Recap: Vinyl ‘The Racket’
“This week’s Vinyl was actually good! Pop some champagne! Cut up some lines of coke on the desk! Cue the orgy!”
Recap: Girls ‘Good Man’
“The series may not be as wild and crazy as its earlier and edgier self, but the even strain continues to fit neatly with the theme of maturation.”
Recap: Vinyl ‘Whispered Secrets’
“The thing about Vinyl is that, if it was good, the series would be a lot more fun to watch.”
Recap: Girls ‘Wedding Day’
“With the series and its central quartet now nearing a more fulsome sense of adulthood, the great delight in Season Five’s debut is in how thoroughly it revels in being a television show.”
Recap: Vinyl ‘Yesterday Once More’
“The pilot’s structure resembled a vinyl record by being circular. The follow-up resembles one because there’s a hole in the middle.”
A Surreal Massacre: Fargo ‘The Castle’ (Recap)
“Like the film, as much as Fargo looks like it’s set in our universe, dashes of the absurd emphasize that the series works under its own logic.”
No Miracles in Miracle: The Leftovers ‘Orange Sticker’ (Recap)
“Understandably, “Orange Sticker” sacrifices grand thematic focus in favor of pushing the story forward but still manages to meditate on a certain idea.”
Recap: The Leftovers ‘Axis Mundi’ and ‘A Matter of Geography’
“Damon Lindelof and company don’t need to give answers if they’re asking the right questions.”
True Detective ‘Black Maps and Hotel Rooms’ (A Vague Visages Staff Recap)
A Conversation Between Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough, Dylan Moses Griffin and Max Bledstein
True Detective ‘Black Maps and Motel Rooms’ (A Vague Visages Staff Precap)
A Conversation Between Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough, Dylan Moses Griffin and Max Bledstein
Blue Balls in Your Heart: True Detective ‘Church in Ruins’ (A Vague Visages Staff Precap)
A Conversation Between Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough, Dylan Moses Griffin and Max Bledstein
A Vague Visages Colloquy: True Detective ‘Down Will Come’
A Conversation Between Q.V. Hough, Dylan Moses Griffin and Max Bledstein
Understanding the Reveal: True Detective ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ (Recap)
“Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by the “reveals” of True Detective.”
The Readiness Is All: True Detective ‘Night Finds You’ (Recap)
“As a creative whole, the second episode of True Detective was darker than its predecessor, and Nic Pizzolatto’s blatant dialogue ensured that casual viewers would get the hint.”
Intimate Observations: True Detective ‘The Western Book of the Dead’ (Recap)
“This is Los Angeles pulp fiction — not a mystical world of sky monsters and poetic speeches.”
Review: David Gordon Green’s ‘Manglehorn’
“Seldom more than a vehicle for Pacino to exercise his considerable (and still active) talents, Manglehorn is a string of engaging and breathtaking images that, when strung together, become a subdued meandering plot devoid of any real meaning.”
Game of Thrones Recap: ‘Mother’s Mercy’
“Game of Thrones may disappear from the conversation for brief lulls, but it always returns with full force — it is doing something right.”
Recap: Game of Thrones ‘The Dance of Dragons’
“Now in its fifth season, Game of Thrones has long settled in the category of dread built on anticipation.”
Recap: Game of Thrones ‘The Gift’
“The threat of rape hangs over all the women of Game of Thrones, and it is beginning to weigh on the audience.”
Recap: Game of Thrones ‘Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken’
“Rape is often portrayed as worse than death in popular culture, and unfortunately Game of Thrones uses it often as a device with little framing or exploration.”