This week, we're catching up with a new classic and preparing for a reboot of an old favorite.
Every week I'll be here to reveal and review some of my favorite moments from the internet. Whether it be binging television shows, streaming sports or simply getting lost in a YouTube rabbit hole, I'm here to give you my top picks every Friday, as well as the perfect pairing to get into an optimal headspace for them. This week, we're anticipating The Night Of to go from sleeper hit to full blown hit; scratching our heads over what to expect from Westworld and generally just enjoying avoiding the summer heat (and the movie theaters) with some quality television.
The Night Of
Recommended Pairing:A mystery pill, some tequila shots, and a knife.
I don't know what took me so long to get into this show. I loved Serial's ever-expanding first season, I think John Turturro is brilliant, and whole-heartedly want to celebrate the late James Gandolfini's passion project. I'm the type of guy who likes to get a few episodes built up so I can do a mini-binge to get into the series and then watch the last few in real time with the rest of the world. After a few weeks went by and the show started to receive rave reviews, I had friends urging me to just get into it. "It's not the type of show you want to watch back to back to back. It makes you feel anxious and squirmy. Once a week is perfect."
This week, at the behest of a wide array of people I respect as television watchers I finally dove in.
Seriously. Fuck. Me.
Good lord, this show is intense.
In an era where watching a dozen or so episodes of a show has replaced watching a movie or two, The Night Of really feels like an outlier. I'll say this: if you watch the first episode and don't have a sneaking suspicion that maybe you killed Andrea and somehow you unwittingly framed poor Naz, you should probably be locked up without the help of a sleazy, yet hard working eczema plagued defense attorney.
The show is as beautiful as it is difficult to watch. Tension and apprehension drape the scenery like a layer of freshly fallen snow — trampled and muddied, piling up against the closed shops of the Upper West Side.
In the absence of Stranger Things and in the midst of network television's summer hiatus, I'm expecting the ground swell of appreciation to start building for this show. With only a few days until the finale, now's the time to get into it if you haven't already.
I expect to take a week or two after this Sunday's final episode to calm myself and convince myself I am not a murderer before jumping back in and doing a more thoughtful breakdown.
Westworld
Recommended Pairing:Robots and cheap saloon whiskey.
Have you ever seen Westworld — Michael Crichton's classic 1973 genre bending robotic cowboy action-adventure epic starring Yul Brynner as the Terminator with a six shooter, boots, and a removable face?
Here's an updated trailer using the original footage from a few years ago I really enjoyed.
And here's Stephen Malkmus' fantastic ode to Yul Brynner, Jo Jo's Jacket.
Westworld has long been a film buff litmus test. If you've seen it you love it, but nary a soul under 25 has ever laid eyes on it even though it has famously been kicked around for a potential reboot for decades.
Then the folks from HBO got their hands on it and finally got it set for a premiere.
Oops.
But seriously, this time it's for real. Executive Producer JJ Abrams is serious, watch:
And who can blame them? I mean there was the little scandal about the official consent form handed out to the extra's:
“This documents serves to inform you that this project will require you to be fully nude and/or witness others fully nude and participate in graphic sexual situations.
“By accepting this Project assignment you may be required to do any of the following: appear fully nude; wear a pubic hair patch; perform genital-to-genital touching; have your genitals painted; simulate oral sex with hand-to-genital touching; contort to form a table-like shape while being fully nude; pose on all fours while others who are fully nude ride on your back; [and] ride on someone’s back while you are both fully nude.”
Holy shit!
HBO has been cranking out badass content since OZ and well into the current Game of Thrones era. Technology has allowed film makers the opportunity to see a vision through a season or a series in episodes instead of one take it or leave it film.
When I was in school to learn the art of screenwriting, everything was based on creating film. I vaguely remember having to write a spec script for television at one point, but it was glossed over. Film was art, and we were studying to be auteurs. Flash forward to the last 18 months and I haven't written anything for a feature, save for a few notes about a camera rig idea I had for an action sequence. Movies just don't excite me like they used to. I've seen more movies in the last month then I have all year — unfortunately it was Jason Bourne and Sausage Party — so I'll probably just stick with HBOnow and Netflix for the foreseeable future.
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