I have to say, this week’s Republic of Doyle was another pleasant surprise. After a better-than-average Valentine’s-themed episode last week, Doyle kept its momentum in Episode 7. “High School Confidential” filled out some of Jake’s backstory by introducing us to a couple of characters from Jake’s teenage years, and implicated them in a tangle of failed dreams, money troubles and jealousy.

This was all done in the same lighthearted spirit that makes Doyle an entertaining, if inconsistent, show. Situations as diverse as narcolepsy, adrenaline overdose and a suggested threesome fuelled some very funny scenes in this episode. Read on for my full review of “High School Confidential”, including my ranking out of four stars!

The episode opens with what looks like an open-and-shut case for the Doyles: Clyde Cowley, a former high school enemy of Jake, is falsifying a claim of worker’s compensation. As Jake and Malachy get deeper into the case, they find out Clyde (Luke Kirby) has fallen from the glory he enjoyed in high school: he’s lost his job, his house, his wife and is in debt up to his ears with a local loan shark.

Jake's high school enemy Clyde Cowley suffers from bouts of narcolepsy

As much as Jake wants to bask in the schadenfreude from seeing his high-school tormentor on the outs, he and Malachy decide to help Clyde when they discover he might have been scammed.

What really makes this episode work is the shambling, strangely mercurial performance by Luke Kirby as Clyde. (Wow – I never thought I’d use the word “mercurial” in reference to Doyle) The Doyles discover that Clyde is narcoleptic, meaning he falls instantly asleep whenever he’s stressed. This causes a series of funny moments where Clyde goes out cold in the middle of an exciting encounter.

If this were your closet, would you be this oblivious?

The supporting cast was stronger in this episode than much of Season 3 – Kevin Jubinville was slimy as Vallis, the banker who pulls the scam on Clyde, and Natalie Brown had some believable scenes as Jessica, the former high-school hottie who hooked up with Clyde and always saw through Jake.

By contrast, some of the staging in this episode didn’t quite connect. There’s a scene where Jake and Clyde hide in Jessica’s closet when she comes in to change outfits. The woman is standing inches from Jake and Clyde and she doesn’t notice a thing.

As funny as the bank scene was, it depended on a weak premise

Then there was the “bank robbery” that Jake accidently participates in – Jake’s waving a gun around, terrifying the customers and staff, and he never thinks to drop the gun. While both of these scenes led to some laughs, it made it hard to suspend my disbelief – just when the episode was doing so well in that department.

I liked that the writers decided to take Clyde’s side in this story. It would have been too easy to make him into a cartoonish villain who returns from Jake’s past to annoy him again. And the plot involving Clyde’s conniving ex-wife Jessica and the sleazy loan shark Chili Power (Ron Lea) was actually plausible – far more so than the all-too-frequent murder mysteries of past episodes.

Des was a hilarious blur of energy in this scene

Quelle surprise – my favourite bits of “High School Confidential” were Des’ scenes. The sight of Mark O’Brien suggesting, “Why don’t we have a three-way?” was the perfect way to break the tension after a cringe-inducing sequence between Tinny and Chandra. Later in the episode, the scene where Des is jumping around after overdosing on adrenaline from an EpiPen was fantastic. If there was ever a scene from Doyle to make into an animated .gif, it’s that one.

As entertaining as Episode 7 was, there wasn’t any sign of the truly top-notch writing that I know Doyle is capable of. It still feels like the series is biding its time until the end of the season. Oh well – all the more reason to look forward to the finale, when Republic of Doyle really has to impress to win itself a fourth season. “High School Confidential” gets three stars out of four.

What did you think of Episode 7 of Republic of Doyle Season 3? Are you still following the show, or will you tune back in when the stakes rise for the finale? What’s your favourite moment of the season so far? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. If you’re behind on my Doyle reviews, catch up by following these links:

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Episode 1: “Streets of St. Johns” | Episode 2: “Head Over Heels” | Episode 3: “Hot Package”

Episode 4: “Rusted Steele” | Episode 5: “Dead Man Talking” | Episode 6: “The Dating Game”

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It happens to me every year. In the run-up to the Academy Awards, I wonder if I should forget about the award ceremony and catch up on the winners the next day. But each and every year, I’m drawn back to the glitz and glamour of the time-honoured Oscar pageant. This year is no different; I’m planning on plunking down on Sunday and following the wins, the losses and the painfully awkward scripting.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be ashamed of my decision to the watch the Oscars. There’s something pleasantly communal about tuning in with millions of other viewers to see the Oscar highlights and pitfalls happen live. Until I can get an invitation to the ceremony itself (hint hint, Academy), I might as well take the Oscars for what they are: an industry trying (and sometimes failing) to glorify their craft.

For some reason, we expect the Oscars to be more than they are. Critics and columnists have long pondered how the Academy could fix the ceremony. Shorten the speeches? Cut out the songs? Hire hosts who can deliver the hackneyed Oscar script without flinching?

Franco and Hathaway's attitude here kind of sums up the 2011 Oscars

Whatever the solution, we’ve had a run of disappointing shows in recent years, including Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin tag-teaming the host job in 2010 and last year’s laughable performance by James Franco. Most unfortunately, the faults of the hosts, the presenters or the show producers often eclipse the achievements of the award winners.

