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Damages: Pilot (2007)
A superb procedural headed up by Glenn Close
Glenn Close, who I once met in Hollywood at a Directors Guild debut of one of her great films, is incredible in the lead in this series.
She plays a PI lawyer who truly seeks to take no prisoners. She makes scorched earthed litigators look soft. This is just the penultimate lawyer depiction.
She is relentless, a workaholic, devoted to her practice, witty, funny, but at the same time she is terrible and terrifying to her employees.
This is not the Glenn Close of Fatal Attraction or of the Big Chill. Rather, she is like a complex chess player who understands each and every move and every position.
Her depiction of Patty Hewes is one for the ages. Very strong supporting cast. Must watch TV!
Trap (2024)
A really fine film from M Night
1) Josh Hartnett gives an incredible performance in this film. He is all the way back.
2) the film's premise while slow to develop once it does, is strongly influenced by Hitchcock and presents a dipole between a very bad person (whose mind we know as an unreliable narrator) and a good person who is an expert in tracking people like our very bad person.
3) the circumstances but for the manhunt are mundane, making the film rich in irony and hue.
4) excellent performances by M Night's daughter, Hayley Mills and Alison Pill.
5) about a half dozen false endings, tricky. You think it's over, but then it's not!
A plus!
Lord of Misrule (2023)
British Devil Film - 2023
The estimable Tuppence Middleton leads a strange cast in a strange town as she, a reverend, confronts absolute evil in the form of human pagan sacrifice for the annual harvest.
It is an eerie and scary film that will scare you and madden you.
Watch it and you will love it.
The concept of "devil films" typically refers to movies that feature the devil or demonic entities as central characters or plot elements. These films often explore themes of good vs. Evil, morality, and the supernatural.
Devil films have been a staple of horror cinema for decades, with classics like "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "The Exorcist" (1973) still widely popular today. These films often use the devil as a symbol of temptation, corruption, and chaos, and typically feature a heroic protagonist who must confront and defeat the devil or his minions.
In recent years, devil films have evolved to include a wider range of genres and themes. For example, films like "Constantine" (2005) and "Hellboy" (2004) blend action and fantasy elements with devilish themes, while films like "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006) use the devil as a metaphor for the corrupting influence of power and ambition.
Some notable examples of devil films include:
- "The Devil Rides Out" (1934)
- "Bedazzled" (1967)
- "End of Days" (1999)
- "Devil" (2010)
- "The Devil Inside" (2012)
Overall, devil films continue to fascinate audiences with their exploration of the human condition and the eternal struggle between good and evil.
Conviction (2010)
Gosh I love this film
I'm a retired criminal defense attorney, I did it for about 15-20 yeas, but was forced to retire due to severe disability.
I have had cases like the one in this film where we worked hard and obtained freedom for an individual who was in prison.
It is hard to express the feelings that go into that. The fellow's sister called me and thanked me over and over.
So when I watch this most excellent film, buoyed by a strong performance by Hilary Swank, another fine performance by Sam Rockwell, and
an excellent interweaving of backstory and present story at the start, I get emotional.
It is a beautiful story about law, love, dedication but most of all about Justice-for the law cranks out results, but Justice is achieved often
Only by Herculean effort.
Thus it is that this film is so important and so wonderful.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Broken Circle (2023)
Excellent S2 opener
Notwithstanding these other reviews, S2e1 was superb.
Great action with Spock.
Excellent Klingon action.
Hot stuff between Nurse Chapel and Spock.
Cool fight scenes with the Klingons.
Excellent stuff in dry dock.
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
GOOD
VERY GOOD
VERY GOOD.
The second season of the American television series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds and carry out missions throughout the galaxy during the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series.
And. So it does, triumphantly!
Empire Falls (2005)
An excellent adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel
Back in the days when HBO did movies, this film was made of Richard Russo's Empire Falls.
Russo was a wonderful professor at Colby College whose work propelled him out of academia and into the commercial world. I love "The Ice Harvest", but this book and film are wonderful.
Several points;
1) an incredible cast
2) a faithful adaptation
3) it's all about Maine
4) the permeating theme of losing industry and jobs to the South or abroad.
Empire Falls is wonderful, but of course both it and the Diner are metaphorical devices for describing what happened to small towns across the USA when industry and jobs fled.
It's such a beautiful story. You have to open your heart to it.
Russo is among our greatest American writers.
Aloha (2015)
Another Cameron Crowe Brilliancy
There only a few US states that were independent countries before they were appended to the USA;
1) Hawaii - formed in 1795, annexed by USA in 1898. Independent Kingdom
2) Deseret - the independent country of the Mormons from around 1850 until the peace with the USA in 1890 recognising Utah as a state.
3) Texas - 1836-1848. Voted to join USA after Mexican American War.
4) California Republic - existed briefly in 1846 but was subsumed by the USA.
So this film is really about Hawaii, and is full of cultural diversity and inclusion.
Well-scripted and well-acted, it paces well and is very funny.
The film soundtrack is great!
Everyone shines, Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams and Emma Stone.
Fatal Attraction (2023)
A terrific new view on this script
It's been 35+ years since the fabled Glenn Close (I once yawned in her ear during an awards show in LA) and the great Michael Douglas created a classic Film.
And yet, I hated that film. It was full of cliches and tired memes.
This version takes a deeper dive and rescues a film that, in my view, was deeply flawed in the beginning.
First, the narrative-it's cut forwards and backwards in time, with a hint of unreliability in the narrative. Excellent.
Second, the acting; Joshua Jackson is masterful as a DA who is unhappy with his job, disconnected from his marriage and child, and only seems interested in his coming Judgeship, which fails to arrive, sending him into a slow dive.
Just about then, he meets Lizzie Caplan and tumbles into a run on affair, that quickly runs out of control.
From there, all things emanate, from the present to the past, and the show is entirely intriguing.
Watch this show!
Fringe: The Abducted (2010)
A wonderful and crazy episode from the alternate universe
While Fauxlivia is impersonating Olivia in our universe, Olivia, trapped in Walter-net's universe, must carry on as an agent.
She rescues after a dramatic manhunt, a captive child abductee of the "Candyman" a terrible criminal who abducts and abuses young boys.
But in a supremely surprising twist, the CandymN was working with another Evil man, the reverend from the Church-Olivia's tip to the late Lance Reddick allows him to stop the Reverend as well.
But Olivia slips and uses the word "FBI" to young Max, which tips off Lance that she is Olivia from the other universe.
Meanwhile, her buddy the taxi driver ferries her to Liberty Island so she can cross over back to our universe.
The drama builds and builds.
Olivia accesses the flotation tank in an effort to cross over. She does cross over, but evil Walter-net catches her and pulls her back. Her escape attempt is foiled at the very last moment.
But she manages to convey a secret message to Peter via a nice Lady in a tourist store while she has crossed over briefly.
Amazing!
Smallville: Reckoning (2006)
Brilliant turn of events
The 100th episode of Smallville ends up being pivotal.
In iteration one, Clarke reveals all to Lana proposes, and she accepts. But later she visits a drunk lex Luther who drunkenly drives her her into a fatal car wreck.
Clark asks Jor-el for help. The answer is in a crystal which lets Clark relive the day.
This time, no secret is revealed to Lana. Angrily Lana breaks up with Clark.
Clark's dad wins the election but Lionel Luther wants payment for her campaign contributions. Jonathan Kent says no, but dies of a heart attack.
Lana visits Lex and the same traffic scenario plays out, but now Clark is there to save Lana.
Was Jonathan exchanged for Lana? That is the existential question as the episode ends in a snowy funeral.
Babylon (2022)
A Mixed Bag
Mixed Bag.
1. the acting by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie & the other leads is good.
2. There is a cogent story line about debauchery in 1920s Hollywood, and the transition from silent film to talkies 1926-1932.
3. The montages are technically proficient.
On the flip side,
1. There are 4-5 awful gross offensive scenes in this film, that are truly offensive to see.
2. The story line is a bit thin insofar as it focuses on several individuals rather than any big picture.
3. The last hour of montage to 1952 is technically proficient, but hard to understand.
So, overall, a mixed bag.
It's nice watching Margot Robbie in various states of undress, and Brad Pitt is excellent, but that only raises the film to B/B minus.
She Said (2022)
An amazing, inspiring and intriguing film
She said should have garnered sooooo many Oscars.
Alas, the Academy still seems to be the boys club.
This is one of the most powerful feminist films I have ever watched.
Further, it is, hands down, the best journalism film I've ever watched.
Better than the Post or All The Presidents Men.
Zoe Kazan & Carey Mulligan just kill in their roles. Patricia Clarkson is amazing.
Ashley Judd does a wonderful cameo. Samantha Morton aces her role.
In short, an amazing film.
March 2023 is International Women's Month.
This is the right film to watch for this month.
Harvey Weinstein was, let's face it, a monster. He serially raped, abused and sexually harassed so many women in his employ, and actresses in his ambit. He willingly destroyed so many lives, absent empathy or even the slightest human care.
