'Detective! Liteutenant.' - The Fine Art of Kevin Spacey

I'll wholly admit that it's taken me quite a while to take to Kevin Spacey as an actor, mostly based on just learning more about the medium of film. When I was a bit younger I found him a good enough actor, with a good deal of onscreen charm and charisma, but nothing more than that, a more serious sort of George Clooney. It's required time and re-watches of certain performances of his to fully appreciate that when he's properly invested in a role, he's probably one of the very best at his profession.

Spacey is a very unique kind of actor--an effortless superstar. He's at his very best when he doesn't really seem to be trying - not so much that he's slumming it or taking a simple route of characterization, but akin to someone like Leonardo DiCaprio, or Tom Cruise, his most remarkable work is done when he seems to ease up and utilize his natural talent and movie star persona to help in the characterization of his performance. It's apparently applied to in his performance as Frank Underwood in House of Cards (a performance I've yet to see), but based on what I've seen of him so far, the best example of this in his filmmography is his performance as Jack Vincennes in the masterful noir procedural  His is a character and performance I underrated so much upon my initial viewing of the film. I loved it the first time I watched it, and liked Spacey's performance in it well enough. On re-watch though I've come to find the film a masterpiece, one of my new favourite films of all-time, and Spacey's performance is quite possibly the best thing about it, although there's great competition by the leads Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe. 

Spacey is perfectly cast as the movie star sorta cop who's less concerned about his profession than fame and gain, as he's probably the master of sleazy charm which Vincennes has in oodles. He's never overly smarmy which would make him unlikeable, rather Spacey utilizes a very smooth sort of style to brush over a lot of Vincennes' less savoury aspects. Spacey is so entertaining to watch in the role, I've always thought so, as he makes everything this careless but not dumb cop do so fun to watch. His mind is always on the hedonistic high life but Spacey excellently never plays Vincennes as a useless jerk cop, he's so much more than that.

I never should have underrated it as just another effortless employment of Spacey's smarmy charming suave cool routine, as there's so much more to Jack than just that. Although that's not to diminish that side of Spacey's work there. He's the perfect cool customer and extremely charismatic presence as the Hollywood cop without a smidgeon of restraint in his love of fame, glory and money. The most exceptional side to Spacey's suaveness here though is the underlying self-loathing. He brilliantly depicts the hatred he feels at every self-serving action he does, and in particular shares some exceptional chemistry with Pearce's upstart hotshot cop Exley as the contrasting idealism and cynicism of the two characters so wonderfully contrast. A few reaction shots in particular show to me the strengths of Spacey's work in this regard as without words, he conveys such a range of constrained emotions to the camera:

His sorrowful response of 'I don't know' to Exley's question here (I also just love the way he delivers the word 'LiEUtenant' in this scene:

His '50 Dollar Bill scene':

And of course his final scene, 'Rollo Tomassi'

Add in all the other possible interpretations garnered by Spacey's performance (is he gay, suggestions of his past) and you have a masterful depiction of an outwardly hedonistic, inwardly regretful cop who ends up being a true hero.

There's a different but no less impressive side to Spacey's talents that can be found in another masterful 1990's film, Se7en. Here Spacey doesn't play a conflicted hero, he plays a villain, one of the worst villains in recent film history who could've been easily turned into a hammy, overplayed sadistic stereotypical villain, but in Spacey's enigmatic hands becomes the ultimate haunting mystery, the elusive John Doe.

I guess there's spoilers here by simply talking about this performance but oh well. Spacey's John Doe takes a great deal of time till he enters the film, and by the time he comes into the picture all but 2 of the seven sins have been perpetrated, and he's the clear perpetrator of it. This is a fascinating performance as it doesn't focus on trying to hide any aspect of the character's murderous nature as it's so obvious from the outset that no question about it, John Doe is the culprit, which Spacey brilliantly nails in his entrance, gradually ascending his delivery of 'detective...detective...DETTTEECCTIVE'.

Spacey once again seems so effortless in his portrayal of a criminal, giving a performance that is stylized but in the most brutal, most unappealing sort of way. There's a certain sort of gravitas to the words of John Doe but it's not of the comforting sort, not at all, rather Spacey brings a sort of distant confidence and off-putting, self-presumed ominscience to his words that is particularly felt in his conversations with Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) in the car.

Spacey's psychopathic killer is depicted with a most unique mindset, compelled by a deeply twisted desire to fulfil his 'masterpiece' and reveal the world in all its depravity as God would have it. The seven sins are all brilliantly conveyed through Spacey's fantastic work here through which shows the deranged delusions of the 'preacher's, and mending it with the underlying grotesqueness and hateful jealousy of the killer-I love how Spacey manages to make the convictions of John Doe in the lack of 'innocence' in the world around him and the righteousness of his twisted moral code and actions, but also revels in exactly how callous and vile his soul is by his lapses into anger.

That he gains the upper hand in the end and manages to fufil the seven sins without even lifting a finger is testament to the haunting quality of the film's ending. Freeman, and Pitt (I disagree with the general consensus, I think he's brilliant in the film and don't even think his final line deliveries are bad at all, maybe a bit over-the-top but I actually do think it's the sort of reaction a lot of people in his situation would have), excel but it really is Spacey who brings to the fore the hatred in the man as one of a kind, and even through death casts such a shadow over the film's extremely dark ending. Both these performances are masterful works of art by Spacey, showing that there's perhaps no one better than him at portraying with such ease the depravities and regrets of man's deepest, darkest natures.

I promise to watch the American House of Cards ASAP. 

Top 5 Performances: Morgan Freeman

He's given so many unremarkable performances in unremarkable films recently that it's easy to forget what a talent Morgan Freeman can be. Here are his top 5 performances. 

5. Unforgiven

Unforgiven is a pretty unforgettable Western, not one of my personal favourites but it certainly is a fantastic achievement on a directorial and writing scale. The performances are all great too, and Freeman's quiet, understated performance as haunted, retired gunslinger Ned Logan is fantastic as he has such great chemistry with Clint Eastwood, and generates such warmth and sympathy to make his exit properly jarring.

4. Street Smart

The film is kind of terrible and I can't even defend Christopher Reeve's performance (most of his non-Superman work was okay, this was not), it was a pretty big flop too, the only thing I can really recommend here is Freeman's performance as pimp Fast Black, who finds himself implicated by Reeve's reporter in a convoluted case of false reporting. Freeman is both suave and chilling in portraying such a despicable fiend. There's not a moment to his dynamic performance where he doesn't carry some threat and his mellifluous voice is used to unique perfection as a tool for menace.

3. The Shawshank Redemption

The film I've come to admire as a true masterpiece. Everything about it coalesces into magical filmmaking, from the technical aspects of cinematography and soundtrack to the excellent script and of course, the performances. Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne is of course the highlight, giving a cool, calculating and moving performance as the wrongly convicted man, but Freeman's brilliant work as secondary protagonist Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding should not be diminished whatsoever. Freeman's beautiful voiceover narration is crucial alongside the soaring score to many of the most beautiful moments of the film, and he generates such a crusty charm and chemistry with the rest of the cast with his humorous, lovable performance ('Maybe it's because I'm Irish'). Then in his standalone scenes of his parole meetings and of course, his ending, he nails each moment perfectly. A great performance.

2. Driving Miss Daisy

Definitely one of the most unfairly chastised Best Picture winners, I mean who did they want to win, the overblown Born on the Fourth of July? It's not a masterpiece but still, an extremely good film that delivers exactly what it advertises: a tale about the growing affinity between the titular Miss Daisy (a brilliant Jessica Tandy), an elderly wealthy Jewish lady, and her African-American driver Hoke Colburn. This wonderful odd couple relationship is realized beautifully by the performances of Tandy and Freeman, with the latter's jovial, extroverted and extremely charismatic approach blending perfectly with Tandy's deadpan and slowly warmthful depiction of Miss Daisy. Freeman ages in an extremely convincing manner over the film, handles the racial subtexts of the film with deep sensitivity, and makes the deeply moving third act and final scenes where he cares for a dementia-inflicted Miss Daisy, sad but still very sweet. This was Freeman's true breakout into leading roles and he certainly deserved it.

1. Se7en

David Fincher's masterpiece is a brilliantly constructed thriller of paranoia and fear around every corner, greatly amplified by not just Fincher's direction, cinematography, the set design and the resisting of excess gore and bloodshed be using implication to render the violent and haunting images all the more viscerally effective (I'll get into more detail in a future post), but also the performances. Brad Pitt, Gwenyth Paltrow and especially Kevin Spacey are all excellent in delivering very aptly stylized and gritty performances in tone with the film, but MVP honours have to go to Freeman as Detective William Somerset. Freeman delivers an old-style gumshoe detective of sorts performance by attuning a very distinct sort of incisive intelligence to his Somerset, generating a fantastic rapport with Pitt, and making each step of his investigation so compelling to watch. Beneath that crusty old-timer veneer though is also a core of heart and remorse that's wonderfully weaved into several moving anecdotes dotted across the film. This is a great performance that utilizes both the gruff and grit, and sensitivity, of Freeman's onscreen persona to craft a unique charater not only enhances the style of the film but also adds so much pathos and heart to its dark conclusion.

6. Glory
7. Gone Baby Gone
8. Bruce Almighty
9. Lucky Number Slevin
10. Million Dollar Baby

Ranking: Edgar Wright's Films

4. The World's End (3.5/5)

It was fairly easy to rank this last, even though it is a film I like and enjoy in many regards, most notably for Simon Pegg's excellent lead performance. He plays Gary King, an alcoholic middle-aged man living in the past of teenage glories, who rounds up a bunch of old mates (Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Martin Freeman and Nick Frost) to go back to their old hometown of Newton Haven to finish off the 'Golden Mile', an unfinished pub crawl from their youth. The film's source of parody is science-fiction but the visual representation of it is not as exhilarating and funny as in previous installments of the Cornetto trilogy.

It's certainly funny in parts, has a few impressive sequences (the teen nightclub scene is particularly well-done) and the ending is quite poignant and powerful thanks to the work of Pegg and Frost. It just doesn't add up to the cohesive brilliance of the previous two films since it is not as confident in its aping of a specific genre, and also diverges a bit too often onto too 'serious' ground.

3. Shaun of the Dead (5/5)

This was difficult to just rank #3. A zombie movie parody, it's often forgetten how much of a cult impact this film had when it came out. It introduced the world to many of Wright's flairs as a visual and comedic director, notably foreshadowing (the scenes where we follow the before/after of a zombie crisis through Shaun's mundane morning routine is a great first example of this; 'you've got red on you'; 'I'm sorry Shaun'), his marvellous cuts and editing (the channel surfing 'news report' of a zombie apocalypse) and just being downright funny. The zombies are well done and do pose quite a threat to our heroes, but this film is really all about the heroes.

Pegg and Frost as Shaun and Ed, are just a wonderful combination, with the former giving his finest onscreen performance as a listless man finding resolve through action, a hilarious deadpan performance but also with moments of tremendous dramatic depth (his farewell to Philip; THAT scene). I also think Frost is never given quite enough credit for managing to make the obnoxious trouble-making Ed so endearing in his own way. The rest of the cast is solid (especially Bill Nighy in a short but rather brilliant cameo), and there's many a great scene in here from the first encounter with the zombies, 'playing zombies' through a crowd of zombies, and the whole final showdown at the Winchester.

2. Scott Pilgrim v.s. the World (5/5)

Give Edgar Wright a considerably bigger budget than he's used to (60M USD) and you'll get this; it's a shame it bombed at the box-office  (though apparently it was quite the hit on DVD so I guess all worked out in the end) since this is a comedy masterpiece. Many like to bash Michael Cera but really you could not have a more perfectly awkward figure to follow into the world of Canadian bassist Scott Pilgrim's world. What I love about this film is how low-key it is at the start, with the sweet relationship between Scott and Knives Chau (an excellent Ellen Wong) the main focus, and Sex Bob-Omb's music being the main source of energy and dynamic.

But the video game elements are always there in every scene (re-watches only cement my admiration for how incredibly well-detailed this film is), and every visual gag is excellent (especially love the 'pee-bar', and the Scott barometer). Then when the Evil-Exes come into play to compete for Scott's newfound love Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), that's where the fun REALLY starts. My personal favourites among them are Chris Evans' obnoxious action movie star Lucas Lee and Brandon Routh's omnipotent vegan Todd Ingram, but really they're all great in their own distinctly comedic way, and the visuals accompanying their fights are fantastic in blending video game elements with other homages, whether it be to film, rock music, or just uprarious lines like 'I'm a little BI-FURIOUS' and Ingram's attempted Villainous Monologue about the cleaning lady. Theres also the final showdown with Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman) which if you watch both sequences of it back-to-back becomes even more impressive.

I haven't even gotten to my favourite parts of the film which are the interactions between Scott and his roommate Wallace Wells (a brilliant Kieran Culkin) who makes the whole 'gay best friend' trope into something truly special, hilarious,  and who most certainly gets all the best lines in the film.

Also; THE SOUNDTRACK.

1. Hot Fuzz (5/5)

As far as I'm concerned one of the greatest comedies ever, period. This entry into the Cornetto trilogy takes all that was great about Shaun of the Dead and takes it up several notches. This is immediately palatable from the very outset, where in 10 minutes the film has established through Wright's kinetic style of direction and editing, the supreme badass police officer Nicholas Angel is, how the Police Inspector can indeed make people 'disappear', and how desolate Sandford is. This film is a pure comedy through and through, and it doesn't hold back on setting up jokes from the very moment Angel sets foot in the hotel and engages in a hilarious back and forth with 'hag' Joyce Cooper (Billie Whitelaw).

Like Scott Pilgrim the film starts off slowly but is never boring for it. It's remarkable how Wright's dynamic style is so well - attuned to the quiet countryside village by how his cuts/editing more customary for a generic cop action film (which is exactly the parody intention here) work so effectively with the simple patrols Angel and his partner, Danny Butterman (Frost, this time round so adorably infectious and enthusiastic, without a mean bone in his body), do. Then as the murders, or 'accidents' as Inspector Frank Butterman (a quite terrific Jim Broadbent) would prefer them to bd called, begin everything begins to go all frenzied. The murders themselves are quite gruesome but the comedic element is never compromised by the fact that through the ridiculousness of it all, Angel approaches the case like any serious cop movie cop would, with the utmost conviction.

The film is one which ups it's octane and energy level repeatedly as the film goes on, most platably felt by its references to the great 'Point Break' and 'Bad Boys 2', but Wright knows always to retain a small human and sweet element to it all through Angel and Butterman's relationship which is always endearing and makes us root for them. They contrast well with the sheer ridiculousness of the Sandford Police Force - the easily irritable Andy's played to perfection by Rafe Spall and Paddy Considine, the randy Doris Thatcher played for all the laughs by Olivia Colman, the mumbling Bob Walker played by Karl Johnson, the two desk sergeants played by Bill Bailey, and the clueless Tony Fisher played by Kevin Eldon.

Then there's the villains. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it which means I can really only talk about the one character who is so obviously the villain from the outset, Simon Skinner, played with deliciously, optimum troll-level malevolence by Timothy Dalton. With that beautiful shit-eating grin and lines like 'I'm a slasher I must be stopped!' he's the most obvious film villain ever. And all the more hilarious for it.

The film erupts into a final act of true magnificent OTT action, taking everything foreshadowed before and turning it into one beautifully directed action extravaganza that is not only funny, but also quite the adrenaline rush to watch.

Top 5 Film Performances: Benedict Cumberbatch

5. Desolation of Smaug

Mostly just some excellent mo-cap work, but Cumberbatch is fantastic at just exuding the cool, callous yet voraciously animalistic rage of Smaug. He makes his scene with Martin Freeman's Bilbo one of the highlights of the series. Shame they didn't add in his actual Desolation to the end of the film...(although I do seem to enjoy Battle of the Five Armies more than most)

4. The Fifth Estate

The film is deeply flawed and rather unengaging, but Cumberbatch is pretty impressive as Julian Assange. The film actually does him no favours by shoveling in too many discordant elements and plotlines involving the investigation against Assange when a more pared down approach to exploring the Wikileaks affair itself would've been more effective. Nevertheless Cumberbatch does a fine job of the various tics and mannerisms of Assange, and makes him a fairly compelling enigmatic figure to follow, and could have given a great performance in a better film.

3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Cumberbatch is a very remarkable Peter Guillam here. He shares a nice chemistry with Oldman's Smiley, is excellent at showing the brilliance of the spy and the more humane side to the man, and absolutely nails his two big moments. An underrated performance in the film's ensemble.

2. Stuart: A Life Backwards

I was very impressed by Cumberbatch here, perhaps even more so than his co-lead Tom Hardy. Hardy is a fantastic pulsating ball of energy as the unstable alcoholic Stuart, whose life is quite literally viewed backwards by the audience, but Cumberbatch, who kind of plays the Morgan Freeman to Hardy's Tim Robbins a la The Shawshank Redemption, is the standout for me as the narrator and best friend of Stuart, Alexander. He gives a just as challenging and deeply moving portrayal of a friend who's just trying to help his best mate, underplaying each emotional moment to perfection. His narration is absolutely perfect and he holds the film's sprawling yet intimate scope into a truly emotionally resonant experience.

1. The Imitation Game

A downright brilliant performance, and the fact he doesn't make it into my lineup for 2014 Lead is testament to the strength of that year overall:

1. Tom Hardy, Locke
2. Michael Keaton, Birdman
3. Matthew McConaughey, Interstellar
4. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
5. Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year
6. Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
7. Tom Hardy, The Drop
8. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
9. David Oyelewo, Selma
10. Philip Seymour Hoffman, A Most Wanted Man

Anyway, Cumberbatch is first and foremost perfectly cast as the genius mathematician Alan Turing, the way he carries himself as the character has such an air of intelligence and brilliance all just through each word spoken. He's technically very mannered in depicting as well Turing's Aspergers syndrome and general awkwardness with people, as well as a certain warmth as his relationship with his co-workers particularly the two played by Matthew Goode and Keira Knightley strengthens. He manages to make his character's ill-fitting tendencies humorously stuffy, yet also rather endearing in a way. Then as the film's tone darkens and the war takes its toll, he's excellent at showing the increased determination to cracking the codes and also is incredibly in the crucial scene where he must sacrifice the lives of men to keep the operation secret. Then there's the 'present-day' scenes which are incredibly powerful in showing Turing in such a mess of a state, particularly his final scene in which the castration medication has taken a toll on both his body and mind.

And of course, Sherlock. I discuss his great performance (second best Sherlock of all-time) here: https://actorvsactor.blogspot.fr/2015/07/head-to-head-sherlock-holmes-part-2.html?m=0

And I still haven't seen his Hollow Crown performance as Richard III where by all accounts he's fab.

6. Star Trek: Into Darkness
7. Atonement
8. Twelve Years a Slave
9. Amazing Grace
10. August Osage County

Top 5 Performances: Keira Knightley

5. The Imitation Game

It took almost 10 years for Knightley to get her Oscar nomination, and while it's nowhere near as meaty a role as Elizabeth Bennet, her performance as Joan Clarke remains an impressive bit of understated acting. Knightley never overplays the enthusiastic nature of her character, mending her portrayal over the lighter and darker tones of the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) by providing equal parts determination and encouragement to her fellow codebreakers to decrypt German Intelligence codes, and angst and emotion in her personal affairs with Turing. Her final scene is particularly terrific.

4. The Duchess

A role right in Knightley's line of English roses, but when you're good at something why not take advantage of that? Anyway, the good casting of Knightley should not take away from her impressive work in this brooding drama about the life of 18th - century aristocrat Georgia Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The film is not particularly distinctive outside of the excellent costuming and Knightley's performance as the extravagant, hedonistic society lady who gradually grows the strength to go against her cold domineering husband (Ralph Fiennes). Knightley brings excellent anti-chemistry with Fiennes, and with Hayley Atwell and Dominic Cooper as her best friend and lover. The film is a bit blandly directed, but Knightley brings a great deal of strength and poignancy to this portayal of a woman at the height of comfort, but gradually realising her powerlessness in a man's world.

3. Atonement

People tend to forget how little screentime Knightley gets as Cecilia in this wonderful melodrama WWII romance directed by Joe Wright. James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan get the meatier roles, particularly in the earlier stages of the film, as the lovelorn gardener with a saucy heart under his rough exterior, and the jealous, manipulative younger sister. Knightley however is appropriately cool and elegantly aloof in these earlier stages, which makes the subsequent revelations of hidden emotions and feelings for McAvoy's Robbie, culminated in a deeply passionately felt love scene, a truly breathtaking scene. After that scene Knightley excels as the reactive face of the film, wearing each moment of heartache and longing for her true love as effectively as McAvoy wears the tear and stress of war, and both actors help make the unconventional ending of the film as powerful as it is.

2. Begin Again

Unlike the other four performances here, Knightley's Gretta James is a woman not from a specific time period in the past but a modern-day musician making her way through New York. In turn this makes it one of her least stylized, most naturalistic performances, and I must admit I absolutely loved it. Striking up a friendship with Dan (Mark Ruffalo), the two begin on a musical partnership and the duo have excellent, low-key chemistry that works very well for the film. Knightley on her own though is great. She makes her abandonment by her singer boyfriend (Adam Levine) resonate well despite Levine's pretty terrible performance, sings her songs terrifically, and is just a ball of unbridled old-fashioned charm and likable winningess.

