brews_ohare

This is a tale of two families. The Bok family is wealthy and contains a mother Man-Heum and father Sun-Gu, a daughter Dong-hee son Gwi-ju (Gwi-joo), and Gwi-ju's daughter I-na. The other "family" is a gang of scam artists led by Baek Il-Hong, enforcer Noh Hyeong-Tae, assistant Grace Kang, and our heroine Do Da-hae. The mainspring of the tale is the relation between Gwi-ju and Da-hae. At first they are distant but ultimately in love.

The Bok family has superpowers. Mother Man-Heum has dreams that reveal aspects of the future, which made the Bok family rich by using foreknowledge to buy lottery tickets and stocks in the present that they knew would be winners in the future. The daughter Dong-hee can fly, an occasionally useful ability. The son, our protagonist Gwi-ju, can travel backwards in time. His daughter I-na can read minds.

At the beginning of our tale, the Bok family has lost use of their powers. The mother cannot sleep and has no dreams, the daughter is too heavy from overeating to fly, the son is too depressed to time travel, and his daughter I-na is keeping her mind reading under wraps because she finds what people think to be disturbing.

And the gang of scammers has identified that the Boks are malfunctioning and decide they can scam the family and get rich. To implement their scam they get our heroine Da-hae accepted as help into the Bok family, where the Bok family finds her to be an antidote to their despondency. She becomes key to the Boks' recovery from anarchy.

That is the set up, and the rest of the tale is the uneven progress of the two families and the evolution of the feelings between Gwi-ju and Da-hae.

The acting here is convincing, and there are many heartfelt moments that keep things going. So I was engaged. But I found the story confusing because it keeps shifting gears. The role of the superpowers keeps changing, so their uses are disconcertingly redefined as things move along.

At first the mother's dreams predict the future. Later they are only suggestive of the future. At first the son can travel backward in time, but only as an observer. Later he can bring information from the present back with him to earlier times, where that information can be made use of to change the present when it arrives.

The other confusion which is at the basis of the tale is that Gwi-ju is determined to travel backwards in time to long years ago to save Da-hae when she was trapped in a fire when very young. Why that was necessary is unclear because, as Da-hae points out to Gwi-ju, here she is in the present, so obviously she was saved from the long-ago fire.

Suddenly the plot changes and the fire is now, or is it? And Gwi-ju is killed in the fire. Or was he?

By and large the story is engaging. The actors do well. But the trajectory of the tale is erratic and seems to rewrite the plot capriciously time and again. Which in my view detracts from appreciation of what was achieved.

Season 1 was excellent; a big change from McConaughey, who set a different vibe. But a likable alternative. And the longer format allowed a very twisty intricate story with a lot of character interplay and development. Unfortunately, I did not find Season 2 continued these advantages. The lawyer's philosophical asides and fill-ins seemed more artificial. And the side trips seemed forced. The plot in Series 2 departed from the books but did no serious damage. However, the developing return to a close relationship of the lawyer to Wife Number One (Maggie) in the book was abandoned in Series 2. Guess there were some staffing issues? I didn't like that change. Some serious attention to regaining the spark of Series 1 will be needed in Series 3. I'm a bit doubtful that there is enough awareness of what is needed to bring that off.

I found the actors convincing in all parts. The plot also is interesting with a number of twists, including management arguments over what exceptions should be made to traditional rules, and how persistence can alter things. There are several romances here. Some of long standing with a few words for newer couples. Some facing adversity, both from each other, and from outside forces.

It involves extraordinary powers and mystical surroundings, somewhat like My Devil, so you have to accept that aspect. It does not interfere with reality of the characters interactions and their differences and their evolution.

I enjoyed the whole thing and recommend it.

The story moves along, but it's very predictable. The set up is interestingly told, but interest declines rapidly after the wedding. After that the movie is a survival story, and aside from wondering what obstacle will pop up next, I was simply admiring the graphics of the dragon. In fact, although the heroine does demonstrate an evolving set of survival skills, the dragon is the most complex character here, actually evolving with experience. And extremely well drafted and acted.

I guess the idea here was to underline that women can succeed despite an intimidating environment, but Angelina Jolie is more successful in that objective and more entertaining as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.

This series is very well done, as a glance at other reviews will attest. It does contain a romance, but actually has another serious aspect. Possibly I am remiss in not dwelling more upon the series' amazing execution, but I feel a rather detailed synopsis of the theme will prove a useful supplement to other reviews here.

