Female Film Critics 24/375
Some rare directors and writers risk alienating audiences by populating their stories with unlikable characters, principals to supporting participants. The only entertainment, so to speak, may be watching the deeply flawed individuals get their comeuppance, enjoyment derived from their fall. A case can be made that this applies to the Netflix miniseries A Man in Full.
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Just like the collapse of that corroded bridge in Pittsburgh, the cancellation of American Rust – filmed in and around that same city – demonstrates the ruination or what can happen when a crime drama isn’t properly developed or cared for, making it of little use to anyone. Developed by showrunner Dan Futterman, the TV series is set in a small, fictional Pennsylvania town where the chief of police becomes involved in the murder investigation of a corrupt ex-cop.
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PBS brings Hemingway to the small screen beginning on April 5, told in three episode series. Award-winning filmmakers Lynn Novick and Ken Burns’ latest documentary series features one of America’s most famous authors, Ernest Hemingway. The film spans the author’s lifetime, from Hemingway’s early days as a boy discovering the natural world with his father, to his early journalism career before becoming America’s most famous, modern 20th century author.
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Deciding to adapt former FBI director James Comey’s 2018 memoir A Higher Loyalty for Showtime’s series The Comey Rule, writer/director Billy Ray faced a daunting task. He needed to present extensively reported well-known recent events accurately and dramatically, while also adding insightful information. Ray meets this challenge by finding the heart of the story not in added details but in the conflict of an ethical individual handling political dynamite.
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As FBI Director, James Comey was placed in an untenable position during the final days of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign against Donald Trump, as he struggled to be an apolitical public servant in today’s America. Adapted and directed by Billy Ray, this two-part mini-series is based on Comey’s memoir A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, with Jeff Daniels playing Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Donald Trump, interspersed with actual TV news reports.
Read moreFor an actor who describes himself as “under the A list,” Jeff Daniels has been this summer’s hot ticket actor.
Read moreRiffing on Neale Donald Walsch’s best-seller, “Conversations With God,” John Hindman has concocted an earnest, not-quite-satire of New Age wisdom
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