Shame: Raw and intense. Loses it with an unsatisfactory climax... Giggidy!

First, I would like to state that most film and television reviews consist of commentary on the characters performances, visual pleasure, displeasure, and, of course, the climax. Basically, the whole package! Second, given the nature of Shame a film about a depressive man, his impressive member (Classic Clooney himself even commented on it at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards) and his sex addiction, this review, while using the normal criticisms, will probably seem littered with innuendos. In summary, Shame starts out raw and intense but soon loses luster and leaves the film with an unsatisfactory climax. Yup, that’s what I said!

Shame, as previously stated, is a film that explores sex addiction. The story revolves around the main character of Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender). Brandon is a seed of Ireland living in New York City. He is a handsome and established businessman living in a great apartment with amazing views of the concrete jungle outside. Also, Brandon likes sex, and I mean a lot of sex. However, Brandon likes sex in a way that no mentally stable person could like sex. He is an addict with hard drives, closets, memories, and thoughts full of incriminating material. He hires prostitutes, literally chases attractive women out of the subway, and when his is out of options, he visits gay bars. Yes, he is out of control and it is sad to see since people do really suffer from this that many other people, even critics, say isn’t a legitimate addiction, just indulgence.

There are an abundance of sex scenes and full frontal nudity (both male and female). However, Shame is in no way a sexy movie. It is a dark and depressing movie, even frightening at times. When Brandon attempts to attract a taken woman in bar later in the film, he lacks charm and exudes creepiness; but he still manages to draw her in (I guess good looking people never need to use charm?) It is a very chilling scene. He knows he is heading down a dark path and he is disgusted with himself. It gets to the point where he cannot, how you say, ‘rise to the occasion’ when he is with a female coworker that he genuinely likes. When he seems content with being at his worst, Brandon’s life gets turned even more upside down when his mentally unstable sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), stops by to visit for a few days. Suddenly, he is not able to have his ‘alone time.’ His personal and professional life are interrupted by the needy, broken hearted, Sissy. They fight their way through a very confusing sibling relationship. Just her presence reminds him that he is a bad man. She even attempts to reassure him by saying, “We aren’t bad people, we just come from a bad place.” I think this is one of the better lines in the film because it opens up that can of worms; Where did they come from? Why are they so messed up? Were they sexually abused? Neglected? Those questions, however, are never answered. Not even touch upon. This is where I feel the film fails.

This film marks the second time Fassbender has worked with director, Steve McQueen. No, not the late Bullitt or the Cooler King. This Steve McQueen is the British filmmaker whose mainstream film debut was the impressive Hunger (2008), also starring Mr. Fassbender. That film examined the hunger strike of the Irish Republicans at a prison in Northern Ireland. McQueen, who is new on the directing scene (Shame is his second major piece of work), seems to have found his niche; raw, gritty, and depressing with Fassbender as his muse. It is a good match. McQueen is talented because he uses techniques that can make his films feel very real. He includes an abundance of continuous shots of dialogue between two people (consider it a much less pretentious version of the Tarantino long shots). The slight stutters and mistakes from the actors seem natural and unscripted. There is a scene in Shame where Carey Mulligan serenades a crowd in a slow and haunting rendition of “New York, New York.” The camera cuts to Brandon shedding a a depressing tear. This scene was shot in real time, the actors emotions very real and unrehearsed. These are just a few examples where McQueen shines as a director. Where he fails, to me at least, is being able to complete a story in a satisfying way.

It would be very cliche to end Shame with Brandon changing his wayward ways, Sissy finding herself, and them establishing a better relationship with each other. However, the story could have answered the question about where these messed up siblings truly come from. They seem ashamed of their past and each other. They also seem to have bizarre boundary issues; including being naked in front of one another quite a bit. Don’t worry, there is no incest. In the end, I would have been more pleased with the film to know why these characters were so messed up. When the film ends, there just wasn’t any sort of resolution to work with. There wasn’t enough material to keep me guessing as to what will happen to the characters. It just ends. Not quite like the Sopranos series finale, but along the same lines.

I was highly impressed the casting. I have high hopes for Fassbender as an actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance. Although, I wouldn’t consider this performance in Shame Oscar worthy, not really a fault of his, he does have the talent and intensity to do great things with any role he is given. He has a good resume to his name. In my opinion, he was one of the more watchable, albeit short-lived, characters in Inglorious Basterds, only after Christoph Waltz, of course. He turned the comic book villain of Magneto into an enigmatic and vengeful, and suave bad boy with a wardrobe straight out of a JCrew catalog. And, I am sure all movie fans remember the ‘fight in the shade’ line he muttered in 300. Next, he will appear in the highly anticipated Prometheus. Carey Mulligan is also very talented. Some of her best work includs the lead roles in An Education and the beautiful Never Let Me Go. She will appear this year in the Baz Luhrman adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

In summary, I was impressed with the idea, the film techniques, and the characters of Shame. The storyline just failed to impress me. I guess I just had higher hopes for the whole package... Giggidy!

An awesome review I found through Spill: http://my.spill.com/profiles/blogs/shame-audio-review

'Mad Men:' The Show Remains Strong Despite the Receding Hairlines

Decided I am going to start reviewing things! The first is about the season 5 premiere of Mad Men. There are spoilers in the text. You have been forewarned.

A lot has happened in the last Dark Ages; and by Dark Ages I mean the period of time that a persons favorite show is on hiatus. A brief period of time where fans are lost in confusion and slightly scared of the fact that the real world does exist and has to be lived. But I haven't experienced one as long as the Mad Men 18-month hiatus. Let's recap the major events of the past year and a half: Since the last Mad Men episode aired in October of 2010, a deadly earthquake struck Japan, Colonel Gadhafi, Bin Laden and Kim Jong Il perished, millions participated in a little event called Occupy Wall Street, the world lost Elizabeth Taylor and Whitney Huston, Snooki and the Kardashian sisters became 'authors,' two super bowls aired, two Oscar ceremonies were telecasted, and, well, you get the picture. A lot of things happened.

But on March 25th, 2012, Sterling Cooper Draper Price opened it's doors after a long holiday spent sunning in the Hamptons. This means the elusive Don Draper and the stunning cast are back! Don Draper is the man of constant sorrow, the nomad who spent four seasons suppressing the urge to burst at the seems by philandering, drinking, philosophizing, and inhaling a pack of 'Lucky Strikes' in five seconds flat. His 'born alone and die alone' mantra still remains a big part of who he truly is despite the fact that he plays along with societies rules; a quality that makes him so fascinating.

The first episode of the two-hour premiere centered around the 40th birthday of Draper. In case you missed it, Draper is newly married to his former secretary Megan (Jessica Pare), an easy-on-the-eyes Canadian who is the epitome of the French New Wave that was prominent in the 60s and 70s. She is cute and loves to incorporate her little French-Canadian quirks into her everyday interactions; it is no surprise that Draper promoted her to a copywriter. However, her little quirks soon make her the joke of the office ('Zou Bisous Bisous'). Megan, a loving and doting wife, decides to throw her hubby a surprise party, despite the warning from Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), a woman who has the rare gift of actually being able to read Don Draper, that men, specifically Don, don't like surprises. Megan ignores this and continues with the party planning. In the end, however, the surprise was ruined after an accidental rendezvous between Don, Megan and the Sterlings outside House Draper; one of the funnier scenes from the episode. Don's reaction is pure reluctance. Eventually Megan realizes that Don doesn't like people, doesn't like parties and especially doesn't like birthdays; after all, it is another man's birthday. A *face palm level of 3 (out of 5). There is a moment in the end where she looks like she is just about to 'give up.' She then spends most of episode two of the premiere throwing bizarre tantrums, at one point behaving as an erotic, borderline BDSM, maid with a serious grudge against Don. The irony? Don seems to be the one who is a bit nervous that he may have married a psychopath. I won't go too heavy into episode two, but I am highly intrigued to see how SCDP handles the radical changes happening in society in keeping up appearances.

Of course, there are other major characters that make the show. Peggy Olson (Moss) is back as the copywriter who always seems to be searching for that social scene that is a complete 180 of her Catholic upbringing. She has traits of a beatnik in a skirt and chic hairdo. she still has trouble expressing he inner feelings. Pete Campbell (an enigmatic Vincent Kartheiser) is back as the account man with a new life in the suburbs and, what seems to be, a receding hairline (I do believe his head was slightly shaved to coincide with his diminishing happiness). He is still married to Trudy (Allison Brie, Community), has a daughter, and now commutes, living out in the suburbs on a plot of land. It is noticeable that this new lifestyle makes him feel more physically isolated and emotionally detached from his true reality; city life and the admiration he has for a certain female coworker. Roger Sterling (silver fox John Slattery) is still a partner despite the fact he no longer contributes any work to SCDP besides his usual series of sassy one liners; he pulls off misogynistic pig humor very well. Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) is back, baby in tow, struggling to get reacquainted with her old job and self. Lane Price (Jared Harris) is awkward, goofy, and unaccustomed, basically he is just British. All of the Draper kids make a brief appearance, I am certain, however, that Sally will be a flower child of the late 60s, early 70s. No sightings yet of Mr. and Mrs. Francis.

Kartheiser has proven to be a powerful performer on the caliber of John Hamm; combining sorrow, pity, and charm. He has come into his own character. Let's face it, Pete was was introduced to Mad Men audiences as a conniving, frat-boy weasel that we loved to hate. It wasn't until a turn in season two that we saw his character shift to a lost soul, his true self started to break from his shell. He became the person we hated to love. John Slattery is a natural comedian. Moss, although epitomizing feminism, still seems to be taking a while to truly shout from rooftop. Christina Hendricks is a sweetheart. I would argue that Jessica Pare is the character I am most excited to see developed. I have a gut feeling she will go mad and burn something down. And, of course, there is John Hamm. John Hamm plays Don Draper so well that we forget slight tweeks in writing or little plot holes. Hamm, a man who can naturally combine charm, good looks and the fact he is willing to embarrass himself (he is honestly very funny in real life), has the acting caliber capable of establishing Don Draper as a culturally iconic figure in film and television. I can only hope, however, to see him miserable once again. It is when he is miserable with life that his creative character truly shines.

There are a few downsides to the first two episodes. There are questions left unanswered from the previous seasons. However, this is a classic Mad Men technique of prolonging situations for intrigue, a factor that makes people critical of the show complain of it being too slow. Little plot holes are scattered throughout the show. I am guessing Cooper will always be lurking in the office even though he resigned? No sign of Betty 'Draper' Francis and husband in the first two episodes? They do appear in the next weeks episodes from the looks of the trailer. One of the bigger things was the character of Don Draper, as much as he was billed as the central character in every previous episode, didn't seem to have much material to work with. He has a slight personality change, doesn't seem to have a creative input, and seems to be completely clueless of everything going on around him. Maybe he will regret his decision of combining work with pleasure (work being his marriage.)