jsommers-893-70788 Reviews

Suspicion (2022)

Really?

[2/10 · 18 March 2022]

I watched the whole thing. Turns out that the "mystery" isn't that interesting. What amuses and amazed me was that the producers made no effort to explain the technology at work that allowed for the kind of close monitoring of the suspects nor was there any explanation of how the kidnapers had the expertise and craft to interrupt world-wide communications at will. When I was a kid, I wrote a story about the Roman legions because I was fascinated by them. Did no research, offered no explanations for what was happening, just strung together a bunch events. That's how this story plays. Oddly, some of the performers were quite convincing (not Uma Thurman of course). The saving grace is that this appears to be a one-of--I can't imagine how there could be a season two...

American Rust (2021–2024)

Really?

[6/10 · 22 November 2021]

It's not the intended result, I suspect, that viewers will walk away from watching a mini-series with buyer's remorse. Not sure it was worth 9 hours of my time. The insistently downbeat ending isn't satisfying. Inevitably, this series will be compared to "Mare of Easttown," and inevitably, it will come in second. The "mystery" isn't much of a mystery. The acting is uneven (fine performances turned in by Maura Tierney, Alex Neustaedter, and Rob Yang; another disappointing Jeff Daniels turn...he's a fine actor with an apparently limited range); and the story unsatisfying,. Ultimately, the story turns into a rural riff on Macbeth with Maura Tierney's surprising metamorphosis into Lady M. We all know how that turned out...and although the ending of the series isn't satisfying, we can infer what will happen to Jeff MacBeth as well.

Margaret (I) (2011)

Self-Indulgent Mess

[2/10 · 25 May 2021]

The history of this film is that it was finally released after a protracted court battle between the writer-director and the studio over the final cut. Evidently, the contract stipulated the film could not run longer than 2 hrs/30 minutes. The final cut ended up to be 3 hours. As I watched it, I wish I'd a had a stop watch in order to time all of the time wasted on the screen with panning shots of NYC and other scenes where literally nothing happens as the main character walks down the street. The movie features bad driving, bad teaching, and a series of shouting matches between people who apparently have no filter on their behavior. Anna Paquin, who generally is a fine actress, dating back to her days as child, has apparently been goaded by the director to perform with the dial turned up to 11 (an homage to Rob Reiner and Spinal Tap). I'm a mature film viewer, and I don't need to "like" the characters to appreciate the film, but Paquin's character is utterly distasteful and out of control. I was amused at the idea of casting Jean Reno as a Columbian...the movie was filmed in 2011 but it smacked of the 1950s when Anthony Quinn was summoned to play any non-Anglo character be he Greek or Mexican. I'm a fan of Lonergan's fllms and plays, but this is a horrible misstep.

Don't Let Go (2019)

Don't think too hard...

[5/10 · 22 April 2021]

...the screenwriter/director hasn't. The two leads are terrific and the movie is immediately engaging, Problems arise, however, when the film makes little effort to establish consistency. Reiterations of past events are slightly different for no discernible reason than advancing the plot. In this era of TV series focused on forensics, you'd have to assume the police would quickly be able to discern the difference between a suicide and a murder (especially given the weapon of choice), but that's overlooked here. I'm not usually a good forecaster, but at minute 18, I spotted the real villain and was proven correct an hour later. BTW, many critics seem to complain that the time-travel element goes unexplained, but in a key piece of dialogue between good guy and bad guy, we're pointed in the direction of divine intervention rather than quantum physics. But it cost me nothing to watch, and I admired David Olewo's performance,,,

Sharp Objects (2018)

Pretty close to unwatchable

[4/10 · 23 February 2021]

Sure, Amy Adams is terrific, but this is a painful watching experience. It's not a "slow-burner" so much as a "non-burner." Enough time is spent driving around the empty streets of the small town, that the series could be condensed into 7 episodes instead of 8. Ostensibly a murder mystery, there's precious little actual investigation. The cringe factor is really high, the myriad brief flashbacks are often bewildering (not assisted by a multitude of young blond actresses who aren't always distinguishable). And the climax is neither all that surprising or satisfying. Mostly I felt creeped out by the end of the series which, if a BBC production, would most likely have been 4 episodes tops.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

I was sadly actually there...

[2/10 · 22 November 2020]

...for 40 minutes, but that was enough. The film is the very definition of pretentious. Slow-moving, uninvolving, offputting. The comparisons are to Taxi Driver, but I'd compare the movie to the Liam Neeson "I Have a Very Special Set of Skills" movies. Those films are "movies," with no pretense other than to grab a viewer for a thrill ride. No thrills in this one.

