2013 Best Performances in Television (in no Order)

Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black 

This woman was a force to be reckoned with in Orphan Black.  Maslany played a tech geek, a suburban mom, a police officer on the ropes, a young woman fighting to be in her daughters life while pretending to be one of her look a likes, and a crazy Russian woman to name a few.  There are actresses who have played twins before, but Maslany took the concept of playing different characters who look a like to a whole new level.  This girl just earned a Golden Globe nomination today, and won two critics award for this role; she is great.

Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra

Hard to pick just one man in this duo, if I had to pick I would honestly pick Damon because he does so much with a much less showy role.  Yet you can't help not think that Douglas is beyond amazing as the genius musical talent Liberace from the voice, to the mannerisms.  These two men took on one of the most challenging films about a complicated relationship in the spotlight, enraptured with youth.  Liberace was a complicated man, and Douglas played him perfectly.  Damon played the flaws in Scotty better than existed in the book the film was based.  Damon got the innocence, the selfishness, the love, every emotion spot on, something hard to embellish. 

Orange is the New Black Ensemble 

Like with Damon and Douglas, how do you pick just one of these women?  Here are a few to highlight.

Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman

At first glance Piper is the least interesting character, and she is the lead, but as you watch you see this once privileged women become part of a much more complicated world.  As Piper spends more time in prison you feel her pain, anguish, and also see her grow.

Taryn Manning as Tiffany 'Pensatucky' Doggett

Nuts, is as easy way to describe this former meth head turned fundamentalist.  Manning is brilliant, and frightening within this role, you have to hate her, but you almost admire that you hate her.

Kate Mulgrew as Galina 'Red' Reznikov

Red runs the prison, but in her personal life she was a nobody.  As you watch Mulgrew run the show, and lose control you see vulnerability in a woman who does not want to be able to give up power; she is fantastic.

Uzo Aduba as Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes Warren

When you first meet 'Crazy Eyes' as she falls for Piper, you assume, well crazy, but as you get to know and understand the complexity to her character you see another deeper more meaningful understanding of a misunderstood person.

Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset 

This is the best representation of transgender identity in popular culture to date.  Cox is a brilliant actress; she knows who she is, and dealing with her trans identity in a prison world is complex  Cox does a great job with this role.

These are just five of the numerous great performances that make up the Orange is the Black Ensemble.

Corey Stoll in House of Cards

Stoll played Representative Peter Russo, a man caught in Francis Underwood's (Kevin Spacey) cross hairs in his master plan to manipulate.  Peter not only navigates the tricky political world but a relationship with a staffer and an addiction to drugs and and alcohol. It's hard to outshine Kevin Spacey, the man is force in everything he does, but Corey Stoll goes toe to toe with him, and while he may not win;  he puts up a good fight.

Allison Janney in Mom/Masters of Sex 

What can't Allison Janney do? Janney is stealing the show Mom on a weekly basis as Bonnie a grandmother, mother, and recovering alcohol and drug addict.  Janney's timing is perfect, and she makes this show better week after week.  Janney is not just about the laughs her recurring guest role on Masters of Sex has provided a richer context to show, and the development of a woman's sexual awakening in the 1960s.  This woman is a chameleon, and its hard to ignore her greatness.

Dean Norris in Breaking Bad 

While Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are the obvious choices, the standout of the the last season of Breaking Bad was Hank.  From the moment Hank sees the abbreviated intitals on the toilet, to the intense confrontation in the garage with Walt, and tries to make things right for his family you sit of the edge of your seat.  Norris was great as Hank, and while the character had moments of being one note throughout most of the earlier seasons, this season added to his depth, and a lot of credit goes to Norris' acting.

Josh Charles in The Good Wife 

Wow, just wow! Josh Charles grabbed a Golden Globe nominee today, he also has an Emmy nomination for this role from a couple of seasons ago, man has he knocked his emotional journey out of the park this year.  Will was "betrayed" by Alicia the woman he loved at one point leaving their firm as he now refers to as LG, and he is on a tear sleeping with the anti-Alicia trying to be there for clients to way Alicia was, this guy just knocks every moment of of the park, if you aren't watching this show, start. 

