Wolfs

7.5/10

In this new movie on Apple TV+, two separate fixers/cleaners (played by George Clooney and Brad Pitt) are forced to work together when separate parties hire each of them to take care of a body in a hotel room. Soon, the situation becomes a lot more complicated and the duo are going to have a long night.

What makes this work is the dynamic between Clooney and Pit. The two actors, who I hear are friends, have the same chemistry they did in the Ocean's Eleven movies. Clooney is the proud, grumpy one and Pitt is the cocky one. Most of the movie is watching the two characters argue and begrudgingly work together. The fixer occupation and seeing the two professionals react to whatever is thrown their way is engaging.

One down side is that when it's all said and done the crime plot doesn't exactly tract and is kinda confusing. Also, the film is kinda inconsistent. At points, it feels like the crime world is being treated seriously but other parts feel more like the writers are playing fast and loose.

Recommended. I have my criticisms, but the two leads make this work.

Elsbeth- Season 1

7/10

In this spin-off of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, quirky lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni (played by Claws/True Blood's Carrie Preston) is assigned by the DOJ to monitor the NYPD after some of its practices fell under scrutiny. She immediately proves to be really good at solving murders.

This is a Columbo-style howcatchem like the recent Poker Face. You know from the beginning who committed the murder, and the whole story is about how Elsbeth will prove they did it as well focusing on the character of the perpetrator and Elsbeth's cat-and-mouse interactions with them. 

Poker Face is a good show, but it is also definitely trying to be a bit more offbeat than your traditional howcatchem. If you wanted something more along the lines of a traditional Columbo show, this may be up your alley. The show is straight-forward in looking at a new criminal and situation. Admittedly, some people may be disappointed that Elsbeth is not more ambitious. (Not to say that the show doesn't have any clever ideas. There are two episodes in particular that are a bit different.)  Also, like Columbo, you're constantly having the suspects talk to the investigator in situations where they don't have to, and you always wonder why none of them get violent or try to take the investigator out.

Since every story is an hour long with commercials, you don't get to know the perpetrators as much as you would in a longer format like Columbo. The storytelling feels a little more simplistic than GW and GF, since the episode are more self-contained and there isn't much room for ongoing drama. There is an on-going storyline in this, but it isn't particularly good or bad.

The best part of this is the casting. Preston's Elsbeth is why you watch the show. She is such a friendly and quirky person, and it's interesting to see how she can just generally get along with a suspect and get them to talk and when they don't mean to. In the pilot episode, she admittedly comes on too strong, but she's immediately toned down to acceptable levels by episode two, so I recommend you make no judgments till then.

You get a fine selection of guest murderers, often played by known or semi-known actors, including several actors known for comedy giving real departures from what they usually do. (Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson's performance in particular is a real 180 from playing Mitchell Pritchett.) 

Supporting cast ain't half bad either. Carra Patterson is Officer Kaya Blanke, the cop assigned to Elsbeth. Admittedly, she's mostly there to react to Elsbeth and doesn't have a lot of agency herself, but Patterson has a great chemistry with Preston. The always reliable Wendell Pierce (from The Wire) does a fine job as Captain Wagner, an entertainingly no-nonsense fellow and the only person who's really able to curtail Elsbeth's excess energy.

An interesting aspect about this show is that the various cases have a rotating crew of detectives (like the assistants on Bones). It's a little frustrating at the beginning of the season having every single one of them be initially dismissive of Elsbeth but that problem disappears by the second half. Got a few good performances in the bunch, especially one by Micaela Desmond.

Recommended. I'm not saying this is the best written howcatchem or that it's perfect for everyone, but Elsbeth is a delight, and I think a lot of people who like light crime shows will like this.

Fargo- Season 5

9.5/10

In season 5 of the FX anthology series, housewife Dot Lyon (Ted Lasso's Juno Temple) finds her life and family under threat when a shadow from the past pursues her.

The last couple seasons haven't been as strong as the first two, so I'm proud to say that 5 is a real return to form. It both feels like the classic Fargo formula while also reinventing itself. (I especially appreciate that this has more of the main character's family life, which I felt really helped make seasons 1 and 2 work and juxtaposes well against the crueler aspects of the world of Fargo.) What ensues is a pretty well written look at the American political divide and the nature of debt coupled by an interesting story and characters. Creator Noah Hawley's gift for excellently crafted dialogue and monologues is at full speed here. The last three episodes may have been the most engrossing cap off to a season of Fargo there's been, and the very last scene of the entire show may be one of the best moments on television I've ever seen.

Going in though, understand that this is also the darkest season of Fargo (and that's saying something.) Sure, the show's always been about violent crime, but this one focuses on a pretty sensitive subject that may not be for everyone and DOES NOT shy away from the matter.

Visually, the show is also still top knotch with some film-quality shots. Plus, there's some of the best use of music the show's ever done.

I'm glad Temple's work on Ted Lasso really helped jump start her career in America. (Unlike the rest of the British cast on that show she'd already been working regularly in the US, but a lot of her films were flops or limited release.) She brings such a humanity and determination to her character (all with a pretty fun midwestern accent.) Rest of the cast is also great. Jennifer Jason Leigh excels as Dot's sarcastic, cold-blooded billionaire mother-in-law Lorraine Lyon, who inexplicably has an outdated transatlantic accent.

Mad Men's Jon Hamm is antagonist Roy Tillman, a constitutional sherriff and rancher from a line of sheriffs who rules his county like a fiefdom. He's different from previous Fargo villains. Most of them are the love to hate types. Tillman, however, is designed simply to be hated. Hamm is really pulling off the loathsome. (Most villains are honest with themselves in their criminality whereas Tillman clearly feels he's the hero of his story.) You don't watch because of fascination of the character, you want to see if he'll get his just deserts or not. But don't worry, the show still has its interesting villain. Ole Munch (Sam Spruell, who was the main baddie in Jodie Whittaker's last season of Doctor Who) is this season's contract criminal. The tall, kilt-wearing Danish man is a fascinatingly eccentric fellow who doesn't have a personal stake in the matters at hand and brings his own personal philosophy into the events.

Unfortunately, there are so many characters that some of them don't get enough screentime. Kids in the Hall/Newsradio's Dave Foley gets to be Lorraine's one-eyed lawyer/fix-it man Danish Graves who's got a flair about him. New Girl's Lamorne Morris gives the best performance I've ever seen him do as a kind-hearted cop caught in Dot's story. Both of them you truly wish you got more of. 

Highly recommended. This is peak golden age television.

Lift

6.5/10

In Lift, master thief Cyrus (played by Kevin Hart) and his crew are recruited by Interpol agent Abby (Belle/Loki's Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who was previously after them, in order to steal a large shipment of gold being transported via plane to terrorists.

This is a fairly basic heist film in terms of characters, dialogue, and set up, but it is still a light, breezy experience that managed to keep my attention. I particularly liked that this was trying to be an escapist film without civilian casualties, but the filmmakers also managed to make the villains fairly nasty/reprehensible enough within the PG-13 boundaries.

The most unique aspect of this is the flight-based heist. I won't spoil anything, but I hadn't a heist done this way before (haven't seen money plane, but I'm pretty sure they're going a different route than Money Plane). This is a popcorn film, and they make the exterior and interiors of planes in this (one of which is first class) pretty appealing with sleek and colorful modern design.

It's kinda apparent that Hart is doing this to prove that he can also be a dramatic/action star. Known for his particular comedic style, he plays it completely straight here without jokes, and he does a decent job. Wouldn't say he's become the most charismatic action star, but he sells the character. Vincent D'Onofrio plays the flamboyant member of the gang and as the actor has proven in The Magnificent Seven and Dumb Money he relishes whenever he can go over-the-top. Attention should also be given to Torchwood/Pacific Rim's Burn Gorman (who is unappreciated in my opinion) as the villain's right hand who brings a little bit of personality to the role.

Kinda recommended. Not the greatest heist movie ever but makes for a passable time waster.

The Continental: From the world of John Wick

8.5/10

In three movie-length episodes, this Peacock television spin-off/prequel of the John Wick movies (couldn't tell if it is supposed to be a season 1 or just a mini-series) is about how Winston Scott (played here by Colin Woodell) became the manager of The Continental, the hotel for assassins and other criminals, as a young man back in the 1970's. The movie starts with businessman Winston being forced by crime boss and current Continental manager McCormac O'Connor (Mel Gibson) to find his brother Frankie (Animal Kingdom's Ben Robson) who has stolen a valuable item.

What works about this is that the show doesn't feel like a cookie cutter plot of the traditional JW formula. Don't get it wrong, there is plenty of action (more about that later), but there's a lot more focus on characters and plot. This is doing a strong job of being a 70's crime story and the battles/cooperation between various characters make things interesting.

The action isn't the pure gun-fu from JW, but the show is action-packed. Some may be disappointed that the second episode doesn't have that much fighting, but they're saving it all for the finale. Rarely have I seen the final episode of a season so rewarding. Almost the entirety of it is a pure violence and choreography lover's dream.

The protagonists are decent. I wouldn't say they're all stand-outs, but they all work well. A particularly strong performance is Ayomede Adugin as the young version of Winston's right hand Charon (Ayomide Adegun), who's currently Cormac's right hand at this point. The actor perfectly captures Lance Reddick's charm and professionalism. At first, Cormac doesn't seem that interesting as he feels like a basic mobster. However as  his situation becomes more and more desperate (he's got superiors who don't want failure) the character becomes more and more intriguingly disturbed. 

The villains who really stand out here are the silent assassin twins Hansel (actor and stuntman Mark Musachi) and Gretel (Marina Mazepi, who's specialized in playing monsters in the past). Yeah, the whole silent twins thing has been done before but what make this different is that these two psychos aren't identical in their mannerisms or fighting styles. They make for ideal real threats and are fascinatingly weird. They might actually be my favorite antagonists in the whole JohWicki-iverse.

If you're a fan of the films, you might be disappointed with how the rules of the world are handled. The characters in the movies take the rules of the criminal underground very seriously with major repercussions if you cross them. However, there is a lot of rule breaking or bending in this show and not as much enforcement. In fairness, since this takes place in the past the answer could simply be that the organization played more fast and loose back then. Maybe the rules became more strictly enforced as time went on. If that is true, they didn't make it clear, though.

If you liked that the JW films had plenty of stylish deaths but no civilian deaths, so you don't feel guilty or bummed out, The Continental doesn't follow this format. In the 70's it's dangerous to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Recommended, this was a surprisingly entertaining crime show.

Poker Face- Season 1

9/10

In Poker Face on Peacock, Charlie Cale (played by Natasha Lyonne), who has the ability to tell when someone is lying, travels across the United States and keeps running into murderers, whom she tries to bring to justice.

This is a clear attempt by creator Rian Johnson (the Knives out movies and Last Jedi director) to revive the Columbo howcatchem formula. (Heck, Charlie's personality and delivery is clearly modeled off a little from the show's lead.) For those who never watched or were too young for Columbo, the stories weren't mysteries. You always knew who did it. Rather the episodes were about how Columbo was going to catch the killer (and also as character pieces about the murders). Poker Face also revives pre-2000's episodic storytelling. The stories are mostly self-contained. Charlie doesn't have a back-up crew like most crime-solving shows these days, and there are barely any reoccurring characters.

And yeah... This attempt to revive old school television hits it out of the park. The episodes are interesting and diverse (due to Charlie traveling around, one location and story is never quite like the others). Though these aren't mysteries, the show is very good at twists and turns (far more creative than the original Columbo). The writers really wring out the suspense as you try to guess who'll get killed, who'll do the killing, and sometimes the motives.

Charlie is the lynchpin that keeps everything together. She's just a cool gal and personable and is the kind of person without big dreams but just lives in the moment. Natasha Lyonne's star has been rising these past few years, but this is the show that will make her a household name. She's one of those actors with a unique appearance and style and is the perfect type of person to gamble on for a show that is reliant on only one main character.

This has a TON of known or veteran actors. Really, it's a performance showcase much like the classic Columbo. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some nominations come next Emmys.

The cinematography is pretty good for television. It's clearly trying to evoke the look of the 70's and works without feeling straight-up gimmicky.

The show does have a couple points of criticism. Whereas Columbo had movie-length episodes (like today's Sherlock), these are all an hour long, so each episode has introduce the characters and the plot in a short amount of time and the strain can be evident at points. There's also a recurring plot device in this that's innovative the first couple times but soon becomes tired.

Highly recommended. If you liked the Knives Out movies' spin on classic crime stories, you'll probably like this.

Fargo- Season 4

9/10

Whereas season 3 was the most recently set story in the series, this season is set the farthest back in 1950s Kansas City, Missouri. In it, we follow the simmering conflict between Italian and African American crime organizations, which soon draws in a mixed-race family who own a funeral home,  two outlaws, and an odd nurse. Last season had been a letdown, so I was so pleased to see the show return to form for this great season.

What we get is an interesting look inside what it is to pursue the American Dream or the illusion of the American dream and the tragic inability of groups, be they ethnic, racial, or religious, to identify with each other even if they're under the same boot. Given that this is Fargo, this is naturally told with the show's trademark combination of moments of unforgettable dialogue, characters, dark humor, and violence. Though, bare in mind that the show has the same tendency it always had of having some killings feel arbitrary. I found that creator Noah Hawley was able to find the right balance between depicting the racism of the time and being a piece of entertainment. 

This season has the same strength I thought season 2 had: a large cast, which kept things busy and managed to prevent the show from feeling drawn out. That having been said, there are parts where the flow could have been smoother. (The brunt of focus is on the mobsters.) This season's primary protagonist Ethelrida Smutney (played by Emyri Crutchfield) felt like and her family needed more screentime. The nurse Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley) felt like her story was spread too thin (usually in small bits). What makes this worse is that you could predict several points where her story went an episode or two ahead.

Again, the show looks great, maintaining a film-like auteur-heavy quality. I won't spoil it, but the episode East/West in particular takes an interesting visual choice. The music remains superb. 

The cast, including the likes of Chris Rock, Ben Whishaw, Timothy Olyphant, and Jason Schwatzman, is strong across the board. There are so many fine characters and performances, I don't have time to mention them all.

I highly recommend this. This is just some engrossing stuff. (P.S. When you get to the last episode, make sure you don't immediately turn it off when the credits start.)