She Loves Me (2016 TV Movie)

What's the fuss?

[3/10 · 16 July 2020]

I'm thunderstruck that this musical is considered a classic. The thin story is watchable, but the musical numbers are nothing but immediately forgettable. I've seen Laura Bernanti before in the Lincoln Center revival of "My Fair Lady," and she can be spectacular as well as funny. But the songs here don't justify her almost-operatic voice. Full disclosure: I watched this online and by the second act, I started fast-forwarding through the songs. It's hard to believe the same composer/lyricist team that wrote the immortal score for "Fiddler on the Roof" produced this score. Great sets, great costumes. But a two-hour snooze.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

They Can't All Be Winners

[4/10 · 31 May 2020]

Because the Coen Brothers have made some brilliant, unforgettable films (e.g. Blood Simple, Fargo, True Grit), I am willing to overlook their lesser efforts of which this is one. Not hard to figure out why it's a Netflix film...can't imagine a studio willing to bankroll a series of film shorts. Yes, it's beautiful to look at, although I suspected much of it was CGI scenery, but the short films are generally not able to involve me as a viewer. I admired the humor of the series of final monologues in the final episode (although it also was anticlimactic) and the absurd violence in counterpoint to the insipid music of the first episode, but only wagon train segment engaged my interest as it had the makings of an interesting full-length film. However, that full-length film wouldn't have been a Coen brothers film full of antic characters engaged in fruitless activity in a world of random violence--which is how this episode disappointingly concludes. Glad I didn't expend the time and energy to travel to a theatre to see this.

Dean (2016)

Missed opportunity

[3/10 · 28 May 2020]

Standout of the film is the artwork done by Martin...sort of the Far Side revisited, clever and wordless. The film is close to wordless as well, relying on one of the most intrusive and off-putting film scores I've ever experienced. (I watched on Netflix, put on closed caption, and muted out the songs generally after just a few bars). The film is thoughtful in presenting a portrait of grief, but at 90 minutes, it feels about 30 minutes too long. The film's ending didn't convince me of the character's develpment. Fine performance by Kevin Kline is worth noting.

The Plot Against America (2020)

A Timeless Story for Our Times

[8/10 · 25 May 2020]

When Roth published this novel, we were living in the GW Bush era--the bridge between the close-minded, surreptitious racism of Reagan and the overt racism of our current Washington Administration. By looking backward, Roth was reflecting what he saw around him. It turns out that he was prescient, given our present circumstances.

I'll echo the high praise for the production values (that certainly feels like 1940 in Newark NJ), writing, casting, and performing. I also can't emphasize enough that this mini-series has a complete arc. There's a story to tell, the creators tell it, and they end it albeit more ambiguously than Roth does his novel. But the final episode does not leave us hanging and awaiting Season 2. (There is room for a season 2, but the story is over.) Hallelujah! No need to follow in the footsteps of "The Handmaid's Tale" or countless other shows (e.g. "Dead Like Me," "The War of the Worlds") by returning for another season because it's profitable to do so.

Final comment: the genius of Roth's novel in part resides in how he presents these 2-3 years as an aberration, a disruption of the line of history with which we are familiar, and convincingly resumes that history by the end of the book. That's a superior denouement to this series, but nonetheless, this is well worth the time invested in watching it.

Bloodline (2015–2017)

Please just leave well enough alone...

[6/10 · 20 May 2020]

Season 1 of this show was first-rate. Some tremendous acting and an intricate, challenging plot for viewers to follow. But the money is too attractive, I suppose, so there are two more seasons. I made it through Season 2 Episode 1 and decided I lacked the patience to follow any longer. The complications in presentation that helped make season 1 so compelling seemed to be absent. The characters are excellent, true, but the most charismatic one has become an afterthought. Please please just wrap things up in one season if that's all the story you have to tell!

Dead to Me (2019–2022)

Really?! You're going to drag this out for another season?

[4/10 · 20 May 2020]

I haven't watched Watchmen yet, but it's my understanding that show-runner had no interest in a second season as he had a story to tell and told it. The show-runner here could learn something from that approach, No spoiler here other than to say that the series ends with a cliffhanger. And my commitment to the show ends there as well. Yes, the two lead actors, Applegate and Cardellini, are quite good. Yes, the story is amusing at times. And the reactions when the major reveal takes place are powerful and convincing (ef. to Broadway's "Dear Evan Hansen" which present an impossible-to-believer denouement of a fascinating conflict), but the show doesn't conclude. It merely stops. Season 2 promises to be less than season one, now that the cat is out of the bag. I'm done!

