Stu’s Reviews – Page 36

Stu’s Reviews- #490- TV Series- ” Unorthodox” – Netflix -1 Season

Genre: TV Series

Grade: B+

Notable People: Shira Haas Israel, Amit Rahav, Jeff Wilbusch, Alex Reid, Created by: Anna Winger

Title: Unorthodox

Review: Whoa, mama……Zain Gisent…. the little girl has Chutzpah…. A six-part mini-series about an ultra-orthodox young Jewish Woman, in the heart of the Williamsburg enclave, who tries to get away from the prescriptive, rule-bound and male dominated culture (to The Reich, of all places). It is not all that easy to watch- was personally painful to me at times despite the extraordinary spirit shown by Esty (Haas Israel in a memorable performance). If you don’t know much about this culture, this will be eye- opening. A lot happens in the four one hour episodes, and the ending was a bit of a surprise. It took me a month to watch all four episodes (no binging on this one), but I was glad I did…and was also glad to be done. It’s not Indiana Jones.

Stu’s Reviews- #489- Book- “The Henna Artist”- Alka Joshi

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Alka Joshi

Title: “The Henna Artist”

Review: Birthday gift from my daughter, who works at keeping me culturally relevant. Must say, I am not usually a big fan of Indian (dots, not feathers) culture (dining excepted), but this is an intriguing look at life in India, customs, castes, taboos. Very well written, joyous at times, dark and gritty at others. Delved into a world I knew little about, and came about with new appreciations. Very quick read, goes down like good bourbon…made me hungry in the middle of the night. It’s a keeper.

Stu’s Reviews- #488- TV Series- ” The Old Guy” – You Tube -1 Season

Genre: TV Series

Grade: NR

Notable People: Roger Burton, Peri Gilpin, Various Five sisters, Created by: Maria Burton, Ursula Burton, Jennifer Burton, Gabrielle C. Burton, Charity Burton

Title: The Old Guy

Review: A seven-part video series on You Tube created by my pal Gabrielle Burton and her four sisters, who have bene making impressive Indie films for years. The episodes are all between three and six minutes and quite entertaining, as they look at aging and the place of the aged in our culture. Their dad, and the star, is a real TV actor from the 50s and 60s, and is quite the resurgent find. I did not rate this due to the nature of the short film structure, but I highly enjoyed this, and commend to you for watching with your morning coffee, for short exercise stints or right after sex.

Stu’s Reviews- #487- TV Series- ” The Plot Against America” – HBO -1 Season

Genre: TV Series

Grade: A-

Notable People: Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector, Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Created by: David Simon and Ed Burns

Title: The Plot Against America

Review: Extraordinarily well done revisionist history mini- series in which Charles Lindbergh and his anti-Semitic crazies defeat FDR and keep America from entering into the second world war, relinquishing Europe to Hitler and turning the Us into a semi-fascist state. From a wonderful Philip Roth novel and developed for TV by the pair who brought us “The Wire” and “Treme”. Very well acted with a frightening element of commonalty with our current environment. Brilliant sets, costumes, music and ambiance. Ryder and Turturro are the definition of desperate naiveté and very solid work form Kazan and Spector. Well worth the six-episode watch

Stu’s Reviews- #486- Book- “Shamed”- Linda Castillo

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Linda Castillo

Title: “Shamed”

Review: The next to latest volume (new one just came out) in the long running series, featuring chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, set in Ohio’s Amish country. It’s another barn burner…just plain hard to put down. Her long running characters develop nicely over time, and her knowledge of police procedurals is impeccable…as well as her insight into the eccentricities of the Amish culture. Great sense of place and the story is quite believable while being just this side of fantastical. Really, really like these books. Start at the top with this series.

Stu’s Reviews- #485- Book- “The Giver of Stars”- Jo Jo Noyes

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jo Jo Noyes

Title: “The Giver of Stars”

Review: This a well written, beautiful book set in the hollers of Kentucky during the Depression. It’s based on the true story of a group of woman who became the WPA sponsored Packhorse Librarians-delivering books and opportunities to learn to read to the back country people of the region. In the midst of that there is murder, moonshining, and a saga of how coal mining affected the area and its people. Wonderful character studies and a treatise on the power of unlikely friendships in a tough, grimy, hardscrabble environment. Hard to put down.

