Not at all like the old days, is it? Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray. They don't make them like that any more. Now the humor you get from members of the cast and their guests is what I term Imitation Humor. Give the audience what they expect is funny. Mug like crazy at the camera, say lots of gross things, especially as related to sex and drugs. And sex. Make believe that people can still be shocked. And laugh about it. And above all, act smug and scream your lines. Looney Tunes should be your role model. Or, as Long John Silver used to say: "Arrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!"
Reviews
278 Reviews
Ok, now I get it (I think).
23 January 2024
Here I was thinking all along that Roy Tillman was a super-mean super-evil right-wing madman (get it?) officer-of-the law ready to take over the whole country with his own private militarily-armed militia. A really bad bad guy. I even wondered in a previous comment on another episode why John Hamm was so wishy-washy in the role. He looks the part but he acted like he was asleep on his feet.
Now I get it. Tillman wasn't some right-wing fanatic nutcase, he was just your basic generic serial wife-abuser. He did make some questionable choices in the spousal selection. Nadine/Dorothy's whiny voice & mean little eyes would challenge any man except the idiot she ended up with, but that's still no excuse for Roy's behavior.
Now I get it. Tillman wasn't some right-wing fanatic nutcase, he was just your basic generic serial wife-abuser. He did make some questionable choices in the spousal selection. Nadine/Dorothy's whiny voice & mean little eyes would challenge any man except the idiot she ended up with, but that's still no excuse for Roy's behavior.
Why is John Hamm so bad in this series?
21 January 2024
I've always liked Hamm. Witty but not overly so, good-looking in an old fashioned masculine way, laid-back and laconic. But in this season of Fargo, he truly seems to be phoning in his performance. Or maybe just dozing on his feet. The part needs someone who can think and feel evil. John Hamm doesn't seem to be that guy. Maybe he really dislikes the character he's playing and just can't get a mean fix on him. It would have been a perfect part for a younger Tommy Lee Jones or Robert Duvall. Even Nicolas Cage could have done great things with it. Actually the ideal actor (imo) would have been the younger Joe Don Baker as he played Molly in Charley Varrick. One of the all-time bad guys in all filmdon.
The Lobster
(2015)
Suffer at will...
6 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
If I had to assign a category to this film it would probably be the Theater of Cruelty although I don't think Antonin Artaud would find it to his esthetic standards. There is a lot of meanness and hate here. It is drab and heavy-handed in its attempts at allegory and metaphor. You can see obvious attempts at humor and irony as well as flings at surrealism, but intermixed with several gratuitous depictions of animal cruelty (the film starts off with a woman shooting dead one of two horses in a field and later another woman kicks a dog to death- the dog being another character's brother, ho ho) I think the punishment(s) dispersed in this work come with a heavy psychic price. The acting and direction are flat and deliberate, which might have worked in a 15 or 20 minute scene in an acting workshop but seems unbearable endless in a 2 hour movie.
Friedkin Uncut
(2018)
Where's the Beef?
28 November 2023
I have to agree with most of the commenters about how disappointing this so-called documentary is. I have a theory about it, though. William Friedkin was a gigantically talented man, a man of great intelligence and taste. Look at his art collection. Look at his wives (Jeanne Moreau and Sherry Lansing). Look at his work! (French Connection is a film that I can watch whenever it's and never tire of.)
But I think Mr. Friedkin was also a vain and controlling individual, not surprising in one of his Olympian gifts. I think he felt extremely parsimonious in the presence of the makers of this film. He did not trust or respect them enough to reveal his true self. So he deflected his blessings to Damien Chazelle, Kathryn Bigelow and the city of Venice.
Too late now. Maybe someone with more perspicacity with do a full bio on the man. He (and we) sure deserve it.
But I think Mr. Friedkin was also a vain and controlling individual, not surprising in one of his Olympian gifts. I think he felt extremely parsimonious in the presence of the makers of this film. He did not trust or respect them enough to reveal his true self. So he deflected his blessings to Damien Chazelle, Kathryn Bigelow and the city of Venice.
Too late now. Maybe someone with more perspicacity with do a full bio on the man. He (and we) sure deserve it.
Death on the Nile
(2022)
Who Woke Agatha?
