I have some commentary on a number of fronts today. First a further comment about expectations and how they impact one’s viewing and filter on a film or show. After much anticipation and reviewing of the previous final episode Game of Thrones returned last night. It was in a word underwhelming. Very little seemed to happen and it was more of a set up for the rest of this short season. I am hopeful that it gets ramped up quickly. Although I will say that the looking to mine dragon glass isn’t an episode I look forward to much. My memory of the past episodes can be fuzzy and I wonder about Danny in that war room that looked like Stannis was there previously – I just don’t remember the dragon stuff everywhere. More to come.
I saw Baby Driver in the theatre last week. It had some positive reviews but I knew very little about it. It had Jon Hamm (Mad Men) Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey. Add to this a young unknown actor to me as the baby faced driver. There are times when it becomes almost a music video with dancing and choreography. They almost lost me with that. But the underlying story about a young boy (Baby is his name) who keeps to himself and suffered a horrible accident when he was a child is compelling. He “owes” Kevin Spacey’s character and drives with various crews to pull off bank heists. He meets a girl and the story moves on from there. I like the performances. Some over the top a bit but it held my attention. Unlike GoT I didn’t have anticipation or preconceived ideas on what I was about to see and how good it will be. That helped. It is worth a viewing but likely can be seen on Netflix or TMN with not much lost.
I found Off Camera a show that interviews various celebrities and I have watched almost four. Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chris Pine and almost finished Lake Bell. It talks about the movie industry and the experiences of these actors. I was interested to hear about the commitment to the craft and unfailing belief that they would be actors. There was no Plan B and they knew at around age 8 or earlier. Damon and Bell both wrote screenplays to create roles for themselves. Pine’s parents were both working actors – Dad was the sergeant from Chips Tv show. I didn’t know that. He is so grounded. Damon too. So I will continue to watch as I see others who intrigue. There are plenty more seasons than those on Netflix. It seems that Pine of those four had the easiest path since Star Trek came to him fairly early on and he has never looked back. Lake Bell dominates conversation and really is a one person show all herself. She wrote, starred in and ending up directing In A World.
Mondays With Robbie 