"In the Dark"

This new show on the CW is so not what I thought it was.  A case of advertising giving the impression of a sardonically humorous series when the reality is much, much darker.  Perry Mattfeld, a seeing actress, does a good job of playing the completely broken, blind Murphy Mason.  Roomate Jess is also admirably portrayed by the talented Brooke Markham.  SPOILER ALERT:  The gist is that Murphy's dear friend is murdered but no one believes her because the body is taken, she was wasted when she found it, and, oh yeah, she's blind.  Murphy continues having random sex and downing morning-after pills with vodka as she pursues her single-handed mission to prove that her friend was killed.  This pulls her into the world of drug dealers, where she inexplicably meets a money launderer who sets her off the deep end by trying to have a real relationship with her.  It's a troubling tale and yet I can't stop watching it.  Providing a deeply needed lighter tone is Rich Sommer, a sweet but hapless cop trying to figure out the best way to support his blind daughter.  The enjoyable actors Derek Webster and Kathleen York play Murphy's parents but are mostly wasted as two-dimensional figures (comforting dad, hypercritical mom).  I'm only three episodes in and part of me is like, "this is good but too depressing" but another part of me is like, "I am intrigued and can't turn it off."  We will see which one will win out.

"Fosse/Verdon"

There were few new shows this Spring that I was looking forward to as much as this mini-series based on a book about the powerhouse dance couple of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon.  Played by Academy Award winners Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams the legendary couple are seen through the lens of time running out, the first episode notating in days, even minutes, as to when Bob Fosse died (right here in Washington, DC, on his way to a revival of "Sweet Charity" at the National Theatre).  Rockwell and Williams do well.  Both move like dancers and they encompass both the passion and destructive nature of this relationship.  Rockwell is particularly chameleon-like, slithering about the rehearsal spaces on the edge of dancing, with Fosse's perpetual cigarette hanging from his lips.  Williams manages to have the charm and lilt of Verdon, although the trademark vocal quiver is absent.  The series is engaging, even if you know the history.  These two made each other better, even when they tore each other apart.  It is nice, after all these years, to see the contributions Gwen Verdon made to Fosse's success, most of which were uncredited.  The show doesn't shy away from Fosse's legendary and compulsive sexual appetite but it does try to put it in context with his tortured childhood.  Similarly, Verdon's past is revealed with surprises which have never fully come to light.  They weren't a perfect couple, but together they created greatness.  A worthy follow-up to some of the high-end mini-series we have seen in the past few years.

Movies, Movies, Movies

Did I mention that I have spent a LOT of time in planes over the last month?  In addition to the three books, listed in the review below, I was able to watch some 12 films while airborne.  Here are my takes.

"If Beale Street Could Talk".  One of the few award films I didn't get a preview of (the other was "Roma"), this is a very quiet, atmospheric film, which is simply a touching, poignant love story.  There isn't a lot of plot, nor dialogue, but the lasting looks between our ill-fated couple (played beautifully by KiKi Layne and Stephen James) are the draw here.  Set in the late 1960s (I think) the city around them creates both a cocoon for the couple, as well as danger.  It was great to watch but was oddly not memorable.  Two weeks later I had to look up the film to remember some key points.

"Eighth Grade".  What's better than an angsty teen?  A movie about an angsty teen!  Elsie Fisher gets major nods here for looking into the camera with such openness and lack of guile that you really buy the idea that this is real life happening in front of you.  It's pretty close.  Without Hollywood flourishes and soundtracks, this simply becomes a tale of a teen girl trying to fit in.  It is touching, funny and sad, with Elsie's character being just annoying enough to seem real but not so annoying as to make you want to slap her.  Kudos also to Josh Hamilton for being the well-meaning dad trying to navigate the hormone filled waters to be a support, or anchor, for his drifting daughter.  Brava, bravo all around.

"Oceans 8".  No better or worse than any of the other Oceans films.  If you have seen one you have pretty much seen them all.  Entertaining fare which is not going to stay with you in any shape or way after the credits roll.

 "Deadpool 2" and "Ant-Man & the Wasp".  I review these together because they are both sequels of films I enjoyed and they both represent a trend in Marvel which I really, really like (started by Joss Whedon on "The Avengers", perhaps?)  The trend is this -- snarky, silly, mouthy, funny, not-taking-themselves too seriously.  Yes, there are big explosions and (in Deadpool anyway), slow-mo sequences of blood and brain matter shooting across the camera lens, but there is also breaking of the fourth wall, snappy comebacks you have to replay to catch and a general sense that these films are what they are supposed to be, entertainment.  Enjoyed them greatly.  Paul Rudd ain't hard on the eyes, either.

