The Diplomat is an absolute triumph of storytelling. Debora Cahn's brilliant political thriller incorporates the best elements of her most high-profile TV work to date, mixing the relentless pacing of Homeland, the complex relationship portrayals of Grey's Anatomy, and the resolutely smart dialogue & sky-high audience expectations of the Sorkin years of The West Wing. Throw that into a brew along with a flawless cast and you get a show that is nigh impossible to stop watching mid-binge.
Keri Russell's return to TV after her iconic run on The Americans does not disappoint. Here she portrays yet another strong, brilliant woman in a position of power but this time she's out of the shadows and on the most public of stages. She deftly shifts between a rigidly formal diplomatic persona and her foul-mouthed, cutthroat private life, sometimes in the space of a couple of sentences, yet her humanity shines through. She grapples with imposter syndrome as she's thrust into an unexpectedly high profile position, but never loses sight of her strengths. She knows that she can stand toe-to-toe with her legendary-in-diplomatic-circles husband. (In fact, she warns her new colleagues that she's the only one who can help them decode or resist his charms.)
Watching their sometimes partnership / sometimes rivalry unfold across the 8 episodes is mesmerizing as both she & Rufus Sewell mercilessly chew up every scene. They're both preternatural acting talents who are used to stealing the camera from other actors, and their slow circling of each other is like a dance with words. Sewell shines as the other Ambassador in their marriage who's grappling with a crumbling relationship that he wants to save, but doesn't seem to know whether it's because he loves his wife or if she offers him a new pathway to power.
The overarching mystery of the series blends seamlessly with the evolution of their relationship, with neither feeling forced or unrealistic. And the area where so many shows can falter - the supporting roles - is yet another where this one rises above expectations. All of the secondary players shine, with the only ding against the series being the underutilization of Jess Chanliau's Ronnie. But, then again, the hallmark of the series seems to be making sure that you always want to see more. Here's hoping that we get to see more of Ronnie in (a hoped-for) season 2.
An absolutely stunning hour of television with a triumph of a performance from Nick Offerman. Gorgeously crafted so that the horror comes from your own expectations based on the genre + what has come before in the series so far. And it was an amazing adaptation from the game in that it introduced a vital character and moved the story along as it needed to, but in a new and exciting way. This did NOT go the way that I (or anyone who has played the game) thought it would- and that's a good thing.
Full of spectacular visuals and gorgeous direction, Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part 2, is a tragic, magical masterpiece. Its epic scale feels perfectly balanced with intimate moments, and the story is driven relentlessly forward by a bold script that brilliantly adapts Frank Herbert's dark, challenging novel. The end result is a moviegoing experience rarely seen in modern cinema; as the credits rolled I felt something akin to what a previous generation must have after seeing The Empire Strikes Back. Dune: Part 2 expands the universe introduced in Dune: Part 1, making that first film feel foundational instead of merely groundbreaking. This second film is bigger & better (though not perfect), with an ending shrouded in darkness. It is instantly a member of the exclusive fraternity of sequels that improves on the original*.
There are (minor) flaws, but not with the acting. While purists may quibble with some of the words said - or not said - the delivery of every line was pitch-perfect. Timothée Chalamet holds the heart of the film in his hands, and in the most important moments he lives up to the task. His "hero" is haunted by prophetic dreams and is relentlessly tempted by people driving him towards a bloody power grab. His struggle & eventual failure to hold on to his moral center plays out on his face in one of the most convincing turns in any sci-fi movie ever.
Among all of the uniformly incredible secondary players Zendaya stands above the rest. Dune: Part 2 is her coming out party. The expanded role that her Chani gets in Villeneuve's script is served well by her intensity, ferocity, and courageous vulnerability. She's falling for a man who's at the center of a prophesy that she doesn't believe in. As she fights to hold on to him, she's also fighting for the soul of her people- all while trying to win their freedom in any way that she can. The Chani of the novel didn't have nearly as much agency as the Chani of the film, so Zendaya's turn is probably its biggest surprise, and it was a joy to watch.
Given its 2:47 runtime it's strange to feel like anything was missing from the movie, but my only quibble with Dune: Part 2 is that some plot points felt a little rushed, and the climatic battle was almost peripheral. There was clearly a decision made to focus most screen time on character development, which kept the spotlight on the people at the center of the story. In our age of vapid popcorn spectacles, Villeneuve's choices were the right ones to make. But in a work as vast & detailed as "Dune" anything left out creates a gap that is hard not to notice. When deciding what to keep and what to skip, like Paul Atreides, he's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. I'd just love a chance to see what ended up on the editing room floor in a Director's Cut someday.
*Check out my List, "Second Verse, Better Then the First," for my take on which sequels top their originals.
As someone who came of age in Boston just before and after the Charles Stuart case, this documentary series hit like a gut punch. I was a white kid in an ethnically mixed "border region" between a mostly-Black neighborhood and an all-white one. It is incredible how the filmmakers were able to accurately capture the tension that ran throughout the Black parts of the city in the immediate aftermath of the crime - especially in neighborhoods like mine - as well as the perspective of the white citizens who were feeling threatened by the violence that was raging through the ghettoized areas, and now seems poised to directly threaten them. Particularly haunting to me were the comments made by the unrepentant police detective, who is hopelessly lost in the white supremacist methods and attitudes of his day. I had a police officer in my family around that time and I heard some of the exact same things from them.
