southdavid Reviews

Ripley (2024– )

Really good. Believe it or not.

[8/10 · 8 May 2024]

I've never read the Patricia Highsmith books, but I have seen "The Talented Mr Ripley" and a few other adaptations of his stories. This gorgeous Netflix adaptation, perfectly cast, is an excellent and probably definitive version of the first story.

Believing him to be one of his son's friends, conman Thomas Ripley (Andrew Scott) is asked by industrialist Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan) to travel to Italy and convince his son, Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to return to the U. S from his trust-fund playboy lifestyle. Dickie though is having rather a good time, writing and painting and romancing another ex-pat Marge (Dakota Fanning). Tom quickly comes to see the appeal of the life, and ingratiates himself in Dickie's life, to the chagrin of Marge and of another friend, Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner)

It's a production of high quality. Oscar winner Steven Zallian pens the adaptation and directs every episode. The black and white aesthetic apes the classic 60's produced Italian films of Fellini and Antonioni, though the high-definition camera work picks up the specifics of Scott's face and his thrilling central performance. Scott is brilliant. Whilst too old for the role as written, he's able to convince as Ripley in his twenties whilst (hopefully) being able to keep playing the character in his later stories, when the character is a little older. He makes the character a distant, mirthless character, but somehow you still root for him to evade capture for the murders he commits.

I was familiar with the beats of the story from the Mingella adaptation but what perhaps was unexpected is quite how funny the show makes aspects of it. Also new are some more fantastical dream elements, Ripley is haunted by his victim or by grandiose comparisons to Caravaggio that he engages in.

It's not lost on me that not everything in entertainment needs to be an intellectual property that is monetised to breaking point, but I really think there's an opportunity here to do a proper adaptation of the other four Ripley books, even if not on a strict timeframe. Leave two / three years between them - maybe more if the source novel suggest it. Very good.

Fallout: The Beginning (2024) Season 1, Episode 8

Season One Review

[8/10 · 8 May 2024]

I was trepidatious about the idea of a "Fallout" series when it was announced. Though there are definite signs of an upswing in this department, generally, adaptations of video games have been poor. "Fallout" though could be used as the template for how to adapt an open world game into a show.

Two hundred years after nuclear war devastates the earth, the inhabitants of Vault 33 await the time when the surface is safe enough to repopulate. They are attacked by raiders though, and overseer Hank MacLean ((Kyle MacLachlan) is kidnapped. His daughter, Lucy (Ella Purnell) decides to risk leaving the vault to rescue him. Maximus (Aaron Moten) a squire with the Brotherhood of Steel, heads out with his Knight on a mission to locate a missing Enclave scientist, but he's not the only interested party and a ghoul bounty hunter Cooper (Walton Goggins) is also on his tail.

"Fallout" succeeds by being extremely loyal to the world created in the video game series, but not directly adapting the storyline of any of the games. It's a pretty similar starting point, leaving the vault to track down your missing father, but from there it's an entirely unique story that cleverly builds on the lore but doesn't directly adapt it. Which is sensible because everyone's experience of the Fallout games is different, with the choices you make affecting the available plot. That, in and of itself, isn't enough. Netflix's awful "Resident Evil" series did something similar, but "Fallout" works for the traditional reasons too, because the casting, humour, visual effects and storyline are also really good.

The attention to detail though is the most impressive aspect of the endeavour, stim Packs look like stim packs, radaway makes an appearance, Sugar Bombs. The hacking looks like the hacking in the game, the guns look like the guns, the way the vault opens. It's all only really for the benefit of the people that have played the game, but it demonstrates an appreciation and respect of what you're adapting.

It does seem like it's a series that could run and run and tell alternative stories within this established world and I'm looking forward to all of it.

Tarot (I) (2024)

Tar-No!

[2/10 · 7 May 2024]

I've mentioned in my posts before that, when you end up doing quite a lot of reviews, the vast majority end up being diverting enough that you come away feeling relatively positive about them. So, it's nice to occasionally find a film that you really like and can enthuse about. Perversely it's also nice to come across one that's laugh out loud awful and I'm afraid that "Tarot" falls into that latter category.

To celebrate their friend's birthday, a group of college students rent an old mansion in the Catskills. Exploring the house on the hunt for alcohol, they discover an ornate set of Tarot cards and Haley (Harriet Slater) gives each of them a reading. When they return to campus, Elise (Larsen Thompson) is killed and, though it's deemed to be an accident, they eventually come to realise that they are all being picked off by personifications of the key card in their reading.

There are many problems with "Tarot" non-perhaps more so than the fact it's simply not scary. It utilises all the cheap jump scares, but each personification of the card is an unconvincing GGI effect and there's nothing memorable, new or inspired about any of them. It's desperately chaste with its violence too, definitely skewing closer to the 12A side of the 15 certification than the 18. The cast are poor too, even Jacob Batalon, who I like in the "Spider-Man" films, is horrible here and it's hard to care about their demises when they are so thinly drawn.

Tonally and logically it's all over the place. What the film desperately wants to be is "Final Destination". It tries to lift the idea of the subtle foreshadowing of the deaths in Haley's readings but it's so ham-fisted it's genuinely laughable. If you've seen the trailer, you'll know that Elise is killed with a loft ladder. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the reading is "you'll soon be climbing the 'LADDER' of success but beware of a nasty 'FALL' and things might come 'CRASHING DOWN' around you. Each one is as horrible as that.

One final complaint, if you were trying to pick music to destroy any mood of foreboding or threat then that was a job well done.

I don't normally like to go after filmmakers, but "Tarot" is badly written and ineptly directed and is the worst film of the year (so far).

