Monday, December 29, 2014

Crime and the Holidays

Happy Holidays!  A time for family and friends to enjoy gifts, company, reflection and binge television watching!  I've been watch three more series over the break and I'm not sure what it says about me as a human being as all are violent and twisted shows.


This is a nice photo and way too pleasant for what the show depicts
The Killing is a show that just concluded in 2014....it was originally on AMC, then Netflix picked it up for a fourth season.  It's based on a Danish show and it revolves around a Seattle police detective, Sarah Linden played by Mareille Enos and her partner, Stephen Holder, played by Joel Kinneman.  When I first started to watch the show, it made me think of Top of the Lake...when I googled both shows, there's been much comparison with folks seeming to like Top of the Lake better....I sure didn't.  Not a Jane Campion fan.  The first two seasons revolve around one murder with lots of twists and turns allowing the viewer to be unsettled throughout as the detectives weave their way through clues while the viewer gets to know the intimate details of several characters.  The third season holds onto some of the issues and storyline introduced in the first two seasons which then provides us more intel into the psyche of the main detective, Linden.  Enos is fantastic as as her performance is quiet and somewhat painful.  Not many lines in each episode, so her face has to do most of the acting.  Kinneman is equally good as he plays a recovering addict with a street speaking pattern.  All characters are flawed -- from the criminals to the "good guys" and the story of the first two seasons is beatifically cinematic.  I also thought of Twin Peaks as I watched.  All is set with a rainy Seattle backdrop.  There's nothing sentimental about the people or the City, just compelling performances joined with a dark storyline.  It's somewhat hypnotic.  Final note, the last episode was directed by Jonathan Demme....director of Silence of the Lambs...perhaps I'll devote a future entry to him and his films.

Charlie, see, he's beautiful
While I was enjoying my time off from work and being at home alone, I thought I'd start to watch The Sons of Anarchy....I'm only on season two, but I'm enjoying This tobacco infused bubble gum of a show.  Katey Segal stars as the matriarch of a motorcycle club.  Her husband, played by Ron Pearlman, is the leader of the gang and her son (his stepson) is really the main character -- Jax Teller played by Brit Charlie Hunnam.  Jax's father is deceased, but a memoir he wrote is in the hands of Jax and acts as a guide for the vision of the Sons of Anarchy's Motor Cycle Club -- in the show they're know as Sam Crow -- an acronym.  It's full of murder, sex, porn, drugs and general violence.  It even weaves in the IRA as the club makes its money from arms dealing.  Kurt Sutter is the creator and writer of the show and is also married to Katey Segal....how convenient.  That being said, she's wonderful in this role....from how she physically looks to her general acting, it's like the show was created for her as a platform.  The show is well made and the actors are so good you think they are real people...like real Harley guys pulled in to do a television show.  Charlie Hunnam is distractingly beautiful, but it suits his "Jesus like" character...although, he's no saint.  Great entertainment, especially for binge watching via Netflix or other streaming modes.

Some of the cast....don't hold the Bacon, he's the main character
The last show I'm now involved in over the holiday break is The Following with Kevin Bacon.  In all honesty, it's kind of bad, but the storyline is somewhat gripping and it holds the viewer's attention.  In short, Bacon plays a former FBI agent called back into duty to deal with a former serial killer/now cult leader and shenanigans ensue.  It's like 24 with cults.  I'm still only on the first season and want to watch, but it's no 24.  So, I'm recommending this only if you're bored and have several days of TV watching to kill....see, I used kill....dark holiday.

On a lighter note, I also like to watch The Holiday and Love Actually as a tradition...still need to watch Love Actually...maybe New Year's Eve or Day.  I'll need something sweet after all of the bitter.

Happy Holidays!

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Scandal, Orange, Cards - thank you Netflix

Hello, friends.  Been a while.  At least it's not my year in review (normally in late December, early January). So, I've been busy with a new job, you?  Like so many people in their middle 40's, work becomes a major focus and time becomes a treasured treat.  In a world of on demand, smart phones and Apple TV, you can watch what you want, when you want.  Since I purchased a little cottage and don't have cable or internet, Netflix has become my new friend.  

I kick it old school, though, as I use the DVD's from Netflix, so you can only watch what you have...that's fine as many episodes of a show can be squeezed onto one disk, still allowing for marathon viewing.

What have I been watching?  Much the same as the rest of America.  I'll start with my favorites in order.  Scandal is the most bubble gum joy of the moment.  From the same creator of Grey's Anatomy, I wait for the time when I can't take it anymore and just stop watching, but not yet.  Not as good as West Wing (or another show featured in this entry), it got better with time and is certainly fun to watch.  For those who don't watch, it's about a woman who fancies herself a political "fixer."  In the show, they call themselves gladiators, but their actions are not always noble.  Kerry Washington is the lead actress playing Olivia Pope.  She's the mistress of the President of the United States, played by Tony Goldwyn.  

Young, Goldwyn and Washington


She finds herself assisting political types in the most compromising of situations while also intertwined with the White House and the various scenarios we think could maybe happen.  It's really bubble gum drama.  What is good?  Some of the characters are interesting and there are lots of spins and action.  What's not good?  The acting is a little over the top and it's hard to find redemption in many of the characters.  The best actor in the group is Bellamy Young who plays the President's wife, Mellie Grant.  Evidently, she was written with a small role in the first season and now is the most interesting and complex character in the show.  Do I recommend?  Sure.

Orange is the new Black is a prison dramedy...more comedy about a women who is sentenced to about a year in federal prison for drug trafficking.  The show is based on Piper Kerman's memoir and features not only a story line about the main character (Piper Chapman), but many of the other women she is forced to spend her time with while behind bars.  This is what makes the story enjoyable beyond the antics of a "fish out of water" story.  We get to know the other women, so they grow beyond scary, stereotypical characters and are well-developed people...it's called life.  

As the Kathy Gifford song proclaims, everyone has a story.  Lesbians like the show...go figure, a funny show about a women's prison.  But MANY people like the show as it's funny, a little scary and the acting is good.  Watching it begs the question of "what would I do?"  In my job, I had to live in a tiny room for 17 days and the whole time I thought about the show and how I couldn't leave, didn't have much space, BUT, I adjusted.  I think that's the real story...how people like us can adjust when things go bad.

The best show is House of Cards (another Netflix show, along with Orange).  This stars Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, a democrat Congressman who climbs his way into the White House.  His wife is played by Robin Wright and the two of them are hypnotic together and individually.  I was curious about Spacey taking on a series role...although, series television is far better than the film industry at this point.  

I was dubious in the first episode, especially of Wright, as the scenes and acting felt very theatrical.  But as the show progressed, the pacing improved and the scenes between the two of them alone in their home became critical to the character development.  Mind you, Spacey was good from the first lines he spoke.  Where Scandal is melodramatic, this show is down right scary as watchers only hope this stuff doesn't really happen...but it could.  While I struggle with Scandal not having redeeming characters, Spacey and Wright really have no good qualities, but I still root for them.  This show makes you question your own morals as they weave through the political underbelly of Washington DC.  This show is better than a film and better than most series on television (or through some on demand world of programming).

No book reviews this time.  No social commentary on the news...which is currently covering ISIS and ebola.  Simply three recommendations for busy people wanting a break from their jobs, homes and family life.  If you're so lucky that you can spend a few hours on the couch, these shows will take you away....like Calgon.