'Highest 2 Lowest', 'Task', 'Black Rabbit' reviews
From Denzel to Ruffalo to Law, the entertainment levels are picking up.
Banshee fans will be excited for the return of Tom Pelphrey, aka Kirk Bunker, in this month’s HBO original, Task. After bringing a heart and soul to the role of a former Neo Nazi-turned-deputy in Jonathan Tropper’s fictional Pennsylvania neighborhood, my fellow February of 1982 baby portrays a regular joe who starts knocking off drug houses in the middle of the night.
Brad Ingelsby delivered the terrific Mare of Easttown, and brings a familiarly potent element of blue collar crime to the eight episode series. Pelphrey’s trash collector teams up with a friend to knock off these drug/cash dens with (or maybe without) the knowledge that they are connected to a local gang. In front of him to stop him is Mark Ruffalo’s FBI agent, abruptly pushed back into the field following a personal loss due to the severity of an escalating turf war kicking off due to these home invasions.
The dialogue, action, and aesthetic of Task is classic HBO construction. A world is immediately intriguing and familiar for the viewer. The way characters share conversations is authentic, and the eccentric Philly accent is handled well by the cast. You’ll notice Raul Castillo from Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man and Emilia Jones from the Best Picture-winning CODA. Speaking of Jones, she steals every scene she’s in during the two episodes that have aired, surging across the screen with a no mercy vengeance as the fiery niece of Pelphrey’s small-time criminal.
The third episode airs tomorrow night. Check it out. Another representation of television out-slugging the movies in theaters. Ingelsby’s tale cuts deep inside the runtime of a film. Impressive work.
Elsewhere in the world of reviews, here’s a few more delivered in quicker fashion:
~Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest is just okay, which can be read as disappointing from someone who loves all of their previous films. That’s not to say it’s a bad movie. Just less.
I felt a weak pulse, disjointed tones, characters that aren’t easy to root for, and a talented cast doing what they could to hold up a surprisingly snoozy thriller. Denzel Washington is a powerful music mogul whose son is kidnaped and held for ransom, bringing his carefully constructed yet quietly crumbling world down.
The thing that holds it above water is the performance of Jeffrey Wright as Denzel Washington’s longtime driver and friend. It’s impossible for Wright to deliver a weak performance. I wanted more time with his character instead of watching Washington put in a slightly phoned-in performance in an underwritten role.
The other thing that holds it up above other recent entries, though, is the moral dilemma at the center of the story. How far would you go in the situation that the lead character finds himself in around halfway into the movie? Highest 2 Lowest isn’t a bad way to spend two hours, but I left wanting more.
~Black Rabbit just released on Netflix two nights ago, and already has my full attention. Think of Michael Clayton, Rounders, and The Bear being blended into a kinetic slice of miniseries entertainment. Jude Law is a big shot restaurateur who is about to take a big step with a new spot when his troublesome brother (Jason Bateman) shows up like a human hurricane. Big debts, unfortunate deaths, and moral dread start to fill the screen as episode three begins.
Law and Bateman are a great team as brothers bonded to each other through thick and thin, but the relationship is fraying. The restaurant isn’t just a sideshow piece, as the plot thread includes an important N.Y. Times review and most of the kitchen is introduced in a way that suggests potential as the eight-episode series develops.
Bateman is the one to watch here. Law tackles an East Coast accent well, but the Ozark star is exciting to watch as the opposite end of his well-known Marty Byrd. His Vince is a ticking timebomb with enough mistakes to fill the Big Apple with misfortune and unwanted energy. His work here far exceeds his half-baked performance as an airport bad guy last year in Carry-On.
Netflix releases the entire series on opening night still, which is a challenge for me these days. Slowly but surely, I will get through it. No spoilers here, just to say that it’s as good as advertised. Here’s a trailer.