from IndieWire: https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/morning-show-season-2-review-apple-tv-plus-1234664446/

BY BEN TRAVERS
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 2:00 PM

The Morning Show S2

Stella Bak is the quiet type. As the distressed anchors and flustered producers scurry about The Morning Show’s Manhattan newsroom, Stella (played by Greta Lee with a poise that barely reveals her umbrage) watches and listens more than she runs or shouts. When she speaks, she does so with a purpose befitting her mandate as the network’s new president of news, sent in to help UBA President Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) change their toxic workplace. Despite prolific anchor Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and newcomer Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) oh-so-publicly outing the company’s noxious culture following a slew of #MeToo-related allegations, UBA is still operating under institutional systems of discrimination, and that cannot stand.

Young and hungry, Stella isn’t here for your bullshit, but she still faces a never-ending stream of it: Her boss won’t listen to her ideas, her coworkers don’t trust her and, oh yeah, the anchor whose co-host and best friend turned out to be a sexual predator is being brought back to the very office she abandoned nine months prior. Alex’s return isn’t Stella’s idea — she doesn’t see the logic in courting a former star who represents the old regime rather than embracing new voices on the company’s biggest news platform. But her white, middle-aged boss still has a soft spot for Alex, and more importantly, he has a vision. So that’s that. Sounds kinda hard to start fresh, huh?

Stella struggles to have any sort of impact on her show, but what’s far more frustrating is that her character has just as little impact on “The Morning Show,” the Apple TV+ drama that remains creatively and dramatically inept throughout its 10-episode second season.

Despite an unfounded narrative that Season 1 “got better” as it went along, “The Morning Show” has been as consistent in its eye-rolling melodrama as it has in its hesitancy to wrestle with the questions of power and responsibility at its core — even Alex and Bradley’s long-awaited “Network” moment in the first season’s finale is cut into a montage, blurring specific language and key revelations in favor of implying that they said “something important.” In Season 2 (all of which was screened for critics), the series remains murky in its high-minded purpose and erratic in building meaningful drama, but most disturbing is an about-face in its dominant point of view: If Season 1 examined how a patriarchal system all-too-permissive of bad male behavior could be forced to change by external and internal efforts (aka Bradley and Alex), then Season 2 asks if those efforts went too far. Alex, Bradley, and Cory have ceased being so angry they aren’t going to take it anymore; instead, they’re so scared of being publicly shamed they’re willing to do whatever it takes to avoid it.


Yes, “The Morning Show” Season 2 revolves around “cancel culture,” and yes, its ultimate point seems to be that personal and professional accountability are bad, actually. Picking up in December 2019, Bradley is still co-anchoring UBA’s The Morning Show, only now she’s singing and dancing (for real) with new newscaster Eric Nomani (Hasan Minhaj). Alex, in leaving the show, has become a feminist icon — landing her own black-and-white Time magazine cover with the headline “The Woman Who Told the Truth” — and now lives alone in Maine, typing away at her tell-all memoir. But when it comes to Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell), she doesn’t tell nearly enough, and her publisher pushes Alex to take a longer look at her shared history with the exiled predator before going to print.

One of the most exciting aspects of “The Morning Show’s” first season was director Mimi Leder (who’s back helming four episodes of Season 2, along with Lesli Linka Glatter, Rachel Morrison, and an all-around incredible team of directors) and one of the finale’s few encouraging moments was her final shot’s slow retreat from Mitch; after being promised an interview on live TV that doubled as his shot at public redemption, Alex and Bradley’s on-air confession cut him out of the show, and Leder’s closing adieu, which pulled away from Mitch as he sat stewing in his big empty mansion, felt like a much-needed “fuck you” to a bad man we already knew all too well. But alas, Mitch is back, carrying his own episode arcs through most of Season 2 after fleeing persecution in America to live alone in an Italian villa and mope through a self-imposed sex-ile.

