"Da 5 Bloods"

Right from the very beginning, I thought that this was a sort of mockumentary because it opens up like a Civil Rights doc where more black people were being sent to Vietnam than white people. Then it goes to four retired vets, in their seventies, returning to Vietnam. Throughout the film, there are snapshots of often little-known, or unknown to white people, black heroes whenever they were brought up to prove a point in the group's bravery, which I'm pretty sure the pictures are there to show white people that they were real people.

This is probably a white thing to say, but I didn't think it was going to be good. Five young men discover treasure in a gunned down plane, that Uncle Sam has been sneaking to the NVA. It's like someone watched The Goonies and Without a Paddle and thought: What if they were black?

But I did wind up liking the movie. Underneath the silly plot that it is, the film shows that racism knows no boundaries, and former VC soldiers haven't forgiven the American soldiers. We have seen PTSD in movies before, but this kind of takes to a new level where one of the guys is haunted by his dead CO because he killed him with friendly fire. And honestly, it's rather humbling to see seventy year old men, no matter what color, cry with joy, and perhaps respect, for when they find his remains.

This is basically a Vietnam film of a new era. In the past, it was often played for laughs when an older person suddenly transforms from a kind and quiet person who does the crossword to one of the most feared leaders in the land. Everything floods back to them. It's like they never left. The last thirty minutes of the film is where it truly gets real, when one of the members finds redemption in killing his CO while digging his own grave. In the final shootout, a grenade is thrown, and another member throws himself on top of it without a second thought. There's a sense of brotherhood that has never been lost, even when they were at each other's throats. When it came down to it, there is nothing that will tear the spirit of Da 5 Bloods apart.

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Released on Netflix: June 12, 2020

Rating: R

Stars: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jean Reno, Chadwick Boseman

Director: Spike Lee

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92% Certified Fresh

IMDb Score: 6.6/10

"The Great" Season 1

This show is wildly entertaining and hilarious, but it also hurts my autistic skull about how inaccurate it is. But I did like that it admits it's not entirely true. My guess is that they stretched and changeed some things so that we can actually move the plot along and get Catherine onto the throne by season two.
Some of the things I didn't like about this show were the constant yelling of the following words, in which the magic is ruined for them: f*ck, c*ck, p*ssy, c*** (even though that last one wasn't magical to begin with). Also the smashing of the glasses on the floor really got annoying after awhile.
Despite the inaccuracies, it seems to be well structured as a plausible story line. Even though Peter is actually Peter the Great's grandson, I can imagine that he was still haunted by his grandfather's massive shadow. But the show displays how incredibly stubborn he is in moving Russia forward. Catherine comes in with progressive ideas, and he disapproves all of them simply because it is his god given right. From the very beginning, Catherine knew she was destined to rule Russia, but she isn't waiting for Peter to die. She decides to do it herself.
But of course, she needs help. Mariel, her servant and fallen lady of the court, helps her gain the knowledge of everyone in court: who could be trusted and who needed to go. Through this, Catherine establishes alliances with General Velementov, a decorated, but broken, war hero, and Count Orlo, a bumbling idiot with just as much power as Peter himself. But even then, they come with their own challenges. Velementov is a blubbering drunk with and infatuation for the new empress, and he is troubled with a string failures in the Russo-Swedish War. He is a brilliant tactician who is constantly overruled by Peter, who sends more troops to die, basically. And Count Orlo, likely based on the real life Grigory Orlov, provides Catherine the political knowledge she needs to successfully take over the empire. Unlike his TV counterpart, Orlov was actually quite confident and actually a leader in the coupe. He and Catherine were lovers for a while, and is rumored to be the father of one of her children.
Speaking of lovers, Peter believes Catherine's main purpose to make heirs for the throne, boys particularly. However, he suspects that she is sexually frustrated since he's often getting some with every girl in his field of vision. So he hires a young man as a gift to Catherine. This creates a problem further down the line because Catherine falls for the man and wishes to ascend the throne with him by her side. The season ending coupe spelled certain death for him...maybe.
More on the subject of lovers, Peter has taken in a girl in particular, but she is married to a member of the court, and all he really could do is sit and watch. The situation is doing well for them as it provides security for them, he can accompany the emperor on their many adventures, and she satisfies the emperor. Over the course of the season, Peter begins to fall for Catherine, and that spells doom to them as well. They become one of the few enemies that Catherine have to face in her quest for the throne.
But the one person standing truly in her way is the Archbishop. He envisioned a beautiful woman to marry Peter and give him many children, and that was Catherine. Peter may be emperor but the Archbishop influences the emperor in supporting, often outrageous, laws that Catherine believes are keeping Russia in the Dark Ages. It's hard knowing at this point if he'll support her as empress or if he'll form an alliance with enemy nations to try and bring Catherine down.
I really hope this series gets renewed for a second season. This can't truly be the end.

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Released On Hulu: May 15, 2020
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, Gwylim Lee, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Belinda Bromilow, Richard Pyros, Bayo Gbadamosi, Sebastian de Souza
Directors: Matt Shakman, Colin Bucksey, Bert & Bertie, Ben Chessell, Geeta Patel
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%
IMDb Score: 7.8/10 (Average)

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Tony McNamara) - Nominated
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Matt Shakman) - Nominated

(Click here to view more awards for "The Great" Season 1.)

"Awkwafina is Nora from Queens" Season 1

This show is stupid in the sense of The Office, but it is outrageously hilarious. It's kind of a throwback to when comedians had a TV show based on a fictional account of their lives (Home Improvement, Roseanne, Martin, Newhart). I know that's still happening today, but this one appears to have the heart of those heyday shows rather than just looking for cheap laughs (¡Rob!, Marlon).
Nora is young woman in her late twenties, and still living at home. Like her, her father is just coasting through life, and the only person keeping both of them alive is Grandma. Nora is annoyed by her perfect cousin, Edmund, who is getting all kinds of deals and earning money. She is struggling to land a decent job, and actually hold it. She's gone from a discount Uber driver to counting cards at a blackjack table, to defrauding focus groups, to selling haunted houses. But when perfect Edmund needs her help, she steps up and creates an app that could bring them both money. But as she gets her job, in China, she gets busted for possession of cocaine. Well, her assistant was caught with it, but Nora took the blame.
In between Nora and Edmund's antics, Wally, Nora's dad, slowly starts to enter society and begins dating. He happens to meet a free-spirited woman with the same situation as him, and understands the frustration he endures.
Grandma even gets some screen time, duking it out with old Korean ladies at the casino, being the most feared woman in Elmhurst, and having a K-drama inspired backstory of how she was once heir to a rich fortune in China.
It's hard to imagine a girl with no job can have such a captivating story that you want to keep tuning in. Maybe it's because she is so relateable to many people's situation: meager jobs that seem to come and go while still forced to live with their parents. Often you feel like you fail at everything you do. But it's the people around you, who care about you, that makes it all worthwhile, and a comfort that there's always a chance to try again.
It's uncertain that this will get a second season, and I won't be surprised if it doesn't return next year. But I will be returning to Queens as long as Nora is still living there.

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Aired on Comedy Central: January 22 - March 25, 2020
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Awkwafina, Lori Tan Chin, BD Wong, Bowen Yang, Jennifer Esposito
Directors: Lucia Aniello, Jamie Babbit, Natasha Lyonne, Steven Tsuchida, Anu Valia, Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (Average)

"Saturday Night Live: SNL From Home"