The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (2023)

Clone Wars

[7/10 · 4 May 2024]

After it's sad cancellation, after twenty years of sporadic production, Adult Swim gave Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer the chance to fill in a few of the blanks in their characters lore with a feature length episode "Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart". Whilst it was certain a welcome addition to a show I loved, it's not quite as strong as the final seasons of the show.

Venture Industries latest invention, the Helper Pod is due to be shipped out, but supplies are hijacked by Mantilla (Nina Arianda) leader of a new flashy rival to the Guild of Calamitous Intent named ARCH. With the hover function activated on all the units, VenTech Tower is lifted out of New York, up into orbit. Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) is wracked with guilt of his affair with Hank's (Chris McCulloch) girlfriend and recruits Dr. Orpheus (Steven Rattazzi) to help him find where Hank has gone. Hank is wandering his past, both physically and metaphorically.

Perhaps it's understandable, due to the pressures of trying to fit everything in plotwise that they wanted too, but the balance between story and comedy feels just a little off to me here. There is lots to get done in 80 minutes; the nature of the relationship between Thaddeus and The Monarch, the returning of Hank to the fold and ... finally ... the explanation of who the boy's mother is. It's not that it's not good, it's just that, particularly after that final season it's not quite as good. I'd imagine it would be incomprehensible to anyone who tried to watch this without having watched the show before, but then how many people would really do that?

Occasionally it's not quite right visually too, there are a couple of occasions when characters look the tiniest bit off model.

It is still though remarkable that it exists at all and is testament to the creative strength and fan commitment of a beloved and underseen series.

Abigail (2024)

Abigail's Party

[8/10 · 3 May 2024]

I've been neglecting the cinema a bit this month, with my weekends taken up by other things. I did make the special effort to go one evening this week and see "Abigail", largely because of Dan Stevens but also because I've enjoyed the last few "Scream" movies. Whilst it's nothing revolutionary, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Six Criminals are tasked to look after Abigail (Alisha Weir) a young girl they've kidnapped and await the ransom for. Unbeknownst to them, Abigail is the daughter of a powerful and vicious criminal figure who has no issues making gory spectacles out of his enemies. Furthermore, they come to learn that they are all tangentially linked to Abigail's father and that the houses security system has been activated, meaning that none of them can leave.

If you've made it through the advertising for "Abigail" without finding out it's central twist then I'm not going to be the one to spoil it for you. However, if you have, say If you've seen the trailer where it was right up on front street, then knowing that going in doesn't spoil the film. That said, I'd have found it mind blowing had the twist been a surprise to me. As it was I enjoyed it quite a bit anyway and it's all down, I think, to a witty script and to the cast. I genuinely think that if you did a shot for shot remake of the film, with lesser actors then it might be dire. But this is a triumph of casting and everyone (with the possible exception of Will Catlett, who is just featured less than everyone else) is great. Whilst it's really Mellissa Barreras who is the lead, and does all of the heavy lifting, it's another film stolen by Dan Stevens, who somehow manages to keep his cliché written character on the right side of entertaining. Kevin Durand and Kathryn Newton do the same too and whilst the late Angus Cloud is awful, its clear that is what his character was supposed to be like. Alisha Weir is great too and, whilst I can't talk about why, offers many memorable moments to the film.

As I said, there's a very thin margin between this film and one that doesn't work half as well, but this was a blast.

The Piano (2023– )

Pianist Envy.

[6/10 · 2 May 2024]

Just a quick review here as I decided after the first episode that I'd seen all that "The Piano" had to offer and that I wasn't going to watch any more. Its not my sort of thing, and I only watched the first episode as the series appeared on the Guardian's best TV of 2023 list and I'm trying to give them all a chance.

Pianos have been a staple of the UK's larger train stations for years, offering a distraction and entertainment to people waiting for their journey. This series encourages volunteers, to play in front of the cameras and commuters. The twist is that they're also being judged by popular artist Mika and renowned pianist Lang Lang, and the winner of the competition will perform at a special concert at the Royal Festival Hall.

This falls into the "nice" bracket of reality TV. There are no delusional people thrown in front of the cameras for the public's amusement - everyone is a really good pianist, and each have a backstory that helps fulfil that narrative of why they should win. Claudia Winkleman presents and she's as enthusiastic and quirky as she always is. A couple of contenders play and disappear, and in the end wrap up it becomes apparent that several people have participated who we've not seen play a note - but four or five key players get the full 'camera at home', 'meet the parents' type back story video packages, as it's clear that the winner is going to come from one of those.

It's a show designed to tug on the heart strings and it's quite successful at it. I can certainly see why people enjoyed it but I felt I'd seen all it had going for it by the end of the first episode and that I could move on without watching any more.

Central Park (2020–2022)

Itsy Bitsy

[6/10 · 2 May 2024]

I've written individual reviews for each season of "Central Park", which you can find against the final episodes of each run. Now the show is cancelled, I thought I'd put something here to consider the show overall.

Big fan of both "Bobs Burgers" and "The Great North" so I'm not sure why it took me quite so long to get around to watching "Central Park" - another series from the same creative team, this time on Apple TV.

Owen Tillerman (Leslie Odom Jnr) is the manager of Central Park and lives at Edendale Castle with his family. His wife, Paige (Kathryn Hahn) is a reporter with a small newspaper, looking for a big story. His daughter Molly (Kristen Bell) draws comic books in which she is a superhero and his son, Cole (Titus Burgess) is obsessed with the pet dog of Bitsy Brandenhem (Stanley Tucci) a local wealthy hotel owner. They're lives are upended when Bitsy decides that it's time for Central Park to go and for high rise apartments to be in its place.

As "Bobs Burgers" has run on, the show has become more and more musically minded, with music breaks being a semi-regular idea and the shows credits often being sung by the cast. Perhaps this is the next logical step, with "Central Park" employing a cast of musical theatre performers and increasing each episode's song ratio to two or three. The other key to this is Josh Gad, who plays Birdie, the shows narrator, who speaks (or sings) directly to the audience, as well as the other characters when necessary.

I'd assume the show is expensive and time consuming to produce, requiring the scheduling of an in demand cast as well as the need to write three to four original songs for each episode, some of which utilise star names like Regina Spektor or Mike Shinoda and wonder if that was a contributing factor to the cancellation. All of which happens before the animation process begins.

The series ends in an OK way, as in there's no cliffhangers - but the wider plot points, such as Bitsy's plan to buy the Park aren't really resolved. I don't like the subsequent runs as much as I did the first, but it's certainly not bad and I would advocate for a single feature length episode finishing up the series properly.

Central Park: The Brandenpire Strikes Back (2022) Season 3, Episode 13

Season Three Review

[6/10 · 2 May 2024]

Apple TV's animated series draws to a close with this third season, after which the show was cancelled. A cancellation on Apple TV is a fascinating situation, because given that viewing figures for anything on the platform are quite low, I'd imagine that given the names involved, the show was an expensive production, and that must have contributed to its downfall.

Owen (Leslie Odom Jnr) tries to establish a campaign extoling the virtues of Central Park, he gets the mayor's backing. Bitsy (Stanley Tucci) also wants to meet the mayor, to establish if her plan for buying the Park can continue. Paige (Kathryn Hahn) is planning on writing a book, and needs to meet with publishing houses about it, however, she's distracted when her sister, Abby (Kristen Bell), moves to New York to try and become an actress.

I mentioned in my review of season two that the 16-episode run (as opposed to 10 in the first) made the show a bit more of a slog that is previously was and that certain episodes, that were not quite bottle ones, but not far away, felt like padding. This third season is an improvement, back down to 13 episodes, but still with a couple of episodes with film parodies and another Fista-puffs episode that feel more like they're there to make the order. This season does have the most socially conscious episode of the show though, with Owen having to explain to Cole about the placation of white people's fear of African Americans that he'll have to deal with.

I'd assume the show is expensive and time consuming to produce, requiring the scheduling of an in demand cast as well as the need to write three to four original songs for each episode, some of which utilise star names like Regina Spektor or Mike Shinoda and wonder if that was a contributing factor to the cancellation. All of which happens before the animation process begins.

The series ends in an OK way, as in there's no cliffhangers - but the wider plot points, such as Bitsy's plan to buy the Park aren't really resolved. I don't like this run as much as I did the first, but it's certainly not bad and I would advocate for a single feature length episode finishing up the series properly.

Sneaky Pete (2015–2019)

Mari-us and them.

[7/10 · 2 May 2024]

Looking for something to try on Amazon Prime we settled on Amazon original "Sneaky Pete" as I've always been a fan for Giovanni Ribisi back to the film "Boiler Room". The first season is a smart, fun crime drama that gathers weight as it runs on and is full of excellent performances.

Released from prison, con artist Marius Josipovic (Giovanni Ribisi) needs a place to hide from a Gangster, Vince (Bryan Cranston) whom he tried to swindle. He heads upstate and introduces himself to the Bowman/Bernhardt family as Pete, their grandson who they've not seen since childhood due to familial estrangement. He's able to pull this off thanks to some quickly made documents and because the real Pete was his cellmate and told detailed stories about his time on this homestead. Agreeing to pay Vince a large sum of money for the release of his brother, Marius tries to get what he can from the Bowman's, but they've got financial, ethical and criminal problems of their own.

My initial concerns, that the show might be a scam of the week type one, proved to be unfounded, with the series providing one overall story across it's ten episodes, and only occasionally relying on Cousin Pete's smart mouth to get him out of a bind. Ribisi is great in the lead role, making Marius a character you care about, even though his problems are mostly of his own making. Producer Bryan Cranston takes an uncredited role as Vince and, though I'm not sure that his 'wiseguy' is as compelling as his 'chemist teacher', he still provides a convincing danger for our lead. A host of recognisable faces act as the Bowman/Bernhardt family too, including Marin Ireland as Julia, and Peter Gerety and Margo Martindale as the patriarch and matriarch of the family. All are excellent.

I'm torn between the fact that I really enjoyed all three seasons of "Sneaky Pete" and being happy that it's ended before it's high wire act of con artistry transferred from familiar fun to repetitive. This is probably as complex as the show can realistically get too, with Marius attempting to control two (or possibly three) cons at the same time each of which has its own (sometimes opposing) desirable outcomes. Efrat Dor is not the only newcomer for this season, with "Suits" Patrick Adams as a key character alongside a pair of faces who are unfortunately no longer with us, M. Emmet Walsh and Ricky Jay.

I'm OK with the ending which, though there were stories that could have been further explored, doesn't end on a cliffhanger and is satisfying enough. If you're on the fence about "Sneaky Pete" I'd say that it's underappreciated and underloved and certainly worth the time investment.

Sneaky Pete: The Brooklyn Potash (2019) Season 3, Episode 10

Season Three Review

[7/10 · 2 May 2024]

And so, the third and final season of "Sneaky Pete". I've enjoyed the first two but I'm glad that the show isn't dragging out the attempts to keep the whole family in the dark for much longer.

With Julia (Marin Ireland) now knowing the truth about Marius (Giovanni Ribisi) she debates telling the rest of the family, as Marius tries to extricate himself from the situation - though his feelings for them make it more difficult than he thought. He's offered an opportunity though, when an old friend, Lizzie (Efrat Dor) offers him a chance to join a score that she's putting together. Marjorie (Alison Wright) has strong feelings that Marius shouldn't do it and refuses to offer her support this time.

I'm torn between the fact that I really enjoyed all three seasons of "Sneaky Pete" and being happy that it's ended before it's high wire act of con artistry transferred from familiar fun to repetitive. This is probably as complex as the show can realistically get too, with Marius attempting to control two (or possibly three) cons at the same time each of which has its own (sometimes opposing) desirable outcomes. Efrat Dor is not the only newcomer for this season, with "Suits" Patrick Adams as a key character alongside a pair of faces who are unfortunately no longer with us, M. Emmet Walsh and Ricky Jay.

Again, its' a lot of fun watching Marius juggle all these issues and desires. The seasons secondary story sees the family come to Los Angeles trying to find out whether Audrey's other daughter is still alive, as Maggie suggested.

I'm OK with the ending which, though there were stories that could have been further explored, doesn't end on a cliffhanger and is satisfying enough. If you're on the fence about "Sneaky Pete" I'd say that it's underappreciated and underloved and certainly worth the time investment.

The Venture Bros. (2003–2018)

If it ain't Brock, don't fix it.

[10/10 · 23 April 2024]

I've written reviews of each season of "The Venture Brothers" as I've watched it again over this last year or so, you can find those against the final episode of each season. I knew that I loved what I'd seen before, but each viewing only seems to make me appreciate it more, as I make the connections of the show.

As a child Thaddeus 'Rusty' Venture (James Urbaniak) was the son of a super scientist, travelling the world and getting to unimaginable peril at every turn. Now an adult, and scientist himself, things have not turned out well for him as he's been unable to escape his father shadow. Along with his own two sons, Hank (Christopher McCulloch) and Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) and their bodyguard Brock (Patrick Warburton), the family continue to travel the globe taking whatever opportunities come Rusty's way and avoiding the supervillains that target them.

Whilst poking fun at superhero characters and plot, as well as spies, secret agents and, of course, Johnny Quest, "The Venture Brothers" grows far beyond being a simple parody. Whilst never sacrificing the humour, there's a depth of thought in the storytelling, the seeding and the call backs that few shows attempt to engage with. I suppose the trade off is that quality of writing meant that the show, entirely written by the duo of Jackson Publick (Chris McCulloch) and Doc Hammer, took twenty years to produce just 86 episodes - often leaving gaps of two or three years between episodes, which makes it difficult to maintain a fanbase.

But it's brilliant, funny, thoughtful stuff - though never unwilling to add a lowbrow joke along the run. The animation looks a little shaky in the opening season, with the occasional off model character, but it settles down and looks brilliant throughout the remainder of the run. The vocal performances are universally great, and the choice of guest stars is another tremendous element of the series.

It's unquestionably one of the shows of my life and the only question now is how long I leave it until I watch it again.

The Venture Bros.: The Saphrax Protocol (2018) Season 7, Episode 10

Season Seven Review

[9/10 · 23 April 2024]

And so, sadly, my latest run through one of my favourite ever TV shows comes to an end (apart from the movie) as, for the first time, I watch season seven of the show. I was not disappointed.

A new and terrifying problem at the VenTech Tower building leads to revelations about the parents of both Dr. Venture (James Urbaniak) and The Monarch (Chris McCulloch). The Monarch disavows his Blue Morpho period and settles down to work for the Guild, trying to raise his threat level so he can return to arching Rusty. Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) heads off to college, but his problems seemingly come with him. Hank (Chris McCulloch) is enjoying his relationship with Sirena (Cristin Milioti) but worries about being kept apart by both her schedule and her villainous father.

The three-part opening to this season is utterly fantastic and might be the best set of stories that the show has ever done. It's another wonderful series overall though, again mixing the humour with revelations and callback to moments we've seen in the show. Case in point being a recontextualiation of the problem light that was flicking on Gartantua-1, all the way back in the second episode of the first season, or the significance of previous Monarch arch Dr. Dugong.

This seasons storylines also allow for a return for Dr. Orpheus and the Order of the Triad, and for Dermot, as well as a continued showing from Wide Wale and Red Death.

Brilliant stuff, perhaps the best season that the show ever did. I just have the movie left to go! Then what will I do !

I Am a Killer: Something Hideous (2020) Season 2, Episode 10

Season Two Review

[6/10 · 23 April 2024]

It's taken me three years to get around to watching the second season of Netflix's "I Am a Killer". Re-reading that review now, I could almost post exactly the same one here as my thoughts are the same.

As with Season One, we meet an inmate who was formally on Death Row, but has had their sentence commuted, usually due to a change in the law regarding sentencing guidelines. The inmate explains their crime from their point of view. From there, we meet other parties in the story, victims, associates, or law enforcement who give their assessment of what happened and either support or (more often) dispute the specifics. Three months later, the inmate is interviewed again and gets to react to the details provided by the other parties.

So essentially, it's ten more stories following the same formula that worked in the first run. Again, generally the criminals were selected because of some aspect of their story that might be considered as a mitigating factor, even if that mitigation is only the difference between first- and second-degree murder. Again, the show leaves the conclusion to you, the audience, as to whether you feel the sentence was/is justified. I can't remember if it was true of the first season, but it certain is striking here how many of the inmates tell a similar story of parental neglect, or abuse, a degree of sexual abuse is often involved too, leading to drug taking from an exceptionally young age and often directly to the crime in question.

