TV Review: Somebody Somewhere (HBO)

Comedian Bridget Everett takes us to her Kansas roots in HBO's "Somebody Somewhere."by Christopher James

Bridget Everett is a one of a kind performer. The comedian and cabaret star first gained notoriety on Inside Amy Schumer. Her routine is brazen not just because of the sexually forward conduct, but moreso because of the sheer force of her confidence. 

There’s a cognitive dissonance between Everett’s on-screen persona and her starring role as Sam in Somebody Somewhere. So many of the details about Sam’s life mirror that of Everett’s own life. She’s from a farming family in Kansas and possesses an incredible voice. The main difference - there’s something sullen, almost introverted, about Sam. This bravado that has marked Everett’s whole career is purposefully gone. It’s a bold move that sets the stage for a really special performance...

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Streaming: "Four To Dinner" and the problem with Italian Netflix movies

by Elisa Giudici

In the new Netflix movie Four to Dinner, beautiful thirtysomething singles are invited to a married couple's dinner on a picturesque Roman terrace. The terrace is not quite as breathtaking as the one with the hammock facing Colosseo in The Great Beauty, but it's still the kind of terrace mere mortals can only dream off, in Italy or elsewhere.

The married couple hosting the dinner is playing matchmaker, but they have different opinions on which singles should be paired. Would it be better to match their friends with similar temperaments or to test the chemistry between two opposites? The answer is both, at the same time...

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The shortest review you will read of "The Matrix Resurrections"

by Nathaniel R

Cons: I didnt understand a lick of The Matrix Resurrection (did you have to memorized the first three?), especially the last act "rescue" involving brain switching which played like a techno-babble illogic exposition in order to give us a botched Sense8 body-switching visual. On the other hand, writer/director Lana Wachowski claiming such ownership from behind the camera felt satisfying despite playing at times like meta snark. Definitely did not enjoy the suggestion that therapists are evil even though the cat with the bell was damn cute. 

Pros: Absolutely loved Jonathan Groff as the new "Mr Smith". Witnessing Keanu & Carrie-Anne fall back in love was a good time; they've always looked sensational together and age-appropriate, too, so that was a rare doublesexy 50something thrill. This has been my review. 

Yours?

Review: Swoony "Cyrano" is a must-see

by Catherine Springer

There is a whole lot of love behind the new musical film Cyrano, directed by Joe Wright and starring Peter Dinklage. That's quite appropriate for one of literature’s all-time classic love stories. Screenwriter Erica Schmidt, who adapted the screenplay from her own 2019 stage adaptation of the classic Edmond Rostand play, is married in real life to the film's star Dinklage, who also played the title character in the off-Broadway production, while director Joe Wright is married in real life to Haley Bennett, who plays Roxanne, the object of Cyrano’s affection. While all four artists are consummate professionals, there is no doubt that a certain amount of personal affection seeped in during this project, as the end result is a sumptuous, warm and truly heartfelt ode to love, a beautiful work of art made by artisans unafraid to explore their passions.

The setting is seventeenth-century Paris and Roxanne, a beautiful but poor noblewoman, has fallen in love with a man she sees across a crowded theatre. When she finds out that the man is Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a new cadet in the French army battalion stationed in the city, she calls upon her lifelong friend, Cyrano de Bergerac...

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TV Review – ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1883’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Paramount Network, formerly known as TNN and Spike TV, has found its flagship series in Yellowstone, the Montana-set drama starring Kevin Costner currently airing its fourth season. It’s no surprise that the show’s immense popularity would create the desire for a spinoff, and instead, sister streaming service Paramount+ has opted for a prequel. Set more than a century before the original, 1883 is a pretty straightforward Western tracking the establishment of the Yellowstone Ranch that serves as the center property of the franchise…

These two shows come from Taylor Sheridan, writer of the underrated Hell or High Water and also director of Wind River and Those Who Wish Me Dead. After I sampled the pilot, I didn’t stick with Yellowstone, even though I did enjoy Longmire, which had a similar vibe, and I continue watching the Montana-set Big Sky for unknown reasons since it’s really not good at all. Objectively, 1883 probably appeals more since it has to do with the trek west during lawless times and the official establishment of an American presence in a rural region already populated by indigenous people...

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