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Cocktails with Nick and Lana (2024)
A pleasant little murder movie.
This is a well-made little indy movie. Most of it takes place in a single apartment. I'd say it'd be easy enough to cut out the little bits that aren't in the apartment to make this a stage production.
As to the plot and characters, think "Only Murders In the Building" meets "Beyond Belief" meets "The Thin Man." Now, it's not near any of those levels BUT that does give you an idea of what they seemed to be aiming for and it's still entertaining even if it isn't what I'd call great.
I'm not in a hurry to see it again but I would recommend it for a good time. Have ninety minutes to spend and an ear for some witty banter? Here you go.
Night Court (2023)
Some greatness but too much awfulness.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, "First we kill all of the TV network executives."
I've watched seven & a half episodes and have decided that I'll finish the current one, watch the episode guest-starring Brent Spiner, and then be done.
My number one reason to stop watching? The laugh track. Great Groucho's Ghost! It's the 2020s! NOBODY watching wants a laugh track. I highly suspect that, since this series is clearly aimed to hit nostalgia triggers, that someone pushed through adding a laugh track. The thing about nostalgia, though, is that one is only nostalgic for good things and laugh tracks never were.
Also on the bad list is that India de Beaufort is terrible in this. I haven't seen any believability to her portrayal of ADA Moore. She is clearly acting for a sitcom in the worst possible way. Is this again trying to target nostalgia for a bygone era of sitcoms? If so, it's the wrong call and she's the only one of the leads acting that way.
This isn't something that could be corrected later but I think it was a huge mistake for Abby to have never met Dan before the first episode. I 100% expected her to say, "Hi, Uncle Dan" when he opened his door. The idea that Harry Stone wouldn't have kept in touch with his former co-workers and had them be part of Abby's life seems very un-Harry-like.
Now--the positive.
Three of the leads are at least very, very good--two of them are exceptional. Melissa Rauch is great in most of her scenes but there's still a small sense that she's not just acting, she's acting for a sitcom.
John Larroquette and Lacretta, though. Ah! Acting and comedy geniuses at work. They transcend the material that they're working with, even when the lines are already brilliant. With Larroquette, this isn't surprising at all. Lauretta, on the other hand, was unknown to me and--given her credits here on IMDb--I'm sure unknown to most people. Still, bravo!
While the writing had mostly been good-for-a-sitcom, the episode that really stands out from what I've watched is "Justice Buddies." Yes! More social relevance, please. A sitcom can say important things but still be funny.
Runaways (2017)
Different and that's mostly OK
The first season of "Runaways" was disappointing since it was all set-up and nobody actually ran away. I was also disappointed that efforts were made to make the parents sympathetic characters, something the source material didn't have at all. As season two progressed, though, I started enjoying this alternate take. Like the Runaways themselves, I found myself not forgiving the parents for the evils they've committed but accepting that they were trying to become better people. It felt a little weird to wrap up the Gibborum story a few episodes into season three and then switch to another "big bad" for the rest of the season/series but it was better than stretching the original story out further than it needed to be.
It's important to remember that adaptions of comics are never going to be spot-on. As long as who the main characters are stays true to the originals, it's OK for the details to differ.
Overall, I'm glad I saw the series but I'm also sure I'll never re-watch it. I wouldn't object at all to seeing more of the Runaways, perhaps as guests in another Marvel-based TV series.
Excelsior!
Terror from Beneath the Earth (2009)
Maybe It Should Have Been a Short
I don't think this really a bad movie. It's just far too long for the amount of story so I became rather bored. It could easily be cut down to half an hour without losing any important plot or characterization. I'm glad I saw it but this is a Mihmiverse movie that I'm unlikely to watch again.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Objectively Great
I think this is a terrific, one might even say WONDERful, movie. The cast is terrific. The '80s clothes are painful to look at-which is accurate so that's OK. I love the way Steve Trevor is brought back and other nods to Wonder Woman history. There's some nice nods to DC's larger comicbook universe including Max Lord, Simon Stagg, and Bialya. The journeys of Diana, Steve, and Barbara are all believable and enjoyable.
The downside is not the movie's fault but where I am emotionally. Despite taking place in 1984, there are deliberate parallels to 2020. The greed and selfishness of people in particular and Max Lord in particular makes me very sad. Max is written, styled, and portrayed like a real-life greedy conman from the '80s. Even though my family is currently watching the movie for a second time as I'm typing this, I'm in not.
I *will* eventually watch it again because it's truly a very good movie.