10 October 3, 2013 TheMetropolitan
Rants+Raves
Perfect end to five years of glory
Photos by breakingbad.wikia.com
Kayla Whitney kwhitne2@msudenver.edu @kayla_themet
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It all started with a man in tighty whities. Two thousand and eighty-three days ago—on Jan. 20, 2008—TV saw the start of a legend. The pilot episode of “Breaking Bad” was the first of 62 episodes that captivated audiences and left fans at the edge of their seats each time the credits rolled. On Sept. 29, 2013, the fiveyear journey ended and fans were finally able to sit back, jaws gaping, eyes watering and hearts filled with mixed emotions. “Felina,” the finale of the series, aired last Sunday. According to Entertainment Weekly, around 10.3
million viewers tuned. A surprising number, considering only 1.9 million viewers watched the season four finale, which aired Oct. 9, 2011. With the huge popularity of the show at the time of its end, much debate has arisen on the quality of the ending. Many felt it was too forced, some wanted more of an open-ended feel lik the “Sopranos” season finale, while other—including myself—thought it was absolutely perfect. When the second half of the fifth season started up in August, fans everywhere were constantly questioning what in the hell creator Vince Gilligan’s master plan was. For those that either haven’t
seen the finale or may be interesting in checking out the show at some point, this would be a good point to stop reading. Feel free to catch the last two graphs. By the last few episodes, we had Walter forced into hiding and on the brink of completely giving up. Jesse was a slave to the white supremacist meth dealers. Hank was dead. Skyler and the children were living a far from perfect life under a terrible spotlight. And the clever Saul Goodman was in Nebraska—poor guy. After everything the characters had already gone through, it was impossible to guess how it all would end. One could only hope for redemption and grace—and that’s what Gilligan gave us. Laser pointers, ricin, Stevia,
and a mechanical trunk gun were all it took for Walt to put a beautiful end to one hell of a series. The firefight that takes place at the end is a fantastic mixture of Walt’s cunning creativity to kill people, redemption for Jesse, and a passionate standoff between Mr. White and Pinkman. At first you don’t know which of the two would shoot the other—the anticipation was nerve-racking. But Walt did the right thing and as retribution for everything he had put Jesse through, he let him go. The entire episode was—as always—artistically shot. But the best part of it all was the last few moments a gravely injured Walt spent in the meth lab. When the song “Baby Blue”
Space suspense pulls in audience Kayla Whitney kwhitne2@msudenver.edu @kayla_themet
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It may seem like there’s nothing in space, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe. “Gravity” is a nonstop suspense space adventure that keeps your heart pounding and adrenaline up for nearly 90 minutes straight. There really should be a warning that this movie isn’t for the faint of heart. The premise is pretty basic. Two astronauts are the sole survivors of the Explorer shuttle that was pummeled with debris from a satellite crash. The surviving astronauts—Ryan Stone (Sandra Bull-
ock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney)—are forced to make their way to the International Space Station as their fuel and oxygen levels slowly drain. The movie is nice enough to give the audience a good dose of comedy and calm at the very beginning. A witty Kowalski drifts around the Explorer, telling humorous stories to Houston, while Stone and another astronaut are hard at work outside the ship. The tranquility doesn’t last long and soon a space shuttle in pieces, a bunch of dead astronauts and Stone spinning off into space. From that moment, the movie is nonstop suspense and you’re constantly questioning what terrible thing will happen next.
started playing as Walt picked up the gasmask—I for one lost it. It was at that moment I realized that this is the end for Walter White. As the camera draws back into the ceiling and a raid of cops bust into the lab, with Walt dead on the floor, five seasons of glory were over. For me, it was nothing short of perfection. Since day one, “Breaking Bad” has been an artistic rollercoaster of drama, suspense, wit, tragedy, and at one point or another, every emotion a human being is capable of experiencing. After more than five years Gilligan gave us what he always dreamed of—the perfect television show, from beginning to end.
Photo by Warner Bros
The flick is definitely a thrill ride and once it gets going, it doesn’t stop. There are a small handful of peaceful moments that occur within the chaos of characters that float helplessly in space, just trying to find something to grab onto. Probably one of the greatest calm moments involves Bullock’s character barking like a dog as she drifts through space in a damaged escape pod. It’s a mixture of depressing and hilarious. The last 15 minutes of the movie are the most frustrating and suspenseful minutes of all. After everything that has happened, you just want a moment of redemption and a glimmer of hope. Don’t be surprised if you end up yelling at the moviescreen.
Chances are there will be a few moments where you might pass out because you’ll find yourself holding your breath with the chaotic action or a suffocating character. Please—remember to breathe. In terms of space adventure movies, “Gravity” doesn’t top the charts by any means. Although it’s thrilling, suspenseful and a great watch, don’t expect to add this to your space movie collection. The action is pretty repetitive— float here, grab on to this, don’t get hit by debris, avoid this, etc. So don’t be surprised if you experience some déjà vu. The take away meaning and moral message are pretty cliché and basic—overcome death and survive, no one has ever seen that
in a space movie, right? With the contrived and repetitious moments, this film is forced to ride on its action, suspense, music, visuals and occasional humorous bursts. Those elements in and of themselves are enough to sell it, but still, this movie is really only worth one watch. The movie comes out this Friday, Oct. 4. If you do decide to see it, it’d be a good idea to cough up the dough to see it in theaters. The large screen and surround sound will make it that much more worth it. With all of the amazing Earth shots and detail of space equipment and action, there’s no way this movie would be the same on the average living room tube.