The Magician (Spoilerific Review)

Deception is so prevalent that those who speak the truth are usually branded as the greatest liars.

Just got done watching another solid film by the Swedish master, Ingmar Bergman, and figured I might as well toss up a quickie review while it's fresh in my mind. I've seen a number of Bergman films over the past couple years, and the guy never fails to deliver interesting material. The Magician, his 1958 piece about a troupe of...magicians, is no exception.

The film begins with said troupe (which includes Bergman favorites Max von Sydow and the always mesmerizing Ingrid Thulin) picking up a dying actor in the woods on their way to town to answer for the "supernatural disturbances" they've been reportedly causing. The actor becomes very important in their grand deception later on, ultimately proving their act worthwhile and saving them from punishment by the authorities.

Ingrid Thulin
(the woman who will come back from the dead to be my wife)

I'll skip the plot summary and go right to my thoughts on the most interesting aspect of the movie, the parallels Bergman draws between traditional magic and religion. The magicians here are nothing but entertainers, even con artists, who masquerade a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense as the supernatural. They play on people's desires to believe in these sorts of things and show them what they want to see, ostensibly for power, prestige, and profit. In other words, they're like priests.

The ending initially left me with a "that's it?" feeling, but I soon came to appreciate it after thinking about it for a few minutes. The magicians are stripped down and exposed for the frauds they are, left begging for a small amount of money and compelled to flee town before the authorities can arrest them. But when they fail to make it out in time, they are instead summoned to perform for the king (certainly a step up in their seemingly flagging career). I may be the only one to take it this way, and it probably wasn't Bergman's intent, but I saw this tying back to the priest connection. The magicians, like priests (if you ask me), could arguably be locked up for their cons and frauds. But because the magicians/priests are entertaining the people, showing them what they want to see, and feeding and enabling their fantasies, the magicians/priests are actually rewarded for their deceptions.

You damn fraud...

The curious thing, I guess, is that we're supposed to be happy about all this, as the magicians are positioned as the good guys in the film. The men of science are positioned as the jerks who want to mock and punish the deceivers that everyone else seems so fascinated by. Naturally, given my positions on these matters, I found myself siding with the men of science jerks, especially in light of the religious parallels.

Bergman, of course, was agnostic and frequently dealt with religion and doubt in his work. He was very good at walking the line pretty evenly and allowing for ambiguity and different interpretations. I just glimpsed someone else's mini-review on imdb.com, and he said he saw von Sydow's character as a Christ figure. Man. I didn't see that AT ALL. But that just goes to show how talented Bergman was and how thought-provoking his films always tended to be.

If you like deep stuff and haven't seen Bergman before, check out some of his films. He's sure to impress.

Star Trek: Nemesis (Spoilerific Review)

It's been quite a while since I've written about any movies, so I figured I'd do a proper review for an underappreciated, if flawed, film I just rewatched: Star Trek: Nemesis. Releasing without much fanfare in late 2002, Nemesis arrived rather unexpectedly as the swan song for not only The Next Generation film series but for classic Trek in general. Sadly, in fact, it may have been the last true Star Trek movie we will ever see.

I've got a knife. A big, shiny knife.

Opening with a gruesome extermination of the entire Romulan Senate, Nemesis sets its dark tone early. You know right away the bad guys here mean business, and Picard and friends are in for an unprecedented ordeal. Moving through some mostly well-played humor, we learn that Riker and Troi are about to get married and that Riker is finally about to assume command of his own ship, the Titan. So, unless they yank that out from under us by movie's end, the crew will be splitting up. This really is the end.

It's not long before the crew detects strange readings on a planet just outside the Romulan Neutral Zone. Readings that indicate an android. An android like Data. Not far from where all those big-time Romulans were just assassinated. Hmm, something's afoot.

Beastly.

After recovering the dismembered android, a Data doppelganger, Picard and co. receive orders from Admiral Janeway (how wrong is it that Picard's taking orders from that dolt??) to hightail it to Romulus to play nice with the new Reman in charge. Yes, a Reman in charge of Romulus. Might this have something to do with that grisly opening scene?

First meeting with Shadowy Reman's beastly warship, the Scimitar, Picard and friends beam down to the planet to have their first creepy encounter with Shadowy Reman himself, some bald weirdo named Shinzon. Except he's actually human. And knows everything about the Enterprise crew, especially Picard. And is a CLONE of Picard. Whoa! Also, he likes to creep on Troi.

Can I touch your hair? And wear it as a wig?

After some phony offers of friendship, empty promises of peace, and telepathic Troi rapin', Shinzon abducts Picard to steal some juicy Picard blood, which Shinzie apparently needs to survive. Then he's gonna wipe out Earth and stuff with that green bioweapon he nullified the Romulan Senate with at the beginning. Not good. The Romulans pissed him off so much by forcing him into slave labor as a kid that he's gonna get them back by using his super-deadly weapon to wipe out...Earth? Hmm...

This all culminates in a slam-bang finale involving the Enterprise, the Scimitar, two Romulan warbirds, fancy green space gases, a flying Data, a vengeful Troi telepathically raping her telepathic raper('s helper) back, a creepy impalement (and creepier aftermath), and a heavy loss for Next Gen-ers. It's really quite the spectacle.

Now, I'll admit that I was a little disappointed with Nemesis when it first came out. It's not quite the sendoff that The Undiscovered Country was for the original crew, and it does have its problems. It seems like a pretty big stretch for Shinzon to be going after Earth when it's the Romulans he has a real beef with. I get that he doesn't like living in Picard's shadow and needs a full blood transfusion from him, but his plan to use the Romulans after luring Picard there (for what, exactly?) and to take out the Federation--which necessitates taking out Earth--all feels a bit convoluted. Cheesy moments manage to find their way into the proceedings (I'm looking at you, scene where Shinzon's viceroy takes a Palpatine-like plunge down a shaft somewhere in the bowels of the Enterprise). And the Remans suffer from a seriously bad case of Stormtrooper Syndrome throughout the entire movie.

Best to focus on Shinzon, Jean-Luc. They can't hit you.

For all its flaws, though, Nemesis does deliver. I always loved the underlying philosophical question it poses: how different of a person would you be if you were raised under different circumstances? To what degree is your life shaped by forces out of your control? It's something I've thought about a lot, and I still haven't come up with a good answer. Picard doesn't have a good answer in the film either, and he's clearly bothered by the thought that he could've turned out like Shinzon if he had been slave laborized. Data has some interesting input on the matter, as he relates it to his own contrast with his clueless android buddy, B4. Data and Picard endeavor to be more than they are; they strive to improve themselves. Shinzie and B4 don't. However differently their circumstances might be pushing them, that's the distinction. I confess that's a bit simplistic for my liking. It doesn't take into account the prospect that self-improvement is a luxury for the successful; if your potential is nurtured by favorable circumstances, you can reach it and keep going. But if unfavorable circumstances consistently block you from reaching your potential, how can you improve yourself? It's not quite so easy. At what point, though, does bad luck become an excuse to do bad things? I don't think there's a good answer, and while I'm intrigued by Data's, I did feel like it was a hasty attempt to brush the issue aside so we could move on to the lengthy final action sequence. I wish they would've delved into the question a little more.

Largely because of that question, though, Shinzon is a good villain. It's always interesting to see a corrupted, shadowy reflection of the hero, gazing through the proverbial glass darkly. Here's a dude with the exact-same genetic material as Picard, who at times has had the exact-same thoughts and dreams as Picard, and he's about to wipe out an entire planet (for starters). Under the right (wrong) circumstances, could Picard have ever reached a point where he would do such a thing? Picard himself isn't sure, and it haunts him throughout the film. He feels sorry for Shinzon and wants desperately to help him, but he can't. The toll this takes on Picard is abundantly clear when he drives a metal rod through Shinzon's stomach and watches him die inches away from his face. Picard stares ahead, motionless, frozen, as the bioweapon's firing sequence nears the end of its countdown. That, along with Data's timely arrival and wordless goodbye to Picard, plays extremely well. I've felt the impact more with each viewing.

