Life on Mars Series One (BBC): DVD Review

July 30, 2009

You don’t seem like the rest of them and you’re clever enough to know what you’re saying can’t be true. –Annie


In this original BBC series [which coincidentally the canceled American television show copies almost exactly], Detective Inspector Sam Tyler [John Simm] gets hit by a car in 2006 and wakes up in 1973 back in his own Manchester police office. Naturally he flips out. He cannot believe it is 1973 or any of this is real. Tyler befriends and confides in Annie [Liz White], an officer in the women’s division of the force [to the dismay of his colleagues he treats her as an equal and values her input on cases]. Here’s the kicker: in 2006 his partner and girlfriend Maya [Archie Panjabi] had been killed by a serial killer; now in 1973, a serial killer seems to be following the same m.o. as the one in 2006. Coincidence for Tyler? This is the nightmare from which he cannot awake. Everything is foreign to him and he cannot grasp how outdated and seemingly backwards everything is in 1973. The other detectives behave boorishly and in an unregulated manner that often does not sit well with Tyler. And this is something he has to come to terms with every day in order to work with this force. Life on Mars makes everyone in 1973 seem dumb, woefully untrained, chauvinistic, and almost savage. And ironically, they were. Life on Mars is a clever program with a mix of vintage and present tone and style. The unpredictability of the show will keep you watching.

DVD Bonus Features: “Take a Look at the Lawman,” a behind-the-scenes documentary that includes interviews with cast and crew interviews; interview with director Bharat Nalluri; and a featurette about the music of Life on Mars with composer Ed Butt

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The Soloist: DVD Review

July 30, 2009

Based on a true-story, The Soloist details the relationship between LA Times columnist Steve Lopez [Robert Downey Jr.] and homeless musical genius Nathaniel Ayers [Jamie Foxx]. One day Lopez is walking around the street trying to come up with an idea for his next column. He passes by a guy playing a two-stringed violin. The guy’s talent impresses him immediately. Lopez starts chatting with the homeless man [Nathaniel Ayers] who rambles on and mentions that he was once at Julliard. Back at the news room, Lopez confirms this and becomes intrigued how someone who once attended Julliard could end up playing for dollars on the streets of Los Angeles. Lopez starts to seek Ayers out and the two have long discussions and slowly become friends. Ayers drops his wall as Lopez gains his trust. After reading Lopez’s first column, a woman is so moved that she donates the cello that she played for half a century. As always, Downey turns in an immensely captivating performance. His role is that of the intense, scrappy and determined reporter. As Lopez gets to know this musical genius, he becomes less self-centered, a better listener and more patient. Foxx digs deep in his role of the schizophrenic homeless Ayers without turning his performance into a caricature. It is a balancing act that Foxx manages by delving inside to make Ayers empathetic and not pathetic. Screenwriter Susannah Grant has crafted a poignant, uplifting story that shines a light on homelessness in Los Angeles and around the country. Under the gentle, artistry of director Joe Wright [Atonement], The Soloist is a truly memorable film.

Grade: B+

Available on DVD AUGUST 4, 2009

Extra features: commentary by director Joe Wright; discussion with the real Lopez and Ayers; a moving feature on the homeless; a detailed discussion on the making of The Soloist

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Drop Dead Diva: TV Review

July 29, 2009

Drop Dead Diva is supposed to be empowering for average size women but what smart, professional woman wears no makeup and eats donuts EVERY day? Jane [Brooke Elliott] looks harried; her hair is stringy and not presentable for high-powered meetings and court appearances. No self-respectable attorney would show up to court without pulling her hair away from her face or brushing it into a better style. The premise of the show is this: a size 16 attorney [Jane] gets shot and simultaneously a vapid size 2 model, Deb [Brooke D'Orsay] gets killed in a car accident. Her soul returns in the body of the attorney. She gains the attorney’s brains but retains many of her own memories. For a show that is embracing the body you have, Jane/Deb wakes up every day and looks in the mirror and is horrified at the body that she now has. She tells her guardian angel that she’s not sure that she can do this. She wants out. She doesn’t want this body. She likes being smart and remembering things and being a lawyer but she definitely liked the perks of being a beautiful woman. One of those “perks” was her engagement to Grayson, a lawyer, who just happens to be a new associate at Jane’s firm.

Drop Dead Diva is full of clichés: besides the donuts and éclairs that Jane consumes; she has a wardrobe from Lane Bryant; and she has a picture on her wall of herself and her cat as well as decorative plates. Jane is now acting weird after the shooting. It is all because she is confused by what is going on. She has confided her secret to her best friend [Well Deb’s best friend] Stacy [played by blonde, baby-voiced April Bowlby quite like a sweeter version of Ugly Betty’s Amanda.] While Stacy seems thrilled to have her best friend back, she knows the clubs the duo used to haunt wouldn’t even let Jane in and some of their old friend would wonder why they are friends. Stacy does bring Jane lunch one day but it is so over-the-top unrealistic. A salad. Okay. But then a baggie with three raisins in it for a “snack”?

Let me take a moment to compare this plus-size gal to another on one of my favorite [and recently canceled] sitcoms, Samantha Who? Dena [Melissa McCarthy] is definitely chunky but she hardly lets it keep her down. She dresses appropriately. Dena frequents bars and clubs with Samantha and Andrea. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and she and her boyfriend adore each other. Sure, sometimes she gets down about things but the show never makes a huge issue out of her weight and she doesn’t have image issues at every turn. The creator and writer of Drop Dead Diva is a man, Josh Berman, which, honestly, could be its problem. How could a man be sensitive to what a woman who is 10, 15, 50, or even five pounds overweight really goes through on a daily basis? How does he know what she sees and feels and thinks when she looks into a mirror?

In Drop Dead Diva, most of Jane’s inspired ideas at the law firm have come from Deb, the skinny girl in the fat body. What this is teaching viewers about appreciating the body they have or to have better body image is lost on me. Eating oatmeal for breakfast and taking a walk every once in a while would do wonders for Jane. What makes Jane fun and attractive is that Deb now inhabits her body. In other words, this show seems hesitant to drop the diva any time soon. Deb adds a refreshing spontaneity to the character. Drop Dead Diva is predictable and falls flat.

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Hell’s Kitchen: Is it Hot in Here or is it Just Me?

July 28, 2009


Hell’s Kitchen
Fox, Tuesday night

On the sixth season of Hell’s Kitchen, the set-up remains the same– sixteen contestants have been chosen out of a pool of 200,000 from around the country. World-renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay pits the men against the women once again. Each show begins with a challenge and the winners get a reward and the losers get some sort of punishment. Then each team preps, cooks and sends out a full dinner menu to the diners at Hell’s Kitchen while being judged in the process. Ramsay yells, swears and belittles the contestants as they hustle to get the food to the patrons on time. At the end of each episode, one chef gets eliminated. The winner of Hell’s Kitchen becomes Head Chef at Araxi Restaurant in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

On the first episode, the contestants prepared their signature dishes for the challenge. The men won. In a strange twist, Chef Ramsay brought back a contestant from last year [who left due to a heart condition] for a second chance. He put Robert on the women’s team. Then on the second episode, the challenge was to clean shrimp in ten minutes time. Again the men won and the prize was a lunch with Chef Ramsay and then a trip out on a yacht. Sparks flew during the dining service when Chef Joseph, a former marine, got into a yelling match with Ramsay and basically challenged him to a rumble. Ramsay had wanted him to pick up a piece of food with his hands and taste it and the guy said, “I’m not an animal.” It will be continued on episode three.

I spoke with three contestants: Andy Husbands, Executive Chef and Owner of Boston restaurant Tremont647, sous chef Jim from New Hampshire and sous chef Ariel from Los Angeles.

Amy Steele [AS]: Why did you want to be on Hell’s Kitchen?

Andy: The best analogy I can give you is that in ’92 when I first saw someone with a tongue piercing, I thought, “Wow. I wonder how much does that hurt? How bad could it be? Can I take it?” So obviously, I got my tongue pierced. It’s the risk thing, the adventure, the challenge. Is there a risk that I’ll come off looking like I don’t know anything about cooking? There is that chance.

[Andy has been running a three-course Hell’s Kitchen themed dinner at Tremont647 every Tuesday night to coincide with the airing of each new episode. Check out the website for details]

Jim: I watched it and everybody said you could totally do it [20,000 chefs applied for the show]

Ariel: I wanted to see if I could meet the challenge.

AS: What did you expect when you arrived on the show/ or in the kitchen/during the competition?

Andy: I had no idea what to expect. It was like going on a roller coaster that you’ve never been on. That was a really cool roller coaster.

Jim: I knew it would be hard and intense and we’d be thrown into this living arrangement with people you don’t know. But you just think of nailing it and getting it done.

