Episode 23 - Hello, Sailor!

It's an attempt to stay positive as we discuss contrariness in trying to review and talk about things (especially on the Internet) and in that context we went back to things that we have disliked or found generally terrible in attempts to find something good to say about them.  Amy had the book and chose Edith Wharton's 1911 novel Ethan Frome and I chose the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints.  We talk snow imagery, horrid amounts of Willem Dafoe scenery chewing and why Ethan Frome in general is not the best choice to assign to high school students.

Also discussed:  Only Lovers Left Alive, So You Think You Can Dance, The Witches of East End and Under The Skin. 

Next episode, we talk libraries and librarians!  We'll be watching Party Girl and reading Alberto Manguel's The Library At Night.

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Show Notes:

The documentary about The Boondock Saints that I mention is Overnight and is really, really recommended.

We mention Lovecraft in comparison to Wharton at one point and Amy mentions a mash-up of them; I don't think that exisst, so here's Neil Gaiman's mash-up of Lovecraft and Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Emerald. (PDF)

Opening Music: "Mi Chiamano Mimi" from Puccini's "La Boheme," sung by Maria Callas
Closing Music: "James Connolly," Black 47


Our Twitters:

Joseph

Amy

Randy

Snowpiercer

 

설국열차 / Seolgungnyeolcha / Snowpiercer

2014

Directed by:  Bong Joon-ho

Written by: Bong Joon-ho and Kelly Masterson, adapted from Le Transperceneige by Jacque Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette

The Earth has frozen, due to an accident of humans trying to combat global warming with a q uick fix.  All that is left of humanity rides one train making an eternal circuit of the earth.  Rich people in the front, poor people in the back.  Bing bang boom, there's your setup; you don't need to know much more than that since it's not the journey in this case that's the important part but the reaction of the people in the tail to being penned up for 18 years that this movie is about.  Tensions rise, angers flare and tales of old rebellions spur new actions.

What happens next manages to overcome what could have been a heavy-handed commentary and pulls it off quite deftly due to Bong Joon-ho's deft direction and a passel of good performances.  Tilda Swinton (as the representative of the front of the train to the trail, a sort of fascist minister to the downtrodden) is as great as usual, but there's some notes here from Christopher Evans (as the leader of the tail group) that we haven't seen before.  (Then there's Alison Pill, pulling off a manic little appearance that's a highlight of the movie in how scarily logical it is.)  I somehow had no idea Octavia Spencer is in the movie as well, but was damn happy to see her (there's a bit where she causally cracks a hard-boiled egg on the head of a child that had me laughing far too hard).

While not quite at the level of Mother, this is still some damn fine Bong Joon-ho work.  It can be a little heavy-handed at times but the performances and directing overcome it and this is one of the better post-apocalyptic movies to come along in a while, with an good ending that has the tiniest sliver of hope.

4/5

Buffy Rewatch: The Riley Problem

Season 4 continues with "The Initiative", "Pangs", and "Something Blue".


"Say. Don't ya just love a picnic?"


We need to talk about Riley.

No, this is not going to be a long-winded defense of the character, and no, it's not going to be a condemnation of him, either. Looking back at the character, almost 15 years later, we know that Riley will only be around for another season, Regardless, Riley's a bit of a dud - but I think I see what the writers were going for.

Buffy Rewatch: Worst Episode Ever.

We get a little deeper into season 4 this week, with "Fear, Itself", "Beer Bad", and "Wild At Heart".


"No, beer bad. Bad, bad beer. What the hell am I saying?"


There are, maybe, a few other contenders for Worst Episode Ever: "I Robot... You Jane" and "Doublemeat Palace" are often cited, and someone recently suggested season 5's "Listening To Fear". But for me, no episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER stinks as deeply, completely, terribly, and truly as "Beer Bad".

Episode 22 - "I like my Muffin toasted."

 
Weddings! We read the 1932 novel Cheerful Weather For The Wedding and watched Robert Altman's A Wedding.

Next week: Randy has us choosing stuff we have to struggle to find good things to say about. Joseph chose the movie Boondock Saints and Amy chose the novel Ethan Fromme.


Also discussed this week: Jersey Boys, Midsomer Murders, Pie in the Sky, QI, Rev and Deadwood.

Show Notes: Sorry about the sound of the rain on my side of the conversation.   I didn't mean for it to sound like we were recording in the middle of a Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello movie.


Listen at Podomatic

Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 

We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Intro music: "The Wedding March," by Queen
Outro music:  "Chapel of Love" by Better Midler

Our Twitters:

Joseph

Amy

Randy

Buffy Rewatch: Ch-ch-ch-changes

Season 4 starts with "The Freshman", "Living Conditions", and "The Harsh Light of Day".


"It's exciting, though, isn't it?"
"Yeah! It's gonna be an adjustment."


Shows have to change to allow the characters to grow. Shows that don't change risk having the audience get bored, as the show repeats the same stories and character beats over and over. On the other hand, shows that change risk having the audience revolt, saying "It's not as good as it used to be!" And I know that there's a segment of the BUFFY fandom that only loves the first three seasons. (But then, there are those of us (aka, "the ones who are correct") who think the show's peak is still a season away.)

BUFFY had to change after season 3 ended, since the gang graduated from high school. The university setting is one of the big changes, but not the only one: Angel and Cordy have moved to LA, so the show will have to establish some new characters (Riley, Professor Walsh) AND reintroduce some old ones (Anya, Spike, Harmony). The beginning of season 4 is, no doubt, an awkward transitional phase - but one that's also absolutely necessary for the show and the characters.

Buffy Rewatch: The End of the Beginning

Season 3 wraps up with "Choices", "The Prom", and "Graduation Day (Parts 1 and 2)".


"Look at you. All dressed up in big sister's clothes."


Here's the thing: endings matter. When you tell a story that spans multiple episodes (or a whole season... or multiple seasons), and you have control over when and how that story ends, the ending itself is important. A great ending can salvage questionable earlier episodes, and a weak ending (no matter how great what came before actually was) can leave viewers frustrated. And I think that's part of the reason why I rank seasons 2 and 5 ahead of season 3: I'm just not a huge fan of "Graduation Day".