Endgame

I've just discovered an awesome Candian show called Endgame on hulu.  If House and Monk had a baby, it would be Endgame. (That is to say, it's another Sherlock allegory).   Here's the setup:  Several months before the show begins (maybe a few years even?), a brilliant world-champion Russian chess star is staying at a Vancouver hotel with his fiance.  She was gunned down right outside the hotel, while he watched.  He now has agoraphobia, and can't leave the hotel.  He's been living there, in a suite, ever since.  His money has run out, and he's about to get evicted.  There is a kidnapping, and he cracks the case.  The grateful father pays his hotel bill.  Thus starts his new career, solving detective "puzzles".  At first, he's just in it for the money, but soon it's all about solving the puzzle.

Since he can't leave the hotel, he has to convince others, including the gruff hotel security chief, a smart, witty maid, and a chess-groupie (math!) grad student to do the legwork for him.  I'm on episode 4 right now, and I'm really enjoying it.

The main character's name is Arkady Balligan, and he's brilliant, funny, playful, but kind of an asshole (very much like House) and tormented by the death of his fiance (like Monk).  He's convinced that he was the real target of the assassination (maybe for murky Russian political reasons), and is consumed by guilt about it.  Other characters include the lovely well-connected bartender and Pippa, the dead fiance's sister (who is angry that Arkady is working on other cases, but not her sister's).

The acting is good, but nothing special.  The writing is the real star; the mysteries are crisp, and the dialog (at least Arkady's) is sparkly sharp.  It was nice to see (and a real contrast with American TV) in the first episode, the kidnapper's parents are a gay couple, and nothing is made of it at all.  The fact that it's two men instead of a man and a woman is completely irrelevant to the plot, and no one suspects them of being child-murderers just because they're gay.

In an interesting mechanic, when Arkady is working through scenarios in his head, we see his thoughts as series of different scenarios for the crime with him talking to the people while they commit the crime.  It's a nice glimpse into his thought process, and adds a unique touch.

B+ so far (based on 3 episodes)  There are 5 episodes available right now (2/1/2012) and new ones come out on Mondays.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret is a weird little British show developed jointly with IFC starring that guy from Arrested Development with that other guy from Arrested Development.  It's about a bumbling nice guy who "accidentally" gets a job distributing a (possibly toxic and/or radioactive) Korean energy drink.  Wacky hijinks ensue.  The show starts in media res with Todd on trial for a litany of crimes, including terrorism, kiddie porn, and other horrible things.  Ove the six episodes that follow, we see just how a ridiculous series of increasingly poor decisions led to that predicament.  It's well written and acted, funny often, and stupid almost as often.  It wants to be Arrested Development, but it needs a more convincing straight man and to take itself much more seriously.  That being said, it's funny enough.  A solid B.

Practical Magic

Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies ever (although the book is much better, darker and stranger).  It's the story of two adult sisters, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, who happen to be witches.  Sandra Bullock, the older of the two, has renounced magic, and is trying to live a sedate, normal, suburban life, but the world has other plans.  This is technically a romantic comedy, but the real sparks come from the completely believable sister relationship between the two leads.  Stockard Channing and Dianne Weist are fantastic as the elderly aunts.  Aidan Quinn is a very good as the romantic lead, with a folksy, down-home, protective vibe that I don't really find appealing, but I imagine is very sexy for middle aged hausfraus.  Mostly what I love about this movie is the magical realism and the awesome sets and production design.  Also, keep an eye on everyone's hair; the more magic they do, the thicker, wilder, and more awesome the weaves get.  Bonus: a tasty fine, very young Goran Visnjic in a sexy role as a "vampire cowboy" bad-boy love interest for Nicole Kidman.  I think this was one of his very first American roles.  A- for witches, probably B for anyone else.

United States of Tara

The United States of Tara is one of the few shows I discovered on Netflix that really surprised me with how good it was.  Netflix has been recommending it to me for a while, but the premise seemed so hokey, I couldn't bring myself to watch.  A while ago, I was home sick from work, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did, and you will be too.  The show focuses on a woman with multiple personalities, played beautifully by Toni Collette, who I've been watching for a long time.  It was great to see her in a long-term role like this;  she really dug into it.

