Staged (2020) s01e05 – Ulysses, the extended version

Two observations after this episode. “Staged” does really well with guest stars—Adrian Lester shows up, more on him in a bit—and it’s relying a little too much on the too easy “David Tennant is the earnestly obtuse one” bit. This episode has Tennant surprised no one else dreams about him, which is really funny but also incredibly… easy. Like, “Staged” has its easy already—Michael Sheen ranting and raving is easy, but glorious. It just seems like giving Tennant the Mutt part is too easy.

Especially since the show’s decidedly not a family sitcom about David and Georgia Tennant’s life during Covid lockdown because their kids aren’t in the show. There are kids, they’re just always offscreen.

Anyway.

Lester. So good. He has this whole arc where he gets, well, emotionally damaged—just a bit—from interacting too much with Sheen and Tennant and it’s really good. The laugh is never about Lester having a rough time during lockdown but it’s still an integral detail of the joke. Really impressively done.

Then the cliffhanger is quite good too. They switch over to drama—“Staged” is able to scale from the gimmicky comedy aspect to the dramatics quite well (not so much with the Tennant household) but otherwise. Like with Simon Evans and Lucy Eaton. Their character development over the season has been great.

Oh, and Amy Lundberg’s really good this episode. Her character is basically delicate artist Sheen’s keeper or tender or whatever, but when it hits the dramatics she moves over to them quite nimbly.

“Staged” works well. Even with the asterisks, it definitely works.

Staged (2020) s01e04 – Bara Brith, the extended version

Staged never lets us in enough on the joke to know if David Tennant or Michael Sheen is doing the bigger stretch. This episode has Sheen not just making fun of Tennant’s “heightened” read of the play—they finally get around to rehearsing—but even opens on Sheen making fun of how Tennant poses for pictures. He’s always got his mouth closed, no teeth, looks like a Muppet.

Two things. We get to see Michael Sheen do a Muppet impression and it’s wonderful. And David Tennant really does do the tight-lipped thing in still photos; lots of Tennant header images on <ul>The Stop Button</ul> and they are (mostly) tight-lipped.

The big scene this episode—well, in addition to all the bickering set pieces—is play producer Nina Sosanya trying to sort out the problems without director Simon Evans screwing things up. Sosanya’s great and able to remain sympathetic without having to be saccharine, much like Lucy Eaton (Evans’s suffering sister). The two wives, however, are de facto saccharine.

For instance, this episode has Georgia Tennant still not having told David she’s finished her novel because he’s going to mope out about it. Instead she’s encouraging him to work on his own writing so he doesn’t feel bad about himself. The way “Staged” positions its stars is very weird; Tennant and Sheen will self-depreciate in certain ways, but there’s a hard limit.

Meanwhile, everyone gets to berate Evans and it sometimes leads to fantastic real scenes, like Evans and Eaton talking about grocery shopping.

Those qualifications aside… it’s an absolutely hilarious episode. Tennant and Sheen yell bickering continues to be superb entertainment.

Staged (2020) s01e03 – Who The F#!k Is Michael Sheen?, the extended version

Last episode they talked about the big name movie star who wanted to be in the adaptation of Six Characters in Search of an Author with David Tennant before dropping out to do a movie but they never identified him. This episode has him guest starring.

And it’s Sam Jackson.

As Samuel L. Jackson. Who talks just like it’s still Pulp Fiction. Jackson does enough with the expressions even if the dialogue’s not good. Also the “bitches” use comes off weird in 2020. Tennant has to call up Jackson to tell him he’s out on the play because Michael Sheen’s going to do it now. See, Jackson had the exact same idea as Simon Evans—Simon Evans the “Staged” character not Simon Evans the “Staged” creator (presumably)—do Zoom rehearsals and be ready to open when the lockdown’s over.

Tennant’s going to take care of it for Evans, who’s scared of Jackson, while Michael Sheen is being kept as oblivious as possible.

This episode gives us a scene between Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg where they get to talk about their husbands being kind of silly, pandemic lockdown life, and Georgia’s novel. She’s writing a novel during lockdown. It’s a fun scene, even if it doesn’t pass Bechdel (I don’t remember it passing Bechdel anyway), and the wives look almost identical.

We also get some developments on Sheen’s relationship with his neighbor—he’s now her errand boy due to his attempts to dump recycling in her bins.

There’s a great scene between Evans and Lucy Eaton where they just find a human moment in the lockdown.

And the finale to the episode is absolutely fantastic stuff. Everything from maybe fifteen minutes in to the end is just hilarious.

Staged (2020) s01e02 – Up To No Good, the extended version

So this episode doesn’t resolve the previous episode’s sort of cliffhanger, which had play director Simon Evans—played by show creator, writer, and director Simon Evans—apparently hanging up on his call with Michael Sheen and David Tennant when Sheen pressed him too hard on something.

Apparently Sheen got over it because they went from it not being a guaranteed thing to it being a guaranteed thing. It’s the first day of rehearsals and things do not go well. Evans has got a silly icebreaker, which predictably and quite amusingly pisses off Sheen, leaving Tennant to try to play peacekeeper. But then Evans’s sister, Lucy (played by sister Lucy Eaton)—who didn’t invite him to lockdown at her house and is going through a breakup with a distant boyfriend—gets Simon for the phone….

See, Staged is kind of a show about nothing. Only with David Tennant and Michael Sheen pretending to be doing something when they’re really doing nothing. The show gets plenty of material out of little things, like Evans hiding from his agent—Eaton has to confront him about it, with Evans doing a way too good of job of being, well, smarmy—and then there’s a sequence with Tennant trying to cook while Sheen offers advice through the computer.

The episode ends with a great cliffhanger involving Sheen’s neighbor; see, Sheen’s dumping his empty booze bottles in her recycling so his neighbor’s don’t think he’s a lush and then she’s at the door.

“Staged” is really funny, fairly well acted, and perfectly timed. Twenty-two minutes is just right.

There’s a great end tag where the stars bicker about their credits on the play poster.

Staged (2020) s01e01 – Cachu Hwch, the extended version

“Staged” isn’t so much a great concept as it’s a great concept for the constraints it’s under. “Staged” is a Covid lockdown project, with most of the “action” two people talking on video conferencing (they say Zoom but it doesn’t matter) and then some static shots where everyone’s locked down.

Also very important is who’s locked down. The stars are David Tennant and Michael Sheen, playing themselves, with their significant others, Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg, respectively, locked down in the same location. So built-in cast.

The story’s pretty simple; Tennant and Sheen were going to do a play–Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello—for a newbie director, Simon Evans (also “Staged”’s writer, director, and creator—only the pandemic happened so play’s off. Until Evans has the idea they can just rehearse it (it’s mainly a two character play) over Zoom and then they’ll be all set to go when things open back up.

This episode aired in June 2020 so it’s interesting to see where they thought Britain was going pandemic-wise. Though the toilet paper jokes date quite well since we’ve got toilet paper again.

So Evans is scared of Sheen and he gets Tennant to try to sell him on the idea, which goes pretty well (for a while), leading up to a funny sort of cliffhanger. Sort of not cliffhanger.

It’s all about the banter between Tennant and Sheen, who have various “set piece” conversations. Here they talk about amusing the kids and wives with new hobbies only to learn Tennant draws shite pineapples and Sheen paints lovely landscapes.

It’s a fun show. The static camera angles are occasionally a little bland, but the actors make up for them.

The Raid (2011, Gareth Evans), the international version

For the first forty-five minutes or so, The Raid is able to keep going on the idea lead Iko Uwais is going to be the most kick ass fighter in the movie. There a handful of short expository scenes throughout the film, plus a prologue, where Uwais prays, does some martial arts workouts (it’s all Indonesian martial arts in the film), kisses pregnant wife Fikha Effendi goodbye, has plot twist foreshadowing moment with dad Henky Solaiman, and is off to work—but otherwise it’s all action. For a while it’s shooting action, as Uwais and his fellow SWAT team members infiltrate a high-rise tenement run by drug lord Ray Sahetapy. Once it goes to martial arts action, however, it’s all martial arts action, finally letting Uwais deliver on what the prologue promised.

