Bill Idgerant <Noname@fake.net> wrote:

>This is a ten episode Netflix series about Mickey Haller, the guy
>Matthew McConaughey played in the movie of the same name, based on the
>Michael Connelly books and developed for television by David E. Kelley.
>(Is that why Lorna, Mickey's ex-wife and office manager looks just like
>Michelle Pfeiffer?)

>It's okay, if a bit convoluted, with multiple cases overlapping and
>criss-crossing that Mickey is able to juggle while operating from the
>back of a pair of huge Lincoln Navigator SUVs. He also drives a
>beautiful '60s Lincoln convertible. In none of the episodes is climate
>change or fossil fuel guzzling mentioned. Hooray!

>We finished it last night and the closing scene indicates a second
>season is likely. It's decent entertainment, but not fabulous,
>compelling or great.

Please no one discuss Season Two, which I doubt I'll get to for a year.

The library bought the physical media and I was able to check it out. I
watched all 10 episodes over several days.

This is from David E. Kelley, although he only wrote the first episode.
I don't get why it's from A+E Studios as no one ever said the satellite
channel ordered it. As we recall, CBS ordered a 13-episode series in
2019. It had a somewhat different cast. CBS then kept it from going into
production with the COVID excuse. In 2021, Netflix ordered a 10-episode
series. It began streaming May 13, 2022.

Season One adapted the Michael Connelly novel The Brass Verdict (2008).

I liked it. I was entertained. Best part is that the story was wrapped
up without leaving every major plot on a cliffhanger, except the final
scene in a finale setting up a confrontation for next season.

Wrapping up plots and stories and ending something is the best way to
convince me that something is worth watching.

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, a Mexican actor, as Mickey Haller was just fine.
The character's mother was Mexican and he grew up much of the time in
Mexico. He's got a bit of an accent that comes and goes.

The two ex-wives constantly in his life were ok. Neve Campbell (born in
Guelph, no accent, from the Scream movies) as Maggie ex #1 and Becki
Newton (Ugly Betty) as Lorna ex #2 were ok. I thought they were both
weak in the first couple of episodes but Lorna grew on me. His new
driver is Izzy (Jazz Raycole), again, a client. Ex-gang banger Cisco
(Angus Sampson, born in Sydney, never heard an accent) is amazingly good
at corporate records searches. He's the investigator.

Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0) was the sleazy rich client.

I like Gorham a lot. He seems to play nothing but villains.

It's kind of a relief that Mickey's clients are all sleazy and usually
guilty of something, not that the police or prosecutors follow all
proper procedures. He has the one innocent client from the back story.
I'm not sure if this is the same client from the movie.

Backstory: Mickey got very seriously injured surfing and got addicted to
pain killers and stopped practicing law for a year and a half. This
somehow didn't affect his somewhat opulent lifestyle that keeps him in a
nice house and Lincoln automobiles.

A lawyer he barely knew named Jerry is murdered. Mary Holder (LisaGay
Hamilton from The Practice; hey! it's a David E. Kelley show) informs
him that Jerry left him his clients. She asked for regular reports to
make sure he was handling the little clients plus wealthy Trevor Elliott
who is on trial for murdering his wife and her lover.

Det Griggs (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, despite the name was born in New
Hampshire) leads the investigation into Jerry's murder. Yeah, he was
murdered in that parking garage in Los Angeles that's the most deadly
place in movies. The Griggs character was created for the tv series. He
thinks Mickey has information that can solve Jerry's murder and puts
teams of police officers on him for weeks.

Yeah, 'cuz he controls that kind of budget.

At one point, Griggs uses Mickey as bait for the henchman.

A couple of things the movie did better than the series: We didn't get
the very long car rides through Los Angeles congestion, just an
extremely long car ride through semi-arrid desert lasting several
episodes. Not enough time was spent with Mickey's more colorful clients.
Mickey is still working for the motorcycle gang.

Bernie Kopell was in the first episode. Elliot Gould was in a later
episode.

I really would have preferred if they'd gotten a 12-episode order and
adapted two novels. 10 episodes was too much given the plot. Some of it
drags; Trevor's plot is absurdly convoluted and he seems to be acting
against interest. The most interesting part of Trevor's case was when
Mickey finally figured out how Jerry was going to defend against a
massive amount of gunshot residue found on Trevor which didn't really
make sense if he' fired just two or three bullets.

Plot points were telegraphed. I knew how Trevor's story would end and
LisaGay Hamilton met the conservation-of-characters rule.

Nevertheless, I liked it, especially given that the plot was wrapped up.

Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> Bill Idgerant <Noname@fake.net> wrote:
>
>> This is a ten episode Netflix series about Mickey Haller, the guy
>> Matthew McConaughey played in the movie of the same name, based on the
>> Michael Connelly books and developed for television by David E. Kelley.
>> (Is that why Lorna, Mickey's ex-wife and office manager looks just like
>> Michelle Pfeiffer?)
>
>> It's okay, if a bit convoluted, with multiple cases overlapping and
>> criss-crossing that Mickey is able to juggle while operating from the
>> back of a pair of huge Lincoln Navigator SUVs. He also drives a
>> beautiful '60s Lincoln convertible. In none of the episodes is climate
>> change or fossil fuel guzzling mentioned. Hooray!
>
>> We finished it last night and the closing scene indicates a second
>> season is likely. It's decent entertainment, but not fabulous,
>> compelling or great.
>
> Please no one discuss Season Two, which I doubt I'll get to for a year.
>

Well, I am out, because it’s all run together in my mind.

> The library bought the physical media and I was able to check it out. I
> watched all 10 episodes over several days.
>
> This is from David E. Kelley, although he only wrote the first episode.
> I don't get why it's from A+E Studios as no one ever said the satellite
> channel ordered it. As we recall, CBS ordered a 13-episode series in
> 2019. It had a somewhat different cast. CBS then kept it from going into
> production with the COVID excuse. In 2021, Netflix ordered a 10-episode
> series. It began streaming May 13, 2022.
>
> Season One adapted the Michael Connelly novel The Brass Verdict (2008).
>
> I liked it. I was entertained. Best part is that the story was wrapped
> up without leaving every major plot on a cliffhanger, except the final
> scene in a finale setting up a confrontation for next season.
>
> Wrapping up plots and stories and ending something is the best way to
> convince me that something is worth watching.
>
> Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, a Mexican actor, as Mickey Haller was just fine.
> The character's mother was Mexican and he grew up much of the time in
> Mexico. He's got a bit of an accent that comes and goes.
>
> The two ex-wives constantly in his life were ok. Neve Campbell (born in
> Guelph, no accent, from the Scream movies) as Maggie ex #1 and Becki
> Newton (Ugly Betty) as Lorna ex #2 were ok. I thought they were both
> weak in the first couple of episodes but Lorna grew on me. His new
> driver is Izzy (Jazz Raycole), again, a client. Ex-gang banger Cisco
> (Angus Sampson, born in Sydney, never heard an accent) is amazingly good
> at corporate records searches. He's the investigator.
>
> Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0) was the sleazy rich client.
>
> I like Gorham a lot. He seems to play nothing but villains.
>
> It's kind of a relief that Mickey's clients are all sleazy and usually
> guilty of something, not that the police or prosecutors follow all
> proper procedures. He has the one innocent client from the back story.
> I'm not sure if this is the same client from the movie.
>
> Backstory: Mickey got very seriously injured surfing and got addicted to
> pain killers and stopped practicing law for a year and a half. This
> somehow didn't affect his somewhat opulent lifestyle that keeps him in a
> nice house and Lincoln automobiles.
>
> A lawyer he barely knew named Jerry is murdered. Mary Holder (LisaGay
> Hamilton from The Practice; hey! it's a David E. Kelley show) informs
> him that Jerry left him his clients. She asked for regular reports to
> make sure he was handling the little clients plus wealthy Trevor Elliott
> who is on trial for murdering his wife and her lover.
>
> Det Griggs (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, despite the name was born in New
> Hampshire) leads the investigation into Jerry's murder. Yeah, he was
> murdered in that parking garage in Los Angeles that's the most deadly
> place in movies. The Griggs character was created for the tv series. He
> thinks Mickey has information that can solve Jerry's murder and puts
> teams of police officers on him for weeks.
>
> Yeah, 'cuz he controls that kind of budget.
>
> At one point, Griggs uses Mickey as bait for the henchman.
>
> A couple of things the movie did better than the series: We didn't get
> the very long car rides through Los Angeles congestion, just an
> extremely long car ride through semi-arrid desert lasting several
> episodes. Not enough time was spent with Mickey's more colorful clients.
> Mickey is still working for the motorcycle gang.
>
> Bernie Kopell was in the first episode. Elliot Gould was in a later
> episode.
>
> I really would have preferred if they'd gotten a 12-episode order and
> adapted two novels. 10 episodes was too much given the plot. Some of it
> drags; Trevor's plot is absurdly convoluted and he seems to be acting
> against interest. The most interesting part of Trevor's case was when
> Mickey finally figured out how Jerry was going to defend against a
> massive amount of gunshot residue found on Trevor which didn't really
> make sense if he' fired just two or three bullets.
>
> Plot points were telegraphed. I knew how Trevor's story would end and
> LisaGay Hamilton met the conservation-of-characters rule.
>
> Nevertheless, I liked it, especially given that the plot was wrapped up.
>

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

On 2023-09-09 12:40 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Bill Idgerant <Noname@fake.net> wrote:
>
>> This is a ten episode Netflix series about Mickey Haller, the guy
>> Matthew McConaughey played in the movie of the same name, based on the
>> Michael Connelly books and developed for television by David E. Kelley.
>> (Is that why Lorna, Mickey's ex-wife and office manager looks just like
>> Michelle Pfeiffer?)
>
>> It's okay, if a bit convoluted, with multiple cases overlapping and
>> criss-crossing that Mickey is able to juggle while operating from the
>> back of a pair of huge Lincoln Navigator SUVs. He also drives a
>> beautiful '60s Lincoln convertible. In none of the episodes is climate
>> change or fossil fuel guzzling mentioned. Hooray!
>
>> We finished it last night and the closing scene indicates a second
>> season is likely. It's decent entertainment, but not fabulous,
>> compelling or great.
>
> Please no one discuss Season Two, which I doubt I'll get to for a year.
>
> The library bought the physical media and I was able to check it out. I
> watched all 10 episodes over several days.
>
> This is from David E. Kelley, although he only wrote the first episode.
> I don't get why it's from A+E Studios as no one ever said the satellite
> channel ordered it. As we recall, CBS ordered a 13-episode series in
> 2019. It had a somewhat different cast. CBS then kept it from going into
> production with the COVID excuse. In 2021, Netflix ordered a 10-episode
> series. It began streaming May 13, 2022.
>
> Season One adapted the Michael Connelly novel The Brass Verdict (2008).
>
> I liked it. I was entertained. Best part is that the story was wrapped
> up without leaving every major plot on a cliffhanger, except the final
> scene in a finale setting up a confrontation for next season.
>
> Wrapping up plots and stories and ending something is the best way to
> convince me that something is worth watching.
>
> Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, a Mexican actor, as Mickey Haller was just fine.
> The character's mother was Mexican and he grew up much of the time in
> Mexico. He's got a bit of an accent that comes and goes.
>
> The two ex-wives constantly in his life were ok. Neve Campbell (born in
> Guelph, no accent, from the Scream movies) as Maggie ex #1 and Becki
> Newton (Ugly Betty) as Lorna ex #2 were ok. I thought they were both
> weak in the first couple of episodes but Lorna grew on me. His new
> driver is Izzy (Jazz Raycole), again, a client. Ex-gang banger Cisco
> (Angus Sampson, born in Sydney, never heard an accent) is amazingly good
> at corporate records searches. He's the investigator.
>
> Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0) was the sleazy rich client.
>
> I like Gorham a lot. He seems to play nothing but villains.

Not quite true. He played a blind CIA agent named Augie in Covert
Affairs with Piper Perabo.
>
> It's kind of a relief that Mickey's clients are all sleazy and usually
> guilty of something, not that the police or prosecutors follow all
> proper procedures. He has the one innocent client from the back story.
> I'm not sure if this is the same client from the movie.
>
> Backstory: Mickey got very seriously injured surfing and got addicted to
> pain killers and stopped practicing law for a year and a half. This
> somehow didn't affect his somewhat opulent lifestyle that keeps him in a
> nice house and Lincoln automobiles.
>
> A lawyer he barely knew named Jerry is murdered. Mary Holder (LisaGay
> Hamilton from The Practice; hey! it's a David E. Kelley show) informs
> him that Jerry left him his clients. She asked for regular reports to
> make sure he was handling the little clients plus wealthy Trevor Elliott
> who is on trial for murdering his wife and her lover.
>
> Det Griggs (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, despite the name was born in New
> Hampshire) leads the investigation into Jerry's murder. Yeah, he was
> murdered in that parking garage in Los Angeles that's the most deadly
> place in movies. The Griggs character was created for the tv series. He
> thinks Mickey has information that can solve Jerry's murder and puts
> teams of police officers on him for weeks.

I don't know if you watch The Chi but Mwine has a major role in that
show for the first few seasons.
>
> Yeah, 'cuz he controls that kind of budget.
>
> At one point, Griggs uses Mickey as bait for the henchman.
>
> A couple of things the movie did better than the series: We didn't get
> the very long car rides through Los Angeles congestion, just an
> extremely long car ride through semi-arrid desert lasting several
> episodes. Not enough time was spent with Mickey's more colorful clients.
> Mickey is still working for the motorcycle gang.
>
> Bernie Kopell was in the first episode. Elliot Gould was in a later
> episode.
>
You'll see Gould repeatedly in Season 2 when you get to it.

> I really would have preferred if they'd gotten a 12-episode order and
> adapted two novels. 10 episodes was too much given the plot. Some of it
> drags; Trevor's plot is absurdly convoluted and he seems to be acting
> against interest. The most interesting part of Trevor's case was when
> Mickey finally figured out how Jerry was going to defend against a
> massive amount of gunshot residue found on Trevor which didn't really
> make sense if he' fired just two or three bullets.
>
> Plot points were telegraphed. I knew how Trevor's story would end and
> LisaGay Hamilton met the conservation-of-characters rule.
>
> Nevertheless, I liked it, especially given that the plot was wrapped up.

--
Rhino

On Sat, 9 Sep 2023 09:01:22 -0400, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

>On 2023-09-09 12:40 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>> Bill Idgerant <Noname@fake.net> wrote:
>>
>>> This is a ten episode Netflix series about Mickey Haller, the guy
>>> Matthew McConaughey played in the movie of the same name, based on the
>>> Michael Connelly books and developed for television by David E. Kelley.
>>> (Is that why Lorna, Mickey's ex-wife and office manager looks just like
>>> Michelle Pfeiffer?)
>>
>>> It's okay, if a bit convoluted, with multiple cases overlapping and
>>> criss-crossing that Mickey is able to juggle while operating from the
>>> back of a pair of huge Lincoln Navigator SUVs. He also drives a
>>> beautiful '60s Lincoln convertible. In none of the episodes is climate
>>> change or fossil fuel guzzling mentioned. Hooray!
>>
>>> We finished it last night and the closing scene indicates a second
>>> season is likely. It's decent entertainment, but not fabulous,
>>> compelling or great.
>>
>> Please no one discuss Season Two, which I doubt I'll get to for a year.
>>
>> The library bought the physical media and I was able to check it out. I
>> watched all 10 episodes over several days.
>>
>> This is from David E. Kelley, although he only wrote the first episode.
>> I don't get why it's from A+E Studios as no one ever said the satellite
>> channel ordered it. As we recall, CBS ordered a 13-episode series in
>> 2019. It had a somewhat different cast. CBS then kept it from going into
>> production with the COVID excuse. In 2021, Netflix ordered a 10-episode
>> series. It began streaming May 13, 2022.
>>
>> Season One adapted the Michael Connelly novel The Brass Verdict (2008).
>>
>> I liked it. I was entertained. Best part is that the story was wrapped
>> up without leaving every major plot on a cliffhanger, except the final
>> scene in a finale setting up a confrontation for next season.
>>
>> Wrapping up plots and stories and ending something is the best way to
>> convince me that something is worth watching.
>>
>> Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, a Mexican actor, as Mickey Haller was just fine.
>> The character's mother was Mexican and he grew up much of the time in
>> Mexico. He's got a bit of an accent that comes and goes.
>>
>> The two ex-wives constantly in his life were ok. Neve Campbell (born in
>> Guelph, no accent, from the Scream movies) as Maggie ex #1 and Becki
>> Newton (Ugly Betty) as Lorna ex #2 were ok. I thought they were both
>> weak in the first couple of episodes but Lorna grew on me. His new
>> driver is Izzy (Jazz Raycole), again, a client. Ex-gang banger Cisco
>> (Angus Sampson, born in Sydney, never heard an accent) is amazingly good
>> at corporate records searches. He's the investigator.
>>
>> Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0) was the sleazy rich client.
>>
>> I like Gorham a lot. He seems to play nothing but villains.
>
>Not quite true. He played a blind CIA agent named Augie in Covert
>Affairs with Piper Perabo.

Also Jake 2.0 where he got to play the hero. He's apparently voiced
The Flash a number of times over the years. Though I can't recall
actually seeing him in anything since COVERT AFFAIRS. I guess his
choices have been for projects that didn't interest me. Which seems to
happen with a number of actors that I enjoy watching.