‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ 1.7 & 1.8 Reviews: ‘The Miserable Mill’

Hypnotism, cross-dressing, and gum for lunch. That’s just a taste of what A Series of Unfortunate Events‘ first season finale “The Miserable Mill – Part One & Part Two” has to offer. Featuring the first material not yet adapted for the screen (the 2004 film made a jumble of the first three books), it is the strongest two-parter since the premiere “The Bad Beginning – Part One & Part Two” (my review here) and the first not to feature a script by author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket, played in the series with wry melancholy by Patrick Warburton).

The episodes take the Baudelaire orphans to Paltryville, where they attempt to clear their parents’ names of arson while working at the cult-like Lucky Smells Lumber Mill. The finale tripled up with the guest stars, with Don Johnson playing the cigar-chomping mill owner Sir, Rhys Darby as his meek partner Charles, and Catherine O’Hara as the sinister optometrist Dr. Georgina Orwell. O’Hara played Justice Strauss in the original film (a role played with aplomb in “The Bad Beginning” by Joan Cusack).

This review is separated into “Part One” and “Part Two” as well as my final verdict on the first season. Click Next to begin! Check out all the previous reviews at the links below and thanks for suffering through this calamity, a word which here means “epic binge-worthy event,” with me!

• “The Bad Beginning – Part One & Part Two”
• “The Reptile Room – Part One & Part Two”
• “The Wide Window – Part One & Part Two”

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’Gotham’: ‘Ghosts’ Review

Gotham returned tonight with a bang as usual as we pick up right where the show left off back in the fall after Gordon killed an infected Mario Falcone who was about to kill Leslie. The episode opens up with Mario’s funeral as Leslie bids farewell to her husband with Gordon watching from a distance. Gordon tries to go on with his life, but an upset Leslie shows up at the station and demand that he gets arrested for the murder of Mario. As her hatred towards Gordon grow stronger and stronger, Carmine assures her that Gordon will get what he deserves, but ask that she stay out of it. He puts a hit on Gordon as Victor Zsasz and his goons go after Gordon and Bullock who are investigating followers of Jerome Valeska.

Mayor Oswald’s day begin to get strange as he sees the spirit of his deceased father. Later, he gets a visit by the cops that inform him that someone went through his father’s grave and stole his remains. When Oswald sees his father’s ghost again, he warns his son of “the birthday boy” that is later revealed to be the Mayor’s new assistant who ends getting murdered by his boss. However, it’s later revealed that Papa Cobblepot’s ghost was in fact Basil Karlo (a.k.a. Clayface) who is working with the Riddler as well as the Sirens who are all planning to break Oswald one step at a time.

Meanwhile, Selina has a big heart-to-heart with her mother, Maria Kyle, who resurfaced in the last episode. While Maria tries to explain why she wasn’t present in her daughter’s life, Selina refuses to hear it. Maria show up later at the Wayne Manor to drop off a special box for Alfred to give to Selina, however Bruce insist she stay and try to get through to her daughter. Bruce goes to hand it off to her and brings Maria with him. When Selina opens the box and sees that her mother had kept all the baby things from her childhood, the two Kyle women are properly reunited with a hug.

A lot happened in this week’s returning episode of Gotham that we want to break-down and discuss. So hit the NEXT button below and let’s go through some of the highlights and important moments of the Gotham Season 3 episode: “Ghosts”

#5: Mother/Daughter Reunion

#4: Riddler Vs Penguin – Chapter 1  

#3: Aftermath Of Mario Falcone’s Death

#2: The Beginning Of The Clown’s Return

#1: Verdict & Questions

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‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ 1.5 & 1.6 Reviews: The Wide Window

“The Wide Window – Part One & Part Two” is all about the show gaining the story momentum that the books, at this point in their tale, had not yet reached. The fifth and sixth episodes see the return of producer Barry Sonnenfeld as director, with author Daniel Handler penning the scripts. Outside of some conspicuous CGI, these episodes, like “The Reptile Room – Part One & Part Two” (my review here) do a nice job of integrating the central mystery of the Baudelaires’ parents into the scattershot shuttling of the orphans from guardian to guardian, a passivity deliberately averted at the end of “Part Two.” Despite some narrative flab, the episodes take deliberate steps to embolden our protagonists and integrate the series’ many mysteries.

