Book of Boba Fett: Episode 2&3 thoughts

 

THE TRIBES OF TATOOINE

While the second episode in the new Disney+ series was a better overall outing than the premiere episode by this viewer - it for me showed the problems with streaming in both a positive and negative context.

The episode again used the present day of Boba Fett after the Sarlaac Pit and laying claim to Jabba's throne coupled with a flashback narrative of Boba being taken in by the Tusken raiders of Tatooine and being embedded into their tribe.

The use of the contrasting flashbacks and present day narrative, is that while both is necessary the flashback ultimately overstays its welcome. Too much is made of the tribe life, yet the introduction of the train (an homage to actual history of colonials shooting buffalo as they rode past on trains in the days of the Old West) is another feather in the cap to build upon the world of Tatooine and the ignorace of it being just Mos Eisley.

The tropes and cliche of donning tribal garb is there, the trippy journey to obtain his branch for his stick are predictable as well as telegraphed.

THE STREETS OF MOS ESPA

The third episode for me was again an improvement, a shorter running time yet it was very much by the numbers in terms of building character arc and narrative.

Boba is done with the flashback, and the flashback ending abruptly with the re-introduction of Black Krrsantan as an assassin on Boba's head. The fight is okay but shouldn't a crime lord have better protection in his own home. What follows is a visit by the twin Hutts who apologise and give Boba the black wookie as a gift, one that Boba immediately releases.

Then a visit to the mayor leads to the slowest chase since Barnaby Jones was on the air, with some bad CGI with many an obstacle in the busy streets of Mos Espa - culminating in information being given up far too easily.

The early introduction of Stephen Root in a supporting character role bodes well for future episodes, and the formal announcement of the Pykes as the main villains with the prospect of war incoming.

After three episodes, I remain indifferent and underwhelmed by the show thus far, this is a combination of pacing and the back and forth. Now we may have the prospect of an actual story in real time taking place, yet the action feels forced and predictable yet the anticipation cannot be ignored

Episode Four for one cannot come soon enough

A Very British Scandal - Review

The 3 part BBC series starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany about the very public divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in 1963 was broadcast over the Christmas holidays and is currently available on BBC iPlayer.

A bit of history before we commence, the Duke and Duchess were married in 1951 culminating in a bitter divorce battle in 1963 after a tumultuous marriage, where the Duchess Argyll was shamed for her promiscuity and those reports in the court case were made public, most damningly the knowledge of a photograph where Margaret is giving oral sex to a headless body.

The series borrows heavily from The Crown, none more so than the casting of Claire Foy against type as a sexual creature in contrast to that of her noble majesty. Whereas, Bettany cranks up the villainy of the Duchy as a man-child, who merely wants to live a good life and be left alone to his own devious devices.

However, the script plays out both leads as nefarious individuals, heinous beings who are not very nice at all in all honesty - the Duke is a drunk who merely wants Margaret for her money, and the Duchess makes no apologies for enjoying the sexual company of any man.

The contrast between the two genders is startling and played to the hilt - whereas the Duke can have many an affair, it is the female requirement to tally and keep record that proves the Duchess' downfall as her diary with the pinpointing of social engagements marks her out as everything a woman and wife should not be.

The Duchess was one of the first women to be shamed by the media, while the Duke was made out as a shining beacon of aristocracy hurt by a woman beneath his status. 

The film is as much about status, class and the hush hush nature of sexual conduct within the upper crust, Margaret's friend, Maureen (Julia Davis) makes it clear that he way the upper class fornicate and run around with each other should not be made for the gossiping working-lower classes, and 'they will close ranks' if it so happens.

Funny that all this occurs in 1963, mere years later the swinging 1960s come into full force where sexual promiscuity was rife and mindsets altered.

Yet all in all this series was a missed opportunity, it attempts to make a statement about shaming women in this post #MeToo era yet the Duchess is not a likeable individual much like her husband, you do not show her pity and yet you do feel sorry that her situation was one she had to endure. Yet the film is so besotted with the aristocracy that it is afraid to formally admonish them.

A shame to report that this scandal was a meek affair

A Very British Scandal is on BBC iPlayer now

Book of Boba Fett: A Template Laid Bare

 

The Book of Boba Fett premiered on Disney+ on 28th December, providing a treat for Star Wars fans around the world during the festive period.

Using a now common narrative tool of dual narratives - we begin where the post-credits Mandalorian sequence ended with Boba Fett taking the seat once held by Jabba the Hutt in his eponymous palace flanked by Fennec Shand.

The episode starts with Boba in a tank recuperating from exertions and his nightmares return as he reflects, with us the viewer thrust into his dreams as he is within the Sarlaac Pit where he famously fell during the Return of the Jedi. We see Boba fight out of the creatures stomach, his hand bursting through the sand a la many a horror imagery, reaching for the sky.

Once out of the desert, he lays awaiting rescue. Unfortunately, the first people to encounter him are the scavenging Jawas who strip him of his mandalorian armour leaving him to waste away. Then he is taken in by a Tusken raider tribe where he has to endure slavery and torture from a youngling raider who is going through a rite of passage with Boba as the task at hand to overcome.

This story of Boba overcoming adversity to reach the level of nomadic stature when we encountered him in the second series of the Mandalorian where he retrieves his armour is next to the story of him becoming a crime lord in the same guise of Jabba. He meets many a new suitor, people wishing to win his favour and encounters a representative of the Mayor of Mos Espa, Tatooine's second city. Usually these people pay the crime lord, but the majordomo wishes for payment from Fett. 

Boba wishes to meet the Mayor but as they leave The Sanctuary they are ambushed and the best set piece of the first episode takes place with plenty of action, fighting and the opportunity for Shand (Ming Na) to parkour around buildings chasing the attackers.

That strand of the episode ends with Fett on his haunches being held up by now loyal duo of Gamorreans. We then return to five years prior where Boba is in servitude to the Tusken raiders - he and a Rodian have to dig for water by the teenage Tusken. They then encounter a Harryhausen-esque creature with four arms.

Boba shows industry and inventiveness to defeat the monster with only his hands and the chain that binds him. The Tusken allows Boba to walk unaccompanied back to the village where he is given a gourd - a sign of respect and that he is made in their eyes. He is now on a voyage to learn the ways of the desert which takes us up to his first (re)appearance in the Mandalorian when dressed in Tusken robes and garb.

While the episode is not as kinetic or thrilling as other chapters of the Mandalorian would eventually be, yet if memory serves the first ever episode of that series was along the same lines with the need to build up character and atmosphere. There are going to be lulls in this series due to the quiet intense character that Boba is along with the equally reserved Shand.

The bond between Fett and Shand will be key to this series - the mutual respect the two have for each other as outlaws in an albeit lawless galaxy - this wish to live and die by their own sword; they share looks that speak volumes to each other and can say things with a raise of an eyebrow merely to instruct the other. This is empowered by the totem that is Temeura Morrison as the title character, years of wear and tear on his face and body exuded a host of emotions to convey.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Jon Favreau, the template of the western has long been establised with the outsider being welcomed into a forbidden tribe to earn his spurs so to speak, to then rise up and take control of a town or county through his grit. In this instance, the western genre has been extrapolated and put onto the science fiction/fantasy world of Star Wars again to winning effect.

Whilst watching I may have been guilty of looking at my phone on occasion, but there was enough to maintain my attention and ultimately look forward to the next episode on Wednesday in the New Year. As always, this is appointment viewing and not to be missed.

Follow me on Twitter @NextToTheAisle

CHAMPION - Blu-ray review

 

One of the greatest boxing films of all time released by Eureka Entertainment now.

Made in 1949, directed by journeyman Mark Robson, Champion features an Oscar nominated performance (his first) by Kirk Douglas for his portrayal of Michael 'Midge' Kelly a boxer whose rise to the top makes him popular with fans, yet behind the scenes he is an egomaniac who will not let anything stand in his way - not even his best friend portrayed by Arthur Kennedy.

After winning a fight he was meant to throw and threatened by the mob, Midge is saved by the love of a woman and he ventures back into the ring one more time but face his fiercest opponent, himself.

Shot in gorgeous black and white photography by famed cinematographer Franz Planer; this film is one of those sporting films that is forgotten about all too easily but deserves re-discovery and thanks to the Blu-ray presentation here it surely will do.

Champion is up there with Raging Bull and Rocky for best boxing films in the long distinguished relationship between cinema and pugilism.

The new disc features an audio commentary by film scholar Jason A. Ney; collector's booklet by critic Richard Combs.

Champion is available via the Eureka Store

The Dark Hours - Michael Connelly

 

Brand new LA set crime thriller from master storyteller Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly is most famous for creating the indelible detective Harry Bosch, rendered in the Amazon production Bosch starring Titus Welliver. Bosch is a hard-bitten, hard-working policeman who knows what is right and wrong, while the forces that be conspire to restrict his brand of policing in these more politically correct times.

As Bosch has grown up and in the narrative of his books, retired from the police force to become a private detective, we now follow Renee Ballard, a female police officer who works the same beat as Bosch used to do and is also facing the same troubles Bosch used to notice - colleagues who do not work as hard, no empathy for victims and hands tied by paperwork.

This new tale starts on New Years Eve, Ballard has to work the beat as all police officers must do on a busy night of the year in Los Angeles. In a pique of revelry, angelinos shoot bullets into the air amidst this unusual tradition a bullet goes astray leading to a murder investigation. The bullet leads to the reopening of a cold case led by Bosch.

The predatory Midnight Men are on the prowl, a duo of sex predators who attack women on major holidays - single women in their own home attacked and victimised. Ballard takes these attacks personally and chooses to hunt them down. Connelly has always had a great eye for detail in police work, as Bosch says 'get off your ass and knock on some doors' and Ballard's detective work in noticing the streetlights in terms of giving the perpetrators extra darkness is a wonderfully painted narrative detail.

As ever, there is a crispness to the dialogue spoken with real world dialogue apparent amidst a global pandemic and the swiftness of the narrative as Ballard spins numerous plates in the air while combining with Bosch to great effect. 

This makes for a winning combination and this is another winner from the desk of Connelly, a master of the crime genre.

The Dark Hours is out now from Orion Publishing on all formats 

In Plain Sight - Neal Francis

 

Second album from Chicago based singer-songwriter Neal Francis from ATO Records out 5th November

Encompassing a changing of personal momentum and relocating back to his hometown after a break-up, Neal Francis' second album In Plain Sight is an honest collection of new songs about resilience and overcoming adversity soaking up influence of rock and soul into a dreamlike state that is both absorbing and gratifying.

Produced by Grammy winning producer, Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT), who has experience of working with off the wall production; Francis takes the basis for the second album his debut Changes which was a New Orleans RnB effort that drew comparisons with Allen Touissant. High praise indeed, yet the music of this album is more rockier drawing inspiration from the Chicago jazz and rock scenes and for this listener you cannot ignore the influence of early Elton John when he was in true trubadour honky cat days or that of Leon Russell; that joie de vivre of piano performance.

The opening track of the album 'Alameda Apartments' kicks off as more a statement of intent than anything else; full of untethered melodies, luminous grooves and lyrics that find the protagonist drifting from despair to craziness as it tells the story of moving into a haunted apartment following another break-up.

Lead single 'Can't Stop the Rain' is perhaps the standout track of the album, a real tour de force combining the power of unabashed piano with anthemic guitar riffs, written with a friend David Shaw who came up with the refrain and incorporates a message of hope despite the prospect of rain, "You can't stop the rain/It's always coming down/It's always going to fall/But you're not gonna drown"

The album was recorded by Francis and his band in a defunct church (St. Peter's UCC) setting and on tape, to help grab the power of live music performance and a band in sync; such as the guitar-heavy 'Prometheus' which features Francis on St. Peter's pipe organ in combat with an electric synth. 

The surreal and odd nature of living and performing in a church infuses the album with this religious and spiritual context; you do not have to have faith to get the power of this album as the piano Francis plays is able to connect many a listener but the piano is Francis' tool for redemption and ultimately transformation for a person who has overcome addiction problems and is now happily sober in 2021.

The album is a pleasing and rocking joy to finish this most tumultuous of years, through it all we shall always have rock and roll.

In Plain Sight is out from ATO Records on 5th November 

Neal Francis is on tour in the UK headlining O2 Academy Islington on January 23rd 2022

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Agent in Berlin - Alex Gerlis

 

New spy thriller by Alex Gerlis from Canelo out 4th November

Alex Gerlis is a writer of spy thrillers, following in the great heritage of British spy authors such as John Le Carre and Frederick Forsyth, he bases his tales in the past in and around the second world war primarily, looking back at the past and finding tales to create historical fiction with a huge dose of influence by accurate depictions of figures who were in and around the actual turning of history.

His most recent book, Agent in Berlin, is set around the spymaster ring set up by British intelligence in the German capital as a reaction to the worrying trend of fascism and Nazism rising in profile from 1933 with the abhorrent attack on the Jewish people. Gerlis tells the story of spymaster, Barnaby Allen who recruits a network of allies from all sides to forge a bond against the Third Reich as they begin to gain power. He recruits a German homosexual, an American journalist and the wife of a Nazi commander amongst others, despite constant danger the ring discover plans for a new German fighter plane better than the illustrious Spitfires and Hurricanes.

The tension wracked up by the author in his numerous scenes are so well handled; depicting a time of terror and worry in a prominent city that slowly becomes more and more like a prison, the colour evaporating from the buildings and its inhabitants as Germany go on a course of cleansing of those they believe to be inferior to the supposed superior Aryan race.

The key character or agent Allen endorses is that of a spy in the Japanese embassy, who finds intelligence that Japan in an alliance with Germany are to attack the United States and bring them into the war. The action runs from 1933 when the seed is sown and up to early 1942 after Pearl Harbor has taken place with USA now making it a second world war.

There is a lot of pleasure to be taken from the reading of this novel, from Gerlis' well researched on life in Berlin to the touching points of the 1936 Berlin Olympics when in the character of Jack Miller he has a conduit of a fish out of water but also a spectator at something truly ground-breaking such as Jesse Owens' miraculous achievements under the hateful eyes of Der Fuhrer. 

The character, Miller also side bars into football commentary travelling around to see Schalke and Hamburg those heralded footballing hotbeds of Germany during the war and it allows Gerlis - a life-long Grimsby Town supporter - to use his love of football as a plot device, which for this reader was greeted with great relish. Some of the games mentioned are factually correct in the Bundesliga as well as the Olympic ties

In conclusion, this is my second Gerlis read. I read Prince of Spies last year and while that was a continuing story in a series. This stand alone novel is full of tension and drama, handling the arcs of all characters expertly with an end result bringing a neat resolution to proceedings.

Agent In Berlin is released from Canelo on Thursday 4th November