Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Saving Mr. Banks: Mary Poppins' Origins

Many people have been disputing the veracity of the events depicted in Saving Mr. Banks. It's certainly an extremely "Disneyfied" tale, intended to celebrate Mary Poppins on the heels of its upcoming 50th anniversary. However, with a tremendous cast led by terrific Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, I'm willing to take fiction over truth.

The movie tells the story of two weeks in 1961 when P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the author of Mary Poppins, arrived in California to oversee the script for the movie. Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) had pestered her for the rights for twenty years, because his daughters loved the books and he saw their enormous potential as a movie. However, Mrs. Travers (as she liked to be called), hated everything about Disney and was terrified he was going to turn her beloved Mary Poppins into an animated, treacly farce. The movie opens with her agent urging her to visit California, and due to her dire financial straits, she agrees to head to Los Angeles and see what Disney has come up with.

Upon her arrival, Travers proceeds to make herself disagreeable to everyone, from the driver to the director to Disney himself. She disapproves of every creative decision and is particularly horrified when the Sherman brothers (played wonderfully by Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak) appear and start singing songs with made-up words. However, underneath that unpleasant facade lies a troubled woman who suffered from a difficult childhood, a backstory that is gradually revealed through flashbacks to Travers' childhood in Australia. Her father (played with oodles of charm by Colin Farrell) loves her dearly and encourages her to dream big and indulge in her imagination. She regards him through entirely rose-colored glasses, failing to notice that their money troubles and eventual move to the far reaches of Australia are necessitated by his rampant alcoholism. As the movie moves back and forth from 1906 to 1961, we see how every piece of the Mary Poppins script reflects something from Travers' childhood. Mary Poppins was her ode to her father, the real-life "Mr. Banks," who she loved till the bitter end.

This is largely Emma Thompson's movie - she brings out every shade in P.L. Travers' character and takes her from an unlikable battleaxe to a sympathetic woman who is still battling her childhood demons. Tom Hanks is charismatic as Walt Disney and his scenes with Thompson bring out the best in both actors as their characters antagonize one another and ultimately find a point of commonality. The supporting cast is filled with terrific actors like Bradley Whitford, Paul Giamatti, and Ruth Wilson, who bring depth and richness to every scene. And the script by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith easily walks the line between musical comedy and family drama, telling an emotional and ultimately uplifting tale.

This movie also looks glorious. John Schwartzman's cinematography is impeccable and the entire film is suffused with light and color that make it look like a Disney classic. And along with the toe-tapping renditions of the classic songs by the Sherman brothers, the background score is composed by Thomas Newman, whose twinkly soundtrack will make you laugh or cry as the occasion demands. Director John Lee Hancock has wrangled together an A-team for this film, and the product is polished and surprisingly affecting. It is clear that things have been heavily dramatized and the plot points are all very neat, but as long as you're not expecting a historical biopic, Saving Mr. Banks is a wonderful movie that is well worth watching. 

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Jeeves and the Wedding Bells: Bertie Wooster's Resurrection

P. G. Wodehouse is one of the greatest comic writers of the 20th century, or really, any century. He wrote more than 90 novels and short story collections, but us Wodehouse enthusiasts are a greedy lot and always wish for more. So renowned author Sebastian Faulks has dared to do the impossible and write a brand new Jeeves & Wooster novel, entitled Jeeves and the Wedding Bells.

Faulks has written a humble preface where he acknowledges how foolish it would be to merely imitate Wodehouse and descend into parody. As a result, he has attempted more of a tribute that follows the Wodehouse template and contains multiple in-jokes and references to delight the seasoned reader, but could also easily serve as an introduction to the clueless Bertie and his gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves. The plot is pleasingly convoluted, ingeniously involving a role reversal where Jeeves is pretending to be an aristocrat while Bertie must play the part of his valet, Wilberforce. For once, Bertie glimpses what life is like below stairs, and he is not amused.

