#this was such a fucking masterclass in acting and I’m just sitting here in awe

[gottagobackintime]

I thought I was going to make it through without crying, I really tried, but then Robby started to talk about all of the patients he lost and…

[notesandcoffee]

Opinions 4.18

Plotlines have only started to get set up for Red and Aram, “Philomena” is so political it’s jarring, Gale is everything I want out of a cartoon character, and is... has anyone checked to see if Kaplan’s okay?

I'm going to start with Red's plotline, as it was just building blocks for a payoff (I hope) will come later. He hands Dembe a box that's to be opened when Dembe leaves, and gives a very closing speech about what people owe him once they start working for him. Dembe is a little different, and so the box is a parting gift from Red. I can only hope it's something to help Dembe start his new life, if not booze. Either way, it's endgame.

Aram asks Red upfront if he shot Kaplan for allowing Liz to escape, in a line that’s almost partial to Red. He’s not going to defend shooting someone, of course, and Aram probably had the most reaction towards Liz’s “death” than anyone else on the task force. I’m not sure where that question is going to end up, but I’ll be a little sad if we don’t see Aram reflect on Red’s confirmation in the near future.

Navabi was nominated for Katai Fellowship, after several years of being on the task force. Aram recommends her, and it's unclear whether he was asked by the committee running the process or if he gave it of his own discretion. However, she turns it down because he was the one who nominated her this year. The relationship is already under some strain (thanks to Janet), and to Navabi, this feels more like Aram kissing ass to her to try get back in her good graces than an actual commendation for her work. If she was actually worthy of his nomination, she would have gotten it her first year there, in her head.

It's a misunderstanding at best, pettiness at worst. I don't think Aram did anything wrong by nominating her, but it sounds like he's had the power to nominate her the whole time, which again, doesn't make sense. If he actually did have the power to nominate her the whole time, what exactly was the point that made him nominate? He's been in awe of her since she joined, so why now? Of course, while Navabi has the same questions, she doesn't ask, instead accusing Aram of not nominating her earlier. Not a lot of details to explain what's going on, but Navabi's pissed.

Okay.

Our Blacklister is Philomena, part stalker, part private investigator, part assassin. Philomena's whole idea is that she "accidentally" gets into other's lives without much accident or coincidence, and we see this in how she chooses to hunt down Marvin Gerard, by performing a timed accident on his sister. She trades meeting with Gerard in lieu of accepting his sister's money, and is only tipped off at the end, when things are coming to a head anyway. I really enjoyed watching her work and how it kind of capitalized on the paranoid suspicion a lot of people have right now -- those people we just met, that one there on the street, the odd co-worker, are they really safe? Or would they be just as happy, if not happier, if I were killed or imprisoned?

At last, we see current U.S. politics in the show, and not just here. It's written in everything, from the "alternative truths" Marvin jokes about to the islamophobia Navabi deals with and is asked about in the interview. I'm not at all surprised by this, but it's unnecessary. It's unevitable that these things are going to come out in the work we all make, but... I don't know. I watch tv to escape from the horror of the 11 o'clock news that always comes on after. To escape somewhere on twitter, for only an hour, where I don't have to worry about people defending systematic execution of children because of some fucked-up version of "God's will".

At the same time, there's nothing else to write about. I wish we -- everyone -- could write about something different, rather than the Islamophobia, rather than the racism, rather than the crowds who feel my country is better without people like me in it and the sweeping nationalism that's on the rise worldwide. I want nothing more than a Reddington to come in and make things great again and put the people who want to see others like me swept out of society in prison where they belong. I'm told that's unreasonable -- God knows why at this point -- so I sit in front of the television with my beer and my popcorn and try to live in a universe where that happens if only for an hour. Never mind that Bigly Deplorable is retweeting me and try to focus on the good things.

