Man, has this taken some unexpected turns.  I love the dynamic between him & Alice (the distaff Hannibal Lecter). The end of the last episode didn’t ring true, but I’m looking for season 2

FF=0

Not nearly as engaging as season 1 – mainly because there’s not enough Alice. A bit flabby in the writing department, with too much time spent riding around London (filling up minutes where the plot runs thin).  Some unexpected turns and a boffo finale save it.

FF=1

Nothing original here. The DI’s arc was totally predictable.  And the prism lens used on the transitions and establishing shots was way annoying.

FF=2

I really liked this.  It’s got the 3 Ms – Mycroft, Moriarty, and Moran.  My complaint from the 1^st Guy Richie Sherlock film still holds: this is not a Sherlock Holmes film; this is an action buddy flick that happens to include characters with the same names as the Doyle stories.  That said, it’s a lot of fun and a bit (just a bit) more Sherlockian than its predecessor.

FF=0

This turned out better than expected. Preposterous, yes, and not well served by title or trailer, but I gave it a shot and had a good time. An engaging supporting cast keeps things rolling. Your enjoyment will be directly proportional to your ability to suspend disbelief. (Mine is well developed due to all the crap I watch.)

FF=0

Nothing you haven’t seen before, no surprises for folks who watch these spy-action films. Denzel shows his “Training Day” side, and Ryan Reynolds is very convincing as a young agent out of his depth and struggling to do his job. If you don’t know who the mole is right off, you haven’t seen enough of these. But I hated the grainy “Hurt Locker” look. Other than that, an engaging film and not a bad way to kill a couple of hours. I FF’d through the chase scenes because I always FF through chase scenes. They’re filler – all that matters is how they end, so why prolong it?

FF=2

Never heard of this film, but I’d heard of Greg Kinear and Alan Arkin so I rented it and am so glad I did. In the best noir tradition, simple greed escalates to murder which then spirals into a “what else can go wrong?” scenario. But its twists make it more than simple noir. If I say more I’ll spoil it. But trust me, you’ll watch the final credits thinking, “Now that was cool.”

FF=0

This cross between “Leon the Professional” and “Natural Born Killers” could have gone south very quickly but is saved by Tara Lynne Barr. It’s very good at sucking you into its point of view – you sit there nodding as the writer-director (Bobcat Goldthwait) tours you through the train wreck our culture has become. And you’re cheering his nebishy spree-killer protagonist. In retrospect, you think those folks probably didn’t deserve to die (waterboarding, yes), but in the moment you’re pulling the trigger along with Frank and Roxy.

FF=0

I really wanted to like this, and it’s got some clever bits, but watching it made me realize why the 190 or so films the original Stooges made were usually limited to 20 minutes. Because they begin to wear you out after that. But naming a super-strict nun Sister Mary Mengele is a stroke of genius.

FF=3

Enjoyed this. Deviates from the book but in a good way. Has roots in Battle Royale and Metropolis and the Morlocks and Eloi of The Time Machine. Love the portrayal of a society so decadent and corrupt that it will crumble under the weight of its own narcissism if not burned to the ground first. Suspenseful, thoughtful, barbed.

FF=0