Louie, Season 3, Episode 2: “Telling Jokes / Set Up” Written by Louis CK Directed by Louis CK Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX Louie is one of the only shows running right now that allows for easy access for newcomers. For the most part, it eschews serialization, toys with tone and format on …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 1: “Something Is Wrong” Written by Louis CK Directed by Louis CK Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX An an exercise to prepare for reviewing Louie on a weekly basis, I did something I hadn’t in years: I watched Lucky Louie, Louis CK’s previous attempt at a TV show. Since …
It’s been such a deathly slow year at the movies so far that attempting to list ten great TV series is far easier than naming ten great films. With the premieres of TV’s two best shows, Breaking Bad (July 15, AMC) and Louie (tonight, FX), imminent, it seemed as good a time as any to …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 13: “Slaughterhouse” Written by Fred Golan Directed by Dean Perisol Airs Tuesdays at 10pm on FX “That’s cute.” Among the many virtues of Justified is its sense of dramatic, and even comedic irony. Throughout the third season, there have been countless references to Robert Quarles and his nifty arm-gun. We’ve seen …
Justified, Season 2, Episode 12: “Coalition” Written by Taylor Elmore Directed by Benjamin Cavell Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX So long, Dickie Bennett. No, “Coalition” doesn’t kill him off, exactly – the shot that he takes from Raylan hardly seems fatal – but a pretty definitive dressing-down (“You’re just a craven, stupid hillbilly …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 11: “Measures” Written by Benjamin Cavell Directed by John Dahl Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX “Measures” is far from the greatest hour of Justified‘s so-far stellar third season, but it’s a crucial one. After a season full of shifting allegiances, double-crosses, schemes, and new threats, we finally have a …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 10: “Guy Walks Into a Bar” Written by VJ Boyd Directed by Tony Goldwyn Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX In what was easily the best episode of the totally serialized portion of Justified‘s third season, we finally get to see just how freaky Robert Quarles can be. Now he’s …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 9: “Loose Ends” Written by Ingrid Escajeda Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX We’re getting to the home stretch of Justified‘s third season. The ninth episode of last season was “Brother’s Keeper,” in which poor Coover memorably met his end. Where that season had a pretty …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 8: “Watching the Detectives” Written by Graham Yost Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX A curious thing happens on Justified this week: it collides with reality. Sort of. We’ve now spent 30-some-odd hours enjoying the antics, quips, shootings, and beatdowns handed down by Raylan Givens, sometimes …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 7: “The Man Behind the Curtain” Written by Ryan Farley Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX Justified‘s third season premiere, “The Gunfighter,” promised a different kind of Justified, one with a greater number of characters and interlocking conflicts, while still retaining the show’s patented blend of …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 6: “When the Guns Come Out” Written by Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Dave Andron Directed by Don Kurt Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX I’m out adventuring in Chicago this week, so this week’s review is a little more curt than usual. If Justified‘s second season had an agreed-upon nadir, …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 5: “Thick as Mud” Written by Jon Worley and Benjamin Cavell Directed by Adam Arkin Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on AMC As the episode’s title implies, Justified gets dense, tricky and seriously murky this week, in what’s probably the strongest outing yet of the new season. The show has gotten …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 2: “Cut Ties” Written by Benjamin Cavell Directed by Michael Watkins Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX Moreso than with most “prestige” dramas, seasons of Justified tend to follow a pretty set formula in terms of serialization. After a premiere in which the season’s major players are introduced, we get …
Justified, Season 3, Episode 1: “The Gunfighter” Written by Graham Yost and Fred Golan Directed by Michael Dinner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX When last we saw Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), he was bidding an unwitting adieu to Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale), one of the most feted TV villains in recent memory (even …
In an interview with Esquire from back in May, Louis CK explained the way he now approaches movie studios when he looks to re-enter that universe: “Just give me $8 million. I’m not telling you what it’s about and I’m not telling you who’s in it.” Anyone with even a basic understanding of how most …