2. Platonic - Very cute comedy series. Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen have a special kind of chemistry and I hope they continue to make stuff together. I don't think Rose gets the credit she deserves because she does more comedic roles, but the fact that she always seems so genuine and natural in these roles and makes it look easy, is a difficult thing to achieve. And she's so fantastic in that other Apple tv+ show, Physical, and that isn't all comedic (and she definitely should be in awards talk for Physical). But, I was also super excited by the supporting cast - the hot guy from Brothers & Sisters (and Bros), who is absolutely a terrible actor but he's HOT and also much better in this than his previous projects. AND Period Blood Girl from Superbad!!! That's her actual character name (look it up! It was a running joke back then with her roles being Toe Sucking Girl and Gag Me Girl in other projects). Her name is Carla Gallo, and she's been in a ton of projects, but I still find that whole thing very funny. She's very good as this side-kick best friend character. I'm kind of shocked that she's 48 years old, which means she was in her 30s for Superbad! I thought she was like 22 in that. Both her and Byrne look incredible for women in their 40s, and it's kind of dumb that they talk about being ignored by men because there is no way any man wouldn't look twice if Byrne walked past them let alone tried to talk to them. I think the show does a very good job at showing this insane pressure that is put on women to "do it all". In one of the first episodes she tells someone "I do not work, currently", as some sort of shameful thing to admit, and I screamed out "GIRL YOU ARE RAISING THREE WHOLE KIDS THAT IS WORK GODDAMMIT"! It doesn't seem like they necessarily need her to work, financially speaking, so it's CRAZY to me that she feels the pressure to go back to work in such a stressful environment. I get wanting to feel fulfilled and like you are contributing to the world, but I don't understand how raising children isn't enough to get that feeling? or like volunteering somewhere? It's definitely an interesting topic, though, and I think Byrne does this sort of pulled in many directions and feeling unfulfilled in a really genuine way. I'm not as impressed with Rogen's character - very typical man-child character that he does often, but he's still very funny to me. There are several very funny moments in the series - my favorite of the whole series is probably when Rogen's younger girlfriend says that she's "from Columbine" and asks "have you ever heard of it?". Byrne's facial expression matched mine exactly at that line. I guess a 25 year old wouldn't understand how triggering the word "Columbine" even is for people in their late 30s/early 40s, but it's still shocking to come to this realization. I also don't think most realize how funny/ironic the line "this is why I moved here from Colorado" is, as they look at a smog filled Los Angeles. I'm really hoping for a season 2, but I think with the writer & actor strike, a lot of shows that would have continued simply won't now.
3. Silo - *some spoilers ahead* I like this series a lot, but there are several things I don't like about it. It's a good show that could have easily been great, but some mistakes were made. The biggest mistake is probably casting Common. I'm not sure how or why he became an actor, and how or why he keeps getting roles, but it needs to stop. I actually liked him as a rapper (and I think he still does music stuff, right? I think he won an Oscar for Selma? Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't feel like looking it up), but I've never seen him give a good or even decent performance in anything. And he is absolutely painful to watch. I watched this show because my husband wanted to watch it (although with it starring Rebecca Ferguson, I probably would have had it on my list anyway). He's a big sci-fi nerd and had read the books that the series is based on (and told me a whole story about how this author is friends with the author of The Expanse, which is a tv series and book series that I enjoyed). And while we were watching a scene with Common, he turned to me and said "who is this guy? He's ruining the whole show.", so it's not just me being overly critical. I also think some of it is just really stupid? And this whole concept is just very excessive - the way they send people out to "clean", etc. If it really was this authoritarian post-apocalyptic new world order, they would just kill people who didn't follow along. Like the old woman that they are keeping drugged? Just kill her, why are they wasting resources? Makes no sense. And it's definitely waaaaay easier to just give all the men vasectomies than to surgically implant birth control in all of the women. If it was used to control women, then it would make sense, but women seem to hold high positions and be equal in this world, so it's simply to control the population. But when I pointed it out to my husband, he very flatly said "there is no way men would go along with that. They would go to war before being letting that happen", "so women should start killing people to attain bodily autonomy?", "yup". I mean, he's probably right, but it's so frustrating to think about. Anyway, the plot is all sort of obvious - I knew that there was something in the helmets that was either poisoning them, or making them hallucinate, but they wait all the way until episode 9 to reveal what's happening (I was pretty close). Some of the episodes drag on for way too long (episode 3, especially). BUT, overall, it's got an intriguing premise, and I am definitely interested in what happens next. And every time I pointed something out that doesn't make sense, my husband insists that it will be answered for (because it is in the books). He really likes the show, so I think that says a lot about it because not only is he a fan of the books, but he's often overly critical (even more so that I am!). The cast is great - mostly led by Ferguson, but a supporting cast of Tim Robbins, Rashida Jones, Harriet Walter & David Oyelowo all have moments to shine. And the world building is EXCELLENT, which is very important for sci-fi. It's all really cool to look at, and kind of reminds me of Westworld in a way.
4. Beef - I'm not sure I agree with the crazy hype for this series, but it's...interesting. Like, it's very watchable and I couldn't figure out how each episode was going to play out, which is definitely a plus. But, it's also really over-the-top and not realistic or relatable in any way (at least I hope it's not relatable???? If it is to you, then maybe seek some therapy???). It starts off a bit realistically with a road rage incident (but again, can't relate - when someone has road rage, I just let them go - I would never, ever pursue someone. And if someone followed me, I would drive to the local police or fire station, or call the police and report them right away). They way these two just don't give up is absolutely insane to me. I do think Ali Wong's character is a bit more insane than Steven Yeun's. I just don't think a wealthy woman would let a stranger into her house. Or MASTERBATE WITH A GUN. What the fuck?! She's a full-on psychopath. I also think they make her look late 40s for the whole show and she is younger than me (I think it's the hair. It changes throughout the series, but it goes from bad to worse). Her fashion sense is also really questionable, too (what the fuck is up with the Blossom hat in the beginning?). While I think Yeun's character is just going through a bit of a rough time and he's had enough of the world shitting on him (that's, at least, understandable). I also think that Yeun is absolutely fantastic in this. I don't think the show or the other performances were worthy of Emmy nominations, but Yeun definitely deserves his nomination for that emotional breakdown in the church alone (Taron should win in that category, though, obvi. Sadly it's probably going to go to Evan Peters, who is also good). He has an incredible voice, too. His version of "Drive" and "Amazing Grace" are both so beautiful. There are a few other things that I really like about the show. The use of 90s music is odd, but also so good. There are some genuinely funny moments (like when he yells at his brother "this is a bot" and his brother types "R u a bot" as his next message. I was dying.). Overall, though, I think it's decent. Not worthy of all the praise. And the final few episodes really go off the rails. I also know that there was some controversy surrounding David Choe that definitely negatively impacted the series because SO many people were talking about it, and then the next day everyone was like "fuck that show and fuck that cast" (I guess the other cast members supported him? I didn't really follow it. It's so hard to keep track of all the awful people in Hollywood).
5. The Crowded Room - I wouldn't have known about the terrible reviews for this if Tom Holland didn't talk about how bad the reviews were multiple times in interviews. I think that's such a weird approach for an actor to take while promoting the show???? I've definitely heard actors talk about regretting projects or how disappointed they were about reviews from past projects, but usually years later. I think the biggest issue Holland is having with his career is he's being SOOO miscast in things and I don't really feel like he has a passion for any of them. I think he needs to take a step back and really assess the type of actor he wants to be, and the career that he wants to have. I know that he did take a step back from acting for a year because apparently this role really affected him mentally. But I think that's kind of weird, because so far (I'm on the 6th episode), he hasn't really done any acting that seems mentally draining. And as a professional, you should be able to distance yourself (which is why I find method acting such nonsense and unnecessary. I remember when Taron - yes, I'm mentioning him again in the same post, deal with it - was filming Black Bird and he posted videos of him singing and dancing to the Bee Gees between filming and riding a bike around New Orleans, and I thought now that seems like a healthy way of handling a mentally and emotionally draining role.). Anyway, the reviews are right, unfortunately. This show is just plain bad, so far. It's the oddest thing in the world to not reveal the "twist" right away, considering it's a well-known true story. But also, maybe they thought it wasn't well known, so the creators decided to make it a twist? But they are doing a terrible job at it? I'm pretty sure that even if I didn't know that all of these people don't exist, I would still guess it right away. It's such a shame because I do love this cast. I will still stick up for Holland because I think he's adorable and overall a solid actor in the right roles. Amanda Seyfried has given some incredible performances, and in this she's so blah. She's not really given much to do so far, it's just a lot of back and forth dialogue between her and Holland's character, but I don't feel any emotion from either of them. It feels like a table read and not the final product. And speaking of very not given much to do, I practically forgot that Emmy Rossum was even in this (and HIS MOTHER FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! She's only 36! It makes sense in the flashback scenes, I GUESS....) until she is finally given a purpose in episode 5. I also really like Emma Laird (she's the best part of The Mayor of Kingstown) and Sasha Lane. But, everyone else (aka "the crowd") is AWFUL. Also, the makeup they put on Holland to make him look pale and sickly is distracting. I was surprised to find out that Brady Corbet directed some of these episodes (while I didn't love Vox Lux, it was, at least, interesting and surprising in a lot of ways. This is not.).
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