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Review by Tatiana Miranda  In the hiatus between seasons of Bridgerton comes the limited Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Similar to its source material, Queen Charlotte is centered around the romantic exploits of the people of the ton, only the story is set about 40 years earlier. As the title suggests, the series recounts the fan-favorite Queen Charlotte's romance with King George III. Much of the series also depicts the evolution of the ton in terms of the integration of different races, which had been mentioned in Season 1 of Bridgerton, yet never properly developed. Loosely inspired by the real-life king and queen of the UK, Queen Charlotte and King George III are not necessarily the focus of Bridgerton. In the popular Netflix series, Queen Charlotte is the bossy but loveable leader of the ton. Meanwhile, her husband is only mentioned in passing or shown infrequently. His absence is attributed to his mental illness, which is inspired by rumors of the real king. In this spin-off, fans get to see the beginning of their relationship and understand more of Charlotte's personality and motives. As mentioned briefly in Season 1, the marriage between Charlotte and George signaled the introduction of titles — such as Lord and Lady — for people of color in the ton and, therefore, a sense of integration. While it makes sense to establish the fact that the world wasn't always as progressive, it puts Queen Charlotte into a narrative box that it doesn't excel at developing. Because the series jumps straight into the marriage between George and Charlotte, it doesn't give a lot of time to establish the ton's layout before what George's mother refers to as "The Great Experiment." Although the topic of racial prejudice is discussed in relation to Charlotte's interracial marriage and Lady Danbury's entry into polite society, a lot of factors, such as Charlotte's heritage and Lord and Lady Danbury's wealth, are contrary to the mistreatment they face from the ton. Since it is meant to be a big deal for the ton and a major driving factor in Lady Danbury's backstory, its lack of development is distracting.  King George's "madness" is another predominant part of the series that lacks proper development. While the real King's mental health issues are undiagnosed, many professionals suggest that he may have had manic episodes as a result of bipolar disorder or porphyria. Queen Charlotte takes more creative liberties, instead giving him episodes more closely resembling schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder.
This change was likely made to add more narrative hardship to Charlotte and George's love story, similar to Simon's and Antony's parental issues and trauma from Seasons 1 and 2 of Bridgerton. Because of its heavily narrative use, the depiction of George's mental state comes across as an unrealistic and poor representation of mental illnesses. When it comes to Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte feels more like an intermission rather than a part of the narrative, as its development of secondary characters will likely have no impact on the plot of the upcoming third season. Many flash-forward scenes to the present day of Bridgerton fall flat in comparison to the romance between Charlotte and George. Overall, Queen Charlotte excels in developing the background of several key characters from the main series, yet it fails to properly develop the world and the future of these same characters. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story premiers on Netflix May 1. All six episodes reviewed. Rating: 2/5
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Review by Sean Boelman
Photograph by Phil Caruso/HBO.
The Watergate scandal might not exactly be what one associates with comedy — dramas like All the President’s Men being the more common storytelling approach — but White House Plumbers is refreshingly in its humor. Although the HBO show might not dig as deep as one would hope, it’s certainly well-made and nothing short of entertaining.
The series tells the story of the “White House Plumbers” and its leaders, E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), who were the masterminds behind the attempted Watergate burglary, and were responsible for bringing down the Presidency they wanted to protect. This is one of the most public blunders ever made in politics, but this show manages to keep things fresh by showing a perspective we might not have known. Surprisingly, the series is a mere five episodes long, when there was much more story to tell. The first two episodes focus on other operations of the Plumbers — such as the burglary of a psychologist’s office in an attempt to discredit Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg — and the final three focus on Watergate and its aftermath. It could have been interesting to see even more of the Plumbers’ activities. One of the most unique things about this show is that it takes a comedic, farcical approach to a topic often treated very seriously. It makes sense — there is an absurdity and ridiculousness to these events — and the tongue-in-cheek nature lends a satirical feel to the series. The creators are trying to create a parallel between what happened in the 1970s and what is happening today, and while it doesn’t always work, it’s an absolute zinger when it does. 
Photograph by Phil Caruso/HBO.
The show arguably works best as an acting showcase for Harrelson and Theroux who are both fantastic. Theroux is hilarious as a Nazi sympathizer, and Harrelson is perfectly duplicitous and sly. Although the cast also has some other great actors — Lena Headey, Domhnall Gleeson, Ike Barinholtz, and more — Harrelson and Theroux just have such a commanding presence that no one else gets a chance to shine.
The character work is also really intriguing, because these are characters that aren’t particularly likable. No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, the Watergate scandal is one of the most despised events in history. Still, the show turns Harrelson’s Hunt into a character who is much more nuanced and even pitiable, albeit thoroughly flawed. David Mandel (Veep) directs the show in its entirety, and does an excellent job of giving the show a feeling of time and momentum. The production design and costuming are strong recreations of the 1970s. And the operation scenes — particularly the Watergate burglary — blend comedy and intensity quite well. White House Plumbers brings an interesting perspective and comedic tone to events that everyone knows and hates. Although it could have spared to be an episode (or three) longer, sharp writing and strong performances by Harrelson and Theroux keep the show entertaining. White House Plumbers debuts May 1 at 9pm ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max, with new episodes airing subsequent Mondays. All five episodes reviewed. Rating: 4/5 Review by Adam Donato  Anna Camp as “Cora” in Thomas Marchese’s FROM BLACK. Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder release. Thomas Marchese has only previously directed a documentary feature called Fallen and a couple short films, but makes his narrative feature debut here with From Black. Anna Camp stars as a troubled woman grieving over her lost son. John Ales co-stars as a group therapy leader who presents this troubled woman with an opportunity to get her son back. Sacrifices and creepy occurrences ensue as Camp tries to maintain her own sanity. From the horror faithful streaming service known as Shudder, here comes another demon possession romp. Horror in April is welcome, as the month of October doesn’t have a monopoly on scary. Even in theaters, Ari Aster’s latest Beau is Afraid graces the screen. Anyone rewatching his other two movies as of late will certainly find direct comparisons from Hereditary to From Black. That's not to say Hereditary has the most original story, but it stands out due to its direction and performances. All due respect, but Marchese and Camp are no Aster and Collette. Still, for a horror-specific streaming service movie, From Black got the job done.  Thomas Marchese’s FROM BLACK. Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder release. Most will recognize Camp from her roles in Pitch Perfect and The Help. Seeing as it’s been about a decade since these roles, it’s nice to see her get an opportunity to lead again, even if it’s on such a small scale. Her performance here certainly gets the job done. The character is also dealing with drug addiction which adds a physical element to her performance. She’s so miserable and on edge throughout, making for a stressful experience. It's hard to see this convincing anyone she needs to lead on the big screen, but she comes to play here and the movie is all the better for it.
Marchese should mark this venture off as a win because this movie was a solid outing. There is some scary imagery here. The demon that is lusting after the protagonist is used sparingly and not shown outright to allow the audience’s imagination to fill in the dots. While the story may be run of the mill, the main character never goes far enough off the deep end to the point she’s not relatable anymore. The last scene of the movie ends the experience on a high note that might convince viewers this is an above average horror flick. Maybe chop off 10 of the 100 minutes of the runtime because at the end of the day, simplicity is what this movie has going for it most. Horror fans and Shudder go together like demons and grieving mothers. From Black delivers solid scares despite its overly familiar concept. Camp and Marchese should be proud of this latest entry and build upon it. Check this one out on Shudder. From Black streams on Shudder beginning April 28. Rating: 3/5 Review by Cole Groth  (L - R) Fernanda Urrejola as Ines, Venus Ariel as Audrey and Julio Cesar Cedillo as Chato in the action film, THE BLACK DEMON, The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue. Good shark movies are incredibly hard to come by. I’d argue that it’s just as hard to find a shark thriller that isn’t terrible, and that’s where The Black Demon comes into play. With a false promise of a terrifying shark but a surprisingly interesting script, this film isn’t quite good, but it’s refreshingly not bad. Josh Lucas stars as an employee of a massive oil company who takes his family on an idyllic vacation in Mexico. Things quickly turn sour as his family gets stranded on an oil rig with a ferocious shock who tries its all to protect its territory. Over the 100-minute runtime, they have to find ways to survive the threat, which grows deadlier with every passing minute. The immediate biggest problem with this is that the shark doesn’t appear in the film very much. Throughout the whole runtime, it appears for a collective of maybe two minutes, making it feel like a very underwhelming threat. Characters spend most of the time talking about how dangerous the “black demon” is rather than actually showing it to us. When the shark does appear, it’s menacing, but it’s mostly too little too late, and audiences will feel frustrated by the lack of its titular villain.  (L - R) Fernanda Urrejola as Ines, Venus Ariel as Audrey and Josh Lucas as Paul in the action film, THE BLACK DEMON, The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue Toward the movie’s end, audiences should be able to piece together that the “black demon” that everybody refers to isn’t a shark. Writers Boise Esquerra and Carlos Cisco take the villain to an environmental approach, with the demon being the product of the oil rig Paul works on. Environmental metaphors can be done well, and while this one subverts the shark thriller genre, it’s too on the nose to be anything but silly.
