The Cat and Mouse Game Returns in 'Killing Eve' Season 2

Yay! One of my favorite shows of last year is back for Season 2, starting April 7th, this time on BBC America and AMC apparently. It was the fastest growing week to week audience in BBC America’s history, and you can see why if you watch that first season. Now Globe and SAG winner Sandra Oh is back as Eve Polastri, with the criminally overlooked Jodie Comer (which seems not possible if you actually watched this show) as the deadly Villanelle. I can’t wait.

REVIEW: "The Punisher" Season 2

The second season of The Punisher is plagued by the same thing that infects every Netflix superhero show- not enough story to fill the mandated thirteen episodes. What makes this season even worse is all that filler being made up of long, repetitive, monotonous conversations about nonsense, taking place between all the characters that go nowhere and mean nothing.

Yes, I hated this season and it was a chore to sit through from the very beginning. Jon Bernthal returns as Frank Castle, the Punisher, now exiled from New York and hanging out somewhere in the midwest, but he soon returns to the violence, which comes as a relief from the boring conversations and monologues. After a long, slow, dull fling with a woman who never appears again in the season, Frank is placed in one of the oldest formulaic plots in assassin history- the friendship with the innocent teenage girl (remember The Professional? Yeah, it’s like that). Never mind that this friendship makes no sense and there is no chemistry at all between Bernthal and Giorgia Whigham. We’re stuck watching it anyway and sitting through their boring conversations.

Does this guy’s face look like it was smashed into a thousand pieces?

After spending three long, pointless episodes in the midwest, we’re back in New York where Frank meets up with his old pal Curtis (Jason R. Moore) for, you got it, some more boring conversations (there are episodes at a time where literally nothing else is happening). We also see the world’s worst government agent (another cliche) Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah), who wants revenge on Billy, aka Jigsaw (Ben Barnes), now up and about and angry about his horribly disfigured face. Oh, sorry. I said horribly disfigured because that’s how he’s treated onscreen but what I meant was mildly, barely, inexplicably scarred (not possible after the beating Frank gave him last season). Jigsaw engages in an affair with the world’s worst psychiatrist (Floriana Lima) in another 100% cliched subplot (every woman on this show is the world’s worst whatever their profession is), but most of their relationship is, you guessed it- long, boring conversations. And nonsensical monologues. 

There’s a bad guy following the teen girl, a Nazi preacher man played by Josh Stewart, and he has slightly less dull nonsense to spout and delivers more insanely bloody violence, which is I guess what people watch this show for to begin with, but by the end of the season every major character has been either beaten to a pulp, thrown through a window, driven off a bridge, shot or stabbed multiple times, and incredulously, no one dies or is even all that hurt. Did I mention none of these people are superpowered, but good old regular human beings? I mean, some of them are former soldiers, but, come on. The last three episodes finally up the action and cut back on the monologuing, but the sheer absurdity of the violence combined with the lack of impact any of it has on anyone makes for a ridiculous and meaningless ending. When someone is shot three times in the chest at point blank range for a “final” death I fully expected him to get up and walk out of the room unfazed.

Netflix hasn’t said anything (yet) about whether this is The Punisher’s final season, but all I know is that it was definitely mine. Showrunner Steven Lightfoot can get back to me when he comes up with an original thought. I won’t get my hopes up.

Grade: F

Don’t know if The Punisher will be back, but I won’t be

REVIEW: "Outlander" Season 4

For a long time now, Outlander book readers have known we were going to hit the “Brianna problem” once we got to the fourth season, since each season of the Starz hit encompasses all of one Diana Gabaldon’s lengthy tomes. Drums of Autumn is one of the lesser favorites in the series, and since the show is extremely faithful in adapting these books, we all knew the Brianna stuff was coming. And it did, and it got it about right overall, but the big problem the show will continue to have for the remainder of its run was the absolutely fatal mistake in the casting of Sophie Skelton as the problematic character in question.

Brianna, the daughter of Jamie and Claire, has never been a fan favorite character to begin with. But for a show that has excelled in its casting decisions for the most part (David Berry hit it out of the park as John Grey, Richard Rankin is very compelling as Bree’s love interest from her own time, Roger, and even John Bell has turned another bland character from the books, Ian, into a lovable lad on the show), casting Sophie Skelton was among the most baffling choices the show has ever made. When you have a character who was never beloved in the first place due to iffy writing in the books, it’s crucial to have an actress who can make you at least interested in her, if not fall in love with her outright. But Skelton has struggled from the very beginning with the accent (Bree is American and Skelton is English), her delivery of every line is wooden and unconvincing and her ability to hold the camera nonexistent. It was such a huge mistake for a role that would have to eventually become so important (at least in this season) that it becomes even more essential for whoever her scene partner is to do all the heavy lifting, even though the story is centered on her. 

Edward Speleers makes Bonnet a more enjoyable villain to watch onscreen than he was to read about

The fourth season saw Jamie and Claire permanently settled in the American colonies around 1770, choosing to build a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina and take up residence on land granted to Jamie by the royal governor. Joined by several new supporting characters like Maria Doyle Kennedy as Jamie’s slaveowning aunt Jocasta, and the return of Duncan Lacroix as Murtagh (one of the few significant changes from books, as fans fell in love with the character on the series in a way that never happened in the books, where he was killed off early on), the atmosphere of the new setting is exciting, as are the consistent run-ins with Native Americans. But there are some clunky changes going on in this transitional season too. For some reason the production wasn’t allowed to actually film in North Carolina or New York, so having Scotland double for the American colonies is not believable (the weather consistently looks 50 degrees below zero and the trees and backgrounds are wrong), and the CGI needs for plantation settings and colonial towns is more obvious than it’s ever been. This decreases what was always a reliable standby for the attractions of the show in previous seasons- the lush and authentic locations, making you feel sincerely removed from modern times.

There are some good episodes early on though, with the new villain Stephen Bonnet well cast with Downton Abbey’s Edward Speleers, clearly having a great time as the lascivious Irish lech, more of a traditional love to hate bad guy than Tobias Menzies’ nightmare inducing Black Jack Randall. But the problem, as I referred to earlier, is one word: Brianna. About halfway through Drums of Autumn, she becomes the main character, as a contrived, soap opera-esque storyline involving a horrific rape, pregnancy, misunderstanding and mistaken identity all come together to separate her and Roger and force Jamie and Claire to take a backseat on their own show to help put their daughter’s life back in order. This was inevitable, since the show insists on never truly deviating from the book’s plot lines, but Skelton is incapable of handling the heavy material thrown her way and tasked with carrying entire episodes that she simply cannot pull off. Other actors drag her through her scenes, but leads Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan disappear for entire episodes as the world becomes All About Brianna. There are still compelling moments with the rest of the ensemble, and Rankin can at least carry an episode, but unfortunately, him and Brianna’s relationship and connection is crucial and he has no chemistry with Skelton whatsoever. Even one of Outlander’s famously lengthy sex scenes is awkward to sit through with two actors who are simply going through the motions.

I’m not an adherent of never changing anything when you’re adapting a novel to the screen. I think changes are often necessary to tell the best story possible in an entirely different medium. After becoming known for being so faithful, I can see why Outlander thinks fans have a certain expectation, but trust me when I say this- no one watching this series is here for the Brianna and Roger show. In order to keep the focus where it belongs, on Jamie and Claire, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with minimizing, or even cutting large swaths out of the Bree/Roger stuff in future seasons. Because I still love everything else for the most part- but we all fell for the show for a reason, and keeping Jame and Claire at the center of the story is more important than staying true to every beat of Gabaldon’s books.

Grade: B-

Is Caitriona Balfe still the star of this show? You wouldn’t know it by the end of the season

First Teaser for 'Barry' Season 2

Yay! The second season of the Emmy winning Barry, which was one of my favorite shows of last year, is coming out sometime this spring on HBO. My guess is it will come out in May, since I think it’s still filming, but April is possible. Maybe they’ll want to pair it with Game of Thrones. Be on the lookout, people!

'Mrs. Maisel,' 'This is Us' Win Top SAG TV Awards

As expected, Mrs. Maisel swept the TV comedy categories while This is Us prevailed once again in drama. I went 4 for 8 in my predictions, but at least my alternates won on the four I missed (I feel stupid not going for Tony Shalhoub- I forgot how many times that guy won awards for Monk). It wasn’t a very interesting set of winners or speeches, to be honest (I did enjoy Patricia Arquette giving a shoutout to Robert Mueller). So much for the expectation that Amy Adams was going to sweep all the TV awards for Sharp Objects, plus she whiffed out on the movie side to boot. One of these days, Amy. It’ll happen.

