The Following “Let Me Go”

What happened to the FBI’s helicopter?  That’s the question I can’t help but ask from this episode.  I liked it in general, the escape plot was pretty cool and Joey’s storyline wasn’t too bad, but that one flaw hangs me up, which is a shame.

“Let Me Go” starts with Dr. Carroll’s lawyer, Olivia Warren, requesting a transfer due to his harsh treatment from Ryan Hardy in the first episode.  The warden agrees to the transfer and the wheels are set in motion for Carroll to leave immediately.  Hardy doesn’t trust the warden so they peek into his records and discover his daughter hasn’t attended class in two days, which doesn’t seem like a big clue but they use it to assume his daughter has been kidnapped.  Luckily, their hunch is right and they uncover a plot put in motion by the warden to allow Carroll to escape.  This leads to a tense sequence when they stop the prison van and the warden’s car simultaneously thinking that Carroll is in one of the vehicles.   Now is a good time to mention that Agent Parker was following the transfer caravan in a helicopter so the FBI had eyes in the sky while this whole plot unfolds.  That will become important later.  In a twist that was semi-surprising we learn that Joe Carroll has actually stowed away in Olivia’s trunk, because apparently she has the spine of a worm.  Hardy and Parker have Olivia’s car traced, upon finding her location Hardy and Warren drive off to catch Carroll and we don’t hear from Agent Parker or her helicopter again, which bugs me.  Olivia couldn’t have driven too far in the time that it took the FBI to find out it was her so why not send the chopper after her?  It can go faster AND in a straight line, without having to zig-zag because of roadways.  While on their way, Hardy receives a call from Olivia.  Carroll strangles her while Hardy listens just to make Hardy squirm.  The agents find the car and chase Carroll through a large building leading to the climax.  Carroll has the chance to kill Hardy, but this is only the beginning of their story together.  Carroll leaves to get in a helicopter to escape, Hardy just misses him as it lifts off from the roof.

After this Agent Parker shows back up sans helicopter and the denouement proceeds with a rather chilling scene where Carroll meets up with his cult and has a reunion with his son, which was actually my favorite scene.  The music and pacing was perfect in Carroll’s return, and it was actually kind of touching in a weird way.

But back to the helicopter.  I think the FBI missed an obvious chance to catch Carroll and get him back in prison.  As I said before, when the FBI learned where Olivia’s car was they should have sent the chopper to the location too, they could have probably gotten there in time to save her life, but let’s assume they are even too late to save her.  If they had the helicopter in the general area when Carroll’s chopper lifted off of the rooftop they could have followed the chopper until they landed.  Obviously Carroll would have noticed he was being followed by another helicopter and would have changed his plans accordingly, BUT if the FBI would’ve had a bird in the air at least Parker would have been able to be there when he landed and possibly stop him. 

While all of this is going on Joey is taken to a garage where he finds the warden’s daughter being held in cage and saves her.  The man running the garage isn’t part of the cult, but they use him.  After the his usefulness is over, and after some drama and a chase through the garage, the man is killed and the killers move on.  There were some problems I had with this part of the story, mainly because Joey still treats Emma with a sense of trust even though he’s talked to his mom and he knows that she is lying.  I know he’s a kid, but damn.  Get your act together.

I still harbor frustrated feelings against this show.  Mainly because the premise and characters are actually pretty good, but they are used in lazy ways.  I sincerely hope this show gets better.

Mad Men “Long Weekend”

When you drink and smoke like the guys on Madison Street your bad habits are going to catch up to you eventually.  Don and Sterling’s “Long Weekend” puts their lives in perspective when Sterling has medical troubles that put him in the hospital.  With death hovering over them, both men crawl to whom they really desire, revealing their deepest needs.  Of course, from here on out there be spoilers.  And yes, I’m fluent in pirate lingo.

At the beginning of the episode we learn that Betty is leaving for vacation early with the kids, her dad, and her dad’s new girlfriend (which she obviously despises).  Don is to meet them the next day due to work.  He, of course, is generally happy to avoid an extra day with the in-laws, but puts on a different face for Betty.  While at work he finalizes the deal with Rachel Menken’s department store, and learns that Dr. Scholl’s has withdrawn his account with the company.  Roger Sterling knows Don isn’t taking the loss of their client very well so in an attempt to cheer Don up he picks up a couple of twins that are auditioning to be depicted in an advertisement.  While fooling around with his half of the bargain, Sterling has a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital.  This episode becomes truly interesting after Sterling’s heart attack.  Both men, who moments before were damn near invincible, are facing death.  Roger is facing it head on, but Don is witnessing a friend, and arguably a father figure, almost die.  Roger cries for his wife Mona and his daughter when they arrive at the hospital, which sounds normal but he’s spent the whole episode rejoicing that they were gone and cheating on his wife, so it is a rare moment when we see who really matters in Roger’s life.  After seeing that reaction I’d almost guess that he loves his wife and daughter, but his lifestyle of alcohol and women has become so common place he feels compelled to continue.  Then Don does something unexpected.  Instead of going to see his wife, or his mistress, he shows up at the apartment of Rachel Menken.  He is distraught and the only person he wanted to see was her.  He makes a move and she initially rejects him, but gives into her emotions.  After they are done Don reveals a secret about his life that I never saw coming.  He is the son of a prostitute who died giving birth to him.  The doctors dropped him off at his dad’s house where he was raised.  He’s an orphan.  No wonder he’s hiding from his old life, he barely had a life before this it was all basically a lie.

This episode was fantastically character driven and had plenty of comedy and heartfelt moments.  Joan has to deal with almost losing Roger who she has always kept on her hook, always playing games with him, never letting him in.  Don starts an affair with Rachel.  And Peggy FINALLY tells Pete off for being an ass-bag (Jesus, it is about time!).  Mad Men has definitely become one of my most anticipated shows every week.  Good call getting me to watch it Zip.

Community “Introduction to Finality”

Season three has been hit-and-miss for “Community.”  With some good episodes, and many lacking episodes, I had lost faith in Community.  Thankfully, the last couple of episodes have been really good, but I was still considering whether I wanted to watch the fourth season or move onto another show after this episode.  Now that I’ve finished the finale for season three I’m happy to say they’ve won me back.

This episode pits Jeff against his rival Alan, who is responsible for Jeff losing his license to practice law, in Greendale court to decide who will get to own Shirley’s Sandwich Shop which will be opening in the Cafetorium.  Pierce feels like he should own it since he financed everything, but Shirley argues that without her hard work he wouldn’t have anything to finance.  So they go to court with Dean Pelton presiding.  While court is being held, Britta shows up at Abed’s apartment for his first therapy meeting to find Evil Abed.  He has come to our timeline to make everything dark.  All the events drive to the courtroom as Jeff stands to give his closing arguments.  He comes to the conclusion that doing good deeds is the only way to be happy so doing good deeds is the only way to be good, after a speech almost as confusing in structure as the beginning of this sentence he asks that the case be thrown out.  Everyone in the court does their good deed, fixing all the problems, except Alan who remains an ass.  The success of this episode hinges on its return to the original structure.  Gang faces a couple of problems and must learn a life lesson to defeat their issues and grow.  That sounds silly, but that’s part of the show’s charm. 

Unfortunately, this episode also included the death of John Goodman…This doesn’t affect the general quality of the episode, but I will still miss his character.  

The Lady Vanishes

The human psyche is a fragile thing.  The stimuli that our brains process everyday are completely dependent on how we perceive them.  When our perceptions are called into question we can lose our minds very quickly, especially if we have no proof of what we experienced.  That’s the fuel for “The Lady Vanishes,” which challenges the main character, Iris Henderson, who boards a train with Miss Froy, a gentle old lady who befriends Iris.  Iris passes out, upon awaking she finds Miss Froy gone and everyone on the train is oblivious to her existence.  They say she was talking to herself the whole time.  The best part of “The Lady Vanishes” is how the story is told.  Hitchcock tells the story in such a way that during the second act, while Iris is trying to unfold the mystery of Miss Froy, as a viewer I was on the same level as Iris.  I didn’t know if Miss Froy was real or if I had just witnessed an injured woman’s hallucination.

I am also interested by this movie’s structure.  The title of the movie suggests that the plot revolves around the vanishing of Miss Froy, which it does in a way because that is the point of the story, but the characters don’t get on the train until halfway through the movie.  The first half-hour is character set up.  The writer has created characters that are so interesting we follow them around for half of a movie before the plot even starts.  That’s always respectable writing in my book.  All of the characters in this movie are extremely entertaining.  My personal favorites are the guys just trying to get home for a cricket game.  All they want to see is a cricket game and they get pulled into this crazy plot that involves an old lady spy.  Yes, I said that.  Go watch the movie to learn more. 

Speaking of old lady spies, I think that is this movie’s strongest point.  When you get past the awesome structural aspect of the script and the artful way it was filmed (which is nothing new from Alfred Hitchcock), what you are left with is a fun movie and that is because of its tone.  This movie takes a traumatic psychological experience, the possible insanity of Iris, and tells the story in an almost comedic way.  From the plot point of finding a traveling magician’s boxes in the storage car and suspecting him for the disappearance of Miss Froy to the fact that there is a spy who is an old sweet lady, this movie doesn’t miss an opportunity to make the audience laugh.  That is what makes this movie special.  Today, I see a lot of movies that deal with serious subject matter so they feel that the movie should be serious, but “The Lady Vanishes” takes a subject that can be terrifying to think about (going insane and having hallucinations) and turns terror on its head by having fun with it.  That was what made this movie so special for me.

5/5

Under the Dome “Pilot”

I’m always excited to see the words of Stephen King come to life in the visual format.  Ever since I was a kid I was glued to his writing.  His stories pulse with humanity and creativity.  I can never guess what’s going to happen in the next chapter because a sense of the unexpected flows through all of his writing and I think that has to do with his fly-by-night writing style.  All of his stories are exciting and original and I jump at the opportunity to see someone take his vision and put it on screen.  The big one I’m looking forward to at the moment is The Dark Tower Series, which is still in pre-production hell unfortunately, so for now I’ll have to sink my teeth into Under the Dome.

I got the book for Christmas when it came out, thanks Aunt Kita, and tore into it at some point that year (it takes me a while to get to new books, but Under the Dome cut ahead of some in my list).  The story that transpired within those pages was fascinating in its wonder and mystery and terrifying in its vision of how truly evil humanity can be when put into an impossible situation.  Tonight I got to see the first part of the story told on screen and I have to say, I’m pretty excited to see the rest of the series.

Mike Vogel takes the reins of the show as Dale “Barbie” Barbara, which is arguable I guess considering the large cast of towns people that populate this show, but in the book he was the main character.  He did a decent job in the pilot, but I’m waiting to see how he does during the rest of the series.  The cast consists of new faces, to me at least, except for two people.  Dean Norris, who is Walt’s brother-in-law in Breaking Bad, and Jeff Fahey, who I remember from Lost, and Jeff’s character, Duke, dies in the first episode.  So I’m interested to see how this cast holds up in the story.  If I’m going to be honest, I think I’m only having reservations on the issue because they don’t match up with how I imagined the characters while reading the book, but I will remain open-minded.

I really enjoyed the pilot for Under the Dome,” the effects of the dome were really cool and the characters were well set up.  I like how enough time has passed between when I read the book to now because there are parts of the story I don’t quite remember.  For instance, who Barbie was burying in the beginning?  I don’t want to give away spoilers, but that comes back at the end of the episode.  I don’t remember what he was doing with the body in the book so I’m actually going to get some surprises with this show, which I always enjoy.

