tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90252561750100810912024-03-05T09:59:06.371-08:00Jay's Jumpstart: The Why Chromosome J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-36591245853724496472014-02-09T22:23:00.003-08:002014-02-09T22:23:52.877-08:00Why True Detective just put on the best single episode of TV I have seen in a long, long time.<br />
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A week after <i>Justified </i>put out one of its best episodes, I thought it might have a the market on 2014 cornered. But then <i>True Detective </i>dropped<i> </i>"Who Goes There." It is work of genius. It is simply one of the best episodes of TV I have ever seen. <i>Breaking Bad </i>had a couple of stunners last year, as did <i>Enlightened, Justified, </i>and <i>The Americans. </i>But I am not sure there has been as perfect an episode as "Who Goes There" in the last two or three years. <i>Breaking Bad </i>had five seasons to build up for "Ozymandias." This is only the <i>fourth </i>episode of <i>True Detective. </i>This reminds me of when <i>Lost </i>busted out <i>Walkabout </i>early in its run. <br />
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From the opening shot, this episode was lovely. The walls in the interrogation room were framed like a painting. The episode moved from emotional high to emotional high. It ended on a sequence out of <i>Children of Men. </i>If you are not watching this show, you should be. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-56018415515336948192014-02-01T14:20:00.000-08:002014-02-01T14:20:52.434-08:00Why I hated The Wolf of Wall Street!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ81yrbKu0OxEJ1AcIwZoB8_YyGJvCy4O3TYSfFnBecrVk9OmOBvhVOVo_Epv2W7tikpIsg3L1o9eMbMq3oa7Enhg8W05dXJ8nerfEU_iaiCcq6XbgiIo5n25JzASECeGV0SH-wyhRLQWx/s1600/wolf-of-wall-street1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ81yrbKu0OxEJ1AcIwZoB8_YyGJvCy4O3TYSfFnBecrVk9OmOBvhVOVo_Epv2W7tikpIsg3L1o9eMbMq3oa7Enhg8W05dXJ8nerfEU_iaiCcq6XbgiIo5n25JzASECeGV0SH-wyhRLQWx/s1600/wolf-of-wall-street1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a disappointing movie from the world’s greatest
living director. Watching <i>The Wolf of
Wall Street </i>was like listening to a lazy three-hour jam from Miles
Davis. Sure, its Miles Davis, so moments
of it are great. But, overall, you’re
still bored and wonder what the point was.
The same is true here. Scorsese
is incredible, as always. He knows how to frame a shot and move the
camera. Certain scenes, like when Coach
Taylor and Leo are on the yacht, or when Coach breaks in arrests people in the brokerage
house, are perfectly executed. (The latter even uses “Mrs. Robinson” by the Lemonheads
as some kind of meta-joke, I think.) Marty
knows when to let his camera linger, like in an early scene with Matthew
McConaughey, or when to use his signature camera sweeps, like in the crazy
bachelor-party scene.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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And not just Marty came to play: Leonardo DiCaprio is a
force of nature. He is one of the greatest actors of his generation, and he
knows it. This performance was
stunning. He really captured the strange
emptiness of this character. Leo is just
compelling to watch. Jonah Hill is also
interesting as DiCaprio’s cousin-marrying right-hand-man. Despite solid performances from the whole caste, the movie belongs to Leo. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But in service of what? This movie was three hours: Three
hours! And it is three hours of <i>one tone.
</i>Even the most exciting drug use and fucking gets boring after three
hours. Who cares? And, while we are at
it, who cares about the victims of the crimes here? This movie doesnt care. Who cares about an American system teetering
toward Babylon? Not this movie! Look, I am the last person to say a movie needs to have a “message.” (The message of every movie should be “this
is a good movie.”) But <i>Wolf</i> stopped being fun because it didn’t even begin to grapple with these
issues. Hence, I could never forget
them. I kept thinking about the <i>American
Hustle</i>—a much better film in nearly every way—and how that film wrestled
with themes of identity and wealth in the U.S.
<i>American Hustle </i>also poked at
the American dream and our ability (or inability) to re-invent ourselves. But whereas <i>AH </i>is constantly questioning this reinvention, while also showing
us why some people need it, <i>The
Wolf of Wall Street </i>does not grapple with these complexities at all. Why worry about these issues, you whiny Don
Draper, when you can snort cocaine out of a woman’s ass? <o:p></o:p></div>
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And speaking of women:
My lord this movie hates women! This is also a contrast
with <i>American Hustle, </i>which featured
women with their own agency, identity, needs, and personality. In <i>Wolf,
</i>the women are merely cum receptors for men.
They have no agency or identity. (And, ironically, one of the few
ethical moments in movie comes from DiCaprio’s first wife.) Women are things that consume men’s penises
and money. After the relatively
interesting women in <i>Raging Bull,
Goodfellas, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore </i>and <i>Casino, </i>the women in <i>Wolf </i>are
a Bechdel nightmare. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Maybe this is commentary about the corrupt nature of
American capitalism. If it is, it is a shallow one. And maybe that is the point. It didn’t work for me. You know what movie <i>I </i>wanted to see? I would
have loved a movie focusing on Coach Taylor chasing after Leo. I would have watched that film, but even
then, maybe not for three hours. <o:p></o:p></div>
J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-48937211350112440432014-01-26T22:49:00.002-08:002014-01-26T22:50:27.288-08:00Why Lake Bell is amazing...<br />
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Ok, so, first I have to discuss the Vero connection. Ms. Bell lived in Vero Beach for a while. I went to high school in Vero and normally I hate basically <i>anything</i> connected with Vero. (The obvious exception is The Dodgers.) Despite this depth of hate, I must admit I am kind of smitten with Lake Bell.<br />
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I really loved Bell's <i>In a World. </i>The indie gem takes place inside the world of voice-actors, specifically concerning the actors who do the voice-overs in movie trailers. ("In a world where blah blah blah.") I love movies that examine little communities and their inner workings. <i>In a World </i>hits this sweet spot. It also is a lovely romance, exploring relationships both old and new. It was a joy. As a bonus, the movie contained two of my favorite movie-kisses ever: one funny, one really sweet. Sure, the resolution is a little hackish, but I was invested enough to not care. Watch this little movie. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-71754871703988310552014-01-21T15:18:00.001-08:002014-01-21T15:18:56.222-08:00Why Moffat is so much better on Sherlock than on Dr. Who<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cQpq22SEYFnyDuCf332jpPCP3sVO9In3ZrwV1ZtDbtZ4KMZSNx7MhlYhLvcl1VhQ84pBHwYvystH2iU8sLR-Z8JFYOLLmg2ji5qYX3SQ9idP0qyk-X5_69FLeNPt2PjIUBscxLlfgfU3/s1600/bow-dr-who.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cQpq22SEYFnyDuCf332jpPCP3sVO9In3ZrwV1ZtDbtZ4KMZSNx7MhlYhLvcl1VhQ84pBHwYvystH2iU8sLR-Z8JFYOLLmg2ji5qYX3SQ9idP0qyk-X5_69FLeNPt2PjIUBscxLlfgfU3/s1600/bow-dr-who.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></div>
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Steven Moffat wrote some of the best episodes of the modern Dr. Who. He is responsible for "Blink" and "Silence in the Library," as well as many other great hours of sci-fi storytelling. After a while, however, Moffat's narrative games began to seem strained. It is clear that Moffat does not care about many of the Who characters <i>qua </i>characters. Amy Pond started as a neat character, but she ended up a narrative double-back. The same can be said for River Song (and Rory). And the contemporary companion is not even a character; she is a riddle. I almost always hate narrative as a puzzle. (Before people start complaining: I never viewed <i>Lost </i>as a puzzle. And that is probably partly why I had no issue with the end of <i>Lost, </i>even if I thought the quality overall dropped in the last two seasons of the show.) Dr. Who always has "puzzle" elements, but it is always solved by timey-wimey stuff. It never matters if someone dies or is hurt, because it was all solvable via, well, time-magic. This works fine for me if there are character stakes. (Hell, I do love Whedon and Abrams.) But I need to care about the characters. When I stop caring, I stop, well, <i>caring. </i>This is where I am with Moffat's Dr. Who. I don't care.<br />
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Now, <i>Sherlock </i>is another story. A "puzzle" is kind of built into the nature of Sherlock's adventures. This might be why Moffat's work on <i>Sherlock </i>is more compelling than his work on Dr. Who. Holmes and Watson still have good chemistry, and the puzzle actually reveals a lot about Holmes' character. I am excited that good old Benedict is back, even though he and Freeman are legitimate movie-stars now. Whereas I dread the return of <i>Dr. Who, </i>I look forward to <i>Sherlock. </i>Let's see what Moffat and company can do. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-41619977167689441402014-01-19T21:42:00.000-08:002014-01-19T21:42:07.728-08:00Why Spoils of Babylon shouldn't exist.