Reviews

This is not the brilliant HBO Series 'John Adams.' It lacks the budget, the cast and the writing. Michael Douglas is as miscast as Ben Franklin as Tom Wilkinson was perfect. I like Eddie Marsan, but he's no Paul Giamatti. Elfin Noah Jupe is horribly miscast as Temple Franklin and looks like a kid playing dress up. He is also at the center of most of the saccharine and unnecessary melodrama.

I am a huge fan of Executive Producer/Director Tim Van Patten (The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire) but historical drama might not be his métier, as quite clearly French is not Michael Douglas's!

The pace of the series slowed to a crawl by the aptly entitled 'Begin By Creeping.'

What this series succeeded beautifully in doing is making me want to rewatch the outstanding 'John Adams!'

Not clever. Not funny. Just profane, obnoxious and trying way-too-hard to be shocking. These people don't know how to roast. I've never thought Kevin Hart was funny in anything-including those commercials. Where were all the people who know how to roast? Well the GOAT, Don Rickles, is dead. But we still have Billy Crystal, Ray Romano, Jerry Seinfeld, Craig Ferguson, Ricky Gervais and Letterman. People who could actually pull off a roast AND be funny!

This show was cringeworthy, it was so bad. Did Affleck destroy what was left of his sorry career?!

I read that Brady's ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, was complaining about the gutter-level of the show. I don't much like her, so I thought she was just being her usual mean-spirited self. Then I watched it and I sided with her 100%!

Garbage!

First and foremost and quite obviously, this worthy copy of the eponymously-named film does not have the stellar cast of the film and that's a major difference. Theo James does a fine job as the lead. Daniel Ings, as his brother, is a bit over-the-top, but he's supposed to be. I'm not as sold on Kaya Scodelario. Joley Richards is excellent as the dark-horse mother. Vinnie Jones is along for the ride in a different type of role for him. Giancarlo Esposito is playing on familiar ground as a low-key, successful meth dealer. And, it's always good to see Ray Winstone.

The writing is not as tight as the movie. All-in-all this is a shiny cubic zirconia, but not a diamond. But, I look forward to Season 2.

A sociopath must be charming. He must be able to ingratiate and insinuate himself into a position to be able to successfully complete the grift or con. I like Andrew Scott very much, but his Thomas Ripley is devoid of charm. Scott plays him like a serial killer on the run from the police. You would not trust him for an instant.

The other major problem I have with this incarnation is there is no need whatsoever to film this in detective-noire style. I thought for sure that when Ripley arrived in Italy, and got off the train, the screen would burst into color. Thus, visually contrasting the life he left behind, with his newly-found paradise. Alas, not to be.

Script wise, direction wise, acting wise, it is as dull as dishwater, and moves at the pace of an Italian bureaucrat!

Well, it was going so well. Colin Farrell was in fine form. The noir detective genre and writing were both great. Directors Fernando Meirelles and Adam Arkin were excellent. The supporting cast: Amy Ryan, Dennis Boutsikaris, James Cromwell, Anna Gunn, Eric Lange were all top notch. Then, Episode 6: Go Home happened and everything went fatally wrong for me. Now, clearly, we knew they were holding back a major plot point. We knew there was another big shoe yet to fall. But when it was revealed, it turned me right off this series. I audibly said: Oh no!

So, I'm done with this series 6 episodes in!

I wasn't expecting too much from this series, but it pulled me in from the outset. Creator Todd Kessler demonstrates that he is a creative chameleon as he has moved from the world of 'The Sopranos' to occupied and post-war France; the world at war and and the aftermath; as well as, the intrigue and glamour of French fashion.

Kessler worked with the extremely versatile actor Ben Mendleson on another show Kessler created, 'Bloodline.' Herein, Mendleson brilliantly captures the creative genius of Christian Dior, but also his softness, self-doubting and self-sabotaging nuances. He also nailed the French accent. The great John Malkovich was not nearly as successful with his accent, but brilliant nonetheless as Lucien Lelong.

