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Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon<\/a>. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we\u2019ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.<\/i><\/p>\n The Blood of Wolves<\/a> (Film, Japan, Kazuya Shiraishi, 2018) Idealistic rookie detective learns the ropes of anti-yakuza policing from a charismatic, bribe-accepting veteran partner (Koji Yakusho) who makes his own rules. Tough, cynical cops versus gangs policier edges into extreme cinema territory with explicit depictions of torture and degradation.\u2014RDL<\/p>\n Death in the Garden<\/a> (Film, France\/Mexico, Luis Bu\u00f1uel, 1956) A rebellion of foreign diamond miners against corrupt local officials in a South American nation sends disparate fugitives, including a hard bitten adventurer (George Marchal), a mercenary brothel owner (Simone Signoret) and a meddling priest (Michel Piccoli) into the jungle depths. A big budget action-adventure flick in glorious 50s color makes for an odd entry in Bu\u00f1uel\u2019s filmography, with his touch seen in its caustic character portrayals.\u2014RDL<\/p>\n Everybody’s in LA (Television, Netflix, John Mulaney, 2024) For six nights, John Mulaney deconstructs the talk show by hosting a careening, overstuffed live version of one, usually reaching eight or nine guests cross-talking and obliterating the alleged topic, something about Los Angeles. The filmed \u201cslice of LA life\u201d segments succeed remarkably, the taped comedy lands sporadically. As much as I want to see a second series (Lotsa People in Chicago?) too much practice would ruin its shambolic vibe.\u2014KH<\/p>\n Hamburger America<\/a> (Film, US, George Motz, 2004) \u201cBurger scholar\u201d Motz interviews owners and grill cooks (often the same people) at eight historic (multi-decade to century-plus) burger joints across America. The documentary winds up being a paean to small business as much as grilled beef, not least because two of the burgers (Dyer\u2019s in Memphis and Ted\u2019s in Connecticut) don\u2019t grill their burgers. Motz\u2019 YouTube schtick is thankfully absent; we neither see nor hear him, just the burger makers speaking for themselves and for history.\u2014KH<\/p>\nRecommended<\/h2>\n