Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Schmigadoon! Season 2” (Apple TV+)

If you loved the first Emmy-winning season of the inventive musical comedy parody “Schmigadoon!” – which premiere’d in the summer of 2022 – don’t miss the second season, titled “Schmicago!”

Created by Don Kaurio and Cinco Paul, the team behind the “Despicable Me” franchise with a score by composer Christopher Willis, it follows the misadventures of Melissa Gimble (Cecily Strong) and Josh Skinner (Keegan-Michael Key) who – after leaving wholesome, candy-colored Schmigadoon – are transplanted into Bob Fosse’s debauched Schmicago.

They’re trapped in a murder mystery at a seedy nightclub run by Madame Frau (Ann Harada), featuring sexy chanteuse Jenny Banks (Dove Cameron). She’s surrounded by razzle-dazzle characters inspired by the jaded inhabitants of edgy late-1960s and ‘70s musicals like “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Sweeny Todd,”  “Annie,” “A Chorus Line,” “Pippin,”  “Sweet Charity,” “Hair,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,”  “Godspell”  and “Oliver!”

As the musical motifs unfold, Alan Cumming embodies the dastardly, cleaver-wielding, blood-thirsty butcher Dooley Flint while Kristin Chenoweth embodies demented Miss Codwell whose orphaned children could become his new meat supply.

(FYI: The idea of selling poverty-stricken children to wealthy patrons as food came from Irish humorist Jonathan Swift’s 1729 essay, “A Modest Proposal.”)

Yet the highlight is slinky Jane Krakowski’s slyly show-stealing “Bells and Whistles” dance number in which she whirls on a trapeze; if you recall, she won a Tony doing something similar in 2003’s “Nine.”

As the playful plot evolves with its inside jokes and myriad melodic references, Melissa realizes that almost everyone in Schmicago has made choices that they thought would make them happy but didn’t work out – including Josh and herself. So – at the suggestion of the Leprechaun (Martin Short) – she tries to rectify that.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Schmigadoon! Season 2” is a snarky, satirical 7 – with all six episodes streaming on Apple TV+.

Susan Granger’s review of “I Am Mother” (Netflix)

Sci-fi movies about AI and robotics can be terrifying or tortuous – “I Am Mother” falls into the latter category.

Set in a massive, automated, underground laboratory, the story begins with an angular, one-eyed android – embodied by Luke Hawker (who supervised its manufacture at New Zealand’s Weta Workshop) and softly voiced by Rose Byrne.

Calling itself Mother, it chooses one test-tube embryo out of thousands in cryogenic stasis to begin the job of repopulating humanity after a horrific global extinction event.

After 24 hours in a womblike incubator, the female embryo becomes a crying baby, soothed by Mother singing “Baby of Mine.”

As more time passes, she grows into a toddler, a youngster and, soon, a teenager, identified only as Daughter (Clara Rugaard).

Determined to create a “smarter, more ethical” human race, Mother instructs Daughter in all kinds of moral lessons, honing her physical, intellectual and emotional skills.

While she’s free to roam around the sprawling “reformulation facility,” curious Daughter is forbidden by Mother to venture outside since Mother describes it as a post-apocalyptic wasteland where the air is contaminated.

But one night when metallic Mother has powered down, lonely Daughter hears a knocking at the bunker’s steel outside door. Much to her surprise, she discovers a wounded Woman (Hilary Swank) who needs help.

When over-protective Mother awakens, she’s immediately ‘on alert,’ marching toward Daughter. “Is that a droid?” inquires the frightened Woman, who has obviously encountered hostile droids in the outside world.

Inevitably, a relationship grows between the lonely, warily determined Daughter and the grimly desperate Woman – to manipulative Mother’s predictable consternation.

“I was designed to value human life above all else,” Mother explains. “I couldn’t stand by and watch humanity slowly succumb to its self-destructive nature.”

Scripted as a dystopian allegory by Michael Lloyd Green, it was filmed in Australia by first-time feature director Grant Sputone and premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Why wasn’t it immediately released? Perhaps because the tension lapses and the conclusion is complicated and confusing.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “I Am Mother” is a frustrating, fumbling 5, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Jules” (Bleecker Street Media)

Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley (“Gandhi”) stars in the comedic drama “Jules,” which might also be called ‘Close Encounters of the Lonely Kind’ or ‘Cocoon’ revisited.

In the quiet western Pennsylvania town of Booton, not much happens until a UFO lands in the suburban backyard belonging to 78 year-old widower Milton (Kingsley), crushing his carefully-tended azalea bushes.

When befuddled Milton calls 911 to report his distress, his complaint is summarily dismissed, as are his ‘suggestions’ at the weekly meetings of the City Council.

So when Milton spies an injured extraterrestrial (Jade Quon) sprawled on his back steps, he gently covers him with a blanket. Later, seeing the little creature cuddled up in the cold, he empathetically offers him food and invites him to come inside.

Milton’s daughter Denise (Zoe Winters), a veterinarian, has been worried about what she perceives as her father’s cognitive decline ever since she found a can of green beans in his bathroom medicine cabinet.

So when Milton talks about having an alien staying at his home, no one takes him seriously – even when he repeatedly goes to the supermarket to buy apples, the only food his houseguest will consume.

Except jovial Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris), who appears on Milton’s doorstep, wondering what’s really happening. When she meets Jules – the name Milton’s given to the little fellow who doesn’t speak a word – she feels she’s found a kindred spirit, as does snooping Joyce (Jane Curtin), who prefers to call him Gary.

Meanwhile, attentive, ethereal Jules is trying to fix his damaged spacecraft while giving cryptic drawings of cats to his kindly benefactors.

Superbly directed by Marc Turtletaub from quirky, captivating script by Gavin Steckler, it’s an absolute gem. What a delight to watch seasoned actors, including professional stunt performer Quon, bring this gently touching sci-fi fantasy to life – with a poignant score by Volker Bertelmann (Oscar-winner for “All Quiet on the Western Front”).

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Jules” is a sweet, insightful 7 – a refreshing, ultimately uplifting summer treat, aimed for seniors, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Biosphere” (IFC Films)

Hollywood history is filled with misconceived vanity projects like “Biosphere,” Mark Duplass’ delusionary doomsday dramedy.

Sharing screenwriting credit with first-time feature film director Mel Eslyn, Duplass casts himself as manic, insecure Billy, who was once – briefly – President of the United States. Now, he and his best-buddy Ray (Sterling K. Bown), the last humans left on Earth, are living in the geodesic dome shelter that Ray designed.

Since they’ve dwelled here for quite some time, they spend much of their time bantering, bickering, reading, playing Super Mario Bros. and watching old movies like “Lethal Weapon” and “Jurassic Park.”

As a lighting timer simulates night and day, they’ve developed various routines for keeping themselves and their self-sustaining habitat fit and functional.

One of these involves utilizing a far-too-tiny fish pond but then – alas! – the last female fish dies. Given his scientific knowledge, pragmatic Ray immediately realizes this could be the end of their food supply but Billy, whom Ray dubs a “giant man-baby,” is slower to respond to their impending starvation crisis.

Curiously, at the same time – one of them starts displaying signs of “accelerated evolution,” meaning shedding some male characteristics and developing female traits.

“Do humans deserve another chance?” Ray wonders as the same kind of gender transition is occurring in the fish pond, prompting one to wonder if anyone’s ever heard of a hermaphrodite.

While they never reveal what caused the environmental apocalypse that stranded them there, they do become aware of a bright green light that mysteriously appears in the inky black sky – and it seems to be slowly approaching their bunker.

Obviously intended as a provocative social satire, skimming over several hot-button issues, it’s far too ambiguous and superficial to sustain interest and – after almost two hours – the conclusion is a total copout.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, futuristic “Biosphere” is a flustered, frustrating 4, available to rent or buy on Prime Video or Vudu – but don’t bother.

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

If you enjoy sci-fi thrillers, stream 10 episodes of the first season of “Silo” on Apple TV+.  Based on a series of dystopian novels by Hugh Howey, it revolves around the inhabitants of a 144-story subterranean bunker built to shelter 10,000 people after an apocalyptic event left Earth uninhabitable.

Designed with a huge spiral staircase in its center and no elevator, living space in the Silo is strictly stratified. Those in authority and the elite occupy the top floors; the white-collar labor force is in the middle; and the blue-collar mechanical workers are down below.

There’s very little upward mobility since the Founders left a manual called “The Pact” that dictates rules which are administered by Mayor Ruth Jahns (Geraldine James), going into the 40^th year of her tenure, and enforced by highly respected Sheriff Holston Becker (David Oyelowo) and Deputy Marnes (Will Patton).

Yet the crux of power seems to lie within the I.T. department, headed by soft-spoken Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) and his Judicial Enforcers, led by smirking Robert Sims (Common). The ultimate form of punishment is banishment because nobody who has ever left the Silo has been able to survive in the toxic wasteland.

Adapted by showrunner Graham Yost, the storyline revolves around Juliette ‘Jules’ Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), an outspoken mechanical engineer who is inadvertently thrust into the limelight. Ferguson (“Mission Impossible, “Dune”) is compelling and her job – maintaining the massive generator – is one of the most essential.

Contributing to the mystery of memory, identity and survival are persuasive supporting players like Harriet Walters’s Martha Walker, Rashida Jones’ Allison Becker, Avi Nash’s Lukas Kyle, Patrick Kennedy’s Rick Gomez, and Chinaza Uche’s Paul Billings.

The second season was in production in England until the Writers’/SAG-AFTRA strike shut down the set, yet Rebecca Ferguson hinted that it may reveal what happened hundreds of years earlier – before humanity was forced underground.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Silo” is a thought-provoking 8, streaming on Apple  TV+.

Susan Granger’s review of “Barbie” (Warner Bros./Mattel Films)

 

Much-hyped, candy-colored “Barbie” is not what I expected. I was anticipating a silly, bubble-gum pink caricature of Mattel’s iconic plastic doll.

Instead, writer/director Greta Gerwig and producer/actress Margot Robbie have created a satirical comedy-adventure that cleverly exposes our sexist societal shortcomings.

Back in 2018, ambitious Israeli businessman Ynon Kreiz decided to expand the Mattel franchise into movies, TV shows, stage productions and theme parks, beginning with this surreal, live-action fantasy.

After meeting Margot Robbie, he decided not only to partner with her production company LuckyChap Entertainment but also to insist that she embody the titular toy. Robbie then suggested that Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird,” “Little Women”) write the script, and Gerwig brought in her husband/ filmmaker Noah Baumbach.

Narrated by Helen Mirren, the $145 million, coming-of-age extravaganza begins with a “2001: A Space Odyssey” parody with little girls bashing their traditional baby dolls before morphing into the pink pristine perfection of Barbieland.

That’s where beautiful, ‘stereotypical Barbie’ (Robbie) awakens in her Malibu Dreamhouse and arises to greet many diverse Barbies, along with lovelorn Ken (wry, scene-stealing Ryan Gosling), assorted ‘beachy’ Kens, Allan (Michael Cera) and Midge (Emerald Fennell).

But then things start to go wrong. Perennially happy Barbie suddenly starts having an identity crisis and – Egad! – thinking about death. After chatting with Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), curiosity leads her to into the patriarchal ‘real world’ of Los Angeles.

That’s where Barbie becomes entangled with Gloria (America Ferrera) and Sasha’s (Ariana Greenblatt) strained mother/daughter relationship, highlighted by Gloria’s passionate monologue about the expectations and ‘impossibility’ of being a woman.

Fusing idealism with reality, nostalgia with self-realization, the shrewdly subversive script skewers Mattel’s dim-witted CEO (Will Ferrell) while acknowledging Barbie’s inventor, businesswoman Ruth Handler (Rhea Perlman).

According to Handler’s autobiography “Dream Doll,” she envisioned this long-legged, immaculately outfitted figurine that she named after her daughter Barbara. Ken was subsequently named after her son. (There’s a brief scene on a park bench in which Barbie chats with an older woman – the ‘real’ Barbara Handler.)

Years later, Ruth Handler had an unfortunate skirmish with the Securities & Exchange Commission, and her idea became lost in polarizing controversy about rigid beauty ideals and unrealistic body conformism.

Meanwhile on-screen, Barbie’s visual values are glorious, thanks to production designer Sarah Greenwood and costumer Jacqueline Durran. And the score features Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Lizzo and Billie Elish.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Barbie” is an edgy, existential, empowering 8, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Inventive writer/director Christopher Nolan faced an awesome challenge: shaping Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherman’s comprehensive, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography – “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” (2005) – into a cohesive, three-hour film.

Admittedly complicated and confusing, its solemn concept melds science with drama, fusion with fission, and a multitude of characters with 20^th century history, chronicled by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema in IMAX 70-millimeter.

While the non-linear plot involves creating a top-secret coalition of scientists to build an atomic bomb, it also explores dense themes of coercion, Communism, and collective vision.

At its center is soft-spoken theorist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he often conversed with eminent Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) about quantum physics.

During World War II, Oppenheimer was recruited by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) to spearhead the Manhattan Project which sequestered the best physicists in the United States in a sort of intellectual boot camp in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to develop the weapon that would force Japan to surrender.

His Nobel Prize-winning colleagues included Isidore Rabi (David Krumholtz), Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett) and Edward Teller (Benny Safdie). Only weeks after its first test in July, 1945, ‘Trinity’ was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Digressing into Oppenheimer’s personal life, Nolan delves into his dysfunctional sexual relationship with psychiatrist Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh), a member of the American Communist Party, and his subsequent marriage to troubled Kathleen ‘Kitty’ (Emily Blunt), resilient mother of his children.

Later on, Oppenheimer philosophically opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb and advised U.S. politicians to cooperate in an international agreement to put restrictions on the use of nuclear weapons.

His ambivalence and audacity eventually placed him in direct conflict with duplicitous Adm. Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, who stripped him of his security clearance during the politically paranoid McCarthy era.

The supporting cast also includes Jason Clarke, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, Kenneth Branagh and Gary Oldman. Expect Oscar nominations not only for Christopher Nolan but also for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., who deliver the most indelible performances of their respective careers.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Oppenheimer” is an intense, exacting, explosive 8, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Vikings Valhalla” (Netflix)

Looking for a new historical/action series to watch? Netflix’s “Vikings Valhalla” begins in the early 11^th century with the adventures of legendary Norse figures like explorer Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), his feisty sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and ambitious Prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter).

Set 100 years after “Vikings,” which aired on the History Channel, the semi-spinoff’s first season, introduces Leif Erikson, son of the notorious Erik the Red, who forged the first European foothold in North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus,

When Leif and Freydis, who sailed from Greenland, arrive in the Viking metropolis of Kattegat, they learn that King Aethelred II (Bosco Hogan) has slaughtered all the Danish settlers in England in what became known as the St. Brice’s Day Massacre.

Determined to wreak revenge, Leif joins Harald and King Canute (Bradley Freegard) as the clever Vikings, literally, bring down London Bridge. Meanwhile, Freydis journeys to find her destiny as Keeper of the Faith in Uppsala.

Bigger, bolder season two immediately follows the aftermath of the Battle for Kattegat as those who continue to practice their Pagan beliefs, hiding in in Jomsborg – their secret stronghold on the Baltic Sea – are hunted and slaughtered by Christian zealot Jarl Olaf Haraldsson (Johannes Haukur Johannesson), who himself is on the run from King Forkbeard (Soren Pilmark).

In her idyllic new home, Freydis becomes a sort of mythic figure, incurring the wrath of Harekr (Bradley James), who is determined to maintain the purity of his followers.

Creator/showrunner Jeb Stuart describes the second season as ‘a road movie’ – filled with gore and glory, augmented by intriguing new storylines and characters.

Guiding Leif and now-fugitive would-be King Harald – as they make their way eastward to Novgorod in the northern part of the Rus and, eventually, Constantinople – is a blinded Pecheneg prisoner, Kurya (Tolga Safer), who not only knows the territory but has a score to settle.

And Leif is smitten by lovely Mariam (Hayat Kamile), a Muslim astronomer who introduces him to science, teaching him to read Latin & Arabic and use an astrolabe to navigate his ship down the Neva River.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Vikings Valhalla” is an immersive 7, streaming on Netflix. The third season is set to premiere in 2024.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Bear: Season 2” (FX on Hulu)

Have you been watching FX’s Emmy-nominated series “The Bear”? The first season introduced a prodigal Manhattan chef, Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), who returns home to Chicago after his drug-addicted older brother commits suicide and leaves him the local family sandwich shop.

As Carmy copes with crippling debt, unbridled chaos and a recalcitrant staff, he’s helped by ambitious sous-chef Sydney (Emmy-nominated Ayo Edebri), baker Marcus (Lionel Boyce), line cooks Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) and Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) and handyman Neil (real-life Toronto chef Marty Matheson).

Of the second season’s 10 frenetic episodes, two are outstanding. The first – “Forks” – involves Carmy’s angry, abusive cousin Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich (Emmy-nominated Ebon Moss-Bacharch), his late-brother’s best-friend who works as manager.

As Carmy strives to open his rebranded, rebuilt, upscale restaurant, called The Bear, Ritchie becomes increasingly antagonistic. So Carmy dispatches him as an apprentice as a fine dining spot to learn skill development and teamwork, an experience (enhanced by Olivia Colman) in which he develops a sense of self-respect that he’s never had before

The second, titled “Seven Fishes,” flashes back five years as Carmy’s drunk, dysfunctional mother, Donna (electrifying Jamie Lee Curtis), who’s having a nervous breakdown, prepares an elaborate Italian-American Christmas Eve feast that becomes a full-blown fiasco because she feels unappreciated.

Plus, gentle Marcus is sent to Copenhagen to learn pastry perfection, skeptical Tina goes to basic culinary school and Carmy finds romance with Claire (Molly Gordon), as show creator Christopher Storer once again demonstrates the power of food and the way in which it connects people.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Bear: Season 2” is an intense, engrossing 8, streaming on Hulu.

Susan Granger’s review of “Sound of Freedom” (Angel Studios)

When “Sound of Freedom” was released in theaters a couple of weeks ago, it ignited a storm of controversy, so I was curious about this crowd-funded, contemporary thriller, reportedly based on a true story.

On the surface, it raises awareness of the horrors of global child-trafficking and sexual exploitation, introducing Homeland Security Investigations Officer Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel), who reportedly worked for more than a decade tracking missing children and arresting the pedophiles who molested them.

His investigation of a kidnapped brother-and-sister leads him deep into the Colombian jungle. Their story begins in Honduras as a single father allows his 11 year-old daughter and her seven year-old brother to audition for glamorous modeling jobs.  He’s told to to drop them off at an apartment and not to return until that evening. When he arrives, the apartment is deserted and they’re long gone.

Eventually, there’s a confrontation on a tropical island that bears a striking similarity to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s in the Caribbean.

Director Alejandro Monteverde emphasizes the narrative’s pious nature as Ballard’s colleague (Bill Camp) says, “When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate,” followed by Ballard’s own declaration: “God’s children are not for sale.”

Problem is: The Department of Homeland Security will neither confirm nor deny Ballard’s employment history and the New York Times notes that outspoken Ballard has been accused of exaggerating his rescue narratives.

Plus, last summer, Ballard’s anti-child sex trafficking organization – Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) – promoted a ridiculous, since-debunked claim that the online furniture retailer Wayfair was promoting the sale of stolen children.

Best known for playing Jesus in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” Jim Caviezel is an opinionated conservative Christian who embraces a fringe QAnon conspiracy theory called “adrenochroming.”

Rooted in anti-Semitism, it alleges that liberal elites are secretly killing children to harvest ‘adrenochrome’ from their blood for psychedelic experiences, satanic rituals and extending their lifespan.

As quoted by the Daily Beast on Yahoo News, Caviezel explains: “When you are scared, you produce adrenaline…If a child knows he’s going to die, his body will secrete this adrenaline…It’s the worst horror I’ve ever seen.”

Angel Studios claims this is not a QAnon movie, yet in late 2001, Caviezel spoke at a QAnon convention in Las Vegas invoking the QAnon slogan, “The storm is upon us.”

So why is this relevant? Because – in reviewing a film of this nature – it’s almost impossible to separate the artist from a piece of work that’s deeply rooted in his personal beliefs. Perhaps that’s why Netflix, Amazon, Disney and 21^st Century Fox refused to distribute it.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Sound of Freedom” is a solemn, faith-based 5, playing in theaters.