Task

In lighter news today (it's been a rough 24 hours), this brand new series on HBO Max seems very impressive, intriguing, and immersive (the three big Is of good moviemaking, I think). I've always been impressed with Mark Ruffalo (who skills were sorely overlooked by that Hulk nonsense - although he DID kill the roll!), and he's absolutely in top-form in this show. Mark has the ability to become the "everyman" (in other words, YOU) when he works a script, which is put to perfect use here. 23-year-old Emilia Jones (who was an incredible standout in the excellent 2021 movie "CODA") was perfectly cast and shines in this role. Very impressive work absorbing her character. Her career is looking very bright. I'm not familiar with Tom Pelphrey but I may have to look into his catalog of work because he's quite convincing and effective, and he played off his supporting crew really well. Add all the good acting to some good atmospheric cinematography and scoring and this one's looking pretty promising.

It remains to be seen (this Sunday) if episode two is as good as the pilot, but based on what I've seen so far this is looking like a fascinating story. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I sure could use the short escape today, so thanks, HBO.

A pitch-black crime drama owing not only to its dark subject matter, but also to the hush-hush hours of the night during which so much of the violence takes place. A gang of Halloween-masked thieves raid drug dealers' homes in the wee hours to steal their loot, and an FBI task force is sent out to catch them; when things go horribly wrong during one job--and a little boy who sees the bad guys with their masks off is kidnapped--the agents are suddenly facing more than they bargained for. Actually, the thieves themselves aren't the only baddies--after they're introduced in episode one, the very next installment gives us our first extended look at the biker gang that also wants in on the action. (And if the guys we see at the beginning seem bad, the bikers we meet one episode later make them look like choir boys.) The decision to portray the thieves almost (but not quite) as average Joes--at least at home--is interesting, and gives "Task" a family vibe it otherwise might have lacked. Their leader, for example, has in his care (albeit a tad reluctantly) a young niece and nephew, and their steel-jawed, fed-up older sister. Tom Pelphrey plays the character with a surprising amount of depth; clearly he's a man who--when he's not planning robberies and carrying them out--has it in his heart to be as good as he can be to the youngest ones, though less so, generally, to their sister. As the guy in charge of the task force, the excellent Mark Ruffalo--gray-haired, paunchy, and tired--doesn't appear to be capable of solving a series of dollar store robberies let alone something as big as this. (He also drinks a lot, largely because of some debilitating family problems of his own.) There's a kind of moral ambiguity here, too: what are we to make of the fact--if we're to make anything of it at all--that the home invaders aren't ripping off law abiding citizens, but users and dealers and thugs? Does that make them, at least at first, any less...evil? Moody and atmospheric, tense and suspenseful, "Task" has promise. I've only just started, and intend to go back for more. Check it out.

As Episode 1 of "Task" (2025 release; 7 episodes of about an hour each) opens, we are introduced to Tom Brandis, working an FBI recruiting table somewhere in suburban Philadelphia. In a parallel story, we get to know Robbie and Cliff, who work at the local garbage collection company, and who keenly observe houses in the area as potential targets for a robbery. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest brainchild of Brad Ingelsby ("Out of the Furnace", "Mare of Easttown"). Here he brings us the story of an FBI agent, who is recovering from some unspecified family-related trauma, and the parallel lives of some low-lifes up to no good. As he has done in the past, things are not bought into back-and-white, right-and-wrong. As the first episode plays out, what we get instead is a lot of nuance and context about these main characters, their day-to-day lives, interactions and surroundings. I absolutely LOVED Episode 1, all of it, and did not want the episode to end. Mark Ruffalo is excellent as the FBI agent, as is Tom Pelphrey as Robbie, and the many other smaller roles are top quality too. I can't wait for the remaining 6 episodes.

"Task" premiered on HBO last Sunday and it is also streaming on HBO Max, where I watched it the other night. The remaining 6 episodes will be released on a weekly basis on Sundays. "Task" is currently rated 90% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and that sounds about right to me. If you are in the mood for another top-quality drama similar in spirit to "Out of the Furnace" And "Mare of Easttown", I'd readily recommend you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE* I've now seen the 2nd and 3th episodes. I am emotionally gutted. This is by far the best mini-series I have watched this year.

*UPDATE* I've now seen all 7 episodes, and this is the best TV mini-series of the year without a doubt. Every single episode is riveting.

What an opening episode to a series! There are so many angles to expand and expound upon ... I wish it were a whole season drop! Love the character development in just one episode. Depth and complexity. It's been more alluring since I live in Delaware count. Counting the days until episode two, will be interesting to see how it all comes together.

I know people say all the time how a show is one of the best shows of the year but Task is absolutely, without a doubt one of the best new shows of the year. Everything about it is terrific...the acting, writing, directing, cinematography, etc, etc. It's HBO at its best. Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelfrey are both amazing actors who have both been nominated for a ton of awards and this might be some their best work of their careers. I'll be shocked if they both don't get nominated and win a bunch of awards for this. The only negative is that we have to wait a week between episodes, I much prefer to binge watch especially when a show is as special as this one is.