Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks and Matt Jones in the Vince Gilligan movie ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’

Some six-years following the end of the Breaking Bad (2008-2013) television series, series creator Vince Gilligan gave fans of the series something that had been missing from the end of the original show. That something was a clear telling of what happened to character Aaron Paul‘s Jesse Pinkman, the student criminal to aid Bryan Cranston‘s Walter White in the building of the Heisenberg drug syndicate. The Vince Gilligan written and directed movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) puzzles out that story for us.

(From left, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

The ability to leave his past, his captors and law enforcement behind is the goal placed in front of Jesse Pinkman from the outset of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Beginning with a flashback to the immediate point that Mike Ehrmantraut and Jesse leave the crystal meth business of Walter White, we see the framing of this movie with the question for where Jesse should flea. Mike, portrayed by Jonathan Banks, advises against making amends for the past with the further suggestion to head for Alaska to make a new beginning.

(From left, Charles Baker as Skinny Pete and Matt Jones as Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

In the present day, we see Jesse fleeing to the Albuquerque, New Mexico home of Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew and Skinny Pete, as respectively portrayed by Matt Jones and Charles Baker. Hiding the Chevrolet El Camino of Todd Alquist that Jesse fled his captors in, Jesse first is given the chance to sleep, shower and recover in the immediate aftermath of his captivity. Devising a plan to make it appear that Jesse would flea in Pete’s Ford Thunderbird while actually making an escape in Badger’s Pontiac Fiero, Badger heads south towards Mexico in the Thunderbird while Skinny Pete stays with the LoJacked El Camino. Meanwhile, Jesse makes his way in the Fiero. Jesse Plemons portrayed Todd Alquist.

(From left, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

Told largely through flashback, we are at first presented to Todd Alquist’s apartment in an odd twist. Alquist actually springs Jesse from the duty of captivity and crystal meth production to address a uniquely personal situation that grew out of Alquist’s need to stash the money earned in the drug business. Addressing that distasteful business gives Jesse the knowledge that a large quantity of money will be stored at the apartment; knowledge of Alquist’s busybody neighbor Lou Schanzer becomes the secondary important knowledge piece that comes into play later when Jesse comes into contact with Neil Kandy and Casey. Tom Bower portrayed Lou Schanzer.

(From left, Scott MacArthur as Neil Kandy and Scott Shepherd as Casey in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

As the notion that nothing comes easy or with zero cost proved itself useful to the storytelling of Breaking Bad, the intersections of the Neil Kandy and Casey tales in Jesse’s desire to flea is perhaps the most clever and consistent to that style of any story within El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Neil and Casey, portrayed by Scott MacArthur and Scott Shepherd respectively, dovetail into the Ed Galbraith story quite nicely as necessary plot point in Jesse’s fleeing the greater Albuquerque area and Painted Desert, Arizona area. These storylines offer the creative tension and, ultimately, resolution to Jesse’s story that were arguably owed to the viewers of the original Breaking Bad series. Robert Forster portrayed Ed Galbraith.

(Robert Forster as Ed Galbraith in the Vince Gilligan movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie).

Shoutouts to individual characters from the original series, including asides, callouts, imaginings or subtle references to Walter White, Diane Pinkman as portrayed by Tess Harper, Adam Pinkman as portrayed by Michael Bofshever, Jane Margolis as portrayed by Krysten Ritter and Brock Cantillo as portrayed by Ian Posada, were all nice touches. I give Breaking Bad as written and directed by Vince Gilligan 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 18, 2023

Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn in the Vince Gilligan television series ‘Breaking Bad’

Just recently I watched the neo-Western crime drama television series Breaking Bad (2008-2013). The core story of the series is how underpaid and demoralized chemistry teacher Walter White, diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer to begin the series, teams with former student Jesse Pinkman to sell crystal meth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vince Gilligan created and produced the series.

(From left, Bryan Cranston as Walter White, Anna Gunn as Skyler White and RJ Mitte as Walter White, Jr. in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

As the series begins, Walter White lives in the family’s one-story ranch house with Skyler White, his wife, and Walter White, Jr., his son. Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and RJ Mitte portrayed husband, wife and son, respectively, in the series. The initial impetus for entering the drug trade for Walter White was to financially provide for his family in the face of his cancer diagnosis. The process began as a small operation with small batches, made in combination and then distributed with the aid of former student Jesse Pinkman. Aaron Paul portrayed Jesse Pinkman.

