SusanLervold

How did this rate a "7"? This series is a poorly-stylized mess, with a clunky plot, caricatures for characters, terrible acting, and even worse direction.

I'm not sure which was more of an insult: the plot, the pacing, the script, or the acting...all are equally bad. The lead male is probably the worst actor of the bunch, but not by much; only the assistant is remotely likable, and the script meant it to be that way. There is zero rapport between the actors. And can we stop portraying ANY group/community so horribly stereotypically and one-dimensional? Please, it's not that hard.

I would 100% rather have less choice in content than watch drivel like this. #JUSTSAYNO.

Digging around for something to watch, I happened along this gem while scrolling Netflix. Having neither read the book or seen the movie, (other than scan a few of the reviews on IMDB), I went in blind.

I almost gave up early after watching the first episode; I felt wary of the initial lack of chemistry and the seemingly-stereotypical characters, but I was encouraged by a user review that mentioned this early lack of chemistry but promised that the slow burn would pay off. Having little to lose but time, I kept watching, and I wasn't disappointed.

The episodes vary between ~40 minutes and ~19 minutes, making this a perfect before-bed watch. However, I'm more of a binge-watcher, and with a total run time of about 6-1/2 hours, I was given plenty of time to be completely absorbed in the well-told story, and to get to know-and fall in love with-each of the characters (could any man be as easy on the eyes as Leo Woodall???).

TL;DR: Loved it.

Ugh. I'm on E4, and I'm not feeling it. I refuse to believe that Koreans really talk about their Koreaness all the time. Plus, every white person so far is an a**hole. Give it a rest. And heaven help me with the ever-so-sensitive Japanese husband (why does his native nationality even matter?), his bougie mother, and the obnoxious, manipulative daughter. The writers somehow managed to make even a 5 year old child unlikeable.

The only good thing so far is the opener, and the fact that each episode is only 30ish minutes long. Otherwise, the show is boring, insulting, and stupidly written.

Run from this pile of steaming steer manure.

While the plot itself could have been interesting, I can't decide whether the writing or the acting is worse. Regardless, both are shamefully, appallingly bad.

The Setting: a remarkably upscale, ethnically-diverse, nearly-rural Ohio town, which neighbors the mysterious Ammon County, an isolated, rural farming community owned by a band of unfriendly yet inexplicably politically-connected, corn-growing, hog-raising Satanists.

The Characters: our protagonists are members of a local bourgeois family, comprised of an estate-developing general contractor father (who does all his own labor) and a well-meaning but unstable psychiatrist-mother with a past of her own. Together, they have three daughters: a closeted bisexual beauty queen; an angsty, artistic, unpleasant photographer with "middle-child syndrome"; and an obnoxiously-talented, mostly-neglected, obviously-adopted sister with a peanut allergy. Because...why not?

The Plot: while on shift at the local hospital, mom is assigned to a recently-arrived teenage "Jane Doe", a runaway from the Satanic cult, sporting a freshly carved inverted pentagram on her back and scars around each wrist. Over the next few episodes, we learn more about "Mae", the foil of the story. Mae's trauma quickly triggers Mom's unconscious Savior complex, and, due to a convenient lack of foster placements, brings Mae home with her, upsetting the already-stressed family. Hilarity ensues.

I'm convinced this script was written by AI: every character is an utter cliché, and the casting director made sure to cover all the politically-correct bases. Every kid at the girls' high school is the most basic of stereotypes, and almost all of them are some shade of mocha, from the ultra-cool lesbian; the brooding flaming BFF; to the high-achieving, Ivy League-bound, "Feminism-Rocks" t-shirt-wearing love-interest, whose ultimate goal is to work for the ACLU. The only other white kid besides the main protagonists is the beauty queen's boyfriend, a clueless dumb jock bound for the local state college. Remember, we're not in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, or even Minneapolis. No: we're in the middle of semi-rural Ohio. But...okay.

While the cult's backstory is quickly explained (don't blink, you might miss it), it's never fleshed out, nor is any of the characters. They are all-to the person-shallow and unlikeable, impossible to relate to, and none of the relationships are never explained in any meaningful way. Impossibly, they even managed to make the SATANIC CULT boring and lame.

Other reviewers have done a good job covering the myriad of other problems with this series, and I don't have much else to add.

In a nutshell: this series has all the depth of a day-old puddle, and it's a perfect illustration as to why Netflix is tanking.

If I had to give it a grade, I'd give it a solid D-.

Kudos to Silverstone for aging gracefully. Good for her.

Now, fire your agent and go do some indie films or off-off-Broadway...or make your own. This movie suuuuucked.

As a secret fan of shark movies, there is virtually not a single redeeming quality to this one. The acting: bad. The characters: bad. The script: bad. The plot: bad. Cinematography: bad. Bad, bad, bad. Shame on you, Lionsgate.

Save yourself the hour and a half and clean out under your bed, refold linens, or count dust bunnies...anything is a better use of time than this POS.

This show is the worst of "Millennial TV" (no offense meant to specific Millennials): each character is less a person than a brand, even the "normal" guy; obviously diverse cast, with POC being the most interesting/likeable; there's lots of calories but no nutrition; and its heavy on editing and stupid, basic emojis.

I have as little idea how this show was pitched as I do how the Narrator was cast: she is literally reading a script...poorly. It's painful to listen to. Even worse is the pacing: they spend 40 minutes introducing us to stereotypes without ever telling the audience what the hell is going on. And don't get me started on the "voice-activated 'AI'".

Don't waste your time: watch Love Island instead.

"🎵Scaunchboro Mall🎵!"

I used to watch this with my son when he was nine (he's 21 now); Mr. Meaty was the perfect blend of gross-out horror, social satire, and worm-lipped puppetry to suit both of us.

While not for everyone, Mr. Meaty most certainly IS for others of us.

What a terrific series: two affable Canadian guys spend nearly two months rafting/row-boating 2500K down the Ganges River. As an armchair traveler, it was fun to catch a glimpse of a totally different world from mine. The fact that the two protagonists, Dustin and Adrian, were both so likeable, relatable, and humble is what really set this apart from other travel docs.

Great job, guys, and thank you for sharing your trip!

Currently streaming as "Girl Lost" on Amazon Prime, this was an abysmal waste of an hour and a half.

All of the 9 and 10 star ratings were posted by users who have ONLY reviewed this dog (and given it a high rating)...such BS. Script was awful, acting was awful; I usually like low-budget indies with unknown actors, but this one sucked.

I watched to the end. In a nutshell, this series took itself way too seriously. It was overly long (by a lot), too complicated, and too talky.

Are people really turning to entertainment to explain spiritual matters? I hope not, but it seems like that was the point of this series: an attempt to explain Big Meaning. Personally, I think it fell flat.

I'm also tired of non-linear story-telling...literary post-modernism is the pits. Overall, this was not my cup of tea.

I am open-minded about the risks of electro-smog, cellphone technology, 5G, and other emerging technologies. I have grave concerns about the potential threats involving the world-wide SmartGrid that blankets every continent that go much further than those only relating to our physical well-being. Being the cynic I am, I suspect far more nefarious-and intentional-motives relating to worldwide surveillance and control...but I digress, since this documentary did nothing to dig into the possible isles and abuses of this emerging technology.

The documentary instead focuses on the possible health impact of wireless technology and offers some solutions-all involving global agencies and increased regulatory/governmental oversight-to mitigate a problem that we're still not sure exists. Though the documentary referenced several studies to support its claims and features a few personal (and highly emotional) anecdotes, it relied heavily on fear mongering and scary "what-if" scenarios. I couldn't help but be reminded of the life-threatening dangers of "dirty electricity" I've been hearing since the 80s, and *those* predictions have yet to pan out. There are many good reasons to object to wireless technology; hanging one's hat on what amounts to a "But what about the children!" argument seems lazy and unimaginative at best. A cynic like me might be inclined to harbor suspicions of purposeful misdirection, or maybe another example of the Hegelian Dialectic put to use? But I only can speculate...

All of this technology comes from the military before it gets passed on to us consumers. We can't get our government to acknowledge (let alone admit) the phenomenon commonly known as "chemtrails" (another technology that may possibly have dire-if unintended-consequences). Wireless technology is no different: they will tell us all we need to know.

Ultimately, the question this documentary poses (but never came out and admit outright) is one of liability. Who will be held ultimately responsible for the harm caused by wireless technology, corporations or government? Good luck with that: government is so tightly entwined with the global corporations that the two can no longer be separated. And look how well petitioning the government turned out in a similar, tangentially-related issue: vaccine injury. (Pharmaceutical companies aren't legally liable for the harm its products do, either. Imagine.)

