TV Tuesday: the Sopranos Season 2 vs. Breaking Bad Season 2

TV has recently received almost as much, if not more, attention than film. Particularly these two crime shows, along with many others have been held up as the gold standard of the "new golden age" of television. Because of this, I am currently in the process of watching both and thought I'd compare both the shows' second seasons to see which was best. Why the second season you ask? for one, its the most recent season of each which I have watched and secondly I think the second season is when a show hits its stride. I will compare both seasons in a variety of categories and then give the overall winner. I will try to stay as spoiler-free as possible. So lets get down to business.

Expectations Based on the First Season
Both Breaking Bad and the Sopranos had good first seasons but both also had their struggles. For Breaking Bad, the writer's strike shortened the length of its season to seven episodes. For the Sopranos, it seemed to be a season spent finding its footing. There were brilliant episodes like the pilot, and "College" but there were also times when the show felt like it was still growing. While they both had missteps, the Sopranos and Breaking Bad both show great potential in their first seasons and so I had very high expectations for both.

Winner: tie

Main Character
Both Walter White and Tony Soprano are two of the most interesting characters ever created in any medium. In the second seasons of both shows each character got the ability to grow and explore new depths. Tony had to share screen time with a larger supporting cast while Walt was very much at center stage the entire time. I think both characters made great impacts on their series and continued to be incredibly interesting in equal proportion to each other.

Winner: tie

Supporting Cast
Here we finally have a clear victor. While Jesse and the rest of the Breaking Bad cast are good I find their actions as characters, particularly Skyler's, predictable and somewhat repetitive. This cannot be said for the supporting cast of the Sopranos. Every character has something interesting about him or her and this creates a world that feels like it doesn't just exist but that it is a living and breathing reality. The Sopranos spends more time focusing on its characters and building to action. Looking back its incredible how enthralling the characters and the universe of the Sopranos is and this is largely due to the supporting cast.

Winner: the Sopranos

Stand-out Episodes
In this category I'm going to look at what I thought were the two best/most memorable episodes of each show's second season and compare which stand-out more. This doesn't mean that they are necessarily better but that they stand on their own as great pieces of entertainment. For Breaking Bad my two favorite episodes of the second season were "Grilled" and "4 Days Out". Both of these episodes were intense and exciting pieces of television which focus on Walt and Jesse being involved in incredibly intense situations. This suspense is something that Breaking Bad does incredibly well and both of these episodes have plenty of it. They also stand out because they almost work as self-contained little suspenseful and entertaining short stories. The two Sopranos episodes I liked best in season 2 were "Commendatori" and "Funhouse". These were not as easy to choose because there were so many great ones. Both demonstrate the way that the Sopranos utilizes a slower pace to tell incredible stories. The first also has incredible cinematography in Italy and the second is the amazing season finale which even incorporates some surrealism. While these two episodes of the Sopranos were incredible and possibly better than the Breaking Bad ones they do not "Stand-out" as much and thus Breaking Bad gets the victory in this round.

Winner: Breaking Bad

Overall Story Arc
So it all comes down to this. If you were to take only the first part of the Breaking Bad's second season it might have a better chance, but while season two introduced several important characters and situations, I felt that its overall plotting was contrived. The Sopranos did not have as much action but the way that it managed to tell a great story over the season while also creating a fully realized world made its second season pretty incredible. In fact, there was hardly an episode of the Sopranos second season which I didn't think was great while I can't say the same of Breaking Bad. While I think Breaking bad is a great show the one I can't wait to get back to is the Sopranos.

Winner: the Sopranos

So their you have it the Sopranos has won this battle but we will see how things shake out when season 3 comes around.

Check back next Tuesday for a look at the 1960's camp classic Batman!

Netflix Pix: Double Indemnity (1944)

Ever wonder what to watch on Netflix? the articles in this series take a look at some of the best movies to watch instantly!

"I did it for money and for a woman, I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman" Those words usher in perhaps THE quintessential film noir, Billy Wilder's double Indemnity. These words are spoken by insurance man Walter Neff before we enter flashback as he narrates for us a story of lust and murder. Wilder uses openings that flashback much like Shakespeare used prologues. They recall Greek tragedy and also create a sense of foreboding that keeps the audience in suspense. Double Indemnity was co written by the great crime writer Raymond Chandler whose lyrical style gives the film that perfect noir feel. This story of a man seduced into committing murder by a femme fatale would become the genesis of many a noir film. Wilder does something truly incredible here in that he makes the audience root for two cold blooded killers. This movie make murder incredibly entertaining and if you haven't seen it you're in for a real treat. This is one of the truly great noir films but also one of the great films of all time with Barbara Stanwyck giving a truly memorable performance as the femme fatale. You won't want to miss this! 5/5!

2 Films: Early Christopher Nolan Reviews

This is going to be the start of a series in which I take two films in a specific category and review them. These categories can be themes and genres and will be very specific as in this first one which is on two early films of the director Christopher Nolan.

He is now know best for his Batman films but what made him a candidate to direct those? where did this director who has now inspired many filmmakers and become what many consider to be a master craftsman come from? These questions will be answered in my reviews of Christopher Nolan's first two features Following (1998) and Memento (2000)

Following (1998)
Following is considered by many to be one of the most successful no budget films of all time. It was made on 16mm film and was shot in many cases using natural lighting. The cast of the film were Friends and family of Christopher Nolan himself and the production was pretty much in his hands as he was both the writer and director. The film is about a writer who begins to randomly follow people to get ideas for his work. This hobby turns into and obsession and eventually gets him involved in more criminal activity. This film is a neo noir in every way. The story is reminiscent of the noir films of old but the film is entirely modern. by its no budget nature it is shot like a documentary and I think this works. In fact I think the no budget nature makes the film more interesting to watch and knowing that the director who made this film went on to make a film like the Dark Knight Rises is truly incredible. The movie has a lot of energy and clocking in at only 70 minutes it is very taut. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat also because of the way it plays with time. This keeps the audience even more engaged in the film so that they are working to understand the plot and therefor actively involved in the movie. There is something very strange in this movie and that is that one of the apartments broken into has a bat symbol, not just a bat symbol but a batman logo on the door. This is really weirdly coincidental to me but who knows it is a Christopher Nolan Film. Overall I found this movie to be riveting and well worth watching 4/5

Memento (2000)
The difference in budget between Following and Memento is truly staggering. In his second film we see Nolan getting to make a "real" movie with a "real" actor in the form of Guy Pearce. He gets a broader canvas and story to work with and he works with them well. This may be one of the most mind blowing film experiences I have ever had. this film will literally warp your mind and through the way it tells the story in fragments it will make you feel like you have Leonard's Condition. Leonard is the main character in the movie and he has short term memory loss and he is trying to find the men that killed his wife. That is all of the story you should know going in and you should be prepared to brace yourself for one heck of a ride. You have to work while watching this movie in order to put it together and I think that's part of the fun. It really is well done and so well executed by Nolan and you can see him coming into his own. This film really shows that he has talent as a director and I think it was awesome that he went on to direct Batman. Memento is truly a mind bending film for reasons I won't reveal and it is a must watch! 4.5/5

Note: Both Films are Available to Stream on Netflix!