Which brings me to a truly vile and evil creature: Coco Chanel. Juliette Binoche is riveting in this role, capturing the ice-cold essence of a woman who collaborated with the Germans and used and sold-out everyone in her orbit. She even attempted to use her German collaborations to try and steal the Chanel business from her Jewish partners!

Very enjoyable!

Right at the outset, they botched one of the most famous lines in history when Edwin Stanton, upon Lincoln's death, says: "Now he belongs to the ages." Instead, in this fictional account, Stanton says: "Now he belongs to the Angels." And then it goes downhill from there.

Apple TV clearly has a business plan that involves using British/Irish actors to play American roles in their original series. They work cheaper. They even doubled-up with Anthony Boyle who plays John Wilkes Booth herein, as he was also one of the stars of the disappointing 'Master's Of The Air,' playing an American navigator.

Now, I like Englishman Tobias Menzies, and he was brilliant in 'The Crown' and 'Rome,' but he can't save the awful writing, directing, and egregious historical inaccuracies featured in this series.

Watch Steven Spielberg's brilliant 'Lincoln.' Watch Bill O'Reilly's 'Killing Lincoln.' But skip this dreck!

The brilliant 'Band of Brothers' was aired by HBO, but Tom Hanks' company, Playtone, signed a long-term development deal with Apple TV in 2022, and so we get this production that was loaded with CGI and unknown British actors playing Americans. Also, one notable American actor, Austin Butler, who has obviously decided that he's going to do an Elvis impression for the rest of his career!

Also unlike 'Band of Brothers' there were no standout performances, just good and competent, to amateurish and bad; especially with the Tuskegee Airman part. The writing wasn't as good, and the direction, by Director Cary Joji Fukunaga, not as tight.

Ridley Scott has lost the plot!

Who knew that Frenchmen and Frenchwomen, in the late 1700's, spoke with British and American accents. Quel conceit! Obviously, Director Ridley Scott has forgotten how to make entertaining films, as his post-Gladiator efforts have been pretty much unwatchable. Scott blames the viewers-more conceit!

This is not a dramatic film, rather it is a mildly cinematic feature that relies much too heavily on CGI.

David Scarpa's script is an insult to history, drama, and the viewers. Off with his head!

As for Joaquin Phoenix, he is horribly miscast. He is completely at a loss as to how to play Napoleon. He fails miserably to capture the essence of a man of such achievement and historical significance.

Starting with 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' Director Martin Scorsese has fallen in love with three-hour plus films. It's as if he has fallen in love with every frame he shoots and cannot bear to part with a single scene. Christopher Nolan suffers from the same malady.

Here's an idea: he should have turned the 'The Irishman' and this film, into limited streaming series'. This film isn't slow, it's glacial! It's boring!

As for the acting, this might be the worst film of Leonardo Di Caprio's career. His ludicrous accent is even more pronounced in some scenes. Plus, Leo has caught the De Niro Kabuki Theater facial gestures. He looks like he's gurning in most scenes. As for De Niro, he phones another one in. I don't know what the hell Brendan Frazier is doing. Blink and you might miss John Lithgow. Only Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone rise to the occasion.

However, the soundtrack is excellent, as is the costuming.

Only Hollywood could think that this is funny and great and award-worthy. In fact, it's none of the aforementioned. It's tedious. Dull. Pretentious. Unfunny. It must have been a laugh riot in the writers room.

The music is great: best part of the entire series. The cast is very interesting. The writing is horrendously bad. The directing is network sitcom caliber. The characters are very annoying.

The nudity, sex and f-bombs are gratuitous and condescending.

Ignore the hype. Disregard the awards. Do not believe the positive reviews: both critical and viewers. This series is a hot mess. Avoid. Don't snog. Don't marry.

This film started out so smart, with a brilliant depiction of how internet scammers operate. It also had a great moment between Phylicia Rashad and Jason Statham. Then, it was all downhill from there. Director David Ayer and writer Kurt Wimmer, unleashed a bevy of outlandishly stereotypical characters and found lousy actors to play them. I hope never again to see Emmy Raver-Lampman, with her ridiculous 1970's Pam Grier Blaxploitation fright wig. Ditto for the dull-as-dishwater Josh Hutcherson. Jeremy Irons must have badly needed a payday!

