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Haven, Season 5, Episode 9, Morbidity

Nov11

(As usual, spoilers)

Dwight! Ok, ok, I did miss you!  This was a great episode for Dwight, a little flirtation with the CDC lady, and also one of the best lines, ever: Got a new crossbow! The line was said to recurring character Chris Brody (Jason Priestly), who has the one of the most comedic Troubles: everyone who looks at him thinks he’s awesome.  Both his reactions to this charm and the reactions of people charmed by him are hilarious.  Brody’s world-weary abruptness has comedic timing and the shameless flirtation of both men and women smitten by him reveal cute, willing to please desires. Fortunately, Brody is not evil enough to take advantage of everyone around him, or he would be Haven’s and the world’s biggest threat.

Nathan and Audrey: Silly socks and adorableness abound.  I like them together, but like them most when they are solving Troubles together.  And they deal with two really weird Troubles: One involving a dancing bear costume with a dead man inside, a bear costume that multiplies, the second, a Trouble affecting the Troubled, giving them a sickness and bubbly lips, and activating their Trouble powers.

Gloria and her sharp wit and dry humor are also back in this episode.  Laura Mennell (Alphas – a great show that unfortunately got cancelled) does well as CDC doctor Charlotte Cross, and I look forward to her continued presence and interactions with Dwight on the show.

Duke and Mara: Steamy flirting in a scene reminiscent of Audrey’s first meeting with Duke. Mara’s manipulation of Duke’s loyalty to his friends seems to be working, but he’s a poker player, so he might just be pretending to get her to trust him.  Mara needs to get off the boat soon, because her prisoner status is starting to get a bit tedious.  Her idea of Audrey’s identity is interesting, that she is nothing more than a husk.  Mara seems to consider herself Audrey’s maker, as well.

Overall Arc: The Troubled have genetic markers? !!! X-Men ahoy! Joking aside, the markers will likely be the way they figure out how the Troubles were made and/or the origins of the Thinny world.  Maybe the markers all contain Mara’s DNA.

The cliffhanger ending shows the alignment of Duke and Mara, and the sad realization that Duke is still not quite one of the Scooby gang.  He is on the outside now, not because of his wrong-side-of-the-law past, but because he’s a Pandora’s Box of Troubles waiting to spill over into the streets of Haven.  Plus, Sasquatch taser’s him! Dwight claims he’s for doing what’s best for the town, while Duke and Nathan are focused on themselves.  Time will tell if that’s true or not.  Dwight’s attraction to Charlotte might cloudy his thinking, and what if she isn’t who she says she is? Maybe she has an ulterior motive to be in Haven?

Haven, Season 5, Episode 8: Exposure

Nov4

(Spoilers)

“Exposure” was more or less a typical Haven episode.  The fixing of the “ghost” trouble wasn’t super surprising, as it was obvious that the photographer was responsible.  Her not-actually-dead-fiancee-now-turned-murderer was a bit creepy, and a testament to the real reason people fear change.  Traumatic changes often either bring out the very best or the very worst in a person, and for many of us, well, we’d rather not know how what kind of a person we’d become (or actually are).

Vince and Dave Teagues were the best part of the episode.  It was great to see them try to talk their way out of a tricky situation, and even funnier to think of them performing similar shenanigans throughout the years to prevent the greater world from hearing about the Troubles of Haven.  I’m guessing Dave’s leg infection will feature prominently in the near future.

Mara/Audrey: Is it awful that I now find Audrey boring?  Time will tell if Audrey is actually, well, Audrey, and not just a shadow of her, but short-term Mara is far more intriguing simply because of all she knows.  Speaking of things she knows: Woohoo! A partial explanation for how she and Audrey became separated! Again, it’s not terribly specific, but Mara knows that Duke chose to separate the two entities instead of having Audrey take over Mara’s body.  What’s Duke’s motivation here?  Likely, it has something to do with wanting to rid himself and his family of the Troubles.  Hopefully, it’s not amorous, though he may try to manipulate Mara in that capacity (or vice versa).  He also is still dealing with the fact of Jennifer’s death, and this may be affecting his judgement.  In addition, we learned through Mara that Duke’s mother may be important to the overall Trouble arc and more backstory about Duke.

As things stand, Duke and the Teague brothers may be the ones to power through and figure out what everything means.  Nathan and Audrey, while helping, are so focused on each other that it risks making the characters irrelevant to the larger arc.  I’m sure, though, that the writers will get them back on track if not in Episode 9, then 10.  Audrey in particular won’t rest until she finds out who or what she actually is, and who or what Mara is.

Dwight was not present this episode, and I’m sorry to say I didn’t even miss him.  As much as I like his character, his relevancy (like the Guard’s) is floundering.  Gloria was not in this episode either, but her character is even more minor than Dwight’s, so it doesn’t bother me as much if I don’t miss her.  Who I do miss (sorry to harp on this) is Audrey being Audrey again, and I do so hope that the next few episodes will fix that, as I don’t want her identity to simply now be as a couple with Nathan.  As much as I like a good love story, Haven is not first and foremost a love story.  It’s a science fiction mystery, and Audrey’s journey to understand her identity is the biggest part of that.

Haven, S5, The Old Switcheroo Pt. 2 and Nowhere Man

Oct27

(Spoilers)

The Old Switcheroo Pt. 2

She’s back! Amusing episode ending with a great scene of Audrey being exorcised from Mara (or vice versa).  So, I was wrong in that they weren’t two people, they are, proving Nathan’s faith in true love.  Kudos also to Duke (in Nathan’s body) for thinking up the idea of using a Trouble to force Audrey out of Mara.

Great acting in this episode, and I think now that the Scooby Gang is trying to figure out both weekly troubles and unpuzzle the greater arc over the trouble origins, Haven feels like, well, Haven, again.  The best parts of this ep were Mara now obviously pretending to be Audrey to manipulate Duke and Nathan in their switched bodies, and the end scene with the three of them.  Pretty compelling.  Also, the South Carolina Thinny thing is a freaky vacuum vortex!

Nowhere Man

Like Sherlock, LOST, and a few other shows, the writers don’t feel obligated to explain certain plot points, like how Audrey is now a separate person.  And that’s ok for now, but if the reason stays as being an unknown trouble it may hurt the impact of the show as a whole, for the show has always been about who or what exactly Audrey (and now Mara) is as well as why the Troubles exist.  Leaving an explanation for later, however,  keeps the momentum of the storyline going strong.

Nathan, dear Nathan, finally gets some lovely time with his one true and Duke has an interesting verbal sparring match with Mara.  Will there be a Duke/Mara relationship?  Could prove amusing, but perhaps too much fan service if the show goes that route.  And now Audrey is a separate person, yet no longer immune to the Troubles.  I think, though, that she will still be good at helping the Troubled despite that.

Trouble of the week: Awesome.  A Trouble that flips people to a ghost-like existence while leaving a burnt shadow figure on the floor.  And Nathan’s the one who gets ghosted!

The Guard: They seemed shoehorned in in far too many scenes.  In the earlier seasons, the Guard seemed relevant, but now I just don’t see the point of them other than to promote more Hollywood stereotypes that “hicks” often with Southern accents (never mind we’re supposed to be in Maine, here) are easily-led goons who stick with their traditions or marching orders no matter what.  Duke’s addressing Guard members in a mocking Southern accent both mocks these members and pokes fun at the show itself for portraying these people as hillbilly types.  The writers are possibly acknowledging that for now Haven needs a villain, and the Guard works in that capacity.  Mara’s evildoing ability is currently put on hold as she is prisoner on Duke’s boat.

Speaking of Duke, he seems more like S1-S3 Duke, though I can’t put my finger on why.  Maybe its his drinking of hard liquor and threats of violence towards Mara.  Plus, a gun just looks so right in his hands.

Nathan gets his own screen time and scenes that are not so Audrey-focused in what seem like forever.  In them, he shines!  He, too, is born to figure out Troubles.

Audrey:  Yes, she’s back, but she’s nowhere near her old self.  She appears weak compared with Mara, but then it’s supposed to be that way.  She’ll find her way.

Trouble of the week, dos:  It is not the Trouble of the week, but  of the fortnight (for you Austen lovers.)  I’m thinking this Trouble is photography-based, and figuring that, it’s pretty obvious who’s behind it.  Dun, dun, dun!

Haven, S5, Eps 4 & 5

Oct16

(Spoilers ahoy!)

Ep. 4: Much Ado About Mara

Not a lot happened in this episode but a few parts were very good, especially Duke’s nonsense curse.  Delicious taco!!  Eric Balfour was so great at delivering the ridiculous lines, that half of the time, I belatedly realized he hadn’t said anything understandable.  I’m sure his costars were ready to burst with laughter by the time “cut” was called.  Also, Mara is really a great character.  She’s a mean girl, yet somehow likable…perhaps some inner Audrey peeking through?

We also get a hint of what kind of creature Mara actually is, someone so far above humans they are like insects to her.  I give Dwight/Sasquatch props for trying to get some information out of her.  Nathan is no use in this area, as he is only focused on getting Audrey back. Duke is just trying to deal with everything.

The last scene where Nathan, Duke, and Dwight try to bring Audrey out of Mara by treating her like Audrey is outstanding.  Emily Rose really shines and the humor is spot on.

Ep. 5: The Old Switcheroo

Body switching! This is a good “trouble,” especially for actors who like to have fun imitating their costars.  I thought that John Dunsworth (Dave) did an awesome job being his brother Vince.  The standout, however, was Lucas Bryant (Nathan) mimicking Duke’s mannerisms to a T.

As far as the long arc plot, we get more hints about Dave Teagues’ dubious origins that are connected both to the world Mara is from and/or the New England Roanoke legend.  North Carolina looks uncannily like Nova Scotia 😉 and we get another “Thinny” or door between worlds as a cliffhanger.

Nathan is still on his quest to draw Audrey out of Mara, or change Mara into Audrey or whatever.  He recruits Duke’s help and Duke discovers (dun, dun, dun!) Mara is pretending to be Audrey!  This presents the possibility that every time Audrey has appeared in S5, it has simply been Mara pretending to string the Havenites along, so we come back to the question: Does Audrey still exist?  I say, and I think Duke would agree, that Mara is Mara, and Audrey is Mara, and there has never been two separate entities.  There is only one woman.  She may have multiple personalities, but she’s still one woman. a woman who may have both the desire to give people “troubles” and to help cure them.  No real answers, yet, however, and I still miss Jennifer.  Duke needs another Jennifer.  And as much as I love the Nathan/Audrey love story, this “saving Audrey” thing is dragging the storyline a bit.  Nathan could use another love interest or just another focus for a couple of episodes.  Maybe a woman with long black hair?  That seems to be his type.  Or maybe he could just deal with this obsession off-screen for a bit?  Let Duke, Dwight, and Gloria handle a really whizbangwow Trouble until the writers are ready for the big Mara/Audrey reveal and we can get on with the big arc already!  Ok, it’s not that big of a deal, it’s just annoying when plot points are prolonged or withheld because the story needs to be x number of episodes long, or x number of pages (I know, I do it myself in my own writing from time to time, roll my eyes, sigh heavily, and keep going with the story).  Filler episode, filler scenes, filler characters, these are the Troubles that plague storywriters.

Season 5 is good, yet I’m wanting more rewatchable moments and episodes.  Too much fill means too much going through the motions and who wants to rewatch that?  Seasons 1-4 all have a very rewatchable quality to them.  Again, S5 isn’t bad, it’s just having difficulty finding its footing, probably because of Mara/Audrey.  Audrey and her desire to help people is the glue that holds the series together.  So, as much as I love watching Mara, Haven needs Audrey back, and soon.

Haven, S5, Ep. 3: Spotlight

Sep28

So far, I’m liking Haven Season Five.  We still have all of the same great characters, even if Audrey only has a few “blink and you miss them” moments so far.  And I really miss Jennifer, and Duke seems so lost without her.  Wow, what great acting/writing for Jennifer from S4, huh?  Too bad she couldn’t stay…along with Duke’s ponytail.

Instead of “Hear no Evil,” we have “Spotlight,” a totally Haven-weird Trouble where this lady collects all light into herself and sends it out of her body via multiple laser beams.  As awful as the Trouble was for her and her family, I couldn’t help giggling at the scenes when only two laser beams came out of her torso.  The producers should have just bitten the comedy bullet and made the beams come out of her boobs.  It’s impossible not to think of that while watching the scenes.  Or maybe I’ve just been ruined by Austin Powers.

Anyway, Nathan is still in denial of the fact that he is actually in love with Mara, one aspect or personality of whom is Audrey.  Yes, Nathan is in love with Mara, and until the show says differently, that’s what I’m going with.  The plus side is that Mara/Nathan is far more interesting than Audrey/Nathan.  A love story of two very nice people is great, great for them, great for the world, yes as far as on screen, oh so boring to watch.  Mara is distastefully bad — she kills people with pencils, yet she has that same sense of humor that Nathan always liked in Audrey.  It’s fun to see Nathan and Mara try to play each other, and bittersweet that Nathan can’t let go of Audrey.  Ok, ok, it’s true love, and Audrey still does seem to exist somehow.  However: What if Audrey really is Mara?  Can Nathan deal with that or is he just doomed to go crazy?

Duke trusts Nathan and agrees to let him try to figure a way to get Audrey out of Mara’s body.  Well, is that what Nathan’s doing?  Or is he trying to keep Audrey in Mara’s body but just make sure she stays the dominant personality?  But that doesn’t solve the problem that Audrey IS Mara.  Also, Duke is totally rethinking this trust after he walked in on Nathan and Mara tickling/making out.  And what of Duke’s affection for Audrey from seasons 1-3?  Jennifer so blew that storyline away, that I cannot even comprehend him having an attraction to Audrey now, especially because she’s Mara.  Duke rejected Mara’s advances, but Nathan somehow succumbed to them.  Does this mean Nathan is weaker or that his love for Audrey is too strong and he can’t separate (not that he necessarily should) the two personalities.  Wow, this making my head spin.

Another thing with Duke:  He is about to explode, literally (and that’s used correctly) because of all of these Troubles built up inside of him, troubles the Crocker family has collected over generations.  Also, according to Mara, Duke has a “darkness” inside of him.  Is this due to the Crocker family trouble, to Duke’s past as a smuggler, or do to some aspect of his past or personality that we haven’t yet seen?  True, he’s no boy scout, but on the show he’s been shown to be a good guy who wants to help people.  I’m just not sure where this darkness comes in.  Is it worse that Nathan’s single-mindedness in trying to save Audrey, no matter the cost?  Not that I’m trying to bash Nathan, but it’s sort of like if you have a family member in danger.  You love them, yes, but is it really right of you to jeopardize or even take the lives of numerous other people in order that you may save them?  I don’t think Nathan’s killed anyone so far in his attempts to save Audrey, but I’d have to go back and rewatch.

Mara’s trying to prove something to her family.  She revealed that much to Nathan in the cabin.  Is she perhaps trying to show that her ability to trouble people is the mark of genius, that it’s ultimately something good for humanity?  She seemed to be talking about gifts not being appreciated, sometimes being scorned, sometimes being lauded.  What she is specifically referring to, we might not know for awhile.  It’s revealing, though, that whatever kind of being she is, Mara has a family of some kind.

Sasquatch Dwight wasn’t as interesting this episode, but maybe he will have better moments in the future.  Also, I’m looking forward to Vince and Dave being in the next episode.  Have to give a few shouts out: One, for the coroner Gloria playing with that little toy while she’s talking to Dwight on the phone — pretty amusing.  Two and Three: Duke’s awesome old boat and the Grey Gull.  It felt like a true episode just with a couple shots of both.  Have we ever seen where Nathan lives?  Why not?  Oh, love that the laser beam lady and her daughter brought out Duke’s tender side, kinda sweet.  Lastly, pancakes!  I would marry Nathan forever if he made me pancakes every day!  The writers must have read the Nate the Great series as kids.

Haven, Season 5, Ep. 2, Speak No Evil

Sep19

(Spoilers).  So I’m loving Season Five of Syfy’s Haven so far.  Not too many answers forthcoming yet, but that’s the nature of these shows.  Everyone wants a piece of Mara, whether it’s to banish her, beat the truth out of her, keep Audrey alive, or to goad her into saving Haven in some way.  Everything revolves around Audrey/Mara at the moment, giving whoever is the other Big Bad in town, a chance to flourish.

Mara: In this episode, Emily Rose did an outstanding job of portraying her, or maybe it’s just that I’m more adjusted to the actress not playing Audrey.  Mara is evil, as shown by her actions, and thus worthy of the name villain.  She also still has a bit of Audrey’s dry humor, which makes her all the more unsettling.  We got a two-second glimpse of Audrey this episode, showcasing just how talented Rose is.  Sometimes actors embody their characters so well, we forget that they’re acting.  This is why Rose as Mara is so jarring.

Vince and Dave: Love their banter and their relationship.  These two old gents have so many secrets, you’d think they’d be pouring out of their ears by now.  Vince has an intriguing attachment to Audrey, hinting at a back history with her, and perhaps some kind of love/emotional bond.

Nathan: Singleminded in his continued love for Audrey, and the belief that she still exists in some way, yet not so much as he can’t be a friend to Duke and assist Dwight in trying to save the town.  I have a theory about Nathan, and that he may have a Trouble, or power of some kind dealing with true love.  Perhaps Audrey still exists, because Nathan’s true love for her still exists?  Maybe that’s his power.

Duke: He’ll be down in the dumps for awhile about Jennifer, but I think saving the town and having to fight against whatever forces of evil are in it, will pull him out of it.  This idea of him having hundred of Troubles inside him is interesting, though, I don’t know that they’ve definitely proved that that’s the case.  Could be all coincidence, even Nathan getting sewn shut.  We still don’t know who else is in town.  Perhaps they too have an emotional bond with Jennifer and did not want to see her go.  Duke has the potential to be a super awesome hero, and it would be fun to see that pay off.  Will they resurrect his feelings for Audrey?  Their relationship is intriguing in the fact that he gets her in a way that Nathan doesn’t (he knew she was pretending to not be herself, S4).  Is it a deep love or a deep friendship, or something else?  Also, I miss his big boat home and the bar.  Hope they will show both again later in the season.

Dwight:  Adam Copeland as Sheriff Dwight is impressing me more and more.  He has a good stage presence (maybe from WWE?).  I was surprised after his first few appearances that he was a returning character, but he fits in Haven, and I love how Duke calls him Sasquatch.  His intentions seem to be entirely focused on saving Haven, and using Mara/Audrey to do so, yet something about his actions makes me uneasy.  Is he being controlled by some unknown force?

Gloria: What an awesome old lady.  I loved the actress Jayne Eastwood way back when in a small role on the Anne of Green Gables miniseries, and she’s just gotten better with age.  She’s so funny, yet a sweet old grandma to everyone.  I think she and Vince should have a romance. 🙂

Vickie: I’m glad they kept her around.  The scene with her and Mara trying to open the Thinny was great, almost fairy tale-ish.  The actress, Molly Dunsworth, has a sort of storybook princess allure about her.  Right now, due to her Trouble, Vickie is just a tool for the major characters, but that could easily change, and I like her working for Gloria and them acting as a team.

Jennifer:  Sad to see her go.  She was quirky, and cute, and ended up being perfect for Duke.  At the same time, though, she was sort of a kid sister to him, especially when contrasted with his wife Evidence (wouldn’t mind her returning).  Duke maybe needs someone he can protect, because that’s what he likes to do, but also maybe someone with more self-confidence, an equal to him in some way.

The Guard:  The people with the super special circle/compass tattoos.  As a group, I’m finding them annoying, mostly because it’s apparent that they are just drones following orders and don’t really have any answers themselves.  Makes most of them irrelevant.

The plot: Yep, it’s unbelievable and complicated, but right now I’m just enjoying the characters finding their way in this yet again altered Haven.  Any one of the characters can take a turn to the dark side, no matter their intentions, and the ultimate question may turn out to be: Is Haven worth saving?  If so, why?  If not, why?  Is the town some kind of purgatory similar to the island on Lost, or is it something different?

The scenery: Can. Not. Get. Enough. of. Nova. Scotia.  Vacation destination calling at some point in the future.

Seven Reasons to Love SyFy’s Haven

Sep18

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SyFy’s Haven is my current favorite show, and here are seven reasons why:

7. Based on a Stephen King novel.

I have an on again off again readership with author King.  Sometime’s his stories are great, sometimes they’re just too out there or hokey for me to relate to.  Haven is based on a short novel by King called The Colorado Kid.  I put this reason of watching Haven at number seven mainly because the story it’s based on is awesome.  It’s a story with no ending about a reporter being tested.  Does she have what it takes to be a journalist?  Does she have a curious enough mind to ask the right questions?  The mystery itself of The Colorado Kid is baffling, but not in a bang, bang, boom, sort of way, making it unique among King’s more grandiose reality bending stories.  The writing is some of his best yet, in my opinion.  At heart, The Colorado Kid and Haven are both about people, what motivates them, makes them tick, etc.  And the show caters to King fan’s, including numerous odes to his stories, some blink-and-you-miss-them.  Haven also pays tribute to similar teen shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

6. The Troubles.

Like most science fiction and/or fantasy shows, Haven revolves around people with special abilities and how they deal with them, using them for evil and/or good.  And Haven has some truly unique troubles (spoilers), like a girl who can turn an entire town into a snow globe, or a man obsessed with aliens who makes alien invasions turn real (or are they real?), or a man who becomes a house.  Fun and disturbing stuff.

5. It’s like LOST.

And I mean that in the best possible way.  Haven starts out simply, FBI agent going to a town to investigate strange circumstances, but it just gets weirder and weirder, much like the island on Lost.  If you loved that about Lost, you’ll like it about Haven too.  Both shows are similar in that the characters are dealing with events they cannot control, and they are part of a grand scheme where good and evil go head to head.  In addition to that, both shows share a love of humanity, it’s various struggles, concerns, and fear of the truth.  Like Lost, many Haven episodes are stand alone reflections on human life.  Taken away from the larger arc of the Troubles’ origins, these episodes are sweet, little stories in and of themselves.  Also, like Lost, Haven doesn’t really make sense, and the ending is likely to be a letdown, but I don’t care.  It’s fun to see writers and show producers push their imaginations.  It’s great to see channels like SyFy at least give the stranger stories a chance.

4.  The theme song.

I don’t know if the song has a title or who it’s by, but the theme song and opening credits are ultimately what got me hooked on Haven.  The shots of Nova Scotia and/or New England are breathtaking, and the Celtic-themed melody just lets you know you’re in for a yarn of a story.  It’s no mistake that Haven is located on the sea.  The Troubles are just another version of all those sailor’s stories, like mermaids, or Davy Jones’ locker, whimsical stories involving both passion and danger.

3. The love story.

Haven is ultimately a love story.  There’s some sort of love triangle involved, which becomes a quadrangle, but how that will play out to the end, I don’t know.  Many people dismiss love stories as boring, but I think Haven does a decent job with it.  They don’t bang us over the head too hard, and generally keep the focus on defeating whatever the Big Bad currently is.  But love is the reason the main characters have such a problem weeding out the Troubles.  Because people love their family members, they are reluctant to “out” them, so to speak, and/or are in absolute denial that either they or their family members have a Trouble.

2. The actors/characters.

Emily Rose is a great Audrey.  She’s spunky and portrays Audrey as the girl you’d want for your best friend.  She plays Audrey so well, that seeing her play (spoilers) Audrey’s alternate egos is jarring, and seemingly unnatural.  Lucas Bryant as detective Nathan Wuornos is a unique face, and he plays Nathan’s alternating low self-esteem against his absolute belief in true love really well.  He’s a bullied kid who still believes in people and in love, and even might be the one to get the girl in the end.  The third member of this triangle is Duke Crocker, played by Eric Balfour.  Balfour has gone mostly under the radar up to this point, and I think this is because Duke is his first big chance to shine.  If Haven were Lost, Crocker would be its Sawyer.  He’s funny, charming, and teetering the line between criminal and good guy.  He has a good heart and cares about people, but is not necessarily pure of heart.  Like Sawyer, Haven would not be Haven without Duke Crocker.

The numerous minor characters on Haven, are great as well, especially the Teague brothers with their old married couple spats, and the unexpected longterm addition to the “Scooby gang,” Dwight Hendrickson played by Adam Copeland.  Even those who only stick around for one episode, are memorable, and in their own ways, are each a thread of the fabric that is Haven, including Maurice Dean Wint as Agent Howard, Vinessa Antoine, as Evi, and Emma Lahana who won me over as Jennifer.   In addition, I have to give props to the Haven production for picking such great actors to play the town’s coroners.  The coroners are all portrayed as quirky, salt-of-the-earth people who tell it like it is.  They embody the town of Haven most of all, and are played by Mary-Colin Chisholm, Christopher Shore,  and Jayne Eastwood, who steals nearly every scene she’s in.

1. The writing.

The fun of writing a fantastical story is that as a writer, you can tie yourself into absolute knots, the likes of which it is impossible to untangle to anyone’s satisfaction.  Some people, like me, like these kind of stories, whereas others can’t stand them.  I am constantly intrigued by what the writers come up with for the overall arc of Haven, and also how they bring back minor characters that previously seemed throwaway.  In Season 5, we have the continued presence of Vicki Dutton, a girl who’s drawings work something like voodoo dolls.  It’s a troubling Trouble, writing wise, because any effect on the paper can cause chaos in the real world.  It is one of the more illogical Troubles to use, and yet one of the most interesting.

Season 5 of Haven, hangs in a balance of sorts.  Rumors are that both Emma Lahana, who played Duke’s love interest, Jennifer, and Colin Ferguson, who played the Big Bad, William, may not be returning to the show.  Both characters are integral to the overall arc, so if they are not recast, or even do not return at all, it will be intriguing to watch how the writers write themselves out of that trouble, and it’s exciting that the renewal for another Season will give Haven an ending, hopefully a good one.  I think the most interesting reveal to come will be just how Vince and Dave Teague play into the origins behind the Troubles.  They’ve been keeping secrets for a long time, perhaps to hide an awful truth from the world.

The love triangle with Nathan, Audrey, and Duke, I have a feeling may end with a self-sacrifice of some kind.  One will take it upon his or herself to fight and die in order that the other two may be happy.  Well, I think that would be a great ending, even if cliche.  The likeliest to sacrifice himself would be Duke, as his antihero persona is becoming more and more all out hero all the time, even though he still denies it.  His potential sacrifice would be satisfying in a way that Nathan and Audrey’s would not, as such a sacrifice would be a given with them, and consequently, somewhat disappointing.  Also, Nathan and Audrey are the embodiment of true romantic love on the show, and as such, they should live, and live happily with that love.  Is that cheesy?  But why do we think this about true love ?  Are we too cynical for our own good?  The problem most have with happy endings is that there’s often no pay off.  The happy ending is tacked on without an emotional catharsis, which is why sometimes a sad ending gets more points.  I have hope, though, that if Haven does end happily, the writers, will make the characters earn it.

Austenland: Book vs. Movie

Sep17

Austenland

If you’re any sort of Jane Austen fan, you likely will have read and/or seen Austenland, the book by Shannon Hale, or the movie starring Keri Russell (Felicity, August Rush).  Are Austen addicts crazy spinster women?  Some, perhaps, and both book and movie are a half-warning against women delving too much into fantasy that they forget the very real men beside them.  The between-the-lines message of the story being that most men don’t care much for romance, daydreaming, or fantasy, and that women have to be more practical in their approach to romantic love.  And then both book and movie turn that idea on its head with a revolutionary thought:  A woman, not only in body, but mind and spirit, can be the answer to a man’s fantasy.  An intriguing thought, and likely a fantasy in itself, but I’ve known many men who are at heart very romantic and prone to daydreaming about the ideal woman, though one would not guess so upon first meeting them.

What is it about the Pride and Prejudice love story that both women and men like so much?  In this day and age, their wordy banter is a novelty to us, a society that leaps into bed with the first person we find attractive.  As much as we may poo-poo the societal physical restrains on romance from back in the day, our love of these kinds of stories show that we sort of miss those restraints, even if it’s just a little bit.  It’s like poetry.  Today, we have free verse, free verse, and only free verse, and although the poetry can be very good, it’s not quite as awesome as mastering the rules of a sonnet.  Rules can be a great way of shaping art, focusing the artist or writer to really hone their work.  Splat painting vs. the Mona Lisa, as one example.  Both can be admired, but only one is truly great art and precisely because it follows certain rules.  Perhaps we, with our very modern ways, secretly feel the same about romance.

Into the fray:  The book vs. the movie.  I enjoyed both, though, the book delved far deeper into this question of fantasy vs. reality.  Taking the movie first, it was cute, full of the appropriate fluff, and had some great performances.  Keri Russell plays a good everywoman, Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blond) is hilarious as always, and Georgia King (Little Dorrit) was born to play period roles.  And Jane Seymour is still just as stunning as she was on Dr. Quinn.  Does this woman not age? 🙂  The standout character is Bret McKenzie’s (Flight of the Conchords) gardener.  He’s wickedly handsome, funny, charming, and far more appealing than the Mr. Darcy stand in of Mr. Nobley.  That’s not to say that Mr. Nobley played by J.J. Field (Captain America: First Avenger), doesn’t also have his charms, but he’s not given enough screen time to adequately nudge him to the head of the line.  I found myself wishing that, although he’s nothing like a Mr. Darcy, that McKenzie had had the main role (I love funny guys).  But that’s not the point, the point the of whole story is: Don’t give up on Mr. Darcy, he’s real.

Who is a Mr. Darcy, exactly?  Is he merely a hunk in a wet t-shirt?  The movie seems to indicate that for most women that’s all Darcy is, a daydream about a good looking man a la Colin Firth (or Ricky Whittle) in tight pants and a billowy shirt that tends to look best when damp as to outline his manly features.  The 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice was a revelation in its time.  As for me,  when I first read the novel in college, I just didn’t get the appeal, and didn’t even want to finish it.  Neither did my friends.  So we rented this super long miniseries in the hope that we would be sufficiently caught up on all plot points enough to pass the test.  We subsequently ended up falling head over heels for Firth’s standoffish, irritating Mr. Darcy.  Jane Austen was a genius, and the miniseries made that clear, showing her wit and plotting to full effect.

Other standouts in the movie:  The scenery, house, and rooms are gorgeous.  Everything is done with a wink, wink, and we often get to see the male actors of Austenland in their downtime.  The various plots of Austen’s stories are woven well throughout, and the ball at the end is stunning.  This sort of theme park wouldn’t be entirely bad and could be a lot of fun if one went with friends — something similar to a murder mystery weekend at an old Victorian mansion.

To the book: Austenland has so much going for it.  It’s sweet, the main character is appealing, neurotic, and vulnerable, and the story walks the line between reality and fantasy well, yet ends where we all want it to, in the fantasy (or is it the truth?) that there are men out there who like the other parts of romance just as much as they do the physical parts.  That there are men out there who want to be the hero, who want to battle their lady love with witty dialogue, those who sort of wish they could be someone’s Mr Darcy, or at least a Willoughby.  Mr. Nobley is given a bit more time to breathe and to woo Jane, and Martin the gardener is a bit more obvious as to his intentions.

Which brings me to the ending (spoilers, or, er, more spoilers ahead).  I have always liked Mr. Darcy, but I like him for Elizabeth Bennet.  I like him in his place in Pride and Prejudice.  Enter Jane Hayes, or Miss Erstwhile of Austenland.  Should we cheer Jane on for landing her proverbial Mr. Darcy?  Warm fuzzies say yes, but reality…there’s always reality, isn’t there?  Speaking of reality, although many, many woman love Austen’s Mr. Darcy, he’s not necessarily someone they could stand for two minutes in real life.  Mrs. Wattlesbrook’s revelation about Martin the gardener being an actor is kind of a let down. But that’s probably the point.  As a reader or audience member, there are several clues to catch in both the book and film that this guy isn’t exactly on the up and up, yet I found myself cheering Jane on from ridding herself of this Darcy fantasy that no man could measure up to.  It’s a catch 22: Do we wait years on end (getting older, grayer, and more neurotic in the process) to meet that ideal man or woman of our dreams, or do we put those dreams aside and settle for the sweet, kind people beside us who leave the toilet seat up, have morning breath, and fumble when speaking of feelings?  Are there some awesome love stories out there where the guy or girl waits for the person of their dreams and gets them?  Sure, but it’s not common.  True love is the stuff of heaven…and maybe The Princess Bride.  Isn’t it just better to “love the one you’re with?”  In conclusion, I don’t know what to think of the ending.  I’m thrilled by the fantasy of it, but shamed that it is still, a fantasy, a novel, a movie, a dream.  Austenland is a Disneyland, no more, no less.

City Hunter review

Aug11

City-hunterEpisode one of City Hunter,  the Korean TV drama based on a Japanese manga, is one of the most intriguing and exciting setups I’ve ever seen for a show.  It sets the stage for political drama, a Monte Cristo-styled revenge, heroes who are loveably flawed, and a sweet romance.  The basic plot of the show is this: After a botched mission into North Korea, an army general named Lee Jin Pyo (Kim Sang-Joong) is out for revenge and kidnaps his best friend’s baby to be his instrument.  Jin Pyo is a patient man, he builds an empire and raises the boy, Lee Yoon-Sung (Lee Min-Ho), as his own for twenty-seven years, teaching him to be a ruthless killer.  Despite his upbringing, Yoon-Sung is a good person and heart and loves his adopted father.  He moves to Seoul, South Korea, and begins to execute Jin Pyo’s plan, taking five corrupt government officials down one by one in style.

The action in City Hunter is outstanding, many of the moves unexpected, and this is where both Lee Min-Ho and his character really carry the show.  Kim Sang-Joong is no slouch either as “the General”  and throughout the show is the perfect antagonist to Lee’s protagonist.  As much as the show is about bringing dishonest politicians (but I repeat myself) to justice, the heart of the story is the relationship between adopted father and son.

City Hunter has several supporting characters, one of them being an eager government prosecutor played by Lee Joon-Hyuk, who goes from being an enemy of Yoon-Sung to a collaborator in his plan to reveal the crimes to the public.  Joon-Hyuk gives an outstanding performance as does Hwang Sun-Hee who plays his character’s love interest, a gentle veterinarian.  City Hunter is a bit of a Robin Hood character and Bae Man-Duk (Kim Sang-Ho) is the perfect Little John.  He’s a sweet-hearted gambler with a motherly side and a dangerous addiction to the Home Shopping channel.  Bae is my favorite character in the series and I don’t think he’s used enough.

As with any superhero or masked man, City Hunter is not allowed to fall in love for fear that it would compromise him.  Of course he begins falling in love years before his plan will even be executed.  Kim Na-Na is a good foil for Lee Yoon-Sung.  She never quite buys his cover story maybe because she herself has had a tough life and has had to take care of herself, sometimes lying to do so.  Park Min-Young as Kim Na-Na won me over by the end of the show, but many times I thought she appeared too young and childish next to Lee Min-Ho, who, although also young carries many of his scenes in a much more mature fashion.  Kim Na-Na is also the worst body guard on the planet and it strains credulity that she would have even been considered to work at the Blue House, she’s that inept.  Perhaps it was a writing problem.  In any case, Park Min-Young did the best she could, and again, did win me over by the end.

Aside from the politicians under siege, most of the minor characters could really have been done without, including the hero’s mother, who is kept around mainly to reveal a twist at the end.  The twist wasn’t really necessary from the hero’s perspective––Lee Yoon-Sung would have been conflicted either way––but it does reveal just how single-minded and tortured the General Jin Pyo is.

The show uses the fact that Jin Pyo made zillions of dollars being a drug dealer in the Golden Triangle to full advantage, from elaborate house locations, to the sometimes silly fashions that Yoon-Sung sports.  The high-class lifestyle enhances the rather fluffy romantic comedy humor running throughout, the best of that being the scenes where the female body guards teach judo to the IT members of the Blue House (S. Korea’s White House) security team.  (Yoon-Sung’s cover is that of an MIT grad from America who has returned to his home country to settle down.)

All in all, City Hunter is a great watch, but slow in parts and could have done with more action, as that is definitely its strength.  The ending is fantastic, with standout performances all around, and the resolution is left fittingly vague.  The storyline raises questions about bringing officials to justice and whether their faults are totally their own or more of a symptom of a government system in which no one’s hands are clean.  All of the characters, whether working in government or not are all wonderfully, humanly flawed.  The hero, although mostly pure of heart, is a drug dealer’s son.  He dreams of living a normal life, not of saving the world.  For the General, his revenge justifies all the means he uses to meet it out.  The big question is this:  Is the revenge worse than the initial crime?  It’s never really answered and left open to the viewer.  The City Hunter does both good and harm by the end of the series.

On a side note, as an American, I found it amusing that privatizing health care was posed as being such a bad thing when they clearly showed over and over again just how corrupt government was.  In my experience, the more involvement government has in something, the more it costs all around.  People often think of any government money as “free” and take liberties with that money that would never take if a private enterprise was running the show.  This cavalier attitude is what drives prices up and up.  College tuition is a prime example.  Without the large cushion of government loans, colleges and universities would be forced to set tuition at a more competitive price or risk going out of business.  That’s my opinion, anyway.  The main point of City Hunter for me was that government needs to be held to account in every area it runs or influences.  No one should be above the law, no matter how honorable their intentions may be.  This is why a free press and reporters who are skeptics and not groupies of government officials are so important.  The first step in stopping corruption is exposing it.

Snowpiercer: Revolutionaries Beware

Jul12

snowpiercerSome things to remember before beginning any revolution, especially one  on a high speed train in the middle of a worldwide ice age:

1. Have a goal other than “I just want to eat steak.”  Revolutions tend to involve casualties and lots of them.  Most revolutions have an ideology behind them, but it’s basically starting a war.  Are you absolutely certain having steak (or whatever the ideology) is worth your life, the lives of your fellow revolutionaries, and the people you are revolting against?

2. You don’t know everything.  The reason for your suffering may not be clear until after your revolution. When stuck on a train caboose for 17 years, you are certain to not have enough information. The information you do have may turn out to be a lie. In addition, you should prepare yourself for the possibility that your suffering may be entirely or mostly your own fault. Others may have had the foresight to prepare for their future and/or the case of a world-wide disaster, and you did not.  You should be prepared for the possibility that what little good you do have is at the benevolence of others smarter than yourself. What these others are doing may be the only way they know to ensure the survival of either themselves or the entire group. Your own lack of foresight will not, in their eyes, justify you taking away everything they have built up.  Be also prepared for the possibility that others are suffering even worse than you are.

3. You may be worse off than you were before. Revolutions are uncertain. You may be only making the way for a new, more violent dictator or absolute anarchy.  Revolutions are chaos, and large numbers of people cannot live with chaos for long.  Anarchy is often corrected by tyranny.  Your goal should be worth risking that possibility.  (The country of America laid out their government in a specific arrangement in order to prevent tyranny and one person or group gaining too much political power.  In recent decades, this system has been messed with and we see our officials abusing their power).

4. Many, many people will die. Today, even after a history of hundreds of thousands of deaths, young (and old) people still believe that “equality” is achievable on earth with evil, selfish human beings.  They think that the Russians and the Chinese just didn’t do it right.  Go ahead, have your revolution, see how happy you feel when you realize you are the orchestrator of the deaths of thousands, if not millions of people.  See how happy you feel when the survivors are now starving and cry out for a leader, any leader, to save them.  See how you feel when the decision is made that because there’s not enough to go around, a certain number of people will have to be eliminated…by you. This isn’t to say there aren’t things worth dying for, but in instigating an uprising, you are taking everyone’s life in your hands, not just your own.

5. You may become everything you hate. This can happen whether your goal is steak or equality. The reality is that society works best with leaders. And leaders by definition have more power than others. Even the smallest bit of power can corrupt. We see this everyday with children who are spoiled: they become tyrants in their own households. We see it at the post office, the DMV, and in Congress or Parliament. These mini-“leaders” scorn the people they are called to serve.  They greedily scoop up benefits and leave little for the rest (perhaps why it’s better to limit government and its benefits).

What does all this have to do with Snowpiercer starring Chris Evans and directed by Hoon-Jung Park? Only that while watching the film these are the thoughts that went through my mind. Snowpiercer is at once the story of 1984, Atlas Shrugged, WALL-E and The Hunger Games. To me, all of these stories say one thing: Plan. Have a plan for your life. Have a plan in case something goes wrong. Have a plan in case all goes right. In those plans, strive to attain as much knowledge and as many skills as you can. There may come a day when those plans are the difference between living and dying, the difference between charting your own course or succumbing to tyranny.

There are only a few people at the top of society that control everything. The train creator and engineer, Wilford (played by Ed Harris), has set up a society that absolutely relies on everyone having their place, no matter how awful. We see that most people in the cars in front of the tail accept tyranny for safety and creature comforts including parties and drugs.  Wilford is essentially a “John Galt” type of person, someone who is gifted in intelligence and other abilities. Instead of leaving the rest of humanity to its fate as John Galt does in Atlas Shrugged, he used his talents to make a train that would at least save some. In this, he is admirable. In addition, he also takes on a number of refugees who do not have tickets. In this he is also admirable.

Beyond that, his admirability stops. Is it truly necessary to treat the people in the train so abominably? Wilfred states it’s because of the closed train environment that it is imperative that people die at a far faster pace than they would normally. Resources and space are limited, and a “revolution” is the best way to get people to kill themselves off. Revolutionaries beware.

If you are a proponent of population control, you cannot, if being honest, hate this man and his actions. His ideology is to what you too ascribe. What began as a love of nature has now morphed into a world society in which we are all asked to pay homage to the environment, where the world is portrayed as a closed space with limited resources. Yes, it’s the internet, but I have seen way too many comments stating that it would be best for say, a billion people to die for the sake of “saving the planet.” You may someday get what you wish for, but you will not likely get to choose which billion you are a part of. It is sad that smart people like Wilfred or those who support population control do not have the imaginations to find a better way, a way where all can thrive.

I also find it absolutely hilarious that in the movie the new ice age begins with people deciding they could save the planet from global warming. It does not delve into the more interesting debate on whether global warming actually exists. None of the people on the train were likely responsible for what happened, and, again, only Wilfred did have the ultimate foresight to build a contraption that saved humanity but gave them a perverse society in the process. In each scenario, we see that good intentions don’t always lead to good results.  Again, revolutionaries beware.

Snowpiercer uses violence at the expense of storytelling, and that is my one criticism of it. The fights could have been shortened, allowing for a more in-depth look at life at the head of the train. Aside from the brainwashed teacher and the Hunger Games fashioned Mason (Tilda Swinton), we don’t get a clear picture of what the people living the good life actually think about it. They are ready to kill for it, sure, but more depth could have been explored.

The two drug addicts played by Kang-Ho Song and Ah-Sung Ko thought outside the box, er, train perhaps because of their habit, but they were veritable corpses before the tail section revolutionaries came along. It is interesting that the partying and drug use was the worst at the front of the train near the engine. A direct picture of all too many governments and ruling classes. It is also shows that drug use is most common at societal extremes.  The middle class train cars seemed peaceful and industrious.

The exploration of religion was interesting. Many people today believe they are more intelligent if they reject religion or even the thought of a god. But what happens when people do that, especially en masse, is that they find other gods to follow, for humanity has a spiritual void that must be filled. If any of those people had had any sort of religion, it may not have been quite as easy for Wilfred to condemn certain train citizens to suffering and death. The people in the front cars swallowed the religious and political propaganda so easily because they did not have any spiritual views of their own. Wilfred had to become their god to make it all bearable.

In this review, I have not said much about the directing, acting, camera shots, colors, special effects, etc., used in the film, but have mostly talked about themes I took from the story.  All of those elements were good, as they are in most movies, but Snowpiercer stands out because its themes are food for thought, much food for thought.  It’s steak.  Chewy, juicy steak on which you can add any sauce you like and still enjoy it.