Review: The Darjeeling Limited not Hotel Chevalier

What can be said about Wes Anderson movies that hasn't already been said.... somewhere other than here? Not much I imagine, but here I go anyways. Offbeat, quirky, oddly hilarious; these are all things that one could and will say about any given Wes Anderson movie. The director excels at creating worlds that, while more or less similar to ours, differ in enough ways that the viewer gets a really unique foray into some undeniably amusing locales. Things like time period, styles, and even technology become ambiguous in Anderson's worlds and this allows him to effectively pull off some otherwise too-strange story lines. Perhaps his least quirky film to date, The Darjeeling Limited, was met by fans as either acceptable or not really a "great" Anderson film. I find myself in an altogether different category: The Darjeeling Limited stands as the definitive Wes Anderson film, the maturation and mastery of his balance between the offbeat and the real. The pitch perfect realization of believable characters existing convincingly in a the slightly left-of-center universe; The Darjeeling Limited succeeds on many levels both subtle and overt, intentional and not.

Ok, so that's pretty high praise for a movie regardless of its pedigree. Let's start with the most basic element of any movie that can make or break it before any of the other elements can be taken into regard: the performances. Almost from the very first scene with all three principle actors together (after a fairly amusing and welcome cameo from Steve Zissou himself, Bill Murray), it's clear that the chemistry is natural and believable. Jack (Jason Schwartzman), Francis (Owen Wilson), and Peter (Adrian Brody) act as though they really have grown up together and carry all the social quirks, awkward interaction, and comfortable banter of real brothers. Whether this is a testament to the writing, script, or acting ability of the people involved is unknown, but as is usually the case with such a successfully executed film it is most likely a combination of all three factors. From a personal standpoint, my own close relationship with my younger brother greatly informed an added appreciation of the accuracy of the fraternal bonds on display here. I knew the movie was on the right track when Owen Wilson's character spoke this line to his brothers over a remotely uncomfortable dinner early in the film: " Did I raise us? Kind of?" While it may seem included for laughs or perhaps a slightly off-kilter informing of Francis' character, it spoke to a very peculiar portion of myself as an older brother. Of course to say such a thing is not only slightly arrogant, but mostly unfounded in general; I still found it resonant in the sense that I've had this thought at one time or another (perhaps to a lesser degree).

Each brother plays a different part in a dynamic which in real life plays very similar to the display shown here. Francis Whitman is the oldest brother and therefore takes on many of the leadership qualities (for better or worse) of his parents, most notably his mother. This plays with his brothers in interesting ways. Peter resents this attitude and vocally expresses his dislike of his older brother's domineering. This is emblematic of many middle children and, in my experience, of any younger sibling faced with the challenge of establishing their own identity. Jack takes the commands in a much more laid back fashion. It's clear he's young enough to heed his older brother as an authority figure, but also detached enough to not care if it inconveniences him. Individually, the brothers interact in very accurate and interesting ways too. Francis and Peter butt heads a lot in an effort to establish dominance: Francis because he feels it's his right as oldest and Peter in an effort to prove his worth in the middle. Meanwhile Peter and Jack get along much more amiably. To Peter, Jack is just his brother, feels no need to be his better, and can easily trust him almost to spite the smug Francis. Jack views both Peter and Francis as the same with very little variance. Francis and Jack share a similar relationship, the difference being that Francis regards his littlest brother as someone to be shepherded while not realizing Jack is unaffected either way.

So, why take up all this space to break down the relationship of the three brothers? Two reasons: Firstly to really define what I find is the core of the film and the fulcrum on which the rest of the movie clicks so well. Secondly to emphasize what I find to be the effectiveness and accuracy with which a sibling relationship is portrayed here, and why this makes the movie the best at having 'real' characters in an exaggerated world. Tie this all together with the fact that each brother is still reeling from the tragic death of their father a year earlier in their own unique way, and the rest of the movie can't help but benefit.

From here the fairly simple 'self discovery' plot is elevated to a much, much more meaningful level than it may have been had the core dynamics been as cliche as it certainly had the possibility of being. The three brothers, brought together by Francis after a near-death experience (highly suggested to be an almost suicidal event), set off on a train (the title-sharing Darjeeling Limited) across India on a journey of discovery, recovery, and (unbeknownst to Peter and Jack) a potentially chaotic reunion with their wayward and perhaps errant mother. It all plays with the trademark quirk and wit that's a staple of Wes Anderson movies. There are plenty of laugh out loud situations juxtaposed with fairly dramatic moments throughout. It becomes clear to the audience fairly early on that the brothers are using hefty emotional barriers as well as strong, illegal narcotics to numb themselves to the true issues at play. Before long the tensions become too hard to smile and ignore and, like any good healing process, the brothers tear into each other. It's fun to watch the brothers' infighting and how they are still uniquely close and brotherly through it all. So brotherly are they that they get themselves kicked off the train. Without their narcotics and only their sparkling personalities to comfort each other it isn't long before they each learn to overcome their differences and their hang-ups. Oh, and there's the amusing reunion with their mother (Anjelica Huston) who just so happens to be a nun.

The Darjeeling Limited is by far the best Wes Anderson film because it portrays an effective and relatable relationship, makes you want to go on an epic journey across India in search of self realization, and leaves you feeling like even though life may throw some rotten things at you that the answers are as close as you're willing to be to face them. Now if only we could somehow get a nice Criterion Collection release of this movie like all of the other Anderson films, we could all die happy.



Side Note: Coming Soon! Chapter by chapter book reviews... maybe?

Review: True Blood: 'Scratches' or Satyrfest 2009

Well, I may have called it. Episode three of True Blood, 'Scratches', was a transitional one. There were no giant revelations or big character moments. No, this episode instead set up a lot of pins for the viewer to anticipate knocking down. Normally this might jolt the review a little and come off as a negative, but as far as True Blood is concerned setup is a good thing. We join the episode a few moments after the end of the last episode. Bill and Sookie are driving away from Jessica's parents' home and Bill is obviously none too happy with her. They argue and for one of the first times, Sookie acts decidedly childish in light of the events that had transpired. Normally she is grace under fire when it comes to the odd things happening all around her that it's pretty interesting how she is hard pressed to admit fault for her irresponsible actions. Long story short, she storms out of the car to spite Bill and goes tromping into the dark, spooky Louisiana swamps. It's not long before she is stalked by probably the coolest creature yet to debut on this show (assuming that it's not a cleverly disguised misdirect): a bull-headed, humanoid, satyr-man. Now, I don't want to show authorial bias, but satyr's are by far the coolest mythological creatures there are to see. Sookie tries to run, but obviously the all-too-rad satyr catches up and claws her down the spine, rendering her paralyzed. Bill tries to heal her with his blood (a throwback to the early episodes of season one), but this time it causes Sookie to convulse and seize. So where else to go than Fangtasia (the super cool vampire bar run by ex-viking Erik).

Erik, for purposes I secretly wonder if they will ever come to the forefront, agrees to heal Sookie with the help of a cool southern old crazy woman; i.e. a healer. Through some cool voodoo (seriously it may actually be voodoo) she painfully heals Sookie using some mysterious potions and by digging her fingers into her deep wounds to clean them out. This plays out more as torture, but before too long Sookie is walking around in her underwear and an over sized shirt.

Meanwhile, Sam warns Tara to open her eyes and realize how wrong the whole Maryann situation is becoming. I get why the usually headstrong Tara is being uncharacteristically pigheaded about her new situation, but it's nice to see that the writers are opening her eyes. Why Sam doesn't just flat out tell her that he knows her from his past is beyond me, but it seems he decides to cut town as well. Either Sam is going on a trip with the purpose of figuring out Maryann, or just to get out of Dodge, but he's definitely going somewhere. His storyline ends with a midnight swim in the oddly clear and clean bayou when Daphne, the new and inept hire at his bar, joins. Upon stripping off her clothes she reveals three similar satyr scars on her back. What does this portend? I don't know. Like I said, this is a setup episode. If I had to guess I would say that she is either being controlled by the satyr, somehow survived the attack (which raises oodles of other questions), or maybe just so happens to be the satyr.

