Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Deep Water” (20^th Century Studios/Hulu)

 

Director Adrian Lyne built his reputation on kinky, erotic thrillers like “9 ½ Weeks,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Indcent Proposal,” and “Unfaithful,” so it’s not surprising that he capitalized on the off-camera romance between Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas to take advantage of their sexual chemistry in this sizzler.

Problem is: as a psychosexual whodunit, the perverse plot makes no sense whatever.

Flamboyant Melinda (Ana de Armas) must be a nymphomaniac because she devotes most of her waking hours to promiscuous seduction – lasciviously taunting and teasing her husband, wealthy tech whiz Vic Van Allen, (Ben Affleck), or a series of hapless lovers.

Wherever sultry Melinda goes, she’s on the prowl for her next paramour. One of her recent conquests, Malcolm McRae, has gone missing and Vic claims to have killed him. That shocks but doesn’t discourage Joel (Brendan C. Miller), Charlie (Jacob Elordi) or Tony (Finn Wittrock).

Meanwhile, Vic takes long rides on his mountain bike, tends his collection of slimy, intertwining snails, and looks after their precocious young daughter Trixie (Grace Jenkins). Although his buddy (Lil Rel Howery) warns him that Melinda’s brazen behavior is out of control, emasculated Vic seems so complacent that he’s barely conscious.

“What if your concerns aren’t my concerns?” Vic counters.

But then a skeptical local writer Don Wilson (Tracy Letts) becomes a bit too suspicious.

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1957 novel, it was previously filmed as a 1981 French version “Eaux Profodes” with Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant. This sluggish adaptation by Zach Helm (“Stranger Than Fiction”) and Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) strips away all devious subtlety and emotional complexity.

When Disney acquired 20^th Century Fox (as it was called then), there was no way this New Regency film could be released under the Disney banner, so it was dumped on Hulu. Ben Affleck was much better in “Duel” & “The Tender Bar,” as was Ana de Armas in “Knives Out” & “No Time to Die.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Deep Water” sinks to a dreadful 3, streaming on Hulu.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Adam Project” (Skydance/Netflix)

 

Still grieving over the death of his father, nerdy, asthmatic 12-year-old Adam Reed (Walker Scobell) finds it difficult to cope with the Rainier, Washington, school bullies. Then, one night, he discovers a wounded fighter pilot hiding in his garage.

To Adam’s astonishment, the pilot (Ryan Reynolds) turns out to be a buff, older version of himself from 2050, when time-travel is trendy. He needs incredulous young Adam to help him on a secret mission which involves going back to 2018 to find their workaholic physicist father, Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo), who can save future mankind from total chaos by changing the past.

Determined to stop them is Louis’ evil associate, ruthless Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), who stole Louis’ traversable wormhole technology to exploit it, becoming a powerful time-travel tycoon.

Further complicating their mission is older Adam’s love for his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana), another jet pilot traveling along the time-space continuum.

Credit perceptive screenwriters Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin for a provocative PG-13 script that delves into healing universal father/son issues, reminiscent of “Back to the Future, “E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial,” and “Flight of the Navigator” – with a “Star Wars” lightsaber.

Deftly handling the witty banter, director Shawn Levy (“Free Guy”) cleverly cast newcomer Walker Scobell to authentically embody charismatic Ryan Reynolds’ ‘mini-me.’

As their adventure concludes, adroit young Adam, utilizing his gamer skills, joins the fray, making a “Superhero landing,” a glib catchphrase that recalls Reynolds’ character in “Deadpool” (2016).

Jennifer Garner, who plays Adam’s mother, previous teamed with Mark Ruffalo in 2004’s “13 Going on 30.” She scores in a touching scene with Reynolds, and her own golden retriever Birdie plays the Reed family’s dog.

Full Disclosure: my son Don Granger is one of the producers. In 2012, Paramount Pictures bought the spec script “Our Name is Adam” as a vehicle for Tom Cruise; it was in turnaround until Skydance signed Ryan Reynolds/Shawn Levy and got funding from Netflix.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Adam Project” is a sweetly nostalgic, sci-fi 7, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Fresh” (Searchlight Films/Disney)

 

Do you like psycho-thrillers? What about horror comedies? If so, dark, devious “Fresh” might whet your appetite.

In Portland, Oregon, twentysomething graphic-designer Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is sick of callous, cheapskate, on-line dating app disasters, so she’s a bit cynical when a charming, attractive young man, Steve (Sebastian Stan), tries to pick her up in the produce aisle of the local grocery store, urging her to sample the surprisingly delicious ‘cotton candy grapes.’

Noa’s bisexual best-friend Mollie (Jonica ‘Jojo’ T. Gibbs) immediately tries to find out more about this Steve on Google and Instagram only to discover that he’s not into social media. Is that a red flag in the 21^st century? Suspicious Mollie thinks so, but Noa’s already hopped into bed with Steve and is looking forward to a surprise weekend romantic getaway.

As a successful plastic surgeon, Steve has a stunning contemporary house in the woods, so that’s where they’re going to spend the first night. At first, Noa’s dismayed that there’s no cell service in that remote region, but then Steve makes her a delicious Old Fashioned with ‘lots of cherries’ that knocks her out.

Cue the titles and cast credits which don’t appear until 33 minutes into the story.

When Noa awakens, she’s chained to a mattress on the floor. When she demands to know what’s happening, sociopathic Steve calmly explains, “I’m going to sell your meat.”

His seemingly luxurious home also serves as a queasily grotesque dungeon for other women too, each confined to her own cell. Steve periodically mutilates them, selling their most succulent parts, sending them off to an elite group of cannibalistic clients.

Scripted by Lauryn Kent, it’s helmed by music video director Mimi Cave, making her feature debut, working confidently with imaginative cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski (“Midsommar,” “Hereditary”) who explores the film’s theme of consumption by explicit imagery of various body parts.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, aptly named “Fresh” is a sadistic, stomach-churning 6, streaming on Hulu.

Susan Granger’s review of “Against the Ice” (Netflix)

In 1909, Danish Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and an inexperienced volunteer, young mechanic Iver Iverson (Joe Cole), set off across Greenland’s harsh permafrost to retrieve a map left by a previously doomed expedition. It will serve as ‘land dispute’ evidence that the territory of Greenland belongs to his native Denmark, not the United States.

The original expedition, led by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, sought to confirm or contest the findings of American explorer Robert Peary, who claimed that a channel, named Peary Channel, separates northeast Greenland from the mainland and that part of the territory is closest to the North American continent.

Problem is: they have to trudge across thousands of miles of Arctic ice to get it, a grim journey described as the equivalent of “walking from Moscow to Rome.”

Once they locate the cairn in which the map is buried, confirming that Greenland is one solid island, they battle extreme hunger and fatigue trying to cross the vast landscape to return to their ship – only to discover it has been crushed and their crew has abandoned them. Hoping to be rescued, they then must strive to stay alive.

It’s difficult to make 865 days on the ice into a psychological thriller, but it does deliver dog sled horror, a ferocious polar bear attack and solid performances, including Charles Dance as the Danish government’s Prime Minister.

Inspired by Ejnar Mikkelsen’s memoir “Two Against the Ice,” it’s co-written by Joe Derrick (“The Second Home”) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister in “Game of Thrones”) and directed by Peter Flinth (“Eye of the Eagle”), who maintains authenticity and realism – chronicled by cinematographer Torben Forsberg in the Arctic’s white wasteland.

In the publicity notes, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reveals that his wife is from Greenland so he’s been a visitor in that country for the last 25 years, noting: “It’s the most magical place.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Against the Ice” is a survival 7, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Lupin” (Netflix)

If you’re looking for a action series to stream, try the crime caper “Lupin,” celebrated as #1 in France. Either English-subtitled or dubbed into English, it’s Netflix’s third most successful global launch – after “Bridgerton” and” “The Witcher”

The ‘gentleman thief’ Arsene Lupin is a classic character created in 1905 by French novelist/short-story writer Maurice Leblanc, who serialized his adventures in the popular science magazine Je Sais Tout.

Now, contemporary master criminal Assane Diop (Omar Sy) models himself after Arsene Lupin. He’s dashing and debonair, elegant and efficient, preferring clever disguise and gentle persuasion to violence, using people’s prejudices and blind spots against them as he performs his heists.

Assane is obsessed with avenging his widower father, who supposedly committed suicide in prison 25 years earlier. He worked hard to give young Assane the tools he’d need to thrive in French society, particularly a Lupin book, a gift that would shape his entire existence.

In the series premiere, Senegalese immigrant Assane executes a dazzling jewel heist at the Louvre, part of a revenge plot against nefarious tycoon Hubert Pellegrini (Herve Pierre), who has corrupted Paris police commissioner Dumont.

Assane disguises himself – first – as a janitor, just another ‘invisible’ Black man among many others working at the Louvre, then as a rich art-connoisseur attending an auction, utilizing the art of distraction.

After that, when Assane and his ex Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) are in a seaside town, their teenage son Raoul (Etan Simon) is kidnapped by one of Hubert’s henchmen. That’s when an honest detective, Youssef (Soufiane Guerrab), is introduced, along with Assan’s lifelong sidekick Benjamin (Antoine Gouy), plus Hubert’s daughter/Assane’s former flame Juliette (Clothilde Hesme), completing the ensemble.

Showrunner George Kay compares Arene Lupin/Assane Diop to Sherlock Holmes but, above all, it’s about putting a multicultural face on what it means to be French today, since the archetype has changed.

FYI: Like his fictional father on the show, Omar Sy’s real father came from Senegal.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Lupin” is a suspenseful 7, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “No Exit” (20^th Century-Studios/Hulu)

Reflecting our current sense of paranoia and claustrophobia, this survival thriller revolves around a cynical, twentysomething addict, Darby Thorne (Havana Rose Liu), who escapes from her umpteenth time in a court-mandated rehabilitation center when she learns that her mother has suffered a brain aneurysm in Salt Lake City.

Although her family doesn’t want her around, Darby is desperate to get to the hospital. So she steals a staff member’s car, only to be thwarted by a horrific blizzard that closes not only the Utah Interstate but all the local mountain roads.

Warned of the danger by a vigilant highway patrolman, Darby reluctantly stops at an isolated Visitors Center, where she encounters others who are similarly stranded.

While making repeated trips to the parking lot, hoping for a cell-phone signal, Darby hears the muffled screams of a terrified little girl (Mila Harris) who is tied up in a locked van. Obviously, the kidnapper must be one of the four other trapped travelers.

Could it be that older couple: Marine veteran Ed (Dennis Haysbert) and former nurse Sandi (Dale Dickey), who are headed for a weekend gambling getaway in Reno? What about friendly Ash (Danny Ramirez) or that sullen, suspiciously squirrely loner, Ash (David Rysdahl)?

When guilt is revealed somewhat early-on, it then becomes a bloody cat-and-mouse chase through the snow-clad setting.

Tautly adapted by Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari from Taylor Adams 2017 novel, it’s predictably directed by Damien Powers – complete with gruesome coincidences and grisly contrivances that are consistent with its low-budget tone.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “No Exit” is a fear-inducing 4, streaming on Hulu.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Unforgivable” (Netflix)

Sometimes Oscar-winners like Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) make massive miscalculations like “The Unforgivable,” based on Sally Wainwright’s critically lauded three-part, 2009 British mini-series.

After Ruth Slater (Bullock) murders Sheriff Mac Whelan (E. Earl Bown), she’s sentenced to prison for 20 years. When she’s released early for good behavior, she’s determined to find her much younger sister Katherine.

In the intervening years, Katherine (Aisling Franciosi), who only remembers fragments of her traumatic childhood, has bonded with the Malcolms, her foster parents (Richard Thomas, Linda Emond) and their biological daughter (Emma Nelson).

When her halfway house in Seattle’s Chinatown turns out to be inhabited by angry ex-cons and the job arranged for her is sabotaged since she’s a ‘cop killer,’ Ruth ends up gutting fish on the night-shift at a seafood packing plant and working during the day transforming an old building into a homeless shelter.

That’s where she’s predictably befriended by gentle co-worker Blake (Jon Bernthal), who tries to crack though dour Ruth’s bitter, hardened shell.

Ruth’s strict parole officer (Rob Morgan) prohibits her from associating with known felons or seeking contact with the victim’s family, but the sheriff’s two sons (Tom Guiry, Will Pullen) are determined to wreak vengeance.

Gradually, it’s revealed that the sheriff was trying to evict her, along with then five-year-old Katie, from their family farmhouse. Now, that completely renovated farmhouse is occupied by a sympathetic lawyer, John Ingram (Vincent D’Onofrio), his skeptical wife, Liz (Viola Davis), and their two sons. Over Liz’s objections, John agrees to try to help Ruth locate her estranged sister.

Making her English-language debut, German director Nora Fingscheidt works from an adaptation by Peter Craig, Hillary Seitz and Courtenay Miles to try to tell this bleak ‘second chances’ redemption tale. But the pacing is turgid, lacking urgency, and Sandra Bullock never manages to make grimly determined Ruth even vaguely likable. The concluding plot twist turns out to be too little too late.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Unforgivable” is a farfetched, forgettable 4, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Inventing Anna” (Netflix)

You may recognize Emmy-winner Julia Garner’s face and distinctively nasal voice from “Ozark,” but in the nine episodes of “Inventing Anna” she plays enigmatic grifter Anna Sorokin – a.k.a. Ann Delvey.

For years, brazen Anna passed herself off as the daughter of a German tycoon, gliding through Manhattan’s opulent hotels, restaurants and night clubs, clad in expensive couture. Posing as an heiress, she cleverly befriended socialites, high-fashion designers and moneyed tech moguls.

Told in flashbacks, manipulative, twentysomething Anna’s mysterious story is being investigated by Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky), a whiny, very pregnant writer, desperately trying to restore her tarnished journalistic reputation.

Encouraged by older colleagues (Anna Devere Smith, Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry) banished to ‘Scriberia,’ Vivian interviews Anna who’s being held – without bail – on Riker’s Island, pending trial.

To research Anna’s background, Vivian stalks former friends, colleagues and gullible victims – like photo editor (Katie Lowes), banker (Alan Reed), fitness trainer (Laverne Cox) and boutique hotel concierge (Alexis Floyd) – plus Anna’s lawyer (Arian Moayed) and boyfriend (Saamer Usmani).

Wrestling with a bizarre Slavic/Germanic accent, Julia Garner infuses Anna with sneering, haughty impatience and glacial indifference. Confident and calculating, Anna converts every conversation into a scamming transaction. In contrast, Anna Chlumsky’s Vivian is awkwardly annoying.

Produced by prolific Shonda Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy”), the formulaic, fictionalized series utilizes social media as both a metaphor and narrative device, exploring how influential people use Instagram to hide in plain sight…as the slow-building con stretches on and on and on, repeating the disclaimer: “The whole story is completely true – except for all the parts that are totally made up.

FYI: Jessica Pressler’s “How an Aspiring ‘It’ Girl Tricked New York’s Party People – and its Banks” was published in New York magazine in May, 2018. Currently Anna remains in ICE’s custody, fighting deportation to Germany.  Reportedly, Netflix paid Anna $320,000; in turn, she paid $198,000 in restitution, $24,000 in state taxes and $75,000 in attorney’s fees.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Inventing Anna” is a slyly stealthy, swindling 6, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Graner’s review of “Free Guy” (20thCentury Films/Disney)

If you missed Ryan Reynolds’ adventure/comedy “Free Guy” at theaters, it’s streaming on Disney+.

Reynolds plays Guy, a mild-mannered bank teller who discovers he’s actually a background player in a popular, mayhem-filled video game called ‘Free City.’ When he falls in love with Molotov Girl, a spunky, sunglass-wearing, leather-clad biker-chick, he faces an existential crisis and decides to reinvent himself as a hero.

As Guy experiments with the concept of ‘free will,’ his friendship deepens with fellow N.P.C. (non-playable character) bank guard Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), although Buddy is reluctant to break from the restrictive pixel parameters of the game.

The franchise ‘Free City’ is owned by Soonami Studios, headed by avaricious Antwan (Taika Waititi). But the game is based on a code developed by Keys (Joe Keery) and Millie (Jodie Comer), as villainous Antwan blatantly stole their intellectual property.

Familiarity with video games would obviously enhance your enjoyment. Free City is based on Liberty City from “Grand Theft Auto III” (2001) and “Grand Theft Auto IV” (2008) games, although the opening aerial shot is of Pittsburgh, PA, and much of the filming took place in and around Boston, MA.

But – as a non-gamer – it was fun to envision “an algorithm who thinks he’s alive” or “the first real artificial intelligence,” assuming the avatar Blue Shirt Guy. And the glowing walls of Stash City may have been inspired by Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book Library, designed by Gordon Bunshaft.

As for laugh-out-loud dialogue, there’s Millie/Molotov Girl’s observation: “I sometimes forget that not everyone you meet here is a sociopathic man-child.”

Based on a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, it’s directed by Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum” series), who stuffs the fable with techno-chatter, special effects, ‘inside’ jokes known as Easter Eggs and celebrity cameos, including YouTube gamers.

Want more Ryan Reynolds? His “The Adam Project” streams on Netflix on March 11.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Free Guy” is an addictive 7, perhaps the most enjoyable video-game-inspired movie yet….on Disney+.

Susan Granger’s review of “Yellowstone and its sequels” (Paramount)

Now in its fourth season, Kevin Costner’s wildly successful, Western melodrama “Yellowstone” is a powerful geyser that keeps spewing off sequels.

Created by Taylor Sheridan, the Paramount Network’s saga revolves around gruff Montana cattle king John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) battle to keep his sprawling Yellowstone Ranch out of the hands of wealthy land developers. At his side are his hellcat daughter/lawyer Beth (Kelly Reilly) and her husband/foreman Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), who brands devoted ranch hands with a “Y.”

There have already been assassination attempts on John, Beth and John’s son/livestock commissioner Kayce (Luke Grimes), necessitating reprisals. Duplicity emanates from John’s adopted son, resentful Jamie (Wes Bentley), egged on by his bitter biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton).

The upcoming fifth “Yellowstone” season will be comprised of 14 episodes which will air in two installments, beginning this summer.

Meanwhile in its inaugural season, Taylor Sheridan’s ‘origin’ prequel “1883” follows John Dutton’s great-grandfather, Civil War veteran James Dutton (country singer Tim McGraw), his wife Margaret (Faith Hill, McGraw’s real-life wife), their grown daughter Elsa (Isabel May) and much younger son John (Audie Rick). as they travel from Fort Worth, Texas toward Oregon in a wagon train.

Many pioneers were Central and Eastern European immigrants who hired guides to take them across the Great Plains to the West, where they could claim ‘free’ homesteads. Most didn’t speak English, had never ridden a horse or held a gun. While they encounter Native Americans, the leading causes of death were falling off their wagons, disease (cholera) and marauding bandits.

Additional cast members include Sam Elliott, Marc Rissman, LaMonica Garrett and Billy Bob Thornton as a tough, terse U.S. Marshal. Tom Hanks appears briefly in a flashback to the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam (1862), which claimed nearly 23,000 lives but spared wounded James Dutton.

Coming up, there’s “1932,” which will chronicle a new Dutton generation during the westward expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression in the early-to-mid 20^th century. Its central character will be John Dutton’s father.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Yellowstone” and “1883” are both engrossing, highly entertaining 8s, streaming on the Paramount Network.