I feel about the same here as I did about the first season. It's not particularly revolutionary or memorable, and though I made it through this second run, the fact it took me three years to get back around to it probably tells you something about how enthused I was about the show. I will take another break and get back around to the shorter season three, probably not another three years this time though.

Blonde Bait (1956)

Four out of Ten(ko).

[4/10 · 23 April 2024]

Another Hammer movie watched to go with the "House of Hammer" Podcast and after a few welcome weeks of otherworldly horror, we're back with a noiry crime thriller. I usually write my reviews a few days after watching the film, so as an aide memoire I usually make a couple of little notes. Here I've just written down one word, in big letters, "BORING".

Angie Booth (Beverly Michaels) a lounge room singer of some renown, plans to marry her shady boyfriend Nick (Paul Carpenter) on New Years Eve. With Nick out of the country, Angie is imprisoned for an assault on her murderous club promotor and will miss the arranged date. However, the British and American authorities are aware of the planned nuptials and, using an informant, 'Granny' (Thora Hird), try to organise a Prison break, so Angie can lead them to Nick.

Despite not one, but two, salacious titles, the version of this film I saw on Youtube was catastrophically dull. There appears to be two very different versions of the film, with "Blonde Bait" recasting Nick and adding new actors and scenes, I think I was watching the original though.

The women's prison seems remarkably clean and organised and there's not much antagonism going on between the staff and convicts. Some of the other prisoners have an impact on the story. Marguerite, played by April Olrich, has had a baby that will be taken from her and put up for adoption soon, as the rules of prison dictate and so joins the escape and bigamist Babs (Sheila Burrell) who has married twice and is released before the escape takes place. There are a couple of recognisable actors in this, recognisable to me anyway. One is Thora Hird, who is playing a character called Granny in 1956, it's almost incomprehensible that she'd still be playing elderly characters on TV fifty years later, she's great though. Gordon Jackson is also in the film too.

What should be an interesting thriller, about a state mandated prison escape leading to the capture of a wanted felon gets hopelessly lost in the mundanity of the second act, so much so that I can't even recall the specifics of if they catch Nick at the end. It's not surprising that a new ending was created for "Blonde Bait" as this one is very underwhelming.

This feels like a step backwards for Hammer, after the horror successes of the last couple of films and I'm glad it doesn't appear to last too long.

Upload: Flesh and Blood (2023) Season 3, Episode 8

Season Three Review

[5/10 · 19 April 2024]

In my review of season two of "Upload" I used the term 'grudging completionism' as to why I was still watching it. I think that, had it not been announced that the fourth season will be the last, I'd be drawing a line under it here but, as I'm so close to the end, I will watch the fourth run.

Having uploaded into a real body again, Nathan (Robbie Amell) tries to begin a relationship with Nora (Andy Allo) in the real world. They continue to investigate the business dealings of Horizen, and return disk drives of people to their families but Nathan is hiding that his body may be failing. Panicking about there not being a version of Nathan at Lakeview anymore, Tinsley (Mackenzie Cardwell) restores him from a backup. This back up doesn't remember leaving Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) for Nora, a fact that Ingrid decides to exploit.

My problem remains that "Upload" is neither fish nor fowl. Admittedly mixing genres can work for an interesting and inventive time, but it doesn't here, for me anyway, and "Upload" has too much daft humour to work as a comedy drama, but too much convoluted plot to work as a sitcom. I don't know if it's my brain, that is conditioned to work one way with what I perceive as a comedy, but almost none of the plot points of this show will stick in my head. I don't remember who killed Nathan, I only vaguely remember why, I couldn't remember what the court case that leads into the conclusion of the series was about. It might be that, or it might be that I actually only care about the love story between Nora and Nathan and, like in all these shows, it's another occasion where the show no longer works once that "will they won't they" is concluded. That is slightly untrue though, as I also care about Ingrid, and again it's all the credit to Allegra Edwards that what would have been a one note rich girl character is imbued with enough heart that I sympathise with her.

Let's not go overboard, generally it's amiable enough stuff that I don't hate my time with it, but, as I say, were it not for the confirmation that the show is ending with the next run, I think I've had my fill.

American Horror Stories: Organ (2023) Season 3, Episode 4

Season Three (A??) Review

[4/10 · 19 April 2024]

I'm not sure what's really going on with season three of "American Horror Stories". It might have just been truncated by the SAG-AFTRA strike, or that might be it for this run and the show will return with season four at a later date? For now, I'm going to review these as 'season three', and if more are added I'll review those as 'season 3B'.

A young girl is encouraged to acts of violence and self-harm by a friend she meets online. During a pandemic, an art dealer bonds with his new virtual assistant, until she becomes fixated on him. An aspiring model goes to extreme lengths to maintain her weight loss and stay at the top. A sexist womaniser has his kidneys stolen following an online hookup, but a new unidentified organ is there in its place.

I keep saying this about all forms of "American Horror Story" at the moment, both these and the main show, they're not scary - they're just boring. Again, I wonder if the problem with this series is that, what could be a high-profile showcase for new and inventive writers, is largely dominated by the existing team that Ryan Murphy uses. Two episodes of these four are written (or co-written) by Manny Coto, who unfortunately passed away last year, but has been a regular contributor to Murphy's work. The rest are written by regular producers on other Murphy shows.

The scariest is probably the first one "Bestie" and that uses the unfortunate trope of a physical disfigurement as the basis of the horror. That one at least had me guessing as to what might be going on, and I maintain that my idea for the resolution of the episode would have been better. The other three are all painfully obvious from the premise, each of which can be explained in a couple of words and none of which have a resolution worth talking about. The opening credits of each episode remain the best aspect of show, maybe whomever does those should be asked to contribute an episode.