The first approximately 12 episodes tell how a mid-thirties woman, very unsure of herself, engages in a romance with a man about 5 years younger whose boyish devotion awakens in her a feeling of self worth she didn't have before. This awakening to her personal value fuels her enthusiasm with the romance. She explains these facts in a telephone recording to her boyfriend that charms him.

The sense of self worth also awakens in her a resistance to sexual abuse in her workplace and she becomes a leader of revolt among the women workers.

However, a major obstacle in her realization of herself is her duty to her mother, who is very focused upon having her daughter marry well. By which, mother means, married to a rich, important man with a very good job. Other merits highly secondary. Although, before meeting her true admirer, the daughter was driven into such a choice, her mother's idea of a prospective husband turned out to be a two-timer, using his wealth and status to seduce women who thought he's a catch.

Our awakening heroine transforms, dumps the "catch", becomes a threat to abusers in her workplace and, as is rather alarming to the viewer, about episode 13 rejects her true admirer despite the heady romance she and we viewers have enjoyed with him. She amazes we viewers by how determinedly she detaches herself, putting feelings aside. She explains to others that she had lost her growing independence being so engaged in this romance, and felt the greater priority was to develop who she was. We viewers, and other characters, are quite uncertain about this change of direction.

So is it all over? She detaches herself from her lover, her mother, and her job and moves to an island to find freedom to develop. We wonder if she really knows what she is doing.

But in the final moments of the last episode her boyish lover turns up. And although we viewers do wonder what new form any relationship might take, it is clear the two are very attached. We viewers are left with a few moments of togetherness that suggest that they will find a life together.

So this series is a romance. But it has another deeper story to tell. It is a bit of a jarring switch from romance to personal realization. But the series manages them both.

Entertaining and involving. The demon & his love do such a great job. And none of this would work without them because it sits right on the edge of schmaltz, and the two of them manage to keep it from suicide.

The world portrayed has mix of Catholicism, magical powers, reincarnation, and plot twists. I was left feeling the role of Catholicism was being held back against a strong urge to make more of it. Thank goodness for some restraint.

It was a fun departure to have "God" played by a bag lady, who carefully explains on several occasions that she can guide events and intervene sometimes, but there is a randomness in the evolution of fate, much of it due to the unpredictable behavior of humans, randomness that can surprise her and make her aware of her own limitations.

There are many attempts to lighten things up with comedic interjections, mostly way overboard. But one can take them as short digressions from the story's main thrust, which is how the two lovers manage despite adversities and villains of many kinds. And these two actors manage to contain what easily could become a viewer's impatience with long drawn out staring into each others eyes and extended exuberant celebrations of each others company.

Altogether a delightful concoction admirable for how well it travels a knife's edge of overdoing things time after time. The viewer enjoys and marvels over its balance.

The husband is dead and has fallen from an attic window. There are many questions about this. The superficial question that drives the participants is: Was it murder, or suicide? The many deeper questions surround another question: Why did it happen, nevermind how?

A revealing take on the matter is found in a recorded argument between wife and husband, made by the husband. It is presented late in the movie, and summarizes things. In this conversation, the husband accuses his wife of having led the family into its present predicament, which in part is a financial one, in part the husband's frustration in not being able to pursue his writing career, in part dealing with guilt over the son's handicap resulting from an accident that might have been avoidable. In this argument the husband accuses his wife of taking too little responsibility for family woes, loading him with responsibilities that in good conscience he cannot ignore, and leaving him with too little time to pursue his writing, which failure is burning in his soul. The wife says he painted himself into this corner, and she has made many sacrifices to accommodate his (as it turns out) bad decisions. In her view, he should simply change direction.

So each accuses the other of causing the mess they are in. As a viewer we have to agree the husband did paint himself into a corner. But his accusations toward her really are his cry for help, because he is unable to extricate himself. His wife cannot see he is in difficulty and thinks he got himself into it, he can get himself out. He does, by killing himself.

Authorities think the wife murdered him, and a trial ensues. The judge, the witnesses, and the prosecuting attorney all interpret events in a sinister way, clearly going to extremes to implicate the wife. Ultimately the son, in reviewing his interactions with his father, concludes his father was indeed suicidal.

