COSTNER'S ISSUE WITH "YELLOWSTONE'S" SHERIDAN IS TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE

TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA - As the finger pointing has started to take center stage on the production of the final season to one of the biggest shows being presented by Paramount, many people have lost sight on who started the whole thing to get Kevin Costner to want to leave the show. YELLOWSTONE [YS] is one hell of a series, but even though it has it's many faults, story telling with character developments that has so many cracks, that the toughness of just a few characters make the fans of the show forget that the series truly has no ending...or a lack there of. And for a series that was allegedly written in 2013, why is there a sudden shock that the leading actor [and Executive Producer] is complaining that the series has long run it's course and that the series creator is just now stalling to end the show?

The YS plot establishments are all over the place, so much so, that the series writer has had to try and develop several off-shoot shows to tell the whole family history, leaving many to wonder "who is related to who?" and "how does this tie in with that?" - I presented a theory in a recent blog review of one of Taylor Sheridan's earlier works, WIND RIVER, a movie that had it's moment of wonder, but then a complete failure with an ending so bad that, I was completely confused about how Sheridan sold this film to anyone. Especially since the cast of the film was filled with some talented veterans, i.e. Elizabeth Olson and Jeremy Renner; and some actors that eventually were entrusted to perform brilliantly on YS. To put it clearly, Sheridan has a reputation for writing bad endings to good ideas.

Costner has made it clear that YS was never intended to go beyond five years of production and that he's felt that Sheridan has dragged the the show in so many directions that it's impossible for the series to end after this fifth season, that is currently on hold as Sheridan has been forced to rewrite a ton of it. With only a handful of episodes left, there's no doubt that Costner's character [John Dutton] has to be killed off to make any sense of the irregularity of story arcs that the series currently presents to it's fans. I'm sure Sheridan is under a lot of pressure now and Costner called him out on his previous work and told the now cocky show's creator, "Lets get this thing done!" - Especially since it's no secret that Costner is back to working on full feature films and is now claiming that he will never work outside of that medium again.

Sheridan's reputation in Hollywood has been under fire lately. Insiders say that the writer/creator is full of himself and holds an ambitious attitude against anyone that questions his writing. His ego is costing many of his other streaming series to take a ride on the back burner until he finishes scripting the screenplay on YS. Many feel that he has too may pokers in the fire and he can't control the pacing of writing for each series under his control. It could be true, I've watched most of his series and I feel that all of them have the same motif in constructive writing; bad guys that take a turn for making good decisions while staying bad guys. Not that it's a bad idea, but over time, the stories become dull and then he tosses in another story arc to loosen things up and prolong the series for another episode or two. One thing is for sure though, Sheridan has top names of veteran actors working on all of his projects and that formula keeps his work alive on the streaming circuit.

The question now is, when will the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, or Jeremy Renner get tired of Sheridan's ambitious ego and take a leap from his series work like Costner did?

STALLONE TURNS UP THE HEAT IN "THE SAMARITAN"

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - THE SAMARITAN [2022] - PG13 - Amazon Prime - Directed by Julius Avery, based on creative works by Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta. Stars Sylvester Stallone, Javon Walton, Pilou Asbaek, and Dascha Polanco. This is a dark story about two brothers with incredible powers who are at odds with one another; one fallen to evil [called Nemesis], the other follows the life of law and order [called The Samaritan], who wind up in a battle for control that costs one their life. Many years later, living in a city torn with the admiration of the populace living in the Urban Legend of the two brothers, always wondering who won the final battle, who lost, and where they vanished to, a young boy [Walton] meets a mysterious old man [Stallone] and begins to believe that he has stumbled onto one of the survivors of the final battle.

The movie has a slow start, but in small spurts the visual effects fall to the mainstream high action and super hero filled special effects that usually follow in every super hero movie that's been produced in the last ten years. So, there's no surprise at what abilities are presented when the quiet super hero attitude of Stallone's character "Joe Smith" suddenly sparks to life and emotion, and the truth surfaces. Walton seems a little out of his league performing as a surprised teen, finding out that his childhood Urban Legend hero is actually alive and kicking. But he does his part consistently and he grows quickly as a young actor during the entire run of the movie.

