Wednesday, January 31, 2007

HEROES Season 1 Episode 13 (WARNING: SPOILERS)
“The Fix”

Of the major plot strands running through the show at the moment, by far the most interesting for me is Claire’s search for her biological parents, which leads her to Nip/Tuck’s Jessalyn Gilsig, who is apparently her birth mother. (“Apparently,” as all we have to go on at this point is her word.) Not only am I happy to see Gilsig join the cast, but that final shot of her lighting her ciggie has to be the Moment of the entire episode.
It’s also great that the nominal baddie of the show, HRG (a.k.a. Mr. Bennet), is clearly (among many other things), a protective and loving father. That dichotomy makes us uncertain how we really should feel about him, making him more than just your average villain. (Or, in Hiro’s words, “billen.”)
And, speaking of Hiro, he and Ando are abducted and brought before… “the Big Boss.” (This section of the episode seemed just a tad stretched out for me, possibly because I was aware of the guest shot and the role said guest was playing.)
Meanwhile, Nathan and Mohinder team up to track down Peter, only to have him escape them with the help of his reluctant mentor, “Claude.” (Eccleston makes the most of the limited screen time he has, and I’m looking forward to more of Claude in the episodes to come.)
And, oh yeah, Matt fixes the leaky pipes, and Mrs. Matt is pregnant!
SMALLVILLE Season 6 Episode 12
“Labyrinth”

Immediately following the Justice League episode, we have the Martian Manhunter episode.
This one though, was surprisingly far more watchable than “Justice.”
The premise, though not original, is still effective: after a brief sequence where Clark is struck down by an invisible force in the barn, he awakens to find himself in a mental institute. It turns out that the past 5 and a half years have been the elaborate fantasy of a paranoid schizophrenic, and the name “Jor-El” is a brand of liquid hand soap.
We, of course, know the truth, as does another loony (Phil Morris), who claims to be from (ahem) Mars. (If there hadn’t been so much press about this episode and who the guest star was going to be, I might have gotten a little fanboy thrill during the moment when a white-clad orderly waves a lighter flame in front of “the Martian.”)
The fact that it takes nearly 30 minutes of running time before they give up the game gives us enough of a chance to see this other world, where Clark and Lana have been sweethearts since kindergarten, where Lex lost his legs during the accident in which Clark should have saved him (way back in season 1), but didn’t, since he was really just a crazy who thought he was a superman, and where Martha has tied the knot with Lionel. Enough of a chance to see Michael Rosenbaum’s Moment, screaming legless from a wheelchair, as well as Allison Mack’s embarrassing death scene. Even Tom Welling manages to squeeze out some real emotion in a couple of scenes. (That’s one of the good things about these kinds of “alternate reality” episodes, as they give the actors a chance to explore their characters from some skewed angles.)
Of course, all this time spent in that false world leaves us just a smidgen of running time for the wrap-up, so the oh-so-brief appearance of the Martian Manhunter in the “real world” (indicating his impending return) will have to do for any J’onn J’onzz fans out there, as there has to be that final scene between Clark and Lana. And though I have made fun of Smallville’s tortured relationship hooey round these parts before, I must admit that this particular scene between these doomed lovers (`cause we all know he ends up with Lois, right?) struck just the right chord.
All in all, though light years from the best 40+ TV minutes I’ve ever seen, certainly a sight better than any of the season 6 Smallvilles I’ve seen thus far.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

SUNDANCE 2007

Since Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape put Sundance on the film lover’s map, I’ve naturally kept my eye on what’s emerged from the snowy slopes in the initial months of any given year, and 2007’s bringing an interesting batch.

At the moment, some of the films that are really grabbing my attention are the ones from names we normally associate with in-front-of-the-camera work.

Away From Her (based on Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”) is brought to us by Sarah Polley. I’ve had a crush on Polley for the longest time. She’s come out in Doug Liman’s Go, Hal Hartley’s No Such Thing, Isabel Coixet’s My Life Without Me, and (surprise!) Zack Snyder’s remake of Dawn of the Dead. And now she’s directed her first feature, with the luminous Julie Christie (Polley’s co-star in No Such Thing) as a woman faced with the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Then there’s Slipstream, from the second Hannibal the Cannibal, Sir Anthony Hopkins. It’s about writers and the creative process, with a cast that includes John Turturro, Christian Slater, Camryn Manheim, and Sir Anthony himself. (As with Polley, this is the feature directorial debut of Sir Anthony.)

Then there’re the films from names I’ve come to trust in the director’s chair.
There’s Smiley Face, from Gregg Araki, the mad genius behind The Doom Generation and the incredibly moving Mysterious Skin. Araki’s back with this doped-up misadventure starring the funny Anna Faris (who most people will probably recognize from the Scary Movie franchise; see her in Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation, or Lucky McKee’s May, or even Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain—though she’s underutilized there).

There’s also Bugmaster, from Katsuhiro Otomo. Though widely known for his anime features, Akira and Steamboy, Bugmaster is actually Otomo’s second live-action feature, after World Apartment Horror.

There’s Teeth. Though I’m unfamiliar with director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s work, two words make me blazingly curious about this film: vagina dentata. Enough said.

A few more films round off my initial curious-to-see list: Robert Shaye’s The Last Mimzy (Shaye is better known as the founder of New Line Cinema) from an adapted script co-written by Bruce Joel Rubin (who penned the brilliant Jacob’s Ladder, as well as the mainstream crowd-pleaser, Ghost); John August’s The Nines (August’s directorial debut, though he’s written brilliant scripts for Go and Big Fish, as well as two other Tim Burton films, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; he’s also, much to my existential horror, penned the scripts for both Charlie’s Angels movies); and Andrew Currie’s Fido, where zombies have become indentured servants to humanity. Yes, you read right: zombies.

Wish I were in Park City right now, but I’m not. So here’s hoping these (and all the other good films at Sundance this year) get bitchin’ distribution deals.

See you at the movies.
DEXTER Season 1

Dexter Morgan is a forensics expert who specializes in blood spatter analysis. He’s also a serial killer. And he is one of the most fascinating characters on television at the moment.
Though I’ve not actually seen it thus described, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some critic out there labeled Dexter as “C.S.I. meets Silence of the Lambs.” And in a manner of speaking, I suppose it is, but to glibly describe it that way is ultimately reductionist and unfair.
Yes, Dexter capitalizes on the public’s fascination with forensics procedurals and serial killers, but it is also a show that explores the dense and complex psychology of sociopaths.* Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter is one of those riveting shows that is pushing the boundaries of the television medium. It is a show that is dark and darkly humorous, with scalpel-sharp writing that cuts all the way to the bone.
It’s fascinatingly subversive the way the show gets you to actually root for a serial killer, for a self-confessed monster who has the greatest difficulty fathoming human emotions and interactions, and emulating them so as to appear “normal.” We actually sympathize and care whether Dexter’s mask is slipping, whether there are cracks in the façade he presents to the world.
And not only does Dexter succeed in delving into how love (which can take very bizarre forms) helps stem the tides of violence that surge within a cold and calculating killer, it also features a title character who is the darkest logical endpoint for all those socially maladjusted TV forensics experts (such as the ones in Bones) on display week in, week out. I mean, those guys are weird, right? You’re thinking no one normal could have a job like they do. Well, Dexter’s the King of Weird. Dexter is what each and every one of those labrats could very well be behind closed doors.
Having mentioned love, it’s interesting to note that love and betrayal are two themes that intertwine around each other and through season 1 like its genetic code, and there’s a wealth of secrets and lies planted through its dozen episodes for many a future season to come.
Aside from all of this, Dexter has also helped me formulate a theory that Miami is one seriously effed-up city. I thought all those psychologically damaged people who float through McNamara/Troy were bad, but Dexter trumps them all. Even Ava Moore and the Carver have to bow down to King Dexter. And please keep in mind, though Dexter is an excellent piece of evidence to support my theory, there is one irrefutable bit no one can argue with: David Caruso.
What did I say? Miami? Effed-up.


* Most forensics procedurals are so caught up in the how, they merely skim over the why (as if motive were purely incidental).


Parting shot: Dexter has the most strangely hypnotic (and unsettling) opening title sequence I have ever come across in a weekly TV series, which is notable considering all we’re really seeing is Dexter going through his morning rituals as he prepares for a new day…

Parting shot 2: I came to Dexter because I missed Six Feet Under and wanted to see Michael C. Hall in his new gig. He does not disappoint. (Another Six Feet Under alum on Dexter’s payroll is Michael Cuesta, who directed a handful of episodes of Dexter, as he did on Six Feet Under, and whose feature films include the caustic and moving coming-of-age tale, Twelve and Holding.)
Heroes Season 1 Episode 12 “Godsend” (WARNING: SPOILERS)

So the next chapter of Heroes has officially kicked off, and it kicks off in grand style.
The confluence of characters continues, and as the tapestry gets more complex, not only does the main story become more involving, but some of the characters become even more interesting.
Seeing Hiro’s reunion with Nathan was a kick, and it’s good to see that Nathan’s humanity is resurfacing. He may be a jerk, but he’s a jerk who genuinely cares for his brother, so there’s still hope yet for Hiro’s favorite flying man.
And finally, Simone seems to be ready to get on the bus! At last! (Though I hope there’s some payoff here regarding Mr. Linderman’s apparent ubiquitousness. Apart from the symbol, Linderman seems to be the other common denominator of the show.)
Having mentioned the symbol, we also get to discover one of its meanings, as well as see Isaac’s “Hiro vs T. Rex” painting in real life! Heh.
But undoubtedly, the best bits of “Godsend” are Claire’s scenes, from her clandestine meetings with the Haitian (who is quickly becoming a character of interest for me; the hole Eden left must be filled!) to her attempts at once more becoming Zach’s friend (which leads to a wonderful reprise of our initial introduction to both characters from the pilot). Hayden Panettiere continues to be one of the best of the ensemble, as we clearly get to see the difficulty a teen-ager would have in her position, struggling with the isolation, dealing not only with her “very own private freak show,” but also with the lies her father has been feeding her, as well as his actions, which have compromised the memories of her family. (I’m also glad to see that Zach wasn’t prematurely written off the show, in light of not just what the Haitian did to him, but also the whole “is he or isn’t he gay?” brouhaha and Thomas Dekker’s having landed the role of John Connor in the TV series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a spin-off of the Terminator franchise. I just hope he sticks around and isn’t bumped off for his troubles.)
Top all that off with the introduction of Christopher Eccleston* to the cast, and we’re off and running.

* I’ve followed Eccleston’s work ever since I first saw him in Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave. I’m curious to see what he’ll bring to the ensemble, and what sort of chemistry he’ll have with Milo Ventimiglia. (Reportedly, Eccleston’s character, Claude, will become a mentor of sorts to Peter.) I also hope he isn’t the just-one-too-many-characters straw that breaks the ensemble’s back.

Parting shot: Heroes has had an early renewal for a second season. Hurrah!

Parting shot 2: “Godsend” is the first of a straight 7 episode run, then the show goes on another break, after which, the season’s final 5 episodes air consecutively.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Smallville Season 6 Episodes 10 & 11
Review by David Hontiveros
(
WARNING: Contains Spoilers)


Despite the fact that (or maybe precisely because) I’m such a big fan of Big Blue, I’ve never really followed Smallville with any solid regularity. Once again, live TV superheroics are marred by weak writing.
I mean, how many times must Lana get stalked by the Freak of the Week? How many times must Clark/Lana/Lex/Chloe/Lois get controlled by some external force, act all gonzo or evil or horny (or all three simultaneously), then have convenient amnesia once the dust settles? And just when does the madness end? The tortured relationships of Smallville put Dawson’s Creek’s to shame.

Still, I keep an eye out for specific episodes, just to see if, maybe, things have begun to look up on Smallville. Two of those episodes just aired.

Season 6 Episode 10 “Hydro”
I made it a point to watch this ‘cause I’m such a huge Tori Spelling fan.
Heh.
Aheh.
Aha-ha-ha!*
Actually, it’s because “Hydro” is Tom Welling’s directorial debut. So, I wanted to see if Clark could direct, as well as fly.
But what I got was your average run-of-the-mill Smallville with Tori S. as the Freak of the Week, some more tortured relationship hooey (Lex has proposed to Lana, Lana hasn’t given him an answer ‘cause she’s still in love with Clark, but she’s pregnant, blah blah blah, boo hoo hoo, ad nauseum), and yet another anticlimactic showdown with the aforementioned Freak of the Week.
I dunno. Why has this show stayed on the air for 6 seasons?


Season 6 Episode 11 “Justice”

Okay.

This just didn’t do it for me. Considering this was the Justice League episode, it was vastly underwhelming, with a negligible plot and mostly toilet paper-thin characterizations.

And the costumes…

Oh, the humanity…

This could conceivably have worked better as a multi-parter, but Smallville just doesn’t work that way. So we’re treated to 40+ minutes of good guys running around in bad suits, with the fanboy highlight apparently a shot of the “League” walking towards the camera in Hollywood action film slowmo as Lex’s evil lab explodes behind them. Yeesh.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if they’d actually looked the heroic part, but those suits would just die on Project Runway. Nina Garcia would absolutely slay those outfits.

And the performances. Urrrr. Former American Idol contestant Alan Ritchson (Aquaman) does little except flash his smirky grin, walk around bare chested, and be the butt of fish jokes.

Justin Hartley (Green Arrow; he also played Aquaman on the failed TV pilot Mercy Reef) and Lee Thompson Young (Cyborg) don’t really elevate the acting either.

Kyle Gallner (Impulse; perhaps more widely seen on Veronica Mars) is the only one who actually registers, in that impish, precocious Bart Allen way. (This episode might even have been better off as an Impulse spotlight.)

And Lois is such a superhero groupie slut, it’s embarrassing. First she does the kissy-face with Aquaman in season 5, then is all hot and heavy and talking coitus without the interruptus with Green Arrow—though “Justice” does seem to put a punctuation mark on that relationship. Still. Slut. (Yes, she doesn’t know Ollie is Green Arrow, but can you imagine all the locker room talk on the JL Watchtower in years to come?)
And though I will admit that it was neat-o to see Chloe be this League’s Oracle, if you want to see the League done right, there’s 5 seasons of the animated series out there. Hop to it.

Again, why has Smallville been around for 6 seasons?

* Actually, I enjoyed Tori Spelling’s cameo in Scream 2’s metamovie. I’ll give her credit for that.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Gwoemul (The Host)
A review by David Hontiveros
Having already made their presence known on the global cinema map with films like Ji-woon Kim‘s Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters) and Chan-wook Park‘s Oldboy, Korea now gives us Joon-ho Bong‘s Gwoemul (The Host), a rollicking creature feature that puts to shame a whole gaggle of Hollywood’s most recent offerings in the genre.

Following the most unlikely of celluloid heroes, the dysfunctional Park family (made up of patriarch Hie-bong, his offspring, deadbeat Gang-du, unemployed graduate Nam-il, competitive archer Nam-joo, and Gang-du’s daughter Hyun-seo), Gwoemul kicks off with a brief prologue six years in the past, as a perfunctory (possible) explanation for the creature’s existence, before kicking into high gear with the initial attack, which sets up the central event that serves as the engine the film’s narrative runs on.

Having the Parks as the film’s main protagonists effectively puts the lie to the Hollywood adage that creature features need heroes who are either scientists or soldiers to work. (During the initial attack, we in fact are introduced to US soldier Donald—played by David Joseph Anselmo—who can’t help but pitch in and piss off the rampaging monster; you just know where that’s gonna end up…)

And of course, for a great creature feature, you need a great creature, and Gwoemul has definitely got that. Done in CG by San Francisco-based The Orphanage, Gwoemul’s beastie is convincing, particularly in the initial attack, in which the camera doesn’t really stand still, making the monster all the more real since it seems to be just another element in motion that just happened to be picked up by the lens, as opposed to some wide-angle Panavision shot displaying glorious SFX which blare, “Look at me! Look at me! I’m a CGI construct that cost an obscene amount of dollars to put on the screen! Look at meeee!”

