strange and random happenstance

Liam Mathews who writes for TV Guide said of season one of The Old Man that it "had one of the most precipitous in-season declines in recent TV history. If it had maintained the level of thoughtfulness and tension of its first two episodes, it would have been one of the best shows of 2022... But it fell apart as it went along, becoming mired in portentous monologues and baffling plot choices before ending with a reveal so obvious that I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be surprising or not." And I honestly can't disagree with that statement. At all. In fact I couldn't have said it better myself. And that's why I chose to quote another writer. This show thrives on one thing and one thing alone, Jeff Bridges kicking ass. So what do they spend all their time doing? Waffling around issues and bogging down the show in bewildering plotlines in what feels like a deliberate attempt to draw it out for as many episodes as they can. Because striped bare this show isn't about politics it's about daddy issues. And Alia Shawkat's "Angela Adams" dealing with her three dads. She's got her real dad, her stepdad, and her work dad... And is this really supposedly prestige TV because it sounds like it could be a comedy in the eighties? This bait and switch from action to family angst couldn't have been good for ratings. If it wasn't for the fact I respect the actors and was mildly intrigued by the annoying cliffhanger I wouldn't have even tuned in for season two. And if I'm honest, I wish I hadn't turned in. The poster for this season I think captures it all, they're treating the Middle East like the Wild West and it's all about exploiting the indigenous people and leaning into the white savior complex all our characters carry around like a millstone. I don't care if this is about a girl stuck between words, or whatever they were trying to do with Parwana/Emily/Angela. If they gave out Razzies for television shows Alia Shawkat would have taken all the prizes. This show was so out of touch with reality and with utlizing the talent they had at their disposal that they ended up making one of the worst television shows in recent years that, like an old horse, as been thankfully put out of it's misery. To show how badly this show dragged out it's plot Janet McTeer, who here plays John Lithgow's ex-wife, shows up in the second to last episode and in ONE SCENE summarizes everything that we have been forced to endure and explains why this has happened and what the goals are and I was blown away. You mean I could have been saved hours of my life by just having Janet McTeer show up and just tell me what was happening in a few short minutes? Can I opt for that in the future? Or maybe not. She and John Lithgow are on my shit list because of a certain long term commitment they recently entered into with HBO. At least I never have to her about Parwana/Emily/Angela again and that right there is a goal I never knew I needed in my life.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alia Shawkat, Amy Brenneman, And the Emmy Goes To, Cancelled, Cliffhanger, FX, HBO, Janet McTeer, Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Middle East, Monologuing, My Three Dads, Razzie, The Old Man, Thomas Perry, White Savior Complex, Wild West

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Published by: Mariner Books
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 384 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

In a family of killers a reunion at a remote sky resort might not be the best idea. But that is exactly what is about to happen. Ernest could have warned them. Afterall he writes books on how to write murder mysteries, particularly those that adhere to the commandments laid out by Golden Age writers like Agatha Christie. But no one's been talking to him for the last three years because three years previously Ernest Cunningham broke the cardinal rule of the family, he talked to the police. His brother Michael ended up in prison for a murder Ernest saw him commit. Their mother hasn't forgiven Ernest for this. Now on the eve of Michael's release the family has gathered in a place they could well be stranded in, if the right conditions happen. Which of course they will. Because his tale is a tale of killers. Ernest's mother, his father, his step-father, his step-sister, his brother, his sister-in-law, his aunt, his wife, and yes, even Ernest himself, are all killers and when killers gather death is on the table. The first body is found the next day. Thankfully it isn't a member of the family. Yet. But that doesn't exactly rule them out. Though his step-sister, Sofia, a doctor, is quick to point out the death is odd. Very odd. As in, it has all the hallmarks of a serial killer going by the moniker of the Black Tongue. And it looks like the corpse, which they've nicknamed Green Boots, might be his latest victim. Could one of his family be not just a killer but a serial killer? And could they now be trapped up on the mountain with them? Of course is the answer that Ernest should have expected. At least Michael couldn't possibly be the killer as he was still in prison when the murder occured. But Michael was lying. He got out a day early because he's been having an affair with Ernest's soon to be ex-wife. And, actually, Ernest has to give his brother a little credit for breaking up an almost completely dead marriage from inside prison. That's if their affair didn't start earlier... Because the truth is this family isn't exactly one for the truth. They keep their cards close and only show them when they have no other options. Their secrets could literally kill them as the snow closes in and Ernest realizes that he's been focusing on the wrong thing. He's been too enamoured with playing detective. He's been in love with being the lead of one of those books he outlines for others to imitate. He should have paid better attention. He should have realized why his family has the rule about the police. He should have realized a lot of things. Hopefully it's not to late for him.

