Posts Tagged: Luck
For the past few weeks, those unfamiliar with David Milch's style have probably been scratching their heads, wondering what, aside from the lush visual rubric established by Michael Mann, critics and fans see in Luck. As far as Milch shows go, Luck's characters, at least initially, are a good deal less likeable than, for instance, Dennis Franz's alcoholic, racist Andy Sipowicz was in Milch's NYPD Blue. Because the writer incorporates horse-racing terminology into his trademark stylized slang, Milch-speak as it's referred to, is made more impenetrable in Luck than it is in his period-accurate Deadwood—never mind the surfer-infused dialect of his failed John in Cincinnati. Tonight's revelatory episode, written by Daily Racing Form columnist Jay Hovdey and directed by Phillip Noyce, marks the turning point that should put any detractors' criticisms to rest. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Kerry Condon, Luck, Nick Nolte
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If I had to select one image that best represents the central theme of this week's episode of Luck, it would be a medium shot of Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Jerry (Jason Gedrick), Renzo (Ritchie Coster), and Lonnie (Ian Hart), all holding carrots while they stand, befuddled, in Turo's stall. The episode's director, Allen Coulter, is known for the menacing edge he brings to his other projects for HBO, like The Sopranos. But what's often ignored is his ability to leaven such dark material with a healthy dose of humanity, and this week, Bill Barich's script provides just the right opportunity for Coulter to display his talent in this respect. A good number of our main characters are closer to catching on to what Luck's horse trainers, old Walter (Nick Nolte) and Turo (John Ortiz), seem to know already: These horses aren't just lucky talismans; they also possess a purity of spirit that rehabilitates many of the show's jaded characters. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Ian Hart, Jill Hennessy, John Ortiz, Kevin Dunn, Luck, Nick Nolte
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Last week, Luck's introductory episode concluded with an exhilarating race that ended badly. The horse that "bug boy" (named for the bug-like asterisk that follows the jockey's name in the racing forms, signifying his apprentice status) Leon rode was put down after its front legs broke. That tragedy still hangs over the main plot of this episode (unlike most shows, Luck isn't naming its episodes). But it also thrusts Leon into a kind of limbo reflective of all of the show's characters. It's in this episode where one is first able to grasp how the different permutations of fortune (good, bad, indifferent) have washed the show's ensemble ashore onto the pretty and slightly desolate beach that is Arcadia's Santa Anita Park. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Kerry Condon, Luck, Michael Mann
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by staff on February 1st, 2012 at 9:00 am in The House
[Editor's Note: House Rewind is a collection of House articles from the month gone by—a recap of the posts you loved and those you might have missed.]
In the second episode of Season 1 of our SlantCast, R. Kurt Osenlund dished on the Oscars, while Jaime N. Christley sat down with filmmaker Joe Swanberg.
Reporting from the Sundance Film Festival, Simon Abrams and Michał Oleszczyk reviewed Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, Simon Killer, Red Hook Summer, Keep the Lights On, The Surrogate, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and more.
In the latest installment of the ever-popular "Conversations" series, Jason Bellamy and Ed Howard chatted about 3D.
Leading up to the announcement of the Oscar nominations on Jan. 24, Eric Henderson and R. Kurt Osenlund made nominee predictions in the Academy's top categories. They fared best in the areas of Picture, Cinematography, and Directing (but don't miss Eric's killer write-ups on Best Actor and Adapted Screenplay).
In Music, the House added to its playlist the the latest from Wild Nothing, Zebra Katz & Blood Orange; The Shins, The Magnetic Fields, New Build & Fort Romeau; Tanlines, Sleigh Bells, Rick Ross & John Talabot; Grimes, Labyrinth Ear & Napolian; and Destroyer, SBTRKT, D'Angelo & Warm Weather.
