TV Show Review: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

While I do not think this season of American Crime Story on FX will have as big of an impact as the first season with OJ Simpson, I thought The Assassination of Gianni Versace was very well done. I understand the family had their issues with the series, but Ryan Murphy stood by it. I know there were things and elements added to make the show more dramatic (I am almost positive on a few of them) but it kinda makes the viewer wonder how much of the story behind one of the most famous assassinations is true. I’d say spoiler alert but as this is a real case probably not. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Over the course of nine episodes viewers are taken on a journey behind the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) by serial killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss). As we see how Versace’s family, specifically his sister Donatella (Penelope Cruz) brother Santo (Giovanni Cirfiera) and lover Antonio D’Amico (Ricky Martin), grieving over Gianni’s death we also go into how Cunanan came to be a psychopath and pathological liar. From when he was the apple of his father’s eye, to the four people he killed prior to Versace and finally the standoff with police when Cunanan killed himself.

As I stated earlier while I don’t believe the show had a big impact compared to the OJ Simpson season before I really enjoyed this series. Ramirez was fantastic as Versace, Cruz shined as Donatella and Martin was great as D’Amico. However the true stand out was Darren Criss; he was so good as being creepy, psychotic, evil; whatever word you want to think about Cunanan. I will admit having the series sort of backwards kinda confused me and obviously not everything in this show actually happened, but I knew in the end everything would go back to how the crime went in real life. I’m not sure we will see this at the Emmys or Golden Globes, but you never know. If you like true crime stories or want to know a little about this tragedy then I would recommend checking out The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

In an update, a big congratulations to the nine Emmy nominations the show received; especially to Darren Criss as Cunanan. I cannot wait to see if it wins any gold this fall.

In another update, congratulations the the three Emmy wins The Assassination of Gianni Versace had during the 70th Primetime Emmys last night including Outstanding Limited Series and Best Leading Actor in a Limited Series for Darren Criss.

Another update: a big congratulations for the shows two Golden Globe wins for Best Lead Actor in a Mini Series/TV Movie for Darren Criss (no lie I cried happy tears when his name was called) and for Best Mini Series/TV Movie.

Movie Review: Catch Me If You Can

A movie I saw THREE times in high school but only saw the ending once before renting it. Released in 2002 this Steven Spielberg directed crime biographical film is one of my favorites; guess I’m a sucker for true crime stories. If you haven’t seen this movie spoiler alert. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Before he turned 19 years old Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) conned millions of dollars (in check fraud mostly) posing as three different jobs: Pans American pilot, doctor and lawyer. How did he do it? Going back to 1963 Frank and his parents Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken nominated for an Oscar for this role) and Paula Abagnale (Nathalie Baye) lived in New Rochelle, under Sr. is denied a loan from the bank due to difficulties with the IRS. Frank sees his father trying to charm others to get his way, but they had to move into a smaller apartment. Frank goes to another school where he temporarily convinces his classmates he is a substitute teacher until he gets caught. Paula has an affair with a close friend of the family Jack (Josh Brolin) and divorces Frank Sr. Frank Jr runs away because of the divorce and after using up the money he had begins to run cons, posing as a Pan American pilot; it soon expands to doctor after he falls for a nurse named Brenda (Amy Adams) and proposes to her. He then becomes a lawyer as well to appease her parents (Martin Sheen and Nancy Lenehan). Meanwhile FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) begins trying to track down Frank in his schemes, despite other agents not really believing in check fraud. About as far as I can go without giving away the ending, but keep an eye out for Jennifer Garner, Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks and the real Frank Abagnale Jr in this movie.

When I watched the movie in full for the first time I was completely fascinated. Frank Abagnale was just a smart kid when he managed to con and charm his way into millions of dollars before people even realized the check was completely phony; I find that intriguing and disturbing. I know the guy Tom Hanks portrayed in the movie is based on the actually agent who was chasing Frank but they had to change his name (I’m guessing for security reasons but I don’t know). Frank Abagnale says that about 80% of the film did actually happen to him, which makes me question the other 20% but it’s a movie. Anyway I loved the performances in this movie, but the standouts for me were DiCaprio, Hanks and Walken. I knew prior to this film how good these guys are but I was blown away by them in this movie; while I will admit I have seen them in a few better roles it is not by too much. Believe it or not Catch Me If You Can also became a Broadway musical for a short period of time. I did not get the chance to see the musical, but I try and catch the movie if I haven’t seen it in a long time. I promise you Catch Me If You Can is a must see and it will not disappoint you.

TV Show Review: Law and Order: True Crime

As the franchise has been around since the 1990’s at some point we’ve all watch an episode of Law & Order. Whether it was the original, Criminal Intent or SVU; Law and Order is an iconic television franchise (yes understatement of the century I know.) The latest Law & Order series premiered over a week ago, and so far it has the potential to be another hit for Dick Wolf. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Law & Order: True Crime is what the title says, following the true crime cases that have made headlines. While some characters and plot were added to make the story more interesting, the case itself has not changed. The eight episode first season is all about The Menendez Murders, two brothers Lyle and Erik who killed their parents and the trials that had everyone in America glued to court TV. Edie Falco stars as the boys defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, who was determined to free the boys by bringing to light what their father did to them.

Now I’ll admit this concept is not original; there has been many shows depicting other true crime cases (American Crime Story comes to mind) and the unnecessary adding makes those who may not have followed the case confused. However Edie Falco is a standout, whenever she is on screen my eyes and ears are wide open. I also thought it was smart to go with a case nearly everyone has heard of but not done to death in recent years, like the OJ trial or JonBenet Ramsey. I think Dick Wolf knew what Ryan Murphy did with American Crime Story with the OJ trial and the upcoming Gianni Versace murder and others and decided to focus on trial cases. I do hope this series does well, but I think because of other shows are doing exactly this concept my hopes are not too high. However if this show does get renewed I wonder what cases Mr. Wolf has up his sleeve. We’ll just have to wait and see.

In an update, a big congratulations to Edie Falco for her Emmy nomination.