Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 17th, 2015
"Welcome to The Knick."
The Knick is the fictional Knickerbocker hotel in 1900 New York. It's a hospital that was once part of an affluent neighborhood but now finds itself in an area falling to poverty. Still it's a place where innovations are being made on a daily basis, thanks to an inspired group of doctors led by Dr. J.M. Christiansen (Frewer) and his relentless search to find ways to decrease the mortality rate in surgery patients. So the hospital continues to have a great reputation, even if the local poverty is now causing The Knick to lose money, something the board of directors is looking to turn around.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 17th, 2015
The Killing will leave behind two lasting legacies: it's the show that wouldn't die, and it could never quite stick the landing. The bleak crime drama drew intense criticism after failing to resolve its central mystery at the end of season 1, and was canceled by AMC after wrapping up the Rosie Larsen case in the season 2 finale. The show got a last-minute reprieve when AMC ordered a third season that I personally considered to be show's strongest. But instead of leaving well enough alone, The Killing returned for a six-episode fourth season on Netflix.
“Everybody has a secret.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 14th, 2015
“You will remain my prisoners until you've told me what really happened in Masada.”
Those words are spoken by Flavius Josephus, the real-life historian for the Romans who chronicled the Siege of Masada. In The Dovekeepers, Josephus is talking to two iron-willed female prisoners who also happen to be among the few people who survived the attack. Their story is told in flashback, and this two-part miniseries brushes up against some interesting points about who gets to write humanity's history. But in telling the story from a female perspective — an admirable, out-of-the-box idea — this miniseries reduces a complex, fascinating historical event into a stiff, protracted soap opera.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2015
"Milk will be spilled."
That's for sure, and you can expect more than a little crying over it all. The saddest news, however, is the coming fifth season will be the show's final year. You really should not even think about joining the series from this point. I suspect it will still be quite entertaining, but for the full experience you do have to start from the beginning. The evolution of the Cullen character from Civil War veteran out for vengeance to the man who we see in the fourth season is a rather nice journey to witness. So saddle up for the first three. You can find the reviews for other seasons here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 10th, 2015
“Sometimes the truth isn't believable. That doesn't mean that it's not true.”
Talk about truth being stranger than fiction! That proverb absolutely applies to the real-life story of Mike Finkel and Christian Longo, two men from seemingly disparate backgrounds who were thrust together by extraordinary circumstances. Their relationship is the basis for True Story, a drama about duality and deception. But while the truth is often stranger than fiction, that doesn't necessarily mean it's more entertaining.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2015
"There can be no murder in paradise."
That was the stand of the Soviet Union's ruling party during the Cold War. They believed that murder was a capitalist crime. So what happens when a serial killer is killing young boys up and down the railway? That's the premise of Lionsgate's Child 44. It's based on the Tom Rob Smith novel which is part of a trilogy based on the character Leo Demidov. The story itself was based on an actual Soviet Union serial killer named Andrei Chikatilo, who is suspected of killing over 50 children in the 1970's. To set the story apart from other "true crime" entries, the facts were fictionalized and moved deeper into the Cold War era of the 1950's and a post-war Soviet Union at the peak of its power and world influence. It was their own "great experiment", and it was considered fatal to admit to the world that such base crimes and instincts existed in such a utopia.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 5th, 2015
"This ain't no place for a hero."
Strike Back follows the exploits of an elite and secret British military team called Section 20. On paper they do not exist, but they've got all the best new high-tech toys, and they're going to need every one of them. They're going after the top terrorist threats. They combine the intelligence-gathering network of a CIA-type organization with the precision strike force impact of a top Navy Seals team.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 5th, 2015
The notion that there are two sides to every story is at the center of The Affair. Almost every episode depicts the same events related to the titular adulterous relationship from two different perspectives. It’s an ingenious and inclusive storytelling tool because TV viewers are encouraged to spot the differences in each character’s account of events. (Along with inconsistencies in hairstyles, wardrobe, wallpaper, etc.) That’s why I was somewhat disheartened by the latter portion of the season veering away from what made the show great.
- “Marriage means different things to different people.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 3rd, 2015
How do you follow up the biggest publishing phenomenon of the last 20 years? Well, if you're J.K. Rowling, you excise all talk of horcruxes and Hogwarts and supplant it with warring parish council members and the idyllic village of Pagford. That's the setting for The Casual Vacancy, Rowling's 2012 follow-up to the Harry Potter series. The book has been adapted by BBC and HBO into a three-part miniseries. With its small-town setting and 23(!) main characters, the series simultaneously feels quaint and sprawling. It also made me wish I was able to spend more than three hours with these people.
“Everyone's got skeletons rattling in their cupboard.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 27th, 2015
At this risk of going all 30 for 30 on you, what if I told you one of the most layered, soulful performances I've seen all year comes courtesy of a canine? White God is a hypnotic, Hungarian parable about a girl and her dog. Sounds simple enough, but director Kornel Mundruczo places an unprecedented amount of storytelling responsibility on non-CGI, four-legged performers. The results are occasionally uneven, but frequently spellbinding.
“Nobody wants a stinking mutt. That's what shelters are for.”