• ENSEMBLE CAST IN A COMEDY: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• ENSEMBLE CAST IN A DRAMA: This is Us

• FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

• MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA: Jason Bateman, Ozark

• FEMALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE: Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora

• MALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE: Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace

Jason Bateman wins his first SAG

SAG TV Predictions

SAG TV predictions are not my strong suit. I normally don’t even agree with most of their nominations. The only trend seems to be that they like veteran actors, as opposed to the Globes, who tend to go for the newbies. But I’ll give it a shot anyway.

ENSEMBLE CAST IN A DRAMA

The Americans always had a good ensemble, despite only its leads ever being recognized- not the case at SAG

• The Americans

• Better Call Saul

• The Handmaid’s Tale

• Ozark

• This is Us

It seems like people have been trying to catch up and pay their last respects to The Americans, and since none of their actors are nominated individually (a crime, frankly), I’m going to say that’s what will win in this category. It’s their last chance to get anything from SAG, so they should go for it, right?

Winner: The Americans

Alternate: This is Us

Dark Horse: The Handmaid’s Tale

MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Most SAG acting winner repeat for a while

• Jason Bateman, Ozark

• Sterling K. Brown, This is Us

• Joseph Fiennes, The Handmaid’s Tale

• John Krasinski, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan

• Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Sterling K. Brown won this last year, but this category sees a lot of frequent repeaters. He could easily get it again and is probably the favorite. I wouldn’t count out Bob Odenkirk though, or even Jason Bateman, since the latter’s a veteran actor now, and Odenkirk’s show has been on the air for a while.

Winner: Sterling K. Brown

Alternate: Jason Bateman

Dark Horse: Bob Odenkirk

FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Moss surprisingly hasn’t won the SAG yet, so I think this will be her

• Julia Garner, Ozark

• Laura Linney, Ozark

• Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale

• Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

• Robin Wright, House of Cards

I could see any of these actresses winning except probably Julia Garner. Elisabeth Moss actually hasn’t won this yet, so perhaps it’s her turn. But Sandra Oh is on a roll lately, after winning the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards. And then Robin Wright, a longtime veteran actress who had to step in and take over her show after the Kevin Spacey scandal. Laura Linney is Laura Linney, and they seem to like Ozark a lot. Hmmm. This is a tough one.

Winner: Elisabeth Moss (I think she’ll pull it out since she hasn’t won yet)

Alternate: Robin Wright

Dark Horse: Sandra Oh

ENSEMBLE CAST IN A COMEDY

Not smart to go against this show for any top award

• Atlanta

• Barry

• GLOW

• The Kominsky Method

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

I would love for this to be GLOW, since it has such a great ensemble, but I’m not sure it’s wise to go with anything other than Mrs. Maisel, which seems to be cleaning up at all the awards shows for comedy. Oddly, this particular award has a really hard time changing hands, usually. Modern Family won it at least five years in a row, then Orange is the New Black three in a row, then Veep, who seemed to be next in line. Veep wasn’t on the air this year, otherwise I’m sure it would win again. And for once the nominated shows are all in their first or second seasons. So i guess I’ll just go with Maisel.

Winner: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Alternate: GLOW

Dark Horse: Atlanta

MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY

This is a total guess- could honestly be any nominee here

• Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method

• Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

• Bill Hader, Barry

• Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• Henry Winkler, Barry

Yet another category usually dominated by veterans who win for years in a row, now filled with first-time contenders. But of course, aside from Bill Hader, all these guys are big name, longtime actors either in film or television, so it’s hard to determine who gets the veteran card. God, it could be any of them. I think I’m just gonna go with Henry Winkler on a guess.

Winner: Henry Winkler

Alternate: Tony Shalhoub 

Dark Horse: Alan Arkin

FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Brosnahan’s the safe bet for every award

• Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• Alison Brie, GLOW

• Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie

• Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Without Julia-Louis Dreyfus in the category, this one should be Brosnahan’s, who’s taken it in every comedy race so far. I’d be surprised if it was anyone else.