So the monie is indeed an anatomy, showing how all actors see the facts from different stances. A very believable portrayal of ambiguities in fact, and how the facts can point in the directions that each party wants to believe. And how personal preoccupations blind one to alternatives consistent with fact.

Very well done. Well conceived and well portrayed.

Despite knowing what Reacher is about, I enjoyed Series 1. Tom Cruise was more convincing, but Ritchson brought his own take and physique to the role. Somehow Series 2 just doesn't carry on the same way. I suspect that is due to 1) dialogue that carries no conviction - just snippets read from a monitor; 2) a set of supporting roles that are completely uninteresting - Series 1 had engaging characters that actually interacted with Reacher instead of feeding him admiring comments, 3) an overall plot that seems to exist only to link fight scenes - characterization is absent. 4) Reacher's character in Series 2 also has diminished. Reacher's laconic observations that cast some interest upon his nature in Series 1 are now just brusque observations of little consequence, or weak quips. 5) The filmed settings are prosaic and give a grade B feeling to the entire enterprise.

So the charms of Series 1 are lost. Reacher has fallen to the level of the worst Stallone movies, but now stretched out over many episodes. I'm unlikely to pursue the slow feed of more episodes.

The concept behind this movie is interesting. In the form of an actress aiming to portray the wife that actually married a twelve year old when she was 30, the opportunity is opened for a probe into exactly what happened and why. Instead of using this device to actually penetrate reality, the actress instead spends her time talking to everyone she meets about absolutely nothing more than idle conversation. Then she decides to become a participant instead of an observer and derails any attempt at depth. The whole thing is basically a rehash of the superficial combined with an extraneous side issue. It's all too bad. A great idea, but no follow through, no insights, and a diversion into how a busy body intruder doesn't accomplish anything.

This movie is very enjoyable. And part of that enjoyment is the various speeches that are to the point and that I wish were actually deliverable in the real world.

Some of the scenes are silly, like falling into a skyscraper cake, but they are outweighed by the better scenes. The characters do get carried away, but they also demonstrate maturity seldom found in a rom-com. That is what makes the movie worthwhile.

The casting is terrific. Both the leads do well, and Uma portrays well a tough but open President. The musical numbers are pure schmaltz from the past, but the lyrics do fit the action. Their singing is very different from the original singing, but very well done.

You might be tempted to dismiss this movie based upon the early scenes, but hang in there for a while. You'll change your mind.

The points I felt were well made were 1) The nuclear bomb is an extraordinary example of the powers of the universe and 2) Once people get there hands on it, especially the government, you can bet good sense goes out the window. Oppenheimer himself thought he was facing this dilemma, and its weight upon him was very well portrayed, and his dismay with people. Portrayed well also was the alarming failure of authority to really come to grips with their role in opening Pandora's box. Unfortunately, the movie makes all too clear the inability of mankind to govern itself, and the unlikelihood that we are at all smarter about it today..

So the major themes of this movie are powerfully done, the major actor is splendid. So what's not so good?

In part, what is jarring is not only the idiocy of the men in charge, but the filmmaker's view of the audience as also idiots. It has to be drummed into us that the bomb is dangerous- did you get that? Well let's repeat it again. And maybe again.

The movie does not proceed sequentially, but jumps back and forth over decades. I don't think that actually helps the presentation. The movie "The Day after Trinity" is strictly in time order, and actually more powerful as a result. Also, its filmed clips of the detonation were better chosen.

The soundtrack makes subscripts necessary, but there aren't any.

So my feeling about this movie is it is worth seeing. It makes some excellent points very well. But I feel it could have been better, and would have be been better if the audience were considered more sentient. The importance of the subject is gotten across, but leaves me feeling the movie didn't believe we could get it.

This is a "James Bond" look alike with a woman replacing Bond. It is very standard fair. Secret team fighting for good of all (think Mission Impossible), high tech gizmos, fight scenes, unexpected impediments. The point is: What is new here? Another point is: How are these characters interesting?

The filming is fine. The set up is old hat. The gizmos are as good as Bond, but then we've seen Bond for decades. We've seen fight scenes everywhere, many more inventive. We've been to the Alps (or whatever snow topped mountains these are). We've seen parachutes.

There is no sparkle here. Need some repartee. Need some flair. Just is not engaging.