Elysium gets Bogged Down by it's Heavy-Handed Message, and Fails to Succeed in Creating a Worthwhile Film Experience

Elysium (2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed and Written by Neil Blomkamp (District 9)

Starring: Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, and Jodie Foster

Back in 2009 District 9 was one of the most inventive films of the year, science fiction or otherwise.  Writer/Director Neil Blomkamp's District 9 subtle analogies created an original experience.  Blomkamp not only proved adept in creating tense action packed sequences, but also showed the complexity of society, and the way this effects humanity.  One of my favorite films of the year.  Four years later Blomkamp is back behind the camera, but there is something different.

In 2154 the richest people live outside the Earth on a space station named Elysium.  Life on the space station is portrayed as a Utopian experience.   On Elysium there are only mansions surrounded by palm trees, and the biggest perk is the machines in everyone's homes which cure them from disease, while they have brain function.  Life on this space station is truly paradise, even though we only "get to know" one character in this society Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Foster), who is both ruthless, and manipulative.

The focus of the film is getting to Elysium, and  Max (Damon) who hopes that one day he can take his childhood love Frey (Alex Braga) to the station.  Max lives on Earth, along with the rest of the 99 percent, which has become the third world, filled with crime, poverty, and disease .  Max ends up in a life or death situation, with some cool Aliens like attachments on his body, which forces his hand to try and get to Elysium, save himself, and potentially save society on Earth from ruin.

There is something missing in this film, and I think most of that is the originality.  It's never fair to hold up a film to a director's other work, because each film is a different passion project.  You wouldn't compare Martin Scorsese's Hugo to Taxi Driver.  Yet this is Blomkamp's second major feature, and within the same genre so the comparisons need to be made.  While District 9 felt like this cool original project, Elysium feels like a major studio induced action rush, and  been there done that experience.

The major problem within this film is in the script. Elysium has two problems running throughout this film, the cliche, and the heavy handed social message.  Without giving much away, one of the last scenes has Max talking to Frey as the tension builds, Max should should taking action but holds what seems like a five minute conversation, my eyes rolled, and I wanted to yell a the screen, there is no need to make this drag out, your doing this and the emotional impact, which should be there is not, just get to what you need to do!

The other problem is the nature in which the message is delivered, shoved down your throat.  There have been many articles that conservatives have slammed this film for being preachy on aspects like the 1%, immigration, health care, and on and on.  While agree with the direction of the message the film hands the message on shovel, and not in the right dosage. Blomkamp's direction sometimes slows down to allow audiences to get a feel for what he is attempting to say, but the rest of the time the film feels as though it's too busy trying to fire on all cylinders. I miss the days of science fiction films, when "the message" was subtle to they did not try to hard to convey several messages.  Blomkamp tries to hard to convey too much at once without letting you care about or understand the characters, and their surrounding.

While the character development was somewhat poorly done, Matt Damon is solid as Max. I think Damon is a great actor, and he was the saving grace for within this film; he knows how to carry the weight of a film like this on his shoulders, he did the same thing with Bourne.  The only problem I have with his casting is that the film highlights the diversity of Earth, in fact most of the people on Earth, are Latino/Hispanic or black, yet a white man is meant to save them all?  I can't help but roll my eyes at the thought of a film, which could have capitalized more on the the message, and rather a big name star who would live on Elysium.

I would have liked to explore more about Elysium, my guess is that Blomkamp, was highlighting that everyone was like Foster Delacourt, I hope not, with that terrible, I am guessing fake British accent.  I am never one to side with one percenters, but you can't make all of your villains so one note, and cartoonish, it will come across as shrill. Speaking of one note, and cartoonish,  Sharlto Copley who was the star of District 9 returns to work with Blomkamp in a very different role.  Copley plays Kruger an off the books mercenary who works for Delacourt.  Copley uses his South African accent, but heightened for some reason, and went way beyond the cliche villain with the mustache twirl.  Copley was excellent at the subtle if District 9, he should have probably been Oscar nominated, but his character is a mess here, and is evil for the sake of being evil, again I blame the writing more.

The problems outweigh anything good in this film, from the cartoon like villains, the heavy handed messages, and don't get me started on the story of the meerkat and the hippo told by Frey's young cancer ridden daughter. Elysium tries to be cool, and feel important in the same breath, but can't seem to figure how to do both. The film does have some cool moments, and some great bombastic action sequences, but not enough to save this from collapsing under the gravity of the weighed down message.

