JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH****

It is with no small irony that the new Jurassic Park film asks us to imagine a world in which consumers are bored with dinosaurs, given that this franchise has offered diminishing returns to the viewer since its inception thirty years ago.   In this new film, boredom, climate change, and disease have combined to make dinosaurs irrelevant to anyone living beyond a narrow band around the equator where they still flourish, and humans are strictly forbidden. Of course, that won't stop unscrupulous capitalists trying to exploit them for cash. Cue a trip to the Caribbean for Rupert Friend's evil pharma exec,  Scarlett Johansson's special ops team leader and Mahershala Ali's ship's captain. And, because Jurassic Park, they will pick up some capsized cute kids en route.  

Set up complete. What about the execution?  Gareth Edwards (ROGUE ONE) has made THE BEST Jurassic Park film since the original and, whisper it quietly, perhaps even surpassed the iconic Spielberg original. A tight script from the original screenwriter, David Koepp combine with superb performances from a heavyweight cast to create character depth and backstory quickly and convincingly. I actually cared about these characters' moral choices and evolving emotional relationships.  

And what of the thrills and spills? It should comes as no surprise that the director who made MONSTERS knows what he's doing with simultaneously frightening and awe-inspiring beasties. We see them move through the water like Jaws, or nuzzle up to each other in fond embrace. It's all spectacular. I particularly liked a scene shot behind a character where a beastie we know well from the original is taken out by its predator. But the tour de force set piece is in the film's final act, where chiaroscuro lighting, tension-inducing editing, superb scoring from Alexandre Desplat and a truly mesmerising performance from Mahershala Ali combine to captivate us. And because of David Koepp's script we know enough about his character to truly understand and respect his motivations. The only bum note in the film is when Edwards chickens out with a bit of improbable schmaltz, more befitting a Spielberg film than one of this own. But we can't have everything I guess.

It also surprises me that social media trolls haven't labelled this film woke, and have instead directed their ire at SUPERMAN and SNOW WHITE.  After all, the message of this film (which I heartily endorse) is that "science is for everyone" not corporations with patents.  And in a lightly-done but profound scene, we hear a hispanic dad (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) tell his daughter's apparently feckless but actually rather lovely boyfriend (David Iacono) not to think the worst of himself - others do that already. This is what a David Koepp script gives you.  Subtle moments rather than heavy-handed exposition.  

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH has a running time of 133 minutes, is rated PG-13 and is global release.

GREEN BOOK

I started watching GREEN BOOK minded not to like it. Sure, I think both Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are fine actors, and I love biopics. But I had been awed by Spike Lee's BLACKKKLANSMAN and swayed by articles arguing that GREEN BOOK's more old-fashioned anodyne depiction of 1960s race relations was regressive and worse still potentially racist. How could the story of an incredibly talented African-American musician be centred on the story of his white driver?  Wasn't this just another tale of a white person coming to enlightenment at the expense of a wise black side-kick?  Wasn't this THE HELP, or DRIVING MISS DAISY?  All of this criticism was heightened when GREEN BOOK surprisingly won Best Picture at the Oscars, ahead of BLACKKKLANSMAN, THE FAVOURITE or even ROMA. Wasn't this just another example of the Oscars proving themselves to be old fashioned and out of touch?

Well yes and no. Is GREEN BOOK better than the BLACKKKLANSMAN? Clearly not. That is a movie that balances comedy and righteous anger with such perfection and fury that it sears the imagination.  But GREEN BOOK *is* a handsomely made, more delicate film, that in its suspiciously easy rhythm hides a rather subversive look not just at race relations but also homophobia. It's beautifully acted and constructed, incredibly watchable, and really quite lovely.  

Mortensen plays real life Italian-American nightclub bouncer and all-round swaggering macho-man, Tony Lip. (Interestingly the real life Tony turned up as an actor in THE SOPRANOS many years later.) Down on his financial luck, he takes a job chauffering Dr Donald Shirley (Ali) on a tour of the deep south.  It is made very clear to Tony that he's not being hired for his driving skills - Shirley's management expect racial violence in the South and need Tony's muscle. And so what develops is a really lovely and convincing odd-couple buddy road movie. Tony's rough, crude manner is contrasted with Shirley's courteous, gentlemanlike manner.   Over time, Tony becomes less racist, although it seems like he was already rather pragmatic on the issue of homosexuality.  

