Dahmer,=Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Good Night Mommy and Orphan:First Kill

  THE HORROR OF IT ALL    

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers and fellow horror enthusiasts. It seems we are on the brink of a good horror renaissance this year. Lots of exciting new movies out and few mediocre ones as  well but horror is so subjective that everyone can find something they enjoy. Here are my reviews of some recent watches.

1) Dahmer now streaming on Netflix is another Ryan Murphy offering and it does not disappoint. Gruesome, gory and creepy and Even Peters in another horrific role. Not sure how he sleeps at night. We have seen versions of this story before and we know how it plays out but with great actors in the roles like Peters, Niecy Nash and Richard Jensen this sort of transcends those tropes.The first episode builds and builds at a slow pace until that moment we are wondering if this victim will make it out . I am watching these slowly to savor each one.

2) Good Night Mommy a Prime Video Original remake of a 2014 Austrian film. I didn't see that film so I won't be comparing them to each other. The premise of this plot line is that Elias and Lukas, twin boys come to spend their summer visit with their mother in an isolated house in the country. They are met at the door by their once beautiful actress mother (Naomi Watts) , covered in face bandages after a recent facelift. They suspect that something is off because Mommy is exhibiting strange behavior and they find she has ripped up a drawing they did for her and refuses to sing them to sleep as she has all of their life. their horror grows as they start to feel that this woman is not their Mommy at all but something else. A little slow building but that increases the impact of the final scenes. I liked it .

3) Before I watched Orphan:First Kill  streaming on Paramount +, I went back to watch the brilliant first film Orphan and really enjoyed watching a classic horror film. First Kill did a risky thing by using the same actress to play the same roll all these years as a prequel, I enjoyed it once I put that aside and I loved the twist. Not as good as the first movie but still a good attempt and this time with a clever twist. No spoilers here. Watch for yourself.

The Bear, Uncoupled and Cha Cha Real Smooth

                                My Top Three This Week                                       

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. Hot August nights leading into September - my favorite month Lots of good things coming our way -entertainment wise and some bad news too. HBO Max will be leaving us along with some of the very talented folks that brought us some of our favorite content. There is talk of them joining Discovery Plus but their styles do not match in my opinion. Some new movies and series are streaming and I am excitedly anticipating them. A few have already come out and these are my picks.

1) The Bear a Hulu Original series now streaming is a great insider's peak into the restaurant business through a small sandwich place in Chicago. A young chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White -Shameless) has returned home to Chicago to take over his deceased brother's sandwich shop and try to save it from closing. Estrangement from his sister Sugar (Abby Elliot) , financial mismanagement and staff issues make this a very difficult road. We are rooting for him all the way, because White has captured this very talented tortured chef in a way only he can. He is helped by a great supporting cast including, Elliot, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie and Sydney played by Ayo Edebiri one of my favs in the cast. Great story and a high recommend.

 

 

2) Uncoupled , a Netflix Original series from the creator of Emily in Paris and Modern Family we have the gay version of Sex and the City starring Neil Patrick Harris as Michael a very successful New York Real Estate Agent on the night of a surprise 50th birthday party for his boyfriend of 17 years Colin (Tuc Watkins). The surprise turns out to be for Michael. Colin has moved their designer towels and all. Once the shock wears off , and with the encouragement of his best friends Suzanne (Tisha Campbell), Stanley (Brooks Ashmanskas) and Billy (Emerson Brooks) he starts to dip in the gay dating pond. It is so much deeper than he remembers with even more drop offs in the deep end. This is where the comedy takes it heart. If you are looking for a SATC show this really isn't it. I think it starts to really find its rhythm by the final episodes of this season and I want to see how it goes. I am going to take some time to warm up to Billy and Stanley but Tisha Campbell is fantastic and such a natural actress. I am also tuning in for a special treat. A wealthy client Claire played by my favorite Marcia Gay Harden has become a new friend to Michael and I cannot wait to see that friendship blossom. 

 

 

3) Cha Cha Real Smooth streaming on Apple TV+ is a very poignant story of  young heartbreak, navigating a life in the adult world. Told with real love for the characters in the story , this movie is starting off a great career for Cooper Raiff who directed, wrote and starred in this story of a young Andrew who has left school with no real idea of what he wants to do next. Well, a job as a party starter for Bar Mitzvahs lands in his lap when the parents see this charismatic young man work his magic on some very shy kids, getting them to dance and mingle including a young  autistic girl. The young autistic girl's mother Domino ( Dakota Johnson ) intrigues him and he finds himself helpless to her charms as he becomes closer to her daughter Lola. This becomes more entangled because she is married and confused and he is falling for her in a big way. Raiff is a very natural actor and the fact that he utilizes an autistic actress in the role of Lola gains big points. A shout out to Leslie Mann and Brad Garrett and his mom and stepdad. I see big things for Raiff in the future.

 

 

Maggie, Gordita Chronicles, Loot and I Love That For You

                                             My Top Three This Week                                            

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. I hope you missed me. I was taking a sabbatical to regroup, refresh and renew. But I haven't forgotten about you and I have some new content that I think you will like. The focus is on Comedy this time because we all need a laugh.

1) Maggie a streaming Hulu Original series is a great comedy that has a heart warming wrap around story. Maggie (Rebecca Rittenhouse) is a twenty something psychic who volunteers free readings for local events. She only reads strangers to keep her friends from being freaked out by her observations. She luckily has never seen her own future until a young man appears at her booth and she takes his hand and immediately sees a future together with him included. That young man Ben (David Del Rio) Beauty and the Baker and Maggie begin a hot and heavy relationship until she gets a vision of him and another woman and breaks it off. She is struggling with letting her visions of her friends and herself  ruin her life and started dating again. But then Ben comes back into her life in an unexpected way but with a fiancée this time. Rittenhouse and Del Rio definitely have chemistry and the entire cast is an amazing group of actors- Chris Elliott, Kerri Kennedy and the hilarious Nichole Sanders (Superstore) and Angelique Cabral ( Friends with Benefits). A special shout out to my favorite snarky Ray Ford as her psychic mentor ( Don't Trust the B***h in Apartment 23). He rips up any scene he is in.

 

 

2) Gordita Chronicles a streaming series on HBO Max that captures the life of a Dominican Castelli family leaving their home in the DR and moving to Miami in the 80's. This fish out of water story has a twist. It is told through the eyes of young Gordita also known as Cucu ( Olivia Goncalves ) as she and her family try to compete for the American Dream and failing miserably.  Full of heart and some great actors. Diana Maria Riva a great comedic actress who has been in everything is mom Adela and Juan Javier Cardenas as dad Victor and Savana Nicole Ruiz (Gentrified) as the sister Emelia. A fun binge watch.

 

 

3) Loot a streaming series on  Apple TV+ Original is a sweet comedy, that has a familiar Superstore, The Office vibe in the best possible way. Starring Maya Rudolph as Molly Novak a mega wealthy divorcée who received $87 Million dollars from her very public divorce from mogul John Novak (Adam Scott). She finds out that she has a foundation named after her that she never knows existed and decides to do good with her money and also get back at her jerk of an ex. she meets the people who work tirelessly on the charities and ways to support new ones. Her problem is - she has not lived in the real world and her public image needs a makeover if she wants to raise the money needed. A great comedic cast including Ron Funches, Joel Kim Booster, Nat Faxon and Micaela Jaé Rodriguez (Pose) as the uptight head of the foundation. Lots of heart and laughs and Rudolph is at the top of her game.

 

 

Bonus: I usually don't do these much any more but I love That For You a Showtime Original series is hilarious and  has some of the best female comedians in the business and some SNL alumnis. A young Joanna Gold (Vanessa Bayer) survives childhood leukemia by watching a home shopping network show featuring the beloved Jackie (Molly Shannon) the star of SVN. Once she recovers she applies for a job with the amazing Jenifer Lewis who is the CEO of SVN. She bombs the interview and lies about her cancer returning to land the job to work with her idol Jackie. The lie builds her into a huge success and she becomes the new "Jackie" while retaining the new friendship. Based loosely on Bayer's own life story , this darkly funny series is a great vehicle for these actresses.