When we do find out who won, another battle begins. So-and-so was robbed of a “well-deserved” golden trophy. (Film critic Roger Ebert wrote an excellent blog post on that topic recently, and it’s a must read.) Some people will promise never to watch the show again, or swear the Oscars don’t matter, because a favourite star or filmmaker didn’t win.

If we can avoid Ben Stiller as a Na'vi, we're going in the right direction

Strangely though, about a week after the show, it’s practically faded from memory. We forget about the bad jokes, the bizarre onstage gaffes and – very often – who went home with (or without) the prize.

So why watch? If any of this sounds familiar, why does the Kodak Theatre fill to the rafters in L.A., and why do millions block off their Sunday evenings for the telecast? Because we keep hoping this year will be better. Like the fans of a losing sports team, we don’t want to be out of the loop when the Oscars suddenly throw a good party.

That’s how it works for me. I hold out hoping that the Academy will see the error of their ways and pay tribute to the movie industry in a way it deserves.  (In fact, Slate Magazine did a great user-driven investigation into how to fix the ceremony. Check it out here)

2012 host Billy Crystal pretends to be "off the grid" in a trailer for the telecast

Even if the Oscars do disappoint, then we can all get together the next day and talk about our favourite flubs with our friends. We’ll all be trading variations of, “Did you see when…” or “I can’t believe she said…” The collective discussion of the Oscars becomes as much of an event as the ceremony itself.

It’s gotten to the point that I see the Oscars as a guilty pleasure. There’s something delightfully voyeuristic about watching Hollywood royalty mingle and (ostensibly) be themselves for my entertainment. It’s like when two TV series do a crossover episode: characters that existed in separate worlds suddenly collide and new relationships are created. There’s a sense of a bigger universe beyond the individuals we’ve come to know on the screen.

Maybe we hate the Oscars because we see our favourite stars as regular people

Maybe it’s just wish fulfillment. As a lifelong movie buff, I probably won’t be satisfied until I can attend the Oscars in person, and finally figure out if it’s worth my time. I’m guessing that it’s the same for many Oscar viewers. We all want to feel immersed in the glamour, and the telecast is our closest proxy.

That desire to attend the show also gives us another reason for Oscar hate. When the ceremony underwhelms, it bursts our bubble of appreciation for the stars. When they mix up their lines or show up stoned, the magic goes poof. The beautiful, talented people we admire are revealed to be regular people doing their jobs, just like us. The fairy tale is interrupted, and we take to the Internet to vent.

Personally, I’m getting this out now because I’m hoping it might help me chill out on Sunday and enjoy the show. But if the ceremony is anything like previous years, there will be a lot to talk about as it happens, so I’ll be live-tweeting the telecast starting around 8:00 p.m. ET. (I don’t care about the red-carpet stuff). You can follow me on Twitter to get to-the-second updates on what I think about the show.

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What do you think about the Oscars? Are you fed up with the annual pageant? Will you tune in because you don’t want to miss out on the key moments, good and bad? Or are you an Oscar ceremony fan? Sound off in the comments section below. If you liked this post, share it with your friends and followers, and browse through my recent film reviews here:

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Recent Releases:

Chronicle | The Artist | The Grey | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Reviews of Classic Movies:

Midnight Cowboy | Spellbound | The Graduate |  2001: A Space Odyssey

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Now we’re getting somewhere. After a string of mediocre installments, Wednesday’s Republic of Doyle was a return to the fluffy action/comedy we remember. Jokes worked, the story flowed, and we made some real progress with the characters.

I don’t know if the writers have been holding out on us, or if “The Dating Game” simply struck a lucky balance between humour and story. Whatever the reason, I hope to see more episodes like this in the future. Read on for the full review of “The Dating Game”, including my ranking out of four stars!

Right off the top, the episode hits us with a dose of instant charm. Jake’s decided all of a sudden to chase after Sergeant Bennett full-time, and he literally tails her down Freshwater Road, trying to seduce her the whole way. Don’t ask me why this started to happen now, but the fact that the writers are doing something with these two was enough to win me over.

Jake and Leslie get closer after a couple of episodes of annoying "Angry Leslie"

Back to the plot: Jake and Leslie witness an armoured car robbery in progress and throw themselves into the back of the vehicle. They’re trapped with the thieves, and now it’s up to Des and Malachy to find them. Meanwhile, Rose and Tinny decide to get to the bottom of Kathleen’s sudden appearance in “Rusted Steele”.

The whole “trapped in an armoured car” idea was fairly inventive, and the action sequence that set it all up was pretty exciting. I kind of wanted that part of the story to last longer than it did, to get some good banter working between the leads. The episode made up for it, however, by tacking on a couple of extra escape attempts by Jake, so that kept the story moving. (Side note: Someone has to teach the Doyle police extras how to hold their guns. They look frightened to death of their own props.)

