Monkey Man

Director: Dev Patel
Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Makarand Deshpande
Running Time: 121 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)   

John Wick meets Enter The Dragon and Slumdog Millionaire in Dev Patel's exhilarating directorial debut Monkey Man, an adrenaline fueled thriller that could double as a superhero origin story. The movie really sneaks up on you by over-delivering in every department, skillfully mashing familiar genre tropes into a completely original story that's as emotionally affecting as it is visually spectacular. 

Giving strong performances in films like Lion and The Green Knight over the years, few would have guessed Patel's acting career would take such a route, with him suddenly emerging as the latest ass kicking action star. Assuming 007 producers are still on the hunt for a new James Bond, this intensely believable lead turn as a damaged loner consumed with revenge could easily be his audition reel. 

Patel's first outing behind the camera bare all the hallmarks of a seasoned pro, traversing issues of poverty, oppression, government corruption and genocide. And in combining all those elements with a meditation on Indian culture and spirituality, co-writers Patel, Paul Angunawela and John Collee still manage to never lose focus of the protagonist's quest for retribution.

Years ago, a young, nameless boy referred to as "Kid" (Jatin Malik) is raised by his mother Neela (Adithi Kalkunte) in a small Indian village when their land is taken by fake spiritual guru Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande). His right hand man, corrupt police chief Rana Singh (Sikandar Kher) evicts the village and kills its inhabitants, the boy watching in horror as his mother is gruesomely murdered.

Now a young man, the Kid (Devon Patel) earns money working as a monkey masked competitor in a seedy, underground fight club where he's paid to lose by bombastic promoter Tiger (Sharlto Copley). Plotting revenge for his mother's killing, he gets a job at Kings, a luxury brothel where the politically influential Rana frequents. When owner Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar) moves Kid up from cook to VIP waiter, he's helped by small time gangster and co-worker Alphonso (Pitobash) and prostitute Sita (Sobhita Dhulipala). But when his sneak attack on Rana backfires, he becomes a wanted criminal. 

By utilizing carefully placed flashbacks, the film reveals just enough, as the dizzying present-day action helps fill in the blanks. With Patel's quiet, anguished performance conveying the connection between his character's tumultuous memories and current motivations, we watch as Kid is mercilessly beaten in these underground fights, only to be booed by the raucous crowd and stiffed on pay. 

If getting his foot in the door at King's brothel seems like Kid's quickest route to kill Rana, it's only just the beginning. Crafty as he is, the scrappy underdog's obsession causes him to lose focus when that opportunity arrives. Their shockingly violent bathroom face off is the first of many frenetic, highly stylized fight sequences, but its unresolved outcome takes this plot in an entirely different direction, as he prepares his body and mind for the inevitable rematch. 

Taken in at a local hijra temple for trans women who are all too familiar with the cruelty of Baba's regime, Kid is guided by their leader, Alpha (Vipin Sharma) to work through his past. The training sequences (which involves an acid trip and a musically timed punching bag workout) are some of the film's most powerful moments, thanks largely to Patel's commitment to the character. Kid's metamorphosis is underway, readying himself to exact revenge, while now also fighting for something bigger.

While the film does belong entirely to Patel, Deshpande and Kher each leave their marks as Kid's ruthless nemeses, with an entertaining Pitobash providing needed comic relief as the befuddled Aphonso. Even the small, but well presented subplot involving Sita doesn't pan out exactly how you'd expect, but is all the better for it. Donning the monkey mask again, Kid will get his second chance in a spectacularly choreographed final battle that contains a few more surprises.

Watching what Kid witnessed as a boy is difficult and disturbing, but entirely necessary for the last act to resonate so strongly. Essentially a battle between good and evil, his journey evolves into him coming to terms with his trauma before finally attempting to settle the score. Transforming into a far different hero than we met at the film's start, his powerful progression is cemented with a payoff that doesn't pull any punches, marking the arrival of an imaginative new voice in the genre.                                     