The NYT did what it had to do. It brought a terrible, horrible terrifying evil into the light. And thusly, helped kill it.
The Beast is finally dead.
The Peripheral (2022)
Very Very Good Indeed
This show is based off a famous book by a famous author, so definitely wiki the book and read it if you have the time.
Because, this show is as complex as it gets.
A guy who is a great game player in Kentucky (or is it Tennessee?) about ten years in the future makes money doing this.
He has a sister who can also game, but she's given it up.
One day he gets a game in "beta" stage.
It's super realistic. He can't really play it. It's built for his sister so he gets her to try it.
Now the roller coaster ride begins. The game is no game. She's being thrust around 100 years into a bleak future, where the body she inhabits is created by future beings.
And from there, it gets only stranger.
Enjoy!
Top Gun (1986)
I feel the need...the need for speed...
Maverick: I feel the need...
Maverick and Goose: ...the need for speed! Maverick and Goose high five
Cougar, Goose, Maverick, Wizard, Stinger, Viper, Ice, Charlie, Jester, Wolfman, Slider, Merlin, Sundown, Hollywood, Chipper,
Ah, the thrill of victory and the
agony of defeat.
WIZARD
Speaking of feet, fuel's down to
4.0. We're gonna get them wet
unless we find a Sonoco station.
MAVERICK
COUGAR, THIS IS MAVERICK. I'M
GETTING HUNGRY, LET'S HEAD FOR THE
BARN. ...COUGAR, WHERE ARE YOU?
1. "Every time we go up there, it's like you're flying with a ghost." - Goose Bradshaw
2. "Maverick, it's not your flying. It's your attitude. The enemy's dangerous, but right now, you're worse. Dangerous and foolish. You may not like who's flying with you, but whose side are you on?" - Iceman Kazansky
3. "I feel the need, the need for speed!" - Maverick Mitchell
"Remember, boys, no points for second place." - Slider Kerner
Commander Tom 'Stinger' Jardian: Maverick, you just did an incredibly brave thing. What you should have done was land your plane! You don't own that plane, the taxpayers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash. You've been busted, you've lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers-and one admiral's daughter!
Top Gun is the greatest Air Force film ever-from it we got both JAG and NCIS.
Thank you very much.
And, it was cool back in the 1980s.
The Black Phone (2021)
Unwatchable
My wife and I are avid horror, suspense and thriller fans.
Having said that, this film is no MacBeth. It's not even close to Shakespeare.
In fact, this film is so bad, it makes every routine horror film look like Shakespeare.
1) messed up music
2) dreadful dialogue
3) awful acting
4) screenplay that sinks
5) dark, gloomy cinematography that is, well, pointless.
The film is based upon a short story by Stephen King's son.
Like all such derivative works, the son is not Stephen King, the story is not close to Stephen King, and in general, you get the feeling this derivative, unimaginative, non novel film got the green light from some well met studio hack who actually had to report to the real Stephen King.
Avoid at all costs.
Murder at 1600 (1997)
Well-acted, well-scripted, well-formulated Thriller
The movie begins with quasi explicit love making between a beautiful young woman and a young man whose face is not revealed.
The next important scene is the help washing up the restroom, routinely, and suddenly, to the wash maid's horror, blood is washed out by her mop when she washes from behind a blocked stall door.
Suddenly, the dead body of the woman we saw hot in passion is revealed, again in undress, and we meet Wesley Snipes (1997 version) as a DC Homicide Detective, and Daniel Benzali as a White House Security Chief in charge of keeping the secrets of the White House clandestine-yes, we learn we are at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House.
Snipes is walled off from the body, the autopsy, the crime scene, the witnesses and the evidence-but is assigned Diane Lane, as his Secret Service liaison.
The rest of the film has amazing twists and turns, with a dramatic finish-so watch it!
Reasonable Doubt (2022)
Unwatchable
This show was unwatchable.
It purported to be a legal show, but in the first episode we got;
Zero courtroom scenes
Two client scenes
Inexplicably, in LA, she can park on the street in front of her office building.
Also inexplicably, she's separated from her husband with two kids, but has an enormous home that a film star would die for.
She didn't dress like a lawyer, rather like a fashion queen.
Her advice to a 16 year old case client on getting parole was ridiculous.
There was implied sexual tension between the lawyer and her security guard after just three nights.
Then, her separated husband is spying on her with cameras and computers. Weird.
The entire show is a hot mess.
Do not watch.
Do Revenge (2022)
A truly twisted tale worthy of watching
This incendiary youthful take on the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock classic "Strangers on a Train" (cleverly and obliquely referenced when one of our two protagonists is spotted reading the Patricia Highsmith novel early on in the film).
Double kudos on this homage, for it turns out that Maya Hawke's character, Eleanor Levitan, is not simply out but her sexuality becomes a key element in the plot; back-referencing the well-known sexuality of Patricia Highsmith herself. Thus it is utterly significant that we find our one key protagonist reading the book, rather than simply watching the brilliant, albeit cleaned up for the US fifties film.
To make long stories short, the beautiful Camilla Mendes ("Riverdale") playing the other key protagonist Drea Torres, opens the film on top of the world in Spring of her Junior Year. She is being feted at a magnificent party, she has all the right friends, she has the right boyfriend, and her life's goal of attending Yale appears within her grasp.
Alas, she poses indiscreetly for a nude provocative sex cameo on her phone video for her boyfriend after the party-and within the day he has circulated it and her reputation is ruined.
Then come summer and fall, and Mendes meets Levitan, who tells Mendes that she, too, has a mortal enemy in the class-another girl-who humiliated her.
And thus is born a contract of "I will do revenge on your person, if you do revenge on mine."
The remainder of the film is sheer brilliance, witty and clever dialogue, and more twists and turns than Mulholland Drive.
A must see.
The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
Great until around 60% through
This film is great until around 60% through.
The main character played by Beckinsale is on "probation" with the Bar-a disciplinary distinction that only exists in Hollywood. But be that as it may, she inherits a habeas case for a client convicted of 1st degree murder who has exhausted all her state appeals.
Beckinsale argues magnificently and obtains a freedom verdict/with no more retrial judgment from the District Court.
Up to here, around 60% thru the film, the movie is great.
But then, in a silly Hollywood twist, Beckinsale becomes convinced that her innocent client is actually guilty, and starts working to retry her and convict her.
This part of the film makes little sense.
First, it's unethical.
Second, she should have withdrawn.
Third, the Judges' order barred additional proceedings.
So the last 33-40% of the film makes no sense.
But it's a great performance by KB.
Whiteout (2009)
Fantastic Film
Whiteout (French: Whiteout: Enfer blanc) is a 2009 crime thriller film based on the 1998 comic book of the same name by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. Directed by Dominic Sena and starring Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short and Tom Skerritt. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. And released on September 11, 2009. It was produced under the banner of Dark Castle Entertainment by Joel Silver, Susan Downey and David Gambino.
In 1957, a Russian cargo plane is flying above Antarctica. In the cargo hold, three Russians sit with a padlocked box. The co-pilot leaves his seat and goes into the cargo hold, then begins to shoot the other men, who return fire. The chaos caused by the gunfight leads to a crash which kills all aboard.
In modern times, newcomers arrive at the United States' Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, while others who are scheduled to leave are preparing to do so early because of a storm. They must depart before the onset of winter or remain for six months. Special Deputy U. S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) has been working in Antarctica for two years, since a betrayal by her partner in Miami that killed him and nearly killed her. She plans to resign after returning to the United States in two days.
Stetko and pilot Delfy (Columbus Short) fly to the remote Haworth Mesa to retrieve a discovered body. The dead man is Anton Weiss (Marc James Beauchamp), one of a group of three scientists looking for meteorites. An autopsy finds evidence of murder by ax. A murder requires a federal investigation; Stetko considers sending the body to McMurdo Station to avoid spending another winter in Antarctica, but decides to continue the investigation. When Stetko goes to speak to one of the others at Vostok Station, she finds him dying from a neck wound and is herself attacked by a black-clad man with an ax. Stetko injures her hands in escaping, losing the wet skin of her fingers on the metal handle of a door. Later, she finds Robert Pryce (Gabriel Macht), a United Nations security agent, examining the body of the second scientist. They conclude that the third, who is missing, must be the killer and set out to explore the group's most recent search site. There, Stetko falls through the ice to find the old Russian cargo plane. Pryce and Delfy join her to investigate, and they realize that the locked box had been opened and six cylinders removed. Pryce reveals that it is possible that nuclear fuel of interest to arms traffickers may be in the cylinders.
Stetko must have her badly frostbitten fingers amputated by Doc. She then finds the missing scientist hiding in her office. He tells her that he and his two companions found the plane and took the canisters, but the killer has them now. Before Stetko can protect him he is killed, but Stetko captures his killer, who is revealed to be Australian biologist Russell Haden (Alex O'Loughlin). The base commander orders everyone to evacuate because of the murders. With Haden locked in the brig and the winter storm near, Stetko and Pryce search for the canisters. However, Haden manages to escape and starts pursuing Stetko and Pryce. The three end up outside the base in a cat-and-mouse chase while the winter storm happens, and just when Haden corners and is about to kill Pryce, Stetko arrives and cuts Haden's safety rope and he is blown away due to the storm, cracking his skull onto one of the base's support pillars killing him instantly.
Stetko checks the last departing plane's cargo manifest and learns that the bodies of the dead scientists were not aboard. She searches their body bags and notices that the stitching on Weiss's old wound matches the distinctive pattern on her amputated fingers. Stetko explores the body and finds several bags of large, uncut diamonds. Doc confesses that he was part of a diamond smuggling ring with the others before Haden killed the rest. He had hoped that the diamonds would make him wealthy outside Antarctica. When Doc tells Stetko he wants to see the aurora australis one last time, she allows him to walk outside to his death.
Six months later, Stetko, Pryce, and Delfy have wintered at the facility. She transmits an email to her superior, rescinding her previous resignation and asking for a warmer location for her assignment.
Heist (2001)
A Gloriously Complex "Heist" Film
Heist is a legendary film full of twists and turns, too complex to be followed on just one viewing.
The cast is amazing-Gene Hackman is brilliant in the lead role, Delroy Lindo is awesome, Rebecca Pidgeon is incredible in perhaps her best film role, Sam Rockwell shines, Danny DeVito is spot on as the fence/financier, and Ricky Jay is perfect in his character role.
David Mamet has created a remarkable film that stands the test of time.
It's now 20 years + old, but it hasn't aged at old.
Watch it once a year, and study it in film class.
Fringe: White Tulip (2010)
One of the very greatest episodes of Fringe (and TV) ever
Peter Weller delivers a tour de force performance in this "Groundhog Day" multiple revisitation of the same day, albeit due to Weller being an MIT genius playing with the rules of time, space and relativity.
One of the most mind-blowing and incredible episodes of Fringe, and, indeed, of any TV show ever committed to episodic television.
A stunning and revelatory show with an emotional and cathartic ending--the white tulip.
Outer Range: The West (2022)
A trippy western
See my general review, but the conclusion of S1 is just off the hook great.
What a great, great show!
Amazing
Incredible
Worthy of the finest syfy ever written
This is what TV should be.
Riveting.
Catharctic.
Freudian.
Authentic, honest and full of integrity and love.
I loved this show.
Outer Range (2022)
Absolutely Brilliant
"All my life's a circle...."
--Harry Chapin
"time is a flat circle"
--Cohle, True Detective, S1e1 "The Long Bright Dark", Jan 12, 2014
Or, a Moebius Strip, assuming quantum physics and time travel. In either event, no matter where you begin, your journey will end at the beginning.
The paradoxes of time travel are explored at extreme length in Outer Range.
Josh Brolin turns in an Emmy worthy performance, probably the finest of his career, and Lili Taylor is just as great as his wife; the two work a ranch in Montana with their two sons and a grandson.
A strange young girl played by Imogen Poots comes to camp on the ramch from Episode 1 and she is utterly significant to the story.
There are rival ranchers who covet Brolin's ranch, of course, and there is a strange anomaly on the ranch which allows time travel which appears--and Brolin, oddly enough, seems to know what it is from a prior experience with the anomaly.
The rest of the story is just amazing--and gets better as it goes on.
Must watch TV.
Almost Famous (2000)
The Greatest Film Ever
Cameron Crowe has written a series of brilliant films, beginning with Fast Times at Ridgmont High, which was based on his own book and his own year spent in a California HS posing as a HS senior.
That this film is the apotheosis of Woodstock, the Sixties, the Vietnam Protest Movement and so much more, is self evident. I needn't have tweeted that to the late Tom Hayden or the still extant Bob Shrum. I met Gary Hart; he was not what he promised to be, but then again, we've been waiting for a Kennedy for so many decades.
The culture has evolved radically in the twenty years since this film; but that doesn't reduce it's important greatness. Stillwater was a real band; but the embellishments to the story in this film are grandiose and verge on Orson Wellesesque.
Is this the Citizen Kane of the counterculture? I am inclined to think so. I've seen the film more than twenty times, and it is perfect from beginning to end, like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, only better.
Kudoes to all the great actors, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, and so many more. It is a work that is wondrous, wonderful and wishful. I love it well.