Raising Hope

I've never written about TV on the blog before, but an important, though almost completely ignored, event occurred a few weeks ago, and I felt obliged to comment on it: Fox cancelled Raising Hope. What's Raising Hope, you ask? That's exactly one of the problems. The show, even though it didn’t garner any awards or draw in any significant number of viewers, was one of the sweetest, oddest, and most unique programs on television. I’m only in the second season of the show, which is on Netflix, and only found out about it a few months before its cancellation, but here are some of my impressions so far: 

The Chances don’t have much. As they put it, they belong to the “lower lower lower middle class,” but on occasional moments of honesty, they come out and say outright that they’re poor, and unlike what some of their scheming relatives believe, there’s nothing wrong with that. Their lack of material goods, exciting jobs, and extravagant adventures don’t exactly make for traditionally attractive television. Instead, it forces the writers to tell small scale stories focusing on the dynamics of the family and the town around them, which seems to consist of the Chances' house a few neighbors, a daycare center and the local grocery store. It’s refreshingly low scale, the sort of program where you don’t fear the death of any of the main character by way of  serial killer — one TV’s favorite tropes — except for a few minutes in the pilot, that is. 

The series opens as Jimmy, the youngest member of the Chance family -- consisting of his two parents and his great grandmother -- loses out on a game to his parents, who make him go out in the middle of the night to fetch some ice cream. On his way there, Jimmy nearly runs over a woman on the street. Jimmy's parents were apparently too busy mocking him during his first 24 years, forgetting to tell him to fear strangers, and not let them in  his car. The result of this misguided bit parenting: Hope. 

You see, Lucy, the woman whom Jimmy rescued from an unknown situation and consequently had sex with in the back of his van, was a psychopathic serial killer on there run. Her crimes? She murdered her boyfriends. Thankfully, once Jimmy brings her home, Virginia, his mom, recognizes Lucy from the news, and upon whacking her over the head with a television, turns her into the police. Around nine months later, Lucy  hands Jimmy Hope, their baby daughter, right before her execution. 

On the surface, the Chances seem like the last people you would think of to take care of a baby. They all work full-time, yet none of them finished high-school which means they don’t earn much. They don’t even have their own house, instead living in their great grandmother's, or“maw-maw” as they call her, house. They’re all a little selfish, and kinda dumb. Burt, Jimmy’s father, has a penchant for procrastination and childish practical jokes like building plastic cup fortresses and pushing Jimmy into the bushes on their day job as gardeners. Virginia is an expert in only two things, malapropisms, which really have to be heard to be believed, and cheating the system in any way possible to, say, get cheaper food by stamping day-old labels to fresh bread. Garret Dillahunt and Martha Plimpton are wonderfully comic actors, giving two characters worthy of existing in Arrested Development’s universe alongside George and Lucille Bluth, their incredibly wealthy doppelgängers. 

Jimmy, meanwhile, is the least well defined character, at least at the beginning of the show. His life had no purpose, which means that Hope was the perfect thing for him at the perfect moment to give his life meaning. Every one of Jimmy’s action from the second half of the pilot onwards is geared towards making a better future for Hope.The series squeezes every little laugh it can out of the Chances’ inadequacy and the ridiculousness of their situation, from the über-quirky, in pointing out the dangers in their kid-seat-free car with a hole in the floor, to the more traditional gags, like showing their inability to change a single diaper.

But behind this seemingly desperate situation is a group of people doing their best to be a good family, something Hope brings to the forefront. Greg Garcia, who created the show and specializes in white lower class character based shows, may take mischievous pride in all the borderline-humiliating tough spots he puts his characters in, but he clearly loves this maladjusted bunch. Take a look at the effort Virginia, Burt and Jimmy make to give Hope a better home. These include getting their  GED, to be able to teach the unusually bright kid something; quitting smoking, whose benefits takes a little more explaining to the Chances than you think; and finding Hope a new mother, who Jimmy hopes will be the lovely Sabrina, his coworker at the supermarket. 

