raising kids in a culture not quite your own.

stars:  Paul sun-Hung Lee, Jean Yoon, Andrea Bang,  Simu Liu

creators:  Ins Choi, Kevin White

Movie #2167 ........................."Firefly Lane" (season 1 - netflix)

 Movie #2167 "Firely Lane" (season 1 - netflix) I'm thinking there will be a season 2 because it didn't really finish like the book did ---- I read the book , and I really liked the plot --- it followed two young girls whom you don't think would ever pal around together because one is so nerdy (quirky) and the other so popular and street smart --- but it worked for them, and that relationship follows them on into adulthood, married life and motherhood.  I enjoyed the show because all the women are capable actors (I am not a Katherine Heigl fan, but she holds her own here --- part fits her fine and she really has to work to keep up with the others --- the two young girls are great and you can tell the older and younger girls worked together so it was a smooth transition --- and changes from adulthood to kids are quick and multitudinous.  you really have to pay attention here because the story goes back and forth.  I read the book so I didn't get lost, but maybe some people might -- have to watch hairstyles and style of clothes, etc.  Their lives take you into t.v. studios and journalism jobs that are sometimes funny and sometimes dangerous.  I would give it 4 out of 5.

"FIREFLY LANE"      2021      11 episodes, about 50 minutes each

Creator:  Maggie Friedman

Actors:  Katherine Heigl (from Gray's Anatomy), Sarah Chalke (from Scrubs), Ben Lawson

The story of Tully and Kate, two unlikely friends, from their meeting as tweens in 1974 to the present. Kate, the introvert, and Tully, the coolest girl in school, form a bond that weathers every milestone in their lives, leading up to a tragedy in the present.

Movie #2166 ........................"New Tricks" (t.v. series 2003-15 - amazon prime)

 Movie #2166 "New Tricks" (t.v. series - amazon prime)  We have watched about 6 seasons so far of this British crime drama and have found it most enjoyable and we are only halfway through --- 107 episodes all together, 12 short seasons, each show runs about 45 minutes, and it is quite fun to watch.  All the actors are capable, with an equally capable and strong female as leader of the crew.  The job they perform is for UCOS --- they are retired older investigators now put on jobs that have never been solved --- cold cases.   They get their job assignments in a number of diversified ways, and  by the end of each show some are solved, and others  aren't, but they continue on.   The investigating is always involved but fun to watch, esp. the way they play off each other.  Jack is a widow who talks to his wife's ashes in their back yard to work out his thought processes, Gerry has a family full of women (including ex-wives) and he would rather hash things out in a bar, Brian who passionately reads books and has a photographic mind with names and years has  a wife who just lets him go and  rolls her eyes) .  And they are all working for Chief Superintendent Sandra Pullman, willing to take risks and watch their backs.  It's fun, it's involved, the cases are mostly interesting, and there's nothing on t.v. now that is like it.  We recommend with a strong 4.5.

"NEW TRICKS"  2003-2015                t.v series 107 EPISODES

three retired police officers are drafted in to solve cold cases  with a touch of drama and humor.

cast:  Dennis Waterman, Amanda Redman, Alum Armstrong

Creators:  Nigel NcCrery and Roy Mitchell

Three retired police officers are drafted in to solve cold cases, with a touch of comedy and drama

• Creators
  • Nigel McCrery
  • Roy Mitchell
• Stars
  • Dennis Waterman
  • Amanda Redman
  • Alun Armstrong

Three retired police officers are drafted in to solve cold cases, with a touch of comedy and drama

• Creators
  • Nigel McCrery
  • Roy Mitchell
• Stars
  • Dennis Waterman
  • Amanda Redman
  • Alun Armstrong