bourbon
-
Posts
189 -
Joined
Content Type
Blogs
Gallery
Downloads
Discussion
Posts posted by bourbon
-
-
Dang, this show is so brilliant.
My favorite scene was the scene where Tawney confesses to Ted Jr. They are standing on opposite sides of the room, the distance between them as wide as the emotional distance that has opened up between them. Loved, too, the scene where Tawney's friend from her women's group talks about her feelings towards Daniel. Really a beautiful meditation on Christian love and forgiveness, and how even Tawney struggles with it.
And to add to the Christ imagery this show does, we have Amantha anointing Daniel's hands and feet with oil (lavender lotion) like the woman of Bethany. Don't know if that was an intentional parallel, but knowing McKinnon's attention to detail, I would think not.
This show has the most exquisitely drawn characters on TV. Sympathies shift from one scene to the next, as they do in real life. Sheriff Daggett (dogged?) started out as the villain of the piece, but is now one of the more sympathetic characters, looking for justice even for a man he suspects is a rapist and a murderer. Critics often comment how slow the show is, but I think that's wrong. Each scene is a revelation, with new layers being revealed. There is something happening all the time.
-
8
-
-
I think Jessica Richens is totally this season's Molleeeee.
I've really come to the not-so-surprising conclusion that Nigel Lythgoe is a really awful person. He made comments about how it isn't just about talent, it's about casting, and then on twitter, he defends the fact that there are no women of color in the Top 20 by stating that they picked the Top 20 on talent. So, which is it? Cast on talent alone or don't. But don't be disingenuous about it. Then the fakery of the One Love drama. He never had any intention of making them pick someone, and had they picked one person, he probably would have cut them all to teach them some lesson about teamwork. Then calling out Twitch, Mary, and Jessica for giving Marie Poppins one more chance. As if Nigel hasn't done the same thing 100x, coddling his favorites, berating a contestant only to say they were being spared because Nigel "believes" in them. Not to mention his general inappropriate pervy-ness. He makes the show increasingly less fun to watch.
-
13
-
-
Did they ever show who Shankman was talking about from the tease where he said he wanted to cut someone for their unprofessional behavior?
I'm pretty pleased about most of the Top 20. I could do without Jessica Richens, but there's one like her every year. She's the kind few are passionate about but many will hate. I adore Rudy and Nick. So glad they both made it. Rudy didn't seem as strong and graceful as some of the other contempo boys, but he did seem more versatile. Not sure why Trevor Boyce was cut. In his own style, too! He seemed to be doing well during the HH round. I hope he, Jaja, and Silky come back.
I would have preferred to see Armen Way in the Top 20, but I don't know who I would like to have seen cut. He seemed very strong in all styles, so I have to think it came down to casting. What didn't he have in that respect that the other ballroom boys did? I see him being the same type as Serge, but perhaps Serge was a little more accessible than Armen. Or perhaps they're just still pissed at him for dropping Malece.
The One Love segment was pure Nigel manipulation and they should've seen through it.
So no meet the top 20? We go right to the elimination round? That's been my fave episode each season without the voting and elimination shenanigans. Just pure, beautiful dancing in their own styles.
I like Ricky. I'm glad he shaved his facial skrag. He looked like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
-
1
-
-
The hatred and vitriol aimed at the women who slept with Germans
Glad you mentioned that. After I watched it the other day, I found this article about the "tondeuses," women that had their heads shaved for "collaborating" with the Germans. An interesting read.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/05/women-victims-d-day-landings-second-world-war
-
This episode is where the series really starts to pick up for me. I love Bull's detour hiding out in the Dutch farmer's barn. It felt like an old Hollywood WWII movie. Good (or bad depending on your point of view) to see Sobel again and the company's reaction to him. The men of Easy have said that Sobel helped them become the company they were. I wish I could say that Sobel had a cunning plan all along by making them hate him, the men could unite behind a common enemy. But it feels more like Sobel was accidentally right.
Look! It's James McAvoy as the not-long-for-this-world Private Miller! Magneto AND Professor X in the same company!!
-
1
-
-
I have to say that the immediate post-invasion episodes, particularly this one, are my least favorite of the series. By necessity, they are action-driven rather than character-driven, but I miss the sense of feeling invested in the soldiers' fates if I don't really know them yet. I can't say I'm very engaged in Blithe's fate, since the only glimpse I've had of him is a brief glimpse on the deck of the troop transport ship. It's interesting, too, that the book and the show got it wrong...Blithe didn't die in 1948 but lived a couple more decades, had a family, and didn't die of his war wounds. It doesn't really lessen the impact of the overall theme of fear and overcoming it in battle, but for me, it lessens the impact of Blithe's individual story. I do love the end of the episode with Mallarkey picking up the dead men's laundry. Very nicely played.
Look! There's The Good Wife's Marc Warren as the hysterically-blind Albert Blithe and Ben Caplan from "Call the Mid-Wife" as the oft-wounded, poetry-writing Smokey Gordon.
-
1
-
-
I think it would have been very easy to write and play Teddy as a cardboard caricature we've seen 100 times. He's a small town "big fish" who peaked at age 18 and has been coasting on high glories for a decade. He struts around like cock of the walk with his nice car and pretty wife, but he's full of self-loathing because he knows all he'll ever be is the assistant manager of a failing tire store. But they've made him so much more complex than that. I don't think I ever really lost sympathy for Teddy despite being the sort of guy I would probably hate IRL.
His poor behavior is rooted in his insecurities, and his insecurities are understandable: the fear of losing his step-mother's affections, the fear of losing his job, the fear of the physical danger Daniel puts them in. The only time I ever really thought Teddy crossed the line was before the coffee incident when he was taunting Daniel about being raped in prison. Even then, I could understand that Teddy was acting out a fear that Daniel posed a (very real) threat to his marriage.
I don't like Teddy, but I don't ever find him less than sympathetic or at least understandable.
-
I thought Teddy's neck pain was from the coffee encounter.
Ah. Yes. I forgot that the whole of S1 took place over 6 days and his neck would still be sore from the stranglehold.
Odd and sad, too, that in one ep of S1 she seemed to have such a hang-up about Teddy seeing her naked. Not sure if there is a deeper issue other than her general feeling about her marriage. In this episode, it seems to be Teddy doing the pulling away.
-
It might have been just me, but was it implied that Teddy Jr played a part in the attack on Daniel?
That was my take with his neck pain. In which case...yikes. Regardless, he's got secrets.
Still can't get a bead on the causes of the tension in the Tawney/Teddy marriage. Did they pre-date Daniel's release? If, so is it that they married for the wrong reasons (she seems very young) and are growing apart or is there something else. He's a tool, but he seems to genuinely love her.
I like that this show doesn't make fun of Tawney's faith. That would be so easy. She, like all the characters, are flawed but essentially honorable people who are just trying to what they think is the right thing. It's very uncynical. How refreshing.
-
2
-
-
This was a harrowing watch, but I think what made this realistic was the very thing that turned me off on my original viewing in '01. It's so dark, so fast and frenetic in the assault on the guns, that it is hard to tell who's who. I wanted to engage emotionally with the characters, but I couldn't. It's better, of course, watching it again from the perspective of having seen the series several times, but there were a lot of "Who's that? Which guy is he?" questions from mr bourbon. I think the most effective part of the ep for me was the extended, nearly-silent opening shot of all the men on the planes preparing for what was to come.
Watched this with mr bourbon, who himself is a retired combat vet. Made for an interesting viewing companion. After Speirs (perhaps) mowed down the German prisoners, there was a grim, "Welcome to war."
-
2
-
-
Ashley Judd is the main one to come to mind.
1000 times yes. I hate her little fist pump and "Yes!" when she find out her Kentucky ancestor fought for the Union instead of the Confederacy. I get that it might be shameful for some people to discover a Confederate in the family tree, but her reaction seemed to be more about "I'm so righteous, so therefore my ancestors had to be as righteous as I am." Same when she found out her English immigrant ancestor was jailed for religious non-conformity, and she wept copious tears in his cell. Nevermind that the Puritans came over here and oppressed pretty much everyone who wasn't like them. She's a non-conformist rebel, so therefore her ancestor had to have been a good guy, too.
Nothing against either of them, but I also get kind of a gleeful delight over Jeremy Irons' and John Hurt's episodes. Both of them kept waxing sort of pretentiously about how Irish they felt in their souls only to discover that their connections were either tenuous at best or non-existant. John Hurt, especially, was crushed.
-
1
-
-
I quite liked Sarah Jessica Parker's episode where she discovered an ancestor narrowly escaped the Salem witch trials. She seemed to be so thoroughly surprised and delighted by the discovery. Her comment was that the Jewish side of her family were fairly recent immigrants, and that she had never really felt a part of the American story. After the discovery about the "other" side of her family, she said she felt like a true American for the first time. It was very poignant, and yet she took such pride and joy in it and it felt so genuine. That's what I love about this show -- the unrehearsed moments instead of the typically overwrought, PC reactions to some of the discoveries.
-
I tried very hard to watch this when it came out in 2001 but found there was enough war on TV post-9/11. And I just found it hard to engage with the characters. Besides Damian Lewis' Winters and David Schwimmer, I couldn't tell any of the minor characters apart. They all seemed to be fresh-faced, earnest brunettes attempting American accents with varying degrees of success. I finally sat down a year or so later and watched it. I was completely hooked and have watched it several times since. Now on a binge-watch with mr bourbon, who has never seen it.
It certainly has grown on me. I start to pick up on things that really never would have occurred to me the first time through and maybe not even the second time
It's taken several re-watches, but the smaller characters do start to pop into focus, and on this rewatch, I started to recognize more members of Easy Company like Petty and "Smokey" Gordon. The striking thing is still Damian Lewis' performance. It seems such a hard thing to make someone so interesting without being able to resort to histrionics. The performance reminds me of Morgan Freeman's in Shawshank. Their characters largely react to things going around them rather than being the catalyst for the action. Freeman's performance, and Lewis' performance here, are quiet, dignified, restrained, and utterly compelling. I lived in the UK during the 90s when DL was with the RSC. I tried to get cheap tix to RSC productions whenever I could, and I was always disappointed to see his name on the cast list. I really, really disliked him for some completely inexplicable reason. I wasn't expecting much here, but he certainly won me over.
I actually quite liked David Schwimmer. And although I did sometimes half expect him to yell, "We were on a break!" I thought he did an admirable job. Particularly in the scene where Sink tells him he's taking Easy away. Pathetic, petulant and sniveling in a way I thought Ross never was.
Fun to see the actors in small roles, paticularly the Brits, that have gone on to fame. Look! There's Michael Fassbender as Christenson getting chewed out by Sobel for drinking from his canteen!
Off to watch Ep 2...
-
4
-
-
Ok, I'm sick to death of the sob stories. Newsflash: many of us have lost a parent/grandparent/friend/sibling/BFF/relative/acquaintance in our lifetimes and ALL of us have had something bad happen in our lives.
Same thing occured to me last night when the girl was talking about losing her dad in a car accident. It all just sort of loses its impact after awhile. At the age of 18, many if not most people have had some sort of loss or personal tragedy. It's tragic, but it's life. Rather than the sob stories, I'm much more interested in what drives some of the "regular people" who try out and their smaller stories. What is driving the untrained b-boy from the streets to try out for a show that will require him to do Russian folk dancing? What is driving someone like Armen Way, who has danced professionally on DWTS and already has a considerable following of his own, to take a step backwards and do SYTYCD? I remember a kid from a small West Texas town who auditioned several years ago. His dad was the HS football coach, and the kid wasn't "into sports" (this show's code word for "gay"). Instead of a sob story, we got a shrug from the kid that his dad was cool with it and his small town supported him. I'm more interested in THAT story than hearing about how you/your dad/grandma/sibling/BFF died/got cancer/had polio/went to rehab/was homeless. Ugh. I guess I have a black hole where my heart should be.
Jenna? Nigel, are you trying to get this show cancelled?
I shuddered a little when he said she was going to be an All-Star, and I'm not sure why he thought this would be a good idea. Did he think any goodwill she's built up as a pro on DWTS this season would spill back over into SYTYCD? Because I think, fairly or not, a lot of what has been wrong with SYTYCD and the elimination process points directly to her and the judges saving her over and over and over when the American voting public just didn't like her. Nigel continues to defend the judges' save in the press, but voters don't like to be told they get to make the decisions about their favorite dancers. Except not. At this point, I just really wish he would stop trying to make Jenna happen.
I loved having Misty Copeland as a judge actually offering notes to the dancers. I've loved some of the celeb judges in the past, but I'm getting kind of tired of "I can't even with you" as constructive criticism.
-
I love this crazy show. I really do. What confuses me to no end is that I cannot explain why. I certainly can't recommend it to friends because I keep saying, "Well -- it's not for everyone but I love it."
I used to feel this way, but this is the season I stopped apologizing for loving this crazy, pulpy show. My husband and I watched S1 and after every ep, we'd talk about how fun and ass-kickin' the ep was but always qualify it with, "But it's not a very good show, is it?" It was like a late-night Skinemax movie crossed with a graphic novel come to life.
Then, something happened this season. I'm not 100% sure I know what it was. It just became a new show. It's not just a guilty pleasure, it's a pure pleasure. Antony Starr does more with his face than most actors can do with a page full of dialogue and their whole bodies. The women are allowed to kick ass and never apologize for it. Plus Zelkjo Ivanek elevates everything he's in, and next season, we're apparently getting Denis Freakin' O'Hare, so I am all in.
I will say -- not a criticism, just an observation -- that coming from the part of the world where Banshee is supposed to take place, the show resembles no part of Central PA that I have ever seen. It looks and feels more like North Carolina where it is filmed. Sticky, stifling, creepy, filled with oddballs like Burton. The show is like Tennessee Williams goes Pennsylvania Dutch.
-
I was so absurdly excited to see Legacy on my screen. Kathryn was there. I think if he had turned up at the choreo round and danced with her, I might possibly have passed out. Best couple eva. I don't know why the show never has him back as an all-star. I'm kind of tired of Dominic and even Twitch.
I didn't think Franchesca was very good. It felt like all the alien stuff was making up for the fact that her technique was just not that strong. Nigel's reaction to her seemed very patronizing. But Nigel. So of course. Jessica Richens was gross and annoying. I'm not surprised Nigel liked her, but I was surprised to see Christina and Mary so taken with her. Christina, especially, always seems to be about strong young women using their power rather than sex appeal. There's nothing wrong with a young woman being sexy, but it all felt so calculated to me. I'm surprised Christina went for the stripperography.
Hailee's "quirk" was very studied to me. It will get old. Fast.
I'm kind of tired of the 18 year old dancing nymphets. Yes, they're flexible. Yes, their bodies can do amazing things, but there's just nothing behind the eyes most of the time. So, we get clutching of the hair and reaching out and staring into the middle distance with a tortured look passing for emotion. It's very striking to me when we DO get a slightly older (if 24 can be "older") dancer. There's just a maturity and weighty-ness that the younger girls just don't seem to have.
Bieber. Gah. My 10 year old knows better than to use language like that. His age at the time of those hideous videos is no excuse. This show has always had more racial/ethnic diversity than just about any reality show. It's showcased and celebrated styles that have come out of Africa or the African-American community. They just lose a lot of credibility keeping Bieber on right now. I would love it if they just quickly and simply cut his intros from the show. They are pointless anyhow.
-
1
-
-
The thing I have always liked about this show is that, almost alone among reality shows, never really glorified bad behavior among its contestants. In the past when the judges' save was in play, they even used bad behavior or a poor work ethic as a factor in ousting a competitor. That's the problem I have with someone as arrogant, ungrateful, and badly behaved as Bieber being a part of a show that has always celebrated humility, dedication, and other aspects of good character almost as much as it has celebrated talent. Blech. I cannot hit fast forward and/or mute fast enough.
Not terribly impressed with any of the dancers yet and very surprised at the lack of strong hip hop guys. I was disappointed in the show and disappointed in Caleb that he showed up again, TBH. I thought it was refreshing that they bounced him, rightfully so, after choreo. Having him come back with his, "Let's be happy! No, let's grieve!" solo felt so calculated to jerk the tears. I can't say I blame him. He's seen enough of these things to know how it works. I genuinely like him, but Sonya and Mia will eat him alive during Vegas (not Vegas) week.
-
4
-
-
In no particular order:
Legacy & Kathryn "Fear"
Legacy & Kathryn Paso. Basically, anything they danced. Lub.
Lauren & Kent"Collide"
Christopher Scott's Top 10 guys "Velocity"
Evan & Randi Butt Dance
Chelsie & Mark "Bleeding Love"
-
it seemed to be all about her walls, and he was well aware of that. It really was a classic case of "it's not you, it's me," and she'd throw out the "Pirate!" thing to deflect that her real issue was that she liked him enough that she was terrified by how much it would hurt when he inevitably disappointed her
I agree that's what it was *supposed* to be about, and maybe it was just me, but I never really got that, and I don't know if it was in the acting choices or the writing. When he finally revealed that Zelena had cursed his lips and Emma immediately jumped to the conclusion that he must be in league with Zelena, it felt less like she had been disappointed in love than she was just immediately trotting out the bad, bad pirate man accusations. Again. The writers keep telling me that she has walls, and I get that. I really, really do, and I think that's a valid reason for her not jumping in with Hook or with anyone. But I'm not sure I saw it as much as heard it. Maybe it's Jennifer Morrison's acting, but it always came across in her performances that her reluctance to be with Hook had more to do with him and who he was rather than her own feelings. ::shrugs::
-
Ymmv, but I thought it was pretty empty as sacrifices go. It was an impulsive act, one she would have done for anyone in need. I don't think she realized it cost her her powers as a "kiss" so I'm not sure it counts for me as a selfless act of love for me. And again (and I like her. I do.). But I think it was played as how awesome Emma was rather than as a show of her feelings for him.
-
We know what he'll do for her. What will she do for him?
I think that has been my beef about Emma and her relationship with not just Hook but all her men, and I think it is a problem that a lot of shows with heroines have (Sookie on True Blood comes to mind.) where TPTB make the mistake of assuming we think their girl is as irresistible and infallible as they do. It's been an issue for me all this season. Hook risked his life to save Henry, gave up his ship, crossed realms to find her, helped save her town and family, and always with her it's about what a bad, bad man he is. I get that they had to keep things interesting by not getting them together too soon, but I wish the reasons were more because Emma loved him but couldn't let her walls down rather than being more about how unworthy he was of her. I'd love to see next season *her* proving herself worthy of *him* and not the other way round.
-
1
-
-
The Kings have said repeatedly that they want Matthew Goode to return next year and have been singing his praises, but his presence in this ep felt like an afterthought. They've spent weeks building up his campaign storyline only to drop it with an "oh, yeah, he bribed someone" throwaway line. If I hadn't read statements to the contrary, I would assume they'd had high hopes for the character only to drop him at the last minute.
I love Goode, so I am happy to see him stay. I think Finn's been a bit of a cipher, but I think there's some depths to be plumbed there. I am hoping he isn't such a Boy Scout next season. MG does well with a little darkness, whether it's just snarky or full on sociopathy. And he brings the pretty.
-
Well, I enjoyed it as much as I have anything this season, as long as I don't think about it too hard. I don't know which one of us was squeeing louder, me or my tweenager. Loved the Captain Swan hook-up. I'd lost interest in the 'ship recently, but they did a nice job of bringing me back on board. I thought it was a nice parallel to what Hook said about Emma having the chance to see her parents fall in love. I felt as if the viewer had the chance to see her fall in love with him. So many nice emotional beats...the ball, her comforting him over Snow's death, her opening up to him. I've found her pretty humorless and insufferable at times this season, but she was spunky and open and fun, and I could finally understand what Hook might see in her other than her admittedly impressive corseted bosom. Hopefully TPTB will let them have some happiness next season before inevitably tearing them apart. Just don't let the reason be that Emma randomly decides that he Can't. Be. Trusted. Again.
As for the redemption of Regina, I can't say it bothers me. She might be irredeemable IRL, but it's a TV show and a TV show about fairytales. It's not relevant to me whether not *I* would forgive her, but if I believe the *characters* would forgive her. That said, I've believed up until now that the Storybrooke denizens would forgive her, but I don't see how Robin would forgive her. I'm not sure I'd want him to. I'll take a happy, intact family any day over him ditching his wife and kid for his supposed soulmate. (Speaking of Marian...I don't see her keeping mum on Snow White and facing execution when she could give her up and possibly have the chance to get back to her son. But maybe I'm projecting.)
Not sure how I feel about Elsa's arrival. I think there's a lot to mine in the characters and their relationships without going back to the Big Bad well. It's so tired and yawn-inducing. How many times can we watch a villain(ness) cast a curse that Can't Be Broken until to have it broken by some random and illogical last-minute bit of good magic? Considering how tired I am of the formula already, I think I know the answer to that question. Plus I'd prefer to see the characters interact more with each other. And by interacting I basically mean Emma and Hook making out. Mileages vary wildly.
-
1
-
-
Ditto. I am working very hard to not have my enjoyment of an episode hang on the amount of Jeff/Annie but sometimes it's difficult because I enjoy them so much. Heh.
Normally I would hate the whole "young girl humanizes cynical older man blah blah blah" but with these two it just...works for me. Naturally, I am bound to be disappointed.
Agreed, and I said smiliar in an episode thread. I would normally find the pairing a little gross, but given the fact that I never could buy Alison Brie as a 19 year old even at the start of the series and that knowing IRL she's a funny, sassy, worldy woman and not a sheltered little girl colors my feelings about the pair. (I'm not sure I ever really bought her as innocent goody two shoes, anyway. I think in some ways she's as cynical as Jeff, she just WANTS to be trusting and naive.)
This show in previous seasons has, for me, always been the right mix of salty and sweet, and the Jeff/Annie moments gave it its sweet, sticky heart. I wish it weren't so, but not having as many interactions this season, has just tilted the balance into the salty and I just haven't enjoyed it as much.
S11.E05: Pasadena Callbacks
in So You Think You Can Dance
Hmmm, I don't know, considering how many times they've cast interchangeable-looking female contestants in the past (I'm still not sure I can tell Tiffany and Audrey apart). I'm wondering what the target audience for this show is...I have a theory about his Armen not being cast, and I think that TPTB are trying to aim for a teenage dance-fan. They tend to go with sexually non-threatening males on the show for the most part. Even the male dancers that are very handsome or "ballroom sexy" seem to be basically non-threatening. I think there's something sort of aggressive and adult about the way Armen dances, unlike cute ballroom boys Nick and Marquet or even Serge. Is something like that off-putting for the audience they're trying to court? I don't know. Maybe they thought he was just an a-hole.