I had intended to do more reviews and such – movies, tv, books, stuff and internet things – but it turns out I am not the critic I thought I was. I always thought being a movie critic would be a dream job, but it turns out it’s hard and I am not good at it. Huh. Writing anything better than a kind of short opinion or assessment is challenging and I have a new admiration for people who are good at it. So I am reduced to being in the same league as the IMDB user reviews which I have always viewed with such scorn. Okay not quite. There are certainly some thoughtful and well-spoken folk on that and similar platforms, but they are far outnumbered by wildly inane knuckleheads who wouldn’t know the difference between a good movie and a bad if you force fed them Roger Ebert with their popcorn. There are few better places to see the Dunning-Kruger effect on display than user reviews. I am very opinionated when it comes to movies and TV – I hear you saying “no, really” with dripping sarcasm, just you hush – but at least I know that I am a pure amateur armed only with having seen a lot of both and a little bit of self-taught critical theory. I have actually come across so-called reviews that seemed a little iffy only to read at the end that they hadn’t actually seen the movie yet. No shit. This is all a preface for trying to make up for not having maintained that portion of this website – not that you probably noticed. The discovery that reviews dedicated to a single entry in any of the above categories wasn’t in my wheelhouse, I am gonna take a crack at short form reviews in a long form essay by looking at multiple selections all at once. In this case the TV that my wife and viewing partner have been tuning into of late. In no particular order with an attempt at a very short lede.
“Landman” – Uneven. Which also fits pretty well for its creator, Taylor Sheridan. As far as I can tell he is doing his best to take over the industry, if not by quality at least by sheer volume. He has sixteen producer credits already and eight upcoming and seems to be everywhere. As a result he has run the gamut from sublime – he wrote both “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water” – to atrocious – the last season of “Yellowstone”. “Landman” is a microcosm of this. There were episodes, or even pieces of episodes that were so good you couldn’t get your breath and others that made you want to hurl the remote through the screen. Billy Bob got to be his cantankerous best but also occasionally stretched into some really nice work. I will sit through a lot of garbage for Sam Elliot and he didn’t disappoint. The problem lay in part that there were all these characters and storylines that just didn’t go anywhere and meant nothing to me. And that is a heavy lift for even gifted actors. All in all, we enjoyed it more than we didn’t, but I find it unlikely that we will tune into the next season.
“The Lowdown” – Entertaining chaos. Ethan Hawke also seems to be everywhere these days. I’d prefer more from him than Sheridan. This show is unpredictable in a really fun way and has some genuinely interesting characters, both in Hawke’s central figure and a motley collection of people his ability to create chaos runs into. It helps that the cast is superb, from relative newcomers to keep an eye on as well as old standbys that you can count on. Keith David has his usual gravity and surprising comedic chops, Kyle MacLachlan is reliably slimy and Tim Blake Nelson is at his weird best. I love that guy. And don’t sleep on a great small bit by Killer Mike, who I like more every time I see him. But it is definitely Hawke’s show and he carries it well. I have to do a little crow eating here as I used to run him down quite a bit. I thought he squeaked by with some good writing in good movies and was highly overrated. I hated “Gattaca”, wish he had never gone anywhere near “Hamlet” and thought he damn near ruined what ended up being a great movie despite him in “Training Day”. I don’t necessarily take any of that back but now acknowledge that he is a straight up beast. Massive range, able to take over or blend in and choosing lots of different parts. If you haven’t seen his latest Oscar nom performance in “Blue Moon” you need to. Wow. He has even risen to great work in terrible movies a la the “Magnificent Seven” remake. He would have been the best thing in that movie if it hadn’t been for Vincent D’Onofrio. “The Lowdown” is worth the watch.
“Fallout” – More obtuse than necessary. Disclaimer here, I have never played video games – I just am not wired for them – so have no stake in whether or not this was faithful and frankly don’t want to go anywhere near that can of gate-keeping fanboy worms. But I do know good sci-fi when I see it and love a good Western and this is definitely both. I will go out of my way for Walton Goggins – fell in love with him watching “Justified” and never looked back – and he does not disappoint, even without a nose. My gripe with this show is that I think it bit off a little more than it could chew. My understanding of role-playing video games is that you can basically pursue one story at a time as you work through the game, which obviously facilitates keeping things straight. The show’s problem arose in trying to jump around with too many threads and characters. I realize there was a throughline, but damn did it turn out to be a long walk. Sci-fi is notorious for requiring a certain amount of faith, being able to keep going even when you really have no idea what is going on or how things work. It is one of the things I love about the genre and I am more than willing to slog along. I just don’t think they quite pulled off keeping all the balls in the air and it became too much work at times. Maybe it made more sense to fans of the game? Great looking though, and I am always up for something original, which even as it leaned on some old ideas this certainly was. If this is what is coming out of video games these days maybe I need to try again.
“Bosch” – Almost really good. I can’t decide if I like this show more than I should because of my love for the books on which it is based. I have read all of the great Michael Connelly’s Bosch books and enjoyed them immensely so might be seeing my love of those books – and Harry Bosch – in the show. I also definitely take a lot of joy in driving around LA so that may also contribute. But I do genuinely like the show. It manages to get away from some of the more timeworn cop show tropes, which is a feat unto itself, and Titus Welliver definitely brings Harry to life in a way that has to please devoted readers like me. It falls a little short in the casting department occasionally, and the writing is sometimes uneven but is engaging as hell and easy to become invested in. It is also a chance to get more of the late Lance Reddick, which since there will be no more I cherish. It is worth noting that my wife likes it quite a bit and has not read the books, so maybe I’m more objective than I think.
“Alien: Earth” – Fuck, yeah! If love of source material can sway your feelings towards current media I need to be very careful with this one. I loved “Alien”. A lot. I maintain it is one of Ridley Scott’s greatest films – which is saying something considering “Blade Runner”, “Gladiator”, “American Gangster”, “The Martian” etc, etc – and am happy to discuss that idea, but what is not subject to debate is that it is a phenomenal piece of sci-fi. And so is “Alien: Earth”. Scott has an exec producer credit, but apparently wasn’t hugely involved. But what is patently obvious is that creator/writer/director Noah Hawley must love the original “Alien” at least as much as I do, which goes a long way to getting me on board. Like most fans, I have struggled with various pieces of the franchise (flat out didn’t like “Resurrection”, was one of the nine people who really liked “3”, go back on forth on both “Prometheus” and “Covenant” – no ambivalence on Fassbender though, he is simply great – and need to see “Romulus” again) so wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit for a TV spin-off. So glad I got over that impulse! For me it certainly benefits from being right before the original in the timeline and fits into the universe more readily, so both looks and feels like Ridley and Dan O’Bannon’s original vision. There are some issues. A few of the theories are a little shaky, there is some egregious scenery chewing at times and the pacing can get a little uneven. Those shortcomings feel massively outweighed by fabulous production design, some genuine originality (my most coveted attribute) and more than a couple outstanding performances: Sydney Chandler should be on your to-watch list, always enjoy Tim Olyphant and Babou Ceesay absolutely kills it. Unless you are an “Alien” nut you will probably not like it as much as I did, but if you are up for a love letter to a great movie that is also quite good on its own, you shouldn’t miss it. Unlike “Landman” I will be waiting for the next season, with bated breath.
“Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” – Wonderful. It seems a strange word for a show that includes some genuinely visceral violence and some heavy pathos, but there it is. I am a big “GoT” guy – I have watched through three times (one was while isolated with COVID, stop judging) – but wasn’t mad for “House of the Dragon” so didn’t jump for a new entry in the franchise. I didn’t dislike “Dragon”, even enjoyed parts of it, but it just felt a little forced and basically unnecessary, the prequel we didn’t ask for. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to it for a while, if ever, if not for the encouragement of my son. My favorite critic, the list of things I might have missed, or have wasted time on if not for his keen eye is getting long. Thanks, Nicolas! If you can imagine a world in which GoT manages to keep its monster production values, weighty themes and compelling characters, but without taking itself too seriously, then you can embrace this lovely show. I couldn’t make that leap so had the great pleasure of being surprised by a franchise I thought was well past surprises. Compelling, entertaining, great to look at and with characters you can really engage with, it is just so good. You can both be challenged and enjoy the hell out of it, a rare accomplishment in an industry determined to adhere to every genre stereotype while producing banal broadsides with little heart or character. This show has plenty of both and even comes in nice bite-sized servings. See it.
I have often debated whether we are a new Golden Age of TV or trapped in a morass of mediocrity noted more for its volume than quality. Maybe the list above reflects this, but it might also be a case of wheat and chaff – with lots of wheat! – that we have to suffer through. The only thing I am sure of is that it is crazy hard to know what to watch. If you choose poorly you might waste some of the limited time available and not have room for something brilliant. We all need some filters and the most useful of those are critics whose opinions we trust. I am lucky to have Nicolas so maybe I can pay it forward a bit and help you out. And don’t forget that critics work in reverse too. If you hate everything I recommend it still works as a filter. Just don’t come crying to me. Thanks for reading.