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Thread: Boardwalk Empire

  1. #1
    And don't you know it ThePlashyBubbler's Avatar
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    Boardwalk Empire

    New HBO series from former Sopranos writer Terence Winter about 1920s gangsters. Pilot directed by Martin Scorsese. Stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Michael Shannon, Michael K. Williams, Gretchen Mol, and others.

    Trailer here:
    http://www.hbo.com/events/boardwalk-empire/index.html

  2. #2
    Body Double RoadtoPerdition's Avatar
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    This pilot was pretty good -- not great. I think Nucky is an intriguing character, among others, and will be interested to see where things go.
    The Last Exorcism (Stamm, 2010) - **½
    The Karate Kid (Zwart, 2010) - ***
    Date Night (Levy, 2010) - **½
    Toy Story 3 (Unkrich, 2010) - ****
    The Kids Are All Right (Cholodenko, 2010) - ***
    Mrs. Henderson Presents (Frears, 2005) - ***
    Black Sunday (Frankenheimer, 1977) - **½
    The Hands That Rocks the Cradle (Hanson, 1992) - **½

  3. #3
    i am the great went ledfloyd's Avatar
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    i didn't see much in the first episode that blazed any new ground. i'm hoping that will change, but the pilot was incredibly routine.

  4. #4
    The Pan Qrazy's Avatar
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    Define routine... like routine generic/cliche or routine been there done that, but still a highly enjoyable gangster experience.
    The Princess and the Pilot - B-
    Playtime (rewatch) - A
    The Hobbit - C-
    The Comedy - D+
    Kings of the Road - C+
    The Odd Couple - B
    Red Rock West - C-
    The Hunger Games - D-
    Prometheus - C
    Tangled - C+

  5. #5
    i am the great went ledfloyd's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Qrazy (view post)
    Define routine... like routine generic/cliche or routine been there done that, but still a highly enjoyable gangster experience.
    routine been there done that but still a moderately enjoyable gangster experience.

    again this is just based on the pilot, hopefully it builds upon that.

  6. #6
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    I actually really liked the pilot a lot. Despite all the talent involved, I was sort of not expecting to love it as much as I did. The subject matter always seemed interesting, the cast was amazing (Buscemi on his own on top of the Michael-quadruple-threat of Shannon, Stuhlbarg, K. Williams and Pitt), so I guess those expectations came more from Scorsese's tendency to often leave me cold as of late (though I kind of loved Shutter Island too, so this year he's been making me rethink things) and Sopranos never being something I could completely get into despite admiring everything I'd seen from it.

    Definitely glad I was wrong though, because the world the show has already managed to illustrate in its first seventy minutes is something I can really dig getting invested in for a long time. Some of the sequences are just so beautifully done with the actors all doing a pretty impeccable job so far. Probably the best instance of stand-up comedy used to score an unpleasant montage since... Funny People?

    It's an just an oddly charming show, especially strange considering the overwhelming smarm, greed and sleaze of what it depicts. I'm definitely in.
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  7. #7
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    What's your name? Al Capone.

    I guess I'm hooked.
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  8. #8
    Winston* Classic Winston*'s Avatar
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    Don't know how they came upon that theme music. Shouldn't it be jazz or something?

    Really dug the pilot. I just really love the milleu. Omar's performance was incredible.

  9. #9
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Winston* (view post)
    Really dug the pilot. I just really love the milleu. Omar's performance was incredible.
    Haha. So brief and yet so electrifying. How does he do it?
    [+] closer to next rating / [-] closer to previous rating

    • Dark (S3) ✦✦✦½ [-]
    • Fall (Mann, 2022) ✦✦✦½ [-]
    • Ms. Marvel (S1) ✦½ [+]
    • Dark (S2) ✦✦✦✦
    • Moon Knight (S1) ✦✦½ [-]
    • Get Carter (Hodges, 1971) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Prey (Trachtenberg, 2022) ✦✦✦ [-]
    • Black Bird (S1) ✦✦✦✦
    • Better Call Saul (S6) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Halo (S1) ✦✦✦ [-]
    • Slow Horses (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • H4Z4RD (Govaerts, 2022/BE) ✦✦½ [-]
    • Gangs of London (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • We Own This City (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Thor: Love and Thunder (Waititi, 2022) ✦✦ [+]


  10. #10
    Winston* Classic Winston*'s Avatar
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    Not sure all the nudity in this show is absolutely neccesary.

