Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

 Helter Skelter big flop.  Talk talk talk like the book quite a bit.  

 A letdown.  Not as good as remembered--a little too preachy at times, and the 100% belief in the 12 steps program doesn't ring true 30 years later.  Keaton is excellent

 Providence, RI.  Caffee Brothers, Irish, Mike a criminal & Tommy a would-be clean politician.  Struggles of both, with general trajectory being that Tommy can't keep his integrity. Though not violent as his brother is, his morals are suspect. Excellent acting.  27 episodes, most good.  Not of the quality of Breaking Bad, Sopranos, Wire, but solid.

 Bodies of D. victims are discovered at bottom of the bay.  D.'s dept (including his sister) are now after him.  He meets kinky Englishwoman-artist who tries to pull him away from Rita.  He's pulled.  She turns out to be arsonist.  James Doakes, Black cop who always suspected Dexter, gets proof, but before he can turn D in, Lila (Brit) kills him.  D.  then goes to Paris and kills her so he can go back to his family life with Rita.  Subplot is sister Deb and her relationship with FBI guy, a yawner.  Okay

 Early Coen brothers.  Frances McDormand leaves her bar-owning husband for Ray.  Husband arranges a hit on her and beau.  Hit man fakes the murder, gets the money, shoots the outraged husband, gets the money.   Coen touch follows.  McD's beau discovers body--thinks McD has killed her husband.  He drags body to car, intending to hide the evidence.  Turns out hubby isn't quite dead, starts moaning.  Ray -- repelled by his own act--finishes him off.  All Coen after.  Ray thinks McD is murderer.  McD has no idea her husband is dead. The hit man is after both Ray and McD.   McD kills hit man after hit man kills her Ray, her beau.  Early, low budget, really pretty good.

 We got hooked on this in spite of its numerous flaws.  The virtue--constant action with plot twists and turns--worked.  RD is a fixer in Hollywood.  Star murders someone--he makes it disappear.  The real star, though, is his father (Jon Voight) Mickey Donavon.  He's Loki, the Trickster, who is always telling people he's doing things for them but rarely, if ever, is.  Nothing works out; he endangers the people he loves, but he's irrepressible.  Abby, RD's wife, dies of breast cancer in a season that goes on and on.  All in all, a cut below Sopranos and the others--more on a par with Ozark.  Fun is good, though

 not enjoying this much.  It seems to be trying so hard to be cool and hip that it becomes a self-parody. Cops joking about dismembered bodies . . . really?  Dexter is a sociopath for good.  His father, a cop, has taught him to channel his murderous instincts into a quest to kill serial killers.  The problem with the premise is that it's hard to like a serial killer, even if he kills other serial killers.  Can't imagine watching eight seasons.  One will be enough.

 Elizabeth Olsen FBI agent on Indian Reservation in Wyoming investigating rape/murder with help from local fish & wildlife agent.  Cultural disconnect . . . good so far.

 We almost hooked this; glad we didn't. Rosalind Russell is terrific.  Lively, funny, great sets and costumes . . . enlightened in many ways (free thinking, anti-semitism denounced, unwed mother accepted) but poking funs at Asians is still okay.  Interesting.

 Carrie mixed up with Russians (Yegevny) in Afghanistan.  She's trying to broker peace;  President of USA helicopter goes down; Afghan terrorist claims he shot it down.  New, weak, prez demands Pakistan turn over terrorist or its war. Carrie solves problem by betraying one of Saul's agents, turning her over to Russians.  She's killed, but war is averted.  Saul hates her . . . she disappears into Russia as Yegevny's lover.  But then, she makes contact with Saul.  She's now his new spy in Russia, taking the place of the woman she caused to be killed. Solid season.

 Don Siegal Nothing dated about any of it, except women's dresses.  Good acting, fast-paced, creepy.  Not too often that both the original and the remake are so good.

 Terrific 90 percent of the time.  Great performances by all, though the Clark Gable character doesn't stand up to a close look, nor does the love of Tara at the end. Still, very few dull moments and lots of exciting ones.  Well worth the time.

  4/5 stars Wikipedia:  Scarlet Street   is a 1945 American   noir   tragedy [2] [3] [4]   film directed by   Fritz Lang . The screenplay concerns two criminals who take advantage of a middle-aged painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel   La Chienne   (literally   The Bitch ) by   Georges de La Fouchardière  [ fr ] , that previously had been dramatized on stage by   André Mouëzy-Éon , and cinematically as   La Chienne   (1931) by director   Jean Renoir . [5] The principal actors  Edward G. Robinson ,  Joan Bennett  and  Dan Duryea  had earlier appeared together in  The Woman in the Window  (1944), also directed by Fritz Lang. Local authorities in three cities (New York, Milwaukee, and Atlanta) banned  Scarlet Street  early in 1946 because of its dark plot and themes. [6] Edward G duped by Bennet & Duryea, ends up a bum after stabbing Bennett in a rage and then pinning the rap on Duryea who dies in the chair.  Well acted, with numerous surprises.

 Richard Basehart plays con man/ cop murderer in a procedural.  One of those over-praised film noirs that sound better than they turn out to be.  Hooked it after 30 minutes.

 War between drug rings in Fargo and Kansas City.  Minnesota cop with wife battling cancer is in the middle of it (along with wife's father).  Coen brothers, so lots of odd details that basically work--spaceship over motel during final gun battle somehow seems okay.  Main villain is the Indian, Vietnam War hero who fights for one gang, then betrays them, probably due to years of insult and racism. More flash than substance, but it held the eyes

  Excellent film about Glasgow Country singer.  Lower middle-class, two kids, 25 years old with great country voice and dreams of Nashville.  Interactions with frustrated mom, wealthy female employer, and her two hostile/loving children who want to trust her but don't.  Great except for a slightly weak ending--can't see any other ending though.  She goes to Nashville, sings a song at the Grand Ole Opry when no one is watching, realizes Nashville success requires total dedication . . . and little or no contact with her children. Returns to Glasgow and is the best Glasgow country singer. Not her dream, but good enough.