Today’s post is intended for everyone who will party hard tonight, wake up late tomorrow, and then move as little as possible for many hours as our livers work patiently to save us from ourselves.
Many people will make a New Year’s resolution and get up early on New Year’s Day, energized by their resolve and the promise of a new year, and GET ON whatever they’ve chosen to change. Yardwork will be done, closets organized, gym memberships researched and healthy eating embraced. I will do this, because I am one of these people, although I try not to be obnoxious about it.
HOWEVER, many New Year’s Days are lost to the crushing misery of a New Year’s Day Hangover. Today’s post is intended for everyone who will party hard tonight, wake up late tomorrow, and then move as little as possible for many hours as our livers work patiently to save us from ourselves. I do include myself in that group since anything is possible when I have wine in the house.
Anyhoodle, here are five multi-hour things to watch on Netflix. All share these characteristics:
There are few-to-no explosions
They are not loud or bright
They are somewhat easy to understand, and if you can’t follow along, pleasant to listen to and stare at for several hours
Based on a John Le Carre novel, TTSS is that kind of old-school film that challenges without being obnoxious. I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of thought-provoking political thrillers, taut, reserved performances, and distressingly accurate fashion reproductions. Seriously, Gary Oldman looks like he walked out of somebody’s 70’s era family photos. Put a goofy party hat on him or a kid in his lap and he’s there.
I don’t smoke but this movie damn near got me started. People smoke constantly and make it look GOOD.
A few months ago, Simon Pegg stepped in it by opining that current trends in science fiction and fantasy are possibly infantilizing its audience; that a love of cartoons, comics, and other escapist media are contributing to an immature mindset.
Naturally the internet landed on him with both feet and he clarified his comments later. Personally I can see both sides of the argument, but I’m not really exploring that in today’s post; and as a shy person, I can only imagine how challenging it must be to have to do promotional stuff 25 hours a day and have to “switch on” the moment there’s a microphone in your face. I have days where I can barely order in restaurants and I already know what I want.
Anyway, that social gaff occurred to me during the opening of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spybecause it is the exact kind of film Pegg was talking about. I was cruising around my queueueueueu and decided to take a break from Stephen Chow movies (4 this week so far!) and hit play.
This film is just amazing. It’s the kind of old-school thriller that I love and secretly fetishize: dudes walk around in sharp suits, smoking, drinking whiskey during their meetings and talking big game while their personal relationships crumble from within, and I would SWEAR that the cast were chosen for their beautiful voices as much as their acting or appearance. John Hurt, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, and (gasps) TOM HARDY basically turn every scene into choral conversations. I wish I knew how to do sound mixing – I’d do dance mixes of them just TALKING.
And talking is what this movie is. I love seeing a spy movie that really captures how deeply boring and uncool government work IS – and yet still captures the enormous tensions its employees labor under at all times. The setting was another twist; I admit my impression of London in the early 70s comes from Laugh-In, James Bond, and (embarrassingly) the Austin Powers movies, so seeing a “Swinging London” that looked about as festive as the inside of a government-issued filing cabinet was a novelty. I loved how drained of color the world of this film was; and even the moments where color should be bright seemed tired and faded. Everything is taking place in offices and the flats of people who have negated all personal interests and personality in service of their country, so of course it would appear drained and drab.
I am pleased to report that while everything else was gray, Colin Firth’s sass game was on point.
The plot is intricate, and carried by the aforementioned conversations. Often something the viewer is shown is deconstructed later on, so we can’t always trust our eyes. Some things occur offscreen, or are so subtle as to be barely noticeable.
At times I just accepted that I had no idea what was happening and let my impressions be carried by the music score, which must be how a puppy feels on the way to the vet. I had no idea where we were going or why, but was just thrilled to be along for the ride. That’s kind of the point – you need to accept that you know nothing before you can reach enlightenment, and by the end of the film everything was cleared up, plotwise.
IKEA needs to make fainting couches so I can buy one, look at this picture, and faint onto it. Over and over. For days.
As I mentioned before the cast was perfectly chosen. I never would have imagined I’d dig Tom Hardy with feathered 70s hair but today I learned something about myself. His character is part of a romantic subplot, and there’s a scene where he playfully teases his girlfriend by shining a mirror on her face. I am here to tell you that if people could bottle and sell his quiet manly radiance there would be a lot more love in the world. And babies. Probably. Or just sex.
Another facet to the film is the treatment of closeted gay men in 70s London. One character is closeted gay and another is revealed to be bisexual, adding another layer to an already magnificently nuanced film. Characters sacrifice a great deal for their country as I mentioned before, including relationships – and when one character (I won’t say who) has to break up with his partner or risk being outed, his pain is palpable; his was one of the few happy, functional relationships of the film and he has to end it. Other characters relationships are falling apart around them and the one who has managed to cultivate something must set it alight and walk away.
Based on a John Le Carre novel, TTSS is that kind of old-school film that challenges without being obnoxious. I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of thought-provoking political thrillers, taut, reserved performances, and distressingly accurate fashion reproductions. Seriously, Gary Oldman looks like he walked out of somebody’s 70’s era family photos. Put a goofy party hat on him or a kid in his lap and he’s there.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is available on Instant Watch.
I had a crazy busy weekend, and then was down with food poisoning Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I discovered my leave doesn’t accrue the way I thought and I’d have to burn two floating holidays to make up for the 48 hrs I spent on the bathroom floor.
I’ve done the sad thing for Christopher Lee, but the man made himself 5 lifetimes out of one and made it last nearly a century.
So let’s raise a glass (or a carafe, or a tumbler, or hell a bucket) and remember a man that grabbed life by the short hairs and didn’t let go for a long, long time!
And because everyone else is posting it, here’s Sir Christopher’s version of My Way. I wish it was mastered differently, or maybe it’s my shitty speakers but his glorious voice isn’t given the attention it deserves. You could butter noodles with that magical bass!
“Do sit down, Sergeant. Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent.” ~ Lord Summerisle, The Wicker Man
Mr. Christopher Lee passed in the hospital, of respiratory problems. He was 93.
I’ve known who he was since I was 5. I’ve never met him, never wrote him a fan letter or anything, but he was as constant and dominant on the cinematic landscape as a distant mountain range- and just as majestic.
He was Dracula, he was Francisco Scaramanga, he was Saruman, he was Count Dooku, he was Henry Baskerville and several hundred other roles. He was the world’s tallest leading actor, and a direct descendant of Charlemagne. He was with British Intelligence during World War 2, a personal friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, and sang in a heavy metal band.
The show is a fun distraction with some distinctive and moving performances. Heavily anachronistic, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but does insert lots of little pop culture jokes and references. There is some violence though it’s largely bloodless, and a few characters die. That said, I would say it’s a great family show. The costumes and sets are fun and creative, and some of the jokes really have made me laugh out loud. I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something new and fun to get into, but if you’re looking for historical accuracy or accurate arrow physics then you might want to give it a miss.
Slowly, things are improving.
Lately I have been dealing with both getting over a breakup and a death in the family. It’s a lot of normal to be trying to reestablish, all at once, so I am just trying to get through the days lately.
One thing that has cheered me up is the BBC’s Robin Hood. It began in 2006 and only ran for 3 seasons, ending when the principles decided to leave the show. It’s a delightful show though, about friendship and loyalty and love and all those noble qualities that Robin Hood is known for.
Heroism! Derring-do! Costumes!
Hood himself is played by the charismatic Jonas Armstrong, who portrays Robin of Locksley as daring, charming, and even cheeky at times. I’ll say it: I grew up associating Robin Hood with a singing fox, and later with Kevin Costner (I don’t hate Prince of Thieves) and still later with Men in Tights (STILL a classic!). So a brash, cheeky young Robin was a nice addition to the stable of actors who have played the character.
As with all the other canon, Robin and his servant/companion Much (who is an Englishman, I have no idea if he’s canon or not because I’ve never read the Child ballads) are recently returned home from King Richard’s war in the Holy Land. The pair of former soldiers have a strong bond as friends, and soon find that the old Sheriff of Nottingham has been deposed and a new one installed.
The latter is played with snide, sneering glee by Keith Allen, who I had to look up on Wikipedia but apparently is Theon Greyjoy’s father. He used to do standup comedy at punk shows. How cool is that?
The rest of the gang are here as well: Little John, Alan a Dale, Will Scarlett, and Maid Marian. The latter is a nice departure and far from a damsel in distress: she knows how to fight and is fairly headstrong in the bargain. In fact they could have made her theme music someone shouting ‘DAMMIT MARIAN!’ every time she did something irritating. I didn’t hate the character – far from it! – but just as when you see a smart person you care about make a terrible choice, I was frustrated. Lucy Griffiths was eminently likeable and radiantly beautiful – I saw she was on the pilot for Constantine (which I still haven’t reviewed!) but was replaced by Zed. I think she’s great and she’ll go far, once she finds the right vehicle.
The comedy and lighthearted fare of the show is fun; it’s a family show, I think it ran in the Doctor Who spot, or just after it, and there are far, far worse ways to introduce children to the stories of Robin Hood and his outlaws.
But the show keeps me coming back for this man:
YES HAVE SOME
Richard Armitage has inspired a HUUUUGE following who call themselves “Armitage’s Army.” I’m not much of a joiner, so instead I’ll tip my hat to the approximately 8 billion fansites and pages of fanfiction they have produced. Well done, ladies and gentlemen! Allow me to congratulate you on your EXQUISITE taste!
I wrote about him before in my review for North and South, and believe me he’s just getting better.
Gisborne as a character is interesting – he starts out a drawling villain but over the course of the show became such a fan favorite that the writers were struggling to keep him a villain. I haven’t seen the 3rd season yet but I understand that he does sort of team up with the good guys, which he did now and then in the previous seasons. I love tv series for that reason, the character evolution it allows. Somebody can start out a bit player and a few seasons in steal the show, as happened with Donna Meagle and others on Parks and Rec (I haven’t seen the final season yet! Say nothing!)
The other reason Gisborne fascinates me (besides the obvious) is that I have a thing for his character trope: the damaged ones, the broken ones who imagine that the love of another person is all they need to fix themselves. It is a form of delusion, because in order to be a better person you must first admit that you have no power over someone else and that if you truly loved them, you would let them go and that YOU are responsible for your own happiness. But it’s also the sign of a deeply romantic and sensitive soul – someone who believes so fervently in the power of love that it blinds them to the consequences of their own actions. Of course no other examples of this character type are coming to mind at the moment, but trust me, it used to be a thing I had. For many years I thought I had outgrown it – and then along came Gisborne. When he begs Marian to make a home with him, to stay with him so that his life is bearable, I was totally ready to give him the keys to my house and run down to Uhaul for some boxes to help him move in. I cannot be trusted to make life decisions any larger than ‘yes I would like bacon on my cheeseburger’ right now.
The show is a fun distraction with some distinctive and moving performances. Heavily anachronistic, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but does insert lots of little pop culture jokes and references. There is some violence though it’s largely bloodless, and a few characters die. That said, I would say it’s a great family show. The costumes and sets are fun and creative, and some of the jokes really have made me laugh out loud. I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something new and fun to get into, but if you’re looking for historical accuracy or accurate arrow physics then you might want to give it a miss.
Shooting!
And just so you can see how serious I am (although I couldn’t stop giggling while watching this):
