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Reviews
Perry Mason (2020)
Smokey, jazzy, moody -superb
Few know that ESG gave the Mason characters no backstory at all in the books (all we find out, in book 3, is that PM was a Leo...that's all). That gives the writers of this series a lot of leeway, which they did by giving Perry Mason a lot of Erl Stanley Gardner's own personal backstory. For instance, ESG never went to law school but passed the legal bar on experience as a clerk, just like Mason in the new series.
This new series is stylish, a cinematic feast of authenticity, with jazzy undertones. The cast is first-rate. Sit back & enjoy the ride. The more than serviceable stories are just a framework to showcase 1930's Los Angeles.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
Mediocre at best
A Good Morning Vietnam-like epiphany about real war & friendship without the humor or the heart. Slow, not engaging, no real tension. Nothing new was discovered, nothing old affirmed. Crowe was the most interesting character in the film, as a an alarmingly overweight, boozy, gruff, Hemingway-esqe photojournalist with a heart and a pair of Nikon F-1s-that never ran out of film, apparently (there wasn't a single roll of film changed in the dozens & dozens of shots he took). It was a bit sad to watch Crowe waddle around the streets of Saigon during & after the Tet offensive. I dunno. I guess I'm glad to have had sun this movie. There just wasn't ant life to it. Like they were all rehab escapees from the Betty Ford Clinic, free halfway through their detox, zombies with no purpose.
Death on the Nile (2022)
I'm a Christie fan & a film noir buff. Not bad, actually.
Smokey. Jazzy. Sexy. Moody. Superb cinematography, set design & costumes. Like all of AC's greatest works, you gotta work to stay with the story (easier with the book because you can flip back to pick up the lost thread). All the original characters are here, except Col. Race (along with their hidden resentments & jealous motivations), but some of their stories are switched up & consolidated a bit. Hercules gets a backstory (AC never really fleshed out his past, so it's blank canvas). Generally as true to the original text as the 1970's movie was, but better filmed (70mm CinemaScope) & acted.
These old, plodding, locked room "Cozy Murders" will never satisfy modern audiences the way modern detective fiction & spy stories do. But this is a classic who-done-it well worth a discerning & receptive film buff's appreciation-the detail & imaginative cruise ship Karnak, where the majority of the film is shot, is worth the price of your time. Ignore the haters & treat your senses.
Dickinson: Because I Could Not Stop (2019)
Poetry
The series is best described as: Poetry illustrated. Sometimes, Erotic Poetry Illustrated. There is a lot to mine here. Show is great fun.