Winner: Rachel Brosnahan

Alternate: Jane Fonda

Dark Horse: Lily Tomlin

MALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE

Darren Criss has won much recognition for this role

• Antonio Banderas, Genius: Picasso

• Darren Criss, Gianni Versace

• Hugh Grant, A Very English Scandal

• Anthony Hopkins, King Lear

• Bill Pullman, The Sinner

He’s not a veteran, but I’m done predicting anyone other than Darren Criss for this category. He’s pretty much run the table. 

Winner: Darren Criss

Alternate: Hugh Grant

Dark Horse: Anthony Hopkins

FEMALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE

Arquette’s had a strong awards run with this part

• Amy Adams, Sharp Objects

• Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora

• Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects

• Penelope Cruz, Gianni Versace

• Emma Stone, Maniac

I really thought Amy Adams would clean up on the awards circuit for Sharp Objects, but Patricia Arquette seems to be giving her a run for her money. Also, Amy’s probably going to win on the movie side, so maybe two is too much for one night.

Winner: Patricia Arquette

Alternate: Amy Adams

Dark Horse: Patricia Clarkson

The Apocalypse is Coming in New 'Umbrella Academy' Trailer

Everything I see for this show makes it look pretty cool- I like the humor, the style, the tone. The talking ape even looks good here, from that brief glimpse we see of him. It comes out in three weeks- February 15th.

REVIEW: "Brexit"

In 2016, the Brits had their own electoral disaster before we did, remember? It happened just months before the catastrophe that struck the U.S. and it was called Brexit. The UK is still reeling from the impact and as of this moment, headed toward a potential calamity as the exit from the EU date rapidly approaches with no deal in place. But it all started when former Prime Minister David Cameron decided to hold a referendum on Britain exiting the European Union nearly three years ago, after just barely winning the other ill-advised referendum that would have seen Scotland leaving the U.K.

Perhaps loaded with hubris after that victory, or for whatever other reason, Cameron called the referendum vote and this new Channel 4/HBO movie is about the campaign that followed. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Dominic Cummings, the former strategist on the outs with the Tories, who’s hired by a lobbyist to head the “Leave” campaign, and who employed new data firms that were eager to test their technology to locate and target potential new voters through social media. A lot of this was backed by the shady American billionaire Robert Mercer (Trump’s biggest donor) and the even shadier consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which was retroactively discovered to have infiltrated the Leave campaign and conspired to break Britain’s electoral laws in the lead-up to the vote. The movie, written by James Graham and directed by Toby Haynes, is a fast-paced, entertaining look at the behind the scenes of how Cummings worked the new means of voter targeting and spearheaded the new politics comprised of stirring up anger, racism and fear in the people, a strategy that worked alarmingly well in turning voters out. 

Politicians irresponsibly fan the flames of hatred

You can hear echoes in the familiar arguments being had with our cousins across the pond in focus group sessions that turn nasty as voters scream at each other and white people freak out at being called racist, even though the biggest driver of this “economic anxiety” (sound familiar?) is fear of immigrants crossing into the UK, particularly 70 million people from Turkey, a complete lie that complements other lies that are thrown on the sides of buses in ads that reach millions of voters. The arguments for and against staying in the EU aren’t breached in detail, but it’s clear that the Remain campaign was lying down on the job, completely taken off guard by the hostility stirred up in an electorate made up of a lot of angry and unsatisfied citizens (and others who didn’t bother to vote at all- another massive oversight on the part of the government to sound the alarm). As an American, I couldn’t get into the details of why the EU coalition is so important, but the movie makes it clear that the biggest driver of dissatisfaction is not so different from what drove the Trump voters over here, as a Labour Party MP was murdered in her own district by a racist with ties to a U.S. based Neo-Nazi group a week before the referendum. The movie also shows the indifference of spotlight hogging politicians like Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson who didn’t hesitate to act as agitators with no regard for the consequences, as both fled from responsibility in dealing with the aftermath.

