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typingtess · 2 years

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Rewatch: “Fukushu”

The basics: The father of an LAPD detective, a highly respected Japanese-American veteran, is the victim of a hate crime with OSP on the case.

Written by: Kyle Harimoto wrote “Omni”, “Merry Evasion”, “Chernoff, K”, “Command and Control” as episode 150, “Granger, O.”, “Ghost Gun”, “Kulinda”, “767”, “Se Murio El Payaso”, “Assets”/“Liabilities”, “Venganza”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us", “Let Fate Decide” (season 11 premiere), “Decoy”, “Answers” , “Watch Over Me” and “Cash Flow”. He co-wrote “Three Hearts”, “Leipei”, “Humbug”, both ends of the “Matryoshka” two-parter, “Smokescreen” part two, “Searching”, “A Fait Acompli” and “A Tale of Two Igors”.

Directed by: Dennis Smith directed “Fame”, “Standoff”, “Rocket Man”, “Cyberthreat”, “Exit Strategy”, “Patriot Acts”, “Out of the Past” part one, “The Livelong Day”, Between the Lines”, “Deep Trouble” part two, “Black Budget", “Black Wind”, “Blame it On Rio”, “Defectors”, “Matryoshka” part one, “Granger, O”, “The Queen’s Gambit”, “Hot Water”, “From Havana With Love”, “Plain Sight”, the lighthearted “Monster”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us”, “Smokescreen” part one, “Decoy”, “Mother” (episode 250), “Alsiyadun”, “The Bear”, “Angry Karen” and “Signs of Change”.

Guest stars of note: Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is Craig Tanaka, Christopher Sean is LAPD Det. Jack Tanaka, Jose Yenque is Capt. Carlos Fuentes, Sebastian Sozzi is LAPD Det. Matt Guerrero, Obi Ndefo is Joyner, Dashiell Connery is Jason Quinn, Peter Holden is Benjamin Strauss, Michael Fitzgerald is Billy Strauss, Tyler Capri Clark is Molly and Duncan Campbell is back as Agent Castor.

Our heroes: Take out the trash.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen: Has no use for the Strauss father and son. Sam: Wants Fatima to use her instincts but not be distracted by the circumstances. Kensi: Can shoot a man centermass at 1,250 meters. Deeks: Took a post-lawyering vanlife tour where he saw great places, great people that are at odds with the hate he sees in the attack. Fatima: Sick of the hate in the streets these days. Rountree: His sister is his world. Kilbride: Learned as a child his father protected their Japanese neighbor’s belongings for two years and carries that forward..

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen: In Napa so missed the NCIS: LA Combine. Sam: Benches 225 pounds 20-times in the NCIS: LA Combine. Kensi: Can jump 21-inches in the NCIS: LA Combine. Deeks: Sprinting in the NCIS: LA Combine. Fatima: New to the Village People. Rountree: Judging the NCIS: LA Combine. Kilbride: Will have Kensi at his six if there is one seat left in the Humvee.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? No mention.

Who's down with OTP: Kensi and Deeks have long discussions about racism and agreeing to adopt a child with a different race. Callen spent the weekend in Napa with Anna.

Who's down with BrOTP: Callen hurried home from Napa to help on the case (pal before galpals).

Fashion review: Working out, Sam is in a black long-sleeve tee, black shorts, socks and Nikes. Kensi is a black tank top and camo leggings. Deeks is wearing a light grey tank top and darker grey jogggers. Rountree is in a charcoal grey tee-shirt and black shorts. Working, Callen is in a dark blue button-down shirt. Sam is in a long-sleeve black crewneck sweatshirt. Kensi is in a red tee-shirt. Deeks is in a medium-blue tee-shirt and light grey jeans. Fatima has on a lovely dark blue long-sleeve blouse over a medium grey turtleneck. Rountree is wearing a seafoam green tee-shirt . Admiral is in a dark blue three-piece suit, white shirt with a blue check pattern and a dark blue tie with white dots.

Music: “AWOL” by Every Time I Die plays while Callen and Sam are entering the Strauss-Quinn home. “Watch Out!” by Kazou is playing at the end as Det. Tanaka’s video goes viral.

Any notable cut scene: Yes and if you have the DVDs, it is with the “Subject 17” episode. Callen and Sam drive up to the building where Jack Tanaka is holding the men who hurt his father. Putting on their tactical gear, Callen is not happy that they are going in heavily armed and in their vests. Sam reminds Callen that Jack is a highly trained member of LAPD’s robbery-homicide division. If Jack Tanaka is not in his right mind, they can’t take any chances. Callen and Sam enter the building.

Quote: Sam: “We know you'd much rather be out there on the street finding these people.” Det Tanaka: “No, I don't want to do that. If I want the men that beat my father prosecuted, I can't be anywhere near this case.” Fatima: “Wow, you have incredible restraint.” Det. Tanaka: “ Yeah, well, people, uh, friends of ours, they would use words to describe Dad like "kind, funny, loving." Only word I would ever use to describe him is "discipline." Sam: “I respect your father even more now.” Det. Tanaka: “Yeah. Well, if my lack of discipline let whoever beat him off the hook, my old man would never forgive me.”

Anything else: An older Japanese man is fishing at the beach with little success. As he returns to his truck, he is almost run over by a young woman in a Jeep racing down the beach. She apologizes as she flies by, distracted by her phone.. Shaking his head, the man gets to his truck, only to be badly beaten by two men in dark hoodies. While the older man takes the worst of it, he is able to pull out a knife and cut one of his attackers in the lower leg.

Short credits.

In the gym, the team is working out (that hasn’t happened in a while). Sam is lifting while Rountree spots. Kensi is working on her jumping skills. Deeks is running – joking about being faster than any cornerback in the NFL Combine. At Alabama, Caleb Castille played cornerback. Rountree didn’t think the sprint even counted – he thought Deeks was just warming up.

Kensi’s jump was 21-inches, typical of defensive tackles at the NFL Combine. Those men usually way 300-pounds plus but Kensi wants to know if any of them can shoot a man at centermass from 1,250 meters. They cannot. Sam is up to 14-reps lifting at 225 (another Combine test). Sam gets 20 – legit for an NFL linebacker. Sam is disappointed he can’t do LA Rams superstar Aaron Donald’s 35 reps. Kensi asks if linebackers can hit a man centermass at 1,250 meters.

