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We Own This City is the new 6 episode mini series about corrupt Baltimore cops from David Simon. Nothing changes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyantXDQQCI&t=63s
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May 7, 2022 06:11
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First two episodes have been great, Bernthal does a fantastic job playing Jenkins at different points in his career, from fresh-faced rookie to confident "one of the boys" to outright arrogant swagger feeling like the King of the City to quiet desperation as he realizes he isn't going to be able to talk his way out of this or rely on that "thin blue line" to let him get away with all the poo poo he has pulled, most of which we've only seen alluded to so far. I'm looking forward to rewatching the full thing when it's done, it's definitely got that densely packed Wire feel where you know things are going to be more obvious in hindsight and you can appreciate how deeply layered the show's storytelling is.
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May 7, 2022 06:23
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Just to clarify for anyone unfamiliar with the series. It is based on real events as reported by Justin Fenton a journalist for the Baltimore Sun. The story is collected in a book by the same name. I'm not going to post an amazon link, because gently caress Bezos. If you are familiar with the Wire, its a story that makes Herc and Carve look like Officer Friendly. Oh, if you are interested in similar stories you might check out Serpico. A classic starring Al Pacino. While I'm at it Simon, Burns, and Pelecanos's last project, the Deuce also owns.
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May 7, 2022 23:25
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Yeah I mean to pick up the book when the series is done, the story went completely under my radar so I'm really glad the series brought it to my attention. Plus, you know, it means we get to watch another loving awesome Simon/Burns/Pelecanos show set in Baltimore.
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May 7, 2022 23:34
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Kind of bummed this is only gonna be 6 episodes but that format worked for The Corner and 2 episodes down I'm all in. I'm gonna (try and) sit back and wait til all 6 drop then watch the last 4 on a binge. There's a lot of good poo poo here and I'm amazed at how good Simon is at getting absolutely stellar performances from his actors. Even Treme, which a lot of people didn't care for, delivered some outstanding work and I honestly can't recall a weak link in the bunch on any of Simon's shows. I love great acting as much as I hate bad acting and I'm never taken out of these shows by anyone not being up to the task/role. He even switches them around and will have a cop playing a junkie or a gang banger playing a lawyer across all his stuff and it's so loving great being able to see the range these people have. Spike Lee is pretty good at this too (using the same performers in wildly different roles and getting totally different results from them) and it's wonderful to watch. Especially when you consider how easy it is for the viewer to associate a face to a favorite character. These folks can make you forget the roles you automatically associate them with. Unlike someone like Scorsese who, while also great, tends to cast his actors in a tighter spectrum (DeNiro, Pesci, Keitel >>>> The Irishman >>> Goodfellas >>> Casino >>> Raging Bull >>> Mean Streets) and repeats himself with it a lil' bit.
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May 7, 2022 23:37
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Santangelo's actor returning as a charming, hard working defense attorney was lovely to see 
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May 7, 2022 23:45
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A critique/comment on the first two episodes... There's a common saying in writing, "Show don't tell." There's been quite a few moments so far where the characters give exposition in a way that feels unnatural. I suppose that is the nature of dramatizing a complicated true crime story in 6 episodes, but compared to the Wire and the Deuce it's clunky to have the writers thumbing the scale like that.
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May 7, 2022 23:47
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Do you mean in regards to a character like Steele? I can see it making sense for that level of exposition since she's not just a stranger to the city but her specific role is to go and ask people to explain these things to her, which is a nice way to slip in some exposition using her as an audience surrogate.
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May 7, 2022 23:56
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Yep, she does it a lot. Same with the new guy in her office, and the new Chief (Landsman, I forget the guys name.) Also there's been an absence of character focused moments . Like Kima loving up building furniture, McNulty drunk driving, or Daniels rocky marriage. poo poo that doesn't drive the plot, but fleshes out characters and their lives. Again, I think this is part and parcel of adapting true crime journalism into a 6 episode series, but it does contrast with the Wire.
