Best Speech in a Movie: Henry V

Today is Saint Crispin's Day. 596 years ago today, one of the most important battles in the history of the world occurred with the French defeat by the combined forces of the British and Welsh at the Battle of Agincourt.

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Review: The Aviator

Lately I have been inundated with television and movies streaming from my little Roku. Taking a break from that for a few days, my eyes wandered over to my IKEA Billy, full of row after row of DVDs, Blu-Rays and even a row of HD-DVDs. Though I'm sorry to report that I do not have any Laserdiscs or Betamax, I do have a handful of VHS tapes. My eyes flew straight to The Aviator, the Martin Scorsese directed bio-flick and one of the best films of 2004 and a film that was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and took home 5 statues.

The Aviator is a film about Howard Hughes' life. Hughes was an eccentric American industrialist, film producer, director, and aviator (duh!). He produced big-budget films beginning in the 1920s, including the original Scarface in 1932 which was eventually remade with Al Pacino. He had many passions, but none seemed as important as flying. He set many air-speed records and even built airplanes. The most famous I'd hope most of you have at least heard of, the "Spruce Goose," and almost entirely wooden ship. Because of the building materials, being birch and not actually spruce, the ship was huge. So huge it is still the largest flying boat ever built and still has the largest wingspan of any ship in history. It is a behemoth and a sight to be seen. But enough about that, back to the movie.

The film spends most of its time on Hughes during his initial rise to fame to his later breakdown. With all the fame and fortune that Hughes had, his life was a wreck. He was a brilliant man, but had serious mental issues he had to cope with, most troublesome being the obsessive–compulsive disorder that crippled his social interaction later in life. His compulsiveness with dirt, milk, and urine that is presented in this film appears to be accurate. The reclusive character, Willard Whyte, from the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever is based (loosely) on Hughes. That James Bond film also used his Las Vegas hotel and casino for the filming of that movie because Hughes was a friend of producer Albert Broccoli. The man loved cinema.

Leonardo DiCaprio did a phenomenal job as Hughes, coming so far from the so-so acting I first saw him perform back in 1997's Titanic (the boat sinks). I'm beginning to think that what I thought was bad acting in Titanic was actually a fluke, since it's director, James Cameron ranks about one step above George Lucas in being an absolutely terrible "actor's director." Everything else I've seen DiCaprio shows a certain acting competence missing in that first role. I was sold on his Hughes.

However, was not as impressed with Cate Blanchett's over-acting as Katherine Hepburn. The surprise here is that Blanchett was the one who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in this film. Kate Beckinsale does a decent job as Ava Gardner. Jude Law does an okay job as Errol Flynn, though he's made to be a bit of a comical buffoon, though this may have been accurate as I didn't know the guy. In a surprise move, No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani does a competent job as Jean Harlow, considering her non-existent filmography before this.

The film was devised to look just like the way the color on the film would have looked in it's respective years. The film you see of the scenes set in the 1930s would look relatively close to the film stock of that day, and that same would go for the 40s, the 50s. That's quite an interesting and creative choice to make. I don't have the Blu-Ray version of this film, so I can only judge based off of my so-so copy of the DVD I own which does not produce the sharpness one would get from seeing this on film or on Blu-Ray.

Any film by Martin Scorsese is worth seeing, and The Aviator is no exception.

It Came From Hulu: The Confession

"Jack's Back!" Well not quite, but this may be the closest audiences will get to seeing our favorite CTU agent for quite a long time.

Emmy award winner Kiefer Sutherland stars in a ten part good verses evil web series drama that can be seen on Hulu (at http://www.hulu.com/the-confession). The series debuted with its first three episodes on March 28th.

Sutherland is "The Confessor," who has arrived at a church for confession with a priest (played by John Hurt). For all the things that the cold-blooded Confessor has done to people, the evil that he has committed, he can't comprehend how people still manage to find faith and the ability to forgive. The Confessor's last "hit" before coming to the church, where his victim prayed and then forgave him before being murdered, has shaken his nihilistic beliefs. The Priest is understandably afraid of this monster, but continues to listen, with a certainly curiosity, to The Confessor out of fear of his congregation's lives.

Each episode runs roughly 6 to 7 minutes long.

The next two episodes are due out on April 4. In the meantime, catch the first three.

Lost Season Five Revisited

Lost continues with its explosive Fifth season, staring Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Henry Ian Cusick, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell, Jeremy Davies, Ken Leung, Rebecca Mader, Jeff Fahey and many many more.

If Season Four was the season that really kicked the show back up a few notches in my book, Season Five threw everything in the blender. Things got c-r-a-z-y this season. The previous season represented major change, and the events this season only get weirder. The episodes are so tightly wound, with threads interwoven so tightly, that flashbacks in one episode may be even more pertinent in another, a small mention in one may turn into something huge in another, and so on.

I complained about Rebecca Mader's Charlotte Lewis, last season. I felt that the cultural anthropologist never really pinned down the role exactly. Either because she was given direction to act like a villain, or tried to play mysterious but just couldn't quite do it, I felt like she was given a whole new lease on life at the start of season five. She drops the "villain/mysterious" act, and is instantly more likable.

