In this episode of True Blood, Bill revealed to Sookie that she was a fairy, Jason revealed to Tara that he had killed Eggs, Hoyt revealed his true love for Jessica, Crystal revealed her true nature to Jason, and Lafayette and Jesus revealed their mutual familiar histories with magic. Oh, and Eric may be a bad guy now since he appears to be sacrificing Sookie. The revelation that Sookie is a fairy was as bad as the other things involving Bill this season. In the books, it happens later in the series, and with such absolute casualty as to be funny. Here, it felt like they were reaching for something genuine and failed. It was the closest the show as ever gotten to feeling like a soap opera. Much of the rest of the episode felt like it belonged in a soap opera, since much of the episode dragged, had random craziness that made no sense, and had bad background music. Finally, there are some consequences for the murdering that Jason has made a habit of on this series. It was nice to see those flashbacks, as a reminder to the audience that Jason has never killed anyone that wasn't a minority in some way. That said, the best flashbacks on this show are the short ones, and even the flashbacks about beloved Sam were bad. Heartbreaking, of course, because so much of what happens to Sam is heartbreaking, (including all the tiptoeing that went on around him after his fight with Calvin) but still the flashbacks always slow down the momentum of the show, and not in a good way. Bill did do one good thing this episode: he promised to give up feeding on Sookie's blood to gain her trust. It was good to hear that, and the one redeeming feature of Bill. Speaking of trust, it's too bad that Crystal didn't decide to stay with Lafayette and Jesus, because I would trust them far more than Norris, who is far more of a racist on the show than in the books. Though maybe it's best that she didn't, considering that Jesus wanted to do V. This didn't make a lot of sense given that Jesus was angry at Lafayette for selling drugs. It makes even less sense when you consider that trippy drug scene was boring. The only thing that worked was that grin on Lafayette's face as they were walking into the second room. By far the worse and most boring episode of the season. A lot of this may be because they are setting things up for their two final episodes, but this was True Blood at its worse.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: Almost all of the surprises in this episode are revealed in this review. In the latest episode of True Blood, "Everything is Broken," Sookie and Hadley met up in an aquarium to see Hadley's son, Eric gave a testimony to the Authority, white womanhood continued to be the chief concern of Jason, Tara continued to heal from her rape, and Sam cut loose after another series of struggles over parenthood. First and foremost, our show's heroine: Sookie. It's interesting to note that even though Sookie would provide a safe sanctuary for Eric and Pam, he chooses someone else. Even though Eric has decided to get his revenge, he also is still loyal to Sookie. Sookie will probably never be able to appreciate Eric's loyalty, because, as the episode showed, she is too busy being happy with Bill. Her and Bill shared one of the show's few calm moments with an intimate shower between the two. Then Bill and Sookie had a conversation about the secrets Bill has been hiding from Sookie. She rightly asserted that she is not a thing and not something that needs protection, especially now when she has been through so much. It was a nice change of pace from the usual powerless Sookie that fans are always complaining about.
