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amara-campbell
Reviews
Grey's Anatomy: Give a Little Bit (2020)
Medicine over intuition
This episode lays bare the truth that Greys often deftly avoids, when it comes down to it a doctor will revert to textbook knowledge over intuition.
DeLuca is a huge uncovered nerve, he feels everything, he senses everything, there's no wall between him and others. That extent of intuition is incredibly painful and it can provoke big emotions. So when he sees the truth in front of him - a woman trafficking a child, never letting her answer, acting overtly controlling- he reacts appropriately, but to medical professionals his reaction seems too big.
On the heels of walking to pick up a liver in a blizzard without wearing gloves, after days without sleep and incredibly poor judgement I can see the writers rationalising the judgement that DeLuca is off kilter. Each event framed separately and without the history of his father's mental illness, it wouldn't necessarily be the same.
There's a lot going on in this episode but he is the main storyline and watching them ignore him and his instincts is gut wrenching. How do you tell people you love you're not crazy when they're all treating you like you're crazy?
Later we know how, but in this episode, it's fury making.
Two Weeks to Live (2020)
Patriot fans, this one is for you.
I hurt myself pretty badly in a fall, that might seem irrelevant... however this show made me laugh so hard, snort out loud -hurt myself badly- laugh. And I am okay with that, because it is so worth it.
The premise is clever and it IS the storyline, a sheltered survivalist (think Hannah) meets two normal, run of the mill blokes who couldn't fight nor (problem solve) their way out of wet paper bag. They inadvertently take/send her on a violent escapade.
Maisie Williams is brilliant and the brothers (Rizwand and Modak) are great at playing the straight men. The contrast of their "normal" life vs hers forces us to see the overly processed world, excessive consumption and overwhelming choices there are in all our digital consumption. And how we rely on it too much, whilst her life of isolation is so extreme and detached from reality that whilst she's a gifted survivalist, her real world naivety while disarming is mind boggling.
Hilarity ensues as these two worlds clash. It's belly laugh funny. But it is a specific type of funny, it's satirical, clever, dark and twisty.
I would absolutely recommend it. More than once.
Echoes (2022)
When editing/producing/directing (?) fails
The acting is great, the characters are believable, but the editing didn't work. The scenes that needed build up tension in the musical score didn't have it, the sound effects were often weird and mismatched.
Maybe it was directoral failure? Too many producers or voices influencing the outcome? Regardless what could have been a taught tension filled psychological thriller fell flat and was confounding.
This in the hands of someone with clearer vision could have been really well done.
The Republic of Sarah (2021)
This is easily 8 stars when Walker is 1 star
I find the reviews so confounding. Maybe it's a USA thing? Elsewhere in the world the story is engaging, familiar and charming.
Admittedly this is no Homeland, but it held my attention, while Walker (as an example -which was tenewed) made me want to headbutt a wall.
We don't watch the CW for intensely intellectual shows, but this hit a sweet spot. Also "woke" should be banned from reviews, the use of the term is lazy.
Any country ruled by the Queen has to vote for independence, that is many, many countries colonised the English invaders.
Anyway, The Republic of Sarah is interesting and engaging. And like any show you're supposed to suspend disbelief and enjoy, not nit pick.
I hope no one believed there were actual vampires, hunters, werewolves etc while watching The Vampire Diaries or a homicidal teenager while watching Pretty Little Liars? Just enjoy it.
L.A.'s Finest (2019)
Light & cheesy, exactly what we need right now
In any other moment in time I wouldn't really bother with a show like this, but right now we need easy to digest stuffy. Light and cheesy is my choice when the world is stressful. I have no energy for too much darkness.
It is like the worst acting of Transformers, but you still watch for the action, chemistry and laughs. You don't need a degree to understand it but I appreciate it so much right now.
Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba are funny together. I appreciate the stunts too.
Pulse (2017)
So real it hurts and haunts
Having been in hospital more than I would like, this show is a brilliant and thoughtful view of both the patient and the doctor's experience.
It should be renewed. It strikes at the heart of our healthcare system in all its glory and failures.
Well written and thoughtful it's disappointing that this promising cast and the people behind the show were not given more time to grow their audience.
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair (2018)
10 hours I will never get back
This is terrible. I can see the potential and where they were going but the budget clearly didn't accommodate the grand vision that this had. The dialogue is bad, so many plot points are over stuffed in that should have been cut to make it clean and the last episode ran like they just found out that there was no more time so they stuffed too much in.
Actors with great scope and depth are two dimensional due to wishy washy direction/editing/production. The camera direction is attempting film noir but is either not fully committed or angled badly then edited even more badly. The makeup/prosthetics for aging I am guessing is underfunded because the skill is there but budget and time perhaps not leaving actors looking very obviously like they have prosthetics/makeup on which yanks you out of the scenes.
This had the potential of a piece like The Affair but if The Affair is Michelin Star this is McDonald's. I wanted to love it. It had a p promising start but then it went badly sideways.