At the end of nearly every episode, everyone chips in, putting aside their quirks and personal preferences for the benefit of Hope. And really, who wouldn’t? Someone made an golden casting choice. The show would fall apart without an interesting baby (which can be surprisingly hard to find, as "Friday Night Lights” fans should know). Thankfully, baby Hope is a delight and her reactions to the whacky quirks of her family are among the funniest things the show does.

Even when the humor’s not fully working, as is mostly the case with the crazy great grandmother Maw-maw, it’s this bighearted quality that keeps me coming back to this refreshingly “low-key” and thoroughly enjoyable show. 

Raising Hope, RIP. 

Verdict- 3.5/4 if it even makes sense to rate a TV show, with episodes ranging all over the place from the lowest to the highest marks. 

Raising Hope (2010-2014) 22min. each episode. PG. 

Random Thoughts

-The show has some surprisingly great guest stars including Patton Oswalt and J.K Simmons. 

- The opening titles are presented in the form of a storybook, as if it were Jimmy telling Hope her story which fits the show since Jimmy is usually the narrator of each episode. 

Point Break

Zen surfer dude Bodhi, meet intense FBI undercover agent, Johnny Utah, who's in the California area in search for the Ex-Presidents, a group of armed robbers named after the masks they wear (LBJ, Nixon, Carter, and Reagan) when they stick up banks. The problem is that Bodhi, played by Patrick Swayze, has no idea that his new friend is a cop, while Johnny Utah (the name's way too good not to fully spell out every time), is clueless that Bodhi, who preaches love and peace (and means it, for the most part), is actually one of the guys he's looking for. Straight-forward, right? It would be, if the film had been in the hands of any director other than Kathryn Bigelow. 

Bigelow has an incredibly sharp eye for detail, which serves her well in establishing the way these guys (both the cops and the surfers) behave and relate to one another. She carefully develops her characters enough to make you care about them, but not so much that you won't fully enjoy the action sequences that kill off quite a few of them. From the surfing and the skydiving to the robberies, shootouts, car and foot chases, Bigelow is always in control. She sure seems to love the sports, crafting beautiful long shots with natural lighting, and slowing down the pace to make sure the audience enjoys the view, while never forgetting that anything can go unexpectedly wrong while either surfing or skydiving. Take, for example, the first skydiving sequence, where she beautifully transfers from thoughtful, dialogue-free slow-motion shots to fast-paced, frantic close-ups full of the noise of the wind and dialogue in a moment when Johnny Utah thinks that Bodhi has sent him off without a parachute. She escalates the tension so abruptly, it felt like a shock to the heart no doubt similar to what Johnny Utah must have been feeling. Bigelow diffuses the tension just as quickly when Bodhi pulls the chute for him and Utah lands safely. 

I thought to myself, here's a director, who's in full command of her story and of her craft. It's just delightful to see one set piece after another in this film. Most impressively is the robbery which turns into a car chase and ends in a foot chase between Johnny Utah and "Reagan,” who’s really Bodhi, as Johnny finds out at the end of the scene. Bigelow proves here that a director can use handheld, fast-moving camera to create a sense of heightened awareness and suspense without sacrificing spatial continuity. The best action sequences, to me, are the ones where A) I can tell what's going on and who is where, and B) The pace and energy of the scene builds along with the actions onscreen, which can mean shaky-cam if used well. This is exemplary action filmmaking all the way. I also just loved the way that among all the usual breaking of glass doors, jumping over fences, and crawling across back alleys, there is one truly unexpected moment in which Bodhi picks up a dog and chucks it at Johnny Utah. Fast thinking by Bodhi, who proves to be a decent, smart criminal with the ability to think on his feet (which the film returns to as it witnesses his downward spiral) and great reaction by Keanu Reeves. 