As discussed in the review of the last episode, there is a lot of defending white womanhood. A lot of it apparently centers on Jason, who this episode was taking care of Crystal, his new potential girlfriend. Parts of it were admirable, since Jason told Crystal's boyfriend that Crystal was allowed to do what she wanted. But parts of it weren't, since it quickly turned into him controlling her. Black womanhood, in the form of Tara, continues to be sidelined, though she too has gone through a terrible, traumatic event. (And unlike Sookie, recognizes how much danger she was in.) Sam wisely suggests that she consider a shrink. These scenes are troublesome because, again, it's a man protecting a woman, but nice in that they show that these characters do really care for one another. It was so wonderful to see Tara yell at Franklin for being a rapist. But again, as part of the whole "men saving women" meme on this show, Jason ended up saving Tara. For once, can a woman be the one to defend herself? I will credit the show for at least trying to be progressive. It was also great to see women coming together to support each other. Hopefully, this group will help Tara deal with her situation and save herself from further emotional damage. Women coming together to help each other and fight rape culture? That's feminism. It doesn't make up for the rest of this show, but it's a start. In terms of race, the show introduced a really interesting concept: snitching. Snitching has been an issue within minority races, particularly African Americans. But the connection between meth-doing, rapist shapeshifters and the African American community is a very dangerous one to make. The outside community doesn't understand why they are the way they are, but at the same time they beat Crystal. It's an unflattering portrait of people of color at best. One of the many nice things about this episode was the lack of Bill. Sadly, one of the scenes we did get with Bill included another romp through the heaven-garden, which was even more boring than the first time when it was Sookie running around. Eric and Pam's scene together afterward made up for it. Eric and Pam genuinely do care for one another and it was nice to see that. Eric is not just loyal, he's strong. And far more admirable than Bill. Finally, after waiting a few episodes, the audience got to see this mysterious Authority, which, unsurprisingly, is represented in the form of Nan Flanigan, the spokeswoman for vampires across America. This Authority is just as unfrightening as it sounded it would be, though Eric took it seriously enough. (Seriously, though, web cams? Those things are scarier in dystopian novels.) Eric has a lot on his plate these days, and Alexander Skarsgaard does a great job of making himself look like a scared puppy. (He even swallows dramatically.) Watching him rat out Russell was a joy, especially since giving this kind of information is usually a thankless task. Watching Russell becoming unhinged at the end of the episode was also a pleasure. His speech almost came off as a piece of slam poetry. And unlike the Authority, he was slightly scary. Sam is basically a parent now, and managing it better than Bill has done so far with Jessica. At least Sam tries to be a positive influence and guide his adopted kid to being a normal, successful citizens. It's too bad that parenting Tommy is such a thankless task. (Sam parenting Jessica would also be fun to watch, though she would probably realize what was for her own good.) Gross out moment of the night was brought to you by Talbot, whose remains were disgustingly pawed by Russell at the beginning of the episode. It was creepier than what happened later in the episode, when Russel started carrying around a jar with Talbot's remains inside. It's so macabre and strangely Victorian. Quote of the night goes to Andy, who discussed how he has an ulcer so big coffee was coming out of his bellybutton. The cutest nickname of the night award goes to Lafayette, who was referred to as "Lala" by his Mom. Aww. And the fashion moment of the night was also brought to you by Lafayette (who has by far the best wardrobe on this show) wearing a rosary as a necklace. Haven't seen that look since the late nineties with the Spice Girls. Nice. Also, as a final note, Holly seems like a wonderful and kind person, which means that she is probably really evil and about to destroy someone's life.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: The "twists" at the end of this film is revealed in this review. The Ghost is about a woman, Margaret, whose husband, John Hitchcock, is slowly dying in 1910 Scotland. But don't think she's in despair about her husband. Margaret is having an affair with John's doctor, Dr. Charles Livingstone. Charles kills John, planning to run away with Margaret and John's money. Of course, John's money goes missing, which would probably be the biggest problem if it wasn't of course for all the creepy things going around the house at night. The film hits all the Gothic cliches: dramatic music, creaking chain sounds, dark and stormy nights, people channeling the dead, blood appearing out of no where, secret passages. Charles even looks just like Edward Norton in The Illusionist. (Or maybe Norton's look was based on this film.) There are lots of flaws in the film. Despite being set in Scotland, only one (small) character has a Scottish accent, Mr. Fisher. There's almost no mystery as to what is happening in the film. The audience knows the moment Catherine the maid is guaranteed her job for the rest of her life that she is obviously helping John's plan. John is clearly not dead and manipulating events so that Margaret will believe that Charles is betraying her, killing him in the process. It's no surprise when John shows up, telling Margaret the truth. The best part of the film? Without a doubt Barbara Steele, a horror movie veteran by the time this film was made. Her eyes are large and expressive and she conveys each emotion crystal clear. She's a perfect example of the old acting mantra "acting is reacting." The film is meant to scare people in more ways than one. It is common when someone is terminally ill for a spouse to cheat on them, though in the vast majority of cases the man cheats in a heterosexual coupling, not the wife. By making the wife the cheater in the story, it makes a moral judgment on women and their capacity of be faithful. The movie is on some level a criticism of women's desires, since that's apparently where the trouble is. The only thing that might saves this movie is the ending, in which Margaret has her revenge. Neither John nor Charles is particularly appealing, and both come off an infants who demand her attentions. When John returns, he accidentally drinks poison, only to have Margaret taunt him with the antidote which she purposely spills in front of him. John slips behind the secret passage right as Scotland Yard arrives. Margaret is taken away as a murder (although she has only committed one murder, not two), and John dies, boarded up in his own house, his plan have fallen apart. No one really gets away with their behavior in this movie, three of the main characters dying and the fourth carted away to jail. Since Margaret is the only survivor, it leaves in question who is morally the most reprehensible: the cheaters or those who seek revenge.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice starts out when Merlin is defeated by Morgana le Fey. Before Morgana has a chance to destroy the known world, she is thwarted by two of Merlin's apprentices, Balthazar and Veronica. Meanwhile, the other apprentice, Horvath, betrayed Merlin, making him another enemy of Balthazar, the last apprentice last standing, who much search for the Prime Merlinian, the greatest sorcerer. At this point, the person watching the movie turned to me and said "Okay, this movie is already ridiculous, and we're less than five minutes in." Indeed. Another popcorn movie made by Jerry Bruckheimer would probably make most people feel fatigued. And indeed, this movie feels slightly sluggish, like everyone involved was out on a bender the night before, but still wanting to make something fun. And parts of the movie are fun. The movie expertly blends modern New York City with fantastical elements, making a perfect Urban Fantasy of a movie. Dave Stutler, the main character, brings an incredible amount of warmth and nerdiness. His nasally delivery of lines comes in and out, but when he does it right, it sounds exactly like many physics geeks sound. The film even manages to give strength and abilities to its non-magical characters, notably Becky. Like Dave, she is flawed, but she too can contribute to bringing down Hovath and Morgana le Fey. But the film still manages to be touchy. On one hand, it gives significant power to female characters, Morgana and one of the witches of Salem. But those women are also evil. The only woman sorcerer who isn't evil is Veronica, and she answers to a patriarchal system in the form of Merlin.
The film is also a race fail, since there's only one person of color in the story, Benet, the token African American and best friend of Dave. For a story set predominately in New York, it lacks people of color. And it is pretty telling that none of the magicians in the story are anything other than white. Balthazar travels the world looking at various magically gifted children, but only a young white man living in one of the most expensive apparently is good enough to become the Prime Merlinian.
Salman Rushdie, the author of books such as The Satanic Verses, writes about The Wizard of Oz, the movie that everyone loves in two short essays "A Short Text About Magic" and "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers" in a short book called, naturally, The Wizard of Oz. "A Short Text About Magic" explores the world of The Wizard of Oz comparing it, interestingly enough, with Bollywood films, with Rushdie, an Indian native, is familiar with. Rushdie also gives the audience some fine trivia as part of his essay. He discusses the differences between the movie and book, including the ruby slippers originally being silver shoes. He discusses the story of the actors and actresses who played the Munchkins. He even tells the audience about how the tornado that transports Dorothy to Oz was made. (Muslin stiffened with wire, naturally.) The one detail he wishes the movie hadn't changed was the realism of Oz itself, explaining that within the original book, there was no question that Oz was a real place, but in the movie, it is simply make-believe. Rushdie believes this introduces "bad faith" into the audience, and is a pity that it did so. Rushdie here ignores the way most viewers construct the film: they ignore the suggestion it was all a dream and see it as a place that exists beyond what most humans can see, like other mythical places in modern literature, notably Hogwarts or Alice's Wonderland. Rushdie also explores the women of the film, concentrating much of his time comparing the witches of the story. He notes that the Witch of the East (the one who dies in the beginning of the movie) was probably not much of a despot, since the streets were clean and homes well taken care of and that she didn't rely on soldiers of any kind to keep her world safe. "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers" is less an essay in the traditional sense and more a (possibly fictional) exploration of what the ruby slippers mean to an unnamed narrator. Rushdie is famously part of the magical realism movement within fiction, and this story/essay/whatever is not different, moving through with a dreamlike pace and tone. There are lots of details, but they feel random, as if plucked from a generator. Both pieces feel strangely nice together in this tiny little package. It was a dream reading both of these essays, and both complement and contain the magic of their subject.
