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Post by nondescript spice on Feb 8, 2015 23:34:33 GMT -5
i've been waiting for this! bob odenkirk stole every scene he was in when breaking bad was on. pilot episodes are a little weak a lot of times, but i liked (and have missed) that slow build that vince gilligan is so good at constructing. i'm looking forward to getting hooked on this one. anyone else watch?
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Post by Triple_sSs on Feb 10, 2015 1:10:57 GMT -5
Saw the first two episodes and yeah, it was excellent! I like how it still kinda feels like Breaking Bad yet it's going in it's own unique direction. There's still a good amount of dark humor that made me laugh pretty good too, I see lots of promise here and it probably might make a good companion series.
"I'm the best lawyer ever."
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Post by nondescript spice on Feb 10, 2015 11:59:43 GMT -5
yeah, i liked last night's ep as well. saul - or jimmy, i guess - is just so entertaining to watch. i especially liked the montage of him working his tail off as a public defender in the constant revolving, quote-unquote justice system. he's a hustler for sure, but he knows his stuff and the best parts are when he is on his own special stage. especially how he talked his way out of that fiasco in the desert with tuco (yay! tuco's back!).
i love the BB vibe of the show, too. but i just hope critics won't go all nuts, constantly comparing the two. it has to be its own show. but i do like the similarities.
VG is just a master, imo. the characters he creates, the dark humor that can be so absurdly funny, the perfect scores, the tension and the empathy he can get out of his viewers for very bad people is incredible. and i hope we see more of those idiot twins.
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Post by Frameous on Feb 10, 2015 21:54:01 GMT -5
I liked it a lot, and it has a great deal of potential. Just as I was hoping, it looks like it will have a nice dose of the seriousness and seediness of Breaking Bad, but also a tad lighter and funner at the same time.
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Post by nondescript spice on Feb 17, 2015 12:54:50 GMT -5
man, this show is just getting better and better, imo. jimmy was the first one to figure out the kettleman's (a real life flanders family if i've ever seen one) scam. AND it was what changed his relationship with mike. now we know how deep jimmy is indebted to his brother, who helped him turn his life around. though he tries to be a good guy - there are examples of it throughout, even if it's just him giving a cop a cup of coffee - he keeps getting sucked into the shady deals and back alleys and is constantly scrambling to escape his current obstacle (*cough* walter white *cough*). and he is just so much better as a bad guy. all of this AND he has a sex robot voice!? i really like his relationship with kim. i'm looking forward to more of that. and that ending. just great. i am so digging this show.
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Post by nondescript spice on Feb 24, 2015 13:27:47 GMT -5
another great ep, imo. that opening was so amazing; i love how they make jimmy look younger by simply giving him a mullet. but wow. awesome. things i liked (spoilers): jimmy proves his scrappiness and resourcefulness the most in this episode. upon this rock i will build my church. i think i was almost as relieved as jimmy when he learns he had seven messages waiting on him, when he usually has none. things seem to be looking up. watching him stand up to that dick lawyer, howard hamlin (great name) is inspiring. jimmy seems to be either completely fearless or running for his life. i love that. his relationship with kim is really interesting; she seems to be willing to accept jimmy as he truly is - to a point, anyway. like us, she is rooting for him, even if she has to do it secretly. when jimmy chews out nacho. even though he is afraid of him, and rightly so, jimmy bites back when nacho threatens him again. and everything jimmy said to him was right and true. even nacho (love that name too)seemed to realize it, though i'm sure that won't be the last we see of him. loved jimmy cleaning himself up - new suit (great moment when he momentarily considered the garish orange shirt, revealing his true self)and arguing with the girls at the salon about his hair. this was the first episode when jimmy and mike aren't at odds, though mike is still playing hard to get. it will be interesting when he decides to leave his little parking lot prison and further get involved with jimmy. we saw more of brother chuck's illness. i couldn't help laughing as the poor guy scuttled about with his space blanket, trying to get a copy of the local paper so he could learn about jimmy's latest scam. every scene with jimmy and chuck is interesting because you see jimmy at his most vulnerable - and sometimes at his most calculating - how he is still trying to show only his best side to his big brother, though you can easily see chuck's wariness. and of course - the billboard scam - beautiful. for a minute i really thought the guy dangling from the billboard was in danger, but i am trusting and naive. it was pretty impressive and i was totally taken by the scam we saw in the beginning flashback. it was a huge risk for him to take, but it paid off. .....or will it? *evil laughter* the previews don't give away much. but i'm looking forward to next week's show.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Feb 27, 2015 18:50:56 GMT -5
I'm enjoying the show, and I'm loving your write-ups. I'm one of those crazy idiots who still hasn't seen Breaking Bad. So this is my introduction into the world of Gilligan's Albuquerque. And even though I'm not getting any of the fan-service connections between the shows, I know they're in there, but I don't lose any of my enjoyment. Michael McKean is one of my all-time favorite comic actors, and he's amazing here.
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Post by nondescript spice on Feb 28, 2015 10:17:06 GMT -5
i didn't start watching BB until the day of the final episode. talk about waiting until the last minute. AMC was running a marathon of the whole series, and on the last day i though - well, i'll just watch one episode and see what it's like - and something like 9 hours later i was STILL watching. i don't think i blinked the whole time. so i saw the final episode that night and started watching the first season after that on netflix. i'm still slowly working my way through it - i'm in no hurry since i know the ending. but it's everything everyone ever said it was. crazy good.
and saul is turning out to be the same way; for me, anyhow. i like that you don't have to be acquainted with BB to watch it. but the throwbacks to it always give me a thrill. like mike. he was a major badass in BB. i don't know much about jonathan banks's career prior to BB, but becoming a part of that show had to be a major game changer for him.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Feb 28, 2015 15:06:06 GMT -5
i don't know much about jonathan banks's career prior to BB, but becoming a part of that show had to be a major game changer for him. Banks has had an amazing career. He was in Buckaroo Banzai, Airplane, and Gremlins. His most memorable role for me was as the heavy in the first Beverly Hills Cop. In fact, one of my favorite things about BCS is that it features actors I love from other things (like Odenkirk and McKean) all together in one show.
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Post by nondescript spice on Mar 3, 2015 13:37:31 GMT -5
j. banks is great. any time i've ever seen him in anything prior to BB, i've always thought - there's that guy - can't remember his name, but he's cool. but his role as mike ehrmantraut put him on the map for most. i liked him in community, and i wasn't sure i would. he played jay's brother in modern family too, and he was great. he's basically always the same character, but it's wild how he can fit in anything from high drama to comedy. alpine shepherd boy *spoilers* that scene with the old lady slowly descending on her chair lift while jimmy waits with her hummel figurines may have cracked me up more than this - poor jimmy - after his brilliant PR stunt, he gets stuck with a bunch of loons who call him. the cowboy who wants to succeed from america with his own printed money, and the best one imo - man, that was hilarious. how they even got through that without breaking down is beyond me. tony the toilet buddy. it's probably already available in japan. but you have to give jimmy credit for trying. i am liking he and kim together more and more - he cares for her, he respects her - so much that he follows her advice on getting into elder care. he knows what she said is true - the elderly need protection from those who want to rip them off. and there are good intentions there, maybe mostly to impress chuck, but jimmy knows instinctively how to dance on that line - standing up for his client, but definitely getting his share of the action. did you notice how sharply he snatched that $140 from the hummel figurine lady? he said it best - half of lawyers are idiots and the other half are crooks. and jimmy is definitely not an idiot. i also loved the flirting between jimmy and hummel lady. great writing. he studied matlock! how genius is that? i loved watching him work the room of senior citizens, enjoying their pudding, courtesy of jimmy mcgill. he can speak almost any language - from psycho criminals to sweet little old ladies playing bridge. i read odenkirk improvised all his banter with the senior citizens. the hospital scene was so well done; emotional and finally gave us the full scope of chuck's illness, which may or may not be real. even though jimmy doesn't totally believe it himself - take off the space blanket, chuck - he was frantic to protect his brother when he saw him in the hospital room. the tension between jimmy and howard is on that yummy slow build that vince gilligan and peter gould are so talented at creating. and kim is obviously and awkwardly stuck in the middle. there's going to be some painful scenes coming up between jimmy and chuck. hate to say i'm looking forward to them, but dammit, i am. and MIKE! we're going to get more mike next week! i like how jimmy and mike have sort of settled into an uneasy tolerance of each other, but it was sad to see how lonely mike is in his solitary life. and the woman in the car - that has to be his granddaughter's mother, yes? and this ending - whaaaa? jimmy's going to get some legit business after all and i cannot wait to learn more.
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Post by beljah on Mar 5, 2015 10:37:41 GMT -5
I'm one of those crazy idiots who still hasn't seen Breaking Bad. You know that's probably going to help you. The criticisms I've seen online for BCS is folks that were expecting it to be a redo of BB. I didn't and I'm enjoying the ride.
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Post by nondescript spice on Mar 6, 2015 11:52:03 GMT -5
well, that's true. i think BB fans are always looking for characters, locations, etc. - i saw a picture of mike eating by himself from last week's show, next to a picture of the same interior of the same restaurant, from an episode of BB. who cares? i hope people will let this become its own show - it's doing fine so far, imo.
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Post by nondescript spice on Mar 6, 2015 21:51:39 GMT -5
i forgot another one - banks was also in an episode of parks & rec. he played ben's father. how can he play such a crusty badass in a drama and be scary and intimidating but play the same crusty badass in a comedy and still be scary and intimidating? and funny. but scary and intimidating.
