Mr. Mercedes Season 1 Episode 9

      The boss at the electronics store seems impressed with Brady’s newest idea.  It is building a little space in the store for kids to hang out and watch TV while their parents shop.  It’s just part of Brady’s plan to get as many people at the grand opening as possible.  This effort is so he can kill them.

     Jealousy soon gets a chance to manifest itself when Bill Hodges, Pete Dixon and Izzy Torres all show up at Supreme Electronics looking for Brady.  Robi confirms that Brady was the one who serviced Olivia Trelawney’s computer and that he made several trips out to her home.  Apparently older women are his main “clientele.”  This another manifestation of his various complexes.  Robi confirms that Brady is also the ice cream man and that seems to connect all the dots for Hodges.  He’s determined to search Brady’s house immediately but Pete is cautious to search without a warrant.  Robi is eager to learn what Brady’s in trouble for but they don’t give him much, just enough to doom him.

     Hodges arrives at Brady’s house with a couple rookie cops in tow.  One of the cops is fresh out of the academy.  He is sticking to the letter of the law about search warrants and poison fruit!  In other words, he won’t let Bill kick the door down.  It’s a nuisance in this instance since Brady and all the evidence anyone could need are sitting right there.  If every cop followed this attitude we’d all probably be better off.  As Brady cowers behind his couch, Hodges gets a call from Holly.  She says that working together with Jerome they have found something big?  5* (I really liked this series)

Mr. Mercedes Episode 8: From the Ashes 9/27/2017

      The previous episode ended with a bang.  This episode begins with a whimper.  Usually these hours open with T. Bone Burnett’s “It’s Not Too Late” playing over a montage of Bill Hodges getting dressed and ready for the day.  But, in the wake of Janey Patterson’s explosive death, Bill can barely get out of bed.

     Eventually, he does muster up the strength to dress himself and get over to his computer. Of course Brady is waiting for him!!  As we saw with his treatment of Olivia Trelawney, Brady seems to relish taunting survivors as much as he does killing victims.  He continues this practice here.  He tells Bill that “all these big tragedies come down to access of a car in the end.”  Then he taunts him with the reminder that he’s the one who let Janey drive his car with the hidden bomb inside.  Brady’s triumph is cut short when Ida comes into Bill’s house and he quickly shuts his laptop.

     Brady is still smirking and he is barely realizing that his malicious plans are about to backfire in his face big time.  While he’s downstairs talking to his computer friends, upstairs his mom is preparing dinner for the two of them.  She’s cooking some vegetables and as she looks in the freezer for some meat, the moment we’ve been anticipating for a few weeks finally arrives.  It is because the meat that she grabs are the patties laced with poison.  Brady had prepared them to poison Jerome’s dog and when that backfired, he hurriedly threw them in the freezer.  Now they’re in his mother’s hands.  5* (I really liked this series)

Directed by Laura Innes, written by Stephen King, David E. Kelley, Bryan Gouboff with Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway, Kelly Lynch, Jharrel Herome, Scott Lawrence, Robert Stanton, Breeda Wool, Justine Lupe, Holland Taylor.

Note:  tvfanatic.comEditor 4.75 out of 5.0, user rating 5.0 out of 5.0 with 6 votes, fathersonholy.gore.com 5*, Amazon 8.2* out of 120* with 688 reviews, Imdb 8.2 out of 688, ReadySteadyCut 3.5* out of 5*, Imdb 8.2* out of 10* with 688 reviews.

Mr. Mercedes Episode 7: Willow Lake

     After weeks of buildup and maneuvering, Mr. Mercedes finally exploded this week with tragic results for several characters.  As usual, Bill Hodges starts this episode by trying to make up for whatever he messed up last week.  This time, it’s his relationship with Jerome.  Bill approaches his young friend in the middle of lawn-mowing duties in order to have him explain his behavior.  Why doesn't Jerome want to go back to college?  Bill knows the Mercedes killer is dangerous so he wants to keep Jerome away as much as possible!!  But he also really needs help with all the computer stuff.  Once again, it’s hard for Jerome to turn down the excitement of working on this high-stakes investigation.  He agrees to help Bill hack into Olivia Trelawney’s laptop.

