The White Lotus (Season 3)

I have been heard to say White Lotus Season 2, the one set in Italy with its Shakespearean treatment of themes like trust, commitment, sex, and gender relations, is the best tv I have ever watched, so what a disappointment Season 3 proved to be with its stagnant storylines, repetitive scenes (Greg staring ominously over a brandy glass over and over and over; the dad popping pills over and over and over; everyone in a resort with nothing to do and nothing motivating them, left to go to the pool, then a different pool, then a bar, then a different bar...), and the dreariest storyline of all, that security guard walking to and from his gatehouse in dull conversation with his love interest, the girl hellbent on him climbing the ladder to mega success as a security guard, and the most dismaying thing of all was this season's more tenuous than ever - perhaps completely missing - link to place, because while Season One and especially Season Two were indelibly connected to their settings of Hawaii and Sicily respectively, moribund Season Three could have been set anywhere at all. 

★☆☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Late Night (2019)

An episode from the life and career of David Letterman - come on, it is - is brought to the screen in this intelligent and funny movie - a frequently laugh-out-loud one - and one that most of all is always interesting, but to nitpick, the one element that doesn't quite work is the writing around the excellent Mindy Kaling's character, a diversity hire to the all-white-male comedy writing team that is slowly but surely sending the career of Emma Thompson's David Letterman down the gurgler with its tired ideas and safe jokes: it never feels like this character is the one absolutely necessary for the change required at the show - she's female, writes a good joke, and is willing to speak truth, but the impetus for change preceded her arrival - low ratings and the threat of Letterman losing his job - so really any non-white-male might have done the trick of refreshing the writers' room? - and Mindy Kaling's character's burgeoning relationship with one of the other writers is also unnecessary, added, probably to bolster the character's wobbly presence. 

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS