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Dune (2021)
I love Denis Villeneuve...
...but this was quite a letdown. I can't help but wonder if the poor box office of Blade Runner 2049 had something to do with the Dune we ended up with here, and I suspect the director's cut of this film will be better. That said, I think there were more fundamental problems that a re-edit won't fix.
First: the soundtrack was awful - ranged from boring to irritating and overall was very generic and bland. Usually Zimmer delivers better than this; certainly his BR 2049 score was vastly superior. By comparison, the main theme for Dune 1984 was imperious, dramatic and immediately set the mood for the film. The score for this version sounds like it could have been for any of a dozen different films.
Second: the pacing and storytelling were poorly executed, as pretty much everyone has noted. Villeneuve insisted on splitting the first book into two parts, but this first part doesn't feel like it needed to be its own film. The entire thing just feels like a preface to the film you want to be watching.
Third: the best and most interesting aspects of this film were sped over to make time for its least interesting aspects. The Harkonnens were one of the coolest elements in the film, but barely even appeared. The space guild looked amazing, but were hardly present. Ditto for the Bene gesserit. But we have endless tedious slo-mo shots of Zendaya's face and Paul's visions. Poor choice of priorities.
Overall, the main thing this film reminded me of is how awesome the 1984 David Lynch version was. It has been (I think, quite unfairly) panned over the years, but it was much more daring and creative than this version. Admittedly, it also contains some cheezy aspects that don't stand up well, but on the whole, it offers much more of what I want from sci-fi: to be transported to an evocative and alien realm.
Villeneuve's Dune is beautiful, but feels much more terrestrial than alien - almost banal at times. The buildings on Arrakis mostly reminded me of brutalist architecture from the 1960s. The "ornathopters" and battle scenes had a very "desert storm", American miltary feel to them. Nothing had a very alien ambience - except for the elements I mentioned above, which they passed over much too quickly. Ironically, Villeneve's "Arrival" was amazing for resonating with a truly skin-prickling, surreally alien vibe. It's a shame more of that didn't translate into this film. And despite being a dark and serious sort of film, Dune 2021 lacks the weight and gravitas of Dune 1984. The latter felt like an event, in a way that this new one just fails to capture.
In terms of casting and performances, the result is also mixed: all of the Harkonnen casting was great, Rampling as the bene gesserit mother is perfect, Ferguson and Isaac were solid as Paul's parents. Probably the standout character for me though was Javier Bardem as Stillgar, who was almost alone in bringing genuine presence to his character. But Chalomet as Paul fell rather flat for me. He was okay; but the protagonist of your film needs to be more than okay - he needs to have charisma. And Chalomet doesn't. He comes across more as a limp, annoying millennial. Overall, the casting of Dune 2021 offers nothing to surpass Dune 1984.
Loki: Lamentis (2021)
Late-stage Doctor Who episode
Really strange choices made here. So unlike the previous two episodes that you have to wonder if this wasn't shoe-horned into the production for some extraneous reason. What's most bizarre is why they would take a show that was working in every possible way, remove one of its best characters for an episode (which is a big deal, considering there are only 6), and suddenly do a hard shift to focus on a lady Loki who looks like a carbon copy of Jody Whittaker's Doctor Who - probably the least popular Doctor of all time. And the TVA aesthetic that made the first episodes so fantastic was largely missing too. Felt like a different show. Plus, you could see them leading up to Loki's big "revelation" so far in advance that it did kind of feel like the whole episode was a pretext for it to happen. Like it was all a woke public service announcement. (Did they bring in Chris Chibnall to write this episode...?) Sure hope the show returns to form after this!
Triple Frontier (2019)
Dick Flick
Triple Frontier is cinematic viagra for pathetic middle-aged men. Ben Affleck can't seem to stop flaunting his mid-life crisis on screen. He might as well call his next film "I'm desperately insecure about my masculinity". And all the characters in this film are vile, unsympathetic people, motivated by greed, violence, and self-pity to do stupid and predictably disastrous things. That said, there could have been a good movie here if they hadn't tried to play them as heroes - if they had done it as a black comedy, a la Fargo, where a bunch of bad people try to pull a heist and get they fate they deserve. But they didn't. Of course. Cause it's a dick flick. So if you enjoy glorified, militaristic violence, animal cruelty and gun worship but feel reeeaaallly sad when a buff white dude takes a bullet, you'll probably love this film. Three stars are for the nice cinematography and production value.
Den 12. mann (2017)
Well-done and worth watching
A high quality offering from Netflix, The 12th Man exceeds expectations. Beautifully shot, engaging story, and very well-acted. Was particularly impressed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the Nazi officer Kurt Stage. His performance was expressive but understated and he read all his lines very impressively in German. His accent was so good I actually didn't realize who he was until about halfway through the film, when I thought, "that German actor sure looks like Rhys Meyers". Usually British or American actors speaking German stick out like a sore thumb, so kudos to him for that.
The Aspern Papers (2018)
Yikes.
I almost feel guilty reviewing this film, since presumably someone involved with it probably really cared about the project, but oh my god is it bad. Usually a period drama like this is reliably solid - the worst it can be is stodgy and a bit dull; but this one was a screaming dumpster fire from its bodice-ripping opening credits. It should, however, get an award for most criminal waste of Vanessa Redgrave. Joelly Richardson is also an excellent actress, and one can only imagine the two must have been rolling their eyes at each other on the set over the god-awful, scenery-chewing performance of Jonathan Rhys Meyers. It's Razzie-worthy, actually - maybe he'll get a nomination. And what the hell was going on with that accent? It was supposed to be American, but was so over-the-top nasally and shouty it was like his lines were being read by an air horn. Good god man, get a dialect coach. In short, this movie is unwatchable.
True Detective: Now Am Found (2019)
A mostly whimpering end to another disappointing season
Such a shame. This season had some good things going for it, even if it was obviously trying too hard to be like season one, but it squandered them along the way with bloated, tedious storytelling that wasted far too much time on personal relationship drama at the expense of the main plot and always felt like it desperately needed editing. After the debacle of season two, I'm really surprised HBO let Pizzolato get away with this. And the direction was flat and mediocre throughout, with the worst episodes of the season clearly being the two Pizzolato directed. Why did they let him do this? Why didn't they find a director with the skill and style that made season one so brilliant? I mean, even if Fukunaga wasn't available, surely they could have done better.
I re-watched season one just before season three started, and the differences couldn't be more stark. Each of the things that made the first season so amazing was missing:
1) razor sharp, witty dialogue,
2) an efficient, taut storyline that felt like every moment was necessary, and ended each episode in a way that left you burning to see the next one.
3) mesmerizing, charismatic performances by the lead actors. (I mean, Ali and Dorff were respectable, but it was no comparison to McConaughey and Harrelson),
4) some amazing action sequences that had you on the edge of your seat (season three didn't have a single action sequence!!), and
5) an explosive conclusion that brought all the threads together and tied up the plotline in a satisfying way. (Some aspects of the season 3 finale were good - the way Hays solves the case and then forgets it is poignant - but the fact that literally ALL of the threads to do with the pedophile ring being investigated by the female reporter interviewing him were just dropped, with no explanation - not even a hint that they will be picked up in another season - was unforgivable. As a viewer you feel betrayed - like you sat through hours of irrelevant scenes for nothing.)
Honestly, after this, I don't want a season 4.
Polar (2019)
Flaming garbage
Why, Mads, why? I used to respect you so much as an actor. Did you need the money that bad - really? Really?
Polar is the sort of degenerate filth that could only be produced by a dying culture at the end of empire, with a screenplay that could have been written by Caligula, or gleefully commissioned by him at any rate.
Of course, the real source of inspiration for this black hole of soul-sucking moral nihilism masquerading as 'camp' is the modern-day internet porn industry, which has mainstreamed the eroticization of sadistic violence against women and made misogyny 'cool' again - made it 'normal' for an already exploitative sex-scene to (literally) climax with the woman being shot to death by an automatic weapon.
I saw a review of Polar the other day that called people who complained about this sort of thing "preachy" and said the movie was "boyish fun". Actually think about that for a minute. Think about the fact that you live in a world where someone objecting to the equation of male sexual climax with murder as "boyish fun" is considered "preachy" or "uptight". Then think about your daughter, or your sisters, growing up in this world. Think about your sons, for that matter, actual little boys. Think about the fact that this film is streaming on Netflix where any child can come across it and watch it.
Polar is like a documentary for the end times of Western culture. I'm starting to think that the sooner it's over, the better.
Doctor Who: It Takes You Away (2018)
The first episode this season I've enjoyed all the way through
Finally an episode that feels like proper Doctor Who! And it's pretty much totally due to good writing, as there was nothing fancy about this episode in terms of effects or acting. Whittaker had some good solo moments near the end - which are long overdue. With so many companions, the Doctor has often felt like a side character on her own show. This has been a big problem. If I'd never heard of Doctor Who and just happened to watch an episode from this season, I'd probably guess that Graham was the protagonist. As someone who's never particularly cared much about ANY of the companions on Doctor Who (my favorite episodes are the rare ones where the Doctor is on his own), having 3 now is not a bonus but a distraction. Anyway, this episode was quite good - the first this season where I haven't felt bored by the middle. That said, I can't help but think of how much better it would have been if it had been acted by David Tennant. Whittaker still doesn't have much uniqueness or depth as the Doctor.
Doctor Who: The Tsuranga Conundrum (2018)
When reviews are so polarized...
...you know there's a lot of b.s. on both ends. Haters and fanboys have one thing in common: their reactions are emotional and make little or no attempt to engage with the actual objective qualities of the episodes. For example, objectively, it's clear that the production value of series 11 is far more sophisticated than any past Who. Episode 6 is a good example of this. The opening scene, where they're scavenging on a garbage planet, not only looks gorgeous, but it very similar to the look of the San Diego garbage dump scenes in Blade Runner 2049 - not a coincidence, I imagine, as the visual effects studio for series 11 worked on BR 2049. But you won't see any of the haters pointing this out. The interior spaceship sets also looked beautiful in episode 6. Other things are not so successful - the music, for example, in this episode - a ceaseless techno drone - is really irritating after a while. The monster of the week is pathetic and wasted, once again. The Doctor is still flitting around a little too manically - though she at least finally displays some scientific expertise in this episode. She also still waves the sonic screwdriver around like a magic wand, which is a cheap, lazy substitute for real writing - but to be fair, this was already a feature of the Smith and Capaldi Who eras. The problem is that Chibnall hasn't fixed the problem.
And in truth, what a lot of the series 11 haters seems to be (conveniently) forgetting is just how crap and disposable the vast majority of Who episodes of the Moffatt era were. Anyone remember "Smile" or "Knock Knock"? These were so dreadful I couldn't even sit through them. And that's just a random sampling of the mediocrity. Have we seen anything truly brilliant yet from Chibnall's Who? -no. Are we likely to? -I doubt it. But it's been better on average so far than the average Who episode of the last 5 years. I think it's a crisis of expectations: everyone is expecting/demanding that each new episode be as amazing as Heaven sent. But not even Moffatt could live up to that expectation, unfortunately.
I didn't support the choice of Chibnall as show runner and I think in the long run it will turn out to be a strategic mistake on the part of the BBC: they made the safe choice - choosing an "inside man", so to speak - at a time when what the show needed was a brave, original new direction. So far, what we've seen marks an attempt to return to a more Russell T. Davies style of Doctor Who. But it's coming across as anodyne and unimaginative and is not likely to please anyone - critics or fans. But what we've got so far in season 11 - objectively speaking - is neither brilliant nor more dreadful than most of what we've seen from Doctor Who in the last few years.
House of Cards (2013)
Season 6 reviews IMPOSSIBLY low
There is just no way a show like House of Cards can legitimately go from a consistent 8+/10 rating to a 3/10 in its final season just because of the absence of its former leading man. His performance was great, but so were all the supporting roles and performances, the writing, cinematography, and musical score - all of which, apart from him, are still there in season 6. While there are some problems with this season, it's without question still a high quality show and a compelling, bingeable watch.
This season is getting trolled, and it's no mystery why: because it had the balls to front a strong female lead and an unapologetically feminist tone. The number of reviews here saying that Claire Underwood's character is nothing without Frank is just disgusting. It's called the 21st century, people. Check it out.
The Sinner (2017)
Watchable if you've run out of other options
"The Sinner" seems like it probably could have been a bit better than it was (- not a lot though, as ultimately this is just another disposable airport crime/mystery novel). It was presented in a way that was often confusing and off-kilter. For example, there are frequent flashbacks to the protagonist Cora's younger years, but she looks exactly the same as she does in the present-day scenes - and much too old for the teen? girl she is meant to be playing. The same goes for other key characters, who look way too old for the people they are supposed to be at certain times. It's disconcerting and makes the whole story seem weird and implausible.
The characterization is also generally poor - consisting of one-dimensional stock characters (like Cora's mother) whose presence adds nothing to the story beyond other than their obvious plot function. No one is really bad enough or really good enough to be interesting. And it doesn't help that Jessica Biel has the same range of facial expressions as Melania Trump. Bill Pullman is a solid actor, but has nothing much to work with here, so he's pretty flat. As the episodes pass by, the plot holes multiply, and nothing unfolds with that sort of inexorable logic that you find in really good mystery/thrillers. Consequently, when they finally get to the big reveal, the cumulative effect is "meh".
There is also a lot of sex - none of which seems to have any real connection to the story or characters. I think it probably was supposed to, but they didn't establish it effectively, so it comes across as random and weird. The lead detective has a perversion that is particularly tedious. (Is there some sort of rule now that all brilliant TV detectives must have tortured secret lives? Snore.)
To sum up, in the context of this season of TV, "The Sinner" is a poor man's "Big Little Lies" - by all means don't watch the former until you've seen the latter. Save this for when you just can't find anything else to watch.
Sharp Objects (2018)
Utterly hooked by episode 5
Great atmosphere and soundtrack, very similar in tone and style to Big Little Lies - also by director Jean-Marc Vallée. Amy Adams brings class and subtlety to what is not an especially original storyline (Camille, a journalist haunted by ghosts of her past returns to home town to solve murder). But excellence of execution makes this shine. Patricia Clarkson's portrayal of Camille's narcissistic, self-absorbed mother is equally effective: you'll find yourself wanting to choke her in every episode. Also so refreshing to see women's lives and stories portrayed in a non-exploitative way. Camille's struggle with alcoholism and self-harm is depicted with unblinking realism and is something many women can unfortunately relate to. Looking forward to the rest of this series, which is shaping up to be as good as season 1 of True Detective.
Goliath (2016)
Season 2 a massive disappointment
Having just watched season 2, I really wish they had stopped after season 1 - left it as a stand-alone mini-series - because that was some of the best television I've ever seen. Season 1 was superb. Season 2 started out well - the first episode was enjoyable - but soon went off the rails. First, it's not a courtroom drama like season 1, so it's like they abandoned the basic premise of the show, which feels like a betrayal. Another major problem with this is that most of the characters returning from season 1 - like Brittany and Marva - really have nothing to do in this season but just kind of hang around. Particularly the subplot with Brittany and Wyatt was obviously shoehorned into the season just for the sake of bringing her back. (You could remove all of those scenes and it would have precisely zero effect on the plot.) Even the role of Billy and Patty becomes unclear, as they're only acting as lawyers for about half the season.
As it went on, season 2 reminded me more and more of the second season of True Detective. They are very similar in tone and storytelling style. This is not a good thing, needless to say. The plot of Goliath season 2 strains credulity. There are so many implausible elements stacked on top of one another that it becomes ridiculous after a while. Maybe we can accept that Billy just HAPPENS to wind up dating the woman who is involved in the murder of his friend's son. But then we're also supposed to accept that his paralegal also just HAPPENS to end up dating the billionaire weirdo who is conspiring with Billy's girlfriend. And on top of this, that that weirdo has a creepy amputee fetish, which somehow is connected with Billy's girlfriend's brother's proclivity for amputating his enemies' limbs in a surgical theater he has set up next to his office, where he runs the drug cartel responsible for killing Billy's friend's sons...
Holy cow. Who the heck thought this up? There was nothing this bonkers in the first season. One of the things that made season 1 so compelling was that it all felt realistic - like something that really could happen. This season felt like they were trying to do some experimental riff on True Detective and Breaking Bad. But it just doesn't work. At all.
There are still some good moments: basically every scene focused on Patty is awesome (Nina Arianda is really the highlight of the show). And Thornton does a good job with what he has to work with. His presence carries you through a lot of otherwise boring scenes. But the plot is often eye-rollingly dumb, and by the end you'll be thinking, "what the heck was this story supposed to be about, anyway?"
Season 1 = 9/10
Season 2 = 4/10
Legion (2017)
Season 2: a giant nothing burger
Pardon the expression, but it so totally fits here. Episodes 1 and 11 were pretty good - that's the bun - and between them were 9 unbelievably tedious, pretentious episodes of absolute nothingness. Season 1 dragged a bit in the middle for sure, but nothing like this. All the high-concept stuff attempted in season 2 felt clunky and forced, and there was just no real plot, no sense of building tension. I found myself half-screening the episodes and internet shopping just to get through them. Yikes. Very disappointing. Noah Hawley can be great, but they really need to get him an editor for season 3.
Patrick Melrose: Some Hope (2018)
Nope.
Nice acting, nice sets, but I still just don't care about any of these characters or the story as a whole. Pretty much everyone is a dreadful person, and why we should sympathize with any of their "problems" is beyond me. The use of punk rock music and pop-art titles to attempt to give an "edgy" feel to this dramedy about the lives of a bunch of whining ungrateful aristocrats is particularly egregious. Maybe it's my ressentiment, but I just can't get into this story...
Patrick Melrose (2018)
Ahhh, the suffering of the super-rich...
10 stars for the performances, especially Jennifer Jason Leigh's, but -5 for the story, which feels entirely anachronistic, tone-deaf and out of place in the 2018 cultural context. Honestly, who thought another story about the suffering of uber-privileged white males needed to be told now, and why? And the female characters aren't much more sympathetic or interesting here either. Everyone is rich, perverse, lazy, and entitled. And some of the male characters are psychopathically misogynistic and cruel. Of course, the suffering of young Patrick is terrible, but the underlying assumption here (as ever with these things) is that his suffering is somehow more interesting, sympathetic and special because he's a good-looking, aristocratic male. As far as I'm concerned, every character in this story can throw themselves out a window. How about creating some decent roles for the excellent female actresses so they can use their skills to play something other than abused alcoholic housewives or gold-diggers?
The Terror (2018)
An instant classic despite some flaws
'Spoiler' alert: It's the Franklin expedition - not a happy ending!!!
AMC's The Terror is a bit difficult to review, and it took me several viewings of the series to decide what I really thought about it. For the first few episodes I didn't care for it much at all, and somewhere around the middle almost stopped watching. But then episode 5 was brilliant, which renewed my interest, and from there on it just got better and better. The last two episodes contain some of the best and most moving dramatic scenes I've ever seen. And the series ending felt perfect. In fact, it was so good by the end that I almost immediately started re-watching it from the beginning; and I can say that on second viewing I enjoyed the early episodes much more - there are many small things you'll catch that you miss the first time. This show doesn't present everything in a simple or obvious way, and ultimately this is one of its strengths.
The reasons for my initial ambivalence are several: Undoubtedly the least successful aspect of The Terror is its imposition of a supernatural horror element onto what is otherwise a historical dramatization of the infamous Franklin expedition. This is rather like putting wheels on a tomato: the idea that something 'extra' needs to be added to what is surely already one of the most compelling and dramatic (not to mention true!!!) stories of all time is irritating and bizarre. Everything that is great in The Terror has to do with its characters and psychological horror - the 'monster' is just extra baggage here which doesn't really add anything. In fact, it could just as easily have been an extra-large polar bear stalking them and the effect would have been exactly the same - no plot points would have been affected.
Now, admittedly, this is not the case in the Dan Simmons book, on which the AMC series is based: in the book, the monster - or Tuunbaq - plays a much deeper and more specific role. And in this respect the book actually makes much better sense than the series, which diverged significantly from it - especially towards the end. Some of the changes made for the TV version render parts of the story confusing and almost meaningless. But even in the book, the mythological element is kind of hard to digest.
Apart from the monster, there are a number of scenes set "on the ice" in some of the middle episodes that were obviously shot on a soundstage and have a very artificial, indoor feel to them. And in general, one thing that's missing from the series that was very successful in the book was a sense of just how bloody COLD it was and how much the crew suffered from the brutal conditions of the arctic. The novel abounds with wonderful descriptions - like how their clothing and blankets would become damp from perspiration and then freeze solid, so that they were never dry or warm (unlike the Inuit in their furs); and how condensation would be constantly dripping from the walls and ceiling of the heated lower decks - which were nonetheless still always below freezing. On the show, the crew walk around inside the ship in shirtsleeves, as though it were centrally-heated to a comfy temperature - and even outside, there are few scenes where the men really seem to be battling the elements in the way we know they did.
Despite these issues, The Terror is beautifully shot - gorgeous and atmospheric. The costumes and set design (apart from those ice scenes) are exquisite, as are the sound design and score. The latter in particular, being very modern, added a unique textural layer that was very emotionally evocative - sharpening both the horror and the pathos of key scenes in a powerful way.
But where The Terror really excels - what takes it from good to classic - is in its characterization and performances, which are without exception brilliant - though some particularly stand out. Ciaran Hinds does an excellent job of portraying Franklin as exactly the sort of pompous and clueless Admiralty buffoon you expect he must have been to make such disastrous decisions as he (historically) did. Adam Nagaitis is hard to praise, as his character - the unbridled psychopath Cornelius Hickey - is so loathsome and infuriating you'll want to reach into the television to choke him - which however is surely the sign of a great performance. Ian Hart is perfect as the wily and seasoned ice master Thomas Blanky - and his final scene is both moving and hilarious.
Liam Garrigan is a new name to me, but he put in a very touching and memorable performance as Crozier's steward Thomas Jopson (again, heartbreaking final scene). Paul Ready (also new to me) brought great sincerity and gravitas to the character of Dr Goodsir - and, again, his final scenes are as brutal as they are perfect, given the tragic story you know must unfold here. Tobias Menzies was superb as Fitzjames - a character with a fantastic arc in the story, as you start out disliking him intensely; but by the end (another excruciating end!) find him humbled and profoundly sympathetic. The scenes between Fitzjames and Crozier are undoubtedly some of the finest moments of the whole series. (Indeed, one of my favourite things about AMC's The Terror - because it doesn't really figure in the novel - is the strong focus on the friendships between certain characters - something you rarely see thematized anymore.)
Lastly, a separate paragraph has to be set aside for Jared Harris' portrayal of Francis Crozier - Captain of the Terror and undoubted hero of both the novel and the TV series. That Harris manages to stand out in the midst of so many powerful performances is indeed a feat - though he's always great, and often the most memorable part of whatever he appears in. This is certainly Harris' best role to date: while he's had some good ones recently (like Lane Pryce in Mad Men, George VI in the Crown), they've been relatively small supporting roles. It's nice to see him finally getting top billing in a quality project. And he owns the screen in The Terror from beginning to end. His performance is immersive and utterly convincing - you never doubt for a moment that he just is Captain Francis Crozier, going through all those terrible, amazing things. His character is also profoundly noble and sympathetic (actually rather more so than in the novel) - you want so badly for him to have even one small success - which makes the ending all the more perfectly tragic (again, very different than the novel; I think I prefer this version). And you just can't look away from him: something about Harris' face is so quietly expressive - you feel acutely Crozier's every pain, sadness, anger, or inner struggle. (I imagine someone could make a film called "Jared Harris stands there and does nothing" and it would be a pretty good watch.) The guy is just charismatic - kind of makes me think of an English Gene Hackman.
Altogether, AMC's The Terror so makes up for its deficient aspects - most of which either derive from the novel or from its imperfect adaptation - that it manages not only to be memorable but, I think, a show that will be remembered and re-watched for years to come. I certainly hope they don't try to make a second season - its hard to see how they could - and I don't think it was intended to be more than a stand-alone miniseries.
Legion: Chapter 9 (2018)
Sublime
Season 2 Episode 1 sets the bar very high, being on par with the best offered in season 1 (the brilliant episode 7). As then, it's a masterful combination of visual artistry and mesmerizing music/sound design that does it. The nightclub scene is so gorgeous you have to watch it at least twice. Going to be a hard act to follow, but a fantastic way to kick off this new season. Very auspicious start.
Justified (2010)
Why Justified Died in Season Five
I just recently re-watched all six seasons of Justified and so this is a retrospective review. I was a fan of the show when it was on for the first time and also remember feeling that it started to decline around season four and hating the last two seasons. In fact, I remember being really angry about the direction of season five and feeling that it betrayed everything I had loved about the show.
Watching it now with a bit more objectivity, I found season four still really good in many respects, and even the last two seasons well-crafted. But my original assessment stands and here's why: In its heyday (seasons 1-3) what made Justified delightful was the southern gothic western/romantic fantasy that it presented. At its heart were the figures of Raylan (the gunslinger lawman) and Boyd (the outlaw), and their antagonistic bromance, as well as the respective love stories of Raylan and Winona, and Boyd and Ava.
Of course both Raylan and Boyd are archetypes - fantasy figures of a totally unrealistic sort. So from the outset it was clear Justified was serving up an entertaining romantic western-fantasy story, though spiced up with black humor and set in a modern, edgy version of the south. The first three seasons ended with Boyd and Raylan being thrown into some set of circumstances where they had to fight their way out together, with Raylan always having to admit some grudging sense of obligation to Boyd.
It was also kept very clear that the only real difference between the two was that Raylan had a badge. Both had gangster fathers, and Raylan was (arguably) more violent and angry than Boyd. In fact, Boyd, for all his own crimes, was always a more sympathetic character than Raylan. Boyd was the more honest of the two, and didn't lie to himself or others about the kind of person he was. Raylan, on the other hand, was devoid of self-awareness, or at least was in permanent, angry denial of his true nature. Where Boyd was honorable, Raylan was backstabbing, never hesitating to use deceit to get his way and always using "the law" as a pretext for acting out his grudges.
But this was all okay, so long as the stories being told maintained that interesting tension between good and evil in both Raylan and Boyd, and never let either one get too much of the upper hand. And Raylan's less admirable qualities were balanced by his affection for Winona. At least until season four, when Winona abruptly leaves him for no apparent reason (if I recall correctly, the actress who played her suddenly left the show, which would explain her being written out in a way that didn't seem to jive with the direction they'd been developing up till then).
