Monthly Archives: February 2022

Final Thoughts: The Book of Boba Fett

 

This week the Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett aired its final episode of season one. The show proved to be a disappointment. Now, I have never neem enthralled by the character of Boba Fett. In The Empire Strikes Back, he was clever, resourceful, and stood up to Bader but as a character he was essentially a cypher. His demise in Return of the Jedi was ham-handed and stank of authorial intrusion and as such he eventually survival rectified that mistake.

That said what transpired in this series lacked emotional heft. After slaughtering Jabba the Hutt’s successor Fett attempts to become the new crime lord for the city with a crew smaller than Jimmy the Gent’s in Goodfellas. Pitted against several crime families and an off-world drug syndicate Fett unites several disparate forces for a final stand to free the city of Mos Espa from the evil crime lords and syndicate.

At its heart it looked as if The Book Of Boba Fett actually had a story that could have been interesting. Fett, a ruthless and amoral bounty hunter learns, after living extensively with natives of the Tatooine dessert, that community matters and rejects his former life of hunting for one of protecting. Sadly, the execution of the series hopelessly muddled the story, and the series most emotionally meaningful moments all came from cameo of character visiting from the series The Mandalorian.

Perhaps a worse cinematic crime is that in the series finale the character of Boba Fett is made to be plainly stupid. Fett and his right-hand enforcer are pinned down at the west end of a wide street by an armed force closing in from the east. (I picked the directions at random so the blocking can be clear.) Suddenly new allies from the free town arrive and join the fight on Fett’s side. Do they attack from the east, forcing Fett’s attackers to defend from both sides? No, they swoop in and join Fett in being pinned down at the west end of the street. Then the Mods, colorful biker gang allies of Fett arrive, and go straight to west end and join in being pinned down. After than another ally, then experienced Wookie fighter also ignores attacking from the east and joins his already besieged allies. I muttered to my sweetie-wife as we watched ‘I wished my players were this stupid.’

An opportunity to expand and deepen the Star Wars universe had been wasted on confused storytelling and pointless action.

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More thoughts on Nightmare Alley (2021)

 

Given that I had appointments to keep today I took the day off from my day-job and that provided me the opportunity to head out to the cinemas and see Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light which is the Guillermo del Toro production presented in black and white.

First off let me say that the feature was absolutely fabulous in B&W. There have been other feature films in recent years that have released monochrome editions, Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome and Logan Noir, and neither of these alternative versions were as beautiful or as fitting as Nightmare Alley’s. I think del Toro envisioned the feature in black-and-white, with all the production design aimed at that target. Also as a period piece we movie lovers are so used to seeing that era in monochrome that it feels more natural and strangely more realistic without vibrant colors. That is not to say that the production design suffered in color. It was beautiful and captivating and a true testament to the artistry and skill of the team.

Where The Tragedy of Macbeth in Black and white feels stagey, unreal, this film feels grounded because of it.

Watching the film a second time it grew on me more and I was even more deeply immersed in the story and the characters.  The film is layered and the performances at time quite subtle. With a repeat viewing I became more aware of symbolic establishments that foretold the eventual end for the charlatan Stanton Carlisle. It was also clear in subtle moments when characters had committed themselves to irrevocable courses of action. I enjoyed the movie the first time, last night I loved it.

 

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The Insurrection Pyramid

 

To any clear thinking unbiased observer it is obvious that last January individuals within the presidential administration attempted to prevent the transfer of power, overthrowing our democratic system of government, and act of open insurrection. However not all individuals that participated or wo supported, then or now, should be classified and treated the same. There are, in my mind, distinct tiers of insurrectionists and we need to be mindful of them when determining our course of action.

The lowest tier is those in the general population. Many of these people are working on the objectively false but passionately held belief that the election was stolen. Put aside the idea that people were dumb enough to steal an election for the president while allowing the legislature to come perilously close to changing hands. IF someone honestly thinks their government is being stolen, they are going to support those who are trying to ‘save’ it. These people are well meaning fools but in the end, they are also tools manipulated by higher tiers of the insurrectionists.

The middle tier, much smaller tan the lowest, is comprised of those intelligent enough to know the corruption and insurrection at play. Who know that the 2020 election was secure and fair but yet continue to support the past administration’s efforts to subvert and overthrow the legitimate government. Most of those in this tier are pulled to power like moths to flames. These are the Senators and Congress People that voice deep ‘concern’ but when the votes are counted protect the insurrectionists rather than risk or lose one erg of political power. It is also those wiser and more intelligent members of the electorate that can see the truth but set aside because they want some personally identifiable gain politically, such as greater firearm freedoms.

The highest tier, and the smallest, must face the most intense consequences for their actions. These are the instigators, the plotters and planners that knew full well what they did. Who knowing sought to overthrow our democracy. It is the inner circle of the past administration and its advisors, for these I think we must have stiff and long prison terms.

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Streaming Review: Lake of the Dead (1958)

 

Despite what the title might lead you the think the 1958 Norwegian horror film Lake of the Dead contains zero zombies or undead.

Instead, it is the story of six adults friends, none of them remotely close to being a teenager, who vacation at a remote cabin that boasts a horrific and ghostly legend. Fairly quickly it is suggested that the ghost of the peg-legged murder may be possessing the vacationers and the clock is ticking for the group to solve the mystery of the lake as the dangers grows.

I wish I could say that I liked Lake of the Dead, but while it did not tempt me to switch it off nor did it fully engage me. The story is told entirely in flashback so on one level there are at least a set of character the audience is aware are going to survive their experience. I do appreciate the approach that had different character holding vastly different theories concerning the existence of the supernatural. However, a trained psychiatrist simply pronouncing the fact of telepathy as something as routine as antibiotics grated me in an entirely wrong manner. That said this film undoubtedly works for some and is competently crafted.

Lake of the Dead is currently streaming in Shudder.

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Streaming Review: Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster

 

I recently ignited a spirited discussion on the questions was the original novel Frankenstein science-fiction or not. A number of people argues the process of using electricity to vivify the creature as a principal aspect of the science in this fiction. But that image, the grand storm, the massive bolts of lightning, the sparking machinery, all originate with the 1931 film Frankenstein and if any visual image leaps into your head of the creature, particularly if that image is hulking, brutish, and mute then the person leaping to your mind is Boris Karloff.

This week I watched a fantastic documentary on the life of Karloff, Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster and while I knew some of the story there was a great deal about this extremely talented actor I never knew. For example, due to the racism of the times he hid and never discussed his ethnicity and what I had assumed was a ‘Hollywood tan’ George Hamilton was actually his South Asian (Indian) heritage.

Remember almost exclusively in popular culture as Frankenstein’s monster, a part he gave pathos and empathy to that lives on nearly a century later, Karloff’s best work came in other films. Personally I have not seen a finer performance by him than as the murderous cabman in The Body Snatcher, (1945) where he is not only frightening but also disarmingly charming. However, The documentary also gave me new films to seek out and watch with the amazingly versatile man such as Lured starring Lucile Ball searching for a killer in London, or The Black Room where Karloff plays noble brothers with one decidedly evil.

The film covers his life, its hard knocks, and that somehow this man remained giving, gracious, and inspiring throughout the turbulent turmoils. For fans of good documentaries, classic horror, and above all Karloff, this is a must see.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster is currently streaming on Shudder.

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Doctor Who’s James Bond Problem

 

I have been fairly unengaged with the last few seasons of Britain’s most popular cultural export, Doctor Who, the long-running fantasy adventure series about a space and time traveling alien and his various human companions.

The series, first started in the 60s, has told stories that spanned galaxies and stories restricted to a single isolated lighthouse. Sometimes the Doctor, for the character is never properly named, has a curt gruff personality, sometimes the Doctor is silly, and sometimes, tragic. The eternal ‘regeneration’ that has allowed the character to pass from actor to actor has also allowed the series to remain relevant to the times of each series giving the show powerful staying ability.

Lately however it has come to resemble late period James Bond before the reboot of that classic franchise in 2006. Bond’s adventures grew in scale and stakes, or at least attempted to. The truth of the matter is there are only so many times you can ‘save the world’ before that become old hat and the audience turns disinterested.

Who took this issue to greater heights. With settings beyond one planet the Doctor began saving the universe, then destroying and recreating the universe. And each iteration presented stranger and more powerful antagonists for the doctor to battle, replacing emotional connection based in character with what they hoped was thrilling expansive scale.

For me scale never surpasses character as emotionally engaging. I remember the 2009 Christmas Special for Doctor Who The Waters of Mars with the Doctor one a single planet trying to save a small, doomed crew far more clearly than I do the season that just finished with another universe threatening pair villain and absolutely no emotional heft.

The problem is the writing. Which is strange because show runner Chris Chibnall has turned out very compelling character-based drama such as with his series Broadchurch but seeming has forgotten the basic of good character and story when handed a fantasy franchise.

I hope the Doctor’s future has more small scale but greater character driven stories rather than more failed attempts at ‘mind blowing’ concept that are emotionally meaningless.

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