Unfrosted

Director: Jerry Seinfeld
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Max Greenfield, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Peter Dinklage, Christian Slater, Bill Burr, Dan Levy, James Marsden, Jack McBrayer, Thomas Lennon, Bobby Moynihan, Adrian Martinez, Sarah Cooper, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Drew Tarver, Tony Hale, Felix Solis, Maria Bakalova, Dean Norris, Kyle Dunnigan, Sebastian Maniscalco, Cedric the Entertainer, Fred Armisen, Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Andy Daly
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

While it's almost impossible to believe it took Jerry Seinfeld until now to write, star in and direct his own feature film, he gives us Unfrosted, a comedy about the creation of Pop-Tarts. And in doing it he's unfortunately become sort of the critics' punching bag, as if attempting to tackle a biopic of America's most famous pastry treat were a crime.

Hardly anyone's typical dream project on paper, you can still see how the comedian famous for a "show about nothing" would be drawn to material this unapologetically silly. But even in falling considerably short of his TV benchmark, there's a refreshing simplicity to the premise that grows more humorous and absurd with each passing development.

In spinning nonfictional details into his own goofy version of events, Seinfeld even bookends the movie with a scene that shows him doing exactly that. Though the biggest surprise is how he's practically an afterthought amidst a packed cast of big name comedy stars. Anchored by vibrant, colorfully retro production design and some standout supporting turns, he actually does a lot right in his first outing behind the camera, or at least more than he's gotten credit for. 

After encountering  a young runaway ordering Pop-Tarts at a diner, Kellogg's head of development, Bob Cardona (Seinfeld) tells him the true story of how America's favorite breakfast snack came to be. It's 1963 when CEO Edsel Kellogg (Jim Gaffigan) and his corporate rival and ex-lover Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer) fight for brand supremacy in Battle Creek, Michigan, with Kellogg's again sweeping all competition at the annual Bowl and Spoon Awards. With Edsel basking in victory, Bob accidentally discovers that Marjorie's team is working on a new product initially created by his former colleague Donna "Stan" Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy).

As the conniving Marjorie makes plans to develop this treat and launch it into stores, Bob and Edsel bring Stan back to Kellogg's to help develop their own version, recruiting eccentric business innovators Jack LaLanne (James Marsden), Steve Schwinn (Jack McBrayer), Harold von Braunhut (Thomas Lennon), Chef Boy Ardee (Bobby Moynihan) and Tom Carvel (Adrian Martinez) to serve as "taste pilots." With both companies' tactics getting uglier and the feud soon carrying political ramifications, this big showdown will ultimately be decided by hungry customers when both products hit supermarket shelves.

Most of the pleasure comes in these speculative sub-plots involving real life public figures, some of whom probably had only tangential involvement in the actual founding of Pop-Tarts. But working with morsels of truth and a few obscure facts, co-writer Seinfeld is smart enough to know a script about the discovery of this famous treat will have to take extensive liberties in order to entertain. 

Under normal circumstances, the mere suggestion this material is even loosely based on historical events would induce groans, but Seinfeld's pretty upfront with what he's trying to do. It's an ongoing a game of "spot the star" until the wacky origin story kicks in and these cameos start taking shape, with many well known comic actors proving their worth with the screen time they're given. 

Whether it's Max Greenfield's hapless, abused Post assistant, Christian Slater's diabolical milkman, Bill Burr as JFK, or Kyle Dunnigan playing both Walter Kronkite and Johnny Carson, most of the appearances are cleverly incorporated into the narrative. And this doesn't even cover half of them, including a really memorable scene involving Jon Hamm and John Slattery as two very familiar fictional ad execs of the era. 

All this rests on Seinfeld's acting performance about as much as his sitcom did, which is to say not at all. Hardly known as a master thespian, he's rarely needed to be since the writing and supporting players always carried much of the load throughout that series. Now he's again playing the straight man who mugs for the camera and it works just fine, especially with McCarthy's timing and droll line deliveries selling even the corniest of jokes alongside an equally effective Gaffigan.

Amy Schumer also understands the assignment as Marjorie Post, losing herself in the film's hammiest, most over-the-top character. And you can't really come down too hard on any film featuring Hugh Grant as a snobby, disgruntled Shakespearean actor playing Tony the Tiger and leading a January 6th-like mascot mob through Kellogg's headquarters. Or a funeral where Snap, Crackle and Pop honor the deceased by pouring cereal and milk onto their casket. 

Much like recent product biopics Air, Tetris, The Beanie Bubble and Flamin' Hot, this does seem on the joke, taking twice as much creative license when reimagining material originally based on some semblance of reality. In this sense, the decidingly uncontroversial Seinfeld acquits himself well in a tough spot, delivering the type of fun, throwback comedy that's gone missing of late.  

Late Night with the Devil

Directors: Colin and Cameron Cairnes
Starring: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, Josh Quong Tart, Steve Mouzakis, Michael Ironside
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

When actor David Dastmalchian momentarily drew attention away from Heath Ledger with his brief part as Joker's cackling, schizophrenic henchman in 2008's The Dark Knight, it was a reminder how even the smallest of roles can make a lasting impression. A few superhero movies later and we'd get a name to match the face, but it was his film debut that forced viewers to sit up and take notice. He wasn't the Joker, but it only took him a single scene to convince he easily could have been. 

Now after steadily impressing for sixteen years in valuable supporting roles, Dastmalchian carries Colin and Cameron Cairnes' supernatural horror film, Late Night with the Devil as its lead. Front and center the whole way through, he captures a flawed, fame hungry TV host plagued by personal demons, emotionally drowning in an exploitive, circus-like exhibition of his own doing. He and the startlingly authentic production design and practical effects suck you in, with the picture making the most of its found footage approach to put a wild twist on the exorcism genre.

After a documentary prologue delves into an unexplainably gruesome event that occurred during 1977's live broadcast of the late-night talk show Night Owls with Jack Delroy, we're shown the master tape of this infamous episode, complete with behind the scenes footage. Consistently losing the ratings battle with The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the show's host Jack (Dastmalchian) desperately needs a hook to capture audience attention. His solution is an occult-themed Halloween episode featuring psychic spiritual medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), magician turned professional skeptic Carmichael Hayes (Ian Bliss) and parapsychologist/author June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), who's joined by 13-year-old mass suicide survivor Lilly (Ingrid Torelli). 

As the pompous Hayes attempts to expose the other guests as frauds, June reluctantly agrees to conjure the demon inside Lilly, with volatile results. Pressured by the network to go even further, a shaken Jack relies on his sidekick Gus (Rhys Auteri) to get through it, risking potential catastrophe and death for the ratings bump that could save his job. But with Jack still mourning the recent loss of wife Madeleine (Georgina Haig) to cancer and facing increased media scrutiny for his ties to a mysterious men's retreat, he hasn't a clue of the horror about to be unleashed into this studio.    

The opening documentary-style narration provided by Michael Ironside expertly sets the stage for the kind of recognizably retro programming we'll get, showing a lighthearted show montage of Jack goofing around with various guests, from singers to animal experts. But then it goes a few steps further, recounting his bumpy road to the top, which is peppered with public controversies that plant the seeds for what's coming. 

It's immediately evident why Jack's getting crushed by Carson in the ratings, as the filmmakers achieve an enviable feat of depicting a somewhat cheesy show that's just good enough to stay afloat but remains a far cry from its primary competitor. And Dastmalchian has to walk that similar tightrope as a host whose superficially likable and funny at points, but mostly a guilt-ridden, insecure imposter captaining this damaged ship right into the iceberg that will be the show's final episode.

Much of the rapidly accelerating tension revolves around Jack knowing more than he's letting on and  the sacrifices he made for this episode to happen. The definitive answer lies with young Lilly, but the screenplay's ingenuity is in how it builds to her big showcase by rolling out and developing the other supporting players over the course of this hour. 

Once all the pieces are in place, this fictitious program becomes the kind of addictive television you'd believe would have viewers glued to their seats. Jack urging June to conjure this satanic entity out of Lilly opens Pandora's box, with Ingrid Torelli giving off creepy M3GAN vibes in a performance that fluctuates between childlike innocence and repressed, uncontrollable rage. Ultimately though, it's her calmness that leaves the most unnerving impression. 

Bloviating skeptic Hayes pours gasoline onto an already volatile situation in his mission to expose what he perceives are mere parlor tricks. With condescending gusto, actor Ian Bliss seems to be channeling Orson Welles' legendary 70's talk show appearances, as the ex-magician condescendingly needles the three guests from his bully pulpit. The further he goes, the more Jack pressures Joan to push Lilly, hoping to disprove him. While we know the results will be catastrophic, seeing exactly how is another experience altogether.

Watching, it's hard not to draw parallels with Christine, the 2016 drama focusing on events surrounding the on-air suicide of a Florida news reporter in 1974. While taking a similar found footage route with that story would have been tasteless given the real life circumstances, it's worth noting how this deals with the premise of live TV tragedy. A Twilight Zone-inspired morality play about selling your soul, the creativity of Late Night with the Devil comes in its execution, which should help ensure its extended shelf life for many Halloweens to come.   

Drive-Away Dolls

Director: Ethan Coen
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, Joey Slotnick, C.J. Wilson, Annie Gonzalez, Matt Damon
Running Time: 84 min.
Rating: R

★★½ (out of ★★★★) 

Drive-Away Dolls is an entertainingly bad comedy from a talented director who makes it more tolerable than it has any right being. So much so that while watching you can't help but consider just how much worse this could have turned out with someone other than Ethan Coen at the controls. It's primarily about this bond between two lesbian friends, with the crime caper they've unwittingly walked into finishing a close second. And while Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke intended this to be released as Henry James' Drive-Away Dykes, it's no surprise to anyone why the studio wouldn't gamble on that title, which is actually more in line with the film's wacky tone. 

The movie's at its lowest when drowning in crude humor that occasionally feels dated even for the decade it's supposed to take place. But the real kicker is that the characters are fully developed and a smattering of jokes land, even if cringing viewers may find themselves wishing it were somehow less polished. Maybe if this wasn't well made, the scene transitions weren't so inventive or it didn't contain such good performances, an outright dismissal would feel easier. Unfortunately, it's still a mess, straddling genres while seemingly targeting two entirely different audiences.

It's 1999 in Philadelphia when Jamie (Qualley) and her best friend Marian (Viswanathan) make plans for a road trip to Tallahassee, Florida after Jamie's ugly break-up with girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein). But when drive away car service owner Curlie (Bill Camp) accidentally leases the girls a vehicle already booked by criminals Arliss (Joey Sotnick), Flint (C.J. Wilson) and The Chief (Colman Domingo), they're unknowingly stuck with cargo stolen from an eccentric collector (Pedro Pascal). 

While Jamie tries to get the straight-laced Marian to loosen up by taking detours to lesbian bars and parties, a determined Arliss and Flint are hot on their trail, determined to retrieve that mysterious suitcase and bag in the car's trunk, both of which are scandalously linked to conservative Senator Gary Channel (Matt Damon). But the inept, bumbling crooks are in for more than they bargained for as Jamie and Marian remain a few steps ahead. 

Playing more like a parody of a Coen brothers picture than the genuine article, it's best compared to their more satirical efforts like Burn After Reading or Hail Caesar!, even if shades of Fargo unexpectedly sneak in. While a cleverly shot opening sequence featuring Pedro Pascal's character hints at more comic intrigue than we actually get, certain details involving the retrieval of this contraband are funny. Most notably the scenes with these feuding, incompetent criminals and a memorable encounter with a local girls' soccer team. Beanie Feldstein also gives an off-the-wall supporting performance as Jamie's crazed ex that feels like the kind of role her brother would have played in 2007.  

Everything takes a backseat to the relationship between polar opposites Jamie and Marian, who realize through their witty banter and misadventures that they share more in common than originally assumed. That most of those exchanges pay off with some sort of visual sex gag is no fault of the actresses, who do their best with the material. In Viswanathan's case, she rises above this, giving a more sarcastically muted turn that grounds the movie and gives it a moral center. Sporting a Texas drawl, Qualley has fun as Jamie, and while the character is too much, Viswanathan at least ensures Marian's exasperated demeanor reflects that.

In addition to a really bizarre, uncredited big name celebrity cameo, Matt Damon makes the most of his brief screen time as a Senator on the brink of being embarrassingly exposed in more ways than one. But anyone expecting a mystery on the level of Pulp Fiction's briefcase may be disappointed by a reveal that's disgustingly humorous, but par the course for this script. Amusing to a point, you just can't help but roll your eyes, realizing how it sums up the whole effort in a nutshell.

Clocking in at a bearably brisk 84 minutes, Drive-Away Dolls is a minor letdown that ranks on the lower end of either Coen brothers' filmography, managing at least to team up two up and coming actresses who deliver the goods. But fans anticipating another cult classic should probably readjust their expectations to prepare for something closer to a queer American Pie. Everyone else will just be left scratching their heads, wondering why this didn't quite come together like it should.    

Fallout (Season 1)

Creators: Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson Dworet
Starring: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Walton Goggins, Sarita Choudhury, Leslie Uggams, Johnny Pemberton, Zach Cherry, Annabel O'Hagan, Dave Register, Teagan Meredith, Frances Turner, Michael Cristofer, Mykelti Williamson, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Michael Emerson, Michael Rapaport, Dale Dickey, Jon Daly, Chris Parnell, Fred Armisen, Erik Estrada
Original Airdate: 2024

★★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

Destroying any and all preconceived notions about the viability of popular video game adaptations, Prime Video's Fallout presents a quirky, one-of-a-kind post-apocalyptic universe that's accessible to fans and non-fans alike. Its eight episodes hit all the right notes, telling a simple but surprisingly complex, action packed story that takes itself just seriously enough. At first, you'll worry we've entered one of those "mystery boxes" intended to string viewers along without revealing anything of consequence. But it instead delivers more answers than we know what to do with, generating enough creative juice to spill into future seasons. 

Envisioned by Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Roy, the biggest thrill is seeing how all the pieces fit to form a fuller picture by its end. Players of the game are probably well versed in the broader details, but those going in cold are in for a trip, with no foreknowledge required to appreciate all that must have gone into translating this to the small screen. And in recalling the better elements of genre staples like Mad Max, Star Wars and Lost, it also manages to sidestep the frustrating narrative baggage that's occasionally accompanied them. 

Filled with dark, satiric humor, spectacular visual effects and a trio of award-worthy performances, what most stands out is its timeliness, or in an even larger context, its timelessness. Considering the game itself came out in the late nineties, this interpretation arrives at just the right moment, mixing themes of nuclear war, political strife, socioeconomic collapse, capitalism and governmental control into an entertainingly subversive package that aims much higher than anticipated.

In the Great War of 2077, a nuclear blast decimated Earth, leaving a retrofuturistic society with scarce resources. Survivors took refuge in fallout shelters or Vaults, designed by a technology company called Vault-Tec. It's 200 years later when Vault 33's cheery, optimistic Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) volunteers to marry a neighboring 32 Dweller, but when a violent raid occurs, her father and Vault overseer Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) is abducted by the mysterious Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury).

With help from her brother Norm (Moisés Arias), Lucy ventures outside the vault into a devastated Los Angeles Wasteland to locate Hank. While searching, she'll encounter newly promoted Brotherhood of Steel squire Maximus (Aaron Moten), who's on a mission of his own. She'll also cross paths with The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a gunslinging bounty hunter once known as famous movie actor Cooper Howard. Caught in the crosshairs is escaped Enclave scientist Dr. Siggi Wilzig (Michael Emerson), who holds the key to a valuable energy source and might be Lucy's most important bargaining chip.

Focusing primarily on three main characters, the series really revolves around Vault-Tec's history and how it informs their present situation. After a brief, but unforgettable flashback showing actor Cooper Howard and his daughter Janey on the day of 2077's nuclear attack, we're taken out of a 50's looking milieu that's technology stalled post-World II and thrust into the confines of Vault 33 in 2296.  Eventually, we'll not only discover how this whole project came to be, but its entire purpose for the survivors inhabiting it.

Everyday life down below and in the adjacent Vaults of 31 and 32 appear almost utopian at first, which is exactly what the designated overseers intended. And it isn't as if the citizens have much choice since their only alternative is the dog eat dog landscape of the Wasteland, complete with its deadly radiation levels and random carnage. 

The Vaults may reflect the illusion of community, but it's also a tightly controlled, antiseptic environment that leaves little room for independence. While easily identifiable as a cult, for characters who've known nothing else their entire lives and are deprived the freedom to think or feel for themselves, it's simply business as usual. 

Being the daughter of Vault 33's overseer, the innocent, impressionable Lucy is all in with Vault-Tec's philosophy until a catastrophic breach threatens to reveal organizational secrets her brother Norm is hell-bent on uncovering, whatever the consequences. The attack on the Vault itself is one of the series' defining moments, as a soundtrack of oldies play over a brilliantly choreographed ballet of gruesome violence, with the residents' idyllic existence juxtaposed against blood soaked brutality. 

When a traumatized Lucy escapes the Vault to find Hank, she's warned how life outside that bubble will challenge her loyal optimism. These are the sacrifices some must make to adapt and survive, in certain cases morally transforming into something they'd never imagine. No one knows this better than Cooper Howard, the once popular Hollywood actor now roaming the L.A. Wasteland as a disfigured bounty hunter who eerily resembles Captain America nemesis Red Skull. 

Cooper's motivations are the most intriguing since his centuries-spanning biography plays as a supervillain origin story, with Goggins bridging the gap between charismatic celebrity and family man we see in flashbacks and the mutated monster he'll later become. But once we're given glimpses into the Cooper's role as Vault-Tec pitchman and wife Barb's (Frances Turner) pull as a high ranking executive within the company, his downfall becomes clearer. 

Lucy finds the ideal ally in Maximus, a bullied squire from the Brotherhood of Steel, who steps into the position vacated by his injured best friend Dane (Xelia Mendes-Jones). But when a controversial decision lands him in the power armor of the knight he's assisting, he and Lucy realize their shared goal is best accomplished together. But not until facing down some serious obstacles like The Ghoul, who's after exactly what they are. An awe-inspiring western style shootout in the second episode establishes just how dangerous he is, as Lucy finds herself on the receiving end of his wrath for reasons that aren't entirely coincidental.

Trust ceases to exist in the Wasteland so the toughest battle for Lucy is coming to grips with this and accepting her life wasn't as rosy as she'd assumed. With intersecting storylines balancing simultaneously, all roads lead to the finale, which fills in a lot blanks, clarifying the events that brought these characters to this point. 

After proving just how engaging she can be as popular soccer team captain turned plane crash survivor in Showtime's Yellowjackets, Ella Purnell's superstar card is now punched with her affecting turn as Lucy. While the expressive, saucer eyed actress excels in the action scenes, what stands out is how well she conveys her character's evolution, slowly waking to the realization everything she assumed about the world was a lie. Through it all, her upbeat "okey dokey" attitude and inherent belief in good rarely crumbles, remaining determined to push forward without being infected with the bitterness that's consumed others. 

Purnell and Moten share believable chemistry as a tandem, with the self-loathing Maximus suffering a similar crisis of conscious, wrestling with who he is and pretends to be, but still baring the emotional scars of a tragic childhood event. It's hard not to compare his arc under the knight's armor to what Disney's Star Wars sequels failed in doing with Finn's storm trooper, instead pushing that character to the sidelines. Front and center throughout, Maximus is anything but an afterthought here, with Moten carrying a large share of the plot.

Journeyman character actor Walton Goggins steals every scene as Cooper Howard/The Ghoul, disappearing into each while still somehow convincing us they're one in the same under all those layers of makeup. His flashbacks are a highlight of the series, invoking Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as the Rick Dalton-esque Cooper wrestles with his marriage and public endorsement of a very controversial program.

Goggins is also downright brilliant as the gunslinging Ghoul, ruthlessly letting everyone know just how easily they could have wound up in his shoes. Only by the end is it confirmed what and whom he's really after, hinting that he may still have a small shred of humanity left. And however brief, it's great to see Lost's Michael Emerson again, as the former Benjamin Linus brings his unmistakable eccentricity to a role that doesn't veer all that far from what his fans would eagerly expect.

The finale gives a lot up while still laying plenty of road for this story to continue as long as its creators want it to. Whether or not the momentum can be maintained is another matter, but based on what comes to light in the closing minutes, there's a lot left to explore. With certain characters revealing their true colors, uneasy alliances being forged and some questions still left about what we've seen, it's anyone's guess where it could lead. 

Fallout picks up steam with each new development, pulling its characters in different directions before delivering a twisty, cliffhanger finale that sets the stage for subsequent chapters. We're not getting more because we need answers, but to see where the story goes next. It's addictive sci-fi TV done right, overcoming limitations even the best in this genre face when attempting to deliver an adventure of this size and scope.