Except by then we’ve already seen Yayan Ruhian and the movie doesn’t even pretend Uwais is going to surpass Ruhian. When Uwais does finally get around to fighting him, it’s Donny Alamsyah teaming up with Uwais to fight Ruhian. Director Evans knows no one’s going to think Uwais can handle this one on his own, which sort of leaves Uwais an awkward action hero. He starts the movie a renegade—because he’s the only caring SWAT cop, which we know because they were ready to kill civilian Iang Darmawan for being around and Uwais steps in to save the guy—ends up doing the action scenes out of a couple different buddy cop movies, then ends it all solo, even though he’s with a literal cop buddy for it. But it never feels like Uwais is getting short-changed, at least not in the second half; the hero of the first half is Joe Taslim. He’s the sergeant and the only one who knows there’s something shady about the raid because he knows Pierre Gruno is a shady guy. Meanwhile Gruno doesn’t want cannon fodder like Uwais getting in his way, even though Gruno’s not a martial arts bad ass like everyone else in the movie.

The Taslim as lead thing is just weird because director Evans just assumes the audience is going to go for it. The Raid has some beautifully executed action sequences and some great fight choreography, but Evans’s best instinct is for what works with the cast. The movie starts with Uwais, sticks with Uwais—introducing Taslim as the leader and quickly establishing his relationship with Gruno—but when it’s time for Taslim to take on Ruhian, it’s not a supporting character’s fight scene. It’s the big hero’s fight scene.

Uwais’s arc sort of stalling out probably doesn’t help him maintain the spotlight. After the first big action sequence, Uwais has a whole “help wounded comrade” survive arc. Tegar Satrya’s the wounded comrade. The movie’s only ever established he’s a dick, which makes Uwais saving him somewhat more dramatic maybe, but no more entertaining to watch. Plus Satrya’s unlikable. Only he and Gruno are unlikable. Everyone else, good or bad, is enjoyable to watch. Like Alfridus Godfred, who’s basically just “Machete Guy,” because everyone gets their hands on a machete. Godfred’s terrifying, just a walking embodiment of probable dismemberment. But you want to see him, you want to see him more, as the film builds to whatever fight sequence he’s going to participate in. Again, Evans has great instincts for rising action scene tension.

The drama stuff, involving Uwais, Alamsyah, Gruno, Darmawan, and Sahetapy? Eh. Sahetapy’s is the best because Sahetapy’s a very evil hoot of a villain. Evans also knows how violent to get and not to get, when to show, when to tell, when to imply. But the drama? It’s take it or leave it. It’s not bad, just pedestrian and superfluous. Or should be.

See, while everyone who’s got a big fight scene—Taslim, Uwais, Alamsyah, and, obviously, Ruhian—is great at the fighting… Evans isn’t great at the directing. He’s good enough at it for a while, but when it’s the marathon Ruhian vs. Uwais and Alamsyah fight? It gets boring. Evans can showcase his actors’ skills but he can’t keep them compelling. Evans also edited the film and most of the editing is excellent, but the longer fight scenes—usually when there’s not scenery around to damage—the cuts are just between not great shots. It’s a bummer.

Nice photography from Matt Flannery and Dimas Imam Subhono, great music by Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese (which is the difference between this international version and the original, plus an added subtitle, Redemption, because of rights issues). The Raid is about as good as you can get for an all-action martial arts movie with the barest hints of a real story and flat direction on the martial arts themselves. It’s very impressive work from Evans and company.

Grantchester (2014) s05e06

This episode serves as a possible pilot for sixth “Grantchester” and a second full season for new vicar Tom Brittney. Lots gets resolved, both in regards to recent events and season-long subplots. The show’s sparing in the schmaltz, instead going for knowing smiles and warm feelings, and it feels as good as a show about murders in a small British city in the fifties with characters who are becoming woker than most shows set in the modern day is ever going to feel.

Possibly because Brittney finally lets his guard down. The episode opens with him doing a degenerate drunk routine at his mom’s party. Mom Jemma Redgrave is marrying rich dipshit Dominic Mafham. Brittney disapproves, hence the drunkenness. So he spends the first third of the episode hungover, as he and Robson Green track a dead woman to a strange convent run by authoritarian Tracy Ann Oberman, who enrages and intrigues Brittney. He can’t understand how she does what she does in God’s name or some such thing. Sidney’s been gone so long I’d forgotten “Grantchester” used to regularly have crises of faith. Brittney’s been a rock this season, until last episode. So, broken, he involuntarily gravitates towards Oberman.

