24's Best Season Yet!
The first step in conquering addiction, is recognizing the addiction. And although I know I'm addicted to "24", the brilliantly crafted espionage series starring Keifer Sutherland, I refuse to conquer this addiction. Instead, I'll try Mae West's formula in addressing temptation:
"Whenever I feel myself being tempted, I give in to it!"
You should give in to it, too. This Season's start was a two-hour movie, with an intriguing storyline set in the depths of Africa--a place called Sangala--and the horrors of political coups, and civil wars. Monday evening's episode built on that storyline, with the recently elected female president of the United States("24" is always ahead of reality--the first Black American president was elected on that show, years ago) weighing whether to send in U.S. troops to curtail the genocide occuring in the region, or capitulate to terrorists' demands and NOT send them, in order to prevent said terrorists' attacks on the infrastructure(including air-traffic control of commercial planes)of the U.S...The subplots are varied, and complex: the President and the first Husband's son has apparently died by suicide. Or not. Is it murder? Why? And why does his gorgeous, bereaved fiance' have hundreds of thousands of dollars moved to various off-shore banks? One explanation was given last night.
Next, there's someone(or several someones) doing double-agent work, and they're members of the FBI. Is it Agent Renee' Walker's(gorgeous redhead with a sudden interest in using more "extreme" methods of rendering cooperation from suspects being detained) boss (a tall blond-haired fellow with a real control issue)? Or could it be the special assistant to Madame President, who is cheerleading for her to NOT send troops, thereby making it easier for Juma(the murderous head of the coup to overthrow the African nation's government)to commit more genocide?
And is Jack Bauer's old friend and colleague telling the truth when he says he's NOT working with the terrorists who threaten the safety of the U.S.? Jack Bauer appears to believe him, and is (again!) risking his life to work with Tony.
Meanwhile, a new character, played by Janeane Garofaolo provides an interesting foil for a much-beloved regular character.As Jenny, Janeane is to the F.B.I., what Chloe is to C.T.U.: the resident nerd-y gal, with nerve. And edge. More tenative than tenacious, Jenny finds herself literally battling it out with Chloe, as each in her own government agency tries valiantly to transmit live video feeds in order to accomplish their mission. In Chloe's case, she needs the pictures to inform Jack, who's escaped with Tony from the Feds'. The FBI folks are giving chase, as Chloe continues to hack in to the FBI computers. Best line of the night, said by Jenny(Janeane Garofaolo), to her supervisors, in response to questions about whoever hacked into the FBI's system:
"I don't know who they are, but they're really good."
The split screen of Chloe, working her 30-second magic on the keyboard, and Jenny, with stringy black hair, wearing required nerd-appeal glasses, perplexed and angry, was priceless. The show is developing an edgy sense of humor which finely balances the violent story arcs.
Finally, will the Feds--or Jack and Tony--find the device that may prevent the terrorists from inflicting mortal damage and destruction on the U.S.?
And will the POTUS, be able to save both Sangala(the nation ripped apart by bloodshed) AND the USA?
I guess we'll have to stay tuned.
After posting about this show, which includes horrific violence, and raises my blood pressure every time I watch it(in defense of my watching it, I'd call this pure "escapism"), my last line--my signature line at this blog--may sound hypocritical, but:
Peace, kids.
Showing posts with label Alcohol addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alcohol addiction. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, October 13, 2008
If you haven't been here in a while...Please read the two previous entries here at Lisa Allender Writes, for:
*updates on AQLF(Atlanta Queer Literature Fest) and
*the letter from an older white man with a son in the Marines. He is a life-long Republican who helped found the Christian-Right...and he's voting for Obama! His letter was originally published at The Huffington Post.
For today, get a quick glimpse, via this AP report, of W... the Oliver Stone film about you-know-who. I'll definitely go see this, and I'm thrilled it will be released before this Presidential election.
_________________________________________
Stone shows surprising restraint with Bush pic `W'
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
Oliver Stone thinks George W. Bush was unqualified to be president. However, the filmmaker found him an irresistible figure for drama.
After months of speculation over whether Stone's film biography would be a hatchet job on Bush, "W." arrives as a surprisingly empathetic — though hardly sympathetic — portrait of the president.
Stone, the historical revisionist behind the presidential sagas "JFK" and "Nixon," this time plays the provocateur by not doing what's expected of him, namely, putting Bush on a pillory.
"W." does present Bush as a man unfit to lead. And while Stone cannot resist injecting that theme with moments of sharp satire, he generally casts the president as a deeply tragic figure in far over his head, whose personal demons hold consequences for everyone else on the planet.
"I don't know who George Bush is, really. But I can tell you, it feels like him from everything we read, and we did a lot of reading," Stone said in an interview. "The guy has good, bad and ugly qualities like everyone else, but I can understand that things can get out of balance if you have the power. Certain people, if they have the say-so, can really exert their uglier side, and that is what came out, I think."
Played by Josh Brolin, Bush is presented as the black sheep of a political dynasty who surprised his own family by becoming the prodigal son that made good.
"W.," in theaters Friday, follows Bush from his boozy frat-boy days at Yale through a string of failed jobs and business enterprises and an early unsuccessful stab at politics. Perpetually in the shadow of his disapproving father, the first President Bush (James Cromwell), he eventually finds two anchors, wife Laura (Elizabeth Banks) and his born-again Christian faith.
Bush gives up drinking, though not his taste for beer. He's seen throughout his later years tipping back a bottle of nonalcoholic O'Doul's.
The film focuses on Bush's private life, a loving relationship with Laura, a competitive edge with brother Jeb, a contentious air with his father and mother (Ellen Burstyn).
Stone also crafts prolonged sequences recreating meetings at which Bush and his advisers shaped their war-on-terror policies after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Bush and company bat about language to come up with their "axis of evil" trademark for terrorist states. They backpedal to justify the invasion of Iraq after intelligence on weapons of mass destruction proves false. Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) delivers a chilling monologue about the aims of American imperialism.
The key actors on "W." share Stone's liberal leanings and came to the film already convinced Bush was a bad president. They came away from it not necessarily thinking he was a bad man.
"Everybody will be surprised in one way or another, no matter how differently you see it. It's a very human depiction of this guy's life," Brolin said. "It's an interesting, very behaviorally intense, somewhat funny, somewhat satirical, somewhat sardonic story about how this flailing guy became the president of the United States. Twice. ...
"I strangely found a lot of respect for the guy in his ability to tackle his demons. The opposite side of that is him feeling maybe that his demons were exorcised, when indeed they just came out in a different form through his presidency. The opportunities he saw that may have manifested through those, war being one of them."
While Bush talks of being called by God to run for president in "W.," Stone speaks of the movie as destined to be made.
He and screenwriter Stanley Weiser had been developing a Bush film biography throughout 2007, but Stone was planning to start production on "Pinkville," a drama about the My Lai massacre that would have been the Vietnam veteran's fourth movie about that war.
"Pinkville" fell through late last year, and Stone saw an opportunity to rush "W." into production and have it out while Bush was still in office.
"I think if we don't tell it now, no one cares for the next 20 years," co-star Banks said. "Then maybe in 20 or 30 years we care again, when we're still sort of feeling the repercussions of this administration."
Contractually, Stone could have delivered the finished film in time for the inauguration in January, but he wanted it in theaters before the election. He is cynical about its potential impact, however.
"I have no hopes. I cannot affect the dialogue. I did three Vietnam movies. Believe me, I'm humbled," Stone said. "They did nothing to prevent the country from doing the same thing in the '90s in several incidents. And then above all, the `march to Iraq 2' was devastating to the psyche of responsible American veterans. Devastating. It really hurt us, hurt our soul."
Stone later added that he hoped the film would prompt some reflection among Americans before they vote.
"Perhaps we can think about what we elected, who we elected these last eight years," Stone said. "If they see the movie, they may think about who they voted for the last time and not forget it very conveniently. If they do that at least, that's pretty good. There's at least some thinking going on.
