Western Weekends: The Mask of Zorro

Sorry, I seem to have missed a week. You could say that I have managed to get some writing done but that would be a lie. Or are we supposed to call those 'alternative facts' now?

Actually, I have started working on my swashbuckler series again. So I thought I might look at something which combines Swashbucklers and Westerns; The Mask of Zorro, a summer blockbuster from 1998 based on the works of Johnston McCulley.

A prologue takes place in California in 1821. Anthony Hopkins plays Don Diego de la Vega, a nobleman leading a double life as Zorro, the masked swordsman who fights against oppression and injustice. As the Mexican War of Independence draws to a close, Diego believes that he can retire. This hope is dashed by the intervention of Don Rafael Montero, the now-former Spanish Governor of California who has deduced his secret identity - partially motivated by his desire for Diego's wife Esperanza. Diego tries to resist arrest until Esperanza is accidentally killed. However, Montero spares his life but destroys his estate and takes his infant daughter Elena to raise as his own.

Twenty years later, Diego has been living in anonymity until learning that Montero has returned to California with a now-adult Elena played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Not long afterwards, he encounters Alejandro Murietta, a drunken thief played by Antonio Banderas. Alejandro becomes Diego's apprentice, hoping to avenge the death of his brother Joaquin at the hands of Montero's henchman, Captain Harrison Love. 

I saw this film a while back, and watched it again recently to see if it still holds up. It actually does so surprisingly well. There's plenty of swordfights, a good mix of comedy and drama, and even some rather dark imagery in places. I love the hero's journey Alejandro goes through. He starts off as a drunken thief, learns to fight, and becomes an impulsive fame-seeker before developing into the Zorro for a new age.

It is a little cliched, but they're fun cliches, and the film still works with them.

Anyway, I'd best get back to my writing.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So, we had a Friday 13th this month. And while a Finnish airline had a flight designated as 666 that day (Sadly not piloted by Bruce Dickinson), Netflix decided to use this perceived unlucky day to premier A Series of Unfortunate Events - an adaptation of the children's novels written by Daniel Handler under the pen-name Lemony Snicket.

The series follows the misfortunes of the Baudelaire siblings: fourteen-year-old inventor Violet, twelve-year-old bookworm Klaus, and the bitey infant Sunny. After their parents are killed in a mysterious fire, the three are forced to travel from foster home to foster home while being targeted by the villainous Count Olaf, a distant relative and stage actor who seeks to inherit the sizeable fortune their parents left them. Along the way, they try to learn about a mysterious organisation their parents were involved with.

While I was in a generation of kids who grew up with these books, I never really read them. However, I did dip into the first book once, and I understand that they are known to be very bleak and depressing - even the books themselves acknowledge this. There was a film too, released thirteen years ago. I saw a bit of it once while laid up, but I can't say I was hooked. Hell, if you read into some of the jokes in this series, it's apparent that the show's producers (including Handler himself) weren't particularly keen on it either. And this time I was hooked.

Neil Patrick Harris does a fantastic job as Count Olaf. While Olaf is an appalling actor who the kids always recognise despite fooling the adults (a recurring theme in the books), Harris delights in chewing the scenery, even though his character is more or less a complete monster. Meanwhile, Patrick Warburton stars as Lemony Snicket, the show's omni-present narrator, who I find very reminiscent of Rod Serling. I'm especially interested in finding out his role in the events of the series.

The show has a very strange tone. You want to laugh at Olaf's hamming, but you also want to feel sorry for the Baudelaires, and this can create some real, gut-wrenching tension. I love the visuals as well - courtesy of Bo Welch, who has done a lot of work with Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld (who's also involved in the series as a director and producer). There's only eight episodes at the moment, which cover the events of the first four books (out of thirteen). However, I managed to binge them in one weekend, and I'm eager to find out what happens next.

While I didn't really read the books when they came out, this series actually makes me want to. 

I suppose that's the sign of an adaptation done well.

Western Weekends: The Homesman

Last weekend I looked at a classic western epic. This weekend I'm going to look at something newer - and a lot more depressing.

Hilary Swank plays Mary Bea Cuddy, an unmarried homesteader living in Nebraska. Following a harsh winter, she takes a job as a 'Homesman' who takes three mentally unstable women to a church in Iowa. Along the way, she enlists the help of George Briggs, a scoundrel and claim jumper played by Tommy Lee Jones, who also directs the film.

I consider this film to be groundbreaking for exploring an issue of Prairie Madness. The harsh living conditions of frontier life combined with the isolated nature could have a poor effect on the mind. I can't think of any other film that has truly explored this.

Cuddy is a great protagonist. She is very strong-willed and independent, but at the same time, she is also feeling the effects of the isolation. Meanwhile, George Briggs is somewhat conflicted. He is reluctant to go on the journey, only agreeing so Mary stops him from being lynched. Even afterwards, he's not willing to stay with her without the promise of a payment. Nonetheless, he goes through some interesting development.

The visuals are dreary, but that's the effect they're going for and it's done well. The shots of the High Plains really hammer in the theme of isolation.

It's a good film with a strong revisionist tone, but a very mean-spirited one. Not one for the faint of heart. 

Western Weekends: How the West Was Won

Well, I've survived the first week of January, and I've toasted the New Year resolutions...which I haven't made.

Anyway, I've been contemplating which Western film to open this review series with. So, as a tribute to Debbie Reynolds, who passed away over the Christmas week, I thought I might look at this 1962 epic she starred in. How the West Was Won chronicles four generations of the Prescott family as they move further west during a fifty year period. Narrated by Spencer Tracey, the film is divided into five acts, which could all be their own films: The Rivers, The Plains, The Civil War, The Railroad, and The Outlaws.

The Rivers takes place around 1840, when Zebulon Prescott (Played by Karl Malden) seeks land in Ohio River country at the tip of southern Illinois. In a journey which includes river pirates and rapids, Zebulon's eldest daughter Eve (played by Carroll Baker), becomes romantically involved with Linus Rawlings, an affable mountain man played by Jimmy Stewart.

The Plains jumps forward to the early 1850s, and follows Debbie Reynolds as Eve's younger sister Lilith, who has moved Back East and is performing at a dance hall in St Louis. After inheriting a gold mine in California, she travels West again and meets the gambler Cleve van Valen, played by Gregory Peck.

The remainder of the film follows George Peppard as Zeb Rawlings, the eldest son of Eve and Linus. Not satisfied with life on a farm, he enlists in the army during the Civil War, later serving in the cavalry during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, and becoming a marshal before retiring to Arizona around 1890.

The film has a massive cast, which also includes Henry Fonda, Eli Wallach, Lee J. Cobb, and even a cameo by John Wayne. It's hard to discuss everybody. There are plenty of characters I want to learn more about, but the film's long enough already.

The visuals absolutely stunning, and while it's predominately an idealistic look at the frontier lifestyle, it doesn't hesitate to show some of the rougher aspects within the action. It certainly is a product of the time. But it's nonetheless one that's worth checking out.

Happy New Year

Well, the utter train wreck we called 2016 has come to an end. Time to nurse the hangover, look at New Year's Resolutions, and the concept of "New Year, New Me."

Yeah, that'll be the day. I don't make promises I don't intend to keep. I'm not a politician.

I've not long started in a new job, so the writing's going to be a bit slow in the upcoming months. So it looks like I'll be doing more blogging. This is the Writer's Block after all.

Anyway, one thing I'm looking forward to in 2017 is the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 - the sequel to what may be one of my favourite games of all time.

And since I love Westerns, I thought I might unveil a new series of posts - Western Weekends. Starting next Saturday, I'll be posting (somewhat) regular reviews of Western movies. There's no real criteria here - they can be classic films or obscure ones I find online.

Happy 2017.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Merry Christmas everybody. I'm sure that you've all had plenty to drink and are still working your way through the leftovers. I've just got back from seeing the first of Disney's Star Wars spin-off films, Rogue One.

Taking place not long before A New Hope, we follow Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, an independent-minded rogue hastily recruited by the Rebel Alliance. Jyn is the daughter of Galen Erso, played by Mads Mikkelson, a scientist who works for an Imperial weapons development team. Working with a Rebel Intellegence officer Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, she has to find plans for the superweapon her father is working on.

I have to say that the beginning of the film seems rather rushed, but it does pick up to deliver a long but exciting climax. I also think that Jyn and Cassian aren't very interesting characters. It's a shame, because I found the opening scene with her backstory to be very gripping. Her father had resigned from weapons development until he is forced out of retirement by his old boss Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn.

While our two main heroes aren't interesting, it's the supporting characters who steal the show. My favourite is the droid K-S20, played by Alan Tudyk. He kicks a lot more arse than C-3P0, and delivers a lot of snarky lines, like a cross between HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic and Wash from Firefly (even though he is Wash from Firefly). There's also a blind monk played by Donnie Yen, who is a really good fighter. Mads Mikkelson is also pretty good, as he's repentant despite working on a secret weapon. His boss is suitably ruthless too, but there's not much to him.

One thing that did seem to stand out was the number of times the film panders to the fans. This includes a CGI Peter Cushing. He gets a lot of screen time and looks...off. But I can''t really fault that. And it was great to see Darth Vader again, with his special retreat for suitably dramatic entrances.

They've certainly tried to make the film darker than the rest, and they do end up succeeding. You'll have to see it for yourself to see where though.

Overall, it's no Empire Strikes Back, but it certainly is worth it for the blazing action.

Oh, advance warning; there's no opening crawl. But that shouldn't dissuade you.

Favourite Shows #1: Firefly

I like to stand up for the underdog. And one such underdog is this short-lived sci-fi western hybrid from the mind of Joss Whedon.

The Earth has been rendered inhabitable, so humanity terraformed and colonised planets in another galaxy. The Union of Allied Planets (The Alliance) was formed to rule this new galaxy, but their authority is challenged by the Independents, also known as 'Browncoats'. There was a civil war, but the Browncoats lost. Since then, many of them drifted to the outer planets where the Alliance has less control and people survive with the most basic technology.

We follow Nathan Fillion as former Browncoat Malcolm Reynolds, the captain and owner of the Firefly-class transport Serenity. Unable to fight the Alliance but unwilling to live under them, Mal travels around the frontier in Serenity, and makes his living outside the law as an amoral Jack-of-all-trades. He's seldom fussy about who hires him, but he is humane and follows his own code.

The rest of Serenity's crew is comprised of an excellent cast: Gina Torres as Zoe, another Browncoat who serves as Mal's unconditionally loyal second-in command; Zoe's husband Wash, played by Alan Tudyk, the lovable and goofy ship's pilot; Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb, a thuggish and crude mercenary who provides security; Jewel Staite as Kaylee Frye, the laid-back and optimistic mechanic; Inara Serra, played by Morena Baccarin, a high-class escort who gives the crew a degree of legitimacy and respectability; Dr Simon Tam, played by Sean Maher, a socially-awkward trauma surgeon on the run for theft of Alliance property; Simon's sister River, played by Summer Glau, a mentally unstable teenage prodigy; and Shepherd Book, a devout preacher with a questionable past, played by the late Ron Glass.

The characters all work off each other brilliantly, and the dialogue is full of memorable quotes. I also love the imagination behind the melding of Eastern and Western culture. But I think my favourite aspect is the fact that all the characters seem realistic. They don't want to save the Galaxy or boldly go where no man has gone before. They just want to get by. 

It's such a shame that the show was cancelled before its time by some corporate tools. But it was great to see the cast bite back and reunite for the feature-length film, Serenity.

They did the impossible, and that makes them mighty.

Favourite TV Shows #2: Game of Thrones

I've not read many of George R. R. Martin's books, but the HBO adaptation makes me want to consider them.

Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy with a massive cast, with three crisscrossing stories. The main plot is about the noble houses of Westeros and Essos vying for control of the Iron Throne, and thus control over The Seven Kingdoms, following the death of King Robert Baratheon. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryan, the last surviving blood relative of the previous ruling family is leading her own attempt to establish her own empire while in exile, hoping to reclaim the Iron Throne herself. Finally, an ancient evil is amassing in the frigid lands to the north of Westeros beyond the giant wall of ice which keeps the Wildlings at bay.

While a lot of people might object to the high levels of violence and nudity, there many fascinating characters who work off each other very well. The first series predominately follows Lord Eddard Stark as he accepts a position in Robert Baratheon's court. He soon finds himself enveloped in the political intrigue of Baratheon's consort Cersei Lannister, and learns of a secret that his predecessor may have been killed to protect. Did I mention that he's played by Sean Bean? You can probably figure out what happens next.

Once Sean Bean goes the way of...well...Sean Bean, we have other protagonists to follow. Emilia Clarke plays Daenerys Targaryan, initially a frightened child married off to a warlord by her brother. But she soon earns the respect of her husband, stands up to her brother, and later becomes a conqueror not to be trifled with. In the north, we follow Kit Harrington as Jon Snow, an illegitimate son of Lord Stark as he serves in the Night's Watch who guard The Wall.

But if there's anyone who steals the show, it's Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is shunned by his father due to being a dwarf, but he is nonetheless an incredibly savvy politician. And he gets some of the best lines in the show.

Favourite TV Shows #3: Breaking Bad

I've already stated how much I enjoy American dramas, and this is another one. On top of that, it's great to see a comedic actor being recognised for a dramatic role. In this case, it's the dad from Malcolm in the Middle.

Bryan Cranston plays Walter White, a struggling high-school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque. After being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, Walter tries to secure his family's financial future by making crystal meth with the help of his former student Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul. Soon, Walter finds himself having to make his product while contending with the competitive elements of the criminal underworld, not to mention trying to keep his double life a secret from his family, especially his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank Schrader, played by Dean Norris.

Once again, the characters are memorable. Bob Odenkirk plays Saul Goodman, a sleazy lawyer who gets people off the hook by any means necessary. Working under him is 'Private Investigator' Mike, played by Jonathan Banks, who serves as an enforcer for the affable kingpin Gus Fring. Saul ended up being so popular that he got his own spin-off with Better Call Saul. It's good, but it's no Breaking Bad.

The show excels at mixing the gritty and heartbreaking elements with some of the funniest black comedy around. The bathtub incident in the first series is the classic example of that. Ultimately, it is about moral consequence, and how good and bad are not clearly cut.

Favourite TV Shows #4: Blackadder

Yep, another British sitcom, and another one by Ben Elton. Blackadder is a historical comedy following four different incarnations of the eponymous anti-hero Edmund Blackadder, played by Rowan Atkinson, and his sidekick Baldrick, played by Tony Robinson.

The first series is an alternate history where the House of York won the Wars of the Roses and the throne is assumed by King Richard IV, played by Brian Blessed. Richard's reign is shown from the perspective of his slow-witted second son Edmund. Calling himself the Black Adder, he schemes and plots to take the throne with the aid of his more intelligent but lowly servant Baldrick and his dim-witted and foppish hanger-on, Lord Percy Percy, played by Tim McInnery. While the series does have some laughs, it gets overshadowed by the later seasons.

After the first series the roles were reversed so Blackadder is more intelligent but still scheming and cynical, while Baldrick is the main stupid character. In Blackadder II, Lord Blackadder is a member of the London aristocracy trying to maintain his favour with Miranda Richardson's childish Queen Elizabeth I, while competing with her grovelling Lord Chamberlain Melchett, played by Stephen Fry. Blackadder the Third follows Mr Edmund Blackadder as his family has fallen on hard times and he is forced to work as butler to the Prince Regent, played by Hugh Laurie. Finally, Blackadder Goes Forth takes place during the First World War, following Captain Blackadder's attempts to avoid being killed in a final assault.

I'd have to say that my favourite series is Blackadder Goes Forth, as it presents the most human version of Blackadder. Rather than the Germans, his enemies are the pompous and eccentric General Melchett, played by Stephen Fry, and his adjutant Captain Darling, played by Tim McInnery.

There are plenty of laughs and a ton of funny lines, while the fourth series even has some truly poignant moments.

Oh, and we can't forget Lord Flashheart.

Favourite TV Shows #5: Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra

I know it's cheating a bit, putting down two shows, but they do take place in the same universe, so I might as well discuss both of them.

For both shows, the premise is this: There are four nations based on the elements of nature, and people within each nation who can manipulate the elements with the physical motions of martial arts - a power known as 'bending'. Peace between the nations is maintained by the Avatar, one person originating from any of the nations who can bend all the elements and periodically reincarnates.

With that in mind, we'll look at The Last Airbender. The Avatar is a twelve-year-old Airbender named Aang, who has been stuck in an iceberg for the last century, during which time the imperialistic Fire Nation has wiped out the Air Nomads and are waging war against the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom. Aang has to travel the world and learn the other elements before the summer solstice, when the Fire Lord carries out his final reckoning on the world.

Aang is aided in his quest by a compassionate Waterbender named Katara and her goofy non-bending older brother Sokka. While travelling the world on Aang's flying bison, they are later joined by a trash-talking blind Earthbender named Toph. Hunting them is Prince Zuko, the exiled son of the Fire Lord who seeks to capture Aang so he can return home.

I think that Zuko is an interesting villain. He's short-tempered and angst-ridden, but he's also sympathetic. However, it's his uncle Iroh who steals the show. He's a kind and gentle mentor and father-figure, but he has his goofy side too. It's impossible not to like him.

The Legend of Korra takes place seventy years after the end of The Last Airbender, in which Aang has died and reincarnated as a brash Waterbender named Korra. While Aang is depicted to fear his legendary status, Korra embraces it, but has to learn to become more spiritual in a drastically-changing world. Her 'Team Avatar' includes the brothers Mako and Bolin, a brooding Firebender and jovial Earthbender, respectively. Rounding the team out is the non-bending inventor and martial artist Asami Sato.

Both shows have stunning animation which create a beautiful world and fast-paced action, with engaging stories and memorable characters. I recommend both. I especially like how Legend of Korra took the fans of the original show into consideration, who would likely be in their late teens or early twenties at that point. This gives them the opportunity to look at more mature issues and themes. However, I still favour The Last Airbender for the epic journey it puts the characters and viewers through. While this does mean you have to watch from the beginning, that's not really an issue and provides many opportunities for character development.