"POKER FACE" ISN'T FRESH, BUT IT'S HUMOROUS & ENTERTAINING

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - POKER FACE [2023] - Peacock - Created by Ria Johnson, Produced by Cameron Angeli. Writers Wyatt Cain, Ria Johnson. Stars Natashia Lyonne, Benjamin Bratt, and a whole sleuth of talented veteran actors in each new episode. This is a Peacock original series and I am sure that a real network would have never picked up the series because of the unoriginal filming format style used in the shows production.

Charlie Cale [Lyonne] has a unique, natural ability to sniff out a lie during any communication with a person; whether through body language, use of specific words, or natural instinct. We learn in the first episode that Cale uses her ability to become a poker champion; jumping from one casino to another, winning countless scores of money until she's sniffed out, black balled and forced to work at one casino in Las Vegas as a waitress to make ends meet. What isn't known is whether her ability to substantiate the truth from a lie is a supernatural ability or not. Since most of what is seen is the fact that Cale has to ask questions and wait for answers. If one doesn't give her answers or refuses to communicate, her ability will be useless in any case or mystery that falls in her path. Throughout the series, she is on the run with hitman Cliff LeGrand [Bratt] always on her tail.

THE GOOD - The series is inventive, always starting off with presenting a well planned murder or other crime, that leads to the perfect crime. Then each episode is replayed with a side plot of how Cale is inserted into the story and solves the crime by asking a few questions. Lyonne is humorous at best, always playing a quirky hippy-woman that either smoked too much marijuana or drank too little to stay pickled up and present her deep throated lines. What I like best is how nosy Cale is, how she is constantly questioning the mystery that bothers her, even while she's at rest. The action scenes are simple, the dramatic build up in each mystery by the supporting cast is spot on the best I've seen in a series in a long time.

THE BAD - Lyonne's silly acting style gets a little too far fetched at times and then becomes a silly staple that you have to endure towards the end of each episode. Where most of the time, the viewer can figure out what actions need to take place to solve the crime, Cale stumbles through her divinity of solving crime and takes another angle that you will not expect, and then in a silly "twerk style" maneuver, the case is quickly solved and the episode is over. After a few episodes, this writing format gets old and un-inventive.

POST MORTEM - This is a good series. The plethora of quality veteran actors helping out as "guest stars" in each new episode is truly remarkable. None of the new episodes cross over in plot or story, which is refreshing, but sometimes I feel like a good character arc, well designed and developed, is wasted on the idea that they were just arrested and taken away. I expect some type of crossover to eventually happen. Still, even though not ground breaking, this is just a fun show to watch.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]

PEACOCKS "M3GAN" STUNS AND THRILLS!

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - M3GAN [The Directors Cut] - Peacock [2022] - PG13 - Directed by Gerard Johnstone and Edited by Jeff McEvoy. Written and created by Akela Cooper and James Wan, this movie has a little punch in its deliver of chills and thrills. Not to be considered another "Chucky-type" horror movie, M3GAN is a story of how a child's toy in this day and age of new technology, might go too far in protecting it's owner.

Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Jenna Davis, and Amie Donald.  The story and plot involves a young girl named Cady, performed by a talented and emotional McGraw, who loses both her parents in a horrific highway accident. She is then raised by her aunt, Gemma [Williams], who is single and also a robotic's engineer. Through her aunt, Cady is eventually introduced to Megan, an automaton that is programmed through sophisticated Artificial Intelligence [AI] to be more than a child's friend, but to also be a beneficial guide in building trust through a physiological series of daily events that parents seem to ignore in a young persons life. Megan follows Cady and reminds her of what's the right thing to do, the right way to feel, and that at times, it's okay to share memories and feel strength through solid companionship.

THE GOOD - The cinematography seems perfect, especially when a scene requires to show how short the children [and Megan] are against the parents. In the film sequences "size really does matter" as the actual size of Megan hides the actual inner strength of the android when it's fully engaged to protect Cady. The special effects, along with the practical effects are delivered nicely, with very little CGI that has to be abundant during certain action scenes. The director does a great job enforcing some much needed character development to set the mood and get the viewer to trust the android in the earlier parts in the film. There are some surprising effects in presenting the android using 'less human" antiquated movements that seemed a little eerie to watch.

THE BAD - Due to this being a "Directors Cut" review, there are some bad editing skips that occur in the film; even thought they don't ruin the mood of the film, they are noticeable and I cant shake off bad mistakes in films that have gotten such great reviews. Some of the darker scenes that require torn skin or burning flesh were cut too short, but that's what you can expect from a PG13 movie. This movie should have been Rated R and the blood factor should have been pumped up to maximum; it certainly has very little to offer entertainment to children and is certainly falls under an adult horror film.

POST MORTEM - M3GAN is a definite "like" in my opinion. The film could have easily gone into deep gore and horror if the director and the films producers wanted to push the envelope. There's only so much a film can deliver to fans in the genre of a PG 13 film, but there are some scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]