StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

jdowney-57-371157 Love "The Wire". As good as TV gets. So, you are hopeful for the Simon take on another American city in decline. (The Wire is about Baltimore). New Orleans, a great American city, as filled with character and local color as any of the great East Coast cities, ravaged by hurricane Katrina in 2005. With black urban poor, elitist liberals, working cops, racists, ravaging Real Estate developers, and a history of jazz music and the Mardi Gras, this was a natural for David Simon's sweet spot. Simon went back to his prior works and brought in some great actors. This is the strong point of the show, the characters themselves are great, diverse, rich, each with a back story and personality that gets brought to life thoroughly. I can't even pick a single actor that shines, they are almost all bright spots. There are numerous cameos by real people, musicians, chefs, and others, who maybe slow things up slightly with their awkward speaking parts, but that is simple to overlook because the cast carries them all. But the problems with this show are the story lines themselves. Although, one could say this is what 'Real Life' is like, there are a few melodramas and soap opera like improbabilities that occur in order to make things interesting and give us some kind of plot. The big stories are about 1. the tradition of the Mardi Gras Indians, and we get in the head of one of the chiefs to understand why this custom has carried on and what value he places on it. A dignified and honorable man who is enobled by his adherence to this custom, the chief represents the real heart of New Orleans. And linked to him is a jazz musician son faced with squaring away his roots with his ambitions. 2. a female bar owner who has relationships with a number of other characters, and who suffers some of the soap opera like tragedies that give the story impetus. She represents the reality of living in a violent racist urban millieu day to day and rolling with the punches to overcome. 3. A womanizing Trombone player who embodies the 'big easy' way of life, but through his story grows up, maybe. 4. A pot smoking neer-do-well DJ who ultimately must also grow up. He represents the idealized romantic view of New Orleans culture. 5. A well respected Chef struggling to make it as a business woman. Her arc is the prodigal son, who wanders away, but can not escape her connection to the ruined city. 6. A social justice lawyer, who suffers a betrayal by her elitist husband, and is driven to fight the system of oppression that is given free reign by the scope of the disaster. 7. An honest cop who also attempts to fight the system. 8. Some Real Estate developers ought to make money regardless of the impact on average people and the neighborhoods. 9. Two street musicians who begin as lovers and travel separate paths, both seeking peace and growth though personal travails. These stories all meander together. Sometimes in sensible ways, some time with easy soap opera plot twists. Some characters suffer, some grow. All are ed together by the music and culture of New Orleans. Simeon thinks big and follows the formula of 'The Wire' in letting each character's tale have weight and scoping all of them within the Social System of the modern Urban American environment. There are good things and bad things through out the story. Simon, while having an inherent jewish fetish for romanticising urban black America, is never dishonest about the brutal and violent side of the shiny coin he is fascinated with. He imbues the story with so much music, and makes the New Orleans music scene such an important part of each characters life, that viewers not enamored of music will find it off putting. In the same way, and what is now a decade later somewhat dated, there is a consistent attack on republicanism, Bush, Nagin, and everything non-liberal. Ultimately, why can cops act illegally? Because of Bush. Why will black people get screwed? because of Bush. and on and on and on. Since the story ends with the election of Obama in 2008, the question of whether D's are better is mostly left unresolved, except that social justice lawyer finally gets a system that will consider her not an enemy. All of this is somewhat typical of leftist Hollywood and it does detract from the story. So what we get here ultimately are extended character studies of various folks in David Simon's version of New Orleans. The plots and stories themselves are so uneven, some resolved, some not, that one gets annoyed at the show. If you like Jazz music and great acting, you'll like this show. If you are expecting a normal plot that moves towards something like a story line and a conclusion, you won't find it. Slow moving, sometimes too much schlock, this slow moving drama is not for most people, despite it's lofty intntions.

