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Chaos Breeds Chaos 2022 Television Awards – Part 1

It’s been another year of television goodness, which means it’s once again time to present my annual TV Awards to all the shows I had time to watch over the past 12 months! (See previous Awards – 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013).

As always, these awards, good and bad, are for those shows or episodes that aired or streamed from this time last year, and only includes those shows in which I watched at least one episode. Of all of the shows I watched that fit that category, old and new, I will be handing out awards to twenty-six series that cover all types of actors, scenes, and moments that resonated with me.

Up first, we got all of the familiar categories, including Best Series, Best and Worst Reboot, and Best Ensemble. Read on to see if your favorite won.

Best New Series: Foundation

Foundation — AppleTV+

I went back-and-forth on what show was most worthy of this award. There were a few shows I could have easily handed Best New Series, however, when it all came down to it, I couldn’t disregard the enormous effort everyone on the production and at AppleTV+ put into making Foundation so incredibly captivating. From its mesmerizing effects and immersive set designs, to the clear storytelling and brilliant performances, every note played was perfectly executed. The biggest feat was making all of the pieces, including a time-span of hundreds of years, multiple generations, several planets, a multitude of characters and motivations, and plenty of political fodder, easy to follow without allowing the cogs of time to get so muddied it becomes confusing. Among all the other shows that proved their might over the past year, Foundation found a way to create a majestic world with enticing characters that kept you fully engaged across time and space.

Worst New Series: Astrid & Lilly Save the World

Astrid and Lilly Save the World — SyFy

On the flip side of Foundation, you have Astrid and Lilly Save the World. About ten minutes in, it became clear this show was nothing but a cheap knockoff of plenty of other similar shows that felt as if it was written by a six-year-old with a four-year-old’s drawing as inspiration. The characters were annoying or out-of-place, the makeup and effects were shoddy, and the show never seemed to have a grasp on its own mythology. When it came to the scene where we see the first villain stealing the tears of teenagers, I had to finally write-this one off as a lost cause. I know some people enjoyed the show, but for me, I just didn’t see the point in wasting my time.

Best Limited Series: Dopesick

Dopesick — Hulu

I wasn’t sure about Dopesick when I first saw the previews for it. With our current culture, I was half expecting the show to keep itself reigned in on the subject matter, sticking with a surface-level narrative that would refrain from offending any sensibilities. So, call me pleasantly surprised when the show actually dug deeper into what caused the opioid crisis of the mid-late nineties to occur and how everyone involved, including the makers of Oxycontin, the pharmaceutical reps, and the doctors, pushed this drug into the marketplace to make as much money as possible without any regard to what it was actually doing to its victims. The scariest aspect, of course, was how closely related a lot of the concepts they used to push the drug correlate with what’s happening in the world today. Great performances from all involved and a strong subject matter make Dopesick one to check out.

Most Unique Premise: Severence

Severence — AppleTV+

As a writer, Severance has a premise I wish I had come up with: a device allows someone to be able to separate their home life from their work life. What I wasn’t so sure about was how they would execute this premise into a strong story. What they ended up doing was beyond my wildest imagination. The way they utilize the premise was unique and interesting and creates a world that gave the premise time to breathe, providing pieces and hints throughout that would eventually culminate in a killer finale, but didn’t hide every secret to the point where it felt like they didn’t know where the show would go beyond a first season. They say originality is dead; Severence proves there’s still some life left when you put in a little effort.

Best Reboot: Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock — AppleTV+

When it was announced that Fraggle Rock was returning to our television screens, I was more than ready to once again let the music play and dance my cares away. However, I was worried that, like a lot of television reboots, Back to the Rock would try too hard to capture the magic of what made the original show what it was. Luckily, the producers chose to keep every aspect, including the music and voices, in tact. From The Gorgs and their radish garden to the trash heap’s sage advice and Uncle Traveling Matt’s postcards, the reboot not only brought back a warm feeling of nostalgia, but it felt as if the Fraggles had never even left our screens. When it did make changes, such as the multiple-episode story arcs, they fit quite nicely without fracturing the essence of what we all cherish. The only change I don’t think worked all that well was the new scientist. I don’t know if it was her age or the environmental storyline they straddled her with, but it always felt she was on a different wavelength from the rest of the show, especially when it came to her camaraderie with devoted dog, Sprocket. Overall, though, the show provided a new generation a tasty morsel of what us old-folk remember from our childhoods.

Worst Reboot: 4400

4400 — The CW

There’s a reason Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock is in production on Season 2 and 4400 was canceled after one season. Unlike Fraggle Rock, 4400 didn’t do its mothership series justice. The producers could have easily made this show a continuation of the previous iteration, bringing back a few characters from the original run to bridge into this one (think CSI: Vegas). They chose instead to redo the entire premise, and in so doing, gave us nothing but bland characters that did nothing but whine and preach. None of the actors had any chemistry with one another and it felt very much like the only reason they did anything was to fill a quota or push an agenda. From the couple of episodes I watched, there was nothing to like about any anything. The characters were all cliché messes and the acting and writing were all mediocre at best. It’s a shame because the original was something special that gave us at least one Oscar-winning actor (Mahershala Ali). No such luck with this reboot.

Best Ensemble: Ghosts

Ghosts — CBS

Ghosts (based on the British show of the same name) is one of those shows that grows on you very quickly. Based on the premise, my biggest fear going in was that it was poised to become like almost every other ensemble comedy these days where each character is given a hyper-annoying characteristic that’s pushed to the edge and beyond until they are so irritating they become unwatchable. Fortunately, the writers found a way to provide a terrific balance between the absurd and the genuine. With such whip-smart writing, each actor was able to imbue their inevitable quirk or hyper-personality subtly into their character so it never overwhelms there personality, but instead enhances the reality of who they are, the troubles they go through as ghosts, and the need and want to eventually get sucked off (their words, not mine). Together, along with great performances by Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar, every character plays perfectly off one another to form a tremendous ensemble that are noticeably missed when they’re absent from an episode. In other words, the show could have gone off the rails real quick had it not been for such a fantastic stable of actors to give depth to these haunted souls.

Worst Ensemble: NCIS: Hawai’i

NCIS: Hawai’i — CBS

When procedurals spin their shows off into new cities and states, it’s always a gamble that the new iteration will work as well as its predecessor. With NCIS (which was a spinoff of its own), each replica has been hit or miss. Though many people like NCIS: Los Angeles, I always preferred NCIS: New Orleans. Now we have NCIS: Hawai’i, and I have to say, one episode was enough for me (except when forced to watch because of an NCIS crossover). Aside from the poor writing and the cinematography coming up short in capturing the amazing island views, the cast of this new NCIS was completely flat. The chemistry was non-existent, the acting in several cases was subpar at best, and even those characters who were supposed to be fun and enigmatic came off as copies of a copy of what made the original NCIS cast so dynamic. It felt to me as if each character was investigating a different case even when they were together, and that, my friends, did not bode well for future episodes.

Series that should have been better: La Brea

La Brea — NBC

With a Lost-like mystery at its forefront, La Brea was poised to be the break-out hit of the year (a water cooler series if there ever was one). So it’s disappointing to see such an intriguing premise go to waste the way it did. The twists and plot lines were all where they needed to be, but with some poor writing, questionable special effects, a lot of muddling characters that changed motivations week-to-week, and a lot of mediocre performances, nothing in this show ever clicked the way it should have. Will I continue watching; yes, as I continue to hope things will change for the better. Do I think it will get better? I’m not sure. In the end, La Brea is a show that should be so good, you can’t wait for the next episode, but it’s ultimate outcome just makes you wish there was more power and intrigue behind the mystery.

Best New Character: Nick Blackburn (Scott Foley), The Big Leap

Scott Foley, The Big Leap

Everyone knows that producers of television shows, especially “reality” shows, are parasites. And no one shows this side of Hollywood better than Nick Blackburn (Scott Foley), producer of The Big Leap. There are so many emotions spinning around in Nick that you half expect his head to explode at any minute, and Foley does a terrific job of balancing a mix of desperation, love of entertainment, empathy, and grit to make Nick lovable and authentic. As we watch the show within the show develop, we get a kick out of watching Nick manipulate almost everything behind the scenes to capture the perfect emotional balance that will keep viewers watching, and in turn, hold the real viewers attention in a way that keeps you engaged enough for the other characters to slowly develop into an ensemble that works on different levels. If it wasn’t for Nick, I’m not sure I would have stuck around for the show to blossom into what it eventually became, despite its eventual cancellation.

Next week, check out Part 2 of our Television Awards, which includes a lot of story-based awards, including Best Twist, Best Storytelling Device, Most Pointless Death, and the Oddest Narrative Shift.

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Published on September 17, 2022 15:56

Chaos Breeds Chaos 2021 Television Awards – Part 3

And now, please enjoy Part 3 of this year’s television awards. (Check out Part 1 and Part 2.)

Most Abrupt Transition: This Is Us

Justin Hartley — This Is Us

With everything going on these days, it was always inevitable that many shows, especially medical dramas and soap operas, would address real life situations, including COVID-19 and the pandemic that rocked the world in 2020. I don’t necessarily have issues with producers looking into how their characters would react to the pandemic, however, unlike A Million Little Things, which gradually brought the pandemic into the world of its characters, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman made the choice to reveal the pandemic in a way that felt extremely abrupt and shoehorned into the narrative. The premiere episode picks up directly after the events of the season finale, and though there wasn’t any inkling of any virus hinted at last season (which is to be expected as the season wrapped filming prior to any shutdowns in the U.S.), all of a sudden everyone is invested in wearing masks and social distancing, and are talking about it as if it had been going on for weeks or even months. The way the show utilized the pandemic worked fine overall and didn’t impede the viewing experience, I just wish they would have done a much more subtle job in preparing us for the introduction to the virus.

Best Special Effect: The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian — Disney+

Throughout all of season 1, The Mandalorian was able to mix some fantastic practical effects and puppetry with visually stunning new ways to explore computer graphics and effects. So it’s no surprise that the team behind the show would continue to showcase its excellent talents in the sophomore season (with the exception of one major misstep; see Part 2 for more). It didn’t take long, either, as in the first episode, we got one of the most mesmerizing effects on the show to date. As Mando (Pedro Pascal) seeks out a possible Mandalorian on Tatooine, he winds up in a small outpost to find that Sheriff Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) is not a Mandalorian, he simply stole (or bought from Jawas) a suit of armor previously owned by Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison). Just before killing him to get the suit back, a Krait Dragon flows through town using the sand as cover to devour an unsuspecting Bantha. What was most stunning about this particular scene was in the way the creature swam through the desert as if it was it’s very own ocean. What looks like sand at one point becomes as malleable as water as the Krait Dragoin swims by. If the artwork and the character design of the creature itself wasn’t stunning enough, the way he traveled was the tip of the iceburg of a spectacular opening episode.

Most Poignant Moment: Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) Reading Mr. Miyagi’s Letter to Daniel (Ralph Macchio)

Ralph Macchio — Cobra Kai

Since Cobra Kai debuted, it has been a smorgasbord of nostalgia. Whether it’s returning characters, references to iconic moments, the return to the All-Valley Karate tournament, or simple objects (like Daniel’s (Ralph Macchio) winning trophy), viewers get a kick out of all the easter eggs. In season three, producers decided to head back to Okinawa to revisit, in my opinion, the weakest chapter in the original trilogy of movies. I wasn’t that excited for what may come from this story line, however, one of the most poignant call-backs to the original films comes from this arc. It’s not a wink and a nod back to the nose honk, or seeing Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) returning; no. It’s the moment that Kumiko reads Daniel a letter that Mr. Miagi (Pat Morita) left Daniel before he passed away. Listening to the letter is one thing; watching Ralph Macchio react to the words didn’t simply bring back beloved memories of the two of them together on screen, it was almost an existential moment for Macchio as he paid loving tribute to what I can only assume was a great friend in real life.

Best Debate: Hondo (Shemar Moore) and Deacon (Jay Harrington), S.W.A.T.

Jay Harrington and Shemar Moore — S.W.A.T.

