Catching up with my tv shows
I'm glad Boardwalk Empire is back!
My love for Margaret has returned. I was so proud of her when she didn't give the young doctor's name and even said he was "an older guy". And her outfits are still gorgeous.
Manny the jewish butcher was a great character but he was doomed, and of course Richard Harrow continues to steal the show. The scene with Tommy, as he was trying to keep the memory of Angela alive, was so touching. It seems to me that Richard is even more in love with Angela now that she's dead. Perhaps because he thinks of himself as half-dead too...but alive he remains, dedicating himself to Jimmy's son.
Meanwhile Gillian also keeps a ghost alive, signing cheques in Jimmy's name. But it's all about money for her. Looks like the new girl she hired for her brothel was interested in Richard. She kinda looked like Angela. I wonder whether Gillian hired her for that very reason.
Speaking of half stuff it's pretty clear that Nucky is no longer a half-gangster. The scene with the thief was well done and quite a statement on the matter. BTWDoyle's laughter is still something quite unique.
I liked the King Tut song and Nucky's new girl is more interesting than Lucy.
The new Italian guy was a bit of a caricature but Rothstein is still the coolest and classiest gangster ever.
The problem with Boarwalk Empire is that the supporting characters are more engaging than the lead. Buscemi isn't charismatic enough and Nucky isn't that interesting in himself. Killing off Jimmy didn't hurt the show IMO but hurt the character of Nucky.
As for Van Allen Van Alden, aka Mr Mueller, being a salesman is probably the least suited job for him! Would anyone buy something from a creepy man like him?
I also watched the latest episode of Copper. The show is still far from being perfect but I enjoy watching it in the way I enjoy watching tv shows that are flawed and yet kind of refreshing, interesting in what they tell, and entertaining.
There's some clunckiness here and there, the pace is an issue (an episode can feel slow and somewhat rushed, botched up even, at once!) and they should work on the structure of episodes and the editing. However the lead is charming and although he is not an anti-hero he is way darker than your usual hero; the action scenes are well done (I really liked the boxing scene, the dancing in the last episode was terrible though); many characters are still rather ambiguous and you can't be sure there are good guys or not (Morehouse, Elisabeth) and I like that the series that should be so testosterone-filled is actually turning into a female show considering the plots and determination of Elisabeth, Eva, Annie or even Matthew Freeman's wife (can't recall her name)...and there's that con woman whose sister was an abortioner, who has been balckmailing her sister's clients, and who has now decided that she wants Francis Maguire. She reminds me of that bitch with an impossible name who was Sofia's tutor and actually worked for the Pinkertons in Deadwood.
All those women know what they want and are set on getting it.
Ok the fact that they almost all have the hots for the lead and want to bed him is a bit of a cliché, but he's just so shaggable that it makes totally sense in my book.
And I'm probably in the minority here, but I like Annie's storyline. They cast an actress who is so chubby and doll-like that she sorta looks younger than the 13 years old the character is supposed to be - which accentuates the twisted side of the situation -, but she plays the part very well. There is no little girls, only little women, and you can see that her early marriage and prostitution background turned her into a manipulative little woman. Yet she's more than just a shit-stirring girl and her sadness is moving. I find her less caricatured than Flora in Deadwood (who probably was about the same age but looked older). The fact that her childhood was ruined and that she is damaged doesn't mean that her feelings and attraction to our hero aren't real. A hero who saved her, in a way, but who damaged her even more when he had her kill Elisabeth's husband. And later she played a significant part in Mollie's death.
BTW I don't mind the fact that Mollie's death wasn't investigated. Our coppers trust Eva, and given what had transpired between Mollie and him, I guess that Kevin wasn't too hot on digging the matter and involving Matthew's forensic skills, and was actually eager to accept Eva's version.
Also the fact that Eva turned out to be rather crazy and killed her girl out of jealousy is refreshing considering the usual trope of "the whore with a heart of gold". And so is Elisabeth's behaviour, a upper class lady who is not quite "proper", as she enjoys her new freedom without even pretending, has good manners and yet flirts outrageously with the man she wants. In a way she's more naive than Annie. The parallel between the two of them was stressed out by their similar white dresses, that were both inappropriate : Annie is not an innocent and pure child, and Elisabeth is a widow not a bride!
That said, I hope it won't end with the good fair lady (Elisabeth)and the dark haired femme fatale.
I bet Annie is going to play Eva against Elisabeth in the next eppy.
So I like the characters, their storylines, and the relationships between them, but the series in lacking in the production, pace and the structure department.
To tell the truth I find "La tempête" a bit boring and I think that the ball thing didn't really work, but I liked the last scene between Kevin and his major having some morphine bonding time. Also, I think that Fariha Zaman's review was spot-on this week.