27 November 2023
Bad. Bad. Bad. Kenneth B has normally been a terrific actor and director but I realize that he has to make a living like everyone else. He looks really good in that confection of a moustache. But oh lord, almost everything about this over-the-top embarrassment (besides the star casting) is pathetic, pitiful. For one thing, why oh why must the French accents be so bad? Because most Brits can't let go of their native diphthongs? Why are the Blues being played and sung in this film so anachronistic and phony/forced. Oh well, part & parcel I guess with the rest of the dumbing down going on all about us. Sigh....
Shooting Straight
(1930)
Great Richard Dix Film
11 September 2023
It borders on tragedy (for true film buffs, at any rate) that there aren't more Richard Dix films shown on TCM, and that the ones that are shown are mostly from the latter portion of his career (though there are a few gems there such as Death Ship). While not a Clark Gable or Spencer Tracy leading man, Dix had a special quality about him that gave many of his films an almost riveting simplicity and directness right out of the comkic strips of the day. The guy looked like the role model for Dick Tracy and Captain Easy. When his hair was slicked back against his scalp (Wildroot Cream Oil?) he looked positively two-dimensional: no-nonsense rugged and solid, nothing pretty pretty about him. When the bad guys worked him over, he had the mane of a wild man. With a hat on he was Dick Tracy's double.
In this film he gets to display all the best traits of a 1930s lead: He's smart with is adversaries, generous with his friends, compassionate with gentle folk and tough as nails with his enemies.
The plot is simple and generic as a biblical tale, moves along at a brisk pace, serves its purpose, which is to demonstate the workings of Good vs. Evil.
One thing did stand out for me. In a key scene on a train when he is leaving behind some unpleasant business, he introduces himself to a stranger as "Mr. Farnsbarns". The name rang a bell; I could hear another familar voice from the past saying it. Watching the remainder of the film, I churned through my mental vault of old films but it wasn't until I looked up the name online that I came up with Ricardo Cortez in The Phantom of Crestwood in which he spends the first half of that movie introducing himself as Mr. Farnsbarns. Phantom turned out to be directed by the same man as Shooting Straight: J. Walter Ruben. Turns out he directed another Richard Dix movie in which Boris Karloff temporarily identified himself as Mr. Farnsbarns.
Gotta love it.
In this film he gets to display all the best traits of a 1930s lead: He's smart with is adversaries, generous with his friends, compassionate with gentle folk and tough as nails with his enemies.
The plot is simple and generic as a biblical tale, moves along at a brisk pace, serves its purpose, which is to demonstate the workings of Good vs. Evil.
One thing did stand out for me. In a key scene on a train when he is leaving behind some unpleasant business, he introduces himself to a stranger as "Mr. Farnsbarns". The name rang a bell; I could hear another familar voice from the past saying it. Watching the remainder of the film, I churned through my mental vault of old films but it wasn't until I looked up the name online that I came up with Ricardo Cortez in The Phantom of Crestwood in which he spends the first half of that movie introducing himself as Mr. Farnsbarns. Phantom turned out to be directed by the same man as Shooting Straight: J. Walter Ruben. Turns out he directed another Richard Dix movie in which Boris Karloff temporarily identified himself as Mr. Farnsbarns.
Gotta love it.
The Pale Blue Eye
(2022)
Terrific cinematography Terrible story
11 August 2023
Terrific cinematography, what you can see of it anyay, which isn't much. My wife started watching this before I did & she told me it was really a dark movie, so I assumed she meant the plot & mood. Turned out that even wathing it in a dark room on a top of the line 65" flat screen, it's hard to see the characters most of the time. The candles, oil lamps and fireplaces look nice, though.
Turns out not much missed as the plot/story characterizations are prepostrously abysmal. Normal dependable actors like Toby Jones, Timothy Spall, even Robert Duvall, deliver high school huff-and-puff pseudo-victorian impersonations. Harry Melling is a cartoonish EA Poe. I (we) didn't even like Christian Bale in this one. Most over-the-top of all was Gillian Anderson who seemed to be auditioning for Great Expectations.
The costumes were very nice.
Turns out not much missed as the plot/story characterizations are prepostrously abysmal. Normal dependable actors like Toby Jones, Timothy Spall, even Robert Duvall, deliver high school huff-and-puff pseudo-victorian impersonations. Harry Melling is a cartoonish EA Poe. I (we) didn't even like Christian Bale in this one. Most over-the-top of all was Gillian Anderson who seemed to be auditioning for Great Expectations.
The costumes were very nice.
Us
(II) (2019)
Who?
29 April 2023
I don't understand the popularity of Jordan Peele's films. To start with, his characters - and this film is a prime example - are barely one-dimensional. Here we have a nice little nuclear generically-demographic family: Handsome rugged macho dad, gorgeous (if nervous) mom, smart-ass older sis (welded to her phone, of course) and finally, goofy unpredictable younger bro. They are right out of one of those all-too-pervasive Internet Provider commercials on TV. Yet there's nothing to define each one individually, so who cares what happens? And if their evil doubles appear, so what? They're so shallow and trivial anyway.
Then there's the "scary" plot. I'm sorry but all of Peele's gimmicks, reveals, McGuffins, whatever you want to call them are like stories cub scouts cook up around the campfire. After watching Night of the Living Dead for the 100th time.
Gimme a break.
Then there's the "scary" plot. I'm sorry but all of Peele's gimmicks, reveals, McGuffins, whatever you want to call them are like stories cub scouts cook up around the campfire. After watching Night of the Living Dead for the 100th time.
Gimme a break.
Nope
(2022)
Perfect anti-Avengers film...
12 April 2023
That part of it I liked. Lots more engaging that your average Marvel franchise flick. Don't get me wrong, I loved the comics & used to read Dr. Strange & Silver Surfer religiously. But that was a few pages at a sitting. I didn't have to swallow all that CGI visual & aural noise at one shot.
I like the low-key aspect of Nope. I like the imaginative stuff, the killer chimp sitcom, the ex-TV kid star theme park/cult. I love the use of the car-lot balloon men & the look of the extra-terrestrial(s). Very imaginative stuff.
And yet, so much of this seems offhand & over-the-top at the same time. I some ways it reminded me of of the the most bizarre movie I've ever seen: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? Maybe it was trying to be a pastiche of that (& a whole lot of other stuff).
I like the low-key aspect of Nope. I like the imaginative stuff, the killer chimp sitcom, the ex-TV kid star theme park/cult. I love the use of the car-lot balloon men & the look of the extra-terrestrial(s). Very imaginative stuff.
And yet, so much of this seems offhand & over-the-top at the same time. I some ways it reminded me of of the the most bizarre movie I've ever seen: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? Maybe it was trying to be a pastiche of that (& a whole lot of other stuff).
The Man with the Golden Arm
(1955)
A limp stinker...
2 April 2023
Awful in every possible way. First of all the cast: Kim Novak before she could act, Eleanor Parker playing a glamorous society lady version of a working-class invalid, Frank Sinatra playing Frank Sinatra, Arnold Stang as a cartoon chipmunk, Darren McGavin before he discovered his Night Stalker chops. I could go on. So why did I wait so long to write a review? Because every year it's just gets worse. Even the poker game, which is arguably the high point of the film, pales so much in comparison to the poker game in The Cincinnati Kid.
Imagine how it would be made today. There's no comparison with the cardboard cutouts in this film. Only the music stands out.
Imagine how it would be made today. There's no comparison with the cardboard cutouts in this film. Only the music stands out.
The Lincoln Lawyer
(2022– )
More padding than a 15 foot sectional sofa...
25 March 2023
More padding than a 15 foot sectional sofa and far more parts, too. For along time people have complained about so many movies not being long enough to do proper justice to their plots and characterizations. Well, this is one case where I think the reverse applies. This would have been far far better as a more concise single-sitting film. For one thing, who needs three (3!) different "parallel" cases to be tracked? (Two for Mick and one for Maggie). In fact, I would be willing to pay extra for excess plot removal.
My other carp with this series is how shallow and unsympathetic the characters are, every last one of them.
Don't know how this series gets 7.7 on IMDB but it don't bode well for the world of streaming.
My other carp with this series is how shallow and unsympathetic the characters are, every last one of them.
Don't know how this series gets 7.7 on IMDB but it don't bode well for the world of streaming.
