Recount: An American Horror Story

This is something I'd never thought I'd do in The Other Worlds, one reason being that this is not an Other World. It is ours. Recount is a movie not only based on actual events, but is pretty much a dramatic documentary (more on that later) about an event that happened eight years ago. I wasn't even going to consider watching this until I learned who the writer was.

I first heard about it when Dennis Leary was a guest on The Daily Show, and my first thought was, "Do we really need this now? It hasn't even been ten years." Then again, I was initially opposed to all the movies based on 9/11, which were made before Recount about an event that happened after the 2000 election. However, I will say that I eventually watched United 93 and found it to be a good, if not painful, movie. That same night, on The Colbert Report, Laura Dern showed up to present a clip of her in the role of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, which didn't further endear me to the film (once again, more on that later). But then I learned that Danny Strong wrote it, and while this is his first written project, I am familiar with his acting work from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Obviously, just because a person can act, the same person may not necessarily be a good writer. However, I am willing to give anyone associated with Joss Whedon the benefit of the doubt (if you haven't noticed by now, Joss Whedon is pretty much my hero). Soon after learning about Strong being the writer, the numerous good reviews started pouring in, and I decided that it was worth seeing.

Most of the reviews refer to the film as a farce, and with Jay Roach as the director (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents), I assumed that the film was going to be a darkly comic satire. In some senses, it is a satire, but its not really funny. To me, it is a fucking horror movie.

I have always tried to avoid talking about my own personal politics in these posts, since they have little bearing on the events of the fictional stories that I report on. The argument could be made that my own views could manifest in how I interpret various stories, but I am pretty certain that I have tried to stay politically neutral. I have even tried to avoid railing on movies, books, and series that I dislike, since the point of The Other Worlds is to tell you what I think you should discover, not what you should avoid. The point is, I am not here to push an agenda; I'm here to make suggestions. However, to fully be able to explain my feelings on Recount, I believe that my personal opinions are slightly relevant.

I claim that I am politically moderate, but I tend to lean to the left more often than I lean to the right. I do not count myself of a member of any political party; both the Democrats and the Republicans have numerous problems, and neither one has all the answers. I don't know too much about libertarianism, but from what I do know, that is close to what I am (social liberal, fiscal conservative, and I believe in small government). I was a high school freshman when the 2000 election debacle occurred, so I didn't really know much about what was going on, except that I wanted Al Gore to win. Eight years later, I find myself wondering what things would have been like if Gore had won, since my opinion of Bush is pretty low. Therefore, I think that these views have skewed the way I view Recount; most reviews herald the movie for being a balanced look at both sides, but I saw it as having a fairly substantial liberal bias.

At least, I felt that the Republicans were portrayed as scheming assholes who exploit every loophole and make a mockery of the law. Meanwhile, the Democrats, who are certainly the protagonists, are shown to be the underdogs, and many of them are weak and ineffectual. In retrospect, the Democrats were also guilty of the exploitation of the way the laws were written, but it seemed like the method and reasons behind the manipulations seemed less slimy (not noble or justified, but less shady than the Republicans). But as I said, my own opinions may cloud my judgment; I have no love for the Democratic party, but within the last four years alone, the actions of prominent Republicans has seriously damaged their credibility in my eyes. And this may lead me to see their depiction in Recount as more sinister than was intended.

Of course, these are the makings of a political thriller, or even a real-life political debate, and not a horror movie. Before we proceed, I have another disclaimer I must give; although my political knowledge is not shabby, it is not as extensive as it probably should be. As I said, I was a freshman in high school when these events occurred, so I'm not sure how factual Recount is. At least one third of the film is told through archive footage from CNN and other news stations, so it is clear that many of the things depicted in the movie are in fact real, but the extent of politicking on both sides may or may not be exaggerated. Therefore, I will not say that any of the events of the film are horrific because they are real; they are horrific because they could be real.

I'll start with the riots, since they (1) threatened peoples' lives, and (2) they don't have (direct) effects on the outcome. I never thought that a fucking ELECTION could engender so much rage and animosity. When an official had to read the results of a Supreme Court decision, a security guard asked if he wanted to wear a bullet proof vest. Before that, a recount official was (nearly?) assaulted when someone wrongly (and possibly was aware of the wrongful claim) accused him of trying to add votes to Gore's count. But the thing that scared me the most about the riot was that a group of pro-Bush rioters convinced security guards to let them closer to where the recount was happening by telling him to judge them by their appearance; they were white and dressed in dress shirts, ties, and polos. They said that the guard could trust that they wouldn't turn violent, but of course, they did (two things; before anyone accuses me of racism, for those of you who don't know, I'm white, and also I find it very interesting that, assuming this riot happened in the way depicted in the film, Bush's supporters would go on to decry protests against the war... ok, focus on the issues, not my own opinions...).

More importantly, there was plenty of back-room shadiness going on in the film. The riots from the pro-Bush camp were shown to be the work of the Republicans working to stop the recounts. By the end of the film, both sides are shown to be doing their jobs, the methods of doing such seem horrific. Maybe I missed something, but I cannot understand why the courts kept imposing deadlines on the recounts. They slowed the process when the Democrats kept appealing them (the quote about our "endless appeals system" from Thank You For Smoking popped in my head numerous time during the film), while the Republicans did everything they could to slow the process down so that the recounts would not be able to be completed.

And then there was Katherine Harris. I had never consciously heard her name before seeing the film, and I don't know how much of her portrayal was accurate, but in the reality of the film, she was downright scary. Harris seemed almost childlike; she did not seem to have a thought in her head, and just did everything she was told. Upon learning of her role in the upcoming recount, she was thrilled that she would be involved in such a "monumental" decision. I would think that any politician in their right mind would be scared out their mind knowing that they would have to oversee what would more than likely become a quagmire of politics. And the idea that she deliberately prevented numerous people from voting is horrific.

But finally, the thing that really got to me was the Supreme Court statement which said that their ruling in Bush v. Gore would not create a precedent. It was an unprecedented action, and its logic baffling. This makes a mockery of the very system that I will soon spend three years learning to understand and respect. This statement is not helping my jadedness with the legal system, which makes my entry into law school that much more baffling (in my defense, I have no interest in working in politics; with luck, I will be involved in film and television litigation).

Overall, the movie was well-written and acted. I don't want to say that this movie is necessary viewing, but it will certainly make you fearful of the government if you aren't already.