Little Dorrit is one of Charles Dickens last (his eleventh, to be exact) and lesser known novels. It follows the main character, Amy "Little" Dorrit, who, because her father is a debtor, is imprisoned in the Marshelsea Prison of London. The story is a classic rags-to-riches story, in that the family regains their wealth, but it also twists this storyline by making sure no one is actually happier for it. Meanwhile, Arthur Clennam, a friend of the family, is discovering that his connection to the Dorrit family is much deeper than he realized. The novel is famously based on Dickens's own personal experience with debtor's prisons. (His father having served time there himself.) There are a lot of good things happening withing Little Dorrit. The central metaphor of the novel (the prison as existing in more ways that simply the obvious one) is explored in multiple ways. When the Dorrit family becomes respectable once again, they become entrapped in the expectations of their class, which of course means that everyone continues to suffer, especially Little Dorrit herself, who finds it difficult to simply forget the entire beginning of her life. Every character within the novel is imprisoned in some way or the other. Mrs. Clennam is imprisoned to her chair and her house because of illness and old age. Arthur Clennam is imprisoned by societal norms and his family's own poor choices. Mr. Dorrit is imprisoned not only by his debt and later society, but by his own pride and ignorance. Every marriage (except the last one, of Dorrit and Arthur) is a marriage of convenience, based on money and social standing; no one is in love with one another. Many of the women within the story are imprisoned by ideas of what women should or shouldn't do. Those female characters who stand up to those ideas are shot down and those who acquiesce are miserable.
The novel is considered one of Dickens's most radical and severe works, and it's easy to see how much he detests certain institutions within society. His chapter on the Circumlocution Office (meant to stand in for the British bureaucracy at large) is the sort of writing that would make Sinclair Lewis proud.
But the novel is also has troubling parts. Little Dorrit as a character is an idealized woman of the 19th century: industrious, loyal and quiet. She is always working for the men in her life, mostly her father, but later on for her husband, Arthur Clennam. She never asserts her own needs, always simply doing as they demand of her, regardless of what it does to her emotionally.
The "bad girls" of the novel, the ones that are annoying, selfish, and apparently undesirable, are the ones who are more independent. Flora, Arthur's once flame, is now a widow, and is independently wealthy. So she's apparently not good enough for Arthur to desire anymore (or for the audience, who sees much of this novel through his eyes, despite the fact that the title is of a female character.) Fanny, Dorrit's sister, is undesirable because she is a woman who works for herself and because she is determined to marry whomever she wants, so clearly, she must also be a catty, witchy woman, the kind that the audience is suppose to find detestable.
Other women are demonized within the novel. Pet spurs Clennam's affections, so clearly she has to be miserable for the rest of her life with an artist husband. Tattycoram, a young woman treated as a slave by a family who insists they are good because they have "adopted" her, is mocked in the novel for being stupid enough to run away. And Miss Wade, another woman, is motivated only by revenged at being jilted by her once lover. Women are nothing more but examples of "good" and "bad" behavior, the good girls being the ones that do as they are told and the bad girls being those who somehow threaten masculinity.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: The first and last spoilers of this episode of revealed in this review.
