The Revolution of "Reds"

If you dig deep enough into world cinema, it's inevitable that you're going to run across films depicting the rise of various socialist movements across the globe, from France's "Grin Without a Cat," to Argentina's "Hour of the Furnaces," to those early masterpieces of Soviet cinema, "Battleship Potempkin" and "October." Here in the West, where socialism is still met with knee-jerk rejection, it can be difficult to remember that in the early days, The Revolution was once viewed in a very positive light by a broad base of passionate supporters, who believed it could change the world for the better. And so it was very surprising to come across Warren Beatty's "Reds," a biopic of the American journalist and radical "red" activist John Reed, best known for writing the book that "October" was based on, Ten Days that Shook the World. Despite being made in the early 1980s, during the highly conservative Reagan era, the film is deeply sympathetic to Reed, and offers a fascinating look at a long forgotten historical figure and American social and political movement.

"Reds" is usually billed first as an epic love story, using the relationship between Reed (Warren Beatty) and fellow journalist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) as its main throughline. The two meet in Oregon in 1912, and Bryant follows Reed to New York, where she becomes swept up in a community of freethinking artists and intellectuals and bohemians, including playwright Eugene O'Neill (Jack Nicholson) and anarchist Emma Goldman (Maureen Stapleton). The relationship between Bryant and Reed is a rocky one, as Bryant is fiercely independent and finds it difficult to work in Reed's shadow. They attempt to have an open relationship, which proves to be disastrous. Many eventful years later, they travel to Russia to cover the events of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 together, which becomes a major turning point for Reed, radicalizing and politicizing him. It's Reed's involvement with the American communist and socialist movements, and his ties to the Bolsheviks, that eventually threaten to separate him from Bryant for good.

I admit that I had "Reds" in the back of the queue for a long time, simply because of its length. A three hour film based on such obscure subject matter didn't sound appealing. However, I failed to appreciate that "Reds" belongs to that class of old-fashioned historical epics that does such a marvelous job of immersing the viewer in a particular place and time and milieu, and pairing that experience with first rate character drama. The scope and the detail of the recreations of Greenwich Village and revolutionary Petrograd are stunning. The cast is great, lead by Beatty and Keaton are at the top of their game. They're so good as a pair of magnetic young artists in love, who can't help but be drawn together again and again, even though they frequently make each other miserable. Their fight scenes are particularly effective, full of politics, philosophy, and the kind of deeply personal invective that only really clever people who know each other very well are in a position to deliver. But more than the intellect, it's the way that the actors capture the zeal of their characters for their cause and their work that makes it so easy to get invested in their lives, even if we know that Reed and Bryant ultimately end up on the wrong side of history.

And that history is never forgotten for a moment. Beatty, who directed, produced, and starred in the film, and shares writing credits with Trevor Griffiths, went to considerable lengths for historical accuracy. "Reds" has a strong documentary element, as the dramatized narrative is interspersed with several snippets of interviews from real people who knew Reed and Bryant, or were otherwise involved in the events depicted in the film. Many were involved with the American Socialist party and other political movements of the day. Credited as "witnesses," the elderly interviewees provide firsthand accounts of their experiences during the era. Some speak to social conditions, some repeat gossip, and the various claims occasionally contradict each other. This serves to bolster the film's portrayal of Reed and Bryant, and remind viewers that their lives weren't so far removed from our own. It's a wonderful technique, one I'm surprised we don't see used more often.

Though Beatty clearly wants the audience to examine its own preconceptions, I think it's important that he never pushes too far. It never feels like he's stumping for Socialism at any point. He plays John Reed as an admirable true believer, but one with plenty of faults and hypocrisies who made some major mistakes, particularly toward the end of his life. As a romance and a biopic, I found "Reds" extremely satisfying. And as a passion project, this is one of those rare beasts where the sky high ambitions of its creator are fully matched by stellar technical and storytelling skill. In fact, this may be the best American epic film I've ever seen.
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"Carnivàle," Year One

The opening monologue of HBO's "Carnivàle" promises the tale of a clash between two men wielding the powers of good and evil, the latest incarnations of forces that have been battling each other since time immemorial. However, during the entirety of the first twelve-episode season, we don't get to see that clash, though the two men from the story are eventually identified. "Carnivàle" was famously cancelled after two seasons, so I wouldn't be surprised if the pair never get to face off onscreen at all. Instead, it's better to think of "Carnivàle" as the story of two men struggling to survive during the Great Depression, and to understand the influence of supernatural powers on their lives . Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) is a young fugitive with strange healing powers who joins up with a travelling carnival, the Carnivàle of the title. Brother Justin (Clancy Brown) is a minister who is guided by strange visions and a strong desire to eradicate sin in the world.

The show primarily stays focused on the carnival storyline, which features the the bulk of the series' regular cast. Samson (Michael J. Anderson) the dwarf runs the show, relaying orders from the unseen owner of Carnivàle, known only as "Management." Jonesy (Tim DeKay) is his right hand man, the chief roustabout with a bum leg. Performers include the blind mentalist Lodz (Patrick Bauchau), Lila the bearded lady (Debra Christofferson), Ruthie the snake charmer (Adrienne Barbeau), Gecko the Lizard man (John Fleck), a pair of conjoined twins (Karyne and Sarah Steben), and the "cootch show" striptease troupe, the Dreifuss family, comprised of father Stumpy (Toby Huss), mother Rita Sue (Cynthia Ettinger), an daughters Libby (Carla Gallo) and Dora Mae (Amanda Aday). Finally, there's Sofie (Clea DuVall), a young tarot card reader, who partners with her mother Apollonia (Diane Salinger) to read people's futures. Apollonia is catatonic and bedridden, but has strong telekinetic and psychic powers, and can speak to Sofie mentally. In Brother Justin's storyline, we also meet his sister Iris (Amy Madigan), and his mentor, Reverend Norman Balthus (Ralph Waite).

"Carnivàle" is a slower paced show, more concerned with building up characters and atmosphere than it is about building up any kind of narrative momentum. There are several very strong self-contained episodes, but largely the series is built on incidental moments and small encounters. It's not until toward the end of the season that the viewer can really appreciate the cumulative weight of all these little moments, and come to realize that all these strange carnival folk are now familiar faces in world that seems to be going terribly wrong. The show's greatest achievement is the recreation of the 1930s, the era of the Dust Bowl and Depression, when an apocalyptic mood hung over America. A feeling of encroaching dread also hangs over Carnivàle, as they're plagued by one calamity after another. It's fitting for a show where our main protagonists, Ben and Brother Justin, are constantly fighting their doubts and fearful of the consequences of taking action.

I understand why the show wasn't more popular, because "Carnivàle" isn't nearly as romantic or nostalgic as it sounds from the premise. There's plenty of mysticism and magic, and there are always some good, picturesque visuals to appreciate, but most episodes also spend a significant amount of time showing us the less glamorous side of life on the road and the extreme poverty of the era. The freaks may all be real and the psychics and mystics actually have special powers, but Samson still regularly has to resort to tricks and cheats in order to keep the show in the black and everyone fed. All the characters have their shades of gray and varying codes of morality. On the one extreme you have Brother Justin and his increasingly disturbing sermons, and on the other you have the Dreifuss family and their unorthodox views on sexuality. Perhaps the only real innocent is Sofie, on the verge of growing up, and surrounded by questionable influences.

However, their world is so wonderfully constructed - not just the way it takes care to get the period details right, but the relationships and the intrigues among the carnival workers, and the way that Ben and Brother Justin gradually learn about their powers. For those who are willing to put aside expectations and take "Carnivàle" on its own terms, the show can become engrossing very quickly. I found the storylines with Ben and Brother Justin weren't nearly as interesting as Sofie's growing pains or the Dreifuss's marriage issues or even Samson's peculiar relationship with Management.

After twelve episodes, I'd be happy to see the bigger storylines start ramping up, or if the show just wants to spend another twelve episodes exploring the dusty Midwest, I'm fine with that too. This is one of those media universes where it's gratifying just to be able to spend some time there and consider the possibilities.
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The Challenge of "Exotica"

There are great movies that aren't well known due to age or reputation, but the ones that always get to me are the ones that are obscure because of their subject matter. In my experience, viewers tend to put their guard up around films that have even a hint of pornographic intent around them. And so we come to Atom Egoyan's "Exotica," which takes place largely in a strip club of the same name, and features several scenes of young women taking their clothes off and dancing. I don't want to downplay the fact that there is sex and nudity in the film, and the director is counting on the audience to react to these elements in certain ways, but there's lot more going on under the surface.

The plot of "Exotica" is told in a piecemeal fashion, where important information and context is revealed gradually, often through flashbacks or fateful conversations. We have to learn about the characters and untangle the meanings behind their actions as we go along. First there's Thomas (Don McKellar), an awkward young man who we first see going through customs at an airport. Then there's Eric (Elias Koteas), announcer at the Exotica club, who sometimes gets a little too personal on the microphone for comfort. He's particularly fixated on one of the dancers, Christina (Mia Kirshner), which worries the club's owner, Zoe (Arsinée Khanjian). Finally there's Francis Brown (Bruce Greenwood), a regular at Exotica, who also employs his niece Tracey (Sarah Polley) to "babysit," though we learn quickly that there's no baby.

Figuring out how all of these different characters connect to each other is satisfying, but the real strength of "Exotica" is in the way it explores and illuminates their inner lives. Though I've made it sound complicated, the sequence of events is simple and easy to follow. It's why events play out the way that they do, and why particular characters react in certain ways that are the biggest mysteries. Like Egoyan's more well-known feature, "The Sweet Hereafter," "Exotica" centers around loneliness and grief, and the way that different people cope. Despite moments of darkness and violence, I found the story to be remarkably sensitive and empathetic. I like the way that this film treats sex work, suggesting that the motives of the parties on either side of the transaction may be quite different from what we assume. I like that the characters are shown to be fundamentally kind and protective of each other, even if they have other motives that can also lead them to also treat each other badly.