Witness

Not many thrillers allow their story to breath in such subtle and nuanced inhalations as “Witness.”  At its core, this movie is a crime thriller about John Book protecting an Amish boy who witnessed a murder, but it is so much more.  “Witness” is fish-out-of-water, love story that studies the effects of violence compared to pacifism and how the consequences can bring people together or push them apart.  This movie finds a way to hold tension while most of the movie takes place on a farm, far from danger, as we watch John Book fall for an Amish woman and wonder if he could ever truly be accepted by her community, or if he could give up his life in the city to stay.  Other than a couple weak story points, I think this movie excels at asking how violence affects our society.

Harrison Ford is fantastic as John Book, a detective from the violent streets of Philadelphia who must take shelter with the Amish to protect Samuel, an Amish boy who Book’s sole witness in a case against corrupt cops.  The movie follows as he slowly becomes quasi-accepted into the Amish culture, helping out on the farm and assisting in a barn raising, but he can never join their culture because of his nature.  He’s hard-nosed and street-wise and violence has been a part of his life.  Breathing underwater would be easier than becoming a part of the Amish.  While all of this is happening the corrupt cops are drawing closer, sharks in the water around the quaint Amish community where John takes refuge.  This leads to a final showdown when the corrupt cops find where John is staying.  They descend on the farm like a tornado on a trailer-park, and you believe John and his guns are the farm’s only protection, but the non-violent ways of the Amish save the day. 

This movie is quiet and sweet, filled with passion and tension and questions about the corruption of power and what that means about the men who use it.  Its release in 1985 garnered several awards for “Witness” including Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing, and I can see why.  “Witness” is as peaceful as the Amish with an undercurrent of danger that allows a subtle tension to permeate the story. 

4/5

Hannibal “Savoureux”

This season of “Hannibal” has been awesome.  There were times when I thought they were going to take the series in a lame direction with serialized killer-of-the-week episodes, but all of the killers fed into the main storyline of Hannibal and Graham’s relationship in interesting ways.  This is probably my second or third favorite show on television, just behind Game of Thrones and maybe The Walking Dead haven’t decided on that one yet, and I can’t wait to see the next season.  My love for this series is yet again justified by the amazing season finale that aired on Thursday.  This series has gone to a place I never expected when they released their intentions of doing a Hannibal series, and I’m immensely glad for it.

This episode proves how vile and devious Hannibal can be.  I’ve always known he was a criminal mastermind, but to see him pull off the insane amount of devilry revealed in this episode is epic.  If you haven’t seen the finale spoilers lie ahead, obviously.  If you’ve never watched this show I will personally slap you in the face.  Go watch it.  Now.  Don’t wait. 

Will Graham wakes from a nightmare to find he’s puking up blood and amongst the blood is an ear.  He believes he’s killed somebody.  The ear turns out to be Abigail Hobbs’ ear and Graham gets framed with her murder.  Upon further examination of his house they find his fishing lures WHICH CONTAIN ELEMENTS OF ALL THE COPYCAT VICTIMS FROM THE FIRST SEASON!  He’s been set up by none other than Hannibal.  The worst/best part is we know Hannibal is responsible, but he finds a way, throughout the whole episode, to spin every question and every concern right back on Will.  Nobody gets close to him.  The episode ends with Graham in the basement of the Baltimore Insane Asylum near where Hannibal will be kept later in life.  The last shot is of Will looking through the bars a Hannibal.  Will knows Hannibal had his hand in this plot.  Hannibal smiles through the bars at him.  It’s so evil!  It’s fantastic!

Another reveal this episode is something I’ve pondered all season, the feathered stag that haunts Will’s dreams, and later hallucinations.  I was puzzled the first couple of episodes by what it could mean.  Was it a figure of Garret Jacob Hobbs?  Was it a physical embodiment of his guilt over killing Hobbs?  A couple of weeks ago I started entertaining the idea that it was his vision of Hannibal.  This is kind of obvious now that I’m looking back on it, but the stag represented the copy-cat killer that Graham could never catch.  This episode my musings were vindicated when Will starts putting the pieces together and suspecting Hannibal.  The feathered stag transforms into a feathered, dark version of Hannibal with horns, almost the visage of a demon.  This was so cool I can’t even put into words my excitement when I saw it.

Everyone needs to check out this series.  I say it every week and I’ll continue to say it.  If “The Following,” which has sloppier writing and a less interesting story, can pull in nine million viewers an episode then Hannibal can do better than two and a half.  I don’t know one person that would dislike this show other than my mom, but scary psycho killers frighten her.  Aren’t you more brave than my mom? 

Watch Hannibal, you’ll love it.  I guarantee it.

The Following “The Fall”

After last week’s face-palm inducing ending I didn’t expect too much from The Following this week, but I was surprised to enjoy, for the most part, the sixth episode in this series.  Last episode ended with Ryan storming the house where Joe Carroll’s cult has been keeping Joe’s son, Joey.  He gets in the house, finds the girl they’ve been keeping in the basement, and finds Joey upstairs.  The part that boggles my mind is Ryan’s decision to have a conversation with Joey while standing in front of the open front door.  Which I hope I don’t have to tell you is a bad decision when there are three killers running around.  Long story short, he gets a gun pointed to the back of his skull when one of the killers comes in the front door…you know, the one he’s standing in front of…sheesh. 

So, Ryan is caught by the killers and for most of the episode he is trapped in the living room.  After the horrible decisions that led to his capture, I really held no hope for his detention in the house, but these scenes turned out to be some of my favorite in the show so far.  Kevin Bacon’s snarky attitude toward the killers is hilarious and watching them squirm is satisfying.  The interesting dynamic of their relationship creates the perfect scenario for this tone.  Carroll has created this plot, at least I believe, to torture Ryan.  He might have some outlying reasons for creating a following to do his evil bidding, but he seems to focus most of his energy at testing Ryan, pushing him to his limits.  So the killers can’t kill Ryan, and they can’t threaten Joey, because Ryan knows Carroll has a plan for him, so they have no leverage over Ryan for a time.  He uses this advantage to sow dissent amongst the killers.  He figures out about the strange love triangle that exists between his captors and uses this knowledge to aggravate them, getting them off balance.  Eventually he gains possession of a knife, because the killers aren’t really thinking this through, and gets free, but we’ll continue that discussion in a moment.

