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Review by Sean Boelman
Photo by Tyler Golden/Hulu.
Mel Brooks’s History of the World: Part I was never intended to have a sequel, but over forty years later, we are getting more historical comedy skits from the mind of one of the greatest living comedic geniuses. Although mileage may vary with History of the World: Part II, there’s plenty of gut-busting laughs to be found, even if a few of its skits don’t turn out quite as well as one would hope.
Like its film predecessor, this series presents skits that offer an alternative perspective on history through the hilarious and idiosyncratic lens of the legendary Mel Brooks. The series format is certainly conducive to Brooks’s skit comedy like this, even if it does lead to some moderately long stretches that don’t have quite enough laughs. The ensemble of the series is absolutely star-studded with some of the greatest comedians working today. Some of the actors who have several roles across different skits include Ike Barinholtz and Nick Kroll, and they are both excellent. However, many of the guest stars can steal the show, including Ronny Chieng, Johnny Knoxville, and Jay Ellis. Ultimately, some of the skits do fall flat in the series — more so than usual for Brooks. However, when the segments are good, they are *extremely* good in a way that only Brooks’s work could be. The first episode is the weakest of the show, as it is largely the set-up for the recurring skits, but once it finds its rhythm, it becomes extremely effective. 
Photo by Aaron Epstein/Hulu.
What is perhaps most surprising about this show is that it often struggles with the balance between satire and goofiness, which is something that Brooks has never had an issue with. Many of the skits are either really insightful and perceptive, or really fun and absurd, but only a few ever manage to capture the perfect balance between both.
Of course, one of the strongest aspects of Mel Brooks’s comedy are his original songs, and this show has plenty of them. There’s one satirical song in the “Civil War” skit that is one of the funniest comedy songs that has been released in years. And one skit, “The Last Supper Sessions,” provides plenty of opportunities for great new songs. The absolute highlight of the series is a recurring sketch called “Shirley!” in which Wanda Sykes plays a ‘70s sitcom version of Black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. In addition to being one of the most consistently funny sketches in the show — and being a perfect homage to classic sitcoms — this bit shines thanks to Sykes’s hilarious and endearing, perhaps even Emmy-worthy performance. There are some weak spots in History of the World: Part II, but there are far more hits than misses, and the hits are so good that this is still a great series despite its shortcomings. Even this many years into his career, Brooks still has it and his comedy is still as funny as ever. History of the World: Part II streams on Hulu beginning March 6 as a four-night event. All eight episodes reviewed. Rating: 4/5
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Review by Dan Skip Allen  I am a big fan of films about or featuring authors. Adaptation, Barton Fink, Wonder Boys, and Misery are among my favorites. This small genre of film usually brings me a smile at the end of whatever film I'm watching thanks to their often whimsical nature. I didn't have any expectations, but A Little White Lie is another such film that brought me some delight. A lonely man, CR Shriver (Michael Shannon), who drinks his sorrows away with his buddy Lenny (Mark Boone Junior) at their local watering hole in New York City, gets a letter in the mail asking him to appear at a Literary Festival at Acheron University. He is mistaken for a popular author who's been in hiding for twenty years. The 92nd Annual Acheron Literary Festival hopes to feature him and his book Goat Time. He's not the real Shiver, or is he? He ends up going to the festival and tries to pass as this one-hit wonder of an author. The writer/director, Michael Maren, has assembled a good cast of character actors for this wild zany indie comedy. Simone Clery (Kate Hudson) is a professor and author in her own right. She welcomes Shriver in and befriends him. Don Johnson plays another professor who has a past with Hudson's character. He also believes in Shannon's character. Da'Vine Joy Randolph plays a fan of his he meets on an airplane, and he confides in her, and they also become friends. And Jimmi Simpson is a detective who tries to get to the bottom of a disappearance but helps solve another mystery instead. Everybody is very funny in their roles, and these people I mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg.  This film has a good premise. The story about a mistaken author is a pretty funny one for a movie. Shannon and the others go all the way to show viewers that he is who they believe him to be. Mystery abounds about whether this is true or not, and even an imposter comes out of the woodwork saying he's not who they all believe him to be. He himself doesn't believe he wrote his own book, so it's hard for anybody to believe in what's going on. That is what the charm of this little film truly is.