Behind the Candelabra is an Impressive feat of Honesty in Representing Liberace and Scott, and the Development

Behind the Candelabra (4 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Contagion)

Written by: Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County)

Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe, and Scott Bakula

On a yearly basis HBO rolls out a film, which is a landmark event not only for the network, but makes an impact on the landscape of television.  From Angels in America to Band of Brothers, Recount, Mildred Pierce, and last year's film Game Change.  These are only a few television films, which have changed the perception of television film concept.  In the past many television movie/miniseries were a little hooky, and melodramatic.  The films/miniseries listed are some of the best television of all time.  Behind the Candelabra, competed at the Cannes Film Festival.  HBO has once again pushed the boundaries and made a great film.

Candelabra focuses on not just Liberace (Michael Douglas), but two men, the other being his male lover/boyfriend/partner Scott Thorson (Matt Damon).  The film chronicles the six year relationship of these men through the ups and downs of the late 70s early 80s.  Candelabra is more than a biopic of these two men, but rather a tale in love, morality, and a journey as director Steven Soderbergh says "down the rabbit hole" into high priced fame and fortune.

Soderbergh is is the perfect director to take people "down the rabbit hole" he has knack for character driven stories, which do not hold anything back.  Most recently his films Contagion, Side Effects, and even Magic Mike do a great job exploring the nature of characters within their specific situations.  In this case you have two men, Liberace who has been deemed this massively talented entertainer, and has built an empire out of this in Las Vegas.  Then you have Scott who finds himself entranced by the man, and everything he has to offer. 

Part of the credit is due to screen writer LaGravenese.  LaGravenese interestingly enough had a very eclectic screen writing background ranging from The Fisher King to this year's Beautiful Creatures.  LaGravenese uses the book written by Scott Thorson which slants things against the man who tinkled the ivories.  As you see by the end of the film, and Scott is thrown out and given nothing for his time in sun, but this Soderbergh/ LaGravenese version explores the context of both men.  Liberace had a penchant for younger men (the real Scott was 18 when they met), and his fetishizing of youth comes across as manipulative, especially when he forces Scott to get plastic surgery to look more like him.  On the other hand Soderbergh and  LaGravenese explore the other side of the coin with Scotty.  Scotty never says "no" does not walk away even when loses things valuable to him from his past.  Scott is a representation of the materialistic younger boy who is transported to a world he had never experienced.

Part of the strength within the added context is the layered performances from Damon and Douglas.  Damon's Scott goes from the quiet young farm boy, the manipulative disco queen, with a snap.  Watching him lose himself as he is sucked into the world, while also becoming this other person is one of the most interesting character studies on film.  Few films have explored the birth of this gay materialism with such forthright frankness and honesty.  Damon had this characteristic while exploring Tom Ripley back in 1999, but his acting chops have grown, and this role proves he can dance with the big boys.

Douglas's Liberace is also an incredible accomplishment.  Douglas never takes things over the top, never mimics; he owns the role.  While I was more fascinated by Damon's role and his acting, Douglas clearly is a master at portraying the confidence, and vulnerability within Liberace.  Part of the strengths to the way this role is portrayed provide this indelible larger than life image.  Liberace was not only a man of talent, but adored by many; he had an image to live down, or up to, however you want to understand him.  Douglas gets lost in the role, and never lets you forget every moment of the characters joy and misery; he captures each action perfectly.

Recently Steven Soderbergh gave a speech about the downturn of film, and the way the human drama is no longer relevant the way it was in older films.  Soderbergh's speech has elements I agree with, and ones in which I disagree with.  Film/television etc have evolved (just look at the influence of Hulu, and Netflix).  People are consuming media in different formats.  Behind the Candelabra works on HBO, because of the willingness to provide freedom of expression, and not having the make the film more mainstream audience friendly to turn a profit.  Soderbergh's film will be remembered as great mainly because it was an impressive (well shot) feat of honesty that is an impressive character study.  Soderbergh has his own style, and it works so well with this film because its not a "gay film" but an character study, which helps you to have better understanding of people, and their era.

The Expendables and the Evolution of Masculinity in Action Films

No, this is not a review, merely a commentary on the current state of the action films, and their evolution throughout time.  The Expendables 2 stars some big names, most so famous you can recognize them by their last name: Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Stratham, Lundgren, Van Damme, Norris, Willis, and Li.  These guys have made names for themselves starring in films from the 70s until the present in films that not only star them, but star the explosions that center around them.  From The Terminator to The Transporter these films rarely rely on their dialogue.  Although their films did tell us "I'll be back" and have provided some great quotable moments.  Today's action films center on something different, sure the action/explosions are there, look at the Bourne series or the evolution of the James Bond franchise, and how can you forget the massively successful Transformers, but is the action hero different?  Are these men truly an expendable icon today?

What happened to that big macho beefy guy who "picked things up and put them down." Sure they still exist, and when I watch an action film I almost have to wipe the drool from my chin because of Ryan Reynolds or Hugh Jackman's glistening abs, but there is something different about these two guys.  At times there is something more complex about the role of an action hero today, which sometimes involves a back story or makes the guy stand out.  Today action films star Lebeouf, Damon, Depp, and Bloom.  What an interesting combination of names and while some are recognizable by last name Lebeouf, Damon, I doubt many would categorize them as "action" stars.  

One of my favorite lines about Damon comes from Paul Rudd's character in 40 Year Old Virgin  "You know, I always thought that Matt Damon was like a Streisand, but I think he’s rockin’ the shit in this one!" Most guys do not define Damon as an action star because he dares to take roles that men would not define as "masculine" films like We Bought a Zoo, or The Talented Mr. Ripley.  While most of Damon's roles are "masculine" they miss the hyper masculine mark of the 70s, 80s, and early to mid 90s.  Damon has emotional connections, there is no detachment. 

The same can be said for Lebeouf; he may be the male lead in the Transformers series, and he gets the "hottest" girls in the franchise, but he doesn't done a uniform like Tyrese or Josh Duhamel, but yet he is billed as the largest star, or the central character in the film.  I do not remember seeing much about Tyrese's characters family; he is the the one you see detached from the outside, but yet he would represent the more typical representation of masculinity.

The same can said for Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.  These two men starred in one of the most successful trilogies of the 2000s, and Depp went on to star in the fourth film, and there is not a hard edge to be found in either of these two characters.  Jack Sparrow could be considered weak, while he is out for himself; he is also the modern representation of the "action hero."  More films are being made with a character like this than with a guy like the Terminator these days.  Will Turner (Bloom) is another mold for action heroes today; he is the lover and the fighter.  What's different?  A lot of the guys above had lovers, the difference is that Bloom's style is more feminine he is a romantic/poetic fighter.  Sure Sly had Adrien in his rocky films, but that was "man's" love and he was just a simple guy, but also in control.

Together these four different actors represent versions of the current male action star, something new, something different.  What happened to the old guard?  Why do we we need a special engagement or one film to represent that old school action hero?  Times have changed, do these older guys, or style of film fit within today's world? Yes, no, and why do they to?  A lot of questions posed, and different answers from different film theorists.  Even men like Vin Diesel have done films like The Pacifier and their action status has faded.

In my opinion a film like The Expendables, and Expendables 2 has its place in the film spectrum because it represents a snapshot of film history.  While these films may not be Hamlet, or any other classic work of art they represent a time stamp, which proves that there is room for a variety of films.  I represent the more "modern man." I am sensitive, queer, and smile, have emotions.  I like films like Easy A, Mean Girls, and to go cliche old school Beaches and Steel Magnolias.  On the flip side I like to see things get blown up from Die Hard and T-2, to Bourne and the most recent Bond films.  Today's "modern man" seems to be able to reconcile variety, we like all different kinds of films, and sometimes the cheap action does not work for us, we want a story.   I speak for this non statistical group of men, with whom I am defining as "modern." 

The "modern" men are guys like Damon, Bloom, LeBeouf, not many are like Johnny Depp, but there are enough.  Men used to be defined in the same style as these action films tough or fag.  I say say fag because most men thought/think this.  Male celebrity has evolved throughout the ages.  From John Wayne to Depp there has been a more diverse representation.  Producers are willing to go out on a limb because a character is popular.  Film studios are not in the game of reinventing gender norms, they just follow the financial trends.  Something changed the action star, whether that be societal norms, or audiences wanting more with their action.  Studying gender in action films could be an entire book, or even a couple volumes one book studying each decade.  

The release of the Expendables and its sequel this Friday prove nostalgia is never a thing of the past, and there are audiences craving for that hyper masculine representation once in a while.  Variety is the spice of life, and while I think a mass production of films within this vein would be a big mistake, there needs to be something for everyone.  I am kind of looking forward to this film, it does not fit into my standard repertoire of film taste, but there is something about embracing my masculinity ever once in a while.  Ironically I am sure most men don't discuss their masculinity, but someone needs to.  I can see Bloom and Damon starring in a film about that next, entitled "The Sensitivity of Being Male."