Very intense. Very good.
Great cast.
The eight-episode series began with the murder of an 11-year-old boy in the fictional, close-knit coastal town of Broadchurch in Dorset, United Kingdom. The series depicted the impact that suspicion and media attention have on the community. …
Broadchurch series one received widespread critical acclaim and high viewership ratings. …
I was impressed with the originality of how the killer was revealed.
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Season 2 is not nearly as good.
My favourite character for sure is Jeff Hiller as Joel, Sam’s co-worker and friend. He gets a romantic interest this season.
The show is original. It’s still a relief to watch normal people in normal situations in a normal small town.
In each of its roughly half-hour episodes, people talk, drive, go home. It is a series of small character studies, set in a sleepy town in Kansas, and whatever plot rears its head tends to gently nudge the drama forward in ever-so-gentle increments. Yet, just as it did in its superlative first season, it stuffs every subtle scene with emotion, poignancy and a great sense of humour. …
Guardian Review – Somebody Somewhere season two review – even this uplifting comedy’s quietest moments are dazzling
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related – Somebody Somewhere‘s Jeff Hiller Is More Than Ready to Play a Romantic Lead
I mean, obviously no one’s going to cast me as the romantic lead. But I loved playing that tenderness, I loved playing that romance, and I loved thinking about it for Joel and how specific he has laid out what type of relationship he wants. It was sweet, it was tender, I liked it.
Red Queen (Spanish: Reina Roja) is a thriller TV series based on the novel of the same name by Juan Gómez-Jurado.
The world’s most intelligent person, Antonia Scott, is coaxed out of her hermit-like retreat to be partnered with gay Basque police agent Jon Gutiérrez after the killing of the son of a wealthy family and the kidnapping of a wealthy heiress.
The book is good, not great. Perhaps something is lost in translation from Spanish.
The TV show is not as good, I’d say. Confusing. Poor acting.
I only made it through a few episodes.
For the world’s smartest person, Antonia is not that bright.
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Still very funny.
Perhaps the best season, so far.
Both Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a legendary (aging) Las Vegas comic, and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, her young comedy writer, are hilarious.
They are the world’s worst hikers, though. 😀
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Worth watching. But not essential unless you a Dune nutcase.
Too much palace intrigue. Too dark. Too confusing.
There are some beautiful visuals, of course.
A big Dune fan, I was sceptical whether I’d enjoy the TV spinoff on one of the universe’s most appealing elements: the Bene Gesserit.
Dune: Prophecy is a prequel to the Denis Villeneuve films Dune and Dune: Part Two, taking place approximately 10,000 years earlier.
It draws upon, but is set after, the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy (2012–2016) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
The show was met with mixed reviews, with a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes and an even lower 66% Audience Score. ..,
… it “lacks the spice of Denis Villeneuve’s films,” …
What Went Wrong With Dune: Prophecy
I wasn’t really cheering any of the characters. But Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart is intriguing.
Perhaps more humour would have helped. The dialogue is dry.
I expect season 2 to be much stronger. This epic TV series has potential.
The Last of Us — season 1 — was by far my favourite TV show of 2023.
Season 2 is not as ground breaking, but still fantastic.
Intense. Very intense.
Bella Ramsey is a genius choice to play the critical role of Ellie. Quirky and potentially violent.
Her love interest in this season is up to the role. Isabela Merced as Dina has enough gravitas to share the screen. They have chemistry.
Season 2 picks up 5 years after the events of Season 1.
Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.
They live in stable, democratic Jackson, Wyoming.
We learn of other surviving human factions, stupid enough to kill each other rather than work together to rid the earth of the infected zombi-like creatures.
For some reason the timeline jumping forward and backward works in this dystopian show.
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It was filmed in Alberta and B.C., including Nanaimo.
The Bondsman is a horror comedy. More comedy than horror.
Kevin Bacon is an undead bounty hunter.
The Devil brought him back to earth as a bounty hunter of demons.
His mother, Beth Grant as Kitty Halloran, is a church-goer and former bounty hunter. A great character in this show.
Damon Herriman as Lucky Callahan is surprisingly good casting, as well.
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You know … I haven’t heard about the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” rule for a while.
Any actor in Hollywood is — at maximum — only 6 projects away from one with Bacon. We’ve been talking about this since 1994.
The Studio is an American satirical cringe comedy-drama television series created by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez. It stars Rogen as an embattled Hollywood studio head struggling to balance corporate demands with his own passion for producing quality films. …
It’s brilliant in many ways. The extensive use of long takes. The celebrity cameos.
I’m sure actors loved mocking their industry.
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It’s hilarious that the BIG PROJECT planned is a movie version of … Kool-Aid. They want to make billions as did Barbie. 😀
BUT — excessive profanity ruined The Studio for me.
Martin Scorsese told him he says ‘f‑‑‑’ too much.
Overuse of profanity is weak writing. Weak storytelling. This show would have been better with less swearing.
Here’s Seth Rogen defending his overuse of profanity.
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Good television. A murder mystery, politics, immigration issues and murky espionage as well as complicated relationships.
Collateral is a four-part British television drama …
… stars Carey Mulligan as DI Kip Glaspie, assigned to investigate the shooting of a pizza delivery rider in inner-city southwest London. …
… a complex web of characters who are all somehow connected with the story, which addresses attitudes to immigration with the maltreatment of refugees and immigrants by both uncaring people-traffickers and indifferent state agencies …
Jeany Spark is excellent as Captain Sandrine Shaw.
All good. I enjoyed some of the interesting cinematography.
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I really liked Dark Winds – season 1.
Season 2 … not nearly as good.
I reluctantly continued to season 3.
Though it got rave reviews, I was confused and not convinced by the supernatural storyline.
Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) has been seeing monsters, particularly Ye’iitsoh, the Navajo creature known as Big Giant.
He’s haunted by killing wealthy villain B.J. Vines (John Diehl) in Season 2, and the Ye’iitsoh has been plaguing him.
The writers’ room is all Native American. That’s a plus.
There are some excellent cast members.
But I’m not sure whether I’ll carry on to season 4.
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Rick McCharles 