Inside Man
(II) (2022)
Tucci looks bored...
18 March 2023
The only word I can find to describe this show is preposterous. It abounds in cliches and borrowings from a messy assortment of better works. It's hard to believe this was written and produced by the man behind Coupling, such a terrific series.
Before opening credits there is a pretty effective set piece on a subway (underground ) car involving a menacing guy who gets a crowd-sourced come-uppance that has an almost dance-like quality. I'm still not sure what it has to do with the rest of the series other than sharing a couple of characters.
The plot is weak, tanged and plain silly. Tucci looks bored. Tennant looks re-animated. The rest of the cast looks puzzled and confused. Maybe it's a post-Brexit thing.
Before opening credits there is a pretty effective set piece on a subway (underground ) car involving a menacing guy who gets a crowd-sourced come-uppance that has an almost dance-like quality. I'm still not sure what it has to do with the rest of the series other than sharing a couple of characters.
The plot is weak, tanged and plain silly. Tucci looks bored. Tennant looks re-animated. The rest of the cast looks puzzled and confused. Maybe it's a post-Brexit thing.
Luther: The Fallen Sun
(2023)
Woof...What was that?
15 March 2023
I'm embarrassed even to admit I watched this - all the way through yet - but only for Idris Elba who I hope was paid a trunkful of dough, Because was the worst stinker I have seen so far. If this doesn't sink Netflix, they must have a powerful fairy godmother (and it ain't the BBC). Not only was there no perceivable plot, it seemed like they were making it up as they were going along, frame by frame, from old (and I do mean OLD) hoary B (or less) movies and long-forgotten TV shows. When the final scene played at least a half dozen major threads were left hanging. I guess they figured no one would notice as there was no real plot either. Finally, the villain was played by Andy Serkis who has spent a good part of his career under heavy makeup and monster and animal disguises. Which is where he belongs because he's definitely no Anthony Hopkins.
Cosmopolis
(2012)
Brilliant!
26 February 2023
From every standpoint & perspective, David Cronenberg has perfectly captured & translated Don Delillo's brilliant novel. Perfect casting, acting, direction, it all works. Just the opposite, unfortunately, the current film version of Delillo's White Noise. Odd, because Cosmopolis is by far the more cerebral of both novels. But then that's the difference between a brilliant, skilled, imaginative director and one who goes after obvious cinematic effects with a less than stellar cast.
Why does IMDB require a fixed number of characters in a review. And why does it now require you to search for "Celebs" on its site versus individuals or just plain people? Oh well, soon, I guess, we'll all be replaced by Chatbots.
Why does IMDB require a fixed number of characters in a review. And why does it now require you to search for "Celebs" on its site versus individuals or just plain people? Oh well, soon, I guess, we'll all be replaced by Chatbots.
White Noise
(I) (2022)
Truly Awful
19 February 2023
White Noise has always been one of my favorite books. Don DeLillo is a cerebral writer. He is an artist of words. I put him in a category with Shakespeare, Joyce, Hemingway, Beckett. My original 1986 paperback is filled with many dozens of bookmarks & annotations. It spoke to me as a universal parable of modern American existence. It was not a situational comedy. It was not a snapshot of life in the 1970s. It was not sci-fi or satire. It was all of the above & more & way beyond.
What was brilliantly insightful & funny on the page becomes petty & clever self-consciousness on the screen. Comes off like Shakespeare as performed with earnest sincerity by an untalented community theater group. Lines should have been spoken with little or no inflection, Twilight Zone-style. There are far too many layers of unnecessary "acting". An overabundance of actorly quirks & mannerisms. It all comes off like bad sketch performing.
There used to be film directors capable of converting novels into cinematic masterpieces. Three who come to mind are John Huston, Stanley Kubrick, and Andre Tarkovsky. Their kind has apparently reached extinction.
PS Why does IMDB require a fixed number of characters in a review. And why does it now require you to search for "Celebs" on its site versus individuals or just plain people? Oh well, soon, I guess, we will all be replaced by Chatbots.
