1 month, 2 weeks ago
morningsong added Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story to have watched list
2 months, 2 weeks ago
morningsong commented on a list

"Nice list. You listed a couple but there are many traditional Greek vegan meals. This includes okra in tomato sauce, green beans in tomato sauce, peas and potato in tomato sauce, bulgur, fakehs (tradi"
3 months ago
morningsong added 1 item to Korean and Turkish Dramas I've Watched list
The first couple episodes were really engaging due to the unique plot. A wife is kidnapped but in a call to the kidnapper the husband announces that he doesnāt care if sheās killed, thinking it is a prank call. She survives, is very pissed off, steals the kidnapperās phone, which has distorted voice modulation, and starts blackmailing her husband to divorce her or give her enough money to get away from him.
Like that plot line is so freaking unique, juicy and gives you so much to play with.
Thereās then also the whole toxic family, chosen muteness plot line, political and status drama, arranged marriage trope etc.
It genuinely had a great set up but unfortunately failed to make the most of it by miles.
Rather than being engaging, the plot drags like molasses as if the writing has run out of ideas as to how to bring the story to life. At one point she literally just randomly falls off a cliff. Nothing to do with the main plot; she just randomly falls.
The acting is very bad and both leads seem to have difficulty holding emotion on their face. They also both have the look of celebrities who have received too much plastic surgery so they no longer really look human. I just did not love the casting, especially of the FL. I swear to god in interviews she actually looks more alive and engaged but for whatever reason on this show her default look is sleepy and sad.
Also the phone calls she makes to her husband arenāt threatening at all and come off more as deranged whining. Which is such a missed opportunity. I understand the writers wanting to make it more realistic but it also just feels like they werenāt up to the skill of writing the machinations of the next Gone Girl.
Itās also an engaged before love, or technically secret love but engaged before opening up about it trope, so thatās cute.
But just very B level and Iām mad about it bc the plot deserved more.
Also also the ML is an avoidant control freak who mistreated her for years for no reason that makes sense so mmm yeah. Plot holes.
3 months, 1 week ago
morningsong added When the Phone Rings to have watched list
3 months, 1 week ago
morningsong added 1 item to 2024 TV Diary list
Paint by numbers predictability with no charm, charisma or chemistry to save it. I like LL but her face is frozen in botox and her likeability just doesn't really come through here. The relationships are shallow. They like the same authors so they're meant to be? Okay. A rom com with no intimacy or chemistry. What's the point of its existence?
3 months, 2 weeks ago
morningsong added 1 item to 2024 TV Diary list
One of the most unique movies I've watched in years. And very funny, even if it's a dark humor that makes you look around and wonder, should I be laughing?
Basically about a traumatized cop with an anxiety disorder and gastrointestinal issues trying to bust some kind of money laundering drug cartel ring before he can finally retire and get some peace. He finds a helpful therapist, group therapy, and a manic pixie dream girl who has an unusual lack of fear and who encourages him to just focus on enjoying life before he dies.
The trauma they put this guy through though- idk I've just never seen something like that represented off the bat in a way that is so dark and realistic but also comedic in the absurdity.
The type of movie that encourages you to laugh at the ridiculousness of your trauma and enjoy life.
Drags quite a bit in the third act though and I think some run time could've been cut.
The ending doesn't really make sense given it wasn't set up, but it's cute.
It's a rule of the universe that any movie rated under 6/10 on IMDB is trash, but I have to defend this movie's honor. Not only is it a solid movie, it has so many unique aspects to it that feel refreshing vs. watching the same recycled plot points again. I mean if anything, it subverts expectations of the crime genre. Rather than having a totally suave policeman as its MC, this guy is just trying to hold his crap together, literally. And you have genuinely no idea where it's going to go.
3 months, 2 weeks ago
morningsong added 1 item to TV diary list
Glad I rewatched the second one. Is actually an example of a pop feminist movie alla Legally Blonde. Very female focused and went in the opposite direction of the weirdness of the first. When was the last time you watched a comedy with a female lead and the main relationship is her friendship and not a romance? The movie literally ends with Bullock showing up as a role model for the younger generation of girls.
Plus, Sandra Bullock shines in the role. A rare case of the sequel being better than the first. It's even funny in that quippy one liner way.
3 months, 3 weeks ago
morningsong added 1 item to TV diary list
Itās actually aged quite poorly. The amount of sexual harassment and predatory workplace conduct in here is just insane. Thereās literally even a scene where a male agent takes credit for a female agentās ideas, and even though itās played off as comedic, itās shown multiple times throughout the film that only the male agentsā insights are respected. Her voice alone is ignored unless a male agent backs her. Supposedly bc the female agent is a wild loose canon for saving someone from chokingā¦ Okay. Therefore she canāt have an intelligent thought?
Anyway, the film is absolutely carried by Sandra Bullock and her charisma and comedy. It also stands out as rarety in Hollywood representing non- hyper feminine women and normalizing what is closer to actual human experience than what is usually shown on the screen.
3 months, 3 weeks ago
morningsong added Addams Family Values to have watched list
3 months, 3 weeks ago
morningsong added 1 item to TV diary list
All I remember about this movie was not finding it likeable enough to remember. But when a clip of it came up on my feed recently, I was reminded of its existence. I've re-read the books recently and the actors have chemistry so why not rewatch an old rom com? But oh boy. The movie does not follow the plot of the books. It's also cringe moment after cringe moment after cringe moment. Yes, there's a lot of cringe in the original books but the movie doesn't give you a space to breathe.
I don't know why movie higher ups buy the right to a very popular book series and than decide to totally change the story. It's a shame.
And while yes, book Becky is a bit ditsy, it's played up even moreso in the movie to the extent that it almost feels like Isla Fisher doing a satire. Book Becky was successfully working in finance, while movie Becky can only write a financial article if it's explicitly talking about shoes or cashmere. It's like they took what was already an idiosyncratic character and pushed her traits to the extreme so she's just a cartoon, with no room for complexity. As if the audience wouldn't get the message otherwise that she prefers fashion to finance if she had any specific skill in it.
Kinsella's comedic voice and charm are also completely missing here. And that voice is arguably more of what's made her a best selling author than her plots.
4 months, 1 week ago