Great Kills

I have been rewatching mockumentaries when this one popped up for me to watch. I am in Europe, and with my VPN, I gained access to a US streaming service that allows me to see old movies. This show is new.

Lucky me. Here we have a film crew following this guy who is a hitman. So... "Man Bites Dog," right? No. It's different in so many ways. It's more like Woody Allen and Diane Keaton following Robert De Niro. Honestly.

The show has its limitations. It clearly had no money. However, it works in its favor if you are patient.

But I have to say, this actor Steve Stanulis, whom I also googled and still don't know of, is a stunningly good actor. This show is off the grid, so where did this guy who plays the hitman come from? His performance holds together eight episodes with ease. There is very little story here, and I applaud the filmmakers for making something out of nothing. But my high score is based on this actor who is on par with any of the great American actors of the '70s. I am not joking. Just watch the show with eyes that understand the limitations. The supporting cast is very good, but there's this actor who is clearly not as famous as say, Stellan Skarsgård, yet there he is, just as good, carrying five hours on his shoulders.

This show might be a bit messy for your average viewer who is used to watching slick productions. However, it is a milestone for the genre, much like "Man Bites Dog" was a milestone.

I binged Great Kills this weekend. It was recommended to me on Facebook. I saw that there are some really good reviews, but I don't see the kind of spoilers like I see for something like Succession.

I understand that there aren't the same recognizable faces in this. But to my eyes the two shows look similar. And I really only recognize Brian Cox from Succession.

In Great Kills I don't recognize anyone. But what does that matter? It's meant to be a documentary about something so crazy that it should have been ridiculous. Or just bad. And it is really funny. A documentary about a killer who is killing people and the documentary people film him like he's a mechanic or some other normal blue collar guy. In real life these people would be dead.

It should be terrible. I'm not one for dark humor. And it is suggested as dark humor. But, I found it funny, relatable and it's now my favorite show on TV next to Succession. I love this man who plays the killer and all the people in his life.

The killing scenes are sometimes hard for me to watch, but then the killer is with his girlfriend or fighting with the documentary people or he's worried about his sister or grandma or his pets and I just love it all.

It also gets very sad (Be warned).

I would date this man. That is how well this TV show does to suck you in. And, like Succession, there are no big effects or tricky photography. They just tel it straight.

So my only question is... why are there no spoilers or recaps on YouTube? Where are the awards? Is it really only because it doesn't have a movie star like Brian Cox? Seriously? He's not even that big of a star.

If this TV show is not nominated of an Emmy or Golden Globe I will be annoyed. It's just as good as the best.

What happens in Staten Island stays in Staten Island!

I love the dark humor throughout this series. It is a great binge. Funny and very suspenseful.

Amazing performances directed by none other than iconic SLC Punk! Director James Merendino, who also plays a key role in the series. Steve Stanulis reminds me of Michael Douglas in Falling Down.

Love all the female actors who play the co-director, the mob-boss the girlfriend and the grandma. Such interesting multi-dimensional female characters. Women of Staten Island are hardcore.

I can't wait to see where the characters are next season. What a great Tubi surprise!

My first review. I saw this movie because I follow James Merendino on Facebook. I saw a trailer there and thought, meh. I don't always like his stuff. LIke his last movie was yikes. But, I watched the whole show last night in one go. It is fire. It's really dark and funny and very much worth the watch. Even the low budget feel works. It's a mockumentary like the Office, which I hate. But The acting is so real and also so hysterical. The guy who plays Tom the hit man is really amazing. I never saw him before, but he is top tier acting wise. And James is in it as the director. He's pretty damn funny and more or less how he is on his live streams. Like I said. Everyone is good accept a couple of the tiny roles, but they are gone quick and it didn't bother me. I'm bad at this. But I recommend it. I hate most things. I Love this one. (Either the numbers are off or there is an episode missing)

This show is hilarious by itself, but what's interesting and impressive about this series is how much of the humor is never even said but implied. First, the best joke of all is that a hitman would ever even agree to be in a documentary in the first place. There's a good blend of dry British style humor, absurdism, satire and full on next-level meta comedy.

What appear to be "problems" with production value are largely intentional, so don't get turned off until you see how its part of the joke. For instance the sound guy screwing up the shots (he's in almost every frame of the documentary in the first episode). It's almost like a blend of reality TV and the old exploitation films, where campiness is an integral part of the mix. However, to me it leaned a bit too much towards the latter in a few places, there are a few reactions to major events that were underacted in my opinion, and I think the kills could have been a bit more convincing. I'm fairly sure these were also part of the style and artistic direction, but I was personally hoping for something a little more dark.

Definitely one of the best shows available on the non-mainstream streaming platforms, the premise itself was brilliant and I was excited for over a year to finally see it, I'm glad to see it was pulled off very well. Check this one out for sure!