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elisabethbollman
Reviews
Marriage (2022)
Life in Hell
The acting is excellent. The show is unrelentingly painful, uncomfortable and sad. You want it to at least be funny, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, but it's just agonizing. Nikola Walker plays an optimistic, hard-working, caring wife, mother, daughter and employee who has the literal patience of a saint while trying to meet everyone's needs in all the often thankless roles she plays in her life. Her beautiful, talented daughter is inexplicably involved with a nasty narcissist. Her younger boss takes advantage of her good will, as does her father. It is, thankfully, a good marriage she has with her husband as they usually can diffuse tension with humor, something the whole show needs a massive dose of.
Ratched (2020)
Not sure why we need this.
It's stealing from the amazing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," an all-time must see great movie.
Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60 (2016)
Dana Carvey is truly funny!!
Unbeatable stand-up. Dana is back in top form in this drop dead hilarious show full of tons of new material and fabulous impressions. Very current. For once a comedian who can talk about something other than sex, explicit discussion of intimate body parts, or gross bodily excretions, which seems to be the main material passing for comedy these days. I always loved Dana on SNL. This show has more funny, insightful material than I've ever seen from him. Absolute genius. Can't imagine why the imdb rating isn't a 10. I haven't laughed this much in a long while. Thanks, Dana!! 💓
George Carlin... It's Bad for Ya! (2008)
Mystified (by high ratings)
The best thing about this show was the elaborate authentic recreation of Carlin's (presumably) craftsman era study, including windows, walls with wood molding, etc. I don't know how they did it. The show, however, was Not Funny, but the crowd seemed to love it. We couldn't stand to watch that much of it. It was taped very near to where I live (Santa Rosa, CA), so I guess I'm out of synch with my neighbors. He had been funny years ago...
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Real People
This is beautifully filmed and brilliantly acted. There is so much nuance in this portrayal of urban black cultures in the early 60's in America. It is deep, glorious, and harrowing. Made me truly ashamed to be white. Discriminated against on the basis of color? We humans are mad.
Vice (2018)
All too true
Important film and apparently well-made, but I can't bear the thought of re-living the horror show that was the Bush presidency, the Iraq invasion being the most unbearable.
Café Society (2016)
Elegant Thirties
I found this movie quite enjoyable and just as good, if not better, than many of Woody Allen's recent offerings. The plot is fairly interesting. The sets, cars, locations and costumes are 1930's perfection, often filmed in a golden, nostalgic light. Kristin Stewart is very natural and believable as the girlfriend. Many of the other actors are interesting to watch and excellent in their roles. Jesse Eisenberg, while doing a competent job, is not terribly interesting to watch. His lines are those that Woody Allen would have had if he were starring in this movie, but he is not as amusing to look at as Allen. And his delivery just does not come off as very funny, even though the lines are funny in themselves. Allen should find a more humorous surrogate. But it is definitely worth watching on a big screen, especially for any Woody Allen fan.
Ali Wong: Baby Cobra (2016)
Poop and too much of it
Spoiler warning. 1. Show was kind of funny until she got to poop. 2. Poop isn't very funny generally. 3. She doesn't make it funny. 4. She went into great detail and talked for a long time about poop. 5. Lots of details about poop are gross, at least for this non-Asian. 6. She talks a lot about ethnicity and being Asian, so I believe my #5 is okay. 7. We really don't know how long she talked about poop because after what seemed like a very long time and getting grosser by the second, we shut her off. 8. If you're really into poop, she's the one for you because nobody talks this much about it. 9. I may be a little squeamish about poop; I don't even like the too-specific Cottonelle ads. 10. I would think most people would agree that too much detail about poop is gross and isn't funny. I'd be curious to know. I really can't remember the funny parts anymore now. Glad I didn't pay to see her.
Cinderella (2015)
Disappointing
The movie lacked a memorable soundtrack. There was nothing new or unique about it except for the wonderful CGI(?) sequences of the making and unmaking of the carriage and retinue going to and from the ball. The stepsisters, while not being ugly, which is more PC, but less fun to watch, had nearly identical clothes, so that we really only got one version of their bad taste each time the two were shown. They also looked quite similar physically. Cate Blanchett wasn't really as evil as I had expected. Helena Bonham Carter seems to always take these quirky slightly older women's roles, i.e. fairy godmother, red queen, etc. and doesn't bring anything new anymore. Lily James as Cinderella had a lovely moment singing from the window. There should have been more of those moments. Cinderella's home was so stately and tasteful as to be boring. Finally, the Prince really had nothing special going for him. He seemed so ordinary and lacking in charisma. Overall the movie was disappointing and seemed to miss many opportunities to make a magical fairytale come alive in a new way. I was hoping to be swept off my feet, but wasn't at all.