  11. #11
    Winston* Classic Winston*'s Avatar
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    Still enjoying the show but I think there's a big problem in that Jimmy just doesn't come across as interesting, and he monopolises a lot of screen time.

    The stuff with Omar was the most promising in the third episode.

  12. #12
    Too much responsibility Kurosawa Fan's Avatar
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    I've watched the first two episodes, and thus far I'm actually pretty bored. It has decent style, but little in the way of substance that hasn't been covered a hundred times before. I'll give it a couple more episodes, but unless it improves, I'm out.

  13. #13
    Too much responsibility Kurosawa Fan's Avatar
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    I'm really not sure about this show. The symbolism is clunky, the plot lines are banal for the most part, and this is one of those rare occasions where the performances deserve better characters and stories, rather than the other way around. It is shot beautifully, and has a unique atmosphere (not quite period piece, not quite gangster, kind of an odd blend of both), but other than the Michael K. Williams storyline, I'm not very interested in where the series is headed.

  14. #14
    i am the great went ledfloyd's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Kurosawa Fan (view post)
    I'm really not sure about this show. The symbolism is clunky, the plot lines are banal for the most part, and this is one of those rare occasions where the performances deserve better characters and stories, rather than the other way around. It is shot beautifully, and has a unique atmosphere (not quite period piece, not quite gangster, kind of an odd blend of both), but other than the Michael K. Williams storyline, I'm not very interested in where the series is headed.
    i more or less agree. i'm sticking it out because of the talent involved but if it doesn't shape up by the end of the first season i won't hesitate to jump ship.

  15. #15
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    I watched the first two episodes. It's good stuff, but one thing I didn't like is that the way Scorsese directed the pilot is almost like a parody of his own style - specially Goodfellas with the constant use of freeze frames. There's a scene where Al Capone is beating up a guy at a bar that has a shot a little too reminiscent of Goodfellas too.

    But it's good. I'll keep watching.

  16. #16
    Still Not Tipping You Mr. Pink's Avatar
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    Damn you guys for pointing out flaws that I conveniently overlook.

  17. #17
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Mr. Pink (view post)
    Damn you guys for pointing out flaws that I conveniently overlook.
    I'll say, this page looks way too critical. I contributed to that myself, but it's really a quality show. That much is obvious.

  18. #18
    Still Not Tipping You Mr. Pink's Avatar
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    I'd say the last episode was the best one yet.

  19. #19
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Saw the third episode yesterday. Good stuff. I like how many of the storylines have gone in completely unexpected directions, specially Jimmy's.

    On the other hand...

    [
    ]

  20. #20
    That was a lot of nakedness.

    The scene with Al Capone talking to Jimmy about his kid? Wow.

  21. #21
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting amberlita (view post)
    That was a lot of nakedness.
    Paz de la Huerta should never wear clothes.

  22. #22
    The Pan Qrazy's Avatar
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    I find Michael Williams terribly out of place and mis-type-cast in this role.
    The Princess and the Pilot - B-
    Playtime (rewatch) - A
    The Hobbit - C-
    The Comedy - D+
    Kings of the Road - C+
    The Odd Couple - B
    Red Rock West - C-
    The Hunger Games - D-
    Prometheus - C
    Tangled - C+

  23. #23
    i am the great went ledfloyd's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Grouchy (view post)
    Paz de la Huerta should never wear clothes.
    are you watching the show? she never is.

  24. #24
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting ledfloyd (view post)
    are you watching the show? she never is.
    Hahah I know.

  25. #25
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    Quote Quoting Kurosawa Fan (view post)
    I'm really not sure about this show. The symbolism is clunky, the plot lines are banal for the most part, and this is one of those rare occasions where the performances deserve better characters and stories, rather than the other way around. It is shot beautifully, and has a unique atmosphere (not quite period piece, not quite gangster, kind of an odd blend of both), but other than the Michael K. Williams storyline, I'm not very interested in where the series is headed.
    Agreed. Two strikes: It's yet another gangster story and it has no subtlety whatsoever.

    The show has no soul and has nothing to say. And the obvious, uninteresting mother/whore representation of every female character is getting on my nerves.

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