This might be the dumbest film Jason Statham has ever made. God help us all if there is a sequel!

'Godfather of Harlem' is a compelling story for two seasons, but then begins to lose its focus in Season Three. Forrest Whitaker is fantastic, as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson, as is Vincent D'Onofrio, as Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante. When the story focuses on these two characters, as it does in Seasons 1 & 2, the story is compelling.

But, in Season 3, we lose D'Onofrio, and that's a huge loss. We also lose the excellent Nigel Thatch, as Malcom X, who is replaced by actor Jason Alan Carvell, who is merely adequate. We also lose Rafi Gavron (Ernie Nunzi) and that is a big loss.

The two biggest problems, with the series though, are Stella Gigante (Lucy Fry), and the music. Stella didn't exist, and most of the music didn't either. Having a fictional character feature so prominently, in the Season 3 storyline, is problematic. As for the music, there were great songs in the late 50's and early 60's, and we get some of this music, but mostly as background. When the music plays an impact in a scene, we get rap and hip-hop that wasn't even created until years later. It's jarringly inappropriate and unnecessary. This is clearly the fault of Swizz Beatz!

I know the excellent Director, Alexander Payne, (Nebraska, The Descendants, Election, Sideways, and About Schmidt) does not want his film characterized as a "Holiday Classic," but: 'It's A Wonderful Life,' Home Alone,' and 'Love Actually' are not terrible company to keep!

This is a heartwarming, entertaining, and well-acted film that takes place over the Christmas-New Years break at a boys boarding school in Massachusetts, in 1971. The brilliantly-versatile Paul Giamatti is terrific, as is newcomer Dominic Sessa. Da'Vine Joey Randolph also portrays a character with depth of layers.

This film is multi-nominated for the Oscars, including: Best Picture, Best Actor (Giamatti), Best Supporting Actress (Joy), Original Screenplay (David Hemingson). I guess the film directed itself, as Payne is not nominated.

This film is gaining steam at the right time and might overtake the favorite-the overly-long and boring 'Oppenheimer.' Giamatti also has an upset shot over Cillian Murphy.

I put off watching this film because I didn't think it would appeal to me, according to the blurbs. Boy was I wrong! This is a fantastic film that has been egregiously overlooked by the Oscars in favor of the overly-long and boring 'Oppenheimer;' the incredibly pretentious and bad 'Maestro;' and the absurd' Barbie.'

This film deserved Best Picture, Director (Emerald Fennell), Original Screenplay (Emerald Fennell), Best Actor (Barry Keoghan), and Best Supporting Actor (Jacob Elordi) nominations.

Emerald Fennell has written and directed one of the most original and surprising films in many years. It's a crime that Oscar couldn't see that!

I gave the original Bosch series a 9, and I don't give out 9's like Kojak gives out lollipops. I've only rated 3 series as 10's, and only a handful with 9's. But, unfortunately, I cannot give Bosch: Legacy that same rating and so I deducted one star. Why? In short: Maddie Bosch. I didn't like her character in the original series, but with a few exceptions, she was kept in check. In 'Legacy' she shares screen time with Harry, brilliantly played by Titus Welliver. The other big problem for me is that I also dislike the actress who plays Maddie: Madison Lintz. So it's double trouble!

We do get a heavy helping of Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers) and she's a terrific character and actress, as is newcomer Mo Bassi , skillfully played by Stephen Chang, because the quirky nature of his character is not broadly played, but rather subtly, with multiple notes.

What 'Legacy' misses is much more J. Edgar (Jamie Hector) and Crate & Barrel (Gregory Scott Cummins) and (Troy Evans) respectively. We also miss Lt. Grace Billets (Amy Aquino). Of course, we very much miss the brilliant, late, Lance Reddick, who died suddenly in March of '23.

I look forward to Season 3, but I also look forward to less Maddie!

I was late arriving at this series because I only recently added Amazon Prime, but I had previously read most of Michael Connelly's Bosch books. So, like a great book, once begun, I could not put this series down. It ranks right up there with the best: The Wire; Breaking Bad; Dexter; Better Call Saul; Ray Donovan; Boardwalk Empire; Deadwood; Lilyhammer; Fauda; and just behind, The Sopranos, which is still the G. O. A. T.

