Dann Michalski

A Private War is gritty and raw character drama about Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin. The film follows the last ten years of Colvin’s life reporting on conflicts in Sri Lonka, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, along with her struggles with PTSD and substance abuse. Rosamund Pike gives an incredible performance, really transforming herself into her character. However, the script is rather weak and doesn’t do a particularly good job at getting at what drove her to do the work she did, or chose the places she did, or what made her voice unique from others. Yet while it has some weaknesses, A Private War is a powerful and provocative film about the life of a war correspondent.

Mediocre and formulaic, Twinsanity is a timid psychological thriller that lacks grit. When Leeann finds her twin sister pulling away and asserting her independence by ending their business partnership, she goes to extremes to get her back. The two leads Karissa and Katie Strain work well enough, but don’t really have a lot of range. And the plot is rather thin and seems to be stretching to fill the runtime. Additionally, the film is constantly holding back: not taking Leeann full villain until the very end. There’s a bit of intrigue and suspense, but overall Twinsanity is pretty underwhelming.

All Light Will End is a poorly made and confounding horror film. When a young writer who’s plagued by disturbing dreams returns home for her brother’s graduation a terrible secret from her past is unearthed. Lead actress Ashley Pereira is really bad and the weak script doesn’t help any. The directing isn’t that good either, doing little to ratchet up the tension and suspense. Additionally, the cheap, spartan sets just scream low-budget schlock. Incredibly dull and uninspired, All Light Will End is an ineffective psychological thriller that’s not very engaging.

Kristen Bell and Ted Danson star in the heavenly comedy The Good Place. In Season 1 Eleanor Shellstrop dies and goes to the afterlife where she’s welcomed to The Good Place, a planned community made up of people who led extraordinarily good lives; but little do they know she’s not the “Eleanor” that they think she is, leading her to seek help from her assigned soulmate Chidi, an ethics professor, to help her learn to be good so that she won’t be found out. The show does a pretty good job at establishing that it’s its own thing; staying fairly secular so as not to offend any religious beliefs. And the comedy is rather broad, with a little bit of satire here and there. Kristen Bell is brilliantly cast as Eleanor and gives an excellent performance, and Ted Danson is especially good as the “architect” overseeing the Good Place. Plus, Adam Scott guest stars as a recurring character, and is hilarious. Incredibly funny, The Good Place is a fresh and exciting series that delivers a promising first season.

The Gates is a genre television show with a fascinating premise; a gated community that serves as a sanctuary for vampires, werewolves, witches, and other supernatural creatures. The arc of the series follows the new police chief of a gated community, called The Gates, who has a dark past and discovers that some of the residents are not what they appear to be. Unfortunately the early episodes have some structure issues, and are unable to balance the main plot with the subplots. But after a rough start, the series finds its grove and delivers some compelling and action-packed episodes. Additionally, the show's ensemble cast is fairly strong and features a number of interesting recurring characters. An entertaining and thrilling series, The Gates has a lot of built-in potential for where it could have gone, but it wasn’t able to fully realize it within its 13 episode run.

A bizarre sci-fi/road trip film, Kin doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. The story follows a young boy who finds an alien gun while collecting scrap metal and then takes off on a road trip with his older brother when their father is killed during a robbery by a crime lord that the older brother is in debt to. There’s three different plots going on here and none of them are served very well; the alien one in particular seems almost completely disconnected from the rest of the film. Also, it’s kind of hard to root for the brothers as the older one corrupts the younger, taking him to a strip club, using him to pull off a robbery, and then taking him to a casino. And the few good actors that there are in the cast, Dennis Quaid, James Franco, and Zoë Kravitz, are completely wasted in underdeveloped supporting roles. While it has a few exciting moments and some intrigue, Kin is a mess.

An epic historical drama, Titanic: Blood & Steel is a compelling television miniseries. Set during the construction of the RMS Titanic at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, the show follows the lives of steelworkers, secretaries, and engineers as they work to build the largest ship in the world amidst the religious and political tensions of the day. The cast is pretty strong (especially Kevin Zegers and Alessandra Mastronardi), and they do a good job at portraying their characters; both historical and fictional. Additionally, the special effects, set designs and costumes are extraordinarily well-done, creating an incredibly realistic depiction of turn of 20th century Belfast. Titanic: Blood & Steel takes a lot of liberties, but also does a fantastic job at mixing historical events and character drama.

“Oh my god, they killed Kenny!” Hilariously entertaining, Season 1 of Comedy Central’s hit animated series South Park delivers a ton of laughs. The show follows a group of elementary school students named Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny as they get into wacky adventures, including alien abductions, an erupting volcano, a zombie outbreak, wild turkey attacks, and a rampaging genetic clone. The animation is rather crude, but the simpleness has a sort of charm to it and serves as a clever juxtaposition to the adult humor. And the comedy is really well-written, with plenty of no holds barred lampooning of celebrities. Fresh and exciting, South Park delivers an incredible first season.

From director Rob Cohen comes the fun, high-adrenaline action film The Hurricane Heist. The story follows a meteorologist who attempts to rescue his estranged brother from a group of mercenaries who are using a hurricane to cover their robbing of a Federal Reverse bank. It’s a pretty ridiculous and formulaic plot, but that doesn’t really matter as it’s all about the action. And the action sequences are incredibly exciting. The mix of practice effects and CGI make for some extraordinary chases and fight scenes. Also, the score does a good job at heightening the tension and suspense. The Hurricane Heist is an entertaining popcorn film that, while silly and over-the-top, is also a lot of fun.

A stereotypical but well-made war film, Flyboys tells a thrilling tale of daring high-flying adventure. Inspired by real events, the story follows a group of recruits who join the Lafayette Escadrile, a core of voluntary American fighter pilots who serviced in the French Air Service during World War I. The special effects are fairly good, though the CGI is noticeable at times. However, the directing does a great job at capturing the energy and excitement of aerial combat. But the story's weak and is full of clichés, and the acting's not much better. Yet despite its shortcomings, Flyboys is an entertaining action film about a fascinating chapter of World War I history.

We Were Soldiers is a powerful and gritty war film from writer/director Randall Wallace. Based on a memoir, the story follows the Army's 7th Cavalry as they engage in the first major conflict between American and North Vietnamese forces. The writing is especially good, and does an excellent job at keeping track of the battle and at developing the characters. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, Barry Pepper, Madeleine Stowe, and Keri Russell, the performances are quite impressive. And, Wallace does an outstanding job at capturing the brutality of war; giving a remarkably realistic depiction of combat conditions. Additionally, the score perfectly complements the film.

"Ride or Die." Furious 6 puts the pedal to the metal to deliver a supercharged, adrenaline fueled action film that's incredibly entertaining. Dominic Toretto reunites his crew once again, this time to help DSS agent Luke Hobbs take down a mercury group that's stealing military hardware. The action is incredibly well-done, and is full of high-energy fight and chase sequences. And the actors have great chemistry together, making for some really good character dynamics. Though it goes way over-the-top, Furious 6 is so enjoyable to watch that it doesn't matter.

Based on a bestselling memoir, Backstabbing for Beginners reveals the remarkable story behind one of the biggest modern political scandals. The film follows a young idealistic UN diplomat who’s assigned to assist in the Iraq Oil for Food program, but he soon discovers that there’s wide scale corruption. Starring Theo James and Ben Kingsley, the film has a pretty good cast that delivers strong performances. James and Kingsley have especially good chemistry, particularly in their tête-à-têtes about the realities of politics and diplomacy, which also speaks to the strength of the script in how it discusses the types of corruption that were going on and the moral compromises that were being made for “the greater good.” However, at times it is a little vague about the deals being struck and who’s on which side. Yet despite some problems, Backstabbing for Beginners is a compelling true life story.

The Fast and Furious universe is brought together in the high-octane thrill ride Fast Five, which only gets more action-packed in the Extended Edition. On the run from the law O'Conner and Toretto pull a train job in Brazil, but when they're betrayed they put a crew together in order to bankrupt the crime boss that set them up. The cast has incredible chemistry (The Rock especially), making for some really interesting character dynamics; which are enhanced by the added scenes. And, the action sequences are extraordinarily well-staged and exciting. The Fast Five: Extended Edition kicks the series into high-gear and doesn't let up.

