Reviews
This Isn't Working (2016)
YouTuber Makes Network Quality Show
I follow Lisa Schwartz on YouTube (YouTube name Lisbug) because I came across her videos and thought she was funny. One day, in one of her YouTube videos, she said she had a special announcement: ABCd (ABC digital) was doing a digital-only series called "This Isn't Working" starring her. So, I went to ABCd.com, found her episodes, and watched them expecting them to be funny. Wow!! I was expecting funny, but these episodes are not just funny. They are of the highest technical quality possible - better than most shows on network television. These aren't simply expanded YouTube videos. The scripts, written by Lisa and Sean Kearney, are complex and hilarious - one funny, intelligent line after another - scripts about the lousy jobs people are forced to work in their lives as they attempt to make it in the world. The closest TV show comparison that came to my mind is "Scrubs". There's a huge cast of characters, all of them memorable and funny, including YouTube stars Anna Akana and Alexis G. Zall, but also 1 legit Hollywood star (I didn't recognize her at first, but I did when I saw her in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9uSbVLvZvM), Beverly D'Angelo of "Vacation" movie fame, and also famous character actors that you will probably recognize as soon as you see their faces like Jim O'Heir and Dennis Haskins. The less well-known actors in these episodes are all excellent and hilarious, and I'm sure some if not all of them are destined to become famous. Lisa herself also turns out to be an excellent actress. Even the cinematography is first class. There are 5 episodes that add up to about 48 minutes of entertainment - basically, it's a short film. Do yourself a favor - go here: http://abc.go.com/shows/this-isn't-working and spend 48 minutes laughing your ass off. If ABC doesn't expand this series into something bigger, they're crazy. I'd hate to see it sanitized for network TV. Maybe there's a cable TV channel that could show it, or maybe it could be turned into a series of films. It's really good.
Ecologia del delitto (1971)
Bad Acting, Bad Plot, Bad Movie
I was so disappointed with this movie. After reading reviews and user comments here and elsewhere, comments mentioning the "dream-like" qualities of this movie, the surprise ending, the colorful imagery - the name "Columbo" was even mentioned - I was expecting an eerie, thought-provoking who-dunnit giallo crossing Dario Argento with Poirot. Wrong. This is a stupid body count movie that easily could have been a made-for-American-TV creepshow crap film if some of the graphic violence was removed. The only thoughts you'll be provoked into are thoughts about exactly what method will be used to kill the next victim. The imagery isn't all that colorful, either, certainly not matching Dario's worst movies. The surprise ending is extremely brief, less than 3 minutes, and utterly stupid. Can you tell I hated this movie?
Say It Isn't So (2001)
Fun Comedy with a Happy Ending
I laughed alot during this movie. It's an "Overcoming the Misunderstanding" comedy in which the lovers are kept apart by a falsehood believed at first by them both (and everybody else, for that matter). The male character finds out the truth first, and has to prove it to the girl, who would like to be with him but is the victim of people around her who perpetuate the misconception for their own selfish reasons. Of course, in the end, the girl discovers the truth too, and they return to each others arms. It's not deep. But it's funny, and I felt happy after watching it. It has the flavor of a movie like "So I Married an Axe Murderer" or "Three Men and a Little Lady".
Committed (2000)
Underrated, Beautiful Movie
This is a truly great and beautiful movie. The underlying theme of this movie is the innocent child (Heather Graham as Joline) struggling to make her naive wishes for how the world should be make sense while being incessantly beaten down by the real world. It's not an unhappy movie, though - exactly the opposite. It's a funny movie with a sad side, but just thinking about the movie makes me feel so happy. Near the beginning of the movie, beautiful, vulnerable Joline confronts a drug addict attempting to break into her friend's car. She reasons with him, convinces him to seek help, and gives him $30 as a start. At the end of the movie, he reappears to pay her back, explains that he is off drugs, doing well, and he thanks her. I can hear the cynics groaning. Of *course* that would never really happen. This movie doesn't take place in the real world. It takes place in the world we wished we lived in. The sad part is realizing we don't live there. The happy part is knowing there are people wishing we did.