The Shield - S1E2 "Our Gang"

Review

Ah, The Shield. I was always under the impression that this series starts slow. I was wrong.

This episode follows David's search for answers as Terry dies in the hospital from a gunshot wound inflicted by Vince. The subplot is about a churro vendor who was shot by a Los Magnificos gang member, and the sub-subplot is about the initiation of a rookie into the police force.

I like the way the show is developing its characters and the way the writers were able to use the rookie cop's interactions with Danni in this episode to paint a picture of what it's like to be a cop in this police force.

First, there's the news about Terry's fatal gunshot wound. Here, Danni scolds the rookie for not coming to the hospital after she left a message for him on his answering machine the other night:

"What?" he says. "I've been on the job three weeks. I didn't even know that guy"
She replies "Rule number one. He was a cop. You're a cop. You knew him."

Right away we get a feel for the sense of camaraderie these people have. And it speaks to her character, as well, that she's able to respect the situation and treat a death in the unit with due solemnity.

Another scene with similar effect sees the strike force teasing the rookie about needing to get initiated. Walking away from the group, he tells Danni he doesn't want to partake. Her response is that those men may just be over-grown frat guys, but one day they could be all that is standing between him and a bullet.

And it's true. Their jobs are often hard. In the worst of times they're life-or-death. And in those crucial moments all they have is each other. That's not a lesson you want to learn the hard way.

Yet - and I want to stress this as much as I can - they're still normal people. They have lives outside of work. They have relationships; families. They do things that normal people do. In the previous episode it was revealed that Mackie occasionally sleeps with Danni. This episode, we see Mackie at home and interacting with his wife and daughter.

It's also Claudette's birthday. She's older and she's being teased about it. Someone anonymous gets her a gift: dental paste. She goes to celebrate with her friend and a potential love interest after work. Earlier, she harshly criticizes the rookie cop about his handling of a crime scene. Her partner tells the rookie, with a smile, "don't take it too hard. She's in a pissy mood because it's her birthday"

I love that this show is able to be serious when the story needs it to be and light and humorous when it doesn't. One of my major criticisms of modern drama is that hardly anyone is ever having fun. Not so, here.

I'm very interested to see what comes of the David vs. Mackie storyline. Will Mackie get caught? How is Mackie affected by what he did? Will there need to be more casualties as others get closer to the truth? Is Shane liable to break if David keeps pressing? Until episode 3...

7/10

Odds and Ends

• Why do cops always sit at the bar?
• Walton Goggins is a seriously great actor. The interrogation by David is the best scene here.
• I like the action shots in this series. Very active shaky-cam. They haven't overdone it yet.
• Does Mackie's wife have a JOIIIISEY accent? (Jersey)
• Liked this exchange:
• Claudette: "We're too old to be chasing men around." 
• Friend: "I'm not." 
• Claudette: "Neither am I." 
• I initially had issues with Mackie acting so shaken up after Terry died. Maybe this says more about how other shows and movies have conditioned me to see cops on the small screen. These guys do show emotion. Losing one of your own can't be an easy thing. Still, nice affectation there, Mackie! PUNK!
• Terry's story about oral sex at the poker game reminded me of the bullshit story in Reservoir Dogs that the undercover cop has to sell the rest of the criminals on.

Maron S1E04 - Dominatrix

Review

This is my first review of the show Maron. I'm a big fan of Marc Maron's podcast "WTF With Marc Maron" and I want to like this show and wish him all the best, but I don't think this series will last very long.

In this particular episode, Maron gets the news that his ex-wife is doing well and has a child. When he doesn't take the news as well as he could, a friend of his tells him he needs to move on and says she knows someone that she could set him up with. The girl in question is a bookstore owner named Megan and is a good ten years younger than Maron. They meet at a live reading at her shop and he hits it off with her rather well, but he's more drawn to another woman at the reading - a dominatrix. And thus begins the story.

The dominatrix's name is Justine and she's not particularly well written. This is a woman who is likely in her early 40's yet she tries to convince Maron to get kinky with her even when he has indicated that he's not comfortable with it. She calls him a coward and later goes as far as to lie in order to get him to show up to her day job while she's actively dominating a client. Then, once Maron has broken up with her, she sleeps with his dad to get back at him. Ugh. These aren't the actions of a forty-something adult.

What's more problematic is that Marc breaks up with her because she bakes him banana bread. To him, this spells commitment and he's not at all down with that. This would be fine, were it not for the fact that the episode didn't play out the way it did. This wasn't "Marc is afraid of commitment". This was "Marc is nervous about getting freaky with this cartoony dominatrix who publicly talks about putting her foot up a client's ass".

The commitment issues came out of left field and the break-up moment felt cheap even though it was played for laughs. Maron does eventually sleep with the nice girl. He also tells her he's bad for her. It's too bad that the show had to explore Maron's love-life in such a clunky way. An unsatisfying end to a very unsatisfying episode.