"Spiderman, Into the Spiderverse".  Interestingly enough this animated feature follows the trends I mentioned above (in a far more family friendly way, no blood spatter) and really got to me.  An animated feature with an accompanying book (not sure whether the movie or book came first or if they were created together), this one has laugh-out-loud funny moments, social commentary and a Peter Parker worth his weight in gold.  Lead character Miles Morales is drawn beautifully and as his world explodes you see the grief and struggle in every moment.  Commendable also is his relation with his dad, which is rare in teen films but needed so much.  Yes, there is a big battle but there is a lot of growth on the part of Miles along the way and at least one twist surprised me.  Best animated feature I've seen in a long, long time.

"Fantastic Beasts:  The Crimes of Grindelwald".  I really liked the first Fantastic Beasts film.  They introduced a whole new world (New York, 1920s) and Eddy Redmayne was adorable as the awkward, sweet monster-whisperer, Newt Scamander.  I'm not sure why, exactly, I disliked this second film so much.  Yes, I watched it on a plane so there were distractions, and yes, I've come to dislike Johnny Depp as much as I previously liked him, but the film in general seemed all over the place with huge events and little through-line.  I could watch it again at home to see if I still can't follow it, but probably won't.

"The Greatest Showman".  Many (many many) people I know saw this for no other reason than to see Hugh Jackman.  Not a bad thing.  It was ... interesting, if not brilliant.  The musical score was the big standout and I may buy the whole thing just because it was that good.  Much like "Moulin Rouge" the score and particular visuals were more compelling than the whole.  Like musicals of the past the book here was weak, and that was unfortunate.  You can't help but want a deeper look into this man, this story, but the musical setting prohibits that with characters leaping into song the minute things get interesting.  It's not bad.  I enjoyed it.  But it left me with a lingering feeling that I needed to read a book on the man, because, in the end, he was no Hugh Jackman.

"Book Club".  This film gets props for treating older actors as real people with real hearts and desires, who aren't content to sit around playing grandparents and watching their private parts get dusty.  It starts with lust and ends with love, but in the end it's just a romantic comedy rather than anything with any kind of depth and meaning.  I will say though, I've never been particularly attracted to Don Johnson ... until now.  Oy, mama.

"Christopher Robin".  This great little film is strong on many parts, from casting to script to animation.  It was not a box office hit, however, and I can see why.  The first issue is the audience -- it isn't really for kids.  But the adults who would get it would dismiss it as a kind of "Mary Poppins" foolery.  Which is ironic, because that is exactly the kind of adult Christopher Robin turns into.  The truth is that the film is hard to watch.  It's The Giving Tree all over again.  Christopher Robin was a sweet little boy with wonderful friends and then life "happens" and he grows up and becomes a work-obsessed adult.  His treatment of Winnie is painful throughout the film and maybe that's why it is so hard to watch, because it shows us all how we forget the important things in life when we are focusing on what we think are the important things of life.  It's a touching film which produced a single tear here and there.  It's also one that we should all watch, to remind ourselves of the importance of doing nothing.

"Smallfoot".  Any animated film has a certain appeal.  They are fun, often warm and fuzzy, sometimes touching.  "Smallfoot" entertained on a mild level but didn't, for the most part, succeed.  Main character Migo is struggling against the philosophy/religion of his village and believes, against all doctrine, that something more exists out there.  When he discovers it, things do not go as planned.  The heavy-hitting moralism portrayed here drags down the plot and the sugary ending seemed too perfect for our complicated times.  The music and songs were fairly forgettable.  They had some nice elements here, and, again, didn't mind spending time watching it on a plane, but not what it could have been.

"What Women Want".  Yup, it's a really old film and no, I never really saw it.  With a remake of sorts out now ("What Men Want") it was worth seeing.  There is humor and Mel Gibson, who I'm not a particular fan of, is pretty good.  Ashley Johnson was perfect as the ignored daughter and Helen Hunt, well, I just love Helen Hunt.  The film is generally entertaining, walking that line between downright silly and a little insightful.  I was only flummoxed a bit by the end, which didn't seem to fit, or work, just right.  I'm not sure what a good ending would have been but maybe if they didn't have the two main characters hook up there might have been a cleaner solution?  Not sure.  Will have to see the new film and make a comparison.

Books, Books, Books

Nice thing about really long plane rides is the chance to catch up on reading.  Read three books during my recent trip to China.  While I had picked two of them randomly (just wanted really skinny books for my suitcase) the selections all turned out to be weirdly resonant for my first (and likely only) trip to a Communist nation. 

First up was Anthem, by Ayn Rand.  The story of a nameless young man living in a highly controlled society, he is an intelligent, feeling person who has been assigned to work as a street cleaner.  His curiosity gets the better of him and he experiments with leftover Science equipment (a serious breach of protocol) while simultaneously becoming attracted to a young woman working in the fields.  The spare prose beautifully reflects both the bleak existence of his world and the angst he feels in being trapped in a place with no individuality.  Written in the 1940s it could have been penned for China's Cultural Revolution, which occurred some 25 years later.  This is the society the Cultural Revolution might have produced had it continued.  I didn't love the end of the book due to some patriarchal attitudes (again, written nearly 80 years ago) and an unexpected twist in his final discovery, but the tone of the tale perfectly matched the feel of modern day Beijing in surprising ways (older factory workers are put to work as street sweepers).  Ms. Rand makes the point that brilliance can come in small packages.  In this case, a novella of only 123 pages.

Next up was China in Ten Words by Hua Yu.  Again, a perfect choice, as each of the short essays explored issues I was witnessing each day of my visit, and doing so in concise, perfectly selected prose.  There are essays entitled "People", "Leader", "Reading" and more, each covering Mr. Yu's personal experiences and history, along with Chinese history and the country's current path.  Yu rarely makes full-on conclusions, such as "good" or "bad" but simply tells the story and lets the reader decide.  The combination of his words and what I was learning and seeing in China created a rather indelible impact, helping to understand, and perhaps mourn, China a little bit.  The only criticism of this book is that China is moving so quickly that the essays, penned in 2011, are already looking a bit dated in 2019.  The true sadness is this ... Yu makes a great personal connection to China's recent past, drawing out an understanding of difficult times, but the book is ... you guessed it ... banned in China.

Last was Thomas More's Utopia, this one translated and notated by Paul Turner.  I'm glad of the lengthy introduction and extensive notes.  It helped me understand better a book everyone seems to talk about but perhaps have not actually read.  We talk of "Utopia" a good deal, but it is clear that More was not really describing a perfect society (the actual translation for Utopia is "no place" and the narrator of this fiction is a man named Raphael Nonsenso).  This mythical land has war and slavery and capital punishment.  There is also euthanasia and divorce, which Thomas More was unlikely to actually support.  There is paradox.  More talks about religious tolerance, sort of.  Atheists are tolerated as long as they keep it quiet but those who break canon law can be killed.  It's all a bit of a muddle.  Through the notations by Mr. Turner I began to see the book as a kind of Science Fiction of its day.  From H.G. Wells to Star Trek, Science Fiction has often been used as a kind of cloak to talk about modern day issues.  In 16th Century England More could not speak out about practises in the court which he disliked.  By penning this semi-humorous, outrageous tale he could hide criticisms in ridiculous banter and pray that Henry VIII didn't quite catch his meaning.  The book was oddly predictive.  Written in 1515 it nearly perfectly describes the excess of the The Field of the Cloth of Gold, a meeting between Henry VIII and his French counterpart, Francis I, five years before it actually happened.  (Maybe Henry never got around to reading this particular book).  It also predicted More's own death.  Near the end he states that the residents of this nonsensical nation, praying to their God, say they would "rather come to Thee by a most painful death, than to be kept too long away from Thee by the most pleasant of earthly lives."  More's counterpart, Raphael Nonsenso, somehow knew that his brand of honesty could never be tolerated by a nation's leader.  In any case, the reading was thick -- had to stop to digest frequently -- but interesting.  The Communist thread which ran throughout (again, not something More supported) was interesting to consider, given that this was created some 500 years before Mao got his grip on China.  I wonder if Mao read this, or what More would have thought of Communist China.  Real communist states don't really live up to the ideals set forth here, but then any society with real people, as opposed to fiction, must deal with the real human traits of ambition, pride and envy.  Seeing Mao's China and More's Utopia side by side was nonetheless interesting and made for a good final read on my last week or so there.