Monthly Archives: January 2017

It’s been awhile

TV

Time for some TV catch up!

A Series of Unfortunate Events is by far the best show I’ve watched this month. Based closely on the book series (that I have not read) it’s much like a Roald Dahl story come to life. This story of three siblings who lose their parents and get hounded by a dreadful man named Count Olaf for their inheritance has hints of Tim Burton at the helm. It’s actually Barry Sonnenfeld behind he camera (which you will be quick to notice if you’re familiar with his work. Also, no swirly fences so that gives it away that Burton didn’t touch this). Great cast, music and the makeup on Neil Patrick Harris (Olaf) is phenomenal. I was legitimately bummed when I ran out of episodes. They better get season 2 going quick or the kids are going to look too old.

Taboo is the latest big show on FX.  Led by Tom Hardy (and the main reason why I checked it out) it’s a grimy show to be sure. I’m not sure how much I like it two episodes in. Considering I’m still engaged, that gives it an edge over Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy follow up. Hardy plays John Delaney, an adventurer in the 1800’s who comes home from Africa when his father dies. He inherits some land, snatching it away from a deal his sister made and her husband made to sell it to the Crown. John is an intimidating man, to say the least, and has quite a few rumors following him from Africa. An assassination attempt already happened so I’m going to stick around to see how things play out.

Gotham is back for a brief time and it looks like Jerome’s cult has been growing in the darkness of the city. Riddler’s plan to get revenge on Penguin is full steam ahead too. This show is so weird I love it.

The Mick can be quickly boiled down to Kaitlin Olsen’s Always Sunny character, Dee Reynolds, getting her own show away from the brothers. The kids make this show (the youngest is hilarious). It’s a perfect fit for Fox, I like what I’ve seen so far and hope it keeps up.

Workaholics burns into its final season! If you’ve ever seen it, you know what to expect and it delivers. These three shmucks are so stupid. I’m really curious to see how they finish the show.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has hit some rough patches but this season has started strong. A rather daring musical episode to start, the water park episode was great and last week had a great take on reality TV. It was a smart choice they made years ago to make short seasons, gives them more chances to make killer instead of filler.

Man Seeking Woman- I don’t know how many people watch this show but I hope it’s a lot. I love the creativity of how they present the world of dating. This season picks right up with Josh’s new relationship with Lucy and even though on the surface that’s well-worn territory the writers always find that next layer of awkwardness to explore.

Baskets needs awards just for giving Louie Anderson a killer job to do. This show is so oddly wholesome (?) and weird you need to watch it to understand. I have no idea where the (very talented) creators got the idea for Chip Baskets. I mean, they guy went to France to become a clown. Aside from Anderson as Mrs. Baskets, Martha Kelly as Martha is the breakout actor and character for me. I hope this show hooks her up career wise. The start of the season has been really good with Chip on the run, him in a road movie scenario opens him up to all sorts of scenarios and characters. Love this show with its careful tightrope act of pratfalls, awkwardness, dysfunction, and family heart.

Another one of my shows is on its last season, Grimm, I think they’re doing it at the right time too. With all the escalation that’s been going on and all the discoveries, it’s nice to know a conclusion is coming. Two episodes in, I think they’re off to a good start. The Captain going full villain and how they have to deal with him while dealing with the growing threat of the Black Claw making moves worldwide. Part cop show, spy show, and creature feature, this show has a lot to give.

Sleepy Hollow had a serious season finale last year. With a major character killed off, there was a lot to question about where this show could go. Did it lose too much? With the new location of D.C. and the new characters, this season is really a reboot of the show. It’s easy to see the explanations put in for new viewers, but they keep that stuff pretty quick for old fans of the show. It’s not bogged down and all the elements that made the show popular are still there. I like the new characters so far and the search for the new Witness and the rise of new (and old) threats are as fun as ever. So far, so good.

Coming Soon

Legion kicks off on FX on Feb. 8th. It’s their big dive into the superhero pool bringing live action Xmen to the small screen. Xmen has been on some uneven footing over the years but this project looks really promising as they’re focusing on a character that’s never really been in the mainstream spotlight before.

Black Sails kicks off in a week! It being the final season is a bummer. After such an awesome season last year, I have really high hopes for this last arc. I’m a huge fan of this show and want it to end as well as it possibly can. The show runners and writers are awesome so I’m sure it will.

Face Off is finally back this week! One of two reality shows I watch, I’m stoked to see this year’s All-Star cast compete.

2016 ~Fin~

Life, Movies, Music, TV

2016 is now behind us and I think we’re all ready to get things going in a positive direction. I ended the year being sick for more than a month, first with kidney stones and then a stomach virus that set up camp with no intent of leaving without some serious antibiotics. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for both (still have a stent in my kidney which is GTFO ASAP. Embrace every day you are healthy, getting knocked out of commission for any amount of time is a serious bummer.

My movie reviews took a back seat to TV as just about all of my favorite content was coming on strong for the medium until the holiday break. I peppered some movies in here and there in the past 2 weeks. And of course there is a ton of stuff on Netflix to check out (just started S3 of the Dusk Til Dawn series and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown with plans to start The OA soon,)

Some TV highlights outside of watching the NY Rangers put on a clinic, hit a rut and now hopefully pulling the A team back together. Got into Vice News Tonight on HBO and I watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert religiously. Ink Master had a quality season Obviously, I was on Shameless like a frog on a Junebug. The comedy shows I watch (Bob’s Burgers, Modern Family, Brooklyn 99) have remained strong. My extremely brief take on The Walking Dead is ‘serious pacing issues.’ When you have a cast that large and only care for maybe half of them, any diversion away from those key people (neutering Carol again and beating us over the head that yes, Negan is a bad guy) it more often feels like meandering than entertainment. The ex-Top Gear boys rode back with The Grand Tour and it’s often a treat to see them at it again.

The standard cable shows are returning shortly and a few hard hitters are coming back for new seasons. Homeland sounds like they’re shifting gears which is much needed and Black Sails is ending with Season 4. Last year was brilliant and I’m both happy and sad to see the end of one of my favorite shows. FaceOff took a big break and is returning at the end of the month.

Korn put out a killer album that made me very happy (gushing review is here) and Run the Jewels snuck out RTJ3 just before the new year and it’s also great.

Movie wise, some quick hits:

Yoga Hosers– The best way I’ve seen this Kevin Smith movie described is: it’s like watching someone’s home movie that had a great budget. It’s super stupid (it knows it) and is a project for Smith’s daughter Harley and her friend Rose (Depp) to have fun. Kevin says he made it for tween girls and I think that’s a fair assessment. Spawned from a goofy idea on a stoner podcast, Kevin did all the ground work to get this little picture made. Even if you hate it, you have to recognize and respect the indie spirit.

Point Break (2015)- Yeah, watch the original. This remake does nothing better. While competent (by modern cinema standards) I couldn’t help but shrug this entire movie off. Maybe if the changed the name and tried to make it more original it would stand up better, but there is very little fun and exhilaration here that the original did so well. Sure the landscapes and real stuntwork are good (far expanding the ‘extreme sport’ umbrella the first did) but it’s coated in so much CG it gets numbing.

Spectral– A surprise treat from Netflix. Sci-fi action (with many nods to Aliens) done well. It’s about the US military calling for extra brains to help out with a new threat on the battlefield somewhere in Europe. Well written, paced and acted. Looks like they got the entire budget on screen because it looks really good.

Finally, I started writing my book 4 years ago. I’m really close to the end. I’m thinking 5 chapters close. Being sick derailed me for a while and I’m now burning to get this last bit out of me and onto the page. I think I have a legit sellable story here and I just got to get it done. Even when I write “the end” in the coming weeks, I have to go back to the beginning and fine tune work I haven’t touched in a long time. While I have much more work to do with it, I’ve never been closer to such a huge personal accomplishment. Still need to think up a good title.

Posts in 2016: 126