I'm disappointed to learn that I've been alive long enough that Seth Gabel now plays, father of protagonist, rather than slightly unhinged, charismatic protagonist though, that was a shock to the system.

It's an anthology series still, so I guess at any point one could come along and be brilliant, but it still feels like a pedestrian show, unwilling to do anything too interesting or clever to be worthwhile.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: S.O.S. Part 2 (2015) Season 2, Episode 22

Season Two Review

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

I enjoyed rewatching the first season of "Agents of Shield" more than I thought I might. The "Whedon" style worked more for me than I thought it might and the integration with the big Marvel Movies of that year was well done. The drift away though is underway now, as the Hydra twist and the fall of SHIELD effectively resets the show for this second season.

Though now operating with no budget and stolen resources, new Director of SHIELD Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) tries to battle the remaining forces of HYDRA, whilst not getting caught by General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) who is bringing the army's might around in him. Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond) leads the Hydra forces, and seeks an obelisk of Alien origin and is using Raina (Ruth Negga) to get it, she has another, superior, leader though.

The first half of this season is spent dealing with the fallout of the HYDRA situation, which leads to the arrival of the Inhuman's in the MCU (Though not the Inhuman's series, that is still a little way away). This gives us the resolution of Daisy's parentage, including a fun performance from the always welcome Kyle MacLachlan. This season introduces Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki as Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse, whose chemistry was such that they hoped to spin them off into their own Marvel series, but it didn't progress beyond the pilot stage. The series also finds ways to keep Grant Ward involved in the story.

It's tie into "Age of Ultron" is a little stranger outside of the context of the film. It does explain where the Helicarriers came from in that film, but there's little return context here, or payoff to Raina's visions of "Metal men". In fact, Ruth Negga is perhaps the most illtreated by this season, robbed of intrigue, caked in prosthetics and then killed off.

It's another fun season of the show and I'm still enjoying it, perhaps more than I thought that I would. We'll see long it lasts into season three.

Julia (2022–2023)

Cooking with Gas

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

I've written a review of each season of Julia, that you can find against the final episode of the season, but now the shows cancellation is confirmed, I thought I'd put something here too, so sum up my overall thoughts.

Another show that I decided to watch based on its appearance on the Guardians Top TV of 2022 list. I enjoyed "Julia", if perhaps I felt it was a little too frothy for its own good.

Having published a book of French recipes, to moderate success, an appearance on a literary TV show, for local Boston public television inspires Julia Child (Sarah Lancashire) to attempt to produce a cooking show for the little seen network. With the loving, though not perhaps unwavering, support of her husband Paul (David Hyde Pierce) the show is produced and goes from being minor splash to countrywide phenomenon, thank to Child's unique charm and the hard work of her friends and the TV station support staff.

It was perhaps a bit of an easy set-up, given that the real Julia Child is such a broad character, but Sarah Lancashire is really great at the heart of this comedy drama. Pierce is perfect too, so it's interesting to learn that he only took the role when Tom Hollander (who I'm sure would have been great too) left the project. It did remind me across the board of "The Marvellous Mrs Maisel" given that the show share producer Daniel Goldfarb. It's a period piece, obviously, and is focused on smart women operating in on their own - though neither show make the men in them "the problem" and Paul Child is an interesting and layered character just as Joel Maisel is.

I'm not sure this is much of a criticism, but the show isn't particularly interested in the deeper aspects of the story. For example, It does show Alice Naman, a black producer at the network, deal with the dismissive sexist views of her fellow producers, but it's hard not to imagine that there wouldn't have been more of a racial element to that, even in a progressive Bostonian liberal environment.

I'd have watched another season, had it been forthcoming - though they might have had to do a time jump by a decade or so to find more interesting aspects of Julia's life. As it is though, the show was a light-hearted comedy drama that I enjoyed.

Julia: Lobster Américaine (2023) Season 2, Episode 8

Season Two Review

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

I watched the first season of "Julia" as it was on the Guardian's Top TV of 2022 list. Whilst it was a bit too frothy for his own good, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed this second season two, though I was already starting to wonder if maybe we'd run out of plot and the cancellation, whilst not welcome, was perhaps understandable.

Julia (Sarah Lancashire) is in France between seasons of The French Chef and is struggling to reach a consensus with Simca (Isabella Rossellini) about what recipes to include in their second cookbook. The station is struggling, as they're attempting to come up with a show that can rival Julia for viewing figures. Pilots are produced by Alice (Brittany Bradford), of a talk show dealing specifically with women's issues and by Russ (Fran Kranz) with a documentary on current affairs. The studio has hired a new director for The French Chef though, Elaine Levitch (Rachel Bloom) from CBS - however, on her return Elaine and Julia's chemistry is not right.

This second season is similarly as light, funny and charming as the first was. Again, it threatens at darker storylines, this time largely focused on a (frankly bizarre) storyline involving the FBI looking for left wing agitators working at the studio. This is introduced by the arrival of Paul Guilfoyle as a former friend of Julia, who threatens to go public with allegations about Paul, unless Julia provides information. It's not so much the idea of this storyline that is bizarre, as it is the way that it's overcome.

Performances are really good. Lancashire remains utterly lost to the character and David Hyde Pierce is fabulous and gets to play his characters twin brother in one episode of this season.

I'd have watched another season, had it been forthcoming - though they might have had to do a time jump by a decade or so to find more interesting aspects of Julia's life. As it is though, the show was a light hearted comedy drama that I enjoyed.

Boat Story (2023)

The moor the merrier.