For anyone who did not live through this epoch-defining period of Boston history, this series is a must-watch.
Jon Bernthal proves that his incredible turn as Frank Castle in Daredevil season 2 was no fluke. He brings an intensity and emotional depth to the role that is as relentless as Frank's thirst for revenge. His simmering hatred for all those responsible for the death of his family is always just below the surface and is made all the more believable by the moments when his pre-tragedy kindness flashes through- especially when we see the struggle that he goes through to keep that part of him hidden. It's a mesmerizing performance that sets him apart from almost every other performance in the MCU to date, TV or film.
With a nice balance of action, mystery, and conspiracy, the plot and pacing are great. There is very little whining and forced-conflict-for-drama's-sake nonsense, making for few stretches when you feel like the story is dragging or that a subplot is acting as filler. Even better, the supporting players all give really good performances. (Special shout out to the don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-her appearance by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as an ambitious, morally pragmatic CIA administrator, and to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for his turn as the desperate, tortured Micro.) The action is impeccably directed, and there's nary a bad shot to be found. It's as well-constructed a piece of television that you have any right to expect. The only reason why I don't rank this as my #1 season of all MCU TV is that while everything hits hard and lands true, it just doesn't have the emotional complexity of Jessica Jones' first season. For example, the subplot where they explore PTSD and the havoc that it can wreak on people and society is interesting and well-done, but it's obviously an add-on. As good as he is (and Daniel Webber is really effing good in the role), the former soldier who is the focus of that story is not the center of the series. At its core, The Punisher has always been about revenge (except for that crazy comics run where he was an angel). He's a heat-seeking missile whose only superpower is his stubborn refusal to die. It's inevitable that in order to tell a different kind of story the writers needed to insert a side character. This is not a knock, though. This show is what it is and never shies away from that, and that's a good thing.
Frank's last words in the final scene, "I'm scared," are a perfect coda to the season, giving us yet one more heart-aching surprise and cementing Netflix' status as the maker of the best MCU TV shows, redeeming itself after middling offerings Luke Cage and Iron Fist, and a not-quite-all-it-could-have-been The Defenders. In the end, the only bad thing about this season is that we can never hope for anything as bold and exciting from Disney+.
Bold, complex storytelling blends with incredible performances to produce what is arguably the best single season of Marvel TV to date. (I'd even put it on the level of some seasons of The Wire or Game of Thrones.) Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg uses Jessica Jones to tackle issues of post-sexual assault trauma, emotional abuse, abortion, and more. The film noir style, and light touch when it comes to superpowers, gives the show a grittiness and reality that makes all of the emotional punches land as hard as an enhanced roundhouse from Luke Cage. Krysten Ritter's turn as the alcoholic, self-destructive Jessica is so pitch-perfect that it's impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. When she's suffering under the weight of guilt, shame, and victimhood you can see it in her eyes. Around her the supporting cast also shines, with Carrie-Anne Moss standing out in a deliciously dark role that sucks you in. All the while, David Tennant's legendary take on Killgrave creates what is arguably the best villain in Marvel Studios history- TV or film. (It's at least in the conversation.) His malevolence is tinged with just enough humanity to make him seem all-too real, which only amps up the scare factor. The season's fatal flaw, as with even the best Netflix series of this era, is its length. The story starts to drag about halfway through episode 10, though the final episode is solid. If they had trimmed it down to 12 episodes and added in one more exciting set piece, it would have been a perfectly-paced story; but even with this minor drawback, Jessica Jones' first season improves on the amazing season 1 of Daredevil, giving the Defenders Saga a pretty incredible 1-2 punch to launch their little corner of the MCU.
A wonderful rebound from the previous episode, "Those Old Scientists" is one of the best crossover/time travel episodes in Star Trek history. Lovingly constructed, each of the characters maintains the spirit of their own show while toning things down just enough for there to be a seamless melding of the two. Also, given the central conceit of Lower Decks constantly questioning the nature of Star Trek fandom, there were some nice meta moments where Strange New Worlds' playing around with the universe's continuity are noted. In fact, one major area of character exploration is highlighted and a clear message is given to the audience from the writers: "We know that this is way different from what has come before, but this is a 'phase' and we'll get back to the character's familiar trajectory in a little while." My only quibble with the episode is that it felt a little bit drawn out; the ending was never in doubt so the journey there felt kind of extended. There was space for there to be a much more robust examination of the time travel trope within Star Trek as a whole, as well as ideas around causality, alternate timelines, and paradoxes. Instead, the writers chose to go in a more light and airy direction- which is fine. It just felt like there was stuff left unsaid or untried, so the stakes never got that big. The episode was fun and will stand out as one of the all-time greats of its kind; it just might not stand out as one of the all-time greats.
An adaptation from a novel that actually feels like a novel, The Last Thing He Told Me is a slow burn. And while that usually pisses me off, I found myself sucked in by the story and engrossed by the characters. Except for Bailey. (She annoyed the crap out of me- though, to be fair, that was exactly the point. So kudos to Angourie Rice, I guess?) I thoroughly enjoyed the deliberate pacing and incremental unraveling of the mystery. Jennifer Garner's Hannah is pulling at threads in desperation, and her grounded performance is what makes the show work. Her moves from clue to clue never feel like they've been pulled out of thin air, or like Sherlock Holmes-ian strokes of genius; rather, she always looks like a normal person just trying to make sense of the tragedy and chaos that she's fallen into. I also appreciated the structure of embedded flashbacks. Sometimes they were there to provide story details for us, while at other times they served to illustrate what the characters were thinking. In just about every case, the context they provided felt earned and none of them were wasted.
When the show started to lose me, however, was when the mystery finally gets solved. The performances don't drop off - if anything they get more intense and affecting - but the motivations shift from "What the hell is happening?!" to "How do I deal with all of this emotional stuff?" It can make for great storytelling, but the slow pace starts to feel more like a liability after that shift happens. But by the time I was getting impatient I was closing in on the story's endgame, so it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the piece as a whole.
A final note about my overall rating. I had an average rating of "7" for all of the episodes (all "7s", save for a single "6" and one "8"), but I added an extra point for the consistency of quality. There wasn't a bad episode in the bunch, and I only felt the urge to skip through scenes a few times throughout. That's quite an accomplishment in this day and age.
It's a rare movie that draws tears in this viewer that gets less than a 9/10 rating (I'd give it an 8.5/10 if that were possible), but as amazing a job as James Gunn did in his MCU swan song, he can't quite rise above the weight of the studio's formula. One too many needle drops. One too many reality-bending CGI mega-set pieces. A new character (Adam Warlock) who felt shoehorned in. A litany of all-too-obvious Disney contract announcements as codas. If anything, the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 rises to the emotional and storytelling heights that it does, even with all of that extra baggage, says more about Gunn's skills as a filmmaker than a straight ahead 10/10 rating would.
The movie's runtime never feels too long as each character gets space to breathe and go through a full arc that is satisfying- though the afore-mentioned extended set piece at the end does push the boundary. The Quinn-Gamora story has a (surprisingly) mature resolution. Nebula continues to shine. Drax and Mantis get more depth than ever before. And Chukwudi Iwuji knocks it out of the park as the High Evolutionary, giving us a new All-time Top 5 MCU villain. (Killmonger, Kilgrave & Loki are still duking it out for the top spot, IMO.) But the real stars of the show are the visual effects artists. They should get an Oscar nomination for acting, as Rocket's origin story and emotional journey is entrancing. It's the absolute height of virtual performances, picking up the torch that was first lit by Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films.
By far the best offering from Marvel Studios since Avengers: Endgame, this Guardians film is chock-full of heart wrapped up in big laughs and punctuated by bloody violence, body horror, and emotionally shocking animal cruelty. By the time the credits rolled I felt like nobody who experiences the film could ever stand for testing on animals (or maybe even eating them), and that Gunn was giving a big "Eff You" on his way out of the Marvel door, daring them to censor his vision: "You want a good movie?! HERE'S a good movie, suckas!"
While he's breathed new life into a moribund MCU, he's also laid down the (Infinity) gauntlet: If Guardians 3 is any indication of what he'll help shepherd into existence over at DC, then Kevin Feige & Co. had better improve their game. Fast.
Overwrought. Derivative. Way too long. These are all valid criticisms of Avatar 2, yet somehow the spectacle that James Cameron puts onto the screen ("movie" doesn't do it justice) overcomes all of those problems. The 3D has been dialed back a bit from the original so that it's less distracting, and the character development feels more natural than it did in the first film, which both suit the story well. Family takes center stage, and what starts as a fight against a new wave of invaders quickly becomes a story of pacifism & its limits in the face of a relentless enemy. Again, the villain is colonialism and the Ewoks Na'avi are able to go toe-to-toe with their superior technology thanks to their connection with the natural world- which is shown to be beautiful, powerful, and sacred at every opportunity. Cameron is clearly in love with the water (and has been since The Abyss), and just in case you don't get that message, there's a gorgeous credit sequence that he beats you over the head with. ("Thank you, sir! May I have another?!") The anti-hunting message is also strong. In fact, if not for one brief moment at the start of the movie, which is bookended by another in the penultimate scene, you could almost call it a pro-vegan movie. (I'd put the effectiveness of its stealth vegan messaging up there with Aliens.) The atrocities of the humans are shockingly brutal, coming only after we've had time to understand & fall in love with the creatures that the Na'avi live in harmony with. This jaded moviegoer was surprised at just how affecting the final act was, and at the tears that welled up. This was a mainly emotional ride, with the action taking a backseat until the very end, and even then it's smaller in scope and much, much more personal than the first film. There' a satisfying conclusion, with plenty of story threads just begging to be explored in the forthcoming sequel, which I shall eagerly hand over my hard-earned money to watch. But until then, I won't be going back into the theater to see Avatar 2 again. As spectacular & satisfying as it was, it's not rewatchable in its entirety.
