True Detective: Season 2
- Thread starter WonderBraa
- Start date
Ballers has picked up for me the past two or three episodes. Also loved The Rock wearing a Soulman Rocky Johnson shirt last night'so episode.
I noticed the shirt, but somehow completely missed that it was his dads wrestling name. Good catch.
In TD1, you were able to put aside the mediocre storyline due to two things...the transcendent on screen chemistry and also the directing. Fukunaga's role in that season's success is relatively understated, at least compared to the praise MM (and even WH to a lesser extent) has received.
Exhibit A - the phenomenal one take tracking scene with Rust helping the gang hold up the trap house. (Link to scene) There are several other examples through that season of similar ingenuity and great scene directing.
Neither of these elements exist in TD2. So, we're left with Pizzolatto's rehashed story, a group of actors who all look completely out of place, overhead shots of LA traffic, more unnecessarily pretentious dialogue, and enough "tense" stand offs / stare downs to make a grown man vomit.
If you like the show, great.....everyone has different taste when it comes to entertainment.
Nothing better on TV? Maybe. That doesn't make it quality television, tho.
Exhibit A - the phenomenal one take tracking scene with Rust helping the gang hold up the trap house. (Link to scene) There are several other examples through that season of similar ingenuity and great scene directing.
Neither of these elements exist in TD2. So, we're left with Pizzolatto's rehashed story, a group of actors who all look completely out of place, overhead shots of LA traffic, more unnecessarily pretentious dialogue, and enough "tense" stand offs / stare downs to make a grown man vomit.
If you like the show, great.....everyone has different taste when it comes to entertainment.
Nothing better on TV? Maybe. That doesn't make it quality television, tho.
I can pretty much sum up this whole season with "meh".
But one thing is for certain...the last episode is sure to be the best of this season. If for no other reason than the fact that the bi-sexual motorcycle cop is dead. I think we can all agree on the fact that they killed him off 5 episodes too late. But better late than never.
/silver lining
Related Sidenote: If that sorry bastiche somehow manages to magically come back to life like CF's character did then there will be Hell to pay. Not sure exactly what i will do...but ima do something bad...really, really bad. Like write a mean letter or something. That'll teach 'em evil HBO-ers.
But one thing is for certain...the last episode is sure to be the best of this season. If for no other reason than the fact that the bi-sexual motorcycle cop is dead. I think we can all agree on the fact that they killed him off 5 episodes too late. But better late than never.
/silver lining
Related Sidenote: If that sorry bastiche somehow manages to magically come back to life like CF's character did then there will be Hell to pay. Not sure exactly what i will do...but ima do something bad...really, really bad. Like write a mean letter or something. That'll teach 'em evil HBO-ers.
Picked up for you? It's awful and getting worse.
I stopped watching Ballers awhile ago but I'm calling it now- that dorky retired OL makes a comeback, then either dies or gets puddin' brain as a result. DRAMATIC TWIST and Rock takes the news with a meaningful scowl.
Really? I mean, it's not a great show but it's easy mindless entertainment for 30 minutes. I enjoy The Rock basically. Plus, I felt the last few episodes were decent.
HBO has had some horrible shows like The Comeback and John From Cincinnati and I wouldn't put this show in that category.
What's that you say? Oh, sorry. I was just over here taking care of the blue balls in my heart.
Just think how different things would have been if Frank would have sprung for the country club?
I'm not knocking Season 2, I actually think it's decent but like a previous poster said, what is missing is the directing of Cary Fukunaga. In Season 1 every single scene, shot and setting was believable. It was like something you would actually come across in every day life. Ran down trailers, old bars, over-grown fields. THAT is what I loved so much about Season 1. I feel like a lot of the shots in this season have been rip off's of 80's gangster movies. It may just be that they were limited on what they could do with realism being based in LA but I'm willing to bet Fukunaga would have at least made Season 2 a hell of a lot more pretty to look at.
