Grimm 1.16: "The Thing With Feathers"

Two things: I love this show, and how how HOW does it keep getting better and better week after week? AMAZING. Last week's episode of Grimm saw Nick (David Giuntoli) attempt to enjoy a romantic weekend getaway with Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch). Sadly for Nick, now that he's a Grimm the job goes everywhere with him...there is no turning that part of his brain off. Also, no offense to any perfectly nice places called something along the lines of "Whispering Pines," but seriously in films and TV shows going some place with a name like that is never, EVER going to end well. ANYWAYS, remember that engagement ring that's popped up a couple of times? Well apparently Nick's finally decided to pop the question to Juliette, sure that an idyllic weekend away will be the perfect antidote to the Grimm-related stresses that have been plaguing them lately. En route to the rented cabin, the pair stops to ask directions at the home of Tim (Josh Randall) and Robin (Azura Skye), the latter his clearly terrorized wife. Nick barely hides his consternation when he sees the caustic Tim transform into a catlike Wesen -- newsflash to Nick, just leaving Portland doesn't make you any less of a Grimm, okay? :P

Juliette is extraordinarily disturbed by a glimpse she catches of Robin through a window, an unsettling impression she can't shake and is later reinforced when she witnesses Tim manhandling Robin and then forcibly dragging her inside their home. She gets Nick to call the local police department, but when the sheriff arrives nothing is done -- seriously did anyone not get a bad vibe from the sheriff's appearance? Ick. Anyways, Juliette's response to Robin's plight makes me wonder if perhaps the show has something planned for her in relation to Nick's work as a Grimm. She's proven time and again over the course of this season that she can keep a cool head in a crisis, and I think there's a lot of potential for her as some sort of partner in the Grimm-related work. Thoughts?

When Nick gets a Juliette-free moment he calls Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) to try and identify Tim. Monroe's reaction to Nick's call is priceless -- I just love how he whines about getting called, but as he proves later he really wouldn't have it any other way. :) It turns out that Tim is a Klaustreich, which is basically an EVIL alley cat. Klaustreichs are users, love 'em and leave 'em types -- and Monroe knows all of this because he ran afoul of one in his high school years (Monroe may have lost his girlfriend at the time, but the Klaustreich lost the battle with Monroe -- my cello playing, vegan Blutbad is a secret badass -- love it!). Tim's treatment of Robin is absolutely horrific -- preparing disgusting, worm-filled "protein shakes" that he actually force-feeds multiple times. This ranks as one of the most disgusting, chilling crimes in the show to date. The worm shakes are a revealing clue to Robin's Wesen identity -- she's revealed to be a Seltenvogel, a birdlike Wesen that produces a gold stone egg once in their lifetime. Between Robin's less than original name and the force-feeding thing, clearly Tim is controlling her with an eye to acquiring the stone. Robin's casting is one of the best as far as guest spots go this season -- Skye nails the mannerisms of a frightened, flighty bird, and her transformation scenes are among the most natural and likely in the show's history.

Back in Portland, poor Hank (Russell Hornsby) is becoming increasingly obsessed with the Hexenbiest Adalind (Claire Coffee) -- apparently her magic chocolate chip cookies turn people into stalkers. Poor Hank. *sigh* At least he's not eating like a goat like the recently recovered Sgt. Wu (Reggie Lee). (When is someone going to notice THAT mess??) Curiously enough, Adalind doesn't seem all that interested in manipulating Hank -- everything she does is at Renard's (Sasha Roiz) direction. Is she just a puppet, or is she involved with Renard? I cannot WAIT to find out what Renard's end game is, and what exactly his relationship is with Adalind -- who he is in the Wesen world that gives him the apparent position of power that he seems to possess. The writers have done a brilliant job building interest in Renard's character...and given how this show has improved week-over-week since its premiere, I have a great deal of confidence and excitement in seeing how everything plays out. (Side note: was Renard not the HOTTEST THING EVER in the above scene? I mean seriously?! *swoon*)

In other Portland-set news, Monroe is hanging out with Rosalie (Bree Turner), and while I don't think they are officially dating (yet), Monroe's crush makes me SO HAPPY. Seriously, just when I think he couldn't get more adorable HE DOES! When Nick calls Rosalie to ask her questions about Robin's Wesen identity, I LOVED Monroe's fake outrage (all to cover, I'm sure, that he's hanging out with Rosalie...like I said, ADORABLE!). Monroe's budding relationship with Rosalie is setting up -- I hope -- both a personal and professional partnership that this show will carry into its upcoming second season. Nick is in desperate need of another sensible, smart, broad-minded (in that they don't mind he's a Grimm) ally in the Wesen community. And so far, Rosalie seems to fit the bill perfectly. :) Side note: who has some theories on Rosalie's brother's stash of fake passports? Her brother had a history of some shady dealings as far as his business went, but nothing that to my mind required multiple passports. Is he some sort of spy, or in league with Renard somehow? 

So, back to the action in Whispering Pines -- Robin sees an opportunity to run from Tim and takes it, but doesn't take Juliette up on her earlier offer of help. Nick follows her to make sure she's okay, and at this point I'm hoping he realizes how awesome Juliette is because she is game -- I love how she's willing to put herself out there, doesn't let fear determine her reaction to the current situation. In the woods, Nick misses Robin by mere moments -- after killing the one man who had agreed to try and help Robin escape from Tim, he drags her back to their home. Nick discovers the body and calls the local sheriff again -- and this is where everything starts to get all Deliverance-ish. When Nick beats the sheriff to Tim's farmhouse and rescues Robin from yet another forced wormshake feeding, she reveals that the sheriff is Tim's cousin and they're both in on the plot to control her until the "egg" in her neck is ready to hatch.

The whole "bird in captivity" aspect of this episode takes its cue from a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale -- "The Nightingale." In this story, the Chinese emperor keeps a nightingale captive in order to enjoy the bird's song whenever he likes. The story resolves a bit more happily for the nightingale and the emperor -- interestingly enough for this episode, it isn't the nightingale's song but it's egg that is what's valued. And that alteration to the Andersen fairy tale seems a bit reminscent of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and the giant's goose that layed golden eggs, no?

On the run in the woods, Robin starts to pass out because the "egg" is blocking her windpipe, ready to "hatch." In yet another example of Rosalie's awesomeness, she talks Nick through "delivering" the egg by cutting it out of Robin's neck. (I suppose this is the Grimm version of an emergency baby delivery -- ha!) Tim and the sheriff show up after the delivery, leading to an interesting moment -- Nick talks about how he cut the stone out of Robin's neck and two seconds later Juliette shows up with her gun -- don't you think she overheard that? Case-wise all's well that ends well -- the delicate gold egg shatters but Tim and his worthless and corrupt cousin are hauled off to jail. Personally Nick is in for another blow, though, as Juliette turns down his proposal. That moment KILLED me. I know why Nick feels like he must protect and shield her from his Grimm life, but secrets like that do not a sustainable relationship make, hmm? I mean how hard must that moment of raw honesty have been for Juliette? I respect her so much MORE now, you know? I really love Nick and Juliette together, and I hate the thought of trouble in their relationship -- but to the show's credit I think Nick/Juliette relationship stress is being handled extraordinarily well.

Titanic miniseries

Well, I was really looking forward to watching the first part of the new Julian Fellowes' Titanic miniseries this evening, and then my mom calls to clue me in to the sad reality that in my market the miniseries has been pre-empted by a fundraiser telecast. GRRR. The likelihood of me staying up until 1:00am to watch this and make it to church tomorrow is very, very slim, so I'll just wait for my pre-ordered DVD to arrive.



So for anyone who doesn't have the broadcast pre-empted by a fundraiser, please letme know how you enjoy it!

Henri the Existential French Cat

I bring you yet another post where the internet continues makes my day --

Henri, Part One:



Henri, Part Two:

this makes me SO HAPPY...

Some weeks you think "a little Daniel Craig would really make this week better" and BOOM...the internet obliges with new images of Craig as James Bond in the upcoming Skyfall film. Thank you, internet...

Masterpiece Classic - the rest of the 2012 season

I thought I'd update the blog with the remainder of this season's Masterpiece Classic schedule, as it seems increasingly likely I will not be keeping up with this season on the blog (it is what it is, hmm? so many books and movies and TV shows!).

April 15, 2012 at 9pm

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

One 120-minute episode

An adaptation and completion of Charles Dickens' last novel left unfinished at his death, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood is a psychological thriller about a provincial choirmaster's obsession with 17-year-old Rosa Bud. Cast includes Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters) and Julia MacKenzie (Miss Marple).

April 22 & 29, 2012 at 9pm

Birdsong

Two 90-minute episodes

Based on Sebastian Faulk's novel about lovers torn apart by World War I. Eddie Redmayne (The Pillars of the Earth) plays Stephen Wrayford, whose pre-war affair with Isabelle Azaire (Clemence Poesy, Harry Potter) has an enduring effect on him as he fights in the trenches.

As always I'd love to hear your thoughts on either of these productions if or when you've seen them. And rest assured, I'm very much looking forward to the new Masterpiece Mystery season, starting this May with Series 2 of Sherlock!

Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
By: Paul Torday
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0151012768

About the book:

"Every so often a novel comes along that is quite original; think of Yann Martel's enchanting "Life of Pi"... [A] commentary on the value of belief to mankind. [T]hought-provoking and memorable." –The Economist

What does it take to make us believe in the impossible?

For Dr. Alfred Jones, life is a quiet mixture of civil service at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and marriage to Mary—an ambitious, no-nonsense financier. But a strange turn of fate from an unexpected direction forces Jones to upend his existence and pursue another man's ludicrous dream. Is salmon fishing in the Yemen impossible? Maybe nothing is.

Review:

Middle-aged fisheries scientist Alfred Jones lives a rather ordinary, quiet, unremarkable life until one day he receives a positively ludicrous, laughable request -- a Yemeni sheikh wants to introduce the sport of salmon fishing to his home country. Salmon in the desert? Impossible -- or so Alfred thinks, resigning the unorthodox request to the dustbin of extreme eccentricity. But Sheikh Muhammad is a visionary man who refuses to let the fact that something has never been done determine whether or not it is possible. And so the dream of salmon fishing in the Yemen takes on a life of its own as everyone from Alfred's supervisor to the Prime Minister's office seeks to leverage the story and its opportunities for their own personal and professional gain. Unwittingly drawn into this massive project that should be impossible, Alfred finds his eyes opened and his worldview challenged by the visionary sheikh's dream and the power of believing in belief, even when all hope seems lost.

This slim novel is far out side the norm of my usual reading picks -- but when the film trailers were released I couldn't resist checking out the book on which the movie was based. I think Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is quite simply one of the most intriguing, evocative book titles ever. Based on the film trailers I expected a sweet romantic comedy. And while the novel is infused with a healthy dose of humor, I wasn't expecting the biting social sarcasm, the bracing send-up of government bureaucracy and modern marriage, to name just a few of the subjects Torday tackles in his debut. Salmon Fishing rather defies categorization, and that's saying something in a world were Pride and Prejudice and Zombies exists. *wink* Torday's humor is subtler, his wit and insights regarding Western politics and the news media sharp and insightful.

The novel consists of e-mails, diary entries, transcripts and news articles. My favorite entries are those from Alfred and Harriet's (the latter being the estate agent that enlists Alfred's expertise for the project) perspectives. While I appreciated Torday's pointed jabs at government processes and the exigencies of the volatile political climate in the Middle East, where this story works best is in its examination of the struggles and heartbreak Alfred and Harriet experience while striving to bring the sheik's dream to fruition. Alfred's gradual, slow-burning awakening to the beauty and power of belief in belief, in the power of dreaming, is beautifully realized, and its a testament to Torday's ability to craft heart-breakingly realistic characters that I wanted more of them and less social commentary. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was an unexpectedly poignant, at times melancholy (but sweetly so), a delightful, ultimately highly readable venture outside my reading norm that proved to be a powerful reminder of the power and importance of belief and faith to the human experience.

Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror is the first of two big-screen adaptations of the Snow White fairy tale to grace movie screens this year -- and with Snow White a central character to the TV show Once Upon a Time's mythology, it's undeniable that Snow White's star is on the rise. Mirror Mirror is a glossy, colorful confection of a film where the visuals are the undeniable star, leaving the story a bit...hmm...lacking. I have to think this is due in large part to director Tarsem Singh's background as a director of music videos and commercials, and his previous films like The Immortals. Visuals are of course a critical part of any film, but as a personal preference I generally like to see them complemented by a decent script, and that is where Mirror Mirror falls short. That said, this movie has a good heart, and the child in me that's loved fairy tales since -- well, ever since I can remember, loved Mirror Mirror's lush, romantic, over-the-top style.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this film's promotion was the introduction of Julia Roberts, America's one-time silver screen "sweetheart," as the "Evil Queen" of legend. Her on-screen reputation coupled with her larger-than-life costumes make Roberts the most self-absorbed, and frankly silly Queen that I think I've ever seen on film. She's selfish and petulant and whiny, and while to some extent it's a fun change to see Roberts play this very anti-heroine type of character, the script doesn't give her Queen any real sort of menace. She has magic, or rather utilizes it, but there's never any whys or hows, or real rhyme or reason -- instead it is just accepted as a matter of course. Without much in the way of context, this queen is just petty and mean, you know? But she has some pretty amazing clothes. And I'm not gonna try and deny it, the red peacock dress kinda rocked my world (red being my favorite color and all). :) Also, I did think it was interesting how this film handled the whole "magic mirror" thing -- so the mirror was in fact an extension of the Queen's psyche? Thoughts?

Lily Collins as Snow White is perhaps one of this movie's strongest assests character-wise. The Mirror Mirror princess is never meant, I think, to be a completely post-modern radical, so as a princess cut from a more traditional fairy tale mold Collins fits the bill nicely. She has the youth and delicate beauty that makes her an ideal film princess, very much cut from the cloth of the traditional legend. However, this Snow is no complete wilting wallflower -- she grows up a lot in this film as expected by modern standards. But she's not as perhaps quite revisionist as as other modern princesses of her ilk (think Rapunzel in Tangled or Snow White in Once Upon a Time) -- more of a stepping-stone, a midway point between traditional fairy tales and more recent, radical retellings. This Snow is kind and sweet, socially conscious and spunky, and very, very game, especially considering some of the costumes she has to wear in this film (particularly the swan ballgown with its ridiculous headpiece, ha!).

I was rather concerned with Armie Hammer's casting as the heroic Prince Alcott. The more I saw of Hammer in the promotional materials, the more he just didn't appeal to me as a princely type -- and that is a big drawback when it comes to the romantic escapist factor of fairy tales. But you know, Hammer really grew on me as the film progressed. Anyone who can sell adoration towards the princess in question while giant rabbit ears sprout out of his top hat deserves some credit, hmm? *wink* Hammer carries much of the film's silliness on his shoulders and to his credit he seems game. Also, I liked the fact that he could be patently ridiculous but still well-meaning and likable, if that makes sense. The "puppy love" sequence which got a lot of play in the movie trailers unfortunately becomes one of the movie's longest-running gags. But I liked the "twist" that sees Snow awakening her Prince with a kiss, instead of vice-versa, and I'm enough of a romantic sap that the Prince's declaration following the kiss made me met a little inside. :) Oh! -- I cannot forget to give the movie props for accentuating Hammer's 6'5" height with the Best. Coat. EVER. I don't think I've ever seen a coat swish to more dramatic effect.

The script tries really hard to be slyly modern and self-aware, and most of the time it felt a bit awkward. I really think that overall the film would've worked better if they'd played thing straighter with the source material and not concerned themselves with jokes about the ridiculousness of Snow's name, or the penchant for townspeople in fairy tales to dance and sing, etc. :P The script doesn't really do anything new for the dwarves as supporting characters except make them bandits instead of miners, which does, admittedly shake up the legend -- but unfortunately doesn't result in any more well-drawn supporting players. Though I have to admit, I did find the dwarf Half-Pint's (Mark Povinelli) crush on Snow kind of sweet. :)

The end of this movie was interesting. In a surprise twist the fearsome beast the Queen had been using to hold her people hostage through fear turns out to be Snow's father. I don't know what the heck he was supposed to be, exactly -- part snake, dragon, dog, wolf?? Go figure. Anyways, I can only think that the film has Bean show up at the end in an attempt to lend the resolution of the storyline some sort of gravitas -- but for me, anyway, the Sean Bean ship sailed a long time ago. We're a long, long way from Boromir and Sharpe, I'm just sayin'. That said, I appreciate any fairy tale where the parents don't all end up dead, you know? Though it would've been nice to again have some sort of explanation for how the Queen's magic worked, or why she turned the King into a beast instead of just killing him outright.

I realize many are probably going to think I'm being way too hard on this movie, or that I didn't enjoy it all -- that's not the case. I just love fairy tales, and I love inventive, well-done retellings, and on the latter score Mirror Mirror falls a bit flat. It's well-intentioned and good-natured, but it suffers from a lack of focus in the script department. The visuals and costumes are a veritable feast for the eyes, but they don't completely atone for the storyline's deficiencies. And personally I think we really, really could've done without the Bollywood-style musical extravaganza over the credits as well (it should be noted that music-wise I really did like Alan Menken's vibrant score). That came completely out of left field. There's a lot to like here, and the world of the movie is undeniably, gorgeously-rendered on-screen -- this is eye candy I can't help but love, even when it is crazily over-the-top. :) But tone-wise Mirror Mirror can't seem to decide if its a straight fairy tale, a post-modern update, or some sort of mash-up of the two. (The Ella Enchanted film does a better job, I think, of balacing slapstick and camp humor within the trappings of an updated fairy tale.) Mirror Mirror is a colorful, candy-coated slice of cinema that will hopefully serve as an introduction to the glorious, imaginative world of fairy tales and the remakes in both books and films that prove how these classic stories have such staying power.

Review: Wolves Among Us by Ginger Garrett

Wolves Among Us
By: Ginger Garrett
Publisher: David C. Cook
ISBN: 978-0-7814-4885-7

About the book:

Sometimes a savior can bring destruction.

Sometimes a doubter can save a town.

Dinfoil, Germany, 1538. When a double murder stirs up festering fears, the village priest sends for help. But the charismatic Inquisitor who answers the call brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. Under his influence, fear, guilt, and suspicion of women take a deadly turn. Pious and heretic alike become victims of witch-hunting zealots. In the midst of this nightmare, a doubting priest and an unloved wife -- a secret friend of the recently martyred William Tyndale -- somehow manage to hear another voice...and discover the power of love over fear.

Review:

Wolves Among Us is a powerful examination of a deeply troubling and unsettling chapter in church history -- the medieval witch hunts, which saw thousands of women burned alive, many of them believers, all of them targeted by virtue of their womanhood. Feared, denied, reviled, and judged by the very institution that should have offered them succor and refuge, Wolves is a searing examination of the danger and tragedy that can come when uninformed fears, prejudices, and half-truths are proclaimed as as gospel, and conversely, the freedom that comes when one dares to seek a personal relationship with the God who longs to whisper His truths into our hearts, if only we let Him in. Garrett introduces readers to a world perhaps not so different from our own, where lies are proclaimed as truths and ignorance allows them to flourish. Two vastly different characters provide the entrée to this world, where a horrific double murder brings a small German community to the crossroads of faith and fear. The first, Father Stephen, is a well-meaning but frustratingly blind priest who unwittingly unleashes a wolf among his flock. With more confidence in the human dictates of the church than in his own relationship with the God he proclaims from the pulpit, Stephan is faced with the opportunity to become a true shepherd through the fire of unfathomable persecution. Mia, the wife of the town sheriff, is lonely and unloved, a pariah among the town's women, allows her fears to define her life and her faith. When prejudice and bloodlust masquerade as justice, can two doubters find the courage to stand for life-changing truth?

Wolves was originally intended to be the third entry in Garrett's Chronicles of the Scribe series (following In the Shadow of Lions and In the Arms of Immortals). Somewhere between the publication of Immortals and Wolves, the decision was made to retain the basic plotline (16th-century witch hunts) and eliminate the modern-day framing device utilized in the Scribe novels. While the framing story was a unique and innovative way in which to show modern women experiencing the awakening of previously unknown history at pivotal moments in the Middle Ages, Wolves is just as strong -- if not stronger -- than its predecessors in the case it makes for knowing the heart-breaking, empowering sacrifices our ancestral sisters in the faith made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do today.

Garrett has a gift for illuminating the dark periods of history, for bringing times that seem, on the surface, so foreign to modern sensibilities to life with her vibrant prose. Wolves is a rare novel, one that is simultaneously engrossing, uncomfortable, enraging, and heart-breaking. This is challenging fiction that holds a mirror to its readers demanding honesty and self-examination, brutally honest in its exploration of the role of women vis-a-vis faith, both personal and corporate, and in the church. On a superficial level, it would be easy to dismiss Mia's story as a fiction, and that is both the danger and genius of a novel such as this. Garrett's carefully crafted characters are authentic and true to the time in which they lived, and Mia's repressed nature seems particularly untenable by modern standards. But at the same time their faith struggles, the questions they grapple with are timeless and still oh-so-relevant today.

William Tyndale and his "forbidden book," a translation of the scriptures from the Latin so they could be read by the average man and woman, is the thread that ties Lions and Wolves together. Taken together these novels are powerful, humbling reminders that the gift of reading the scriptures, of seeking God without the "aid" of a sanctioned intermediary -- these were gifts paid for in blood, treasures that are too often taken for granted. When darkness seems overwhelming, at its most powerful, Wolves is a call to stand for truth, a reminder of who we are in Christ and more importantly of who God is, truths found in the pages of scripture -- truths men and women died for so that you and I would have the "right" to let the book gather dust on beside tables. May it never be so taken for granted -- for there is much truth in the maxim that those who do not remember, do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Wolves is a jewel among Garrett's slim list of published works, a richly textured novel that immerses the reader in the world of 16th-century Germany. Terrifying, heart-wrenching, and challenging in its examination of lies sold as truth, this is a book that cannot help but change you -- if you let it. I particularly liked the touch Garrett weaves throughout the story of an actual wolf preying on livestock, a grim, appropriate foreshadowing of the evil challenge to come that masquerades as an angel of light. This is a powerful, challenging, extraordinarily relevant examination of how a few brave souls dared to stand on the infallible truth of God's word during one of the darkest chapters in history. Enter these pages with care, because the story within demands self-examination and change.