I just finished watching AMC's reimagined The Prisoner. It was self-important pants.
It was well acted and looked lovely. I love most things the Ian McKellen does and his 2 was no exception. He slipped from touching moments with his son, to cool evil, to manic with ease. Jamie Campbell Bower's 11-12 is touching in his self-involved teen angst. Ruth Wilson's 313's predicament as pawn and heroine, need for stability and desire for life, tool of 2 and friend of 6 is poignant.
The supporting cast, the scenery, the costumes, and the cinematography are also superlative.
Sadly it is not enough to make the piss poor script worth the six hours of my life I wasted watching the show. The dialog, although mostly well delivered, is little more than self-help tripe strung into menace. "Only by becoming one can we defeat two." Seriously?
The central conflict between 6 and 2, between prisoner and jailor is convoluted. It would be one thing if it was a simple struggle for freedom. Instead it is clear that 2 wants something from 6. It is not as simple as 6 merely being trouble because you learn early on that 2 is not above simply eliminating trouble. The reason why 6 is a prisoner and why 2 plays with 6 are never made clear until the end. This allows for a number of interesting points to be brought up about terrorism, authoritarianism, free will, our surveillance state, human nature.
When the final resolution came I was left wanting. The truth of the village is disappointing in it unoriginality. The resolution of 6's struggle is unbelievable. It does not flow from the character and makes the moral ambiguity of the ending disappointing.
There was a lot of wasted potential in The Prisoner. A straight remake would have been excellent. The reimagined story could also have worked with better writers. The conflict between 2 and 6, jailed and jailor, needed more tension and more purpose. The Lost style puzzle for the sake of it/flashback story telling technique does not work here. 2's descent needs more time to be believable.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
The Informant
H and I have been kicking around the idea of seeing the Informant for months, but we were always scared off by the tepid reviews. Tonight we finally gave in and decided to see it at the local cheap theater.
I'm glad we went and I'm glad we went to the cheap theater. Matt Damon was excellent and overall the movie was funny. However, it was definitely a B-movie. There were several things both of us found to be off putting:
The overall look of the film was wrong. The date said the action took place in the early to mid 90's, but the everything from the clothes to the sets screamed 70's. It was jarring and not in a way that helped moved the story along.
The FBI agents were way to strident. Did they seriously not think the informant had something to hide? Did they not bother to do a background check and figure out that he was not adopted?
The wife was not well played. Was she complicit or just vacant? If she was just vacant the actress did a great job. However, I never really cared much about her either way.
It went on just a little too long. By the time he fires the good lawyers, I was ready for it to end. The ridiculousness had gone a little too far and I was tired of watching the character's twists and turns.
Overall, it was worth six bucks for a night out.
I'm glad we went and I'm glad we went to the cheap theater. Matt Damon was excellent and overall the movie was funny. However, it was definitely a B-movie. There were several things both of us found to be off putting:
The overall look of the film was wrong. The date said the action took place in the early to mid 90's, but the everything from the clothes to the sets screamed 70's. It was jarring and not in a way that helped moved the story along.
The FBI agents were way to strident. Did they seriously not think the informant had something to hide? Did they not bother to do a background check and figure out that he was not adopted?
The wife was not well played. Was she complicit or just vacant? If she was just vacant the actress did a great job. However, I never really cared much about her either way.
It went on just a little too long. By the time he fires the good lawyers, I was ready for it to end. The ridiculousness had gone a little too far and I was tired of watching the character's twists and turns.
Overall, it was worth six bucks for a night out.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Epoch
Tonight we ate at a little place in Exeter, NH called Epoch. For a change of pace we tried the tasting menu: six small courses.
The first course was oysters with caviar. I'm not a big fan of shell dish, but the dish was pleasant. I wouldn't get it again, but I didn't dislike it.
The second course was a beet salad with a hazelnut dressing. It was sweet and earthy.
The third course was a lightly seared tuna. This was my favorite course. The tuna was perfectly cooked.
The fourth course was duck two ways over a butternut squash purée. The. seared duck breast was pleasent. The fois gras was fine for fois gras. The purée was excellent.
The fifth course was a lovely cheese and cracker course. The accompanying wine was a white port. The wine was a subtle desert wine.
We finished the night with a squash cake and Ginger ice cream. It was a perfect end to the meal.
The price was not too bad at $65 per person for the food and $35 per person for the wine.
The waitstaff was attentive without being over bearing. They did an excellent job pairing the wines with the course and describing each course.
The night was fun. We felt like Top Chef judges.
The first course was oysters with caviar. I'm not a big fan of shell dish, but the dish was pleasant. I wouldn't get it again, but I didn't dislike it.
The second course was a beet salad with a hazelnut dressing. It was sweet and earthy.
The third course was a lightly seared tuna. This was my favorite course. The tuna was perfectly cooked.
The fourth course was duck two ways over a butternut squash purée. The. seared duck breast was pleasent. The fois gras was fine for fois gras. The purée was excellent.
The fifth course was a lovely cheese and cracker course. The accompanying wine was a white port. The wine was a subtle desert wine.
We finished the night with a squash cake and Ginger ice cream. It was a perfect end to the meal.
The price was not too bad at $65 per person for the food and $35 per person for the wine.
The waitstaff was attentive without being over bearing. They did an excellent job pairing the wines with the course and describing each course.
The night was fun. We felt like Top Chef judges.
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