Not bad but - Sharp Objects (2018) Discussion

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Yeah, always the same pattern with these crime dramas. [spoiler]One the first characters the Lead character meets will turn out to be the killer.[/spoiler]

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

and we're the only 2 comments. bad sign or slow start.

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[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

The show is well done but the story is unoriginal. I think they let the cat out of the bag too soon with the obvious suspect/s. I love Wind Gap as a setting. A weird, rural backwater town with a lot of town characters. Has the same vibe as True Detective season 1.

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

I didnt like TD as much as others. It was pretty but standard in every other way.

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[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

TD had a terrible, meandering plot, but the atmosphere set in the first few episodes was interesting and drew me in. Same dark, edgy vibe as Sharp Objects.

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[–] robbie2499 (19) 6 years ago

Maybe we don't know where it's going. The author is known for her twists and turns. I also love the vibe of the town.

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

Maybe. But I didnt say what I did without considering twists, turns, red herrings, etc.

I'm not expecting things to be completely on-the-nose.

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

I liked it...I thought it had the same feel as Big Little Lies, and saw its the same director. The mother has played so many roles,,shes awesome.
Lets see how it unfolds, but so far so good. Her skin is all scarred from the cutting she did..The only words I could make out was Vanish, and April.

Now I have just watched the 2nd episode.. UUUGH stop with the shock value flashbacks every moment. Its overkill. Almost like they plug the images in there when they dont know what to do with the scene.
Also, being purposely vague frequently is tiresome too. They need to get on track. I found it distracting and a bit annoying tonight, because they are better than this. This cheapens the work. It happens too often, like they rely on these flash images to make the show. Its a detriment.

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[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

you have seen the complete series ??

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

Only episode 1 was available to watch. I guess I cant binge the series. It will be shown weekly.

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[–] Capybara29 (10) 6 years ago

Great post -- I couldn't agree more about the quick-edit images/flashbacks/whatever the heck they are. They're not artistic, they're just a cheap, annoying trick. I may not be a professional critic, but I've seen my fair share of films, and there is nothing praiseworthy about throwing together images that go by too quickly to be made out! I suppose the intention is to "disorient" the viewer, but umm, no -- every shot in your film should make sense, should have a point. Throwing together these images super fast so that no one can even make out what they are is a pointless technique that I'd expect to see in a freshman year film student's film, not something on HBO.

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

Glad we are on the same page! I hope they stop that nonsense or I will need Dramamine!

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

I think the idea is to put you in her mind --ie, to have the viewer experience these memories as she does.

When you're daydreaming -- or in a drunken haze -- things pop in and out in a fleeting form.

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[–] letess (1513) 6 years ago

This is a mystery and they are giving you clues - even if they are sudden. This series requires you to be very observant and even a third or fourth viewing may be necessary. It will all come together later on and it is absolutely essential at this point to see these flashbacks. It is a moody Southern piece like the first season of True Detective. There is such a great atmosphere here. It is also revolves around the Southern girl/woman and you can see comparisons to female characters in Tennessee Williams’s stories or even in the movie Beguiled - cloying like the humid surroundings and yet always the perfect and pretty ballerina who survives in twisted ways. The “O” shaped mouth of a doll is probably the reason the dead little girls have their teeth pulled out. These girls are dead dolls who interestingly enough, so far, share the same quality of being a pretty tomboy - a rebel who likes to explore the woods, but not cool enough according to the threesome.

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

Thanks for your imput...I will watch carefully and try not to get dizzy, lol. I like the show..It reminds me of The Sinner.(first season)
Give that a shot if you havent.. I never thought Jessica Biel could act, but boy was I wrong. Dark show. Very good.

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[–] letess (1513) 6 years ago

The flashbacks are so quick and sometimes the lighting is dark and it’s difficult to see or register what you are seeing. But the constant shots of the janitor trolley and the focus on the toilet tank/seat in ep. 2 are answered in ep. 3 - with the time spent when Camille admitted herself to some kind of rehab where her roommate was Alice. Hopefully, the scenes with the shack with porn will be revealed in ep. 4. For some reason, I think this will be the most disturbing.

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

I just watched the 3rd show..... what shack with the porn? I swear I must have missed that.. Also, it took me a minute to realize the rehab scenes were when she was still living in town. She looked exactly the same which threw me off. Again, they flash so fast, it becomes a distraction.

Please tell me about the shack, and also tell me about the father of Natalie..Why is she focusing on him? Is his son the teenage boy with the annoying girlfriend? Why so many references with the pigs? I recall the cop guy getting a pig head to see how hard it was to pull out the teeth. Then they show Amma roller skating to the pig farm, so is there a connection? I appreciate your replies.

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[–] letess (1513) 6 years ago

The shack with porn was in the first episode with a young Camille in the woods taking a dip and young guys running through and aiming gun at her for laughs. She gets out of the water and in her bathing suit gets on a bike and goes by this shack and goes inside. I can’t figure out what’s on the wooden ledge - is it bacon? But there are porn pics on the wall. Patricia Clarkson is the most amazing - in her dressing gown with slipper heels and the cocktail du jour in one hand - love the amaretto sour. And then the pulling out her eyelashes!! Her sappy husband is also fantastic - playing all these romantic songs - French version of Windmills of Your Mind. I actually think the rehab might be present day just before she went down there - a lot of good it did her. Alice will haunt her forever and now we know why she’s paying Led Zeppelin - it was Alice’s. Most disturbing for me is Amma - she’s the dangerous one and to me, not the one in danger. I am worried that Camille might have had some bad experiences as a young girl in that shack. Amma’s comment to “Dickie” that Camille was with all the boys? And then Amma confronting her sister -do you want to hit me?? The boss is just concerned with Camille’s mental health and thinks she is stuck and for her to go forward, she has to confront whatever happened to her in this town. As for as the hogs - it’s cradle a baby pig like a baby vs. is she bringing it to slaughter. There are words sacratched all over the place - on walls, her car, her body - scared, sacred, dirt, dirty, vanish, fix. Natalie’s father is just a outcast. It’s Adora’s connection with him that is a little odd, as well as her connection to both the dead girls. I think that photo of the lady in white is actually Patricia Clarkson.

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

Thank you soooooooooooooo much for all this info...You are very articulate and brought up things I didnt think of.. Can you do that with everything I watch? LOL
I will re read all this again when I return from work and edit my comment later to be more thorough.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

I have two problems here: (1) If you don’t have enough time to see it, it’s not a clue. It’s a tease. And I give the show my full attention. I’m not a phone-addicted millennial dipshit who needs to go on Wiki to read what really happened. (2) If I really like a series (Westworld, GOT, Banshee, Dexter, Counterpart, Ray Donovan et al.), I will watch each episode twice: once the same night it plays, and a second time, a day or two before the next episode, to keep my understanding fresh in my mind. THIS thing, which so far is a bit less than half as good as Big Little Lies (and don’t get me started on the chasm in the difference between the quality of the music choices on BLL and SO) doesn’t come CLOSE to deserving 3 or 4 in-season viewings per episode. What twaddle!

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[–] robbie2499 (19) 6 years ago

I so agree with you on the flash backs. Way too quick for me. It will all fall into place eventually. I get more of a "True Detective" vibe from the show. Patricia Richardson (Adora) is amazing in the role of the mother. How about her husband? Not sure what to make of him or Camile's boss. He is way too invested in her mental health. Thoughts?

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

You are so right about Camiles boss,,, so invested in her.. Maybe she had an incident at work? He seems to feel she needs to resolve past history at home.
Patricia Richardson is so good,,,seen her in many things, always excellent.
You must have watched all 3 episodes now,,,so can you answer any of the questions I posed in the comment above? The shack, The Porn, the pig references. I think I might rewatch from the beginning if ever I find the time.
Glad you found this thread.

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[–] robbie2499 (19) 6 years ago

I' glad I found this thread too and you as well Flower!. I don't think I can be much help. I have watched all three episodes. The wood shed I'm at a loss. It was in the first episode when Camile was a young girl. I could not see the pics all that well but I have a feeling something sinister happened in there. In the first episode Camille is "fresh out of the psyc center. They made it a point to say this. The father of the first girl that died is a bit high strung as he has a couple DUI and an assault charge (?) I believe. His son IS very sensitive; I thought that normal since he lost his little sis. And his girlfriend is clearly nuts. As for Amma, she is almost "stepfordish" with her friends and being the leader. As I said I don't think I was much help! :)

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[–] [email protected] (1354) 6 years ago

Yes you did help alot because I forgot the shed scene in the first episode. And yes the girlfriend is clearly nuts, and very controlling, so I have to watch her closely. Will comment more later as I just saw this, and running to work..Thanks!

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[–] duckofprey (1557) 6 years ago

Didn’t even know this series existed until a little over an hour ago (after watching the premiere of Battle of the Sexes).

I liked ep 1, going to record the series.

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

They gave it the coveted Sunday night slot -- but in July.

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[–] duckofprey (1557) 6 years ago

Hard to believe, but 10 years ago this September True Blood premiered same slot

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

Sept is a much bigger vote of confidence. July is when viewer vacation time begins. Sept is when it ends.

And Alan Ball was coming off 6 Ft Under as well.

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[–] letess (1513) 6 years ago

Not bad but...really really good.

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[–] Jobimfan (95) 6 years ago

I've seen the first few episodes and my take on it so far is, "meh".

I don't mind slow meandering plats, I love Charles Dickens, but this just feels pointless and repetitive. I've seen all of the characters before: the hero with the damaged psyche and dark secrets, the neurotic mother, the rebellious kid sister, the rugged, good looking detective telling the hero to stay out of the investigation. I feel sort of like they went to the murder mystery buffet and stocked up on a bunch of characters and plot points for $8.95.

I"ll keep watching it (I think) but I think that if I forgot to watch it I might not miss it. But then again, maybe it will pick up in a week of two.

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[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

I feel the same for the most part. But it's only 8 eps; I can hang on that long.

The style would be too much to endure if it were longer.

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