REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Something Unforgivable”

The following is a recap and review of the tenth and final episode of the fifth season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the season finale of the fifth season of Better Call Saul — titled Something Unforgivable — Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) tells the truth about what happened in the desert to Kim (played by Rhea Seehorn), in the aftermath of Lalo Salamanca’s surprise visit. Meanwhile, Nacho (played by Michael Mando) meets Don Eladio (played by Steven Bauer). Something Unforgivable was directed and co-written by series co-creator Peter Gould, and it was also co-written by Ariel Levine.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Bad Choice Road”

The following is a recap and review of the ninth episode of the fifth season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers. 

In the penultimate episode of the fifth season of Better Call Saul — titled Bad Choice Road — Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) has returned with Lalo’s bail money, and now he has to come up with a cover story to protect him from further harm. But it isn’t easy to fool Lalo (played by Tony Dalton) or Kim (played by Rhea Seehorn). Bad Choice Road was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, who has directed at least two episodes of every season of Better Call Saul, including Wexler v. Goodman also from this season.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Bagman”

The following is a recap and review of the eighth episode of the fifth season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers. 

In the eighth episode of the fifth season — Bagman — Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) travels south of the border to pick up Lalo Salamanca’s bail money. Bagman was written by Gordon Smith and directed by Breaking Bad creator, Better Call Saul co-creator, and El Camino-director Vince Gilligan.

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Top Ten Films of 2020

Another year for film is in-the-books, but 2020 was a film year unlike any other. Like much else in 2020, it will end up being defined by the COVID-19 global pandemic. For the film industry that means that film releases were delayed or postponed sometimes several times thus leaving the 2020 film year in an odd place with much fewer major releases than expected. Tenet feels like one of the only major blockbuster films that were actually released in 2020, and its woeful performance at the box office made studios even more intrigued by the idea of releasing films on PVOD. This leaves the movie theater industry in a tricky place. However, in Denmark, the movie theater industry was salvaged by a resurgence of truly great Danish films from some of our greatest directors and starring our most popular actors.

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Top Ten TV-Shows of 2020

Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul: Season 5, Episode 10 — Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television.

It is kind of incredible just how much streaming services have overtaken the top tier of what we still refer to as ‘television shows.’ Perhaps we need to find another name for these series. Some of them are released all at once, some are released week-by-week, but almost all of the shows on my list were released on streaming services, and, in my case, I watched all ten of my top ten television shows on streaming services. In the 2020-edition, there are plenty of ‘familiar faces,’ as it were, but it’s also the first time that both Apple TV+ and Disney+ have made an appearance on any of my end of the year-lists. But where do the top shows on these relatively new streaming services land on my top ten, and what is the best show of the year? Let’s have a look!

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8th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards – 2020

It’s finally time to reveal what films, shows, songs, performances, and games were my absolute favorites of the year 2020. Look, I know what you’re thinking, we’re already in July of 2021. But, to be perfectly honest with you, the last twelve-to-sixteen months or so have for obvious reasons made everything a bit unclear to me. Let’s just say, it was a weird year, as was also evident by the fact that AMPAS decided to push the eligibility window for their recent awards ceremony (which both honored 2020 films and select films from early 2021). I’m not doing that, though. I still have my strict year-end deadline, but, unlike the last seven I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards, I’m announcing both the nominees and winners of each and every category in this very post. So strap in, folks, and let’s talk about the best and most memorable culture of 2020.

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REVIEWS: Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ Film Series (2020)

Letitia Wright as Altheia Jones-LeConte in “Mangrove.” — Photo: Des Willie / Amazon Prime Video.

When British filmmaker Sir Steve McQueen makes a film, you pay attention. McQueen has quietly become one of the best directors of his generation with critical darlings such as the perhaps underseen Michael Fassbender-led films Hunger and Shame, the Oscar-winning Solomon Northup-biopic 12 Years a Slave, and his 2018 heist film Widows, which did not get the awards attention it deserved. In 2020, McQueen released a collection of films — an anthology — titled Small Axe at film festivals and later on, for example, BBC or Prime Video (on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s streaming service in my territory).

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REVIEW: BoJack Horseman – Season Six (2019-2020)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of the sixth and final season of BoJack Horseman (Parts I and II) — Available on Netflix.

In the final season of BoJack Horseman, the titular character goes to rehab as he decides it is time to grapple with his own trauma and the trauma that he has caused. But sometimes it isn’t good enough to exercise personal growth, and BoJack Horseman (voiced by Will Arnett) may have to be put through the wringer by unrelenting gossip journalists that hope to ‘cancel,’ so to speak, our titular character.

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A Celebration or a Clusterfuck? My Thoughts on the 93rd Academy Awards

In honor of Thomas Vinterberg’s extremely moving acceptance speech last night, allow me to open with a reference to arguably his most famous film. There is a moment in Thomas Vinterberg’s Cannes Awards-winning Dogme-film Festen (international title: The Celebration), where the main character Christian (played by Ulrich Thomsen) asks his father, whose birthday is being celebrated, what speech he would like Christian to read for him — the green speech or the yellow speech? His father chooses the ‘green’ speech, and, as a result, the events of the unforgettable film take place. Sometimes a single decision can change everything. And, in the case of the 93rd Academy Awards’ ceremony, a decision was made that ultimately destroyed an otherwise decent ceremony.

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Who Will Win the 93rd Academy Awards? Final Predictions

In the memorable words of Billy Crystal: “It’s a wonderful night for Oscar. Oscar, Oscar. Who will win?” After a prolonged awards season, it’s finally time for the main course, the 93rd Academy Awards. This year, due to the limited studio output in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, AMPAS extended the eligibility window to include films from the first months of 2021, which is why a film such as Judas and the Black Messiah is nominated already this year.

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