"Vegas" and "Last Resort"

CBS's new period crime drama "Vegas" premiered Tuesday night and ABC's submarine adventure series "Last Resort" premieres tonight. I've seen both pilots now, so let's have a look.

"Vegas" is immediately eye-catching because of the high-profile cast and beautifully recreated 1960s setting. Dennis Quaid stars as Ralph Lamb, the new sheriff in town who would like nothing more than to run his ranch in peace, but Vegas needs a law man, and there's no one better for the job. It's fun to watch Quaid get into fistfights, rough up a gang of bikers and their lawyer, and play the kind of super-masculine cowboy hero that you don't see much anymore. With the help of his newly deputized brother Jack (Jason O'Mara) and Assistant DA Katherine O'Connell (Carrie-Anne Moss), Lamb quickly establishes himself as a major force to be reckoned with. This is not a welcome development for Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis), a volatile Chicago mobster who has come to Vegas to make a name for himself, and has a few initial skirmishes with Sheriff Lamb during in the hour. Clearly we can expect more in the weeks to come.

Out of all the networks pilots this year, "Vegas" looks the best. It's got the dusty open desert, the glitzy interiors, and shimmering views of the vintage Strip, complete with all the old casinos that fell victim to the wrecking ball. It looks like a show that should be on HBO, Showtime, or AMC, but the big question is, does it match up in quality? Despite the involvement of the mobster Savino, "Vegas" strikes me as more of a Western. Lamb is a no-nonsense, punch first and ask questions later kind of sheriff and gets several hero shots astride a horse, wielding firearms, and intimidating suspects. A lot of emphasis is placed on his background as a rancher, a man of the vanishing frontier. Not a very nuanced character, to say the least, but this is just a first impression. The real test for "Vegas" is going to be what happens next week and the week after as we chart the progress of Lamb and Savino and see if there is any complexity under these familiar exteriors. And I certainly hope that Carrie-Anne Moss gets more to do than just show up looking lovely in a different outfit for every scene. "Vegas" could easily settle for being yet another CBS crime procedural, and I'm sure it would be a very good one, but it has the potential to be a lot more with this kind of talent involved.

"Last Resort," on the other hand, left me kind of baffled. I enjoyed the first half where the crew of a nuclear submarine, led by Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) and XO Lt. Commander Sam Kendall (Scott Speedman) are ordered to fire on Pakistan and start a war through questionable channels. Their refusal results in the sub being marked as rogue by the US government, which has possibly been compromised by some kind of internal struggle. Then Chaplin decides that their best course of action is to take over an island with a NATO communications outpost and declares that he'll hold it until the crew can figure out what happened and how to clear their names. Other players include navigator Lt. Shepard (Daisy Betts), her father Admiral Shepard (Bruce Davison), who will be their contact in Washington, Kylie Sinclair (Autumn Reeser), a weapons manufacturing lobbyist, Sophie Girard (Camille de Pazzis) with NATO, and finally suspicious islanders Julian (Sahr Ngaujah) and Tani (Dichen Lachmann).

The trouble is that the first episode tries to do too much. It introduces over a dozen major characters at a breakneck pace, so nobody gets much time to make an impression besides Captain Chaplin and Lt. Shepard. The reams of plot crammed in here could have easily filled twice the amount of time allotted for it, especially toward the end as the crew of the sub take over the outpost, deal with a potential mutiny, and make their intentions known to the rest of the world. I found the depiction of life aboard the sub very strong, so it was a disappointment to realize that "Last Resort" was probably going to be spending the majority of its time on a tropical island well above water. The more I think about it, the more "Last Resort" looks like "Lost," which had its big series mysteries, but spent a great deal of time on the interpersonal conflicts of all these stranded souls who had been thrown together by fate. So while the show is billing itself as an epic adventure with the big submarine and all, the scenery's not going to change much from week to week. The pilot really should have spent more time in getting us invested in the characters, because that's clearly where the bulk of any interesting drama will come from.
---

Read More

I Saw "Magic Mike"

"Magic Mike" is a male stripper movie. Just think about that for a minute. This is not a movie where the stripping is played for laughs. And it's not a movie about amateur wannabes, like "The Full Monty." This is film that is intimately concerned with the business and lifestyle of professional male exotic dancing, and presents an open invitation to ogle the masculine form for 110 minutes. To my knowledge, we've never had something like this before at the multiplex, at least nothing this high profile with so much marquee talent. In addition to Channing Tatum as the title character, we also have up-and-comers Alex Pettyfer and Matt Bomer, with a big assist by Matthew McConaughey, who nearly steals the whole show. There is no question that the film is aimed at women, not only because of the blatant objectification of the men, but because when you get down to brass tacks, "Magic Mike" is a traditional romantic melodrama.

Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) dreams of starting his own custom furniture business, and juggles a variety of different jobs and businesses to raise the money. This includes stripping at a Tampa night spot, under the stage name Magic Mike, in a show run by his friend Dallas (Matthew McConaughey). At one of his day jobs, Mike comes upon a down-on-his-luck youngster named Adam (Alex Pettyfer), befriends him, and soon Adam is also taking the stage as The Kid. Adam's older sister Brooke (Cody Horn) isn't thrilled with her brother's new profession or with Mike, but they slowly become more friendly. Mike promises to look out for The Kid, but the lifestyle is starting to wear on him. Dallas is planning to move the show to Miami, and Mike's usual partner in sexual misadventures, Joanna (Olivia Munn), isn't interested in being anything more. And all too soon, the Kid lands them both in serious trouble.

Let's get the warnings out of the way first. "Magic Mike" shows a lot of skin, both male and female, but it stops short of full frontal nudity. There's some sex, but not graphic sex, plus some drug use, mild drunkenness, occasional brawling, and profanity in abundance. There are a few topless women in the mix with impressive assets, but the focus remains firmly on the male cast, who have equally impressive assets. I saw nothing that an open-minded male viewer would be too uncomfortable with, but your mileage will certainly vary. The male stripteases were never portrayed as demeaning, but as fun and empowering, with a lot of side benefits. The seedier side of the business, though alluded to, is mostly kept offscreen. Instead, the trouble comes from getting too comfortable with a crowd that seems to be having an endless party, and getting mixed up with easy money, bad influences, and forgetting about the consequences.

The one name to keep in mind here is not any of the sexy leading men, but the guy behind the camera: Steven Sodebergh. Yes, it's the king of indie cinema who is responsible for "Magic Mike," and who ensures that it's more than just campy, weightless fluff, like "Burlesque" or "Showgirls." We get to see plenty of the strip show (and what a strip show!) but audiences might be surprised at the amount of time Soderbergh takes to introduce the characters, establish that they're average, everyday people, and chart the course of their relationships. These relationships are played absolutely straight, grounding all the excess of Mike's hard partying social life and the over-the-top nature of his antics on stage. "Magic Mike" isn't nearly as ambitious or expansive as something like "Boogie Nights," but it does take itself fairly seriously. The plot isn't just there to fill in time between the setpiece, and some of Soderbergh's typically gorgeous, intimate shots should turn the head of any pretentious cinema geek.

Tatum's perfectly cast as the lead, and of course he is - the film is based on his own stint as a stripper, and the character is perfectly tailored toward his own strengths as an actor and a dancer. He's phenomenal on the stage, and not bad at all when he's off it. I've heard a few complaints about Cody Horn as his "uptight" love interest, but she stuck me a s a very canny choice. Horn has a different energy than anyone else onscreen, and she 's a great match for Tatum, actually making him come across as more charismatic and articulate. Then there's Matthew McConaughey, who takes the role of emcee and carnival barker and just runs with it. He has more personality than everyone else in the cast put together, nails every line delivery, and when it's finally his turn to go out on stage, you wonder why he ever left.

"Magic Mike" is a great time and a pretty decent movie too. I'm impressed with the way that it tackled the unlikely subject matter, and tackled it so wholeheartedly, without resorting to any of the usual clichés. I wouldn't be surprised if "Magic Mike" inspires a new subgenre, the male stripper rom-com. Alas, without Soderbergh, it'll probably be more beefcake than beef from here on out. Not that there's anything wrong with beefcake. Nothing wrong at all.

---

Read More

TJE 7/29 - Angel Face (1952)

I wasn't familiar with the work of Jean Simmons when she was young. I remembered her from "Guys and Dolls" and "Spartacus," as a very elegant and dignified leading lady. I never knew that she used to have a softer face, a higher, girlish voice, and in the right lights you could mistake her for Audrey Hepburn. And this made her perfect for the role of Diane Tremayne, a deeply troubled young woman who might be capable of murder, but is so attractive that she draws in the suspicious hero, in spite of himself.

Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) drives an ambulance, and one night responds to an emergency at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tremayne (Herbert Marshall, Barbara O'Neil). The gas was left on in Mrs. Tremayne's bedroom and she was nearly asphyxiated. Though dismissed as an accident, there is the possibility that it was a murder attempt, as Mrs Tremayne is very rich. Frank finds Mr. Tremayne's daughter and Mrs. Tremayne's step-daughter Diane downstairs, distraught, and he tries to comfort her. They go out together, and then Diane finds reasons to spend more and more time with him. Frank already has a girlfriend, Mary (Mona Freeman), and he's aware that Diane may have been the one who tried to kill her step-mother, but he allows himself to be manipulated. He even agrees to become the Tremaynes' chauffer, putting him in the perfect position to observe the dysfunctional family.

Add "Angel Face" to the pile of exceptional Otto Preminger crime dramas, alongside "Anatomy of a Murder" and "Laura." I think this is my favorite of them so far, because the performances of Simmons and Mitchum are so good. This is a predictable story, a tragedy that we can see coming from a long way off. Mitchum's hero can see it too, but just can't turn away from the girl who professes to love him so desperately. I thought "Angel Face" was an odd title for such a dark story, but it is perfectly appropriate. The instrument of Frank Jessup's doom is Diane's allure. The film is less about the crime that is committed and the business of sorting out who should be held responsible, than the underlying psychological workings of the two primary characters, who easily transcend the usual film nor types.

"Angel Face" is distinctive for an unusually knowing, cynical attitude. A good portion of the film is devoted to a court case, and it doesn't hesitate to show that justice often requires compromises. The system has certain biases that can be exploited, and a good lawyer, in this case a persuasive fellow named Fred Barrett (Leon Ames), knows that the truth often gets in the way of the desired result. Morality is twisted at every turn, not in a salacious way that invites outrage, but very pragmatically. Despite the melodramatic overtones, there's a refreshing realism to the film, from the rare presence of minorities to the detailed court proceedings to the multifaceted characters. Our villain is also very much a victim, and the ostensibly good characters do things that would be considered despicable in a less nuanced film.

I really enjoyed how Preminger strips away most of the excesses we usually see with these kinds of stories, and sticks to a tight, focused drama that plays out a very personal level. The leads have real psychological complexity to them, especially the lovely Diane. There's a great sequence late in the film where she is at the piano, deep in thought. She plays a few notes, in perfect sync with the ominous musical score, subtly indicating that the music reflects her inner turmoil. Then she leaves the piano and wanders around the empty house, but the music she isn't playing continues, growing louder. Clearly Diane is about to do something desperate. The black and white cinematography is excellent, filling the empty house with shadows and ambiguities.

Robert Mitchum is great, but I can't say enough about Jean Simmons' performance here. Diane is cruel and selfish and manipulative, but there isn't a moment when she isn't also utterly vulnerable and sympathetic. Preminger never portrays her as mad or hateful, never has her go off on some over-the-top rant or reveal some hidden ugliness at her core. Instead, Diane is clearly a tragic character, someone who perhaps made a bad mistake and surely can be redeemed. We root for her, even though we know we shouldn't. We find ourselves drawn in, just as poor Frank does.

"Angel Face" is my kind of film noir, a film about the dark side of the human soul, but one that doesn't need the violent spectacle or the old clichés in order to make an impact. It's just a good director, good performers, and good writers telling us a story that everyone knows, but telling it in such a way that it hits just as hard as when we heard it the first time.
----

Read More

This Might Be the Best "Mission" Yet

The first "Mission: Impossible" film directed by Brian DePalma is remembered for impressive action scenes and an overly convoluted plot. The second directed by John Woo was an overly stylized mess. The third, with J.J. Abrams, was serviceable, but really nothing special. I don't think anyone would have complained if the series had just ended there, or if the studio had waited a few years and rebooted the whole franchise. But now along comes the fourth "Mission: Impossible" film with Tom Cruise, directed by PIXAR alum Brad Bird, and it makes me glad that Cruise didn't throw in the towel just yet.

"Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," is easily the best installment since the first, and the most fun. A lot of this has to do with the supporting cast members, who get way more time and attention than they have in any of the other films. Tom Cruise is still playing Ethan Hunt, the super-proficient IMF agent who has a yen for daredevil stunts and aerial acrobatics. However, this time the team he leads is composed of actual characters like Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), who played a funny techie in a previous film and has been promoted to full agent, Jane Carter (Paula Patton) who has a personal beef with one of their targets, and an analyst named William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) who is keeping a lot of secrets.

"Ghost Protocol" has a different feel to it than any of the other "Mission: Impossible" films, offering the least convoluted plot, lots of humor, and the best use of its ensemble. It has totally given up any pretense of being a proper spy film grounded in any kind of reality, and instead has embraced being more of an out-and-out adventure spectacle. I think it's a change for the better. Grittiness and moral ambiguity have been left to the Bonds and Bournes, while the IMF team goes off to perform elaborately staged missions in picture-perfect exotic locales, backed by a rousing score from Michael Giacchino. Ethan Hunt gets to climb around on the side of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. And he gets to infiltrate the Kremlin with help of a couple of fancy gadgets that couldn't possibly exist with the current technology. And crash a party in Mumbai with a very cool car. It's pure spy fantasy, and fantastically well done.

The villains are shallow and uncomplicated in their villainy, and include an extremist (Michael Nyqvist) looking for Russian nukes, a femme fatale assassin (Lea Seydoux) who insists on being paid in diamonds, and most amusingly, an Indian media mogul (Anil Kapoor). This is not to say that the movie ever feels dumbed down from the previous "Mission: Impossible" films, but it has definitely shifted in tone to be lighter and less emotionally fraught. There's plenty of personal drama at hand, but in moderation. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that "Ghost Protocol" is probably the only "Mission: Impossible" that is not about Ethan Hunt, but about the actual mission that his team is trying to carry out.

And so I'm glad to report that you get real, full, memorable performances from Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, and Simon Pegg, to complement Tom Cruise. Their characters get full story arcs, instead of filling out the background like some of their predecessors. Pegg is easily the least annoying comic sidekick I've run across all year, and the movie would have been worse off without him. Patton gets more to do as the female lead than the usual winsome romantic interests with twice the screen time. And if the "Mission: Impossible" franchise does decide to elevate Jeremy Renner to the leading man position, it's in good hands.

As for Tom Cruise, what can you say? He's as good at playing Ethan Hunt as he always was. He sells the unbelievable stunts, still cleans up good, and remains in desperate need of a haircut. He'll deliver ludicrous dialogue with perfect conviction, and I still buy it in spite of myself. I don't know much longer he can play the action hero like this, but his age isn't showing yet, and he certainly isn't slowing down.

So "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" is a good time. It's well made light entertainment created by people who understand that they're making light entertainment. The lines are corny, but the writing also had a streak of self-awareness I was surprised and pleased to see. Brad Bird is as good creating live action spectacle as he is creating the animated kind, and I hope he'll go on to make more of both.
---

Read More