Director Steve McQueen is an enigma. Each film and TV series he has made is a uniquely different story. 12 YEARS A SLAVE was a historical drama, WIDOWS was a thriller, and SMALL AXE was a small character study. The one thing that ties his work together is how effectively he can use intense sound design and music with minimal dialogue to tell stories. The same can be said for BLITZ, his most straightforward historical thriller. Yet, from the get-go,…
Continue Reading
After last week’s season-best episode, SHRINKING returns to normalcy with a good, not great, edition. While seeing Jimmy and the gang move forward in various areas of their lives is emotionally satisfying, the convenient ending feels forced and out of place for what came before. In any other series, it would work. But SHRINKING grounds itself in therapy and authentic character portrayals. To have something so convenient diminishes the big cliffhanger. E7 is the season’s weakest episode so far. The…
Continue Reading
While Guillermo faces an identity crisis at work, this show continues to know its identity as it reaches the final episode’s home stretch. MARCH MADNESS is hilarious, thanks to Guillermo’s office antics, and much more heartfelt than expected, thanks to Lazlo grappling with human mortality. The MVP this week is easily Lazlo. Despite the seriousness of mortality, his character has one funny piece of dialogue after the next about demons and March Madness (don’t ask). WHAT WE DO IN THE…
Continue Reading
FROM continues to be a show that has so much freaking potential, only to continue to fall from grace. I’ve complained every week about the absurdly slow pacing in this series. And it won’t come as a “revelation” to anyone that this week is more of the same. Slow, slow, slow, boring, tedious, and BOOM, the exciting climax hits. My biggest highlights this week: FROM reminds me of my love/hate relationship with FOR ALL MANKIND. A series with a ridiculous…
Continue Reading
I need to see more to decide whether or not DUNE: PROPHECY is of the same caliber as DUNE and DUNE: PART TWO.…
Continue Reading
Clint Eastwood’s latest film is a serviceable courtroom thriller that pays homage to 12 ANGRY MEN with a twist. It works for the most part, thanks to its all-star cast, intelligent script, and Eastwood’s straightforward directing style. Where things fall apart is in the third act. Just when I thought the film would end, it goes on one scene too long, making for an unnecessary LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING extension. I love that Eastwood is still…
Continue Reading
HERETIC is certainly a horror/thriller and certainly has moments of gore however it does not rely on that entirely as it could’ve and just lean back on the easy scares. Instead, it was very intellectually curious and terrifying.…
Continue Reading
BEFORE is an imaginative journey into uncharted territory.…
Continue Reading
There was not a single moment that I wanted to miss as every scene was so heartfelt and meaningful and made you understand and connect to the characters on a much deeper level with every new line.…
Continue Reading