Jason Stackhouse is still trying to find God, and after a gay dream about Eddie the vampire and a crisis of conscious, it's clear that he's either A) going to bone Sarah Newlin (the wife of the Fellowship's leader) or B) be an unwitting tool in some larger plan the 'church' has for him. Either way I think Jason is far too dumb to get himself out of this before he does something exceptionally stupid.

Finally, Sookie discovers through mind reading power that Lafayette is in Fangtasia's basement. Confronting both Bill and Erik with more bluster than I think is merited (honestly Erik is thousands of years old and really intimidating), Sookie demands her friend be released. Erik apparently finds reason to agree under the condition that she go to Dallas and discover whatever happened to another of the vampire sheriffs, Godric. She agrees after conning him out of $10,000 dollars and the accompaniment of Bill. Exactly why Erik let's Sookie act this way towards him is why I wonder what Erik's motives are when it comes to one he outwardly considers just another worthless human.

All in all, the chips are in place for a pretty electrifying episode in two weeks. True Blood rewards you for episodes such as this by giving you lots to chew on one week and choking you when you try to swallow the next. With Lafayette back at large (and apparently Erik tormenting him), the show is all set to start delivering the jarring payoffs we expect. 'Scratches' was well worth the hour of our time even though it flew by, but it really does serve the purpose of setting us up for the next hour. If the show can satisfyingly deliver on all the crazy setups introduced this season (and the SATYR!), then we're in for a treat as each episode has been better than the last. It's at once tempting and not to attempt to read the Sookie Stackhouse Novels just to find out what happens next, but that to me is evidence of how compelling this show is turning out to be.


Watch out Sookie Stackhouse; I reckon there's a Satyr in your future. Is it me or does this photoshop make them look in love?

Review: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

I'm going to come right out and say it: Transformers 2 is not as good as the first film. Does it give more of what was good in the first film? Absolutely. What's the problem then? Well, the balances and ratios of each component are all wrong. I'll get to that shortly, but I must also take this opportunity to share a revelation. I don't care about movies anymore. Watching Transformers just helped it dawn on me more clearly. I don't watch to enjoy anymore and I'm rarely excited by anything anymore. It's becoming harder and harder to care or see the point anymore. Movies have, with rare exception, become repetitive, predictable (even in some movie's unpredictability), and an exercise in time-wasting as opposed to entertainment. Perhaps that's the most damning thing I can say about Transformers 2; that it made me realize how routine my life has become. Regardless of the reason either personal or external, viewing a movie like this is not completely without merit, and on that note I will endeavor to critically examine it.

To begin with, Transformers 2 is, in scope at least, a bigger movie than it's predecessor. Everything is much more global this time around. There's more robots, more locations, more plot, and about the same amount of human cast members. This struck me halfway through the film perhaps as the first biggest flaw. With such a loaded slate, none of the aforementioned elements gets its due attention and thusly the movie doesn't ever carry the expositional weight of the first film. Now, while it may seem foolish to associate the Transformer movies with "expositional weight", the main draw for any film to be successful is a story that works and resonates with the public at large. The most successful elements of the first movie as far as I was concerned were twofold. Firstly, the human cast was accessible for the most part and relegated to a reactionary role. Once the big robots came tumbling in, the humans were along for the ride. At the climax of that film, Sam (Shia LeBeouf) is given a pretty daunting task in the robot civil war. This was a smart move as it essentially took someone from the audience and put them in the thick of it. We liked the humans, but they didn't get in the way. They did the talking for the movie and left the robots to do the dazzling. The second element of success in Transformers was the sense of closeness with the robots. We cared about Optimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet. They were the last of their kind and they kept together. This allowed the audience to associate with them and root for them in a real sense.

Ok, so where does the second movie mess up? The problems stem directly from the decision to stray so far from the elements I just outlined. Because the movie is so large, the human stories are stripped down to accommodate everything going on. The filmmakers are attempting to assign much more weight and "epic" to what's happening, but they don't take the time for us to care. Perhaps it's a play on the good will accrued from the first film; that we'll care about the characters without being shown why we have to in the first place. Unfortunately, even though I knew and liked the characters coming into the film; I felt like I never had a chance to reconnect with them. While I did just say that it was good that the humans were peons in a war beyond their comprehension, this movie makes them seem almost too 'equal' if it's possible. Perhaps its a tug of war. Each side needs its moment in the spotlight, and the sequeal suffers because both sides are in the same limited spotlight trying to garner attention. This is not to say that I found every human plot line in the first film to be a success. Certainly, less time could have been devoted to the hot teenage hacking team or the military grunts discovering the new threats. The point is that they helped ground the movie in its way and kept it from feeling like spectacle. This movie pulls back just enough to let that problem seep in. Transfomers 2 misses the mark again by missing it's next previous success. There are a lot more robots in this movie. Cool. More action, more explosions. But wait. Oh, there's Ironhide and Ratchet! What are they up to? What? They're hardly on camera for more than a few seconds. They say only a handful of lines the whole movie? The movie has become so concerned with more that they've removed the relatable elements from the Transformers themselves. There sure are lots of cool robots motoring around, but aside from Optimus Prime they're just pretty flashing lights. That's really unfortunate. Gone is the feeling that the core autobots from the first movie were brothers in arms. They're basically as important as the human soldiers getting blown up every few minutes. Bummer.

This all leads me back to my initial argument of balances and ratios. Certainly there are more scenes between exclusively Transformers. The problem with these, specifically the scenes shown of the Decepticons plotting their next moves with the Fallen, is that they feel entirely cold. The Decepticons, and largely the Transformers in general, should be there to do the entertainment equivalent of heavy lifting. A dash of expositions, a smidge of one liners, and enough attachment for us to care what happens. When it comes to the above mentioned moments with the Decepticons, I felt the menace they projected in the first movie is gone. I don't care why they're being evil. I just need three sentences of dialogue to show that they're bad robots. That being said, it was also slightly boring to see the exploits of the military characters (Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel) as they essentially sat around without much to do before the final act. This all seems to fly in the face of what I said earlier. There were admittedly lots of scenes with humans and autobots, but they felt hollow or tonally wrong. The humans were just kind of there and the autobots had too much to say and too long in the spotlight.

I guess what it comes down to is that a movie that is such a conceptual long shot like Transformers is a bitch to get right. I don't even know if the formula for success can be diluted to a pure enough form to be copied and work. Logically, more of everything from the first movie would equal more satisfaction in the sequel. Sadly it doesn't work out this way and as a result it all feels meaningless. And so I found myself in the theatre with my mind on everything in my life besides the struggle on my screen. Because the movie decided to quadruple its scope, none of the things that happen feel anywhere near as intensely personal as they did in its predecessor.

So here I am questioning my interest in movies in the first place and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen doesn't give me much of a reason to keep caring. If you're in the market for effects and action as a form of escapism; you're in good hands. If you're like me, seek no solace here.

Review: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I don't think you'd know where to put food at, if you didn't flap your mouth so much. Yes I think you're stupid.

Ok, so this is a throwback review because Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has been out for a long time (in movie world). For anyone not in the proverbial 'know', this movie is a murder-mystery-comedy-action movie. Yeah, that's a pretty thick stew, but Kiss Kiss Bang Bang pulls it off pitch perfect. It's hard to tell what elements came together to produce such a tonally good movie, but my money is on a perfect storm of Roberty Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and writer/director Shane Black (the same dude who wrote all the Lethal Weapon movies and FUCKING Last Action Hero!). So yeah, RDJ and Val Kilmer speak forthemselves. While Val Kilmer hasn't really been prominent in recent years, his work here is a coda to his career as far as I'm concerned. The real x-factor here is Shane Black. I have nothing personal against the Lethal Weapon movies, but they were pretty mindless in terms of plot. I think the key is that Black adapted the screenplay from an existing novel. Not that his talent isn't up to the challenge, but it's clear having a set framework to build on only did wonders.

