subject: Hootie and the Blowfish
overview: It's a fact of rock music that it just hasn't been the same since '60s, and really I blame Led Zeppelin. Rock was the hot new thing that angered '50s parents and gave us outsize personalities like Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Then stuff like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Doors happened. The '70s were a long decade of experimentation that gave us singer-songwriters, disco, and yes, Led Zeppelin. Then in the '80s everything exploded, broke all the rules. The '90s were one long effort to recover from the '80s. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were a brief effort to do something new, bring it to the next level, but then Cobain died. The rest of the decade struggled to reconstitute rock identity.
And it all started with Hootie and the Blowfish. Hootie broke all the rules. The band was at the vanguard of reviving the '60s rock vibe, scaling back the excesses (which of course the '60s had begun, but surprisingly innocently) that had crept up and splintered interest into a thousand subgenres. Hootie was Southern rock and soul and pop all rolled into one. It sounded laid back. Within a year, though, Hootie was the most popular band of the new generation and then the squarest one around. This was around the time where everyone started to glom onto the hip hop and dance scenes, leaving rock entirely behind.
These days rock is making a comeback, which began with the garage bands of the early '00s like the White Stripes and continued to the folk acts like Mumford & Sons. Everyone is still rebelling against the mainstream sounds of U2 and Coldplay, because as mainstream as rock got with Elvis and the Beatles, observers are still convinced that rock is best represented as rebellion like the mumbling Bob Dylan and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe.
Hootie stood apart because of its lead singer Darius Rucker, a black man surrounded by three white guys: lead guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber, and drummer Jim "Soni" Sonefeld (who's the one responsible for breakout signature song "Hold My Hand"). Rucker was indisputably the face of the band, who was assumed to be the Hootie in name while everyone else represented the Blowfish (these were actually Rucker and Bryan's nicknames for some old college friends). As much as this common misconception plagued the band, the name itself was so goofy that once people stopped paying attention to the music, they couldn't take the band seriously anymore.
And the glorious reception of the first album was met with dread silence when the second album (led by songs Hootie had dreamed up before its great success) came with much heavier material. Its name was Fairweather Johnson, giving entirely new meaning to the first one's Cracked Rear View. The band knew before anyone else that the ride wouldn't last. In fact, every member of Hootie quickly embraced the dreaded rockstar fate of growing up and starting families, bucking the lifestyle expected of them. It was the first time the slog of the new road scene had been rejected. Rock wasn't guarenteed for instant stardom unless you could accompany your songs with snazzy music videos. Have you ever seen a Hootie music video?
Today the music video aesthetic is built into the whole act since as we all know the music video is already dead.
Yet Hootie endures. Musical Chairs was all about having fun with the music again, while Scattered Smothered & Covered represented the band's covers era bar scene, and an eponymous album tried to replicate the early success. Hootie's most recent album together, 2005's Looking For Lucky, is some of its best work, in which the songs reached true Americana like the work of Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. Yet the stigma remained. With the radio no longer interested in new Hootie, the band took an extended break. Rucker announced his intentions to become a country star. Everyone scoffed. Then of course it happened.
I've loved every minute of it. Mark Bryan has created two albums of his own material, while Rucker is releasing his third country album today (his first solo effort was an R&B set). They've remained a favorite no matter the incarnation since I first heard them. They're inexplicable to the Led Zeppelin set. Led Zeppelin happened as a direct answer to the original rock vibe, taking all the music and throwing Doors lyrics in front of them. Without Jim Morrison, Doors lyrics are beside the point. It was the jam session, rock as jazz, which the Grateful Dead and the Dave Matthews Band mined to great success, but rock is about the lyrics not just presentation or having a good time, rediscovering the communal messages that go beyond the traditional love message.
That's what Hootie is all about.
highlights:
(Yes, twenty selections. I really, really love Hootie.)
Showing posts with label Fan Tango. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fan Tango. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
#582. Fan Tango Tuesday
subject: Green Lantern
overview: I've been obsessed with Green Lantern for decades. I've mentioned before that this obsession began when I realized he featured my favorite color as his entire modus operandi. And the funny thing is, Green Lantern isn't even any one character. There are hundreds of distinct Green Lanterns.
The first was introduced in the Golden Age era. His name was Alan Scott and he really has nothing to do with the rest of the Green Lantern saga. Plenty of writers have twisted themselves into knots trying to explain how he is, but he really isn't. The most flippant thing you can say about him is that his weakness was wood. The more traditional Green Lanterns used to have a weakness to the color yellow. The Big Bang Theory joke was that you could take out both versions with a Number 2 pencil. Rim shot!
The Silver Age and still best-known version is Hal Jordan. He was a test pilot who happened to be closest to the crash site of Abin Sur, the dying Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (there are 3600 in all). The Green Lantern Corps was the creation of the Guardians of the Universe, wise little blue people who have been alive for countless millennia. Its members are essentially space cops. The term "Green Lantern" technically refers to the power battery that charges the ring Green Lanterns use to draw on their willpower to effect superpowers, whatever their imagination can provide them. The power ring has been described as the most powerful weapon in the universe.
I say Hal got the ring because he was the closest to Abin Sur since there were several other available candidates, those who have the ability to overcome great fear. The first was Guy Gardner, who later became famous for his brash personality. The other was John Stewart, who is by far the most sober of any of the existing human Green Lanterns. Both got the chance to sling the ring after Hal decided he didn't like the constraints imposed by the Guardians on his activities. Hal is a free spirit. It's funny, because he's got Air Force experience, and so he definitely knows from discipline, but even as a test pilot he tended to buck tradition, which is probably why he and perennial love interest Carol Ferris are one of the few romantic couples in comic books to have never settled down.
Guy is an even bigger maverick than Hal. That's why John had a shot. Of course, every time Hal walks away from his responsibilities as Green Lantern, he ends up coming back, because above all else he also has a strong sense of duty. The biggest challenge he ever faced in this ongoing struggle, as later explained by Geoff Johns in Green Lantern: Rebirth, was when he lost his hometown of Coast City to alien conqueror Mongul, events that took place during Superman's return from the dead. Hal lost it, as chronicled in "Emerald Twilight" and Zero Hour, obliterating the Corps and the Guardians and becoming the all-powerful Parallax in the process. Except unbeknownst to Hal and everyone else, Parallax wasn't just an identity he assumed, but the personification of fear.
Another wrinkle in this puzzle is Sinestro, once the self-proclaimed Greatest Green Lantern of Them All. He was so self-assured that he shaped his entire home planet of Korugar in his image, imposing a tyrannical order so that nothing ever went wrong according to his very strict standards. When the Guardians found out, they expelled him from the Corps. In retaliation, he had a yellow ring of fear forged, which functioned in much the same way as a Green Lantern's, but he became the very image of the mustache-twirling villain, and Hal's natural rival. When Hal got better (after redemptive arcs in The Final Night and Day of Judgment), it was Sinestro who took the vanguard of fear in gusto, until a series of crises helped him see things more soberly and gave him his own shot at redemption.
Half of what I love so much about Green Lantern is that it's the least static superhero franchise imaginable. No matter how little things seem to change, they always are. The characters are always shifting in their perspectives, growing.
John Stewart, for example, lost his faith in himself when he inadvertently allowed an entire planet to be destroyed on his watch during Cosmic Odyssey. During the renaissance periods that followed, he was a prime candidate for great character exploration. In Green Lantern: Mosaic, he was a better Hal than Hal, questioning all the typical Guardian logic. When Kyle Rayner accepted responsibility as apparently the last of the Green Lanterns, John was one of his greatest mentors (Alan Scott, ironically, was another). John has been a stalwart member again under the revived Corps, even though his demons frequently try to make him stumble. He's the Green Lantern fans of the animated Justice League knew. He's a far more acceptable alternative than Guy.
Guy was the Green Lantern taken out with a single punch by Batman. He was the one oblivious enough to temporarily use Sinestro's yellow ring for himself. He's had questionable fashion sense. But he did open a bar named Warriors, and that was pretty cool.
When Geoff Johns began writing Green Lantern tales in 2004, I was skeptical. I had been a big fan of the Kyle Rayner era. All these humans Green Lanterns stick around because fans grow attached to them. No other sector has more than one representative as a rule. Now Earth even has Simon Baz, the first post-9/11 addition to the fold, and it shows. Anyone can be a Green Lantern, provided they fit the code.
Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, couldn't be one, though. Hal and Ollie went on a famous road trip exploring the American social landscape. Ollie is a hopeless liberal. Hal is a hopeless conservative. The only thing they share is the word "green" in their superhero names. Ollie shoots arrows at people. Hal prefers a giant boxing glove. I just thought you should know about that part of the legacy. The famed odd couple archetype.
Johns has created an entire expanded landscape. Carol Ferris had long pulled double duties as Star Sapphire. Johns expanded that into the love corps. Sinestro already represented the fear corps. Johns created the greed corps (hilariously personified by Larfleeze), the redemptive corps (the Indigo Tribe), the compassion corps (the Blue Lanterns embodied by Saint Walker), the dead corps (the Black Lanterns, glorified zombies led by Black Hand), the rage corps (the Red Lanterns), and one corps to rule them all (the White Lantern). Some people would call that silly. But if you start questioning comic book logic, there's really no convenient place to stop.
The mythology has always fascinated me. Green Lantern exists in the DC landscape. Remember earlier when I mentioned the Silver Age? This was an era where superheroes came back into fashion after falling out of favor following WWII. The Golden Age Flash was replaced by the Silver Age Flash just like the Green Lanterns shuffle. Except these Flashes famously met. It was the start of DC's whole concept of the multiverse, parallel realities with different versions of the same basic concepts. It was revealed that the mad guardian Krona was responsible for this when he attempted to observe the moment of the Big Bang. This is DC's version of Pandora's Box.
That's how I'll end the overview.
highlights:
Showcase #22 (1959) The debut of Hal Jordan and all of modern Green Lantern lore.
Green Lantern #76 (1970) The start of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow "Hard Traveling Heroes" arc.
Justice League #5 (1987) The "one punch" issue featuring Guy Gardner and Batman.
Cosmic Odyssey (1988) Event that saw John Stewart lose a planet.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn (1989-1990) An updated version of Hal's formative development.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II (1991) An updated version of Sinestro's formative development.
"Emerald Twilight" (1994) The arc that saw Hal Jordan temporarily end the entire Green Lantern legacy and transform into Parallax, followed an issue later by the debut of Kyle Rayner, who subsequently became known as the torchbearer.
Zero Hour (1994) The event that saw Hal's ambitions as Parallax nearly play out. It's Green Arrow who puts an end to the scheme with an arrow to the chest.
The Final Night (1996) Event that saw Hal Jordan reclaim his heroic identity long enough to sacrifice himself in order to save Earth.
Day of Judgment (1999) Event that saw Hal Jordan temporarily become the new host for the Spectre, the Spirit of Vengeance.
Green Lantern #154 (2001) Kyle Rayner's friend Terry becomes the victim of a hate crime, one of the first notable instances where homosexuality is addressed directly in comics.
Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004-2005) Hal Jordan returns, the whole Parallax thing is explained, and widespread appreciation of the franchise begins.
Green Lantern (2011) The movie that proved the limits of that widespread appreciation. Naturally I loved it.
Green Lantern #0 (2012) First appearance of Simon Baz.
overview: I've been obsessed with Green Lantern for decades. I've mentioned before that this obsession began when I realized he featured my favorite color as his entire modus operandi. And the funny thing is, Green Lantern isn't even any one character. There are hundreds of distinct Green Lanterns.
The first was introduced in the Golden Age era. His name was Alan Scott and he really has nothing to do with the rest of the Green Lantern saga. Plenty of writers have twisted themselves into knots trying to explain how he is, but he really isn't. The most flippant thing you can say about him is that his weakness was wood. The more traditional Green Lanterns used to have a weakness to the color yellow. The Big Bang Theory joke was that you could take out both versions with a Number 2 pencil. Rim shot!
The Silver Age and still best-known version is Hal Jordan. He was a test pilot who happened to be closest to the crash site of Abin Sur, the dying Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (there are 3600 in all). The Green Lantern Corps was the creation of the Guardians of the Universe, wise little blue people who have been alive for countless millennia. Its members are essentially space cops. The term "Green Lantern" technically refers to the power battery that charges the ring Green Lanterns use to draw on their willpower to effect superpowers, whatever their imagination can provide them. The power ring has been described as the most powerful weapon in the universe.
I say Hal got the ring because he was the closest to Abin Sur since there were several other available candidates, those who have the ability to overcome great fear. The first was Guy Gardner, who later became famous for his brash personality. The other was John Stewart, who is by far the most sober of any of the existing human Green Lanterns. Both got the chance to sling the ring after Hal decided he didn't like the constraints imposed by the Guardians on his activities. Hal is a free spirit. It's funny, because he's got Air Force experience, and so he definitely knows from discipline, but even as a test pilot he tended to buck tradition, which is probably why he and perennial love interest Carol Ferris are one of the few romantic couples in comic books to have never settled down.
Guy is an even bigger maverick than Hal. That's why John had a shot. Of course, every time Hal walks away from his responsibilities as Green Lantern, he ends up coming back, because above all else he also has a strong sense of duty. The biggest challenge he ever faced in this ongoing struggle, as later explained by Geoff Johns in Green Lantern: Rebirth, was when he lost his hometown of Coast City to alien conqueror Mongul, events that took place during Superman's return from the dead. Hal lost it, as chronicled in "Emerald Twilight" and Zero Hour, obliterating the Corps and the Guardians and becoming the all-powerful Parallax in the process. Except unbeknownst to Hal and everyone else, Parallax wasn't just an identity he assumed, but the personification of fear.
Another wrinkle in this puzzle is Sinestro, once the self-proclaimed Greatest Green Lantern of Them All. He was so self-assured that he shaped his entire home planet of Korugar in his image, imposing a tyrannical order so that nothing ever went wrong according to his very strict standards. When the Guardians found out, they expelled him from the Corps. In retaliation, he had a yellow ring of fear forged, which functioned in much the same way as a Green Lantern's, but he became the very image of the mustache-twirling villain, and Hal's natural rival. When Hal got better (after redemptive arcs in The Final Night and Day of Judgment), it was Sinestro who took the vanguard of fear in gusto, until a series of crises helped him see things more soberly and gave him his own shot at redemption.
Half of what I love so much about Green Lantern is that it's the least static superhero franchise imaginable. No matter how little things seem to change, they always are. The characters are always shifting in their perspectives, growing.
John Stewart, for example, lost his faith in himself when he inadvertently allowed an entire planet to be destroyed on his watch during Cosmic Odyssey. During the renaissance periods that followed, he was a prime candidate for great character exploration. In Green Lantern: Mosaic, he was a better Hal than Hal, questioning all the typical Guardian logic. When Kyle Rayner accepted responsibility as apparently the last of the Green Lanterns, John was one of his greatest mentors (Alan Scott, ironically, was another). John has been a stalwart member again under the revived Corps, even though his demons frequently try to make him stumble. He's the Green Lantern fans of the animated Justice League knew. He's a far more acceptable alternative than Guy.
Guy was the Green Lantern taken out with a single punch by Batman. He was the one oblivious enough to temporarily use Sinestro's yellow ring for himself. He's had questionable fashion sense. But he did open a bar named Warriors, and that was pretty cool.
When Geoff Johns began writing Green Lantern tales in 2004, I was skeptical. I had been a big fan of the Kyle Rayner era. All these humans Green Lanterns stick around because fans grow attached to them. No other sector has more than one representative as a rule. Now Earth even has Simon Baz, the first post-9/11 addition to the fold, and it shows. Anyone can be a Green Lantern, provided they fit the code.
Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, couldn't be one, though. Hal and Ollie went on a famous road trip exploring the American social landscape. Ollie is a hopeless liberal. Hal is a hopeless conservative. The only thing they share is the word "green" in their superhero names. Ollie shoots arrows at people. Hal prefers a giant boxing glove. I just thought you should know about that part of the legacy. The famed odd couple archetype.
Johns has created an entire expanded landscape. Carol Ferris had long pulled double duties as Star Sapphire. Johns expanded that into the love corps. Sinestro already represented the fear corps. Johns created the greed corps (hilariously personified by Larfleeze), the redemptive corps (the Indigo Tribe), the compassion corps (the Blue Lanterns embodied by Saint Walker), the dead corps (the Black Lanterns, glorified zombies led by Black Hand), the rage corps (the Red Lanterns), and one corps to rule them all (the White Lantern). Some people would call that silly. But if you start questioning comic book logic, there's really no convenient place to stop.
The mythology has always fascinated me. Green Lantern exists in the DC landscape. Remember earlier when I mentioned the Silver Age? This was an era where superheroes came back into fashion after falling out of favor following WWII. The Golden Age Flash was replaced by the Silver Age Flash just like the Green Lanterns shuffle. Except these Flashes famously met. It was the start of DC's whole concept of the multiverse, parallel realities with different versions of the same basic concepts. It was revealed that the mad guardian Krona was responsible for this when he attempted to observe the moment of the Big Bang. This is DC's version of Pandora's Box.
That's how I'll end the overview.
highlights:
Showcase #22 (1959) The debut of Hal Jordan and all of modern Green Lantern lore.
Green Lantern #76 (1970) The start of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow "Hard Traveling Heroes" arc.
Justice League #5 (1987) The "one punch" issue featuring Guy Gardner and Batman.
Cosmic Odyssey (1988) Event that saw John Stewart lose a planet.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn (1989-1990) An updated version of Hal's formative development.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II (1991) An updated version of Sinestro's formative development.
"Emerald Twilight" (1994) The arc that saw Hal Jordan temporarily end the entire Green Lantern legacy and transform into Parallax, followed an issue later by the debut of Kyle Rayner, who subsequently became known as the torchbearer.
Zero Hour (1994) The event that saw Hal's ambitions as Parallax nearly play out. It's Green Arrow who puts an end to the scheme with an arrow to the chest.
The Final Night (1996) Event that saw Hal Jordan reclaim his heroic identity long enough to sacrifice himself in order to save Earth.
Day of Judgment (1999) Event that saw Hal Jordan temporarily become the new host for the Spectre, the Spirit of Vengeance.
Green Lantern #154 (2001) Kyle Rayner's friend Terry becomes the victim of a hate crime, one of the first notable instances where homosexuality is addressed directly in comics.
Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004-2005) Hal Jordan returns, the whole Parallax thing is explained, and widespread appreciation of the franchise begins.
Green Lantern (2011) The movie that proved the limits of that widespread appreciation. Naturally I loved it.
Green Lantern #0 (2012) First appearance of Simon Baz.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
#576. Fan Tango Tuesday
subject: Grant Morrison
overview: When I call someone a favorite storyteller, it's because they've hit all the marks I consider necessary for greatness. The one most people will identify with is simply telling a good story. The one that's most important to me is telling the story distinctively. There's also the ability to tell good story after good story. Sometimes it's simply a matter of telling one story so well that it burnishes the storyteller in my own imagination. Since I'm a storyteller too, they also have to inspire me. If they can cover these bases, they earn a place in my favorites.
I read comic books. I've read comic books since I was a kid. One of the reasons I still read them is because of storytellers like Grant Morrison. Morrison was a sensation in ways I couldn't even begin to appreciate when I was just getting into them. He was part of the wave of British writers who came over to American comics in the '80s. His first significant work was a surreal new take on Doom Patrol, which is a team that is basically exactly the X-Men, only the trick is that they came first (much like how the Challengers of the Unknown came before the Fantastic Four). That was his contribution to the budding Vertigo line of more mature material at DC. He createdThe Invisibles next. If you ask him, you might know The Invisibles better as The Matrix. Like his Doom Patrol, The Invisibles was a completely subversive adventure, indicative of the new counterculture of the '90s, the young punks rejecting rather than rebelling against the system, which you may recall from films like Trainspotting.
But like Ewan McGregor at the end of that film, Morrison pulled a fast one on everyone. He next went mainstream. In fact, when Morrison went mainstream, it began a process that completely changed the landscape of the mainstream. His mainstream was called JLA, a completely iconic (and in fact a version of it that hadn't even existed before him) take on the Justice League of America, all of DC's greatest heroes woven into a cohesive pantheon. This was when I read Morrison for the first time. After the death of Superman four years earlier, this was easily the most important DC development of the decade.
By the end of the last millennium, Morrison was looking for a new challenge. He skipped over to DC's competitor, Marvel, where he worked on a book called New X-Men. Along with the movies that were just getting underway, these comics were responsible for revitalizing the mutant franchise, making what had become stale and forgettable exciting again. Except Morrison was feeling frisky. Instead of doing just what he'd done with the Justice League, with the X-Men he did things like reveal that the mysterious Xorn was the infamous Magneto taking on a new guise. Subsequent writers eventually pretended that his whole run didn't exist. He didn't stick around Marvel long.
When he returned to DC a few years into the new millennium, Morrison seemed to have learned what readers would find acceptable. He immediately embarked on two of his most ambitious projects. One was the beginning of a run with Batman that is only just now coming to a conclusion. He introduced Batman's son, Damian, whom he had with Talia Head, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Damian was the purest incarnation of Robin ever, a younger version of Batman who might have one day easily slipped into the famous cowl.
Morrison also launched Seven Soldiers of Victory, conjuring obscure characters into a total revision of the team book concept. Each of the members of this Seven Soldiers had their separate mini-series and adventures, but they converged around a singular mythology that united their disparate efforts. In a lot of ways this may prove to be his ultimate contribution to the comic book format.
In recent years, in addition to his Batman work Morrison has also put a stamp on Superman, whether in All Star Superman, an out-of-continuity tale that imagines how far the Man of Steel can really go with his abilities if faced with the limitation of his own imminent death, or in Action Comics, where he helped establish a new continuity and embraced Superman's complete legacy.
It's impossible to summarize the impact of Morrison's career, and all the ways he's continually found the most outlandish and compelling stories imaginable to tell. He's the definition of a comic book writer to me, but to call him "just" a comic book writer is to do a disservice both to comic books and the art of storytelling itself. You may know guys like Neil Gaiman (for work like Sandman) and Alan Moore (for work like Watchmen) and identify them as the best of the comic book writers, but Morrison exceeds them all. I truly believe that.
highlights:
Animal Man (1988-1990) Buddy Baker is a superhero who gets his powers by borrowing attributes from the animal kingdom. Before Morrison wrote him, he wasn't even as respected much less nearly as relevant as Aquaman, a character who's still trying to get out from under the idea that he's that dude who talks to fish. Under Morrison's guidance, Buddy went about as far as a regular superhero could go. He literally broke the fourth wall. Around the end of his first year writing Buddy, Morrison found some of the most transcendent material possible in this form. It's essential comic book reading material.
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth (1989) Released the same year as the Tim Burton Batman and subsequently a high-selling graphic novel, this was Morrison in his earliest and perhaps still greatest work in the mainstream of comic book lore, visiting the place all Batman's villains go and plunging into the psychology of the dynamic between heroes and their foes. It's Alan Moore's The Killing Joke and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns that everyone knows today, but this is the best of the Batman stories from that time.
Kid Eternity (1991) Another shorter work, this may be the career statement for Morrison, taking another obscure property and doing an incredibly expansive and philosophical take on it.
The Mystery Play (1994) One of his rare stories that don't play with genre (Morrison is known for crafting a peculiar image of himself that is as much a story as anything he writes), this one is pretty literary in a traditional sense, and it completely works.
The Invisibles (1994-2000) I've read only a tiny portion, but it's hard not to acknowledge the impact of this one on Morrison's legacy.
JLA (1997-1999) Bringing together a line-up of the Justice League that was the DC equivalent of the Greek gods, Morrison writes about Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Martian Manhunter in some of their biggest and wildest adventures. Well, until he writes them again.
New X-Men (2001-2004) Even if it's all but forgotten today, Morrison's work here affirmed everything that's good about Marvel's mutants.
The Filth (2002-2003) For those who want to experience The Invisibles but without having to read an incredibly long story, there's this other pretty unusual story of an alternative look at what's actually going on in our screwed up little world.
We3 (2004-2005) Often Morrison can be mistaken for a writer who completely dependent on throwing everything he can think of in his scripts. This story about a trio of animals who escape being drafted into the military as bionic warriors and rediscover themselves along the way is easily one of his best, and it's also one of his most subtle works.
Seven Soldiers of Victory (2005-2006) This is a maxi-series that includes the titles Manhattan Guardian, Shining Knight, Klarion the Witch Boy, Zatanna, Mister Miracle, Bulleteer, and Frankenstein, each of them with distinctive stories to tell on their own.
52 (2005-2006) A collaborative book he did with several other standout writers that helped revamp the concept of minor characters in DC, ensuring that they would never be mistaken as such ever again. There's a big story waiting for anyone. It certainly doesn't hurt to have Morrison help find them.
All-Star Superman (2005-2006) Morrison pushes the Man of Steel to his limits. May be one of the definitive Superman tales, this writer or any other.
Batman (2006-2013) Enveloping work that he's done in the titles Batman, Batman and Robin, The Return of Bruce Wayne, and Batman Incorporated, this is a truly epic vision of the Dark Knight that wonders how strong the concept really is, whether he works best in isolation or in relation to his allies.
Joe the Barbarian (2010-2011) Like We3 this one plays with Morrison's conventions and is a real charmer because of it.
Action Comics (2011-2013) Morrison revisits Superman, bringing the character he previously pushed to his limits back to earth, swapping the famous costume for jeans and a t-shirt (the cape stays, though) and a whole cast of characters who are simply reacting to his presence, often in surprising ways even though most of them are thoroughly familiar elements of the mythology.
overview: When I call someone a favorite storyteller, it's because they've hit all the marks I consider necessary for greatness. The one most people will identify with is simply telling a good story. The one that's most important to me is telling the story distinctively. There's also the ability to tell good story after good story. Sometimes it's simply a matter of telling one story so well that it burnishes the storyteller in my own imagination. Since I'm a storyteller too, they also have to inspire me. If they can cover these bases, they earn a place in my favorites.
I read comic books. I've read comic books since I was a kid. One of the reasons I still read them is because of storytellers like Grant Morrison. Morrison was a sensation in ways I couldn't even begin to appreciate when I was just getting into them. He was part of the wave of British writers who came over to American comics in the '80s. His first significant work was a surreal new take on Doom Patrol, which is a team that is basically exactly the X-Men, only the trick is that they came first (much like how the Challengers of the Unknown came before the Fantastic Four). That was his contribution to the budding Vertigo line of more mature material at DC. He createdThe Invisibles next. If you ask him, you might know The Invisibles better as The Matrix. Like his Doom Patrol, The Invisibles was a completely subversive adventure, indicative of the new counterculture of the '90s, the young punks rejecting rather than rebelling against the system, which you may recall from films like Trainspotting.
But like Ewan McGregor at the end of that film, Morrison pulled a fast one on everyone. He next went mainstream. In fact, when Morrison went mainstream, it began a process that completely changed the landscape of the mainstream. His mainstream was called JLA, a completely iconic (and in fact a version of it that hadn't even existed before him) take on the Justice League of America, all of DC's greatest heroes woven into a cohesive pantheon. This was when I read Morrison for the first time. After the death of Superman four years earlier, this was easily the most important DC development of the decade.
By the end of the last millennium, Morrison was looking for a new challenge. He skipped over to DC's competitor, Marvel, where he worked on a book called New X-Men. Along with the movies that were just getting underway, these comics were responsible for revitalizing the mutant franchise, making what had become stale and forgettable exciting again. Except Morrison was feeling frisky. Instead of doing just what he'd done with the Justice League, with the X-Men he did things like reveal that the mysterious Xorn was the infamous Magneto taking on a new guise. Subsequent writers eventually pretended that his whole run didn't exist. He didn't stick around Marvel long.
When he returned to DC a few years into the new millennium, Morrison seemed to have learned what readers would find acceptable. He immediately embarked on two of his most ambitious projects. One was the beginning of a run with Batman that is only just now coming to a conclusion. He introduced Batman's son, Damian, whom he had with Talia Head, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Damian was the purest incarnation of Robin ever, a younger version of Batman who might have one day easily slipped into the famous cowl.
Morrison also launched Seven Soldiers of Victory, conjuring obscure characters into a total revision of the team book concept. Each of the members of this Seven Soldiers had their separate mini-series and adventures, but they converged around a singular mythology that united their disparate efforts. In a lot of ways this may prove to be his ultimate contribution to the comic book format.
In recent years, in addition to his Batman work Morrison has also put a stamp on Superman, whether in All Star Superman, an out-of-continuity tale that imagines how far the Man of Steel can really go with his abilities if faced with the limitation of his own imminent death, or in Action Comics, where he helped establish a new continuity and embraced Superman's complete legacy.
It's impossible to summarize the impact of Morrison's career, and all the ways he's continually found the most outlandish and compelling stories imaginable to tell. He's the definition of a comic book writer to me, but to call him "just" a comic book writer is to do a disservice both to comic books and the art of storytelling itself. You may know guys like Neil Gaiman (for work like Sandman) and Alan Moore (for work like Watchmen) and identify them as the best of the comic book writers, but Morrison exceeds them all. I truly believe that.
highlights:
Animal Man (1988-1990) Buddy Baker is a superhero who gets his powers by borrowing attributes from the animal kingdom. Before Morrison wrote him, he wasn't even as respected much less nearly as relevant as Aquaman, a character who's still trying to get out from under the idea that he's that dude who talks to fish. Under Morrison's guidance, Buddy went about as far as a regular superhero could go. He literally broke the fourth wall. Around the end of his first year writing Buddy, Morrison found some of the most transcendent material possible in this form. It's essential comic book reading material.
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth (1989) Released the same year as the Tim Burton Batman and subsequently a high-selling graphic novel, this was Morrison in his earliest and perhaps still greatest work in the mainstream of comic book lore, visiting the place all Batman's villains go and plunging into the psychology of the dynamic between heroes and their foes. It's Alan Moore's The Killing Joke and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns that everyone knows today, but this is the best of the Batman stories from that time.
Kid Eternity (1991) Another shorter work, this may be the career statement for Morrison, taking another obscure property and doing an incredibly expansive and philosophical take on it.
The Mystery Play (1994) One of his rare stories that don't play with genre (Morrison is known for crafting a peculiar image of himself that is as much a story as anything he writes), this one is pretty literary in a traditional sense, and it completely works.
The Invisibles (1994-2000) I've read only a tiny portion, but it's hard not to acknowledge the impact of this one on Morrison's legacy.
JLA (1997-1999) Bringing together a line-up of the Justice League that was the DC equivalent of the Greek gods, Morrison writes about Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Martian Manhunter in some of their biggest and wildest adventures. Well, until he writes them again.
New X-Men (2001-2004) Even if it's all but forgotten today, Morrison's work here affirmed everything that's good about Marvel's mutants.
The Filth (2002-2003) For those who want to experience The Invisibles but without having to read an incredibly long story, there's this other pretty unusual story of an alternative look at what's actually going on in our screwed up little world.
We3 (2004-2005) Often Morrison can be mistaken for a writer who completely dependent on throwing everything he can think of in his scripts. This story about a trio of animals who escape being drafted into the military as bionic warriors and rediscover themselves along the way is easily one of his best, and it's also one of his most subtle works.
Seven Soldiers of Victory (2005-2006) This is a maxi-series that includes the titles Manhattan Guardian, Shining Knight, Klarion the Witch Boy, Zatanna, Mister Miracle, Bulleteer, and Frankenstein, each of them with distinctive stories to tell on their own.
52 (2005-2006) A collaborative book he did with several other standout writers that helped revamp the concept of minor characters in DC, ensuring that they would never be mistaken as such ever again. There's a big story waiting for anyone. It certainly doesn't hurt to have Morrison help find them.
All-Star Superman (2005-2006) Morrison pushes the Man of Steel to his limits. May be one of the definitive Superman tales, this writer or any other.
Batman (2006-2013) Enveloping work that he's done in the titles Batman, Batman and Robin, The Return of Bruce Wayne, and Batman Incorporated, this is a truly epic vision of the Dark Knight that wonders how strong the concept really is, whether he works best in isolation or in relation to his allies.
Joe the Barbarian (2010-2011) Like We3 this one plays with Morrison's conventions and is a real charmer because of it.
Action Comics (2011-2013) Morrison revisits Superman, bringing the character he previously pushed to his limits back to earth, swapping the famous costume for jeans and a t-shirt (the cape stays, though) and a whole cast of characters who are simply reacting to his presence, often in surprising ways even though most of them are thoroughly familiar elements of the mythology.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Fan Tango Tuesday (#532)
subject: Colin Farrell
overview: Here is one of my favorite actors ever since discovering him on an Irish soap opera called Ballykissangel. It was the summer of 2000, and I had just completed a year at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA. One of the perks I enjoyed there was an international film series, which led me to watch PBS more regularly than at any other point in my life since childhood, which in addition to Farrell also meant that I discovered the Moody Blues.
Farrell was already transitioning into film, and his starring role in Tigerland got him noticed by Hollywood in a big way. Everyone wanted to work with him. Movies like Spielberg's Minority Report and American Outlaws proved that it would be a little more difficult to figure out exactly where Farrell fit in the landscape than first supposed, while he was the lead character in Hart's War, which was otherwise assumed to be a Bruce Willis vehicle.
Farrell's biggest challenge was 2003, in which he starred in a glut of movies, and remains to this day his most successful year. It was also when I realized that I had become a big fan, because I tried to catch as many of them in theaters as I could, and succeeded with Daredevil (the first time Farrell goes for the comedic). I don't know know which of Phone Booth, The Recruit, or S.W.A.T. (I'm pretty sure the last one) I also caught in original release, but this was also the year I began my home video collection in earnest, and Farrell became an immediate and enduring centerpiece. Intermission was another movie Farrell saw released that year, as well as Veronica Guerin, both of which proved early on that he wasn't interested in leaving smaller films behind. Since he was always a movie star created by filmmakers rather than audiences, his lack of significant popular success shouldn't be so surprising.
It was Alexander that probably prevented Farrell from finally breaking out. It was Oliver Stone's big historical epic, but one that focused on character rather than spectacle, though it had plenty of both, and dared to suggest a famous figure was bisexual. Anyone could tell what the reaction would be when the film's whole reputation continues to be "You can see his balls in the one scene!" I will point out that Rosario Dawson is nude. Right next to him. In that very scene. Talk about some screwy priorities! Really, people? This remains my favorite film of all-time. Stone has released three different versions. For what it's worth, Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut is probably the best.
Farrell's next film was another exceptional historical epic, this time from enigmatic genius Terrence Malick. It was The New World, in which Farrell portrays John Smith in an impressionistic reimagining of the Pocahontas story. In 2006 he made another bid for popular favor with Miami Vice, costarring Jamie Foxx in the wake of the latter's Oscar for Ray. It was a modest success.
Farrell has since plunged directly into indy work. His Woody Allen movie, Cassandra's Dream, is a remarkable companion piece to In Bruges, which won him a Golden Globe and new support from critics. He appears unbilled in Jeff Bridges' Crazy Heart, and was one of three actors to fill in for the late Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, just one of the many things I love about that movie.
2011 was another bid to reclaim a mainstream presence, which worked in the comedy Horrible Bosses, less so in Fright Night, which foreshadowed the difficulty of selling a remake of Total Recall to the public last year. Apparently people love them some Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, sometimes. But Farrell also appeared in Seven Psychopaths, which was another smaller effort.
Earlier this month he was seen in Dead Man Down, which was pretty much ignored by everyone, but Farrell is again poised to look for wide acclaim in such upcoming movies as Winter's Tale, an ensemble with Russell Crowe and Will Smith; Saving Mr. Banks, a film about the making of Mary Poppins with Tom Hanks; and Epic, his first animated feature.
Regardless of how many vocal fans he has, Colin Farrell remains my favorite actor. He's the most soulful presence in film I've ever seen, and is able to project that vibe into a wide variety of roles, with continually rewarding experiences to be found. And I guess that I started to mature as a movie watcher at the same time as his rise, so that doesn't hurt my appreciation of his career, either. I catch all his films, which is certainly something very few people can say, so I get to watch his transformations and patterns emerge in a terrifically organic way. The best part is, he's still young!
highlights:
Tigerland (2000) Farrell debuts in his quintessential role, a rebellious, charismatic loner, in this instance an army recruit who endures basic training under his own rules.
Hart's War (2002) Featuring Bruce Willis and Terrence Howard, this is the same character archetype being pushed to its limits, in a WWII prison camp.
Phone Booth (2003) Brilliant character study of a different kind entirely, with Farrell initially a despicable individual who doesn't care how his actions affect others (although I guess the embodiment of how he's viewed in those other movies), forced in a Twilight Zone kind of way to reconsider his life.
Alexander (2004) As I said, my favorite movie, with an embarrassment of riches in terms of a supporting cast, and a fully realized vision of another maverick, this time someone anyone will at least think they know. From this point onward, Farrell seems to be deconstructing his basic archetype, and I guess it only figures.
The New World (2005) The reverse of the above role is a famous historical figure whose ideas of conquest are quite different, especially from those around him. Although it's pretty much the same role, without anyone believing in him.
In Bruges (2008) A hit man who accidentally kills a child and is haunted by guilt, this may be Farrell's most complete performance.
London Boulevard (2010) Seeking redemption again, this time trying to walk deliberately away from a life of crime and being dragged back in. One of his much smaller films, but increasingly one of my favorites.
Seven Psychopaths (2012) Trying very hard to keep his cool when everything spins increasingly out of control around him. Very fun.
Dead Man Down (2013) I'm putting this one on the list even though I'm only a week removed from seeing it for the first time. It feels like the first step in the next evolution of his career.
overview: Here is one of my favorite actors ever since discovering him on an Irish soap opera called Ballykissangel. It was the summer of 2000, and I had just completed a year at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA. One of the perks I enjoyed there was an international film series, which led me to watch PBS more regularly than at any other point in my life since childhood, which in addition to Farrell also meant that I discovered the Moody Blues.
Farrell was already transitioning into film, and his starring role in Tigerland got him noticed by Hollywood in a big way. Everyone wanted to work with him. Movies like Spielberg's Minority Report and American Outlaws proved that it would be a little more difficult to figure out exactly where Farrell fit in the landscape than first supposed, while he was the lead character in Hart's War, which was otherwise assumed to be a Bruce Willis vehicle.
Farrell's biggest challenge was 2003, in which he starred in a glut of movies, and remains to this day his most successful year. It was also when I realized that I had become a big fan, because I tried to catch as many of them in theaters as I could, and succeeded with Daredevil (the first time Farrell goes for the comedic). I don't know know which of Phone Booth, The Recruit, or S.W.A.T. (I'm pretty sure the last one) I also caught in original release, but this was also the year I began my home video collection in earnest, and Farrell became an immediate and enduring centerpiece. Intermission was another movie Farrell saw released that year, as well as Veronica Guerin, both of which proved early on that he wasn't interested in leaving smaller films behind. Since he was always a movie star created by filmmakers rather than audiences, his lack of significant popular success shouldn't be so surprising.
It was Alexander that probably prevented Farrell from finally breaking out. It was Oliver Stone's big historical epic, but one that focused on character rather than spectacle, though it had plenty of both, and dared to suggest a famous figure was bisexual. Anyone could tell what the reaction would be when the film's whole reputation continues to be "You can see his balls in the one scene!" I will point out that Rosario Dawson is nude. Right next to him. In that very scene. Talk about some screwy priorities! Really, people? This remains my favorite film of all-time. Stone has released three different versions. For what it's worth, Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut is probably the best.
Farrell's next film was another exceptional historical epic, this time from enigmatic genius Terrence Malick. It was The New World, in which Farrell portrays John Smith in an impressionistic reimagining of the Pocahontas story. In 2006 he made another bid for popular favor with Miami Vice, costarring Jamie Foxx in the wake of the latter's Oscar for Ray. It was a modest success.
Farrell has since plunged directly into indy work. His Woody Allen movie, Cassandra's Dream, is a remarkable companion piece to In Bruges, which won him a Golden Globe and new support from critics. He appears unbilled in Jeff Bridges' Crazy Heart, and was one of three actors to fill in for the late Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, just one of the many things I love about that movie.
2011 was another bid to reclaim a mainstream presence, which worked in the comedy Horrible Bosses, less so in Fright Night, which foreshadowed the difficulty of selling a remake of Total Recall to the public last year. Apparently people love them some Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, sometimes. But Farrell also appeared in Seven Psychopaths, which was another smaller effort.
Earlier this month he was seen in Dead Man Down, which was pretty much ignored by everyone, but Farrell is again poised to look for wide acclaim in such upcoming movies as Winter's Tale, an ensemble with Russell Crowe and Will Smith; Saving Mr. Banks, a film about the making of Mary Poppins with Tom Hanks; and Epic, his first animated feature.
Regardless of how many vocal fans he has, Colin Farrell remains my favorite actor. He's the most soulful presence in film I've ever seen, and is able to project that vibe into a wide variety of roles, with continually rewarding experiences to be found. And I guess that I started to mature as a movie watcher at the same time as his rise, so that doesn't hurt my appreciation of his career, either. I catch all his films, which is certainly something very few people can say, so I get to watch his transformations and patterns emerge in a terrifically organic way. The best part is, he's still young!
highlights:
Tigerland (2000) Farrell debuts in his quintessential role, a rebellious, charismatic loner, in this instance an army recruit who endures basic training under his own rules.
Hart's War (2002) Featuring Bruce Willis and Terrence Howard, this is the same character archetype being pushed to its limits, in a WWII prison camp.
Phone Booth (2003) Brilliant character study of a different kind entirely, with Farrell initially a despicable individual who doesn't care how his actions affect others (although I guess the embodiment of how he's viewed in those other movies), forced in a Twilight Zone kind of way to reconsider his life.
Alexander (2004) As I said, my favorite movie, with an embarrassment of riches in terms of a supporting cast, and a fully realized vision of another maverick, this time someone anyone will at least think they know. From this point onward, Farrell seems to be deconstructing his basic archetype, and I guess it only figures.
The New World (2005) The reverse of the above role is a famous historical figure whose ideas of conquest are quite different, especially from those around him. Although it's pretty much the same role, without anyone believing in him.
In Bruges (2008) A hit man who accidentally kills a child and is haunted by guilt, this may be Farrell's most complete performance.
London Boulevard (2010) Seeking redemption again, this time trying to walk deliberately away from a life of crime and being dragged back in. One of his much smaller films, but increasingly one of my favorites.
Seven Psychopaths (2012) Trying very hard to keep his cool when everything spins increasingly out of control around him. Very fun.
Dead Man Down (2013) I'm putting this one on the list even though I'm only a week removed from seeing it for the first time. It feels like the first step in the next evolution of his career.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Fan Tango Tuesday: Jim Carrey
subject: Jim Carrey
overview: Most people don't know this, but Jim Carrey started acting in the early 1980s. Of course, like everyone else I didn't notice him until 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in which he mugged his way through an entire movie while sometimes talking through his butt (it remained a signature image for years, even though he pretty much retired it with that film, by the way). Everyone was talking about Ace Ventura that year. My family finally got around to watching it, and it became another of our obsessions (we tended to obsess over movies), and for some reason, like Star Trek, I took the obsession deeper than the rest of my siblings. I made a commitment.
Of course, Carrey helped everyone else become pretty obsessed with him that year, also having massive success with The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, which amounted to such an odd confluence of events, given as I said that he'd been making movies for years and never come close to popularity before. Famously, he got into the funny business because his parents were poor and he'd come up with routines to try and make them smile. This led him to Hollywood and early efforts like 1981's Rubberface (rereleased like it was a big deal after he finally broke out) and the short-lived TV series The Duck Factory. Once Bitten was probably his first major movie, while Peggy Sue Got Married and Earth Girls Are Easy were equally unlikely attempts to associate him with romantic material. Carrey was a regular on In Living Color (he was the white guy), which probably gave him greater exposure than everything he'd done in his first decade of acting combined.
He began to stretch himself earlier than most people would retroactively suspect, appearing in the final Dirty Harry movie, 1988's The Dead Pool (and thus the origin of a Clint Eastwood impression he'd bring to Bruce Almighty years later), and a dramatic TV movie called Doing Time on Maple Drive, which I would actually watch in a science class (it's about addiction and general family depression).
Another mark of distinction in my family's experience with Carrey was the semester my brother spent watching Liar Liar over and over again (yes, obsessively). Liar Liar is the movie Carrey did so everyone would forget about The Cable Guy, his first early relative flop since the Ace Ventura breakthrough.
Still, it was me who took on the reins of Jim Carrey fandom. He was basically responsible for making me a semi-regular patron of movie theaters, starting with 1995's Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. If he starred in it, I needed to see it, and he's someone who still has a hard time disappointing me. I even enjoyed his Capra flick The Majestic, which was the first time a dramatic effort failed to impress critics. Of course, everyone loved The Truman Show, because The Truman Show is easy to love, and it's not only one of Carrey's best, but one of the best movies ever, period. Man on the Moon, the last great bit of Andy Kaufman sleight-of-hand, is one of Carrey's most inspired moments. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is another not-just-great-Jim-Carrey-film.
Right around the time he reached a decade from the start of his popular career, Carrey found himself easy to be taken for granted again, and yet he's been rolling right along, just as interested as ever in finding the offbeat slice of humanity in every role Hollywood has to offer him. He's a true original.
highlights:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) Ridiculously quotable (and the reason anyone will remember Dan Marino decades from now) and an instant classic character, this movie also has Courtney Cox's last notable appearance before Friends.
The Mask (1994) For some reason, one of the first movies to employ CGI on a more regular basis used it to enhance Carrey's comic performance, as if he needed the help. But it's oversized fun and introduces Cameron Diaz. What more do you need to know?
Batman Forever (1995) It might be argued that it was Joel Schumacher who ruined this era of Batman flicks, but Jim Carrey, who turned the entire third movie into another personal spotlight. How could the Dark Knight possibly hope to keep up with him?
The Cable Guy (1996) Much better than its reputation suggests.
Liar Liar (1997) The first movie where it's obvious everyone knows just how huge a star Carrey really is. Also fun to see Maura Tierney and Cary Elwes in supporting roles, and please stick around for the credits, because the outtakes are as hilarious as the movie.
The Truman Show (1998) For years my absolute favorite movie, and has remaining in contention ever since. Practically perfect in every way.
Man on the Moon (1999) In case there was any doubt that Truman Show was a fluke, Carrey does this as a follow-up. He's the only actor who could possibly have done Andy Kaufman justice.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) A huge hit at the time, although you'd never guess it now, probably because people finally realized that it was a little odd that it wasn't Seuss who left the lasting impression, but Jim Carrey. So pretty much Batman Forever all over again.
The Majestic (2001) Funny fact: Laurie Holden, who's currently starring in The Walking Dead, is Carrey's love interest in this (I'd previously enjoyed her in the short-lived Magnificent Seven TV series). I actually unabashedly love this one, just as memorable as any Frank Darabont movie, and still a darkhorse contender for Carrey's best.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Then again, so is this one. This is how you keep your rabid fans, folks.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) Carrey steals this the same way he stole Batman Forever and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. If it's a franchise, he will be bigger than the franchise. So, look out Kick Ass 2.
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) Possibly his last great outright comedy, a recession movie well before the recession actually hit.
Yes Man (2008) A classic Jim Carrey comedy, which is something he does every now and then. This one co-stars Zooey Deschanel!
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) Blending drama and comedy in another movie that defies expectations.
A Christmas Carol (2009) The most unlikely Scrooge ever does it animated.
overview: Most people don't know this, but Jim Carrey started acting in the early 1980s. Of course, like everyone else I didn't notice him until 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in which he mugged his way through an entire movie while sometimes talking through his butt (it remained a signature image for years, even though he pretty much retired it with that film, by the way). Everyone was talking about Ace Ventura that year. My family finally got around to watching it, and it became another of our obsessions (we tended to obsess over movies), and for some reason, like Star Trek, I took the obsession deeper than the rest of my siblings. I made a commitment.
Of course, Carrey helped everyone else become pretty obsessed with him that year, also having massive success with The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, which amounted to such an odd confluence of events, given as I said that he'd been making movies for years and never come close to popularity before. Famously, he got into the funny business because his parents were poor and he'd come up with routines to try and make them smile. This led him to Hollywood and early efforts like 1981's Rubberface (rereleased like it was a big deal after he finally broke out) and the short-lived TV series The Duck Factory. Once Bitten was probably his first major movie, while Peggy Sue Got Married and Earth Girls Are Easy were equally unlikely attempts to associate him with romantic material. Carrey was a regular on In Living Color (he was the white guy), which probably gave him greater exposure than everything he'd done in his first decade of acting combined.
He began to stretch himself earlier than most people would retroactively suspect, appearing in the final Dirty Harry movie, 1988's The Dead Pool (and thus the origin of a Clint Eastwood impression he'd bring to Bruce Almighty years later), and a dramatic TV movie called Doing Time on Maple Drive, which I would actually watch in a science class (it's about addiction and general family depression).
Another mark of distinction in my family's experience with Carrey was the semester my brother spent watching Liar Liar over and over again (yes, obsessively). Liar Liar is the movie Carrey did so everyone would forget about The Cable Guy, his first early relative flop since the Ace Ventura breakthrough.
Still, it was me who took on the reins of Jim Carrey fandom. He was basically responsible for making me a semi-regular patron of movie theaters, starting with 1995's Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. If he starred in it, I needed to see it, and he's someone who still has a hard time disappointing me. I even enjoyed his Capra flick The Majestic, which was the first time a dramatic effort failed to impress critics. Of course, everyone loved The Truman Show, because The Truman Show is easy to love, and it's not only one of Carrey's best, but one of the best movies ever, period. Man on the Moon, the last great bit of Andy Kaufman sleight-of-hand, is one of Carrey's most inspired moments. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is another not-just-great-Jim-Carrey-film.
Right around the time he reached a decade from the start of his popular career, Carrey found himself easy to be taken for granted again, and yet he's been rolling right along, just as interested as ever in finding the offbeat slice of humanity in every role Hollywood has to offer him. He's a true original.
highlights:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) Ridiculously quotable (and the reason anyone will remember Dan Marino decades from now) and an instant classic character, this movie also has Courtney Cox's last notable appearance before Friends.
The Mask (1994) For some reason, one of the first movies to employ CGI on a more regular basis used it to enhance Carrey's comic performance, as if he needed the help. But it's oversized fun and introduces Cameron Diaz. What more do you need to know?
Batman Forever (1995) It might be argued that it was Joel Schumacher who ruined this era of Batman flicks, but Jim Carrey, who turned the entire third movie into another personal spotlight. How could the Dark Knight possibly hope to keep up with him?
The Cable Guy (1996) Much better than its reputation suggests.
Liar Liar (1997) The first movie where it's obvious everyone knows just how huge a star Carrey really is. Also fun to see Maura Tierney and Cary Elwes in supporting roles, and please stick around for the credits, because the outtakes are as hilarious as the movie.
The Truman Show (1998) For years my absolute favorite movie, and has remaining in contention ever since. Practically perfect in every way.
Man on the Moon (1999) In case there was any doubt that Truman Show was a fluke, Carrey does this as a follow-up. He's the only actor who could possibly have done Andy Kaufman justice.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) A huge hit at the time, although you'd never guess it now, probably because people finally realized that it was a little odd that it wasn't Seuss who left the lasting impression, but Jim Carrey. So pretty much Batman Forever all over again.
The Majestic (2001) Funny fact: Laurie Holden, who's currently starring in The Walking Dead, is Carrey's love interest in this (I'd previously enjoyed her in the short-lived Magnificent Seven TV series). I actually unabashedly love this one, just as memorable as any Frank Darabont movie, and still a darkhorse contender for Carrey's best.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Then again, so is this one. This is how you keep your rabid fans, folks.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) Carrey steals this the same way he stole Batman Forever and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. If it's a franchise, he will be bigger than the franchise. So, look out Kick Ass 2.
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) Possibly his last great outright comedy, a recession movie well before the recession actually hit.
Yes Man (2008) A classic Jim Carrey comedy, which is something he does every now and then. This one co-stars Zooey Deschanel!
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) Blending drama and comedy in another movie that defies expectations.
A Christmas Carol (2009) The most unlikely Scrooge ever does it animated.
Thursday, February 07, 2013
#521. Fan Tango: Harry Potter (the movies)
subject: Harry Potter (the movies)
overview: Believe it or not, but you've got the movies to thank for the popularity of the books. Not every book that features young kids becomes a blockbuster phenomenon. The publicity machine for Harry Potter began when a Hollywood producer figured J.K. Rowling's creation could make a good movie. The deal was signed in 1998, the same year Scholastic released the first book in the U.S. The first movie was released in 2001, fortuitously at the same time as Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings flick, The Fellowship of the Ring, and together they helped create an entirely new franchise culture that endures to this day.
Original filmmaker Chris Columbus opted to make the first few films family friendly, which was appropriate because they featured a remarkably young cast: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. For adults, watching a virtual who's who of British actors in supporting roles was a huge part of the initial draw, starting with the perfect casting of Alan Rickman in the crucial role of Severus Snape. John Cleese now appears to be an oddity and leftover from this era as Nearly Headless Nick. Of course, the bulk of the novels had yet to be written at this point, so no one really knew how powerful the saga would ultimately become (not that John Cleese can't be taken seriously). Kenneth Branagh (who also added credibility to Thor as director) was an obvious standout in the second film. John Williams provided the basis for the distinctive scoring that would accompany the entire series.
Columbus was replaced in the third film by the more artistic-minded Alfonso Cuaron, who had the benefit of adding Gary Oldman and Michael Gambon (replacing the late Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore) to the cast. Mike Newell established a more neutral and epic tone in the fourth film, while David Yates guided the remaining four films to the story's conclusion.
There are eight films in all, the seventh and final book being split in two (a precedent the Twilight Saga ran with, and Peter Jackson himself has used to some controversy for his adaptation of The Hobbit). Radcliffe, Grint and Watson remain at the heart of the films, and as they grow older bring greater maturity and weight to their respective roles. Gambon, Rickman, and Ralph Fiennes (as Voldemort starting in the fourth film) continue the tradition of masterly representing a more adult presence, for anyone who still needs such an excuse to enjoy the series. The eighth and final film was released ten years after the first, in 2011.
highlights:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) The highlight of the first film is Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid, the friendly giant of a groundskeeper who is Harry's introduction to his wizarding heritage and future. His presence isn't condescending, however, but frequently comical.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) As in the book, Branagh's Gilderoy Lockhart is the standout element, while Radcliffe and Grint exhibit their only noticeable growing pains, especially in the sequence with the flying car. Jason Isaacs introduces himself to American audiences as Lucius Malfoy. Dobby the impish house elf steals the show.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Oldman begins his second career in understated supporting roles (see also: Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy). While I'm not exactly disappointed with the movie, it doesn't compare with my love for the book, which remains my favorite in that version of the series, though the sequence of Harry riding Buckbeak the hippogriff is a standout.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) Nailing the scope that the book didn't quite capture, this is my favorite film. Everything works perfectly, especially the climactic sequence featuring Fiennes' debut as Voldemort. Also features the first significant work of Robert Pattinson, and it's because of this that I become a fan, and why I struggle to care about the Twilight movies.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) Featuring the best wizarding duel of the films (between Dumbledore and Voldemort) as well as the standout performance of Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) Harry and Dumbledore go the full Lord of the Rings in this one, while Jim Broadbent does his share of scene-stealing as Horace Sloghorn, and Tom Felton has his best showing as Draco Malfoy, the would-be assassin of Dumbledore.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) The beginning of the end sees Radcliffe, Grint and Watson with some of their best material and the tragic death of Dobby, as well as an innovative animated sequence featuring the origin of the title artifacts.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) The end of the end features the best of the previously hapless Matthew Lewis's Neville Longbottom, the dramatic reveal of Snape's true arc, and the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, plus one last visit from Dumbledore.
overview: Believe it or not, but you've got the movies to thank for the popularity of the books. Not every book that features young kids becomes a blockbuster phenomenon. The publicity machine for Harry Potter began when a Hollywood producer figured J.K. Rowling's creation could make a good movie. The deal was signed in 1998, the same year Scholastic released the first book in the U.S. The first movie was released in 2001, fortuitously at the same time as Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings flick, The Fellowship of the Ring, and together they helped create an entirely new franchise culture that endures to this day.
Original filmmaker Chris Columbus opted to make the first few films family friendly, which was appropriate because they featured a remarkably young cast: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. For adults, watching a virtual who's who of British actors in supporting roles was a huge part of the initial draw, starting with the perfect casting of Alan Rickman in the crucial role of Severus Snape. John Cleese now appears to be an oddity and leftover from this era as Nearly Headless Nick. Of course, the bulk of the novels had yet to be written at this point, so no one really knew how powerful the saga would ultimately become (not that John Cleese can't be taken seriously). Kenneth Branagh (who also added credibility to Thor as director) was an obvious standout in the second film. John Williams provided the basis for the distinctive scoring that would accompany the entire series.
Columbus was replaced in the third film by the more artistic-minded Alfonso Cuaron, who had the benefit of adding Gary Oldman and Michael Gambon (replacing the late Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore) to the cast. Mike Newell established a more neutral and epic tone in the fourth film, while David Yates guided the remaining four films to the story's conclusion.
There are eight films in all, the seventh and final book being split in two (a precedent the Twilight Saga ran with, and Peter Jackson himself has used to some controversy for his adaptation of The Hobbit). Radcliffe, Grint and Watson remain at the heart of the films, and as they grow older bring greater maturity and weight to their respective roles. Gambon, Rickman, and Ralph Fiennes (as Voldemort starting in the fourth film) continue the tradition of masterly representing a more adult presence, for anyone who still needs such an excuse to enjoy the series. The eighth and final film was released ten years after the first, in 2011.
highlights:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) The highlight of the first film is Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid, the friendly giant of a groundskeeper who is Harry's introduction to his wizarding heritage and future. His presence isn't condescending, however, but frequently comical.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) As in the book, Branagh's Gilderoy Lockhart is the standout element, while Radcliffe and Grint exhibit their only noticeable growing pains, especially in the sequence with the flying car. Jason Isaacs introduces himself to American audiences as Lucius Malfoy. Dobby the impish house elf steals the show.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Oldman begins his second career in understated supporting roles (see also: Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy). While I'm not exactly disappointed with the movie, it doesn't compare with my love for the book, which remains my favorite in that version of the series, though the sequence of Harry riding Buckbeak the hippogriff is a standout.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) Nailing the scope that the book didn't quite capture, this is my favorite film. Everything works perfectly, especially the climactic sequence featuring Fiennes' debut as Voldemort. Also features the first significant work of Robert Pattinson, and it's because of this that I become a fan, and why I struggle to care about the Twilight movies.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) Featuring the best wizarding duel of the films (between Dumbledore and Voldemort) as well as the standout performance of Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) Harry and Dumbledore go the full Lord of the Rings in this one, while Jim Broadbent does his share of scene-stealing as Horace Sloghorn, and Tom Felton has his best showing as Draco Malfoy, the would-be assassin of Dumbledore.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) The beginning of the end sees Radcliffe, Grint and Watson with some of their best material and the tragic death of Dobby, as well as an innovative animated sequence featuring the origin of the title artifacts.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) The end of the end features the best of the previously hapless Matthew Lewis's Neville Longbottom, the dramatic reveal of Snape's true arc, and the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, plus one last visit from Dumbledore.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
#520. Fan Tango: Harry Potter (the books)
subject: Harry Potter (the books)
overview: The story of how J.K. Rowling was working as a waitress and writing notes about Harry Potter on napkins is well-chronicled. Obviously she went on to far greater success as a writer on the strength of the Boy Who Lived. It was clear from the start that she knew the mythology of the story, which probably any other writer would have begun with the reign of terror under Voldemort in the wizarding community that was only brought to an end when he murdered Harry's parents (a bit like Batman's origins, really, with a far more impressive Crime Alley sequence) but was struck down when he moved on the baby who would grow up with a lightning scar as a result. On his eleventh birthday Harry receives his first visit from the world he has never known, the giant Hagrid, come to deliver an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
So begins a saga. Since Harry and his friends are all children and spend their days attending school, the initial books were a youthful phenomenon, but in time the appeal became irresistible across the reading spectrum, and became the vanguard to the new blockbuster film renaissance. Harry grows up and learns more of what came before his time, meeting his godfather and forming an intense bond with headmaster Albus Dumbledore, which lasts all the way to Dumbledore's momentous death at the hands of Severus Snape, who has all along appeared to be the villain hiding in plain sight, but instead is the hidden link behind the heroic past and present.
Across seven books Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley mature into the champions capable of finally ending the threat of Voldemort. My favorite remains Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book, in which godfather Sirius Black crystallizes the entire message of the series, requiring a redemption that was thrust upon him by fates worth than death, with the able assistance of unassuming werewolf Remus Lupin, the two of them old friends of Harry's late father and rivals of Snape. It's the moment where Rowling's vision first becomes apparent, where Snape becomes something more than the bogeyman, opening up ample room for his increasingly complicated relationship with Harry, as well as further secrets of Snape's own past, including his surprising relationship with Harry's late mother.
The books became a publishing event starting with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2000, something anyone who loved literature gravitated to bookstores for midnight releases. Goblet of Fire was also the first of Rowling's expanded efforts, the books like the story increasingly elaborate and no less readable. Anyone who remains a holdout is simply being contrarian. These are some of the finest books not simply our age, but any. Like Tolkien's Middle Earth and Lewis's Narnia before her, Rowling's Hogwarts will endure as a fantasy touchstone. It's the standard by which Martin and Jordan will still be compared for years to come. It's not children's literature.
highlights:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997) Known around the world with the subtitle Philosopher's Stone, this is how it all began, with the curious Professor Quirrell serving not only as the first of many instructors in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but our first look at the returning Voldemort. (309 pages)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999) Rowling begins the expansion of the mythology with Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, a complete charlatan who nonetheless provides readers with stark contrasts between expectation and reality in this wizarding world. (341 pages)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) As described above, this is the definitive expansion of Harry's saga, blowing it wide open and revealing its true depth as well as displaying the first hints as to where it would ultimately go. (435 pages)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) As Harry and his friends meet more of their peers from other schools, Voldemort finalizes his return with a dramatic climax in a graveyard. The whole book is a tour de force for Rowling, displaying her incredible range. (734 pages)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) This is the only installment where I'd say the overwhelming response to her creation actually got to Rowling. Aside from the far greater amount of time it took to write the book, there's at least one subplot that doesn't resonate the way as the rest of the story (not just in this book, but across the series), Hagrid's mission to enlist the assistance of the giants, coming back with his half-brother. But I have not yet reread the series, much less Order of the Phoenix, so this impression might always change. (870 pages)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) Rowling starts aiming for truly epic fantasy and scores, not only as Harry and Dumbledore begin the search for Horcruxes, but some of the last secrets of Snape are revealed. (652 pages)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) The conclusion that throws all the chips on the table, shattering the formula established in the previous six books, allowing Harry to spend the entire story out in the real world rather than the classroom, as the showdown with Voldemort finally occurs. (759 pages)
Quidditch Through the Ages (2001)
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (2001)
Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008) Shorter works that expand on the world of Harry Potter, spotlighting Rowling's considerable imagination. Well worth checking out.
overview: The story of how J.K. Rowling was working as a waitress and writing notes about Harry Potter on napkins is well-chronicled. Obviously she went on to far greater success as a writer on the strength of the Boy Who Lived. It was clear from the start that she knew the mythology of the story, which probably any other writer would have begun with the reign of terror under Voldemort in the wizarding community that was only brought to an end when he murdered Harry's parents (a bit like Batman's origins, really, with a far more impressive Crime Alley sequence) but was struck down when he moved on the baby who would grow up with a lightning scar as a result. On his eleventh birthday Harry receives his first visit from the world he has never known, the giant Hagrid, come to deliver an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
So begins a saga. Since Harry and his friends are all children and spend their days attending school, the initial books were a youthful phenomenon, but in time the appeal became irresistible across the reading spectrum, and became the vanguard to the new blockbuster film renaissance. Harry grows up and learns more of what came before his time, meeting his godfather and forming an intense bond with headmaster Albus Dumbledore, which lasts all the way to Dumbledore's momentous death at the hands of Severus Snape, who has all along appeared to be the villain hiding in plain sight, but instead is the hidden link behind the heroic past and present.
Across seven books Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley mature into the champions capable of finally ending the threat of Voldemort. My favorite remains Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book, in which godfather Sirius Black crystallizes the entire message of the series, requiring a redemption that was thrust upon him by fates worth than death, with the able assistance of unassuming werewolf Remus Lupin, the two of them old friends of Harry's late father and rivals of Snape. It's the moment where Rowling's vision first becomes apparent, where Snape becomes something more than the bogeyman, opening up ample room for his increasingly complicated relationship with Harry, as well as further secrets of Snape's own past, including his surprising relationship with Harry's late mother.
The books became a publishing event starting with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2000, something anyone who loved literature gravitated to bookstores for midnight releases. Goblet of Fire was also the first of Rowling's expanded efforts, the books like the story increasingly elaborate and no less readable. Anyone who remains a holdout is simply being contrarian. These are some of the finest books not simply our age, but any. Like Tolkien's Middle Earth and Lewis's Narnia before her, Rowling's Hogwarts will endure as a fantasy touchstone. It's the standard by which Martin and Jordan will still be compared for years to come. It's not children's literature.
highlights:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997) Known around the world with the subtitle Philosopher's Stone, this is how it all began, with the curious Professor Quirrell serving not only as the first of many instructors in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but our first look at the returning Voldemort. (309 pages)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999) Rowling begins the expansion of the mythology with Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, a complete charlatan who nonetheless provides readers with stark contrasts between expectation and reality in this wizarding world. (341 pages)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) As described above, this is the definitive expansion of Harry's saga, blowing it wide open and revealing its true depth as well as displaying the first hints as to where it would ultimately go. (435 pages)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) As Harry and his friends meet more of their peers from other schools, Voldemort finalizes his return with a dramatic climax in a graveyard. The whole book is a tour de force for Rowling, displaying her incredible range. (734 pages)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) This is the only installment where I'd say the overwhelming response to her creation actually got to Rowling. Aside from the far greater amount of time it took to write the book, there's at least one subplot that doesn't resonate the way as the rest of the story (not just in this book, but across the series), Hagrid's mission to enlist the assistance of the giants, coming back with his half-brother. But I have not yet reread the series, much less Order of the Phoenix, so this impression might always change. (870 pages)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) Rowling starts aiming for truly epic fantasy and scores, not only as Harry and Dumbledore begin the search for Horcruxes, but some of the last secrets of Snape are revealed. (652 pages)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) The conclusion that throws all the chips on the table, shattering the formula established in the previous six books, allowing Harry to spend the entire story out in the real world rather than the classroom, as the showdown with Voldemort finally occurs. (759 pages)
Quidditch Through the Ages (2001)
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (2001)
Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008) Shorter works that expand on the world of Harry Potter, spotlighting Rowling's considerable imagination. Well worth checking out.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Fan Tango: Coldplay (#518)
subject: Coldplay
overview: I think only young people approach pop music without cynicism. The rest of us can be pretty vicious about it and not particularly honest, either. The Beatles have dominated a large portion of pop music's legacy for years now. Of course they were originally popular among young people. Anyone who is even remotely similar to them is subsequently negatively compared to them. For the purposes of this exercise, I'm going to focus on Coldplay, purveyors of "sensitive rock" or simply a standout pop music act of their generation.
They've long been a favorite of mine. I didn't become a dedicated fan until Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, but from there I came to greatly appreciate their increasing mastery of their own abilities. That's what any fan likes about anything they like, right, if they stick around? Fans either like the first impression they have of something and are satisfied with that, or stick around and form additional ones. People who don't remain fans tend to become cynical. They chart a decline, real or imagined, rather than an evolution. Coldplay hit that moment with their third album, X&Y. This is my favorite Coldplay album, completely solid from start to finish, filled with songs that vary in their charms. The band won critics back with their fourth album, Viva La Vida, an ambitious shift in their basic style that like X&Y finds it hard to hit a bad note. Coldplay's fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, is a return to more traditional pop music.
Like everyone else, I first heard Coldplay with the single "Yellow" from Parachutes (2000). If "Yellow" had been the only song the band ever became known for, it would be cute and memorable but it would be easy to agree with the critics who still have yet to give Coldplay their due (although U2 has been waiting for that for far longer). Parachutes is also notable for "Trouble," which heavily features Chris Martin's piano. A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) was a follow-up that addressed concerns that Coldplay might be considered fairly insubstantial, whether in "Politik" or "Clocks." "In My Place" might almost be considered Coldplay's best Beatles song. "The Scientist," however, is the album's best song, a heartbreaking ballad that proved the band's true depths.
X&Y (2005) is known for "Speed of Sound" and "Fix You," but like I said, I love the whole album, from the dance beat of "White Shadows" to the love song "Swallowed in the Sea." Viva La Vida (2008) plays a lot to Coldplay's underrated musical chops, from the opening "Life in Technicolor" to the title track, which brings the string section to the fore. The companion EP Prospekt's March (2008) has an alternate version of "Technicolor" featuring a brilliant appearance from Jay-Z, while it closes with the contemplative "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground." Mylo Xyloto (2011) features "Princess of China" with exceptional guest vocals from Rihanna. It's known for "Paradise," but the instrumental "Us Against the World" breaks my heart (more than the actual track "Don't Let it Break Your Heart"). There's also "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall," the first single from the album.
The only member of Coldplay that anyone really knows is frontman Chris Martin, who eventually married actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Martin is the quintessential sensitive rocker, and most of Coldplay's music follows his lead, sometimes lush, sometimes pleading, sometimes aching, sometimes jubilant. The band is constantly adapting to the times while remaining distinctly their own. I continue to admire Coldplay because they are most of all transcendent, masters of emotion. They know how to translate the human experience into song. They're completely self-aware, too, as can be proven by a knowing appearance in Shaun of the Dead, while Martin once dueted with Conan O'Brien for a memorably surreal rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
personalities: Aside from Chris Martin (lead vocalist), there's also Buy Berryman (bass), Johnny Buckland (guitar), and Will Champion (drums).
highlights:
overview: I think only young people approach pop music without cynicism. The rest of us can be pretty vicious about it and not particularly honest, either. The Beatles have dominated a large portion of pop music's legacy for years now. Of course they were originally popular among young people. Anyone who is even remotely similar to them is subsequently negatively compared to them. For the purposes of this exercise, I'm going to focus on Coldplay, purveyors of "sensitive rock" or simply a standout pop music act of their generation.
They've long been a favorite of mine. I didn't become a dedicated fan until Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, but from there I came to greatly appreciate their increasing mastery of their own abilities. That's what any fan likes about anything they like, right, if they stick around? Fans either like the first impression they have of something and are satisfied with that, or stick around and form additional ones. People who don't remain fans tend to become cynical. They chart a decline, real or imagined, rather than an evolution. Coldplay hit that moment with their third album, X&Y. This is my favorite Coldplay album, completely solid from start to finish, filled with songs that vary in their charms. The band won critics back with their fourth album, Viva La Vida, an ambitious shift in their basic style that like X&Y finds it hard to hit a bad note. Coldplay's fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, is a return to more traditional pop music.
Like everyone else, I first heard Coldplay with the single "Yellow" from Parachutes (2000). If "Yellow" had been the only song the band ever became known for, it would be cute and memorable but it would be easy to agree with the critics who still have yet to give Coldplay their due (although U2 has been waiting for that for far longer). Parachutes is also notable for "Trouble," which heavily features Chris Martin's piano. A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) was a follow-up that addressed concerns that Coldplay might be considered fairly insubstantial, whether in "Politik" or "Clocks." "In My Place" might almost be considered Coldplay's best Beatles song. "The Scientist," however, is the album's best song, a heartbreaking ballad that proved the band's true depths.
X&Y (2005) is known for "Speed of Sound" and "Fix You," but like I said, I love the whole album, from the dance beat of "White Shadows" to the love song "Swallowed in the Sea." Viva La Vida (2008) plays a lot to Coldplay's underrated musical chops, from the opening "Life in Technicolor" to the title track, which brings the string section to the fore. The companion EP Prospekt's March (2008) has an alternate version of "Technicolor" featuring a brilliant appearance from Jay-Z, while it closes with the contemplative "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground." Mylo Xyloto (2011) features "Princess of China" with exceptional guest vocals from Rihanna. It's known for "Paradise," but the instrumental "Us Against the World" breaks my heart (more than the actual track "Don't Let it Break Your Heart"). There's also "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall," the first single from the album.
The only member of Coldplay that anyone really knows is frontman Chris Martin, who eventually married actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Martin is the quintessential sensitive rocker, and most of Coldplay's music follows his lead, sometimes lush, sometimes pleading, sometimes aching, sometimes jubilant. The band is constantly adapting to the times while remaining distinctly their own. I continue to admire Coldplay because they are most of all transcendent, masters of emotion. They know how to translate the human experience into song. They're completely self-aware, too, as can be proven by a knowing appearance in Shaun of the Dead, while Martin once dueted with Conan O'Brien for a memorably surreal rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
personalities: Aside from Chris Martin (lead vocalist), there's also Buy Berryman (bass), Johnny Buckland (guitar), and Will Champion (drums).
highlights:
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Fan Tango: Deep Space Nine (#517)
subject: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
overview: The second Star Trek spin-off debuted twenty years ago this year. Unlike its predecessors Deep Space Nine was set in a static point, a space station in orbit of the planet Bajor, a world that had just emerged from the Occupation, decades of torment under Cardassian oppression. Starfleet sends Commander Benjamin Sisko to observe as Bajorans prepare to apply for membership in the United Federation of Planets. Sisko is surprised to find a wormhole perched not far from the station, which leads to the Gamma Quadrant, but also serves as a direct link to what the Bajorans call the Celestial Prophets. This complicates Sisko's life in a number of ways. For one, the Bajorans have already determined that he is their Emissary, a religious figure who will help guide them to a better future. The Prophets themselves, who may also be interpreted as noncorporeal aliens who exist out of time, seem to agree with the Bajorans that he's important. And soon enough, he'll learn that on the other side of the wormhole is the Dominion, the anti-Federation. The Cardassians aren't too pleased to see him, either. The station used to belong to them. Its former commander is Gul Dukat, who seems to take a personal interest in the station's continued affairs.
The Bajorans, at first represented by the benevolent Kai Opaka, soon find themselves under Kai Winn, who eventually comes into power over affairs of both church and state. Odo, the shape-shifting constable who is technically aligned with the Bajorans but also worked under the Cardassians, learns that his origins lie with the Founders, who happen to control the Dominion, which has grown tired of incursions into its territory, and begins to sow seeds of distrust and chaos into the Federation's. Starfleet once again finds itself in conflict with the Klingons, who want to eliminate the Cardassians once and for all. Sisko learns that it was of course at the instigation of a Founder infiltrator. The Cardassians end up joining the Dominion, and war breaks out, with the station at the forefront, thanks to its position opposite the wormhole. For a time, Sisko is forced to abandon the station, but later reclaims it. The war finally ends thanks to the Romulans (whom Sisko has persuaded to assist Starfleet in a morally compromising way) and Cardassians, whose defection follows Dukat's psychotic break after the death of his daughter and successor Damar leading the resistance. Sisko wins the war and confronts Dukat one last time, one representing the Prophets and the other their wicked rivals the Pah'Wraiths, triumphing but leaving his corporeal life behind to reside in the Celestial Temple.
Woo!
personalities: Well, for one, there's Sisko (Avery Brooks), whose backstory is as fascinating as what happens to him through the course of the series. He served aboard a ship that was destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359, the Borg invasion disaster originally featured in the Next Generation event "The Best of Both Worlds," in which Captain Picard is assimilated into the Borg Collective and as Locutus leaves a lasting impression on Sisko as the face of the enemy that cost him his wife. He holds a grudge against Picard up until the moment he finally decides to accept the Bajor assignment. Don't worry too much about his romantic life, though, because Sisko ends up marrying the wily Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson) He brings with him his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton), who grows up and surprisingly ends up far taller than expected, decides to remain a civilian and spend his life with words, both as a novelist and journalist. Jake becomes fast friends with Nog (Aron Eisenberg), a Ferengi youth living aboard the station who gets them both into plenty of trouble before becoming the first of his kind to join Starfleet, though during the Dominion War he loses a leg and wonders if it was all worth it.
Sisko's first officer is the Bajoran Major Kira (Nana Visitor), who was an active member of the Resistance and initially a militant believer in Bajor's right to determine the course of its own destiny. She eventually comes to appreciate the benefit of Starfleet assistance, though her own future is defined by her relationship with Odo (Rene Auberjonois), the station's chief of security who initially doesn't know his own origins. Discovered by Bajorans and raised in a lab, he ends up working under Cardassians during the Occupation, but it's his love of order that motivates him. He remains in the same position under Starfleet's purview, and discovers the awful truth that he's a Founder, and for Founders order has become something quite different. Under the influence of the Female Changeling (Salome Jens), he briefly considers betraying his friends, but Kira helps guide him back.
Among Kira's fellow Bajorans, she enjoys Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim) a lot more than Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher), but there's very little she can do (though she tries a lot) once Bareil ends up dead and Winn firmly in control of Bajor.
Odo's nemesis is Ferengi barkeep Quark (Armin Shimerman), who is a constant thorn in his side, exploiting the station's unique location to reap as much profit as possible, legally and otherwise. His brother Rom (Max Grodenchik) starts out looking exactly like the idiot he appears to be, but becomes a capable engineer, the Ferengi Nagus, and husband of erstwhile Dabo girl Leeta (Chase Masterson). Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn) steps down to marry Quark's mother Ishka (Andrea Martin, Cecily Adams).
Sisko's Starfleet crew includes Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney), who previously served under Picard aboard the Enterprise, who enjoys the challenge of cleaning up after the Cardassians who gutted the station before they left; Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), who has just graduated from Starfleet Medical and is completely wild-eyed about the prospects of the final frontier; and Jadzia Dax (Terry Ferrell), the latest host for the symbiont who was once Sisko's good friend Curzon, and would in time become Ezri (Nicole de Boer), but not before marrying Worf (Michael Dorn). O'Brien brings along with him wife Keiko (Rosiland Chao) and daughter Molly (Hana Hatae).
Among Cardassians there's Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo), who loves to hear himself talk and is at times someone you love to hate and then hate to love. He eventually goes mad after the death of his daughter Tora Ziyal (Cyia Batten, Tracy Middendorf, Melanie Smith). Garak (Andy Robinson) is anything but "plain and simple," but that's how he'll describe himself. He becomes Bashir's best friend after O'Brien (though Bashir probably counts Ezri as his greatest conquest, because he'd been after Dax for years). Damar (Casey Biggs) at first appears to be a petty functionary, but eventually grows a backbone.
Among Klingons there's Gowron (Robert O'Reilly), who still doggedly pursues Worf in search of his loyalties, which is something Martok (J.G. Hertzler) earns quickly enough, once we meet the real one and not his changeling doppelganger.
Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) would be pretty upset if we didn't mention him! He's the Vorta who best represents the Dominion, and there are far too many clones to overlook! And as far as holographic lounge singers go, you can hardly beat Vic Fontaine (James Darren)!
Just in case you thought this was a complete breakdown of all the notable characters from the series, both regular cast members and recurring guests...Ha! I'll mention one more, a personal favorite, Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall), who has a brief run as Sisko's rival, betraying Starfleet to join the Maquis and leading him on a series of encounters in the midpoint of the series.
highlights:
overview: The second Star Trek spin-off debuted twenty years ago this year. Unlike its predecessors Deep Space Nine was set in a static point, a space station in orbit of the planet Bajor, a world that had just emerged from the Occupation, decades of torment under Cardassian oppression. Starfleet sends Commander Benjamin Sisko to observe as Bajorans prepare to apply for membership in the United Federation of Planets. Sisko is surprised to find a wormhole perched not far from the station, which leads to the Gamma Quadrant, but also serves as a direct link to what the Bajorans call the Celestial Prophets. This complicates Sisko's life in a number of ways. For one, the Bajorans have already determined that he is their Emissary, a religious figure who will help guide them to a better future. The Prophets themselves, who may also be interpreted as noncorporeal aliens who exist out of time, seem to agree with the Bajorans that he's important. And soon enough, he'll learn that on the other side of the wormhole is the Dominion, the anti-Federation. The Cardassians aren't too pleased to see him, either. The station used to belong to them. Its former commander is Gul Dukat, who seems to take a personal interest in the station's continued affairs.
The Bajorans, at first represented by the benevolent Kai Opaka, soon find themselves under Kai Winn, who eventually comes into power over affairs of both church and state. Odo, the shape-shifting constable who is technically aligned with the Bajorans but also worked under the Cardassians, learns that his origins lie with the Founders, who happen to control the Dominion, which has grown tired of incursions into its territory, and begins to sow seeds of distrust and chaos into the Federation's. Starfleet once again finds itself in conflict with the Klingons, who want to eliminate the Cardassians once and for all. Sisko learns that it was of course at the instigation of a Founder infiltrator. The Cardassians end up joining the Dominion, and war breaks out, with the station at the forefront, thanks to its position opposite the wormhole. For a time, Sisko is forced to abandon the station, but later reclaims it. The war finally ends thanks to the Romulans (whom Sisko has persuaded to assist Starfleet in a morally compromising way) and Cardassians, whose defection follows Dukat's psychotic break after the death of his daughter and successor Damar leading the resistance. Sisko wins the war and confronts Dukat one last time, one representing the Prophets and the other their wicked rivals the Pah'Wraiths, triumphing but leaving his corporeal life behind to reside in the Celestial Temple.
Woo!
personalities: Well, for one, there's Sisko (Avery Brooks), whose backstory is as fascinating as what happens to him through the course of the series. He served aboard a ship that was destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359, the Borg invasion disaster originally featured in the Next Generation event "The Best of Both Worlds," in which Captain Picard is assimilated into the Borg Collective and as Locutus leaves a lasting impression on Sisko as the face of the enemy that cost him his wife. He holds a grudge against Picard up until the moment he finally decides to accept the Bajor assignment. Don't worry too much about his romantic life, though, because Sisko ends up marrying the wily Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson) He brings with him his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton), who grows up and surprisingly ends up far taller than expected, decides to remain a civilian and spend his life with words, both as a novelist and journalist. Jake becomes fast friends with Nog (Aron Eisenberg), a Ferengi youth living aboard the station who gets them both into plenty of trouble before becoming the first of his kind to join Starfleet, though during the Dominion War he loses a leg and wonders if it was all worth it.
Sisko's first officer is the Bajoran Major Kira (Nana Visitor), who was an active member of the Resistance and initially a militant believer in Bajor's right to determine the course of its own destiny. She eventually comes to appreciate the benefit of Starfleet assistance, though her own future is defined by her relationship with Odo (Rene Auberjonois), the station's chief of security who initially doesn't know his own origins. Discovered by Bajorans and raised in a lab, he ends up working under Cardassians during the Occupation, but it's his love of order that motivates him. He remains in the same position under Starfleet's purview, and discovers the awful truth that he's a Founder, and for Founders order has become something quite different. Under the influence of the Female Changeling (Salome Jens), he briefly considers betraying his friends, but Kira helps guide him back.
Among Kira's fellow Bajorans, she enjoys Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim) a lot more than Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher), but there's very little she can do (though she tries a lot) once Bareil ends up dead and Winn firmly in control of Bajor.
Odo's nemesis is Ferengi barkeep Quark (Armin Shimerman), who is a constant thorn in his side, exploiting the station's unique location to reap as much profit as possible, legally and otherwise. His brother Rom (Max Grodenchik) starts out looking exactly like the idiot he appears to be, but becomes a capable engineer, the Ferengi Nagus, and husband of erstwhile Dabo girl Leeta (Chase Masterson). Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn) steps down to marry Quark's mother Ishka (Andrea Martin, Cecily Adams).
Sisko's Starfleet crew includes Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney), who previously served under Picard aboard the Enterprise, who enjoys the challenge of cleaning up after the Cardassians who gutted the station before they left; Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), who has just graduated from Starfleet Medical and is completely wild-eyed about the prospects of the final frontier; and Jadzia Dax (Terry Ferrell), the latest host for the symbiont who was once Sisko's good friend Curzon, and would in time become Ezri (Nicole de Boer), but not before marrying Worf (Michael Dorn). O'Brien brings along with him wife Keiko (Rosiland Chao) and daughter Molly (Hana Hatae).
Among Cardassians there's Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo), who loves to hear himself talk and is at times someone you love to hate and then hate to love. He eventually goes mad after the death of his daughter Tora Ziyal (Cyia Batten, Tracy Middendorf, Melanie Smith). Garak (Andy Robinson) is anything but "plain and simple," but that's how he'll describe himself. He becomes Bashir's best friend after O'Brien (though Bashir probably counts Ezri as his greatest conquest, because he'd been after Dax for years). Damar (Casey Biggs) at first appears to be a petty functionary, but eventually grows a backbone.
Among Klingons there's Gowron (Robert O'Reilly), who still doggedly pursues Worf in search of his loyalties, which is something Martok (J.G. Hertzler) earns quickly enough, once we meet the real one and not his changeling doppelganger.
Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) would be pretty upset if we didn't mention him! He's the Vorta who best represents the Dominion, and there are far too many clones to overlook! And as far as holographic lounge singers go, you can hardly beat Vic Fontaine (James Darren)!
Just in case you thought this was a complete breakdown of all the notable characters from the series, both regular cast members and recurring guests...Ha! I'll mention one more, a personal favorite, Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall), who has a brief run as Sisko's rival, betraying Starfleet to join the Maquis and leading him on a series of encounters in the midpoint of the series.
highlights:
- "Emissary" (1x1/1x2) The first episode, in which we meet a lot of these characters and much of what's going on and what we'll be following for the next seven seasons.
- "Duet" (1x19) Long considered a highlight of both the series and franchise, this is the moment where Kira discover that not all Cardassians are completely irredeemable when she encounters one who would rather die in the place of a notorious war criminal than forget his role in events that scarred him for life.
- "The Homecoming"/"The Circle"/"The Siege" (2x1/2x2/2x3) The first extended arc in the series is the Bajoran epic that otherwise never happened because fans found them not exciting enough. A hero of the Resistance is discovered alive in a Cardassian prison camp, but his return sparks a Bajoran conspiracy to claim the station for its own until Sisko can win it back, a smaller-scale version of what he endures during the Dominion War.
- "Necessary Evil" (2x8) The answer to "Duet" is revisiting how Kira met Odo, and what they were doing at the station at the time of the Occupation.
- "Blood Oath" (2x19) Three actors who memorably portrayed Klingons in the original series return and send Jadzia into her first great adventure.
- "The Wire" (2x22) Still the greatest Garak episode, in which we discover the cost his exile from his mysterious past holds on him.
- "Crossover" (2x23) The first of many trips back to the "Mirror, Mirror" universe, in which morality is flipped on its side in shocking ways, including Sisko as a pirate working at the beck and call of a shockingly sexual Kira!
- "The Jem'Hadar" (2x26) The first encounter with the Dominion features an epic clash with its foot soldiers Sisko barely escapes alive.
- "The Search" (3x1/3x2) Sisko unveils Starfleet's first warship, the Defiant, originally developed to combat the Borg and from this time forward the station's means to travel abroad (and fight!), while Odo discovers the truth about his people the Founders.
- "Past Tense" (3x11/3x12) A personal favorite, this two-part episode features Sisko, Bashir, and Jadzia thrust into Earth's past in the early 21st century, where they become participants in the drama surrounding Sanctuary Districts that attempt to mask the sufferings of the poor.
- "The Adversary" (3x26) Sisko is promoted to captain and Odo is forced to kill one of his own, which ends up having grave consequences later on.
- "The Way of the Warrior" (4x1/4x2) Worf joins the cast and the Federation goes to war with the Klingons!
- "The Visitor" (4x3) Long considered the show's finest hour, the bond between Sisko and his son Jake is explored as we follow Jake's decades-long efforts to reunite with his father after Sisko's apparent death.
- "Little Green Men" (4x8) The comic highlight of the series sees Quark, Rom and Nog thrust into Earth's past for a decidedly less serious time-travel adventure.
- "Broken Link" (4x26) The consequences I mentioned as looming over Odo finally come to pass when his fellow Founders decide to strip him of his shape-shifting ability, forcing him to live life as a "solid" (for a while).
- "Trials and Tribble-ations" (5x6) Famously splices the cast into "The Trouble with Tribbles."
- "The Begotten" (5x12) Odo gets his shape-shifting abilities back after a strange series of events that helps him make peace with his past.
- "For the Uniform" (5x13) Sisko squares off with Eddington, who likens himself to Jean Valjean and Sisko to Javert from Les Miserables.
- "Dr. Bashir, I Presume?" (5x16) We learn that Bashir was genetically modified as a child in an episode also notable for featuring Voyager's Robert Picardo.
- "Call to Arms" (5x26) The Dominion War officially begins.
- "A Time to Stand"/"Rocks and Shoals"/"Sons and Daughters"/"Behind the Lines"/"Favor the Bold"/"Sacrifice of Angels" (6x1/6x2/6x3/6x4/6x5) The sustained war arc narrative that famously kicked off the sixth season sees the dramatic series of events that leads to Sisko's recapture of the station.
- "You Are Cordially Invited" (6x7) The follow-up episode sees the wedding of Worf and Jadzia.
- "Waltz" (6x11) Sisko and Dukat square off.
- "Far Beyond the Stars" (6x13) Sisko finds himself transported to 1950s America thanks to the Prophets so that the life of science fiction writer Benny Russell can provide him inspiration to continue fighting.
- "Inquisition" (6x18) Bashir finds himself drafted into the enigmatic Section 31.
- "In the Pale Moonlight" (6x19) Sisko compromises himself in order to get the Romulans to join the war effort.
- "His Way" (6x20) Vic Fontaine debuts as Odo and Kira finally address the long-simmering attraction that has existed between them.
- "Tears of the Prophets" (6x26) The war most definitely still goes on, but the biggest news is Dukat joining up with the Pah'Wraiths and his subsequent murder of Jadzia.
- "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" (7x4) Baseball was a favorite of Sisko's, but everyone plays the game in this episode.
- "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River" (7x6) The best Weyoun episode, in which an unusually sympathetic clone reminds Odo that the Vorta revere the Founders as gods.
- "It's Only a Paper Moon" (7x10) Nog deals with the effects of "The Siege of AR-558" with the help of Vic Fontaine.
- "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" (7x16) The definitive Section 31 episode, in which we revisit the Romulans one last time.
- "Penumbra"/"'Til Death Do Us Part"/"Strange Bedfellows"/"The Changing Face of Evil"/"When It Rains..."/"Tacking into the Wind"/"Extreme Measures"/"The Dogs of War" (7x17/7x18/7x19/7x20/7x21/7x22/7x23/7x24) The eight episode arc that led to the finale, presenting the series of events that help make a resolution to everything possible.
- "What You Leave Behind" (7x25/7x26) The final episode, in which the Dominion War finally ends and almost everyone leaves the station.
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