The Admiral pops up on the gym plasma, driving in to the office. He thinks the US Military would like to limit the number of people who can shoot a man centermass at 1,250 meters. Kensi should be humble that she has that sort of training, not bragging about it. She immediately apologizes. That said, if there is one seat left in the Humvee, the Admiral is leaving Aaron Donald behind because he wants Kensi on his six. Deeks thinks the Admiral is encouraging Kensi.

Sam asks if they have a case. The older man at the beach is Lt. JG Craig Tanaka was nearly beaten to death at Dockweiler Beach. He’s going in for his second surgery – at 73 this is going to be a dicey surgery. Tanaka served on the USS Walke during the Vietnam War. The team is disgusted. With Callen in Napa, expected back later that day, Fatima is going with Sam to speak to Tanaka’s son Jack, an LAPD Detective. Kensi and Deeks are on their way to the crime scene, Rountree is going to meet with the Admiral in Ops when he arrives.

In Ops, the Admiral is looking for a sit-rep. Craig Tanaka is in surgery. The EMTs found the fish knife Tanaka used to fight back. He has his name engraved on the knife. The blood is human but not Tanaka’s. The Admiral notes that the bad guys got more fight than they were expecting.

At the boatshed, Fatima is disgusted with the hate crimes going on in the world. Sam points out that Fatima is living that life becoming a more religious Muslim. Fatima agrees. Growing up in Beverly Hills, despite what “Beverly Hills 90210” showed, there is a large Persian community. She never felt different at high school. Since she started wearing the hijab, some people yell terrible things to her but they’ve never been violent. Sam thinks some of the violent people start by yelling terrible things at people. What matters to Sam is not letting his personal disgust get in the way of the case but Fatima should follow her gut instincts.

On the way to the crime scene, Kensi is making food recommendations to an obviously distracted Deeks before suggesting drugs. Kensi calls him back, saying she knows he’s mad. He’s not mad, he’s sad. Beating a 73-year old man in America – how does that happen? Kensi is sad, mad and disgusted too. Deeks talks about the six-month walk-about he did after being a lawyer. He got in a van and just went everywhere – he loves the country, the ocean, the mountains, the big cities and the small towns. It was great. And now he’s investigating the beating of a 73-year old man because of his background.

Rountree updates the Admiral in the Admiral’s office, Lt. Tanaka is out of surgery. When he doesn’t leave the office, the Admiral asks if Rountree needs anything else. He does – why is OSP investigating this case? The Admiral tells Rountree that Lt. Tanaka volunteered at the National Submarine Memorial, West.

Rountree still doesn’t think that’s why they were assigned the case. The Admiral requested the case as a hate crime against a Japanese Naval Veteran. Asking Rountree to sit, the Admiral explains that he grew up in Oregon with a best friend named Ralph Sakamoto. The Sakamotos would cook a huge Sunday dinner for the Kilbrides. One day, the Admiral asked his Mom about the dinners. She explains that when the government imprisoned Japanese Americans during WWII, people started looted Japanese family homes. Admiral Kilbride’s father sat with two shotguns every night for two years on the Sakamoto’s porch to make sure nobody stole from them. Rountree thinks the Admiral’s father was quite the man. The Admiral agrees. “What kind of son would I be if I didn’t track down the son of a bitch who did this to Lt. Tanaka.”

Castro brings Det. Tanaka to Sam and Fatima. Sam apologizes for taking Det. Tanaka away from the search for his father’s attacker but Tanaka makes it clear, he wants this case to stick. He can’t be involved in the investigation. Fatima admires his restraint. While people would use words like “kind” or “fun” or “loving” to describe the senior Tanaka, his son would use the word “discipline”. Det. Tanaka knows his father would never forgive him if he let his lack of discipline impact the case. Sam is impressed.

Explaining that his father was a creature of habit, working his garden, working as a volunteer at the base in Seal Beach, fishing at night, meeting up with his buddies and having a few beers at the end of the day, Det. Tanaka is sure this is a racial hate crime. Fatima asks if the younger Tanaka has any proof. Proof is NCIS’s job, not his.

Kensi and Deeks arrive at the crime scene. She figures the start of the attack was a cowardly kick to the back or sucker punch. They figure the bad guys saw Lt. Tanaka fishing and took action. Despite how big the population in LA is, an older man would be alone fishing just before sunset most nights.

Rountree pops up to Sam and Fatima on the plasma with a witness, a jogger, who saw two men in hoodies and jeans near the beach. They stuck out to her. Sam thinks the idea that two attackers beat a 73-year old man makes them bigger cowards. Fatima gets a call. The Commanding Officer of Seal Beach wants to talk to NCIS about Lt. Tanaka. Since most CO’s wouldn’t know the volunteers at the base, this is something.

With the witness statement, Kensi and Deeks are going to “run up the hill” to check where the jogger could see the man. Kensi complains about running up the hill until she gets about a step ahead of Deeks before calling it a race. He won’t race “with the world’s biggest fifth-grader.”

The Seal Beach CO makes it clear if he was in Los Angeles, he’d be fighting in person for Lt. Tanaka. There isn’t a person working at Seal Beach the CO holds in higher regard than Lt. Tanaka. While Lt. Tanaka has the title of volunteer docent, he takes those volunteer duties more seriously than some of the CO’s commanders do with their assigned duties. “He is a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to every sailor and officer on that base, including myself.”

At the hospital, a Lt. Tanaka is unconscious in his bed, out of surgery. Rountree updates Sam and Fatima on his condition. Knowing that nobody at the base would have a grudge against Tanaka, they agree it was not a targeted attack from someone in the Navy. In his financials, Rountree found that Lt. Tanaka has been doing some carpentry for an LLC for the prior three months. He’s been working at a restaurant renovation for the last two-weeks. The job was delayed because someone threw a brick through the restaurant’s window. With Callen on his way to the restaurant, Sam will meet him there while Fatima returns to Ops.

