This "Room 104" episode called "Shark" from season 2 is pretty lame and really not that entertaining to watch. As two cousins share a room together and it appears they make their living as hustlers and con men. All of a sudden all of this comes to a head as they try to convince each other about staying in the game of gambling as each wants to do their own unique way of being a card shark. The words gets intense with some fist flying as it turns into a drama over money. Overall nothing special.
3 Reviews
Old Friends...
gensbill15 December 2018
Mahershala Ali could read the phone book and I would watch. Yet, I never saw the movie that made him famous.
Here he fights a pal in a down-tracking life (for them both)...over a dollar.
Yet, despite the constraints of the room, both actors manage to make you feel the smallness of their life together that even challenges the confinement of their moment.
Nicely done.
Here he fights a pal in a down-tracking life (for them both)...over a dollar.
Yet, despite the constraints of the room, both actors manage to make you feel the smallness of their life together that even challenges the confinement of their moment.
Nicely done.
Good Writing
stevenevans-2859720 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of the better episodes; primarily because it's well-written.
Conceptually, this episode is fairly simple. Two guys, who make a living hustling at the game of pool, end up engaging in a dispute. However, the writing is so solid and engaging, that even this simple premise, does well.
What I like most, about this episode, is that the dialogue is written very well. These characters don't feel like characters. They feel like actual people, dealing with an actual dispute, in an entertaining way.
Franco is the brains, and Ollie is the talent -- at least that's the way Franco sees it. However, according to Ollie, Franco's nothing but dead weight, since he's not the one who's actually competing in the pool competitions. An argument ensues once Ollie realizes that Franco's been cheating him. The two of them are supposed to split the profits, fifty/fifty. So Ollie is upset when he learns that Franco has been skimming off the top.
What I love about this episode, is that you really start to recognize Franco's position. Franco, essentially calls Ollie "stupid", and you start to wonder if Ollie has reason to be upset with Franco. Maybe Franco really is cheating Ollie, and Ollie has a valid case. However, once you realize that the dispute is over a dollar, it becomes clear that Franco isn't too far off in his assessment of Ollie.
I really like this episode, since it adequately shows the power of good writing. The premise is extremely simple, yet the writer still makes the episode engaging, and fun to watch.
What more can you really expect from these short episodes that are only about twenty-five minutes long? For me, this is one of the better episodes, since it really shows good writing, acting, and directing.
Conceptually, this episode is fairly simple. Two guys, who make a living hustling at the game of pool, end up engaging in a dispute. However, the writing is so solid and engaging, that even this simple premise, does well.
What I like most, about this episode, is that the dialogue is written very well. These characters don't feel like characters. They feel like actual people, dealing with an actual dispute, in an entertaining way.
Franco is the brains, and Ollie is the talent -- at least that's the way Franco sees it. However, according to Ollie, Franco's nothing but dead weight, since he's not the one who's actually competing in the pool competitions. An argument ensues once Ollie realizes that Franco's been cheating him. The two of them are supposed to split the profits, fifty/fifty. So Ollie is upset when he learns that Franco has been skimming off the top.
What I love about this episode, is that you really start to recognize Franco's position. Franco, essentially calls Ollie "stupid", and you start to wonder if Ollie has reason to be upset with Franco. Maybe Franco really is cheating Ollie, and Ollie has a valid case. However, once you realize that the dispute is over a dollar, it becomes clear that Franco isn't too far off in his assessment of Ollie.
I really like this episode, since it adequately shows the power of good writing. The premise is extremely simple, yet the writer still makes the episode engaging, and fun to watch.
What more can you really expect from these short episodes that are only about twenty-five minutes long? For me, this is one of the better episodes, since it really shows good writing, acting, and directing.
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