Agentman00

Nixed from watch list before middle of first episode. Couldn't care within the first fifteen minutes of episode one who was dead, who was the killer or who the family was in the big house. Also couldn't embrace the visual patina replete with NK's lip fillers and hair gloss for more than a few minutes not to mention eyebrow transplants along with other characters like Isabelle Adjani's inflated face. So natural, so realistic (Eastern European maid wow!) and that doesn't even scratch the surface (or surfactant) for Liv Schreiber's wildebeest presence with no doubt a mic on his hairy open shirted frame for effect? I'm not surprised the novelist whose fare is considered "beach reading" is the source for the 21st century netizens seen filling popular tourist destinations (that have the locals up in arms more and more) who give this a collective more than generous 6.5. Maybe the best part was seeing how Eve Hewson looks like daddy from several shot angles, the young Bono Vox from the days of his youth in the 80's. Now thats entertainment.

Rome wasn't built in a day as the saying goes, a truism summating that the city (or any city) wasn't built by one person's vision and even less the actual work and efforts of its construction.. It was/is an accretive process, a halting violent wrestling match of many hands (in the case of Rome mostly the hands of slaves) a creative organic growth of paroxysms of births - and deaths. Perhaps FFC at 84 yo is feeling this veil of tears descending on his utopian vineyard(s) catalyzing his desire to address this as his biggest theme yet - how history is constructed, experienced and built upon to progress. But whereas the biggest themes of war, death and rebirth found in Apocalypse Now was based on the genius mind of Joseph Conrad, FFC takes on the mantle of being a genius scriptwriter of the same promethium talents, which is debatable, even with the ability to realize 'mega' themes since the 1970's catalyzed or perhaps more aptly INSPIRED given FFC's purview, to realize the great themes for his Megalopolis germinating since the 80's, via the 'mega' developments of using artifice with CGI. I think he needed to give it more time. But at 84 he's likely feeling that may not be a luxury he has much more of, and as he's been quoted, not hard to understand his hopes and dreams for this film's message as he readies his coins for the boat man. In the end, I'm not sure he even asked the right questions. I'd re-read Thomas More's Utopia (again?) and give it more of a think without the Sword of Damocles in FFC's mind of a camera lens. Another recommendation, E. F Schumacher, Small is Beautiful.

Jerry Seinfeld the stand-up comedian who as he says - is a career fundamentally about writing - is legend for good reason for the show "about nothing." In numerous interviews he talks candidly about his process, his perfectionism that boils down to getting single words right in delivering a joke (ex: had to use the golfball name "Titlelist" in the Seinfeld episode with the beached whale) and how often this process of refinement can take years. His Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee reveals similar truths in an everyday activity with friends and associates conversing, bantering about life and lessons or mostly shooting the crap about nothing. So now this movie - that Is about SOMETHING. And it's mostly a fail. There's little perfectionism here. It's a rush job, it's chaotic. Its a pastiche. Yes, the cameos work for the most part, acting chops by Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant pull it off. The references to Jan 6 storming the capital are funny I guess, but overall the entire script needs work. Examples are numerous, but here's two. One, you rarely see any work by Post on their competing toaster warmed breakfast square, Its all Kellogg, This reduces the protagonist to cardboard cut-out characters in-line with the gravity pull of the scenes to the ubiquitous cereal mascots, which it would seem are funny just because of their costumes (not really). Two, the scene where Hugh Grants character - Tony the Tiger- first stutters that leads to Jerry IMMEDIATELY saying "that's what we're looking for" is a waste because the addition of even a simple, "what was that you just said?" by Jerry could have extended the scene for an extra few seconds and delivered a funnier product through more development. Instead the pace is kept chaotic and moving (throughout) as if this is enough distraction for audiences to keep from lingering too long to realize this movie needs work, is facile and rushed. Too bad, it had potential. We know Jerry can do it, even though he's no actor. He should likely stick to scripts about nothing. This one about something just doesn't pull it off - but at least streaming on Netflix you can fast forward to credit roll sooner than later.