Though episode 12 falls way off the pace, Homeland Season 5 is still worth watching

Homeland Season 5 was fantastic, tense, gripping engaging - choose your adjectives - for 11 episodes, but unfortunately there was also an episode 12, which in my view was a failure: the crisis that drove the plot (a plan to fill a Berlin train station with poison gas) is resolved in the first 15 minutes, and then we have another 45 minutes in which the writer-director wraps up the various friendships, romances, and betrayals among the key characters, leaving a few strands untied as we get ready for Season 6. A great spy show becomes Lifetime movie, sadly. But don't let that dissuade you. At least through 11 episodes this series is terrific, thanks in large part to the ever-expressive Clair Danes in the lead and Mandy Patinkin perfectly cast as her mentor, protector, and sometime antagonist in the CIA. The tense plot is timely and disturbing, as across the world this week tensions between the West and the Muslim world rise - and terrorist attacks continue. This may make it hard for some viewers to watch this series; there are some shied-your-eyes scenes, and of course we hope a series like this isn't giving any terrorist cell new ideas (I doubt that it is). Yes there are improbabilities throughout (e.g., what are the chances of Quinn's rescuer bringing him into the same building where a radical cell plots a terrorist attack?), but the series moves so quickly and the focus is so intense - every screen moment matters for the plot - that these slip right by us. We're caught up in the action.

All the hype about La La Land is justified

I hereby join the chorus in praise of Damien Chazelle's Hollywood musical La La Land, and what at talented writer-director he's turning out to be. I recognize that in some ways this movie is a great way for the film industry to recognize and congratulate itself, but let's also recognize that this is a daring venture. When was the last original Hollywood musical? From the opening sequence, a choral dance # staged on a traffic-jammed LA freeway (how did they get clearance to shoot this scene?), which recalls many great opening #s on stage and screen - somehow I thought immediately of the telephone # in Bye Bye Birdie (the pun-like title of La La Land may echo that as well) and onward - it's a story of two young people - Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in LA, each trying to make it, he in jazz and she as an actor-playwright - who have a "cute meet" - two, actually - and gradually become a star-crossed couple. The cinematography is daring and beautiful, w/ many visual homages to LA esp at night from the well-known moviescapes of Griffith Park, some really smart dialogue (I love their lengthy strained dinner conversation that ends with the blast of a smoke detector), and of course some fine musical duets. Neither has a great voice, neither is a great dancer - which just adds to the charm and pseudo-realism. The closing sequence, which I won't give away except to say it explores with grace and humor the whole span of their relationship and what might have been, is a killer, sure to bring tears to your eyes. Quibbles? OK: there's no single show-stopping #, in fact none that I can even recall a day after seeing the film - that's something it would need if this is to make a reverse course journey onto the stage, which I expect it will; for a movie that talks a lot about jazz, there's no real jazz # either, which seems to be a missed opportunity. But altogether it's a movie that draws heavily and consciously on Hollywood musical traditions and makes out of these traditions, clichés we might say, something contemporary and lively and entertaining. I'd thought maybe this movie was being over-hyped; it's not - the hype is justified.

What's realistic and what's not on Veep

Finished Season 3 and started Season 4 of the hilarious HBO Julia Louis-Dreyfus vehicle Veep, and continue to find it not only one of the best ensemble shows on TV but painfully accurate (and of courses extremely exaggerated for comic effect) about government operations and staff support. I'm sure that anyone with experience in the field will recognize the types, and I'll say no more about that. Over the course of the series, so far, we've watch JLD rise in power and in self-assurance - by the end of Season 3 (possible spoilers to follow) she ascends to the presidency when the prez - whom we never see and in fact whose name we never learn - resigns to care for the ill first lady - but she's still in midst of a failing campaign for election. All of this feeds her ego and leads to increasingly levels of tension, pressure, and jockeying for power among her staff and among a new set of sycophants and hangers-on. One thing I have to note that's not realistic: although it works as part of the drama, JLD would not bring her vice-presidential running mate into the position of VP on her ascendance; the Constitution calls for the new president to nominate a VP, for Senate approval (it's happened only once), so the position would be vacant for a while. First episode of Season 4, when JLD delivers her first State of the Nation Address and staff fumbles through multiple re-writes and then the ultimate disaster, the wrong v. posted on her Teleprompter, is any staff member's nightmare and, believe me, it's one episode that could almost certainly occur in real time.

Never thought I'd be rooting for the CIA, but ...