While Ryan is held captive, the FBI gathers their forces to take the house where he is being held.  While Agent Parker is attempting to communicate to the kidnappers, and successfully messing with Emma’s head, we are given flashbacks into her past where we learn why she’s an expert on cults.  Seems she was raised in one until she ran away.  I like this insight into her character, I found the story of her past intriguing, but I’m beginning to wonder if we really need these flashbacks.  They seem to stagnate the flow of the story.  I don’t really want them nixed all together seeing as how they do shed light on some important information, but there are times where the flashbacks stop all the action and get in the way.

After a fracturing of the killers, Ryan gets away and it seems like the killers are actually going to get caught when two things happen.  One of these things was really good, and one I don’t buy.  I don’t know why I don’t buy it, but I don’t.   The end of this episode marks a pretty momentous occasion.  The Following surprised me with a twist.  Special agent Weston and a sheriff catch Emma taking Joey away through the woods, and it seems like everything is going to be okay, when the sheriff turns and shoots Weston before revealing herself as part of Carroll’s following and ushering Emma to safety with Joey.  Why she shoots him in the chest I will never understand.  She had to know he was wearing a vest, but oh well, they still got me.  The bad part of the end occurred when a couple of people from Carroll’s following shoot a couple of the SWAT members and sneak into the house disguised as them to free Jacob and Paul.  Something about this plan seemed false.  I can’t quite put my finger on why a red flag is going off in my head, but something isn’t right.  If you know why this is ringing as false, let me know in the comments, or if I’m completely wrong leave a message to.  I want to know what you guys think.

So this episode was okay.  It had its rough moments, but the scenes with Bacon antagonizing the bad guys and some interesting character work between Parker and Emma carried the episode. 

If you like The Following I strongly suggest Hannibal…just saying.

Mad Men “Shoot”

“Mad Men” is finally hitting its stride for me.  That last two or three episodes have been really engaging and this episode did something I wasn’t expecting, it made me feel bad for Betty who I normally find vain and catty.  In “Shoot” Don and Betty get a chance to move up in their careers when a rival advertising company offers Don a higher salary and they offer Betty a chance to return to her modeling career.  I really liked the character work in this episode, like I said I cared about Betty which doesn’t happen very often, and I especially liked the sub-plot where Peggy stands up to Joan.

The visual theme for this episode is the Draper’s neighbor’s birds.  The episode begins with Betty outside with the kids as the neighbor lets the birds out of their cage to let them fly around.  This scene seems extraneous as the story moves away forward, but comes back to symbolize the events of the episode in a heavy-handed but satisfying way.  Jim Hobart, representing the rival company, meets Don at a play and starts courting him to work for his company McCann Erikson.  While at the play he comments on Betty’s good looks and offers her a modeling job.  This opens the door for some good character work on Betty as she struggles deciding between her old life and her role as a housewife for Don.  She decides to give modeling a second go and works a couple of days for McCann Erikson for a Coca-Cola advertisement.  She obviously loves getting back into the business and making money for the family, but the plot gets complicated.

Throughout the episode Don is courted by Jim Hobart as Jim sends different gifts to Don’s office trying to seduce him into leaving Sterling-Cooper for his company.  Don doesn’t have a large role in this episode, but his role is interesting.  One of Jim Hobart’s gifts to Don is the pictures of Betty for Coca-Cola.  The message is clear; your wife’s job depends on your cooperation.  This level of dishonesty sends Don into Sterling’s office to accept a raise.  He decides to stay at Sterling-Cooper.

The visual symbolism comes back into the episode when Betty is quietly let go from her modeling job.  She’s crushed.  The next scene is of the neighbor releasing his birds again, but the Draper’s dog catches a low flying bird.  The neighbor threatens to shoot the dog if he comes into his yard again, scaring the kids.  Betty decides that being a housewife isn’t so bad.  I don’t believe she actually believes this, but I think she doesn’t want to face that rejection again so she is telling herself this excuse so she can be happy.  The last shot of the episode is her shooting BB’s at the neighbor’s flying birds, her rebellion against the system that rejected her.

I think Mad Men has finally drawn me in. 

Community “First Chang Dynasty”

Finally, the episode I’ve been waiting weeks for, “First Chang Dynasty.”  I could tell this was going to be an awesome episode from the thumbnail of Chang in a Napoleon outfit, come on everyone chuckles at that.  “First Chang Dynasty” is the penultimate episode in Chang’s takeover of Greendale.  The gang has to infiltrate the school in order to free Dean Pelton.  The Dean is the gang’s one chance to get re-enrolled in Greendale after Chang had them expelled.

I’ve said before that Community excels at satire and this episode proves my point.  Their deconstruction of the heist genre is inspired and they pull off the story effortlessly as the gang crashes Chang’s birthday bash. 

The plan starts with Shirley disguised as a chef wheeling in the cake for the party.  Annie hides under the cart and hides amongst the child-army until Britta seduces the head of security through a fake facebook account.  The gang’s plan grows more complex as Britta and Jeff arrive as a famous magician and his assistant.  They pretend to perform a magic trick as a ruse to retrieve an essential key to freeing Dean Pelton.  When Pierce shows up acting like an Indian (not an American Indian, an Indian Indian), the plan seems to fall apart, but it was all part of the plan to distract Chang as they sneak the dean out.  When Chang actually catches them he reveals a plan to destroy the records with fireworks, setting off the final act of the show where Troy has to sell himself to the AC school in order to escape from the dungeon so the gang can stop Chang’s evil plan.

I liked the AC school coming back into the show for this episode.  One, because I’m a huge John Goodman fan, and two, because I think the idea of an AC school that is so successful they over-ride the authority of the school they are a part of.  Genius.  Now a new story arc is set up where Troy has to cut himself off from the group due to his enrollment in AC school so I’m sure the group will be hatching a plan to get him out.

