Bored Now does the complete Buffy 1997-2003

Episode 1.11 Out of Mind, Out of Sight
 

 Cordelia's reign as Queen B of Sunnydale goes on.  As she parades down the hallway with her cheerleader boyfriend, and best friend Harmony (Mercedes Mcnab), not for the first time Buffy stumbles into Cordelia's path and causes embarrassment for both of them.  Later in class, Cordelia offers a alternative take on a classic Shakespeare text which surprisingly which oddly chimes with her English teacher.  But just when things seem to be running smoothly for Miss Chase, her jock boyfriend has his features brutally messed up by a baseball bat carried by a mystery presence.  Later, Harmony is shoved down a flight of stairs, and the teacher Cordy was getting on so well with is almost suffocated to death by the same mysterious entity.  It turns out that Cordelia has a invisible stalker, and might just need the Slayer in her life after all.  

Though not a perfect episode, OOM, OOS is a sleeper hit from the first season, and highlights many of the aspects I love the most about the High School years of Buffy.  The writers take the tried and tested trope of the invisible person threat and connects it to the very realistic tension of High School bullying, and puts a fresh twist on it.  As a text Buffy has a history of being nicely balanced when it comes to dealing with humanistic revenge.  The plight of Marcie and her actions towards Cordelia are as evenly judged, as those of Jonathan in the season 3 episode Earshot.  On the one hand, there is understanding for Marcie's actions, and sympathy from the Scoobies, (the scene when they are looking through a old year book is a good example of this and a nice scene).  At the same time, the show makes it clear that Marcie has no good excuse to turn to violence and had better options.  The tale of the outcast who mysteriously disappears from sight (and in this case out of memory) has been touched upon before in art house cinema offerings including recent Iranian film About Elly.  Here the plot is skillfully reworked for the unique Buffyverse.  During its run Buffy has a string of fine character actors appearing, and Clea Duvall is the first one of note here.  Considering, she spends most of the episode invisible, Duvall does a fantastic job of selling Marcie's rage at the world.  Her voice work during the big set piece where she has Buffy and Cordelia trapped is really chilling.  

 

Most of all this episode works because it is the first proper character study of Cordelia.  Slowly, the show is giving her a little a bit more to do, and is building for what is to come from the character. I like that Cordy strikes a bond with a teacher and that she is active in a class discussion.  Of course, her argument during said scene may just reflect her shallow nature (at this point), and could be read as a pure comic moment, but I do see it as Cordelia taking a interest in something outside of her regular sphere of interests.  Most important of all Out of Mind... sets Cordelia on the slow path to becoming a Scoobie.  There is a nice tease at the end of the episode, where in a warm exchange it is clear that she is grateful for Buffy, Willow and Xander's efforts in helping her, before casually distancing herself from them once again when her boyfriend shows up.  The most important example of this being set in motion is when Buffy is protecting Cordy and the pair have a heart to heart.  This is a rare example up to this point of Chase showing her vulnerability in opening herself up to Buffy.  In this exchange the text engages with the idea that being the most popular girl in High School (and from a high sociality status) can have its hardships.  Whilst, also, showing just a hint of a human being within Cordelia.  Its also, a interesting sequence purely because at one point in the casting process Charisma Carpenter was considered for the role of Buffy, this is not the last time that the writers will play with the two characters contrasts.  Its a telling scene also, because of how much like Cordelia Buffy was like in a previous life, and what a different television show this would have been if the character had followed the depiction in the 1992 movie.  

Bored Now Does the complete West Wing (1999-2006)

         

For my latest television project I have decided to rewatch Aaron Sorkin's landmark political drama the West Wing and review every episode for this blog.  The Emmy Award winning show made a star of its creator and showrunner, and many of its talented cast.  I will get more into what I consider to be unique about the show as I get further into the reviews.  But for now I will just highlight that the show represents an idealised version of what Sorkin believes politics or at least the people charged with working in the White House should represent, yet The West Wing never gets preachy or heavy handed about such things (or very rarely anyway), but instead is honest about the flaws of politics on both sides of the divide, and invests its characters with very human flaws, while at the same time making them charming, funny, truly passionate.  Like any great television drama, you do not have to be knowledgable about the core theme of the show to engage with it (although there is plenty for those who are), instead you can be swepted along by the characters and their epic journeys.  Please note that since there is so much going on in every episode of the show I will be picking out what I consider the main talking points from each one, and then summing up my feelings at the end. As with my Buffy reviews I will be doing a ranking system as I move along, although won't start this till I have finished the first season.  Let's start off with a double bill!

  S101 Pilot 
  We open in a bar with the White House's Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) exchanging playful banter with another smartly dressed man who we later find out is a journalist angling for a story.  In any event, it seems as if its Sam's lucky night as he has caught the attention of an attractive young woman, Laurie (Lisa Edelstein).  We cut fittingly to the next day where Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) is trying to impress a guy at a Gym. However, C.J's efforts are brought to a abrupt end when her pager goes off causing her to tumble off the treadmill and land comically flat on her face. Oh the price of working for the White House!   While on a flight, Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) recieves news that President Jed Bartlet has been involved in a bicycle accident while away. This shouldn't be a news worthy event, but in the madcap world of politics it could turn out to be just that.  The highlight here is Toby in classic deadpan fashion telling the stewardess that she forgot his peanuts! Sam recieves the news from Laurie who he spent the night with, telling her he will call.  

It turns out that Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), has bigger fish to fray when cocky Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) makes an off the cuff remark offending political rival Mary Marsh's religious beliefs during a televised debate. Not to mention a delicate situation in Cuba, all of this makes McGarry a bit cranky, he tells Josh that his head isn't in the game. Both Leo and Josh as constructed here are quite different from the characters they would later become, and certainly the changes were made for the better.  Throughout the episode there is speculation over whether Bartlett will fire Lyman once he returns from vacation.  In a sweet exchange Josh's assistant Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) reassures Lyman that Bartlet wouldn't fire him aftrer he won him the election, however in classic Donna fashion, she then puts her foot in it by suggesting that there were at least a few others involved in Bartlet's rise to power. This sequence is a nice introduction to their winning long term bond, as well as the dynamite chemistry between Whitford and Moloney, with the crisp screwball dialogue positively crackling alone.  A nice character beat for Donna is when she tells Toby to "Shut Up!" when Ziegler highlights the rare event of her getting Josh coffee.  This suggests at the equality at play in this verison of the White House, both gender wise, and among the hierarchy of employment. Toby informs Josh that he has set up a meeting between him and Mary Marsh and that he must apologize.  Schiff and Whitford play off each other nicely here, and do an effective selling job of the tension between, and the character's respective points of opposition.  The only thing which undercuts the scene for me, is the light televisional emotive music playing in the background.  Toby also tells Josh that an ex-girlfriend of his Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly) is in town, and is working for a political rival.  In the next sequence we are introduced to Mandy dressed like a extra from Clueless and getting herself stopped for running a red light.  The OTT acting along with the No Doubt style rock music really don't do this scene any favours.  In any event, it seems like Mandy is a bit of a hot head.

Later Josh and Mandy meet for coffee where it is revealed that not only is his ex working for a senator, but Mandy is dating the senator to boot.  Josh attracts the attention of some girls (more on this later), and it becomes clear that Josh and Mandy lack the magic of Josh and Donna (much more on this later).  Through a mixup of pagers Sam finds out that Laurie in addition to being a law student is also a call girl.  Concerned about his position if news of their night together gets out, Sam later visits Laurie at home where they come to a understanding, she says "I should have told you,but just wanted you to like me" He says that he does, but that if it got out, at which point she cuts him off, telling him she understands, and just to go, "you don't know who I am."

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRule9aF0Y

Sam is put on edge further when he gives a talk to some school children whose teacher calls him out on his lack of knowledge about White House history.  In a bigger misstep Sam reveals the inccident with Laurie to the teacher, who just happens to be Leo's daughter!

Josh does his duty and apologizes to Mary Marsh, but the ice queen is not prepared to let the matter rest there. She gives Josh and Toby a dressing down, including a remark which attacks Toby and his Jewish background.  Schiff handles this shift in tone like a pro, as Toby fires back at Marsh and we get around to a discussion about The Ten Commendments.  As someone asks, "Then What was the First Commendment?" Offscreen comes the reply, "I am the Lord your God.  Now I shall worship no other God before me." The camera focuses in on a beaming President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who carries on, "Boy those were the days."  Bartlet then proceeds to dominant matters, taking the religous figures to task over past actions and firmly insisting that they get out. I like the next beat of Toby, C.J. and Josh bantering about the meeting with Marsh while forgetting that Bartlett is in the room.  Anyway, the President is back to business, although he does calmly and with authority warn Josh never to do it again, referring to the remark to Mary.   

A strong debut episode certainly compared to many pilots.  It sets up many of the show's core themes.  For example how such small and mundane events can become a crisis in the crazy world of media and politics.  It set in motion the fast moving everyday lives of those who work in the White House.  I really liked the tension built up over the course of the episode surrounding the first appearance of President Bartlet.  It was a great narrative hook to leave the viewer guessing whether Jed was going to fire Josh who on the face of it is a major character for the show moving forward.  Another dramatic question concerning Bartlet's first appearance was just what sort of personality he would have.  This dramatic plot detail felt like a nice wink to the fact that originally the character of the President was only intended to be a supporting character on the show, unthinkable now.

There are a couple of rough edges.  Firstly, characters such as Leo and Josh are very different here to how they would become known.  For example, Leo feels way too spikey in this opening episode.  One of the remarkable and unique aspects of character is that considering his high profile position in the White House is how he faces these challenges with a calm, and measured head.  Not just that, but this version of Leo just feels like a cold and dated stereotype of a ticked off, grumpy old drill Sergent, very different from the composed, loveable, but principled character who fans of the show would come to love.  Thare are elements of the classic Josh Lyman here, but he is much too smooth, and assured.  The swooning girls during the seqence with Mandy felt over played.  Sure Josh is a good looking guy, full of intelligence, however this still felt like a forced moment.  One of the most important things to Josh is how grounded the character is, his mix of passion and sly sense of humour.  I will comment more on Mandy in the next review, but certainly her introduction into the show is not very promising.  The character is not likeable, and is overblown. Rob Lowe as Sam hits his stride from the off.  A actor with such looks, such charisma, and the ability to effectively deliver deadpan lines makes him the perfect foil for the more dramatic characters.  Those characteristics set the character up perfectly to be cut down to size such as during the sequence with Leo's daughter and the school children.  At the same time this is the most charming Lowe has ever been, and the relationship between him and Laurie is one of the high points of the first season.  The music during this opener and I think during the whote of the first season I think is too televisional or heightened and I think in some cases undercuts some of the fine acting being done.  Mostly a solid pilot, with a effective main plot, and introduction to the themes and tone of the show.

      S102 Post Hoc, Ergo Proper Hoc
    Mandy finds herself out of a job when Russell's team decides that he has no chance of running for President.  Kelly's OTT performance in this scene is like nails on a blackboard.  The White House is attempting to handle the bad media around a rejected invitation from a the Ryder Cup team, and a misplaced joke.  There's a nice moment where Bartlett and C.J. discuss the President's underperformance in the polls.  I enjoyed CJ's line about Bartlet losing Texas when he learnt to speak Latin.  And another reason to hate Mandy is because she owns her roommate rent money, as it turns out losing Russell as a client effected not just her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_vHDjG5Wk&feature=player_embedded

A comment from vice President John Hoynes (Tim Matheson) concerning a legislative bill calls into question his support for the president and puts CJ under pressure when handling the press. However, she deflects the situation with charm and sharp wit.  Its a smart character beat that CJ wishes a member of the press a happy birthday.  Having a close relationship to the media is a crucial public relations tactic for the White House, and opens up many different narrative possiblties for CJ as a character, not to mention this is just a sweet moment.  Later CJ is given the cold shoulder by Hoynes when comfronting him over the remark.  Bartlet bonds with his Physician Morris during a eudring if slightly over long scene.  Mandy decides that hitting the bottle is the best course of action, and in the process lists her many impressive qualitfications. Although this scene is played for comedy it just adds to the distance between Mandy and the audience for me.  Sam comes clean to Josh and Toby about his night with Laurie, and more importantly her choice of profession. Both are convinced that Sam wants to reform her, and as it turns out their right. Josh is talked into the idea of hiring Mandy as the new Political Consultant as long as "she answers to me and she anwers to Toby!" Leo is unconvinced by CJ's cover story for Hoynes, so he calls the Vice President in and warns him that if he doesn't give Bartlet his backing on such issues in the future than his career will be ruined.

Later Sam shows up at a function where Laurie is working, he introduces himself in front of company, only to discover that on this night Laurie is going by the name Britney.  Laurie storms out and is pissed at Sam for showing her up not least because of the quiet dignity in which she handled their previous encounter.  Laurie insists that she has no emotional issues and is not ashamed of her profession as she is using the income to fund Law School.  Sam motions that he would like to be Laurie's friend and they go for a drink.  This is a charming scene where Laurie is given greater agency than in the previous episode.  The White House learns that a plane carrying Morris has been shot down in what appears to a terrorist attack.  In a emotive speech to Leo Bartlet says that he is going to blow them off the face of the earth.

This was a step down from the pilot episode.  The involvement of Mandy's character is a big part of that as she just grates all the more, and feels like a very hollow presence.  I'm not sure if it is the casting of Moira Kelly who I really liked as Donna in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me or if its the writing of the character.  In this episode she falls flat on both a comic and a dramatic scale.  Mostly, I think the draw back to the episode is that its main plot is just not as strong as that of the pilot.  There are some nice character moments with CJ, Sam and Laurie.  However, the pacing of the story is a bit sluggish and the crucial narrative beats do not hit home as effectively as in the previous episode.  The dialouge isn't as crisp either.

S103 A Proportional Response 

  

 CJ shows up by surprise in Josh's office. The cat is out of the bag about Sam and Laurie, and the Press Secretary is mad at Lyman for keeping it a secret.  Josh defends Sam pointing out that he didn't know Laurie was a call girl when they slept together, and more importantly that he did not pay her money as part of the transaction.  Cregg insists that those facts don't matter to the press and she intends to give Sam a talking to before the end of the day.

Later C.J tells Sam that he cannot see Laurie again regardless of the nature of their relationship.  They have a strong back and forth on the issue of morality as Sam puts it to her than "its time to stop doing what looks good, and to start doing what is good" Over stepping the mark a bit Seaborn calls into question Cregg's courage when standing up to the press.  This is a great scene and wonderfully played between the two.  Still hurting from Morris's death Jed is against the idea of the White House's standard 'Proportional Response' to the terrorists.  An emotive Bartlet is in favour of a more ruthless attack on the enemy and challenges the defence team to come up with an alternative plan in the next forty minutes.  Josh interviews Charlie Young (Dule Hill) for the personal aide to the President.  Young is taken aback as he originally intended to apply for a messagers role. As the interview progresses we learn that Young's mother was a police officer killed on duty within the last few months, and that Charlie has been looking after his family.

Percy Fitzwallace (John Amos) tells Bartlet that a all out assault without support from America's allies would be too great a risk, and would restrict their options in the future.  A dejected President agrees to Fitz's original plan of action, but is clearly mad at the system.  As Charle's interview goes on Sam is annoyed at Josh for asking in a round about way about Young's sexuality. This is a nice touch as it further explores some of the outdated practices which such an institution might still engage with, and furthemore it addresses that Gay panic issue within the media which sadly is still a problem today.  Sam's reaction is another strong character moment which further pushes home the direction he takes during the episode.  Josh later confesses to Leo that he is worried about the thought of hiring a young black man (Charlie) to open the door for the President.  In a moment of common sense Leo tells Josh that if he should just hire Charlie based on his ability to do the job and not worry about such things.