(From left, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Krysten Ritter as Jane Margolis in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

Comedic dysfunction ensued in the relationship for Pinkman and his former teacher in getting their business off the ground. Distribution is an initial consideration, with issues in manufacturing and distribution, with the engagement of Krazy-8, as portrayed by Max Arciniega, offering a dramatic sequence of events for the opening season. Jesse Pinkman’s strained relationship with his parents, as portrayed by Michael Bofshever and Tess Harper, added some depth to this storyline. Sharing Walt’s cancer diagnosis to Skyler’s sister Marie Schrader and DEA agent brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, introduced some of Walter’s extended family. Dean Norris and Betsy Brandt portrayed Hank and Marie, respectively.

(From left, Dean Norris as Hank Schrader and Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

The second season plants the fodder for the larger narrative for where the five seasons of Breaking Bad will go. Introducing Tuco Salamanca, as portrayed by Raymond Cruz, at first introduces an element of realism and risk for what the illegal meth business means. Keeping the notion separate from family, with the introductions of mortal risk alongside a love interest for Jesse with Jane Margolis, demonstrating complexity on the front that is only the tip of the iceberg. Krysten Ritter and John de Lancie portray Jane Margolis and her father, Donald Margolis, respectively. The recreational vehicle and meth lab for Walt and Jesse, in their own ways, bring problems between Jesse and his parents, Hank Schrader and the criminal enterprise, and familial ties that aren’t readily apparent at this of the story. The season really ends with a bang.

(From left, Matt Jones as Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew, Rodney Rush as Christian ‘Combo’ Ortega, Charles Baker as Skinny Pete and Bryan Cranston as Walter White in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

Season three introduces many elements of fallout from the second season, including introductions to relatives of Tuco Salamanca through Saul Goodman. Bob Odenkirk, Mark Margolis, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada portrayed Saul Goodman, Hector Salamanca, Marco Salamanca and Leonel Salamanca, respectively. Goodman also brings Mike Ehrmantraut into the relationship of Walter and Skyler White, with an aim to protect the criminal enterprise that Jesse and Walter. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman had brought Goodman into their enterprise in what was to become a growing crystal meth operation. It’s through Ehrmantraut, as portrayed by Jonathan Banks, that we are introduced to chicken manufacturer Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring of Chile and his industrial strength crystal meth manufacturing plant. Giancarlo Esposito portrayed Fring.

(From left, Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut and Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

The backstory of the industrial plant takes the audience into the past crystal meth manufacturing ambitions of Gus Freng. This history shows a longstanding relationship between Fring and Hector Salamanca, culminating in the manufacturing storyline under the laundromat. Dynamic interpersonal dynamics become exceedingly more complex from this past, and with the cook who assembled the plant the parts for the plan in the first place, Gale Boetticher. David Costabile portrayed Boetticher, whose overall story leads to the fulfillment of many storylines for Breaking Bad.

(From left, Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca and Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

The Salamanca storyline around vengeance for Tuco runs contemporaneous to the laundromat, the introduction to Gus’ ambition, and explaining to outward appearances for the ability to afford Walter White’s cancer treatments. We meet the character Ted Beneke, a creep from Skyler’s past portrayed by Christopher Cousins. Meanwhile, we dynamics with Jesse’s distribution ring leads to troubles for Christian ‘Combo’ Ortega, as portrayed by Rodney Rush. The fallout of this leads to significant issues for Walter and Jesse with Mike Ehrmantraut and Gus Fring, with the relationship that Jesse has cultivated with Andrea Cantillo and her son, Brock Cantillo, on Jesse’s mind. Emily Rios and Ian Posada portrayed Andrea Cantillo and Brock Cantillo, respectively.

(From left, Christopher Cousins as Ted Beneke, David Costabile as Gale Boetticher and Emily Rios as Andrea Cantillo in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

The third and fourth seasons of Breaking Bad were among the best I’ve seen in a television series. The trajectory for so many relationships along with the development of the histories that informed so much of the motivation for characters were tremendous. That we truly began to see the true nature of who series long characters were during this timeframe. The stepping up of ways that DEA agent Hank Schrader continued not knowing that his brother-in-law was in drugs, as prolonged as could be possible with some ingenious interventions, were artfully done. This said, the sharing for how the stories of so many characters worked themselves out by the fourth season, and through some tying of loose ends with the fifth season, made the fifth season feel a bit anti-climactic at points for me. The introduction of Holly White was an interesting touch along the way, which served purposes for the relations between Walter and Skyler White, Hank and Marie Schrader, and between the Schraders and the Whites.

(From left, Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist and Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle in the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

The storylines for the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad introduced needs to bring resolution to relationships with questions unresolved. Would members of the cast continue with the criminal enterprise? Would folks get caught? Would Hank catch the criminal that he’d been after since the beginning of the series. These questions are answered with clarity and depth, though the true emotional impact for some of these questions rested earlier in the series. The functions of Todd Alquist and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle became necessary, though these characters didn’t get the screen time to resonate as completely as others, including Brandon ‘Badger’ Mayhew and as Skinny Pete. The discrete closure for specific characters, and how things were left open for our imaginations for some characters, was an interesting choice. That this led the Better Call Saul (2015-2022) television series as well as the El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) movie occurred, due to this, in my opinion. Matt Jones, Charles Baker, Jesse Plemons and Laura Fraser portrayed Mayhew, Skinny Pete, Alquist and Rodarte-Quayle, respectively.

(From left, director Vince Gilligan and actor Aaron Paul preparing for a scene for the Vince Gilligan television series Breaking Bad).

The overall experience of the Breaking Bad television series was entertaining. There are definitely parts of the movie that explored the motivations for who characters were, with the end result being a clear speaking to the full character that was Walter White. I give Breaking Bad as produced by Vince Gilligan 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins and Season Three of ‘Justified’

We first introduced you to the FX television series Justified (2010-2015) with our look into the first season last July. We followed with a look into season two in September. The third 13-episode season of Justified brings an exiled Detroit mobster to Harlan through Lexington, Kentucky to establish the oxycontin trade. Meanwhile, a couple of other criminal feuds breakout with allegiances changing with rapid fire, ending up with Nobles Holler playing a decent part in the larger story.

(Natalie Zea as Winona Hawkins, left, and Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens in the television series Justified).

Timothy Olyphant continues to star in season three of Justified as the righteous yet rule-bending lawman morally mixed-up with his ex-wife Winona Hawkins, as portrayed by Natalie Zea. The story involving Gary Hawkins, as portrayed by William Ragsdale, is one worth keeping an eye on through the season.

(Left to right, Neal McDonough as Robert Quarles, William Ragsdale as Gary Hawkins and Jere Burns as Wynn Duffy in the television series Justified).

The exiled Detroit mobster Robert Quarles, portrayed by Neal McDonough, interplays with Dixie Mafia enforcer Wynn Duffy, as portrayed by Jere Burns. The banter among these characters highlights cultural differences between the Midwestern United States and Appalachia, aiming for humor in the approach.

(Left to right, Joelle Carter as Ava Crowder, Raymond J. Barry as Arlo Givens and Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder in the television series Justified).

Old feuds surface in the telling of the story of introducing new players into the vacuum caused by the deaths of Mags Bennett and others in the second season of the series. The feud between Boyd Crowder, as portrayed by Walton Goggins, and Dickie Bennett, as portrayed by Jeremy Davies, is a central part of that tale. Ava Crowder remains in league with her former brother-in-law, Boyd, while Arlo Givens joins the Crowders, including wheel-chair bound Johnny Crowder, in that process. Joelle Carter plays Ava Crowder. Raymond J. Barry plays Arlo Givens, the father to Raylan. David Meunier plays Johnny Crowder.

(Todd Stashwick as Ash Murphy, left, and Jeremy Davies as Dickie Bennett in the television series Justified).

