Black Bird

Black Bird is every bit as good as everyone says it is. After reading all the great reviews (it currently has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) so I went into this with pretty high expectations, well this series not only met those expectations but surpassed them in every way. While there are plenty of great performances here (Ray Liotta, Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi) the two stand outs everyone is talking about is Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser. Both give award worthy performances. In Hauser's case he actually win a Golden Globe for best supporting actor. There are so many shoes on true crime that have come out lately but Black Bird is among the best of them and should be a must watch for any fan of the genre.

The reason why I gave this show a shot was because of Ray Liotta, Taron Egerton, and Greg Kinnear. I always liked their movies. Their acting was superb, as well as everybody else in this project. The pace, camera work, and symbolism really stood out as well. You can also argue on how this a great cautionary tale for our society in regards to mental health, sexual education, and how important a loving family is to a child.

The "true crime genre" itself is not something I like to watch as it's very disturbing to me, but I stuck it out as you become heavily invested in Jimmy's and the detectives struggle to lock up Hall for good. I highly recommend this even if it's hard to watch at times.

Paul Walter Hauser deserves an award (or multiple) for his performance as Larry in Black Bird. He's compelling and genuine, and manages to force you to develop some sympathy for him, despite his heinous crimes. I've only seen Taron Egerton in the Kingsmen franchise, but his performance is far superior in Black Bird. I wasn't sure what to expect out of him in this serious role, but he is excellent.

This is not Black Bird. It is Paul Walter Hauser's show. Again.

First, I discovered Paul in Frank's Grillo's Kingdom series. He is terrific there. One of my favorite characters. A masterfully acting class. Probably the best performer there with Jay Kulina.

Second, even Black Bird's story is interesting, what makes it over the average, is Paul's performance. Don't get me wrong, Taron is great too, but not as credible and solid as Paul.

Last, the series had potential to become a cult classic, but at the end, it makes you feel like something is missing. Overall is pretty great but not superb as it could have been.

Mini Series Magic

Is it just me or is the mini-series becoming one of the more popular "styles" of TV entertainment? I can't remember watching a single mini series more than 3 years ago - now I'm keeping a sharp eye out for them since the likes of "Chernobyl" "Mare of Eastown" and "Black Bird" have all blown my socks off.

Taron Egerton is the shining star of his generation, truly a man of many talents. I've followed him since his breakaway role in Kingsmen and have enjoyed every single project I've seen him in sense. "Black Bird" was the first serious role I've seen Egerton in, and he proved that he can deliver across the TV medium, for multiple episodes, hooking the audience in on a character that he really made his own.

The story of Larry Hall is terrifying, a monster in our society that was caged and almost let go again. I was hooked from the first episode to the last, and by the end was wishing the series wasn't so "mini."