when stars go blue.

Day 08 - A show everyone should watch: Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008)

If I had just lived right up to that moment and not one second more… that would’ve been perfect.

To be honest, I don’t know if “everyone” should watch Breaking Bad. What I do know is that Breaking Bad is possibly the best piece of television of the last few years. I didn’t start watching it when it premiered because I am an idiot and I thought “why would I give a fuck for a high-school chemistry teacher turned into a meth cook?”. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE WRONG. The first season was good, very good, but not unbelievable. The second one was much better, with such heartbreaking moments and nail-biting bits. And then the third season began. And it was mind-fucking-blowing. Where heartbreaking becomes heart-stopping, and the good guys are no longer so good, but you keep on rooting for them because you can’t do otherwise. There are at least five hundred shows with anti-heroes and such, but Breaking Bad is not that simple. All the characters have so many undertones, without necessarily being open to interpretation (what I mean is that when the previously good guys start doing bad things, that doesn’t necessarily need an explanation - sometime being bad is enough of an explanation and it stands on itself).
What you have is these two men: on one hand there is a middle-aged chemistry teacher, married with a son, who is diagnosed with stage III lung cancer; on the other hand you have one of his former students, who became an addict and who doesn’t seem to give a damn about anything. They are both, even if in different ways, hopeless men, who gave up on life and who end up working together, starting from a point of distrust and diffidence in each other, to extend to caring and, kind of, even loving each other in a father/son way that never goes unnoticed. Between season two and season three, there are countless scenes that remark what I’m saying. The growth of the relationship between Walter and Jesse is one fine example of how good the writers are, and how immense Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are.
Aaron Paul notably stands out during the third season, but even before that you can’t help but notice that he truly is amazing (I think of episodes like Peekaboo and my heart does funny things).
The main problem is that pretty much everybody seems to pale next to Bryan Cranston, and yet, Aaron Paul accomplished something great in the past year.
You know, what kind of consecrated Breaking Bad in my heart was the bottle episode in season three. “The Fly” is one of the best episodes I’ve ever watched, and the fact that it is a bottle one is astounding (Vince Gillian implied that he would have made an episode like that one even without considering the financial reasons, because he feels that a good showrunner should explore his characters and, I think, there is no better way of doing that than by keeping the main leads closed in a single room talking about life).
I haven’t mentioned Dean Norris, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt or RJ Mitte, but they all are key to the plot. Also, Giancarlo Esposito, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Mark Margolis and the Moncada brothers. THEY ARE ALL AWESOME.
Breaking Bad is the one show everyone should watch because, otherwise, it would be like voluntarily missing something great and who does that?
(Congrats if you read all of this and you still like me.)

duemilaquarantasei: — The Wire - 2x10 - Storm Warnings

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:49:07 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

— The Wire - 2x10 - Storm Warnings

duemilaquarantasei: I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted...

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:47:57 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest film. No lies whatsoever. I thought I had something so simple to say. Something useful to everybody. A film that could help bury forever all those dead things we carry within ourselves. Instead, I’m the one without the courage to bury anything at all. When did I go wrong? I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it all the same.

#30 - 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)

duemilaquarantasei: - “The Ballet of The Red Shoes” is from a...

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:47:02 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

- “The Ballet of The Red Shoes” is from a fairy tale by Hans Andersen. It is the story of a young girl who is devoured with an ambition to attend a dance in a pair of Red Shoes. She gets the shoes and goes to the dance. For a time, all goes well and she is very happy. At the end of the evening she is tired and wants to go home, but the Red Shoes are not tired. In fact, the Red Shoes are never tired. They dance her out into the street, they dance her over the mountains and valleys, through fields and forests, through night and day. Time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by, but the Red Shoes go on.
- What happens in the end?
- Oh, in the end, she dies.

#26 - The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948)

duemilaquarantasei: - Why are you crying? - Because you’re...

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:07:43 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

- Why are you crying?
- Because you’re not.

#21 - Trois couleurs: Bleu (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)

clairefisher: justatorturedartist: calikalie: Doctor Who,...

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:22:12 +0100

clairefisher:

justatorturedartist: calikalie: Doctor Who, Series Six (trailer)

duemilaquarantasei: Series 2, Episode 6

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 02:33:59 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

Series 2, Episode 6

Photo

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:55:41 +0100

duemilaquarantasei: — Misfits - Series 2, Episode 3

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:47:12 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

— Misfits - Series 2, Episode 3

duemilaquarantasei: — Lie To Me - 3x07 - Veronica (This episode...

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:34:59 +0100

duemilaquarantasei:

— Lie To Me - 3x07 - Veronica

(This episode was amazing. It was directed by Michael Nankin. The two facts are interrelated.)

iloveyourglasses: “I remember my dream now, why I dug the...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 04:05:08 +0100

iloveyourglasses:

“I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes…”

The Walking Dead 1.04 - Vatos

indamonspants: colorsblend:aredhel | iloveyourglasses: “Is...

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:28:37 +0100

indamonspants:

colorsblend:aredhel | iloveyourglasses:

“Is this real? Am I here? Wake up… wake up.”

The Walking Dead 1.01 - Days Gone By

madchick: Is this real? Am I here? Wake, wake up. (The Walking...

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:27:37 +0100

madchick:

Is this real? Am I here? Wake, wake up. (The Walking Dead; Days Gone Bye)

This show is brilliant.

madchick: TOP 5 PRESENT SHOWS #1 Mad Men Advertising is based...

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:56:37 +0200

madchick:

TOP 5 PRESENT SHOWS

#1 Mad Men

Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.

"I’m a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have..."

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 01:32:00 +0200

“I’m a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being… by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant.”

- Paul Newman being better than almost everyone on the fucking planet (via leganddairy)

rainydaywomen: I could die right now, Clem. I’m just… happy....

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 01:31:18 +0200

rainydaywomen:

I could die right now, Clem. I’m just… happy. I’ve never felt that before. I’m just exactly where I want to be.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind | michel gondry, 2004