TV #34 of 2019: Veronica Mars, season 2 Let’s start at the ending. This season is so much more serialized than the first, with major storylines unfolding over multiple episodes and a lighter focus on the cases of the week — and although a few of those sub-plots peter out before the end, they mostly …
Tag Archives: rewatch
TV Review: Veronica Mars, season 1
TV #31 of 2019: Veronica Mars, season 1 What an incredibly satisfying and well-crafted season of television. The high school noir tone is pitch-perfect, the title figure is layered far beyond her initial feisty appeal, and subtle clues to the ultimate answer of who killed the teenage sleuth’s best friend are threaded brilliantly throughout the …
TV Review: Breaking Bad, season 5
TV #12 of 2019: Breaking Bad, season 5 Are we ultimately meant to root for Walter White? That’s a question that divides Breaking Bad viewers, and although I am firmly in the camp that the show’s central figure is an awful, terrifying cancer of a person, I think the writers are at least somewhat to …
TV Review: Breaking Bad, season 4
TV #10 of 2019: Breaking Bad, season 4 Another superb year of ratcheting tension, untenable situations, and wonderfully complex character arcs. I have some issues with where the story goes from here, mostly in how it sometimes frames Walter White as more of a hero than I think is merited, but this penultimate run of …
TV Review: Breaking Bad, season 3
TV #6 of 2019: Breaking Bad, season 3 This series has been incredible from its very first scene, but the third season is where it truly hits its stride in terms of plotting and character work. This run of episodes is all about the chess game against Gus Fring and the battle for Jesse Pinkman’s …
TV Review: Breaking Bad, season 2
TV #51 of 2018: Breaking Bad, season 2 A bit of a transitional season, taking us from the tough-but-stupid (and honestly a bit stereotypical) drug dealer Tuco to Heisenberg and Jesse’s initial attempt to be solo kingpins, and finally to the beginning of their partnership with the enigmatic Gustavo Fring. It’s still Breaking Bad, so …
Movie Review: The Shining (1980)
Movie #18 of 2018: The Shining (1980) Nearly four decades on, this movie is still terrific. I do think the pacing could be a lot tighter, especially early on, and even though it’s true to the book and what gives the film its title, I don’t think the little boy’s psychic abilities really add much …
TV Review: The Middleman, season 1
TV #43 of 2018: The Middleman, season 1 My latest rewatch of this action-comedy cult classic, which lasted only 12 episodes on ABC Family in 2008 before getting tragically canceled. I guess I’m not surprised that the show struggled to find an audience, but it really is so much fun, with witty dialogue, clever pop …
TV Review: Breaking Bad, season 1
TV #42 of 2018: Breaking Bad, season 1 This is my first time rewatching this show since it ended, but it remains an electrifying experience. The character arcs are not quite on the level of what these writers are achieving nowadays on Better Call Saul – and I cannot understand those viewers who don’t get …
Movie Review: Young Frankenstein (1974)
Movie #17 of 2018: Young Frankenstein (1974) This movie holds up pretty well, but it’s not quite as funny as I remember it being (and there are two scenes that skirt way closer to dubious sexual consent than I would like in my fiction, especially when played for a laugh). It’s also clearer on an …