Netflixed: Ebonyless
Maurice (James Ivory, 1987): Brian Ackland-Snow’s lavish design and Pierre Lhomme’s generous camera make this consistently worth looking at, though it’s is a half-hour too long. Every good idea, even those that aren’t good enough, makes the final cut — a drawn-out translation scene is notably painful. James Wilby gives a felt performance, giving way to his character’s shame. Hugh Grant gives a shallow performance, yet he’s the obvious candidate for future star.
The Lincoln Lawyer (Brad Furman, 2011): Starts with slick and slippery defense counsel Matthew McConaughey cavorting around LA nickel-and diming his rich clients and helping his regulars plea bargain. Turns into brooding drunk defense lawyer McConaughey grappling with conflicting moral codes. There’s enough plot and detail to keep the movie interesting in all but its most turgid parts.
Super (James Gunn, 2010): A real-superheroes movie that makes one long for the intellectual sophistication of Mark Millar. Fucked from the get-go, as seeing the stock Rainn Wilson character married to Liv Tyler requires a movie’s worth of explanation. The explanation we get is that he’s “good”, which is, shall we say, insufficient. Ellen Page works hardest, and since her timing is off, is most grating.
Bonus TV supplement: Very Special Episodes
Parks and Recreation: “Andy and April’s Fancy Party”: Wuvly.
Louie: “Duckling”: The cute-animal plot is understated though still superfluous. Let’s just watch C.K. perform in front of servicemen and hit on a cheerleader.
The Office: “Goodbye, Michael”: A moving retrospective of the era during which Steve Carell was funny.
Community: “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”: Tonally unbalanced, but I can now believe the people who claim this used to be a great show.
Party Down: “Constance Carmell Wedding”: You can see why the people who left for more successful shows did so.
Men of a Certain Age: “A League of Their Owen”: Insufficiently cutthroat to turn a softball victim into Buster Posey.
