Arrested Development - The Fourth Season

Cast of Arrested Development                                                                Netflix

     When it became clear in 2006 that Fox was going to burn off the last four episodes of Arrested Development's third season in direct opposition with the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on NBC, fans were understandably outraged.  The comedy was never a big hit with the mainstream audience, though with running gags that required the viewer to watch every episode to understand and an intricate, intelligent plotline running throughout, it could be argued that mainstream America was never going to catch on to the show.  The show developed a cult following of loyal viewers who would watch the show live even if it aired against the Super Bowl.  This rabid fanbase gradually grew bigger and stronger after the show's cancellation through DVD sales in addition to general word-of-mouth.  Most agreed that the show was canceled too soon.  The show's writers and directors especially agreed, as seen in the epilogue of the presumed final episode, with the show's narrator Ron Howard appearing onscreen for a bit of meta-commentary: "I don't see it as a series. Maybe a movie."  

Mad Men - Episode 6.08 - "The Crash"

Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Stan (Jay R. Ferguson) race through the office           Jordin Althaus/AMC

     Every season of Mad Men, there is an episode that diverges from the show's usual traditional, slow-burn storytelling.  These episodes are usually experimental in ways that feel innovative, such as "The Suitcase" from season four, which only features Don and Peggy as they stay up all night to finish an ad copy, or they can feel slightly self-indulgent, such as season two's "The Jet Set", otherwise known as the disjointed "Don visits California" episode.  As soon as the first scene of "The Crash" was over, featuring Ken Cosgrove getting into a car accident, I knew this was going to be one of THOSE episodes. This unfortunately fell into the "self-indulgent" category of experimental episodes with director Michael Uppendahl and writers Matt Weiner and Jason Grote ultimately choosing style over substance. 

Game of Thrones - Episode 3.08 - "Second Sons"

Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) weds Sansa (Sophie Turner)                                                                         HBO

     One of the biggest problems facing Game of Thrones has been juggling the ever-expanding cast of characters.  I've noted in previous reviews that the show can sometimes feel very scattershot as it struggles to cover storylines in eight or nine different locations.  Once in a while, though, the show zeroes in on two or three storylines during the course of the hour.  This gives the actors more to do than their usual five minutes of screentime and allows for a complete story to be told within the episode.  Such is the case with "Second Sons", the eighth episode in Game of Thrones' up-and-down third season.  The episode limits its attention to only three locations (with bookends from two others), spending several scenes in King's Landing, at Dragonstone and across the Narrow Sea.

Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013)

     At some point in the first third of the new Star Trek film, Simon Pegg's character Scotty asks, "I thought we were explorers?" He is confused by Captain Kirk's sudden interest in becoming the archetypical action hero, saving the day by killing the enemy. Pegg's interview with online entertainment publication io9 reveals why he asked the question: "I think that Scotty feels that everything that is happening is so besides the point, so besides what they're supposed to be for." Therein lies the real problem with Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to 2009's Star Trek, a blockbuster revival of the cult series.  J.J. Abrams returns to direct the sequel after leading the first film to box office success and critical acclaim.  Made famous by his obsessive use of lens flare, Abrams reuses many of the same elements that made the first film successful but he doesn't present anything new in the process.  Into Darkness is much more clinical than Star Trek, sacrificing the humanity that made the first film such a refreshing revival and turning the series into yet another generic action franchise.

Mad Men - Episode 6.07 - "Man With a Plan"

Michael Yarish/AMC

     Ah, the big merger episode.  The aftermath of last episode's impromptu merge between SCDP and CGC has resulted in an episode that almost feels like the start of yet another new show.  At the same time, though, characters repeat their histories in such a way that shows how very few of them ever change.  Don desperately clings to his sexual prowess to cover up the emptiness inside him.  Joan bolsters some regained confidence upon greeting the CGC employees and giving them a tour, but she also tries to hide her weaknesses away where no one can see them.  These characters have relied on putting certain traits on display in order to get what they want, and they're aware of those traits.  What they don't realize, however, is that they're repeating history over and over and expecting to be happy from this process.  Much of this episode feels like familiar ground for the show, with many characters continuing to live their lives as they always have by walking and talking the same way, but it feels different now.  Don is a lot less clever, Joan is less put-together and Pete feels even more pathetic.  It's a testament to the show's willingness to risk alienating viewers that it's showing the gradual, subtle destruction of these highly flawed individuals.

Game of Thrones - Episode 3.07 - "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"

HBO

     "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" is another episode features such a high number of storylines that its focus is very scattershot.  Covering nine separate storylines, this episode serves as a transition point from where the characters were to where the characters need to be.  Despite a relative lack of action, many of the storylines are compelling enough to make this a strong precursor into the events to come.  Much of the quality can be attributed to George R. R. Martin, who wrote the novels for which this series was adapted from.  Martin traditionally writes one Thrones episode per season, and they usually tackle some of the most interesting parts of the novels.  "The Pointy End" in Season One covers the aftermath of Ned Stark being captured and accused of treason.  Season Two's "Blackwater" covers one of the biggest battle scenes in the novels.  "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" doesn't have any huge, memorable moments aside from Brienne and Jaime's fight with the bear, but that doesn't seem like an event that will change the course of the series like the previous two Martin-penned episodes.  It's a curious episode for Martin to write, but it's one that surely contributes to a solid third season.