In the spot where the jogger saw the two men in hoodies, Kensi sees a ramp that would get them to two different highways. This was a premediated attack, not just a random hate crime. Deeks thinks they could have followed Tanaka to the beach from someplace else.

Callen and Sam arrive at a restaurant in a neighborhood that was gentrifying. Speaking about higher rents, Sam talks about the cost per square foot. Callen checks out. Sam can’t believe Callen left Napa and Anna to help on the case. Callen notices all the hand craving Lt. Tanaka was doing. Sam asks what Callen knows about carpentry and it seems he knows a lot. In one of his foster homes, the mother was an alcoholic but her husband was a carpenter and a good one. He’d make custom tables in his workshop and Callen would hang around. Sam makes a joke about a rival carpenter taking on Callen and his foster dad which leads Callen to believe Sam missed him. A freshly painted wall catches Sam’s attention.

Back at the office, Fatima updates a traveling Kensi and Deeks. Jack Tanaka did not know his father was working but it didn’t surprise him, his Dad would pick up jobs like that over the years. Lt. Tanaka is improving. Still touch and go but his vital signs are looking better. Finishing with Fatima, Kensi and Deeks talk about their adoption plans and that they were open to adopting a child outside of their race. Deeks is worried that he knows nothing about another race’s experience. Kensi agrees – they don’t share the a culture but they could give someone a home where they are loved. They would need to understand the child’s background, how the world perceives the child. “Nothing would break my heart more if they never felt like they fit in with us or anyone else who looked like them,” Kensi says.

With some x-ray equipment, Callen and Sam see racial slurs under the fresh coat of paint. Leaving the restaurant, Callen is talking to the owner. Lt. Tanaka told the owner about the brick thrown through the window but didn’t mention the racial slurs painted on the wall. Rountree checked for Sam, no security cameras near the diner. There is a street artist working nearby who doesn’t want to help Callen and Sam until Callen shows him the racial slurs on the wall.

The street artist thinks Lt. Tanaka is going to be angry. Callen and Sam are surprised the artist knows Lt. Tanaka but the two are friends. The artist is expecting Lt. Tanaka anytime. Sam breaks the bad news about the attack. Remembering that the red paint he’s using was found in the street behind the diner, the artist turns over the can to Callen and Sam.

With the crime lab running prints on the paint can, Rountree wonders what was going through Lt. Tanaka’s mind when he saw the wall of the diner. He is sure Tanaka wanted retribution but he just painted over the hate and went about his job, probably fearing he’d be fired for the attack. Fatima recalls a few weeks prior being called names by a racist in North Hollywood. Rountree says there are only two times in his life where he felt race didn’t matter – playing sports and being part of NCIS’s OSP. It all about a common goal – like when the aliens come for the planet. Fatima’s tablet beeps. The prints on the paint can match Jason Quinn.

In the bullpen (with people walking behind them – a first in a while as well), the team agrees that Lt. Tanaka was targeted. They wonder if Tanaka spoke to Quinn about the slurs on the wall and things escalated. Fatima and Rountree pop-up on the plasma. Quinn’s roommate is Billy Strauss. The Strauss family were the longtime owners of the diner but lost the business. Going after Tanaka, Strauss and Quinn went after the wrong guy. They wouldn’t go after Tanaka at the diner – it would be too easy to connect to the Strauss family.

Quinn just used his credit card at a coffee shop. Kensi and Deeks are off to find Quinn, Callen and Sam are on their way to check out where Strauss and Quinn live.

As Quinn leaves the coffee shop, Kensi says “I’m NCIS” and we all know what happens. Quinn flees on his motorcycle, Kensi follows in the SUV and Quinn winds up on the ground after hitting a picnic table.

With music blasting from the Strauss-Quinn home, Callen and Sam enter the building. Just a lot of loud music and tossed around furniture. There is hot fast food on the floor – whatever happened in the apartment, Callen and Sam just missed it.

Quinn asks Kensi and Deeks not to hurt him. Deeks would like to hurt him but won’t. Kensi wants to know what Quinn is talking about. 20-minutes earlier, Quinn heard Billy Strauss being beaten by someone saying they were a cop. Quinn admits to breaking into the diner but Strauss painted the walls. He was also not part of the attack, Quinn said Strauss did that alone. When Kensi and Deeks tell him there was a second attacker, Quinn makes it clear, he wasn’t that man.

Callen and Sam quickly figure out that Det. Tanaka attacked Billy Strauss. Callen asks Fatima to call the hospital and find Det. Tanaka. Wondering how Tanaka knew about Billy Strauss – NCIS did not share that info with him – Callen and Sam think the detective somehow hacked into their systems.

In the office, Rountree is working on a sewing table near the wardrobe when Fatima arrives. She cannot find Det. Tanaka. Rountree cannot find how Det. Tanaka could hack into their systems. A check of their systems shows no intruders. Fatima starts to laugh at Rountree’s set-up – he doesn’t fit in the sewing area. Unhappy, Rountree points out the rest of the team has fabulous chairs and desks. The Admiral has a glass office and Hetty has a throne room. Fatima admits using the Pilates reformer in the gym. The arriving Admiral found someone using the expensive Pilates reformer to be a good thing.

Rountree makes a pitch for a personal workspace. The Admiral talks about offices, with room, maybe plants – all things that are never going to happen. He doesn’t understand the wardrobe area – it looks like the back of a Village People show. Fatima doesn’t understand the Village People. The Admiral thinks two intelligent, young NCIS Agents could find a new home for the wardrobe and set up their own work stations. Fatima gets a call. Det. Tanaka is not at the hospital. The Admiral realizes who beat them to Strauss.

Deeks points out that the prints on the spray can went to the crime lab. A Detective Guerrero accessed the information from the LA Sheriff’s Department. Deeks wants Castro to pick up Guerrero, who is still at the Sheriff’s Department offices. Kilbride will tell Guerrero’s supervisor that NCIS Is working on a cold case so Guerrero doesn’t tip off Det. Tanaka.

At the boat shed, Deeks and Kensi confront Guerrero whose sister once dated Det. Tanaka. The two broke up but Guerrero and Tanaka stayed friends. They surf together, saw a Rams game together, saw the Foo Fighters together. Kensi and Deeks agree what happened to Lt. Tanaka is disgusting but they want to stop Det. Tanaka from making things worse. His career was over, his life doesn’t have to be.

