August Movie Preview

July was brutal, wasn't it? Other than Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the big movies were all busts. Boyhood was there around the fringes too. All time, nine of the ten highest grossing months in the box office are Julys. July 2014 sucked. There's no way around that. Part of it was due to weird calendar issues (Transformers opened a weekend before the 4th of July instead of on it, Guardians of the Galaxy is essentially a July release given when it comes out), but also, the movies were just weak. Thankfully, August is looking stronger than normal. Just as the Summer box office is starting earlier than ever (Captain America 2 came out in early April), it is ending later too. August is normally a dumping ground for movies that never came together or are seen as too niche. That's still true of this August, but the variety and overflow of sleeper-hit potential should make this the most exciting month in the box office since at least May (or probably last year).

January | February | March | April | May | June | July

2013

March |  April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

8/1

The Lock: Guardians of the Galaxy
Working for It: We've waited long enough. This movie, about a group of intergalactic rouges is Marvel's biggest risk in Phase 2. It has a wonderfully eclectic cast (that Parks & Rec guy, that Avatar girl, a wrestler, the voice of Riddick, the voice of that Oscar nominated smart-ass, the Doctor's Scottish companion, etc.). The trailers have been extremely effective at establishing the premise, being memorable, and building excitement. It has the look of a hit.
Working against It: Space is hard. People don't like to mix their superheroes with outer space or other dimensions. Green Lantern and Thor 2 did fine, but when compared to their earthbound cousins, The Dark Knight and Iron Man 3, there's a big drop off at the box office. This may end up a little too out there for some people. I can't imagine me not liking it though.
Odds I'll See It: 96%

Other Options:

Get on Up
Working for It: We all love a good music biopic, don't we? This one covers the life of James Brown.  Chadwick Bronson did fine work as Jackie Robinson last year and I expect the same here.
Working against It: I've had my fill of biopics for now and I doubt how accurate the portrayal of Brown will be (how many of the latter-day stories do you think we'll get?).
Odds I'll See It: 20%

Calvary
Working for It: I like Brendan Glesson from In Bruges and other movies. I like Chris O'Dowd too. I seem to remember hearing good things about it when it came to (I think) Sundance.
Working against It: A drama about a priest. It looks like it takes advantage of the more dour parts of British landscape. Not a recipe for a theater movie.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

What If
Working for It: I've heard this described as "if Girls made a RomCom" and I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a good thing. Daniel Radcliffe is the male lead. Adam Driver is in it too.
Working against It: Even with a slightly harsher tone, it still sounds like a standard RomCom (starting as friends, potentially becoming lovers). I'm good waiting on it.
Odds I'll See It: 30%

8/8

The Lock: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Working for It: In terms of ridiculous things from my childhood that refuse to die despite all reason, TMNT is king. There's something inexplicably entertaining about watching these four turtles fighting Shredder and learning from a sewer rat and I'm ever so curious to see what this will look like in live action again.
Working against It: I remember the movies from the 90s fondly. If I saw them with fresh eyes, that probably wouldn't be the case. This new movie is going to have to be good enough in impress my 27-year old self, not my 7-year old self. A lot of "haters" point to things like Megan Fox being April O'Neil and Michael Bay being involved to detract from it. Frankly, April O'Neil is not what I would call a "sacred character" from my youth. Fox isn't a very good actress, but this isn't Schindler's List. And, Michael Bay is only a producer. Even if he was directing, it's not like this is outside his wheelhouse. Calm the fuck down, people. I don't have many expectations for this, but I do expect to see it.
Odds I'll See It: 70%

Other Options:

Into the Storm
Working for It: I like Twister. This is the found footage version of Twister.
Working against It: Since paying off big in the horror genre, studios have been looking for ways to employ found footage in other genres. The problem is that it's normally highly undisciplined and by the midway point in the movie, they start opting for the convenient shots, not the authentic (or even possible) shots. Based on the trailer, this is looking like the undisciplined type and I'm not sitting through another Project X.
Odds I'll See It: 5%

The Hundred-Foot Journey
Working for It: This is a comedy from Dreamworks and Harpo Entertainment about an Indian family trying to open a restaurant across the street from a fancy French restaurant run by Helen Mirren. Hijinks ensue. Of this, I am certain.
Working against It: I'm supposed to watch this after seeing The Exotic Marigold Hotel, right? This sure looks like a forgettable movie. Perhaps the Indian crowd will turn out in droves the way Latino audiences have for similar movies. I have low expectations.
Odds I'll See It: 3%

Step Up All In
Working for It: Like clockwork, every other year there's a new one of these. The gimmick this time is to reunite some familiar faces from the previous movies (of course, neither Tatum or Dewan-Tatum are showing up). That include Alyson Stoner who some may remember from that Missy Elliot video or Mike's Super Short Show (she holds a specific place in my memories).
Working against It: By now, you know what you are getting with these movies: cool dances moves, pretty people, maybe a good montage if you're lucky. For me, that's going to earn it a pass in theaters and a maybe to rent (but probably not even that).
Odds I'll See It: 7%

About Alex
Working for It: Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Rec), Jane Levy (Suburgatory) , Max Greenfield (New Girl), Jason Ritter (Parenthood), Maggie Grace (LOST), and others. It's an indie cast, but it's a good one.
Working against It: It sounds a lot like Ten Year or Lifeguard or A Good Old Fashioned Orgy: a bunch of twenty somethings coming home and reflecting on their lives since college. I'm expecting it to be kind of funny, kind of dramatic, and heavy on formula. This is the epitome of "I'll catch it on Netflix eventually".
Odds I'll See It: 15%

James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge 3D
Working for It: It has James Cameron in the title. He has the highest grossing two movies of all time. This can't go wrong.
Working against It: ...except that it's a documentary that will probably be playing at educational IMAX venues exclusively, not a $100 million action movie.
Odds I'll See It: 1%

8/15

The Lock: Too much competition to decide now and nothing so good that I'm committing to doubling down that weekend.

Other Options:

The Expendables 3
Working for It: Look. It's 1989s most high-octane action movie yet again. There's a couple new faces like Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, and Wesley Snipes this time around. It's fun. It's over the top. It's not going to be watched without a couple of drinks in me.
Working against It: This isn't going to be a complete film. It's a popcorn movie and a gimmick, one that perhaps played itself out in the first installment and beat it in with the second. Really, what's left for the series to do? I'm not sure I care and neither should you.
Odds I'll See It: 60%

The Giver
Working for It: The Giver is one of those books that's been around for most of my life, always on bookshelves with prominent placement and I have no idea what it is. It won the Newbery and people seem to love it. Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges are on board. As far as Young Adult themed book adaptations go, those are some good credentials.
Working against It: The trailers for it look pretty dull so far and don't give a great sense of what it's about. Also, I don't want to assume that Taylor Swift is going to be a drag, so I'll just point out that her only acting role in a movie has been Valentine's Day and leave it at that (she's a wild card).
Odds I'll See It: 40%

Let's Be Cops
Working for It: Being a comedy in August is rough. For every box office success like We're the Millers or The Campaign there's a dud like The World's End, Hit & Run, or 30 Minutes or Less. Fox is pushing it pretty hard. Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. are both guys I can easily see transition to big screen success. The trailers are filled with laughs and the premise is simple: two friends pretend to be cops.
Working against It: It's an idea that sounds incredibly front loaded: They do some funny stuff pretending to be cops. Then what? How it handles the moment the plot kicks in will ultimately decide this movie. Normally, the jokes dry out and it's a trudge to the end. Recent movies like 22 Jump Street and Neighbors have been bucking that trend. Hopefully this can too.
Odds I'll See It: 70%

Frank
Working for It: This is that Sundance movie in which Michael Fassbender wears a big mask the whole time and is the front man for an indie band. If that's not enough to get you to see this, I'm not sure it's for you.
Working against It: Fassbender's mask has received more praise than the movie has which doesn't speak well for it at all.
Odds I'll See It: 28%

Life After Beth
Working for It: Hey, it's Aubrey Plaza again. Aren't indie movies grand? This one's another one of those Sandance movies. It's about a guy whose girlfriend dies and comes back as a zombie played by Plaza. I can't say I've heard much more about it. Wait, Anna Kendrick too? That's can't hurt it.
Working against It: Any buzz it once had has completely died down. Do you notice how a lot of these Sundance movies have a killer setup but no implied story? That leaves the director and writer as what I have to go off. His only other credit is co-writing I Heart Huckabees, and who can say how much of that wasn't completely changed by David O. Russell. I have no reason to trust that this is good. Still, there is Plaza and Kendrick.
Odds I'll See It: 32%

The Trip to Italy
Working for It: Keith Coogan and Rob Brydon have a lot of meals all over Italy.
Working against It: I've somehow seen none of the 38 credits the director has on his IMDB page. That's a bad sign. So far, it sounds like My Dinner With Andre with better food and prettier locations. For all I know, it could be another Philomena. Somehow, I doubt it.
[Update: Apparently, this is a sequel. Obviously, I'm not well informed on this]
Odds I'll See It: 4%

8/22

The Lock: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Working for It: You saw the first one, right? Good, then you're caught up as much as you need. Coming out nearly a decade after the first movie, many familiar faces are back, such as Jessica Ala and Mickey Rourke along with some new ones, like Joseph Gordon Levitt and Eva Green. Expect more of the highly stylized noir-comic book look, scantily clad women kicking ass, and extreme violence.
Working against It: It's curious, after the success of the original movie and the relative esteem still held for it, that this would be buried as a late August release like this. That makes me wonder if this will be more similar to Kick Ass 2 (released last year around the same time and after long wait). It's not an apples to apples comparison, but it's close enough. I'm hoping this will be good. I'll settle for entertaining.
Odds I'll See It: 68%

Other Options:

If I Stay
Working for It: Chloe Grace Moretz in a leading role is pretty enticing. She's getting into the book adaptation game. I don't know much about this. Basically, she's a young musician who ends up in a coma after her family gets in a car wreck and a lot of it takes place in an out-of-body experience, I believe.
Working against It: Chloe is the only thing I'm curious about in the movie. Other than that, it sounds like a Charlie St. Cloud and I expect it to fall short of what it is trying to do.
Odds I'll See It: 39%

When the Game Stands Tall
Working for It: It's an inspirational sports movie starring Jesus Jim Caviezel, about the high school football team that went on a 151 game winning streak. So, it's like Friday Night Lights if every season ended like the first or fifth.
Working against It: Between FNL and Remember the Titans, the bar is set high for high school football movies. This is about a team to won 151 games in a row, so that spoils the underdog angle. It's inspirational, so it's not going to be doing anything interesting like following the season when they finally lose. Not much for me here.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

The One I Love
Working for It: Mark Duplass (yay!) and Elisabeth Moss (double yay!) play a couple who goes on a couple's retreat and things get interesting from there. Good leads. Sadly, it isn't directed by the Duplass brothers. In fact, this is a directorial debut for Charlie McDowell.
Working against It: I tend to like Duplass more on TV shows (The League, The Mindy Project) than in movies (Tammy, Safety Not Guaranteed). Elisabeth Moss is also an actress who lends herself to TV more than movies although in a different way than Duplass. The premise is a little generic and I feel like I'd spend the majority of the movie trying to figure out if it's trying to be funny or not.
Odds I'll See It: 3%

Are You Here
Working for It: There's a comedy sweet spot that the combination of Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, and Amy Poehler has that is reason enough to see this. It's a road trip movie about a couple guys heading back to their hometown, where one is set to inherit a large sum of money. As premises go, I've heard worse.
Working against It: Matthew Weiner's directorial debut sounds very promising. Then again, all he's directed is episodes of his show (Mad Men). Your have to go back Becker around 2000 to find his last regular comedy writing job and that's not an inspiring credential. He decided to do something to get away from Mad Men and, in the process, may have gotten too far out of his comfort zone.
Odds I'll See It: 13%

8/29

The Lock: None, and so begins the late summer trudge.


