Warning: Spoilers ahead, tread carefully.
Season 1 of "Bloodline" peeked with Episode 10. Sadly there were 3 more episodes remaining, which ended up being too much of a good thing. The final 3 episodes should have been condensed into 2 episodes and changed dramatically. Ben Mendelsohn did a great job as Danny Rayburn, Mendelsohn completely inhabited his character. However if I ever see Mendelsohn in real life I would hate him on sight, because of how well he portrayed Danny. I thought Pete Campbell wouldn't ever be topped in the loathsome character sweepstakes, however Danny surpassed him. But even worse than Danny was his brother John, in that John kept on trying to save him. I understand the importance of family and I've been helped by my family tremendously. While I've made some stupid decisions, generally I've tried to do the right thing.
However Danny seemed to only be in it for himself. He held on to an incident from his family's past and let that twist his worldview completely askew. Who knows if he was twisted before the death of his sister Sarah, but for sure he never recovered after that. Maybe his family wasn't the best to him, but at some point you've got to let the past go. Holding on to the past destroyed him and almost destroyed the entire family. The Rayburn matriarch was also responsible for enabling Danny, she was vulnerable to his manipulations. He took complete advantage of her and her guilty conscience.
The sleaziness of Danny and being enabled by certain members of his family was the worst thing about this show, especially the final 3 episodes. I also got tired of all the misdirection, just another thing that happened way too much.But I also hated the repeated scenes- how many times did we have to see John carrying Danny to the boat when he was disposing of his body? This is one of those shows that had so many endings, each intending to have more of an impact. However each unneeded ending had the opposite effect- they slowly sucked greatness from the show. The final revelation- finding out Danny had a son- was just an unneeded ending. We had no prior inference that Danny sired any children, other than one brief image and a cryptic comment made by Danny.
Youngest brother Kevin seemed to have been created just to fill up some episodes. His whole storyline about he and wife separating and reconciling- yawn!!
"Bloodline" has already been approved for a second season. I'm not sure if I'll be watching, but if the show is all about Danny, or his son, again I have no interest. Following the arc of a loathsome, amoral character without hope of redemption isn't entertainment, it's just boredom and misery.
Again the first 10 episodes were amazing, I thought this show was going to compete with TV's best first seasons ever. But those less than inspired 3 episodes made sure that didn't happen. The four best first seasons remain "Homeland", "Lost, "Broadchurch" and "The Missing".
Suggestions for season 2 of "Bloodline", aka how to get me to watch. First of all with Danny deceased, there's no need to touch on the death of Sarah ever again or the amoral Danny. Stop with all the flash forwards and flashbacks, especially with how many times they were played. Also the fate of
Well whether there is or not, there's going to be a Season 2. It should revolve around John and his family, Sally, Meg and her lover. Season 2 should have only one ending and it has to be a better hook than the black sheep's son shows up. Perhaps something we will actually care about. Grade: First Ten Episodes: A+, Final Three Episodes: D-, Overall grade: C
Movies:
"Cinderella" the live action movie. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, which is always a good sign, this was a surprisingly good movie. Very good acting all about, highlighted by the lovely Lily James. My next most favorite performance was by Helena Bonham Carter. Her normal annoying acting style wasn't in display. She actually played a character rather than a hyper version of herself. (We so don't need any more Seth Rogens or Will Farrells.) I'll never forgive her for what she and Sasha Baron Cohen did to the Thenadiers in the movie version of "Les Miserables". For them to stand out from the other crap in "Les Mis" is saying something! However Bonham Carter does a great job as the Fairy Godmother in this "Cinderella".
In this "Cinderella" the story is good, it has a great amount of heart and a sense-of-humor. Thankfully it doesn't take itself too seriously. Grade: B-
Other movies I've seen recently:
"Stand By": a movie starring Megan Draper (actually Jessica Pare) and Brendan Gleeson. A fairly predictable movie. But the fact that the ending was entirely predictable didn't take away from the movies smaller charms. Grade: C+
"Inventing The Abbots": With Liv Tyler, the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly and Joanna Going, one of the most attractive casts ever. Sadly the movie wasn't up to it's cast, but still a decent movie. Grade: C
"Down To Earth", which is based on the much better "Heaven Can Wait". This is a very disappointing movie. I was hoping for more of Chris Rock, the comedian, rather than the actor in this movie. In other words bring the funny. It's always good to see Frankie Faison though, I pretty much love any actor or actress that was in "The Wire".
With Chris Rock, this is what I want to see (sadly not as funny with recent events in Charleston):
Ironically Chris Weitz had a hand in both "Cinderella" and "Down To Earth" as well as 2016's "Star Wars: Rogue One", the standalone "Star Wars" movies, meaning not connected with the original first 6 movies.
"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"- Depressing. Grade: D+.
Television:
"Last Man On Earth"- I'm going to watch any show starring the gorgeous January Jones. This show is best when Phil Miller isn't in it. He's like the post apocolyptic version of Danny Rayburn. This show is enjoyable with some laughs and did I mention January Jones? Grade: C+
"iZombie"- a television show that should be so much better. A great and likable cast, the occasional laugh but there's still something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it. Grade: C-
"The Royals"- the so sleazy show, but is completely a guilty pleasure. For such vapid characters the show has some heart. Vincent Regan is an incredibly likable King, which isn't easy as the idea of a monarchy is out of date now. I thoroughly support King Simon's idea to end the monarchy. Another show with a gorgeous cast. Elizabeth Hurley is still beautiful and not just for her age. Merritt Patterson is incredibly beautiful, she has a very fresh, wholesome look. Alexandra Park is attractive in a skanky, used up sort of way.
With "The Royals" one minute your laughing and the next is an incredibly poignant minute. From Princess Eleanor "beavering around" to the death of the future king of England. In so many ways this is the kind of show I wouldn't watch, but in spite of that: Grade: B+
"Daredevil", also on Netflix, has been surprisingly good. I love Vincent D'Onofrio, one of my favorite actors. Honestly I'm so tired of the whole superheroes genre, I have literally no desire to see the next "Avengers" movie. However "Daredevil" has been better than most of the overplayed genre. Grade: B.
Music: Last night I read an article in Entertainment Weekly about Jewel's "Pieces of You", I decided to listen to it today. It's so bad that I could only get halfway through it. There's a lot of boring, show songs on here. This is why iTunes and other similar sites are so great, the only song worthy of adding to your collection is "Who Will Save Your Soul". On further listening even "You Were Meant For Me" is an nearly unlistenable 4 minutes of glop.
Maroon 5's "Call and Response: The Remix CD", remix CDs are usually hit of miss. This is more of a hit than miss CD. But I can't but wonder why remixes of "Moves Like Jagger" and "Payphone" aren't included. Those seem the two most remix worthy songs. Also it would be interesting to see what a remix version of "The Sweetest Goodbye" would sound like. In spite of those 3 glaring omissions, still a decent remix CD. Grade: C+
Also Halestorm's new CD, "Into The Wild Life" comes out today. Yes! A review will be coming of that soon.
themusicaddict
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