More Capsule Reviews

Brooklyn

I’ve wanted to see this film, starring Saoirse Ronan, since its release in 2015. After I missed it in theaters, it never seemed to show up on one of my streamers (yes, I probably could have rented or purchased it digitally, of course). But recently, I happened to be on Max, looking for something to watch, and there it was.

My patience was rewarded—set in the 1950s, it’s a quiet but emotional and touching film, about a young woman who immigrates from Ireland to the U.S.—specifically, Brooklyn where she is aided by an Irish immigrant community—in search of opportunities for a better life. She meets a young man and marries, but briefly questions her decision when she returns to Ireland for a visit.

There is nothing earth shattering or deeply traumatic here—and though people have their foibles, most mean well—but it nevertheless is a wonderfully warm human drama about a young woman's immigrant experience.

Long Way Round

After recently seeing Ewan McGregor during his recent appearance at the L.A. Comic Con, I was inspired to watch the first season (from 2004) of his travelogue series, Long Way Round, where he motorbiked around the world with chum and fellow actor Charley Boorman, after the series came up during his panel conversation.

The series reminded me of a wonderful book, Lone Rider, by Elspeth Beard, that I read and reviewed here several years back, who undertook a similar journey, alone and much less heralded, as well as other excellent travelogue shows like Michael Palin’s journeys and even the original British television series, Top Gear, that frequently embarked on journeys to places both touristy and remote. 

It’s a fascinating series, partly because time is spent on the logistical planning for the trip. And there are some amazing moments, particularly as they traverse areas with literally no roads, sometimes with the help of random Russian truckers. 

I partly enjoy these shows because I’ve found them to be beneficial for the “globe trotting” aspects of my comics work, showing remote, nearly inaccessible places and first hand experiences that don’t come up in ordinary research, that sometimes even inspire my stories.

My Adventures with Superman (Max)

Finally finished the second season of My Adventures With Superman—thought it was terrific. When I went into the first season, I thought it was going to be an episodic villain-of-the-week series, but it turned out to be more ambitious than that with a season-long arc involving Superman learning about his Kryptonian/alien identity. Season 2 builds on that as Superman learns more about his roots, deals with the fears that the public (and government) have for him, and the show opens up into space and science fiction.

I don’t know whether season 2 was based on any of the recent comics, but frankly, I thought the story arc was impressive enough on both an emotional and thematic level to serve as the basis of a full-length live action Superman film, bringing in Supergirl, Brainiac and even touching on the existential threat AI potentially poses to civilization. 

Bad Monkey (AppleTV+)

This series has been a fun watch. Set in the Florida Keys, this black comedy crime drama features a diverse cast of characters, many with their own secrets, flaws and agendas, but all driven by a central mystery set up in the very opening scene involving a severed arm. Although the “mystery” of that arm is revealed early in the series, the twisty storyline never loses its momentum.

At the center of it is a demoted and suspended police detective, played by series’ lead Vince Vaughn, whose distinctive persona and improv chops serve to elevate and distinguish the character and the series. In some ways, Bad Monkey is a shaggy dog story that is as much about the journey and character arc of suspended police detective Andrew Yancy as the mystery—indeed, the final payback of the main villain, almost a deux ex machina ending, seems almost like an afterthought and could easily have felt like a bit of a cop out and unsatisfying, had the other loose ends had not been tied up so satisfyingly.

Jeeves and Wooster

I recently re-watched the British Jeeves and Wooster television series. My wife and I discovered the series when it first aired in the 1990s, which not only introduced us to the world of P.G. Wodehouse, but also made us fans of the series’ leads, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie were already known in Great Britain—particularly due to their comedy sketch show, A Bit of Fry and Laurie—but this series introduced them to American audiences. Indeed, we were so taken by the series, with both actors so perfectly cast, that we became fans and delighted in following their careers. 

Though the series ran four seasons of six episodes apiece, there were a few episodes I didn’t recall. Watching the series in their entirety made the reason fairly obvious—the PBS series didn’t air about three of the episodes, partly I’m sure due to the use of black face in some of the episodes (including the finale). Nevertheless, the series—capturing an era that  never really happened—remains a delightful and hilarious watch.