You don’t really understand it when you’re a kid, but, boy, it really feels like time flies by as you get older. When you’re stressed or overworked or even just have more important things on your mind, it can be difficult to find the time to do what you want to do before it feels like you’re too late. This is, in part, why I started doing these review compilation posts sometimes containing bite-sized reviews about shows or films that I feel like I still need to talk about, even though I missed out on the moment right after the release. If you read my website frequently, then you know that I’ve recently posted two backlog/catch-up compilations for last year’s TV series. With that out of the way, I now want to focus on some of the shows of the past seven or eight months that I really want to give you my thoughts on. Today, I’ll focus on some of the shows that I think are the very best of the year thus far, including, but not limited to, a video game TV-adaptation and an incredibly stylish reimagining of an iconic Patricia Highsmith story.
F.A.Q.
- What are Additional Bite-Sized Reviews / Review Compilations?
– My movie and television catch-up review series ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews‘ is an evolution of the Overview-article section previously titled ‘What I Didn’t Write About.’ In articles such as this one, I will provide my readers with my thoughts on select new films, new shows, or even classics that I feel like giving my thoughts on relatively briefly, since I don’t have the time to dedicate thorough reviews to them at this point in time. That said, sometimes the reviews found in these articles go quite long, which is why I sometimes refer to them as review compilations rather than a handful of bite-sized reviews. - Why do the bite-sized reviews not include either a letter grade or a review score?
– In my full and thorough reviews, I like to score or grade what I watch. But since these reviews aren’t as detailed, I think it is fairer to the films and shows to simply just decide whether or not to recommend them. I guess you could say this is the only type of review that is basically ‘scored’ with the classic thumbs-up/thumbs-down-method on my site, though sometimes my recommendation answer comes with a caveat.
Fallout: Season 1 | Series | Created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet | Release Year: 2024 | Season Length: 8 Episodes | Recommended?: Yes.
For the longest time, video game adaptations have been the butt of jokes for how few (if any) successful video game adaptations materialized in the last few decades. But, now in the 2020s, it appears that we have turned a corner. I say this because of the wild box office success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie from Illumination, and, perhaps especially, the universal critical praise that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s The Last of Us adaptation received. That trend continued this year with the Prime Video adaptation of the popular post-apocalyptic video game franchise Fallout.
In the streaming series adaptation, we follow a so-called ‘vault dweller’ named Lucy MacLean (played by Ella Purnell), a young woman, who is forced to leave the fallout bunker that she calls home when outsider raiders attack her bunker and kidnap her father. As she risks her life to go to the surface, she realizes that the stories that she has been told about the surface and the history of the post-apocalyptic world aren’t entirely true.
Like with The Last of Us, Fallout’s first season succeeded because of it being respectful of the source material, sticking to the games’ distinctive tone, and matching the property with a cast and a crew uniquely suited to pulling it off in the best way possible. Admittedly, I don’t think Fallout is quite as phenomenal as The Last of Us’ first season was, but, frankly, I can understand if people feel otherwise because what we have here is such a rewarding and finely-tuned adaptation that understands the games exactly. Furthermore, Fallout the game series doesn’t hold as special of a place in my heart as The Last of Us does, but, with that having been said, I was giddy with excitement over and over again as I watched Fallout. The show is filled with easter eggs and references, but they never get in the way of strong storytelling or character work.
The cast and crew have created captivating storylines that make you genuinely invested in all of the pivotal characters. Of the performers, Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell really stand out, with the former managing to give a supremely entertaining performance despite being covered in make-up and/or prosthetics for most of the show. Meanwhile, Purnell really pulls off the naivety and innocence of her privileged, goodie-two-shoes vault dweller, who is always really fun to watch because of her well-chosen attitude. The show was so good that it felt like such a shame to have this be released all at once as opposed to weekly when it could’ve dominated water cooler discussions all over the world. It vastly exceeded my expectations.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Season 1 | Series | Created by Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover | Release Year: 2024 | Season Length: 8 Episodes | Recommended?: Yes.
Earlier this year, Prime Video released a streaming series adaptation of Doug Liman and Simon Kinberg’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which is a film that is mostly remembered for how its stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie supposedly ‘fell in love’ on set. Nineteen years after the release of the film, actors Donald Glover and Maya Erskine have taken on the roles of the two spies paired up to work and live undercover as a married couple. Over the course of the series, the couple goes through several stages of a relationship, as they both try to complete the missions that an anonymous source tasks them with, as well as work on their ‘relationship.’
Because of the Brangelina of the original production (i.e. the famous on-set chemistry for the film, which is here referred to by a power couple portmanteau), I suspect most people watched the series and expected sizzling chemistry paired with strong spy action. As such, series creators Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover, the latter of whom, of course, also starred in the series, had their work cut out for them. I’ll admit that even I was a little bit concerned about them reaching a satisfying level of on-screen chemistry in the first episodes, as their initial interactions do feel slightly awkward and without much ’sizzle,’ as I put it earlier. In my notes, I jotted down that, hopefully, this was an intentional choice to emphasize the artificiality of their forced connection, and I think I was right.
I’ll also add that the series features beautifully realized James Bond-esque locations, some solid spy action (though one key scene is left up to our imagination), and a really strong supporting cast of guest appearances from actors like Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza Gonzalez, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Parker Posey, Wagner Moura, and Ron Perlman. All of those mentioned make memorable appearances, with the latter four perhaps being the most memorable. For myself, I think Perlman’s performance is the most effective, as he gets to play someone the leads have to protect in an escort mission that feels almost like an impromptu parenting exercise for John and Jane Smith since he has these intense but childish temper tantrums that are super entertaining.
It really is a romantic action drama that goes through so many romance movie steps from episode to episode, such as the awkward meet cute, getting together, first fight, double date, saying “I love you,” contemplating children, therapy, and so on and so forth. It is such a smart structure for the season to have each episode be built around the realization of certain rom-com tropes but executing it with an espionage angle that also really works. And, ultimately, I grew to really enjoy the leads’ connection which feels more cute than Brangelina’s sizzling chemistry did, and I found that Glover and Erskine were particularly good in the handful of really strong scenes that allowed them to utilize their significant comedic talents — including in a truth serum scene in which the characters showcased honesty and how much they care in a really charming way despite the (delightfully) over-the-top espionage developments.
Ripley | Series | Created by Steven Zaillian | Release Year: 2024 | Season Length: 8 Episodes | Recommended?: Yes.
While the states of both the movie and movie theater industries are often up for debate and cause for worry, it is generally accepted that what has been happening with regard to the type of stories being told in television or streaming series for more than a decade is genuinely incredible. Phrases like ‘peak TV’ or ‘prestige TV’ are constantly thrown around, as storytellers get the chance to tell cinematic stories on television. Recently, Brian Cox remarked that television is doing what cinema used to do. One of the best recent examples of a series being highly cinematic and containing excellence in choices, styles, and a genre that modern blockbuster films only rarely, if ever, dare touch is Ripley. This is a new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s iconic psychological thriller novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was previously adapted into an extremely popular Anthony Minghella film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Cate Blanchett.
This time around the iconic novel about the famous fictional con artist — who, while asked to convince a wealthy young man to return home from Italy, becomes so infatuated with the life he is trying to insert himself into that he will do whatever it takes to keep it — has been adapted by Oscar-winning writer Steven Zaillian, perhaps best known for Schindler’s List and The Night Of. Despite following in the footsteps of a widely seen and quite popular film, the end product is astoundingly good. Zaillian has taken what, for many, will be a familiar story and made it stand out as something that feels and looks different. But while it looks and feels different, it always feels true to the central story, which, in the hands of writer-director Zaillian and cinematographer Robert Elswit, becomes an incredible noir streaming series full of rich black-and-white images. And, while it has become a cliché to state it, it really is true that every frame could be a painting here. Ripley is darkly stylish, precisely made, and meticulously paced, and the filmmaking and editing also thrive when it highlights the character’s paranoia or the occasional moments of levity that are, frankly, pretty funny. Some people will undoubtedly be thrown off by both the black-and-white look and the relatively slow, deliberate pace, but, frankly, those elements serve a purpose and work really well.
Because of the incredible cast of the aforementioned film, many will also be inspired to compare these new performances with the ones many of us know and love. Frankly, I thought there were choices made here that made the performances feel quite different, which is perhaps intentional because it is tough to go toe-to-toe with that cast. That said, I really do think Andrew Scott delivers an acting masterclass here as the titular main character and con artist. Scott’s Ripley may not have the same boyish characteristics that Damon had way back in the Minghella film. Nevertheless, Andrew Scott makes the character his own through both big choices and exceptionally nuanced acting and an approach that is perfect for the style that Zaillian is going for. And I also think Maurizio Lombardi deserves praise for his take on the main inspector, who, like with Scott’s Ripley, will now be many peoples’ definitive version of that type of character.
