This year The Lioness and I got involved watching HBO’s new series, True Detective. The show stars Matthew McConaughey (Rustin Spencer “Rust” Cohle) and Woody Harrelson (Martin Eric “Marty” Hart) as state homicide detectives in Southern Lousiana and it looks back and forth over a 17-year time period as they search for a serial killer.
I like the way the story unfolds by moving through time. It kept me off-balance, never too sure of what I thought I knew for sure. Matthew McConaughey’s soft-spoken character, Rust, provides an ethereal link to The Big Picture, while Woody Harrelson’s character, Marty, feeds our earnest drive for Justice Now.
My understanding of this series is that it is modeled after the pulp crime magazines of the ’50s and ’60s, therefore each season will be a different story, with a different cast, in a new locale. Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Rachel McAdams are rumored to be the next lead actors when Season 2, set in California, opens in the Summer of 2015.
Here is a look at the Trailer for Season 1
The writers do a great job mixing the verbal short-hand of police-work with Southern slang as the characters work to find a suspect. At times the regional dialect presents some challenges to the audience as we struggle to understand the words, and then to comprehend their meaning within the context of the scene.
It sounds weird, but it works—record the show, Rewind is your friend. This phenomenon has spawned a video parody that will ring true for anyone who has watched the series and it is inserted below for your enjoyment.
Any review of True Detective would not be complete without recognizing the violence, adult situations and strong language in every episode. It is definitely not a program for the kiddies or the faint of heart.
Life Imitates Art
After you make a hit movie and win an Academy Award it is not long before Big Business figures out a way to cash in on your success, and line your pockets along the way. The Lincoln Motor Company seems to have done that with a series of TV advertisements featuring Matthew McConaughey reprising the tone of his character in True Detective.
View the ad below and decide for yourself.
Can opener…can opener and cold medicine…catchy, catchy… bing bong, bing bong…What?
A case could probably be made that The Lincoln Motor Company also borrowed heavily from the film, Locke, starring Tom Hardy.
Time To Wrap It Up
This is a wonderful time to view top-notch entertainment whether it is on theater screens, television or YouTube. Choices abound and if you don’t like what you are watching it is a simple matter to go on to something else. What has caught your attention this year?
Beyond the rightness or wrongness of things there is a field, I’ll meet you there.
—Rumi
I would appreciate any comments, suggestions or observations that you want to share. This post is just a beginning, more will be revealed as time passes.
Still trying to catch up on all those movies the Professor downloaded over the last year! Christmas is a great time for marathoning…. Did watch a great documentary – “50 Years of Bond” – that had superb editing and subtly wove the films in with fact to give an added layer of meaning.
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That documentary sounds interesting. I will keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the tip.
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You can find it on Netflix!
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Thanks again, I just found it and put it in my Que.
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I’m not in to the video entertainment genre. I’d much rather read, or do handcrafts, or garden, or can, or my new fun hobby, photography!
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Thanks, Betty. Those activities interest me too, so stay tuned and we’ll get to them eventually.
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Thanks. I did like your post, just not particularly the subject matter. The last tv show I watched was a game show, and that’s because hubby was watching it.
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That parody is hilarious. The rest is way too dark for my sensibilities. Thanks for the morning distractions.
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Thanks for your comment, Sally. I am glad that you found some entertainment in the parody video. As for the rest…that’s where the delete button and channel selector can be put to use.
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