TV Show Review - Apple Cider Vinegar (Limited Series)

Season: Limited Series
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Number of episodes: 6
Year: 2025
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Aisha Dee, Mark Coles Smith, Tilda Cobham-Herbey, Chai Hansen, Matt Nable, Ashley Zukerman

Description: The life of wellness guru Belle Guru (Kaitlyn Dever), who had a large social media following, where she pretended she pretended to be suffering from cancer but keeping the disease under control using self-are therapies. She confesses that none of it was true.

Review: The Australian series “Apple Cider Vinegar” is loosely based on the true story of wellness influencer Belle Gibson, who was exposed by two journalists in 2015. Among other things, she led her followers to believe that she had cured her brain tumor with healthy eating, exercise and holistic medicine.

Every episode starts with a disclaimer, that Belle Gibson did snot ger paid for this telling of her story. And the rise and fall of Belle Gibson starts, where a true story is told, based on a lie.

On Instagram, everything seems perfect. After roughly fifteen years, the app still hasn’t lost that distorted view of the world. Meanwhile, influencers are under strict scrutiny, but that hasn’t always been the case. Belle Gibson’s story takes the cake. Australian Belle Gibson was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 20. Fortunately, she is not sitting back and, like her great role model Milla, decides to take a different approach. No surgeries, no hospitals and no chemo, but healthy juices, vegan food and lots of exercise. That, according to Belle, is the cure for cancer. She shares all her findings with thousands of followers on Instagram, develops the app The Whole Pantry and is writing a cookbook. It sounds too good to be true, cure cancer with a nutritious diet. And that’s because it is. Where Milla is actually going through cancer, believing she can beat it by living a healthier life. Belle made it all up, just for some attention. And the whole world fell for it. Until her lies were exposed by journalists.

“Apple Cider Vinegar” tells a lot. It deals with Belle’s mental problems, the rivalry she has with Milla, the research the journalists try to do to expose the influencer, and with the story of Lucy, who has breast cancer, it also deals with a lot with the impact this disease actually has. Milla and Lucy are fictional, Belle is real. And even though the stories of Milla and Lucy are interesting, the story of Belle would have been enough.

Kaitlyn Dever does a wonderful job as Belle. It’s very easy to portray belle as an evil woman with an attention disorder. Dever doesn’t do that. She gives Belle depth and humanity, but at the same time she makes clear that the only one Belle really cares about is herself. This series wasn’t made to feel sympathy for Belle.

Although the series often shoors off in all sorts of direction, Kaitlyn Dever provides a clear focus for her character. A story so crazy, that’s you almost wouldn’t believe was true, if you didn’t know it.

Movie Review - Good Grief

Director: Dan levy
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Himish Patel, Luke Evans, Celia Imrie, David Bradley, Kaitlyn Dever, Arnaud Valois
 
Description: When his husband (Luke Evans) unexpectedly dies, Marc’s (Dan Levy) world shatters, sending him and his two best friends (Himesh Patel, Ruth Negga) on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face.

Review: A cozy Christmas party with friends turns into a tragedy when Marc’s husband Oliver is killed in a car accident. Slowly trying to come to terms with the loss of Oliver, he is supported in this by his two best friends, Sophie and Thomas. But after a year, Marc discovers that Oliver had met someone else and was secretly renting an apartment in paris. Looking for answers, he takes Sophie and Thomas to Paris.

Marc’s grieving process is the focus, but you don’t spen an hour and a half watching a sad character. He is also angry with Oliver, and because the widower himself has told some lies, the friendship with Sophie and Thomas comes under pressure. Because friendship is such an important part of “Good Grief”, it never becomes a depressing film and story remains very hopeful.

Dan Levy, Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel have a fine chemistry and as a result it seems as if they have known each other for years. The mutual banter between the friends also keeps the film lighthearted and in the sharp dialogue you can see that Levy, who also wrote and directed the film, is a comedian. But he understands that “Good Grief” is a serious drama and never lets the humor dominate. There is a good balance.

I expected this movie to have more enthusiastic reviews, I really loved this movie. I loved Dan Levy. And I hope he will star in more movies that he wrote and directed himself.

Rating: 4/ 5

TV Show Review - Dopesick (Mini Series)

Season: Mini Series
Genre: Drama
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2021
Starring: Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Dever, Rosario Dawson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Peter Sarsgaard, Will Poulter, John Hoogenakker, Will Chase, Mare Winningham, Ray McKinnon

Description: The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community to the hallways of the DEA.

Review: When Purdue Pharma introduced its new painkiller OxyContin in the US, the opiate was touted as non-addictive. The result was an epidemic of drug abuse that has destroyed tens of thousand of lives since the late 1990s. “Dopesick” charts the epidemic from different perspective.

For people with chronic pain, OxyContin seemed like a panacea: an effective painkiller that gradually absorbed into the body throughout the day, all without the drawback of habitation or addiction. The pills caught on eagerly, and for patients who still felt pain came pills with the double dose. And then pills with fourfold dose, eightfold dose, and so on. Now the drug is used in the US by eleven million people who have no pain symptoms at all, but are addicted to it.

The question, of course, is how on earth doctors, pharmacists and regulators could let this happen. The eight-part series “Dopesick” tries to answer that question, which is not easy. The creators portray the history through the Sackler family (owners of Purdue Pharma) and the sales representatives who convince doctors to prescribe the pills. In addition, we see the doctors and their patients, the cops who see how addiction in turn leads to crime and the drug enforcement agency DEA doing everything in its power to take down Purdue.

What makes “Dopesick” so brilliant is on the one hand the incredible but true story, and on the other the human way it is told. We are introduced to Samuel Finnix, played excellently by Michael Keaton. He is a family doctor in a mining town who initially gets great results with OxyContin, but then sees how addiction destroys lives and families. Betsy Mallum, played convincingly by Kaitlyn Dever, is one of his patients who slips into an existence as a junkie because of the OxyContin. Both actors shine in their performances and Keaton won an Emmy for his role.

Will Poulter also plays one of the better roles, as the smooth-talking salesmen Billy Cutler, who at first picks up fantastic bonuses, but then slowly  falls into conscience. This does not bother Richard Sackler (Michal Stuhlbarg): as boss of Purdie Pharma, he sees the billions pouring in. Stuhlbarg manages to portray Sackler as an emotionless businessman only wanting more. Furthermore, Peter Sarsgaard, John Hoogenakker and Rosario Dawson, among others, play some of the driven agents who want to take the pills of the market. The good fleshing out of all these characters keeps the series from becoming a documentary.

Based on Beth Macy’s book of the same name, the creators of “Dopesick” so not tell the story neatly in chronological order but jump back and forth in time. And it actually helps to see the big picture and connections without confusion.

While watching “Dopesick” you will most definitely feel many emotions and the one most presence is anger. As in how so many people could be so greedy and corrupt to allow this drama of unprecedented magnitude to happen. We never really get an answer to that, which makes it even more frustrating. But “Dopesick” is one of the most intense and realistic mini series based on true events I have seen in a long time. I loved it.

Movie Reviews - Booksmart

Director: Olivia Wilde
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Diana Silvers, Billy Lourd

Description: On the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night.

Review: Molly and Amy are not popular at their high school, but they really don’t care about that. The two girls can be found in libraries in the weekends and never at their classmates’ parties. But that’s okay, because in the end they will be the ones going to prestige colleges. When Molly finds out that even their classmates, that don’t care about school at all and party all the time, also managed to get into those schools. And they have let high school pass by like that, without having all the fun. Their plan is to catch up on what they missed out on all those years, but they only have one night to do it in.
“Booksmart” is the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde and it’s an interesting choice for the actress to start with this kind of movie. The genre of high school comedy has, since “Superbad”, not brought us a lot of refreshing movies. And looking at just the plot, “Booksmart” looks like another one of these unforgettable films. But luckily for us, it’s a wonderful film that measures up to “Superbad”. “Booksmart” is clever, innovative, funny and a film with a lot of heart. We don’t only have Olivia Wilde to thank for that, but also the screenplay and cast.
To start with the first: the excellent writing brings dynamic between the two main characters and make it look natural and credible. The dialogues are smart, fast and hilarious. And it constantly avoids expectations and conventions.
The stars f the film are the duo Amy and Molly, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. Their chemistry is strong, sympathetic and believable. It’s fun to take the trip with them on this crazy night.
Within the genre of the teen comedy, “Booksmart” is a true gem. A hilarious cast and great writing make sure for a film that will speak to a broader audience. An excellent debut for director Olivia Wilde.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

TV Show Review - Unbelievable (Limited Series)

Season: Limited Series
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2019
Starring: Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, Kaitlyn Dever

Description: Based on the true story of Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever), a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped, and the two female detectives (Toni Collette, Merrit Weaver) who followed the path to the truth.

Review: “Unbelievable” is a dramatized version of a true story and inspired y the essay “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” that won a Pullitzer prize in 2015. In the essay the story of Marie Adler is told, a young woman being accused of lying about her rape. And how two detectives helped her and other victims in an unbelievable way.
“Unbelievable” starts with eighteen year old Marie Adler, who has been in a world of pain since she was three. Marie isn’t your average cheery and joyful teenager, that burst of energy and laughter. Adler is troubled and not just a little bit. When she is attacked and raped in her own home, the misery becomes even worse. But when nobody believes her, Marie feels like nothing in her life can ever be good.
From the first moment you meet Marie, you feel the deepest of empathy. Two cops who think they no better, they will anger you as a viewer. You get angry at the men and at the system. But two self-assured police women team up to find the serial rapist. Grace Rasmussen and Karen Duvall are total opposites, but they have one thing in common: they are extremely driven.
As a viewer, you are taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Anger and disbelief are first, but also sorrow, pain and relief pass by. The Netflix series tells the story without any prejudices. It is as it is. But the images of the rape make it painful that a woman, whatever woman, will never lie about something like this. Thank goodness for Marie there still are good people, like Rasmussen and Duvall, who form a great team and do everything to find the truth.
“Unbelievable” also shows what the victims go through and what mess they are left in after the fact. The series does this without sensation or judgement. The pain and sorrow that the victims go through speak for themselves. That makes it extra painful that some people still look at those crimes and its victims with so much disbelief. Women would not lie about such an act and the show also makes clear that they will never feel safe again.
The cast is great and the direction as well. The story is never told as a sensation. It’s a sad story about the search for justice and to rediscover hope and trust in mankind. This drama series is definitely one to put on your must-see list.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 146: Short Term 12

Director: Destin Cretton

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 96 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Bearitz, Rami Malek, Alex Calloway, Kevin Hernandez, Lydia Du Veaux, Keith Stanfield, Frantz Turner, Diana Maria Riva, Harold Cannon, Silvia Curiel, Melora Walters, Bran’dee Allen, Danny Roper, Elyssa Gutierrez, Garryson Zamora, Michael Marto, Patricia Barrett, Tanya Marie A. Bitanga, Zoe Wilkens, Angel Amaral

Description: A 20-something supervising staff member (Brie Larson)of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend (John Gallagher Jr.).

Review: Grace (Brie Larson) works in a shelter for teens. Short Term 12, which is the name of the shelter, is a safe haven for the teens as well as for Grace. Grace lives for the young adults and takes care of them with enthusiasm and heart. But she is also haunted by an awful past. When Grace finds out she is pregnant and a new girl enters the shelter, it brings her back to her own past. Like the teens, Grace has to face it.

“Short Term 12” feels so real. The characters are realistic and in a short period of time director Destin Cretton lets us get to know the main characters very well. The acting is very natural and convincing, both the adults as the teens.

It’s amazing that this is the directorial debut for Cretton and actress Brie Larson is on her way up. “Short Term 12” is an overlooked film and it should get more praise. For a small Indie film, “Short Term 12” can easily outshine many big blockbusters. I loved this movie!

Rating: 5/ 5