What was brilliantly insightful & funny on the page becomes petty & clever self-consciousness on the screen. Comes off like Shakespeare as performed with earnest sincerity by an untalented community theater group. Lines should have been spoken with little or no inflection, Twilight Zone-style. There are far too many layers of unnecessary "acting". An overabundance of actorly quirks & mannerisms. It all comes off like bad sketch performing.
There used to be film directors capable of converting novels into cinematic masterpieces. Three who come to mind are John Huston, Stanley Kubrick, and Andre Tarkovsky. Their kind has apparently reached extinction.
PS Why does IMDB require a fixed number of characters in a review. And why does it now require you to search for "Celebs" on its site versus individuals or just plain people? Oh well, soon, I guess, we will all be replaced by Chatbots.
The Devil's Hour
(2022– )
If you like M. Night Shyamalan...
14 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
If you like M. Night Shyamalan you will love this. Also if you believe in ghosts, goblins and reincarnation. And probably believing in Santa Clause might help. I don't believe in any of them so I was a fan un til the last couple of episodes, when the underlying gimmicks began to make themselves evident. Sorry, but for all the great acting, the beautiful sets and lighting and the impeccable photography, the McGuffin or whatever it'd called is such a laughable bad joke, I would have given this a flat out 1 (or zero). That's to say nothing of the countless (almost) red herrings and dropped clues and trails. C'mon Apple and Amazon, get back to what you're good at. Leave show biz to the pros.
Surprisingly atrocious...
6 December 2022
Considering that Brazil and Fisher King are two of my all-time favorite films, I am amazed at how awful this thing is. Sloppy and choppy are the first descriptors that come to mind. Shallow and meaningless are two more. It's like a gourmet feast whose ingredients have been sitting around the kitchen, decaying like Miss Havisham's wedding cake, until for the lack of cohesive effort, they are simply thrown together in a pot, stirred and served to a (mostly) guileless audience. Ugh.
No comment on the "acting". No acting was called for in this thing. Adam Driver was a perfect choice for the lead..
No comment on the "acting". No acting was called for in this thing. Adam Driver was a perfect choice for the lead..
L'année Juliette
(1995)
Outstanding film.
1 December 2022
Delectably French: Funny. Ironic. Glamorous. Sexy. Fabrice Lucchini is one of France's great actors. What a voice, what diction. He is so perfect in this. Gullible yet guileful.
And...
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
And...
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
The Peripheral
(2022)
I give up
12 November 2022
Started off with a bang. Pilot was a 10, no hesitation. Then it went more or less steadily downhill. Became more & more a pile of tropes & cliches. Hillbillies of the most generic variety. Ex-military dudes performing CGI-assisted maneuvers out of a cheap video game. Futuristic badguy/badgirl characters doing lame Matrix imitations in pointless & confusing gambits. Overall pretty bad acting, too. Especially the lead who hasn't changed in looks or range since she was 5 years old.
I really like William Gibson's work, too, but they never seem to work on the screen. Interesting that his original inspiration was supposedly my favorite film, Blade Runner.
Not going back to watch after ep. 5.
I really like William Gibson's work, too, but they never seem to work on the screen. Interesting that his original inspiration was supposedly my favorite film, Blade Runner.
Not going back to watch after ep. 5.
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
(2021–2022)
Boring and humorless...
31 October 2022
Why does Stanley Tucci come across as so boring and dry and prissy and humorless? Is it all those nasty fusspots he always plays in films? This is in no way an enjoyable series at all, not for the food nor for the travel. I'll take Rick Steves any day.
Why, for that matter should I have to come up with an additional 248 characters to describe why this show displeases me?
Oh well.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Why, for that matter should I have to come up with an additional 248 characters to describe why this show displeases me?
Oh well.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Severance
(2022– )
Pretty much misses on all counts
29 July 2022
I read a review of Severance by a popular media critic that compared Severance to Kafka. I have to assume he's familiar with the author of The Trial from vague references in other peoples' writings, because the only thing Severance has in common with anything written by Kafka is the furniture. Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit maybe.
It's hard to tell what the point of it all is. The plot never builds or goes anywhere. Many teasers are tossed out only to quickly wither & die. Even the title itself is not clearly or consistently conveyed. Not all characters appear to be taking part in the so-called Severance. The tech displayed is super clunky which is humorous at first but wears very thin after the first episode, to say nothing of 7 more highly repetitive hours. The "reveal" at the end just seems appropriated from an early Twilight Zone.
It seems like the ideal audience for Severance might be someone who has not read a book or seen a movie or show more than a couple years old.
To see a similar subject expertly done, watch the Truman Show.
It's hard to tell what the point of it all is. The plot never builds or goes anywhere. Many teasers are tossed out only to quickly wither & die. Even the title itself is not clearly or consistently conveyed. Not all characters appear to be taking part in the so-called Severance. The tech displayed is super clunky which is humorous at first but wears very thin after the first episode, to say nothing of 7 more highly repetitive hours. The "reveal" at the end just seems appropriated from an early Twilight Zone.
It seems like the ideal audience for Severance might be someone who has not read a book or seen a movie or show more than a couple years old.
To see a similar subject expertly done, watch the Truman Show.
Black Bird
(2022)
Don't know if I can stay with this...
17 July 2022
I stopped watching mediocre network-based cops & robbers series many years ago. Everything there is so cookie-cutter: the plots, the acting. So why does Apple, a first rate company in everything else they do, foist this on the public. I love my iphone, ipad, watch, but this show is atrocious.
Biggest problem is the pretty-boy lead who looks like a toy store action figure & has one single expression during the first 2 episodes: What am I supposed to be doing here? Do I have the accent right? I have never seen worse acting.
Almost as bad (maybe even worse) is the writing. It seems Lehane (or whoever does the main scripting) feels that multiple uses of the F word by almost everyone in the cast makes the show sound grittier & moe "realistic". Yeah, if it were being played by teenagers. Also this is supposed to be taking place in the 1990s, right? No one ever said "Stay safe" back then. Yet they have Ray Liotta's character saying it, of all people.
I could go on. Don't get me started on the FBI lady. Wow, talk about amateur hour. This whole series reminds me of those low-budget movies from the 1970s with actors no one ever heard of that used to show up in the wee hours on TNT & TBS.
One extra point for Greg Kinnear, always a pro.
Biggest problem is the pretty-boy lead who looks like a toy store action figure & has one single expression during the first 2 episodes: What am I supposed to be doing here? Do I have the accent right? I have never seen worse acting.
Almost as bad (maybe even worse) is the writing. It seems Lehane (or whoever does the main scripting) feels that multiple uses of the F word by almost everyone in the cast makes the show sound grittier & moe "realistic". Yeah, if it were being played by teenagers. Also this is supposed to be taking place in the 1990s, right? No one ever said "Stay safe" back then. Yet they have Ray Liotta's character saying it, of all people.
I could go on. Don't get me started on the FBI lady. Wow, talk about amateur hour. This whole series reminds me of those low-budget movies from the 1970s with actors no one ever heard of that used to show up in the wee hours on TNT & TBS.
One extra point for Greg Kinnear, always a pro.
Inherent Vice
(2014)
Brilliant!
25 June 2022
Not easy to transcribe anything by Pynchon to film but I have a feeling TP must be very pleased with this result. Such a perfect balance of lunacy, surrealism, social satire & just plain fun. Joaquin Phoenix shows what a master he is at acting: so many details, so many layers, so much depth & it's like he is dancing the whole time.
I like to read 1 star reviews of things I really like & the ones here really take the cake. Can't believe the number of people who were bummed because this wasn't The Big Lebowski. Gimme a break folks. That's like saying you hate The Wolfman (Lon Chaney's) because it's not Scooby Doo.
I like to read 1 star reviews of things I really like & the ones here really take the cake. Can't believe the number of people who were bummed because this wasn't The Big Lebowski. Gimme a break folks. That's like saying you hate The Wolfman (Lon Chaney's) because it's not Scooby Doo.
The Old Man
(2022– )
Are you kidding me...?
18 June 2022
Jeff Bridges appears to be morphing into Kris Kristofferson - who never did learn to act. This thing is so STUPID. Everyone is a cliche. Or worse. Tired old jokes about old guys having to pee during the night. Gee never knew that. Guess that really defines The Old Man. Goes on a first date & makes chitchat about respective medications. Ho ho ho. How realistic (in Hollywood anyway). Lots & lots of soapy dialog here, Very little action. Well, it is on FX...
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