The title of this book is purposely misleading. The way the reveal is set up the title is imperative for the misdirection, for the misunderstanding that has led to the situation Ernest Cunningham has found himself in. And yet the title does a disservice to the book. When you start reading a story and are told from the very beginning that everyone is a killer you instantly have no vested interest in their survival. All these people killed someone so why should I care if they get killed? Of course Benjamin Stevenson plays with the concept of what is a killer throughout the book trying to give you a deeper understanding of the characters, but it's too little too late. I care not for all these relatives, I care not for Ernest, they can literally all die for all I care, and, well, a few of them do. I wanted to like this book more it's just that I didn't. Ernest has a unique voice, but it's not a narrative voice that flows. The writing in this book is clunky. I kept thinking of other authors who have a similar writing style, Lisa Lutz sprang quickly to mind, as did Jasper Fforde and Lemony Snicket. They all have their own unique voice and singularly original style that Benjamin Stevenson attempted to do here, but their work is polished, precise, you don't find yourself rereading a sentence five times over just to see if you drew the correct meaning from it. And that's what frustrated me so much with this book, here's someone actually bothering in this day and age to adhere to the standards of Golden Age mysteries and fair play instead of infuriating the reader with impossible reveals, unreliable narrators, or endings that just didn't make sense, and I couldn't be bothered. If I didn't have a pathological need to finish every book I start combined with this being a read for my book club, I honestly don't know if I would have finished it. There is such unrealized potential. This book is now the start of a series, which should surprise no one, nor should the fact it already has a deal with HBO. All I can hope for is that going forward, in both mediums, the characters, and minimally Ernest, should be someone we can root for. Someone we can get behind. Because writing can be polished, characters can evolve, but starting on such unsound footing makes me hesitant to continue on the journey ahead. I hear Ernest is going on a train ride. I do wonder if I'll join him. Someday.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Benjamin Stevenson, Ernest Cunningham, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Fair Play, For the Love of Book Clubs, Golden Age of Detection, HBO, Jasper Fforde, Lemony Snicket, Lisa Lutz, Serial Killer