This was the beginning of the end for Raylan as a sympathetic character, and it's a shame it happened, because following this, he becomes a philanderer, going through a string of Winona-lookalikes, a deadbeat dad, refusing to even to visit his baby daughter, and increasingly just an obnoxious, self-righteous dick: constantly harping on the evil deeds of the criminals he goes after without ever perceiving his own. The callous way he manipulates Ava in season 5 is particularly egregious. By the end of that season, Raylan has lost all his charm and you really just kind of hate him, which seems like a weird move on the part of the showrunners.
But the real nail in the coffin was the treatment of Ava in season five, and in particular, the fact that they split Boyd and Ava apart. That's what actually made me angry at the time, as the love story of Boyd and Ava was hands down my favorite thing about the show. And it's not just that they broke them up, but that they did it in the ugliest, most cynical way possible. But this reflects a general tendency of the show, detectable already in season four: that it took a darker turn. There were still laughs and funny characters, but also more violence, and violence of an increasingly brutal sort - especially against women.
Season five sees a lot of this, and it starts to leave a nasty taste in your mouth. There was violence in the first three seasons of course, but it was more of the classic western shoot-out sort. In season five you see attempted rape and men beating women black and blue. So the whole show took a rather cynical, ugly turn. And it's hard to comprehend why they'd do this, unless maybe the showrunners felt they needed to up the ante on the sex and violence to counter slipping ratings or something like that. But it changed the tone of the show, and not for the better. Justified wasn't fun anymore.
And when they brutalized Ava in prison for a whole season, only have have her buy her freedom back by betraying the man she'd been about to marry - that was the nail in the coffin for me. It was like the showrunners decided to take a giant crap in their fans' cornflakes - determined to spoil everything for everyone. So by the end of the series, all that had been built up in the first three seasons was demolished: all your favorite characters were either dead, imprisoned, or miserable. All the love stories had fallen apart.
It was like the writers were determined to show us that life is crap and all dreams must die in the end. Which might be fine, if the show had been billed from the start as dark, gritty realism. But it started out as a fun, clever but goofy neo-western lark about a handsome marshall who gets to go around shooting whoever he likes and a clever, beguiling hillbilly outlaw who builds a criminal empire. So what the heck? Justified was great for a while, and always really in good in some ways. But it's a shame it ended on such a downer.
Sneaky Pete (2015)
Season 1 = fantastic. Season 2...
...not so much. I hate to say it, because I was really a huge fan of season 1, but the second season was fairly disappointing by the end. The first few episodes were great - as good as the season 1. But for me, season two starts falling apart when the character of Maggie is introduced. For some reason, she just doesn't quite work. Not sure sure if it's the actress or how her role is written, but her character is not that effective, and the subplot involving her starts to make the episodes drag. The main baddie is also not as charismatic as Bryan Cranston's character was in in season 1. And there are just too many subplots in this season. While season 1 was complex and interwove a number of stories, somehow it worked and never seemed forced or confusing. It was like a Swiss watch. Here, it felt like they were trying too hard - you could see the gears moving. In fairness, it must be very difficult to write this kind of story effectively more than once. The show is a lot like Justified (not surprising, as it was co-created by Graham Yost), and it shows a similar trajectory: brilliant at first, then a steady decline. Hard to imagine a season 3 for Sneaky Pete. Nonetheless, season 1 was brilliant.
Lucifer (2016)
Season 3 really going downhill
This show was always a tenuous combination of good and bad elements, but for the first two seasons the bad things (outdated CSI cop-show formula, boring secondary characters and subplots, corny gratuitous T&A) were balanced by the good things (clever sense of humor, unexpected plot twists, forward movement of the central story - namely, Lucifer's struggle against his father and relationship with Chloe). But season 3 seems to be wandering aimlessly. Let's face it: no one tunes in to this show for the disposable weekly "whodunnit" cop-plot. We tune in to see Lucifer Morningstar displaying his divine powers in cool, badass ways. But lately, he's been acting more human than devil, and this is boring. Only a strong return to the fantasy side of this show will save it from ratings decline. Probably the best episode of the whole series was in season 1 when he descended to hell to save Chloe. We need more of this. More 'Supernatural', less 'CSI'.
Collateral (2018)
What is going on at the BBC?
