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Reviews
Reacher (2022)
Trouble finds you...
Entertaining story. Kinda like reading the old Marvel comics where comic lines are inserted for dramatic effect. All the bad guys are really bad, but Reacher and crew are super powerful and always able to break the code, outsmart the crooked, and knock out the assassins.
The acting is pretty wooden but it's not written with any awards in mind. Reacher is the head of a crew of former "super MPs" who come back together when a number of former colleagues are being killed.
This leads to a complicated mission that involves defense contractors, lots of assassins that die when they meet up with Reacher, and assorted other crooks.
Here's the plus side. It somehow works as long as you can suspend some reality and just enjoy reading the comic book.
The Diplomat: The Dogcatcher (2023)
Why?
I'm puzzled as to why in this episode they would add a bizarre sex scene with Hal and the sister of the Foreign Secretary? The show has excellent acting, dialogue, writing and contemporary presence. It bears little resemblance to real life diplomacy, but our belief systems can be suspended in pursuit of entertainment. So it was jarring and unbelievable to see a former high level ambassador throwing all caution to the wind for a very odd "sex/not sex" scene with a troubled young woman. At this point I'll continue watching but my "BS" meter is on alert for scenes and episodes that just can't be believed even in a series as well done as this one.
Happy Valley (2014)
Season 3 review
After the 1st two seasons I searched, watched and anticipated Season 3. Great writing, acting, and story telling. Sadly, it doesn't live up to the first two seasons. There are dangling story lines that are casually wrapped up, with little explanation. The alternative story of the pharmacist, the soccer coach, etc. Is concluded with a weak explanation. Why include all that if you're not going to follow through with a dramatic finish? Tommy Lee's death is summed up via a text message? The whole thing needed a good finish. I've recommended HV to my friends but that won't happen anymore. It seems to be one of those shows that should have left well enough alone.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Really wanted to like this movie.
After hearing about great performances I really wanted to enjoy this. And there are some terrific moments but after a while all the family dysfunction gets old when you don't know the "why". Why do the brothers sleep in the same room?; Who was the long dead cowboy idol who is talked about constantly?; Were the parents abusive to the brothers?; I think I understand the hidden sexual tension with Phil, but was he abused as a child? I can follow nuanced, but give me a little information.
After a while I got tired of waiting for these answers but slugged through to the end.
By the way,does anyone else sense that a future serial killer was portrayed in the movie, and George would be next?
Cry Macho (2021)
Don't Cry for Me
Clint has been one of my favorites since as a 13 year old I walked out of the theater squinting my eyes like I was a cornered gunfighter. But for the love of all that is make believe Hollywood, don't bother with this movie. He looks, walks, talks, fights, and ACTS like a 91 year old man. We all will suspend disbelief in the pursuit of entertainment but it has to in some ways be believable.
This movie is not. Remember when he talked to a chair at a political convention and we all felt awkward because it was a little cray-cray? This is similar.
A Family Man (2016)
Don't believe the low critic reviews
Well written, well acted, and heart touching. Highly recommend this movie
Gunsmoke: The River: Part 1 (1972)
Silly mess
Hollywood copies success. It's 1971. Butch Cassidy and Sundance was a big hit so write in a scene where Marshal Dillon jumps off a high cliff. Smart alecky kids are in so add some orphans on a boat. Great cast but totally lacking any serious substance. After so many years of success, script writers just patch a bunch of scenes together and let James Arness and a great cast pull it together.