Monthly Archives: August 2014

Pride – based on a true story from 1984

There are times when we can look to our past, recent or distant, and learn a lesson.  Those who came before us can set an example, be it good or bad.

One look at the trailer for the movie Pride, about a town realizing how much you can discover about people when you take the time to get to know them, instead of fearing and hating based on assumptions, makes me think this could be one of the most unexpectedly powerful movies of the year.  Perhaps it will open some eyes, and heart.  Three decades later this union could once again make things better for total strangers.

What a concept.

The film’s description is really quite simple:

PRIDE is inspired by an extraordinary true story.  It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families.  Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person.  As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all.

Directed by Tony Award®-winner Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage) from a screenplay by Stephen Beresford

Starring Bill Nighy (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Imelda Staunton (Maleficent), Dominic West (The Hour), Paddy Considine (Submarine), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Joseph Gilgun (Lockout), George MacKay (How I Live Now) and Ben Schnetzer (Warcraft).

Pride will be in Theaters September 19, 2014

Major Crimes

When the character of Sharon Raydor was first introduced on TNT’s The Closer she was what that show needed.  A counter-balance to Brenda Leigh Johnson, Sharon Raydor is a strong woman who follows the rules, to the letter, and did the tough job of investigating officer involved shootings and trying to prevent lawsuits against the LAPD.

In those early appearances, where she was guest staring in the world of characters the audience had come to know and love over several seasons, there were virtually no soft edges, especially in the beginning.  As time wore on we found out she had children — it was almost a revelation when the audience discovered she had a heart.  Sharon Raydor felt Brenda Leigh Johnson was a kindred spirit and they might have the potential to be friends, and the two seemed startled to refer to one another as friends.

Then TNT announced The Closer was coming to an end… and Major Crimes would rise in its place.  It was an odd feeling to many regular viewers, since The Closer had been all about the team in the Major Crimes division.  Why change the name of the show?  What was happening?  A cast shake up was happening, but was that all?

Then there was the feeling of how was Sharon Raydor, who was a solid upstanding character, but had thus far lacked the charisma of Brenda Leigh Johnson, going to take over as the lead of the show?

Graham Patrick Martin, in the role of Rusty Beck, made the difference.  Rusty, who first appeared at the very end of the The Closer, as a witness to a crime, gave the audience a new perspective from which to see Captain Sharon Raydor… suddenly she was not just the always at the office, always on duty cop.  Rusty needed a protector, a guardian, and through him we got to see her as Sharon, in her apartment, occasionally even with her heart on her sleeve.  Through Rusty she was humanized, opened up, and softened into a character the audience could care about just as we had grown to know and love Brenda Leigh Johnson.

The strengths of The Closer were carried forward into Major Crimes, even as a new leader brought a new style, a new goal, and subtle shifts in how the episodes unfold.  I may miss Brenda’s drawer full of candy, and her forever saying Thank You, but in the end I love that not only does Sharon close the case with a confession, she goes that step further and gets a deal that means we know the guilty party will do time.

And, as an added bonus for long time watchers of the shows, Jon Tenney has been reprising his role of FBI Agent Fritz Howard (otherwise known as Brenda Leigh Johnson’s husband), until recently with just the occasional appearance.  But the final three episodes of the current season clearly set him up with the opportunity for a spin-off of his own.  With a strong-willed, determined second in command (Laurie Holden), and a detective with a skill for going undercover (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) those three could could make a strong core cast to yet another powerful show.

Outlander — Fans are praising the first episode

Outlander Bandannas and Novels

Outlander Bandannas and Novels

Outlander fans across the internet are cheering the first episode of the show, which aired on STARZ last night.   An abridged form of the story readers have loved for over two decades, the television is breathing life into beloved characters, giving longtime fans a reason to re-read a book they love, and new fans a reason to find a book they may not have read before.

Yes, as you can see in the photo above, a special re-release of the book came out as a tie-in to the show, with the images of the STARZ cast members on the cover.

Outlander STARZ Promotional Photo - Claire

Outlander STARZ Promotional Photo – Claire

With roughly 900,000 viewers, yes, that is 900 thousand folks, having tuned in to see the first episode BEFORE IT AIRED, we are eagerly looking forward to hearing how the show rated when it hit screens live last night.

