Inquisitionist

I watched the movie on youtube a few months ago. It felt grittier than the TV series.

I have to start by admitting that I fell asleep, so I may have lost some of the narrative impact of the ending, but the accolades this film has garnered (something like 96% fresh on RottenTomatoes?) baffles me. My husband felt the same way. Pesci was about the only watchable element for me. De Niro seemed to have one facial expression throughout. Pacino bordered on caricature. When Scorsese went into slo-mo during the wedding scene, I exclaimed "because the pace wasn't glacial enough already?" I didn't realize it was CGI until reading up afterwards. I assumed it was failed make-up jobs. As you say, the actors moved like men of their ages, which is to say, old. De Niro in particular took me out of the "reality" of this movie from the get-go. I know what he looked like as a 30-year-old, and this wasn't it. My husband also remarked about Alan King! It's been too long since I've seen Casino for me to have made the connection. Again, couldn't agree more about the de-aging.

And it's filming in Chicago. If I ever see TO in person, I may croak on the spot. Soooooo sexy!

I've decided to bite the bullet and rewatch S5. I'll report back on where I think it went off the rails... 🙂

It's a close call between 2 and 4, but I give 4 the edge because 2 has that silly sub-plot with Winona taking money. I think 5 is pretty universally at the bottom of everyone's list. But yes, S6 comes roaring back in great form, and the series finale is one of my favorite episodes of any show, ever. I agree. The procedural episodes were entertaining, but for me the series stepped up a notch with 1-5, The Lord of War and Thunder, and even more with the Boyd-related episodes after that. I thought S1 ended very strong.

I felt more-or-less the same way. I was excited by the first few episodes, but frustrated as it went on. I think this would have worked better as a 10-part one-season-and-done, ala the individual seasons of Fargo. By leaving the door open for another season, I felt they had to pad out the first-season story line and have characters do a number of things that didn't quite add up.

Cleo, I'm currently rewatching S4, with two episodes to go. It is my favorite season of Justified, even ahead of S2, which I also like a lot. Vulture's recap of the season finale pulls together a great analysis that dovetails with why I found this season so compelling.

Totally agree. I think I wrote pretty much the same thing way back in the thread... 🙂 To me, this episode is perfection, and it stems from the writing. And it wasn't even nominated for a writing Emmy award. The nominees that year were: Now, I haven't seen any Bernie Mac episodes (which won the award), but I've seen every other one of the nominees, and I would pick TOW the Videotape above all of them. And I lurved the Andy Richter show.

For once, my husband's insistence on subscribing to sports packages appears to have worked in my favor. No interruption in TCM service! Yesterday I watched Up the Down Staircase. I remember reading the source novel when I was about 14. I had just entered 9th grade in a middle class junior high school in the early 1970s after doing K-8 at a Catholic school. I was shocked to see boys and girls kissing in hallways between classes. Imagine my utter discombobulation at reading about inner cities kids, including one who threatens a teacher with rape. My eyes were popping out constantly. I think the movie captured the book well. Sandy Dennis had the right mix of grit and idealism. The kids seemed very real (turns out the actor who played Jose, aka "me", was actually from the neighborhood, not a pro). I loved seeing such stellar actresses as Eileen Heckart, Ruth White, Jean Stapleton, Florence Stanley, and even Frances Sternhagen (she took me a while to recognize) in supporting roles as teachers and staff. I'm going to look for a used copy of the book. Time to revisit, I think.

Also, for those who haven't heard, Walton Goggins is starring in a CBS sitcom called The Unicorn. I have watched the first three episodes and while they have redeeming qualities, the show is still finding its tone. This review gives a pretty good rundown.

Season 2 IS awesome except for the Winona storyline you mentioned. For me, Season 4 is more consistent and therefore ranks first, with S2 second.

OMG, thanks for pointing that out. I had missed it when I watched the episode. My niece, who is a writers assistant in LA, recommended this series to me. So glad I took her up on it. Kirsten Dunst is amazing.

See, he was such a non-entity at the wedding that I forgot he was there!

I thought the support group was the worst part -- a dozen women start talking about their sexual predilections with a man they've never met? OTT and not funny, IMO. OTOH, I do like the friends and his daughters.

It's weirder to me that Ben isn't at Emma's birthday party. Or at his aunt Monica's wedding (where he would have made a terrific ring bearer). Those events didn't require a flight.

Didn't the Army fix Boyd's teeth when/after he served in Iraq? Or was it Afghanistan?

Several people have suggested it to me and I've tried it once. I had a hard time with the afterlife setting, but I did like Defending Your Life so I might give it another try. Thanks!

Patricia Heaton is 61 trying to pass for 10 years younger. It was a strained stretch on The Middle and feels worse here.

Based on the pilot, I don't think they're playing his wife's death for laughs. Goggins himself talked about this in a recent interview about the decision to film this without an audience. Glad to see Rob Corddry on TV again. I almost didn't recognize him at first, and had to check IMDb to verify it was him. And he's 48! How did that happen? I still picture him as one of the new kids on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but I guess that was a while ago.

Thanks, that line made me truly LOL! Which it sounds like Goggins had a hand in. I enjoyed the pilot. I only heard about it a few hours before it premiered on CBS. The only other things I'm watching on network TV these days are Brooklyn Nine-Nine and SNL. I'll definitely give this a few more tries.

David Schwimmer is in the new Steven Soderbergh movie The Laundromat, starring Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman. I wonder if Oldman spits on him.

Yes, one of the functions of a good host is to help correct course when things are going astray...

You two are not alone. I attempted to watch it on DVD after its theatrical run and did not laugh. I kept wondering why people called it hilarious.

Woody Harrelson. How topical. Not.

Denzel Washington this past summer. See my post a few spots above.