We Don't Need Two Metaphors

I think it’s fairly safe to say, even at this early stage, that this second episode of Better Call Saul will not go down as one of the best. It’s not a bad episode but merely a serviceable one in a show that’s still moving its pieces into place. The episode kicks off with the recapping of last week’s denouement from Tuco’s perspective. We know that Tuco will become the crazed, hysterical drug dealer by the time Walter White enters his life, but here he is nowhere near that level of derangement. He’s still crazy, but just not batshit crazy. He seems to accept that his grandmother is in the wrong, albeit unaware of her accidental participation in Jimmy’s hare-brained scheme. He appears to be willing to speak with our skater knuckleheads right up to the point where one of them calls his grandmother a “crazy old biznatch”. Of course they don’t know that Tuco isn’t a shining example of mental stability, but we do.

My final predictions for tonight's ceremony Some last minute predictions for tonight's Academy Awards. As per usual, some awards are all but sewn up whilst others are wide open. Picks for Will Win and Could Win choices are based on all nominated films, Should Win choices are only based on the films I have seen and I will only pick a Not even nominated choice if I can think of a suitable one. Brief list of films that I haven't seen: American Sniper , Wild , Still Alice , The Judge , Into The Woods , Mr Turner  and (somehow?!?)  all of the nominees in the Best Foreign Film, Best Animated Film and Best Documentary categories. Best Film Will Win: Boyhood Could Win: Birdman Should Win: Boyhood Not even nominated: Foxcatcher Best Director Will Win: Richard Linklater (Boyhood) Could Win: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman) Should Win: Richard Linklater (Boyhood) Not even nominated: Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) Best Actor Will Win: Eddie Redmayn...

Deconstructing Saul Is it possible to strike televisual gold twice? Given Breaking Bad ’s gradual transformation into a cultural behemoth, one could argue that even if Better Call Saul amounted to nothing more than (in this clumsy metaphor) a few bronze coins and a handful of bottlecaps, then that would be ok; just as long as it isn’t awful. Based on this opening episode, the future looks bright for everybody’s favourite shady criminal lawyer. This first episode works so well because it manages to establish the show’s relationship to its big brother whilst also breaking down the man we knew as Saul Goodman into the constituent Jimmy McGill sized parts.

Many people have proclaimed Kingsman: The Secret Service to be light hearted fun and have called out some of the more vociferous critics for taking the film too seriously. Yes, not every film has to be <insert obscure, black and white, foreign film here>, but a film that so trivially asks the audience to take pleasure from thousands of people killing each other needs to be taken seriously. Council house teenager Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) gets himself arrested after a dangerous joy ride across London. As a last resort, he calls in the favour given to him by a suave and sophisticated super spy Harry Hart (Colin Firth), who wants to help Eggsy after being partly responsible for the death of his father. Hart offers Eggsy the chance to become a member of Kingsman: an independent intelligence agency saving the world one courteous quip at a time.