Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “A Family Affair” (Netflix)

 

“A Family Affair” is a Hallmark movie  – only it’s on Netflix. Let me explain.

Hallmark movies follow a specific ‘feel good’ formula. There’s a hot, hunky protagonist who falls in love with an unlikely romantic partner. They’re faced with a dilemma involving a job and/or family business – plus an adverse emotional trauma with a third person who then helps contrive a happy ending.  Got it?

Meet charismatic Chris Cole (Zac Efron), an obnoxiously self-absorbed Hollywood movie star who brow-beats Zara (Joey King), his beleaguered 24 year-old assistant. She yearns to be a film producer and lives with her widowed/famous writer mother Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman) in a picturesque Malibu beach house.

Although Zara’s valiantly trying to salvage Chris’s current project – best described as “Die Hard” meets “Miracle on 34^th Street” meets “Speed” – most of her time is spent on mundane errands like delivering gifts for womanizing Chris’ soon-to-be-dismissed girlfriends, grocery shopping and picking up his dry cleaning.

When fed-up Zara abruptly quits, Chris drives to her home to try to convince her to come back. But Zara’s elsewhere, tediously confiding in her best-friend Genie (Lisa Koshy).

So Chris shares enough tequila shots with Brooke to proceed to the bedroom, where Zara eventually catches them ‘in flagrante delicto.’

Stunned to find her middle-aged mother in bed with her much younger boss, Zara goes berserk, begging Brooke to end the affair immediately. Which doesn’t happen – particularly after Brooke confides in supportive Leila (Kathy Bates), her astute editor/wise mother-in-law.

Shallowly concocted by debuting screenwriter Carrie Solomon, it’s clumsily directed by Richard La Gravensese, who desperately tries to breathe life into a mundane romantic fantasy that’s filled with beautiful, privileged people wearing stunning ‘designer’ clothes, cavorting on lavish sets.

Problem is: Complete by-the-numbers predictability, including celebrating a snowy Christmas in a secluded mountain cabin.

FYI: Nicole Kidman previously starred with Zac Efron in “The Paperboy” (2019); she is actually 20 years his senior but – with her svelte figure and extensive cosmetic enhancement – that age difference barely registers.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Family Affair” is a tepid 3, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” (Warner Bros.)

 

After innumerable accolades for portraying Montana rancher John Dutton in “Yellowstone,” Kevin Costner left that successful TV series to pursue his passion project: “Horizon: An American Saga” – four epic films about the settling of the West before and after the Civil War.

At three hours, one minute – the same running time as Costner’s Oscar-winning “Dances With Wolves ” – “Horizon: Chapter 1” was just released. Costner is – literally – betting the ranch on its success, having mortgaged his 10-acres in Santa Barbara to help finance this budding franchise.

Co-written by Costner and Jon Baird (“Tetris,” “Filth”), it’s directed by Costner, who makes the most of J. Michael Muro’s spectacular cinematography, beginning in an 1859 township called Horizon in Arizona’s San Pedro Valley, where White Mountain Apaches attack the homesteaders who are claiming ownership of their ancestral lands.

Escaping from the massacre that took the lives of her husband (Tim Guinee) and teenage son (Hayes Costner, Kevin’s real-life son), Frances Kittredge (Sienna Miller) and her daughter  Lizzie (Georgia MacPhail) take refuge in a nearby fort, manned by Union Cavalry Colonel Houghton (Danny Huston), First Lieutenant Trent Gephardt (Sam Worthington), and Sgt. Major Riordan (Michael Rooker).

Meanwhile in Montana Territory, abused Lucy (Jena Malone) wreaks revenge on lecherous James Sykes (Charles Halford), fleeing with their infant son, infuriating the mean Sykes matriarch (Dale Rickey) who dispatches her other two sons, Caleb (James Campbell Bower) and Junior (Job Beavers), to bring back her grandchild.

Then there’s laconic “saddle tramp” Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner) hooking up with opportunistic prostitute Marigold (Abbey Lee), who babysits for Lucy, now married to kindly Walter Childs (Michael Angarano).

Plodding behind, Matthew Van Weyden (Luke Wilson) shepherds a wagon train filled with even more settlers, including bumbling Brits (Ella Hunt, Tom Payne).

