vandalz Reviews

American Rust (2021–2024)

They had me at Bill Camp

[8/10 · 4 April 2024]

Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney lead the superb cast. It was the case that drew me in, the story held me. American Rust is based on Philipp Meyer's debut novel of the same name, set in a poor western Pennsylvania mill town. At its core, season one of American Rust is a slow burn murder mystery, but the "who did it" almost doesn't matter.

Jeff Daniels plays a well-intentioned, but ultimately compromised Chief of Police in the fictional town of Buell. Chief Harris is a former big city detective and former vet who suffers from PTSD, and is trying to wean off of the drug cocktail he's been on for years. Maura Tierney is his love interest, and the mother of the main suspect in the murder of a former policeman-turned-drug dealer. Character actor Bill Camp is the invalid, racist father of the only town resident who seems to be making something of her life, but may ultimately get sucked back into the town and it's problems.

Don't expect any big action scenes, jump scares, or pretty cinematography. American Rust has a noir atmosphere, and the dark interiors feel a little oppressive at times. Still, well worth a watch.

True Detective (2014– )

Excellent series, especially early seasons

[8/10 · 18 February 2024]

Have you ever grabbed a frozen turkey and accidentally snapped off a leg? Me neither. Likewise, frozen corpses will not break apart due to careless handling. Shame on the filmmaker for falling into this dumb trope early in season four.

This series has gone the same route as other excellent series: Starts out with a bang, early seasons are near perfect. By season three, the storytelling is falling off slightly, and by season four, it doesn't even feel like it came from the same team.

If you have not watched True Detective yet, I'm jealous. There is some really wonderful episodes, especially in the first two seasons. 9 out of 10 for seasons one and two. 8 for season three, and 6 for season four.

Enemy of the State (1998)

Underrated thriller

[9/10 · 20 January 2024]

Enemy of the State is 25 years old, and still holds up surprisingly well. It was released three years before the 9/11 attacks, at a time when we, as a nation, thought that government surveillance of it's citizens was an Orwellian fiction. But in the post 9/11 America, it's not unthinkable, it's routine.

Casting is spot on. Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jack Black, Berry Pepper, Jon Voight, Regina King, Lisa Bonet and Seth Green all put in solid performances, and there are a dozen other actors you'll recognize from other movies and series.

Smith plays a lawyer who stumbles across evidence that a key Congressman opposed to increasing NSA surveillance was murdered by thugs hired by a rogue NSA official. Plot holes exist, but are minimal enough that they can be ignored.

I feel like this is director Tony Scott's 2nd best movie, after True Romance. While most people would put Top Gun ahead of Enemy of the State, in my view, Enemy is the more believable. Current IMDB rating is 7.3, which is respectable, but it deserves a high 8, imo.

The Gilded Age (2022– )

It's not Downton Abbey, and that's a good thing

[8/10 · 14 December 2023]

There are a metric ton of poor reviews for the Gilded Age, most of which seem disappointed that it's not Downton Abbey. Of course it's not. Nor is it Gosford Park, Belgravia, The English Game, Doctor Thorne, nor any number of other series and movies that the Baron Fellowes of West Stafford has written or produced.

The Gilded Age is best reviewed as a stand-alone series, and not any sort of spin-off or successor to the immensely successful Downton Abbey. Yes, the costumes and sets are spectacular, and the casting is sublime, led by the magnificent Carrie Coon (not "Coons", good grief. If you're going to put down her acting, the very least you can do is spell her name correctly). Other standouts are Morgan Spector, as robber baron. George Russell, and the always entertaining Nathan Lane, Cynthia Nixon and particularly Christine Baranski, as the witty, but sharp tongued Aunt Agnes.

It's not necessarily the best show on television, but it's far from the worst, and an easy binge watch, with consecutive story arcs that are well conceived and written. It's not historical drama, it's a costume drama, with a superb cast, and tightly scripted dialogue. It's not Downton Abbey, nor does it pretend to be. It is, however, a peek into the extravagant lives of the very rich in Post Civil War America.

Billions: Original Sin (2023) Season 7, Episode 2

Not much better than season six.

