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PeterGaskell
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Led Zeppelin: In the Light (2008)
Worthy documentary for longstanding fans as well as the uninitiated about Led Zeppelin
After watching on Sky this weekend, this is my review of Episode 1 which is a track by track account of the 1st album after explaining how Led Zeppelin was established and where the individual members came from.
Page and Jones experience of session work gave them practice and exposure to multiple forms of musical expression that enabled the song-writing and arrangements to stand out as more diverse than produced by other contemporary bands. Led Zeppelin were more than just 'the new Cream'.
The album was recorded live in the studio with no overdubbing in about 30 hours. This was after weeks of touring the songs and honing them in live performance of which there is a decent amount of film footage from small concert venues around Europe.
There are useful demos and explanations of Page's guitar parts. While most of the commentators were unknown to me, they provided useful context for each of the tracks on the 'Led Zeppelin' album, including its artwork
There are audio contributions from all band members, some of which though are hard to hear and the subtitles too small to read with all the song credit data that clutters the screen
A promising start to the series and I look forward to episode 2 now.
Oppenheimer (2023)
worthy of so many Oscar nominations?
'Oppenheimer' was largely disappointing and unworthy of so many Oscar nominations I thought because:
1. There was no narrative arc as time shifted to and fro constantly, relying too much on visual clues e.g whether a scene was shot in monochrome like the McCarthyite hearings in 1950s while some colour scenes were in 1940s. Visual text for dates and locations would have been useful. Clarity of narrative seemed to be sacrificed in favour of the director's intention to force the viewer to keep adjusting to the shifting time frame, an investment in unnecessary concentration over 3 hours
2. There were too many poorly-defined and undeveloped characters
3. The soundtrack was frequently inaudible
The best feature was the acting of Cillian Murphy, and I especially liked the courtship scene when Oppenheimer woos Kitty with theoretical physics about the space between atoms suggesting the impossibility of intimacy before intimately taking her hand. So many award nominations though, particularly for directing and sound, surely undermines the critical value of the Oscars.
I rented the film from Amazon Prime and had to watch it within 48 hours which was an unnecessary constraint which meant I had to plan viewing at inconvenient times. My reason for renting was that I did not want to sit for more than 3 hours watching the cinema version.
The Tourist (2022)
Somewhat disappointing sequel to Season 1
PROS of Season 2
The setting - amnesiac Elliot on quest to find his identity with his love interest Helen get caught up in a violent feud between Irish crime gangs
The twist - a revelation when all surviving characters have assembled to resolve long-standing feud, as mutually-assured destruction seems to be the inevitable outcome
Characterisation - clear and good mix of characters well-intentioned, villainous, familial & comedic
Humorous moments contrasted well with dark themes, particularly involving Ethan
CONS
Plausibility - e.g Elliot running down road to escape chasing kidnappers in van when he could have fled into open country, box of love letters Niamh buries when she should have destroyed or secured them in a bank if she didn't want anyone to find them
Pace and Dialogue were leaden at times, particularly in Helen's kidnap scenes and her coma dream sequence
Confusing historical references to encounters between McDonnell and Cassidy families e.g who was the original Elliot Stanley who spent £1 million on a bottle of whiskey to negotiate a truce with Frank on a boat, a Cassidy one presumes if Frank slit his throat?
Niamh's reference to a dead uncle
Name confusion - who gave the protagonist Eugene the name Elliot after Elliot Stanley and why? Why give Helen's ex-partner Ethan a name too similar to Eugene and Elliot?
Conclusion - Season 2 not as gripping as Season 1. Spoiler alert - seeing Eugene's file showing his history as a secret agent I guess is the marker for Season 3.
The English (2022)
Good tale worth watching of lovers seeking home against nightmarish odds
In case you had little idea of how 'the English', as Native Americans called the White Man, took their lands, you will need a strong stomach for the 6 episodes of this powerful story with twists and surprises to keep you guessing throughout about cause and outcome. Filmed in Spain, the cinematography was stunning, as were the costumes, especially Cordelia's even if fanciful as a wardrobe for an English aristocrat riding a wagon across the Great Plains.
