Starz presents Flesh and Bone

The lovely Sarah Hay stars in this new STARZ Mini-Series as Claire Robbins, a Pittsburgh born ballet dancer, who runs away from her home and tries out for the American Ballet Company, led by the flamboyant Paul Grayson, in New York. Claire shows obvious talent as a ballet dancer (much to the chagrin of her fellow dancers in the group) and quickly advances to a much desired place in the Company but her troubled past catches up to her even in New York.

Sarah Hay as Claire Robbins

This VERY dramatic show caught me so off guard upon first glance, that I was mesmerized into watching all 8 episodes over two evenings. The show concludes in a beautiful ballet performance executed by ALL of the principal actors of the American Ballet Company. (Not just Claire.)

Ben Daniels as Paul Grayson, leader of the American Ballet Company

I don't much care for ballet myself but seeing this as a dramatic show, I was amazed by the performances of these mostly unknown actors. Lead actress Sarah Hay has also not done so much more but she was also seen in BLACK SWAN as a ballet dancer. Flesh and Bone does offer a very frank and realistic depiction of the goings-on of a Ballet Company in New York and it may soon be clear that in this business not everything shines so bright on this show.

Grayson tells Claire of her tremendous appeal as a ballet dancer

The shows opens with a beautifully dramatic song for a title sequence: OBSESSION, performed by Karen O, over a gorgeously choreographed dance performance. This erotically charged song also immediately sets the tone of intensity for the rest of the show.

Claire trying out with Ross, a fellow dancer

Seeing that his is a STARZ presentation (STARZ earlier also presented us a rather graphic television show of SPARTACUS), the show does offer a realistic view of violence and abuse, as well as copious amounts of nudity and mature depictions of sexuality. It could have used a little more humor but with its heavy dramatic impact, the show scores amazingly well. Considering the unrelenting realism however, it may safely be said that this might not be a suitable show for everyone.

A beautifully harsh New York setting

Ben Daniels stars as Paul Grayson, Tovah Feldshuh (Deanna in The Walking Dead) plays Ivana, a ballet instructor and the others are not familiar in name or face to me. Still, seeing Flesh and Bone was an amazing experience !!!

Nothing so far has indicated to a second season but if the ratings have been any good, showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett (known from BREAKING BAD) may well be looking for a good story arc to continue this fascinating drama. I would welcome that as I think Sarah Hay is a tremendous talent, whom I would love to see in a second season.

Sarah Hay's IMDB Mugshot

Marvel and Netflix strike again with JESSICA JONES !!

Earlier this year, Marvel had a big hit on television (via NETFLIX) with DAREDEVIL, a wonderfully gritty super hero tale set in Hell's Kitchen, the darkest part of New York. Instead of a big tentpole action film like Iron Man, DAREDEVIL presented the darker side of the City, with smaller sized heroes and equally interesting villains (Vincent d'Onofrio was Marvelous as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, pun definitely intended!), aided and abetted by top rate secondary characters in great story telling.

Remember him? Fantastic show!!

DAREDEVIL was a big success and a second season is now shooting on location, which is great. But Hell's Kitchen is also the home of Jessica Jones, a former superhero that I as a reader was not even familiar with. I knew of Daredevil because, although not being in the same caliber as Iron Man, Matt Murdock was nevertheless a creation of Stan Lee (in collaboration with artist Bill Everett) in the early 1960s. Jessica Jones is a character of a later date, from a time that I did not read that much comics anymore. Jones did have a short career as a super hero but what we see in Marvel's and Netflix' new series MARVEL's JESSICA JONES, she is a private investigator with a troubled past. Now of course I can tell you a lot about her character but what is so fascinating about this new show is that you get to know Jessica as you watch the episodes one by one. In the show itself, the extent of her powers is being kept rather vague so it will be a surprise when you do find out what she can do.

Netflix Poster of Jessica Jones  (the A.K.A. has more or less been dropped)

This new show also fits into the same world we saw in Daredevil and so it is very recognizable (and Rosario Dawson returns for a guest appearance as a familiar nurse from the Daredevil series), while it also treats its secondary characters as just as important as the primary characters. Within a matter of episodes you care about these people, which is why you will hate the villain KILLGRAVE all the more after a number of episodes.

David Tennant as Killgrave

Killgrave is a seemingly normal man who can make you do his bidding just by having you listen to him. He has no superpowers and as a character in the comics he hasn't been used all that much, which adds to the suspense because he is not very well known in the Marvel Universe. But when you see what Killgrave does to the people that you have grown to like and care for, you will hiss at him whenever he appears on screen, even worse than that utter bastard King Geoffrey of Game of Thrones. (And that bag of puss was despicable!! Try to imagine how bad this Killgrave is ! You will fail until you watch this show!)

Mike Colter as Luke Cage

Like in DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES also reflects a darker side of the Marvel Universe if you will, a side in which the F word is not shunned or deleted and in which delicate issues like rape and abuse are frequently touched upon. JESSICA JONES is not like SUPERGIRL, a bright and optimistic show, no, it is like DAREDEVIL in its gritty depiction of urban reality and thru Killgrave questions the values we should raise our children with. I will give you a fair warning that there is also quite a bit of sex involved but nothing explicit. Yet, the show succeeds in convincing you that this is quite a realistic way to see the life of a superhero who wanted out. A super hero who no longer wants to fight crime in a flashy costume, who just wants to live and make ends meet. 

Jessica and her best friend Trish

Luke Cage also makes his first appearance in this show and Marvel introduced Cage first as Luke Cage, Hero for Hire in the early 1970s. Once he got superpowers, he listened to the name of POWER MAN and teamed up with IRON FIST before he later married Jessica Jones and had a daughter with her. In the films and series, Cage had not yet been represented but Mike Colter does an excellent job of portraying a strong, tough but caring Luke Cage, opposite Krysten Ritter as the traumatized but strong Jessica Jones, a young woman with a chip (the size of a boulder) on her shoulder.

Jessica Jones with lawyer Jeri Hogarth

With this show, it can surely be said that innocent television fare like we saw in the 1970s and 1980s, on shows like CHiPs and THE A-TEAM, that kind of show is of the past. Life's a bitch in this world and that is what you get to see in this series. Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg produced a modern classic with this series and although Marvel will continue with Jessica Jones (and Luke Cage and Daredevil) in the next series THE DEFENDERS (no air date has been set yet), Rosenberg hopes there will also be room for plenty more realistic depictions of human issues in a second season. JESSICA JONES can now be seen on Netflix: Don't Miss It !! It's the best show I have seen in a long, long time. (At least 3 months !)

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones

A new Superhero has arrived : SUPERGIRL !!!

Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg are presenting us a new show starring the lovely niece of Superman, Kara aka Supergirl on CBS this season. Melissa Benoist has taken the lead role while supporting roles are for Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh and Calista Flockhart. (Calista Flockhart may be familiar to viewers from her years as ALLY McBEAL.)

Supergirl 1984

In the past Helen Slater played Supergirl in a 1984 film but alas, it did not make a big impression, despite good acting by Ms Slater and a rousing musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. While the new show does not sport a theme by the late Mr. Goldsmith , I do wish everyone working on the show GOOD LUCK. Knowing this is a Berlanti show, I think it will be very enjoyable !!

The Man From UNCLE : the real thing !!

Sometimes it just doesn't seem to want to go your way. In the case of that earlier horror FANTASTIC 4, I was never a fan of the approach they decided upon and it turned out to be totally wrong. Resulting in a major box office bomb.  Here we have another one.

 Ilya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo

 THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. was a popular television show in the 1960s, that followed and later spoofed the James Bond craze. The series ran for four years, the first season of which was in glorious black and white. The first two seasons are clearly the best as in later years the campy humor began to impact the storylines. The series is about two agents from U.N.C.L.E., an American counterpart to the British Secret Service, Napoleon Solo (played by Robert Vaughn) and Russian agent Ilya Kuryakin (played by British actor David McCallum), who on television got into quasi serious capers from one week to the next.  Many interesting guest stars appeared on the show.

 

A very young Kurt Russell appeared in the first season.

In THE STRIGAS AFFAIR we had an unusual coupling of two guest starring actors by the name of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, who not even a year later would star together in another brilliant show of the 1960s (STAR TREK, you dunderheads!!).

Napoleon Solo was the American equivalent of James Bond himself, a handsome, dapper agent for Uncle Sam, capably assisted by his Russian counterpart, Ilya Kuryakin. Their unusual pairing immediately struck a cord with audiences because there was an unmistakable chemistry there, between the two characters, as well as the two actors.

Serious attempts had been made to bring back the idea (in the 1980s there was a comeback television movie with Vaughn and McCallum, but it failed to start up enough interest for a new series) but not until the Guy Ritchie production started up, did a serious contender come forward.

Henry Cavill plays Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer plays Ilya Kuryakin in the new THE MAN FROM UNCLE. The problem with this film is it is a total reboot and both agents aren't even in the service of UNCLE until the very last scene. So the film would be a total misnomer. However, also the characterisations are totally incorrect. Check it out if you want but Solo is in this film only a con man who works for the USA Government because they have him in a vice. Similarly so for Kuryakin, who also suffers from anxieties and psychoses that are not at all used to benefit the story. The story tries to be one of sophistication and glib one liners, but all the one liners fall flat at their feet, because (and here is the clincher) THE ACTORS HAVE NO CHEMISTRY WHATSOEVER.

"I'm sorry. I was sick when they taught us Chemistry." 

Alicia Vikander is a good actress but she doesn't really have much to work with in this film. Armie Hammer also looks like he is made for better stuff and while I would not discount Henry Cavill as a possible James Bond (maybe, when Daniel Craig steps down), he certainly does not shine in his role as Napoleon Solo. It seems also that the boss of the agents in the original series having been British,

Leo G. Carroll as Mr. Waverly in the series

 the filmmakers chose to follow that lead and cast the very British HUGH GRANT as Mr. Waverly in the film ! Oh Dear!!! Oh, Dear !!! Oh my Grandma's Whiskers !!!!

"No, my grandmother did not have whiskers." Hugh Grant says.

 Sophistication is no good if the main characters do not have any chemistry together. Besides, it remains to be seen what this production nominates as sophistication if  all that happens in the film seems to go so incredibly easy for our heroes.  And the use of multiple screens for things happening with a much quicker explanation, well, I'm sorry, but it does not work for me!
Finally, I have to also say this: the 1960s television show has a music theme by composer Jerry Goldsmith that is still popular today. Mr. Goldsmith also scored a few episodes while other composers also did their bit with similarly popular 1960s pop-jazzy music. All this new film has is an awful score by a Daniel Pemberton, which gets hampered by a lot of songs that are used to give the whole thing an exotic flavor. This at the same time destroys any sense of musical identity for a film that would sorely need it. Never you mind though. The film has already gone belly up.

"If you aim for the Russian guy, I'll take the American in the suit!"

So do not accept any substitutes and yes, do go back to this wonderful show of the 1960s. It is still possible to see it on television and the whole series has also been released in one very nice DVD set.

Whoever said that when it is old, it can not be of interest anymore??? Well, they were wrong!!!
There is only ONE  THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. and that is this great television show of the past.

JAMES BOND 007 : SPECTRE (2015)

SPECTRE

Whenever a new James Bond film comes out, it is always a pleasant surprise to be thrilled by the various elements that make up such an iconic film series. SPECTRE is the fourth James Bond film starring Daniel Craig and it might also very well be the last one, even though Mr. Craig is still contracted for one more.
SPECTRE is as thrilling as the last one and perhaps even more than before it represents a step back to the Bond  we all knew before Daniel Craig took over the role. In SPECTRE, Bond has more of a sense of humor than we have seen before, he is equipped with gadgets and once more has a secial Aston Martin with the works. And he gets the ladies.

Monica Bellucci and Daniel Craig in Rome

SPECTRE may be too ambitious with its length. With 148 minutes, SPECTRE is the longest James Bond film on record and while the film doesn't get boring, maybe the film could have stood a little tightening up here and there still. For me, it seemed a little like the length of the film seemed only to accentuate the formulaic quality of the story. You go from a quiet moment to a dramatic highlight, to a point of relief where after follows a new trajectory to another dramatic highlight and so on. But then, this is a James Bond film and not an Austin Powers movie.
For myself I also particularly enjoyed the struggle that the new M is engaged with, while Bond is still following orders from M's predecessor. Ralph Fiennes as the new M is excellent and works very well with Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw as Q. And the McGuffin of the story, vague as it is, would bring Bond even closer to his arch enemy, formerly known as Franz Oberhauser, but of course, he has started calling himself Ernst Stavro Blofeld now and ends up sporting a scar that refers to the look of Donald Pleasence as Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967).

To be Blofeld or not to be Blofeld, that's the question!

I had some reservations about Thomas Newman's music for SKYFALL. Not that it was bad but it is practically not to be listened to on the soundtrack CD, which for a film music lover like myself is a sincere disappointment. I was pleasantly surprised this time by Newman's music because he manages to imbue his themes with an intensity that is dramatically quite satisfying in the film. On CD SPECTRE still doesn't match the grandeur of a John Barry score, but it is better than SKYFALL and intermittently also referencing the classic James Bond theme. Thanks very much, Mr. Newman. I'm afraid that I must say however that Sam Smith's Writing on the Wall doesn't do it for me. Sorry.

A trailer made for Heineken, a Sponsor of the Film 

A very personally satisfying background is now also being brought to a close for our hero, Mr. James Bond. It is almost as if these four Bond films for Daniel Craig have acted as a personal treatment for the trauma of his youth, losing his parents in a climbing accident, having been raised by someone else in their stead. It is the realization that he does have a choice at the end of this film which would validate an ending here, even if only for Daniel Craig as Bond, now driving away with the girl in the sunset. (I just hope that his girl friend doesn't get killed, prompting Bond to go on another killing spree in the next film. That's been done before. Daniel Craig by the way has aged a lot as well by now and maybe this would be his best cue to step down.)

Léa Seydoux, Daniel Craig and Monica Bellucci 

Slightly disappointing was that Monica Bellucci is only seen so shortly in the film and also, Mr. Hinx, played by Dave Bautista, also is gone too soon. For that matter, by the way, even though Christoph Waltz does a good job of portraying the arch enemy of our Hero, he lacks a certain something in the menacing department. Maybe he just seems a bit too friendly.

Not Austin Powers 3

SPECTRE has in the meantime gone from the cinema screens but is now readily available on DVD and Blu Ray. At this particular point it is also going to be interesting to see where the films will go next as it is unclear at this point whether Daniel Craig will want to do one more or not. If not, other actors are foaming at the mouth to take the role.I loved Daniel Craig as Bond and if SPECTRE will be his last one, it was a good one ! But we'll just have to wait and see.

Final note: Sam Smith has been awarded the Oscar for Best Song, Writing is On The Wall. I am not in agreement that this is a good song but then, who am I? When Sam Smith sang the song live for the Oscars, it was also clear he could not match the vocal quality from the film song as his live performance was definitely off key. Not a fine note to end this review on but nevertheless congratulations to Sam Smith.

Continuing a Saga : STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION 1987-1994

Everyone who knows me, knows I am a Star Trek fan from way back. I saw my first Star Trek episodes at the age of maybe 4 years old and so, naturally, we are speaking of the original series. But I can very well remember hearing in 1987 about a new series to be coming along soon, which worried me. How could anyone try this again? The original series caught lightning in a bottle and had created a phenomenon that was unique in the history of show business. Was it perhaps not a bit presumptuous to assume one could do it again?? I needn't have worried. Gene Roddenberry was a part of the whole process. And in 1987 we got a look at a Star Trek placed about 70 years after the original series. Starfleet would have been improved, the starships most certainly would be improved. And indeed, the new Enterprise, the NCC1701-D was a magnificent ship to behold.