Oberman’s a good foil for Brittney. She’s unpredictable and rather cagey; her interrogation scene is almost a femme fatale thing, which is weird considering she’s just out of the habit.

Then there’s the Leonard (Al Weaver) plot. His dad—a perfectly fine but nothing special Sean Gilder—comes to visit and things don’t go well. There are unexpected revelations and dashed hopes and it’s all very depressing until it isn’t anymore because you don’t want to be depressed going out on the show this season. No spoilers but… it’s a very nice ending.

“Grantchester” has been fairly busy this season and this episode does a fine job wrapping up all the existing storylines. It’s a little uneven balancing subplots for Brittney, Green, Weaver, and Peake-Jones—even with Peake-Jones getting a lot less—with Green’s stuff all at the beginning of the season, but it works well enough. “Grantchester”’s successfully navigated the vicar change… now it just needs to get renewed.

Grantchester (2014) s05e05

It’s an exceedingly unpleasant hour of “Grantchester,” full of revelations and character developments, some to the point where it’s hard to imagine what next week’s episode is going to bring. Will (Tom Brittney) ends the episode in a rather dark place, which is to be expected given how things go in the episode, but dark enough everyone’s a little taken aback. As usual the episode ends in a sermon. Not a happy one.

The episode’s mostly downbeat, teasing possibly awful reveals—the best possible option is a gang of teen criminals—but there are positive moments in it. Al Weaver’s arc this season, becoming more and more comfortable in his own skin, results in some great marriage counseling scenes with Weaver, Tessa Peake-Jones, and Nick Brimble. Old man Brimble (who’s excellent this episode) gets to try to do the work of atonement due to his martial strife with Peake-Jones, which is nice to see. And the show presents it believably. There’s no sugar-coating in “Grantchester,” which is too bad after this episode.

Without spoiling too much, this episode brings a season-long subplot to the front burner—revealing it to be a single subplot too—and throws everyone into the bowling pot; mostly Brittney and Robson Green. They’re already on awkward ground with Brittney being more pally with boxing coach Ross Boatman lately than Green, to the point Brittney hasn’t told Green about his awkward marriage proposal to Lauren Carse (who’s reduced to a very small part this episode, though maybe not inappropriately given the subject matter).

A nice scene for Oliver Dimsdale and Weaver, cementing Weaver’s character development over the season, and some strong acting from Sandra Huggett as Boatman’s wife. Jim Caesar’s back again as the troubled youth who Boatman and Brittney want to help—and who Green’s indifferent about—including an introduction to his home life and mum Sarah Stanley. Tough stuff with Caesar, a lot of it left unsaid.

From the first five or so minutes, just with everything being so relatively low stress, it seems like something bad’s coming down the pike in “Grantchester” but its immediate arrival—and the force of the bad—is jarring. Outside Weaver’s estranged father maybe showing up for a visit next episode, the show’s going into the season finale without much foreshadowing and starting from a very bad place.

Mr. Brooks (2007, Bruce A. Evans)

The scariest thing about Mr. Brooks, ostensibly a serial killer thriller, is what if it’s not an absurdist comedy. What if we’re really supposed to believe Demi Moore is a millionaire cop who’s out to get the bad guys….

Thankfully, between William Hurt’s performance (he gleefully chews scenery like his omnipresent gum) as Kevin Costner’s imaginary friend and then Costner’s silly nasal voice, it’s impossible to take seriously. And I’m not even mentioning when the movie obviously lifts scenes from Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs… or makes fun of Demi Moore being married to Ashton Kutcher.

The first half of the film maintains this absurdist approach—some of the dialogue between Moore and Lindsay Crouse is so funny, it’s hard to believe Crouse could keep a straight face. Unfortunately, writers Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon can’t keep up the farcical nature and eventually feel the need to insert narrative. There’s actual potential, but it’s problematic given the film as it exists so far.

For example, Hurt sort of disappears and Moore becomes prevalent.

Dane Cook’s around too, as Costner’s erstwhile sidekick and Moore’s suspect, and he’s awful. Marg Helgenberger, as Costner’s unknowing wife, isn’t much help either. She sells some of the absurdity in the first ten minutes, but then her presence becomes troublesome. A lot of the plot threads go nowhere.

When it finally gets to the inevitable twist ending, Mr. Brooks has lost the momentum. But, in a certain frame of mind, it’s not exactly worthless.