the staircase the staircase

I watched HBO Max’s versionof “The Staircase” over the past couple of scorching weeks, and was interested to compare it to the documentary of the same name on Netflix. After finishing the HBO version I started re-watching Netflix, and it’s been interesting. Much as I like Colin Firth, he brings none of the erudite charm I see from Michael Peterson in the documentary. Yes, MP is annoying and a liar, but I can see how he’s able to bring people into his orbit. The Firth MP seems so schlubby and unlikable. A mistake, I think.And no pipe!

Also the focus on the kids’ drama in the HBO version felt like a distraction. Of course Martha and Margaret are conflicted about supporting the man who adopted them but also kind of fibbed about how their mom died. But I tired of the long scenes of them moping, hiding their true selves, which are dramatically revealed later in the series.. It felt too neat.

Both series play with themes of truth and belief, which of course I’m interested in. So much to watch and think about.

special

I have loved this woman's music for a few years now. Haven't heard all of the new album but this song, "Special," hits me in the feels. As she said on IG, "Fighting for our rights is self care."

I've also been watching "Southside," and it started a lil slow but snuck up on me and became one of my favorites. Set in Chicago at a Rent-to-Own store, it plays with themes of race, gender, poverty, creativity, hustle, police violence and it's laugh out loud by yourself on your couch funny. 

Aaaaand I can't not mention "Abbott Elementary." I resisted for awhile thinking it was a feel-good family drama about school teachers. Ha! It is feel-good and it's also hilarious. The wonderful Janell James as delusional principal Ava pitted against idealistic young teachers including thrice-Emmy-nominated Quinta Brunson, and a host of other characters with purpose and sharp wit. And the kids aren't smart alecky little shits, they're like most kids I know, supremely uninterested in adult life and marginally tolerant of their interactions. A must watch. Cannot wait for season 2.

 

"Manifest"-ly terrible

I started watching this show "Manifest" on Netflix a few weeks ago. The premise interested me, that a plane leaving Jamaica disappears, only to land 5 1/2 years later. Everyone back home assumed the plane crashed and everyone was dead. Everyone on the plane thought they were landing on schedule.

Mayhem ensues.

But, execution is everything and this fun idea is humongously wasted on lazy scripts and a marginally talented cast, especially the two white leads whose facial expressions run the gamut of Look at me I'm hot, to, Look at me I'm scrunching my eyebrows and I'm hot. 

The sets are as bland as the farcical writing and bad acting, and I was sure the whole thing was shot in Ottawa instead of New York City but surprisingly it is shot in NYC. Only a show this lame could make one of the most vibrant cities in the world look like one of the least interesting places in Canada.

It was entertaining for a time to see just how lazy the writing was, with so-called detectives casually looking up people of interest on police databases, running ATF ops complete with SWAT teams with no notice, to transporting from Queens to Brooklyn in mere minutes. But it's gone from funny to plain old stupid so I'm done, a little over one season in.

what I'm watching

My reading campaign continues but a friend gifted me a TV (I can never write the word gift without thinking of Dina Martina and her jifts) so it's been fun to watch stuff on a screen that's not 14 inches wide.

Recently:

•  "The Mitchells vs the Machines": I truly enjoyed this, mostly for the visuals and meme-related jokes. I worry it'll feel dated in about 5 years and it was about 20 minutes too long what with all the reiterations about family and a tedious rehash of a popular Rhianna song. The dad could have been more nuanced. But, visually it's a lot of fun and the winks at pop culture, with robot humor and a dog meme, made me laugh.
• Re-watched "Master of None" on Netflix. I wasn't sure if Aziz Ansari was cancelled after some articles about him being a d-bag to a woman he dated. I always enjoyed the camaraderie he captured with his friends, Denise saying what up dummies to the guys, Arnold's sort-of-knowing enthusiasm, the love letter to Italy. It was worth a re-watch although the last few episodes of season 2--the will-they-or-won't-they of chemistry-free Dev and Francesca--dragged. But season 3 will be all about Denise!
• I started "The United States vs Billie Holiday" and I don't disagree with the reviews that disliked the pain/porn aspect of it. I really like the luminous Andra Day and wish I had more of a sense of Ms. Holiday as a person, not a caricature of a performer. It reminds me a bit of "Ma Rainey" and how frustrated I was by Viola Davis's performance. Still, I'll finish the movie soon.
• And I'm about  halfway through "The Innocence Files," a Netflix series about the famed legal network trying to get wrongfully-convicted people--usually black men--out of prison. Each episode brings with it a renewed sense of how terribly broken our criminal justice is. And I wonder what I could be doing to help fix it.