Red_Identity I finally finished the show. It became such a hard show to really judge because I was so invested in these characters that it just felt like I was really watching their lives play out and not exactly watching a piece of written fiction. It has many of the same tendencies and stylistic choices of The Wire, but never "thrilling" in that sense so I get why it's such an underrated show. It should, in fact, be in the same all-time conversations as some of HBO's most acclaimed (Sopranos, Wire, Six Feet Under). Just a masterful series, and one that became such an easy watch and one that could brighten my day in the best possible ways. There's so much positivity and energy radiating from it, even if the subject matter sounds like the bleakest, most depressing on TV. Guys, if you haven't seen it yet, please do. I highly, highly recommend it

b_clerkin It took me a while to warm up to Treme, but after watching all but the final episode, I must confess that it grows on you as you begin to care about the characters. Sure the annoying, but expected, meme about the disaster being Bush's fault is there, but Nagin and the rest of the endemically corrupt politicians and citizens do not get much of a . I even like Davis, though Steve Zahn's (does he play any other kinds of roles) arrested adolescent can be tiresome and is pretty much the epitome of the best and worst of NO. Love of fun and music, but no desire to do the unpleasant work necessary to pay for the party. The only character I detest is the greasy, selfish,no-talent Eurotrash Sonny. Every week I yell at Annie to kick his arrogant butt to the curb. I never thought I would love a David Simon character more than Lester Freamon in "The Wire" but Clarke Peters has made Albert Lambreaux an iconic American figure. A completely different man than Freamon, which proves how talented Peters is, Albert has the same core of integrity that forces him to take risks solely to stay true to himself. I hate summer and humidity, but I would go to the tavern and sew beads and feathers on his Chief suit in a heartbeat. Khandi Alexander, Melissa Leo and Kim Dickens play strong Southern women who would be cliché except that the writing and acting is so fine, they are real and will break your heart and make you yell, "Go, girl" at least once per show. Wendell Pierce exudes the charm of a scoundrel who would like to be a better man, but just gets distracted along the way. And John Goodman, a native of the city, does not seem to be acting at all. His profane rant that goes viral on Youtube is now a popular phrase in our house (we have no children). The music is sublime, and the NO Convention Bureau should include DVDs of the series when it comes out because the music and spirit that make the city the legend that it is are celebrated in every scene. The story can be extremely enraging, as the devastation and chaos and corruption keep thwarting the rebirth of this magical city, and the frustration of its citizens is palpable. But Simon does not let them off the hook, either. A contractor from Texas who comes to fix a roof that has been under construction for months with a local guy articulates the main problem in a nutshell when he says, "no, offense ma'am, but y'all have a defective work ethic."

daf62757 Yea I watch this show. The producer is the same gentleman who did "The Wire" for HBO. I loved that show....and give it 11 out of 10 stars....but this show is just a liberal circle jerk to bash Bush and promote the welfare state that exists in New Orleans.As a Louisiana native, I can tell you that New Orleans had become so populated with welfare recipients, always on street corners asking for handouts. When the hurricane displaced them, their brand of morality and illegal behavior quickly became known to the rest of the country.This show is an attempt to legitimize that kind of lifestyle and somehow glorify it. People begging on the street corner isn't something to glorify.Also, the Bush bashing. I get very tired of it and I am very tempted to cancel HBO. Bush didn't cause the hurricane and in spite of all the liberal crap they love to spout about him, he didn't withhold any federal assistance. I seem to all those federal helicopters lifting people off their roofs. The very same people who were too stupid or so dependent on the government to leave the city after many days of warning to evacuate.The show is OK....but the bashing is what drags it down. They don't even have the balls to criticize Ray Naglin by name. They come up with some imaginary name for the mayor. This is the guy that had a fleet of school buses that could have moved all of these people to safety but was too stupid to do so. And the show ignores the facts.So watch if you will. I will do so, but with a grain of indignation that liberals love to create hate in the mind of republicans and ignore the true incompetence in democrats.