Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.

  • Title: Chinatown
  • IMDb: link

I don’t know if 1974’s Chinatown is without doubt the best film for everyone involved, both in front and behind the camera, but one could certainly make the case. Director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne come together with a neo-noir staple which provided Jack Nicholson one of his most famous roles as private investigator J. J. Gittes who struggles to find the truth surrounding the death of chief engineer at the Department of Water and Power (Darrell Zwerling), who Gittes was hired to surveil by a woman (Diane Ladd) pretending to be his wife (Faye Dunaway), and uncover how that death plays into a larger conspiracy of the Los Angeles draught and a land scheme which allows 30s Los Angeles to become a major character in the film.

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The Irrational – Ghost Ship

  • Title: The Irrational – Ghost Ship
  • IMDb: link

Aside from exploring family dynamics of Alec (Jesse L. Martin) with his father (Ron Canada), “Ghost Ship” feels like a story that could have been written for any number of procedurals that was adapted for The Irrational. The idea of unraveling a ship with a missing crew is an interesting setup, but the mystery turns out to be rather straightforward (even if it was fun to see Monk‘s Jason Gray-Stanford, albeit in a mostly thankless role). In terms of psychology, Alec is able to get a key witness to relax enough to provide answers, but the show is largely geared to Alec’s damaged relationship with his father and a necessary first-step to remedy that.

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Matlock – Friends

  • Title: Matlock – Friends
  • IMDb: link

Throughout the season, CBS’ Matlock reboot has played with the idea of Madeline (Kathy Bates) has grown to care for the colleagues she’s working with while secretly spying on them for information related to the death of her daughter. Driven to find the truth, we’ve even seen Maddy close out an episode on the line “we’re not friends.” However, “Friends” showcases how things have changed and how the mock Matlock has come to trust and value Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) as a friend playing into growing friction with Edwin (Sam Anderson) over her priorities which is only further exacerbated over their disagreement on how to handle the bullying of their grandson.

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West Coast Avengers #3

West Coast Avengers #3 gives us an explanation for multiple Ultrons (including others we haven’t yet seen) along with the first confrontation from the Ultron prophet and the West Coast Avengers featuring their own Ultron, bringing the two face-to-face. Other than the backstory which adds some context to the current situation, there’s not much of note in the issue as the confrontation ultimately is left unresolved.

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