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Tags: Blade Runner, Global Lens, Grey Matter, House Playlist, House Rewind, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Joe Swanberg, Justified, lists, Luck, Man on a Ledge, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Roberto Bolaño, Rooney Mara, Santigold, slant cast, Sundance Film Festival, The Conversations, The Oscars, the paperboy, The Third Reich, the words, Understanding Screenwriting
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Author Damien Bona, who I met some 15 years ago right out of NYU and humbled me not long after by thanking me in the pages of Inside Oscar 2, passed away yesterday at the age of 57. He will be missed for his wit, sensitivity, and bringing sanity to the yearly Oscar chatter.
Why Viola Davis gets it right.
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky reviews HBO's Luck.
Why has Lana Del Rey's reinvention caused such a stir?
Armie Hammer is going places.
Peet Gelderblom re-cuts Brian De Palma's Raising Cain.
How the Academy Awards slant our views of movies.
What were the gayest (and straightest) Super Bowl halftime shows?
Ben Marcus urges writers to march on the enemy.
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Tags: Academy Awards, Armie Hammer, Bad Girls, Ben Marcus, Brian De Palma, Damien Bona, HBO, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Inside Oscar 2, Lana Del Rey, Luck, M.I.A., Madonna, Meryl Streep, Peet Gelderblom, Raising Cain, Super Bowl, Viola Davis
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The Help cleaned up and Jean Dujardin pulled an upset at last night's Screen Actors Guild awards.
In other news of The Artist's march toward Oscar, Michel Hazanavicius beat out Fincher, Allen, Scorsese, and Payne at Saturday's DGA awards.
This year's Sundance Film Festival winners have also been announced.
A look back at the film and art career of the Eiffel Tower, a 122-year-old movie star prepping for her facelift.
Matt Zoller Seitz recaps the latest episode of HBO's Luck.
Over the weekend, Mitt Romney widened his lead over Newt Gingrich.
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Tags: Blake Lively, David Bordwell, Directors Guild of America, HBO, Jean Dujardin, Luck, M.I.A., Madonna, Matt Zoller Seitz, Michel Hazanavicius, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Nicki Minaj, Rick Perry, Rooney Mara, Screen Actors Guild, Steven Soderbergh, Sundance Film Festival, The Artist, The Help
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Ace: Generally, how'd he look?
Gus: What do I know, Ace? All four of his legs reach the ground.
That exchange, between two of the leads on the new HBO series Luck, concerns Pint of Plain, the race horse that Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) owns by way of his driver and bodyguard Gus Demetriou (Dennis Farina). Gus is fronting for Ace, who's recently been released from prison and can't legally own a horse until he's off parole. But he knows as much about horse racing as most viewers probably do—which is to say, not much. Those expecting to get a primer on the sport will be disappointed by Luck's first episode, written by creator David Milch (Deadwood) and directed by his co-executive producer, Michael Mann. But that's not a criticism; what Milch and Mann have always been most effective at is getting to the substance of a specific subculture through stylistic means. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dennis Farina, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Jill Hennessy, John Ortiz, Luck, Massive Attack, Michael Mann, Nick Nolte, Richard Kind, Splitting the Atom, Tom Payne
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Sometimes 10 isn't enough. Richard Brody shares his Top 25 of the year.
Christopher Hitchens is tea'd off at Glenn Beck.
Every Republican in the Senate, except for Susan Collins, can go to hell—and they can take Democrat Joe Manchin with them.
Dana Harris is the new editor-in-chief of indieWIRE.
Thanks are in order to the West Virginia Surf Report! for telling us how many times the word "fuck" was uttered on Deadwood.
Michael Gambon joins the cast of the upcoming HBO drama Luck.
Links for the Day: A collection of links to items that we hope will spark discussion. We encourage our readers to submit candidates for consideration to ed@slantmagazine.com and to converse in the comments section.
Tags: Christopher Hitchens, Dana Harris, Deadwood, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Glenn Beck, indieWIRE, Joe Manchin, Luck, Michael Gambon, Richard Brody, Shutter Island, Susan Collins, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair
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