Christopher Nolan and his use of Time

I thought about doing separate reviews for each of the movies here, but while viewing them I found the common link was time. Nolan uses flashbacks, reverse storytelling, and unspecified sequences to increase tension in his films and create a better experience. Film-by-film, here's how I saw his use of time.
Goes without saying: spoilers

Following
Following is really very dark and examines the danger of our own human curiosity. But the dramatic tension in the film largely comes from the flashback sequencing. Throughout the film, I empathized with the Young Man. Sure, he was creepy and had problems. But he seemed essentially good, and I was hoping he would realize his errors. The beginning sequence made this seem possible; the Young Man could turn himself in and repent and send Cobb to jail. So when we see that it's all been a conspiracy to blame the Young Man for the murder of the Blonde, it hits much harder.

Memento
Memento is a very heavily discussed film, so I'll try to not delve into it too much. The non-sequential story-telling in Memento is perfect. While the timeline goes A to B to C, the story is told in alternating sequences from C to B and A to B, with the ending of the film taking place in the middle of the timeline. The temporal games make the viewer just as confused as the amnesiac Leonard. It also stresses that the climax and turning point of the film is the point where Leonard begins his own hunt for who should be his last John G: Teddy. This takes place at the middle, but is the height of excitement in the film, and a fitting end to the movie.

Insomnia
Insomnia really only plays with time through lighting and delusion. The perpetual light of the North throws off the viewer and the characters. The delusions of Dormer are non-sequential, but they don't leave us questioning too much. All in all, the two up the tension, but not as much as the interactions between the characters.

Batman Begins and Dark Knight
I'm not going to talk about these right now, as I don't think time matters as much in these. Another viewing of Begins (I've seen TDK enough) might change that though.

The Prestige
The Prestige has a sequencing nearly as complex as Memento, yet I don't find it as tense. Still, it helps to make the movie a thrill ride. Like Memento, While we have the A to B to C sequencing, we begin at both B and C, see part of C and the beginning of B, and then flash back to A. The slow unveiling of the entire illusion allows us to see the full moral stakes at the climax of the film, which impacts us more.

Nolan is one of my favorite directors, and his use of time is a reason why. I hope this helps explain why I have a man-crush on him.

"Party Down" goes down (?)

This isn't going to be long one at all (not that any of mine are, my attention span sucks) because critics like Sepinwall and Memles have already dissected every episode of Party Down very well.
If you haven't seen the show, it's all up on Netflix. Go watch it now, before I spoil you.


But I wanted to express how much I love this show. Party Down, for all of it's 20 episode run, has been incredibly honest and funny. It's a pitch-perfect combination of awkward social situational comedy and overarching themes of fame and fulfillment. It contains such earnest examination of our parameters for failure and success, our approach to relationships, and the fact that life really does just go on. The partially rotating cast of characters coupled with the setting really had me thinking about what counts as completion in life and about how people depend so very much on others. Add to that the comedic elements of amazing writing that manages to create some of the best situations in a sitcom in years and the weekly guest stars and the show had me busting a gut every episode.
And while this may be the end for Party Down, I don't think it's a failure. The run of the show itself is very reflective of the lesson of the show: while we may fail in many areas of life and while we may separate from those around us, life does go on and we can find happiness eventually. Just as Henry tried another audition and kept his relationship with Casey in a prime example of pursuing happiness and moving on, Adam Scott and much of the Party Down cast have landed huge roles on other television shows. Good luck to them.

Pacing in the films of Quentin Tarantino

I'll preface this by saying I haven't seen every Tarantino movie. I've enjoyed the ones I have seen, though. I'll update the post once I've seen all of his films. Just want to put out my thoughtz

In movies by Quentin Tarantino, a common complaint seems to be that sequences can be drawn-out. Keeping that complaint in mind, I watched Reservoir Dogs for the first time yesterday (yeah the first time).
I see where the critical group is coming from, but I find the extended sequences very important to Tarantino's films. For instance, in Reservoir Dogs, the movie begins with a long sequence of the men at a diner discussing tips and Madonna and ribbing one another. Now, some might find this sequence unimportant to the rest of the film, but I feel (as do many other much smarter people, I'm sure) that it gives a cultural context to these psychopaths. These men, as is shown more and more in the film, are, to put it bluntly, fucking crazy. Yet, they can discuss the social conventions of tipping and the meaning behind "Like a Virgin." By beginning with such mundane yet society-defining discussion, we can better view the twisted nature of the focal characters and better understand the convoluted moral codes these men carry.
Kill Bill works in a similar way. For instance, the quiet and slow scene of the Bride having coffee with Vernita provides context to the rest of the movie. The Bride maintains a level or morality, though it is twisted, even when consumed by revenge. It's also a contrast to the lengthly fights in the rest of the movie. From there we can see how the brutality of this violence and comprehend the depth of the anger in the Bride.
So while this pacing may be tiring to some, I find it extremely useful towards communicating Tarantino's message in each of his films.

I'm too lazy to write good

I have ideas on stuff to write, but I haven't. I've been super lazy lately, and for no reason.
I mean, I finished high school a month ago. It felt great. But I waste so much time doing...nothing. Not watching TV or movies or listening to music, or reading, or doing anything responsible like researching classes to register for or taking placement exams. I just don't do anything. And I think I've found the problem.
I wasn't really into any true pop culture until about age 15. And then, my first show was 24. Now, 24 was never a truly deep drama. It was a gripping action thrill ride. It was plain damn fun. And that's why I loved it.
From there, shows I got into were fun, and that's why I got into them. Lost was right up my alley with the sci-fi, epic music, and great characters. The Office and Scrubs were wacky, earnest, and hilarious. Arrested Development was original, extremely quotable, and had amazing acting. How I Met Your Mother had amazing continuity and some good characters. Firefly and Dollhouse created compelling worlds that were previously unexplored in such a manner. Films like Memento, King of Kong, Garden State, and Primer drew me in immensely. All of those shows and movies were so easy to watch for me because of how much fun I had watching them.
But as I realized how much I loved TV and movies, and how I would like to learn to analyze them intelligently, I started approaching some material in purely a critical fashion. And that really ended up hurting me. I couldn't get into Twin Peaks at all. I didn't enjoy Kill Bill as much as I should have. Zombieland was disappointing.
I enjoy dissecting a film I take it. So, a prerequisite to dissecting it is just taking it in. When I think too much while viewing or listening to something, I can't enjoy or hate it. I can only understand it.
That's why this blog is changing format. Reviews aren't going to be formal. I'm just going to talk about whatever the hell I want in whatever way I want. It'll be easier to write, and no one will care because nobody has seen this blog yet.
This way, I'll stop over-thinking shit and just write.

So...yeah. Adios.

Lost "The Last Recruit"

The best episodes of Lost, and of any TV show for that matter, are the ones that contain heavily emotional stories that resonate with all viewers and leave a lasting impression. Still, an episode with no true focus can still be compelling, and that's exactly what happens in "The Last Recruit."

With no true centricity, this episode follows the characters as they come into one group on the island, and split from there. Claire, Sun, Sawyer, Hurley, Kate, and Frank go on a boat to Hydra Island to attempt to go to the submarine. Jack ends up returning to Flocke after deciding he can't leave the island. And all of the Others are with Flocke, preparing to attack Hydra Island.

In X Land, the characters continue to bounce around and meet each other through coincidences (coincidences named Desmond Hume). But we see more evidence of bleed-over. Sun is afraid of Locke when being wheeled into the hospital. Where this will lead, though, we don't know for sure.

With all of those chess pieces moving, we are provided with some answers to biting questions. The biggest bomb of the night: Flocke/Man In Black was Christian on the third day after the plane crash (See S1E5, White Rabbit). This doesn't necessarily mean Flocke has been Christian every instance we've seen him, but some clarification would be nice.

We also got some great moments. Jack and Claire's reunion was very cool, and continued to show us how twisted Claire is. At the same time, Jack being befuddled at finding Claire to be his sister in the alternate timeline was interesting. Desmond talking to Sayid was great, and it's possible Sayid has been turned back from the "Dark Side." Jack and Sawyer on the boat was amazing. It shows in one small scene just how far Jack has come as a character over only a couple weeks in the world of Lost. Continuing my love for Jack, his conversations with his son throughout the episode and then his beginning of the surgery were acted well and cleverly written. And to top it off, Jin and Sun finally reunited. It was very touching, and exemplified one of the core elements of the show: love.

And of course, ACTUAL bombs going off around Flocke without him so much as flinching was, to put it bluntly, badass.

All of these moments wouldn't have been as great as they were without the technical side of the show being as good as it was. The music in this episode was especially noticeable. The best cues were in scenes like Jack and Locke's conversation, Desmond's well advice, and Jin and Suns' reunion. The camera work was also involving. I loved the shot pulling out from Suns' hospital room to show us Jack and David just in the hall. I also loved the shot of Jack realizing in the mirror who Locke was. The special effects, while not hugely important here, were great during the explosion scenes. All of this really drew me in, and gave weight to the moves being made to set up the end game of this show.

I had high expectations for this episode, and to be quite honest they weren't met. But seeing as this turned out to be only set up for what should be a compelling and touching final stretch, I'm pleased that the episode could be packed with this many great moments.

8/10

Music: "xx" by The xx

I don't normally finish listening to an album and have the thought, "that was a little depressing. I want to listen again." But that's exactly how I feel about xx, the debut from The xx.

The vocals are moody and sad, coming from both a guy and girl. They often go back-and-forth in a song before coming together to hit the emotional climax of a song, and it creates a sense of a real relationship that the listener can't help but empathize with.

The bass and guitar are mellow. They're paced perfectly to relax the listener and allow them to take in the calming songs. While everything is calming, it's still catchy, and I frequently finding myself hoping a song will keep going, or that the hook will escalate once more to an even more intense track.

The songs are, overall, slow yet exciting. xx illustrates that sometimes the silence contained within a song is just as important as the music in evoking certain emotions. The heavyhearted indie pop on this record is catchy and emotionally connective, and is certainly worth a listen.

8/10

Fringe "White Tulip"

Image from the Fringe Files Gallery

Fringe has been a problematic show since its very beginning. I was extremely excited for a procedural show from some of the creators of Lost that had an overarching mythology. But season 1 was shaky, with runs of good episodes, runs of bad episodes, and some really great episodes. Season 2 seemed to up the quality some early on, but the cycle of Mythology-Monster of the Week-Monster of the Week-repeat got tiring. The seasons winter finale, Jacksonville, was a promise to the viewers that the spring segment of the season would be the best Fringe has to offer: episodes that masterfully blend the elements of the overarching mythology and self-contained stories that, combined, make the show something special. And with the three episodes after Jacksonville, that promise has not been broken. This weeks episode, White Tulip, was the high point.

The episode centers around a man named Alistair Peck, the only man to walk from a train car where fifteen people seem to have died suddenly. All the energy seems to have been sucked from the bodies and electronics on that car. Before the Fringe team is called to the scene, Walter writes a letter to his son telling him how and why he took him from the other universe. Peter knows Walter is distressed, and Olivia knows he plans to make the move soon.

Their investigation goes on to reveal that Peck is time traveling in order to stop his wife from dying in a car crash. Peck can travel back to points in his own timeline and essentially re-do them, at the cost of killing those around him at his landing point.

It's in the final act that this episode becomes a classic. In a conversation with Alistair, Walter discusses how he, too, took his knowledge too far. He admits to pushing the boundaries to dangerous extents and says he regrets his actions. John Noble's excellent portrayal of Dr. Bishop steals the show yet again, thanks to this scene. Early in the episode, he uses the child-like defense mechanism of the cold shoulder to avoid a confrontation with Peter. But Walter is no child. In his conversation with Alistair, Walter gives us an insight into the mind of Dr. Bishop and the immense moral struggle he is dealing with. His view on God and science therein is inspiring. And with his cautionary tale delivered, Walter is dragged away as Peck flashes back to the day of his wifes accident. The sound direction here is great. We hear next to nothing, but we see Peck rush to say his last "I Love You" to his wife before letting himself die in the car crash. The fulfillment of Walter's goal to prevent another man from threatening the health of the universe to save one person is his Karmic retribution for his theft of Peter. And Peck makes sure Walter knows this. After Walter burns this timelines copy of the letter to Peter, he finds the mail and a letter addressed to him containing a paper with a drawing of a tulip. The emotional range Noble covers in this small scene is astounding.

That's not to say the rest of the cast does a necessarily bad job. While I've seen others criticize Josh Jackson's Peter, I very much enjoy the character. Olivia, as portrayed by Anna Torv, continues to be decent enough to not bring the show down, but she's not helping a whole lot either. The same can be said for Lance Reddick's Broyles, who has been focused on less and less as this season has gone on. Jasika Nicole's Astrid begs for more screen time, but she fills her role now well enough that I am satisfied. As long as Noble has something to do, the rest of the cast can't drag the show through the mud.

As I discussed above, the sound design in this episode was perfectly impactful. The music was also wonderful. I've loved the score to Fringe all along. There are some exciting cues, but at the same time it's not too overbearing. The music doesn't beat us over the head with the reactions we're supposed to be having, but it clues us in.

"White Tulip" succeeds at being an example of what to expect in a grade-A episode of Fringe. There are elements of serial nature, where the show assumes ahead of time that we know what the cast is going through. But the procedural elements create a tightly-woven, self-contained, highly-emotional story using gripping science-fiction narrative devices that resonates with all television fans. As long as the program continues this balancing act, we can expect a quality show. Let us hope Fringe keeps walking the tightrope with precision.

9.5/10