Luck Review: "Episode Nine" (Episode 1.09)
There is an element of horseracing that is only addressed head-on in this, the final episode of Luck. That is the point during the race when the jockey should break the steady pace he or she has been maintaining and run full speed to the finish line. In each case — with both of Turo’s horses and Walter’s horse — that moment arrived in the final stretch of the race. During Rosie’s run of Mon Gateau, Renzo’s mother complains that “that girl jockey” could at least try to catch up with the rest of the pack. read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review: "Episode Eight" (Episode 1.08)
Luck maintained the ramped up intensity from the previous episode as it races toward the season’s (and series’) finish line. This week’s biggest event, however, happened off the racetrack and the set as HBO canceled the show when another four-legged cast member had to be euthanized. And — not to beat three dead horses — it’s probably for the best as Luck turned out to be less of a draw than HBO had anticipated. read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review "Episode Seven" (Episode 1.07)
I was prepared for—nay, expecting— this week’s episode of Luck to crawl toward its conclusion. read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review: "Episode Six" (Episode 1.06)
The characters and storylines finally broke loose in Luck. All it took was an earthquake. Most notable among these is Ace and The Greek’s mysterious scheme, which had been, well … mysterious. The show showed us the first card in its poker hand and revealed that Ace plans to use his connections to Indian casinos to put slot machines at the race track. How wildly nefarious, indeed! read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review: "Episode Five" (Episode 1.05)
HBO’s Luck is improving, and it’s a result of more polished characters with deeper stories than in the first four episodes. Despite representing a dramatic shift, this rash of likeability is not altogether unexpected. Ace and The Greek hadn’t been demonstratively unlikable so much as they had simply drifted to the background of the show and became minor characters. Similarly, Jerry, Marcus, Renzo and Lonnie were all on a general upswing (more or less) in the preceding episodes, and just continued that trend. The writers even tried to improve Joey Rathburn’s character. He’s a long way from an enjoyable character, but he’s clearly risen above Turo Escalante. read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review: "Episode 4" (Episode 1.04)
One strongly recurring theme (or a constant — after all, I haven’t seen every series yet) of characters in HBO shows is that their character arcs have downward trajectories. They enter the series (speaking in sweeping generalizations now) largely unencumbered by life-altering problems, and, as the series progresses, that changes. In shows like this, there are few stories of redemption where a character’s lot improves from where he was at the beginning (notable exception: Bubbles on The Wire). So it comes as no surprise that this is happening to the characters in Luck. Cool-guy/degenerate gambler Jerry is (pretty predictably)... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review: "Episode Three" (Episode 1.03)
You know when a movie is the middle segment of what will be a trilogy, so it doesn’t really have a wholly independent narrative arc of its own? Like, you know, in The Empire Strikes Back and The Matrix Reloaded? The filmmakers get so caught up in the idea of a third and ultimate installment that they forget the second one needs a beginning, middle and end with resolution and closure (if you’re into that sort of thing). read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLuck Review: "Episode 2" (Episode 1.02)
Bitch, and ye shall receive: Where Luck’s pilot lacked astoundingly in character development, the following episode compensated by cutting the horseshit—except for one (amazing) scene. The episode opens with Ace (Dustin Hoffman) bristling at his new reality in which he must micturate (take that, van Alden!) into a cup in the presence of a familiar-looking, jowly black gentleman. His “shy kidneys,” as Mr. Jowls puts it, remind us that Ace, despite his name and jail time, is only half a criminal. This split presents a conflict that could blossom into a compelling character arc (à la Nucky Thompson), or the... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsHBO Renews Luck After Only One Episode
It looks like 1.1 million viewers was enough for HBO to renew Luck for a second season. The horse racing drama, which focuses on the seedy underbelly of the gambling world, premiered this past Sunday nearly a month after the premium cable network presented a sneak peak of the pilot episode. read more
Found in: TV, NewsLuck Review: "Pilot" (Episode 1.01)
Luck, as the omnipresent banner ads on some of your favorite websites have informed you, is HBO’s newest series. Even before its release, Luck suffers the cosmic misfortune of being an HBO show marketed as a gritty crime series, which undoubtedly carries with it the expectations of (arguably) the two greatest TV shows of all time, The Sopranos and The Wire, as well as HBO’s current foray into the genre with Boardwalk Empire. The counterbalance to that stroke of bad luck is the pedigree of its creators and cast. From the top down, creator David Milch has been in TV... read more
Found in: TV, Reviews
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