Click Next to begin the review with “Part One” or skip to “Part Two” by clicking here!

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‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ 1.3 & 1.4 Reviews: The Reptile Room

“The Reptile Room – Part One & Two,” the third and fourth episodes of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events reboot, are worthy follow-ups to the stellar first hours, if not quite reaching their heights. Directed by Mark Palansky, he steps in for producer Barry Sonnenfeld who helmed the first two episodes of “The Bad Beginning” (my review here). “The Reptile Room” two-parter is not quite as sharp as those introductory episodes, but thanks to Aasif Mandvi’s breath of positivity as the Baudelaires’ new guardian, the herpetologist Dr. Montgomery, Neal Patrick Harris’ quicksilver mix of goofiness and menace, and some truly gorgeous visuals, it’s still the same distilled Snicket that makes this series a joy to view.

Series author Daniel Handler scripted “Part One” while “Part Two” was written by Emily Fox. Handler and Sonnenfeld, the duo behind the firs two hours, reunite for “The Wide Window – Part One & Part Two,” reviews for which are coming tomorrow morning!

Click Next to begin the review!

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‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ 1.1 & 1.2 Reviews: The Bad Beginning

A Series of Unfortunate Events has a Bad Beginning, a phrase which here means “the title of the first two amazing episodes of the immensely binge-worthy new Netflix series.”

Netflix has finally unleashed its proper and timely adaptation of the popular children’s books by Lemony Snicket (aka author Daniel Handler).The streaming network is the television equivalent of John Hammond from Jurassic Park, constantly awing audiences with a twinkle in their eye and the phrase “spared no expense.”

It definitely shows here in the expensive re-adaptation about the Baudelaire orphans Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and baby Sunny (Presley Smith with the voice of Tara Strong) who, after the deaths of their parents in a fire, are shuffled from inept guardian to inept guardian by executor Mr. Poe (K. Todd Freeman) while pursued by the villainous, inheritance-chasing Count Olaf (a hammy-yet-sharp Neil Patrick Harris) and chronicled by the heroically-droll narrator, Lemony Snicket himself (Patrick Warburton).

The mix of bright colors with darkly-comic dourness comes courtesy of producer/director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black trilogy, The Addams Family films). He helms four of the eight episodes, including the first two episode here, and manages to deftly steal from the stylish 2004 film while reinventing the Gothic, heightened reality with a dose of Tim Burton circa Edward Scissorhands. And it all takes place under the watchful eye of Handler (who wrote five of the scripts, including the first three), with some great twists to the familiar mythology for those, like me, who read the books obsessively growing up. Let’s dig into every dark, unfortunate corner!

I’ll be reviewing two episodes (one book) at a time starting, of course, with “The Bad Beginning – Part One & Part Two.” I’ve separated this review to tackle the strengths and weaknesses of the show in five key areas. I also compare and contrast the first two episodes with the original 2004 film, as well as the book upon which it’s based. Click Next to scroll through the review or click which part you’d like to read first!

• The Baudelaire orphans
• “The handsomest man alive” Count Olaf
• Lemony Snicket, Justice Strauss and the rest of the cast
• Storytelling, direction, & design
• Overall

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’Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’: ‘Broken Promises’ Review

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been gone for a while, but tonight the show finally returned from its hiatus as Season 4B’s “LMD” arc has officially started. The episode starts off with AIDA getting a new set of clothes while keeping an eye on May who is trapped and being drugged so she can’t escape.

The team is discussing what to do with both the Darkhold as well as AIDA since she has been affected by it. While Radcliffe and Fitz are against it, the team all comes to the agreement of stopping AIDA. Daisy gets back into the groove of being part of S.H.I.E.L.D. and operating as an agent and she is still determined to stop The Watchdogs.

