marielaltman

This review is for Season 2 wrapped up last night. Wow. Can someone nominate Luke James for an Emmy stat? Not many actors can achieve this level of depth in their performance and I watch many lol. Edmund Gaines is gonna be stuck in there for a while. He played both sides of the character's personas masterfully. One moment I felt deep sympathy for him and the next revulsion. Deborah Ayorinde as Det. Dawn Reeve is also quite good.

"The Scare" is a creepy nightmare horror drama mystery set in the backdrop of early 1990s Los Angelos. Obviously, the air is super tense with racial hostilities and distrust, but this is not the theme of this season. The main theme here is the trauma of family dissolution. Specifically, how this comes to bear on Edmund, an individual who is a mentally-ill social misfit and desperately trying to find a sense of identity in an overwhelming world. Not surprisingly, he pursues acting gigs and finds he gets really off on scaring people.

This season is genuinely chilling and left many scene imprints. The creators of this show use fantastic sound tracking and editing techniques throughout. Very well done Little Marvin. Starvin' for more.

This series is enthralling in many ways. The way it's shot, the cinematic style, the foreboding urban landscape as a backdrop to this take on the mythical nightmare that is the changeling. The VOs by author Victor LaValle add more depth and meaning to the scenes. I have not read this award-winning book, but have become an immediate fan to this confident, narrative style. The story is intense and takes unexpected turns. As for the acting, we have the effortlessly soulful, inimitable LaKeith Stanfield as our lead Apollo Kagwa. He's an excellent choice for such an intensely dramatic role. High five to Apple for adapting this gem.

'From" is an absorbing thriller with strong horror and dramatic elements. This a fine cocktail of both. There is a dreadful atmosphere that pervades as we watch our unfortunate fellow humans navigate their new terrifying reality. Makes one think... how would I deal with this? Life is hard and scary enough as it is. Now I gotta worry about ghouls coming to my window at night?!

Harold Perrineau, an actor I watched slay the role of a cross-dressing Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet over 20 years ago. Here he is killing it as Sheriff Boyd with his wide range of emotional technique and he earned that leading man role. Bold choice, MGM. This is the way.

Stellar cast all around. Have seen some serious contenders for awards. Endlessly intriguing premise. Stellar writing. High production value. Super-talented multi-racial cast. Winning.

This series has a lot of things going for it: action, drama, and high suspense in each episode. The location in rustic Japan is gorgeous, the lush landscape in stark juxtaposition to the macabre happenings in the village run by the villainous Goto family. Great cast and acting, especially by our brave hero, Officer Daigo Agawa (Yagira), self-tasked to take them on.

Gannibal is an intense story of madness and evil brought on by depraved fanaticism. There's also something to be said about perverse family loyalties and doggedly holding on to customs that would make anyone cringe in horror. Very much enjoyed and hope a Season 2 will pick up at the very harrowing moment Episode 7 ended with.

This movie was chaotic and even annoying at times. It will turn some people off for sure. But it still allows us to feel our own personal chaos and reflect on our relationships. These are close relationships, and even obligatory distant ones like the bureaucrat that frustrates you to the point of near madness.

The enormity of everything is ridiculous. We are ridiculous too, of course. Responding to hostility with kindness is not in our nature.

Fantastic performances all around, most notably Ke Huy Quan (Waymond) and Stephanie Hsu (Joy). Waymond symbolized the heart of this movie and Joy the turmoil. It was great seeing Quan, who had to be one of the greatest child actors ever on the big screen (The Goonies, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) return and claim his stardom like his co-star Michelle Yeoh. Hsu killed it from start to finish. Jamie Lee Curtis kills it too.

The essence of the Chinese family worked here for me, they represent humanity colorfully and fantastically. These, and other thoughtful details throughout this wild trip make it evident that the writer/director team of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert are confident and on top of their craft, blending visual elements of the absurd and those with great depth. Swiss Army Man is a great example of this. What will they create next?

The Last of Us drew me in and didn't let up for the epic 80 minute pilot. Very unusual for series these days, which appear to begin somewhat clumsily or questionably and leave you wondering if episode #2 will be worth it. Not here. Actually looking forward to it.

