This week Tiny and I welcome our friend Greg Lenz (from We Are Libertarians) to review Steve Jobs, gush over Aaron Sorkin’s work, and draw parallels between this movie and The Social Network! In potpourri, I review Rick and Morty season 1 and indie drama Unexpected; Tiny talks about NBC drama Nashville; and Greg talks about his excitement for The Big Short and the Tarantino police boycott controversy. Continue reading →
I will be upfront here; I’m a bit out of my element with this post. I watched season 2 of The Newsroom in a vacuum, completely free from all internet chatter be it reviews or tweets. You can read my thoughts on the season itself in this week’s The Week in TV post. In this post, however, I would like to address something that surprised me.Continue reading →
Pilots are interesting beasts in the television world. They’re used to convince a studio to shell out more money for more episodes. In order to do that, a pilot needs to succeed on several more fronts of storytelling than any other single episode. A pilot needs to introduce the major characters of a series in an engaging, often standalone, story that will leave the audience clamoring for more.
Furthermore, a good pilot needs to rely on a strong cast to build a rapport in a short period of time. Writers working on pilots also have to gauge possible long-term onscreen relationships completely blind of actors’ chemistry. Because of these factors, I live by one steadfast television-viewing rule:
Never judge a show by its pilot.
But some series have such strong pilot episodes that you can and should judge them on the pilots. And so, here I have compiled a list of some of my favorite pilot episodes. They aren’t necessarily my favorite shows ever, and they aren’t exactly the best episodes of said shows. These episodes are just the most engaging series-starters that I’ve seen. They also introduce the characters and story arcs in a highly satisfying way.
You can click the episode titles in the list to buy them digitally on Amazon.
The story of Harriet Tubman really deserves a lot more than a bland Oscar bait biopic.Cynthia Erivo is the stand out of the movie, of course. She does a fine job amidst a really generic effort. Her spirituality and connection with God is a big focal point of the story here. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but depicting her faith with such lit […]
There's quite a bit to like about Queen & Slim, particularly as it pertains to the relationship between the two. Daniel Kaluuya & Jodie Turner-Smith have strong chemistry. Kaluuya really shines in moments where Slim is racked with guilt. There's an exchange between them late in the film that destroyed me a bit. The script leaves a bit to be […]
Is there a more dull and trope filled genre than the music biopic? I don't know. But about 30 minutes into Rocketman, I came to the realization that no matter how you dress it up, no matter how uniquely you incorporate the music and artist hardships, I simply don't think there is a way to hook me into a music biopic.Rocketman's whimsical fanta […]
The Garden Left Behind is important for its representation and unapologetically telling its story on behalf of those whose stories don't get told. I commend the movie for that. However, the movie didn't work quite as well for me specifically because it was so message focused. It quickly becomes more of a vehicle for delivering its messages (all of […]
There's a moment late in Portrait of a Lady on Fire where one character wakes up in bed before the other and stares at her lover still sleeping. It's a look that brings out that feeling of waking next to someone you love and having that yearning and security in knowing that it is one of countless times you will wake up next to them. It's a loo […]
Pretty slow, which isn't a surprise as the story kind of demands a slow burn to show us the inner pain and turmoil of the characters. It's gorgeously shot and haunting, at times, in its slow tension building. But there wasn't enough there to justify all the long stretches of rehashing ideas and sentiments through voice over. It makes for a rea […]
