The Wire Series Review

"If the Gods are fucking you, you find a way to fuck them back. It's Baltimore, gentlemen. The Gods will not save you." - Commissioner Ervin Burrell

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

As with any medium you familiarize yourself with, you are gonna hear about the specific fancies within that medium. The stuff that people go crazy over. Now, I didn't have to be the TV series addict that I am now to know what the hottest new shows were. TV series' are advertised heavily on their given networks; they develop freakishly large or reasonably modest fandoms; they are talked about in magazines, by people, on the entertainment news programs. Such examples would be modern television addictions like Glee, Modern Family, and Big Bang Theory. Ones that are addictive for the more intellectual and substance craving viewers would be ones like The West Wing, The Shield, or the topic of today's review, The Wire. I tend to watch shows that fall sort of in between. I like shows with a great deal of substance, craft, and talent; they are the ones that make me think, while also having a good percent be of the quality of silly fun entertainment: Breaking Bad, Supernatural, True Blood, Dexter, and the late Lost. All shows that are essentially just very well told good stories.

The Wire is on it's own plane of intelligence, honesty, and storytelling. I realized a lot of people had nothing but good things to say about this show. I Wikipedia'd it, as I often do most things, and found that the show was apparently one of the more groundbreaking series to be introduced during the early 2000s. A few things really drew me toward it in the beginning, however. One happened during the final days of Lost, my main source of in depth reviews was Entertainment Weekly's Lost page. While there I found a listing they were doing that year of, like, 25 of the best badasses in movies or TV. They had a few of my favorites on their of course (Tyler Durden, Dexter Morgan, and John Locke). But I think the one in the top 5 was a character from The Wire, who would become my one of my favorite characters actually, Omar Little (played by Michael K. Williams). Pictured as what looks like the world's scariest gangster ready for war, complete with pistols, shotgun, bulletproof vest, doo rag, trenchcoat, and actual scar across the face. He is also described as a man who can walk to the store in his pajamas, unarmed, and have everyone in the streets still run away in fear. That's certainly cool.

Second, I start seeing The Wire on people's top ten lists for best shows, always very near the top. My mom starts talking to me about how her online political pundants always rave about The Wire and how awesome it is. People on Netflix write worshipping reviews, which don't fuel my expectations so much as the negative reviews which deem it as "slow and boring" more than anything. In my experience, when people call a movie or show slow and boring it usually isn't; the people are usually just low level ADHD cases who can't devote their attention to anything on the TV that doesn't followup immediately with explosions. So there was that.

What really caught my attention is that many well-known critics and common viewers as well have hailed it as "the greatest television series of all time." As a person who enjoys great entertainment, who has seen some of the most moving, mesmerizing, and absolutely enjoyable as hell shows of recent years, this seemed almost like a challenge.

So I began watching and what can I say?

I'd be lying if I said that The Wire isn't worthy of being called THE BEST. It'd be a crime if it wasn't at the top of those lists. And it's definitely a show worth talking about. Why? Because it is honestly a show about people, regular people. While I originally thought this was a hard boiled HBO cop series, like The Shield or something, it is actually about the various forms of politics within the city of Baltimore. It doesn't show every facet, but it at least strives to. The five season series details the workings of these institutions: the police department, the criminal underground, the court system, the union, city hall, the school system, the mayor's office, the newspaper, and the homeless. With many characters being based upon real live people who lived these kind of lives, The Wire's story and characters have a certain authenticity. It is about people who, whether they are employed in an institution or not, are trying to survive in a bittersweet world. A more discussed element, in the show and the audience, is "the game" (sorry you lost). "The game" is referred to often by characters. I think I've deciphered that "the game" is really just a natural order of things within society, one that these characters (or really everyone in the world) tries to live by, control, or disassociate with.

I will bring to light some of the main plotlines and characters.

The Wire does primarily observe the clearly futile war on drugs in Baltimore by going into the multilayered and freakishly shocking politics of both the police department and the criminals they try to catch in the act. Through Detective Jimmy McNulty's (Dominic West) interference, the department is forced by a judge to put together a Major Crimes division to set up an investigation against the city's biggest yet most untouchable drug kingpin, Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) and his organization. The Major Crimes division are a central group of characters who usually find it extremely difficult to put a case against their suspects while the brass ruthlessly demands quick results or else every season.

On the flip side, we see Avon, his business savvy partner Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), dog-eat-dog "corner boy" Bodie (J.D. Williams), and the other various high or low level criminals try to be careful, stay afloat, and stay alive in their seedy world of crime, which is really only an order within chaos they've created, like every other institution.

Making their way through the cross fire of these two factions are the neutral characters, primarily "Bubbles" Cousins (Andre Royo), a homeless drug addict, who is wise, redemptive, but self destructive, and then the previously mentioned Omar Little, a peculiar gentleman thief who has a habit of robbing and picking fights drug rings, namely the Barksdales.

Season 2 has a lot to do with a stevadore and union boss, Frank Sobotka (Chris Bauer), a decent man whose interaction with a master criminal The Greek's smuggling ring and his quarrals with other institutions to grim results.

Season 3 shows how a district police commander, Howard "Bunny" Colvin's (Robert Wisdom)response to the drug war by way of laying down arms and letting the chips fall where they may is far less destructive, though no good deed goes unpunished.

Season 4, deals with the horrid machinations of inner city schools. We are thrown into the daily lives of a four school kids who see their world in uncertain ways and adapt to it in very unexpected ways. surprisingly compelling political aspirations of councilman Tommy Carcetti (Aiden Gillen), a mostly idealistic man who wants to do good for the city and weed out the corruption he is sickened with. After the Obama presidency, the way Carcetti's story plays out is kind of darkly amusing and very true.

Season 5 has the city in another state of decay as budget cuts hurt the police department. A young and malevolent drug kingpin is in over his head while trying to manipulate the criminal underworld. Some key cops cross lines in order to get real police work done. The last institution to be seen is the Baltimore Sun, the city newspaper, as a veteran editor sees the crooked nature of his young coworker and even his bosses. And, as with any final season, characters find closure, do not, or are destroyed.

The show is intentionally presented in a novelistic fashion. Each episode progresses slowly with much detail, acting more like book chapters that don't typically have standard beginnings, middles, or ends. Since I love quality TV and enjoy books more and more, this was a treat. Episodes do run the risk of dragging along with not a lot of eye candy, but it still advances the plot and the plot is always good. No episode has a particular arc, so every season feels like one full story. I actually think that it was intentional due to the producers never knowing if they'd get renewed every year, so every season finale was made as if it could double as a series finale. Each episode starts out with a quote, usually from a character in the episode. Since I have a similar tendacy, I thought this was cool. There is also a pretty good soundtrack to show, the main theme throughout the series is "Way Down in the Hole" played by various artists including Tom Waits (who wrote the song), Steve Earle (who has a good small role in the series), but mainly The Blind Boys of Alabama.

I couldn't possibly name all of the main characters here because, frankly, there isn't exactly any main character(s). I can probably say that just about every introduced character who serves some kind of a role in the plot, and even some who don't, are terrific. As such, this is also the first show I've seen with all around solid acting performances for every episode. Every character feels authentic; like they could be real people you meet. That's who they are playing: real people. Even the very mythic characters like Omar, The Greek, and Brother Mouzone feel real. By the end of the series (even if you're watching it back to back), this group of characters, perhaps more than any other I've seen, feels like old friends. Of course, I will probably have to go back and make a Top Ten characters list at some point. Definitely.

Ultimately, The Wire is a portrait of America, city life, or, more broadly, society itself. The aim of the creator, David Simon, was not to present a police drama as he had done in the past, but to show how people deal with the institutions they are associated with. Simon, a former Baltimore police reporter and author, is perfect at channeling all of his knowledge of the dog-eat-dog streets of Baltimore, the inner workings of the police department and newsroom, and the corrupt and selfish mentalities of those within various institutions. Another creative mind behind the show is Ed Burns, an ex-cop and teacher, who no doubt provided great insight into the minds of police officers and the seemingly hopeless inner city school systems. Renowned authors such as Richard Price (Clockers, Freedomland) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island, Gone Baby Gone) have written episodes for the show.

