Calling All Gleeks

I'll admit, Glee's not my favourite show at the moment, but it's somewhere close and I just find it so irresistible. I hope the inevtiable backlash that ensues when people get tired isn't too harsh. Anyhow, Glee's going to be back on the 21st with the season premiere...meanwhile, I'm doing a Glee meme. I know, I KNOW another meme. But I was emailed this and I just couldn't NOT do it. I'll be starting tomorrow, which means I'll end on the day of the premiere.

 

I'll admit, Glee's not my favourite show at the moment, but it's somewhere close and I just find it so irresistible. I hope the inevtiable backlash that ensues when people get tired isn't too harsh. Anyhow, Glee's going to be back on the 21st with the season premiere...meanwhile, I'm doing a Glee meme. I know, I KNOW another meme. But I was emailed this and I just couldn't NOT do it. I'll be starting tomorrow, which means I'll end on the day of the premiere.



Day 01 - Favourite Female Character
Day 02 - Favourite Male Character
Day 03- Your Favourite group performance
Day 04- Your Favourite solo
Day 05- Your Favourite duet
Day 06- Your Favourite Rachel/Finn moment
Day 07- Your Favourite Tina/Artie
Day 08 - Your Favourite Quinn/Puck moment
Day 09 - Your Favourite Kurt/Mercedes moment
Day 10 - Your Favourite Santana or Brittany moment
Day 11 - Your Favourite Sue Sylvester moment
Day 12 - A scene/moment that pissed you off
Day 13 - A scene/moment that made you cry
Day 14 - A scene/moment that made you happy
Day 15 - The couple you ship the MOST
Day 16 - Your Favourite episode
Day 17 - Your least Favourite episode
Day 18 - Your least Favourite character
Day 19 - Your least Favourite performance
Day 20 - Your Favourite quote
Day 21 - Your Favourite guest-star
Day 22 - Your least Favourite guest-star
Day 23 - The character you most relate to
Day 24 - The character you would like to hear/see more of
Day 25 - Something that happened you wish hadn’t
Day 26 - Something that hadn’t happened but you wish had
Day 27 - Your idea for a future Glee episode
Day 28 - Your idea for a future Glee character
Day 29 - Your idea for a future Glee performance
Day 30 - Whatever tickles your fancy
       
Am I the only one unnaturally obsessed with Glee at the moment? Any takers to do the MEME with me?

Movie Meme, Day 7: Least Favourite Movie By A Favourite Actor

It’s probably not the actual story, the musical "110 in the Shade" (an underrated score) has a nice enough book so I can only assume the actual production is good. When I look back on it I’m not certain what it is – precisely – that makes this my least favourite film of Kate’s, but as soon as the title I knew the film for the task was The Rainmaker.

Kate’s Lizzie Curry is not the eponymous rainmaker, though it would be correct to call her the protagonist. Lizzie (Lizzie, I stress, not Kate) is a homely spinster – an old maid, if you will. She doesn’t seem to have a future in love, and neither does the divorced town sheriff. Her town is the usual nondescript country one, except that it’s painfully hot. The rain has not fallen in months. A rainmaker, yes literally, is passing through town and promises rain if he’s paid $100. His interest soon diverts from filling the town’s literal drought to Lizzie’s metaphorical one. Thus, a dilemma arises. Does Lizzie acquiesce to the advances of this potential swindler or does she accept a potentially nondescript, if safe, life?

              

Really, the The Rainmaker’s plot seems like if it’d make for a great film. And the result is NOT disastrous (C+, perhaps even a B-) it’s just very tame. I’m resentful, yes indeed, and I’m often moved to put the bulk of the blame on Burt Lancaster. I’m not too fond of him (with Deborah, with Jean, with Elizabeth) and he feels off as the would-be charming Bill. That being said, Kate’s wrong for the part. Of her twelve Best Actress nods it’s easily her least distinguished (I’ve said that before). I don’t particularly dislike her in the part, it’s just sporadic and with the stories of the off-screen drama at work it shows at time. It’s not that she can’t play standoffish spinsters (hello!) but it just doesn’t mesh. God knows why. I’ve listened extensively to Audra McDonald in a revival of "110 in the Shade", the musical from the show and I still think the story has potential. That could be a good movie…I suppose.

                

You know I’m enamoured with Kate, so the fact that this is my least favourite meeting with her * doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t watch it. Come on, any Kate is good enough for me.

                   

This is all part of the ongoing MEME

       

*(Love Story, Kate’s final film, stars the power-couple Annette Bening and Warren Beatty. An adaptation of Love Story - which is the inspiration for An Affair to Remember - it’s good at times, oftentimes not so good, suffice to say worse than The Rainmaker. At times Kate herself seems embarrassed to be there, but she’s playing an extensive cameo at best. It’s not her film, so I’m not certain it applies here.) 

"What's the matter, smartass, you don't know any fuckin' Shakespeare?"

You can’t help but feel self conscious about the movies you like sometimes, and with The Departed I’m not sure if it’s me being self conscious about liking the movie (because most everyone seems to like it) or if as someone who’s quite fond of Scorsese I’m either not as fond of (or not versed in) his older work – which all the “important” people agree is his best stuff. Thus, I always feel a little uncertain when I say that The Departed is my favourite Scorsese film. It’s a weird feeling. I’m simultaneously embarrassed because it seems like a peculiar choice and yet it seems generic. It’s odd because it’s new and everyone says new films can’t be classic, and it feels generic because those unversed in Scorsese often cite The Departed as his greatest because they don’t have patience for his earlier “meandering” (their words) narratives. I mean, I have seen the essentials ones (the boxing one, the gangster one, the Christian one and the New York one) but strangely it’s the Bostonian interpretation of a Chinese adaptation that has my allegiance. But why should I worry? The internet is the place for unfounded allegiances, no?

It’s no wonder I get psyched when people praise it effusively, Heather, of Movie Mobsters; the original gangster of them all (blogging wise and otherwise-wise) approves of it:

"The Departed brings us what I’d consider another piece of movie immortality. Scorsese is known for his affinity for the gangster genre, and not since his Goodfellas has one so remarkable been made. The score and soundtrack where characters of their own, while coupled with a cinematography that was gritty and abrasive with an expected edge. Every once in awhile you take a trip to the theatre and are lucky enough to have an actual experience. This was one of those rare occasions."

And, really, if the mob approves I must be on to something.

I feel as if I’ve already reviewed The Departed…even though all I did was write extensively on DiCaprio’s Costigan. It’s weird, with The Aviator I reviewed it once, twice, and then wrote even more – just for good measure. But with The Departed it’s the opposite, I’m strangely closemouthed about it*. In praising The Departed, Scorsese’s direction skill is as much on focus as Thelma Schoomaker’s excellent editing. The woman is really a credit to her trade and oddly her work is more excellent here even more than in The Aviator where it seems more necessary. The Departed is rooted in its aggressive schizophrenia of sorts and it’s crafted as such. The thing is, even as it goes about claiming that its intent is on the thin line between the good guys and the bad guys (and who the hell are the good guys?) The Departed completes it narratives touching on everything else – and often with even more alacrity than the professed main theme. Yet, I don’t feel as if it’s shirking the issue either. Is Madolyn’s question to Collin “If they don’t do their jobs (i.e. criminals) you don’t have one.” a serious sociological enquiry, or is it just ill placed dinner table banter? And the obvious cycle of violence is too noticeable to be incidental. Maybe I go easy on Scorsese, because I love him so; he does get a little gratuitous sometimes – but then, I end up wondering if I’m missing something. Is there a larger reason as to why Queenan’s death is so bloody? It’s the only time I’m angry at the film (okay fine, that and Costigan’s death – I can’t quit: I know) but I’m acutely aware that his death is necessary. It’s almost like Shakespeare’s penchant for killing the innocent first (Ophelia, Cordelia, Desdemona, Banquo) but Sheen’s so good I’m just annoyed he doesn’t get the chance to do more.

If there’s one thing that’s become a bit of a trademark with Scorsese, regardless of his story, it’s not so much the inherent violent tension in his films but it’s the tendency to leave questions unanswered. It’s the same when I think of my favourite Scorsese pic that doesn’t make it into the actual top 100 – New York / New York. Despite its ostensibly tedious length Marty is always a little reticent in making judgements on his characters. It’s a bit similar with the people we touch on here. Marty is so careful not to make Costigan an unfailing hero – other than DiCaprio’s Amsterdam (and perhaps, him too) he’s always intent on using troubled men as the catalyst for his drama. Billy is not quite as perverse as Travis he has just the touch of nuanced badness – which is one the same level with badassery. He’s just as psychologically conflicted as Newland, Henry and yes even Christ. Call it consistency, or call it unoriginality or blame it on Monahan and make DiCaprio culpable, but it’s a running thread I admire and one that transcends to the supporting characters as well, although with a little less…ummm, subtlety. The intuitive M. Carter from M. Carter at the Movies brings up such salient points in reminding why this is such a good film…

"In the Scorsese gangster canon, GoodFellas tends to reign supreme. And yet there’s another film he’s made that’s every bit as edgy, brutal and grimly funny as that de facto classic. With its talent-heavy, all-star cast (DiCaprio and Damon hold their own against Jack Nicholson), The Departed, Scorsese’s twisty Infernal Affairs remake, is an exhilarating mix of find-the-rat stunts, mind games, gang rivalries, dirty politics, storylines that bend back on themselves and two deaths so shocking they keep smarting days, even weeks, later. And because it’s Scorsese, everything is set perfectly to a soundtrack that funnels complex emotions into songs."

I’m glad I’m not the only one smarting at those two deaths, and kudos to Meredith for bringing up the music which is so often forgotten – and it’s not subtle, so I don’t know why…And, I know – dear God, I know – that The Departed doesn’t exactly thrive on any subtlety in particular, especially when anyone named Baldwin, Wahlberg or Nicholson is on screen but with so many characters to sort out we don’t have time for subtlety even if I still question the relevance of that hazy scene with Costello and the prostitutes… (I find the actual scene almost as funny as Monahan’s screenplay which reads “Costigan fucks…and fucks weird”. Okay then)…. But, still, amidst all its obvious weird obviousness I like how The Departed is dedicated to using every detail it brings up. Like the envelope for “citizins” turning up later, or even the simpler things like the cranberry juice quip – what, are you getting your period? I like how even French is in on the joke. It’s a lucidity (in the face of obvious lunacy) that’s a bit satisfying when you consider that besides Madolyn and Queenan every character is more than a little disturbed. And to be honest, who’s to say they’re not either? There is little that’s particularly hilarious about this gritty film, but Scorsese has such a talent for finding the humour in the strangest places. Sure, it derives from Monahan’s script but Scorsese milks it just right without going overboard. It’s like that scene where Billy shoots the guy in the knee and he starts screaming, “I thought I was supposed to go into shock. I’m not in shock. It fucking hurts. It fucking hurts.” Excise that scene and you could put it in any offbeat violent comedy. The Departed isn’t willing to fall into the boundaries of what it should be, Monahan’s too atypical for that and Scorsese too wise, and thus when I hear it referred to as a crime drama, I’m not too sure that that’s the subgenre it would fall into.

Maybe I do feel the slightest bit of dissonance when I say it’s my favourite Scorsese, but ultimately I’m not really that bothered. Especially when the refreshingly honest Darren from The M0vie Blog has this to say:

"I'll provoke the ire of Scorsese fans for saying this - but I think this can stand tall and be counted amongst the best of his impressive filmography. I'm also very pleased with Shutter Island, though, so what do I know? At once a return to the mean streets that defined the early part of his career and yet strangely a more stylised film, this is the movie I watch once a year with my girlfriend. The first time we watched it, she had missed it in the cinema, so I booked a large room on campus, a projector, some popcorn buckets and drinks holders from a cinema, and surprised her for Valentines Day with a screening. Casino Royale may have been the film we saw on our first date, but I think The Departed will always be "our" film."

Although I’m a little dubious of Darren’s choice of it as a film to gain the title of a couple’s film (really Darren, isn’t that just a little umm, sadist?) his words do make my thoughts a little less "dissonant"... All his films aren’t made equal, but Oscar or no Oscar The Departed is good one from Marty.

                    

We’re getting closer to the top, The Departed is #7. How does it stack up against Scorsese's other works for you? How much do you like it either way?

             

*I guess I wasn’t as closemouthed as I thought I would be; this turned into quite a ramble – it’s the longest of the reviews yet.

Ranking the Potter Adults

I've still got Harry Potter on my mind (I'm in the process of rereading the last book for the umpteenth time). I'm going to miss these films when they're gone, even though they often get me riled up with their faults, but I digress. One of the things I love most about the Harry Potter films is their tendency to have excellent Brit actors popping up to make my day. I love the British, what can I say? Herein lay my favourite adult performances; and by adults I mean anyone who never donned a Hogwarts Students' Robe.

        

#15: Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy

"Good" looking but still ugly, charming but repulsive and with that horrid hairdo he was good in the role. It's easy to forget him with all the great adults popping in and out, but he deserves some notices.

    

#14: Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew

This probably comes easy to him, but that doesn't make it any less good or enjoyable. His face alone annoys me (that's actually a compliment).

              

#13:Gary Oldman as Sirius Black

I tend to forget him quite often, which is wrong because he is good as Black. I like him best in the third installment and it is a shame we won't see him again.
                 

#12: Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart

It's weird how you could play the "Six Degrees" game with the actors in this movie, two of Branagh's love interest appear down below - but I digress. He plays with all the comedic glory it deserves and yet doesn't annoy us as much as this egotistical prick should. Good stuff.

                  

#11: Julie Walters as Molly Weasley

Often, unfairly, ignored because she's never front and centre. Oh, but her personability is priceless. She gets the characterisation down pat (everything Rowling intends) and is just too sincere for words. I really hope we get to see her kill Bellatrix (though of my loyalties are divided, this is HBC).

                              

#10: Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldermort

Well I have a longstanding appreciation for this man's talent, and then he comes along and plays Lord Voldermort...how exactly does one resist that? Cold, frightening, charismatic and just downright nasty. I love it.

               

#9: Emma Thompson as Professor Sybil Trelawney

This was such a weird experience, seeing the always composed Thompson (Branagh's ex) as a bumbling teacher? Who knew she had such excellent comedic timing? There's a moment where she's being thrown out of the castle in the fifth installment that I always remember fondly. 

                  

#8: Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape

I hate that he gets typecast but I love when he gets typecast. He just knows to find that sinister root that makes him formidable and yet strangely charismatic. The hair doesn't do much for him, but I suppose he doesn't care.

       

#7: Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter

Oh how I wish she had more to do, every moment she appears on screen I can't look at anyone BUT her. She's just too enthralling for her own good and though we know she's wicked throughout we too are almost charmed into wanting her to intereview us.

             

#6: Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall

She does it in her sleep, but she does it well. This is another performer I hope gets her chance to shine in the final installments, it's another example of casting genius. Shrewd, kind, but with an iron grip on her house.

             

#5: Richard Harris as Professor Albus Dumbledore I

Despite what it seems he's the perfect representative of Dumbledore as far as the books go. Old and wise with a talent for non sequiters, but with power behind those seemingly benign looks of his.

       

#4: Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange

Nepotism? You bet your ass. This is Branagh's second ex on the list (that we know of). Perfection is an ideal but this is just divine. Manic but arresting, disarming (in more ways than one) and with a penchant for fickle childishness that just thrills me. Sometimes I think the Deather Eaters are calling...

             

#3: Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn

You're never prepared for the emotion he brings to the role, thus his final appears always surprises you and then it saddens. He has excellent comedic timing, but it's the emotion that turns him into one of Harry's best teachers.

                     

#2: Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge

...and it only gets better. This could have been one giant cliche (an evil person in pink, wow) but she is so good at showing the layers that she turns into the must offensively evil person on the series, thus far. Her unnverving smile, and that peppy walk. Only goes to show why you shouldn't trust "happy" folks.

                         

#1: Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore II

Ironically, I think he's wrong the part. Too harsh when Dumbledore should be less overt, too loud when he should temper, and yet he finds himself in The Half Blood Prince and turns this character into something else - not Rowling's creation, but his own. That image of his pseudo-Moses moves in the caves and the drinking of the potion stay with me. Just excellent.

                                          

Great Adults That Could Have Been: Kristin Scott Thomas as Narcissa Malfoy. Imagine that.

          

Okay, now the fun part, with the exception of Oldman these people all have history:

Richard Harris is deceased so he goes first. Incidentally, he starred in Mack the Knife (1989) with Julie Walters who went on to star in Becoming Jane (2007) with Maggie Smith who had starred in Gosford Park (2001) with Michael Gambon who was in Sleepy Hollow (1999) with Miranda Richardson who was in Enchanted April (1992) with Jim Broadbent who was in Vera Drake (2004) with Imelda Staunton who was in Nanny McPhee (2005) with Emma Thompson who was in Sense & Sensibility (1995) with Alan Rickman who starred in Sweeney Todd (2007) with Timothy Spall who was in Hamlet with (1996) Kenneth Branagh who had starred with HBC in Twelfth Night ( 1995) who had starred with Ralph Fiennes Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit (2005) and who was in The End of the Affair with Jason Isaacs (1999)

                

...and of course the pairings continue like HBC and Emma in Howards End or Emma and Maggie and Ralph in Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang or Maggie and HBC in A Room With A View or HBC and Michael Gambon in The Wings of the Dove or Rickman and Thompson and Imelda Staunton in Sense & Sensibility.

                  

Do you think they'd chat on set? I did this from memory, maybe there is a movie with Oldman and one of them...anyone?

               

Take your pick. Which adult tops your list?

TV Meme, Day 4: My Favourite Show

A few months back I was a pleased when everyone weighed in a TV show I flashed back to. I don’t think the dust has quite settled on the actual post, but the meme calls for it and so I shall revisit it. My favourite TV show is unequivocally a little NBC comedy called Friends. It’s a confession that’s almost a reflex. It’s actually the only question of the 30 I answered immediately. Friends is the type of show that’s a bit like lightning in the bottle. If it went into production today, I don’t know if it’d be as successful. Yet, it doesn’t depend on a wholly original concept. A group of friends and their lives…hasn’t that be done before? Certainly. And yet, Friends exudes an irresistible charm that I can confess to having seen every episode (of this ten season megahit) at least twice.

In assessing the lives of six friends in New York, Friends, like so many situational comedies depends on showing us types. We have Rachel – the spoilt, but goodhearted daddy’s girl, Phoebe – the slightly loopy working artist, Monica – the neurotic cook, Joey – the dumb, but good-looking ladies’ man and actor, Chandler – the slightly repressed office guy (where does he work exactly?) who has issues with romance and Ross – the good-natured, but often longwinded palaeontologist. Yes, the types are broad but there’s a consistency that runs throughout the show that makes it just a little more special. Every actor is comfortable in their “niche” and the tug-o-war that so often occurs in ensemble comedies never comes. Everyone is equal, and that’s a big part of Friends’s appeal. And those idiosyncrasies and catchphrases – Phoebe’s smelly cat; Joey’s “How you doing doing?” Monica’s angry, “I know!” It’s all part of the continuous hilarity that is Friends.

It’s a comedy, so it has to be funny. I said it before, and I’ll say it again – I don’t hold much stake in the sense of humour of persons who don’t find Friends funny. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. There are times when they go just a little over the top, but Friends always knows what’s funny and what’s not. It’s not the writers or the actors alone, but it’s everything together. Kudrow’s Ursula has a deadpan hilarity and the writers give her some delicious lines. I actually laugh when the in studio laughs, sometimes I laugh even when they don’t. Few things can put you in a good mood like spending time with Friends. I don’t think anyone who has seen Friends cannot find the escapades of our protagonist as realistic. Sure we may not be living on New York, or working as an actor but the realism with which the six interact with each other accounts for a large part of its appeal. Each episode works as a standalone, but even more impressive is hwo gags introduced in the first season can continue throughout to the final one. We know that Ross and Rachel were “on a break” and we know that Phoebe is a vegetarian (except for a particular bout of pregnancy). The continuity adds to the reality and makes it that much more enjoyable.
       
This entry is part of my ongoing meme on TV Moments

I’ll return to Friends again, not only for this meme but sometime again…because I love it and it only fills me with joy.