Fast and Furious 6 Review

One of the things I hate about how some people talk about entertainment is using the term “popcorn” to give a free pass to something that isn’t particularly good, but not an abomination since it’s not trying to be high art.  It cheapens films like Fast and Furious 6 that succeed in being highly entertaining by implying simply looking to entertain is the lesser pursuit (it’s not).  Fast and Furious 6 is everything a good popcorn movie should be.  It has big, exciting action sequences.  It’s funny.  The two plus hour runtime is over much too quickly.   Simply put, I haven’t had this much unbridled fun at the movies since The Avengers.

It’s so strange that the franchise has found this grove this late.  Unlike many series that make it to the sixth installment, where it’s usually cynical cash grabs or sequels barely relating to the original, The Fast and the Furious is more successful than it’s ever been, both critically and commercially.  Of course it changed with 2011’s Fast Five, a Hail Mary tying in characters from the first four movies and taking the franchise into a new direction.  Rather than avoid or deny continuity from its growing canon, they embraced it and taken it into complicated directions you never would’ve expected it to.  As Matt Singer points out, the fact that they don’t ignore the fact that Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6 take place before The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and how they tie it together in the end of this film is kind of brilliant.

This time around, about a year after Fast Five, the crew are all living well off the money they stole in the last film when their former pursuer Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) recruits them to stop a man from selling a chip that could be devastating to a country’s infrastructure.  To be honest the villain, Shaw, and his objective don’t add a whole lot to the proceedings besides serving their purpose as antagonists.  The real hook is that among Shaw’s crew is Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), a former member of our heroes’ crew believed to be dead, which leads to a lot of talk about family.

One of the things that makes this film work so well is the people who made it are on board 100%.  So when something dumb happens (it seems like the characters are capable of super human abilities, like destroying concrete and landing on cars with no major medical consequences), I’m not insulted because I know the filmmakers knew what they were making and wanted to make it as awesome as possible, rules of reality be damned.

Director Justin Lin, who has directed every film in the franchise since Tokyo Drift and will be stepping down for part seven, keeps the film chugging along at a brisk pace, with plenty of exhilarating set pieces throughout.  It’s not just the car chases that are well done: the hand to hand combat scenes are great too, down to having one of the guys from The Raid: Redemption and MMA star Gina Carano in major fight scenes, not to mention gargantuan Dwayne Johnson.

I would say there is a little lull, maybe just action movie fatigue, in the second act, but they more than make up for it with not one, but two breathtakingly awesome set pieces.  There are so many huge action scenes that could be the climactic scene of other action movies.  Instead some of these happen in the first half hour.  You have the penultimate chase, which could easily be a climactic sequence.  Nope, there’s another scene that is so ridiculous, but ridiculously awesome you are on board regardless of its bare faced implausibility.

Fast and Furious 6 is the ultimate B-movie.  It does exactly what it sets out to do.  Although there are things that are dumb or made up on the fly, the film keeps coming up with dazzling set pieces that I’m not taken out of the action or overall enjoyment. I am a little worried Fast 7, which is set to be released next summer (not that I don't want to see it immediately after that ending), may be rushed. The mid credits scene sets up what should be another amazing genre film.  One that hopefully will continue the upswing of the least likely franchise to win me over that actually did.  Quite impressive for popcorn.

Grade: B+

Arrested Development Season 4 Review

It’s no exaggeration to say that the return of Arrested Development is one of, if not the biggest TV event of the year.  The much beloved, but shortly lived show’s return after seven years with all fifteen episodes released at once was practically a nerd Christmas.  Few shows get a second chance like this one did; its journey here is quite the feat in and of itself.  Yet revivals and comebacks have a mixed history: for every Serenity there’s a couple Phantom Menaces.  I’ve gone on record with my apprehension towards the new episodes, but ultimately gave it as fair a shake as I could like any good critic.  While I was a little premature in tweeting that we got “Phantom Menaced”, I can’t help but feel disappointed in this new season.

The first part of season four, until around episode 4 or 5, is the worst run of episodes the show has ever done.  The show was awkward instead of creating actual jokes.  What happened to the clever call backs, word play and elaborate twists?  It didn’t feel like a fourth season.  This felt like an eleventh.  To be fair, some of the things that happened later have me interested in trying it again, but that first go through was disorienting and sad.  The show found some footing as it progressed.  Once we got to the first Tobias centric episode things fell into place, but the season never came close to reaching the heights of the previous three.  It became clear early on this was basically one really long episode, which is one of the reasons why the second half is so much better: the pay offs to early stuff don’t happen until the later episodes, leaving them with all set ups and no punch lines.

One of the problems this season faced getting made is dealing with the actors now busy schedules.  So the writers wrote around it, focusing an episode on one of the characters and having the rest of the cast in a smaller role or in some cases green screened in.  As a result this season doesn’t feel like the others because it lacks a lot of the fun dynamics of several character storylines playing out and interacting over one episode, with a few scenes involving all the characters broken up into small bits throughout the season.  Instead these dynamics play out over the course of a season to varying effect.  The writers get better at hiding this shortcoming as the season progresses, especially during the Cinco De Cuatro event the season and many episodes lead to.  I also appreciated the character development, although some of the directions I contend with, like the first Michael episode.

The timeline of this season is so nonlinear it makes a Tarantino film look like 12 Angry Men.  Covering what’s happened to the Bluth family in the last seven years is daunting enough, but short of introducing time travel into the narrative, there was no way to make it more convoluted.  It was hard to tell when some of the events were in relation to each other; the events could’ve taken place over five weeks, months or years.  With a timeline this complicated, a couple time cards would’ve been extremely helpful.  It took me until the fourth or fifth episodes to get a hold of the flow of the episodes.

This leads to another problem of this season and probably the biggest: the pacing is way off.  When Arrested Development was in its prime it was one of the best plotted shows on TV, advancing the story, calling back to its rich past and teasing what was to come for several storylines as few shows can in a tight 22 minute package.  These new bloated episodes—they average at over a half hour, some even go to 35-37 minutes—have a lot more trouble keeping that up, especially when it only has a fraction of the storylines.  Sometimes I think the episode reached its logical end point and found out there were 10 more minutes left.  Arrested Development wasn’t a show known to wander around while we hang out with the characters.  This season feels like too much plot for a movie, yet not enough for a show with this many episodes.  Not to mention a lot of stuff, victims of the shifts in character focus, just drops off the radar never to be heard from again (a major business deal in the Bluth company in the first half is more or less forgotten in the second).

I know it sounds like I flat out hated it, but I didn’t.  In the second half a lot of things are paid off, or we’re given a new perspective of something we thought we fully understood the first time.  It captured the spirit of Arrested Development despite these limitations.  That tied into Netflix’s delivery system.  Putting it out all at once is no doubt a different experience than the once a week model.  Seeing it all at once I was able to notice a lot of the recurring gags scattered through the season, although I wasn’t allowed to appreciate them as individual episodes, not to mention there are a few rough patches as I’ve mentioned.  As much as I respect people wanting to spread it out evenly, unless I were to unplug for the entire summer, there’s no way I could stay unspoiled (but this is another commentary altogether).  I wonder if I’ll end up liking the episodes better on a second watch when I have a chance to give it some time to breathe as I did watching the first three seasons.

Without spoiling too much, it seems that Hurwitz and company are putting a lot of eggs in the movie basket because the season just stops.  For all the coverage the Cinco De Cuatro ceremony received, the pay offs are dissipated so much the season lacks a proper ending.  We saw bits here and there, but it seemed like it was going to come to a head and things were going to go forward.  Nope.  No closure, just hopefully we can get a movie to wrap up some cliffhangers.  Considering this will likely be a big hit (who knows but Netflix, who refuses to release any data on their shows), it’s likely to go ahead, but considering how tough it was to get everybody the first time, who knows when we’ll see it.  For a season that was designed as one long story, the climax was a little weak.

As far as reunions go, it was nice to see the Bluths again, but I can’t help but feel limitations of reassembling the crew and the restrictions of the medium kept this from being truly great.  I can’t imagine this is what Hurwitz has been envisioning with his constant promises of more Arrested Development.  Despite my hesitations, I really wanted this to be amazing.  But for now it feels like one of those be careful what you wish for scenarios.  This beloved show came back, and it hit some right notes, but it just wasn’t right.

Overall grade: C

Miscellaneous (Spoilers Abound):

Especially considering Ron Howard was a recurring character, the narration was completely wasted this time around, which is especially bad considering Howard’s narration in the original show was integral and provided a ton of great material.  His info dumps really hindered those first couple episodes.

“And Jeremy Piven” was my favorite sight gag of the show.  That could’ve been a joke Stefan would’ve used on SNL

One of the big laughs was the reveal of how Rebel Alley got her name.

I wanted to see more jokes about the taglines for movie production companies just describing what the logo does.

To Catch a Predator jokes, in 2013?  I also don’t buy that Tobias would become a sex offender just because of his poor word choice.  If that were the case he would’ve already been one because of his analrapist card.

The only way they could’ve driven the sex offender stuff more is if Sargent Hatred moved in to Sudden Valley.  There was a lot of uncomfortable sex stuff this season, more icky than funny.  Although I appreciated the shot of the kid diving in the busy pool and when he emerges the pool is completely empty in one shot.

The Showstealer watermark joke never worked for me.

Another new bit that didn’t work at all: the Bluths refusing to tip African American workers.  While it was true to the characters’ racist beliefs, as a recurring bit it never landed.  Maybe if it paid off later.

Fun changes in perspective: the twist that revealed the shaman Lindsay talked to in episode three was actually Maeby in heavy make up and the Tony Wonder/GOB reveal.

Also liked the de-evolution of Fakeblock from some pioneering anti-piracy software into a wood block simulator app that blew out of proportion.

They did a good job with the Andy Richter recurring quintuplets gag.

The “Sounds of Silence” bit is one of the few new recurring gag from this season I liked.  I also liked the cutaways from Rebel’s bad behavior to her recording a PSA about it.