Stu’s Reviews- #484- Album- “Homegrown”- Neil Young

Genre: Album

Grade: A

Notable People: Neil Young, Ben Keith, Tim Drummond, Karl Himmel, Levon Helm, Emmylou Harris, Produced by: Neil Young and Ben Keith

Title: Homegrown

Review: Oh boy…this is like running into an old friend after a 40-year absence……too good to be true. Max got this for me for pop’s day…on VINYL. So after, a half day getting my old turntable hooked up and functional……Voila…. Originally recorded in 1974-5 and set for release then, Neil shelved it in favor of the much darker and political “Tonight’s the Night” and “On the Beach” …. saying at the time that it was too personal. Many incarnations and years later, he felt ready to be more open. It’s a piece of time for sure….very much of that period….CLASSIC…..some songs on the album have been around for years: Love is Rose has been a Bunty Station staple for many years ; Homegrown….wow, that was a staple of summer camp I worked in 1976, exposing the poor vulnerable children to material that was thankfully over their heads (Mike G.- are you reading this?)…played with just guitar and washtub bass if you can imagine; and Star of Bethlehem showed up year later on his Stars and Bars album…..the crack classic Neil country iteration band had Ben Keith on steel, Karl Himmel on drums and the great Tim Drummond on bass. We also get some cuts with Emmylou on vocals, Levon on drums, and even one with Robbie Robertson on guitar. Too good to be true…send more, Neil….

Stu’s Reviews- #483- TV Series- ” The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” – Ken Burns- Amazon -1 Season

Genre: TV Series

Grade: A+

Notable People: a wonderful cast of characters from John Muir to Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Created by: Ken Burns

Title: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

Review: If you have the time…. just watch this. An extraordinarily uplifting six part- eighteen-hour series by Americas’ finest historian/ storyteller. Just an amazing story of perseverance over hardships and narrowmindedness, larger than life heroes and happy ultimate endings. Just what we all need right about now. Who knew how difficult this was, and how much greed and private control got in the way. I gained a new and amazing respect for the early pioneer advocates like John Muir, the little known people fighting the good fight along the way who refused to lose the dream, and the great leaders like the Roosevelts. Watching FDR made me weep, given our current leadership situation. These folks were just plain visionaries, deferring everything to the ultimate public good. Majestically shot, engagingly told and wonderfully written…. this is a pure gem……………not to be missed. Also available on PBS.

Stu’s Reviews- #482- TV Series- ” Bordertown” – Netflix- 3 Seasons

Genre: TV Series

Grade: A-/B+

Notable People: Ville Virtanen, Anu Sinisalo, Olivia Ainali, Created by: Miikko Oikkonen

Title: Bordertown

Review: Very, very quirky show about a Finnish mystic/detective living in remote Finland, on the Russian border (ergo the title). Virtanen is brilliant as the very disturbed, ineffectual, post traumatic detective who has visions and is aided by his late wife. His adventures in fatherhood are priceless. The show runs in cycle stories of 2-4 episodes. Probably not for everyone. Kari (the main character) is hard to watch at times, the stories can move very slow and it is in Finnish. Often bleak. But I find it very thought provoking, a uniquely different culture and highly entertaining. Worth a shot.

Stu’s Reviews- #481- Book- “The Family Upstairs”- Lisa Jewell

Genre: Book

Grade: A-/B+

Notable People: Lisa Jewell

Title: “The Family Upstairs “

Review: Well written, gripping novel that takes place over 25 years. Set in London and the south of France, the story of family whose lives are taken over by a cult like figure and eventually imprisoned in their own house. The story nicely pulls together the narrative of the teen children who escaped the horrors and the baby left behind. Not as depressing as it sounds, short chapter and a very quick, quality read. Started pretty slow, and I almost gave up, but eventually gathered a very nice rhythm.