[7/10 · 16 April 2024]

This BBC comedy crime drama was on the Guardians' best of 2023 list, despite appearing quite late in the year. I've been working my way through that countdown and landed on this a few weeks ago. It's a funny but dark series with a tone that reminds me of the Coen Brothers work.

Two strangers, Janet (Daisy Haggard) and Samuel (Paterson Joseph) discover a boat washed ashore on the coast of the town they live in. It contains two bodies and a large amount of cocaine. Despite being singularly unsuited to a life of crime, the pair agree to take the drugs and sell them, splitting the proceeds. Whilst the police are an immediate issue for them and trying to work out how to conduct a deal and who with, of bigger concern is French Gangster 'The Tailor' (Tcheky Karyo) owner of the drugs, who sends his hitman, Guy (Craig Fairbrass) locate them.

Despite being quite a stylish production, with its self-aware narration and meta 'play within the story' device, the key to the success of "Boat Story" is probably the casting of Haggard and Joseph as the two leads. Both play their roles as normal people who make an extraordinarily bad decision and keep their characters likable, but always with an edge that they might betray each other at any point. Craig Fairbrass is good too, with his beavy/hitman a bit deeper and more unusual than he might otherwise have been, there's an air of Martin McDonagh's writing in him - and his desire to make vases and go the Chinese restaurant with his coupon.

I suspect that you're either going to like the style of this series, with its chapter headings, flashbacks, allusions to an old French movie, ultra violence and humour, or you're going to hate it and whilst it's a novel change for the BBC, truth be told there's not much that original about it.

I found it fun though, carried along on a strong cast doing good work. It makes me want to start "The Tourist" now.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023 Video Game)

Wonder-ful.

[8/10 · 16 April 2024]

It's been years since I properly played a 2D Mario Platform game, perhaps even all the way back to Super Mario World. The 3D one's I've been more involved with, but not a traditional one like this. And it's my loss, because this was a brilliant. A fun, imaginative and memorable time that will stay with me.

Seemingly bored with kidnapping the princess, Bowser uses the power of the Wonder Flower to merge with and steal the castle of Prince Florian, of the Flower Kingdom. As one of 12 heroes, you traverse levels capturing Wonder Seeds that reverse Bowsers dark magic and allow access deeper into the world. Each of the six Worlds has a Royal Seed, that destroys one of the cloud piranhas protecting Castle Bowser.

So, the basics of Mario games, established decades ago, remain. The aim is to travel from left to right across a level, jumping between platforms, avoiding or squashing enemies and make it to the goal. The variation this time comes from three new power ups, Drill Mario - who can dig into the bottom or top of a level and traverse along it; Elephant Mario, who can swat enemies with his trunk and hold water; and Bubble Mario, who can generate bubbles that trap enemies or can be bounced on to reach platforms. Each level also allows you to equip the character with a 'badge', variations of which can be collected as you play through the game - these may enhance existing skills, such as higher jumps or increased speed, or have another effect such as attracting coins to you or generating extra platforms to make levels easier. There's a real "Super Mario Bros. 2" (the "Doki Doki Panic" version) vibe in some of these, such as the badge that allows you to crouch and charge for a really high jump.

It's platforming perfection as you'd imagine from the company that has been making these for so long. Each level also has a second wonder seed that can be collected during the run. Each of these is found by activating a Wonder flower, which produces strange and imaginative effects on the level, such as the marching, singing, piranha plants, the pipes moving, or stampedes of enemies destroying the level. They are almost universally brilliant and stick around just long enough to divert and not overwhelm.

So, if it's so brilliant - and it is - why have I given it 8 out of 10 and not 10. The difficulty is the reason for that. I took one mark off because the game is generally quite easy, you can effect this a little, with your character and badge selection and I'd urge you to be careful with that if you can, trying to stay away from playing as Yoshi too much, or using a real 'cheat code' badge, like the extra blocks one, but even then it's still a breeze to get through. Except that is for the special world level "Climb to the Beat" that easily took 200 lives off me as I struggled to get through it. I took another point off just because of how staggeringly harsh that level is compared to the rest of the game.

It's brilliant overall though, even with those frustrations. Just a staggering good time and I'm already looking forward to the next 2D Mario game I can play.

Moneyball (2011)

Beane on toast.

[7/10 · 16 April 2024]

Despite being a big Aaron Sorkin fan, I hadn't actually seen "Moneyball" prior to this viewing, nearly 14 years after the films initial release. I found it a little dryer than similar films about politics or business, though maybe that's my general disinterest in Baseball rather than the fault of the film.

Feeling that he's taken the Oakland Athletic Baseball franchise as far as he can on the budget he's allowed, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is facing losing three star players to higher paying teams. Looking for a revolution, he meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) an economics graduate who believes firmly that baseball is misunderstood by those in the game and that using statistical analysis he can build a successful team utilising unfashionable players within their budget. The pair though meet resistance to the tactic, both from the former players who make up the scouting structure and the teams manager Art Howe (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

Whilst I wouldn't say the film grabbed me like "The Social Network" or "Molly's Game" did, I did enjoy "Moneyball". It's a great central performance from Pitt and is chemistry with Hill is really strong. It helps that Oakland had a really interesting first season under the Sabremetrics plan, losing consistently at the start, then going on the longest winning streak in the history of the game - which was completed in the most dramatic fashion possible. Despite not being that familiar with Baseball it was easy to follow what was happening in the games and the data driven recruitment methodology as transcended Baseball to be used in all sports - though, gloriously, sport still has the x-factor of human frailty that stops it from becoming over predictable.

Again, it's just that little bit dryer that other Sorkin scripts, and the dialogue doesn't quite pop in the same way. I'm glad to have finally gotten around to it, but I can't see myself revisiting it as often as some of the others.

Back to Black (2024)

You Know I'm No Good

[5/10 · 15 April 2024]

Intriguingly "Back to Black" seems to be a film that is finding little consensus amongst the professional reviewers. I found the central performance excellent, but wonder if it's decision to, perhaps realistically, not portray anyone as the villain of the story, hurts its entertainment value.

A prodigiously talented singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela) has a growing reputation and a hit album. Before starting work on the next album, she meets Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O'Connell) in a Camden bar and the pair begin a relationship. Already struggling with Bulimia and alcoholism, Blake's own hedonistic lifestyle sends the pair into a spiral of violence and addiction. When they break up, Amy's pain forms the basis for the songs on "Back to Black" her second album, which has worldwide success.

I think Marisa Abela is great as Amy. I know her from the BBC series "Industry" and her performance here, which includes her singing impression is maybe reason enough to see the film. In fact, it might be the only reason to see the film. Maybe that's a touch unfair, the performances from O'Connell, Eddie Marsan as her father Mitch and Lesley Manville as her grandmother Cynthia are all decent, even if none of them stretch much beyond what we've seen them do before. (In fact, I'd really like to see O'Connell play something other than a swaggering, self-destructive character).

The consensus narrative that has been told about Winehouse is that Fielder-Civil was the junkie that dragged poor Amy down and that Mitch sacrificed his daughter's health in order to not risk her success. Both ideas are present in the film, though it paints neither as the villain. Perhaps that's realistic, certainly it doesn't rob Amy of agency in her own story, but I did, at times, feel a little bored by what the film chose to present. It's quite long, at two hours, and whilst her talent was prodigious, maybe her life story wasn't full of as many different types of experiences as would justify this films existence.

I don't think the film adds up to enough for me to recommend it, which is a shame for Abela, who is really giving her all.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Liz-ard's days night.

[7/10 · 15 April 2024]

Been a while since I watched the Garfield era Spider-man films. At the time I felt, perhaps like most, that Garfield himself was a strong Peter Parker, but that the films, particularly the sequel, were a bit underwhelming. This version of the character was given a popularity boost by "No Way Home" so much so that rumours continue to persist that it's this version of Spiderman that Sony should use for their extended universe films (they should). I feel pretty similar after this viewing.

Raised by his Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) since the disappearance of his parents, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) discovers a connection between his father, and Scientist Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) who works for science conglomerate OsCorp. Whilst sneaking away from a tour, Parker is bitten by a Spider from an experiment, which given him superhuman strength and the ability to climb up walls. Parker provides Connors with an equation that his father was working on, to stabilise combining animal genetic material with human. Though the aim is to regrow his missing limb, like a Lizard might, instead the serum transforms Connors into a giant powerful creature, though retaining his intelligence.

The cast are all really good, though Garfield is particularly strong. He's already in his late twenties, so doesn't particularly convince as a teenager but he nails Parker's shy wit and intelligence, and his wisecracking Spider-man is closer to the comic character than perhaps either of the two cinematic incarnations we've seen. Emma Stone, is of course brilliant too as Gwen Stacy, doomed love interest of Parker and a brave, smart companion for him. I like Rhys Ifans too, even if his, internally confused villain, conflicted and talking to himself rings a little close to Defoe's Green Goblin.

The film in general is perhaps solid, but not great. Spiderman's action scenes are good, and his battles with The Lizard are first-rate. It's saddled with a bit too much back story and origin business to deal with though, it includeds the death of Uncle Ben again, as well as the Spider bite and the transformation, but now there's added intrigue by tying Peter's Parents back into the story and to OsCorp. It makes the film feel very long, cramming so much in. The Lizard isn't a great looking character - personally I don't think the issue is with poor or rushed CGI work, as has been with recent Marvel films, but rather more that the character design is odd. Not really resembling a recognisable creature, in fact the nearest thing I thought of was the Goomba's in the Mario Brothers Movie.

I hope they can find a way for Garfield to play Peter Parker again as he's so good, and never really got the films to match him.

Halo: Halo (2024) Season 2, Episode 8

Season Two Review

[8/10 · 10 April 2024]

My thoughts on the first season of "Halo" were that it was fine, but I didn't love it like I hoped I might. I did say that I'd watch the second season though and indeed I have. The first few episodes of the season were again a bit of a chore but then I felt it really picked up, so much so that I enjoyed it overall and am actually looking forward to season three.

Whilst rescuing residents of a planet, the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) comes to realise that the Covenant were on the planet for a while, before beginning their "glassing" attack. He rescues a marine named Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo). The Chief comes to believe that the Covenant were practising for a bigger attack, a claim that is dismissed by new Spartan team overseer James Ackerson (Jospeh Morgan) and then undermined by the testimony of Perez. Soren-066 (Bokeen Woodbine) is lured out of hiding by the promise of capturing Dr Halsey (Natascha McElhone) but is betrayed by his men and arrested.

As I say, the first few episodes of the season weren't much of an improvement. There is decent battle in the first episode but from there it's boring political manoeuvring, tedious scenes of Dr. Halsey's imprisonment and another B-Story I'm not particularly interested in, involving Bokeem Woodbine's former Spartan, as he is captured. However, as we reached the midpoint in the season, the slow building storylines kick into gear and we get recognisable, though different variations on recognisable Halo mythology, the fall of Reach, the Arbiter, the Halo ring itself and even some teases towards The Flood. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, this season finale also sidelines, or straight up kills, a number of the characters that I felt drew away from where I'd want the focus to be, which again bodes well for season three.

So yes, an improvement on what came before and I'm certainly more interested in a third season now, than I was a few weeks ago.