Why “The Morning Show” feels so committed to giving Mitch’s bland, predictable, “old guard” point of view equal weight to those of supposed gamechangers like Alex and Bradley is part of a larger problem surrounding the show’s relationship to power — but it’s also just dull. Veteran TV fans should see where things are going early on, even if getting there is somehow tedious and ludicrous, and while the rest of the crew’s arcs aren’t exactly satisfying, they’re at least active. Many are half-assed and nonsensical, like producer Chip Black, whose inexplicable return is held together solely by Mark Duplass’ naturalistic performance; others are enigmatic until they’re painfully obvious, like Emmy winner Billy Crudup’s Cory “#NotAllMen” Ellison, whose virtuous crusade on behalf of women can’t make up for a doomed late-season twist. Speaking of surprises, I dare not say one word about Bradley’s main storyline, although it’s ultimately just another reminder that the show doesn’t know how to build toward anything.
And then there’s Alex. In between all the accolades and book-writing, she has a breakdown that leaves her paralyzed by fear. It’s why she’s living in a remote cabin in Maine, why she left the show, and why she probably shouldn’t go back, at least until she deals with the root of her panic. But this is TV, and Alex/Jennifer Aniston has to come back, so you know she’s going to try, just like you know it won’t be easy: There’s another behind-the-scenes book on UBA looming, this one written by New York Magazine reporter Maggie Brenner (Marcia Gay Harden), and it’s got Alex spooked. What will it say? How much will it say? Does Maggie know Alex slept with Mitch (twice, as revealed in Season 1)? Will that revelation get her comeback prematurely canceled? Should she jet-set around the globe trying to cover it up, while talk of a little thing called COVID makes its way into the news?

The glare of the spotlight and the anxiety over being “canceled” don’t mix, so Alex spends most of the season in various states of desperation. It’s not only a clear regression from where her character ended up last year, but a choice that fails to stretch Aniston’s range in similar fashion to Season 1. (Remember the board room scene? Hell yeah you do! Welp, that kind of thing’s gone now.)

What little tenacity “The Morning Show” had is gone with it. Dark, ominous meetings give way to sunny offices built to evoke envy. Season 2 soon feels like a very expensive, very bland network drama. Yet even as broad, star-driven soap, it isn’t that fun. When Alex and Bradley fight, it has to end with one of them saying, “the gloves are coming off.” Why? Because it’s not clear enough from the fight itself that a line in their relationship has been crossed. Showrunner Kerry Ehrin and her writing team have to repeatedly spell things out for the audience, explaining how they should feel rather than evoking actual feelings, which doesn’t make for the kind of juicy, indelible moments these actors have delivered in the past. It just makes for a spectacle that’s hard to ignore.

Soon enough, the series devolves alongside its star, succumbing to the same panic Alex feels. And really, that’s to be expected. “The Morning Show” and The Morning Show parallel each other again and again, and everyone involved in both is privileged and powerful, from the wealthy central characters to the A-list stars and mega-tech company backing them — why wouldn’t they be afraid of losing their status, and how could that fear not take top priority in the lives they lead and the story they’re telling?

But “The Morning Show” doesn’t know how to interrogate these questions. Any drama that takes its central subject seriously — whether that’s fostering a safe workplace, fighting the patriarchy, or finding the line between objectionable and inexcusable behavior — should acknowledge the challenges of creating real, lasting change. (And a good drama would know how to craft engaging stories out of those challenges.) Altering systems that have been in place for hundreds of years isn’t easy, but Alex & Co. seem to have reversed course. This isn’t an insightful look at how sexual misconduct persists in American culture, a dissection of modern news consumption, or a hard look at who’s framing the world’s biggest stories; it’s a shouting match between powerful people terrified of losing their power. No one’s trying to tear down the system because no one understands why anyone would want to.

Stella Bak is the quiet type, but that doesn’t mean she lacks things to say. She’s the only one consistently fighting for what everyone around her purportedly wants, and watching them fumble around with personal distractions is exhausting. After 10 hours doing the same, I can empathize. “The Morning Show” Season 2 may be so glossy it’s hard not to stare into the sun, but in the end, all you’re left with is a headache. If Stella had the power that should come with her title, I think she would’ve canceled both shows a long time ago.

from the New York Times:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/03/movies/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-review.html

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

By Maya Phillips
Published May 3, 2023

Animal lovers, comic book fans and unofficial adjudicators of narrative continuity, action and style in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Lend me your ears. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is not the movie for you.

Perhaps this dour, visually off-putting two-and-a-half-hour A.S.P.C.A. nightmare of a film is only for completionist fans like myself, arriving at the theater armed with overpriced popcorn and the hope that the director James Gunn’s latest could replicate the romp and anti-gravity gambol of the first.

For those who need help getting their multiversal timeline untangled, “Guardians” is the second film of the so far ecstatically bad Phase Five of the M.C.U., after the, to quote my colleague, “thoroughly uninspired” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” We last caught our whole team of lovable riffraff together in “Avengers: Infinity War,” when Thanos (Josh Brolin) threw his adopted daughter and galaxy guardian, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), into an abyss to get one of the Infinity Stones, which he used to snap away half of the universe. (There were some dancing Groots and a cute holiday special about abducting Kevin Bacon, but — sorry, Kev — they were irrelevant.)

Now the Guardians are settling in at Knowhere, a community in the severed head of a celestial that serves as their home base. With Gamora gone, Peter (Chris Pratt), a.k.a. Star-Lord, is still grieving, unaware of the fact that somehow Gamora — or, rather, a variant — is alive, sans her memories of him and the Guardians. When, a few minutes into the film, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) becomes victim to a deadly attack, the team is reunited with a hostile, partially amnesiac Gamora, who is reluctantly dragged into their plot to save him.

While Rocket is in critical condition, Peter and company do some risky snooping through Rocket’s traumatic back story to figure out how to save his life and stop the man pursuing him, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). A powerful god-figure, the High Evolutionary has genetically altered Rocket, other animals and even children to create a perfect race to inhabit his imagined utopia. (Yes, that’s another Nazi-coded villain for your Bingo card.)
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So much of “Guardians 3” seems to erupt from left field, most prominently the main story, which is driven by Rocket, even though the Guardians have mostly played second-string to Star-Lord, the plot-driving hero. The shift makes sense given the role this film plays as the end of the trilogy, resulting in a Guardians team with a different starting lineup and an unclear position in the context of the rest of the M.C.U. But the shift also feels belabored and emotionally manipulative; scenes upon scenes of shot, blown up, tortured and incinerated C.G.I. animals with big, emotive eyes are as merciless as clips of injured animals set to a Sarah McLachlan song.

It seems “Guardians” needs this much gratuitous trauma bait to establish its stakes and prove that the bad guy is, in fact, bad. Which is unfortunate because Iwuji, who offered a much more nuanced performance in Gunn’s edgy-fun DC Extended Universe series, “Peacemaker,” is left with just a thin silhouette of an antagonist to work with here. (Will Poulter and Elizabeth Debicki also appear as idiotic secondary antagonists, for no real reason.)

Something like Thanos Lite or a knockoff Dr. Frankenstein, the High Evolutionary represents one of the central problems the franchise is facing in a post-“Endgame” M.C.U.: characters and circumstances that pale in comparison to Thanos and his cataclysmic, conclusive multi-arc-spanning plotline. Because at least the extent of Thanos’s power and the roots of his villain philosophy were clear. “There is no god — that’s why I stepped in,” the High Evolutionary says at one point. This tiny germ of a motivation does nothing but indicate all the questions that the film could have answered about this character to make him more interesting. Surely an atheist with a narcissistic personality and obsessive-compulsive disorder has some deeper psychology to unpack. Ah well.

Though this “Guardians” is certainly less fun than the others, there are still glints of joy in the more mundane and ancillary quibbles among the found family of misfits. Dave Bautista gives another priceless performance as Drax, and Bautista’s signature chemistry works with Pom Klementieff as Mantis. Groot (Vin Diesel) has leveled up in the bang-bang-shoot-em-up category, as has Nebula (Karen Gillan). Though the film makes no attempt to explain the logic behind Gamora’s magical reappearance (“I’m not some infinity stone scientist!” Peter exclaims after trying to puzzle things out), it does at least give Saldaña the opportunity to reinvent her character, which she manages beautifully. The same for Rocket, who gives an Oscar-worthy performance — via Cooper’s great voice acting, of course, but also via the animation, which makes his faces, postures and movements look so unbelievably believable.

