Marty VanDriel

Mysterious Homecoming

Television | Bad language and depictions of adultery mar an otherwise compelling series

by Marty VanDriel
Posted 11/20/18, 12:27 am

If you’re an Amazon Prime customer, you’ve seen a lot of hype for Homecoming, a new series of 10 half-hour episodes released in early November. Critics love the show. Should you watch too?

Julia Roberts stars as Heidi Bergman, the head of a transition center, helping veterans whose combat memories make normal life difficult. Despite thin credentials, Heidi runs the isolated campus as its primary counselor. One patient, Walter Cruz (Stephan James), recalls every detail of the death of one of his men and blames himself for his friend’s demise.

Exercise in evil

Movie | 22 July takes a hard look at a mass killer’s deeds, but offers no redemption in their place

by Marty VanDriel
Posted 10/19/18, 03:32 pm

A deranged killer massacres 77 people in cold blood, most of them teenagers isolated on an island. Who could do such a thing? And how can survivors cope? 22 July, Netflix’s new film dramatizing real events in Norway in 2011, explores the murderer’s motives and the aftermath of his crime.

Lost in solitude

Movie | In Leave No Trace, isolation bonds a father and daughter—and drives them apart

by Marty VanDriel
Posted 10/11/18, 02:40 pm

The brokenness of life is almost unbearable in Leave No Trace, a movie inspired by a true story. Will (Ben Foster) and his daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) live in the woods of a large public park near Portland, Ore., hiding from discovery by leaving few traces of their existence. They gather mushrooms, drink rainwater, and plant carefully disguised gardens in the lush forest. Will and Tom trek into town periodically, cashing Dad’s disability checks and selling his VA-supplied medications to other veterans.

Questioning his Maker

Television | In CBS series God Friended Me, an atheist doubts the divine, with unexpected results

Marty VanDriel | 9/27/18, 01:12 pm

If God sent you a Facebook friend request, what would you do? That’s the unlikely scenario at the beginning of the new CBS series God Friended Me.

Miles Finer (Brandon Micheal Hall) is an outspoken atheist eager to share his unbelief with the world through his new podcast. He toils absentmindedly during the day in a call center: His real passion is his podcast. Miles lights up with enthusiasm as he debates the existence of God with guests. “There is no proof of God anywhere in the universe,” he states.

People with pets

Movie | Dogs bring people together in Dog Days

Marty VanDriel | 8/16/18, 10:14 am

Do we love our pets more than we love people? Are canines and felines more important to 21st-century North Americans than fellow humans, created in God’s image? The previews for Dog Days had me worried that this would be yet another movie where dogs and cats are portrayed as so much worthier than their masters.

Long-winded comedy

Television | Jim Gaffigan is funny, but Noble Ape meanders

Marty VanDriel | 7/18/18, 04:20 pm

Jim Gaffigan has been married 15 years and has five kids: not the typical profile for a popular comedian. His wife, Jeannie, recently survived a brain tumor. Gaffigan drew on their medical experiences for his new special, Noble Ape, available on cable and streaming services.

Violence on the prairie

Television | Corruption dominates in Paramount's Yellowstone

Marty VanDriel | 7/05/18, 10:28 am

Violence and death follow rancher John Dutton (Kevin Costner) everywhere he goes in Paramount’s new TV series, Yellowstone. From episode 1’s opening scene, in which Dutton shoots a horse injured by a bullying land developer’s truck, to his order to get rid of a witness whose testimony could harm his son, killing and mayhem abound.

Missing the adventure

Television | The Dangerous Book for Boys is an epic disappointment

Marty VanDriel | 6/14/18, 02:59 pm

Get your head out of your phone, and get your hands dirty! The Dangerous Book for Boys, published in 2007, seems like a great starting point for a TV adaptation. Authors Conn and Hal Iggulden taught young men classic skills like building treehouses, skimming stones, and making paper airplanes, and gave brief history lessons on topics like the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Amazon’s TV series of the same name is a squandered opportunity—a mushy mix of modern clichés and New Age spiritualism that pays brief attention to its supposed source material.

Space family Robinson

Television | Despite recycled plotlines, Netflix’s Lost in Space is well-made and upholds noble virtues

Marty VanDriel | 5/24/18, 11:55 am

Do you ever wonder if there are any truly new TV or movie plots? Producers of the new Netflix series Lost in Space reused characters and plotlines from the 1960s series of the same name, which in turn was based loosely on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, written by a pastor, Johann David Wyss. Wyss was inspired by Daniel Defoe’s 1719 classic, Robinson Crusoe. That’s a lot of recycling!

Emergency measures

Television | In the Fox series 9-1-1, the first responders need a rescuer, too

Marty VanDriel | 3/01/18, 03:30 pm

A firefighter muscles through smoke and confusion, then dives into rising water to save passengers stuck in an airliner downed in the Pacific. A police sergeant bursts out of the duct tape around her wrists, tackling a crazed killer. A group of wedding celebrants falls through two stories of a negligently built structure, and emergency personnel race in to rescue. Fox’s popular new TV drama 9-1-1 revels in mayhem, but the first responders’ own lives are equally chaotic.