The good news is in this messed-up world of crooked politicians, masterclass criminals, and the loyalists who follow each, we have someone like Gale -- the flattened, stereotyped version of Ressler that is every bad cop movie you've ever seen combined. Gale is out to get the "bad guys" -- which is Reddington &co. in his head, having no information about the P.O. The only thing he knows is that the previous Reddington task force was suddenly disbanded and Ressler, his teammate and friend, was re-assigned. Gale's sense of moral is overpowering, leaving him to insist that the smell of rotting corpses is the smell "of justice", and showing remorse for the corpses he recognizes, people that he sent in to try to act as some sort of way to get to Reddington who lost their lives. It begins to remind Ressler just how much of the person he was before Reddington turned himself in. Ressler (not Klattenhoff!) is also a terrible actor, laughing at all the wrong times, and even suggesting Reddington turned himself in way too seriously. Ressler is going to be in the center of a major conflict between the P.O. and the rest of the FBI. 

However, the line that stuck out to me the most was this:

Kaplan (to Liz): I haven’t laid eyes on Agnes since the night I helped you escape.

This line is decidedly wrong, but Kaplan says it without much of a reaction. Liz may know otherwise, but she doesn't let on. Now, because the show itself has had a mess of continuity errors, it seems the gut reaction is to immediately jump on our friends in the writers' room, but... This line was looked at by too many people to both be this specific and this wrong. 

To recap a bit: the scene is between Liz, Kaplan, and Agnes. Agnes is resting comfortably in Kaplan's arms when Kaplan says this, and Liz is coming around the corner of her own apartment, arms raised to shoot an intruder. Kaplan's just had a series of disjointed flashbacks of Masha as a child and how she came to work for Reddington's team. She's still thinking of Liz being a toddler with too many questions and not enough answers, not intended as malicious, but that's just something on her mind, probably on repeat. 

Kaplan has seen Agnes since the night Kaplan helped Liz escape; she hasn't seen Liz since the night she helped her escape.

So why is it the line we ended up with on screen? Take either of these two lines (by yours truly):

Kaplan (to Liz): I haven't laid eyes on Agnes since you came back.

Kaplan (to Liz): I haven't laid eyes on you since the night I helped you escape.

Either of these two statements would be true, according to Blacklist universe. Instead, Kaplan gave us a weird mash-up of the two which makes no sense.

Kaplan's also been shot in the head twice at this point, and only one time did she receive actual medical attention. The other time (for all we know) she was chained to a bed and being hand-fed by someone who is definitely not a doctor. She's been having severe migraines, and is on heavy medication for them. There's a marked change in her personality, going after Red instead of trying to reason with him using their shared history as a base. Breaking and entering Liz's apartment to hold her child when she could have easily knocked. We've seen glimpses into her memory, which seems disjointed, and certain elements don't line up from what we've heard from other characters thus far. And if this line is as true as it seems to Kaplan, she's showing signs of aphasia.

These are all signs of traumatic brain injury. In real people, symptoms are dependent on where exactly in the brain the damage occurred, the severity, the surface area it covered, and a bunch of other statistics and data points regarding the injury itself. This is where the science gets jumbled a bit, and I'd love to get some clarification for it if given the opportunity. For example, aphasia usually only occurs when there's an injury to the language center on the left side of the brain; Kaplan was shot on the right side. It's abnormal for language processing to be affected by injuries to the right hemisphere, but it's not completely unheard of, given the task and the specific injury.

If this is the case, I would like to see more of a reaction from other people in the scene. Maybe not the hunter, but maybe Liz? Something that shows that everything is not nearly as alright as Kaplan thinks.

I'm not writing this as a defense of anyone. It just struck a chord with me, because I've been around real people with brain injury. They sometimes do make nonsense statements, mashups of statements they want to make, and occasionally you hear shit like this from non-brain injured people, too. But neurotypicals are written differently in this show, with statements that have a tendency to make sense, and that's what I'm taking my cues from.

Twitter was fun again for me. There was more than enough fun with the box and “what’s in the box” gif that everyone posted at the same time. Besides the political interference, it was a fun episode, although Kaplan’s storyline really is going to have to show something solid behind her change in personality and motivation in order for me to move past it.

