Spoilers ahead for the season.
This is the penultimate season of "The Americans," and it's definitely a slow burner. Some in the media have been wringing their hands that they show is treading water, that it's lost a step because so much time is devoted to set-up for the impending finale. Nothing particularly big or exciting happens this year, but there's still plenty of good character work, and a couple of major problems have been addressed. I expect that bingeing the season once it was over was the right way to watch this, since it was easier to appreciate the cumulative effect of the slower storylines.
I suspect a lot of the dissatisfaction comes from the fact that there are so many anticlimactic storylines and dead ends this year. Paige and Matthew's relationship falls apart quickly. Philip's son Mischa (Alex Ozerov) makes several appearances trying to find his father, only to be intercepted and sent home. He's been nicely established as a sympathetic character, but did we need to spend so much time with him? Or what about Oleg Burov, who takes on a new role investigating food suppliers for the KGB? His family dynamics are fascinating, but giving him such a big part of the season felt way too indulgent. Stan and Aderholt's attempts to recruit a new source, Sofia (Darya Ekamasova), could have used more attention.
However, it was nice to get updates on Martha, Kimmy, and Pastor Tim, while Paige and Henry's storylines are definitely progressing. Henry had his best season yet, and it was clever that the show worked the writers' tendency to overlook Henry into the actual plot. Keidrich Sellati actually had a fair amount to do this year, and it all played fine. Uncoupling him from Stan Beeman, however, removed a sorely needed source of tension for the Jennings. Whether new girlfriend Renee (Laurie Holden) is really a spy just isn't as worrisome as Stan becoming Henry's father figure. Paige finally getting to put the Pastor Tim problem to rest was very satisfying arc, though, and I love that she's become the show's biggest ticking time bomb.
As for Philip and Elizabeth, I thought that their season arcs were pretty strong, aside from the plan to return to Russia with the kids in the last two episodes. Frankly, I never bought that it was a real possibility and the show didn't sell it well. More interesting were the two major operations going on this year, the agricultural research assignment that shows the Jennings growing tired of trying to maintain more fake relationships, and their steady disillusionment with manipulating the lives of the Morozova family, where they go undercover as the parents of a teen operative from another agency. Tuan (Ivan Mok) is one of the show's most fascinating characters to date, and he was a big reason why I thought the Morozova plot was the most successful one this year.
Others have pointed out that the larger problem with this year was that the various plotlines didn't intersect much the way that they did in the past. At this point there's almost no feeling of danger that the Beemans will stumble on the activities of the Jennings, even after Henry visits Stan's office. Oleg's work with the Russian food chain ties to the agricultural mission slightly, but the connections are tenuous, and both stories are largely dropped in the second half of the season. Gabriel is the only character who provides any kind of linkage, and he's retired from all the exciting stuff.
This run of episodes does a fantastic job of table-setting, though, wrapping up loose ends and maneuvering everyone into the right state of existential funk where season six can set off some real fireworks. The Cold War's not quite done yet, but all the characters know they're on the losing side. And I do want to see how this all ends. I have every expectation that season six will be worth getting through season five for. I just find it a shame that the "Americans" creators couldn't find more ways to add more excitement this year. I mean, deeply introspective adult dramas are all well and good, but "The Americans" has never quite been that kind of show.
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Monday, December 4, 2017
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Digging Into "Dirk Gently"
I know I read "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" after finishing off Douglas Adams'
Hitchhiker" series, but I don't remember much about it. The book originated from unused story concepts that Adams prepared for "Doctor Who," so it seems fitting that a new version should be coming along now, as "Doctor Who" is enjoying its revival. However, very little of the new television series adaptation, produced by Netflix and the BBC, pinged as familiar, and the bulk of the characters appear to be original. So I'm pretty comfortable saying that the bulk of the credit for this version should go to the show's creator, Max Landis.
If you're familiar with Landis's work, many of his usual hallmarks are here: seemingly ordinary young man caught up in a big genre adventure, lots of flashy, chaotic violence, way too much exposition, and a few noticeably weak female characters. The plot revolves around Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett), a self-proclaimed holistic detective, who doesn't look for clues but instead focuses on the interconnectedness of events, and allows the universe to essentially point him in the right direction. So, to solve the murder of an industrialist, Dirk first recruits Todd Brotzman (Elijah Wood) as a reluctant assistant. Todd is an unemployed bellboy whose life is suddenly beset by an onslaught of calamities. Because Dirk knows there is no such thing as a coincidence, this means Todd is important. Eventually Todd's sister Amanda (Hannah Marks), the industrialist's bodyguard Farah (Jade Eshete), a holistic assassin (Fiona Dourif) and her hostage (Mpho Koaho), two police detectives, several government agents, a gang of anarchists, a dog, a kitten, and a shark all become involved, and these are just the good guys.
There's a slightly worrying sense of chaos to the first episode, where the show just keeps throwing outrageous events and ideas at wide-eyed Todd and the audience willy-nilly, with very little pause to let anything sink in. Dirk initially comes off as a manic weirdo, as though he's trying too hard to evoke the David Tennant version of the Doctor. Fortunately there were seven other episodes to flesh out the characters, sort out all the wackiness, and ensure that everything does make sense in the end. Too many of those characters tend to speak in overly verbose and rambly dialogue, and there are a few points where the good guys just decide out of the blue to be mad at each other or to do something very stupid. But on the whole, it's all very entertaining.
The cast is excellent, helping to ground the frequently ridiculous events in some kind of emotional reality. Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett are both likeable and charismatic, and play well together. My favorite characters, though, are Bart the assassin and Ken, her poor hostage. Fiona Dourif and Mpho Koaho manage to build up a sweet, if wildly improbable, relationship between the two of them. I had some trouble with more minor characters, though. Farah is one of those problematic heroines who is repeatedly told that she's a badass far more often than she's actually allowed to demonstrate that she's a badass, and prone to losing IQ points whenever the plot needs her to. Hannah Marks is great as Amanda, but the character is also constantly hampered by a convenient chronic ailment.
However, the mystery elements of this mystery show are handled very well, and I'm always a sucker for good whodunits. The explanations are imparted to the audience in neat little chunks, slowly ramping up the absurdity until the final reveals involving fantasy elements paranoid conspiracies make perfect sense. Dirk's not the only part of "Dirk Gently" that reminded me of the modern "Doctor Who." Both deal in high-concept, high energy genre hijinks, but "Dirk Gently" takes advantage of having so much more time to tell this one particular story, to do a lot of good worldbuilding and mythology spinning. Too many other shows never manage to get that right. And the result is a very fulfilling jaunt into a weird, but ultimately comprehensible universe, that I wouldn't mind visiting again.
Definitely room for improvement here, but "Dirk Gently" was a lot of fun, and I look forward to the next season.
---
Hitchhiker" series, but I don't remember much about it. The book originated from unused story concepts that Adams prepared for "Doctor Who," so it seems fitting that a new version should be coming along now, as "Doctor Who" is enjoying its revival. However, very little of the new television series adaptation, produced by Netflix and the BBC, pinged as familiar, and the bulk of the characters appear to be original. So I'm pretty comfortable saying that the bulk of the credit for this version should go to the show's creator, Max Landis.
If you're familiar with Landis's work, many of his usual hallmarks are here: seemingly ordinary young man caught up in a big genre adventure, lots of flashy, chaotic violence, way too much exposition, and a few noticeably weak female characters. The plot revolves around Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett), a self-proclaimed holistic detective, who doesn't look for clues but instead focuses on the interconnectedness of events, and allows the universe to essentially point him in the right direction. So, to solve the murder of an industrialist, Dirk first recruits Todd Brotzman (Elijah Wood) as a reluctant assistant. Todd is an unemployed bellboy whose life is suddenly beset by an onslaught of calamities. Because Dirk knows there is no such thing as a coincidence, this means Todd is important. Eventually Todd's sister Amanda (Hannah Marks), the industrialist's bodyguard Farah (Jade Eshete), a holistic assassin (Fiona Dourif) and her hostage (Mpho Koaho), two police detectives, several government agents, a gang of anarchists, a dog, a kitten, and a shark all become involved, and these are just the good guys.
There's a slightly worrying sense of chaos to the first episode, where the show just keeps throwing outrageous events and ideas at wide-eyed Todd and the audience willy-nilly, with very little pause to let anything sink in. Dirk initially comes off as a manic weirdo, as though he's trying too hard to evoke the David Tennant version of the Doctor. Fortunately there were seven other episodes to flesh out the characters, sort out all the wackiness, and ensure that everything does make sense in the end. Too many of those characters tend to speak in overly verbose and rambly dialogue, and there are a few points where the good guys just decide out of the blue to be mad at each other or to do something very stupid. But on the whole, it's all very entertaining.
The cast is excellent, helping to ground the frequently ridiculous events in some kind of emotional reality. Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett are both likeable and charismatic, and play well together. My favorite characters, though, are Bart the assassin and Ken, her poor hostage. Fiona Dourif and Mpho Koaho manage to build up a sweet, if wildly improbable, relationship between the two of them. I had some trouble with more minor characters, though. Farah is one of those problematic heroines who is repeatedly told that she's a badass far more often than she's actually allowed to demonstrate that she's a badass, and prone to losing IQ points whenever the plot needs her to. Hannah Marks is great as Amanda, but the character is also constantly hampered by a convenient chronic ailment.
However, the mystery elements of this mystery show are handled very well, and I'm always a sucker for good whodunits. The explanations are imparted to the audience in neat little chunks, slowly ramping up the absurdity until the final reveals involving fantasy elements paranoid conspiracies make perfect sense. Dirk's not the only part of "Dirk Gently" that reminded me of the modern "Doctor Who." Both deal in high-concept, high energy genre hijinks, but "Dirk Gently" takes advantage of having so much more time to tell this one particular story, to do a lot of good worldbuilding and mythology spinning. Too many other shows never manage to get that right. And the result is a very fulfilling jaunt into a weird, but ultimately comprehensible universe, that I wouldn't mind visiting again.
Definitely room for improvement here, but "Dirk Gently" was a lot of fun, and I look forward to the next season.
---
Thursday, November 30, 2017
My Favorite Roberto Rossellini Film
Roberto Rossellini was one of the key figures of the Italian Neorealist movement, and the films he made during the '40s in the aftermath of WWII are nothing short of revolutionary. Massively influential for his documentary-style filmmaking and philosophy, Rossellini remains one of the most important figures in Italian cinema. However, his personal life frequently overshadowed his work in subsequent years, particularly his scandalous extramarital relationship with Ingrid Bergman. At the height of both their careers, they became romantically involved and made several films together, starting with 1950's psychological drama "Stromboli."
Based on a real life encounter that Rossellini had in post-war Italy, Bergman plays a Lithuanian refugee named Karin, who is trapped in an Italian internment camp, but finds a way out by marrying an Italian soldier, Antonio (Mario Vitale). He takes her home to the island of Stromboli, which is dominated by an active volcano. Karin experiences great difficulty adjusting to life on the island, which is harsh and barren, and where the insular community of fishermen is suspicious of a foreign newcomer who speaks little Italian. Like Rossellini's other films of the time, nearly all the cast members are non-actors, mostly real natives of Stromboli. The film also features documentary-like segments highlighting various aspects of life on the island.
The film also has strong religious and psychological themes, largely focused on Karin's internal struggle with her isolation and alienation. This is the part of the film that resonated the most strongly with me, the way that the oppressive landscape becomes a character in the film, the environment seemingly insurmountable. The final scenes of Bergman on the volcano, where she finally has an emotional breakdown, are wonderfully affecting. Rossellini's ability to capture the stark nature of the island and its equally stark inhabitants is vital here, but it's Ingrid Bergman's unrelenting performance that makes the movie what it is. There's such a primal, emotional openness to her work here, which helps to make Karin one of my favorite Bergman characters. I honestly can't imagine the film with Anna Magnani, who Rossellini originally had in mind for the role.
"Stromboli" is often considered as the first film in a trilogy, all directed by Rossellini and starring Bergman. Along with "Europa '51" and "Voyage to Italy," they examine the dissatisfaction of independent, strong-minded female characters, who are in unhappy marriages and find themselves outsiders in Italy. In "Stromboli" these themes are the most pronounced, and Karin takes the most drastic actions to confront them. She actively rebels against the social order, eventually attempting a physical escape from her woes at the film's climax. Her screen presence comes off as almost shockingly modern, her character acknowledging complicated desires that threaten the established moral order of the day. The film's resolution is memorably ambiguous, and it's difficult to say where Karin is mentally as she descends from the volcano's crater toward an unknown fate.
It's easy to find parallels between the film and what was going on behind the scenes, where Bergman had to adjust to working with a tiny crew in rugged shooting conditions. Much of the script was improvised, and the non-actors were frequently too intimidated to do much acting and had to be dubbed. Critics of the time were notoriously unreceptive to the film, and "Stromboli" was both a critical and commercial flop despite the raging controversy around the production. However, that didn't stop Bergman and Rossellini from going on to make four more films together, marrying, and having three children. Later film enthusiasts would of course rediscover and rehabilitate the reputations of "Stromboli" and the other films.
Today, "Stromboli" comes across as an unusually experimental, psychologically complex narrative from Rossellini, almost like a precursor to films like Antonioni's "Red Desert" and Teshigahara's "Woman in the Dunes." It displays all the hallmarks of the Neorealist movement and a strong emphasis on some of Rossellini's favorite subjects - spirituality and Italian culture. However, it is also very much an Ingrid Bergman film, and somehow her star power and foreignness didn't overwhelm or take away from the harsh nature of Rossellini's cinema. Instead, the juxtaposition helps to create something unique to their collaborations, which is still immensely powerful all these decades later.
What I've Seen - Roberto Rossellini
Rome, Open City (1945)
Paisa (1946)
Germany, Year Zero (1948)
Based on a real life encounter that Rossellini had in post-war Italy, Bergman plays a Lithuanian refugee named Karin, who is trapped in an Italian internment camp, but finds a way out by marrying an Italian soldier, Antonio (Mario Vitale). He takes her home to the island of Stromboli, which is dominated by an active volcano. Karin experiences great difficulty adjusting to life on the island, which is harsh and barren, and where the insular community of fishermen is suspicious of a foreign newcomer who speaks little Italian. Like Rossellini's other films of the time, nearly all the cast members are non-actors, mostly real natives of Stromboli. The film also features documentary-like segments highlighting various aspects of life on the island.
The film also has strong religious and psychological themes, largely focused on Karin's internal struggle with her isolation and alienation. This is the part of the film that resonated the most strongly with me, the way that the oppressive landscape becomes a character in the film, the environment seemingly insurmountable. The final scenes of Bergman on the volcano, where she finally has an emotional breakdown, are wonderfully affecting. Rossellini's ability to capture the stark nature of the island and its equally stark inhabitants is vital here, but it's Ingrid Bergman's unrelenting performance that makes the movie what it is. There's such a primal, emotional openness to her work here, which helps to make Karin one of my favorite Bergman characters. I honestly can't imagine the film with Anna Magnani, who Rossellini originally had in mind for the role.
"Stromboli" is often considered as the first film in a trilogy, all directed by Rossellini and starring Bergman. Along with "Europa '51" and "Voyage to Italy," they examine the dissatisfaction of independent, strong-minded female characters, who are in unhappy marriages and find themselves outsiders in Italy. In "Stromboli" these themes are the most pronounced, and Karin takes the most drastic actions to confront them. She actively rebels against the social order, eventually attempting a physical escape from her woes at the film's climax. Her screen presence comes off as almost shockingly modern, her character acknowledging complicated desires that threaten the established moral order of the day. The film's resolution is memorably ambiguous, and it's difficult to say where Karin is mentally as she descends from the volcano's crater toward an unknown fate.
It's easy to find parallels between the film and what was going on behind the scenes, where Bergman had to adjust to working with a tiny crew in rugged shooting conditions. Much of the script was improvised, and the non-actors were frequently too intimidated to do much acting and had to be dubbed. Critics of the time were notoriously unreceptive to the film, and "Stromboli" was both a critical and commercial flop despite the raging controversy around the production. However, that didn't stop Bergman and Rossellini from going on to make four more films together, marrying, and having three children. Later film enthusiasts would of course rediscover and rehabilitate the reputations of "Stromboli" and the other films.
Today, "Stromboli" comes across as an unusually experimental, psychologically complex narrative from Rossellini, almost like a precursor to films like Antonioni's "Red Desert" and Teshigahara's "Woman in the Dunes." It displays all the hallmarks of the Neorealist movement and a strong emphasis on some of Rossellini's favorite subjects - spirituality and Italian culture. However, it is also very much an Ingrid Bergman film, and somehow her star power and foreignness didn't overwhelm or take away from the harsh nature of Rossellini's cinema. Instead, the juxtaposition helps to create something unique to their collaborations, which is still immensely powerful all these decades later.
What I've Seen - Roberto Rossellini
Rome, Open City (1945)
Paisa (1946)
Germany, Year Zero (1948)
L'amore (1948)
Stromboli (1950)
The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
Europa '51 (1952)
Journey to Italy (1954)
General Della Rovere (1959)
India: Matri Bhumi (1959)
The Rise of Louis XIV (1966)
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Stromboli (1950)
The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
Europa '51 (1952)
Journey to Italy (1954)
General Della Rovere (1959)
India: Matri Bhumi (1959)
The Rise of Louis XIV (1966)
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Tuesday, November 28, 2017
"Fargo," Year Three
Overall, I enjoyed the third season of "Fargo" a bit more than the second, but I'm in agreement with the critics that the show's starting to run short of material and the seams are showing. While the story is derivative of the Coen brothers' canon by design, it's also starting to repeat elements of the previous seasons. Yet again, we have a hapless businessman in over his head, an amoral criminal who speaks with a peculiar patter, a heroic female cop, oddly paired henchmen, and an assortment of colorful midwestern side characters playing out another series of tense interactions that lead to a whole lot of people getting killed.
Fortunately, the ensemble this year is one of the show's best. Ewan McGregor plays feuding brothers Emmit and Raymond Stussy, a successful businessman and a down-on-his-luck parole officer respectively. Raymond is dating one of his parolees, Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and together they hatch a plan to steal a rare stamp from Emmit, but an Ennis Stussy (Scott Hylands) in the wrong town ends up murdered instead. Ennis is the stepfather of Glora Burgle (Carrie Coon), chief of police of the tiny town of Eden Valley, which is being absorbed by the county. She spends her last few days as chief piecing together the details of the crime. Meanwhile, Emmit and his business partner Sy (Michael Stuhlbarg), find their business being taken over by the sinister V.M. Varga (David Thewlis), and his violent associates.
David Thewlis's V.M. Varga and Carrie Coon's Gloria Burgle are the standouts this year, playing roles very similar to the one played by Billy Bob Thornton and Alison Tolman from the first season of "Fargo." However, they're deployed very differently, and are treated in very different ways by the universe. Their clashes are more indirect, and the final battle comes down more squarely on their philosophical views of how the world works. I also greatly enjoyed Mary Elizabeth Winstead's soft-hearted con, and Michael Stuhlbarg, playing a variation on his character from "A Serious Man." Oddly, it's the Stussy brothers who are the weakest piece of this year's puzzle, neither proving particularly sympathetic or compelling, though Ewan McGregor turns in perfectly fine performances for both.
There's something more lackadaisical about the way this season is constructed, how it takes a good five or six episodes for the action to really get going, and how the best episode winds up being a "Barton Fink" riff involving Gloria traveling to Los Angeles to chase a dead end with almost no bearing on the plot. Everything does come together very nicely, and the ending is a pretty daring surprise, but there's also a messiness and a laziness to some of the writing this year that makes parts of the season feel like it's spinning its wheels. Some of the minor characters come off just a little too caricatured, and some of the twists come off as a little too perfunctory. There were plenty of moments that I liked - keep an eye out for Ray Wise's appearances - and there are some especially good characters, but the year as a whole was mighty inconsistent.
Even when "Fargo" is having a slightly off year, though, it's still as well made and entertaining as anything else on television. While part of me is disappointed that the season has so much promise that is never fulfilled, the larger part of me is satisfied with everything it did right. So many little details were perfect, like the hideous state of V.M. Varga's teeth, the spot-on casting of everyone from Frances Fisher to Hamish Linklater, and the reoccurrence of a particular musical cue signalling the welcome return of a particular minor character from the past. The cinematography is still gorgeous, and I love that a good chunk of the story was set during Christmastime and had a lot of fun with the seasonal visuals.
I'm absolutely in favor of a fourth season, though I think the series may want to quit Minnesota for a bit. Maybe it's time for Noah Hawley and company to make their way to Los Angeles to play with the elements of "Barton Fink" and "The Big Lebowski" a little more. Or maybe another period piece, this time in the New York of "Miller's Crossing" and "The Hudsucker Proxy." There are a lot of places "Fargo" could go, and maybe it's time for a change of scenery.
---
Fortunately, the ensemble this year is one of the show's best. Ewan McGregor plays feuding brothers Emmit and Raymond Stussy, a successful businessman and a down-on-his-luck parole officer respectively. Raymond is dating one of his parolees, Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and together they hatch a plan to steal a rare stamp from Emmit, but an Ennis Stussy (Scott Hylands) in the wrong town ends up murdered instead. Ennis is the stepfather of Glora Burgle (Carrie Coon), chief of police of the tiny town of Eden Valley, which is being absorbed by the county. She spends her last few days as chief piecing together the details of the crime. Meanwhile, Emmit and his business partner Sy (Michael Stuhlbarg), find their business being taken over by the sinister V.M. Varga (David Thewlis), and his violent associates.
David Thewlis's V.M. Varga and Carrie Coon's Gloria Burgle are the standouts this year, playing roles very similar to the one played by Billy Bob Thornton and Alison Tolman from the first season of "Fargo." However, they're deployed very differently, and are treated in very different ways by the universe. Their clashes are more indirect, and the final battle comes down more squarely on their philosophical views of how the world works. I also greatly enjoyed Mary Elizabeth Winstead's soft-hearted con, and Michael Stuhlbarg, playing a variation on his character from "A Serious Man." Oddly, it's the Stussy brothers who are the weakest piece of this year's puzzle, neither proving particularly sympathetic or compelling, though Ewan McGregor turns in perfectly fine performances for both.
There's something more lackadaisical about the way this season is constructed, how it takes a good five or six episodes for the action to really get going, and how the best episode winds up being a "Barton Fink" riff involving Gloria traveling to Los Angeles to chase a dead end with almost no bearing on the plot. Everything does come together very nicely, and the ending is a pretty daring surprise, but there's also a messiness and a laziness to some of the writing this year that makes parts of the season feel like it's spinning its wheels. Some of the minor characters come off just a little too caricatured, and some of the twists come off as a little too perfunctory. There were plenty of moments that I liked - keep an eye out for Ray Wise's appearances - and there are some especially good characters, but the year as a whole was mighty inconsistent.
Even when "Fargo" is having a slightly off year, though, it's still as well made and entertaining as anything else on television. While part of me is disappointed that the season has so much promise that is never fulfilled, the larger part of me is satisfied with everything it did right. So many little details were perfect, like the hideous state of V.M. Varga's teeth, the spot-on casting of everyone from Frances Fisher to Hamish Linklater, and the reoccurrence of a particular musical cue signalling the welcome return of a particular minor character from the past. The cinematography is still gorgeous, and I love that a good chunk of the story was set during Christmastime and had a lot of fun with the seasonal visuals.
I'm absolutely in favor of a fourth season, though I think the series may want to quit Minnesota for a bit. Maybe it's time for Noah Hawley and company to make their way to Los Angeles to play with the elements of "Barton Fink" and "The Big Lebowski" a little more. Or maybe another period piece, this time in the New York of "Miller's Crossing" and "The Hudsucker Proxy." There are a lot of places "Fargo" could go, and maybe it's time for a change of scenery.
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Sunday, November 26, 2017
"The Expanse," Year Two
I had a mixed response to the first season of "The Expanse," but found the worldbuilding strong enough that I decided to give it another season, and I'm glad that I did. The major characters are fleshed out more, and there are some great new additions to the cast. The production values remain high, with some of the best sci-fi visuals in any show currently airing. Best of all, the story progresses at a good clip, making this one of the more satisfying serials I've seen this year. Minor spoilers ahead
The second season continues to follow the Rocinante crew and Undersecretary Avrasarala in separate storylines as they deal with the discovery of the alien "protomolecule" that has been loosed on Eros and threatens other parts of the system. Detective Miller joins the Rocinante crew, merging their plots, and opening up some narrative space for a new one: the adventures of Martian marine Gunnery Sergeant Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams) and her squad. Later on in the season we're also introduced to Praxidike Meng (Terry Chen), a botanist who is searching for his missing daughter and crosses paths with the Rocinante.
Aside from "Game of Thrones," I can't think of another series out there right now with such a grand sense of scope. "The Expanse" continues to have its maneuver its characters so that they're always in the thick of the action, but clearly larger events are happening around them that are being driven by outside forces. To help show different sides of the story, there are frequently little digressions with minor characters, some of whom become recurring, some of whom are simply one-offs. The first season also did this, but in the second season there's much more to keep track of - characters, locations, concepts, and organizations. It also requires considerable patience to wait for some things to pay off. Bobbie Draper, for instance, is introduced in the series opener but we don't have any sense of why she's important until halfway through the season.
On the other hand, there's a much better sense of direction and cohesion this year, now that the "protomolecule" has been revealed to most of the characters and we can see how some of the big pieces fit together. I especially enjoyed the way that the little maneuverings between Earth and Mars were pushed more to the forefront this year. Avrasarala remains my favorite character, and I still don't think that she gets enough to do, but giving her some better baddies to bounce off of and some bigger crises to manage really helped. I'm also much more invested in the Rocinante crew, now that we've had the time to get to know the individual members of the crew a little better, and Meng has joined up - he's easily the most sympathetic of the bunch right now.
A few years ago I complained that American television was suffering a dearth of spaceship series, and that's largely still the case. However, "The Expanse" makes for a notable exception, which really helps it to stand out from the crowd. It's a little old fashioned in the way some of the stories play out - Miller notably follows a particular set of romantic old genre tropes all the way to the bitter end - but its commitment to hard science and epic storytelling remain very refreshing. I continue to appreciate the way it pushes boundaries, especially related to casting choices, and how it doesn't bother with much hand-holding. While not especially prone to technobabble, the exposition is dense enough that it's good to have some nerdy leanings to really enjoy the show.
I'm looking forward to subsequent seasons, especially now that the series seems to have found its groove and feels more sure-footed. Several bad habits have been curbed, and the writers seem to trust that their characters can carry more of the weight, which is going to be vital in the long run. There are still a few shoes in the air that really need to be dropped sooner rather than later - we sorely need to get Amos's backstory squared away - but I'm satisfied that the show's creators seem to have a good handle on where the show is going.
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Thursday, November 23, 2017
On Memory
I've kept track of every movie I've watched since 2004 on an Excel spreadsheet, and have regularly backed up my records in Icheckedmovies. This has helped me out in a pinch more than once, as I've come to discover that I simply don't have very good recall of individual titles past a certain point in time. Or below a certain threshold of memorability. One of the little issues with being a movie junkie who watches hundreds of films yearly, is that some of those films inevitably fall through the cracks.
For example, I was reading an article a few weeks ago that brought up "Fair Game," the Valerie Plame movie starring Naomi Watts that came out in 2010. I didn't recognize the title and figured it was one that I'd missed. However, according to my records I had seen it in 2011. And after probing a little deeper, I did remember the film. It was a dull little piece of Oscar bait that hadn't grabbed much attention at the time it was released, and even less subsequently. I watch a lot of films like that, looking for undervalued or misunderstood titles to champion. 90% of the time, of course, they're disappointments.
I've been increasingly relying on Icheckedmovies when writing my Great Directors posts these days, because I'm often writing entries for directors like Sidney Lumet or Francis Ford Coppola, where I've seen lots of their work, but not always at the point in time where I knew it was their work. For instance, I completely forgot that Lumet directed "The Verdict" with Paul Newman, which I watched for a class ages ago. Or that I'd seen a film of his called "Family Business," with Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman. When I was just eyeballing Lumet's list of credits to see if I'd watched enough of his films for a post, I completely skipped "Family Business." I remembered the film, but not the title. Since then, I've always double checked against my records.
The one place I've been running into some trouble is with my Top Ten lists for older years, especially as I've been working my way back into the '80s. Anything I watched before 2004, I have to rely on the Icheckedmovies records, and I've noticed in several cases that certain movie entries aren't tagged or searchable by release dates, or there are double entries thanks to multiple versions. That means I've had trouble getting an accurate count on certain years where I haven't met my fifty film threshold for writing a list. I've resorted to using Wikipedia's movie lists to cross reference against my records, often counting title by title. To date, I'm still not sure exactly how many of the "Pink Panther" movies I've seen. At least four.
I've been thinking about this more since I accidentally lost a chunk of my Excel records recently, and had to spend a few days recreating them. The single document has nearly four thousand entries now, and I desperately need to revise it. I've now backed up extra copies, and started mulling over whether I should start looking for a backup for Icheckmovies. The site isn't nearly as popular as some of the other movie-oriented data wrangling sites, and I'm a little paranoid that one day it's just going to disappear. Then again, I still have the massive, elaborate lists of all the anime I was obsessively watching pre-2004 sitting on my hard drive. If I ever want to pick up "One Piece" again, I'll know right where I left off.
I've written before about my worries about movies I've forgotten, but at least I'm ensuring that I'll be able to check and make sure I don't forget what I've forgotten. That's one of the reasons that I've kept this blog too, to leave another record of what I was watching and enjoying at particular points in time, and what I thought of what was going on in the industry. I already enjoy going back and reading my older entries, refreshing my memory of the early part of this decade. The older I get, the faster it feels like time passes.
But there are still so many good movies left to see. I feel like I've barely gotten started.
---
For example, I was reading an article a few weeks ago that brought up "Fair Game," the Valerie Plame movie starring Naomi Watts that came out in 2010. I didn't recognize the title and figured it was one that I'd missed. However, according to my records I had seen it in 2011. And after probing a little deeper, I did remember the film. It was a dull little piece of Oscar bait that hadn't grabbed much attention at the time it was released, and even less subsequently. I watch a lot of films like that, looking for undervalued or misunderstood titles to champion. 90% of the time, of course, they're disappointments.
I've been increasingly relying on Icheckedmovies when writing my Great Directors posts these days, because I'm often writing entries for directors like Sidney Lumet or Francis Ford Coppola, where I've seen lots of their work, but not always at the point in time where I knew it was their work. For instance, I completely forgot that Lumet directed "The Verdict" with Paul Newman, which I watched for a class ages ago. Or that I'd seen a film of his called "Family Business," with Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman. When I was just eyeballing Lumet's list of credits to see if I'd watched enough of his films for a post, I completely skipped "Family Business." I remembered the film, but not the title. Since then, I've always double checked against my records.
The one place I've been running into some trouble is with my Top Ten lists for older years, especially as I've been working my way back into the '80s. Anything I watched before 2004, I have to rely on the Icheckedmovies records, and I've noticed in several cases that certain movie entries aren't tagged or searchable by release dates, or there are double entries thanks to multiple versions. That means I've had trouble getting an accurate count on certain years where I haven't met my fifty film threshold for writing a list. I've resorted to using Wikipedia's movie lists to cross reference against my records, often counting title by title. To date, I'm still not sure exactly how many of the "Pink Panther" movies I've seen. At least four.
I've been thinking about this more since I accidentally lost a chunk of my Excel records recently, and had to spend a few days recreating them. The single document has nearly four thousand entries now, and I desperately need to revise it. I've now backed up extra copies, and started mulling over whether I should start looking for a backup for Icheckmovies. The site isn't nearly as popular as some of the other movie-oriented data wrangling sites, and I'm a little paranoid that one day it's just going to disappear. Then again, I still have the massive, elaborate lists of all the anime I was obsessively watching pre-2004 sitting on my hard drive. If I ever want to pick up "One Piece" again, I'll know right where I left off.
I've written before about my worries about movies I've forgotten, but at least I'm ensuring that I'll be able to check and make sure I don't forget what I've forgotten. That's one of the reasons that I've kept this blog too, to leave another record of what I was watching and enjoying at particular points in time, and what I thought of what was going on in the industry. I already enjoy going back and reading my older entries, refreshing my memory of the early part of this decade. The older I get, the faster it feels like time passes.
But there are still so many good movies left to see. I feel like I've barely gotten started.
---
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
"The Crown," Year One
Billed as the most expensive series to date from Netflix, and created by Peter Morgan, "The Crown" is a prestige project of considerable ambition. Its first ten episodes chronicle the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy), from the transition of power from her father, King George VI (Jared Harris), up through the events of 1955. Impeccably written and cast, with very high end production values, this may be the best historical drama series I've seen to date.
Initially it's a little strange to see the familiar British royals playing out historical events like episodes of "The West Wing," since many of these people are still alive and well. However, the events of the series take place over sixty years in the past at the time of writing, predating the "Mad Men" era. They are absolutely fair game for dramatization. Also Peter Morgan, responsible for "The Queen" and other, more recent looks at British history, is clearly very comfortable with the material. He doesn't hesitate to dig into the personal lives of the royal family, members of the government, and those in their orbits. Much of the series is concerned with figures like Prince Philip (Matt Smith) and Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) struggling to reconcile their personal needs with the demands of life as a royal in the public eye.
The two main figures that "The Crown" is concerned with, however, are Queen Elizabeth II and her first Prime Minister, Winston Churchill (John Lithgow). Both performances are fantastic, and the series sees them weather one challenge after another. Elizabeth is newly ascendant, learning the limits of her role as queen and how to wield the power of her new station. Even the smallest deviations from expectation can be a political minefield, and she has several difficult personal relationships to manage. Churchill is inevitably facing the end of a long and storied career, but isn't finished yet. Both are constantly battling for the respect of others, and their scenes together are often a highlight. They come across as such appealing, interesting people, and their dilemmas are so absorbing, I frequently had to resist turning to Wikipedia to read up on what really happened during the period, and spoiling future episodes.
I really appreciate the complexity and the nuance of the show's writing, which presents each new historical incident with considerable detail and thoughtfulness. Smaller stories, like Queen Elizabeth choosing a new secretary and Churchill being obliged to sit for a portrait, turn out to be very revealing and insightful. There are various dramatic inventions, of course, but most of these serve to provide context to how larger events are playing out, or to explore different aspects of the characters. Hanging over much of the series, for instance, is the abdication of Edward VIII (Alex Jennings), which continues to make waves during Elizabeth's reign. He has a fantastic scene during the coronation episode where he provides color commentary to a roomful of guests as they watch the televised proceedings.
From what I'd heard about "The Crown," I'd thought that it would take place much earlier, likely during WWII before Elizabeth became queen. However, the series is exciting enough that I didn't miss the warfare one bit. The series is not going to be of much interest to those viewers who aren't receptive to a good political drama, but I found that Morgan and his crew found plenty of ways to make the era and all these historical figures really come alive and engage the audience. The production really spared no expense, full of eye-catching historical recreations and gorgeous costuming. Claire Foy seems to be wearing another stunning outfit in every scene. Stephen Daldry directed the first two episodes, and they're the best thing he's done in years.
I'm looking forward to future seasons of "The Crown," though I suspect that there's little chance that they'll live up to the first one. Lithgow's Churchill will almost certainly have a diminished role, and I expect we'll see even less of Harris and some of the other high-profile actors. Still, Peter Morgan has proven he's able to mine plenty of excellent drama from any stretch of history, and if Queen Elizabeth II has anything, it's plenty of history.
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