Marc Bendavid | Through the Shattered Lens

The lesson of this movie is always be nice because you never know when some rich person might suddenly give you a dream job.

Taylor (Julianna Guill) owns a boutqiue in Ohio and is always honest with her customers, even if it means missing out on an easy sale. Rich New York fashion maven Alyssa (Vivica A. Fox) just happens to be in town and, when Taylor helps her pick out the perfect outfit for a meeting, she hired Taylor on the spot to come to Manhattan and manage her new store.

At first, Taylor is a fish out of water in Manhattan and she struggles to fit in with Alysssa’s high-powered style of business. Alyssa’s stores have to make a profit or she’ll lose all of her investors. Can Taylor bring in the money while being honest with her clients? Will a sidewalk sale appeal to Manhattan socialites? Will Taylor be able to bring hats back and also convince her salespeople to switch from all lack to knit dresses? Taylor also needs to find an apartment but then she meets a hunky realtor named Philip (Marc Bendavid) and they fall in love. Philip comes from a rich family and has a good job but what he really wants to do is open up a food truck. But before he can do that, he has to help Taylor adjust to living in the big city.

Think of it as being The Devil Wears Prada, just without the fashion sense or the wicked humor. Everyone raves about Taylor’s ability to match customers up with the right clothes but none of the outfits that she wears or picks out are really that spectacular or flattering. It’s a Hallmark movie, through and through. In real life, no one would hire someone they met two minutes ago to run their flagship star in Manhattan but this is Hallmaker, where everyone’s dreams come true!

I liked the performances of Marla Sokoloff and Natasha Henstridge. Marla is someone who was passed over when Alyssa hired Taylor and who now has to work under her at the store. Nastaha Henstridge is a rich customer. They were both believable and had some good moments. There were a few good shots of Manhattan, though the majority of the film was obviously shot somewhere cheaper.

It’s an okay movie if you’re in the mood for a Hallmark version of the Big Apple. Do you think it’s a smart idea to quit a high-paying job to open up a food truck? Really?

Reacher is the greatest show in ten-years! In fairness, I’m a fan of Alan Ritchson (Titans) and Malcolm Goodwin (iZombie). These men have deserved a series for A WHILE!!! It’s great to see talented people have success. It’s how it should be. It reaffirms the power of great art; it can’t be stopped. Thomas Vincent, the director, appears to be on the arthouse side. I was stunned to find out that an arthouse director pulled me into this action packed show by my proverbials. Nick Santora wrote this pilot perfectly. I was pulled deeper into every scene. We need to work on new adjectives to describe how good this show is.

What makes a great Pilot? It has to establish all of the characters, immediate danger/conflict, a mythology, and show not tell. This show had barely any exposition at all. I haven’t seen that done in years. In a time, when lazy writing is the norm, this show tosses all of that aside. Alan was born to play this part. I will get into this deeper later on, but he has the most believable portrayal of a Veteran since Battlestar Galactica. Someone helped Alan act like us and he did a great job of it.

“Welcome to Margrave” opens with Jack Reacher walking toward a diner with no obvious possessions. Reacher is rapidly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and he’s pulled into this town’s intrigue and bodies are dropping. He walks with some discomfort, which is clear in the pilot until the last scene. Why was this important? Veterans always kind of feel a little naked because we’re permanently out of uniform. We never really get over it. We’re always just a little fish out of water.

Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) the chief detective has no idea where to begin to solve these murders. The town is just 1700 people in there are two people dead by the end of the pilot. Finlay discerns that a local business accountant Paul Hubble is involved and tries to get him to talk to Reacher by locking them both up at the local prison. However, unknown to Finlay, someone wants Reacher and Paul dead. Let’s take just a moment to offer some respect to the writer and director for opting for the hard road of storytelling. They’ve set all of this conflict up without an exposition fest -that takes talent and discipline. It also leads to the greatest fight scene I’ve ever seen. Not since the Titans “Pilot” did I see a fight scene of this caliber. It topped it.

This show has heart, violence, mystery and intensity. Reacher discovers that the second body is his brother Joe. His physicality changes; he’s more relaxed in both speech and walking. Why? Because now Reacher has a mission: Revenge. Alan Ritchson pulled this transformation off brilliantly.

I have to also discuss Malcolm Goodwin as Finlay. His marriage is failed and now his career is a mess because this town is confronted with two murders in two days. His performance is like a pressure cooker; he’s trying desperately not to explode. I loved it.

I highly recommend this show. It should be picked up immediately!