A Dysfunctional Family

Luc Besson can count among his directing credits at least one amazing drama (The Professional) and one laugh-out-loud funny comedy (The Fifth Element).  Well, two out of three, as Meat Loaf might remind us, ain't bad.

The Family has several things going for it - a strong, strong cast of A-list actors (Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer as the parents and Tommy Lee Jones as the weary FBI agent charged with keeping them alive and off the radar) and of up-and-comers (John D'Leo and Dianna Agron [Quinn on Glee] as the teen children).  The film begins as a dark comedy based on the premise of a mob family being relocated to a small village in Normandy and the fish-out-of-New-York-waters tale shows promise.  But the film later veers into much darker, serious territory and, for me, the swerve didn't work.  It was as if Besson was trying to smash together the zany antics of Fifth Element (and the strong musical score of that film) with the heart-wrenching bloodbath of The Professional.  Tricky at the best of times - and this isn't the best of times.

That's a shame, as the comedy bits really do work.  There's good chemistry between the actors (De Niro and Jones are especially fun to watch) and the unlikely chain of events that brings the family's location to the attention of the imprisoned, yet living comfortably, mob boss is fun to watch, as is a lengthy bit about a film society screening mix-up.  But overall, the film just doesn't work.

Maybe a rental.  Maybe.  And while you're at it, pick up a few other films - like The Professional and The Fifth Element.  And, just for fun, grab Stardust which features both Pfeiffer and De Niro.

Walter White Wednesday 72

Breaking Bad doesn't usually do cliffhanger episodes, but the latest episode, "To'hajiilee" ended on a wooly-doozer.  As the final episodes come hurtling down the pike, it becomes more and more obvious that things will not end well - and not just for Walt.  There will be spoilers in this post, so please take that into consideration if you decide to read on.

First, my co-author, Ensley, has written brilliantly about this episode over at his blog and I suggest you check that out.  One of the best aspects of co-writing is the fact that we see different things when we watch and I think having the two perspectives makes for a stronger book - and Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad is coming along nicely.  We're really in the final 30-day push here, although there will be some loose ends to tie up (in a far less bloody fashion than Walt would probably employ) after the manuscript draft is submitted for these final eight episodes.  (OK - spoilers after the jump.)

We know that Jesse has been an avid student of Walt's (well, at least in the meth-making field; his high school chemistry work was apparently subpar) since the two first teamed up back in Season 1.  Turns out that Jesse wasn't just learning chemistry.  Having decided to turn sharply against Walt after discovering Walt's role in Brock's poisoning, Jesse is playing for keeps.  Back in "Rabid Dog," Jesse howled, "He can't keep getting away with it!" but later, having regained a sense of calm (and having come down from whatever chemical cocktail was dusted on that disc on the dashboard), he is resolved to hit Walt "where he really lives."

Interestingly, that's not Walt's family.  Jesse's not interested in going after Skyler, or Junior, or (God forbid) baby Holly.  No, Walt's the one who will stoop to injuring children.  Jesse knows that, despite all Walt's pious posturing about doing everything for the family, what truly matters to Walt is buried in seven barrels in the desert of the To'hajiilee Navajo Reservation.

Walt, who I have argued is the true "rabid dog," has loosed Todd's neo-Nazi Uncle Jack and crew on Jesse and Walt discovers that some things can't be taken back.  Make no mistake - this is Walt's doing and it's his fault.  Sure, yeah, he didn't mean for anything bad to happen.  That and a buck will get you a cup of diner coffee.  He set these wheels in motion and he's going to have to live with that.  And we know he lives (previous episodes have indicated that, going back to "Live Free or Die"), but I seriously doubt that goes for everyone else out in the Place with No Memory.

Three to go.

By the way - just yesterday, we got word that we could release the cover photo for Wanna Cook?  We're thrilled with the work ECW has been doing on behalf of the book so, to paraphrase Shelley (and Walt) "Look on our works, ye Mighty, and pre-order!"  (You can do that here!)

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Back in 2000, a bouncer-turned-actor starred in a Little Movie That Could called Pitch Black.  Introducing a character known as Riddick and playing with classic themes such as our fear of the dark and fear of the unknown, Pitch Black succeeded well enough at the box office to spawn a sequel a few years later called The Chronicles of Riddick.  The larger budget (and Judi Dench!) didn't translate into a bigger and better story and the franchise seemed to be relegated to cult status.  Then came the Fast & Furious franchise and Vin Diesel had enough clout to start the ball rolling for a third Riddick film.  (It took some doing, too.  Diesel reportedly considered mortgaging his own house to raise the cash.)

Was Riddick worth it?

Probably.  It's a grim, anti-heroic tale and we seem to like our heroes conflicted and deep, deep into the gray areas of life these days.  There are some cliches that I wish had been avoided, but overall, it's a good science fiction thriller set on an incredibly inhospitable world that would never, ever reward softness or hesitation.  Riddick is set up as a basically good guy who does bad things only in order to survive.  (Hey, he even has a puppy!) There are solid performances throughout, especially by Diesel and Katee Sackhoff (late of Battlestar Galactica fame).  But here is also one of the big flaws.

The language throughout the movie is coarse and repetitive - to the point where I was marveling at the strain the script put on the "f-word" to serve as noun, verb, adjective, adverb and (just maybe) gerund.  Sackhoff's character is the only female and she is clearly established as tough-as-nails, capable, and not interested in men, despite her given name of "Dahl."  At one point, Diesel makes it clear that he's going to have sex with her, but only because she's asked him to, "sweet-like."  My radar went up immediately - surely they weren't going to go down the "all a lesbian needs is the right man" path, right?  To be fair, the later scene is just ambiguous enough that you could read it as "no sex, they just were bantering" but I don't think so.  I just hate that sort of thing - why is Dahl's sexuality an issue in the first place?  It's not a topic that comes up with any of the men-folk.  And Sackhoff is the only named character we see naked (or showering, for that matter.  Hygiene is apparently only an issue for female bounty hunters).  It's lazy and Riddick doesn't benefit from it.

In short, Riddick is not a bad film.  It's not great, but it's better than average.  The "R" rating is well deserved - lots of graphic violence and language that could blister the paint off a wall.  If you enjoy seeing rough justice and the ultimate survivor taking on an entire world bent on killing him, Riddick is for you.  Just don't take the kids.

By the way - I'm becoming a bit of a Diesel fan.  He comes across as a thoughtful actor in his approach to his craft - not what I was expecting, and shame on me.  Check out Find Me Guilty for an idea of the depth he can bring to a character.  But I still have major problems with the Dahl/Riddick dynamic here.

Walter White Wednesday 71

Ever notice how much Breaking Bad references movies?  It happens in nearly every episode and the references are worth paying attention to.  From Scarface to last week's mention of Hooper, this is a show that doesn't mind name-dropping.  So when Old Yeller came up in this week's episode (aptly titled "Rabid Dog"), I sat up straight.

So please - read on, but be aware that there are spoilers ahead.

Really - I just want to talk.

Everyone seems to be speculating that "Old Yeller" refers to Jesse, but I'm not convinced.  See, Old Yeller is one of those movies that most people know, even if they haven't seen it - that's how deeply ingrained this tragedy of shouldering the weight of adult responsibility has become in the American psyche.  Old Yeller is a faithful dog that worms his way into the hearts of his adopted family with his devotion and tricks.  Eventually, that loyalty and desire to defend the family earns him rabies when he tangles with a wolf and (just to remind you) rabies is incurable.  Yeller's family hopes against hope that he won't develop the disease, but he does, at which point the dog, who has done absolutely nothing wrong and has defended his family in the tradition of all the Best Dogs, must be put down by the not-yet-adult oldest son of the family.

Reading that, Jesse's not Old Yeller.

But Walt is.

Think about it.  Walt's desire to provide for his family drove him to the drug trade and, once bitten, he decided to live with the sting.  Gradually, he's become sicker and sicker, going from making a sandwich for a captive Krazy-8 to coldly planning the mass murder of witnesses.  If Jesse is read as Walt's adopted son - well, I think Jesse might be headed to the corn crib with a rifle.

Then again, Breaking Bad almost never does what I expect it to do.  Maybe the M-60 in the trunk is Walt's putting-down-the-dog rifle.  Maybe Skyler's the sick dog ("What's one more?" chilled me.)  Maybe it's Hank, who's turned sharply from the bluff, hale-fellow-well-met agent we met in the pilot.  At this point, none of the main characters (with the exception of Jr., who's always had more of a supporting role) can claim innocence.  But who's actually rabid?  And who's the heartbroken Travis Coates?

Oh, and Old Yeller will break your heart.  Watch the clip, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Four to go.

Dignity in Labor

Today is Labor Day in America and let's take just a moment in the midst of the summer cookouts and end-of-wearing-white to think about that.  Labor Day was not begun as a de facto end of summer celebration; rather, the holiday has its roots in bloody protest.  Workers, fed up, took to the streets to demand better working conditions and we should all be grateful.  The 40-hour work week, worker's compensation, and end to child labor - these are all direct results of the labor movement in this country.

Work should have dignity.

That notion is at the heart of the soul of Lee Daniels' The Butler.  (The long title is the result of an earlier movie called The Butler, but I'm going to truncate it from here on in this post.)  The Butler is one of those "inspired by actual events" movies and those can get tricky.  Let me make this point clear - this is not a biopic.  The character of Cecil Gaines (played by Forest Whitaker) is based on Eugene Allen, who served in the White House through eight administrations and saw history change and swoop and reverse itself.  Other characters are fictionalized to the point of being flat-out made-up.  (You can fact check The Butler here and here, and I'm sure there are plenty of other sources as well.)

Here's the thing - I don't care.  The overarching history of this film is solid, while the question of "did X really happen to Y?" doesn't interest me all that much, since the film is not pretending to be a biopic.  The civil rights movement proceeded in fits and starts.  Not all white people were horrible, but many were.  Not all black people agreed with Dr. King, but many did.  And the violence was widespread, ugly, and all too frequent.  Our history is a bloody one and we like the sanitize that by saying, "Oh, let's not dwell on that.  It's so unpleasant and now things are different."

Really?  Tell that to the black teenager who gets followed in a store.  Tell it to the woman who gets paid 20% less than her male counterpart for doing the same job.  Tell it to the gay couple who can't file a joint state tax return.  Tell it to the Sikh wearing a turban, or the Muslim woman wearing a headscarf, or, or, or.

We have yet to fulfill the promises of the Preamble.  We're doing better at "securing the blessings of Liberty," but no, we're not there yet.  The Butler shows us how far we've come.  It's a movie that we all need to see.  This isn't "black history."  It's our history.  Also, the star-studded cast is astonishing to watch - I won't even try to list all of the main performers, much less the smaller roles.  Just - go see this.  Take children.  Parts of this movie are harsh to watch.  I'm willing to bet they were harsher to live through.