What can already be said is that Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan beautifully stepped into the roles of Claire and Jaime and led a talented cast in this period piece.

Time and again it felt like the pages of the book had simply come to life.

For those who have not read the book(s), and do not see having time to do so before this season wraps up, is that a problem?  After all, we keep pointing you over to the books, don’t we?  No, of course not!  Having read the books simply gives the added interest of wondering how closely they will be followed, of seeing what makes its way from one medium to the other — and if what you imaged, curled up with the novel in your hands, is what this grand collaborative team brought to the screen.

Reading the books might also help set expectations.  I started to devour the book before the show aired… and about half way through, loving the characters, loving the grand journey they were on, I realized this is a long (yes, with a page-count of 850 I did see my own remark coming) tale.  It unfolds in a natural manner.  There are no grand space battles in the 1700s.  This is not a steam punk tale with future-technology from generations even ahead of our own imagination having been brought back in time.

This is a very real feeling drama about a woman from 1945, with an understanding of nursing from that time period having been flung back in time 202 years and trying to survive, and find her way home.

Now take a moment to imagine how many survival skills you have that would help you survive (or heal others) 202 years ago.  I made that remark to one friend and he immediately wanted to ask his teenage son if the he knew whether potatoes grew on a tree or in the ground!

Having now watched the episode twice, I enjoyed the voice-over technique employed for Claire equally both times – it balances the sense that this came from a book beautifully with the new medium, and keeps the story on track and moving forward.  Had those portions been altered — been forced into conversations, or the actors been told to try and convey everything through expressions and manner without the aid of those voice-overs, I believe the show episode would have suffered.

If you have not already watched the first episode of Outlander, this is a show that looks like it will play well as individual episodes, giving a satisfying story in each hour — and yet, at the end of the season, I can already see I’m going to want to set aside a weekend to watch the series in full as the grand epic tale it is.

Watch Outlander on STARZ to catch up, and tune in each Saturday night at 9 PM ET/PT

Beautiful Bastard

Beautiful Bastard is not a book I ran out and bought… rather I was wandering the hall at San Diego’s Comic-Con International and someone asked if I’d like to get a free autographed book.

I devour books.  I love discovering authors I’ve never read before.  There are so many out there, so many I know I should have already read, according to my friends who also devour books, that I just love setting aside a night or two — a portion of my weekend, and getting lost in the pages of a book.

I honestly did not know what to expect from this novel.  The genre is listed as erotic romance, and I quickly figured out why.  That aspect alone is never enough to keep me reading for countless hours, to keep me from setting the book aside and returning to my own life after a few chapters.  There needs to be more content, more story, and something interesting going on.

What I found interesting in this book was two main characters who worked together as a productive team in the workplace, and yet pushed one another’s ‘I Hate You’ buttons constantly.  There was an antagonism between the characters that appeared to have been there from the moment they met, and set off a chain reaction of encounters that left them unable to say a civil word to one another.

Had they not been so good at their jobs their workplace relationship would also have been a disaster.

The character who gave the book it’s title, Bennett Ryan, is great looking, the kind of guy who fuels the dreams of the girls in the proverbial secretarial pool, and yet he can be so demanding, a perfectionist with a temper, that no one understands how Chloe Mills puts up with him.  It helps she demands just as much of herself.

From the outside looking in they seem like two people who ought to be able to respect one another, and find a way to get along — and yet he particularly is always antagonizing her and purposely trying to force her, emotionally, ten feet away, as if he is afraid she will burn him if she gets too close.  And that was where my interest came from.

I had worked with people that for the life of me I could never understand why they were always bickering.  Why they were always picking fights with one another.  They had no relationship beyond what we could see, and it was as if they were purposely trying to guarantee the other person would never get close enough to truly see and know them.

Hidden beneath the snipping and anger, are fears and complexities of emotion.  In a book that is a fast enjoyable read, two characters explore what it is to risk their heart, after avoiding it in every way imaginable, and a few most consider unimaginable.

This may not be the great American novel, but it is several good hours of light entertainment.  Two million people read it BEFORE it went into print for a reason… because there have been times when we have seen irrational behavior among perfectly rational adults and had no idea what was going on under the surface, and behind the scenes.   This novel offers one possibility.

No, I regret nothing 
Neither the good I have done, nor the bad