Guerrero admits all and adds that Det. Tanaka doesn’t just have Billy, he has Billy’s dad. It was obvious that Billy’s dad was behind the attack on Lt. Tanaka. Knowing NCIS was just a few minutes away, Det. Tanaka grabbed the Strauss men and took them to an old gang hideout Guerrero knew was empty. He provides Kensi and Deeks the address. Kensi updates Callen.

Callen and Sam enter the hideout. Finding Det. Tanaka with the gun on the Strausses, Det. Tanaka is completely cooperative. The Strausses want help but Callen thinks they should be grateful they’re only tied up. The Elder Strauss goes on a rant about law enforcement taking the other side but Callen just walks away.

In Ops, Fatima and Rountree are sad that Det. Tanaka is going to lose his career. She asks if Rountree would do the same for his father. “Hell no, not for my dad.” Fatima notices he doesn’t talk about family much. Rountree explains that his family isn’t like Fatima’s. All that matters to Rountree is his sister – “she’s my everything.” Fatima wants to meet her. Rountree agrees. They’re off to get some pizza.

Closing up one of the storage units in the armory, Deeks talks to Kensi about the elder Strauss being so full of hate and poisoning his son that something like this happens. Lt. Tanaka should be out there fishing and Kensi thinks he will be soon. She knows they can fill a child with love and happiness and not hate and anger. They’re off to do a Peloton class.

The Admiral bring Det. Tanaka to see his father. While the Admiral wants to wait outside, Det. Tanaka invites him in. Lt. Tanaka would be thrilled to see an Admiral in person. The Admiral says that tough fathers are hard to kill – he knows, he had one.

Det. Tanaka knows the Admiral thinks he did something stupid but the younger Tanaka wanted to stand up against two-years of hate crimes against Asians. The Admiral believes a highly-decorated detective could do so much more than what Det. Tanaka did that day. Det. Tanaka videoed the Strausses. He posted it to a number of social media sites before Callen and Sam arrived. It was important that others understand that men like his father are not from a weak and docile community. Det. Tanaka had the skills and training to fight back. If one beating is stopped by what Det. Tanaka did, he is good with what happens next.

“The Way of the warrior is a resolute acceptance of death,” Det. Tanaka tells the Admiral. The Admiral recognizes the Miyamoto Musashi quote. Lt. Tanaka starts to stir. He asks if the his son arrested the attackers. Det. Tanaka tells his father the attackers were caught by Admiral Kilbride’s team. As Lt. Tanaka starts to salute, the Admiral gives him a kind but firm “as you were” – there was no need to salute. It was his honor, the Admiral explains, to work the case. Lt. Tanaka goes back to sleep.

The video plays of the Strausses on phones across Los Angeles.

What head canon can be formed from here: Listening to Admiral Kilbride speak, I’m not sure he’s an Oregon guy. Maybe decades with the Navy and working in southern bases gave him his sound but Gerald McRaney’s Mississippi roots can be heard. That all said, the episode gave some depth to the Admiral’s character with a father who may have been tough but who did the right thing for people who couldn’t protect themselves.

Deeks’s doubts about his possible parenting skills were all over the episode. There was also a peek into the Rountree family tree. Dad is out of Rountree’s circle of trust, a circle that is just Rountree and his sister.

Fatima and Sam speak of their histories with racists and bigots. Rountree talks about it too but in the positives of sports and OSP being about your skills and not your race or religion.

Episode number: Episode two of season 13, 282 overall.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #ncis la

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thephantomprojectionist · 6 years

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Review: The Man with the Iron Fists 2 (2015)

“You are mine”

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This review is based on the unrated version of the film.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Man with the Iron Fists had its moments, but I don’t think it did nearly enough with its resources. I wasn’t a fan, so my hopes weren’t high when its lower-budgeted sequel was released. As a matter of fact, I didn’t bother checking it out at all. However, having finally seen it now, I realize it wasn’t necessary for me to avoid it. The Man with the Iron Fists 2 is bereft of most features that defined its predecessor – a supergroup cast, the wuxia influence, and a general over-the-top style – but this is actually what makes it for me. More sober-minded and focused on its characters, this is a surprisingly worthwhile adventure and definitely the best action feature I’ve yet seen from director Roel Reine.

The story: En route to Wu Chi Temple to cleanse his soul, the blacksmith Thaddeus (RZA) is embroiled in a treacherous conflict between a small mining village and the oppressive Beetle Clan.

The most obvious way the film deviates from the original is the lack of major names. With the exception of the lead star, no one here’s been anywhere near top billing for a major release in years. Nevertheless, this one’s cast isn’t without cult charm, and they’re all clearly acting their butts off. Dustin Nguyen is the real star as the de facto leader of the village, and Carl Ng makes a surprisingly strong impression as the despicable villain. Cary Tagawa is solid as the wheelchair-driving mayor, while Eugenia Na does good work as an archer and Nguyen’s onscreen wife. Action hero-in-the-making Charlie Ruedpokanon enjoys the best role of his young career as Nguyen’s brother, while action regulars Kazu Tang and Ocean Hou are memorable enforcers. Grace Huang and Andrew Lin reprise their roles as the Gemini Twins for a flashback scene. RZA easily slips back into his character but reduces his impact by not having much to do with the first half of the movie. While this cast ultimately appeals less to people used to theatrical fare, I love how the lack of name emphasis requires the actors to focus on their characters all the more. No award-winning performances, but there are some good exchanges that elevate the otherwise humdrum plot.

Aesthetically, I declare the film a complete triumph. Director/DP Reine and production designer Lek Chaiyan (Anna and the King) create an absolutely beautiful flick composed of exotic on-location shots and intricate costumes. At the risk of comparing the film to its predecessor too often, this one eschews the original’s lavish style and focuses on a more realistic and detailed look, smoothly incorporates the local countryside for a sense of scope. This organic style carries over to the action content, which is considerably scaled back from the predecessor’s wirework bonanza. The fighting is almost entirely grounded and less reliant on special effects, and this works well for the performers and the Thai stunt crew. Of course, the results aren’t perfect: over-editing works its way into more and more of the brawls, and the mass battle scenes are one thing that the original film did better. I was excited when Cary Tagawa unexpectedly became a combatant in the 11th hour, but he’s stunt doubled to within an inch of his life. Nevertheless, we get some good matches in the Charlie Ruedpokanon/Ocean Hou and Dustin Nguyen/Carl Ng encounters, so the adrenaline department gets an overall passing grade.

I’m disappointed that the animal motifs are downplayed this time: RZA mentions in the DVD’s special features that he sought to explore insect themes, and while we get the Beetle Clan, everything else is downplayed to the point that appears incidental. (E.g. the miners as ants.) The overabundance of gore ensures that executive producer Eli Roth got to eat for another day, but the over-the-top violence isn’t very creative. Again, die-hards of the original won’t be happy about these things, but I find the faults forgivable. With fewer resources at its disposal, the sequel finds a harmonious balance much easier than its richer predecessor. It’s still a take-it-or-leave-it feature for casual viewers, but it’s hard to deny the effort and skill that went into this. The Man with the Iron Fists 2 is utterly watchable on its own merits, and if you’re like me and enjoy seeing small productions succeed against all expectations, you’ll definitely have fun. Rent it.

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The Man with the Iron Fists 2 (2015) Directed by Roel Reine (Hard Target 2) Written by RZA, John Jarrell (Romeo Must Die) Starring RZA, Dustin Nguyen (Once Upon a Time in Vietnam), Carl Ng (Point of Entry), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cool costars: Grace Huang, Andrew Lin, Charlie Ruedpokanon (Ninja: Shadow of a Tear), Ocean Hou (The Blood Bond), Kazu Patrick Tang (Dragonwolf), Eugenia Yuan (Jasmine). Seigi Ozeki, who seems to have dropped from the leading man spectrum following Muay Thai Warriors, plays a vengeful member of the Lion Clan. Sahajak Boonthanakit (Zero Tolerance) is one of Thailand’s rising dramatic stars and plays one of the featured minors. Simon Yin (Birth of the Dragon) is likewise memorable. Content warning: Extreme violence, group violence, lynching, childbirth, racist dialogue Copyright Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

#film review #film criticism #the man with the iron fists 2 #action #martial arts #rza #roel reine #dustin nguyen #carl ng #Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa

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what-nathan-did · 3 years

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Nemesis, 1992 - ★★★

As I suspected, VHS did this one dirtier than it deserves. That's clear from the initial action sequence on, as it frequently shoots quite wide to fit everyone in frame, or has the cast all tinily in the background of a foreground character’s action, which gets lost in VHS resolution & aspect ratio.

I also wanted to scrape off some of the sludge to better enjoy the hard-to-describe visual tone of the movie's early sequences, which bring to mind 90’s male sunglasses models & the ads they’d appear in. A warmish, overexposed beige filter over everything; a classic 90's aesthetic. The outdoor shooting in Hawaii (doubling for Java) often looks really good, ditto the shooting on existing interiors. With the built sets, it’s not the cheapness that’s so bad, as the lighting that call for a fine haze filling up most rooms. Could see just how close various performers are to lots of the action, too: explosions, huge frenzies of squibs & sparks, toppling silo towers. Impressive for the budget.

It’s still paced oddly at times, but it’s also true that removing the carnival atmosphere of B-Movie Bingo lets a couple of the low-energy dialog scenes in hotel rooms show some merit. A couple plot points emerged too that I had completely missed, such as the body-hopping of Sam (icy blonde-wigged woman who shoots the hero’s dog) into a cyber-duplicate of Farnsworth (hero’s former police boss). Gives the villain's villainy a much more unique flavor!

The accent situation is still a mess though. In the Java scenes, it seems they’re using something like the local Hawaiian Pidgin to reinforce a future where Japan and the US have merged. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa carries it well, but on the other hand it renders the “Max Impact” character just intolerable. Coupled with the strange Peter Pan energy of the actor's performance, with body language like a feral kid or great ape, and the character just doesn't work. The lead is pretty stiff too, & many line readings are awful, but at least some of the affectlessness works for a character losing his emotions as his body gets mechanized.

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Is Shao Kahn in the Mortal Kombat Reboot?

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The Mortal Kombat reboot released a trailer that carries out an action-packed assault on the senses while showing clear respect to the iconic ultraviolent video game franchise in R-rated splendor for HBO Max. Yet—as all good trailers tend to do—it’s also stoking its share of curiosity, notably about the film’s villain dynamic. While Chin Han’s Shang Tsung is the clear big bad, the trailer briefly shows what appears to be the image of an even bigger bad, Shao Kahn.

While one might initially dismiss the notion of Shao Kahn—the hulking, helmeted Emperor of Outworld and signature villain of the overall franchise—being in the reboot as not a big deal, such a notion would be a major reversal from Mortal Kombat’s last official synopsis, which refers to Shang Tsung as “Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung.” It’s a potent line that represents a major alteration from the game continuity, and seemingly eliminates Kahn’s presence, at least for this film. However, just as the viewer attempts to recover from the spectacle of Sisi Stringer’s unmasked Mileena licking blood off one of her signature sai, the trailer switches to the shot of a statue—one that clearly depicts Shao Kahn, armed with his signature War Hammer. So, what’s happening here?

Of course, feature-debuting director Simon McQuoid’s usage of Shang Tsung—an ancient shapeshifting, soul-stealing sorcerer—as Mortal Kombat’s villain is appropriate, seeing as he was famously featured as the final boss of the franchise-launching 1992 arcade game, and main villain of the 1995 original movie, in which he was played to perfection by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Yet, he was traditionally depicted as the Earth-set steward of the Mortal Kombat tournament, and a subordinate—both in hierarchy and raw power—to Shao Kahn, who sat on a throne as the oppressive emperor of other-dimensional Outworld. Thus, the reboot synopsis’s intriguing description of Shang Tsung as Outworld emperor seemed to indicate that Han’s version of Shang Tsung was set to be a trope amalgamation of the two key characters. Thus, the clear indication that Shao Kahn exists—or once existed—in this continuity throws a wrench in those works.

