Kingsman: The Secret Service

Over spring break, I watched Kingsman: The Secret Service in theaters with a few friends. Overall, I thought it was an interesting take on the spy genre that delivered a lot of great action sequences along with a not-so-terrible plot. While Kingsman may have been overshadowed by Oscar nominees this year, it delivers enough fun to make it worth the price of admission.

The movie centers around Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), a rebellious teen who gets roped into the secret society known as the Kingsman. Throughout the film, Eggsy is mentored by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a skilled assassin and saboteur who is in debt to Eggsy's deceased father. Eggsy needs to overcome challenges and outlast the other contestants as he tries to become a official member of the Kingsman. Meanwhile, Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), a tech savvy billionaire leaves a trail of bloodshed and bodies as he leads up to his greatest, and most cynical, invention to date and it's up to Eggsy and Harry to thwart his malicious plans.

Going into the film, I really didn't have high expectations. Once the characters and plot were established, I thought it would be pretty predictable for the most part. However, there were a lot of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Deaths of major characters and complete 180s in the plot were a few of the things that kept me excited.

Although at first glance the movie might seem family friendly, it has a R rating and it has rightfully earned it. The action scenes are brutal to say the least. With decapitations, loss of limbs, and more blood than a slaughter house, this movie is definitely not for those with weak stomachs. Overall, this film had a lot more than I was expecting. While I may not recommend it as the greatest spy film, it is a film you can have a lot of fun while watching.

Skins: UK vs. US

There are so many reasons why the British series Skins is so innovative and entertaining. It is a show that breaks barriers and explores taboo subjects such as sex, drugs, and mental illness in adolescents. It is a teen drama that focuses on different “generations” of students that are all struggling with the hardships of life. Upon the shows success in the United Kingdom, and seeing the large U.S. audience that it had attracted, it was soon adapted into an American series. Unfortunately it was ineffective and failed before the end of its first season. For some reason, it did not capture audiences like its U.K. predecessor.

I believe that the reason the show failed in the United States was because of the censorship and an aversion to nudity that we have in this country. If our television industry was more open and honest about sexuality and other taboo subjects, then the show might not have been such a failure. Another reason that it was not a success was because the American series tried so hard to be almost identical to the U.K. series. The first few scenes of the U.S. pilot were almost word for word and shot for shot to the original series. Due to this lack of originality and creativity, along with the censorship issues, the show was dumbed down and did not translate well, especially to those who had been long time fans of the British series.

            There were other aspects of the American series that I found interesting. Because of their need to be so similar to the original, it was strange to me when I found out some of the character changes I made. For one thing, I thought it was interesting that they changed the gay male character in the British version to a lesbian cheerleader in the U.S. series. I am not sure what their reasoning behind this was, but my theory was that this was a way to bring more sex appeal to the show and entrap a male audience. If this is the case, it is yet another reason why I dislike the American series.

            The United Kingdom version of Skins was groundbreaking. Although it definitely may have crossed the line to some in multiple instances, it was a show that teens could watch and not feel as though they were being babied. It treated its audience like adults, which I think is one of the main reasons that it developed such a following. Skins is a great show and one that I definitely recommend. I will say that like most of the shows I watch, it is an acquired taste, but if you are into something different, I would totally check this out.

The Cinematography of Skyfall

Rodger Deakins, CBE, ASC, BSC, is a British cinematographer who is truly remarkable.  He has worked as the cinematographer on such incredible films as Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? and now Skyfall.  Deakins has been nominated 10 times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and each time he has been robbed.  In particular this past award year really bothered me, as Skyfall was one of the most beautiful films I have seen in the past few years.  On top of that, Deakins lost to the cinematographer from Life of Pi, which makes little sense to me, as the film was almost entirely created in post production.  But, that is another story altogether.  I want to take an in depth look at the real reasons why Deakins deserved the 2012 Academy Award for Best Cinematography.  In particular, throughout the film, Deakins' use of light and color is magical.  We see incredibly rich yellows, blues and even some reds.  

First Shot:

Deakins does not waste any time. His first shot starts out completely out of focus.  The only light is coming from behind Bond, he is not front lit at all.  As James Bond walks down the hallway, he moves into focus.  When he move completely into focus, he is lit with rich yellow light only capturing his eyes.  This intriguing scene immediately pulls us into the world of James Bond (only the first 30 seconds are necessary to get the point).

