House of Cards (Season 3)

Unlike Season 2 where the story picks up right where the last season left off, this one opens up months later. Doug is in the hospital, not dead. President Underwood isn’t the badass we thought he was and Claire is stuck being the first lady when she has higher ambitions. I wouldn’t say this one starts off with a bang and it feels different, probably because Underwood is in a different role. Still it’s a very smartly written drama that gives an insider’s view of the White House. What’s cool is even though there are plenty of shows that take place in the Oval Office, this one feels so genuine. I don’t know if it really is, of course, but it feels that way. The entire production team deserves an Emmy in this regard. The drama here isn’t to show how Frank gets to the top, here it’s how he’s going to stay on top. It’s also the point in the narrative where events transpire to test Claire and Frank’s marriage to the brink. But Frank isn’t as likeable in this season, a strange thing to say considering all the bad things he did in the first two seasons. For me the acting highlights have to point to Robin Wright and her struggle to find importance as the President’s wife. The end result is a season that builds us for what could be a great finally season (if the next one is the last). While not as consistent as the other two seasons before it, it’s a must-see continuation for what I hope is a great television (streaming) event. Grade: B+

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright (Non-Fiction)

After seeing Alex Gibney’sdocumentary, I decided I had to read the book his film was based on. If you watched the documentary on HBO (and you should) and you want to know the whole story, you need to read Mr. Wright’s book as well. Here you really get to learn how crazy and ultimately rotten of a person L. Ron Hubbard was. He really was a manipulative, pathological lying con artist, the perfect storm in a suit for becoming a powerful cult leader.  How the church can declare this mediocre science-fiction writer a champion for spiritual improvement is an insult to anyone with a brain.  The facts in this book, and there are a lot of them, are well-researched and you can tell are accurate.  Here you really get to see why someone would fall in with such an organization in Paul Haggis and others. I found that even I could relate to their search for something different, something to help them find community and purpose.  Sadly this is how cults work, they prey on receptive peoples’ “ruin” or the thing that they want fixed.  Here you get to really meet David Miscaviage and see a man-child with a furious temper and an intense demand for power. Here you get to meet the “real” Tom Cruise, a guy I still love to see on the big screen but a guy who has abandoned any sense of reality over celebrity and spiritual worship. There is so much crammed into this book you almost wonder why Gibney didn’t make a four hour version of his film. I usually read fiction but a good non-fiction book can be even more rewarding and this is the case here; a fascinating and detailed look into an enslaving, self-help scamming business that will do anything it can to remain vague and celebrated, including harassment and psychological torture. I think the most shocking aspect of the book wasn’t necessarily all the weird thetan theology but how accommodating Mr. Wright is, giving Scientology every chance to comment on his findings.  Scattered throughout the book are footnotes saying basically, the church doesn’t agree.  It’s like Mr. Wright is trying to be fair and balanced but in the end can only come to one conclusion and that is the entire thing is a fraud.  I came away feeling bad for all the people (famous people included) who’ve become bamboozled by this fake science. I believe for many people the techniques tricked themselves into a better place, a sort of placebo for the soul.  And if L. Ron Hubbard spread his theories with the goal of helping people versus making a lot of tax-free money I wouldn’t care. I don’t even care that these people believe in thetans or giant aliens from along ago.  Many traditional religions have stories that are just as preposterous.  Yet this organization controls its people and feeds off their financial bloodline like a leech.  If I had any wish is that this church crumbles and people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta turn on David Miscaviage, suddenly seeing him for the scumbag he is.  Is it fair to call him that while not having met him and judging him on a book written by a Pulitzer Prizing winning writer? Maybe not, but you have to remember Miscaviage doesn’t commit to interviews anymore ever since his last one went so poorly.   In conclusion I think this is an important book to read.  Everyone should read it to help educate them not just on Scientology but as an example how misinformation, organized pseudoscience and sensationalism can warp anyone’s perspective of life and condemn that once individual to a controlling corporation of lies.  I believe without a doubt I’ll see the end of Scientology as it is now in my lifetime.  Sadly something like it will only rise from the ashes.  Why?  Because of man’s search for truth in the impossible answerless void of the universe is just too cold and frightening for most to accept.  Grade: A

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Teaser)

I usually wait to see teasers for future films in an actual theater but I couldn’t help myself and I watched this one online. I think it’s because I assumed the teaser for this DC comics superhero launch would suck. I was so wrong. This was an outstanding teaser. I still can’t believe how much I enjoyed it. It pumped up my expectations a lot that is certain. The opening shot of a statue of Superman with voice-overs from various people talking about him was a great way to get you interested. The idea that Superman is seen by some as a God and others worry about him being too powerful is realistic and helps open up Bruce Wayne’s concerns. Ben Affleck looks great as Batman. He’s a beast out to dominate Superman and make sure he’s not a threat. The last line, “Do you bleed? You will.” is so menacing that it frightened me. In any other film the line might have come across as a bit cheesy but it works perfectly here. Zack Snyder might actually get this one right. It’s looking to be a great and exciting film. If Gal Gadot impresses us as Wonder Woman than I think we’ll have a great series of comic book films from the WB. This is the film to watch so far for 2016. Grade: A

River's Edge (1987)

