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Grace of Monaco (2014)
Ridiculously Patronizing Look at One Pivotal Moment in Grace's Life
It has taken me a decade to gather enough forbearance to watch this notoriously panned 2014 biopic despite my interest in the nostalgic subject matter. Much of the blame for this disaster was placed on the contentious battle between director Olivier Dahan and pre-conviction Harvey Weinstein over the final cut. Regardless the result doesn't do any favors to Princess Grace, Prince Rainier, or the people of Monaco then or now. Arash Amel's superficial screenplay focuses primarily on a 1962 stand-off between Rainier and Charles de Gaulle over Monaco's tax haven status and the economic fallout on France. We're led to understand Monaco's independence was at stake at the same time Grace was considering a Hollywood comeback reuniting with Alfred Hitchcock on 1964's "Marnie". Much like Nicole Kidman's more recent biopic, "Being the Ricardos", historical facts are manipulated to fit the convenient throughput of the storyline. However, the biggest grievance against this film is the deadly dull and contrived approach Dahan and Amel take in telling a story that feels relentlessly patronizing without revealing much of anything beyond standard tropes about Grace or Rainier. Looking regal enough to convey a handful of compelling moments, Kidman is left stranded in some of the film's most ridiculous scenes like her prescient wild-eyed hillside drive and the puerile speech she delivers at the end. Tim Roth uses chain smoking as Rainier's defining character trait and offers little else to illuminate his often extreme actions. The film also wastes Parker Posey and Frank Langella in pure paycheck roles. It's not the worst biopic ever made, but it's 103 minutes you won't get back.
The Fall Guy (2024)
Exhausting Action Comedy Celebrates the Old School Hollywood Stuntman
Director David Leitch and screenwriter Drew Pearce have made an overloaded tribute to the classic Hollywood stuntman with this rambunctious albeit overly complicated 2024 romantic action comedy. While it's based on the more traditional 1980's Lee Majors TV series, the film appears more inspired by 1930's screwball comedies and pre-CGI blockbusters that starred real action movie stars. It's a good thing Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt star as Colt Seavers, a stuntman recovering from an on-set mishap and Jody Moreno, his former girlfriend who is now directing a major studio extraterrestrial battle feature. In their rather far-fetched roles, they have charisma to spare, though the story goes through so many twists and turns that it becomes exhausting to track, especially as the film's star (played with smug hubris by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) gets involved in a sinister conspiracy. A top-notch supporting cast is on board including Hannah Waddingham as a horrifically Machiavellian producer, Winston Duke as a no-nonsense stunt coordinator (underused), and Stephanie Hsu as a sharp assistant (also underused). The longish movie certainly packs plenty of death-defying stunts, but overkill creeps in eventually.
Wicked Little Letters (2023)
Dark Period Mystery Comedy Given Zest by Colman and Buckley
A far cry from their previous co-starring venture, 2021's melodramatic "The Lost Daughter", Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley show their considerable comic chops in this deceptively daft 2023 mystery comedy directed by Thea Sharrock. The premise is that the prudish villagers of Littlehampton start receiving a series of anonymous profane letters. The chief suspect is Rose Gooding, a foul-mouthed Irish migrant who is at constant odds with her conservative neighbors, chief among them the staunchly religious spinster Edith Swan. Buckley shows unbridled swagger as Rose, while Colman shares her characteristic elan in conveying the duality in Edith's character. It's lighthearted entertainment given finesse by an expert British cast.
We Grown Now (2023)
Deeply Affecting Coming-of-Age Tale Set in Chicago's Devastated Cabrini Green
Writer-director Minhal Baig has made this unexpectedly lyrical, heartfelt 2023 film set against a real-life tragedy that occurred in Chicago's ravaged Cabrini Green housing projects in 1992, the killing of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis amid rising gang violence and brutality from the Chicago police. Focusing her story on two ten-year-olds, best friends who depend on each other for survival, Baig draws out deeply affecting work from Gian Knight Ramirez as Eric and especially wide-eyed Blake Cameron James as Malik. It's their coming-of-age story that makes the surrounding plotlines and performances resonate. Jurnee Smollett plays Malik's hardworking mother with assurance even as her character sometimes comes across as a stereotypical trope. As the wise grandmother who brought them to Cabrini Green when it held more promise, S. Epatha Merkerson makes remarkable her few scenes. I only wish Eric's backstory was given as much depth as Malik's, though the inevitable upheaval the boys face still packs an emotional wallop.