In one scene, Tyler, the cool and detached surfer chick who must inevitably fall for Utah, tells him that he always looks like he's preoccupied with something, due to that scowl on his face that just won’t go away. In several Keanu Reeves' movies of the time -- I think he’s gotten better with age -- this is a distraction. However, here it suits him perfectly, particularly when played against Swayze's undeniable, easygoing charisma. The two make an unlikely pair, which, (like in so many movies) is why it works so perfectly. The rest of the cast is also topnotch, even in small roles. John C. McGinley plays the asshole FBI boss while Gary Busey serves as the "too old for this shit" cop stuck with the “quarterback punk” Johnny Utah for a partner, but they both milk every little moment of screen time they get. Busey even gets one hell of a farewell party for his character, but both are unforgettable. Lori Petty as Tyler is also memorable, particularly when she's allowed to be just one of the guys. She holds her own quite well alongside Reeves and Swayze, but in the end is reduced to damsel in distress (with a white dress nonetheless, proving Bigelow cherishes her cliches). 

The movie’s plot builds nicely, but predictably to its climax. Bodhi finds out Utah’s big secret, the reason for his ever-present scowl, and kidnaps Tyler for insurance.They circle around each other for a few scenes before having one final, epic fight. However, instead of ending, the movie continues. Bodhi gets away, leaving Johnny Utah far, far behind. There’s an epilogue, though, in which the two meet again. It’s by far my favorite scene of the film. With Johnny and the ocean as his only witnesses, Bodhi proclaims his final words: “My whole life has been about this moment, Johnny. Come on, compadre. Come on!” he begs to ride one final wave. “Vaya con Dios, brah.” Makes you want to cry, doesn’t it? 

Verdict- 3.5/4
Point Break (1991) 2h 2min. R. 

Random Thoughts
- Cheesy as hell, you ask? Probably, but there’s something irresistible about this one. I think I’ll be returning to it frequently in the future. 
- This is the sort of movie I was expecting when I first checked out Top Gun for the first time a few years ago. People still claim that film is some sort of masterpiece. They couldn’t be more mistaken. Instead, I had only heard of Point Break on a few occasions. It is by far the superior film.
- I kinda hate Top Gun. The only good thing about it is the mockery it inspires in some circles. 
- Bodhi is a Buddhist term. It means enlightened. 

Margaret

The opening moments of Margaret capture an element of modern life, particularly of life in New York (as Bilge Ebiri points out), that no other film has ever really conveyed before with such clarity. Mainly, it shows the the overwhelming amount of people in the city. Whether they’re long time New Yorkers or just passing by, New York is packed. The opening shots of Margaret simply show the streets of the city: alive, colorful, busy. 

Most of these people just walk by, without exchanging a word, without impacting one another. Several individuals walk every which way. They come into view and leave, quietly. None of them is the subject of the film. Once we do meet Lisa, the young protagonist of the film, we see that she too, walks endlessly around the city. Almost no one she passes by makes an impression. She’s just a part of the crowd, merely the protagonist of the story the director, Kenneth Lonergan, chose to tell among the many other millions he could have.

I kept thinking about a scene from Shoot the Piano Player in which the camera completely abandons the main character as he enters a room and, in a beautiful tracking shot, follows a woman who just exited the room the main character just entered. It is as if the movie could simply abandon all of its characters to be about her, simply because she’s human, and thus worthy of her own film. I love the way Margaret treats its characters, and several other hypothetical New Yorkers it could have followed, in this way. They are all essential. They are all flawed. They are all human.

It’s sad, then, to see the many ways in which these wounded people fail to meaningfully connect with one another. The film is full of miscommunications (both accidental and intentional) that come mostly from characters making false assumptions about people, or groups of people, they don’t fully understand. Take the scene in which one of Lisa’s class discusses the September 11 attacks and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The conversation starts with one seemingly benign comment, but soon everyone starts chiming in, becoming increasingly infuriated, until finally everyone is yelling their opinions at the top of their lungs (as unfortunately happens with so many adults, especially in the era of internet commenting) so that no one can hear what his neighbor has to say. 

For a second, it seems like the whole conflict could stop when a young woman tries to change the conversation: "I’m only saying I think it’s pathetic the way people in this class treated Angie just for saying something they don’t agree with.” “Pathetic” is probably the word most of the characters in the scene take away from the statement, instead of its overall sentiment, which tries to shed light on the real issue: the student’s inability to have a civilized conversation. In another scene, one character regrets the fact that he used the wrong adjective to express himself, which he feels changed the outcome of a conversation and an important dinner. 

In the end, no one comes away with any clearer understanding of the issue, but only with anger. In yet another class — the film is a series of symphonic variations on the same theme — one professor stubbornly repeats to a student “That’s not what Shakespeare meant!” even when the student had a perfectly reasonable interpretation of the work they were reading, which the teacher would have known had he just listened. It’s fitting that the movie’s soundtrack consists of other people’s half-heard conversation, of street noise. 

What’s remarkable about the film is the way it cuts through this noise (as well as through several narrative conventions and teenager cliches), and very incisively hones into the life and experiences of young Lisa and, to a degree, the circle of people around her. Margaret is one of the most intriguing explorations of a single character I have seen. The plot of the film essentially begins when Lisa witnesses, and perhaps causes, a bus accident in which a woman dies. It’s a mess. Poor Lisa has no idea what to do, and all the woman (played with chilling effect by Allison Janney) wants is for Lisa to hold on to her as she dies. Shellshocked, Lisa obeys, remaining with the woman until her death. In a magnificent shot, Lisa cleanses herself from the blood, and water just keeps pouring over her for a long time, until every speck of blood disappears (at least physically, since she later has a terrifying Lady Macbeth moment later in the movie). We don’t exactly know what kind of person she was before — we barely get a few glimpses of that — but it’s evident this experience has changed her. 

In this way, we come into her daily life as she experiences it in a completely different way from before, and we also accompany her into the legal mess that follows the accident, something which both Lisa and the audience are unfamiliar with. Because she’s so out of her depth, she becomes easy to empathize, particularly as it becomes more and more clear, throughout the 150 minutes of the film, that what she is struggling with is really her guilt over her role in the accident. I don’t even know how to describe Anna Paquin’s incredible performance, except to say that she manages to make Lisa fully human in a way very few actors manage. I can only think of the leads in The Best of Youth a movie that gave its two main actors six hours to explore and reveal the complex layers of their character’s humanity. Paquin does it in less than three. I was reminded of Roger Ebert's review of The Best of Youth, which he opens with this paragraph:

Every review of "The Best of Youth" begins with the information that it is six hours long. No good movie is too long, just as no bad movie is short enough. I dropped outside of time and was carried along by the narrative flow; when the film was over, I had no particular desire to leave the theater, and would happily have stayed another three hours. The two-hour limit on most films makes them essentially short stories. "The Best of Youth" is a novel.

I’m sure there’s a lot more to be said about this wonderful, novelistic, work of art, particularly after finding out that there is an even longer, 186 minute, version out there to be explored. Is it smoother? Does it make the story more comprehensible? Could it possibly be better than the version I watched, as I have heard from many critics? I doubt it, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Yes, Margaret is imperfect, but it’s as good as movies get. 

Verdict- 4/4

Margaret 2h 30 min. R

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a movie about friendship. Several references and a few flashbacks are made to the first film and to Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers’ (aka Captain America) best friend from the time he was a civilian and who plays a prominent role in the first movie. Cap is also paired up with Nick Fury and Maria Hill in a few scenes and with Black Widow for most of the film, which yields wonderfully unexpected results.

Know who to trust. If there’s a tagline or a motto for this movie, that’s it. The phrase is repeated multiple times and tested out by various characters in several situations. From the very beginning, the always decent Captain America has to reassess his relationships with everyone he knows, from his next-door neighbor and the guy he meets during his daily run through Washington, DC, to the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. who is not Nick Fury, but Alexander Pierce, played by Robert Redford. Suffice to say Redford’s awesome and makes the most out of his character who’s not exactly who he seems.

No one here is who they seem, actually. There are a few special surprises, such as when Falcon shows up to help Captain America in his quest to save the world. There’s also a few dull spots like the big reveal of who the winter soldier really is. I understand why it’s a shock to Captain America (and that revelation gives Chris Evans a chance to shine), but I don’t get the need to hide it from the audience for the same amount of time, since it’s painfully clear who he is for any viewer paying attention. It’s also weird that right  after his identity is revealed in the film, the Winter Soldier simply sheds the mask that was previously part of his costume.

But nitpicking aside, the conflict between the Winter Soldier and the choices his true identity forces Captain America to make are brilliantly executed and give our favorite hero an actual challenge as to what is the right thing to do. Like Superman, one of Captain America’s defining characteristics is that he does the right thing every time, no matter what the circumstances, and while he does end up making the correct choices here, he goes through a credible struggle in getting to these decisions. Part of what makes Chris Evans’ so good as Captain America is his ability to convincingly depict this internal conflict while at the same time coming off perfectly as the straight as an arrow, boy scout that Captain America has traditionally been. 

This gentlemanly aspect of Captain America is used to great effect in his scenes with Black Widow. As we know from The Avengers, Black Widow used to be a spy for the KGB. She has a  very shady past and uses questionable methods on the job that contrast nicely with those of Captain America, who always plays by the rules. In the magnificent opening action sequence in which they rescue a group of hostages, Black Widow takes on a side mission without consulting Captain America, nearly getting both of them killed, but seeing nothing wrong with her actions. She’s a modern day spy, used to dealing with murky situations. Meanwhile, Captain America is still stuck in his black and white 1940s army-boy mentality and has trouble accepting the compromises the good guys have to make to be effective at their jobs. He’s also more traditional in his private affairs, and is uncomfortable when Black Widow starts prying into his love life. At every turn, no matter how ugly the plot gets, Black Widow tries to set him up with a date, bringing in some humor to counterpoint the drama and the action. 

Poor Captain America has had two years to adjust to our world, but he’s still stuck in the past. He even has trouble letting go of Peggy Carter, his girlfriend from the first film who is now an elderly woman close to death, which plays out a little strangely (in part because its a 32 year actress disguised as a 90 year old woman), but serves to remind the audience that Captain America’s past has not been completely erased, that it still matters. Aside from that, jokes about Captain America being completely out of his element are kept at a minimum, but they are extremely effective when they do show up.

The plot of the film revolves around HYDRA which is once again trying to bring chaos into the world. They have agents everywhere, we are told. This makes Captain America’s trust issues a little harder to shake, and it allows the filmmakers to throw in a commentary on our current age of mass surveillance, in which everyone is a potential target. Not to worry. Nick Fury, the only other character audiences should trust completely, guides Captain America in his mission to take down HYDRA. At times, Fury simply relays orders, but more than ever before he gets a lot of stuff to do in this movie, including getting in an extended car chase/ firefight which is the film’s most accomplished action sequence. 

A few things I loved about the action is its relative stability. The camera occasionally goes rogue in the style of the Bourne movies, but most of the time, it is stable, and I could tell what was happening most of the time as I watched the movie. Part of this also has to do with the fact that most of the action takes place outside in broad daylight, strengthening the visual clarity of the film. It sounds like a simple thing, but one of my biggest issues with Thor: The Dark World is that I couldn’t see anything because, as the title suggests, everything takes place in the dark, creating muddled and confusing action sequences! Through it all, however good or bad, Samuel Jackson proves to be one badass superhero, a fact that cannot be disputed. The only trouble with the fantastic action pieces in the movie is that I don’t see how the filmmakers will be able to top them in upcoming installments of the Marvel universe, and I fear that their takeaway will be that they’ll feel a need to go even bigger for the next film’s action set pieces. 6 Helicarriers, perhaps? The Avengers featured one in its climax; this one had three.