Jeremy Davies' Daniel Faraday turns even more absent-minded, spacy, and later on, mopey. I still like him. He still keeps the tie on until he wears a jumpsuit. This is Miles Straume's season to shine. Ken Leung plays the character perfectly, unchanged from the previous season.

Frank Lapidus, the freighter helicopter pilot in season 4, returns in a surprising twist. Frank, compared to many of the characters in this show, simply accept the situations he is placed in

In one of the most infuriating scenes in the entire series, Miles tries to explain to Hurley, the time travel situation they are in. The writers, either to mock the less adept members of the auidence, make Hurley even dumber than he normally is. The situation they're in isn't hard to explain, at all. The icing on the cake is that he appears to one up Miles at the end of the conversation by presenting some sort of "touche" response that is even easier to explain away than the entire "time travel" conversation.

I picked up the Blu Ray for season 5. I found this very interesting when I got to the end of the first disc (included are screen shots of the first and fourth discs):

To help out a bit, here's a episode-by-episode recap of Season Five to catch anyone up before Season Six starts:

"Because You Left" - The Losties who didn't make it off the island, become "unstuck" in time, jumping into the past, present, and possibly future. Lock sees The drug running beechcraft airplane crash and is shot in the leg by Ethan Rom. Juliet, Sawyer, Charlotte, Miles, Faraday head to the old Swan station to ascertain exactly where they are at "in time." Charlotte begins to get terrible headaches and bloody noses begin. The Oceanic Six picks up where they left off at the end of Season 3 and Season 4.

"The Lie" - The Losties on the island head back to camp, and find that a barrage of flaming arrows wait them. All the survivors of 815 run into the jungle to escape certain death. "Frogurt" gets one right to the chest. Men dressed in military uniforms capture the "significant" Losties, but are saved at the last minute by a limping John Locke. Off island, Ben and Jack separate to prepare their return to the island. Ben tries to convince Hurley to return, but instead turns himself in, trying to implicate himself in multiple murders so that he can be locked away, presumably safe.

"Jughead" - This was a phenomenal episode. The Losties interrogate their former captors, and deduce they are in 1954 and that they are Others, one of which is none other than Charles Widmore. Locke talks to a "youthful" Richard Alpert, convincing him to visit himself in two years when he's born (Which occurred in Season 4's "Cabin Fever"). Charlotte's not doing well. Faraday finds the titular Jughead, a thermonuclear device. He's convinced he recognizes Ellie, an Other. Instructions are given to bury it.

"The Little Prince" - More time jumps. Charlotte gets worse. 1988: A French team of scientists come across a floating body, Jin. Pregnant Danielle Rousseau. Norton, suspicious lawyer hired by Ben. Hurley released from jail. Kate convinced that Claire's mom knows the truth, but actually doesn't.

"This Place Is Death" - Sun plans to kill Ben, Ben convinces her that Jin is alive. Eloise is at the Dharma station, "The Lamp Post," a way to get back to the station. James, Juliet, Jin, Miles, Locke get to the Orchid. Faraday stays behind to comfort a incapacitated Charlotte. With her last words being "not allowed to eat chocolate before dinner," she dies. Locke makes it down a old well, but another time flash occurs, sending them way into the past (The Statue is whole). Locke turns the wheel, which had been slightly dislodged when Ben moved the island, and leaves the island.

"316" - opens just like "Pilot, Part 1." Jack, Hurley, and Kate are back on the island. Hours earlier, all the Oceanic Six, Ben and the body of Locke, are on the Ajira Airways Flight 316, piloted by Frank Lapidus. They fly, big flash, they're back on the island. Van pulls up, Jin in Dharma uniform. Frak.

"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" - Locke's time from when he left the island to when he got back to the island. Ben killed him. Woah. Frank saves the day by landing the plane on the smaller, Hydra island. Ben is on the island again.

"LaFleur" - James, Juliet, Faraday, Jin, Miles back in 1974. Convince Dharma to let them stay on by claiming they crashed their boat and saving Amy's (Reiko Aylesworth) life. James and Juliet are together. 1977. Everything seems fine until Jack, Hurley, and Kate show up.

"Namaste" - James has to con everyone in the Dharma initiate to convince them that Jack, Hurley and Kate are new recruits. Amy's baby is Ethan Rom. Frak!

"He's Our You" - Sayid Jarrah, now captured and presumed a Hostile (Other). Episode full of flashbacks of what brought him to this point (childhood, working for Ben, being captured by 'bounty hunter,' Ilana). Creepy young Ben returns, breaks Sayid out of Dharma jail. Sayid returns the favor by shooting Ben in the chest.

"Whatever Happened, Happened" - Kate and James try to save young Ben. In a flashback, Kate tells Carole Littleton that she has a grandson named Aaron. Kate also visited Cassidy Phillips, the mother of James' daughter, Clementine. Cassidy is still bitter. Back in 1977, Ben is taken to Richard, to save his life.

"Dead Is Dead" - Dead really is dead. Ben struggles to come to grips with his past, tries to summon the Smoke Monster to be "judged." Flashbacks of Ben taking Alex from Danielle, banishing Charles Widmore from the island. Caesar is unexpectedly killed. Ilana and Bram threaten Frank. "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Ilana is more than just a bounty hunter.

"Some Like It Hoth" - Miles-centric story. Miles fantastic character. Hurley is an idiot and beginning to test my patience. The construction site of the Swan is finally seen. 4 8 15 16 23 42. "Long time no see," Daniel Faraday is back from Ann Arbor.

"The Variable" - Faraday centric episode. Poor, poor Faraday. Upon second viewing the entire episode is tragic, probably far more than any whole episode up to this point. He seems to forget in this episode that, "whatever happened, happened." *Everything* so far, save Desmond's odd time-travel adventures, has been in keeping with this very basic premise. They always went into the past, Ben always was shot, "I'm not allowed to eat chocolate before dinner" always happened, Eloise always shaped her son into the same man who would travel into the past, and his plan will always result in.... well, keep watching.

"Follow the Leader" - Richard centric episode. Too many leaders to count in this episode. Locke, James, Jack, Ben, Locke, Widmore, Eloise, Radzinsky, Horace, and even Richard all lead something in this episode. I like to repeat again, "whatever happened, happened." Jack's an idiot, convinced that Faraday's crazy ramblings actually can change the future, even though his final moments are a realization that his own Mother always knew that she would send her son back in time to be killed, by her. To his credit Jack is not exactly aware of this, but it doesn't change that he hasn't once thought that this entire plan may be The Incident that he first became aware of when he first watched the orientation film back in Season two. Locke plans to kill Jacob. Ooooh.

"The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" - Locke plans to get Ben to kill Jacob. Ooooh. Rose and Bernard! Their cabin looks like Jacob's, but I don't think it is. Oh, cabin burnt now by Ilana. Oh frak, inside the box is.... Locke! Oh and, The Incident just happened. Poor Juliet. "They're coming..."

But if the above wasn't good enough for you, here's the last 5 seasons in 8 minutes and 15 seconds, enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3zvM0EzT7c

Just two more days until Season Six starts.

Lost Season Four Revisited

Lost continues with its explosive Fourth season, staring Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Henry Ian Cusick, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emilie de Ravin, and many many more.

Season Four is the season that really kicked the show back up a few notches in my book. This is where things got interesting again, or more aptly, where they became even more interesting to me.

This season represents major change. Gone were the flashbacks to pointless Jack and Kate back stories. The show was looking forward, three years forward to be exact, following the survivors who made it off the island, the "Oceanic Six." These survivors, Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, Hurley Reyes, Sayid Jarrah, Sun-Hwa Kwon, and baby Aaron made it back to civilization. You'd think they'd be happy, right? Well they're all miserable. Sun is racked with guilt and anger over the fate of her husband, Kate is in constant fear that they'll discover that she's not the mother of Aaron, Jack has survivor guilt and falls into a heavy drinking habit, Hurley goes back into his old mental institution, and Sayid takes out his anger on the orders of Ben. Major action occurs off island, years after the events on the island occurred. Jack who fought so hard to get off the island wants back on and is a broken, sad mess of a man. Ben even realizes this when the "rules were changed" in one of the most depressing scenes in the entire show's history.

The antagonists this season come from a freighter docked a few miles offshore. Kevin Durand's portrayal as Martin Keamy, the leader of a group of mercenaries, is chilling. Durand has always played the wacked out weirdo or bad guy, so his talents are not wasted.

Rebecca Mader joins the cast as Charlotte Lewis, a cultural anthropologist and part of the freighter team. I personally had a hard time accepting her performance, at times it felt bland and silted. It was hard to tell if she was instructed to "play both sides" in her performance, as her role greatly improves later in the season, even though we hardly know the character and have little reason to start liking her any more later on in season 4 than when we're first introduced to her.

Jeremy Davies also joins the cast as another member of the freighter team, Dr. Daniel Faraday, a seemingly absent-minded, almost bumbling physicist. Faraday takes less time getting used to, and I personally took to his character certainly by the 3rd episode of the season, The Economist. I think he wears a tie the entire season.

Miles Straume, played by Ken Leung, is another new face to the cast, a snarky and cocky spiritualist who I really wanted to hate, but grew to like in much the same way that Sawyer grew on me as the show progressed.

Helicopter pilot Frank Lapidus, played by Jeff Fahey, is simply awesome.

The season is truncated, shortened like most shows which came out during the same season, due to the writers strike. Personally, the writers strike may have been the best thing for the show. It forced them to focus on where they wanted to go, figure out what they wanted to do with the show, and allowed them time to really focus on a reasonable endgame for the entire series. By this point they had decided that they wanted to go out in six seasons, and unlike Jay Leno, they're going to stick to it (one can hope).

One last thing to note, I found it quite interesting that the previous season ended and this season ended practically minutes apart from each other.

Now on to Season Five. Just one more week until Season Six starts.

Lost Season Three Revisited

Season Three continues the epic storyline with Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Henry Ian Cusick, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Emilie de Ravin, and many many more.

The first time I watched Season three, I felt that it started off VERY poorly. It in no way felt like it had come off the high point created by the end of the previous season, "Live Together, Die Alone." It almost felt like the series had lost focus.

Looking back, my issues probably stem from the fact that the "mini-season" was a sham. The story is left hanging mid-stream, and doesn't provide any reasonable conclusion or cliffhanger to wrap the "mini-season" up. Perhaps it was just a misnomer, perhaps the people who decided upon that name just didn't care and wanted a cheap answer to explain why they were airing 6 episodes and then taking a three month break before returning with new stories.

If I had some control over the show, I would have put the Jack centric episode, "Stranger in a Strange Land" as the "finale" and started the season off with the Desmond centric episode, "Flashes Before Your Eyes." Desmond's episode is by far the most notable and fantastic episode of the season, it features Flashbacks from my favorite character of the series.

Even though I found "Stranger in a Strange Land" incredibly weak, with an unnecessary and boring flashback, and seemed to only exist to give a guest starring role to irrelevant-but-somehow-notable actress Bai Ling, the episode at least had a half-way interesting on-island story, with some relatively crucial and interesting information provided to the audience. And no, I'm not talking about explaining what Jack's stupid tattoo stood for, which the producers claimed that hard-core Lost fans cared about for some reason. "Stranger in a Strange Land" also provided a real conclusion to the Hydra Island storyline, with Jack finally accepting his place with the Others and traveling off into the horizon, shrouded in shadow as the episode ended. I found this ending leaps and bounds more exciting than "Kate, RUN!" which served as the actual "cliffhanger" of that mini-season when it first aired.

However, with all the trash talk I give towards "Stranger in a Strange Land," it is not the biggest crime that the season thrust upon the viewers. This season introduced people who I would consider the least developed "main" characters EVER introduced into a popular television series in at least a decade. Niki and Paulo, two people added to the regular cast at the start of Season three have no real introduction, they're just *there* one day. "Wait, who the hell are these people?" is what went through my mind the first time I noticed them on screen. They never really develop beyond frustrating, annoying, and terrible characters. I do almost feel bad for the "Brazilian Tom Cruse," who was introduced by the heads of the series as a huge player to the show, only to bomb horribly. Their arc was only marginally resolved in their final episode, "Expose," which turned out to be a really fantastic dark episode.

The season really picks up after "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (aside from my previous mention of the terribly pointless "Stranger in a Strange Land"). From that point on the season is terrific and almost reaches the quality and consistency presented in Season one.

The season finale, "Through the Looking Glass," is riveting, exciting, and shocking. Charlie, a character that I pretty much despised most of season two, and even the first episodes of season three, was fully redeemed in the end. I finally feel like he's grown completely into his character, and his reaction when being beaten by Greta and Bonnie is wonderful. The season ends in something that I can only compare to some mobster's baseball bat slamming into my gut after I neglected to pay someone protection money.

The best episodes of the season were "Through the Looking Glass," "The Man Behind the Curtain," and "Flashes Before Your Eyes." The worst episodes of the season were "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Left Behind" (side note: why the hell don't they shower and change their clothes at the Barracks before heading back?).

The final season returns February 2nd.

Lost Season Two Revisited

Well Season Two of Lost kicked off with cast, Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Henry Ian Cusick, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson, Dominic Monaghan, Emilie de Ravin, and many many more opening up Pandora's Box, and a plethora of new and exciting storylines.

When I first watched season two, I felt it started off relatively strong, with a number of interesting twists at the very beginning of the season. Unfortunately the show suffered somewhat in its sophomore season, which I thought became obvious towards the middle of the season.

I also thought that "The Other 48 Days" was one the best stories the series aired, which in retrospect I can't agree with watching it again. It wasn't as entertaining as I found it the first time around, and it felt like the entire episode was just a recap of scenes we've already seen. This is disheartening because we haven't seen any of these scenes yet. When first watching the season, I thought the "Henry Gale" arc was pretty terrible. It was drawn out, frustrating, and I thought it was slapped together without thinking more than two episodes ahead.

Well as many may know, this character is not who he seems and takes part of the spotlight in future seasons. This character wasn't originally planned, and if not for Michael Emerson's portrayal, the character would never have been. In retrospect it is an even better set up for season 3 than I originally thought.

My biggest qualm with the season is Michelle Rodriguez. I've never been particularly fond of her in any of her other work. Her characters are generally abrasive, annoying, and I can't take her "tough guy" attitude. So it came to no surprise that Ana Lucia comes off harsh, unlikable, and irritating to me. Partly Michelle Rodriguez's acting, and partly the writing. Her introduction backfires and the character never really is able to shake the initial perceptions cast on her by the audience until her swansong flashback episode.

A joke that stated to gain more and more momentum by this point was that nothing ever happens in the episodes. That you could watch the first 5 minutes and last 5 minutes of an episode and not miss anything. People appear to keep secrets for no particular reason other than to spring them on the unsuspecting party in the closing moments of an episode. Some of the flashbacks this season were pretty, well, underwhelming. Kate's back story had been sucked dry and Jack, well Jack's are starting to look a bit thin. Thankfully the introduction of additional characters and on-island flashbacks added enough meat to the season to keep things fresh.