2/10

Odds and Ends

• Love the Maron theme song, or at least I think I do. It's a song by Reel Big Fish called "Sell Out"
• Is "The Jerusalem Syndrome" actually a book written by Marc? Now I'm curious...
• I'm surprised Marc is a recovering addict. I didn't know that about him.
• This episode made Marc really hard to like. I felt sorry for Megan throughout. She seemed so sweet.
• I liked Marc's acting when he and Justine were in bed and he awkwardly talked to her about being able to do the BDSM thing but not wanting to. I wonder if the episode would have worked better without this scene, though. It tricked me into thinking I was watching an episode about Marc's weird sex adventures. I shuddered at the thought of that. Maybe I would have preferred it.
• I really liked the previous episode. Don't watch this one. Watch that one.

2012 Year in Review - Top Ten Movies

2012 is almost at a close. Here's my full top ten for the year. Note that I have not seen Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained yet. If those two belong here, so be it. For now, this is my list. In no particular order:

Marvel’s The Avengers

For comic book fans there should be little doubt that a better comic book movie has never come out. For all the hangups that studios seem to have about making their superhero movies dark in recent years, it’s refreshing to see a superhero movie that flirts with that very darkness but maintains an almost youthful exuberance and is light-hearted for the full ride. The action sequences are terrific and the ‘Avengers’ are likable as a misfit crew that don’t get along - a dynamic which Joss is able to use to simultaneously build character and bring about immense comic relief.

Cabin in the Woods

At first blush, it might strike one as odd that Joss Whedon would be taking a crack at horror. But don’t be fooled, the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ creator is clearly well versed in the genre. He knows what he’s doing, and the movie is so lovingly made that it’s hard to find fault anywhere. Sure, it’s not all that scary, but that doesn’t matter. If self-aware and self-parodying horror flicks are your thing, watch this (right now!). I won’t give anything away here, but I promise this movie is not at all what you think it is. If you are at all like me, you will be as giddy as a 5 year old for the entirety of the last half hour.

Dredd 3D

A genre flick that is essentially Robocop in a dystopian future. Do you like blood and guts? How about blood and guts in 3D? This is a fun action B-movie that doesn’t rush the action sequences at the expense of character development. And oh boy, what about that scowl by Judge Dredd?!  Remember: You can’t spell Dredd without 3 D’s. *scowl*

Lincoln

I have to give credit where credit is due. I don’t count myself a Spielberg fan but this movie had me wearing a grin from start to finish. Sadistic, to be sure, since it’s 2.5 hours long. It’s a movie about Lincoln trying to pass the Thirteenth Amendment. We all know the eventual outcome, but the theory the movie posits about how we got there is what’s most interesting. There’s about 10-15 minutes of material in here that I don’t care for (the Spielberg-ian family stuff) but it’s just so much fun seeing democrats and republicans yelling at each other for two and a half hours. And I can’t help but wonder whether this movie is, on some level, trying to send Obama a message (no, I don’t mean it’s telling Obama to grow Lincoln-style facial hair but he should do that, too).

Amour

Amour is french for “love”. And this movie is very much about the strength of love and it’s endurance in life and death. It’s a sad film about an elderly couple where the man deals with the gradual decline of the health of his wife. Love conquers all, but death is always inevitable. It’s a Michael Haneke film so that alone should be reason enough to see it.

Beauty Is Embarrassing

I’m not a big documentary guy, but I figure that I needed to put one on here. It was made easier for me when I saw this at the 2012 CIFF. About an artist who was featured on Pee Wee Herman’s Playhouse as a prop-maker and puppeteer. The movie chronicles the man, Wayne White, and his various artistic ventures and family life. It’s truly remarkable to see someone that lives and breathes art. I saw the movie with a friend and once the credits had rolled he turned to me and said “This movie gives me faith in humanity and myself”. Yup.

The Master

Perhaps a more intriguing film than an enjoyable one. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed someone to pick you up so bad that you blindly gave yourself completely to them? This is the story of a man eternally lost after coming back from war and meeting the head of a cult not unlike Scientology that promises to save him. It’s not about religion - it’s about the relationship between the two characters. Joaquin Phoenix, as the war-damaged veteran Freddy Quell, puts in the best performance I have ever seen. Watch it just for that. 

The Loved Ones

Any other year, I would tell you that this is the funnest horror movie you will see all year. Alas, we had Cabin In The Woods this year, so I can’t say that about this movie. What I can say is that it’s truer to the genre than Cabin is. It’s filled with squirm-inducing torture sequences, moments of triumphant defiance, and a campiness that is deliberate and rewarding (how many movies have murderous psychopaths in glossy pink dresses!). The set pieces are claustrophobic and colorful which is a decision that I love. And the acting is very, very good. 

Argo

A terrific slice of filmmaking from Ben Affleck, this movie follows a group of American’s hiding in a hostile Iran and it’s up to a government agent (Ben Affleck) to get them out. Before the movie gets into the most nail-biting sequence you will see all year, it does a great job of depicting the fear of the stranded Americans. For example, there are encounters with locals and Ben wisely chooses not to give us subtitles. It puts us in their headspace - what is he saying? Why is he yelling at me? Is he going to try to kill me? I don’t think the movie ever goes into “us” vs. “them” territory. It certainly could have, and it’s a testament to Ben’s strengths as a filmmaker that he doesn’t let it.