"Unless we excite the human brain, excite the human spirit, evolution will not occur. We'll become simpler and stupider, and we may revert to Stone Age behavior before long."
Stone doesn't hold back on unflattering dramatic moments, showing a drunken Bush dancing on a bar or crashing a car into his parents' trash cans and nearly coming to blows with his father in the living room.
Such scenes are balanced with tender private times between Bush and his wife and moments of humility early in Bush's born-again conversion.
"Oliver Stone is ferociously intelligent. He is never going to give a one-sided look," said Thandie Newton, who plays Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser who later became secretary of state. "It's not going for the jugular. Absolutely not, because that would be so easy. That would be lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy. This is about finding the person, and then leaving it open for an audience to judge."
Many potential viewers may skip "W." because they already have passed judgment on Bush, Dreyfuss said.
"Those few brave band of brothers who are still for Bush won't see it, and those many who are now against Bush don't have to see it," Dreyfuss said. "I do believe that this film will be a knocked-out-of-the-ballpark winner overseas. I think every country on Earth wants to see this film, because every country on Earth has been wanting to hear Americans critique George Bush."
Co-star Scott Glenn, who plays Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, marveled that such a film could even get made, no matter whether or not viewers agree with it.
"Even though we've fallen very far, it says I think some wonderful, central thing about this country," Glenn said. "Where else could this have been done? In France? I don't think so, where they have a national board that reviews films. In Russia? Give me a break. How about Iran? A film about (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad made by Iranians and released while he's still there? China? Do you really think so?
"I mean, where else could this happen? The fact that it's happened, regardless of whether you're on the right, the left or in between, just the fact it's happened I think is a cause for celebration."
__________________________________
___________________
Peace, kids.
*updates on AQLF(Atlanta Queer Literature Fest) and
*the letter from an older white man with a son in the Marines. He is a life-long Republican who helped found the Christian-Right...and he's voting for Obama! His letter was originally published at The Huffington Post.
For today, get a quick glimpse, via this AP report, of W... the Oliver Stone film about you-know-who. I'll definitely go see this, and I'm thrilled it will be released before this Presidential election.
_________________________________________
Stone shows surprising restraint with Bush pic `W'
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
Oliver Stone thinks George W. Bush was unqualified to be president. However, the filmmaker found him an irresistible figure for drama.
After months of speculation over whether Stone's film biography would be a hatchet job on Bush, "W." arrives as a surprisingly empathetic — though hardly sympathetic — portrait of the president.
Stone, the historical revisionist behind the presidential sagas "JFK" and "Nixon," this time plays the provocateur by not doing what's expected of him, namely, putting Bush on a pillory.
"W." does present Bush as a man unfit to lead. And while Stone cannot resist injecting that theme with moments of sharp satire, he generally casts the president as a deeply tragic figure in far over his head, whose personal demons hold consequences for everyone else on the planet.
"I don't know who George Bush is, really. But I can tell you, it feels like him from everything we read, and we did a lot of reading," Stone said in an interview. "The guy has good, bad and ugly qualities like everyone else, but I can understand that things can get out of balance if you have the power. Certain people, if they have the say-so, can really exert their uglier side, and that is what came out, I think."
Played by Josh Brolin, Bush is presented as the black sheep of a political dynasty who surprised his own family by becoming the prodigal son that made good.
"W.," in theaters Friday, follows Bush from his boozy frat-boy days at Yale through a string of failed jobs and business enterprises and an early unsuccessful stab at politics. Perpetually in the shadow of his disapproving father, the first President Bush (James Cromwell), he eventually finds two anchors, wife Laura (Elizabeth Banks) and his born-again Christian faith.
Bush gives up drinking, though not his taste for beer. He's seen throughout his later years tipping back a bottle of nonalcoholic O'Doul's.
The film focuses on Bush's private life, a loving relationship with Laura, a competitive edge with brother Jeb, a contentious air with his father and mother (Ellen Burstyn).