Well, the memory download didn't work.
I think I'll just try stabbing you in the neck.

And let's talk about Data. Nemesis does a fine job of showcasing why he's such a great character. Without a second thought, he does everything possible to help B4, including sharing all of his memories with him. Without a second thought, he sacrifices himself to save Picard and the rest of the Enterprise crew. In fact, he disobeys Picard's direct order to remain on the Enterprise, without any hesitation, to ensure that he's the one to go down with the Scimitar in the process of destroying the bioweapon and that Picard can make it back safely. Now that's a stand-up guy.

Like Spock before him, Data is a character who is mentally and physically superior to humans. He's in a position that gives him every reason to look down on humans. But he doesn't. He's fascinated by them. Wants to feel their emotions. Wants to learn everything about them. Wants to actually become more like them. And, in the end, he dies for them without hope or expectation of anything in return. I can't begin to express how refreshing it is to see a higher-than-human character who focuses on the better parts of humanity, strives to understand what it is that makes them human, and celebrates their unique nature. This is infinitely more appealing than a higher-than-human character who expresses disgust for humanity, condemns them for their nature, and expects unconditional worship and obedience from them...but that's a topic for another day. In short, Data is awesome.

No worries, Captain. I got this.

When I first saw Nemesis, I thought Data's death was too abrupt and the aftermath was too rushed. I felt like there wasn't enough time to really feel the impact. But after subsequent viewings, I really appreciate the brevity with which it's handled. For long-time fans, there's no need to pound us over the head with how big a loss this is. It's huge. And the silent moments say more than any words could. Riker unwittingly demonstrates this when he tries to cheer everyone up with a funny story about his first meeting with Data. Data had been making a hilarious attempt to whistle a song, but Riker can't quite remember what the song was. This is an excellent illustration of how the crew members are fumbling to deal with the loss of their friend, struggling to find the right words and fighting to piece together the memories they suddenly have to rely on. This is also helped by B4's unexpected singing of Data's song from the beginning and Picard's subsequent smiling walk down the hallway. His friend's memories will indeed live on.

There were plenty of little touches I appreciated in the film, as well. The well-played humor. Shinzon's taunting of Picard during the final battle ("You're too slow, old man."). Picard telling Data to shut up during his toast. Mike Novick from 24 as a Romulan who gets uppity with Shinzon. The dark, sinister, foreboding quality of every shot on Romulus (I especially loved the POV shot of the Romulan chick peeking back through the senate chamber gate when Shinzon was having one of his episodes). It's good stuff, and the film didn't get nearly enough credit for it.

Though I didn't think so at first, Nemesis is a worthy goodbye to The Next Generation crew and a solid film in general. It has a few problems, but the good far outweighs the bad. If you weren't wowed by it the first time around, I encourage you to give it another shot. Come at it with a fresh set of eyes. In this age of mindless popcorn Trek, Nemesis is the last piece of classic Trek we'll be seeing for a long, long time (possibly forever). Like Data, its memory is strong enough to live on. So make it so.

Dexter: Season 4

With Season 4 of Dexter hitting Netflix this past week, I was finally able to get caught up on everyone's favorite serial killer. I'd hate to ever suggest that anyone not read one of my posts, but be warned that there might be some SPOILERS below. Minor SPOILERS probably, but SPOILERS nonetheless. So if you don't want to read any SPOILERS, look away now.

Last chance to avoid the SPOILERS...

I felt the need to go overboard with the spoiler warnings because I was totally spoiled on the ending of this season months ago while reading an unrelated article that just casually mentioned this big shocker with no warnings whatsoever. So damn you, unnamed site. You completely took away from an ending that might have ever-so-slightly improved my outlook on this overall disappointing season if it had actually been the surprise it was supposed to be.

You made me do this!
You made me get naked several times while Julie Benz stayed fully clothed!