1. Pride and Prejudice

A brilliant breakout role for Knightley into leading roles which garnered her her first Oscar nomination (and in my opinion either her or Felicity Huffman for Transamerica should have won). A universally acclaimed adaptation of Jane Austen's most beloved novel, I'll leave my specific thoughts on Knightley's performance to a future Head-to-Head profile on all the Elizabeths and Mr Darcy's I have seen, but in short Knightley excellently carries the film on her shoulders, making for a headstrong, sassy heroine who both fits Austen's interpretation of the character as an independent figure to admire, but also showing the weaker aspects of the character's pride and prejudices.

6. Bend it Like Beckham
7. The Jacket
8. A Dangerous Method
9. Never Let Me Go
10. Seeking a Friend For the End of the World

A Tribute to 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'

I'll admit it: when it comes to television, I have a bit of a problem with keeping with 'storyline' series. I've seen episodes of 'Breaking Bad', 'Downton Abbey', and 'Game of Thrones' and found them extremely compelling; bits and pieces from the likes of 'Daredevil' and 'The Flash' that have me very intrigued. However I can never seem to muster up the diligence to follow through such vast sums of series; it's my nature I suppose as a film/novel fan to like things compact and in one volume.

Thus most of the television I've seen and loved of the 'serious' sort have been series which are on an
episode-to-episode basis of themes/plots, like the 'Rumpole of the Old Bailey' series, or of the miniseries variety like 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', 'The Night Manager', 'Wolf Hall', 'The Adventures of Tin Tin'?. Also probably why I've watched and re-watched the UK 'House of Cards' but still have not checked out the U.S. series even though I love Kevin Spacey.

Sitcoms also suit me much better. 'Jeeves and Wooster' and 'Blackadder' are two of my favourite things to watch, ever, and I'm a big fan of the first seven seasons of 'That 70's Show' and 'How I Met Your Mother'. Recently though a new show has taken over my heart. It's 'Brooklyn Nine Nine', a police comedy about an efficient but very quirky precinct, the 99th on Brooklyn, and their day-to-day shenanigans. Technically speaking plot developments and style is all very basic sitcom-lite stuff; solid but unexceptional. Where it's brilliance comes in is through the excellent scripts which are nearly always hits to the comic beats, and characters/acting.

Shot with a one-camera structure, this method lends the show a certain degree of intimacy with the characters which is great, since this is a show all about the characters. At its centre are Detective Jake Peralta  (Andy Samberg) and his boss Captain Holt (Andre Braugher). Samberg and Braugher are brilliant examples of how contrasting types of comedy can work perfectly if the chemistry is there. Samberg, the SNL alumni, never stops moving onscreen, wisecracking here, doing an impersonation
there, and has such a fantastic onscreen energy that perfectly melds with Braugher's perfection of the stiff, deadpan, no-nonsense and absolutely hilarious approach. Their rapport is absolutely brilliant as they feed off each other's lines so perfectly, creating a truly unforgettable onscreen pairing.

Gradually however the show has become more and more of an ensemble piece (like 'Parks and Recreation' which I have started on recently and am also loving). I think my favourite among them has to be Charles Boyle, played by Joe Lo Turgolio. He's the most infectious, endearing weirdo ever, and it's both funny to see him fail, and funny to see him succeed, and his chemistry with Samberg is excellent, as is his sweet relationship with Stephanie Beatriz's Rosa Diaz and Chelsea Peretti's Gina. Both utilize a deadpan approach like Braugher but differentiate it by Beatriz being extremely
intimidating and enigmatic as Diaz, playing a comedic 'wet blanket' and competent cop, to Peretti's technically dislikable city administrator who's ditzily hilarious.

Then there's Melissa Fumero and Terry Crews whose Amy Santiago and...Terry Jeffords  (who frequently refers to himself in the 3rd person) are less distinctly defined comedically but are also so hilarious by their sweet, energetic approaches to their characters of eager beaver hotshot and muscular family man with a child's soul. Then there's Sully and Hitchcock the company stooges who have smaller roles to play but are perhaps the best at just hilarious reaction shots in the show.

In the end I guess it's a show all about the characters. The wit is rarely subtle but for me always hits the point, and character arcs are kept to the minimum; and it's all the better for it. It's a plain funny show and that's what I recommend it for.

Making a Case for Tom Hiddleston - Next 007

Well I must say that despite all the rumours circulating round in the wake of the relative disappointment, critically, to Spectre (I should note that my professed love for the film has somewhat waned after a recent re-watch and re-think), I didn’t expect Daniel Craig to all but confirm his departure from the series. To be fair, Spectre did end on a fairly unambiguous note that allows for a subsequent departure to be fairly satisfactory, and though I haven’t been as big a fan of his as many seem to be I thought he was a competent, solid Bond throughout all four films.

So now we look forward – who shall be the next fellow to take on the mantle of 007? Well there’s so many potential choices to sift through I can’t possibly mention them all, but suffice to say out of all the names that have popped up here and there, I can’t say I dislike any of them. Let’s look at a few of them before getting onto my favourite choice…

I may not be as big on the Idris Elba bandwagon as some because firstly, I think his style might veer too closely to Craig’s, I also kind of want to see him take on more ‘dramatic’ roles since Beasts of No Nation really showed me, with a half-decent role, how much potential he has as a silver-screen presence, he’s also a bit too famous for a Bond (basically all Bonds were either virtual unknowns before casting or character actors like Timothy Dalton, Daniel Craig and to an extent Sean Connery). 

I would have loved to see any of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Damian Lewis, or Luke Evans take on the role. They’re all strangely enough not household names despite the Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win by the former two, and the latter’s prominent scene-stealing role in The Hobbit trilogy. They’re also three incredibly charismatic, talented actors with huge mounds of screen presence (just watch Lewis as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall or Ejiofor in Twelve Years a Slave or Evans as Bard, they carry such intense strength to all their roles without even having to raise their voices). Unfortunately little to no buzz has been sent round their way, which is a shame. 

It’s awfully strange Jack Huston has yet to be mentioned in any instance of a Bond casting decision. He’s well-known among fans of Boardwalk Empire for giving a great performance as sniper with a heart Richard Harrow on the show, but besides that he’s mostly known for small roles in the likes of Kill Your Darlings, American Hustle, and will probably become notorious this year for playing Judah Ben-Hur in what already looks like a rather ill-conceived re-make of a 1959 Oscar-winner (seriously what goes through peoples’ minds sometimes?). What I’m saying is that he’s an extremely talented actor who could probably use a career boost. Bond is right down his street as he’s a superbly good-looking man, looks good in a suit, is a convincing badass killer (see: Boardwalk Empire), and a darned good dramatic actor.

Same goes for Dan Stevens. I’ve only seen a few episodes of Downton Abbey but the one’s I’ve seen with him in it, I’ve been pretty impressed with the effortless grace he carries onscreen. I then watched him in The Guest where I was absolutely astounded by his excellent, chilling portrayal of a former soldier who gradually reeals he’s not the all-American golden boy he seems. From that small sample size I’m already confident he’d be an outstanding Bond. He doesn’t seem to be in the running though, and considering he has the role of Beast in 2017’s Beauty and the Beast live-action Disney adaptation (also starring Evans as Gaston), I’m guessing he doesn’t really need additional exposure.

I would love a Henry Cavill Bond. Unfortunately it looks like he’s stuck with being Superman for now, and seeing the direction that franchise is taking right now…let’s just say I’d rather see him doing a Brit reprise of Napoleon Solo.

He’s far too old now. But I am still upset that I’ll probably never get to see Ewan McGregor play Bond. I am genuinely upset.

Lastly, two apparent new frontrunners, Aidan Turner and Jamie Bell. Turner would be a solid choice I could entirely get behind. I was impressed by his performance in a rather limited role in The Hobbit as lovelorn handsome dwarf Kili, and thought he was pretty great as the unscrupulous, blunt, and sleazily charming rogue Philip Lombard in And Then There Were None. With a few tweaks to that latter performance I’d say we could have a potentially great Bond on our hands. As for Bell, he doesn’t strike me immediately as Bond material, but it wouldn’t be a bad story to see the young lad who played Billy Elliot and the young man who played Tin Tin turn into a great Bond. Nothing I’ve seen of him so far suggests ‘badass British spy’ but then again the best surprises are always unexpected.

Also, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy would have been BRILLIANT choices for Bond had they been cast before they hit the A-List, in fact had Fassbender been cast for Casino Royale he would’ve been the perfect Bond, I’d dare say, more so than Craig. Hardy would have been a good choice, just imagine his whole Inception performance with more focus and a darker edge and you’ve pretty much got a great Bond. Imagining Fassbender as Bond in particular has me salivating, his performance in Inglorious Basterds in particular, has me wondering how he’d have handled some of the scenes in Casino Royale. Unfortunately I’d say it’s impossible at this point for either actor to be cast as Bond. I’m not saying Bond has to be played by a complete non-entity but he can’t be an A-lister like Fassbender and Hardy are. They most likely wouldn’t take on the role because being in the comfortable positions they are in their careers, they’d probably want to take on more ‘daring’ sorts of roles like Hardy’s done recently with Legend (speaking of which his Reggie Kray did feel like a sorta Bond), The Revenant, Locke etc. and Fassbender with Macbeth, Frank etc., also the general consensus might be ‘he’s too obvious a choice’, ‘too distracting to have such a famous actor playing 007’, etc.

Anyway onto my current fave, Hiddleston.Now recent reports have had it that Hiddleston has effectively denied he has any chance of playing Bond, saying that he doubts the announcement is coming. I hope that’s just his usual public modesty and private way coming into play because after watching The Night Manager (which he actually attests to being one of the reasons there’s buzz surrounding him taking on the role), I really, really want him to play a spy again. He does a great job of playing the John le Carre sort of darker spy (I could imagine an older him being a great Alec Lemeas or George Smiley too), now I want to see him take on Bond.

Obviously as Sam Mendes has stated, Bond will not be the choice of the public, but of the director, producers. Rightfully so. But I’d just like to campaign for Hiddelston, my new favourite choice for Bond. It’s interesting that I mention The Night Manager because Hiddleston’s character in that, Jonathan Pine (and all the other aliases he takes on undercover) is not exactly Bond material, at least from the very start. He’s a night manager at a hotel. A fairly average joe in many regards except that he’s exceptionally charismatic and to put it bluntly, quite seductive in a very unassuming way. Pine is just presented as a wonderfully alluring presence whether it be in terms of friendship and courtship, which brings me to why Hiddleston should play Bond with regards to this: he’s so effortlessly charming. He doesn’t even need to put it on, just the general way he carries himself as Pine is so easily entrancing to the viewer.

When Pine starts actually getting down to spy work under the alias of Andrew Birch, we get to see a different side to Hiddleston’s abilities that furthers my argument for him as Bond. The charm is still there, but of a rather more rougish sort of charm than the polite affable sort of before. With this approach he’d either be a great lighthearted cheeky Bond or a great darkly humorous Bond, who can nail every dramatic momentexpected of him (it must be said that Hiddleston’s reaction shots in this series to the atrocities of the enemies he’s spying upon are incredibly remarkable). His interactions with the villain, Richard Roper (a brilliant Hugh Laurie), and the Bond side villain I mean Roper’s sidekick Corky (Tom Hollander, who based on this and Hanna seriously needs a juicy Bond villain role), are perfect Bond material in that Hiddleston never loses his cool with them till the very end and is able to with humour and smarts outwit and overpower them.

With Olivia Colman’s Angela Burr it’s basically an M-Bond relationship, with a great deal of feeling and emotional connection blended in with the wry laughs. With Debikci’s Jed Marshall it’s essentially a more complex, heartfelt and genuinely emotional Bond girl sort of affair. Hiddleston would bring a sensitivity to the role of the womanizer while still retaining enough conviction to the philandering side of Bond as a man oozing with rampant sexuality. Speaking of Debicki, if this, The Great Gatsby and especially The Man From U.N.C.L.E. are anything to go by, she’d be a brilliant Bond girl, Bond villain, seriously anything. She’s already one of my favourite actresses working today.

And it’s not just The Night Manager which has me rooting for Hiddleston. He’s fairly well-known and famous now for being Loki in the Marvel cinematic universe but I wouldn’t say it’d be to the point of distraction for a Bond casting. He’s shown talent in EXTREMELY limited leading roles in the likes of Crimson Peak, High-Rise and I Saw the Light, in fact one of the biggest faults of these underwhelming films is that they underutilize Hiddleston through script, direction etc.. He is very chameleonic (see: Only Lovers Left Alive), and when displaying effortless grace and command can be absolutely outstanding (his Henry V, while unconventional, is a terrific highlight of the first Hollow Crown series). ‘Nuff said –this man has the skill and criteria to be the next Bond. If he wants to, cast him please.