Hypnosen (2023)
Satire Focused on a Disaffected Modern Relationship That Takes a Nasty Turn
The 2023 directorial debut of Swedish filmmaker Ernst De Geer was an intriguing albeit not altogether successful satire about modern millennial relationships. The plot focuses on André and Vera, a young professional couple who have developed a woman's health app they have been invited to present at an elite startup conference. Just prior to their presentation, Vera sees a hypnotherapist to help her quit smoking, but something deeper unexpectedly affects her attitude and behavior. Much of the story revolves around Andre's increasingly desperate responses to Vera's wildly unpredictable actions, which start as comically inappropriate and become more and more bizarre. The film falls short on what direction De Geer decides to take the story as he doesn't fulfill either the dark comedy potential or the more tragic implications of the characters' choices. Asta Kamma August and Herbert Nordrum are stoically effective as Vera and André, though I wish they were directed to play their roles with more comic panache.
Opening Night (1977)
Rowlands' Raw, Edgy Turn Elevates an Intense Drama About the Theatre
Gena Rowlands' passing earlier this week led me back to one of her strongest roles under her late husband John Cassavetes' direction. This alternately powerful and turgid 1977 melodrama was his favorite, and Rowlands delivered an audaciously compelling performance as Myrtle Gordon, a famous actress struggling to prepare for a Broadway opening playing a woman ironically struggling with middle age. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Myrtle is plagued by waves of doubt fueled by alcoholism, insecurity about getting older, and the traumatic death of a stage door fan who continually haunts her. A cast of familiar veterans surround Myrtle with conviction, including Cassavetes as her surly co-star and former lover, Ben Gazzara as her Machiavellian director, and Joan Blondell in a vibrant, career-ending turn as the put-upon playwright. However, they're all overshadowed by Rowlands' intense risk-taking, hell-raising turn.
Bôifurendo (2024)
Addictive Reality Series Addresses the Cultural Significance of Gay Relationships and Rights
Gay rights in Japan are several years behind the West, which makes this addictive 2024 reality series more intriguing than its surface concept implies. Nine handsome Asian (primarily Japanese) men in their 20's-30's are chosen to share a sleek beachside house in Tateyama, given the assignment of running a coffee truck, and provided a daily budget of ¥6,000. It's no surprise complications ensue, but the fact that same-sex marriage hasn't been legalized adds a layer of culturally specific tentativeness to the interactions of the participants. The ten-episode arc allows for personalities to bloom at a leisurely pace, and naturally both romance and tension intertwine in often arresting ways. It's like a gay "Terrace House" with the same Greek chorus of gossipy (albeit relatable) commentators as the previous Netflix hit series.
Faye (2024)
Dunaway Dearest? No But Can You Get Out of Her Eyeline?
Faye Dunaway is a true movie star. I thought that when she exploded onscreen in "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967, and still think that now 57 years later at age 83. Director Laurent Bouzereau covers both ends of her career spectrum and makes a valid attempt to uncover Dunaway's austere persona and explore the person underneath in this 2024 documentary. The problem though is that he doesn't do enough to counterbalance the personal revelations with her impressive career accomplishments, at least in ways that help us understand how she achieved such legendary work beyond a generalized level of commitment. For instance, it would've been good to hear Dunaway's side of Bette Davis' vitriolic comment about her on The Tonight Show rather than showing it as evidence of her difficult reputation. Instead we get clips that illustrate anecdotes about the filming process behind a classic like "Chinatown" (my favorite of her performances): a stray hair plucked by director Roman Polanski, the classic revelation scene with costar Jack Nicholson. The contrasting remembrances of her castmates on "Mommie Dearest" best illustrate the extreme opinions on Dunaway's uncompromising approach to character. The personal revelations are plentiful though sometimes cursory: her bipolar disorder and alcoholism (which explains several infamous episodes), the secrecy of her son Liam's adoption, various high-profile relationships with the likes of Marcello Mastroianni. Her cosmetic surgeries are unsurprisingly not mentioned, but the changes in her appearance are hard to ignore. Bouzereau illustrates that Dunaway was overdue for a bio documentary. I think an extra half-hour focused on her work beyond the film's ninety-minute running time would've improved it substantially.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Murphy Saves a Nostalgic and Mostly Middling 40 Years Later Sequel
Unless an impressive mix of AI and CGI had been liberally applied to this longish 2024 sequel, there was little chance that the energy level of the original "Beverly Hills Cop" could be faithfully recaptured. At the same time, this intentionally nostalgic, fully formulaic action comedy directed by Mike Molloy was more middling than mediocre thanks mostly to Eddie Murphy's dependable comic sensibilities as Axel Foley, a role so interchangeable with his screen persona that it looks like he really didn't put in that much effort. It's been forty years since Murphy's first outing, and Axel has yet another reason to leave his hometown of Detroit for Beverly Hills. This time it's the danger that his estranged daughter, an embattled and embittered public defender, faces in exposing a conspiracy that turns out to be driven within the Beverly Hills police department. Old characters come back with their familiar personalities intact while looking understandably older. New characters embrace the plot conventions with deadpan aplomb. There was one funny real estate scene in a mansion, and the inevitable climax was more engaging than I expected. The supporting cast was mostly game, but this one was definitely for Murphy's more devoted fans.
Remembering Gene Wilder (2023)
A Celebration of Wilder That's Only Sporadically Revealing
If you're looking for a celebration of Gene Wilder's life and career, as well as confirmation of his legacy as a beloved performer, this quickly paced 2023 documentary from director Ron Frank and writer Glenn Kirschbaum will probably suit your needs just fine. All his most famous work and personal details are covered - the fabled collaborations with Mel Brooks, his later commercial successes with Richard Pryor, his brief and tragic marriage to Gilda Radner - as well as none-too-revealing snippets of interviews with colleagues and friends like Brooks. There's even voiceover narration from Wilder himself from his audiobook of his 2005 memoirs. Still, the film felt lacking in providing what particularly drove his creativity and ambition and how he handled professional failures after he peaked with "Young Frankenstein". Other than "The Producers", little was shared of his more obscure films, his first two marriages, and his estranged daughter. His final years, however, were covered respectfully with his happy fourth marriage to hearing specialist Karen Boyer and his 2016 death from Alzheimer's. This film felt more like a conventional tribute than a revealing life journey.
On the Count of Three (2021)
Carmichael's Directorial Debut Shows Assurance in a Very Dark Comedy
Before coming out on his 2022 stand-up special "Rothaniel", Jerrod Carmichael starred and made his directorial debut with this extremely dark 2021 comedy about a suicide pact between two best friends, Val and Kevin. While the concept sounds like the basis of a tearjerker, the screenplay by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch takes a more cynical, 'bros'-style approach in covering the last day they plan to live. The knowledge of their imminent demise informs the increasingly desperate actions taken by both men. Carmichael interjects his brand of dry humor as he affectingly portrays Val as the one with second thoughts about the pact. There were abrupt moments that I found challenging to watch, but Carmichael's surprisingly assured direction keeps the story on course. As Kevin, Christopher Abbott gives a showier performance but mostly keeps it under control to complement Carmichael's more rueful style and make their friendship come across as believable. Tiffany Haddish and Henry Winkler provide effective cameos in brief roles pivotal to the plot. Now that he has his brave reality series under his belt, it will be interesting to see what Carmichael's sophomore effort will be as a director.
Don't Look Now (1973)
Sutherland's Legacy Assured in Roeg's Classic Thriller About Loss and Bereavement
Donald Sutherland's passing earlier today reminded me that Nicolas Roeg's classic cult 1973 psychological thriller was recently made available to view on the Criterion Channel. He and the eternally luminous Julie Christie play John and Laura, a married couple in England whose lives are shattered by the accidental drowning of their young daughter Christine. They later go to Venice where John has been commissioned to restore an ancient church. They meet two sisters, one of whom is a blind clairvoyant who claims to have spoken with Christine. This leads to a series of mysterious occurrences, some of which might be premonitions about their future. For years, the film was most famous for the graphic sex scene between Sutherland and Christie early in the film. It's still pretty shocking, but believe it or not, quite integral to the plot. The story takes many Hitchcockian turns until the very end, including a shocking scene involving a random beam and a precarious scaffold. Both stars are excellent given how close to the vest they have to play their characters. It's a fine reminder of how versatile Sutherland was in his prime.
