Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Disclaimer - I love Cate Blanchett, but I don't love this. It's definitely a chore to get through - every episode slower and more predictable than the last (I think I'm on episode 5 and nothing of note has happened). The catalyst for the story is interesting - this young, married woman is on vacation with her son, meets an even younger man and has a quick love affair with him. He gets attached and wants more, she gets upset, then her son almost drowns in the ocean so her lover goes to save him and ends up dying in the process. She can't even pretend that she knows him because she doesn't want anyone finding out about the affair. The whole situation would fuck you up, but the part I don't really understand is that she wanted him to die and doesn't say anything about him still being in the water. Way to lose any empathy from your audience. She's basically an awful person and deserves to have her life destroyed? Okay...so now what? I don't care about the main character, and this doesn't make me care about any of the supporting characters either. I guess that's why it's a chore to sit through. I can appreciate villainous characters, but I'm struggling here. I also think the time-jumping is jarring in some cases, although it's probably the only interesting aspect. I hate the iris out shots between scenes too - it just feels pretentious but also amateur at the same time. But there are some really stunning scenes - like the scene with the drowning - the way the waves crash over the camera. You really feel the intensity of the water and how it can overtake you. As far as the cast, Blanchett is untouchable. But Leila George as a younger version of her doesn't work at all for me. I keep having to remind myself that they are the same character. Her vibe is just completely different. And Sacha Baron Cohen in a serious role is jarring! Sharing a scene with Cate Blanchett is EMBARRASSING for him. Who thought that was a good idea? I also did not recognize Kevin Kline for the entire first episode. I know they probably aged him a bit, but he is 77 so he is older than I'm used to seeing him. Also I can't believe him and Phoebe Cates are still married!! Good for them. Anyway, I also hate the narration - it reminds me of Nocturnal Animals, the way that it's "telling a story", but the story is boring so it all feels pointless. 

2. Cross - I can't tell if this show is good or if Aldis Hodge is just *that* hot. I think it's the latter. I was a big fan of Morgan Freeman's version of Alex Cross from the 90s - Kiss the Girls is a fantastic movie (Along Came a Spider was just ok from what I remember). I'm also a big fan of Aldis Hodge, so this show seemed like a no-brainer for me. I just think it could have been done better. The cat-and-mouse production of it is dragged out for way too long. It easily could have been 6 forty minute episodes instead of 8 hour long episodes. I like the whole backstory of Cross' wife being murdered (I don't remember if that was in the movies?), and he's just a great detective character, overall, but the whole side-plot with the stalking and attack on his family is unnecessary. Or it could have been the main plot for season 2. This just feels like there's too much going - this is a show that would benefit from simplicity. It's smart to update his story with the "defund police" movement - and show both sides of the coin. This could have been the side plot (a more in-depth look at how difficult it is to be a black police officer). I also think the main villain is a little too cartoonish (especially Ryan Eggold with that bleach blonde hair - there is no way I would trust a man with that hair). I'm not sure how I recognize the victim - played by Eloise Mumford because I searched her IMDB and the only thing I know her from is the 50 Shades movies, but I doubt I would recognize her from that. But the wig she wears in the beginning is God-awful. She's very strong in this role, though. I think I would have liked a little more of her story before the capture, too. But otherwise, I was entertained for most of this. I appreciate that Cross figures out the identity of the serial killer by episode 5 and then he's just struggling to prove it, but like I said, it just goes on for too long. I also knew that a certain character was untrustworthy from the second they are introduced - but I'm not sure why. I guess gut instinct, but it just was so obvious to me for the whole series so the finale is a bit of a letdown (aside from the climax fight song being "X Gon' Give it to Ya" by DMX). I will definitely watch, and probably enjoy, season two. 

3. St. Denis Medical - The first episode of this is a little rough around the edges, but it is significantly better by the second episode. And extremely funny so far. It's very similar to Parks & Recreation and The Office, but it's set in a hospital (like Scrubs if it were mockumentary style). The cast is very strong -Mama Goldberg and Allison Tolman!! Plus, David Allan Grier is a comedic legend - I remember watching him in In Living Color when I was a kid. He's the highlight here - in the second episode he has so many hilarious lines and he nails every single one of them. I think I'm only on the 5th episode, but there's been so many funny moments so far - like The Beastie Boys opening number with the doctor dancing to "Intergalactic" - I was crying laughing. And the doctor trying to find someone "good" to save to show how satisfying it is to be a life-saving doctor and the patient yells "Finally! A white doctor!" It's so fucking funny. I can't wait to watch more, but I have to wait for my husband to watch it with me (he will watch sitcoms with me - like real sitcoms, not shows that submit themselves as comedy for awards shows like The Bear). I think there is a big hole for sitcoms lately (Animal Control and Abbott Elementary are the only ones holding down the whole category), so I'm all in for this. And if it's already found it's footing in the first few episodes, hopefully it will be a long-running sitcom that will feel like a comfort show. I miss those. 

4. Interior Chinatown - Okay, so I watched this show because Chloe Bennet is in it - and I only really know her from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D show and I have no real opinion of her from that. But she's dating my husband, Taron Egerton, so I have to support her. That man deserves to be happy - I've never read a bad thing about him (even his current co-star Jason Bateman praised him as "not being an asshole yet" and said something to effect that he doesn't have it in his bones - just pure kindness. The only thing I've ever seen of someone saying something bad about him is that one time a girl ran into him in the street and asked him for a picture and he said "no" and kept walking. Which is out of character for him, but also we can't expect celebrities to constantly be "On" every second of every day. I've also seen him be snippy when interviewers ask stupid questions or say something stupid - like when someone referred to his sisters as "half-sisters" and he corrected them "they are my sisters. period.". ANYWAY...I'm on a Taron tangent! It's been a long time! I just love him so much). I also like Jimmy O. Yang and Ronnie Chieng - they are both very funny. "I feel like I'm a background character in someone else's story" is the premise of the story. I'm not sure if I like it yet, though. It's very surreal - it's kind of reminiscent of that show with Jason Schwartzman where he's a private eye solving outrageous cases. Anyone remember that show?? It wasn't very good, but there was something interesting about it. Anyway, this kind of does the same outrageous scenarios thing, but it feels really cheesy; especially the "tv detectives". Nothing is grounded in reality. But I'm only 3 episodes in, so I'll still watch it and hope it finds its footing. There are definitely some funny parts ("I'll have the ginger chicken with no ginger" LOL. And when they are talking about Chloe and he goes "she's clearly Korean! Know your Asians!" I laughed. And then looked it up to see what her background is and she's not Korean. She's of Chinese descent on her dad's side and Caucasian American on her mom's side.). Also there's ANOTHER DMX song heard in this! I'M LIVING! 

5. The Day of the Jackal - Um, so I don't really understand all the great reviews for this. It's fine, I guess. It's very James Bond-coded, just with an assassin instead of a spy. And if you don't believe me just watch the opening credits, because I literally yelled out "are you fucking kidding me, with this James Bond song???". The opening scene of the series is really dumb, too, because we've all seen Mission: Impossible. Way to reference how unoriginal this series is within the first 10 minutes. I'm also not the biggest fan of Eddie Redmayne. I think he's been good in some stuff (The Theory of Everything), but he's not an Oscar-worthy actor (and yet he has one!!), and he over-acts. However, I appreciate that he takes on different/challenging roles in all different genres. He's following a different path than a lot of actors his age (I actually thought he was mid-30s until I just looked it up. He's my age!). I think he scales his acting back a little bit in this, and feels more human than I've seen him in a while, but I also think he's very boring in this role. And casting Lashana Lynch in this is really confusing, because she's IN the newer Bond films. I also don't care about any of the characters. I don't care if he gets away or dies. I don't care if she catches him and loses her family because she's so obsessed. They do nothing to make us care. I've just seen it all before - it's all playing out exactly how I expect it to and they've given nothing new to the spy/assassin genre. It's basically the same as Cross except that's actually entertaining. It's definitely another show that should have been 6 episodes maximum. I actually thought the 8th episode was the last one, but then I realized that the other 2 episodes just weren't released yet, and I feel like it's going to be a chore to finally finish this series. I will say that the music is fantastic (and I saw someone note that their music budget must be extraordinary because HOW did they get the rights to all these songs???).