Saturday, May 24, 2014
The Sopranos Season 6
Interesting to see the mafia portrayed in a positive light. With hit-men
as the good guys and law enforcement as the bad. Sometimes there's a
fine dividing line as when their methods drive a foot soldier bent on
retiring to commit suicide rather than become an informer. This is not a
show for the squeamish. In the opening episode one character gets beaten
until he ends up on life support, final notice indicates multiple
bullets to someone's head, someone hangs himself, and Tony is shot by
his demented uncle. Business as usual it seems. One marvels that
professional criminals can get away with so much violence with seeming
inpugnity.
The program has its own unique moral compass and logic. As when Tony
beats up his new muscle-bound bodyguard for no good reason just to prove
that he can to re-establish dominance over his crew in the wake of his
hospitalization. It also introduces you to its own jargon. Biangaleen is
bleach, a BBQ means a business will be blown up, such euphemism's
abound. Season Six was issued in two parts. By the second box-set it
becomes apparent that the series writers were running out of ideas. The
episode at the cottage dragged, this isn't On Golden Pond but a much
more disfunctional and distopian look at relaxing at the lake. Little is
as it seems here where men who despise one another exchange polite
greetings and kiss. The late night meeting between Tony and Hesh being a
case in point, the bedroom scene after demonstrating Hesh's true feelings.
Tony warned his nephew Christopher what would happen if he ever got back
on drugs. The murder isn't as disturbing as the fact that Tony can lie
about it with a straight face deceiving even his own wife. Despite
inter-family warfare Tony survives and the series ends with Tony,
Carmella, and the two kids having dinner at a local Italian Greasy Spoon.
as the good guys and law enforcement as the bad. Sometimes there's a
fine dividing line as when their methods drive a foot soldier bent on
retiring to commit suicide rather than become an informer. This is not a
show for the squeamish. In the opening episode one character gets beaten
until he ends up on life support, final notice indicates multiple
bullets to someone's head, someone hangs himself, and Tony is shot by
his demented uncle. Business as usual it seems. One marvels that
professional criminals can get away with so much violence with seeming
inpugnity.
The program has its own unique moral compass and logic. As when Tony
beats up his new muscle-bound bodyguard for no good reason just to prove
that he can to re-establish dominance over his crew in the wake of his
hospitalization. It also introduces you to its own jargon. Biangaleen is
bleach, a BBQ means a business will be blown up, such euphemism's
abound. Season Six was issued in two parts. By the second box-set it
becomes apparent that the series writers were running out of ideas. The
episode at the cottage dragged, this isn't On Golden Pond but a much
more disfunctional and distopian look at relaxing at the lake. Little is
as it seems here where men who despise one another exchange polite
greetings and kiss. The late night meeting between Tony and Hesh being a
case in point, the bedroom scene after demonstrating Hesh's true feelings.
Tony warned his nephew Christopher what would happen if he ever got back
on drugs. The murder isn't as disturbing as the fact that Tony can lie
about it with a straight face deceiving even his own wife. Despite
inter-family warfare Tony survives and the series ends with Tony,
Carmella, and the two kids having dinner at a local Italian Greasy Spoon.
Full Metal Jacket
The opening industrial hair cutting. Everyone comes out looking like a
sheared sheep. Matthew Modine's John Wayne impersonations. Leonard's
oafish ineptitude and the nighttime soap bar discipline. The
confrontation in the Head. The jump to Vietnam where Joker continues his
cornball. The verbal slugfest with Adam Baldwin's Animal.
The music that accompanies is a survey of sixties and seventies rock.
Joker's Buddy Cowboy may be from Texas but he lacks both the height and
physical presence to assume command and when it falls to him he lacks
the respect of his men who disobey his orders and waste copious amounts
of ammo out of frustration with no enemy in sight and eventually get him
killed. The singing of the Mickey Mouse Theme at the end seems only
appropriate. Both a comment on the war and an expression of joy at still
being alive having beaten the odds.
sheared sheep. Matthew Modine's John Wayne impersonations. Leonard's
oafish ineptitude and the nighttime soap bar discipline. The
confrontation in the Head. The jump to Vietnam where Joker continues his
cornball. The verbal slugfest with Adam Baldwin's Animal.
The music that accompanies is a survey of sixties and seventies rock.
