Film Review: Michael (Lionsgate Films/Universal)

By: Jesse Striewski

I can remember a time when Thriller was still the “new” Michael Jackson album (and to the best of my memory, the first LP I ever owned), and families would stop what they were doing to watch his groundbreaking music videos whenever they appeared on TV. Hell, somewhere there’s even a photo of yours truly in a red leather jacket about to head out to my first day of grade school in true Jackson fashion. (I also blame “Beat It” for my initial love for Van Halen, and still hold it as one of the greatest songs ever written and recorded.) These examples barely even scratch the surface of the kind of impact the late Jackson had on the world at that moment in time.

If you share memories similar to this from back then, then you likely also recall when ABC released the two-part miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream in late 1992. Featuring Angela Bassett and Lawrence Hilton Jacobs (of Welcome Back, Kotter fame), the film chronicled the abusive upbringing of the Jackson children, and eventual rise to superstardom via both The Jackson 5, as well as the early days of Michael’s solo career. Viewers more or less get the same treatment here with Michael, only this time it’s told through a more modern lens, and a bigger budget.

Jaafar Jackson, the actual son of Jermaine and nephew of Michael, convincingly portrays Michael, while Colman Domingo and Nia Long play Joseph and Katherine Jackson this time around, respectively. And just like that original miniseries (without giving too much away), this one also leaves you wanting SO MUCH more. Another disappointing factor with Michael is the unfortunate use of special effects, namely the CGI used to create crowd scenes and even the animals in the film; I understand these methods no doubt reduce costs and liabilities, but it’s sad to see what we’ve lost in the world of cinema in terms of realism.

But sadder still is what we’ve since lost in the bigger picture; I found myself getting choked up numerous times throughout, thinking about the massive talent, and even the sense of shared togetherness we’ve lost since the days Michael Jackson dominated the pop world. There’s truly never been anyone else like him in any of our lifetimes, and I certainly can’t think of a single current “star” even remotely comparable to him. For that alone, the film is indeed worth a view, especially on the big screen.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Series Review: Shifting Gears Season 2 (ABC/Shaky Gun Productions/Lost Marbles/20th Television)

By: Jesse Striewski

For as long as I can remember, Tim Allen has been an American institution. First introduced on the small screen to most of us in the early ’90s via Home Improvement, then cementing his status as a comedy legend with such classics as The Santa Clause and Toy Story. And Kat Dennings, blessed with both beauty and wit, has earned her own place inside many households since 2 Broke Girls in the 2010’s. Put the two of them together, and you’ve got a (mostly) winning combination.

The first season of Shifting Gears was enjoyable enough from what I remember – though I actually spent much of it watching from a hospital bed at the time, so my memories are not as clear for obvious reasons. But season two seems to have really hit its stride, focusing on everything from young love, to deeper issues centered around post-loss relationships (Newcomer to the series Jenna Elfman is undeniably likeable here as Allen’s character Matt’s new love interest).

Highlights that stick out from this latest season include a brief Home Improvement reunion of Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, and Debbe Dunning on the season premiere, and some fairly fun seasonal episodes centering around both Halloween and Christmas. There’s even a humorous episode (simply titled “Danger”) that revolves around a nuisance raccoon that allows the young Maxwell Simkins of the recent Mighty Ducks: Game Changers to shine again as well.

Sure, some laughs may fall flat, while a few others might even feel a bit forced at times. But overall, there’s way more cringe-worthy things to behold on prime time TV these days other than Shifting Gears.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Series Review: The Conners Season 7 (ABC)

By: Jesse Striewski

The tagline for the final season of Roseanne spinoff The Conners makes the claim “A working class act from start to finish,” but I can’t honestly recall a more recent or larger travesty in American television history than what has become of this show.

When Roseanne was first rebooted on ABC in 2018 with the majority of its main original cast intact, it had potential. Then one careless (and admittedly dumb) tweet from Roseanne Barr seemingly put an end to it all. At least it should have ended there, but unfortunately the network decided to kill off its main character and re-tool the series as The Conners (effectively becoming one of the worst possible decisions imaginable).

Since that first season, I only seldomly tuned in here and there out of sheer curiosity, and every time I did I regretted it almost instantly. While the original Roseanne show was an honest portrayal of the American family at that moment in time, what evolved to become The Conners quickly turned into an embarrassment, with the remaining cast (obviously lacking much integrity here in the first place) unable to add much to what was left of the proceedings other than negativity (even Michael Fishman, who played DJ, was apparently written off the show after just the first four seasons).

I was determined to watch all six episodes of this “farewell” season though, which at times ranged from slightly entertaining, to levels of near torture.

John Goodman as Dan Conner was once one of those TV Dad greats most kids looked up to and respected, and Sara Gilbert as the cynical, wise-cracking Darlene was reminiscent of your best friend’s cool older sister you didn’t want to admit having a small crush on (that moment has long since passed too though). Only Lecy Goranson as Becky and Laurie Metcalf as Jackie added any sort of “comic” relief that I could see, the rest seemed content at just wallowing in their own misery for the sake of it.