Who would have thought when Harlan Coben signed his five year multi-million dollar Netflix deal in 2018 it would bring about this interesting subgenre of transplanting his American stories onto British soil with beautiful house and cars you doubt any of the characters can actually afford and Richard Armitage always on hand. I for one am glad this came about. They are immanently bingeable and tie everything up so nice and neat at the end with a large helping of loss that they are perfectly suited to the times we find ourselves in. Not to mention the casting, oh dear lord, it's like someone stole a peak at my list of favorite actors and brought them all together for one project. Or that Richard Armitage is actually getting to show what a great actor he is. I feel so bad for some of the productions he's ended up in, yes, I'm looking at you Hobbit franchise! The miniseries follows Cassie, a stripper, who left that life behind seventeen years previously and is now about to get married to the father of her three children when she makes one little mistake and her past life bleeds into the present with a trail of bodies, often at the hands of a young couple who are musical theater buffs and whose "thing" is choreographed killing. It's riveting and absurd all at the same time. And while I was able to guess the real serial killer due to that old system of means, motive, opportunity, and casting, leaning heavily on the casting, the reveal is so magnificently acted that figuring out who the killer is in advance doesn't diminish the reveal. But what made me really love this production was Eddie Izzard. I have been a fan of Eddie since I first saw Dressed to Kill when it aired on HBO in the summer 1999, right after the David Bowie VH1 Legends episode aired that Eddie just happened to narrate. The following year was the first time I saw her on stage. I have seen Eddie on stage almost more times than I can count, and the most recent time in 2017 I actually got to meet her. Eddie as the drug addict lawyer Harry Sutton who helps anyone down on their luck was the linchpin of this series. Troubled yet wanting to do better, wanting to help. The dinner Harry has at Cassie's house with her family, for a moment it shows what Cassie's life could be with the past and the present as one. But more than that, I am very glad that someone on the production is obviously an Eddie Izzard fan and added a little something special to the set design. I mean, they HAD to name that pet shop Harry runs his law practice out of Hannibal's Animals after Eddie's bit about strapping two elephants to your feet and skying down the alps right? I mean, there's the other possibility that it's named after the TV series she and Richard Armitage both played killers on... But I like to think it's about the elephants.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bingeing, Britain, Cush Jumbo, David Bowie, Dressed to Kill, Eddie Izzard, Harlan Coben, HBO, James Nesbitt, Netflix, Richard Armitage, Sarah Parish, Serial Killer, Stay Close, The Hobbit

There are some people out there who would say that as a show Lovecraft Country is too all over the place, never settling on one style or even one genre, to them I say, that's the point! It is so fun and invigorating to have so many pulp genres in one show. We have haunted houses, epic adventures, ghost stories, space odysseys, and curses, with homages to everything from The Goonies to Indiana Jones to The Evil Dead! The Evil Dead one being a fabulous deep dive because the franchise deals with the Necronomicon, a book create by the writer H.P. Lovecraft, and what with the name of the show, when Leti is running through the woods in the first episode and takes shelter in the exact cabin from the franchise, my geeky heart did sing! Lovecraft Country also does an epic job of giving you unforgettable scenes that are simple but you know will stick with you forever for how haunting they are. The malevolent spirits Topsy and Bopsy who haunt Diana will forever haunt you. How can simple choreography be that terrifying!?! Though the first episode chase scene will now forever after be for me the most gut-wrenching I've ever witnessed. It's not the speed, it's not the action, it's what's at stake. Tic, George, and Leti have to get out of a sundown county with the police on their tales. If they fail to escape, they are surely dead. But if they speed, they will be pulled over. They are fighting the setting sun while crawling along the highway in the most nail-biting scene ever. That something so simple could be so compelling just shows what this show was capable of. But what makes this show work on a higher level is that despite being a period piece set in the 1950s that even had an episode all in Korean about a kumiho, a nine-tailed fox creature, it felt so relevant. The inability to get a job not because you lack the qualifications but because of the color of your skin. The constant police brutality and intimidation. The death of poor Emmett Till. This show encapsulated the Black Lives Matter movement in the most unique way possible. We need more shows out there willing to tell the truth, willing to take the risks, and willing to break the rules.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1950s, And the Emmy Goes To, Black Lives Matter, Emmett Till, Genres, H.P. Lovecraft, HBO, Indiana Jones, Jordan Peele, Korea, Kumiho, Lovecraft Country, Necronomicon, Pulp, Sundown County, The Evil Dead, The Goonies

You know what I find amazing? That each and every year more and more books are being adapted for the small screen. Yes, I could criticize and say that Hollywood lacks imagination, instead I will celebrate seeing some of my favorite books and some books I hope to be favorites being adapted into another medium. Last year two book adaptations took the awards season and the Emmys by storm. I of course am talking about HBO's adaptation of Big Little Lies and Hulu's adaptation and expansion of The Handmaid's Tale. These feminist war cries paved the way for even more female led drama, including my new favorite, Killing Eve, seriously you NEED to watch it! So while last year I lamented that most of the adaptations I hold dear aren't given a chance or are overlooked by the television academy, often relegated to picking up a few technical awards, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that this year is a little different.

This year we have Benedict Cumberbatch nominated for Patrick Melrose, Jessica Biel for The Sinner, Sandra Oh for Killing Eve, and Elisabeth Moss (again) for The Handmaid's Tale. The full list is almost staggering for adaptation nominations in various categories, of which I probably missed a few: A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Fahrenheit 451, The Alienist, Game Of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale, Patrick Melrose, Alias Grace, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, A Christmas Story Live!, Killing Eve, Altered Carbon, Marvel's The Defenders, Lost In Space, Legion, Marvel's The Punisher, Outlander, and 13 Reasons Why. So while I thought I'd be profiling eight shows this month which got no love from the academy... turns out four of them did... but one was sadly cancelled while another was saved from the same fate. I'll be interested to see if you agree with my favorites... and I'd love to hear yours!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Altered Carbon, And the Emmy Goes To, Benedict Cumberbatch, Big Little Lies, Elisabeth Moss, Emmy Award, HBO, Hulu, Killing Eve, Lost in Space, Netflix, Sandra Oh, The Alienist, The Handmaid's Tale

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Published by: HarperTorch
Publication Date: 1990
Format: Paperback, 412 Pages
Challenge: Horror and Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★
To Buy
Crawly and Aziraphale have quite literally been there since the beginning. Man, woman, garden, snake. Crawly was the snake. But nowadays he has the car and the suave clothes that befit his side while Aziraphale collects books. What else is there to do when you're waiting for the world to end? The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch predicted it all back in 1655. And that's not the nice that indicates the end of the world next Saturday is a good thing, it's the other, more "precise" kind. It's going to happen. Everything has been put in place, the "horsemen" are assembling, the time has come for the uprising of evil. If only there hadn't been that little mix up with the son of Satan a few years back... because if things had gone to plan it would have been nice and smooth, instead Crawly and Aziraphale aren't sure whose side they're on because they rather like the world as it is, even if any tape left overly long in a car will start blaring Freddie Mercury and Queen. Can you go up against a witch who always knew what was going to happen? Or can you thwart the omens?

While you can see how this book has developed the cult following it has, it still just wasn't it for me. I felt hollow after reading it, most likely due to my inflated expectations. I've read Gaiman and Pratchett at the top of their game, and I just didn't feel this was it... of course, this was before they where GAIMAN and PRATCHETT. Their styles where not yet formed, but I will say they worked well together. They claim that they can't tell who wrote what and they think that perhaps the book started writing itself at some point. I agree with this, not with the book writing it's own text, but who knows, but the bite about who wrote what. The book had a cohesion that made it feel that it was written by one person. The ideas where melded together into one perfect vision and did not feel like two competing minds, which is often the case when two writers collaborate.

More than any gripes I have with plot or character, which I don't really have except that I really thought that Satan's son shouldn't have been such a boring twit, my problem was that it felt so dated, so 1980s. Ansaphones? Really? Ok, I mean, sure they have been referenced on Dr Who recently, as well as being part of the common vernacular of England, but it still made it feel past it's day. Which brings me back to these authors at their current prime. They don't feel dated! Pick up any Discworld book, it feels fresh and now. Grab American Gods before it becomes mainstream with the HBO series. These are classics. Maybe in a few more years the dated will become nostalgia and I'll like. Every book changes every time you read it. I can see why people have wanted an adaptation or a sequel for years, because there is so much you could do now to update this and make it relevant. So many avenues you could explore. As for the original... not my favorite. But as for the Queen joke, it was worth buying the book. That was priceless.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, Agnes Nutter, American Gods, Apocalypse, Discworld, Freddie Mercury, Good Omens, HBO, Neil Gaiman, Queen, Terry Pratchett