Collin’s 2011 Junkies
December 28, 2011 12 comments
So a few years ago, I penned an award list for my top movies of the year, named The Junkies, and then in typical Collin fashion, completely dropped off the radar for a year or so.
But I told Marc I would try to drop my best in TV and movies before 2012 got here, so without further unnecessary preamble, here’s my list of the best television series, miniseries, performances, cast ensembles and pubic haircuts of 2011:
I’m not really ranking these so much as listing, but let’s look at the top five in each of the following categories…
BEST TV SERIES
1. BREAKING BAD The fourth season of Vince Gilligan’s meth lab brainchild was, by far, the best yet. Walt and Jesse found themselves facing drug lord Gus Fring in a brilliant arc of suspenseful buildup, leading to an epic conclusion, Skylar found herself more involved in maintaining the facade of normalcy whilst managing dirty money and Mike…Mike was motherfucking Mike. What really made this season great, in my view, was the performance of Giancarlo Esposito as Gus. We’ve grown to expect great things of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, and we know that Bob Odenkirk is always good for comic relief as Saul Goodman. But Esposito was particularly riveting as Fring, who commanded as much respect as fear and even as the clear antagonist, was always difficult to root against. Credit Gilligan for finally fleshing out Fring’s back-story and helping the audience understand how the mild-mannered meth king came to be, but Esposito absolutely brought the character to life and embodied him as one of the best villains in silver screen history. Season five will resume this summer and is reportedly the last in Gilligan’s planned story arc. Now that it’s clear Walt has come full-circle in his transformation from science teacher to kingpin, look for the seams to finally unravel, particularly in the relationship between Walt and Jesse. 2. BOSS From the “totally out of left field” department, Starz!’s political crime saga—or as I’ve termed it, political horror story—surprisingly evoked shades of The Wire, David Simon’s Dickensian examination of modern crime, politics and systemic failure in Baltimore, Md. Only this time around, the focus was on Chicago, and a mayor struggling to maintain his power, both in terms of presiding over the city of Chicago and in terms of his personal life. Kelsey Grammar’s performance as Chicago Mayor Tom Kane was, of course, brilliant. But what really sold the show was its Shakespearian (shoot me now, with these terms) sense of moral ambiguity in the interrogation of power, control and ethical compromise for the greater good. Nobody was painted in simple strokes, and in just eight episodes, the series was able cast a fairly wide net on the machinations of Chicago’s political machine, as well as those affected by bureaucratic shortcuts, the pawns sacrificed to a game you get the sense so few are willing or able to play, given the stakes. Boss begs for a second chapter, and if Starz! has any common sense (as it’s the network that canceled Party Down, that can’t be assured), we’ll see Kane back in action sometime next fall. 3. GAME OF THRONES I’m biased, of course, because my nerdy ass is a huge George R.R. Martin fan, but HBO’s Game of Thrones was one of the best things to happen to television in 2011, and a stunningly effective adaptation of the novel of the same name from Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I really don’t see how anyone can dislike this series. Terrific performances, great set pieces, a stirring plot with plenty of twists and turns and some of the best dialogue on TV. Some would like to paint the show in broad strikes and cast it as a medieval fantasy, I’m sure, but the series has more in common with the above two programs than anything else. Game of Thrones is less about dragons and swordfights than it is about allegiance—to family, to friends, to the realm—and its fragility when characters are presented an opportunity to advance their own personal plot in the world. Perhaps its strongest point is that the entire Game of Thrones package looks so professional, it’s hard to believe it could ever be budgeted for TV. This isn’t just Lord of the Rings lite; it’s an epic series made to look epic. And it does a great job bringing Westeros to life, and filling it with memorable characters. Bonus points also factor in for having talented child actors who don’t annoy the hell out of you as they typically do in other series, and an Emmy-award winning performance by Peter Dinklage, who puts the “imp” in “pimp” with his portrayal as undersized but overconfident Tyrion Lannister. The game resumes this April, this time with more players setting their sights on the Iron Throne. I could just tell you what happens, since I’ve read all the books. But I won’t. I’ll let you continue to suffer the wrath of Joffrey. 4. HOMELAND I’m not sure if many people know this, because I honestly just don’t know a whole helluva lot of people who watch Homeland, but Showtime’s new espionage thriller (based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War) is executive-produced by the brains of 24, which makes sense when you consider that Homeland is essentially just the bigger, better, more intelligent pay cable brother of the aforementioned FOX series. Homeland is driven by its three core performances: Damian Lewis as Sgt. Nicholas Brody, Claire Danes as CIA agent Carrie Mathison and Mandy Patinkin (yes, Inigo Montoya himself) as Carrie’s mentor and superior, Saul Berenson. Each performance is terrific and serves to advance the central tension, which is that no one can really be trusted in regards to their knowledge or intentions of acting on a suspected terrorist plot. The series’ first season ends on a tremendously strong note and sets itself up for a multitude of possibilities moving forward. Can’t say the show had really been on my radar prior to its debut, but it had me from the pilot and managed to provide enough punches to have me eagerly awaiting the next episode. Some of the usual espionage conveniences and cliches abound, but overall, the series is tremendously intelligent and knows its characters weaknesses and motivations well. It takes a lot to really sell an audience on the justification of a terrorist plot, but Homeland does it well, and at times, you would be hard-pressed not to hope for explosions. 5. ANGRY BOYS I wrote a few months ago on how Chris Lilley (Australian comedic wunderkind, creator/writer/star of We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High) took aim at American radio rap via his performance as aspiring L.A. rapper S.Mouse in the Australian mockumentary series Angry Boys, and apparently, some bullshit no-name rappers who I’ve never heard of weren’t amused by his mockery. Of course, you can almost guarantee a firestorm of sorts when Angry Boys hits America in its HBO premiere this weekend. Blackface doesn’t traditionally play out well here—just ask C. Thomas Howell. But given the fact we seemed to give Robert Downey, Jr. a pass for the purpose of using blackface, I’m hoping people will see past the paintjob, and hopefully see the larger comedic genius behind the series and the other characters it has to offer as well. Angry Boys really has little to do with its own title, but a lot to do with Chris Lilley making testicle jokes, bestiality jokes and lampooning disapproving Asian mothers and shitty American rappers, which should be reason enough to give it a shot. As with all Lilley series, the laughs come easy, but the heart behind it eventually works its way to the surface as well. There are some genuine moments of emotion here, and they result from the efforts of Lilley endearing his audience to the litany of troubled, politically-incorrect and heastrong—but ultimately well-meaning—characters. In my view, this is Lilley’s best effort to date. And it really fucking sucks that America gets Tyler Perry’s tired faux-playhouse shit all the time while Australia gets to look forward to new Chris Lilley series. BEST TV MINISERIES 1. LUTHER BBC’s Luther is everything an American cop drama never could be: smart, provocative and actually fucking suspenseful. Okay, so, some of the smaller plot elements are a bit played out, but the overall arc is fascinating as it follows rageaholic genius John Luther through London’s underbelly as he plays by his own rules, much to the chagrin and frustration of his department and the multitude of supporting cogs who can’t quite operate on his level. The individual cases can be a bit hit-and-miss, but Luther’s personal disintegration is riveting, and series two features a plot/case that actually had me clutching the armrest at points. It’s really not that much more complicated than American cop stock, but the finer details are given so much more attention and the dialogue is so much more intelligent that you’ll never feel the need to compare the two. 2. THE YARD HBO Canada’s faux-documentary series might have been one of my biggest guilty pleasures of 2011. Scratch that, it just may have been one of my favorite things about 2011 in general. The Yard is essentially a re-portrayal of the schoolyard as a prison yard, with PB&J’s replacing heroin, Japanese gaming cards replacing cigarettes and piss bombs replacing shanks. In other words, it’s a series starring kids, but totally made for adults. The series mostly works because it’s well-written and the kids deliver lines clearly made for the 18+ crowd (“now get the fuck off my slide!”) The characters are also clearly sketched out and uniquely funny, including my favorite, Corey, whose alcoholic mother has a tendency to pack him items like frozen chicken breast, non-alcoholic beer, mystery cans and condoms for lunch. Maybe the funniest part is that this series would never make it in America. Parents would be outraged. Hell, it even managed to piss off Canadians. It takes a lot to piss off Canadians. We took Justin Bieber and they didn’t even lift a pinky! 3. THIS IS ENGLAND ’86 Driving the series, just like the film that inspired it, is an implacable sense of location and setting, both in time and place. These are characters firmly rooted in a tangible time period, reflective of the British working class and both punk and mod movements. Even if you weren’t around in those days, you money shot waiting to happen you, it’s still fascinating how Meadows is able to wind back the clocks and take you back to 1986 London. Series makes for an intense watch—features one of the more unsettling rape scenes I’ve ever witnessed, and yes, I saw both Irreversible and Mysterious Skin—but rewards it with some great performances and inspired moments of human drama and comedy. (NOTE: ’86 was technically a 2010 series, ’88 is the 2011 series…but I just saw ’86 this year, so fuck it, it stays.) 4. SHERLOCK BBC’s Sherlock was really fucking good. It also didn’t hit America until 2011, so it totally counts here. I’ve never been one for Sherlock Holmes stories, and I really didn’t care for the Guy Ritchie film, but this series was much different from Ritchie’s overused slow-mo fest. Benedict Cumberbatch (how goddamn British is that name? Also, how eerily similar to Hubert Cumberdale) and Martin Freeman (what up, Bilbo?) headline as Holmes and Watson, in a modern-day take on the Sherlock legacy. An old idea is effectively refreshed here vis a vi its relocation to a modern-day setting with current technology. Key text messages pop off phones and clues appear as a sort of visual arithmetic etched out in the eyes of the world’s least-bashful genius. Admittedly, the numbers add up pretty quickly and the math can get a bit overwhelming at times, particularly if you don’t have an ear for the accent, but it’s a thrilling ride and a welcome addition to the Sherlock canon. Also, if you watch the Guy Ritchie Sherlock instead of this one, you’re a cock. BEST PERFORMANCES 1. GIANCARLO ESPOSITO as Gus Fring in ‘Breaking Bad’ I already said it, but I’ll reiterate: Esposito made season four work. His Gus Fring was a cold, calculating genius with just enough platitude to send you to your grave with your tie properly knotted. TV villains, too often, are cardboard cutouts of some 1940s cartoon antagonist with a well-groomed mustache. They’re predictable, they’re one-sided and they don’t have reasonable justification for doing what they do. And then there’s Gus Fring. Esposito’s Fring is neat, careful and intimidating all at once. His manners are his shield, his unassuming self-presentation just a costume. Underneath it all, he’s tougher than the entire Mexican cartel, and when Walt gets on his bad side, he’s not afraid to show it. Gus is a character that understands principle, example and preservation, which made him more dangerous than any of the Tuco-esque meth-heads Walt had ever squared off against before. And that’s all on Esposito for bring that mentality to life, the chill of every glare or insincerity of ever hyperhygienic smile. 2. CHRIS LILLEY as Daniel/Nathan/Blake/Gran/Jen/S.Mouse in ‘Angry Boys’ I mean, dude plays six characters. Two are females. One character is Japanese, another is a black American rapper. What? I’m not going to list him? Piss off, yafag. Lilley created something memorable, and he largely did it by portraying six totally unique, equally-fucked-up characters. It’s more or less a one-man talent show with a few supporting roles, and Lilley totally nails it. It’s a crime that this won’t be acknowledge through any major awards circuits. If nothing else, for sneaky nuts on the red carpet. 3. PETER DINKLAGE as Tyrion Lannister in ‘Game of Thrones’ Yes, Dinklage is that good, although to be fair, the role was more-or-less written for an Emmy. Tyrion is a wise-cracking smartass always bound to get the last line in and get some ass along the way. Where Dinklage sells Tyrion’s character, though, is in how he carries himself, as it made clear from the pilot onward. He’s clearly aware of his limitation, but fortifies himself by embracing them. From there, I’m not sure there’s a character on television who walks taller (so to speak) or dishes venom with more delight than Tyrion, who is the rare combination of comic relief, badass, plot advancement and key character in an epic power struggle. For those who have already read A Clash of Kings, it’s obvious that Dinklage will only have more to work with from here. And that should have television audiences buzzing. 4. EMMY ROSSUM as Fiona Gallagher in ‘Shameless’ I didn’t have Shameless in my top five series, but it’s really, really close. The American adaptation of the British series was absolutely one of my favorite shows of 2011, and it worked for several reasons: it pushed the envelope and it reveled in crude humor, but it was also very sweet at its core and embraced the fucked-up family dynamic better than anything else in recent memory. In short, it made me laugh, but it also left me with a feel-good feeling after watching it. And no, not just because of Emmy Rossum’s ass. Rossum is the glue that holds the show together, though, and that must be acknowledged. At once, she’s always worried and yet confident in who she is, wanting to be rescued but refusing to be whisked away, sexy as tits on bacon but afraid to be anything but someone’s foam impression. She is all of these conflicting elements, of course, because of her burden as family matriarch, which inspires equal amounts of pride and regret. Rossum does a great job showcasing all of these emotions…and looking fine as hell while doing it. Hehe…doing it. 5. KYLE CHANDLER as Coach Eric Taylor in ‘Friday Night Lights’ Shut up and take my award, Coach! The final season of Friday Night Lights wasn’t perfect, but it was a pretty goddamn impressive achievement: the culmination of a series every network wanted to kill, that seemed to, at some points, run on heart alone. The last season is a lot like the ones preceding, which is to say that there are notable flaws. Dialogue is stilted at points, plotlines can be convoluted at best and there are some characters you simply want to reach through the screen and suffocate to death (oh, hi, Becky!) But it’s also the definitive series about American community values and everyday people, a show about normal people facing difficulties and needing their family, friends and neighbors to support them. There’s something oddly comforting in this series, which is a big part of why I believe America finally learned to embrace it. Dillon, TX might be a bit of an idyllic portrait of small-town America, but still, it’s American, and it embodies what we’d like to believe every community, every