Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 60

February 13, 2024: The Crime Binge continues!

Ozark (2017 – 2022) Season 4

A financial advisor drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder money to appease a drug boss.

My thoughts: The final season is a little more scattered, a little less narratively cohesive than the previous ones, but it’s still solid and compelling story-telling, making Ozark one of the top shows I watched for this Crime Binge.

4/5

Slow Horses (2022 – ) Season 3

Following a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents — and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb — as they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

My thoughts: With the exception of season one’s opening stage-weight action sequence, this series has been tightly scripted, engrossing, character-driven show.

4.5/5

Suburra: Blood on Rome (2017 – 2020) Season 2

While Cinaglia schemes, Samurai seeks to gain a new ally — and silence an old one; Aureliano turns ruthless to regain control of Ostia’s underworld.

My thoughts: While it isn’t always effective in hitting its more emotionally resonant moments, the twists and turns did keep me engaged enough.

3.5/5

Suburra: Blood on Rome (2017 – 2020) Season 3

In 2008, a fight over land in a seaside town near Rome spirals into a deadly battle between organized crime, corrupt politicians and the Vatican.

My thoughts: A disappointing end to a good-but-not-great series.

3/5

Vigil (2021 – ) Season 2

When a prototype Air Force combat drone is compromised and kills several soldiers during a joint demonstration in Scotland, Silva’s team are tasked with finding the perpetrator.

My thoughts: The series loses more than its original claustrophobic setting in season 2 as the action shifts from a submarine to Scotland and the Middle East, failing to recapture the first season’s taught, compelling story-telling.  All in all, not bad – but it pales in comparison.

3.5/5

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February 12, 2024: Thoughts?

Came across this interesting article the other day:

Is the Media Prepared for an Extinction Level Event?

The article explores the gradual erosion of traditional media over the past few years citing, among other reasons, a shift in consumer preference, the deterioration of the subscription model, and a general loss of trust in big media.  The latter is particularly interesting as a recent poll showed a mere one third of respondents asked say they actually trust the media.  The article blames Trump’s repeated “Fake News!” attacks on the media for this, I feel this is either wishful thinking or willful distortion of fact on the part of the writer.  While Trump’s attacks certainly didn’t help, I think big media has lost the public trust because they’ve been proven deceptive – in the stories they cover just as much those they do.  Gone are the days of the truth-seeking journalists depicted in the Hollywood of yore. Now, it’s all sensationalism, fluff pieces, and publicity and propaganda disguised as news while the real news goes unignored.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Also came across this article…

Beware: the Apple Vision Pro May Rewire Your Brains in Unexpected Ways

Much like today’s technology – iPhones and video games – have done to this most generation.

How do you think the technology introduced in your lifetime has changed you?

Meanwhile, on the home front: The Orange is a little sour…

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February 11, 2024: Sharky Sunday!

Reunited with my boy.

Book-browsing with Sharky.

He’s an early riser.

Settling in to his new life…

Rubbing his belly for good luck and inspiration…

Sharky savors his apple snacks…

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February 10, 2024: The Crime Binge continues!

Undercover (2019 – ) Season 1

Inspired by real events, undercover agents infiltrate a drug kingpin’s operation by posing as a couple at the campground where he spends his weekends.

My thoughts: A nice mixture of humor and high-stakes.  Great characters, but you really begin to dislike our protagonists as the first season nears its end.

4/5

Save Me (2018 – 2022) Season 1

When his 13-year-old daughter goes missing, Nelly drops everything to try and find her. In so doing, he is thrown into a journey towards becoming a better man and redeeming his past mistakes.

My thoughts: Lennie James is terrific in this absolutely haunting and heartbreaking series.  It’s perfect as a single season one-shot offering no easy answers.  Not sure how I fee about a second season.

4.5/5

Spotless (2015)

The law-abiding owner of a crime scene cleaning service is forced into business with a powerful mob boss thanks to his irresponsible older brother.

My thoughts: Ultimately an underwhelming execution of a great premise.  The performances are middling and the smart-ass dialogue begins to annoy after a while.