     When Bill gets to the diner, he meets the newest member of the team: Holly Gibney.  It turns out that Holly has a knack for computers and she saves Jerome’s skin when he first tries to hack the laptop.  She points out that his method would lead to the hard drive erasing itself (stupid Apple) and suggests a different and more effective method.  Bill, of course is totally lost, so he goes off to help Janey prepare for her mother’s funeral while the whiz kids get to work.  Eventually they are able to hack into her laptop but all they see on her desktop is an encrypted text file labeled “Sessions.”  Holly points out that Olivia didn’t know how to encrypt files (she wasn’t any better at computers than her old nemesis Bill, apparently), so someone else must have put it there.  Could it be something Brady sent her?  5* (I really like this series) 

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10 with 889 ratings, tvfanatic editor 4.5 out of 5, user rating 5 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 29 critic ratings 90% with 637 user ratings, Amazon 4 1/2* out of 353 reviews.

Mr. Mercedes Episode 6

      Both Bill and Deborah take trips down memory lane this week.  Brady takes steps to ensure no big changes affect his world.  It all begins with Brady’s job interview at a computer sales store.  He scoffs at the boss Frobisher’s admonition to wear clean clothes and a tie to meet their corporate overlords.  Brady does make an attempt to get ready.  Then he realizes, with his tie still undone, that his mother is nowhere to be found.  I’m sure Bill would laugh loudly if he knew Brady still needed his mom to tie his tie!!  He would laugh even more at the sight of Brady getting onto a bus to get to this job interview.  His mom has taken the car so he has no choice.  She never takes the car??  

     Bill is investigating the car mover he believes is Mr. Mercedes.  He doesn’t get very far before he gets a call from Janey that her mom has had a stroke.  He rushes to the hospital and soon learns that Janey is the most reasonable member of her family.  Her aunt Charlotte Gibney (Laila Robins) is insufferable in the extreme.  She is demanding everyone clean their hands constantly.  On top of that, Charlotte infuriates her daughter Holly (Justine Lupe) by refusing to give her the right ballpoint pen to finish her journal entry.  Even her husband tells her to chill out at that point!!  Charlotte insists this is the only way to teach her daughter to behave in public.  While Charlotte and Janey meet with the doctors, Bill goes outside.  He runs into Holly and she is smoking a cigarette.  The poor girl is clearly terrified of her mother finding out about her smoking.  5* (I really liked this series)

Note:  Amazon 4 1/2* out of 353 reviews, Imdb 7.8 out of 10 with 889 ratings, tvfanatic editor 4.5 out of 5, user rating 5 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 29 critic ratings 90% with 637 user ratings. 

Mr. Mercedes TV series episode four: Gods Who Fall 2017

      Personal suffering started early for Brady’s mother Deborah.  That is why the bottle has been her only solace.  How things went so wickedly wrong between her and Brady isn't discussed?  There were indications that perhaps Brady had issues early in his childhood.  This may have made connections difficult between mother and son.     

     The deaths of her husband and younger son within in a short time must have broken the once sunny cheerleader?  It turned her into a dark person and ripped from her any potential understanding of motherhood she might have had.  Brady is definitely not an easy person to live with!!!  Right now she is fortunate that she doesn’t know how dark Brady really is!!!

     There is a flashback to Bill and Pete meeting with Olivia Trelawney.  She is the original owner of the Mercedes vehicle that hit the people at the job fair.  Once again, she denies leaving her keys in the car.  When Olivia asks the detectives when she can have her car back, we get a hint of what Janey Patterson meant by last week's comment that her sister is hard to like??  As we've seen, the car is still a bloody wreck that no one would want to drive in this current condition.  5* (I really liked this series)

Note:  tvfanatic.com editor rating 4.65 out of 5, user rating 5 out of 5, Imdb 7.9* out of 10* with 745 reviews, readysteadycut 3.5* out of 5*, google.com 3 1/2* with 11 reviews, metascore 72, justwatch.com 82%.

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 7, title Lawyer Trickery Bulls aired 9/24/2021

     To open episode 7, Frank has found Kate at the mental institution?  She feels safe there and she couldn’t see any other way out?  She tells Frank that he was right about George but the facility has to hold her for 72 hours.  Without much choice left, Billy asks Frank to testify in court and he makes sure Patty receives that instruction.  At the bar, Eva tells Billy that she’s afraid of Samantha because she reacted coldly to the death of Tom True.  She offers to keep Billy’s apartment lease going while he “stays on the sidelines.”  She wants Billy to continue helping with the case.  Billy tells Eva that Samantha is compromised.  You can sense there is sympathy from Billy’s side.

     Before the trial, George visits Frank to try and reason with him.  He tries telling him that he could be destroying what they built for their children and wants to make a deal.  Frank calls him a parasite, so George punches him.  Patty meets Billy in private.  He tells her they can use Frank as a witness.  But, it will be complicated due to Frank’s mental health history.  Billy explains that she should get details on the new drug.  Patty preps Frank for questioning but it isn’t easy.  Samantha tells Patty that Frank was institutionalized and this raises her concerns.  

     Later on, Samantha puts herself on the team for court and this confuses Patty?  The trial begins and Frank is seated on the witness stand.  Patty begins her line of questioning but the opposing side wants to remove any mention of the new drug. They are this information calling it irrelevant?  The judge approves the motion and this means Frank cannot mention it at all.  Frank states that opioids are too addictive but years ago, a single scientist rejected that idea!!  George held on to that idea to justify marketing their drug despite his objections.  Then, Frank claims he was pushed out of the company by his brother George.  Billions were gained from the loss of millions of lives.  (5* I really liked this episode and season)

Note:  readysteadycut.com 4* out of 5*, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 5 critic ratings, 79% with 62 user ratings, Metacritic 7* with 5 user scores, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 844 reviews.

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 6, title Rundleworks aired 9/24/2021

     This episode opens with a flashback.  A young Kate visits a mental institution to meet her father, Frank.  Frank wonders why George brought Kate to see him because he is ashamed.  George assures Kate that he will look after her and this signifies the theme for the rest of this chapter.  Meanwhile, in the present, Rob plays the voicemail left by Tom True to Billy.  It proves Tom was attacked.  Billy tells Rob that Samantha is “in over her head.”  Brittany enters the fold and reveals that Frank is George’s brother and the founder of Zax Pharma.  This shocks Billy because he had no idea about this!!

     This episode then moves to the ending of episode 5.  Frank is in Kate’s apartment.  He tells her to get away from George and admits he was not a good father.  Kate tells Frank that George raised him and she’s the only person that can stop him.  Later on, Billy calls Frank.  Frank tells him that Kate cannot testify.  But Billy has better ideas and meets with Kate with Brittany.  They get Kate to sign a statement for the FDA and the attorney general.  She’s now officially a whistleblower.  Billy tells Kate that Frank is his neighbor and that is not a coincidence.  Meanwhile, George learns there is a whistleblower, he knows deep down who it is and he’s furious.  5* (I really liked this season and episode) 

Note:  readysteady.cut 4* out of 5*, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 5 critic ratings, 79% with 62 user ratings, Metacritic 7* with 5 user scores, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 844 reviews.

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 5, title Spilt Milk aired 9/24/2021

     Once a powerful lawyer, Billy McBride is now burned out and washed up.  He is spending more time in a bar than in a courtroom.  He reluctantly agrees to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest client of Cooperman and McBride.  This is the massive law firm Billy helped create.  Billy and his ragtag team uncover a vast and deadly conspiracy.  This case is pitting them all in a life or death trial against the ultimate Goliath.

 

    I was surprised to see Cooperman in this episode.  He looks just as old and sickly as he did when we last saw him in the old days of Goliath!!  If he can help Billy and Patty conclude this case to their benefit, bring him on!!  Sam Margolis is asking the questions and she is the woman using a cane.  I wonder if she can pull this off with her limited amount of standing strength due to multiple sclerosis.  This is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system.  5* (I really like this season)

Note:  readysteadycut.com4* out of 5*, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 5 critic ratings, 79% with 62 user ratings, Metacritic 7* with 5 user scores, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 844 reviews. 

