#televisionreview

[powerbookuniverse]

RECAP: Power Book III: Raising Kanan: “Brothers and Keepers” Season 3 Episode 5

Join us in a deep dive into 'Power Book III: Raising Kanan' Season 3, Episode 5, exploring the complex dynamics of the Thomas family and their intertwined worlds of drugs and music dreams.

Read more at https://powerbookuniverse.com/recap-power-book-iii-raising-kanan-brothers-and-keepers-season-3-episode-5/

#CharacterAnalysis #FamilyDynamics #HipHopCulture #MusicIndustry #RaisingKanan #STARZ #StreetLifeVsDreams #TelevisionReview #TVdrama #PowerBookIII

[stevensaus]

Updated Evil: The Angry Black Girl And Her Monster, Fall Of The House Of Usher, And Escaping Twin Flames

The first time I was really aware that a story was trying to be an updated version of a classic tale was Romeo+Juliet back in the 1990's. That film was not an updating in any real sense, though. Sure, the swords are replaced with pistols and anachronisms abound, but it's all window dressing. The story remains essentially unchanged by the passage of centuries rather than being firmly updated. That is not the case with The Angry Black Girl And Her Monster. The film follows many of the beats of Frankenstein, but they are grounded in a thoroughly modern society. The neighborhood looks like many I've seen across the United States, particularly when I lived on base housing in the Army. No longer are we following an eccentric rich white aristocrat, but a working-class family being ripped apart by racism and financial hardship, fighting to stay together and afloat, no matter the cost. The gender- and race-swapping of Vicaria from Shelley's original Victor is pivotal to grounding the tale completely in the modern day, eliciting the same horror that the original tale of a posh mad graverobber would have when it was written. At one point, Vicaria is asked, "How could you do this to Black bodies?" The question elicits all the horrors that have been committed on Black bodies in the United States (Tuskegee's just the beginning, y'all), evoking a very audible gasp from my amour. For Vicaria to perpetuate that callous disregard of Black lives and bodies -- no matter how "good" her goal was -- drives home the full thrust of Shelley's original, making this a worthy successor. The Fall Of The House Of Usher is a miniseries that takes the most prominent works of Edgar Allen Poe's canon and melds them into what is clearly meant to be the Sackler family, the uber-rich pharma family bears the lion's share of the blame for the opioid epidemic, and, much like the real Sacklers, avoids any repercussions of consequence. As the bill comes due for the fictional Ushers, they begin dying in horrible ways, usually due to the worst aspects of their nature, with the bloodline finally scrubbed from the Earth. There is some degree of catharsis in watching the stand-ins for the "most evil family in America" pay for their crimes, The Fall Of The House of Usher does not flinch away from reminding us that such karmic payments are the exception, not the rule. The Ushers do not, ultimately, pay because of what they did -- but because of the deal they made to get there. The millions and millions of deaths they were responsible for ... simply did not count. This is not the visceral hubris of Vicaria; she at least meant well. The Ushers -- along with their real-world counterparts -- are a type of banal evil where the consequences of their actions are abstracted behind disclaimers, NDAs, and aggressive corporatespeak. It is a cold, uncaring evil, one where others simply don't matter. That kind of unsettling evil is why I want to mention one more show -- even though it is a documentary. Escaping Twin Flames is a documentary that looks at "Twin Flames Universe" -- a weaponized hybrid of multi-level marketing, religion, self-help, and a utterly terrifying level of narcissism by its founders. At first blush, it seems like TFU is one of a dozen vaguely "spiritual" organizations with a questionable way of making money. In theory, TFU exists to help people find love. In practice, TFU sells a deliberately unattainable promise of relationship bliss, using the most manipulative tactics from multi-level marketing, organized religion and cults, and carefully twisted advice that ensures its adherents will be kept off-balance, tightly under the control of its founders, Jeff and Shaleia Ayan (down to the choice of curtains and what gender their followers are). Jeff and Shaleia Ayan deliberately set up an intricate, self-reinforcing pattern of control, creating a situation where their followers are always seeking positive reinforcement and approval, but may get yelled at in a group meeting instead. The problematic and worrisome aspects of TFU are widespread and common, even in "mainstream" organizations. The only real difference is that -- at least a first -- TFU created a weaponized conglomeration of those problematic elements. Although the stated goal of TFU was to help people find their "twin flame" (e.g. "soulmate"), what it really exists to do is to groom hurt and upset people to be the prey of the narcissists running the whole thing. In terms of scale, Ayans and the Sacklers -- excuse me, Ushers -- are nowhere near the same weight class in terms of the number of lives destroyed. But for the Ayans, their victims were not collateral damage, or rows of figures on spreadsheets. They looked their victims in the eye and deliberately, systematically, groomed them. Which is more "evil"? The banal erasure of lives with the stroke of a pen, or the systematic, personal destruction of someone just to keep them under your thumb? So ultimately, even Escaping Twin Flames is an updated, perhaps more sophisticated version of the evil tactics used by con artists, cult leaders, marketers, and demagogues for many decades. But unlike the fictional Ushers, the Sacklers and their peers continue to evade meaningful consequences, and Twin Flames Universe -- along with the many, many other cults and grifts out there today -- are still active. Still recruiting, still harming. The odds are good that none of them will face any meaningful form of justice for the deliberate, callous, damage they have caused. And that is perhaps most terrifying of all. Read the full article