Joker's Buddy Cowboy may be from Texas but he lacks both the height and
physical presence to assume command and when it falls to him he lacks
the respect of his men who disobey his orders and waste copious amounts
of ammo out of frustration with no enemy in sight and eventually get him
killed. The singing of the Mickey Mouse Theme at the end seems only
appropriate. Both a comment on the war and an expression of joy at still
being alive having beaten the odds.
One Week
I suppose I'm not being a loyal Canadian when I observe that the camera
makes Joshua Jackson, all 6-2 of him, look jowly and dowdy in a
motorcycle helmet. I realize the movie wasn't about trying to make Pacey
look hunky or sexy but the camera did him no favours. He tends more
toward double chin than jutting jawline and high cheekbones. He's an
everyman hero.
Has anyone ever sat through an entire director's commentary? I'd like to
hear about the location of some of those over-sized monuments but I'm
not prepared to listen to him drone on for 90 minutes to find out. In my
travels I've seen more than a few of them. A pity the film editor
couldn't have used a map to make sure they appeared in geographical
order. The country is big enough without having the traveler drive 300
miles out of his way to stop at a motel in another province he's already
passed.
I was dozing when the Mighty Ducks won the Stanley Cup. I drove by Terry
Fox just a few miles before he ended his run in Thunderbay. I turned off
the highway to visit Ouimet Canyon and followed a Harley Davidson
Goldwing along the dirt woods road that then led to the site. I camped
that night in Port Arthur and it rained on my tent.
makes Joshua Jackson, all 6-2 of him, look jowly and dowdy in a
motorcycle helmet. I realize the movie wasn't about trying to make Pacey
look hunky or sexy but the camera did him no favours. He tends more
toward double chin than jutting jawline and high cheekbones. He's an
everyman hero.
Has anyone ever sat through an entire director's commentary? I'd like to
hear about the location of some of those over-sized monuments but I'm
not prepared to listen to him drone on for 90 minutes to find out. In my
travels I've seen more than a few of them. A pity the film editor
couldn't have used a map to make sure they appeared in geographical
order. The country is big enough without having the traveler drive 300
miles out of his way to stop at a motel in another province he's already
passed.
I was dozing when the Mighty Ducks won the Stanley Cup. I drove by Terry
Fox just a few miles before he ended his run in Thunderbay. I turned off
the highway to visit Ouimet Canyon and followed a Harley Davidson
Goldwing along the dirt woods road that then led to the site. I camped
that night in Port Arthur and it rained on my tent.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Source Code
Whatever that 'Je ne sais quois' is that some actors have Jake
Gyllenhaal has never had it for me. This movie is one of those déjà vu
affairs in which the same scene get repeated ad infinitum ad nauseum
with subtle changes after each go round until one feels one is caught in
a revolving door. Fans of Gyllenhaal will see a lot of him; they will
also see him blow up real good repeatedly with the train he's riding.
Received with great critical acclaim its bargain basement price on
Amazon somehow reflects the public's response. Something to watch when
you've nothing better to do.
Gyllenhaal has never had it for me. This movie is one of those déjà vu
affairs in which the same scene get repeated ad infinitum ad nauseum
with subtle changes after each go round until one feels one is caught in
a revolving door. Fans of Gyllenhaal will see a lot of him; they will
also see him blow up real good repeatedly with the train he's riding.
Received with great critical acclaim its bargain basement price on
Amazon somehow reflects the public's response. Something to watch when
you've nothing better to do.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Facebook: The Social Network Movie
Who owns an idea? The people who came up with it, the person who put up
the money to get it going, the man who wrote the software that made it
happen. Mark Zuckerberg's little dorm room experiment crashed the
Harvard Network's Mainframe on its first night and went on to make him a
multimillionaire--the next Bill Gates? The movie makes him look like an
arrogant, selfish, self-serving nerd with no social skills but a
brilliant mind for coding software. The movie inter-cuts scenes from the
rise of Facebook with Legal Discovery around a board room table
involving the two major law suits filed over the rise of Facebook. Any
intellectual property that suddenly rises exponentially in value is
likely to attract those who claim they should share in the rewards but
as Zuckerberg tells the opposing lawyer since he is now rich enough to
buy most of Harvard the lawyer only deserves his partial attention.
the money to get it going, the man who wrote the software that made it
happen. Mark Zuckerberg's little dorm room experiment crashed the
Harvard Network's Mainframe on its first night and went on to make him a
multimillionaire--the next Bill Gates? The movie makes him look like an
arrogant, selfish, self-serving nerd with no social skills but a
brilliant mind for coding software. The movie inter-cuts scenes from the
rise of Facebook with Legal Discovery around a board room table
involving the two major law suits filed over the rise of Facebook. Any
intellectual property that suddenly rises exponentially in value is
likely to attract those who claim they should share in the rewards but
as Zuckerberg tells the opposing lawyer since he is now rich enough to
buy most of Harvard the lawyer only deserves his partial attention.
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Hill Street Blues: Second Season
Let’s be careful out there.
Large ensemble casts such as this show had make demands on an audience that often result in a shorter lifespan than this one’s seven years. Kudos to the network for sticking by it, such loyalties are rare these days. It’s still hard to believe that Mick Belker--the Animal--had a mother. Pairing him with a simian was a stroke of pure genius. All these officers had lives that were intertwined with their service on the force. It preserved a folksiness that belied the real police work and dangers the officers faced. This show was never formulaic, if you expect a neat wrap up at the end of each episode you will be sorely disappointed. What isn’t missing is real humanity and an often cutting sense of humour. These officers aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves. There are the requisite chase scenes and more than enough gun play but they do not define what this series was about.
Whatever its innovations the show is a reflection of its era. The officer’s leather jackets would be too warm for most US Cities today and bullet-proof vests are still a point of discussion. Their hairstyles and casual clothing definitely date the show. Their patrol cars and crossbucks are from another era. The presinct phones are touch tone but the show predates desktop computers and cell phones. Pay phones are on every street corner and reports are typed on clunky old mechanical typewriters. Reports are filed in cabinets. What hasn’t changed are the courts and justice system that favours those who can afford to buy ‘justice’. Rare is the public defender who will go to bat for the little guy. With courts over-crowded most cases are plea-bargained. The young law student for whom Joyce Davenport goes the extra mile is a refreshing change. The types of crime may have changed but human nature hasn’t and in the end it is the show’s humanity that makes it worth watching. The kitten in the forager hat that mews at the end of each show is priceless.
Large ensemble casts such as this show had make demands on an audience that often result in a shorter lifespan than this one’s seven years. Kudos to the network for sticking by it, such loyalties are rare these days. It’s still hard to believe that Mick Belker--the Animal--had a mother. Pairing him with a simian was a stroke of pure genius. All these officers had lives that were intertwined with their service on the force. It preserved a folksiness that belied the real police work and dangers the officers faced. This show was never formulaic, if you expect a neat wrap up at the end of each episode you will be sorely disappointed. What isn’t missing is real humanity and an often cutting sense of humour. These officers aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves. There are the requisite chase scenes and more than enough gun play but they do not define what this series was about.
Whatever its innovations the show is a reflection of its era. The officer’s leather jackets would be too warm for most US Cities today and bullet-proof vests are still a point of discussion. Their hairstyles and casual clothing definitely date the show. Their patrol cars and crossbucks are from another era. The presinct phones are touch tone but the show predates desktop computers and cell phones. Pay phones are on every street corner and reports are typed on clunky old mechanical typewriters. Reports are filed in cabinets. What hasn’t changed are the courts and justice system that favours those who can afford to buy ‘justice’. Rare is the public defender who will go to bat for the little guy. With courts over-crowded most cases are plea-bargained. The young law student for whom Joyce Davenport goes the extra mile is a refreshing change. The types of crime may have changed but human nature hasn’t and in the end it is the show’s humanity that makes it worth watching. The kitten in the forager hat that mews at the end of each show is priceless.
Thursday, May 01, 2014
Mud
Two young boys on the cusp of manhood whose homelife sucks find a fugitive living on an island in the middle of the Mississippi. The border with neighbouring states here follows old oxbow meanders some of which are completely dried up or infilled making a mess of the map. The island in question is variously described as being in the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers not that it matters much. Either my hearing has gotten worse or the actors’ southern drawl is difficult to follow. The words are slurred and tossed off quickly. Whether it’s my present mood or the movie I do not like this flick. It drags on far too long and McConaughy playing Mud as usual is on the make and the boys at 14 motivated to help with the promise of a handgun. Mud’s former guardian describes him as a two-time loser. This does not appear to be headed for a happy ending for anyone involved. But of course this is a Hollywood flick, what can I say.