This is truly an Emmy-winning episode. When I learned that they're putting together an episode from home, I, I'm sure like everyone else, wondered how it would work. And they pulled it off. I can't wait to see another one.
Of course that had to have Tom Hanks host this episode as he was recently diagnosed with the Coronavirus and recovered. But what about John Krasinski and Dua Lipa? Their episode was scheduled for March 28 until governors across the country issued stay-home orders. Will they get to perform in an Home Edition episode? Also, are we going to count this as Tom's 10th time hosting?
What probably helped sell this episode is that the cast managed to establish personas that are able to function in their own homes. The "Zoom Call" sketch featured Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon as two people who struggle to break in new technology and break down when it doesn't work. Aidy and Kate built up a reputation of playing socially awkward characters, so it was fitting to see them portray characters that aren't taking social distancing very well. It also holds up a mirror to our current society as many struggle with having to stay home all the time.
Video game sketches have been a small staple in the SNL pantheon. The early seasons featured two guys playing Pong while discussing their lives. Recently, they've made a surge in video game testing sketches that feature avatars going haywire. The "Twitch Stream" sketch may have taken the cake where we witness a gamer play Call of Duty: Warzone and hilariously die almost immediately in live streaming. I find it hilarious because I can sort of relate that detailed games like Call of Duty are frustrating. The closest thing I played was LEGO Star Wars. I know it's not the same as Call of Duty, but I can relate to the frustration he has in playing the game.
The "Whatcha' Cookin' On" sketch is another episode of the Kyle and Beck show. Unless you haven't been watching because John Belushi isn't on anymore, you know about the series of pre-recorded sketches displaying Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett's friendship. This one is just so them in terms of being able to create a rap out of their FaceTime conversation on trying to decide on a sketch idea.
The Weekend Update segment is just something I think we needed after all this time, and Colin Jost and Michael Che kill it every time. Can we please have a show with these two? A Deesus & Mero sort of thing. The pictures they use for their stories blended into the background so it looks like Dr. Fauci and President Trump were in Colin's living room.
Bailey Gismert, played by Heidi Gardner, made a few appearances on Weekend Update, but this is the first time we see her YouTube channel, Bailey at the Movies. Both here and on Update, she gives her reviews on popular movies, but she often gets distracted and seems to forget the rest of the movie and just complains about it. Kind of reminds me of someone....
Kate McKinnon and Larry David helped bring their celebrity impressions to the home as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Senator Bernie Sanders respectively. This helps bring their "fans" to the same level as them in funny ways to show that they are in the same boat as us; no one is spared from this virus.
Speaking of which, music coordinator Hal Wilner had passed away from the COVID virus, so the show ended with many cast members past and present discussing fun memories with Hal and saying how much they'll miss him. The segment was also spliced with Hal's own words about his love for the show and how proud he was to be part of it.
Aside from the Hal Wilner tribute, I enjoyed the musical performance by Chris Martin, who played "Shelter from the Storm", by Bob Dylan. I thought it was a great pick since we are all riding this storm together, and we are trying to shelter each other by staying inside and flattening the curve.
This special episode was an absolute hit, and I can't wait to see more. I also can't wait for them to be back in Studio 8H when all of this is over.

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Aired on NBC: April 11, 2020
Rating: TV-14
Stars: Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor, Chloe Fineman, Ego Nwodim, Bowen Yang, Chris Martin, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Larry David, Fred Armisen
Director: Don Roy King
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
IMDb Score: 7.1/10

"Four Weddings and a Funeral" (2019)

I never thought I would be back here, because the 1994 film, this series is based on, was my first post. I didn't think of it at the time, but I realize that's it's weird to squish five major events into a two-hour movie. Now I realize that they're gonna have to make some sh*t up in order to stretch a two-hour movie into a ten-part miniseries.
So, they Americanized it, but still have it set in a fantasy version of London where the Brits aren't giving them sh*t for being Yanks, well except for the constable that warned Maya twice about littering the Thames. In order to make this series last longer, they front loaded the botched wedding to give drama to Maya and Kash. Both times, I don't think this counts as a wedding because it didn't happen. To quote Wesley, from The Princess Bride, "You didn't say it, you didn't do it."
Also, it was kind of tacky to reference the other well-known Richard Curtis film this side of the pond, Love, Actually. I'm actually surprised that Hugh Grant didn't show his ugly face in this one, since he was in both films. The Love, Actually Easter eggs include, but aren't limited to: the cue card messages, opening with "Love is All Around Us", a cheating American politician, a British politician voting against his party, a black singer appearing at a wedding to sing at the ceremony, a mysterious jewelry gift meant for someone else, a dumb, blond guy looking to get laid with an American girl, and a guy's best friend having feeling for his date.
Honestly, the person that stole the whole show was the Queen, watching the reality dating show, Love, Chalet (oh, forgot that Easter egg), saying, "Zara found love, how nice." That is really the best part of the series.
I had forgotten a few details since I saw the movie, but I was sure that the four weddings would be among the four friends. I remember now that they attended all the same weddings. I remember that when Kash's friend, Basheer, marries Fatima, whom Kash was dating in an arranged marriage.
The part that bothered me the most was when Maya was applying for a job, she gets hired by a young Parliamentarian who touches her inappropriately. When she confronts him about it, he said to remember that she came up to him, at a gym, in a sports bra. First of all, dude, just f*cking apologize. Second, she dressed the part for the situation. He was at the gym; the sports bra is the proper attire for the gym. It would have been weird if she showed up in a blazer asking for a job. It'd be like applying to be a police officer wearing an apron and a toque.
I know this is just a miniseries, but if there is one character that should get its own movie or show, it's Basheer. I've noticed this in movies, and this will get playfully racist, Indians and Pakistani people are the absolute wingmen. You never fly solo. Never. Basheer was very upset, much like Maya was for stealing Kash from Ainsley, that he wanted Kash to hit him with his car. When Kash needed a chaperone (that's a very Victorian way, that's not weird), he texted Bash, and Bash dropped whatever he was doing. Bash drove Kash to the airport to "stop" Maya's wedding and was willing to stay at the airport in case it didn't work out. We all need a Basheer in our lives.
The funeral was actually very nice, but of all the ABBA songs Gemma would've picked, she picked a breakup song. What about "Honey Honey", "Fernando", "Waterloo"? I feel Gemma and her son Giles play off of the plot of The Sound of Music (probably why Kash starred in it) with them struggling from Quentin's death and finding love again in Duffy. And Arsenal sucks.
This was a fun series and I recommend it, if you're not too busy bingeing Friends or The Office for umpteenth time this isolation time.