The plot of this movie is very similar to many others, part of a subgendre populated by Leam Neeson and many others. Jennifer does fine - just don't expect a lot of novelty here. The point of this movie is to cater to folks that like this kind of thing and have pretty much seen all the movies of this type over and over, and crave a new face or two.

The filming is fine, the acting is acceptable, the pacing is typical, etc etc. However, you will be disappointed if you expect some originality here, having in mind other Lopez action flicks like "Out of Sight" or even."Gigli". Watching it my mind often wandered off to reminisce other movies of this type instead of focusing upon this one.

I have to admit seeing the ambassador always in need of getting her hair washed is a bit unsettling. But the characters in this show are well drawn and the dialogue is funny, clever, and involving. At bottom the actual plot is just an excuse to portray a motley crew of folks with various hang-ups trying to do their jobs and tripping over their shoelaces time and again. Despite the ambassador's sharp mind and inventive efforts to keep her husband, her aides, the US government and everybody else on track, somehow their personal ambitions and their inability to think outside the box always screw things up.

A series like this can go on forever and remain entertaining. All depends on the writers' ability to keep the befuddling inventive, imaginative, and funny.

The story line and various complications are handled well, tension builds, but really not an outstanding piece of work. A time passer. Guess the end scenes leave open the possibility of further development of the two leads' relationship, but it looks like a long shot with the two going separate ways to follow obsessions over their careers. Series 2? Doubtful.

There is too much time and effort devoted to fights and shooting encounters. The basic plot that some folks on government are beyond reason and willing to take it upon themselves to do the reprehensible because of erroneous convictions seems plausible, and so does their manipulation by others with clear but greedy objectives.

I think this series has a good framework and capable actors, but treats its plot to too many wrinkles we have seen before.

After thinking about why this movie did not get me, I decided that although the concept and much of the dialogue was right on, the two actors lacked poignancy. The flashbacks to their young encounter were touching and vivid. But their second encounter was repartee. The two could not persuade me of any vital concern between them.

At bottom are issues between the two that promise interest. The woman has a second marriage she values, but remembers the passion of her first marriage which she would like in her life today. Unfortunately, her first husband has not achieved self understanding in the elapsed years, making their new encounter a disappointment.

On the other hand, her first husband who thought initially this second encounter would be an interesting one nighter, does come to realize that he lost something of great value when his philandering split them. He is left at the end with the quandary that while he should reform, he is very unsure that he can do it. "Being happy is so difficult" he summarizes.

It is just too bad that these two excellent actors lacked a director that could lead them to a vibrant portrayal. So the viewer is left with a sparkling analysis of a conundrum, but a disappointing portrayal.

This series is photographed beautifully so each scene looks like an old-master painting. Delightful to see. The characters are engaging and draw you in. However, aside from portrayal of the drive by fascism to dictate behavior and our character's resistance to it, the episodes have a fairy tale lightness to them. Not by any stretch of imagination the psychological gloom of Endeavour or the hard hitting of Line of Duty. Instead, an enjoyable entertainment with glimpses of amusement and tongue in cheek, set in a contrasting fascist background. As an instance of the unreality the viewer is inclined to indulge, our Detective is attracted to a neighbor living in an apartment across the street, but he and her both are made so uncomfortable with their entrancement that their contact is primarily that of looking at each other through their apartment windows.

Interesting to watch despite its unbelievable aspects.

The basic plot outline is the decision by "corporate" about continuing funding for a program to develop a biologically based robot Morgan. The presentation of the development team is very well done. The end is a disturbing decision by "corporate".

Morgan is depicted as actually a very human creation with advanced mental and physical capacities. The question raised, in my mind, is whether the humans can keep up.

While a viewer might be distracted by the emphasis upon whether Morgan is homicidal or not, it seems clear to me that Morgan's homicidal tendencies arise only when her life is threatened. Which happens first ambiguously when she attacks a team member, who actually says it was her own fault. But then again later when the "corporate" assessor deliberately threatens her life and asks her to physically demonstrate her response to being terminated. She does.

In the end "corporate decides to end the project after their alternative creation unnecessarily murders the surviving team members. Corporate takes the view that a biological robot that apparently follows instructions is preferable to one that is overtly individual. But they are unaware that their selected robot is even more homicidal and psychopathic, just more clever at disguising that fact.

I found the movie well done, engaging, and all too realistic and troubling in its depiction of corporate decision processes.