Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 19th, 2015
“We’re not in the middle of the third act. We just got to the end of the first.”
Aaron Sorkin almost definitely knew The Newsroom had been simultaneously renewed for a third season and canceled when he wrote those words, which come at the end of the season 3 premiere. It’s a winking and bittersweet bit of writing for a show that seemingly infuriated as many more people than it delighted over the course of 25 episodes. (Which apparently amounts to a single season of Pretty Little Liars.) So how else would you expect The Newsroom to go out than with moments of singular brilliance mixed in with a few controversial bangs?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 9th, 2015
"Some things stay the same. I mean the gamer is the game."
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A newspaper reporter and a cop go into a bar... It sounds like a setup for a pretty lame joke. It's actually the story of how one of the greatest television shows to ever air got started. It was the brainchild of two real-world players who hadn't yet seen their worlds portrayed accurately in television of film. They set out on a mission to change all of that. And, changing all of that is exactly what they did.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2015
"As you know, in less than two hours liquor will be declared illegal by decree of the distinguished gentlemen of our nation's Congress. To those beautiful, ignorant bastards. Rest assured that, dry though the country may be, I am in the midst of concluding arrangements that will keep Atlantic City wet..."
HBO has finally released a full series set of Boardwalk Empire on Blu-ray. This is an HBO trend that has gone full tilt in the last year, seeing such hits as The Sopranos, True Blood and soon The Wire all coming in wonderful full-series releases. They look great on your video shelf. Together they create a tremendous number of hours of quality television. I love having it all in one place. If you're new to the show, what better time to climb on board? Here's a primer on what you're going to see. I almost envy you folks who will watch it all for the first time in one sweep.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 2nd, 2015
“For the first time in four years, I can say what I really think.”
It may have taken four years for fictional U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer to make her boldest political move yet, but Veep was finally able to achieve all-around greatness in just three. I know there are fans of HBO's caustic comedy series who would argue the show was already great, and I agree there have absolutely been many flashes of foul-mouthed brilliance throughout its run. But it wasn't until Veep had Selina Meyer try to outgrow the show's title in season 3 that the series itself ascended to another level.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 30th, 2015
“There's money flying all over Silicon Valley, but none of it ever seems to hit us.”
There's a lot to like about HBO's Silicon Valley, which debuted last year with a confident, clever freshman season that took merciless aim the tech capital of the U.S. My favorite thing about the show — besides hyper-specific jokes aimed at geeky targets like the many endings of “Mass Effect 3” — is that it portrays (and makes fun of) each aspect of the cutthroat tech industry, from the self-important, aggressively eccentric billionaires to the scrappy, proverbial guys in a garage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 19th, 2015
“All men must die.”
The official tagline for Season 4 of HBO’s Game of Thrones also doubles as a helpful reminder of author George R.R. Martin’s no-character-is-safe philosophy. But even plastering that quote all over posters, promos, and the cover of this exemplary-in-every-way Blu-ray set isn’t likely to prepare you for the most devastating and thrilling season of a show that specializes in “devastating and thrilling.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 16th, 2015
“Why are you so hateful, Olive?”
Olive Kitteridge — Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel —has been adapted into a four-hour HBO miniseries. It's probably the best possible outcome for Strout's story, which deals with the legacy of depression, along with several other box office-unfriendly themes that would almost certainly prevent any proper Kitteridge adaptation from sniffing a multiplex. The miniseries is well-made, and the acting is top-notch. The problem for me was that, even with that four-hour running time, we don't get a ton of insight into why the title character is so hateful.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 22nd, 2015
"If we're good today, we'll be better tomorrow."
The final season of Boardwalk Empire breaks the mold of what the show has been for the first four years. The action jumps ahead several years to 1931. It's a necessary plot point if we're going to be ending the popular series in the fifth season. I understand the jump and why it works. I guess my only real question is: why are we jumping ahead to end what is one of the best shows on television? The answers likely lie within the powers that be at either HBO or the show's production staff. There's little point arguing the point. This is your last chance to get some Nucky... Nucky Thompson, that is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 14th, 2015
"There will be casualties"
Alan Ball got my attention in 2001 with HBO's black comedy Six Feet Under. It was one of the most original shows I had ever seen, and to this day I find it hard to characterize the series when asked to do so. It was there that he also introduced me to Michael C. Hall, who continues to amaze me in the role of Dexter over at Showtime. When Six Feet Under left the airwaves, Ball didn't waste very much time in bringing his quirky style back, this time to the horror genre. True Blood would put a rather strange twist on the lovesick vampire craze, and while that show has not kept up the same kind of clever writing and wickedly brilliant stories, Ball has lent his name and talents to another cable show. This time it's on Cinemax, and the series is Banshee. And while Ball is a producer and not the day-to-day runner of the series, it is nonetheless another pretty strange show that defies any particular genre or characterization.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 12th, 2015
“Writers are a ridiculous class of people who make everything about themselves.”
For many, the current face — and oft-naked body — of “writers who make everything about themselves” is Lena Dunham, the creator/star/writer/director of HBO's Girls. The equal-parts brilliant and maddening quarter-life crisis comedy became one of the most polarizing shows on TV over its first two seasons, as self-involved heroine Hannah Horvath sought love and a career as a writer in NYC. At the start of season 3, Hannah has both of those things...which is why I'm astounded — and, frankly, pretty impressed — that she remains as egotistical as ever.
