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martyfoxzorro
Reviews
Big Sky (2020)
Should Be a Ten
If you want to "TRULY" enjoy Big Sky, I have a couple of things you should NOT do.
1. Don't watch Joe Pickett on Paramount Plus.
2. Don't read the CJ Box Cassie Dewell books.
So, I started watching Big Sky because I'm a Ryan Phillipe fan. Because he's buds with JD Harmeyer, not really because of his acting. Although that's not bad. Spoiler #1, Ryan is sleeping with both show female leads, is on the trail of a serial killer with a police buddy, when he's inexplicably shot in the head and killed. Since I hadn't read the books yet, this was a great hook. Then I finished that episode and since it was network TV and had to wait a week, never saw episode 2. I just forgot about the show.
Then, I watched Joe Pickett, which starts slow, kinda weird, but eventually hooked me. I watched both seasons and started reading the books. Then I started a book which followed a relentless cop named "Cody Hoyt". He worked on the fringes of the law and eventually gets tricked by his partner, "Cassie Dewell" getting him fired. After his firing, he continued tracking a serial killer called "The Lizard King" who kidnaps truck stop prostitutes and had expanded to kidnapping some high school girls. Then Cody gets a break and while investigating with a fellow cop is inexplicably shot in the head by that cop. I had an epiphany! The Cassie Dewell series was the basis of Big Sky! I had to finish it.
So, after reading the books, thoroughly sold on Cassie, I restarted the TV series. It was like riding in a car when the brakes go out. TV took a flawed female lead, Cassie and made her perfect. The areas where Cassie was awesome, she was now only OK. Her values in the book did not allow a physical relationship with Cody Hoyt, because although separated, he was still married. Also, while the book highlights all the police procedure Hoyt taught Cassie, the series just flashed back you them adulterizing themselves. Also, Cody's ex, a minor character became a major character and fellow investigator. The lizard king, who is excellent in the book and series, just gets weird. Then there's a gay, one legged prostitute subplot while they skirted a book subplot regarding a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. So I just had to quit on the show. I do still read the books and highly recommend them.
Finestkind (2023)
Lucky Find
Always looking for a good Sunday movie. Found this on a Saturday, grandkid day, so the house is hectic and movies are hard to watch. So, we tried again on Sunday. Movie was pretty good. Being a huge Ben Foster and Tommy Lee Jones fan didn't hurt. There were a few sub-plots about brothers, love, fisherman, drug dealing, death, life, father-son, brother-brother, and evil Canada, but the movie still managed to be entertaining. Probably would have been better as a mini-series with so much going on, since sone things just seemed to "happen" and weren't well explained. All said I'd still recommend it.
The Sentinel (2006)
Good Actors, Bad Acting, or Bad Script ...... or Maybe There Just Jerks? (Part 1)
My first "real-time" movie review. Initial impression, Keifer Sutherland qualifying his awesome ness explaining how certain thing work. Then his co-hort Longoria doesn't the same. As they walk away from a crime scene as police officers look at the back of their head. Guess they're trying to seem competent, but just come off as snarky a-holes. Wait, drop a scene of Douglas (old man) and Basinger (old woman) who had an ongoing affair, Oh yeah, Basinger is also the First Lady, acting like horny teens on a first night tryst. Then a Secret Service Agent is shot, typical bad guy. Foreign looking, earring, first to get picked in a police lineup or crowded restaurant as a killer. Of course, Douglas' best bud and it all seems random. Wait, an informant who knows "EVERYTHING" but for some reason doesn't want to tell Douglas, cause the bad guys will get him. Then Douglas, rather than pierce toenails, lets him go. Serious conversation between Douglas and Basinger, although no idea why she's still around and not hidden. Ransom call, Horrible, phony southern accent on the bad guy. Wait, Southern accent? Wouldn't that make it easier to.....nevermind. More dialog showing why Douglas is just so much smarter than we are. Tense ransom exchange. Euro tough guy with, it looks like a bowel syndrome, (uncomfortable grimace) toting a silencer the size of a howitzer, yet unnoticed, shoots two good guys who were looking right at him. Mall chase. RCP blows up the Presidents helicopter. Lotsa random newsreel coverage. Bad guys in a dark motel room. THEY ARE EURO TRASH! Rip off of the DieHard bad guy. Douglas goes home with take out. Kiefer confronts him w/co-hort. Crappy interview session, did they read him his rights? They explain their plot idea. Wait, canned dialog, Doulas "I get up at 4 AM every g-d-- morning!" Emphasizing as many like to do that he works hard. Pretty sure he doesn't have anything on a coal miner, but I digress. Wait, Southerland thinks Douglas slept with his ex-wife. Guess him trying to kill the President and murdering an agent isn't enough to cause Sutherland to hold a grudge. Douglas kicks agents 40 years his junior's but and escapes his apartment. Douglas gets Burner phone and other cool covert stuff. Sutherland tells trained professionals how do do their job and how to be professional. Wait, I gotta check my e-mail. Stay tuned for part 2 (if I don't fall asleep.) No. Douglas find
Basinger and they have a conversation in what sounds like an oxygen deprived environment. Later. Part 2, the rest is pretty predictable. Douglas retires. He and Basinger break up. Kiefer and Douglas become best friends again. Keifer takes his cheating wife back (rlizes she didn't get it with Douglas.). Then all the bad guys die. I think?