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...

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Simply Hilarious

Sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled post on Persepolis, but I saw something today that took me by surprise. If you've never heard of a little show (extreme emphasis on "little"; the show prided itself on its ultra-low budget) called Mystery Science Theater 3000, proceed to slap yourself. The premise was simple, so simple in fact that the SAME THING happened every episode, and yet it was always hilarious; a man and his two robot friends are forced to watch horrible Z-list movies, and in order to save their sanity, they mercilessly mock them. Anyway, the thing that happened today was that the theatrical film was rereleased on DVD after being sparsely available for years. In celebration of this cult show, I am doing a brief post to attempt to bring about a little awareness.

In contrast to pretty much every other TV show I've chronicled, I haven't seen nearly the majority of the total number of episodes. I think that I could use my two hands to count how many episodes I've seen. However, as I said above, the same thing happens in every episode. The plot of the show is this: a mad scientist hatches an evil plot to achieve world domination by driving the human race insane by making them watch the world's worst movie. In an effort to determine what movie that is, he puts his janitor on a spaceship and puts him in orbit, and forces him to watch some of the worst movies ever made. To keep his sanity, the dude builds himself two robot buddies from materials lying around the ship, and the three of them mock the films to no end. That is what the majority of run time of each episode consists of, three shadows watching terrible movies and making awesome jokes.

Over the course of the series, there are two hosts, Joel and Mike. I've never seen an episode with Joel, since the person who introduced me to the show was fervently opposed to Joel (even though he had never seen an episode with him either; he based this judgment on favorable descriptions of Joel's "sleepy" style), but I've thoroughly enjoyed the Mike episodes that I've seen.

The movies featured are exercises in stamina; without Joel/Mike and the Bots' commentary, they would be completely unwatchable. Absolutely nothing works in any of them. The story and dialogue sound like they were written by toddlers (wow, I just insulted toddlers), and the production values are lower than those of the frame show. And unlike MST3K, which highlights its low budgetness and thin plots (in the theme song, the lyrics remind viewers to not worry about how Joel/Mike eats, breathes, and "other science facts", since it it just a TV show), the movies tend to take themselves very seriously. And yet, some of the things they make fun of in the movies include the world's worst editing (a scene begins with two of the main characters, and halfway through, an alternate take that included the third main character was spliced in), terrible continuity (in a terrible space opera film from the 80s, about one minute after a character died, she showed up at her post), and they comment on how one movie tried to cover up its low quality by including clips and plot elements from a great movie (Casablanca).

It's hard to think that these movies could be so bad, but they are. The jokes never stop, and their variety (some are intellectual, some are juvenile, and others are completely random) keeps the episodes lively. Incredibly, the movie used for Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, called This Island Earth is actually an OK movie. It's no masterpiece, but compared to the rest of series, it's not bad. This only makes the jokes even funnier, knowing that the writers could probably take on Oscar winners and still be hilarious.

The show lasted eleven years, which is incredible to think about since it is such a relatively unheard of show outside of college campuses. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to check it out if you haven't already.

Up next: Back to foreign films...

The Lives of Others: Moonlight Sonata

I almost didn't see this one. I didn't even know it existed until it beat Pan's Labyrinth for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (I know that these posts make it sound like I put a lot of stock into the Academy Awards, but I really don't; Pan's was just such an experience for me that I couldn't believe that anything else could be better). And even then, this was just "That German Movie That Beat Pan's". But that changed when it became a class assignment. In my sociological theory class, one of the assignments was to attend three outside sociological texts. Buying a ticket to this movie and sitting through it counted as one, while writing a sociological analysis of it counted as another one, so I decided that it would be more fun than a few of the other options, and I could find out if it was truly better than Pan's Labyrinth. The short end to the story is that it's not. The long answer is as follows.

The story takes place in East Germany a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The movie opens with a title card explaining the secret police force, known as the Stasi, whose stated goal is to, "know everything" (you gotta hand it to these guys for their honesty in their STATED purpose; I wonder what their latent purpose was!). The first scene introduces us to Wiesler, a die-hard believer in the state and the Stasi. His methods of interrogation are intense (to say the least), and he trains new recruits to be ruthless towards the people who would seek to bring down East Germany or flee to the West. The story is set up when Wiesler's superiors task him to set up surveillance on a playwright named Dreyman. Dreyman is the only non-subversive writer to be popular in both East and West Germany, which seems to counteract the need for surveillance, but the Stasi brass claim that they fear that he is only building up good favor in order to, out of nowhere, release a powerful anti-communist piece.

Soon, Dreyman's apartment is bugged, and Wiesler sets up a listening station that is monitored solely by himself and a subordinate who receives endless criticism from Wiesler. As time goes by, we see more of the lives of both Wiesler and Dreyman. Dreyman is a success both because and in spite of his government; he wishes for more artistic freedom, but is happy to oblige with his government. He lives a happy live with his beautiful girlfriend, Christa-Maria, and has meaningful relationships with his friends (even though they can be strained at times due to some anti-state sentiments present in some of them). Wiesler, on the other hand, leads a very lonely life. He is kind of like a grown up version of the schoolyard snitch; he has few (if any) friends since he would gladly turn in anyone ballsy enough to utter any anti communist sentiments. He relies on whores for companionship and is married to his work. As time goes on, he begins to envy the man he is watching.

If that wasn't strange enough, we learn the truth behind the surveillance; a high-ranking party member has a thing for Christa-Maria, and believes that if Dreyman can be arrested for ANYTHING, Christa-Maria will be his for the taking (sounds a little Sweeney Todd-ish). This obviously upsets Wiesler, but the last straw comes when he overhears a recorded song Dreyman received for his birthday.

Meanwhile, one of Dreyman's friends commits suicide due to the inability to work after being blacklisted. This causes Dreyman to lose HIS faith in the state, and he begins to do what the Stasi "feared" he would do, and begins work on a subversive story that is to be published in the West. As Dreyman attempts to stay under the radar, Wiesler begins fudging the logs to keep the man he has grown to admire safe.

As I said, The Lives of Others is, in my opinion, not as good as Pan's Labyrinth. However, it is still an incredible movie. It's too bad both films were released in the same year, since both deserved every award they were nominated for and/or won. The film paints a scary picture of life under an oppressive state, and is both uplifting and depressing at the same time. In a time when warrant-less wiretaps are a reality, this movie is incredibly relevant.

Up next: Persepolis...

Pan's Labyrinth: War, Fantasy, Horror

I still remember when I first started hearing about this movie. I started reading glowing reviews of the trailer on fanboy news sites. Eventually, I saw the poster and was intrigued, but cautious, since I initially thought it was a follow-up to Jim Henson's production of Labyrinth, starring David Bowie. I did not like that movie very much (paradoxically, I really enjoyed MirrorMask, which was also produced by the Jim Henson Company and had a lot of similarities), and did not want to see it again. These fears were quickly put to rest when I learned that Pan's was a movie that took place in Spain after its Civil War in the 1940s and had a storyline that involved the fascist regime that took power. But finally, I saw the trailer, which pushed me into being full-on obsessed with seeing this movie:



Everything about the trailer clicked for me; the set-up of the story, the haunting score, and the monster effects. If the movie ended up being only 75% as awesome as the trailer made it look, I'd have been happy. Fortunately, Pan's Labyrinth was everything we were promised. And more.

There are essentially two stories in the film that influence each other and tie into each other both thematically and dramatically. The first is the story that is advertised; the story of Ofelia and the fairy tale world of the Labyrinth. Ofelia is a young girl who has been unfortunate enough to have to grow up in a world embroiled in war. The film takes place in 1944, meaning that in addition to living through the Spanish Civil War, there was nowhere for her family to escape to, since the rest of Europe was experiencing World War II. In order to escape the horrors that make up everyday life for her, she retreats into her fairy tale books, which feature princesses and happy endings. Her father died during the war, and her mother has remarried a captain in the fascist army, and are relocating to the countryside where he is stationed to quell the resistance. Once there, Ofelia discovers things that will alter the course of her life.

An ancient labyrinth sits next to the captain's house, and she immediately is drawn to it. However, Mercedes, one of the servants at the house, warns against it, citing the possibility of getting lost within. But at night, Ofelia is visited by a fairy that leads her into the heart of the maze where she meets a faun (despite the English title, it is not the Greek god Pan, but just an "average" faun) who tells her that she is the reincarnated soul of the princess of an underground kingdom.

From here, Ofelia's story is about how she attempts to complete three tasks to become worthy to reenter her kingdom. These scenes involve some of the most beautiful imagery I've seen on celluloid in a long time. The tree of the toad to the lair of the Pale Man each have a horrifying beauty to them; the tree is gnarled and dead, but these qualities add to its mystery and appeal. And the Pale Man's lair is dangerous in the "it's too quiet" sense, but viewers can't help but experience awe in addition to terror.

The other story is about the war and rebellion. Captain Vidal ruthlessly pursues a group of freedom fighters rebelling against the fascist regime that came to power. The rebels have to endure hellish conditions in the forest, while the army enjoys the creature comforts of having a home filled with servants. And as we watch Ofelia face her fears in the form of fantasy creatures, Vidal proves to be the real-life basis, as he commits acts even more heinous than the most terrifying of monsters.

Their two stories meet at the end, leading to an incredibly powerful ending that has led to a fair amount of debate between fans, despite the fact that writer/director Guillermo del Toro has come out and said what he believes "really" happened. The ending initially comes off as ambiguous, and my initial interpretation led me to believe what most of my friends who saw it also concluded. However, upon further examination, I realized that the opposite had to be true in order for a few events to make sense. On the DVD, del Toro confirmed my thoughts by pointing out 3 details (I picked up on two of them myself) that only make sense if it ends a certain way. However, my initial viewpoint (which many people still hold true) has plenty of merit.

Everything about this movie works. In addition to what I've already said, the musical score and sound mix are incredible. The score is centered around a haunting (as you can see, there a definite degree of horror in this fantasy film) lullaby, and nearly every sound effect is amplified to make this a visual and aural treat. The only thing I would have changed (and this is pretty much the only complaint I've ever heard anyone make about the movie) is that I would have added more scenes in the fantasy world. Compared to the real world storyline, the amount of fantasy scenes seem almost paltry by comparison.

If you haven't picked up on it yet, this is no kids' movie. One of my friends made fun of me for wanting to see a children's fairy tale movie, but this is anything but. The R rating is well-deserved, seeing as how violent the war scenes are and how scary some of the fantasy sequences are. I actually saw this film twice in theaters and the second time was with an ex-girlfriend, who jumped out of her seat at nearly every monster sequence. This is a story that shows the horrors of real life filtered through the eyes of a child. One of my favorite quotes about stories involves Neil Gaiman; Terry Pratchett commented on Gaiman's Coraline (which was written as a children's story) that true horror is born in children's fairy tales, and Pan's Labyrinth is a perfect illustration of that concept.

This was one of my favorite films of 2006, and that includes English-speaking films as well. Interestingly, all three of the three people I refer to as the three "Great Mexican Directors" (they are all friends and make movies with fairly similar subject matter; there is even a feature on the DVD with all three of them talking about their movies) made movies in 2006, all of which were highly lauded. In addition to del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Alfonso Cuaron made Children of Men (also awesome), and Alejandro Inarritu made Babel. As I said, all three were very well received and won many awards and accolades, but I felt that Pan's deserved more than it got. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (but lost to the next entry on my list), but wasn't nominated for Best Picture (but Babel was). I think that The Departed was definitely deserving, but this may in fact have been the best film of the year.

Up next: Das Leben der Anderen...

A Few Foreign Films

This is by no means a comprehensive series of foreign films worth seeing (I myself still need to see Amelie, which has been on my to-do list since my sophomore year of college), but after seeing Lust, Caution last week, I decided that it's time to at least bring up a few of my favorites.

I will do overviews of at least four films, each of a different language. Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish), The Lives of Others (German), Persepolis (French), and Lust, Caution (Chinese). I may add in Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Japanese), but I am still deciding whether or not to do so, since (1) I already did a series on Cowboy Bebop (though in retrospect, it wasn't my best, and I didn't really touch on the film) and (2) I have never actually watched the film in Japanese. Of the little anime that I've seen, Bebop is the only one with a truly spectacular English dub.

These are all films that are incredibly good, but I have a reason for writing about them aside from my enjoyment of them. Foreign films aren't mainstream in America, and while it is not exactly rare to meet someone else who has seen these films (especially Pan's Labyrinth, which is probably one of the most talked-about foreign films to come along in a while), there are people who refuse to watch movies with subtitles. I hope that this series will change their minds.

Up next: El Laberinto del Fauno...

Sweeney Todd: The Most Talented Cast On Earth

So last night, I finally was able to see Sweeney Todd live, and it was certainly not what I was expecting. I have seen a few YouTube videos of Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury in the original Broadway production, and it was a "regular" show. It had various sets, one of which was a raised room that was the barber shop, which stood over the pie shop. And, like most musicals, the actors did not double as the orchestra. Wait, what?!

When my father and I got to the theater, we noticed that there was no orchestra in the Pit, and we were perplexed. I started reading the Playbill, and noticed that the actors were listed next to lists of instruments, I half-suggested that the actors would play their own instruments. But how would that work? But when the show started, we saw that the only 10 actors in the show each had instruments, and sang and played simultaneously (if the given instrument allowed for it).

Throughout the show, the 10 actors played their roles as well as an average of 3 instruments each (some played up to 4 or 5, while the actor playing Jonas Fogg only played the bass, and the actress playing Johanna only played the cello). And when they weren't acting or playing, they were moving the furniture on the set around to create new locations. There was one set, but the furniture would signify different areas.

In retrospect, I don't know why this set-up surprised me so much. I've seen pictures of the actors performing while playing (I have one in a previous post!), but for some reason, I never thought it would work. And yet, the production worked beautifully. From what I read, the show was reformatted for a West End production due to budgetary constraints. But the show works so beautifully that the tour chose keep the style.

Keeping every major character in the show on stage during every scene adds to the intimacy of the story. This is a musical that has no dancing and is based entirely on raw emotion. The actors stay in character even when they are not a part of the scene; the Beggar Woman always moves with a shaky gait while Tobias had a latent insanity behind his movements. At times, the use of instruments even infuses a little bit of humor into the extremely dark show. When Mrs. Lovett walks around with an enormous tuba to announce the new and improved pie shop, the visual is priceless.

Sadly, I did have a few complaints, but they were about the actors themselves, not the way the show was produced. Unfortunately, the actors playing Sweeney Todd and Anthony were not the strongest that I've seen/heard, and the songs, "Epiphany" and "Johanna (1 and 3)", which are usually some of my favorites, were mediocre at best.

I want to end with a few things that were not important, but I feel like mentioning anyway. I loved the way the show opened; the curtain came up and we see Toby gagged and bound in a straight jacket, looking absolutely horrified. And the other is that in this production, Pirelli is played by a woman. I never thought that I would think of that character as being very attractive (remember, Sacha Baron "Borat" Cohen played him in the film), but damn!

Up next: Foreign films...