Season 1 of "Broadchurch"

"Broadchurch" is a British detective series.  The title refers to the location of the show, a coastal town in England that is small enough for everyone to know everyone else and where rumors and gossip spread like wildfire.  There is a murder of a boy at the series' start and DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) are on the case.

There are many suspects and unanswered questions.  As the first season progresses, the facts of the case start to reveal themselves.  The way the show uncovers the details is brilliantly handled by the writing and direction.  The many characters and their varying personalities and eccentricities add depth to the show and a lot of intrigue.

The acting of the show is impeccable.  Olivia Colman is fantastic.  She must convey her split loyalties between being the investigator on the case and the mother of the victim's friend.  More complications arise for her as the show goes on and they come to a crescendo in the end.  David Tennant's Alec Hardy is a complicated character.  He suffers from heart trouble which constantly threatens to interfere with his job.  He also has a past that tortures him and his multi-dimensional personality is slowly developed over the course of the first season.

The cinematography is masterful.  The shots of the coastal town and the various locations make the show unique and interesting to behold.

There are many surprises, twists and turns, and unexpected revelations.  The ending of the first season may make you question how a subsequent season is possible.  I look forward to them to see how the characters deal with the major circumstances that happen at the first season's end.

The Revenant (2015, dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)

"The Revenant" is a sprawling, intense tale of revenge on the frontier from the director of "Birdman", Alejandro Inarritu.  It is set in 1823 and takes place in Montana and South Dakota.  A party of trappers and hunters are hunting for pelts in the desolate, wind-swept winter.  There are constant danger involved with Native American tribes, one of which ambushes the party, leaving only a third to escape with their lives.  Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is respected for his tracking and hunting ability but when he is viciously mauled by a bear, he is not expected to survive for long.  Glass later seeks revenge for the murder of his kin and being left to die.

This is epic, period film-making at its finest.  The fight and action sequences are so well-choreographed you get a sense of living in the film and actually experiencing the tension, confusion and adrenaline-pumping warfare. 

There is a real heart and soul to this film found in minor details.  This meticulous attention to detail drives to the film forward.  One example, is Glass's meeting of a Pawnee Indian in his voyage.  The two meet when Glass comes across the Pawnee feasting on the entrails of a dead Bison that, in a previous scene has been surrounded and killed by a hungry pack of wolves.  The two develop an unspoken understanding and compassion for one another and the Pawnee helps Glass heal some of his festering wounds.  In another gripping scene, Glass must remove the innards of a deceased horse so he can use the warmth of the carcass's interior for a warmth during a blisteringly cold night.

DiCaprio's performance is awe-inspiring.  He somehow must convey the slow, gradual trajectory of his recovery from the brutal mauling that occurs near the beginning of the film.  He ever-so-slowly regains the use of his body and you get a real sense of the ordeal of this task all the while dealing with recent deaths of friends and family members.

When all is said and done, you are left with a film that burns into your imagination and speaks to the inextinguishable resiliency of man alone in nature.  It highlights the need to persevere and to step outside one's comfort zone.  It is a film that makes you feel uncomfortable and that can be a good thing.

The Big Short (2015, dir. Adam McKay)

"The Big Short" is an engaging, funny, and poignant account of the years leading up to the Housing Market Crash in 2008 and how a small group of individuals where able to profit from the devastation.  

The film has real style and wit. Some may find all the Wall Street and financial jargon a bit confusing, but I liked it when there were breaks in the film for random celebrities to offer explanations of concepts and terminology related to the crisis.  This demonstrated the films stylishness and provocative nature. 

The performances are excellent too.  This is an ensemble film and its success and believability requires that all the cast members cohesively gel and they do.  Being a true tale makes it all the more intense and surprising.

This is one of the better films of the year.  While not the greatest, it is definitely in the top ten.  It deals with an anxiety-provoking time in history in a witty, original and captivating way.

Season 1 of "River" (A Netflix Original Series)

"River" portrays a man who's psychotic visions are a constant predicament in his life.  He "sees" dead people, referring to them as "manifests".  The series deftly conveys these visions by making them visible to the viewer of the show.  John River (Stellan Skarsgard) is the only person in the actual show who can see them, thus designating him as a madman.

This mental illness, the seeing of deceased acquaintances and loved-ones, is brilliantly rendered by the show and makes the nature of River's occupation (Detective Inspector) all the more of an ordeal.  Among the dead he sees and is visited by is DS Jackie "Stevie" Stevenson (Nicola Walker), his former partner who's brutal murder he witnessed.  The investigation of Stevie's murder is the focus of the first season of the show.  Stevie frequently appears to River and makes suggestions to him on the investigation, sometimes offering other clues as to their relationship or lack thereof. 

The presentation of River's psychosis is highly original and unlike any that have been portrayed of people stricken with such "delusions".  I write delusion in quotation marks because, though the manifests are invisible to others, they are very real to River and the verity of their existence seems to assist him in certain ways despite their questionable nature.  It brings him peace at the same time that they haunt him.  In the end, they will perhaps offer him a feeling of closure in his investigation.