 

 

Shining Girls, Under the Banner of Heaven and The Girl from Plainville

    My Top Three This Week

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. It feels like the world may be slowly opening up one mask at a time but other threats are consuming our daily lives and although I like to keep this blog entertainment centric, I am feeling the unease we all are going through as well.  With that said,  I have a few very interesting offerings-two which are based on real life crime stories.

1) Shining Girls now streaming on Apple+ is a series I have been hyped for ever since news broke that one of my recent favorite books with the same name was made into a series with Elizabeth Moss. A time traveling serial killer (check) a very smart final girl (check) and a mind bending production (check)! A recent body of a young girl is found in Chicago in an underground pipe with the same possible markings that were found on Kirby Mazrachi (Moss) six years  before when she escaped a brutal attack. The police reach out to her as she has been living under witness protection with this new name and working as a file clerk for a Chicago newspaper to try to identify a suspect. She never saw her assailant but could identify his voice only. She is living a very simple life with her mother Rachel (Amy Brenneman) and a pet that seems to change from a dog to a cat depending on the day ( more about that later).  In the intro we see a charming young man Harper (Jamie Bell) approach a young Kirby and give her a present with the promise to meet again. We continue to see Harper stalking and then killing a young woman in the same time frame as the older Kirby. Are these killings related? Kirby is experiencing life changes and environment changes at work  and home every time she comes home. She begins to form a friendship with the reporter at her newspaper as she tries to find her attacker and solve the mystery that is getting more terrifying with each episode. This series was produced by Moss, DiCaprio and few other notables. Moss and Bell are outstanding in their respective roles and we get some great supporting performances from Brenneman and Wagner Moura as the reporter Dan who finally believes her impossible story. This is a must watch!

2) Under the Banner of Heaven series streaming on Hulu is a too unbelievable to be true ripped from the 1984 headlines murder of a young mother and her small daughter in Utah. Written and created by Dustin Lance Black ( Milk) this story takes us inside the Mormon church and a world of LDS (Latter Day Saints) families.  When a former LDS son Allen from the elite Lafferty family in the church is being investigated for the brutal murder of his wife  and daughter a story is uncovered that is so shocking it seems like it could only be fiction. The town detective Pyre ( Andrew Garfield)  also a Mormon is called in to the case and he tries to help the Lafferty family discover what happened to Brenda Lafferty (Daisy-Edgar Jones) and her and Allen's small daughter. What they will discover will send shock waves across the small town. The large Lafferty family is full of secrets when young Brenda joins the family and they worship and resent her equally. There are some very good actors portraying Laffertys- Wyatt Russell, Sam Worthington and Rory Culkin among the various other actors that are part of the clan. It is a peek into the world of LDS with an insider's eye provided by by the very nuanced performance of Andrew Garfield.

3)  The Girl From Plainville mini-series streaming on Hulu is another true crime story based on the landmark case where a young girl coerces a disturbed young man to commit suicide. Young Conrad Roy (Colton Ryan)  sets off a media storm when he commits suicide and a curious detective gets a warrant to search a young Michelle Carter's ( Elle Fanning) phone when it was discovered she texted him and called him right until the time of death. She contacts Conrad's mother Lynn ( Chloë Sevigny) claiming to be Conrad's girlfriend who the family had never met. She organized fundraisers for Conrad in the town she lived in and gathered her friends to pay tribute to her deceased boyfriend who they also never met. Things get more strange as the texts from Michelle to her friends and Conrad emerge to create a possible manslaughter case against her. Fanning gives an amazing performance as a young girl with emotional problems as she grapples with a mostly texting relationship with a very depressed young man. Great performances for Sevigny as Lynn and Norbert Leo Butz as his father. Very well written.