I rather like the delicate way in which profound issues are handled.  The risks attendant on Shirley's homosexuality are handled in a single scene, and seeing Ali cowering naked in a bathhouse conveys so much so swiftly.  I also like the way in which Shirley's conflicted position vis a vis his own race is portrayed: like Nina Simone he is more comfortable in the world of classical music but forced to play popular music because that's what the market expects of him.  Moreover, Shirley defies all racial stereotypes much to Tony's disappointment, but also earning him the mistrust of his fellow African Americans. I even like the way in which the movie shows the differing styles of racism across America.  It may have been more explicit in the South - with bars on entrances, where you can eat, where you can sleep, whether you can be out after dark. But that doesn't mean that the north is a nirvana.  The subversive racism - the epithets, the subtle refusing to drink from a black man's cup - it's all still there. 

GREEN BOOK is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 130 minutes. The movie is on global release.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

By now I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but how wonderful to confirm that all the hype is justified - SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is an absolutely delightful film! It's heart-warming, witty, visually inventive and has such a wonderfully light touch about diversity.  I cannot imagine a better version of Spider-man, and learning that this is based on a comic book series that pre-dates the latest live action version, I'm utterly disappointed that Sony/Marvel didn't take the bold step of using this continuity rather than reverting to the old one.

In this Spider-man story, Peter Parker dies early and his role as crime-fighting hero is taken over by a kind called Miles Morales (Shameikh Moore) - a young boy who just got bitten by a radioactive spider. Peter Parker  (Jake Johnson) is around just long enough to pass on a few tips before Spidey 2.0 is joined by a bunch of other Spideys from parallel universes - including a schlubby Peter Parker (Chris Pine), a female Spidey, a noir Spidey (brilliantly cast Nic Cage!) and even a Looney Tunes Spidey!  I am reliably informed that all of these are from old comic book series, and I have to say that I would pay good money to see a full length Spidey Noir movie starring Nic Cage.  All the different Spideys have to team up to save the world from evil Doc Ock - both sending back all the parallel universe spideys through Ock's evil machine, before Miles can destroy it for good.

What I love about this story is that doesn't condescend to it's young audience - giving them a story that hinges on parallel universes and rather hallucinogenic depictions of what it might look like to be in an unstable environment.  I also love the film's core message that anyone can be a hero - even if you haven't seen a hero on screen that looks like you before - whether because you're a girl, or an ethnic minority. In fact, anyone can be a supervillian too! Just look at female Doc Ock. It's a film that doesn't shy away from showing what it must mean to be a poor kid who gets selected for an elite school and has to leave his friend's behind. It's a film that will casually show a homeless person sleeping outside of a shiny building. And it's a film that will have a African-American/Latino kid speak to his mum in Spanish without feeling the need for subtitles. I love that courage, self-confidence and inclusion.

But most of all I just love how visually inventive this film is, and how manifestly the creators love comic books.  They have a real understanding about how the flow of panels works, how we turn a page on a story, even giving Miles thought bubbles as soon as he becomes a superhero.  This gives the film a wonderfully kinetic energy, real joy, and wit in also parodying the 3d blurring around its edges.

All in all, I really hope Sony/Marvel will capitalise on this film's success by continuing the Miles Morales storyline in animated form if nothing else.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE has a running time of 117 minutes and is rated PG. 

MOONLIGHT

In over a decade of watching over 200 movies a year, and trying to seek out independent movies, I've never seen a film about gay black men.  That's really quite something when you think about it.  And so it's deeply refreshing and heartening to see MOONLIGHT capture critical praise.  That said, while I found much to admire in its intent and some of its performances, it was a less moving and impressive watch than I had anticipated.  

The film is written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on an unproduced play by Tarell Alvin McCraney and is based on their childhood experience of growing up gay in a deeply dysfunctional black community in Florida.  What's impressive is that they manage to subvert the stereotypes of the black drug dealer and the crack whore, and the entire concept of masculinity by showing us what they know. The result is a film that feels claustrophobic and melancholy - of a community that is fundamentally dysfunctional, in which its members feel trapped, but where there is some slight hope of escape. It's also a community that feels odd to English eyes insofar as it's so un-diverse - the only white face we see is a cop.

The formal structure of the play carries over to the film: we meet our protagonist at three ages, in three thirty-five minute segments.  In the first part he's a skinny schoolkid called Chiron (Alex R Hibbert), bullied for being camp, who finds solace from his crack addict single mother with a drug dealer called Juan (Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend, Teresa (Jangle Monae).  Against all expectations, it's the drug dealer who proves caring, understanding and comforting - even going so far as to tell young Chiron that he doesn't need to figure out of he's gay yet, and even if he is, he shouldn't feel ashamed of it.  Moreover, Juan is morally complex, at once judgmental of Chiron's mother's drug addiction, but also conscious that he's the man selling to her.  The power of Ali's performance in this segment is quite dazzling, and I'm not sure the film ever really recovers from his absence.

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty-Nine

COMMENTS:  Let's talk about the look of Claire Underwood - the killer skin-tight dresses, the long toned legs, the impeccable hair and make-up, sexy but classy, frosty even. And let's talk about one of the rare times we see her in a suit, in grey, enclosing herself in a room tastefully and classically furnished in dove grey prints, shutting double doors on her husband's campaigning.  Now let's talk about samurai-Claire - as always in times of stress she dons the all-black ninja work-out clothes - except this time instead of taking a run very deliberately outside of the White House - she's using a rowing machine with a kind of manic ecstatic look on her face. And then Claire in a virginal and quite feminine white dress, pacified, looking dead behind the eyes, agreeing to stand by his side as the election result is announced.   Later, Claire dressed in funereal black watching Frank's acceptance speech, being manhandled by him in the Oval Office.

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty-Eight

COMMENTS: So many times in this season I've felt that Claire was a minute away from leaving Frank and we had another example in this episode.  I really hope something of this happens in the final episode or it will have felt like a gigantic waste of time.   But it does highlight the theme of this episode and indeed the season. It's all about love. Not the marriage of Claire and Frank but the marriage of Doug and Frank.  The loyalty he shows comes close to psychopathic.  But one question - how come burning the journal didn't set off any fire alarms in the Oval Office?!

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty-Six

COMMENTS: Well, Tom Yates suddenly became an interesting character!  Trying to manipulate an arch manipulator is really quite something and I wonder if he's even really bisexual and whether all those tales of turning tricks are actually true.  It's a measure of how wrong-footed Frank has been in this episode that he doesn't go for it - after all, in previous seasons he has taken what he wanted with absolute certainty he won't be found out.  In other news, Claire has been comprehensively belittled by Frank who tells her she's been played.  There HAS to be some comeback for that doesn't there?  Isn't the endgame that Claire stiffs Frank and runs in her out right? If not this season, then next season.  The obsequious willingness to even change her hair colour because of a focus group seems uncharacteristic. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Three - Chapter Thirty-Five

COMMENT:  I had just been thinking how irrelevant Remy Danton had been to this season - a token black man in a white series.  And suddenly this show tackles the race issue head on with a stop and search. Will it have the balls to follow up this storyline, though?  Or will it just be a crush to get Remy and Jackie Sharp back into bed together?  Otherwise the Stamper storyline creaks it's wheels into the final act & the Russian-Israeli diplomatic fracas seems to be plausibly escalating.  Less insider political chicanery than I would've liked but a good tense and subtle episode.

PLOT SUMMARY:  Russian casualties in the UN peace-keeping mission cause a diplomatic crisis.   FU needs Yates to finish the book more than ever now as part of his campaign but he notices something is off.  Petrov refuses to allow the allies to investigate the attack so Claire asks the Russian Ambassador to help her back-channel the diplomacy.  The Ambassador accuses Petrov of having engineered the attack to isolate the Russians, as he never wanted the peacekeeping force. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty Four

PLOT SUMMARY: Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) testifies in front of Special Prosecutor Heather Dunbar (Elizabeth Marvel) as to how far he knew foreign money laundering into PACs.  At first he denies everything, but then Frank tells President Walker (Michael Gill) that he's going to go public on the back-channelling. This alarms the president because that's an impeachable offence. Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) says he acted without the Vice President or President's knowledge but Underwood takes responsibility for his actions anyway.

Meanwhile, the Japan-China dispute escalates with the USA's Samarium stockpile down to two months. Daniel Lanagan (Gil Birmingham) complains to Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) that he's already been offered a plea if he testifies against Ray Tusk but Remy tries to persuade him not to take it.  Remy investigates Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) on the pretense that his lobbying firm might be about to hire her, and shady PR man Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) is in cahoots with Stamper.  Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) dodges an investigation by journalists, and she pressures Megan Hennessy (Libby Woodbrige) to speak out to support her floundering Bill.  Finally, investigative journalist Ayla Sayyad (Mozhan Marno)  links President Walker to the money laundering. 

On the personal front, Doug Stamper attends a recovery meeting and Frank becomes suspicious, but remains supportive, just. He then voyeuristically catches Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan) and Lisa Williams (Kate Lyn Sheil) having sex.  And Claire's bodyguard Edward Meechum (Nathan Darrow) instigates a threesome with Frank and Claire. 

COMMENTS:  A holding episode where political relationships realign for the final stretch and the structure of the house of cards becomes evident.  I find the relationship between Stamper and Frank touching, though, and along with his genuine love for Claire, this has been the real game-changer this season in softening Frank, or at least making him feel less like a robo-political-operative. The only other thing of note is that I really now want to see what Grayson is up to. He's proving to be a far more charismatic character than Remy Danton. With the personal storylines,  I certainly didn't see the threesome coming, and I guess that provides some shock value, but it seems to be there more for titillation than anything else. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty Two

PLOT SUMMARY: Rib shack owner Freddy Armstrong (Reg E Cathey) wakes up to the news of the scandal breaking and meets with his new business partner. With his newfound wealth he offers his son a job and a home.  His son bristles at the offer despite what it would do for his son. 

Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) begs Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels) to deny the affair and taking the photograph and he agrees. He also reveals that he's living with someone. Claire and Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) give a press conference to deny the affair.  Claire undercuts Adam's denial by saying that they commissioned the sleeping portrait and that he must have been intimidated by the press. He objects he was made to look like an idiot but she protests that the story needed to be 'messy' to be 'credible'.  Galloway refuses to play ball and releases a recent picture of Claire in the shower. In response, PR agent Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) hires an out of work model to cut her hair and pose as the woman who was really having an affair with Adam Galloway.  The Underwoods finally meet with Galloway and tell him not to underestimate their marriage, and to play ball, which he does. 

Journalist Ayla Sayyad (Mohzan Marno) tracks down Ray Tusk (Peter Bradbury) who, angered, asks lobbyist Remy Danton (Maharshala Ali) to release more dirt on Frank and Claire. That story is to reveal that Freddy served time for manslaughter. Frank refuses to distance himself, against Seth and Claire's advice. Freddy refuses to take Frank's money - but he needs to sell the rib shack to bail his son.  

COMMENTS: So, this is the episode directed by Jodie Foster and written by executive producer Beau Willamon. And what an opening! Freddy lighting up a cigarette on the flaming scandal-sheets. I like that Foster/Willamon take us away from the Capitol and into the reality of living in Washington, and the strength of Reg E Cathey's performance here.  I'm not sure that I found the whole need to make the photo denial 'messy' credible.  Further on, kudos to Frank in not throwing Freddy under a bus. But this is actually the first political miscalculation he makes insofar as Freddy's son is political kryptonite.  Overall, all I can say is that Foster elicited some strong performances and that, thank god, she allowed the DP to actually light the scenes. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty One (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY:  Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and White House Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez (Sakina Jaffrey) face off over a bridge that Frank needs the President (Michael Gill) to approve of.  Frank needs the bridge to buy off a group of Native Americans that he's playing off against Daniel Lanagan (Gil Birmingham), and his backer, Ray Tusk (Gerald McRaney). Frank both manipulates the President into approving the bridge, without knowing what it's for; Vasquez into resigning; and the President into accepting. 

Meanwhile, Lisa (Kate Lyn Sheil) turns up at Rachel's (Rachel Branathan) apartment having been threatened by a meth-addict friend, and reveals her own past heroin-addiction. Rachel offers to take her in, and they start an affair. 

Lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) courts Claire's disgruntled ex-employee. He also courts a photographer who used to work for Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels), Claire's former lover. Remy also denies that he knows how the Republicans are getting the money to Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker).  Jackie offers to consider having a proper relationship. She continues to block Claire's Bill. 

Claire Underwood tries to persuade another rape victim to go before the press to aid the passage of her bill. She befriends the First Lady (Joana Going) but is clearly trying to get the President (Michael Gill) to publicly back the Bill. She also suggests the Walkers see a marital therapist - Reverend Thomas Larkin (Tom Galantich). 

COMMENTS: Women seem to be just putty in Claire's hands! It's almost embarrassing watching the First Lady crumble. And how can Rachel be so credulous? I remain suspicious of her new flat mate. And also of Netflix's motives in including a gay love affair between two hot chicks. Ah well. I'm also falling into boredom at the whole Remy Danton investigation and indeed, the Adam Galloway affair. It feels too much like grist for the plot rather than something actually original and captivating. Shame. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Twenty (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY: As the mid-terms approach attack ads sponsored by a PAC are skewering President Walker (Michael Gill) and his Cabinet. Frank discovers they are being funded by Ray Tusk (Peter Bradbury) via Native American casino owner Daniel Lanagan (Gil Birmingham). Frank realises that Tusk was bankrolling the majority in Congress all along, using Lanagan as a front, but can't tell the President for fear of looking incompetent. Stamper stakes out Lanagan's casino and hooks up with a recovering addict waitress. He finds a large group of rich Chinese gambling there and follows the trail to uncover Tusk's massive investments in rare earth metals in China. Stamper negotiates with Xander Feng (Terry Chen) to double-cross Tusk and fund the Democrats instead of the Republicans. Back in Washington, Frank attempts to buy-off Lanagan, but he says Tusk can offer more, causing Frank to really lose his temper.

Frank makes nice with the President, and the two couples have dinner with each other.  Claire Underwood's legislation is going to Congress sparking an argument over media strategy between Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) and Connor Ellis (Sam Page). We realise that Seth is working with Remy when he asks for Connor to be lured away with a lucrative private sector job.  But even more tantalising, Seth gives Remy up to Frank and offers to become a double-agent getting back via Remy to Tusk.

Meanwhile lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) and Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) continue to sleep with each other and we discover that she is stalling in finding co-sponsors for Claire's bill because she apparently does not want a media storm before the mid-terms. 

Claire's plan to set Mrs Walker against presidential aide and Peter Russo's ex-lover Christina has worked: the First Lady voices her suspicions and demands for her to be relocated but the President refuses. At dinner, the two couples eat ribs from the rib shack owned by Freddy Armstrong (Reg E Cathey), where Frank likes to eat. He was interviewed by the press earlier in the day and is now being offered lucrative deals to put his name on barbecue sauce. 

COMMENTS: Ok so now we're truly enmeshed in the high political arts and I love it!  Frank realises that Ray has created the majority he whipped, and in that momentary aside to camera, I feel there's almost a newfound respect!  I love the double-dealing with Feng and the way in which Frank elegantly handles the President.  I also like the sidebar that Remy and Seth are in cahoots  - and it makes me suspect his relationship with Jackie. And also, what really WAS up with that tattoo.  Now, is it plausible that Seth would give up Remy so easily?  So is this an attempted double-cross?  Remy is working for Tusk and so has an unlimited bankroll.  Should we truly believe that Seth really wants power instead? And is Frank that credulous?  Finally, I love the delicious irony of Frank telling the President that he's 'never going to survive his first term' if he doesn't relax!

Stylistically as we reach half way in the season, I have three things to see. One, I need more of Frank talking and reacting to camera - it plays to all of Kevin Spacey's strength.  Two, what's with the under-exposed broodingly unlit photography?  It's like Godfather II in here.  I know you're going for mood and moral obscurity but this is ridiculous. Third, cheaply ripping off the BBC TV series Sherlock's device of showing text messages as bubbles doesn't suit the elegant adult look of the show. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Nineteen (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY: Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) manipulates President Walker (Michael Gill) into secretly buying and stockpiling Samarium in order to bypass the Chinese trade boycott and prevent an energy crisis. He plots to undermine the return of Ray Tusk (Gerald McRaney) to the President's good graces.   Ray confronts Frank and asks if he is deliberately trying to sabotage the President (an astute guess). In a comedic aside, Frank stresses about making the first pitch at a high profile baseball match.  However, as he's on the verge of pitching the ball, the lights cut out, and of course it's Ray who's blackmailing the President by shutting down his power plants.  Frank urges the President to take control of the plants. 

Meanwhile, Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus) is in prison, facing charges of breaking into the data center, and the naked pictures of Zoe found in his apartment are used against him. We realise that Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) is orchestrating the trumped up charges.  Aware that Lucas' ex-editor Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McIver) is still investigating Zoe and Peter's death and Rachel's disappearance, Frank calls him in and mockingly warns him off. Meanwhile, Stamper's men threaten to implicate Janine Skorsky in Lucas' crimes Constance Zimmer unless she testifies against him.  As a result, she tries to persuade him to take the plea. 

Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) manipulates Presidential aide and Peter Russo's ex-lover Christina Gallagher (Kristen Connolly) into a brash offer of service to the First Lady, Patricia Walker (Joana Going).  And lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) and Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) have a one night stand.  Ex-hooker Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan) is now working in a daycare centre run by her friend Lisa, the evangelist (Kate Lyn Sheil). Rachel attempts to seduce an obviously attracted Stamper. 

COMMENTS: Not much to like in this episode of horse-trading and general threats.  I'm not massively convinced by the chemistry between Jackie and Remy and I grimace at the idea that the relationship might become a major plot arc. The Lucas-in-jail story seems to go through its machinations - again not  much to see here except pious earnest angst.  It feels like half a season since I cared about Janine. The only really clever scene was the final one between Rachel and Stamper - I'm really not clear how far she's playing him and that's fantastic. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Eighteen (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY: Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) engages in back-channel diplomacy with Chinese businessman, and partner of Ray Tusk (Peter Bradbury), Xander Feng (Tony Chen).  Interestingly, Feng asks Frank NOT to drop the currency manipulation charge in the WTO because it's convenient for the Chinese senior leadership to blame the move to a free floating currency on the US. Claire Underwood's communications advisor Connor Ellis (Sam Page) leaks the news of the backchannel diplomacy to the press, implicating Feng. The President is torn between Tusk and Frank - the former telling him to continue talks and the latter arguing to break them off. He decides to pull out but in doing so accuses Frank of making a mess. 

The late Zoe's ex-lover Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus) continues to investigate the murder, but is lured into breaking into a server facility by his hacker ally Gavin Orsay (Jimmi Simpson), himself under coercion from Doug Stamper's (Michael Kelly) associates at the FBI.

Claire Underwood gets closer to the First Lady (Joana Going) and wins her support in her advocacy.   Meanwhile, communications specialist Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil) fools a widow into giving up the records of Claire's abortion and destroys them on the understanding that he usurps Connor Ellis after a convenient few months and a private sector job offer. The Underwoods reluctantly agree because inasmuch as Seth is untrustworthy, at least he's not incompetent, like Connor. 

COMMENTS: Ok - hands down the coolest opening - from perverse sexual practices to a Civil War re-enactment! And slavery may have been called many things, but nothing as cynical as "Avoid wars you cannot win and never raise a flag for an asinine cause like slavery."  Other than that, the machinations of the trade talks with China are not massively interesting but I suppose need to be put into play to prepare for the forthcoming Tusk-Frank civil war.  I also do not give a frack about Lucas (still).  But this Seth character is interesting, although I balk somewhat at Claire's apparent credulity at taking in someone who tried to extort her (or indeed, leaving evidence of abortion out in the open in the first place). How come the ever-efficient Underwood's didn't trick that widow themselves, years ago? And finally, amid all that cynicism, something very touching about Frank burying his ring in the ground of the Overland Campaign. With that, and the defence of Claire, he is becoming rather more human this season, even as he commits murder. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Seventeen (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY: As Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) prepares for a live TV interview with her new PR man Connor Ellis (Sam Page), Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) scrambles for the votes to avoid the government shutdown. The trade is to accept a bump in the retirement age in five years time, and is brokered by the new Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) and lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali.) Jackie makes a ballsy move, refusing to trade for votes and demanding loyalty.  Meanwhile, we get to know the hacker, Gavin Orsay (Jimmi Simpson), an FBI informant. A White House assistant opens an envelope apparently containing anthrax, causing an immediate evacuation of the Capitol. Frank is sequestered in his office with Donald Blythe (Reed Birney) - the Democratic congressman disappointed with him cutting education funding - as cell coverage is blocked and the vote is delayed.  This forces Claire to do the live interview on her own, at Frank's urging, and with her reluctance.  She describes a vivid memory of being taken by her father to Dealey Plaza. However, drawn on the question of why they don't have children, and she admits she had an abortion on live TV. Needing to justify why, she admits to having been raped by General Dalton McGinnis, to Frank's evident surprise. In the second ad break, Claire calls another victim of Dalton McGinnis who publicly accuses him.  As the episode closes, Frank serenades Claire as they smoke on their steps. 

COMMENTS: I'm not a massive fan of the device of the government lock-down, and I'm guessing that reintroducing Donald Blythe as a significant character will make more sense to viewers binge-watching seasons 1 and 2 concurrently. And as for Jimmi the supposedly hard-ass hacker - what a bag of over-the-top writing and nonsense - the face-slap, the "I keep a gerbil to remind me how close I am to death" line.  Complete idiocy.  Still, for all that the dynamite in this episode once again resides with Claire, and her explosive live interview revelations.  Once again, it's chilling to see her exploit her rape, but then again, her attacker does deserve to be outed (although preferably this would've been in a court of law - it's not a perfect world.)  The key question is how far Claire planned to make the accusation and how far Frank knew - it appears to have been spontaneous, but I guess we'll discover more.  At any rate, this episode has radically changed my perception of their marriage - and the deep abiding connection they share. 

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Writer-director Derek Cianfrance follows up his critically acclaimed, intimate, raw portrait of an unraveling marriage, BLUE VALENTINE, with what he describes with a male melodrama about fathers and sons.  Both movies are an unflinching examination of real people making bad decisions for the best of reasons. But where VALENTINE feels brutally real, PINES has a self-conscious symmetry - a deliberate interweaving of plot points and characters that lifts us out of the real and into the archetypal.  This is a movie that is architectural - whose structural underpinnings are it's point - and that willingness to put the whale-bones outside of the flesh almost, but not quite, threaten to obscure our emotional response to the material. That it doesn't, speaks to the fine performances at the heart of the movie.

As the movie opens, we see a bravura tracking shot of Ryan Gosling's motorcycle stuntman, Luke, walking through the back-alleys of a circus, his small-town fans cheering him as he enters the tent. Three stuntmen will ride bikes over and around each other in the tight confines of a rotating metal framed ball  - an elaborate metaphor for the feat that Cianfrance is trying to pull of with this film.  

The first act of the film is Luke's story.  He rolls back into town to find he fathered a baby after a one night stand with Eva Mendes' Romina. She's living with Kofi (Mahershala Ali) - an archetypal good father who can provide everything Luke can't - a house, stability, commitment.  Somewhat predictably, Luke falls into bank robbery, tutored by Ben Mendelson's Robin, with immediate success but ultimately catastrophic results.   The hackneyed tale of a heist gone wrong is elevated by Ryan Gosling's absolute commitment to the role, the high-energy cinematography, the creeping sense of foreboding and, perhaps surprisingly, Eva Mendes.  There's a scene where Romina is asking Luke how he's going to take care of her, and Luke begs her not to talk down to him, not to assume he's as worthless as everyone else thinks he is, that is absolutely heartbreaking.  It's heartbreaking because we see how desperate Luke is to break the cycle of absence and neglect that he lived through, and heartbreaking because we know that Romina loves Luke, but that she loves her son, and his future, more.  

In the second act of the film we focus on Avery (Bradley Cooper) - the cop that gets shot in an altercation with Luke.  He's also a young father, also trying to do right but caught up in nefarious shit. His story is also mired in predictability - Ray Liotta cast as a corrupt cop - and the pace is much slower.  I have always thought Bradley Cooper a good actor, but at first I thought his performance in this segment fell rather flat. I just wasn't convinced he'd found the character. And then I realised that this was exactly what we were meant to be falling, because Avery hasn't found his character.  He's a guy constantly defining himself against other's expectations.  His father, a judge, wants him to be a lawyer. The police chief wants him to be a hero.  The rozzers want him to take the cash. And he thinks he wants to just be a good dad.  Turns out, he wants more. It's a subtle performance, and one that's nicely complemented by Rose Byrne as his wife.

In the final act of the movie, we fast forward to the present day, where Luke and Avery's sons are now teenagers at the same public school, although from radically different economic backgrounds. Indeed, Avery is now a man of some power and complacency, and his son  AJ (Emory Cohen) is a sinister, drug-fuelled bully.  Already exploited by AJ, when Luke's son Jason (Dale DeHaan) figures out their fathers' relationship he flips into a spiral that brings Avery face to face with his past in a lurid, melodramatic denouement that is at once utterly unrealistic and majestic.  Bradley Cooper is masterful in his final scene.

What should we make of this film? Clearly, it's macro structure forces it into highly stylised pairings and plot points, but this is not a weakness.  It gives colour and provocation, and doesn't alienate us because each section is so filled with deep emotion and finely shaded moral dilemmas.  In other words, this movie has heart as well as style.  In fact, it's something of a tour de force. 

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES played Toronto 2012 and is already on release in the USA, France, Denmark, Finland and Spain. It opens this weekend in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Norway, and Sweden. It opens on April 12th in the UK, Ireland, Greece and Lithuania.  It opens on April 18th in Russia. It opens on May 2nd in Croatia; on May 9th in Australia; on May 24th in Poland, Taiwan and Japan; on June 14th in Turkey; on June 20th in Germany and on June 28th in Mexico.

The film has a running time of 140 minutes and is rated R in the USA.

HOUSE OF CARDS - chapter ten

Kate Mara at the London première

PLOT SUMMARY: In the wake of the failed Watershed Bill vote, chief whip Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) takes the rap, sheltering Linda Vasquez (Sarakina Jaffrey) from President Walker's (Michael Gill) anger, and currying favour by persuading Gillian (Sandrine Holt) to help Vasquez' son get into Stanford.  Frank tells Claire (Robin Wright) in no uncertain terms that her charity is not as important as his political goals. She reacts by visiting Zoe (Kate Mara) before joining her ex-lover Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels) in New York.  Zoe (Kate Mara), disgusted and alienated from her apartment, sleeps with her ex-colleague, Lucas. Meanwhile Frank sets up Gubernatorial candidate Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) with Doug's hooker Rachel (Rachel Brosnahan), resulting in him falling off the wagon and blowing a radio interview. In the final scene, Peter goes awol. 

COMMENTS:  A good, tense episode focussing on the emotional fallout from Claire's betrayal in the last episode.  It was obvious that Claire would go to New York, but not that Zoe would sleep with Lucas, seemingly having a change of heart about her nakedly ambitious, heartless career choices to date.  It was also a surprise to see (presumably) Doug and Frank set Peter up for a fall, although one can't yet see to what end. Doesn't it look bad for Frank to have backed the wrong horse - a man so obviously in a fragile recovery?  I guess we have to wait and see who he plans to put into the gubernatorial race instead, and to what end that helps him.  Finally, Frank knows where Claire is.  Will he go and get her? Or just wait for her to return? I thought the acting in this episode was particularly top notch, especially as it didn't rely on zingers, or any dialogue at all, but rather long drawn out reaction shots. I loved Kate Mara's reaction as she does a double-take of her grimy apartment, seeing it through Claire's condescending eyes, tinged with her own bad choices and memories.  And  I loved the look on Corey Stoll's face when he drank his first shot, and I really hope he gets some awards love for this challenging performance. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - chapter five

Kate Mara as ambitious journalist Zoe Barnes.

