"The Strain" Pilot: What the hell, Guillermo?

I was pretty excited for Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain novel when it first came out. Blade 2 is one of my all-time favorite vampire/superhero films, and the premise of an ancient vampiric virus being unleashed onto Manhattan following a mysterious plane arrival at JFK sounded promising. Ultimately though, what could have been a Del Toro homerun, combining his imaginative storytelling with icky organic science, turned out to be an uneven careening mess. I made it through the second book, but never felt the need to finish the trilogy. Still, when the show was announced, I was reminded of all the cool visual moments the books contain and told myself that a good show could actually be extracted from the source material, especially since GDT is a visual storyteller first and foremost. Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the case and, if anything, the show's pilot is even weaker the novel itself.

Though it boasts a quality cast on paper ( Corey Stoll and David Bradley should make for compelling leads going forward), the secondary actors are cringe-worthy across the board. There are several points during the pilot, and it starts right from the get-go with the laughably bad worried flight attendants, that only manage to distract rather than immerse us into the story. It's also concerning that some of the bad acting -- from the unconvincing gang bangers or Corey Stoll's partner for example -- will ostensibly be recurring problems going forward. Yes, this is television and they don't have an exhaustive budget, but they quite simply should have done a better job casting some of these roles.

But not all the blame can be laid at the actors' or casting's feet. The dialogue is stilted and clichéd, and the direction itself is generally lackluster and unimaginative. Sure, the effects are quite good and there's always GDT's signature gold/blue contrasted look with reds that really pop, but the jump scares and story beats feel completely phoned in. The pilot isn't particularly spry or suspenseful, and what sounded visceral and cool on page now only looks good. Tighter direction and editing are desperately needed here.

Considering how much time the creators have had to handle the source material, it's sad to see they could only expose its flaws rather than enhance it. Yes, this is a potentially cool vampire story on an epic scale, but just like with Pacific Rim we should expect and demand much better from Guillermo Del Toro.



 


  

"Extant" Pilot: A good enough start that doesn't leave you wanting much more.

The pilot begins with Halle Berry's astronaut character, Molly, returning to earth and her family after spending 13 months in space on a solo mission -- a time during which she's somehow managed to get herself pregnant. Because the space agency's physician is a friend, Molly manages to keep that little bit of news under wraps while she figures out what exactly she should do about that thing growing in her tummy. It's a bit of a stretch considering the implications -- pop culture alone should convince the doctor that it's a giant no no to let Molly walk around freely -- but fine, we'll run with it for the purposes of the story.

Fortunately for the viewer, this is isn't Lost. The show doesn't appear to be all that interested in indefinitely prolonging the suspense of Halle Berry's immaculate conception, and the writers clearly know where they're going with the central mystery. Already within this pilot episode, we're shown just by whom and when Molly probably came to be impregnated, and several big clues are dropped as to establish the various supporting characters motivations and intentions going forward.  

Yes, there appears to be a conspiracy surrounding Molly's mission, and, if there is a conspiracy, then there naturally has to be a nefarious corporation involved -- at least as far as Molly's health and family are concerned. The privatized space agency and its CEO, played by Helix's Hiroyuki Sanada, clearly already know about alien life-forms out there, and they very much intend to exploit the happenings of Molly's mission to their advantage.

But Molly's battles won't only be on the work front. At home, she has to contend with her estranged family that she up and left for more than a year. There's her husband, Goran Visjnic, that she keeps in the dark about the pregnancy, and his creation: their son, an android child played by that great creepy kid from Looper. The child, the first fully-realized version of its kind, is very much Spielberg going back to Kubrick's well that keeps on giving, and his side of the story plays like an A.I. prequel of sorts.  

While the evil corporation and android child aspects don't feel particularly fresh, there's a lot to like in Extant. The production values are top notch and miles above that other Spielberg produced show Falling Skies. The casting is solid across the board and worthy of a bigger screen, and there are plenty of sci-fi ideas and concepts being thrown around within a grounded, believable future. Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be all that much excitement to look forward to. 

The central mystery is intriguing enough, but, with the way it's being handled, it's difficult to see how it will have enough steam to push the show through an entire season. The end of the pilot doesn't really leave you with a strong urge for answers, and unless there are major twists and turns up ahead, so much already seems to have been revealed and laid out that the shows success will hinge more on flawless execution than anything else. Still, it's a commendable start for a hugely ambitious CBS show, and the talent involved alone will warrant sticking with the story for a little while at least.

"The Divide" (11): a fully satisfying low-budget pretend prequel to the "Fallout" game series.

A cataclysmic bomb of unknown origins drops on New York. Luckily for a handful of panicked tenants who hopelessly try to flee their building, they run into their super, Michael Biehn, who turns out to be a paranoid doomsday-prepper who has turned the building's basement into a fully-stocked fallout shelter. He just wasn't expecting any company.

So eight neighbors all of a sudden find themselves trapped in their building's basement. They've survived the attack, but they know they'll eventually run out of supplies. But maybe that's not the biggest issue.

A group of armed Asian soldiers in sci-fi hazmat suits barge into the shelter one day, kidnap the only child, and attempt to kill off the rest of the survivors. Though the group manages to make it out alive, this event not only turns some of them into killers, but it also exposes them to the deadly radiation.

Left for dead after the soldiers retreat and seal them off from the outside world for good, and with no information or ways to contact anyone, the remaining survivors slowly begin turning on each other as they fall sick and descend into madness and despair. Alphas emerge, tensions rise, the women become targets, and...

I'm assuming most of you haven't seen this so I won't go ahead and spoil too much of it. Though Xavier Gens' The Divide is not a great movie in the traditional sense, its oppressive atmosphere and portrayal of a rapidly declining society is gleefully hard to watch for horror fans who might be into that sort of thing. Biehn is great, as always, but it's Milo Ventimiglia and Michael Eklund who steal the show as they grow into feral psychopaths. This movie may actually just have you believing that they are great actors by the end of its runtime.

So if you love horror movies and Fallout, I strongly recommend you check this one out. Maybe you won't get where I'm coming from at first, but you definitely will by the time that bleak yet exciting -- in a what if way -- ending rolls around. It's too bad there'll probably never be a sequel, because I'm definitely down for more.

On THE TRIP - A scatterbrained travel journal.

The Trip is my attempt at doing something semi productive whenever I have a few minutes to spare. It's a stream of thought, non-linear, verbal diarrhea experiment that I've been posting in small chunks with the aim of just getting some words on the monitor. I have no idea when it will be completed, and I have no idea if you'll remotely enjoy it -- if anyone's even reading it at all. In the meantime I will keep posting new "chapters" every so often and hope to find a method in the madness.

This doesn't have anything to do with anything. or does it?

The Trip: Part 4

The forest campsite is closed for the season and the water was shut-off on the first of October apparently. Good thing we still have some left in our bottles. Temperatures drop below freezing at night. It's hard to motivate yourself to get out of the tent to take a piss, but when you gotta go, then you gotta go. Hopefully there aren't any bears lurking nearby. We've been hanging our panniers on tree branches since Idaho, and I sleep with my bear spray at the ready. The bottle only lasts a few seconds though, so you better not miss if you do need to use it.

It's pouring in the morning. We tie plastic bags on our feet and head off. Within minutes, our hands are freezing. It's going to be a shitty riding day. At the next stop, I purchase a pair of yellow kitchen gloves. Dan thinks they look ridiculous, but at least the other pairs will stay dry -- all four layers of them. It's snowing by the time we reach our destination. I'm looking forward to those hot springs.

People keep asking us what's the craziest thing that's happened to us. It's hard to pick a single experience, but let me finally tell you all about Jeffrey Dahmer city. No, that is not it's real name, but rather the name some people used when asking us if we were biking through a certain part of Wyoming. And no, it's most definitely not a city.

What it is, is an official ghost town. There's a bar, an abandoned uranium mine, and a few stragglers who mostly seem to live out of old, decrepit RVs. When we reach it, we find two very drunk men standing on a roof, tossing empty beer cans into a trash-filled fire. Below them is where our map is telling us to stay: a broken down pottery shop. It's seen much better days. The men stumble down from the roof, confirm that we can sleep in the shop, and proceed to inform us that they plan on getting wasted later in the evening. It's unclear whether they live there or are just squatting. Dan and I exchange looks.

As we enter the bar for dinner -- it's clear that we stick out like a sore thumb -- there are three things to note. A/ The place is packed with the town's entire population -- 20 people or so, down from thousands just a few years ago, B/  There is a baby in a playpen and little kids running around the place, C/ There's an AR15 behind the counter. Upon ordering, we're told that most the items on the menu are unavailable, but we still manage to score a couple burgers. Fifteen minutes later, a few hunters come in and are denied a chance at a meal. I'm glad we got a chance to change out of our cycling clothes.

At night, we sleep in the pottery shop, behind the broken storefront window. The ground is filthy, littered with debris, and there are empty handles of cheap liquor everywhere. Nearby, our hosts carry on drinking through the nigh while haggling over cigarettes. At some point I wake up to a man staring at me from the other side of the window. He doesn't say anything. I close my eyes and pretend to fall back asleep. It's all so eerie.  

"The Leftovers": Pilot Review

I know!

I wasn’t particularly excited for The Leftovers' arrival and I had several nagging questions going into the show: Would it prove to be a worthy placeholder for Game of Thrones and the other great shows currently on hiatus? Was Lindelof once again going to wing it, like he did on Lost and Prometheus, or did he actually have a plan this time around? And, most importantly, was anyone going to eat those?

The answer to all these questions appears to be a yes. I think.

The pilot’s tone is glum, the pacing deliberate, and there is little in terms of rousing action. Still, the minimalist way in which the out of thin air disappearance of two percent of the world’s population is visualized, effectively sets the stage for the mysterious new status quo. Three years later, when our main plot takes place, everything’s the same and yet everything’s completely different. People still go about their day-to-day business, civilization still functions, but there is this inescapable sense that most everyone’s on autopilot, zombie-like, still in denial, while those that aren't are finding it harder and harder to cope.

This malaise permeates this first episode and creates a sense of unease. There were several points during which I was fully braced for something bad to happen, like when the daughter chokes the guy at the party. Am I being paranoid, or is it worrying that she came out of that room alone? 

Within this tense atmosphere, factions are forming and our charaters' little town is slowly but surely fragmenting. Whether they are organized or not at this point, there are the religious and the non-religious, the cultists and the civilians who fear them, the truth-seekers and… in the middle of all this we have our Police Chief played by Justin Theroux, who single-handedly seems to carry the self-imposed burden of keeping his small-town’s society from collapsing on itself. Like his daughter’s friend tells him, he is doing his best.

But will that be enough?

If his own estranged imploding family is any indication, it certainly won’t be. Sure enough, during the town’s first Heroes Day commemoration of those who were taken, the GR cult members -- I already forgot what those initials stand for -- descend en mass and set off an all-out brawl with the townies. And, to make matters worse, there appears to be something very wrong with the dogs when they ravenously attack a deer…

Just like Lost, there are far too many questions left unanswered in this pilot, and we are left wanting much much more. Though I ultimately gave up on that island show sometime during season 5, never to watch another episode, the good news here is that The Leftovers is based on a book with an actual ending – or so I hope. If Lindelof gets to just focus on the mystery and slow burn aspects while knowing full well where it's all headed then this could be a home run.  For that reason alone, I think I'm going to let myself be taken on this ride.

      

Sidenotes:

• The music selection was particularly strong I thought, but I felt there was something off about that one song that accompanies the GR leaving their house for Heroes Day. Maybe it was intentional, but there seemed to be a disconnect between the music and the proceedings. 
• They are not our dogs. They’re not.” It’s interesting to note that our hero goes from trying to save a dog –  a classic hero trait – to killing a whole pack at the end. He has his reasons, but still. 
• Crazy Wayne sure loves Asians girls.
• Who takes off their clothes to choke someone?

CHARLIE

We're strong as a rock, hard like one too.

IS THIS A LOGLINE OR REALITY:

Akin to inbreeding, blind political partisanship, transmitted through generations, has turned Americans into an uninformed, vegetative bunch.

THE TRIP: Part 3

We're watching Gravity, in 3D. What a surreal experience. The past week saw us stuck in Lander, Wy. for three days as all the roads around us were closed due to heavy snowfall, and just last night... Let's just say I woke up on the floor of a rundown pottery shop with a homeless-looking man staring at me through the cracked storefront window. Man, I can really empathize with Sandra Bullock's character right now.

KOWALSKI

 I get it. It's nice up here. 

You can just shut down all the systems,
 turn out all the lights,

 and just close your eyes and tune out everyone. 

