Succession (2018-23)

For quite a long stretch of time during the golden age of TV, Succession was the best show on air.  From the beginning, it spoke to our nightmare times. The Roy family was most closely modeled on the Murdochs but there is something undoubtedly Trumpian about it all, isn't there? It's so painfully realistic, it's terrifying at times. Succession was the perfect balance of comedy and (Shakespearean) tragedy. And it wasn't just clever writing. It was the comedic performances and the hilarious cameraman controlling the zoom lens. There are so many iconic moments that have entered the culture. I'm talking "L to the OG", boar on the floor, two safe rooms, crack some greggs to make a Tomelette, etc. Really any scene with Cousin Greg. 

The final season was announced ahead of the season premiere. Succession ran a tight four seasons, left us wanting more, rather than overstaying its welcome. There was a clear series arc that the showrunner Jesse Armstrong had clearly thought out.  And it took a bold swing in Season 4 Episode 3 that paid dividends. The final 3 episodes were excellent. I feel like they really stuck the landing. The final season leans more tragedy ("You are not serious people") than comedy, but it has its moments, like "it's not that lemony" and Connor arguing with Roman about ambassadorships. 

And how about that opening song by Nicholas Britell!

Serenity (2019)

One minute into the movie, I went "Oh damn, is this a fishing movie?" I walked in knowing nothing about this movie. And I was not ready for a fishing movie. This turned out to be much worse than a fishing movie. There is a small nugget of inspiration in the idea but it's done so poorly. It could have had interesting things to say about free will and consciousness but it doesn't go there. The writing is god awful. And the acting by ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS is embarrassing; they must have paid Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey quite a bit of money. This has The Room written all over it. Maybe one day this will become a cult classic known for being bad.

Molly's Game (2017)

Aaron Sorkin's directorial debut is very Aaron Sorkin. It runs 140 minutes, and that's with Sorkin-speed speech. Acting in a Sorkin film requires skill. You must memorize your lines by heart so you can spit them back at rapid speed without thinking. That's acting. And it's never easy dialogue. It's brainy. There are unfamiliar words. You gotta become familiar with poker terms and American law. Even for a generally educated person, it can be a little difficult to follow at that pace. But that's what's so great about Aaron Sorkin. He doesn't talk down to you. He pulls you up. He's a smart guy that makes the audience keep up with him. The narrative structure in this movie is a little weird, with Chastain narrating her story in her book being read by her lawyer preparing for court. But it works. Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba are both great Sorkin-actors. Everything comes around full circle. Nothing is forgotten, everything is deliberate. I appreciate that Elba is cast as her lawyer, an smart and articulate and influential black man--the only black man in a story almost exclusively populated by powerful white men. It's tight writing about a strong female lead that doesn't require sex to tell an interesting and intense story. I have a feeling Sorkin will be doing more directing in the future.

The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short succeeds in explaining economic concepts to the average viewer in an accessible way. A Jenga demonstration by Ryan Gosling makes perfect sense. There are hilariously placed cameos by Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, Anthony Bourdain and economist Richard Thaler. They use analogies to explain economics and break the fourth wall, as do many of the characters. It is like a well-made documentary at some points. The style of the movie is so unconventional that it makes you laugh. The picture freezes to allow the narration come in, and there are rapid cuts of historic/cultural images to show passage of time. The movie nicely balances comedy with drama. Steve Carrell and Brad Pitt bring some conscience to heartless Wall Street.

The movie simultaneously follows three groups who separately short the housing market, depicting the greatest economic collapse of our time from the point of view of the only people who benefited from it.  We watch them as they separately come to the revelation that would cripple the world economy. The ensemble cast is excellent, and I think Steve Carrell does exceptionally well in a role that I would not have picked him for. It falls somewhere in between the ridiculousness of The Office, and the dark drama Foxcatcher. There is nuance in his role as he comes to the realization that we are all doomed.

The film is a searing indictment of the whole system at every level from the banks to the rating agencies to the regulators. It really brings meaning to the phrase "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention" (Portlandia). You root for the protagonists who awaken and bet on the seemingly impossible. But then you realize that their bet is against the American economy, actually the world economy. They could be seen as villains, but they're really not at fault for reading the fine print. But nor are they heroes. There are no heroes in the economic crisis, just varying degrees of villainy. At the end, it all comes together when Carrell comes to the greatest, move devastating and tragic and cynical realization: it's not stupidity, it's not a matter of paying attention, it's a lack of care knowing that that'll get away with it and the less fortunate will suffer for it.

The Judge (2014)

As someone who is interested in law, I was disappointed at this overly cliched movie.  There are quite a few soapbox speeches on justice, what makes a good lawyer, and how the law should be upheld. This movie could have used some more showing and less telling.

Robert Duvall as the eponymous judge gives a wonderful performance.  He has the stature and command of a respected man who ran a courtroom for four decades.  The accompanying score succeeds in creating a feeling of a great hall of justice in a small town.  This pretty impressive small town has a diner with a gorgeous view overlooking a waterfall.  Robert Downey Jr. plays a cocky defense attorney not too different in personality from his typical characters lately.  As his plot unravels, (there are a lot of subplots involving him) we find some sentimental moments but it is rather predictable throughout.