Plot summary: While Frank (Kevin Spacey) appeases one of the teachers' unions, the other exacts revenge by picketing Claire's charity ball. The protesters are made to look callow in accepting food, but this may result in a nationwide strike.  Frank decides he will get the Philandering Philly elected as Governor.  Peter, abandoned by Christina, guiltridden over the shipyard job losses, gets wasted, leaving Frank to practice extreme tough love to get his head back in the game. Meanwhile, Claire (Robin Wright), frustrated at the loss of the Sancorp donation, booty calls Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels) to no effect. Zoe(Kate Mara) joins internet news portal Slugline, and goads Frank into taking blackmail photos of her as proof of trust. The Herald's editor, a stalwart defender of quality old media, is forced to resign by the proprietor. 

Comments:  I felt this episode was uneven and unfocussed, perhaps reflecting that the spotlight wasn't so much on Frank as on the two people feeling the consequences of the last episode's scheming: Claire and Congressman Russo.  I am full of admiration and wonder at Claire and Frank's marriage: open, honest and apparently anything goes so long as the other approves and can see the benefit to "us".  Imagine my relief when Frank dunks Zoe's iphone into a glass of water to erase the evidence of their meeting, and then my contempt for writer Beau Willamon when I realise all the evidence of their meetings is still hanging in the iCloud somewhere. Will this come back to haunt Frank at some point? 

As for Congressman Russo, I like Corey Stoll's depiction of his fragility, and wonder if maybe this is an Emmy-winning Supporting Actor role in the making.  This also raises the question of whether a series that airs on Netflix is even eligible. (The risible Lillyhammer meant we have yet to see a test case.)  Was Frank's tough love at the end of the episode plausible? I could see the sharks circling. I'm not quite sure the provision of the razor was impactful enough.  Overall, perhaps the weakest episode since the Peachoid.  Are we seeing the weaker quality of Joel Schumacher's direction? 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Chapter Four

Writer Beau Willamon; Robin Wright (Claire); Kate Mara (Zoe);
director David Fincher; Kevin Spacey (Frank)

Plot summary:  Democratic Whip Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) does his job, trying to gather the votes to get his Education Bill passed. He secures the support of previously intransigent Speaker Bob Birch by framing David Rasmussen, the House Majority leader, for trying to sage a coup.  Rasmussen is manipulated into resigning, clearing the way for the first African American Majority Leader, thus gaining his votes from the Black Caucus, Terry Womack.  Frank buys Womack by making Peter Russo close down the shipyard in his district, thus allowing the base in Womack's district to remain open. 

Meanwhile, at the Washington Herald, the proprietor, Margaret, over-rides the Editor, Tom, and orders him to promote, rather than to chastise Zoe (Kate Mara) for doing TV interviews.  However, Frank manipulates Zoe into turning down the promotion to Political Editor so that he can continue to use her, apparently sexually too.  She appears to tweet her Editor's inflammatory response, and is fired.

Finally, we learn that Claire (Robin Wright)  cut the jobs at her charity because she was unsure of a donation from her husband's campaign contributors, Sancorp. Lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) doubles the donation, but Claire is aware this obligates Frank, and turns it down. The people for whom she procured the Jefferson Ball tickets step in. She is willing to flirt with her former lover, photographer Adam Galloway (Ben Daniels), to get a donation. 

Comments: I very much liked this episode.  Screenwriter Beau Willamon deftly handles four related but essentially disparate fields of battle. This is the first time we see the President, and also the the first time we see Frank actually doing his job, which is to Whip Burch into line and get the Bill onto the floor without concessions. 

We also get more colour on Claire, which had previously been the most vague and thus uninteresting storyline. She had an affair with the photographer, but how far is she now flirting with him to use him, or because she is genuinely tempted by him. I also love the ambiguity about whether Frank and Claire know about how far the other will go to use sex to get what they want, and whether this is okay by both of them as they both understand what power entails. At this point, my impression is that they are truly in love, and with no illusions about each other.  My only reservation is whether Frank would be so stupid as to get involved with someone as nakedly ambitious and manipulative as Zoe? 

On a more minor note, I loved the chillingly pragmatic attitude of Pete Russo's children, taking it for granted that their father will have a mistress.  And I also rather like Franks' interest in gaming - first person shooters, no less!