Shanghai:

  

James Bond pursues an assassin to Shanghai, and then follows him to an upper floor of a skyscraper.  Here Rodger Deakins takes advantage of the beautiful effect that can be found from reflections.  The theme of reflections is something that Deakins plays with throughout the film, not just in this scene.  He uses them a lot around the cell of the villain.  

In Shaghai, he reflects the beautiful neon colors of the city throughout the scene.  Bond and the assasin fight amongst the mirrors and the reflections (and the camera is never in the shot, despite the many mirrors).  The skyscraper is bathed in neon blue, which casts much of Bond and his target into shadow.  This comes into beautiful contrast with the room in the adjacent skyscraper.  The focus on the shots are also incredibly well done (see image below).  

Macau:

Bond follows a lead he received from the assassin to a seedy gambling ring in Macau.  Here we have an insane lighting/color palette.  Deakins and the production team on Skyfall put together incredible lanterns and dragons.  These colors tend to be a very red/yellow/orange palette which contrasts really beautifully off the previous scene in Shanghai.  These lights and colors are tied together with some really impressive crane shots and tracking shots.  This then ties into some fireworks, which we can even see off of James Bond's face.

Scotland:

Deakins then contrasts both of these scenes off of Bond's home, Scotland.  These scenes are very misty and washed out and Deakins uses a significant number of wide shots to really show case the beautiful landscape.  The skill with which Deakins captures the landscape reminds me very much of the skill with which Peter Jackson captures the beauty of New Zealand with Lord of the Rings or the way JJ Abrams'  TV series, Lost captured the landscape of Hawaii.  The shots in Scotland start in the afternoon, progress through sunset and end with night shot.   The precision that comes with having to light this transitional period of the day, is huge.  

In addition, the lighting that came from having to deal with the mansion on fire.  Once the mansion is on fire, and everyone is leaving it, they must be lit accordingly.  For this shot Deakins had to bring in a significant number of Dino lights.  

In post production the Dino lights are edited out and the flaming mansion is edited in.  This was an incredibly strong climactic scene of the film.  

I would highly recommend any of Deakins' work, but Skyfall was very strong in particular.  The cinematography of Skyfall really deserved to be recognized in the form of an Academy Award.  

Does Anyone Even Watch This Show?

After recently getting a Showtime account, I was able to explore all of the wonderful TV shows and movies offered online and on the channel.  I have already watched all of Homeland so it was time for me to start another Showtime series that I could become addicted to.  That's when I decided to start watching Episodes.  Episodes stars one of my favorite comedic actors Matt LeBlanc of Friends fame.  The show even won him a Golden Globe last year for best actor in a comedy.  But after watching a few episodes, I realized....I think I might be the only person in the world who watches this show.  I have never heard anyone talk about it, nor have I seen any advertisements for it on other sites like Hulu, or TV Guide.  Could this be a diamond in the rough or is there a reason for its lack of viewership?

Frankly, I love the show.  It's a smart comedy about two British TV writers who move to L.A. and are forced to "Americanize" their show.  Episodes is unique in the fact that it is an American and British comedy, premiering on Showtime as well as on BBC 2.  The show was created by Jeffry Klarik (co-producer of Mad About You, and The Class) and his business and life partner (how cute!!) David Crane (co-creator of Friends).  I think the two have created an extremely witty show with a funny ensemble.  To be frank I probably would not have started watching this show if Matt LeBlanc and David Crane were not involved, because Friends is my all time favorite show.

Episodes follows around a married couple who have won yet another BAFTA award for their TV show about a headmaster at a boys boarding school.  A snobby, pompous LA producer has them come out to LA to produce the show, much to their dismay.  After casting Matt LeBlanc (who plays himself) as the headmaster things go downhill after everyone starts changing their show.  They change the plot of the show, and the cast and characters and chaos ensues.  Episodes has been renewed for a 3rd season, and I can't wait to continue watching the rest of the series on Showtime, hoping that someone else in the world will watch it with me and enjoy the quirky characters and silly plots just as much as I do.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is because it reminds me of what it's like to produce my own sitcom (Boys of 213 on ICTV check it out!) and I can relate to the producers in many ways.