Stone also crafts prolonged sequences recreating meetings at which Bush and his advisers shaped their war-on-terror policies after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Bush and company bat about language to come up with their "axis of evil" trademark for terrorist states. They backpedal to justify the invasion of Iraq after intelligence on weapons of mass destruction proves false. Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) delivers a chilling monologue about the aims of American imperialism.
The key actors on "W." share Stone's liberal leanings and came to the film already convinced Bush was a bad president. They came away from it not necessarily thinking he was a bad man.
"Everybody will be surprised in one way or another, no matter how differently you see it. It's a very human depiction of this guy's life," Brolin said. "It's an interesting, very behaviorally intense, somewhat funny, somewhat satirical, somewhat sardonic story about how this flailing guy became the president of the United States. Twice. ...
"I strangely found a lot of respect for the guy in his ability to tackle his demons. The opposite side of that is him feeling maybe that his demons were exorcised, when indeed they just came out in a different form through his presidency. The opportunities he saw that may have manifested through those, war being one of them."
While Bush talks of being called by God to run for president in "W.," Stone speaks of the movie as destined to be made.
He and screenwriter Stanley Weiser had been developing a Bush film biography throughout 2007, but Stone was planning to start production on "Pinkville," a drama about the My Lai massacre that would have been the Vietnam veteran's fourth movie about that war.
"Pinkville" fell through late last year, and Stone saw an opportunity to rush "W." into production and have it out while Bush was still in office.
"I think if we don't tell it now, no one cares for the next 20 years," co-star Banks said. "Then maybe in 20 or 30 years we care again, when we're still sort of feeling the repercussions of this administration."
Contractually, Stone could have delivered the finished film in time for the inauguration in January, but he wanted it in theaters before the election. He is cynical about its potential impact, however.
"I have no hopes. I cannot affect the dialogue. I did three Vietnam movies. Believe me, I'm humbled," Stone said. "They did nothing to prevent the country from doing the same thing in the '90s in several incidents. And then above all, the `march to Iraq 2' was devastating to the psyche of responsible American veterans. Devastating. It really hurt us, hurt our soul."
Stone later added that he hoped the film would prompt some reflection among Americans before they vote.
"Perhaps we can think about what we elected, who we elected these last eight years," Stone said. "If they see the movie, they may think about who they voted for the last time and not forget it very conveniently. If they do that at least, that's pretty good. There's at least some thinking going on.
"Unless we excite the human brain, excite the human spirit, evolution will not occur. We'll become simpler and stupider, and we may revert to Stone Age behavior before long."
Stone doesn't hold back on unflattering dramatic moments, showing a drunken Bush dancing on a bar or crashing a car into his parents' trash cans and nearly coming to blows with his father in the living room.
Such scenes are balanced with tender private times between Bush and his wife and moments of humility early in Bush's born-again conversion.
"Oliver Stone is ferociously intelligent. He is never going to give a one-sided look," said Thandie Newton, who plays Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser who later became secretary of state. "It's not going for the jugular. Absolutely not, because that would be so easy. That would be lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy. This is about finding the person, and then leaving it open for an audience to judge."
Many potential viewers may skip "W." because they already have passed judgment on Bush, Dreyfuss said.
"Those few brave band of brothers who are still for Bush won't see it, and those many who are now against Bush don't have to see it," Dreyfuss said. "I do believe that this film will be a knocked-out-of-the-ballpark winner overseas. I think every country on Earth wants to see this film, because every country on Earth has been wanting to hear Americans critique George Bush."
Co-star Scott Glenn, who plays Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, marveled that such a film could even get made, no matter whether or not viewers agree with it.
"Even though we've fallen very far, it says I think some wonderful, central thing about this country," Glenn said. "Where else could this have been done? In France? I don't think so, where they have a national board that reviews films. In Russia? Give me a break. How about Iran? A film about (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad made by Iranians and released while he's still there? China? Do you really think so?
"I mean, where else could this happen? The fact that it's happened, regardless of whether you're on the right, the left or in between, just the fact it's happened I think is a cause for celebration."
__________________________________
___________________
Peace, kids.
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