When it was announced that Jon Stewart would be leaving The Daily Show, the Internet responded in turn by nominating some viable candidates (you can read our list here). At the top of most packs was Jessica Williams, the 25-year-old black comic who has been the show’s most surprising correspondent addition in years and has …
Warner Bros. held a shareholder meeting Wednesday morning in which they revealed their lineup of tentpole, franchise films up through the year 2020, including DC Comics adaptations of The Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, several previously announced Lego movies and “at least” a trilogy of movies based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter spinoff novel, “Fantastic …
The Red Road has had an uneven season. It’s struggled to make the most of its unique setting and promising characters, but it’s given leads Julianne Nicholson and Jason Momoa some of the most interesting material of their careers. It’s taken surprising turns in its small character moments while sticking to the familiar with its plot points. After this week’s season finale, it seems unclear what kind of show The Red Road wants to be, and this lack of focus robs the season of narrative urgency and emotional depth.
Two thirds of the way through its inaugural season, The Red Road is somewhat of a puzzle. It has interesting, well-explored characters and an appropriately teased slow-burn Deep Dark Past mystery. Where it falls down is its pacing and urgency- very little of interest is happening in the present. There’s plenty the characters don’t know but due to the split narrative approach, following each of our leads through the past several weeks rather than adhering to one or another’s POV, the audience has these answers and that, combined with the strong sense that the central trio is here to stay, leaves the show sputtering on a plot level while it excels with its character beats.
The Red Road continues this week with an entertaining, if not hugely memorable, table-setting episode. With only six episodes in the first season, there’s not much opportunity for multiple dramatic peaks and valleys, so it’s not surprising that episode three features some fallout from the characters’ various poor choices in episodes one and two and a few new touches, but no fireworks. These are presumably coming later, as we build towards the finale. As a middle episode, however, “The Woman Who Fell from the Sky” works well, expanding Phillip’s circle and focusing in a bit more on Rachel.
In its pilot, The Red Road introduced viewers to a community rarely represented on television, a (state, but not federally, recognized) Native American tribe, along with a local white police officer and his family. The pilot, a solid though somewhat generic episode, struggled with some of its central figures, but separated itself thanks to its unique setting. This week, that element unfortunately remains almost completely relegated to the background, but the writers make up for this lack of specificity by developing their central trio in surprising and entertaining ways.
With Rectify, Top of the Lake, and The Returned, SundanceTV made a name for itself in 2013, creating and/or distributing thoughtful, stylish short-run television. The Red Road, their first series of 2014 and only second original series (the first being Rectify), doesn’t live up to these antecedents, at least in its pilot, but is nonetheless interesting. While it lacks the emotional depth and gorgeous visuals of these other series, the pilot makes the case for following for this first, six-episode season thanks to two of its central performances and its unique setting.
Bullet to the Head Written by Alessandro Camon Directed by Walter Hill USA, 2012 Bullet to the Head marks Walter Hill’s return to feature film directing after a ten year absence. Though dissimilar to career highs like The Warriors or The Driver, Bullet to the Head’s basic set-up of a cop teaming up with someone …