Premiere Night....and other stuff

The premiere of what?  Thanks for asking.

Breaking Bad, on AMC.  The third season opens tonight.  It's a great show.  Bryan Cranston, in particular, is amazing as Walter White, the primary protagonist.

Seinfeld fans may remember Cranston as the dentist, Tim Watley. More recently, he portrayed the father Hal for eight seasons on Malcolm In The Middle, which I was also fond of [it didn't always hit the comedic bullseye, but when it did, it rocked hard].

Breaking Bad also has two other characters I particularly enjoy: drug-addled f-up Jesse and Walt's brother-in-law Hank, who works for the DEA.  Recent cast addition Bob Odenkirk, as criminal lawyer Saul Goodman ["Better Call Saul"] also shines.  Saul is ethically challenged, which naturally makes him a great fit.  As Jesse said last season regarding the hiring of Saul: "you don't need a criminal lawyer...you need a criminal [pause] lawyer."

If you've never seen it, give it a viewing.  Despite the sordid subject matter, It's relentlessly compelling.


As a warmup for the BB3 opening tonight, I re-watched a film I hadn't seen in some time: Traffic, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh in 2000.  A magnificent film, worthy of all the accolades it received.  Benicio Del Toro and Don Cheadle both gave the sort of excellent performance that has come to typify their respective bodies of work.


Old topics I love to harp on: the corrupt and unaccountable Minneapolis police force.  Big article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune yesterday about how only 4 out of 24 officers had discipline imposed upon them by  chief Tim Dolan after having their cases sustained and forwarded to him by the city's Civilian Review Authority.

San Francisco, by comparison, acted on 90% of complaints sustained by the civilian review board.  Chief Dolan needs to go and that whole stinking, rotting department needs to be gutted and rebuilt.

Fun facts: Minneapolis paid out $1.5 million in 2009 alone and $11 million over the last seven years to settle complaints lodged against the department.

Way to go guys, now that's earning the public trust!  [link to article below]

http://www.startribune.com/local/88738997.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl