Reviews

We waded through 7 episodes of Mahershala Ali mumbling and fighting with his wife - following all kinds of red herrings and misdirections, too many characters, and it just ended with a fizzle with episode 8. I'm glad the girl was okay, but it was just too much trouble to get there. Good acting (especially Stephen Dorff), moody atmosphere, etc, but the end didn't justify the means. Not sure I will bother with the series if it returns.

I hadn't seen this movie in over 20 years, but it was on TV this weekend and I sat down and watched it. I remembered why I loved it. It's not rocket science or brain surgery, but it is solid entertainment with some really great performances. The story is simple enough: Girl meets boy, Girl marries boy, Girl wants to ride the new mechanical bull at the local many-acred honky tonk, girl loses boy, boy..... well, you know what I mean. The plot is simple but effective. I loved the dynamic between the 4 leads. They were excellent. Scott Glenn has never looked better and seethed with bad boy sexuality. He'd be great for a one- night hookup, but he's a little too dangerous and cruel to keep, but oh boy, was he sexy as hell. Call the movie silly, a guilty pleasure, something to be dismissed, but it is great entertainment and the performances of all involved made it something special. To me, anyway.

We watched this last night on Redbox and thoroughly enjoyed it. If it has a downside, it's Goldie Hawn. I don't know if it's the character's fault or the actor's fault, but I thought she was wooden. She seemed more like a grandmother than a mother. Anyway, that's a small gripe. Amy Schumer has comic timing down to a fine art. Even though this mother/daughter buddy comedy isn't exactly original (what is, these days), it was hilarious - when Amy was on screen. It kind of dragged on a bit in scenes her character was not in. Basically, Amy buys non- refundable tickets to go with her boyfriend on a trip to South America. He dumps her right before the trip and she tries her best to get someone to replace him. She doesn't find anyone and convinces her mother to go with her. They have an adventure. That's about it as far as the plot goes. Just rent it. You'll like it. If you hate Amy Schumer, you probably won't like it.

How to be a Latin Lover is about a brother and sister who grew up in humble surroundings. A tragedy happens that leaves them homeless. The sister believes in the father's mantra that working hard will get you what you want out of life. The brother takes a different road to reach his goals.....becoming a gigolo. It works for him until his elderly wife begins an affair with a younger man and dumps him unceremoniously on his butt. He's never had a real job or had to do anything on his own. He shows up on the doorstep of his estranged sister and she cautiously invites him in for one night - which turns into many months. Comedy and heartfelt moments ensue. I loved the trailer for this movie and watched it many times - laughing every time I saw it. Unfortunately, those were the best scenes in the movie and seeing it in all its two-hour running time, dampened the experience for me. It seemed to drag and by the 1:30 mark, I just wanted it to be over. I knew how it would end and I just wanted it to stop! It's not a bad film. Some of the scenes could have been edited better and made into a tighter, more interesting film. I liked it, but will not watch it again.

This is a new TNT series that is trying to compete with HBOs raunchy, sexually explicit, violent series The Sopranos. It's about Desna Simms, the owner of a south Florida nail salon and her 5 employees. She's juggling the salon, her co-workers, her autistic brother, and the mob. She wants to move to a more upscale salon but doesn't have the cash. She made a deal with the local mob to launder money for a clinic that will give prescriptions to any addict that walks in the door. Russian men are always in the clinic. They appear to be observing, not partaking in the festivities....yet. I liked the pilot, but I don't have to see explicit sex scenes. Couldn't they just leave that to the imagination? I don't feel it moves the story forward to see someone getting their carpet munched! I love all the characters, except Roller and Uncle Daddy. They are SO one-dimensional. They should practically have BAD GUY stamped on their foreheads. I love Ms. Nash. She was fantastic in "Getting On". She's great here too. Very sympathetic character. She's doing bad things for the right reasons. Still not a good combo. Never get in bed with the mob. it could be fatal.

We rented this last night and it was pretty good. It's 4 tales, unconnected to each other, with strange, stop-motion vignettes between each story. The stories are:

"The Box" A mother and 2 kids are riding the train from the city to home. A man sitting adjacent to them is holding a red-wrapped gift. The boy asks what it is and the man says "A present". The boy asks to see it. The man opens the lid and the boy looks inside. We never see what's inside and the boy says "nothing" when prodded by his family as to the contents. Chilling story. It's up to the audience to determine what was in the box.

"The Birthday Cake" A rather OCD mother is preparing for her daughter's birthday party. Many, rather snooty people are invited. The woman discovers her husband is back from a business trip. He's dead. She won't let that incident interfere with her daughter's party. This one was more comical than scary.

"Don't Fall" A group of 4 friends are on a camping trip. One of the women is particularly frightened of her surroundings. Her brother is a little unsympathetic to her about this. They are exploring the area and come upon a cave-like area with paintings on the wall, supposedly in blood. One of the friends is attacked by an entity that looks like a figure painted on the wall of the cave. Suspenseful, if not a little done before.

"Her Only Living Son" A single mother, raising her son, who will soon be turning 18, is dismayed by his horrible behavior, even though everyone else thinks he is wonderful and destined for great things. This one is a direct follow up to Rosemary's Baby (my opinion).