Season One Shows: Gang Related

Welcome back readers and we are off to Day 4 of Season One Shows. To detract from our usual steady diet of sci-fi and moderately interesting dramas, how about we go full on into a cop drama dealing with gang activity? Yes, the warm environment of Gang Task Force... where you can find a kid in a dumpster... with his throat slit... or more holes in him than a politician's promises. With such a gritty take on the ends and outs of gang life we better have a gruff kid from the streets all grown up to lead us into the stories. This is Gang Related.

Fine, no one likes my coffee. I get it.

Surprisingly enough this is shot in L.A. As we explore the professional and personal lives of the members of Gang Task Force we find they will go head to head with the most notorious of street scum bringing them down and downtown for booking. Yeah, sorry if I went a bit Dragnet on you there. Let's look at the cast, shall we?

Our main protagonist is Detective Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bella, Day Break, The Wire, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Battle Los Angeles)... we know this because we get an intro narrative that he is this man and this is his story. Apparently raised by another family after his parents died and watched over by the Los Angelicos gang, our young man trained in several martial arts, fluent in multiple dialects and sciences until a bat came crashing in his window and he... oh crap that's Bruce Wayne. Ahem, Ryan became a cop and works undercover to protect his adopted family of Colombian gang/syndicate  but that bat story was working. With gang ties and being police he walks the tightrope between both worlds.

Sorry, there's a bee circling my head.

Leading this collection of hard asses is Sam Chapel (Terry O' Quinn of The Stepfather, Black Widow, The Rocketeer, The X-Files, Millennium, JAG, Alias, Lost and Hawaii Five-0)

veteran cop that may bend the rules to get justice, his daughter ADA (Assistant District Attorney)Jessica Chapel (Shantel VanSanten of The Open Door, Remembrance, In My Pocket, One Tree Hill, Something Wicked and The Messengers) and Ryan's girlfriend... akward...

DEA agent Cassius Green (RZA of Wu-Tang, Be Cool, The Box, American Gangster, Repo Men, The Next Three Days and G.I. Joe: Retaliation) now Ryan's partner. FBI agent Tae Kim (Sung Kang of Mystery Men, Forbidden Warrior, Live Free or Die Hard, War, Fast & Furious, Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6) and his ICE partner Veronica Dotsen (Inbar Lavi of Crash, Street Kings 2: Motor City, Getting That Girl, For the Love of Money, Underemployed and The Last Ship)

Working with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) this multi-departmental task force has a lot of resources, boots on the pavement and hard hitting go-getters for the job. Not sure why we can properly fund our actual agencies as well as the fictitious ones but I move on. With each episode developed we learn about every member of the task force and the reasons behind why they are there. In short, we have a lot of broken people that this is the only way of mending... aside from that whole vigilante idea but again must let it go. Ryan's story is a bit darker as he is playing double agent for his gang's leader Javier Acosta (Cliff Curtis of Virus, Six Days Seven Nights, Three Kings, Bringing Out the Dead, Blow, Live Free or Die Hard and Last Knights) who engineered the idea in the first place placing the young man he considers a son in mortal danger for more than a decade. What is to become of Ryan? Whose side is he truly on?

A quick sum-up of the series now. The writing is sound, the characters are flushed out and the cinematography alone was excellent. This is very much a character driven series with back stories that are dark and some provide hope. Created by writer/producer Chris Morgan (Cellular, Wanted, Fast & Furious, Fast Five and 47 Ronin) you get a feel that The Wire was a real impact to this writing but with the added bonus that we are intrigued by the character either side of the fence. 

 Sadly this was place in FOX rather than HBO or Showtime to give the streets the vulgarity and violence level needed to carry the show. So blown away by Cliff Curtis' charisma as the gang leader that you can easily see why he calls the shots. Terry O' Quinn does not disappoint either. The downside is the criminals are being revered as rebel outlaws similar to Robin Hood and does not provide the proper scope showing that deep down they flaunt the law and kill anyone that doesn't agree with that outlook on life. Still it gives as good as The Departed and The Shield did and was deemed unworthy of another season, let alone a continuation? What utter crap, Fox.

Actually you are unlucky my chick's here.  Black Widow Style.

Sci-Fi Fantasy Week: Willow

Welcome back travelers of yore and we shall enjoy Day 5 of Sci-Fi Fantasy Week and we will look deeply into the story arc that brought us excitement and adventure with a compelling tale of good vs. evil no matter your height and made anyone with the last name of Peck a living hell on Earth.  So saddle your horses, sharpen your blades and may your deities look upon in favor.  This is Willow.

Hmm wonder if there will be another Leprechaun flick at the ready.

High Aldwin: Magic is the bloodstream of the universe. Forget all you know, or think you know.  All that you require is your spoiler.

Star Wars creator George Lucas and writer Bob Dolman (Little Shots, Cowboy Joe, Willow, Far and Away, The Banger Sisters and How to Eat Fried Worms) create a ingenious drama about a reluctant hero, a mere dwarven farmer named Willow (Warwick Davis of Return of the Jedi, The Princess and the Dwarf,   Leprechaun, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Unbroken and Doctor Who) with the dreams to be a wizard from a tiny village must journey on a perilous adventure for the sake of a child.  Willow’s species are known as Nelwyns or as the humans call them, pecks.   Yes imagine the joy that could bring.  I guess if you snare four of them you have a bushel.   Moving right along; our young farmer, husband and father of two leaves with 4 warriors and the council magistrate to find a Dakini(Human) to claim the child that brought terrible danger to their village.

