Flounders On Film

“Take the noose off your ambition”

                                                                           – Red Hot Chili Peppers

The above quote comes from the song “Throw Away Your Television” – bitterly ironic since Lost is has now got me addicted to mine like a baby crying for its bottle. But let’s begin at the beginning.

Lost season 1 was a TV phenomenon. Everyone was talking about it and it was only natural that I watched. And I enjoyed that first series. I did – it was never going to be one of my top ten shows but it was so watchable and the mysteries kept you coming back for more. Good stuff. And then that second season…

What a mess. All of a sudden, the show became slow, turgid and not at all fun to watch. Mysteries were not answered – there were just more mysteries piled on top of others. It became a frustrating fan experience. And, bizarrely enough, we all knew why. Because Lost was a network TV show, it had to be planned to last 7, 8, 9 or more years, or however long the show was popular and profitable. Watch ER now after 15 years and there aren’t many familiar faces from the early years. People quit the hospital, got promotions or got other jobs, retired, etc. However, on Lost, every character has a destiny, a purpose. They can’t just have everyone leave and get a new planeload of passengers to crash there for season 12. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, etc are there for the long haul and those who have come and gone in the last five years have all played their part in the mythology of the island.

Right after this poor season and with the beginning of season 3 I was ready to drop Lost like a bad habit. Season 3 starts sooooo slowly, with our heroes trapped in cages for what feels like months. I pretty much only kept up with the show at this time out of convenience. It was on Sundays at 10, so what else was I going to be doing? I’m glad I stuck with it, though boy, am I glad I stuck with it. Because then the sun broke through the clouds and Lost became worth watching again. The fight-back began around episodes 13 (“The Man from Tallahassee”) and 14 (“Exposé”), both of which showcased what Lost does best. “Tallahassee” was a brilliant mythology episode, linking the pasts of Locke and Sawyer and bringing satisfying closure to the two characters with the most interesting back-stories. “Exposé” was an incredible stand-alone episode dominated by the nobody characters of Nikki and Paolo. This one show placed away from the main business of the island was the nearest Lost could come to something like Buffy’s musical episode or Dr House being stuck on a plane. Something that breaks the weekly formula and is a hell of a lot of fun to boot.         

I was enjoying Lost again and season 3 ended with one hell of a cliff-hanger – we were no longer seeing a flash-back, but a flash-forward. We were off the island. Even better, the producers announced would have 3 more 16-episode seasons and that was all. No longer would they be straining at the leash to keep things open indefinitely – the storywriters could get on with telling their story. Or in other words, take the noose off their ambition.  

Suitably, season 4 started like a freight train and never let up. Reduced to 14 episodes by the strike, it was fast, funny and sleek. Lost was not the lumbering dinosaur of TV shows anymore; leave that to the stumbling, stuttering, misguided “Heroes”. Remember when Heroes started? Oh, how they laughed at Lost. So many quotes along the lines “we’ve got writers who actually know where they’re heading, we won’t start mysteries that we can’t answer, blah, blah, blah” – how well did that work out for you? It very soon turned into a sticky turd of a show, just as Lost found its sea legs again. Special mention here should go to the episode “The Constant” (episode 5), which is simply mind-blowing TV and to the introduction of Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), an instant favourite character of mine.   

Daniel Faraday

Season 4 never really put a foot wrong and really blew the cobwebs off, just at the time when shows can often become stale. And getting rid of the flashbacks (which could be deathly boring in the early years – Jack, Charlie, Sun and Jin, yes I’m referring to those ones) has been a massive boost to getting on with things. But I still wasn’t prepared how just how addictive season 5 would be. The time-travelling conceit that this latest season was built on could’ve been a ‘jump the shark’ moment, but instead it feels like exactly what needed to happen. There’s no other show I can compare it to.

Now I’m not saying it’s a Sopranos or a West Wing in terms of quality, but I honestly can’t think of another show that has the mix of action-adventure, science-fiction, romance, humour and a self-created mythology that all ties together so well. The show now feels like it has a depth to it and that it’s building towards something vital. They are so many threads, themes and ideas within the show that it is now impossible to boil it down to essentials. Every character has their own motives and beliefs – everyone is essential to the overall tapestry. No one feels like a supporting character anymore. I haven’t even mentioned Sayid, Ben, Juliet, Michael (and God knows who else), all of whom have contributed to a great cast in the most fascinating and addictive show being broadcast on TV right now.  

I like Lost. There, I admitted it.

John Connor: So… she’s an anti-Terminator Terminator? You’ve got to be shitting me.
T-800: No, I am not shitting you.

So let’s start by looking at the things we don’t like, shall we?

1) The T-X, The Terminatrix; whatever you want to call her. A failure on several levels. First, Kristanna Loken doesn’t bring to the role any of the menace or sheer iconic cool of Robert Patrick in T2 and Arnie before him. She’s also too advanced, in that Terminators aren’t supposed to be able bring moving parts through time (a fact well-established in the earlier films), but yet she’s firing laser cannons through her arms. No way – it’s ‘knives and stabbing weapons’ only. It also makes a mockery of the struggle. You worried that Arnold couldn’t beat the T-1000 in Terminator 2, but here, he doesn’t stand a chance. She’d destroy him in seconds.

2) The tone is far too light and some of the comedy almost camp. Yes, Terminator 2 was far lighter than part 1, but where they cracked the door ajar in T2, T3 blundered right through it to make a family-friendly version of the saga. Hopefully Terminator Salvation this summer will redress the balance.

3) Nick Stahl aint John Connor. He acts well, does his job professionally (and even has some nice chemistry with Claire Danes), but he simply aint John Connor. Edward Furlong is. I know he and Stahl have both played the character the same amount of times, but it is what it is. I hope Christian Bale can make me forget that fact, but we’ll see.

4) There are some unfortunate flourishes forced in to remind us that this really (honestly!) is a Terminator film. First off, Earl Boen’s cameo as Dr Silberman – first time you see it, it’s a nice touch, but on re-watching it’s a travesty. It turns the character into a joke and the unlikelihood of him being in that cemetery for that shoot-out doesn’t even bear thinking about. Also to be filed under this is John Connor trying to jog the T-800’s memory by saying “Hasta la vista, baby” – I cannot even express how much I hate this one line. Stahl’s seems embarrassed to be saying it, but who can blame him? We and he KNOW it’s a different robot. We and he KNOW there’s loads of them that look like Arnold. This line (shoe-horned in) serves only to make the audience groan and the character look stupid, or maybe that he’s not been paying attention. To his own life.

5) The ‘emotional’ climax for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800, where he is re-programmed by the T-X to kill John Connor, but somehow overrides this in order to stick to his original mission of saving him. What? Are we meant to interpret that the Arnie robot is somehow intrinsically good and likes people? And especially likes John Connor? Or is it that he has learned morality in the brief time he’s been back in our time? This is possibly worse than Clark Kent fighting Evil Superman in Superman III. There’s no defending it. It’s a bad idea. In T2, John learned to see the robot as a father figure, but that was because of his robotic qualities of consistency and honesty. The T-800 is NOT a good person deep down. He’s a Terminator who has been programmed to defend rather than kill. That’s all.

And yet, and yet, why do I like this film. Why will I defend it and open myself to the castigation of friends and well-wishers?

First off, it’s a Terminator film. It’s canon. And this isn’t a Tim Burton’s Batman situation where it’s more than easy to pretend Joel Schumacher didn’t happen. Kate Brewster (as Connor’s wife) is now resolutely part of the series and the mythology around her and her father, widens and deepens that of the existing films in a way which I think is a genuinely interesting addition to the overall arc. The inevitability of Judgement Day and the new way in which Skynet is created (via the military and Kate’s father) is a neat variation on Miles Dyson and his boffins in T2.

However, it’s true to say that Robert Brewster and his gang will never mean what Dyson, etc means to me. Miles Dyson has become short-hand for a genius, inventor, overreacher, nutty professor, Prometheus; all of the above. The events of The Terminator and, especially, Terminator 2 are enshrined in my childhood-movie-memory-bank and their legacy is safe and untouchable by any modern re-imagining. They are my Yellow Brick Road, Rosebud and “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” (or rather, “We got Skynet by the balls now, don’t we?”) all rolled into one. However, if a non-Cameron third effort was needed (and I’m sure it wasn’t), I’m glad they did it like this. The series had been so set on the idea of “no fate but what we make” that it was intriguing to see the other viewpoint; that some things are set and we do have a destiny. After all, if John Connor is destined to be a great leader, surely it makes sense that his wife and children have destinies of their own? And that his wife’s destiny would intertwine with his at some point (whether aged 9, 23, whenever), no matter what. After two films, there has to be a shake-up in the way things are done. The first Terminator went after John Connor after he was born, the second when he was a child. This one posits the idea that the T-X is going after his future lieutenants (including Kate, his second in command) as John is living ‘off the grid’ and is therefore untraceable. Now this might not have great impact on the story (it’s still John Connor and Arnie on the run after all), but it’s a lovely little touch to begin the film and enough to get it a few more points on my internal scoreboard.

I have said that Nick Stahl is not John Connor for me, but this deserves some clarification in that I do think he does well in the part. He and Claire Danes have the thankless human roles of running and screaming, but they do it as well as anyone could. They hint at their future romance (think how weird it would be to know a total stranger is definitely going to be your future spouse and love of your life) without the film ever slowing down to get mushy and they do have some nice character moments amid all the mayhem. I particularly like Stahl’s hesitancy and shock over the knowledge of his own future-death and Danes’ clinical demand to know. In fact, the T-800’s explanation of Connor’s murder by him, achieved due to John’s childhood affection for the robot, is my favourite scene in the film.

Arnold Schwarzenegger deserves a mention as the heart and soul of this franchise (how WILL Salvation cope without him?) – yes, he definitely too old for this shit, but the guy’s still in good shape here and he’s so vital to the series that part 3 could not have been made without him. And it’s only right and fitting that this be his last starring role.

The single aspect where I’d argue that Part 3 exceeds the other entries in the series is in its ending. Parts 1 & 2 both end in much the same way. The Terminator is defeated, the hero has sacrificed himself to the cause and Sarah Connor looks towards the future with cautious optimism. Not here. John and Kate realise that they have been sent (by Kate’s father) not to shut down Skynet as they believed, but in fact to a hideout, a nuclear bunker, to protect themselves from the titular Rise of the Machines. Judgement Day is inevitable, the war will happen and it’s the beginning of the end. This bleak, almost apocalyptic ending, is very unusual in a 12A blockbuster and the courage on the part of the film-makers should be applauded.

Finally, judged on its own merits (and not the merits of its two illustrious predecessors), it’s a damn fine action film, with neat set-pieces (John Connor being locked inside the animal cage, Sarah Connor’s coffin being full of weapons) and smash-ups on a big scale (the crane chase). Simply put, it is fun to watch and never for one moment am I bored or restless when watching the film, which I’ve seen several times now. It delivers as an action movie throughout and whilst it will always be the weakest of the Terminator films (unless McG really screws up this summer), there’s definitely a place in my heart for the little film no one wanted.

Role on part 4.

First I should probably say this. I’ve never watched an episode of Star Trek. In any of its forms. And I’ve seen a few of later films (with Picard), but none of the Kirk ones. I’m not anti-Trek (or anti the geeky reputation it has), but it never really appealed to me and even if it did; I’m a completist. I’d have to see from the very first episode ever broadcast to the dying days of ‘Enterprise’ (see, I know the names) and everything in between. And who has the time (and money) for that? Especially when you’re debating whether to start The Sopranos or The Wire or The West Wing again from the start. 

Anyway, enough of that. Suffice to say, I’m not a trekker/trekkie. So I approached this with as much objectivity as anyone. And yet the history/mythology of the franchise still proved to be undeniable in its effect on viewing this new film.

The film gets off to a wonderful start with George Kirk having to sacrifice himself to save the USS Kelvin from a Romulan attck (after having been Captain for 12 minutes) as he hears the first cries of his newborn son over a comms system. It’s moving, stirring stuff and if the presence of Dr Cameron from “House” as Momma Kirk is distracting (hell, why not get Hugh Laurie to deliver the baby?), it’s a minor quibble. This strong opening continues when showing us the respective growing pains of Kirk and Spock; the former a rebel with a chip on his shoulder and the latter an outcast, provoked and bullied into showing his ‘weak’ human emotions by classmates. 

One bar fight for Kirk later and we’re off to the academy. Zachary Quinto has received most of the praise coming the film’s way for his portayal of Spock (and he’s good, no question), but Chris Pine is the true revelation of the film and an unqualified success. He has the hardest job in the film, the advantage/disadvantage (?) of not looking like William Shatner and some qualities to convey that aren’t exactly likeable. He’s cocky to the point of arrogance, hot-headed and bullish, a cheat, a burden on his friends and somewhat slimy in his pursuit of Uhura (or any female creature – you’ll see), but Pine really makes you root for him. He’s a walking charisma bomb here and he’s got the cool that made Han Solo a hero to millions. This should be the making of him.     

Quinto is good as the genius Spock, but is undermined by; 

1)       Winona Ryder as his mother looks like his slightly older sister – bad idea. And another distracting piece of casting.

2)       An underplayed (to the point of being unnecessary) romance with Uhura. Was this in the original? Will real trekkers hate this as much as I did? I’ll find out from my two trekker friends in due course, I’m sure.

3)       Leonard Nimoy. I can fully understand why they wanted to cast him. The time-travel plot works fine and having him is a respectful tip of the hat to the originals, but for my money it just doesn’t work. For all the talk of how much Quinto looks like Spock…well, he sure don’t when the two are put next to each other in the movie. And Nimoy talking to Chris Pine and Simon Pegg as though they are HIS friends from long ago. No no no, it takes you out of the story completely and your mind is all on Shatner and the rest of the originals – surely the last thing JJ Abrams wanted.

However, as I’ve said above, the time travel plot, where Spock (Nimoy) comes back and changes things, does work. I like the idea of Nero (Eric Bana) chasing Spock through time and space to get revenge and it allows the film-makers to say that this is a ‘new’ reality, a parallel reality to the Trek that has gone before. This may prove useful in future instalments. 

As for the other cast members, Karl Urban is probably given the most to work with. His Dr McCoy is gruff, dependable and just sarcastic enough. Uhura, Chekhov and Sulu are mainly there to tick the box of having them (although has a moment to shine in the best setpiece – the parachute jump), but hopefully bigger contributions will come in the sequels. The major misfire is Simon Pegg as Scotty. The sub-plot, which finds him marooned on an out-post in exile, removes him from the group dynamic (he enters the film very late) and he’s played too much as light relief. Again, in the sequel (which must surely come), he’ll be part of the crew from the beginning and this should offer him the opportunity for more depth.   

 Eric Bana has kind of flown under the radar as being an important part of this film and this may be due to him being unrecognisable in the role. I think he makes a perfectly decent villain, especially as one who believes he is doing the right thing (or at least, that he has a valid reason for what he is doing) and his scream of “Fire everything!” was a highlight for me. 

A quick mention also, for Bruce Greenwood, a favourite of mine ever since his portrayal of JFK in “Thirteen Days”. His Captain Pike is a great role model for our young heroes to look upto; a father figure that Kirk badly needs at the beginning of the film. 

So, overall a decent film and a very good blockbuster. The real praise must go to JJ Abrams for creating a vision of Trek that can be enjoyed by obsessive fans, little kids and someone like me, all at the same time. After his stupendous “Mission Impossible 3”, he’s two-for-two directing-wise and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

“Don’t start trying to do the right thing, boy-o. You haven’t the practice.”

There are not many films where I would use the word ‘perfect’, but LA Confidential seems to scream for that tag somehow. Everything, from the costumes to the soundtrack, the casting to the dialogue, and the way the plot clicks into place is so ‘right’ that watching and re-watching is simply a pleasure and you somehow feel better for it. It’s a nourishing movie experience. This is despite the unsympathetic characters, the labyrinthine plot (which demands the aforementioned re-watching), the brutal violence and a general mood of sombreness. The sheer quality of the film shines through and makes it effortlessly enjoyable, in a way that is similar to, say, ‘The Godfather’. That’s not to say there isn’t humour, such as the interrogation of District Attorney Loew (“Call him off me, Exley!” “I don’t know how.”) 