#horror #moviereview #review #televisionreview

[illinoiseagle]

#bisexual #children'stelevision #Disney #lesbian #LGBTQ #nonbinary #sapphic #TelevisionReview #TheOwlHouse #TheOwlHouseFinale #TVReview #WatchingandDreaming #wlw

[otakunoculture]

Zoe Lister-Jones' Slip is Sweetly Funny than Scary When Hungry Ghosts are Referenced

Now playing on #Roku is Zoe Lister-Jones Slip, and it's a sweet dramatic comedy about relationships, life and how to be yourself. For more telling details about @ZoeListerJones work and #hungryghosts, check out our #televisionreview at:

Now Playing on Roku Mae Cannon (Zoe Lister-Jones) is not happy, and she wishes for change. When her current marriage with Elijah (Whitmer Thomas) is devoid of romance, the world she Slip (without the s) into–which is also the title of this character-driven comedy–is different after each one-night stand. In each episode, she Quantum Leaps into another version of herself. At first, she tries to…

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#Comedy #Relationships #Roku #Streaming #Tymika Tafari #Whitmer Thomas #Zoe Lister-Jones

[2000sandtoday]

Why Riley Keough is the perfect Daisy Jones

Why Riley Keough is the perfect Daisy Jones. #daisyjonesandthesix #daisyjones #rileykeough #taylorjenkinsreid #celebrity #entertainment #celebrityentertainment #television #televisionreviews #amazonprime #primevideo

Daisy Jones is a nepo baby. There, I said it. When you read the book, it talks about Daisy growing up with her famous artist father and all of his famous artist friends always painting her. Daisy essentially spends her time being the inspiration for other people—usually men’s—art. And because of the confines of the world that she lives in, 1960s and 1970s California, she’s not expected to do…

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#almost famous #celebrity #celebrity entertainment #daisy jones and the six #entertainment #riley keogh #rock #rock music #stillwater

[mymetric360]

🤔"Is the Hisense U8K worthy of a review by IGN?" #HisenseU8K #TelevisionReview #BudgetTV...

[shorortqueerfilmreview]

6/10 Technically not a film, this is a three part mini-series, with each episode approx 50 minutes, “Someone Has To Die” really does double-down on the “bury your gays” trope (well the title at least, as ironically the only deaths are the straights here.) Now I am unsure if the makers of this period piece melodrama were aware of this trope, but it feels too on-the-nose. However, that said, there is no humour or satire or wink of knowingness in the work, so I’m assuming titling your “gay” period drama “someone has to die” is unaware. Set in Francoist Spain, I was genuinely interested in the queer oppression and abuse of “deplorables” and cultural tensions between Spain and Mexico and their people that sets the historical context and scene for this mini-series.Those elements remain the most interesting, however superficial. I want to note, we have two heterosexual sex scenes; one slightly risqué, and only one brief homosexual encounter which is portrayed as aggressive, fleeting and fully clothed. There is no gay intimacy, despite the main character Gabino’s tragic affection for his straight male friend (we are lead to believe in episode 1 that this will be the love story, alas), no kissing, merely “acting closely” to other male characters*. Representation in 2020 still has so much work ahead. This miniseries is pretty “serious” in its tone, despite some of the Days Of Our Lives blocking and acting, but there are these surreal tableaux motif moments inter-spliced sparsely throughout which are jarring, out of tone with the rest of the work and strange. Are they internal depictions of character’s psychological landscapes or are they music-video-esque like montages added to embellish and distract? I found them pointless and off-putting. There’s one with Cecilia Suárez as the character Mina in the shooting pigeon pen which is so jarring and unreal it’s hilarious.  I do have to say, the final moments of this is absolute BONKERS and really makes the investment both worth your time and completely devastating. My jaw dropped. I respect a writer who will straight up murder half your cast after building up these characters over three hours.   *I also have to note the scene between Carlos Cuevas as Alonso (Gabino’s teenage homosexual tryst and longtime estranged friend) and Alejandro Speitzer as Gabino in Part III in the car at the end - it was beautifully written, performed and this series needed WAY more of this. Stunning. Overall it’s a fairly good watch and experience, but don’t expect anything too sublime. Someone has to Wiki.

#gay #gaymovie #gayfilm #film #movie #miniseries #television #series #queerseries #queertelevision #queerfilm #moviereview #review #filmreview #televisionreview #gayspain #spain #spanish #queerspain

[escapevelocitycollection]

"While this show is primarily a comedy, the characters actually have a remarkable amount of depth. The plot is based on common fantasy tropes that get twisted at any point, basically. No really, there are a lot of plot twists in this show that I absolutely did not see coming, and they’re all incredibly funny and don’t actually make the show confusing at all." - Lotte

"This hilarious parody on fairy tales and knightly stereotypes is a hidden gem. There is a lot of humour in every episode, but there is still room for some character growth and story arcs.

With only two seasons, why not give it a go? Warning: the songs will get stuck in your head." - Jasmijn

Lotte and Jasmijn reviewed ABC's Galavant! Want to read their full reviews? Check them out here!

#review #tvreview #televisionreview #galavant #galavantreview #fantasy #fantasyreview #fantasyseries #musicaltheatre #musicaltheatrereview #alanmenken #JoshuaSasse #TimothyOmundson #VinnieJones #MalloryJansen #KarenDavid #LukeYoungblood #joshua sasse #alan menken #timothy omundson #karen david #luke youngblood #mallory jansen #television review

[gr00k-blog]

Sports Casting in Brockmire

Brockmire is a drama comedy that follows the fall and then attempted rise of Jim Brockmire a Major League Baseball sports announcer who has a major breakdown live on air after his wife commits adultery all while keeping track of and reporting the game (link above). This can help show some of ethics that doing such a job and the mental aspects and hardships that creating, portraying, and maintaing a persona can entail.

As someone who wants to peruse sports casting as a career and a radio DJ I understand and can relate to the pressures that are portrayed within the show. The first thing I was told when I became a DJ is that "no matter how bad your day is; be happy. I don't care if your dog died just be happy and energetic for your listeners." This can help explain as an example to the pressures that are standard in the industry and how you are expected to perform and be a friend to those who listen to you no matter what you're going through, which in my opinion Brockmire shows in detail and well.

Brockmire is reinforcing the mental stereotypes and the gray area of ethics that the teams, businesses, and cooperation’s place on announcers and casters. Brockmire may have reinforced the ethics and stereotypes but by bringing it forward to the public in relatable or understandable ways it is shedding light on an issue that may have been left in the dark. This allows for the public to see and understand the mind and lives of casters which helps redefine them as humans and not a robotic play by play machine.

In closing Brockmire reinforces the ethics and stereotypes of the Casting world but by doing so may help them to be destroyed as more and more people see and can call out these possibly unethical standards.

#televisionreview #swamptechwriting #brockmire

[gittastuff-blog]

Grey’s Anatomy: Sympathy for the Devil (5x02)

In this post I will review the ethical dilemma Dr. Meredith Grey, Dr. Bailey Young and Dr. Derek Grey had to face while proceeding with the decision whether or not to take a life to save one. In this episode, a convicted serial killer, William Dunn, scheduled to be executed in 5 days was brought into the hospital due to bleeding in his brain. At the same time there is a 10 year old boy in the pediatric unit in need of organs or else he will die within a week. Shockingly, both William Dunn and the boy are a match for organs and Dunn, wanting to save a life before he dies, asking the doctors not to operate on him so that he can give his organs to the boy. Yet, at the last second while he starts to hemorrhage, Dunn, in a sickly haze, changes his mind. This episode present a dilemma regarding patient capacity as well as organ transplant and the rights of prisoners on death row to make decisions about their healthcare.

In this case, the doctors are faced with the dilemma of assessing the patients capacity as he has a brain bleed and seems indecisive versus him asking them not to operate while he was coherent and aware. There is also a bioethical dilemma regarding justice, patient autonomy. At first, the patient is exerting his autonomy by asking the doctors not to operate and let him die, but then changes his mind. As doctors who took an oath of non-maleficence, they must respect his wishes and cause him no harm. This then leads into the issue of justice, as the doctors must question if it is fair to save a serial killer that will die in 5 days anyways over an innocent child. As doctors they must remind themselves of the Hippocratic Oath they took to become doctors, and that they must do everything under legal law to treat their patients, cause no harm, and to follow all patient request given while coherent.

#televisionreview #swamptechwriting

[sundrysanvidge-blog]

Lone Star Law: S03E10 Poachers and Liars 

In this episode, Game Wardens from multiple county’s in Texas are shown reinforcing the professional ethics of their position through their handling of a variety of different situations. In one of the situations, the wardens drive by a vehicle with several crab traps in the bed of the truck. Since it is illegal to own these kinds of traps without the proper licenses which must be displayed on the back of the vehicle as required by Texas law, the officers decided to pull over the truck. When the driver steps out of the car, the officers smell marijuana and upon a further search they find a small amount of the illegal drug. The wardens tell the man what they have found, and the man responds saying he is a hard-working family man with five children who made a mistake. He asks the wardens to cut him some slack. After taking this into account the wardens decide to charge the man with possession of drug paraphernalia which is a lesser charge than possession of marijuana. 

The officers face an ethical dilemma when deciding how severely they should charge the crabber. On one hand, it is their responsibility as officers of the law to convict wrong doers for the crimes that they commit. However, while laws exist for a reason, not every person who violates the law deserves to be punished equally. In this case, there are several considerations that needed to be made. One of which being, how a drug possession charge would affect the man’s family in the long term. 

In my opinion, the wardens made the right choice. By deciding to charge the man with a lesser charge they ensured that he was accountable for his actions, while lessoning the devastation to his family. 

#televisionreview #swamptechwriting

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Orange is the New Black “We Have Manners. We’re Polite” Season 2 Episode 13

#Swamptechwriting #televisionreview

[megstechwritingblog]

Dr K’s Exotic Animal ER - S5E11

The episode of Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER that I have chosen to analyze is season 5 episode 11 – “Call of Doodie!”  This episode follows the care of four different exotic animals: the first is a sulcata tortoise that was attacked by a dog, the second is a green-winged macaw that was thought to have a mass in its abdomen, the third is a rabbit with an infected cheek/jaw, and the last is a small pig that needs to get neutered.  

I believe that the show does both reinforce and challenge the concepts of professional ethics.  The clients put a lot of trust into Dr. K’s animal hospital to take care of their pets.  Dr. K and the other veterinarians at the hospital do a very great job explaining everything to their clients.  They are very honest about each animal’s condition.  It does not look like they exaggerate an animal’s poor condition and they don’t sugarcoat a situation if it is bad.  In the case of the rabbit, they made sure to show the radiographs of its skull and explain that the condition of the bone was not good.  In the case of the macaw, the mass was actually a hernia and not a tumor, so the surgery was much quicker than expected.  The staff also gets very personal with their clients to make them feel like they are in good hands.  Dr. K owns a macaw herself and used its healthy gut bacteria to help treat her client’s macaw.  

However, they do challenge the concept of professional ethics as well.  Many people may not agree with how they film surgeries.  This could get the animal hospital in trouble if they do something wrong and may cost the show viewership.  In addition, some people may not like seeing their pet under the knife.  This episode showed close-up clips of the pig getting neutered, the macaw’s intestines, and the inside of the rabbit’s cheek.  These examples show how the episode “Call of Doodie” both reinforces and challenges the concepts of professional ethics.

#televisionreview #swamptechwriting

[hquest007]

It’s episode 11 of @themandalorian called “the heiress”. Get a #recap and a #review of the episode here: - https://singledadsguidetolife.com/its-on-baby-mandalorian-episode-11-the-heiress-review/ - #MandalorianSeason2 #PedroPascal #BabyYoda #disneyplus #disney #streaming #television @disney @disneyplus #sciencefiction #fantasy #starwars #dadlife #dadblogger #televisionreview #jonfavreau #brycedallashoward https://www.instagram.com/p/CHwK4cBHhYy/?igshid=1v6k4ukuktjuy

#recap #review #mandalorianseason2 #pedropascal #babyyoda #disneyplus #disney #streaming #television #sciencefiction #fantasy #starwars #dadlife #dadblogger #televisionreview #jonfavreau #brycedallashoward

[otakunoculture]

Ninjago Dragons Rising. The Magic is Back in Season Two!

As a long time fan of #LEGO #Ninjago, I had a lot of expectations since it strayed far from its roots. Thankfully those elements are back in the latest that's on #netflix. Those #asian #Wuxia motifs are back! #televisionreview at:

When the lives of many winged reptiles are in constant danger in Ninjago Dragons Rising, just who can save them will require new and old heroes of the realms uniting. That premise defined season one, and it made for a decent continuation. It wasn’t all that memorable or standalone very well since it had to deal with establishing why old fans should care about Arin, Sora, and Wyldfyre. When I…

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#Asian Cinema #Commentary #Fantasy #LEGO #LEGO Ninjago #Television Review #Wuxia

[homeplanetreviews]

House of Cards: Season 5 (2017) Review by: Tristan Bunn

One nation, Underwood. After a very long wait this year, House of Cards has returned and it is back with a vengeance! This show continuously blows me away, season after season…and Season 5 is probably the best one yet! I will not spoil Season 5, but there will be spoilers for the series up to this point: Seasons 1-4. So here is your SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASONS 1-4

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You still here? Here we go! Season 5 picks up basically where we left off in the previous finale with the Underwoods in the midst of a nasty election against Will Conway and on the verge of war with terror looming in the states. Seeing how Frank will deal with terrorism, or use it to advance his power, is exciting as all of his power moves are, but the real strength of this season is the election. I’m constantly amazed at what the writers are able to accomplish on this show. I’m a writer myself and constantly work on scripts so I am endlessly impressed where the writers are able to take this show and make it endlessly interesting. They’re not afraid to back themselves into a corner and write their way out of it. This is intelligent, brilliantly crafted storytelling with deeply rich and emotionally compelling characters. I haven’t watched every show on television (who can keep up?) but this is the best writing I currently witness on television.

The direction to every single episode is flawless. I caught one odd edit through the entire season and it wasn’t a mistake as much as it was a matter of preference on my part. House of Cards is one of those programs that doesn’t really have different directing styles in each episode. They clearly bring directors on board and expect them to fall in line with the way they shoot, but the way they shoot is great. The most fascinating thing about the direction is their knowledge of when to use a medium shot, when to use a close up, or when to go wide. They use these different shots to tell different stories within the characters because the character is indeed a character itself…I mean Frank does literally talk to it.

This has been said over and over, but Kevin Spacey is masterful and so deserving of an Emmy in this role. During one episode, I literally thought to myself, “Oh, that’s Kevin Spacey.” He becomes Frank Underwood. He embodies this man. Spacey is gone and all that we see is this power hungry President. Robin Wright is worthy of all the critical acclaim she can receive as well because she is perfect. I love every second that these two are on screen. This has all been said before so I’m not adding anything new. The newest addition that I really enjoy is Neve Campbell from the past two seasons. I do have somewhat of an affinity for Campbell already, but I think she gives a tremendously grounded and subtle performance as Leann. Michael Kelly is endlessly brilliant as Doug and continues to bring so much depth to this tortured character. Paul Sparks does a great job with Thomas Yates, even though he is far more reserved this season…really reserved. There is an interesting story they continue to explore with Yates and his relationship with Claire that just further deepened these characters we love…or love to hate.

I think Season 5 progresses poetically and brilliantly, more so than any season thus far. The pacing of this season is perfect. It moves from plot line to sub plot and shifts thematically with ease. There is a moment where the plot does shift in a big way at a point during this season, but it does so gracefully and has you immediately invested in where you’re headed next. I don’t want to write about Season 5 spoilers, but once you see the season then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Fans of this show are going to love this season just as they have the others. Without spoiling it, I will say that the finale is ballsy. You can’t accuse House of Cards of not taking risks. They constantly push the envelope and challenge the viewer. The way this season concludes had me shocked and almost in disbelief. I will admit I am genuinely worried moving forward to Season 6. I have no idea how they are going to make the future of this show as exhilarating as the first five seasons have been, but I didn’t think it could run this long and still be great.

Season 5 takes risks, pushes the viewer to places you never imagined you would go with this program, and dares you to keep watching. This is my favorite season so far, and although I’m very scared to view the next season and see what awaits us, I can’t wait. The only flaw with House of Cards is forcing us to wait 15 months for the next season. That is just plain torture.

Grade: A

#house of cards #house of cards review #kevin spacey #Robin Wright #michael kelly #neve campbell #paul sparks #joel kinnaman #campbell scott #david fincher #beau willimon #televisionreview #netflix #review #homeplanetreviews #frank underwood #claire underwood #Underwood2016 #francis underwood