Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount Pictures)

 

Confession: I’ve never played “Dungeons & Dragons,” so I had to learn a bit about the classic fantasy role-playing game before watching the movie. If you’re also a newbie, I’d advise you do the same.

Set on the Sword Coast of the Forgotten Realms, the comedic action/adventure revolves around a silver-tongued bard/rogue/thief, Edgin Davis (Chris Pine), whose wife was killed, leaving him to raise their young daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), with the help of his BFF Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), a gruff, tattooed barbarian.

But when he and Holga are arrested and thrown in the cliff-side, ice prison of Revel’s End for a couple of years, Kira’s care fell to con-man Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), who rules over a walled city and is under the spell of the evil Red Wizard Sofina (Daisy Head).

In the interim, Forge has persuaded Kira that her father abandoned her. Desperate to reunite his family, Edgin is convinced that if he can acquire the Tablet of Reawakening, he’ll be able to revive his wife and restore all that was lost.

Problem is: the Tablet is locked in a tall stone catacomb, so Edgin must find the Helmet of Disjunction, which can stop time, in order to accomplish this daring feat.

So he joins up with a righteous-albeit-humorless warrior, the debonair paladin Xenk Yemdar (Rege-Jean Page), along with second-tier sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith,) and the shape-shifting Tiefling Druid, Doric (Sophia Lillis). It’s a lot more complicated than that but I’m striving for simplicity here.

Scripted by co-directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, along with Michael Gilio, it’s based on the complex, immersive game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, popularly known as D&D which – in turn – has influenced subsequent game systems involving ‘let’s pretend’ and improvisation.  

Bradley Cooper does a cameo as Marlamin and regular players will ‘get’ the ‘insider’ references and jokes that I missed during the 2 hours 14 minutes..

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is a silly, swaggering, swashbuckling 7, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Armageddon Time” (Focus Features)

 

It’s often been said that while we are free to make our own choices, we can’t choose the consequences that accompany them.

“Armageddon Time” is all about making those life-altering decisions. Released at the end of last year with little fanfare, James Gray’s melancholy, semi-autobiographical , coming-of-age drama is definitely worth another look.

Set in 1980 in Queens, New York, it revolves around sensitive 11 year-old Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), an aspiring artist whose best friend, Johnny (Jaylin Webb), is Black.

In their sixth-grade class at PS 173, they’re known as the troublemakers but wide-eyed Paul realizes that, while his behavior is often excused, poor Johnny, who lives with his ailing grandmother, is invariably punished more severely.

Paul comes from a working-class Russian/Jewish family. While his parents – Esther and Irving (Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong) – insist that they’re open-minded liberals, they insist on transferring defiant Paul to an elite private school in Forest Hills after concluding that Johnny has become a bad influence on him.

But Paul’s aging grandfather Aaron (Anthony Hopkins) influences him the most, emphasizing the importance of speaking up against bigotry – urging him to “be a mensch” – and pointing out the agonizing regret that results from not doing what’s ‘right’ when it matters most.

Drawing on his own memories, writer/director James Gray draws a poignant portrait of a time and place. His casting choices are superb; the acting ensemble embodies the bittersweet humor, pathos and paradoxes of each of their characters with remarkable authenticity, particularly during the family meal scenes.

Striking a surprisingly contemporary chord, Fred Trump (John Diehl) is one of the school’s primary benefactors, and it’s Maryanne Trump (Jessica Chastain) who delivers an impassioned speech at an assembly, emphasizing the work ethic rhetoric that epitomized the conservative Reagan-era.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Armageddon Time” is a compassionately disillusioning, soulful 7. You can rent it for $5.99 on Prime Video & Apple TV or stream free if you subscribe to Peacock.

Susan Granger’s review of “A Man Called Otto” (Sony/Prime Video)

 

Tom Hanks stars in “A Man Called Otto,” a remake of the popular 2015 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove” which was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

Forcibly retired from his engineering managerial job, widowed Otto Anderson (Hanks) is bitter and resentful.  So now he spends the majority of his time patrolling and enforcing the rules of his gated neighborhood, located somewhere in suburban Pennsylvania.

