Love, American Style (1969)

From the Cowsills' peppy theme song to the quirky skits sandwiched between each episode's trio of sketches, Love American Style feels like Twilight Zone meets Laugh-In, with music from Up With People. The cast is a mix of nobodies and B-list stars: Stuart Margolin (Angel in Rockford Files) may be here because a relative is a producer, but Adam West is a mild-mannered hoot in a sketch about a visit from a "big Hollywood star." One of my favorite sketches is "Love and the Many Married Couple," where Steve Allen interviews Jack Cassidy and Jayne Meadows on the red carpet as they portray a goo-goo-eyed Hollywood couple that is constantly confused about who each was married to, and when. Netflix only carries two out of five seasons of this show, but if it played as big a part in your life as it did in mine (home babysitting on Saturday nights), you should love catching all of these old chestnuts again. Enjoy! 4 stars. (8-31-2017)

Terra Nova: Season 1 (2011)

Terra Nova is a pleasure to watch. The computer graphics are pretty good (except for ballistic perspective), and the family dynamics are a bit 1950s (everyone laughs on cue), but the story held my attention from episode 1 to 13. (Stupidly, Fox yet again cancelled a series that viewers loved after one season.) Our story begins in 2149, after humanity has destroyed the planet, but discovered time travel so it can colonize a planned settlement of humans in the Cretaceous period. Stephen Lang (Avatar) plays Commander Nathaniel Taylor, an almost avuncular Charlton Heston who leads the colony with an iron fist and a sense of compassion. (He carries it off.) All is not idyllic in paradise, however: dinosaurs as well as insects can be quite lethal, and loyalties are sometimes conflicted as we learn of a splinter group and several nefarious individuals. Terra Nova is much better done than the often corny and badly acted Dinotopia. With a largely unknown cast, here is a show that can be proud of itself. Enjoy! 4 stars. (8-30-2017)

Masterpiece: Worricker: Salting the Battlefield (2014)

This third part in a trio of Johnny Worricker episodes is the best, with its spycraft and suspense building to a satisfying climax and denouement. Bill Nighy expertly plays the cagey British master spy because, like Clint Eastwood in the Wild West, he seems born to play this kind of role. Worricker is trying to cinch together the final threads on the corruption case against the prime minister (Ralph Fiennes), even as the "homeland security" apparatus is closing in on Worricker and his network of collaborators. Before his final confrontation with the prime minister, we see Worricker virtually unhinged, even as the situation is more out of his control than he knows. More than his ever-present kindness and civility, we see his humanity and his vulnerability. Another good thing about this being a British series is that it doesn't wrap up in a tidy bow over happily-ever-after frosting. Here is a real story! Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (8-25-2017)

Masterpiece: Worricker: Turks & Caicos (2014)

Bill Nighy returns as the London spy version of Clint Eastwood in this second installment of the Johnny Worricker series from Masterpiece Contemporary. Worricker is always pensive, taciturn, and civilized. Christopher Walken is a CIA agent who tries to pull Worricker into a scheme that is the antithesis of the corruption case he is pursuing against the British prime minister while on the run. Helena Bonham Carter is an ex-spy and his former love who aids and abets Worricker before she joins him on the run. I enjoyed the performers in some of the smallest acting roles here. See this second episode by all means if you have seen the first Worricker episode (Page Eight); if you have not seen the first, I recommend that you do; and then refer again to the first part of this sentence. Enjoy! 4 stars. (8-25-2017)

Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution (2005)

This BBC miniseries of 6 episodes (also available on DVD as Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State) is intelligently produced, using historical photographs as well as dramatic re-enactments with dialog based on primary source documents (the notes and transcripts of those present). The story of how the Nazis conceived, built, and engineered their vast network of camps and ovens over more than 5 years to efficiently exterminate many millions of immigrant children, women, and men is chilling for more than how business-as-usual the process proved to be. We naturally learn about the inhumane temperament and actions of the SS soldiers and their superiors, but we also hear a few stories of those who risked their lives and saved many Jews. This is a well-done and memorable series that I will not soon forget. Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (8-24-2017)

Lynne Koplitz: Hormonal Beast (2017)

I gave up on this show a quarter of the way in because of the tired hormonal jokes, but later decided to finish watching to see if she got better. (I don't like to do something halfway, plus admittedly it must be hard to have enough good material for your first hour-long comedy special.) I doubt most men are fans of a female comedian squalling for half an hour about her genitalia and their monthly cycles. (Gee, I wonder if women feel the same way about male comedians verbally sparring for a full hour about their pecker?) She could be raunchy, in a tasteful sort of way (don't ask me to explain), but she came out with a "solution to the problem" that created perspective and parity in the male-female relationship. (I didn't say men would always like it, but she's putting it out there.) My favorite were her last ten minutes, describing New Yorkers' candor when it comes to cussing and childlessness, and her "dark" bucket list. Enjoy! 3 stars. (8-23-2017)

The Illusionist (2006)

I finally saw The Illusionist and enjoyed it very much. The art direction is excellent; the historicity looks quite good. (I'd say with a smirk that they used up all the sepia-tone film stock on the market at the time, but of course digital sepia-tone filters are as infinite as electrons and the Cloud.) Edward Norton is extremely measured and atmospheric as his character. As an illusionist, he conjures visions that are exceptional for turn-of-the-century Vienna; as a dramatist, his plan to escape prison and death, and get the girl, is not only a success, but it delights Paul Giamatti as his former adversary's surrogate. The story is low-key because the digital effects are recreating smoke-and-mirrors after all, and the conflict is less outright physical and more mind-against-mind, with medium to low probability of actually being shot or stabbed. Shot on location and what a wardrobe! Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (8-22-2017)

Masterpiece Contemporary: Page Eight (2011)

Masterpiece Contemporary: Page Eight should be called Masterpiece: Worricker: Page Eight so that it can be searched or linked to the second and third episodes of this BBC/PBS miniseries (Masterpiece: Worricker: Turks & Caicos and Masterpiece: Worricker: Salting the Battlefield). I received the third disc first, learned it was the last disc in a trio, and bumped up the other two discs for prompt arrival. Some might seek this series to see Rachel Weisz, and I would not fault them. (I got it also to see Judy Davis and Alice Krige.) However, the overwhelming star of this series is Bill Nighy, who seems to me to be England's version of Clint Eastwood: taciturn, known to squint (or sniff disparagingly), strategic, and tight-lipped. The Worricker series is not like anything Clint Eastwood has done (except possibly Unforgiven); it is not about action, but it is about a man who holds his cards close to his vest. Nighy is Johnny Worricker, a veteran British spy whose lifelong best friend and boss releases the dossier on an earthshaking political scandal just before he dies, trusting that Johnny will see the investigation through to the end (despite making him chief enemy of the devious British prime minister, played by Ralph Fiennes, and top "homeland security" officials). Worricker begins to set the stage and make a strategic retreat, leading to the second episode, Salting the Battlefield. If you like cerebral (and civil) machinations -- enjoy! 3.5 stars. (8-22-2017)

Travelers: Season 1 (2016)

Travelers is a smart, captivating series, but it is also edgy (warning to those who consider FBI agents cornering killers to be too stressful, and those who consider from one to three F-words in an episode to be unwatchable). (A word is not a bomb. Colin Firth's outburst in The King's Speech is a depth charge: "F! F! F! F! F!") Most significantly, the opening of the pilot episode establishes that time travelers arrive from the future into the 21st century by violently transporting into the minds of persons who have been historically documented as about to die in less than one minute. The newly occupied mind does not die and begins his or her assigned mission, sometimes as part of a team (but also having to adopt a semblance of the prior person's life, while hiding their new personality and all activities tied to their mission). Time travel stories are a bear to write, and to get right, yet this series does an excellent job at not just telling a gripping yarn, but ramping up the tension with complications on complications. Every character is good in his or role, esp. "Grace" in the final episodes. The missions of the team secretly led by Eric McCormack's FBI agent character are at risk as layers of opposition mount (right up to the final scene). A core theme of the show is: Who is planning each mission -- and the subsequent orders that follow? How do the travelers change the lives of their previous tenants? And how is it that humans aspire to loyalty, morality, compassion, and faith, even (and esp.) when do-or-die plans go awry? I have watched this series twice back to back, and I can't wait for the second season. Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (8-21-2017)

Limitless: Season 1 (2015)

Limitless has become one of my top 10 favorite TV shows. It combines the brilliance and panache of Lie to Me and The Blacklist with the personality and charm of Chuck and White Collar. The male lead is a raffish slacker who stumbles on a top-secret pill that gives him full access to every neuron in his brain. As a result, he can suddenly perform feats of memory and analysis that make him highly valuable to the FBI team that wants to control the designer drug. Jake McDorman totally carries this series as the indefatigable and cheerful Brian, leader (in his mind) of "The Bruntouchables," working out of his playfully decorated "Headquarters!" He establishes a rapport with his button-down FBI team, especially his handler Rebecca (Jennifer Carpenter, who is as good in this role as she was as Deb in Dexter) and team leader Nas (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Brian is also conflicted, since a shadowy figure holds a big carrot and stick over him, and the investigation becomes even more complex as it reveals a cabal of those who are taking the drug, building a black market for it, and plotting to take over governments all over the world. A love interest appears, and disappears, and so on and so forth. Limitless is a captivating and capable series, with a lot happening to make you care about every character during the one season this show was given. Enjoy! 5 stars. (8-19-2017)

Puccini for Beginners (2006)

Here is another chatty, angsty independent film about highly improbable relationship issues and the coincidences that exacerbate them. Frankly, I read the Wikipedia summary after seeing this movie because following the threads almost made my eyebrows hurt, and I just do not care for the characters that much. (I have never seen the male lead before but he is a dead ringer for another wooden actor in independent films, so he starts with a severe handicap.) The lead character, Allegra (not to be confused with the allergy medication), sabotages her relationships, which she begins at the drop of a hat. She claims to be a lesbian but just as readily becomes intimate with a man as a woman. (She is either bisexual but does not know it, or the scriptwriter is ignorant and unimaginative. You decide.) Still, it is the coincidences that really stretch credulity: In the space of 24 hours, and then a week, how does a dumped lesbian meet and then start a relationship with both a man and a woman -- who are involved with each other? How does a woman serve at a reception she does not know is for her ex and her fiancee? How does the dumped lesbian get back with her ex, after her ex has dumped her fiancee? The women in this film carry their roles quite well -- esp. the tall, coldly analytical lesbian -- so the scriptwriter has done fairly well with creating characters. It is just the plot that is weak. Enjoy! 3 stars. (8-16-2017)

Chaos on the Bridge (2014)

Chaos on the Bridge is savvy storytelling about the genesis and season-to-season production of Star Trek: The Next Generation, navigating the angst of original Star Trek series fans, the all-important vision of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (despite his deteriorating health), and the actors, directors, production crew, executives, and even outliers like Roddenberry's meddling lawyer (who poked around in people's desks and computers, and submitted script changes made in his own hand as Gene's). The candor of those involved in selecting Patrick Stewart as the new captain of the Enterprise, including Patrick's frank commentary, is refreshing throughout this documentary, which is well-narrated and hosted by William Shatner. I like the graphic elements added in to lighten up some of the all-too-human real-world conflict encountered in this show about a future where humanity has moved beyond petty pursuits and squabbles. Gene Roddenberry was an exceptional visionary, which did not mean he was always easy to work with; Chaos on the Bridge tells the story of how Star Trek: The Next Generation cemented his legacy in the firmament, even at times against his own protests. The show outlasted Gene for a full seven seasons and four feature films, and engendered three more TV series, and now a "reboot" series of films. I really like Chaos on the Bridge and have watched it twice so far. Enjoy! 4 stars. (8-13-2017)

The Final Inquiry (2006)

