Dispatches From Elsewhere

This show is Jason Segel's existential crisis brought straight to the screen. It's part David Fincher's "The Game," tossed in the Dharma Initiative of TV's "LOST" and the breaking-the-fourth-wall of "The Holy Mountain" (but the fun of Ferris Bueller). What's it all about? There are four main characters played by Jason Segel (Peter), Sally Field (Janice), Eve Lindley (Simone), and André 3000 (Fredwynn). They each get wrapped up in a game that brings strangers together in a kind of surreal Amazing Race treasure hunt where the goal isn't known but it's all about the adventure, the journey. As a viewer, you get caught up in the fun and the magic of these characters and their escapades. The show is full art both actually and metaphorically. The whole thing gives you a feeling like you walked into a museum of the absurd, a circus show of freaks. It's also a show that embraces difference. The most important being Eve Lindley's Simone. Eve Lindley is a real Trans woman and she play a trans woman, Simone, in the show. Peter has a relationship with Simone and it's complex. Quite frankly I found it brave of Jason Segel to put this on screen. Brave and important. It shows Simone struggle as a Trans person but it also make strides for humanizing Trans people and not have them be the butt of transphobic jokes. For nothing else, Dispatches From Elsewhere should be hailed as important for Eve Lindley's portal - she really does a great job.

But Simone's story is just one piece (albeit large one) of a complex story with many moving parts. Hats off to Jason Segel to keep it all moving. Some people may be disappointed in the show's ending - you are shown the wizard behind the curtain. I loved it all. Go have an adventure and catch this amazing and important series on Amazon Prime.  

Servant

 Let me tell you about my new favourite thing on TV - Servant. From Producer M. Night Shyamalan - he directed the first episode of Season One. What's it about? It's a about a woman who is a daytime TV reporter and her Chef husband (Dorothy and Sean Turner) who have a new baby, Jericho. They have hired a nanny, Leanne. Leanne is strange. The Turners, well they have an issue with Jericho that I really don't want to explain. I want you to trust me, just watch this. Warning, it's disturbing, twisted, and dark - just my cup of tea. Dorothy's brother, Julian (Rupert Grint) shows up from time to time at their Philadelphia home to polish of some booze and to be the voice of reason - Rupert is fantastic. But even better is Leanne's Uncle George (Boris McGiver) - what a bananas performance; I loved it.

The show is a gorgeous thing to behold. The food that Mr. Turner cooks up is the stuff out of Hannibal - eels, squid, placenta, crickets, lobster ice-cream. And the lighting! The way this show is lit, it's amazing - it's a Renaissance painting; a colour palette of greys; browns and earthy tones. The use of textures and patterns - oh, my - the show is like a gothic flower arrangement. And the dolly camera shots are phenomenal! It simply is the most beautiful show on TV - and likely the most terrifying. 

Catch this horror show on Apple +

When They See Us

This four part Netflix miniseries came out in 2019, before George Floyd's murder, before the Black Lives Matter movement took hold in the way it has. This miniseries feels even more relevant now, just a mere two years later. It's powerful. It's a gut-punch. It's important. What's it all about? It's the dramatic telling of the true story of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five - five kids, wrongfully convicted of raping and assaulting a jogger in Central Park in 1989. These kids did nothing and were convicted for the colour of their skin. Steve Lopez, 14. Antron McCray, 15. Kevin Richardson, 14. Yusef Salaam, 15. Raymond Santana, 14. Korey Wise, 16. Kids. Korey Wise had it by far the worst, being sent to adult prison. Jharrel Jerome is the only actor to play both the young man and the adult version of his character; his being, Korey Wise. He is remarkable. He won an Emmy for his performance. The miniseries brought to me to tears several times. Like I said, it's a gut punch. Powerful stuff. Important viewing. It is reminiscent of the miniseries "The Night Of" which is also excellent and has a similar story line. "The Night Of" is fantastic and I loved it, but it's fictional. "When They See Us" - it's true. This really happened to these boys. After you watch it, follow it up with  Oprah Winfrey's "When They See Us Now" - the interview with the Exonerated Five. Catch both on Netflix

News of the World

 I wouldn't call Tom Hanks an action star but if you consider films like Castaway and Captain Philips, News of the World would fall into this same wheelhouse of action. It's a travel Western about a man, Captain Kidd (Tom Hanks) who travels from town to town reading the news - newspapers and literacy both being scarce at this time in American history. Kidd ends up with a kid, Johanna (Helena Zengel - nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance here) and Kidd has agreed to take the kid across the country to her only living relatives after her parents are killed and Johanna was raised by the Kiowa tribe (indigenous people of the Great Plains). Johanna has forgotten how to speak English or German or whatever language she spoke before. Kidd is going on this road trip, because well, we wouldn't have a movie otherwise and it's Tom Hanks (big old softy). They have many adventures along the way and by the end of the film I found myself rather emotionally invested despite the simplicity of the story. Helena Zengel is bloody great in this. It's one of the better films to come out of 2020 so hitch your wagon to this one and giddy up. Catch it on streaming services.  

Judas and the Black Messiah

This year we have two films set in the same 1960s era, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and this one, Judas and the Black Messiah - you should watch them both. Daniel Kaluuya (the dude from Get Out) won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor for his role as Black Panther founder, Fred Hampton. He's nominated for best actor in a leading role for an Oscar. Why the Globes nominated him for best supporting when he should have been nominated for lead remains a mystery. Fred is the messiah and Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) is Judas - an undercover snitch for the FBI who infiltrated the Panthers as a way to weasel his way out of serving grand-theft -auto jail time. It's a true story and a crazy one at that. It makes for a great movie. And this is a great movie. The cast is phenomenal, the story is riveting, and the direction is spot on. It's reminiscent of such films as Goodfellas, Selma, and Donnie Brasco - I loved it; learned lots about the Panthers and Fred Hampton. It's one of the best films of 2021. Catch it on streaming services. 

Tell Me Your Secrets

 Bananas! Like totally bananas!! Ridiculous! What was that? Okay, I don't know if this is a recommendation (this is what my blog is supposed to be about) or a confession that I binged watched the whole thing. I don't even know where to start. It's an acid trip. Okay, this is my best shot. It's about a woman, Emma (played by Lily Rabe) who served time for her alleged involvement with a serial killer. Emma has some memory loss about a certain traumatic event and her therapist, Pete (Enrique Murciano) is trying to dislodge it. Pete works with the FBI and has gotten Emma released from jail and into witness protection. - relocated to swampy Saint James, Louisiana. One of the serial killer's victims' mother, Mary (Amy Brenneman) is convinced her daughter is alive (there was never a body found, just a photo of her and the serial killer at a gas station). Mary believes Emma knows the truth about her daughter and hires a serial rapist, John (Hamish Linklater) to find Emma. To complicate things there is a romance with a cop thrown in, a psychic, mysterious things happening at a group home, a dodgy motel, and a cat. I think it's the serial rapist, John who is the most compelling to watch - Hamish Linklater was so fabulous I wish I could give him some sort of award. Maybe I will make one up - McPherson's Movie Marquee for best actor in a TV series - Hamish Linklater. The whole show feels B. Like all the actors are B list actors, but don't let it fool you, the performances are A list quality. It's just the material at times is ridiculous. Not a lot of it makes sense, but that's okay! Tell Me Your Secrets I predict will become a cult series in the way Pumpkinhead or The Holy Mountain are cult movies. If you want to have some fun, like riding the Haunted House ride, the guy with tat sleeves who smells of weed double checking your safety bar and giving you a wink - then take a ride on Tell Me Your Secrets. Binge it on Amazon.  

Behind Her Eyes

If you were a fan of Channel Zero and are still lamenting its loss, well there have been a few things to fill its void. The Outsider - was one. Behind Her Eyes is the next. Now, before we go on, if you don't know what Channel Zero is/was, then take a minute and read my review of that. I loved Channel Zero. I loved The Outsider. Behind Her Eyes might seem ridiculous to some (fair enough) but if taken in the context this is just another season of Channel Zero without that moniker attached to it, then you may love it too. What's it all about? It about Louise (Simona Brown) who is about to start a new job. It turns out that her new boss is the man she met and kissed at the bar the night before - awkward! He is a psychiatrist and his wife, well she's nuts. They have a dysfunctional marriage and Louise, she gets right in the middle of things becoming a good friend to the wife while sleeping with the husband, her boss. On top of all this juicy drama, Louise is having nightmarish sleepwalking episodes. There is a dream sequence where Louise is slow-motion running in a yellow dress and it's a stunning visual - you could freeze frame it and hang it on a gallery wall. I was so impressed I realized, this may be low brow material but it's been elevated to high art. Yes it's ridiculous, but so are most things - get over yourself. If you want some fun, get right Behind Her Eyes. Catch it on Netflix.