The Lowdown on the Lowdown

I haven't formally made a list of my favorite actors, but if I did, I think Ethan Hawke might be on it. It's not necessarily that I think he's one of the strongest actors -- he's not a performer who leaps to mind when you're thinking about either breadth of roles or depth of chameleon-like abilities. But I really like his tastes.

Hawke has starred in some of my favorite movies of all time: Gattaca and the acclaimed Before trilogy. And usually, even when I'm not as over the moon about one of his movies, I find something interesting about it -- from the examination of faith that was First Reformed, to the little-known science fiction film Predestination, to the inverted vampire story that was Daybreakers. When he decides to make a horror movie, it's something a bit outside the norm for the time, like Sinister. When he decides to do Marvel, he picks Moon Knight -- one of the more interesting of the franchise's television shows. Basically: I'm usually picking up what Ethan Hawke is putting down.

That long preamble brings me to Hawke's most recent television project, The Lowdown. He stars as Lee Raybon, self-dubbed "truth-storian" who runs a rare book store and writes for a small local newspaper in Tulsa. A classic "man who knows too much" scenario unfolds when he writes an article about a recent suicide, rousing the ire of his subject's brother -- who is running for governor. Has Lee stumbled onto a secret conspiracy? Will proving it get him out of trouble? Can he find proof?

I'd heard good things about The Lowdown when it ran last year -- but even with my stated interest in whatever seems to interest Ethan Hawke, I didn't get around to the show right away. It arrived when there was a lot of competition for TV time, and I hadn't really received personal recommendations from friends steering me toward it. But I have finally caught up with it... and I think I'd put it in that category of Hawke projects I'm "not over the moon for, though I do find something interesting about."

You could make the argument that whatever niche The Lowdown is serving is already served by the TV series Fargo; both shows tend to center on "regular people getting caught up in extraordinary events." But  Fargo's showrunner, Noah Hawley, now has his hands full with Alien: Earth. And more crucially, most seasons of Fargo are period pieces. The Lowdown is set in modern day, making the main character's almost anachronistic work in newspapers and old books a key element in his crusader complex.

Still, if you do want to go with "The Lowdown is like a season of Fargo starring Ethan Hawke," that works too. Especially because its interesting cast also includes Keith David, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tim Blake Nelson, Kyle MacLachlan, and Graham Greene. The overall story doesn't always feel airtight or edge-of-the-seat compelling... but the characters are always fascinating. (And perhaps never more so than when Peter Dinklage swings in to guest star in one episode.)

Besides Fargo, I could say The Lowdown is "kinda like" Justified, or maybe even Better Call Saul. Articles on the internet have compared it to True Detective, Peaky Blinders, and many others. The bottom line here, I think, is that there are probably many paths into this show. Once there, you'll probably find a show you don't like quite as much as the thing that led you there... yet you'll like enough to scratch the itch of the original thing you loved. In that spirit, I'll give The Lowdown a B.

Starfleet Academy: Ko'Zeine

I think one of the early strengths of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been variety of interesting characters in the cast, ready-made to shuffle into different combinations for new storytelling. That's exactly what happens in "Ko'Zeine."

It's spring break, and the cadets are leaving on a variety of vacations. Jay-Den's plans with Kyle are disrupted when Jay-Den witnesses the abduction of Darem, and gives chase through a dimensional portal. It turns out this is all part of pre-wedding tradition; Darem's arranged marriage is at hand, and Jay-Den is to serve as his "ko'zeine." Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, Caleb has received dispensation to remain at the Academy under the watch of Jett Reno. But his own relaxation plans are thwarted when Genesis returns and goads him into escalating hijinks for her own secret ends.

I don't feel like there are any "major problems" with this episode... yet all throughout, I felt like little things about it felt just a bit off. Given the title of the episode, I'll dub the Darem/Jay-Den storyline the "A story," and start there. After a previous episode spelled out so clearly for us that Darem has issues with impossible-to-please parents, it feels a little off to now learn that Darem was already destined to be royalty-by-marriage. It's not that it doesn't track, exactly. (Impossible-to-please people are impossible to please.) It's just weird that no hint of this came up earlier.

The weirder behavior comes from the significant others in the story. Kyle is not at all put out by Jay-Den bailing on their Ibiza vacation. Jay-Den doesn't ever really show any impulse to reach out and let Kyle know he's alright. Darem's bride Kaira absolutely must have Darem at her side right now... until one speech from Jay-Den makes her decide that actually, it'll be just fine if she rules alone. And all of this transpires in a story that doesn't follow-up on the interesting tidbits we've already been given about Khionians: what's with the changing forms, why do they just look like humans on their own homeworld, are there more forms than "human" and "spacewalk-proof", are there any societal norms about any of that, and so on.

Over in the "B story," does it seem plausible that Caleb could have survived on his own for so long if he can be this easily manipulated? Has Genesis shown any indication that she's so sensitive to criticism that her "big dark secret" is hacking her records to remove any? Would it really be Jett Reno and not the Doctor watching over the Academy during spring break? And is a big reason this episode doesn't hit as well as the others because there's so little Nahla Ake (and Holly Hunter) in it?

What I do like is the writers resisting the obvious love triangle between Caleb, Genesis, and the off-screen Tarima. On the typical teen show, Genesis absolutely would have taken this opportunity to "take Caleb away" from a romantic rival; instead, Genesis pushes hard for Caleb to express his feelings to her. (It's less clear, though, if the writers are resisting a love triangle between Jay-Den, Kyle, and Darem... in part because Kyle hasn't been developed enough yet to be around to stay.) I liked the reinforcement of character growth for both Jay-Den (who keeps getting better at public speaking) and Darem (who, as Jay-Den points out, is really discovering himself at Starfleet Academy).

As a side note, in online circles, some credited this episode as the one that "revealed" Jay-Den Kraag is gay. I felt this was pretty clear in earlier episodes from his flirtation with Kyle, but since this is the moment many are commenting on it, I'll offer a commentary of my own. I really like the idea of Star Trek giving us LGBT characters in places you "wouldn't expect." It's interesting to show us that even a strong, warrior culture like the Klingons has gay men. But it's playing a bit into historically negative cliches to have Jay-Den be softer and more sensitive, and be an outcast from his family. And while we're on the subject, it's also playing into cliche for the show's other (half-)Klingon LGBT character, Lura Thok, to be coded as "butch lesbian." Fortunately, both characters have already been written as more than their respective cliches; I just wish they weren't starting from those positions.

"Ko'Zeine" wasn't a bad episode by any stretch. But I think it was the weakest so far of the series. I give it a B-.

Good Knight

After the series finale of Game of Thrones received "whatever the opposite of rapturous applause is" from the public at large, its spin-off series, House of the Dragon, became "whatever the opposite of eagerly anticipated is." Could there be an appetite for a third series based on George R.R. Martin's hugely-sprawling (but never finished) fantasy setting? That's what A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sets out to test.

This series is based on a prequel trilogy of novellas by Martin. (He's said he intends to write more, but we all know the punchline of that joke.) Lowly hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall, called Dunk, gets into misadventures with his young squire Egg -- all some 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Season one of this new show, based off the novella The Hedge Knight, chronicles the duo's first meeting, and sees Dunk raising the ire of a powerfully-positioned enemy. A secret harbored by the young Egg may be all that stands between Dunk and a swift, unjust punishment.

I hope that any fans who soured on the original Game of Thrones open themselves up to this new show. The first spin-off, House of the Dragons, doubled down on many of the original series' excesses, with a tale spanning dozens of years, involving hundreds of characters, and featuring more CG dragons than a server farm could render in a year. (Which is why it takes two or three between seasons.)

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is, in almost every way, everything the first two series are not. It's succinct; the first season is only six episodes long, and the typical episode runs barely 30 minutes. It's focused; the story is squarely centered on Dunk and Egg, involving only the people who come into their orbit. It's grounded; while CG is certainly employed to enhance the setting, it is a tale of knights and jousting -- with no dragons or magic anywhere to be seen.

Also, perhaps most strikingly: there's humor! A Song of Ice and Fire is famously a book series that tried to take all this swords and sorcery stuff more seriously than the typical epic, and Game of Thrones took the lead from that when adapting the tale for television. But there were lighter moments -- in the early books, certainly -- that became but a distant memory by the show's final season. House of the Dragon is, if anything, even more mirthless, depicting Westeros as a cruel place devoid of lightness in any measure. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms manages to find the fun again. There are certainly dark moments, and the sort of monumental character deaths that are the bread and butter of Martin's writing. But also, there are a lot of jokes -- some actually laugh out loud funny.

With a story focused on just two characters, the dynamic between those two -- and the casting of the roles -- is of utmost importance. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms hits the bullseye with its two leads. Peter Claffey plays Dunk with a lovably perfect mix of intimidation and oafishness. Dexter Sol Ansell ably captures the wise-beyond-his-years qualities of Egg in one scene, while being an impulsive and immature young boy in the next. Together, the two have a tremendous rapport -- not quite father-son, not quite mentor-student, not quite brothers... but always just what the story calls for.

And again, what that story calls for is thrillingly tight. I've seen a few complaints online from people disappointed that when all was said and done, this new show gave them barely three new hours of Game of Thrones-related content. I myself found that quality over quantity was the order of the day for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This lean, enjoyable story felt to me like the most consistently entertaining thing to happen in Westeros since at least the fifth season of Game of Thrones. By being something rather different, it effectively reminded me of what I like about it all in the first place.

I give A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms an A-. I find myself looking forward to its second season far more I am to the third season of House of the Dragon (coming later this year). And since they're reportedly already filming that second season, signs point to us getting it without the too-typical-these-days delay of several years. 

Enterprise Flashback: Home

After Star Trek: The Next Generation resolved its most famous cliffhanger, the show served up an unusual "part three" with "Family," an introspective episode that examined the personal stakes undergirding the galactic ones. Following the season-long Xindi arc and the "Storm Front" two-parter, Star Trek: Enterprise attempted a similar epilogue with "Home."

At long last, Enterprise returns to Earth. But after an initial heroes' welcome, the crew spends time apart. Trip accompanies T'Pol to Vulcan for a difficult visit with her mother. Reed tries to enjoy newfound fame, but while out in public with Phlox, encounters ugly xenophobia. And Archer avoids a debriefing by escaping into the wilderness with the captain of Enterprise's sister ship.

"Home" is a decent episode, though it doesn't quite have the clarity or focus of The Next Generation. "Family" was unified by the overarching theme stated in the title. "Home" is more disjointed, with no one theme bridging all the story lines.

To some extent, the episode presents a take on a classic war theme that "you can't go home again." Reed and Mayweather discover a streak of racism against Phlox, and T'Pol's visit with her mother exposes just how wide the gulf between the two has grown. But Archer's story is not about him confronting changes in himself or on Earth. He has changed, as his interactions with Captain Hernandez make clear -- but not only is Archer not forced to confront his changes, he's rewarded for them by a congratulatory Ambassador Soval.

In two of the stories, our heroes are forced to ask themselves "what were we even fighting for?" The racist attack on Phlox exposes how humanity seems to have regressed in its moral progress. Archer spends much of the episode grousing about how Starfleet probably should be more of a military force. But then T'Pol's story doesn't really continue that theme into the third story line; her plot is about her feeling coerced into an arranged marriage.

Two of the stories are united around the theme of obligation. Archer has done his duty with the Xindi, and now must face an uncomfortable duty of a different kind in recounting all his morally questionable decisions to Starfleet and the Vulcans. T'Pol faces a two-fold obligation, to the fiance she's pledged to, and to her mother, whose troubles can be resolved if T'Pol helps her. But then the story line on Earth doesn't touch on obligation at all; it's a vignette about xenophobia in a time of war.

What I'm getting at is, "Home" is a bit jumbled. That said, focus on any one of the three main stories, and you'll find something to like. I find Archer's rock climbing themed booty call with Hernandez the least compelling story of the three, but even that is interesting for the contrast between Archer as dispirited veteran and Hernandez as hopeful neophyte. And they didn't skip on the production, taking the show on location for the mountaineering scenes.

The message of the Phlox story line is most engaging to me, even if that story gets the least screen time. Phlox's strange "puffer fish" face moment is just weird, but the scene itself gets something exactly right. In the 9/11 allegory that is the Xindi arc, it's important to note is that bigotry against an "other" -- even if they had nothing to do with it -- lingers for a long time. There's a particularly good scene between Phlox and Hoshi, in which Hoshi gives what should be the right answer (hiding away isn't the way to redress prejudice), but Phlox gives a more nuanced take (that trauma is real, and you can't rush the time it takes to heal).

Most of the episode focuses on T'Pol and Trip on Vulcan. While I'm not as invested in their on-off relationship as the writers, I do like the complications of this episode as a way of keeping them apart. It's so Vulcan to cloak an emotional urge to help family in a sense of moral obligation. It is, well... fascinating to see what a mob-style shakedown looks like when delivered in a Vulcan way. And the ending is especially poignant, as Trip must stand there as T'Pol marries someone else.

Also, T'Pol's mother T'Les -- as played by Joanna Cassidy -- is really an interesting character. On the one hand, she's all about tradition (providing a vehicle for this episode to have fun showing us some Vulcan customs). But at her core, T'Les shows unusual emotional intelligence for a Vulcan, revealing that she knows about the feelings her daughter has for Trip -- and even encouraging him to talk to T'Pol before it's too late.

Other observations:

• The show's CG may not always look top notch (though for being two decades old, it's great). But they often know exactly how and when to use it. The opening shot of the packed stadium welcoming Enterprise back is very effective, as is the vista of Vulcan with its colossal statues.

• Enterprise's sister ship, Columbia, was of course named for the space shuttle -- which had been lost less than two years before this episode aired.

• Yes, imagine the shame of the child of a Vulcan and human. (wink wink)

• When Archer and Hernandez make camp for the night, they weirdly seem to have made a point of laying their sleeping bags directly on hard rocks rather than the softer ground visible all around them.

I wish "Home" hung together thematically a bit better, but I do like that the show took a moment for this Xindi "epilogue" before rolling on to new stories. I give the episode a B.

Starfleet Academy: Come, Let's Away

The first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has already crossed the halfway mark. It's high time for a return appearance by Paul Giamatti as the season's "big bad," Nus Braka. Which is exactly what we got in "Come, Let's Away."

The Starfleet Academy and War College cadets are on a training mission to a derelict Starfleet ship when a team is captured by dangerous marauders known as the Furies. Out of options to stage a rescue, Admiral Vance and Chancellor Ake turn to Nus Braka for help. His history with the Furies could prove decisive, though the price for his help may be too high. But maybe the newly-forged telepathic link between Caleb and Tarima will offer a way out of the crisis.

This was a very carefully crafted machine of an episode that really used the characters in just the right ways. The problems our heroes faced aboard the Miyazaki were constructed in such a way to give nearly every main character a role in the story and a moment to rise to the occasion. And while some of it may have been laced with a tinge of contrivance (Sam's ability to talk to the ship's communicator being both helpful and not too helpful), the situation felt effectively tense overall.

Some of that was the alien design of the Furies, whose weird phasing in and out felt like a fun way to "not show the monster" in an age where visual effects allow you to credibly show the monster. But I think more of it had to do with another page from the horror movie playbook: racking up a body count. Star Trek has always used dying redshirts to heighten the danger (to diminishing effects as it became a cliche), but there's something next level about the implied ripping apart of the cadets' teacher and tossing him into space for a bunch more cadets to see. And... bigger spoilers!... that danger is borne out when not only do the Furies claim the life of B'Avi, a character we've now spent a few episodes with, but also, defeating them winds up putting another character, Tarima, in a coma.

But while the bulk of the cast were thrown into this action-adventure stand-off, Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti sat apart in a one-on-one character drama that let the two skilled actors simply trade barbs with one another. The odd stillness and serious of Nahla Ake, rather at odds with the free-spirited whimsy she displays most of the time, was a strong signal to the audience that Nus Braka is a threat to take seriously. And Nus Braka? Well, Paul Giamatti made another delicious meal out of every over-the-top line he was given.

Nus Braka's "wheels-within-wheels" scheming wasn't exactly hard to see coming, but there are more ways to make a villain shine than making him smarter than anyone else. (Though, aside from the audience, I guess he was that here also.) A great villain bends the arc of the story to them, as Giamatti's character did here. And as fun as all of his boisterous grandstanding was throughout the episode, I found the best moment for both actor and character to be his final scene, where he dropped all the bluster to explain his core hatred for the Federation. I don't actually agree with his Reagan-esque suspicion of "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you," but this is absolutely a recognizable type of attitude that resonates today. When governments fall down on the job, as they did in this Star Trek future after the Burn, people like Nus Braka are ascendant.

I find myself hoping that this villain lasts more than just one season, because I find him a great asset for the show... that I also don't want to be too overused by having him appear too frequently. In any case, I felt he was a big part of what made this one of the stronger Starfleet Academy episodes so far. I give "Come, Let's Away" a B+.

Devilish Fun?

David Dastmalchian is one of those actors whose face is much more widely recognized than his name. He's been "that weird guy" in things from Dune to Dexter to Murderbot and many, many more. But he's invariably a secondary character who isn't anchoring the film or TV series he's appearing in. In that way (among many others), the movie Late Night With the Devil is something different.

Late Night With the Devil is a fictitious documentary of 1970s talk show host Jack Delroy. Through increasing fame and sudden personal tragedy, his talk show Night Owls has always finished second to the legendary Johnny Carson. But his special episode on Halloween night in 1977 may change all that. With guests including a mentalist, skeptic, and a parapsychologist and her subject, Jack Delroy may have stumbled into a harrowing situation bringing more than he ever bargained for.

This movie uses a "found footage" conceit. After a brief introduction setting up the alleged documentary we're here to watch, the action unfolds as the "actual" Halloween broadcast as it went out live into America's living rooms. During the commercial breaks, the "documentary filmmakers" have restored "behind the scenes" footage taken in the studio. Thus, the movie is a 90-minute, real-time descent into darkness.

The structure is clever in theory, but in practice presents as something like a bell curve. The opening 15 to 20 minutes are very much a "slow burn" bit of storytelling. Anything else simply wouldn't be believable. If a 1970s TV audience was to turn on, say, the Dick Cavett Show and be confronted five minutes in with scenes from The Exorcist? Well, not only would that strain credulity, but it really wouldn't leave the story anywhere to go. Still... it means the movie requires the sort of patience that horror movies actually made in the late 70s demand: the tension ratchets up oh-so-slowly before all hell finally breaks loose. (Perhaps literally.)

At the end of the movie, without getting too spoilery, the movie lost me for another reason -- specifically, it abandons the "found footage" conceit it has so carefully established, showing us events that could not have been part of the live broadcast. It is at least in service of a fitting ending for what we've watched unfold... but it's presented in a way that doesn't have the courage of its narrative convictions.

But, for one hour in the middle, Late Night With the Devil is a pretty fun ride. We get entertaining jump scares, motivated characters gradually-but-believably making bad choices... all the best horror movie staples that makes the genre fun when done right. And a lot of what makes it work is the casting. David Dastmalchian really does carry this movie, and his casting is interesting in that he's not playing an overt creep like he usually does. His character is, as the old cliche goes, someone America would want to invite into their living rooms, and he definitely captures the patter and demeanor of a talk show host.

And really, the rest of the cast is pretty good too. To be blunt, even when the story of this movie is at its best, the dialogue isn't. This isn't an award-worthy script. But Dastmalchian, Ian Bliss, and Ingrid Torelli are particularly key among the cast in delivering what thrills there are here.

I would give Late Night With the Devil a B-. I feel that horror movies are a genre that's much like panning for gold; you have to give it a while to come up with anything valuable. This "find" is no fist-sized rock of gold... but neither is it a lump of iron pyrite. If you enjoy horror movies in generally, you might find enough gold flecks in here to feel this movie is worth your time.

A Bad Movie With a Powerful Kick

These days, I tend not to blog about entertainment I don't like. But I'm going to make an exception today for a movie I basically hated even as there were things I appreciated about it. I'm going to focus more on the latter as I tell you about If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.

Linda is at the end of her rope. Her young daughter has a condition that requires constant care and supplemental medical feeding. Her husband's job has him almost always absent. A massive issue at her apartment forces her to move into a hotel and fight constantly with her landlord for repairs. And there's a crisis at her therapy practice involving a patient. Can she hold herself together as it feels like everything is falling apart?

There are times it feels like If I Had Legs I'd Kick You barely has a story at all. It's a parade of horrible events, at best uncomfortable to watch, and at worst being a potential reminder of things in your own life you might have been watching a movie to try to escape. This is not a fun watch. It's not a movie from which you will take away anything uplifting. I deeply disliked the experience of the two hours I lost watching it.

But... there are some aspects of this movie I really want to praise -- in part because the Award Industrial Complex has turned its eye toward this movie, and I actually can see why.

Rose Byrne has the film's one Academy Award nomination, a Best Actress nod for her performance as Linda. It's absolutely deserved. Byrne has been on such a long run of comedic roles that I find myself forgetting she first came onto my radar as the star of Damages, a great psychological drama where she held her own opposite Glenn Close. In If I Had Legs I Kick You (yes, a great title I'm deliberately repeating for the fun of it), Byrne captures all the complexity of a mother on the edge: pushing herself well past the point of exhaustion simply because a) society unfairly expects it of her; and b) there's no one else.

Byrne's performance feels utterly real, because it's utterly without vanity. Through intense close-ups (more on that in a moment), she is able to give a remarkably subtle performance where you can see every crack in the facade as it develops. There's scarcely even gallows humor here; this is simply a raw, authentic performance that she inhabits so deeply that the audience can't help but feel it themselves.

She's aided in this feat by the choices of writer-director Mary Bronstein. Bronstein is doing things that on paper sound overly auteurist, navel-gazing, and pretentious. In practice, they're absolutely crucial to narrowing the spotlight on the film's central theme, and they help make Byrne's performance come off as powerfully as it does.

In If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (yup, I did it again), Linda's daughter has no name. We don't even see her face. The focus is entirely on Linda -- and the camera stays in tight close-up on her face for the vast majority of the movie. This doesn't just put the focus on what Linda is going through, it utterly strips away any chance for the audience to bond with her daughter. We never get any of the young girl's human characteristics, any hint of why anyone would sacrifice anything to care for her. As an off-camera voice, the daughter is rendered a whiny, insistent, never-ending black hole of need. Everything Linda has sacrificed in her life that got her to this point feels in fact completely pointless, since we don't even see what any of it was for.

If you've ever found yourself skeptical of highbrow art criticism ("see, the artist's choice of blue is meant to convey a unfulfilled yearning"), you might actually want to watch If I Had Legs I Kicked You. It's as pure a demonstration as I can imagine of the way that particular film-making choices can have a powerful effect on storytelling.

And yet... I didn't feel there was much of a story here to tell, beyond being made to sit and stew in one woman's awful predicament, watching helplessly as it grows more awful by the minute. I actually give If I Had Legs I'd Kick you a D-. Frankly, I hated this aimless, uncomfortable, oftentimes boring... well-made, well-acted, hyper-focused movie. Love it or hate it, you may well find there's something here for you too.