"Night on the Sun," the latest episode of True Blood, opened up on what fans have been waiting for seasons now: the breakup of Sookie and Bill. Although it was probably heartbreaking for Sookie to break up with Bill, there was something deeply relieving about it. Too bad Bill is still going to be an important part of the show and that the breakup did not last. One of the other reasons it is too bad the breakup did not last was because there are lots of sweet-hearted male characters on this show for Sookie to have a relationship with, and Bill, is well, either boring or annoying. The only good thing about this episode's opening was that it was a nice change of pace to have an opening not dependent on guts, blood, violence, or a naked Eric. (Though the last is always welcome.) Instead, we got to see a scene that is usually reserved for the end of episodes, where Bill breaks up with Sookie. One of those great male characters includes Terry Bellefleur. It's nice to see him, since it has been MIA for the last few episodes. It is too bad that his sweetheart Arlene is obsessing that the baby she is about to have is an evil ex-boyfriend's. The most troubling aspect of this show continues to be the rape that Sookie suffered from. Jason was right to suggest that Sookie press chargers, though not because Bill was a "fanger" but because he had raped her. Since vampires are often meant to stand in for other sexual or racial minorities on this show, having a vampire be a rapist is problematic, since it suggests that minorities are a threat to white womanhood. This is not to say that Sookie deserves to be raped, but as a critique of the collective imagination of the Other being sexually dangerous. One of the other storylines about domestic violence, Crystal and Jason's relationship, shows a white man, Jason, defending a white woman, furthering the idea that white men are the defenders of women. All the white men on this show are always protecting Sookie: Eric, Bill, Alcide, Jason and Sam. This kind of storyline would make a Birth of the Nation fan proud, but on a show that is meant to be forward-thinking, just embarrassing. The other rape metaphor working on the show, Tara's dominance by Franklin, is slightly more progressive. At least in this storyline it acknowledged the tragic psychological damage rape can do, when Tara has a nightmare of Franklin visiting her in the shower. Not that I really wanted Tara to be mentally raped by anyone, but at least here there's an acknowledgment of the violation she suffered and how difficult that is to deal with. This tragic moment led Tara to try to talk to Sookie. Sookie, sadly but not unsurprisingly, ignored her. Tara and Sookie's relationship isn't even capable of existing outside of a man's world, since that is the only thing they seem to talk about. It was great that finally someone was able to tell Sookie that Bill was dangerous, even if Sookie ignored it. Tara is one of the few female characters on this show who seems to have it together enough emotionally to realize when something is a bad idea. The only domestic relationship that is working out right now appears to be Bill and Jessica. Bill might actually be capable of being a good father figure to Jessica, if he applies himself. Again, good for Jessica for sticking up for herself and asserting her needs, which right now includes having someone to show her the ropes of being a vampire. Best lines of the episode go to Jason for his line about a cult "washing" his brain.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: Some of the surprises, though not the very last one, are revealed in this review. First off, what a great opening. It was wonderful that we finally killed off one of the most annoying characters: Lorena. The blood was both delightful and perhaps a little too much, though it prepared the audience for the end of the episode. It's a good and a bad thing that they changed this part of the story. In the original novel, Sookie rescues Bill by herself, which is a nice moment of girl power. But later on, she gets trapped in a car's trunk and raped by Bill, in the most anti-feminist moment of the series. Seeing that the show also fell into a similar trap was very disappointing. The only thing that was an improvement about this was that Tara was smart enough to dump Bill off and take Sookie to a hospital. (Characters should really spend more time there anyway, given the nature of this show.) But it's even more troubling that the only person who could 'save' her was her rapist. For a show that's suppose to be progressive, it seems fixated on women being helpless and submissive to men. There's a lot of other moments where women are forced into very uncomfortable moments. Sophie-Ann has decided to take the marriage proposal of Russell, which might be more acceptable if she wasn't so clearly powerful herself. Even though she is a Queen, she is unable to control her own life. Props for great performances this episode including Debbie Pelt for giving a scary monologue. She's going to be around for a little longer, and that monologue, with the light clearly out of her eyes, was great. Lafayette once again is the best character on this show. Watching him be the strength is this strange family is so uplifting in a very sad show. Lafayette is exactly who any sane person would want in their corner. Pam also gave the sort of performance that will stay with the audience for the next few episodes. Her sense of humor while being tortured was great. It's nice that they're trying to give Jason more to do, but it doesn't really work. Jason trying to "evolve" just highlights how unevolved he is. Hoyt, on the other hand, is still adorable. His devotion to Jessica is so sweet. Which makes it all the sadder for Summer, who is probably going to get her heart broken. In the disappointing category this episode was the heaven vision that Sookie had. It didn't actually give the audience or Sookie much information, other than her parents were not killed by water. (Could the writers not think of a more creative way to do this?) Even if this moment does pan out later in the story, this was the most trite way to deal with this. As to what it is about Sookie Stackhouse, my theory is that she is some kind of rare supernatural creature, like the Maenad from last season, which is why she is always blasting other supernatural creatures with the power thing. It's also why she doesn't have a blood type, which makes her especially delicious to vampires (because she taste like no other human there is.)
