Matt's Musings

  Welcome to this year's exploration of TV, the Best of the Small Screen. Throughout the year I'll be looking at my favorite shows in four categories: Network Sitcoms, Network Dramas, Cable Series and Streaming Series. We'll cap the exploration with my Top 10 shows of all time regardless of format. Check back each Saturday for another installment in the countdown! Bill :  We step out of the shadows and demand our time in the sun. Big Love (2006-2011) Starring : Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Chloe Sevigny Favorite Episodes: "Pilot," Episode 1.01; "Easter," Episode 1.08; "The Ceremony," Episode 1.12; "Kingdom Come," Episode 2.08; "Oh, Pioneers," Episode 2.12; "On Trial," Episode 3.04; "Come, Ye Saints," Episode 3.06; "Sacrament," Episode 3.10; "End of Days," Episode 4.09; "Where Men and Mountains Meet," Episode 5.10 About:  And now we reach our fourth ...

  In 2022 I'm revisiting my favorite films of all time, doing a countdown of the Top 50 throughout the year. Check back each Friday for the latest installment in the countdown of films, which include releases through 2019. Agree? Disagree? Have a thought on the choice? Be sure to share in the comments below! Theodore Faron : I can't really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can't remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for? Children of Men (2006) Starring : Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Clare-Hope Ashitey, and Chiwetel Ejiofor Director : Alfonso Cuaron About : A world where there are no babies. A world fractured. A world without hope. I remember the first time I saw Children of Men . I was blown away by the vision and production from Cuaron. I was also moved by the story. In a world where hope is fading, a man who is lost and feels purposeless is given both hope...

  We’re in the first weekend of August and everyone decided to release a new movie. I saw most of them and my thoughts are below! If you’d like to see more of my scores for films and thoughts, feel free to follow me on Letterboxd here . Bullet Train (Theaters) Starring: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Michael Shannon Synopsis : The set up here is simple—a bunch of independent operators on a fast-moving train all trying to get a case. Mayhem ensues. During the summer you expect these kind of films to come out. This isn’t particularly complex or deep. There’s some humor, some surprises and plenty of action. I enjoyed Pitt in the lead role, and I thought Taylor-Johnson, Henry and King did a great job, too. Director David Leitch crafts some fun action sequences but the film feels a bit weighty, clocking in at over two hours. The film ends up feeling overly long before it gets to the conclusion you’re mostly already expecting. It’s fine for what i...

  As we turn the page into August, the tide of new summer series is slowing to a trickle. But it’s not nothing! This week had only a couple new releases, but some of them were among the most anticipated of the season. Were they worth your time? Let this weekly post be your guide as I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted, and select unscripted, series this summer. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks. Thursdays: Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead, Streaming Thursdays on Paramnout+ (Premiered August 4) About : This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten a Beavis and Butthead series. It ran for years on MTV and recently made a comeback with a feature film on the streaming service Paramount+. Now it’s back with weekly episodes that feel like a call back to the past. There are two stories per episode, each broken up by the titular pair watching and mocking Internet videos. For those who were fans of the original, this is a throwback in the best possible w...

  The NFL Season is almost upon us, and in the run up to the event I'll be previewing each division. I'm going from worst to best. While there's plenty of competition for the best division, picking the division I think will be the worst was pretty easy. So, we're starting with the AFC South. The AFC is loaded but there is one division that doesn't inspire that kind of confidence. While the Colts have prospects and the Titans were the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2021, this division isn't shaping up as strong in 2022. Below is my take on the teams and my projection of their 2022 record. Indianapolis Colts 2022 Prediction : 10-7 About : The Colts haven't been able to solve the quarterback riddle since Andrew Luck retired. They tried Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz, but none lasted more than a season. This off-season, the Colts shipped Wentz to Washington and brought in Matt Ryan from the Falcons. I think that should help. The Colts have a good enou...

  “I cannot correct past mistakes, all I can do is share a simple truth—I’m gay and I have been since I was born.” — Ellen Wilson Leadership means doing the hard thing because it’s right. We’ve seen many of our heroes wrestle with this notion throughout the third season. They know what they need to do but it it’s a struggle. In this penultimate episode, many did the right thing even though it was hard. As we left last week, the Mars team was in crisis. A landslide claimed many lives, their way off the planet was buried and Kelly (Cynthy Wu) is pregnant, not a great situation on the Red Planet. We pick up five months later and things are demonstrably better. While the ship has been unburied, time is short to get Kelly off the planet and the crew is short of food. The cramped living quarters and stretched supplies have made things dicey, too. But as he hears his grandchild’s heartbeat, Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) all that seems to fade. Ed is recovering from his injuries and r...

  Welcome to this year's exploration of TV, the Best of the Small Screen. Throughout the year I'll be looking at my favorite shows in four categories: Network Sitcoms, Network Dramas, Cable Series and Streaming Series. We'll cap the exploration with my Top 10 shows of all time regardless of format. Check back each Saturday for another installment in the countdown! Jerry Edgar : Golf is a great sport. Harry Bosch: Golf is not a great sport. If you can smoke and drink while doing it, it's not a sport. Bosch (2014-2021) Starring : Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Lance Reddick, Amy Aquino, Madison Lintz, Troy Evans, Gregory Scott Cummins, Mimi Rogers, and Sarah Clarke Favorite Episodes : "Chapter One: 'Tis the Season," Episode 1.01; "Chapter Nine: Magic Castles," Episode 1.09; "Chapter 10: Us and Them," Episode 1.10; "Heart Attack," Episode 2.06; "Exit Time," Episode 2.07; "Follow the Money," Episode 2.08; ...