The AMC TV network is a basic cable channel that got its start as “American Movie Classics,” airing films largely made before the 1950s and in their uncut and original color formats.

While still adhering to its primary mission to run classic movies, AMC initiated a major shift in programming in 2007 with the successful launch of the original series “Mad Men,” a period piece about the freewheeling advertising world of New York during the 1960's.

Soon after “Mad Men” made its mark as one of the best cable TV dramas, AMC struck gold for a second time with “Breaking Bad,” the explosive story of a high school chemistry teacher who adapted all too easily to a life of crime.

Speaking to a recent gathering of the nation’s TV critics, writer, producer and director Vince Gilligan explained that the main character of “Breaking Bad” was once glibly described as taking Mr. Chips and turning him into Scarface.

Devoted fans of “Breaking Bad” are well aware of this construct, that Bryan Cranston’s milquetoast Walter White, a teacher facing the worst mid-life crisis ever, turns bad. Dying of lung cancer, Walter exploits his knowledge of chemistry to embark on a volatile criminal enterprise.

The final eight episodes of “Breaking Bad” are just getting started during the month of August, leading to the inevitable conclusion that the sun is beginning to set on Walter’s tenuous drug empire as the world around him unravels.

Whatever is happening during the finale for “Breaking Bad” is not being revealed here, not only because we don’t know but it would spoil the fun. One can only sense that it may well end badly, which makes sense given the series twisted nature.

Meanwhile, AMC is launching a new series during August, which itself will be limited by a 10-episode run.

“Low Winter Sun” is based on the 2006 award-winning British two-part mini-series of the same name written by Simon Donald.

The premise of “Low Winter Sun” is incredibly compelling. A homicide detective, played by Mark Strong, is coerced by a fellow officer into killing another detective, albeit a corrupt individual.

Strong’s Frank Agnew is a Detroit investigator who becomes assigned to investigate the murder he committed. Looking over his shoulder is David Costabile’s Simon Boyd, a dogged Internal Affairs officer trying to root out police corruption.

Strong is the right man for the job of the conflicted cop, primarily because the British actor reprises the same role of the Detective Agnew from Scotland’s Edinburgh, a city of urban decay somewhat like Detroit.

“Low Winter Sun” makes great use of the rotting landscape of modern Detroit, where many neighborhoods in the urban core resemble a post-apocalyptic vision you might suspect came from a cheesy science-fiction movie.

Regrettably, decades of corruption and inept political leadership (the twin pillars of a failed metropolis) have rendered Detroit an unfortunate wasteland, which oddly enough makes the city attractive, at least, for filmmaking of crime stories.

Also starring with Mark Strong is Lennie James as Detective Joe Geddes. Together, these two mismatched officers are part of the big story of murder, deception, revenge and corruption in a world where the line between cops and criminals is blurred.

Of course, bankruptcy notwithstanding, not everything is bad in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers inhabit a nice ballpark in the middle of downtown. But then, this didn’t stop Cleveland Indians fans from heckling the Tigers with a chant of “Detroit’s bankrupt.”

Maybe we can’t expect baseball fans, during the late innings after consuming one too many beers, to stay classy. Yet, “Low Winter Sun,” looks to be another class act in the dramatic series department for AMC.

As part of its past origins of a cable outlet for classic films, many of them Westerns, AMC was the natural fit for the series “Hell on Wheels,” the story of the building of the transcontinental railroad.

One thing we can say for sure about “Hell on Wheels,” now entering its third season during August, is that it tells the story of the changing American landscape following the Civil War with a lot more interest than the recent film “The Lone Ranger.”

The third season opens in 1867, the third year of railroad construction. Season three takes a new twist for star Anson Mount’s Cullen Bohannon, who leaves his vengeance-seeking behind as he explores new opportunities.

Bohannon must contend with racism, greed and murder as he single-mindedly leads the Union Pacific in its race across the country against the Central Pacific Railroad.

“Hell on Wheels” also stars Colm Meaney as Thomas “Doc” Durant, a greedy entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times, and Common as Elam Ferguson, an emancipated slave working to achieve true freedom in a world entrenched in prejudice.

During the recent TV critics press tour, Charlie Collier, the president of AMC, announced two new series in the works.

“Halt and Catch Fire” is set in the early 1980s against a backdrop of the early days of the personal computing revolution. “Turn,” inspired by the book “Washington’s Spies,” is about ordinary Americans turning the tide in the America’s fight for independence.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the horizon is the expected seventh and final season of “Mad Men.” What new tricks are in store for Don Draper?

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Business Association (KBA) will host its next “Kickin’ in the Country Street Dance,” Thursday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Main Street.

This is a show not to be missed with the Fargo Brothers. They deliver a brand of blues and rock n’ roll with fire and intensity.

Since 1979, they have been burning up the stage with their vocal harmonies and tight ensemble playing.

The band members are Michael Lester, song writer, guitar and vocals, Russ Whitehead, bass and vocals, Joost Vonk, drums and vocals, and “Mojo” Larry Platz, guitar and vocals. They have played all over California to Canada.

The sponsors for this dance are Aardvark Termite Control and Kelsey Creek Brewing, both KBA members.

Aardvark Termite Control offers inspections, repairs and full range of treatment options with wood destroying pest and fungus.

Kelsey Creek Brewing brews some great beers and ales with a warm and fun atmosphere on Main Street.

The KBA will be serving ice cold beer and wine highlighting Wildhurst Vineyards. Wildhurst Vineyards has a nice tasting room with a gift shop and courtyard.

Come by the KBA booth and enjoy the wine selection. Martha Munoz will be selling snow cones.

There will be a raffle with prizes. Kelseyville Food Pantry will be collecting nonperishable food donations, and KBA will give a free raffle ticket per person for any food donations.

Our last street dance for the summer is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p,m. to 10 p.m. featuring the C.A.M. Band.

The energy from the crowd and the great music is what makes the street dances fun, so come out and join us in Kelseyville.

Bring your folding chairs and friends and family to enjoy the summer evening.

For more information, call Jeanette at 707-279-2304.

2 GUNS (Rated R)

An action picture, packed with suspense and violent thrills, should contain surprises that are not revealed in the promotional trailers. That’s not the case for the buddy caper “2 Guns.”

Fortunately, Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg have such good chemistry that the central conceit that their initial foray into a seemingly criminal act of robbing a small town bank is a cover for their undercover mission does not spoil what follows.

When the film opens in a dusty Southwest town, Washington’s Bobby Trench and Wahlberg’s Marcus “Stig” Stigman are bickering about what to order for breakfast while getting a sense of the lay of the land and plotting their moves.

Smooth as silk, Bobby is calm and the clear-headed thinker. In contrast, Stig, a fast-talker, is given to making wise cracks at inopportune moments, and he loves to flirt and wink at pretty waitresses, even though he comes up short in the romance department, at least compared to his comrade.

The object of the Tres Cruces bank robbery is to steal $3 million in the bank vault belonging to Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), the sleazy head of a Mexican drug cartel who appears to operate with impunity.

While planning the robbery, neither Bobby nor Stig knows that his partner in crime is an undercover agent. Bobby is a DEA agent and Stig is a naval intelligence officer. Both were charged by their superiors to infiltrate the drug cartel.

Additionally, of course, neither agent knows that they’ve been set up, as they believe the goal of the caper is to put a dent in Papi’s operation, causing him to emerge from the shadows and expose his vulnerabilities.

Surprisingly, the safety deposit boxes contain more than $40 million in cash, and after Bobby and Stig make off with the loot, assorted bad guys and dubious government operatives give chase.

As befitting a caper film, the folks who materialize out of the woodwork are often mysterious. For instance, Paula Patton’s Deb, a DEA agent who has been at times romantically entangled with Bobby, is a player in the complex web of secrecy and possible deceit.

Yet, aside from Papi Greco and his trigger-happy henchmen, the most serious threat to Bobby and Stig is the sadistic Earl (Bill Paxton), a CIA operative, who may well be a rogue agent but is viciously committed to retrieving the purloined booty that supposedly belongs to the CIA.

Meanwhile, Stig is also being pursued relentlessly by corrupt Navy officer Quince (James Marsden) whose motives are unknown, except possibly he just wants the whole share of ill-gotten fortune for himself.

The villains in “2 Guns” are a menacing bunch, often to cartoonish effect. At Papi’s Mexican ranch, the head of a rival is found stuffed in a bag. Equally brutal, Earl loves to play Russian roulette while interrogating people.

The plot is complicated by a slew of double and triple crosses, but mostly it is all about the chases and shoot-outs, along with the occasional explosions, whether blowing up a diner or a classic car stuffed with illegal cash.

Since the true identities of Bobby and Stig were revealed so regrettably by the film’s advertising, the least we can do here is not give away too much about the unfolding of the convoluted plot.

What is apparent, however, is that Bobby and Stig are entangled in a growing number of intricate plot twists that put their very lives at risk, and so most of the action becomes an elaborate survival effort on their part.

The best thing about “2 Guns,” aside from the fact that the action is clever and entertaining, is the evolving buddy relationship between the two lead characters.

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg make an amusing odd couple, the best of their scenes being when they quarrel about plotting escape moves and banter about the seemingly innocuous and mundane aspects of daily life.

Director Baltasar Kormakur, a native of Iceland, has produced and directed many films known mostly in his homeland, though he directed “Contraband,” which also starred Mark Wahlberg.

Though I have no factual basis for making this claim, the Icelandic director seems to have been inspired by American action films like the original “Lethal Weapon” and “The Last Boy Scout.”

Regardless of cinematic influences derived from the past, Kormakur’s “2 Guns,” though it may be outlandish, is a very enjoyable buddy caper, with great action and plenty of humor.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Watershed Books will host local author Dana G. DiRicco in a celebration of her special book, “And Then Came Hera,” on Friday, Sept. 6.

The event will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the bookstore, located at 304 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

DiRicco has woven together this exciting, colorful story about saving a draft horse from slaughter and developing her into a winner.

She is an internationally published author and lives with veterinarian husband on a ranch in Lake County.  

DiRicco spends her days working with her herd of Percheron draft horses and in her Sauvignon Blanc winegrape vineyard.

Join them for good conversation and refreshments.

For more information call 707-263-5787 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

One of the first things an aspiring writer must learn is to pay attention, to look intently at what is going on.

Here’s a good example of a poem by Gabriel Spera, a Californian, that wouldn’t have been possible without close observation.

Grubbing

The jay’s up early, and attacks the lawn
with something of that fervor and despair
of one whose keys are not where they always are,
checking the same spots over and again
till something new or overlooked appears—
an armored pillbug, or a husk of grain.
He flits with it home, where his mate beds down,
her stern tail feathers jutting from the nest
like a spoon handle from a breakfast bowl.
The quickest lover’s peck, and he’s paroled
again to stalk the sodgrass, cockheaded, obsessed.
He must get something from his selfless work—
joy, or reprieve, or a satisfying sense
of obligation dutifully dispensed.
Unless, of course, he’s just a bird, with beaks—
too many beaks—to fill, in no way possessed
of traits or demons humans might devise,
his dark not filled with could-have-beens and whys.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2012 by Gabriel Spera from his most recent book of poems, The Rigid Body, Ashland Poetry Press, 2012. Poem reprinted by permission of Gabriel Spera and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2013 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

COBB, Calif. – The Cobb Mountain Artists’ second Wednesday “Artist Presents” series will be held Aug. 14.

The forum will begin at 7 p.m. at The Artisan Realm, 16365 Highway 175, Cobb.

The event is free and open to the public.

This month’s feature in the series will be a forum on taking pictures of art.

Some successful artists spend more time with marketing than making their art. Good photos of your work are critical.

Are you perplexed? Do your results end up misrepresenting the quality of your work?

They will discuss various elements of taking a good shot and what type of photos are required or expected for various press efforts. These standards and expectations are not the same for every venue.

Are slides still important for gallery viewings? What's typical for the Internet? Newspapers? It can be very confusing. One thing is certain, and that is the importance of the best photos to represent your work.

Come and join the monthly series, share your ideas and listen to what has worked for others.

For more information contact Glenneth Lambert, telephone 707-295-6934 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .