Mad Men Season 6: Episodes 1-4-Don's an Asshole!

Guys, I want to talk about this season of Mad Men so far. I haven't seen the last two episodes, so this is basically a rant about the first four episodes. I guess the problem I have with this season is that my sympathy for Don has more or less dwindled away. In the first seasons it was obvious that he wasn't, exactly, a good person but I had some remaining good feelings towards his character. He seemed like someone who was trying to 'figure things out'. Granted, he should have maybe figured that shit out sooner, but, hey. I'm 25 and still waitressing, years after I wanted to have my career underway (soon, guys, soon!) Anyway, I digress. Recently I was listening to "The Ones Who Knock" podcast, about Breaking Bad. In one of the episodes, the comment is made by David Chen that there was one specific moment where he lost all sympathies towards Walter White, where Walter White ceased completely to be a protagonist and was now a character that needed to be destroyed. For me that moment came in regards to Don Draper this season, when him and Sylvia are out to dinner and she asks him what they are doing, and he replies coldly. Sylvia is right, he does seem to be taking some perverse pleasure in humiliating both of their spouses, specifically Megan. But, while, I think audiences feel sorry for Megan, she's also a hard character to root for. She's terribly naive and there's something disconcerting about that. Don was dating someone else when he proposed to her and yet she doesn't seem suspicious at all. She seems to believe that Don truly loves her and she really believes that he will be jealous of her kissing another man (on her soap opera) because he loves her, not because he's an abusive control freak. But, even though it's hard to feel sorry for Megan, I have to wonder if this show is making excuses for Don's behaviour. What I mean is that although Betty and Megan (and all of Don's other women) are flawed to be sure, does that mean that Don is allowed to treat them badly? Don is an anti hero, sure, but isn't he one we are supposed to root for? I know there is a lot of unbridled vitriol towards Betty but I've always liked her. Certainly, as I said, there are a lot of bad things to say about her but in the end she's always been, to me at least, just a flawed woman. Just as Don is flawed, but Don is a protagonist and these women are....hated. To be honest, I don't know if Mad Men is sexist, I know that we aren't intended to share or support Don's treatment of women, but there' still something unsettling about the way he treats women like whores. So far he has paid Sylvia for sex, more or less and directly called Megan a prostitute. Maybe the problem is me. Watching Breaking Bad is easy because the bad things the characters do are so far removed from daily life. Mad Men on the other hand depicts people treating each other badly in a day to day way and somehow that's uncomfortable. Maybe that's a good thing though?

Now for things I liked:
Trudy kicking Pete out was hilarious!
Kieran Shipka is as fabulous as ever.
Joan can really do no wrong in my eyes, even though she kind of is a grade A bitch.
And last but not least, if you haven't seen the Mad Men on Facebook recaps, seriously, check them out HERE.


Picture sources:   Mad  Men Megan

Life of Pi Review

It's understandable that it has taken this long to make Yann Martel's 2001 novel "Life of Pi"  into a film. However  the philosophical story which revolves around a teenage boy and a adult Bengal tiger trapped in a lifeboat for 227 days is brought beautifully to life by director Ang Lee. The film beings in Montreal where Pi, who was named after a French swimming pool is recanting his story, a story that will make you believe in God (s it is claimed),  to a writer who heard about Pi from someone he met in India.  Pi begins with his childhood in India where his parents owned a zoo. Pi was enchanted by the animals but learned at an early age that animals are violent and instinctive. It's a great strength of the film that it never attempts to make the animals anything other than animals. Pi also begins to pursue religion, all religions, eventually becoming a Christian, a Hindu and a Muslim. When his parents decide to move to Winnipeg (of all places!) Pi's whole family and all their animals board a Japanese ship headed for Canada. However during a storm the ship sinks and Pi loses his whole family and ends up stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, orangutan, a zebra and of course, the tiger. The hyena quickly kills the zebra and the orangutan and then is killed himself by the tiger. Pi and the tiger are then left to survive together. Despite the fact that Pi begins to be thankful for Richard Parker, the tiger and even begins to think of him as a friend, Richard Parker is first and foremost a tiger, and a hungry one at that. Eventually the two of them establish a precarious balance, with Pi finally training the tiger. What ensues is a cinematic masterpiece filled with the kind of dazzling effects that will leave you in awe as the two experience many wonders and Pi's faith in God is challenged. When they are near death, Pi and Richard Parker  wash up on a carnivorous island, something Pi takes to be a sign from God. They continue on and finally end up on the coast of Mexico where Pi recants this incredible story to Japanese officials. When they tell him that this story is unbelievable he tells them another story, one so horrible that they choose to believe the first story. Many have discussed the fact that the film doesn't show this alternate story, you only hear it in Pi's words, however I feel this is a strength and not a weakness. Both the film and the book leave the ending open to the audiences interpretation, and while it's easy to believe Pi's second story, and I believe we are meant to, the final image in your mind is that of a boy crossing the ocean with a tiger. All religions use parables to tell their stories and this is a story which is a lot about religion. If I had one complaint with the book it was that I didn't know if it was trying to say a lot or a little and it felt like it was spread to thin. Nonetheless, the film is beautiful, poignant and more than worthy of your time. 

Friday Review: The Imposter (2012)

The Imposter is a documentary that promises a lot and delivers a lot, just not as much as you would like.

This true story revolves around the question: how much would a grieving family be willing to believe? As a discussion of this question the film is fairly effective but it falls short in other areas. The film follows the Barclay family, who, in 1994, lost their son and brother Nicholas. He vanished one afternoon and was never found. Three years later a young French man was found in Spain claiming to be Nicholas.  It was, in fact, Frédéric Bourdin a twenty three year old who had made something of a career out of impersonating missing children. The documentary makes this clear from the very beginning, having Bourdin tell his side of the story. And what a story it is. He discusses how he manipulated law enforcement and social services, and how he was an unwanted child, implying a sort of motivation for his actions. Thankfully, director Bart Layton doesn't send a lot of time trying to garner sympathy for Bourdin, something which would have been forced and unwelcome. Rather, the film focuses on the suspension of belief required for this family to accept someone who was clearly not their son as their own. Bourdin seems shocked too. While it is understandable that a family, mourning their loss, would want to believe that this stranger was their son, and it is even  plausible that overworked child care workers in Spain would believe his story, it seems incredulous that various Embassy officials and even the FBI believed his story. Bourdin concocts a story about being kidnapped by the military and flown from country to country, used as a sex slave and forced to speak only in Spanish. A horrifying story but an incredulous one, not  least of all because Bourdin speaks with a marked French accent  which a native speaker would never acquire (as someone thankfully points out) and could not be mistaken for a Spanish one, if he indeed was forced to speak Spanish,  nevermind such claims as  his claim that acid was poured on his eyes to make them change colour.  This story is wholly implausible, yet nearly everyone bought it. The question then becomes why the family would accept it, do they have something to hide? A private detective believes that they themselves killed Nicholas and even Bourdin agrees, but no body is even found and to this day the case remains unsolved. Bourdin is shortly found out and sentenced to 6 years in jail before moving to France and,  after continuing his impersonation career, finally settles down.The documentary doesn't have a conclusion because there is no conclusion, at least that the filmmakers and audience are aware of, yet the film is set u so you believe there will be some final answers, something which makes the ending oddly dissatisfying. It is however, a well made film and worth watching, if not for the cinematography and production (which is pitch perfect) then for the questions it asks. 

image credit

Book Review: The Heights-Peter Hedges

The setting for "The Heights" is the everyday life of a young couple with two small children, who live in  the trendy Brooklyn Heights neighberhood. Unlike their well heeled neighbours though, Kate and Tim struggle with money and live in a tiny apartment  Tim is a history teacher who is working on his long over due dissertation and Kate is a stay at home mom. However when Kate is offered a lucrative job helping charitable organizations, things start to change. Tim's decision to stay home has him filling Kate's shoes with the local moms, complete with pet names. Things change further when they meet the charming, beautiful and extremely wealthy Anna. Both partners are instantly drawn to her, but a mutual attraction develops between Tim and Anna. Meanwhile, an ex-boyfriend of Kate's re-enters the picture, declaring that he never stopped loving her.  There's nothing particularly new or thrilling about a tale of marital discord in the suburbs, but perhaps that is where "The Heights" is different--there is no marital discord, Kate and Tim seem to genuinely love each other and are both incredibly likable characters. Whether that's a strength of the book or not, I am not sure. Hedges alternates between telling the story from Kate's perspective and telling it from Tim's perspective, with minor characters checking in once in a while. It's an interesting technique but at times it is difficult to differentiate between the two voices and some character development is lacking. By the same token, there is little threat to the couples marriage. Although both are tempted by others,  and it's not hard to imagine them going astray, there is also little doubt about the ending. The characters are well crafted though and it's easy to get drawn into their world and to consider the complexity of their situation.