A terrible film (if it can be called that) by Clint Eastwood, The 15:17 to Paris tells the real life story of a thwarted 2015 terrorist attack. More of a re-enactment than a film, it follows the lives of three best friends (played by the actual people) leading up to a European vacation in which they encounter an Islamic terrorist intent on carrying out a mass shooting aboard a train to Paris. The storytelling is really piss-poor; there’s no real plot, just random episodes of three guy’s lives, and it’s pretty clear that they don’t have much acting talent. The 15:17 to Paris is a poorly made film that fails to find a compelling story behind this extraordinary event of heroism and bravery.

An explosive action film, Fast & Furious returns the series to its roots. Fugitive Dominic Toretto seeks to avenge his former girlfriend Letty after she's killed while working undercover with newly reinstated FBI agent Brian O'Conner to take down a drug smuggler. The original cast returns and gives some very strong performances. The writing's also fairly good, and does an impressive job at developing the characters and at crafting a compelling story arc. And as usual, the action's especially well-done and is full of exciting, dynamic chase sequences. Fast & Furious is an intense thrill ride that breathes new life into the franchise.

John Travolta stars as the notorious New York mobster John Gotti, the Teflon Don, in the compelling crime drama Gotti. The film follows the rise of John Gotti from a low level henchman to head of the Gambino Crime Family, along with his ultimate conviction and incarceration in federal prison. Travolta gives a strong performance and has a solid supporting cast that includes Kelly Preston and Stacy Keach. However, the writing is kind of weak. Told in flashback, it’s not always clear when things are occurring or Gotti’s position in the family hierarchy. Still, the storyteller motif, of Gotti telling his story to the audience, works fairly well. And the soundtrack and score are especially good and adds a lot of energy to the film. It comes off as a little bias (highlighting the support that he had on the street), but Gotti provides an interesting look at one of the most powerful crime bosses of New York City.

A thrilling high-speed adventure, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is an impressive addition to the series. After moving to Tokyo to live with his father, Sean Boswell gets into the underground street racing scene and becomes the driver for a local gangster named Han. The plot's fairly strong, and does a good job at building the characters and at making them interesting. The racing scenes are also really well-done, and are a lot more exciting and intense than in the previous film. Even though it doesn't have any ties to the original, Tokyo Drift is action-packed and feels very much like a part of the franchise.

The Truth is Out There. From Chris Carter comes the groundbreaking television series The X-Files. In Season 1 FBI agent Dana Scully is assigned to work with paranormal researcher Fox Mulder in the X-Files division and determine the validity of Mulder's casework (which investigates unexplained phenomenon). At its core the series is a monster-of-the-week show, and this season features alien abduction, werewolves, clones, psychokinetics, and spirit possession. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson lead the cast and have good chemistry together. They pull off the believer and skeptic roles especially well, which gives the show a compelling character dynamic. The production values are weak and the mythology is a little scattershot, but Season 1 of The X-Files proves to be an impressive sci-fi procedural.

Lifetime retools their Lizzie Borden film into a Dexter-like television series in The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. Season 1 follows the Borden sisters in the wake of Lizzie’s acquittal for the murder of their parents as they move to a new house and deal with a private investigator who's intent on bringing Lizzie to justice. Featuring Christina Ricci, Clea DuVall, Cole Hauser, and Jessy Schram, the series has a strong cast that delivers some good performances. However, the writing goes downhill extremely fast. At first it’s kind of clever and exciting with Lizzie tying up loose ends and taking out her enemies, but then it starts to get ridiculous with her killing off 2-3 people an episode without anyone catching or suspecting her. And this makes it difficult to develop recurring characters and continuing storylines. Still, the costumes and sets are especially well-done, giving an authentic feel for the time-period. Also the soundtrack brings a lot of energy to the series and heightens the action and suspense. Yet while the show has a lot of things going for it, the bad writing doomed The Lizzie Borden Chronicles to a short lived 8-episode season.