In the meantime, there's romantic upheaval for Bertie, who has fallen in love with a woman by the name of Georgina Meadowes. Unfortunately, Georgina is being forced to marry someone else by her imposing uncle, in whose house Bertie and Jeeves are carrying on their little charade. Bertie is also trying to help his friend Peregrine "Woody" Beeching patch things up with his fiance Amelia, who has become convinced that Woody is an irresponsible flirt. Obviously, Bertie's well-meaning machinations go awry, and things must get a lot worse before they're miraculously sorted out by the omniscient Jeeves.

While it's easy to lose yourself in this story and pretend it's a long-lost Wodehouse novel, Faulks has sneakily introduced some jarring elements. There are mentions of the war, a little treatise on Mendelian genetics, and Bertie is subtly forced to acknowledge that there's a whole wide world out there. That is decidedly un-Wodehousian: the whole point of a Wodehouse novel is that time stands still and the characters are larking about in an idyll that seems untouched by reality. In that sense, Faulks has provided a modern update to the classic canon, with an ending that provides an air of finality to Jeeves and Wooster's hysterical adventures.

Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a delightful piece of fiction that manages to both deconstruct and pay homage to Wodehouse's writing. At times it doesn't feel as polished as the master's works themselves, but it comes awfully close to the mark. Faulks has given us one more chance to indulge in Jeeves' verbosity, Bertie's bumbling, cricket matches, amateur theatrics, accidental drunkenness, quotes from Keats, Spinoza, and the Lady of Shalott. It's a brilliant melange of everything that makes Wodehouse great, and most importantly, it will inspire you to re-read and re-discover the Jeeves and Wooster of yore.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Jiro Dreams of Sushi: And You Will Too

PBS' Independent Lens has a particularly strong line-up of documentaries this season and on Monday they aired Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a 2011 documentary that will make your mouth water. Ostensibly a simple story about a Japanese chef, director David Gelb has created a spellbinding movie that serves as a philosophical meditation on ambition, craftsmanship, and what it means to live a fulfilling life.

Jiro Ono is an 85-year-old sushi master who runs Sukiyabashi Jiro, a sushi restaurant nestled inside a Tokyo subway station. This tiny restaurant has earned three Michelin stars, putting Jiro in the record books as the oldest chef to be awarded such an honor. Over the course of the documentary, we learn how Jiro's success is driven by an indescribable passion for sushi and an indefatigable pursuit for perfection. Apprentices at his restaurant spend weeks learning how to hand-wring hot towels for the customers before they are even allowed to touch a knife. That is the kind of tough Japanese training and single-minded attention to detail that Jiro brings to every aspect of his life.

The documentary also features Jiro's two sons, both of whom trained under their father at the restaurant. Owing to the Japanese tradition of the eldest son inheriting the father's business, Takashi, the younger son, left to open his own sushi restaurant, which is a mirror image of Sukiyabashi Jiro and has earned two Michelin stars. The eldest son, Yoshikazu, is still working under his father, awaiting his father's retirement. He will face impossible expectations when he runs the restaurant, although an intriguing anecdote at the end of the movie suggests that all will be well when Yoshikazu takes over.

We are also introduced to the various fishmongers that are favored by Jiro, who declares that he may be an expert on sushi, but these people are even greater experts about seafood. They are all passionate about their respective fields and it is wonderful to see how a piece of tuna that is painstakingly chosen at the fish market is later combined with meticulously-prepared rice to become a sublime piece of sushi. A food critic movingly compares a meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro to a symphony, each course carefully orchestrated to create a harmonious and fulfilling experience like no other. Throughout the film, delectable pieces of sushi are prepared and deposited with a flourish on a plate, and it takes a supreme effort to not futilely reach out to the screen.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a sumptuous movie in more ways than one - it is visually arresting, the soundtrack is beautiful, the people are incredibly interesting, and the story is stunning. When you're done, you will have learnt a host of lessons about how to appreciate good food, explore your passions, and live well. And you'll want to catch the first flight to Tokyo.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Madcap Mayhem in Melbourne

When my friend Maggie suggested I watch Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, I thought it seemed like a stretch. Sure I love British television, and have even discovered Canadian gems, but I've never ventured into Australian drama, let alone an Australian mystery series set in 1920s Melbourne. Nonetheless, I decided to watch the first episode on Netflix, and before I knew it, I was hooked.

Phryne Fisher (played by the captivating Essie Davis) is a confident, sophisticated woman of independent means who likes to get her own way. After losing most of her family in the Great War, she returns to Australia and decides to put her considerable intelligence to use as a private detective. This means that she constantly runs up against the local Detective Inspector, John "Jack" Robinson (played by the equally captivating Nathan Page). Jack is initially annoyed by her interference, but he is quick to spot her talent for crime solving and decides that it's better to work with Phryne than against her. In addition, his constable, Hugh Collins (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and Phryne's companion, Dorothy "Dot" Williams (Ashleigh Cummings) embark on a delightful romance, which makes for an amusing subplot on most episodes.

The show is based on a series of novels by Kerry Greenwood, who envisioned Phryne as an early feminist, a woman who knows her mind and does as she likes. When she isn't busy solving grisly murders, Phryne is decked out in glamorous dresses and jewels, sleeping with interesting (and dashing) men, and unabashedly living life to the fullest. What's wonderful about the series is that it embraces a variety of personalities, all of whom are very different, but none of whom judge each other. Dot is a devout Catholic, who initially couldn't even bring herself to answer a telephone because her priest said all modern inventions were the work of the devil. Nonetheless, she adores Phryne and is the most loyal sidekick a detective could hope for. Hugh is shy and naive, unlike the more wordly Jack, and he is the ideal romantic partner for Dot. Their conservative romance is in perfect contrast to the bubbling sexual tension between Jack and Phryne, who have many flirtatious encounters that have yet to amount to anything. They have crackling chemistry, further heightened by their bond of mutual respect and admiration, and one of the joys of the series is watching that tantalizing relationship develop.

Produced with a budget of $1 million per episode, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is simply stunning to look at, with impeccable production values and attention to detail. Shot in and around Melbourne, great effort has been made to re-create the feel of 1920s Australia, and costume designer Marion Boyce deserves kudos akin to those paid to Mad Men's Janie Bryant for the incredible work that goes into Phryne's wardrobe in every episode. The writers concoct wonderful self-contained mysteries (based on Kerry Greenwood's great stories of course) that also tie in to a series-long arc, which has a great payoff. And the cast is magnificent, capably dancing between comedy and drama, and making the show an intriguing, fizzy delight.

Series creators Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger were eager to develop a show that had a strong and interesting female lead and they have delivered a masterpiece. Shows like these continue to highlight how many great actresses are out there to play great female roles. The entire first season is available on DVD or Netflix streaming, and the second season (which aired this fall) will hopefully be released soon. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is a revelation and I dare you to stop at just one episode.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Lee Daniels' The Butler: A New Historical Perspective

Many films about slavery or the American civil rights movement do their subject matter a disservice by telling the tale from the perspective of white people. African Americans are routinely treated as supporting characters in their own history - look at a movie like Lincoln, which while discussing the Emancipation Proclamation managed to feature no important black characters at all. However, this year, there have been powerful performances from black actors in movies like Twelve Years a Slave, and Lee Daniels' The Butler, which deals with the complexities of being black in 20th century America.

Forrest Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, a man who grew up on a cotton plantation in Georgia, where he witnessed his parents' brutal treatment at the hands of the owner. Trained for household service, he eventually leaves the South and ends up in a hotel in Washington D.C. There, his polished training and careful apolitical attitude capture the attention of a White House staffer, who hires him to be one of the White House butlers. Beginning in the Eisenhower administration, Gaines works his way through eight presidencies, resigning during Reagan's first term.

The presidents are played by a variety of actors who put in interesting cameos, but the focus is squarely on Gaines and his family. His two sons are very different - the eldest, Louis (David Oyelowo), is intensely political and ashamed of his father's decision to keep his head down. The youngest, Charlie (Elijah Kelley), decides to serve in Vietnam, declaring to Louis that he wants to fight for his country rather than against it. In the meantime, Gaines' wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), has a difficult time trying to reconcile her quiet husband and her vocal son, while trying to figure out what her own opinions are in the civil rights debate.

When it focuses on Gaines and his family, The Butler is an engaging look at how the civil rights movement influenced people in different ways. Louis' growth from non-violent resistor, to budding Black Panther, to levelheaded politician showcases the evolution of civil rights in America and offers an interesting summary of the different ways people tried to fight for equality. Gaines' own political growth is gradual, thanks to a violent childhood that made him fear any kind of stand against authority, but he too eventually plays a crucial part at the White House.

The Butler features an excellent cast, all of whom lend a great deal of layered subtlety and empathy to their characters. The script lets them down - the cameos of various Presidents just distract from the story, even though each actor puts in a perfectly serviceable performance. At times it feels like The Butler is a searing documentary, interspersing archival footage to highlight the history of the period. But at other times, its attempts to link characters with major political events feel too contrived and melodramatic. Watch for the strong performances and historical background, but just because it is "inspired by a true story" don't be fooled. The main character is largely a character of fiction, not fact. But all things considered, The Butler is an important and informative movie, which offers an often neglected perspective on the fight for civil rights.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: Storytelling That Gets Under Your Skin

Neil Gaiman has written many fantastical books for children and adults, all of which reveal his brilliant and twisted imagination. His stories are always tinged with darkness (the adult books are much more than tinged) yet I always found a good dose of humor lurking in those pages as well. However, his latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is a slim book that is packed with a multitude of macabre events. Despite the protagonist being seven years old for most of the story, this is emphatically a book for adults, or some gothic young adults.

The novel relates the story of an unnamed man who has returned to his childhood town for a funeral and proceeds to look for a farmhouse at the end of the lane he grew up on. He has vague memories about the Hempstock women who lived in the farmhouse, and the young Lettie Hempstock who was maybe a friend. Once he gets to the farm, he sits by the pond behind the house, and remembers that Lettie used to call it the "ocean." And with that, he is whisked away to his memories of being seven years old, when a South African opal miner came to stay with his family, committed suicide, and created a portal for a malevolent spirit to enter this world and terrorize him until the Hempstocks intervened. Bet you didn't see that coming.

I won't delve into more detail - suffice to say, each scene is vividly described and there are some horrifying details that made my skin crawl. Gaiman is a master at turning the irrational fears of childhood into completely rational fears that are all the more frightening because the adults just don't understand. The protagonist is cruelly dealt with, but thanks to twelve-year-old Lettie, her mother, and her grandmother of indeterminate age, he is able to tackle the terrors of childhood, though they leave a lasting impression.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is not a feel-good novel, but it certainly will make you feel something. It is fascinating and frightening, disturbing and delightful. I'm not sure I would return to it like I do to Gaiman's other works, because it's too unrelentingly dark. However, it is well worth reading once, just so you can uncomfortably revel in Gaiman's ability to frighten you with a few short sentences. Isn't that was great literature is all about? 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Was It Something I Said? Yes, It Was

To readers of this blog, it comes as no surprise that I am a fan of British panel shows in general, and comedian David Mitchell in particular. So imagine my delight when I found Channel 4's Was It Something I Said?, a panel show that is hosted by Mitchell, and if that wasn't enough, features the marvelous Richard Ayoade and Micky Flanagan as team captains.

The show follows a simple format: each week there are are two guest panelists who join Ayoade and Flanagan and a guest narrator who is responsible for reading the quotations. There are various rounds based on these quotations - the first round is called Threesomes, where the teams are given a quote and have to decide which of three famous people said it. This is followed by a round where teams are given two or three words from a famous quote and have to complete it to the best of their ability. Occasionally there's another round where teams are given a bizarre quote and have to figure out what the person was talking about. And before each commercial, Mitchell will pose a Fill in the Blanks quote that the teams try to complete after the break.

This is pretty standard fare and like all panel shows, what makes it stand out is the quality of the panelists and the guest narrator. Their banter can make or break the show, and the best guests often go off on complete tangents that have nothing to do with the quote whatsoever. This brings me to the final round, which in my opinion is the best one. Eponymously titled, Was It Something I Said?, this round features a quote said by someone on the opposing team, the guest narrator, David Mitchell, or some random celebrity. Naturally, determining the quote's origins becomes a matter of dissecting the various personalities on the show, often with hilarious results. In fact, this round most resembles my favorite panel show, Would I Lie To You? because it relies on the panelists' personal knowledge of the other people featured on the show. 

You can find episodes of Was It Something I Said? on 4 on Demand, or through some judicious YouTube searches if you live outside the UK. I particularly recommend Episode 5 with Charles Dance as guest narrator and Robert Webb as a panelist on Micky's team. The show just wrapped its first series and is still tinkering a bit with the format and a somewhat distracting attempt to engage a Twitter audience. But it's a promising start to what will hopefully become a long-lived series on the ever-expanding panel show line-up. 

Saturday, December 14, 2013

The Hobbit 2: Truly Desolate

I have made no secret of my undying love of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Last year, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey filled me with joy at the chance to return to Middle Earth once more. Well, last night I saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and I must concede that the unthinkable has happened - Peter Jackson has managed to go too overboard for even my fanaticism.

The Hobbit is a slim novel, a children's book that tells a relatively simple story about a hobbit, thirteen dwarves, and a wizard who set off on a quest to a mountain where they will find untold riches after they defeat an evil dragon. There are plenty of adventures along the way, and if Peter Jackson had stuck to his original plan of just two movies, it would have been very satisfying. Some were already complaining that the first Hobbit movie was overwrought, but I thought it was reasonably well-paced and fun to watch. A second movie that wrapped up the story would have been fast-paced and delightful. However, by deciding this story needs three complete installments, each running for nearly three hours, Peter Jackson has completely lost his grip on the material.

The Desolation of Smaug contains the usual attempts at enriching the story with background derived from other Tolkien works. I usually find the background material engaging, but this time around it barely served any purpose. It was so patently meant as filler that members of the audience were chuckling about the absurdity of it all. For some reason, Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is one of the stars of this film, battling Orcs alongside a brand new character, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), whose sole purpose is to be an Arwen surrogate so that Jackson can continue to pretend he's still making The Lord of the Rings, and not The Hobbit. The first movie hewed pretty close to the book, but this one seems to be derived from thin air, changing whole elements of the story, introducing characters who had nothing to do with the original novel, and containing wearisome action sequences that showcase the genius of the visual effects team, but also grate on the audience's patience.

By the time we got to Smaug, the evil dragon voiced and motion-captured by Benedict Cumberbatch, I was too tired to care. Every actor is making a valiant effort, but they are working with mere scraps. Sure, the visual effects are marvelous, but at some point, even that feels like too much. The Orcs and dwarves are drowning in prosthetics, every set has so much detail that it starts to feel entirely too artificial, and the actors are just parroting lines from The Lord of the Rings as the soundtrack swells in the background and reminds you of the greatness that was but no longer is.

It pains me to say this, but save your money and don't bother watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Of course, next year I will still see the final installment in theaters because that is the price I pay for my fandom. But I am sorely disappointed at the turn these movies have taken. Excuse me while I bring out my LOTR Extended Edition box set and remind myself of why I became a fan in the first place. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland: Formidable Flights of Fancy

Children's literature is a repository of the most imaginative and astonishing tales ever devised by mankind. Books like The Hobbit, the Harry Potter series, or The Chronicles of Narnia - originally purported to be solely for the amusement of children - were too brilliant to be ignored by adults and they quickly transcended the publisher's imposed age limit. Now there's Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series, which easily manages to make the leap from children's fiction to modern classic.

Starting with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Valente tells the story of September, a twelve-year-old girl in Nebraska whose father is away fighting in World War II and whose mother works in an airplane engine factory. Like every child in a fantasy novel, September longs for adventure and one day she is visited by the Green Wind who whisks her off to Fairyland. There she proceeds to have many adventures with her newfound friends, a wyvern named A-Through-L who aspires to be a librarian, and a marid named Saturday, who gradually and complicatedly becomes September's love interest.

The first book is an absolute revelation, containing a series of witty observations, fanciful imaginings, and riotous beauty. Every chapter unlocks a brand new weird and wonderful thought or situation. September is a remarkable literary heroine, introspective and brave, keen to help others but tinged with the inevitable selfishness of the budding teenager. As she grows from a heartless child to a girl alive to the pains of romance, the series promises to become even more emotional and intricate.

Valente loves wordplay, riddles, and lush descriptions, and her Fairyland is a wondrous place that is both frightening and inviting, dangerous and delectable. The second and third books in the series have become increasingly esoteric and I find myself just wallowing in the words as opposed to paying much attention to the story. These books might be slim novels but each one dispenses a concentrated dose of wonder and fantasy that will dazzle your senses and make you marvel at what an author can do with her imagination and the English language. So go find these books and get lost in Fairyland.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Slings & Arrows: Theater Comes Alive

I spend much time on this blog discussing American and British television, but Canadian TV is not often on my radar. However, I recently discovered the spectacular Slings & Arrows, which follows the on- and off-stage antics at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Canadian Shakespeare festival that is run by a group of passionate incompetents. The show ran from 2003-2006: in that time, it picked up a slew of awards, garnered widespread critical acclaim, and delivered eighteen episodes of simply scintillating television.

Each of the show's three seasons focused on the events surrounding the production of a Shakespearean tragedy: first Hamlet, then Macbeth, and finally King Lear. In the first episode of Season 1, we are introduced to New Burbage's artistic director, Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette), who has fully embraced the commercialization of the Festival and is turning in a very uninspired production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. However, at the end of the episode, Oliver is killed when he is run over by a truck, leaving the Festival in disarray. Enter Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross), a former colleague of Oliver's who suffered a nervous breakdown during a legendary production of Hamlet seven years ago and has been struggling to make ends meet ever since. He is appointed as New Burbage's new artistic director, but lest you think that was the end of Oliver Welles, don't forget, this is a Shakespearean show. The dead have a way of re-appearing.

In homage to Oliver, Geoffrey is tasked with putting on a brand new production of Hamlet. However, he is haunted to distraction by Oliver's ghost and his constant outbursts as he chats with Oliver assure everyone that he is still mentally unstable. Thankfully, he is so passionate about Shakespeare and able to draw such great performances from his actors that no one bothers to complain...much. Apart from the artistic side of the Festival, Slings & Arrows also explores the business troubles plaguing New Burbage and the much-beleaguered manager, Richard Smith-Jones (Mark McKinney). Richard has to find a way to combat flagging ticket sales, an aging subscriber base, and his desire to just put on musicals, which leads him to devise various business models that will either bankrupt or bankroll the Festival in years to come. 

Written by Susan Coyne, Mark McKinney, and Bob Martin, each season of Slings & Arrows is a rich and expertly crafted tale about what it takes to put on a show, both artistically and financially. There are bombastic directors, harried stage managers, naive ingenues, and weary theater veterans. Every scene offers a new comic or dramatic insight into the role that theater plays in the modern world. If you love Shakespeare, you'll love the behind-the-scenes look at how these plays are painstakingly crafted for their audiences. If you don't love Shakespeare, this show will introduce you to what you've been missing. 

Slings & Arrows features outstanding performances from incredible Canadian actors (Season 1 featured a fresh-faced Rachel McAdams before she was whisked away to Hollywood), who capably alternate between comic farce and high-stakes drama. The British model of limited production means that every episode contains plenty of humor and pathos to keep you moved and entertained for 45 minutes. It's a wonderful treat for any fan of television, theater, or just great entertainment. To watch or not to watch? That is not the question - just watch it.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Escape Artist: Lawyer Vs Law

Since leaving Doctor Who, David Tennant has continued to offer compelling performances in interesting projects. Whether he's got a nation on the edge of its seat as he's solving an intricate murder on Broadchurch, or treading the boards at the Globe in critically acclaimed Shakespearean productions, Tennant can be depended upon for solid entertainment. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his latest TV venture, The Escape Artist, does not disappoint.

Tennant plays Will Burton, a barrister who has never lost a case and is the go-to man for seemingly impossible cases. He is asked to defend Liam Foyle (Toby Kebbell), who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. Foyle is weird and sinister and Burton certainly doubts he is innocent, but he does his job. And because he's so good, he is able to get Foyle off on a technicality, much to the chagrin of his rival, the prosecuting barrister Maggie Gardner (Sophie Okonedo). Unfortunately, despite winning the case, Foyle does not like Burton's attitude towards him, and proceeds to stalk his wife and son, with deadly consequences.

The Escape Artist follows Burton's attempts to use his vast legal prowess to defeat Foyle both inside and outside the court. Maggie Gardner becomes Foyle's defense attorney and Burton quickly discovers that the very laws that have helped him win cases in the past will now prevent him from protecting his family from this psychopath. The lead performances from Tennant and Kebbell are outstanding as Burton and Foyle try to outsmart each other and come out on top. The story is a legal thriller but it is also deeply emotional as Burton's family experiences horror and heartbreak. 

The Escape Artist is painfully suspenseful and packed with twists that you won't see coming. As a BBC production, the intriguing plot is crammed into three nail-biting episodes rather than stretched out into a tepid 22-episode season. Writer David Wolstencroft has devised a thoroughly dark and engaging story that makes the three hours just zip by. So seek it out and settle in for a haunting but thrilling ride. 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The World's End: The Last Lick of the Cornetto

The Cornetto trilogy began with Shaun of the Dead, a marvelous send-up of the zombie apocalypse genre. Next up was Hot Fuzz, a high-octane cop caper that simultaneously mocked and glorified the buddy cop tradition. Now the trilogy comes to an end with The World's End, an existential comedy with a sci-fi twist.

The plot revolves around Gary King (Simon Pegg), a middle-aged alcoholic who has steadfastly refused to grow up. He decides that he needs to relive the happiest time of his life, which was a night twenty years ago when he went on a massive pub crawl with his four best friends (one of whom is of course played by Nick Frost). Their aim was to do the "Golden Mile," i.e. get a pint at twelve different pubs in their hometown of Newton Haven, but they never made it to the last pub, The World's End.

Gary rounds up the old gang, all of whom have grown into responsible adults and are none too pleased to see Gary again. In fact, it becomes increasingly clear that Gary's memories of that night are far rosier than his companions'. Still, he convinces everyone to return to Newton Haven for one more attempt at completing the Golden Mile. They discover the pubs have undergone the "Starbucks" treatment and are disappointingly uniform, but more disturbingly, the people seem a bit uniform as well. At which point the story takes a sudden sci-fi twist.

