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'Luck' on HBO

18K views 262 replies 52 participants last post by  Keenan 
#1 ·
 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1578887/

A TV series centered around characters who are tied to the same horse-racing track.


Michael Mann (Heat) and David Milch (Deadwood) have collaborated on Luck, a new HBO series that takes place in the world of horse racing. Dustin Hoffman plays what looks like this series' rough equivalent to Al Swearingen, and Nick Nolte, Richard Kind, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Joan Allen, Ian Hart, Kevin Dunn, Kerry Condon, Tom Payne and Patrick J. Adams all have roles.


First trailer released here:

http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/...luck&view=null
 
#77 ·
I found I had to really pay attention to gather the meaning of the "jargon" those folks around the track use. Still, I'm glad they didn't explain everything to us neophytes. Also, there are still a lot of gaps in the characters' backstories that they can explore later.


I have only two specific complaints:

1) Despite Mann's usual brilliant direction, I'm getting very tired of the ubiquitous shakycam/woozy focus/teal'n'orange tricks;

2) Yet another show/movie with virtually an all-white cast? OK, there was one Latino, but other than a few other ethnicities seen briefly in long shots, everybody was Euro. I'm white, but it seems a bit unrealistic in today's world.


I'll try to stick with subsequent episodes.
 
#79 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnDG /forum/post/21606475


Couple of questions:

1) Why did Escalante put the horse up for claim? Trying to drive up the odds? If so, he got greedy.

Yes, trying to make money betting on the horse. He didn't want anyone to claim it, just drive up the odds.
Quote:
2) Why does Ace need a go-between? I'm having some trouble seeing what his strategy is going forward.


jdg

He's scamming the group that let him go to prison. Not sure yet, but the object might be to make them lose a lot of money on the investment.
 
#80 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rdgrimes /forum/post/21606572


Yes, trying to make money betting on the horse. He didn't want anyone to claim it, just drive up the odds.


He's scamming the group that let him go to prison. Not sure yet, but the object might be to make them lose a lot of money on the investment.

Part 1 - went over my head
We couldn't figure out the deal with the claim.

Part 2 - no problem figuring that out - I'm there. Payback!



This will be like Nucky setting up his enemies in BE only in slow motion, layers on layers of making the scam seem like a good deal to his "partners"



Should be fun to watch unfold
 
#82 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rdgrimes /forum/post/21606572


Yes, trying to make money betting on the horse. He didn't want anyone to claim it, just drive up the odds.


He's scamming the group that let him go to prison. Not sure yet, but the object might be to make them lose a lot of money on the investment.

I also thought that Ace, being just released from prison, wants to keep a low profile and not have his name directly associated with any questionable business.


Doug
 
#85 ·
Okay, I admit it - I'm officially lost in this show's byzantine jargon, mumbled dialog, and murky plotlines.
I had no trouble following JfC or Deadwood, so I don't think it's just me. I watch with a buddy - also a veteran of those previous Milch efforts, and he's been scratching his head as well.


Going to have to go to HBO.com and try to get some cheat sheets, do a relationship outline on paper, and try to sort it all out. Will have to turn on subtitles as well to understand what the hell they're saying. But I'm hanging in there!
 
#86 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy /forum/post/21614626


Okay, I admit it - I'm officially lost in this show's byzantine jargon, mumbled dialog, and murky plotlines.
I had no trouble following JfC or Deadwood, so I don't think it's just me. I watch with a buddy - also a veteran of those previous Milch efforts, and he's been scratching his head as well.


Going to have to go to HBO.com and try to get some cheat sheets, do a relationship outline on paper, and try to sort it all out. Will have to turn on subtitles as well to understand what the hell they're saying. But I'm hanging in there!
Well you must know how much I love this show but I do get a laugh out of your tactics. You're a true loyal solder



Actually, I've had to resort to the CC feature on this one
and it's no fault of the audio quality. They talk fast/loud/low and mumble too, just like in real life. I wish I could CC some conversations I've had
but if I had a real life option I'd ask the genie for a real life DVR
but I digress.


I found DW to be much more pleasurable after I popped on the CC. However on BD the CC was very slick and easy. With my FIOS I have what seems like countless options and variations on fonts etc. After 10 minutes of tinkering I now have a very nice CC set up and I am now “hearing” their dialogue much better. And as I said, this is no knock to the mix. I love the overall audio etc.
 
#87 ·
Me three on the CC issue, and I listen at, or very near, a reference level so I know it's not a hearing or gain issue.


From a post in the HOTP thread, emphasis by me,
Quote:
Question: Watched the first episode of Luck. It looked gorgeous. The cast is outrageously talented. Unfortunately, it felt like John From Cincinnati. Is this worth sticking with, or is this another HBO vanity project whose grasp exceeded its reach? — Rick

Matt Roush: Luck is nowhere near as inscrutable and self-consciously opaque as John From Cincinnati, although even when you can understand what the actors are saying — lots of method mumbling going on here, delivering that peculiar David Milch-ian syntax — you may not always understand what they're talking about, because they often speak in horse code. There's no question Luck is a test of the viewers' patience, and like many HBO dramas, isn't always seen to its best advantage in weekly hour-long chapters. But even consuming the entire nine-episode series over a couple of days, as I did earlier this year, wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped, though as you'd expect, there are some terrific and moving moments along the way, usually involving horses, and there are some exceptionally acted character studies. For some, including a stable of discerning critics, that's enough to balance things out in the win column. I'm not so sure.
 
#88 ·
I just make believe I understand what they're saying and I'm much happier.
Seriously, I don't think I'm totally in the dark. I'm just waiting to see how it plays out.


What was the Peruvian trainer saying to Ace about his horse - something about it's legs being messed up? That isn't the same horse, Delphi, that Nolte was talking about that had it's legs broken for the 30 million dollar insurance policy? I wouldn't think a race horse could come back after having broken legs.


larry
 
#90 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnDG /forum/post/21615854


OK: you just lost all credibility with this statement. ;-)


jdg

I was talking about the jargon and the mumbling. In JfC, although the plotline was waaay out there, they spoke a form of English I'm familiar with. I had no trouble hearing and understanding the dialog in 'Deadwood' as well. That's not the case here.


I'm not begrudging Milch his right to make the show he wants to make. He thinks the audience will gradually come to understand all the "horse-talk" and betting jargon after a number of hours of exposure to it. I'm just not sure they will, and they may start to flee from this show as they did with JfC. But there's really no excuse for all the unintelligible mumbling. They could fix most of that with dialog looping in post, seems to me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LL3HD /forum/post/0

Well you must know how much I love this show but I do get a laugh out of your tactics. You're a true loyal solder.

Yeah, I'll follow General Milch wherever he leads. But this is the most difficult campaign yet. Winter at Valley Forge difficult.
 
#91 ·
And it's not just the mumbling. It's the mumbling with Spanish and Irish accents, not to mention Nolte's gargled-with-gin-and-razor-blades rasp.


I wasn't a JFC fan, but I was a Deadwood one. I enjoy not being spoonfed everything -- within reason - and I certainly know next to nothing about this world. But that's OK. The direction and cinematography are great and will definitely keep me interested in spite of the learning curve. But subtitles would be a plus.
 
#92 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by PooperScooper /forum/post/21615619


I just make believe I understand what they're saying and I'm much happier.
Seriously, I don't think I'm totally in the dark. I'm just waiting to see how it plays out.


What was the Peruvian trainer saying to Ace about his horse - something about it's legs being messed up? That isn't the same horse, Delphi, that Nolte was talking about that had it's legs broken for the 30 million dollar insurance policy? I wouldn't think a race horse could come back after having broken legs.


larry

In case people don't know it, the "Delphi" story is true.


As to the inscrutability of the dialog etc., I'm going on the assumption that all will become clear in time. If I was there in person I wouldn't understand any more than I do as a viewer, so it makes sense to me to wait it out and enjoy the ride.
 
#93 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by fjames /forum/post/21617019


In case people don't know it, the "Delphi" story is true.


As to the inscrutability of the dialog etc., I'm going on the assumption that all will become clear in time. If I was there in person I wouldn't understand any more than I do as a viewer, so it makes sense to me to wait it out and enjoy the ride.

Exactly. With HBO forcing their season down to 9 episodes, there's just no way that all these intertwined stories could be told if time was wasted on explaining lingo and backgrounds or characters. I highly recommend multiple viewings - a lot more will come clear. And all these exact same things were said about Deadwood when it was airing. People can invest the time and effort needed to mine the gold here, or not.
 
#95 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by PooperScooper /forum/post/21619413


No big surprised that it really happened given the kind of $$$ involved.


Btw, here's a nice recap of episode 2: http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2...ap-episode-two It helped.



larry
It was nice to recap the two episodes. Nothing new here, no explaining needed, maybe because I'm very familiar with that real life "genre."


Regardless, this horse racing thing is only the backdrop for classic story telling. A fantastic backdrop that is generally untapped with a wealth of emotions. The same way the Black Hills gold rush was for Deadwood.


And I didn't like this guy's last line-- The worlds of horse-racing and gambling are still confounding here; fingers crossed that Luck's storylines all eventually congeal into something that, you know, makes sense as a whole;
He is lazy.


I find this show to be as much of a "chore" to "understand" as DW was. The advantage I had with DW was coming late (very late) to the party and watching it all on BD. This 3 or more episode at a time viewing makes a world of a difference. Don't have that option right now.



To this guy in that link-- Stick with it and stop your whining. Have a viewing party-- open a can of peaches. Maybe someone in the room can spoon feed you.
 
#97 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy /forum/post/21621097


Ooooh, ouch.



Hopefully I won't have to reach for the Gerber's now that I've found those recaps.
I purposely added "to that guy in the link" as to be sure that it's understood that it is directed at him, not anyone here
You already said you will invest a little more because you are fully aware that you most likely will be rewarded.


And it's worth the read. I just don't understand this guy. He obviously is a Milch fan. Why was a western genre okay to ride out but this one not?
 
#99 ·
I've only seen the pilot so far, but the scene where the horse broke its leg and had to be euthanized was disturbing. The shot of its leg buckling during the race looked very real, but I assumed it was CGI. Now I read this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16979834


Could that have been the actual injury and killing of the first horse mentioned in the article? Seems hard to believe, but...


Doug
 
#100 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dougotte /forum/post/0


I've only seen the pilot so far, but the scene where the horse broke its leg and had to be euthanized was disturbing. The shot of its leg buckling during the race looked very real, but I assumed it was CGI. Now I read this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16979834


Could that have been the actual injury and killing of the first horse mentioned in the article? Seems hard to believe, but...


Doug

It is most definitely CG.
 
#101 ·
Not one comment on Ep. 3. That should tell you something.

IMO there is no compelling reason to continue to follow this series.
 
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