3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Lou

2022, Anna Foerster (lots of TV including Westworld) -- Netflix

This is how you do a Women with Guns movie about being a mother, exploring both the familial bond and the lack thereof that comes with being a violent sociopath. As opposed to, the other. 

But apparently, the New Hot Place for assassin women to hide is Alaska. Also, retro timelines are FUN! Ok ok, I start off with the snark, but to be honest, I rather enjoyed this one, and maybe it will be a jumping off point for Allison Janney's aging action star career? Can't let Neeson have all the fun. OK, enough snark.

Again, Alaska, the 80s. Lou (Janney, Mom) lives in the woods with her dog Jax. Her next door neighbour, and tenant, Hannah (Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country) is a single mom of daughter Vee (Ridley Asha Bateman, Shattered). Lou is a cranky old lady, constantly harassing struggling Hannah. It doesn't help, as Hannah is still dealing with the abuse from her ex-husband, a man she assumes is now dead. Buuuuut...

Big storm coming, and Lou is making preparations.... well, not for the storm, but her own ending. Obviously she has a past she hasn't quite escaped from, much like Hannah. The storm, or ... someone, cuts the power to Hannah's place, and while she is outside, takes Vee. In desperation, she runs to Lou's place, interrupting a shotgun in the mouth. Instead of explaining, Lou immediately kicks into action, and the two go off into the woods to track the kidnapper, who must be Hannah's ex, despite her being told of his death.

Spoilers?

Surprisingly, as in I was actually surprised by it, things are not as they seem. Lou's past is CIA and that is one thing, but she is also tied to Hannah in ways the young woman could not be aware of. As the two trek through the woods, that Lou is a badass becomes very apparent, but also the details of their connection trickles out. You see, while Lou was in Iran doing Reagan era CIA things (Google it) she became pregnant. To retain her cover, she kept the boy, but motherhood never really... took. So, Phillip grew up... wrong. Lou knows she was responsible so she turned him in, and he instead faked his death. But Lou protected her daughter-in-law and granddaughter secretly, until... well, all this came about.

This is a by-the-numbers thriller but Janney is just steely! That only she, and her character, could have been in a better movie, as despite me enjoying it, I know there was a better... movie there, if only it had the guts to pursue something other than a simple pursuit and revenge movie.

3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Interceptor

2022, Matthew Reilly (debut) -- Netflix

"First-time director Matthew Reilly admits he never anticipated his feature film debut 'Interceptor' to do as well as it has since its release on Netflix earlier this month."

That's because, its just a cut above an Asylum movie. Reilly, more known for being an Australian writer of middling (my guess based on the plot descriptions of a few; but who are you to talk, considering you like the Reacher series) thriller fiction, helms his first feature film bank-rolled by Chris Hemsworth and starring Hemsworth's wife, Elsa Pataky. The movie answers the question of whether an Asylum movie could possibly be decent if it had a budget -- the answer is a resounding, "No."

Capt JJ Collins (Pataky, Thor: Love and Thunder) is sent back to work on Interceptor platform number-number-letter-number, one of two west coast military installations tasked with shooting down ICBMs that come from the west side of the world, i.e. Russia (or N Korea?) !! She has been sent back there, in disgrace, for bringing about the downfall of a general who grabbed her ass and then had the assault report buried, because.... well, because military men can. At the same  time she is arriving, the other interceptor base in Alaska is attacked by unknown forces, and destroyed.

Of course, the Bad Guys are already embedded inside the platform, begging you to wonder why a critical military base would have outside cleaning staff, instead of just getting the grunts to clean the toilets. No matter, Bad Guys kill everyone on board except for Collins and her immediate co-workers, who are holed  up inside the operations centre. The Bad Guys have to get in there, destroy the equipment, so they can fire a bunch of ICBMs at the US, killing lots and lots and lots of people, because America Sux.

So, this is your typical Steven Seagal or Chuck Norris action movie plot that would probably be accused of being woke, by its core demographic, because it begins with a woman reporting sexual assault. The cast is minimal, almost nil, really with just enough henchfolk for Collins to kill. The Head Bad Guy (Luke Bracey, Holidate) is a rich douche doing this, initially because he claims the US Sux and Has to End, but we learn its all for the money. That said, I am pretty sure destroying the US in a nuclear holocaust would destabilize much of the world's economy. But no matter, this movie is not strong on the logic. 

For example, the control centre is protected by two massive steel doors that the Bad Guys will take ages to cut through. BUT there are two hatches into the control centre, one below (which opens into... air, and sea below) and one on top. At any point anyone could have shot off the lock and crawled in. Also, the whole point of the Bad Guys taking the control centre was so they could pour sulphuric acid all over the control system, disabling it from launching any interceptor missiles. BUT apparently all you have to do is plug a gaming laptop into the right port and it will do all the work the control centre was doing. And don't ask me about the guy lying in a puddle of sulphuric acid like it was green coloured goo. Like many of these movies, they really don't care about continuity or logic or the intelligence of their audience.

So , yeah,THIS was the kind of movie that surprised everyone for reaching Number 1 in so many countries. And yeah, it surprised me as well.

3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): The Half of It

2020, Alice Wu (Saving Face) -- Netflix

Interrupting our regularly scheduled programming of violence and gunplay is a romcom.

Speaking of Asian Americans and stories of identity (writing a bit of these posts after writing or publishing OTHER posts just messes with the timeline), this is a Faustian (dude, not EVERYTHING is a Faustian deal) a story with a Cyrano-ian deal between two high school students, Ellie Chu (or choo choo, as the local racists call her, based as much on the fact she lives in a train yard, as her last name; Leah Lewis, Nancy Drew) and Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer, The Midnight Club), small town hero & sausage king. He loves Roxanne Aster (Alexxis Lemire, Cerebrum) but ain't so good at the talking, so he has Ellie, known for writing everyone's English essays, to write a letter to be given to her. And thus begins a blossoming romance built on deception and lies. Always a great way to start things (Well, that is how dating apps work, right? Dunno; never used a dating app and haven't been on a date since the 80s).

Given that Paul is not very bright, that he thinks that breaking the ice via a letter written very well and mentioning a bunch of stuff that Aster would be into, but he has no clue about, he also doesn't consider what comes after he breaks the ice and actually dates her. He says he's good at the dating bit, just not at the breaking ice bit. He also doesn't catch on until very much later, until he and Ellie have become real, legit friends, that Ellie also likes Aster and the words come from her heart.

The movie has fun with the Cyrano parts but the best parts are the connective tissue, the character building and the plot that connect them all. Ellie has to make money because her dad only works the very minimal job at the train yard. He's an engineer, not that kind of engineer, but not with an education from the US. He is also dealing with the loss of his wife, Ellie's mother, a love so utterly part of his personality that he spends every night watching the movies she loved. And Aster is so obviously not the cliche she is presented as, dating the ultimate bro, tied to her very Christian family, but deeper than she let's anyone know. And Ellie is gay, but doesn't let anyone know; small town and all that. When Paul figgers everything out (big ol #facepalm) he is not only upset at Ellie's motivations, but also that she is gay. He knows he's supposed to not like homosexuality, and Ellie did kind of betray him, but she's also his best friend. So, he strains his brain and thinks it through. In the end, everything doesn't quite work out but it gets to a good place. And that is often the best place that a love story built on deception can get.

3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not; Definitely Not): John Wick: Chapter 4

2023, Chad Stahelski (John Wick) -- download

I need to rewatch this again, so I can get past marveling at all the colours and the utter beautiful brightness of it all, and see if I enjoyed the story. At least, at this point, I do recall enjoying it enough to not be in the state the third one left me upon initial viewing. I enjoyed this immensely and it worked really hard to expand further upon the world and sum up the consequences of all John's actions. Alas, not sure it succeeded at that.

Instead of rewatching this, I have been plowing through the full arsenal of violent movies that have connective tissue of some sort: Nobody, Kate, Gemini Man, The Old Guard, etc. I should probably do a single ReWatch post about it, my continued return to "comfortable" violence, but I am sure that conversation is best left between me and my diary, or fictional therapist.

When Last We Left Our Intrepid Hero (Keanu Reeves, Constantine) he had been thrown off a roof. Bounce bounce bonk, THUD. He was not dead and was wheeled away by The Bowery. But The Continental management was absolved of their crimes and Winston was back in charge. 

Bzzzzzzt. The High Table changed their mind. You see, they know John is alive, because he has been trying to kill the head of the snake, by shooting the current Elder, but the snake is a Hydra, and in retribution, the High Table allows the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård, It) free reign to enact punishment. He begins by blowing up the NYC Continental, killing Charon (Lance Reddick, Fringe; rest easy my good man, we lost you too soon), leaving Winston (Ian McShane, Lovejoy) to suffer the consequences of his obviously duplicitous actions. And thusly, John has a new fop with unlimited resources to kill.

Of note, despite not seeing this in The Cinema, I did purloin a rather grand looking 4K copy of the movie and, BIGAWDS this movie is beautiful looking! So much colour! So much LIGHT! Those crepuscular rays over NYC in the opening scenes are 'lobby of hotel still photography' level gorgeous. And it just continues! So many shots, are intentionally held still for a moment, so we can just... partake.

Also, not related to the beauty & lighting, is the realization, as I rewatch, that John's actions, from the very beginning are all very intentional, with an End Goal in mind. But also, dude, how did you not know that these "unintentional consequences" were a possibility? John really has his head up his ass when it comes to his "friends".

And finally, of note, I did ReWatch this.

The Marquis is an utter douche, a pompous, grand-standing sociopath intent not only on killing John Wick, but killing the idea of John Wick. And he kind of has a valid point. John, and Winston's lackadaisical reaction to John's shooting of a Table member inside The Continental is what spins off the latter three movies. They think they can "technicality" away all that John has done against The Table. The Marquis represents the futility of that.

Next up Osaka, the Continental Osaka. John again hides out with an old friend Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada, Ring), with his daughter, and also concierge, Akira (popstar Rina Sawarama) rightfully confronting him of the likely costs of allowing such. But men like Shimazu and John, and I should also mention Caine, the blind assassin who also thought he Was Out until The Marquis brought him back in to kill John, well these men are old and loyal friends. Shimazu does what he believes in and Caine is doing all he can to protect his daughter because he knows The Marquis has full dispensation to do whatever the fuck he wants to do, to bring down John and all his "rebellion" entails.

Again, colour and light. Again the ballet of violence but also with sword and bow. The fancy bullet-proof, but fully flexible suit given to John in a previous episode is now the norm as all of The Marquis' men wear it, giving us the clink-clink of each bullet striking them. Doesn't stop an arrow or sword though. John is very aware of the consequences he brings upon others, but... well, he doesn't seem to care. He is on a path, not one of his own making (blame that on the Russian family in NYC), but also one he has to end no matter the cost.

I also loved loved the oni soldiers in their bullet-proof armour requiring shots to throat and knee and eyes to complete kill shots, but sure, a few dozen bullets in the chest will delay them for a moment, allowing John to catch a breath and take them down gradually. At some point The Table is going to run out of hench-folk even in this world where every second person is under it.

From Japan where John loses a friend, to another friend, he realizes that there is only one solution to defeat The Marquis. The old rules. A Duel. The Marquis may be choosing to take down John because he keeps on invoking "technicalities" but even he cannot ignore the old edicts of The High Table.

"Rules. Without them, we live with the animals."

But before John can present such a challenge, he has to be part of a Family. But remember, he already gave that up to get out of NYC in the previous movie. Sooooo, how can he go crawling back to said Rus family? Off to Berlin to talk to his Uncle, the head. BUT because of John's previous actions, a thug was sent to kill John's Uncle. The Family won't even listen to his entreaty unless he avenges said Uncle. So off to a Berlin night club to kill the Killa.

"I am Klaus."

Fuck, I hate that. Sure, its a wonderful homage to Groot, presented by actual Berlin DJ and personality Sven Marquardt, but fuuuuuuuck its cheesy and soooo out of place.

So, club fight, because there has to be a club fight. I don't begrudge the Wickian desire to repeat familiarities anymore. The movies have their forms, their tropes and their expectations and its all about fulfilling them, sometimes trying to exceed them. The build up to this fight, getting some of the players at the table (pun intended) is better than the fight. As Kent pointed out, some of the best acting comes from second-rate actor & action star Scott Adkins, mostly known for his Accident Man movie(s) and similarly themed B and C grade actioners. He is basically unrecognizable beneath the fat suit, until he starts high-kicking. But as Killa he steals the scene with his cheesy accent and theatrics. The scene also finally, properly establishes The Tracker (Shamier Anderson, Wynonna Earp) as one of the main characters of this movie, not just another Table thug seeking a payout. His relaxed, no suits look & feel are a breath of unfettered air in this franchise.

John wins, kills the Killa, brands his arm (as Marmy pointed out, he should have had to lift the urn with both arms, branding both) and is now properly back in the family fold, ready to be presented for his duel challenge. They do so at a promenade in front of the Eiffel Tower, playing a Animal Crossing style card game (high number wins) to choose the particulars of the duel. Those glass stylized cards are just beautiful. The Marquis thinks he's being soooo clever having Caine as his proxy and Winston even surprises John by mixing his own terms into the agreement -- if John wins, he once again goes free, while NYC gets its Continental back. The duel will be at dawn, at a high point in Paris. But John has to get there first.

I am not all that fond of this sequence, as John has to fight his way from point A to B, constantly harried by all the other assassins in the JWU, coaxed onward by a... radio DJ (??!?) and terrible music choices. The movies require a car scene, and this it, but instead of just destroying John's car (they do) they also play Rocket League with John as the ball. John is knocked down constantly, hit by cars and car windshields, but always getting up, not even relying upon a nod-to-Max Payne bottle of pills anymore, just... always getting back up. The bystanders of Paris might not be actually standing by, but they are driving by, mixed into the fight without collateral damage.

This sequence leads to an abandoned, being reno'd building at the foot of the stairs leading up to Sacre Coeur, where the duel will happen. The set is seen from overhead, the ceiling shaved off, as they do another nod-to-video-games sequence, moving from room to room, shooting "dragon fire" rounds, lighting shit on fire, killing a lot of French men in baseball caps and khaki jackets. The Tracker has finally stepped again from the shadows, having frustrated The Marquis into putting up the bounty price he wants, but that win is quickly dashed when John protects his "puppy". Seemingly having borrowed a dog from Sofia's (Halle Berry, Cat Women) pack, Tracker is verrrrry protective of his dog. And John likes dogs, so then, Tracker likes John.

And next, the Fight Up the Stairs. By now its very apparent that John is tired, bruised and moving much more slowly. I like to think of this as us seeing that Keanu is just not really up to all this movement as he once was, being an Old Feller like me. He looks creaky, shambling up each flight, swaying back n forth, shooting, dodging, rolling, flipping, killing. We know what's going to happen, as he gets to the top and is kicked off the top stair by The Marquis' key thug Chidi (Marko Zaror, The Defenders). He rolls and rolls and rolls and bounces all the way back down, like he was a participant in those rolling cheese competitions that has lost his footing on their way down the mountain. But at the bottom, Caine comes back into the fray, knowing that if he kills John, he goes free, but not if one of these Parisian nobodies does. Sooooo back up the stairs with some help from Caine's gun, sword and pencil.

Conclusion. The Duel (it gets capitalized this time) at a high point in the city, looking at the sun come up over the horizon. Once again so beautiful. Pistol duels are so so weird. Single shot, archaic, fancy looking pistols. Begin at 30 paces, shoot, get wounded, walk closer, shoot again. We have forgotten to be amused by the idea of a blind man participating in a duel. And with only minimal misdirection all the parties at play engineer the death of The Marquis, even to the visible satisfaction of The Harbinger (Clancy Brown, The Highlander), the arbiter of The Table's rulings and Not a Big Fan of The Marquis.

John has won. Caine has even won. Winston has won. Its done, Its over. Its the fourth movie. And alllll the foreshadowing so very very obvious in a rewatching of the movie comes into play. John is doing his final dance, has worked it out so it happens this way, but has gone out his own way. Finally he succumbs to his wounds. FINALLY, he is laid to rest next to Helen. They can be together.

So, then. The series in its current form has ended. Oh we know well that John could be alive, that he could be living a life unfettered by The Table, having faked his death so as to not have a constant parade of upstarts wishing to annoy him. But I like to think he is dead, properly dead, and resting. Finally. The franchise can continue with other characters, like The Continental prequel series or maybe starting another quadrology with The Tracker? Maybe with time. But please, give us some rest first. Those stairs were a bitch.

3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Beast

2022,  Baltasar Kormákur (Contraband) -- download

I know this is the (not even close doofus, as the next part of the sentence tells) latest thing I watched, and I still have a handful of older watches sitting in the Drafts hopper, but since we just watched Extraction 2 last night, which was preceded by rewatches of Extraction and Atomic Blonde (see previous post), I could not help but note that this movie relied heavily on a technique that Sam Hargrave is known for: the fabricated "single take" shot, in which the action is kept moving, literally, by having the camera follow its subjects, spinning around, after, through and behind them, appearing to be a long single sequence.

And breathe - fuck you love your single, run-on long sentences. And I guess this "talking to myself" is now A Thing. Funny though, considering that was pretty much the original intent, and even did happen for a handful of posts, of this blog, in that Kent and I would see a movie together and do a dual-written post, commenting on the other's writing. We need to do that more. Maybe, make it a rule for anything We See Together?

Of note, this post was meant to come hot on the stiletto heels of Charlize, but... it didn't.

Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) is returning to South Africa with his two daughters, a sort of healing, reconnecting trip, after the death of his wife, their mother. Nate met his wife here years ago, in the company of now ... nature conservancy manager Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley, Hardcore Henry), who apparently spends a lot of his time hunting poachers. Nate's not in a good place. Before her death, he and his wife were on the verge of breaking up, and the quick illness & death did not bring the family closer together. His daughters are struggling. I guess Nate is hoping to find some solace and connection in the place where their mother grew up.

Battles shows the family around the reserve, including the grown lions he hand-raised from cubs, now in the wild with their own pride. And also a local village that they find ... all dead. Something, a rogue lion, has slain all the villagers. On the road back to report the incident, they come across a wounded man, and Battles choses to get out and hunt the lion. He is mauled. They are separated. The jeep crashes. And the lion, already wounded by poachers, begins harrying Nate and the girls.

The movie is more than sufficiently tense. The lion, though CGI, is shadowy & otherworldly, leaping out from the darkness. And the terrain & locations through which Nate and his girls have to navigate, is confined, localized. Much of the movie feels like a chamber piece, making use of claustrophobic restrictions to a small area. And the "single take" concept takes advantage of this, weaving us around and through these spaces, stalked by a lion, evading pursuit, not always succeeding, raises this tension.

Its not a great movie but its a functional movie. Given the small cast is more than capable in their roles, I have to say I was rather fond of it, but this probably harkens back to the concept I have mentioned on more than one occasion -- I like "small" movies. I like a condensed premise. I like focused roles. I liked this movie.

3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Last Sentinel

2023, Tanel Toom (Truth and Justice) -- download

Not to be mistaken with The Last Sentinel with Katee Sackoff as "girl", which I could probably find on Tubi.

Of note, this is where I find one of The Drafts and finish that, as I rewatch John Wick 4 so I can finish that post.

A lot of low budget scifi doesn't hold water (pun intended) when held up to scrutiny. This movie takes place 40 years from now after the world has gone all Waterworld. There are only two land masses, likely the top of that mountain over there, and the top of this mountain over here. And the two islands in the stream (stream being the entire planet) are at war, because, of course they are. BUT in these 40 years they have had time to build a Doom Day Bomb and at least one side has built sentinel towers -- think oil derricks on stilts but acting as watchtowers and housing said DDB. But if they are watching from that point, wouldn't it be logical that the Other Side has its own watchtowers somewhere nearby as well? Not mentioned. Also not mentioned is how they knew exactly how deep to drive the pylons upon which the sentinel sits, and these fuckers must run deeeeeep. And deep enough to keep the sentinel above the surface when the semi-regular tsunamis come rolling by. Maybe the title of the movie implies they fucked up the height of all the others?

Inside the (last) sentinel is a squad of 4 soldiers at the end of their two year rotation. Patience is thin, food is getting scarce and paranoia is high. And the relief squad hasn't shown. And, of course, they barely get along, giving us ample opportunity to witness scenes of them arguing & fighting over petty things. When you have a plot that doesn't provide any (physical) room for much to happen, the only way to move it forward is to bicker. Bickering is supposed to reveal personalities, but all it usually does is annoy me.

The squad is supposed to be watching for The Enemy. They haven't seen anybody in the last two years, but I guess the premise is that some massive invading flotilla of boats would putt-putt by and they would trigger the DDB, ending what's left of the world? 

So the movie goes bicker bicker, paranoia, an empty boat appears which they could escape on but boss-man wants to stick to his duty, bicker bicker, find out their communications was sabotaged (traitor in their midst!), bicker bicker, fuck (two of the soldiers are fucking), fight, bicker, kill off some people, big reveal, settle into despair. OK, that last bit is more me than them, but the ending is supposed to be Uplifting but its just eye-rolling. "Saved the swallows" <rolls eyes>

Who is in the movie? Commander Boss Hendrichs (Thomas Kretschmann, Indian Jones and the Dial of Destiny), lone woman soldier Cassidy (Kate Bosworth, House of Darkness), lost puppy Sullivan (Lucien Laviscount, Emily in Paris) and IKEA furniture engineer Baines (Martin McCann, The Survivalist).

The weird thing about writing this all up is that I just didn't dislike it as much as all those words up there. Sure its a stupid premise, but the acting and the directing are decent enough to make the bickering tolerable. I just wish it had actually gone somewhere, but these movies never do, so I didn't get disappointed, technically.

1-1-1-K'sMIRT:

K'sMIRT is Kent's Month in Reviewing Television, where each month(ish) I step through the TV series I completed watching each month in the 1 Great-1 Good-1 Bad format.

This Month:

Never Have I Ever Season 4 - 10 episodes, Netflix

Human Resources Season 2 - 10 episodes, Netflix

Ted Lasso Season 3 - 12 episodes, Apple TV+

Deadloch Season 1 - 8 episodes, AmazonPrime

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 - 10 episodes, CTV SciFi

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Never Have I Ever Season 4

The Plot 100: Davi's tryst with Ben at the end of grade 11 goes completely awry as Ben starts dating another girl. Davi's fued with this other girl jeopardizes her academic standing, and, as typical for Davi, she self-sabotages her efforts to get into the most prestigious schools. Meanwhile Paxton finds his superstar rep hasn't preceded him at college, Eleanor's acting aspirations are dashed, and Fabiola is worried she may be taking Davi's "spot" at Princeton.

1-1-1:
(1 Great) I love this show, and I love spending time with these characters. This season really emphasized both Davi's knack for getting in her own way, but also her growth as a person, represented largely in her ability to recognize when she is in the wrong, instead of doubling down like she used to. The gimmick of John McEnroe as her inner monologue never ceases to pay comedic dividends, though it has dawned on me that maybe a white, male Boomer as the inner voice of an Indian-American teen girl should've been problematic, but never was.

(1 Good) Paxton's return to Sherman Oaks HS as a coach after quitting college is one of the most depressing stories of the series. It seemed to be a real forced element to keep Paxton in the cast, but, surprisingly the show was well aware of how awkward a situation it was and it deals with it pretty perfectly. The friendship that persists between Davi and Paxton is one of the best gems of the later seasons.

(1 Bad) The end. The series finale is charming and beautiful and hopeful, but I'm still not ready to accept that it's over. Can we get a new show of Davi in college, please?

Meta: Never Have I Ever used to be a high school-based romcom, but this final season really needs to be about the characters focusing on their education, which makes for less appealing drama.  It is easily the weakest season of the series, but that's largely because it needs to advance all the characters on their own journeys. Senior year is the time when everyone is preparing to go their own way, a major time of transition, thus most of the characters' story arcs here have little to do with the other characters, and some of the efforts to connect them do feel forced. This season kind of forgets to give Kamala a story, though it does provide some nice romance sub-plots (with some really manufactured drama) for Nalini and Nirmala. It's a satisfying season, even if it doesn't provide quite the same hilarious roller coaster of hormonal emotions that the previous seasons did.  It's an all-time favourite, and I'm going to miss it.

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Human Resources Season 2

The Plot 100: Emmy becomes obsessed with her new charge's logic rock, Van. After Rochelle gets dumped, she turns into a hate worm and begins having hate sex with Pete, which leaves him emotionally conflicted. Connie and Maurice have a hard time accepting that their child Montel wants to be a shame wizard instead of a hormone monster. And more.

(1 Great) For what is ostensibly a dick-and-fart-joke comedy series that trades heavily in what could traditionally be considered low-brow humour, Human Resources may just be the most progressive show on television. The seemingly effortless (though absolutely the effort is put in) incorporation of all types of cultural, sexuality, identity and neurological backgrounds exposes the rich tapestry of human existance, while also leaning heavily on poop and queef humour.  It's absolutely shameless about its comedy, which is what makes it so funny, but it's also got its heart in the right place and puts the work in to make sure its representation is meaningful (the sub-plot with real life disability rights activist Alice Wong is a season highlight).

(1 Good) Holy shit, this cast. Aidy Bryant, Kiki Palmer, Randall Park, David Thewlis, Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph are just the main voice actors. There's also Thandiwe Newton, Rosie Perez, Hugh Jackman, Maria Bamford, Chris O'Dowd, Florence Pugh, Miley Cyrus, Eugene Levy, Niecey Nash-Betts, Jemaine Clement, and Isabella Rossellini, among many others.  Newton and Perez deliver gold with every line, it's just a shame they're not in the series more.  Sam Richardson pops up in the season's best and most conceptual episode that tracks his existence as a germ that infects the office.

(1 Bad) This season felt a bit more vignette-like than last season, juggling a lot of disparate story threads but lacking a central figure.  Emmy last season was the focal character but this season she's given pretty much equal time and importance, which is very democratic but leaves the show feeling just a tad unfocussed.  We still binged it rapidly though.

Meta: I don't know the story behind it, but both Human Resources and the series it was spun off of, Big Mouth, are ending after their current seasons. Big Mouth has had a substantial run (with seasons 7 & 8 still in the production pipeline) but I feel Human Resources was just scratching the surface of the stories it could tell. If anything it was a much more pliable and flexible storytelling vehicle than Big Mouth but in not embracing the workplace sitcom vibe (instead it used its animation to really explore the fantastical and absurd reality) or leaning into centralized character stories, it's maybe harder for an audience to embrace? I dunno. Though it's never been explicitly stated that it was "cancelled" it feels like it was cancelled too soon.

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Ted Lasso Season 3

The Plot 100: Having made it to the Premiere League, Ted and the Richmond FC need to prove themselves worthy, which Rebecca hopes is aided by securing the sport's premiere primadonna, Zava.  Keeley starts dating the investor in her PR firm.  Roy helps Jamie reach the next level of his game, and they solidify their bond in the process. Ted struggles between his duties as a coach and a father, Rebecca wants something more, and Nate finds self respect.

(1 Great) The most satisfying arc of the season, and the series, as well as the greatest love story within, is that of Roy and Jamie.  Jamie idolized Roy as a kid but between his arrogance, and Roy's dismissive, "fuck off" attitude, the two couldn't help but butt heads initially. They really needed each other to grow as people and their friendship is, perhaps even more than Ted's relentless positivity, the most endearing part of the show.

(1 Good) Rebecca's arc this season showed her growth as a character.  Even if the writers never really landed on a single solid thread to put her on, her entire journey this season was one of self discovery, wholly earned confidence, and leadership. Where she started her journey with Richmond FC as a vengeful ex-wife, she ends the series as a savvy business woman who commands (and has earned) respect.  Her exceptionally charming and flirtatious encounter with a mountain of a man in Amsterdam is a season highlight.

(1 Bad) If there's a problem with this season of Ted Lasso (and there's not just one) it's that it separated its character sub-plots so distinctly. There's a sitcom happening within the rest of the show that is just the team itself, on and off the field. All these weird, fun and distinct personalities that have their own quick little side adventures, sometimes on their own, sometimes apart, but rarely spanning more than a couple episodes. Keeley's story is almost completely separate from everyone else's, save for a few check-ins with Rebecca and a couple of moments with Roy and Jamie, but unlike Rebecca's empowering journey, this one takes all the control out of the character's hands, and seems to say all the wrong things about empowerment (for example, she's in PR, and when a sex tape of her leaks, she doesn't in any way use her PR skills to take control of the narrative...it's absurd).

Meta: I think Season 1 of Ted Lasso may be one of the most perfect seasons of television ever.  It just clicks and is so unflinchingly positive and joyous. Season 2 got lost in presenting a darker side of all this relentless positivity, and primarily in turning Nate into a villain by season's end, painted itself into an ugly narrative corner that this season really needed to contend with to get out of. I think it was mostly successful in doing so, but it never really addressed Nate's confidence issues head on. He just found the cliched "love of a good woman" and that was all that was really needed to turn the character around without really much introspection.  

Of course, the larger meta story is about whether Richmond FC was being set up to continue following Jason Sudekis' departure. Everything that has been said is that no decisions have been made and that this was always written to be the final season.  Yet it seems 100% evident that this season was operating as proof of concept for keeping the show going without its lead.  Ted is basically demoted to supporting player this season in this show of which he is the title character, and he didn't go on much of a journey that wasn't completely telegraphed.

I still enjoyed this season, much more than season 2 (certainly not as much as season 1), and I would totally watch a Richmond FC tv series, but I do wish Ted had been more present in this season and that it had been more tightly focussed on him.

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Deadloch Season 1

The Plot 100: The small Tasmanian town of Deadloch has been going through a transition the past few years. It's toxic factory was shut down, and its transformed itself into a destination point for feminist arts and lesbian culture. But when it is rocked by a murder, the tensions of the resentful long term residents and its new pro-feminine regime begins to bubble up.  Centered around the murder investigation itself, it's up to the town's ill-prepared police force led by Dulcie Collins, as well as Eddie Redcliffe -- the hot mess of a detective sent from the mainland to take charge of the investigation -- to solve the case. What their superiors thought to be a simple, slam dunk spirals out into something pretty large. 

(1 Great) The characters on this show are wonderful. Dulcie has returned to her home town with her partner Cath, and seems to be depressed being there. We learn why and our sympathies always lay with her.  She finds herself between a rock and a hard place constantly. Cath is exhuberant and controlling, and is all in on developing the new lesbian community within Deadloch.  She's a lot to take, but the relentless enthusiasm is kind of infectious. Eddie is perhaps the most rough-around-the-edges detective character in existence, and her abrasiveness does pivot to endearing as we get to know her. Abby is one of Dulcie's officers whose meek and seemingly reticent personality hide a fierce intelligence and keen eye for detail. Her growth over the series is a joy to behold. Sven, another of Dulcie's officers, is utterly apathetic about his role and  has to be forced to do his job. But even he proves himself to have his own unexpected competencies that back up the team, and he becomes a surprisingly necessary part of the team. These are the most charming players of the series, but the show also builds out its cast of townsfolk incredibly well, to the point that we get a good sense of history and a lot of the mystery revolves around the connectedness between residents.

(1 Good) Here is a murder mystery that telegraphs, over and over again, who the murder is, yet, each turn proves that the evidence is incomplete and all is not as it seems. It's a show that does such a great job with its narrative that it leads you to believe (just as the detectives do) the clues that it presents are the answer, such that every time they approach the next possible suspect I was saying "I knew it".  Only, I didn't know it, because they got me again.  The investigative process unfolds with plenty of challenges in the way, from characters who clearly have something to hide (and there are varying scales of how what is being hidden relates to the case) to rampant misogyny and homophobia.   

(1 Bad)  I appreciated how the show slowly unfolded its feminist and queer topics, starting gently by noting particularly how rural populations still tend to want to uphold patriarchal structures and rebuff anything other. There are slight jabs at lesbians and expected slurs from some of the middle-aged male population, but as the episodes progress, we find it's more widespread than just from the expected characters. Ultimately the misogyny and homophobia reach a kind of ludicrous and satirical crescendo in the final two episodes, which unfortunately the tone of the show can't really handle.  It just goes too broad in a way that the humour of the show hadn't  yet, and it doesn't really fit, though the point is certainly made. 

Meta:  Deadloch was recommended on a podcast, and so I went to the show on AmazonPrime thinking it was already complete, and that the four available episodes were all there was to the series.  By the third episode I was confounded by how slowly they were progressing Eddie's character (she's only starting to turn the corner into a likeability by that point) and the mystery seemed to just be getting deeper, as more and more of the townsfolk seemed viable suspects.  To learn that Amazon was shuttling out Deadloch week to week really showed the confidence they had in this Aussie production to draw and sustain their audience.  It was a bet that paid off, as we were hooked, and waited with tremendous anticipation each of the final few weeks for the new episode to drop.  By the final episode I was both hoping that the mystery would wrap up, but that there would be reason to spend more time with our main crew of detectives. I wasn't ready to give them up yet.  No word on a follow-up season, but it is teed up and I'm ready for it.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3

The Plot 100: Beverly Crusher needs help, and contacts Jean Luc, whom she hasn't seen in 20 years, to come to her rescue, but trust no one. Except Picard trusts Will Riker more than anyone, so the two of them hatch a plot to ostensibly hijack a Federation starship and rescue their friend outside of Federation space. The ship they get has 7 of 9 as first officer, and the three of them basically put a ship of 500 crew in tremendous danger to rescue Beverly, and, *gasp* Jean Luc's son. But in the process they slowly get the Next Gen gang back together as they uncover a Changeling plot to destroy the Federation that serves to justify their treasonous actions.

(1 Great) Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) is the captain of the Titan (the ship Riker once commanded, and the one he and Picard are trying to commandeer) and he's a great prickly pear of a man.  He's dubious of everyone, and a man of great caution. He has no desire for adventure, even less for appetite for risk, and he's unimpressed by the reputations of these men who are trying to manipulate him into taking his ship somewhere it doesn't belong. It's only through 7 of 9's insubordination that the plot continues, and where the show kind of wants to paint Shaw as antagonist to our heroic adventure, one can't help but admit that, at nearly every turn, he's absolutely right in his decisions, and as abrasive as he may seem, he's actually practical and sensible and responsible. I thought Stashwick's performance was outstanding, navigating the unlikeable edginess with a charm that most actors wouldn't think to pull off. It's a shame that you know from moment one, that this guy's a total red shirt though.

(1 Good) There is definitely plenty of warm tugs seeing the old crew back together. My favourite moments were the little, sentimental moments, and the reunion scenes of these old compatriots reuniting.

(1 Bad) Holy shit is the writing in this season ever bad. It's only through the likeable performances that it's even watchable at all. It's like clunky fan fiction on an oversized budget, as characters make weak-tea jokes that are typically fan-service in nature, and there's so much exposition and forced finagling in bringing the old crew together.  The story is enjoyable enough, but scripts are terrible, the editing is frequently awful, and the trope of introducing a grown up son for Jean Luc (hasn't he had one or two come and go already?) seems like a hoary Star Trek cliche at this point.

Meta: I liked Season 1 to a point, and couldn't keep watching Season 2, I thought it was so bland and bad. I basically was going to pass on Season 3, except it kept coming up in various podcasts as being something great.  Toasty had already panned it, and affirmed that this writing crew on Picard wasn't delivering what I wanted, yet those raves from elsewhere kept coming in.  I was a fan of ST:TNG so surely I would get some thrill out of this reunion, right?

I mean, yeah, I did. I enjoyed the process of getting the gang back together, and the moments of the gang being together, and even the idea of the story, a Secret Invasion-style "the aliens are hidden in plain sight" plot, is not a bad one, and it kept me watching, but it was so close to being a hate watch. Toasty was absolutely spot on with his assessment. 

To me, the most rewarding parts of the show wound up being the non TNG aspects: Captain Shaw, 7 of 9, Amanda Plummer's scenery chewing pirate... I even liked Ed Speelers as Jack Crusher, despite rolling my eyes at the sheer concept of him being Picard's son, and every single time they mentioned it or tried to force the bond between him and Patrick Stewart.

I've had great admiration for Stewart for all of my adult life. I was 11 when TNG started and so he's been a welcome presence in my life for over 30 years, but whatever Stewart is dealing with as he ages has made him pretty frail, and he can't act very well anymore. He is not in control of his actor's arsenal anymore, which would be his voice and his face. His expressions often seem out of his control and frequently seem scene inappropriate, and the quaver in his delivery has become dramatically more pronounced as the series has gone on, to the point that he doesn't seem like fierce and commanding Jean Luc Picard anymore. Aging is a bitch, and it's less delightful, more painful to see him like this.

The Flash Scale: this is a The Flash 

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KWIF: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (+4)

KWIF is Kent's Week in Film, where each week (or so) I have a spotlight movie, of which I write a longer, thinkier piece about, and then whatever else I have watched that week I do a quick little summary of my thoughts.

This week:
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023, d. James Mangold - in theatre)
Asteroid City (2023, d. Wes Anderson - in theatre)
J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (2000, d. Park Chan-wook, tubi)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, d. Park Chan-wook, plex)

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With the Mutt-tinted, jungle-vine-swinging, giant-fire-ant-crawling bar set pretty low, the latest Indiana Jones adventure delivered a far more engaging and entertaining movie than I thought possible with an octogenarian Harrison Ford. Although he does seem pretty creaky, the still dashing and far from frail-looking Ford seems to be delighted with some of his more recent co-stars, like the cast of Shrinking (most specifically young Lukita Maxwell) and definitely Phoebe Waller-Bridge. He seems to - like we all should - bask in the luminous presence of a fiery, energetic talent, absorbing their energy like rays of the sun (I haven't watched 1923, but I can only imagine he does the same with Helen Mirren).

Waller-Bridge here plays Indy's estranged goddaughter, Helena Shaw. As the film reminds us, Indy is terrible at family, and if you pay close attention to Raiders of the Lost Ark, he's kind of not a good guy, despite being the hero of the piece. Helena enters the picture as a seemingly chipper acolyte of the Indiana Jones brand, but very quickly proves that her allegiances are her own, as are her less-than altruistic intentions. She draws a mournful, self-loathing Indy out of his funk and back onto an adventure that he wouldn't otherwise survive if not for having good fortune, good friends, whip-smarts and a smart whip. 

Helena gets to be the action hero stand-in for moments where old-man Indy would otherwise seem far-fetched (and has to play the rescuer of her aged godfather on multiple occasions, not unlike Indy had to with a still robust Sean Connery back in The Last Crusade), but that does not deprived Ford of his own adventurous moments as well. Indy is definitely not "along for the ride", but the film, both in world and in a metatextual sense, is well aware Indy is not the man he used to be.

If that's a sticking point for the fans, I get it. It's painful to watch your heroes age and be sort of shadows of what they once were. One could look at Star Trek: Picard, or Rick Flair wrestling at 75, or Top Gun:Maverick (or, as a recent knock-off action figure called it, "Top Pilot Maverich"), these kind of sad attempts to recapture the boomer magic, or one's youth, or to validate ones worth as they see themselves replaced. I didn't feel that with Dial of Destiny. Mangold, with Logan, seems to understand the melancholy of aging, how to let it exist within a story without ignoring it when it nor overwhelming it. He seems to get how to present it as the flavour text of an action-adventure film. If you just don't want to see it, or dislike seeing it, that's understandable, but it is well done here.

The film opens with a cracking half hour, an end-of-war 1945 set piece that feels like prime Indiana Jones. It's a pretty satisfying short on its own. After the terrible, godawful, upsetting CGI face-swapping effects of The Flash, the deaging/deefakery of this film is pretty solid (seriously guys, we need to stop complaining about the quality of deepfaking in films, because it's just going to incentivize "them" to try and perfect it, and then we'll be in serious trouble when we can't actually tell). The alternative would be throwing Alden Ehrenreich in there (former Young Indy portrayer Sean Patrick Flannery is almost 60 now, and River Phoenix would've been 55). It's *barely* distracting, at least to me, your milage may vary.

With both Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny I've heard heaps of complaints about going too far with the finale, as if aliens or time travel are any more fantastical or unbelievable than the wrath of god, hearts being pulled out of chests in ritualistic sacrifice, or meeting a centuries-old knight guarding they holy grail. What Dial of Destiny maybe doesn't get right is it spends too much time there, and the longer it spends the more problematic it becomes (especially from an archeological standpoint). It could have been more swift and clever but it ultimately didn't bother me in the viewing, nor in hindsight

Timing is a problem with much of the film, action sequences or set pieces do have a tendency to  overstay their welcome. There's a chase to kick off the second act that takes us through the streets of Tangier that seems to be exploring every street and alley the city has to offer. Earlier this year, Dungeons & Dragons put on a masterclass on setpiece economy, and a lot of films could stand to learn from it, this one included.

Like with the sequel trilogy of Star Wars, this film will please or displease depending on your ability to accept characters having moved past their heroic archetype mode into more complex people. If you love the Indy series from the 80's and always wished there were more adventures of the characters you love from the time when you first loved them, well, that's really not going to happen, at least not on film, and not with the performers who made the roles what they are. Is it better to let sleeping dogs lie than to watch your heroes become old and fragile, and possibly die on screen? Why are we okay with heroic sacrifice of the young in films, but seeing them age, and confront their flaws is a step too far? Does it ruin what came before to see where they wind up? Or does it just expose our own discomfort with acknowledging the years have crept up on us too? Should our escapist movies be total escapism, or can't something real, even meaningful, not slip through? 

This is a legitimately fine, enjoyable, often fun adventure movie, with sharp dialogue and John Williams giving one last horn-filled kick at the can (it's not his best or most memorable work, but it helps carry the through line of the series). Even better, it's a legitimately fine, enjoyable, often fun Indiana Jones movie that at least closes out the series with a truly beautiful moment that made me weepy.

Letting go of nostalgia, this is total middle of the road, but having seen Indy at its most offensive, middle of the road will certainly do.  I'd rank it 3rd in the series. Certainly not better that Raiders or Last Crusade, but Far less problematic than Temple of Doom, much less aggravating than Crystal Skull, and far less ridiculous than either (but with the right level of ridiculousness for an Indiana Jones movie).

The Flash Scale: better than The Flash

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Asteroid City is the new Wes Anderson movie. If you like Wes Anderson movies, there's a pretty good chance you'll like this one as well. If you despise Wes Anderson movies, this won't change your mind.

Where often an Anderson movie can dazzle with ornate imagery, full of precision details that kind of boggle the mind, the nesting-doll structure of Asteroid City with it's mid-50's setting, is much more spare but exactly as precise. In the theatre setting that frames the film, the stage is evocatively decorated, rather than built up to the nines in usual Anderson fashion, all coded perfectly to pop in black and white. In the story-within-the-story of the town of Asteroid City, it's a very orange-saturated midwestern desert landscape with not a lot to see along the vista but a few clouds and mountains.  A (puppet? stop-motion? cgi?) road-runner darts across the screen from time to time, eliciting a "meep-meep" implying this exists within a surrealist Looney Tunes environment.

The massive cast of Anderson devotees and new conscripts descend upon the town where five brainiac children who have created wild inventions of science are being given an honour from science and/or military (there's a point to be made about how often advancements in science tend to be as a result of military backing) as well as gathering to witness a unique solar phenomenon.  When that solar phenomenon attracts a strange visitor, and word leaks through the military lockdown, pandemonium happens. But that's all the story within the story. The ur-story is about the writer of "Asteroid City", his casting process, fears and triumphs, which are displayed as a stage play that surrounds the making of "Asteroid City" as a stage production itself. This tier has Bryan Cranston in a Rod Serling-esque role standing outside of it all, narrating from a distance creating yet another level of separation from the telling.

The common thread between both the story and the story within the story is the connection between characters, how they interact and relate, which is all in that expected Anderson dead-pan snappy patter. The fact that both levels are still presented as fiction seems to allow Anderson to push this rapid-fire dialogue even further away from emotional performance.  What I noticed here, and can likely be applied to most, if not all Anderson films, is everyone is forthright and honest. There's little to no inference nor subtext to the dialogue. People speak their truth in an Anderson world, which I think is what makes it so disarmingly funny, but also what Anderson haters likely rebuke.  If one were to accuse Anderson of artificiality, it's not a false accusation, it's kind of the whole point. I have to wonder if Anderson is trying to understand human emotion, or if he understands it so intimately it allows him to explore it with such dispassionate interest.

I found Asteroid City an absolute delight, full of all the usual hallmarks, but also many, many surprises. I came out of it wondering what exactly Anderson was trying to say through the artifice and still have no idea. But I have no problem just enjoying what is presented at face value, and maybe, upon repeat viewings, it will unveil itself.

The Flash Scale: you better believe it's better than The Flash

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Being a comic book nerd, I took notice of J.S.A many many years ago, because to me "J.S.A." means "Justice Society of America", the original superhero team from the golden age of comics. Here, "J.S.A." means "Joint Security Area" as in the bordering area between North and South Korea where each side have their own military police, but the location is administered by United Nations Command.  Not quite the same thing.

I don't think I ever knew, until quite recently, that J.S.A.: Joint Security Area was a Park Chan-wook film, nor did I have any concept of what the film was about. I knew it was a record-setting film from South Korea, but I gauged that film against the typical American blockbuster, which is my own dumb bias. The poster/DVD cover looked pretty drably like S.W.A.T. or some other cliched police action drama, so I never bothered to explore what the film was actually about.

Turns out its a fascinating dramatic tragedy about cross-zone agents from both sides who wind up becoming incredible friends, but can't ever seem to fully shake the conditioning that each of their respective governments have instilled in them about the "other side". Eventually they are discovered, and an incident erupts.  This brings in neutral forces from the U.N. to investigate the incident.  

The film opens with Lee Young-ae's Swiss-born, but of Korean descent, Major Sophie E. Jean as she starts her investigation, with persons of interest on both side of the border having delivered clearly fabricated, conflicting reports of the incident.  Sophie's investigation takes up the first act of the film, but is almost an extended red herring as to what the film is actually going to be.  Where we think it's to be some form of investigative procedural, the second act backtracks to the beginning and through the development of the friendships between the North and South Korean men, and then the third act is largely about the incident, and how the fallout impacts the men, as viewed through Sophie's eyes.

It's a surprisingly delicate story that ponders the complicated history between the Koreas, and really wants to assess how the two countries view each other. The point, I think, is to portray both sides as human, and not as something "other".  I don't know that the procedural element of it is fully necessary, and, aside from providing some key history about the post-war division tied to Sophie's origins, I don't think it contributed much.  But, overall, a captivating, enlightening, and heartbreaking film, though light on the visual flourishes that would become benchmarks of Park's directorial style.

The Flash Scale: better better than The Flash

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Park had done two poorly-received films prior to J.S.A. which caused him to quit directing for a time (during which he returned to film criticism).  The success of J.S.A. really bolstered his confidence and boosted his career, and led him into the torturous revenge dramas that would come to be known as his "Vengeance Trilogy".

Old Boy is Park's most famous film (in North America, at least), the one that crossed over, and Lady Vengeance is seen as the, let's say... enjoyable one of the trilogy, but Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance really set the tone for what Park's career would become. It's clear from J.S.A. and Sympathy that Park is really fascinated by tragedy, and while J.S.A. takes it very, very seriously, Sympathy is a whole different beast altogether.

The "Mr. Vengeance" of the title isn't a single individual. The story of the film is a two sided coin, always connected but one side cannot see the other. The first side finds Ryu (Shin Ha-kyun), a deaf-mute factory worker laid off just as he's trying to save his ailing sister with a necessary kidney transplant. Ryu is not a match, and so he "trades" his liver for another, only to wake up post-surgery to find he's scammed. Ryu's anti-capitalist, revolutionary girlfriend, Yeong-mi (Sens8's Bae Doona) convinces him to kidnap his ex-boss's daughter, with the promise that they won't be evil kidnappers but to have the child love hanging out with them.  Without saying too much, things don't go well. 

The flipping point finds the boss, played by the impeccable Song Kang-ho (also from J.S.A. and Oscar-winner for Parasite) out on his own mission of vengeance against the Ryu and Yeong-mi, with its own disastrous consequences.

It's all just a pile-on of misfortune and misery, but it's (attempted at least) to be tempered with an exceptionally irreverent sense of humour throughout. This would be devastatingly funny if director Park weren't so good at elevating the tragedy out of the surreal. As is, it's too painful to laugh.  It's a visually stunning picture, with shot composition and colour sense that still seem utterly unique 20 years later.  Park is clearly criticizing the health care system in South Korea with this film, as well as satirizing its capitalistic nature. It's clear he's not a fan of either, but without more knowledge, I'm not well versed on the true impact of the critique, except to say that I felt it.

I didn't like watching this movie, I found it challenging to enjoy, but it's so purposeful and well crafted that  it's really, really hard to dislike, and impossible to dismiss.

The Flash Scale: can't really even be put in the same conversation as The Flash. It's like comparing apples to The Flash.

What I Have Been Watching: Back to the TV - Pt C

 What I Have Been (or Am) Watching is from The Domein of Toast, he (i) admittedly spending too much (almost all?) time in front of the TV. Kent's not stepping on toests but yeah, he (me) has a piles of TV shows in progress (and done) and maybe doesn't have has too much to say about it.

Pt. A is here. And Pt B is there. 

The finished.

Tales of the Walking Dead, 2022, AMC+

I stopped watching The Walking Dead after a single episode left me despondent. Yes, it was that episode in Season 9, Episode 15, a climax in the Whisperer's storyline, as adapted from the comics. I just found it all so unnecessary, it surpassing even my immense capacity for bleakness. I have many times been tempted to pick it up again, but always refrain, as I know it will treat me badly again.

But a contained series of short stories unrelated to the other series but in shared world? I am always up for anthologies!

mid-writing insert -- I am thinking your 1-1-1 format works really well for anthology commentary where you need to get it out, but might not have a lot to say, as I often do not.

Evie/Joe begins with Joe (Terry Crews, Brooklyn 99), a prepper who was ready for the zombie apocalypse, who finally reaches his limit of solitude, and decides to make the 700 mile trek to meet face to face with another prepper whom he kept in contact with, while it was possible. Joe is not good with people, but he was good with her, so off he goes. And then he bumps into Evie (Olivia Munn, X-Men: Apocalypse), whom he is very not good with.

Its a road story, a dialogue between two contentious people, which is helped along because they are such recognizable faces. Its funny and its touching, and sets the tone for what this series wants to be - to approach living in this apocalyptic world, and how it affects people, without all the dramatic baggage of the main series. In the end both of them arrive at their destinations, neither gets what the expected or wanted, but maybe they found something better, in each other.

Meh. Good summary, but it doesn't actually SAY anything about the episode. What really makes the ep is how different the two characters are. Joe is paranoid, anti-social and defensive while Evie still somehow remains upbeat and positive, almost hippie dippie, despite all that is going on. And yet both of these traits are walls the pair need to maintain to keep sane.

Blair/Gina is probably the best of the lot, but I am biased because its a Loopty Loo! No, they don't try and explain the why or  how a time-loop connects to the Zombie Apocalypse but it does have a trigger, and it does have a break, and that's all that matters. 

Blair and Gina work together; technically, Blair (Parker Posey, Lost in Space) is Gina's (Jillian Bell, Workaholics) asshole boss. Despite hating each other, the two are tied together at the start of the Zombie Apocalypse, with each loop ending in their deaths. Once they stop trying to kill the other, they try to figure out how to not only move forward but perhaps even end the loops. Dark comedy was not something I expected the bleak zombie series to riff off.

I skipped over Dee because I wasn't interested in revisiting what made me quit the main series (The Whisperers storyline). You are allowed to not watch things.

Amy/Dr. Everett must be set at some future time in the world of the Walking Dead for it centres around a Dead Sector, a large swath of land surrounded by a trench where the dead walk but humans are not allowed. So, that implies outside the sector there are ... fewer walkers? Anywayz, Dr. Everett (Anthony Edwards, Top Gun) is a reclusive scientist in a (the?) zone, studying tagged & tracked walkers. Things must be bad outside the sectors because Amy (Poppy Liu, Sunnyside) is part of a group that has decided to live in this one, despite the dangers. She needs help after losing contact with her friends, is rescued by Everett, but he would prefer she just piss off.

Its a story about loss and dedication, isolation and madness. Amy thinks Everett should reconnect with the world, connect with her people in their makeshift camp of tents, camper vans and trailers. Alas, the walkers have other ideas...

Davon is built around the idea that he wakes up with no memory of how he got where he is, in a village that seems surprisingly walker-free but also disconnected from reality. He (Jessie T Usher, The Boys) has a head injury but is unsure how he got it. And the villagers are just weird, dressed almost period, speaking French, but the village itself seems to be normal suburban homes. The episode has an eerie Outer Limits feel to it, otherworldly and disjointed, which tracks with a head injury. It is part murder mystery, part horror movie.

Its not worth going through the details of the story, given it is about revealing. Why does he have a head injury, why was he in the village to begin with, why is handcuffed to a zombie who doesn't try to bite him and whispers words to him? So many questions appear only to dissipate as his head clears. Its typical of horror anthology episodes and works decently enough, with some fun easter eggs for The Walking Dead universe.

And the final note is La Doña, a haunted house story.

TWD fans probably hated this, as it adds proper supernatural elements to their vague universe of "it's not about zombies, it's about people!" conceit. Idalia (Daniella Pineda, Cowboy Beebop) and Eric (Danny Ramirez, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) are running from the dead, as all good people in TWD are, and come across the well protected house of La Doña Alman (Julie Carmen, In the Mouth of Madness). They are not welcome, nor does Idalia want to be there, as she's heard stories of the house and the woman who owns it. But Eric has to have his way.

The two are haunted, both literally and metaphorically, as the house and the spirit of its owner tries to drive them from it. Finally, it has its way.

As a series, I had hoped it would explore the world of the TWD universe more, giving us stories that expanded on things happening elsewhere, but for the most part, exploring other types of stories in that universe was.... well, as TWD universe stories are, only mildly satisfying and often frustrating.

American Born Chinese, 2023, Disney+

Of note, I had to correct what I had titled this, previously Chinese Born American, which would be an entirely different, but similar identity issue.

One of the most fun things we watched this year. And that it comes on the heels of Everything Everywhere All At Once is purely intentional, and I love that it makes use of the cast while also addressing some of the challenges Asian Americans still live with living and working in America.

Jin Wang (Ben Wang, Chang Can Dunk) is a typical American teenager dealing with identity, bullies, crushes and the new "exchange student" who happens to be the son of the Monkey King. Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu, Light the Night) is hiding out on Earth looking for a mythical Fourth Scroll to assist his father against the rebellious Demon Bull, who's pissed at Monkey King for stealing his thunder all those years ago. He is supported by goddess Guanyin (Michelle Yeoh, Tomorrow Never Dies) and is convinced that Jin is destined to help him.

The show navigates the avenues between the action-comedy of the Monkey King story and Jin's family & school life brilliantly, with background commentary of a returning sitcom from the 90s called Beyond Repair about cliche Asian Freddy Wong (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). The actor Quan plays mirrors his own real life, and Jin is desperate to not be the joke his character was, and just wants to Fit In.

Pacing, acting, action sequences and the balancing of heart-felt stories was just brilliant here. I am not sure how close it followed the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, but I suspect it was severely condensed. The Ke Huy Quan story thread did seem a little inserted, especially the exposition that obviously drew from his own real life story (he left acting because he was only getting one type of role), but it just felt.... necessary and important.

Chemistry of  Death, 2023, Paramount+

The bleakness of British crime drama of late is disappointing (to you, cuz the market just laps it up). I think I would prefer more procedural Death in Paradise than Broadchurch which is interesting, because all those years ago when I began searching for interesting crime drama from the UK, it was the hard hitting series I searched for. But I think the depressing nature of these "single theme to a show" series that finally got to me. At least Luther still had episode to episode investigations, for the most part. 

Again based on a novel series, by Simon Beckett, we are introduced to David Hunter (Harry Treadaway, Star Trek: Picard), a forensic pathologist who escapes to rural Norfolk after a deeply traumatizing personal tragedy, where he works assisting a simple country doctor. But he cannot escape death and is asked to help investigate a local murder which, of course, goes down a dark rabbit hole, revealing a long darkness in his seemingly quiet community.

The first investigation is followed by him being asked to travel to the Outer Hebrides to assist in another death investigation, to find out if the burnt remains of a young woman were accidental or murder. Yes, murder, yes another rabbit hole. Yes, bleak underbelly of isolated rural communities. Yes, tragedy abounds and one death leads to more leading to a darkness he seemingly cannot escape.

All the while the series is only hinting at what happened to him. His wife died, his child died. But was it an accident? Or at his wife's hands? Or at his own hands? We never find out.

Satisfying acting, brilliant settings but please provide an uplifting Murder of the Week next time, please?

Rabbit/Hole, 2023, CBS

Oh look, a Kiefer Sutherland thriller shot in Toronto! Oh look, there's a TTC bus in the background! Oh look, there's a place on Queen W I recognize! Alas, its not set in Toronto. We will leave that to the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode.

Sutherland (24) is John Weir, a ... corporate fixer? Freelance business espionage expert? Professional Ruiner of Lives? His exact job defies easy description but he runs a small company of people adept at manipulating situations, changing perceptions of reality in order to change outcomes. Being investigated by the SEC ? Why not set up a row of dominoes wherein the SEC agent doing the investigation is caught on camera seemingly accepting a bribe. Doesn't matter he didn't nor that there's no evidence he did, as long as the public perceives he did, it will change the validity of his investigation.

Except his own methods are turned against him and he is framed for murdering his own team. This begins a twisting serpentine tale against a shadowy enemy who is literally out to control the world. Weir's supposedly dead dad (Charles Dance, A Game of Thrones), once a CIA agent after the shadowy enemy, is mixed up in it all so Weir has to work with him despite hating the man with unmitigated passion. It doesn't help that Weir is a broken man, caused partially by his father's faked suicide during his childhood AND the recent suicide of his best friend, all part of The Conspiracy.

This show quadruples down on the deception and misdirection often leading us to question each scene and the outcome of each episode. Nothing is What It Seems is too mild a term for what the show wants us to believe. Its somewhat successful, and unlike many other shows going this way, it actually does pull everything (well, most) threads together. And Sutherland is ... well, his own type-cast character, but still does it wonderfully.

The Muppets Mayhem, 2023, Disney+

Muppets shows since the 70s success are a grab bag of quality. I thought, at first, it was because they tried to tie Story to the comedy and gags and funny characters, based on the success of the movies, wherein I enjoyed the one-liners and intentional Vaudevillian comedy. But even a later rendition of "variety show" did not do so well, and that is probably because nobody really knows what variety shows are now, at least in English North America. Last I checked, they were still popular in Quebec. But in American and English Canada, the concept was already dying out when Muppets: TOS started.

When this limited series started, I was somewhat turned off by the story, the gimmicky, "let's get the band to record an album" focus on Doctor Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. They were never my favourite buncha muppets, but I get that its a decent plot to hang a series on. But as more and more episodes went by, I found myself chuckling more and more and even guffawing a few times. Its not the story that matters, nor the humans involved, but as long as they sink enough of the one-liners and gags, I was satisfied with it, as a muppet show.

Oh, the humans. Lily Singh (A Little Late with Lilly Singh) stars as the "record label exec" (not quite) trying to get them to record. Taj Mowry (Baby Daddy) is the band's superfan. And there are a ton of celeb cameos because what would the Muppets be without celebrities pretending they are real.

Wait, dude, they aren't real?

Mrs Davis, 2023, Peacock

O... M... G... This will be in my top 5 for the year, a totally WTF, funny series about destiny and AI and religion and spirituality. To summarize it will not do it justice, but can be a whole lot of fucking fun anyway. 

So, a nun named Simone (Betty Gilpin, GLOW) living at a strawberry jam making convent is tasked by Jesus Christ (Andy McQueen, Coroner), who runs an other-worldly diner, to deal with an emerging AI, calling itself Mrs. Davis (in the US), which is ... well, taking over the world. Assisted by a child hood friend (Jake McDorman, Limitless) who happens to be working for a covert organization of extremely macho, but not toxic, men also tasked with taking down Mrs Davis, she also comes to learn of a group of women who care for the Holy Grail, which happens to be semi-sentient and demands to be shown to the world. These women are assisted by men with aprons. Mrs Davis makes a deal with Simone, that she will turn herself off, if Simone destroys the Holy Grail. Simone is also dealing with her traumatic upbringing by a pair of grifting Vegas-style magicians. She witnessed her father (David Arquette, Scream) die in a horrific Houdini act, and her mother (Elizabeth Marvel, House of Cards) refuses to believe it was real, and blames Simone for being in on it. Meanwhile the Grail has actually been swapped out with a fake, the real one eaten by a whale. Also, Simone is actually married to "J", like literally, doing all the normal husband & wife stuff (y'know, sex), and that's sort of complicated as he is Jesus, and Jesus loves EVERYONE.... biblically. Eventually they do find the Grail, understand its origins and .... well, go watch ! Because, there is also a great TV commercial for British Knights sneakers, a sweet scene about a man finding his wife's piano, a heist episode, a rollercoaster of death, a "keep your hands on the car" contest but with a giant representation of Excalibur, and a conspiracy involving The Pope.

Almost every episode is a WTF episode, and some are almost entirely WTF. Even the characters begin to catch on to the gonzo style uttering their own WTFs as new stuff is revealed. In standard Lindelof style, he likes to introduce more questions than answers, but honestly, in this utterly bonkers context, its a perfect choice. And I loved every moment of it.