"Exotica" has a unique atmosphere about it. The pace is slower and environments are unremarkable, putting all the focus on quiet conversations and private encounters. The club, for instance, is not exactly an inviting place, but you can see why it's alluring to a certain kind of clientele. Everything is low-key, allowing an emphasis on sensuality over raunch, passion over venality. The cheap furnishings and jungle decor somehow only add to the mystique. Christina uses Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" as her theme music when she performs, and the deep, melancholy, baritone vocals seem to reflect the primal subconscious desires of her customers. There's so much sexuality in the film, but the parts that most mainstream media tends to forget about - intimacy, comfort, and no small degree of solace.

The cast is full of familiar faces who do some of their best work here. I can't praise Elias Koteas enough, who looks very close to the way he did in the "Ninja Turtles" movies, but is playing a soulful, damaged man who offers up hypnotic monologues on human nature. Then there's Don McKellar, whose character is hiding multiple secrets behind a shy exterior, and is at his most expressive when he's not saying anything. Bruce Greenwood's Francis is the most enigmatic of the leads out of necessity, and it's difficult to dislike him even when he's in situations where we can only assume the worst. As for Mia Kirshner, I'm surprised that I haven't seen her in much since this film, because she shows so much promise and maturity.

This is the first film in a while that genuinely surprised me by making some terribly brave choices that I wasn't expecting. It's not an easy film to approach, but it provides such a great viewing experience, one I'm a little at a loss to compare to anything else. I found "Exotica" far more rewarding than many of the films I've seen that use a similar narrative structure, such as Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia," and Michael Hanneke's "Code Unknown," for the simple reason that in "Exotica" it doesn't feel like the narrative is a gimmick. And the only reason I can think that it's less well known than those titles is because its surface themes make it seem so unapproachable.

I think it's well worth taking the risk to see for yourself.
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My Favorite Yasujiro Ozu Movie

Yasujiro Ozu movies may be difficult to approach at first. They appear to be very culture-specific, because they deal primarily with the domestic lives of the Japanese, and often feature unfamiliar social customs. However, the stories always come down to universal family relationships, usually those of parents and their children. Major conflicts are rarely in play, but there are often difficult situations or troubling circumstances that have arisen which cause the characters considerable worry. Ozu films are about ordinary people, living out ordinary lives, but they can be very absorbing, and have great emotional impact.

There are certain films that need a little life experience on the part of the viewer in order to appreciate fully. I've found that this is the case with many of Ozu's films, because they often feature older characters, and they're very leisurely paced. The atmosphere is as important as the developments of the plot. Ozu's most famous film, "Tokyo Story," is about an elderly couple who encounter difficulties when visiting their adult children in the big city. Their feelings of displacement are conveyed as much through shot composition as they are through the performances and dialogue. And then there's my favorite Ozu film, "Late Spring," about a father and daughter pair who must face the question of the daughter's future.

The situation is one that Ozu examined many times in many different films. The beloved daughter has grown up, and it's time that she got married and started her own family. In "Late Spring," Professor Shukichi Somiya (Chishu Ryu) is a widower who has lived only with his daughter, Noriko (Setsuko Hara), for many years. Noriko is now in her late twenties, but whenever the subject comes up she insists that she's not interested in marriage. Her father and many of their acquaintances are starting to worry about her prospects. They set about discovering the reason for Noriko's feelings and seeing if they can be changed. Potential matches are discussed, meetings are arranged, and finally the truth about Noriko's reluctance is discovered and addressed.

Ozu films appear to be very slight on the surface. In "Late Spring," the action is limited to a series of conversations and everyday occurrences. However, the lives of the Somiyas are changed forever by what is ultimately decided. These are not important events in the larger scheme of things, and it's easy to imagine that this situation is a fairly common one in families with children of a certain age. However, in the moment, as we live out these events with these specific characters, the drama is remarkably affecting. We get to know Professor Somiya, a kindly, older man with a pleasant temperament. Like many of Ozu's heroes, he's very polite and unassuming, willing to listen to the advice of others, and deeply concerned about the welfare of his daughter. Then there's Noriko. Setsuko Hara is such a cheerful, warm presence, and gives Noriko a winning personality and easy charm.

I was a little wary of "Late Spring" before I watched it, because the idea of getting a daughter married off for her own good seemed a rather retrograde and unpleasant idea. However, story wasn't nearly so simple. The real love story at the center of the film is between the father and daughter who have depended on each other for so long, and are both reluctant to part ways for different reasons. It's their relationship that is the heart of the matter, one that has to change in order for both of them to move on as they must. Ozu portrays their struggle as a natural turning point in both of their lives, one that is as inevitable as it is painful. And he does it with such sensitivity and such candidness, in such a straightforward way.

After seeing many more of Ozu's films, I've grown to appreciate their lightness of tone, and easygoing, minimalist style. His shots are always perfectly constructed, but static. The camera almost never moves, and cuts are carefully employed. Most stories take place in the modern day, set in middle class and lower class homes, which are always made to look peaceful and inviting. There's something very relaxing about watching an Ozu film, knowing that the people will always be friendly and talkative, the scenery will always be picturesque, and though there may be some tears shed, life will go on as it should in the end.

I'm glad I first watched "Late Spring" when I was in my late-twenties, when I could identify very strongly with Noriko and all of her worries about moving on into a new stage of life. I expect that in a few decades, I'll be able to watch it again, but this time with more appreciation for the father's point of view. I'm actually looking forward to it.
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Life and Times of a "War Witch"

We first meet Komona (Rachel Mwanza) at the age of twelve, forced to become a child soldier in a violent civil war engulfing an unnamed sub-Saharan African country. With this kind of subject matter, you can probably guess that that the story will be traumatic and sobering, and that there will be very adult subject matter and intense situations that often will be difficult to watch. Terrible things happen to Komona, starting with her conscription, where she is forced to kill her own parents as part of the initiation. She is starved, beaten, raped, taught to kill, and constantly placed in harm's way. These things are numbly matter-of-fact. However, Komona survives by becoming the "war witch" of the rebel leader, the Great Tiger (Mizinga Mwinga), and befriending an older albino boy, the Magician (Serge Kanyinda).

While cruel and harsh, "War Witch" is a fascinating coming-of-age story full of strange wonders. Komona can see ghosts, or at least has strong visions of the dead, who are represented by people wearing white makeup. They exist so causally in the frame, it took me some time to realize that they were ghosts, and not some newly encountered tribe of people being conquered or displaced. They become a regular presence in Komona's world, just as real to our heroine as the living people around her. Magic and ritual are treated as vitally important, forces that must be respected though their workings remain mysterious. Charms and curses are common items of currency, and unusual occurrences are readily attributed to intervention by the spirit world. Thus Komona's title of war witch affords her some power, but rarely enough to keep her from further harm and tragedy.

Komona's story isn't entirely dark and harrowing. In the middle segment of the film, she and the Magician manage to escape the rebel army for a time, and have their own adventures together. These scenes are funny, romantic, touching, and even lighthearted. They're also important in helping Komona to come into her own. Rachel Mwanza's performance really starts to shine here, as Komona becomes less passive and more willful. She's sympathetic from the start, but it takes a while for her to become a truly admirable figure that you want to root for. Initially she and the Magician are thrown together by circumstance, and when they leave together she follows his lead. Gradually, however, Komona develops a real relationship with him, and it's lovely to watch. Serge Kanyinda's Magician is a fun combination of mystic, con-man, and frustrated teenage boy. We're reminded several times throughout of how young these characters are, but it doesn't have the same impact as seeing them being young together, when they finally have the opportunity.

"War Witch" was primarily shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo with local talent, mostly non-actors. The young leads have no other screen credits to their names. As is common in these circumstances, the film occasionally feels a little like an ethnographic exercise, but I was impressed with how well director Kim Nguyen was able to avoid exoticizing his subjects, always bringing out the humanity of the people and their communities. There's a great sequence where Komona and the Magician go to live with the Magician's uncle, the Butcher (Ralph Prosper). We see the pair participating in activities like extracting oil from the surrounding trees, working alongside the other villagers. It's not clear what they're doing at first, but as the camera captures the process, step by step, the exotic becomes normal, and we understand that Komona and the Magician have found their way back to the routine of an ordinary life again.

I can't help but want to compare "War Witch" to "Beasts of the Southern Wild," which is also tells the story of a young black girl surviving in a tumultuous environment full of dangers, and heavily features magic realism and fantasy. However, it feels like too easy a comparison to make, and probably not a fair one. "War Witch" is more firmly grounded in the real world, and though magic is a major theme, the only really fantastic elements are Komona's ghosts, who she may be imagining. "War Witch" is also a much more straightforward affair, without the wild visual stylization or the child's eye perspective of "Beasts." Its themes are more heavy-handed and treated in a more conventional way. After all, Komona's journey represents real-world horrors that plague real people. By necessity she's far less of an abstraction than fearless little Hushpuppy, which is why I think "War Witch" ultimately hit much closer to home for me.

"War Witch" is one of the better surprises I've had from the films of 2012. Yes, it's a brutal and unforgiving film about child soldiers, but that isn't what defines it. Rather, it's about a young woman surviving tragedy, realizing her own power, and burying her ghosts. It's a story that I'm glad to see told, and told so well. And I hope other people will find it.
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"Side Effects" and "Behind the Candelabra"

These are the last two Steven Soderbergh films for the foreseeable future, since Soderbergh has announced his retirement. "Side Effects" was theatrically released back in February and just hit home media. "Behind the Candelabra" was produced by HBO as a television movie and premiered over Memorial Day weekend. I managed to catch one of the repeats last week. The films have nothing to do with each other, except, perhaps, that they can be seen as examples of Soderbergh's occasional genre experiments. "Side Effects" is a psychological thriller, a little more of the Brian De Palma than the Hitchcock variety. "Candelabra," on the other hand, is a campy examination of the romantic pairing of the famously extravagant pianist Liberace, and a young man named Scott Thorson, who gets caught up in his fame and excess. I don't have enough to say about them to warrant individual reviews, so I'm writing them up together here.

"Side Effects" is one of those films that is more enjoyable the less you know going in, so I'll stick to the basics of the premise. A young woman named Emily (Rooney Mara) suffers from depression and is being treated by a psychiatrist, Dr. Banks (Jude Law). Her condition proves difficult to combat, and Banks is convinced to put her on a new drug, which leads to some very bad consequences. Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones are also in the mix as Emily's husband and one of her former psychiatrists respectively. "Side Effects" depends entirely on the performances of these four actors, and they all deliver. Rooney Mara is particularly impressive as the afflicted Emily, whose state of mind is so important and so difficult to ascertain. The film only works as written because of Mara's ability to keep us guessing. Jude Law also does a lot of commendable heavy lifting, as he becomes our central POV character for a good chunk of the film.

I can admire "Side Effects" for its craft and its ambitions. However, I didn't enjoy this one very much. All the characters are pretty terrible people, which meant I didn't care one way or another what happened to them. As good as the machinations of the plot played out, their impact was muted because I found it hard to connect with one side or another. Rooney Mara's Emily is fascinating, but remote, a puzzle of a woman whose claimed motivations sound like they could be just another layer of deception. Dr. Banks is initially positioned as the good guy, but quickly becomes just as despicable as everyone he believes is machinating against him. "Side Effects" too often feels like it's going through the motions, giving Soderbergh a chance to play with familiar genre conventions. There are some original ideas in the mix, and I enjoyed the early discussions of mental health treatments and medical ethics in particular. However, once the mystery elements kicked in, that all faded into the background very quickly. "Side Effects" is a very good film, but you get exactly what you'd expect..

"Behind the Candelabra" is more fun. Those of you hoping for a conventional Liberace biopic may be disappointed, because the movie focuses solely on the relationship of Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his much younger lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) during the late 70s and early 80s. Liberace is still famous and beloved, but getting on in years when he and Thorson first meet. The story is told entirely from Thorson's POV, and much of it concerns his gradual descent into drugs and emotional turmoil as the relationship goes from blissful to bitter to bizarre over the years. Buying into Liberace's lifestyle of easy hedonism and excess takes its toll, and the movie follows the arc of so many other drug memoirs and cautionary tales about the good life. What separates "Candelabra" from other made-for-TV tell-alls is that it has a great sense of humor about itself. You've got Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, and several other familiar faces willing to make themselves look utterly ridiculous in all manner of makeup and garish 70s fashions, and turning up their performances to gloriously campy heights.

I wish I was more familiar with Liberace, because I had trouble gauging Michael Douglas's performance. How much were Liberace's mannerisms and the voice exaggerated? The flamboyant persona works wonderfully when he's onstage performing, but is less convincing when he's not. Or is that the point Soderbergh and Douglas were trying to make? Ultimately "Candelabra" shows some affection for Liberace and what he stood for, but only after gleefully getting us acquainted with all of his secret vices and indulgences and bad habits. A word of warning - if you're not comfortable with onscreen sexuality of the same-sex kind, you may want to give this a pass. Nothing ever gets pornographic, but the portrayal of Liberace and Thorson's sex life is pretty candid. At times I thought it was a little too candid, but it did help to give the picture an unusual degree of intimacy. Even if you find these people ridiculous, as I did, you'll find yourself sympathizing with them.

"Behind the Candelabra" seems an odd choice for Soderbergh to end his filmmography with, but then his filmmography is full of outliers, so I guess it's fitting. I'm not sure if "Candelabra" is a good film. I suspect it may be a bad film with really exceptional execution. However, it's definitely a memorable one, and worth seeing. I'm a little less inclined to recommend "Side Effects," but only because there are so many other films like it. If you're in the mood for psychological thriller, it should certainly fit the bill. And if this is really it for Soderbergh, I think it's safe to say that he quit while he was ahead. So good for him.

Happy watching.
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"Person of Interest," Year Two

As we work our way through sweeps, it's time to check in on "Person of Interest," which has been developing nicely in its second year. It started out as a crime procedural with some conspiracy elements and vaguely sci-fi concepts. Now it's handily juggling storylines involving organized crime, police corruption, government cover-ups, espionage, cyberterrorism, and a surprisingly strong dose of good, old-fashioned cyberpunk - with better fashion sense. "Person of Interest" has been particularly good at parsing out information, a little at a time, particularly the sequence of events that led Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) to his current cause, using the Machine to help people in need. Despite all the memorable antagonists he and John Reese (Jim Caviezel) have faced this year, it's the revelations about the past that had all the best moments. Some minor spoilers ahead.

First, let me acknowledge the new additions and the expanded roles of the show's ever-growing recurring cast. Alonzo Quinn (Clarke Peters) and Officer Simmons (Robert John Burke) were introduced as the top of the chain of the criminal HR organization, mostly keeping the pressure on Detective Fusco (Kevin Chapman) as he struggled to stay on the side of angels. Detective Cal Beecher (Sterling K. Brown), got a nice arc as a love interest for Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson), who also may have been mixed up with HR. Nathan Ingram (Brett Cullen) and Grace Hendricks (Carrie Preston) got a lot of screen time as figures from Finch's past, while Kara Stanton (Annie Parisse) and Mark Snow (Michael Kelly) from the CIA showed up for a few episodes to complicate Reese's present. Amy Acker is far and away the show's best villain as the hacker Root, who walks that fine line between crazy and true believer. Every time she kidnaps Finch is a treat. Then there's the weaselly, but helpful Leon Tao (Ken Leung) and government assassin Samantha Shaw (Sarah Shahi), who become regular allies. Oh, and we can't forget Bear, the Belgian Shepherd attack dog who Reese adopted at the beginning of the season. He's become a great source of humor and a way to inject a little more humanity into his human partners.

It's surprising when you look back and see how much happened this season. All four of the leads, Finch, Reese, Carter, and Fusco got their own recurring storylines, and there was frequent switching around among them. You'd get Fusco battling HR one week, Carter navigating her relationship with Beecher in another, and then Reese getting an arc with the CIA to break things up. I found it especially clever that most of the flashbacks with Finch tended to happen in the case-of-the-week episodes that otherwise could be treated as filler. Even more impressive, it never felt like any of the conflicts or mysteries were being dragged out for too long. We got some very definite answers this year about the nature of the botched mission that Reese and Kara Stanton were sent on, about the loyalties of Fusco and Beecher, and lots of details about the Machine. The character who got the most development this year was arguably the Machine itself, which was revealed to be sentient at the end of last season, and this year has to battle a destructive virus, multiple factions trying to gain control of it, and finally a game-changing finale event that shifts the show's power dynamics considerably. I don't think there's a single of the series' big mysteries that didn't see some significant advancement this year, and a few were even resolved completely.

Week to week, "Person of Interest" certainly had its mediocre episodes. The big action setpieces with all the fancy weaponry were used sparingly, mostly saved for the episodes right before or after a breaks. The production wasn't quite as good as the best episodes from last year, but the quality remained very high and very consistent, with some especially spiffy new twists on the surveillance footage visuals. The writing rarely devolved into technobabble, but there was the usual reliance on technology so sophisticated it functions like magic, and the super-cool action hero antics of Mr. Reese and Shaw occasionally bordered on the cartoonish. These were the two characters who I don't think got as much attention as they probably should have, especially Shaw, who was introduced late in the year and abruptly became a major player. Mr. Reese, true to his name, is still rocking his mysterious Man-in-Suit persona, but considering how much we've learned about all of our other leads, he's starting to come off as a little two-dimensional by comparison, and the mannerisms increasingly seem affected.

Well, there's always next season to tackle those issues, and considering how much the second season got done, the third shouldn't have too much trouble getting Reese lined up for growth spurt. Maybe get Paige Turco's fixer character Zoe involved - she's always a highlight, and her appearances this year were too brief. "Person of Interest" moves to Tuesdays in the fall. Stay tuned.
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Making Time for "The Hour"

Set in the 1956 UK, "The Hour" give us a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a fictional BBC news magazine show, also titled "The Hour," billed as one of the first programs of its kind. The action centers on three characters: producer Bel Rowley (Romola Garai), fighting to prove herself in a male-dominated profession, her best friend Freddie Lyons (Ben Whishaw), a brilliant reporter with a difficult personality, and Hector Madden (Dominic West), the presenter with all the right connections. We see the intrigues, the politicking, and the fights with the censors, as they strive to push the journalistic envelope. To make things even more interesting, the first series involves a murder investigation and espionage conspiracy, while the second goes after a vice ring and police corruption.

Created by Abi Morgan, who scripted "Shame" and "The Iron Lady," "The Hour" is a top-of-the-line production, with beautiful period settings, compelling subject matter, and all the right talent involved. The first episode meanders a bit, but when the story gets going, it can be difficult to stop watching. I've seen other reviews compare "The Hour" to "Mad Men" because of the similar era and the focus on workplace tensions and sexy extracurricular activities. "The Hour" is smaller in scale, though, only having six episodes in each series and a smaller cast of characters. It really only tackles one major historical event, the Suez Canal crisis and the military aggression that followed. It also has considerably more straightforward storytelling, using a standard detective framework for each year's ongoing investigations. Nowhere to be found are any deeper, moodier meditations on living through the troubled era. Rather, "The Hour" resembles a lively crime serial as much as it resembles a serious social drama.

This isn't a bad thing, at all. "The Hour" may not have the ambitions or the thematic richness of "Mad Men," but it is still a smartly written and extraordinarily well-acted show. It's formula is familiar, but it knows how to do that formula well. Without question, the show's biggest assets are Ben Whishaw and Romola Garai as Lyons and Rowley, whose friendship is the bedrock of the series. Rowley is being given a major opportunity to prove herself, but is doubtful of her abilities, while Lyons is one of those insufferable, self-righteous young idealists who's always right and loves to prove it. They have an affectionate, sibling-like relationship where they argue and banter with each other. It's a lot of fun to just watch them do the walk-and-talk. Underlining the relative lightness of the show's tone, their nicknames for each other are "James" and "Moneypenny."

Dominic West as Hector Madden is positioned as the outsider, who quickly becomes entangled in both their lives when they all find themselves reluctant colleagues. He and Rowley quickly start making eyes at each other, while initially antagonistic encounters with Lyons evolve into something more mutually beneficial. West has the character with the most shades of gray, and the most potential for some in-depth social commentary, but doesn't get the chance to explore Hector's deeper recesses as much as I'd have liked to see. The plot tends to background him in the first season, so he never feels quite on the level of the other two. Still, West makes the most of his chances to shine, and it's good to see him back in front of the camera.

Backing up the trio are a wealth of strong supporting performances - Anton Lesser as the avuncular Head of News, Clarence Fendley, Joshua McGuire and Anna Chancellor as other newsroom contributors, Julian Rhind-Tutt as Angus McCain, an antagonistic government press liaison, Peter Capaldi in a second series role that is a massive spoiler, and Oona Chaplin as Hector's upper-crust wife Marnie. And I want to single out Burn Gorman, who has a small but important part in the first series as suspicious reporter, Thomas Kish. it's one of those performances that is so instantly memorable, I couldn't believe that I had never noticed the actor responsible before - and I've seen Gorman in plenty of other movies and television shows before this.

Sadly "The Hour" was cancelled after only two series and twelve episodes, and ends on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved. It's nowhere near as daring or as cutting-edge as the fictional program it examines, but "The Hour" makes the most of its material, delivering some terrifically tense and exciting hours of television. It's also a pretty easy watch, in spite of its torrents of literate dialogue, so I can happily recommend it to the people who prefer the lighter crime shows like "Sherlock" and "Luther" to the moral murkiness of "Mad Men." On the flip side, if you prefer the character drama of "Mad Men," "The Hour" has a couple of fascinating figures that are worth seeking out.
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"Upstream Color" is Unique Cinema

You'll occasionally come across one-hit wonder directors, the guys (and gals) who came out of the gate with a bang on their first film, only to follow it up with far more lackluster efforts. Sadly, some promising directors really only have one great film in them. After Shane Carruth's low budget time travel thriller "Primer" became a cult hit in 2004, he went off the radar for nearly a decade, and I honestly thought for a long time that he was gone for good. But now he's back with a second feature, "Upstream Color," that proves his first success was no fluke.

Like "Primer," "Upstream Color" is a science fiction story with a very plotty narrative, full of twists and turns and improbable things going on that significantly impact the lives of its characters. This time, however, the story is not told in the conventional way, where the concepts are all carefully explained to the audience, with lots of exposition to make sure that you understand what's going on. Instead, there is next to no exposition at all. I saw this movie right after I saw the new Malick film, "To the Wonder," and was surprised to discover that the storytelling style was so similar. "Upstream Color" is heavily reliant on visuals, and it's through precise editing and carefully chosen images that a fascinating narrative is constructed.

A woman named Kris (Amy Seimetz) is knocked out and abducted one night by an anonymous man (Thiago Martins, credited as "The Thief") and forced to ingest maggots that have a unique effect on living organisms. The maggots give Kris's captor the ability to control her, and use that power to empty her bank accounts and then condition her to perform endless, repetitive tasks on command. The maggots grow into worms, which are surgically removed from Kris. The next morning she wakes up, abandoned, without any memories of the abduction, to find her life in shambles. Some time later, after Kris has regained some footing, she meets a man named Jeff (Shane Carruth) and falls in love with him. And it's only as their relationship blooms that Kris discovers that the abduction was only the beginning of something much bigger and more sinister.

We never learn the names of the special parasitic worms, or the mysterious group that is studying them. We don't even know exactly how the worms are supposed to work, though we see their effect on Kris in great detail. The film refuses to give any straight answers, but many of those answers are right there in front of you, if you can figure out how to decode them. Some are fairly straightforward. Kris has a panic attack when someone else far away is in danger, and the two lines of action are intercut together to suggest that Kris is emotionally linked to the other character, though no one ever states the connection explicitly. Residue left on plants by the maggots is a bright blue color, and whenever that color appears, we know that they are present.

However, what to make of a long sequence where a man credited as The Sampler (Andrew Sensenig) is collecting various sounds? And what about the swimming pool sequences? And what about Jeff and Kris getting each other's childhood memories mixed up? And what was the significance of Kris's abductor forcing her to transcribe pages from Thoreau's "Walden" and making paper chains out of them? Was there any significance? After a single viewing, I know that there's a lot that I must have missed, and I really want to see the film again to see what else I can puzzle out.

However, even without the finer details in place, the film is a stunner. This isn't just another puzzle box movie. The central romance works, the mystery and thriller elements are solid, and the performances are tremendously engaging. Carruth wisely put Amy Seimetz at the center of the film, and makes her character a little abrasive and difficult. Seimetz does a fantastic job of expressing a gamut of emotional states, sometimes playing up the ambiguity of whether or not she's in control of her actions, without ever going over the top. Carruth is fine as Jeff, but Seimetz delivers a tour de force.

Of course, there's plenty to praise Shane Carruth for - he directed, produced, wrote, shot, edited, and composed the music and sound design for "Upstream Color." He's also self-distributing the movie, which is why you can already buy it now on DVD and Blu-Ray after it's only been in limited release for a month. I really hope that this film gets more attention, because it's one of the most unique pieces of science-fiction I've seen in ages, told in such a bold, interesting way.

I really hope Shane Carruth's next film doesn't take a decade to reach us, though if that's the amount of time it takes for him to make something as great as "Upstream Color," it'll be worth the wait.
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"Veronica Mars" Year One

Spoilers for the first season of "Veronica Mars."

I wonder how much of the Lily Kane murder story was plotted out from the beginning. I can certainly see parts of it being very carefully set up from the start, particularly all the misdirection having to do with Lianne Mars and the Kane family. However, who the actual killer turned out to be worked particularly well, because it was the culmination of what looked like just another side story at the start of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if the powers that be noticed that Jason Dohring was acting circles around Teddy Dunn, and beefed up his role in the show to give him more screentime. And after bringing Harry Hamlin in as Logan's dad, and watching him at work, they picked their killer.

I knew the Veronica-Logan-Duncan love triangle was coming. That was pretty much all I knew about "Veronica Mars" from the outset. To the show's credit, they handled it a lot better than I've seen other shows handle romantic relationships involving teenagers. Logan never stopped having a huge chip on his shoulder and a always having lot to apologize for. The sexual content was consistently been handled maturely, with a remarkable lack of handwringing. However, as Logan and Veronica got cuddlier, it felt like I was watching a different, soapier show. Thank goodness the writers figured out how to tie the state of the romantic relationships to the rape and murder cases, and the big climax re-emphasized that the most important guy in Veronica's life is her father.

And what a finale! This is one of the best season enders that I've ever seen. All three of Veronica's big ongoing mysteries appear to be fully resolved, though there's clearly still a lot of fallout to be sorted through. The one development that caught me off guard was Veronica kicking her mother out in order to preserve Keith's happiness, a nice flip of Keith's decision to give up his relationship with the school counselor earlier in the season. And the show went all out on the action scenes, with Veronica being targeted by a psycho Aaron Echolls, a car crash, a lengthy and bloody brawl between Keith and Aaron, and finally Keith getting himself set on fire to rescue Veronica. I'm so glad the murderer wasn't Jake Kane, because Kyle Secor freaking out at the end there was an unintentionally funny moment in a great hour. "Veronica Mars" could have ended with this finale and I'd have been happy.

But I don't just want to talk about the ending of the season. "Veronica Mars" kept up a great level of quality throughout the year. Okay, some of the cases were a little more iffy than others, and Veronica's moral compass often seemed severely off-kilter, but the writers were very self-aware about it. Veronica always learned the truth, but didn't always get justice for the wronged, and Neptune remains controlled by the elites and rife with corruption. And some of Veronica's less savory tactics, like planting bugs in sensitive places, backfired on her. When she grew too reliant on Wallace's access to student files and other favors, he called her out on it. And I loved that the status quo kept changing throughout the season - Veronica still has a bad reputation, but she became the go-to girl for solving mysteries, and even Principal Clemmons (Duane Daniels) went to her for help eventually.

My hopes for more good female regulars didn't really pan out, though we got some good recurring ones. There was Meg (Alona Tal), the good girl from the purity test episode who becomes Duncan's girlfriend, and Mac (Tina Majorino), the computer geek with an interesting family history. Sydney Poitier disappeared from the opening credits pretty quickly though. The show is not doing too well with the minority characters, but they're certainly trying. You can tell that the writers were having a hard time keeping Wallace and Weevil in the picture, which is probably why Weevil ended up on the suspects list for the Lily Kane murder, and Wallace's mother Alicia (Erica Gimpel) got paired up with Keith. And the attempt to shoehorn a black girlfriend into Veronica and Lily's past for all of one episode, who is never mentioned again, was pretty painful.

Still, I'm really enjoying the show. I think what I appreciate about it ultimately is its smarts and its humor. I like that there are minor characters named Dick and Beaver. I like that the pop culture references skew a little bit older - "Grease," "Single White Female," and even "National Velvet." I like that it not only acknowledges the divide between the haves and the have-nots, but has made it a central feature of the "Veronica Mars" universe. I like that Veronica has no qualms about using gossip, blackmail, and the darker forces of the internet, because Neptune is not a nice place, and playing by the rules won't get you very far. This isn't exactly Rian Johnson's "Brick," but as high school film noir, it gets refreshingly dark and cynical when it needs to.

And most of all, I like Veronica Mars, the kind of know-it-all, non-conformist, cute-as-a-button badass who won't take things lying down, and maybe still has a chance with a cute guy in the end. I like Kristen Bell as Veronica, and how she carries the show so easily. I like how she can be smug, vindictive, selfish, self-righteous, and completely wrong, and we still want to root for her.

Onward to Year Two.
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Malick's Latest is a "Wonder"

Since reviewing "The Tree of Life" last year, I went and hunted down all of the remaining Terrence Malick films that I hadn't seen. So, I understand the complaints I've heard about his newest film, "To the Wonder," that claim Malick is just repeating himself and rehashing old themes. The style and imagery is similar to "The Tree of Life" and "The New World," full of gorgeous nature shots and hallucinatory transitions. Characters whisper lines of narration. The story is not incomprehensible, but it is often difficult to suss out the particulars of our central couple's relationship, because there is so little by way of exposition, and some events seem to contradict each other. However, "To the Wonder" is not a film where plot and character are particularly important. Rather, its chief concern is with thoughts and dreams and experiences, looking at the inner lives of two people who fall and love, and those connected to them.

Neil (Ben Affleck), an American, and Marina (Olga Kurylenko), a European, meet in France and fall in love. Neil brings Marina and her little daughter Tatiana (Tatiana Chiline) to live in his hometown in Oklahoma. Most of the story is told in a stream of consciousness from Marina's point of view, though occasionally the POV will shift to Neil or Anna. We learn through snippets of murmured narration and the events depicted onscreen that the relationship is a difficult one. At first Marina is charmed by the new country, but then problems emerge, and there are difficulties adjusting. Tatiana wants to go home. They leave for a time, and Neil becomes involved with a local woman named Jane (Rachel McAdams). Marriage is discussed repeatedly, and we see a few images that suggests weddings take place, but it's not clear if Neil actually marries either woman. At one point Marina returns to Texas, and we see no more of Jane, so we can assume that relationship has ended. Finally, there are several interludes with Father Quintana (Javier Bardem), a peripheral character who meditates on the nature of his faith and relationships.

I think the best approach to the film is to treat is as a abstract work, a piece of visual poetry that is meant to be felt and absorbed for its marvelous aesthetics. The narrative is slight, but it does work on an emotional level, and Malick is exceptional in the way that he gets us invested in all the ups and downs of the troubled romance. While we don't know things like Marina's occupation or her relationship with Tatiana's father, we know exactly how she feels in every moment she appears onscreen. The performances depend heavily on physical action, to help convey the information that isn't being relayed in the narration and dialogue. Olga Kurylenko, like Jessica Chastain in "Tree of Life" and Q'orianka Kilcher in "The New World," is often shown exploring the scenery, movements exaggerated to emphasize how graceful and winsome she is. The implication is that in such moments, we are not only seeing a representation of Marina's physical self, but her animating soul and spirit. Kurylenko gets the bulk of the screentime here, far more than the first-billed Ben Affleck, and she's easy to watch, to sympathize and relate to.

One thing that does set "To the Wonder" apart from Malick's other films is that it takes place in the modern day, and though many of the scenes could take place in any era, there are the occasional shots of convenience stores and newer cars to establish that we are in the here and now. Much of the spoken narration is in French and Spanish, perhaps to give the film a more universal tone, or to emphasize the disconnectedness of some of the characters. However, Malick's approach to his subject matter is ultimately no different. Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography continues to capture intimate human moments and stunning natural beauty. The stirring orchestral pieces by Hanan Townshend lend a timelessness to the images.

I found a viewing of "To the Wonder" a worthwhile experience, but it didn't have the same impact of "Tree of Life" with its massive scope and nostalgic yearning, or "The New World" with its sense of discovery and immersion in an alien landscape. "To the Wonder" feels smaller scale and very familiar, giving us a fresh perspective perhaps, but not really elevating that vision. The film is satisfying, but it's nowhere near the level of Malick's previous work. Also, though Father Quintana is one of the most blatant religious figures in any Malick film, the spiritual themes fall completely flat.

I would not recommend "To the Wonder" to viewers who have no experience with Terrence Malick or non-traditional narratives, because this is a tough one. However, for existing Malick fans, it's a good feature even though it's not among his best, and worth giving a look.
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Inside "A Royal Affair"

They say that history is written by the winners, but every so often a story about someone on the wrong side of history will come along that is so remarkable and so enticing that it demands our attention. And dramatists have long known that a tragedy can be just as juicy and entertaining as a victory in the right hands. This brings us to Denmark's 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee "A Royal Affair," a lovely costume drama about one of the most exciting episodes in Danish history.

The story is set in the 18th century, during the reign of King Christian VII (Mikkel Følsgaard), who was known for being mentally unstable, so it was really Chamberlain Bernsorff (Bent Mejding), who was running the country. Our narrative is split between two characters. First, there's young Queen Caroline Mathilde (Alicia Vikander), who is brought to Denmark to marry King Christian as a teenager, quickly becomes disillusioned with her boorish husband, and refuses to have anything to do with him after their son is born. The second is a German doctor named Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), who through lucky circumstance becomes King Christian's royal physician and trusted advisor. The court is initially doubtful about the influence of Struensee, but the doctor manages to befriend the Queen, as they share similar intellectual interests and political ambitions.

"A Royal Affair" is reminiscent of the various dramatizations of the final days at Versailles with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, with its cloak and dagger court intrigues and eye-catching production design. However, director Nikolaj Arcel not only gives us the high emotions of the royal scandal, but also keeps a critical eye on the related political maneuverings of the Danish court and Struensee's serious attempts to bring about major social reforms. Struensee, the Queen, and their allies are all portrayed as highly intelligent, admirable people, who are acting with the best of intentions, but they gravely underestimate the power of the court and the strength of their own positions. And they also underestimate their own ability to be corrupted by power. The film stays well balanced between the perspectives of its two leads, and between the politics and the personal relationships. It's very sympathetic to Struensee and his goals, but at the same time is good about highlighting his faults and inevitable mistakes.

It's the performances that make the film so memorable, though, particularly Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen as the Queen and Struensee. Their relationship is the center of the film, one built through careful, diplomatic conversations initiated by Struensee to help improve the marital relations of the King and Queen. However, Mikkelsen's best scenes are when he gets to be raw and emotional, showing us the passionate, flawed man underneath the nonchalant exterior of the court doctor. Mikkelsen's been typecast as a cold-blooded baddie in his appearances in Western media, notably in "Casino Royale" and the "Hannibal" television series. Here, Struensee is simply a clever and talented man, who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances.

Vikander, on the other hand, is best when she's keeping up the Queen's practiced exterior of cold disapproval, while radiating youthful vulnerability. Vikander has an unusual gravity and poise, and her fluency in English plus a growing list of impressive performances all but guarantee we're going to be seeing a lot more of her on the big screen soon. Mikkel Følsgaard is also invaluable as King Christian, who initially seems like an overgrown frat boy who is shunning his royal responsibilities in an act of rebellion, rather than someone who is suffering serious mental and emotional problems. However, as time goes on, and we see him manipulated by one faction after another, it's clear exactly how little power he has, and you can't help but feel sorry for him.

Historical dramas like this can often feel stuffy and lifeless, suffocated by the need to stay suitably faithful and respectful to the historical record. Or they can have the opposite problem and come off as an obvious falsehood, fashioned with far too much dramatic license to be believable. "A Royal Affair" manages to avoid both extremes. The historical figures come across as actual human beings, and though some events play out in ways that seem unlikely, they aren't unbelievable. The characters and relationships are clearly fictionalized to a large degree, but they make sense in context, and are well integrated into what we know to be the actual events of the day.

I think it helps that "A Royal Affair" is based on a chapter of European history that isn't well known outside of Denmark. I didn't have any preconceived notions of Dr. Struensee and Queen Caroline one way or another, so the film was able to surprise me several times. I can always appreciate a film that's able to do that, and this one does it very well.
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A Missed Course With the Cannibal

Anyone out there keeping up with "Hannibal"?

You may have heard that NBC decided that after the events of Newtown and the Boston bombings last week, that they were going to pull the fourth episode of "Hannibal," titled "Œuf," (French for "egg") because of potentially sensitive subject matter involving young children and violence. The parts of the episode that were important to ongoing storylines have instead been edited down into a series of webisodes that are being released online. However, the full episode will air unedited outside of the United States and Canada, and will probably be released on home media sometime in the future.

First things first. Good for NBC for doing the responsible thing and exercising some caution and restraint. And yet, on some level I find myself perturbed by this decision. I understand why you wouldn't want people stumbling across an episode like this on broadcast television. Even in the 10 PM hour with special warning screens and the harshest possible TV ratings slapped on it, there are certain concepts and ideas that really are a little too much to let loose on the general public. "Hannibal" has pushed the envelope a few times already, and it's no surprise that the network wants to tread more carefully. Cable probably could have gotten away with it. Premium cable wouldn't even have blinked. However, "Hannibal" is airing on NBC, and it's a national broadcast network where there are much more stringent content rules applied because it's so much more accessible.

However, I really want to see this episode in its entirety. I really, really want to see it. NBC went ahead and aired the promo for "Œuf" at the end of last week's episode, and it teased some of the most arresting imagery in the show since the pilot episode, including one shot of a crime scene that appears to be directly referencing some of the more horrific visuals from "Silence of the Lambs." Having sat through more than my share of horror movies, I know exactly what I'm getting myself into and I have no concerns that the content is going to be too much for me. The existence of the webisodes alleviate some of my concerns about missing important continuity before the next episode airs, but I'd still love to get my hands on the full episode.

If you tell me I can't watch something, my inner five-year-old just wants to see it more. Moreover, I can't help but feel like I'm being penalized for someone else's sensitivities, even though I certainly understand and respect those sensitivities. It's like that time in one of my high school English class where we weren't allowed to finish watching the Steve Martin comedy "Roxanne" (we were reading "Cyrano de Bergerac") because somebody anonymously complained to the teacher that the crude humor was too much for them. I understood the concern, but I still wanted to watch the movie. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know I was missing out, and if I weren't already anticipating the episode. Unfortunately I do and I am, so I can't help stewing about it.

If some of the comments I've been seeing around the internet are any indication, I'm not alone in this. There are a lot of people who are taking an interest. So I'm very surprised that NBC isn't offering the full episode on the internet in any form to American viewers. I'd gladly pay my three bucks for a digital download from Amazon or iTunes. I usually watch "Hannibal" online anyway, because Thursdays nights are so crowded. NBC wouldn't have to worry so much about propriety, because requiring payment would keep the wrong people from stumbling across the episode accidentally, and I wouldn't be surprised if NBC didn't make a few extra bucks from the increased interest that pulling "Œuf" has drummed up in the last week.

Alas, so far no dice. It's probably only a matter of time before it shows up somewhere though. Networks have pulled plenty of television episodes before in plenty of different contexts, and they've always come back eventually. I remember the "X-Files" episode "Home," which had graphic content and a really disturbing incest angle, got pulled from reruns for a couple of years after its first broadcast, and then came back with ads trumpeting its notoriety. And do you recall the third season finale of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" getting delayed for two months because of the Columbine shootings?

So, this is really only a matter of inconvenience for "Hannibal" fans and I just have to have a little patience. Besides there's plenty to look forward to - tonight's episode will be the first of several directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, best known for his work with Guillermo Del Toro. And it also means we're one week closer to the season's endgame too.
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How Will "Mad Men" End?

Three weeks into the penultimate season of AMC's "Mad Men," and I've got a serious case of the "what ifs." Though the pace of the show this season is still very deliberate, it's clear where the season is going to go, and I can't help speculating on where the show is ultimately going to find its endpoint. What is going to become of the Drapers and the employees of Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce, past and present? Permit me, if you will, to make some predictions. Spoilers ahead for all of "Mad Men" that has aired so far.

Don is in a state of certain decline. His performance at work has been suffering, and the Hawaii pitch in the premiere was a bust. There was nothing wrong with his ideas or his taste, but his ability to sell the campaign, to communicate to the clients, was sorely lacking. It seems only a matter of time before he's eclipsed by Ginsburg or someone else. At home, the situation is just as precarious. He's cheating on Megan with a neighbor, a situation we watched blow up in Pete's face in a parallel storyline last week, and he showed he couldn't handle Megan's feigned infidelity this week. Even if Don is never caught, spiritually the marriage is doomed. I expect that he'll lose Megan by the end of this season, and have to face a hard choice about where he wants to go from there next year.

I think he might consider letting go of the Draper name and going back to Dick Whitman. Sure, there would be a lot of consequences, but it would be a symbolic way to kill off Don Draper and all he stands for without actually killing off Don Draper. Or maybe he would move on to a new persona. It would also be in character for Don, trying to start fresh with a blank slate. But does he have the energy to start over again after two failed marriages, in a new age that he's rapidly losing touch with? As the premiere episode made clear, everything is changing around Don, but he's stayed the same through the last six seasons. It's up to him whether he transforms or fades away in the end, and I do hope that Matt Weiner lets us see him make that choice.

What about the rest of the Draper family? It's hard to say where Megan's going. She could just as easily go on to great success as an actress or throw herself off a building upon exiting Don Draper's life. Betty is struggling, but she's shown that she can change, if not for the right reasons, and I expect that she'll continue to metamorphose to a point where she truly puts Don and her old life behind her. She's still kind of a wild card on the show, still childishly vindictive, impulsive, and I'm a little scared of what damage she could unthinkingly do to Henry and the kids, but there's also the sense that she's finally becoming a little more self-aware and mature. Sally, I'm sure is going to become a rebellious teenage flower child, to everyone's horror, and I can't wait.

Then there's Peggy, who struck out on her own last season, and has found a real position of power. However, holding on to the that power is another matter, and this seasons looks like it's going to be a real test of her moral fiber. Ted convinced her to betray Stan's confidence, winning her the Heinz account, and who knows how far down that road she's going to go? I love that Peggy's a go-getter career woman who has been making it work, even hanging on to Abe much longer than I thought she would, but in the long run is she going to regret this? Peggy's big choice is going to be whether she is going to become corrupted and lose herself to the job the way the men have, or if she'll reject that way of doing things and try to navigate a different, more difficult approach. Either option is possible. One thing I wonder about is if she'll ever have any kind of family life - but then Pete Campbell's love child is still out there.

Oh Pete. He's becoming Don Draper, but he's still so bad at it. His maneuverings are clumsy and messy to the point where they're becoming self-destructive. I can't say I didn't see Trudy kicking him to the curb in the cards, but he's not going to get himself out of the relationship so easily, because Trudy's made of much sterner stuff than Betty. There's been an ongoing theory for the past couple of seasons that Pete is going to end up killing himself, and while I can definitely see the possibility, at this point I don't think it's going to happen. He's much more likely to lash out and direct that frustration on others, or get somebody else in more serious trouble, like the poor woman from last week. Professionally he's been doing very well, so I expect he'll still be at the top of the firm at the end of the series, and completely and utterly miserable.

Joan and Roger are next on the list. Despite Joan's partnership, she's doing pretty much the same thing she always has, managing the office and taking the bus to work. However, she's getting more respect outside the office and she's now in a position to go much farther. I find it interesting that we haven't seen Joan anywhere near Roger since the incident. Notably, she wasn't at his mother's funeral. A small, fluffy part of me wants them to end up together, making clever small talk until the end of time. Realistically, I think Joan's the most pragmatic of the group. She'll stick to her job, raise her kid, sock away the money, and be exactly where she started in twenty years, but she'll survive. Roger, after the existential crises he's been having lately, may not.

The firm itself is back on shaky ground after clawing its way back from the brink. All we've seen this year are dissatisfied clients, lost accounts, and vanishing talent. Peggy's gone, and now Harry Crane's threatening to quit. Like Don Draper, I think the firm is headed for the rocks unless it transforms to survive – new management, a changing of the creative guard, or perhaps another takeover.

And Bert Cooper dies fat and happy. The end.
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My Top Ten Favorite Shakespeare Movies

Happy Shakespeare's birthday everyone. In honor of the Bard, I'm writing up a list of my top ten movies adapted from his plays. I'm going to be very loose about that term, and throw in a title or two that aren't direct adaptations, but heavily influenced by his work. And to keep things interesting, I'm limiting myself to only picking one movie per play.

Romeo + Juliet (1996) - Let's get this out of the way first. Yes, I really enjoy Baz Luhrmann's modern-day take on "Romeo and Juliet," and it's my favorite of the film adaptations by far. There are some famously iffy choices, but I just love the MTV imagery and the cast - Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as our young lovers, Pete Postlethwait as the priest, John Leguizamo as Tybalt Prince of Cats, and Harold Perrineau as Mercutio.

Titus (1999) - Julie Taymor's blood-soaked version of "Titus Andronicus" with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange is similarly a flawed piece of work, but good grief, the creative staging and the symbolism-heavy visuals make it a hard one to forget. You never saw a more raw and venal approach to Shakespeare, where all the major players are really terrible, bloodthirsty people. The highlight of the film for me is Harry Lennix as the fascinating manipulator, Aaron.

The Taming of the Shrew (1967) - Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton are one of the most famous screen couples of all time. Franco Zeffirelli's "The Taming of the Shrew" is a wonderful example of their best work together. Burton is charming and robust, while Taylor is a joyfully over-the-top harridan. Around their performances, Zeffirelli builds a film that is wonderfully funny and effervescent and a little bit bawdy in all the right places.

Throne of Blood (1957) - There have been many adaptations of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," but nothing quite like what Akira Kurosawa and his favorite leading man, Toshiro Mifune managed to achieve with "Throne of Blood." The action is moved to feudal Japan, the kings and knights replaced with daimyo and samurai. And then there's the substitute method of execution, which leads to one of the greatest cinematic death scenes of all time.

Hamlet (1996) - I really love the 1948 version with Laurence Olivier, but how can you say no to Kenneth Branagh's version? It's the full play done over four hours on a grandiose set, populated by a star-studded cast of actors. (Billy Crystal as the Gravedigger!) Ironically it's Branagh himself as Hamlet who I find the least convincing, but everything else in the picture more than makes up for it. He's much better as Henry V, but "Hamlet" is definitely his best film.

Shakespeare in Love (1998) - I'm going to count this one for "Twelfth Night," because though the characters are performing "Romeo and Juliet," the events that transpire are what give Shakespeare the plot for the later play "Twelfth Night." It's easy to run out of superlatives talking about this movie, so let's just say the Tom Stoppard script, fantastic cast lead by Gwyneth Paltrow, and ridiculously gorgeous production design deserve nothing but praise.

Caesar Must Die (2012) - From Italy's Taviani brothers comes a look at the efforts of a prison theater program, where the inmates are preparing for a performance of "Julius Caesar." We follow their rehearsals, their discussions of the material, occasionally incorporating bits of their own lives and backgrounds, and finally parts of the final performance. Real convicts played their own roles in the film, adding an extra layer of authenticity to the proceedings.

Chimes at Midnight (1967) - Orson Welles' history of the character of Falstaff is based on parts of multiple Shakespeare plays: "Richard II," "Henry IV Part 1," "Henry IV Part 2," "Henry V," and bits of "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The jovial, tragic old drunk is one of Welles' greatest later performances, and the film lives up to it, particularly the major battle sequences. So it's a real shame that the film remains underseen after decades stuck in legal limbo.

Richard III (1955) - This is my favorite of the Olivier Shakespeare adaptations, largely for Olivier's performance as one of Shakespeare's most vile and entertaining villains, King Richard III. That nose! That hair! That voice! It's no wonder the film is credited with popularizing both the play and the character, and Olivier set the bar for every Richard that followed. And nobody, not even Ian McKellan in the excellent 1995 version, has matched him yet.

Ran (1986) - Not just one of my favorite Shakespeare adaptations, but one of my favorite films, period. Kurosawa's Sengoku-era adaptation of "King Lear" was his final epic, capturing the horror of war and the pain of a family torn apart by pride and greed. The use of color and the spectacular cinematography and the Noh play symbolism are just breathtaking. The names and places may be unfamiliar, but the tragedy is unquestionably Shakesperean.
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The First Five of "Veronica Mars"

Yes, marshmallows, I'm joining your ranks at last. Some thoughts on the first five episodes of "Veronica Mars" below, with a few minor spoilers. Back in 2004, I erroneously lumped the show together with the "O.C." clones, sight unseen, due to superficial similarities, and a lot of chatter about which Southern California hunk the title character should end up. Can you blame me for mistaking this for just another teeny-bopper soap opera? And "The O.C.," really cheesed me off from the start, as someone who actually grew up in Orange County and wasn't happy that the show insisted on being about the tiny, unrepresentative corner of it where a bunch of rich white people lived.

Neptune, California seems to occupy part of that corner, with its high population of wealthy elites. Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), Neptune high schooler and private investigator, explains in voiceover that she used to be part of their world. She's the ex-girlfriend of Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn) and ex-best friend of his sister Lily Kane (Amanda Seyfried), children of the most powerful man in town, Jake Kane (Kyle Secor). Unfortunately, Lily's murder eight months ago was the first in a chain of events that turned Veronica into an outcast. Her father Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), the sheriff at the time, suspected Jake was involved with the murder, which lead to Keith getting ousted and the town turning against him. Veronica's mother (Corinne Bohrer) became an alcoholic and then left town without explanation. Finally, Veronica was roofied and raped during a party, ruining her reputation even further. Now she helps her father run his new private investigation service, and avoids Duncan and his bad-boy pal Logan (Jason Dohring). Instead, she starts making new friends and allies, including the new kid in school, Wallace (Percy Daggs III), and the leader of a local Hispanic biker gang, Weevil (Francis Capra).

"Veronica Mars" has certain elements of a teen soap, but at heart it's a mystery series. Veronica is the newest incarnation of the girl sleuth, that great old trope that gave us Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. I so appreciate smart heroines, and Veronica's brains are what she depends on to juggle the dog-eat-dog world of high school, the various cases that she investigates every week, and the ongoing mysteries of Lily's murder, her mother's disappearance, and the identity of her rapist. It's very satisfying to watch her working cases, maneuvering around her enemies, and navigating an especially rocky road to adulthood. I was a little worried after the pilot that Veronica would be a little too smart, manipulating everyone around her in complex schemes worthy of the Count of Monte Cristo. However, in subsequent episodes she's made more than her share of mistakes, and hit plenty of dead ends. I really enjoy Kristen Bell's performance too, the snarky cynicism, the outsider attitude, and every interaction she has with Enrico Colantoni as her father. They have one of the more entertaining father-daughter relationships on television that I can remember, both a working partnership and an occasionally tumultuous parent-child duo.

The big theme of the show so far seems to be that you can't judge a book by its cover. Though the pilot introduces Veronica being at odds with her old friends, the next few episodes show clear signs of reconciliation with Duncan and Logan. These two clearly aren't going to be limited to being typical bullies. Meanwhile, Veronica has already disposed of one potential love interest, Troy (Aaron Ashmore), who looked like a good guy on the surface, but turned out to be a baddie underneath when she finally listened to her doubts and dug deeper. I expect that this going to become a regular thing, playing with our perceptions of characters, and putting Veronica in situations where she's not sure how far she can trust those closest to her. It's already apparent that both of her parents are keeping secrets from her, and probably also lying to her. It's the sort of thing that forces a girl to grow up faster.

Some of the dramatics are a little over the top, but then Veronica's world is one where biker gangs roam the Pacific Coast Highway and there's no middle class – you're either filthy rich or one of the peons. It's more recognizably Orange County than the "O.C." version. At least there are a couple of minority characters, Wallace and Weevil. Like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the kids sling witty barbs at each other with spectacular timing. And yet, nobody intersperses the word "like" into sentences at random, with the proper Valley Girl abandon. Tsk, tsk. Points off for inaccuracy. Still, "Veronica Mars" under the guidance of its creator Rob Thomas, has been very well written so far. The individual cases have been solid, and the character building is strong. I especially like the use of flashbacks to fill in the details of Veronica's friendship with Lily and relationship with Duncan.

One thing I'm hoping will improve as the series goes on is the ratio of female to male characters. I get that Veronica's grieving for Lily and being socially isolated is a big part of her current situation, but all of her peers in the show are male so far, along with her major parental figure. Lily and Veronica's mother loom large for their absences, but the only regular female presence on the show other than Veronica Mars is her journalism teacher, Mrs. Dent (Sydney Tamiia Poitier).

That's a small complaint though. I'm already pretty hooked on the show, and looking forward to seeing it through to the end.
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"A Beautiful Day" Years in the Making

Remember "Rejected"? Don Hertzfeld's surreally violent cartoon was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short back in the year 2000, and has become an influential cult favorite. It's striking not just for its inventive visuals and unusual level of blood and guts (inflicted primarily on minimalist pen doodles), but its particular existential and philosophical bent. In "Rejected," the discarding of the animator's rejected drawings is depicted as a horrific apocalypse, dooming his terrified creations to an unspeakable void.

This level of cheerful nihilism was only possible because Hertzfeld is one of those rare independent filmmakers working in animation who is essentially a one-man studio. By doing nearly everything himself, he retains a high degree of creative control, which ensures his work retains his mature, challenging voice and point of view I encountered more of his darkly funny shorts over the years, like "Billy's Balloon," where balloons become sentient and turn on their owners, and "The Meaning of Life," which charts a twisted version of human history. Then in 2006, he produced something quite different.

"Everything Will be OK" is the seventeen-minute story of a man named Bill, depicted as a stick figure wearing a little rectangle of a hat, who is losing his mind. Bill is meant to be a real world person, though a highly abstracted version of one, who goes to work every day, keeps in contact with an ex-girlfriend, and has relatives who worry about him. He watches a lot of TV and likes ice cream sandwiches. At first his journey involves a series of absurd little episodes and funny observations on daily life - an everyday conversation gone awry because neither participants remember who the other person is, inappropriate fantasies, and the boredom and emptiness of the daily routine. But then Bill starts forgetting more and more, and his condition goes from annoying to frightening, and it becomes clear that something is very wrong with Bill.

"Everything Will be OK" was followed by two other Bill shorts, "I Am So Proud of You" and "It's Such a Beautiful Day," completed in 2008 and 2011 respectively. Last year, Hertzfeld edited all three shorts together into a feature film, running a little over an hour in length, also titled "It's Such a Beautiful Day." The latter installments delve deeper into mental illness, dysfunctional families, and finally the very nature of life and death and human existence. Though it retains the same sense of humor and penchant for the gruesome as Hertzfeld's shorts, the approach is much more serious and even-handed, to reflect the more ambitious material. The result is such a weird and wonderful film, incredibly personal and very touching. What makes it all the more astonishing is that despite the occasional use of live-action film elements and some special effects, "It's Such a Beautiful Day" is primarily comprised of simple stick figure drawings and Hertzfeld's narration.

Yet the animation is so evocative, and the storytelling with these simple tools is so strong and so compelling. It's easy to relate to Bill, who comes off as a real, sympathetic person suffering from some terrible unnamed mental ailment, constantly questioning the nature of his existence. Because he has no defining visuals characteristics beyond his hat, he is instantly a universal figure, and you automatically feel for him as he struggles against delusions and disorientation. The hand-drawn animation also allows a closer degree of shared experience with Bill's tenuous state of mind, visualizing it in ways that live action film and other, more complicated kinds of animation would be unable to match. And you realize how little it takes - a few simple ink lines on paper, really - to evoke such powerful reactions.

Their's something tremendously heartening about the existence of a film like "It's Such a Beautiful Day." Theatrical and-drawn animation is supposed to be dead in the U.S., economically unfeasible and out of fashion (Disney Animation announced a new round of layoffs last week). And yet here's Don Hertzfeld, toiling away with his doodles and stick-figures, who has created a film of real emotional depth and insight on the human experience, and has managed to support himself through his work. Hertzfeld self-distributed "It's Such a Beautiful Day," currently offering it for $2 online downloads through Veoh and other platforms.

I've always been a big fan of animation, but over the last few years I've found the output of the big studios creatively wanting. Sure, last year's "Wreck-It -Ralph" and "Madagascar 3" were a lot of fun, and you can't deny the creators of "Brave" and "Paranorman" had some serious artistic chops. However, when it comes to advancing the art of animation, "It's Such a Beautiful Day" leaves them all behind in the dust. This is the first animated film in years I can justify saving a spot for on my annual "Best of" list.
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My Favorite Zhang Yimou Film

Imagine if there was pressure from the American government to avoid negative portrayals of the Vietnam War on film. Imagine if because of that pressure, directors would be denounced and penalized, and their most important films subject to censorship or outright bans. Now imagine the American film landscape without "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter," "Full Metal Jacket," and "Born on the Fourth of July."

That's why out of all of Zhang Yimou's films, "To Live" strikes me as the most vital and important. It was one of small wave of films that came out of China in the 1990s, along with "Farewell My Concubine" and "Blue Kite," that directly addressed the negative consequences of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, major attempts by the Maoist government to impose Communism on the Chinese people, affecting millions. Government pressure had previously stymied any attempts to examine these events in any depth. So when these newly critical films emerged, the government banned and un-banned them, vocally denouncing their content even as they racked up festival awards around the globe.

Zhang Yimou probably had the least to worry about. By 1994 he was the most prominent and successful Chinese filmmaker in the West, after a dizzying run of films including "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern" that had received unprecedented global recognition. "To Live" was his fifth collaboration with leading lady Gong Li, and contained all the elements that Zhang was famous for - bold visuals, picturesque locals, and particular emphasis on the lives of common people. Many of his earlier films had been torrid love stories, pitting the individual against the inescapable constraints of family and tradition. In "To Live," the struggle is simply for survival in tumultuous times.

We first meen Xu Fugui (Ge You) and his wife, Jiazhen (Gong Li) in the 1940s. Fugui is a good-for-nothing with a weakness for gambling. After he loses his entire fortune and the family estate, Jiazhen leaves him, and Fugui is forced to go on the road performing shadow puppet operas in order to earn a living. However, by extraordinary luck, he and his partner Chunsheng (Tao Guo) come out on the right side of the war between the Nationalists and the Communists. Fugui is able to reunite with his wife and children. However, this is only the beginning of their struggles, as the world around them is changing very quickly, and Fugui's luck never stayed very good for very long.

When I watched "To Live" a few months ago, it wasn't until about halfway through the movie that I realized that I had seen it before, way back in high school. My parents rented a lot of Chinese films, but I didn't appreciate many of them back then. "To Live" left an impact though. All of a sudden I remembered in vivid detail how the rest of the story was going to play out, and I was getting emotionally distraught just at the thought of it. The film's tragedies are extremely affecting, not just because of their particular circumstances, but because they happen to these characters, and because we see the consequences of them over the long years of their lives.

The performances of Ge You and Gong Li are not particularly flashy, but they are extraordinary. We follow their family through the 50s and 60s and beyond, and see the weight of years accumulate on them. I was very familiar with Gong Li, who often played headstrong, doomed heroines. Here she gets her moments of pique, but tempered by stronger expressions of love and devotion. Ge You, however, was unfamiliar. In his early scenes of spoiled indulgence, it was easy to view him as a comic villain type, but fate and necessity soon require him to transform, gradually, into a sympathetic everyman who just wants to keep out of trouble and protect his little family.

From how I've described the movie so far, you'd probably expect "To Live" to be some kind of deathly serious, harrowing cinematic experience, and it's not. What I found on rewatch was that the film was much funnier than I remembered. Xu Fugui is a bit of a fool and a bumbler, who occasionally has to be taken down a peg by his wife and kids. Society may be cruel at times, but each individual we meet is shown to have a good side. The film is full of wry observations and little ironies, culminating in a thrilling, devastating, and somehow terribly funny sequence involving a poor doctor who incapacitates himself by eating too many steamed buns.

The government, despite all the controversy, doesn't come off all that badly for the most part. Yes, their policies definitely play a part in causing the family's sorrows, but those sorrows are just as much a product of luck and fate. I wonder if they were really more upset by the irreverence with which they were treated in a few scenes. Zhang Yimou is famous for his use of color composition - the drying silk skeins in "Ju Dou" and the famous lanterns of "Raise the Red Lantern." Here, he gets a lot of mileage out of the Communist iconography from the propaganda that is plastered everywhere, and incorporated into daily life to ridiculous extremes.

I think "To Live" resonates more with me now that I'm older, and I've seen the world change for myself. The events of the movie are far more dramatic and compelling and beautiful than most people's lives, but at its core it captures an essential truth: after enough time and enough history, everyone's life is an epic story.
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The Specs of "Robot & Frank"

Epic scale space operas have always been a weakness of mine, but lately I've found myself preferring the smaller scale science-fiction stories that look at how we interact with new technology closer to home. A great example of this sub-genre of is "Robot & Frank," which stars Frank Langella as curmudgeonly ex-convict Frank, who is starting to experience worrying gaps in his memory.

Frank lives on his own but has two grown children, Madison (Liv Tyler), and Hunter (James Marsden), who are busy with their own lives, but worry about Frank's condition. Hunter, in a last bid to avoid sending Frank to a retirement home, purchases a robot health aide to help keep his father out of trouble. Frank, stubbornly determined to stay independent, doesn't appreciate the gesture. You can probably guess that Frank grows used to the robot, and comes to rely on his useful skills and companionship. However, the twist here is that Frank is a former jewel thief, and manages to convince the robot that helping him to plan and execute various burglaries is a great way to keep him mentally and physically fit.

Langella is excellent as Frank, a man we suspect has always enjoyed behaving badly, and reveals great pride in his old profession, as he dusts off the old skills to show off to his new friend. However, with the return to lockpicks and architectural blueprints come the consequences that his felonious career has had on his relationships with family and friends, and the uncomfortable truths that he's been trying to avoid facing. His struggles against the memory lapses are so affecting, because of Frank is so relatable. He bristles at being helped or looked after, and there's something admirable about his stubborn insistence on paying regular visits to a diner that no longer exists. Perhaps he is terribly selfish, and enjoys corrupting his robot friend a little too much, but it's hard not to root for the old rebel when he see his enjoyment at returning to the old game.

I really liked the robot in the movie, which the filmmakers were careful not to anthropomorphize too much. It's functional, rather than flashy, resembling a large, blocky Lego man with a astronaut's helmet where the face would be, and a soothing voice provided by Peter Sarsgaard. And though it's at the center of a few very emotional scenes, this is not one of those stories where the robot becomes a real boy, or reveals a secret vein of humanity. Everything it does and says could conceivably be the result of clever programming. At one point it even reveals that it can be as tricky and manipulative as Frank is, in the name of doing what is best for him. Thus Frank's affection for the robot may be entirely one-sided, and the robot may only be reflecting Frank's needs and wants. It's telling that even though Frank comes to care for the robot, he never gives it a name.

There's an underlying conflict in the film about the adoption of new technology. Frank courts Jennifer (Susan Sarandon), keeper of the town's very old and analog library, which is on the brink of being shut down and converted into something compatible with the digital age. It's an awful shame, but an inevitability, as progress always is. Yet progress also brings Frank and the robot together, and their partnership lets Frank get into the kind of trouble he never could have managed on his own, and reach necessary revelations on his own terms. After so many science-fiction cautionary tales, it's nice to see a film where robots and artificial intelligence aren't remotely sinister at all, though the complicated implications of using them as companions are addressed several times.

This is clearly a low budget production, but that's appropriate for a story like this. New technology is present, but it's not overwhelming. There are only two robots that appear in the film, but that's enough to give us a sense of how they function in society, and how people regularly interact with them. First time director Jake Schreier creates a version of the near future that is very recognizable and far likelier than most others I've seen in these kinds of movies. You get a good sense that the old way of doing things isn't so easily set aside or forgotten.

I found "Robot & Frank" very light and easy to watch, occasionally touching without being too sentimental. Sometimes the themes are hammered home a little too hard, but the writing maintains a great sense of humor and the filmmakers stay as grounded in reality as possible. And most importantly, they play fair with the premise. This is a character piece first and foremost, and Frank, we come to understand, would never stand for something as boring and cheap as a happy ending.
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Brave New "Utopia"

The similarities between the six-episode British thriller "Utopia" and the graphic novel "Watchmen" are numerous. Both involve massive conspiracies with powerful people behind the scenes trying to manipulate global events. Both involve a lot of graphic violence, so even though comic book imagery and several child characters are involved, they are absolutely not meant for the kids. And then there are the visuals, full of bright primary colors, with a special emphasis on bright yellow. "Watchmen," of course, had an expensive theatrical adaptation that pushed the boundaries regarding violence and sexuality in superhero films. "Utopia" does not have superheroes, but it accomplishes similar goals. And it's a hell of a lot better.

"Utopia" revolves around a graphic novel of the same name, which is the subject of all kinds of wild theories about it possibly predicting the future or being based on real, covered-up events. The manuscript for an unpublished second volume falls into the hands of a fan named Bejan (Mark Stobbart), who intends to share it with fellow regulars from a "Utopia" website, post-grad student Becky (Alexandra Roach), directionless IT worker Ian (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), survivalist hacker Wilson Wilson (Adeel Akhtar), and Grant (Oliver Woollford), who has been passing himself off as a stock trader, but is actually an eleven year-old boy. However, a pair of remorseless killers, Arby (Neil Maskell) and Lee (Paul Ready), from a secret organization called The Network, are also looking for the manuscript. In the opening scene of the first episode, we watch them murder everyone in a comic book shop for information on its whereabouts. Finally, there's Michael Dugdale (Paul Higgins), a hapless civil servant that The Network is blackmailing to do some very, very bad things.

What immediately catches your attention about "Utopia" is how good it looks. The cinematography is gorgeous, and creates this wonderful feeling of artificiality and unease. Nearly every frame conveys the sense that there is something not quite right about this version of the UK, which is beautiful and brightly colored, but seems to be nearing the tipping point of something terrible. And at this point, I should warn again that this is a very violent program. People are killed cruelly and graphically, in significant numbers, and there's a squirm-inducing torture scene in the first episode. Horrible things are regularly threatened with an ease and nonchalance that is genuinely shocking. However, there's a certain honesty to the portrayal of violence here. It's all real-world horrors, not played up for the audience's visceral pleasure, always portrayed negatively, and always, always with terrible consequences. No slow-mo and no silly CGI blood spatter. Take that, Zack Snyder!

Okay, I'm being unfair, but I couldn't help thinking that a more stripped down style and a limited television series format like this would have suited Watchman" so much better. "Utopia" has the length to acquaint us with its large cast and set up a big, epic story. However, it still moves fast enough to resolve everything within six hours, and nearly every mystery or new development that is introduced in one episode is dealt with or at least expanded on in the next episode. So there's a mystery woman named Jessica Hyde (Fiona O'Shaughnessy) that the two killers are looking for? We meet her by the end of the first episode, learn her backstory in the second and third, and by the sixth her whole story arc pays off with a bang. And the big conspiracy that most television shows would drag out for multiple seasons? We get the big reveal in episode five, and it's a doozy. For those of you who love puzzle and mystery shows, "Utopia" is one of the most satisfying I've ever seen.

With the recent leaps that television has been making in quality and willingness to push boundaries, in many ways it's surpassing film as the best medium for comic book adaptations. "Utopia" wasn't based off of a real comic property, but it certainly understands their conventions, and tells a story similar to what we might expect from Grant Morrison or Alan Moore. Though "Utopia" has science-fiction elements, it's the social commentary that stands out. The show has subtle and not-so subtle messages about media manipulation, racial tensions, environmental crises, sources of global unrest, and the cost of doing the right thing. Of course, the story is fantastic and impossible, but it's built on an awful lot of real-world issues that people don't like to talk about. And that's what helps it to strike such a nerve.

Yet again, it's British television that is the source of one of the most exciting pieces of genre work I've seen in a long time. However, in this case I'm not surprised that "Utopia" hasn't reached the States yet, and probably won't for a long time. It's highly provocative stuff that really pushes a lot of buttons, and has the kind of content that many people can't handle. But if you think you can, I highly recommend seeking it out. There's been nothing else quite like it – at least, outside of the comics.
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