Thursday, January 31, 2013
Brothers and Sisters 5 & Final
Season 5 begins one year after the horrendous collision that occurred at
the end of season 4. Robert is being kept on life-support in a
vegetative state while Kitty dithers about pulling the plug. Holly
suffered memory loss and does not even recall her own identity. As the
season starts Justin returns from yet a third tour of duty in
Afghanistan, a decision that led to his his wife divorcing him. Nora
meanwhile tries out for and lands a gigue as a radio advice
commentator--Dear Mum. Sarah has made $50 million on the lakeland
property and is trying to decide to marry her French Artist Boyfriend,
Saul and Scottie are running a restaurant while his partner Kevin runs a
pro bono law clinic and the pair look to adopt. Tommy is still shiftless
and flits in and out. Kittie takes on a college teaching position and
starts up an affair with a young stud who works at the local coffee bar
and proves to be the Dean's Son. Does it all sound familiar?
Somehow the season gets off to a slow start especially since the jump in
time leads to some confusion. New characters and old flames get
introduced. Confidentiality is an impossibility in this family where the
telephone and conference calls play a key role in their lives. They may
not always like one another but there's no denying their love. The
season ends with an episode punningly entitled Walker Down the Aisle.
Given the number of loose ends we are left with it would appear the show
was not renewed while on hiatus. At least we are not left with any
startling cliff-hangers.
the end of season 4. Robert is being kept on life-support in a
vegetative state while Kitty dithers about pulling the plug. Holly
suffered memory loss and does not even recall her own identity. As the
season starts Justin returns from yet a third tour of duty in
Afghanistan, a decision that led to his his wife divorcing him. Nora
meanwhile tries out for and lands a gigue as a radio advice
commentator--Dear Mum. Sarah has made $50 million on the lakeland
property and is trying to decide to marry her French Artist Boyfriend,
Saul and Scottie are running a restaurant while his partner Kevin runs a
pro bono law clinic and the pair look to adopt. Tommy is still shiftless
and flits in and out. Kittie takes on a college teaching position and
starts up an affair with a young stud who works at the local coffee bar
and proves to be the Dean's Son. Does it all sound familiar?
Somehow the season gets off to a slow start especially since the jump in
time leads to some confusion. New characters and old flames get
introduced. Confidentiality is an impossibility in this family where the
telephone and conference calls play a key role in their lives. They may
not always like one another but there's no denying their love. The
season ends with an episode punningly entitled Walker Down the Aisle.
Given the number of loose ends we are left with it would appear the show
was not renewed while on hiatus. At least we are not left with any
startling cliff-hangers.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Road From Coorain
When a movie declares itself to be based on a true story or a
book--fiction, memoir or history--it would be more truthful if the
producers declared it was 'inspired by'. Granted that a work of fiction
can be truer to the sense of a story than a fact-based account, when
script writers get there hands on a story the original is often hard to
recognize in the finished product.
Aside from the sweeping vista of salt-bush shown over the opening
credits, a few shots of sheep, and a grassy track of road one gets the
sense that most of this movie was shot on the backlot of some movie
studio. An evocation of the windy outback which gives Coorain its name
is largely missing. The storyline centres on interior shots of Jill and
her Mother Eve. Her father who died when she was 11, (was it suicide),
and her brothers are minor players in the story. A brother who died of
snake-bite is dropped from the piece entirely. Uncle Angus, her Mother's
brother (?) appears irregularly at meals and Alec (Conway), an American
entrepreneur, figures prominently in the final third in some rather
torrid love scenes.
What is made clear is the fact that this is a Man's world even though
the story features two very strong women. The boys are sent off to
boarding school, Jill is educated at home by her Mother. Her Mother may
be the more astute business woman but Bill, her Father is deferred to
while he lives and later her brother Bobby, who by his own admission is
no station manager, is sent to run Coorain. A strong attachment to the
land and identification with it is embedded in this family's psyche. The
death of her brother Barry described by Jill as stunningly handsome in a
road accident serves, more than the near failure of her station, to
unhinge her Mother and reduce her to an attention-seeking wheedler who
will do anything including break her own arm to prevent her daughter
from leaving.
The Road from Coorain is more about the obstacles Jill faced than about
a girl with a brilliant mind and strong will who overcomes adversity to
succeed in the wider world.
book--fiction, memoir or history--it would be more truthful if the
producers declared it was 'inspired by'. Granted that a work of fiction
can be truer to the sense of a story than a fact-based account, when
script writers get there hands on a story the original is often hard to
recognize in the finished product.
Aside from the sweeping vista of salt-bush shown over the opening
credits, a few shots of sheep, and a grassy track of road one gets the
sense that most of this movie was shot on the backlot of some movie
studio. An evocation of the windy outback which gives Coorain its name
is largely missing. The storyline centres on interior shots of Jill and
her Mother Eve. Her father who died when she was 11, (was it suicide),
and her brothers are minor players in the story. A brother who died of
snake-bite is dropped from the piece entirely. Uncle Angus, her Mother's
brother (?) appears irregularly at meals and Alec (Conway), an American
entrepreneur, figures prominently in the final third in some rather
torrid love scenes.
What is made clear is the fact that this is a Man's world even though
the story features two very strong women. The boys are sent off to
boarding school, Jill is educated at home by her Mother. Her Mother may
be the more astute business woman but Bill, her Father is deferred to
while he lives and later her brother Bobby, who by his own admission is
no station manager, is sent to run Coorain. A strong attachment to the
land and identification with it is embedded in this family's psyche. The
death of her brother Barry described by Jill as stunningly handsome in a
road accident serves, more than the near failure of her station, to
unhinge her Mother and reduce her to an attention-seeking wheedler who
will do anything including break her own arm to prevent her daughter
from leaving.
The Road from Coorain is more about the obstacles Jill faced than about
a girl with a brilliant mind and strong will who overcomes adversity to
succeed in the wider world.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Merlin 4
In Season 4 of a projected 5-Season story-arc much of what we have heard
about the legend of Arthur is touched upon. (It has already been
announced that the show ends with Season 5.) Uther dies, Arthur is
crowned king, Lancelot has a tryst with Gweneviere betraying Arthur,
Arthur marries her anyway, and the season ends with the Sword in the
Stone. It is one thing to know that TV and Movies are rarely shot in
sequence but it is quite another to know that Camelot is located in a
backlot at Cardiff Studios in Wales and Arthur's Castle is located in
Brittany, France where scenes for an entire Season of programs is shot
in one session lasting weeks. As often happens as the popularity of a
show increases so does its budget and the complexity of the CGI effects
used to create it. The backbone of the program remains the by-play
between Merlin and Arthur both now in their mid-twenties. The fact that
they are made peers allows us to see them grow and mature together in
their relationship with one another and in their mastery of the duties
allotted them. The show retains the light-hearted banter that has
characterized it from the beginning and touches on the more serious
aspects of the story without getting heavy. It remains a family oriented
program.
about the legend of Arthur is touched upon. (It has already been
announced that the show ends with Season 5.) Uther dies, Arthur is
crowned king, Lancelot has a tryst with Gweneviere betraying Arthur,
Arthur marries her anyway, and the season ends with the Sword in the
Stone. It is one thing to know that TV and Movies are rarely shot in
sequence but it is quite another to know that Camelot is located in a
backlot at Cardiff Studios in Wales and Arthur's Castle is located in
Brittany, France where scenes for an entire Season of programs is shot
in one session lasting weeks. As often happens as the popularity of a
show increases so does its budget and the complexity of the CGI effects
used to create it. The backbone of the program remains the by-play
between Merlin and Arthur both now in their mid-twenties. The fact that
they are made peers allows us to see them grow and mature together in
their relationship with one another and in their mastery of the duties
allotted them. The show retains the light-hearted banter that has
characterized it from the beginning and touches on the more serious
aspects of the story without getting heavy. It remains a family oriented
program.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Justified--Season One
Got introduced to this series via a free download of the pilot last
Christmas Season on i-Tunes. When I discovered that Amazon was selling
it for $!3.99 a season decided to give it a try. They've since bumped
season 2 up to $18.99. Season 3 has just been released.
Raylan Givens was born 200 years too late. A modern-day officer of the
Marshall's Service he wears an old ten-gallon hat and carries a modern
Glock pistol in a side-holster. He drives a big old black sedan rather
than ride a pony but otherwise he'd feel fully at home in a Nineteenth
Century Style Western gunning down bad guys with his quick draw while
romancing the ladies with his charm and good looks.
The US Marshall's Service exists independent of the FBI, DEA, State, and
local Law Enforcement Agencies to apprehend fugitives, transport
prisoners, serve writs, and enforce warrants. They do not do criminal
investigations or law enforcement. Our man Raylan was returned to his
backwoods Kentucky home after gunning down a criminal he'd given two
days to leave town in a quick draw shoot-out in Miami. Seems his father
was a mean-spirited criminal who has lived his entire life making a
living on the wrong side of the law. Raylan's childhood buddies continue
the tradition operating meth labs to cook up millions of dollars worth
of poison.