The Dharma Initiative is introduced. This puzzle really adds to Lost's mythos, a wonderful introduction that pays off quite a lot down the road in subsequent seasons and explains away some "oddities" that appear on an otherwise deserted island.

The best episodes of the season were "Man of Science, Man of Faith," "Lockdown," "?," and "Live Together, Die Alone." The worst of the season were "Fire + Water" and "Dave."

Lost: Season One Revisited

Spurred on by my Brother's quest to watch all the episodes of Lost before the Season 6 premiere in February, I've joined in as well. This started on December 6th. I finished Season one on December 11, only delayed slightly by the fact I have a good paying job that I have to go to and that I had to catch up on the first nine episodes of "Better Off Ted" on Hulu (before the episodes expired). This Grand Lost Viewing has pushed back my upcoming Christmas viewing slightly, but only by a few days. However, 5 days is nothing. I was able to watch this season in roughly 19 hours straight, with a short break for pizza for dinner with some of my good college friends, Matt, Ellis, and Stephanie (though she chickened out and didn't stick around for the entire thing).

Well Season One of Lost kicks off with a cast comprising of Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn, Dominic Monaghan, Emilie de Ravin, Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Harold Perrineau, Malcolm David Kelley, and Ian Somerhalder.

So Season one is over, and it didn't fail to impress, just as always. Lost's first season is at the moment the strongest season they made. Full of emotional highs and lows, even in the weakest episodes there are worthwhile moments. Essentially it was almost completely flawless, which as I've said before is something that very few series are capable of and every show yearns for.

The episodes I found to be strongest this season were Walkabout, with one of the most heart wrenching moments I've seen on a television show; The explosive Pilot, with the greatest opening to a television series ever; and the season finale, Exodus. The episodes I found to be weakest this season were Charlie's flashback-centric episodes and "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" which I just couldn't quite connect with.

Something that my brother noticed that I have to agree with was that the flashbacks are handled quite differently in this season than later seasons. The first batch of episodes were primarily filled with flashbacks that focused on brief glimpses of the character's pasts. Most of the back stories presented were well integrated into their respective stories, allowing for a good idea of where the character was, and where they were now. The few that didn't do this well were Charlie centric-flashback episodes.

The cliffhanger ending of season one caused one of the most painful and long waits I had to endure in my entire television-watching life.

Shakedown

Thank God for Hulu's free streaming movies.

Shakedown is a 1988 action movie directed by James Glickenhaus.

The film stars Peter Weller (Robocop, Buckaroo Banzai, 24), Sam Elliott with appearances by Richard Brooks (Law & Order, and for the overzealous Firefly fans, the bounty hunter in the final episode) and John C. McGinley (Scrubs). The rest of the cast I only recognize a few of the people, which isn't very surprising since it's a B-action movie from the 1980s.

Peter Weller is Roland Dalton a Manhattan public defender taking his last case which is to defend a crack dealer Michael Jones played by Richard Brooks who is accused of killing a police officer in Central Park. Jones claims that it was self-defense, and that the officer was a 'Blue Jean Cop.' What's one of those? Well, as Sam Elliott's Richie Marks explains to Weller's Dalton, a 'Blue Jean Cop' is a dirty cop. We know off the bat, that Sam Elliott's character is a fucking badass.

The film unfolds, with Dalton and Marks teaming up to bring down one of the city's drug kingpins and their racket. There's a pretty epic gunfight in the middle of New York's busy streets, with even a set of spring loaded throwing knives thrown in. The chase takes them into the middle of a huge shanty town, which makes the city look more like 1932 than 1988. Sam Elliott's character is a fucking badass.

And as I watched, there was a fight sequence at Coney Island, culminating in a fist fight on a roller coaster. And it proves again that Sam Elliott's character is a fucking badass.

Please watch this film through to the end. The climax, well - is extremely epic. And it proves again that Sam Elliott's character is a fucking badass. There are a few shots of the New York skyline that the current administration would have loved to have had as angles in the photo-op stunt a few months back. If nothing succeeded before, you'll come away realizing that Sam Elliott's character is a fucking badass.

On a side note, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown can be seen on one of the marquees as Marks and Dalton leave another theater (probably seeing The Exterminator or The Soldier, two James Glickenhaus films).

I fully expected it to be schlocky as any late 80s "crime" film could be. The film is pretty derivative of other films, so if you pass over this there are plenty of other films that will fit the bill. It is a film that you can have a few beers and crack a few jokes at. And it has Sam Elliott using semi-automatics and automatics, on hoodlums. What else could you ask for?

** 1/2 out of *****

The best series on TV

It's back! Mad Men's third season just premiered last night.

With Battlestar Galactica now finished and off the air, Mad Men is the reigning champion of television. I would sincerely suggest checking out the first two seasons and getting yourself caught up with the current season.

I think I'm in love with Summer

(500) Days of Summer

Few films really strike at my core. There are quite a few that I enjoy, like, and even love, but rarely do they stick with me personally. I think what really liked about this film is how realistic parts of it were to my life, even though I should probably have the exact opposite reaction for the exact same reasons. The felling Tom had that first morning on his way to work and certainly the expectations vs. reality scene drove reality home for me.

This isn't to say that this film is a masterpiece, it isn't. It's a fun comedy that tells a simple story (wait, scratch that, when is love "simple"?) and is certainly charming. This film is not a love story. It's a retrospective on their relationship over the last few hundred days, the highs and lows of it. Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls in love with Summer (Zooey Deschanel), she doesn't. That's life. Most of us have been there.

Zooey Deschanel is amazing as ever, so incredibly cute that even the most frigid soul could only but warm to her charms. Joseph Gordon-Levitt wonderfully plays the poor sap, Tom, who is smitten the moment he sees Summer. They match up quite well on screen. As for some of the supporting cast, it's nice to see Geoffrey Arend (supporting character, McKenzie) in something other than his role as "Stoner #3" from Super Troopers (yes, the 'shrooms and snozberries guy) and it's nice to see that Ian Reed Kesler (minor character, Douche), the "Dude, that's so immature" guy from that Twix ad, really does play a douche well.

It's a film that has opened small, but appears to be going strong. I saw the film on a Sunday at 8:00 and the theater was about half full, which for a Sunday evening for a non-blockbuster is pretty darn good. *This* is the film to go to, and not tripe like "The Proposal" or "The Ugly Truth."

My one hope is that people see it, enjoy it, and remember it for years to come.

**** out of *****

Apollo 13

This 1995 film is the story of the the Apollo 13 mission directed by Ron Howard.

The film stars Tom Hanks as Commander Jim Lovell, Bill Paxton as Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, Kevin Bacon as Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, Gary Sinise as original Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly, and Ed Harris as NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz.

This was a well cast, well filmed, and well written film. The cast, while looking little like their real counterparts, is fantastic. Tom Hanks does a wonderful job as Jim Lovell. The supporting cast of Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kevin Bacon are wonderful and hit every mark thrown at them. One degree of Kevin Bacon! With my brother “in the Biz” now, I can’t wait to figure out where he falls in that game. But it’s time to get back to the movie. Being a Ron Howard film, it’s only fitting that you play the game of “who is a Howard” while watching the film. His father is cast as well as his brother – who my friend Chad charmingly calls, “the little squirrely guy who is in every one of his films.”

It is an exciting and enthralling film, and it doesn’t even have any real action pieces (though it does have at least one ‘splosion).

The best part of this film is how true to history it stayed. Of course, there is some dramatic license taken. But hey, “historians” came out of the woodwork to bash films like 300 for not being 100% historic. Sure thing “professors”.

This is Ron Howard’s best project he’s been involved in. Sorry Matt, Arrested Development comes a close second.

**** out of *****

Caprica

I am a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica. As such, over the last few months since that series ended, I have been looking forward to this spin-off prequel with great anticipation.

Caprica is a different type of show. It’s about a different time, taking place 58 years before the events of the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. The society is decadent, it’s bloated, advanced, and is troubled.

Caprica may feel like a “soap opera” but that’s the nature of the show. It’s more drama than sci-fi action.

Since this is only a pilot to a series that is coming in 2010 - long after the SciFi Channel changes its name to the vastly inferior “SyFy” – there isn’t “much” here to go on. A traditional film would expend far too much time and development too quickly. For an introduction into the series, the film serves its purposes just fine.

This show should even be interesting to those who are unfamiliar with the previous series Battlestar Galactica. It builds on the events leading up to the first Cylon war, where the Cylons, a robotic race is created and eventually rebels against their Human masters. No prior knowledge is necessary, though minor subtleties may be lost or be found to be unimportant when they show up. This is not like the Star Wars prequels, which I can’t imagine being “fun” to watch in any respects if you have no prior knowledge of who Obi-Wan Kenobi is, or why we should care if the Jedi are killed off. I knew what happened and I still didn’t care!

Eric Stoltz stars as Daniel Graystone, who is spurred to try and resurrect his daughter Zoe (Alessandra Toreson) after she dies in a terrorist attack. Esai Morales is Joseph Adams, who’s wife and daughter are both killed in that same attack and who is left to raise his son, William. Also starring is Paula Malcomson as Amanda Graystone, Daniel’s wife; Polly Walker as Sister Clarice Willow; and Sasha Roiz as Sam Adama, Joseph’s brother.

I know this will eventually make its way into a box set. I realize that, but don’t mind – since I’m viewing this an entire year before the box set (which I’ll pick up on Blu-Ray) will be released. This will tide me over just fine.

*** 1/2 out of *****

The Godfather, Part II

Most sequels only hope to shed a fraction of the light on them as the film that came before it. Of just about any sequel, The Godfather Part II comes closest.

Al Pacino stars as Michael Corleone, head of the Corleone family; John Cazale, as Michael’s older brother; Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, Michael’s concierge; Diane Keaton is Michael’s wife, Kay Corleone; Robert DeNiro is the young Vito Corleone; Talia Shire Michael’s sister, Lee Strasberg is longtime family friend, Hyman Roth; and Michael Gazzo plays Frankie Pentangeli, successor to Clemenza’s territory in New York City.

The second films picks up years after the first film, in Lake Tahoe at Michael’s son’s first communion.

The extremely very risky move was to intercut the story of young Vito Corleone in with the continuing events of his son, Michael.