The World's End fully demonstrates Edgar Wright's and Simon Pegg's flair for elaborately satirizing and celebrating popular movie genres. However, this final installment of the trilogy is also introspective and reveals that our heroes are finally growing up. The relationship between Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's characters is explored with much more depth and the tension between them builds and boils over in unexpected ways. They are no longer men trapped in perpetual adolescence but men who have to face the harsh reality of being adults, albeit in the midst of an alien invasion.

The World's End is bizarrely funny but there's a more somber edge to the proceedings as Gary is forced to examine how he has wasted his life so far. Of course, with a supporting cast consisting of Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and  Rosamund Pike, there's plenty of humor, drunkenness, a thumping "Madchester" soundtrack, and solid British self-deprecation. It isn't my favorite of the trilogy, but it still seems like a fitting finale to what was always a very weird and delightful set of films. Edgar Wright has directed this movie with his trademark flair and although it veers off into a completely existential tangent, it contains all the laughs and surprises that made each movie in the Cornetto trilogy such a delicious treat. 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Catching Fire: Let the Revolution Begin

Due to the frenzy of Hunger Games promotion in the past few weeks, I was compelled to re-read the books and re-watch the first movie. Now I've watched the sequel, Catching Fire, and it is clear that this franchise just keeps getting bigger and better.

In comparison to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire appears to have benefited from an enormous budget and increased investment in production value. I certainly enjoyed the first movie, but the aesthetics of the second film are on a completely different scale. The special effects are a lot sharper, District 12 looks grayer and grimier, the Capitol is even more garish and extravagant, the new Games arena is a riot of color and horror. As a result, the camerawork is steady and cinematic: the first movie was very shaky, which suited the more stripped-down nature of that film, but Catching Fire has a much more epic and grandiose feel to it. This is perhaps most obvious in the effort that has gone into the costumes. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), the Capitol chaperone who is always eye-popping in her strange Capitol outfits, has about a dozen costume changes, each one more elaborate than the last. Even her eyelashes have been meticulously crafted to suit each outfit and the effect is astonishing.

But special effects are nothing if you don't have a good cast and script. Catching Fire does a tremendous job of packing in the dense story and features every scene I wanted to see from the book. As a die-hard fan of the The Hunger Games trilogy, I cannot overemphasize the joy of reading the actual books and luxuriating in them. There is so much emotion and complexity expressed in the novels, much of which is nearly impossible to translate to film. Fortunately, Jennifer Lawrence makes Katniss Everdeen far more vulnerable in this installment and we have a better sense of the emotions raging within her while she tries to maintain a deadpan exterior in front of President Snow and his thugs. She ensures that Katniss continues to be a strong, smart, and compelling leading female character, always a rarity in a big blockbuster movie.

The supporting cast is nicely rounded off with Josh Hutcherson, who lends more maturity to the perpetually heartbroken Peeta Mellark, and Liam Hemsworth who is affecting in his few short scenes as Gale, the boy who loves Katniss but can't begin to understand her relationship with Peeta. Woody Harrelson's Haymitch is probably not as drunk as the book's version, but he still does a great job of wisely mentoring Peeta and Katniss whilst providing much-needed comic relief. Sam Claflin and Jena Malone are strong and witty as the new tributes, Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason, and they keep you entertained whenever they're on screen. Overall, despite the dark nature of the series, the movie retains an ability to inject some humor into horrifying situations and defuse the tension that keeps building up as the characters enter the arena for the 75th Hunger Games.

Catching Fire signals that the filmmakers understand exactly how to film these books to deliver the maximum impact. The movie has a relentless pace but takes the time to flesh out the emotional arcs of each character, lending much more depth and heartbreak to the romantic subplot. It is an edge-of-your-seat action thriller, but it fully develops the political back story as well, capturing the unrest in various Districts around Panem that will lead to the events of the next movie. My only quibble with this film was that I didn't want it to end. Sadly there's nothing I can do about that except hope that they hurry up the production of the next movie and deliver something as gorgeous and riveting as this film. Considering how well this franchise is doing already, I'd say the odds are ever in their favor.