If I close my eyes and forget there are people going ga-ga over this, that have literally no idea what your next film is due to be, I could be in Heaven.
Why does that matter? Why does it bother me? Well, it doesn't. I refuse to let the Shawshank Sheep effect affect my views on this - because truth be told, if this was coming out at the cinemas this weekend, no one would care. And that does frustrate.
This is Scorsese's love letter to everything that has gone before. Is it right that people get to enjoy that with out having put any effort/time into the back catalogue? For me, no. That's the whole point.
That said, if watching this makes a generation check Mean Streets out, then it serves a purpose.
As a huge Scorsese fan, to see all of his trade marks visible in the pilot was a punch the air moment.
Michael Pitt stole the show for me. So good in Funny People, looking on IMdB, I see he is in Hugo Cabret. Again... Air punch.
This is brilliant, TV. A fantastic cast. Brilliant period setting. Iconic characters.
Sky Atlantic is going to justify my sky bill on it's own. So much so I'm going to invest.
I wrote to you recently. I enclose that first letter, HERE. You didn't reply. You may have been busy. I've been busy too. Watching your TV show. I'm still behind, but getting better.
I've finished two TV shows recently. And I'm a bit "Meh" about both.
The problem I've always found with TV shows, especially the longer they go, is that they get repetitive. They cover old ground.
I'm not sure there's ever been better examples of that than Dexter and Walking Dead.
A film of two hours has done something seriously wrong if feels repetitive, and like it's going over the same themes.
I watched Inception last night, and that final shot... Wow. Imagine they went and made a sequel. There is no doubt that if it contained any of the same characters it would distract from the original. I don't ever want a definitive answer to whether it stops, or not.
And I think that analogy sums up why I struggle with TV in general.
Both suffered from repetition, no doubt - but they were special. And different in their own right.
The problem I found with Dexter Season Four is that I felt like I'd seen it all before. Sure, John Lithgow is good. But he's a serial killer. And Dexters sister is on to him. So it's just like season two.
The angle of Dexter now being a Dad is interesting, but is never went as far as I wanted it too. There was a great opportunity for Dexter to have quiet moments, talking to the baby. Exploring why he does what he does. Whether he's going to change. Instead that gets little, if any attention.
Instead we still get Deters Ghost Dad. And the voice over.
I'll get hold of Season Five from Flash - but I have to be honest, this is no where near where I thought it would be. Certainly not close to Season Two - which I couldn't put down.
Season Four seems to have been on the Mac for about Two months. And yes, I'm aware that watching it so sporadically has hardly helped endear it too me.
With Walking Dead, nothing got close to Episode One. I loved it. Winking at John Carpenter in the first few minutes by killing the girl, then riding into town on horse back. Brilliant. It dipped in episode two for me, then picked up, then dipped again.
As I say, I just found it all pretty "meh" - which is a shame.
Not as big a shame as the threat of a second series though. I mean really... Is that strictly necessary??
Just to finish on a positive note, I thought the Finale was amazing. Right back on form.
In fact the last scene was incredible, and on reflection, may excuse the whole Season.
Is that real blood? Or corn syrup?
So, I guess I have a question... Shall I even bother with Season Five? Will it carry on that high, or crash right back down, again??
ps I think, despite your homicidal tendencies, you will be a great Dad.
pps I can't believe John Lithgows cock was necessary, either.
Yours SincerelyFaithfully Sincerely (Ha. I never remember which one to use!)
"It's Not About Vengeance... It's About Retaliation"
Dear Dexter,
I blame Entourage. And The Pacific. I'm not making excuses, but I do.
I went from watching no TV, to being hooked on two brilliant series.
Dexter, you just didn't fit into that.
Having just finished Series 7 of Entourage, and with no sign of another series being out any time soon... well... it created a window.
I know what you're thinking. Why has it taken me six years to even bother?
That's a good question. Especially as I remember clearly seeing the DVD (Ha. Who watches DVDs anymore, right?!) box set in Woolworths. Do you remember Woolworths? I liked their pic n' mix.
Let's skip over that, shall we? We'll just say, "I didn't "do" TV at the time", OK?
Welcome back, Dexter. Lets try again, shall we?
One of my favourite films is American Psycho. I bet you LOVE that one!
It's easily in the top ten most underrated films of the last twenty five years, don't you think? And those that know me, will know I love that about it.
I think a factor in my being "anti-dexter" (if I ever was?), was that here was a TV show getting all the credit AP should have been reaping. Don't take that personally, and meat cleaver me in the face, OK?
Like it or not, the two are very similar. It's just a fact, Dexter.
I still smart that the opening is a direct lift. Food being cooked, to look like body parts. I'll take that as an out and out homage - it's too blatant to be anything else. It doesn't help my resentment, though.
Thankfully, there is enough about Dexter to hook you in.
So much so, that by episode four or five, I was banging my head against the table like I did when I first saw Entourage.
How had I not seen this before?
Why had I blatantly ignored something that was pretty much made for me?
The first series of Dexter builds brilliantly, Dexter.
Mrs T loves CSI. This is like CSI for adults. Loads of forensics. Loads of crime scenes. But brilliantly you see the murder from the view point of a murderer. So Dexter, who is normally first on the crime scene, is inside the mind of the killer immediately.
It's like Will Graham from Manhunter, stretched over a few series. (Has that sold it to you, Dad?) Have you seen that, Dexter? It's easily one of the most underrated films of the last twenty five years - don't you think?
Dexter, you also "take out the trash". You kill people that have got away from crimes. A bit like a psychotic Batman. Using tools and knowledge at your disposal. That element was crucial in my enjoyment.
It should be samey, and is, but there is a saving factor.
The acting is top notch. The characterisation, of your "girl friend", and "sister", work brilliantly.
Plus the introduction of a serial killer, that has an obsession with you, plus is your sisters boy friend... why not?
I am genuinely impressed, Mr Dexter. I wish I could skip series 2, 3, 4 and a bit of 5. I'm a busy man. I don't really have time to sit on my ass, and watch TV and movies. Haha.
Thanks again, Dexter. I look forward to wasting my life away, watching series 2.
OK, OK. I'm late to the party. Very late. BUT.... Whenever this happens, (recent examples include Kings of Leon, Biffy, and others), I end up becoming the biggest fan of all.
With Biffy, the official Ledger band, I found albums and tracks no one else had. With Kings of Leon, I got into them, just as the masses started to turn on them. And there's two points of interest for me, there.
So KJC tells me Pacific just... ends. I took that as if she was disappointed. If I feel the same in a few weeks, nothing will stop the fact that some images from the series will stick with me. Episode Seven will be the peak, I would imagine. It's the point where the series kicked up a gear.
I had been waiting ages for "The Pacific", Sky+ it, and just hadn't got round to watching it. I wont wait so long, for Monday nights. It has quality stamped all over it. WWII has been covered at length in movies, so there are inevitably cliches all over the place, but its seldom been done this well. If everyone rates something highly, its almost always a turn off for me. When the Americans get hold of "Kick Ass" on April 16th, it will taint it a bit for me when the five star reviews come in. The reviews for this have been universally good, but less so when compared to "Band of Brothers". Thats a good thing for me. Its a strange logic, I know - but I get that feeling already with this.