Moonrise Kingdom

The year’s best film. You will laugh, cry, and poop your pants. A boy is at a camp (something similar to boy scouts) and meets a girl around his age. They hatch a plan to escape together. She will run from her home, and he from the camp. This story posits the notion that you don’t have to be an adult to be in love. Kids fall in love, too. And then adults chase after them when they run away. Ever wanted to see Bruce Willis play a pathetic, broken man? Yes? Well, you’re in luck!

"The Less You Know The Better" by DJ Shadow

I once read that DJ Shadow has the biggest vinyl collection of any individual person in the world. I don't know if that's true or not, but it isn't a stretch to believe it - he's been at this game for a long time now. He released the highly influential "Endtroducing....." all the way back in 1996. Those of you who know of the album will know that this was the first time someone ever released an album comprised exclusively of samples. A landmark release in music.

He followed that release up with the well-received "The Private Press" a half-decade later. The album was a departure from the 'Endtroducing.....' sound. Whereas the former was calm and soothing, 'The Private Press' was monolithic with louder productions punctuated with powerful drum samples. Still, just like 'Endtroducing.....' before it, the album had a certain beauty to it that was hard to describe as anything more than "just a feeling inside of you". Many were disappointed with the album but it's a crime to judge it on the merits of an album released 6 years prior.

Next came 'The Outsider', aptly named for making the listener feel - for the first time ever on a DJ shadow album -  as though they were on the outside looking in. It wasn't the immersive experience that every other Shadow album had been. On top of that, DJ Shadow decided to feature artists on nearly every track. This hamstrung the artist as he couldn't organically expand on his musical ideas into gorgeous numbers the way he was able to on career highlights such as 'High Noon'. What this meant for the listener was that the songs were all very conventional in structure. This album was shunned by critics and fans alike. 

Flash-forward to his latest album - "The Less You Know The Better". Was he able to make up for his previous misfire with this release?

Return to Form

This marks the first time in almost 10 years that DJ Shadow has released a good album - yes, that's right, it is a good album. It is not without its flaws, however. 

'The Less You Know The Better' works fine as an album. Most of the songs are fine as standalone tracks. The problem here, as with The Outsider, lies in the way that DJ Shadow jumps around from track to track. Here he doesn't feature artists on every track. But between the genuinely great tracks you will still find the 'The Outsider'-esque cuts sprinkled throughout.

The album alternately grooves, rocks, and taps emotional banks that you didn't know you had. It plays like a mixtape - boldly genre-hopping as if it's trying to show you that DJ Shadow is capable of doing anything. But it's all done so remarkably well that the tracks sound like they belong on entirely different albums. 


There are a variety of sub-standard songs here - "The Warning" features some nice atmospheric work by DJ Shadow but it's undone by some very uninspired vocal-work by Tom Vek; 'Stay the Course' featuring Talib Kweli on vocals fails to gain or maintain steam; 'I've Been Trying', while perfectly enjoyable on its own merits, lacks the emotion it strives so hard to create. One can also find fault in the album's layout, too. 'Tedium', for example, is a hidden gem of a track that you might not notice because of its placement on the album.

Now the good stuff: there are tracks here that remind you that, at the top of his game, there aren't many artists more evocative than DJ Shadow. Take for instance the track "Redeemed" with its looped riffs dripping with sorrow and fabulous crooning (really, the utilization of these sampled vocals is one of the high points of the album). Another highlight is 'Let's Get It (Bass, Bass, Bass)' with its decidedly 'The Private Press'-esque sound. Try not to groove to this song as it drops continental-plate-shifting beats. Seriously, I dare you. 

Other cuts that I would recommend to listeners include "Give Me Back The Nights", which is reminiscent of 'The Residents' with its dark atmosphere and imagery; 'Def Surrounds Us', a track that takes aspects of drum'n'bass and electro and molds it all together with the signature DJ Shadow sound; 'I Gotta Rokk', a chopped-up, groove-based ode to indie rock that adds and removes layers at whim; and 'Circular Logic (Front to Back)', which features some morbid vocal samples of what appears to be two people experimenting with psychoanalytic techniques on a confused patient. 'Scale it Back', 'Back to Front (Circular Logic)', 'Border Crossing' and both parts of 'Sad and Lonely' are also worth a listen.

I highly recommend everyone give the album a spin. There are tracks here you will love, and others that you will never warm up to. The album received mixed reviews because it is, after all, a mixed bag. But there is some first-grade material here. You would be doing yourself a disservice to skip this one.

7/10 


Odds & Ends: The score I gave is for the Deluxe Edition of the album. The Standard Edition is missing two of the album highlights. I would give that a 5/10. As well, the song 'I'm Excited' doesn't appear on either version because it was pulled due to copyright issues. Do give it a listen.