Kevin Bacon gives a quiet, moving performance (which I think is one of his all-time best), in this patient, poignant film that is as fascinating as it is tear-jerking. Ross Katz' understated direction keeps the focus tight on Pfc. Phelps, yet gives space for the people who encounter him during his journey to be affected. This is a small movie, but it's got some of the most incredible acting from minor roles as well as background & bit players that I've ever seen. It feels like everyone involved in this movie came to it with a sense of reverence, which gives all of the major story beats that much more punch. A hidden gem.
A collection of brilliant in-jokes cobbled together into a coherent web series, Plat It Again, Dick is a love letter to Veronica Mars fans that will cause Marshmallows to burst out in riotous laughter while making non-V.M. watchers scratch their heads at the idiocy on display. Don't be fooled by its rough-around-the-edges look, either. There is subtlety and nuance in its construction, with as many jabs taken at Hollywood & filmmaking as there are at the Mars mothership. (Pay attention to the sloppy editing & production values happening in the background of the show-within-the-show.) This makes sense given Rob Thomas + some Mars alums' work on Party Down; and like on that show the cast are all-in on the jokes, with everyone involved doing campy send-ups of themselves. (Percy Diggs III's hilarious take on himself is the series' stand-out, with Enrico Colatoni coming in a close second.) This little web series is a Must Watch for any Marshmallow, but totally skippable for casual fans of the series.
One of the greatest bad movies of all time, Highlander is a landmark of 1980s filmmaking for both its high-concept story and chintzy production quality. The acting is all over the place, but in the moments where it really counts everybody steps up their performances. Sean Connery makes one of his most memorable turns as an ancient mentor, and Clancy Brown is one of the decade's most iconic villains. Looking back from almost 40 years later one can see all of the tropes and plot holes that we'd now call lazy writing, as well as the lackluster fight choreography, but one cannot deny that the world the writers created is one that has endured. Every time I watch, I find myself wishing for more Ramirez, more Kurgan, and more mythology.
There's no sophomore slump for Daredevil as season 2 amps up the action & the stakes, and with two jam-packed storylines, avoids the central flaw of most Netflix shows of this era by not feeling too long or stretched too thin. There's improvement in almost every area, with the characters evolving beyond their origin story. Even Deborah Ann Woll gets to (mostly) drop her whiney, nervous take on Karen Page and really come into her own as a person with a purpose in a plot that makes sense. The addition of the assassin Elektra is, well, electric. Elodie Yung kicks ass & cuts (emotionally) deep. Sparks practically fly off of the screen when she & Charlie Cox circle each other. But the Punisher in the room is Jon Bernthal who absolutely murders everyone in every scene he's in (save for Vincent D'onofrio). He's an unstoppable force as Frank Castle, bringing him to life in a way that is mesmerizingly raw and real. Where the show falls a little short is the utter lack of chemistry between Matt Murdock & Karen- which is most glaring when their scenes together come close to those between Daredevil & Elektra. Also, there's little to like about the lawyerly world. The trial is absurdly rushed & the courtroom scenes are laughable. And there's also the lack of a singular villain. This becomes all the more apparent when Vincent D'onofrio pops in as The Kingpin for an episode and we're reminded of how definitive his presence was to season 1. The Hand is cool, but there's no depth there. They're boogeymen- scary, but not frightening. That said, none of this detracts from the pure, unadulterated escapism of the show. This season is a fun, engaging watch, and as a bonus, it does a great job of expanding the "Defenders" universe by making connections to the other shows, yet still keeping its feet firmly on the ground.
Pitch-perfect production design sets the right tone for this master stroke in comic book adaptation. Matt Murdock comes to life thanks to the brilliant performance of Charlie Cox, who is juxtaposed with Vincent D'Onofrio's startlingly & frighteningly human Wilson Fisk. The suppting cast is all great, with Toby Leonard Moore (Wesley) & Peter McRobbie (Fr. Lantom) standing out the most. The exception, however, is Deborah Ann Woll, who gives flashes of the depth that she showed on True Blood, but isn't served well by the season's biggest flaw, which is the whiney, repetitive and ultimately pointless quest by her to get frumpy newspaper man Ben Urich to stay on the story she wants him to write. (It doesn't help that the resolution of that plot line is the 2nd greatest storytelling mistake of the entire Netflix Marvel run of shows.) Rosario Dawson's fan-favorite turn as the Night Nurse tends to balance it out, though. Mostly. Yes, the final suit design is a little meh, but the show knows it. ("I think that the horns are a little much," Foggy says.) And it's easy to look past that since it only appears in the final episode's final act, and by then the series has earned a little corny fun.
The Marvels is the MCU trying to right the ship... and it feels like it. The shift in marketing prior to its release (i.e. Thanos appearing in the final trailer & TV spots) & the 1:45 runtime are the most obvious examples of this. The film is a good watch but also felt a bit like a sugar rush: Totally enjoyable, with a slightly hollow-feeling comedown. The Marvels has the bones of what could have been a genre-redefining swing for the fences, but in the brief moments where I could catch my breath as the story plowed ahead I couldn’t help but think that the changes that were obviously made during reshoots & in the editing bay were the wrong ones to make. Kevin Feige & Co. are smart enough to know that they've made mistakes of late. They're just not brave enough to make the kind of movie that would fix them.
The trio of Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani have great chemistry and are loads of fun to watch. Vellani is the breakout star of the piece, but her arc felt rushed. In a more ambitious film Larson could have showcased a wide range of emotions- from rage, to soul-crushing guilt, to brooding loneliness, to broad musical comedy. We get to see flashes of each, but it left me wanting more. And Parris just kind of… is. She holds her own, but only comes to life in her quiet scenes with Larson & Vellani. She deserved more of that.
Until The Marvels, the average runtime of an MCU movie was 2:18. The choice to trim that down dramatically for this installment wasn’t necessarily a bad one- it’s just that the wrong things got left out. Instead of quick-cut flashbacks to fill in plot gaps (Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn barely gets any motivation for her malevolence, so her energetic performance is kinda wasted), they could have skipped a couple of set pieces and used the technological plot device in act two to do a lot more character development.
Imagine an MCU movie with flashy comic book stuff that felt like an addition instead of the raison d'etre of the piece. The massive battles & awesome stinger + post-credits scene could have bookended a Phase 5 bottle episode that served as a deep character study of the women at the center of it.
We could have seen Carol Danvers make a mistake and be devastated by her (genocidal) actions. We could have gotten much more of Monica Rambeau coming to terms with her abilities. And we could have seen Kamala humanizing her idol & coming to grips with the awesome responsibility of her powers. They could have even retconned the dismal Secret Invasion. (The filmmakers seem to have joined the rest of us in wishing that it never happened, as most of the plot contradicts what went down in that show.)
Instead, Marvel stuck with what it knows, and what we got was a perfectly serviceable entry to the MCU. It just wasn’t as good as it could have been if Marvel wasn’t trapped in the formula that it created.
Full of gorgeous cinematography and some tear-inducing acting by its cast, especially a surprising breakout performance by Alice Halsey, Lessons in Chemistry is a better-than-serviceable but too-trite-to-be-great miniseries that is, despite its faults, absolutely worth your valuable time.
Brie Larson is magnetic as Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant wishcast of a woman whose talent and ambition are stifled by all of the sexism and ignorance of 1950s America. As insidious as all of the offenses against her are, and as affecting as her performance navigating them is, at times the scenes feel like a checklist of problems that women trying to break through into male-dominated workplaces in a male-centric society face. Ironically, it's during her scenes with other women when the real malevolence of gender discrimination comes through and when she loses many of her battles.
But what starts out as the premise of the show is quickly overshadowed by the love story between Larson's Zott and Lewis Pullman's Calvin Evans. They have a wonderful, um, chemistry, and the twist that sends the show down a totally different pathway is gut-wrenching, to say the least.
The appearance of Madeline gives the show another boost, and Alice Halsey simply mesmerizes in the role. Her brilliance and precociousness suck up every scene that she's in to the point where the parts that she wasn't in felt unnecessary. Who cares what happens to Elizabeth's show? I want to see what Mad is up to!
And that's the irony of this show: The parts that are good are startingly good; they make the parts that feel too contrived or too convenient, or too formulaic stand out all the more. There's a great show buried within the series, but it's surrounded by to much fluff to ever break out and truly shine.
For any who have pondered what it would look like in our post-Lord of the Rings, superhero blockbuster era if somebody tried making The Princess Bride, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is your answer. It's an ambitious swing that results in a solid hit, if not a classic. And while it falls short of being a viable launching pad for a new universe of IP-based media content, it is an all-around fun watch that will entertain and perhaps even delight you, so long as you don't stare too hard at some of the frayed plot edges. The cast is all aces (though Chris Pine is - surprisingly - the weakest link among them), and the script from Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, & Michael Gilio is solid. Even when they're making jokes at its expense, the filmmakers show a deep respect for the source material, though they're not always interested in being 100% faithful to it. Genre films that don't take themselves too seriously can be lots of fun. See the afore-mentioned The Princess Bride or Eric the Viking (which clearly had an influence here) for great examples. But the flip side of irreverence is a deprioritization of world-building. Case in point, there's no sense of place, as the team jumps from region to region and nothing is explored. Another issue is magic- one moment we're getting an explanation of why magic can't just solve everything, and - literally - the next we get the introduction of a new magic MacGuffin. ("See? You can magic your way in!" one character says.) Magic has rules, apparently, but they are almost never explained or followed- except when they serve to present an obstacle for the characters to overcome. There's an order of spies & supposed defenders of justice that one of the main characters was once a part of, but we never see any of them. At the center of the plot is the fact that there's a vast kingdom bordering the region of Neverwinter that's ruled by an all-powerful cadre of Red Wizards who command an army of the undead. Yet why isn't the entire society on a war footing? All of this and more is glossed over in favor of jokes and madcap adventure. To be clear, the madcap adventure is fun and the fan service is subtle enough to be accessible to novices (a really neat trick, that), but as I was watching I just kept feeling like this could be so much more.
Tolkien's work demands dedicated, detailed craftsmanship from the people who want to translate it to the big screen. Why is it that Dungeons & Dragons doesn't warrant the same kind of effort? And what would a movie (or prestige TV series) from this talented team of filmmakers look like if it did? I hope that we can find out someday.
