Quickie Review: Monsieur Spade

[Kevin M.]

I like noir. This is not quite noir, but it’s close. If I was watching it on AMC instead of iTunes I’d be frustrated by commercial breaks seemingly every two minutes, often in the middle of scenes. Aside from that, it’s worth taking a look at. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Dave Sikula]

As always, I question yet another British actor playing yet another American for no good reason, but there was enough here to bring me back.

On the other hand, I found so much to dislike in the reincarnation of "True Detective" that I won't be back. Too many unpleasant characters, amateurish acting (I'm lookin' at you, Kali Reis), the horror-movie tropes, and an overall feel of trying too hard were all turnoffs.

--Dave Sikula

[Kevin M.]

At least his accent is passable. Some of them make me convinced the British still hold a grudge against Dick Van Dyke for his accent in Mary Poppins. 

I like that for Spade’s wardrobe, they seem to have taken a cue from what Bogart wore in his later years. Makes sense, considering he wore his own clothes in most of his movies. 

True Detective seemed to confuse noir with slow and pedantic. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[Kevin M.]

Just finished the season finale. Alfre Woodard should have her name legally changed to deus ex machina, but overall a thoroughly enjoyable series. I don’t hold out much hope for a second season, but I’ll be pleased if it happens. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Dave Sikula]

I'll agree that Woodard had a lot of heavy lifting to do, but she did it well. (In my mind, Owen's smirk during that scene was as much about his relief at not having to do it as it was Spade's amusement at the whole situation.) That is something at odds with Hammett, though; his plots are pretty straightforward and don't require a lot of cleaning up at the end. (Chandler was the complicated one; to the point of famously not knowing who killed the Sternwood's butler in "The Big Sleep.") He was more interested in psychology than in unraveling international conspiracies.

I'd love to see a second season, too, but expect it'll turn up about the same time as Perry Mason 3.

--Dave Sikula

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[PGage]

Just finished TD4, which I was only able to do through sheer stubbornness and accessing my deep streak of ICD completism.

I have a high tolerance for the baked in weaknesses of this series, but season 4 seemed to be intentionally trying to be bad so hard it was just insulting and obnoxious. It does get somewhat less bad in the last few episodes,  it is unable to recover from the accumulated weight of its badness overall.

I was shocked after to read that this season is highly regarded by critics and the public. WTF? 

I don’t dislike Jodie Foster, who can be good to very good, and I thought was the only redeeming part of the otherwise awful “Nyad”. But, while not the weakest link, she was part of the problem here. For me, prototypical of the shows weaknesses was her “Ask the Question/Wrong Question” schtick. After the first episode, my question, every time she said that, screamed at the top of my voice:  “Why is this show so bad?”

[Tom Wolper]

I started watching it back in January and gave up after a few episodes. I found that the series is all about creepy vibes and they had no intention of making a tight, satisfying mystery. When I found I didn’t care who done it or whether they would figure it out, I bailed. I spent a number of decades so sensitive to the horror genre that I would immediately turn off any show or movie that used horror elements. I’ve watched enough movies in the last couple of years, including some horror movies, that I’ve become much less sensitive. When horror scenes popped up in TD I wasn’t repelled but I didn’t feel they added to the mystery, they just made for more creepy vibes.

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