Matthew R

An Education (2009) is not your usual coming-of-age drama. I was looking forward to seeing this film for years and finally got around to it last night. It does not disappoint, but I had hoped for a more ambitious ending. The acting is superb. Every single person was selected perfectly and acts his or her role perfectly, including Emma Thompson, who plays an uptight schoolmaster. The director keeps the right stars apart (we never see a clash between heavyweights Thompson and Molina, for example) and times the dialogue perfectly. And yet, by the end, I felt as if I had watched a shiny, ticking timepiece moving along in exactly the right places until the gilded cover closed shut, leaving me not unduly unhappy about the stoppage. I must still recommend the film. Perfect acting is hard to come by these days, as well as college-level dialogue. (August 2020)

It takes a while to realize the show's premise, but once you get it, you'll appreciate its subversion. Every single person in the show is a cog--and they're the good ones. In fact, the best line in the show is from an investigator who, in a moment of frustration, explains: "I know what people think. I'm just a cog. And I am. I elevate or dismiss the complaint. But that decision is used to turn other cogs, and they turn others, and that's what justice is." But is it? I can see why some people don't like the series. The only characters interested in self-agency lack morals, and one in the second season even repeats the infamous phrase, "Mistakes were made." As for me, I couldn't stop watching, though I admit much of the fascination was similar to seeing a car wreck in slow motion. (July 2020)

I liked the film, but the protagonist went too far off the Shatner-over-acting cliff and in doing so, almost ruined everything. As for the plot, it's basically Mean Girls (2004) crossed with Orwell's Animal Farm, but with less likable characters... except for Victoria Justice, who delivers a perfect performance. If you're 18 and under, you probably won't regret watching. (May 2020)

It's hard to find anything unique these days, so I'm surprised this AmazonPrime series hasn't taken off. Not anime, not Tom and Jerry, but still a cartoon--if an oil painting could come to life. And the dialogue--funny in exactly the right places, profound in other places, and always interesting. The plot involves a mestiza main character living in San Antonio, Texas, trying to get answers about her dead father, who allegedly died in a car accident. I cannot say more without spoilers, so I will stop here. I hope you watch the series. The first season contains eight episodes of about 30 minutes each. (May 2020)

This movie was released after David Letterman's real-life fiasco in 2009, and one has to wonder if writer Mindy Kaling had inside information. Here, she attempts to create a horrific lead character we are supposed to like because both Kaling's character and the TV host lack friends other than family. The ploy doesn't work. In fact, none of the characters are likable, and even Kaling's character wears thin by the end. One is reminded of The Devil Wears Prada (2006) but with less verve and a weirder Stockholm Syndrome. John Lithgow is fantastic, but Emma Thompson shows some wear and tear and can't quite pull off the lead character. Skip this one unless you're in love with Mindy Kaling's style.