THE GOOD - Stallone is playing a usually quiet and dark character, a stigma of his decision to choose roles recently. He looks old and tired in this film, which fits him perfectly for the role. He turns up the intensity as the film progresses and there's just something that he does to bring the house down in style, and I mean that literally. The CGI at the end of the film is pretty impressive for building up the final battle and there are moments where the viewer can honestly believe that their standing in the middle of a fiery inferno. The director chose to shoot this film in a wide-angle format, giving the film an epic feel from beginning to end, which gives the film a larger preview of the background locations and big city feel. The back story is the real mystery and the totally of the cost of life is brought to the forefront, giving a good plot a really good chance to show its true colors.

THE BAD - The start of the film, after the brief history opening, just seems to slow down to a crawl. Plus there are few moments of grand standing by other actors. Walton was obviously picking up some bad habits from the other senior actors around him, as he begins to show some over-acting in some scenes. It's noticeable, but does not alter the films energy. Pilou Asbaek plays the perfect villain for the film, but I can't shake off the fact that his "tremendous presence" makes his performance seem a little over-the-top. I know I sound like I'm being a little bit picky, but these are the only weaknesses to the film that I noticed.

POST MORTEM - This is a solid film where the director seems to have had a eye-opening idea to keep things simple, punch out the better scenes with up close action, and deliver the type of action sequences that seem to look like the production used practical effects instead of making the whole movie look like a CGI video game. Stallone was a perfect cast for the role as Joe Smith and I honestly like that the film didn't go over board and show more than just a localized area of mayhem; keeping the universe of the main story to only a small section of a big city and not the entire world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[4 out of 5 Stars]

STALLONE MAKES HIS MARK IN STREAMING WITH "TULSA KING"

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - TULSA KING - Paramount+ - A series written by Taylor Sheridan. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, and Dana Delany. This is another series created and written brilliantly by Sheridan, creator of YELLOWSTONE, 1883 and 1923, who has gone out of his way in the last three years to release some refreshing new shows on the Paramount network. TULSA KING [TK] is his new installment, and once again, he has a strong cast filled with veteran actors to build up a fantastic first season to the series.

Stallone plays a "General" in the New York Mafia who spent the last 25 years in prison for murder. Upon his release, his "family" of gangsters order him to leave the city of New York and head out west to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start new business ventures. He reluctantly leaves New York and his family for a new start, and upon the first day of arrival, he gets off to a great start spotting crime running free in the streets of Tulsa and making money from side hustles in the legalized marijuana trade. Keep in mind that Stallone does not play a physical monster in this series, instead he's in a role where his leading character is a thinker and planner, outsmarting all of the potential & established criminal competition and law enforcement agencies in the city. To make things even worse, he's pissed off members of his old mafia family back in New York and they want him dead.

THE GOOD - Stallone carries the series well. There are several story arcs in TK that help develop supporting characters and they are performed brilliantly by some talented new actors. Most of the scenes in the series are actually filmed in Tulsa, OK and a tons of scenes are filmed at outside locations, giving the series a broad look at the local territory. Sheridan even takes the time to add a little Native American zest to the series and develop a plotline where [of course] a gambling casino will be eventually involved. I know that none of this sounds brand new or overly interesting, but with the addition of Stallone still settling his feet with the idea of slowly developing characters with patience and precious time on his side, his acting prowess is starting to promote a better way of him delivering his performances.

THE BAD - There are times where the series makes Tulsa seem like a small town, with people who think backward from a time long gone. The addition of Delany was a little weak; her character hasn't developed well and she is mostly seen hanging around the horses at a stable. Giving Delany top billing for a small role seems a little like "big name dropping." She plays her mysterious role well, but he real energy of the show should be spent elsewhere. Action scenes are too sporadic and some of the motions of the story are filled with long speeches and drawn out dialog. Plus it doesn't help that Stallone still mumbles his line from time to time. The final episode of the season was a little too transparent and seemed a little rushed, but I am sure that Sheridan strongly felt that the rushed ending to the first season just meant that a second season was gong to be approved.

POST MORTEM - This is another fantastic edition to the powerful line of Taylor Sheridan writings that are building up an impressive universe of drama, murder, intrigue, and of course, action. The series has already been approved for a second season and I am sure that Stallone is more than happy about that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]