Up next: Laughter is the best medicine...

Scott Pilgrim: Wackiness Ensues

While the story of Scott Pilgrim is good, it is not exactly original. The reason the series is so spectacular is because of the humor. Some of it is cynical, some random, and some is self-referential, but it is all great. Many of the jokes derive from the fact that the world that Scott and his friends inhabit isn't exactly the real world, despite what the reader is led to believe in the opening chapters of the first volume. As I said in the previous post, Bryan Lee O'Malley is obviously a huge fan of independent music, video games, and comics (notably manga). This love manifests in various situations where video game cliches and references. The characters level up, the losers in fights drop items and/or money, and a save point shows up at one point. All of the bands have names that are video game references, the best being Scott's band, Sex Bob-omb.

And then there are the fight scenes. Things don't truly cross into the realm of over-the-top otherworldlyness until Scott fights Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend. Without warning, the book changes from a smartly-written love story into an insane fight involving nearly every major character. The moves are stylized and synchronized, and suddenly, Scott goes from slacker to the best fighter in Toronto.

There are also plenty of comments that break the fourth wall; mostly Scott does this to answer other characters' questions about the story. If someone asks him about an event that has already been shown to the reader, he might say something like, "Go read the second volume". On the other hand, he has referenced future plot points by saying that they will be covered in a future installment.

If all of the humor was comic book and video game references or self-referential, it would get old fairly quickly. Fortunately, there is plenty of clever and cynical word-play that the characters use to (usually) express how much they hate each other. Don't get me wrong, Scott has friends, but he also has to deal with many people who dislike him (and what is a friendship without a few shared insults).

The jokes obviously work best in context, and I don't really want to give away any more. I hope that these two posts have given you enough reasons to check these books out. I know that the style of art and the story may be a little off-putting (it did with me for a while), but once you start reading it, you will be hooked.

Up next: An American horror story...

Scott Pilgrim: Fighting For Love

If you couldn't tell from my posts about the works of Joss Whedon, I enjoy stories that explore relationships between people, and the Scott Pilgrim series is a lighter, but by no means less meaningful or hilarious, take on human interaction. Make no mistake, when I say that this is a lighter story, things aren't all sunshine and rainbows in Toronto; Scott and his friends deal with the "regular" aspects of life usually dealt with in coming-of-age stories, including break-ups, finding/keeping jobs, and getting over the past. However, the pain is almost always dealt with with incredible humor. As much as we want to see our protagonist succeed, the fact that Scott can be so clueless and puerile makes his failures just as fun to watch as his triumphs.

Scott is a 23-year-old slacker to the nth degree. He lives in a tiny apartment with his gay roommate Wallace (the apartment is so small that they sleep in the same bed, not because they are lovers, but because they can neither afford nor place another bed). Nearly everything in the apartment belongs to Wallace; one notable exception is the obligatory poster of two women kissing belongs to Scott (you know the one I'm talking about, every college kid in America and Canada either owned or knew someone who owned one- in fact, I have a very funny story relating to it, but this isn't the time or place for that). Because Scott has no job, he "borrows" all of Wallace's stuff, including his toothbrush, and never passes up an opportunity to mooch off of his friends. He is the bassist of a terrible band that clearly isn't going anywhere, and, true to his desire to do only what is convenient, the story begins with him dating a high school student who is clearly much more into him than he is into her.

However, he begins having a series of strange dreams featuring a beautiful girl on roller blades. These perplex him for a while, until he meets the mystery girl at a party. Her name is Ramona Flowers, and she is an Amazon.ca delivery girl, and her appearances in Scott's dreams is due to her using "subspace highways" as shortcuts between actual points in space. Oh yeah, these books aren't exactly realistic fiction. Bryan Lee O'Malley is obviously a huge fan of comic books, manga, music, and, especially, video games. He also isn't a big fan of the fourth wall, since he continually breaks it. But that is the subject of the next post.

Scott is immediately infatuated with Ramona, and though she is not as quick to take a liking to him, the two eventually begin a relationship. Unfortunately, Scott quickly learns that Ramona is a girl with some baggage. Ramona is looked down upon by most of the people in Canada because she is viewed as a slutty New Yorker, and there are many vague references to her less-than-model behavior. The same people who ridicule her tend not to like Scott, and they alternatively warn against and encourage a relationship, but both suggestions are motivated by malice. They see Ramona as both being too good for Scott (warning against), but they also believe that her promiscuous behavior will only get Scott hurt (thus, they encourage him to ask her out in the hopes that he will). To an extent, the rumors about Ramona are true, and Scott finds that to be able to date Ramona in peace, he will have to engage her Seven Evil Ex-Boyfriends in combat and defeat them.

No, you did not read that wrong, and yes, the premise works out much better when you read it in the books. But in addition to physical fighting, Scott has to figure out how to become a mature adult in order to stay with Ramona, since his childish ways, which may have impressed Knives Chau (his Chinese-Canadian high school girlfriend), put Ramona off and keep her closed up. She is a mysterious character (as the asides always remind us when they say, "Age: Unknown"), and before she can open up, she has to know that the person she confides in is trustworthy.

Up next: Surrealism, humor, video games, and evil exes...

Oh, Canada!

In the transition from Dexter to Scott Pilgrim, we are going from one of the darkest worlds featured here (it revolves around a serial killer) to a fairly light one. Scott Pilgrim is about growing up, but the titular Scott is not going on that journey without kicking and screaming. The faux-manga series brilliantly uses humor, both straightforward and absurd, to tell the story of dealing with adult life and getting past issues.

I can't believe that this is the first comic book series to show up in The Other Worlds, and that the first one is not from Brian K. Vaughan. Rest assured that Vaughan's incredible works will eventually be featured here, but for now, come to know the works of another Bryan (ok, so substitute the "i" for the "y", and it's essentially the same name), Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Up next: Precious little lives...

Dexter: The Soul Of A Killer

When the series begins, Dexter is of the impression that he was simply born "wrong". His urge to kill is due to random chance; if one in 1,000,000,000 children are born with the urge to kill (that statistic is total bullshit, by the way), Dexter was the one. However, as Dexter soon learns, Harry wasn't entirely truthful about Dexter's life before he was a member of the Morgan family. A traumatic event in Dexter's childhood (the memory of which has been deeply repressed) is responsible for his unique mindset (also, that is why I amended my comparison of Dexter to Sweeney Todd, since outside influences affected both men; however, Todd kills BECAUSE he remembers the event, while Dexter seems to kill because he doesn't remember it... until he does).

But regardless of the reason why Dexter does what he does, the average person cannot commit premeditated homicide once and retain such a sense of calm, so the fact that Dexter does it multiple times definitely suggests that Dexter is not an "average" human. As I said, Dexter repeatedly tells the audience (through inner-monologue voice-overs) that he doesn't have a soul, or that his is broken, or that he doesn't really care about people, he only pretends to keep up a facade of normality. However, when as my friend and I watched the first season, we each came to the same conclusion about these voice-overs: Dexter isn't explaining himself to the audience, he is trying to convince himself that what he's saying is true. After all, it must be hard to kill people, even people who "deserve it" if you fully understand the value of human life.

There are a few examples where it is clear that Dexter sees his work as more than just something to fulfill his own needs. At the end of the first season, he has a twisted fantasy wherein he wishes that he could tell people about what he does, and that the reaction would be overwhelming praise. In his fantasy, a crowd holds up signs with fan slogans (like the ones you see people holding at sporting events), women cheer him and profess their love for him, while his fellow cops commend him on his efficiency in "taking out the trash". This fantasy shows that Dexter believes that what he does is inherently right (Harry taught him that killing killers would be leagues ahead of killing innocents, and it could help protect the innocent, but I doubt he ever thought that it was right), and that, if people could see things from his point of view, he would be seen as a hero, and not a killer. This fantasy hints at a desire for approval from the very people he claims to feel nothing but apathy for. Half a season later, when his victims are discovered by a pair of treasure hunters, a cult following begins to develop around the "Bay Harbor Butcher" when it is discovered that all of the victims were killers themselves. When Dexter discovers that a local comic book shop created a Batman-like character in his honor, he is flattered.

But even more important, he risks his own life, on multiple occasions, to save the people closest to him. The first example is when he prevents the "Ice Truck Killer" from killing his sister. The Ice Truck Killer was a serial killer whose method of carving up bodies without ever leaving a drop of blood at the scene of the crime both perplexed and awed Dexter throughout the first season, and Dexter was nearly obsessed with finding out the Killer's identity so that he could learn from them. Instead, when he had to choose between someone he only "pretended" to care about and someone who understood him, and could offer him so much, Dexter chose Debra. He also let her live with him for most of the second season, due to her being so traumatized by those events; this arrangement certainly causes problems with his ability to satisfy his urges, and yet, he stands by Debra in her time of crisis (though he did once jokingly [I think] recite, "I will not kill my sister" to himself).

Even more bewildering is the fact that Dexter nearly died saving Rita's kids from an insane pyromaniac with a grudge against Dex. With Debra, if people ever found out that he had an opportunity to help her and he didn't, it would lead to some questions that would be very hard to answer. But with Rita's kids, he sought them out to help them. That's going pretty far for the children of a woman he is only using to appear normal; this goes far above and beyond keeping up appearances.

Speaking of the children, named Astor and Cody, their path in the books is much darker than what we have seen in the series so far. Due to their memories of their violent father, they are showing the same signs of sociopathy that Dexter did when he was a kid, and Dexter takes it upon himself to teach them the "Code of Harry". My friend and I are hoping that this is the direction the show takes in the third season; the second season tested the strength of Dexter and Rita's relationship as well as Dexter's ability to stay one step ahead of the law. it would be very interesting to see Dexter, who seems to be much more comfortable with who and what he is, to begin the process of passing on his craft. And though this may be construed as too much of a retread, we also think that LaGuerta should pick up Doake's trail towards the identity of the real Bay Harbor Butcher. She has never been that interesting of a character (she was sadly involved in the worst Dexter plotline ever at the beginning of Season 2; let's just say that it played out like an exceptionally bad after school special), and this would give her character purpose.

So there you have it. This post was much more spoilerific than the first, but that's the rundown on Dexter up to this point. As you can see, it finds a way to give us weekly stories about a serial killer that we can not only tolerate, but even cheer on (to a point).

Up next: Going to Canada...

Dexter: Dearly Devoted To Death

Dexter is not the first world that I've covered with a serial killer as the lead character. Sweeney Todd and Angel were both about men who did their share of killing, but Dexter is fundamentally different than these other two examples. Todd was a man driven to kill after a lifetime of injustice, and while he went overboard, it is unlikely the demon barber would have made all the meat pies if Judge Turpin hadn't interfered. And on Angel, the murderous Angelus only showed up in a handful of episodes (and most of these appearances were in flashback), and in this case, Angelus killed because he was a soulless vampire. Dexter Morgan, however, is completely human, and he has a compulsive NEED to kill (hmm... it's possible that Todd eventually suffers from a similar compulsion, and that both of them were, to an extent, driven to the compulsion, but for the sake of my analysis, I am drawing a distinction).

Dexter would probably not be a very likable protagonist if he killed an innocent person every week, no matter how complex the character is. After a while, we as an audience would want him to get some sort of comeuppance. Fortunately, one of Dexter's complexities is that he only kills people who are killers themselves. He has a painstaking method that he uses to make sure that he never takes the life of someone who hasn't taken the life of an (or many) innocent(s).

Dexter's foster father, Harry, was a cop, and recognized that there was a darkness in his young son. But instead of making young Dex see professional help, Harry decided to train Dexter to do "good works" and make sure he wouldn't get caught. Harry was pretty vocal about his frustration with the fact that the legal system allows so many guilty murderers to go free, and reasons that Dexter would be doing good works while simultaneously satisfying his dark urges.

As an adult, Dexter has taken a job at the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst in the forensics department. This job serves multiple functions; his obsession with blood is put to practical use, murderers are brought to him as part of his work routine, and he will be the first to know if one of his own victims is ever found, and can stay ahead of the investigation. He notes how ironic it is that most people at the station find him to be such a likable guy. His sister, Debra, often comes to him for advice, since he seems to have good "intuition" about killers, while Lt. LaGuerta, Dexter's superior, seems to have a bit of a crush on the killer. Det. Batista is the closest thing he has to a best friend (this relationship perplexes Dex, since he doesn't think that he has done anything to warrant someone wanting him as a friend). The only exception is Sgt. Doakes, a tense ex-special forces soldier, who gets a bad vibe from Dexter, and will stop at nothing to expose whatever dark secret he believes Dexter harbors.

In the interest of keeping up appearances, Dexter has a girlfriend, despite the fact that he has little interest in companionship or sex. To Dexter, relationships with other humans are problematic and tedious, while sex is... messy. To compensate for this, he deliberately chose Rita, a woman who was the victim of domestic abuse. Her jailed husband beat and raped Rita to the point where the thought of touching another human makes her regress to a state of near-paralyzed fear. At first, it seems very off-putting that our hero is merely using this poor woman for his own sick ends, but as the series goes on, we begin to see that Dexter is providing Rita with something she needs; a man who is kind to her and won't pressure her. Of course, if Rita were ever to find out about Dexter's dark secret, she may go catatonic. Also, even though Dexter claims that he doesn't care for anyone, it is even hard for him to deny that he feels nothing for Rita's two children. He plays with them, brings them breakfast, and even makes them laugh. Not bad for someone who denies that he has a soul.

And that is one of the series' main themes: the presence or absence of Dexter's soul. Dexter continually reminds us that he is "different", and he puts up with people in order to stay out of jail. If he had his way, he would withdraw from human society and only emerge to fulfill his need to kill. Or so he says. When the people he "pretends" to care about are in trouble, he is willing put his own life on the line in order to protect them.

Up next: More about Dexter's soul, and what the future may hold...

Dying To Know What's Next

I think that I mentioned a few posts ago that I want to do another run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, since I am rediscovering how much these shows mean to me. However, I'm going to hold off for a little while (1) since I did the first run so recently, and (2) to let myself get a little further into the rewatching.

Instead, I have a few ideas for the next few post series. First, I'm going to examine Showtime's Dexter. I have not read the books that the television series is based on, which I intend to do some day, but that doesn't prevent the show from being fantastic (and from what I've heard, the two different media take very separate paths). I want to examine the premise of a serial killer as a hero both within the context of the show itself, as well as what it means for us as an audience (including the outcry from certain groups when CBS decided to air it during the writers' strike). I will also talk about what myself and a friend of mine (the same one who came up with the LOST theory about the Black Rock and immortality) think the series should do in its third season.

I really want to do a series on Brian K. Vaughan, who is my favorite comic book writer. I plan on talking about three of his series, Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and Ex Machina, though I think I should wait until I have read the final issues of Y (Ex Machina is still a year or two from finishing, so I will talk about it in its current state, but since Y is done and Vaughan has left Runaways, I can discuss them as completed projects).

Until I have finished Y, I think that I will do something on Freaks and Geeks, which I refer to as the second best series to ever last less than 20 episodes. Like Joss Whedon's shows, especially Buffy, it is a very real look at life through the eyes of the people on the fringes of society (in this case, high school, hence the Buffy similarity).

Going back to the realm of comics, I want to do some posts on the Scott Pilgrim series, especially now that the movie is going to start filming soon. If you have never heard of Scott Pilgrim before, immediately get your hands on the first volume, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life and get yourself caught up before I let any spoilers fly.

I am still deciding if I should do a series on the View Askewnieverse, since I have not seen any part of Mallrats, nor have I seen Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in its entirety. Still, I have seen the other four movies as well as the Clerks animated series, and it wouldn't be the first time I had reported on a world that I had not fully seen (though usually, it is because it is a television show that is still in production).

Up next: Ice in Miami...

Dollhouse: Limitless Potential

So for the first time, I am presenting a world that has not yet premiered. About a month before the writers' strike began in November of 2007, an announcement was made that Joss Whedon was making his glorious return to television. His new show, Dollhouse, which premieres in 2009, will be the first show created by Whedon to air since Angel went off the air in 2004. Though Whedon has done other television work (he had a guest spot on Veronica Mars and directed one or two episodes of The Office), and has done work for both Marvel and Dark Horse comics (some has been phenomenal, such Astonishing X-Men and Buffy Season 8, while his Runaways run has been fair and plagued with delays), there is no doubt that his best works were the shows that bore the credit, "Created by Joss Whedon".

I am currently rewatching Buffy and Angel, and I am beginning to think that these two shows have taken the place at the top of my Favorite Television Shows list (it's a tie). Obviously they're not perfect, but what show is? And Firefly remains, in my opinion, the best show ever to last less than 20 episodes (which doesn't say nearly enough about it, since it is also leagues ahead of many shows that received 200). And so with Dollhouse, I was ready to jump onboard and proclaim it the best new show of next season without seeing a single frame of it, or any other new show for that matter, the moment I heard the announcement.

Now, six months later, I have heard the synopsis, seen photos and a trailer, and my desire to see this show has only increased. When it was first announced, the only details I knew were the title, the creator, the network (FOX), and the star (Eliza Dushku). The fact that Whedon was going to be working with Dushku again was icing on the cake. Her role as Faith the Vampire Slayer on both Buffy and Angel was incredible. The character helped make the third season of Buffy my favorite season, and her role in the incredibly dark fourth season of Angel took the character to incredible new places and showed off just how good an actress Dushku is.

Faith was a girl who wanted to be accepted and loved, but due to a rocky upbringing by an alcoholic single mother, she lacked the ability to trust others, making it very hard for Buffy and her friends to trust her in return. This led to a slew of personal problems for the young girl that eventually drove her to side with the season's villain. Oh, and she has super powers, which don't mix very well with a broken mind/heart. Her story was supposed to end in Season 3 of Buffy, but Whedon recognized that he had too interesting of a character to kill off, and after a few more appearances in Sunnydale, Faith relocated to Los Angeles, where, true to the central theme of Angel, began her journey towards redemption. I was extremely sad that she turned down doing a spin-off about Faith, but I can understand the desire not to be typecast (the show she did instead, Tru Calling was enjoyable, and seemed to be getting better and better when it was cancelled, but was leagues behind what a Faith show could have been).

As for the announcement that FOX would air the show, this made me a little upset. Even though all networks are guilty of cancelling great shows before they have time to build an audience, I particularly resent FOX for cancelling Firefly after poorly marketing it and giving it a bad timeslot. Joss Whedon said that he would never work with FOX Television again (I'm pretty sure that he was still on good terms with their production department, which produced Buffy and Angel despite them airing on a different network). However, he has said now that there have been massive changes with the "regime" (I think Futurama made this same joke in Bender's Big Score), and that they are now much more willing to let a show develop. This certainly seems true now, since Dollhouse seems to be getting some fairly good press as well as a timeslot leading into ratings powerhouse (and awesome-until-the-most-recent-season) 24.

So most importantly, what is Dollhouse about? Well, see for yourself:

Interesting stuff. Further building on the idea that the people in power aren't to be trusted and often are doing shady things that we probably don't want to hear about (see: The Initiative, The Alliance, Wolfram and Hart, Blue Sun Corporation, Twilight, The Powers That Be), it appears that the government is funding an illegal department that imprints memories and personalities into "volunteers" in order to fulfill missions. But these missions aren't only combat-related; it would seem that, at one point, Dushku's Echo (each of the Dolls AKA Actives seem to have names from the NATO phonetic alphabet) is tasked to be in love with a powerful person (I'm guessing politician). The government may not be the sole patron of the Dollhouse, and for the right price, anyone can have their own Doll, who believes whatever the customer wants.

In addition to Dushku, Tamoh Penikett, who plays Helo on Battlestar Galactica, and Amy Acker (Fred/Illyria from Angel) will also have roles. Penikett will be an FBI agent who is getting in trouble for pursuing rumors about the Dollhouse, while Acker's role is currently still relatively unknown (I'm pretty sure she's one of the higher-ups in the Dollhouse). With the talents of Whedon, Dushku, Acker, and Penikett here, there is no way I won't be watching next January.

Up next: Dreaming darkly...

Battlestar Galactica: Last Resorts

Like LOST, it seems that so much and so little have simultaneously occurred on Battlestar Galactica over the last few episodes. The drama that has been building has been, for the most part, very enjoyable, but there are times when I wish that something would would result from the mounting tension. However, with each passing week, the inevitable explosion of temper will be that much more powerful when it happens. And don't get me wrong, the drama is still superb.

Relations are rapidly falling apart on both sides of the war; the humans are tearing themselves apart, and the cylons have begun a civil war that has divided them and threatens to end the entire race. But let's start with the humans (and the people who are posing as human). Apollo's new position as Caprica's representative in the Quorum of Twelve (sort of like the Senate) is driving a wedge deep between himself and his father (nothing new) and President Roslin, who was once considered Apollo as a kind of confidante. Meanwhile, while the Quorum continues to appear as nothing more than argumentative assholes who cannot decide on anything, Roslin, whose health is rapidly declining, appears to becoming somewhat of a fascist. Granted, she has reason to fear Gaius Baltar gaining followers, but she acts as if it is her job to tell the people of the fleet what to think.

The four cylons who "live in secret" are each dealing with their situations differently. Tyrol is having the hardest time, mainly because of what happened to Cally when she found out, while Tory seems to be embracing her nature, and is slowly becoming cold-hearted and calculated. She also is becoming one of Baltar's most faithful acolytes.

And then there's Starbuck. Claiming she knows the way to Earth, Admiral Adama gives her a ship, four raptors, and a skeleton crew, and tells her to see if her theory pans out. Her two months elsewhere have solidified her determination of her "destiny", but have also made her in-fucking-sane. Commanding over Helo, Athena, Gaeta, Anders, Hot Dog, Seelix, and a few others, she rarely comes out of her quarters, but when she does, she gives terse orders that always seem to contradict her previous ones. It isn't hard to understand why a few of her crew members begin to become suspicious of her competency, but the last straw comes when she allows a Number 2 model cylon onboard and decides to form a plan with him.

This brings us what's been happening with the cylons. The Twos, Sixes and Eights (minus Boomer) have taken a stand against the Ones, Fours and Fives over matters of the cylons' place in the universe. The latter group believes that the Twos, Sixes and Eights are having delusions of grandeur and are trying to be more than just machines, and in fact desire to be human. After nearly being destroyed (outside the range of a resurrection ship), the Twos, Sixes and Eights make a desperate move to save themselves by negotiating an alliance with the Colonial fleet. As it turns out, they do desire humanity, but while they understand aspects of humanity that seem to escape us (the Six called Natalie has a very profound theory on the subject of mortality), they also don't seem to understand other sides of the same subject.

Further complicating matters is the matter of trust. Neither side trusts the other (with good reason), but both are also under the allusion that the other side trusts them. In an ironic twist, the rebel cylons actually see themselves as more human than the Colonials, since there is no way the warmongering humans can possibly trust them (trust being a very human attribute).

The most recent thing to happen will certainly complicate the matter of trust, despite the fact neither side was responsible for what happened. And an event I alluded to in my last post on Galactica seems like it will finally occur within the next episode or two.

Things have been pretty bleak this season, and they don't look like they'll be improving for the characters any time soon. And that's why we watch.

Up next: Welcome to the Dollhouse...

LOST: Saving The Island

So what have we learned since last time? Ben Linus is more badass/insane than we ever imagined, Jack and Kate "adopt" Aaron and live in seeming bliss after the island, Locke's life is even more tragic than we'd realized, and Charles Widmore is one scary dude. Oh, and the island is mobile?

In the past four episodes, only one has used flashbacks, and that was Locke's, which showed us that the Others have been watching him since he was born. Richard Alpert made his triumphant return that episode and presented a young Locke with a mysterious test to assess how the boy sees himself. As always, Locke tries to be something "greater" than what he is, which remains his undoing. Locke gives the term "tragic hero" a new meaning by having tragedy follow him around in his pursuit to become a hero.

On the other temporal side of the island, we learn how Ben and Sayid's unholy partnership began in Ben's second episode, which showcases how resourceful and dangerous Ben can be in any situation. It also adds some interesting details to the story of the war between Ben and Widmore. After seeing this episode, a friend of mine (I may have used someone's name once, but I try not to use my friends' names due to privacy issues, but if the guy who introduced this theory wants credit, just let me know, and I will add it to the post; the thing to take away from this overly long parenthetical is that the following theory did not originate with me) formed a theory about the nature of the island and why Widmore is so obsessed with finding it again. According to my friend, Widmore is much older than he looks; he believes that he was on the Black Rock as one of the slave traders (which gives new meaning to why Widmore bid on the manifest and/or diary in Desmond's last episode). When he crashed on the island, the healing powers made him, along with the rest of the crew, immortal (Ben says something to the effect of killing Widmore "wouldn't work"). We started kicking this theory around and determined that Richard Alpert was also on the ship (he probably mutinied, since he no longer seems loyal to Widmore), and though we both think that Abbadon was on the boat, we disagree about his purpose (I think he was a slave, but my friend thinks that he served in some other capacity).

On the island in the present day, the survivors from Jack's camp are beginning to see that the Kahana crew may in fact be dangerous in addition to being ineffective. But it is Locke's camp that gets the full force of Keamy and the Kahana commandos (the same friend from above told me that he'd love to see a Keamy vs. Buffy fight). Many redshirt 815 survivors (a Star Trek reference... I feel dirty) are killed, and Keamy does something so despicable, it manages to erode Ben's calm.

Part 1 of the three part season finale finally made reference to the Orchid Station, which fans first learned about at the Comic Con between seasons 3 and 4. Allow me to direct you to the following video:



Interesting stuff.

Up next: Cylon civil wars...

Catching Up And Looking Ahead

Instead of doing a series of posts on a single topic or theme, the next three will be about catching up on television. There have been tremendous advancements on LOST and Battlestar Galactica. The fourth season finale of LOST is two weeks away, while the final season of Galactica is approaching its halfway point. But in addition to these two shows, I will do a post on a show that has not even premiered yet! Joss Whedon is returning to television next year with a show called Dollhouse, which will star Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy and Angel)! I may also throw in a reference to an online miniseries he's currently working on (and I am considering doing another group of posts on Buffy and Angel, where each post will showcase phenomenal episodes of each; I just can't get enough of his work!).

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade: The Action Comedy Movie

After the horror film, Spielberg and Lucas decided to return to the adventure format when they made Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Once again, Jones is racing against the Nazis to find an ancient artifact, and travels across multiple continents in the process. He also reteams with Sallah and Marcus Brody, and has a scene in his classroom. However, unlike Raiders, there are definite comedic aspects of the film, as opposed to a few jokes here and there to lighten the mood. Both Brody and Sallah have their characters tweaked to make them funnier; Brody especially turns into comic relief when he is changed from a respectable museum curator into a bumbling man who "once got lost in his own museum". But most important is the addition of Prof. Henry Jones, Sr., Indiana's irritable father. The rocky relationship between the Jones boys could have been used for dramatic purposes, but is played mainly for comedy.

The title has, until now, held a double meaning. As the last film in the trilogy, it was the last (filmed) crusade of Indiana Jones, but the story tells of the search for the Holy Grail, which was involved in the crusades. The man who hires Jones tells him that this quest will fulfill the ones that began 10 centuries ago in medieval Europe. At first, Indy is reluctant to take the job, until he learns that his father, who has dedicated his life to researching Grail lore, has disappeared while performing the same mission. For this adventure, Jones is paired with Dr. Elsa Schneider, a German historian who proves to be a significant break from the mold of past Indy girls. Let's just say that unlike Marion and Willie, she's not exactly what she initially seems.

Even though this movie is the most comical of the three Jones movies, it is still an Indiana Jones movie, and is full of action and adventure. Fortunately, the comedy never tries to be over the top (although it comes close a couple times with Brody), and usually stems from characterization as opposed to jokes for the sake of jokes. And the action sequences are still great. The opening sequence of this movie is a fun look at how Indy came to be who he is today (I like how the young Indy makes a fellow boy scout feel silly about being afraid of snakes, only to develop his fear not 20 minutes later). And of course, there is the scene of grotesque horror.

An interesting thought has just occurred to me (SEMI SPOILER ALERT); the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the story of an older Indiana Jones (it takes place in the 50s, and Soviets have replaced Nazis) trying to continue his extraordinary adventures despite his age. However, this would seem to go against a VERY IMPORTANT plot point from this movie! I am not going to say it, but it's kind of obvious if you think about it.

The Indiana Jones series was more of an anthology than a trilogy telling one large story. They were all about the incredible exploits of a seemingly average archaeologist, but each had little to do with the others. Last Crusade could be seen both as a fitting ending to the series as well as the gateway to a new beginning of Jones' life. With less than a week until the fourth one opens (nearly 20 years after this one), I am wondering how Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will take the established story and build on it.

Up next: Some television one-shots...

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom: The Dark Horror Film

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom takes place a year before Raiders, and it has a much darker tone than its predecessor. The story starts in China, but almost immediately takes Indy to India, where he spends the rest of the film (this is the first indicator that Temple is different from Raiders and Last Crusade; a central location replaces the globe-trotting adventure). In India, Jones and his travel companions (a young Chinese boy named Short Round and an American songstress named Willie) discover a village devoid of crops, water, and even children. The village elder tells Indy that an ancient and sadistic cult has stolen a magic stone that provided good luck and kidnapped all the children. Jones and company travel to an ancient palace that was once home to the cult, where they discover that the cult has reformed and is using the children as a work force to find the rest of the magic stones.

There are scary scenes in each film (some are scarier to different people; for example, the scene in the snake pit in Lost Ark gets to some people, while the bug scene in Temple affects others), but I think that most fans would argue that this movie has the most disturbing images in the series. Most notable is the scene where Mola Ram, the cult leader, rips a man's beating heart of his chest and throws the still-living man into a fire pit. George Lucas claims that his then-turbulent personal life was a definite influence on the darkness of this film, which is the official horror film of the trilogy. In fact, this film was responsible for the PG-13 rating. After a few other recent films that straddled the line between PG and R, Steven Spielberg asked the MPAA to create a new rating for movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which had enough violence/sex/profanity (violence in this case) to be too traumatic for kids, but not worthy of an R-rating, which hurts box office receipts (in theory) by disallowing teenagers from seeing the film without a parent (in theory).

Of the three films, this one is my least favorite, but I still enjoy it; I think that this mentality is shared by most Indiana Jones fans (I could be wrong, but most people I talk to about these films list this as their least favorite). There are some aspects that get a little tiresome, mainly Shorty and Willie. Shorty starts off funny as the strange kid sidekick (it looks like Indy will have another young sidekick in the upcoming film, which makes me a little nervous), then becomes grating. By the end, he is not that bad (and has one of the best lines in the movie). Willie is the exact opposite of Marion; she is a high-maintenance girlie girl who screams and recoils after breaking a fingernail (meanwhile, Indy and Shorty are about to be killed by a booby trap, and the nail was broken attempting to activate the failsafe lever). In one sense, it is interesting to see how a non-adventurer would react to Indy's exploits, but her constant screaming becomes an annoyance.