My love for Margaret has returned. I was so proud of her when she didn't give the young doctor's name and even said he was "an older guy". And her outfits are still gorgeous.
Manny the jewish butcher was a great character but he was doomed, and of course Richard Harrow continues to steal the show. The scene with Tommy, as he was trying to keep the memory of Angela alive, was so touching. It seems to me that Richard is even more in love with Angela now that she's dead. Perhaps because he thinks of himself as half-dead too...but alive he remains, dedicating himself to Jimmy's son.
Meanwhile Gillian also keeps a ghost alive, signing cheques in Jimmy's name. But it's all about money for her. Looks like the new girl she hired for her brothel was interested in Richard. She kinda looked like Angela. I wonder whether Gillian hired her for that very reason.
Speaking of half stuff it's pretty clear that Nucky is no longer a half-gangster. The scene with the thief was well done and quite a statement on the matter. BTWDoyle's laughter is still something quite unique.
I liked the King Tut song and Nucky's new girl is more interesting than Lucy.
The new Italian guy was a bit of a caricature but Rothstein is still the coolest and classiest gangster ever.
The problem with Boarwalk Empire is that the supporting characters are more engaging than the lead. Buscemi isn't charismatic enough and Nucky isn't that interesting in himself. Killing off Jimmy didn't hurt the show IMO but hurt the character of Nucky.
As for Van Allen Van Alden, aka Mr Mueller, being a salesman is probably the least suited job for him! Would anyone buy something from a creepy man like him?
I also watched the latest episode of Copper. The show is still far from being perfect but I enjoy watching it in the way I enjoy watching tv shows that are flawed and yet kind of refreshing, interesting in what they tell, and entertaining.
There's some clunckiness here and there, the pace is an issue (an episode can feel slow and somewhat rushed, botched up even, at once!) and they should work on the structure of episodes and the editing. However the lead is charming and although he is not an anti-hero he is way darker than your usual hero; the action scenes are well done (I really liked the boxing scene, the dancing in the last episode was terrible though); many characters are still rather ambiguous and you can't be sure there are good guys or not (Morehouse, Elisabeth) and I like that the series that should be so testosterone-filled is actually turning into a female show considering the plots and determination of Elisabeth, Eva, Annie or even Matthew Freeman's wife (can't recall her name)...and there's that con woman whose sister was an abortioner, who has been balckmailing her sister's clients, and who has now decided that she wants Francis Maguire. She reminds me of that bitch with an impossible name who was Sofia's tutor and actually worked for the Pinkertons in Deadwood.
All those women know what they want and are set on getting it.
Ok the fact that they almost all have the hots for the lead and want to bed him is a bit of a cliché, but he's just so shaggable that it makes totally sense in my book.
And I'm probably in the minority here, but I like Annie's storyline. They cast an actress who is so chubby and doll-like that she sorta looks younger than the 13 years old the character is supposed to be - which accentuates the twisted side of the situation -, but she plays the part very well. There is no little girls, only little women, and you can see that her early marriage and prostitution background turned her into a manipulative little woman. Yet she's more than just a shit-stirring girl and her sadness is moving. I find her less caricatured than Flora in Deadwood (who probably was about the same age but looked older). The fact that her childhood was ruined and that she is damaged doesn't mean that her feelings and attraction to our hero aren't real. A hero who saved her, in a way, but who damaged her even more when he had her kill Elisabeth's husband. And later she played a significant part in Mollie's death.
BTW I don't mind the fact that Mollie's death wasn't investigated. Our coppers trust Eva, and given what had transpired between Mollie and him, I guess that Kevin wasn't too hot on digging the matter and involving Matthew's forensic skills, and was actually eager to accept Eva's version.
Also the fact that Eva turned out to be rather crazy and killed her girl out of jealousy is refreshing considering the usual trope of "the whore with a heart of gold". And so is Elisabeth's behaviour, a upper class lady who is not quite "proper", as she enjoys her new freedom without even pretending, has good manners and yet flirts outrageously with the man she wants. In a way she's more naive than Annie. The parallel between the two of them was stressed out by their similar white dresses, that were both inappropriate : Annie is not an innocent and pure child, and Elisabeth is a widow not a bride!
That said, I hope it won't end with the good fair lady (Elisabeth)and the dark haired femme fatale.
I bet Annie is going to play Eva against Elisabeth in the next eppy.
So I like the characters, their storylines, and the relationships between them, but the series in lacking in the production, pace and the structure department.
To tell the truth I find "La tempête" a bit boring and I think that the ball thing didn't really work, but I liked the last scene between Kevin and his major having some morphine bonding time. Also, I think that Fariha Zaman's review was spot-on this week.