The Perfect Couple: The Perfect Series

So, the family and I spend a lot of time on Cape Cod, and have been loving it for decades.  The Perfect Couple takes place in nearby Nantucket, and the shots of the water and the sand and those wind-blown weathered wooden fences look so much like those on the Cape I felt like I was back there again, and it was still the summer.  Hey, for all I know, those scenes were shot on the Cape.  How could I not love this series?

And the lead actors, Nicole Kidman as Greer and Liev Schreiber as her husband Tag, top-notch any time, were especially outstanding in this scenic murder mystery adapted from Elin Hilderbrand's novel (which I haven't read), so well plotted, with so many nearly convincing suspects, that this novel could have been written by Agatha Christie.

The supporting actors, most of who I haven't seen on the screen before, were excellent as well.  Here are some of my favorite scenes and characters:

[And there may be spoilers ahead ...]

• Eve Hewson as Amelia Sacks, half of the imperfect couple, was perfectly convincing in her combination of almost sultry and deeply vulnerable.
• Schreiber as Tag, when he tells Merritt (pregnant with his baby) that having a baby is the most beautiful thing a man and woman can do, as prelude to his telling her he doesn't want her to have it, is a truly memorable scene of repulsive personal betrayal.  Schreiber as Tag is also noteworthy when he bursts in and deconstructs Greer's book launch.  (Greer being an author is something else I identified with -- here's a video of my most recent event. Note a bit of the tribulations at the end of the introduction.)
• I also got a kick out of Donna Lynne Champlin's gruff, Rosie O'Donnell kind of police detective, and her interaction with Michael Beach (whom I have seen a lot of over the years) as her de facto partner in the murder investigation was a fine piece of police repartee.
• Ishaan Khatter as Shooter Dival was the most tempting of the false leads (he wasn't the shooter and indeed the murder victim wasn't shot), and his relationship with Amelia gave rise to one of the best lines in the series, "the girl on the B train," which come to think of it would make a good title for any novel, short story, movie, or TV series (Irwin Shaw certainly would've liked it).
  
• Back to Dan Carter, my favorite relationship in the series -- maybe the closest to the perfect couple -- was Carter's daughter Chloe (not Zoey!) and her shared feelings with Will, the youngest Winbury. After she's told by her father to stay away from Will -- Dan's understandably worried that the Winbury family is connected to the murder -- she leaves Will a note on a napkin, "you're cute". Hey, a little sweetness goes a long way in a story like this. (Will is also key to figuring out who the killer is, but I'm not going to drop any more spoilers.)

Anyway, I defy anyone who hasn't read the book to identify the killer before the ending, and I highly recommend this Netflix short series, especially if you've just returned from Cape Cod to the big city and its B train.

Harris vs. Trump Presidential Debate: Eating Dogs and Viktor Orban

I don't recall ever seeing a Presidential debate like this, Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump: a cool, passionate, articulate champion of democratic values and principles vs. well, a lunatic and fascist admirer.

One of Trump's lies which struck me most -- lies are too weak a word for it -- was Trump's claim that immigrants are eating dogs.  One of the moderators, David Muir, quietly pointed out that the City Manager of one of the allegedly afflicted places said that dogs were not being eaten in his town.  Among the plethora of Trump's lies, this one strikes me as one of the most indicative of Trump's mental maladjustment.  It's far less serious, of course, than Trump's continuing charge that governors in Democratic states allow killing of newborn babies -- denounced as a lie by both Harris and the other moderator, Linsey Davis.  That's an egregious lie about a crucial issue.  But the claim about immigrants and dogs is somehow vivid evidence that the former President is not in his right mind.

As for his politics,what I found most significant and disturbing was Trump's citing the pride he takes in Viktor Orban's praise of him.  A fascist, neo-Nazi, who has systematically put down and tried to pull down the press and democratic structures in his country, Hungary.  I couldn't help thinking that if Hitler was alive, and said anything good about Trump. the former President would have cited him as an admiring ally too.

Kamala Harris aptly pointed out that the most important thing in Trump's book and psyche is flattery from others.  Everything she said in the debate was astute and on target.  In fact, I can't think of a single off-key thing she said.  Sure, that's because I agree with everything she said, but I still think her performance was objectively excellent.  That includes her facial reactions to Trump's lies and absurdities, which we've known since the 1960 JFK/Nixon debates are at least as important as what the candidates actually say.

As for the moderators, better than CNN's in the Biden-Trump debate in June, but that's faint praise. They did quietly point out a few of Trump's lies, but maybe I'm old fashioned thinking that they should have called out every single one of them.  Loudly and clearly.

Big good news arrived shortly after the debate in Taylor Swift's ringing endorsement of Harris for President.  I'm pulling for a landslide.