The movie is famous not only for its somewhat annoying supporting characters, but also has some very memorable and oft-referenced (I'm looking at you, Family Guy) sequences. The aforementioned scene with the cult leader often precedes the movie; when new viewers come into the Jones series, there are two scenes that inspire fear before the first minute has even passed. One is the snake pit scene, and the other is the heart-ripping scene. I myself avoided these films for years because of those two sequences. Then of course, there is the famous mine car chase, which is an incredible sequence through the bowels of the temple.

Up next: The comedy...

Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Old School Adventure Flick

Fresh off the success of The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas decided to resurrect another variety of 1930s serials; teaming up with Steven Spielberg, Lucas wrote a story about an adventurous archaeologist in the 1930s who searches for ancient relics and battles Nazis. It sounds a little silly, but ended up being incredible. Raiders of the Lost Ark uses some tried and true cliches and outrageous plot devices (I have a hard time believing the burn on that one Nazi's hand was accurate enough for what they eventually did with it), and yet everything came together. The entire opening sequence has ALMOST nothing to do with the rest (OK, so it sets up Indy as an adventurer and introduces Belloq), and yet it is one of the most famous and parodied cinema sequences in the past 25 years.

Harrison Ford, who was almost not cast in the role of Indiana Jones, is perfect as the completely human hero. Jones is an ordinary man who takes on extraordinary adventures; he knows how to handle himself in a fight, and is certainly more intelligent than the average person, but he is not invincible, nor is he infallible. Jones makes mistakes and loses fights, but he always finds a way to survive. Sometimes, he even needs to resort to some slightly dishonorable methods to stay in the fight (allow me to bring attention to the scene with the big guy with the scimitar).

All three of the Indiana Jones films are adventure films, but Raiders is considered to be the one with the purest sense of adventure. The characters of Sallah and Brody are intelligent characters who add to the proceedings (as opposed to being mainly comic relief; sorry Last Crusade, I still love you, but it's true), while Marion Ravenwood is the best foil for Indy. She is just as brave and adventurous as Indy, and can handle herself in a fight. But she is also a real woman, just as Jones is a real man, with flaws and shortcomings. One of which is her ability to hold a grudge.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a nearly perfect action adventure. It helped define the genre, and unlike many of the imitators, has brains behind the fights and explosions. The story is compelling and exciting. That's not saying that the action sequences aren't great, because they certainly are. From the opening sequence in South America to the truck scene, Indy constantly finds himself way over his head and often escapes with plenty of bruises. What I find most interesting is that the ending completely defies the action-adventure genre (which is extremely strange, since this movie is pretty much responsible for defining said genre) because Indy does NOT save the day. In fact, Indy and Marion don't really do much of anything during the climax except try desperately to avoid being included in it.

All three of the Indiana Jones films are great, and Raiders serves as the perfect entry point into Jones' world. The story is a classic globe-trotting adventure tale, and it introduces not only one of cinema's most iconic characters (it is hard to think of whips and fedoras without thinking of Jones) as well as one of the most recognizable theme orchestrations.

Up next: The dark horror film...

This Is Archaeology!

When I first had the idea to do a series on the Indiana Jones movies, I was a little skeptical, because I wasn't sure how much I could say about them. I love these movies, but they are nothing more than incredibly fun movies. They are based on adventure serials of the 1930s, and they are basically very well-done popcorn flicks (one of which was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar).

Obviously, the catalyst for considering doing the Jones films is the fact that, at long last, the long-awaited fourth film is being released in a few weeks. I will more than likely see it, but I am bracing myself for the fact that it may very well suck (Harrison Ford is a great actor, but can he still play an action hero?); however, seeing all the trailers have reengergized my love for the original trilogy.

Ultimately, I've decided to go for it and say what I can about the three films. I will analyze each as relating to the way each one's genre is viewed by the public; they are all adventure films, but the second is seen as the "horror" film of the three, while the third is seen as more comical than the other two.

Up next: Indy's Ark...

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

So I decided to use Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, since it is both a good film and a foreign film. Also, some of you will notice that the title of the post isn't as "clever" as normal (though my previous title was pretty lame as well). The subtitle of the movie's title, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was dropped from the US release due to rights issues (I believe). The movie takes place between episodes 22 and 23 of the series, and offers the highest bounty the Bebop crew has ever chased down.

Like many TV-to-film adaptations, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is kind of like an episode of the series with higher stakes and a bigger budget. Fortunately, the events of the movie lend themselves well to the big screen. The fight and chase scenes are incredibly well-done, and the world of Bebop gets to be even more fleshed out, showing off the beauty of dilapidation. And of course, the soundtrack is incredible.

The story takes place in the days leading up to Halloween on Mars, which is home to some of the richest people in the solar system. As the capital city begins preparation for the Halloween celebration, a two-bit bounty Faye is chasing seems to be mixed up with someone extremely dangerous. The explosion of a tanker truck leads to the release of a deadly bioweapon that has the authorities perplexed, and an enormous bounty is placed on the head of the man responsible. As Spike, Jet, Faye and Ed hunt down the mysterious Vincent Volajou, they begin to uncover a strange cover-up involving the government, the military and a powerful corporation.

The movie shows off more of the upper class of the future than we've seen throughout most of the series. With the exception of the scenes located at Syndicate buildings and the opera house, most episodes took place in very poor areas, since most of humanity is living in substandard living conditions. There were still plenty of scenes of poverty (notably Ed's undercover trick-or-treat mission that brought her to the door of a transvestite prostitute), and the starkly different environments beautifully highlight the class divide.

Of the five foreign films I've covered, this one is, to me, the most "American", mainly because the English dub is as professionally done as the original Japanese track (I would wager that an English script was written alongside a Japanese one to avoid untranslatable idioms). The makers were aware that there was going to be a huge market in the United States as well as Japan, since the series had already been well-received on both sides of the Pacific.

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of foreign films worth seeing. But these are five films, each from different countries, that I believe are all worth seeing (though Cowboy Bebop doesn't have the important messages of the other films, most notably Persepolis).

Up next: Indiana Jones?...

Lust, Caution: Under Cover Mission

I realized the other day that, with the exception of Cowboy Bebop, all of the films take place in the past and during times of turbulence (usually a war). Lust, Caution also holds the distinction of being the only narrative I've ever seen to hold an NC-17 rating (I've also seen The Aristocrats, which was a documentary, and A Clockwork Orange, but that received an X rating when X didn't necessarily refer to the adult film industry). This movie was the first NC-17 movie to receive a wide release in the US since 1995's Showgirls (and yet, I didn't even hear about this movie until it was released onto DVD).

The story is about Wong Chia Chi, a young university student who lives in Japan-occupied China during World War II. She falls in with a small theater group who are led by a passionately anti-Japanese theater student named Kuang Yu Min. Kuang's brother was killed by the Japanese, and he has resolved to rally support through his patriotic plays. But he soon decides that this isn't enough, and when he learns that an old schoolmate is now working for a high-ranking Chinese official in the puppet government, he decides that they can use him as an entry point to assassinate the official. The rest of the group take on assumed names and pose as driver, husband, and such in an effort to plant Chia Chi, who adopts the name "Mrs. Mak (Mak Tai Tai)", as a seductress and eventual assassain.

At first, the plan moves ahead slowly; Mr. Yee, the target, is extremely paranoid, and despite his attraction to Mak Tai Tai, he doesn't make a move. All seems lost when Yee and his wife move away. But a few years later, Chia Chi and Kuang find themselves in the same city as the Yees. Kuang has joined the official (I can't think of a better word than "official", but I doubt any rebellion is ever "official") resistance movement. This time around, Chia Chi receives extensive training and reassumes the role of Mak Tai Tai in an effort to finally kill Yee and severely hurt the Japanese occupation.

The second time around, Yee takes the bait. However, Mak Tai Tai soon learns that nothing could have prepared her for her mission. She grows to hate him when finally begins the sexual relationship she had trained for. Unfortunately, Yee is as ruthless in bed as he is in business. The NC-17 rating came from multiple scenes of extremely graphic, near-rape sex (and full frontal nudity). Yee treats this woman he claims to have feelings for worse than an animal. And yet, as time goes by, Mak Tai Tai begins to feel a kind of love for Yee in addition to all the hatred. She has to keep up the charade until her compatriots can find a suitable moment to kill Yee, which means luring him away from his security detail. Therefore, she spends a lot of time with him on dates and in private settings, and treats him the way he expects a mistress should treat him. In one of my favorite scenes, she sings a beautiful song (though, according to the trivia section of IMDB, it was the theme to a film released a few years before the setting of Lust, Caution, and is kind of a pop song in China) to him, expressing "her" feelings to him.

The film has a slow pace, but it is an incredible story. Watching the students evolve from idealist young theater students into people capable of murder is fascinating. The difference between the way they act before the plan, their own form of training, and the way they act once they become full-fledged resistance members is incredible. And then the relationship between Mak Tai Tai and Yee is both beautiful and painful at the same time. Yee loves her in his own twisted way, while Mak Tai Tai fights an internal battle over his treatment of her.

One interesting thing that I noticed is the way women were treated in 1940s/50s China. I saw Wong Kar-wai's In The Mood For Love earlier this year (it was pretty good, but the main reason I saw it was because it is required viewing for 2046, which is a sort-of sequel), which takes place in China a decade after Lust, Caution. In both films, the housewives spend most of their time playing mahjong and gossiping. It is considered strange for them to be out and about on their own after marriage, except to go to their jobs. Also, both films star Tony Leung, who played a very sweet and soft-spoken character in In The Mood For Love. It was very jarring to see him play such a ruthless character in Lust, Caution, but he played it very very well.

This was the first Ang Lee movie that I've enjoyed (though the only one I'd seen previously was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I was likely too young to appreciate it). After seeing this, I immediately rented Brokeback Mountain and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Lee has been added to my list of directors to stay aware of, as I hope to see his next film in theaters.

Up next: Kaubōi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira...

Persepolis: Terror And Humanity

Of the four or five foreign films I'm discussing, Persepolis is the only true story (and, if I decide against doing Cowboy Bebop, it would also be the only cartoon). It is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, which is an autobiographical tale of growing up in the Middle East. Writer Marjane Satrapi wrote and drew the graphic novel, and co-wrote and co-directed the film, making it both an incredibly faithful adaptation and an unfiltered look at what life was life for her as a young woman.

Satrapi was born in Iran while the Shah was still in power. As a young girl, she knew that people were unhappy with their puppet leader, but she never fully understood why. She was a curious child, but her imagination would often run wild; when her parents explain why they oppose the Shah, she rallies her friends to try and attack the son of a loyalist. Soon, however, she and her family find a ray of hope when the Shah is overthrown and the opportunity for freedom finally presents itself. Unfortunately, the people "elect" to put Islamic fundamentalists in power, thus creating a society of even more intense oppression. Women are forced to wear burqas, Islam is the only religion that is allowed, and any Western influences are outlawed.

Meanwhile, the Iran-Iraq War begins, and the government tries to find a scapegoat to blame. Iraqis are painted as villains, and people in the West are dishonest manipulators. But the reason this is such a wonderful story is that it ties into the present (if you couldn't tell, this is kind of a recurring theme in my posts; many of the greatest stories are in fact great because they have messages that are always relevant). The citizens in Iran want to do nothing but live their lives in peace. When they can't do that, their government tries to satiate them with stories of why times are so hard. Not unlike what's happening with the United States today. In both cases, there is a degree of truth; for the Iranians, Americans and Britons were in fact responsible for some shady dealings, and there are terrorists out there today who want to attack the US. However, in both cases, the respective governments tend to trump up the accusations.

As Marji grows up, she spends many years outside of Iran. Her parents fear that she will never be able to have the life she deserves while living in Iran because of the terrible way women are treated in the country. She lives in Austria for most of her teenage years, where she meets other kids who are just as confused about the world as she is. In addition to the social commentary, the film is a search for identity. She struggles to fit in to European society (her nationality and religion are frowned upon), and she experiences both literal and figurative homelessness when her outspoken nature drives away the people she thought were her friends.

Like with Pan's Labyrinth, the trailer for this movie completely blew me away:



Sadly, this movie didn't get nearly the press or hype that Pan's did; I had to wait about a month and a half for it to come to a theater in my area, and even then, I had to drive 45 minutes to get to the theater showing it. I don't know when it will be released onto DVD, you have to check it out. It is equally emotional and exciting, with a great message about tolerance and understanding your "enemy".

Up next: Se, Jie...