Paul Levinson
Bio
Novels The Silk Code & The Plot To Save Socrates; LPs Twice Upon A Rhyme & Welcome Up; nonfiction The Soft Edge & Digital McLuhan, translated into 15 languages. Best-known short story: The Chronology Protection Case; Prof, Fordham Univ.
Stories (696/0)
Review of 'The Americans' Penultimate
Well, the next-to-last episode of The Americans on FX last night was really something. Keri Russell has been outstanding throughout the six-season series, but she put on an off-the-chart performance as Elizabeth in episode 6.9.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'Mute'
Just saw Mute on Netflix, latest movie from director Duncan Jones, of Source Code fame, and starring mainly Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, and Big Little Lies) with supporting acting by Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux. Wikipedia reports that Mute "drew unfavorable comparisons" to Bladerunner, but that's just dumb (the comparisons not the report) since there are no androids that I know of in Mute. There are all kinds of cybernetic body enhancements and replacements going on—like in The Six Million Dollar Man—and the flavor is definitely LA cyberpunk, even though the action takes places in a future Germany.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Westworld' 2.5
There were two big shockers in Westworld 2.5 last night, at least one of them totally game-changing. Let's start with that. Maeve has the telepathic power to voicelessly command hosts—both individually and a whole army of them, as in an army of Samurai warriors. This is an extraordinary power that instantly ups the science fictional ante of the whole series. Till now, that ante was to what extent androids could break free of their programming—wake up, to use the current parlance—and go their own way, which could and does include killing guests and programmers who get in their way. But Maeve can do much more—she can get presumably order an unlimited number of hosts to do her bidding.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Fahrenheit 451'
I just saw the new Fahrenheit 451 — the HBO movie, based on Ray Bradbury's justly lionized 1953 novel of the same name, made into an excellent 1966 movie of the same name by François Truffaut. The new HBO movie by Ramin Bahrani obviously had a lot to live up to with that kind of pedigree. I'm here to tell you that it did — which puts me at odds with the numerous dyspeptic reviews it's already received on IMDb (as of this writing, 5.1/10), Rotten Tomatoes (32%), and Roger Ebert (2/4). That's no surprise I often find the established wisdom of professional and nonprofessional critics myopic.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Americans' 6.8
With only two episodes left to go in The Americans, episode 6.8 this week mapped out a profound change in Elizabeth. Till now, in this season and earlier, Elizabeth has been nothing but coldly homicidal regarding anyone identified as an enemy by the Centre and ordered by them to be eliminated. Likewise, any innocent person who jeopardized her continuing work for the Centre. But, after a game-changing conversation to start the episode, in which Philip finally tells Elizabeth what he's been tasked by the Soviet government—in contrast to the Centre—to do, Elizabeth finally begins coming into her own, as, well, a human being.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'The Crossing' 1.7
On the heels of ABC's announcement that it would not be picking up The Crossing for a second season, it posted a strangely satisfying and important episode. Of course, that's just a coincidence, since the episode was written and produced long before the cancellation, but it somehow seems significant nonetheless.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Westworld' 2.4
We already knew that the AI technology used to construct hosts could construct a host-like version — an android — of a human being who once was alive. That, after all, is what Bernard is. But in Westworld 2.4, we get a poignant and telling exposition of how this figures (or figured) in the life of William, whose older self, apparently obtained through just natural aging (though, who knows), is The Man in Black.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Babylon Berlin'
I can't think of a better time -- or maybe worse time -- to watch a 16-episode German series (streaming on Netflix) about the police in the Weimar Republic in 1929, just a few years before the Nazis won a plurality in the Reichstag, Hitler became Chancellor, and by 1934 had seized power, ended democracy, and declared himself Führer. Weimar police detectives are comprised of people who would give their all to save democracy and people bent on destroying it. Police on the street often react with deadly force to protests, unable to distinguish peaceful demonstrators from those with darker motives. Politicians are much the same. The parallels to our age of Trump, who has systematically attacked the press and other bulwarks of democracy, are obvious and chilling -- more than chilling, given that we know how this battle turned out in Germany, and the impact of that result on the rest of the world.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'The Americans' 6.7
Throughout previous seasons of The Americans, I've wondered why Stan, looking at the sketches of Philip and Elizabeth in disguise, didn't recognize them as his nextdoor neighbors. I mean, the disguises are good, but not that good. The sketches of the Soviet-agent suspects sure looked to me like Philip and Elizabeth, and, if anything, Stan knows them much better than I do. I see them just once a week, for an hour or so, for ten or a few more weeks once a year. Stan sees them all the time.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'The Crossing' 1.6
The most intriguing aspect of The Crossing 1.6 last night was Sophie's thought that Reece's Apex antibodies might be life-saving not just for Reece's daughter, but humans suffering from all kinds of otherwise fatal illnesses—including, it turns out, Sophie herself.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism