The Walking Dead- Here’s a fun comparison of numbers. The season four premiere of The Walking Dead netted roughly 16 million viewers. Breaking Bad’s series finale? 11 million. My reaction to this? Part of me wants to slap some decent taste into the world with all the brute force and arrogance of Kratos. On the other hand, I accept everyone isn’t going to enjoy the same shows as I. Blah, blah, blah; opinions and what not. One thing The Walking Dead has over most is accessibility. The viewer can jump in at any point and within a few episodes have nearly the same grasp of the story as a day one fan. Then again, mass appeal does not inherently mean high quality. I digress, I really shouldn’t be ranting on about this right now.
Anyway, season four has hit the midway point and I must say, holistically, these past eight episodes were a vast improvement. After Glen Mazzara nearly sucked every drop of quality out like a Dementor, Greg Nicotero has managed to right the ship. Finally, we are seeing how to properly handle the gravity of an apocalyptic setting. It too has become a character. Every moment is tense, and the majority of the cast is far from safe.
Despite the stronger focus on survival, there has been a strong improvement on the character front. It’s still far from perfect, but a couple new additions along with a few old faces have received better treatment, and I dare say this has been the best season yet.
I must admit though episodes 7&8 fail to provide the ending I expected. Just as life is breathed back in, TWD shoots itself in the foot. After some excellent build up topped off with quality storytelling in the 6th episode, conflict and deaths are hackneyed in with reckless abandon. Old plots are rehashed and the cliffhanger is far too similar to a previous season’s. When the big death came rolling into town, it felt much more obligatory than natural.
Even with two fairly weak final episodes, there is a sense of a new beginning. The potential is there and has been realized to some extent. Now it’s time to make it last.
Robin Hood- Occasionally reviewing movies you enjoyed as a child doesn’t always turn out so well. Sometimes you enjoy them just as much. Robin Hood falls somewhere in between. There’s the usual Disney stamp of quality along with some rather enjoyable voice-acting, but the pacing is screwy. Robin Hood feels like an elongated episode of a show. There's not much escalation, and really no climax and proper resolution for that matter.
However, the purpose of some cheery morale compassing is executed well enough, and even as a 21 year-old I still enjoyed it. Whether this is a case of rose-tinted glasses or genuine quality could be debated.
I Saw the Devil- Recently I’ve been watching a whole lot of Korean and Japanese cinema: much of it dark. I Saw the Devil, well frankly the title should give it away. Afterwards I half-jokingly tweeted “If you hate happiness, watch I Saw the Devil.” Truth is, I came away from it far from happy. I didn’t dislike it, it’s just that morbid.
So what makes this bit of Korean filmmaking so disturbing? What’s the premise? Well, it’s rather straight forward, but the execution is deliciously deep. After Soo-hyun’s, a government agent, wife is brutally murdered, he vows track down the man responsible. In the process the viewer witnesses several intimately inhuman scenes. Setting I Saw the Devil apart from torture porn is what backs up the grisly violence. We’re not seeing your run-of-the-mill killer in villain Kyung-chul. In no way is he made a sympathetic character, but his depraved sense of human and uneasy aurora don’t leave a single second lacking in the atmosphere department.
While most moments are well paced there is a 10 minute portion after the discovery of the body that move too quick. Not much time is taken for the introduction of the protagonist, though most the relevant information is revealed along the way.
A word of warning, I advise you to mentally prepare yourself for the murder scenes well in advance. These are not your average gore-fest killing. When I said its brutal, I meant it. Really, really meant it. If you are comfortable with such things, then as a whole, I Saw the Devil is thoroughly enjoyable. The cinematography is excellent, the characters enthralling, and each second uncomfortably tense.
13 Assassins- Looking for a bit of action with a solid story of duty, honor, and justice? Well, look no further than 13 Assassins. While the western may be dead, the very similar samurai genre is quite viable in Japan.
As the Tokugawa Shogunate is in decline during the 1840’s, the stepbrother, of the Shogun is earning himself no love from the people of Japan. His cruel nature has lead to the killing and mutilation of several prominent members of the hierarchy and their servants. Finally, portions of the political inner-circle decides to call upon a renowned samurai to carry out an assassination, before the situation gets any worse. Said samurai gathers a team of trusted and highly skilled warriors to accompany him and blood, guts, and drama ensue.
While the beginning can be difficult to follow thanks to numerous nighttime scenes, it’s rather easy to pick things up through the context clues. Really, all you need to know is that there is one ruthless bastard guarded by 75+ soldiers and 13 assassins are tasked with taking him out.
While a few of the characters are throw-away at best, the majority of the cast is interesting enough to carry the action. Of course, the top-notch samurai ass-kicking is good is compelling enough on its own. The final showdown between the assassin’s and the shogunate stands alongside memorable moments such as the ones found at the end of The Matrix and Saving Private Ryan. There’s not a whole lot of action prior, but the pacing causes those final minutes before the shit hits the fan to be filled with sweat, sweat tension, eventually exploding into all out violence.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley- Historically based foreign cinema is often refreshing. American films tell us some great tales, but we rarely dabble in the more obscure. Not that this anyone’s fault, you write what you know after all.
TWtStB is the tale of two brothers during the Irish War of Independence and ensuing Irish Civil War which took place from 1919-1923. The first issue I have are the accents. For someone unaccustomed to hearing such unadulterated Irish speech, it was difficult to keep up with the dialogue. Not so surprisingly the two I found the easiest to understand are Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins and Inception) and Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones).
Despite my woes, TWtStB is a solid piece of entertainment. While periodically dragging, the more emotional high points were executed quite well. The IRA’s struggle to gain independence from Britain was tangible and sympathetic. Especially for someone found of American history.
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