Barbie is a breath of fresh air. It's a brilliant conceit with stunning visuals, incisive writing, imaginative direction, and pitch-perfect performances. It'll go down as a cultural touchstone, but not a classic, IMO. What holds it back is its complete abandonment of any world-building. To be fair, at several points, writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach tell us via different characters that none of the "How" and "Why" questions are important; and what's left off of the page in the way of table-setting leaves plenty of room for sly political jabs & feminist manifestos. (The takedown of Citizens United & Trump's Border Wall in particular are beautifully rendered.) Unfortunately, without this connective tissue the movie can feel like a collection of awesome scenes that are only tangentially related to each other, and the final 10 minutes (which should have been 5) do not feel earned... I know that this can feel a bit nit-picky, but my nerd brain craves rules for my cinematic universes, and I just couldn't help but keep bumping up against the lack of any while I was watching this movie, no matter how many times it (rightfully) criticized Mattel, capitalism, consumerism, the objectification of women, and the patriarchy.
That said, I still had lots of fun and laughed out loud quite a bit. Margot Robbie is absolutely brilliant as Stereotypical Barbie. She's a Toy Story character come to life, and you root for her the whole way- right up until her final line, when she exudes unmitigated joy at doing something that most women (I imagine) see as a chore, at best. What's more, the wattage of her star power goes toe-to-toe with - and matches - Ryan Gosling's turn as Ken. He absolutely knocks it out of the park, giving a heartfelt complexity to a story arc that is, arguably, more transformative that that of Barbie's (up until the final 10 minutes, anyway). And the secondary characters from Barbieland all shine, with Simu Liu & Kingsley Ben-Adir standing out from the (very talented) crowd.
The world needs Barbie the movie, even with all of it's imperfections, and even if it hasn't convinced me that it needs the toy itself.
While the tension at the heart of the story hinges on two of the main characters making choices that go against their nature (Adam & Maddie's relationship is clearly strong enough for him to have revealed his brief involvement with Kara 15 years ago + Maddie is way too smart to ever go along with her CIA agent friend), Treason is an otherwise fun ride with lots of twists and turns. The action set pieces and plot twists all entertain, and since it's a British production, the acting is, for the most part, terrific. Charlie Cox is a joy to watch as a good guy stuck in (what is to him) an impossible situation. Or is he a double agent trying to cover his tracks? And Olga Kurylenko does a great job as Kara Yerzov, either the scorned mastermind of a scheme to take control of MI6 or a vengeful Russian patriot looking to right an old wrong. The show's quick runtime means that it never drags, though character development does end up feeling a bit rushed at times, as some of the side players could have used a little more fleshing out. The writers have clearly chosen to focus on the main plot, though, and in that sense they succeeded in making an inherently binge-able show, even if you're left wanting a bit more in some spots. Besides those crazy character choices at the heart of the story, the show's most glaring weakness is Tracy Ifeachor's CIA agent Dede Alexander. As is so often the case with British productions, when they need to include an American character it's usually the worst of the ensemble, as the baseline talent of the UK's population of actors is so far superior to that of the US that the gap in quality between their performances is almost laughable. (Just take a look at all of the bit players in season 1 of Andor to see what I mean. "Pockets!") The other acting quibble that I've got is with Oona Chaplin's choices for her performance of Maddy Lawrence. She's supposed to be a veteran of Afghanistan, yet comes off as just a bit too waif-ish, even at the end. I feel like there could have been more weight and dread behind her eyes as she realized what she was mixed up in and what skills/knowledge she would have to reactivate in order to get through it. But in the end the story kept me guessing right until the credits rolled, and the main players - flawed choices aside - all had me rooting for them, even as I questioned weather I should. I had a good time watching Treason, even if it wasn't quite all that it could have been.
When it comes to Aaron Sorkin, you rate on a different scale. At least that's what I do. And that scale is how good one of his episodes is the 2nd or 3rd time through. Unfortunately, this is probably the least re-watchable episode of The Newsroom's first season, as Sorkin's romantic relationship banter, while as thrilling to listen to the first time around as any of his other dialogue, is also the most shallow & least insightful. It lacks the emotional resonance of his political and industry-focused stuff. And this episode is heavy on the dating storylines. But those last 15 minutes... Damn. While everything before the final act would rate as a 5 (on the Sorkin scale), that last section gets an 8 all on its own. It's Sorkin at his frenetic best, with a cast that absolutely knocks it out of the park.
The Defenders was Netflix' answer to the Avengers, except on the small screen and with a group of gritty, street-level heroes. While this culmination of nearly 2 1/2 years of world-building delivers on the fun & fan service, it also feels like it was less than it could have been. It would be going too far to call the series "disappointing," but in spite of some great plot-mapping and production design (the scene transitions between characters in the first 3 episodes are a great touch), some of the pieces never quite fit, and Finn Jones sticks out like a sore thumb as the weak link among his clearly superior co-leads, Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, and Mike Colter.
The show smartly resists the urge to bring everyone together quickly, instead giving each member of the (eventual) team time to work their respective mysteries until they all meet up at the same place. And when they do, the fun really starts. The action set pieces are all done well. The production team has even figured out how to (mostly) shoot around Jones' ineptitude when it comes to martial arts. On the negative side, while Krysten Ritter plays Jessica Jones well, the writers never give her enough space to shine. Jessica isn't a "team" kind of person (none of them are, really) but her skillset is never required to move the story forward once her case leads her to her first Hallway Fight Scene. Also, beyond Misty Knight & Colleen Wing (who have important roles in the comics that they inch closer towards here), none of the supporting characters from each of the Defenders' own shows has any reason to appear beyond a passing scene or two, yet precious time is wasted on them, extending the series longer than it needed to be.
Unlike with their previous appearances, The Hand's ultimate goal is one that makes sense, and the stakes are high. (Ironically, the MacGuffin at the center of it may feel like it's coming out of nowhere until you've watched Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which didn't hit theatres until 4 years after this series was released.) What's disappointing is that more breadcrumbs weren't laid out in Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' first seasons. That would have gone a long way towards making their joining of forces feel much more earned. Instead, they each make useless arguments against getting involved that play out less like drama and more like wastes of time. By the time I finished my rewatch, I felt fulfilled as a fan and like I'd had fun, but that The Defenders just didn't quite live up to the high standards set by Jessica Jones season 1 and Daredevil seasons 1 & 2. Here's hoping that Disney gives them another chance to do it better.
A top-notch drama for political & legal junkies. All others may be bored to tears. For those who get through it, the imperfect (true) ending will also bring you to tears- both for its depiction of the brief glimmers of bipartisan cooperation & reverence for American values, as well as the heartbreaking lack of accountability or remorse from those involved. It's a tough watch, but Adam Driver's stoic performance and the story that it tells makes it a vital one.
And so ends the Netflix/Marvel experiment. This may be the most disappointing final season of a great show of all time. Not because it is of poor quality- far from it, in fact. With a satisfying ending that leaves the characters dealing with their respective evolutions, the fade to black in episode 13 made me mad that this was (probably) the last that we'll ever see of this cast, most especially Krysten Ritter as the titular sarcastic, hard-drinking, self-destructive P.I.
After a lackluster season 2, Jessica Jones rebounds with a complex, taught third (and final?) effort. The choice to put Jessica up against a brilliant, non-powered serial killer - played deliciously by Jeremy Bobb - made the show even more grounded, and the introduction of the evil-detecting Erik as a potential love interest was inspired. My one quibble with the plot is that there could have been some non-connected mysteries woven into the story (a-la Veronica Mars). After 6 series, it's also starting to become unbelievable that the other show's main characters aren't showing up more- even in passing. A quick cameo from one of them in the final episode only serves to hammer the point home. When they say, "Turn on the news these days and it's 50/50 whether you're on it," it makes their absences more pronounced.
All that said, the story does move along nicely. The head-fake from one villain to another, while totally predictable, is satisfying to watch thanks to Ritter's standout performance. She is the most natural fit for any of the Netflix/Marvel characters (though Jon Bernthal is a very close second for his incredible Frank Castle). The rest of the cast keeps up with her- for the most part. I absolutely loved Malcom's journey, and Eka Darville shines along the edges of the plot. Rachel Taylor continues to be the weakest link in the cast (though she'd be a stand-out player in many lesser shows). Her Trish Walker goes through quite a lot over the season and it's only in the final episode where we get a glimpse of the kinds of things she could do if the story had been allowed to continue. While this was the first 13-episode Netflix/Marvel show that didn't feel artificially drawn out, it could have definitely been better with 11 or 12.
Savor the good stuff here, and let that final line from Killgrave sink in, because this is the end of the line for Jessica Jones and all of the Netflix/Marvel characters. And that sucks.
Jon Bernthal is back at his intense, mesmerizing best in this follow-up season of The Punisher. Unfortunately, Netflix's second go-round with Frank Castle doesn't reach the heights of its first- or even the first half of the 2nd season of Daredevil. This time the writers fall into the too-many-episodes trap, and if it wasn't for Bernthal's heartfelt ferocity the entire season could have felt like a waste. The pacing falters and the two main storylines are so hopelessly disconnected that when the protagonists from one are the main focus, the characters from the other feel like wasted space. What could have been a tight 4 episodes for each arc back-to-back get woven together and are drawn out to absurd lengths, with the final confrontation getting a 2-episode run-up that is lousy with filler scenes.
All of that said, the show still looks and feels amazing. The action is tight and every scene is shot perfectly. Netflix has done an incredible job of building out its corner of the MCU's New York. Handled carelessly the character crossovers, event shout-outs & other easter eggs would do little more than make nerds like me giggle; but the production team here skillfully uses them to ground the show in what feels like a complex reality. You don't have to have seen Det. Mahoney in Daredevil to appreciate his story arc in this show, but his choices in the final two episodes make even more sense if you have. It's a net trick that (as of Dec. 2023) Disney hasn't been able to replicate with its own MCU shows.
On balance, any fan of the first season - or any of the Netflix shows - will enjoy the second season, but you might feel a bit let down towards the end.
