True Detective

I'm not a big tv person, to be completely honest. I loved tv and movies as a kid, but mostly because I was denied them, I think. When I get free time, my first instinct is rarely to turn on the tv, unless I'm turning it on to play video games. Even when I am watching tv with my wife, I'm almost always playing a game on my phone or 3DS to cover the boredom.

When I tell you, then, that I've watched a movie or tv show three times, that means something big. It means that this one captured my attention. Watching a tv show again means that nothing will be different. I'll be experiencing the same exact thing again. That rarely intrigues me. 

The number of tv shows I've watched through three times is very limited. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. True Detective (season 1). Arrested Development. And my personal favorite, Cowboy Bebop. 

What's truly remarkable about True Detective is not just that I've watched it three times, putting it in rare company, but that I've watched it three times in such a short time.

True Detective came out in 201, and I didn't watch it until 2015. That means that in the span of less than two years, I've watched an eight hour long tv show three times. 

McConaughod (as he's known in our house) and Marty

I can't help myself! No matter how many times I watch it, the performances of McConaughey and Harrelson are absolutely captivating. McConaughey's performance of Rust Cohle is second to none as far as tv goes. Movie performances have surpassed it, but I've never seen better on tv. The notion of someone whose world view should absolutely reject the possibility of an absolute sense of good and evil, yet dedicates his life so wholeheartedly to the protection of the weak and innocent, is absolutely fascinating to me. The writing of Rust's character is superb, but the acting lives up to it.

While McConaughey's Cohle has gotten accolade after accolade, Harrelson's performance has gone relatively unnoticed. While the chemistry between them is fantastic, Harrelson's Marty dances the fine line felt by all supporting actors, and turns in a role that must be the most challenging thing to do as an actor, diminishing yourself, and making someone else look truly great. These tend to be the roles that I appreciate the most, and puts him in the pantheon of some of my favorites, like Robin Williams' (sob) phenomenal role in The Birdcage.

The cinematography is superb. The overhead shots of green, yet dead Louisiana, set the tone of the show perfectly. The music is appropriately creepy. And the entire cast does their job (making McConaughey look good) superbly well. The conclusion of the show is one of the best episodes of tv I've ever seen, featuring a fantastic conclusion to the show, in the realist terms of True Detectives universe, while also giving us a scene so suspenseful it's rivaled only by a few. If you haven't yet watched the show, please do! It's my guaranteed pick for you. I'd give it a 9.8/10

-TRO