WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
sensorshot
This is the TV equivalent of being abused by a trusted relative. You don't believe that they could do you any harm and are too naive to suspect their psychological tricks. You just believe that this is the way things should be done and that there is something wrong with you for not enjoying it.I ended up feeling that my trust in HBO had been chronically abused.It's particularly ironic that this followed the finale of the Sopranos because many people felt they were cheated with that ending.Maybe in a 1,000 years people will review top quality HBO as the eras "BC" - before crap and "JC" - John from Cincinnati.The big downside is that I never trusted HBO again for fear they are dumping more pretentious crap on me . To this day my wife and I use the phrase, "the Zero and Ones in Cass's camera" as a metaphor for hinting how bad a show is.awful.oh did I say it was awful?
hemiram
What a mess this thing was. Reminds me of Green Acres in an odd way, except nobody is really having a good time, and it wasn't funny. Ed O'Neil was the onlygood character on it, and he was basically doing Al Bundy with birds.Milch himself seems to be embarrassed by it in some interviews I've seen, and rightly so. I always wonder how does a train wreck of a series like this get the green light to go on in the first place? And comparing this mess to a great show like Deadwood is just hilarious. Is this REALLY the best that HBO could come up with? I doubt it, they just wanted to go weird for weird's sake. Weird is sometimes good, but usually, it's BAD, and this show was VERY VERY BAD.
loud_silence26
"John from Cincinnati" was a very misunderstood show, imo. I think there is a lot of misdirected anger towards the show because of the ill-conceived notion that the other Milch show "Deadwood" was canceled in favor of this new one. If people raised their angry blinders and saw this show for what it is, I think there would be more fans of it rather than hurt and dejected fans of "Deadwood" cursing JFC's existence like an older sibling curses it's younger one.Unfortunately, I did not have cable when it was in regular rotation, so I could not watch it regularly, but I bought the DVDs after I saw the pilot when they reran the show in April or May. I immediately fell in love with the simplicity that was often demonstrated by this show and the beauty of it, both in terms of location but in the deeper meanings found when you read between the lines.JFC for me was a show about hope and the everlasting possibility of redemption, even after being at the lowest of lows. Every character on the show was working towards becoming a better person, healing old wounds/mistakes they had accrued throughout their lives, and moving on to a more enlightened and better place for themselves and their loved ones. John was just the catalyst for that change and the vessel for it as well.I loved Nichol's portrayal of John because he makes him so child-like and innocent, and he seems to do so effortlessly. I love the fact that surfing becomes a metaphor for life here, where the waves can thrash you around and even kill you if you're not careful, but when you catch a good one and milk that wave for all it's worth, it's a damn good ride.Everything about this show was great to me. The soundtrack was probably one of the most amazing and well though out soundtracks I have heard come from a show in years. Setting the show in Imperial Beach was an extra treat for me because I grew up going to that area, fishing off of that pier and swimming at that beach.All in all, this was a show that had such great intentions and had the possibility of going to great places, had HBO had any faith in it. I wish they had because these people who I have grown attached to seeing would live on and do great things. Oh well...
lidomoon
JFC was undoubtedly the best show ever shown on TV! It was thought provoking, addictive and the acting of the ensemble cast extraordinary. And last the not least, the writing was brilliant. Great music too.The story lines touched on so many relevant topics like faith, family, hope, redemption, personal transformation, spirituality and the importance of community.Too bad HBO saw fit to cancel after a mere ten episodes were aired. The cancellation of JFC was a loss for anyone who valued inspired TV. I hope HBO eventually reconsiders and gives the show another opportunity to captivate those who watched it and gain new viewers.