Basing the movie around Robert Downey Jr.'s character Harry Lockhart is a good move. RDJ is a more than capable actor and this movie came right before his big re-emergence into the mainstream. Is Harry realistic? Is the movie at all 'realistic' in the traditional sense? No. But the character of Lockhart is so interesting and neurotic that the whole movie blooms from Downey's performance. Because of this, the movie boils down to a hyper-realized, overblown version of real life with much wittier dialogue. The mystery itself involving Michelle Monaghan's (Harmony Faith Lane) dead sister links effortlessly through the movie with the death of a famous actor's dead daughter and a childhood subplot about 'Johnny Gossomer' novels. If that sounds complicated, that's because it's deliberate. The movie purposfully twists and bends through the motions; all along the audience is taunted by Harry's offbeat and hilariously original narration. It's not often a movie works when the narrator is breaking the fourth wall but this movie does it with a smart wink and a nudge.

Val Kilmer (Gay Perry, no shit) does a pretty straightforward Val Kilmer performance but with some very comically odd quirks. What this accomplishes is another great addition to an already pretty colorful cast. In fact, most of the most priceless comedy moments come from Kilmer in this movie and seeing Kilmer play a kick ass, homosexual detective already looks pretty cool on paper. Michelle Monaghan does a decent job as Harmony. She's cute and likable, but also has enough layers to have a very identifiable 'everywoman' quality. She's a sweetheart, but the way she relegates Harry as a non-threat will likely make a lot of men in the audience shake their heads in empathy with him.

If you haven't figured it out yet, this movie if for random chance may have come off as mundane. The fact that it so splendidly comes together on a number of levels is something that when produced by Hollywood, one should really appreciate. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang lures you in with the comedy, hooks you with a mystery, and makes you stick around to see where all the fallout lands. As far as I'm concerned, an interesting movie that will always make.

Review: True Blood: 'Keep This Party Going'

The second episode of Season Two of True Blood fairs much better in comparison to it's predecessor. Where my complaints, if they can be called, with the first episode revolved mainly around the fact that it felt like an episode of season one; the second episode takes great strides to distance itself. As I stated in my previous review, emulating the first season is not a bad thing. More precisely, I felt the first episode dealt more with the remaining threads from season one than it did with introducing the new arcs and plot threads of the new season. As far as premiere episodes go it was more than adequate and a better hour of television than likely to be found elsewhere this time of year.

Thankfully, Keep This Party Going pushes the ball rolling and begins to reveal some of the new direction of the season. Eric continues to hold Lafayette after dismembering one of his fellow captives. He interrogates Lafayette only to send him right back to captivity. An attempted escape and gunshot later, we get the most interesting character moment of the episode when Lafayette asks his captors to make him a vampire. It's an interesting development for the character and perfectly in step with his portrayal thus far as a survivor.

Meanwhile, Sookie has troubles of her own as Bill's new sire Jessica is having difficulty living under the rule of her new protector. To further this dilemma, Jessica sees her family on TV (though which TV I don't know considering Bill doesn't even have electricity in his home) and begs Sookie to take her to see them. Sookie, thinking that she will only want to view them from a distance, reluctantly drives her home. Of course this backfires in a radical way when the teenage-minded, impulsive new vampire rushes right back into the graces of her family with Sookie in the middle. Things take a decidedly more violent, if not predictable, turn when Jenny reveals her issues with her oppressive father and is moments from killing him when Bill arrives. None too happy with Sookie, Bill kicks her out of the home and the episode ends with a foreboding sense that to "clean up" Sookie's mess, Bill may have to kill the entire family.

The episode also deals with Tara's continued tenure with her overly rosey overseer, Maryanne, and Sam's inability to stop her from causing chaos all around him. Jason also continues to naively dive headlong into the cult-like Fellowship of the Sun, and one gets the impression his hyper sexualized persona and dumber than sticks mindset are going to get the better of him.

This episode was much more enjoyable from a story standpoint as it started to build onto the established series progression while finally pushing forward into unknown territory. The pretty edges in Tara's oddly perfect situation are beginning to fray as predicted, but in a subtle enough way that it doesn't feel heavy handed. Something is obviously up with Maryanne, but it is yet to be specifically painted as evil or just plain shady. As cited before, the development with Lafayette opens tons of new doors and storytelling opportunities. Whereas before the character was indeed amusing and at the very least intriguing, as a vampire it's hard to imagine the limits someone like him could go to now. As for Bill and Sookie, the writers of the show do a wonderful job of portraying a complex to say the least relationship. At the risk of sounding too overblown, it almost reads like an abusive relationship. Bill is not necessarily symptomatic of such a case, but his vampiric nature and the oddities that come with it definately put a very unnatural strain on the pair. As shown in these first two episodes, they find something to argue about and Bill says something sweet and they end up staring googly eyed at each other for a while (mostly naked too). But as is the case with this show it doesn't seem to last very long. It will be interesting to see how this plays in the next episode as it can be imagined Bill will be rightfully upset with Sookie's foolish move with Jessica.

So what more can be said? Season Two of True Blood is starting to fire up on all cylinders and it looks like the story could go anywhere from here. As far as TV series go, this is just the place to be. Too often it's easy to figure out the pattern of the show as it gets comfortable with its various characterizations. True Blood may not completely buck the trend, but it definately is presenting its material in such a way that it continues to pull the viewer in each week. I for one look forward to next week's episode to see if it can satisfyingly capitalize on all of the payoffs it set up this week.

Review: High School Musical 3

Yeah, I watched High School Musical 3. Yes, I'm still trying to figure out the myriad things this could possibly portend about my mental stability. Alas, though, what better place to vent my thoughts on this wildly popular Disney musical about the struggles and hardships of... high school.

Now, where other movies would shy away or subvert the real issues, I found that High School musical really nailed the dramatic beats other such adolescent fair seems to sidestep. Should Gabriella take an early orientation at Stanford University and (brace yourselves) forego Prom night? Should Troy embrace his machismo and go to the local college to play basketball with his best friend, or should he embrace his theatre-loving, musical side and try for a Juliard scholarship? Will Chad be able to put down the basketball (literally) and scrape up a good enough Prom invitation for his high strung girlfriend? Will Ryan ever open his eyes to twin sister Sharpay's bullshit and smack a bitch? To say the least these question hit often and they hit hard.

Suffice it to say that these tough issues demonstrate one simple, unavoidable fact: No matter what we do or where we go in life, the most difficult decisions and most meaningful moments we'll have to face are in high school. In all seriousness folks, I had to chuckle at most of this movie because the kids portrayed in this movie have only the most trivial problems raised purely by their own arrogance. For example, I don't think I can recall Troy (Zac Effron) and the gang ever being in a classroom for more than two minutes in the whole film. That's a pretty cool deal. In fact, most of their time is devoted to writing their own senior class musical for God knows what reason. And let's just face facts, a theatre production in high school is a hotbed for illicit, pent up sexual tensions between awkward, theatre-minded adolescents. If that was what my senior year consisted of, I may look back on high school as fondly as these kids are obviously going to be doing for the rest of their lives.

The most complicated struggle in this whole movie, and therefore the most 'real', is the heartwrenching situation of Troy staying in town for college and the apparent 'love of his life' Gabriella deciding to go to Stanford (because she's apparently fucking smart as hell... such a complicated life). Don't worry though, even this plot thread is resolved through numerous romantic ballads and choreographed dances between the starcrossed lovers that just so happen to showcase how nice their lives are. Honestly, their high school is surrounded by scenic mountains and looks to be more elaborate than some Washington monuments, each of their houses are in perfect neighborhoods, there's NEVER a hint of inclimate weather (oh and when there was rain, the sun was setting in the background making everything sparkle magically), and I'll be god damned if I ever once saw them do homework. Oh, I didn't even mention that along with Troy and Gabriella, the entire deciding branch of the senior class is made up of seven people each with their own electric and invoking personality. Long story short, these kids have almost NOTHING to complain about EVER except the bullshit hang-ups they bring down on themselves.

