Lost in translations

With a spate of disappointing releases in theaters, nothing displeases me more than to tell you all not to head out. Theaters are hurting for business at this moment and it pains me to say that. Hopefully I will have more choices in the following issue for your next trip. For now, that same cinematic experience can be had on television these days. Whether you peruse cable or streaming those big stars and grand production values haven’t been sacrificed. Here are some of the latest programs, adapted from major works, some might be interested in. Let’s dive in and see what all the hype is about.

Video game adaptations have gotten a bad rap. Most of the ire has been lain on Super Mario Bros and the second Mortal Kombat. But with numerous Tomb Raider films and Uncharted last year, a comeback has been in order. And in strolls HBO with The Last of Us. Co-created with game writer Neil Drunkmann, this is brought to us by the mastermind behind the Chernobyl miniseries Craig Mazin. And like that juggernaut he has grounded us in, what seems on the surface, a rather fantastical situation.

After a prologue in 1963, we are taken back to 2003 where we meet Joel played by Pedro Pascal and his daughter on the day a fungal infection wipes out life as we know it. We jump ahead to twenty years later and the government have everyone not infected living in quarantine zones around the United States. One day Joel and his friend Tess is given the task of bringing a young girl left uninfected to a camp to possibly find a cure.

Pascal’s meteoric rise in the last decade has been impressive. From side characters on Game of Thrones to heading The Mandalorian and Narcos, his status as an A-lister has been cemented. Even his range from stoic quietness to snarky humor shifts with effortless ease, just take a look at the movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent or his turn as SNL host as proof. The bond that develops even over these first four episodes with the young girl Elle played by Bella Ramsey fills in deeper with more layered shades.

My fear that this was going to be just another Walking Dead ripoff was shed the moment episode three began. What might have been seen as filler becomes a mini-movie starring Nick Offerman as a doomsday prepper left in a town after evacuation. We see his ingenuity as he sustains his life and protects his space. This all before Frank shows up and changes everything. It is a beautiful depiction of love found among the ashes of society that will leave you heartbroken to the strains of Linda Rondstadt. The cast is stacked from John Hannah’s foreboding tone in the prologue to a sinister role brought to life by Melanie Lynskey. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Over on AMC, Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe has taken an interesting path. Last year saw the return of Louis and Lestat a reimagining of Interview with the Vampire. Now we are given Mayfair Witches. Lesser known, it tells the tale of a long line of mystical women from an old-world family. Each generation has passed down mystical powers, as well as a curse in the form of an evil spirit called Lasher.

Alexandra Daddario plays Rowan Fielding, a neurosurgeon who finds that she was adopted and is really the next matriarch to head the family. As she returns to New Orleans, she encounters the spirit as well as her duplicitous uncle Cortland played by a devilish Harry Hamlin. As much as I enjoyed Interview for its reinventions, something is sorely lacking here. As fun as some characters are, it lacks the wonder the vampires have which is a shame. Still, it is a good-looking series and never boring by any means. Here’s hoping both worlds collide like they did in Rice’s novels. Anyway, I need to get back to reading a little mystery novel to prepare me for some upcoming viewing. Until then, stay safe dear readers.

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