Finally, the filmmakers propose a "very low" tax might be applied to wireless use (spread equally among consumers, tech manufacturers, and the ISPs/providers, of course). Fair in theory, but in practice it would be the CONSUMERS who would ultimately shoulder the cost, as the hardware, manufacturing, and telecommunications companies would all pass their share of the costs along to us.

TL;dr: Another documentary about an important issue pretending to be fair but hiding a heavy agenda. Look elsewhere for facts.

There is nothing good about this movie (save the acting): not the script, not the subject matter, or the plot, or the characters. And why is the mother calling the boyfriend ("Sherm" for the first 3/4ths of the movie) "Bob" (around the 1:03:57-59 mark)? Really?

My heart is in West Virginia: I love the people, their traditional music and mores, AND, my son's best friend lives in Morgantown.

It's no secret that many of the small cities (and many large ones) that run from coast to coast in America have been decimated by hard drugs, limited work opportunities, and lack of entertainment options.

This documentary is set in a new treatment program, opened by a local doctor/businessman, based on farming and the 12 Steps. Participants stay 6 months, and are then moved to sober living. The film follows the five(?) initial participants through the early months of their recovery.

These sort of services are definitely needed (ideally privately funded), but the service providers sometimes worry about/work harder on the participants' lives than the participants do. (MY definition of "enabling"). Still, they're actually DOING something, and something GOOD.

A completely average psychological thriller in every way. Dylan Sprouse is cute, but not enough to carry the whole movie.

Where was the research? California teachers have great insurance (and family members are all covered), teachers aren't ever just "let go" (there's a very strong teacher's union and something called "due process"), and speaking of: where was the union rep? Come on...half of the women in CA are teachers or public school administrators, and a quarter of the men are. It wouldn't take a deep dive in a research library to find this information out. So lazy.

Even if you can suspend judgment for an hour and a half, don't. This film just isn't good.

This was easily the longest hour and a half of my life, if not the most boring. How this movie garnered 7.2 stars is beyond me.

No plot, no character development, and terrible acting plague this dog. It's hard to say whether the nearly-impenetrable darkness helped or hindered the movie.

The film was flawlessly acted and the characters adequately fleshed out, but the pacing was excruciatingly slow with little to no story arc. I actually like slow dramas, but this was a lot like watching paint dry.

I gave the series a shot out of desperation from lack of anything new to watch, so my expectations were fairly low going in.

Yikes, it's bad. Surprisingly bad. The lead actress is very pretty, but looks alone is clearly not enough. I can't tell if it's her acting or if it's the director's fault, but her "I'm so wide-eyed and curious," bit made my gorge rise. I wanted to poke her with something sharp.

I'd rather watch a "Survivor" rerun than this drivel.

Without realizing it, back in the early '90s, I'd gotten hooked on dark/gritty dramas, usually with some version of an anti-hero; worse, occasionally the show/film would lack even a single character I could, in good conscience, rationalize rooting for. I credit This Is Us for jarring me out of my nihilistic stupor; even after all this time, I hadn't realized how OLD that crap's gotten to be..

This Is Us is a modern family drama told through the lens of multiple characters' perspectives while traveling back and forth through time. This could have left me breathless and confused, but with expert directing, editing and a natively talented eye or two, the multiple narratives traveling through time were woven together so deftly and masterfully that even *I* could follow them.

But it was the LOVE STORY that created the bedrock of the show: the meeting and marriage of Jack and Rebecca. How refreshing it is to see married people who actually like and respect each other! We get to see these two amazing, loving people over time, how they change, how they stay the same, the impact of decisions made long ago, choices made and not made, and if fate might be kind to them and on their three children.

This Is Us is a marvel of storytelling; every single element of the show offers SOMETHING of value for the viewer. Every one of the (main) characters is masterfully developed: each is exquisitely complex, and their interactions with each other is believable and relatable. Each character feels authentic, real, sometimes lovely and other times not lovely, but always LOVEABLE...but flawed, so flawed. (Like all of us, I guess.)

We are finally given a smart, well-paced, well-acted family drama, the likes of which we've really never seen. No stupid men here; no 'child-knows-best'; no big political agenda (thank all that is holy). Just the greatest family drama to ever grace the television. Watch it.