242 on 1/7/2015 at 12:22
Quote Posted by Caradavin
There is no other Twin Peaks!!! :mad::mad::mad::erg:
But will be.
Caradavin on 1/7/2015 at 17:40
I know. :(:grr:
fett on 7/7/2015 at 15:41
I know it's supposed to be gritty, but my gods why are these people so fucking grim? Is there not a single happy person in law enforcement? These first two episodes come off as trying so hard to be dark and gritty and noir (whatever that means) that I can't identify with anyone. I know these people have dark pasts, they see bad things, their daddy didn't breastfeed them (in the case of the female detective) but Jesus Christ, have a beer, get laid, watch some Looney Tunes. They all seem like they're on the brink of suicide themselves. With the exception of Vince Vaughan's character, they're all annoying the hell out of me. It's like the opposite of those cheesy sitcoms where everything works out in 30 minutes and everyone is unreasonably happy. "We're in law enforcement. We see heinous crimes. We see lots of bad people. Life sucks. Let's drink too much and treat everyone like shit because life is so horrible." It's fucking Kurt Cobain x10 and I really, really loathe all the faux-emo bullshit in their personalities. McConaughey was imminently likeable in the first season despite his eccentricities and pessimism (what I would call realism), but there's nothing at all likeable about a single one of these characters.Woody Harrelson's character had a family, believed in God, etc. and was interesting in his contradictions. These people are one dimensional and it's the "quit your fucking brooding and get over yourself" dimension. Why don't they just paint their faces white, throw on some Evanescence and get it over with? What terrible character writing. It's disingenuous, at best. Bleh.
242 on 7/7/2015 at 17:16
Quote Posted by fett
I know it's supposed to be gritty, but my gods why are these people so fucking grim? Is there not a single happy person in law enforcement? These first two episodes come off as trying so hard to be dark and gritty and noir
Yep, an overshoot. I watched the first 4 episodes and they seemed artificially grim, and not in the Twin Peaks intentionally freaky and funny way. TD just screams "I want to look like I'm the most grim show ever", but it lacks depth and balance to not seem false.
Renault on 7/7/2015 at 18:04
Quote Posted by 242
Yep, an overshoot. I watched the first 4 episodes
Considering there's only been 3 episodes so far this season, I'm guessing you're talking about last season. Fett is clearly referring to this season only.
I would agree that this year just seems very artificial. They try to make everything super ominous and spooky, often cueing up dark music at certain points when there's nothing on screen to back it up. It just doesn't fit. It's hard to get creeped out by holding companies and misappropriated funds. And every main character is so over the top to the point of being caricatures of themselves.
Last season just seemed more authentic with Harrelson/McConaughey. I think it just comes down to the fact that they're better actors. Can you imagine Colin Ferrell as Rust? We'd be laughing our asses off.
Scots Taffer on 11/7/2015 at 01:17
I gave the first episode a pass, the second episode was boring until the cliffhanger, the third episode was mostly a downhill slog.
Apart from the weight of crushing expectation, the simple fact is that Season 2 just isn't very good. The central mystery so far is what... a dude in a mask killing people (or not as the utterly nonsensical shooting of Velcoro proves). The rest is a faux "Chinatown" mob/state deal gone sour with police and government corruption in Vinci? It's boring and has no teeth. Add to this that the characters are bland and 1-dimensional, the dialogue overwrought and the atmosphere is LET'S PAINT GRIM BY NUMBERS. :bored:
Gryzemuis on 11/7/2015 at 11:14
Agreed. I finally watched episodes 2 and 3. Still not impressed. I'll probably watch the next 5 episodes as well (as we're almost half-way). But it's not like I'm excited to watch them.
I think the conclusion we can draw from season 2 is: where everybody was praising the script-writer Nic Pizzolatto in season 1, it was actually the director Cary Joji Fukunaga who made season 1 so remarkable. He, and Harrelson and McConaughey.
Gryzemuis on 10/8/2015 at 23:53
Episodes 7 and 8 were slightly better than the first 6 episodes. Maybe they were not better, but episodes 1-6 lacked so much, no suspense, no character development, no mystery, no plot, and no action. When finally something happened in the last 2 episodes, it probably looked as if it was better.
Overall judgement: not worth watching.
The real question is: how come season 1 was so good, and season 2 was so bad ? That Cary Joji Fukunaga guy must be a true genius.
faetal on 11/8/2015 at 10:59
Season 1 actually had a fairly by the numbers plot and even the dialogue was quite hackneyed in a nouveau film noir kind of way. Even the dynamic between the two main characters was a fairly pedestrian chalk and cheese buddy cops with chequered past yarn. What made it was that Harrelson and McConnaughy just absolutely wore the skins of their characters and made the whole thing come to life. That and the cinematography and sound.
I haven't seen the most recent series - wanted to rinse it in one go after it's finished, but by the sounds of it, I may not need to bother.
True Detective series 1 is the perfect one-off mini-series. Not sure there ever needed to be more.
Renault on 22/1/2019 at 15:41
Rise! The show is back again, and it's actually pretty good. Possibly very good. We're 3 episodes into season 3, and it's much closer to the feel of season 1 than to season 2. Sometimes almost to a fault. The plot is similar (missing children) and there are several almost identical scenarios and situations (old partners getting back together to solve a case, etc.) But I guess you can hardly blame them going back a formula that worked really well the first time.
Anyway, I recommend checking it out, it seems worthwhile far. And Mahershalla Ali is excellent, playing the same character over multiple time periods (another similarity to season 1).