Other Options:

Jessabelle
Working for It: It's a standard horror movie starring some familiar faces but no names. That's not always a bad thing. The producers are some of the guys that made Paranormal Activity and Insidious. That's helps make this look legitimate.
Working against It: The poster for it is about as generic as it gets and I assume the movie will reflect that. This is that time of year when movies like The House at the End of the Street come out that only please the most insatiable of horror fans and leave anyone desiring some nuance, underwhelmed. I could be wrong. I do know almost nothing about this movie.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

As Above, So Below
Working for It: A horror movie set in the catacombs of France. That's certainly a new location for a movie. I like Ginsberg from Mad Men (Ben Feldman) and Wade from Cougar Town (Edwin Hodge).
Working against It: I can't say that I've thought of either of them as leading men yet either. There's always a chance for a horror movie to be a sleeper hit but it's more than likely that one won't.
Odds I'll See It: 4%

Life of Crime
Working for It: Jennifer Aniston plays a woman who is kidnapped and ransomed, whose husband doesn't want to pay. Hijinks ensue and oddball characters abound. Aniston, Tim Robbins, Isla Fisher, and Mos Def round out an all-star cast of people you'd think had something better to do.
Working against It: Occasionally, movies come out with a big cast like this that you have to assume exist only because they all had a gap in their schedule and wanted another payday. It looks like a movie that could've been made in 2004 or 1994 and still would've felt out of place.
Odds I'll See It: 1%

One Chance
Working for It: The story of a guy who won Britain's Got Talent. Kind of the male Susan Boyle story.
Working against It: At this point, I may see it just because I'll be amazed it finally got released. I think this was originally set to release in December, then pushed back to later in the winter, and finally pushed to now. We'll see if it actually stays here.
Odds I'll See It: 9%


That's one busy month. I need to find a way to cut this down, because this took forever to put together. Hopefully, September will be quietly filled with enough quality movies to see and no more.

Fargo Offseason

Even with cable making original programming a year-round affair, the Summer is still a quiet time for my TV viewing. I've got a lot of extra time in my schedule and thought it would be a good time to start a little project.
I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.

Favorite Episode(s): "A Fox, A Rabbit, and A Cabbage" & "Morton's Fork"

Assets:
The Good (Molly): Bravo for the casting agent who found Allison Tolman. She is wonderful as Molly (and clearly a lead role, but don't tell the Emmys). She's an excellent cop who isn't superhuman and isn't cocky about her hunches. She manages to be supremely competent in spite of the overwhelming incompetence of her department. Watching her and Gus bond was a highlight, from her immediate understanding of why he let Malvo go originally to watching TV with him and Greta to end the season. As long as we are talking about forces of good, it baffling to think that Colin Hanks is the same guy who plays the cocky best friend in Get Over It. He'll always be overshadowed by his father, but he is quite the talent himself. Then there's Keith Carradine who got, perhaps, my favorite scene of the season, talking the Greta on the porch in the finale. For such a dark show, there were plenty of forces of good to balance it.

The Bad (Malvo): Malvo made Fargo fun. Billy Bob Thorton had a blast playing this character. You can tell. He has a confident ease in everything he does. He's not a man with a death wish or a supreme mastermind. He has an innate understanding of people and how things work. That's how he can drag a man out of his office by his tie without worrying that someone will stop him or he can pick up a package at the post office with almost no information. Hell, he took down the entire Fargo operation is one tracking shot.

The Ugly (Lester): Martin Freeman does such a great job playing Lester as a major sonuvabitch. He kills his wife, frames his brother, literally fucks over the widow Hess, gets his second wife killed, and couldn't be more smug about getting away with it all. The damnedest thing is that he is so pathetic in the pilot that I still found myself cheering for his little victories along the way (standing up the the Hess boys, tricking Malvo into stepping on the bear trap, etc.). His evolution isn't all that different from Walter White's, except it's on a much more immediately apparent and shortened scale.

Liabilities:
Buridan's Ass: This is the only episode I came away from less than impressed. As neatly as everything plays out in other episodes, this one relied a lot on luck and chance. It was lucky that Lester had a bunk mate in the hospital who was completely covered in bandages and passed out so they could switch places. It was lucky that the SWAT team employed a "shoot first, ask questions later" approach in the standoff with Don (Glenn Howerton). It was coincidence that Stavros Milos' son is killed by fish falling from the sky (in biblical fashion). I prefer story to actually be driven by the characters.

Length of the Time Jump: The story jumps 12 months and a lot has changed. Perhaps too much. Gus and Molly are already married and about to have a kid. Lester has a much nicer house and is getting a national insurance salesman award along with his new wife. It's all a bit much for that short a time. It's feasible though, so it doesn't bother me too much. A longer jump would've been nicer.

Season Two: News broke recently that the second season is going to revolve around the occasionally mentioned Sioux Falls case in the 70s. What made season one great is how little it had to do with the movie. The movie and show were clearly of the same world but not tied to one another. Odds are, there will be the same divide over the two seasons. There's potential to play up the dramatic irony and include much younger versions of some of the characters which a lesser show would do. Hopefully, my pristine opinion of Fargo I have now is maintained through season two.

Outlook:
True Detective got the buzz. Fargo was the better series. That's my opinion at least. It lacked the powerhouse performances. Instead it was filled with nuanced performances by every recurring character and had a far more complete ending. This was never going to be a show that would stand on its own. It invites all the comparisons and excels despite them.

Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family 
Parenthood
The Mindy Project 
The Michael J Fox Show 
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD 
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation 
The Walking Dead 
The Middle 
Saturday Night Live 
Cougar Town 
House of Cards 
Louie
How I Met Your Mother
The Americans
Archer
Silicon Valley 
Hannibal 
Girls 
True Detective 
Mad Men 
Veep
Game of Thrones
Orange is the New Black

DVR Super Purge: 6/29-7/29

See, I told you it was slow. There wasn't enough happening in a week, so I took a month off. Not really though. You've probably noticed my little Offseason project by now. That's been slowing me down from watching anything else. Sorry, that's a lie too. I've been keeping up with all the shows I've been watching and jotting down little responses along the way. Again, that's selling it a bit short. I've been taking better notes and writing more substantial responses to all the shows than I have normally in the past. Probably pretty soon, I'm going to be reworking my TV response process since not all shows deserve this much time an attention.
Regardless, here are my thoughts on the past month of shows.

Past Purges 

Halt and Catch Fire "Adventure"
Everyone is on different footing than normal this week but finds there was back to normal. Cameron is finally enjoying the perks of being employed and being able to take vacations. This doesn't last long as she returns to find that with her OS done they've hired an army of software engineers and demoted her to being just another programmer. This seems like an odd move, slightly because we are constantly hearing about how broke the company is before this. It resolves itself though when she uses some of Joe's dad's advice and takes over the department and shrinks her workforce down to only who is required. Gordon is still trying to get the hardware working and finds his drinking getting in the way of making a deal with the Japanese for screens. From the moment the meeting begins, it was a countdown to how he'd mess up, so that wasn't a surprise. What I didn't fully expect is that Gordon, not Joe managed to fix the mess. That is the first time that's happened and it was a dose of humbling Joe badly needed. Between that and avoiding his father, the writers humanized Joe a lot. They are pushing the Steve Jobs comparisons hard now, this week going after how easy it is to be the idea man, not the one who actually makes the device.

Halt and Catch Fire "Landfall"
A storm is coming is too easy of a metaphor this week. Maybe calling this a Eureka moment is more appropriate. Cameron begins the episode with the idea of a more user-friendly interface for the computer. Gordon shuts it down as far too difficult a whimsy to give in to. Joe stays neutral until he can think it through. So begins the tug-o-war over how to program the machine. We haven't seen much of Gordon and Cameron working together yet for very specific reasons. That even fooled me into thinking they'd get along. Stupid me. Two difficult geniuses are going to have to butt heads on occasion. Joe gets a chance to do some character rehab with Donna while Gordon fights death to get a Cabbage Patch Kid. I'm so glad that Donna recognizes that Gordon would forget about the doll and has come to terms with it. Joe does surprisingly well with the Gordon and Donna's kids. He has an a-ha moment when the girls name their storm zappers, mirroring exactly what Cameron told him earlier in the episode. While that is happening, Gordon has his own big moment. I'm not sure what we are supposed to take away from him seeing that body in the rain, but I get the feeling that he's on board for Cameron's plan now too. Meanwhile, Cameron gets some good bonding time with Bosworth that allows her to explain why she is pushing her new idea so hard. Bosworth has become much more interesting than he was in the pilot. He began as an adversary and has transitioned into the father of the team. He certainly doesn't grasp what they are doing with this project but he wants to and understands that he better embrace it. My interest in this show is definitely on the rise now and I'm glad, because there's nothing else on [in my cable package].

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Boy"
This is definitely a Disney show first and a throwback second. That is what it needs to be a success, so I'm not complaining. The central plot is one that I haven't seen before. Mr. Matthews (nope, it's Corey. I'm never trying that again) challenges his class to exist without their phones. This forces Riley and Lucas to actually talk to one another which goes well. Maya and Farkle bond a little as well with Maya revealing her sketching skills. I sure hope it moves away from random adults giving Riley advice about the world (the lady on the subways in the pilot and this week, the librarian). I'm waiting for Topanga to get something to do. So far, she's delivering quips from the dinner table and little else. This week firmly establishes that the driving force of the season if not series will be Riley and Lucas getting together. I'm not sure either character is established enough for that yet for me to care. I'll give it time.


The Bridge "Yankee"
The season recap reminded me how much of the first season I'd forgotten about. I spent most of the premiere trying to figure out what I already knew. The writers appear to assume that's what many people are doing because not a lot happened to start the season. It's all about establishing where we are now. Marco is nearly taken out during a drug bust. I didn't catch if I should know why at this point. He's divorced and Sonya still feels close enough to visit him. Diana Kruger got to play Sonya as a character more than the beginning of season one. That's the difference between he Aspergher's being a personality train (Now) versus being her entire personality (Season One). She's honestly concerned for her sister's killer. I predict that will play more as a means to meeting his brother than anything of significance in and of itself. Lt. Wade has been keeping Eva safe as long as he can. Apparently, the Warez police are onto him and he sends her away with a rather unsavory dude. Daniel and Adriana are still a moderately functioning team. She has a girlfriend. He has an over-his-head AA sponsor (played by Brian Baumgatner). The most important new story looks to me the introduction of Eleanor is the season's immediate antagonist. They've effectively setup her imposingness. Now I'm waiting to see if they can make her interesting.


Halt and Catch Fire "Giant"
I think Joe broke Gordon and doesn't even realize it. Each episode this season can roughly be divided into what part of the process they are on (the OS, getting funding, programming the software). This week has the least exciting part yet: the case. I wouldn't've even thought that's something they'd need to choose third party. Is it really so hard to design? I'm not a 1980s computer manufacturer, so what do I know. D.B. Woodside's Simon shows up and throws off everyone. The changed dimensions of the case (even if they could work better, according to Donna) throw Gordon into a talespin with Joe too distracted to appreciate just how badly he is breaking Gordon. I assume next episode is when we find out that Gordon had an outright mental breakdown after the last computer project fell apart because he is insane this week. Donna is looking for comfort elsewhere, succumbing to the unintentional advances of Cappie Hunt on the business trip. I'm glad he rejected her advances. Enough is going on in that family. An affair would be too much. Simon also messes with Cameron by revealing that she's not that special in Joe's eyes. This is the first time when she stops to realize how invested in her relationship with Joe she is. Distant, removed Joe doesn't seem to understand to emotional complications of getting Simon for the job and thinks it can all be business with him. The cost of the case and the rest of the operation is pushing John on the brink of investing everything on the Giant (or is it Contra) project. It's a fascinating turn considering how furious he was when Joe originally tricked him into this whole mess.

The Strain "Night Zero"
I won't spend too long on this precisely because I'm not sure if this is a show I'm going to keep up with. One super-sized premiere in and I'm more confused than intrigued. I'll have no trouble following Corey Stoll as the lead or a supporting cast with the likes of Sean Astin and David Bradley. The show looks pretty great too. I doubt every episode will look this good but I expect them to maintain something close to it. Whatever the story is with what was transported on that plane and the people (I'm avoiding the word "survivors") on it is, it can't be a good thing. Right now, I'm as likely to stop watching next week as I am to finish the season.
[Update: I stopped after the pilot. Sorry]

Married "Pilot"
It's a good thing that I'm watching this show to support Judy Greer and Nat Faxon because that was a rather unlikable premiere. Greer is a one-dimensional, sex-denying wife and Faxon is a hapless, useless husband. There's small moments in the episode that suggest a more loving relationship between them and I'm told that this Hall Pass scenario is dropped after the pilot. Because of that and the equally likable supporting cast, I'm willing to stick with it for a while longer. And there's a puppy. I'd have to be dead inside to not like that.