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Released on Hulu: July 31 - September 11, 2019
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, John Reynolds, Brandon Mychal Smith, Zoe Boyle, Sophia La Porta, Harish Patel, Guz Khan
Directors: Charles McDougall, Tristram Shapeero, Catherine Morshead
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 42%
IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (Average)

"Ally McBeal" Season 1

It is such a shame that this show isn't talked about more nowadays. Instead of watching Friends, maybe give this show a chance.
This show is wildly funny, entertaining, and very boundary pushing as the main characters face all kinds of prejudice in and out of the workplace. First off, it was obvious that sexism was going to play a strong role since the titular Ally was sexually harassed, and she quits and joins a law firm featuring her ex-boyfriend from childhood, and later his wife. As the season progresses, we dive into racism, physical appearances, marriage preferences, and discrimination.
Some of the cases the law firm takes on are often outlandish and silly, but it opens up, as it should, conversations that weren't discussed out loud before. Georgia, Billy's wife, was fired because her boss's wife didn't like that she was pretty. That isn't fair to the boss, and that isn't fair to Georgia. It makes you realize how we as human beings are quick to judge people based on the premise of their cases rather than listen to their motives.
The start of the series depended on cutaway gags that help define certain moments, one of which involves a dancing CGI baby that rocked the Internet in the late nineties. As the season goes on, they become less dependent on them, and it makes me struggle with the fact of whether it's a good thing. The gags help you become engaged in the show, and you'd keep watching. By the season finale, you'd be committed enough to keep watching so it becomes less reliant on gags. With that being said, the gags are a staple part of the show, and seeing them less makes me wonder if it would do away with them eventually, which would suck because they are an essential part of the story.
Whether we lose the sight gags or not, we do have the amusing and uplifting habits displayed by the cast, from Fish's "Fishisms" to Cage's bells to Elaine's eccentric inventions. Richard Fish, one of the senior partners of the firm, has a habit of spouting gibberish that he passes off as a thread of philosophy. He comes at a very weird angle on discrimination in the sense that he practically tears down the victims while uplifting them at the same time, like women using flirting to move up in the workplace because men are pigs and can't think of anything other than sex. Then the men act on the flirtations, and then the women are objectified. It is a very tough conundrum both men and women have to face in order to achieve gender equality, which still rings true today.
John Cage, the other senior partner, is an oddball of a lawyer with a gift of controlling the space to his advantage. He has an automatic flusher so that he'd have fresh toilet. He hears ringing bells to get him pumped for trial. He calls witnesses to the stand but doesn't question them. And yet, he manages to sway the jury and win his cases.
Elaine is Ally's secretary and the firm gossip. She is always up in Ally's business believing to be helpful in every situation. In the meantime, she creates wild gadgets she believes would help extend physical beauty in some form, from the face bra to the ice pack glasses.
Whenever, they're not winning cases, they're enjoying a drink at the bar downstairs, dancing with a pair of twins, and listening to music by the real life Vonda Shepard, who also sings songs for the show.
Ally, is a young lawyer trying to figure out her life as well as trying to recover from the breakup of a childhood relationship. It doesn't help that she works in the same firm as the ex-boyfriend, and what's worse, his wife soon joins the firm. She is tortured by his presence, meanwhile she pushes every boy away that comes near her, feeling no one can replace Billy, the ex. But as the season progresses, Ally and the wife become close friends and even allies in some cases, and Ally and Billy manage to reestablish their relationship as friends.
I find this to be a very entertaining show, and I can't wait to see what's in store in season two.

