It comes and goes. I got over it fairly quickly. The series to way too good for it to get in the way IMHO
It’s a problem, but it didn’t affect the series for me. An odd choice if it was writing and even weirder if it was Brody’s own choice. Along those lines, why does every Tom Hardy character have to speak with an accent that makes him almost unintelligible?
True, but he’s the worst. Hell, he’s speaking ‘Merican in “The Revenant” and still I can barely understand him!
Finished ‘em up. WTF in that last 20 or so minutes? They really took a left turn, didn’t they? Talk about trying to cram 40 pounds of ****e in a 10 pound bag. Not sure how I feel about it going forward...
Just started watching this. I'll be binging this quick. Reminds me lots of SOA as well. Don't know how I missed this before. I think it's new to Netflix Canada.
Not sure about the fire puffing machines (probably did in some way), the rows of houses are accurate which are called Back To Backs - pretty grim places to live, but, far better than the dumps that were there before them. I have relatives that still lived in those up to the 1950's when the vast majority started to be replaced by modern council housing. The National Trust have preserved a courtyard of Back To Backs in the city centre and it's well worth a visit, they have them done out in different styles for different decades along with a couple of shop fronts ( a tailors and a sweet shop). The industrial background of Birmingham was indeed huge, city of a thousand trades with a huge car industry, many of the bigger places like BSA bombed during the blitz of WW2, the region still makes cars to a lesser degree but around Birmingham there are so many smaller firms still making car parts. As recently as 10 years ago when I would have been visiting various factories as part of my job it was amazing how many were still operating hand powered presses to make metal parts, of the same type my grandparents would have used when they were starting out at work. Oh and The Garrison and Garrison Lane (and many other names mentioned) are still real places. the area is where my family moved into when they left the countryside towns in the mid 1800's looking for work and remained there for several generations. I love the series, although I thought the one with the Russians went a bit out of orbit. Tom Hardy is pure class but one of my favourites is our Ada, and the added dimension of being familiar with the location makes it even better for me. I agree the storylines are absurd, but the background detail is very well researched and portrayed. Can't wait for the next series.
Yeah I live in one now! We still have plenty of terraced houses in London though fortunately they all tend to have inside loos these days! I well remember the outside khazis. I'm not saying the programme is entirely fictional but merely saying it is a little exaggerated here and there, and in a good way.
I’m on S2 where Polly’s son comes into the picture. He plays such a similar character on Animal Kingdom, another SOA style show with a crew of brothers and mom in charge.
I'm on the 3rd episode of the current season. I have to agree with the Corleone impersonation. It was almost as if he was going out of his way to be a parody of Brando. I really liked the first two seasons; the third was pretty convoluted with the Russian stuff; I honestly couldn't really tell what was supposed to be going on.
It’s better, but not massively so. As mentioned, S3 and S4 have had their share of plot problems. It’s not perfect by any stretch. I will say I’m not liking where S5 is probably going but, I believe, this will be the last. We’ll see.
I have to agree with you here! "Red Right Hand" is a cool song that has often turned up in TV and movies (I remember first hearing it on the "Duane Barry" episode of the X-Files), but I've gotten bored of it episode after episode here, as well as the third PJ Harvey album, their other go-to pick on this show. A strangely specific soundtrack choice for a period gangster show.
We just started watching this about a week ago, now in the beginning of season 2. The actress that plays Polly is first rate. The settings are bleak. The modern music doesn't bother me. We're both digging it so far. It's sort of the other side of Downton Abbey-- real urban grit.
NAILED IT. I described it the exact same way (except I said 1910s...) because didn't know how else to describe it. Love this show - any fans of Boardwalk Empire, this is right up your alley. And for the US side of things going on at same time, I highly recommend the well-researched, detailed, yet fast-paced non-fiction book, Paddy Whacked. https://www.amazon.com/Paddy-Whacked-Untold-American-Gangster-ebook/dp/B000WCWV4E Jeff
I'm early in Season 3. It seems to be slipping in quality as it goes along. I think Tom Hardy is a great actor but he was so over the top in Season 2 that many of his scenes bordered on laughable. Still watchable and hope that it picks up as I progress with season 3. The non-period music really bugs me, even more so in the montages (which always make me think of "Team America" ;-) ). A series that goes to such painstaking lengths to reproduce the period visually and then slam it with rock music (regardless of how good it is)? May as well have the Shelby's spin Beatles records in their leisure time. I have another major bone to pick with the series. You have traumatized, alcoholic, coke binging ultra violent men and there is virtually no domestic violence? Really? The ones who violate women are the police (Sam Neill) and the high ranking military? You have the situation in which so many women were battered and killed in real life but the Shelby men have enough control to never harm any of them? In fact even kow tow to them at times and view them as peers? In 1920 Birmingham? Really? Modern sensitivities overlaid to keep the Shelby men from being too offensive? It reminds me how they had to sanitize the great novel "LA Confidential" racially to make it palatable to a broader audience. Oh that and making the lead characters much less flawed and even heroic.
So me and my wife just binged watched this show up through a couple of episodes into season 4. Came here to see if there was a thread. Of course my buddy @GodShifter started one. Love the show. The cinematography is amazing. I LOVED the music at first but once more contemporary stuff settled in like Radiohead it was a bit jarring. I have to admit while I love the show Season 3 with the Russian storyline I had a bit of a hard time getting into. Tom Hardy is great. I will say the unexpected result of watching the show was the increased intake of whiskey on my part. It's in like every scene lol...
Don't know why I mentioned SOA as a comparison (didn't really like it, a 7/10 rating ) should have said Boardwalk Empire 8.5 rating.
Finally had a chance to finish season 4. Thought it was a nice comeback after season 3 which honestly I had a hard time making it through (just couldn't connect with the Russian storyline at all). Sure Brody's Corleone accent was obvious but I love The Godfather so much that I'll take it as a tribute than parody and didn't really find it distracting. Also just thankful a certain family member is still with us... Surprised there are not more fans of this show.