Jim Morrison of the Dark Ages.

The village wizard informs the lot the child is prophesied to bring down the tyranny of the heartless Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh of Frenzy, The Changeling and Return to Oz) and they must be wary.    Our party encounters a boastful warrior trapped in a crow’s cage (an ancient hanging gallows that allow prisoners to die of thirst or asphyxiate being high up) calling himself Madmartigan (Val Kilmer of Top Gun, Tombstone, Batman Forever, Heat Kiss Kiss Bang Bang andPlanes) and he states he will watch the baby if they let him out of his cage.  

I tell ya Earl, Helm's Deep looks festive this time of year.

Being passed over by about 300 armored warriors the party feels they have no choice but to trust this man and hands the baby to him.  Moments after such the baby has been snatched by brownies (fairy folk) and Willow chases after them to be led to the fairy queen of the forest who speaks of the child as she will be a force for good in the lands but she has chosen Willow as her protector.   

Just a few notes to make about this film offhand.   Shot with Panavision anamorphic lens and followed up with Vista Vision (a process similar to 20^th Century Fox but allows a better widescreen system to shoot onto a larger area giving a finer print) giving a better print for 35mm.  Industrial Light and Magic managed the transition shots, scale model and stop animation creatures.

Don't get short with me mister!

The director of this particular sword and sorcery saga is none other than Ron Howard (Skyward, Night Shift, Splash, Cocoon, Parenthood and Backdraft) and given his area seems to be mostly romantic drama, coming of age and edgy drama this was a real stretch out of his comfort zone to provide the world with a truly clever film with some amusing dialogue and spellbinding creatures.  The classic struggle of righteous vs. nefarious was captured rather well and I would insist that Sci-Fi Fantasy fans give it a viewing.

Sci-Fi Fantasy Week: Excalibur

Welcome milords and ladies to Day 3 of Sci-Fi Fantasy Week and I am have dusted off my DVD rack to bring you yet another gone but not forgotten gem of the genre.  When I speak of Camelot I do not mean Sean Connery and Richard Gere being silly in armor nor do I mean a zany cartoon with two headed talking dragons and far too many sing along.   I am referring to the key elements derived from Sir Thomas Mallory’s classic Le Morte Darthur.   Capturing all facets and characters from said novel and bringing them to the big screen in 1981.  So don thine armour, sharpen and preserve thy blade and prepare for battle!  This is Excalibur.

Well, at least we aren't fighting over who makes a better Batman.

Arthur: Now, once more, I must ride with my knights to defend what was, and the spoiler of what could be.

Writer Rospo Pallenberg (Exorcist II: The Heretic, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, The Barber of Siberia and The Gaul) and writer/director John Boorman (Zardoz, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Excalibur, Where the Heart Is, The General, The Tailor of Panama and The Tiger’s Tail) dare to dabble in a time of romance, chivalry and siege warfare to the days of the kingdom of Camelot. 

The ever mysterious magus Merlin (Nicol Williamson of Of Mice and Men, The Reckoning, Hamlet, Robin and Marian, Return to Oz and Apt Pupil) has secured Excalibur from the Lady in the Lake for Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Bryne of Miller’s Crossing, The Usual Suspects, Ghost Ship, In Treatment and Just a Sigh) with the agreement of Merlin aiding in the seduction of the Duke of Cornwall’s wife through cast illusion.  Sounds a bit shady thus far but we shall move on. 

Bald brothers, hear me! The skull cap is all the rave!

With the Duke on the battle field and slain only sorceress Morgana (Helen Mirren of Hamlet, Caligula, 2010, The Queen, Red and Red 2) can see through Uther’s disguise while he has his way with her mother.    Nine months later, Merlin sneaks in and is off with the baby while Uther injured from the Duke’s knights hurls Excalibur into a stone claiming the man that draws the blade will be king. 

Come hither stare or looks that could kill??

Years later Sir Ector's (Clive Swift of Frenzy, A Passage to India, Keeping Up Appearances and The Old Guys) boys are Kay and Arthur prepare for a jousting tournament when Sir Leondegrance (Patrick Stewart of Dune, Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men, Moby Dick, Safe House and Hamlet) attempts to remove Excalibur and fails.  A thief takes off with Kay’s blade and without any thought other than defending his brother’s honor Arthur draws Excalibur to do battle with the thief.

So the lad is declared king of the realm and all but a few accept this to be but webs are being weaved into what the future may come to be.

I have just a few points to make about the film now.   35mm Spherical captures the action and drama so but this is the year the UK introduced the Arriflex Camera giving almost the same scope as a Panavison anamorphic lens without the same tight consistency.  It is still quite the noteworthy camera to be held to all.   

Now I shall slay Ranuccio!

It is also the film that launched the careers of Liam Neeson, Gabriel Bryne, Neil Jordan and Ciaran Hinds.   Not too shabby in that of its own, this very movie gave SFX credit of now Industrial Light and Magic SFX supervisor Peter Hutchinson.   While this is to be an Arthurian legend told this was primarily shot in Ireland and I am betting they never let the limeys forget that heheh.