Brats (2024)
Know Thyself To Be a Brat
I'm of the same generation as the members of the Brat Pack, but I have to admit my takeaway from Andrew McCarthy's 2024 documentary was mostly indifference. The film amounts to the actor's personal odyssey in examining the impact of the media's Brat Pack designation back in 1985 on him and his close-knit colleagues, almost all of them in their early 20's. Nearly four decades later, McCarthy, now 61, uses a first-person narrative to track down his fellow Brat Packers as well as Brat Pack-adjacent actors like Lea Thompson and Timothy Hutton and even David Blum, the magazine journalist who wrote the puff piece that introduced the term. Despite his genuine efforts toward personal revelation, McCarthy often comes across as self-entitled and obsessed with the "brat" moniker all these years later. His fellow sixtyish Brat Packers appear downright sanguine compared to him (Ally Sheedy, a poker-faced Emilio Estevez, a chill Rob Lowe, and a post-therapy Demi Moore), and Blum is understandably unapologetic about his role in hurting the feelings of a group of celebrities who are clearly not hurting financially.
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (2022)
Bracingly Honest Confessional Redefines Standup
I seem to be discovering Jerrod Carmichael backwards because I had already seen all eight episodes of his 2024 reality series, aptly named the "Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show" before I finally saw this 2022 special. I already knew he had a confessional sit-down comedy style from the series but was unaware that he came out on this special. Like the series, the special was deeply personal and bracingly honest. At first, his comments were more observational and acerbically funny as he talked about things like all the illegitimate children sired by his father and grandfather. The special shifts tone but not so much when he comes out but when he shares how he is grappling with how his relationships have been evolving afterward, most poignantly with his deeply religious mother. It became less about getting laughs and more about human sharing and a sincere search for empathy. It was a bold move and one Carmichael pulled off very well.
Plan 75 (2022)
Intriguing But Relentlessly Somber Film Tackles Japan's Aging Problem
By a large margin, Japan is the nation with the oldest population in the world, which has dire economic consequences in the future. Director/screenwriter Chie Hayakawa drew on this burgeoning reality and fashioned this quietly provocative 2022 character drama based on the dystopian idea of Plan 75, a government program that gives people 75 or older the option of euthanized suicide. It's a macabre (though not far-fetched) concept that Hayakawa cleverly turns into a subtle thriller based on the power of mass suggestion. The main protagonist is Michi, a lonely 78-year-old hotel cleaner who suddenly loses her job and her home, making her a prime candidate for the program. There are other key characters - a young, conflicted Plan 75 employee and a Filipina service worker who helps dispose the remains - but the focus is primarily on Michi played affectingly by Chieko Baisho. To its detriment, the film has a relentlessly somber tone. It could've benefited from a few scares or even laughs. There were just too many lengthy silent shots of Michi contemplating her fateful decision.
Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened... (2016)
A Famous Sondheim Fiasco Revisited & Revitalized
Having just recently been thrilled by the successful Broadway revival of "Merrily We Roll Along", I wanted to revisit this 2016 documentary which chronicled the original 1981 production, a legendary fiasco now revered by Stephen Sondheim aficionados. Directed by Lonny Price, one of the original three leads and now one of the leading Broadway directors, the film went into fascinating specifics about the embattled mounting of the show, including the auditions of the youthful cast. It lasted only 16 performances, and the heartbreak of its closure was followed in this film by what happened to each of the cast members and how they looked back on their involvement. Needless to say, Sondheim and Hal Prince recovered from this stumble, but they never worked together again.
Unfrosted (2024)
The Pop-Tart Mythologized and Trivialized
In his directorial debut, Jerry Seinfeld has made an excessively silly movie packed with celebrity appearances and enough ridiculous plot turns to wear me down. Written by Seinfeld and three co-writers in a barrage of one-liners and sight gags, the plot is about the purported invention of the Pop-Tart as Kellogg's and Post fight tooth and nail to gain a competitive advantage in the newly developed breakfast pastry category. There's probably a fascinating story about the real rivalry between Kellogg's and Post in Battle Creek, Michigan, but this 2024 farce isn't it. This is just an excuse to cast comedy heavyweights in drop-gag scenes of little consequence. A few scenes generated the requisite laughs like the cereal funeral and the insurrection where Hugh Grant wore a familiar headdress. It was 97 minutes long, but it felt interminable.
Chinatown (1974)
Still the Noir Classic No One Can Touch
Roman Polanski's 1974 neo-noir mystery is about as perfect a pastiche of the dark-hearted genre as there ever has been. In fact, in the half-century since its release, I think it's one of the best detective movies ever made, period. Starting with Robert Towne's meticulously compelling screenplay, the labyrinth plot encompasses the Southern California water wars that threatened the future of LA and weaves an intense psychological drama that leads to one of the most memorable climaxes in cinema history. Polanski moves the deeply involving story with a consistent sure hand, an unerring attention to period detail and a judicious amount of grisly violence. Jack Nicholson plays cynical gumshoe J. J. Gittes in his characteristic style and with a welcome depth of dimension, but it's Faye Dunaway who impeccably conveys the glamor and mystery of the classic femme fatale and adds a startling Method edginess as things start to unravel. Channeling Gene Tierney and Kim Stanley at the same time, Dunaway does her best movie work by a mile here. Thanks especially to John Huston's cunning vulturish performance, the ending is a haunting knockout.
Single in Seoul (2023)
Lightweight Korean Romcom Has Its Charms
Directed by Park Beom-Soo, this 2023 film is a fairly inconsequential romcom set in the commercial paperback publishing world where Hyeon-jin, a lonely, whipsmart editor decides to find writers who can speak credibly to the single life in Seoul and Barcelona, respectively. A popular female writer named Joo-ok has been recruited for the Barcelona book, but the Seoul tome proves to be more elusive. Enter Yeong-ho, a young, poker-faced teacher unproven as a writer, yet Hyeon-jin is convinced he's the one to write the book based on a crush she had on him in college. Inevitable complications ensue but nothing that prevents the predictable from occurring. Lim Soo-jung and Lee Dong-wook play the initially mismatched pair with aplomb, and Esom brings a flirty freshness to Joo-ok. Otherwise it's a rather forgettable affair offset by the cool urban Seoul setting.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
The Horrors of the Holocaust Behind a Wall
The blithe indifference of a privileged German family to the immediacy of the Holocaust is the subject of filmmaker Jonathan Glazer's starkly compartmentalized 2023 look at Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife Hedwig as they build their idealized family life right next door to the concentration camp. Instead of depicting graphic images as one would expect in dread, evil is portrayed in the absence of moral judgment. We only see the horror peripherally and in personal conversations that mostly imply the extermination. The ebbing sensitivity of the couple to humanity becomes all the more striking with their increasingly banal behavior. It's an engrossing film even though Glazer is intent on avoiding explicit images to punctuate his themes. Toward that end, the film might be frustrating for some viewers.
Takano Tofu (2023)
Broadly Played Father-Daughter Ozu-Like Drama
Director/screenwriter Mitsuhiro Mihara's 2023 plaintive father-daughter drama is a bit too on-the-nose to be compared favorably with the family drama classics of Yasujiro Ozu. In a story focused on Tatsuo, an aged tofu master in Onomichi and his singularly devoted daughter Haru, Mihara is clearly channeling Ozu's "Late Spring" and "Early Summer" in capturing the specificity of their close relationship. The plot plods along as each eventually finds prospective mates but not until a requisite number of comedy scenes with stock characters are played out quite broadly. The clownish moments felt like a different movie than the one that was intended. Regardless, screen veteran Tatsuya Fuji plays Tatsuo with curmudgeonly elan, while Kumiko Aso provides attentive assistance as Haru. Fuji's scenes with Kumi Nakamura as an ailing older woman were touching, though the ties with the A-bomb felt contrived to shoehorn more pathos into the film. For a film with similar sensibilities about the artistry behind uniquely Japanese food, I suggest watching Naomi Kawase's 2015 "An (Sweet Bean)".
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Huller Elevates a Powerfully Complex Courtroom Drama
In many ways, Justine Triet's 2023 courtroom drama plays like many film classics before it like Billy Wilder's "Witness for the Prosecution" and Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder", but as usual, the art is in the plot twists and character revelations. In this respect, Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari have fashioned a mystery that appears to change tone and direction from scene to scene. The plot pivots on a family of three in an isolated French chalet - Sandra, a successful, German-born author, her struggling writer husband Samuel, and their son Daniel who recently lost his eyesight. Daniel finds Samuel dead from an apparent fall, and while it looks like a suicide, evidence mounts to the contrary. Precariously tethering the film emotionally is Sandra Huller's intensely compelling performance as Sandra. It's work that starts with subtleties and grows in complexity with sharp precision. Also remarkable is Milo Machado Graner's guileless work as Daniel - a great child performance. A genuinely absorbing film that justifies its 148-minute running time.
The Color Purple (2023)
Bold Musical Adaptation Enhances the Original Version in Unexpected Ways
Big, brash, and brazenly sentimental, this 2023 film is an emotional musical extravaganza that not only honors Alice Walker's classic novel and Steven Spielberg's meticulous adaptation but translates the hit Broadway musical version into its own cinematic terms. Even though she played the role of Celie to great acclaim onstage, Fantasia Barrino becomes a revelation here as the story progresses, giving a raw performance wrapped around her considerable pipes. Phylicia Pearl Mpasi is superb as the younger Celie, and as Nettie, the charismatic Halle Bailey proves her "Little Mermaid" turn was no fluke. It's Celie's journey from desperate abandonment to successful entrepreneur that the movie chronicles in unblinking detail. Unintimidated by Spielberg's work, director Blitz Bazawule does an admirable job coordinating the various elements of the storyline even if the choreography sometimes feels more energetic than resonant. A trio of veterans provide powerful work here - a confidently sultry Taraji P. Henson with an unexpectedly powerful singing voice as Shug, Colman Domingo astonishing in his range as the venal Mister, and Danielle Brooks who steals all her scenes as the uncompromising Sophia. Although the musical numbers come from a variety of sources beyond the Broadway musical, the soundtrack is surprisingly seamless in its emotional impact, especially toward the climax with "What About Love?" and "I'm Here". Certainly long at 141 minutes, the movie manages to achieve its dramatic objectives. I was bawling by the end.
The Idea of You (2024)
Hathaway Delivers the Goods in a Formulaic Romcom That Somehow Works
It's hard to believe Anne Hathaway is the same age as Bette Davis as Margo Channing in "All About Eve". However, Hathaway truly owns 40 in this 2024 romcom as she plays Solene, a successful Silver Lake art gallery owner still smarting from a divorce three years prior. While taking her teenaged daughter to Coachella, she meets Hayes Campbell, the 24-year-old lead singer of globally popular boy band August Moon. Sparks fly immediately, and homemade sandwiches lead to an extended rendezvous on a world tour. While Nicholas Galitzine fulfills the limited contours of his role as a smitten pop star, it is really Hathaway that delivers the goods giving an accomplished performance that finally adds maturity to her natural effervescence. Directed by Michael Showalter (whose last film was 2022's underrated "Spoiler Alert"), the movie definitely swerves with predictable plot turns, but at least thanks to the observant script by Showalter and the wondrous Jennifer Westfeldt, it moves with a certain aplomb that makes it watchable. Enough with the Hathahate.
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (2024)
Carmichael Reveals Hidden Layers with Painful Candor
Six episodes in, Jerrod Carmichael's 2024 reality series has been often harshly cathartic and sometimes acutely funny. The reality aspect is no joke as he pulls no punches in making public the personal challenges of being a successful comedian who came out just two years ago. A charismatic personality, Carmichael shifts mercurially between introspective and cruel, but it's hard not to root for him. I got hooked when he painfully confessed his unrequited love for his best friend in the first episode. So far, it has cut deepest with the episodes focused on a road trip with his errant father and a frigid homecoming with his deeply religious mother. Some moments border on exploitative, yet it may be the best, bravest thing on TV now.