Mr. Mercedes TV series episode three 2017: Cloudy, with a Chance of Mayhem

     Brady is once again getting chewed out by his boss Frobisher.  He’s upset Brady and Lou never visited him in the hospital.  Also, because he strongly suspects Brady was the one who rigged his computer to explode.  This is a good guess!!  Frobisher stays on Brady’s case all day.

     Later, Frobisher bursts into the company locker room to lambast Brady for using his break time to perform his second job as an ice cream truck driver.  He accuses Brady of using that job as a cover to deal drugs?  This must be a thing that happens since it’s referenced multiple times in this episode.  It makes Brady snap!!  He screams at his boss to “SHUT UP!”  

      Lou encourages Brady to take the rest of the day off.  I wonder what we’ll learn about Brady's relationship to drugs?  Or, does his mom’s alcoholism make him hate all things drug-related?  Possibly we’ll find out at some point.  5* (I really liked this series)

Note:  Amazon 4 1/2* out of 353 reviews, Imdb 7.8 out of 10 with 889 ratings, tvfanatic editor 4.5 out of 5, user rating 5 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 29 critic ratings 90% with 374 user ratings.

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 4: Forcibly Removed, aired 9/24/2021

     This episode opens with Tom True sending a message to Rob telling him to trust Billy.  He’s ranting a lot and then he raises the subject that someone is following him?  In the message Tom left, it’s clear he has been attacked.  Is he dead?  It’s too early to tell.

     Then, this chapter quickly moves to Billy.  He tells Samantha that he has to withdraw from the case due to being involved with Zax Pharma in the past.  He didn’t remember this but there is a conflict.  He tells her to reexamine the strategy.  A frustrated Samantha tells Billy not to withdraw from the case since he has a contract.  In the office, Patty is concerned about Billy’s blase actions.  When she joins him in a settlement meeting with Russell Drug, he has already settled with them for $900 million!!

     Afterward, Billy meets Kate.  She is George’s niece and he asks her if she’s afraid of her uncle.  Billy makes it known to her that he is not scared but his friend is.  We finally get to George.  He is boxing and there’s a twist?  Frank shows up and it is revealed that they are related.  Frank is worried that Kate is working on a new drug.  Since she is his daughter, he wants her to stay away from George’s plans.  Then it’s revealed that Zax Pharma is Frank’s company?  We could see this coming after the last chapter but it’s still shocking.  We have to wonder if Billy knows who Frank is.

Note:  readysteadycut.com 4*, Metacritic 7* user scores with 5 ratings, Amazon 4* out of 5*, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 5 critic ratings, 79% with 62 user ratings.

Created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, executive producer Lawrence Trilling, Geyer Kosinski, Jennifer Ames, Steve Turner with Billy Bob Thornton, Nina Arianda, Tania Raymonde, Diana Hopper, Julie Brister, Bruce Dern, Clara Wong, Brandon Scott, Jena Malone J.K. Simmons, Brandon Scott, Geoffrey Arend. 

No Place Like Home 2018

      At the age of ten years old, Liza Barton shot her mother.  She was trying desperately to protect her mother from her estranged stepfather, Ted Cartwright. Despite his claim that the shooting was a deliberate act, the Juvenile Court rules the death an accident.  Many people agreed with Cartwright that it was murder.  The tabloids harshly compared Liza to Lizzie Borden and they continually pointed out the similarity of their names.

     To erase and forget her past, Liza’s adoptive parents change her name to Celia.  At age 28 she is a successful interior designer in Manhattan.  She marries a childless sixty-year-old widower, Laurence Foster.  Soon after, they have a son.  Before their marriage, she reveals to him her true identity.  Two years later on his deathbed, he makes her swear never to tell anyone so that their son Jack will not carry the stigma of her past.

     Two years later, Celia is happily remarried.  Then her peace of mind is shattered when her new husband surprises her with a gift!!  It is the house where she killed her mother??  It soon becomes clear that there is someone in the community that knows Celia as Liza?

     More and more, there are signs that someone knows Celia’s true identity.  Next, the real estate agent who sold them the house is brutally murdered!  Celia is the first person to see the crime scene and she becomes a suspect.  As she fights to prove her innocence, she has no idea that her son Jack is now the target of a killer?  Not only her son but also Celia is a target of the killer!!  4 1/2* (I liked this movie)

100 min mystery directed by Lee Grant and written by Ara Watson and Sam Blackwell with Christine Lahti, Jeff Daniels, Scott Marlowe, CCH Pounder, Kathy Bates, Anne Pitoniak, Lantz Landry, Kendra Joy Casper, Steve Rankin, Rick Aviles, Ernest Eyth, Helena Ruoti, Michael Hume, Bill Dalzell.  4 1/2* (I liked this movie)

Note:  Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 569 ratings, Goodreads gives the book 3.88* out of 5* with 13,989 ratings and 846 reviews, Imdb 6.8* out of 10* with 366 reviews.

Mr. Mercedes TV series episode three 2017

     Brady is once again getting chewed out by his boss Frobisher.  He’s upset Brady and Lou never visited him in the hospital.  Also, because he strongly suspects Brady was the one who rigged his computer to explode.  This is a good guess!!  Frobisher stays on Brady’s case all day.

     Later, Frobisher bursts into the company locker room to lambast Brady for using his break time to perform his second job as an ice cream truck driver.  He accuses Brady of using that job as a cover to deal drugs?  This must be a thing that happens since it’s referenced multiple times in this episode.  It makes Brady snap!!  He screams at his boss to “SHUT UP!”  

      Lou encourages Brady to take the rest of the day off.  I wonder what we’ll learn about Brady's relationship to drugs?  Or, does his mom’s alcoholism make him hate all things drug-related?  Possibly we’ll find out at some point.  5* (I really liked this series)

Note:  Amazon 4 1/2* out of 353 reviews, Imdb 7.8 out of 10 with 889 ratings, tvfanatic editor 4.5 out of 5, user rating 5 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 29 critic ratings 90% with 374 user ratings.

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 3: title Signed, William Hamilton McBride, aired 9/24/2021

      Billy's unconventional strategy leads to a surprising result for the firm?  Billy and George Zax come face-to-face and size each other up.  One of the main drivers of Goliath is the idea that the audience is watching a conspiracy unravel.  Billy calmly navigates the information and he is possibly the only one who is sure of the outcome?  This final season plays on this strengthened theme well.  It’s addictive and enticing and the characters have a great script.

    This episode opens with a flashback.  it’s Rob and Samantha’s engagement party and this portrays their romantic history.  Samantha watches the footage from the party and speaks to Tom True about it excitedly.  Tom True reveals there’s a whistleblower in their midst and there are potentially billions of dollars at stake.  Samantha protests reopening the cases against the Big Pharma companies.  She asks him to drop it due to the risks involved.  Tom True can sense she is very much compromised.  5* (I really liked this series)

Note:  readysteadycut.com 4*, Metacritic 7* user scores with 5 ratings, Amazon 4* out of 5*, Rotten Tomatoes 100% with 5 critic ratings, 79% with 62 user ratings.

Created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, executive producer Lawrence Trilling, Geyer Kosinski, Jennifer Ames, Steve Turner with Billy Bob Thornton, Nina Arianda, Tania Raymonde, Diana Hopper, Julie Brister, Bruce Dern, Clara Wong, Brandon Scott, Jena Malone J.K. Simmons, Brandon Scott, Geoffrey Arend.

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 2: title The Pain Killer aired 9/24/2021

     Patty finds herself on the hook for Billy’s behavior as he digs deeper into this case.  Episode 2 opens with a student basketball game for a state championship.  It’s a flashback and Tom True’s daughter is on the cheerleading team.  She experiences a nasty fall and her father watches on in complete horror.  

     Then it then turns into a trippy-feeling scene with George Zax on stage in an imagined Broadway show.  He’s on the piano singing about a fallen princess who is in pain and he offers his assistance to help her.  His way of helping is by giving her opioids.  He calls himself “The Painkiller.”  If that is not a direct aim at big pharma companies, I do not know what is??  It is filmed like a commercial ad.  48 min.

5* (I really like this series)

Note:  TV Fanatic 4.5 out of 5 with 4 1/2 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 100% critic with 5 ratings 80% audience score of 60,  https://decider.com/2021/0924/goliath-season-4-amazon-review/,stream 69.6%, skip it 10.1%, results 20.3% out of 227 votes, readysteadycut.com 4* out of 5*, Metacritic 7* with 5 ratings.

Created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, executive producer Lawrence Trilling, Geyer Kosinski, Jennifer Ames, Steve Turner. 

Mr. Mercedes TV series episode two 2017: On Your Mark

     Detective Bill Hodges continues his pursuit after the maniac who killed 16 people with a stolen gray Mercedes.  This episode opens with a paranoid, drunk Hodges watching another video delivered to him through email from the mysteries murderer.  

     This video is of the little baby Patti and her mother.  They were ruthlessly killed in at the City Center Job Fair.  In this video, the happy mom and baby are celebrating Patti’s first month of life.  Her grandmother has captured the memory.  This video was manipulated like the first one, making the mother and baby appear distorted, bloody and also scary.  Only for mature audiences.  5* (I really liked this series)

53 min, crime directed by Jack Bender, written by Stephen King, David E. Kelley, Sophie Owens-Bender with Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway, Kelly Lynch, Jharrell Jerome, Scott Lawrence, Robert Stanton, Breeda Wool, Mary-Louise Parker, Holland Taylor, Ann Cusack, Laura Dooling.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10 with 889 ratings, tvfanatic editor 4.5 out of 5, user rating 5 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes 83% with 29 critic ratings 90% with 637 user ratings, Amazon 4 1/2* out of 353 reviews.   

Goliath Season 4 2021 Episode 1 title Hadleyville aired 9/24/2021

     Recovering from a world-shattering injury?  Billy reunites with Patty at a prestigious law firm in San Francisco in order to take down the opioid industry.  In the first episode of this season it is alluded to that Billy has had an injury but it is not explained fully.  He is still drinking, chain smoking and looks the same!!!

     Billy McBride and Patty Solis-Papagian are working for a different law firm in this season.  Patty feels like she has to keep tabs and remind Billy of everything!!  Even things like look sharp and arrive on time!!  I liked that this season is filmed in San Francisco and it is nice to see the sights of this city.  It is pouring rain in the beginning.  5* (I really like this new season)

29 min with Billy Bob Thornton, Nina Arianda, Tania Raymonde, Diana Hopper, Julie Brister, Bruce Dern, Brandon Scott, Jena Malone J.K. Simmons.

Created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, executive producer Lawrence Trilling, Geyer Kosinski, Jennifer Ames, Steve Turner.

Note:  Rotten Tomatoes 100% critic with 5 ratings 80% and an audience score of 60, https://decider.com/2021/09/24/goliath-season-4-amazon-review/, stream 69.6%, skip it 10.1%, results 20.3% out of 227 votes, readysteadycut.com 4* out of 5*, Metacritic 7* with 5 ratings, TV Fanatic 4.5 out of 5 with 4 1/2 reviews.

Special Note:  You don’t need to have watched previous seasons to pick right up on this season.

Two Lovers 2008

      This film is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1848 short story titled White Nights.  Leonard Kraditor is a burned-out case as a person!!  He is living with his immigrant parents after his fiancée left him.  He is helping out at their Brooklyn dry cleaners, taking photographs, at loose ends and he is suicidal.  In quick succession, he meets two women!!  

     Sandra is the daughter of his parents' business associates.  She is frank, direct, sensual and Jewish like Leonard.  He also connects with his neighbor Michelle.  She is mercurial, rootless, fun, blond and unattainable.  Michelle is in love with a married man and she cries on Leonard's shoulder.  Sandra wants to save him.  Is Leonard willing to risk losing Sandra's fidelity for the moments of Michelle's mood swings toward him?  Can this end well?

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10 with 39K reviews, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, Rotten Tomatoes 82% with 168 critic reviews 59% with 50,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 74 with 33 critic reviews 8.6 with 102 user ratings, RollingStone Magazine 3* out of 4* Peter Travers.

Mistake:  After Leonard drops his suitcase out the window, it isn't there when he goes downstairs to meet up with Michelle.

Special Note:  Featured in Maltin on Movies: Awards Special 2013. 

110 min, Drama, directed and written by James Gray and also written by Ric Menelloo with Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Anne Joyce, Eliot Villar, Craig Walker, Carmen M. Herlihy, Donald John Hewitt, Christian Albrizo, Isabella Rosselini, Moni Moshnov, Julie Budd.

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10 with 39K reviews, Letterboxd 3.7 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes 82%, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, Wikipedia 82% based on 167 reviews, Metacritic 74% with 33 votes, Eye for Film 4* out of 5*, Amazon 2060 reviews. 

North Country 2006

       This film is a fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States.  It is titled Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines.  It is about a woman who endured a range of abuse while working in a job as a miner.  Mines filed and won a landmark 1984 lawsuit.  It is based on a book written by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy.

      In 1989, Josey Aimes takes her two children, Sammy and Karen with her.  She leaves her abusive husband Wayne and she is to returning to her northern Minnesota home town.  She has a chance meeting with her old friend Glory Dodge.  He works as a driver and union rep at the mine operated by Pearson Taconite and Steel.  Josey decides to also work at the mine.  This type of work is dominated by men in number and in tone.  She wants to be able to stand on her own two feet for the first time in her life.  She probably could not do this if she remained in a job washing hair at a beauty salon.  Plus, she needs to make a higher wage.  

     Working at the mine does not sit well with her father, Hank Aimes.  He also works at the mine and like the other male workers, he believes she is taking a job away from a man.  Hank has also believed that all Josey's problems are of her own doing!!  It is because she was unmarried and she had Sammy while she was still in high school.  Josey has always stated that she does not know who Sammy's biological father is?  Sammy also has Hank's attitude about his mother.  This film is only for adult audiences.  5* (I liked this movie)

126 min, Drama with Charlize Theron, Jeremy Renner, Frances McDormand, Thomas Curtis, Elle Peterson, Sean Bean, Woody Harrelson, Richard Jenkins,Sissy Spacek, James Cada, Rusty Schwimmer, directed by Niki Caro, written by Michael Seitzman, 

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10 with 41k reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 69% with 175 critic reviews 76% with 50,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 4*, Common Sense Media age 16+, 3* out of 5*, 3* drinking, drugs, smoking and sex, 4* violence and language.    

The Lookout 2007

     An admired high school hockey player with a bright future foolishly takes a drive in the night with his girlfriend and two other friends.  He doesn’t have his headlights on and devastating results ensue.  The former athlete is left with a brain injury.  It prevents him from remembering many things for extended periods of time.  To compensate, he keeps notes in a small notebook to aid him in remembering what he is to do.  He also lives with a blind friend who helps him.  Unfortunately, with his mental incapacitation, he is unable to find meaningful work.  

     He does find work as a night cleaning man in a bank.  He comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank.  The leader makes friends with him and gets him involved with a young woman who further ensnares him.  After they get close then there is reeling him in because of his mind not working.  The bank plan begins to unfold.  He is confused but he wants to escape his current existence.  He initially goes along with the scheme.  After finally realizing he is being used, he attempts to stop the robbery.  Of course everything immediately goes bad!!  5* (I liked this movie)

99 min, crime directed and written by Scott Frank with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Mathew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino, Bruce McGill, Alberta Watson, Alex Borstein, Sergio Di Zio, David Huband, Laura Vandervoort, Greg Dunham, Morgan Kelly, Aaron Berg, Tinsel Korey, Suzanne Kelly Brian Edward Roach, Martin Roach.

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10 with 58K reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 87% with 169 critic reviews 74% with 50,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 73 with 33 critic reviews, 8.7 with 163 user scores.     

Serious Moonlight 2009

      This movie is based on a novel by Jean Bennet.  Ian (Timothy Hutton) wants to have a day with his mistress Sara (Kristen Bell)?  His high-powered lawyer wife Louise (Meg Ryan) surprises him by showing up a day early.  He is packing to leave her when she takes him prisoner.  She vows to win him over.  She lies to Sara about their impending separation and sends her away.  While Louise is out, Ian gets the attention of lawnmower Todd (Justin Long).  Instead of helping, Todd starts robbing the home.

     Adrienne Shelly has written a quirky story.  It doesn't have enough comedy and directing novice Cheryl Hines is unable to inject any.  Ryan and Hutton are angry but the comedy falls flat.  The quirky tone is not funny until the last act when Hutton, Ryan and Bell are locked in the bathroom.  It's a little late although it's better to end on a good note.  The movie needs to have set that tone from the start.  There are tough topics such as loss, grief, self-harm and disability.  The main characters are 18 and 19 plus they have medical conditions.

84 min, drama directed by Cheryl Hines, produced by Andy Ostroy and Michael Roiff, written by Adrienne Shelly with Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, Justin Long, Derek Carter, Bill Parks.

Note:  Rotten Tomatoes 221% with 37 critic reviews 25% with 2,500+ audience scores, Metacritic 36 with 16 critic ratings 5.1 with 10 user scores, Slant Magazine 2.5* out of 4*, Common Sense Media, 4* out of 5* age 14+, 1* consumerism, 2* educational value, drinking, drugs, smoking and violence, 3* positive messages, sex, language 4* positive role models.

Special Note:  Police arrested Diego Pillco, a 19-year-old construction worker.  He confessed to killing Shelly and trying to make it look as if she had committed suicide.  This event happened on November 1, 2006 and she was 40 years old.  Her residence had been in West Village, Manhattan, New York.

All Good Things 2010

     This film is both a love story and murder mystery.  It is based on the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history.  This original screenplay uses newly discovered facts, court records and speculation as the foundation for a story of family, obsession, love and loss. 

     The story involves David Marks.  He is son of a New York family that owns valuable 42nd Street real estate in the 1970s. The property at that time was rented to strip clubs, porno shops, massage parlors and so on. The family, wealthy and private, moved in the best circles and the nature of their holdings was not widely known.  Essentially, the family is making money from unsavory enterprises and their goal is to hide their shady dealings!!  They were still highly regarded because the type of people they rented to was unknown. 

     David Marks marries Katie McCarthy and she was a working-class student.  They move to Vermont to enjoy country life and they set up a health food store called All Good Things.  They return to New York after David is lured back by his powerful father Sanford Marks.  He tells David he is not giving Katie the lifestyle that she deserves?  5* (I really liked this movie)

     

Note:  Imdb 6.3* out of 10* with 355 reviews, popularity 1,700, Roger Ebert  3 1/2*, Rotten Tomatoes 35% with 98 reviews 37% audience with 25,000+ reviews, Metacritic 57 with 27 critic reviews 7.7 with 104 user scores, RollingStone Magazine 3* out of 4* Peter Travers.

     

101 min, Crime directed by Andrew Jarecki, written by Marcus Hinchey and Marc Smerling with Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Lily Rabe, Philip Baker Hall, Michael Esper, Diane Venora, Nick Offerman, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Kunken, John Cullum, Maggie Kiley, Liz Stauber.

Special Note:  Ryan Gosling felt so bad about a scene that he had to pull Kirsten Dunst’s hair that he sent her flowers the day after!!  Andrew Jarecki said that he wanted to make a movie that real-life counterpart Robert Durst could watch and have an emotional reaction to.  Upon seeing the movie, Durst contacted Jarecki and he wanted to give his view of the events as depicted.  The interviews with the normally reclusive Durst provided the basis for the documentary miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015).  The film gained widespread attention for contributing to Durst's arrest in relation to the murder of Susan Berman (shown as Deborah Lehrman in this fictionalized film. 

Goliath Season 3 Episode 2 Happiness from the Ground Up

      Billy was wandering around outside his hotel and he started to head toward some bright lights and people drilling.  Billy didn’t realize that he saw Wade’s sister’s drilling site and it is on federal land?  Roy is starting to get nervous because he knows Diana still needs to move that water through his land to get it out.  If they are caught, it is a federal crime to drill on federal land!!  Wade reminds Roy that this is going to make them all rich.  Roy believes his sister’s ambition is going to be the cause of their downfall!!  

     Billy leans that there’s no real claim on water like there is on land.  If a farmer can drill down to it and get it, they say it’s theirs.  He learns that there is more water used by the corporate farmers than the entire city of Los Angeles!!  Billy and Patty need to come up with something other than the wrongful death suit pertaining to the death of his friend’s wife??  5* (I really liked this series)
     

Note:   Readysteadycut.com 4* out of 5*, Imdb 7.5* out of 10* with 552 reviews, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 1294 reviews.