Whatever failings season three of Homeland had, at least it ended well. “The Star” is an emotional, subdued finale that succeeds by remembering one of the key themes that made Homeland’s first season work. Beyond the spy hijinks and the Carrie/Brody romance, season one was motivated by a sense of powerlessness. Both Carrie and Brody…
American Hustle reminded me of a scene from another, very different 2013 movie. About halfway through Spring Breakers, gangster-rapper (emphasis on the former) Alien, played by James Franco, bursts into a memorable, consumerist rant. “Look at my shit!” he cries, roving around his expensive bedroom, festooned with gold-plated guns and a television playing Scarface on…
Yesterday was Friday the 13th, and I took the opportunity to maximise my school holidays by sitting down with a few beers to watch the entirety of the Friday the 13th slasher series. Well, the first eight films at least: I left out Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy vs Jason and the execrable…
Early in “The Bridge” there’s a scene that tells you everything you need to know about where Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is at this point in the season. Discussing Mike (J. August Richards from the pilot), Ward complains that he’s psychotic or something equally disparaging before breaking out that old chestnut: “He’s right behind me,…
Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha is a curious blend of universality and specificity. It tells the tale of young Frances Halliday (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring dancer, as she bounces from apartment to apartment in New York City. We follow her successes and her failures, and watch her orbit through and around various friendship groups, moving away…
Nicholas Brody’s ambiguous intentions were one of Homeland’s biggest assets back in season one, where almost every episode revolved around the question – “What’s Brody actually up to?” His uncertain allegiances and malleability became the linchpin – and eventual crutch – of season two, driving his conversion to the side of the CIA in “Q&A”…
You may have noticed my blog posting slackening a little after ccpopculture’s “first birthday.” Partly this is explained by the time of year, as I’ve just finished up school for the year, which meant lots of marking and reporting and limited time to blog. It’s because I’ve posted an increasing number of Extended Cut posts…
Lawrence of Arabia is an intimidating film. As a cinephile (read: wannabe film geek), it’s been a significant hole in my personal pantheon for some time now. I’d caught a half hour in the middle of the day on network television at some point in my youth – which, I’ll hasten to add, is not…
Your typical cinematic cop tends to fall into one of three basic categories: corrupt, by-the-book, or somewhere in between, where they break the rules (and suspect’s bones) to get results. Irish “guard” – policeman – Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) doesn’t fit into any of these subsets. It’s not that he’s a bad cop, per se,…
“Good Night” was one of the stronger episodes of season three of Homeland, a tense sequence – almost a mini action movie – revolving around Brody’s attempts to infiltrate Iran as a double agent (and one that finally tied the Brody and Javadi storylines together). The scenes on the border of Iran had a real…
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