Review of Netflix film Marraige Story and Discussion of Netflix's chances in the Oscar race

Happy New Year! I am currently on vacation but do resolve ASAP to post my yearly top 10.


In this episode, I discuss Marriage Story which I believe to be a pretty solid (but not top ten worthy for me) take on the family melodrama. The tagline, spread through Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson on the tour, is that the film is a love story that takes place through divorce. The movie is more of a melodrama than it is a comedy, so the misleading editing of the trailer is a bit of a red flag there. Of course, it's free on Netflix so it's not like its a waste of $12 either way.

I also interview a guy in Falls Church who runs a bridal boutique shop.

Bettrer off Ted Episode Review: The Importance of Communicationizing

A typo on a company-wide memo dictates that “Employees must NOW insult each other” and off we go to a relatively simple concept that produces a great breeding ground for humor and displays the way this show can juggle humor at multiple levels. This might possibly be my favorite episode of the show not just because it’s the most hilarious at the dialogue level, but because the jokes serve the screwball comedy between Linda and Ted that’s the heart of the show. The slow moving collision of Ted and Linda romantically was stretched out for the entire run of the series and in the interim, the two enjoyed a sweet platonic rapport.

Mirroring these two is the platonic report of Phil and Lem as oddballs in relationship to the world around them. Watching these two conquer humor using math (The sheer volume of wonderful quotes from this episode is so staggering I’d be here all day if I listed every one but let’s just go with this: “Math my friend, she’s always been there for you” “If she ever took physical form, I’d leave my wife and marry her” “Stand in line, my friend”) is priceless.

Speaking of memos, Veronica Palmer starts to feel guilt over the fact that she was promoted to her current position at the expense of another employee, Walter, (Chris Parnell, who was a go-to for guest star roles in the late aughts), whose life has gone downhill as a result. It’s when speaking about this guilt that we see Veronica so devoid of emotions that she comes off as a psychopath. It’s a character trajectory similar in nature to Dennis Reynolds on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and it’s played equally as well here. Veronica’s attempts at an apology lead to guilt sex and just when you start to feel sorry for her (which is pretty immediately), you know that when the time comes to break up with him, she’s going to tear him to pieces with her trademark iciness. Surprisingly, she shows him a little mercy with a nice little corner office. Who knows if Walter (who seems incompetent and only made progress with Veronica because she was guilty) deserves a promotion to a better office, but one of the themes of the show is humanity vs bureaucracy and it’s a nice little touch that Veronica chose to do something oddly human.

The cast has a solid core of five but they rotate in and out characters as needed for the episode. In addition to Chris Parnell, there’s also the shy bespectacled Asian Debbie and the HR lady. They’re all funny characters who gracefully made their marks and exited (at least, as far as I know) but one hopes if the show went past two seasons, we might have seen a return of these guys in an expanded universe sort of way.

Speaking of the “what ifs” if this show continued past two seasons, it’s interesting to wonder if Ted might have gotten more developed as a comic creation. Let me preface this by saying that A) Jay Harrington has done some good work (particularly on “Benched”) as a comic actor and B) the straight man can often be a thankless role. However, there’s some room to be the straight man and add to the comedy (think Dave Foley in “Newsradio”) and there’s some room for improvement here (I know I sound like a kindergarten teacher, sorry).

It’s also interesting to note that all four women in this episode have had or have an unstoppable attraction to Ted. The HR lady drops her guard almost instantly; Debbie apparently is shy because she is tongue-tied in sexual frustration over Ted; Linda has the resolve to intellectually challenge Ted but she never has the resolve to ever pretend she’s not attracted to him; and while Veronica isn’t making googly eyes at Ted, she’s never been emotional anyway. It’s almost as if being superhot is his main character trait (although one could argue that A LOT of women have been painted this way in sitcom TV).

Also, when you stop to think about it, the way Ted doesn’t even acknowledge Debbie’s awkward burst of “WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME” is kind of cruel. She probably won’t open her mouth in meetings for another year or two out of shame. Poor Debbie.

Adam Spector and I reveal our top five films of 2019 to date

Yellowstone Season 2 Review

Yellowstone (Paramount Network) Season 2 (through six episodes)-Taylor Sheridan was responsible as writer or director for three massive critical hits from 2015 to 2017 with "Sicario", "Hell or High Water", and "Wind River." Painting a rich scene piece of the American/Mexican border, the modern American West, and Native American reservations, respectively, Sheridan tackles issues such as concentration of power, rape culture, fiscal abuse, cyclical mass-scale violence, and modern American lawlessness. His prestige TV series was hand-selected by Paramount last year as the flagship of their new rebranded TV channel called The Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV).

The resultant series generally reads like most of TV's peak offerings: A sprawling ensemble, serialized arcs and characters pushed towards the anti-hero end of the spectrum. In his three hit films, Sheridan explored very specific storylines that didn't pretend to carry the entire socio-political spectrum of their settings on their back. While the story of "Yellowstone" ties most of its sprawl through one patriarch (Kevin Costner) and his adult children, the spread of storylines doesn't do the show any favors in distinguishing itself from so many of  the show's rival shows. The primary intersection with social commentary (at least along the lines of what Sheridan has typically eschewed) is sloppily exposited through the lectures of a Native American studies professor (Kelsey Asbille).

Beyond her, the show's characters are unusually flat: A son (Wes Bentley) who's the black sheep of the family and is annoyingly timid about his fate; a daughter with a vicious bark (Kelly Reilly) who seems to shows no rhyme or reason with her verbal lashings; a son who's just a simple cowboy from a 1950s movie (Luke Grimes), and the patriarch who takes the typical salt-of-the-Earth Kevin Costner and adds a dose of vague curmudgeon tendencies. The show has been compared to HBO's hit series "Succession" in that the patriarch goes out of his way to give his kids daddy issues well into adulthood. The only difference is on that show it's universally regarded as entertaining.

Despite how flatly written these roles are, the actors (particularly Bentley, Reilly, and Costner) really sell the material although it's no surprise if you've followed their filmographies.

The film shines a light on the contemporary American West and bridges the gap between genre tropes of the classic Western and the modern landscape admirably ("Hell or High Water" did this as well). Again, there's not as much of a big thesis here: Native Americans and non-native developers (represented by Gil Birmingham and Danny Huston respectively) also want a slice of the pie, but these are actions presented without any commentary. In an age of politicized bents, that's refreshing but it doesn't necessarily equate to action.

The show is watchable which is a big ask for a viewer for an hour-long drama with complex storylines. With my incomplete judgement (I've only seen six episodes and started second season), however, there's a lot of room to improve here.

Top 10 Movies of 2018

While still making my way through 2019,

here are my top ten films of 2018 out of 44. They are:

10.  Leave No Trace
9. Free Solo (although as I say in the video, I'm not a fan of documentaries)
8. If Beale Street Could Talk
7. Tag (yes, I am not joking here)
6. The Favourite
5. Crazy Rich Asians
4. Disobedience
3. Death of Stalin
2. First Reformed
1. Green Book


For reference, the other 34 films I saw were:
Ant Man and the Wasp, Aquaman, Bad Times at El Royale, Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Beirut, BlacKKKlansman, Black Panther, Clapper, Bohemian Rhapsody, Game Night, Hotel Transylvania, Ibiza, Night School, Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Ocean's 8, Overboard, Racer and the Jailbird, Ready Player One, Red Sparrow, Roma, Set it Up, Sierra Burges is a Loser, Shock and Awe, Solo, Teen Titans Go to the Movies, Tomb Raider, Vice, Wreck-it-Ralph, Welcome to Marwen, Wrinkle in Time, Widows

The Rise and Comfortable Fall of Jack Sparrow

This was written in 2011 for Examiner.com which went out of business a while back

The pirate genre has always been waiting for just the right people to revive it and with Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer, and screenwriters Terry Russo and Ted Elliot*, that's just what happened with the original Pirates of the Caribbean

I loved the original Pirates installment but I distinctly remember how much more I've liked it in retrospect. It might have barely made my top ten in 2003** but now I would probably place it among the ten most memorable films of the decade.

This sentiment has been echoed by many film critics at the time: Brian McKay's review at efilmcrtic*** is fairly typical: "Yo ho ho-hum, the ride was better, and shorter. The two main stars of the film are some fantastic visuals and Johnny Depp's performance (which is the saving grace many times over)." That review reflected the general consensus on the film: A little long and the storyline meanders, but it's got a few fantastic elements.

Those notable elements have really grown on me over time. No offense to Javier Bardem or Heath Ledger, but I would consider Johnny Depp's portrayal of the wily and perpetually drunk Jack Sparrow as the greatest original**** performance of the decade and the musical score is also my favorite from any film of the last decade as well (can you even remember any other movie score off the top of your head?).

Like myself, A lot of other critics have retrospectively considered Pirates a classic, partially because the later films highlighted just how great the original one was. If the story line meandered a little in the first one, that was nothing compared to the sequels. By the third installment, the plot was unintelligible.