Kathleen Doyle's backstory is finally expanded on in this episode

I’ll admit, I’ve been waiting for a solid episode of Doyle for long enough that I’m probably being a bit forgiving with my critiques here. Nevertheless, the scenes between Jake and Leslie were pretty funny, especially once Leslie took her blouse off (if you haven’t seen it yet, I’m sure I piqued your curiousity). The writers are still hesitant to move Jake and Leslie’s relationship beyond stolen kisses and charged eye contact, but at least we got a break from Leslie’s pretend loathing of Jake from episodes 2-5.

The Des love triangle took a few steps forward this week, which I was glad to see. As always, it’s great to see Des dithering about the two ladies in his life. I think what I like most about this storyline is how it makes Tinny stew a little bit – she’s been overly chill for two whole seasons, and it’s good to see her struggle with something.

I saw this handcuffing scene coming, but it was still funny.

Another redeeming feature of “The Dating Game” was the resolution of Kathleen Doyle’s backstory. It really should have been dealt with either when she was introduced or in the following episode, so to see it play out now was a relief. Maybe her character can start participating in some of the “real” stories from now on.

We got another crop of dumb villains this episode, though they at least had the sense to do some savvy bargaining in the third act. Because of the softer relationship theme of the episode, it made sense to have them be more sentimental than most of the crooks that cross paths with the Doyles. The only line that got to me was “she took everything…including my heart!”. All right, I get it – Valentine’s was the day before, move along…

The question is, can Doyle keep the momentum it established in this episode going next week? It would be a shame if “The Dating Game” was the one bright spot in an otherwise dull season.  As it is, “The Dating Game” gets three stars out of four.

What did you think of Episode Six of Republic of Doyle Season Three? Like/Dislike? Where do you think the show’s relationships are going? How do you feel about the season as a whole so far? Join the conversation in the comments section. If you’re behind on my Republic of Doyle reviews, you can catch up by browsing through these links:

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Episode 1: “Streets of St. Johns” | Episode 2: “Head Over Heels” | Episode 3: “Hot Package”

Episode 4: “Rusted Steele” | Episode 5: “Dead Man Talking”

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I’m about to go all “detective” on you for a moment. If my site metrics are to be believed, an early article of mine about BBC’s Sherlock has been pulling in a lot of views recently. Unfortunately, I get the sense that people landing on the post aren’t finding what they’re looking for. I can’t account for why Google is pushing Sherlock fans towards an article of mine on Series 1, so I thought I’d offer something more current.

Series 2 just finished airing in the U.K. last month, so here’s a post collecting my thoughts on the three episodes – not so much a review with a ranking, but a general reaction. As any of you who have seen the second series will know, there’s a lot to admire.

Episode One, called “A Scandal in Belgravia”, has been anticipated by fans of the show for months. And it delivered on expectations. The episode introduced us to Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), the pseudo-love-interest of Sherlock Holmes from the Arthur Conan Doyle stories. As an added bonus, the episode’s writer, Steven Moffat, even managed to weave in a delightfully complex mystery.

Lara Pulver as dominatrix Stella Adler in 'Sherlock'

It was as if the creators were dancing around us, feeding the audience exactly what we wanted: brilliant banter between Sherlock and the rest, fantastic production values, and an impressive story.

Sherlock and John are summoned to Buckingham Palace, in the midst of rising popularity and professional success, to solve a potentially embarrassing situation for the royal family. Adler, reimagined here as a dominatrix, claims to have scandalous photos of a young royal, meaning it is Sherlock and John’s task to find the photos and discover what other dirty little secrets Adler may know.

Character bits aside (I don’t want to spoil the excellent banter for you), this show constantly floors me with its editing. Scene transitions and floating text fly about at lightning speed, reflecting the pace of Sherlock’s mind.

Floating text elements are an effective visual component in the series

For the observant viewer, it’s like we’re being bodily pulled into each case, noticing little details in step with Sherlock. We still revel in the characters putting all the pieces together at the end, but this way of constructing the visuals is more immersive than most shows I’ve encountered.

I was really taken with Lara Pulver’s work as Irene Adler. Pulver brought out the perfect combination of seduction and vulnerability that allowed us to hate her and pity her and cheer for her all at once. The way she faces off with Sherlock could rival the intellectual battles waged between him and Moriarty, and that’s saying something. I really hope she appears again in Series 3.

On to Episode Two, “The Hounds of Baskerville”. Here, the Baskerville family from the story is re-imagined as a secret military base on the moors of Devon, the source of rumours about mutated animal experiments and chemical weapons.

John and Sherlock on the moors of Devon in "The Hounds of Baskerville"

A young man named Henry (Russell Tovey) enlists Sherlock and John to help him find out if his father really was murdered by a monstrous hound he thinks he saw out on the moors. Meanwhile, Sherlock and John’s friendship is tested when Sherlock gives in to the fear that he might have seen the hound himself.

I loved the way this was handled, because it turned out that Sherlock wasn’t afraid of the beastie itself, but feared what seeing the creature might mean for his detective skills. That little detail paired perfectly with how Cumberbatch plays Holmes: his intellect is all that matters, one of his only treasured possessions, and to have it corrupted is a fate worse than death (in the teeth of hell-hound, no less).

And then there’s Episode Three, “The Reichenbach Fall”, the one every Sherlock fan has been furiously typing about online since the episode aired on January 15. Like the third episode of the first series, Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) turns up as the indomitable criminal for the ultimate detective. He aims to fully discredit Sherlock’s professional success and finish it all off with the sleuth’s death.

If this Moriarty doesn’t go down as one of the best screen villains in recent memory, I’ll be shocked.  He’s so gleefully malevolent, it’s just unfair – a personification of chaos. And yet, it’s fantastic to see him onscreen. In particular, there’s a stunt he pulls with a fake identity partway through the episode that had me squirming in frustration. As for what he does in the climactic scene – I did not see that coming.

Andrew Scott (right) as Sherlock's ultimate nemesis Jim Moriarty

On the whole, over the three episodes, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are in top form as Sherlock and John. I’m even getting to like Mycroft Holmes more thanks to the depth provided by Mark Gatiss’ performance (who also happens to be the show’s co-creator).

Whoof – there’s a lot of material here, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. I don’t want it to sound like I’m just here gushing about the series, but it reflects what many Sherlock fans already know – this show is an excellent bit of television. Track it down online or elsewhere as soon as possible.

What did you think of Sherlock Series Two? Impressed? Disappointed? What do you think about the American version of the show that just cast Jonny Lee Miller as a modern Sherlock in New York City? Sound off in the comments section down below. You can also follow me on Twitter or catch up on past posts by browsing through these links:

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First Thoughts on Alcatraz | Why We Need a Second Season of Terra Nova

Why You Need to Check Out Fringe | Why I’m Not Worried That Community Is On Hiatus

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Midnight Cowboy is a movie that knows it’s not in debt to its audience. In some films, every detail is tied off so neatly that the story feels formulaic and boring. Midnight Cowboy, by contrast, only gives the viewer what they absolutely need to know, and lets the viewer fill in the blanks. It’s the perfect approach for a movie that deals with the broken dreams and shattered lives of two men who aspired to be much more.

John Scheslinger’s Midnight Cowboy is a fascinating character study, a gritty movie with a tender core that displays some of the best film editing I’ve seen. Read on for my full review, including my ranking out of four stars!

We’re introduced to modern-day Texan “cowboy” Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a naïve charmer who gives up his dead-end job in a Southern diner to seek his fortune in New York City. Joe, however, doesn’t intend to build up a business or be a Broadway star. Instead, he decides his best strategy is to rent himself out as a stud (or male prostitute, for the inexperienced) to high-society ladies.

Joe Buck (Jon Voight) decides to find work as a stud for high-society ladies

Joe’s lack of knowledge about the big city gets him into trouble pretty quick. He runs out of money and can’t find an “in” with any of the women he was hoping to charm. He crosses paths with a seedy con man named Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), and despite a shaky introduction, the two become friends. Together, they travel the grimy underbelly of New York launching get-rich-quick schemes and trying to stay alive. But Joe Buck has to decide if this miserable existence is worth staying in a city that never wanted him to begin with.

Perhaps what’s most endearing about this movie is that it doesn’t make light of a pitiful situation. There are occasional moments that are perversely funny, in the way bad things sometimes are. On the whole, though, we’re faced with how far Joe has fallen, a lifetime apart from the excitement he felt when his treasured portable radio first picked up a New York station. Even Ratzo, who’s a New York native, is in over his head. Yet the two men stumble on, because there’s nothing else they can do.

Joe Buck befriends Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a sleazy, unsuccessful con man

Some critics have said the merit of this story is that it’s “heartbreaking”, and in a way, that’s true. But what really grabs you in Midnight Cowboy is the persistent hope that a breakthrough is right around the corner. We get to know these two and sympathize with them.  We want Joe and Ratzo to strike gold and pull themselves out of the gutter (literally). No matter what the film throws at them, you keep watching to see if the tenth, or eleventh, or twelfth time’s the charm.

Hammering this emotional connection home are some brilliant visuals, linked by standout film editing. The inner yearnings of Joe and Ratzo, especially their occasional confused desires for revenge, are expressed in “fun-house mirror” sequences that bend reality and flesh out the internal conflicts of the two leads.

We want these two to better themselves, no matter what's thrown at them

At one point, Ratzo imagines himself holding court at a sunny Florida locale, because Joe is set to land a rich female client. When Joe gets the expected slap to the face, suddenly Ratzo’s dream sequence turns on him, perfectly communicating how his fantasy is crumbling around him.  These dream scenes are woven into the film in the same disjointed way as flashback sequences, creating an interesting stream-of-consciousness feel.

This approach came as a pleasant surprise, because I expected Midnight Cowboy to take a realist route to telling its story. It would have been easy for Schlesinger to make the movie that way. Instead, if Midnight Cowboy were made today, we’d call it an art house film; a movie with a unique voice that can’t be dropped into a particular sub-genre.

For its enduring story, remarkable visuals and lovably down-on-their-luck characters, Midnight Cowboy gets three and half stars out of four.

Have you seen Midnight Cowboy? If not, is this your first time hearing about it? For those who’ve seen the movie, what did you think? Did you get hooked on the characters and story, or did its bleak outlook turn you off? Join the conversation in the comments section. If this is the first of my Reviews of Classic Movies you’ve read, you can catch up on the rest of the series here:

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Doctor Zhivago (1965) | Spellbound (1945) |  Rope (1948) | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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There’s an expression that comes over Malachy Doyle’s face every so often on Republic of Doyle. It’s a look of bemusement, one that suggests Malachy is silently wondering how the other characters could possibly behave the way they are. I shared in that bewilderment more than once during last night’s episode of Republic of Doyle, as I tried to make sense of the confusing main story in “Dead Man Talking”.

Fortunately, the episode wasn’t nearly as tedious as last week’s installment, but it felt like a good story was sacrificed to deliver a handful of funny sketches. All the Des Courtney one-liners in the world couldn’t mask the puzzling dialogue or limp characters in “Dead Man Talking”, and I’m afraid it’s starting to become a season trend.

The episode opens (inexplicably, I might add) with an awkward scene between Des, Tinny, Rose and Kathleen that prods the Des Courtney love triangle forward and sets up a little complication for Rose later in the episode involving Kathleen’s purse. We then move into what should be the main intrigue of the episode, where we learn that a former client of the Doyles is dead (or not) and various characters connected to him are either after his money or his head (it changes too often to be sure).

The story with Carl Mayer (Shawn Doyle) was downright confusing at times

All this was clumsily plotted to the point that I didn’t have a precise idea of which guest characters were which until halfway through. In my head, I kept referring to one of the women (played by Sarah Power) as “the Katy Perry lookalike”, because it took me a while to figure out that she’s “crazy Crystal”, the sister of the not-so-dead client Carl Mayer (Shawn Doyle).

That confusion only set me back when I was trying to keep track of Carl’s wife Olive (Mylène Dinh-Robic) and his business partner, Erin (Kate Hewlett). Not that knowing their names or roles would have helped all that much, as some of the scripting was so strange it became downright distracting.

I learned later that Katy Perry lookalike Sarah Power plays Carl's sister Crystal

For example, in the scene where the Doyles question the wife for the first time, they just wander into the house without announcing themselves. When the interview is done, she asks them to “lock the door on their way out”. I know that we Newfoundlanders are meant to be a trusting bunch, but scenes like that don’t ring true for me – it immediately takes me out of the experience.

As always, there were some very funny encounters that brightened up the episode. The scenes between Carl and Des had me smiling, as did the scene between Rose, Jake, Malachy and Leslie in the police station. Those few bits were genuinely well-written, so it’s too bad we had to sit through the disappointing filler to get to them.

The past two episodes have danced around Kathleen Doyle's backstory

What really bothered me was the (supposedly) climactic encounter between the major players. By the time we arrived at the inevitable standoff, it was impossible to have any investment in the characters. As a result, the revelation of the perpetrator didn’t come as a surprise, and the resolution of the situation carried no weight. That’s unfortunate, because a detective show like Republic of Doyle should deliver thrills in the cracking of the case, even if it does have an element of comedy.

What’s more, the writers seem reluctant to push forward with Kathleen’s backstory or the Des-Tinny-Chandra triangle. “Dead Man Talking” took stabs at both, and neither captured my interest. Due to some hazy plan for the season arc, the characters are stuck in place.

Best strategy: devote a whole episode to working through Des' lady troubles

After multiple episodes featuring Kathleen and Tinny, all we know is that Kathleen is in trouble, and Des can’t decide between the two women who like him. What we need is a pair of episodes that deal with each story separately, so we can progress. Cramming little references to the problems into each installment simply feels like the writers are stalling, waiting until the season finale to do something big.

“Dead Man Talking” was better than last week’s “Rusted Steele”, but its confusing story and unremarkable guest characters made the installment only worth watching for the jokes. That leaves it with two and half stars out of four.

What did you think of the fifth episode of Republic of Doyle Season Three? Were the funny scenes I mentioned worth sitting through the rest of the episode? What did you like or dislike about the main story? What does that ending mean for Des Courtney? Share your thoughts in the comments section. If you’d like to catch up on the rest of my Doyle reviews, follow the links below!

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Episode 1: “Streets of St. Johns” | Episode 2: “Head Over Heels”

Episode 3: “Hot Package”  | Episode 4: “Rusted Steele”

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If teen angst were a superpower, it would probably look like this. When all those hormones are raging, what teen doesn’t want the ability to fly out of awkward situations, crush things at will, or be the coolest kid in school? But once you can do that, what happens next? Who makes the rules when you have ultimate power?

To answer those questions, Josh Trank and Max Landis’ debut feature Chronicle uses the found-footage technique to imagine three teens who suddenly become superpowered, amplifying all those confused emotions to a godlike scale. The movie is a surprisingly entertaining outing. Anyone who was ever a teenager can connect with Chronicle’s characters, and for once, the found-footage approach actually works.

Chronicle opens, as found-footage movies must, with an explanation of why the characters always have a camera with them. Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) is a high-school senior whose mother is ill and whose father is spending his disability cheques on booze. Andrew begins filming his life partly to ward away abuse from his father and partly as a barrier between himself and society. Like many teens, Andrew feels more comfortable recording the world than participating in it.

Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, and Dane DeHaan (left to right) in 'Chronicle'

Andrew, along with his equally awkward older cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and the popular guy Steve (Michael B. Jordan), happen across a cave in a field one night. Inside, they find something that grants them amazing powers: telekinesis, flight, and invulnerability. At first, it’s just a way to mess around. Andrew, however, starts to see his powers as something to hold over others, and his friends have to decide how to handle Andrew’s ambition to be more than just a teenager with a cool secret.

Chronicle’s young actors have a surprising amount of range. DeHaan is convincing as a kid whose home life is deteriorating, who is bullied and ridiculed at school, and who just wants a way to escape it all. Russell anchors the movie as the young intellectual who can’t quite get the girl, who wants to keep everything under control. And Jordan feels very familiar as that guy who is good at everything, who becomes friends with the other two only because of their shared experience.

The movie uses the found footage technique in a smart way

With a found-footage movie like Chronicle, you’re kind of obligated to talk about the camera work. Going in, I wasn’t sure how the technique would be used. After all, the subgenre has a bad reputation. Films like 2008’s Cloverfield made some viewers ill. Others made suspension of disbelief impossible, with scenes where it’s totally improbable for characters to be taking their cameras out to record the experience.

Chronicle is much smarter. In the YouTube age, it’s much more likely for teens like Andrew to keep their cameras on at all times, obsessed with the notion that someone out there is sympathizing with them. And when self-recording just wouldn’t make sense, like the fight scene in the third act, Chronicle switches to police dashboard cams or security footage.

Andrew Detmer uses his loneliness to fuel some dark ambitions

In the flight scenes, director Josh Trank is one step ahead of the audience. Andrew teaches himself how to keep a camera levitating around him, so even shots of the kids zooming through the clouds above Washington state have a believable vantage point.

The script, by Trank’s filmmaking partner Max Landis (son of Hollywood director John Landis), is well-plotted, and doesn’t give too much up to exposition. We don’t need to know how or why the strange underground crystal gave the teens their powers.  It’s not necessary to explicitly say that Andrew’s videos are starting to resemble those of a troubled kid about to bring a gun to school. The filmmakers trust the audience to fill in the blanks.

The film's honesty about teenage irresponsibility is one of its best elements

Above all, what really works about Chronicle is the teens being irresponsible with their powers. In standard superhero movies, there’s usually a line to remind us that great power needs to be controlled. What real kid, granted these abilities, would default to that sort of self-discipline? Instead, these teens pull pranks, impress girls and act like we would expect them to. That “honesty”, paired with the shooting style, is both entertaining and fascinating. Chronicle gets three and half stars out of four.

What did you think of Chronicle? Did you connect with the characters? How did you feel about the way it was shot? Is found footage getting old, or does this movie revitalize the genre? Are you curious to see what Josh Trank and Max Landis do next? Post your thoughts in the comments section down below, and share this review with your friends and followers! You can also check out my recent reviews by following these links:

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Recent Releases:

The Artist | The Grey | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | A Matter of Taste

Reviews of Classic Movies:

Doctor Zhivago (1965) | Spellbound (1945) | The Graduate (1967) |  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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It occurs to me that I’ve been talking about a lot of male YouTube stars in my YouTuber Spotlight series, so in this edition I decided to focus on a very talented woman. Her name is Lindsey Stirling, and she’s an American violinist, performance artist and composer running the YouTube channel  lindseystomp.

Stirling’s rock-influenced style of playing the violin, combined with her dancing skills, makes for a captivating collection of videos. It helps that she partners with cinematographer Devin Graham for some jaw-dropping camera work, but there’s no question that Stirling’s kinetic style and positive attitude are the real attraction.

I only happened across her channel yesterday, but didn’t take much time to browse through her earlier material and get a sense of where she’s coming from. Online bios explain she’s been studying violin since she was 6, and spent years playing the instrument in the way we all think of it: solo or orchestral classical performance.  When she was 16, however, she started exploring how it could be used in hip hop and electronic music, and a unique musical act was born.

Like any current musician worth their salt, Stirling has an EP and some singles available on iTunes. She also competed on America’s Got Talent in 2010. There’s something to be said, however, for Stirling’s YouTube channel, because it allows you to not only queue up her songs, but take in her impressive dance moves. These include Stirling playing the violin while bending over backwards (limbo-style), or fiddling while standing in a ballerina-like pose on one foot.

On her channel, Stirling primarily posts videos for the original music she produces. She supplements these with videos for movie and video game medleys and occasional vlog-style glimpses into her life. It was actually through her most recent video, a Lord of the Rings medley shot in New Zealand (where else?), that I discovered her channel. I found it on one of my go-to movie news blogs, and I immediately had to share it with my followers. Check it out here:

As you can see from the Stirling videos I’ve embedded here, Devin Graham’s cinematography is a major draw. Graham is perhaps better known for the extreme sports videos he posts on the channel Devin Super Tramp, but the vibrant colours and sweeping shots he uses in his own videos are definitely on display in Stirling’s posts. It was interesting to see what Graham did with Stirling’s video “Shadows”, which had a more grounded feel, using light and shadows (and a bit of clever editing) very effectively.

Admittedly, I’m already a fan of violin music, whether it’s in classical or Celtic arrangements. I come from a Canadian province (Newfoundland and Labrador) that’s fairly well-known for its fiddle music. One of the province’s biggest musical exports at the moment, the rock group Hey Rosetta!, uses the fiddle much the way Lindsey Stirling does, so my appreciation of Stirling’s work perhaps came easier than it would for some.

A great bonus is Stirling's collaboration with cinematographer Devin Graham

I doubt, though, that anyone could really find fault with Stirling’s work. After all, her sunny disposition in pretty much every video she posts is kind of infectious – it’s clear she absolutely loves performing, and she transfers that joy to the viewer. I highly recommend checking out Lindsey Stirling’s channel and subscribing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to hear that Lord of the Rings medley again…

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What do you think of Lindsey Stirling? Does she have a future as a mainstream star? Or is her act too “niche” to do well outside of YouTube? Sound off in the comments section below. If you’re new to my YouTuber Spotlight series, you can catch up on the other stars I’ve profiled by following these links:

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Rhett and Link | Julien Neel (Trudbol) | EpicMealTime & FPSRussia | Philip DeFranco

Freddie Wong | Toby Turner | Julian Smith | MysteryGuitarMan

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If only there were speeding tickets for TV episodes. Last night’s episode of Republic of Doyle was a case study in the danger of doing too much at once. “Rusted Steele” brought back the guest character Garrison Steele (Victor Garber), introduced Jake’s sister Kathleen and tried to play off the Jake-Nikki hookup from episode three – all in one go.

As a result, there were far too many mini-plots for the episode to have any satisfying focus. It led to a slap-dash installment that was more annoying than entertaining – a situation that wasn’t helped by the perpetually drunk version of Garrison Steele.

“Rusted Steele” opens with two “intruders” into Doyle family life: Jake’s sister Kathleen (Krista Bridges) turns up unannounced with a mystery man, and the arrogant author Steele camps out in Jake’s apartment. Steele claims to be on another fact-finding mission for his latest novel, involving some intrigue at the local Danish consulate, and hires the Doyles to help.

CBC stalwart Peter Keleghan appears as Gerhardt, an international smuggler

Jake soon finds that Steele is in trouble with a couple of creepy creditors, including a dim-witted erotica publisher named Javier (Raoul Bhaneja) and an international smuggler named Gerhardt (CBC stalwart Peter Keleghan). Meanwhile, Rose and Tinny are unsure of how to take Kathleen’s sudden appearance, and Nikki pesters Jake about the “mistake” they made at the end of “Hot Package”.

In the past, Republic of Doyle has been able to sort through these “shotgun blast” kinds of stories, pulling out some fun character work. Unfortunately, “Rusted Steele” comes off as scatterbrained instead. The villains are once again too thick to be interesting (or all that funny) and in a strange turn, the drunk routine with Garrison Steele gets old really fast.

The Jake-Nikki plotline could have been saved for a later episode

Normally, Steele is very funny as Jake’s occasional tormentor, popping up to meddle in his life for story ideas. The character is typically clean-cut and charming. The twist here was for Steele to run into money problems and devolve into a weepy, alcoholic mess.

The initial laughs from this reversal were fun, but drunk Steele wore out his welcome in about five minutes flat. His passive-aggressive crying fits and pathological kleptomania were so irritating by the end of the episode that I could no longer suspend my disbelief – would Jake really put up with all this, and only smack the guy once? What’s worse, Steele’s snap decision to clean himself up at the end only cheapened the whole story.

As I mentioned, the villains weren’t all that captivating again this episode. The blonde crook who was constantly punching Jake was funny in a “caveman” sort of way, but my question is, why doesn’t Jake ever face off against smarter criminals?  I’m not expecting Holmes-ian mysteries here. Let’s have a few opponents who can be a bit menacing. Republic of Doyle is ostensibly a detective series, not just a show-up-at-location-and-get-punched show.

Krista Bridges is introduced in this episode as Jake's sister Kathleen

Unlike in “Hot Package”, the main story duelled with the side-narratives this week. What could have been an interesting introduction to Kathleen Doyle was pushed to the side, giving me little incentive to be excited for her future appearances. All we can glean is that she’s in a spot of trouble, and the show will get back to her story when it’s convenient.

The discussion between Jake and Nikki about their latest tryst didn’t need to be in this episode at all – we could have easily waited and resolved that thread later on. The episode ended up cutting between the plot threads much too quickly – in fact, I think I spotted an embarrassing jump cut about 26 minutes in, when Nikki seems to suddenly disappear from the frame.  Technical mistakes like that don’t reflect very well on an already strained episode.

Des' material, as usual, made the episode better

Thankfully, Des helped smooth out some of the wrinkles in this episode. Even when I was getting frustrated with the other characters and the story execution, each of Des’ scenes cheered me up. That’s why I’m glad Republic of Doyle has started a series of video diaries by Des on their site – he’s easily one of the best characters, and the more we see of Des, the better.

This week’s episode loses some points for its rushed pacing, silly villains and the irritating drunk version of Garrison Steele. Despite some funny slapstick and good scenes with Des, it leaves “Rusted Steele” with two stars out of four.

How do you feel about the fourth episode of Republic of Doyle Season 3? Am I being too hard on the series? Did you like Victor Garber’s drunk routine as Steele?  What did you think of Kathleen Doyle? Join the conversation in the comments section! If you’d like to catch up on my previous Doyle reviews, follow the links below:

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Episode 1: “Streets of St. Johns” | Episode 2: “Head Over Heels” | Episode 3: “Hot Package”

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How much do you love movies? That’s probably the question you should be asking yourself going into a screening of The Artist. It’s not a guarantee, but I think a viewer’s enjoyment of The Artist goes up in relation to how much of a movie buff they are. Why? Because The Artist is one of two films of the past year (the other being Scorcese’s Hugo) that are devoted to the art of moviemaking.

I wouldn’t want to scare away anyone who just wants to see a good movie, so let me say this as well: The Artist is a delight. From opening frame to closing credits, this movie is an absolute pleasure to watch. It combines star-making performances with cheeky references to silent films of old, leaving you with one of the best motion pictures of the year.

Imagine an old-fashioned movie trailer. Art Deco inter-titles set the scene: Our hero is George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a successful silent film star in 1927 Hollywood. He’s the darling of the studio, but not without some trouble at home; he neglects his wife Doris (Penelope Ann Miller) by catching the eye of an up-and-coming starlet, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo).

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a proud silent film star

Valentin soon realizes the studio – and Hollywood in general – is keen to get into talking pictures. The new productions find their poster girl in Peppy Miller, and Valentin’s pride leads him to be outmoded by the newer actors who are willing to embrace sound. Valentin must figure out if there’s any life for him in Hollywood anymore, or even a life worth living at all.

The buzzwords associated with The Artist going into the Oscars (where it’s nominated in ten categories) are that it’s a “silent” film shot in “black and white”. I’m not implying that those are incorrect labels, but it seems like too many people are focusing on the medium rather than the story. The Artist isn’t just an exercise in proving that silent films are still cool – it’s a beautiful tale to boot.

Al Zimmer (John Goodman) is a studio boss who knows the future is in sound

George Valentin’s hubris is frustrating and touching. Here is a character who begins the movie at the top of the A-list, playing to cheering crowds in movie palaces. He has the studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman) under his thumb. In a development that reminded me of the current push behind stereoscopic 3D, Zimmer’s studio wants to start making talkies, and Valentin laughs them off. I almost expected an inter-title that read, “Uh-Oh!”.

I’m only familiar with Jean Dujardin’s work from the trailers I’ve seen for his OSS 117 films (think a French James Bond with an extra dose of Austin Powers-esque comedy). Nevertheless, when Dujardin smiles, I smiled with him. His charm is seductive. Because of that connection, I felt like yelling at the screen to get Valentin to smarten up and see his mistake. The most magical part was how The Artist was able to involve me in the story without sound or colour – just like motion pictures used to.

Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) is a young starlet who embraces the talkies

Bérénice Bejo is instantly believable as the spunky starlet who carves out a career for herself at the studio. Bejo has that classic Hollywood beauty that just fits. Her character Peppy, meanwhile, fills the role at the studio vacated by Valentin. She’s one of a few young actors who see sound as a way to make themselves known in a competitive business. Nevertheless, she and Valentin start to fall in love, making their duelling careers a sore point in their relationship.

Director Michel Hazanavicius would have you believe he’s been helming these silent films his whole career. Instead, he and Dujardin are reunited here after working on those kooky OSS 117 films together.  Indeed, apart from the clarity of the print and two very clever uses of sound, you’d swear The Artist was made in the 1920s.

'The Artist' is a delight to watch, especially for film buffs

As much as I would like people to focus on the story and forget about how The Artist is a silent film, the movie itself doesn’t let you. It toys with the conventions of silent cinema, slipping in sly little references to film history here and there. For that, I credit Hazanavicius, who obviously knows that to play this movie dead serious would be a mistake, an insult to the intelligence of its audience. The self-awareness is a welcome addition, another layer to the experience of watching The Artist that makes it that much more entertaining.

Granted, the more you study up on classic film, the more fun you’ll have at The Artist. Honestly, I can’t think of a better reason to refresh your film “education” than to get more out of a new picture, and never has the proof been more obvious than with this movie.

At the screening I attended, the audience (in a simple downtown theatre) actually gave it a round of applause. I like to think it was as accurate a judgement as any star ranking a reviewer could give. Nevertheless, The Artist gets four stars out of four.

Have you seen The Artist yet? Is it one of those movies that’s on your list of must-sees before the Oscars? Or is the critical consensus on the film wrong? Did any of you dislike the film? Let me know what you think in the comments section.

If you liked this post, browse through my recent movie reviews by following the links below. If you’re new to Professionally Incoherent and you liked what you found, consider signing up for email updates via the widget in the right sidebar. Finally, you can find me on Twitter for updates about new posts and all manner of miscellany.

Recent Releases:

The Grey | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | A Matter of Taste | Margin Call

Reviews of Classic Movies:

Doctor Zhivago (1965) | Spellbound (1945) | The Graduate (1967) |  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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