Loved seeing MST3K show up in Debrie’s acting reel, though did they do anything in the second clip?

Also enjoyed Terry Crews as the Herman Cain-esque Herbert Love.

For a show known for meta humor, they couldn’t seem to find a way to put in more mentions to the show’s cancelation and rebirth?  There were a couple, but nowhere near as much as I expected.

Was it just me, or was the audio mixing problematic?  There were times when the dialogue was drowned out by background music or narration, and not in a way where it was intentional.

I guess that’s the closest we’ll get to seeing Michael’s wife/George Michael’s mother.  I hope I’m wrong and we see more of Maria Thayer in whatever comes next.

I wish Mary-Lynn Rajskub had some lines.

No Franklin or the Banana Stand.

As inspired a casting choice having Kristen Wiig play a young Jessica Walter, it felt a little bit like a stunt since in the past the older actor would just throw on a wig and pretend to be younger.  Rogen didn’t fit as well, though I think he would’ve been better as young Oscar considering his persona.

I also liked the personalization each opening credit sequence got, tailored to whichever character the episode was the focus down to having a special instrument playing during it.

Some nerd should get to editing these episodes down, like Topher Grace did with the prequels, into a movie.

5 Reasons Why I'm Worried About Season Four of Arrested Development

Right now it’s hard to find a site not reporting something relating to the return of Arrested Development.  Judging by some reactions of the ever enthusiastic fans you’d think the release of 15 episodes this Sunday was going to rid the world of disease, poverty and war all at once.  Certainly I love the show; been a loyal fan since mid-season one.  Yet I find myself really anxious about this coming fourth season.  Sam Greenspan of 11 points put out a list of his worries about the new season, and I agree with a lot of his points (1, 2, 5-7, 11 to be specific).  But there are a few points I’ve had that aren’t addressed.  So with due respect to his blog (check it out, especially if you love Arrested Development), here are five more reasons why I’m really worried about season four.

1. Mitch Hurwitz’s post Arrested Development career has been lackluster at best.  Now certainly anyone behind a show that was able to juggle multiple storylines, foreshadow jokes seasons before they were used masterfully and play with language in so many funny and clever ways can’t be called untalented.  However, looking at Mitch Hurwitz’s career since I can’t help but feel he’s a one trick pony (as mentioned, that one trick was pretty spectacular).  53 episodes of brilliance bought so much good will, and it took only 2 episodes of Hurwitz’s “how did this get made” awful follow up Sit Down, Shut Up to spend it all for me.  This abomination was quickly cancelled and buried.  I didn’t even bother with Running Wilde, which I heard became OK as it went on, but it was too little too late.  If this were, say, Joss Whedon getting another season of Firefly, I’d be anticipating it more because he’s done great stuff since that show ended.

2. Netflix’s Original Programming has been underwhelming.  It’s an interesting move for Netflix to create original programming, but so far none of their offerings have really made it a must subscribe for me.  I liked the first episode of Lilyhammer, but never got back to it.  House of Cards is good, but not great (I think had it come out on a network nobody would care).  Then we have Hemlock Grove, which is so bad I’d rather rewatch Sit Down, Shut Up for two days straight than another episode.  Netflix’s stuff seems to be written and programmed solely by the data they mine from their users, leaving shows that are like shows people love rather than a show people love.  Arrested Development is different in that it’s a continuation of an existing show, but I’m really worried it’s going to fall into that passable category Netflix seems to be going for.  Instead of clever humor, we’re just going to get a bunch of fan service (see its advertising campaign which, while massive, isn’t likely going to reel in non-viewers).

3. Arrested Development was a show for its time, and times have changed. Rewatching the show in preparation for season four, it struck me of how much the show needed to catch up with what happened outside the Bluth family just as much as inside.  The series was constantly making jokes and references about the Bush administration, Saddam Hussein and the Iraq War.  Since the show left Hussein was executed (2006), Bush left office (2009) and US forces left Iraq (2011).  This may be easier to overcome than I think; it’s not like late night comedians stopped making jokes when Obama took office.  However, connecting it to the Bluths’ complicated mythology in a non-contrived way may be difficult, though satirizing corporate misdeeds is as relevant now as it was in the post-Enron days.

4. Its fan base may be a little too passionate. This may be the dumbest hang up, but it’s one I still have.  There are certain shows out there that inspire a level of devotion that can get a little…overzealous to be diplomatic.  Shows like Firefly, Doctor Who, The Wire and Arrested Development seem to stir such passionate, intense reactions in some people that it can have a negative reaction for those who haven’t seen it or don’t feel that way.  I’ve had this problem especially with Firefly, but Arrested Development is a show I’ve gone on record for saying I’ve loved.  With some fans, it’s like watching something for the first time with some who really, really wants you to like it.

5. Sheer exhaustion from so many promises.  This is another one that says more about me, but I think around the fifth time Mitch Hurwitz teased a possibility of doing more Arrested Development I had had enough.  Even with production clearly happening I still couldn’t allow myself to get genuinely excited.  Until I actually see it, a little part of me is still expecting this fourth season’s going to get pulled at the last minute like some cruel joke.  It’s the least of my problems, since its release will render it null and void.