There's nobody up here that can hurt you. 

It's safe. 

I mean, what's the point of going on? 

What's the point of living? 

Your kid died. Doesn't get any rougher than that. 

But still, it's a matter of what you do now. 

If you decide to go, then you gotta just get on with it. 

Sit back, enjoy the ride. 

You gotta plant both your feet on the ground and start livin' life. 

Hey, Ryan? 

It's time to go home.

THE TRIP: Part 2

I've probably never ridden more than ten miles at a time, and I stick to mountain bikes. I don't like riding in the city, in the middle of traffic. It's too dangerous. People drive like maniacs out here. My neighbor told me that during one of his rides two girls got hit by a drunk driver who swerved into the bike lane. They're in a coma. He wonders why I won't join him.

It all seems silly now. Life hangs by a thread. It'd be foolish to try and recount every single brush with death we've had over the course of this trip. Between the weekend warriors in their rented RVs, and the Kentuckians whose behaviors behind the wheel can only be explained by Meth, at some point you just stick your head down, push forward, and hope for the best. We probably also shouldn't have ridden at night so damn often.

We left late in the season. Very late. Crossing the country on a bicycle in the fall is not generally advised, but what can you do. We left Portland on September 1st. Montana, Wyoming, Colorado... those places get cold in October. The days get shorter too. We usually wait for the sun to come up, which means we don't start riding as early as we should to make it to our destination by nightfall. Sometimes, the sun doesn't come up, and we're greeted by rain, snow, or hail. Those days are fun. I just start counting when it gets too rough out there. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... I don't stop until we reach our destination, and, if I lose count, I just start all over again. Dan said he hadn't realized he was biking with Rainman.

It works though. The other day, I received a message from this crazy girl we crossed paths with. She's biking from Canada to Mexico. Said she got caught in a crosswind in the middle of nowhere and thought she was going to die. But she remembered what I said. She blanked everything out, started counting, and kept on pushing. Said it saved her. Cool.

We ourselves get stuck in forty mile an hour headwinds in Wyoming. We're leaving Jeffrey Dahmer city -- don't ask -- and we're riding at a snail's pace. It's exhausting. By Dan's estimate, we won't reach our intended campground before midnight. The gas station attendant, where we stop for lunch, tells us a truck overturned up ahead.

SPORTS SAMPLE: World Cup 2014 - French Match Previews

France vs Nigeria:

French fans can't imagine anything besides a victory tonight as they face-off against the underdog Nigerians. As Soccer has often taught us though, this is usually the first forbearing sign of a huge upset. So, should the French be worried deep down, or will this round just be a simple formality?

Let's see. Nigeria's main argument for obtaining a good result today is not a threat to the French defense, but rather their goalkeeper: Vincent Enyama. Enyama has had stellar season playing for his French club Lille and has kept his good form going into the World Cup. And as we all know, defense wins championships.

Even though they obviously have some quality in their ranks, we don't expect the Nigerians to outplay the French during 90 minutes and pose a real threat. Still, if Enyama were to have an Ochoa-like performance and keep his team in the game, it wouldn't be all that shocking to see Odemwingie or one of his partners sneak one in past Hugo Lloris. After all, Sakho's status is currently in doubt as he deals with some hamstring issues, and Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny wasn't all that reassuring in the last game.

Actually, the whole team's performance against Ecuador was a bit worrying. Though Deschamps made a lot of changes to the squad, we saw that Benzema and his partners aren't going to steamroll over teams, like they did Switzerland and Honduras, unless they have everyone at full strength. One key injury during the game, to Valbuena or Matuidi for example, could easily spell doom for the teams title chances.

Finally, let's not forget that a similar meaningless third group game against Sweden at the last Euro ended up having a terrible effect on the team's morale as they switched out too many players and completely broke their positive dynamic.

So, will Enyama and his teammate manufacture the first big knockout stage upset? Let's wait and see.

--

France vs Ecuador:

Surprising moves announced by France coach Didier Deschamps today as Pogba and Griezmann are slotted to come off the bench against Switzerland. Sissoko and Giroud will start the game instead.