The original also had a certain novelty to it (although that's a problem with almost all sequels). Because Orlando Bloom's Will Turner was the dynamic character with a love interest, that relegated Jack Sparrow to being more of a side character. He was like Zach Galifanakas in the Hangover or Will Ferrell in Old School: Freed from the obligation of driving the plot forward, he could muck things up all he wanted which contrasted well with the Goody Two Shoes personality of Will Turner.

The sequels diluted themselves with so many dues-ex-machinas that explained away so many would-be deaths, that people forget that the audience was half-convinced that Jack Sparrow wouldn't survive to the end of the movie. There was palpable drama being created from watching this inebriated character, who looked as though he were in over his head, constantly outsmart everyone around him. There was also a catharsis in watching Johnny Depp, who had built a career by condescending to the mainstream tastes of average cinemagoers, not just embracing a role in a Disney film (as mainstream as you can get), but completely owning it.

For those reasons, the magic of the original cannot really be replicated in sequels although it didn't help that the screenwriters completely muddled up their own franchise.

At its best, the sequels just offer standard genre fair. You know exactly what you're expecting but it has some great acting, special effects, and some very clever action pieces. Even as the plot had you scratching your head in Dead Man's Chest, you can't deny that the opening scene as the pirates escape the cannibals or the three-way sword fight on a renegade watermill are absolutely breathtaking scenes.
 

It's in that spirit that you might best enjoy Pirates. It's still 40 minutes too long and the story's as convoluted as ever but there are a few great set pieces, some memorable acting turns, and a genuinely exotic sense of adventure.

It's probably a good thing that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly are gone. There's a very good subplot between a mermaid and a priest that might have been squeezed out if there was a need to keep storylines going for Elizabeth and Will. Many of the other new additions to the cast have little to do other than overennunciate their "R"s and brandish about

their swords, but Penelope Cruz really brings something to the table with some genuine sexual heat.

With the great attention to visual detail, I'd definitely recommend catching Pirates of the Caribbean at the Uptown Theater in Cleveland Heights where it's playing until June 9th. 

*Elliott and Russo are the screenwriters and pretty fascinating guys when interviewed. I didn't include directors Gore Verbinski (the first three) or Rob Marshall (the fourth installment) because I don't think they were as integral to the template. Some people disagree.

**A little secret: Serious film watchers are usually pretty nerdy in that they're constantly keeping top ten lists

***Brian McKay isn't the first person I go to for a review and I have never heard of him before, but I believe that his review summarizes the general feeling at the time very well

****I use the word "original" because I might give a slight edge to Jamie Foxx or Forest Whitaker in their Oscar-winning performances for eerily replicating the mannerisms of historical figures

TV reviews of Derry Girls, Disenchantment, The Other Two, Russian Doll, Good Omens

Every year, I do a top 12 TV shows of the year list and because there are so many good shows to watch I often include some honorable mentions:

In this case, I looked at six shows that will likely make my honorable mention list. The fact that five of these TV shows are on screening platforms is reflecting a bigger trend of how I watch TV:

Reviewing TV show Party Down while partying

Party Down ran for two seasons in 2009 and 2010 and is one
of the best shows to be cancelled too soon. The features a six-man team of
caterers who work a different event every week allowing the characters to be
audience surrogates to a variety of bizarre subcultures (a young
republicans convention, a pricey pre-school auction, a mob celebration, a
same-sex wedding, a pork industry awards party, etc).





Rewatching the TV show recently, I found it to
be a show about dreamers (three are actors at various stages of their career
life span, one's a stand-up comic, one's a writer, and one dreams of owning a
restaurant franchise) who are making due in a purgatory of sorts. More so, I
found it to be about the price of giving up on your dreams as shown through
Henry. At times, Henry was the saddest character on the show because even
though the other characters could be considered sad through delusion, marital
frustration, an inferiority complex, or social awkwardness, they at least had
hope

Critiquing Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz's Top 100 TV Shows of All Time

As someone who's written listicles, I know it's annoying to
have people on the comment section going "what about this?" but my
hope is to explain theories for the context of choices, suggest alternatives,
and entertain. I also hope to make history as the first person to critique
their work while bubble bathing.

I tried very hard to get it under 20 minutes before
giving up but you have my permission to click around as I count down from 100.
Around 2:00 is when I get to the inherent challenges of a TV canon and I
actually start the list at 4:48.

Alan and Matt's book is:

TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time.

The authors of this book and I would likely agree that there isn't as established of a TV canon as there is in moviedom because most of the writing about television has generally been by TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly and it has been narrowed around "What to Watch This Week" until the past decade or so. In contrast, film has been seriously analyzed and different decades and auteurs have been matched up against each other since the days of Pauline Kael and the French New Wave.

One downside to this is that TV best-of lists have a lot less variation (everyone loves MASH, I Love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Cosby Show, etc) and a lot more reliance on ratings to establish what has been the canon (this book's list of shows matches up very closely to how well those shows dominated over their rivals in their ratings).

Another funny thing about a TV best-of list is that to get anything resembling a popular consensus, you need the public to have had some sort of accessibility to the list and entire generations have gone without seeing some of the classics of this list. I for one have never seen All in the Family or Moonlighting because it wasn't on in syndication when I was growing up (I'm generally in the school of thought that good art has to find its way to you and not the other way around).

Even then the socio-economic factors that make a show popular is more pronounced in this meeting because a lot of these shows weren't designed to appeal to broad audiences in the present and film (a director-driven medium) is somewhat more aimed at timelessness. Others might disagree but I'd argue that many shows like Roseanne, Family Ties, and Golden Girls don't particularly age well when watching them in the present day. The clips I've seen of All in the Family seem like a show about a very whiny and shrill family.

My suggestions for classic work that should be considered are: Looney Tunes, Threes Company, Get Smart and Beverly Hillbillies

Contemporary Shows which could have been interesting choices include: Homeland, Better off Ted, Party Down, The Good Wife, Modern Family, Orange is the New Black, Cougar Town, Scandal, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Man in High Castle, American Horror Story, and Empire

Lastly, shows that took off after the book was released that could be worthy include: Lodge 49, BoJack Horseman, The Americans, Black Mirror, Lady Dynamite, Crashing, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Last Man on Earth, The Good Place, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Derry Girls, Glow, Silicon Valley, and Review

My articles for Screenprism are now part of The Take

In 2016, I had the pleasure of contributing to a site called Screen Prism where I conferenced in with the creators of the site and they spoke with film writers to create content that answered an FAQ  about film or television with a deep dive. The essays were a great mix of academic and popular in style and I'm extremely proud of my articles for them.

The site morphed into The Take and eventually focused solely on video content so some of my work got buried under the new site design.

Were Movies in the 1950s as White-Washed as Pleasantville Suggests?

https://the-take.com/read/were-movies-of-the-1950s-as-white-washed-as-later-films-like-pleasantville-suggest

Hint: No. This essay was precipitated by noticing that films in the 1940s and 1950s were extremely risque. I often say "Duck Soup" or "Double Indemnity" are great exhibits for how classic movies used to go places that screenwriting often can't today.

How does Mozart in the Jungle Reflect Amazon's New Business Model?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-does-the-pilot-of-mozart-in-the-jungle-reflect-amazons-business-model

I noticed when watching this show that the pilot and the second episode had inconsistencies that got me thinking of Amazon's cross purposes in the creations of the pilot and the rest of the season.

Why don't Characters Never Change in Arrested Development and Seinfeld?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/do-the-characters-of-black-comedies-like-seinfeld-and-arrested-development
This one explored the concept of black comedy. I had never seen "The Peep Show" but the editor kept wanting to add that in.

What is the real-life story of the Hollywood Blacklist Depicted in Trumbo?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-did-the-real-life-hollywood-blacklist-shown-in-trumbo-affect-the-histor

As a student of film history, this one was fairly simple to write up and topical because of the release of the film at the time

Did the Writers Initially Intend for Mac of It's Always Sunny to be Gay?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/has-the-character-of-mac-on-its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-always-been-ga

There have been long discussions on message boards that inspired me to want to talk my own stab at writing this with both my own pet theory and a collection of what a lot of internet contributors were saying about the topic.

How does Ball of Fire Reveal the Themes of a Classic Screwball Comedy?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-does-ball-of-fire-reveal-the-themes-of-the-classic-screwball-comedy
I was recently reading about screwball comedies and class in an old college textbook so this fit right in.

Who really wrote Citizen Kane?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/who-really-wrote-citizen-kane-why-was-there-controversy-over-the-screenwrit
I was fascinated by the fact that Herman Mankiewicz's descendants felt the need to take up the mantle in defense of him decades later. I checked out three books from the library and wrote an article for Nostalgia Digest and reused some of the material here.

How did Cleopatra Destroy a Director and a Studio?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-did-hollywood-disaster-cleopatra-almost-destroy-its-director-and-20th-c
This was from the same Mankiewicz brothers article as above as it was Joseph Mankiewicz who directed "Cleopatra".

American Horror Story: 1984 Review

As I start to utilize YouTube more, it's becoming increasingly easy to post here. This is my review of American Horror Story 1984. AHS is one of the most unpredictable and strange creations on television and occasionally it works, so it's ripe for commentary.