In a political atmosphere where a lot of writers only present one side of a debate as if it’s the unquestionable truth, S.W.A.T. pulled off one of the most respectful debates I’ve seen on a hot topic in a long time. No matter what side of the defunding police debate you’re on, the writers did a great job of handling both sides in a respectful way. In the episode, Deacon (Jay Harrington) argues that the call to defund the police is neutering the way police are allowed to do their job; they risk their lives every day and are given no respect. Hondo (Shemar Moore) understands this point, but also asks Deacon to look at it from the shoes of someone who has been victimized by the police. Neither man tried to shut down the debate or demean the other person, they simply voiced their opinion and showed respect for the other’s voice in the matter, then moved on to help one another continue the case they were working. If more people (I’m looking at you Twitter and Facebook) would respect the opinions of others instead of shutting down debate because you don’t like what someone says, discourse in this country might be just a little more favorable, allowing things to actually find a way to change for the better.

Most Original Song: Madilyn Bailey, America’s Got Talent

Madilyn Bailey — America’s Got Talent

When trying to become famous on YouTube, no matter how good you might be, there are always going to be haters, detractors, trolls and other negative people harassing you for no other reason than to make themselves feel better. Some people can easily ignore the negativity, others internalize it and allow it to infest them and tear their dreams apart. Madilyn Bailey, though, did something amazingly original with these negative comments — she used them to write her own song with nothing but comments off of her YouTube channel. The outcome was a very funny, toe-tapping ditty that gave us all (well, except maybe Heidi Klum) a warm and excited feeling for Madilyn’s future. Whether these were actually real comments, or just a way to add zing to a song is beside the point; what Madilyn was able to do was give all the haters out there something to sing about. It’s a shame she lost that snappy originality in subsequent rounds of the competition.

Oddest Accessory: Grey’s Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo — Grey’s Anatmoy

With shows that integrated COVID into their shows, some worked well, while others felt like they were simply doing so to push the propoganda (as their COVID rules were all over the place). Some aspects of these story lines were organic, while others left you rolling your eyes. But it was Grey’s Anatomy that put the cherry on top of one of the oddest integrations of the pandemic this season. In order to stay as true to COVID protocols as they could, but keep the actors’ faces in the spotlight without having to cover their nose and mouth in every scene, producers gave the characters Hazmat-style suits with clear visors. The odd thing about this wasn’t the suit itself; it was the microphone that is blatantly sticking out in everyone’s suit. I would assume it was a way for the sound department to capture the actors’ voices without having to do any post-ADR, since having them in these suits would leave their voices incredibly muffled. But, to have them setup they way they did, and visible in every shot, it felt more like a distraction than anything else. In the context of the characters, they are useless. Unless it was a way to communicate with others also in the suits, since there was nothing visible to show how this sound might be amplified for the benefit of the patient. There had to be a more creative way to apply the COVID protocols than to stick them in a suit and play it off like it was just another prop.

Fastest Rollout: Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous — Netflix

Whether or not the creators of Netflix’s animated Jurassic World spinoff created all 26 episodes at the same time, or they produced them season by season, the rollout of the first three seasons of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous was the fastest rollout of any Netflix show I’ve seen to date. After releasing season 1 at the end of summer 2020, season 2 came on quickly in February of 2021, to be followed by an expanded season 3 in late May. Given that Netflix usually doesn’t get a second season of a show out for at least a year or more, regardless of number of episodes, seeing three seasons of one show in the span of one year’s time is mind-boggling. At this rate, in just two years, they will have had more seasons than most shows will ever see!

So Much Potential Award: Saturday Night Live

Dave Chappelle and Pete Davidson — Saturday Night Live

I am not one to pull punches when it comes to the current state of Saturday Night Live. Although I continue to watch the show, I tend to find each new episode to be more grating and less funny than the one before, especially with the current cast and writers. I am a big fan of the original cast, as well as the cast of the nineties, led by Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Chris Farley and David Spade. Both of these casts were no stranger to improve and they did it well. It seems the longer the show goes on, though, the more reliance the actors become to using cue cards for every word, leaving no room for a spontaneous moment that could add new juice to the proceedings (see my request for SNL to do just one show without cue cards). The reason I bring this up is because Dave Chappelle proved the show could reach great heights if the cast would sometimes just let loose and do what they can to make their peers laugh and break character. In a relatively decent skit about Aunt Jemima and others being “fired” from their respective products, Chappelle played the All-State man, who at one point made a joke about Count Chocula’s (Pete Davidson) lips being huge. He then turned to the audience and said, “Seriously, look at Pete’s lips.” This one moment was funnier than the rest of what SNL had to offer the rest of the season because it was real, it was spontaneous and it was just absurd enough to give the skit a life it was missing.

Worst Missed Opportunity: Debris

Debris — NBC

The premise of Debris — alien artifacts crash land all around the world and cause strange things to happen when around them — was ripe for mystery and fresh excitement. Like Fringe before it, Debris was poised to be a game changer in the sci-fi genre if they took a modicum of a chance to break free of the cliché restraints and ignite fresh new ideas into the genre. Alas, the producers of Debris copped out and chose to consistently play it safe, missing two incredible opportunities to make a name for itself. The first was the moment they found out someone was trying to transport half of Manhattan to a new location. Had the team failed, this would have changed so much and caused quite a stir, not only for the show, but for the fan base. The writers decided to thwart the objective though, and keep the show from reaching new heights. They had another chance to shock fans and make noise during the two-part time-travel/time-loop episode by completely altering the partnerships and relationships (which, from my perspective, weren’t working that well to begin with). But, once again, they played it safe and reverted everything back to the way it was before the episode happened, wiping the memories of the main characters to boot. Let’s just say, I’m not surprised it was canceled.

Epic Fail Award: American Idol

Laine Hardy — American Idol

Just days after American Idol producers removed Caleb Kennedy from this year’s competition because of some stupid photo his friend posted a few years ago made the rounds on social media, Laine Hardy was given a chance to return to the Idol stage to promote his new single — and they didn’t even let him sing, shunning Idol‘s Season 15 winner and his fans. (Producers instead gave his time to guest mentor Finneas and judge Luke Bryan.) Idol – there’s no point bringing back past contestants (especially winners) if you’re not going to give the audience a great performance along with it. In other words, give your alumni the appropriate time to shine!

And thus concludes the 2020-2021 television season. Come back next year for more wonderful chaos in the world of television!

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Published on September 26, 2021 14:49

Chaos Breeds Chaos 2021 Television Awards – Part 2

Read on for Part 2 of this year’s Television Chaos awards. (Check out Part 1).

Most Surprising Death: Cody Hoyt (Ryan Phillipe), Big Sky

Ryan Phillipe — Big Sky

As a lot of viewers, I was especially interested in the premiere of Big Sky due in most part to the casting of Ryan Phillipe. So it was extremely surprising to witness the biggest name actor in the series get shot in the face at the end of the 1st episode. This was a tricky proposition to be sure — producers risked alienating those viewers who were only watching for Phillipe, but at the same time could use it to shock viewers into seeing what might happen next. Lucky for them, it was the latter. I think the rest of the cast and the writing did enough to keep me interested enough to stick with it after this moment, at least to see where the show went. Never would I have thought a major network show would kill off its major star in the first episode, but kudos to them for producing such a surprising and effective twist, even for readers, whom I found out later probably knew the character would eventually die based on the book the show is based on, but not this early.

Most Shocking Death: The Razor Crest, The Mandalorian

The Razor Crest — The Mandalorian

As with most television seasons, there was plenty of death this year. One of the more shocking deaths was that of Fear the Walking Dead‘s John Dorie (Garrett Dillahunt). As John was about to talk Dakota (Zoe Margaret Colletti) from shooting him as retribution for killing one of her friends earlier in the season, she suddenly fired a shot and sent John into the river. If that wasn’t shocking enough, it looked as if John might survive the gunshot wound as he swam to the surface of the river. It wasn’t until his body washed up on the edge of his old home was it confirmed that John was dead when June pulled him from the river to realize he had turned. It was a tremendous turn for June’s character and made viewers realize once again that no one was safe. However, there was one other “death” this season that was much more shocking in my book, and that was seeing Mando’s (Pedro Pascal) Razor Crest get obliterated with one massive laser on The Mandalorian. As much as the trusty ship got beat up, torn apart and rebuilt throughout the second season, one would think the ship would survive anything. Much like Dean’s ’67 Impala, Baby, in Supernatural, the Razor Crest had become a beloved character all its own. Watching Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon take it out with one shot, leaving behind nothing but some indestructible Beskar, was not only shocking but heartbreaking. What’s next? Destroying the Millennium Falcon?

Most Disturbing Death: The Redneck Old Lady (Dale Dickey) Kills Livia’s (Deborah Ayorinde) Baby, Them

Dale Dickey — Them

Them is already gruesome and skin crawling with just the plot of a group of psycho Stepford wives and their community wrecking havoc on a black family who moved into their white neighborhood. But the moment we were finally given a chance to see what really happened to Livia (Deborah Ayorinde) and Henry’s (Ashley Thomas) baby that forced them to move from Nebraska to Compton, California in the first place, the show took a disturbing turn into deep macabre territory. I can’t show an image of the scene at hand, but what has to be the hardest scene of television to watch this season, the redneck old lady (Dale Dickey) we were introduced to in the first episode and her Podunk family break into Livia’s home to hunt down the baby. When she finds the child, she sticks him in a pillowcase and begins to spin him around and play some sort of sick hot potato game with him, all the while seemingly raping Livia as she watches. I don’t think I’ve been more uncomfortable in front of the television than at that moment, but it’s these types of visceral and demented sequences that made Them so surreal and compelling.

Saddest Death: Dan (Kevin Alejandro), Lucifer

Lauren German and Kevin Alejandro — Lucifer

I was not a fan of Dan (Kevin Alejandro) in the first season of Lucifer. He was a bit of tool and he didn’t seem like he had much of a purpose except to be some weird foil for his ex-wife, Chloe (Lauren German). However, Dan slowly grew on you over the years as he became more entangled in the life of Lucifer (Tom Ellis) and his celestial family, and by the time he finally learned the truth about Lucifer, he was comic relief gold. So it was an extremely sobering moment when in the second-to-last episode of the fifth season, Dan was gunned down while pursuing a case, a death that showed how much of an impression the character made on the show. As we see during the fallout and his funeral, every character felt his absence; Dan had a great impact in making his fellow characters into who they are from when we first met them. Of course, as with any show with a supernatural theme, no one is ever really dead.

Most Sickening Kill: Dakota (Zoe Margaret Colletti), Fear the Walking Dead

Garrett Dillahunt — Fear the Walking Dead

In the same episode that young Dakota (Zoe Margaret Colletti) kills John Dorie (Garett Dillahunt; see Most Shocking Death, above), we were also bestowed the opportunity to witness one of the grossest, sickest kills of a walker in quite some time. As she, John and Morgan (Lennie James) attempt to clear the bridge near John’s old residence of a massive horde on the bridge, one of the walkers gets inextricably stuck in the wheel base of the truck Dakota is driving. Like being in a giant mound of mud, the tire spins out of control, unable to find traction as it rips into and spreads the walker’s blood and guts all over everything in its wake.

Most Disgusting Visual: Oozing of Sean’s (Toby Kebbell) Blisters, Servant

Servant — AppleTV+

If seeing a walker get torn to shreds by a tire wasn’t vomit-inducing enough, in the first episode of Servant‘s second season, Sean (Toby Kebbell), after burning his hand on the stove to see if he could feel anything, decides to unwrap his hand to check on the aftermath. If the two giant blisters weren’t gross enough, Sean once again tests how much he can (or can’t) feel and cuts into them. The visual of watching the ooze pour out of the wound is a sickening moment to say the least, but one that simply highlights why this show is a terrific blend of horror and drama worthy of the name M. Night Shyamalan.

Creepiest Special Effect: The De-aging of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), The Mandalorian

Mark Hamill — The Mandalorian

Though De-aging has come along way since its first introduction in Tron: Legacy, movie studios still have yet to work out all the kinks (though Marvel has now almost got it down to a science). I love the introduction of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) into the world of The Mandalorian as he is the only known Jedi that makes sense to have heard Grogu’s call (aside from Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), who already turned down the opportunity to train him). But upon the final reveal that the Jedi tearing through dozens of Dark Troopers was Luke, I was a bit let down by one of the more creepier versions of the de-aging process, which made it feel as if Luke had undergone a bad treatment of Botox. Though it was great to know that Hamill did return to shoot the sequence (along with a younger lookalike), to witness the expressionless features as he talked was too disturbing not to point out. With the terrific effects this team has created over the past two years (see part three of these awards), I expect more than this sticky rendering of the past, especially after a fan made such a terrific deepfake of this same sequence on his home computer.

Most Loving Scene: Grogu and Mando (Pedro Pascal) Say Goodbye, The Mandalorian

Pedro Pascal — The Mandalorian

Then again, in that same sequence of The Mandalorian‘s season 2 finale, we’re presented with one of the most moving scenes of television this season. Throughout the series, we’ve seen Din Djarin, aka Mando (Pedro Pascal), and Grogu, aka the Child, bond and become a family. It was already disheartening to know that Mando was going to have to say goodbye to Grogu (and possibly us, as viewers as well), but then Mando does the unthinkable. As part of his religion, Mando has refused to remove his helmet in front of anyone, with the exception of when he needed to access some Imperial files in order to save Grogu’s life. So it was extremely moving when, upon saying goodbye to his friend, Mando once again removes his helmet so that Grogu could see and touch his face for the first time. In this moment, we see how much love and respect each character has for the other and how much they will miss one another as their new journey’s continue. You’re dead inside if you aren’t crying.

Most Heartbreaking Moment: Zoey (Jane Levy) tries to comfort Emily (Alice Lee), Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Speaking of crying, in a fun episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, we got to see a glitch in the matrix, er, in Zoey’s (Jane Levy) power when the people in Zoey’s life start to sing the heart songs of other people. She eventually gets the hang of things as she pairs people up, only to realize that the song Max (Skylar Austin) sang to her was supposed to be Emily’s (Alice Lee) song. This prompts Zoey to realize she’s been ignoring her sister-in-law, so she quickly heads over to Emily’s house to ask how she is. At first, Emily breaks into an upbeat song that was supposed to be Max’s heart song, but as Zoey talks to her throughout, the song slowly converts into the saddest song imaginable (Demi Lovato’s Anyone). It is in this moment we learn that Emily is hiding a serious case of post-partum depression and Lee does a terrific job of showcasing a moment of pure emotional and psychological turmoil.

Most Iconic Image: Captain America (Wyatt Russell) Holding a Bloody Shield, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Wyatt Russell — The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

If anything could make John Walker (Wyatt Russell) even more grotesque than he was already being portrayed, it’s the moment he bludgeons a man in cold-blood with Captain America’s iconic shield, which until this moment was a symbol of hope. Yes, John only went this far because he had just taken the super soldier serum (which may have altered his brain chemistry a bit) and watched his friend and partner die, but to take it as far as he eventually does makes the scene as a whole gut-wrenching on its own merits. Not as gut-wrenching (or iconic), though, as the closing moments of Episode 4 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which saw everyone surrounding the “new” Captain America holding a blood-covered shield in movie-like fashion. The emotions conveyed by nearly everyone, from the stars, to the villains, to the extras, says it all — this is not our America.

Check out Part 3 of our Television Awards, which includes the Best Original Song, Most Poignant Moment, Most Abrupt Transition, and the Best Debate of the 2020-2021 season.

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Published on September 25, 2021 12:47

Chaos Breeds Chaos 2021 Television Awards – Part 1

Much like last year, this television season was a tumultuous one, let’s get that straight. With shows being delayed for various reasons and producers deciding how they wanted to handle the Pandemic (whether to incorporate it entirely, utilize it in an episode or two and then move on, acknowledge it but jump past it, or completely ignore it), it wasn’t guaranteed that your favorite shows would be back this year, much less be as high of quality as they have in the past. Once November rolled around, though, and stations began rolling out their new shows and seasons, most of that anxiety fell to the wayside, eventually returning are televisions back to relative normal (with the exception of a few more breaks between episodes than usual for most shows).

Now it’s that time again to present some awards to the shows that kept us entertained through the sustained pandemic in my annual TV Awards! (See previous Awards – 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013).

The Emmy’s air this Sunday, as usual, to kick off the new network season, so over the next few days I’ll grant awards, good and bad, to twenty-five different series, compiling several actors, scenes and moments that resonated with me in some form or another over the last twelve months.

Best New Series: Resident Alien

Resident Alien — SyFy

When you consider a show to be the best, you want it to represent everything good about television, spinning the hour away with ease and getting you excited for the next week’s episode. With all of the delays this season and the lack of a true pilot season, it was starting to look grim that any new show would be able to pull this off. Then a little show on SyFy called Resident Alien answered the call. Within the first few minutes, Alan Tudyk uses his amazing talent to set the tone for the entire season, laying the foundation for the cast of wacky small town characters that still feel incredibly real, and a somewhat absurd premise of an alien who hides his identity while looking for pieces of his crashed ship to help him complete his mission of destroying the world. This type of show normally uses a premise like this to change the mind of the main character to the point that he no longer wants to complete his mission. Although that is still a possibility going into future seasons, the producers aren’t rushing it here. No matter how much the people and the town grow on this alien, his objective to destroy Earth is still as strong as its ever been by the end of the season. If anything is able to stop the Earth-destroyer from completing his mission, it will be the love of his best friend (Sara Tomko) or his growing friendship with Max (Judah Prehn), the young boy who sees through his human mask to the alien inside. How the writers got these two from warring enemies into respected frenemies isn’t only the best part of the series, it shows how well-thought out all of the plots were, and how the creators weren’t too worried about offending people, no matter how weird the world might get.

Worst New Series: Chip & Dale: Park Life

Chip & Dale: Park Life — Disney+

Eighties cartoons were the pinnacle of not only Saturday morning awesomeness, but also a must-see weekday extravaganza. Almost every cartoon featured was well-written and well-animated with outstanding voice casts, plots and messages. One of the shows included in this group was Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers, which entertained us with some great action sequences, outstanding camaraderie and top-of-the-line humor. So how much of a disappointment was it to see everything that made the original cartoon so good completely stripped away in Disney+’s new iteration of the comedic duo, Chip & Dale: Park Life. Not only is the animation rote and devoid of any life, so too are the characters and the arbitrary story lines. The first mistake: stripping the titular duo of their voices. By keeping them from being able to talk to one other, much less quip about what’s happening to others, the creators of this version do a disservice not only to the characters themselves, who need their voices to banter effectively, but to the fans of the original show as well.