collection of people should aspire to be. Kyle Chandler’s performance as the community lynchpin throughout, (East) Dillon High football coach Eric Taylor, is what holds it all together: the town, the community, the football program, the series itself. Sure, there are other interesting performances, notably Connie Britton’s wonderful turn as Tami Taylor, Zach Gilford’s stammering Matt Saracen and Michael B. Jordan’s stint as troubled QB Vince Howard, but Chandler is the key to the entire series, and deserves any recognition he gets for it. His character is one of the more real, multidimensional personalities ever crafted for television, and Chandler absolutely brings it to life. HONORABLE MENTIONS 1. Childrens Hospital The Adult Swim short that features Ron Huebel, Paul Scheer, Megin Mullaly, Ken Marino, Henry Winley, Lake Bell, Malin Akerman, Nick Offerman, Nick Kroll, David Wain, Ed Helms and, yes, Jon Hamm, may be the funniest thing on TV right now. But I have no idea where to put it. (I come into this problem a lot.) It’s worthy of a mention, if nothing else for Nick Offerman’s amazing Chipotle joke at the beginning of my favorite episode: Ward 8. And if you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to sit through an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, it’s even funnier. I guess. Honestly, I’ve never seen Grey’s Anatomy. Only losers watched that. I watched Degrassi. Wait… 2. The mid-season finale of ‘The Walking Dead’ I’ll be honest, the first half of The Walking Dead’s second season was pretty awful. And not because of a lack of exploding zombie heads or tumbling guts, but because the survivors did some really dumbass things that were totally out-of-whack with their characters. For example, that scene where they lower Glen down the well…why the country-fried fuck would they do that?! It makes no sense! This is a group of survivors who are alive because they made rational, intelligent decisions to avoid walkers and reduce their chances of getting bitten, so they lower human goddamn bait down a well with a fucking bloated plague zombie? Right. Cheap tension. But the mid-season finale of this subpar start to the season? Beautiful. Epic. The kind of stuff they should center screenwriting courses around. Thematically, it was goddamn brilliant. It completely reinforces the strength of Rick’s character and turns Shane’s would-be mutiny on its head completely. And there’s the basic human question re-packaged to us: if they’re monsters, why do we hesitate to pull the triggers on our loved ones? On just about every conceivable note, that mid-season finale worked and worked on a level rarely seen in cliffhangers. Too bad the rest of the season didn’t get the note. 3. MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS as Chalky White in ‘Boardwalk Empire’ So, here’s the scoop: I don’t really like Boardwalk Empire. I think it’s self-aggrandizing, overreaching and too often, boring. I don’t care about a lot of the characters. The finale didn’t really phase me. But I do really like the characters of Chalky White and Richard Harrow, which is mostly why I keep watching. Chalky could have a spin-off series and I would be thrilled. Every line Michael K. Williams delivers is awesome, even if it’s just essentially Omar Little in a three-piece suit. I don’t even care. Last season, Chalky offered one of my favorite speeches in TV history in his “I ain’t building no bookcase” monologue. This season, we got more of the same…but too little of it, unfortunately. Long live Chalky. 4. How fucking stupid DEXTER has become… There really aren’t sufficient words to describe the abortion of a series that Showtime’s Dexter has become. What started out as something original, thrilling, thought-provoking and intelligent has become something slumming in Ryan Murphy’s basement. Dexter has actually become an insult to the audience’s intelligence. The gaping plot holes were always there, the logical fallacies lingering, but they were easy to excuse when the show was interesting. Now it’s just every shade of stupid. The villains are stupid (really, there have only been two good villains in series history: Ice Truck Killer and Trinity). Every season ends with some improbable, dumb, deus-ex-machina scenario. The writing is terrible. The subplots, not one of which is the least bit interesting, completely dominate the show. And on top of that, now Deb wants to fuck Dexter. So if it isn’t enough that Quinn or Batista or LaGuerta get to ruin the show every time they pop up on screen to offer some trite contribution to the plotline, or vomit out cheesy lines, now we get an acrid layer of brotherfucking in the mix. We also get the world’s most obvious literary allusions, and something as obvious as a boat named MILAGRO (hey, that’s Spanish for ‘miracle’, fuck yes I passed freshman year Spanish!) in a “religious-themed” season. Well, fuck me with a high school English textbook. Everything about this show is putrid, to the point where watching the finale is a chore anymore. I can only wonder what third-rate C-lister they’ll get to start as next season’s villain, adding to the growing list of characters I simply can’t give a fuck about anymore because they’re written by third-graders on Haagen-Dazs benders. That should do it for this year, yo. Support good TV. If you watch Glee, as always, eat a shotgun shell.
Shane Meadows’ follow-up to his hit 2006 film actually managed to surpass the quality of the source material. It’s richer, funnier and, towards the end, somehow even more fucked-up and tragic.