[2/10 · 2 October 2023]

Well, as everyone knows, Bobby Axelrod (Damien Lewis) is back. Without Axe, there really is nothing to recommend the series, as we witnessed in the cringeworthy season six. BUT: the plot holes still dominate the storyline. The writers backflipped through hoops to try to put the twice-disgraced, former federal prosecutor back into the fiefdom that is SDNY. The problem is, there is just NO WAY that would ever happen in real life. No single news story will ever rehabilitate a corrupt prosecutor, and Chuck Rhoades is nothing if not corrupt. And there never has been any reason for him to go after Michael Prince in the first place. Once Axelrod fled for Switzerland, the show was effectively over, but no one bothered to tell the writers.

Shame, really.

Billions: Cold Storage (2022) Season 6, Episode 12

Even worse on re-watrch

[1/10 · 1 October 2023]

Completely implausible. There are so many plot holes, it's impossible to even start enumerating them. Suffice to say, this was one of the worst episodes in the worst (so far) season of a show that used to be compelling. While it's not difficult to believe that a state AG can be corrupt and self-indulgent, it's not believable that a billionaire's legal team couldn't tie up the illegal search of computer hard drives in months or years of legal wrangling. Meanwhile, none of the characters are remotely interesting or sympathetic. They've even managed to emasculate Wags. The show ended when Bobby Axelrod decamped for Switzerland, apparently nobody told the writers and show runner.

Jack Ryan (2018–2023)

Seasons one and two verge on perfect. Season 3 meh

[7/10 · 16 August 2023]

I loved the first two seasons. John Krasinski puts in a solid performance throughout. Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly, along with Betty Gabriel in season round out a strong ensemble cast. The series is more of an action thriller than cerebral slow burn. Season three was a bit of a stretch, as Jack and his colleagues work to avert a nuclear war, but are hampered at every turn by their Soviet adverseries AND the US military and intelligence community, pushing Jack's "outsider" character a little too far. The season was a bit of a slog, the Russian antagonists were predictable and predictably evil. I'm not sure I'll bother with season four, considering all the negative reviews it's already received, perhaps I'll just stop at 3.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022– )

American Cheese

[3/10 · 26 June 2023]

If the creators were trying to capture the cheesiness of the original Star Trek, I offer my congratulations. Stilted dialogue and far too many thoughtful looks by Captain Pike (played by Anson Mount) immediately bring to mind William Shatner's Capt Kirk. Of course, this is 2023, and not 1966, so our Captain won't be the womanizer Kirk was.

Speaking of Anson Mount, he is wasted here. Mount was brilliant in "Hell on Wheels", playing a character not that different than Capt Pike, so his namby-pamby Capt Pike is likely the fault of the writers and show runner. I wanted to like this one. I really didn't have any expectations, and was reeled in during the opening scenes of the first episode, but as soon as the crew started gathering, it because pretty clear that it was a disappointment. Ethan Peck's Spock-lite is particularly jarring. He's basically just another human, but with slightly pointy ears. See. Zachary Quinto's version in the reboot movies for how Spock can be both updated, AND true to the original.

I'm disappointed. I thought this would be a fun summer binge, but it's more of a grind.

Beneath the Harvest Sky (2013)

Indy film take on a coming of age movie.

[9/10 · 21 June 2023]

I gave it a nine to help offset the unnecessarily negative reviews. While it's not a perfect film, it's certainly far far better than a 3 or 4. I've watched it a couple of times since its release 10 years ago, and it gets better with a second or even third viewing.

It features a heart-wrenching, stand-out performance from a young Emory Cohen, as a high school graduate trying to leave a small Maine working class farm town and find a better life in Boston with his best friend Dominic (Callan McAuliffe, who plays Alden in TWD) . Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones) plays his drug-smuggling father, who is a corrupting influence. This is set against a background of the fall potato harvest, and anyone who has lived in a small farm town knows the importance of harvest season.

Emory Cohen's performance as a troubled teen brings to mind the young James Dean in "Rebel without a Cause". Cohen's "Casper" is caught in a black hole of trouble, not entirely of his own making, but which might consume him, and everyone he cares for. Definitely worth a watch.

Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful (2023) Season 6, Episode 1

Cautionary tale about life in a digital age

[8/10 · 15 June 2023]

Joan is Awful is the first episode of season six of "Black Mirror" on Netflix. The main character, Joan, sees her life played out in excruciating detail via a semi-biographical docu-drama on a streaming service called "Streamberry" which is a stand-in for Netflix. If you think you've seen this before, yes, there are obvious parallels to "The Truman Show".

