It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

TV Series: "The Last Tycoon" (2016-2017)75 years of the initial release of the unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), "The Last Tycoon" TV series distributed by Amazon Studios and created by Billy Ray, who mainly made his living with screen writing since 1994 for Hollywood Studios and shared credits as a writer for some successful movies in the last five years as "The Hunger Games" (2012) and "Captain Phillips" (2013), building a solid characters' grit in the first two episode surrounding the power struggle between the character of Monroe Stahr, performed respectively, yet too much of a stare, actor Matt Bomer and the studio magnate character of Pat Grady, portrayed by no further grief nor struggle sharing, actor Kelsey Grammar to additionally share in times of leisure with his wife, played by Rosemarie DeWitt and the character of his daughter, giving face by actress Lily Collins, who had been able to round-up the all too straight storyline of running a movie studio by acting with, just before WW2-raging in Europe, arriving alien artists in Hollywood; here creator Billy Ray skillfully written in real-life characters of director Fritz Lang (1890-1976) and actress Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) in order to show the discrepancy between world apart of handling story and character in film, before living out fantasies in private as well, making the passion for the artform one whole experience in life."The Last Tycoon" (2016) strikes with elegant and excellent production design by Patrizia von Brandenstein, which are of cinematographic use in Episode one and two directed by Billy Ray, who seems to improve his directing skills in visual eye and interactive beat work since his last picture "Secret In Their Eyes" (2015), a remake of "El secreto de sus ojos" (2009) directed by Juán José Campanella and based on the novel "La pregunta de sus ojos" (2005) by Eduardo Sacheri. Nevertheless the directorial vision differs from episode three with switching to close-to incompetent director, when major failures in costume design and overall non-smoking environment becomes evident, starting to distract bumpy story developments centralizing a major loan from the another real-life character of Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957) at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios to the fictitious movie studio Brady American, led by Pat Brady and Monroe Stahr, who fight for new innovative pictures under immigrated Directors to be made with fresh faces, here given part by actress Dominique McElligott, who seems out of place as the new shining starlet of Hollywood's golden era and further to be the relentless love interest of the character of Monroe Stahr, who does not shy away to engage to her and fight off the drunkard of a former agent, when finally in episode seven some signs of life returns this television series, which has been cut short to a mini series, concluding with episode nine again under the direction of creator Billy Ray, making "The Last Tycoon" (2016) worth a watch for a weekend while because it already comes to an satisfactory end, but no more.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

This show just kept on giving. The pilot truly doesn't do justice the addictive and intriguing nature of the show - and yet I was sucked in from the first trailer. The aesthetics, the acting, the story. Every character and scene is memorable, with plenty of complexities to flesh them out. I waited impatiently for the full season to air after seeing the pilot and I'm more than happy to do the same again. I really hope this gets picked up for another season somewhere. People are missing out on a true gem otherwise.

What a well-made, absorbing series! Everything you want in a period drama: first rate casting, acting, script, story and OH, those costumes. I am not much of a Kelsey Grammar fan, but I think the Pat Brady role was made for him. And though Matt Bomer's Monroe was the perfect handsome young protagonist and just invited you to fall in love with him, it was Rosemarie DeWitt's Rose who riveted me throughout. And Jennifer Beals as Margo was stunning. I am not sure if or how Fitzgerald concluded the story, but I loved the ending that leaves open possibilities for more. Treat yourself.

The concept for such a series is strong and intriguing. Sadly, this pilot does not represent a very good effort. As is so often the case these days the emphasis seems to be technical rather than talent. The scenes are nicely dressed although often lit too strongly and too cool. But the bigger problem is that most of the characters are just that: characters. The dialog is insipidly cliché. The actors all look and act like 21st century teenagers.Translating period pieces onto any screen in an engaging way has always been challenging. Translating Fitzgerald doubles that challenge, as his stories are virtual bear traps for lesser talents to create comic strips like this.I don't know where all the glowing reviews are coming from. I cannot imagine many others saw this pilot any differently than I did.