Quick Recap of the Last Few Months

I’m finally posting again on this blog. I’ve been either too busy or too lazy to finish up and post all of the stuff that I’ve almost finished or am halfway through finishing. I’m not going to lie to myself and say that I will finish, so here’s a quick rundown of what you’re not going to see. First of all, you’re not going to see any more TV series write-ups. Those things are just too damn lengthy and almost literally gobble up the hours, and I just don’t have that much time to devote.

--The one new release I’ve seen since my last post is Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, which I went to semi-willingly. I was pleasantly surprised, but not blown away in the least. Korine’s social commentary in the first half of the film, the half without the concrete plot, was quite good and well-handled. The second half, the part with the plot, is dull and unfortunate. Selena Gomez is the only character you care about at all, and she’s the first to leave the picture. The film quickly becomes uninteresting and dull, and the gunshot sounds Korine uses to mark story segmentation, an effect that worked so well in the first half, just grates more and more on the nerves. James Franco is great and very entertaining in delightfully over-the-top, but decidedly not-too-complex performance. Overall a decent, but by no means a great movie: 3.5/5

--The West Wing’s final seasons were, as expected, excellent, with Season 7 rivaling any one of the first 3 in terms of quality. I would give them both a 5/5 (season 6 is more like a 4.75/5 but still) and the series still stands as my favorite ever.

--Breaking Bad has been a real treat to watch, though I got bottlenecked with school work and other stuff. I haven’t watched an episode in about a month and a half, meaning that I’m about 3-5 episodes into season 3. The series is spectacular. It’s a slow burn and just keeps getting better and better because of it. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are each excellent on their own and are lightning-in-a-bottle when together, with a palpable chemistry that is simply a wonder to behold. Anna Gunn is consistently great as well, bringing her archetypal wronged woman great depth, making you still hate her, but also hate yourself for hating her because her reasons for acting as she does are often so good. The storylines are complex and interesting and refreshing, while the visual aspect of the series is exceedingly inventive and brilliant in every imaginable way. Every season is a 5/5 thus far, though season 1 borders on a 4.5.

--Desperate Housewives was something I started on a whim and ended up watching a little over 5 seasons of in about 4 weeks. The 4 leads played by Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, and Eva Longoria are all terrific and brilliant. The writing is crisp and incredibly funny and the music is integral and extraordinarily well done. I would give Season 1 a 5/5, Season 2 a 4.5, Season 3 a 5, Season 4 a 4, and Season 5 a 4. Marc Cherry did a great job with the series and I would highly recommend watching the first 5 seasons to literally anyone.