There’s a certain stripped-down efficiency to Gwoemul that helps it tremendously, and even allows for some quiet little character moments amidst all the running about. And this, being a Korean movie, naturally displays moments of comedy (and with the Park family centerstage, there’s a fair amount of those to be had), though thankfully, the humor never devolves into goofy slapstick, as sometimes happens in Korean cinema. (Even Chan-wook Park‘s contribution to Saam gaang yi, “Cut,” had absolutely painful moments of crude humor that crippled an otherwise intense film experience.)

With just the right amount of suspense, humor, horror, and drama, Gwoemul is an entertaining 2 hour ride that is already being gobbled up by the Hollywood machine. (News has already broken of an impending English-language remake.) Despite some minor imperfections—notably a plot thread that doesn’t really go anywhere— Gwoemul is the best creature feature I’ve seen in quite some time. (Try and see it so you have a point of comparison once the glammed-up Hollywood version is unleashed upon us…)
Parting shot: Interestingly enough, the next film of Kang-ho Song (who plays Gang-du) is Bakjwi, its English title, Evil Live, which is the title of the movie-within-the-(short)-movie in “Cut.” Bakjwi is being directed by Chan-wook Park , and has been described as a “modern-day vampire story” (as we saw in “Cut”).

Parting shot2: Du-na Bae (who plays Nam-joo) can also be seen as Eun-suh in Dong-bin Kim’s Ring Virus, the Korean remake of Ringu.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

HEROES (a review by David Hontiveros)
***WARNING : REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***

It’s the Friday before Heroes’ return to the airwaves and I am stoked.

What can I say? As a comic geek, it was only natural that I was gonna give Heroes a look-see when it popped up, and what I got from the pilot was a brilliant surprise.

Here was a very human show about characters who were quite a bit more than human. This wasn’t a show about codenames and powers (just one of the sins—in a long list—of X-Men: The Last Stand), but about people who suddenly realize they’re no longer as ordinary as they once presumed they were.

As much as I’m loving Heroes though, I will cop to the fact that I do feel there are too many characters running around (any ensemble show always runs the risk of overpopulating the screen), so much so that the ones I really like, I love, and the ones I’m less than interested about, I pretty much think are a waste of good air time.

I’ll try and stay on the positives, shall I?

Yeah, Hiro’s the breakout character of the show, and we all know why, right? He’s readily identifiable to any comic geek out there, and is the one person who has been the most enthusiastic about the discovery of his powers. There is a certain infectious positivity to Hiro that is a joy to watch, and Masi Oka is doing an excellent job of giving the role so much more humanity than mere comedy relief (which, let’s face it, is a major function of Hiro’s character).
Then there’s Claire, who has, over the course of 11 episodes, become one of my favorites. And those moments when Hayden Panettiere displays an uncanny maturity in her performance and I need to forcibly remind myself that she isn’t even 18…. Well, those moments make me love the character of Claire even more…

And yeah, Mohinder’s clearly the Prof. X figure, but he’s the character who is at once on the outside (for being the non-powered human), and at the center of the story (thanks to his father’s research). Mohinder is history’s (and humanity’s) witness to this singular moment in our race’s evolution.

I should also point out that I loved Eden . (And yeah, I was immediately hooked on her because Nora Zehetner did such an amazing job on Rian Johnson’s fantastic Brick, but Eden the character quickly became a point of fascination for me as well, with a power that had so much possibilities, and a past I was hungry to uncover.) So, seeing her die (presumably she’s dead) in ep11 (“Fallout”) was a great big bummer. (And the way she died seemed to be one of those “decisions-so-stupid-you-know-the-character-only-made-them-so-the-writers-could-bump-them-off” actions, it just really niggles at me like nobody’s business…)

But hey, I’m trying to stay on the positives…

So… just a few more days to go…

And yes, Peter’s discovery that he could very well be the cause of the impending nuclear explosion was a good cliffhanger, but hey, hearing the Haitian speak (and what exactly he said to Claire) has to go down as one of the great Heroes moments thus far…

Till next time, save the cheerleader, save the world