CIMPLE – A Curious Introvert's Musings & Photos about Life and Enjoyment

I hit a crossroad this week in my decision to blog about books and movies I enjoy because I experienced two weeks of disappointments in watching and reading recent releases of TV shows, books and a movie from actors and authors I have read and watched for years.  The crossroad is the feeling of disloyalty I experienced when contemplating writing about my reaction to The Stranger, Memory Man, Bloodline, Grace and Frankie, and 5 Flights Up and trying to find a way to write a review without saying I really did not enjoy my favorite actors and authors latest efforts.  I am one of those people who love watching movie trailers as much as movies and will wait with anticipation for my favorite actors and actresses to have new movies released and eagerly await the release of new novels from my favorite authors.  Imagine my surprise and feelings of disloyalty when new novels from David Baldacci and Harlan Coben were released and I struggled to finish both, that after a month I still have watched only half of the new Netflix series Bloodline starring one of my favorites Kyle Chandler, that after watching the first episode of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, I have not had the desire to start the second episode, and my final disappointment of the week was watching two of my favorite actors, Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman, in the movie 5 Flights Up.  I have watched many bad movies and read books I did not care for, but usually if they star actors I enjoy or are authors I read regularly, my response is usually that the movie or book was still worth it.  Well, that was not my reaction these last two weeks and as I write this I am still trying to find a way to not feel disloyal and give a positive negative review.  As a result of not being a fan of the following books, TV shows and movie, I did not have the enthusiasm for a proper review and the following is more reaction then review.  Let’s see how it goes.  I often like Harlan Coben’s novels even though I am not a dedicated reader of his novels, but I have to say that his new release, The Stranger, failed to provide me with a character I cared about or a story to help me overlook that fact (very negative review).  As for Memory Man by David Baldacci, I struggled with the story and the main character and spent many pages wishing the author would have continued The Camel Club Series, but by the end I was willing to give Amos Decker, Alex Jamison, and Special Agent Ross Bogart another shot if Baldacci continued the series (optimistically negative review).  The acting in Bloodline is excellent, but after the exhausting family dynamics I found myself wanting to yell at Kyle Chandler that his new family and job are too depressing and to run back to football, Connie Britton and to the world of “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t loose” in Friday Night Lights (positive review for Kyle Chander, negative review for the depressing feel of the show).  As for Grace and Frankie, I thought that because Jane Fonda was very good in This Is Where I Leave You, one of my favorite films of 2014, that the new series could be worth watching, but again I found myself wanting to yell at Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda to run back to the 80s when life was simpler and funnier in their film Nine to Five (negative review all the way around).  For my final review betrayal, as much as I adore Diane Keaton and could listen to Morgan Freeman for hours, I really have no idea, besides the appeal of Keaton and Freeman, of what could possibly be appealing about 5 Flights Up.  The storylines about the New York real estate market, their sick dog Dorothy, the suspected terrorist on the loose and the eclectic group of house hunters led me to want to yell at Diane Keaton to grab Morgan Freeman and Dorothy, run back to the gorgeous Hampton’s home from Something’s Gotta Give, leave the city behind, be content to walk Dorothy along the beach and watch March of the Penguins instead of the march of the hipsters (negative with a few positive vibes review).