Frank Hesperado

I'm not going to write a detailed review, so I may well leave out a lot of important stuff. It's a great series, solidly entertaining & delightfully quirky (no doubt thanks in large part to the comic genius of Bill Hader). As with some other series I have enjoyed (Breaking Bad, Dexter, Better Call Saul), the initial spark became somewhat compromised as the seasons unfolded toward the finish line, becoming overly lugubrious & dark, sacrificing some of the effervescent charm of the opening season. Barry's seasons 1 and 2 were superb, but that "darkness" began to cast a pall over the atmosphere by season 3 and even more by season 4. Another reservation I had about season 4 particularly involves the choices Hader apparently made when he fleshed out what life would be like for Barry and Sally after he gets out of prison and goes into witness protection relocation. Making them turn into some weird Christian cult members was a lame choice that was totally out of character given the preceding 3 seasons. Then adding those notes of sordid cynicism in Sally's life when she's at work away from Barry were inexplicable and seemed to be forced into the script as "hey let's do this, let's have Sally who when she's not living her strangely stilted existence with Barry and their son smokes cigarettes and gets drunk and then picks up some weird freak she has an abusively aborted sexual encounter with in a public rest room -- yeah, that'll be cool!" Um, not really. Then we have moments where Barry's former psychopathy reasserts itself and the scriptwriters (Hader likely mainly involved) decide to slip in not-so-subtle cheap shots at AMURRICANS and their gun-loving ways at Walmart (with the cultish Christian component firmly telegraphed by that point). Other than those sour notes, it was great.

First off, for me a 3 star rating means solidly entertaining, just not "great" (an overused term) and not "amazingly superb" (reserved for few movies). All I want to say now is I have only watched 8 minutes of the movie and already I can tell I'm going to like it. The acting of course is good all around (so far), but mainly the direction by director Veena Sud -- whom I never heard of before -- is excellent. She has a sure hand at using scenery and subtle things like facial expressions and body language to move the plot along in an interesting and potentially intriguing way. And when actors are good, it's usually thanks to the expertise of the director, at least in part. I don't know why so many people Debbie Downed it so much. I've noticed way too many people overly dissecting movies in reviews and complaining about abstract expectations they think a movie disappointed them in. Who knows, I might change my mind as I continue, but we'll see...

Reading through these reviews, the most common theme seems to be befuddled wonder at the weirdness of the movie; it's like all these reviewers were completely oblivious to the groundbreaking cinema of the 70s and all the experimentation that went on. "Faults" is quirky and offbeat, sure, but hardly unique in that regard. Anyway, I found it mostly entertaining and really appreciated the spare use of music by the director. I wish more directors would calm down on the music they use to cue the audience to how they should feel and react. Please stop patronizing us. If you need music vamping every scene, it's probably because your direction can't stand by itself.

I'm getting pretty good at palpating a consensus of bad reviews to see whether I might disagree and actually like the movie. After reading through about 20 bad reviews here, I began to wonder whether I might like this movie for the same reasons these reviewers didn't like it. I was right: I found Henry's Crime to be delightful, winsome, witty, wacky and to some extent thrilling as a crime genre movie. The acting all around is nearly perfect. Reviewers kept repeating by rote "Keanu isn't a good actor and you can tell" -- not seeing that first of all, his wooden performance here actually enhances the role, because his Henry is in some subtle ways a reprise of Peter Sellers' Chauncy Gardner, a kind of neutral cipher that other people invest their emotional energy in. But he's not emotionless, and he does fall in love with the female lead, played with wicked vivacity and vulnerable tenderness by Vera Farmiga who, reluctantly, reciprocates but only after twines & torts of ambivalence reinforced by her inner fear of opening up. James Caan is deeply satisfying in his role, adding humor in the slightest gestures or phrases, and Peter Stormare -- of "Prison Break" infamy -- with impeccable verve adds his mischievously hostile persona of a bombastic, egotistical theater director with a Slavic accent. The two separate moments where he imperiously demands of Henry (who somehow got cast in their Chekov play "The Cherry Orchard") that he speak his lines from the heart to Vera Farmiga's character Julie, and we see Keanu switch from his characteristically wooden performance to genuine acting, is remarkable. Vera has those moments as well, though with her, one is on surer ground, knowing implicitly she's a great actress.