Seeing as there's been no word of last-minute injuries, it would appear that Deschamps values Giroud's height and physicality over Griezmann's close quarter dribbling skills for this matchup. Though Griezmann has quickly proved himself a worthy Ribery replacement, Giroud was in great form during preparation matches, including a successful association with Benzema against Jamaica (8-0). His nod doesn't give us much cause for concern. 

More puzzling however, is the decision to start Sissoko over the 21 year old Juventus star who has already established himself as the technical leader of Deschamp's promising triangle midfield. Pogba did receive a yellow card following an impulsive response to a foul by Honduras' Palacios, but most French fans would probably prefer running the risk of having him be suspended during the third game against Ecuador, rather than in a decisive round of sixteen match. Sissoko hasn't shown much so far with the national team, some supporters even wondering if he belonged in the squad altogether, but he certainly seems to have Deschamps' trust.    

Let's see how it will all work out.

--

France vs Switzerland:

Having won its first two games, France coach Didier Deschamps will be looking to give some starters much needed rest in anticipation of the knockout stage. Sissoko who scored against Switzerland (5-2 win) and had an all around solid performance, will start in place of Valbuena.  Koscielny, the Arsenal defender, will be seeing his first minutes of the world cup as he replaces the ailing Varane (stomach bug), so will Sagna, Digne, and Schneiderlin who will replace the suspended Cabaye. Finally, Griezmann should reenter the starting lineup subbing in for Giroud.

In spite of all these changes look for France to maintain their current form. They may struggle out of the gates but there ultimately seems to be to much talent, and cohesion, within this squad to not finish on top of their group.

TODD
 How old are you?

CHARLIE 
Old enough to know knights are cool, 
but dragons aren't real.

THE TRIP: Part 1

I

I wake up to total darkness. I freak out. He left me. Dan took the tent and left me, alone, in the middle of the forest. This realization not only terrifies me, but it sickens me as the million reasons for which he could have done this race through my head. I'm screwed. This is the end for me. It's winter, I have no shelter, and, worst of all, my Trek 520's a nightmare. As I panic, my eyes slowly begin adjusting to the darkness. I notice a light. Just a sliver, bleeding through a blind. I relax.

I'm in a comfortable bed in the middle of Yellowstone National Park. Dan is sleeping in the next bungalow. A park employee took pity on us last night. She told us we could stay in employee housing if we wanted. It's the last day of the season and most of the staff has already left. It's snowing outside. We've been on the road for over a month, and we're not even halfway.

Halfway, Oregon. Halfway to what? Nobody knows. There was a sign on the road though. "Halfway to halfway" it read. We had to take a picture. A little further, we bought a cantaloupe from a deserted produce stand by the side of the road. Suggested donation was a dollar. We dropped the money into a tin box. This wasn't the first time. Oregonians are trusting people.

A friendly stranger, a blurry distant memory, told us that happened to another pair of cyclists. One of them took his things and left the other in the middle of the night. Guess that one guy must have been really annoying. Must be why I assumed Dan left. Or maybe it's because my bike has been slowing us down every step of the way. I'm sure it's frustrating for him.

List of nightmares: finicky caliper brakes, broken crank arm, bent rim, mangled spokes, flat-happy touring tires. The bike is a nearly thirty year old steel frame. I love it, but I should have known better. People think it's a beauty though. "It's in great shape," they said. "It will take you all the way no problem," they claimed. I'm told I'll get a good price for it in New York though.

Two months and a half. That's the estimate. During that time, we'll have ridden from Portland to the Oregon coast, and then all the way to New York City through the Cascades, the Rockies, the Ozarks, and the Appalachians. Those damned Appalachians. Can't wait for Nashville, though. I'm dying for some hot chicken.

My buddy from Tennessee thinks I'm crazy, but he's impressed. To him, it seems like I eat fried chicken just about every other day. He's not wrong. You wouldn't tell from looking at me though. I'm not in the best of shapes, but I'm definitely on the skinny side. Skinny with a side of unfit. Used to work out and exercise, but I'm not in college anymore. Got other hobbies now. I've been sitting behind a desk, staring at a monitor and a television for the past two years. And things aren't much different at home.

Sometimes, I think I'm going crazy. Good thing Dan decided to move to New York on a bicycle. When he asked me if I wanted to tag along, well I knew I couldn't refuse. It's not like I want to sit on a bike for four thousand miles, but I have to get out of L.A. Seems like the sensible thing to do.