Patrick Gillease

“The Night Agent” is a great suspense thriller, with some truly shocking twists and turns, though the first 3 episodes are extremely repetitive and almost bail-worthy! But, don’t give up! The series really picks up after that, and the surprise in episode 6 and those that follow make up for the slow start. The two lead characters also have great chemistry and are a pleasure to watch and look at on screen. The ending provides a very satisfactory resolution to the story in the event that nothing more was ordered by Netflix, but a door was left open for a continuation, and that’s exactly what has happened since season 2 has been ordered. If you like 007 and the idea of James Bond Jr. in an American setting, “The Night Agent” is just what you’re looking for!

The cinematography of “The Great Gatsby” is stunning, and Writer/Director Baz Luhrmann’s pedigree is all over the film, as is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original novel. Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire turn in amazing performances for their respective characters, as do the other actors and actresses. So, for all of these reasons, I mostly enjoyed watching the film, especially for its “Roaring 20’s” setting, a rarity in any genre. But, the overall theme of the story is heartbreaking, and I go to the cinema largely to escape the tedium of reality, hoping for a “happy ending,” and there is none of that here. I felt as run over and destroyed as the poor, innocent mistress in the film by the time the end-credits rolled. This movie just reinforces the base ugliness at the core of most of Humanity - not something I want to remind myself of. It was worth seeing once, but never again. Be prepared for a gut-punch by the end if you see it. There is very little joy here!

I never played the video game and didn’t even know “The Last of Us” was based on one until I saw the opening credits roll. I merely started watching because of all the buzz and the fact that post-apocalyptic stories fascinate me in a morbidly curious way. While I found myself instantly comparing the series to any number of past similar concepts, from “12 Monkeys,” to “The Stand,” to “Revolution” et al, “The Last of Us” feels like a much fresher take on the theme with a better story, superb acting, and wonderful casting. It’s nice to see Pedro Pascal out of his Mandalorian mask, and I’m especially thrilled to see Anna Torv back since I loved her in “FRINGE.” One episode in, and I’m already hooked. Bravo HBO and everyone involved in the production.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

I’ve only watched the first episode thus far, so my critique must be based on that limitation, but Amazon clearly pumped a ton of money into this series. It is visually spectacular, albeit somewhat esoteric for the casual viewer. I had to toggle through the extras at the end to understand more of Tolkien’s world to understand what was going on, though the verbal prologue in the first few minutes of the episode helped with understanding. I found myself laughing at the purist reviews who gave this one star reviews. Seriously? It is far more deserving of that! After all, it is largely based on Tolkien’s Appendices, not complete works, so much extrapolation and creative license was required. Honestly, some people have nothing better to do than complain. I found this first episode much more visually stunning and entertaining than the recently aired pilot for “House of The Dragon,” which so far has been mostly a bore. This series feels much more fantastical and exciting, and I look forward to future installments. Though, the brief glimpse of Sauron was a terrible tease that I wish we had seen more of. We need more action and less philosophical discussion. Otherwise, I’d rate this premiere 4 stars out of 5 using your rating system. Let the Tolkien purists stick to their books!

For a series titled “House of the Dragon,” there was precious little of them in the premiere of HBO’s new prequel series to Game of Thrones tonight. While I mostly enjoyed this pilot, I found that it dragged on in many places, losing my interest. It felt like “Game of Thrones Light!” The special effects and wardrobe were fantastic. The character development and plotting less so. I was expecting to be wowed more by a first episode whose goal is always to draw in the audience. Instead, I could see many viewers walking away from this show after watching this. Still, I am encouraged that the book’s author is a writer and executive producer and am hoping that will keep the story close to its intended outcomes, so I will continue to watch. I just hope subsequent episodes are more exciting than this. For the pilot, I’d give it a 6 out of 10. 7 at best. Time will tell what future installments yield?

“Jurassic World: Dominion” should have been the proper spelling of this bloated finale to the Jurassic franchise. While I loved bringing the original trilogy cast together with the sequel cast and giving them each equal screen time, the movie was still too long and slow and should have been cut down by about a half hour. The dig in the desert, the chase on the ice, the minutiae in the Italian lab, and several other areas all should have been cut out. The chase sequence through the Maltese streets was also unnecessary, albeit 007 blood-rushing. Otherwise, the film was a satisfying finale to the franchise. But, please! Let this truly be the end. Six dinosaur films is enough now. RIP Jurassic Anything!!