The acting though was patchy. Ciaran Hinds, Stephen Rea and Toby Jones always give absorbing performances and Chaske Spencer particularly had terrific presence, but the cable company shooter man Major Mackay couldn't sustain an American accent (and put the stress on the wrong word in 'they shoot grouse now'). As for the Melmont character, many have commented Rafe Spall stole accent and mannerisms from the role Tom Hardy played in Peaky Blinders but it suited the part so I wouldn't criticise him for such.
The narrative moving across time periods years apart was managed OK but the pace was inconsistent and the dialogue was often opaque. There were too many action scenes with 2-dimensional characters who looked alike, with little development so I got a bit lost sometimes when they were referenced later in the narrative.
But the spine of the narrative, the relationship between Cordelia and Eli was absorbing and treated well even if the outcome was not wholly satisfying, the denouement in England set up 13 years after they had 'found home' in America.
Marcella: Episode #3.8 (2020)
A finale that builds to a climax worth watching twice
Unfamiliar with Marcella till season 3, I got interested by chance viewing season 3 ep 3 enough to want to catch-up from the beginning of season 3.
One element from Marcella's past appears to be key to resolution of the story. The loss of her own baby incites her identity disorder and crisis, only resolved by the finding and saving of another baby. While I'm dubious about the clinical realism of this, I suspended my disbelief in rooting for her to survive the threats to her surviving undercover in the McGuire household.
Where I took issue with Marcella /Kiera's behaviour concerned her stalking herself as her minder Frank told her she was in earlier episodes. Are we meant to believe she had no recollection of planting the dummy of her corpse or the musical score under her windscreen wiper? Again it was unconvincing that Frank would summon her from the bed she shared with her target Finn in the middle of the night because he wanted to show her some cctv on his laptop.
Otherwise it was a good story which kept me absorbed throughout. It well depicted current criminal gang activity in Northern Ireland that had originated in the Troubles within paramilitary groups, topically including Vietnamese people-trafficking. I liked how the character with the most chance of falling apart or victim to her circumstances became the one who got control of the situation and her enemies even when she had to confess she was an undercover cop so the baby could have a chance to survive
Marcella (2016)
Satisfying in the end, though my disbelief was hard to suspend
Unfamiliar with Marcella till season 3, I got interested by chance viewing season 3 ep 3 enough to want to catch-up from the beginning. One element from Marcella's past appears to be key to resolution of the story. The loss of her own baby incites her identity disorder and crisis, only resolved by the finding and saving of another baby. While I'm dubious about the clinical realism of this, I suspended my disbelief in rooting for her to survive the threats to her surviving undercover in the McGuire household.
Where I took issue with Marcella /Kiera's behaviour concerned her stalking herself as her minder Frank told her she was. Are we meant to believe she had no recollection of planting the dummy of her corpse or the musical score under her windscreen wiper? Again it was unconvincing that Frank would summon her from the bed she shared with her target Finn in the middle of the night because he wanted to show her some cctv on his laptop.
Otherwise it was a good story which kept me absorbed throughout. It well depicted current criminal gang activity in Northern Ireland that had originated in the Troubles within paramilitary groups, topically including Vietnamese people-trafficking. I liked how the character with the most chance of falling apart or victim to her circumstances became the one who got control of the situation and her enemies even when she had to confess she was an undercover cop so the baby could have a chance to survive
DNA (2019)
Absorbing well-paced story about baby-trafficking if hard to follow.
After setting up the situation well, generating sympathy for the protagonists Rolf and Julita, it eventually became clear there were two converging plotlines which is where some problems appeared. 'DNA' set up expectations about character which were frequently turned on their head, fair enough, but these plotlines were unnecessarily confusing when it was unclear if the action was in current timeframe or 5 years earlier. Like location across 3 countries, time sequencing should have been captioned too. 'DNA' was already hard enough to follow with subtitles and action which kept shifting between Denmark, Poland and France.
Realistically, as well as odd visuals such as the wounds shown on the face of the police officer hit with a shovel from behind I would question whether a child would be abruptly taken by the police or adoption officials from their adoptive parents at first encounter, as happened to Leo and Minna. Don't the legal systems in Denmark or France put the affections of the child first in any parental dispute? The reviewer reddeath2 though is wrong to lambast the notion that "evil nuns" would force single pregnant women to give up their children for adoption. This was common practice in the 'Magdalen Laundries' where abuses of 'fallen' women are well-documented, especially in Ireland where a formal state apology was issued in 2013, and a £50 million compensation scheme for survivors set up by the Irish Government. The film Philomina was about this subject too.
But suspending disbelief on occasions didn't stop me wanting to keep watching and I was glad the whole series was available on BBC iplayer for convenience. The conclusion left me with mixed emotions but also a sense 'DNA' handled the issues about baby-trafficking, parenting and religion well overall.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Deserving of Oscars for director and original screenplay
(Spoiler alerts included) Not surprisingly one of the front-running Oscar nominations, this absorbing film keeps you locked in tight as the protagonist staggers his way toward redemption, even while arousing some laughs. Refusing to perpetuate his superhero film career despite lucrative offers to extend the Birdman franchise ad infinitum, Riggan Thomson attempts to prove himself as an actor and writer on Broadway so his artistic spirit can again take to the skies. He has adapted a Raymond Carver story for the theatre which he will direct and take lead role.
The devil on his shoulder is the Birdman character he used to play on film, who urges him to forgo his theatre ambitions and get back into movie-acting. As Thomson struggles to assert his own identity in angry exchanges with Birdman when he is otherwise alone, he is seen behaving like the superhero character he used to play, propelling objects without touching them. So how human really is our protagonist?
The film has a clever narrative which keeps you guessing about this, as it explores themes of insecurity (parenthood, sexuality, career) and artistry versus celebrity. Consistent with the character Birdman who wears one, the film's motif is the mask whereby the actors are revealed to be unlike the confident persona they present to the world. You are never sure if you are watching reality or a presentation of its subject's imaginings.
The fear of a bad theatre preview is the menace that Thomson has to face, also his effectiveness as a lover and a father. When his daughter Sam harshly criticises his relevance in the world, Iñárritu's direction shows less a reaction from the protagonist but rather focuses the camera close up on Sam's face as her invective goes into overdrive. Like us watching, she starts to realise she is totally self-absorbed and blind to the feelings of others. This diatribe becomes the turning point on her character journey that leads her to help her father fulfil his later.
The plot develops so that the characters in the stage play within the film are unmasked to show them failing to deal with their problems about loving and being loved. They evoke sympathy, even the egotistical method actor who so effectively gets to grip with the play's script and brings it alive yet only comes alive himself sexually while on stage. When the female actors are confronted by their insecurities, they find sexual solace in each other.
Some other reviews pan 'Birdman's failure to amuse. While it is more situational than in witty dialogue, humour is plentiful enough. (spoiler here...) Thomson's unmasking includes losing his dressing gown which gets trapped in the theatre door as he steps outside for a cigarette between scenes. He has to find his way through crowded streets to the theatre front door in his underwear before appearing on stage dressed so.
(more spoiler..) There is a false climax where Thomson is perched above the streets of New York where you believe the film is about to end before the real climax takes place on stage. This is another example of the craft employed where you are kept on edge as the play is acted because you are never allowed to be sure if the stage-play action is going off Thomson's script. There are clues to foreshadow the climax but it is effective when it happens. Finally the tension is released as uncertainty about semblance and reality is resolved.
The only character not to evoke sympathy is the theatre critic determined to see the play close on Broadway. With another twist on the semblance/reality dichotomy, she only changes her posture after the shocking climax to the stage play (and the film), yet not from a change of heart or any realisation about artistry in the performance but out of a pretentious reaction to the violence she has witnessed that prompts her to coin a new theatrical genre - 'ultra-realism'.
While 'Birdman' is well-acted throughout, its Oscar-winning potential is for its screenplay and technical execution. The camera focus hardly ever moves more than a few feet from its subject and the jazz drum soundtrack, appearing to be played live at times, assists in keeping up the claustrophobic tension. The script is well up to developing the film's concept, its themes and characterisation. Its dialogue is fully audible too. If 'Interstellar' wins Oscars for both sound editing and sound mixing, and Iñárritu doesn't win for director and original screenplay categories for 'Birdman', I too will resort to running through Times Square in my underpants...