Cranky Otto complains a lot, unleashing his anger at a delivery truck driver for unauthorized parking, a woman whose dog urinates on his lawn, a man who exercises in a skintight outfit, a stray cat that settles near his garage and – above all – a large real estate conglomerate.

Aptly described as “a grumpy old bastard,” he’s contemplating another suicide attempt when very pregnant Marisol (Mariana Trevino), his new immigrant neighbor, seems determined to befriend him, along with her dim-witted husband (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and two young daughters.

Even for Otto, her plaintive requests for help are irresistible, as he gradually not only lends her husband some tools but also volunteers to teach her how to drive. Good-natured Marisol repays by delivering delicious homemade food.

What most people don’t realize is the heartache behind misanthropic Otto’s contentious behavior. Flashbacks reveal how and why Otto lost his sense of purpose in life after his beloved wife Sonya (Rachel Keler) died.

Tom Hanks delivers a carefully modulated, understated performance, and it’s fascinating how well his ‘real-life’ son Truman plays ‘young’ Otto.

Formulaically adapted from Fredrik Backman’s best-selling novel by David Magee and directed with restraint by Marc Forster, this comedic drama tends to be a bit too melodramatic, encompassing a railroad train track rescue, Otto’s reconciliation with a former friend and the despair of Sonya’s transgender former student.

FYI: Tom Hanks’ wife, Rita Wilson, is listed as a producer and she sings “’Till You’re Home” with Sebastian Yatra on the soundtrack.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Man Called Otto” is a subtle, sincerely redemptive 7, streaming on Prime Video.

Susan Granger’s review of “Succession – Season 4” (HBO Max)

 

After the shocking conclusion of Season 3, “Succession” has returned.  The premiere of its fourth and final season hit a series viewership high as 2.3 million people, according to Nielsen. Season 4 consists of eight episodes, released weekly before the May 14^th finale.

Ruthless Murdochian media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is preparing to sell Waystar RoyCo to Swedish tech tycoon Luklas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard), completely bypassing his grown children: rebellious Kendall (Jeremy Strong), savvy Siobbhan – a.k.a. Shiv – Shiv (Sarah Snook), provocative Roman (Kieran Culkin) and leech-like Connor (Alan Ruck). So the big question is: who will succeed Logan?

In addition to Logan’s ambitious offspring, there’s Shiv’s self-serving husband Tom Wamsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), hapless cousin Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun), general counsel Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron), vice-chairman Frank Vernon (Peter Friedman),  and CFO Karl Muller (David Rasche), among others.

Furious at their constant sniping and distrust, Logan now refers to his duplicitous offspring as the Rats because they’re courting potential investors for a risky rival media start-up called The Hundred, which Kendall describes as “Substack meets MasterClass meets The Economist meets The New Yorker.”

Created by showrunner Jesse Armstrong as a satire of the vapidity and moral corruption of corporate America, the Machiavellian series is notorious for the Roy family’s ferocious favoritism, shifting loyalty, constant betrayals and duplicitous backstabbing.

Like Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” wily Logan relishes playing his progeny off one another. His dynamics have created a thoroughly dysfunctional family, as they vie for their pathological patriarch’s respect and love.  Yet Logan wails, “Everything I try to do, people turn against me…I’m 100-feet tall. These people are pygmies.”

Plus, what’s endlessly intriguing is the depiction of the extravagant lifestyle of the uber-rich, including their impromptu helicopter rides, private jets, elaborate penthouses, palatial estates and ever-present sycophants.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10. “Succession – Season 4” is an entertaining 8 – with new episodes on Sundays, streaming on HBO Max.

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

 

According to the news in 1985, 40 pounds of cocaine was dropped from a bungled aerial drug run into the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia in September; the 175-pound black bear that ate much of it was found dead in December.

While the action-comedy caper “Cocaine Bear” is loosely based on that story, screenwriter Jimmy Warden depicts a much different situation – following a giant, cocked-up, apex predator on a rampage through the woods, hunting for as much blow as possible.

It opens with a drug smuggler (Matthew Rhys) tossing the cocaine out of a plane, only to plunge to his death because of an unopened parachute.

The first packet is found by two naïve 12 year-olds – Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convey) – who dare each other to try it, much to the chagrin of Dee Dee’s divorced mother (Keri  Russell).