It is easy to say that LA was robbed at the Oscars by the Titanic juggernaut and safe to say, it was. But with a film this good, awards hardly seem relevant. You have to bear in mind that not Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey or James Cromwell was nominated for their stellar performances. If not one of them was acknowledged as being award-worthy, then there’s something wrong with the awards.  

Guy Pearce as Ed Exley is, in theory, the ‘hero’. He’s a good cop with principles, ability and ambition. When we first meet him, he’s on the rise, maybe not too popular around the department, but sure to have a good career. Ed’s determined to do the job the right way, as evidenced by his ‘pep talk’ with Cromwell’s Captain Dudley Smith. At this point his ambitions might suffer because of his morals, but that won’t last. The events of the film and his progress within the police department will bring out his worst qualities, until we see the peeling layers of his own gradual corruption and the bubble of his priggish self-righteousness is burst. Pearce isn’t exactly likeable or unlikeable in his performance, but instead gives a portrayal of a fully human character, with many deep flaws, but also brains and ability as a detective.

Russell Crowe here set his career on a path right to the top with his Bud White. At first glance, he’s a one-dimension thug-cop, a bruiser used by Dudley Smith to keep the bad guys in line by being even worse. As Exley becomes evermore corrupted by the Nite Owl case and its connection to Fleur de Lis, White slowly becomes more moral (if that’s the right word), first through his tender relationship with the prostitute Lynn (Kim Basinger), with whom he can reveal himself emotionally (his motivations and character are all-too-understandable given his past), and then through his desire to become a real detective and not merely a tool for violence. White and Exley’s eventual teamwork is what solves the case and it’s only through the combination of their better selves that this is possible, White striving to be a better man and Exley knowing that what he has become is beneath him.

Bud White: The Nite Owl case made you. Do you want to tear all that down?
Ed Exley: With a wrecking ball… You want to help me swing it?

Kevin Spacey arguably steals the show as Jack Vincennes (“Hollywood Jack”, “The Big V”), the deliberately shallow man with the glamour and the flash, who looks inside himself and still doesn’t find much depth. He does, however, find enough conscience to try and solve the case (as well as get himself back involved in his real passion, advising on a television show) and he pays the price for this, although you could argue justice is done. His murder is the moment of the film, the gasp-inducing shock that shows that we aren’t playing anymore. I simply would not believe anyone who claimed they saw this coming the first time they watched the film. A truly great twist, so good in fact, it was stolen and used in ‘Minority Report’, another one of my absolute favourites. Spacey as Vincennes is as good as he’s ever been and nails a hundred tiny moments, from his impression of Smith (“just keepin’ the streets safe boys”) to staring at himself and his bribe money when he’s realised the consequences of his actions.    

Kim Basinger was rewarded with an Oscar for her performance and while it would be unfair to claim that she didn’t deserve it (for what is her best performance by a distance), I can’t help but feel it was also a nod to the whole ensemble. Lynn Bracken is the most clichéd role, the “tart with a heart”, but Basinger does well within this constraint to find the woman who is honest about herself and her job and able to see the same honesty and decency in Bud (and the corruption in Ed).       

The plot is far too complex and detailed to go into properly here. Suffice to say, the more you watch the film, the more rewarding it is. I’m glad I read the novel afterwards as it filled in some useful backstory and gave me a greater understanding of the film, even though there are some major differences. The film and the book can stand separately but complement each other – the only other case I’ve found of this happening was with ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. The plot is set in motion by the events of ‘Bloody Christmas’ (the vicious beating of some Mexican suspects) and does not let up from there. Violence, murder, deception and sex. It’s all here. Off the record, on the QT and very hush-hush.

LA Confidential is one of those happy accidents, where an unfilmable novel was adapted by an untested screenwriter and a seemingly hack director, cast with unknown leads in a thoughtful, intricate period-piece and yet the result is staggering. Beautiful to look at (and listen to), expertly played by all and full of quotable dialogue and great sequences (Exley’s interrogation of the Nite Owl suspects, Exley vs White, Exley and White vs Loew, the Motel showdown). However, despite obvious highlights, every scene is vital, not just in being relevant to the action, but also by being alive with drama and oozing with style. In short, a masterpiece.