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Post by nondescript spice on Mar 10, 2015 11:32:06 GMT -5
holy sh*t, what an episode. a leveler. spoilers, btw. jonathan banks truly proved himself in last night's episode, five-o. i wasn't expecting to get the whole story behind mike's history in philly - i thought it would be doled out a little at a time, since they have used him so sparingly so far in the series. but we got the whole story and then some. it was brutal. though odenkirk was only a part of it briefly, it was well done. i loved how confident jimmy was as he talked to mike - they were on his turf now and he was going to call the shots on how it went. but in the end, he followed mike's instructions on spilling the coffee on one of the philly cops, after learning how deeply this went; that mike lost his son, also on the force, in an ambush. his reaction was gold. a lawyer that can recognize emotional loss rather than solely financial is a keeper. in that span of just a few seconds, jimmy endeared himself more to us. there were still some funny lines, as always - i loved jimmy's scene, talking with the philly cops: don't let mr. ehrmantraut's dancing eyes and bubbly, bon vivant personality fool you. he's actually, believe it or not, somewhat taciturn. shall i fan you gently so you don't go into shock? and of course, the cops telling jimmy he looked like matlock cracked me up. no, i look like a young paul newman dressed as matlock. and when jimmy asked mike what happened before they met with the philly cops, he said, so what happened - the mayor didn't give you enough stickers? but this was banks show and he deserved it. it was all so gripping! truly. that scene with his son's ex-partners, hoffman and fenske was class A suspense, from beginning to end. and the confession to his daughter-in-law at the end was heart breaking. for real - if that didn't move you, you are dead inside. it reminded me of his story to walt about "no half measures." when mike admitted he was a dirty cop like the rest of them, i actually gasped. despite the things we saw mike do in BB, i was still surprised. you just know in the bedrock of mike, he is good. but when you are in a vince gilligan-peter gould show, it doesn't matter how good your intentions are - you are going to get involved in some bad stuff. banks deserves an emmy for his performance in five-o. not that he'll get it, since imo all award shows are about fashion and grudges, but it was damned good television.
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Post by nondescript spice on Mar 17, 2015 13:45:42 GMT -5
bingoi can't believe there are only 3 episodes left of BCS. nooo! as good as these episodes have been, i can't even imagine what the finale is going to be like. bingo seemed to just pick up where we left off with mike's story - over for now, anyway. but he knows he gave his d-i-l some big ass power, but i believe she will be cool, as he avenged her husband's death. i think mike liked that little hotheaded cop because maybe he reminded him of his late son - that and he knew he was as guilty as the kid knew him to be. mike just seems so weary. did anyone notice the pictures of criminals above that bench where mike and jimmy sat? how one of them was in the same bathroom taking a leak while jimmy talked to kim on his phone? i didn't. not until i saw it online. pretty cool, though. i gotta say, betsy kettleman is a piece of work. part of me wants to admire her bulldog tenacity, but then you realize it isn't because of her faith in her husband - she's just a nutso crook who doesn't want to face up to the reality of her situation. jimmy using mike to retrieve the money was genius. and her reaction to jimmy telling her about it was even better. but my big laugh of the episode came from the expression on jimmy's face when she told him she would tell the police he stole from them. we see jimmy do these things - doing "the right thing" and how hard it is for him, because he wants to make his brother proud, because he wants to help a woman he cares deeply for, but every time he does "the right thing" it knocks him down a little further. i don't want to see him turn into saul, but it's happening with every episode, bit by bit. chuck believes if you do good things, the clients will come, but jimmy knows a different reality. and it's getting painful to watch him struggle with it more and more. jimmy is a good, sweet, caring guy - leaving those files with chuck to get him interested in work again - always trying to be his best self. patiently playing bingo with the potential clients. that scene where he shows kim his new offices was difficult to watch - how hopeful he is for his future - one that is on the right track that will make him feel worthy of his brother's and kim's respect. kim turning down his offer to be partner was a blow - but as much as i like the two of them together, i had to understand kim's refusal - she has her career mapped out and she might care about jimmy too, but she's sticking with her own plan. but i was hoping she'd take it, anyway. we know there's no sign of kim by the time BB begins, so i'm fearful for her future. and then, after doing "the right thing" - look at how it turned out. arrgghhh. he could have taken more of the kettleman's money, fully knowing they didn't have a chance in hell to win their case. it would have been a baller move on his part to humiliate howard and give his career some needed security. but he did "the right thing" - for kim - and lost the money he had left, his new office and his gateway to finally gaining some success for himself. wowwww. that was some damned fine acting in that last scene. even though jimmy has hit the bottom again, it's not rock bottom yet, and he can still manage to answer his phone as his fake receptionist. i think that is one of the best things about vince gilligan & peter gould - giving us these glimpses of people we come to care about facing their demons and being unable to do anything but watch helplessly.
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