unclehud Reviews

Archer: Deadly Velvet: Part 2 (2016) Season 7, Episode 10

Sunset Boulevard!

[10/10 · 14 September 2023]

OK, so I am not the most educated film buff in the room. Who cares?

Seven years after the show aired, my cousin recommends I watch "Sunset Boulevard", a 1950 Billy Wilder film noir product starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson. IT STARTS THE SAME WAY THIS ENDS: dead guy floating in a pool!

And now I get it, because Season 8 is entirely film noir!

Man! I LOVE this show! The tossed-off cryptic quips, historical allusions, film references, and pithy zingers ...

I watch each episode with my finger poised on the Pause button and Google at the ready.

That makes it a classic, 10-star TV series.

(And, sigh, I miss Jessica Walters.)

Tropical Cop Tales (2018–2019)

Sometimes I wonder

[2/10 · 9 August 2023]

Sometimes I wonder if I really understand jokes.

Sometimes I wonder if other people really understand jokes.

Sometimes I wonder if my taste in entertainment is far outside the mainstream.

Sometimes I wonder why other people think shows are funny or tasteful.

Sometimes I wonder how in the world did someone get paid to make this crap?

Sometimes I wonder, "Why can't I get paid to make crap?"

Sometimes I wonder why I watched every episode in this series before I decided it was without any merit whatsoever.

Two stars, because it did take some effort to make this crap. And one more sentence to fulfill the minimum character requirement to post this review.

Atlanta: Born 2 Die (2022) Season 4, Episode 3

Cra-Cra

[8/10 · 1 November 2022]

This episode is schizo. Two distinctly different - but parallel - storylines. Both storylines bonafide cra-cra.

White rappers OD'ing? A rap legend hiding out in a Rally's bathroom? (Yes, plenty of Rally's and Checker Burger joints in metro ATL.) OG rappers building a stable of YWAs? Rappers running a career-builder seminar?

Sometimes the philosophy is apparent or the story's point is easy to discern. Not this time. Earn shoots off his mouth and gets himself in a serious jam. PaperBoi is on the road to becoming a first class manager when his YWA offs himself.

I love this show. Never a dull moment.

I hope the episodes weave themselves into a long story arc, but halfway through season four, it looks like they won't. That makes each episode three standalone little 30-minute films. Short works of art, yeah?

Guaranteed to be interesting, up-to-the-minute, provocative, and difficult to forget.

Breaking and Entering (2006)

Such heartbreak, and such beauty

[9/10 · 30 October 2022]

Anthony Minghella has created a film of such heartbreak and such beauty that I am still affected by it a week after watching.

Beauty: Scenery and cinematography is beautifully colored and composed. The mini-ad for the architect's vision of the future King' Cross train station is incredibly well done, and a miniature film in and of itself. The exteriors and chase scenes are filmed wonderfully, just as the tender indoor scenes. The cast is beautiful, talented, and supremely composed. Artificial accents very well done.

Heartbreak? Several. A half dozen heart breaks, including a half-comic half-sad heartbreak by Vera Farmiga as a Russian hooker prowling the bad neighborhoods around the train station.

Minghella sticks a knife in your heart and twists it subtly and in unexpected directions until you are completely spent.

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

An Amazing Film!

[9/10 · 21 October 2022]

An amazing film that will be recognized for many years as such. My beef is with the story and not necessarily the script. You see, I just read another Tom Wolfe novel - A Man in Full - with an amazingly similar plot.

Now, if the script accurately reflects the story, and if the actors play to the script, and if the director directs to the script, the movie reflects the source novel. So ... if the "story" in the movie isn't good, I think it's the novelist's fault.

Each of the characters in this movie is a satirical caricature, because that's what Tom Wolfe the novelist does, and each actor plays the caricature very, very effectively. And there are big-time movie-star actors in each scene. The music is amazingly maudlin and melodramatic (an audio caricature?), and the age of the film didn't translate well into 4k HDTV - at least the version I saw. Those are NOT reasons to dislike this movie.

The stagecraft is wonderful. The acting is superb. The costumes are amazing and the story moves along quickly. That's why this is an amazing film.

Compulsion (2016)

For your eyes, not your brain.

[6/10 · 23 September 2022]

Light on plot, heavy on scenery, costumes, and visual imagery. Castle interiors and exteriors are superb. Costumes and pretty much all of the last third of the movie are an echo of Eyes Wide Shut, with the addition of ceremonial bloodletting. (It is an alleged horror movie, after all.).

Plenty of skin and physical "affection," but nothing you wouldn't see on Skinemax. Violence is limited to ceremonial activities, and there were a few low-octane scare scenes. A theme of hallucinogenic drug use - without the seemingly obligatory visual effects.

Hard to recommend it beyond a nicely filmed soft-core effort, however.

Columbus (I) (2017)

Quiet, powerful, visually stunning

[9/10 · 14 September 2022]

Columbus, Indiana. Known for its architecture. Jin visits; summoned because his architect father collapses while in town to give a lecture. He meets Cassandra, a local, and they strike up an intellectual relationship. Together they help each other realize that they have obligations: to themselves, and, in contrast, to their families.

The movie is beautifully filmed. The color palette, the architectural details, the arrangement of objects in our field of view, settings as motifs, and the wide variety of backgrounds.

Action? None. Sex? None. Drugs? None, although discussed in conversation. Pacing is slow. Dialogue is actually sporadic. (Lots of cigarette smoking, however.)

No wonder my friends have never heard of this movie. It's as far from their sweet spot as it could be.

The three leads are superb, the parallel stories are worthy of your attention, and the visual beauty is uncommonly good.

Absolutely worth your time.

American Horror Stories: Facelift (2022) Season 2, Episode 6

Judith Light can act!

[8/10 · 27 August 2022]

"Who's The Boss" wasn't her apogee, although she nailed that role every week for years. Saw her a few years ago in the Versace mini-series; she was so good I bought Miglin perfume.

Tonight she knocked it outta the park! Yeah, OK, once again she plays super-affluent suburbanite, but this time she shows convincing hesitation and self-doubt. And half the time swaddled completely under bandages.

Awesome episode, and scary, too.

Plot briefing: Concerned about competing successfully in a "womanly" arena, she visits an unorthodox plastic surgeon. She also imprudently leverages her finances to make it happen.

Does she live to regret it? Watch it find out.

Archer: The Big Con (2022) Season 13, Episode 1

Turning a corner and moving on

[8/10 · 26 August 2022]

Several looks backward, several layers of interplay, and a tentative (?) look forward. Archer mulls his motherless future. Lana worries about a possible daughterless future. Pam leads herself - yet again - into trouble. The gang, now branded as the boutique "Agency" looks at themselves as a group of colleagues, friends, and quasi-family. They still want to bring down The Man, and realize with a jolt that The Man is their boss. All this in the context of the famous, but top-secret, Clandestine-con.

But Ray Gillette is in charge?!?! How can this be? Can't wait to see what comes next.

Only Murders in the Building: Open and Shut (2021) Season 1, Episode 10

Outta left field - fabulously!

[10/10 · 22 August 2022]

We could see it coming, but certainly not that! Nice touches to tie up all the raveled loose ends. Believable, too.

Good to see two old-timers hanging with a newbie. Can't wait to start Season 2. Fingers crossed for Season 3.

Only Murders in the Building (2021– )

Smart, funny, and so very 21st Century!

[9/10 · 21 August 2022]

Three very different people, in a half-imagined investigation of a - you guessed it - murder in their NYC apartment building.

Twists, slides, sideslips, and poor decisions make for a dark comedy. The wide spectrum of oddball characters adds humor and tragedy. Heartily recommend this, accompanied by a good Pinot.

Barry Lyndon (1975)

The best ever? Well, ...

[10/10 · 6 August 2022]

... probably not, but still a ten. Photography is luscious. Costumes and sets are other worldly. Pacing is excruciatingly slow, however. All those set this film In a class of very, very few.

Absolutely recommended by me as well as the Academy.

Atlanta: Trini 2 De Bone (2022) Season 3, Episode 7

A Different Perspective

[8/10 · 2 May 2022]

Interesting to see these independent episodes about white culture. All the more interesting because I presume they are written, directed, and produced by Black people.

The FX tagline "Fearless" is appropriate for all of these episodes. Keep on rollin', ATL crew!

Y: The Last Man: Mann Hunt (2021) Season 1, Episode 5

Why must the last survivor be an idiot?

[7/10 · 22 April 2022]

"Don't wander," she says. Less tan 2 minutes after 355 leaves Yorick, he starts wandering. What a moron!

Why can't he understand that his life is at risk from 15 different angles? If I wasn't so invested in the plot, I'd stop watching this immediately.

... and it's not a spoiler to identify Yorick as a moron.

Y: The Last Man: Neil (2021) Season 1, Episode 3

Interesting Constitutional and ethical issues

[8/10 · 19 April 2022]

"They elected my father. They elected us {our political party}. We deserve a seat at the table." Both points have zero value in the Constitutional line of succession to the office of the President. The line of succession is by officeholder, not party affiliation or parental lineage.

Very interesting: when Regina Oliver regains consciousness and President Brown decides to "do something" about her. Also interesting that the President agrees to silence the chopper pilots. Corruption of an idealist?

335 is ice cold and very, very smart, and I am wondering is she's really one of the good guys. Corrupted by a power higher than public service?

Maybe this series is really about political back room deals and corruption of idealistic people.

Atlanta: Cancer Attack (2022) Season 3, Episode 5

Look out, hyperspace!

[10/10 · 15 April 2022]

Love the show; love the episode! ATLANTA pushes the envelope of television. This episode is no exception. The writers and producers are setting precedents.

The Woman in the House (2022)

Superb!

[9/10 · 1 March 2022]

Crazy plot - gobs of plot holes, but who cares? - so buckle your seat belt for a wacked-out story. Twists, turns, chuckles, guffaws, and silly parody jokes. Excellent work by a wonderful cast. Don't miss it!

I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)

how did I miss this?

[8/10 · 5 February 2022]

Cute plot with killer chemistry between Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer. Couple of surprising supporting stars. Kids are cute, too, although Stacey Dash plays a classic beeyotch.

Definitely worth your time.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Sea Captain Mickey (2014) Season 4, Episode 12

From a US Navy submarine veteran

[1/10 · 29 December 2021]

I watch this to support my claim of seeing every submarine movie ever made.

Reminded me of the good old days, when the crew would sing joyful songs together as we looked for crabs, octopus, and paid underwater tolls with bowling pins.

Oh well, only wasted 30 minutes and can check off another sub movie.

U-571 (2000)

Yes, I am a submarine veteran.

[8/10 · 27 December 2021]

This is a good submarine movie, and I think I've seen them all. British sailors recovered the Enigma machine, not Americans; otherwise this movie is pretty accurate. Crew interaction rings true, and boat operations are realistic - except those periscope seals leak profusely enough to warrant immediate repair.

Black Spot (2017–2019)

Well, only S1E1

[8/10 · 26 December 2021]

... but there is real promise here. Acting, plot, dialogue ...

Subtitles don't come close to matching dubbed dialogue, which is terribly interesting.

You (2018–2024)

Rating = 10 for twisty (and twisted) plot lines

[10/10 · 6 December 2021]

Joe is a psychopath. Joe is a stalker. He justifies his actions with demented logic, but reasonable when measured within his psycho value system. How do we know? Half of the dialogue is Joe's internal conversation.

When Joe meets Love, he sees a kindred spirit and they are joined for the rest of... well, at least joined through seasons two and three. Their combined paths through life are both comical and horrific. But they seem to be completely and utterly in love with each other. Does that make it all OK?

The plot twists are incredibly detailed and hang together in this backdrop of twisted values. Seems like there will be a lot of three-episode guest stars, and lots of plot lines that will just disappear. No matter; the writers are creative and working hard to kill people at every turn, have everyone sexually attracted to everyone else, and have Joe, Love, and Henry escape all consequences but their own personal guilt and doubt.

For those that decry "woke" references, did you not realize the Joe and Love call out the ridiculous aspects of those references?

I confess that I have many of Joe's internal conversations myself, except the killing stuff, of course.

Manifest (2018–2023)

I just had a calling ....

[4/10 · 15 September 2021]

... and it told me this is some seriously bad TV. The writing is schlocky and (with a few exceptions) the acting is stiff and flat.

Honest to goodness example: Four main characters meet unexpectedly in a cave. (please don't ask why!) "Ben?! Olive?! Zeke?! Mick?! What are you doing here?! What are YOU doing here?!"

And this specific exchange happens every single episode: "Did you just have a calling?" "Yes. I've got to go, right now." "OK you go. I've got this." {referring to the current real-world problem-of-the-moment.} <- I actually look for that recurring exchange because it makes me chuckle.

Why do I keep watching? My wife loves the show's religious themes and the cast is a collection of eye candy.

A Simple Favor (2018)

OMG SO FUNNY!

[8/10 · 19 August 2021]

Black comedy done well! I mean superbly!

(And my review is too short?!?!)

Blake and Anna play it beautifully; look for the skull head walking cane.

Downsizing (2017)

Not a Comedy

[8/10 · 27 July 2021]

Starts with a cute premise, and rapid buildup. Then, as stated lots of other places, it takes a hard left turn and examines society under a microscope. Not to worry, heartwarming and very traditional. I mean, with 5-inch tall people.