There would also be some changes aboard ship. For one thing, there would be a Klingon aboard this Starfleet vessel and there would be families aboard this Galaxy Class Star ship. The Captain would no longer be able to easily go on away missions because his first officer would keep him out of danger and would take his place among the away missions. And to safeguard this all, a grand crew had to be assembled from all walks of life and even one artificial life form: an android, who was endeavoring to try and become a human being.

Front row: Commander William T. Riker, first officer, Deanna Troi, Ships Councellor, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Chief Medical Officer, back row : Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher, (Beverly Crusher's son), Tactical Officer Tasha Yar, Tactical Officer Lieutenant Worf, Commander Data and Commander Geordi LaForge.

Because of rather unique circumstances that were not in place in the country where I saw the show, the show became an instant hit in the USA. But it did have its share of casualties as the first two years were rather tumultuous, in front and behind the cameras. There was a very high turnover of writers and producers in the first two years and one character, Tasha Yar, did not make it thru the first year. Denise Crosby, the actress, had asked to be released from her contract and this was honored but her character Tasha Yar was killed in action in the episode Skin of Evil.

Tasha Yar's holographic memorial speech

Still the pilot, Encounter at Farpoint, was a definite highlight of the season, showcasing a lot of the talent and insights to come. Also on this show was a formidable opponent, Q, portrayed full of selfrighteousness and gall by John de Lancie. His promise to let the crew go on trekking also included the forethought that he might be back.

Another highlight of the first season was WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE, a show in which a Starfleet mathematician thinks he has solved the problem of going at normal warp speeds but it turns out he hasn't a clue about the truth of the issues the Enterprise gets to deal with. His assistant, a traveller, however sees in Wesley an as yet unlocked treasure of promise that he tells Captain Picard to nurture.This episode would later also have repercussions in a later season.

The second season began with a disadvantage of a writer's strike in Hollywood, but despite the fact that this season has only 22 episodes instead of the normal 26, one could notice a distinct improvement in the story material and the production values. However, producer Maurice Hurley had taken Dr. Crusher out of the show and substituted Dr Kate Pulaski in her place, played by Diana Muldaur, an actress who had done two guest appearances on the original show.

Commander Geordi LaForge was also promoted to Chief of Engineering and Worf was now the only Tactical Officer. Another addition to the ship was TEN FORWARD, the bar where you could go and have fun when off duty or when you would engage in a good conversation with GUINAN, played by Whoopi Goldberg. Guinan was of a race that could grow very old indeed (as it turns out later in the fifth and sixth season that she first met Captain Picard on Earth in the 19th Century).

 

In terms of the episodes there were real beauties like MEASURE OF A MAN, in which Picard defends Data's rights as an android but also as a new form of life.

But there was also the exquisite ELEMENTARY, DEAR DATA, the first of many episodes in which Data entered the holodeck as Sherlock Holmes, with Geordi LaForge at his side as Watson. 

There was also A MATTER OF HONOR, in which Riker takes the position of First Commander on a Klingon vessel, which was excellent, Pen Pals, in which Data communicates with a child of a species on a dying world, THE EMISSARY, in which an old love interest of Worf reappears but of course the most amazing and also terrifying episode of the second season, Q Who, in which the Enterprise gets a first look at a race they have not encountered before: the Borg.

The second season had to end with a bottle show for budgetary reasons but the third season brought us even better stories and brought us Dr. Crusher back (for which I was very glad because Dr. Pulaski did not really seem to click with the other crew members the way Dr. Crusher had).

A fantastic moment in the third season is YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE, in which Tasha Yar is again seen. I hear you thinking "Wasn't she dead?" Well, yes, but in this episode something happens that affects the flow of history and all of a sudden we are in a different time stream and the only one to notice this is Guinan. YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE is one of the best episodes ever made of Star Trek, no matter which series we are talking about.

Who could forget episodes like THE OFFSPRING, SINS OF THE FATHER, CAPTAIN'S HOLIDAY MENAGE A TROI, SAREK and the most ominous, dramatically highpoint of the whole series at this point: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS in which the Enterprise takes on the Borg full on. Captain Picard is taken by the Borg and assimilated into the Borg as Locutus of Borg.

It was a big question whether Jean-Luc Picard would be written out of the show at the end of the third season. I remember that there was indeed talk of promoting Riker to Captain and having Patrick Stewart make a dramatic exit but in THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS part 2, we saw an interesting, if slightly underwhelming solution to the Borg problem. Nevertheless a lot of possibilities remained still with the Borg, which would now and then indeed be utilized. The fourth season however also saw Ensign Wesley Crusher exit the ship to go to Starfleet Academy and gave us much more of Klingon culture in episodes like REUNION and REDEMPTION parts 1 and 2, which also served as the cliffhanger. (Would Worf be back on the Enterprise next year?)

Damn right he would !!

The fifth season saw wonderful moments such as ENSIGN RO, in which the basis was laid for all of the Bajoran issues that would later feature on so many episodes of DEEP SPACE NICE. Michelle Forbes was formidable as Ro.

The hightlight of the fifth season was an incredibly succesful two-parter, UNIFICATION, in which Ambassador Spock, Leonard Nimoy himself, tries to be the catalist for a reunification of his Vulcan and Romulan species. It fails, of course. But the presence of CLASSIC STAR TREK Actor LEONARD NIMOY brought prestige and recognition galore to a show that had already been on the air for longer than that original show so many years ago.

The only drawback in UNIFICATION is that Spock is used in a political function, which is not what he originally was in his years on the Enterprise. That was a shame, but seeing his SPOCK interact with Picard and Data, that was fantastic. The season however ended no less impressive with I, BORG and THE INNER LIGHT, two episodes that are regularly mentioned in lists of the best ever Star Trek episodes.

In the sixth season James Doohan himself got the chance to appear as Scotty in the episode RELICS.

 As an episode, this was even better than UNIFICATION because Scotty got a chance to be an engineer again! A fine example of a great episode. This was quickly followed by TRUE Q, RASCALS and A FISTFUL OF DATAS, which were going for a more humorous tone. In STARSHIP MINE, Captain Picard finds himself to be like John McClane in a building under siege as this episode is a very enjoyable riff on DIEHARD in Space. And in the episode TAPESTRY, Q shows himself in one of his finest hours, revealing to Captain Picard what might have been.

Personally I was not too intrigued with the two-parter DESCENT, in which Data's brother Lore uses the Borg for his own purposes. And later we even get a bizarre episode like MASKS, in which Data is possessed by many ancient spirits from an ancient culture.

Fortunately this same year we also had the wonderfully dramatic DARK PAGE, in which Troi finds out from her mother that she was not her firstborn, and THE PEGASUS, in which Riker is haunted by a secret from the past with great political repercussions. And again, Q reappeared in the finale, ALL GOOD THINGS... in which Captain Picard seems to be shifting from one time zone to another and it is Q who is behind all of this. 

It is also Q who voices an interesting criticism generally heaved at these seven years of exploration: instead of going for the really big questions, all these people on this ship seem to do is to quibble over missed opportunities, personal fulfillment, an android wanting to be human. And yes, one could say, there could have been more galactic episodes among them but basically, STAR TREK is best when it reflects upon ourselves, when it shows us as much about ourselves as of those out there. Intergalactic battles? Leave that to the Star Wars people. That's what they are good at. Star Trek is about The Human Condition. About our drive to improve our species. To learn about ourselves as much as about others and to improve both of us. And this brings us back to the beliefs of Gene Roddenberry. Gene Roddenberry said in an interview before he passed away in 1991, that he envisaged a positive future for mankind. "That it wasn't all going to be over in a flash and a bang." Thank you, Gene for your wonderful ideas, your positive attitude and for your kind human heart!

 Gene Roddenberry 1921-1991