I couldn't possibly describe all of the depth and layers of The Wire in this post. I will simply say that it is one of the greatest shows ever, no one was wrong about that. I really enjoyed it. It has great characters, relatable scenarios (especially for adults), thought provoking themes, a story that might be too true, and an overall remarkable universe. It is addictive in its own right. You wanna keep watching to find out whether these people will rise up or fall down in this unpredictable world.

I forgot my new rating system for my last few review, so I am giving The Wire six out of five wiretaps.

This has been another series review from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.

Prison Break Series Review

Tattooist: "Takes guys a few years to get the kind of ink you've got."
Michael: "I don't have a few years."

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

I watched the first episode of Prison Break when it first aired. That was back in a time when I was not really into the big, live action, one hour series'. Sure enough, it looked like a good idea. Finally, after being acquainted with a galore of other awesome big, live action, one hour series', I decided Prison Break sounded good enough to where I would give it a try. Of course, I do not regret this decision. It is an amazing show that has suspense enough to match Lost. Full of secrets, motley crews, secret organizations, government conspiracies, double crosses, action, drama, humor, and intelligence, Prison Break was a hell of a show. One that I wished I had watched while still on.

This is another great show that revolves around two brothers. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is a small time criminal who is framed for the murder of the US Vice President's brother. With all of the evidence against him to prove he's the one, he is sent to Fox River Penitentiary to await execution. Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), Lincoln's younger brother, is a genius structural engineer who designed the prison. Michael, convinced of his brother's innocence, devises a plan to break him out of prison and escape. After committing a crime, allowing himself to be arrested, and pleading guilty he is sent to Fox River where his plan is in motion, all carefully mapped out on his torso and limbs with tattoes. Along the way, the conspirators behind Lincoln's supposed crime try to tie up their loose ends and Michael must side with some of Fox River's lowest inmates in order to execute his plan. I can't spoil where the show goes from there.

I must admit, I have not seen that many great prison escape movies; The Shawshank Redemption was pretty awesome, though. I must say, though, that watching master planner Michael come up with new angles every episode was quite enjoyable. Elements from The Fugitive come into play later, obviously. The show is really kind of like a magic show: every week the characters get themselves trapped in new dangerous and intense situations where it looks like they can't escape and they use methods we didn't think of or weren't expecting to escape. It's really a lot of fun.

There are secrets revealed, and alliances made between characters that create dynamics throughout the series. Most notably is a shadow organization that you will come to know as The Company (not to be confused with the one from Heroes), of which Lincoln Burrows' frame job is the most minor of corruption and conspiracy. Another are the characters Michael meets, faces, or sides with within Fox River, who become players in the game he has thrown himself in. Questions such as why was Lincoln in particular framed, are very important and interesting. Of course, the biggest and most exciting question every episode is how Michael and co. are going to escape.

The show has a wide range of unique characters; granted they aren't all as colorful or as cool as those from other shows I've seen, but I felt for them and wanted most all of them (even some of the villains) to get away. Like Supernatural and, to a lesser degree, Lost, Prison Break's primary story revolves around two brothers: Michael and Lincoln. They are both different, but I ended up liking them both. Michael is portrayed early on as a calculating and efficient manipulator of events, willing to sacrifice freakishly in order to save his brother. While he tries to put on a cold demeanor, it becomes perfectly clear that Michael is really a man of morality and compassion who won't bring himself to kill even the worst enemies. His structurally intuitive mind is a character all of itself sometimes, when Michael is able to contrive methods of escape in a con or on a whim, decipher his opponents agendas, or improvise a situation to his best advantage. Along with actor Wentworth Miller's droll demeanor, with a bit of a deep suave voice, rugged good looks, and various emotions. Overall, Michael is, in general, a true hero. Lincoln is not a genius like Michael and is oddly looked down upon for not being as smart as him, which is used like an insult. After using an inheritance to insure his brother's future, Lincoln turned to a life of petty crime to help himself. He is a wounded man in the assassination plot, a fabricated conspiracy to insure specific political powers. Lincoln is a cunning strategist like his brother, and a tough fighter from living on the streets. He is an honorable man and often heroic, but he will do ruthless things should his family be in danger. Dominic Purcell is, like Wentworth Miller, another oddly cool, montonous actor. This guy makes Lincoln seem kinda chill. Other important characters include Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne-Callies), Fox River's idealistic head nurse, who immeditaly forms a kinship with Michael. Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), a small time thief and Michael's cell mate in Fox River; Sucre is a loyal, friendly guy whose subplot involves him trying to find his true love waiting for him outside of prison. Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (Robert Knepper, brilliant), a psychotic pedophile, serial killer and feared man inside of Fox River; T-Bag, though considered a perverted, dumb hick, is actually a master manipulator himself who can figure out plans and strategies of his own against the heroes. Other notable Fox River figures include Charles Westmoreland (Muse Watson), a convicted manslaughter case who is also suspected of being D.B. Cooper; Benjamin Miles Franklin aka C-Note (Rockmund Dunbar), a crafty smuggler who resorts to conniving methods in order to get back home; John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare), a shifty and brutal gangster; Henry Pope (Stacy Keach), the moral warden of Fox River; Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), the often menacing head of the prison's security; or Veronica Donovon (Robin Tunney), the brothers childhood friend who tries, as a lawyer, to appeal against Lincoln's execution. Later essential characters would include Alex Mahone (William Fictner, awesome), an intuitive but compelled FBI Agent; Paul Kellerman (Paul Adelstein), a cold, ruthless operative within the conspiracy; Gretchen Morgan (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), a cold blooded, lethal, yet mercurial conspiracy merc; and the infamous big fish who I will only name "Pad Man" (Leon Russom), who is as shadowy figure appearing behind the scenes of the shadow organization. Wow. I just named almost every character. Whoops. Guess they are pretty good.