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The imposing presence of Shao Kahn first hit arcades as the final boss of 1993’s Mortal Kombat II, showcasing a menacingly clear contrast (thanks to bodybuilder Brian Glynn as the photographic sprite,) from the game’s predecessor, in which final boss Shang Tsung was depicted—acutely inspired by Big Trouble in Little China’s David Lo Pan—as an elderly, long-bearded baddie who eerily floats back and forth across the screen hurling hit-juggling fireballs, with the ability to temporarily change into any character from the game. Indeed, Kahn—and debuting Goro-esque four-armed sub-boss Kintaro—upped the ante immensely from the first game, both in spectacle and quarter-draining difficulty, punching and shoulder-blocking players into oblivion. Moreover, in a move that demonstrates just how much of a final boss upgrade Kahn represents, Shang Tsung was brought back in the sequel relegated to being a regular playable character, this time with magically restored youth that allows him a more conventional move set of sweeps, uppercuts and jump-kicks.

The celebrated 1995 Mortal Kombat movie managed to squeeze Shao Kahn in for the closing, sequel-teasing scene, in which a monstrously enormous (barely-recognizable) version of the character—vaguely only referred to as “Emperor”—emerges from the backdrop to threaten (with the voice of actor Frank Welker,) the assembly of heroic fighters. Yet, he would be brought down to Earth—literally and figuratively—as the main villain of 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, played in normal, non-imposing form by veteran action film player Brian Thompson. While we won’t get sidetracked on the ever-potent topic of how that sequel became an aimless trainwreck of a film featuring a fecklessly curated clown car lineup of poorly-adapted game characters, the ‘90s films, did—for all their sins—keep Kahn’s designation as Outworld Emperor.

Kahn would again be depicted in live-action form on the 1998-1999 syndicated television series, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, played by Jeffrey Meek, who—in a manner that seemingly evokes Annihilation’s pointless sibling twist—also fielded the role of Raiden. Additionally, Aleks Paunovic played the character on the 2011 web series, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, which was a well-regarded adaptation that, at one point, was on the cusp of inspiring a reboot movie effort of its own.

Nevertheless, the groundwork for Shao Kahn’s presence in the new Mortal Kombat cinematic canon appears set to be laid onscreen, albeit in marble and under a mysterious context. While that might seem premature, given what we know about the traditional story, the statue could merely be a provocative Easter egg designed to signal the film’s wider franchise-launching aspirations—not necessarily that Kahn will be in this film physically. Yet, Shang Tsung’s status as Outworld Emperor won’t likely stop Shao Kahn (perhaps as a reemerging ancient threat,) from somehow muscling his way in on the action for a prospective sequel, in which he’d presumably bring his devastating array of attacks, and an even more devastating treasure trove of trash talking.

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Mortal Kombat commences its initial streaming run on HBO Max starting on Friday, April 16.

The post Is Shao Kahn in the Mortal Kombat Reboot? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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fighto · 6 years

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Spent the weekend with our new friend Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa. Not only is he one of our favorite actors but he carries so much wisdom with his experiences. He is truly one of the greats. . . . . . #caryhiroyukitagawa #kyokushin #karate #martialarts #film #legend #actor #celebrity #rolemodel #fighto #fight #nevergiveup #fightobrand #risingsun #shodowninlittletokyo #brandonlee #wesleysnipes #seanconnery #dolphlundgren #mortalkombat #kanji #masoyama #hat #baseballcap #merch @judd_reid https://www.instagram.com/p/BtSYololzKT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9xxq4so91ih6

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years

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Blade Runner 2019, Pokemon & Textile Recycling

Welcome back to another exciting episode from those wacky Nerds you all love. This week we have actually made an episode that actually happens to be both Nerdy and entertaining somehow. It may actually even be able to be described as illuminating and educational, but that is up for debate. Now the ever important first topic, we have found out that there is a new series of graphic novels (or comics if you are as ancient as Buck) set in the Blade Runner universe at the time of 2019. Which, for those individuals that have been living in a cave or under a rock; and somehow have never read the book or seen the fabulously stupendous movie is the year it is set in. Not our perfunctorily boring reality, as we don’t have replicants and space colonies, sad to say. Oh humanity, the 60’s and 70’s were looking so bright, then you got caught up with hippies and drugs and look at you now, still stuck on earth with moronic politicians that are utterly boring.

Next up we look at the new Pokémon game and discuss some of the various aspects, highlights and what we believe may be oversights as well. We wonder about the cross over into Super Smash Bros. Is Nintendo looking at a massive reveal next year at e3 with the launch of the Switch2, will we see all the various Pokémon from all evolutions of all games included in a monster pack? Will this be the start of a new trend in gaming? Will that stain come out of my favourite black shirt? Who knows, what we do know is that this is looking like a fun game to play so keep your eyes open and catch it while you can.

Buck brings us news about the excessive waste of clothing going to landfill and polluting the planet. That’s right, all you strange people out there wearing lycra and spandex. The micro fibres from synthetic clothing are bad, nasty and downright toxic. Shame on anyone wearing synthetics, don’t you know they harm the environment. We, unlike some people have scientific evidence supporting this statement, so listen in and see what we are talking about. If you want to learn more please refer to the link provided. If you wish to read the article please go to page 61, if you wish to remain ignorantly oblivious please go to page 666. Hope you like the flash back to the choose your own adventure books, if you grew up reading these you are lucky.

As normal we have the various shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and special events. We also talk about the games we are playing. As always please remember to take care of yourselves and look out for each other, stay safe and hydrated, got to catch them all…

EPISODE NOTES:

Blade Runner 2019 Comics - https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/06/17/blade-runner-2019-trailer/

Pokemon Sword and Shield - https://www.usgamer.net/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-interview

Textile Recycling - https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-06-15/textile-recycling-fashion-old-clothes-waste/11197904

Games current playing

Professor

– Crypt of the NecroDancer - https://store.steampowered.com/app/247080/Crypt_of_the_NecroDancer/

Buck

– Assassin’s Creed 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/33230/Assassins_Creed_2_Deluxe_Edition/

– Mortal Kombat 11 - https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/mortal-kombat-11-ps4/

Other topics discussed

Blade Runner Lore

- Tyrell Corporation - https://bladerunner.fandom.com/wiki/Tyrell_Corporation

- Replicant - https://bladerunner.fandom.com/wiki/Replicant

- Rachel - https://bladerunner.fandom.com/wiki/Rachael

Westwood Studios (games company)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westwood_Studios

All the Pokémon present in Super Smash Bro. Ultimate

- https://allgamers.com/article/6811/all-pokemon-in-super-smash-bros-ultimate

Pokken Tournament (2015 videogame)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokkén_Tournament

Pokémon Stadium (2000 videogame)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Stadium

Pokémon Sword and Shield has a “Wild Area”

- https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/2019/06/05/pokemon-sword-and-shield-have-an-open-world-called-the-wild-area/

- https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/pokemon-sword-shield-wild-area-details-709721

War on Waste against fashion

- http://theconversation.com/for-a-true-war-on-waste-the-fashion-industry-must-spend-more-on-research-78673

Suncorp Ad with thrift shop theme song

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX-5FdXbyoY

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes

3D printing clothing

- https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/soon-you-may-be-able-3d-print-clothing-your-own-ncna848646

Solar panel replacing tarmac

- https://theconversation.com/solar-panels-replaced-tarmac-on-a-road-here-are-the-results-103568

Solar bike path at the Netherlands

- https://cleantechnica.com/2017/03/12/dutch-solar-bike-path-solaroad-successful-expanding/

Sweden adopting recycling

- https://sweden.se/nature/the-swedish-recycling-revolution/

Sweden giving tax breaks for repairs

- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/19/waste-not-want-not-sweden-tax-breaks-repairs

Shang Tsung (Mortal Kombat 11 character)

- https://mortalkombat.fandom.com/wiki/Shang_Tsung

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (American actor and voice of MK11 Shang Tsung)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary-Hiroyuki_Tagawa

Danny Baranowsky (electronic music composer for Crypt of the NecroDancer)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Baranowsky

Lego running 100 percent on renewable energy

- https://www.good.is/articles/lego-renewable-energy

Fleet of UFOs sighted

- https://www.space.com/ufo-sightings-us-pilots.html

The senators response to the recent UFO sighting

- https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/warner-classified-briefing-ufos-1544273

Cage the Elephant (American rock band)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cage_the_Elephant

President Xi Jinping compared to Winnie the Pooh

- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/07/china-bans-winnie-the-pooh-film-to-stop-comparisons-to-president-xi

Joe Cocker (English singer)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Cocker

The Humour Experiment (That’s Not Canon Podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/thehumourexperimentpodcast

Shoutouts

24th Apr 2019 – Lego introduces Braille Bricks to help visually impaired kids. - https://people.com/parents/lego-introduces-braille-bricks/

14-15 Jun 1919 – British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden,Connemara,County Galway, Ireland. The Secretary of State for Air, Winston Churchill, presented them with the Daily Mail prize of £10,000 for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by aeroplane in "less than 72 consecutive hours". A small amount of mail was carried on the flight, making it the first transatlantic airmail flight. The two aviators were awarded the honour of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) a week later by King George V at Windsor Castle. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_flight_of_Alcock_and_Brown

18 Jun 1981 - F 117 Nighthawk Maiden flight made its first flight at Groom Lake, Nevada, with “Skunk Works” test pilot Harold C. (“Hal”) Farley, Jr. at the controls. The super-secret airplane was made of materials that absorbed radar waves and built with the surfaces angled so that radar signals are deflected away from the source. - https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/18-june-1981/

Remembrances

17 Jun 2019 - Gloria Vanderbilt, was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. She was a member of the Vanderbilt family of New York and the mother of CNN television anchor Anderson Cooper. In the 1970s, Vanderbilt launched a line of fashions, perfumes, and household goods bearing her name. She was particularly noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans. In 1974, Paul McCartney released "Mrs. Vandebilt", a song inspired by and loosely based on the life of Gloria. She died of stomach cancer at 95 in New York City - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Vanderbilt

18 Jun 1673 - Jeanne Mance, was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, in 1645. She returned twice to France to seek financial support for the hospital. After providing most of the care directly for years, in 1657 she recruited three sisters of the Religieuses hospitalières de Saint-Joseph and continued to direct operations of the hospital. She died after a long illness at 66 in Montreal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Mance

18 Jun 1928 - Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions and a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1906 and the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911. He led the first expedition proven to have reached the North Pole in 1926. He disappeared while taking part in a rescue mission for the airship Italia at 55. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen

18 Jun 2018 – XXXTentacion, was an American rapper,singer and songwriter. A controversial figure within the hip hop industry, Onfroy has been regarded to have left behind "a huge musical footprint" due to his impact on his young fanbase and his popularity during his short career. His most notable appearance was his tattoos and his distinctive half-colored hair, which was inspired by the One Hundred and One Dalmatians antagonist Cruella de Vil. He was assassinated at 20 in Deerfield Beach, Florida - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXXTentacion

Famous Birthdays

15 Jun 1953 - Xi Jinping, is a Chinese politician serving asgeneral secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), President of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Often described as China's "paramount leader" since 2012, he officially received the title of "core leader" from the CPC in 2016. Considered the central figure of the fifth generation of leadership of the People's Republic, Xi has significantly centralised institutional power by taking on a wide range of leadership positions, including chairing the newly formed National Security Commission, as well as new steering committees on economic and social reforms, military restructuring and modernization, and the Internet. He was born in Beijing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping

18 Jun 1942 - Paul McCartney, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist and singer for the rock band the Beatles, widely considered the most popular and influential group in the history of popular music. McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time. He has written, or co-written, 32 songs that have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009 he had 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history. A two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and an 18-time Grammy Award winner, McCartney, Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all received appointment as Members of the Order of the British Empire in 1965 and, in 1997, McCartney was knighted for services to music. He has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to such subjects as animal rights,seal hunting,land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education. He has married three times and is the father of five children. McCartney is also one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$1.2 billion. He was born in Liverpool - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney

18 Jun 1973 - Julie Depardieu, is a French actress who has appeared in several successful films. She is the daughter of Gérard Depardieu and Élisabeth Depardieu and the sister of the late Guillaume Depardieu – all of whom have worked as film actors. She won two César Awards (Best Supporting Actress and Best Young Actress) for La petite Lili and won another (Best Supporting Actress) for Un secret in 2008. She was born in Paris - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Depardieu

Events of interest

18 Jun 1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic). - https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1112.html

18 Jun 1940 - "This was their finest hour" was a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It was given just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister at the head of an all-party coalition government. It was also made after France had sought an armistice on the evening of 16 June. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_was_their_finest_hour

18 Jun 1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. - https://www.nasa.gov/feature/sally-ride-first-american-woman-in-space

18 Jun 2009 – The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched. This was launched in conjunction with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, LRO was the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO and LCROSS were launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamated

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrS

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094

RSS - http://www.thatsnotcanonproductions.com/topshelfnerdspodcast?format=rss

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

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Since The Man in the High Castle’s first season premiered on Amazon in 2015 (well, really, since the publication of Philip K. Dick’s novel of the same name in 1962), it’s been a story capable of generating images that chill to the bone. The alternate history it posits, in which the Axis powers won World War II, would be frightening even if we weren’t living in a present in which Nazi imagery is suddenly prominent once again. But our current reality makes the series’ initial premise of exploring how we would fare under fascist rule — and suggesting that we would go along with it rather than risk the consequences of opposition — even more deeply unsettling.

That isn’t to say, however, that The Man in the High Castle has always managed to live up to its potential. Reviewing the second season, my colleague Todd VanDerWerff called it “the worst TV show of 2016,” citing the season’s lack of a showrunner and its veering into more caricaturist territory as crippling developments.

The new third season has acquired a captain at the helm — Eric Overmyer, whose prior work includes The Wire, Treme, and Bosch — and it’s better off for it. That said, it’s treading inherently uneven ground thanks to the foundation laid in season two’s foray into overt science-fiction adventure territory.

The season one finale, in which Japanese Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) traveled into a world in which the outcome of WWII was more similar to our own, felt like a game-changer — one on which the second season failed to deliver, making traveling through dimensions more of an “oh, look, isn’t this cool” gimmick rather than using it to support the first season’s more difficult ideas about our roles in society.

Season three goes some way toward course-correcting, but there’s too much of it to be done within the space of a single season — and The Man in the High Castle still carries a not-insignificant amount of dead weight.

Jason O’Mara and Alexa Davalos. Liane Hentscher/Amazon Prime Video

The Man in the High Castle’s large cast is a necessity born of the expansive story it’s trying to tell, but committing to being an ensemble piece is a gamble the show is losing. Not every character is crucial enough to support the amount of time spent with them, and some of the characters reinforce a black-and-white, good/bad binary that works against the more complex points the series is trying to make.

Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos), for instance, is supposed to be the crux of the series, as the man in the high castle himself (Stephen Root, a great actor wasted in a McGuffin of a role) has named her as crucial in the collection of the newsreel-style films that tell of alternate universes and are at the heart of the series’ resistance movement. But in the shadow of her grand mission, her character has become so impersonal — a figurehead rather than a living, breathing character — that it’s hard to care what happens to her.

It gets worse as she’s shuttled through love interests (a problem that, frankly, the entire season has, as if Amazon were trying to compete with HBO to get literal skin in the game), with her past living under Japanese occupation almost utterly erased for the sake of getting her elsewhere in the story. One almost wishes that more central duties had been passed to her erstwhile boyfriend, Frank (Rupert Evans), who, as the series has progressed, has struggled with embracing his Jewish heritage.

It’s telling of the series’ strengths that the grander storyline Juliana is involved with is less interesting than the minutiae of the lives of the people around her. One of the reasons I’ve always had a soft spot for The Man in the High Castle is its take on what would have happened had the U.S. been under not just German occupation, but Japanese occupation as well. That thread — which incorporates American history of internment camps, as well as issues of racism, fetishization, and commodification of a foreign culture — is seldom seen in any form in any other media, and it’s rarely acknowledged just how distinctly American and European culture shaped Asian culture, particularly in the post-war period. An inversion of that history, in which Americans practice aikido or grow fluent in Japanese social customs in order to get by, is fascinating to watch the show parse.

However, that element of Juliana’s history seems to have been largely forgotten, and the series is depriving itself — and its viewers — of a fascinating, personal element that would add some much-needed dimensionality to the character and her story.

There’s some further exploration of these ideas as the third season introduces a half-Japanese character employed by the Kempeitai, as his character speaks accented Japanese and has to remind himself of etiquette. But it’s a thread that’s abandoned so quickly it mostly just serves to shed light on just how thinly the show is spread.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Nobusuke Tagomi. Liane Hentscher/Amazon Prime Video

Rufus Sewell, playing American Nazi officer John Smith, remains perhaps the best part of the show, not least because the universe-melding affects him personally.

In the last season, he went to extraordinary lengths to save his son from the fate that awaited anyone with a congenital disease in the Reich, only to be foiled when his son, striving to follow in his father’s footsteps, turned himself in to be killed. As the third season opens, his son has been branded a Nazi hero for his actions, and the way it eats away at him (in a way reminiscent of Gene Hackman’s descent into madness in The Conversation) and affects his family is the most compelling part of the season.

Granted, Smith also gets a look at the films that power the series’ main story engine, but his individual storyline isn’t utterly dependent on the existence of alternate realities, and he fares the best as a result.

Though it may seem contradictory, the more personal nature of his segments makes the broader points they reinforce more striking. The season premiere features a ceremony in his son’s memory during which schoolchildren spontaneously stand to salute the boy’s portrait, and it’s chilling to watch a moment that, despite taking place in a fictional alternate universe, suddenly doesn’t seem so very far from our reality.

The third season makes further efforts at relevance, working in new storylines about homosexuality under Nazi reign, but as with the universe-jumping the series now relies on, such efforts don’t really work when they’re not grounded in something more personal and character-based. It’s a little ironic given the new season’s focus on the production of propaganda and resistance through art; there’s a balance that must be struck between communicating larger ideas and making a personal connection. The Man in the High Castle just hasn’t found it yet.

The Man in the High Castle is streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Original Source -> The Man in the High Castle season 3 has too many characters, too little time

via The Conservative Brief

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