I won’t spoil much, but by the end of the movie all three Helicarriers are sadly destroyed and Marvel’s cinematic universe has changed forever. As always, the conflict is resolved with every super relatively happy, but by the time The Avengers 2 comes around, they will be more scattered and harder to track down. In the meantime, they’ll have more freedom to live their lives as they please. It’s a very interesting status quo that’s established. I look forward to watching how this plays out in the future, but for now I think I’ll take another look at this fantastic entry in the genre.

Verdict- 3.5/4Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2h. 16min. PG-13. 

Random Thoughts:
- There are not one, but two post-credit scenes! I have no idea what the first one means or the implication of the second one. I also don't know for which films these scenes will be important, but make sure you watch them both. - The sequel for the film, which will also be directed by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, is set to come out on May 6, 2016.- Why doesn't Iron Man lend Captain America a hand? Why doesn't Hulk? Thor?

Narco Cultura

The narcocorrido is an utterly bizarre genre of music. The style is a mix of country, folk music, and polka. The lyrics are directly inspired by the acts of the Mexican drug cartels, their beheadings, executions, extortions, and drug trafficking. Drug dealers love the narcocorrido singers and call them with stories of their latest exploits to request new songs. The singers on their part idolize the drug kingpins and seek to emulate their "Scarface" style of life. With the rising death tolls in Mexico and increasing popularity of the genre both there and in the United State, the narcocorridos show no signs of going away. Narco Cultura follows Edgar Quintero, one of the most prominent singers of the genre. Quintero’s a husband and a father who leads a stable life and seems like a genuinely good guy, but there’s one problem. He’s fascinated by the drug culture in Mexico, enthralled by the violence, and sees nothing wrong with glorifying the deeds of his friends in the cartels. 

The other side of the drug culture is not nearly as glamorous. Over three thousand homicides occur in Ciudad Juarez every year. 98% of the time, investigations lead nowhere. No one knows that better than Richi Soto, a crime scene investigator who day after day goes out into the streets of the city, risking his life not only because it is the only way he feels that he can combat the rampant,  ever-spreading violence, but because it's one of the few jobs left in a city with extensive unemployment. Unlike others, he could very easily move to Texas, but he stays because of his great love for his home city. He recalls a time when Ciudad Juarez was prosperous, quiet and beautiful. He stays to reclaim the home he knew. He's the true hero of the film. 

Director Saul Schwarz sprinkles the film with lyrical, heartbreaking images of quiet reflection: A dog walks through the empty streets of Juarez; The red and blue lights from a police car fill the screen, illuminating a dark crime scene; Countless boxes of discarded files and evidence fill up a room at the police department; A tiny dotted line makes clear the almost nonexistent boundary between the cities of Juarez and El Paso, Texas, the safest city in the United States with only five homicides per year. The images slow down the pace of the film, but they enhance its artistry and soulfulness. Why do we allow such atrocities to go by unresolved and unnoticed? The film and its characters don’t have the answers. They merely observe. 

The film takes a few cheap shots by granting interviews to a few clueless Americans to bolster its argument. One Border Patrol spokesman is particularly idiotic and inarticulate, which makes for great tragicomic relief. This is ultimately unfair. The screenwriters also seem to have crafted eloquent monologues for Richi that somewhat lessen his otherwise sincere story. But these are minor flaws to be expected even in the greatest of documentaries (like Chronicle of  a Summer, for example). Narco Cultura is a gut-wrenching, sickening film, but it finds an honest and original way to deal with a pressing issue that lives in the shadows. More people need to become aware of the drug culture affecting all of America; this is as good an introduction as any.

Verdict- 3/4 Narco Cultura (2013) 1h. 43 min. R.

Random Thoughts
- It's horrifying that Richi is forced to wear a mask every day for work for his protection. If he's not careful, he could be killed at any moment, like four of his companions, one of whom was killed during the making of the film.
- Quintero is so blind to the harm his music and the drug culture he so loves are causing, if he were to watch this film, he would probably think that he comes off as the hero. He probably also thinks highly of Tony Montana and Walter White.