I normally look to them for better-than-average programming, but the quality of their output really seems to be going downhill. This latest offering is another depressing example. Good actors and nice cinematography (that much seems to be reliable) but awful, awful writing. The characters here are some of the most absurd caricatures I've ever seen. The dialogue, mostly delivered at break-neck speed, is ridiculously unnatural - almost laughable. And the messaging is so on-the-nose, so utterly lacking in subtlety, that it feels more like propaganda than drama. The show attempts to deal with serious issues, but ends up making a mockery of them with such ridiculous, ham-fisted treatment. Really disappointing. And a waste of a high-quality cast.
Borg McEnroe (2017)
Great in some ways, disappointing in others
This film deserves more attention than it received, and is definitely worth seeing. The first three-quarters of the film is strongest, with a surprisingly deep and engaging portrayal of the psychological struggles faced by both players, but especially Borg. I don't know how accurately any of it reflects the real life characters, but it sure made for a good story. The major letdown is the match itself - to which the whole film builds, but is surprisingly handled in a fairly hasty and anticlimactic way. And it was poorly shot, not giving you a sense of how amazing any of the shotmaking was, or how the players experienced it. TV footage of matches is more tense and exciting than this was. In addition, it's a shame the film lopsidedly focused on Borg. For one thing, it seems like false advertising, given the title and premise of the film. And since both were strong, interesting characters, it would have been more satisfying to see them given equal screen time. However the film ends with a nice post-match scene between Borg and McEnroe.
Electric Dreams (2017)
A poor man's Black Mirror
Season 1 of Electric Dreams is extremely uneven, so actually there are some episodes that are pretty good, worth about a 7/10. But there are also a number that are so bad it's hard to believe they aired them. And almost every episode has one or two parts so bad it will leave you shaking your head in bewilderment. So, all things balanced out, the season merits about a 5/10.
I do applaud the effort, and was looking forward to this show, which managed to look much better in the trailers. It also has a lot going for it, with many high-quality actors on board (who are often wasted, unfortunately). Where the show seems to fall apart is in writing and direction. Some episodes are so amateurish they look like they were made by high-school students. The low budget also really shows, especially in the earlier episodes. (For some strange reason, the last four episodes are much better overall - not sure why. It's almost like a different series.)
The best episodes are 8 ("Autofac" - with the exception of the cringe inducing shower scene), 9 ("Safe and Sound"), 7 ("Kill all Others"), and 5 ("Real Life"). The worst are 4 ("Crazy Diamond") and 3 ("The Commuter"). The rest are either so-so or have good parts but also bits so awful that it ruins them.
Another problem with the show is that it is so blatantly derivative: it's supposed to be based on Phillip K. Dyck stories, but in reality they're mostly just trying to copy the look and feel of Black Mirror (but without anywhere near the same quality of execution). I should also mention that the final episode, "Father", is an obvious "Stranger Things" knock-off. If this show is going to have a future, they need to carve out their own niche and stop copying other shows. They are also going to have to find better writers/directors.
In sum, very uneven, but worth checking out the best episodes listed above. At least watch those ones first, because if you start from episode 1, you might well give up before you get to them.
The Sinner (2017)
Watchable if you've run out of other options
"The Sinner" seems like it probably could have been a bit better than it was (- not a lot though, as ultimately this is just another disposable airport crime/mystery novel). It was presented in a way that was often confusing and off-kilter. For example, there are frequent flashbacks to the protagonist Cora's younger years, but she looks exactly the same as she does in the present-day scenes - and much too old for the teen? girl she is meant to be playing. The same goes for other key characters, who look way too old for the people they are supposed to be at certain times. It's disconcerting and makes the whole story seem weird and implausible.
The characterization is also generally poor - consisting of one-dimensional stock characters (like Cora's mother) whose presence adds nothing to the story beyond other than their obvious plot function. No one is really bad enough or really good enough to be interesting. And it doesn't help that Jessica Biel has the same range of facial expressions as Melania Trump. Bill Pullman is a solid actor, but has nothing much to work with here, so he's pretty flat. As the episodes pass by, the plot holes multiply, and nothing unfolds with that sort of inexorable logic that you find in really good mystery/thrillers. Consequently, when they finally get to the big reveal, the cumulative effect is "meh".
There is also a lot of sex - none of which seems to have any real connection to the story or characters. I think it probably was supposed to, but they didn't establish it effectively, so it comes across as random and weird. The lead detective has a perversion that is particularly tedious. (Is there some sort of rule now that all brilliant TV detectives must have tortured secret lives? Snore.)
To sum up, in the context of this season of TV, "The Sinner" is a poor man's "Big Little Lies" - by all means don't watch the former until you've seen the latter. Save this for when you just can't find anything else to watch.