So in the end everything ends up great. Troy decides to go to school for BOTH drama and basketball (realistic) at a school thirty minutes from Gabriella (conveniant), Chad makes amends with Troy and vows to play him in basketball at college, and the rest don't really matter because they aren't as strongly connected to Zac Effron.

So what did I learn? I learned that even when life is great and you have time for spontaneous musical numbers in perfect settings, you'll never surpass the greatness of high school. Yep, these kids all peaked early and the real interesting movie would be seeing how hard they all succumb to either alcoholism, drug abuse, or prostitution. And no, it will be one of those three and nothing else for them.

As a side note, I was a little bummed SNL got to this joke a little ahead of me WITH Zac Effron to boot. Oh well, chucklesome nonetheless.

Part One: A Mission Statement and True Blood

Greetings and salutations all. Welcome to my attempt at consolidating a place to put all of the random ideas that happen to drift aimlessly through my brain. I expect that what I will have to say will come as no new twist on the old formula, suffice it to say that here you will find my opinions, musings, and ideas about the things I find interesting. Fortunately for you I imagine these things will encompass general populace points of intrigue such as movies, comics and the like.

My first and most general assumption is that anyone foolhardy enough to read these words will in most cases be someone with whom I am familiarly acquainted. If you find yourself in this category, I take this moment to welcome you and congratulate you on your good judgment. Also accept my humble dose of thanks. To anyone unlucky enough to have found this site by mere chance, allow me to explain briefly about myself. At the time of this writing I am twenty three years old and most definitely feeling the warp that likely accompanies life in one's early second decade. This provides a unique perspective on everything I write and say. The "spin" as it were will therefore be amusing and informative in the ways only someone of my age group is capable of achieving. In my spare time I am a bit scattered. My interests vary from general pop culture to simply trying to figure out the complexities of the human condition (and all the various and obviously "deep" and "meaningful" tangents that encompasses). Specifically the things I am most involved tend to be serial comic books, movies, or generally any kind of media that has value beyond the observable and readily accessible story beats. For example, I like comics for the decades long history the characters in some cases possess. From time to time I will likely also discuss news stories or current events. If it hasn't become clear yet in terms of this so-called 'mission statement'; the terms are pretty relaxed.

So what am I presenting here? Good question noble reader. Here at the outset I'll go out on a limb and assume the most common feature here is going to be comic book reviews on Wednesdays or so, movie reviews when the big releases hit, and book, news and life commentary after that. My video gaming habits of late have been pretty limited, but it may be safe to assume that I will feel the urge to chime in about that as well at some point.

Which brings us to today's inaugural post.

True Blood Season 2 Premiere: Nothing But the Blood

True Blood has become swept up in the current trend of vampires in popular culture. To me, the idea of vampires in popular media has always been sort of a fringe interest for most people. Perhaps most famously portrayed in the various movie adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's various novels of awkwardly erotic vampire adventures, the concept has thrived on the cusp of popular thought. Simply put, I don't think the idea has ever sold to a larger audience like it's currently doing at this particular point in time.

From Twilight now to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel earlier in this decade, the literary concept of vampires has been creeping ever so steadily into the proverbial social spotlight (and to think, I could have said 'sunlight' and tucked myself into bed in smug satisfaction). This emergence is accompanied by what I see as the inevitable pitfalls of genre specific ideas stumbling into the popular mindset. Most problematic in my mind among these downsides is the assignment of social allegory as a commentary for today's society. Perhaps it's a condition of today's mindset, but it seems that nothing can be taken at face value any longer and instead must of course be a carefully disguised interpretation of 'the way things are'. Now before I really pigeonhole myself I should state that I don't necessarily think that this is always a bad thing. Literature and, by extension, all forms of storytelling have always been classically enriched by the furthering of logic and examination of metaphors either purposefully or coincidentally placed within it. The problem I find is when suddenly everything has to mean something. Frankly, I find it a bit polarizing. So of course the vampire idea has been saddled with all kinds of clever references to our ordinary lives; specifically in the case of True Blood.

