TV: Home Fires (2015)***

This is a series about a group of women in a small English town leading up to, then dealing with the beginning of World War II and how their lives are affected at every stage. The characters are interesting, the acting is good and I love the costumes. I think the 40s is my true fashion era!

I'm giving this three stars*** because it isn't a favorite, or really notable for anything, it was just engaging TV and I'm looking forward to series two.

I watched this via broadcast TV on a PBS channel, but I rewatched it on DVD checked out from the library.  

TV: The Great Fire (2014)**

Now I know about the Great Fire of London in 1666. This show was okay. It could have easily been cut to feature-length instead of a 4-hour miniseries. I don't see any reason to watch it again. Watch Restoration (1995) starring Robert Downey, Jr. and then The Great Fire and you'll have an interesting King Charles II themed day.  

I'm giving this two stars** because I had to watched it while doing other things and I don't want to see it, again.

I started watching this on broadcast TV, PBS channel, but I finished it on the DVD checked out from the library. 

TV First Impressions: Underground (2016)

I wasn't expecting much because this show is on WGN, but I heard an overview of the show with actor interviews on Morning Edition (click here) and that kind of piqued my interest. It wasn't until I talked to my aunt, who told me Chris Meloni is on the show, that I decided to give it a try. It's like the entertainment industry knows to tuck Meloni in it's giant pocket and not let me know until the last minute (or when I see him on screen) that he'll make an appearance. I'm not ashamed to say, the fact that a certain white man is cast on this show about rebellious slaves is what actually got me to watch the first episode!

I thought it was good and I'm going to watch episode 2, as well. It is beautifully shot and I had much respect for the acting, although I thought the slave-owning family characters were extreme stereotypes of what you'd expect of the "massa" and the "massa's wife." Also, some of the music seemed out of place and jarred me back to reality. Although I get what they're trying to do with the music, I hope they don't let juxtaposing new with the old overtake the good storyline they've started. Hopefully the storyline can hold up past the first episode, which had some good twists in it. Looking forward to more!

I watched this online at the WGN America site.

TV: Guilty Pleasures (2011)***

I don't think I've posted about my TV sleeping before, but here's a brief: I sleep with my TV on. I know it is not healthy, but it helps my mind stay off of the things I don't want to think about and focus on interesting and sometimes mindless content.

If you sleep with your TV on, you often wake up with your TV on and find yourself watching whatever is on the screen because who wants to reach out and find the remote when you're all snuggly and warm. So, this week, I woke up and PBS's World channel was showing some good documentaries. The one I can remember was Guilty Pleasures, a vignette-style documentary featuring different people who are all related somehow to Harlequin romance novels, from reader to writer to cover model.  

It was quite interesting and ironic since, only the night before, a neighbor put a pile of paperbacks on the curb and I found a rare Susan Elizabeth Phillips amongst them. SEP books are a rare find as her readers hardly ever give their copies away. I never see them thrift stores, library book sales or curb piles... and I look. 

Anyway, Guilty Pleasures gets three stars*** because I liked it, could definitely watch it again, and I recommend it people who like anthropological documentaries.

I watched this doc on broadcast TV.

Enjoy this trailer and link if you want to read about it. 

POV Guilty Pleasures

Movie: Tangerine (2015)*****

I copied this from my other blog, Sort of a Life, originally posted 08/08/15:

I slept all day today. After week of bullshit sleep and neighbors waking me up at 3:00 am, I think I deserved it. But I wanted to fit in a double-feature in at the Sundance, so I got my butt up at 4:30 pm, got ready and made it just in time to catch the 5:30 showing of Tangerine. I wasn't expecting much. I heard it was shot completely on an iPhone 5 and in a part of Los Angeles that I'm familiar with and that was the draw for me. The film was a fantastic surprise. Tangerine opens up with Alexandra, a transgender prostitute and aspiring performer sitting down to breakfast with her just-released-from-prison bestie Cindy, also a transgender prostitute. Alexandra reveals that Cindy's boyfriend has not been faithful while she was away, and from there the movie takes off on a hilarious, yet seriously emotional adventure. It was perfect from beginning to end. I appreciated the acting. I loved that section of L.A. (Santa Monica & Highland) as a character. Nothing felt unnecessary and it felt complete at the end. To boot, I found myself at a Q&A showing, so at the end the director, Sean Baker and one of the leads, Kiki Rodriguez, showed up and everything I learned, like why they chose the name Tangerine (Baker said it was just the visual tone of the movie or something like that, but Kiki said "looks like an orange, tastes like an orange, but it's not an orange!") made me love the movie even more. Anyway support this movie any way you can. It's a true indie, set in L.A. And it's good.

Addendum 02/28/16: You thought Boyhood was innovative?! Tangerine was shot entirely on an iPhone (With a special app and apparatus), without lighting, with real people on the real streets of the not-oft-talked-of side of West Hollywood streets and L.A. surrounds: Santa Monica & Highland.
I'm giving this movie five stars***** because it is now one of my favorites, I even went out and bought it so I can watch it over and over.

I saw this movie August 8, 2015 at The Sundance Cinemas West Hollywood.

TV: Fortitude (2015)****(*)

I'm trying really hard not to include any details or spoilers in this ode to Fortitude. I think everyone deserves a chance to stumble upon it with little to no knowledge about the show and enjoy it all the better. This trail doesn't give anything away either:

If the X-Files and Fargo met at a bar, got drunk and had sex, then their one-night-stand child would be named Fortitude!