The show is an interesting study in contrasts. The fact that you hate
someone's guts is no reason to be impolite it seems. The deadliest of
veiled threats are delivered in the most civil manner possible. On the
other hand rarely is a gun drawn unless the user intends to kill. On
Raylan's team is a former expert sniper from the Afghanistan front.
Woman as well as men shoot their opponents dead or cut them nearly in
half with a sawed-off shotgun. This is backwoods Kentucky where
moonshine stills are a rite of passage, the law is a minor
inconvenience, and old time religion still saves souls. Raylan grew up
here, going back is punishment.
Christmas Season on i-Tunes. When I discovered that Amazon was selling
it for $!3.99 a season decided to give it a try. They've since bumped
season 2 up to $18.99. Season 3 has just been released.
Raylan Givens was born 200 years too late. A modern-day officer of the
Marshall's Service he wears an old ten-gallon hat and carries a modern
Glock pistol in a side-holster. He drives a big old black sedan rather
than ride a pony but otherwise he'd feel fully at home in a Nineteenth
Century Style Western gunning down bad guys with his quick draw while
romancing the ladies with his charm and good looks.
The US Marshall's Service exists independent of the FBI, DEA, State, and
local Law Enforcement Agencies to apprehend fugitives, transport
prisoners, serve writs, and enforce warrants. They do not do criminal
investigations or law enforcement. Our man Raylan was returned to his
backwoods Kentucky home after gunning down a criminal he'd given two
days to leave town in a quick draw shoot-out in Miami. Seems his father
was a mean-spirited criminal who has lived his entire life making a
living on the wrong side of the law. Raylan's childhood buddies continue
the tradition operating meth labs to cook up millions of dollars worth
of poison.
The show is an interesting study in contrasts. The fact that you hate
someone's guts is no reason to be impolite it seems. The deadliest of
veiled threats are delivered in the most civil manner possible. On the
other hand rarely is a gun drawn unless the user intends to kill. On
Raylan's team is a former expert sniper from the Afghanistan front.
Woman as well as men shoot their opponents dead or cut them nearly in
half with a sawed-off shotgun. This is backwoods Kentucky where
moonshine stills are a rite of passage, the law is a minor
inconvenience, and old time religion still saves souls. Raylan grew up
here, going back is punishment.
Ken Burns Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was dispatched by Thomas Jefferson to
find a North-West Passage. Instead it set out to be the first team to
explore the American West, cross the Rockies, and make it's way down the
Columbia River to the Pacific. Their Expedition is an iconic part of
American History. As a Canadian I could wish that someone would do
similar justice to the exploits of Simon Fraser and Alexander Mackenzie.
This team rowed a heavy river boat up to the source of the Missouri
River, crossed the Rockies and made it to the mouth of the Columbia
River. Merriwether Lewis was a mentally unstable genius who was
commissioned to undertake this geographical expedition and had the good
sense to team up with the more level-headed military officer Andrew
Clark. It is Lewis' Journals that form the basis for later histories of
this expedition.
The mini-series has no actors rather telling the story by voice-over
narration from Tom Hanks via historical photographs, in situ video, and
strategic re-enactments. The series is rather academic in nature, can
tend to drag at times, but accomplishes what it sets out to do. The team
documented and sent back live specimens and skins of the critters and
vegetation of the plains, mapped the areas they traversed, met and
parlayed with the Indian Tribes they encountered along the way, and
explored then-uncharted territory. They could not have succeeded without
the heroic efforts of the men who accompanied them nor the help of the
young Indians who aided them along the way and the tribes they
encountered in their travels.
Merriwether Lewis died at a young age under mysterious circumstances at
his home along the Natchez Trace. Museums to the expedition exist near
the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and at other locations along
the path of their trek.
find a North-West Passage. Instead it set out to be the first team to
explore the American West, cross the Rockies, and make it's way down the
Columbia River to the Pacific. Their Expedition is an iconic part of
American History. As a Canadian I could wish that someone would do
similar justice to the exploits of Simon Fraser and Alexander Mackenzie.
This team rowed a heavy river boat up to the source of the Missouri
River, crossed the Rockies and made it to the mouth of the Columbia
River. Merriwether Lewis was a mentally unstable genius who was
commissioned to undertake this geographical expedition and had the good
sense to team up with the more level-headed military officer Andrew
Clark. It is Lewis' Journals that form the basis for later histories of
this expedition.