In case you are wondering there is a small scene involving Mandy in this episode.  Josh is feeling bored and left out of the major goings on that day, so Mandy cheers him up with a old picture of the two of them from the night they met.  And the scene is easily the weakest of the episode, and only exists to give Mandy a part in the story,  It should have been cut.  Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield) a friend of C.J's from the press warns her that his paper has picked up the rumour about Sam and Laurie. In a twist Cregg actually defends Sam to Concannon.  Danny agrees to drop the story but reminds her that others in the press might not be so kind.

When Bartlet shoots down Charlie for simply trying to make a suggestion to the President Leo decides that its time for him and Jed to have a word in private.  McGarry slams Jed's outbusts and strongly defends the White House's terrorism policy as to take on more extreme measures would just make the problem worse and would just increase the blood shed.  In a powerful speech Leo reasons that their strategy is far from ideal, but is the best they have, and that to go out of character for a superpower nation.  Jed and Leo laugh about old times, the President makes amends with Charlie, saying that he is sorry for his loss and that the White House are going to do everything it can to tackle Americans gun laws which sadly played a part in his mother being killed.



A Proportional Response is the strongest episode of the opening three of this season.  It largely lives on the big speeches and debates at the heart of the episode.  With the exception of opening face off between C.J. and Josh which I felt was a bit over blown and too comic in tone, the rest of these big setpieces hit the mark perfectly.  Not only do these moments make for great drama, but they furthered the themes of the shows and advanced the characters.  Broadly speaking the episode tackles some important themes concerning American politics and the media with great insight and power.  Jed's reaction to the White House's policy on terrorism grounds him as a very human President, and at least raises an important discussion on such issues. For Sorkin to show us such a vulnerable side to Jed this early in the show's run was a brave move, and Sheen plays these scenes to perfection.

Both the debuting characters Charlie and Danny made impressive starts.  It makes sense that reference is made to Charlie's race and background as it ties into some of themes of the episode and the show as a whole, and after all any show about politics worth anything should face up to such issues.  But its refreshing that following this episode than Charlie's race is barely mentioned and certainly the character does not show any of the racial stereotypes which often befalls such a character in a mostly white television show.  Janney dominates every scene she is in, adding dramatic weight to Cregg.  She balances so much throughtout the episode and demonstrates the extreme pressures the character faces, and the moral conflict.  A big theme overall here is that of getting the balance right between doing what is right from a humanistic point of view with what is best for everyone and the bigger picture.  Janney's performance here is a key part of exploring that complex narrative.  A couple of minor complaints would be the needless Mandy scene, the opening scene like I said isn't as great as it could be, and Toby is a little too sidelined in the episode.  However mostly this is really great stuff and the first sign of the show at its best.

                     

Bored Now does the complete Buffy 1997-2003

                        Episode 1.10 Nightmares 

              


        The Master's back finally! And this time he's haunting Buffy in her dreams. Luckily, the Slayer has school to contend with and a rare meet up with her father to look forward too.  Events take a turn when a young boy appears to Buffy in a vision while in class, and the next thing class mate Wendell is covered in spiders which come out of the book he was reading from.  Giles is at a loss to explain the weird event (a weird event in itself), so the Scoobies investigate and find out that Wendell had been having nightmares about spiders (even though he loves them?..) and including then one came true.

Further strange happenings unfold when Buffy is unprepared for a test she didn't even know about, and a fellow student is attacked by a cartoonish looking monster with Buffy's vision boy once again at the scene.  Soon these things stange events are taking place all over school with the students of Sunnydale High forced to face their worse nightmares, including the Scoobies, and Buffy worse of all, including a brutal one involving her father Hank.  All some how connected to the myterious young boy and the Master.



Nightmares had a lot of promise as an episode, mostly because it foreshadows many of the themes which are to fellow in leter episodes and seasons, for example Willow's stage fright.  The problem is that if you take the episode in isolation then it just seems like a thrown together one off.  The tone is very uneven, between the darker moments involving Buffy and Gile's personal traumas, and the more cheesy and comical events which are littered throughout the episode.  As a result, Nightmares often has the feel of an over the top sitcom, in stead of a surreal teen Sci-Fi show.  Because at this point the show lacks a proper effects budget this makes these scenes more problematic, and left me with the sense of disconnection.  The other main issue, was that the young boy at the center of the narrative I just wasn't invested enough in, he just felt like a device to tie things together rather than a fully rounded and interesting character to engage with.

Of course, there was still plenty of interest elsewhere.  I liked the moment of Cordelia actually being nice to Buffy and trying to help her out for change.  This starts building the link between the two characters which gets further development in the next episode, and is touched on again over the next two seasons, including significantly in season 3's Homecoming.  This small scene starts building Cordelia's growth and connection to the Scoobies, its a nice little touch.  Buffy's nightmarish encounter with her father is one of the most powerful, and devastating scenes of this first season. It is just one of many examples of Sarah Michelle Galler producing a raw, emotionally fragile, and subtle piece of acting, which is just so moving, and lingers more than any other moment in the episode.  With Buffy being a show all about the challenges of growing such scenes are all the more important.  Mostly, this is a forgettable episode, but it is worth it just for that moment, and nice to see the season's big bad back involved.

Bored Now's Home Viewing

Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)

         Legendary Hammer craftsman Roy Baker Ward here turns his hands to twisted, and ripe spin on the classic horror tale.  Once again set in Victorian, London, Dr Jekyll (Raph Bates) embarks upon a radical experiment, using fresh female hormiones from stolen corpses in an attempt to wipe out common diseases.  Of course this madcap venture back fires famously, and the result is the creation of Jekyll's highly sexualized and deadly female alter-ego Sister Hyde!  Soon, things get out of hand and there is a killing spree across Whitechapel, with the lives of Susan Spencer and her brother Howard, also intengled.

The subversion of plot and characters is a cruical part of this malodramtic horror, and the scene is nicely set by David Whitaker's heightened, score, which in itself, plays like a character in the film.  The classical opening piece of music, drifts along beside, the gentle deep redness of a velvet curtain.  This gives us a setup for what is to come.  During the opening scene, Ward's camera drifts from a shot of a dead rabbit and the butcher who killed it, we then take in the sleepy Victorian landscape, with a whole host of murky characters in a busy town centre.  This leads us to a joyful call girl on her way to turn tricks. However, rather than showing us her journey in linear fashion, Ward intercuts this, with a Policeman approaching, and further shots of the butcher and the knife.  We then cut sharply back to the call girl who is suddenly, and brutally murdered by a knife! This use of discontenity editing, throws the viewer in and out of the scene, and makes them question what is about to occur, or even who is commiting the murder.  Things are further complicated by the shot of the Policeman standing over the dead body, before cutting to Dr Jekyll who is revealed as the real killer. 

The direction also navigates through tight spaces, creating fresh life to what otherwise could have been, stuffy, and flat sequences.  I like the camera movements, during an early scene where Jekyll first meets with Prof. Robertson (Gerald Sim).  The shots are fluid for the most part, keeping a tight track of the characters back and fourth conversation.  Their quick movements, and buttoned up dialogue hints at something more theatrical lurking, but then the tightly framed close-ups and fragmented shots, such as Robertson's cheeky gaze at Susan Spencer (Dorothy Alison), for whom he has quickly become attracted to, suggest a televisional mode of direction.  But, whereas many directors would linger on these shots, in stand Ward wipes us back into the Robertson's interaction with Jekyll.  Such close-ups and framing of character's expressions also serve the function of the cheesy and observational form of comedy.  Lewis Fiader as Howard, Susan's brother, often resembles a sly, camp, Carry On outcast.  His dry features play off, the naughty suggestions of his lines and delivery, such as the moment when he finds out that Jekyll appears to be entertaining a female (in fact he has seen sister Hyde).  His struggle to restrain the glee and ripe delivery of the line, "who would have thought that Dr Jekyll would know a woman like that, didn't know he had it in him."  There is even some good camp joy to be had in the suggestion than Howard's jealousy over Susan's interest in Jekyll is linked to a certan romantic torch he might hold for his sibling.  His playful smirk, following her suggestion that he carry a box, "you did want to help afterall" could be a brief nod to this.  

Of course, these slight mannered character moments, are later subverted into something all the more malodramtic, twisted and rich.  The transformation scene of Jekyll into Sister Hyde is a delightfully, playful, and yet unhinging piece of film.  Bates perfectly sells the conflict and struggle of the character.  The scene again blends dramatic acting, with something more thearical.  The visual style and movements of the character upon transforming, are inventively chronographed through the rich music, and wide open space of the scene.  Martine Beswick as Sister Hyde then does a fine job of portraying the devilish rapture of the more confident, yet sister personality.  The loss of control during the shot of him/her feeling the breast in the mirror, is the perfect round off to a truly remarkable scene.

Again, as a point of contrast, some of the murder scenes have multed colour tones, the setpieces delivered with some of the fine precision of some of Dario Argento's finest killings.  As the tension builds, the odd seduction scenes such as the one with the Prof. are super fun, and yet minor connect the dots moments, in order to the lead us to the character's final third struggle/breakdown which is gloriously camp fun, filled with dramatic flair, and stylish energy.  The ending is maybe a bit predictable, but then it was never a film about the ending.  A cult gem, as rich and joyful, as perhaps any screen version of the original text.

Keith Beard.

Bored Now at the Movies

Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015)

       Kent Jone's concise document of the famous meeting between French New Wave marrick      Truffaut and the older statesman of supense Alfred Hitchcock is almost as tightly woven and 

 full of cinematic verve and richness as a Hitchcock masterpiece.

The film nicely balances several strands and themes, which is bookended by crucial transcripts of the interview between the two directors, and some in-depth analysis of Hitchcock films as described by a impressive range of modern filmmakers.  The two highlights from the talking heads for me came from Martin Scorsese in his explanation of the banality of the connect the dots moments in Psycho, and a very telling query by David Fricher in wondering just how the modern power houses of acting such as Pacino and De Niro would re-act to Hitchcock's highly demanding regime?  To me this raised a very modern concept of actings having too much power on the set, and the suggestion that the idea of the auteur director could be a fading one.  This is a rare moment in which Jones examines Hitchcock's suspect treatment of actors, espcially those of actresses.  A element which is randomally nodded at by Richard Linklater at one stage, but then I guess that would have been a different film.  The least successful talking head I felt was James Gray.  His moments of hyperbolic interjections felt forced, and served to over state the director's role, almost as if he is trying over shadow both Hitchcock and Truffaut himself.

The film makes a compelling case for Hitchcock being undervalued at the time, and further suggest the irony that his most commercially successful spell was all too brief a period.  It presents Truffaut as a champion of the underappreciated artist, and his influence on showcasing Hitchcock's true talents.  A thrilling and engaging cinematic document throughout.

Keith Beard.

Bored Now at the Movies

Deadpool (2016)

       One of the most eagerly anticipated comic book adaptations of recent years, and conversely, one  of the best reviewed movies of 2016 so far. Deadpool is also notable as being the first ever eighteen  certificate comic book picture in history.  It is the filmmaker's desire to make the film more edgy,and  to keep the comic book audience on side which I believe its big flaws.

The ever improving Ryan Reyolds takes on the title role as former special forces operative Wade Wilson who following a tortuous experiment at the hands twisted, but flash wiz kid Ajax (Ed Skrein),develops abnormal healing powers, allowing him to morph into Deadpool, an rogue anti-hero out for revenge.  Stand-up and improv guy T.J. Miller plays geeky best friend and bartender Weasel, Morena Baccarin plays girlfriend Vanessa whom Wade can't face following the physical results of the treatment, and subsequently must win back/rescue from Ajax.  Stefan Kapicic and Brianna Hildebrand play Deadpool's oddball partners in crime Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead respectively. 

The one big positive is Reyold's charismatic performance.  His deadpan, and sharp witted delivery is well suited for this more sacarstic and cynical comic book hero. The actor also smoothly embodies the physicality of Wade/Deadpool.  Some of the action setpieces are well staged, and the film has a slick, but distinctly gritty visual palette.  However, these aspects also highlight the massive issues with Deadpool.  Firstly, yes Reyold's does steady job in the title role, but I he does well within a restricted characterisation.  By making the character so cold, and frankly unlikeable, the film distances him from the viewer (or at least this viewer).  As a result, Wade/Deadpool lacks the complex humanity seen for example, in the recent Batman films.  The upshot is that when he embarks on his revenge mission and attempts to save his ex-girlfriend I just didn't care.  Of course, this is part of the film attempting to be post-modern and edgy.  Call me old fashioned, but I like to be invested in these things.  Personally, I never cared when Wade was supposedly dying because I never liked Wade, and I cared even less about his mission to save Vanessa, because I never for one minute believed that he truly loved her.

The self-referential, comic book humour is just too heavy handed, and the results of this, along with the film's attempts to appeal too much to its core audience creates multiple problems. The action sequences may have a certain zip and style to them. On the other hand, the over relience on slow motion camera movements, and overally stylized violence gives them a dated feel, and to me they seemed too derivative of early Tarantino films and The Matrix, you know those films released during the mid-late 90s!  Many of these scenes are attempting to be too clever by half, in fact much of the film in general is.  The post-modern humour is taken to the extreme.  It gets to the point where every five seconds a scene will be broken up so that a character, normally Deadpool can break the fourth wall, or force feed us a random pop-culture reference which has no impact on the characters or story.  When it works well, post-modern humour is a brief moment, which works because the audience has character engagement outside of it, and because it is working to add to an established character(s) within the universe of the film/television show.  In this case we get over drawn out, smug, and dense running commentaries which breaks up the flow of the narrative too much.  As a result of appealing too much to the core comic book audience, the gender politics are outdated, and rotten. Simply speaking the treatment of women is sexist.  Poor Baccarin (known for credible roles in Firefly and Homeland) represents the stereotypical, highly sexualised, nerdy geek babe, who is always in position to serve her man.  Basically, Vanessa is the idealised dream girl for the largely teenage and male comic book crowd.  The other female representations are reduced to a mix of weird, but quirky, or weird and muscle bound.  Depressing.  

Keith Beard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xithigfg7dA

Bored Now at the Movies

Hail, Caesar! (2016)



The Coen brothers have had a very mixed history with comedy.  Due to its unique visual style and oddball humour, plus a fantastic cast the Big Lebowski (1998) proved a landmark in 90s pop culture, whereas The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Raising Arizona (1987), and their 2004 remake of the much loved Ladykillers produced a mixed bag of results between them.  However, the film of theirs which hit a bum note of smugness was Burn After Reading (2008).  It was a classic example of a one note comedy stretched way too far, and it seemed to me like the Coens and their Hollywood buddies having way too much fun, whilst forgetting that they were actually making a movie...

          Hail, Caesar! belongs in the upper section of those films.  For me it was a gloriously cheeky, and visually delightful pastiche of the golden age of Hollywood made by filmmakers who understand the conventions, and are in a position to critique them.  Josh Brolin plays Eddie Mannix an uptight and conservative Hollywood Executive who throughout the film is at constant pains to keep the private lives of his stars (Scarlett Johansson, Alden Ehrenreich) under wraps or at the very least to control the story and put a positive spin on it.  Things take a turn for the worse when troubled leading man Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) goes AWOL during the filming of the high budget epic Hail, Caesar!  The production is thrown into chaos as a result.

       Without ever attempting to be a shocking or stinging attack on the Hollywood system (perhaps because the Coens know on what side their bread is buttered?), Hail, Caesar! is a wonderfully layered and thrilling visual delight which still has plenty of fun at the expense of the eccentric nature  of the movie business, and its performers.  What I really enjoyed about the film was how it played to the target audience of film buffs or people of a certain age looking for a nostalgia trip, and doesn't sell out its values for a wider audience.  For example the sub-plot where Whitlock is kidnapped by the communist writers eager for him to join them in rebelling against the studios is very much a niche joke. A stand out scene for me was the one where Mannix calls a meeting with a collection of religious figures in an attempt to get the portrayal of Christ right in HC.  Not only does the scene play wonderfully on the safeness of Hollywood politically, but to me it seemed to be parodying the flaws of writing committees within the industry.

      The trick of the film is that the humour and insider gags never feel smug, or serve as a device to distance the audience from the world of the film.  The framing of the film within the film scenes are seamless and done with an air of authticity, which sucessfully immerses the audience within those scenes, while allowing the joke to work organically.  For example, the lavish, and yet kitsch muscial scene featuring Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum) and his fellow sailors is credible in its visual flair, and because of the audience's knowledge of such throw back musicals. Yet the scene is heightened on a performance level just enough sell the parody without being heavy handed, and of course the context of viewing it in 2016 adds further self-referential humour.



          The cast of familiar Coen brothers favourites (maybe an inside gag in itself) all deliver hughly enjoyable turns, and one real surprise was new name Alden Ehrenreich who really excelled as the corny, but fragile hunk Hobie Doyle who more than anyone seems lost within the madness of Hollywood.  However, I felt that certain cast members were used all too briefly.  For example Scarlett Johansson is very effective as the spiky actress DeeAnna Moran, but only appears in a couple of scenes, while Tilda Swinton gives a smart turn as gossip columnist sisters, but once again her appearances were too brief.  I felt that the final half the film dragged at times , and perhaps some of the communist writer scenes could have been trimmed to make more room for these characters.  However, for the most part a richly enjoyable, and exciting Coen brothers film which should hold up on multiple viewings.


Keith Beard.
       

Bored Now does the complete Buffy 1997-2003

Episode 1.07 Angel



When another one of The Master's Vampires bites the dust he decides to send "the three" after Buffy.  Meanwhile at the Bronze Buffy and Willow are reflecting on their lack of man action with Angel and Xander respectively. Xander does a goofy dance and manages to rub Cordelia up the wrong way again.  As Buffy decides to call it a night, she is confronted by the three in the alley.  Post-titles Angel makes the save and he and Buffy flee to her house.  Angel is explained away to Joyce as a fellow student but of the mature nature, and Buffy pretends to say good night to him, while insisting that he spends the night as the three could still be outside and waiting for him.  The next day things become intimate between Angel and Buffy which leads to Buffy discovering a secret about Angel's identity, things will never be the same for either again....



This is a breakout episode for writer David Greenwalt who had previously written the disastrous Teacher's Pet but would go on to more significant things especially when producing the spin-off show dedicated to the title character of this episode.  This is a really important episode in moving the show forward and the stand out of the season so far.  There is much stronger chemistry between Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz in this episode than there had been up to this point.  Greenwalt combines the dark and passionate character moments with some nicely placed comedy involving the Scoobies.  I loved Xander's "Wake up and smell the seduction" line upon hearing that Angel spent the night at Buffy's.  Buffy's "Friar tuck" reference is a peach also, as is her subsequent flooring of Giles in their comical sparring session.  And Xander trying to cover his tracks when believing Cordy has over heard him discussing Angel's secret only to discover that she is actually upset with a fellow student for wearing the same dress as her is a knock out comedy moment and very consistent with the characters, plus Buffy's "and you think we have problems" line is a great round off to it.

A crucial moment of the episode is how Gellar sells Buffy's embarrassment upon suspecting that Angel has read her dairy and thus, her deep feelings for him, however, her embarrassment is increased upon learning that Angel didn't read the diary, and that Buffy just exposed herself emotionally to him.  This is a nice touch because not long after it the pair kiss, and it is a great screen kiss.  It is a logical moment leading into Buffy and Angel giving in to their passion, but conversely highlights some of the issues they are going to face.  It is also significant because it shows that Buffy can trust Angel not to make her feel bad about the age gap. It is also worth mentioning that despite this being Angel's episode that due to David Boreanaz's limitations as an actor at this point than much of the heavy lifting emotionally falls on Gellar, and she nails every mark to perfection.  Julie Benz does a fine job showing Darla's playful, but sinister menace. Of course its a shame that she didn't feature more in this season, but as a character will really come to her own in the spin-off show.

There are a few slight issues with the episode.  Firstly for understandable reasons the Scoobies are sidetracked or there just to move the plot along, with the exception of maybe Xander.  It was nice to see more of Joyce, but I did feel that her "that school is amazing" in response to Giles' concern over Darla (who she believes is Buffy's friend) falls a bit flat and is cliche, as is Willow's "if you have feelings for someone you can't help it"  I have mixed feelings on the Buffy/Angel/Darla fight sequence.  Its fun to watch and engaging up to a point, but also drags on and becomes a bit over played towards the end, although Darla and the guns is good fun!

As an episode Angel nicely carries over the darker tone of the previous outing The Pack and finally provides the viewer with crucial insight into Angel's character, and a reason to care about him.  In doing so it also advances Buffy's character, and perhaps more importantly ups the stakes of the universe of the show.

Episode 1.08 i, robot ... you, jane 



The soul of Moloch an  and disgraced demon arrives in Sunnydale via a new book delivered to the school library.  I must break away just to highlight just how cute Sarah Michelle Gellar looks in her striking pink dress and lovely pigtailed hair during this scene, just adorable, as is the case for the rest of the episode.  There is another new arrival in the form computer teacher Jenny Calender who instantly butts heads with Giles in a round of computers vs. books.  Gile's idiot box line is a standout moment here.  Moloch escapes the book and infects the schools computer system around about the same time as Willow meets a new guy online.  Buffy becomes concerned about the nature of this relationship.  As it turns out computer nerds Fritz and Dave become influenced by Moloch also leading to potentially deadly consequences.

As previously stated by more people than just me, even the worse episodes of Buffy are still watchable in places, and still have things to recommend them, and its just as well in the case of this one, because like Teacher's Pet it is a very bad episode, in fact one of the very worse the show will produce in its seven season run.  So I will be a sport and point out the random stuff which the iryj gets right before pointing out just why it stinks so much.  Firstly we get a promising debut for Jenny, the character doesn't really come into her own until the second season, however I enjoyed her back and fourth discourse with Giles over the issue of computers against books.  It nicely sets up the extreme differences between their character, is a credible debate to have given the theme of the episode, and is just the sort of discussion you can see such people having in real life, more on  Jenny in future episodes.  It was important to address the idea of Willow looking for someone else to date given that Xander only sees her as a friend, and by having her taken with a guy whom she meets online allows us to see Willow's naive and vulnerable side. Sadly the episode doesn't take that far enough.  Indeed, as things progress Willow's narrative is sidetracked for the less convincing and more cheesy technology narrative.  Needless to say for her part Alyson Hannigan does a great job with what she is given to do.  The small character moments work the best, such as the final two scenes including Gile's beautiful speech about books appeal being their smell and history.  And I really enjoy the the Scoobies sitting by the fountain reminiscing about their tragic love lives, and how they are all destined to be alone.

What on paper was a very promising and relevant theme was whittled away into a gimmicky MOTW story which just lacked any imagination or heart, and did very little for any of the central characters.  Some of the techno language is too on the nose, and the computer nerds are too card board cutouts, and poorly played to boot.  The direction and visual style of this episode just feels flat, and a bit like with the first season X-Files episode Ghost in the Machine the computer being possessed theme doesn't make for very engaging drama.  To make matters worse the final battle is an over blown and clunky set piece, and Moloch in robot form just can't be taken seriously as a threat.  Was I too easy on this one?...

Episode 1.09 The Puppet Show 



New Sunnydale High Principal Snyder (Armin Shimerman) relegates Giles to chairing the annual school talent contest, and such treats as Cordelia butchering a love ballards.  Although Buffy, Willow and Xander at first have fun at Gile's misfortune the tables are soon turned when Snyder over hear them and forces the Scoobies into entering the talent show, a prospect none of them are too thrilled about.  However, ventriloquist Morgan (Rich Werner) and creepy dummy Sid make much more of an impression in rehearsal, but later when a student also competing in the talent show is mysteriously murdered, and Morgan starts acting suspiciously, it seems that there is more than meets the eye to him and Sid.



I will defend this episode to my dying day.  It may well be my guilty pleasure or fun and cheesy episode, but I think there is a lot to recommend it, and that it is one of better first season episodes, and actually is the one I enjoy re-watching the most.  Firstly, its a superb debut for Principal Snyder, he is thrust straight into the heart of the show and I like the rivalry which builds between him and Buffy. Although quite goofy fun Flutie was too middle of the road as a character.  Snyder is a wonderfully sinister and weaselly villain, he gets the best dialogue of the episode and Shimerman nails the delivery.  It is important to have that direct authority figure to challenge the Scoobies and make their missions more tricky.  It was also clever how Snyder is set up as a red herring during this episode, after all he has just arrived around the time of the murder so that would have been logical.  Moving forward as it turns out there is much more to Snyder's role than just a bully Principal, one of my favourite supporting characters over the shows run.

One of the highlights of season one was the murder mystery/case of the week format aspect of the show.  Its a nice little touch and is a sensible way to get the other Scoobies involved in the story, and here we get some amusing character interactions with the Xander/Cordelia being the stand out.  Without giving away how events pan out, the development with Sid is not what you would expect from the creepy doll narrative.  I like that it sets up that horror stereotype and subverts it.  There is some good tension and the writers kept me guessing till right near the conclusion.  It is also worth prising first time Buffy director Ellen S. Pressman who does a steady job bringing tight direction, and visual flair, backed by smooth writing.  The Puppet Show also foreshadows some future events, such as Willow's stage fright which actually comes back into focus in the next episode, as well as a much later season four episode.  The show is setting the ground for the Cordelia and Xander rivalry too.  These little character moments are pure joy.

There are weaknesses in the episode, maybe some weak action scenes, but I just enjoy watching The Puppet Show so much than I can skip past those.  After all having your own personally relationship with a favourite show is part of the fun.  If you disagree, and I just don't engage with this episode then please do comment why in the comments section.