Listen or Die: Episode 4

Listen in to Episode 4 of "Listen or Die" reviewing the Game of Thones episode, "What is Dead May Never Die."

http://reeltimepodcast.org/2012/04/16/listen-or-die-3-a-game-of-thrones-podcast-2/

Listen or Die: Episode 3

Listen in as Todd and Jenny critique the newest episode of Game of Thrones, "The Night Lands."

http://reeltimepodcast.org/2012/04/09/listen-or-die-3-a-game-of-thrones-podcast/

Listen or Die: Episode 2

Listen in as Todd and Jenny discuss the season 2 premiere of Game of Thrones, "The North Remembers."

http://reeltimepodcast.org/2012/04/02/listen-or-die-a-game-of-thrones-podcast-2/

Series Review: Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights (FNL) is one of the greatest television series of this past decade, and possibly all time.  Expanding on a book and a film of the same name, the tv series took the themes of small-town communities, sports culture, and relationships and proceeds to tell the story of a town, its high school football team(s), and the family at the center of it.  Relying on solid writing, strong acting, and a focus on detail, FNL managed to make every game matter, every fight painful, and every triumph breathtaking.

The show is anchored on the relationship of Eric and Tami Taylor, played masterfully by Kyle Chandler nd Connie Britton.  Their on-screen marriage is quite possibly both the most realistic and the best acted example of a television relationship that exists.  There is a quiet confidence in the writing and the acting, with neither character ever trying to impose or force the relationship or it's trials on the audience.  It feels like we, as the audience, are just in the room with them as they live, not having actors perform for us.  Together, the Taylors are the heart of the show, and provide the necessary balance for the teenage characters' drama to play off of. You want to see both of them succeed and be happy, because in short order they become two people whom you feel you've known your whole life, and love dearly.

The show progresses through five consecutive seasons of football in the All-American town of Dillon, Texas.  The first episode presents the show as a pseudo-reality show documenting the apparent rise of a football dynasty for the Dillon Panthers with the reunion of Coach Taylor and his star pupil QB.  We initially meet the major players on the team via interviews with reporters and camera crews, assuring that the audience at first only sees the stereotypes that these players often represent in our culture.  There's the arrogant, loud-mouth running back, the composed and media-trained star quarterback, and the drunk, loser redneck fullback.  Oh, and the quiet, unassuming freshman back-up quarterback who is just happy to be on the team so he can have some relief from having to work a demeaning job and care for his infirm grandmother.  But, then something happens.  In the very first game, a horrible accident occurs that leaves the star QB seriously injured, and the unassuming back-up is thrust into the spotlight.  At that moment, the show stops being a pseudo-reality and starts shooting in more traditional format, although the look of a hand-held voyeur camera never completely leaves the show.

As the series progresses, we see how every character subverts, and eventually destroys any kind of stereotype or pre-conceived notion we had of them.  Every character undergoes major growth and change, often surprising us in wonderful ways.  The best example of this is Tyra, the smoking hot blonde that seems to live for parties and will seemingly follow in her older sister's footsteps all the way to the strip club.  She finds confidence in her academic life from an unlikely source and feverishly pursues a way out of the town and culture that claimed her family.  And, the show is not afraid to rotate out older characters, as life takes them away from Dillon and it's football team, and then add brand new characters that provide entirely new stories and actively shape our remaining characters in new ways.  Vince, not part of the show until season 4, is one of the best characters on the show, and his presence creates opportunity to explore new aspects of modern America and how the line between coach and father can blur.

 The show also takes a lot of pride in it's locations.  Texas Hill Country provides some of the most beautiful scenery in America, and it is utilized well in the show.  The unique culture of Texas in regards to high school football makes for intriguing drama that has roots deep in the identity of America and how it evolves, or in some cases, doesn't.  The intimate setting provides little distraction from what's important on the show, the characters.  In the end, no matter how many games were won or lost, the characters were what mattered, and made FNL shine.  You laugh, cheer, and cry with them as life unfolds, and when the series comes to it's bittersweet end, you feel as though you have lived a bit of your own life with these characters.  And that's the best possible thing for a tv show to do.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

You Listen or You Die: Episode 1

The first episode of the new Game of Thrones podcast I am co-hosting is now online!

http://reeltimepodcast.org/2012/03/19/listen-or-die-a-game-of-thrones-podcast-1/

Upcoming News

Just in time for Season 2 to start, the gregarious and lovely Jenny Kelly and myself will be starting a Game of Thrones podcast.  Reel Time has generously allowed us the platform to discuss our current favorite show airing, and I will be posting updates and new podcasts here as well as they air.  I hope you all will join me as Jenny and I dive into the magical, brutal, and sexy world of Game of Thrones on HBO!

http://reeltimepodcast.org/

Naked: A Review

Watching Naked for the first time is quite like getting a tattoo someplace awkward. It can be aggravating, abrasive, noisy, and downright unpleasant during the duration. However, once you are finished, and you sit back and admire the work done, it can be an entirely satisfying and meaningful experience. As we follow the bitter and egotistical Johnny across London, we are witness to a man who is entirely unsatisfied with the world around him, and will stop and take the time to let you know about it. He seduces women, only to use their attraction as a form of punishment against them. He pontificates and preaches at great length about subjects that run the gamut from nihilism to transhumanism regardless of the interest of his audience. He is both a victim and a tormentor, mixing pain and pleasure to further levy control over those he views as weak and therefore beneath him. And he can never stop moving. Whether it's to escape the inevitable consequences of his actions, or because he is afraid to become stagnant, Johnny is always running. Any time it seems like Johnny might become stationary due to someone or something, he flees.

As I watch David Thewlis slip into the skin of this manic-depressive pariah, I can't help but admire the talent shown in both actor and director here. Thewlis and Leigh create in Johnny a Hamlet for Generation X. Disaffected, bitter, reckless, but eloquent and painfully aware of his own brilliance, Johnny can't help but try and provoke everyone he meets for a chance to display his believed superiority. He scoffs at people who work regular jobs, mocking the normalcy and routine of it all, while he pinballs his way around whatever locale he just happens to find himself in with no direction or intention. He chases women, and then grows tired of them almost immediately. He steals books, money, food, and time from anyone he can. This behavior, while cheeky at best and reckless at worst, is echoed darkly by Leigh's scenes with Jeremy, the sadistic and corrupt landlord that uses his money and position to assert power over those he controls. Kept apart for almost the entirety of the film, once Johnny and Jeremy finally cross paths, it is a scene where Johnny is left completely vulnerable for the first time in the film, as all of Johnny's intellectual superiority is rendered useless. Johnny may be clever enough to survive outside of society and in spite of it; but Jeremy is almost the personification of the late 80's early 90's "high" society, and scoffs in the face of any threat posed by other people. He knows he has control because he is simply more dangerous than anyone else in the room.

Mike Leigh has been praised for his work on this film, and rightfully so. He is able to capture the ever-changing attitude of Johnny with shots that alternate from manic panning back and forth of two adjacent rooms, close-ups on characters' faces as they attempt to mask their emotions, or long stark wide shots as Johnny espouses his apocalyptic beliefs to a lone night guard or as he walks aimlessly down a filthy, dark alley. The film uses hand-held cameras to provide a jarring, jittery movement to the film at times to mirror Johnny's emotion, usually his mania. The prominent grainy texture of the film also adds to the overall state of Johnny's life and experiences, creating an atmosphere of unpleasantness that our main character seems to wrap himself in like a shroud.

Overall, I found Naked to be harsh and aggravating at times, but in a good way. It was engaging and interesting and never let up on me for a moment. It almost seems like a companion piece to Happy-Go-Lucky, with Johnny's crushing nihilism and pessimism in the face of normalcy countered by Poppy's almost impossible optimism in the face of the very same normalcy, and how society often reacts in similar fashions to these wildly different deviations of behavior. Whatever statement Leigh might be making on society's acceptance of the rejection of such personalities is second to his ability to craft such extreme personalities and then insert them into situations of near-painful averageness and set them loose for maximum entertainment.  7/10