A main theme running through this show, which has also been either a primary or secondary element in other great shows, is the theme of love and what we will sacrifice for the ones we care about. A theme of family and brotherhood is prevelent in many characters. Even a theme of corruption, extremely illustrated through homicidal carnage. It's a very interesting story.

So, Prison Break, in the end, was a great show. It was a fun show. One I would have loved to tune into to watch on TV now. Well, thank all for the internet. This does something that shows nowadays have gotten better at doing and that is the classic trait of suspsense within the show. Prison Break's suspense is in overdrive for the majority of each episode. The characters are cool, as I have clearly mentioned, you know only a little. The plot is always snakeish and fun, make great twists. Definitely worth watching back to back, that's a lot of fun but I'll bet the real fun would be waiting a week in suspense for the next episode. Very awesome and highly recommended on this end, I'd say Prison Break is well worth the time. Five out of five tattoes

One of hopefully a trilogy of series reviews from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.

Two Lovers Review

Neighbor: "Either of you ever use a fucking phone?!"
Leonard: "Josh, I want you to know, there is a fucking storm coming!"

Haha, I just loved that part.

But seriously, Two Lovers is a tense and breathtaking drama. It was released in 2009, directed and co-written by James Gray ("We Own the Night"), and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Vinessa Shaw. It is a story not so much about love but about passion and dreams. It's about what people want for themselves, perhaps selfishly, as opposed to what they need that will benefit themselves, and maybe even everyone else. If love plays a part in the movie it only exists as an illusion. Some characters think that love is returned when given, while being blind to actual love in front of them.

The plot involves three main people in a neighborhood of Manhatten. Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) is a morose and emotionally unstable young man whose been prone to suicide attempts following his fiance leaving him. He lives with his parents (Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini) as of late and works in their dry cleaning business. Suddenly two women appear in his life. There is Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daughter of his parents' new business partner who is sweet, pretty, and fond of Leonard immediately. Then there is Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), Leonard's neighbor who is charming, exciting, and beautiful, and quickly befriends him. He has feelings for both women, but Michelle moreso than Sandra. Leonard senses right away that his parents and Sandra's want them to be together, given both families' new partnership in the dry cleaning business. Though Leonard likes Sandra, he doesn't like his apparant fate being arranged for him, i.e. being goaded into marrying an ideal woman and walking in his parents' footsteps. Leonard is taken with Michelle because she is fun and good to him; she seems to have no hand in his destiny, nor does she try to. But Michelle is a not-so-recovering drug addict and is currently in love with a married man (Elias Koteas) who refuses to leave his family. Sandra is clearly better for Leonard and loves him, but he still pursues Michelle even though she is a wreck and in love with someone else.

