I had mostly bailed on HBO’s Westworld by the end of season #1 and certainly by the middle of season #2. The endless puzzleboxing was infuriating. I was amazed that the producers had the chutzpah to launch a third season (eight episodes, 3.15.20 to 5.3.20), but that they did. I refused to watch. I was … Read more
Westworld‘s third season is nearly upon us. An eight-episode endurance test that begins on 3.15.20, it will presumably deliver the same infuriating mixture of bullshit brain-teasing, dick-diddling, plotzing and puzzleboxing. Around the 28-second mark of the Westworld 3 trailer we hear a woman’s voice say “you are woke“…thud. Update: It’s been claimed that she’s saying … Read more
Well-heeled types pay to have their way in a fantasy realm, but it turns out the fantasy realm wants to have its way with them. Jeff Wadlow‘s Fantasy Island (Sony, 2.14.20) is some kind of high-concept midrange spooker. Boiled down, it seems to be a blend of Michael Crichton’s 1973 Westworld and a 1964 Alfred … Read more
A recent, anonymously-written Den of Geek report reminds that Season 2 of HBO and Jonathan Nolan‘s Westworld won’t happen until ’18, and perhaps not until the fall. Take your time, guys! I began as a fascinated viewer — hell, I was nearly a fan — but by the time season #1 ended I had moved … Read more
This drearily synthetic “meet Walter” piece, a promotion for Alien: Covenant (20th Century Fox, 5.19), was conceived by Ridley Scott and 3AM, directed by Luke Scott and produced by RSA Films. What horsehit…a perfume commercial! Why didn’t they use Rihanna or Beyonce as the nurse-surgeons? The Alien: Covenant buzz has just taken a nosedive.
Like many others, I’ve gone totally negative on Westworld over the last three or four episodes. The HBO miniseries finally ended last night, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a major revolt going on. I hate this series with a passion for just layering on the layers, for plotzing, diddly-fucking, detouring, belly-stabbing, meandering and puzzleboxing … Read more
Last night’s Westworld debut was a bowl of satisfaction. Richer, spookier, more complex than the 1973 Michael Crichton film. The Groundhog Day repetition element is brilliant, and then Evan Rachel Wood finally swats the fly…perfect. It was just one episode (and yes, I’ve heard the quality doesn’t sustain) but right away it felt like a … Read more
A legendary Roy Orbison tune plopped onto a soundtrack always adds an agreeable vibe, some kind of haunted yesteryear feeling, as this trailer makes clear. The buildup to HBO’s Westworld has gone on forever, but the 10.2 debut is nigh. Side issue: I’m a bit confused about the romance between James Marsden‘s Teddy Flood and … Read more
James Gunn‘s Superman is about so much stuff — big jolts, goofing off, silliness, monsters, emptiness, jerking off, twists and turns, urban destruction, social media trashings, the basically rancid nature of Average Joes and Janes — that it’s not really about anything except sadism…sadism directed at David Corenswet‘s Man of Vulnerability, and sadism directed at … Read more
True Detective: Night Country, which I decided to stop watching last Sunday, is a relentlessly grim, noirish atmosphere puzzlebox series. Not as long or convoluted as the deeply despised Westworld series, but similiar in certain ways. Matt of Sleaford, eight years ago: “Puzzlebox shows can be fun to chew on while they’re progressing. But the … Read more
I’ve posted a roster of the 35 best films of 1973 twice before — this is the third time. Here’s my rundown of the best of ’23 and it only comes to 24 films. A lot of them are excellent or highly commendable, but overall they simply can’t compare to Team ’73…different culture, different atmosphere. … Read more