Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Skyfall:
Obviously I'm not the target market for James Bond movies, because the only other one I've seen in its entirety was Goldeneye. If you're invested in the Bond mythology, there's a lot to like here. If not, you've got two hours and twenty-two minutes of meandering plot stitching together a few great action sequences and explosions.

Final Grade: C

Justified, Season Two:
The second season of this Kentucky hillbilly show improves upon the first. It replaces some of its quaint charm with more gritty action, but still keeps a fine balance of humor and drama. A midseason episode about a courtroom evacuation is very well-written and suspenseful, and there are some great guest roles by additional LOST alumni, who appearently ended up in Harlan County after the island started jumping through time.

Final Grade: B+

Breaking Bad, Season Three:
This was another season that was more intense than good, and built up to a nice conclusion even though the pacing of its "slow burn" could use some work. Something about this series feels sterile, and I usually watch with a detached interest rather than an eagerness to see what happens next. There's also a horrible episode, "The Fly", that tries way too hard to be artistic, and which the collective Internet believes is the best episode ever written. Since I measure "best" by whether or not I fall asleep during my first viewing, I politely disagree with the Internet. (See also, the game LIMBO).

Final Grade: B-