You're the Worst "Pilot"
Here we have a show that, in the pilot, wants to be a lot worse than it is. With a title like that, I was at least expected a couple cringe-worthy moments or to say "I can't believe he did that" at least once. This episode does a good job of establishing Jimmy. He's the House-type, a guy who has always been an asshole and has veered into it rather than pretend he's not, challenging people to still like him. Almost like a defense mechanism. Gretchen I'm more confused by. She has her life together enough to have a good job. The things that make her the worst feel more like checking off boxes though. She got a DUI because of course she did. I'm not sure why she stole the gift from the wedding at all beyond it establishing her as not a good person. There's some promise here. I just hope they deliver on that title eventually.

The Bridge "Ghost of a Flea"
If last week's episode was about catching us up, this week is about setting up the season. Most importantly, we find out how they are bringing Marco and Sonya back together, because when they are apart, the show isn't nearly as good. Last season it was murder on the bridge that brought them together. This season is a much larger case with the cartel. Marco has to deal with his whole department being corrupt and Sonya has to deal with a dick measuring contest with the DEA. Eleanor is the most direct and realistic target for now. I wasn't terribly impressed with how they used her this week. I get that she's supposed to be creepy and all but her level of control over that kid (the stupidest teenager alive, which is saying something) is completely implausible. I get what they are trying to establish though, so one week of it is fine. If this becomes a pattern I'll be very disappointed. I have to be honest, I have no idea what Daniel and Adriana are investigating. It's something with the cartel and on the fringes of what Sonya and Marco are involved in. I assume it will become more significant as the season progresses. For now, enjoying how Matthew Lillard and Emily Rios play off one another is enough, as they are the closest thing to comic relief in this series.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Sneak Attack"
The lesson of this episode got muddled. That's for sure. The central story of Riley getting jealous of all the attention Missy was giving to Lucas is a standard one. Getting detention of purpose is such a standard trope that I have to believe it happened in Boy Meets World as well, although I can't remember an episode in which it happened. I'm confused about Lucas asking everyone to the movies at the end of the episode. I don't want to side with Missy on this, but it did sound like she and Lucas had a date. He's changing things up on her. Then there's Corey teaching the lesson about Pearl Harbor the whole time. That barely fits this thematically. This is one of those episodes where the beats dictate the story far more than anything anyone is saying. The ending works because we know we have reached the "awwww" moment, not because anything happened to justify it. I'm burying the lead completely though. The real development here is that Farkle is apparently in their group of friend (?). I assumed he was a "constant irritation" or "member of the group they can't shake". He's outright showing up to the apartment with Maya, being let into Riley's room, and getting an invite to go to the movies. If this isn't a one-episode fluke, then this is a development I did not see coming.

Halt and Catch Fire "The 214s"
Up to this point, Halt has been a show about a visionary business man manipulating his way to creating the product he wants to sell and how he has affect the lives of the people he works with to accomplish this. This week, that changes. Now, it's a caper. It's a strange transition.
The episode beings with Gordon trying his best to keep calm and Joe trying his best to ruin that. Then, Bosworth gets arrested, we get confirmation that Cameron has been up to no good, and the entire company is shut down. Meanwhile, Donna is rightfully at her wits end and Cappie has rightfully fallen under her spell. It's all looking very doomed for our leads until something different happens: Gordon gets smart. He hid the Giant from the FBI so he could get it later*. He gets Cameron on board first in an entertaining scene at the arcade. After that, they wait around for Joe to return and get him on board too. I'm not sure I buy that Joe is destitute. He did just fly to meet his dad across the country and pays for a fancy hotel room. He sells his car though, which in the biggest caper trope yet. Cameron gets a very deserved heart to heart with Bosworth. I didn't fully realize how close they'd become until then. Finally, they zig when we expect them to zag. Donna's not leaving Gordon. She's leaving with him. Caper setup complete. It's all a move away from the project a week structure and into some genuine plot development. This is a big departure and a needed one. The dour tone of the show was getting tedious and this is a much more relaxed way to go into the home stretch. Then again, I assume by next week it will be dour and depressing again.

*Breaking into an FBI crime scene isn't all that smart. I wonder if that will ever come back on him.

The Bridge "Sorrowsworn"
The focus of this week is trying to find Kyle and hoping it leads to Eleanor. Kyle, of course, is already in the process of being Walter White-d out of existence. I'm glad there's no false tension about if Marco, Sonya, and the gang can save him. Most of the season so far has relied on what Eleanor is up to. We know now that she's a fallen Mennonite and somehow worked her way into a high position in the cartel. I have no idea what she is does currently. They have established her ability to find and exploit the weakest men. There's more questions than answers with her. Why did she leave Kyle's friend alive? Did she mean to lead the police to where Kyle is? What is she doing in the first place? Meanwhile, I'm still not completely sure what Adriana and Daniel are investigating, Ray and Charlotte are trying to not get killed by the cartel, and Linder finally shows up in time to both be nice to Eva and beat the crap out of the compound's prisoner.

Married "The Shower"
This is definitely an improvement from the pilot. Obviously, the core relationship of this show is the one between Russ and Lina and they seem much more like people who like each other in this episode. The interesting thing is that while the episode begins with them together (Russ' two failed shower attempts and showing up to the party in the middle), it's not until they split up that they have fun. AJ guilts Russ into spending the night at his old house with prostitutes. Lina goes out for drinks with Jess where she has to take Jess' coworker's wingman. In neither case does it feel like the night will end in any other way than with Lina and Russ back together though. Russ is nursing a beer and keeping a distance from the escorts. He's clearly more concerned for AJ there and is happy to leave and get her daughter from the sleepover. Lina's adventure is more about establishing her and Jess as friends. One thing that bothered me in the pilot was that Russ had three friends introduced and Lina had none. This was a good balance. I still wouldn't call this show funny or engaging, but the second episode did improve.

You're the Worst "Insouciance"
I don't feel like Jimmy and Gretchen are the worst. My impression of the show for the title and previews was that it was about a couple who date because no one else will have them and make a day of being a awful as they can. In reality, this is much more subdued. Jimmy and Gretchen are two troubled people who do know how seriously they are taking their relationship. If Jimmy was really the worst, I doubt he would've agreed to the date that Edgar setup and wouldn't've felt bad that Gretchen didn't take his dismissiveness about her period well. The only "worst" thing Gretchen does this episode is taking advantage of the free samples at the yogurt (?) place. It's their explosiveness that I enjoy the most about them so far. It doesn't take much to get an earful from them, especially when they are together. Once I get  a better idea of what tone they are aiming for in this show, I can see myself really enjoying this.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Father"
This is the first episode to capture the Boy Meets World feel. The A story is about Corey being worried that he is losing Riley and the B story is Maya worried that she'll lose the Matthews. I'd say the degree to which Corey looked forward to Cyclone day was a little ham-handed, but I'm pretty sure I remember Mr. Matthews watching videos of Corey as a kid at one point. Instead, we'll call it par for the course. It was a sweet, predictable way to resolve it. The story that got to me was Maya's. They are building her as the Shawn pretty hard. She apparently has a very absent family. I'm not sure if they're "pack up the RV to go searching for her mom" absent, but the Matthews are clearly he safety net. Her reaction to failing the test was a bit much and out of nowhere but the sentiment was right. I quite loved that they had her fail the test because she was trying too hard, not for some other reason. As soon as they asked her to read her answers, I assumed it would be something like dyslexia or, even worse, not knowing how to read. What they opted for was better. On the student side of things, I wouldn't've predicted at the beginning of the series that I'd like the decisions made about Farkle and hate the ones about Lucas. Farkle is over the top and they do rely on him for the broadest and least over-18 demo friendly moments. Then again, they've made it clear that he's a friend and not a stalker. They give him a dance each without much protest and it wouldn't even be the most ridiculous thought to pair him and Maya off. Meanwhile, Lucas is a big collection of farm jokes. If he wasn't so enjoyable when bothering Maya, I'd be outright annoyed by him. That was about three times the amount I intended to say about the show. This is easily my favorite episode so far and if this is what the show is going to be like, I can happily  continue watching.

Halt and Catch Fire "Up Helly Aa"
This was the best for of the story a week structure, where it goes from good times, to crisis, to sustaining.Things start off well for the Cardiff team. Gordon shrewdly concocts s plan to get a room. Cameron finds a clever and completely fitting her way to create interest in the giant. Joe buys them some time to fix the demo thanks to some showmanship. It's not until Cappie Hunt reveals the Slingshot that shit really hits the fan. It turns out Cappie Hunt's sneaking around last week was to get to their neighbor's house, not to see her. I'm not completely sure why this reveal necessitated the reveal about her near-affair but that needed to come out eventually. I'm not sure I side with Cameron much on her issue with the OS. I get that it completely negates all her work or a lot of it, but in the world of computer, speed is king. If she wasn't the one who made the OS, she would choose the faster computer as well. The episode finally delivered the theme of the entire season this week as Hunt explains to Joe, "You decided to be good. We decided to be good enough." The great irony of it is, that despite everything, it takes one look at the Mac for Joe to realize that even his Giant is just a pretty looking clone, not a creation. Granted, as Pirated of Silicon Valley has taught me, the Mac was built from "stolen" technology from Xerox so this isn't the best field or time for a visionary.

Orange is the New Black Offseason

Even with cable making original programming a year-round affair, the Summer is still a quiet time for my TV viewing. I've got a lot of extra time in my schedule and thought it would be a good time to start a little project.
I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.

Favorite Episode(s): "Looks Blue, Tastes Red" and "It Was the Change"

Assets:
Deep Roster: Game of Thrones is the only show with as many characters to manage. The confined setting and number of episodes allows OitNB to cover them all more extensively. They could cut the cast in half and it would still be a full show. That's remarkable and it means that they can try out new combinations as often as they want to keep things fresh. Equally impressive is that there aren't many drags. An episode can switch between Red and Nicky to Piper and Soto to Pennsatucky and Healy to Poussey and Taystee without missing a beat. It's only when Larry shows up out of the prison when things drag and still, I like Jason Biggs. Nothing says he can't or won't be interesting. He simply hasn't been good yet. This depth also helps with the flashbacks. Any fan of LOST can tell you that the flashbacks got old when it was the umpteenth time for a character (Remember that time when we learned about Jack's tattoos?). That's never going to happen with OitNB (except with Piper. We've already had too much of Piper's origins). Perusing the IMDB page, I count at least 30 characters in the prison I could see getting their own flashback episode. Then, there's the turnover of the prison population always bringing in someone new. It's a big cast that is managed well. Let's leave it at that.

Consistent: In terms of quality, each episode is roughly at the same level, and structurally, except for the premiere, they are all the same. Of course there's stand-out moments and scenes. There's just not a lot of weak links on this show. That's exactly why people binge it. There aren't cliffhangers. They don't manipulate you into watching more (I'm looking at you, House of Cards). There's simply no reason to stop watching. The last episode was good. The next episode will be good. It's not constantly building to something like a Breaking Bad. It consistently is doing something.

Vee: Of the new characters this season, Vee is the most significant (sorry Soto). She drove the story away from being centralized around Piper, created a rift between Poussey and Taystee, battled with Red, played surrogate mother to "Crazy Eyes", and basically involved herself in all the happenings of the prison. It looks like she isn't making it out of the second season, so she'll go down with Mags Bennett (Justified) and the Trinity Killer (Dexter) on the list of great, single season "big bads".

Liabilities:
The Premiere: I'm on an island about this. I didn't like this episode much at all. The tone of it was uncomfortable*. The familiar characters (Piper, Alex) were among my least favorite, and I didn't care for any of the new characters. It was a case of "if you don't like the ingredients, you're probably not going to like the dish". The reason I call this a liability isn't my preference though. It's the reminder that this is a Jenji Kohan show. Fans of Weeds know that show was notorious for rebooting itself each season. Now, there's no way they'd be stupid enough to drop so many characters that people love all at once, but we should always be wary of big shakeups that could upset the balance of the show for the worse. Think about it. What characters are actually untouchable?

