Posts by Neely Swanson
“Deliver Us” – From evil [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Deliver Us,” the intense psychological thriller series from Denmark will leave you breathless. Brilliantly written by creators Christian Torpe and Marie Østerbye, “Deliver Us” takes the viewer into a bucolic village far from Copenhagen. For most of the residents, the provincial nature of their town is what drew them there; for others it’s a stagnant…
Read More“Naked Singularity” – Unique [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Naked Singularity” is an almost successful adaptation of the award-winning novel by Sergio De La Pava. If I say almost it is because the screenwriters, Chase Palmer (who also directed) and Dave Matthews, chose to try infusing the film with the surreal and metaphysical aspects of the novel, something that very few do successfully. “Naked…
Read More“Not Going Quietly” – Make your mark [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Not Going Quietly” is the inspirational and true story of Ady Barkan. Trained as a lawyer, he never followed a path of least resistance. Always a defender of social justice causes, Ady found his true calling when he was afflicted by an incurable illness. Young, 32, the father of a newborn, Ady was diagnosed with…
Read More“John and the Hole” -Both deep and shallow [MOVIE REVIEW]
“John and the Hole,” written by Nicolás Giacobone and directed by Pascual Sisto, is an ambitious film that sends a rocket into space only to see it land flatly when a trivial side story derails its impact. Reminded of a statement made in a fury of teenage angst when our son indicated that he thought…
Read More“Blood on the Docks” – Well marinated [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Blood on the Docks,” which in French is “Deux Flics sur les Docks would have been better and more cleverly translated as “Two Cops on the Docks,” continues to follow the intrepid “non” partners Richard Faraday (Jean-Marc Barr) and Paul Winckler (Bruno Solo). Non-partners is perhaps a misnomer because, for all intents and purposes, they…
Read More“Ride the Eagle” – Flying but not soaring [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Ride the Eagle” has inspired me to come up with four critical review categories: Good, not good; Bad, not bad. “Ride the Eagle” falls under the “not bad” category. It would always have had difficulties transcending that category because the “man-child being forced to grow up or inheriting something of value by following a treasure…
Read More“This Way Up” – Do Not Drop [TELEVISION REVIEW]
John Landgraf, then head of cable channel FX, was reviled in 2015 for stating, “I long ago lost the ability to keep track of every scripted TV series.” He was right. However, he continued with, “My sense is that 2015 and 2016 will represent peak TV in America, and that we’ll begin to see declines…
Read More“Through Our Eyes” – A very focused view [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Through Our Eyes,” the new documentary series produced by Sesame Workshop for HBO Max, is thoughtful, provocative, and ultimately difficult to watch. Presenting four life-altering subjects from the child’s perspective, it is a reminder that some of society’s biggest victims when dealing with calamity are those who are only considered tangentially. Four topics are covered…
Read More“Follow the Money” – A very crooked trail [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Follow the Money” may very well be the best television series you’ve never heard of. Playing on the Topic streaming channel, this three season Danish series is ambitious, thrilling, and unexpected. The closest comparison might be with the extraordinary HBO classic, “The Wire” from both the storytelling and acting standpoints. There are not enough superlatives…
Read More“The New Bauhaus” – Everything old is new again [MOVIE REVIEW]
For those of you who have never heard of László Moholy-Nagy, “The New Bauhaus” will be a revelation; for those of you who have, be prepared for a deeper dive into an infinity pool. “The New Bauhaus,” directed by Alysa Nahmias and co-written by Nahmias and Miranda Yousef, is an invaluable lesson in art, architecture,…
Read More“The Red Circle” – A very tight noose [MOVIE REVIEW]
“The Red Circle” (“Le Cercle Rouge”), the stunning heist film by the master director-writer Jean-Pierre Melville, has been given a 4K restoration by Studiocanal and a re-release by Rialto Pictures. If you don’t know this 1970 film by the director who was one of the primary influences on the New Wave film movement of the…
Read More“Mama Weed” –Smoking hot [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Mama Weed” (“La Daronne”), the clever, mostly successful portrait of a police interpreter who uses her inside knowledge for personal gain, benefits greatly from Isabelle Huppert playing the lead character. Adapting the novel entitled La Daronne (loosely translated as the Godmother in the criminal sense) by Hannelore Cayre, Jean-Paul Salomé directed this interesting screenplay in…
Read More“Scales” – Ascending and descending [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Scales,” the ambitious film by writer/director Shahad Ameen, attempts to create an ancient fable as a metaphor for female empowerment. Filmed in black and white by cinematographer João Ribeiro, Ameen creates a dystopian society centered within the Mesopotamian region of ancient Babylonia whose very existence is at the whim of the sea goddesses ruling the…
Read More“The Art of the Crime” – Four is better than Three [TELEVISION REVIEW]
The Fourth Season of “The Art of the Crime” begins soon on MHz Choice. Although Season Three, reviewed previously (“Art of the Crime” – Season 3) had become perfunctory and much more procedural with less effective character development, some of that is remedied in this new season. Once again using the format of two 2-part…
Read More“Scenes from an Empty Church” – Reverential and Irreverent [MOVIE REVIEW]
If it were easy to make conversational films interesting, there would be lots more of them. Film is a visual medium; theater is more about the words. “Scenes from an Empty Church,” like the long ago surprise hit “My Dinner with Andre,” successfully straddles both worlds. What it also straddles is hypocrisy and sincerity, although…
Read More“Summer of Soul” – Let it last a lifetime [MOVIE REVIEW]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah and Oh, Happy Day! “Summer of Soul (Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” directed by Grammy-winning musician Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is hitting the screens 52 years after the greatest musical event you never knew was staged. In 1967, the city of New York, under Mayor John Lindsay, hired Tony Lawrence, a…
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