It’s a point of contention even between film buffs as to which film is better. The original Godfather, or the sequel. I’m of two minds, and it really all depends on the mood I’m in. At times I feel it’s superior to the original, but at the same time, I’m able to watch the original many many many more times than I am able to watch this film. But that opens up an entirely different argument I have quite often about watchable films verses quality.

Al Pacino and Diane Keaton had good performances, and with Robert DeNiro cast as the young Vito, the film instantly replaces the lack of Marlon Brando’s presence.

More than the first film, this film definitely does not glorify violence or the Mafioso lifestyle. The story paints two different pictures. Vito’s rise to power in New York and Michael’s devolution into corruption. Where Vito succeeds, Michael fails. Michael completely loses it by the end of the film, doing something that I personally find to be completely reprehensible, and shows that he’s lost the personal/business distinction.

The villains of this film are different that the first film, both being long time friends of the family. In the end they’re less “evil” than their Godfather part I counterparts, though just as ruthless. Pentangeli is a tragic figure, though it’s a shame that they were unable to get Richard Castellano to reprise his role as Clemenza. Probably the biggest failing in the entire film. The lack of Clemenza marginally undercuts one of the central themes of the film – especially when you compare Hymen Roth’s role in the film. Aside from that, Michael Gazzo’s role as Pentangeli works perfectly, even if we don’t really “know” the character before this point.

The final scene really underscores the fall of Michael. A tragic end to a tragic film.

***** out of *****

The Godfather

The Godfather. A cultural cornerstone of cinema. From the opening scene where the camera zooms out and the character Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto) starts his “I believe in America” speech, I knew I was in for a treat. Simply put, the Godfather is an American icon to be cherished.

It is hard to beat the oft quoted phrase “best film ever been made," because it’s darn close. However, much to my dismay, there are many in my generation that don’t appear to enjoy it. They find it “boring.” Dull is an phrase I hear from quite a few people who don’t like the film. I don’t know what people expect anymore from movies. It is a very well-made film and a very well-acted film. It’s a film to appreciate its achievement in cinema.

The characters were believable and very engaging. Brando presents a believable, realistic picture of a human crime boss, a far cry from the portrayal of 1930s gangsters. Gangsters who would spout “Seeeee?” at the end of just about every sentence, and would say “Coppa” when they talked about police officers. See? The results in this film fly in the face of all the stereotypes that came decades earlier.

The cast fit their roles perfectly. Each character hits their mark perfectly. They feel like they’re an actual family. Marlon Brando stars as Don Vito Corleone, the head of the Corleone family; Al Pacino is Vito’s son, Michael Corleone; James Caan, Vito’s oldest, Santino 'Sonny' Corleone; John Cazale, is Vito’s middle child; Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, Vito’s adopted Irish/German child; Diane Keaton is Michael’s love interest, Kay Adams; Richard Castellano as Peter Clemenza; Abe Vigoda as Sal Tessio; and Talia Shire is Vito’s daughter Connie Corleone Rizzi.

The story begins in post World War II New York City, 1946. Don Vito, head of the Corleone family, is granting the requests of invitees to his daughter, Connie’s wedding. This opening sequence brings us into the world that the Godfather takes place in. The story is about great families competing for prestige, power, and money.

One of the biggest complaints about the actual film, beyond the “it’s boring” complaint is that the film romanticizes crime and criminals. Yes, on the surface this appears true. The film makes it appear that crime ‘pays.’ When one looks deeper into the film, it starts to become clear that this is not quite the case. The Corleone family, while shown to be the “good guys” in the film, with both the FBI (taking pictures at the wedding at the start of the film) and other mobsters portrayed as the “bad guys,” it is not so clear that the Corleone family is also actually “bad.” They do inexcuasable things, things that they don’t appear to have any moral qualms about killing people, stealing, and distributing drugs (though Vito doesn’t want it distributed to children). That eventually begs the question, why should we care what happens to a bunch of criminals?

The movie ignores the petty, generic crimes that gangsters in early 30s films took part in. There are no heists, no central plot on gambling rackets, no everyday business. I think anyone who believes that the filmmakers are apologists for this deviant criminal behavior are being simple minded and intentionally obtuse about the themes in the film.

Nino Rota’s score is almost haunting in its heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Gordon Willis’ cinematography is brilliant. It’s perfect. The film’s lighting, coloring, and framing is perfect and brilliant.

One must thank Robert Evans at Paramount, and the very fact that the Godfather was a best selling book that we were so honored to end up with this film at all.

The film is, at the very least, a must-see – at the very least because it is so highly regarded, at best because it’s a cornerstone and cultural achievement that few other films have ever been able to achieve.

***** out of *****

Mad Men Season 1

Since I've been killing my liver for the last few hours, I came to realization that I should probably write about one of the shows that makes me feel drunk just by watching the amount of alcohol consumed in just one episode, yes - I'm talking about Mad Men.

Mad Men is one of those shows that I didn't start watching from the beginning, but boy, once I got into it, I couldn't put it down.

The depiction of the era the series covered, appears to be spot on - that is, as far as I can tell, since I did not grow up in that era. This is not the type of show that Hollywood has hyped up, but doesn't deliver. It is an amazing, well plotted, series with wonderful characterizations. Season one is slightly heavy handed in it's depection of the era. As I watched the season progress it became more and more evident when the series was saying "see, look how it was back then!" Be it the massive amounts of smoking and drinking in the workplace, punishing other people's kids, or leaving your trash on the ground in after a nice picnic in the park sometimes I think they were just tying a little too hard to show hos different it was.

The happy-go-lucky facade that people present is just that, a facade. Most of the characters are more than their initial one-dimensional characterization would lend itself to be. The show is very subtle. It takes it time over multiple episodes to build up events before they eventually boil over.

The Set design and photography brings the 60s to life. Each shot, at least seems, meticiulously set up to really bring the era to life. They know what they're designing and they've designed it well.

One of the few times in the last decade where the Emmy win actually means something, at least to me.

**** 1/2 out of *****

The (fictional) Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate is a fantastic 1962 John Frankenheimer film staring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, and James Gregory. The film was nominated for Best Film Editing and Angela Lansbury for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. However, she did win a Golden Globe for her role in this film.

The plot follows Maj. Bennett Marco (Sinatra), a former Korean War solider who has returned home, gotten on with his life, and is having a reoccurring nightmare, where he, along with his unit are in a surreal dream in which some of his men are killed. He begins to believe that certain events that occurred when they were in the combat zone may have never occurred and that the medal of honor for his commanding officer, Raymond Shaw (Harvey) may not actually be deserved. This film revolves around the Presidential election, and the nomination of Raymond's step-father, John Iselin, to the position of Vice President.

The film, stylized in Black and White, in a time of Color pictures for most mainstream films, gives it a certain charm and feel for the times.

The climax is one of the most chilling and suspenseful moments in cinema that I have witnessed in my entire life. That is not to say that the rest of the film is not brilliantly done, it is. Almost every shot is perfectly framed, every angle chosen carefully, the cinematography is fantastic.

The film, pulled from the theaters after the assassination of President Kennedy, was quite controversial. I'm not surprised in the least, even by today's standards, the ending is a gut wrenching shock to the system.

*****/*****

Chekhov's Gun

Chekhov's Gun | User Video | SPIKE.com

Here is an absolutely hilarious short film that we saw at the Washington Psychotronic Film Society on Wednesday. Enjoy.

Dark City Director's Cut

1998 / Director's Cut 2008

I previously reviewed this gem, wrongly indicating that the film was released in 1999 and that it was a "germ" - but no matter, as a "Directors Cut" of this film has arrived. The film is still oft forgotten when people talk about truly “classic” modern films. Still occasionally mistaken for a Matrix rip-off, this film is, as I've said before, like the Matrix in only the most simplistic of terms. It deals with some of the same issues - but with completely different results and conclusions.

John Murdoch wakes up in a hotel bathtub, unable to remember how he got there or who he actually is. The only things in the room are a broken fishbowl (with fish flapping around on the ground) and a swinging hanging light. He soon realizes he isn’t alone, and that people are after him. As he makes his escape away, he soon realizes that nothing is right in the world he once knew. Is he crazy or is the world really as nuts as he’s seeing it as? Jennifer Connelly plays his wife, Emma; Kiefer Sutherland is his purported “doctor”, Dr. Daniel Schreber; and William Hurt is Inspector Bumstead, who is assigned to the case when the previous inspector seemingly becomes delusional. With the help of the three they discover that something is not right with the city they thought they knew.


The new cut of this film does not have the much derided introductory voice over. Also removed is a sequence that is introduced later in the film - with greater impact to the narrative.

Jennifer Connelly actually lends her voice to the vocals sung in the club during the film. In the original film they were provided by Anita Kelsey.

The film also strengthens the supporting cast, Inspector Bumstead and Dr. Schreber. Bumstead has added screen time that provides more screen-time to his investigation, and lends credence that more than just a few people have a sneaking suspicion as to what is going on in their city.


It's hard to improve on perfection - but they've done it.

A Brave New World they live in

Tonight Jericho's first episode of the second season aired, and what a premiere it was.

You can thank the legions of fans who sent bags of nuts to CBS' studio executives for this, all because of a quote from the series. Who would have known? Firefly got it's film. Jericho gets it's 7 additiona episodes (with more to come if it proves popular). one must at least be curious as to what would cause anyone to honestly do this for a TV show.

You'd think you'd be unable to follow the plot if you hadn't seen an episode before - but you'd be incorrect. The first season is not essential, but I'd suggest it. Picking up on the second season will destroy the mysteries of the first season - but you could watch the season like one would watch a Greek tragedy - already knowing the outcomes of the characters up to the end. The nuclear detonation conspiracy is in full swing, a new Civil War is looming over what is left of the nation, and the little Kansas town of Jericho is stuck in the middle of it. Now under military control (or protection if you will) of the Allied States of America, based out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, the citizens of the town must figure out if the light at the end of the tunnel is salvation or death.

The show ranks up there with the likes of Lost and Battlestar Galactica in terms of modern, grand writing.

You can watch the episode (and many episodes from the first season) at: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/

First episode of the season: ****/*****