Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 103

Debris 1.3: Trapped out of Time

An excellent episode of Debris tonight -- 1.3 -- that connected in a bunch of ways and opened up some intriguing possibilities.

The main agenda are people who disappear and are trapped in another dimension barely perceivable to us, as a result of the debris.   We hear clearly for the first time that the extra-terrestrial ship was both intergalactic and extra-dimensional.  In the case of the trapped people, they disappeared from Earth ranging from very recently to at least as long ago as 1976.   Since the intergalactic extra-dimensional ship arrived in our solar system -- at least as far as we know -- just six months ago, this means that among the effects of the debris are some wild extra-temporal consequences, too, i.e, a type of time travel.  For the people who are trapped, it seems that just a very short time has passed.  And judging by their apparent lack of aging, it has.  But by our tracking of time, in which the weirdest thing is setting the clock backward or forward twice a year, the time passed can be as long as half a century.

So there's that.  And another good thing is that all the temporally trapped people in this episode are actually rescued, giving us the first passably happy ending in the first three outings of Debris.

Meanwhile, the overlay of spy story is gradually getting more appealing, too.  There's the CIA and MI6, cooperating, at least most of the time.  There are the Russians.  And there's the mysterious group called Influx.  Again, as far as we now know, the first three groups are human.  But what about Influx?

And then there's the question which will likely be looming for a long time.  Actually, two questions.  Why did the ship come here?  Why did it blow up or become a wreck and spew debris down on Planet Earth?

More than enough science fiction in all of that to keep us occupied for a long time, unless we get pulled into another dimension.

See also Debris 1.1 Some Probability of Gems Among the Pieces ... Debris 1.2: Clones

first starship to Alpha Centauri ... and they only had enough fuel to get there

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For All Mankind 2.4: Close to Reality

I'll start this review by saying episode 2.4 of For All Mankind up on Apple TV+ today was my favorite episode so of this second season.  The reason is that, for a variety of reasons, it coaxed me into nearly believing that this alternate history was a real history, and what I was watching was a true story of astronauts who had made it to the Moon really planning on riding to Mars in the early 1980s.  This episode really felt like that was the way it truly was and was supposed to be, and we are the ones living in the alternate history of coming out of the pandemic and all of that when we're not watching For All Mankind on the screen.

John Lennon not assassinated and organizing a conference for peace in the early 1980s was one big reason.  The Pathfinder as a ship that will go to Mars and how it will be crewed was another reason.   Both seemed as natural and as meant to happen as the sun rising tomorrow (and setting an hour later on Sunday, just sayin').

I also, for once, liked every single one of the personal stories in this episode.  Molly appointed by Ed to take over for him at NASA, after he appoints himself to lead the mission to Mars, felt right.   So did Ed's giving Danielle the captain's seat in the Moon mission.  Even Tom Payne seemed the most human, and it was inspiring to hear how much he, too, believes in out future in space.

The very ending, of course, was literally and figuratively a call back to Earth.  One way in which the alternate reality of For All Mankind and our real existences coincide is that even getting slightly off this planet always carries spur-of-the-moment life and death risks.

See also For All Mankind, Season 1 and Episode 2.1: Alternate Space Race Reality ... For All Mankind 2.2: The Peanut Butter Sandwich ... For All Mankind 2.3: "Guns to the Moon"

       John Lennon and the space program here too
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Debris 1.2: Clones

Well, I liked Debris 1.2 on NBC this week considerably more than 1.1 the week before, and that's always a good sign.  The story hung together a little better, and maybe that was because its main theme was clones.

One -- or, at least two -- were clones of Bryan.  He kills one of them, which gave Craig the opportunity of getting off a good sarcastic line, something to the effect that it hurts to kill what you love most in this world.  The other was a clone of Bryan with two heads, which harkened back to some movie from back in the 1970s, I think, about a guy with two heads (ok, here it is, The Thing With Two Heads, starring Rosey Grier, 1972).

I should have mentioned last week that the creator of Debris is J. H. Wyman who did a lot of work on the late, lamented Fringe.   That show had a deliberate B-movie 1950s feel to it, which Debris almost happily picks up on.  I don't mean this as an insult.  I've been a fan since I was eight or nine years old.

