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Holographic Jon Hamm Wants to Ease Your Pain in MARJORIE PRIME (Sundance Review)

“By the next time we talk it will be true.”

In an era marked by individuals creating their reality–from cultivating social media presences that always show the sunny side to alternative facts– Marjorie Prime is a timely meditation on memory, how it binds us to each other, and how unreliable those bonds can be.

Based on Jordan Harrison’s play, Michael Almereyda’s film translates the action from the stage to a posh beach house where Marjorie (Lois Smith) manages her final, dementia-tapped years with the help of Walter Prime (Jon Hamm), a holographic approximation of her husband when he was still in his forties. They spend afternoons chatting, with Walter Prime playing back old stories about proposing to her after My Best Friend’s Wedding or enjoying the saffron-colored flags of Christo’s “The Gates” art installation in Central Park from a time-freezing park bench.

Her daughter Tess (Geena Davis) and son-in-law Jon (Tim Robbins) also take care of her, although Tess is as wary of using the Prime technology as she is uncomfortable telling her mother a comforting lie.

The near-future, sci-fi conceit isn’t at all original, but what makes it sing is that the AI holograms learn about who they’re representing from the loved ones they serve, opening the door wide open to false memories and rosy representations of the past. The film asks a question about what we’d all do if we could remake a lost family member in our own image like soothing humanoid parrot. If you had to, could you reconstruct the intricacies of your wife, husband, mother, or father?

In fact, the movie asks a lot of questions. Can time and memory smoothing over the rough edges of life? How well do we know the person across from us? Is it better to share your house with the pleasant lie or the mixed bag of truth?

Unfortunately, Marjorie Prime only skims the surface of these questions, seeking translucent praise simply for thinking of them. In a similar way, since it’s concerned largely with deep thought flirtation, the film doesn’t reach too far down into the muddy earth of these characters. It wears their past tragedies on its sleeve–a brother who committed suicide, estranged children–but Tess and Jon approach all of it with a WASPy detachment that refuses to let you further in. The tragedies become tokens rather than lived-in, haunting pains, the same way you might know an acquaintance as “the one who got pancreatic cancer” without ever knowing thing one about what that experience is really like.

The cardinal sin of the adaptation is that it barely moves the play onto the screen. Besides Sean Price Williams’ camerawork adding dynamism to seated conversations, Almereyda uses no cinematic tools or language to bridge the divide between the two art forms. Watching it, you get the sense that being in the same room as the actors and feeling their energy during a live performance would bring this thoughtful contemplation to greater life. As a film, the screen becomes a barrier between us and the strong, but stage-bound, performances.

Smith (who many will remember best from The Nice Guys and Twister) is illuminating as the cranky, sentimentalist, re-proving her acting prowess. Likewise, Davis is strong and achingly realistic as the daughter who is terrified of her mother changing, choosing denial over acceptance of the dementia that’s daily reshaping the parent in her mind. Ditto for Hamm and Robbins, but the performances were never going to be an issue. This is an all-star cast elevating interesting, yet dramatically and philosophically facile, material.

Marjorie Prime is clever and bittersweet in its revelations, the subtle changes in what people remember or how they actively to choose to remember, but it ultimately feels like a fascinatingly humane concept deprived of its full potential impact.

2.5 out of 5 holographic AI burritos

Images: Passage Pictures

THE MAGICIANS Season 2 Premiere Recap: ‘Knight of Crowns’

Warning: this recap contains spoilers from the season two premiere of The Magicians, “Knight of Cups.” It is a recap, after all! Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

Magic is supposed to be awesome, right? I’ve always been envious of the characters from books, movies and TV shows who learn that they’re magical, get sent off to some incredible magical school filled with magical creatures, and generally go on to lead the coolest of lives filled with fun adventures. Yes, I was that girl who cried on her 11th birthday when she didn’t receive a letter from Hogwarts; I spent way too much money on a toy wand when I was in my 20s (no shame in my game). These sort of fantasies have always been my preferred method of escapism, because magic solves everything. Or at least, it used to before one show flipped that idea on its very head. Maybe that’s why I obsessively devoured The Magicians and am so pumped to be recapping season two.

Putting a snarky, comedic spin on Lev Grossman’s dark source material, The Magicians argues that magic actually kind of sucks. It doesn’t solve problems, it just creates new, bigger problems. So get comfy, kids, because season two is going to be one wild ride. Let’s get started with recapping the premiere, “Knight of Cups,” shall we?

As with most season premieres, the hour was largely set-up for what’s to come. (But don’t expect any more episodes this season to be this exposition-filled: the action starts next week and doesn’t let up at all after that. You’ve been warned!) All the loose threads and cliffhangers left open in the season one finale were resolved literally in the first few minutes of the premiere. Then it was just mini-quest after mini-quest as the gang searched for any way to defeat the Beast now that their god-killing knife was gone, stolen by Julia in her quest to kill Reynard.

After making sure everyone was alive after their failed tussle with the Beast, Quentin, Alice, Eliot, Margo, and Penny first had to get officially crowned as High Kings and Queens of Fillory—except for Penny because there were only four crowns and he definitely wasn’t about that life—and then make their way to the castle armory to try and find a weapon strong enough to kill the strongest magical being they knew. Unfortunately, the armory had already been cleared out of all battle magic, so their next mini-quest (taking place next week), was to return to Brakebills to learn battle magic from a proper teacher. Unfortunately that also means it’s time to split the group since Eliot, as High King, can’t leave Fillory. And since time passes differently on Earth than it does on Fillory, there’s no telling how long Eliot will have to be alone in his new home without his friends (as if he needed another heartbreaking aspect to being High King). And with no champagne around to boot! Tragic.

Most of the episode was set in Fillory, and will continue to do so—the show is really leaning into the fantasy elements this year. But back on Earth, Julia and the Beast cemented their new, unholy alliance. They even went so far as to magically seal their agreement: he would help her track down and kill Reynard and once the fox god was dead, the Beast would get the god-killing knife and be on his way.

Magical Musings:

I love how useless Quentin always is when it comes to saving the day. The premiere opened with him running through the Fillorian forest searching for help, thinking all his friends were dead. But Alice once again proved to be the real badass hero of the group, using her god powers to magically resurrect herself, Eliot, and Margo and cauterize Penny’s handless wrists. Seeing the look on Quentin’s face as he arrived back at the scene of the crime thinking he was going to save everyone, and they were all already alive like, ‘”Yo, where’d you go? We were worried about you!” was truly hilarious.
Also I’m sure that giving the healer a vial of his blood without a second thought will come back to bite him in the butt. Stop making such hasty decisions in the heat of the moment, guys! I thought we learned this lesson last season, but Quentin is a slow learner.
It was disturbing to see how quick the group jumped to villain-izing Julia, but at least Quentin (feebly) spoke up to defend her given that he knew the horrible truth that motivated her team-up with the Beast. However, his only argument that she was “not sane right now” isn’t exactly the right stance to take. She may have left everyone in a bad situation, but that poor girl definitely had her reasons. She also made sure that everyone was safe from the Beast in the terms of her agreement. They may not know that, but still. She’s not blindly on a course for revenge, she’s thinking clearly. She even thought up of some loopholes in her agreement with the Beast: after they kill Reynard, all she has to do is put the knife down. She doesn’t have to actually give it to the Beast. She can still pick it up and try and kill him afterwards. Julia ain’t no fool!
Magical wellspring smoothies are now officially off the menu, as the Beast has been imbibing a little too much. It’s almost completely dry, and if it runs out, so does magic. That means Fillory will be destroyed, and there’s no telling what that means for magicians on Earth either. Basically, you do not want anyone or anything to mess with the well anymore. 
Watching Penny numbly walk around for most of the premiere, holding a box containing his chopped off hands, was downright chilling. Especially since everyone else didn’t really bat an eye that a member of their squad was thoroughly, painfully, physically, and emotionally traumatized at what was happening. They were ready to go off on a quest without even trying to help him first! Jerks. Although he definitely has some learning to do himself, seeing as how he gave attitude to the man at the healing torrent who helped him put his hands back on his wrists. The man sent some kind of curse at Penny as he walked away that seemed to mess with his control over his hands, so that’s definitely not good. But the mysterious man did drop an interesting tidbit about the future: apparently Penny is going to occupy a position where he needs to know that actions have consequences. If he’s not one of the four Kings or Queens, what position could he fill?
It’s hard not to take the Beast’s obsession with children’s playgrounds as creepy, because his emotional growth was clearly stunted and he never truly grew up as a result of his own sexual assault as a kid. But wanting to hang out in a ball pit discussing murder while children play around him is just disturbing. That is made doubly disturbing when you also take into account that the way he coped with his trauma was by destroying part of his soul, a.k.a. his shade (it’s what makes you feel pain and love and anything that makes you human). He tried to convince Julia to do it too, but thankfully she turned him down …at least for now. She knows she can’t lose herself in this quest for revenge, but how long will that emotional strength last? Will her grief get the better of her?
Rupert Chatwin helped win WWII at the Battle of the Bulge with powerful Fillorian magic he found in the castle armory. So there are real-world stakes and consequences for anything found in Fillory. Good to know.
The rainbow bridge is stunning. I can’t stop watching that scene over and over. The setting, the music … everything comes together to make it a series highlight. And it’s only a few seconds long! 
The way Eliot assumed the throne of High King of Fillory was by performing Patrick Swayze’s Dirty Dancing speech. Penny’s annoyed reaction while Eliot prepared to wow the Knight of Crowns was just perfect for both of these characters. And so were everyone’s official monikers: High King Eliot the Spectacular, High Queen Margo the Destroyer, Queen Alice the Wise, and last but certainly not least, King Quentin the Moderately Socially Maladjusted (Q was dubbed by Margo, because of course).
While they’re not back together, Quentin and Alice took some steps to repairing their relationship after Q cheated on her last season with his magical drug-induced threesome with Eliot and Margo. Alice opening up to Quentin about how the biggest reason why she was mad at him was not for cheating, but the fact that he made her lose him after what he did to their relationship, was heartbreaking. We’ve all been there before. Someone hurts you in some way and you’re not mad at them for the specific action but instead for destroying the trust and relationship/friendship you shared. It’s hard to get over that feeling, and Alice put that hurt into the perfect words. Hey, it’s why she’s Queen Alice the Wise!

Quality Quotes: 

Penny: Are you even officially affiliated with the current? You’re a con man. Same in Detroit. Same in Mumbai. Same in Fillory. Sorry. Try it on the next sap who needs this natural resource on public property.

Margo: The Beast is gone, our squad is a joke. What plan, exactly?

Eliot: We’ll figure it out. We always do.

Margo: When it’s a final to cheat on, not when we’re stuck in some epic fantasy that likes to behead its heroes halfway through season one … if we even are heroes. [In horror:] We might be comic relief.

Margo: So we are f–ked without grace.

Quentin: It sounds like us.

Eliot: Must be a Monday. Onward to glory.

Eliot about his new wife after she offers to make everyone a snack after their battle with the Beast: I think I like her. I hope I like her.

Alice: Oh my god, those horses are so beautiful. I just really love horses. [She meets the horses:] Those horses were so rude!

The Beast: Tweet? Birds have computer accounts?

Julia: Don’t worry about it.

Eliot about his crown: This feels as natural as underwear.

Quentin after everyone got crowned: Royalty, b—hes.

Eliot: Do you know that they don’t know what champagne is here? I plan on inventing it. I’d like to be known as the champagne king.

Eliot to Quentin during their emotional goodbye: You know it’s considered extremely disrespectful to touch a king without permission. But, um …I think you should probably hug me right now. I’ll also be okay if you give my ass like a little squeeze.

What did you think of The Magicians season two premiere? Tweet me your thoughts and opinions at @SydneyBucksbaum!

Images: Syfy

The Magicians airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Syfy.

COLUMBUS is a Slow, Enchanting Stroll Through Architectural Beauty (Sundance Review)

We here at Nerdist delight in the kinds of movies that to treat our eyes to visual spectacle. Though more often than not this means bombastic action sequences and top dollar special effects, a movie like Columbus is a much needed reminder that this caliber of aesthetic enchantment can be found in much simpler practices. Case in point: Just walking around and looking at buildings.

Don’t shut out just yet! Sure, Columbus may have the slowest pulse of any movie to hit the Sundance Film Festival this year, but it’s hardly wanting for intrigue. The furthest conceivable thing from the superhero blockbuster genre that usually supplies us with such ocular delights, Columbus takes form as a series of strolls around the architectural mecca that is the titular Indiana suburb.

John Cho plays Jin, a man forced to hole up in Columbus after his estranged father suffers a coma. He spends the bulk of his stay avoiding his bedridden dad and dodging accusations from his father’s doting assistant (Parker Posey), instead ambling about and chatting about beautiful buildings and structures with 19-year-old townie and architecture geek Casey, played to earnest perfection by Haley Lu Richardson.

Just as Jin is paralyzed by his responsibilities to his ailing father, Casey finds herself stuck between a yearning to ditch her destitute hometown and an emotional obligation to her self-destructive mother. Differences in age, background, and academic inclinations aside, Jin and Casey find refuge in one another’s conversation day after day.

These chats, though not exactly laugh riots, are consistently clever and cute, though more impressively, the kind of genuine you rarely get to see in movie dialogue. Cho, getting a chance to strut the dramatic stuff he’s been hiding behind a primarily comedic résumé, is terrific in his lighter and darker moments like. Subdued down to a cellular level, Columbus never lets loose in anything approaching the theatrical, though Cho indeed does get to exhibit new artistic depths, and to great end.

But then there’s Richardson, who, though having only made her film debut a couple years back, lives wholly in her material as though she’d spent decades working on the big screen. Casey carries smirking charm and buried frustration in every scene, generating so much empathy even when she’s simply describing the façade of an office building she finds appealing.

Yes, we’re back on the architecture. Without the rearing of its gorgeous head every other scene or so, Columbus might risk succumbing to doldrums. But first-time director Kogonada treats Indiana buildings like George Lucas would alien planets, or Terrence Malick fields of wheat (pick your poison). We’re not just looking at symmetrical constructions, we’re reveling in a too frequently unsung beauty. Though shots of modern architecture may not sound comparable to the sort of visual spectacle we’re used to, believe me: the compassion with which Columbus films its building-laden titular town is nothing short of invigorating.

4 out of 5 burritos:

Images: Sundance Institute

Michael Arbeiter is the East Coast Editor of Nerdist. Find him on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter.

VOLTRON Recap: The ‘Best Laid Plans’ of Paladins and Alteans

THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE of Voltron: Legendary Defender, “Best Laid Plans,” is what this recap is about. By this point, you should know not to read a recap before you watch the episode or not to blame me if you choose to.

So here we go! With an episode title like “Best Laid Plans,” I certainly expected everything to go udders up when it comes to the heroes carrying out their plans, but uhh, it all actually kinda worked okay. Not 100% okay, of course, but quite well, considering. And for a season that had the pall of death over it a lot of the time (they kept cutting back to Zarkon an awful lot for everything to be totally hunky dory), one can’t hope for much more than that.

The episode began with Allura wishing the official coalition between herself, the Blade of Marmora, and the other planets such as Balmera and Olkari can be rebuilt after and if they win. The bummer, though, was that while the good guys were all feeling good about their chances, their inside man, Commander Thace, was currently being tortured for information. Were he to give up anything, the whole scheme would be ruined. As it stood, the Galra high command–and most worryingly Witch Haggar–already knew some attack was forthcoming.

And what exactly is that plan? Shiro explained: the Black Lion would lure Zarkon to a specific spot while the cloaked teludav got into position, readying to wormhole the command vessel away. Meanwhile, Thace (but not) would take down the power to the command vessel and the other Blade of Marmora members–Kolivar and Antok–would upload a virus to keep the power to everything out for a good ol’ long time. Then, once the ship was incapacitated, the teludav would wormhole it millions of lightyears away to the middle of nowhere and Voltron would finish it off. Pretty sweet plan. But, again, Thace. Kolivar was worried about his mole not checking in, and they had to go forward believing Thace had been captured or killed.

So who would shut off the power? Keith stepped up. Given that he is part Galra, he can get around the fleet’s scanners with ease. He believed it to be his destiny, what he was meant to do. As he readied himself to travel in a cloaked shuttle to the Galra base, Allura visited him in the hangar and apologized for being a real jerk to him ever since she learned he was Galra. She let her fear and hatred of the entire race get the better of her. With allies in the Blade of Marmora, and a true friend in Keith, she realizes she’d been acting irrationally. Funny how being opened minded can make everything better, huh?

And so the plan was hatched. Keith entered the Galra flagship and attempted to get to the power room, not getting very far before he’d been spotted. Shiro showed up in the Black Lion and began zipping around fighting ships. Zarkon ordered fighters to be launched; he hella wants that Black Lion for himself. While the Galra were distracted by Shiro, the Castle Ship and the massive teludav lens got into place, just waiting for Keith to do his part. And do his part quickly he needed to indeed. Eventually, Keith found where Thace was being held and throws his Marmora blade into the wall where Thace is tied, and it grows to full size, freeing Thace. Thace knew an ally when he saw one.

While the two of them made their way to the power room, the other lions joined the fight to protect Shiro and cause general havoc. (Sidenote: General Havok needs to be a character in this show.) The longer Keith and Thace take, the more Slav had trouble holding the power to the teludav. If the cloak failed, they’d become sitting ducks. At the power room, Thace and Keith learn that the code had been changed, and Witch Haggar and her Druids arrived to attack. The cloak did indeed fail and Zarkon ordered all ships fire on the teludav, but not before Thace–whose idea it was to simply turn the power room into a bomb–sacrificed himself for the good of the cause. Keith flew out of the vessel and joined the others.

With Zarkon’s ship incapacitated, the virus could be uploaded. Now, dead in the water, and the teludav totally exposed, Slav was able to get just enough juice into it that it was able to send Zarkon’s ship through the wormhole. Going as fast as they could, the Castle Ship and the lions made their way through as well, for the final part of the plan: destroying the ship once and for all. After the jump, Shiro bellowed his usual “Form Voltron!” and the episode ended with the robot in full view, ready to fight.

Whoa, what?!?! That’s how you end an episode! What a cliffhanger. While we did lose Thace, and things did not go nearly as smoothly as they’d hoped, the fact that everything did in fact happen was a testament to the heroism and ingenuity of everyone working on this place. I wish Thace had been a bit more of a factor in the season. A cool character, he was seen in most every episode, but was only in a couple of scenes. As great as every episode was, I’d have loved a whole episode of just him aboard the Galra flagship trying to divert attention of a dogged Witch Haggar.

Still! How can you complain about an episode with that much action, that much heart, that much anticipation?! It was great. And the only thing left is to destroy Zarkon…but you’d be silly to think it would go any way as simply as all that.

Let’s chat about this awesome show in the comments below!

Images: DreamWorks/Netflix

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

What the New STRANGER THINGS Details Mean for Season 2!

While no official date has been announced for the next season of Netflix’s surprise Spielbergian hit Stranger Things, most people assume it will drop sometime this summer. And sure enough, with about half a year between us and the expected release, we just got our first batch of big hints about where season 2 could be headed. During a Q&A sesh on the Fan2Sea Comic Con Cruise, actor David Harbour got asked some hard hitting Stranger Things questions, and since they were on international waters, where the laws of men and streaming services alike do not apply, he did not hold back from answering them.

First off, Harbour confirmed one of the few things we already knew for sure about season 2: it will be taking place exactly one year later. “It’s a year later in the story,” says Harbour. “Will has come back—there are certain people in the town that know what happened, and then certain people that don’t know what happened.” So who knows and who doesn’t? Harbour doesn’t dive in any deeper to explain. But in a recent Vanity Fair interview executive producer Shawn Levy does say that “season 2 is bigger and potentially darker in its stakes. The threat, which in season 1 was to Will Byers, has grown.” Could that mean that not only Will and his friends are now now in danger, but potentially the whole town?

Harbour also talked about what newcomer Sean Astin will be doing when he arrives in Hawkins, Indiana, and it’s not good news for Chief Hopper. “He’s Winona’s new boyfriend,” he explained, “much to the chagrin to the chief of police.” So apparently whatever flame Joyce and Hopper were rekindling after their adventure in the upside down has quickly been snuffed out by the appearance of the former Goonie/Hobbit.

But as for characters we’re hoping to see return, Harbour had some sad news; your cries of “justice for Barb” have officially been ignored. Harbour confirms that the internet’s favorite unexpected fashion icon is gone, but at least she’s not forgotten. According to Harbour, “the question and the feelings that Nancy has that no one ever cares about her friend Barb are very much present in the beginning of the season.” Sure, it would have been nice if Nancy cared about her friend when she was still alive, but at least she’s thinking about her now. 

Are you guys still thinking about Barb and the rest of the Stranger Things crew? Let us know in the comments.

ROGUE ONE: REBEL DOSSIER Takes an Interesting Look at the Rebellion (Review)

The arrival of a new Star Wars film means the release of all sorts of tie-in novels and books. At least, that’s been the case with The Force Awakens and Rogue One. From fiction to reference, I look forward to reading the new titles to digest all the details they have to offer. Some of the books are encyclopaedic with fact after fact listed, while others present intel in a more organic way—like Rogue One: Rebel Dossier by Jason Fry.

I enjoy reading both formats (read some of the what I learned in the Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide), but Rebel Dossier used an interesting presentation. The book, targeted at young readers, goes over the ins and outs of the Rebel Alliance via documents assembled for Mon Mothma. Pretend General Cracken is presenting you with a neatly labeled confidential file folder packed with key personnel profiles, state of the galaxy reports, intelligence briefings, and more—that’s essentially the Rebel Dossier.

Rogue One altered a few aspects about Star Wars for me, including giving me a different perspective on the Rebel Alliance. We saw some of the organization’s structure, hierarchy, and the way they make decisions. It was eye-opening. Rebel Dossier expands upon that while further illustrating the somewhat fragile state of the resistance (we saw a bit of that when Jyn presented what she learned about her father and the Death Star to the council). You get to put yourself in Mon Mothma’s shoes and soak in reports without having to make the hard decisions.

Because of the style of the book and the age group it’s intended for, I would have loved some sort of interactive element or pull-out ephemera. I’m thinking fold-out documents, security ID cards, and the like.

Aside from wanting some extras, I found Rebel Dossier provided the right amount of information for younger readers. Getting background and context from in-universe characters such as Bail Organa was an interesting way to learn about the bigger picture. A section from Lieutenant Voren Na’al about his impressions of Jyn Erso from the briefing room scene comes to mind. It’s not galaxy-changing material, but it adds color to what we already know in a creative way—in other words, it’s relevant and intriguing. That’s what you get from Rebel Dossier, plus some new tidbits.

Have you picked up Rebel Dossier? If so, tell me your opinions about the book in the comments.

Images: Disney-Lucasfilm Press

This review was completed using a copy of Rebel Dossier provided by Disney-Lucasfilm Press

A Very Funny Jack Black Keeps THE POLKA KING Afloat (Sundance Review)

How much you enjoy The Polka King will hinge almost entirely on how much you enjoy Jack Black. For me, that’s quite a bit. I’ve sat through the likes of Envy and Year One thanks to my devoted love for the bombastic comic actor, and would happily check out even more pessimistic titles were he cast at the head. Don’t fret—even for those who don’t share my affection for its star, The Polka King is hardly one of the worst movies he’s ever made. That said, it’s also not one of the best, relying on Black and a few likewise strong supporting players to elevate a script that, once out the gate, doesn’t seem to have any place to go.

A bit too confident in the value of its own “based on a true story” label, the Sundance Film Festival premiere The Polka King revels in what it the misadventures and misdeeds of polka bandleader Jan Lewan (Black), whose small-time Western Pennsylvania-based Ponzi scheme doesn’t play quite as gripping onscreen as it may have in real life. In truth, prevalence of polka-tunes aside, the story isn’t quite outrageous enough to rest so proudly on the laurels of its own kooky aura.

Jan himself is an interesting character: a workaholic family man endowed with the American dream and a damn near psychotic compulsion to keep everyone and everything in his life happy, pleasant, and optimistic. These characteristics, rather than greed, are what drive him to the desperate measure of conning the many local investors in his polka band into donating more and more money on increasingly grave false pretenses.

Terribly afraid of letting anyone down, Jan lies to everybody: his wife (Jenny Slate), who yearns for an identity beyond “Mrs. Jan Lewan”; his best friend and co-musician Mickey Pizzazz (Jason Schwartzman), a hapless schlub who fancies himself the schmoozer; and his mother-in-law (Jacki Weaver), who works grade A shtick as a snarling, vindictive nemesis to her daughter’s greatly resented husband.

Despite a delightfully silly performance by Weaver and fine (albeit much more downplayed) turns by Slate and Schwartzman, the movie is really Black’s alone. When onstage as showman Jan, Black frolics and flails as humorously as he ever has before; when writhing in pain under the weight of his desperation and conscience, Black’s convulsing brow and false smile are likewise worthy of hearty chuckles. The problem is that he’s asked to make the same material funny over and over for the run of the film, with only the occasional and subtle hike in stakes.

Unfair though it may be, it’s inevitable to compare The Polka King to Bernie, another Jack Black-starring region-specific comedic true story about a nice guy who did a pretty awful thing. Where Richard Linklater’s 2011 picture succeeds is in the intrinsic weirdness of its tale and innovation of its telling; the principally straightforward The Polka King doesn’t have the stylistic originality nor the inherent intrigue to keep it alive from start to finish. But it does have Jack Black, who, if you’re like me, goes a very, very long way.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Images: Sundance Institute

Michael Arbeiter is the East Coast Editor of Nerdist. Find him on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: “Wake Up” Is a Rallying Cry for Us All

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Proceed with caution, agents. If you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode, “Wake Up,” we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Then let’s go.

S.H.I.E.L.D., you did it again. You produced another thrilling hour (well, forty-odd minutes) of television that flew by like it was only five minutes, while at the same time giving us more allusions to America’s social and political landscape and a fistful of science-fiction ideas to chew on.

When we last saw Coulson and co., they had reached an understanding with new director Jeffrey Mace, and the ever annoying Talbot, with the three men forming an alliance against Nadeer and her Watchdog stooges. Unbeknownst to them, however, May was — and still is — held prisoner by Radcliffe and Aida, forced to experience a range of simulations he’s programmed in order to keep her preoccupied so she won’t try to escape while her synthetic double spies on S.H.I.E.L.D. The nature of those simulations, however, is what gives “Wake Up” its cerebral heft. Not content to simply receive relaxing spa treatments, May escapes. So a physical challenge is given to her in the form of a bloodthirsty Aida. Unfortunately for Radcliffe, each time she fights Aida, though her memory is wiped afterwards, she becomes better at fighting her (science!). This ultimately leads the sinister scientist to give her what her heart really desires: the satisfaction of having rescued the one person she failed to rescue. It’s her greatest regret, the reason she came to be called “The Cavalry”, and the test brings a peace of mind that’s too tempting for even May to resist.

There is of course an undeniable cheekiness to this episode’s title. The idea of living life sedated, drugged into submission by an overpowering force as it wreaks havoc on the world, is by no means a new one. But it carries more weight than ever. It’s easy to identify with May, struggling to break free and finding a way to do so each time a new scenario is programmed for her. “Wake Up” finds plenty of added value in its premise, with the fake May that Radcliffe has installed at S.H.I.E.L.D. only gradually aware of what she is, and that her feelings for Coulson have been installed in her by a third party. They’re no less real for that, as she realizes when she tries to stop Radcliffe herself but is prevented from doing so by her programming.

Equally impressive is the way “Wake Up” mines the characterizations of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s supporting cast. Everyone gets a moment of texture here that’s emotionally honest. Mace, for example, bonds with Daisy — in a courtroom no less — over the false faces they’ve been forced to wear throughout their lives. Yo-yo, who finally consummates her relationship with Mack, explains to him (in a bit of meta-commentary) that the reason she wants him to open up to her is because she doesn’t want either of them to become a cliché. Radcliffe displays an almost fatherly affection for the May he’s created. And Talbot shows he’s evolved far beyond his origins as a comical foil for Coulson, exhibiting just a hint of sadness and disappointment along with his usual rage, admonishing his frenemy for getting caught while breaking into Nadeer’s office. “S.H.I.E.L.D. only exists because of me,” he says, and for once we believe him.

Meanwhile, Fitz shows that heartache and lust aren’t the driving forces for his preoccupation with Aida, but rather that he’s been secretly investigating the android’s design. The investigation leads to perhaps the biggest reveal this week: Radcliffe replaced himself with an android duplicate while secretly forming his alliance with Nadeer.

Though our own May is still held captive at the end of “Wake Up”, the show’s ability to keep us fully abreast of what’s going on while maintaining suspense is better than ever. It’s an achievement that more than lives up to the title of this week’s episode. Because Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t just awake. It’s on fire.

Declassified Deliberations

— We shouldn’t have much longer to wait for the inevitable ER reunion between Ming-Na Wen and Parminder Nagra. When it finally happens, I’m hoping it ends with May putting her fist through Nadeer’s smug face.

— “I have a feeling no conversation with that woman is ever fun.”

— While it’s great to hear Mack’s backstory this week, I wish we could have seen it unfold in a series of flashbacks, however long they may have taken to play out. Henry Simmons deserves as much room as possible to develop his character.

— The cross-cutting between May’s struggle to escape and the courtroom drama with Mace and Daisy is handled especially well. This show strikes a balance that few other comic-book based series attain.

— “Cauliflower isn’t great. Today we got kicked in the balls.”

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).

Images: Marvel/Disney/ABC

Comic Book Club At Sea: The Walking Dead

“The Walking Dead” cast members Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel Stokes), Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon), Madison Lintz (Sophia Peletier) and Lew Temple (Axel) join the show in front of a swimming pool on the Fan2Sea Comic Con cruise ship (for real) to talk about the show’s past, present and future.

Check out the website at comicbookclublive.com to find out how to watch the show live! And follow the show on Twitter: @comicbooklive, @azalben, @jtsizzle, and @realpetelepage

Make Yourself Some Jughead RIVERDALE Milkshakes

As a long time Archie fan I’ve been anticipating the debut of Riverdale since the CW‘s dark take on the Archie series was announced a year ago. While this is a different interpretation of the 76-year old comics, one thing will be consistent: Pop’s Choklit Shop. The hang-out will always be the go-to for food and drama, and where there’s food, you know you’ll find Jughead.

This special milkshake is piled high with all of Jughead’s favorite things at Pop’s, including his beloved hat. Think of this treat as the perfect all-in-one meal for watching the premiere episode of Riverdale in a way only Jughead Jones could enjoy it. Hold onto your crown beanies, nothing in Riverdale is as it seems.

Jughead’s Riverdale Milkshakes

(makes 2)

Curved chocolate crown ingredients:

-3 ounces black Candy Melts

-White icing

-Red icing

Milkshake ingredients:

-4 cups chocolate ice cream

-1/2 cup chocolate milk

-2 Tablespoons chocolate syrup

Toppings:

-2 mini hamburger sliders

-French fries

-2 small pickles

-4 skewers

-Whipped cream

Wrap a rolling pin in parchment paper and secure with tape.

Place the candy melts in a heat-safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Pour the melts into a piping bag or a decorating squeeze bottle.

Using a #5 tip, pipe crown shapes onto the parchment wrapped rolling pin. Place in the refrigerator to set. Once set add the details with at #3 tip and white and red icings.

In a blender add the chocolate ice cream, chocolate milk, and chocolate syrup. Blend until just combined but still thick. Pour into glasses, top with whipped cream.

Place the sliders, fries and pickles onto skewers and place into the milkshakes. Top with a chocolate Jughead crown.

Images: Jenn Fujikawa