The Great Gatsby (Luhrmann, 2013)

     With some directors, it's difficult to do a review without devoting paragraphs to how their style contributed to the quality of the film.  They are often well-known or well-regarded directors, such as Tim Burton or Quentin Tarantino, whose films you can look at and immediately know it's one of theirs.  Baz Luhrmann is one of those directors.  His fetish for gaudy spectacle has turned him into one of the most prominent directors working.  From the polarizing modernized version of Romeo + Juliet to the lavish fantasia of Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann's has gained a reputation in Hollywood for his emphasis on style over substance.  When it was announced that he would be directing the latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's brilliant '20s era novel The Great Gatsby, there were mixed reactions.  Some thought it was an inspired choice to pick a director so well-known for his visual flare to match the larger-than-life parties and characters depicted in the novel.  Others groaned at the idea of Luhrmann ruining yet another literary classic with his trademark MTV-style editing and alarming lack of subtlety.  I've never been a fan of his so I fell into the latter category, worried that it would take one of my favorite novels of all time and turn it into a slightly-less-musical Moulin Rouge!.  Though the film isn't nearly as bombastic as that musical disaster, the film ultimately gave me exactly what I was expecting.

Mad Men - Episode 6.06 - "For Immediate Release"

Michael Yarish/AMC

     Holy cow.  For those complaining about a lack of plot developments thus far in the season, this episode more than makes up for this season's slower-than-usual pace.  Matthew Weiner wrote this one alone, and it almost feels like a response to fan complaints, despite the episode being written before the airing of the season's first episode.  Characters yell at each other, they cheat, they come together, and in some cases they fall, both literally and figuratively.  There is also more of a focus on the agency itself than individual character moments but I don't think Weiner is quite as good at the workplace drama version of the show compared to the character study version seen so often in the show's best episodes.   That's not to say that this episode isn't expertly done.  In fact, this is one of the best "work" episodes in a very long time, especially in how it tackles the themes of acting on impulse and the ramifications of those actions.

Game of Thrones - Episode 3.06 - "The Climb"

HBO

     The title of this episode could very well be an alternate title for the show itself.  "The Climb" represents so many of the series' conflicts, with each character trying to climb their way to the Iron Throne, climb to prove that they can, climb to tear each other down, or simply climb to survive.  Near the end of the episode, Littlefinger sums up this desire to climb as the only thing that truly matters in their world.  It's easy to dismiss his comments as true of only a few power-hungry vultures, but ultimately it is the idea of the climb that gives people a reason to live.  After all, Robb and Catelyn hope to be victorious in war so they can take vengeance for the death of Ned.  Jon Snow hopes to gain acceptance from a group of people that values him, even if it means building favor from the ground up.  The various members of King's Landing hope to either ascend to the Iron Throne or keep the power they already have.  This episode expertly shows the price these characters have to pay for their respective climbs.

Iron Man 3 (Black, 2013)

     When the trailer for Iron Man 3 came out (posted above), I and many others were expecting the film to be a darker, grittier version than the previous two.  I thought this was a curious step to take, considering the amount of humor and lightheartedness the films have established thus far.  The trailer featured Tony Stark waxing philosophical while everything he loves is burned to the ground, set to heart-wrenching, epic music.  It almost likened Tony to the Bruce Wayne presented in The Dark Knight franchise.  The film presented in that trailer, however, is very much different from the one shown in theaters.  While there is a certain level of melodrama, the film is actually even more comedic than the first two and uses that humor to create a highly entertaining blockbuster reminiscent of the joyous action flicks of the '80s and '90s, namely Die Hard.  It is perhaps no coincidence that, like Die Hard, the film also takes place around Christmas and satirizes many of those self-serious action tropes.  

Mad Men - Episode 6.05 - "The Flood"

Michael Yarish/AMC

     Halfway through this episode, Michael Ginsberg's father tells his son the story of Noah's Ark in relation to weathering the overwhelming flood life can be sometimes.  It seems that he might have the most realistic, honest approaches to one of the most memorable events of the '60s: the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The moments in which our characters learn of this are completely unexpected, both for them and for viewers.  The reactions afterwards of the white characters is a fascinating mix of white guilt and forced sympathy towards their black co-workers, rendering the situation even more uncomfortable.  One of the more interesting aspects of this episode is how different if felt from the JFK assassination episode "The Grown-Ups" in Season 3.  That episode featured many of the main characters glued to the television set, feeling that their lives were forever changed.  With "The Flood", the copywriters of SCDP, Peggy, Betty, Henry and even the kids are in their own worlds; they reside outside (or above) the riots going on in the streets, so it's hard for them to feel truly affected by the civil rights leader's assassination.