The other clone of interest in this episode is Eric, who is wounded by a piece of alien debris that fell on his house, which then did him the favor of creating some of clones of him, while it moved pieces of cars and other non-alien wreckage around his home.   To mark the spot?  Who knows, or why.

The pace of Debris is amazingly slow in terms of telling us what's really going on here.  It holds its cards very close to its chest.  So far, in two weeks, all we've learned about the grand scheme of things in this narrative is that an alien shipwreck left debris on Planet Earth which is causing all kinds of strange effects.

As in Fringe, these effects so far are a blend of horror and science fiction, and that's ok by me.  But I'd like to learn more, and  I guess that's the reason for the slow pace.  I'd also like to see a little more story for Finnola the MI-6 agent, played by Riann Steele.

See also Debris 1.1 Some Probability of Gems Among the Pieces

first starship to Alpha Centauri ... and they only had enough fuel to get there

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I Care A Lot: Evil vs. Evil

A here's a review of a top-notch movie with an original theme my wife and saw and much enjoyed on Netflix.  I Care A Lot is billed as "comedy, crime, thriller" on IMDb, and "black comedy" on Wikipedia.  Although there are some funny elements in this movie, it's the crime/thriller part that lifts it pretty high in the stratosphere as a movie to see.

[Spoilers below]

The best part of the story is the battle between two arch villains it sets up and portrays in appealing, escalating fashion.  Rosamund Pike plays Maria, who runs an ingenious scam in which she becomes the legal guardian of elderly people who or may not be mentally diminished, with Maria appropriates their assets for her own benefit and profit.  (I have no idea if this scam actually occurs -- I hope not, it's evilly clever.)  But Maria makes the mistake of doing this to Roman's (Peter Dinklage) mother Jennifer (Dianne Wiest) who has no real problems with her brain at all.   What Maria doesn't know at first but comes to realize with a literal vengeance is Roman is a Russian mobster -- someone as driven and sharp as Maria, and even more ruthless, along with a ready ability to use deadly force.

The battle between them is a contest to see.   And so is the twist upon twist in the end.  Maria against all odds survives Roman's attempt to kill her, she then lands Roman in a hospital but accepts his offer that they start a swindling-the-old partnership, only to be killed in the very last scene by an aggrieved son who could never see his mother -- because Maria wouldn't allow it -- and now his beloved, unfairly locked away mother has died (I told you there would be spoilers).

I felt a little bad for Maria, though she got what she deserved.  The ending -- that it's the overlooked peril that will get you -- has been a staple of everything ranging from crime to science fiction (Asimov used it in one his Foundation prequel novels in the 1980s), and it worked well in I Care A Lot.  That in itself, and the whole movie before, is something you won't even feel a little bit bad about seeing, and indeed should immensely enjoy.

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Tell Me Your Secrets: Riveting and Worth Knowng

Checking in with a review of Tell Me Your Secrets, which my wife and binge-watched on Amazon Prime Video, and very much enjoyed (contrary to many myopic critics, what else is new).  It's a story of a young serial killer Kit and his girlfriend Karen -- he's in prison and she's just released with a new name, Emma -- and the mother (Mary) of one of his/their victims (Theresa, but body not yet found), and a serial rapist (John) released from prison and hired by Mary to find her daughter, because she firmly believes she's still alive, and will do anything, literally anything, to find her.

That in itself is a great setup for suspense, surprise, and action, but Tell Me Your Secrets plays at the top of the game for this genre, with all kinds of secrets, expected and unexpected, revealed and worked into the narrative, especially in the concluding episodes.

[Spoilers follow]

The ending is both satisfying and chilling, if that make sense.  Turns out Mary was right and Theresa is indeed still alive -- but she was actually the prime mover with Kit in the terrible killings, and Karen/Emma an emotionally traumatized victim.   John's story arc is notable too, evolving on the screen from urbane former rapist to brutal killer, so physically powerful that he survives a brutal, much-deserved attack in the end.   And Mary, after learning the truth about her daughter, still wants to save her and reputation.  This only makes sense, given that Mary earlier murdered an elderly woman in an attempt to find Emma and therein Mary's daughter.

A few things don't quite make sense.  Why did Mary hire John in the first place?  Why would a former rapist know how to find someone (Emma) who was in witness protection?   John in fact does just that, and that vindicates Mary's hire, but doesn't at all explain how and why John had the kind of smarts to do that.

But that's ok.  Tell Me Your Secrets is gripping, cerebral, emotional, and fast-moving -- fine acting by Lily Rabe as Emma, Amy Brenneman as Mary, and Hamish Linklater as John -- with an ending that sets up a sequel, which I'll be sure to watch and review if it's made.  

  

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Boss Level: The Re-Livings in this Time-Loop Movie Get Better and Better

Back as promised, threatened, with a review of the second time-loop movie I saw tonight on Hulu -- Boss Level.  It was surprisingly good.

Surprising, because it started off as almost a parody, and a ridiculous one, of both action movies and time-loop movies. But Boss Level is one of these movies that gets better and better as it goes along -- in this case, no small feat, because it's a time-loop story after all, with the same scenes over and over again -- and in the end, we have one impressive, excellent movie, packed with all sorts of goodies.

First, Boss Level is a science fiction not a fantasy time-loop narrative (see my review earlier this evening of Palm Springs for more on that).  Second, or maybe part of the first point, the hero Roy actually makes a hard-won progress as he lives and dies and lives and dies again, day after day.  His opponent, the evil Colonel Ventor played by Mel Gibson, sends all manner of master assassins against Roy.  And every time or two he gets killed, he learns how to combat the assassin and move ever closes to winning the life-and-death game. If this sounds like video game, Boss Level in a sense is, and in any case video games play an important role in the movie.

Mel Gibson isn't the only star in Boss Level. Naomi Watts, Annabelle Wallis, and Michelle Yeoh also put in good appearances, and after all is said and done, I liked  Frank Grillo's performance as Roy more and more as the movie progressed, just like the movie itself.

There still was a lot over the top in Boss Level, like the end of the world itself being at stake.  But the movie left us with some pretty good lines like "yesterday was months ago," and ended on an appropriately ambiguous note, which leaves room for a sequel.  Count me in for a view and a review.

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Palm Springs: Quantum Mechanics in Addition to Romance and Comedy in this Time-Loop Movie

So I reviewed an excellent time-loop movie (on Amazon Prime Video) here a few weeks ago -- The Map of Tiny Perfect Things -- and I figured I might as well review another time-loop movie, Palm Springs, that came out almost eight months ago on Hulu, in hopes that it would be excellent, too.  It was.

Like The Map, Palm Springs is the story of not one but two people (actually, three) caught and interacting in a time-loop.   Like The Map and Groundhog Day, there's lots of romance and comedy underscored with some serious threads.   As a minor point, I also like that quantum mechanics are explicitly brought into Palm Spring, and [spoiler ahead]

Sarah applies her understanding of QM to get her and Nyles out of the loop.  The more important story is the love that the two find, as they struggle in the throes of the loop to make sense of it and their lives.  Their romance, despite the comedy, actually has a realistic basis not too often seen in any kind of movie: Nyles (Adam Samberg) loves Sarah (Christin Milioti) more than she loves him, but she does love him, and loves him enough, to make their commitment to each other and their escape from the loop work.

The third spoke in this time-looped wheel is Roy, played by none other than J. K. Simmons.   Roy's living a pretty good life in the loop, but he's more than happy that Sarah contacts him with her escape solution.  

Back to the QM: not that this crucially matters, but I generally like science fiction more than fantasy, which made Palm Spring refreshing for me, after The Map and Groundhog Day, both of which are fantasies.  So I guess the quantum mechanics is a little more than a minor point.

And I just heard that Hulu has a new time-loop movie.  I have no idea if QM plays a role, but I'll definitely be seeing and reviewing it very soon.  It should provide an opportunity to wonder if Infinite Regress -- this blog -- may be stuck in some time-loop of time-loops movies.

