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Reviews
Vice Squad (2009)
Better action/crimes than Cops but tabloid in style
This show is a copy of Cops but is more interesting because it deals only in undercover operations, stings, buy/busts, and serving warrants on dangerous felons.
Vice Squad has an edgy camera/editing/music style that is more like The Shield than Cops (which doesn't appear edited at all, as you get to listen to some drunk vagrant mumble incoherently for several minutes each episode).
For people who like real details, this show excels because the officers or captions explain the penalties that apply to the offenses observed on the show.
The major problem with this show that leaves it without credibility is way that they show everything multiple times, like Entertainment Tonight, that repeats ten minutes of footage into an hour long show. Vice Squad does it in a horrible formula: 1) The show starts and they show a case that is being filmed.
2) It gets to the climax and the arrests are made.
3) They go to a commercial.
4) It goes back to the climax and repeats the whole section where the arrests were made. This is unbearable.
Citizen X (1995)
one of the best films ever made, possibly the best made for TV
This is an amazing film, but not without some problems.
First the bad: It is misunderstood. The dumb-ass Wikipedia article describes it as a thriller. If so, then the other Donald Sutherland "thriller" Ordinary People is even more action-packed. This whole movie moves at a snail's pace, which is fine, as the case to find and execute Andrei Chikatilo spanned 16 years (not 12 years as the IMDb "goofs" page implies). The Wiki page also describes it as "fictionalised" (sic; in America, we speak American), but I, a person who has been reading about Andrei Chikatilo for 16+ years, since before the Soviet Union collapsed, can't see anything in the story line that is dramatized. If anything, it is toned down severely. This movie has some serious problems, mostly a script that is completely stupid and nonsensical much of the time, with people saying things that not only they didn't say, but no one has EVER said, and they were things that needn't be said. The tone of the script (mostly in the first 30 minutes) is like the worst, most condescending 1950s Cold War film. I could quadruple the size of the IMDb "goofs" page on this one, it is completely clear that not one single person exercising creative control on this picture ever spent so much as a single month in modern Russia, much less Soviet Russia. This is a tale from Russia as told by 1950s-minded people who hate Russia and never bothered to confirm that by going there. The music, though effective in parts, is really poor overall, and sounds like it was picked out of a stock music library and placed by someone who still hasn't seen the film. The picture opens up with a still scene and some wonderfully triumphant music belted out by a symphony, but leaves you wondering what is so triumphant about some uncut grass that you just spent two minutes staring at and wondering if they had ever heard of scoring to picture (or editing, for that matter).
The good: There could not be a finer group of actors in any film. It is remarkable that they got the A-list actors they did (I mean A-list among actual actors, not the "A-list" that lists Angelina Jolie), that is clear, but after viewing this a few times, you realize that every single person in the whole film is astounding, even the background actors who you can't ever hear. It is incredible how Donald Sutherland can sit there and brilliantly deliver lines that are absolutely laughable. At first, I sat there thinking, "oh my god, I can't believe I blew $1.04 buying this brand new DVD on eBay, I wonder if they do refunds...", but then the great acting and delivery (of the worst script Donald Sutherland has ever had to deal with) just amazed me. Though most movies about foreign stories sound best in the real language with English subtitles (isn't Das Boot creepy when the Nazis are speaking perfect English?), this one is done with everyone speaking English with a fake Russian accent. At first it seems dumb, but then it grows on you and you'll marvel at how well these guys do Russian accents (except for once when Stephen Rea belts out, "Don't you have any respect for the dead?", sounding like the cartoon guy in the Lucky Charms commercials).
This movie does make some very clever comments about Russia, but they are so subtle. If you like this movie, I suggest you watch it again, and in subsequent viewings, look at the faces of those who aren't talking, and at the props, and at the architecture, and at the clothing. The contrast between the sloppy home made clothing worn by the peasants (like the next-of-kins being notified) and the clothing worn by the party men is very telling. One look at the military dress suit worn by Sutherland (which looks as though it were pressed every thirty seconds by a thousand launderers banished to Siberia) is enough to make one want to join The Party. This is the first film I have ever seen that I immediately watched for a second time (not including Star Wars-related films).
ER: Reason to Believe (2006)
best directed episode of ER in as long as I can remember
The direction of this episode was amazing and the cinematography was incredible. This one just jumped out as being beautifully photographed. It is about 25% darker than the other recent episodes, but great to look at, like any episode of Kidnapped (NBC, canceled). I was not aware of episode director Ernest R. Dickerson before seeing this, but I looked it up fast because this one just jumps off the screen. ER has been getting good again lately, and such a nicely made episode is welcome. Movies have never been worse than 2006 and TV has never been better. A lot of the better stuff has been getting canceled this year, but it is still good to see some of the good new shows, even if only for a few weeks. Going to a movie theater to see some major release is a complete and total waste of time and money.