Monika’s Pensieve

Should have posted this ages ago :] For continuity’s sake, it’s in same film review format as the other Due South reviews, but I think I’m going to make yet another change of format soon as this one just isn’t working *sigh*

{FILM DIARY}
Note: Please refer to this post for more details and links to other Due South reviews.

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)

Finished Viewing: June 2010
Rating: +2 (Adored It)

Video

Episodes:
- 9: The Edge
Fraser and Ray team up with a Mexican secret service agent to protect international dignitaries at an upcoming NAFTA convention.
- 10: Starman
Pathological liar Ian McDonald claims his fiancée has been abducted by aliens.
- 11: We Are the Eggmen
The Canadian government gets sued for damages caused when Fraser tries to stop a truck full of eggs from falling into a trench.
- 12: Some Like It Red
Fraser disguises himself as a woman to go undercover as a teacher in a Catholic girls’ school.
- 13: White Men Can’t Jump To Conclusions
Ray and Fraser believe a black teenager involved in a gang shooting is covering for somebody else.
- 14: All The Queen’s Horses
A train full of singing mounties gets captured by terrorists.
- 15: Body Language
Ray and Fraser track down a female stripper after she gives Fraser a tip about a big crime.
- 16: The Duel
Charles Carver is released on parole and orchestrates a very personal sort of revenge on Ray, who put him into prison in the first place.
- 17: Red, White or Blue
Continuation of episode 14. The terrorists are brought to court, but not before they’ve taken Fraser and Ray hostage.
- 18: Flashback
Fraser suffers from amnesia.

Memorable Moments:
- Fraser’s nightmares about “losing his edge”
In episode 9, Fraser makes some crucial mistakes. He is then told that perhaps he is getting old and “losing his edge”. The thought stays with him and we get treated to a series of nightmares in which he is sort of dominated by three kids (I loved how Diefenbaker has an equivalent one about a little puppy taking his place). I thought it was one of the weirdest ideas of the second series.
- Thatcher ordering Fraser’s uniform off
She has good reason to do so, but as she doesn’t explain herself, the scene is very spicy ;)
- Fraser and Buck Frobisher talk through the toilet (video)
Just some very odd toilet humour *grin*
- “Ray, get in the closet!” (2.15) (video)
Not the first time that Ray and Fraser find themselves in a closet together, but it’s a great scene :)
- Mexican poncho (2.17)
Ray and Fraser find themselves in a courtroom under a Mexican poncho. It’s a very weird scene, both very funny and rather dramatic.

General Comments:
This is where Due South got very weird *grin* In the second half of season two, they started taking bigger risks and generally experimenting. The results were mixed IMO, but very interesting.
The humour got gradually more and more nonsensical and absurd (once Paul Gross started writing for Due South, even I didn’t quite get some of the jokes ;)). Some episodes were pushed into total farce.
The drama and melodrama was already quite strange I suppose, but IMO there were moments when they reached new heights ;) Notably, one of the strangest ideas IMO are Fraser’s nightmares about ageing and therefore “losing his edge” (ep.9). They didn’t execute it that well IMO, but the idea is bizarre and if they had found the right sort of style for it, it could have been very effective and “artsy”.

There was a test screening of the film in Chicago last Saturday. It’s not complete yet (the soundtrack is yet to be finished and some of the special effects are still not done), but reviews have been good. To check some of them out, see here.
I’m much amused by some of the comments - sounds like it’s going to be a bit more “adult” than the other Harry Potter films, which is correct (the same is true of the book), but there’s some stuff I wasn’t quite expecting *grin* Anyway, a couple of points that caught my eye:

• Apparently, we’re going to be treated to a shot of Daniel Radcliffe in female lingerie ;) The 7 Potters sequence is the first time I’ve been looking forward to a special effect sequence in a Potter film (6 people transform themselves to look like Harry, so that the Death Eaters don’t know which one of them to chase), but it never occurred to me that it would include Daniel Radcliffe in a bra *grin* (when the six characters transform into Harry, they’re still wearing their own clothes and have to change into Harry’s). I was expecting some skin show and something slightly awkward when they’d all start changing clothes in front of each other - it’s a very funny moment in the book as well. But Fleur’s lacey bra totally exceeds what I imagined they’d do ;)
• All the reviews say that the scene in which Bellatrix is torturing Hermione is very harsh. I remember some time back Emma Watson was asked what scene in the 7th film she was most looking forward to and she said being tortured by Helena Bonham-Carter ;) So I guess that worked out well *grin* It was always going to be an uncomfortable scene, but it sounds rather harsher than what one would expect from a Hollywood family film. So again something I didn’t quite expect. I’m glad they are taking a harsher route on these things though. That’s how this film should be IMO.
• It’s interesting to hear the comments on the scene between Snape and Voldemort - apparently they’re great together. I’m very happy to hear that, as I find them very exciting together in the books as well. It’s not until the 7th book that we finally got them together in a scene, but it was worth the wait!
  Quite apart from the characters though, Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes are quite a duo. Two guys famous for playing villains with very domineering screen presences, playing just that alongside each other. AFAIK it’s the first time they’ve shared screen together, so I’m really looking forward to that! *grin*
• The Harry/Hermione kissing vision goes further than I would have expected. One of the reviews says they’re topless, er what? lol I’m going to assume that means just Harry or that at most we get a bit of Hermione’s back. Another review says “skimpy clothing”, so even if they’re not topless it still goes further than I would have expected :] They’re both silver whispy smoke in the vision, so I’m going to assume it’s not graphic. But er really - topless? lol I thought this was supposed to be a family film *grin*
• Ron’s fallout with Harry sounds really good. I mean it has been sounding really good for ages now. And the little bit they showed us of their fight on one of the trailers looks great too. But what I’m really glad to hear is that the tension between them has a good and long build up. So yay! I’m really looking forward to angsty and jealous Rupert Grint *grin*
• They actually managed to sneak in an unobtrusive comedic reference to Twilight and the rivalry between Potter and Twilight fans *grin*
• Ending part one with Voldemort breaking into Dumbledore’s grave sounds great to me. I can see how that would work.

On the negative side of things, while Yates does like to try some edgy things, he also makes sure to pull off the conventional Hollywood heroics and all of that *sigh* So there’s already one thing I’m anticipating not to like:

• Hedwig’s death is going to be way more sentimental than in the books. As in she actually tries to save Harry from Death Eaters and so on and dies in the act. She’s an owl for goodness sake! Maybe I’ll feel differently after I see the scene, but honestly… I tend to like most of Rowling’s deaths precisely because they’re usually freak accidents that could have been avoided rather than heroic sacrifices.
  And how typically Hollywoodish to make Hedwig’s appearance around Harry the clue as to which of the Harries is the real one *roll eyes* The beauty of the book is that it’s because he casts “Expelliarmus” - the only spell in those circumstances (they’re up in the air), which guarantees his attacker will not be in mortal danger. Everyone else is casting whatever gives them better chances of survival. I never got why Hollywood likes their heroes to use the same methods as their villains :-/ I suppose that’s not entirely the case with Harry anyway, but that was one of the most defining moments for me grrrrr….

I haven’t been this silent on my blog in quite a while and I think the reason for this is that the stuff that is absorbing me the most at the moment is stuff I’m completely not used to blogging about. But maybe I should just go ahead and try…

Internet auctions
One of my goals at this time is to dejunk my room (not the most important one, but it is on the list of my 10 goals for the year). And as I’m also in a state of money shortage at the moment (and feeling very lucky that I have extremely understanding parents in that regard), I decided I’d try to sell off most of my CDs. Considering I only really listen to them when there’s a lot of noise outside (for example building work around or in our house), it seems idiotic to have around 90 of them, so I’m attempting to cut down. My music tastes have changed quite a bit since I was in my teens anyway and I haven’t bought much more recently, so most of the sorting wasn’t even that challenging. In the end I ended up putting over 60 of the CDs up for auction.
The process of selling the CDs on-line has been quite interesting. I’ve never done it before and I’ve rarely made bids for stuff either. So here are some observations:

• Most of the bidding happens literally during the last minute of the auction. So it’s best if the auction finishes in the evening, so that everyone who wants to bid at the last minute can do so. Auctions which finished in the middle of the day were less popular, even if many people were watching them.
• Classical music is actually easier to sell than pop, rock and that sort of thing. Almost all of my classical music was sold to somebody, but a lot of my pop/rock stuff was not. I thought it would be the other way round, but there you go! Oddly enough, my most watched auction was the complete works of Wacław z Szamotuł. So obscure classical music is clearly the way to go!
• It’s best to set the prices low. I think many of my things would not have been sold if I had set the price high. And as I sold a lot of items I amassed quite a lot of money anyway. The asking price for most of my CDs was around 5-9zł, but I should get almost 500zł for all that I sold.
• CD collectors (as they were the people buying most of my stuff) are a weird and very detail-orientated bunch ;) I got lots of questions like - if you look at the CD in direct light are there any minuscule scratches on it? Also, I was surprised to find that Wojciech Kilar’s “The Portrait of the Lady” soundtrack was so much in demand. Auction started at 9zł and finished at over 40zł. Apparently it’s a collector’s item and I had no idea…
• Photos are important. They can be very bad quality, but if you don’t have one, the item is unlikely to be bought.
• And finally - wrapping the stuff and sending it all out is a huge pain :]

All in all this seems to be a good method of getting rid of stuff, so once I have some time I’m going to try selling off some more things too!

Business Networking
I’ve started my own business a while back, but I’ve not been doing well with it because of stupid inhibitions and fears. It’s been rather interesting actually and even though it’s going badly I’ve not regretted it. I’ve learnt a lot about myself from the experience. I think I’ve finally worked through some of my issues, so hopefully once I’m done with my September exams I’ll be able to get the business going properly!
And on that note, I did my first business networking session on Wednesday. It was a sort of lecture about how to get big clients, which included a short session of networking also. It was rather weird - basically you’re in a crowded room and you walk up to people and ask them what they do and exchange business cards. I’ve always thought of myself as a rather socially impaired person, so I found it very bizarre that I actually enjoyed it! :) It’s made me realize very clearly where my social problems actually are and that I do have social strengths too. I actually have just three main problems:

• I hate clubbing, any sort of parties which involve people getting drunk and I don’t like “going out for a beer”. The problem is those are the most popular ways in which people socialize! :-/
• After a period of socializing, I need some quality time alone. Otherwise I get very tense, tired and grumpy (which is not a good mood for further socializing ;)).
• I’m not good with and have no patience for small talk. In the words of wikipedia:
  

  Small talk is conversation for its own sake, or “?comments on what is perfectly obvious.”

  In other words, as long as I see a purpose to the conversation (there’s an actual exchange of information going on), then I’m happy. I suppose I’m not the worst person in the world in this regard (I have met people who are even worse than me at small talk ;)), but on the whole, small talk just isn’t my thing.

The business networking session did not fall under any of these points, so even though it was a pretty heavy form of socializing (I met over 20 new people in less than 30min.) and even though I initialized most of the conversations, I was absolutely fine and enjoying myself! How weird is that?
And another thing - there were a lot of cool people around, the kind I like the energy of. It’s nice to be amongst people who are so positive and who are really taking life in their own hands. I loved the general vibe. And I actually met two women, who I really really connected with. I hope I get to see them again. I might have a good business opportunity with one of them, which would be absolutely awesome cause she was fab :) So fingers crossed that that comes through. Odd how that sort of connection can happen in less than 5 minutes, but it can.
In fact I’ve started wondering whether I shouldn’t have a go at speed dating ;) I always thought that meeting so many people in so little time was not my thing, but obviously I stand corrected :]

New Blog
And finally, I suppose the other thing that’s been on my mind a lot of late is the new version of my blog. I’m still a long way from finishing it, but just to prove I am working on it, here are two screenshots of what I’ve got so far (I’ve spent most of my time on the spam-filtering system, so there’s not that much to show, but still :)). Click on the thumbnails to see them properly:

New Blog - Main Page

New Blog - Entry Page

The sidebar will come later, once I get some of the less basic features in.

I’m not sure all my attempts at mixing things up are going that well (I think my film diary format change is actually worse than what I had before ;-P). But I’m doing some further experimentation this month anyway.
So firstly, I’m introducing a “how much I want to see the film” rating:

Secondly, I’m going to play around with the idea of including all upcoming films in a given month. We’ll see how that goes down.