Most of this final season centered around Roseanne’s passing and the final outcome of the trial surrounding her death, with the final episode accumulating with the family (what was left of it, anyway) gathering at her grave in yet another failed celebration that’s almost touching at times if not for the sheer arrogance of it all. The cast and crew of The Conners might actually believe that they bowed out graciously, but make no mistake – that would have required them doing so a long time ago.

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

Series Review: The Goldbergs Season 10 (ABC/Sony Pictures Studios)

By: Jesse Striewski

It feels like just yesterday when The Goldbergs first premiered on ABC in 2013. The discovery of this simple nostalgia-based show that takes place in the ’80s was an innocent enough concept, and one I was easily able to relate and dive into with my own family from the start.

I really wanted to get into this season since its start last September, and did my best to give it a chance. For the most part, there were some moments reminiscent of those earlier seasons that reminded me of why the show was so good in the first place. Yet far too many times it still felt as though something was still missing.

But the series had no doubt gone down consistently in quality after the death of late actor George Segal (who played the grandfather, “Pops”) after season eight, and the unceremonious departure of Jeff Garlin (the father, “Murray”), the latter of which was finally shown some mercy this season and at least killed off instead of the weird CGI angle they tried to pull off the last half of said ninth season (which was more laughable itself than most of the jokes at the time).

There were some moments in season ten that did stick out; “DKNY” finds Adam (Sean Giambrone) visiting his once best friend Dave Kim (Kenny Ridwan) in the Big Apple and learning how much they’ve actually outgrown each other (all with a Halloween party as a back drop, where Tim Meadows guests and does a surprisingly funny impression of Prince); “A Flyer’s Path to Victory” is a spot-on ode to the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team (second only to the New Jersey Devils in my own world), and “Love Shack” is somehow now relatable as Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Geoff (Sam Lerner) struggle to find some grown-up time alone together for romance.

But by the final episode “Bev to the Future,” it feels like they are trying to just wrap up ten years worth of a show in just thirty minutes. And even including flashbacks with former cast members (even ostracized ones), it still feels like a case of too little too late. Whatever Garlin might have said or done behind the scenes to warrant his exit (which, judging by the vague reasoning given for his dismissal, it likely wasn’t much more than a case of weak woke Hollywood needing to control everything yet again), it surely was a mistake that unfortunately proved too costly in the end. Let it be a lesson learned to all those involved.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Series Review: The Goldbergs Season 9 (ABC/Sony Pictures Television)

By: Jesse Striewski

When The Goldbergs first premiered on TV in 2013, it was a quaint throwback that perfectly captured the essence of when the ’80s sitcom reigned supreme, and was still an event for the whole family. That initial magic has since dissipated somewhat, yet the show keeps trudging along regardless.

The show started its decline in quality by season six or seven, and season nine (which originally aired in September of 2021) asked us to accept a lot to say the least. The first noticeable change came with the unfortunate loss of “Pops,” played by the late George Segal, who passed away in March of 2021. His death was addressed in the first episode, then mentioned a few more times throughout the season.

Then of course there was the sudden controversy that supposedly came along with actor Jeff Garlin, who has played the father Murrary on the show since day one. Some vague behind the scenes “misconduct” allegations caused the producers to replace Garlin midway through the season, deciding to use a stand-in and weird CGI to replace him instead. It was about this time that I realized the show had hit a new low.

Aside from all these issues, the plots were really nothing all that spectacular, either, many just revolving around Adam (Sean Giambrone) navigating his future with both college and his girlfriend Brea (Sadie Stanely) and Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Geoff’s (Sam Lerner) eventual wedding. And of course there’s the usual meddling from Bev (Wendi McLendon-Covey) throughout all of these situations.

Only a couple of episodes from this season really standout; the Halloween episode that sees Adam finding solace in still celebrating the holiday via his “other” grandfather (Judd Hirsch) despite the loss of Pops. The episode also sticks out for featuring the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira.

And then of course there’s that wedding episode. We not only get an appearance from yet another ’80s pop star (Richard Marx), but one of the most awkward moments in the show’s tenure featuring the “stand-in” Murrary that the flimmakers actually tried to pull off as authentic. The result is one of the most cringe-worthy scenes ever to be displayed in small screen history.

The final episode (which aired in May of this year) Adam not only graduates, but we also find out that Erica is pregnant, leaving us with a somewhat predictable cliffhanger to end the season on. With season ten about to drop this evening, there’s no telling what to expect from this once-great, dwindling show. The only thing we know for sure is they’ve obviously learned from their mistakes by keeping the Murrary character going in the fashion they had, and finally decided to kill him off all together; perhaps at this point it’d be best to just put the show down as well before it gets any worse than this.

Rating: 2/5 Stars