3/5

Ozark (2017 – 2022) Season 2

The Byrde family drama ramps up as their money laundering operation in the Ozarks region grows more powerful and complex, drawing them further into the criminal world.

My thoughts: Following a somewhat shaky first season, this series hits its stride in season 2.

4.5/5

Ozark (2017 – 2022) Season 3

The Byrdes have their riverboat casino up and running, having made peace with the Kansas City mob, but an FBI mole could complicate things for Marty.

My thoughts: Edge-of-your seat suspense and some surprising twists amidst the evolving family dynamics.  Great.

4.5/5

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February 9, 2024: Mom’s 90th Birthday Bash!

Yesterday, I helped celebrated mom’s 90th Birthday Bash by going into work with her and my sister – and then joining everyone for a BIG 30-person dinner…

Fielding flowers, cards, and calls all day.

The kids at the daycare commemorate the milestone.

Sis, mom and I preparing to tackle the lunch-time spread.

Birthday dinner!  That’s mom’s sister, my aunt Grace, on the left.  She does two hours of cardio a day (!).

The other teachers.

More teachers!

The Birthday cake!

Sis and mom do the honors.

A great time was had by all.  Maybe in my case a little too great as I overate and am feeling it today.  But this afternoon, my short trip to Montreal draws to a close and I’ll be returning to Toronto where Akemi, Sharky, and a kefir and blueberries dinner awaits!

 

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February 8, 2024: The Toronto Fried Chicken Sandwich Crawl!

When former Stargate writer/Exec Producer Rob Cooper told me he was coming to town for a few days, I knew it could mean only one thing: Four Crawl!  The last time visited, we were joined by fellow Stargate alum Ivon Bartok and Alex Levine for a tour of some of Toronto’s best pizza spots –

November 3, 2023: Pizza Crawl!

Hard to believe we only sampled four pizzas that night, but I was feeling ambitious this time around as our culinary target shifted from pizza to fried chicken sandwiches!   I did some research and made selected our destinations figuring we would start west and work our way east through six different stops sampling six different fried chicken sandwiches (half a sandwich at each stop).

Our first stop was Dave’s Hot Chicken.  They offer a variety of heat levels including Hot, Extra Heat, and Reaper (which requires the signing of a waiver).  Although tempted by the latter, I was mindful that we’d be sharing so we split two Hots.

Pretty damn delicious and, looking back, probably the spiciest of the sandwiches we had on this crawl.

Our second stop was Chen Chen’s Nashville Hot Chicken, a place I’d heard a lot about but never tried.  Well, I was to rectify that on this night.  Here, we were given a choice between the regular Nashville Hot and their signature Szechuan Nashville Hot and opted to go with the latter.

Alas, poor lighting yielded a terrible photo so I had grab one off the net and, truly, this one was as delicious as pictured – crispy, sweet and slightly spicy.

Our third stop was one of my personal favorites, Tokyo Hot Fried Chicken.  In addition to the standard Nashville Hot, they also offer an award-winning Tokyo Style sandwich that is one of the city’s best.

It includes sesame soy spicy mayo and wasabi mayo, green onions, ginger slaw, and pickles.  Fantastic.

I mentioned they also do a Nashville Ice – basically a Nashville Hot Fried Chicken sandwich served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – but there were no takers.  Presumably it was too early for dessert.  For what it’s worth, I had it on yet another food tour back in 2021, and it was delicious –

June 3, 2021: The Food Tour!

Our third stop was PG Clucks.  Both Ivon and I had taken out from this place in the past and enjoyed it but, on this night, we were looking forward to eating them straight from the shop.  No sit-down area alas, just a tiny bench in front of the take-out window.

Ivon asked them to cut the sandwiches in half but they refused on the grounds that it would be too messy (even though the other places managed just fine).  Armed with a plastic knife, we defied expectations and managed to cut the sandwiches without much mess, muss, or fuss.

We went with the jalapeño-Honey and, much like the preceding sandwiches on this tour, was pretty damn tasty.

