The Americans
Season 3, Episode 4 – “Dimebag”
Directed by Thomas Schlamme
Written by Peter Ackerman
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, and Frank Langella.
FX
Air date: February 18, 2015, 10pm

So much of The Americans Episode 3.4 “Dimebag” is about our main characters trying to become more honest, pure, and innocent versions of themselves, each with varying degrees of success. It’s also a quieter episode that helps set up the pieces of the puzzle that will presumably carry us through our next couple of installments.

The Americans
Season 3, Episode 3 – “Open House”
Directed by Thomas Schlamme
Written by Stuart Zicherman
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, Frank Langella
FX
Air date: February 11, 2015, 10pm

Sometimes I forget that The Americans is a spy show.

While I’ve been enjoying digging into and parsing apart the relationship dynamics of the show, “Open House” is a reminder that this show is just as compelling when the game is afoot. After hunting down members of the CIA’s Afghan group last week, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip (Matthew Rhys) begin their hunt for a specific target and land on Ted Paaswell, a member of the group who is looking to sell his house after what seems to be a nasty divorce. Philip assures Gabriel (Frank Langella) that the CIA can’t watch everyone all the time and that they should be in the clear.

Famous last words.

The Americans
Season 3, Episode 2 – “Baggage”
Directed by Daniel Sackheim
Written by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, Frank Langella
FX
Air date: February 4, 2015, 10pm

“It’s not really over.”

Elizabeth (Keri Russell) comes into the house after what we can assume is a long day. She sits down to have a snack while she talks to Paige (Holly Taylor). As she bites into her food, her tooth, still injured from the fight with Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas) in last week’s episode, rips through her mouth with searing pain. She talks with Paige for a few minutes before she gets a call. It’s Philip (Matthew Rhys). There’s more “paperwork” to be done at the office.

It’s not really over.

“Baggage” is all about the things that our characters are carrying with them in some form or another. The cost of these things are starting to weigh on everyone. Especially for Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich).

The Americans
Season 3, Episode 1 – “EST Men”
Directed by Daniel Sackheim
Written by Joe Fields and Joe Weisberg
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, Gillian Alexy, and Frank Langella
FX
Air date: January 28, 2015, 10pm

Spoilers for The Americans season premiere. You’ve been warned.

The Americans doesn’t waste any time in telling you what its third season is going to be about. In the opening seconds of the season premiere, “EST Men,” we see quick shots of Henry (Keidrich Sellati), Paige (Holly Taylor), and Phillip (Matthew Rhys). The shot is framed and lingers in such a way that it’s hard to notice Elizabeth (Keri Russell) in the tub off to the right of the screen until she slides into focus.

She takes a breath and then plunges underwater. It’s a quick calm before the storm. Our opening proves that more than ever, a dark tone of desperation and dread hangs over the show.

Welcome back to the fascinating world of The Americans.

Cutthroat Island
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Renny Harlin
Starring Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, Maury Chaykin
Carolco and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Originally Released: December 22, 1995

Being the week upon which Talk Like A Pirate Day falls, I opted to look at a pirate flick for this week’s Netflix Review. So, grab your cutlass, affix your patch and wooden legs – we’re headed for Cutthroat Island.

Directed by Renny Harlin, Cutthroat Island is a movie that was made too early for its time, cursed by the financial woes from a dying studio. But despite its weaknesses, the movie does capture the fun element most remembered in some of the old Errol Flynn classics, and has matured into a movie that audiences can enjoy without taking it too seriously.

The plot follows a notorious wanted female pirate named Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) who finds a treasure map tattooed on the scalp of her dead father. The map is one third of the full piece, with one in the hands of Adams’ uncle, and another in the grubby evil mitts of antagonist Dawg Brown (Frank Langella). Taking command of her father’s ship and crew, and taking doctor and linguist William Shaw (Matthew Modine) on board, she leads a crusade to find the treasure of Cutthroat Island. It develops into a race against time as Brown chases Adams down, across the treacherous waters of the Caribbean.