This certainly was interesting, and different than I expected. If you didn’t follow this case through the podcast (“Catching the Golden State Killer”) or read McNamara’s book, you might want to familiarize yourself with the story before watching.
The first episode really draws you in, but this focuses more on how the book was written and the life its author. The narrative tries to balance the intensity McNamara put into her research, the effect it had on her life, and reflections from her journal and other experiences. While this is interesting, it wasn’t quite what I’d expected. Some of the narration is really over the top, and almost seems forced rather than genuinely emotional.
However, this definitely is a nice departure from some of the more “blood and guts” type “forensics” shows. Nothing here to glorify except good old fashioned detective work and authorship.
4 out of 5 stars, worth watching. Good change of pace and style for the “true crime” genre, unique insight into research. True Crime nerds will enjoy the excerpts with Paul Holes.
cloroxbleach's comments
LOL and yet lefties continue to vote in the same do nothing dems for decades. Dems care for nothing but power. They will crush the U.S. economically for it without blinking an eye.
I have plenty of criticism for the so-called “left” as well. It shouldn’t be this side or that, the country is simply too large and diverse for there to be only 2 options. Precisely why I was saying just because you don’t like one candidate doesn’t mean you like the other. I’d say that historically there’s been some decisions made by Repub presidents that are still having really negative affects on the country—- just look at how well “trickle down economics” works.
Any politician for the most part “cares for nothing but power”. That’s sort of the nature of the game. But in particular we have a president who can’t even be bothered to go on tv often and speak to “his” people, he does it through f/cking twitter. He clearly only wanted the presidency to say he was president, to have that power, and to buddy up to people like Putin. We’re all disposable trash to him, he’s never had to live like an average person and he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about any of us. The last time we had a democrat prez, he was thwarted at every turn when trying to “do something” and trying to clean up the mess left behind from Lil Bush. We all could’ve been given completely free healthcare had the bill not gotten mutilated in process (which ended up screwing over some small biz owners, etc). It’s just not as simple as Dems vs Reps.
What a horrible story. The war on drugs has done basically nothing but make money for the government and ruin people’s lives. This woman should’ve never been in jail to begin with.
Just for kicks I checked out a random episode. This show is very cute, and I think it’s good for kids from anywhere to learn about the unique and beautiful aspects of Indian culture.
it is hilarious to watch leftist college babies criticize our billionaire president… you mad bro? lol you aint gettin rich on no gender studies degree…
you don’t have to be a leftist to disapprove of Trump’s propaganda and lack of business skills. He certainly didn’t get rich through hard work, being a good business person, or being highly educated. His “small loan of a million dollars” definitely gave him a step ahead that many people simply would never have. He doesn’t value the lives of republican americans anymore than democrats. He’s very detached from the lives of average people regardless of political orientation.
In a small town like this, everybody knows everything about everyone, making the authorities and community as a whole just as much to blame for this crime as the perpetrators themselves. The saddest part of this is how the police, teachers and child services had the ability to help these kids and break the cycle from repeating itself from one generation to the next, but although everyone knew the type of people this family was, nobody stopped it.
People might be quick to judge these families as “uneducated, poor, white trash”, but their social and financial situations have nothing to do with it. The real culprit was the abuse throughout each generation and the overall dysfunctional upbringing, where abuse and criminal activities were condoned and even encouraged at a young, impressionable age when children look up to the adults in their lives as not only examples, but often as “knowing everything”.
I agree with you 100%. Vera Jo’s life could’ve been saved, and her child could’ve been easily spared a traumatic beginning to her young life. Seems like the local police were just sick of dealing with the constant drama and other BS from the Brooks family in general. It’s worth pointing out that the people working at the Salvation Army (ACROSS THE STREET) could’ve probably done more too, but it’s likely they weren’t really trained to deal with such intense domestic violence. Above all the police failed her, every step of the way, even at her bitter end.
Wow, this was even more intense than I’d anticipated. For some reason, I’d expected this to be a cold case story, just kinda following the detectives and trying to make sense of whatever available pieces. Instead it’s so much more. For starters, I’m quite familiar with the location, having it hit close to home made it even more eerie.
Poor Vera Jo never did really get the justice she deserved. It’s especially unsettling to watch as there were SO many people who knew about just how deeply terrible her living situation was, yet for the most part, no one did much to stop it. Even the few times relatives, neighbors, other community members noticed that she had a black eye or was behaving like a traumatized person would—- nothing was done.
Most especially disgusting is the fact that the police knew she was a vulnerable, disabled adult yet essentially used that against her. People took advantage of Vera Jo left and right, and the few that did genuinely care for her feared the monstrous, violent family she lived with.
This is definitely one for serious true crime fans only, and still isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a deeply sick and depraved story. My heart goes out to her mum, sisters, friends and other people who loved her. Particularly, her little daughter.
Without giving away any spoilers: Her daughter fortunately has been placed and adopted by others. Let’s hope she gets a fresh start, a new life with a loving family. 5/5 stars, definitely worth a watch, gruesome as it may be.
It’s too bad there aren’t links for this, it’s a fantastic (and extremely frustrating) documentary.
Laura Albert managed to write several rather good, dark, twisted novels. For whatever reason, she felt the need to promote them as nonfiction, and created a living character (rather than just a pseudonym) to match. Somehow with a stand-in actor in a ridiculously obvious disguise, she managed to fool many people in the celebrity and literary world that JT Leroy actually existed, the books were based on various elements of his tragic, fvcked up life.
So this delves deeper into her own reasons why she did this. She reveals herself to be a deeply insecure woman with a bizarre fascination with little boys being abused by (specifically) gay men. (Just my opinion but mad pedo vibes here). Her lack of self-awareness and narcissism is astounding. You get the impression she feels she’s doing a great job and that now people will understand why she felt the need to act out this completely loony plot. Holy Borderline Personality Disorder, batman!
This film is a weird one, with lots of twists and turns. Seeing the author, contrasted with her alter-ego (performed by her friend) in action casts certain elements of her books in a different light entirely. There’s so many hilariously cringey, odd moments here, and plenty of insight into the detached, weird world of celebrities.
Hopefully links will show up (I’ll try), because how often do you see a film about a literary hoax?
This was an intensely terse, bitter film, but definitely worth the watch if you are interested in the experiences of many Jehovah’s Witnesses. I had a JW classmate once and felt so sad seeing him have to leave to sit in the hall quietly while everyone else got a cupcake for another kid’s birthday. He rarely spoke although he was very nice, but it just seemed that he was withdrawn and scared. I remember it being explained to me that just as I had the right to refuse to say ‘under god’ during the pledge, he was not doing so because of his religion. I’m detailing this because I always wondered what his homelife was like—- his parents had very strict rules, and they had an odd manner of dressing (JW look much more average now). This film gives a lot of insight that many JW’s apparently can relate to, and with careful, poised performances from all characters, it sheds light on what is a very dark, controlling cult.
If you are impatient, or not curious about unusual religions, you might find this boring. However, each character is extremely realistic. One notable scene features the two sisters ‘pioneering’ (going door-to-door) and attempting to promote the Watchtower in broken Urdu to a somewhat annoyed-looking man. You really feel the intense discomfort on behalf of both the sisters and the “potential” convert. Several scenes demonstrate the immense pressure put on the girls and their mother to just simply never ask questions and do as they’re told.
Siobhan Fennern delivers a powerful performance as the mother. She finds herself in an absolutely stifling predicament— her older daughter has not only taken an interest in higher education (!) but has also fallen pregnant by a man who is neither a JW or interested in becoming one. Elders demand she shun her daughter until they deem otherwise, placing many ridiculous restrictions on their relationship that they seem to make up simply as they go along (while claiming it to be “under the direction of Jehovah”).
While perhaps this may not be the experience of every JW, many comments can be found from ex-members who strongly relate to this film. This is a deep look into how a high-pressure religious community permeates and warps every aspect of a person’s life, and the devastating effects shunning (“disfellowshipping”) can have on a family.
At first, I was a little confused by the seemingly abruptness of the ending, but upon thinking about it before writing this review I think that it was quite searing and appropriate.
Definitely a quality drama, this could’ve been an amazing miniseries, but does well as a stand-alone film.
It’s a shame there aren’t links available. I will try to hunt down one or upload my own if i can figure out how, for this is a film I think a lot of people should see. It’s got an odd…(dare i say) nearly “whimsical”, maybe (?) element to it, which I think is mostly an expression of the protagonist’s personality IRL (or perhaps, his personality as a kid/young man). This is quite different than most WWII films, especially ones featuring ordinary people, rather than the more typical ‘epic war drama’. Although it does have plenty of that, it also explores the stress and downright absurdity caused by the Nazi regime. The main ‘character’ is based on a real person, and his story (even though this is a dramatization, ofc), absolutely deserves to be heard and remembered. 8/10 **
This is a very different kind of horror movie. I felt a lot of references/homages to old directors like Hitchcock, there were many scenes that reminded me of “Vertigo” and “The Birds”. This film maintains a sense of dread and anxiety throughout, enriched with excellent noir-like high contrast lighting. There’s a high level of subtlety here—-it’s more of a slow burn, which it seems a lot of people don’t have the patience for. Although IMO it was a bit too long, and some elements were a bit less coherent than they could’ve been. If the storytelling had been a bit tighter, it would’ve been easier to understand. That said, it’s not a movie for people who expect a fast-paced, blunt, typical horror film. All too often, recent horror films seem to explain each nuance step-by-step, beating you over the head with “THIS IS THE PART THAT IS A METAPHOR, AND IT MEANS/SYMBOLIZES THIS AND THAT” (looking at you, “the babadook”—-a dumpster fire that could’ve easily been good). This movie doesn’t do that, period. It’s certainly artistic, strange and overflowing with anxious energy.
That said, I think the main character (the mum) could’ve had their backstory explained a little better, and the lead-up to the ending was a bit…muddled. The finale reminded me a lot of how “the Birds” ends, if you’ve seen that.
7/10 would recommend.
This is a unique, obscure animation. Lots of great painted backgrounds, a unique animation style, and loads of double entendres. The musical bits are pretty weak, some of the voice acting isn’t the best but most of it is quite good. Overall an interesting little find.
If you’re a stoner and/or a cat lover, Key & Peele have made a movie for you… This joint is hilarious. My only complaint is that I wish the kitten would’ve been featured a bit more, bc damn it’s a cute cat.
I finished this and didn’t really see what all the hype was about. The acting is decent, there’s some very beautiful shots…but the story is familiar and somewhat boring. The only ‘interesting’ point to bump up the plot is the fact that the main character takes an interest in an older man, and I’m unsure how this was supposed to be interpreted. While i doubt the commenter below actually watched the film, there are plenty of things that make this relationship seem creepy/inappropriate rather than…whatever the director was going for. Overall I found this one somewhat dull.
Wow, I remember seeing this on TV years ago. If you want a nice, light-hearted and admittedly silly little documentary to watch on a rainy afternoon, this is a good choice. Go around the USA and see average people in ordinary little diners and shops talk about their ‘famous sandwiches’. It’s endearing, chill and not depressing—- sometimes hard to come by in the documentary genre.