A solidly entertaining and well directed, well acted, thriller. This is the first time in my experience I ever saw a movie that I thought had a couple of false notes -- then on second thought after it was over, I realized no, they weren't false notes; they were actually realistic. I can't go into specifics without divulging a spoiler. At any rate, the director Craig Zobel has a sure hand throughout, and was blessed with superb casting in the form of especially three of the thespians: Ann Dowd as Sandra, manager of a fast food joint; Bill Camp as Van, her fiancé, and Pat Healy as "Officer Daniels". My mention particularly of these three isn't meant to slight the others -- such as Dreama Walker as Becky, Philip Ettinger as Kevin, and Ashli Atkinson as Marti, all of whom do excellent work. Dowd, Camp, and Healy, however, rise above to near greatness. Healy especially is so exquisitely cast to fit his character the movie wouldn't have succeeded I think, without his subtly wicked and smarmy contribution. Dowd, especially in her final scene, is what lifted her role from well done to truly great. It was Camp's acting in the difficult situation maneuvered by the director/screenwriter Craig Zobel where initially I felt there were two false moments that just didn't seem plausible. But as I say, reconsidering it only minutes after the movie was over I said to myself, "no, actually Bill Camp's acting was perfect for those moments" -- also factoring in the script components that 1) he was already a little drunk on beers; 2) his fiancée Sandra being an overbearing and needy woman probably semi-consciously had been grating on his nerves for a long time; 3) he is suddenly plunged into a situation where everyone including Sandra is reinforcing the premise of "Officer Daniels" being on the phone requiring "assistance"; and 4) being a typical slob of a middle-aged guy who isn't rich or good looking saddled with a fiancée who is rather frumpy herself suddenly being instructed... [SPOILER ALERT] ...by "Officer Daniels" to guard the pretty teenage blonde Becky who he finds to his astonishment is being "held" in the back office by his own fiancée Sandra who also believes "Officer Daniels" is an actual police officer and who previously had had Becky strip-searched, and now she sits on a chair naked except for a flimsy fast food apron on. In this weird situation, Sandra gives her fiancé Van the phone to speak with "Officer Daniels" while she rushes back to the front counter since the restaurant has become super busy and she's down one important worker (naked, detained Becky). As Van tries to take in this weirdness, shyly avoiding looking at Becky sitting just a few feet from him, all alone with her, "Officer Daniels" proceeds in increasingly escalating increments to try to manipulate Van to first take off Becky's apron, then to command her to stand and bend over so he can "inspect" her, and on and on until it gets sordid and positively criminal. The false moments I thought were there were key moments where the situation had to "jump" to the obviously criminal result, as there is no gradual way to get there ultimately -- and initially I thought "no way, Van wouldn't do that, he would stop and say 'Hold on, this is crazy, this guy isn't really a cop!' ..." But on second thought, factoring in the 4 components I listed above, it actually did work cinematically.

I just discovered this movie last night, April 2 2022. I didn't even know it existed. I haven't so thoroughly enjoyed a movie from start to finish as when I saw "Kill Me Three Times" -- a similar genre, the dark action thriller comedy (also came out in 2014, and also I was late to the party, seeing it in 2019). I'm tempted to give Stretch 5 stars only because it delivered so much sheer pure solid high quality entertainment; but I have to reserve 5 stars for the truly "great" art (which I haven't seen in DECADES). Patrick Wilson as the star is perfect. Joe Carnahan, the director and screenwriter, created a nearly impeccable vehicle for comedy and suspense mixed together as surely and electrically as a supernaturally volatile martini that mesmerizes the viewer as the story proceeds in exciting and witty hyperventilation. Chris Pine is interesting in his crucial role in the plot as a crazy billionaire. Physiognomically, he's sort of a cross between Ted Nugent and Klaus Kinski (though better looking than both of those). Jessica Alba's role as the dispatch girl at a limousine service (the comedy here was trying to make her look frumpy with poorly done up hair, mousy clothes, and nerdy glasses -- as if her hotness wasn't still obvious) seemed like just fluffy moments interspersed here and there, until the sublimely warm ending, which I will not spoil for the viewers. Ed Helms ("Andy Bernard" on The Office) playing "Karl with a K" mostly in disembodied form as a "figment" in Patrick Wilson's head found a particularly juice role, and he milks it with wicked verve. Even cameos as fleeting as David Hasselhoff's and Ray Liotta's (playing themselves) are delivered flawlessly by both, through the expert direction of Joe Carnahan; though I have to hand it to Hasselhoff as the funnier of the two.

Home Again (2012), directed by Sudz Sutherland, offers much on many levels. On the human level of characters, we have light-hearted threads among their day-to-day lives; there are touching moments of flirtation & romance; and there are heartbreaking scenes of poverty and the plight of deportees to Jamaica. There's even a sub-plot of a local drug gang that generates crackling tension in terms of the criminal thriller genre, with actor Kadeem Wilson as the gang boss "The Don" embodying the sociopathic malevolence of his character frighteningly well. In terms of locale, it appears the director, Sudz Sutherland, filmed right on the ground, locally, in parts of Jamaica (I’m not sure where), down and dirty in the streets, up close both in its seamy underside and in its charming local color. This adds immeasurably to the film, and Sudz has a sure hand in his direction not to make it too obvious and staged, but rather weaves the locations in subtly & naturally with his stories. The stories principally involve three different characters—all excellently played by actress Tatyana Ali (as “Marva”), and actors Stephan James (“Everton”) and Lyriq Bent (“Dunston”)—who suffer the experience of being deported to Jamaica. Aside from providing sheer entertainment and affective* cinematic art, Sudz’s film also calls attention to a sociopolitical problem I had never heard of before: apparently, there has been for years (if not decades?) a policy of deporting people (probably mostly persons of color) to Jamaica, I assume from countries of the Commonwealth (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia?). This film delves deeply and unflinchingly—yet with heart & humor too—into the human facets that arise from this problem. Though all three thespians I mentioned above are very good, I give special props to Lyriq Bent whom it seems Director Sudz also gives more screen time to, and I’m glad he did. Lyriq has a je-ne-sais-quoi quality with true leading man cachet; and his scenes with a young lady (“Cherry C”) whom he takes a shine to are a treat to watch – particularly as the actress here, Fefé Dobson, is so good, creating an interesting, entertaining and touching chemistry with Lyriq. It was also very cool to see CCH Pounder in this movie (playing the role, I believe, of the mother of “Everton”); and that final scene where, while the other characters enjoy their measure of a happy ending to their travails, she walks into the airport, and with one turn of the head and look back, conveys with powerful poignancy the terrible fact the audience must garner between the lines, that her son Everton died in the tragic, accidental crossfire of a local drug gang. All in all, it was a pleasure to watch a film I actually enjoyed from beginning to end (an experience that is getting increasingly rare these days…). * yes, "affective" is a word! I didn't mean "effective" though the cinematography is that too. "affective" = "concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions"

Note: I only don't give this show 5 stars because I reserve 5 stars for "truly great", but "Almost Paradise" is quite good. "Almost Paradise" is a solid, reliably entertaining drama with occasional moments of cheeky humor. Sure, some of the fight scenes are a bit cheesy and clunky, but one forgives that as a minor indiscretion, given the otherwise smart writing, perfect casting, fine acting, and capable direction. I had only known Christian Kane from the caper drama "Leverage" (2008-2012), which also was sprinkled here and there with comedic moments. At first while watching "Leverage" I was annoyed by Kane, but he soon grew on me, though on that show he was always a small role as part of a team. On "Almost Paradise" he's the center of the show, and his infectious persona shines and is given ample opportunity to flex his acting muscles, both dramatic and comedic. Other cast members are noteworthy: Samantha Richelle as "Detective Kai Mendoza", who invests her character with spunk on the outside, compassion on the inside. Arthur Acuña as "Ernesto" fellow detective working alongside Kai -- a very cool character and actor and a pleasure to watch. Nonie Buencamino as Police Chief "Ocampo" is very good at conveying a boss who though vain and pompous, yet still has a soft spot and a conscience underneath. I could mention many other worthy actors/characters, but I'd be here all day. The actress who plays Kane's long-estranged daughter, Nathalie Morris, is excellent for the part and truly touching; by the time the show ended, she and Kane brought tears to my eyes. Another touching episode involved a story about a little girl whose mother was murdered, and the moments between Kane and "Rita" -- some poignant, others sassy-funny -- were masterfully executed. It's often difficult to direct young children, as they can seem stilted, but Sophia Reola was flawless. Finally, worth mention was comedy actor Richard Kind who in one episode plays Kane's "Uncle Danny" -- arguably the best work Kind has ever done, again as the show often does throughout, balancing sincere pathos with light-hearted comedy.

I rate movies 3 stars if they provide me solid entertainment throughout. They don't have to be great (4 stars) or sublime (5 stars), but they do need to pass some basic muster. "Nobody" didn't quite cut it. Part of the reason is that it was made evidently to be a vehicle for puerile scenes of ultra-violence. The non-violent parts were often pretty good, but when it got violent, it got silly -- and not in a good way. One cliche they indulge in, for example: when the bad guys outnumber the one good guy, they proceed to attack him **sequentially** -- conveniently allowing to fend them off one by one. As he's dispatching one, the others apparently wait their turn to be eliminated in their turn by the cue of the director. I can't imagine any fans of ultra-violence can still be entertained by this, unless they've been hit in the head themselves one too many times.

When I rate 3 stars, it means I liked it a lot, it was entertaining, but it wasn't great (4 stars) and it wasn't sublime (5 stars). Spread is a fairly solid 3-star movie, didn't really lag too much, and the Entourage-ish sex scenes thankfully weren't too long or over-cringey. Kutcher ably carries the movie as its main focus and he demonstrates range from the vapidly snarky to the trajectory where his heart deepens by perhaps his first experience with actual love as opposed to the flings he's used to. Which brings me to the one he falls in love with, excellently embodied by actress Margarita Levieva. I've not seen her in other things, but she has that special, indefinable "je ne sais quoi" of a classic star.