Change Your Image
![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjQ4MTY5NzU2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDc5NTgwMTI@._V1_SY100_SX100_.jpg)
accidentsandcoincidences-20489
Reviews
Knox Goes Away (2023)
Acutely Aware
Set in an entirely different context, "Knox" revisits themes explored in Nick Cassavetes' "The Notebook (2004)" and Sarah Polley's excellent "Away From Her (2006)," among others.
There's no delicate way to present a reality as harsh, relentless & unforgiving as progressive dementia -- a disease that has nuclear-explosive impact on families and loved ones. But setting this kind of narrative in a crime context has the paradoxical effect of stunting the blow a bit. Plus, it helps the story steer clear of oversentimentality, a route too easily taken with dementia-related storylines.
I thought Alex Heffes' score was well-conceived and consistent with the crime context. It reminded me of the soundtrack to "Chinatown." So right in the pocket. Hard-boiled yet wistful.
Michael Keaton, James Marsden and Suzy Nakamura are excellent in their portrayals. As are Marica Gay Harden and Al Pacino in their abbreviated appearances.
Well done IMO; time well spent in this Gregory Poirer story and Michael Keaton cinematic vision.
Shôgun: A Stick of Time (2024)
The Worst Episode So Far
Matt Lambert must've gotten the short straw with the writing assignment for this episode. It's without question the worst out of all seven episodes to this point.
What was the directive here? Maybe something like, "lay waste to every plot and character arc that's been developed so far, and leave the viewers hanging for a sunny-sky resolution..."???
I've watched Sanada perform on screen since he was about 17 years old. In the first movie of his I saw, swinging on trees like a Jackie Chan aficionado, he had more certainty and chutzpah back then than what Lord Toranaga had in this episode.
The Brit sailor was right to tell everyone to go to hell when he walked out on their pointless ceremonial surrender. And what was the point of the Willow World Madam giving us an idea that she had something up her sleeve, some knowledge Toranaga had and which he wasn't sharing with anyone?
And what about the courtesan's desire to "take it to an elevated level" with the betrayer Saiko? She quickly exited. Not clear if she was involved in what happened next, or if she was saving her "elevation" techniques for another time.
I don't see how anything in this episode built on anything before it or leads to any good thing afterward. Basically, this was crummy writing 101. Which is a reflection of crummy thinking.
Constellation: These Fragments I Have Shored Against My Ruin (2024)
"Don't Ask No Questions, Don't Get No Lies...
Don't Raise No Objections, Ain't Got No Eyes."
Aside from getting a Zero out of 10 score for entertainment value, the problem with an increasing number of shows like this (and Season 4 of "True Detective" as another example), is that they delve into such an abyss that the writers can never find a way out. Meaning no worthwhile resolution is possible.
The only remaining choices for these writers who've painted themselves into a corner are either to attempt, in one fell swoop, to try to give a shorthand explanation of the underlying reason(s) for everything that happened in the previous episodes (à la True Detective) -- unsatisfying at best, laughably poor at worst; or continue to leave everything hanging & unresolved, giving rise to more questions and contradictions -- as was done here. The final shot of episode 8 is a quintessential example of inanity.
Both methods are marks of storytelling amateurs flailing away.
Constellation (2024)
When Geek Value Overrides Entertainment
How this excruciating, infuriating, wannabe-"Memento" narrative ever got the backing to be made is a question whose answer doesn't interest me. Maybe in some parallel universe.
Whatever this show has in terms of geek value, it combines that with 0% entertainment value. Blame that on the writer, who must love self-torture more than resolution.
It reminds me of the movie "Gravity." I didn't last past 10 minutes into that one before I walked out. Surprised I've bothered to watch six of these episodes.
Enough of panicking astronauts. This isn't Captain Billy Cutshaw from "The Ninth Configuration." Astronauts know they might die. IMO, any depiction of them meeting their impending doom should consist of them embracing the horror of their imminent demise.
A four out of ten rating for this ungainly mash-up is generous.
Lioness (2023)
The Award Goes to Laysla
Acting is tough work, probably the most challenging of the performance arts. I admire actors because they put everything on the line -- their inner selves and outer selves -- to create their work.
IMO, Laysla De Oliveira deserves an award for her portrayal of Cruz Manuelos/Zara Adid. Her depiction captures the rage, courage, resourcefulness, intelligence, vulnerability and physical/mental/emotional toil of her character. She put EVERYTHING on the line. And she maintained those qualities consistently and credibly, no matter who directed the episode (there are eight in all). It's as powerful and moving a performance as I've witnessed in a long time. A rarity.
Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman are the headline stars of this show, but Laysla De Oliveira is the heart and soul of it. It's a gripping, well-written series, but wouldn't have succeeded as well without her heroic contributions.
FBI: Most Wanted: Ghost in the Machine (2024)
Listless Writing
So far with this season's FBI shows, all three have been underwhelming thus far. Maybe the best to this point has been the International version. FBI, the figurehead, has been the weakest, unfortunately.
The second episodes of each are the best so far. In my opinion, the writing staffs sure seem to be struggling; either that or completely burned out. Likely a potent combination of both.
My issue with Most Wanted is how head-scratching it is to have a supposed computer expert, Hana, who's been _utterly ineffectual_ in that role in two of the first three episodes this season, when her supposed skills were needed. She was a non-factor in both instances.