Skarsgard's performance is brilliant and complex.  He paints a portrait of a man who somehow manages to deal efficiently with everyday existence even though he is constantly bombarded by these visions and visitations.

The cinematography and look of the series is beautiful, portraying the gritty, overcast streets of London in a compelling way.  Despite being only six episodes long, the first series of "River" is a spell-binding, taut, psychological thrill.

The Hateful Eight (2015, dir. Quentin Tarantino)

Quentin Tarantino's latest opus, a Winterized Western, further demonstrates his directorial genius and preoccupation with violence, depravity, and the depths of humanity's soul's interior darkness. 

The setting is bleak and blizzard-stricken.  It takes place mostly in a cabin somewhere in Wyoming where an eccentric band of characters come together for an evening of blood-spilling and intrigue. 

This is a film that can and will be rigorously analyzed for its subtext as well as its placement within the Tarantino canon.  It presents a unique diaspora or cross-section of American society at a certain time in history.  Taking place just after the Civil War, the film explores racism, gender, America's tenuous social fabric, and loyalty. 

The performances are incredible.  Everyone is talking about Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance.  She somehow turns her character, Daisy Domergue, into an incredibly charismatic and watchable person despite her beat-up, unrefined, unwashed and unglamorous nature.  The other performances deserve recognition as well.  Kurt Russell has never been better.  Samuel L. Jackson, continuing his frequent credit in Tarantino's output, casts a hypnotic spell as a bounty hunter with a complex, dark side.  All of the Hateful Eight are brilliantly executed by the actors who embody them.

This is the greatest Western to come along in years and its relentless, blizzard setting makes it truly unique and original.  The sense of claustrophobia and entrapment that the outside force of nature adds to the inside inhabitants is palpable and at times almost unbearable.

If your looking for a thrilling cinematic experience, see Quentin's latest directorial offering.

White God (2014, dir. Kornel Mundruczo)

"White God" is a Hungarian film by director named Kornel Mundruczo.  It contains dogs - hundreds of dogs.  The performances by the dogs, chiefly, the main dog protagonist named Hagen, are the best performances by dogs I have ever seen in any movie containing them.  This obviously requires great direction.  Mundruczo somehow elicits performances from the canine players that evoke tremendous empathy, identification and awe on the part of the viewer. 

It must have been hard to make this film.  Not only do you have to find the right dogs for the roles, but you have to edit, capture, and compose each scene to make it entirely believable and something we can relate to.  Maybe dogs don't have human emotions, but this film will make you believe they do thanks to the skill of the film-making and the right casting.

It is a film about an uprising of mongrel dogs.  These dogs are treated poorly and band together to seek revenge against their wrongdoers.  Where the film runs into problems is in its final act when the dogs begin acting cruelly.  It may be against cruelty that they are acting cruelly but, at this point, we start to lose our sympathy for them and the emotional connection we felt in the beginning scenes.  People get killed.  So do dogs.  It starts to become a little ridiculous, all the bodies piling up, and confusion as a result of a mongrel uprising.

I suppose there is some kind of social comment, a microcosm, or parallel allusion to some facet of modern-day world society.  Their are themes such as the quest for freedom, nature vs. civilization, and the thin line between love and hate. 

The film is problematic and has its flaws, but it is an amazing achievement in the use of dogs in cinema.

Thoughts on the TV Series, "Suits" (Seasons 1-4)

"Suits" is an American television drama that airs on the USA network.  It takes place in New York City and focuses on a law firm and its many employees, managers, clients and cases.  The crux of the tension in the show is derived from the fact that one of the firm's new hires (in Season 1) is Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) a young man who never attended law school.  The show constantly makes this secret a source of anxiety and tension with his coworkers who include hotshot lawyer and senior partner of the firm, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) who hired Mike, Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) another prominent lawyer at the firm, and the firm's managing partner, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres).  There are other supporting players in the drama including paralegal, Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) and secretary Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty).

The show is sharp-witted and often technically verbose.  The teleplays are well-written and efficiently-crafted.  There is a lot of legal dialogue to follow that can be confusing and disorienting but if you pay close attention, the momentum of the show can be captivating.  The characters are well-rounded and their differences and unique qualities help to bring an entertaining cohesion and chemistry to their interactions.  Louis Litt is probably the most interesting character for his Machiavellian personality.  He is often repulsive in some of his actions, but this reprehensibility makes him charismatic and engaging to watch.  Mike Ross has a photographic memory and genius-level intelligence which makes for some compelling scenes and stories.  His abilities are made use of throughout the show to invoke surprise and awe.  This is demonstrated from the very first episode when he impresses Harvey so much that he hires him on the spot, despite having never attended Harvard or any law school for that matter.

The show is interesting for its mixture of some episodes which resolve themselves after one episode with story-lines that drift over several, sometimes disappearing, then reappearing again at a later time in the season, perhaps a different season altogether.

The romantic scenes sometimes seem extraneous and feel false.  There is burgeoning romance that develops between Mike and Rachel.  It is my least favourite area of focus in the show but that is a minor quibble. 

This is a compelling show.  Like the characters in it, the series
demands intelligence from the viewer.  To focus on and engage one's self with "Suits" can be a rewarding experience.