Boardwalk Empire Season 4 review

Creator and Showrunner: Terrence Winter

(Spoilers for seasons 1-3 below)

In its fourth season, Boardwalk Empire changed up its formula, to some degrees for the better, and to some for the worse. This has been a show that has dealt with some very slow mid-sections, but always managed to make up for it by bringing things together for an exciting final few episodes each season. This year, the writers decided to spread the wealth a bit more. What this means is that we had a few mid season episodes with some very exciting moments, while the final stretch felt a little lower in stakes. 

The main plot of the season did not even revolve around central figure Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi. The central story revolved around Nucky's associate Chalky White (Michael K. Williams) who was brought into conflict with intelligent, controlled businessman and "Libyan" community leader Valentin Narcisse. Jeffrey Wright joined the cast as Narcisse, taking him in the opposite direction of last year's villain Gyp Rosetti. Wright kept Narcisse in control. He is a man who gains power by making alliances for whom him being in power would serve their best interests. This is an interesting and intimidating character, thanks in no small part to Wright's performance. (If Bobby Cannavale won an Emmy for playing Rosetti, then Jeffrey Wright should at least be looking at a nomination.)

However, aside from Narcisse, this year's storylines were all over the map, and for the most part never really came together. Margaret Schroder, an interesting if misutilized character, was barely a presence this season, which had very few strong women. Plotlines like Eli's son at college were uninteresting, while Gillian Darmody's relationship with mysterious Roy Phillips felt simply unimportant. Unfortunately, these plots never truly became interesting or important to the main plot of the season, and as such lead to a year which feels messier.

The biggest issue, however, is in the realm of characters. This season's new characters were largely very interesting and complex as we watched them develop. The unfortunate flipside of this is that the returning characters were far less interesting. Nucky Thompson has never been an interesting character, fitting the bill for a traditional anti-hero. His conflict with his brother Eli, as well, feels much like a repeat of season 2. The only characters who escape this are Chalky White and Richard Harrow, who are both given full and strong arcs this season that take their characters to interesting places.

****Spoilers for Season 4. Highlight to reveal if you're caught up****

And then the finale happened. Game of Thrones is my favorite show, so I clearly have no problem with likable or interesting characters dying, but Thrones has a full roster of interesting characters to fall back on if one or three are killed, Boardwalk doesn't. If one of the more interesting characters is killed, that leaves a drastic effect on how much I care to see what happens next season. Harrow's death was pathetic. The man who single-handedly saved the day in season 3 suddenly screws up, accidentally killing Chalky's daughter and getting shot so he can limp away and bleed out under the Boardwalk. Nucky's freaking bodyguard got an entire episode to descend into ratting on Nucky and committing suicide in shame. I simply do not buy Richard messing this up, and such have a bad taste in my mouth over the ignoble end of one of the few characters who I was truly invested in. 

All in all, this season was a notable drop in quality, possibly being the weakest season of the show. It didn't move as slowly, but felt far less substantial and interesting, in no small part due to the interesting characters being killed off while the more standard characters seem to be nearly immortal. The visuals and directing are just as strong as always, but unfortunately the story simply isn't as interesting as it used to be. I am truly unsure if I will return for season 5. 

Season grade: B

Best Episode: The Old Ship of Zion (episode 8)

A very exciting episode which sees the plotline with Agent Knox step up a notch, as well as a focus on the stronger plotlines of the season, while leaving the less interesting ones on the side. The story of Chalky and Narcisse notably takes main focus here, culminating in a wonderfully tense and brilliantly directed scene which truly made me reel back due to the graphic nature of the violence on display. A powerful episode that unfortunately marked the season's peak rather than the ascent to brilliance it deserved.

Honorable mentions: Marriage and Hunting (episode 9) Erlkonig (episode 5)

Weakest episode: William Wilson (episode 7)

One episode until things really took off, Wilson was the pure definition of a setup episode. Nothing really bad about it, just nothing really notable took place here either. 

Dishonorable mentions: The North Star (Episode 6) Resignation (episode 2

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Review

Directed by Ben Stiller

Written by Steven Conrad

I feel as though I should start out my film by stating that I am a bit biased towards liking it. I actually spent two months working as a PA on this film. However, I spent little enough time on set that I truly didn't recognize most of the film and as such this did not have as great an impact on my opinions as one might expect, so I believe I have written this review to the best of my unbiased abilities.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a quintessential holiday film. It's entertaining, safe, and hopeful. I've read several reviews which have held this all against the film. The movie doesn't exactly take very many risks, nor do anything incredibly new. What these negative reviews do not take into account, however, is that The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is still a very well made, fun, and truly emotionally effective film.

The movie tells the story of Walter Mitty, played by Ben Stiller, an average guy who only experiences excitement through his many daydreams. He even sets up an eHarmony account so that he can avoid the awkwardness of trying to talk to women in real life. However, the story inevitably takes him on an actual adventure.

The screenplay of this film is very strong, with some truly funny moments, as well as some that will bring a smile to the face of everyone in the audience willing to allow it to. There are also some themes about the current job market, as Walter's place of work is being greatly downsized. This plotline is not quite as effective as the others, but it serves to connect this film to the problems of this day and age.

This film is a far cry from Stiller's previous directorial efforts, most notably in its rating. The PG rating of this film means that crude humor is largely missing from this film, and as such the movie takes a more dramatic approach to the story anyway, rather than becoming a full comedy, although the elements are still there. It is also a much better looking film. Much of this is the scenery, but the film itself is simply shot much more artistically than most comedies or family films. The cinematography is truly beautiful, fitting for a film in which the plot is largely based around photography.

I have never been a huge fan of Stiller's acting, but he does a remarkable job with Walter Mitty here. He is somewhat of a pathetic character, but not unrealistically so. He is easy to connect to, as rather than a walking stereotype, he plays Walter as a man who wants life to turn out one way, but never has the guts to make it. We realize his potential as a person, and that makes us want him to succeed. The supporting cast is decent, but most of them aren't really given much material to work with. This doesn't take away from the film, however, it merely allows this to be Walter's story beginning to end. The exceptions are Patton Oswalt, who is almost entirely a merely vocal presence, yet he accounts for some of the biggest laughs of the film, and Sean Penn, who makes the most of his limited role.

All in all Walter Mitty will probably not give you anything incredibly new, but that really doesn't hold the film back. It's well made, inspiring and fun. Perhaps there are ways that it could have been better, but I felt so hopeful coming out of the film that I find it incredibly hard to criticize at all. I recommend this as a great family or date movie in the coming holiday season. A-