Hedges is indeed a master at creating magic out of day to day affairs and this is the strongest point of "The Heights", whether they are getting coffee or at dramatic crossroads in their lives the characters' lives are genuinely interesting and a reader is easily drawn in. The downside, though, is that the occasional plot point is brought up and then completely abandoned with no hint to it's significance. You could argue that that is how real life is, and you would be right, but whether or not it works within the context of the novel (and this novel in particular) I am not sure.

At the end of the day this is an enjoyable novel with likable characters and an involving story but it is not life changing nor groundbreaking.  Infidelity is an interesting topic but there is nothing new said about it in this novel.

Revenge Season 2: Episode 10

Hey guys, I FINALLY have the time to watch Revenge and I am so excited. I had forgotten how much I love, love, love this show! Also, how difficult it is to recap this show as the episodes are so packed.

Well, let's get started!
Aiden and Emily tussle  on the beach and Emily is the victor, in more ways than one since after defeating Aiden she gets to have her way with him.

Meanwhile in New York, Daniel is walking the streets, briefcase in hand, ready to run his fathers company when the Initiative lady, Helen, zooms up and rolls down the window. He hops into the car and she informs him that his father's company is filled with hidden assets. It's a toss up whether Daniel is more excited to make lots of money or just make his father look worse.

Over at Casa Grayson, Conrad is enjoying his new freedom by reading the newspaper and ignoring his phone, much to the chagrin of Victoria  who swoops in to tell him that their friends, a Judge and Supreme Court candidate and his wife are coming to dinner. Oh and his wife happens to have a charity that helps wrongly accused convicts. She feels this should be very important to him since he was once a wrongly convicted convict and needs to rehabilitate his image. Conrad agrees.

Sadly, the hiatus did not do away with the boring subplot. Honestly, they could just stop writing this and no one would care. Anyway, Amanda is worried about Jack, Jack is excited about their upcoming nuptials and then one of the Ryan brothers (honestly, who cares? I can't really keep them straight anyway) swoops in to be a little bitch and tell Jack to clean the bar. I would tell Jack to do that too! Seriously, all this guy ever does is mope around.

Back at Emily's house, her mysterious revenge box has produced a letter, supposedly written by one James Palmer, a juror who was killed three days after David Clark's trial AND the court clerk for the very same Judge Barnes that will be residing next door with the Graysons. Emily, wisely, deduces that this man must have been part of the scheme against her dad and she sees her opportunity for REVENGE.

Victoria invites Emily over for some girl time where the conversation basically goes " hey, want to convince my son you still love him and maybe encourage him not to be a douche?""Sure!" "More lemonade?" " Chin chin!". Victoria invites Emily for dinner with the judge and his wife so both their evil plans can be set into motion. Man, I love these two!

Oh shit, not this subplot again. Charlotte is trying to talk wedding stuff with Declan but he is more interested in spying on his new enemies, the Ryan brothers. Declan gets Charlotte to "stall" (that is, flirt with) Anders from Battlestar Gallactica so that he can root through the mysterious coffee bean bags in the back. Just as Anders explains to Charlotte that he was once " wrongly"  accused of drug selling, Declan discovers....DRUGS. WHO CARES? Of course, Declan makes a huge mess and gives himself away.

Emily and Aiden have a plan, and this plan is my favourite scene in this episode! Aiden heads to Daniel's office but he is out to lunch (both literally AND metaphorically) and politely says that he will catch him later. But this secretary has obviously not seen Mad Men and totally tells Aiden where Daniel is having lunch. He, Aiden that is, and Emily head over there so they can stage their breakup in plain view of Daniel. They were both so dramatic and hilarious in this scene! Emily storms off leaving a 'heartbroken' Aiden and a curious Daniel.

Meanwhile Daniel calls Nolan, (looking as dapper as ever) into to his office to search for the rogue files and to boast that Aiden and Emily are no more. Nolan is more pleased about this then someone in a relationship should be and he heads directly over to Emily's to find out if it's true. Aiden sidles in to kiss Emily and flaunt their relationship status.

Meanwhile, at the subplot, blah blah, Jack is going to have the cops raid the place, booring!

At dinner,  Emily is barely in the house when Daniel foists the information that he and Ashley broke up on her. Emily is pleased her plan is working so well. At dinner, Emily using her masterful skill of subtlety, basically pumps the Barnes for information about Palmer.  Mrs. Barnes looks extremely worried before announcing that she is unwell and scurrying off, followed shortly by Mr. Barnes.
The next day Amanda shows up and finds Emily looking at Mrs. Barnes medical files. What? Where did she get those? Anyway. Mrs. Barnes has a lot of broken bones and this is TVland so that means only one thing... spousal abuse! Ding, ding, ding! She also discovers that Palmer and Patricia Barnes knew each other and deduces that it was indeed Patricia who wrote the letter.

In other news Aiden gets in touch with Helen (this woman must be busy, y'all!) via a video discovered by Nolan and also his convenient knowledge of Latin. Hmmm. Anyway, Helen tells Aiden that his sister his still alive and is going to be used as leverage against him by the initiative. Aiden swears he won't tell anyone of their meeting, to save his sister's life. Does this mean Aiden is compromised? We shall see!

Meanwhile, Marco is trying to make nice with Nolan but Nolan isn't having any of it. He thinks that if Marco thought that he would truly aid a terrorist and keep money from a young girl then, he, Marco is crazy! Marco then produces a flash drive with some uber code on it! He thinks that Nolan should use it against Grayson Global but Nolan is wary.

At the subplot, the police raid the Stowaway but, predictably, find nothing. Later, while Charlotte and Declan are trying to get it on, they raid "The Amanda" and of course find a shitload of drugs and for that extra oomph, a gun. They arrest Declan but Jack says it was him so they haul is ass off to jail! I hope that means we will see less of him in the future...although I doubt it. He calls Amanda to tell her what happened, while baby Carl wails in the background.

Later at the gala for the wrongly convicted convicts or whatever the organization is called, Judge Arsehole Barnes informs Conrad that he will have to introduce himself as Patricia is out for the count with a migraine. Conrad is fast becoming my favourite character. Anyway, Emily knows what's really going on and heads to Patrica's room to give a rousing speech about how she knows that it was Patricia who wrote that letter and how it inspired young Amanda who was in several abusive foster homes. I don't know if Emily is just being manipulative or if that letter really did encourage her and if so...why haven't we heard of it before? In any case we have another dig at the EVIL foster care system...thanks Hollywood! When Patricia stands up to give her speech it is not the speech she had planned  She confesses that she wrote the letter and that the trial against David Clark was, basically, a bunch of crap. Judge Barnes tries to stop her but she plows  on,  for her peice de resistance she takes off her outwear to reveal that she is covered in bruises to the stunned audience. Wow, this show is over the top but this scene was truly amazing.

While Aiden and Emily are at home, plotting further REVENGE, or whatever they do, Daniel shows up saying he wants to change things and that he wants Emily to head up the charitable foundation at Grayson Global. Emily is reluctant but then agrees and her and Daniel kiss. Ruh-roh! I am on Team Aiden but I also love a good love triangle. Who's team are you on? Team Brit or Team America (although Daniel is really British as well so....I guess team Britain it is!)? And what will happen in the next episode? I, for one, can't wait... except to find out about what happen with Jack/Amanda/Declan...I really don't care about them!

10 Things I Learned From The Bachelor

I can say that before this year I had never watched a single episode of "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette" nor any of the other dating reality shows. However, one day I discovered an article in my Google alerts called "The Worst Moment For Feminism on The Bachelor" on The Jane Dough. I had to investigate for myself if this show was as bad as it seemed. It was. Here's what I learned.

1.) There’s something wrong with all women

Was there anything more odious that the 1 hour speacial where Sean  listed  the things wrong with the girls he sent home? I don’t even think more clarification is needed. To pour some salt in the wound , he added that these women will “eventually find someone who really loves them”.  And, the host added that  being on the bachelor is really an eye opening experience for a lot of women, who go on to find the loves of their lives. That’s right, folks! The Bachelor-helping women for 17 seasons!

2.) Double standards are still alive and well

You know, I feel wary of defending someone as, well, hateful as Tierra. I am generally of the opinion that if a girl can’t get along with other girls, she is someone to be avoided, like the plague. While I am not a fan of “slut shaming” (this term has been done right??) I also don’t think that if a girl has slept with your boyfriend/someone you’re seeing or is after him that you are contractually obligated by some feminist mantra to be friends with this/these girls. As such, Tierra’s proclamation that she doesn’t want to be friends with the girls just seems realistic to me. Sure, she could have been civil but why should she be acting thrilled to be around other girls who are dating the same guy she is? Furthermore, the other girls called her out for flirting with some guy at an airport. I guess that Sean can date and lead on as many women as he wants but heaven forbid she should date someone else too. Oh, my bad, she just flirted with him. Innocently! These girls need to shut up.

3.) A Woman is still worthless if she isn’t married by 35

Well, now that I am done with that, let’s talk about how horrible Tierra really was.  In one episode she actually called out AshLee for being in her thirties (!) and single. Tierra’s logic is that if a woman isn’t married and with kids by thirty,  there is something wrong with her.  That’s right, ladies. You better get a ring on it soon or face the fact that there is something  wrong with you! Don’t worry though, SOMEONE out there will really love you!

4.) Women are responsible for their families failings

In the hometown dates (brr) Des’s brother basically called out The Bachelor for being a playboy and not being sincere in his feelings. Look, the brother seems like an asshole (also, maybe schizophrenic ?) but was he really wrong? I mean, in every conversation with the parents, all the Bachelor said was “I’m crazy about your daughter” and “I hope I can love her”. That’s right, he hopes he can love her.  So Des’s brother was just the unlikely voice of reason and she got sent home for it. What we can learn from this is, if your family is less than perfect you are not able to be loved.
5.)Women’s only role is to love men (well one man) and support him for the rest of their natural life.Well at least according to everything AshLee said throughout the season.

6.)The only purpose of dating is marriage.According to everything The Bachelor said this season.

7.)Careers will negatively affect your marriage.
Apparently it is indeed Catherine who 'wins' this disaster but first we had to hear her sisters derisively say how she is 'driven' and might not be ready for children. The horror!  Thankfully for her and our Bachelor Sean, in the next episode she repents of her ways and says she's ready to give everything up and relocate her life for him. Phew

8.)Women need a man in their life, whether it’s dad or a husband.
According to AshLee's dad.

9.) If you’re family ‘isn’t your world’ there is something wrong with you.

How many times did we have to sit through either the women or Sean blabbing about how important family is? Now I do think family is important and I am, personally, very close with my family. However most families aren't perfect so not everyone has a close relationship with them and not all women want families. But all the front runners (brr) spent the majority of their time  (when they weren't saying how "fustrated"  there were about everything) talking about how family is everything. If you want anything else, well, don't go on The Bachelor for one thing. 

10.)If you aren’t outdoorsy, there’s something wrong with you.

Before her Muslim ways got her sent home, Sean took Selma rock climbing, even after she kind of expressed the fact that she doesn’t like rock climbing or outdoorsy things in general, she is a girly girl. Now, I like trying new things and I think that women should be adventurous. However, that doesn’t mean that women have to like rock climbing. If you don’t like something, you don’t like It, that doesn’t make you bad girlfriend material. If a guy took me rock climbing, I would be pissed to. The problem with this is that Sean basically tried to make her do something he liked rather than doing something they both would have liked. Ladies, if you’re too high maintenance, or prefer indoor things….don’t look for love mmkay?

Well, is The Bachelor as bad as I thought it was? Let me know in the comments.

images from thejanedough.com, eonline.com

Song of the Week: Damn These Vampires-The Mountain Goats

The Song: Damn These Vampires

Why it's the song of the week: John Darnielle is a lyrical master, of that we can be sure and Damn These Vampires is a fine example of that.There is a lot to be said about his lyrics, much more than can be said here but Darnielle is definitely a writer who "writes about things" whether it's a disintegrating relationship in "Tallahassee" or  drug addiction in "We Shall All Be Healed". However, Damn These Vampires, while likely metaphorical, is a song I'm hesitant to discuss in this way. Darnielle is probably writing about something other than mere vampires but I also feel that he's the kind of writer that might just write a song that is just about vampires. As such, take it as you will but give this song a listen.

Best lyric:
Feast like pagans 
Never get enough
Sleep like dead men
Wake up like dead men
And when the sun comes
Try not to hate the light
Someday we'll try
To walk upright
 
Bottom Line: The whole of The Mountain Goats discography deserves a listen but "Damn, These Vampires"  is a good a place as any to start.