After that, various packets are found by vacationing hikers, delinquent teenagers, forest ranger (Margo Martindale), PETA inspector/biologist (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), EMTs (Scott Seiss, Kahyun Kim), and drug dealers – with the voracious bear in crazed pursuit.

Meanwhile, local law officers (Isiah Whitlock Jr, Ayoola Smart) connect the drop to a broader drug operation run by a notorious kingpin (Ray Liotta), who dispatches his son (Alden Ehrenreich) and cohort (O’Shea Jackson Jr) to retrieve the white powder.

Director Elizabeth Banks (“Pitch Perfect 2,” “Charlie’s Angels”) confessed that she deliberately made the film more muscular and masculine in an attempt to combat the mythology about what kinds of movies women are interested in making, telling Variety: “I love gore. The gore is part of the fun of the ride.”

Allan Henry, a motion-capture/stunt performer, worked with the actors on the set, while the formidable CGI ‘bear’ was created by Peter Jackson’s Weta FX in New Zealand. And if you’re intrigued “Blow, The True Story of Cocaine, a Bear and a Crooked Kentucky Cop” is streaming on YouTube.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Cocaine Bear” is a silly, contrived 5, streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Old Way” (Saban Films/Lionsgate)

 

Until recently, Nicolas Cage had never made a Western. Now he’s made two. “Butcher’s Crossing” – about an frontiersman searching for a hidden valley of buffalo he can slaughter – was the first, now there’s “The Old Way.”

Set in the Montana territory in the late 1870s, Cage plays coldly reformed gunslinger Colton Briggs who left his outlaw days far behind him when he married Ruth (Kerry Knuppe) and sired a daughter, Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). Living on a nearby farm, Briggs is the respectable proprietor of a small frontier town’s general store.

One day – after Colton walked 12-year-old Brooke to school – hapless Ruth finds herself surrounded by four menacing men, led by escaped convict James McCallister (Noah Le Gros). I’s no accident that they arrived there since James saw Colton kill his father 20 years ago when he was just a lad. (That incident is shown in the prologue.)

Now, by murdering Ruth – James is out for revenge. Later, when Colton and Brooke arrive home and see the carnage, the emotionless chase is on.

While pursuing James, who’s heading toward Santa Rosa in southern Colorado, Colton teaches emotionally-withdrawn Brooke how to survive by protecting herself and shooting a gun. Soon they’re joined by a local marshal (Nick Searcy) and his deputies who are also after James McAllister.

All-too-reminiscent of “Unforgiven” and “True Grit,” there’s little originality in Carl W. Lucas’s contrived, utterly predictable screenplay, blandly directed by Brett Donowho (“Acts of Violence”).

What adds a frisson of interest, however, is that the armorer for this Western was Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was accused by the assistant director and Cage of conducting ‘unsafe firearms activities’ on the set. She was subsequently involved and is under investigation for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after an accidental firearms discharge on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film “Rust.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Old Way” is a dismal 4, streaming on Amazon Prime.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Ark” (SyFy)

 

With the enduring success of Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” and its various spin-offs, it’s been established that spaceship adventures attract an audience – initially, at least. Whether or not viewers will stay with Dean Devlin’s “The Ark” for the long-haul is another matter indeed.

Best known for “Independence Day,” Devlin and Jonathan Glassner (“Stargate SG-I”) introduce their new 12-episode series with a catastrophe. Set in a future century when Earth has become uninhabitable, the show opens on Ark One, a spacecraft sent on a mission to colonize a planet that is capable of supporting human life.

Lt. Sharon Garnet (Christie Burke) is abruptly jolted out of cryogenic-sleep by some sort of crash that kills off all the senior officers/mentors…i.e.: “Everyone who was qualified is dead.”

Assuming leadership after this disaster, levelheaded Garnet, whom we soon discover is a clone, and two other junior officers – ambitious Lt. Spencer Lane (Reece Ritchie) and cocky Lt. James Brice (Richard Fleeshman) – are left in charge of the 150 specially-selected scientists, military personnel and civilians.

Since they’re at least a year from their destination, food, water and oxygen supplies are extremely limited. Fortunately, dorky agricultural enthusiast Angus (Ryan Adams) stashed a crate of super-rich soil on-board so he sets about growing nutritional crops, utilizing manure. And Garnet quickly realizes that nerdy 19 year-old Alicia (Stacey Read), who chatters constantly, has a genius-level intellect.

Plus there’s over-worked, exhausted doctor Kabir (Shalini Peiris), the highly principled head of security Felix (Pavle Jerinic), Serbian engineer Eva (Tiana Upcheva), and ‘influencer’-turned-mental-health consultant Cat (Christina Wolfe).  So far – they’re superficial caricatures, not believable characters.

Then there’s the discovery that billionaire William Trust (Paul Leonard Murray), who designed and built the Ark program, is still in cryogenic-sleep with his wife Helena (Mercedes De La Cruz) in a secret compartment. Everyone obviously wants to survive but, philosophically, they all have different ideas about how to accomplish that.

Filmed on-the-cheap just outside Belgrade, Serbia, the casting is obviously international. Production designer Randal Groves combines practical feasibility with the laws of physics, including the utilization of deployable, metallic solar sails that unfold from the hull like golden-hued origami.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Ark” is a cheesy 5, streaming on SyFy on Wednesday and Peacock a day later.

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Chicago Fire” (NBC/Peacock)

 

If you’re searching for a series to stream, let me recommend NBC’s “Chicago Fire,” which has been on TV since 2012. Superbly written with an obvious emphasis on female empowerment, this procedural drama follows the personal and professional lives of various firefighters, paramedics and rescue personnel at the fictional Firehouse 51 in Chicago, Illinois.

They’re led by stoic Battalion Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker), who is very protective of his men and women, even putting his career on the line several time to help them.

Next in the chain of command are Lieutenant-eventually to be-Captain Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer), a serious, civic-minded carpenter who runs a side construction business, and Lieutenant Kelly Severeid (Taylor Kinney), the son of a former fire chief (Treat Williams), A brooding loner, Kelly is presented as a classic womanizer, perhaps because (off-screen) Taylor dated Lady Gaga.

Their fellow firefighters include Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg), the station’s father figure who runs Molly’s Bar, their favorite hangout; Randall ‘Mouch’ McHolland (Christian Stolte), the couch-loving union representative; Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso), a native of the local gang-infested neighborhood; Brian ‘Otis’ Zvonecek (Yuri Sandarov), who got his nickname working elevators; and perennial provocateur Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), who seems determined to wrangle with Severeid.

As the series began, given the most screentime among the paramedics was Gabriella “Gabby” Dawson (Monica Raymund), a former ‘smoke-eater’ whose perfect make-up/heavy mascara/thick eyeliner never, ever, ever smears – not even when she’s facing imminent destruction and/or death. As a result, her self-centered character exudes phoniness/insincerity.

Appearing far more realistic are her hard-working colleagues: outspoken (yet doomed) lesbian Lesley Shay (Lauren German), naïve Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and alcoholic ‘Chili’ Chilton (Dora Madison).

And let’s not forget one the most honestly appealing female characters – Donna Robbins (Melissa Ponzio), a dedicated teacher married to Chief Wallace Boden; they have a strong, respectful, loving relationship. That’s true too of outspoken Christopher Herrmann & his ever-supportive wife Cindy (Robyn Coffin) and ‘Mouch’ McHolland & no-nonsense police officer wife, Trudy Platt (Amy Morton).

Over the seasons, there are pivotal cast changes but the plot remains compelling.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Chicago Fire” is a compelling, addictive 8 – with all 11 seasons streaming on Peacock.

Susan Granger’s Entertainment Report for week of March 17:

 

After you’ve enjoyed your green bagel, pint of Guinness, corned beef & cabbage or shepherd’s pie, why not conclude St. Patrick’s Day with a good Irish movie, perhaps one you’ve never seen before or are yearning to see again? So many of them are streaming these days….no blarney.

“The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022): Oscar-nominated Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are at odds in this tragicomedy about a friendship gone sour…on HBO MAX, Apple TV, Amazon, YouTube, Vudu.

“The Wonder” (2022): Based on Emma Donoghue’s novel, it features Florence Pugh as an English nurse sent to rural Ireland to investigate claims of a miracle…on Netflix.

“The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006): Cilllian Murphy stars in this saga of two brothers revolving around the Irish resistance to British rule during the War of Independence (1919-21) and how the divisive Treaty of 1921 split the country…on Amazon Prime, HBO Max & Netflix.

“Philomena” (2013): Nominated for four Oscars, it stars Judi Dench as an Irish unwed mother who was forced to give up her baby for adoption. Years later, she teams up with a London-based journalist (Steve Coogan) to find out what happened to her son…on Netflix, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play.

“In the Name of the Father” (1993): Daniel Day-Lewis stars in Jim Sheridan’s adaptation of the true story of the ‘Guildford Four,’ four men who were falsely accused of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings; it was nominated for seven Academy Awards…on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, iTunes, Vudu.

“The Commitments” (1991): There’s music galore in this delightful Dublin-set tale, starring Robert Arkins, Johnny Murphy and Angelina Ball…on Prime Video, Apple TV, iTunes, Vudu.

“The Secret of Roan Inish” (1995): Based on Celtic folklore and set in a tiny fishing village near Donegal, John Sayles’ charming cultural identity tale evokes the legend of the ‘selkies,’ who are part seal/part human and can live on land…on Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, Redbox.

“Bloody Sunday” (2002): This drama recalls the tragic events of January 30, 1972, when 14 innocent civilians were wounded y the British Army following a civil rights protest in Derry…on Amazon Prime.

“Waking Ned Devine” (1998): Two mates from a tiny Irish village conspire to collect the winnings from a multi-million-dollar Irish National Lottery ticket that belonged to their late friend, Nate Devine…on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu & Google Play.

“Michael Collins” (1996): A historical drama with Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn and Stephen Rae…on Amazon Prime, Redbox, Apple TV, iTunes, Vudu.

“Evelyn” (2002): Set in 1953, this emotional story focuses on the life of Desmond Doyle, embodied by Pierce Brosnan, who is abandoned by his wife as the Irish courts dictate that their children be placed in Church-controlled orphanages…on Amazon Prime.

“The Guard” (2011): Don Cheadle is a no-nonsense FBI agent working with Brendan Gleeson, a bumbling Irish police officer, as they attempt to foil a criminal gang operating in Ireland…on Netflix.

“Once” (2007): With familiar songs and lyrics, romance blooms on the streets of Dublin as a street busker and a Czech immigrant begin a relationship that irrevocably changes both their worlds…on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes.

“Wild Mountain Thyme” (2020); Jamie Dornan and Emily Blunt play childhood friends/neighbors deciding what to do with their land as their parents age…on Amazon, iTunes.

“The Quiet Man” (1952): John Ford’s flamboyant romantic comedy with John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and Barry Fitzgerald…on Prime Video, Paramount Plus, Apple TV, Vudu, Roku.

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Sharper” (A24/Apple TV+)

 

There are grifters galore in Benjamin Caron’s psychological thriller “Sharper” that opens with what appears to be a innocent love story, set inside a small Greenwich Village bookstore.

That’s where NYU grad student Sandra (Briana Middleton) meets Tom (Justice Smith), the nerdy proprietor. She’s searching for a copy of Zora Neal Huston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” They ‘click’ and move on to a little Japanese restaurant on Mott Street for canoodling over dinner.

But things are not really as sweet as they seem in this whirlwind romance as Sandra eventually tells Tom she needs $350,000 to extricate her drug-addicted brother from serious trouble. Since Tom seems to have access to a seemingly unlimited bank account (which is why he can operate an independent book store), he gives her the money. But then she suddenly disappears.

It turns out that previously vulnerable Sandra was involved with Max (Sebastian Stan), a seedy con man whose fortunes are entangled with soft-spoken, shallow, sociopathic Madeline (Julianne Moore), a scheming Fifth Avenue socialite who is determined to become the trophy wife of billionaire Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow).

Introduced by title cards, the non-linear vignettes reveal the ulterior motives of each of the enigmatic characters.

Deftly written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka (previous collaborators on “The Sitter”), it marks the the feature film debut of TV director Benjamin Caron (“The Crown,” “Andor”) who juggles the plot’s cleverly unpredictable twists and intriguing turns with deft ease – until the ambiguous conclusion which, unfortunately, falters.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sharper” is a scamming 7, streaming in Apple TV+.