Thank you Amazon Prime for getting the rights to stream this film. I’ve been waiting a while for this film to become available somewhere and now it has arrived. The wait was certainly worth it. What a surprising and unique film. Tim Hunter directs a script by Neal Jimenez about a group of teenagers who find out one of their friends, John (played by Daniel Roebuck), strangled his girlfriend to death. Layne (played by Crispin Glover with over-the-top swagger that is typical of the actor) wants to protect his friend and help him get away with it. His mission is to make sure all of his friends are on the same page but Matt (in one of Keanu Reeves first roles) is conflicted and wants to do the right thing. Yet this isn’t a coming of age flick, it’s more of a weird noir about teenage detachment. Two great characters are Matt’s younger brother Tim (played by Joshua John Miller) who is the definition of youthful rage and Feck (played by the always watchable Dennis Hopper) an ex-motorcycle gang rider who deals pot and has a love affair with a blow-up doll. But back to Crispin’s performance: it’s easy to declare it as being bad and writing it off as a young actor over-acting. He points while he’s talking and makes exaggerated body motions. Yet I’d argue his passion and pure connection to his character is so impressive that it is his character that resonates the most. That’s one of the things I loved about this film, it could have been a deep drama and mistakenly turned into something typical but instead it’s kind of funny and horrific at the same time. It says more about teenage angst and death than most teenage-themed films. I’d say if you want to see a Rebel without a Cause but where all the kids are Rebels (if more indifferent than angry) this is the film for you. Grade: A-

Paper Towns by John Green (Novel)

I’ve wanted to read something by Mr. Green for a while now since he’s become so popular among young adult readership. This book intrigued me right from the first chapter so it’s the one I picked out. It’s certainly an entertaining book and I liked the main character, Quentin or Q to his friends. His friends are also quite a group of zany youths, reminding me of those days hanging out with my high school friends during my senior year. I can see the appeal to Mr. Green. As a mystery, for this is a mystery, it’s well-crafted. Quentin has been in love with the girl next door ever since he was in grade school. Margo Roth Spiegelman is the kind of girl anyone would find fascinating. She’s rebellious, popular and a complete mystery. Then after a night of revengeful pranks with Quentin as her escort she disappears and Quentin spends the rest of his senior year trying to find how where she went. The plot’s pretty good, with some clever clues and historical quirks, but I wouldn’t necessarily say the end result is as satisfying as I had hoped. I’d still recommend it, especially if you like these kind of young adult storylines. For me I just wanted those last few chapters to really uplift me and take me somewhere. Quentin’s coming-of-age journey is rewarding to him; I just wish Green could have transported me to the same emotional awareness his main character seemed to reach. Grade: B+

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Novel)

Nominated for the National Book Award and others, this is one of those apocalyptic science fiction stories that takes a premise we’ve experienced before and turns it on its head. From various points of view we experience the collapse of our world as we know it when a deadly flu wipes out 90% of the populace. Think Stephen King’s The Stand without the supernatural angle. A better comparison might be George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides with a flavor that reminded me of Margaret Atwood. Bouncing around the timeline, from before the modern world ends and after when the survivors are scattered across Old Canada and Old America in independent townships, where life is like the old west except that the future already happened, we see how various story threads crisscross and influence each other. Mandel’s weaving of these various points of view is pretty magical, although some might say too coincidental. You know you’ve read a good book when the last passage gives you goose bumps, when all the events seem to come to an apex of idea and character evolution. I really enjoyed this thoughtful and strangely hopeful book. Yes, it’s terrifying too, the thought that all we take for granted being suddenly taken from us. But we will still survive. In all the chaos even Shakespeare will keep marching on. Grade: A

It Follows (2015)

With all the praise this film is getting I had to see it. First let me say, this is not a masterpiece and while a good film it’s getting a bit hyped-up by critics. Yet the reason the critics love it, beside it being a well-made independent film, is that it’s deep in metaphor and director David Robert Mitchel uses tension instead of gore and the typical horror tactics most horror films use now a days. You have to praise that kind of intelligence. And as stated, it is a good film. A girl named Jay goes out on a date with her new boyfriend, Hugh. Only after having sex for the first time he chloroforms her. When she awakes he tells her that he passed on a curse to her. An apparition that only she (and others with this curse) can see will out of the blue follow her until it claims her life. This apparition can look like anyone and she will need to have sex with another person to pass the curse on. As long as this curse keeps getting passed on without “it” killing someone, then it will not come back to her. This is a fantastic premise and the scenes of strangers walking toward her, intend on some evil purpose are great. And a star is born in Maika Monroe, who exudes terror and emotional charisma. I also thought Keir Gilchrist was great too, as the younger friend who loves Jay and would do anything to help her. The sound design is also quite unique with its electronica and high pitched squeals. The problem with the film is the premise only holds up for about an hour. Then it starts to feel repetitive. And the climax, which is excellently shot, feels pointless because there is no ground work set up to make you believe this cursed apparition can be killed. What bolsters the quality of this film though isn’t the concept, but the group of Jay’s friends who come across as enduring characters in their own right. Their quirky loyalty and teenage awkwardness makes what could have been a flat film be something wonderful. The metaphor is obviously about sex and the dangers it imposes. It’s a clever way to play off the classic virgin victim cliché. Certainly see this film if you like horror but don’t go in thinking this is the next classic. It’s a good film with some great moments. Grade: B+