Paul Levinson interviews Dan Abella about The New York Science Fiction Film Festival

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 394, in which I interview Dan Abella about The New York Science Fiction Film Festival, to take place Saturday, September 14, 2024 at the Stuart Cinema and Cafe, 79 West Street in Brooklyn, NY.

• more details here
• my review of Gerrit Van Woudenberg's Quantum Suicide

Among the science fiction filmmakers we discuss: Gerrit Van Woudenberg, Jay Kensinger, Frank Spotnitz, M. Night Shyamalan, Francis Ford Coppola

Among the science fiction authors we discuss: Philip K. Dick, Sam Delany, Robert Harris, Walter Mosley

 

Check out this episode!

Poster for Quantum Suicide

 

                                 read the review here

Slow Horses 4.1: River

Well, Slow Horses is back on Apple TV+ with the debut episode of its 4th season, and

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

In the riveting opening and subsequent scenes it sure looks like River was shot to death by his (probably) somewhat deranged grandfather, but I didn't really believe that, because it's too crazy a way to die, even for Slow Horses, and in the end we learn Lamb didn't buy it either, and in fact River's in France, on some mission likely connected to the terrorists Taverner and the MI5 crew are dealing with (ineptly, because this is after all just the beginning of a new season).

But there were clues before the big French reveal, most notably that the body said to be River's had its face shot off, which made it difficult to identify as River's, on the basis of just eyesight.  This probably tipped off Lamb from the beginning.  He's in good form, by the way, not only farting, but scratching his ass (not at the same time).  At least it was outside this time, not in a car with the doors closed.

The team, other than Ho, are more or less devastated, especially Louisa, who in one unfortunate scene not only rebuffed River's possible advance, but suggested he visit grandpa.  Standish is not devastated at all, because, as we learn near the end, she knows River has not been shot, and Grandpa David is taking a nap in her bed.   Have we ever actually seen her and Lamb in bed together and awake?  I can't recall, but I think not, and I hope that will happen sooner or later in some future episode or season.

Kudos again, by the way, for Mick Jagger's excellent theme song at the beginning, but I didn't hear it again at the end, as we have in prior seasons, and that's s shame, because I'm always eager to hear that song, even in the middle of an episode.

But off to great start, and I'll be back with weekly reviews.

See also Slow Horses 3.1-3.2: Beatles Level ... 3.3: The Meaningful Difference Between "The" and "A" in the UK ... 3.4: "Clear the Board" ... 3.5: Winners and Losers, Part 1 ... 3.6: Winners and Losers, Part 2

And see also Slow Horses 2.1-2.2: Do Horses Eat Ramen? ... 2.3: Faster Than You Think ... 2.4-2.5: Lamb Firing On All Cylinders ... Slow Horses 2.6: Heralds of Humiliation

And see also Slow Horses 1.1-2: Fast-Moving Spy Thriller ... Slow Horses 1.3: The Fine Art of Bumbling ... Slow Horses 1.4: Fine New Song by Mick Jagger ... Slow Horses 1.5: Did You Hear the One About the ... Slow Horses 1.6: The Scorecard

  

Fair Play: Fairly Good

I watched Fair Play -- a 2023 movie on Netflix last night -- because, well I've been a fan of Rich Sommer since he played Harry Crane on Mad Men (and he looked then like a young Isaac Asimov), [see

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Isaac Asimov (1965) and Harry Crane aka Rich Sommer (1960)

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and Eddie Marsan has been one of my favorites since he played Ray Donovan's older brother on Ray Donovan, the Showtime series that ended too soon.

Also, I'm always willing to give an erotic thriller a chance.

And the two -- Marsan and Sommer -- play a mean, soulless chief (Campbell) and assistant (Paul) of a hedge fund from hell, though for all I know, that's what all or at least most hedge fund offices are like.

But that's not really what Fair Play is about.  It's about a couple, Emily and Luke, who love sex and get engaged, right before Emily gets promoted to the job Luke was yearning for.  The promotion devastates their relationship to the point where Luke is unable to perform in bed, despite Emily's inducements.  I actually had a slightly difficult time believing this because, well, Phoebe Dynevor as Emily is an excellent, convincing actress.  But tensions between the two escalate. Luke continues to not have the good sense to find another job (another somewhat unbelievable lack of development, since Luke, well played by Alden Ehrenreich, otherwise seems pretty smart), and in the end, verbal attacks and lack of sex escalate into ... well, I don't want to give too much of the ending away.

All in all, I think Fair Play is worth seeing.  But a little more subtlety would have helped the story.  It's ok for Emily's mother to be a caricature, but I would've liked to have seen a little more depth in the other characters, beginning with Campbell and Paul.