Downton Soap (actually: Downton Abbey)

In the past, I have been a Downton Abbey enthusiast.  I have marveled at the wit, historical setting, costuming, plotting, and overall charm of the British masterpiece.

But this season the series has taken a serious downturn.  I now feel like I'm watching a daytime soap opera, with gut-wrenching scenes meant to pull at the viewers' heartstrings.

Just as too much soap can spoil a load of laundry, too much soap can decimate an otherwise great drama.

Points in fact:  Dying spouses, pregnant daughters, and deathly-ill granny.  Yeah, even Maggie Smith, pictured above, is not above getting overly dour in the now-maudlin, unctuous, often annoying show.

Doesn't Maggie look unhappy?  Well, you should see me!  Haha!  What happened to her clever witticisms that made me admire the British aristocracy with shameless abandon?

Let's hope the series gets back on track, lest it go the way of so many wonderful dramas that begin on the high road and end up mired in the mud.

My Sweet Pepper Land

OK, readers, get out your glasses and get ready for subtitles!  That is, unless you speak fluent Kurdish!

Right, as you might have guessed, this film is foreign.  That's what makes it such a marvel.

Where did I see it?

In Santa Barbara, at the 29th year of the great film festival.  If any of you have not experienced a real film festival, full of celebrities and offbeat films, you might consider venturing to the beautiful city on the California coast.  I had the privilege of watching Leo DiCaprio and Marty Scorcese sit on stage and discuss the making of their big hit, Wolf of Wall Street.  I also saw Johah Hill. But enough celebrity talk.  What really impressed me were the amazing independent films from all over the world that were in all the theaters in the small city north of L.A.

My Sweet Pepper Land provides an incredible look into a very different culture.  The story is about a former freedom fighter, who voluntarily moves to a small, corrupt city in the north, where he takes on the job of Police Chief.  There, he hopes to keep order and impose some form of justice.

Problem is, the city is run by a ruthless mobster.  Bullies run rampant, and women are regarded with the utmost disdain.  In fact, the pretty school teacher, pictured above, finds herself the victim of vicious rumors and lies.  Before long, the baddies threaten the new town marshall.

Our hero is brave: he takes on the powers that be, much as Cary Cooper fought the bad guys in High Noon.  And like Cooper, the police chief has a lady in the wings, who stands by as the violence in the small town unfolds.

Enough on the plot.  I will never be a spoiler.  Suffice it to say that this film is anything but a boring documentary of rural Kurdish life.  It is a slam-bang, rugged, daring, realistic look at a tough man who stands by his guns, literally and figuratively.

Where can you see the film?  Probably in an artsy theater near you.  The film had so much buzz in Santa Barbara, that word went out that it would go mainstream very soon.

Watch for this Indy masterpiece.  It will teach and captivate you.

I guarantee it!