lnkhgthrb Reviews

True Detective (2014– )

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[10/10 · 4 April 2020]

Awesome storyline, superior acting, screenplay was amazing, and they did NOT blow the ending. If you're looking for something to fill up your tube and you like realistic whodunits, you will never top this one!

Fargo (2014–2024)

TV show recreates personality of 1996 movie

[10/10 · 16 April 2014]

Wow! Fantastic! Murder, mayhem plus over-the-top hilarious Minnesota-speak. If you liked the movie, you're gonna like this too. First TV episode had more action and maybe a little less comedy in the dialogue/dialect of the movie, but the Coen Bros. influence is omnipresent. One concern I have is that if the murder rate continues (4 dead in episode 1), they're gonna run outta characters by mid-season. But let's trust show's writers to overcome this hazard. Observation on Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton character): maybe it's my imagination, but I see some of Anton Chigurh ("No Country for Old Men" bad guy) in Malvo. Both are obviously sociopathic hit men whose "work" doubles as entertainment. To wit: Chigurh shoots at the crow while crossing the bridge, the fun and games with the coin toss; Malvo antagonizes one of Hess brothers against the other with fake "lawyer" phone call. Later he cons the motel janitor kid into pissing in the owner's gas tank, then makes anonymous phone call to owner to catch kid in the act. My hat is off to FX for coming up with this magnificent replacement for the season ended "Justified". Fingers crossed that subsequent episodes are as entertaining as No. 1. P.S. - Can't wait for somebody to haul a wood chipper outta the shed!

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Underrated!

[10/10 · 22 February 2014]

IMDb user rating of "6.8"? What flick were they watching? This is so egregiously underrated, some kinda rebuttal is in order. What you get with "Diary" is merely superior British comedy in the style of "Knotting Hill", hilarious lines delivered at peak effectiveness ("Sod off!"), my favorite actress (Renee Zellwegger), who stole the show in EVERY show she's ever been in (e.g., "Chicago", "Jerry McGuire", "Cold Mountain", et. al.), and what is probably the BEST synchronized soundtrack to screenplay ever put together. The run time is listed as 97 minutes. It took me a 2+ hours to get through the DVD because of the timeouts wiping away the tears of laughter from my eyes. And whereas so many movies blow it with a weak ending, "Diary" connects with a grand slam home run. Try it, you'll LOVE it.

Low Winter Sun (2013)

Low Winter Sun...plot explained.

[7/10 · 2 September 2013]

Man, is this thing convoluted, or what? Detroit homicide detectives Frank (Cop#1) and Joe (Cop#2) feel the need to murder fellow bad homicide detective Brendan (Cop#3), reasons not altogether clear other than he was involved in every corrupt felony imaginable and some of it was about to rub off on them. They drown him in a fish tank while Cop #3 is nearly passed out drunk,then handcuff Cop#3 to the steering wheel of a car which they drive into the river to make it look like suicide. So the car is fished out of the river later, and low and behold, and unbeknown to Cops 1 & 2, a second dead body is found in the trunk with head and hands sawed off. Turns out to be IAD cop (Cop#4), who was investigating Cop#3. Enter Simon, another IAD cop (Cop#5), aiming to find out what happened to Cop#4, who was murdered by Cop#3, who in turn was murdered by Cops 1 & 2. Cop#5 quickly figures out Cop#3's death was murder, not suicide and that becomes conventional wisdom. Who is going to investigate this masacre? You guessed it, Cops 1 & 2. So they they embark on a "relentless" investigation (with Cop#5 backseat driving the effort) that would remind you of Benghazi. In the meantime, subplots develop: Cop#1's prostitute girlfriend goes missing, and he suspects Cop#2 had something to do with it, which of course he did. Turns out Cop#2 was the former partner of Cop#3 and therefore mixed up in his drug deals and other assorted mischief. So was Cop#1's girlfriend, no details given. But Cop#3 orders Cop#2 to kill Cop#1's girlfriend as he is busy sawing off Cop#4's a fore mentioned body parts,threatening death to Cop#2 if he does not comply. Instead of killing her, Cop#2 hauls her across the border into Canada and dumps her, threatening to kill her if she ever comes back. So subplot 1 is Cop#1 spending his off hours trying to find the beloved prostitute girlfriend. Subplot2 emerges in episode 1 when a couple of small time gangstas rob and kill a nobody drug dealer, making off with a large stash of cocaine. Cop#3 was supposed to be there to facilitate the deal, but he is already dead and, alas, the drug deal goes bad. The adventures of the small timers enters as storyline 2, with so far little interaction with the cops shenanigans...except that everybody knows everybody in this corrupt hell hole precinct, and you can bet story lines will intersect in the near future. The verdict is not yet in on this series. Plot developments have slowed way down from the early high body count episodes, some scenes are seemingly irrelevant and do nothing to develop the plot(s). But by now I have ~ half a season of patronage invested, so I am willing to give it the balance of the season to see what happens. I give it a "7" vote betting on the come. Hope it turns out better than obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

Highest viewer rating (TV or Movie) in IMDb...

[10/10 · 24 August 2013]

...and for good reason! I am now done with the first season on DVD. If I had to describe this series in a single sentence, It would be: Abbott and Costello spend a "Weekend at Bernie's" in "Fargo". Without Walter's lung cancer and the gruesome crime aspects of the show, it would be totally worth watching as a situation comedy. Let's recap the main family characters: Walter could not be anymore square as the high school chem teacher until he learns of the cancer. Wife Skylar is a continually bewildered bystander...and pregnant. Teenage son Walt Jr. is handicapped (CP?) but for the most part he gets it. Sis-in-law Marie is a kleptomaniac married to Hank, who is some kinda DEA cop. So the prideful Walter must figure out how to pay for his cancer treatment. He is exposed to the idea of big bucks in cooking crystal meth through Hank's drug busts, and hooks up with Jesse, a loser, stoner, small time meth dealer and coincidentally a (bad) former student of Walter. And of course the brilliant chemist Walter is capable of cooking up the best crystal meth to ever hit the streets of Albuquerque, NM, so his talent becomes quickly recognized and valued in the "biz". From there, murder, mayhem and drug deals gone bad ensue and the series takes on the personality of the Coen Brothers' "Fargo". OK, now strap on your seat belt because every minute will either have you aghast in disbelief or rolling on the floor laughing your ass off.