Ballers

Discuss TV shows old and new.
Post Reply
Message
Author
flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Ballers

#1 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Mon Aug 15, 2016 4:02 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:Ballers
flyonthewall2983 wrote:I really like Ballers, reminds me a lot of the tone North Dallas Forty. Similar sort of plot, with the same approach to the comedy-drama divide. It's got some growing to do, but it's clear to me Dwayne Johnson is the glue holding it together.
Roger Ryan wrote:BALLERS feels kind of lightweight, but I like that the characters are more sympathetic than the ENTOURAGE crew (something I was concerned about since I figured this new show would follow the earlier one's style).
This season of HBO's Ballers has shown a substantial improvement over it's first, which has been described by some as lifestyle porn. This digs a little deeper, and is not as glamorous.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: TV of 2016

#2 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 15, 2016 4:03 pm

So now it's lifestyle amateur porn

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: TV of 2016

#3 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Mon Aug 15, 2016 4:12 pm

Image

User avatar
Andre Jurieu
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:38 pm
Location: Back in Milan (Ind.)

Re: TV of 2016

#4 Post by Andre Jurieu » Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:12 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:This season of HBO's Ballers has shown a substantial improvement over it's first, which has been described by some as lifestyle porn. This digs a little deeper, and is not as glamorous.
I had the same thought while watching last night's episode. It seems like they've figured out that they really should not try to recreate the crap-fest that was Entourage, and instead focus on some of the more interesting aspects of being a pro-athlete. Of course, now that I've said that, I'm sure next week's show will be a bottle-episode inside a strip-club.

User avatar
Andre Jurieu
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:38 pm
Location: Back in Milan (Ind.)

Re: TV of 2016

#5 Post by Andre Jurieu » Mon Sep 26, 2016 1:24 pm

Andre Jurieu wrote:
flyonthewall2983 wrote:This season of HBO's Ballers has shown a substantial improvement over it's first, which has been described by some as lifestyle porn. This digs a little deeper, and is not as glamorous.
I had the same thought while watching last night's episode. It seems like they've figured out that they really should not try to recreate the crap-fest that was Entourage, and instead focus on some of the more interesting aspects of being a pro-athlete. Of course, now that I've said that, I'm sure next week's show will be a bottle-episode inside a strip-club.
Well, the inevitable/obligatory strip-club scene finally showed up for the season finale, but even still that episode actually felt like it had some palpable substances behind it. Eddie George was actually kind of impressively believable in his handful of scenes and I think Johnson has improved substantially as an actor over the past couple of years. I'm almost disgusted with myself for even considering this, but could it be that the producers of Entourage are actually improving at their craft? Of course, I still wouldn't put much money on them being people I could stand for more than 5 minutes.

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: TV of 2016

#6 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Tue Sep 27, 2016 6:59 pm

I'd wager that the strip club scene climaxed with the funniest moment of the whole season, probably of the whole show, when Rob Corddry goes up and tries to poledance. And this has probably been the best avenue for Dwayne Johnson's dramatic abilities as anything else I've seen him in. His speech to the rookies at the end was probably his finest moment on the whole show.

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: TV of 2017

#7 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:40 pm

HBO's Ballers is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, but last week's episode had a genuinely funny scene with Richard Schiff and Steven Weber as two brothers at each other's throats. This season isn't going as gingerly as last year's was, but I have generally set my expectations low for this and they're generally met with some exceptions.

Post Reply