That aside, Season 4 was fraught with problems. Dexter as the family man wasn't nearly as interesting as Dexter from previous seasons, but it was something different and did seem like a natural evolution of the character considering where Season 3 left off. So I wasn't crazy about it, but I didn't mind it. The problem came in the latter stages of the season when Dexter started drifting away from his "Dark Passenger" and toward the upstanding husband/father. It wasn't so much that it was totally unbelievable but rather that it threatened to take away Dex's uniqueness as a character. It didn't quite jive, and thus it necessitated the ending in order for the show to continue.

Similarly, the Miami Metro drama didn't seem nearly as compelling as it used to. I think the absence of Doakes hurts, and I didn't notice it as much last season because Jimmy Smits's character largely made up for it. Doakes was always a thorn in Dexter's side and could be irritating at times, but overall I liked him. Trying to have Quinn fill that role doesn't work nearly as well. I'm just not that interested in his character, and that reporter business and where they went with it all seemed quite cliche. And the Batista/LaGuerta romance? Awful, awful filler that had nothing to do with anything.

On to what may be the biggest surprise to anyone who's seen or heard about this season: my plain-face reaction to the Trinity killer. Beforehand, I'd heard nothing but great things about the character and Lithgow's performance. Apparently, he won a Golden Globe for it. Okay, well his performance was...fine. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but I certainly wasn't floored by it, either. The character himself, though? Ehh. I never got why he was so special. He seemed more like a killer-of-the-week from Profiler than a badass season-long threat on Dexter. I just never bought this bipolar old man as a legitimate threat to Dex. Maybe 'cuz Dex passed up about 867 chances to off him early on, either by his own choice or as a result of extremely convenient coincidences or twists of fate. And as the viewer, you know full well that Dex can't off the main villain in the middle of the season. So every time Dex says, "Tonight's the night," you kinda have to roll your eyes and go, "No, it isn't." Any intrigue, then, has to come from how they get to where you know they're going to go, and that's just not the same. Same deal for me with the ending, though I can't fault the show for that one since I was spoiled ahead of time. I wonder if I would've suspected it if I hadn't already known...

I'm really, really scary...I swear!

With all those negatives, you might think I hated this season. Not so. I was just let down. Season 4 was the weakest of the series thus far, and I'm just hoping it's not out of gas. I'm still looking forward to Season 5 and where they take Dex nex(t). I'll be waiting a while, though, as I don't have Showtime. If only I can avoid spoilers in the meantime...

Thoughts on Season 4?

Shiny

Take my love

Take my land

Take me where I cannot stand

I don't care

I'm still free

You can't take the sky from me

After finally catching all of Joss Whedon's outstanding and tragically short-lived Firefly series, I feel the need to give it some love. What a show. I actually caught the film adaptation, Serenity, a few years ago, and a handful of episodes some time after that. Sadly, I only had about another handful of episodes left to go, and I finally got around to Instant Netflixing them over the past week or so. I wish I'd done it sooner. This overlooked sci-fi gem has the perfect combination of drama, humor, action, intelligence, and, yes, even romance. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in any or all of those areas, even if you're like me and never got into any of Whedon's other shows.

I'm not alone in my adulation of the series, either. The show only lasted 14 episodes...and then got made into a movie. Have you ever heard of such a thing? No, you haven't. Generally, only highly successful shows lasting several seasons have a chance of getting the big-screen treatment. But Joss, the actors, and the rabid fans were so passionate about finding a way to continue the series after its cancellation that they somehow made Serenity a reality. Hats off to them and their insanity.

You'd best get to watchin' my show.

As I was watching the film again last night, I was thinking about how great the central conflict of the series is in that it's not black and white. The large governing body based in the central planets of the solar system, the Alliance, wants to bring the free peoples of the outer planets, the browncoats, under their rule. Though the war is officially over, this conflict is the driving force behind all the events we see. The main characters are browncoats, so we're naturally on their side. But the Alliance has a case: they have wealth, health care, advanced technologies, and a civilized society, and they want to unite everyone under their superior banner. The browncoats have none of these things; they're poor, disorganized, and even somewhat lawless and barbaric. But...they're free.