Clearly, apocalyptic landscapes and "infection" films/series are nothing novel and one would roll their wary eyes when reading the synopsis of this series, apparently adapted from a video game. But from the outset, I felt very connected to the characters (the father and daughter in particular). There is something really substantive here in their relationship serving as the catalyst for emotional drama required for a series like this to work.

It's gritty, tight, stylistic and captivating. I can't imagine this going south from here.

This movie is for horror lovers with a wicked sense of humor and who enjoy a unique cinematic experience. "Hunted" delivered on all fronts: style, visuals, pacing, tension, acting...major hat tip to director Vincent Paronnaud, who is known as Winshluss. Man, I'll be looking out for your upcoming projects.

Your movie "Hunted" had me at the edge of my seat, and the bad guy--ahh, what a vile and disgusting character. Yet, brilliant use of bizarre and ironic humor throughout. I won't spoil a thing here in this review, but if you're a jaded horror fan looking for something top notch to watch this Halloween, then I highly recommend adding Hunted to your list.

Concluded watching series last night. The premise has been extensively rehashed in reviews so I will say that yes, there are recurring slow moments of action and monologues and it's not for everyone. That being said, these moments serve the mood of the show very well as the writing and acting are top-notch all around. With a little patience, and if one has a natural love for thematic slow-burn and character exposition--characters with depth and raw vulnerability, as well as characters so perfectly malignant they piss you off--then you will appreciate this memorably emotional ride on the dangers of religious fanaticism and those who would put their morality to the wayside and follow suit. Excellent cast and acting. Mike Flanagan all day long.

Have to edit here to commend performances by Hamish Linklater (stunning), Samantha Sloyan (needed a little backstory imo) and Kristin Lehman (so authentic it burns). Also, what's up with the commenter who says having a Muslim police chief and biracial couple on the cast is "woke"? Wow, some of you people are so seriously sad lol. Rahul Kohli was such a standout in the cast--as in, the conflict between him and his son added a great deal of depth to the storyline.

And there's nothing here. Satirical, dark comedy or not, there are no viable protagonists here. And it's not natural. Was the intent of the writer/director to inflame sensitivities and frustrate the audience? To eagerly have us anticipating Marla Grayson's horrific demise? Then, job well done! The improbable plot and lack of realism in how the characters react/speak in high octane situations is okay, because this is acceptable in such films. But having such relentlessly awful, one-dimensional characters just sucked the air out of this one for me.

The first hour is definitely strong and held promise. The style, tempo, soundtrack are stellar (hence the 5 stars). So are the actors, though there is nothing too dramatically demanding on any of them. But the second half went on to deny my expectations that evil gets theirs in the end. That wrong is righted. Wrong is not righted here. It's too much like the real world.

We love that stories offer a sense of "righting" things, however artistically symbolic. This ideal spans across all film genres (with the exception of horror). I can't help but feel that this movie and the way the subject is treated projects that being a soulless a-hole and that preying on vulnerable populations is cool, funny, and entertaining. It really is not.

Chloe Zhao's work in this gem is masterful--truly a unique talent and vision. One feels immersed in the world of Fern and the "nomads" she encounters along the way in her directionless, heartbroken existence. Many details are authentic, raw, and convey mood and the grit of these folks and the world they inhabit.

Not surprisingly, turns out the nomads are real people and not actors. I suppose this is part documentary/part drama movie. Being incognito as the downtrodden widow Fern, McDormand is unrecognizable as the Oscar-winning actress to the nomads, and so, in their mutual interactions they are brilliantly aligned and relatable to each other. McDormand spends much of the movie sympathetically listening to their poignant stories as she struggles to make her way in this uncharted new world.

The film masterfully stays away from the inherent politics of the situation--how capitalism leaves many behind in the dust and how these retired gig-workers/nomads have had one tough break after another, exacerbated by the existing social structure. It is enough to simply experience the lives of these elderly nomads through their collective charisma and toughness. This movie is obviously not for everyone, but if you are the kind of person who empathizes with humanity on multiple levels, this film will leave on imprint on your soul.

P.S. The nomad "Swanky" is unforgettable.