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UiCCI06Y88iaFYmswot_HiR-4LRY89It2IuaLwIOi8flH9YdX4Uvs8507xRA067hjjokFGYZurPPayaOUWXmKMZSsdxI8jwO2JBd-71ejwgsMIiuRXLhCEDlkKHqoxDkVhh6fdk_K7Mv/s1600/spoils-of-babylon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UiCCI06Y88iaFYmswot_HiR-4LRY89It2IuaLwIOi8flH9YdX4Uvs8507xRA067hjjokFGYZurPPayaOUWXmKMZSsdxI8jwO2JBd-71ejwgsMIiuRXLhCEDlkKHqoxDkVhh6fdk_K7Mv/s1600/spoils-of-babylon.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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The <i>Spoils of Babylon </i>is strange. It is a satire from the <i>Funny or Die </i>webpage group. Honestly, it shouldn't exist. Who wanted this series? It is satirizing a kind of over-the-top mini-series that was popular before I was even born, and I am pretty old. I have thin memories of stuff it is poking at, like <i>The Thornbirds. </i>Nevertheless, <i>Spoils </i>kind of tickles me. Cast-members Tim Robbins, Kristen Wiig, and Toby McGuire are game for the fun. <br />
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The show sort of acts like a sketch comedy with a tiny plot. I enjoy it, but I dont think I enjoy it as much as the cast did in making it. But, mostly, why satire this now? What's next, a twist-craze concept album from Vampire Weekend. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-85530097198930153772014-01-18T20:46:00.004-08:002014-01-18T20:49:47.474-08:00Why the new Coen brothers movie, Inside Llewyn Davis, is a nice-looking waste of time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am a faithful Coen Brothers fan. I have seen all of their films, and I count <i>Miller's Crossing, Fago, </i>and <i>No Country for Old Men </i>among my favorites movies ever. This film is strange and off-putting. The lead character, Llewyn Davis, is a pre-Dylan folk singer in Greenwich Village. Davis is a loser and kind of a jerk. He makes couch surfing a lifestyle. <br />
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Davis does bad stuff. Then does more bad stuff. Then he sings. Then he does more bad stuff. The character never changes and never develops. He is the same person at the start of movie as the end. What are Coens saying? We can't change? I get enough of that bullshit on <i>Mad Men; </i>I dont need more of it here. Of course, the film looks good. It is the Coen brothers after all. But I dont know why I watched this movie.<br />
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There was also a magical symbolic cat, or something. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-83014651430343103912014-01-16T22:00:00.002-08:002014-01-18T20:21:31.841-08:00Why "Cooperative Polygraphy" is a Community classic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love that Dan Harmon is back at the helm of <i>Community. </i>He has a solid grasp of these characters and ideas. Yes, folks, TV can be an auteur art-form too. Now, as much as I love when Harmon pops out a "theme" episode, like last week's Zodiac parody, it is also nice when <i>Community </i>does a solid character piece. This week's episode is a character masterpiece. It is another pint-sized "bottle episode," like previous the "who stole the pen" episode. It is nice to see these characters re-connect to some of the basic themes from early in show, even if the plot device concerning Troy's future was a bit much. I hate to see Troy go, but he was always the closest to Pierce, so I guess it kind of works. <br />
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Honestly, it is kind of amazing that <i>Community </i>is on TV all. NOBODY watches this show. Its ratings are puny. NBC just has nothing else in the hopper that can match <i>Community's </i> tiny-but-loyal viewership. The show might even get "six seasons and a movie." On the other hand, this short-order season might be the end. Either way, I am happy to spend this time with the study-group. Harmon is back, and <i>Community </i> is good again. <br />
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Oh, and, yeah, Walter mo-fo-ing Goggins!J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-8526453415030905702014-01-15T20:45:00.003-08:002014-01-18T20:21:43.582-08:00Why McEwan's Sweet Tooth is big cheat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Look, I am a sucker for meta-fiction, and I dig spy stories. But this book is just a mess. Sure, McEwan can write a nice sentence. His prose is efficient. But the characters, especially the lead Serena, are plain and boring. The meta-textual twists in the plot don't feel organic like, say, in <i>Gone Girl</i>. And the same pomo games don't illuminate the themes like in <i>Crying of Lot 49 </i>or <i>American Pastoral. </i>By the end, the book felt like a cheat. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-54578188919358507642014-01-15T13:55:00.000-08:002014-01-15T13:55:26.470-08:00Why I will give HBO's True Detective a chance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last thing we need is another show about serial killers. <i>The Following </i>is fucking wretched, a true pox on the screen for people who <i>think </i>they are following a deep TV show but are too lazy to watch <i>The Fall </i>or <i>The Wire. </i>It and its whole brand of sexist-female-cruelty and double-back plotting should be banned. (I am also looking at you, old-person-show <i>The Mentalist, </i>with your idiotic 'Red John" nonsense.) <i>Hannibal </i>is pretty amazing, but that quality is against all odds. The actual serial killer stuff is pretty lame plot-wise, but the performances are lovely. And, most of all, Bryan Fuller, who makes <i>Hannibal--</i>and who was behind underrated shows like <i>Wonderfalls </i>and <i>Pushing Daisies, </i>as well as a cool <i>Munsters </i>remake--is a true visual genius. If the plot to <i>Hannibal </i>was two dudes playing chess and it was written/shot by Fuller, it would still be pretty good. <br />
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HBO's <i>True Detective </i>follows a similar path to potential glory. Matthew McConaughey is straight-up amazing in quiet performance. He is simply riveting. I cannot take my eyes off him, even if he still looks a little thin from that AIDs movie. And, as Matty wanders off in pretension, old Woody smacks him down with earthy common sense. Woody basically says "stop all this bullshit." The dynamic is great.<br />
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The murder stuff is a big blah. The visual image of the first victim, with the crown and such, was pretty cool. But, honestly, they could just start speaking Danish when they rattle off stuff about the murder plot. It makes as much sense as timey-wimey bullshit on Dr. Who or that Cylon nonsense on BSG. Who cares? The real mystery is how McConaughey went from the cool, if svelte, looking cop above to the boozie drunkard here:<br />
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I'll stick around for that character issue, and for the great performances of these two actors. But, if the sexist violence gets too dumb or, well, misogynistic...or if the women just find themselves stuck in the nag/harpy role of unimaginative modern TV... well, I will probably still watch. But I will disappointed. So far, I am giving <i>True Detective </i>a chance. J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025256175010081091.post-17334280769063227482014-01-15T13:21:00.001-08:002014-01-15T13:58:50.834-08:00Why This Space?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I fail to keep time in a bottle and my summer babes become <i>winter</i> babes, I noticed that I consume a ton of popular (and non-popular) culture, but it often just flies by. I see a movie, think about it, and see another. Soon I cannot remember if Amy Adams was scissoring someone in <i>American Hustle</i>, or was that in some other movie? Top of the Lake, The Fall, Broadchurch, Hit or Miss ... all really good BBC TV shows that kind of blend together in my head. (Top of the Lake is the best one, but they are all good.) By the end of the year I forgot how much I liked Orphan is the New Black. Oh, wait, I mean <i>Orphan Black</i>. (And, for that matter, Orange is the New Black.) Damn, <i>Under the Dome </i>was shitty. Man, that My Bloody Valentine record was great. So was Drake's. I loved T<i>he</i> <i>Interestings</i>, barely remember <i>Gone Girl</i>, misunderstood Alice Munro, read Saunders too quickly, and so etc. Why am I watching <i>Walking Dead</i>? I don't know.<br />
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Anyway, here, I hope to quickly jot down my thoughts on things as I experience them. I do not aim to be too thoughtful, unless I sit down and decide to right a kind of "think piece." But since I am pretty lazy, that might not happen at all.</div>
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So, this place is for me to keep track of stuff. The entries will be short. They will try to be my thoughts <i>before </i> read anybody's else's thoughts. But this place is mostly <i>for me. </i>I'd like to remember, say, that I thought <i>You're Next </i>was pretty neat, and why. (It was pretty neat, right?) Why did I hate <i>Gravity? </i>Why did I hate <i>Life of Pi? </i>Why did I love Kacey Musgraves? Haim? Or whatever.</div>
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If others dig what I say, great. If not... delete it when I die. :)</div>
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J</div>
J. Maggiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.com0