Presumed Innocent: Season 1 | Series | Created by David E. Kelley | Release Year: 2024 | Season Length: 8 Episodes | Recommended?: Yes.
Based on Scott Turow’s 1987 novel of the same name, Presumed Innocent is a series about a prosecutor named Rusty Sabich (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who is accused of the murder of his long-time colleague Carolyn Polhemus (played by Renate Reinsve), with whom he had had an affair that tested his marriage with his wife Barbara (played by Ruth Negga). As his whole life is turned upside down, he has to save his marriage and prove he didn’t commit the brutal murder at the same time. Presumed Innocent, a prestige legal thriller series, has all the right ingredients. The series — originally intended to be a mini-series, though is reportedly now going to become an anthology series of sorts — features an incredible ensemble cast that also includes Bill Camp, O-T Fagbenle, Elizabeth Marvel, and Peter Sarsgaard, among others, On top of this, it also comes from veteran tv-writer — including of several legal dramas — David E. Kelley who is in solid form here as well.
Although this is a story that has previously been adapted into a feature film starring Harrison Ford, Kelley’s version definitely lives up to the film with this modern-esque spin, which has retooled certain aspects and which some may feel tops the film itself. Without going into detail, I’ll say that the ending is dark and twisty, though I suspect some may feel its attempt to subvert expectations leads to some disappointing loose ends or the like. It was a thrilling show to watch week to week, as each episode would gradually reveal new information that would leave you on the edge of your seat excited to see what comes next. Although the scenes between Ruth Negga and Gyllenhaal are quite good, I think the show shines the most when it highlights four central performances of characters going up against each other, namely the dueling legal teams with O-T Fagbenle and Peter Sarsgaard on the one side and Bill Camp and Gyllenhaal on the other. Fagbenle does some really interesting character work, and I am such a fan of Bill Camp, who is just note-perfect in the role as the good friend and former boss of the main character. And then you have Sarsgaard and Gyllenhaal. The real-life brothers-in-law deliver some of their best performances in years, with Gyllenhaal excelling in this very emotional and rash version of the character.
Shogun: Season 1 | Series | Created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks | Release Year 2024 | Season Length: 10 Episodes | Recommended?: Yes.
For such a long time, it seems like streamers and studios have scrambled to figure out what the next Game of Thrones is. And, over the years, I’ve felt that a couple of shows had that same potential. One show that I did not expect to feel that way about, but did, was Shogun, the second television series adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name about 1600s Japan and the religious and militaristic interference enacted by Protestants and Catholics during a time when the political future of the country was up in the air. This is a show that in many episodes is mostly in Japanese, and which features a focus on translation that, in others’ hands, may have come across as quite tedious or taxing. Not so here. Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks’ adaptation is one of the smartest and most fascinating shows that I have ever seen about the idea of cultural clashes and the invisible barriers that separate people with a different outlook on agency, freedom, rituals, and honor.
This is the kind of show that is both a critical and audience hit in North America despite it being mostly in a foreign language and it not really featuring any relative American stars, as, arguably, its biggest stars are Japan’s Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano. In addition to that, the characters that speak the most English in the show are Cosmo Jarvis and Anne Sawai, and both of them are relative unknowns. Despite being relative unknowns, though, both Jarvis and Sawai deliver significantly strong performances that pull you in, captivate, and make you emotionally involved. This show is arguably the biggest series success story of 2024 thus far because of how unlikely, but ultimately emphatic, of a triumph it is.
It is such a rich show that is full of emotional and cultural complexities and which is unafraid of being bloody or violent in its action, or even overwhelming in its language focus. There is no need to be afraid when it is executed as well as it is here, with strong performances and excellent writing. Although it’ll maybe feel a little bit like an overload of complex information in Japanese for some Western audiences in early episodes, I think, like myself, most people won’t have that problem. The dynamic and acting chemistry between characters like Mariko (Sawai) and Blackthorne (Jarvis) is so gripping, and the way their culturally distinct aspects are exchanged and interpreted makes for a fascinating watch as the total clash of cultures leads to some fascinating scenes where the weight of words, gender politics, and ritualistic significance or obliviousness means everything. This is especially true in the phenomenal fifth episode.
One of the only drawbacks here is that sometimes you can tell the budget limitations in scenes that are overly dark or, to be specific, in one scene on a boat (in episode 3), where the backgrounds and water just looked too fake due to overexposure or the stillness of the water. Here at the end, though, I’ll also add that I think it is a shame that they opted to have the Portuguese in this show just be English instead, since the series does such a good job with both Japanese culture and language.
– Reviews Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 
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