The premise is that your web searches, social media postings, basically any online activity is fair game for big tech to harvest, and in Joan's case, use to create entertainment for the rest of the world to watch and judge. The moral of the story is: read all of your user agreements and use incognito web pages if you hope to retain any semblance of privacy in a digital world.

How to Create a Sex Scandal (2023)

Quick binge about greed and Puritanism in a small Texas town.

[7/10 · 8 June 2023]

TIghtly packed, three episode docuseries about the people involved in an alleged child sex ring in a small, conservative Texas town in 2005.

Twenty years before the Mineola case, a moral panic over alleged child sex abuse in day care centers sprung up in Kern County, Ca, and quickly spread to other towns across the United States, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, and various European countries. The Mineola, case has similarities to those cases, and some important differences. Primarily, the allegations were not made against a daycare center, but rather BY a foster mother, who appears to have used her control over the children in her care to fabricate sensational charges of grooming and abuse of very young children. It is similar to the earlier daycare cases in that there was basically no evidence, just the testimony of very young children. Interviewer bias, manipulation and peer pressure was used to extract "testimony" from the involved children. And, as is too often the case in coerced confessions, only the end result of several hours of grilling and emotional blackmail was shown to jurors.

In a small Bible belt towns, Puritanism is a powerful force. A small "swingers club" of consenting adults had raised the ire of townsfolk who could not abide the fact that some people enjoy the company of others outside a traditional marriage. The townsfolk tried a number of ways to shut down the "swingers club" without success. So when a foster mother linked that group to alleged child molestation, it was ridiculously easy to find a sympathetic prosecutor to take up the case.

It is not a feel-good story. There are plenty of victims and very few heroes. Still, if you have an interest in prosecutorial over-reach and manipulated police interrogations, this will likely interest you.

Blood & Gold (2023)

Easy 8. Better than I expected

[8/10 · 1 June 2023]

A LOT of people have compared this movie to Quentin Tarentino's films. Watching the opening scenes, I did not see any obvious parallels to the American director. It certainly draws inspiration from spaghetti westerns though. I was scratching my head, wondering how so many people got it so wrong.

Then, about 20 minutes in: Oh, yeah. Now I see it. I definitely do NOT want to give anything away, but if you liked Inglourious Basterds, you'll probably find something to like here. Lots of well choreographed action scenes, and more than a little blood and violence.

Suire, it's been done before, and the plot lines might be a little predictable, but there still enough twists and turns to keep your attention. It's filmed in German with English subtitles, which is a better way to watch, instead of the English dubbed version, which won't really capture all the correct inflections of the original actors dialogue.

In general, good for those of us who like darkly comic violence. Down side: the character development is pretty basic. The bad guys are all bad, the good guys are pretty much all good, with not much in between.

Top Gun (1986)

Big Budget Cheese

[6/10 · 13 April 2023]

Top Gun has stood the test of time about as well as the Kenny Loggins songs featured in it. Which is to say, about 50/50.

Top Gun, despite receiving mediocre reviews from critics when it was released, was a blockbuster for Paramount Pictures, and the highest grossing movie of 1986.

The good: The visual effects still stand up nearly 40 years after its release. The biggest star of the movie is arguably the F14A Tomcat and best scenes are in the cockpit. Val Kilmer shines as Iceman, and Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan put in solid performances.

The bad: nearly everything else. Stilted script and frequently wooden acting. Tom Cruise's character is a hopelessly arrogant pilot, who, in reality, would have been stripped of his wings for dangerous flying, not sent to Top Gun. The chemistry between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis is nonexistent, the entire soundtrack is 80s cheese. There are so many technical gaffes that is seems as though director Tony Scott didn't even bother to bring in technical support from a former fighter pilot. Some glaring examples: Throttles work in reverse (pilots pull the throttles to idle when supposedly throttling up) and dogfights that take place just off surface of the desert, when there is supposed to be a 10,000 ft hard floor that was important enough to be a plot point.

It's good, but not great. Director Tony Scott was much better than this. For a better Tony Scott experience, revisit "Enemy of the State" or "True Romance".

The Last of Us (2023– )

The first episode holds up to the hype

[9/10 · 21 January 2023]

Good grief!!!!!! If the pilot episode is any indication, this will be a non-stop thrill ride. Normally, I will wait for most (if not all) of a season to drop before I begin watching, so that I can get a more immersive experience. The Last of Us may be TOO hair-raising to binge watch, and taking a break between episodes might be a good thing.

