Memorable, crazy movie

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

I have watched t.v. show after t.v. show come and go and the biggest difference in the ones that stay and the ones that go CASTING. I watched this show and Danny Huston was a terrible choice for the lead character. Honestly his acting is sub par at best. Take Jeffery Dean Morgan and make him second fiddle to Danny it showed on screen right away it did not work. Look at Jeffery on the walking dead and look at him in this two different actors not characters but acting skills. I have watched what could have been great shows, great writing, great CGI, etc.. The one thing that kills these shows casting and anyone who watches T.V. knows this is true how many shows have you said i love the story the writing and hope this show stays on but it goes off the air ? The truth is that in order for a show to stay on the air you need to throw the P/C B/S out the window. A lead actor that is suppose to be handsome and get a beautiful woman can't be a geeky pudgy actor. The tough guy should look like a tough guy not a dork who you honestly believe you could kick the crap out of him. You want people to get invested in the characters and believe they are the character they are playing and i know you all have a show were you go i like this show but i don't know why they gave this guy or girl the part. 99% of the time it end's up killing the show and sometimes they catch on to late just as they try and change it their ratings have dropped so low that they pull the plug. There is a factor that most fans forget that is if the shows ratings are to low they can not sell commercial's and make money. Yes of course they have to make money how do you think they pay the actors, the set, the wardrobe. CGI etc.. I get so annoyed by these directors and producers forcing wide screen on us and telling us there movie is art really a movie about cops or drug dealers or a guy who see's ghost or zombies is art ? These are the premise's for some of the hit shows on right now. To do what you love like make movies you must make the viewer happy and want them to go or you will not be making many movies for long. I always liked were a director signs a three movie deal we end up with 2 good movies and his 1 generally piece of garbage film. La La Land is a good example it won all the awards ( This movie won awards before it was even released to the public ) Truth is it was a terrible movie and i bet you would be hard pressed to find 2 people you know who even watched it let alone 1 who liked it. My point is these shows can do both make money and entertain the viewer but the one area that needs the bar raised is casting ! I watched 4 great shows go of the air this year and there is no doubt casting kill these shows. Hopefully some director reads these comments and stops trying to put actors like Jonah Hill as the handsome tough leading guy come on even CGI can't make that believable. Go look back at the old movies that were hits the handsome guy was surprise actually handsome the tough guy actually looked like a guy you did not want to fight and the beautiful woman was well beautiful. This isn't rocket science but 7 out of 10 t.v. shows bomb on casting alone look at the hit shows today Game of thrones, the Walking Dead even the big bang theory every character fits their role change them and the show is not a hit simple right ???

As an author of several books I can declare with absolute certainty all movies, TV shows, plays, etc., start with the writing. These venues either have good writing or they don't. The good writers are able to draw memorable characters and plots. The STARZ presentation of MAGIC CITY was a show that had the best writing on TV. The writing was consistently good. In essence the writers wrote a movie that ran about 24 hours (run over two seasons). This is nearly an impossible task, yet the writers of MAGIC CITY did so with great creative craft and skill. They maintained consistency in the storyline and the character development. The incredibly gifted actors who gave life to the written words were a compilation of some of the greatest acting on television. The acting top to bottom was great: Jeffrey Dean Morton, Danny Houston, Steven Straight, and all the rest was a dream cast. Unfortunately, television is a great wasteland. So when a great show like MAGIC CITY gets canceled the wasteland becomes even more barren. But let's get to the real point of the matter. The viewer ship for MAGIC CITY (as well as other shows like BOSS) is not down because the show(s) was not good. The viewer ship for MAGIC CITY as well as all premium cable stations is low because the cost of subscriptions is too damn high. The economic struggles of people in America are deeper than the empty talking heads of CNN, CNBC and FOX are permitted to talk about. The proof is premium channel viewer ship since 1984 is down 58%. Compounding the issue is the viewer base is going more toward shopping and music channels. Consequently, it's no wonder great written shows like MAGIC CITY are lost to poor tastes of viewers and the inability of STARZ executives to know how to grow viewer ship for a great show like MAGIC CITY. All this is very unfortunate, primarily because the executives of STARZ originally had the intelligence and good taste to allow MAGIC CITY on the channel. Is it too much to expect then that the executives have the courage to continue to air it and see the show through to its proper conclusion? On the other hand, what should I really expect from people who are, in reality, only bean counters? You show me a great show, I get drawn into a wonderfully written drama with brilliant characters, and outstanding performances and then you close down production. Why then should I invest my time, and money, in any programing STARZ offers? The decrease of premium cable viewer ship is not lost on companies such as Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate. That's why those companies eased out of their cable network projects. I know there's no changing the minds of STARZ executives; MAGIC CITY will be canceled. How terribly unfortunate for those of us who knew we were watching entertainment at it's best. And those discerning, loyal fans of MAGIC CITY are thankful that for two brief seasons we were given. We shared in the great pleasure to hear the written words of the writers of MAGIC CITY spoken by the great cast. I wish all the actors on MAGIC CITY the best success in any future endeavors. For a brief time you were my best source of entertainment on television. And to some degree you all became people I cared about. For that I am grateful. All the best. P.S. now that MAGIC CITY is canceled there's no reason for me to scribe to STARZ.

A show about people with empty lives, incredibly empty and meaningless lives. usually a crime oriented show might produce a few sympathetic characters, but not this show. The people in the show, for the most part, are rich and beautiful yet with daily lives so empty that the overall effect is depressing. The actors are good. The production is good. If this is what the life of the so- called one percent accomplishes, I am deeply relieved not be among their number. The underlying story is interesting, rich people getting in over their heads with love and criminals. It is stylish and sexy. It is very Cuban and Jewish, which is a novel and interesting combination in a story line. there is lots of cigarette smoking and Zippo lighters and some amazing vintage automobiles. Yet the historical evidence of how so many people live their lives oblivious to social justice, to history, to anyone below their station is something of a condemnation of American values; and this may be its main redeeming value.

As I mentioned, I love the story as well as the characters but the writers need to take better care with the details. One thing I really admire about the Mad Men team over at AMC is that the show-runner, Matthew Wiener, is seriously obsessive about making sure all the details are correct. They even go as far as making sure something seemingly minor like the mention of a restaurant is consistent with the time being represented by that particular place in the story arc. As an example of just this type of gaff - season 1 episode 8 - the scene where Klien (DA) is talking with Ike in jail. Ike confronts Klein as to coerced testimony, fabricated evidence, etc. to which Klein responds "I've sent men to the gas chamber for less". Well the issue is this - up until 1998, electrocution was the only method used in FL when the voters approved the use of lethal injections. And besides, FL has never used the gas chamber because for many decades, the enlightened people of FL simply loved "Old Sparky" - their affectionate nickname for the electric chair. There are a few others here and there and while none of these is egregious or damaging to the storyline, these little details do add a nice fine polish to the production as whole. I rate the show a 9 but if they were to fix these peccadilloes, I place this at a 10 no problem.