Couldn’t resist snapping a shot of the Star Wars-themed burlesque show running next door.  I’m not a big Star Wars fan.  Rob on the other hand…

I was prepared for a trip to Kensington Market where we would hit stops 5 and 6 on this food crawl only to learn that both Ivon and Rob were tapped out.  They couldn’t eat another chicken sandwich – but could go for some dessert.  Alex was equally disappointed in Rob and Ivon’s no-can-do attitudes so we compromised and headed to Ossington for ice cream at Bang Bang Ice Cream and Bakery.  But first…

We stop in at a spot I’ve been meaning to try – Ghost Chicken.

Rob and Ivon sat by while Alex and I tried what would be our fifth and final half chicken sandwich of the night.  We went with the Sweet and Sour.  The lettuce and tomatoes gave it a nice freshness, but I was missing the promised zing of the tamarind oregano spice, pickled onions, and jalapeño crema.

Our final stop: Bang Bang Ice Cream & Bakery – that always has a line-up, regardless of the time or the weather.

In keeping with the half sandwich theme of the night, I did the ube ice cream and peanut butter cookie sandwich.  Phenomenal.

***

So, how did the sandwiches stack up against each other?  Well, although it was close, the consensus favorite was Chen Chen’s followed by Tokyo Hot.  There was disagreement on the #3 and #4 spots as Rob and I leaned PG Clucks while Ivon and Alex slightly preferred Dave’s Hot.  Again, it was very close.  Alex and I put Ghost Chicken at #5.  A solid sandwich but not in the same class as the others.

A good time was had by all and Rob informed us that he would be coming back in March for a follow-up food crawl.  Next time, we’ll be sampling Toronto’s best smashburgers!

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February 7, 2024: Amazing Covers!

A few that caught my eye this week…

Doctor Strange #12 – cover art by Alex Ross

Ultimate Black Panther #1 – cover art by Bosslogic

Batman #142 – cover art by Greg Tocchini

Birds of Prey #6 – cover art by Dustin Nguyen

Birds of Prey #6 – Birds of Prey #6 – cover art by Chris Bachalo

Poison Ivy #19 – cover art by Jessica Fong

Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum! #1 – cover art by Ariel Olivetti

Pine & Merrimac #2 – cover art by Rebeca Puebla

Gumaa: The Beginning of Her #3 – cover art by Jee-Hyung Lee

So, which were YOUR favorites?

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February 6, 2024: The Crime Bing continues!

Poker Face (2023 – ) Season 1

Charlie has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but investigate and solve.

My thoughts: Love her, the show’s quirky tone, and call-backs to classic procedurals like Columbo.  I just wish the mysteries and, in particular, their solutions had more of a logical progression.

4/5

Top Boy (2011 – 2023) Season 1

Two London drug dealers ply their lucrative trade at a public housing estate in East London.

My thoughts: A perfectly fine show that, ultimately, doesn’t really set itself apart from other similar productions.

3.5/5

Suburra: Blood on Rome (2017 – 2020) Season 1

In 2008, a fight over land in a seaside town near Rome spirals into a deadly battle between organized crime, corrupt politicians and the Vatican.

Thoughts: Not a bad Italian mob drama although, at times, it feels a little clunky in its execution.

3.5/5

Extracurricular (2020)

A model high school student who’s steeped in a world of serious crime finds his double life upended when a classmate takes an interest in his secret.

My thoughts: Cool set-up about a high school kid moonlighting as a genius criminal, but the kid proves too dumb and bumbling to be believable.  Also, the show is annoyingly dopey.

2/5

Hell Is Other People/Strangers From Hell (2019 – )

Unpleasant events disturb the life of an aspiring crime fiction writer when he becomes a resident of an apartment building teeming with shady neighbors.

My thoughts: At times a little too silly, at times a little too over the top, with an ending that feels frustratingly gimmicky.

3/5

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February 5, 2024: Montreal-bound! And memorably comic book SFX!

Looks like I’m Montreal-bound to celebrate mom’s 90th!  Out Wednesday morning; back Friday afternoon.

Some of my favorite comic book special effects…

 

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February 4, 2024: Sharky Sunday!

Out and about with mom.

Teaching Sharky a new trick…

Almost there…

Sharky comes to bed…

Deep sleep…

Sharky and his sharky

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