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Reviews
The New Look: Give Your Heart and Soul to Me (2024)
Fantastic Episode, like Julia
So I've been lukewarm on this show. It's been slow and the characters are not sharply drawn. However, this episode (5) was the payoff. The scene at the train station belongs with some of the best Holocaust movie scenes from over the years. When contemporaries shamelessly ignore history and cavalierly traffic in selfishness, they should be "sentenced" to watch this scene. Specifically, the French Resistance is being discussed here, but the lessons go well beyond.
I'm hoping we get deeper into fashion and the motives and rivalry of Dior and Chanel as the episodes evolve. I do appreciate the quality selections Apple TV puts forth.
The Last Shift (2020)
Jenkins ++
So Richard Jenkins portrayal of Stan was the best thing I've seen this year. I'm not really into complaining about other folks and critics' reviews, but here we go ...
This was released during the very height of COVID. I hear the premiere was at a drive in style with audio through your car radio. I hope this movie gets a new look through college film or festival redux. Any movie set in Albion, Michigan should get at least 7 stars for setting alone. But I get it. We all want the normal Hollywood style ups and downs with the ending being a resolution of conflict, which does not happen here. My favorite line in this movie is when the parole officer tells Javon, "Maybe you would be better off finishing out you sentence." That's about as real as anything I've seen in a movie in a long time. Kudos to the writer. It's a tough topic handled with a deft touch, not overbearing.
Citadel (2023)
Characters you don't like
Oops, somebody forgot to write likeable characters in this massive budget production. Sure, the production is movie quality, but when the main characters are in danger in a spy "thriller," I better have somebody to cheer for or there is no suspense. The actors are fine. However, if the writing is not giving me enough interesting back story my mind tends to wander. It's like Mission Impossible. Tell me the story of any installment of MI. Same problem here. Since I'm not invested in anyone reaching a happiness goal, because they all just do terrible things, then I tune out and it's just a series of war games. I'm always surprised when producers/directors can't tell they have unlikeable characters. It should be a genre: Mean People Doing Bad Things.
Mindhunter (2017)
More please, Fincher
Come on, Fincher. You know you want to do more seasons. I know it's a hassle doing a series like this, but nothing you have done since is better than this series. Sure, we all loved Mank but it's done now and you've fulfilled that obligation. Bring back Anna and Holt and Jonathan. Bring back Hannah or another love interest to bring deeper thought back to Holden. So many serial killers left to explore. Write less long investigations like the Atlanta killings and don't be afraid to stray from actual events. Mindhunter can go well beyond the profiling by the FBI and into how these characters are affected by their interactions with the serial killers. Much to mine here. Come on, let's do more seasons!
The Last of Us (2023)
Another Dystopian Future Story??
Happy for the gamers this was made into an HBO series. I love everything Anna Torv is in. But not this. Wish Fincher would have done another season of Mindhunters for her and the fans. The only character I cared about in the first episode of this was killed. Everyone else is unlikeable. Maybe that will change. As of now, this is a thin, tired storyline with good production and solid acting. But I'm a story guy. The current ratings seem ridiculously bloated. There were beginning scenes that felt much like The Walking Dead. It's always tough getting a series started. Btw, still unclear to me if Ellie was the girl wheeled in at the beginning of the QZ entry scene. Short hand direction, I suppose.
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
Masterclass
So Lynch is the ultimate cinematic craftsman of his age. He's a surrealist to be sure, but his shows always have a plot, and Twin Peaks: The Return does as well. Spoiler!!! The fact that Bob turns out to be some evil by-product of the first atomic detonation is at once chilling and hilarious. It's delivered during the best visual presentation I've seen in TV. The Dougy Jones character played by Kyle McLaughlin is so hilarious that I have no idea why he did not win an Emmy. Lynch is not everyone's cup of tea. I get that. He paints a canvass upon which you can project your own experiences and emotions. Not having everything spelled out in an easy plot with conclusions can be frustrating. If you stick with Lynch, the payoff in terms of artistry is beyond anything I have ever experienced in visual storytelling. Thank you Showtime!! And congrats to Mr. Lynch for a tour de force.
9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021)
9/11 from the perspective of Bush and his inner circle
Very good doc showing footage I have not seen before. Tells a well-crafted narrative of the day's events from Bush's point of view.