HOUSE OF CARDS S5 EP 3 CHAPTER 55 - Plot summary and comments

PLOT SUMMARY: It's the day before the Presidential election.  We open on a campaign ad for Republican Presidential candidate Governor Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman). It outlines the heroic act of valour that won him military honours.  Will then accuses President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) of failing to keep the country safe in a live stream.  A public questioner asks why the terrorist Josh Masterson wanted to talk to Will and why he only managed to negotiate the release of Mrs Miller and the daughter rather than the husband who was then beheaded.  A survivor of the attack calls in but can't get Conway to admit that he lied about the event in Afghanistan. We realise that the Underwoods campaign manager Leann Harvey (Neve Campbell) is behind it, but with little apparent success. Conway also brings a new manager on board - Mark Usher (Campbell Scott.)

First lady and Vice Presidential candidate Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) addresses a campaign rally. She then joins Frank for another one. He's losing his voice but refuses her help in a patronising manner. Back on Air Force One, Claire receives information from the Secret Service that the sleeping Frank asked for on a suspicious looking man in the crowd.   Once landed, Secretary of State Cathy Durant (Jayne Atkinson) gives Frank four options of people to arrest that could be the ICO terrorist.  He is reluctant to arrest the wrong person on election day. Doug then brings him information on Conway's "heroic" act.  Much later, Claire wakes up to see Frank awake and fully dressed.  He phones Conway to say he shouldn't feel ashamed about whatever happened in Afghanistan. 

Meanwhile Chief of Staff Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) chides the ex-Vice President and now Governor in a swing state for failing to implement voter centres.  Stamper accuses him of making excuses and lying and he agrees to comply.  Later Doug has a casual hook up but she leaves because he's not present in the room.

The morning of the elections, campaign manager Leann Harvey (Neve Campbell) gets the early numbers and they're not good for the Underwoods. Nonetheless they are defiant.

COMMENTS: Given that this was the pre-election episode I found it frustrating and dull. The Underwoods didn't really have anything on Conway who is bland as a antagonist.  They are basically united.  The pullback to Claire's lover in her bed is no longer shocking as we are used to their open marriage.  The testimony of the press secretary came to nothing. And there are no consequences to the IT attack yet.  A complete non episode with the exception of a rather nice and creepy tracking shot round the corner of Doug's bedroom. The theme of frustration continues - both in terms of Doug's hookup's sexual frustration and Claire's political frustration at not being Veep yet, and one suspects, not being President yet. 

SPIDERMAN 3 - in which Spidey jumps the shark

SPIDERMAN 3 was a big event in Bina-world. I'd arranged a posse of like-minded individuals to go see it at the big fat Odeon in Leicester Square. There's nothing like a packed house of fans cheering the opening credits and laughing at all the gags - it's popcorn entertainment at its best.

The opening hour was fine. Peter Parker was back, even more nerdy that usual and a little self-satisfied at Spidey's popularity among New Yorkers. Sure, his best mate Harry wasn't speaking to him, believing Spidey had killed his dad. And his girlfriend Mary-Jane was getting panned by critics in her new Broadway show. Oh, and there was that annoying photographer, Eddie Brock, trying to muscle in on a staff job at the Daily Bugle. But basically, Peter was okay, the film zipped along happily and the higher quota of comedy was fun. In particular, there was some broad physical comedy in a restaurent scene where Peter attempts to propose to MJ.

But around half way through bad things happen. And I'm not just talking about the meteoric slime that attaches itself to Spidey and brings out his aggressive nature. Sam Raimi - a man whose judgement has previously been impeccable, simply lets Spidey jump the shark.

By which I mean that the ueber-confident "black" Peter Parker strutts down the street spoofing Saturday Night Fever. Raimi makes Spidey look bad-ass by making him wear his fringe forward and givin him black eyeliner! He dances with Gwen Stacey in a jazz club spoofing Jim Carrey in The Mask. The humour is broad and it really works. I laughed myself silly. But I was laughing AT the movie, and worst of all, I think Raimi et al were laughing at the movie too. They were sending the Spidey iconography up. Going for cheap laughs also totally destroyed the emotional credibility of the franchise. By the time we'd been through Tobey Maguire's moody teenager impression I was in no mood to hear him pontificate about moral choices and forgiveness, and I certainly wasn't emotionally invested in the movie's ending. An ending which, by the way, rivals LORD OF THE RINGS for its inability to pull down the curtain.

So, SPIDERMAN 3 still has all the cool CGI stunts, and some decent turns from Kirsten Dunst, J K Simmons and Bruce Campbell. Thomas Haden Church is perfectly cast as the Sandman - he has such sympathetic eyes you can't help feeling for him. There's also a woefully brief cameo role from Topher Grace as Venom. Venom is such a great character - a complete bastard - and Topher Grace gave such a fantastic performance that he should have had more screen-time or a movie where he was the only villain. Tobey Maguire proves he can play comedy. I just wished he hadn't proved it in this film. And I remain unconvinced about James Franco's ability to pull off a serious dramatic role.

Overall, I was highly disappointed. As were Nikolai, Movie Matt, Richard and Alan, who'd come all the way down from Edinburgh for this, the first Yippee-Kay-Yay Meet Up. (Although Matt thought it would be a fun night out for kids.) Swedish Philip also gave it the thumbs down. He makes the brilliant point that he expected Spidey 3 to be the most dark and psychologically penetrating given that it featured the Black Spidey. He was expecting the mood to be more BATMAN BEGINS than Broadway Musical. Swedish Lizzie thought it was "utter crap" (although she's so generally amiable and looked so happy I mistakenly thought she liked it). Ken and Graham thought it was okay (see comment below), John kind of enjoyed it, but John thought it ripped off SUPERMAN too much. (I agree. Over-wrought religious imagery up the wazoo, let alone a ridiculously cheesy shot of Spidey in front of the Star-Spangled Banner.) Rav liked it but thought it ripped off THE MASK and Stoogy actually thought it was better for the first one! So out of 12 "votes", we have 7 Nays and 5 ayes.

SPIDERMAN 3 is on global release.