Gunn makes the curious, bold choice to chase an unpleasant aesthetic that’s part Cronenberg, part “Osmosis Jones.” A series of scenes take place in a ship fashioned like viscera and innards, with fleshy globules and architectural dendrites, often in nude tones. Squishy sound effects add an unwelcome layer of grossness.

Even when the movie switches back to the more lambent palette of nebulae and the luminous shine of the stars, Gunn’s direction doesn’t serve the full tableau. His camera is too voyeuristic, spinning enthusiastically on every axis during group fight scenes rather than giving us a steady look at the choreography.

At least this “Guardians,” like the previous ones, stays on beat with a fantastic soundtrack of Spacehog, Beastie Boys and Earth Wind & Fire. But pumping soundtrack aside, after a breakout hit and the sequel, “Everything Would Have Been Fine if Your Dad the Space God Played Catch With You: The Movie,” this final piece of the trilogy makes one thing apparent: “Guardians” was just a one-hit wonder.

 Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2018) #29-32

   Ever since this character was created, there's been something I've found mightily enjoyable about it. Sometimes though, it comes off as a little pandering. Nothing really says 'diversification' more than a black/Puerto Rican Spider-Man created by a bunch of white people to really drive the point. The good news though is that it's easy to get past that when you're simply seeing what this character is on it's base - a new, young Spider-Man. What could be better when you get down to brass tacks?

   Miles was recently cloned, and now has to find a way to help one of his new, malformed brothers. HE has to make it quick though, because Starling is in trouble thanks to one of our favorite old school baddies, Taskmaster. Only problem: He couldn't kidnap and deliver his victim fast enough. Soon as time runs out on the contract, Tasky bails. Who was his employer? We'll have to wait to find out.

 Daredevil (2019) #33-36

   The Chip Zdarsky run on Daredevil continues with the Kingpin cloning Bullseyes, Elektra donning the cowl for Daredevil while he's in jail, and of course more Chicago Detective Cole North. Unfortunately it wasn't really that eye opening of an arc but I'm hoping he manages to turn the corner in the next volume (hooray for more #1's). Typhoid Mary and Kingpin end this series as husband and wife, plus more appearances of Mike Murdock. Hopefully that will open up a little more as we continue. Overall, this story was a little boring and very average. Let's see what they can do with the next series.

The White Lotus S2

Season 2 (2022)

1 "Ciao" 

Several guests at the White Lotus in Taormina, Sicily, are found to have died at a nearby beach. A week earlier, a group of guests arrives at the White Lotus, greeted by its short-tempered manager Valentina. Among them is Tanya, now in a strained marriage with Greg. Greg is angered to learn that Tanya brought along her young assistant Portia to a romantic getaway; to appease him while still retaining Portia's services, Tanya orders Portia to stay in her room and remain out of sight. An upset Portia later meets and bonds with Albie Di Grasso, a recent Stanford graduate who is exploring his ancestral roots in Sicily alongside his father Dominic—a Hollywood producer whose marriage is failing due to his numerous infidelities—and womanizing grandfather Bert. Meanwhile, married couple Ethan and Harper Spiller join Ethan's brash college roommate Cameron Sullivan and his wife Daphne on a trip to Sicily. Harper is quickly put off by Cameron and Daphne, believing their constant displays of affection to be insincere. Cameron exposes himself to Harper while changing into his swimming trunks. Ethan brushes off Harper's concerns and says Cameron probably did not realize she could see him. Lucia, a local sex worker, sneaks into the resort with her friend Mia, and goes to meet her latest client, Dominic.