This is not exactly a new concept, but it really hasn't gone so in depth or felt so real. James Gray's directing is haunting, and the script is very nuanced and intelligent. It seemed like something of a passion project. The film has a true sense of characters. It knows their behaviors and personalities inside and out, yet what they will do is still unpredictable in many ways. Yes, this is a film that had me not be able to guess where it was going. There is an obvious conclusion, but it is somewhat less obvious in this movie. In fact, it makes you really think about what has happened and what will happen. For a movie that has been done before, been done before wrong, and could have gone so wrong in so many ways itself, Two Lovers was just a brilliant film.

I gotta give props to the cinematography in this movie. Very dark, shadowy, and cold, almost like the character's thoughts and intentions (or not.) James Gray uses this kind of style in his last movie too, and it really sets the mood. So yeah, props to that real quick.

Now for my favorite part: the acting. All were tremendous, because as you know I rarely watch movies with bad acting. I am saving Joaquin Phoenix's appraisals for last, as there is much to talk about. But I will first regard the two women. Gwyneth Paltrow, a favorite actress of mine and perfect choice for the damaged beauty, is her usual compelling and likable self here. She does unlikable things, mind you, but she still comes off as very endearing. Michelle describes herself as "lost" in the film, and that's a pretty good definition of the character, which Paltrow conveys sincerely. She is a good person who can't seem to help but make the wrong decisions. I will also say that I think this is probably the first movie since Great Expectations in 1997 to address how freaking beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow is. Vinessa Shaw, who should be in more movies, does not have as much of an emotional element, but hers is still a good one. She plays her character as confident but with repressed doubts that can clearly be seen; she knows what she wants but doesn't see that Leonard has even bigger doubts. Mostly, we feel sorry for her as she continues to love this man, but is tragically oblivious to what he is doing. I think her character Sandra was supposed to simply be a truly good person. I was trying to find some flaw, something unappealing about her that made Leonard continue toward Michelle. I couldn't. The parents in the film were particularly interesting. This is mostly because I found them so damn believable. Moni Moshonov, who played a gentleman gangster in We Own the Night, has a lot of presence as Leonard's father. Isabella Rossellini plays a concerned and loving mother very well. They are both real people who, though they expect certain things from their son, are very kindhearted. Elias Koteas for his brief scenes is good as the suave married lover of Michelle, who isn't really using her or anything. He does love her, but he also loves his family. (I've gotta say it now or I never will: Elias Koteas looks and even acts a little like a young Robert De Niro. I dunno, it's just always seemed weird to me; he could be De Niro's son.)

Now for the big show. This is the last movie Joaquin Phoenix made before he embarked on that legendary act of a burned out, wannabe rapper version of himself for the mockumentary I'm Still Here. Phoenix shines here as Leonard, the central character. A part of me wanted to despise Leonard for leading one very sweet girl into thinking he loved her while constantly vying for the affections of a girl who is in love with someone else. I didn't though. The way Phoenix portrayed the character, Leonard seemed more like a child or, at most, an awkward teenager. He is very confused, doesn't know quite what he wants except love and freedom, is constantly trying to make everyone happy so they will leave him alone to find his own happiness. He returns Sandra's affections as if he didn't want to be rude to her, not so much because he felt the same way. He crushes on Michelle like a timid high school kid. He really is an emotional wreck, not confident about where his life seems to be drifting toward, and sees what is instant gratification as a way to start his own life. Leonard is one of those perfect characters who keeps you summoning different ideas about and emotions toward, as if he were a real person. Joaquin pulled him off splendidly. Yes, if this was his last role it would have been a damn fine one to go out on.

So, all in all, Two Lovers was a very powerful yet subtle movie that will provoke many thoughts. It's fascinating. Though I don't particularly like The Graduate, this movie reminded me of The Graduate a little bit. Some of these characters do seem like they would be at total peace if they were sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool. Of course it is not all drama and/or melodrama, there are funny moments too. This may actually be the first serious drama film to feature break dancing in a night club (which Joaquin partakes in, again, with childish abandon). This is a film that definitely deserves a viewing. I won't tell you to expect a happy ending or not to, just don't expect too much because, like I said, it is kind of unpredictable.

This has been, of course, another review from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.