I'm not knocking Season 2, I actually think it's decent but like a previous poster said, what is missing is the directing of Cary Fukunaga. In Season 1 every single scene, shot and setting was believable. It was like something you would actually come across in every day life. Ran down trailers, old bars, over-grown fields. THAT is what I loved so much about Season 1. I feel like a lot of the shots in this season have been rip off's of 80's gangster movies. It may just be that they were limited on what they could do with realism being based in LA but I'm willing to bet Fukunaga would have at least made Season 2 a hell of a lot more pretty to look at.
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Fukunaga isn't the missing link IMO. The story sucks. We're one episode away and I really don't even care who the bad guy is. Nothing at this point will surprise me. In season 1 I would watch an episode and then try to decipher Rust Cohles monologues and see if I could put the puzzle pieces together. This season I don't even look forward to the next episode.....Sunday comes around and I'm just bored. Hell, we have like 10 different sub plots that won't even get mentioned in the finale.
I thought this whole season has been terrific, no complaints here. Looking forward to the finale.
Surely by now the writers have realized that the ole "you thought he was dead bc there's no possible way he could be alive....but now he's alive somehow" trick won't save the season.
I liked the Vince Vaughn character going out the way he did, not bad, f'n mexicans. So the kid was CF's the whole time, go figure. Season was a complete cluster but I did enjoy the finale.
They could have saved the season with the finale but no, they somehow managed to make it even worse. Terrible. I feel like Nic Pizzolatto just trolled everybody.
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The IMDB forum is hilarious. One mentioned how it was one big feminism power trip where every male was demonized and made homosexual, impotent, sterile,and both male detectives get killed while the two women come out at the end walking like warriors while Nails holds their bags for them.
It made me laugh. But seriously, glad Nick didn't get his way with the depressing ending he wanted last season. I'm also doubtful we will get a season 3.
What an awful finale to an awful show. Absolute crap. How can you have that much acting talent and still make a show that putrid?
And "Ballers" may be the most worthless show I've ever watched. Was last night really an episode? Some really redeemable characters there. I loved how last night they tried to make us feel for a jersey-chasing ***** who was blackmailing one of the idiot POS football players.
Great job, HBO!
And "Ballers" may be the most worthless show I've ever watched. Was last night really an episode? Some really redeemable characters there. I loved how last night they tried to make us feel for a jersey-chasing ***** who was blackmailing one of the idiot POS football players.
Great job, HBO!
Next up: "The Leftovers"- the show about 2% of the world's population disappearing and an explicit promise from the writers NOT to address how/why that happened!
Yeah, everyone was disappointed in this show JUST so they could post on here about it. Good stuff.
The finale? I understand the season got convoluted and was difficult to follow at times. But what was so confusing about the finale?
Wrapped everything up pretty well I thought. 3 out of 4 main characters killed, addressing a common complaint of the season 1 finale.
Wrapped everything up pretty well I thought. 3 out of 4 main characters killed, addressing a common complaint of the season 1 finale.
I didn't think it was as bad as others did. Like someone else mentioned, Season 1 was very slow/complicated and didn't really get good until about episode 4. This season was the same way. I thought the last few episodes were great.
And Ballers is absolutely horrible - no idea how anyone can get through an episode of that garbage.
And Ballers is absolutely horrible - no idea how anyone can get through an episode of that garbage.
Piss poor writing and piss poor story telling doomed this season from the start.
"I used to want to be an astronaut, but astronauts don't land on the moon anymore."
"I never lost a tooth, I never even had a f*cking cavity."
"Excuse me. You have one of the largest auras I've ever seen. Green and black. It's been taking up this whole room. I just...I had to say something. You must have had hundreds of lives."
"Never do anything out of hunger. Not even eating."
"Like blue balls...in your heart."
"These contracts...signatures all over them."
"That's one off the bucket list. A Mexican standoff with actual Mexicans."
"I used to want to be an astronaut, but astronauts don't land on the moon anymore."
"I never lost a tooth, I never even had a f*cking cavity."
"Excuse me. You have one of the largest auras I've ever seen. Green and black. It's been taking up this whole room. I just...I had to say something. You must have had hundreds of lives."
"Never do anything out of hunger. Not even eating."
"Like blue balls...in your heart."
"These contracts...signatures all over them."
"That's one off the bucket list. A Mexican standoff with actual Mexicans."