The Staircase (2004 - 2018)**

Originally, I started watching The Staircase because I woke up way too early one morning, so I got through episodes 1 - 6 while I was half asleep! A few weeks later, my best friend started talking about a new show he was fixin' to watch and it sounded familiar. I soon realized he was talking about The Staircase! After that conversation, I re-watched episode 2 and saw so much that I must have slept through during the first viewing, including the fact that these approximately 50 minute episodes were entirely too long and could use some better storyline guidance including cutting some excessively long scenes and adding more explanatory text or narration. Sophie Gilbert summarizes this up perfectly in her article about the show by noting a “distinct feeling of passivity” on the director's part.  

The basic story of The Staircase is rather interesting: Michael Peterson is accused of beating his wife and pushing her down some stairs to her death. He claims she fell because she was drunk and stoned on Valium. The show is a documentary following the preparation and litigation of the defense's case. Of course there were several reveals. Now I am one for a good crime mystery, but The Staircase is just executed in an uninteresting way and maybe more importantly, it was too long. Cut! Cut! Cut!

THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. READ AT THE PERIL OF YOUR OWN SURPRISE!

I thought I was done with this review and I wasn't going to finish watching the show, but I kept on for some reason (TV addiction) and I'm kind of glad I did because episodes 9 – 13 were much better than 1 – 8. It was as if the crew took the time after Peterson was convicted of murder to learn how to make a good documentary. Then they applied that knowledge to the episodes that followed the re-opening of the case and his release from prison.

Overall, I found this series to be closer to Not Fun on the scale and I'd give it two stars** because I watched the whole series, but I don't ever want to watch it again.

If you found this case intriguing, also check out this article: 9 Interesting Things About Kathleen and Michael Peterson That Were Left Out of “The Staircase.” https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a21562822/did-michael-peterson-kill-kathleen-peterson-the-staircase-debt-money-motive/

I watched The Staircase on Netflix. 

Movie: Beatriz at Dinner**

Photo by Dante

Beatriz at Dinner is an unhurried, character-focused, bleak drama about a holistic health
practitioner who is invited to stay for her employer’s business dinner because her car broke down at the employer’s house. I watched it on Amazon.

My reaction during the movie:
I knew what was going to happen as soon as she tried to start her car. The whole time my stomach is just wrenching. I keep saying Why? Why did you invite her to dinner? Why did she decide to stay? Why did she cut off of the maitre’d? Why is she still drinking? Why did they not call AAA? Why did she leave the bedroom? What the hell?!
My thoughts after:
Beatriz At Dinner made me think of Mother, which was completely unrealistic, yet a commentary on realistic society. Whereas BAD (Yeah. It does spell bad) is completely realistic and trying to explore social classes and cultural bias, but is unable to fulfill that intended subject matter because there is not one likable character in this movie, not even the main character. BAD turned out to be a movie about what not to do. Do not NOT take care of your car. Do not invite a friendly service person to your very important business dinner. Do not cut off the maitre’d announcing the menu. Do not insult and throw a phone at one of the invited guests.
I found that Beatriz spent so much time trying to be this pure, vegan, healing, soulful person, that she didn’t realize how selfish she was acting during the dinner and if this movie was any indication, maybe throughout her life. She violated people’s space by giving everyone a full-body hug. She was rude to the main guest at dinner. She was inconsiderate of her  so-called-friend, who invited her to stay.
I listened to the Filmweek segment about this movie and I’m apparently way off from the critics. They thought this film was great and the acting by John Lithgow and Salma Hayek was amazing. Apparently, they saw it right after the inauguration of Donald Trump, so they though Lithgow’s character was quite similar and the movie was an “allegory of the Trump era.” It seems like they saw Beatriz as a representative for the downtrodden, which again, I would have agreed with if she was only likable. I saw one trailer that made her look as intrusive as the Brady Bunch’s Alice. Then I saw another trailer that made John Lithgow’s character to be the embodiment of evil.
I also noticed two actors from the horrible, yet addictive show, Transparent in this movie. A show about a family full of unlikeable people.
It turns out the director and writer have worked together twice before. I only know about The Good Girl (2002) that okay movie with Jennifer Anniston and Jake Gyllenhaal and Enlightened, which I never watched on HBO.
On the Nitpix scale, this movie falls into the Not Fun zone. On my scale it gets two stars**.
Next day addendum: From her behavior it is clear that Beatriz was experiencing a mental breakdown that started during the massage scene. If you can relate to Beatriz and need to talk to someone, please call the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):
800-950-NAMI, Mon - Fri 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST or find help in a crisis by texting NAMI to 741741.

Rating Scales Collide!

So it has been a long time since I posted a review to TSIMD. Frankly, it's been a long while since I've posted to any of my blogs. One of the excuses I kept telling myself was I needed a better rating scale.

Well, I stumbled upon a movie rating scale that made so much sense to me that I decided to "liberate" it, as I have learned to call borrowing. Thank you Nitpix (Click to see the video and FF to 1:32).

Movies are either fun, or not fun. How much more simple can it be? Some movies are so bad that they are good. Fun. Some movies are awesome. Fun. Some movies are just bland, unoriginal or yank you right out of the rabbit hole. Not fun. It might only make sense to me, but check out the scale below, which has the Nitpix scale juxtaposed with my own numerical scale. Also, check the blog and see that almost one year ago in 2017,  I revamped the numerical scale! Something about June makes me want to rate things. Hmmm…

Click to enlarge