Today's News: here's a dreadful trailer for ya

Got this up at MS yesterday:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153800/eerste_trailer_penny_dreadful

I hadn't heard of this new series yet, but I must admit it looks rather interesting. The beauty and squalor of Victorian era England, a time of refined culture, daring exploration and unapologetic conquest, the dark nature of literary characters from that period like Dorian Gray and Dracula, games of psychological misconduct and sexual manipulation, and a few good actors and writers/producers to make it all seemlessly come to life... what's not to like here? Maybe for some, the fact it sounds like an adult version of the film adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which is a movie I, unlike most others, hold little umbrage against). As opposed to getting into fisticuffs with each other, in this upcoming Penny Dreadful they seem to jump into bed together and do the nasty instead. Or so it would appear, but as always, trailers can be highly deceiving. Just what these personae are up to and what the role of characters specifically written for this show might be all remains somewhat obscure from just this trailer. The show aims to be a mystery thriller serial (not unlike, say, HBO's Carnivale, which it appears to resemble in tone and mood), and in that regard the trailer delivers that aspect just sublimely. Whether the show itself will be any good is far too early to tell, but I like to think there's room for a gritty unusual terror/noir piece like this on contemporary television. And I have faith in the writers/producers, who have delivered mostly good stuff before (I'll forgive showrunner John Logan for his involvement in Star Trek: Nemesis, as he has redeemed himself with grand movies like Skyfall, Hugo and The Aviator). As for the actors bringing the characters and their strengths and flaws to life, they seem to be a mixed bag. Though I'm always pleased seeing sultry dame Eva Green, suffering Josh Hartnett's blank apathic stare on the small screen for hours on end is not something I hunger for, but I can live with it if needs be. And ah, Timothy Dalton... I sincerely hope this show will turn out as fascinating as the trailer suggests it will be, as the subject matter certainly has potential. In fact, it may just render that announced LXG TV-series redundant.

Today's Mini-Review: Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Ridley Scott's account of the U.S. Marine incident in Somalia of October 3, 1993. Scott provides the drama, producer Jerry Bruckheimer ensures the expected carnage and explosions (plus a bunch of actual Black Hawk helicopters!). A wonderfully diverse cast of both top actors (Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, Sam Shepard) and former unknowns (among them, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Tom Hardy, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau and Orlando Bloom) portrays the various Army Rangers and their commanding officers, who set out to perform a mission that soon spins out of everybody's control, resulting in a spectacular but horrific onslaught. Dispatched to arrest several high ranking officers of a vicious local warlord in Mogadishu, their objective swiftly turns into a basic fight to get out alive as the soldiers find themselves severely outnumbered when confronted with thousands of angry Somalis. All hell breaks loose on the city streets as a humongous firefight ensues that will witness several Americans gutted publicly and not one but two Black Hawk helicopters taken out. Not to mention the hundreds upon hundreds of Somali footsoldiers that got themselves killed in their attempt to simply overrun their highly trained opponents instead of going about their business with any tactical sense. Starting things at a surprisingly slow pace, an eerie calm before the storm you know will follow, Scott introduces the platoon of sympathetic young soldiers at his leisure, portraying them as fairly naive and rather bored by the lack of action, clearly not entirely grasping the gravity of the tense political situation they're in. But then, how could they predict things would get this bad, considering it wasn't supposed to go down the way it ended up doing? The moment they go in, there's no more time for levity and laughs since what follows is two hours of non-stop action where these boys have to deal with everything their military education had hoped them to avoid. Scott proves completely uncompromising, revealing the absolute brutality of the events in all its graphic horror, resulting in a harrowing viewing experience that's clearly not suited for everybody: if you're uncomfortable at the sight of bloody operations without sedatives or any type of gory dismemberment, you had better stay away from this film. As sudden as it started the fight is over and we're simply left numb and combat fatigued, wondering how things could have gotten so terribly out of hand so fast (even though the mission wasn't actually a failure by definition, as its goal was secured!). Despite its powerful punch, the movie tends to feel monotonous after 80 minutes of relentless gunfire, while it's a shame the Somali point of view is only briefly adressed (since 90% of the Somalis in this film end up as cannon fodder, it would have been nice to know what they thought they were fighting for). Nevertheless, Sir Ridley has clearly proven he's just as adapt at making daring, gripping war movies as he is at historical epics and science fiction pictures. Though there's little doubt audiences will prove as adapt at sitting through this cinematic battle from hell without any sense of shock and horror.

Starring: Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett

Directed by Ridley Scott

USA/UK: Revolution Studios, 2001

Black Dahlia, The

Rating: ***/*****, or 6/10

Intriguing and stylistically successful but ultimately haphazard and chaotic movie concerning the 'Black Dahlia' murder mystery of 1947, involving the investigation by two cops of a brutally slain and grotesquely mutilated young woman, based on the novel by James Ellroy. Brian De Palma, no stranger to the genre and the time period, is fully capable of making the scenery and circumstances surrounding the homicide both uncomfortably abject and the object of morbid fascination while utilizing a style that obviously pays homage to film noir, but the overall farfetched yet fairly predictable conclusion of the plot leaves much to be desired, as does Josh Hartnett's acting as a battered cop who's supposedly seen it all, a role that just wasn't suited to his age at the time of shooting this film (way too young, really). Aaron Eckhart does a better job at playing his colleague, as does Scarlett Johansson playing the obligatory beautiful but traumatized femme fatale. The love triangle between the three of them is generally irritating for hindering the progress of the film, but the overall story about abuse of power, corruption in the upper echelons of the law and the vicious objectification of women to deadly consequences remains interesting enough to carry most of the picture.

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson

Directed by Brian De Palma

USA: Universal Pictures, 2006