Reviews

Not a fan a Cage to begin with but I thought "With such a simple premise and great professional reviews, I may be in for a surprise."

Had I known this would be an art film I wouldn't have watched it. The pacing is slow, the main character (Robin, called "Rob") is quite odd - and not in an endearing way, the plot is unimaginative, and there were very few lines of interest, and some scenes were simply unbelievable.

The initially annoying supporting actor (Amir, portrayed by Alex Wolff) may have been the best part of this movie.

Overall, just too artsy: Rob turns out to be the greatest, most respected chef in Portland now become a recluse in a hut. An exquisite meal with a top wine are featured in one of the important scenes.

It also just now occurred to me that I'm not fond of self pity, and it's writ large in this story ... must be an art thing ... you can keep it.

Unless you're trying to impress some "smart" chick, you may want to avoid this.

There is no surprise.

Disclaimer: I only watched the first 2-1/2 episodes (including the last one).

This may seem like an unfair basis and no doubt there were "important" things I missed.

There were few well lit scenes, I HATE that. Mostly predictable, and this may seem petty but a heroic journalist??? I thought we knew better. Sure you might argue that at least it's non-cliché - but they could have spent their non-cliché card on something much better.

Too dark, too much whisper mode, and too much touchy-feely to evoke maudlin emotions means I won't return to this.

Of course no one will read this. People only ever read the the top and bottom reviews but I'm sticking with 2 stars because that's what it deserves.

Some clever lines between scenes of gratuitous violence along with ever shifting loyalties makes this occasionally engaging but in all honesty, I had to ff through much of it.

But ultimately even some clever tricks like the animation associated with Noir in S3 failed to be amusing or thought provoking and rendering this entire effort little more than a cartoonish horror story with a decidedly Leftist political message.

I was hesitant to even watch S3 because I don't enjoy horror stories but I was bored so I did and while S4 is clearly set-up - now I don't expect to watch that.

Frankly I knew, at the very beginning, with the introduction of Hugie that this would be targeting the timid self-righteous slacker generations and it's only my love of SF that kept me somewhat interested.

There's so little of interest on Amazon Prime, the new stuff is just atrocious so I'm forced to watch programs I've enjoyed over and over again ... it could be worse ... there could be commercials.

First run through: Lot's of fun, enjoyed the mythology, the stories, the range of characters, and the character development.

2nd: Pretty good but I started getting annoyed with the Juliette (Elizabeth Tulloch) character. It seemed they had to turn her into the uber powerful Eve to compensate for the seasons of the Olive Oyl type she portrayed. It made it a bit difficult to watch but I slogged on through. The ending was a disappointment.

3rd: I managed to reconcile my issues with Juliette and found it richly rewarding, so many plot turns and surprises to enjoy. The ending was still weak.

4th: On the second episode, with Nick (David Giuntoli) talking to his Aunt Marie (Kate Burton) as she was warning him about the dangers to come and his ignorance as a Grimm it dawned on me: She raised him from the age of 12, why would she not have prepared him?

She could have told him "family fairy tales" and employed the books to familiarize himself with the range of Vesen as well as introducing him to the "Grimm" hero.

Since it's not known which offspring of Grimms become Grimms it could have just remained fantasy for him if he didn't become a Grimm but if he did he'd be fully aware of the situation rather than, as Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) noted in the 1st episode, "You're an idiot."

I give Guintoli high marks for portraying a overzealous cop but think the characterization is a bit over the top.

His partner Hank (Russell Hornsby) is passable as a sidekick, at least he doesn't undermine the overall flow.

Monroe is brilliant as he moves from man to beast seamlessly, I would have expected this showing would have made him more in demand in Hollywood.

Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) is also superb, he's commanding occasionally compassionate and he really delivers his lines convincingly.

Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee) ... what can I say, he gets some of the best lines and his character arc is fascinating.

See above for Juliette ... she's generally stiff and perhaps the weak link in the cast (she married Giuntoli in real life).

Rosalee (Bree Turner) is very endearing from the onset and woges into the cutest Vesen, a furry Fuchsbau which looks like a cross between a Red Panda and a fox.

Adalind is another great character but it's maybe just because I'm enthralled with Claire Coffee.

There are so many other great characters and concepts here, but this has already gone on long enough, don't you think? Hope you enjoyed it.

Bored and bedbound I decided to see what season three might hold. Early in the first episode it struck me as an homage to Wim Wender's "Paris, Texas" ... almost self consciously slow paced.

By the end of the second episode it started feeling like a David Lynch tale with strange edits and bizarre sequences.

As the excellent cast paraded in front of the cameras in episode 3 it occurred to me that this is and art house effort, like Film Noir, largely for the amusement of the artists and connoisseurs of dark, subtle, and sophisticated posturing.

Indeed the acting is top notch, enough so to take me through the third episode.

I then skipped to the last episode where many main characters were left for possibly to likely dead and left satisfied that, bored as I was, I didn't waste any more time than necessary on it.

This kept reminding me of the lighthouse based "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" of many decades past, a romance like "Spirited."

The episodes got increasingly teased out without advancing the plot much, by episode 8 I had an epiphany and that was it for me.

So Suzy Darling is seeing the ghost of rock star Henry Mallett who died in the penthouse of a hotel which is now, years later, Suzy's apartment.

It was frustrating to see how her friends and family reacted to her odd behavior due to her relationship with a friendly ghost they could neither see nor hear.

One simple trick solves this problem: Have the ghost and another person go into a different room where that person says, writes, or does something that Suzy is not witness to. Sure it'll seem like a trick but in short order it should be entirely convincing.

If you need something running in the background while you drift off to sleep this would be a good choice.

I enjoy watching craftsmen at their trade and thought this would be engaging. Early on, though, I detected that special Canadian form of PC that made Justin Trudeau their PM. Sticky and cloying like maple syrup, a very little bit goes a long way and the show managed to control it until the final episodes when it became fairly obvious that the show was going to be a political statement rather than a showcase of real talent.

Ultimately even the winner seemed surprised that she won, and this was not a humble woman.

Aside from that the formatting and editing was awkward making it occasionally hard to follow and there was very little discussion of the craft.

The concept here is great but the execution was terrible. Maybe it will improve.

A decent film with some awkward dialog telling a powerful tale of the price of honor. Stacy Keach is Jess Tyler, an isolated ranch hand type who is visited by his beautiful teen-age daughter, having not seen her in 10 years. Pia Zadora plays the sexy and seductive girl a bit amateurishly, but then some of her lines are simply laughable so it may not be her fault. If she'd had more confidence and experience she might well have told the director (Matt Cimber) "I'll say these lines but they'll make me vomit in my mouth." She's convincing as an incestuous lolita and slowly played against Keach's lonesome cowboy, the story does raise some heat.

The setting is appropriate, the sun-baked and barren lands of the desolate South-West. The characters fit this rustic setting never exceeding a rural kind of sophistication.

Yet aside from the questions of production, this film raises a important issue. Jess Tyler is recognized by virtually anyone he's had dealings with that he's the most honest and honorable man they know. This meme is repeated often enough to make it a central issue. Yet, when he discovers that he might be able to finally consummate his hands on and mutually adoring relationship with this lovely nymphette, his honor seems to disappear in the hot lava of his lust.

Indeed, it's easy to lay claim to honor when it's never tested against an ultimate desire.

So far I've watched seasons 1 & 2.

Every episode has about 10-15 interesting minutes, the rest of which is slacker hi-jinks and ridiculous plot elements. I get the feeling that the show is geared to appeal the stoner/nerd demographic. It's Keystone Cops for the Electronic Age. So, if you're interested in action/adventure with massive doses of buffoonery, you may actually enjoy this.

Fast forwarding through the frequent and lengthy Chuck-thinks-he's-a- girl parts (it's all about his feelings) has made the show almost watchable.

Adam Baldwin as John Casey is great, a real believable character as a somewhat cliché tough-guy-with-a-rarely-seen-heart. Yvonne Strahovsky as his NSA partner is nothing more than a loser nerd's cream dream. Zachari Levi as Chuck Bartowsky is either a big ham or poorly directed. The character ranges from seeming like a stoner burnout to a skilled analyst to a big girl yet every iteration of the character seems painted in bright garish colors.

Sarah Lancaster and Ryan McPartlin (as Chuck's sister and her guy) are the only other credible characters. Most of the rest of the regular characters are more like dinner theater light comedy. An exception is Tony Hale (Buster Bluth from Arrested Development) who manages to steal the side show until he too finally succumbs to the apparently popular impressionistic style of acting as if your audience is seriously stoned.

Or maybe the cast and writers were stoned??? In any event, rare nuggets of insight or humor but mainly an insult to my intelligence.

**Possible Spoiler** The show's simple formula is frequently repeated. Chuck insists on coming along with the real spies who insist he stays out of harm's way. Yet, Chuck always manages to ignore their sensible orders and manages to entangle himself in the action where he's often captured or causes his allies to be captured. Some deus-ex-machina element allows them to win the day, though the foes are also often saved, because, you know, you can't really hurt people, right?

This is the standard government-is-evil for killing enemies of the state that the loving and compassionate Bodhisattvas of the USA are teaching us about.

Sorry, I almost threw up in my mouth there (but that might have been the Scotch anyway).

After watching 20 minutes I developed a profound sadness in realizing that the "wise" of our times have a very limited perspective of our nature, time, and place. The persistent two dimensional assumptions fail in providing a meaningful insight into the human condition.

One significant disappointment is the observations about the pursuit of ever more wealth even though it doesn't bring more happiness. Two things: Many of these people thrive on the game itself, finding inner benefits other than happiness. Additionally, in the 60's we were made acutely aware of the idea of keeping up with the Joneses - it may not make me happy, but at least it's clear that you're no better than me.

But Shadyac is telling the story he wants and while he doesn't get it all wrong, his "math" is sloppy. For example he gets the G K Chesterton quote right, but fails to understand the inherently dual nature of the answer.