The Night Of Review

Note: This review is being put out before the final episode of the series airs.
     For the past few years the question has been asked, "what will HBO do without "Game of Thrones" to fall back on?" Gone are the days of "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," and the channels new boy "True Detective" had its second season panned by many critics and audiences. "Game of Thrones" has been their ace in the hole for six years, a beloved series based on strong source material. While the company has found recent success with shows like "Silicon Valley" and "Togetherness," they need something new to get the blood pumping. But out of nowhere, we get something extraordinary. "The Night Of." Based off the British series "Criminal Justice," HBO has crafted a gritty and detailed look at the American justice system that has enthralled fans like no show we've seen since the first season of "True Detective."

     Nasir "Naz" Khan is a college student living with his parents in New York. Naz is a smart, but somewhat nerdy kid who has never been part of the popular crowd. One day he's invited to a party out of the blue by a member of the basketball team whose teammate Naz had been tutoring. Not having a ride, he decides to take his dad's taxi. While out a young woman gets in the cab thinking that it's in service, and Naz decides to drive her to her destination (the river). Once there he takes a pill she gives him, they then to head back to her place where the drink, do some more drugs, and play a game that involves thrusting a knife between their fingers. The two proceed to have sex, shortly after Naz falls asleep. He wakes up, gets his clothes, and then discovers the young woman butchered in her bed. He freaks out and runs, taking the knife they used in the game since it had her blood and his prints on it. He gets back in his dad's cab and drives off, and is then picked up by the police for driving erratically. Scared to death and carrying a weapon, Naz realizes that his life could be destroyed due to one night that he barely remembers.

     The first time I heard of "The Night Of" was about a week before its first episode aired, with one critic calling it a tour de force; the last time I heard an HBO series called that was the first season of "True Detective." So even before I watched the first episode I was excited, but after watching the first episode I was floored. "The Night Of" ranks as one alongside one of the best miniseries I've ever seen. Straight from the get-go, you can tell this show is something special. From the beginning, "The Night Of" is TV storytelling at its finest, and it uses its miniseries status to its finest. The show never outstays its welcome, and uses every minute of its eight episodes to their fullest. The plot is a fascinating and intriguing mystery filled with twists and turns, and you're never sure what is going to happen next. The writing and dialog is also top notch, miles ahead of most shows on TV. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the series receive some writing awards later this year. The show also touches on a variety of complex themes, and takes an in-depth and critical look at how the US justice system operates; while being particularly critical of how the US correctional system could turn petty criminals, or even innocent people, into much more severe criminals. I also need to give a shout-out to the actors, all of which, from the stars to the supporting characters, do great jobs. It also helps that the characters they play are so fascinating. Each is unique, well written, and layered. And as with all HBO series, the production and design is top notch; the sets, the editing, and just the attention to detail in every aspect of production. But looking at the show as a whole, the real star and shining beacon was Steven Zaillian. Zaillian co-created, co-wrote, and directed the whole series (except for episode four which was directed by James Marsh). I'm not sure what time of black magic Zaillian put to use to make this show so good, but I'm glad he did. Zaillian writing and directing for every episode was great, and likely has an Emmy in his future. But to give credit where credit is due, Richard Price also deserves a ton credit. Price was the other co-creator and co-writer, and his work with Zaillian was incredible. Those two make an exceptional pair, and brought this beautifully well done TV world to life. "The Night Of" is TV at its finest, and a perfect example at why I believe TV is the best now that it has ever been. If I had one criticism of the season, it would be that it does slow down to crawl every once in a while. But other than that minor gripe, "The Night Of" is truly, and simply, exceptional. And of anything, it is proof that HBO will never run of of great new shows,

Pros: Exceptional storytelling, fascinating and intriguing mystery filled with twists and turns, several great performances, unique and layered characters, critical look at the US justice system, touches on complex themes, great writing and dialog, top notch production and design, fantastic writing and dialog, award worthy direction from Steven Zaillian.

Cons: Slows to a crawl at times.

