Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 92
September 7, 2021
Podcast Review of Sweet Girl
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 190, in which I review the movie Sweet Girl.
written review of Sweet Girl thank you Phil Merkel for the Public Service Announcement about Music Beats Cancer more on Music Beats Cancer herePaul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
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September 4, 2021
The Innocent: One of Harlan Coben's Best
I've never seen a Harlan Coben movie or television series -- that is, a movie or TV series based on Coben's novels -- that I didn't really like. And The Innocent -- more precisely, El inocente, a Spanish-language eight-episode short series based on Coben's novel The Innocent, on Netflix since the end of April -- is one of his very best.
The narrative is a tightly woven multiple-suspect murder, prostitution, true love story, with at least three protagonists: Mateo Vidal, now very happily married, but served four years in prison because he accidentally pushed a young man to his death in a fight when Mateo was younger; Olivia Costa, Mateo's loving wife, pregnant with his baby, having left her earlier life as a prostitute; and Lorena Ortiz, also with a complicated past, now a detective, fighting to do the right thing in a male-chauvinistic and in part corrupt police force. The performances of Mario Casas, Aura Garrido, and Alexandra Jiménez in these three roles were outstanding, as was the acting of everyone else in this series.
As is the case with all of Coben's stories, characters are hit by improbable events and do improbable things, but you're wise as a viewer to follow your instincts -- i.e., what you get from the subtleties of the people and their interactions, sometimes barely perceptible but always there -- because it all fits together and makes sense in the end. That's the way Coben rolls. Pushes you pretty far out, but with just enough platform to hang in there and follow the clues as they inexorably stack up.
[SPOILER AHEAD....]
The one reservation I had -- actually, my wife mentioned it first, and I agreed -- was with Jaime (the father of the young man that Mateo pushed and accidentally killed) as the villain, who set Mateo up for most of the near brushes with death he has in the series. Jaime's motivation is one-hundred-percent clear and understandable. But his expertise in what he repeatedly tried to do to Mateo, in different but related ways, was not apparent or developped in the narrative. My wife said, "so this guy is a criminal genius?" He is in fact, an MD -- a good way for him to find out that Mateo and Olivia are expecting a baby -- but where does he get his criminal savvy? This could have been remedied by making Jaime some kind of forensic doctor, I'd say. But, ok, one reservation in a sea of characters who worked together with precise plausibility is a small quibble.
So see The Innocent, and enjoy.
September 3, 2021
Sweet Girl: Pretty Good
Once again: panned by myopic critics, liked by me. Just to clear: I don't think Sweet Girl is a great movie. But I thought it was pretty good.
Jason Momoa is a father bent on vengeance and justice for a slick high-tech pharmaceutical company that withholds a life-saving treatment for his wife, who dies. He's Jason Momoa. Don't expect Marlon Brando or even Liam Neeson. Momoa delivers his lines and is an imposing presence on the screen.
Isabela Merced is the daughter, of course also aggrieved, and bent on both helping her father and keeping him from going too far, i.e., endangering what's left of the family, her and her father. I thought Merced, whom I recall from Sicario, put in a strong, convincing performance.
Now as to the plot ...
[BIG SPOILERS AHEAD]
True, we've seen it before, but it was done pretty well in Sweet Girl. The "it" being that a lot of the time we saw Jason Momoa in action (playing the father, Ray Cooper), it was really Isabela Merced (playing his daughter Rachel Cooper, who could be called Ray for short). Now this is a bit of stretch, for sure. Rachel was that good, that competent in all kinds of combat? Well, since she certainly had the element of surprise in close hand-to-hand combat -- her opponents didn't expect that much from her -- maybe her success was a little less surprising.
Anyway, it worked for me. Rachel is a sharp witted, empathetic character, with now well-honed combat skills, and it would be fun to see her in another movie.
September 1, 2021
Podcast: Cuomo, Health Care, Online Education
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 189, in which Captain Phil on WUSB-FM Radio (Stony Brook, New York) interviews me about Andrew Cuomo, heath care, online education, Rufus Sewell, and much more (a series of unrelated but currently significant topics). Also, at the end of podcast, Rorie Kelly reads here poem, "Glasses".
Further --
my 90-minute interview with Rufus Sewell: video ... book Online Education -- Even Better Than I Expected (scroll down) Plagues and Peoples (William McNeill)
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
August 27, 2021
Clickbait: All That and More
Just saw Clickbait, just up, eight episodes of riveting mini-series, on Netflix. It was that good.
Nick Brewer, a happily married family man with two sons, is kidnapped and the apparent victim of a sadistic and dangerous video hoax. He ends up --
Well. that's the only spoiler I'll give you. He ends up--
[SPOILER AHEAD]
He ends up dead.
The story then turns on why was he killed, who did this to him, for what motive? Was Nick not the decent guy he seemed to be? If not, how bad was he? What did he do? To whom? Each episode unfolds like a nest of Russian dolls -- or it Chinese boxes -- with different answers which fit right in and seem to make sense, until the episode ends. Characters turn on a dime from good to evil, and then turn out maybe not so bad after all. Except one.
