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

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and the movie ‘Looper’

The Rian Johnson written and directed movie Looper (2012) represents the film that rose the director’s acclaim and profile in Hollywood profile significantly in the American movie making industry. The Turner Classic Movie profile of Johnson largely describes the film as “a mind-bending sci-fi action thriller,” which in a slightly involved plot stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as the same character.

(Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe, top, and Bruce Willis as Old Joe in the movie Looper).

Looper sets out with the beginning of the film to introduce the audience to corporate assassin Joe in the year 2047, as portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Joe serves as the central protagonist and narrator for the film, as much of the background is not easily revealed without the sharing of this backstory. We as the audience learn that time travel is invented sometime after the “present day 2047,” and that it immediately is made illegal and used as a black market means of committing murder in the future and disposing of the evidence in the past. We learn that Joe, our narrator, is a looper who performs the illicit deeds involved of murder and disposal. Upon occasion, a looper must close a loop, which means kill and dispose of his or her elder counterpart. Bruce Willis plays Old Joe from 30 years in the future.

(Jeff Daniels as Abe, top, and Paul Dano as Seth in the movie Looper).

Jeff Daniels as Abe lives in the same era as Joe, as portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Abe was born in the future and sent back to the present era portrayed in the movie to serve as the head of the organization running the looper enterprise. Abe aims to select and manage the loopers, which includes having cultivated Joe. Fellow looper Seth, as portrayed by Paul Dano, comes to Joe for aid when he could close his loop and allowed him to escape. In showing us the demise of Seth and the interplay between the current day and the effect it has on Old Seth, Looper writer and director Rian Johnson foreshadows what could happen if and when Joe’s loop is called.

(Emily Blunt as Sara, top, and Pierce Gagnon as Cid in the movie Looper).

Looper as a movie gets little into how history may have changed due to present day 2047 injuries to Seth, yet the story quickly moves into the story for how Joe interacts with Old Joe and the farming family of Sara and Cid, both possessing a telekinetic ability that we learned of from the narration of Joe earlier in the movie. Emily Blunt plays Sara and Pierce Gagnon plays Cid. The narrative of these two are relevant and satisfying to me as a reviewer, though I choose to leave their role a mystery for those choosing to view the film.

(Qing Xu as Old Joe’s wife, top, and Piper Perabo as Suzie in the movie Looper).

The narrative of Old Joe’s wife and Joe’s female interest Suzie, are relevant yet less satisfying to me as a reviewer. These two offer something of a different nature than do Sara and Cid, yet I am less satisfied with the way the larger arc of their stories are resolved. I too choose to leave their role a mystery for those choosing to view the movie, though share these two for those who might need an R-rating to be attracted to Looper as a movie.

(Rian Johnson wrote and directed the movie Looper).

The movie does offer an emotional punch of an ending that leaves you feeling sympathy for the moral stake taken by characters operating from a large sense of moral depravity largely through the movie. Part of what makes the central characters sympathetic is that we see people making their best with a difficult and degrading situation and metaphorically playing the hand of cards they were dealt. In any meaningful context where you think about things deeply, this dodges a larger and relevant point about decency. Since Looper is a movie designed for entertaining adults for a period of time, my view of the film is taken at the level of conceit through which the movie views itself. Therefore, my rating is 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Saturday, June 8, 2019