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May 8, 2022 00:01
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by the way that Hersl reference in a rap is real https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKAfP3Dcnqk&t=45s
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May 8, 2022 00:05
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Yeah, I definitely think it's a situation forced by the six-episode constraint. With longer or multiple seasons, you can come at character motivations obliquely and show them, but with only six hours you really have to condense a lot into flat-out telling. The scene with Jenkins and his barbecue definitely tells how his weak crabs make him feel lesser compared to the dude with the cooler full of steak--and while it does serve as an explanation for him eventually stealing cash, I don't think the series really has the time to show a gradual change into the man who led the GTTF into literal murder and robbery. I think it would be stronger for it (I mentioned something similar in the The Wire thread) but in the end, this isn't Breaking Bad. The series covers what the book covers. (The book is great so far by the way, just started reading it the other night.)
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May 8, 2022 00:09
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Mu Zeta posted:by the way that Hersl reference in a rap is real Yep, and Young Moose is played by the man (moose?) himself
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May 8, 2022 04:33
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Dukie & Herc sighting 
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May 9, 2022 19:10
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Love seeing some of the people from The Wire pop up, especially Poot. Jamie Hector, Josh Charles, Darrell Britt-Gibson and David Corenswet have all been really solid standouts. Bernthal is obviously fantastic and I feel like he's kinda channeling a Denzel in Training Day vibe.
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May 10, 2022 02:56
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Our guy Hersl is a huge problem, a walking city lawsuit. I know, let’s get him into the Gun Trace Task Force, stat! e: God this is hosed. I am absolutely going to have to read one of the books about this now. MrMojok fucked around with this message at 04:33 on May 10, 2022 |
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May 10, 2022 04:13
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The police sergeants talk about their violent cops being "earners" the same way Avon and Marlo talk about their corner boys.
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May 10, 2022 05:02
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Mu Zeta posted:The police sergeants talk about their violent cops being "earners" the same way Avon and Marlo talk about their corner boys. It’s hosed!!! By the way this guy wrote the We Own This City Book and he’s a great follow on Twitter, while you watch this show. Each Monday he talks about the new episode, like so: https://twitter.com/justin_fenton/status/1521303417691557888?s=21&t=lclTORfSKcb_IAgcvf2jlg
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May 10, 2022 05:12
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This show is so good* at demonstrating the culture that allows this kind of rampant corruption and brutality to prosper - the two examples of the top brass calling in an abusive officer for a dressing down that turns out to be a joke followed by them AWARDING them for their lovely behavior was just horrifying. Jamie Hector is fantastic in this too, I loved the jump back to his pre-Homicide days and the relationship between him and Jenkins. Jenkins himself in those moments of vulnerability demonstrating how much he needs people to think highly of him is really well done, he's a huge piece of poo poo but you can see that he's at heart a kid scared of not being popular/not belonging/not stacking up etc. He so wants to be one of the boys but even his self-deprecating jokes have an edge of desperation to them, and I love how Bernthal is playing him, especially that sulky little,"I know what it is I was just loving around...." moment. Also, goddamn Jermaine Crawford is looking good as an adult, it took me a second to grasp this was lanky little Dukie. * This show is so good. Period.
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May 10, 2022 05:51
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Jerusalem posted:This show is so good* at demonstrating the culture that allows this kind of rampant corruption and brutality to prosper - the two examples of the top brass calling in an abusive officer for a dressing down that turns out to be a joke followed by them AWARDING them for their lovely behavior was just horrifying. LMAO, it is totally hosed!!! There is also a podcast for this show, hosted by one of the writers for the show who himself had several run-ins with the actual cops from the GTTF. I just listened to episode one, it’s a quick 30-minute listen and the guest is Bernthal, who is always a great interview. They talk a lot about Jenkins, the writer sat in court during his trial and Bernthal viewed a lot of Jenkins’ body-cam footage and also talked to him on the phone from prison, and it was very interesting.
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May 10, 2022 06:15
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Huge props to Jon Bernthal for doing the Bawlmur accent too. This show 100% needs director commentary or a companion podcast/show. It's so dense, especially for a dramatization.