[lindyhunt]

TIFF 2018: We Hand Out the Awards You Won’t See at the Oscars

As always, the selection of films at TIFF runs the gamut—from A-lister-packed films like Widows to low-budget indies like Firecrackers; from quiet, reflective sci-fi films like High Life to soaring romances like A Star is Born. That range is what makes TIFF such an exciting festival for film buffs and critics alike, but this year, there did seem to be a bit of a theme: Pretty Damn Dark. Seriously, it’s been an emotionally draining festival, what with young kids OD-ing, people dying (so much dying), and institutional racism ruining people’s lives. But you know what this also means: Oscar Bait. We’ve already done our round-up of the films getting the most awards buzz, but there’s plenty else we felt deserved, um, a different kind of recognition. Here, our favourite moments from the festival that won’t snag an Oscar but did earn some accolades in our book.

So-Good-You-Wished-It-Was-Real Chemistry

The Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper lovefest is one we hope never ends. And we’re not just talking about those hand-in-hand red carpet photo-ops. (Though we’ll definitely take more of those too.) After receiving her second standing ovation of the night for A Star is Born—in which people were brought to their feet mid Q&A solely in recognition of her incredible acting talent—Gaga was left speechless and moved to tears. And even then, in her moment in the spotlight, she talked about Cooper. “I am spoiled,” she said, “I watched [Cooper] work tirelessly on this film, giving it everything. You never stopped.”

To which Cooper said: “I can’t imagine having the courage to do this without her. I knew she was going to give all of herself to me and become the actress she wanted to be, and I would give all myself to her and be the musician Jackson had to be.” I know, we’re crying too.

Most NSFW Scene of the Festival

Not to give too much away—though there’s no way to verbally paint an accurate picture of this highly visual and confounding scene anyhow—but there’s a bit in Claire Denis’ High Life in which Juliette Binoche enters a ‘Fuck Box’ and well, proceeds to help it live up to its name. There’s waist-length hair flying about, pulleys and ropes, and a silver dildo. Need I say more?

Most Jaw-Dropping Visuals

Nope, I’m not talking about First Man, though the claustrophobic camerawork of the film was exceptional. I’m talking about Free Solo, an awe-inducing documentary about Alex Honnold, the first man to scale the 3000ft El Capitan cliff in Yosemite National Park without any safety equipment. Yep, with just his fingers and toes, and a little sack full of chalk to help with his grip. The film’s team of cinematographers and directors are expert climbers themselves, and the sweeping shots of Yosemite, bird’s-eye view of Honnold’s ascent, and close-ups of his intricate movements (that at any moment could send him plummeting to his death) are truly a sight to behold.

Most Unexpected Celebrity Guest

This one was close. The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau showed up at Patria for the First Man post-premiere party, where he shook hands with fellow Internet boyfriend, Ryan Gosling. Iconic? Yes. Strange? Also yes. But having a government official show up to a TIFF party is not nearly as strange as having Paris Hilton show up to a TIFF party. Hilton, Queen of selfies, hotel chains and the 2000s, arrived at Soho House for The Death and Life of John F. Donovan post-premiere party, a film that her Ken doll-esque fiance, Chris Zylka, makes a brief appearance in.

Most Batshit Wild True Story

There are several moments—in fact the entire film is a series of these moments—where you find yourself thinking: this shit is NUTS. It’s unbelievable. It’s surreal. It’s absurd. And you have to keep reminding yourself that it’s all true. Based on the story of a writer, played by Laura Dern, who writes a best-selling series of novels under a pseudonym and then enlists her boyfriend’s sister, played by Kristen Stewart, to play the role of that fictional writer in real life, it’s a wild ride: there are bad accents, bad wigs and hard-to-believe turns of events. Except, again: it’s ALL TRUE.

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Giving us life on #TIFF18 Day 10/11: Kristen Stewart, dressed in head-to-toe couture, crouching in a garden 🌺, looking like the Avenger we wish we had. . Her film JEREMIAH TERMINATOR LEROY (with your BFF Laura Dern) premieres today and you can still snag 🎟s to this and more at tiff.net/available . . . . . . #kristenstewart #lauradern #jtleroy #jeremiahterminatorleroy #avengers #netflix

A post shared by TIFF (@tiff_net) on Sep 15, 2018 at 6:18am PDT

The Big-Hearted Heartthrob

First off, Timothée Chalamet should take home all heartthrob-related awards, from now until eternity. When the Oscar-nominee stepped onto the red carpet for Beautiful Boy, he spent nearly 30 minutes posing for selfies with screaming fans, and entertaining weird requests like signing a burger and a peach. (The latter, of course, in reference to his infamous Call Me By Your Namescene.) Here’s a guy who doesn’t seem to hate the spotlight, and who graciously shows his Chalamaniacs all the love and attention they so desperately desire.

GIF

Most Badass Female Cast

We are conditioned to expect heist movies—or any gritty crime movies, really—to have men at the centre. Which is why this film, directed by Steve McQueen and co-written by McQueen and one Ms Gillian Flynn, is such a breath of fresh air, despite its dark subject matter. Viola Davis is the fierce commander of this ship, which Elizabeth Debicki and Michelle Rodriguez hesitantly climb aboard. It’s rare enough to see a film in which women commit “bad” acts but rarer still to see one in which the women’s guilt, shame or redeeming qualities aren’t needlessly played up. Only complaint? Carrie Coon is criminally (ha) under-used.

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#Repost @ViolaDavis: It was such an honor to join our Director Steve McQueen and this phenomenal cast at the World Premiere of #WidowsMovie. Thank you for having us, Toronto! #TIFF18

A post shared by Widows (@widowsmovie) on Sep 10, 2018 at 3:32pm PDT

Best On-Screen Lewks

There’s some amazing costume design driving some of this year’s best films: Colette’s Belle Epoque-era Parisian flair—especially powerful because it helps underscore Keira Knightley’s character’s own evolution and self-acceptance; the 1990s grunge of Jonah Hill’s Mid90s; If Beale Street Could Talk’s saturated 1970s outfits; and Natalie Portman’s wild, sequinned get-ups in Vox Lux. But Mahershala Ali steals the damn show. In Green Book, he gives us a masterclass in style: from impeccably fitted tuxedos to casual plaid suits to a dramatic gold-embroidered kaftan draped in gold chains. Like I said, lewks.

Photography via IMDB

Most Huggable Hound

A tie between the miniature goldendoodle Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper bring home in A Star is Born—which I have convinced myself is Cooper’s pet IRL—and Ponce, the scruffy mutt that’s dog-napped from Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts in Ben is Back.

Makes-You-Wish-it-Was-Still-the-90s Soundtrack

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s, had the best—and most nostalgic—soundtrack of the festival. Sadly, the song list isn’t yet available anywhere on the Internet. But here’s what I can tell you: it features Seal and Morrissey, and was composed by the same duo of dudes behind the music in The Social Network and Gone Girl. One Twitter user went so far as to say that the film “literally might have the single greatest soundtrack of any movie ever.” It’s a bold claim, and I can confirm Mid90s lives up to the hype.

Most Stressful Experience

Hotel Mumbai is 125 minutes long, and those are 125 incredibly stressful minutes. Based on the horrific 2008 terrorist attacks on the city of Mumbai, the film fills viewers with dread right from the opening sequence: when the half-dozen terrorists arrive on the shores of Mumbai and immediately begin setting their plan into motion. For the next two hours, aside from the sounds of gunfire, explosions and screams on screen, the theatre was about as silent as during a screening of A Quiet Place. People were literally sitting on the edge of their seats, hands over mouths, shoulders stiff with tension. In other words: this film does its job of depicting a harrowing, terrifying ordeal exceptionally well.

Photography via IMDB

Most Gender-Balanced TIFF Yet

TIFF’s programming team has long been dedicated to creating a more gender-balanced festival, and this year it hit its highest mark yet, with 36 percent of its 2018 slate of films directed by women. The festival’s artistic director, Cameron Bailey, also signed a gender parity protocol during the Share Her Journey rally on opening weekend. This year’s festival also boasted a huge line-up of films with women at the center: from Nicole Kidman in Destroyer and Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (both films directed by women) to Natalie Portman in Vox Lux and Julianne Moore in Gloria Bell. Canadian films Mouthpiece and Firecrackers also come from all-women teams, with two female protagonists in each, as well as female directors and cinematographers.