Suicide Squad Review

     In 2013, Warner Bros. Entertainment released "Man of Steel," a reboot and somewhat re-imagining of "Superman." It was darker and more serious than anything we've seen from the man in the red cape on the big screen, and obviously took some inspiration from Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy. While the film was met with mixed reactions from both critics and audiences, the movie has gained a strong following, and was a big enough box office success to start the DC Extended Universe. Trying to follow in the footsteps of Marvel and Disney, Warner Bros. decided to make a whole franchise based off DC comics. Earlier this year the second installment of the DCEU was released, "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." Reception of BvS was even more critical than "Man of Steel," with many calling it a step down. But like its predecessor BvS has a dedicated legion of fans, and has become one of the biggest box office draws of the year thus far. But with two films that many call outright bad, a lot of people are wondering if the franchise can be salvaged. Then in comes "Suicide Squad," the movie that has even the most adamant DCEU naysayers excited. Based off the comic of the same name, fans finally get the story that they never thought they'd actually see on the big screen. But is it enough to save a franchise that so many have already given up on?

     After the events of "Batman v. Superman," the world is left in an interesting space; and the US government doesn't really know what to do. What were to happen if there was a threat that couldn't be handled by law enforcement or the military, but A.R.G.U.S. director Amanda Wallace has an idea. She wants to take the most dangerous criminals being held by the American government, and form them into a task force. Offering time off their sentences, this expendable task force would take part in the most dangerous missions out there; but if they refuse or run they would be executed. So after an unstoppable threat appears, Wallace rounds up Deadshot, Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Killer Crock, Captain Boomerang, and Slipnot to form Task Force X; A.K.A., the Suicide Squad.

     The DCEU is in a bad place right now; so far they've had two movies, both were shredded by critics and were met with lukewarm reviews from audiences. So this movie really was there last chance before people just start giving up on the franchise. So is it the saving grace that they needed to turn this in to the next generation defining franchise? Probably not since it's just alright, let me explain. This is one of those movies that does a lot of things right, but features a lot of problems that really hold it back. First off, what it nailed was the casting. Every character was excellently cast, and every actor gave a solid performance. There were some stand outs like Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Viola Davis as Amanda Wallace, but overall no one did a bad job. And the chemistry between the actors was very good, with everyone playing off of each other. What helps was that so many of these characters were surprisingly likable and interesting, by the end you are rooting for these villains to save the day. The biggest problems facing the characters were that not all of them were treated equally. With a series like "The Avengers," every member of the team is important, essential, and is treated with a lot of respect. With this movie, the team felt more divided. It was Deadshot, Harley, and then the rest of the team. Some of the characters on the team were given barely anything during a two hour run-time. I was also not impressed with the villains, like Marvel it seems that DC has had trouble translating these iconic villains to the big screen. And with this movie they felt flat and often boring. And unfortunately my biggest disappointment might be with the Joker. Jared Leto did a fine job, he gave a good performance. The problem was that I didn't like his interpretation of the Joker, he felt crazy for the sake of being crazy. And it didn't help that many of his lines weren't particularly memorable. I'm hoping Leto can look at the criticism he's received and improve his Joker before his next appearance, but with this movie he did not impress me. Now going into this movie what worried me the most were going to be the re-shoots that were done a few months back. Many stated that these re-shoots were done to try and make the movie funnier in the wake of the box office smash "Deadpool." And as I suspected, that was the movie's biggest problem. The tone and pacing of this movie are off, it feels like a serious movie with comedy shoehorned in. And because of this a lot of the jokes fall flat and some of the dialog comes off as cringe worthy. I'm not saying there weren't some good jokes spread throughout, but there was a lot of "comedy" that did not make the audience laugh. And I bet that a lot of this forced comedy was what hurt the pacing with this movie, because some of the scenes just dragged on because they were made to be "funny." It's hard to describe it, but if you watch this movie you can tell that the pacing is just off. I know it sounds like I've been mostly hating on this movie, and I have been doing that a lot, but believe it or not I actually had some fun with this film. It did something that its predecessors didn't do, it was fairly entertaining. The previous DCEU movies were overly long, and after a while got kind of boring. But at no point in "Suicide Squad" was I bored. This was a dumb, but fun movie. So while this movie is far from perfect, I think it's the best DCEU movie so far (granted, that's not saying a lot). Warner Bros. has been having a lot of troubles with this franchise, while these movies are box office hits, they are critical bombs. "Suicide Squad" is not the saving grace that we were all hoping for, but has given fans a little hope. "Suicide Squad" was good enough that it was the first movie in this franchise that I didn't think was terrible.

Pros: Excellent chemistry between the actors, great casting, solid performances from the cast, several likable and interesting characters, fairly entertaining, the best DCEU thus far.

Cons: Pacing and tone issues, some cringe worthy dialog, weak antagonists, not all characters are treated equal, many jokes fall flat, didn't love the Joker.

2.5/5 Stars