The Politician, Unbelievable and On Becoming a God in Central Florida

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. I am spending some time weeding through the many offerings out there right now and there are a lot. Narrowing them down took some work but here they are.

1) The Politician - the new Ryan Murphy offering on Netflix is mashup of Election , The Act and Glee with more than a smattering of The Royal Tenenbaums. The amazing Ben Platt stars as Payton Hobart who is establishing a high school presidential campaign that will pave the way for his real aspiration of becoming The POTUS. Gwyneth Paltrow as his loving eccentric adoptive mother Georgina is a playful poke at her real life persona. His crew has some amazing actors  who manage to make him look good. His opponent is the girlfriend of his dead boyfriend. Deception, suicide, Munchausen by proxy, a murder plot and the unstoppable Jessica Lange chewing up lines and spitting them out make this a must see. I would have watched just for Jessica Lange.

2) Unbelievable also on Netflix is sadly based on a true story of a young girl who is raped and forced to recant her story by doubting police.When two detectives ( Toni Collette and Merritt Wever collaborate on similar rape cases they discover a pattern of disturbing crimes that were never solved. After extensive research and heartbreaking stories from the victims they are able to solve the crimes. The wrap around story that finally ties in is the story of Marie Adler who was the original rape victim and the tragic life she has led as a result of her filing the rape in her town. The two leads Collette and Wever are fantastic as always as well as the great character actress Dale Dickey who I love, it was Kaitlyn Dever as Marie who steals the series. Having just seen her in the underrated Booksmart , I personally feel she is going to have a long acting career. She is someone to watch!!!

3)  On Becoming a God in Central Florida on Showtime now is the perfect vehicle for Kirsten Dunst as a long suffering housewife of a Ponzi scheme addict played by Alexander Skarsgård. His get rich scheme of selling household products for Fam have put them in danger of losing everything including their home. When her husband is eaten by an alligator, Krystal Stubbs (Dunst) is forced to deal with the Cult of Fam and his downstream sellers and buyers . Fam is like a cross between Amway and Scientology and the results are terrifying and hilarious.This series is unlike anything I have ever watched and unpredictable as well. We watch Krystal rise on the Fam circuit and focused way she deals with everyone including her unexpected love interest Cody. Mel Rodriguez and Beth Ditto ( lead singer of The Gossip) play her sympathetic neighbors and true friends who get caught in the Fam net. The writing and acting on this series is sublime.

American Horror Story :1984, Evil and Prodigal Son

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. Welcome to Fall. Here in Northern California it is very un -Fall like but that isn't stopping me from dreaming of a scary October and the cooler months ahead as well as the Fall line-up.  Reading The Institute by Stephen King  is setting the mood for right now and here is  what else I am excited about this week.

1)  AHS 1984 the new American Horror Story installment is out and I was prepared to not like it all. But after watching the first episode I was hooked. All the horror movie cliches from the 80s are here- the ominous local who warns the teenagers of the dangers lurking at Camp Redwood where they have been hired to be camp counselors, and the creepy characters they encounter on the way to Camp Redwood. All the Halloween and Friday the 13th movie tropes are here. The crazed killer, the horny teenagers, the mysterious circumstances of the new camp owner and her torturous past . The cast is perfect with some Ryan Murphy regulars and some newbies as well. Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, Gus Kenworthy and a newcomer to the American Horror Story clan is Matthew Morrison the completely self obsessed and well endowed Trevor Kirchner whose claim to fame was a cut scene from Jane Fonda's workout videos. Sadly Evan Peters will not be reappearing this season. We have two serial killers on hand this time around Mr. Jingles who went on the murder spree at Camp Redwood who has just escaped from the mental institution and The Night Stalker ( first appeared in Hotel and is a real life killer who stalked the streets of Los Angeles) who is stalking Brooke ( Emma Roberts) in LA and has now followed her here. The candy coated wardrobe and bloodbaths have made me nostalgic for another era. #AmericanHorrorStory

2)  Evil, part of the new Fall line up on CBS is showing lots of promise. From Michelle and Robert King ( The Good Wife) this is a great character driven series about what is evil? Supernatural or just plain old bad guys? Starring Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard a clinical psychologist who teams up with an unlikely ally David Acosta (Mike Colter ) from the Catholic Church on a possible case of demonic possession. Kristen's skepticism and David's ties with the church make them an interesting watch as they team up to fight what is truly wicked in this modern world. Comparisons to X- Files will be unavoidable and the writing on this show is superb. An added bonus seems to be a recurring character  who might be evil or EVIL played with terrifying glee by Michael Emerson (Lost) and seems intent on creating chaos. Not giving anything away but this might be one of my favorite shows this year. #Evil

3)  Prodigal Son on Fox is also front runner. Tom Payne is Malcom Bright a famous criminal psychologist who happens to be the son of a very infamous  incarcerated serial killer called The Surgeon played by Michael Sheen. When a copycat series of grisly murders occur Malcom reaches out to his father who seems only too happy to assist the son he hasn't seen in 10 years. Sheen is brilliant in a Hannibal Lecter role and Payne shines as the son who remembers the part he played in his dad's capture as a child. Some great casting rounds this well acted thriller including a favorite of mine -Lou Diamond Phillips as a NYPD detective who has become a mentor and friend of Malcom's  and Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls). This might be a must watch. #Prodigalson