Rescue Me: Torch (S05E05)

So it should be no big secret right now that FX is doing some of the best original programming out there right now. Case in point is Rescue Me with Dennis Leary.

The best part of the series the ebb and flow of the characters and the tone of the show: some parts are hilariously funny, and fifteen minutes later, it's the lowest of the low for Tommy and the crew. Elements like Shawn's drug-induced musical fantasies help break up what could easily be a very heavy-handed drama.

Of course, the protagonist's love life is the same mixture of comedy and tragedy blended into puree. That's what was so good about tonight's episode: the strange melange of pain and pleasure that was Tommy's booty call with Sheila. Without going into too much detail, it was perhaps the finest moment between these two very compelling characters in the entire series.

Great show from a great series.

The Hangover

Wow. Just wow. A friend of mine described this film as a game changer. That's a bit much, but it certainly is the best comedy to come out in recent memory; the kind of film that will be quoted in dorm rooms and around water coolers for years; the kind of Lebowski-like film you can pop in on any random night when you just want to laugh at the same thing over and over again.

The best part of the storytelling was that we, the audience, got to discover what happened right along side the characters in the story. It's a rare screenplay that allows this kind of character discovery. Not since Momento has there been a film where the audience was as out of the know as the protagonist(s).

But enough sotrytelling-blah-blah-blah. The Hangover was just a good ride, a great way to spend 90 minutes in a movie theater. I never got bored, and tried my best to NOT laugh, so I could hear all the great throw-away follow-up lines. Guess I'll just have to buy the DVD.

Great movie, but then again, I'm a sucker for a good beeper joke.

John Adams

Just started Part III of HBO's John Adams miniseries. Parts I & II featured amazing screenwriting and spectacular art direction. Solid acting as well from Giamati, Laura Linny and the dick cop guy who made House give up his pills. I found the portrayal of Ben Franklin very interesting as well.

The cinematography, however, is abysmal. The handheld technique is very good for creating a quasi-documentary, experiential feeling, but the choice of angles for the lock off shots, some of the framing and The worst: who thought dutch angles were a good idea? I thought Battlefield Earth would have put this on the cinematic back burner for at least another decade. Thankfully, I haven't seen one yet in Part III, so perhaps it went to the theme of chaos and uncertainty in the first two episodes.

Overall, very well done, and an enjoyable series so far. If I were to imagine how some of these events actually occured, something like this would come to mind.