One way of looking at it is the way Whedon describes in the extras on the Serenity DVD: like the U.S. Civil War. The Alliance is like the North--more progressive and civilized, while the browncoats are like the South--fighting a losing battle to hang on to their way of doing things. Interesting, then, that we're put in a position to identify and sympathize with the South.

On the other hand, the Alliance could be seen as a totalitarian regime trying to force everyone to abide by their rule. This perspective is summed up wonderfully by a quote from young River early in the film, when asked why the browncoats would resist:

We meddle. People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think. Don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads, and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome.

Hard to argue with that.

Just remember: I can kill you with my mind.

While Firefly/Serenity may not be intellectually deep, it does touch on its fair share of juicy issues like this to contemplate if you so choose. Look to the Jaynestown episode for another example. And while you're at it, watch every episode and the film, for whatever reason you want. It's that damn good.

Dammit

I thought I might actually make some progress on my screenplay today after I rattled off half a page fairly quickly this afternoon. Then I got sidetracked and lost my rhythm. Never got it back. Damn it all to hell.

I had lunch with an old friend yesterday, and we were laughing about how absurdly long it takes me to do just about anything. He recounted the very regular occurrence where I would sit in the high school computer lab, stare at the screen for about three hours, and have two new lines of code to show for it when all was said and done. It seems my work habits haven't changed. At least I'm consistent.

On to happier matters...I finally caught Kick-Ass the other night. It has its fair share of problems--namely, the protagonist is yawn-inducing--but it's absolutely worth it for one reason and one reason alone. Hit Girl. Damn, is that little girl amazing. And, please, don't pretend you're one of those stuffy naysayers crying foul over how bad of an influence the character is on children and how uncomfortable you were watching it. Because, first, the movie's rated R, and any previews should've let you known exactly what to expect--why are you taking your kids to see it? Second, if you can't handle the content yourself, I'm pretty sure Chloe Moretz is more mature than you are. And third, you know you'd be sitting in awestruck delight as Hit Girl infiltrates your fortress, saws through your waves of armed henchmen, and shoots your brains out of your skull while casually calling you a c**t, you sick, masochistic, dirty little ped.

Think I'm inappropriate, mofo?

That's all I got for now. Any thoughts on Kick-Ass?

07.31.10

Well, well, well. I never saw myself as a blogger, but, after some sporadic prodding by people trying to give me career advice and some stumbling onto blog sites like this one, here I am. As an aspiring (see: wannabe) writer, I suppose it can't hurt to post some of my inane ramblings on the interwebs in hopes of getting noticed by someone in a position to make use of (see: pay me for) my talents. Actually, it probably can--and will. Chances are, I'll offend everyone who bothers to read my trash at one point or another, unintentionally or otherwise, and you'll write me off (bad pun intended) for good. So be it. I'm gonna have some fun with this.

All of that does beg the question of what one should blog about. Any little thing that pops into your head? Wouldn't that make this nothing more than a public diary? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that would probably be a bad idea. But this is probably a bad idea to begin with, so screw it.

I'll probably post here when I'm putting off any actual writing, like I'm doing now. Barely into my second screenplay, I keep finding ways to procrastinate. Shame on me.

Speaking of screenplays, a lot of what I'll probably end up writing about on here is movies, since I'm a big movie guy. Right now I feel the need to plug a film I watched the other night, Comedian. It's a documentary chronicling Jerry Seinfeld's return to stand-up after wrapping up The Greatest Show of All-Time and the rise of up-and-comer Orny Adams. It's a must-watch for anyone remotely interested in stand-up comedy, and I'd definitely recommend it to any aspiring or established artists out there. It covers a wide range of the things artists go through: confidence, self-doubt, establishing yourself, reinventing yourself, dealing with failure, dealing with success, and mustering the energy and perseverance to keep honing your craft till you get it right. It's good stuff, Seinfeld's the man, and you should watch it. Twice. A day.

That's about all for now. If anyone's actually reading this and I didn't annoy you enough, I promise I'll try harder the next time. Peace.