The mini-series has no actors rather telling the story by voice-over
narration from Tom Hanks via historical photographs, in situ video, and
strategic re-enactments. The series is rather academic in nature, can
tend to drag at times, but accomplishes what it sets out to do. The team
documented and sent back live specimens and skins of the critters and
vegetation of the plains, mapped the areas they traversed, met and
parlayed with the Indian Tribes they encountered along the way, and
explored then-uncharted territory. They could not have succeeded without
the heroic efforts of the men who accompanied them nor the help of the
young Indians who aided them along the way and the tribes they
encountered in their travels.
Merriwether Lewis died at a young age under mysterious circumstances at
his home along the Natchez Trace. Museums to the expedition exist near
the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and at other locations along
the path of their trek.
Les Miserables
Victor Hugo's 1000 page book was adapted to create a Musical which I saw
performed on the stage of the Royal Alex Theatre in Toronto some decades
ago and spawned several cast recordings a copy of the London edition
gracing my home library. Just before New Years I saw the latest movie
adaptation here in Austin Texas. In a massive theatre inhabited by about
10 people sitting in the corner of the back row probably helped save my
hearing. I am once again reminded as to why I prefer to watch most
movies as DVD's. I still resent being forced to watch inane commercials
before I can see a movie and at that am still forced to sit through
previews of even more movies I'd never dream of watching before I get to
see the feature presentation. At least on DVD one can fast forward or
bypass these inanities.
To the movie proper. The actors in this musical were not all chosen for
their vocal capacity. Amplifying a weak voice does not make it sound
better. The cinematography is beyond reproach the opening scene of
prisoners towing a listing battleship into dry-dock is spectacular. The
battle at the barricades incendiary. Although these moments of high
drama catch the eye it is in the smaller scenes that the movie gains its
strength. The scenes between the bishop and Jean Valjean, with Fantine,
and for comic relief 'Master of the House' with Cosette's 'caregivers'
and the street urchin Gavroche. Russell Crowe as the justice-obsessed
Javare is out of his element in France in a musical. His fellow Aussie
Hugh Jackman does a credible job. The remaining actors are largely unknown.
Just what the students at the barricade are fighting for that makes a
cause worthy of throwing away their very lives is never made clear. They
certainly look good doing it though. As it happens French students still
mount barricades in protest to this very day. Their Red and Black Chorus
is reprized in the closing chorus which ends with an unspoken Amen. To
put things in perspective Hugo's book makes it clear that the sewer
through which Valjean carries Cosette's wounded boyfriend Marius was
once a Montparnasse Brook. Did Good triumph over Evil, Did Love prevail
over Hate and blind adherence to the law? You be the judge.
performed on the stage of the Royal Alex Theatre in Toronto some decades
ago and spawned several cast recordings a copy of the London edition
gracing my home library. Just before New Years I saw the latest movie
adaptation here in Austin Texas. In a massive theatre inhabited by about
10 people sitting in the corner of the back row probably helped save my
hearing. I am once again reminded as to why I prefer to watch most
movies as DVD's. I still resent being forced to watch inane commercials
before I can see a movie and at that am still forced to sit through
previews of even more movies I'd never dream of watching before I get to
see the feature presentation. At least on DVD one can fast forward or
bypass these inanities.
To the movie proper. The actors in this musical were not all chosen for
their vocal capacity. Amplifying a weak voice does not make it sound
better. The cinematography is beyond reproach the opening scene of
prisoners towing a listing battleship into dry-dock is spectacular. The
battle at the barricades incendiary. Although these moments of high
drama catch the eye it is in the smaller scenes that the movie gains its
strength. The scenes between the bishop and Jean Valjean, with Fantine,
and for comic relief 'Master of the House' with Cosette's 'caregivers'
and the street urchin Gavroche. Russell Crowe as the justice-obsessed
Javare is out of his element in France in a musical. His fellow Aussie
Hugh Jackman does a credible job. The remaining actors are largely unknown.
Just what the students at the barricade are fighting for that makes a
cause worthy of throwing away their very lives is never made clear. They
certainly look good doing it though. As it happens French students still
mount barricades in protest to this very day. Their Red and Black Chorus
is reprized in the closing chorus which ends with an unspoken Amen. To
put things in perspective Hugo's book makes it clear that the sewer
through which Valjean carries Cosette's wounded boyfriend Marius was
once a Montparnasse Brook. Did Good triumph over Evil, Did Love prevail
over Hate and blind adherence to the law? You be the judge.
