The Handmaid's Tale: Episode 13: Second Season Finale Review

As we come closer to the end of the decade, shows like Game of Thrones will be coming to a close and other shows like AMC's The Walking Dead should end before the network runs it into the ground. However just as the revival on both the big and small screen shows no sign of slowing down, new dramas that just happen to be associated with genre entertainment are rising to the forefront. My favorite genre television shows are now in first place, the Hulu original series The Handmaid's Tale and in second place, The Expanse, which just wrapped up it's third season on SYFY and will continue with a fourth season and hopefully more on Amazon Prime Video. Both are based on popular books though the similarities end there. Margret Atwood's acclaimed novel has expanded beautifully on television and Elizabeth Moss, who Stars and Produces has created a character from the novel that is far more developed with nuances that the feature film version from the 1990s simply cannot compete with though that is not because the film is bad in any way because it is not. It is just that in this "golden age" of television, the very nature of scripted serialized television can do a lot of things that a feature film simply cannot. So I hope this Fall The Handmaid's Tale sweeps at the Emmys and I hope it does the same at the Golden Globes next winter because the show deserves it and more.

This season has managed to expand the world and show the viewer things that illustrate how Giliad did not happen over night. It was gradual with punctuated instances that have effected our characters in ways no one could have foreseen. Now we know that there is still a remnant of the United States in existence. We know what the colonies are like because we have seen them and we see Giliad brutalizes everyone sooner or later.

Yet there is hope and that is what the finale drives home along with the balance between seemingly bad things and good things being an undercurrent theme this entire season. The finale left me wanting more in a way I never considered and completely subverted my expectations again.

I do wonder how Giliad is able to stay stable as a government? What natural resources they have outside of Handmaids, which are too precious to trade in any practical quantity because without them, Gilead is finished. So how does a religious dictatorship to oppressive to all of it's citizens survive on it's own? Hopefully we will learn in season three.

I wish I could go into greater detail, but I truly think the less one knows, the better. The second season finale of The Handmaid's Tale will premiere exclusively on Hulu ready to stream on July, 11, 2018.

(C) Copyright 2018 By Mark A. Rivera

All Rights Reserved.

Gotti Theatrical Review

Gotti stars John Travolta as the legendary 1980s icon of organized crime and dressing well while doing it, John Gotti, Sr. As he did playing Attorney Robert Shapiro for American Crime Story: The People Versus O.J. Simpson, Travolta disappears into the role and with the exception of some older age makeup used to portray John Gotti in the 1990s, Travolta proves that he is an under appreciated Actor and he carries the movie almost single handed for many scenes though I do want to point out Pruitt Taylor Vince, Stacey Keach, Chris Mulkey and rising star William DeMeo, who portrays Sammy Gravano, are solid in every scene they appear in. One wishes the relationship between Gravano and Gotti was explored in more depth because it would have added more pathos to the events that occur later in the film. Spencer Rocco Lofranco portrays John Gotti, Jr., with an amiable quality that reminded me a bit of Lillo Brancato in A Bronx Tale.

Actor turned Director Kevin Connolly makes his feature film debut here and one gets a sense that he may have been experimenting with different styles of filmmaking and then just edited what worked individually to form the completed feature film, but ultimately the sum is not as good as some of the parts. 

It opens with Travolta addressing the viewers directly and it is a very strong opening, but then the film chooses to cut between various times in both Gotti and his son's lives, but Gotti, Jr. comes off too one dimensional. He basically seems like a nice level headed guy, who follows his father into the business and then is unfairly persecuted by the government. I do not know anything about Gotti or his son personally, but I should not have to. Though this may be an unfair comparison, but I did not know anything about the Henry Hill and the characters portrayed in Goodfellas, but I had no problem getting emotionally involved with the characters, including the background players, who all had character traits that made me remember who they were even if I did not know their names.

In Gotti a lot of the background players just disappear with the exception of the Actors whose faces I recognized from other projects. If the characterization of Gotti's son was fleshed out more, then maybe I would feel emotionally happy when he proves his case toward the end of the film. As it stands, all I can state about John Gotti, Jr. in the film is he seemed like such a nice kid, I am almost surprised he was attracted to follow in his father's footsteps, regardless of what ultimately happened. 

William DeMeo is terrific in his scenes, but his appearances suffer from a similar dislocation from Gotti that his son's characterization does. We know what will happen to Gravano and the devastating effect it has on the Gotti family, not the least John Gotti, but what did he do to win Gotti's trust to begin with. Gotti states he did not trust him because he never did time and later repeats it after he has been betrayed, but aside from a few whispers here and there, I am left with the question, How did Gravano win Gotti's trust?

I almost get the sense that in trying to portray a different and more sympathetic image of Gotti for the film, the writers and producers forgot that no one going to see this movie was expecting a documentary that was fact for fact honest. They came to see drama and drama is characters we care about in conflict and it does not matter who the characters are, we have had decades of films dealing with organized crime and some highly successful television shows too. People will root for the antihero if they care about him and those around him.

Despite the talent involved, Gotti ultimately feels underdeveloped. Please note though that for individual performances alone, especially John Travolta, Gotti is far from a bad film. It is just disappointing because it does not live up to the larger than life persona of the man who inspired it.

(C) Copyright 2018 By Mark A. Rivera

All Rights Reserved.

The Handmaid's Tale: Season Two: Episodes 11 And 12 Combined Review

Once more The Handmaid's Tale has subverted my expectations and delivered two emotionally powerful and resonating episodes. First off there may be some minor spoilers in this review and I do not write spoiler reviews, but since that definition is subjective, you may want to watch the episodes first before reading this.

First off what I loved about episode 11 was the interaction between the Commander and his Wife and then they do this fantastic intercutting of scenes across three different timelines that reminded me of The Godfather though the context is different. I think the Director and Editor would make Coppola proud and hope they win awards for their work.

Episode 12 picks up a bit of time after the events of episode 11. Not a terribly long time, but time enough to see some familiar faces I did not expect and I suppose we are meant to fill in the blanks as to what happened for now at least.

It seems to me that for every good thing that happens on The Handmaid's Tale there is always another shoe that drops that balances things out in at times tragic ways.

There is also some intrigue regarding a Handmaid's new assignment. I can honestly state I have no idea what is going to happen, but I am looking forward to finding out. Please also note that episode 13, which is the second season finale of The Handmaid's Tale will premiere on July 11, 2018 and like episodes 11 and 12 as well as the other originally streamed and premiered episodes before them, they will be streaming exclusively on Hulu.

(C) Copyright 2018 By Mark A. Rivera

All Rights Reserved.

NEXT WEEK ON SYFY...

WEEK OF JUNE 24

 

SEASON FINALE OF ‘THE EXPANSE’ – 6/27

 

ALL-NEW EPISODE OF ‘FACE OFF’ AND BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES OF ‘12 MONKEYS’

TUESDAY, JUNE 26

FACE OFF “Haunted Hotel”– 9/8c 

In this week’s elimination challenge, the artists battle head-to-head as they create the quirky and ghostly staff of a haunted hotel.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27

THE EXPANSE “Congregation”– 9/8c 

As survivors arrive to the Behemoth, two factions form over how to handle a life-or-death threat. Holden grapples with what he’s seen and the choices he must make.

THE EXPANSE “Abaddon’s Gate”– 9:45/8:45c *SEASON FINALE*

Holden and his allies must stop Ashford and his team from destroying the Ring, and perhaps all of humanity.

FRIDAY, JUNE 29

12 MONKEYS “Daughters”– 8/7c  

Jones sends Hannah back in time to 2007 on a personal mission that could be the key to everything.

12 MONKEYS “Demons”– 9/8c 

Everything changes when the team finally climbs the steps… and rings the bell in the Middle Ages.

 

12 MONKEYS “One Minute More”– 10/9c

The beginning of the end as Cole and Cassie embark on their final mission

From The Archives: An Off The Cuff Review Of Hasbro's Star Wars: Darth ...

Off The Cuff Review Of Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series: Darth Vader...

AllHorror.com – New Horror Movie Database by Horror Fans, for Horror Fans

AllHorror.com – New Horror Movie Database by Horror Fans, for Horror Fans

PHOENIX, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AllHorror.com, the largest collaborative horror movie discovery website of its kind, is now open to horror fans everywhere. 

AllHorror was created by Adrian DeGus, a lifelong fan of horror movies, to provide what no other movie website could. Namely, the ability to find horror movies you're most likely to love.

Horror is a genre that is as deep as it is wide. You have everything from the supernatural to the psychological. You have your slow burns and your wild rides. You have your Hollywood blockbusters and your micro budget indies. You have straight-to-streaming releases and everlasting cult classics. 

This vast variety of genres, sub genres and styles make finding a "good" horror movie harder than it might seem. Some people like movies to be scary, others prefer shocking, while others like their horrors to be thought-provoking. And let's not forget that "good" will mean wildly different things to a new or casual fan of horror than it will to a seasoned horror hound. 

This puts generic star ratings into perspective. A horror movie might have 8 stars, but what does that mean? How many people who rated the movie share your exact same taste?

AllHorror solves this problem by organizing nearly 7,000 horror movies into 20 separate horror genres (none of which are the common but unhelpful "Horror" or "Thriller"). Some of these horror genres include Supernatural, Slasher, Gore, Classics and Creature Features. In addition to genres, AllHorror further organizes all movies into over 100 horror sub genres including 5 varieties of Haunted House movies, Urban Legends, Mutants, Mind Benders, Wilderness, Road Trips, Medical, Sci-Fi, Religion, Dangerous Exploration and even Internet Horror. AllHorror even offers sub genres to help those with very specific tastes find horror movies about Cars, Elevators, Cursed Images, Urban Decay, Spiders, Splatter, Tourists, Orphans and every kind of Phobia you can think of.

If this unprecedented array of genres and sub genres still leaves you in search of that perfect movie, AllHorror also offers a dozen different movie Styles to sift through. AllHorror styles include Slow Burns, Wild Rides, Hollywood, B-Horror, Cheap Scares, Popcorn Horror, Reboots and Horror Shorts. You can further browse by New Releases, Upcoming Horror and Streaming Horror. 

AllHorror offers a unique rating system called "Will You Like It" to help you know beforehand if you're likely to enjoy the movie. This 10-point rating system rates each movie on its concept, its level of suspense, dread, gore, visual effects, story, acting, pace, plausibility and production value. 

Finally, as you discover new horror movies you can add them to your own private watchlist or you can create public lists to share.