Best Mini-Series: The Queen’s Gambit

The Queen’s Gambit — Netflix

I wasn’t sure what to make of The Queen’s Gambit when it first arrived on Netflix. By the title alone, I thought it was yet another costume drama about some spoiled royal. Then I learned that the title was actually referencing the famous chess opening and my interest was piqued. Add in Anya-Taylor Joy and it suddenly became a must see. Upon viewing the first couple of episodes, not only did the show live up to the hype it had prior to me finally watching the show, but it exceeded my expectations for a show revolving around chess. No matter how much I enjoy playing chess myself, it isn’t always the most exciting subject matter to be put to film. But the producers did some terrific work in making not only the game itself exhilarating, but the story line evolved into a captivating melodrama. Joy does a terrific job bringing the real-life character of child chess prodigy Beth Harmon to life and helps make the chess sequences stimulating enough to keep you glued to the outcome. Although the series did devolve a little as it worked to its finale, it stayed true to itself and the game, and for that, it deserves as much respect as I can muster.

Best Reboot: Animaniacs

Animaniacs — Hulu

With so many shows from the eighties and nineties getting reboots, things inevitably get changed for a new era and a new audience. Sometimes the animation changes; sometimes the old cast is replaced; sometimes new writers change too many things that effect the atmosphere of the show. Sometimes it’s all three. In some cases, these things work (see Ducktales); other times, like Chip & Dale: Park Life (see above) it destroys any semblance of what the original show was. Then comes along Animaniacs, which didn’t do any of these things for the betterment of the show. Aside from a High Definition upgrade, the producers kept the animation and the voice cast exactly the same and the writers didn’t stray very far from what the original intent of the show was — to be as meta and zany and completely nuts as it could while still delivering educational messages. From a fan’s perspective, I couldn’t have asked for more from a reboot. Yes, I am disappointed that, other than Pinky and the Brain, the producers didn’t bring back any of the other side characters. This could be because they couldn’t afford the cast member (or they just didn’t want to return), or they wanted to play it a bit safe by staying with what made the show popular in the first place. Whatever the reason, they could have found a cast that could mimic the voices well enough to keep them around. There’s one episode in particular that was great on this behalf, but at the same time disheartening knowing that it was the only time we’d get to see some of these incredible characters. In the end, other than a few lazy jokes, the majority of the show hit all of the right beats with its characters and the overall flow, especially when it embraced the lunacy of their parodies. Looking very much forward to season 2.

Series that shouldn’t have been this good: Kevin Can F*** Himself

Kevin Can F*** Himself — AMC

Based on the title and the premise of the show, which revolves around disgruntled housewife, Allison (Annie Murphy), who not only pictures her life with her husband (Eric Peterson) as a sitcom, but decides that murdering Kevin is the only way out of this corny, depressing lifestyle, I wasn’t looking forward to watching Kevin Can F*** Himself in the least. But like most shows, I gave the first episode a chance. It wasn’t the greatest premiere but it was interesting enough to continue watching. By the third episode I was hooked. At no time would I have thought bouncing back and forth between a sitcom-style format into a typical drama format would work, but the way the producers of the show handle the transitions, even the ones that are basic smash cuts from one to the other, are done extremely well. Making sure that no matter where the characters were, if Kevin and his dim-bulb best-friend/next-door-neighbor, Neil (Alex Bonifer), were on screen, we would be in the sitcom format was a great way to differentiate the two genre styles and led to a great twist in the final moments of the episode when Allison all but knocks Neil into the real world where people (and characters) actually bleed their own blood. The pairings were all done extremely well, the focus on the sitcom tropes, like the fat slob with the skinny, hot wife who’s always got a money-making scheme up his sleeve, were done with fantastic ease, and the journey Allison takes to get the drugs necessary to murder Kevin stayed true to Allison and the characters she encounters, all to make sure to keep Allison relatable even as she continues to do something so sinister.

Series that should have been better: Clarice

Clarice — CBS

I had high hopes for Clarice when it was first announced. With the pedigree the show was branching away from, Clarice had the potential to be a very high-end procedural. But somewhere in the casting, the writing and the direction of the show, something went horribly wrong. It was always going to be tough to cast someone to match the caliber of Jodie Foster as freshan FBI-agent Clarice Starling, so it’s no surprise that Rebecca Breeds couldn’t hold a candle to Foster’s gravitas. From the few episodes I watched, Breeds seemed so much more meek and vulnerable than she should have been given the character’s journey setup in the Silence of the Lambs. At the same time, she tried too hard to appear tougher and stronger than she was. Add in a cliché band of FBI agents and what we’re left with is a routine procedural that had nothing much to say and nothing at all to add to the story of Clarice Starling and the world originally created by Thomas Harris.

Best New Character: Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk), Resident Alien

Alan Tudyk — Resident Alien

There weren’t a lot of new characters this season that truly stood out to me except for Alan Tudyk’s Harry Vanderspeigle on Resident Alien. The way this nefarious alien attempts to fit in as a human all the while contemplating the destruction of everyone around him is balanced perfectly throughout the season. Even as the character grows as a human and becomes emotionally connected to those who become his friends, he remains incessant on his mission and loyal to his own species. The majority of why this character works so well is because of Alan Tudyk’s comic timing and his adeptness at utilizing his malleable facial expressions and mannerisms without making them feel unnecessary or manufactured. Tudyk’s ability to make you care for this alien’s growth and loath his menacing grimace at the same time makes him the perfect hero and the perfect villain at the same time. Harry’s often outlandish, yet hilarious reactions to learning new things are the cherry on top of this character’s ultimate growth, humanity, humility, and danger.

Best Character Recast: Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver (Evan Peters), WandaVision

Evan Peters and Elizabeth Olsen — WandaVision

One of the best surprises this season had to offer was one the worst things a series can do — recasting a beloved character. There are plenty of reasons to recast a character in a popular television show, but it never feels right when it happens. That is until Wanda’s brother mysteriously shows up and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) makes the (un)conscious decision to believe it’s her real brother. Because Pietro died in Avengers: Age of Ultron, bringing back the original portrayer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, would have felt false, not only to MCU followers, but to Wanda herself, who deep down knows her brother is dead but doesn’t want to believe anything that has happened in the MCU thus far. The best part of the recast, though, is in the actor the producers of WandaVision chose to utilize. By bringing on board Evan Peters to play a different iteration of the same character he played in Twentieth Century Fox’s X-Men franchise was outright genius. Not only does it pay fan service to those who love both franchises, but it opens the door to some terrific opportunities that Marvel can play with now that they, through Disney, have the rights to the X-Men characters. Although it ultimately turned out that Evan Peter’s Pietro is simply some kid next door, with the multiverse about to be ripped wide open in Spider-Man: No Way Home, this could be the chance to bring his Quicksilver back to life once and for all.

