As if made to prove that film noir isn’t one genre, but all the genres, Steve Conrad’s “Ultra City Smiths” tackles its many creative departures with captivating verve, gliding from crime saga to sporadic musical to stop-motion animated whodunit, all while imbuing each with a spirit so bleak it makes the new series’ dreamy dancing between absurd comedy and moving drama absolutely stunning.
And yes, there is dancing — oh, is there ever.
While describing the AMC+ series’ plot may prove as futile as launching a standalone streaming service for a network whose biggest hits are available elsewhere, I, too, will give it a go. “Ultra City Smiths” is set in Ultra City, a Manhattan stand-in filled with sports arenas like Addison Square Garden, newspapers like “The Ultra City Times” spelled out in a familiar Old English font, and prison ferries shipping in from Rucker’s Island. The island metropolis is also a dark,...
And yes, there is dancing — oh, is there ever.
While describing the AMC+ series’ plot may prove as futile as launching a standalone streaming service for a network whose biggest hits are available elsewhere, I, too, will give it a go. “Ultra City Smiths” is set in Ultra City, a Manhattan stand-in filled with sports arenas like Addison Square Garden, newspapers like “The Ultra City Times” spelled out in a familiar Old English font, and prison ferries shipping in from Rucker’s Island. The island metropolis is also a dark,...
- 7/22/2021
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
In the wake of the pandemic, shows have gotten inventive, many eschewing actors entirely in favor of finding unique ways to tell stories with animated methods. Case in point: the upcoming AMC+ series “Ultra City Smiths,” which released its first trailer below and looks to be a fun / bizarre, murder-mystery told with stop-motion animation and baby dolls.
The plot synopsis per AMC:
From AMC Studios and created by Steve Conrad and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios “Ultra City Smiths” unfolds via the stop-motion animation of baby dolls repurposed as a grown-up cast of characters. The series hinges on an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of fictional metropolis Ultra City’s most famous magnate (Smith).
Two intrepid detectives (Jimmi Simpson and Da’Vine Joy Randolph) follow the case, rallying to fight against their city’s dangerous corruption, at a high cost to themselves and their families, all in pursuit of a gentler place to call home.
The plot synopsis per AMC:
From AMC Studios and created by Steve Conrad and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios “Ultra City Smiths” unfolds via the stop-motion animation of baby dolls repurposed as a grown-up cast of characters. The series hinges on an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of fictional metropolis Ultra City’s most famous magnate (Smith).
Two intrepid detectives (Jimmi Simpson and Da’Vine Joy Randolph) follow the case, rallying to fight against their city’s dangerous corruption, at a high cost to themselves and their families, all in pursuit of a gentler place to call home.
- 7/16/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
A Colorado man who was convicted of rape partly based on the victim's dream has been released from prison after 28 years and four months. "He is very happy to be back in the free world and he is taking it day by day," Clarence Moses-el's defense attorney Gail Johnson tells People. On his first night of freedom, Johnson says Moses-el, 60, celebrated with family members and his legal team and ate a shrimp pizza and banana cream pie. Moses-el was granted a new trial on Dec. 14 after serving more than half of his 48-year sentence for the 1987 brutal rape of his neighbor.
- 12/24/2015
- by Christine Pelisek, @chrispelisek
- PEOPLE.com
A Colorado man who was convicted of rape partly based on the victim's dream has been released from prison after 28 years and four months. "He is very happy to be back in the free world and he is taking it day by day," Clarence Moses-el's defense attorney Gail Johnson tells People. On his first night of freedom, Johnson says Mosel-el, 60, celebrated with family members and his legal team and ate a shrimp pizza and banana cream pie. Moses-el was granted a new trial on December 14 after serving more than half of his 48-year sentence for the 1987 brutal rape of his neighbor.
- 12/24/2015
- by Christine Pelisek, @chrispelisek
- PEOPLE.com
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