I really hope that Community can bounce back from a third season that had quite a few lackluster episodes.  The first two seasons were great and I know they can tell more interesting stories they just need to get back on track.

Man of Steel

Watching the responses to “Man of Steel” has solidified in my mind a growing trend that I’ve witnessed over the past couple of years.  The pathological insistence on what I call critique porn.  I first noticed it when “The Dark Knight Rises” was released.  I personally loved the movie.  Was it as good as “The Dark Knight?”  No, but it was a fitting end to the trilogy.  It kept me at the edge of my seat and even though one of the big twists was spoiled because of the transparency of a film-set (Talia Al’Goul) I still really enjoyed myself, but if you only paid attention to what was said on the internet you would think the whole movie equates to a load of Taco Bell vomit, which might be the worst.  It doesn’t.  The problem was everyone on the internet that we trust to give us an unbiased opinion was, as far as I can guess, finding the tiniest matters to complain about to…what?  Amuse people, I guess? Maybe they were disappointed that the movie didn’t exceed “The Dark Knight?”  I don’t know, I can’t read their minds, but most of their critiques didn’t even make sense if you watched the movie, and the others could be generally explained.  I’ve seen it happen since, but I wasn’t ready to call it a trend yet.  Now I’m ready.  After a year of seeing it happen to almost every big tent-pole movie I’m convinced.  The internet’s fascination with critique porn is a trend that I don’t like so in the spirit of giving a fair trial to “Man of Steel” I’m going to give you guys a fair, unbiased critique.  You may like the film, you may not, but one thing is for sure this might be the most emotionally driven superhero film yet.  I won’t lie to you, I shed a tear or two…which I’ve never said after a superhero movie.

My first viewing of “Man of Steel” I wasn’t quite sold, I’ll admit.  I thought the exposition was too long, and there was a long sequence when Clark gets his suit and gives himself up to the government that I thought was too long and didn’t challenge the character enough.  Then, on my second viewing something strange happened.  Normally, when a movie feels slow in a part or has bad exposition, the second viewing brings those problems out, but today the movie was seamless.  I think the main problem was expectations.  I heard David Goyer was writing and Christopher Nolan helped break the story and my mind went, of course, to The Dark Knight.  That movie had crisp dialogue, it ran at a mile a minute and barely gave you time to breathe.  “Man of Steel,” on the other hand, gives you time to comprehend what’s going on for many good reasons.  Even though we know the origins of Superman, there are some complicated ideas to follow.  At least I assume there are.  I followed along easily, but the people writing some of the reviews I read obviously didn’t understand so much.  My point being, I was expecting one pace and got another, giving me the illusion of a boring pace.  I’ve seen similar problems.  Critics complain that there was no joy compared to the Donner movies.  That is their main problem, they are comparing it.  There is plenty of comedy in “Man of Steel,” but it is a dry humor. 

Another complaint I read was there was too much destruction in the third act and Superman didn’t do enough to save citizens of Metropolis.  I hate to point out obvious facts here, but let us look at what is going on in the movie in the third act.  Obviously spoilers follow so if you haven’t seen the movie yet I suggest you do.  In the third act General Zod, brilliantly played by Michael Shannon, deploys his “World Engine” and begins to terraform the Earth using Gravity passing through the core to build the mass of the earth and also raising debris around the “World Engine” to start changing the atmosphere.  Now, to break this situation down, we have an advanced alien technology that uses two points on opposite sides of the Earth to work its horrific science.  Superman goes to the engine opposite Metropolis to destroy that while Lois Lane (Amy Adams) puts a plan in motion that will send Zod and comrades back to the Phantom Zone.  During this time the city, which is the other end of the World Engine, is being completely destroyed.  Buildings are crushed, cars thrown about, people crushed.  Pure pandemonium…which is what would happen if an advanced alien race attacked Earth.   As to the other point, Superman isn’t saving anybody because he’s not in Metropolis, duh.  After he dispatches with the other engine and flies back to Metropolis he finds Zod flying the spaceship that takes the place of his Fortress of Solitude attacking the airplane with Lois in it, and Lois is with the spacecraft that Clark came to Earth in which is key to their plan.  He obviously attacks the spaceship with Zod in it destroys it so Zod can’t recreate Krypton.  The spaceship crashes to the ground, but Superman was busy saving Lois from being sucked into a black hole so he couldn’t save the innocents of Metropolis from that.  Then Zod comes back and attacks Superman, throwing him around the city and causing chaos.  He even explains that his point is to kill everyone he can to make Superman pay for destroying his soul (which was to protect Krypton because that’s what he was genetically engineered to do).  Superman could have avoided buildings if Zod wasn’t throwing him into them and the times that is was his fault he was fighting, leave the guy alone.  Plus, I think the level of destruction at the end of “Man of Steel” is going to be important for the growth of Superman.  This was his lesson.

Well, now I’ve rambled on about the things that anger me.  I have simple explanations and counters for all of the complaints I have seen so far. 

I definitely recommend “Man of Steel” to anybody who likes a good story.  Don’t expect the old corny Superman.  And don’t expect Superman to act how he normally does.  He’s still young, he’s still learning.  This movie has a lot of heart, even if most critics couldn’t see it (which I don’t know how), Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe do an amazing job as Clark’s two fathers, each tempering him on what it takes to be a hero.  Amy Adams is a strong, smart Lois Lane.  I did enjoy how she played a big role in this movie, other than being a damsel in distress (which she did a couple of times).  And of course, Henry Cavill, he did an amazing job at bringing Superman to life.  I’ve heard people say that Superman was an empty suit in this movie and I couldn’t disagree more.  You can see his struggle to contain himself before he finds a Kryptonian spaceship and his meaning in life.  You can see his pain when his own mother can’t enjoy the news of him finding out about his past.  The most powerful moments were when he learns to fly, the elation on his face makes you smile, and when he is forced to push himself to his limit, his face contorting with the effort.  I don’t know how you don’t feel anything when you watch that.

5/5  

This is THE Superman movie.  I'm convinced.  I'll watch the old Donner ones again, but they aren't as good as "Man of Steel."

What did you think?  Does it bother you that Superman killed Zod? Why? Do you disagree with me? Agree? Let me know in the comments below.

If you have any questions about the movie I will try my best to explain to you what happened and why it made sense.

No Game of Thrones....again.

Since "Game of Thrones'" third season is over I have my Monday spot open for my schedule.  Usually I would pick another show and start immediately, but next monday is the beginning of "Under the Dome" which I definitely want to see, and I definitely want to keep you guys filled in on whether it is good or not.  I really, really hope it is considering I'm a Stephen King fan and the book was good...until the end.  If you've read it, you know what I mean. 

So, because I only have this one Monday between the end of "Game of Thrones" and the beginning of "Under the Dome" I'm going to take  a much needed night off so I can focus on studying screenplays and being a nerd like that.  

Tomorrow I'll be back with a review of my most anticipated movie of this year, Man of Steel.  I love it.  Saw it opening night. I want to talk about it.

Okay, until tomorrow good friends.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Growing up, we were always told about the story of Hansel and Gretel, a brother and sister who encounter a witch in a candy cottage and escape, but they never told us what happened after.  Now we know they become witch hunters, crossing the country saving towns from witches and in the process becoming famous.  Now they are hired to seek out a witch who’s been kidnapping the children of a small town.  What they stumble upon is far worse than they expected, and a link to their past that sheds light on their mysterious life.

Expectations were low when I popped in “Hansel and Gretel”.  The trailers didn’t grab my attention although I must admit I was interested in the idea of Hansel and Gretel growing up.  Now that I’ve finally seen it, I don’t know what took me so long.  “Hansel and Gretel” isn’t an Academy Award level movie that leaves you in awe of the art form, but it is just as good.  This is a movie that will make you forget about your problems for an hour and a half while you watch an awesome brother/sister duo beat the ever living crap out of witches.  This is a kind of movie that sticks around in my Blu-Ray player just because of the fun I have watching it.  The special effects are great, with fight scenes that are shot with a gritty action that keeps the eye glued to the screen and frightening witches with many startling designs.   I love how the witches in this movie aren’t all archetypal witches.  Some have horns, some have grotesque bodies, and some have glowing eyes.  I have never seen witches like this, but they still feel like witches which is great design work (I watch enough Face Off to know this). 

Most of the weak points in this story can be looked over because this movie doesn’t aspire to be greater, it knows what it is, but one thing I couldn’t overlook was the character of Edward.  I liked him as a character.  I thought they did a good job of creating a troll that was on one hand frightening and on the other sympathetic.  What I didn’t like was his place in the story.  He started as the servant for the evil witches, but when he stumbles upon Gretel being beaten in the woods he turns to her side.  I think it was because of how he’s treated by the evil witches, but the story wasn’t enforced enough for those beats to really mean anything.

I’ve already praised the design of the witches, but I have to applaud the whole design department on this movie.  Not only were the witches great, but the candy cottage where Hansel and Gretel’s tale started was fantastically imagined, and the weapons.  Oh, let’s talk about the weapons in this movie.  They were so well thought out and seeped with this cool steam punk awesomeness.  I know I’m not using professional vocabulary here, but come on.  Who wouldn’t like to have those guns and crossbows? 

“Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” is a movie you can watch over and over and still laugh and enjoy the sequences.  It reminds me of, dare I say it, a good Van Helsing.  When I was a kid I was amazed with its steam-punkiness and the idea of this monster hunter.  I admit that movie isn’t that good at all in retrospect, but “Hansel and Gretel” gave me the same thrill, but still held itself together as a film, which I really like.  I definitely suggest this film if you like action and comedy and have a soul. 

4/5 stars.

Now that Game of Thrones is over for this season, what will I do with my Mondays?  Comment with any ideas.

Also, I promise to come up with a better rating system.

Hannibal “Relevés”

As the first season of “Hannibal” comes to a close questions are answered, mysterious plans 

are partially revealed, and the tables are turned on Will all at the hands of Hannibal’s impressive mental games that have everybody running in the wrong direction. 

For weeks I’ve written about the ineptitude of the characters in The Following (which I also follow with this blog).  That show depends on the bad decisions of the cast to assist the killers with their plot.  “Hannibal,” on the other hand, has intelligent characters that react in the most logical way, but always find themselves five steps behind Hannibal.   This, to me, is one of the best parts of this show.  “Hannibal” doesn’t write its characters as idiots as a short cut for the killer’s plot to work.  Hannibal has successfully pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes and it is fantastic to watch, although the true intentions of his scheming are still vague.

Hannibal has spent most of the season secretly pulling the strings of both Will and Abigail by using their weaknesses against them.  Abigail’s guilt over helping her father kill girls has pushed her to killing a boy (in self-defense) and allowed Hannibal to study her mind.  My personal opinion this whole series has been that Hannibal was studying Abigail’s mind because he was curious if she was like him, and it turns out I was right.  At the end of the episode, in a heart-wrenching scene, Abigail asks Hannibal why he called her dad before Will showed up.  Hannibal responds by admitting he wanted to know what would happen.  Behind all of his schemes this season Hannibal has withheld a sense of emotionless curiosity toward all of the people around him, even Will who Hannibal says is a friend.  He has spent the season using Will’s unstable mental condition to keep him off balance.  Until this episode I just assumed it was to hide from the FBI considering he IS the Chesapeake Ripper, but this episode revealed a much darker scheme.  He plans to make Will take the fall for his copycat crimes.  His actions this season have been to discredit Will to the point that when Jack got close to his trail he can push Will into the limelight and have him take the fall. 

This show continues to be subtle and smart and the build up to this season finale has me on edge.  How will this season end?  It seems as if Hannibal will be caught, but they’ve said that Hannibal won’t be in the mask until the 4^th season, so he won’t get caught next episode, which begs the question, how does he get away?  I can’t wait until next season, or better yet the rest of the season.  They have said they will redo “Red Dragon” and “Silence of the Lambs.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love the original movies, but I want to see these stories re-done with this cast and these writers.  More than anything.  So watch this show, tell your friends to watch this show.  Somehow The Following gets 6 million more viewers per episode than “Hannibal” and that needs to change.

The Following “The Siege”

You mean killers can pass through open doors?  

Around this time every week I get to write 500 words about the horrible ineptitude of every character that comes in the same area-code as the serial killers, but this week I’m going to try really hard not to mention it only because I’m tired of talking about it.  This week Joey gets wise to the cult’s plan and calls his mother, Joe uses leverage on his attorney to put a plan into motion, and Ryan attempts to save Joey. 

Joey finally gets the idea that his mother might not have given his nanny permission to take him to the house in the country.  He sneaks the phone away from his kidnappers while they make a sandwich in bed and calls his mother which gets the FBI closer to the killers in spite of the virus they installed on the FBI’s computer (which I’m being told is impossible.  If you know a way to do this, let me know).  This leads Ryan on a chase to find out where they are. 

Joe Carroll meets with his attorney and uses her as a messenger to pass commands onto his cult.  In one of the best moments so far in this series, his attorney takes his message and has a press conference, giving Carroll’s cult directions on how to move forward with their plot.  The whole episode I was wondering what would drive her to do this.  She could easily say no.  Of course, he hid some threats in their conversation so I understood to an extent, but it always seemed a little ridiculous that she would go along with his plan.  Then, in one of the only really startling twists in this show, it is revealed that he had a couple of her fingers clipped off.  That moment actually made me gasp.

Ryan got closer to finding Joey last episode when they had an idea of the county the cult was hiding out in, but they didn’t make a move.  This week, when Joey calls his mother, Ryan becomes more convinced they were right about the group’s location after they make the connection between Paul and the kidnapping of Meagan.  He takes an officer with him and searches for Joey and finds a slaughtered family that Paul killed.  After finding a bloody bandage, they follow a trail through the woods and find the house where Jacob, Paul, and Emma are keeping Joey.  He calls for other officers, but decides to make a move before they get there.  The officer gets killed (because he’s an idiot, but I said I wouldn’t talk about that), and Ryan goes into the house and finds
Joey, but before he can save the kid he gets caught (because he’s an idiot, but I won’t talk about that.)

And that’s where the episode ends…right there.  It didn’t feel like a full episode and it was even worse because it ended with a cliff hanger only created out of Ryan’s idiotic notion to stand in front of the open front door while he talks to Joey.  Get him someplace safe, then talk!  Come on!

Mad Men “The Hobo Code”

Okay, I’m not going to lie to you guys.  I don’t know if it is lack of sleep or what, but I’ve literally sat here all day staring at a blank word document trying to figure out how to start talking about this episode of Mad Men.  Almost twelve hours now.  I don’t have a decent in, so I’m just going to be honest with you because I want to move on and go to sleep.  I’m tired as hell.  SO!

Peggy finally gets some recognition for her talents at writing advertisements when her pitch for the lipstick company is accepted, in no small part to Don’s skills as a salesman but the victory is still Peggy’s.  This sudden popularity and acceptance puts more strain on her already awkward relationship with Pete, which was complicated earlier in this episode when they had impromptu sex in Pete’s office, unexpectedly giving a free show to the custodial staff.  Pete doesn’t like her new found confidence with the staff and instead of celebrating her achievement instead ruins her celebration at the bar after work.

Don gets a bonus check and decides to take Midge to Paris, but she has friends over.  They’re general hippy types, who are put off by Don who seems like quite a square to them.  As Don smokes with them he has flashbacks to his childhood.  A homeless man came by their house asking if they could spare any goods.  Don(at that time Dick)’s mother offers to let him stay for the night and do some work around the house for money the next day.  He eats dinner with the Whitman’s where we see that the husband doesn’t really care for the vagabond and would rather send him out on his ass without anything.  That night Dick(Don) goes to visit the hobo in the barn and learns about the hobo code, including the code that signifies an untrustworthy man.  The next day, after a hard day’s work, Dick’s father refuses to pay the Hobo and sends him on his way with nothing.  Dick finds the symbol for an untrustworthy man on a fence post.

With this memory fresh in his mind, Don messes with Midge’s camera and snaps a picture of her and her friend.  As he watches the photo develop he notices that the two are in love.  He notices that Midge is living a lie, so he confronts her.  This starts a debate about how he lies to the public everyday by creating ads that claim the purchaser’s life will be bettered with the whatever product he’s selling.  Don doesn’t like being compared to his dad so he leaves.  At home he wakes his son and tells his son to ask him anything.  He swears never to lie to his son. 

I really liked this episode.  It’s a pity I couldn’t do a better review of it, but after twelve hours I had to verbal vomit on my keyboard and live with it.  Tomorrow I’ll do a duel post for The Following and Hannibal.

Community “Digital Estate Planning”

Community excels at satire of pop-culture.  The best episodes are the paintball episodes (action/western/etc.), the Pillows/Blankets War (war documentaries), Abed’s Christmas, the list goes on.  “Digital Estate Planning” sticks to this strength and delivers a satire of 8-bit videogames while taking the study group on an interesting adventure that strengthens their friendship.

Pierce’s father has left instructions for Pierce in his will; bring seven friends to this warehouse to claim your inheritance, so obviously he brings the study group even though that leaves them down one.  At the warehouse they find daddy Hawthorne’s right hand man, Gilbert Lawson, who brings them up to speed on the situation.  In 1980, Pierce suggested the family company start making videogames, he predicted they would become popular, but his father dismissed his prediction and as punishment created this videogame so Pierce would have to compete against his friends to get his inheritance.  The first one to reach the throne in Hawthorne Castle gets the inheritance.  This pits the group against Gilbert in an 8-bit world that Gilbert help create.  They are in unfamiliar territory against a man who can bend the game to his will, forcing the group to work together to get Pierce’s inheritance.

Most of the jokes worked in this episode.  The scene in the blacksmith’s shop with Annie and Shirley was hilarious.  They want to buy weapons to defeat Gilbert, but they don’t have money so Annie accidentally steals a torch and sets the blacksmith on fire setting off a chain of gut splitting events that eventually lead to Abed falling in love with a character in the game and having tons of digital slave children.  The jokes on Pierce are getting a little old.  Sometimes the jokes work, like when Pierce couldn’t figure out how to control his character, but how many “Pierce is dumb” jokes do I have to listen to.  He’s barely a character anymore, just a punching bag for the show to beat around.  He did have a nice moment at the end of this episode.

Gilbert beats the group to the throne room by cheating and is about to take Pierce’s inheritance when Jeff and Pierce get up from the game and confront him in person.  He tells Pierce that he is daddy Hawthorne’s son too, when their dad had an affair with a colored servant, so he feels entitled to Pierce’s inheritance since he was closer to their father and hadn’t received an inheritance of his own.  When he reaches the throne the digital projection of his father implores him to sign a digital agreement not to tell anyone of his true heritage because he didn’t want a black man, let alone a bastard, in his family.  In a heartbreaking moment Gilbert declines the inheritance and creates the final boss.  Mr. Hawthorne uses the castle to create giant stone body for himself and starts to wreak havoc in the game.  The group arrives with Abed, who had chosen to stay behind with the woman he loved and they created an Abed army, to help destroy Pierce’s father.  In the end, Pierce gave the inheritance to Gilbert because he had been a better son.  And in a truly touching scene at the end he tells Gilbert he always wanted a younger brother as they leave to get drinks with their new friend.

After a couple of disappointing episodes Community comes back strong with a satire of a category that I love.  As much as I love the satire episodes I do wish they would get back to the original adventures of the gang like in the first two seasons.  The satire episodes were few and far between then, and I think the show was much better.

The Purge

In the year 2022, the landscape of our nation has changed significantly in the world of “The Purge.”  We have restructured our government and voted a group of leaders called The New Founding Fathers who instated a new tradition, The Purge.  On the 7^th of June every year, from 7pm to 7am, every crime is legal.  There are no rules.  The reasons for The Purge vary depending on who you talk to.  Some argue that The Purge reduces crime because it allows everyone to release their aggravations and primal urges one night a year without repercussion.  Some would tell you The Purge helps the economy by decreasing the drain the lower class has on society, due to the rich being able to afford protection while the poor are left to their own devices.  Whichever argument you tend to agree with would be right because in the world of this movie The Purge is responsible for a booming economy and record low crime statistics, because this world makes no sense.  Once you get past that this movie is more bearable, but it moves along an equally nonsensical plot that fails to surprise and tip-toes around some very interesting issues that it suggests but never has the balls to explore.

The lack of focus on the necessity of The Purge is a harbinger for what is wrong with this movie.  It feels muddled and confused because the writer wanted to explore a deeper theme, but never decided what he wanted that theme to be.  So instead of the movie being about the upper class’ disdain for the lower class, or the destruction of the lower class leading to a better economy (which doesn’t even make sense, but at least it would have been something), or the need for humanity to satisfy its deeper urges to move forward as a peaceful society we got all three smashed into one movie that doesn’t explore any of the above.  These themes are mentioned, sure, but the movie never goes further than that.  The Purge does toy with the question of how far one will go when protecting one’s family, especially with no societal rules to adhere to, but this is only a small part of the film.  Instead of focusing on the inherent questions within the premise, the writer and filmmaker shackle their story to a home invasion plot.

The home invasion plot shouldn’t take the brunt of the blame for this movie’s failure to create an emotional response.  I suppose certain of the given themes could be explored within the realms of a family protecting their house, in fact with this interesting world it could have been something fresh and new.  No, the main problem with this movie is the unfocused and often random nature of the plot.  With a new world to explore, the filmmakers don’t need to waste time with unimportant plot lines or irrational behavior.  The plot should be tight and focused and the characters should act in the most logical way to allow the viewer to better connect to the new rules set forth in the world of the film.  Instead The Purge gives us the forbidden boyfriend plot that goes nowhere, has no consequence on the story, and doesn’t make any bloody sense.  The daughter, Zoey played by Adelaide Kane, has a boyfriend that is 18 which the dad, James Sandin played by Ethan Hawke, forbids.  In an attempt to convince Zoey’s dad to allow them to date Henry, the boyfriend, sneaks into their house before they lock down for The Purge so he can talk to her dad when he can’t get away.  Seems somewhat reasonable, but he would be working uphill considering James is going to be pretty mad at him for breaking in, I’m still on board though.  Then his plan goes downhill fast.  Henry walks downstairs to talk to James and tries to shoot him instead.  TWIST!  Henry obviously didn’t think this one through, or more accurately the screenwriter didn’t think this through.  If Henry kills Zoey’s dad, Zoey isn’t going to fall into his arms, she’s going to freaking hate him!  And considering he tries it during The Purge means that the daughter could take revenge.  Poorly.  Thought.  Out.

I could go on about this movie and the nonsense contained therein, but I could easily go on for another 700 words.  I give this movie a 4.5/10.  It makes no sense and fumbles what could be an interesting concept, but not entirely worthless.  Ethan Hawke, Lena Heady, and Edwin Hodge bring interesting characters to the table and there is a poignant scene that asks how much you would do to protect your family.  Unfortunately the motivations for the majority of the characters don’t make sense and the revolving door of bad guys isn’t as surprising as it should be.  Follow all of that with an anti-climactic ending and you have The Purge.  Maybe they will fix these problems with The Purge 2 which has already been green-lit.