A review of Salt.
by Courtney Hilden Spoiler Alert!: Part of this plot, though not the final twist, is given away in this review.
There was a lot of talk on blogs and forums on the Internet about Salt, a movie starring Angelina Jolie. Before the movie came out, there was a lot of enthusiasm over how the movie was originally written with a male main character, but once Jolie became interested in the project, the gender was changed to reflect their star's. Feminists celebrated this as a moment where gender didn't determine the casting of an actor. After the movie came out, the movie was given mixed reviews, discussing it as a fun and well-made popcorn movie, but complaining it was not especially deep. But it must have captured someone's attention, as it managed to make $70.8 million in ten days.
But after the movie came out, there was not much of a discussion about if the film was feminist in and of itself. And, given that other reviews have already dissected so much of the other aspects of the film, it seems important to talk about how this movie, being the only film I can think of where the gender of its main character was purposeless changed, about how gender operates in the movie
First and foremost, it was a relief to see Jolie not play up her sexiness or body. She wore frumpy work clothes that looked unflattering and unfashionable. She had a miserably bad haircut throughout the beginning of the movie, her blond locks looking like a bad dye job. (While her character's actually dye job looked utterly normal on her, the kind of hair someone who only washes it every other day looks.) Considering Jolie is the woman who, about ten years ago, played Lara Croft, where, because she apparently was not what the directors and producers wanted, had to wear fake breasts. In a world where one of the most beloved film stars has an imperfect body, you know the standards are far too high. It almost felt like Salt was purposeless not more than just a woman with a government job. It was nice to have a heroine who was relatively ordinary. But the plot's reliance on Salt's dedication to her husband is troublesome. Early on in the film, Salt's husband, Mike, is taken by Orlov's group. After he is killed by Orlov's men, it becomes Salt's apparent motivation, leading her to follow enough of Orlov's plan to dismantle it. (I say apparent motivation here because it is possible that other things are motivating her, but her husband's murder is the only clear force propelling her.) Salt's dedication is admirable, but it's troublesome that her only motivation throughout the movie is her love for her husband. If this movie really had been about a man, it is hard to believe that it would follow this same plot. A male character in those circumstances would have other things motivating him.
It is also important to note the lack of female character, beyond Salt. All the other characters are male, and apparently, other than Salt, everyone important at the CIA is male. Although women have historically struggled with jobs in the CIA, they do exist. The complete lack of other female characters within the story just serves to remind the audience that even if the main character's gender was changed, that it was because one of the biggest stars in the world became attached to the project, not because it was a moment to make a statement about gender and characters in the movies. And of all the things about this movie, from the ludicrous chase scenes and the McGuyver moments and the unbelievable idea that Russia has trained children to eventually bring down the U.S., that indifference to gender within the story is the most disappointing.
The revelation that Sookie is a fairy was as bad as the other things involving Bill this season. In the books, it happens later in the series, and with such absolute casualty as to be funny. Here, it felt like they were reaching for something genuine and failed. It was the closest the show as ever gotten to feeling like a soap opera. Much of the rest of the episode felt like it belonged in a soap opera, since much of the episode dragged, had random craziness that made no sense, and had bad background music.
Heartbreaking, of course, because so much of what happens to Sam is heartbreaking, (including all the tiptoeing that went on around him after his fight with Calvin) but still the flashbacks always slow down the momentum of the show, and not in a good way.