This show amazingly takes you on a roller coaster ride of plot lines and vectors, twists and turns, from mystery, to small town drama, to National Geographic, to science fiction. All of that and this show managed to keep me on the edge of my seat wanting more.

Fortitude is the craziest show I've ever seen and I loved it! I don't think they can make a second season, but considering the ending there is a possibility they will try.

I'm sure I could watch it again and still enjoy it, therefore I'm giving Fortitude four stars with one in reserve ****(*) for being utterly engaging and entertaining. The last star is on hold until I can enjoy this a second time, hopefully with an unsuspecting viewing partner or group.
I CAN'T WAIT TO TALK WITH SOMEONE ABOUT THIS SHOW!

Just read online that there will be a Season 2!

I watched the entire season on Amazon Video.

Movie: Black Mass (2015)***

Remember: The Departed (2006) and Mystic River (2003)

What happens: The story of the later years of Whitey Bulger's criminal career and his involvement with the FBI.

Johnny Depp carries this movie with an intense performance as the Boston crime lord, Whitey Bulger. There's a great cast behind him, too, but they just aren't notable, except in his shadow.

I'm giving Black Mass three stars*** because without Johnny Depp's great performance, this would've been a run-of-the-mill gangster flick. I did like the movie, though.

Depp should have been nominated for Best Actor.

I watched a screener of this movie.

Movie: Steve Jobs (2015)****

Felt like: Closer (20014) and Birdman (2014)

Steve Jobs was filmed like a play done in three acts, showing the eponym and the most important people in his life as they prepare for three of his product launches. I enjoyed the camerawork as it felt like a single-shot as they followed Fassbender and the rest of the cast. The segues between acts were smooth and managed to make the audience aware of the change in time without being jarred.

I think the relationships that I paid the most attention to were the ones between Jobs and his colleagues: Wozniak (Seth Rogan) and Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg). If what was on-screen was true, they stuck by his side, although at arm's length, through a lot of his bullshit.

A-ha! It's a Sorkin work. No wonder I like the dialogue.

Best scene: When Joanna finally has her fill of Jobs, and starts yelling and throwing around papers, threatening to quit. Not too long after, it finally clicks in Jobs head what is important.

I gave this movie four stars**** because I want to see it, again, and I thought it was a really well-done film.

Golden Globes:
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

I watched a screener of this movie.

Movie: Straight Outta Compton (2015)****

Remember: The Five Heartbeats (1991), That Thing You Do (1996)

What happens: Straight Outta Compton is about how the Los Angeles-based, rap group, NWA, got together and how they parted ways.

SOC is a beautifully shot film with some notable acting. I thought it captured Compton and what it must've been like for NWA to get straight out of it and how that affected them in a way that is easy for everyone to understand. I really enjoyed the soundtrack, too.

Favorite scene: The first time we see them in the studio is when they're trying to record that group HBO. It doesn't work out and they try to step to pre-NWA Dre and the crew, but are intimidated out. Then, Eazy gets in the booth (click here to watch). Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

It should have been nominated for Best Picture at least Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E) should have been nominated for his acting, although I thought O'Shea Jackson (Ice Cube and Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre) were notable, too.

I grew up in L.A., too, but I had no idea about NWA or most of the happenings depicted in the film. I was a kid and all of this was really far from my sphere. I think that is part of why I like SOC: This movie gave me some info about things that happened in the past, but during my lifetime and certainly some insight about an area that I'm familiar with in the present day.

I want to watch this movie multiple times, so I'm giving it four stars****.

Link to the trailer that shows the awesomeness

I watched a screener of this movie.

Movie: The Big Short (2015)**

The Big Short is an interestingly-styled glance back at recent history.

What happens: The telling of how three different groups/individuals discovered the housing bubble, predicted it would burst, and then find a way to make gains instead of suffer losses. This was based on actual people and events.

There's a lot of fourth-wall-breaking and celebrity-cameo-sidebars to explain technical terminology.

I think some people are still surprised when they see Steve Carell playing a non-comedic role. He obviously knows what he's doing with serious characters, so there shouldn't be any special attention paid just because he's not trying to make you laugh.

Felt like Wolf of Wall Street (2013).

I thought it was interesting, but I don't think I ever have to see it, again. Therefore I give The Big Short**

Oscars:
Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

Movie: Spotlight (2015)**

Remember... Doubt (2008) or Sleepers (1996)? Well, Spotlight is a different angle from the same story, this one strictly from the press' point of view.

Spotlight told the story of a special investigative team in Boston exposing the scandal of the Catholic Church's (and the system that supports it) knowledge of abusive priests. This story was told well. The production and soundtrack set a somber mood. The script and actors portraying these real people  didn't create caricatures; They're performances had a sense of truth and reality, and the dialogue was moving.  

Best scene: The team finds evidence against the Cardinal and Mike (Mark Ruffalo) gets angry they aren't going to press with it. Mark Ruffalo does a great job in this movie.

Special mention: Librarian montage!

That being said, I don't see this as a Best Picture and I don't really have to ever see it again.  I gave it two stars **, but the doggone movie won the Oscar for Best Picture!

Oscars:
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Golden Globes:
Best Motion Picture - Drama
Best Director - Motion Picture
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

I watched a screener of this movie.