Television

“The Newsroom” Season Finale

Aaron Sorkins new hit HBO series ‘The Newsroom’ is having its first season finale air on Sunday and it made me reflect on this show I’ve been watching for 2 months. It’s very awkward, almost to a cringe level for me and the characters get into extremely long opinionated rants all the time. It’s very liberal in its poltical message even though Will is a moderate Republican (which he points out…a lot). He just enjoys bashing the Tea Party (who doesn’t) and bringing REAL news to the masses. The show is news from the last 2 years told in a way that the REAL news should of reported it. That’s the premise of the entire show with a couple love triangles spiced in for drama.

Some of the cast and the acting are great but the story has so many cliches that the plot becomes predictable. If ”fuck” wasn’t said a couple times an episode I would doubt this was HBO.

I guess it’s the rants and political message that make this show popular. I know Will’s rant in the first episode is what had me coming back. It’s also funny seeing Republicans get roasted in a different setting than ‘The Daily Show’.

This show has potential in future seasons but some of the characters in this show really piss me off a lot and like I stated earlier, the plot is really predictable and there really is nothing special about this show.

In conclusion the show is kinda entertaining. But not a must watch program like HBO is known to produce.

New Trailer for Boardwalk Empire Season 3 Shows Us that “You Can’t Be Half Gangster”

Normally I’m the only one in my household that is immune to starting a tv series, then getting lost in the midst of life and looking up six months later and realizing the season has ended. I’m usually not that person. If I start a television series, then I watch every single episode religiously and make sure my DVR is set to record.

But apparently, my mom and dad actually caught me by surprised and watched almost every single episode of Boardwalk Empire. Each week they watched new episodes, and somehow I messed the memo. So what does that mean? Well I barely watched the second season and I’ve seen bits and pieces of the first season. But after seeing the new trailer for Boardwalk Empire season 3, I find myself watching all of season one, then I plan on watching season two so I can be all caught up.

Have you seen the trailer? Man, oh man, it’s awesome! Slow-motion face-off and of course, the winner is Nucky Thompson. He’s so gangster and effortless, which is why he is such an amazing character I’ve seen in a series to date (along with John Hamm of Mad Men.) And the trailer reminds us what the show is all about, the art of being a gangster. And “you can’t be half a gangster.”

And honestly, I’m just a huge fan of the 1920s all the way up to the 1940s. I’m a sucker for period pieces, so the style of Boardwalk Empire catches my eye. Of course I love the fact that the show is actually inspired by some events during the prohibition days, so it’s great to watch the drama unfold.

I surely won’t be missing any episodes of season three.

4+ Minutes of Zombies, Intrigue, and the Awesomeness That Truly is “The Walking Dead”

Season 3 trailer for The Walking Dead…need I even say more?

Seriously, its 4+ minutes of zombies, the amazing character tension/intrigue that makes the show a hit, and just the total awesomeness that truly is The Walking Dead.

Watch the trailer! I sat in complete silence and watched it a few times. So much intrigue!

Ah, can’t wait! October needs to hurry up and get here.

Riveting Surrealism + Socio-Political Commentary | Short Film ‘I, Pet Goat II’

I must officially declare that I, Pet Goat II is the best animated short film I’ve ever seen. Never in my life have I been so intellectually and emotionally drawn to an animated short film, but I, Pet Goat II is a film that beckons for your complete attention. Don’t even dare attempting to multi-task while watching this film, because you will miss out on some powerful symbols that evoke theoretical thought and the abstract reality of “the fire at the heart of suffering.”

As I aforementioned, the film takes a look at “the fire at the heart of suffering.”  I, Pet Goat II truly captures some of the defining moments that shape our history, as well as socio-political messages that deserve hours of intense intellectual conversation. I could try to breakdown every aspect of the film’s message, but I’ll leave that up to y’all.

Many folks out there are dissecting this video and breaking down each symbol, but Andrew S. Allen over at Short of the Week sums it up best. He said,

“I, Pet Goat II is a difficult film to dissect, but I’ll give it a try. First, the story is less of a narrative and more like an interpretive dance of modern travesties—America’s war on terror, religious fundamentalism, militarianism in Aftrica, totalitarianism in China, and exploitation all over the world (some of which may seem a little heavy-handed to us Americans). It’s packed with loaded symbols used to remix pop culture into a new mythology complete with surreal landscapes and zany characters.”

The short filmed is by a new Canadian animation studio Heliofant  and it just proves that surrealism isn’t dead, it’s alive…and packed with riveting socio-political commentary.

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com