Though some may wish it were otherwise, FoxFaith Films has given us The Final Inquiry (2006), an Italian remake of the Italian film The Inquiry (1987), starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel. This redo adds Max von Sydow as Tiberius Caesar, Monica Cruz as Tabitha, and also actors in the roles of Paul, Peter, Stephen, and Caligula. Like other recent attempts at faith films (like UA's Saved!, where a Christian clubs another girl with her Bible--what?!), believers will have quibbles with story elements thrown in for dramatic effect or to attract (or at least not repel) nonbelievers. Actually, like most bad scriptwriting, I suspect it is not so much intentional (too many cooks) as accidental (due to ignorance or laziness). So what we have here is a passable script with flashes of cogency but many more weak spots. It ends up repelling nonbelievers anyway (as: Meh!) and failing to please believers (as: Doh!). I will not harp on other reviewers' chief gripes, such as the low-budget acting, fight scenes, and film stock. I would prefer to point out the Biblical inaccuracies (but it would be to little effect). More obvious are the historical flaws; for example, a mere two years after Christ was crucified, Jerusalem has apparently turned into a red-light district, with a skeevy bar, and Jewish prostitutes openly soliciting foreign men in the streets. (Please note that this is a theocracy, where women are not allowed to speak to a man in public, much less touch hands, start kissing, and profess undying love--but it must be OK for the Christian woman whose mother was stoned for prostitution, before conversing for a total of 10 minutes with the Roman emperor's emissary.) The most jarring scene for believers will be where Mary Magdalene tells Stephen to deny Christ, because "the Lord taught us to love life, not throw it away!" (Um, that's the exact opposite of what Christ taught his disciples.) So the first martyr gets snuffed unceremoniously (not a spoiler if it is historical) and we completely miss his beatific vision and preaching, which later led to Paul's conversion (but we never see him again anyway). I won't even start on the flaws involving geography. Listen, I really like the acting of all five major characters (and maybe even Stephen), otherwise I might have rated this film lower than 3 stars. Enjoy! (8-12-2107)

John Wick (2014)

I have never been a huge fan of Keanu Reaves -- at first, for the obvious reason (Encino Man), and later, for two related reasons (he only has two expressions: blank-faced or morose). While this "certain set of skills" served him well as the cyperpunk hero Neo (who was either conflicted or just perpetually puzzled, you decide) in The Matrix trilogy, it does little more for him as John Wick, the "retired" Russian mob enforcer. The story setup works to humanize him well enough, but the ensuing many dozens of slaughtered enemies will do little to hold the attention of the female demographic. (Not a good "date movie," fellas. Also, because animal lovers may be traumatized if they are not forewarned, his puppy is killed off-camera, which in large part lights Wick's fuse to rampage.) My youngest son wanted to see this movie because his YouTube-sourced opinions convinced him it had the best martial arts scenes ever. Another reviewer here claims Wick has better scenes than anything with Neeson, Damon, or Statham. I disagree: Anything with Jackie Chan or Jason Statham or Liam Neeson or Matt Damon is kilometers ahead of John Wick, which incidentally further offends me by masking its murky martial arts moves amid dark cellars and compounds. Virtually 99% of this movie is shot at night and in the dark, 99% of its minions are dressed in black, and 99% of the people die -- and perfunctorily at that. To me, the most interesting three minutes in the movie are three scenes where he dialogs with three women, because each in her way nimbly transcends the inescapable Russian macho ethic of "I shoot you before you shoot me": Wick's dying wife, a female assassin, and a bartender ("I've never seen you like this before -- vulnerable"). I'm glad I've seen John Wick, and I may keep thinking about the key characters for a while, but I will always be happy to watch the Transporter, Bourne, and Taken movies, again and again. Enjoy! 3.5 stars. (8-8-2017)

Wanted (2008)

Wanted feels a bit like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Assassin's Creed in modern-day Chicago. Call it a poor man's analog Matrix. It held my interest well enough, though with weak spots in establishing the would-be hero's character and also the kinetic impossibilities that are common to over-the-top martial arts movies. (At least it is not as over-the-top as Kung Fury -- which you should see.) James Macavoy moves from bleary-eyed nebbish (cuckolded by his best friend, Chris Pratt) to a man on a mission with the aid of Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Morgan Freeman, and other members of a thousand-year-old weavers guild that operates as a secret society of assassins. The driving, shooting, and acrobatic stunts defy the laws of physics, but then that is the point when it comes to training the son of the greatest superassassin on a very tight schedule. A couple of twists at the end, not to mention the curved trajectory bullets, leave a muddle (literally) at the end, with room for a sequel. Enjoy! 4 stars. (8-3-2017)