Quick Review: "Sherlock" Series 2

So, another series of "Sherlock" has come and gone, and too short it was. We started off the series with Irene Adler's debut in "A Scandal in Belgravia," penned by Moffat. Adler proved to be an interesting character, and the twist at the end, with Sherlock saving her from execution, was nicely done. I especially liked how it showcased a femme fatale of sorts for Sherlock Holmes. Next, we had "The Hounds of Baskerville," a nicely updated take on the former tale. The story itself was interesting because of the nature of the mystery. Seeing the fear on Sherlock's face after seeing the hound was well worth it, and the last scene was a nice set-up for the finale, "The Reichenbach Fall." Taking it's title from the classic Doyle-penned story "The Final Problem," where Holmes and Moriarty meet their fate, it updates the story in wonderful ways. Moriarty was in full form here, ranging from the silent menace, to full-on fake act, to his quirky self from series 1. The plan Moriarty hatched to destroy Sherlock was ingenious, from using a fake code to making a mystery so ideally designed for Sherlock that everyone started to blame him. Did Moriarty die at the end? I honestly hope they decide not to go the Doyle route, and actually leave him alive. And Sherlock.... how did he escape his demise? We clearly saw him jump, or so it seems, but Moffat insists there's a clue we missed. I can't wait for the next series! Moriarty was such a fantastically written and acted villain, he was the clear highlight of this series for me. Bring on series 3!

oscars

biggest snub? serkis for rotpota

Dexter's Downfall

Dexter was a total let down this season. Apparently showunners have been changing for each of the last three seasons, which explains their differences in quality. The show's peak was trinity's season 4, and last season was decent. This season was terrible. Geller and brother sam were good characters, but the former wasnt real, and the latter left early on. And we were left with Travis, a decent character early on, but without Geller, a boring, monotonous villain.

And it feels like everything after the Geller reveal was designed to augment that final scene. Deb having feelings, romantically, for dexter? I didn't see that in any of the prior 5 seasons. Yes, she's had relationship issues, but loving her brother? And not only subconsciously, but embracing it over the course of just 2 episodes? And all supposedly to amplify whatever her response is to finding Dexter's dark passenger? Give me a break.

When I see bad plot structures or executions, I like to play a game called 1-minute-plot, where i come up with an alternatively more interesting plot (in my opinion) in under a minute. For dexter, I'd say we should have had an undercurrent villain, maybe a serial rapist, who dexter is after all seaso and is elusive. Unbeknownst to him, deb's friend was a victim, and deb tracks this guy on her own, and finally catches him just as dex is about to off him. Trinity would still be the main villain. See, this is similar to how deb found dex now, but instead of being forced and contrived, it shows a common bind they share in defeating criminals, albeit in different ways. And it would leave the trinity story with room to breathe, unlike here, where Travis's death felt set up just for the surprise.

With Louis the intern on the horizon, maybe as a future big bad, and deb now knowing dexters secret, I feel the show has only one place to go to redeem itself: up. But my trust in the writer's has been shaken, and i plan I watch next season with a more critical eye.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Prologue

"The Dark Knight Rises" Prologue

Warner Brothers held a sneak preview of the TDKR prologue, basically the first scene, on December 13th, 2011, at select IMAX theaters. I was at clinic when tickets went up for grabs, and I was able to procure two of them. A close friend of mine came with me, and we went to the IMAX at the Palisades mall. Although we were there by 9PM, there was already a significant line. I showed them my passes, and we were able to get decent seats. Before entering, though, we were given free batman TDKR shirts with a batman symbol and the word "LEGEND" underneath.

The TKDR prologue started a few minutes later, after people were warned to turn off their phones, camera, iPads, etc. Here are my thoughts from that day:

I was first disappointed, but in hindsight its a scene that sticks with you. That voice is just insane. A foreign accent (Russian? German?) with that crazy mask muffling it, being lost in the scene because of only understanding 50% of Bane's dialogue. Weird stuff. And was that our friend Ra's al Ghul in the bag, perhaps receiving some lazarus style treatments? What's up w Dr. Pavan? The Joker bank scene was more fun and cool, but didn't have a lotta impact later in the film aside from knowing he stole mob money. This scene i think will have much more far reaching consequences. It has been compare online to a bond scene and I agree. Can't wait. nice foil between batman's suave capture on a plane of Lao and Bane's raw capture of the doctor, brutal and messy and so raw. And "crashing this plane" is so ripe for parody. If I had the time and skills I'd try to make an auto tune song of it!

Thinking about it afterwards, the body in the bag probably wasn't Ra's. It's probably just a decoy body, with some of Dr. Pavel's blood put into it, to make it seem like he died. Bane's dialogue is actually rather interesting, as the script of the first scene came out. Once you know what he's saying, it's obviously more understandable. There was an uproar over the voice, and apparently WB wanted the voice to change. I hope Nolan sticks to his guns and keeps it. Bane is much creepier when you only know part of what he's saying.

Some reviews online of the prologue were very positive, and one I recall even said, "Joker who?" I think that's a bit extreme. Bane seems interesting, but from that one scene, he does not have the screen presence that Ledger's Joker had. Joker just drew all attention to him, with his bizarre appearance, distinctive voice, and vibe of utter unpredictability. Bane has potential, but we need to see more of him. Another review online said that Bane needed to have a unique voice to contrast with Joker, and I agree. Having Bane with a normal voice would be rather dull, so having him muffled makes him much more interesting.

It was totally worth going to see this 5-6 minutes prologue, and I can't wait for TDKR in July!