Tag Archives: Showtime

Ray Donovan: The Movie DVD Review

Ray Donovan, starring Liev Schreiber, was unexpectedly cancelled after season 7, when fans thought they were gearing up for season 8 to be the final season. Fans weren’t happy, especially since so many story lines were left open. Maybe due to that fan reaction, at least partly, Showtime ordered a movie to wrap up the series, and Ray Donovan: The Movie was released on DVD in May 2022. In Showtime’s words: “A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight. Whether they stand together or they go down swinging, one thing is certain – Ray doesn’t do loose ends.”

The movie picks up almost right after season 7’s finale, so if you’ve never seen the show, don’t expect to watch the movie and know what’s going on. If you HAVE seen the series, you’ll want to jump in on this. (Although you might want to do what I do for books and go back and watch the previous season, or even just a few episodes, to remind yourself!) The quality of the DVD is great in terms of audio and video, although since this is more like a wrap-up of the series and not a “full series” DVD or anything, there are no extras. For fans of the series, though, I think you’ll find that’s okay. At least you’ll get *most* of the closure you were hoping for when the show ended in January 2020.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 12/6/20

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Phoebe’s Choice

Hey, everyone. I’m back for at least one blog! Wear a mask and don’t cough on me, thank you very much, but OK I’m back because so is Shameless. The eleventh and final season of the American version of the show starts tonight on Showtime in its usual 9PM Sunday night slot. With the way things ended last year, a number of plots remain that need to be resolved, though other matters will be covered as well. When we last saw the Gallaghers, it was wedding bells for Ian & Mickey, a roller-coaster love that has been central to the show since season one. The main obstacle to that love is Mickey’s homicidally homophobic dad, Terry, who has sworn to kill Mickey if he marries a man.

We found out early that he was pretty committed to that, as he burnt down the venue the wedding was supposed to be at. While dealing with a love triangle between Debbie, Mickey’s sister, & the underaged and insane Julia, the family somehow secured the polka hall, The Polish Doll. Did I say somehow? Cause I meant: they lied and said Debbie was marrying Mickey because the place had a very homophobic history. Debbie cried to the widow who ran the hall as they pulled off the ceremony, while Gay Jesus followers detered Terry when he showed up looking to shoot someone. We found out that Kevin had been saving a secret stash of money from his Keg Exercise side hustle to buy a wedding ring for Viv. So new wedding this year, I’d think.

After a huge blow-out screaming match in front of their baby, Fred, Lip, & Tami walked away in anger for the umpteenth time. This fight rocked him bad enough that he fell off the wagon and got drunk on rum. He did the right thing though and went to see his AA sponsor/brother-in-law immediately. Somehow that humanity was enough to get Tami to show up the next day to help him renovate the house she previously had not been interested in living in – to the point of threatening moving their child 150 miles away. Terry attempted a drive by on Ian & Mickey, but they survived. To cap it all off, Debbie was served with a warrant for statutory rape for sleeping with Julia. The season ended with her fleeing from the cops in her PJs the morning after the wedding.

So this last season, we have some things that we know will be dealt with, like Debbie’s fate, the beef with Terry, & how Kevin is gonna track down his wife to divorce her so he can marry Viv. But also on the table is the fact they are writing the COV-19 pandemic into the plot. If what I read is correct, it seems Frank may die early in the season, leaving Lip to find his footing as the patriarch of the family in the absence of Frank or Fi. And that’s the last big mystery. We don’t know if Emma Rossum will return for an episode or two as the series comes to a close next year. No matter what happens, I’ll be there for the ride!

On tonight’s episode, “This is Chicago,” the Gallaghers adjust to life during the pandemic; Frank fears gentrification of South Side; bar closures force Kev and V to get creative; Lip and Tami work to make their new house a home as Carl finishes his time at the police academy.

Don’t miss the final season premiere tonight on Showtime at 9/8c.

I’ll also watch Bob’s Burgers.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 11/10/19

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Kyle’s Choice

Tonight, Showtime premieres the new 6-episode British comedy-drama Back to Life. Miri Matteson (Daisy Haggard, Episodes) has spent the last 18 years in prison, ever since some mysterious horrible incident when she was 18. She has just been released and returns home to her small coastal hometown, moving back into her old bedroom at her parents’ home, which looks like it has been frozen in time for nearly 2 decades. As Miri tries to move forward with her life, she discovers that there is so much that she’s missed – from her old relationships, to changing technology, and pop culture. She’s like a stranger living in a strange new world. And on top of that, there are people in town who will never let her forget the incident that sent her to prison and make it known that they are not happy about her return.

The series is this odd mix of dark and melancholy humor, romantic comedy, and family drama, mixed with a bit of mystery. Series creator/star Daisy Haggard does an excellent job of finding the humor even in some dark circumstances – the series is filled with lots of genuine laughs. The banter between Miri and her parents leads to some of my favorite moments. It’s not until the second episode that we really start to get some details about why Miri was in prison, and even then, specifics are doled out slowly. But despite her past, you find yourself really rooting for Miri, wondering how such a seemingly sweet and charming person could have done what it appears that she did, hoping that things will turn around for her, and that the town can forgive and forget.

The series also stars Geraldine James (The Five) and Richard Durden (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) as Miri’s oddball parents who have some secrets of their own; Liam Williams (Pls Like) as Nathan, who’s new to town and opening a fish and chips shop; Adeel Akhtar (Ghosted) as next-door neighbor Billy, who takes a liking to Miri but doesn’t know of her past; Christine Bottomley (The End of the F***ing World) as Miri’s former best friend Mandy, who made no contact the whole time she was in prison; Jamie Michie (Borderline) as Miri’s ex Dom, who is now married with kids but also in a shocking side relationship; and Frank Feys as Samuel, a mysterious man who is intent on investigating Miri’s past.

Showtime will be airing two episodes each week on the cable channel but is making all 6 episodes available today on its streaming and On Demand platforms. The series makes a great binge and is definitely worth checking out.

On tonight’s premiere, “Episode 1,” after 18 years in prison, Miri Matteson returns to her hometown, to a place she no longer recognizes, in the dysfunctional family home she involuntarily vacated as a teen, living with parents she can no longer hold a conversation with. Then, in “Episode 2,” Miri is excited about her first day working at Nathan’s fish and chip shop, but the community is making it very clear she is not welcome; Miri’s childhood best friend, Mandy, is eager to rebuild their old friendship.

Meet Miri and see how she handles being home again tonight on Showtime starting at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/recording The Rookie, The Simpsons, Bless the Harts, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, Supergirl, The Walking Dead, Worst Cooks in America, Mr. Robot, Watchmen, Silicon Valley, and The Dublin Murders.
 
Jump with us to see else we think you should watch. Continue reading

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 9/8/19

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Phoebe’s Choice

My favorite new dark comedy is on tonight on Showtime: On Becoming a God in Central Florida. This Kirsten Dunst vehicle follows the struggles of a young widowed mother who works at a water park outside Orlando in the 1990s. Krystal Stubbs, (played by Dunst), is also burdened with crippling debt after her husband died while attempting to commit auto insurance fraud. Last week started with her back at the water park, where she took the water aerobics instructor job for the extra $64 a month because the house was under foreclosure till she could pay the fine on her alligator poaching tickets. Did I mention this show is awesome?

Krystal, along with her baby Destinee, lived in the supply room of the water park now. She kept the house shuttered and was lying to the neighbors, telling them it was under renovation. Because she was stuck with her husband’s FAM merchandise, she had to distribute the pile of boxes piling on her lawn. That is the other huge theme in this show… FAM. It is a pyramid scheme, get-rich-quick organization based on Amway. When she dropped off the new shipment to an older woman named Mimi, she found her husband’s secret. He’d bought tens of thousands of the FAM products himself, to look more successful, keeping them hidden at Mimi’s.

Cory, her husband’s old friend and “upline” supplier of FAM goods, was throwing a rally soon, and Kristen wanted to do a speech during it. She wrote an angry monologue about how FAM destroyed her family and made her homeless. Meanwhile an older man on his houseboat took advantage of a live news report about to happen near him. He showed up to talk and fly a sign about how FAM was a predatory cult that would take everything from you. Krystal found her neighbor and co-worker Ernie moping around the water park alone at night, and she did him the “favor” of taking the half-off tickets that he was having trouble getting rid of.

When Cory tried to deny Krystal the chance to make her speech, she locked him in a closet and went up anyway. She changed her speech though and instead decided to stick with FAM and gave out all the half-off tickets. The news reporter from before showed up to investigate FAM and decided to try to interview Krystal. The next week, she had dozens of people signed up for her aerobics class, so she’d make a lot more money on that job now. Also, she used knowledge of her boss’s peeping hole that he used to look into the women’s locker room to blackmail him into buying ten thousand dollars’ worth of FAM product. The man who photobombed the news had his houseboat burned into the sea – he escaped but his parrot died. In the end, Ernie decided he wanted to join the FAM team and become part of Krystal’s “downline.”

This show reminds me a lot of Kidding, with the slow escalation of darker and darker drama tinged with absurd comedic moments. This fall looks good for dark comedy!

On tonight’s episode, “Manifest Destinee,” stricken with a bird disease; Krystal goes on an odyssey; a collection of vintage motivational tapes changes Cody’s destiny; Ernie tries recruiting.

Check out Krystal’s odyssey tonight on Showtime at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching Pennyworth, Preacher, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Ballers.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 3/31/19

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Phoebe’s Choice

The running gag in Black Monday, other than the cocaine-laden MTV late-80s homophobia, has been the idea of the hilarious “Georgina Play” that Mo is trying to pull off. The series started with Blair proposing to Tiff Georgina at the same time that Mo acquired and then hid 49% of the stock in her family’s company. Then Mo recruited Blair to his brokerage firm, the Jammer Group, to try to wrestle away control of the company.

Last week we saw Blair convince Tiff to buy into the backstabbing maneuver after her parents had her kidnapped for publicity value. He’d essentially cut Mo out of the play and was willing to walk away if he couldn’t get a decent percent of the Jammer Group for his complicity in the scam. He was content to split it with Tiff, who mistakenly thought he was gay. (Nope. He’s in love with Mo’s ex, Dawn.)

Keith trying to keep the SEC off everyone’s coke-sniffing nuts was funny, but we still have a major lingering thread. Who is the person who dies at the start of the series wearing the earring/tie-pin that we saw on the corpse in the opener? This show is fantastic. Tell me season two is a go. Either way, tune the eff in tonight!

On tonight’s season finale, “0,” everything comes crashing down.

Don’t miss the finale tonight on Showtime at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Supergirl. & American Gods.

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