Catching up after a long gap with the great Showtime series Homeland, and finding Season 5, in which Carrie has (apparently - no one quite believes her) left the CIA to work for an international foundation based in Berlin, but never the less gets entrapped in a complex web of assassinations and attempted abductions - can't she just stay out of danger, for once? The plot is hard to unravel, but is something like this: Some hackers stumble upon a cache of CIA communications and leak them to a reporter (who works for the human-rights foundation where Carrie also works); reporter publishes, setting off a series of CIA head-rolls and sending her old boss, Saul, to Berlin to try to straighten things out. For reasons not at all clear to us, yet, Saul is using the super-agent Quinn to conduct some off-the-books (it seems) assassinations aimed at collaborators w/ the Hezbollah. Somehow, Carrie is on Quinn's hit list - we don't know why. Carrie figures out she's in danger, though, and in trying to determine who's after her she goes off her meds; as we've seen in other seasons, doing so gives her great energy and insight but makes her so unstable that those around her refuse to believe her - in this season, it's her German boyfriend, in a rather hapless role, who can't get the message straight. As always, Claire Danes and Many Patinkin are terrific in their roles (some others, not so much) and the series keeps your attention and keeps you guessing start to finish. Never thought I'd be "rooting" for the CIA , but the combo this week of Homeland and DJT idiocies at CIA hq in in Va have brought me around to the dark side, too.

A Japanese film that grows on you - although very slowly

The recent Japanese movie Our Little Sister grows on you - but very slowly. It's a film about 3 adult sisters living together - like girls in a college dorm or sorority, one remarks - in a ramshackle old house in a small Japanese coastal community; their father has just died, and their mother - long ago divorced from the father - has pretty much abandoned the girls. At the father's funeral, they meet their young half-sister, who is being shunned by her stepmother, and they invite her to come live with them - think of it as the Japanese version of Checkhov's 3 Sisters, but v 3.5. Each of the sisters has her own set of problems and issues: one drinks too much, one is employed in a retail job way below her capabilities, one is dating a married man with all of the attendant guilt, as that's exactly what broke up her parents' marriage. These issues emerge very slowly over the course of the 2+ hour movie. Similarly, the young half-sister only very gradually learns to express her hatred of her absent mother. For the most part, her transition to this new life is a breeze. In an American movie (and this may well be remade as one, I would think), all of these issues would be brought to the fore and to the boiling point right away. As the the half-sister, she enters an new school and all the kids love her and she makes the soccer team and becomes a star - whereas in an American version I'm sure she'd be bullied and would have to prove herself, etc. But give this film credit - it's paced and played much more like real life than like movie-life. I did notice that the film - a rare PG-rated film that seems primarily aimed at adults - is scrubbed clean in some ways: no sex scenes obviously but also no smoking and no use of cell-phones or electronic devices (does this purging have something to do w/ a Japanese rating code) - thought there drinking plays a pretty prominent role in the lives of the sisters and even in the plot of the film,  (the production and consumption of plum wine is part of a family tradition that holds the sisters together and even leads to a minor reconciliation with the mother who'd abandoned them). All told, it's a smart, realistic film that is worth the time span - just don't expect action, crises, or powerful emotional, soul-baring scenes (compare say with Bergman's Autumn Sonata for a mother-daughter film version with all of the latter).

Lingering questions at the end of Season 1 of Occupied

Continued praise for the smart, taut, and frighteningly realistic Norwegian series Occupied, about a Russian occupation of Norway and the rise of a resistance force within the country. The characters are complex and multidimensional - esp the beleaguered PM Jasper Berg - the villains are suitably loathsome yet somehow also human and vulnerable, the alliances are ever-shifting and tricky, and the action scenes keep you always on edge. In the final episodes of Season 1, the U.S. enters the story, in a shameful manner that we must hope never to see in reality (though it may give us a painful reminder of how we're coming to be seen by even our "allies"). Viewers will gradually become aware that there's no way all the plot elements can be resolved in 10 episodes, and sure enough you will not get a resolution at the end of episode 10 - but a cliffhanger, and an opening of a new phase of the story, keeping us on the hook for Season 2. In the interim, we can't stop thinking: Could it happen? Could Russia occupy a so-called friendly nation? If so, what we the reaction be? What would the occupied nation do? What would the world do? What would you do? Increasingly, these are not abstract questions; in fact, they're questions citizens of many countries have lived with and died with over the past century, and more. But in this age of bluster, posturing, snap decisions, and the potential for massive deaths and annihilation, these questions have new urgency. Despite all the nonsense and rhetoric of the campaign, America is not an occupied nation. But it's chilling: If Russia were to occupy Norway - in the Age of Trump, which one's our ally?

Great Norwegian sseries about a Russian occupation of Norway - and it could happen here

Continuing to enjoy (through episode 6) the Norwegian series Occupied, which may have seemed a far reach when it was in production, but today - not so far a reach. Can you imagine a Russian occupation of a NATO country, and the global acquiescence? The very silence and absence of the U.S. in this story is in fact part of the story. The basic plot line: A Green Party government in Norway makes good on a pledge to end all oil and gas production; in response, a Russian force threatens the PM and takes over the oil and gas fields, "temporarily." But the Russians soon become entrenched, and without realizing how, the Norwegians find they're an occupied country. This occupation leads to the formation of various oppo groups, notably a Free Norway terrorist cell. The government is torn between resistance and appeasement, and feels compelled to staunch any violence aimed at the Russian "guests," putting the various central characters - PM and his team, a journalist, a state security officer, and a few others - in many compromising, delicate, and dangerous positions. Great series, tense and - sadly - very credible. It could happen here.

Only reason to watch this film is the performance of Elizabeth Moss

Let's see this movie received the incredibly low Netflix rating of only 1 star - which to me, based on the usual accuracy of Netflix reviewers - meant it was most likely worth watching. Wrong. There's only one reason to watch the dreary and pretentious 2015 ensemble film Queen of Earth, and that's to see in close-up Elizabeth (Peggy) Moss's performance as a deeply disturbed young woman. From the powerful first scene in which she appears in extreme close-up as a complete wreck, receiving the word from her narcissist, philandering boyfriend that their relationship is over, you know she's going to dominate this movie - and she does. Would that there were anything else to recommend. But in fact this movie, which covers the span of a week during with Moss visits the summer home of her best friend ostensibly to get away from her sorrows, has a plot that goes nowhere. Moss is no better (or worse) off at the end of the film than she was at the outset. It's just an opportunity to see her go through a thousand shades of misery and nervous breakdown - fighting with her friend and her friend's boyfriend, making a scene at a party, looking nasty and miserable during any attempt to have some fun, engaging in odd eating and hording habits, and generally begin sullen and disturbed. There are hints, never fully fleshed out, about her devotion to her late father, a well-known artist, and to a financial scandal that led to his suicide. In fact, the movie builds up many ominous themes and mood - aided by an eerie and effective original score - but all pretty much to no avail. Compare this, say, to a Bergman ensemble film such as Through a Glass Darkly or Persona, each about the demise of a mentally ill young woman, and you'll see the difference between character development and character exploitation. Moss is really talented, so let's hope she gets a good role in film someday, somehow.

An under-the-radar film about teenagers that's worth a look - Short Term 12

Destin Daniel Cretton's 2013 film, Short Term 12, is an under-the-radar film that in a better world would have received more notice. Of course it was a low-budget film w/ no known stars, at the time, though a few have built up pretty solid careers since this film (notably Brie Larson, the lead). The film is about a group of teenagers in a group home for troubled youth - most of them seem to have some kind of mental illness such as depression or severe autism; some may have had trouble w/ the law as well - and the staff members who care for and work with these kids, all of them dedicated, most of them with back stories of their own (the psychologist in charge of the mental-health services plays the heavy - convincingly). (Also, the film opens with the orientation of a new staff member, and a brief flare-up between the "newbie" and a long-term resident; unfortunately, the plot thread gets lost.) This film seems to be quite honest and accurate in its account of this slice of a little-known facet of contemporary life; except for the ending, which I found too upbeat and tidy, it doesn't romanticize the kids or the staff - there are plenty of flaws and ambiguities all around. I'm actually surprised this film didn't have a later life as a miniseries - much as Friday Night Lights emerged from an initial feature film (albeit a documentary) - in that the characters and their relationships are intriguing, enigmatic, and could be explored much further; also, in a setting such as this new personalities show up on the scene on any given day.

Is The Innocents really based on "true events"?

The 2016 French film The Innocents is yet another European examination of the aftermath of World War II; as this is such well-worked ground, recent films have sought out - and found - unusual and unexamined niches in this territory - one of which has been the religious outposts, convents and monasteries, and how they endured during such massive trauma and upheaval. Like the recent Ida, The Innocents looks at a Polish convent and develops from this unlikely setting an excellent and though-provoking drama. The plot: A nun or novice leaves the convent and persuades a French nurse assigned to a French military hospital to come to the convent for an emergency; one of the sisters is pregnant and struggling w/ a breach delivery. We soon learn that many of the nuns are pregnant; the convent had been over-run for three days by Russian troops, who repeatedly raped and assaulted the women. Against orders and at great risk, the nurse makes repeated visits to the convent to help the nuns through their medical crisis; but a great moral and religious crisis ensues: What to do about the babies? I won't give anything away. The narrative is well paced, tense, sad, troubling, and to my mind credible. The film states at the outset that it is based on a true incident, but neither the closing sequence nor the credits give any information about the source material, except to say that the movie is "based on a story idea" by so and so. Hm. In any event, another fine film within the European tradition of historical realism.

Some beautiful animation and special effects, but A Monster Calls covers well-trodden ground

The recent British fantasy film A Monster Calls seems to have the problem that it's a movie made for children but children probably won't like it - adults may, to some degree. The story, based on a fantasy novel, is about a preteen boy somewhere in rural or semi-rural England, who's sensitive, artistic, and bullied - in other words, very familiar ground for YA fiction and film. But it's carried to an extreme: the boy is completely isolated; lives w/ his mother who is dying of an unnamed disease, his cold and nearly wicked grandmother is trying to get control of the young boy, which he greatly fears; his father lives half-way around the world (in LA) and is in a 2nd marriage with a young daughter from this marriage - he invites the boy to visit over xmas but is clear that he doesn't want the kid living with them (hardly room for 3, he says, and $ is tight). In school, the kid is bullied by 3 toughs each about twice his size, and the teachers are completely indifferent - hey, I know that a lot of bullying takes place in school; kids can be mean, but not usually sadistic, except in this kind of movie. And, throughout the course of the film this child has not a single relationship with a friend, neighbor his age, anyone - again, extremely unlikely for a handsome, talented, nice kid. Well, with all this set-up, of course the kid has nightmares and, eventually, hallucinatory fantasies that involve a giant yew tree turning into a monster (w/ the voice of Liam Neeson) who counsels the kid - more or less like a psychotherapist (which is what he really needs). The monster huffs and bellows and announces: I'm going to tell you 3 stories and then you will tell me 1! At which point I'm thinking: Can't we just get to the one be done w/ it? But not, the movie works through its schematic plot, ticking along toward the inevitable ending. A few things work in its favor, though: the film has the courage to not end happily ever after. Second, a nice twist at the end helps us understand the tree-monster fantasies that torment the child. Third, and strongest point that really separate this movie from others in its genre: stunning special effects during the monster scenes (a nightmare come to life of destruction of a churchyard and cemetery, which plunges into a bottomless pit) and beautiful watercolor animations of the 3 tales that the tree-monster narrates. Will young viewers care for that or appreciate it? Doubt it. The movie's heart is in the right place. but it's covering some well-trodden ground and will have trouble finding the right audience.

Occupied is a tense and credible drama about an imagined Russian occupation of Norway

Been getting seriously into the Norwegian series Occupied, that posits a near-future situation in which a Green Party Prime Minister shuts down the entire oil and gas production in the country, an act that has consequences beyond Norway. The decision appears to upend the entire EU and leads almost immediately to Russian occupation of the offshore oil rigs and the resumption of production - and in effect a Russian occupation of Norway. The series focuses on the PM (caught between his ideals and a great deal of pressure of every sort from the Russian government), an intrepid reporter for a national newspaper or news magazine who uncovers a lot more about the occupation than the government is willing to admit, and one of the PM's bodyguards who gets drawn into playing the role of liaison between the Norwegian and Russian security forces. The drama unfolds carefully, each episode (have seen the first 3 of 10) representing a new month, but the pace of each episode is tense and energetic; it seems pretty accurate about the operation of the government and the management or mismanagement of the media, and the team builds a terrific tension, as the Russian occupiers are a truly cynical bunch. The series, unlike many, is entirely credible - doesn't take much, in our current political climate, to imagine a Russian occupation taking place in Norway, or elsewhere, without any opposition from the international community.

Why I've seen enough of Black Mirror

Although it made my 10-best list and the lists from many others as well, we've reached a point where we've seen enough of the Netflix series Black Mirror (midway through season 3). In a word, it's just too creepy. As noted previously, w/ the exception of the boring episode 2 every episode is compelling and engaging start to finish. All explore some way in which technology can change (and has changed) our lives, mostly for the worse. Some are speculative and set in the indeterminate future (imagining that we can, for example, have implanted devices that allow us to replay scenes from or post or to "block" people we don's to see, hear, or acknowledge); others could take place right now. The episode saw last night was one of the latter: it's about a teenage boy whose laptop is invaded by malware that enables someone, somewhere to see and record him through the camera eye. They record him watching some pornography and masturbating; then they message him w/ blackmail - they'll send the video to all of his contacts unless he follows a set of instructions. I won't give anything away, except to note that the outcome is grim and horrid. Possible? Yes. Believable? Possibly. A fair warning? Sure - be careful what you download, and don't act like an idiot. But the overall mood of this episode and of most of the others is bitter and dark and cynical. Is technology evil only? Can only bad things happen in this world? As with all of the Black Mirror episodes (this is an anthology series and it doesn't matter what order you watch or which you watch; each is independent), at the end you're tense and unsettled and feel a little bit contaminated. I give the series full credit for accomplishing its goals and attaining its ends; I just don't want to go there any more.