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May 10, 2022 06:39
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deoju posted:A critique/comment on the first two episodes... One of the scenes that definitely feels this way is in episode one where Steele meets with the mayor and she explains how she lost faith with the previous police chief, and explains why, and more to the point, exactly when. It’s straight exposition, where she is explaining this to Steele onscreen but is really explaining it to the viewers. But given how short this show is, I feel like it was just necessary (as has been pointed out upthread) e: and it goes without saying that Steele, while I assume she is a real character, is also a total audience stand-in, or surrogate MrMojok fucked around with this message at 07:03 on May 10, 2022 |
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May 10, 2022 07:01
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Also, I am assuming that an “unsustained” complaint means someone was brutalized, locked up, and then kept locked up and harassed long enough that they finally said gently caress it, and dropped the complaint, then were allowed to proceed through the hosed up court system?
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May 10, 2022 07:18
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Great episode all around, I do have a question though. Is Wayne Jenkins high as a kite? He's constantly bug-eyed, licking his fingers and eating a poo poo ton of food and drink.
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May 10, 2022 07:49
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Ninurta posted:Great episode all around, I do have a question though. Is Wayne Jenkins high as a kite? He's constantly bug-eyed, licking his fingers and eating a poo poo ton of food and drink. The character or the actor? Cuz JB loves weed.
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May 10, 2022 08:09
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Mods name change me to "Pat Ron" please.
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May 10, 2022 09:50
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I don’t know the character’s name, but this one skinny guy is completely unconvincing. No cops look like that anymore. They are all brutes now and have been for some time. The last time I saw a cop that looked like that was one I knew in about 1996.
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May 10, 2022 09:53
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Ninurta posted:Great episode all around, I do have a question though. Is Wayne Jenkins high as a kite? He's constantly bug-eyed, licking his fingers and eating a poo poo ton of food and drink. I've known guys like that, their bodies are just constantly in motion. I mean, for the most part they did a shitload of drugs when they were younger, but some people just have a lot of natural swaying to their body language. I feel like it becomes more pronounced in Jenkins as we see the shift through the years, and I think it's because he's starting to feel more confident (or at least better able to project confidence) as time moves on and he becomes more accepted and people keep lauding what a great job he is doing and what a great cop he is. When we first see him as a rookie he appears far more tightly wound and in control, and I think it's because he feels like he has to be ramrod straight and unflinching and stern, and slowly realizes that not only are the people he works with not like that, but they're largely free to act however they want and completely get away with all kinds of bullshit. I love that contrast from episode 1 of a more flamboyant, in-motion Jenkins waxing lyrical about how to control your streets straight to a shot of him from his early days in uniform smashing the dude's brown-bagged bottle (notice that in this episode, HE is free to just openly drink on the street and even smash bottles on the ground) and looking like he's just itching for an excuse to burst loose from restraining himself to just stomping around on his beat like a tinpot dictator. ......or maybe he just starting doing a bunch of drugs over the years as he got more drunk on power!
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May 10, 2022 10:06
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MrMojok posted:e: and it goes without saying that Steele, while I assume she is a real character, is also a total audience stand-in, or surrogate Apparently she's a composite. Which makes sense. But just glad to have a non-cop protagonist in here. The politics of this show are definitely a step up from the already pretty good politics of the Wire.
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May 10, 2022 13:52
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MrMojok posted:LMAO, it is totally hosed!!! I was actually outraged when it turned out Waynes superiors were just messing with him and letting him know that it was really more of a problem with his paperwork. Honestly, it's probably the most upset I've been at tv show in a long time.
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May 10, 2022 16:17
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Ninurta posted:Great episode all around, I do have a question though. Is Wayne Jenkins high as a kite? He's constantly bug-eyed, licking his fingers and eating a poo poo ton of food and drink. Wayne Jenkins had a rep for being extremely jumpy and fidgety. In the book, they talk about how he often struggled in school to fit in with different cliques and would go out of his way to prove himself or fit in, which, Jon Bernthal is doing a sublime job of portraying. MrMojok posted:I don’t know the character’s name, but this one skinny guy is completely unconvincing. IDK man, as someone who lives in DC and hangs out in Baltimore on a regular basis, I've seen plenty of cops that are shaped like that. It's not the norm, mind you, but it's not outlandish. For me at least. Tumble posted:I was actually outraged when it turned out Waynes superiors were just messing with him and letting him know that it was really more of a problem with his paperwork. Yeah that scene def. boiled my blood, because you know it happens every loving day.