One can hardly blame fans of the show for participating in this practice though. The setting for the show is a fictional United States wherein, thanks to the Japanese invention of synthetic blood, vampires are finally able to (as the show so cleverly puts it) "come out of the coffin". Just typing that it's already easy to see where the lines start getting drawn. The catchphrase is an obvious and intentional callback (callover? Ah, let's just go with 'reference') to the homosexual community and the perceived liberation of 'coming out of the closet'. No shit. As obvious as that is, it's pretty easy to connect the dots and parallel the vampiric struggle as portrayed in True Blood with that of our gay and lesbian neighbors. But isn't that a little too easy? Sure, as I said before, the connections can reasonably be made, but I'm remiss to ask who cares? It's such an easy link to make that I'd like to imagine that the show isn't being that up front. Instead, I'd like to believe that sometimes the easiest thing to do is also the most difficult. It's simple to get caught up in all of the possible hidden meanings of a work of fiction, but it may be an altogether different animal to just sit back and stomach a show about vampires living in Louisiana with shapeshifters and mind readers. But maybe that's why it's catching on. People who would be otherwise averse to enjoying something as peculiar as True Blood can hop on the bandwagon and disguise their interest through intellectual dissection. I mean, that just sounds cooler too. As fun as it is to muse just how deep the show creators want their parallels to run, this interview with series creator Alan Ball seems to skew in my direction: Alan Ball Interview

(As an aside, I think that instead of getting caught up in associating the maladjusted vampires with homosexuals, people should look to series breakout Lafayette. Here's a gay man who seems a little too adjusted in an increasingly weird setting. If anything, Lafayette is the best example of the creator's views (if any) on gay people. Like... in a good way.)

Ok, so what did I think about the episode Nothing But the Blood which opens up the much anticipated second season? Well, after getting pretty excited over the last few weeks I was left a little unfazed after the credits tonight. I'm left wondering if that's a bad thing or if the fact that I'm feeling no different than I did an hour before is merely the result of an expository premiere episode. Don't get me wrong; this episode delivered all the elements I enjoyed from the first season and even managed to tie up some of its loose ends. The problem, if you can call it such a thing, was that there was never a moment where I was memorably shocked or moved to response. Perhaps that's just the nature of a second season with a show like this. The viewer has already seen some pretty ludicrous things, so it's not a stretch to think that something really bizarre would have to happen to shake things up. The show has more or less picked up the baton EXACTLY where the last episode left off, so perhaps instead of the fresh 'here's-where-things-stand-now' tactic many serialized TV shows take in the beginning of a season (where they parade the new looks the stars are sporting; edgier clothes, new locales, status quos, etc.) True Blood has elected to just continue business as usual. I think that sits right with me, but I also think that it's the cause of my non reactionary reaction. We're essentially getting more of the stuff we loved about the first season.

This episode does manage to set up a slew of new mysteries and plot hooks that we can look forward to investigating this season. We have the mysterious fate of Lafayette (though one would imagine it has something to do with his illicit V-trafficking), Sam's anomalous past with Tara's new benefactor, and by extension Maryanne's true nature (demon-god-witch thing?). All of these things promise to amply up the stakes (ha! get it?!) while at the same time not altering much of the formula of the show in an attempt to lasso some new demographic. I can honestly say that I'm excited for the season, though maybe after the feel of this first episode curious is a more fitting word. I'm still a fan though. Finally, is it me or does it seem like Anna Paquin must have come to some new comfort with showing herself naked on this show? Last season I remember being pretty surprised when she ended up being mostly naked on camera in what, if memory serves me, only amounted to one scene in one episode. Granted this may be the case here as well, but already we've seen her naked on camera for longer and at a more clear shot than we did in the whole of the first season. I guess I'm not complaining, I just find it worth noting.

In summation, with a summer of pretty meager prospects TV-wise I have to say that True Blood continues to be the highlight and not just because its essentially the only high profile option. The show has found a pretty entertaining mix of (melo)drama, humor, suspense and violence that is rarely found in such perfect levels of harmony. Even though my impressions of the premiere are pretty much neatly defined as 'neutral', that in no way illustrates a dip in the quality of the show. It just seems like the show never took a break and I suppose if you're coming off an affection for the first season, that can only be a good thing.