Change Your Image
mmoore325
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Daredevil (2015)
Excellent entertainment even if you're not into comics
I'm not into comics, and while I appreciate and enjoy superhero movies, I'm not a die hard fan of those, either. THIS show, however, has made me appreciate the character of Daredevil so much; someone who doesn't have superpowers who gets bruised and bloodied yet is still a master of his 'gifts'. This show is just so well done - casting, stunts, music, direction - and most importantly, the writing and sound design. It's just excellent. I'd been hearing the buzz about Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage recently, but because I'm not into comics, I kind of brushed it off. Yet, 2 weeks ago, I got into Jessica Jones and enjoyed it. This past weekend, I took a chance on Daredevil, and wound up binge-watching both seasons. I just thoroughly enjoyed it, and having Vincent D'Onofrio as the heavy was just icing on the cake, since he is one of my favorite actors. Letting this kind of story stretch over episodes does Daredevil justice; as many other posters have noted, a typical summer blockbuster format just doesn't work for this (no dis to Affleck, whom I respect a lot).
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)
The Only DVD Set of a Television Show That I Own
Even though I have enjoyed a lot of excellent television in my lifetime, this is the only DVD set I've ever purchased (seasons 1 through 5). Often, I don't re-watch the episodes, but instead, I listen to them. Dialogue is like music to me, and this show has excellent writing and dialogue. My favorite seasons are 1 through 5. The stories are so rich; some of them are truly moving. Just hearing them helps me get through a rough day sometimes, or even helps me concentrate at work!
I think what I appreciate most about this show, especially the early seasons, is that it's not crammed with the whole legal process like the original Law & Order, and it doesn't have melodrama with stupid twists and turns like SVU. I like that we get inside the criminals' heads, and then inside Goren's head as he figures out what is driving the criminals' pathology. I'm always more interested in WHY a criminal did something than the What or How. And then I come back to the voices of the actors - Goren, Eames, Deakins, Carver. I just love how their voices sound.
My favorite episodes that I watch or listen all the time are Semi- Professional, Smothered, Phantom, Yesterday, Art, The Extra Man, My Good Name, Dead, Bright Boy, A Person of Interest, Seizure, Beast, Tomorrow, The Collective, Identity, and Sound Bodies. Other episodes that are excellent but I can rarely revisit are Badge, Acts of Contrition, Homo Homini Lupis, and Untethered.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Acts of Contrition (2005)
SPOILERS: One of the most disturbing and moving episodes of the series
I'll just start at the end. A nun (Angie) who has been rescuing prostitutes for almost 20 years confesses to setting up a black boy to be beaten up for dating a white girl, calling him n****r and kicking him herself...all to get a fellow skinhead to like her. They were all teenagers at the time. The boy didn't die but might as well have; he's been practically a "vegetable" ever since.
When it's all said and done, you completely understand who she was 20 years ago and even have compassion for her despite what she did. You also understand the outrage and bitterness of the young man (Eddie, the victim's brother) who hunted her down and killed another nun who wouldn't tell him where Angie was. So much pain, hatred, violence -- yet so incredibly human.
At the end, when Angie is on her knees sobbing and begging forgiveness, knowing she will eventually be charged with murder with the other 2 assailants for the beating, I still cry, even after seeing this episode several times. There's something startling about the sound her rosary makes on the concrete, when she places her hand on the floor where her fellow nun was killed. Her guilt and anguish, Carver's face, Goren and Eames solemnly standing by, the shock on her priest's face, now knowing all the details, the dead nun, the practically comatose victim, how Angie tried to redeem herself but it wasn't enough, the injustice and violence, racism, hate -- it's just heartbreaking.
The Reef (1999)
bad, bad, deliciously bad
This was one of the worst films I have ever seen - VERY made for TV - but it was still very entertaining. I'm surprised that I watched the entire film, but then again, not really, because I love Timothy Dalton, and he is watchable in even bad films.