*I'm not stupid. I know the disorienting nature of it was the point. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

Soto: Piper was never this bad, was she? The whole point of bringing in Soto initially is to contrast her with Piper, to see how far Piper has come since she showed up. Once they had to develop a character for Soto, it's basically that of "annoying girl". I don't think it was an accident. They meant to do it, but it took her leading the prison in singing Lisa Loeb to keep her on my good side.

Flashback Twists: This is a small gripe but I'm getting a little tired of the bait and switch with all the flashbacks. I don't remember it happening as much last season (and I'm probably remembering it happening more than it did this season) but I'm not a big fan of all the hinting about one crime, then getting arrested for another. It worked for Morello. The rest of the time, it felt like a cheap trick.

Outlook:
I'm baffled by this show. I don't understand why it is so popular. That's not to say that I think it's bad though. At the same time, I'm not sure I'd place either season in my top ten list for its year. I've seen the prison stories before, narratives told with flashbacks, female-dominated casts. The show doesn't do anything special. It just does it right. I recognize its quality and I'm determined to figure out what everyone else is seeing that I'm not; why it isn't clicking with me. Until then, I'm pleased to keep watching. Excellent cast. Great writing. Solid direction. There's nothing to begrudge here.

Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family 
Parenthood
The Mindy Project 
The Michael J Fox Show 
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD 
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation 
The Walking Dead 
The Middle 
Saturday Night Live 
Cougar Town 
House of Cards 
Louie
How I Met Your Mother
The Americans
Archer
Silicon Valley 
Hannibal 
Girls 
True Detective 
Mad Men 
Veep
Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones Offseason

Even with cable making original programming a year-round affair, the Summer is still a quiet time for my TV viewing. I've got a lot of extra time in my schedule and thought it would be a good time to start a little project.
I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.

Favorite Episode(s): "The Lion and the Rose" & "The Watchers on the Wall"

Assets:
The Purple Wedding: Game of Thrones is the ultimate water-cooler show and "The Lion and the Rose" is exactly why. They masterfully built Joffrey into the most hated character in pop culture. No one is as universally hated. Then, here comes the Purple Wedding with its 20+ minute extended scene. The end was ruined for me. Still, each moment of that wedding reception was more tense than the one before it. At first, it looks like Tyrion is in trouble. Thankfully, it's fucking Joffrey who goes down and then shit hits the fan. Given the number of characters we know well at the reception, it's even crazier than The Red Wedding in terms of the fallout. And this is episode two! What a way to start the season.

The Watchers on the Wall: This is a divisive episode. On one hand, the Night's Watch are not the characters we know the best. Beyond Jon Snow, Sam, and maybe Ygritte, there's not anyone I'm invested in there. It is clearly an attempt to recapture the spectacle of "Blackwater" without the emotional impact of the characters found in that episode. On the other hand, it is an impressive battle. The scope and effects are shocking to see on something made for TV, and on a series, no less. The focus on the one location gives it breathing room that most episodes lack. I always liked Ygritte, so her death was rough, especially considering who killed her. A two year gap between episodes like this feels about right. Hopefully, season five doesn't begin with a 40 minutes siege by Daenerys on some other fortified city.

The Trial of Tyrion: The backbone of this season was the fate of Tyrion. After the events of the Purple Wedding, tracking Tyrion's imprisonment and trial was the central story (as much as anything can be on a show this scattered). His trial was heartbreaking. His talks with Jamie and Oberyn were fascinating. Oberyn's demise against the Mountain was shocking. Tyrion's escape was satisfying. The series always does right by Peter Dinklage in the end.

Liabilities:
The Rape: Sadly, the most press this season went to the perceived rape* of Cersei by Jamie. Frankly, I'm over it. It was a complete miscalculation and I have no idea how the director came away from that thinking that was a good cut to use. If this was a show with a sitcom production schedule and costs, of course I'd expect some sort of fix or response to it in the show. Sadly, that's not how this show is made. The whole season is done by the time audiences see it and there's six episodes of Cersei not responding in an expected way to it. There's two ways to go from here: 1) You can let that scene be a permanent blemish on the series or 2) you can agree that it was a mistake and let the story move from there the way it's intended. That's easier for some than others (for understandable reasons).

*Perceived  because interviews of the writers, directors, and producers about it suggest that wasn't the intent.

Daenarys: She is basically on a different show. Her story has yet to intersect with any of the other families. On a show that gets so much out of the intersection of so many moving parts, that makes what's going on with her a drag sometimes. She gets to take over the city at the beginning of the season. That's fun. The majority of the season is a lot of administrative stuff like replacing goats and not executing people. Every story has a fallow period, but it's hard enough to find the significance of her story in her isolation. It's nice when something is at least going on.

The Moving Parts: It's a thankless job trying to cover everything in Martin's massive books in only ten episode chunks. It's so easy to forget who half the people in the Night's Watch are, or what Stannis is up to, or why we are even bothering to follow Theon. It's inherent to the series. That doesn't make it any easier though.

Outlook:
Game of Thrones is probably the most ambitious show on TV. The production logistics are insane. The cost is unmatched. The size (and talent) of the cast is humbling. The fourth season had some of the biggest moments yet, be them intentional (The Purple Wedding) or not (Jamie and Cersei). It is a ratings smash (the premiere was the highest rated show since The Sopranos finale, I believe) as well as a critical darling (still collecting Emmy nominations by the boatload). It's an investment due to both the time and complexity of it and totally worth it.

Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family 
Parenthood
The Mindy Project 
The Michael J Fox Show 
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD 
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation 
The Walking Dead 
The Middle 
Saturday Night Live 
Cougar Town 
House of Cards 
Louie
How I Met Your Mother
The Americans
Archer
Silicon Valley 
Hannibal 
Girls 
True Detective 
Mad Men 
Veep

Veep Offseason

Even with cable making original programming a year-round affair, the Summer is still a quiet time for my TV viewing. I've got a lot of extra time in my schedule and thought it would be a good time to start a little project.
I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.

Favorite Episode(s): "Alicia" & "Debate"

Assets:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: She is the reigning, two-time Emmy winner and I'll be damned if she's not about to take a third. She's that good. Selina Meyer is not a particularly likable character. In fact, she's self-involved, privileged, and often awful to those around her. Yet, we root for her. That's all Louis-Dreyfus. This is a fantastic cast and she is the focal point of it. She is Veep. There's no other way to say it.

Armando Ianucci: This man (the man in charge of the series) has an ear for dialogue that is unrivaled. I've recently started watching The Thick of It, which is basically British Veep. That show is very British, just as Veep is very American. The thing that ties them together is the beautiful swearing. Veep certainly doesn't have a Malcolm Tucker and that's its only weakness. Otherwise, this is a show of fast, tight, and incredibly funny dialogue. The only reason why I won't give any examples of the best lines from this season is that I'm not sure how many hundreds of words later it would be before I could stop myself.

The Campaign: Veep is a pathetic show in its design. Ianucci has a nihilistic view of government and is really able to play this up by focusing on the powerlessness of the Vice President. The result though is that Veep is often a listless show, so giving Selina the campaign story for the season gave season three a direction and purpose that was welcome and refreshing.

Liabilities:
POTUS: There's fun to how powerless the Veep is. It's fairly unexplored territory. President is a job that's of more significance and has been more extensively covered. I'm not expecting much to change on the show, especially since Selina will still be campaigning, but I do worry about how actually being president could get in the way of the things I love about the show.

Characters too horrible?: I'll admit, I'm having a really hard time coming up with three liabilities because season three was so damn solid. I already covered my one big concern going forward in her being POTUS. At times, I do wonder if too many of these characters are soulless. Take Selina and Dan's talk when she first chooses him as campaign manager. I'm pretty sure Dan admitted to killing a dog. That's not cool. I'm better just forgetting that because that's number one on my character no-no list.

Out of Topics?: You do start to wonder how many ways the show can have the characters debate how to strategically confront a controversial issue (like abortion or guns) or be awful around "normals" or get quoted saying something inappropriate. At some point the well dries up. The only question is when.

Outlook:
I'm ok with calling this the best pure comedy this season. Louie is more experimental. Girls is more challenging. Park & Rec. tugs at the heart strings more effectively. I can't find a show right now with more laughs per minute. And I don't mean polite laughs. I mean a healthy dose of belly laughs. I've mentioned Louis-Drefus already and she is surrounded by Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Sufe Badshaw, and many others all bringing their own flavor of pathos to this hot mess of a team. Season three is the first time that I don't mind Veep being HBO's favorite child.

Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family 
Parenthood
The Mindy Project 
The Michael J Fox Show 
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD 
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation 
The Walking Dead 
The Middle 
Saturday Night Live 
Cougar Town 
House of Cards 
Louie
How I Met Your Mother
The Americans
Archer
Silicon Valley 
Hannibal 
Girls 
True Detective 
Mad Men

Movie Reaction: Lucy

Formula: (Transcendence + Limitless) / The Tree of Life

Why I Saw It: Scarlett Johansson has been having too strong of a year or two to start selling on her now.

Cast: Here's the thing about every actor in the movie: they go all in. Scarlett Johansson has to go from kind of an idiot to being a god in the matter of 90ish minutes and plays each stage as well as possible, given the extremes she has to play. Morgan Freeman is a professor who hypothesizes everything Johansson's Lucy goes through. I think most of his filmography confirms that he can play such a part as well as anyone. I couldn't tell you any other actor's name. There's douchey boyfriend, scary Asian kingpin, cop who comes along for the ride, and that girl from Crazy Stupid Love. If you've seen any Luc Besson movies, you know all these archetypes already.

Plot: When your mind reaches 100% capacity, you become a master of time and space. That is the thesis statement of this movie and your response to that will dictate your thoughts of the movie. The movie begins with Lucy at 1% of her brain capacity. Why not 10%, as common "knowledge" says humans operate at? I don't know. Well, Lucy becomes an unwilling drug mule. The drug is something called CPH4, which, when you have enough of it, unlocks your brain's full capacity. Lucy has enough of it, and the movie escalates with markers for each % increase until she reaches 100%. It's the story of Lucy trying to get to 100% while an Asian crime boss is trying to kill her. Despite this, at no point is there ever a sense of stakes. She literally cannot be stopped. Thankfully, it is a very brief movie. Two or more hours of this would be tedious beyond belief.

Elephant in the Room: When your mind reaches 100% capacity, can you become a master of time and space? No. That's ludicrous. I think John Travolta in Phenomenon is more "accurate". This is a high concept science fiction movie and Luc Besson (writer and director) isn't concerned with much more than what it would look like for Scarlett Johansson to be a god. There's no more internal logic than that.

Movie Theater LVP(s): This week, the award goes to the couple sitting directly in front of me, not quite making out, but everything short of it. First of all, this is not a movie that fits the "snuggle obnoxiously and repeatedly kiss" mold. Secondly, it's a 1:25pm showing on a Sunday. That's a strange time for "date night" behavior. Third, and most important, it's wasn't that full of a theater. There's no reason to sit in the row directly in front of me so that I have to look over you every time you start kissing. At least two rows up (which was available) wouldn't cut off my view of the screen. Way to be annoying!

To Sum Things Up:
A common complaint of Woody Allen's movies is that the screenplays often feel like first drafts since he has so little time before has has to start filming again. While not as prolific as Allen, Luc Besson is a busy man too, churning out a lot of screenplays. The end result of Lucy is a very rushed final project. The idea is to have god-like Lucy in the middle of a Taken or Transporter movie. There are some interesting thoughts in it, but it's such a muddled mess of bad pseudo-science and inconsistent logic (she can telekinetically control people and controls electricity but still has to drive to get around town?) that there isn't any room to take it seriously, even as an action movie. I can see why Johansson would want to do this. It's a fun role and she does more with it than the rest of the movie deserves. This movie reflects most of the movies released this past month: some good ideas but in the end underwhelming. 

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend