Posts by Gino Sassani

In one corner you have U.S Attorney Chuck "The Scholar" Rhodes, played by Paul Giamatti. He's the reigning world champion with a record of 80+ to 0. In the other corner is Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis; he could also be considered undefeated. He runs a sexy brokerage firm. Both of these guys walk and talk like champs. There's a lot of trash-talk between them, but both have very lurid and potentially devastating skeletons in their perspective closets. This season finds them each willing to risk anything just to get to the other.

The strength of two very strong performances immerses us in each of these worlds to a point that we discover something none of these players know, or at least would be willing to admit. They are very much the same, and the culture of their careers is more alike than not. Both are willing to bend a rule for "the common good", and both believe themselves to be the heroes of their own stories. And that's where the writing and acting come together for a nice perfect storm. Both characters are heroes to the people around them. They've developed almost cult followings. Both are admirable people. Of course, the opposite is just as true. These guys can both play the anti-hero with the best of them. There is both great good and great evil in both. If that sounds complicated here, just imagine how hard it would be to actually pull off. And in Season Two that obsession goes to limits that surprised even me. Both men are literally willing to give up their families, wealth, and careers to bring down the other. The term “nuclear option” means nothing to these guys. The final couple of episodes play out a round in this game that could very well take them both out. They cross some very big lines that you simply can't come back from.

"Welcome back to New Orleans."

The most recent member of the NCIS family enters its third season. There are some changes, but not just in the show's cast. I have noticed a concerted effort to use the term NOLA by both the characters and various signs and symbols displayed throughout the new season. It's a bit odd, because at one point a character chastises an outsider that the locals prefer New Orleans. Minutes later that same character uses the term NOLA. The crew now even wear lanyards that say NCIS:NOLA on them. I have not been to New Orleans post-Katrina, so I'm not up on whatever local thing might be going on with the name. I suspect there are some politicians who are using the new designation in order to help re-brand the city. Whatever's going on, the series is apparently caught up in it. The term even shows up in episode titles.

In times of war it is very easy to think of your enemy as the embodiment of evil. Sometimes it is necessary to do so. However, more often than not, the person on the other side of the line is just like you, a patriot doing their duty for their country, with mild to moderate understanding of the overall big picture. 1944 helps to illuminate this point, as the audience gets to experience the war from both sides of the battle. In this case it was Estonians fighting on both sides, further complicating the morality of the situation. We are thrown into the middle of the war almost instantly, opening up in the trenches with one of the main focal points of the story, Karl. Karl is a haunted young man, traumatized by his family deportation to Siberia. He brings that intensity into the battle until his first face-to-face confrontation with the enemy when he sees that it was his fellow countrymen, young and inexperienced soldiers.

Across enemy lines, Red Army soldier Juri must walk a fine line in regards to his duty to the men he is serving with and his obligation to his commanding officer who expects him to report any anti-communist comment made by his fellow soldiers.

"Two can keep a secret as long as one of them is dead."

The Pretty Little Liars have finally reached the end of their rope. And while you discovered who little mini-A's were over the previous six years, you're finally going to get to the bottom of the entire mystery. I'll admit it's a bit of a shocker. With the end upon us, this is no place for beginners. If you don't know who Aria, Spencer, Emily, Hannah, and Alison are, it's time for you to head back to the beginning and catch up. You can find our reviews from those seasons here. For the rest of you, let's talk Pretty Little Liars, shall we?

"Guns change everything, and a bullet is forever."

This new USA Network series is based very loosely on the 2007 film staring Mark Wahlberg. The film was based on the bestseller novel Point Of Impact by the ironically named Stephen Hunter. The series started life with several events going against it. The film really didn't make much of an impact itself. It lost money with a domestic box office total under $50M and about the same in the world-wide box office. So it wasn't necessarily a no-brainer for a television series adaptation. That push came from the original film's star Mark Wahlberg, who is the executive producer of the series. But that's not the only obstacle the show had to overcome. The premiere was delayed twice, first because of the Pulse shootings in Orlando and then again after the police officer shootings in Dallas, Texas. No question the series took a long, hard road to finally make it on the air. Now that it has finally aired, Universal is putting the first season together on DVD. It's a good chance to catch the series if you missed its eventual run on USA Network. But is it worth going through the trouble now. Yeah, the show has its moments. It's somewhat clever and has more than its fair share of dramatic moments.