The video game that the series was based on was given life by creative director Neil Druckmann, who believed that storytelling had become secondary in the game industry and set out to create a rich narrative in The Last of Us. This source materiel provides a good basis for an action series.

Like "The Walking Dead", it takes place in a dystopian America after a fast moving global pandemic has wiped out the vast majority of the population, leaving the corpses reanimated by the parasite disease. The original video game was inspired by a BBC documentary that featured a killer fungi which invades the bodies of ants and can exercise basic control over the insect's motor functions. In the opening scene of the series pilot, an epidemiologist explains that his worst fear is an evolved fungus that is created via global warming.

So: the pilot was crazy good. It grabbed my attention within minutes and reeled me in deeper in every following scene. It appears that HBO spared no expense to bring the world of The Last of Us to life. It's been estimated that each episode costs between 10M and 15M, and the show's budget might even more than Game of Thrones. I can't wait for the next episode.

Station Eleven (2021–2022)

Trippy slow burn, not for everyone

[7/10 · 16 January 2023]

Ok, I finally got around to getting through Station Eleven. Ignore all the reviews complaining about the "wokeness". There's nothing "woke" about this series. It's also not like any other post-apocalyptic series/movie.

Based on the novel of the same name. Station Eleven is also the name of the graphic novel-in-a-novel that drives the storyline. I haven't read the source material, but I suspect that I'd appreciate the storyline a lot more had I first experienced it in print.

It's a very different view of how a small slice of western society might behave following a pandemic that wipes out 99% of the human population. More "Lord of the Flies" than "The Walking Dead". A small group of survivors have gathered in a disease-free zone. There are other pockets of survivors, including a traveling troupe of entertainers. Their stories are intertwined throughout the ten episode series.

None of the characters are particularly likeable. The acting is on point, but the characters are all self-absorbed and difficult to care about. Still, there is an emotional payoff at the end that requires you to have invested your time with the characters for it to mean anything. Anyone who bails out after 5 or 6 episodes won't get why so many people love this series, because there is some draggy moments during the middle episodes. Best viewed over two or three days when it's too cold or wet to be outside.

Some other reviewers have compared it to "The Leftovers", which makes little sense, in my view. The two series are nothing alike. The Leftovers is amazing, a solid 8.5 out of ten. I was expecting to love Station Eleven, but ultimately, I left feeling a little lukewarm. 6.5 out of 10 is the correct rating. The three episodes directed by Jeremy Podeswa (2, 9, and 10) were, for me, the highlights.

The Watcher (2022– )

Don't waste your time

[3/10 · 21 October 2022]

Ok, I'm not the first person to say this. And I will admit that I read several reviews that stated the same thing: "Don't waste your time". I should have paid attention.

Don't let my mistake be your mistake. Pay attention. When I tell you "Don't waste your time" I'm trying to do you a favor.

I was sucked in by an excellent cast. Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Coolidge, Richard Kind, the great Margo Martindale. Mia Farrow, for crying out loud. None of them could make a silk purse from the sows ear of a script they were handed. It's hopeless. A great idea for a story that never got past the idea phase. The ending is hopelessly meh, with numerous unresolved plot "twists". By the time I was halfway through the final episode, I couldn't have cared less what happened to the characters.

I wanted to like it. I expected to like it, at least a little bit. I didn't. Don't waste your time. I can't give you better advise.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

Should have spent some of the money on better writers.

[4/10 · 17 October 2022]

There was a ton of hype leading up to the release of this series, and I was really looking forward to it. The producers had a dream budget to work with, and you can absolutely see the results of that in the photography, sets, costumes and CGI. Unfortunately, the script is a meandering mess and none of the characters are remotely engaging. This should be a story-driven series, but storytelling is the weakest link. The source materiel is generous, with an almost limitless number of characters on which to base a series, how did they wind up with something so boring? I had to restart the final episode several times to finish it, because I had basically stopped caring how it turned out.

There's no excuse for how dreadful and boring it was.

Westworld (2016–2022)

It used to be big fun

[8/10 · 9 August 2022]

Westworld is still a premier HBO series, but it's evolved from a genre and time bending action romp into an esoteric drama that's engaging, but not nearly as entertaining.

The first two seasons were epic. Truly epic. The plot twists were difficult to predict, and the frequent timeline shifts keep the viewer engaged out of necessity. Human guests were encouraged to indulge in sex and violence with androids in a theme park setting, which would be a victimless crime, unless the androids develop sentience. When the androids eventually become self aware (and predictably revolt), the hunters become the prey. Lots of interesting characters and a fine ensemble cast keeps the show fresh from week to week. A standout episode, "Kiksuya" is filmed primarily in Lakota Sioux, with subtitles, and is truly beautiful and compelling.

Unfortunately, though, the show took a hard turn away from entertainment and became much more cerebral. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I do miss the interactions between the humans and hosts in the park setting. Now that the androids are calling the shots in the real world, humans have apparently lost their appetite for sex and violence. There was quite a bit of sex and nudity in the first two seasons, sadly that's no longer the case. GOT sort of lost it's way, but the show runners never forgot that we do like to see some skin along with the swords and blood.

The show is impressively and beautifully filmed, but it's just not the same anymore. 9.5 for the first two seasons, a solid 7 for seasons 3 and 4.

The Staircase (2004–2018)

Propaganda film for the defendant

[5/10 · 24 May 2022]

This series is unlike anything you'll ever see. For that fact alone, it's worth a watch.

Soon after novelist Michael Peterson was indicted for the murder of his wife, he contracted with a French filmmaker to produce a documentary about the trial. Think about that: you are charged with the murder of your wife, and one of your first decisions is to produce and release a film about it. Essentially, it's a propaganda film for the defendant, and there are endless Peterson monologues that get harder and harder to watch as the series unfolds.

Peterson is an extremely unlikeable man. His original 911 call is immediately suspect. His call to 911 came at 2:40 in the morning. Peterson told police he and his wife had been having a glass of wine near the pool, and she decided to retire because she had a business meeting first thing in the morning. When police arrived, there was far too much blood to support his story of a fall down the stairs, and much of the blood was already dry. EMT's estimated she had been dead for several hours, not the several minutes in Peterson's timeline.

The story becomes more and more convoluted. The prosecution and police bottled the investigation and trial. Critical tests were mishandled, and the prosecution, instead of simply stating that they didn't know what Peterson hit his wife with, tied their case to a weapon that was later discredited.

Even though this film is one-sided in the extreme, it's still difficult to conclude that Peterson is anything but guilty of murder. The filmmaker conveniently leaves out some pretty important details, like the million dollar life insurance policy on Peterson's wife, and the relationship he had with the editor of the documentary.

But, as I said, it's still worth a watch, simply for the unusual access to the family and legal team throughout the leadup to the trial. In the end, Peterson is only held partially responsible for his wife's death. Justice was certainly not served, and the biggest lesson for me was that prosecutorial misconduct can not only imprison the wrongfully convicted, but it can also assist the guilty in regaining their freedom.

The Power of the Dog (2021)

Not for everyone. Great for those who appreciate a slow burn

[9/10 · 30 March 2022]

This is a polarizing film, in that viewers either seem to love it or hate it. I'm in the former category. It's definitely a slow burn, as many have noted, but it's more than that, it's complex and layered character development cannot be appreciated until the final scenes. It is a grim tale about some pretty desperately unhappy people, and as such, isn't like watching an action film with one-dimensional characters and high-noon shootouts. It's not so much a western movie, as it is a psychological thriller in a western setting.

Benedict Cumberbach is a marvel, playing an unpleasant bully, who takes pride in demeaning his brother, his brother's new wife, and her son. There is a theme of toxic masculinity (playing against normal western tropes) and homophobia. Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee round out the main cast. Cinematography is stunning, with New Zealand standing in for 1900s Montana. Worth a watch, or a rewatch if you've already seen it.

The Silent Sea (2021– )

Surprised it was so boring

[5/10 · 2 January 2022]

I like South Korean filmmaking. I expected to like this series.

I'd tune in for almost anything Bae Doona is in, but sadly her talents are wasted in this overlong mess. The premise is outstanding: In the dystopian future, the Earth has become a desert wasteland. With the population on the verge of dying of thirst, a new source of unlimited water is discovered, but it's toxic.

9.5 for sets and visual effects 5 for slooooooooooooooow pacing.

3 for disjointed story lines and lack of character development.

It would have been far better as a 4 episode limited series with much tighter pacing.

Dune (2021)

Epic film adaptation of a beloved Sci-Fi classic

[9/10 · 22 October 2021]

Adapting a beloved classic into film is an exercise in avoiding pitfalls. French-Canadian filmaker Denis Villeneuve has proven that he is not just superficially familiar with Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, but he knows it well enough to know exactly what needs to be included, and what can be trimmed, what parts of the story needs to be retold precisely, and where he has license to edit.

The original novel is well known as the best-selling sci-fi novel of all time. It's epic in scale, and Villeneuve has wisely chosen to tell the story in two parts, which is, coincidentally, how the source material was originally published (as two separate serials in Analog magazine). The first part sets up the backstory of the inter-galactic feudal conflicts between House Atreides, House Harkonnen, the Imperial government, and the fight over planet Arrakis, the most valuable world in the universe.

Villeneuve's vision is stunning. CGI effects, scale models and costumes are all meticulously created and jaw dropping. It's a movie that's best seen in a theatre, preferably an IMAX screen, but is also so detailed that it holds up well to repeated viewings on a good home theatre. Lets all hope that Dune Part Two gets the green light, because the second half of the book is where the story really gets interesting.

The Old Guard (2020)

This is clearly NOT a ten star movie. Probably 7.5

[10/10 · 15 July 2020]

The problem with IMDB ratings is that you have to over-rate movies to counter all the haters who stick a one-star rating on ANYTHING they don't like, or includes protagonists who are gay, Muslim, or a person of color. All the complaints of "woke-ness" in the one star reviews are more about the reviewer's motivation. When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When you watch movies searching for "leftist" plot devices, you'll find them where they don't exist. This movie has no overtly political themes, yet some reviewers complained about them anyway.

So... It's not a ten. It's also clearly not a one. It's competently filmed, the story-line is understandable, there are no huge plot holes, the protagonists aren't saved by a deus ex machina trope. Casting is adequate for the story, and most of the acting is at least workmanlike, if not Oscar-worthy. The source material, a graphic novel, is a trilogy, so expect two sequels, unless the second one tanks.

Old Guard is no "Black Panther", but it's much, much better than truly bad movies like Jonah Hex.

Yellowstone (2018– )

Right Wing PC nonsense. Swing and a miss

[7/10 · 13 July 2020]

I REALLY wanted to like this show. The locations and cinematography is flat gorgeous, the cast is solid, and Taylor Sheridan has some stellar writing credits (Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River).

Coming off the critical success of Wind River, I expected more of the same: honest character development without overt moralizing. Unfortunately, that was not to be. In Yellowstone, the protagonists are all fairly unlikable characters made accessible by attractive actors.

Sheridan unfortunately feels the need to hit the audience over the head with a hammer. Costner's character John Dutton is frequently given to pithy comments like "As free as a man can be" while gazing out at the thousands of acres he inherited. Or "Who's going to feed America when the ranchers are gone" without a hint of irony. (Frankly, a few fewer cheeseburgers in the typical American's diet might go a long way to helping our national obesity problem.)

The recent show had the ranchers clash with a small group of California-based bikers. The ONLY reason for the biker's appearance in the show was to give the ranchers a group of bad men (Cali bad, Montana good) to beat up and intimidate. Sheridan keeps coming back to the same right-wing theme: California is bad, the good guys are from places like Montana and Wyoming, and transplants are clueless city folk who drink overly fancy coffee. Virtually ALL of Yellowstone's villains are from California, which is not a coincidence.

Not a show for young viewers. Lots of violence, some occasional nudity. I'm still watching, but mostly because I miss living in the Rocky Mountains.

Breakthrough (2019)

American Cheese

[2/10 · 14 June 2020]

Cheese, and not the good kind. I watched this movie accidentally, and without expectations. In fact, I'd never even heard of it before I saw it. Like many of us, I'm home, with the tv on in the background. "Breakthrough" just happened to come on following a program I'd been watching. The script and dialogue seem like a made-for-tv movie, and I was shocked to discover that it was a medium-budget, theatrical release.

Upside: decent cast, including Crissy Metz Josh Lucas and the guy from the Allstate insurance ads. Downside: cheese, schmaltz, and a religious theme that is delivered with all the subtlety and charm of a PETA anti seal-clubbing campaign.

Based on a "true story" but massively embellished. In actuality, the ER team never stopped trying to resuscitate the teen. The doctor has stated that he was trying to decide how to tell the mother that further efforts would be futile, when the teen's pulse returned. But of course, it's more dramatic and miraculous in the movie version. This is the kind of plot device that makes a compelling story unbelievable, and cheapens what could have been a decent movie.