Series Review: Monsieur Spade

AMC and Studio Canal

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Set some twenty-odd years after the events of The Maltese Falcon Monsieur Space follows famed private detective Sam Spade (Clive Owen) as a retired man of luxury in the South of France. Originally drawn to the small village of Bozouls fulfilling a task for a former flame Sam has settled into a comfortable life but dogged by loss. When brutal murders at as local orphanage, a missing child, and the teenage daughter of his former love becomes intertwined Sam is forced to once again practice his profession in a town bursting with secrets worth killing over.

Co-created by Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (Oz) this series has the writing pedigree to be peak television but sadly stumbles right at the finish line.

Clive Owen does a quite good job in his portrayal of Spade, a man who has suffered too much emotional trauma and wants nothing more than to swim in his pool, alone. The cast, a collection of French and British actors for the most part, are well suited for their roles and inhabit their diverse, complex, and secretive lives quite well. The problem with the series really lives in the final episode.

It is said that every story begins with a promise. A contract between the teller and audience about what sort of story is being shared and violating that contract loses the audience. Genre often cements the nature of that promise. With detective fiction an element of that promise is that the detective will by reason, logic, and pure skill, untangle to the web of lies revealing the truth. Holmes will explain it all to Watson and justice arrives with our satisfaction.

Monsieur Spade breaks this inherent promise of mystery stories. The final episode, seemingly in a mad rush to wrap up all story and plotline before the hour has ended, resolves by nearly a Deus ex machina sidelining the protagonist with Spade no more essential to the resolution that the police detectives lectured by the private detective. Frank and Fontana are talented writers with enormous gifts for character and story, so this collapse of basic writing seems far out of character. Television and film are complex mediums for telling stories and all sorts of events can intrude on a production forcing last minute changes that degrade the final product. Perhaps that is what happened here. Whatever the cause Monsieur Spade after flying true for several episodes untimely missed the target entirely.

Monsieur Spade streams on AMC+.

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Stay-Cation is Over

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I have been absent from most online activities because I took a week and a half off from my day job and just used the time to do mostly nothing. I wrote nothing. The past weekend was the Southern California Writers Conference here in San Diego and I did attend that for the first time since the damnable pandemic. Because I was and still to some degree was inflicted with a barking hacking cough, I did not stay late into the morning hours taking part in the rouge read-and-critique session, something I truly adore, but I still had a good time and enjoyed myself.

Thursday, amid threats of rain, my sweetie-wife took the day off to share with me and we did our usual Sunday Trip to the zoo on that morning. Then a second on Monday, President’s day. Both days saw pretty high attendance.

Feedback from my WIP, The Wolves of Wallace Point, have been trickling in and, so far, nothing is indicating that I should kill the book. Soon query letters will be heading out to prospective agents. My next project combined the structure of a 70s disaster movie with a story filled with ghosts. I actually started that one but now realized it’s on the wrong first foot and I need to rethink a bit.

I had hoped to go out and see a few films during the at home vacation, but the persistent cough made that a non-starter as I refuse to be that inconsiderate to my fellow cinephiles.

My vacation ended yesterday with a trip to the dentist for the next steps in the long procedure of getting some implants to replace a couple of teeth. I was in the chair for about 2 hours, and I am ever thankful for both the skill and consideration of the team as well as for the podcasts that kept me from losing my mind to boredom.

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The Multi-Factor Hypocrisy of the GOP

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Back in the 1980s I can clearly recall several of my conservative/libertarian friends asserting with utter confidence that the people who voted for liberal parties only did so out of self-interest. That the goodies distributed by the liberal essentially ‘bought’ the votes of their supporter while the conservative electorate were motivated by principals and devotion to constitutional order.

As Luke Skywalker has said, ‘Every word of that is wrong.’

The GOP has been exposed as hypocrites on every vector of their supposed principals.

As the party lines up behind a candidate that scoffs at the law and the constitution it is clear that the only thing that motivates them is the desire to get what they personally want. Principals are for suckers.

Tax cuts for the wealthy.

Deregulation of the industrialists.

Oppression of minorities for the authoritarians.