But, unlike all the others listed: except for Fauda, and the short-runs of Deadwood and Lilyhammer, and, of course, The Sopranos, Bosch ran the board for SEVEN full seasons. There was not a bad season, and most importantly, the final season was great and the finale was brilliant.

The cast, led by Titus Welliver, was simply outstanding; with special mention for Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Troy Evans and Paul Calderon. The creator, Eric Ellis Overmyer, and writer Michael Connelly, kept the show true to the character of Harry, as depicted in the novels. Director Alex Zakrzewski, 16 episodes, allowed for great character development, but never let the pacing drag.

Now, I look forward to diving into Bosch: Legacy!

Whatever this hot mess is, it's not True Detective. It's silly-woke, anti-male, hocus-pocus, jibber jabber. I'm one episode and done for this Season.

I place the blame for this debacle squarely on Director Issa López and Nic Pizzolatto. One of the myriad brilliant aspects of the still greatest series ever, The Sopranos, was the continuity of style and substance. Creator and Producer, David Chase, would not allow a new director to come in and put his or her 'spin' on the show. The director had to conform with the Sopranos style, look and traditions. In fact, an excellent director, Mike Leigh, was invited in and he decided to use a lot of hand-held camera shots, unusual frame freezes, and employed an atypical ending shot. Leigh was never invited back. Clearly, True Detective has no guiding force that insists the seasons be true to any core standards. More's the pity for its fans.

This is the best of the three Equalizer film's. The setting is spectacular! In fact, the tourism board of Atrani, Italy, on the Amalfi Coast, should send Director Antoine Fuqua a huge dish of Gnocchi alla Sorrentina!

This is also the most violent and bloody of the three films. There are homage's paid to 'The Godfather,' 'Godfather: Part II' and 'Scarface' (in one scene). It also has the best storyline of the 3 films. That credit goes to writer Richard Wenk. Denzel is almost too old for this role, but he might have one more in him. Of course, as always, he's too cool for school!

Frankly, this was the most entertaining film of 2023 I have seen, and that includes: 'Barbie,' 'Oppenheimer,' 'Maestro,' and 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning,' although I haven't seen 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' yet. Let's face it, it was not a very good year for feature films!

There is only one person to blame for this very bad film and that is the writer, director and star: Bradley Cooper! This is an ego project, and it oozes Bradley Cooper, not Leonard Bernstein, from every, single frame. This is not a story of how great Lenny Bernstein was, but rather, how great Bradley Cooper thinks Bradley Cooper is.

The make-up, prosthetic's, and Cooper's comically inept attempt at Bernstein's accent, are all ludicrous. The opening sequence, of an aged Bernstein, looks like George Hamilton OD'd on spray tan! Then, the switch to B&W and the younger Bernstein, and Cooper unveils the schnozzola that must have been left over from 'The Jimmy Durante Story.'

This is 'Ishtar,' the musical!

Sarah Lancashire embodies Julia Child. She's not doing an impression, although she is pitch perfect, but rather, she captures Julia's every nuance, and the iconic voice simply becomes a part of the character rather than constantly front and center. It's just there.

The writing is very good, and very adult, and they weave in the '60's backdrop in which it all takes place. Sometimes it borders on being a little too preachy, but it manages to get back onsides before drawing a flag. The colors, costuming, and the set, capture the look and feel of the 1960's.

Co-stars David Hyde Pierce (Paul Child) and Bebe Neuwirth (Avis) and both 'Frasier' alums, bring their estimable chops to the table, so it's not a one-woman show.

The supporting cast support and there aren't any glaring weaknesses or annoying characters.

This film is, at least, 30 minutes too long and suffers from a Writer/Director who is in love with his project so he can't bear to get out the pinking shears. But, unfortunately, a shorter film could not save this one. Structurally it is a mess, with its flashback, within flashbacks, within flashbacks, like a Russian Matryoshka doll!

The most interesting aspect was the films' throwback to those films of the 1960's that had huge casts of top British, German and American actors. In that regard, let's take a look at the cast: Cillian Murphy is outstanding and perfectly suited to the role. I kept thinking that, if this were a different era, this role would be played Montgomery Clift, of whom Murphy reminded me. Matt Damon: ever since Damon became a 'star,' I have found him to be highly overrated. His early work was much better. It was good to see Robert Downey, Jr. Out of those silly Super Hero movies and doing interesting work again. It was good to see Josh Hartnett back in a big movie. Kenneth Branagh is always good and always interesting. Casey Affleck is a good actor who is always better when he is playing sarcastic, or slightly sinister. Also, good to see James Remar ('Dexter'), Tom Conti, Greg Jbara (away from 'Blue Bloods'), Trond Fausa (who was so good in 'Lilyhammer') and Gary Oldman, who nailed Winston Churchill, and now nails Harry Truman.

Someday, someone, may have the courage to make a film that doesn't toe the tired, thread-bare, diktat that the post-war Communist threat was just the fantasy of some right-wing kooks. The post-war Communist threat was very real indeed. Ask Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany. It remains sheer folly to think the USA was not also endangered.

And so ends the reign of 'The Crown.'

In a previous review for the Series, through Season 5, I rated this very highly: 8 stars. I was very impressed with the consistently good writing, directing, and the superb acting. I continued to feel the same for the first half (4 Episodes) of Season 6. The portrayal of the events leading up to, and including the death of Diana, were superb.

Then came the second half of Season 6, and it was as if the producers said: 'Enough. We're tired of this. Let's end it and move on.' So, of the final 6 episodes, they devoted one entire episode to William at University, and one entire episode to the declining, and ultimately dying, Margaret; leaving a scant 4 episodes to bring the story from Diana's death to the marriage of Charles and Camilla to a conclusion.

The series should have continued on and ended with the coronation of Charles, thus covering the deaths of both Phillip and the Queen. Shame on the producers!

As I previously noted (in my review of the first 5 Seasons), the multiple castings of the main characters, as they aged, was near-note perfect. I thought they made only 3 major casting errors: John Lithgow, as Churchill; Bertie Carvel, as Tony Blair; and in the final half, Luther Ford, as Harry. The actor is good, but he looked nothing like Harry, other than the Ginger hair. But, Ford and the writers, did a great job of portraying Harry as the petulant, spoiled, jealous, self-absorbed, vindictive, sniveling, backstabbing, disloyal weakling that he is indeed!

There was a very nice touch, in the finale, bringing back all three of the actresses who portrayed QEII, in the form of internal monologues. Brilliant!

'Marlowe' is not a bad film, but unfortunately, it is also not a good film. The first half drags badly, but the second half is quite tidy and the film comes alive. The fault for this must lie with Director and Co-Writer, Neil Jordan.

However, Jordan has made a quite stylish and handsome film, which is not really noir, more like new noir. Liam Neeson is fine as Marlowe, as are Diane Kruger and Jessica Lange. Cameo spots by François Arnaud, Ian Hart, Danny Houston, Colm Meany and Alan Cumming are also successful outings.

Possibly the most intriguing plot aspect is that, although the names have been changed, the underlying story is about Joseph P. Kennedy (The Ambassador) and his affair with both Hollywood and Gloria Swanson (Jessica Lange).

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, is bad! It flopped at the domestic box office, falling more than $100M short of budget and accounting for only 1/3 of its overall box office. And, you can't lay all the blame on 'Barbie.' The foreign box office saved it from being a loser, but it fell far short of expectations.

The plot is absurd, that's one of the 'key' problems. The dialogue insults the intelligence of the viewer, opting to use that maddening technique employed with TV ensemble drama's wherein a lot of dialogue is spoken and each person takes turns, with no interruptions, overlap, or thought as to what they are going to say. It's wooden, unnatural and it's stupid!

Cruise is aging. Henry Czerny is aging very well. Ving Rhames takes a time out from his Arby voiceovers to make a return appearance, whilst everyone else does and says what they always do. This outing is tired, and portends very badly for Part Two.