What/If (2019)

What/if I hadn't wasted my time on this...

[2/10 · 20 May 2020]

It's hard to express how awful this series is. Most of the actors are trying hard, but are burdened with one-dimensional, uninteresting, and unconvincing characters. Renee Zellweger is a nightmare to watch...she is a gifted actor, but the material is so shoddy that she's left with nothing to do but chew the scenery. Given recent stories about her appearance, she should feel good about that...she looks like an older version of herself, as she should. Perhaps the worst character is the chief surgeon at the hospital.

I made it through 5 episodes then checked out a spoilers website to learn the "secrets" of the show...I wouldn't call them spoilers because they save me hours of wasted time watching the show, Glad that's over with.

Deep State: Blood in the Sand (2018) Season 1, Episode 8

Smart for the most part

[8/10 · 13 April 2020]

This is a rather clever spy story, must more subtle than the Jack Ryan series. Lots of twists and turns with an interesting emphasis on the personal effects of the spy game on the spies. Mark Strong is subtle and terrific in the lead role. Also outstanding is the young French actress who plays his 9-year-old daughter. The wrap is not the usual James Bond/Jack Ryan racing through explosions. It's much more subtle and cynical and entirely appropriate to the story being told. Yes, there are some plot holes (people travel from continent to continent about as rapidly as the Game or Thrones characters without benefit of dragon flight; characters recover from severe wounds remarkably quickly), but the series was engrossing throughout.

On the Waterfront (1954)

Terrific movie but...

[8/10 · 12 September 2019]

...It's a movie of its time, and it requires that allowances be made for that. Most noticeable is the intrusive sound track by Leonard Bernstein, clearly a warm up for West Side Story, which would play on Broadway three years later. Today's films don't use music as Kazan used it, in an attempt to force emotional reactions; the music is beautiful but overwrought. That's ironic because much of the film is about "small" emotions as Terry wrestles with his conscience. I'd love to see the movie again with no background music at all. Brando is memorable in a performance that has influenced film acting ever since, but great film acting now is more minimalist and subtle than Brando's performance, which is compelling but full of tics and winks. His eyes are immensely powerful, yet his face is rarely still. Lee J Cobb rivals him in his powerful, but exaggerated performance as the film's heavy. I was most moved by Karl Malden as the priest and Rod Steiger in a heart-wrenching performance as Terry's older brother. Still a great movie, but one which requires a viewer's patience for a film from a different era..

Long Shot (2019)

Funny twist on the usual romcom

[9/10 · 4 May 2019]

The movie cleverly subverts the usual romantic comedy tropes (cf Rogen and Katharine Heigl in Knocked Up)--she's older than he is, taller than he is, smarter than he is, and, most importantly, more powerful than he is. There's plenty of funny stuff and the movie grafts on an implausible happy ending, but the nature of that happy ending is noteworthy from a social and political stance.

The supporting cast is effective and amusing save for the horrible overacting by Andy Serkis who seemed to be channeling Bryan Cranston and Jon Lovits's Master Thespian. (He's better off sticking to playing Golem and other non-human characters).

Vice (I) (2018)

Never again

[3/10 · 2 January 2019]

I wasted my time watching "The Big Short" several years ago, and got fooled by the critics into seeing this movie. It's interminable, in part because it's so pretentious. McKay should stick to flat out comedy...here he simply throws onto the screen anything that occurs to him, resulting in a hodge-podge that stupefies the audience. The acting is superb (although the wonderful Sam Rockwell is reduced to doing an impersonation), but the most outstanding aspect of the film is the casting and makeup that turns sometimes familiar faces into the biggest villains of the 21st Century. This is a failed Roger Moore mockumentary/documentary. And that's too bad because this awful crew of amoral, power-seekers bequeathed to us the world we live in now with two endless wars as their legacy. McKay fooled me once, shame on him, etc. etc. I won't see a third one of his films for sure.

Extinction (2018)

It Is What It Is...

[5/10 · 27 July 2018]

And what it is seems clearly to be a pilot for a ongoing series that wasn't picked up. The leads are not A movie stars but are recognizable faces (Michael Pena and Lizzy Caplan) who have proven to be talented actors in the past. While it clearly had a budget only a fraction of "Jurassic 5," it didn't drag on for 2+ hours. It got it, got out, and surprised me twice along the way. Would I watch the series? Probably not, certainly not after wasting several years watching "Falling Skies" (talk about a fairly stupid alien invasion movie. Some of these reviewers apparently stopped watching before the spoilers without which there would be no point to this at all. I'm a big fan of clever, and this movie was clever.