TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

by Tony Dayoub

Ace: Generally, how'd he look?
Gus: What do I know, Ace? All four of his legs reach the ground.

That exchange, between two of the leads on the new HBO series Luck, concerns Pint of Plain, the race horse that Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) owns by way of his driver and bodyguard Gus Demetriou (Dennis Farina). Gus is fronting for Ace, who's recently been released from prison and can't legally own a horse until he's off parole. But he knows as much about horse racing as most viewers probably do—which is to say, not much. Those expecting to get a primer on the sport will be disappointed by Luck's first episode, written by creator David Milch (Deadwood) and directed by his co-executive producer, Michael Mann. But that's not a criticism; what Milch and Mann have always been most effective at is getting to the substance of a specific subculture through stylistic means.

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Movie Review: The Grey

by Tony Dayoub

In the American movie landscape, the early part of the year usually means a few things. It's when the rest of the country gets to start catching up on Oscar hopefuls that opened at the end of the previous year in New York and L.A. It's also the season when unworthy films get dumped on an unsuspecting public (Man on a Ledge, anyone?). And finally, it's the designated release window for the semi-annual middle-age-action film by the lumbering Liam Neeson (Taken, Unknown). But this upcoming weekend's entry, Joe Carnahan's survival nightmare The Grey (based on a short story by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers), resembles Neeson's previous simplistic thrillers only from a marketing standpoint. Though the story of a man fighting against nature in a snowy wilderness is unabashedly straightforward, Neeson and Carnahan (who previously collaborated on the dumb A-Team remake) plumb the depths of The Grey's central character, Ottway, and come up with some fascinating stuff.

Best of 2011: The 15 Best Films of the Year

by Tony Dayoub

2011 was a fantastic year for cinema. But try as one might, it's very difficult to see every film out there. Still, I did better than in most other years (notable movies I didn't get to see: 50/50, Bellflower, A Better Life, Buck, The Guard, I Saw the Devil, In the Land of Blood and Honey, Le Havre, Margaret, Pariah, Passione, Point Blank, Rampart, Road to Nowhere, Weekend and most regrettably, A Separation). So as usual, my one disclaimer: if I don't address a film you expected to see listed, it likely means I just didn't see it. But I just wanted to put this list out ahead of Tuesday's Oscar nominations announcement. Feel free to leave a comment if you disagree with any of my selections or to propose some of your own.

Blu-ray Review: The Moment of Truth (Il momento della verità) (1965) and Traffic (2000)

by Tony Dayoub

This month, whether by coincidence or by design, the Criterion Collection releases three Blu-rays which should hold some appeal for Latinos. One I didn't get a chance to review is Belle de Jour by Spanish surrealist Luis Buñuel. But here's a look at the two others.