Ariel: I definitely wasn’t going in blind. I was not shell-shocked like some people. I was comfortable, nervous, but comfortable.

AS: What did you learn from the experience?

Andy: Push yourself hard and know how much your body can do. Also how much tolerance you have for a crazy atmosphere and working with insane people.

Jim: You have to be consistent with everything you cook. Everything has to be done the same way and you can’t take short cuts.

Ariel: Chef Ramsay is very high on standards, something I needed to find in myself. I have but I had to hone in on. I needed someone to bring it out of me more—something like this [competition] to bring this out more and make me more confident.

AS: How is it working with people from all different backgrounds?

Andy: What’s interesting is that you’re in an environment where everyone wants you to go home. You’re kind of working together and you’re kind of not. That’s interesting. So even on the guys team. The guy’s team wants to win, but you know one of the guys might go home that night.

Jim: I’ve had varying degrees of experience. My regular job, as sous chef, is getting people up to speed working with people. To get to [Hell’s Kitchen] and how everyone else breaks it down to run a kitchen is interesting.

Ariel: It boosts your confidence. You are chosen out of thousands which boosts your confidence and then walk in and meet all those contestants and that talent around you and you are among these contestants and have that right to be there. It is awkward running into a new kitchen with people from different backgrounds, with different styles but it gets more comfortable

AS: What did you know about Chef Ramsay before the show?

Andy: I knew he was a task master and had a colorful way of explaining himself.

Jim: He’s intense. He’s a presence. He wants to get the best out of you. You always push yourself even if others aren’t pushing you. The whole process of being a chef never stops.

Ariel: Ramsay wanted to be most successful chef on the planet. I have respect for him. He’s made a name for himself. He cares for the craft. I haven’t had a chance to get to know him yet.

AS: How is it to be in constant competition?

Jim: In competition I wanted everyone to do really good and not be half-assing it.

Ariel: I automatically look at the male contestants as the main competition because this is a male-dominated field.

AS: How different is it to work when every move is scrutinized, names are called, and people are undermined?

Andy: I’ve worked like that a before and you learn to ignore it. You hear what you need to hear.

Jim: You have to put it out of your head or it’ll eat you up. Do your best. Focus on containing composure. Put everyone else out of head when on line—how am I being perceived?–I just put it out of my head and work. : I have a real life to go back to and how do I want this little piece of Americana to remember me? I never say anything bad about anyone. [Jim seems to be one of the most laid back guys on the show. He said in the first episode, “I’m not intimidated by anybody. Alright, I’m a little intimidated by Chef Ramsay.” And on the marine guy he commented: “Go ahead and burn yourself out with that attitude.”]

Ariel: At first it was very difficult for me. I thought everyone is going to see and I don’t want to cut myself but you soon forget about it. It is nerve-wracking with Chef Ramsay hanging over your shoulder.

AS: What has been the best part of being on the show thus far?

Andy: Getting on [Hell’s Kitchen]. It’s such a bizarre experience that I got to be a part of and such a unique thing. Season Six is such a cool adventure.

Jim: All the new friends I’ve made and being in contact with them in real life. We understand the experience like no one else can and that’ll always be a bond.

Ariel: The exciting unknown.—what’s going to be thrown your way and how can you handle being in a competition and seeing all these people around and seeing if you can knock them out along the way, and working with Chef Ramsay. And becoming he best chef you can be.

AS: What has been the greatest challenge?

Andy: Hanging in and dealing with the pressure.

Jim: Being selected to be on the show. The process of being selected, going through all the questions and being picked.

AS: Is post-editing in line with what the show is like and what you think of folks?

Andy: You get the brutality in the kitchen but don’t get how long it lasts. It’s intense. We’re in there for hours. They didn’t change anything. What you see is what you get.

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Dollhouse S1 DVD Review

July 25, 2009

Dollhouse is really a sexist show in that it is all about providing the ultimate male fantasy: women who are designed by men to be the perfect companions to men. You can have a conversation about baseball, have sex, go rock-climbing, and then have her get all dressed up and take her to a fancy dinner. Then never see her again. The dolls are attractive; they are wired to be exactly what the men want them to be. [Sure, there are men in the group but most of the men are hired out to “lonely hearts” e.g. older widowed or divorced women.] Most people know that wealthy men are the one’s that are going to make the most use of this type of service. This Dollhouse is a secret underground society catering to the very very wealthy with expendable income. It’s discreet. It is untraceable. The security is impeccable. As it is so futuristic and a doll gets imprinted with a particular coding and then erased, it meets the needs and desires of men to have it all.

Dollhouse is an Alias rip off with weak writing. Dollhouse is no way comparable to Alias, a much superior show, and in Jennifer Garner, one finds a true actress with the capability to meld and shape herself. This show wants to provide the action, the adventure, glamour, intrigue and action but the writing and acting falls flat. There are some interesting plot twists– Echo has feelings/memories, a rogue doll is on the loose somewhere, and and FBI agent is on the trail to locate where the clandestine Dollhouse is located– that could work if someone would focus more on them and fine-tuned the writing. At times the writing gets very sloppy and loose.

Dollhouse must appeal to Eliza Dushku because she gets the chance to play a different role each week, within another role. Also, her character Echo has more layers than other dolls. She remembers and that is not supposed to happen. When an “active” returns to the Dollhouse, that active receives a treatment that wipes them clean for the next engagement. But the reach of having different accents and delving into different characters is beyond the realm of Dushku’s acting abilities. Most of the time she swings in and out of a Boston accent. Dushku aims to be smart, sexy, and strong but comes across as mostly just slutty with skirts that barely cover her but and crotch and low-cut shirts that show cleavage in every scene whether she plays a “business woman” or some guy’s dream date.

In the first episode, we are introduced to Echo and the idea of the Dollhouse. In another episode, [featuring a guest appearance of an actor I used to have a crush on, Matt Keeslar], Echo is bait for a rich guy’s weird fantasy. As each week goes on, we learn that Echo’s “imprint” might have some flaws. She might have feelings and memories which may or may not cause problems for some of her assignments. Echo infiltrates a cult, plays house with an internet mogul, and becomes a hostage negotiator, among other assignments. The talented Olivia Williams plays the woman who runs the Dollhouse, while Reed Diamond [another long-time crush of mine] is her right-hand man. Dollhouse is good when Echo uses her mind more than her body for good. When Echo is merely a sex object, I quickly lose interest.

Special Features include: episode commentary with Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon.

GRADE: C+

DOLLHOUSE ON DVD JULY 28

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Last Night in Montreal: review/ interview with Emily St. John Mandel

July 23, 2009


There was a map folded on the dashboard, but it was fading steadily under the barrage of light; Lilia was supposed to be the navigator but entire states were dissolving into pinkish sepia, the lines of highways fading to grey. The names of certain cities were indistinct now along the fold, and all the borders were vanishing.

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel is an exquisite debut novel filled with fragile characters holding on to situations that may or may not define them. It is about being lost and not wanting to be found; being adrift in a city dominated by a completely different culture and trying to remain centered; and finding out whether you are happier in motion or in one place. Lilia is a 22-year-old woman who has never known a permanent address for more than a decade. Her father abducted her as a young child and the pair never ceased traveling across the United States for fear of being caught. In Last Night in Montreal, Mandel seamlessly travels back and forth from the Lilia’s wayward childhood to present day. She also delves into the lives of the obsessive private investigator and his collateral damage: a daughter Lilia’s age. Her name is Michaela.

“I had this one note about traveling by car through the desert that sort of developed into this idea of someone who was traveling forever,” Emily Mandel explained by phone from her home in Brooklyn. “I started to think of it that you had to keep traveling if a crime had been committed and you couldn’t stop and then I came up with the idea of a parent abducting a child. And I’m not sure why I picked the father abducting the child and not the mother but it was just sort of the way it developed gradually over time.”

Fifteen years later in another country Lilia pressed her forehead against a windowpane in Eli’s apartment, looking out at an unchartered landscape of Brooklyn rooftops in the ran, and came to a somewhat unsettling conclusion: she’d been disappearing for so long that she didn’t know how to stay.

As an adult, Lilia cannot remain in any place very long. [“I knew the character Lilia who had been traveling her whole life would probably be a little skittish because of that background.”] Now living in Brooklyn, her boyfriend Eli suspects she will soon leave him. He studies extinct and endangered languages. Lilia speaks five languages. Eli and Lilia are polar opposites and perhaps that is why Eli is devastated and ungrounded when she leaves him.

“Lilia is really action oriented,” Mandel explained. “She doesn’t talk about traveling, she travels. She doesn’t talk about languages, she speaks them. Eli is sort of stuck in this state of inertia. He studies things but doesn’t really take action. He spends all his time talking about art in cafes with his friends and is kind of stuck in that life.”

One day Eli receives a mysterious postcard from Montreal with the simple message: She’s here. Come soon, Michaela. He travels from Brooklyn to Montreal to find Lilia and to get some closure. He meets up with Michaela, a woman who has been as tormented by Lilia as Eli. She is just as bitter about Lilia as Eli. Her father became so obsessed about Lilia’s case that he abandoned his own daughter who now performs at an exotic dance club in Montreal.

“I lived in Montreal for about eight months and I don’t speak French,” Mandel begins. “I grew up in British Columbia where French isn’t something you hear very often. So the experience of living in a city where I didn’t speak the language was really interesting to [find yourself] outside the culture that way. So I guess that culture of alienation made sense for a couple of my characters: Eli and Michaela ending up in Montreal, and it sort of tied together with this theme of languages that I had been thinking about. Lilia is sort of this linguist who speaks about five different languages. And Eli studied dead languages. I just thought it would be interesting to have it set in that city where I’d experienced what it means to speak the wrong language. I felt the alienation of the characters made sense to have unfolded there.”

Ultimately does Lilia want to be found? Or would it be best if Eli just let her go? Will Lilia escape again? Mandel excels in her craft by utilizing visual descriptions, detailed characterizations and a heartfelt, surprising story. Last Night in Montreal is a provocative, spellbinding novel.

–30–

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Forget Me Knot: A Book Review

July 16, 2009


by Sue Margolis

Forget Me Knot is the type of book you read in one day at the pool or at the café and then forget about in a few days. Abby runs her own business Fabulous Flowers and is engaged to Toby. She’s from a working-class background and he’s very much not. In the UK, this is a huge deal. At thirty-four, Toby was a real grown-up. Abby had dated too many men who, even as they hit their mid-thirties, were still trying to work out what they wanted from life and where they were going. They were frustrated, tormented types who—often for good reason—yearned to give up jobs that gave them no satisfaction and take off round the world on a Harley. Her best friends are her school-mate Sophie and Martin, who works at her shop. Toby and Abby haven’t had sex in a while because Toby just can’t get it up. Sophie and Martin [who is gay] suspect Toby is gay but Abby just will not see it in her fiancé. In the meantime, a film decides to use Abby’s shop as a shooting location and the director, Dan is quite cute. As Toby and Abby fall apart, Dan and Abby, predictably begin a romance. Recently, I saw the fabulous documentary Paper Heart which examines love from all angles. In it, Charlyne Yi talks to romance novelist Sarah Baker who explains that the key to any good romance is HEA—happily ever after and that there must be one half of a couple who makes a sacrifice for the other. So expect that to happen in Forget Me Knot which is fairly predictable. It’s a very easy read. Everything is clearly laid out right in front of you. Margolis lays the clues out for the reader and uses simple words. She creates characters you know or quickly recognize. This book is the definition of chick lit in every sense of the word. The sex scenes are so graphic it’s a cross between a watered down Anais Nin and Penthouse Forum. There are misunderstandings over silly movie-style things: something looks one way but in actuality is another. One party seethes while the other cries or broods. The couple comes back together. Then all is well in the end. Happy. Happy. There’s no depth in Forget Me Knot. Which I suppose many people desire in a summer read. For me, it is just to light for reading fare.

Bantam Books
Trade Paperback

Grade: C+

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Expedition Africa Season Finale Sunday at 10 pm

July 12, 2009


If you have yet to watch Expedition Africa this summer, you can catch a marathon on the History Channel beginning at noon EST tomorrow or catch it on hulu. The season wraps up with a two-hour season finale at 10 p.m. EST. Will the four explorers make it to the Central African village Ujiji [on time] as Dr. Livingstone and reporter Henry Stanley did? How will past conflicts between the two alpha-males [as Mireya has dubbed them] Pasquale and Benedict finally be resolved? Will Mireya, Benedict and Kevin finally make Pasquale realize that he has been part of a team effort this entire time? Do you think there will be another season of Expedition? I can see this team of four traveling throughout the Globe embarking on adventures through the rain forest, traveling the path of Lewis and Clark [which might be too easy but fun none-the-less], and following in the footsteps of other well-known explorers. Expedition Africa has been a success. I have enjoyed watching these explorers battle the elements, the wildlife, the land, and deal with the lack of clean water sources and each other to meet their goal. I am going to miss the show tremendously.

Mireya [Wildlife Expert]: I have a soft spot for this woman. I know we will never go on an expedition but maybe we can do something tame like go on a nice hike and then get pedicures [with Jes Alexander too]. She’s tough yet empathetic to the plights of the others around her as well as the animals in this desolate, unforgiving environment. As an anthropologist, she compares the explorers to the social organization of baboons: Pasquale is the alpha-male; Benedict is the sensitive-novel male; Kevin is the juvenile; and she is the alpha-female. Mireya loves snake-spotting and educating her fellow explorers about them and other animals. She also loves seeing all the different flora and fauna along the route in Africa. She appreciates the minutiae within this trip. She and Benedict are simpatico in their belief that it is about the journey and not about the end result. Mireya is also the one who comes right over when someone is not feeling well. After Kevin got food poisoning from eating the larvae, Mireya grew quite concerned over the “juvenile.” And with Benedict contracting Malaria, she became extremely worried over his pain and discomfort and grew fearful of losing her buddy for the rest of the journey. Mireya is also a fantastic role model for young women as she speaks her mind when she sees that something is wrong or not going as she thinks it should. She will tell Pasquale her thoughts about his decision if she disagrees. She’s opinionated but in a thoughtful, tempered manner.

Benedict [Survivalist]: He knows a little about everything to survive out in the wild. The problem has been that from the beginning his laid-back Aussie demeanor has not sat well with Pasquale’s militant leadership style. Though it is a team effort, someone has to take the reins at times or the group will not make it to certain destinations at the times needed in order to complete their intended mission. Like Mireya, Benedict loves the beauty and serenity of the outdoors. He notices the nuances of leaves, trees, and wants to soak it all in while he is on this journey. He recites fascinating facts about a “sausage tree,” how to built a boma, how best to build a fire, tidbits about edible larvae or how to sterilize water with charcoal. It’s about the journey. He and Mireya work so well together. They are in sync and have similar personalities that just mesh well to go on an expedition of this type. Benedict and Pasquale are strong, hard-headed, arrogant men not used to hearing “no” very often (I imagine) and this has caused friction.

Pasquale [Navigator]: Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I’m horrified with Paquale’s behavior. He pushes people when it seems he shouldn’t. Sometimes he’s such a character that you cannot help but think that he’s just a bit crazy. You have to be to do all the things he has done and still walk around in flip-flops in Africa where poisonous snakes abound. He’s determined to make the deadline and get everyone to Ujiji in the allotted time and if that means being a bit tyrannical, I doubt Pasquale minds that much. I do find it offensive when he does not listen to the three other explorers on his team because he automatically assumes that his experience trumps theirs. When he made the comment about the water being iodized and that had been Kevin’s task all along but Pasquale made it sound like he’d been doing it? I was so annoyed. So annoyed! The deal of the show is four explorers from different backgrounds: did you get the original pitch for the show Pasquale? To yell at someone for checking out a cool tree, is just ludicrous. And I still cannot get over those poor little donkeys. I hope they make it back to their village alive. [I might not want to know the answer]

Kevin [Journalist]: Poor Kevin. An EMT and reporter. Mireya got very annoyed with him when he wanted to bandage her bloody hand and she thought it would hold them back too much. At the beginning [I had been tipped off], I was certain he’d be the one to get Malaria. It turns out Kevin has pulled his weight around camp. He’s thrown himself into this expedition. He’s eager to learn. He’s tried to remain relatively neutral between the Benedict/Pasquale/Mireya arguments. He actually tries to mediate when he can. And he’s doing a lot for everyone around camp. He sets up the tents at night. He has been iodizing [sterilizing] the water [or at least had been until Pasquale claimed he was doing everything around camp]. Kevin has turned out to be a star that perhaps no one expected him to be. And having an EMT around has been super handy, I’d say. Kevin provides the historical background to the journey. He knows everything about Stanley and Livingstone and that adds so much to the show. And as reporter Stanley became an explorer so many years ago, Kevin seems to be following in those historic footsteps.

WATCH THE SEASON FINALE OF EXPEDITION AFRICA
SUNDAY ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL

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The Hurt Locker: Film Review

July 10, 2009


The opening scene of The Hurt Locker is a creepy version of Wall-E. A robot whisks out through dusty silence scanning back and force looking for something. Iraqis hang out of windows looking on. Children stand along the streets. Snipers hide on rooftops. Suddenly it finds what it is looking for and the men of Bravo Company know that there’s some sort of bomb out there that that needs to be disarmed and fast. It’s time to suit up and get out there.

The Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal [EOD] squad has 38 days left of their tour to search for roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad. Staff Sergeant William James [Jeremy Renner-- Dahmer, The Assassination of Jesse James] has recently taken over leadership of the team. He’s a renegade with a blatant and happy disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. Sergeant J.T. Sanborn [Anthony Mackie-- Half Nelson, We are Marshall] plays by the rules while Specialist Owen Eldridge [Brian Geraghty-- We are Marshall, Jarhead] is the newbie on this counter force team. It’s a high pressure job that allows for no mistakes and requires extreme calmness. Improvised Explosive Devices [IEDs] account for more than half of American hostile deaths. The Hurt Locker is a gritty, frenetic film packed to the brim with terror-filled moments.

Told he should put on a heavy Kevlar suit to disarm one bomb, Sgt. James [Renner] says: “If I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die comfortable.’’ He proceeds to disarm the bomb without the protective gear to the amazement of his crew who think he’s a cowboy. Is he fearless or gutsy, rowdy or reckless? Or is this all he knows and how he is most comfortable? The blood pours off in puddles after a particularly tense mission when he showers in full uniform. At home [where he is clearly dissatisfied], James keeps a box of remnants from disarmed bombs under his bed (his own Hurt Locker) while a bomb itself is obviously a Hurt Locker and the war could be a Hurt Locker. There’s no politics involved. It is all about this company and its job: to locate and disable bombs. Renner is a revelation in this break out role. His eyes are the windows into the risks and rewards of his job. The Hurt Locker is written by Mark Boal [In the Valley of Elah] who spent months embedded with troops in Iraq.

There is so much death and destruction, blood and devastation, that you cannot help but think about the reasons behind the violence. The Hurt Locker takes place in 2004 during the Gulf War but the emotions that one feels while watching the film transcend the setting and the war. Director Kathryn Bigelow [Point Break, Strange Days] has made her career directing male-centric, action films. The Hurt Locker succeeds with Bigelow adding elements of grace, empathy and serenity to the demeanor of each character. Within the chaos and danger of The Hurt Locker lies bravery and reasoning. The Hurt Locker is without a doubt one of the most potent films you will see this year.

STEELE SAYS: SEE IT IN THE THEATRE

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Posted by Amy Steele

Leverage S1: DVD Review

July 8, 2009


Leverage is a bit like a serialized version of Ocean’s 11– a twisty, convoluted heist or scam happens every episode. Arrogant, yet likable mastermind Nathan Ford [Timothy Hutton] designs elaborate plots built around high-tech scheming and the newest and most impressive gadgets and skills. Leverage is simultaneously complex and exhilarating—the show keeps you guessing and and thinking. It is a flashy, edgy and stylish show unlike much else on television except perhaps Burn Notice [style-wise]. Having a team of characters with unique personalities adds to the colorfulness and appeal of Leverage. It makes you cheer a bit for these damaged, fringe players. Besides Ford, Parker [Beth Riesgraf] is the quirky, geeky acrobatic thief. Hardison [Aldis Hodge] is a computer and technology wiz. Sophie [Gina Bellman] is the sexy con who can talk her way in and out of any situation. She believes she’s a really great actress. And then there’s messy, grumpy and arrogant combat expert Eliot Spencer [Christian Kane].

In one episode, the gang takes down a father-son contracting team that is bilking disaster victims out of their own houses and their life savings. In another, the team fakes a Catholic “miracle” in order to save a church and help out Nathan’s friend, the church’s Pastor. An episode that takes place mostly on a plane deals with a biotech company and its corruptness. The team tries to recover a war orphan in another episode and an Iraq War veteran gets help from the team in another. While I get confused more often than not, it wraps up by episode end. I enjoy seeing the characters interact and do their thing.

The justification for these elaborate Robin Hood schemes is usually client-based. The group’s goal is to help people and to take down some evil corporations. The team helps those who get screwed over, who get scammed and those who are disadvantaged. Though in the end, Leverage is all about the money. The ROI: get back at one thing to get the BIG SCORE/ the prize. These con artists work pretty well as a team but are narcissists and are ultimately looking out for themselves.

DVD Extras: deleted scenes, episode commentary, behind the scenes, “anatomy” of a stunt fight

DVD RELEASE DATE: JULY 14

GRADE: B-

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