Film Review - Bad Times at El Royal Hotel

1. Ugh, it happened again. Stupid DVR cut off the last five-six seconds of The Good Place. Anyone know what happened?

2. Review of Bad Times at the El Royal Hotel written and directed by Drew Goddard, starring Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Chris Helmsworth, Cynthia Ervio and others.

It was okay. Saw it with Wales yesterday. Actually that was interesting in of itself.

We entertained ourselves at the start by betting on how many previews there'd be. I bet 10, she bet 7. Then after about four of them, I changed my bet to six -- mainly wishful thinking. It was eight with two commercials. So I guess I won by default?

Wales asked me if I knew what it was about. I told I didn't - it appeared to be about five people at a hotel getting into trouble, a sort noirish retro 70s flick. And had gotten great reviews. I thought it was okay. Wales liked it better than I did.

I know why the critics loved it.
( vague spoilers )

(no subject)

Just in case you thought I was kidding:

The Official UK Trailer to Anna and the Apocalypse (personally I like Anna vs. The Apocalypse better, but they didn't consult me.)

Just when we thought there was nothing new anyone could say about zombies...

"Anna and the Apocalypse (Red Band) - Official UK Trailer - In Cinemas 30th November" (Watch on YouTube)

Yes, a group of UK high school students navigate a yuletide musical zombie apocalypse through song and dance. Because you know, why not sing while you are smashing slow moving zombies in the Christmas snow?

Television Round Up

1. Sitcoms

Single Parents -- gave up within two minutes. A record.

Murphy Brown -- isolated moments of humor, but more topical than funny. It was always to be honest more topical and issue laden than funny.

The Good Place I laughed during it. But it annoyed me at various points. There are at least four cringe-inducing moments, which reminded me of my problem with American Comedy.

( spoilers )

2. American Music Awards...

So, Taylor is interesting. I had to put close captioning on to figure out the lyrics to the opening song -- couldn't hear them over all the screaming and background noise.

Anyhow the opening number was interesting...entitled "I Did Something Bad". The lyrics are below the cut. She won the American Music Award for Best Album again. I don't tend to like her singing voice all that much, but her songs are interesting. Not sure if they will stand the test of time, though. They feel very topical.

( Read more... )

Can see why she won it, none of the other performers have grabbed my interest. They all sound alike. That's my difficulty with a lot of pop music - it tends to sound a like.

IT's also very politicized -- really pushing the vote. Also apparently some people have already voted. I don't know about you -- but I have four weeks to go.

3. Dramas...which I tend to prefer.

Manifest - still holding my attention. They are writing it smartly -- focusing on the characters and their relationships. Also centering the focus on the brother/sister team of Micheala and Ben. I was worried that they would explore a different passenger in each episode -- causing the show to become a bit defused. But I think they learned their lesson with the last three sci-fi shows they did.

It's actually the best of the new fall series to date.

9-1-1 -- in some respects better than last year. And certainly the most believable of the Emergency, Hospital, Firefighter series. Not to mention the most interesting and best cast.
It wisely focuses on the characters over the procedural elements, using the rescues to explore character issues and themes. This week it was being stuck. So we had someone rescued from an ATM machine, a tailpipe, and an escalator. They are certainly creative. And all three were believable.
(I've seen that happen.) This show is innovative in its interracial casting, and handling of homosexuality, disabilities, and interracial relations as if they weren't a bit deal. I point it out -- because it is a top-rated show that is diverse. This would have been unheard of five - ten years ago.

Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 -- both didn't quite work plot wise. And my attention kep wandering. Of the two, Station 19 was the most gripping. What is interesting about both series is that they are written by women, and focus on female surgeons and fire-fighters, traditionally male roles. Also feature hispanics, black men and women in positions of authority. They are also at the top of the ratings.

So we have two shows with female fire-fighters. In both, one of the women fire-fighters is a lesbian.
And both have diverse casts. Ten years ago, this wouldn't have been the case.

A Million Little Things -- eh. It's very whiny. Yeah, their friend committed suicide, but we basically have a lot of very wealthy thirty-somethings living in the suburbs of either Boston or Chicago, moping about life not being fair. And I'm thinking...seriously? ( Read more... )