Almost everybody through the third season of Justified has an interest in the money that Mags Bennett has left in trust with the Ellstin Limehouse in Noble’s Holler. Dickie Bennett believes himself to be the rightful heir to the fortune, which in separate parts motivates behavior for Boyd, Johnny and Ava Crowder, Arlo Givens, Raylan Givens, Ash Murphy and Ellstin Limehouse. Ash Murphy, a Kentucky jailer, is portrayed by Todd Stashwick. Ellstin Limehouse is portrayed by Mykelti Williamson.

(Left to right, Mykelti Williamson as Ellstin Limehouse, Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks and Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens in the television series Justified).

Law enforcement officers with the U.S. Marshals Service in Justified continue to include Rachel Brooks as portrayed by Erica Tazel, Art Mullen as portrayed by Nick Searcy and Tim Gutterson as portrayed by Jacob Pitts. A nebulous and entertaining fictional part of this series is the different degrees of gray that these characters, and all the characters to some degree, in this series occupy.

(Left to right, Nick Searcy as Art Mullen, Jacob Pitts as Tim Gutterson and Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens in the television series Justified).

The third season of this series hits another home run of entertaining for me, which allowed me to move quickly through the season. The emotional truths of different characters in the story, flaws and quirks right there for the telling, is part of what resonates in the storytelling of this season. The same has been true of the series overall, with payoffs among the different seasons as well. I grade for season three of Justified at 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, January 18, 2020

Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins and Season Two of ‘Justified’

We first introduced you to the FX television series Justified (2010-2015) with our look into the first season in July. Brad Paisley reprises the closing thought of You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive in bringing the second 13-episode season of this addictive elegy of dysfunctional hillbillies feuding over crime, mining rights for the mountain, and a fleeting sense of a way of life in a community seemingly committed to a violent end. Throw in a sliding moral sense of interpersonal intimacy and trust that complicate definitions of family and friendship, and you have a sense for what season one and season two of Justified have had to offer.

(Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks, Joelle Carter as Ava Crowder, Nick Searcy as Art Mullen, Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder, Jacob Pitts as Tim Gutterson and Jere Burns as Wynn Duffy from the television series Justified).

Central to the dysfunctional and blurred lines of friendship and family remains the complicated relationship of almost brothers, almost friends, and almost always murky yet tenuous bond between Boyd Crowder and US Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens. A gunfight at the end of season one cemented the tenuous bond and truce of sorts, which in part contributed to the end of the love interest of Givens Ava Crowder. Ava accepts Boyd into her home, where a complicated family history from the first season of Justified transpired, and led to a complicated transition of feelings between Boyd and Ava explored through the show’s second season. Additionally explored was a backstory for US Deputy Marshal Rachel Brooks and her brother, as well as background introduced for Marshal Tim Gutterson.

(William Ragsdale as Gary Hawkins and Natalie Zea as Winona Hawkins in the television series Justified).

The complicated love triangle between Raylan, the glue to many story lines in Justified, explored the romantic ties and questionable entanglements with the law and each other for Gary Hawkins and Raylan’s ex-wife Winona Hawkins. Winona married Gary before the first season began, yet comes to a place where she questions the emotional priorities of Gary, as she had with Raylan before him. True to the series name, much of these questions are justified, as our the questions Winona also levels at herself through the season. Shenanigans ensue that touch characters Wynn Duffy and US Marshal Art Mullen. The nature of the enlightened perspectives of Duffy and Mullen, while expressed in different circles and levels of justification for sure, offer plenty of interesting fodder for those interested in considering the gray areas of personal ethics that Justified takes pleasure in questioning. Particularly for me, these last two questions seem particularly relevant heading into the next season, as is the question of where Raylan and the Hawkins’ are headed.

(Raymond J. Barry as Arlo Givens, left, and Linda Gehringer as Helen Givens in the television series Justified).

Further glue arises in the relationship of Raylan’s father and aunt, respectively Arlo Givens and Helen Givens. Wishing to hold back spoilers, I offer plenty in saying that either Arlo or Helen take a frightful turn during season two of Justified. The story of these two intersect with Boyd and Ava Crowder, whose story lines echo one another in enough ways to stir some questions.

(Jeremy Davies as Dickie Bennett, left, and Brad William Henke as Coover Bennett in the television series Justified).

The intersection of Boyd and Ava to Arlo and Helen brings season two of Justified to the central story line, which arguably should have come up earlier in the best way to pitch this season. First, who are the Bennetts? Second, what is their concern with Loretta McReady and her father? Finally, where does this leave us as far as the larger drama of the season?

(Joseph Lyle Taylor as Doyle Bennett, left, and Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett in the television series Justified).

Mags Bennett is the matriarch of the Bennett family. The Bennetts and the Givens family have some degree of a feud occurring that dates back generations in Harlan, Kentucky. Doyle Bennett is a police sheriff and arguably the most intelligent of the three sons introduced during the second season of Justified. The other two are Dickie Bennett and Coover Bennett, who lean more towards the criminal enterprise portion of the family business. Of the three sons, Mags favors one child over the other two. Dickie is the screw-up brother while Coover is the brother lacking common sense yet purported to have an aptitude for cultivating marijuana.

(Kaitlyn Dever as Loretta McCready in the television series Justified).

The story of the Bennetts overlaps with Loretta McCready, a 14-year-old girl who faces interpersonal criminal behavior at the hands of members of the Bennett clan. Through the season, Mags warms to Loretta as the daughter she never had. Whether fate plays a fickle or steady hand for the Bennetts regarding the McCready family and Loretta as Loretta struggles to understand the fate of her father through the course of the second season of Justified is plenty of reason to watch the series. I personally am impressed with the second season. My overall grade for season two of Justified is 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, September 14, 2019

Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins and Season One of ‘Justified’

The FX television series Justified (2010-2015) recently entered our viewing rotation at Matt Lynn Digital. If you haven’t yet done so, we strongly encourage you check into this series. Season one gets into the first 13-episode season, which is the focus of this review. The season itself credits the Elmore Leonard short story Fire in the Hole as an influence. Elmore James novels Pronto and Riding the Rap are additionally credited for the series, which was developed for television by Graham Yost.

(Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, left, and Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder in the FX series Justified).

The central character of this series is U.S. Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens, the central law enforcement officer forced back to his childhood home in the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in Harlan. The opening scenes of the series, set in Miami, Florida, offer the audience a glimpse into a seemingly cavalier attitude that sets a tone for the series. We are introduced fairly quickly into the checkered history of the Givens and Crowder families as well as the many varieties of interpersonal relationships with lawfulness, lawlessness, and guns this involves.

(Joelle Carter as Ava Crowder, left, and Natalie Zea as Winona Hawkins in the FX series Justified).

Timothy Olyphant plays the fast and loose lawman Raylan Givens while Walton Goggins plays the masquerading as white supremacist criminal seeking spirituality Boyd Crowder. Raylan and Boyd dug coal together in the past. Joelle Carter plays Ava Crowder, the physically abused wife of Boyd Crowder’s brother. Ava’s husband ends up dead, breeding tension between Ava and the Crowders as her romantic inclination towards Raylan gains expression as Raylan aims to protect her. Boundaries are blurred. Meanwhile, blurry boundaries between Raylan Givens and his remarried ex-wife, Winona Hawkins as played by Natalie Zea, come into play often through the first season.

(Nick Searcy as Art Mullen, left, and Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks in the FX series Justified).

Nick Searcy as Art Mullen and Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks serve the Deputy Marshals service in roles that are played fairly straight when it comes to the dramatic flair of other characters in this season. Mullen plays Raylan Givens’ boss while Brooks plays the occasional partner to Raylan. Boyd’s father Bo Crowder, as played by M.C. Gainey, and Raylan’s father Arlo, as played by Raymond J. Barry, are equal parts cantankerous, corrupt, and confounding in their own ways to their respective sons. The nature of their self-interest was priceless, entertaining for being incorrigible, and worth the effort to see.

(M.C. Gainey as Bo Crowder, left, and Raymond J. Barry as Arlo Givens in the FX series Justified).

My aim here has been to offer you a sense for what the opening season of the series Justified has to give you in terms of criminal, hillbilly behavior. The story builds from episode to episode in a way that is engaging. It is easy to see relationships between characters that are interesting for being a train wreck of entertaining in that it kept me wanting to watch. My feeling is that many of you will feel the same. My overall grade for season one of Justified is 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, July 10, 2019