Best Callback: The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers

Mighty Ducks: Game Changers — Disney+

Fans of The Mighty Ducks knew that Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) was eventually going to start coaching the Don’t Bothers at some point during the first season of Disney+’s revitalization of Disney’s hit hockey movie franchise, and the producers didn’t disappoint. The first day Gordon officially coaches the team on his own (without Lauren Graham’s motherly coach), Gordon whips out one of his old techniques to teach the new crop of misfits how to use soft hands to control the puck. However, as opposed to using eggs as he once did in the original film, Gordon updates his drill to the twenty-first century and has each of the kids slide their phones back and forth. Eggs are one thing — who in their right mind would want to break their phone in a practice drill? The scene ended up being a great callback and great upgrade for one of the most memorable Disney coaches ever put to film.

Best Twist: Zoeys’ Extraordinary Playlist

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playbook — NBC

In the season finale of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Zoey (Jane Levy) is constantly attempting to tell Max (Skylar Austin) how she feels about him before he jets off to New York to start his pop-up restaurant franchise. After seeing him sing a heart song to whom she thought was his new girlfriend Rose (Katie Findlay), Zoey feels lost and confused — and of course heartbroken. Thinking she lost him forever, Max shows up in the park later that day to tell her he decided not to go because he was still in love with her. During the couple’s discussion, the tension begins to mount; we know there’s going to be a heart song to end the episode, so the whole time we’re expecting Max to break out in song but hoping at the same time it would be Zoey. Unlike Debris (see Part 3), Zoey’s turned the tables on itself and allowed Zoey to break out in song, leaving Max bewildered at was happening around him. It was the perfect way to end the season as well as the series. With the decision to give Zoey’s a two-hour Christmas wrap-up movie later next year, it now begs the question — do Max and Zoey both have the power to see other people’s heart songs now, or was the power officially transferred to Max? And if the latter, will Zoey ever get it back? Or does she want it back? I guess we’ll find out next year.

Check out Part 2 of our Television Awards, which includes a lot of death and disgust, including the Most Surprising Death, the Saddest Death, the Most Shocking Death and the Creepiest Special Effect.

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Published on September 18, 2021 13:17

Movie Mayhem – A Quiet Place Part II

A Quiet Place Part II — Directed by John Krasinski; Starring Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, and Djimon Hounsou

The anticipation is over. Originally slated to premiere nationwide in March 2020, A Quiet Place Part II, like the majority of other films in 2020, went the way of the year-long hiatus, hoping eventually, they could reap the benefits of our patience. Unlike other studios in the last few months, Paramount chose not to do a day-and-date release of the A Quiet Place sequel, choosing instead to do an exclusive theatrical run. This will be a gamble, as a lot of people are still hesitant to get back into theaters, but as the summer heats up, and we see the official start of the summer movie season, it will be interesting to see if more than just hardcore moviegoers believe this film is the one to get them back into the cineplex. If you are still on the fence on whether to wait for this to hit streaming, let me say that I do believe that A Quiet Place Part II is definitely worth the risk of heading back to theaters.

Beginning moments after the events of A Quiet Place, writer/director John Krasinski elegantly returns us to the soft dread of the unknown. We’re not clear where the story is headed as Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) gathers her kids, including her newborn baby, and treks them all out into the world. However, from the end of the last film, we know that Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds), with the help of her deceased father, found a way to kill the aliens, so it’s only natural for the sequel to be about getting the word out to all the survivors in some fashion.

Cillian Murphy joins the cast as Emmett, a wayward father and one time friend of the Abbott’s who lost both his sons and his wife to the terrible alien plague. Hiding out in a steel bunker, he reluctantly helps bring the Abbotts to safety after Evelyn and her brood enter his highly booby-trapped territory. There, Regan discovers a radio broadcast playing the song “Beyond the Sea” and quickly realizes it’s a message — there must be a safe colony on a small island nearby that will help them broadcast her alien-killing feedback loop. Despite her deafness, Regan leaves with Emmett in tow to find a boat that will hopefully end the madness once and for all.

Murphy is an excellent addition to the story, as he brings a fresh perspective to what’s happened to the majority of survivors. Unlike Lee (Krasinski), Emmett has all but given up hope in finding any solace in rebuilding a better future for humanity. His despair and pessimism clashes with the Abbott family’s optimism that there still is a chance to defeat the aliens and rebuild society. Will he ever truly be willing to help them, or will he simply cause more trouble because he doesn’t believe anything good will ever happen?

Like the first film, the focus of A Quiet Place Part II is on Regan as the center of inspiration — a lone wolf who can’t hear the dangers that surround her, but for whom literally holds the survival of an entire race in her hand. Her disability is what initially helped her family survive up to this point (since they all knew sign language, allowing them to communicate in silence), and would also push her father to inadvertently develop the ultimate weapon against the spreading menace. Now, Regan has a chance to enrich her father’s legacy by taking it upon herself to heal everyone else.

Blunt and Noah Jupe, who reprises his role as middle son Marcus, aren’t given a whole lot to do as they wait for Regan to fulfill her journey, but their story isn’t lessened any because of it. Throughout the entire first film, Marcus was too frightened and insecure to do anything to help fight the aliens, so his getting hurt early in the film after stepping on a bear trap signifies a lot of depth in his growth throughout the film. He goes from a weak, little brother to someone who needs to stand up and protect his defenseless sibling. Evelyn does all she can to protect all of her family, but in the end, it takes the two youngest, most vulnerable members to step up and become heroes.

By the end of the film, we’re still left with a couple of questions most of which could be answered nicely in a third, and fittingly final chapter in a Quiet trilogy. One of these questions stems from the first ten minutes of the film, where we’re given a glimpse as to what happened on that first day. We see where everyone was at the time of the attack, however, we’re still not clear on how the Abbott family survived and were able to get back to their home. The sequence itself is well-done, though, and Kransinski does a great job in keeping the same quiet suspense while going bigger with everything around him.

Ultimately it’s this, the subtle, simplistic feel in an otherwise grand nature of the art form that requires the respect of a strong viewing audience and a big screen to fully envelope. If Paramount and Krasinski do decide to complete a trilogy, it will be interesting to see how they keep this one family, Regan in particular, the center of the story while adding in a much grander, global extension in order to complete the year and half journey to destroy the aliens across the globe. It will be a somewhat difficult feat, but if A Quiet Place Part II is any indication, I’m confident Kransinski will be able to craft a powerful story that provides us with a satisfying conclusion.

My Grade: A

Bonus Reviews:

Surrounded by a stellar supporting cast, Emma Stone turns in a terrific performance as the title character in Cruella, a fantastic look behind what ultimately turned Cruella DeVil into the dalmatian-hating villain we all know from 101 Dalmations — even if it does sometimes feel a little too The Devil Wears Prada for its own good. Listen to my (Spoiler) review of Cruella on Ramblin’ Reviews. A

Though it’s ultimately a generic, somewhat predictable parable on life and family, the Netflix original film Blue Miracle wins you over with its good-natured message and a charasmatic cast that brings to life the true story of the struggles behind Casa Hoger, an orphanage off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, and how a group of orphans who never fished before seek to save it by entering a world-renowned fishing contest. A-

Next week, new movies include Spirit Untamed, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Vivo and Samaritan. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

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Published on June 01, 2021 09:00

Movie Mayhem – Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Spiral: From the Book of Saw — 2021; Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman; Starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Dan Petronijevic, Richard Zeppieri and Samuel L. Jackson

The Saw franchise did two things when it first launched with Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell stuck together in a filthy bathroom: 1) it launched what would eventually be termed the “torture porn” genre; and 2) it set itself apart from that same genre. As opposed to films like Hostel and The Devil’s Rejects, which killed for the sake of killing, Saw gave John Kramer (Tobin Bell), a strong motive for what he did to his victims. Though the franchise ultimately devolved into a state of torture porn, the original three films, and 2018s Jigsaw, highlighted how John, aka Jigsaw, gave his victims a chance to redeem themselves and live a better life. This doesn’t condone his methods, but at least there was a reason other than simple blood lust. Spiral: From the Book of Saw, attempts to expand the Saw universe with a story that tries to emulate the reason for killing its inevitable victims, but still borders a little too close to what makes torture porn itself such an uncomfortable genre.

John Kramer has been dead for some time, and it seems Jigsaw has been safely put into the past when Spiral picks up with the death of a detective who’s accused by what may or may not be a Jigsaw copycat of testifying against those who have been wrongfully accused. Detective Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) is given the case after the killer sends clues directly to him, threatening to continue killing cops unless Banks help fix the entire law enforcement system. At the same time, Banks is saddled with a new young rookie, Detective William Schenk (Max Minghella).

The story here is very minimal when it comes to the mystery of who’s actually performing the killings and why. Unlike most of the other Saw films, there isn’t enough intrigue to keep us invested in discovering what the big reveal or twist might be at the end of the film. The moment it was revealed at the end of Saw that John was in the room with the two men the whole time pretending to be dead was, forgive the pun, a killer of a twist. It was hard to live up to, for sure, but the majority of the other films did a pretty good job of spinning a yarn of deception you never saw coming. Spiral, on the other hand, doesn’t try hard enough and instead slips into a rote ending that doesn’t do much to explain the overall film.

The copycat here is a bit of a mix of both John and Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) from the latter half of the series. He gives the victims a way out, but does so in a way that will almost guarantee their death, either because they don’t have enough time to complete whatever task needs to be completed, or what they are tasked to do to escape will cause them to eventually bleed out before they can get help. It’s a sadistic game that covers for itself with false hope, which John, and the original films, were never about.

It doesn’t help that the editing is a bit frenetic, especially when it comes to the murderous games. Director Darren Lynn Bousman still includes the series’s signature cuts and camera movements, however, when it comes to the deaths, which compared with the majority of the other films, are a bit sparse, Bousman seems to hold back a bit, unwilling to truly go the distance. I’m also still confused by why one of the deaths is setup and then not actually shown until Banks shows up on the scene after the fact. It’s unnecessary edit decisions such as this that pull you from the chemistry makeup of the film.

Stepping away from comparing it to the other films, Rock does give a good, well-rounded performance as the disgruntled cop who’s been ostracized from the department because he once ratted out a fellow cop for murdering a witness in cold blood. Even though it was the right thing to do, loyalty to the blue overwhelms integrity within the department. You’ll be heavily disappointed if you were expecting the typical comedic Rock, but I felt pushing him to tone down his natural loud and sometimes exasperated nonsense for a more subtle, hard and abrasive performance was a breath of fresh air.

Meanwhile, Samuel L. Jackson pops in as Banks’s father, who doesn’t have a whole lot to do except be a possible red-herring in the search for the killer. Whether he is or not I’ll leave that for you to discover, but including Jackson and giving him hardly anything to do feels a little disingenuous, especially when the two trailers that played right before the film both featured Jackson in his typical motherf^&%$ roles.

Comparing the film to its Saw brethren, Spiral: From the Book of Saw is neither here nor there. It wants to be its own thing without leaving behind what made people fans of the original, but can’t ever grasp exactly how to make either side work. But because of Rock, and because the creativity behind the deaths are interesting on their own merit, the film squeaks by with just enough blood to keep the franchise alive, if not heading dangerously toward life support.

My Grade: B-

Bonus Review:

The actors do a decent job in keeping our interest in Those Who Wish Me Dead (especially Medina Senghore, who kills it as an expectant wife who gets inadvertently sucked into the action), but not even Angelina Jolie or Jon Bernthal can sustain much of the momentum of the simple plot that leaves us wanting more on almost every level imaginable. Listen to my (Spoiler) review of Those Who Wish Me Dead on Ramblin’ Reviews. C+

Next week, new movies include Dream Horse, The Dry, Final Account and Army of the Dead (Netflix). If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

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Published on May 31, 2021 16:38

Spiral: From the Book of Saw