Bottom Line: Too many characters pursuing different storylines. Eventually, they’re bound to intersect but – in this incoherent Chapter 1 – they’re unstructured, clichéd and confusing. As a result, Warner Bros. has cancelled the theatrical release of Chapter 2.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is a surprisingly scattered, stilted, sprawling 6. Pilled from theaters, it’s now on VOD and will soon be available on Max.

Susan Granger’s review of “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures)

 

Federal authorities warn that seniors are increasingly being targeted by scammers pretending to be their grandchildren and cajoling them to send money after a car crash, arrest or other catastrophe. That’s what happened to Thelma, an elderly widow living alone in Los Angeles.

A fraudster claiming to be her grandson calls Thelma Post (June Squibb), telling her that he was in a terrible accident and needs her to send $10,000 immediately. Horrified, she complies, only to discover she’s been swindled.

Her apprehensive daughter (Parker Posey) and son-in-law (Clark Gregg) cannot help, nor can the police. So this feisty grandma decides to get a gun and retrieve the money on her own.

Eluding her devoted, if directionless 24 year-old grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger), who considers himself her ‘guardian angel,’ isn’t easy, but tenacious Thelma is determined to track down and confront the owner of the P.O. Box number where she mailed the cash.

She solves the transportation problem by ‘borrowing’ an electric mobility scooter that belongs to her late husband’s friend Ben (Richard Roundtree) who lives in a nearby ‘assisted living’ community, convincing him to come along for the ride.

Inspired by what happened to his own 103 year-old grandma (stick around for the credits to get a glimpse of her), screenwriter/director Josh Margolin adroitly spins a charming, surprisingly suspenseful tale, anchored by gutsy June Squibb. She was Bruce Dern’s ornery wife in “Nebraska” (2013), a role that earned her a Supporting Actor Oscar-nomination.

Now 94, June Squibb has been making films for almost 70 years but this is her first starring role. She proudly claims to have done most of her own stunts and has great rapport with Richard Roundtree (“Shaft”), delivering this final performance before his death in Oct., 2023. Plus, there’s Malcolm McDowell as an old codger who appears later as Thelma’s trek unfolds.

FYI: In 2022, nearly a half million American seniors were victims of elder fraud and complaints rose by 14% last year; the average victim lost $33,915, according to FBI reports.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Thelma” is a poignant, engaging 8, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” (Paramount+)

 

After the resounding success of “Yellowstone” and its two prequels (“1883,” “1923”), Taylor Sheridan produced another Western series: “Lawmen: Bass Reeves.”

Interweaving fact with fiction, its eight episodes follow the first Black deputy U.S. Marshall who served west of the Mississippi River. Currently vying for Emmy consideration as a limited/anthology series, its compelling lead actor is versatile David Oyelowo (“Selma”).

In 1862 during the Civil War, enslaved Bass Reeves (Oyelowo) was forced to fight alongside his owner, George Reeves (Shea Whigham); while serving in the Confederate Army, Bass acquired a reputation as a remarkable marksman.

Escaping enslavement, Reeves then lived among various Native tribes where he learned to speak their Cherokee, Creek and Seminole languages.

After working as a paid gunslinger for the U.S. Government, empathetic Judge Isaac C. Parker (Donald Sutherland) awarded him his coveted badge in 1875.

Settling as an earnest frontiersman/homesteader, he and his pragmatic wife Jennie (Lauren E. Banks) – along with their 10 children – faced continual racism and oppression during this post-Reconstruction era.

Yet Reeves (1838-1910) with his Native American companion Billy Crow – was subsequently credited for arresting 3,000 ‘Wanted’ outlaws and felons during his three decade career, patrolling Arkansas, Texas and the Oklahoma Territory.

One of the more daring segments pits sturdy Reeves against an evil ex-Confederate Texas Ranger (Barry Pepper) who used Black prisoners as slave labor.

Credit Sheridan and showrunner/writer Chad Feehan (“Ray Donovan”) for exposing and debunking many clichés of the classic, over-sentimentalized Western genre – although folklore still credits heroic Reeves for inspiring the legend of the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

“I really hope people reframe their knowledge of history and accept the fact that Black people were so instrumental in building this country,” Oyelowo told Entertainment Weekly. “This man was empowered, using it for the good of his community and his country.”

No one yet knows if there will be a second season for this intriguing series. If there is, it will undoubtedly pivot around other previously ignored American History trailblazers.

Meanwhile on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” rustles up an action-packed 8, streaming on Paramount +.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Ride” (Well Go USA)

 

Writer/director Jake Allyn makes his directorial debut with “The Ride,” a serious crime drama that pivots around a small-town Texas family of bull riders.

Stephenville, Texas, is known as America’s “Cowboy Capital,” because of its central location for rodeo participants. That’s where rugged John Hawkins (C. Thomas Howell, looking much older than his 57 years) is desperately trying to raise money for his 11 year-old daughter’s cancer treatments.

For three generations, the Hawkins family has excelled in the dangerous sport of bull riding. To compete, each participant mounts a bull that’s in a confined pen known as the chute. When the gate opens, the bull is let out into the arena, where it kicks, spins and attempts to dislodge the rider from its back.

Wearing chaps, boots and gloves, the rider grasps a thick rope, attempting to remain on the bucking bull for eight seconds. Scoring depends on time and on how much control & harmony with the bull that the rider demonstrates. While cinematographer Keith J. Leman captures this, it’s not explained in the narrative.

Instead, the convoluted saga begins as John picks up his wayward elder son Peter (Jake Allyn) after a four-year prison sentence. Peter’s eager to score drugs from thuggish Tyler (Patrick Murney), promising to pay with his upcoming bull-riding winnings.

Meanwhile, stoic John and his estranged wife Monica (Annabeth Gish), who serves as local Sheriff, are desperate to get ailing Virginia (Zia Carlock) admitted to a specialized oncology center – no matter what it takes.

But Monica’s Deputy Ross Dickens (Scott Reeves) becomes suspicious when Virginia’s medical bill is mysteriously paid, and the Hawkins’ younger son, teenage Noah (co-scripter Josh Plasse), is determined to help his family.

“Bull riding is the only sport that you always lose,” Jake Allyn concludes. “The bull always bucks you off eventually. It’s just a matter of how long you stay on and how many times you get back up. The same is true in life, and that’s what this movie reflects.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Ride” is a confusing, yet suspenseful 6 – available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple TV, YouTube and Vudu.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Veil” (FX/Hulu)

 

Having established her versatility in “Mad Men” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Elisabeth Moss stars in “The Veil” in which she plays an enigmatic rogue MI6 operative determined to uncover a mysterious enemy agent, the mastermind behind an upcoming ISIS terrorist attack on the United States.

Her quest begins in a remote Syrian refugee camp near the border with Turkey, where several women identify and accuse Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan) of being the ISS agent who tortured them and murdered their families.

Using the pseudonym Imogen Salter, the MI6 agent ‘rescues’ Adilah and begins to subtly quizzes her to try to determine if she is – indeed – the cold-blooded killer known as Djinn al Raqqa, a shape-shifting genie, renown in folklore. 

Imogen firmly believes that it she can befriend Adilah, she can uncover essential details of her deadly secret mission. Gradually, Imogen and Adilah discover enough intriguing similarities in their damaged backgrounds and experiences to inspire exchanging confidences, particularly about children and families.

Problem is: Imogen’s Muslim lover Malik Amar (Dali Benssalah), an intense  French-Algerian agent reporting to Magritte, France’s Directorate-General for External Affairs (Thibault de Montalembert), and aggressive CIA agent Max Peterson (Josh Charles) want to capture Adilah first and ask questions later.

Created by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders,” “All the Light We Cannot See”), the unpredictably action-filled, six-episode thriller miniseries starts out strong and then kind of slowly strings the viewer along – intrigued by Elisabeth Moss’s and Yumma Marwan’s convincing adversarial performances.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Veil” is a suspenseful 6, an acting showcase streaming on FX/Hulu – with the possibility of a second season yet to be confirmed.

Susan Granger’s review of “Palm Royale” (Apple TV+)

 

Loosely inspired by Juliet McDaniels’ 2018 novel “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie,” the comedy series “Palm Royale,” set in the late 1960s, follows the misadventures of former Tennessee beauty queen Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), a desperate social climber determined to join South Florida’s most elegant, exclusive country club.

Currently penniless, ambitious Maxine is married to dim-witted airline pilot Douglas (Jos Lucas), presumed heir to the plastics/mouthwash fortune of his formidable aunt, high-society doyenne Norma Delacorte (Carol Burnett), who recently suffered a life-threatening embolism and is currently lying comatose in a posh nursing home.

In order to accomplish her goal, Maxine – as an unwanted interloper – must not only steal and lie but also charm snobbish socialite competitors like Evelyn (Allison Janney), Dinah (Leslie Bibb) and Mary (Julia Duffy), each hosting a glitzy fundraiser during high season.

Chronicled by reporter Ann Holiday (Mindy Cohn) in the ubiquitous “Shiny Sheet,” their duplicitous social politics and seductive treachery reign supreme.  

But Maxine’s most formidable frenemy turns out to be bohemian Linda Shaw (Laura Dern), who runs an earthy feminist collective situated in a West Palm Beach book store: Our Bodies, Our Shelves.

Supplying Maxine with a constant supply of her favorite mint-green grasshopper cocktails is wary, eagle-eyed Robert Diaz (Ricky Martin), a hunky Korean War veteran working as a bartender at the swanky Palm Royale and doubling as Norma’s pool boy/loyal companion.

Created as a darkly comedic melodrama by showrunner Abe Sylvia, this flimsy, farcical, frivolous frolic starts out deceptively shallow but slowly builds in depth and intensity, incorporating a beached whale and an astronaut falling from the sky.

In various interviews, Sylvia has described conniving Maxine as “a bit of an Archie Bunker character, Her ideas are so retrograde, and yet we buy into her character because she believes them so much – she’s so optimistic and likable.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Palm Royale” is a silly, satiric, sun-soaked 7 – with all 10 episodes now streaming on Apple TV+ …and it’s been renewed for a second season,

Susan Granger’s review of “Hit Man” (Netflix)

 

“You have to live passionately – on your own terms,” instructs Gary Johnson (Glenn Powell), a mild-mannered, tech-savvy, psychology/philosophy professor at the University of New Orleans, who moonlights occasionally for local law enforcement, setting up recording/listening devices for their ‘sting’ operations.

One day, while in the audio surveillance truck, he is summoned to fill in for a veteran undercover detective (Austin Amelio) who was caught in a compromising situation. Basically, geeky Gary is told to pretend to be a hitman for hire.

Taking role-playing the cool ‘assassin’ very seriously, Gary stuns his police colleagues (Sanjay Rao, Retta) by scoring successfully from the get-go.

“Forgettable-looking” Gary, who has a goofy grin, has always lived quietly in suburbia with his two cats, named Id and Ego. Driving an unobtrusive Honda Civic, he’s divorced but still friendly with his ex-wife.

Following Nietzsche’s ‘identity’ advice: to live dangerously in order “to harvest from existence the greatest fruitfulness” – a.k.a. ”self-liberation – Gary soon adapts to taking risks to truly embody a cold-blooded contract killer, complete with convincing disguises, accents and backstories.

But then Madison Masters (Adria Arjona), an attractive young ‘femme fatale,’ wants him to kill her abusive, controlling husband. Visibly moved by her plight, Gary – assuming the persona of stud-muffin Ron – breaks protocol and convinces this potential client to abandon that plan.

What happens next becomes a smart, sexy, screwball comedy/crime rom-com, a saucy thriller filled with unexpectedly subversive twists and turns.  Does pretending to be someone else long enough change a person? No spoilers here!

Based on Skip Hollingsworth’s article in Oct., 2001’s Texas Monthly, the wildly entertaining, ‘somewhat true’ story was co-scripted by director Richard Linklater (“Dazed and Confused,” “Boyhood,” “School of Rock”) and actor Glen Powell (“Top Gun: Maverick”).

Charismatic 35 year-old Powell, a native of Austin TX, is headed for stardom. Mentored by Tom Cruise, he’s committed to marketing his movies as well as making them – playing a tornado-chaser in “Twisters,” scheduled for July.

“To be a lasting success in Hollywood, you have to make people money,” he told the New York Times. “I find the gamification of the business fun. How do we make a movie that is rewatched and rewatched over decades?”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Hit Man” is a nihilistic ‘noir’ 9, now streaming on Netflix after a limited theatrical release (making it Oscar-eligible).

Susan Granger’s review of “Hacks: Season 3” (Max/Universal Television)

 

Delightfully original, “Hacks” is a clever character study about writing and performing comedy, bridging the generation gap with smart show-business satire.

For the first two seasons, legendary Boomer diva Deborah Vance (Emmy-winner Jean Smart) has been working in Las Vegas with Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), her combative Gen-Z comedy-writer protégé. Then they go their separate ways.

As the third season begins, Deborah’s stand-up TV comeback special is wildly successful, and Ava has secured a prestigious new writing gig in Los Angeles. Problem is: Deborah misses her provocative young collaborator, and Ava cannot resist the creative challenge.

Deborah’s quest this time is to become the first woman to host a late-night talk show on a major television network – like Johnny Carson. The season explores the pitfalls in pursuit of this elusive prize.

This isn’t a new goal for Deborah; she ‘almost’ snagged it 40 years ago. “I need to be sharper and funnier than I’ve ever been,” she tells Ava, refusing to even consider that she may be past her prime. Their toxic, symbiotic, co-dependent chemistry is the crux of the show.

Septuagenarian Deborah summons her support squad: stalwart CEO Marcus (Carl Clemons Hopkins), personal assistant Damien (Mark Indelicato), beleaguered agent Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) and his delusional assistant Kayla (Megan Stalter).

Causing relationship complications, there’s Deborah’s resentful daughter DJ (Kaitlin Olson) and estranged younger sister Kathy Vance (J. Smith-Cameron). Plus a full roster of guests stars, including Tony Goldwyn, Christina Hendricks, Helen Hunt, Christopher Lloyd and Chris McDonald as casino magnate Marty Ghilain.

Showrunners Jan Statsky, Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs tackle – among other humorous conundrums – the difficulty of racist, sexist, fat-phobic jokes that may have been funny – in the context of their time – but didn’t age well. “I can’t be woke! I’m exhausted,” Deborah wails.

Jean Smart is beyond brilliant, embodying a composite of trailblazing comediennes including Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, Kathy Griffin, even Betty White, while Hannah Einbinder, daughter of “S.N.L’s” Laraine Newman and comedy writer Chad Einbinder, has a terrific deadpan and superbly timed delivery.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Hacks: Season 3” is a fast-paced, nimble 9. All nine episodes are streaming on Max and it’s just been renewed for Season 4.

Susan Granger’s review of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.)

Australian director George Miller is an acknowledged master at staging propulsive action sequences – so why did his “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” flop at the box-office?

Costing $168 million – plus more for marketing – it launched the worst Memorial Day weekend result in 43 years, excluding when the coronavirus shut theaters. Subsequent weeks have not fared much better.

Since this is a prequel, speculation centers on the substitution of young Anya Taylor-Joy for Charlize Theron, who originated role, but Ms, Taylor Joy (“The Witch,” “The Queen’s Gambit”) actually does a creditable job in this origin story.

Instead, perhaps audiences had no desire to see a prequel since there’s little suspense about whether Furiosa survives. We already know that she does, making “Mad Max: Fury Road” into a 2015 hit.  

Ignoring that obvious fact, George Miller and co-writer Nico Lathouris delve into a ravaged, post-apocalyptic world to tell Furiosa’s origin story in five chapters.

With barbarism creeping in all around them, 10 year-old Furiosa (Alyla Browne) and her mother, Mary Jabassa (Charlee Fraser), dwell in The Green Place of Many Mothers, an idyllic spot ruled by the Vuvalini, a benevolent matriarchy – until she’s kidnapped by the Biker Horde and delivered to Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), who lost his own family and still totes his daughter’s Teddy bear on his back.

When machete-wielding Mary tries to retrieve her daughter, she’s brutally killed. Her crucifixion imagery then haunts Furiosa’s life and ignites her desire for vengeance as Furiosa passes from one captor to another in the blighted wasteland.

Meanwhile, dim-witted Dementus is determined to gain control of the Citadel, the rocky stronghold of diseased Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). After suffering horrendous loses in his initial assault, Dementus teams up with Octoboss (Goran D. Kleut). And so it goes…high octane biker battle after biker battle…

As now-grown Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) becomes a full-fledged rebel, she finds a mentor in War Rig driver Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) and turns out to be the badass Imperator, relishing the vehicular choreography.

FYI: The “Mad Max” saga began in 1979 with Mel Gibson as highway patrol supercop Max Rockatansky, followed by “The Road Warrior” (1982) & “Beyond Thunderdome (1985). When Gibson’s misogynistic, anti-Semitic rants made him a liability, Tom Hardy took over the role.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” goes full throttle with a fierce 5 – playing in theaters.