2 "Italian Dream" 
Dominic sets up Lucia and Mia at the hotel as his guests. Portia joins the Di Grasso family on a visit to the ancient theatre of Taormina, where Bert continues to make inappropriate conversation. Albie and Portia discuss their romantic preferences over dinner, and Portia later violates her non-disclosure agreement with Tanya by divulging sordid details of Tanya's past to Albie. Albie awkwardly kisses Portia at the end of their night. Bert, meanwhile, chastises Dominic for being "sloppy" in how he conducts his extramarital affairs. Dominic later explains to Lucia that he wants to overcome his sex addiction, but relents when she and Mia offer to "thank" him for letting them enjoy the hotel's amenities on his tab. Ethan and Harper struggle to build sexual chemistry while on the trip, in contrast to Cameron and Daphne. Cameron makes another pass at Harper while swimming. Harper later apologizes to Ethan for being a "shrew" and promises to enjoy their trip. Greg tells Tanya he has to fly back to Denver for work. She later overhears him on the phone with his possible lover.

3 "Bull Elephants" 
Bert tells Dominic he spotted Lucia and Mia leaving his room; Dominic, feeling guilty and ashamed, severs ties with Lucia. Albie tries to impress Portia on a day trip with his family, but Tanya calls her away; she is very upset about Greg's departure and needs Portia's support. Tanya consults a tarot reader, who tells her that Greg is in love with someone else. That evening, Albie attempts to be more sexually forward with Portia, but she finds herself instead attracted to an English man she spots at the hotel pool. Daphne and Harper visit Noto while Cameron and Ethan spend the day jetskiing. Daphne has secretly rented a palazzo in Noto for one night, where she tells Harper that although she is aware of Cameron's infidelity, she chooses not to see herself as a victim. She also insinuates that Cameron's business partners are engaged in criminal activity. Disappointed that Ethan did not give him any insider trading tips, Cameron attempts to persuade Ethan to invest in his company. They spend the night drinking, taking MDMA and partying with Lucia and Mia; Cameron has sex with Lucia, but Ethan turns down Mia.

4 "In the Sandbox" 
Cameron does not pay Lucia and Mia in full. Harper and Daphne return from Noto. When Harper presses Ethan about last night, he admits only to getting drunk, concealing Cameron's infidelity. Harper is shocked to discover a condom wrapper in their room but spends the day fuming about it rather than confronting Ethan. Tanya is befriended by Quentin, a wealthy English gay man who lives in Palermo. He introduces her to his friends and she has a great time. Portia meets his nephew Jack, whom she had earlier spotted at the pool, and they hit it off. Albie, meanwhile, meets Lucia while waiting for Portia. Unaware that she is a sex worker who slept with his father, they get on well. While Lucia is beginning to question her own life choices, Mia suddenly decides to have sex with Giuseppe in order to further her musical career, ignoring Lucia's attempts to dissuade her. This backfires when Giuseppe, unable to perform sexually, takes some pills thinking they are Viagra. He later collapses during his evening gig and is taken away in an ambulance. Shortly after Jack and Portia leave the bar to sleep together, Albie and Lucia go back to his room, where she performs oral sex on him.

5 "That's Amore" 
Ethan finally comes clean with Harper after discovering the condom wrapper; she grudgingly accepts his apology. The two couples go on a wine-tasting trip on which an increasingly drunk Harper drops various hints that she knows about what happened. Ethan accuses Cameron of "mimetic desire" for his habit of seducing every woman Ethan was interested in at college. Throughout the day Harper continually undermines and embarrasses Ethan. Later at dinner, Cameron puts his hand on Harper's leg under the table. Albie is surprised when Lucia asks for payment for the previous night's sex. Dominic attempts to dissuade Albie and Lucia from seeing each other, but Albie seems to have fallen for her. Lucia is accosted by a man named Alessio, to whom she claims she owes money. Albie and Lucia again spend the night together. Discerning that Valentina is gay, Mia offers her sexual favors in exchange for Giuseppe's piano gig until he recovers. Tanya and Portia visit Palermo with Quentin and his friends. Quentin accompanies Tanya to a performance of Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Massimo. Meanwhile Jack and Portia explore the town, doing a dine and dash after sampling the arancini at a local restaurant. Tanya is later shocked to discover Jack having sex with his "uncle", Quentin.

6 "Abductions" 
Ethan and Harper discuss their mutual lack of attraction, with Harper asking Ethan if he still desires her. After later seeing Harper interacting with Cameron on the beach, Ethan becomes increasingly suspicious that Harper is cheating on him with Cameron. The Di Grassos go to visit the home of their apparent blood relatives. Albie brings Lucia along as a translator, but Alessio follows them; Lucia eventually agrees to accompany him, against the Di Grassos' protests. The Di Grassos arrive at their ancestral village and locate a Di Grasso family there, whom they visit unannounced. The remaining family members are three women of different generations, who angrily turn them away. Bert is despondent, having hoped for a happier family reunion. Lucia returns to the hotel that night and tells Albie that she can only leave Alessio once she pays him the money she owes. Valentina enjoys her first lesbian tryst with Mia, after Isabella, a concierge with whom Valentina has been infatuated, reveals her engagement to fellow concierge Rocco, whom Valentina had reassigned to the beach club to get closer to Isabella. Tanya hints to Portia that Jack may not be Quentin's nephew. Quentin sets up Tanya with his cocaine dealer, Niccoló; before they have sex, Tanya finds a framed photo of Quentin with a man, possibly Greg, when they were younger. A drunken Jack admits to Portia that Quentin and his friends have spent all their money on their luxuries, and cryptically implies that Quentin rescued him from dire circumstances in exchange for sex.

7 "Arrivederci" 
Harper admits to Ethan that Cameron kissed her. He furiously attacks Cameron, nearly drowning him before a bystander intervenes. Ethan shares his suspicions with Daphne, who repeats the advice she gave Harper, to do whatever makes him feel better; she then invites him to join her on a walk to a nearby island, possibly to have sex. An invigorated Ethan later has sex with Harper, reigniting the passion in their marriage. Albie convinces Dominic to wire €50,000 to Lucia to save her from Alessio, in exchange for Albie's help in salvaging Dominic's marriage. Lucia quietly leaves Albie and celebrates her successful scam with Mia and Alessio. Valentina restores Rocco to reception, at Isabella's request, and hires Mia as the resort’s new piano player, angering Giuseppe. Portia wakes up and finds that her phone is missing. She takes Jack's phone and calls Tanya, alerting her that something is wrong. Tanya suspects that Greg hired Quentin and his associates to kill her so that he can inherit her fortune. Panicking and paranoid after finding duct tape and rope in Niccolo's bag, she retrieves Niccolo's gun and kills him, Quentin, and Didier. While attempting to board a dinghy to escape, she slips, hits her head, and drowns. Her body washes up to shore the next day and is discovered by Daphne, and the other bodies on the yacht are found soon after. Portia confronts Jack about his relationship with Quentin; he angrily drives off, eventually dropping her off near Catania–Fontanarossa Airport and warning her not to return to the White Lotus for her own safety. Albie and Portia reunite at the airport.

 X-Force (2019) #21-26

   Just an aside before I get into this too far, the whole pages of just text that move the story along, ala Sage's Logbook or Beast's Notes, etc - that's a little annoying. I understand Benjamin Percy's passion to give the story more depth, but the distance between what a comic book is supposed to be, and what a novel is supposed to be.. well, there's differences there for a reason. I like being able to read a comic book in 15 minutes or less. When it's like "Oh look - A page of text" I have to say, I don't feel like it's really all that necessary. Either way, by now if you've been digging around in the X-world, my guess is that you're already pretty used to it.

   Other than that, I still do truly love the story as a whole. Kid Omega is in love with one of the Cuckoos which is always entertaining. The constant presence of Wolverine is neat but I'd expect to see that happening more in the actual pages of X-Men. But either way - between Beast being infected with the russian nesting doll parasite, to the Pikes storming in to kidnap X-babies, it's working. And I like where they're headed. I know the Percy/Hickman X-era doesn't last forever so it's certainly worth taking stock in and enjoying what you have while you have it. Overall a good read... and can't wait to see where it goes next.