Review : Lady of the House

A series like Lady of the House not only requires strong writing to work, but the cast also had to bring their A-game and boy, did they deliver. Cardellini is a bliss and Alfred Molina completely owns his role. Ezra Miller and Maia Mitchell, while not on their co-stars counterpart, still deliver great performances.

"If the role of Polly Reisinger doesn't give Linda Cardellini the recognition she so richly deserves, I don't know what will. Waltzing in the screen, clearly comfortable in the rich woman's shoes, she's just a delight to watch.

"I had a bit of a problem with the tone and pace after the first episode, but I think these issues are ready to be put to bed. Writer Chad Taylor and director François Ozon managed to handle the melodrama, the tension and the comedy in a good, surprising way. 

Nez Perce 1.5 - Reservation

Nez Perce : Reservation
Genre : Historical
Showrunner: Scott Cooper
Writer : Dwight Gallo
Cast: Adam Beach, Matthew Rhys, Martin Sensmeier, Gil Birmingham, Julia Jones, Grace Dove, Zahn McClarnon, Ben Schnetzer and Wes Studi

Plot:1871. Chief Joseph the Elder (Wes Studi) is on his death bed in his tipi. His eldest son, Joseph (Adam Beach), kneels beside him. Joseph the Elder asks his son to bury him where the rivers meet as that earth is sacred. Joseph promises he will. With his last words, Joseph the Elder says that his country holds your father's body, never sell the bones of your father and your mother. Joseph holds back his tears and goes to get his younger brother Ollokot (Martin Sensmeier). Together they ride out with their father's body and bury him in a clearing where the Lostine and Wallowa Rivers meet.

1877. Chief Joseph and his brother Ollokot ride onto the Lapwai Reservation with General Oliver O. Howard (Matthew Rhys) and his guards. The land is barren and empty. Joseph and Ollokot take a cautious look around. Howard asks them what they think. They don't answer. Howard says it's a decent piece of land. No white men anywhere in sight. They would be able to come and go and live their lives any way they please, just like they want. Joseph and Ollokot ride between a pair of empty houses. Joseph slowly turns his horse around to face Howard, and asks how long they will have to move if they accept the proposal. Howard says he can give them thirty days. Joseph glances back at the empty reservation. Howard asks Joseph his real name, his Indian name. Joseph tells him he would find it hard to pronounce, but it is Hinmuutu-Yalatlat. Howard laughs, saying he's right, that he would find that difficult to pronounce. Joseph smiles, faintly. Joseph tells Howard that he let him take Toohoolhoolzote to jail yesterday so that they could not be blamed had Howard been harmed. The same reason Joseph's father turned away from the white man's church and customs, because the white man says one thing and does another. The white man offers treaties and then breaks them. Howard tells Joseph that Larry Ott is a murderer, that he bets Joseph blames the white man for his freedom, but that he would have easily been convicted had just one of the Nez Perce testified. Howard asks Joseph if laying his hand upon the holy book is really that offensive to him. Joseph says yes, because the Nez Perce can tell the truth without having to raise their hands. Joseph rides past Howard, away from the reservation back toward Wallowa. Ollokot follows. Howard yells after them that they have thirty days to leave the valley or he will send the entire American army after them.

Joseph and Ollotkot come to a clearing at the fork of the Lostine and Wallowa Rivers. The area seems sacred. They dismount and kneel before their father's grave. Joseph wonders aloud what their father would do if he were still alive. Ollokot reminds Joseph that their father begged them to never sell the land. Joseph says he could never forget their father's last words. He does not wish to sell their country, he does not wish to sell the bones of their father and mother, but he does not want war. He does not want bloodshed. He does not want his people killed. He doesn't want any people killed. Ollokot asks Joseph if he would give up their father's grave. Joseph tells Ollokot that he would give up everything rather than have the blood of the whites upon the hands of their people. Not wishing to argue, Ollokot stands and leaves. Joseph stays behind, staring at his father's grave. He asks his father to not watch them now.

A soldier stands guard at the Lapwai jail. General Howard approaches on horseback. He orders the guard to release the prisoner, Toohoolhoolzote (Gil Birmingham). The soldier disappears inside the jail. Moments later Toohoolhoolzote comes outside, rubbing his wrists. He looks down the street and sees Howard talking to Joseph. The two men shake hands. Toohoolhoolzote can't believe his eyes.

Joseph and Ollokot stand before the tribe. Joseph addresses them, telling them that they all must leave the land of their ancestors. The tribe becomes agitated. They protest that his father never would have let this happen, and that they cannot leave their land and hand it over to the white man. Fairland (Grace Dove) and Springtime (Julia Jones) stay silent, their faces sad. Joseph looks devastated. Nearby, Looking Glass (Zahn McClarnon) watches.

General Howard and Captain David Perry (Ben Schnetzer) walks towards the hotel in Lapwai. Howard tells Perry that he will be be leaving for Washington the next day and will trust Perry to make sure the Indians have relocated to reservation in no less than thirty days time. Perry gives Howard congratulations. Howard asks Perry congratulated him. Perry says for resolving the situation peacefully, for bringing balance and justice to the valley. Howard tells Perry goodnight.

Joseph and Looking Glass walk along the edge of the Nez Perce village. Looking Glass tells Joseph that he knew his father well. He did not live in such complicated times, but that he knows that Joseph the Elder would have done what is best for his people. Joseph asks Looking Glass what he plans to do. Looking Glass tells Joseph that he and his tribe will continue to live in peace and pray that gold is never found along the Clearwater River. Joseph smiles, and the two men clasp hands. They wish each other well. Looking Glass climbs onto his horse and gallops away.

I'm going to be brief here. Nez Perce is one of the best show Last Resort Television has to offer, if not the best. It all works thanks to the strong script by writer Dwight Gallo

A great production from top to bottom, starting with Dwight Gallo's script and Scott Cooper's vision, all the way to surprisingly good performances by actors not used to be in the spotlight.

I had a bit of a problem with the pace at first, but Nez Perce is slowly growing up on me. Gallo and Cooper managed to build the tension and keep things interesting. The premise might have been a tough sell, but with end result, I'm more than happy that the studio optioned this series. A grand series that deserves a much bigger audience. 

The James Morgan Show (S1E9)

Another week in the books for Last Resort Television means another edition of the James Morgan Show!

Our I can't believe our fourth week is already behind us! The race for renewal is on and tighter than ever, as we're almost at midseason!

1. Rolling Stone : 8.05 (+5%)
2. Hitman : 7.01 (-3%)
3. Gauntlet : 5.99 (+5%)
4. Miami Vice : 5.98 (+11%)
5. Nez Perce : 5.34 (+1%)
6. Survivor: Last Resort: 4.83 (+2%)
7. Drive : 4.64 (+6%)
8. Lady of the House : 3.88 (-)
9. Leaving Everything : 3.83 (+1%)
10. Brimstone : 3.64 (+5%)
11. Fa-Sass: Queens of Style and Skill : 3.33 (-16%)

Mo Buck's reaction: Quite the turn around from last week! Most of the shows improved their ratings while very few dropped. The impromptu season (and series) finale of Fa-Sass dropped down to our lowest rating in history, but I can understand it, given the fact that it never really found an audience and the finale was revealed to be improvised and didn't serve as a series finale per se. 

With only two weeks remaining for the shows to get the coveted renewal and with the big players already renewed, the remaining showrunners are writers are anxious to find out if their show has been renewed. Here are the shows that managed to be renewed this week!

With rave reviews and a good following, Nez Perce has been renewed for a second season. The reason why it took so long was because of the uncertainty in the ratings. It has been hard to market a show with primarily Native American actors, but the show found a steady audience, after a slight drop that worried the executive in the second week.

That's it for the renewals this week! Here's the list of shows that have officially been renewed so far:

• Nez Perce
• Miami Vice
• Survivor: Last Resort
• Gauntlet
• Hitman
• Rolling Stone

A brand new show was announced in a breaking news earlier this week and I was finally able to obtain some details about it. The already announced showrunners, Dominic Wilkins and Jason Reitman (writer and executive producer, respectively) have cast a pair of actresses and a pair of actors in the lead roles of their satirical dramedy; Call My Agent. The show is an adaptation of the French Netflix series that follows the story of agents in a talent agency struggling to keep their agency afloat after the death of its owner, while also juggling with their personal lives and handling needy celebrities. The project will be closely tied up to LRF (still doesn't know what that means) and Lesley Manville, Caroline Dhavernas, Rainn Wilson and Brian d'Arcy James have been cast in main roles. The guest star, which will be an actor satirically playing himself, or herself, will change with every episode and it is rumored that Cuba Gooding Jr will star in the pilot, of this 8-episode series

It is also worth noting that Lady of the House will take the week off, with the latest episode serving as the midseason finale of the 8-episode series. The same thing goes for Leaving Everything, who will also take the week off, as it's also an 8-episode series. The mid-season reviews of both of these shows will be revealed on Tuesday, when the shows usually air.

Now, for the Trivia section!

Metal Gear Solid 2: The film is a clear contrast from the game on which it is based on. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is considered as one of the best video game of all time according to multiple publications. Just like the film, the critics pointed out, upon release that the protagonist and the story were bad, but the themes explored in the game became more relevant in the early 2010's. 

Police Story: The Return : This is the seventh film in the Police Story series, but the first one to be made in America, as all the others were Hong Kong productions, but it's only the fourth one to be released theatrically in America. It is also the first film of the series to be directed by a non-Asian director.

The Devil in the White City : There was a long-gestating adaptation of the book in the works over at Paramount, but it never materialized. It all started in 2010 when Leonardo DiCaprio bought the rights to the novel and Martin Scorsese was approached to direct. The project never came to life, but it was reported in 2019 that the streaming platform Hulu will develop a series based on the novel with DiCaprio and Scorsese as executive producers. Not much is known at the moment.

Rolling Stone 1.4 - Open the Door to Your Heart

Rolling Stone - Open the Door to Your Heart

Genre: Drama

Director: Oliver Stone

Writer: D.R. Cobb

Based on the Rolling Stone magazine

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Karl Glusman, Aimee Teegarden, James Urbaniak, Ross Butler, Alicia Witt, Dora Madison Burge and Katherine McNamara

Plot: February 1970. Brady Conroy (Josh Hartnett) is at the cafe watching Lexi Davenport (Dora Madison Burge) perform again. The crowd at the cafe is bigger than last time as Lexi is clearly getting more of a local following. After her performance she gets a coffee and recognizes Brady from before. She asks if she can join him, and he says sure. While they drink their coffee they discuss music and bond over their love of Neil Young's music. She tells him that she's his biggest fan. She then starts talking about a Grateful Dead show she recently went to, and Brady tells her that he and his girlfriend went to the same show. Lexi asks if that girl he was at the cafe with previously is his girlfriend, and Brady confirms it. She says that's too bad before getting up and leaving the cafe.

Celeste (Aimee Teegarden) is invited to a party by some of her classmates. She really wants to go, but she already had made plans with Brady. She tells them she doesn't think she can go, but thanks them for the invite. She then meets Brady outside of the cafe. She tells him about the party invitation, and Brady encourages her to go have fun with her classmates, saying that she doesn't need to spend all of her time with him. He can always get some work done. Celeste gives Brady a kiss and goes to meet up with her classmates.

Brady heads into the Rolling Stone offices where he is greeted by the office manager Kylee Hargrove (Alicia Witt) as she is on her way out for the day. She invites him out for drinks that night and gives him the name of the bar. Brdy thanks her and tells her that he'll meet her there. The office is mostly empty at the time aside from Jann Wenner (Karl Glusman). Jann is excited to see him and asks him to step into his office. Jann asks Brady if he's familiar with the singer Darrell Banks. Brady asks if that is the guy who sings "Open the Door to Your Heart", which Jann confirms and then explains that the singer was shot and killed by a cop in Detroit who had been sleeping with Banks' girlfriend at the time. Jann says it's a whole big can of worms, but since Banks is so revered in the northern soul community there should probably be an article covering his death in the magazine. Brady asks when his flight to Detroit is, and Jann tells him he won't be flying anywhere for this one. Since it's not a super high-profile story, there simply isn't room in the budget for him to fly out for all the nitty-gritty. He'll have to hit the phones and look over reports that have already been published and put the piece together that way.

Brady meets up with Kylee and Ben Fong-Torres (Ross Butler) at a nearby bar. A lousy cover band is playing. Brady enjoys having drinks with his new co-workers and getting to know them. Ben tells Brady that he's been trying to get into being a radio disc jockey, but hasn't found a station to bite yet. Brady says that'd be cool, and Kylee says that he better not play anything like the band at the bar.

Meanwhile, Celeste is at a frat party with her classmates. She does a bunch of shots and plays drinking games. A guy hits on her and they start making out. Celeste stops him for a moment as if her conscience is getting to her, but then she continues making out with the guy.

In the morning, Brady calls the Detroit Police Department to get an official statement from them and tries to fish for extra details to no avail. Brady struggles with the article, so he goes to see Celeste at her dorm. When he knocks at the door, Celeste's roommate Kira (Katherine McNamara) tells Brady that she hasn't been around all morning. Brady finds that odd so he goes for a walk around campus. He takes a seat on a bench near the dorm when he sees Celeste walking by. He catches her attention, but she is shocked to see him. He asks her where she's been, and she tells him that she was just out getting breakfast. Brady tells her that he was looking for her since he is having trouble writing the Darrell Banks article. She apologizes and tells him that she has to get ready for a class.

Brady decides to head into the office and just grind the article out and just type everything out and figure out the rest from there. He writes and re-writes all day long. He makes a few more phone calls to get information for the article. He is never completely happy with it, but he understands that he just has to get used to traditional journalism again. He turns the article into one of the editors, Ralph J. Gleason (James Urbaniak). Gleason looks it over and refers to it as very factual. Brady gives him a nod and starts to walk away, when Gleason stops him and asks him what it feels like to be a regular journalist again. Brady says it's not bad.