With breathless action sequences, a multi-layered & relevant plot, and surprisingly strong acting performances, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning rises above the abysmally clunky exposition scenes, always annoying just-in-time-out-of-nowhere escapes, and absurd masks that pollute the series. There's a complex story and believable character motivations, and Tom Cruse maintains his fierce intensity throughout- except when delivering great comedic story beats. He's the main attraction, but most of the supporting cast are on the top of their game as well (save for Carey Elwes & Henry Czemy who are flat & boringly archetypical). Both Rebecca Ferguson & Hayley Atwell shine, with Atwell more than holding her own in her scenes with Cruise- even matching his ability to perform incredible stunts while maintaining character. And while Esai Morales crafts a deliciously sinister villain in Gabriel, the lack of depth or even understandable motivation afforded to him in the script limits his impact. We can only hope to learn more about him in the next installment. (Though nobody will ever match Philip Seymour Hoffman's turn in Mission: Impossible 3.)
And those stunts. Wow. Mission: Impossible films are about the ride, and this one certainly delivers. With the exception of a major set piece in the 3rd act that goes on just a bit too long, everything holds your attention and gets you moving in your seat as your body bobs and weaves with the camera. Christopher McQuarrie's direction is frenetic but not confusing, hard-hitting but not abrasive. The flow of both action and story feel smooth (except in the clunky exposition scenes). While I wouldn't call this a classic in any sense of the word, it was a fun watch and I definitely feel like I got my money's worth.
It's inevitable that any documentary about a soccer team will be compared to Welcome to Wrexham, so to get it out of the way: No, it's not as good. But it's not bad at all. It's also doing something different. Sure, Angel City is executive produced by one of the subjects (Natalie Portman), just like Wrexham is produced by its owners, but the mission of Angel City's ownership group isn't to rebuild a storied team or rejuvenate a Rust Belt town- it's to change the very nature of professional sports in America. The stakes feel bigger, and the pressure on everyone involved is greater. And while it's not a true documentary in the sense that it's not providing a dispassionate, objective retrospective of the team's first season, it does a great job of capturing the emotions of everyone involved... up to a point. I was thoroughly entertained and by the end was happily rooting for A.C.F.C. & the entire NWSL. At the same time I wish that the media savvy ownership group had been confident enough to provide full access to a filmmaker they didn't control to document their story. It would have resulted in a more complete film that didn't feel like an airbrushed highlight reel. Founding a startup is messy. Founding a startup within a floundering, scandal-ridden, twice-folded, third-tier sports league is an epic potential-disaster-waiting-to-happen that I couldn't help feel like I wasn't really being told about. At multiple points I could tell that something was being glossed over here, or a major conflict was merely hinted at over there; it gave the series a hollowness that all the great production values and heartfelt earnestness of the athletes couldn't mask. Like A.C.F.C.'s inaugural season, this series was nice to watch but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by it at the same time.
Ben Affleck pulls off a neat trick with Air; he's made a movie that takes place almost exclusively inside an office compelling viewing. Yes, it's predictable (unless you've never heard of Michael Jordan or his eponymous sneaker), and yes it's a dramatized version of history where the (very) rough edges around the main character have been smoothed over. But this is not a documentary. As a piece of theatrical entertainment it's pretty awesome. And the cast all bring it. Matt Damon is fun to watch as Sonny Vaccaro, and Viola Davis is just the perfect mix of nice, polite, and hard-nosed negotiator. Their scenes together are magnetic. And Damon & Affleck's chemistry is still there after all these years. Definitely worth your valuable time.
In the early days of social media and downloadable/stream-able video (YouTube was just getting serious in 2009) SGU's "KINO" webisodes represented a fun, bold experiment in supplemental content. And it (mostly) works. In the earlier videos you can see how the creative team was playing with the "Behind the Scenes" genre, basically letting the audience take a tour of the set, only with the guides staying in character and the premise being that the Destiny & its crew are real. But the format evolves and the writers do more with the time that they have, sometimes constructing scenes that flesh out moments from the episodes, with one even tying up a major loose plot thread. All the while, you never feel like you're just watching scenes that got cut; they've got a consistent quality and look that makes these vignettes feel like they are their own unique series, yet still a part of the main show. And the actors (most of the principal cast, along with several supporters) all play it straight. There's no drop-off in quality from the main show in that regard. The one area where the KINO series falls short is the airing order. By the time you get halfway through the run it becomes clear which episodes had been produced first and which came later. It gives the series a sense of discontinuity, though it's hard to blame the production team, since this was clearly an experiment in storytelling as well as marketing. In the end, KINO is a great addition to the SGU story, and I'm surprised that more genre shows haven't adapted the concept.
Director Tali Shalom-Ezer's slow, deliberate pacing and simple shots almost make it feel like this emotionally complex tale is telling itself. (The recurring final meals are a cool device, and make for a nice payoff at the end.) While these choices cause the film to drag in some places, those moments don't last very long thanks to the gorgeous, intense performance from Elliott Page. Kate Mara keeps up and holds her own, but never quite matches the emotional rush of Page- especially in the final act. Pacing aside, my only quibble with the film is that the relationship at its center - between Lucy & Mercy - seems to come out of nowhere. Then again, maybe a look from a distance (both physical & political) is all that it takes for two lesbians to recognize a potential love interest. I wouldn't know. :wink:
