I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore (2017)
An action-comedy perfectly suited to chucking on while kicking back on the couch at home.
Lions, Tigers and …Racism? Zootopia Offers Laughs and Plenty of Subtext
Growing up watching children’s television in the early ‘90s, it was practically impossible to get through a week without being treated to a parable – or if you were unlucky, a lecture – about prejudice and xenophobia. Cartoons would obliquely or explicitly address issues of racism, religion and even AIDS in the context of a…
100,000 Views!
In case you couldn’t guess from the title, this ‘ere post is commemorating the completely arbitrary milestone of reaching 100,000 total views on ccpopculture. It also conveniently comes at a time where my focus for the site is shifting away from fostering page views. When I first started ccpopculture, it was practically an obsession –…
The Top 10 (or 12) Episodes of Television in 2013
10. Spartacus: War of the Damned – “Victory” Not the last finale on this list, “Victory” is a triumphant conclusion to a slightly overstuffed season of the great, underrated Spartacus. With a substantial list of casualties, “Victory” was defined by tragedy and, yes, victory, even if that victory was a moral one, not born of…
Breaking Bad – “Felina” (Season 5, Episode 16)
Towards the end of “Felina,” Walter White scrabbles on the floor with his car keys, pressing the button again and again. We know – or can guess – that it’s about to unleash death upon Walt’s enemies. But for a few seconds, it doesn’t. Nothing happens. In another universe, Breaking Bad ends there. Walt’s final…
Extended Cut: Breaking Bad – “Granite State” (Season 5, Episode 15)
This final half-season of Breaking Bad has been like a game of ten-pin bowling at times. That may seem like an odd metaphor, but bear with me: there’s so many pins to knock over in this final stretch that we need to have a break every couple of episodes to line them up again –…
Breaking Bad – “Ozymandias” (Season 3, Episode 14)
I’d like to say that my extremely late write-up of this phenomenal episode of Breaking Bad was caused by emotional shellshock – the episode did reduce my partner to gasping sobs as Skyler collapsed in the middle of Negra Arroyo Lane. The real explanation is less poetic; I simply had a tonne of exams to…
Breaking Bad – “To’hajiilee” (Season 5, Episode 13)
“To’hajiilee” is an example of how Breaking Bad plays its audience like a musical instrument. The bulk of the episode stretches its viewers taut like a finely-tuned violin, ratcheting up the tension inexorably, whether it’s subtle bits of (potential) foreshadowing like Saul wearing pink (and a bullet-proof vest), Pinkman enacting a fugazi portrait of death…
Breaking Bad – “Rabid Dog” (Season 5, Episode 12)
“Rabid Dog” sets the table for the final four episodes, pairing Jesse and Hank to tamp the flames of the former’s fury and give direction to the latter’s thirst for justice. This partnership may have a short lifespan (and some narrative holes – why aren’t Hank and Steve following procedure, if Hank’s so worried about…
Extended Cut: Breaking Bad – “Confessions” (Season 5, Episode 11)
Breaking Bad is a series unafraid to mine its past, delving into earlier seasons for images and icons and details. Small moments pulsate with added emotion, layers of meaning conveyed through a tarantula creeping its way across the desert floor, or a pack of cigarettes distorting within a clenched fist. Even a half-glimpsed Hello Kitty…