As far as acting goes, this is surprisingly solid. Josh Lucas, Fernanda Urrejola, and Julio César Cedillo give it their all, and the script is quite good from a dialogue perspective. I was expecting to cringe throughout most of the runtime, and while there are still a few eye-rolling moments, it’s mostly relegated to the expository stuff at the beginning. While there are some shining moments in The Black Demon, it doesn’t blend very well. The lack of any shark action can be somewhat balanced out by an otherwise decent drama, but it doesn’t help that it’s a rather dull experience. There’s not much of a reason for this to be longer than 90 minutes. It’s a very simple premise that feels stretched out for no reason. We’re told way too much through sloppy exposition when any viewer truly wants to see action between Paul and the shark. It’s not quite a bad experience, but those expecting anything more than a moderately entertaining time will be disappointed. The Black Demon releases in theaters starting April 28. Rating: 2.5/5 Reviewed by Jonathan Berk  Marin Grigore as “Mattias,” Mark Edward Blenyesi as “Rudi,” and Macrina Bârlădeanu as “Ana” in Cristian Mungiu’s “R.M.N.” Courtesy of Mobra Films. An IFC Films Release. Writer and director Cristian Mungiu’s new film R.M.N. opens with a young boy walking alone in the woods. It’s clear he sees something that bothers him, and he retreats back the way he came. The film then jumps to a sheep slaughterhouse and introduces the audience to Matthais (Marin Grigore). He violates work rules to take a phone call that appears to be an emergency. One of his supervisors calls him a "lazy Gypsy," and Matthais retaliates with a headbutt. Realizing this job is over and not wanting to risk being arrested for assault, Matthais flees Germany to return to his small hometown in Transylvania. In this village, the third major character, Csilla (Judith State), is the manager of a bakery in dire need of employees to qualify for government funding. The locals in the village either left for work or don’t feel the bakery paying minimum wage is worth their time, so Csilla and the owner are considering taking employees from another country. The tensions about who belongs are initially underneath the surface. Hungarian, Romanian, German, French, and English are spoken in the film — and sometimes depicted in different color captions — demonstrating the multiethnic nature of the village. It’s when these “outsiders” arrive that the xenophobia and cultural tensions kick in.  Marin Grigore as “Mattias” and Mark Edward Blenyesi as “Rudi” in Cristian Mungiu’s “R.M.N.” Courtesy of Mobra Films. An IFC Films Release. Mungiu’s style forces the audience to sit in these tense moments. He chooses static long takes, with the staging of the actors being the momentum of the scene, not the editing. There is one particular moment that is touted as being 17 minutes long and brings all the film's themes to the forefront. It is painfully uncomfortable to sit through, and the camera placement and staging of the actors in the scene make it even more so. In the forefront of the shot are Matthais and Csilla, whose relationship was extremely complicated during the film, but takes on several more layers in these moments. They’re surrounded by severely angry townspeople who are voicing their concerns about the Sri Lankan employees at the bakery. It is such an impactful scene that leads to the film's final moments.
R.M.N. is full of metaphors, which I usually appreciate. I have been unable to stop analyzing the various layers this film offers. While I often enjoy it when a movie sticks in my mind so much and makes me ponder what it was trying to say, I am finding this one to frustrate me more because of how many things feel uncertain. There are pieces left up for interpretation that severely change the events in the film, more so than the meaning that we can apply to it. It ultimately feels a little sloppy in the end, because I can’t discern what some characters' motivations were or what exactly leads Matthias on his wild chase through the city at the end. I even rewatched the last fifteen minutes to see if I missed a key element, but I found out I had not. Ultimately, the movie worked for me despite this, but it definitely took a hit for the way I felt at the end of my viewing. R.M.N is out in theaters on April 28. Rating: 3.5/5 |