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Aired on Fox: September 8, 1997 - May 18, 1998
Rating: TV-14
Stars: Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann, Peter MacNicols, Jane Krakowski, Lisa Nicole Carson, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Gil Bellows
Directors: James Frawley, Jonathan Pontell, Dennie Gordon, Arlene Sanford, Sandy Smolan, Victoria Hochberg, Michael Schultz, Mel Damski, Dan Attias, Thomas Schlamme, Joe Napolitano, Allan Arkush, Elodie Keene, Jeremy Kagan, Dennis Dugan
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (Average)

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominated
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Calista Flockhart) - Nominated
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Allan Arkush) - Nominated
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (David E. Kelley) - Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) - Winner
• Best Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) (Calista Flockhart) - Winner

(Click here to view more awards for "Ally McBeal".)

"Dickinson" Season 1

When Apple announced they were establishing a streaming service, I'm sure we all laughed. That's ridiculous! Why would a computer company be interested in competing with Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu? Why would a computer company be interested in competing with J.P. Morgan? But that's another story. The point is Apple TV+ is here, and it's very serious. Their mission is to stream original content only, things only Apple Studios would produce. However, when I signed up I found Star Wars. So, it's not all original. But that's another story.
You know that boring reclusive poet we are supposed to read in English class? Well, what if she was a rebellious teen, speaking in 21st Century lingo, and dating Wiz Khlifa? While still set in the late 1840s, we witness Emily Dickinson argue with her old-fashioned parents about marriage and her place in the home, dream of the independence and the poems she'll never see published, and suffer as her secret girlfriend marries her brother.
The show is written for you to understand and feel Emily's predicaments, especially when she meets other accomplished authors of her era. We see Henry David Thoreau as a weirder shut-in than she is, and Louisa May Alcott is in it for the money. While it adds to the sympathy we have for Emily not being able to share her words, it stands to understand how she is more remembered than her counterparts. Let's face it: no one reads Thoreau or Alcott willingly, except for Greta Gerwig who wrote and directed Little Women last year. I'm sure no one reads Dickinson willingly either, but she is among the first to come to mind when you have to list American authors and poets.
Hiding behind Emily's ever-widening shadow is her sister, Lavinia, who is desperate to find a boy and get married. There is an episode in which she gives a bad boy, she was seeing, a nude sketch of herself that she drew, and he went and showed it to everyone. You'd think she'd hide in her room until she died, because that's what you would do if your nudes get leaked. But I think she took a page out of Emily's confidence book, and released the rest of her sketches showing she has nothing to hide. And there was nothing risque about the sketches, as far as TV-14 will allow, it was something she's proud of.
The part that annoys me the most, and I think it's the whole point of the series, is that Emily never truly runs away. Today, she would have struck out on her own, be an accomplished poet, and win all kinds of awards. But she's stuck living in her parents' home. Everyone around her puts her down saying she isn't an author, women shouldn't read, shouldn't write, shouldn't have a legacy. Well, that can't be true. Though possibly made up for the show, we see Emily's got quite the following in her lifetime from lovesick boy, George, to closeted gay man, Ben. And let's not forget about Sue. Her best friend growing up, and actually more than friends, we see the two struggle with their relationship as know they will never be legally together. What hurts more is that Sue marries Emily's brother, Austin, who is extremely jealous of their friendship. So jealous that Austin bans Emily from their wedding.
Emily Dickinson may have died alone, but her story, real or make believe, is an invigorating one, and I can't wait to see what season two has in store.

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Released on Apple TV+: November 1, 2019
Rating: TV-14
Stars: Hailee Steinfeld, Toby Huss, Anna Baryshnikov, Ellen Hunt, Adrian Enscoe, Jane Krakowski
Directors: David Gordon Green, Lynn Shelton, Silas Howard, Stacie Passon, Patrick Norris
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 8.5/10 (Average)