Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino in Season Two of ‘Bosch’

The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books in 1992. As this is written, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the second season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.

(From left, Brad Carter as Chilton Hardy and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the second season of Bosch).

The storyline for this season picks up six months after Harry Bosch‘s police unit in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California sought a serial killer in the show’s first season. The ten episodes of the second season were adapted from the Michael Connelly books The Last Coyote, Trunk Music and The Drop. The story sees Harry Bosch following a new case of a Hollywood film producer with potential connections to the mob. Information about the years-ago death of Bosch‘s mother introduces the possibility of driving the detective to distraction.

(From left and near lectern, Erika Alexander as Connie Irving, Lance Reddick as Irvin Irving, Steven Culp as Richard O’Shea and Leslie Stevens as Patricia O’Shea in season two of Bosch).

Deputy Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Irvin Irving as portrayed by Lance Reddick, at first aims to stay above the details of the investigation that Harry is pursuing. Irving‘s son, portrayed by Robbie Jones with the character name George Irving, goes undercover on the force. Harry’s investigation heads to Las Vegas, Nevada as George’s experiences in plainclothes begin to introduce a set of considerations for the full Irving family.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Jeri Ryan as Veronica Allen and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the second season of Bosch).

Harry’s time in Nevada reveals that not all is well for Harry‘s ex-wife, Eleanor Wish as portrayed by Sarah Clarke, and her situation with her current husband. The child between Eleanor and Harry, Maddie Bosch as portrayed by Madison Lintz, in certain ways is caught in the middle of multiple situations. Deputy Chief Irving, meanwhile, chimes in with his support of the mayoral race by supporting Richard O’Shea. Steven Culp portrayed by mayoral candidate O’Shea.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in season two of Bosch).

While Deputy Chief Irving’s support for mayor begins to introduce some political fallout for the deputy chief, things too get messy between Bosch‘s murder investigation, the mob and his familial past. Bosch‘s encounter with mob boss Joey Marks, with roots in Armenia and as portrayed by Tom Mardirosian, lead to serious questions for what course to pursue. Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar as portrayed by Jamie Hector, pursue Marks while Bosch takes specific measures to protect his daughter and ex-wife.

(From left, John Marshall Jones as Jay Griffin and Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish in season two of Bosch).

Circumstances escalate severely in the familial lives of the Irving family and the Bosch / Wish family take unexpected and dark turns as the tensions elevate each family. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brings in a surprise approach, through Jay Griffin as portrayed by John Marshall Jones, that prompts the LAPD officers to reconsider their original theories of the murder that opened this season. There are the threads of the murder investigation along with the FBI‘s interest in a potentially related set of crimes. There’s familial fallout for the Irvings, the Bosches and the Wishes sharply placed in focus against the trajectory for the mayoral campaign and violence that comes to call with the mob story that includes the tales of Veronica Allen, as portrayed by Jeri Ryan, and Carl Nash as portrayed by Brent Sexton.

(From left, Amy Aquino as Grace Billets and Madison Lintz as Maddie Bosch in Bosch).

The stakes in play for season two make for entertaining television. The tension is real, the characters have depth and character growth. Addressing the puzzle with Harry Bosch‘s mother was an appreciated twist. The investment in feelings among the characters makes for an engaging experience binging this season. I grant season two of Bosch as presented as an Amazon original series, 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in the Coen Brothers movie ‘No Country for Old Men’

Crime. Drama. Thrills. Intensely drawn characters. The movie No Country for Old Men (2007) as directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen is drawn from the 2005 Cormac McCarthy book No Country for Old Men. The dark violence and stylistic complexity from the book translated to the something equally dark and complex with the movie. Join us in learning a bit more.

(From left, Kelly Macdonald as Carla Jean Moss and Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss in the Ethan Coen and Joel Coen movie No Country for Old Men).

We come upon hunter Llewelyn Moss in the western fringes of Texas in the desert near El Paso when Moss discovers the aftermath of a drug deal gone horribly wrong. Moss, as portrayed by Josh Brolin, does nothing to render aid for the lone survivor of the carnage; he does decide to walk away with the large sum of money along the way. Moss offers few details to his wife Carl Jean, as portrayed by Kelly Macdonald, when getting home with the spoils. The pair are clear with one another that the heat of those looking to recover the money will be looking for them.

(From left, Tommy Lee Jones as Ed Tom Bell and Garret Dillahunt as Wendell in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen movie No Country for Old Men).

The notion that someone who would know that their money was missing would come behind the desert carnage was of little mystery to sheriff Ed Tom Bell and deputy Wendell. Tommy Lee Jones and Garret Dillahunt portrayed the sheriff and deputy, respectively. Bell, who we learn had been sheriff from a young age, aims to help Llewelyn and Carla Jean Moss navigate this situation with their lives, if he could. We find that Bell is on a journey of his own through the course of this movie.

(From left, Gene Jones as Gas Station Proprietor and Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in the Ethan Coen and Joel Coen movie No Country for Old Men).

That the single-minded, psychopathic and eccentric Anton Chigurh is on a mission to recover the stolen money soon becomes clear. That Chigurh isn’t your typical man out for money is clear as Chigurh has an intense yet brief interaction with a Gas Station Proprietor as portrayed by Gene Jones. Javier Bardem portrayed Anton Chigurh. Besides having armed himself with a homemade sawed-off shotgun with a coffee-can silencer and a trademark compressed air-driven cattle gun, Chigurh carries with him an eccentric philosophical conviction that he is merely an agent of fate.

(Stephen Root as Man who hires Carson Wells in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen movie No Country for Old Men).

Multiple men are pursuing the recovery of the money in the wind from the drug deal gone wrong. Carson Wells, as portrayed by Woody Harrelson, pursues Chigurh and the money after being hired for expressly this purpose by the character portrayed by Stephen Root. Wells aids in bolstering the backstory of Anton Chigurh, whose eccentricity defies explanation for some without the explication a scene between Wells and the man who hired him offers.

(From left, Woody Harrelson as Carson Wells and Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in the Ethan Coen and Joel Coen movie No Country for Old Men).

The fates of many are messy throughout the course of No Country for Old Men. Few if any come out of the mayhem of this story clean, with Chigurh, Wells and others are sharing in some measure of this fate. Where the characters stake their claim in this regard feels like a clear and present message throughout the film. This thematic exploration offers a measuring stick for the success of the storytelling, if my estimation offers a sufficient guidepost for your thoughts of this film.

(From left, actor Javier Bardem, director Joel Coen and director Ethan Coen on site of the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen movie No Country for Old Men).

The movie No Country for Old Men earned three BAFTAs and four Academy Awards in 2008 for direction, acting and adapted screenplay. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen adapted the screenplay from the Cormac McCarthy book, with Javier Bardem claiming a BAFTA and an Academy Award. I grant the movie No Country for Old Men as directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, February 2, 2022

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