J.J. Abrams scales back Alias and attempts to get it back to its roots in Season 4. Sydney leaves the CIA to join a small convert black ops team and is shocked when she learns that it’s being run by Sloane, but she decides to stay on in order to keep tabs on him and connect with her long lost sister who also decides to join the team. The cast is downgraded to just the core members – jettisoning all the recurring ones (except for a couple of guest appearances here and there). Also, the cliffhanger ending of Season 3 is rewritten into some nonsense about Sydney's mom and the Rambaldi mythology is reworked and comes to some kind of conclusion in the final arc of the season. A few notable guest stars are featured, including Angela Bassett, Jason Segel, Joel Grey, and Michelle Forbes, and the action remains incredibly exciting and is full of thrills. While its entertaining and fun at times, Season 4 of Alias focuses on all the wrong things and is a real step down.

The Columbo series is rebooted with the mystery thriller Ransom for a Dead Man. Lieutenant Columbo is brought in to assist with the kidnapping case of a high profile lawyer, but when he turns up dead Columbo suspects that the wife has staged the whole thing. Lee Grant does a magnificent job at crafting a villain that's able to hold her own with Columbo and parry his joists. And, Peter Falk revamps the Columbo character as a clever, amiable, and unassuming detective that never shows all of his cards. The storytelling is also much improved, focusing on the investigation instead of the crime. Ransom for a Dead Man marks the rebirth of the Columbo series, and delivers a smart and engaging crime drama.

The zombie nation is on the rise in Season 3 of iZombie. As the Fillmore-Graves corporation works on building a zombie sanctuary (called Zombie Island) and prepares for the inevitable D-Day when the zombie presence is discovered by the public, Liv and Ravi attempt to infiltrate an underground anti-zombie group…while still working to solve murders with the Seattle PD. Jason Dohring joins the cast in a recurring role as a private military leader who foresees an inevitable conflict between zombies and humans, which adds a fresh new dynamic that tests the loyalties of the characters. The show does a little better this season at keeping Liv in control of herself, but before long it falls back on the tired trope of her completely taking on the personalities of the brains that she eats; which only serves to make her look incompetent and insane, and her co-workers, incredibly stupid. While iZombie’s third season does some interesting things, it’s also a hot mess that’s unable to keep a consistent tone or progress the characters.

Netflix presents the limited series The Frankenstein Chronicles, a period crime drama. When a body of mix matched body parts sown together washes ashore in London a special investigator is assigned to find the culprit. Sean Bean leads the cast and delivers a fairly strong performance. And the writers do a good job at creating intrigue and suspense. Also, the sets and costumes look and feel remarkably authentic. Yet with only six episodes the series doesn’t really have time to develop many of the characters or plotlines. Also, given the dark subject material, the show can get a little gritty and gruesome. The Frankenstein Chronicles shows promise, but Season 1 is rather weak (due mainly to its limited run).

A gritty crime thriller, Den of Thieves is too dark and ambiguous for its own good. The story follows an elite unit of the LA sheriff's department that investigates a crew that's planning on robbing the Los Angeles Federal Reserve Bank. Gerard Butler, 50 Cent, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. lead the cast, and give fairly decent performances. However, the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes and the plot is formulaic with all the usual tropes and clichés of a typical heist film. Also, the film goes out of its way to blur the line between good guys and bad guys; which makes it hard to root for anyone. Still, the action scenes are intense and exciting (particularly the final shootout). And a couple of the plot-twists are kind of clever. Den of Thieves is entertaining, but without with a compelling story or characters it ends up being a second rate heist film.

Keanu Reeves steps into the director's chair for the martial arts film Man of Tai Chi. The story follows a competitive fighter who's recruited to join an underground fight club due to his unique Tai Chi fighting style; but unknown to him the club has a secret agenda. While the fight choreography is pretty good and adds some excitement to the film, the plot's rather clichéd and trite. And there's a change in tone at the end (where the fights become mystical) that doesn't quite work. But despite its problems, Man of Tai Chi is still a fairly solid action film.

Down shifting into low gear, 2 Fast 2 Furious is a clichéd, stereotypical action film with no charisma. Former undercover cop turned outlaw Brian O'Connor is given the chance to have his record cleared if he goes undercover once more to help take down a Miami crime lord. The acting is just terrible; particularly the performances by Paul Walker, Tyrese, and Eva Mendes (which are cringe worthy). But the fault isn't completely theirs as the script is awful, with some truly atrocious dialog. Still, the action sequences and races are exciting and well-staged. While there are some thrills and it entertains a bit, 2 Fast 2 Furious is a clunker.