silverton-37959 Reviews

Extraction (2020)

Visually satisfying action film

[7/10 · 20 May 2024]

I disagree with the low ratings and the negative reviews. This is a rare action film in that it isn't all about fiery explosions and expensive sports cars jumping over bridges and blowing up in mid-air. One recurring complaint is that the plot is shallow. No, it's as deep as that of any popular action flick, not that deep and involved plots are a big draw in action films.

The story is pretty straightforward: a former soldier from an elite service, maybe Australian, who lost his son to leukemia or something like that and lost his wife to divorce, now works for a mercenary outfit headed up by the beautiful Iranian actress, Golshifteh Farahani.

She assigns him the job of rescuing the kidnapped teenage son of a bigshot Mumbai drug trafficker. The boy is being held in Bangladesh. That's as deep as the plot needs to be for me. Others think it's a forgettable film. I like it and will watch it a second time, if only for the action scenes of firefights and shootouts and the scenes with the beautiful mercenary boss.

If it is a shallow film, at least I'm watching it for shallow reasons. Consistency of that sort suits me anyway.

D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?!: Seeing Jesus in the Toast (2022) Season 1, Episode 3

A very apt title

[7/10 · 18 May 2024]

This episode's title is very apt. Colbert is "seeing Jesus in the toast", for sure. The way these people go to a site that the man informing them says he knew just by hearing someone saying that he helped DB Cooper escape and making mention of where they picked him up is far enough out there, but then they find a scrap of something that looks like a piece of burlap and claim that it's the parachute...

Yep, the "team" is grasping at straws. They seem to have made up a theory and are trying to get others to believe it along with them. Colbert may not be nuts, but he's operating as though he's determined to make this hobby of his pay him back for the time and money he's spent.

Hannibal (2001)

Script failings hindered the storytelling

[7/10 · 14 May 2024]

It appears to me that the writers made some fumbles of the kind that happen when writers are being pressured or micromanaged. For instance, when Starling is being questioned after the raid, she speaks lines that would be consistent with having already stated that she had called the raid off and ordered the teams to stand down, but she doesn't make that statement.

The gunfight happened as a result of a stubborn DCPD detective who refused to stand down. Since Starling didn't mention that, the whole sequence of events in the hearing made little sense, giving the appearance of an arbitrary decision by the board .

Thomas Harris wrote much better dialog in the novel than what ended up being in the script. The resulting messes in the telling of the story seemed like a case of the writers being made to rewrite scenes on the fly.

Rockaway (2007)

Some good, some not so much

[7/10 · 11 May 2024]

There were some believable elements, such as: gangsters not really rich or overblown, settings were scruffy, as they actually are, the Russians are scuzzy and have some cash, but not much else; living in ratty places with skanky women.

Aside from that, the key to explaining how Gabriel managed his revenge was in what his top sergeant said about the Afghans' revenge; that they believed in the will to avenge their families even after death. I kept waiting for that to be shown on a flashback to Gabriel's death in a firefight, but that was left out.

Anyway, this isn't a bad revenge story, just a little rushed. There were some good actors who had played similar roles in other films and TV series, and the gunshot wound FX gags were pretty good for a low budget film. The main thing this film had going for it was that there wasn't a big budget for props and locations/sets for the gangsters, which made it more real.

Money Heist: Errar al disparar (2017) Season 1, Episode 3

Surprising show of sympathy, IMO

[7/10 · 5 May 2024]

Denver catches the viewer flat-footed by expressing his sympathy, however roughly stated, for Monica's dilemma in her pregnancy in her relationship with her uncaring boss. Denver obviously cares for her baby and for her. Unless this is a message intended for the viewer that Denver is callous and disregards Monica's autonomy, that isn't how I viewed his attempt to influence Monica's decision.

In my view, Denver is obviously a thief and a killer, or at least a thief who has expressed a willingness to kill people. Still, he tries to make a case for allowing the baby to live, and by that action, he's also trying to keep Monica from having the death of her baby on her conscience. The case he makes is that having a child doesn't necessarily mess up your life, but having an abortion just might ruin your view of yourself.

This won't be a popular view with all of the viewers, but it's my view and I'm not trying to make it anyone else's view.

Better Call Saul: Something Unforgivable (2020) Season 5, Episode 10

Too much Jimmy and Kim

[7/10 · 1 May 2024]

The story of Nacho, Lalo and Gus is at the point of some revelations, and still we have to sit through Jimmy's neurotic little outcries. This episode should be about the cartel story non-stop with a welcome break from the lawyers; but Noooo, we have to see how this worries Jimmy/Saul.

Lalo is a despicable character. I want to see his story end, by all means, and I really don't need any diversion into the silly Saul and the Shysters drama. Apparently, Nacho's character arc is nearing the end and will continue into the opening of the final season.

I suppose that the writers are having to somehow cover the single scene in BB in which Saul mentions Lalo and Nacho. This isn't even about Saul. Not everything should have to be.

Goliath: The Pain Killer (2021) Season 4, Episode 2

Based on what I can actually see...

[3/10 · 29 April 2024]

I didn't write a review for ep.1 because I didn't want to give this series a one star rating, even for a single episode. Two thing are ruining this series for me: the ridiculous surrealism and the unlit scenes. Even the daylight scenes are poorly it. The surrealism started in the 3rd season, and made the season almost unwatchable for me. I've concluded that some self-impressed director (or team of that sort) has taken the reins and has made the series all about stroking a few egos behind the scenes.

At any rate, this just isn't "Goliath" anymore, it's "Look everybody at how cutting edge we can be". This series sucks now. I'm going to try to watch the 3rd episode.

Firestarter (2022)

Lost in transliteration

[5/10 · 18 April 2024]

I think I read the novel in the late '70s and saw the film in the '80s, and the story was well suited to those days. It seems that people I knew back then were much more aware of what obscure federal agencies were capable of doing.

For these times, this story doesn't fit with the average person's idea of what our federal agents would do. People today seem fearful of being thought of as a "conspiracy theory" buff. I think that this is what causes writers to muddle through a story like this one instead of confidently laying out a cogent story line.

This story just doesn't arouse the same kind of feelings today as it did in the late '70s-early '80s. That's why the screenplay of this remake just doesn't connect with lots of people, I think.

Fallout: The End (2024) Season 1, Episode 1

Much worse than expected

[3/10 · 14 April 2024]

There have been a few game-to-series productions that have been pretty good. This ain't one of them. The dialog is clunky, the characters are caricatures and the story line... well, let's forget that there is supposed to be one in a series, otherwise there's really no point in going on with a review. Critical reviews are needed and at this point, it's a little too early for there to be more than gushing, fanboy or shill reviews. At the risk of putting too fine a point on it, this series is just a waste of time for anyone over the age of 12. Framing the "story", such as it is to establish a setting of the late 1950s- early '60s, shouldn't require making the whole thing look like a 3rd rate '50s TV show, but if that's what you like, then this series is for you.

Too Old to Die Young: Volume 2: The Lovers (2019) Season 1, Episode 2

Another episode of ego stroking by a totally incompetent "auteur"

[2/10 · 5 April 2024]

Two episodes in and the total of what has happened in this series amounts to less than a minute and a half of screen time. Refn is like the tale of The Emperor's New Clothes, with a handful of fans who don't understand what his appeal actually is, but they hope to look cool by gushing over his boring films.

I'm going to say the silent part out loud here: This guy, Refn, is a self impressed fraud who can't tell a story to save his life. Telling a story requires more than making up some names for characters who do nothing but deliver dead lines. Shooting long pan shots of nothing doesn't do anything to tell a story.

The next producer to hear one of Refn's pitches should tell him to shut up and get out. Someone needs to stop this guy before he wastes another dollar with his empty, no story projects.

The Long Riders (1980)

3 stars is too kind

[3/10 · 26 March 2024]

This is really a rather poor film about the James/Younger gang. James Keach is the worst possible choice for Jesse James, since a New York yankee can't be expected to play a Missouri guerilla, especially if that actor can't act .

The screenplay is atrocious, to be kind. It's disjointed and provides no lead ins for the action sequences. The dialog is mostly ridiculously inadequate to the subject matter.

For a much better telling of the story, see "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid", a TV movie that was blessed with some really fine actors and a well written teleplay. Robert Duvall plays a fine Jesse James and Cliff Robertson plays Cole Younger. "The Long Riders" pales in comparison.

Marlowe (2022)

This ain't my idea of a Marlowe movie

[3/10 · 14 March 2024]

It isn't just that Liam Neeson is trying to play a 40 year old, it's also that the dialog is silly and the fight scenes are even worse than fat old Steve Sagal's doddering fight scenes. It's also that there's no actual story, only hints of a story. The period correct cars are the best part of the film. The cast is good, but they are all wasted on this woefully bad screenplay. There are incongruities enough for 5 bad films: why does the Nico smuggled "powder in a fragile statuette, with no packaging by kilo for the dope? How can a bunch of handwritten "records" of dope shipments, all written by Nico, constitute any kind of blackmail material? I'm being generous by awarding 3 stars for this piece of bad film making.

The Wire: Stray Rounds (2003) Season 2, Episode 9

Good but it gets a little silly towards the end

[7/10 · 10 March 2024]

Having some of the threads get together is a good thing for the story advancement. The mention of the Colombian trade partners chiseling on the price, and the way the final bust of the Colombians' load went along with the bust of the brothel, smoothly integrated some elements of the tale.

Still the story of the towers deal stumbles. Avon knows that he can't supply his locations, but he stubbornly opposes the deal with Joe. Avon had to know that Joe, or somebody, would end up with the towers pretty soon if he can't supply the dope. The story goes silly when Avon announces he's sending "Brother Mouzon" as muscle. He's sending one man to do the work of his whole lost muscle team since that one man has some mythical reputation. No amount of muscle can make the addicts come back and finish buying up the weak stuff that Avon wasted money on, so Brother is going to be worthless.

That is plot-hole inducing silliness right there.

The Wire: The Target (2002) Season 1, Episode 1

Great opening episode

[8/10 · 6 March 2024]

This series has a great cast, with a few exceptions. The most notable exception is Sonja Sohn; she is a very poor actress. Most of the time, she sounds as if she's reading her lines from cue cards. I've seen her in other TV work and in a few films, and she hasn't improved in the years I've been seeing her.

The story line is good and the fact that so much of the outside shots are done on location in Baltimore gives the series an authentic look. While a few of the actors don't sound like they are from Baltimore, enough of them do to make this convincing.

IMO, this is the best TV that existed at the time The Wire was running. To me, it's more engaging than anything that has been on HBO, much better than The Corner, in my view.

The Sopranos: Soprano Home Movies (2007) Season 6, Episode 13

Love seing Tony get whipped

[7/10 · 5 March 2024]

This was good, Tony keeps needling Janice and Bobby cleans Tony's clock. All along, Tony has bullied Bobby, belittled him, and gotten away with it, but Bobby draws the line at listening to Tony offend Janice. Tony is used to being the big dog, but Bobby just whips his ass good. I loved it.

Tony is always conciliatory with the New York wiseguys, letting them say whatever they say while he slams the guys under him without mercy, even beating his young driver up in front of everyone at the store, just to reestablish his own status. It was fun seeing him get waxed by his former punching bag.

I'm rewatching The Sopranos 20 years after the '04 season, which was about where I started it this time. It's a great series, and seeing it without any sympathy for Tony makes a positive difference in my enjoyment.

The Sopranos: Moe n' Joe (2006) Season 6, Episode 10

Weak...really weak

[3/10 · 5 March 2024]

What a nothing episode. Face it, nobody cares about Vito. He's a nothing character, played by a non-actor. If Vito had simply run away and never be seen again, the story overall would have been greatly improved. Vito was once a small time contractor who happened to be the cousin of Richie Aprille. Suddenly, he's a made man who is getting bumped to captain when Ralph is killed.

That's a plot hole in the story line, and I doubt that many viewers ever even swallowed it. Vito and his silly love story makes no sense in the plot. I was so impatient for the whole thing to be dropped, that I came to appreciate watching this on a streaming platform rather than on DVD, because I can preview the scenes in advance and jump past all things Vito.

The scene with poor old Sal, having to ask Tony if he can drop Johnny Sac's yard from his list is a reminder of what a predatory slug Tony is. Tony is getting his yard work done free and he resents having to release Sal from doing Johnny's 3+ acres free. That kind of thing made me stop seeing Tony with any kind of sympathy. He deserves way more than what has befallen him thus far.

The Sopranos: Where's Johnny? (2004) Season 5, Episode 3

This one is a reminder

[7/10 · 3 March 2024]

Rewatching this season, 20 years later, I'm reminded by the way things work out with Sal, Paulie and Feetch, which shows us that the wise guys are total scum. Feetch assaulted Sal, took his territory, leaving him disabled, and Paulie tells Sal that he will fix it for him for "a couple of percent" off the top of Sal's income from his business. Paulie then attacks Feech's nephews and tells Tony a lie at the sit-down to justify his attack on them.

Tony rules that Feech has to pay Sal a grand for his injury, and then gives Feech's nephews half of Sal's territory. Paulie, lying scumbag that he is, then tells Tony that Sal will cut Tony's lawn free. He then goes to Sal, and gives Sal $500, instead of the grand Feech gave him, and tells Sal that he's going to have to do a couple of lawns free.

Sal is then seen working on Johnny Sac's big 4 acre lawn, which should cost Johnny at least $600 a month. Johnny wasn't even in the deal, so it's just Paulie trying to score brownie points with Johnny at no cost to himself.

I wonder if other viewers thought that Paulie was clever, or funny, or both, but I see him as a parasite who deserves to be shot by one of his victims. The people in this series are almost all unlikable, amoral scum. What I take away from the stories of what these crooks do, is that none of them are worthy of any sympathy, other than the family members and other people who live alongside the "wise guys". Of course, though, Janice isn't some innocent victim in the stories, and she deserves to get whatever Tony, Paulie and the rest have coming.

True Detective: Night Country: Part 6 (2024) Season 4, Episode 6

This isn't a whole season of True Detective

[3/10 · 25 February 2024]

This is just 3/5ths of a season of True Detective. Making this 6th episode the finale just cheats the viewer of 4 episodes. There are characters which never get developed, allusions to supernatural happenings that are never finished, and parts of the plot that are left as holes in the fabric.

Something apparently happened with the production, because the season was cut short. The season was promoted as though it was going to be a whole season, but viewers were ripped off. Everyone who watched this partial season had paid for a full season, whether by way of HBO fees on satellite, or via a purchase of the streamed version on amazon, or by way of paying for a subscription to MAX on amazon.

This seems to be in the process of becoming a thing with streamed content: first Yellowstone is just dropped halfway through the final season, which was sold by amazon with payment for the season required in advance. Now, we have just over half a season of an anticipated series for which viewers paid and never got to view.

Amsterdam (2022)

Disappointing

[3/10 · 31 January 2024]

I rented this on the strength of a mention that this story is centered around the Business Plot exposed by Gen. Smedley Butler. I didn't suspect that it would be an unfunny "comedy", but that's the perfect description for it.

The cast includes three purported A-List actors: Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro and Chris Rock, none of whom belong anywhere near a film about the Business Plot, which is not a "Conspiracy Theory, but was a real conspiracy to depose a president and take over a government.

De Niro is a once solid actor who has become a political activist, losing his acting talent in the process. Rock is a once great stand up comic who has never had any acting chops. Taylor Swift has never been able to act and doesn't belong in films, except those on the level of "Barbie".

Maybe it was filmed as a "comedy" just so the story could be told, but the story isn't told, only alluded to in spots. For that reason, I can't give it the benefit of the doubt.

Deadland (2023)

Not what I thought it would be

[8/10 · 21 January 2024]

The blurb for this film states that it's about the murder of an illegal immigrant that is covered up by the border patrol. That isn't all of it by any means.

This is actually a film about a supernatural event that involves three border patrol agents who encounter a ghost or possibly a doppelganger. Angel, the agent in charge of their station picks up a man who tries to cross the river at a deep point with a fast current. Angel thinks the man has drowned, but he's alive, so Angel takes him to the station and puts him in the care of the other two agents.

At about the same time, Angel's estranged father, a Mexican national who has been in institutions in Mexico for 30 years shows up at Angel's house. Angel has never met his father and thinks that he abandoned Angel and his mother when Angel was born.

Yes, it is about a murder, in a way, but it's a chilling story, a murder mystery,of sorts, but there lies the twist in the story's ending.

It's well acted with excellent direction and cinematography. I liked it.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Captivating story ruined by obligatory political rhetoric.

[3/10 · 20 January 2024]

The political rhetoric in the script is so grossly overincluded that it makes it hard to stay interested in what is a good story. I know that it's a good story because it comes from a good novel and an earlier production that turned out to be a good enough movie despite having Frank Sinatra playing the Major Marco character.

The invented role for Meryl Streep, as Shaw's Senator mother is almost a deal breaker. Streep does her best with the character, but can't save the film from the damage done by such an over the top villainess.

The addition to the cast of several DC "celebrity" scumbags doesn't help much either, BTW.

The Ipcress File: Episode #1.1 (2022) Season 1, Episode 1

Anachronistic dialog distracts from the story

[7/10 · 12 January 2024]

The Maddox character, a black CIA officer in 1963 Berlin is enough of an anachronism without dialog from the 21st century, such as, "Yes, I'm black", and "Can we grab a coffee?" followed by, "It's all good". This is lazy writing, and is seriously out of place in a series intended to present one of Len Deighton's best works.

Casting choices so far are not too bad, and production values are good as well. I hope that the dialog writing improves so that the series will be enjoyable for readers of Deighton's novels. Joe Cole is doing a pretty good job as Harry Palmer. If that role had been miscast I probably wouldn't have liked this first episode as much as I have so far.

Umbre (2014–2019)

Unexpectedly interesting

[8/10 · 9 January 2024]

I almost skipped trying this series. It's Romanian, and I'm only fluent in English, it's about a taxi driver who collects money for a mob boss, and that sounded like a setup for some lame comedy of errors type sitcom, and the cast was small, which usually means a cheap production.

All of those clues to the worth of this series turned out to be misapprehensions on my part. The story is believable, and the acting and direction are at least on par with my favorite English language series and the acting is actually much better than a few of my favorites.

Here's some of what I like about Umbre': The characters aren't the typical hit series characters in American productions, you know, people who all live in McMansions and drive new cars, with even the "lower middle-class" characters having $1500 smart phones and wearing $300 casual shirts. There is no brand name plug in every scene like American series display.

By American standards, these people, even the mob boss, are poor or nearly broke. The comedy is unforced and is integral to the story instead of being stitched on after the fact like what you see in anything written, directed and produced by the current superstar series maker (you all know who I mean) whose reign is at its peak right now in American TV.

That might just be the whole reason that Umbre' appeals to me: what it isn't as well as what it is. I'm really liking this series so far and I'm 5 episodes into it.

The Outsider: Que Viene el Coco (2020) Season 1, Episode 4

Serious direction failures

[3/10 · 6 January 2024]

This director tries too hard to stamp and restamp his little trademarks onto the episodes he directs. Apparently, the only trademark he's capable of is the out of focus depth of field photography. I can imagine the cameraman blowing air out of his mouth with each instruction for an out of focus shot that trails into focus. That kind of shot is unhelpful to the production unless it's used to build suspense, which is clearly not the case here.

Looking into Bernstein's work history, there are several series in which he is credited for a single episode. Does that indicate that he's hard to work with, or a sign of dissatisfaction with his quirks? At any rate he fumbles this episode. The script for this one diverges far afield from the novel's story, which is usually a sign of a showrunner telling the writers to "do something different". Often the showrunner is a writer, which may be the case here, but sometimes the showruner is a director or a producer.

Whoever came up with this episode, it was a failure both in writing and in direction.

Mayor of Kingstown: Every Feather (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

Iris? Oh, please...

[3/10 · 24 December 2023]

This Iris is a homely, scrawny, childish looking little hooker. Why would anyone in a strip joint be drooling over her? Apparently, the casting director thinks that all that's needed is any female, and they can hang a sign on her that reads "BEAUTIFUL WOMAN" and no one will notice that she isn't even cute, let alone beautiful.

Another plot hole is the "Russian mafia boss", Milo, who is in prison for committing a robbery. Sure, kingpins go on armed robberies every day because nothing hurts an organization when the kingpin is convicted of an armed robbery.

The idea of this series is interesting, but the writers and directors cannot figure out the details of who to cast and what items in the plot are believable.