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For All Mankind 2.3: "Guns to the Moon"

Well, a remarkably unlunar episode 2.3 of For All Mankind this week, with almost no new action on the Moon, and barely a smidgen of alternate history.

In fact, the closest this episode got the Moon was the hotly debated option of arming Jamestown, so our astronauts could maintain control of the lithium mine the Soviets stole from us up there.  And a good debate it was, decided, of course, in favor of arming our astronauts.

Meanwhile down here on Earth, Tracy's take on Ed allowing Gordon to go back to the Moon is "boys will be boys".  She's upset because she doesn't want the story of her going back to the Moon to be the once-married couple back together again on the Moon.  You know what?  I'm with Ed and Gordon on this one.  But I guess that proves Tracy's point of boys will be boys.

Ed also figured in the other big part of this episode's narrative, coming to terms with the loss of his son Shane last season.  The emotion was important and the acting good, but the situation was a little obvious: adopted daughter Kelly wants to go to Annapolis. I'd say here that, in general, the family-focused episodes of For All Mankind work best when set against people pushing the boundaries of humanity up on the Moon, or on the way to it.

I'm very much looking to more episodes in space, or on Earth getting out into space, or on an alternate Earth which is the whole great set-up of this series.

See also For All Mankind, Season 1 and Episode 2.1: Alternate Space Race Reality ... For All Mankind 2.2: The Peanut Butter Sandwich

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The Nines Cover Smokey Robinson's Cruisin

One of Smokey Robinson's last big hits -- recorded after he split with The Miracles -- and one of his best.  I've always loved double rhymes in lyrics, and "Cruisin" has a good one ... "Music is played for love, cruisin is made for love...."

The Nines won Seattle Bride Magazine's "Best Reception Band" award twice (in 2015 and 2017) and this live performance of "Cruisin" could make any couple fall in love.  The guy who does lead -- I can't find his name, as soon as someone tells me, I'll post it here -- even hits a riff in the guitar break that you don't quite get from Smokey.  And speaking of guitar, that's Joey Bean with that sweet tough soul pickin.   The harmony's right there, too, with some fine notes and moves from Nikki Coleman, who just sparkles to the right of the lead, and the brunette to the left (can't find her name, either -- what is it with this secretive group? :)

Hey, I saw somewhere that The Nines will be doing some live recording on March 5 -- I'll be back here with a link to my favorite track that comes out of that.

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Josh Turner Guitar Covers "And Your Bird Can Sing"

 

And here's Josh Turner Guitar (that's his performance name) and two guys doing a pretty good cover of The Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing".  I first became aware of Turner via his cover of The Beach Boys "Sloop John B" -- not as letter-perfect as The Fendertones, but also pretty good.
Several points about this song and this video:
1. Although John Lennon famously didn't like this song,* and neither does Peter Asher (he wondered why it did so well in one of his listener-selected Top 100 Beatles countdowns in 2017 on Sirius XM Radio), I always agreed with Rob Sheffield that "it's one of his best songs ever".   (I sent Asher an email explaining why I thought the song was so good, and he replied "Very cool!")
*He also didn't like "It's Only Love," another one of his very best songs.
2. In addition to being "so scathing and yet also so empathetic and friendly," as Sheffield says, it's also "packed with tiny musical triumphs".  Sheffield mentions the "girl-group hand-claps that sneak into the song for the middle guitar break".  One of my all-time favorite "tiny musical triumphs" in any song is the minor-to-major chord change in "And Your Bird" on the word "awoken" (1min13sec to 1min14sec in this video) -- just a perfect acoustic coming to life of that word.
3. In the Turner video, I have no idea if this was deliberately staged, but the background works just right: the guy in the red hat kicking a ball and then the little dog on a leash pulling the blonde and brunette birds in masks.  A time-stamp tableau of our age.
Ok - here's Josh Turner Guitar and a different crew doing "Sloop John B" on a bus at the end of 2018




And my reviews of Rob Sheffield's masterful Dreaming the Beatles begin here. Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music