And guns for the enthusiasts.

All other considerations secondary. Constitution expendable.

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Ready For Beta Readers

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My first horror novel, tentatively titled The Wolves of Wallace Point is ready for beta readers.

Beta readers, for those who do not know, are the test audiences of the book world. People invited to read a manuscript, provide feedback about what they liked or did not like about the work and then the author may revise, edit, rewrite, or junk the entire project. I have certainly had novels that did not survive the beta read stage, where I hadn’t quite achieved what I wanted to, and it was easier and simpler to set the manuscript aside until I was more confident that I would tackle it properly.

This is an open call. If you are interested in reading this book and providing me with your honest opinion and feedback either use the contact me link on my blog or drop me a direct message in Facebook and I’ll put you on the list.

The novel is about 100,000 words, so that much like most SF books but a little thinner that most fantasy novels, and I would appreciate a turnaround time of about two weeks.

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Quick Review: Suitable Flesh

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Suitable Flesh is a 2023 adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s tale The Thing on the Doorstep of a body-swapping wizard and the pair of friends entangled in the madness.

Shudder Films

Scriptwriter Dennis Paoli has gender swapped the leads roles with Heather Graham playing Dr Elizabeth Derby, a psychiatrist who through a troubled patient, Asa Waite (Judah Lewis) comes to the wizard’s attentions and Barbara Crampton playing Elizbeth’s best friend and fellow psychiatrist Dr Daniella ‘Dani’ Upton. Directed by Joe Lynch in a manner to recall the bonkers insane cinema of Stuart Gordon Suitable Flesh ultimately fails both as a horror film in its own right and as a pastiche to Gordon’s movies of the 80’s.

The script’s greatest weakness, and it has more than one, is that the story is told from the wrong Point of View. Centered on Graham’s Dr Derby the story is flat because Elizabeth is a reactive character, responding to events around her and not driven the narrative forward. Dr. Upton would have been a far better choice for the film’s point of view as she would have had a mystery to solve, a fantastic truth to uncover, and a dear friend to save. The second largest mistake is telling the story though the device of a flashback. The framing of a film as a flashback can be a powerful tool see Double Indemnity as an example, but it required a skill beyond Paoli’s current talents, draining the movie of all tension and suspense.

In addition to the weakness of the script, and I did not list all the ways I thought the writing needed further works, the film is hampered by lackluster performances. With the exception of Barbara Crampton and Judah Lewis every actor feels as though they were simply sleepwalking through their parts, presently nothing that felt like real live-in characters. The flat performances ultimately undercut the attempt to pay homage to Stuart Gordon’s films such as Reanimator where the actor give grand expansive presentations of arch characters.

While I had looked forward to this movie arriving on streaming for months, Suitable Flesh, screening on Shudder proved to be a disappointment.

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More Series Impressions: Monsieur Spade

AMC Studios & Studio Canal

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It is the early 1960s and private detective Sam Spade (Clive Owen) is a rich retired gentleman living in comfort and ease on an estate in the south of France. Spade had come to France’s Mediterranean coast delivering a young girl to a family that denied her paternity and ended up in a place where he believed he might finally find peace. However, with the return of a renowned troublemaker Same is thrust into the middle of a grisly mass murder and once again must prove himself the master detective.

I have been a fan of The Maltese Falcon since I was exposed to its brilliance in a film class back in the early 80s. I own a copy on Blu-ray disc and of course I have read the novel. When I heard that Scott Frank, the creator and showrunner for The Queens Gambit, was creating a series about a retired Sam Spade my interest shot up like a rocket.

Monsieur Spade, much like The Queens Gambit, reveals its story by use of a fractured timeline, covering both Spade’s arrival in the small French town and his comfortable life a few years after. One does not need to have seen or closely remember The Maltese Falcon in order to enjoy this well-produced series, but having such information fresh or well-recalled will enhance your viewing experience as characters and locals from that classic film and novel are referenced. The events of the adventure may yet play a major role in the unfolding mystery but as of the 90-minute pilot episode they provide color for the character.

Owen makes a very credible Spade. That are moment when the costuming, hair, make-up, and framing recall Bogart’s interpretation of the character quite strongly. The episodes were produced in France and utilizes a number of that nation’s actors helping cement a realism about the time and place of the tale. The premier episode, while carrying the heavy load of establishing characters and their history, and there is a large number of characters with interlocking backstories to follow, manages to be compelling drama in its own right and has hooked me for the rest of the series.

Monsieur Spade streams on AMC and AMC+.

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An Interesting Barbie Theory

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This will be quick.

Warner Brothers Studios

Warner Brothers

A lot of ink, electrons, and noise has been spilled over the fact the fact that Barbie was nominated for ‘Best Picture’ by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences but its director Great Gerwig did not receive a nomination for Best Director. Some have suggested that this is misogyny which sorts of proves the theme of the film, some have advanced the idea that as a comedy the films struggles against a bias, but that doesn’t seem to explain no Best Director but still getting Best Picture. Yesterday I heard an interesting theory.

Best Director is a nomination that is determined by directors not the Academy at large and the suggestion is that directors really dislike it when actor come along and ‘usurp’ the director’s chair. The person advancing the idea presented as evidence that Ben Affleck was not nominated as director for Argo despite the film being nominated and winning Best Picture, nor was Bradley Cooper nominated for his direction even though A Star is Born was nominated for Best Picture.

Of course, with ten nominations open for Best Picture but only five for Best Director it is a given that each award cycle is going to have films nominated for the top prize without their directors being recognized. Was it bias against women, against comedy, against actors, or perhaps no bias at all that kept Greta Gerwig off the nomination list? We will never know, and people will believe the explanation that in all likelihood conforms to their already held beliefs.

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Inconvenient Inspiration

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So, last night I went to bed and started drifting off to sleep. Somewhere I had heard or read that in order to sleep your heartrate has to drop below 60 beats per minute and mine was slowing, approaching that moment when cognitive systems shut down and slumber would take over.

As I drifted my minds began recalling carious Tabletop Role Playing Games in the horror genre I had run for my friends. When I run a horror themed games I like to do it as a ‘one off,’ just that set of characters and events. Horror repeated becomes adventure. One of the games I recalled had been a massive game made up of several sessions instead of the customary single night of game play. I had borrowed the structure of the classic film Citizen Kane with the characters investigating aspect of someone life searching for the key that would unlock the nature of their life.

My heartrate shot up from the gentle slowing and sleep fled from my presence.

I hadn’t thought about that game in years and years now grasped a new purpose for it, a novel.

Now that particular story, much of which I do not recall, but the structure. That would make a fine way to approach a horror novel that would be both grand in scope and focused on a single character. Much more of what the plot might entail flooded into my brain like a river washing away the Black Riders chasing after Frodo. Even more concepts fell into place. I adore the five-act structure and each act could encompass one of the historical aspects of the investigation; a character introduced in the epilog of my werewolf novel could be the point man in this one.

It took quite a while for my thoughts to cease racing, for my heartrate to once again begin to slow, but that sudden inconvenient flash of inspiration still burns this morning.

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Series Impressions: Masters of the Air

I am calling this post an impression because I do not feel I and anyone can fairly review any piece when it remains incomplete. I may return after the series finishes its run and give my opinion on its totality.

Apple TV+

Masters of the Air is the third limited series production from Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg about the Second World War. The first series, Band of Brothers followed ‘Easy Company’ an Infantry Regiment during their combat in the European theater while the second, The Pacific followed Marines during their island campaigns against Imperial Japan. This show follows the 100th Bombard Group, the ‘Bloody 100’, flying B-17s into occupied Europe on dangerous and costly missions. The Group earned their nickname after suffering extremely high losses in the first few months of the deployment into action.

The story focuses on a pair of friends Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven (Austin Butler) and John ‘Bucky’ Egan (Callum Turner). Writing advice would tell you not to created characters with similar names but history cares not for your rules of writing.

The first pair of episodes, released together, covers the Group arrival in England, illustrating that now dangers come from active combat missions as faulty navigation and mechanical failures can be as deadly as well, through the first mission pair of combat missions into the continent and the Norwegian coast. Along with Buck and Bucky the audience is introduced to a number of characters, Harry ‘Croz’ Crosby (Anthony Boyle) a navigator that suffers from airsickness, Curtis Biddick (Barry Keoghan) a fellow ‘Fort’ commander, and others.

The characters of the series are in general likeable and differentiated enough as to feel like distinct people. The production values are topflight with perhaps the best depiction of ‘flak’ anti-aircraft fires I have seen. Anti-aircraft artillery is ground based cannons firing shells into the flight path of the aircraft timed to explode at the target’s altitude, throwing up a curtain shrapnel in an attempt to damage or destroy the planes. It’s tell-tale sign are the sudden black clouds that appear in the air when the shells detonate. In previous films and shows the deadly black clouds are nearly always all that you get but with modern visual effects and utilizing On-Set Virtual Production, such as has been employed by The Mandalorian and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, can the terror and helplessness of the bomber crews can truly be recreated.

While I had little interest in following group troops through their horrific ordeals in Europe and the island hoping campaign in the Pacific, I look forward to the remaining seven episodes of Masters of the Air.

Masters of the Air streams on Apple TV+.

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Godzilla Minus 1.0; the Best Godzilla Movie

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It is quite a feat to dethrone Gojira that King of Godzilla and Kaiju features but in my personal opinion that is exactly what 2023’s Godzilla -1.0 achieved. To justify this position I will have to spoil some of each feature.

Toho Studios

1954’s Gojira, known in the US primarily by the 1955 re-edit Godzilla; King of the Monsters, is an outstanding piece of cinema ruminating on the atomic age and the trauma of the atomic warfare unleashed on Japan and its civilians. (We will not discuss the moral, ethical, military, or political aspect of the twin atomic bomb attacks. That is not the purpose of this essay.) From its opening scene with the hapless fishing trawler blasted by the unseen Gojira, deliberately reminiscent of the ill-fated tuna boat Lucky Dragon 5 and the terrible radiation poisoning its crew suffered from the first hydrogen bomb test, to the film final moments depicting Godzilla reduced to a skeleton by another monstrous super weapon, Gojira is about the atomic age and its ramifications. Co-inhabiting the film with this theme is the story of a love triangle between two men, Ogata and Dr Serizawa and the woman they love Emiko. There simply isn’t enough screen time to develop the triangle into a powerful story line nor does it tie in directly with the theme of the film. Only Serizawa’s research and development of the ‘Oxygen Destroyer’ which provides the means to end Gojira’s rampage provides thematic connection and resolution to the separate storylines.

Gojira (1954) is an amazing feat of budget constrained film making that invented a new genre and that remains thematically relevant 70 years later. It is a great film and until 2023 rules undisputed as the best of the franchise and the entire Kaiju genre.

Toho Studios

Godzilla Minus 1 opens with our main character, Shikishima, a kamikaze pilot who has abandoned his suicidal mission. Landing on Odo island with ‘mechanical troubles’ he witnesses the first appearance oof Godzilla and along with a single mechanic, Tachibana, survives the monsters rampage but earn the wrath of Tachibana. With the war’s ending Shikishima returns to a Tokyo destroyed by firebombing and the contempt of his neighbors for having survived the war. Years later, still suffering from survivors guilt for not pointlessly dying in the war and with an assembled found family, Shikishima’s life is thrown into chaos when Godzilla reappears, even larger than before, and devastates the area. Drawn into the plots and plans to destroy the monster he sees the opportunity to ‘fulfill’ his kamikaze mission in the intricate plan to deal with Godzilla. Reunited with Tachibana to restore an aircraft for the attack Shikishima receives absolution from the mechanic for his action on Odo island and ‘permission’ to live.

Throughout Godzilla Minu 1.0 the theme is about survival, the waste of lives in war, the importance of the government to respect the lives of its people. Shikishima’s emotional arc is tied directly to the ‘war’ against the monster. At its heart this film is the story of one man, his terrible burden surviving where so many others did not, and his finding of peace, love, and absolution. A powerful story with a single compelling character to drive it make Godzilla Minu 1.0 simply the best Godzilla movie ever.

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