All of this works, not just because of the carefully sculptured plot, but because of the attractive oddity of the characters and the powerful acting that beings them across. Zoe Kazan as Nick's sister Pia, Betty Gabriel as his wife Sophie, and Phoenix Raei as Detective Roshan Amiri are especially good. There's something about Raei's portrayal of Amiri, for example, a logic, a vulnerability, a toughness, a heart on his sleeve, that makes me want to see more of this Oakland detective with big ambitions. But they're all memorable, Pia's sassiness, Sophie's mix of anger at the world and devotion to her boys (Camaron Engels as Ethan, and Jaylin Fletcher), who also put in strong performances. As does, while I'm at it, Abraham Lim as reporter Ben Park, too. I've seen almost none of them before, and now expect to see a lot of them in the future.
Clickbait is also packed with plausible scenarios and villains, and I guarantee that you won't guess the ending. Ironically, the weakest part of this powerhouse is the first episode, which seems a little too cute and clever, and feels like you've seen it before. But once the narrative takes off, at the end of the second episode, you won't be clicking on anything else, as Netflix easily serves you what comes next in this story.
August 26, 2021
Podcast: Foundation, COVID, Afghanistan
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 188, in which Captain Phil on WUSB-FM Radio (Stony Brook, New York) interviews me about the Foundation series, how it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the news that just broke this morning about the bombings in Afghanistan. (Note: recorded before the news of the US casualties.)
Further:
Thinking about Asimov's Foundation on Apple TV+"Rage of the Responsible" (Paul Krugman)Paul Levinson Talks to Rufus about The Man in the High Castle: Deconstructing the TV SeriesPaul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
August 23, 2021
2067: What's Good and Not
I finally got around to watching 2067 on Hulu, an Australian movie released back in October 2020. Hey, it's a time travel movie, which I always think entitles reviewers to take their time to review.
And I liked the time travel part of this post-apocalyptic narrative. The various twists and turns in time, in which the protagonist sees himself dead but nonetheless manages not to get killed, are very well tied up and explained in the end. On that time travel account, I'd rate 2067 (written and directed by Seth Larney) pretty high,
Not so high on the post-apocalyptic part, though. Our planet being ruined by an unhinged climate is the story of so many movies these days, that it has to be done with some kind of notable originality to be above the fold. 2067 was obvious and predictable on this account, although the vista at the very end was striking.
Similarly, the characters and their story was somewhat worn. What fathers intend for sons, the perfidy of government officials, we've seen all of that way too often, as well. I will say, though, that Kodi Smit-McPhee as protagonist Ethan Whyte was good and even memorable in an odd but compelling way.
So, if time travel is your thing, as it is for me as a viewer, reader, and author, see 2067. It's a worthy, original entry in the genre. If not, well, you might get more watching the Weather Channel.
August 21, 2021
Podcast Review of Reminiscence
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 187, in which I review the new movie (released 20 August 2021) Reminiscence.
My written review is here.
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Reminiscence: Recalling the Many Things that are Good and Great about It
So here we are again. Critics are giving Reminiscence (on HBO Max) mixed reviews, saying it's derivative. I agree that it's derivative, but think it's excellent. In general, I think being derivative is not a bad thing, and I disagree with the myopic critics who miss how well Reminiscence does it.
Yes, Reminiscence is reminiscent of Blade Runner. Even more so in some ways of Total Recall, and for that matter, of all things Philip K. Dick. But it also recalls a lot of Christopher Nolan's work, as well as movies as far back as the 1940s like Laura, and even Body Heat in 1981 to some extent. And if it harkens to Westworld, well, Lisa Joy plays a central creative role in both.
I was a little bothered by Thandiwe Newton's character Emily motivated by the exact same thing as her character Maeve in Westworld -- finding her daughter -- but that's just one unnecessary misstep in a long list of gambits and interludes done very well in Reminiscence. Among them are the deft mix of a flooded world and the refuge in memories, and outstanding acting by Hugh Jackman in the lead role, and Rebecca Ferguson as his all-consuming love interest Mae.
This is first time I've seen Ferguson, and I'm very impressed. She's Swedish, and even before I knew that, she reminded me of Ingrid Bergman. Come to think of it, Jackman's Nick Bannister reminded me a bit of Bogart. Is that supposed to be bad? Of course not. It makes Reminiscence even more fun to watch.
I won't go into the plot, so as not to risk spoilers. I will say that I like happy endings, and I'll leave it to you to decide where the ending of Reminiscence resides on the happy/sad meter. Nick tells Mae that there are no happy endings, especially of happy stories, presumably because to end them is sad. Mae responds that therefore she'd like to hear a happy story that ends right in the middle. That's the kind of dialogue that lifts Reminiscence into a top tier, and if it reminds us of triumphs in cyberpunk ranging from Incandescence to Altered Carbon, so much the better.
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
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