A Little White Lie is a fun movie with an interesting premise of mistaken identity or stealing someone's identity — depending on how one chooses to look at it. Shannon is very believable as this man who doesn't know if he is who these people think he is or not. He goes with it, though, and in doing so finds himself. He makes some new friends from the rest of the cast I mentioned and starts to believe in himself. The writer/director Merin balances a fine line between what is real and not, and how the viewers take his story is up to them. A Little White Lie hits theaters and VOD on March 3. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
It’s always nice to see a film by an up-and-coming filmmaker and starring a cast composed mostly of unknowns. Unfortunately, these movies don’t always live up to their promise. The Park isn’t unwatchable, but that doesn’t mean that there is much of a reason to watch this largely underwhelming and underdeveloped dystopia.
The film is set in a near-present alternate future in which a virus has killed all of the adults on Earth, and several warring factions of children are left to fight for control. It’s a premise we’ve seen done a million times before, but filmmaker Shal Ngo’s vision seemed to be more fun and creative. In reality, it’s a carbon-copy of so many other works of cinema and literature with a similar premise. At a merciful 76 minutes including credits, it’s hard to say that the movie outstays its welcome, but it also hardly earns it. It feels like the first half of the first third of a sci-fi YA series. In other words, as set-up, it would have been passable; but as a self-contained feature film, it feels as if they ran out of money to make the third act. The character development is as weak as one would expect with such a short runtime. There just isn’t enough time for us to get to know the characters beyond their archetypes. It’s initially intriguing to see all of these archetypes that are typically applied to teenagers seen in younger kids, but this novelty wears off extremely quickly. 
Ultimately, the biggest shortcoming of the movie is its dialogue, which is often borderline atrocious. Of course, no one comes to a post-apocalyptic film about a dystopia ruled by children to experience realism. However, it isn’t outside of reason to ask for something that at least resembles the sharpness of Lord of the Flies — even if it doesn’t come close to touching Salinger.
And while that may be the biggest weakness, the biggest disappointment is that the movie doesn’t do anything particularly interesting with its world-building. The setting is immediately compelling — a dilapidated amusement park — so for the film not to do anything with that potential is enormously frustrating. The story just as easily could have taken place in a cityscape, meaning that the post-apocalyptic world of the movie is entirely nondescript. The young actors do a decent job considering the caliber of material they are given to work with. Yes, the performances often feel like a more sick and twisted version of Disney Channel stars, but that seems to be exactly what Ngo is going for (and in some cases, that’s their actual background). Some of the performers, like Chloe Guidry and Carmina Garay, could have bright futures ahead of them. Thankfully, with it being as short as it is, it’s hard to fully hate The Park, if only because its pacing is so quick that you’ll never get bored. Still, it feels like a waste of potential due to its generic world and story that feels frustratingly incomplete. The Park hits VOD on March 2. Rating: 2/5 Review by Camden Ferrell  The circumstances surrounding a thriller movie are already frightening enough, but this intensifies when our protagonist finds themselves without one of their senses. This has been explored in movies like Hush and Bird Box, and Unseen is aiming to be another entry into this subcategory of film. In their feature directorial debut, Yoko Okumura delivers some exciting and brief thrills even if it is content to never test the limits of the genre. Sam is a jaded gas station clerk, dealing with rude customers and a faulty drink machine. One day, she receives a call from Emily, a nearly blind woman who is trying to run from her abusive and murderous ex-boyfriend. Left without her glasses, Emily must rely on Sam via video call to help her escape the forest before her ex can find her. This is a simple premise that isn’t complex but has an interesting angle to make for some creative conflicts and storytelling. Written by the relatively inexperienced duo of Salvatore Cardoni and Brian Rawlins, this movie has all the elements needed for an entertaining and somewhat mindless thriller. The dialogue is adequate and does the bare minimum in terms of exposition and character development. It may not be subversive with its plot, but it does have passion and genuine excitement for the premise, which is very interesting to see. It’s far from great, but this duo has a lot of potential, especially in this genre.  The cast is quite enjoyable too and does a lot of heavy lifting throughout the movie. The movie is co-led by Jolene Purdy and Midori Francis who play Sam and Emily, respectively. They have solid chemistry and are able to fit nicely within this genre. They’re able to convey strong panic, terror, and anxiety in an entertaining way, and they are usually fun to watch even when the movie might be lacking otherwise.
One of the highlights of this movie is Okumura’s execution of specific scenes throughout. They try and emphasize the interconnectedness of the two leads, and this is achieved through some really interesting editing. Clever split screens and great execution and timing create some cool moments that work on an aesthetic and more deep thematic level. More than anything, it looks great from a visual standpoint which helps amplify the quality of certain scenes in this movie. Unseen is very short and knows exactly when to leave before overstaying its welcome. A tad too predictable, playing safely within the confines of the genre, this is still an enjoyable thriller if you ever get a chance to watch it. Maybe not a cinematic priority, this is still a movie most general audiences can enjoy just for the thrills and narrative restrictions placed on its characters. Unseen is available on VOD March 7. Rating: 3.5/5 Review by Dan Skip Allen  Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO. Perry Mason was a law procedural that ran from 1957-1966, starring Raymond Burr. He reprised the role many times after that over the years. In 2020, Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald, together with HBO, launched its version of Perry Mason, starring Matthew Rhys of The Americans fame. Coming in March, the second season of the acclaimed series kicks off with some great anticipation. When season two of Perry Mason kicks off, Perry (Matthew Rhys) has found himself doing general law. He and his associate, Della Street (Juliet Rylance), find themselves defending a grocery store owner against an ex-employee who supposedly stole company designs and secrets. He's not happy doing this, but it pays the bills. When a well-respected member of the community Brooks McCutchen (Tommy Dewey) turns up dead, two Mexicans are fingered for the murder. Their family members enlist the services of Perry and Della for help. They, in turn, ask a friend, Paul Drake (Chris Chalk), to help with this difficult investigation. Because of the era Perry Mason is set in, it has a vibe of film noir — a genre that has been popping up more and more lately. A new Philip Marlowe film starring Liam Neeson is out in theaters currently. Films like Chinatown, The Big Sleep, and The Maltese Falcon paved the way for shows like this. Season one was very good and had an interesting storyline. Season two is more in line with those classics I just mentioned, though, and that is more to my liking than the previous season. Matthew Rhys has proven he is a fantastic actor with his long run on FX's The Americans. His turn as Perry Mason is a bit different from that other starring role. He has a more unsure nature of himself about this character. This is before his more confident years in his previous series. He's still learning the law, and he has to rely more on his friends and associates and the instincts he used as a private investigator in previous years. Rhys changes direction as Mason, and it is fun to watch him in action. Sometimes, I'm a big fan of courtroom dramas or comedies. They just bring out dramatic things in films that make them better most of the time. This show is not like a television procedural, it has more of a cinematic feeling. Add in the film noir elements, and there is nothing like this series on television today. HBO and the showrunners, directors, and writers have created a show that takes risks and goes places unexpected for this type of series. Many story beats don't meet expectations — they exceed them.  Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO. This series has a good cast of characters. A few return from the previous season, but also some new ones. Shea Whigham once again plays both sides as a private investigator Pete Strickland for the district attorney, but he is also trying to keep his relationship with Mason. That is a hard thing to do in this climate. Oscar nominee for best supporting actor for Sound of Metal, Paul Raci, is the father of the deceased, Lydell McCutchen, but he has a mechanization of his own that may put him in the crosshairs of Mason and his team. Hope Davis, as Camilla Nygard, is a confidant and friend of Street, who relies on her wisdom about the town of Los Angeles and the men that run it. And Eric Lange returns as Detective Holcolm, who has a history with the deceased. This show has a stellar cast that makes it better with every episode.
As I mentioned, the film noir elements of this series are some of the best things about it. They add mystery and suspense where needed. With the investigative side of the show, the legal drama is set in 1930s Los Angeles, based on novels and short stories penned by Erle Stanley Gardner. They mix well with the film noir elements. These are the two main parts of how and why these types of shows and films work. There is a style and formula of film noir that fits perfectly into Perry Mason. I loved what they did with this show. Perry Mason mixes some great elements of film noir investigative work and a courtroom drama, and seamlessly creates a fantastic season 2 of this acclaimed series. The cast is filled with terrific character actors doing some of the best work of their careers. The star that never ceases to amaze with his range as an actor, Rhys, gives viewers watching this series a believability factor that he has embodied this lawyer who may be in over his head time and again, but never compromises his beliefs and fights for his clients. This is a character and actor viewers can and should get behind. This show also adds some other elements in subplots that are eye-opening for me and fans watching at home on their television screen. I want to see this series continue, and I hope the creators continue to break ground with the directors and people involved behind the scenes. These different visions aren't compromised by anything going on in the world. Perry Mason debuts on HBO on March 6 at 9pm ET/PT, with new episodes airing subsequent Mondays. All eight episodes reviewed. Rating: 4.5/5 |