ottawa-2 Reviews

The Long Shadow (2023)

Goood British Police Procedural

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

Detectives and their colleagues worked diligently for five years to catch a serial killer but some in charge became blindsided by their theory of who the killer was. Refusing to investigate alternative theories prolonged the search for the killer. The killer was interviewed nine time by police, but was eliminated as a suspect. The scene in episode seven at a police press conference where the Chief Constable announces they have a suspect was deeply disturbing. The Detective in Charge and others were literally laughing that a suspect had been arrested. The cameras cut the the families in anguish over lost mothers and daughters. Powerful.

The Beekeeper (2024)

A Big Can of Whoop-Ass

[8/10 · 21 March 2024]

Wow! Brutal reviews. It's an action flick, and a good one. An elderly woman with significant assets gets scammed out of all her money. "Ghost" CIA operative, Adam Clay (Statham), who rents a barn from the old woman, tracks down the scammers and unleashes holy hell on them, and the people at the top of the food chain.

I don't know what some reviewers are complaining about. The story is simple but effective, and the action scenes are kick-ass. I feel for the old woman. I feel Adam Clay's anger and need for revenge. I despise the scammers and their CEO, rich, entitled loser, played by Josh Hutcherson..

Grab the popcorn.

The Fall (I) (2013–2016)

Superb Police Procedural

[9/10 · 15 March 2024]

Reviewers criticizing imperfect people forget we are all burdened with flaws. Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) plays the Detective Superintendent of a Belfast police unit tasked with apprehending a serial killer. Her biggest flaw: one night stands with her fellow police officers. This undermines her respectability with those she supervises.

The serial killer, Paul Spector, (Jamie Dornan), is diabolical in his savagery. Husband, father and grief counselor by day, torturer and butcher of women by night. He goes undetected for so long because he seems so normal, and initially, his DNA is not tied to the crimes.

Dogged police work finally puts him on police radar, but he is so cooperative, he is initially eliminated as a suspect.

Detective Gibson has her doubts.

Michael Clayton (2007)

Perfect

[10/10 · 31 December 2023]

Tom Wilkerson is absolutely brilliant in his role as a deeply troubled lawyer because of a case that has dragged on for years, consumed his life, and driven him crazy. There's another lawyer at the firm who will do anything to climb up the ladder of success. Michael Clayton is the firm's "fixer", a lawyer whose sole job is to help the firm's wealthy clients skirt the law. When he wants to get out of the firm, he finds it's not that easy. He knows things. Can he be trusted? Michael Clayton's young son, Henry is the purity factor. The synchronicity that plays out during the film is bone chilling.

Faraway Downs (2023)

Director's Cut

[8/10 · 27 November 2023]

The ending in Australia (2008) is different from the ending in Faraway Downs (2023), the extended release version of the movie Australia. In Faraway Downs, the director's vision was to tell a different story at the end. Lady Sarah Ashley (Nichole Kidman) is determined to save her outback cattle ranch from a competing cattle baron who wants to buy her ranch. She is joined by "the drover" (Hugh Jackman) who herds her cattle to town for sale. The story of Nullah, the half blood aborigine boy, is more fleshed out in the mini series. Aboriginal children, like Native American Indians, were forcibly removed from their parents and sent to religious boarding schools to strip away their cultural identity from them. In Australia, the practice of removing these children from their families did not stop until 1973. I enjoyed this extended version very much, but preferred the happier ending of the original.

C.B. Strike (2017– )

Cormoran and Robiin: A Love Story

[8/10 · 23 February 2023]

Cuckoo's Calling, Career of Evil and Lethal White are compelling crime stories. Our two lead private eye detectives are in love, but Robin won't commit to a relationship. The detective stories are secondary to their attraction to one another. It is disappointing that after three seasons the two still aren't together romantically. While Robin may be gun shy about developing an intimate relationship on the heals of a failed marriage, Cormoran and she need one another. Cormoran is miserable, drinking and smoking himself to death. No need for a gushy, gooey kind of affection, but J. K. Rowling needs to let these two star crossed lovers consummate their relationship. A viewer can only stand so much. And, Robin will make sure Cormoran eats less unhealthy take out.

Berlin Station (2016–2019)

Series Needs and Deserves a Finale

[8/10 · 19 September 2019]

EPIX has not renewed Berlin Station. The series is left unresolved. The fan base deserves better. An abbreviated fourth season, at the very least, is necessary to give closure to an outstanding spy series.

Flight World War II (2015)

Time Travel back to WWII

[8/10 · 24 December 2018]

Commercial flight enters a storm vortex and enters 1942 over France during WWII. Without the aid of satellite technology, the pilots are flying blind. Do they land and stay in 1942 or try and return to their timeline?

The Chair (2014)

So You Think You Can Make a Movie?

[8/10 · 19 October 2016]

Past is prologue. Hard to believe Zachary Quinto didn't foresee that Shane Dawson would stay true to his creative style and do what he's been very successfully doing for many years - raunchy, juvenile comedy. Maybe the producer of American Pie, Chris Moore, did anticipate Quinto's reservations and thought it ramped up the tension??? For anyone interested in the process of filmmaking, this series is fascinating to watch. Personally, if I were executive producer, I would want to give a high profile directing opportunity to someone trying to dignify the art of filmmaking. Fart jokes and endless potty-mouth humor hardly elevates the craft. Having said that, American Pie spawned three theatrical sequels (plus four direct to video releases) and made over $1.5 billion. What do I know?

Captain Kangaroo (1955–1992)

Finest Pre-School TV Series Of All Time

[10/10 · 10 June 2007]

When oh when is the complete Captain Kangaroo series going to be available on DVD? The series spanned nearly 30 years and is a treasure trove of positive family values programming. Long before Sesame Street was even a glimmer in Jim Henson's eye, the Captain was entertaining young children with a world filled with healthy family values, imagination and creativity.

We are what we eat, what we watch, who we surround ourselves with, and what we aspire to be. Captain Kangaroo is, in my opinion, the finest young children's' television programming EVER to grace the television screen.

Bob Keeshan, a hero of WWII, is my hero as well. Do yourself a favor and introduce a child to the wonderful world of Captain Kangaroo.

Firelight (1997)

Victorian era Romance That Will Rip Your Heart Out

[10/10 · 27 July 2004]

Richly detailed Victorian era Romance. I was utterly entranced. Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane are superb. Their chemistry is intoxicating and their performances mesmerizing.

The longing Elisabeth and Charles feel for one another will make your heart ache. The strict, unforgiving moral code of the time is a recurring theme and well executed. The musical score blends beautifully with the story. The love story draws you in and won't let go. The ending is satisfying and believable. English manor life in 1838 is exquisitely portrayed. For fans of Period Romance films, this is first rate. William Nicholson (Gladiator) wrote and directed.