Meanwhile, Ellen Nadeer is spending quality time with her brother Vijay who has come out of his Terrigenesis cocoon. While he thinks he is safe, Ellen reveals that she has been working with the Watchdogs and reminds him of the promise they made to each other, should one of them turn out to be an Inhuman. Mace, Daisy and Simmons try to save the brother who during a fight with the Watchdogs finds out what his power is.

AIDA goes after S.H.I.E.L.D. to steal the Darkhold and encounters both Coulson and “May”. Coulson tries to take her down, but she gets the upper hand, including have the fake May helping her along without Coulson knowing. While AIDA almost succeeds in getting away with the Darkhold, she is stopped by Mack’s Shotgun-Axe.

However, while S.H.I.E.L.D. thinks it’s over, a surprising player shows their true colors towards the end of the episode, as the rise of the LMDs are only just beginning. Ellen also makes a difficult decision, however she has no idea what she has possibly unleashed.

A lot went down in tonight’s big mid-season premiere, so there is a lot to discuss about. With all of that said, hit the NEXT button below and let’s go through some of tonight’s biggest highlights and important moments in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 episode: “Broken Promises”

#5: Quake Reinstated As Agent

#4: Coulson & “May”

#3: AIDA’s First Day As Evil

#2: New Insight On Inhuman Vijay

#1: [SPOILER] Reveals A Secret

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‘Split’ Review: Scars Are The New Perfection

*Spoiler Free Review*

Befitting its main character, M. Night Shyamalan goes all over the place with his latest thriller Split, which, after 2015’s The Visit, continues the director’s small-scale comeback after a near-decade long period of misfires like The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth. Does the comeback continue? Kind of.

Before the screening, Shyamalan greeted us with a video message. He explained his want for the film to be more than a thriller, with equal parts comedy and drama as well. This may not have been the best decision. The film ends up more funny than tense or scary. And while this isn’t necessarily the fault of the film’s comedic elements, which do hit, it causes missed opportunities for character development. No matter how humorously unnerving, at the end of the day, the characters are what makes a film impactful or tense.

Aside from Anya Taylor-Joy’s Casey, all of the characters in the film are extremely underdeveloped. As a result, when the two other kidnapped girls, Claire and Marcia, are in danger, we feel no tension. Even McAvoy’s Kevin is underdeveloped, as we learn about the character through seemingly endless exposition. What we’re left with is a small sample of personalities and no compelling display of any internal struggle. The personalities we get to witness all want to achieve the same goal, making the film easily predictable (and this audience member bored). Sure, there are plenty of little twists and turns along the way, including a fun nod at the end; but the most substantial twists can be expected long before their reveal.

Furthermore, the film tells us more about the characters than we see. We hear of how characters previously behaved, but it doesn’t line up with what we see in the film itself– which is a disappointing pattern. A lot of the interesting material happens through telling the audience instead of showing us. Kevin, whose worst acts are only spoken of, becomes the lesser villain to one barely seen. Kevin’s beast form, which is the true villain of the film, is not only uncompelling but tedious. Kevin’s other villainous personalities are far more compelling and yet wasted.

Yet the film’s message is a beautiful one, which I hope helps many people’s lives. Mental and physical scars in the film are treated as greater than “normal lives” numerous times during the film. People going through pain need to understand they are not made lesser and, indeed, are often even stronger after the fact. If the film achieves anything, it is in its underlying message about mental health and to take care of yourself, no matter what.

In regard to framing and composition, the film is beautifully shot and is a wonderful feast for the eyes. The film plays with both symmetry and shot length to enhance storytelling. Yet there is one specific shot which beats you over the head and just should have been left out. The leads, however, are top-notch. Both McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy give incredible performances which completely sell their characters. McAvoy, in particular, is able to with minimal wardrobe changes, perfectly encapsulate several different personalities. Without his skillful performance, the movie simply wouldn’t work.

Despite several gripes and plot-holes, Shyamalan’s latest film Split is at least worth the price of admission, if not much more.

Score: 6.5, Okay

Split hits theaters on January 20th, 2017.

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