Reviews

Overall the series mostly just recapped the reality TV show/was visual pablum ... and didn't really add much to the overall Joe Exotic drama ... but I have to say it! John Cameron Mitchell really stands out in the title role! I couldn't see Kate McKinnon as Carole. I just saw Kate playing Carole. But JCM literally BECAME Joe. We had to keep reminding ourselves that he wasn't Joe ... so kudos to him for the role! He smoked it!

I couldn't help it! I fixated on Manny's shoes from the very beginning, and they amused me almost as much as the rest of the film did!

Just watch it! Swiss Army Man is a tour de force study of the human heart ... framed by flatulence.

Just watch it! You know you want to!

I lucked into tickets for a special sneak preview of "The United States of Tara" last night at one of the local theaters (that included popcorn and a drink...thanks, Showtime and Landmark Cinemas!...it pays to be enrolled in newsletters for places you frequent), where we were treated to the first two episodes of the upcoming Toni Collette/John Corbett series.

We're big fans of Showtime and HBO series TV (if it has commercials in it, we don't watch it...so that's where we get our "series" TV fix), and Diablo Cody knows how to craft an awesome twist of emotion and dialog. Plus, I've loved Toni Collette since the first moment i saw her, and--after "Sex in the City" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"--who wouldn't want to either marry John Corbett or have him as your best friend ... so (in the interest of full disclosure) we were predisposed to like this series right off the bat. We weren't disappointed!

We were honestly surprised that this was going to be another half-hour show (like Californication). The subject matter could have easily filled an hour. The only other flaw we could point to is that this show--like so many others--gave away pretty much all of the first episode (and even some of the second one) in their advertising ... which is just ANNOYING!!!! If you've seen the commercials, you pretty much know how the show starts, with very few exceptions.

Other than that ... we loved it! The first two episodes gave us a nice laugh-to-sigh ratio (and my husband and I weren't alone in that reaction, as evidenced by the sounds of the crowd around us), with a good mix of the ironic hilarity and poignant emotions one could imagine happening in a real-world household with two teenagers and a mother with multiple personalities. Toni Collette was charming. John Corbett was the rock in the middle (a role we expected him to play). I loved the timid, muffin-baking Marshall (her son, played by Keir Gilchrist) pretty instantly, and I wanted to thump the daughter (Kate, played by Brie Larson) by the end of the two episodes, but that means that she's playing the character right. I had a teenage daughter once myself.

I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes! I'm a fan already!

"Deadwood" is yet another example of HBO pushing the level of viewing experience beyond the bland, PC world of regular TV. The language is strong--so strong that those with milder tastes might be offended--yet I'm sure it's authentic for the time/place. The images are even stronger, of abused whores, drunken debauchery, desperation and yet full-throttle gold fever, all wrapped up with manipulation and 'justice' by those in power in an effort to wring every drop of cash out of the multitude descending on the town of Deadwood.

The character of Al Swearengen (Ian McShane, "Sexy Beast") will be particularly interesting to watch evolve as the less than honorable owner of the saloon ... who seems to have his fingers in every money-making endeavor in town, and who obviously sees very little value in human life when it suits his purposes. Keith Carradine is also excellent as Bill Hickock, the former lawman whose harsh methods tend to call his own honor into question.

An excellent beginning for the new HBO offering!