Only one more after tonight. Let’s do this. “Granite State” picks up seemingly where “Ozymandias” left off, with the red minivan pulling into a vacuum warehouse. It’s not Walt who gets out, though, but Saul (how did we not see that coming last week?). His guy, played by Robert Forster, starts processing Saul, setting him …
“I want to do the color timing for each of these episodes where you sit with the colorist and make sure that the color of each individual scene is just the way you want it.” ―Vince Gilligan, IndieWire interview, July 2012 ****
Sunday night, director Rian Johnson delivered, what many are calling the best episode of Breaking Bad so far. “Ozymandias” marked Johnson’s third time directing AMC’s hit series, following Season 3′s “Fly” and Season 5′s “Fifty-One” – and boy was it intense. Simon reviewed the episode saying that it, “brings the season to a head in …
Note: This article contains spoilers for Breaking Bad’s “Ozymandias”. It’s been a long time coming and oh so bittersweet, but Walter White has finally reached a point where even his loyal supporters can no longer justify his actions. The series has certainly provided its viewers with poignant examples before of why Walter isn’t a good …
Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 14: “Ozymandias” Written by Moira Walley-Beckett Directed by Rian Johnson Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC – Holy bloody damned hell. – First, some (mild) vindication. I mentioned last week that there was absolutely no way this week’s outing would open with Hank dead, just like that. True enough, once …
Holy. Crap. We thought last week’s episode was intense, but “Ozymandias” takes us gently by the hand, pats us on the back, and patiently gives a masterclass in intensity. *Deep breath* On to the recap. After last week’s climactic final moments, and given the season’s habit of opening with unrelated scenes, it’s not surprising when …
In what has become a Breaking Bad tradition, episode six of season one opens with a great juxtaposition: The pre-credit sequence is a fast forward to the final scene of the episode and audiences are left scrambling for 57 minutes to piece it together. “Crazy Handful of Nothin’” introduces Tuco, a big-time drug dealer who doesn’t quite do business in any professional manner.
This is the episode in which Jesse and Walt clean up the mess caused by Jesse’s chosen method to get rid of Emilio’s body. The episode recalls such films as Very Bad Things and Shallow Grave, in which a group of men are left to find the best way to get rid of a dead body without getting caught.
Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 13: “To’hajiilee” Written by George Mastras Directed by Michelle MacLaren Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC – Remember a couple of weeks back, when it seemed like Breaking Bad couldn’t milk its cliffhanger tendencies any more than it already had? Those days seem so quaint now. “To’hajiilee” puts that …
Over the course of the next three weeks, leading up to the series finale of Breaking Bad, I will be posting capsule reviews of my 20 favourite episodes from the series, all listed in chronological order. Click here to see the entire list, posted thus far.The complete list will be published on September 30th. Season …
The episode begins with four masked individuals peering over a fresh batch of meth. As Jack takes off his mask, he asks Todd to check the batch’s purity. Upon discovering that it’s 76%, most of the group reacts with joy, save for Lydia, who expresses concern over the batch’s colour, a light yellow rather than …
Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 12: “Rabid Dog” Written by Sam Catlin Directed by Sam Catlin Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC – “He’s smarter than you. He’s luckier than you.” – “Rabid Dog” is more or less all talk, no (explicit) action, but as the Breaking Bad endgame begins in earnest, it does …
We pick up not long after last week’s dramatic cliffhanger. Walt pulls up to his street and sees Jesse’s car parked in his driveway with the door open and his front door kicked in. With his .38 snubnosed revolver in his hand, Walt comes through his back hedge, cautiously enters the house, sees the gas …
Some series offer neat, tidy payoffs week-to-week, making sure to leave viewers satisfied while leaving them with enough plot and/or character movement to satisfy while leaving them eager for the next piece of the bigger picture. Not so with Breaking Bad; it’s impossible to imagine anyone getting to the final moments of “Confessions” and not cursing the television gods for not granting them immediate access to next week’s “Rabid Dog.” This right here is some next-level viewer-directed cruelty of the most effective sort.
–
We open with Todd, who’s leaving a message for Walt very faintly outlining the events of last week’s shootout. He goes into a diner and recounts his train-related exploits with Mr. White to his uncle Jack and Jack’s cohort, Kenny. Jack’s various swastika tattoos are clearly visible as he ogles the waitress who brings their …
Since the very beginning of Breaking Bad, these actresses have been tasked with the most thankless roles on one of the most celebrated dramas in TV history. In the case of Gunn, it’s a repeat performance in a sense: she had a similarly unglamorous gig as Sheriff Bullock’s beleagured-but-upstanding wife Martha. TV historians and prognosticators will be quick to extol the virtues of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, along with Dean Norris and Bob Odenkirk (and rightfully so) but in a very real sense, Brandt and Gunn have long provided Breaking Bad with a moral dimension that would otherwise be absent.
We pick up this week with Jesse, rather than where we might expect after last week’s explosive conclusion. The cold open features one of the patented Breaking Bad scenes: a slow, patient, seemingly unrelated scene leading to a character moment. An elderly gentleman leaves his home and slowly walks to his car. When he turns …
It’s important to keep expectations in check at all times, but especially with beloved TV series. There are so many variables at work, so many moving parts operated by so many individuals, that even with the smartest showrunners, the best writers’ room, and the most stellar cast, things can go off the rails when you’re least expecting it, often at the worst possible time. So it’s with a sense of relief that “Blood Money” opens with what might be one of the two or three cold opens the series has ever pulled off (and that’s saying something). And yet it’s the end of the episode that easily slides into the all-time Breaking Bad Holy Shit Canon.
The ever erudite Simon Howell will have a review of the midseason premiere of Breaking Bad later tonight, but until then, here’s a quick look at the most anticipated return of the year. From the opening shots of a seeming skateboard ramp to the closing ones with Walt and Hank, “Blood Money” is fully aware …
The Spectacular Now Directed by James Ponsoldt Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber USA, 2013 The teenage genre is an infinite well Hollywood enjoys returning to, even if such repetition can frequently wind up creating some of the most inherently false-seeming films. We like watching movies about teenagers so we can be nostalgic …
We’re The Millers Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber Written by Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, and John Morris USA, 2013 We’re The Millers is a mighty schizophrenic movie, sometimes shuffling from plot point to plot point as if you can literally see a committee of studio executives hovering next to the actors, offering notes …
The third track on one of my favorite rock records of the last decade, Okkervil River’s The Stage Names, is called “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene.” Without context, its lyric is a bit of a tough nut to crack. Will Sheff sings about events unfolding on a TV screen in the first verse, recaps …
5-American Horror Story If you’ve yet to tune in to Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck’s show American Horror Story, now’s your chance to catch up before the newest season kicks off this upcoming October. One of the more unique shows currently on air, each season acts as a new story. A new era, new location, …