A Little TLC(w): End of the Road (1993)

Okay, so I have a strong suspicion that I wouldn’t find this film more than mediocre under any circumstances, but I do have to disclose that the copy I found of it was causing me some aggravation.  IMDb lists the main language as Min Nan (a particular dialect, one variant of which is Taiwanese,) but my copy was in Cantonese, meaning that all the dialogue was dubbed.  Now, if the film was made in a different language, Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s dialogue might very well have been dubbed regardless.  But even if I’m disappointed when, say, he’s in a mainland movie and his Mandarin is dubbed, I get it and I accept it because that’s the way the movie was made.  It bugs me more when I’m getting a version of the movie that wasn’t what the filmmakers created, and while the dubbing was reasonably good (the dialogue was well-timed to the lip movements,) it still didn’t feel quite right.  Add to that some truly atrocious subtitles – in addition to general errors, there were some sentences that I straight-up did not understand at all – and I wasn’t in much of a mood to be generous to the movie, none of which was its fault.

In 1954, Chinese nationalist forces in what was then Burma, along with a number of anti-Communist Chinese civilians, have given up arms and find themselves somewhat waylaid in Southeast Asia.  They’re waiting to be sent to Taiwan for repatriation, but in the meantime, they’re starving in an area filled with disparate hostile forces, drug smugglers, and little food.  Many of the soldiers, under the guidance of General Hau, train to join Thailand’s military and continue the fight, while others join up with unsavory forces and still others just want to get away from all of it and find a home for themselves.

I’ll admit to not knowing much about this geopolitical situation, so it took me a little while to get my bearings and figure out the ins and outs of what was happening.  And there’s some interesting stuff here, to be sure – I feel for the Chinese soldiers and civilians stranded without a country, and some of the characters and the relationships between them are fairly engaging.  Also, Ng Man-tat, who also appeared in Chinese Midnight Express, is in it, and that’s neat.  But while individual moving parts work for me, the film as a whole doesn’t.  The direction is pretty overwrought, which makes it hard to make it seriously.  The super-dramatic music that starts blaring whenever someone Dies Significantly, for instance, made me laugh more than anything else.

So where does Leung fit into this?  He plays Fan Long, one of the nationalist soldiers and a major supporting character in the film (early on, he seems like he might be the main focal point character, but the film is more of an ensemble piece, and he’s a lot less prominent in the second half.)  After having escaped a prison camp, he joins the other stranded Chinese and begins to take an interest in a lovely young schoolteacher, but his first allegiance is always to himself – he can make bad decisions for short-term gratification, and his authority-bucking attitude doesn’t win him any favors with General Hau.

What interests me about this character is his first scene in the film.  Imprisoned with several other Chinese soldiers, he catches a chicken through the bars of their cell and starts to eat it raw.  He shares a pieces with another captive but chastises the man when he in turn offers it to his sick comrade, reasoning that the prisoner is a goner and there’s no sense in wasting the meat.  That’s the scene that helps me understand Fan Long’s actions later in the film, why he flouts authority, why his loyalties are fluid, why he sometimes works counter to his own happiness.  He’s been through hell, but he’s a survivor, and nearly everything he does is with that in mind.  If it won’t increase his chances of keeping himself alive, it’s extraneous – nice if he can get it, but he’ll throw it over if he needs to.

Fan Long might be the grayest character I’ve seen Leung play so far.  I’d call him self-serving rather than outright bad, but this isn’t the guy you necessarily think he’s going to turn out to be when he’s having a meetcute with the teacher.  That’s noteworthy for me; still, there’s nothing too challenging about the role, and while Leung plays it well, it’s nothing to really write home about.

Recommend?

In General – Naw.  Some good ingredients, but it doesn’t add up to a good recipe.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Not really.  Just not enough of note – playing a bit of a darker character makes him stand out a bit, but I’m pretty sure I’ll find better examples of that in better films before I finish going through his filmography.

News Satire Roundup: August 20th-August 24th

Sunday, August 20 – The picture of Trump shortly after his inauguration with advisors, of which only Pence is still standing, was an apt summation of the White House.  John celebrated Steve Bannon’s departure but pointed out that it hasn’t exactly cleared the administration of white nationalist ideology – cue Trump’s Tuesday remarks on Charlottesville.  More than the remarks themselves, John focused on GOP responses to it, how many avoided specifically calling out Trump and how many stayed silent altogether.  The main story was on nuclear waste storage.  John naturally discussed the health hazards of living near improperly-stored waste, as well as the potentially-catastrophic results of accidents, but what he really looked at was how ill-equipped we are to handle it despite decades of knowing just how dangerous it is – sobering story (though John brought some levity to it with his fear of American Girl dolls.)

Monday, August 21 – The show opened with a fun montage of a Fox News anchor freaking out with excitement over the eclipse.  Then Trevor talked about his “relaxing” vacation amid protests in South Africa before coming home just in time for Charlottesville.  Obviously, they’re coming at all this a week late, but I still thought Trevor had some good stuff to say.  He looked at an alt-right supporter quibbling over the definition of “racist” and pointed out a disheartening poll that showed two-thirds of Republicans approving Trump’s statement.  Next up was a closer look at white supremacists and what they believe, with Roy criticizing them for blowing it when they have a “hook-up” with the president.  The guest, author Joshua Green, talked about his book on Steve Bannon’s role in the administration.  He had some good points about why someone like Trump could be drawn in by someone like Bannon.

Tuesday, August 22 – Odd opening with Indian and Chinese soldiers fighting by throwing rocks at each on a disputed border.  The big story tonight was Trump’s plan for Afghanistan.  Trevor hit the highlights of the speech – Trump in “book report” mode, lack of specifics, and use of his “losers” catchphrase (Trevor’s riff imagining Obama using “bazinga” was awesome) – and Desi and Ronny donned uniforms to offer their Afghanistan advice, knowing Trump only listens to generals.  Decent story on the Secret Service running low on funds, although I would’ve preferred a little more on how much money they’re putting into Trump businesses when the family travels.  Senator Amy Klobuchar was the guest.  I liked her comments about working across the aisle, and she had great things to say about protecting voter rights and lowering the costs of prescription drugs.

Wednesday, August 23 – The big Trump news of the day was his rally in Phoenix, where he railed against his various enemies and, as Trevor put it, touted himself as “the real victim” of Charlottesville.  That latter point was the crux of the piece, with Trump misquoting himself, acting like context doesn’t matter, and pretending he never equated protestors with Neo-Nazis.  Roy also came out to analyze, not the speech itself, but the supporters standing behind Trump while he gave it.  Most particularly, he looked at the self-proclaimed “Michael the Black man,” a Trump supporter and former cult member with a race-baiting conspiracy website.  I really liked the interview with Bryan Stevenson and Andra Day of the Lynching in America project.  The comparison between how America and other countries have dealt with their past atrocities was excellent, and as a promotion for the project, Day also performed a cover of “Strange Fruit.”

Thursday, August 24 – Opening blurb on Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming memoir, with Trevor looking forward to the book but questioning her audiobook game.  It led into a piece on “different Trumps,” similar to what they’ve done before on Trump’s wildly-divergent personas depending on the occasion.  Here, Trevor contrasted the three Trumps we saw in speeches on three consecutive days, highlighting the importance that it wasn’t just the performance that changed, but the entire message.  Jordan came on to do a little promotion for his new show, which seems a lot like The Colbert Report, only satirizing more of the Alex Jones/Breitbart-type fringe media.  Nnamdi Asomugha of the film Crown Heights was the guest, along with Colin Warner, about whom the story is based.  It looks like an intense film, and after Atlanta and Get Out, I’m ready to see Lakeith Stanfield in just about anything.

Favorite Characters: Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)

I love hobbits.  That’s just something that, over the years, I’ve learned about myself as a person.  They all thoroughly charmed me when I first read Tolkien, Bilbo got me through the Hobbit films at their most dragging, and in the original trilogy, I’m all about that splendid Shire quartet.  I love each of them for their own reasons, but my recent rewatch has definitely cemented Sam as my favorite.  Again, I’m mainly talking about the films right now – haven’t had a chance to reread the books yet, though I plan to start remedying that soon (some Sam-related spoilers.)

I didn’t really give him his full due when I first saw the trilogy in the early 2000s.  I loved him, of course, and having read the books, I went into The Return of the King excitedly waiting for That Scene on the side of Mount Doom, but I didn’t appreciate him like I do now, as my runaway favorite character in the whole story and one of the best best-friend characters out there.  Watching it now, though, he positively leaps off the screen – how did I ever miss it?

More working-class than the rest of the main four, Sam is Frodo’s gardener at the start of the trilogy.  After overhearing Gandalf and Frodo discussing the Ring (during which he insists he “ain’t been droppin’ no eaves,”) Sam is recruited by Gandalf to accompany Frodo on what is then supposed to be a relatively short, though still dangerous, trip to Bree.  Naturally, one thing leads to another, and it’s quickly clear that Frodo will need to take the Ring all the way to Mordor to destroy it.  At that point, he has men, elves, and dwarves pledging their service and protection to him, all of whom are, on the surface, far better equipped to aid him than Sam, but Sam refuses to take the “out” that would see him safely back to the Shire.  Partly out of his dedication to keeping his promise to Gandalf, and partly due to his own personal devotion to Frodo, he insists on being allowed to come.  And when the influence of the Ring divides the Fellowship, it’s Sam who continues on alone with Frodo, accompanying him to the very heart of the volcano.

There’s so much to absolutely love about this character.  Fair warning – hobbits tend to bring out my squee tendencies, but I’ll try and be a little more articulate than that.  First and foremost, of course, I love Sam’s unwavering loyalty to Frodo.  Throughout all three films, Frodo’s well-being and safety is Sam’s greatest concern, and Sam does everything in his power to protect him.  At first, that power seems small, and his chiefest contributions are seeing to the cooking, calling for the help of one of their stronger, more capable companions when there’s danger, and watching over Frodo after he’s been injured.  But as the story continues, especially after Frodo and Sam continue on their own, Sam’s well of strength and ability seems to grow ever deeper, and it becomes clear that there’s no terror he won’t face on Frodo’s behalf.  Sam battles a giant spider for Frodo and single-handedly storms a tower of orcs to rescue him.  In smaller ways, he works to keep Frodo’s spirits up and make sure he looks after himself as the Ring starts taking greater hold of him.  He sees how the Ring is weighing on his friend and does whatever he can to try and ease that burden, gutted when he can’t help further.

I love that gradual journey of Sam sort of discovering what he’s capable of through his care of Frodo.  At the Shire, Sam could hardly pluck up the courage to talk to the woman he likes, but by the end, he’s a bonafide hero who’s braved monsters and traveled to the ends of the earth to keep his friend safe.  But through it all, even as he becomes more heroic and badass, he remains the same plain-spoken, artless hobbit he’s always been.  He loves simple pleasures like good food – it kills me that, even when he and Frodo disguise themselves as orcs to move through Mordor, he still has pots and pans hanging from his belt – and takes delight in imagining people telling great tales someday about Frodo and the Ring.  He’s absolutely without guile in his emotions, whether it’s beaming with optimism under trying circumstances or breaking down crying after what happens in Moria.  He’s also able to carry the Ring (albeit for a short time) without being tempted or corrupted by it, no small feat.  There’s just something so sweet and pure about his characterization – I don’t want to say “simple,” because I think that does him a bit of a disservice, but it’s something close to that.  In the end, all I can say is that he’s Sam.  And that’s just wonderful.

Relationship Spotlight: Gamora & Peter Quill (Guardians of the Galaxy)

I think seeing Vol. 2 helped me get enough context to understand Peter and Gamora a little better, especially from her point of view – while I wouldn’t call them John and Aeryn, there is a bit of a similar idea at play there.  Before, it felt a little too been-there-done-that, but I’m starting to see it now.

On first glance, I wasn’t overly impressed by Gamora and Peter.  It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, the quippy minor rogue/burgeoning hero and the stone cold warrior women.  He’s jokey, she’s all business, he makes small flirting overtures, she threatens to snap his neck, but all the while they grow ever closer – that sort of thing.  By the end of the first movie, he hasn’t romanced her, but he has earned her respect and (relative) trust.

Looking back on it, it’s actually noteworthy how few overtly-romantic beats there are between them in the film.  Peter saves Gamora, a couple times (a complaint I have with the first film is that I wish Gamora had more solid victories of her own,) they have a kinda-moment with Peter’s cassette player (although, at its heart, that scene is about introducing Gamora to Peter’s world through his music,) and Peter’s initial reaction to meeting her – before she robs him, mind you – is to come on to her.  But really, through much of the movie, their teamwork/arguing/getting to know each other isn’t all that different specifically from what Peter does with any of the other Guardians.  Instead, it’s mostly by virtue of the fact that Peter’s the clear lead and Gamora is the only female Guardian that we know this storyline is inevitable for them.

It’s in the second film that they get a bit more John-and-Aeryn with the proceedings.  By this time, the team has been traveling and working together for a while, and they’ve all started to figure each other out a little more.  And that’s where we start to see what’s going on – or, more accurately, not quite going on – with Gamora and Peter.  It’s here that the “quippy hero”-“warrior woman” dynamic gets fleshed out more distinctly.  We see that their relationship has progressed but stopped short of what they both likely want it to be.  Although they support one another through hard personal stuff, whenever Peter tries to broach the subject of where they’re headed, Gamora throws up road blocks.  It’s deep understandable, since she was raised by a genocidal war lord who destroyed her planet and then brought her up to be his living weapon.  She has trust issues, to put it lightly, and she’s learned to bury her emotions as a survival tactic.  As a result, even though on some level she wants to let Peter in, she can’t bring herself to do it.

On Peter’s side, he keeps trying to get her to take down her walls, but he gets tired of always being the one to put himself out there.  Sometimes that makes him angry with her, and sometimes it makes him pull back just as she’s ready to move forward.  And so, they’ve been on this staggered path where they never quite get ahead.  Both need to make concessions – Gamora to trust more, Peter to be patient with her – and both are trying in their own way (that the other doesn’t always see,) but it’s not until the chips are really down that they’re able to make much headway, to get past their own hindrances and start moving towards each other.

Countdown to Thirteen – Tess of the D’Urbervilles: Episode 4 (2008)

(Spoilers as to the tone, not the content, of the ending.)

Okay, so… conclusion of this miniseries.  I have to say that I didn’t expect the particular way that it ends, but as I predicted, it does quite unhappily.  Surprisingly, though, less bleak than I expected.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s thoroughly depressing.  However, it’s not quite the “pile everything horrible on Tess until her spirit is hopelessly crushed” conclusion that I was bracing myself for.  I won’t go into specifics for the sake of spoilers, but still – yeesh.

Episode 4 has the most minimal part for Jodie Whittaker, more in line of what I’d thought her role might be in the last episode before she popped back up.  It’s another one where Tess experiences a new drastic change of circumstance, and so she drops out of her old life, mostly leaving those characters behind.  As such, I don’t have too many parting words to say about Izzy, since we see so little of her here.  Once again, though, she proves how she’ll go to bat for Tess every time, so that’s nice.

I have some more spoilery thoughts about the miniseries in general, so I’ll wrap up the Whittaker part of the write-up quickly and continue with the spoilers at the bottom.

Recommend?

In General – Personally, I wouldn’t.  Very nice production with great performances all around, but it’s just relentlessly depressing.  Not that I don’t like depressing things sometimes, but this feels almost vindictively depressing, like there’s no greater point except to torture Tess.

Jodie Whittaker – Possibly.  Even though this is quite a small role, I do like Whittaker quite a lot as Izzy.  She’s one of the consistently-brighter parts of the story, and I think Whittaker does a fair amount with a little.

…Aaaaand, spoilers.

I have to say, I’m pretty relieved at how terrible Alec D’Urberville is in episode 4.  I’m not happy about it – after all, it’s not like I want to see him turn Tess’s life into a living nightmare – but after episode 3, I was terrified that we were in for a story about how much he’s “changed,” especially with Angel AWOL.  (Netflix’s misleading summary, by the way, talks about Tess “falling in and out of love” with both Alec and Angel, so I was dreading some kind of redemption romance.)  However, he quickly proves himself to be just as despicable as ever.

Because I don’t care how sorry he acts in episode 3, how sad he is about Tess’s baby having died, or how much he insists he still “loves” her.  The man raped her, and he isn’t entitled to one ounce of Tess’s forgiveness or consideration.  Hey, he could’ve been genuinely sorry.  He could’ve genuinely changed.  But that doesn’t mean he should get Tess’s love.  As awful as it is to watch him taking advantage of her troubles in episode 4, I’m relieved that Tess remains thoroughly repulsed by him and that a hot second of remorse doesn’t erase everything he’s done.

Doctor Who: Series 6, Episode 12 – “Closing Time” (2011)

Since Buster Monday fell on Sunday this week to account for the 100-year anniversary of His Wedding Night, your regularly-scheduled Sunday Who Review is here a day late.

I’m an absolute sucker for stories that feature the Doctor’s version of mundane, everyday things, and in series 5, “The Lodger” gave us that in spades.  With Craig as the audience stand-in, we got the Doctor as our flatmate!  Cooking!  Playing football!  Showing up at the office!  The following season, “Closing Time” is less of an overall lark but plays with some of the same concepts at a time when the Doctor could really use it.  (A few setup spoilers for series 6.)

When the Doctor unexpectedly pops in on his old friend Craig, he’s just passing through.  Really, he is.  However, a series of odd power fluctuations and a rash of disappearances pique his curiosity, and even though he insists he’s “done saving them,” he just can’t help himself.  Soon, he and Craig (with Craig’s newborn baby in tow – Sophie’s away for the weekend, and Craig is struggling to cope on his own) are investigating a potential alien incursion that, delightfully, involves the Doctor going undercover as an employee in a department store.

Though the Doctor’s demeanor is cheerful when he arrives, he’s far from it.  In one of his more recent fits of guilt over people he’s failed to save, he’s parted with Amy and Rory for their own protection (we’re not quite sure how long ago at this point.)   Currently, he’s on the tail-end of his “farewell tour” before submitting to history and keeping his appointment to die at Lake Silencio.  So, the Doctor is alone, guilt-ridden, and gearing up to face his mortality.  Cheery, right? 

That’s why this story comes along at the right time.  While Craig obviously knows the Doctor is an alien and goes about the business of world-saving on the regular, he’s not really a full-fledged companion and doesn’t relate to the Doctor as such.  Instead, he can view the Doctor’s extraordinary life in fairly grounded terms, and he can be frank about things the Doctor is wrestling with.  Not all the time – he sometimes confuses the issue and equates the Doctor’s presence with the trouble he seems to find wherever he goes, which makes him snappish and causes him to blame the Doctor for bringing aliens to his doorstep.  Those are his lower moments, though.  When Craig is thinking more impartially, he’s able to get through to the Doctor and remind him of the force for good he is in the universe.  The Doctor is afraid that he’s a danger to others, but Craig gets what’s really going on:  the danger will be there with or without the Doctor, who’s in fact a person’s best chance of surviving it.  It’s a really nice friendship, fun but surprisingly warm.  Towards the end of the episode, the Doctor has a short, gorgeous speech about all his friends that’s just to die for.

In general, it’s an enjoyable episode with fast jokes, fun interactions, and good jokes.  Some of the humor is a bit belabored (I could do without the wink-wink jokes that one of the Doctor’s co-workers at the store thinks he and Craig are a couple, and a little of the Doctor “speaking baby” goes a long way,) and the alien plot feels a little slapped-together, but it’s still a great time.  It’s a story that lives and dies on its character interactions, and that’s always excellent.  Whether the Doctor and Craig are bickering, running around, freaking out, having a heart-to-heart, solving a mystery, protecting each other, fighting some aliens, vegging out, or taking care of a baby, they’re fantastic together.  The whole thing is kind of a funny, entertaining love letter to friendship, and that’s why I’ll always adore it.