I know it seems like this show must be stupid, or even offensive, but it's not.  The writing (by Diablo Cody) is tight and sparkling, and all the actors are very good, especially John Corbett as the husband and some kid I don't know the name of as the son.  It's particularly nice to see teenagers represented as actual fully-developed people who, despite not quite knowing who they are yet (and who does?), have consistent personalities that make sense.

I really like the family dynamic on this show, and how sensitively (but hilariously) it treats mental illness.  I rate it A-, with some A+ and some B episodes.

Six Degrees of Separation

Six Degrees of Separation was one of Will Smith's first movie roles, and certainly the one that helped him make the jump from rap star pretty boy to serious actor.  It was a good choice on his part.  He plays a young con artist in Manhattan who enchants a socialite copule.   An amazing supporting cast including Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Ian McKellen.  What makes this movie one of my favorites is the writing.  It's written by the playwright John Guare, and it still has the snappy feel of the stage play.   I hear that some people aren't into that sort of thing; the dialog is unnatural, but in a good way.  Like in Angels in America, another of my oh-so-favorite play-to-movie remakes, every word seems perfectly chosen and artfully directed.  It's a  lovely thing, a testimony to the power of language.  The acting is all great, but Stockard Channing, who is always a favorite of mine, really sparkles in this.

Dead Alive

This is a movie we watched over and over and over in college.  I wasn't sure if it would hold up to being watched under less...auspicious circumstances.  But, I saw that it was up on Netflix Instant and thought I'd give it a shot.  Turns out it was written and directed by Peter Jackson (the Lord of the Rings guy), several years before even Heavenly Creatures (another movie I highly recommend). Back in the paleolithic era, when I was in school, no one had ever heard of Peter Jackson.

Dead Alive is a zombie movie, but saying that really doesn't do it justice. It's hilarious! It's similar in tone to Shaun of the Dead crossed with The Evil Dead, and with the goofiest Sumatran Rat-Monkey you've ever seen!  And the best quote ever from a zombie ass-kicking kung-fu fighting priest:  "I kick ass for the Lord!"

As a side note, the movie heavily features Aleister Crowley's Thoth tarot deck, with some weird modifications (check out The Star card).

Immortality

I have a strange fondness for fiction about immortal creatures.  Preferably, not vampires, just humans that happen to live forever.  One of my very favorites  is Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth.  It's a lovely, small movie that seems like it was probably written as a play.  It's entirely driven by dialog and good acting.  It takes place almost entirely in a small cabin.  A group of friends who are all academics are sitting around chatting, wishing their friend John a fond farewell.  He tells them an amazing story.  I can't really say more without giving anything away, but I've watched this movie several times, with many different people, and it's always been a hit.  (With my weird intellectual friends....this isn't a movie for everyone)  A+

 Tuck Everlasting is a cute kids movie based on a book I haven't read.  It stars that girl from Gilmore Girls.  It also features Ben Kingsley and Sissy Spacek.  It's a pretty straight-forward story about a girl whose over-protective parents keep her locked away.  She gets lost in the woods, and runs into an immortal boy.  Teen romance ensues.  B for adults, but probably A- for kids.











Highlander: Season 1 

When I was in high school, this was my best friend's favorite show (although, I think the tastiness of Adrian Paul had more than a little to do with that.) The show is interesting, but I don't feel like it does a very good job of capturing the crushing ennui of immortality.  The show goes downhill after season 2.  B  













Interstate 60

Interstate 60: This is a quirky, fun, road-trip movie.  It reminds me a lot of Big Fish or I Heart Huckabees or Being John Malkovich.   (although it's not quite as good as all that)   It stars James Marsden, and has a lot of cool people in supporting roles, including Christopher Lloyd and  Michael J. Fox.  It's sort of surreal,thought-provoking, and philosophical.  It's totally worth watching, but it's one of those movies where you spend the whole movie thinking about what an awesome movie this could have been. The idea is cool, but the writing is just so-so.   B-



ps:  It was pointed out to me that these posts are better with pictures.  I'll go back and put pictures in previous ones when I get around to it.