I certainly expect to spend a good chunk of the weekend reacquainting myself with the Bluth clan, but I’m trying to keep my expectations low because odds are, they won’t be as good as the old ones.  Also don’t take this as me as going in expecting it to be awful.  I’ll go in with an open mind and hope for the best because I don’t stand to gain anything from it failing.  Ultimately, regardless of my justifiable and unjustifiable feelings, I’d rather be the one saying “I’ve made a huge mistake” than the creators.

Star Trek Into Darkness Review

If nerddom were a kingdom, it seems like we have two major contenders for the throne: Joss Whedon & JJ Abrams.  With their numerous adored TV shows and movies, they are two of the highest profile creators in genre entertainment today.  Last summer was huge for Whedon, directing the year’s biggest film—The Avengers—and acting as a huge creative force for the spin-off franchises for the foreseeable future.  This summer was Abrams’ turn, following up his Star Trek reboot with the highly anticipated Star Trek Into Darkness.  Although this film won’t put him over the top, it has me wondering if his Star Wars possibly could.

Not to say Into Darkness is a bad film, far from it.  However, I wound up feeling a little disappointed compared to the really enjoyable Star Trek from four years ago.  The story takes a little while to gel, but once it does, it brings the popcorn excitement Abrams is known for.  Then it takes a couple easy outs that lower the tension and stakes rather than raise them as a good sequel should.  It’s a little disappointing, but nowhere near my feelings towards Iron Man 3.

Unlike that film, Into Darkness doesn’t disappoint in its villain.  Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame is a lot of fun to watch as the mysterious John Harrison, who is out to get the federation for reasons I can’t say in the spoiler free space.  It’s no big surprise he’s so good as a bad guy: his Sherlock from the BBC series isn’t far off from being a bad guy.  If there’s only one reason to see this movie, he’s it.  This is going to be a hard act for Michael Shannon to follow up as far as break out villain in a blockbuster movie goes, not that he won’t be up for it.

At the heart of the film is the friendship between Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto).  It’s well-trodden territory from what I’ve heard—I must admit I’m not well read on Star Trek aside from whatever I’ve absorbed through cultural osmosis—but it’s fresh thanks to the chemistry between Pine and Quinto.  Spock’s relationship with Uhura (Zoe Saldana) also helps add dimension to his arc.  Really, Spock’s journey to understanding his human side is the more interesting of the two leads, and Quinto does a good job with the meatier role.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the female roles in this film.  There’s been some controversy over the role of women in this film, with a gratuitous shot of Alice Eve in her underwear being the most discussed.  It’s valid: Eve isn’t given a whole lot to do in this film, so it’s an understandable criticism that she’s just eye candy for the male audience.  Zoe Saldana doesn’t get much either, which is a shame since she can carry her weight in a big action movie like this one.  For a series that was pioneering in its diversity, it’s a bit disappointing to have them underserved.  Hopefully the inevitable third installment will give the women a more substantial role.

What bothered me towards the end was it ended up backing down on what could’ve been a really interesting ending.  That’s the downside to $200 million movies: the risks you can take are much lower.  For the sequel they needed to raise the stakes and create some lasting consequences, instead it felt more like a first movie in a series with the promise of what will be.  Going forward, I hope that whoever helms the third new Star Trek film takes it in a new direction.  The time travel from the first one gave them the freedom to go a different route with the mythology and characters, so why not take advantage of it instead of doing slightly different versions of the original?  This film, while it underperformed a little at the box office, establishes a pretty stable franchise for at least a couple more films.  I think it’s ready for some new creative blood, maybe someone more inclined for science fiction than fantasy.

As I’ve said, I’m unread on most Star Trek, but I know it’s a show that sides more with hard sci-fi.  This film is pretty far from hard sci-fi, which will certainly irritate some purists.  The science in this is pretty weak, but the fantasy stuff could be worked into a more fantastical story better.  His projects tend to focus more on fantasy elements with some sci-fi thrown in, which makes him a perfect fit for Star Wars.  While Star Trek Into Darkness has plenty of fun stuff throughout, it seems to confirm JJ Abrams and his brand may not be the best fit for the future of the franchise and that his quest for the throne of nerddom may be found in a galaxy far, far away.

Grade: B

SPOILER ALERT

Warning: Do not read further unless you want to read about key plot points in Star Trek Into Darkness

The centerpiece of Into Darkness’ ad campaign has been the lack of disclosure over Benedict Cumberbatch’s character.  “Is he Khan?” was one of the biggest questions going in.  Of course we now know he was, but they kept that from us as a mid-movie plot twist.  Only this twist feels at best forced.  The only reason they keep Khan’s identity a secret in the film is just for the sake of having a twist.  Why not have him be Khan the whole time, include that in the advertising campaign, which would help build hype?  Once they tell us he’s Khan the movie picks up speed and becomes a lot more fun to watch as things come to a head.

Not that I’d want to lose Chris Pine, but I really wish they would’ve ended the film with Kirk dead.  I guess they couldn’t because his death was too close to Spock’s from Wrath of Khan and he is the lead, but it would’ve made for a really memorable ending.  Of the weirdly specific deus ex machinas in TV and movies, magic blood is one of the weirdest.  It also usually gets quickly abandoned as it did on Battlestar Galactica and Heroes.  He gets a little blood transfusion and it’s almost like it never happened.  I’d really like to see something happen to Kirk as a result of this in the third one, because if not, then why not have magic blood on hand for everything?

The Office: 2005-2013

Unlike a lot of justifiably weary consumers of popular entertainment, the idea of remakes doesn’t necessarily bother me.  So long as there is something new to be done with the preexisting work, why not tackle it again?  However, that doesn’t mean I don’t get a little anxious when something I love is remade.  Case in point: the UK version of The Office.  It’s one of my favorite shows of all time, and like most British shows, short-lived: the entire run is just about 7 ½ hours.  How was a US remake going to fare, stretching that out over nine seasons?  For better or worse, the US version is a great example of an adaptation for taking the initial template, and making finding its voice from it.

Its beginnings were humble: they were only given a six episode first season, which was harshly criticized for aping the original show a little too closely (the pilots for both are nearly identical).  It didn’t help that this was shortly after another NBC attempt to remake a popular British show, Coupling, failed spectacularly.  Its second season was touch and go with new episodes being ordered a couple at a time.  Things looked pretty grim.  Then, like a lot of shows eventually do, the cast and writers found the grooves that worked.  Classic episodes like “The Dundies”, “Booze Cruise” and “Casino Night” flowed, fanning the flames among a passionate fanbase.  It became one of the first success stories of iTunes’ TV store, where it was a massive hit online, and it’s easy to see why.

Although it handled a more American perspective, it still dealt with issues central to the original: the deferment of dreams, the drudgery of working for a paycheck, and the everyday delusions of desperately lonely people who often hold some position of power.  The last one applies to the central character in both: David Brent and Michael Scott.  Both are men who lead very sad lives, constantly trying to make his co-workers like family and not seeing their discomfort.  Of course, Scott and Brent’s acting out is often hilarious, but it works when there’s a mix of that sadness to it.

Michael Scott’s journey is an interesting, but uneven one.  Ultimately it’s the story about growing up…twenty-five years after most people have.  Although I overall liked the arc of Michael Scott, the writing for his character got broader as the show goes on.  If I could pinpoint a moment where the show began to pass its peak, it was in the early season four episodes “Dunder Miflin Infinity” and “Launch Party”, where Michael drove his car into a lake following GPS instructions and kidnapped a pizza delivery boy respectively.  Michael is a weird character, but it went a too far from the reality of the show and The Office wasn’t the same afterward.  It still had great episodes, but it felt like the seasons two and three glory was over.

The other main story of the series, and the real heart of the show was always the Jim and Pam relationship.  This love story belongs in the pantheon of great TV romances not only for how strong that story was, but how it played out.  The unrequited love story in its early days was the ultimate shipper fodder.  Just about anyone can relate to having a crush and not acting on it, either out of fear of leaving your comfort zone or because the person you feel that way for is unavailable.  It was also crucial that the chemistry between John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer was one of the most potent of all time.  You couldn’t help but root for those two to get together and enjoy seeing them progress.

I also give them credit for keeping them together once they became a couple.  So many shows like Friends have their will they won’t they couple break up and make up repeatedly until they’ve exhausted their options.  It’s understandable as so many shows run out of steam once that possible couple becomes an actual one (seems to be much easier to be an established couple before the series even begins).  Them going back and forth would have hurt their standing as a great TV romance, although it grew stagnant as the series progressed, besides the marriage trouble they faced this past season.

It’s cliché, but true: the show never recovered from Michael’s departure.  As NBC’s status became increasingly tarnished and their attempts to make it 1997 again through science or magic failed, The Office stuck around because the network couldn’t afford to lose anything that could be called a hit.  So we ended up with two seasons that were inessential at best and bafflingly awful at worst (Robert California, Oscar’s affair with Angela’s husband, Nellie forcing herself into a position at Dunder Miflin, Brian the boom mic guy).  Outside of the final two episodes it’s all skipable, which is sad for any show that was one of the best shows on TV.

However, they didn’t Heroes their legacy.  The Office, following the lead of Arrested Development and the UK original, helped usher in an era of one camera sitcoms in America, uncomfortable humor and the mockumentary format.  Parks and Recreation, which was initially planned to be a spin-off of The Office, learned a lot from the mistakes The Office made.  As Parks and Rec ended their fifth season, they are in much better shape than The Office was when they were at that point in their run.

It’s tough to compare originals against their remakes.  By the second season the US Office was its own show: it took characters, themes and a setting from the original and made it its own.  The Office got old like most shows that last 200 episodes do, but when it was great, few could complain.  Ultimately time will likely be kind to The Office, as things like the clunkers in the early years and the bulk of the last two will be forgotten or quickly dismissed because at its best, the show was relatable to anyone who had big dreams, but had to work for a living.

What did I think of the finale?  In short, I loved it.  It was just about the perfect wrap up for the series and the characters.  As “Goodbye, Michael” let us say goodbye to Michael Scott, “Finale” let us say goodbye to everyone else.  It gave us closure to these characters, from Erin finally meeting her birth parents (a perfectly cast Joan Cusack and Ed Begley Jr.) to Kelly and Ryan resuming their crazy relationship.  Michael’s return was amazing, from his final “that’s what she said” to Pam saying he had to get two phones for all the pictures of he and Holly’s kids (so true to the character, even as he’s grown up).  I also enjoyed that it was largely just us hanging out with the characters one last time.  Like a great finale does, it lets us reflect not only on the show we’ve watched for nine years, but on our own lives (besides Andy’s remark about wishing he knew he was in the good old days when he was living them, Pam’s remarks about how she wished she could’ve realized she was happier with Jim earlier resonated deeply.)  There were maybe a few minor points I didn’t care much for (Nellie’s adoption woes got resolved pretty quickly), but the finale has plenty of laughs and tears and in the end I was completely satisfied. (That’s what she said?) Finale grade: A-

Miscellaneous:

With The Office gone, the only network shows left from the stellar 04-05 TV season are American Dad, The Biggest Loser & Grey’s Anatomy.

My order of seasons, from best to worst: 2-3-4-5-6-1-7-8-9

I enjoyed the “Sit Here and Cry” autotune, but I think that bit needs to be retired.  This is the third sitcom I’ve seen use it (after How I Met Your Mother and Modern Family).

One of my favorite exchanges during the panel, when asked if they think their lives are meaningless without camera crews following them, without hesitation Toby answers “Yes”.

Bioshock Infinite Review

Following up a massive critical and commercial hit like the influential Bioshock isn’t easy: as enjoyable as Bioshock 2 is, a common criticism is that it didn’t bring enough new stuff to the table.   Enter the third entry in the franchise, Bioshock Infinite.  Helmed by original Bioshock scribe Ken Levine, this game shakes things up with a new setting, new time (and possibly timeline) and of course a massive story with plenty of twists along the way, especially in the end.  While I wouldn’t say it’s the best, but this change has me interested in what’s to come for this franchise.

Unlike the previous Bioshock games, your character isn’t a blank slate acting as a conduit for the gamer.  You play as the awesomely named Booker Dewitt.  The former Pinkerton agent turned private eye is assigned to “bring [them] the girl and erase the debt” (a phrase repeated like “Would you kindly?” from the first game).  His mission takes him to the floating city of Columbia, a city built on the ideas of American exceptionalism and Christianity.  The girl in question is Elizabeth, a young woman with an unusual ability that makes for some interesting moments in the gameplay.  In the process you incite all-out war between the city’s Founders, led by Zachary Comstock, against the rebellious Vox Populi, led by Daisy Fitzroy.  Somehow you two have to navigate your way out of the city, which leave both Dewitt and Elizabeth facing some hard truths about themselves.

Once Elizabeth is found the game takes off.  She can assist you by tossing you supplies when you need them.  Luckily Infinite knows not to fall into the trap of having her be an escort mission.  You can leave her alone and not worry about her being hurt in a fight.  However, as good a character as she is, she could’ve been more active in combat.  Most of the time she cowers behind something as the player goes out to fight.  Compare this to some teaser footage of the game from a few years ago, where she played a crucial role.  The often passive treatment she gets in the combat scenes is a disappointment, especially for people who saw her as a strong female character (believe me, I saw several women dressed like her at PAX East the last couple years).

Like the previous games, the art direction is top notch.  You may find yourself spending as much time exploring the peripheral areas looking for Easter eggs as you will playing game missions.  Being up in the air as opposed to the bottom of the ocean, it’s the brightest looking game of the series.  I wish there was a little more variety in the level design, but it’s hard to complain too much with visuals this great.

The game play is similar to the first two, with a mix of weapons and kinetic powers (called Vigors instead of Plasmids and requiring Salts rather than Eve to work).  The decision to be able to carry only two weapons and vigors at a time leads to some frustrating gameplay.  Perhaps this is an appeal to gamers who want a tougher experience, but one of the fun parts of the Bioshock series is upgrading weapons and having a diverse arsenal of weapons and supernatural powers at the ready.  Also annoying is the guidance system, which instead of a nifty directional arrow on the top of the HUD, players activate a green arrow that briefly flows in the direction of the goal.  With a world like this, why is there no map for it?  I also would’ve liked to been able to turn on closed captions so I could hear some of the less audible dialogue, but I couldn’t find it (transcripts for the recordings scattered about Columbia are available in the pause menu).  New to the game is skyline transport, where a special hook you gain early on allows you to ride special rails around the city, enabling you a special attack from above.

The ending is one I’m still churning over in my head, combining things from the first game and dealing with the concept of choice and various twists I won’t get into, suffice to say I never would’ve expected a game to end this way and I’m glad it did.  Such a tricky ending helps raise games as an art form.  Despite some of my complaints about certain changes in the game play, it’s still a must play.  It’s great to have storytellers as ambitious as Ken Levine in gaming, especially as the next generation of consoles is coming.  I can’t wait to see what his follow up will be.

Grade: B+

Iron Man 3 SPOILER Review

Final warning: this review has spoilers for Iron Man 3.  If you haven't seen it yet and are intending to, hold off on reading this.

One of the things that bothered me in the first hour was how little we saw of The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley.  That in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing; Heath Ledger’s Joker isn’t on screen for a lot of The Dark Knight, but his presence is felt throughout because his scenes, especially early on, are so powerful.  Not so much with The Mandarin, who doesn’t do a whole lot.  It isn’t until later that we understand his absence was setting up a plot twist; a horrible, horrible plot twist.

The twist, wherein The Mandarin is revealed to be some drunken actor playing patsy to the real villain Killian, is a slap in the face for Iron Man fans.  For fans of Iron Man, The Mandarin is his archenemy, so finally seeing him on the big screen was a big deal.  Fans waited two movies for this, and boy was this not the way to pay off that wait.  Could you imagine if they held off on The Joker for two Batman movies and had him turn out to be some figment of Batman’s imagination?  It’d almost make fans yearn for Schumacher.

For starters, barely featuring The Mandarin up to that point makes it hard to feel any menace or conflict.  It also is completely inconsistent.  After the twist, the movie conveniently ignores the fact that Trevor, as “The Mandarin”, straight up murdered someone.  I don’t care how loaded he’s supposed to be, how can anyone with half a brain not figure out they’re being played at this point?  Then it completely removes all the stakes of The Mandarin being a serious threat since it’s just a cover for Killian’s Underpants Gnomes.  If you want to see this type of twist done right, rewatch Batman Begins instead.  A good twist raises the stakes and changes the trajectory of the story.  This takes it into territory that doesn’t work.  Having Obidiah Stane selling weapons in Iron Man worked.  Taking a supposedly menacing figure and making him an unknowing Oz doesn’t.  The only way this twist could work is if Iron Man 3 was a pure comedy, and while it has more humor than the previous installments, I wouldn’t call it that.

Later on Killian claims he’s The Mandarin and has been all along.  OK, movie, explain this.  You have this character of Chinese origin from the comic books.  In the film you portray the fake one like a generic Middle Eastern terrorist, then have some white guy claim he was him without ever bother going into explaining why he’d ever call himself “The Mandarin”.  Is he a fan of oranges?  Also, what exactly is going on with Killian’s character in this film?  He begins the movie looking slightly more subtle than a nerd from an 80s movie, then we see him 13 years later and he’s all evil because...he got stood up on New Year’s and nanobots or whatever.  Killian seems like a character they could’ve used in the previous films as a build up to this one like Raimi tried to do with The Lizard before his Spider-Man franchise imploded.

And why did Tony Stark wait until the end of the movie to remember he had a whole arsenal of suits ready to go?  It seems like he struggled for no reason.  Am I forgetting something?

To be fair, not everything is as poorly handled.  Pepper Potts, although she ends up getting kidnapped, continues to be a step in the right direction for female characters in comic book movies, which sadly tends to make them constantly imperiled and in need of being saved.  Also having the hero hang out with a little kid in a transparent way to pander to its young audience isn’t annoying, but the kid’s storyline is underdeveloped like a lot of subplots.  I also liked seeing Don Cheadle as the Iron Patriot/Rhodes, though his character is missing from most of the first half.

But that ties into my central problem with this film: there’s far too much going on and not nearly enough time devoted to it to make any impact.  This is a problem that’s sunk many a superhero franchise, and it’d be a shame if it happened to this one.  Obviously the end is designed to wrap this up as a trilogy, with Tony destroying his suits, getting the shrapnel removed (again, why wait so long?) and heading out for his future.  They’ve said we won’t see Iron Man again until The Avengers 2, so any possible sequel to this will be at least 3 years down the road.  I hope they can take the time off to craft a good comeback.  Iron Man 3 has been getting good reviews and certainly the box office is ensuring we’ll be seeing plenty more, but I don’t want it to get to the point where we’re all Banner in the epilogue.

Random bits:

Stan Lee was a judge at a beauty pageant, another odd bit since the pageant itself didn’t really add anything to the proceedings.  But it’s still nice to see Stan.

Nice to see Shaun Toub’s Yinsen have a cameo tying it back to the first film

No AC/DC?  Minor let down

Iron Man 3 Review

Twisted Metal

It’s astounding how well the road to The Avengers went for Marvel Studios.  With the exceptions of The Incredible Hulk’s underperformance at the US box office and the recasting of two roles, things couldn’t have gone better.  The Avengers, the culmination, was praised by critics & fans and made all of the money last summer.  It was the end of “phase one” as Marvel calls it now.  Iron Man 3, the third film in the franchise that started it all, was meant to set the stage for “phase two”.  If this film is any indicator, looks like the road to “phase two” is going to be a lot bumpier.

To be fair, Iron Man 3 isn’t all terrible, but it is a mess.  Director Shane Black, who co-wrote the screenplay with Drew Pearce, tries to cram a lot into a 130 minute film.  As a result, a lot of characters wind up underserved (what is the motivation for Rebecca Hall’s Maya Hansen?) or completely wasted (Miguel Ferrer as the Vice President).  Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are really the only two who get proper coverage, and that’s also because they’ve had three other movies to develop their characters.

The plot also bites off more than it can chew, as it handles Tony Stark’s anxiety after The Avengers, the threat of the Mandarin, Killian and his plans to, um, create supersoldiers or something (Killian may as well be the head of Underpants Gnomes Inc. his plan makes that little sense), Tony on the run and the kid he meets there and some other things I can’t say in a spoiler free review.  This is enough material for two or three movies.  I wonder what the deleted scenes will look like for this film.  Compare it with The Avengers (unfair, but inevitable) which, despite a wonky beginning, had good plotting otherwise.  There is some solid action, as seen in an early attack sequence that was rightfully used in the trailers and some parts at the end, but I wish there was more to keep me invested in that action the way it was in previous Iron Man movies and The Avengers.

Like another third film in a superhero franchise, The Dark Knight Rises, this film also suffers from a lack of the eponymous hero in action as their superhero persona.  It didn’t bother me so much in Dark Knight Rises, but maybe that’s because I found the rest interesting enough.  This film contrives reasons to keep Tony Stark out of his suit, but it only makes sense some of the time.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to have him in the armor more often, even if it’s a cynical ploy to sell toys?  I get that taking his suits away can help raise the stakes and seeing Tony use his intellect to MacGyver new toys is a good way to recall the first movie, but not when he has access to his arsenal.

A common adage about comic book films is that a film is only as good as its villain, and that is one of the fields Iron Man 3 is strongly lacking.  The Mandarin barely registers and Killian’s backstory is underdeveloped.  We end up getting a lot more of these indestructible henchmen whose motivations in helping this criminal enterprise are unclear.

Iron Man’s biggest sin is something I’ll get more in depth in the spoiler space.  So here comes some tap dancing around it.  There are certain moments in the history of comic book film misjudgments that will no doubt get a comic book fan’s blood boiling: Galactus as a cloud, nipples on the batsuit, the entirety of Green Lantern.  There is a moment in Iron Man 3 that may go down as one of those moments.  A friend of a friend, who is a hard core fan of Iron Man, had practically a nervous breakdown when this happened.  It’s the perfect example of a bad twist: it lowers the stakes and makes an already convoluted plot more tangled.  It’s baffling that Marvel Studios would allow such a twist to happen in this film.

Judging by the cast interviews, it feels like they’re preparing to wrap up this franchise either here or in one more movie.  After the rejuvenated Avengers made the subpar Iron Man 2 easier to take, I was ready for as many Iron Mans as they could make.  Now I wish the series would end before it goes from misfire to complete disasters.

Don’t get this review wrong: I didn’t hate this movie and I’m not ready to write off the Thor and Captain America sequels.  However, it feels like the franchise may be beginning to turn: its obligations to other franchises and the expectations that a huge film like this are expected to live up to may be weighing it down.

Grade: C-

Dispatch #1: Doing the Work

Few things must annoy professional writers like the label “aspiring writer”.  Certainly there are those who deserve the title; those who are constantly scribbling or typing ideas for stories down, writing drafts, or just devouring stories for inspiration and guidance.  But there is a certain portion of people who call themselves writers who never actually get around to writing.  This seems to happen a lot in artistic fields, as no one could call themselves a lawyer just because they thought about law a lot.  Yet a portion of people in art claim to be a thing without actually doing it.  I have often been in this position.

I used to maintain a blog where I’d post TV reviews for popular genre shows.  It went on for about five years, although the last couple years I was less prolific and eventually stopped almost 2 ½ years ago.  But I’d still consider myself a writer of sorts, even though my output said otherwise.

Then came last November and the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.  I challenged myself to crank out a rough draft of a story I had been kicking around in my head for a few years.  I succeeded by writing over 50,000 of an unreadable pile of garbage, but one that had some potential of being readable a couple of drafts down the line.

The first couple of months this year have been defined by me outlining and re-outlining and drafting characters.  Doing this has lead me to a deeper appreciation for writers of any novel, especially those that are incredibly dense with casts of hundreds of characters.  But it hasn’t made me getting a second draft done any quicker.  Upon trying Camp Nanowrimo, another program they host in the spring, I hit a wall only a couple pages in and never recovered.  Maybe I am being hard on myself, as I am closer to calling myself a writer with no reservations than I ever was before.

Ultimately I want to shed the stigma of the “aspiring writer” by getting back in the habit of writing regularly.  This blog will be the stuff fit for public consumption: reviews, commentary, musings etc.  Also continue with my reading, which I have gotten back into the habit of doing.  Because in life, you can only aspire for so long.  Eventually you’ll have to put in the work.