Holy ****. Just watch it. HBO, Sunday nights. Deals with prohibition and how mobsters made a killing on it. Only the pilot tonight, but I think it's already the best show going.
Watched it tonight; phenomenal. Buscemi is amazing. Even more amazing considering that a guy with as much raw presence as him has not been considered a lead actor before, either in movies or television. The sets are nothing short of spectacular and the costumes are consistent. I guess the supporting cast could be stronger, but it could be a case of unknowns coming into their own in the right vehicle, too. This one is that good.
I watched it but was pretty bored by it. I really wanted to like it but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind watching it, I was pretty tired and nodding on and off. I'm still going to give it a few more episodes but I was a little disappointed in it. I agree though that the sets, costumes and Buscemi were all great.
Probably bc a lot of people thought Buscemi isn't a pretty boy or big enough name to carry a show. Really don't see how it could of been any better.
show is shot beautifully. im a fan already. did anyone see the "Hammonton" sign, where they did the ambush? that town is close to me, and my brother in-law is a NJ state hall of fame high school football coach for that town.
Did you guys notice the homage to Goodfellas in the first episode? (Hint...it was a direct lift from the Henny Youngman comedy routine scene in Goodfellas while "Tommy" and "Henry" pull off his first major score.) In Boardwalk Empire, they show a comedian doing a set while they show the bootleggers operating. A pretty straight forward homage.
I saw at least 3 recognizable actors from other tv series. Herc and Omar from The Wire(Herc was one of the guys who got jacked), and the other guy who was driving the car plays in Brotherhood, a pretty good Showtime series
I watched the first ep last night. It was pretty "meh" imo. That's pretty much the review I'm getting from all of my friends as well. I'm sure it'll be entertaining... I'm not sold on the casting job.
At least I'm not the only one who thought that as well. Like you said I think it will be entertaining but for whatever reason the 1st episode didn't blow me away. I also thought the opening credit/song was weak. HBO is usually pretty good at the opening credits (what's better than Tony driving his SUV around NJ with Choosen One playing or the different Wire themes based on the different seasons) but I felt it was kind of boring. I know this is a complete nickpick by me here.
this YouTube - The Wire - Season One Opening Credits Edit: This one's a goodie too YouTube - Sons of Anarchy Opening Theme
Idk what you guys were expecting from a pilot episode. Of course it's going to be a little slow (didn't mind the pace at all though) and just setting everything up for the series. Def had a lot of action anyways. I agree about the opening though.
To tell you the truth, I didn't know exactly what to expect from the episode of the show. All I knew going into Episode 1 was when/where it took place, that it was about alcohol ban and Steve Buscemi was in it. The pilot just didn't do much for me for whatever reason, although to be fair most pilots are somewhat slow and even some of the best TV shows in the past 10 years had so-so pilots. I'm definitely going to keep watching (since I usually don't bail on a new show until 4 or 5 episodes in) but this show so far kind of reminds me of the movie Public Enemies where it had a good cast, great sets, costumes, etc but it was just slow and not very exciting outside of 1 or 2 scenes. Of course everything can change in the next episode and I might love it or maybe it's just not a TV show I will end up liking but I'm going to give it a chance to win me over. I'm not trying to be a hater here, just giving my honest opinion.
Steve Buscemi as this tough mob politician isn't doing it for me... Edit: That emo kid from Murder by Numbers is also a major miscast imo.
Public Enemies was waaaaay slower. Good movie but def dragged on a ton. Why? Bc he doesn't look like Tony Soprano? I think a lot of people hate on him just bc he doesn't look like a Hollywood actor. Buscemi is supposed to be a crooked politician first and foremost. He's not really a mob boss yet, but you can see that's the direction he's going in. A lot of parallels with the Sopranos too. The whole sociopaths who have a soft spot for babys and animals was already displayed in the first episode.
I'm a big fan of Buscemi but I think if the show is going to have a down fall it will because people won't buy him as the leading guy as the tough mob politician. I think Buscemi is an amazing actor, especially in supporting roles, and hope he can pull it off. I do think the writers realize he won't come off as a tough guy hence why they had him calling his assistant to help him try to knock the bathroom door down towards the end of the episode. I will admit it was completely awkward seeing him in any romantic scenes, especially ones where he's giving the 'O face'.
Nothing to do with that... Has to do with him not looking, sounding, or even being remotely convincingly tough, well spoken, or persuasive. He just looks like that ****** from Armageddon in a suit. A crooked politician has to at least be likable. Think Michael Caffey from The Brotherhood.
That was damn funny. lol Like you said, they aren't trying to make him come off like a real hardass. Complete contradiction, man. Like I said, he's not a mob boss on the show and a lot of the people that criticize him are doing it bc they don't "see" him in the role. Idk how anyone could not see him as a crooked politician after that first scene with, "The first rule of politics: Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." (takes a drink lol) That whole first 15 mins with him was solid.
i see him reading the brilliant lines that were well put together and the character is strong. But we'll have to agree to disagree... I'm not buying it.
I just think you're looking for something out of him that isn't what the character is supposed to be, imo. At least not yet. I like that dude as Jimmy too. He's supposed to be a young kid with a family that just came back from war. Seems fine from what I've seen so far.
That Jimmy kid also... Same quiet weird kid from Murder by Numbers that he always plays. Doesn't look like he'd ever seen gun go off much less do 3 years in WWII lol
Never saw that movie. He's only supposed to be like 21 so it wouldn't work if he was some badass dude. He and Capone are still young kids right now.
WWI...Not WWII. Doughboys were very young when they left the army in WWI. I think that kid is great in his role. Good directing will do it. Buscemi has already played several sociopaths, including a pretty good one in the Sopranos, I don;t know how you can;t see him as a crooked pol.
i thought he did a great job as a supporting role in sopranos. Supporting role. Maybe I'm crazy (very high possibility actually). But I'm still not buying it
Yah Boardwalk Empire was definitely a snoozer. Too many shows trying to be the next Breaking Bad or Mad Men, but don't have the ensemble cast or the real strong actors to back it up with.
let the character develop brother...let the character develop. AC is a soft spot for a lot of us up here. what it was, what it turned into...i wonder where this show will go.
I'd love to hear how BE was a snoozer compared to Mad Men. Mad Men might be the slowest show I've ever watched. Now Breaking Bad, that's my ****. Not that either of them are remotely similar to BE.
I like SOA, but it seems like the longer it goes on the more ridiculous it's starting to get. That and they completely ripped off that Shakespeare play which I won't name.
Well then you haven't seen one of the greatest movies ever, IMHO of course.. In Fargo he plays a sociopath and there is a sex scene with a couple whores that they pick up.. His character in Fargo wasn't that tough, but he was one opportunistic and sadistic SOB..
FTR, saw the Pilot on Monday night and I have three words: Holy f***ing crap!! Amazing. Everything from the cast to the set pieces reeks of awesomeness.. HBO has a massive hit on their hands.. It can only get better.