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Reviews
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: End Game (2019)
Signs of a tired franchise
For years the Law and Order franchise set the bar for network television legal drama. Genre fans could count on objective, linear plot lines (with required twists, turns, and red herrings) that made legal sense-sometimes solid, sometimes interpretable,. That's how the courts work, interpreting written law based on evidence and precedent. It's been a winning formula of producer Dick Wolf for decades.
But television evolves. Executive producers move on. Salaries escalate. Corners are cut. And writers responsible for innovative, gripping stories exhaust ideas. It's why so many highly-rated series call it quits after seven to eight seasons. It's not just ratings that kill programming, but intentional artistic decision.
S. V. U. Began to lose steam around Season 17. Yes, there were some outstanding episodes to follow, but no seasons with the consistency to match the first 16. Story lines began to take on soap-opera subplots of the major characters, the telltale sign that either, A) the old production team was tapped-out, B) the new production team was too lazy or not legally enough educated to push new boundaries, C) network executives thought it would it increase ratings, D) network executives cut budget, or E) a combination of all. This reviewer suspects "E".
And that leads us to this mess of an endeavor called "End Game," so implausible and absurd that it's laughable. Read the other negative reviews for why (they nail it).
Should NBC have pulled the plug? Should Wolf? They didn't, so here's hoping the executive production staff, under new leadership of Law and Order legend Warren Leight, can right ship in Season 21.
Babylon (2022)
A cinematic roller coaster ride
Babylon is a beautiful, bawdy, glorious epic celebrating the best and worst of pre-code Hollywood. If you're looking for context, think "Singing In The Rain" (1952) meets "Sin City (2005)."
Lengthy, even by 2022 standards (three hours, nine minutes), scenes aren't necessarily redundant or overly superfluous thanks to amazing cinematography, editing, music, staging, and acting. Watch it a second time and those three hours fly by.
Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Diego Calva give Oscar-worthy performances (Pitt and Robbie especially), though unbelievably, none received even a nomination. Nor was the film among one of the ten best-picture nominees of 2023. Huge, head-scratching oversights.
Director/writer Damien Chazelle created a masterpiece. Ten stars, and a standing ovation.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: True Believers (2011)
Outstanding
I really liked this episode. The nuance of criminal prosecution is on full display, from the crime and police investigation to the court proceedings and final verdict. The script is edge-of-the-seat material all the way to the very end. It's a great example of the very best of the Law & Order franchise.
The ending may infuriate some viewers but that's the way real life plays out at times -- there are seldom neat, clean finishes. And it also underscores the value of our legal system: there is a burden of proof and that proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.
The acting is stellar, particularly that of Sofia Vassilieva who plays the victim. Great to see Linus Roache in a guest appearance as well.