peterquennell

"As of now" is about a week after "Ghost" first hit Acorn US. Seems we are the first to see the show of the 80 or so countries to subscribe? Sorry NZ! Be assured, this will be worth the wait.

The sets and scenery are as lush as ever, making northern Auckland an area to include if one is drawn, as tends to be the case.

Ten likable Regulars are all cleverly made to appear: Mike, Kristin, Jarod and Gina, obviously, no slowing down there. Also super-ascerbic Ray & Judy (at the pub), chirpy Frodo (coffee truck), and eager-to-please Todd (handyman). Also Lucas (Rev) and Roger (shrink), who have the funniest scene.

The rest of the cast is The Band, opening in the pub's ballroom for what was originally to be a two-night gig. They looked a smart talented group, and all six plus several younger versions were given strong arcs. It was almost painful to see the plight they were in, after musical tastes had moved on.

And finally, there is The Super-Groupie, resurfacing after so many years, and gamely hanging in there. Finely cast and acted, a walking tragedy with a heart of gold. Wow, did she leave a void after we were given the full score.

Fine acting, a struggling cast thanklessly trying hard. But really?? Terrified horse, psycho kid, gothic sets, meandering plot, humorless lines, gambling addictions? Endless darkness? Zero respect of procedure to stop preventable death after preventable death of innocents? More and more flippancy as the death count grows? No counseling of those still alive? One sick episode. And computer games making players more prone to violence? More than 1000 British teens were surveyed on how often they play games, how violent those games are, and asked parents to report on how aggressively their children acted over the past month. They found ZERO evidence of a correlation. Why put a shadow over gameplayers with fake news? As Barnaby said: ""When killing becomes entertainment we all seem to lose touch with reality." I wonder if that was impromptu. Was this episode the straw that broke the camel's back? John Hopkins left the show an episode or two later, and John Nettles not too long after.

Gimme a break. Has Cronenberg ever actually been to New York?! Hundreds of well-budgeted films have been set in Manhattan, and actually filmed there, and made it look classy, welcoming, and fun; this nasty little cheapie very obviously was not. (1) There is no long brownstone building with columns like that in the first shot. (2) No cross-town Manhattan street has bodegas and payday loan stores; all the restaurants and store fronts below northern Central Park have more class. (3) No Manhattan barber salon would have a cheap look like that; besides, the best ones tend to be on the east side, not the west, where the formerly-rich fruitcake's ride began - inauthentic in itself, the financial industry is either all either between Park and Sixth (mid island) or downtown. (4) Angry crowds painting graffiti on limos - really? There was indeed a night of looting of stores - just once, in the past 40-50 years. (5) Presidential entourages do clog up traffic, but only within 10 blocks or so of the UN, and only one or two weeks of the year. The cast deserved far better than this pretentious nonsense; I was in a group chatting with Juliet Binoche after a show ("Betrayal") and was in awe of the looks, class and intelligence she showed. Btw many in "the industry" will tell you that the only really authentic Wall-Street-world portrayal ever has been a play - the Lehman Trilogy - put on by Brits - so in that this film is not alone.