Justified: Season Two staring Timothy
Olyphand.
If you're not watching this this show, get out there and
start watching. This is one of the most underrated shows on TV and it
doesn't get the same amount love that other high profile shows do.
And I don't know why that is?
Season Two picks up right where Season
One left off and the writers of this show continue to prove just how
they’re masters at understanding characters and developing them.
Marshal Givens continues to be a well thought out character, where his
motivations are explored with a depth I can only say is matched by Game
of Thrones. This is the only show out there I've seen where all the
characters actions or decisions have consequences, so when someone does
something you know something is going to happen based on that choice or
decision. Whereas most shows it always seems forgotten when people do
things and it's back to normal mode next episode, never talked about or ever
brought up (Star Trek, X-files, and Lost were terrible at this) not so
with Justified people talk about what happened in the episode(s) before. You know just how people do in real life they talk about things from
the day/weeks/months before. The continuity runs thick here. This kind of continuity really adds an
intimacy to the show that a lot of other shows lack and makes me wonder
why other shows writers don't think this far in advance when they're
writing a season. It really lets me see how much these writers care
about a show.
Mythology-wise Justified isn’t as complicated as Game
of Thrones but it does have its own history and mythology that it keeps
building on with each episode. While each piece and new character add to
the richness of the world building it’s doing. Hopefully I’ll start
watching Season Three here in a bit until then get out there and start
watching one of the best shows on TV.
Seven Psychopaths starring Colin Farrell, Sam
Rockwell, Woody Harrison, and Christopher Walken.
Well first thing
first: with a cast list like this, one expects a certain something from
this movie, which is one of the reasons I gave this movie
chance. I wouldn’t call these guys bone-a-fide movie stars but at the
very least, these guys are more than good character actors, who can really
act with just about anything given to them. Here is a few examples:
Woody Harrison stole every scene he was in The Hunger Games and was flat
out amazing in Zombie Land; Christopher Walken’s name speaks for itself
now-a-days with whatever movie he’s in, he’s pretty much become a brand
unto himself; Colin Farrell was amazing as Crockett in Miami Vice and
the short part he had in Crazy Heart was subtle but yet commanding in
those few scenes with Jeff Bridges (and that was Jeff Bridges he was acting with and holding his own); Sam Rockwell who is
literally just amazing in everything he’s in (even that terrible movie
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which he was wonderful in despite the
movie and the ball and chain actress, Julia Roberts, herself) he single handedly
made that movie Moon since he was pretty much the only actor in the
movie and yet he somehow managed to make that movie highly entertaining. He pretty much stole every scene he was in in Galaxy Quest, and was
flat out hilarious in The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (he sure has
some fascination with movies that have galaxy in the title – I just
noticed that). Anyway my point being with a cast of this nature this
movie has to at least be seen because it should at the most be
entertaining.
It was very entertaining, definitely worth the time to
watch it and these actors do not disappoint in this movie. They stand up
and deliver some good performances. But some caution must be warranted
here: it was very violent and very gory. This is by no means a classic
movie but I would put it up there in the cult status category and in the
hearts of some people where this movie will really connect. I won’t
say it connected to me on the level, it's not that dear to my heart but as a cult status movie it is. I would watch it again. I would
recommend it people to watch. It’s got a lot of memorable scenes and is
a highly quotable movie.
The movie itself is strange, as the story line
is all over the place, not in a bad way, but in a way that could be
annoying and at times almost veers on annoyance. But once it starts to
go down this annoying side road the movie will do something unexpected
that will keep you watching. It won’t be something so unexpected, as to
not be believable, or seem like some kind of cheap gimmick, as it pertains
to the story or character, but it’ll be something that fits in with the
movie and characters. That was one of the things I really liked about
it, how the movie dared to take risks and dared to be different. Another
thing this movie has going for it is the Meat aspect of the movie. Which is a word used and
thrown around a lot in Hollywood when it wants to thinks it’s being pretty
clever. But really their just being pretentious. Charlie Kaufman is infamous for this but I felt it was more earned with this movie than that overrated piece of crap Scream. Here it’s used right
but I won’t say more on that subject, just watch the movie and be highly
entertained.
The Expendables 2 directed by Simon West
staring every big action hero from the 80’s and part of the 90’s minus
Steven Seagal…oh and there is one Asian woman in this film just to
balance things out.
Well…where to begin? Over-the-top action?
Check. Over-the-top action set pieces? Check. Over kill and cheesy
dialogue? Check, no make that a double check because this cheese is
lying around in the tons, in about every scene and in all kinds of flavors. Large
amounts of body parts being shot to pieces as they are complimented by
so many squibs that the color red actually becomes part of the movie?
Check. Talk of being in a museum? Check. Use of and commenting on
dialogue from other action movies? Check. A resemblance of a storyline
so as just to keep the action scenes flowing from one to another?
Check. Aware that Chuck Norris would steal every scene he was in in
your movie? I don’t think they saw that one coming, but he did that in
every scene he was in, and it was wonderful. It was fun. It was a
blast. I didn’t going in expecting much and was rewarded with a good
old fashioned action movie, which was pretty much what I was hoping for.
Justified:
Season 1. Staring Timothy Olyphant.
I just started watching this on
Amazon Prime because I'd heard how good it was. I don't know quite what I was expecting this show to be, but all I can say is that it went beyond what I was expecting. The opening scene had me hooked as it portrayed everything, character-wise, about the main character Marshal Raylan Givens and was one of the best opening scenes, ever, for a TV show. Everything you need to know about the show, and Givens, is there in that opening scene. Hell, most TV shows now can't even do that in an entire season of their show and Justified did in the opening scene. That showed me how much confidence the shows writers had in their material and it's hard pressed to find any show with that sort of faith in anything. Normally those shows are always trying to find themselves with each episode that comes out. Not Justified, much like Game of Thrones, it knows its characters, settings, story lines, and surrounding better than just about every show out there, hands down.
This show is one of the best paced shows, and well written show, I've seen for a series in a long time. And the episodes fold in on themselves with ease, as they carefully build the mythology of the show. I like how the episodes don't always turn out as expected, either. They seem to be going in one direction, then completely turn around quickly, not in a gimmicky or cheap way, but in a way that stays true to the story line and characters. The writers and creators of this show don't treat their
viewers as stupid. This is one the show
I've seen were cell phones always seem to be working and it's the first
thing the US Marshals pick up when something goes wrong or someone gets
shot.
I also like how the choices people make in this show affect
things later on in other episodes. It adds a little realism to the
show. Also this show is about a person of good character,
something we don't see to many of on TV now-a-days - and I've got a
feeling that's one of the reasons the show is doing so well - this isn't
the type of character you're going to find on the Shield or Sopranos. This is actually a well written character who has shades of the John
Wayne and Dirty Harry in him and all for the better. I really like that
no nonsense, no bullshit mentality, because it's in short supply
now-a-days with our government and all levels of politicians being the
way they are being. It was very refreshing to see something like this
on TV. They create a little world with this show has many layers,
which are explored nicely and with enough depth as not to get stupid or
too soapy.
Tymothy Olyphant is excellent as the lead and face of the
show. This is a show he was meant to play and he does bring parts of his
character from Deadwood with him, which makes it all the better. The other actors are a mix match of
characters actors from Hollywood, but like I always say I'll take
character actors over big name star actors, because they're that much
better. This show proves that with each episodes, as this group of actors
really help to make this show as good as it is, which is a damn good
watch.
You won't waste your time with Justified.
Killer Joe directed by William Freidkin
staring Matthew McConaughey, Gina Gershon, and Thomas Haden Church.
The
tag line for this movie reads as follows: A totally twisted deep-fried
Texas redneck trailer park murder story.
A big emphasis needs to be placed on the word “twisted” because this movie is that, in
every sense of the word, and is not a movie for the faint of heart or
those easily unsettled with violence and situations that can turn
gruesome with each passing second. Everything about this movie is
unsettling and not meant to be good. Everything that is unsettling
about the poster I posted with this review is in this movie. There are
no good people here, everyone is a bad person, and there are no morals what-so-ever, in
fact after this movie is over you might feel the need to take a bath or
shower to wash off the filth you have just watched.
I’ve always been
interested in the films that unsettle or push boundaries or where critics
say things like this about Killer Joe, “You’ll never see fried chicken the same way after you
watch this movie.” Saying things like that only make me want to watch the
movie even more and see if it's actually true, which I guess is good PR move on the films part because it gives them free press. Let me tell you that saying about fried chicken, as it pertains to Killer Joe, is 100% true. But even
after saying that if I had to choose to watch this movie again I don’t think I’d watch it because there just wasn’t anything good about the story line or the people in this movie.
There’s absolutely nothing
redemptive about this movie. Some might say the ending is redemptive
but if that is redemption then it’s the kind of redemption only Satan
could get behind and smile about with pride. If you like movies like
Pulp Fiction and Fargo then this movie is up your alley but at least
Pulp Fiction and Fargo did have some interesting characters you could
somewhat root for. There’s not any characters in this movie you want to
root for.
If there is any good in this movie I would say the direction
by Freidkin was good. It’s probably one of his better directed movies
since The French Connection and The Exorcist. Some of the scenes in
this movie are just dripping with tension where I really didn’t know
what was going to happen and his direction had a lot to do with that.
Even the actual sound of the movie added a lot of extra information to
what was happening in the movie as it seemed to heighten what was going
on in a scene to a certain degree because of the sound.
Matthew
McConaughly did some of his best acting, as he played upon
the expectations of his boyish good looks, to play an all-out psychopath
with a quiet subtly that ever scene he was in was always just about
tilting over with tension. It’s one of the best performances I’ve seen
him do. The last thing that made this movie “good” was the production
and sets which seemed to really visually capture the trailer park
setting only adding to the greasy, dirty feel of the movie which never
went away with each scene. I know a lot the movie was shot on location
but it was better for that as it added that realism and sleaziness to a
movie already ripe with it.
National Lampoon's Vacation staring Chevy
Chase, Beverly D'Angelo and the scene stealer himself Randy Quaid.
They
don't make comedies like this anymore, period. Jess and I were talking
about this the other day and you know it's right comedies
now-a-days are no where near as memorable as the comedies from 80's and
before (just a small list from the top of my head: Dr. Strangelove,
Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Holy Grail, Ghostbuters, The Jerk,
and Planes, Trains and Automobiles). Now we just get full out gross
humor with characters we really care nothing about, nor does the story even try to make us care about them.
There is one thing I
noticed while watching this movie that a lot of comedies do not do and that is: it knew when to cut a joke short and
not let it drag out and by doing
this I believe the humor of the joke stays longer in the mind. This
movie also knows when swearing is humor and doesn't just populate it
throughout the movie just because it can. The humor here was so much more sophisticated
and, you know, actual humor not the gross out, dick and fart jokes and
constant swearing that inhabits comedies now. I also forgot how great
this poster was. Iconic and funny at the same time. This is also one
of the few movies out there that supports the family instead of trying to tear it down.
The Great White Odyssey by National Geographic
on Netflix.
My son's gotten into sharks something fierce over the last
few years, so that means I've also gotten into sharks more than I ever
had before. After reading countless books on sharks,
the great white shark has come to be my favorite shark and basically my
favorite fish in the ocean. I'm really fascinated by them, their power,
their mystery, and just about everything I can read or find out about
them. So I was looking through Netflix's menu when I found this
documentary a few weeks ago and watched it.
I've got to admit it was a
very enlightening documentary as the scientists tagged a great white and
followed her 6,000+ mile journey from the coat of South Africa to the
coast of Australia. She traveled on a course they never thought a great
white traveled and they learned a lot about great whites that they
thought they'd never learn. I learned a lot about the great white shark
through this documentary and one of major things I learned is that the
great white is still one of the greatest mysteries in the ocean, which
means that fascinates me all the more. So if you've got some time and
around 46 minutes to spare you can't go to wrong with the documentary
and see what a truly beautiful and dangerous fish a great white shark
is.
