David Prock

I might.

#justified #raylangivens #boycrowder #justifiedfx #ElmoreLeonard #timgutterson

Tim was extra Raylan in this episode. Brooding and tough but also taking the time to goof around and ask if a hot dog is a sandwich. If you follow Olyphant, you know he's good buddies with Conan O'Brien, so them squeezing in the theme song to Conan's podcast was really sweet. Holbrook is getting there but, honestly the Crowe's felt more threatening than Mansell so far. One detail I know is that, in the book, Mansell describes a moment from his youth in which he laid on a train track as a train passed over him. Saying that, after that, any sense of fear is sort of burned out of him. That would be really informative of his character if the writers hadn't borrowed that backstory for a random bad guy on the original show. I wish I could remember which one. I think we just need more of Mansell and Raylan. That's where the sparks are.

(Heavy Sigh)

At this point, it's definitely the actor that's the issue with Willa Givens. Her dialogue is good, but she delivers everything with the exact same energy. Every line is sad and quiet even when she's smiling and joking. That feels harsh, and that's not really my style of review. If I'm wrong, just tell me. I'm open to being convinced otherwise.

We're almost halfway through the show, and I can say that while the spirit of the show is here, they are going for a more cinematic presentation. I'm fine with that, but I almost would have preferred a film at this point. Like a 2hr 12 minute made-for-Hulu film, it could have both scratched the itch while not stretching the book's story out.

That all sounds negative, but I'm ride-or-die for Justified, so I'm looking forward to next week.

The Albanians are coming.

The goal is to pair Nolan films with female driven/directed comedies/dramedies that opened that same weekend or year. I am 100% open to suggestions for better matches.

Barbenheimer Collection https://boxd.it/o7FkW

Now we're getting into it. Once Clement and Raylan started interacting, things started to feel right. We had two scenes between them, and Mansell really felt dangerous. I love that Carolyn is Raylan's age because it would have been so easy to cast way younger.

The story is picking up, and it's inspired by the book, but we're still making some changes that alter character dynamics. Willa Givens is still not working right now. She is a prop for Raylan to react to or protect. She seems very vacant, though that may change after this episode.

Love that we at least got one moment for book protag, Raymond Cruz, though it was very brief. I don't imagine there is a chance for him and Raylan to have a conversation.

Episode 1 is mostly new stuff not adapted from the novel with some things that worked and some that didn't. Relationships are changed, and some characters appear well before they do in the book. That said, by the close of the episode, we have caught to the opening of the book.

Raylan feels just right, and Keith David is perfect for Judge Guy. Holbrook is okay so far, and I think he'll fit into this.

I'm really interested to find out what elements they keep and what gets cut. I can already tell from the cast rundowns on IMDB that some characters are greatly expanded on, and some have been cut altogether. I don't know that they can adapt the book ending in a way that's satisfying, but we will see.

Justified is one of my favorite TV shows to date, and I'm so mad that I waited to long to read the books that inspired the show.

Can't wait for this sequel mini-series. I'll be watching every week.