+1

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (USA, 2009)
Release date: 13th August
Nicolas Cage’s presence in a film is usually enough to put me off completely (and it almost did ;-P), but there’s something about the trailer that really intrigues me (it’s probably the iguanas ;)). I haven’t seen Cage since the 90s, so I suppose it’s time to give him another chance (in fact he’s gotten great reviews for this).
The film is directed by Werner Herzog and oddly enough I’ve never seen any of his films, so it’s high time to change that. I’ve not seen either Val Kilmer or Fairuza Balk for ages, so I’m rather looking forward to that also.
Finally, there’s just something about the plot that attracts me. It sounds like it’s a repeatedly used plot idea that’s been turned upside down (I’m not sure if that description makes any sense, but that’s the best way I can describe the vibes I’m getting ;-P). All in all too many intriguing factors to ignore, so grudgingly, despite the scepticism Nicolas Cage makes me feel, I’m expecting to see it this month ;)

+0.5

Shekarchi (Iran/Germany, 2010)
Release Date: 6th August
Looks very stylish on the trailer. I’m not keen on the plot or much else though.

Step Up 3-D (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 6th August
Fully expect it to be horrible and boring, but am mildly interested because I like watching good dancing sequences in films and the ones in this one look very cool.

Despicable Me (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 20th August
Comedic super villains are my kind of thing. I’m not keen on it being animated, but the trailer does look very funny.

Hierro (Spain, 2009)
Release Date: 20th August
The trailer looks beautiful - very stylish and the cinematography is stunning. But it doesn’t have the best of reviews (very predictable plot apparently) and the plot doesn’t attract me.

Salt (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 27th August
Am curious about seeing Daniel Olbrychski (a famous Polish actor) as a Russian spy in an American movie, even though he annoys the hell out of me ;-P (he actually looks pretty good on the trailer) And I’ve still never seen Angelina Jolie in anything which is just weird ;) But I’m not convinced these two factors are enough for me to really want to see it…

0

Projekt dziecko, czyli ojciec potrzebny od zaraz (Poland, 2010)
Release Date: 6th August
Standard Polish comedy. Looks a little less horrible than most of them, but still rather unappealing.

Gentlemen Broncos (USA, 2009)
Release Date: 13th August
Probably not my type of comedy.

Grown Ups (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 13th August
Salma Hayek, Chris Rock and Maria Bello would usually spark my interest up enough to be curious, but the trailer just isn’t appealing enough to me…

L’Arnacoeur (France/Monaco, 2010)
Release Date: 13th August
Looks mildly funny, but I don’t have much of an inclination for French movies - would have to be more intrigued by it to consider it.

When You’re Strange (USA, 2009)
Release Date: 13th August
Would probably have to be a fan of The Doors to be interested in a documentary about them.

The Expendables (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 20th August
The scene on the trailer with Arnold, Bruce and Sylvester looks awesome ;) But otherwise the combination of war film, action film and lots of macho men and explosions does not appeal to me ;-P

The Switch (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 20th August
The little kid looks very funny, but otherwise it just seems to be a standard romcom.

Die Buddenbrooks (Germany, 2008)
Release Date: 20th August
A German period film… Not sure what to think really, but am not attracted to seeing it.

L’Enfer d’Henri-Georges Clouzot (France, 2009)
Release Date: 20th August
A documentary about a film Clouzot had to abandon after suffering a heart attack. Nothing much attracts me to it. It has good reviews though.

Io, Don Giovanni (Italy/Spain, 2009)
Release Date: 27th August
Italian costume drama by Carlos Saura. Hasn’t sparked my interest.

-1

Paintball (Spain, 2009)
Release Date: 6th August
Looks like a standard horror film - not my thing.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (USA/Australia, 2010)
Release Date: 13th August
Not only does it look very lame, but the reviews are horrible (imdb has an average rating of 2.2 - ouch!). And I never quite get into animated films the way I do into live action ones, so it seems like there’s very little purpose in me seeing this.

The Descent: Part 2 (UK, 2009)
Release Date: 13th August
Another horror film that doesn’t interest me in the slightest.

Święty interes (Poland, 2010)
Release Date: 27th August
A Polish comedy that I have no interest in watching.

N/A

Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
Release Date: 27th August
Already seen this one. Liked it, but don’t feel the need to see it on the big screen. Have a VHS tape of it somewhere at home anyway :)

Avatar (USA/UK, 2009)
Release Date: 27th August
Looks like they’re re-releasing for whatever reason. Seen it in 3D already and enjoyed it, but once was enough as far as I’m concerned!

According to statistics over 80% of comments left on blogs are spam. In my case it’s even worse than that as over 90% of the comments I get are spam (which is why I moderate this blog pretty heavily). Just to give you an idea - at this time there are 618 comments on this blog left by people and 7053 comments left by spambots.
Why am I suddenly writing about this out of the blue? Well for one thing, the topic is generally on my mind these days as I’m working on more efficient ways of dealing with it on future websites. But also, I just got one of the most ridiculous pieces of spam ever and thought I’d share ;) I removed the links, so they won’t work, but otherwise here it is in all its glory:

HELP! I?m currently being held prisoner by the Russian mafia xyzrxyz penis enlargement xyzrxyz and being forced to post spam comments on blogs! If you don?t approve this they will kill me. xyzrxyz penis enlargement xyzrxyz They?re coming back now. Please send help!

Hopefully, this list will be a pleasant contrast to the villain one *grin*
Originally, this was supposed to be a list of characters in the “knightly honour” sort of vein. The trouble was, I could think of only two characters that fitted all the criteria I was looking for, so I dropped the “knightly” part and decided modern heroes would do too. And then my list grew to an astounding three characters ;) So, er yeah, I’m not doing too well with this one…

The Criteria

• By “moral quest” I mean that the hero has very strong moral beliefs and convictions and they try to apply them regardless of the inconveniences this may cause. For example, they might protect somebody they hate if they feel that is the right thing to do in the circumstances.
• It’s supposed to be a list of rather archetypal kind of heroes i.e. pure, “white”, perfect, occupies free time by saving damsels in distress… that sort of thing.
• Only heroes that are very earnest about their “moral quests” make this list. They really have to mean what they say and do.
• While these sorts of heroes do tend to have a certain innocence about themselves, Forrest Gump type heroes don’t make the cut. The characters on this list should understand and choose their moral quests rather than stumble into them by accident.

Generally, I suppose I’m more into villains and flawed heroes than I am into archetypal heroes, but heroes with moral quests are the exception to the rule - I really, really love them *misty eyes* One of the awesomest things about them are the moral conflicts they get themselves into - I really enjoy watching the melodrama that ensues *grin*
Unfortunately, they’re very rare and very difficult to pull off. Most often what we get in commercial movies are heroes fighting for their own survival or taking revenge for something. And in the relatively rare cases when the hero is fighting “for the greater good”, the greater good tends to mean “get rid of the bad guys by any means possible”.
On a side not, I can’t think of even one heroine that would fit my criteria. It’s only heroes *sigh*

The reason I fell in love with Arthurian legends is this precisely - I have never come across another story which has so many moral quest kind of heroes. Heck, they even go on a moral quest literally speaking - that is exactly what the quest for the Holy Grail is!
Sadly, when the legends get translated to screen, the whole moral quest part of the story is usually removed or performed disearnestly. This is literally the only character in the many Arthurian films I’ve seen that qualifies onto the list.

I don’t like the film much - IMO it hasn’t aged well. However, as a character and performance Rodrigo is magnificent *grin* The integrity of the character is second to none and the emotional conflicts in the story are amazing.
Like Arthurian legends, it’s based on a medieval romance. That really was the best era for those kinds of heroes *sigh*

I never even realized this until I started writing this list, but Fraser is basically a modern day knight *grin* He believes in much the same values and has many of the same behaviours. He even goes on quests… sort of. It’s just that it’s not dragons and stuff, his quests are a little more modern ;) I suppose this explains why I’ve always taken so strongly to him *grin*
On a side note, I have mixed feelings about whether the third season of Due South (1997-1999) would have qualified. Some of the time in the third series, the character is a bit too farcical to be earnest thereby not making my criteria. He easily qualifies on the merit of the first two seasons though.

He really is getting better at this sort of thing ;) It’s a really nice interview :)

{FILM DIARY}
Note: Please refer to this post for more details and links to other Due South reviews.

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)

Viewed: Late May & Early June 2010
Rating: +3 (All-time favourite)

Video

Episodes:
- 14: The Man Who Knew Too Little
Fraser has to safely escort Ian McDonald, a key murder case witness and a pathological liar, to Canada.
- 15: The Wild Bunch
Diefenbaker is to be exterminated after biting a man.
- 16: The Blue Line
Fraser and Ray try to protect Fraser’s childhood friend, Mark, now a famous hockey player. Fraser finds that fame has changed Mark.
- 17: The Deal
Fraser and Ray investigate the robbery of a church poor-box. During the investigation Ray has to face Frank Zuko, a mobster who Ray first came across when he was still a kid at school.
- 18: An Invitation to Romance
Fraser is forced to follow a woman around town after she mistakenly receives an envelope that was meant for somebody else. Her jealous fiancé intervenes.
- 19: Heaven and Earth
Fraser and Ray try to track down a homeless man with psychic visions. Ray worries that Fraser slept with his sister.
- 20: Victoria’s Secret (1)
Victoria is the only woman Fraser ever loved and he was the one that arrested her. Now Victoria is out of prison and their paths cross again.
- 21: Victoria’s Secret (2)
Continuation of the story from episode 20.
- 22: Letting Go
Fraser recovers emotionally and physically after the events of episode 20 and 21.
- 1: North
The cabin of Fraser’s father burnt down in one of the previous episodes. Fraser and Ray fly to Canada to rebuild it, but an escaped convict crashes their plane in the middle of the forest.
- 2: The Vault
Ray and Fraser get locked into a bank vault during a robbery. Fraser’s new boss, Meg Thatcher, absolutely detests him.
- 3: The Witness
Ray loses his temper with a judge after a key witness in a case he investigated changes her statement in court. The judge has Ray arrested for contempt charges.
- 4: Bird in the Hand
Gerard, the murderer of Fraser’s father escapes prison. Having known Gerard all his life, Fraser is asked for any information that might help recapture the man.
- 5: The Promise
A pickpocket steals a brooch belonging to Fraser’s new boss. Fraser promises to retrieve it.
- 6: The Mask
Fraser tries to recover two Aboriginal masks after they are stolen from a Chicago museum.
- 7: Juliet Is Bleeding
Detective Louey Gardino dies in a car bomb meant for Ray. Frank Zuko is suspected since Ray has been flirting with Zuko’s sister.
- 8: One Good Man
Fraser asks reporter Mackenzie King for help, when his building’s new landlord raises the rent and evicts all the tenants.

Memorable Moments:
- Ray being forced to blow up his car
IMO this was actually a way more personal and difficult thing for him than falling in love in episode 11 ;)
- Fraser having to deal with his wolf being exterminated
I think this is the first time in the series when Fraser gets really emotional (in his own restrained way of course, but still ;-P).
- Ray facing up to Frank Zuko
Ray often appears to be the weaker of the two of them. But this is a scene in which he finally faces up to somebody, man to man, with absolutely no backup from Fraser whatsoever and it’s beautiful *grin*
- Fraser ending up in a honey moon hotel with a woman and then following that with a ride inside the garbage can of a garbage truck (video - the bit with Ray)
That whole sequence is brilliant. But perhaps my favourite is when Ray discusses the matter with Diefenbaker - where would Fraser end up with a beautiful woman?
- Ray confronting Fraser about whether or not he slept with his sister
Ray confronting Fraser about anything is always fun, but this is a particularly involving subject ;)
- The whole relationship between Fraser and Victoria and how Ray fits into it
I find it difficult to pick a particular moment, but I suppose there are two that stand in my mind more than others. The first is when Ray tells Victoria that if she hurts Fraser he’ll kill her. The second is when Victoria manipulates Fraser into playing along with her plan by threatening to hurt Ray. But actually, the whole relationship between Fraser and Victoria is great. She’s a femme fatale and Fraser really works well in that sort of relationship.
- Fraser announcing he’s blind (video)
I find that scene so funny and yet it has an extra edge to it too.
- Ray carrying Fraser (who is blind and paralysed waist down) through the forest while the two of them sing (video)
To me it’s one of the funniest scenes of the series, it’s beautiful *grin*
- Fraser trying to steal candy
Another really hilarious one :)
- The ghost of Fraser’s dad trying to talk him into killing Gerard (video embedded above)
A really funny, but very emotional scene.
- Fraser talking about feelings to unnerve FBI agents
The whole “Bird in the Hand” episode is very extreme on both the funny and emotional side of things. This scene is the epitome of that. Fraser and Ray have been overpowered. Fraser tries to divert everybody’s attention to get the upper hand and so he starts talking about his feelings towards Gerard, his father’s best friend and murderer. It’s completely earnest and yet the whole situation is hilarious - the agents and Gerard really are unnerved and with good reason lol
- The whole police station hating Fraser’s guts for helping Frank Zuko
It’s intense, enough said :] Fraser’s relationship with Ray suffers considerably too.
- Fraser losing his temper with the new landlord’s attempts to get everybody out of the building
Seeing Fraser angry is even weirder than seeing him on the verge of tears. He even picks up an axe in fury (though what ensues is more of a fist fight). But it works and totally makes sense in the context.

General Comments:
At this point Ray and Fraser’s adventures get much more personal. Though the comedy is still very firmly in place, drama and melodrama start getting a lot more prominence. Ray and Fraser’s friendship gets tried and tested. The conflicts between them get more serious, but at the same time the strength of their friendship really starts coming through.
The characters get fleshed out more as well. Fraser was always written as someone who is very restrained about his feelings. So they started playing with that more, putting him into situations where he’s a lot more emotionally vulnerable and where exercising his usual restraint is much more difficult. I also loved that Ray, for all his insensitivity at times, understands this part of Fraser. He knows that just because Fraser isn’t showing his feelings, doesn’t mean he’s not in some sort of emotional turmoil.
We get a slightly different angle on Ray as well. His limits and boundaries are pushed. We see how far he’d go in keeping his friends and family from harm. His vengeful side is explored more too.
The beginning of the second season marks the introduction of a new character - Fraser’s new supervisor, Meg Thatcher, who absolutely hates him and bosses him around in a very domineering kind of fashion (to which Fraser submits without question of course). I absolutely loved the relationship - it’s very spicy and it’s a relationship dynamic that is very rarely represented on film. Usually, a domineering woman is either a villain or a rival to a male character, but what goes on between Thatcher and Fraser is neither.

Last week marked 60 years since the Korean war (1950-1953) broke out. As Al Jazeera aptly points out, it has largely been forgotten in the West despite the huge destruction and death toll it caused. Around 4mln people died in the three years in which the fighting ensued, around half of them civilians. Apparently, the USA dropped more napalm bombs in those 3 years in Korea than in the 20 years they fought in Vietnam. It was also the first time the UN got involved in a military conflict.
This list is sort of my way to mark the occasion. North Korea remains a huge threat to the world. Throughout the years, it has continued to conduct nuclear weapon tests in the open and is host to about 15 concentration camps.

Films about North Korea are very hard to come by. The challenge for documentary filmmakers is huge - getting into North Korea is one thing, but getting out safely with uncensored film material is another. Perhaps ironically, feature films about North Korea are even scarcer.

Any list of films about North Korea would be incomplete without this one. It was one of the first documentary films ever made about North Korea by a foreign director.
Andrzej Fidyk got into North Korea easily because Poland was itself a communist regime at the time. He got out easily too as he shot no forbidden material and hid nothing from the censors. In fact, he didn’t even use a narrator in the film. There is a Polish voice-over, but it’s only purpose is to translate what the North Koreans he filmed were saying.
The film is just shot after shot of North Koreans praising their country and their leader. What the censors didn’t get was the irony and sarcasm with which Fidyk put it all together. It watches like a Monty Python film. You sort of feel bad for laughing, but it really is hilarious. And in actuality, it tells you more about the regime than you could find out in any other way.

Almost twenty years later Fidyk gets approached by a Norwegian human rights organization. Would he like to tackle the topic of North Korea again? Poland is now a democratic country and part of the EU. North Korea hates Fidyk’s ass for getting away with his previous film and he is basically a persona non grata. And the subject matter is even more difficult - the documentary is to be about North Korea’s concentration camps, a topic very rarely even written about, let alone put on film.
Fidyk wonders how this can be accomplished. The point is not just to make it, but to get it seen and the subject feels much too heavy to be appealing to a broader audience. Finally, he finds the solution in the title of his previous film - “defilada” means “parade”. North Korea stages the most spectacular and amazing parades in the world. So Fidyk sets out to find a director of such spectacles amongst the many North Korean refugees in South Korea. Upon finding such a man, he talks him into making a stage musical (a very popular art form in South Korea) about North Korean concentration camps and involve North Korean concentration camp survivors in the production. And now Fidyk’s stage is set - the documentary will simply detail the process of making the musical.
The result of this was a very beautiful documentary that was shown at many major documentary film festivals and a stage musical that toured not only South Korea, but the USA also.

Simon and Jacob, two Danish-Korean comedians, travel to North Korea with their manager on a cultural exchange. It’s an attempt to laugh at the regime in front of their very noses (and they actually pull it off - as Defilada proved, North Koreans seem to have no sense of irony and sarcasm).
But the real reason that makes this film special is Jacob and his handicap - he’s spastic and this has very far-reaching consequences for the film.
Firstly, the censors don’t understand what he’s saying. Their translators can translate the gist of normal Danish into Korean, but not spastic Danish (even Danes have problems understanding Jacob until they get used to his manner of speaking). This means that Jacob is totally free to express his mind at all times. As he’s naturally very honest and out-spoken it makes for some very interesting scenes!
Secondly, if Jacob had been born in North Korea, he would have probably been killed at birth. Handicapped people are very unusual in North Korea and it’s very interesting to see how North Koreans treat him. The relationship between him and Mrs Pak, their minder, is particularly weird. Jacob seems exasperated by her motherly attentions at first (she takes an instant and honest liking to him), but they do develop a sort of bond.
Jacob is very much the heart of the film. Some of the most poignant comments about the regime are made by him.

Special Mentions:
I’ve watched quite a few films about North Korea over the years, but the three I’ve listed are the only ones I would whole-heartedly recommend. There is, however, one more film I’d like to make mention of…

• The Schoolgirl’s Diary (North Korea, 2006)
  This was one of the biggest box office hits ever in North Korea, apparently. It’s also one of very few North Korean films that made it out of the country (it didn’t get very far, mind you - just far enough that if you’re really interested in seeing a film from North Korea, you might be able to find it somewhere with huge difficulty).
  If you’ve ever seen any Soviet propaganda films then you’ll have a good idea of what the film is like (North Korea is one of very few countries that still uses socialist realism principles in art). But while Soviet cinema had some fantastic filmmakers and film schools, North Korea does not appear to. Cinematically the film is pretty boring.
  The story is that of a girl, who is angry with her father. He’s a scientist and he works so hard that he neglects the family. Yet for all his work, he has no results to show - they live in greater poverty than most families, his work receives no praise and he’s never at home with them. They don’t see him for weeks, sometimes even months. Of course in the end he succeeds, the girl realizes she was wrong and the moral of the story is that hard work pays off.
  I mention this film for one reason only - it’s a very rare opportunity to see a North Korean feature film. Otherwise, it is not worth viewing IMO.
  Edited to Add: See the trailer here.

{FILM SPOTTING}

Eyes Wide Open (Israel/Germany/France, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 2nd July 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 20th May 2009
Runtime: 91′
Director: Haim Tabakman
Production House: Arte, Das Kleine Fernsehspiel (ZDF), Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Israel Film Fund, Keshet Broadcasting, Pimpa Film Productions, Riva Filmproduktion, Totally
Plot: (from imdb)

A married, Orthodox Jewish father of four falls in love with a twenty two year old male student.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
The theme of the film might be more interesting than the film itself.

The excited part of me thinks that…
It did well at last year’s Cannes festival apparently and the premise really does sound unusual.

Inception (USA/UK, 2010)

Release Date (Poland): 30th July 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 13th July 2010
Runtime: 148′
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine
Production House: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy
Plot: (from imdb)

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

Trailer
There are a couple of trailers out there and all of them look cool, but my favourite is this one.

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
It could be just another Hollywood special effects kind of film… though I kind of doubt it.

The excited part of me thinks that…
It has an absolutely awesome cast. The premise and trailers look pretty exciting too.