Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 4th, 2018
“Look, all funny guys are damaged.”
It's no secret that some of the greatest and most memorable stand-up comics of all time — Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, to name a few — were as troubled as they were talented. Of course, turning their inner turmoil into comedy was a big part of what made them legends. Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here is a dramedy about a group of struggling Los Angeles comics in the 1970s. But the show is at its worst when it takes the art of stand-up comedy way too seriously.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on May 3rd, 2018
“It’s not hard to go from genius to laughingstock.”
Close your eyes and imagine someone just said the word “genius” to you. (And also pretend like you can’t see the familiar, wild-haired figure on the DVD cover art that accompanies this review.) What person comes to mind when you hear that word? I’m willing to bet it’s Albert Einstein, the German-born Jewish theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity. That’s what makes Einstein the perfect inaugural subject for Genius, National Geographic’s anthology series that also doubles as the cable channel’s first stab at scripted drama.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on April 13th, 2018
- “We’ll get another chance…to go home. It wasn’t the right time.”
- “What’s the right time?”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2018
"And so we ran on. Into Summerland and the place they said did not exist. And all the while, wolves were at our heels. Black masks, boots and the one they called The Eye. We had come to do the work that must be done. To strip ourselves of the fog of life before."
If the first season of Legion was intended to lift any fog, it failed miserably. In fact, keeping you in a fog is series creator Noah Hawley’s superpower. He was also the creator of the television adaptation of Fargo, which was often more than a little confusing. But with Legion Hawley has taken these "skills" to the next level, and how you respond to the series will absolutely depend on how much you like your brain messed with while you're watching a show. If the answer is a lot, this is the perfect show for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 22nd, 2018
“Now I’m awake to the world. I was asleep before. That’s how we let it happen...nothing changes instantaneously. In a gradually heating bathtub, you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.”
The most amazing thing about The Handmaid’s Tale — other than a powerhouse lead performance from the best actress working in television right now — is that this harrowing, suddenly timely cautionary tale about what happens when society falls asleep at the wheel is based on a story that was published more than 30 years ago. Of course, the show has a lot more going for it than impeccable timing.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on March 16th, 2018
“I was just trying not to offend you and yet I wound up offending you, which is quite ironic.”
Six long years passed between the last Curb Your Enthusiasm episode in 2011 and the show's season 9 premiere last fall. And yet it only takes about two minutes for Larry David — the curmudgeonly comic genius who stars as an exaggerated(?) version of himself on the long-running HBO sitcom — to utter the words above after inadvertently offending his latest unsuspecting victim. In other words, even though portions of this season feel creakier than past years, it is absolutely great to have Curb back!
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2018
Girlfriends was a sitcom that ran from 2000 to 2008 back when The CW was known as UPN. It will also probably surprise people to learn that the series was executive produced by Kelsey Grammar, as the show is quite different from Frasier. Girlfriends was not the best comedy around, but it was a very important one for several reasons; every so often it tackled real world issues such as HIV, mental illness, miscarriages, and same-sex relationships. The series, as the title suggests, also featured a predominantly female-oriented cast.
The show followed the perspective of Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), the den mother of the group and a successful lawyer working to find love. Rounding out the cast was Maya (Golden Brooks), the only one of the group who was married; unlike the others she is more working class, serving as Joan’s assistant at the law firm. That’s something that often causes her to clash with Toni (Jill Marie Jones), Joan’s childhood friend who comes from humble beginnings but is determined to marry into financial security. Lynn (Persia White) is the more carefree one of the group, though it is easy to be carefree when you rely on others for food and shelter. At the beginning of the series, she is forced to finally stop prolonging her education and begin her life. The central male figure for the series is the girls’ only guy friend, William Dent (Reginald C. Hayes), a fellow lawyer at Joan’s firm who brings a dry wit and interjects when the ladies begin to rant against the opposite sex. But he is also quick to lend a hand or protect them in any way that he can.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 14th, 2018
I’ve been a fan of The Walking Dead ever since the first episode aired on AMC. I’m a sucker for zombie films and the original Dawn of the Dead remains as one of my all-time favorite horror films. I mention this because when the idea came along to do a spin-off of The Walking Dead, I was stoked. But when Fear the Walking Dead first aired, I have to admit there was something about it that just didn’t hook me. So I gave up after a couple episodes. I wish I had held out just a little bit longer. Before jumping into season 3 of the show, I decided to revisit the series and start with a fresh set of eyes from the first season to catch up...and what a fun ride it has been!
For those that are unfamiliar with the show, Fear the Walking Dead starts in Los Angeles when the zombie outbreak has only just begun. If you are worried it’s nothing more than a West Coast version of the same story, let me set your mind at ease by saying, though it has similar themes and circumstances, Fear the Walking Dead is a darker and more intimate tale.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 5th, 2018
“Keeping the country safe is big business now. It's getting bigger.”
Much of this sixth season of Homeland is spent exploring the notion that the CIA's cloak-and-dagger activities in the Middle East might have outlived their usefulness and a new course of action is required. But considering that Showtime's previously white-hot spy drama — a Best Drama series Emmy winner for its stellar first season — is six seasons in and a lot less buzzy these days, it's hard not to extend that central question to the show itself: Is Homeland obsolete? Well judging by this twisty and thrilling collection of episodes, the answer is a resounding, “No!”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 21st, 2018
If The Wire isn't the greatest television show of all time, it's certainly in the conversation. That landmark HBO series was created by David Simon, who took a journalistic and novelistic approach in telling the story of a decaying city (Baltimore) and its various institutions. Now, Simon has teamed up with crime novelist George Pelecanos for The Deuce, which takes a similarly 360-degree approach in examining Times Square in the early 1970s and the evolution of the porn industry. Capturing every facet of that time and place doesn't just mean that The Deuce depicts the lives of pimps, prostitutes, and police officers. It also means the show is alternately thought-provoking, tragic and darkly funny.
“You got some pimp in you.”