There’s something about Cumberbatch that makes him excel at playing smug, superior geniuses who lord their abilities over everyone around them, so casting him as this guy who’s simply out to “shake things up” was the obvious and perfect choice. He carries the film effortlessly as we’re taken on the unpleasant ride that was the Brexit campaign, but as watchable as the film is, you can’t help but feel the sense of doom as no one knows even now know how this story plays out, something we’re told specifically in the ending title cards. Was it too soon to make a movie about this, given the unknowable conclusion? Perhaps. But for anyone who wants to know more about what exactly happened over there, this is a good start. I’m sure there will be more to come.

Grade: B+

Rory Kinnear plays the incompetent strategist for the government who’s caught off guard by the discontent

REVIEW: "Sex Education" Season 1

As a longtime fan of John Hughes teen movies, a show that’s nearly set up entirely to be a sort of homage to those films would seem to be right up my alley. And for the most part, Sex Education, a funny, candid, teen comedy about sex (very un-sexy sex, in the spirit of most teenage encounters), is pretty much that, but at other times it threatens to bury itself under the strain of too many cliches and familiar tropes of the genre. There’s a point where it becomes less homage and just plain unoriginal.

Which is too bad, because the majority of it does feel fresh and original, as do most of the characters. It’s the home stretch where things go awry. Set in the fictional country town of Moordale in England, Asa Butterfield (quite appealing in this, in a young John Cusack kind of way) is Otis, a sexually repressed 16-year-old who can’t masturbate due to phobias brought about by his mother (a hilariously entertaining Gillian Anderson) being a sex therapist whose casual frankness about all things sex-related has made him, shall we say…uncomfortable. But also due to his upbringing, he’s openminded, progressive and highly knowledgable on the subject, which makes him the perfect candidate to start a sex clinic at school with his crush Maeve Wiley (Margot Robbie lookalike Emma Mackey), the cool girl with the bad reputation. 

Unlikely bathtub therapy

This is an implausible premise, I’ll grant you, but the show is an outright comedy, and the setup leads to all kinds of sex questions, lessons, and smutty storylines as the teens pile up to spill their guts to the befuddled yet sweet Otis, as he pines for Maeve and longs for normalcy. The back and forth with him and Maeve is the old, will-they-won’t-they, nice boy meets girl from wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance, with plenty of phony love interests thrown in along the way for obstacle’s sake (don’t be with Jackson, Maeve! He’s the wrong guy for you!). I can’t help it if I’m a bit over this by now. In fact, I don’t mind saying that love triangles have become a borderline evil plot point for me- if you don’t get your couple together in the first six episodes, there’s a real good chance I’m walking away.

So yes, there is no chance that you won’t see where that is going, but thankfully, there are other characters to amuse and delight, especially Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) as Otis’s gay best friend, a funny and adorable friendship that carries the show as much as anything, Adam (Connor Swindells), the school bully and headmaster’s son whose story turns out far more intriguing than any of the love triangle crap, and Lily, a desperate to have sex, writer of erotic alien fiction, nicely played by a deadpan Tanya Reynolds. Here’s another word of warning about this show- the cringe comedy is very cringe, with some of the most awkward, embarrassing moments I’ve had to sit through since the original BBC version of The Office. Hats off to the young ensemble for pulling it off, as well as to the producers for casting the most racially and sexually diverse high school I’ve ever seen on television (or film come to think of it). I’m not sure that this show will appeal to everyone, as the frank sex comedy combined with the earnest John Hughes tribute of it all (and I do mean that- it’s even scored with an entirely 80’s soundtrack despite being set in present day) makes for a different kind of tone, but by the end of the season, the way certain storylines wrap, every familiar beat of teen comedies and romantic comedies will play out exactly as you expect them to, which is a bit of a disappointment. But overall, there’s enough here to recommend and the actors are so appealing that a second season would be welcomed by me with gusto.

Grade: B+

Typical will they/won’t they romance on an atypical show

Kimmy and Titus Return for the Final Episodes of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

I didn’t write a review for Season 4 of Kimmy Schmidt because I wanted to wait for the final episodes to drop. They chose to split the season in half, with the first six coming out last spring and now finally, the last bunch are here on January 25th. Not sure exactly why they chose to do it this way, but for what it’s worth the first six episodes were pretty great, and I hope the final ones live up to that so the show can go out on a high note. To me it’s always been one of the funniest, probably most underrated comedies around.