The Blacklist “Mako Tanida”– TV EPISODE REVIEW

The Blacklist is one of those weird shows. It is a procedural by nature, but the character of Raymond “Red’ Reddington is just so damn good, that nothing else matters. This show has had an issue lately when it comes to Red. Or should I say, everyone else but Red. Whenever James Spader is not on screen, the show loses about half of my interest. The other characters are just kind of boring. Liz is only interesting when she is with Red and Uncle Mike from Homeland is a bore…most of the time. Then, there is this weeks episde, Mako Tanida. They always name the episodes after whoever the bad guy is and that’s cool I guess. So lets get to business here.

True Detective — Does it Live Up to the Hype?

There is no denying the appeal of True Detective. It stars two brilliant leads in the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. And they don’t disappoint. They both do things acting-wise that I didn’t even know they could do. Yes, I know McConaughey has hit a stride of amazing roles these past couple years. It all started with The Lincoln Lawyer. Then he landed great roles in films like Dallas Buyers Club, Mud, Killer Joe, and now this True Detective show. For so many years, I was used to McConaughey the “rom-com-King”. So many years went by where he did just horrible movies. They were all mostly romantic comedies, but this became his image. He was the guy from The Wedding Planner or How to Lose a guy in 10 Days. Luckily, I forgot he even did Fool’s Gold. But he has really turned his career around, picking some truly amazing roles. This HBO show is going to get some Emmy love when the time comes, there is no doubt in my mind about that. But how much love will it get?