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May 10, 2022 16:46
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LesterGroans posted:Bernthal is obviously fantastic and I feel like he's kinda channeling a Denzel in Training Day vibe. Funny, I said the same thing about G-Money. Also had similar takes about recurring actors from The Wire and Treme showing up in entirely different roles. If you haven't seen it, go watch The Corner because it's got a ton of the same actors but they're switched around where, like, Freamon is a junky and Daniels is a crack addict. There's a bunch of familiar faces. Last I checked it was up on YouTube but in low quality. Simon obviously has actors he likes working with and I love how he shuffles their roles around. Reminds me a little of what Spike Lee does.
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May 10, 2022 16:47
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BiggerBoat posted:Funny, I said the same thing about G-Money. Speaking of The Corner, Francine Boyd passed away. https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-md-ob-fran-boyd-20220510-ebqtjjo25nh6xl4is2nynjg3ba-story.html She was married to Donnie Andrews (dude who was basically the inspiration for Omar)_before he passed ten years ago. She had a very  story with her struggles with addiction but even at 65, she went way too soon 
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May 10, 2022 16:50
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Handsome Ralph posted:Speaking of The Corner, Francine Boyd passed away. Came here just now to post this. I think I'm gonna wait a month and watch the rest of this show all at once Jerusalem posted:This show is so good* at demonstrating the culture that allows this kind of rampant corruption and brutality to prosper - the two examples of the top brass calling in an abusive officer for a dressing down that turns out to be a joke followed by them AWARDING them for their lovely behavior was just horrifying. It's also real good at showing how most of the players are ALL actually gangs, driven by greed and power trips, and that there's really not a world of difference between what the various sects do and why they do it. Everyone just wants to get paid and the "colors" they wear can be from the street corner, a police uniform or a suit and a necktie. Anyone with any ideas about reform, justice or altruism is "weak" and gets dealt with quick, one way or the other, no matter what crew they roll with. They wind up dead, lose an election, get put on parking ticket duty, exposed by the media or put in jail. And nothing ever changes, nobody is clean and, as we saw in the conclusion of The Wire, new bodies step up to fill the vacancies. The Game is the Game BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 17:47 on May 10, 2022 |
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May 10, 2022 17:38
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There’s a lot of stat dumps in this show, deservedly so because holy poo poo the level of police corruption is off the charts, but it gets a little too clinical when it’s two people sitting in a downtown office reading off a list of offenses the cops are constantly doing.
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May 10, 2022 23:24
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Handsome Ralph posted:IDK man, as someone who lives in DC and hangs out in Baltimore on a regular basis, I've seen plenty of cops that are shaped like that. It's not the norm, mind you, but it's not outlandish. For me at least. Ah, okay. I was going by what I see here, which is that the PD and Sheriffs inevitably look like roided-out berserkers, but I guess it's likely that there are also a small number built like Rayam.
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May 11, 2022 00:54
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BiggerBoat posted:The Game is the Game Same as it ever was 
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May 11, 2022 02:36
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MrMojok posted:Also, I am assuming that an “unsustained” complaint means someone was brutalized, locked up, and then kept locked up and harassed long enough that they finally said gently caress it, and dropped the complaint, then were allowed to proceed through the hosed up court system? It might be that, but likely it’s just the cop lied well enough on his report to make whatever he did justified. Like in this episode where Jenkins is told he has to emphasize the attack all the time. If a cop feels threatened, they more or less get carte blanche to do whatever they want. Sometimes the city will still pay out because that’s a civil trial or the city just wants to settle to make it go away.
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May 11, 2022 02:59
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You see it when she meets with the Union guys and points out that there have been millions in payouts for settlements on brutality complaints, and their response is,"But no blame was ever admitted" as if this = "they were totally exonerated"
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May 11, 2022 03:05
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Jerusalem posted:You see it when she meets with the Union guys and points out that there have been millions in payouts for settlements on brutality complaints, and their response is,"But no blame was ever admitted" as if this = "they were totally exonerated" So an "unsustained" complaint then, is one that was never proven, by people who have no means to ever prove them in the first place, under the vast majority of circumstances. Holy poo poo.
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May 11, 2022 03:45
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Prezbo did the exact same thing on the advice of Lt. Daniels when he blinded the kid. It was self defense!
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May 11, 2022 04:01
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