Jim M

I'm a fairly successful author in my own right (just closed a film deal w/MGM for example) and nooo... not telling you my pen name. I just finished ep 8 and will close out the series tonight. All through this one (and 1883, 1923, YS, etc etc) I've been repeating a single phrase to my wife: I COULDN'T WRITE THIS. Taylor Sheridan is someone very, very special. (And, if his characters he portrays are any indication...the SOB KNOWS it! LOL) From the 60's to the 80's, the USA was lucky enough to have an author who would bring tales from industries we use daily but know nothing about. And Arthur Hailey's books (Airport, Wheels, Overload, Hotel...etc etc) were massive successes, often made into films and TV series'. Mr. Sheridan jumps right to film- which is as hard a job as herding cats, man. With the consistency of the North Star, he has always delivered. The FIRST element of a good film is the writing. Nothing- the best acting, the greatest production values can offset a crappy story & script. If the writing's bad, everything else is immaterial. And yet, even if the writing's fantastic, to constantly get the tale up on the screen is even more difficult. And yet, this man delivers, over and over and over again. I have a deeper understanding and an enormous degree of respect for the people that feed me, get me my gas, fight drug lords and on and on. Someone mentioned Stienbeck in an earlier review; how both men have examined the working class to find an element of heroism in their toils. I completely agree: this man is someone fifty years from now will be held up as a model to aspiring story-tellers. The mark of a good show is the audience's enjoyment. The mark of a GREAT show is the audience's gratitude. I'm grateful that a man like Sheridan has broken through as big as he has.

Profound, no lie. The scene where they talk about last times of childhood was deeply moving. Extraordinary writing, acting and directing

Shut it down in 30 mins WHAT A WASTE

Don't be put off by the 'Review Mob From Miami' who left the raft of 1 stars. They have a real beef w/ the Castro regime b/c of the losses they endured when Castro took over. This is one of the best, if not the best films that shows the actual cost and process of espionage. The filthy war the USA has conducted for the last 60+ years against the nation of Cuba is one of the most grotesque aspects of the United States. I heard of the Alpha/Omega groups in Miami back in the '80's; and to be honest, I've never had a lick of sympathy for the ex-pats. And now to learn that they used drug smuggling to finance their terrorism (and I'm sure that there was additional funding to these groups from USAID) pretty much tells you all you need to know about their reprehensible nature. It's a racket. The slow burn nature of this tale will try your patience at times; but I'm glad that the director/writers chose this path. They meticulously lay the groundwork for the second half. The price these patriots and their families paid... Great writing, wonderful directing, PERFECT performances combined with strong production values makes this among my favorite films. I will watch it again. I'm deeply grateful to see Ms. Armis in the cast; as a transplanted Cuban national, it took some guts on her part that early in her now stratospheric career.

Fantastic film, as good as, if not better than Serpico or Price Of The City. If you enjoyed them you'll love this

Perfect noir adaptation that keeps you watching really, REALLY good!

And I'm generous w/ 3 stars... rats... Here's the main problem: I didn't give a hoot what happened to who, the character development is that weak. I'm not going to go into the plot etc b/c you dear reader have already seen some sort of synopsis of this tale. The main character, Rowan Mayfair, is portrayed so poorly. Other than some ghosty/demon-y kind of entity charms her right out of her panties, there's absolutely NO reason for her to behave as she has. This is based on a series of books by Ann Rice I read >30 years ago, and I've forgotten much of the books' content. I can say with confidence that it was much better written, b/c I read the entire series one after another. This TV show was a chore to get through. By the time I was fed up w/ it, I was in ep 6/8 so I gave it that last hurrah for the final 2 episodes. I (((guess))) the performers did the best they could w/ what they had as a script, and the same for the director. Some of the performers were odd as hell, but I couldn't put my finger on it if it was the character or just the actress. I THINK it was just the poor, poor writing. Here's the huge problem adaptors of novels face: in a film you can't climb into the head of the main character the way you can in a novel. The sad thing is that this obstacle is so easily overcome in an adaptation by simply adding a side kick to the main character. Yes, a departure from the novel, sure; BUT now there's a sounding board for the MC to SHOW their evolution w/in the story. Sheesh. This is scriptwriting 101 for god's sake! I won't be watching followup seasons, and TBH, I won't be watching Interview With The Vampire now. Hollywood really, REALLY needs to invest in developing writing talent. This is absurd. So many, many fantastic properties have been hobbled by not paying attention to the nature of film/ theater/ TV: IT'S THE STORY, DUMMY! Nail that down, and then you do all the gee-whiz production. And when you don't, you get dreck such as this series.

Fantastic film; no wonder the critics have slammed it so. Just like Dune, the epic film event of '22, and also like Maverick this year, when the credits rolled I was astonished that 3 hours had passed. I saw it in 3D, despite my reservations and am so glad I did. I didn't 'see' a movie; I was immersed in the wonders of Pandora. Incredible effects. Every performance was perfect; not s single weak cast member. Seldana was a force of nature in her role, Worthington IS Jake Sully as much as Tom Cruise IS Pete Maverick; Weaver's performance is astonishing, and Lang's one of the best 'bad guys' in current cinema (Happy's come a hella long way!) My wife & I had a hell of a discussion afterwards; trying to determine which director is a better story teller on a grand scale- Spielberg or Cameron...we had to drop it and just feel grateful that those guys are out there. One of the best films I've seen in my entire life.

One of the best documentaries I've ever seen. I am as far from an anglophile you can imagine. But having watched the latest season of The Crown, the episodes so far perfectly dovetail with Diana's experience with 'The Firm' and UK media. In fact, this doc shows in even greater detail what it was like being hounded by 'paps'. (Never heard that term and love it) And it's far from lightweight. Having Prince Harry describe in detail the structure and function of the Royal Family and the select group of media organizations was enlightening. These two have done something for me that I'm pretty surprised about: I'm exhausted by woke-ism; and yet, the description of how conquest and extraction during the colonial era created generational wealth and poverty was eye-opening. So far, the first three episodes are some of the best doc work I've ever seen. Both Harry and Meghan are straight-forward; not whiny. I'm rather surprised at how Main Stream Media on both sides of the pond have them in their cross-hairs. This is a well done examination of the interplay between media and institutions and the price people pay to be part of it.

Stranger Things For Grown Ups First of all, I LOVED ST, okay? The story's plot was good, and when the producers actually developed characters it was at its best. (Who ever thought they would cheer for Joe Keery's character while watching S1?) In fact, it's major shortcoming is that the series centered on plot instead of the people involved in the plot. Here's a tip: if, at the 1/2 part of a movie or series you can't rattle off the names of the main characters, you're probably watching a plot driven/effects driven show. Right now, ask yourself what's the name of the Gray Man character in that flick. See? The producers of Paper Girls have great FX, but Erin/Mac/KJ & Tiff actually have some depth to them. Each one of them do stuff that frustrates me at times, but that's b/c I suspended belief enough to care about the 'person' on screen. This is as much fun as Stranger Things, for sure; but Paper Girls will hit you on a deeper level. Great fiction expands our world view. And for the first time since IDK when my understanding of the world around me has been broadened (and that's not easy for this 64 year old man). The mystery of puberty for a woman? The heartache of unsure love? The crushing disappointment of dealing with unfulfilled dreams? Each of these topics are explored, just to name a few. Gutsy writing and excellent execution. And I'm only up to episode 5. Fantastic television. WAY better than GOT, and right up there w/ Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad.