Reviews

I first saw this movie when black and white-television had first arrived, and was captivated by the plotting as well as by Leslie Howard's genius and beautiful Merle Oberon's eyes. This is romantic adventure at its peak, and considering the early stage of the industry in which it was made, sound still a novelty, it remains magnificent. I have seen it since, of course, although it has been some time now. And, oh yes, the greatest villain of all times is here too. Who could ever have done better than Raymond Massey in the role of Citizen Chauvelin, whom I also remember as Sherlock Holmes in The Speckled Band (1931)? And the eminently lovable Nigel Bruce, later paired with Basil Rathbone in a whole series of memorable Sherlock Holmes movies. I may be nostalgic, but have they ever been bettered? Anyway, he is a suitably silly Prince of Wales here, adding some of that comic relief that could easily spoil an adventure if not rightly done, but this one, like Leslie Howard's acting balances on the finest of edges with supreme precision. They will never do stuff like this anymore. Too bad.

Let us say that we want to do a TV-series.We have no great and novel idea, so we decide on using something available. Let's do Superman as a teen, someone says. But what can we do with that? We can't have him running next to a train episode after episode, so we need to make Smallville an interesting place. Something mystery-generating is called for – a Superman Rambaldi-device. Of course, someone says, kryptonite. When Clark landed, as the mythos requires, a shower of meteor rocks brought with it tons of kryptonite, buried in the ground especially around Smallville, providing a number of kids with mysterious abilities. But what about Clark – the mythos requires that he should have a crush on Lana Lang, so we need a suitable actress. And we find her in Kristin Kreuk, Princess if any, mysterious, beautiful, a consummately crafted piece of jade. Someone to pine for but never quite get. But we need more. More girls – and Allison Mack is a major find as Chloe, young and ambitious reporter but also, as Chloes go, a computer whiz gal. And the cutest one at that with a face that steals whatever scene she is in. One day Clark will confront Lex Luthor, but why not let him do that now. And to make things exciting have them start out as almost friends at first. Michael Rosenbaum is superbly ambivalent, almost believable when he makes a show of trying to be good, and gets extra credibility as the unfortunate son of Lionel Luthor, to which role we acquire the superb John Glover, he too an object lesson in ambivalence. Clark has issues – no longer is he the man of steel, but a young man troubled by his destiny, at the same time as he has the most enviable problem, to choose between three adorable yet very different girls. Yes, three for we have decided to throw in Lois Lane also for good measure, and find her in sexy all-American Erica Durance. So we have a framework, mainly of secrets, secrets, secrets. Lies, honestly made (to protect) or maliciously made (to hurt). A sort of sci-fi dramatization of the ambivalences of being young among young people, and also in the company of some old ones. The setting is universal, timeless. How can we fail? We could fail if we didn't have great writers and great effects people, but we are lucky to get that. We have, in fact, especially in seasons 1-3, some of most inspired and witty writing in the history of television – memorable lines thrown off, as it were, effortlessly. (See the Wikiquote section of Wikipedia alone.) So we seem to have done it. The show works for kids, it seems, but also for older viewers who can appreciate both the ironical distance to the canon and the intellectualized approach to what is basically comic book narratives. Aren't we good? – Phew! Too bad all of this is a fantasy – we didn't make Smallville. Someone else did. But you can wish, can't you? And who wouldn't want to be there on the set, chatting with delightful Chloe, pining for Lana and getting a firm handshake from Superboy himself. Technically speaking – all of the acting is quite superb, the directing and camera work also. Even the music – real orchestral backgrounds like in the old days. Yes, we'll be doing this ten years from now too, won't we?

I was a bit worried at first if Jennifer Love Hewitt could pull this off, not that she isn't gorgeous and talented, but the occult has an inherent mushy quality. Gladly I can say that my apprehensions turned to dust. She does pull it off, and the scripting is excellent and varied enough – although the medium will regularly encounter and save a ghost, which sets the form fairly rigidly. Despite this I find that a lot of work has gone into varying the simple theme, the acting is good and the supporting cast is up to standard and especially, 'Love' manages to impart humane qualities without appearing too soft or weak. Some fun also with her mother-in-law. Entertaining and sometimes moving and thought-provoking series. What do we do with our lives? I should also add that the photography is up to movie standards, not uncommon in these days (vide: Lost), but a sign that those are right who claim that TV is where it is happening. We need at least 5 seasons of this and hopefully more.

Lost is ample proof that a good show or series doesn't need a lot of special effects, flashing lights and monotonous drum loops to artificially build up tension. A good show, and we all know that except certain producers, needs good acting, good scripting, an exciting idea and a feeling for mystery on part of all involved. It also needs at least one fantastic woman, between 19-30 (those above 30 are also eligible, I am being ironic here). Anyway, Lost has a winner in Evangeline Lilly of course. But all of the actors are good, here, and the photography makes one feel that one is on location personally. What else? A slowly creeping tension. Ambivalent characters, as is the standard these days. Strange symbols, hidden agendas… we all remember that from Alias. And its is also there in Smallville and Heroes. But Lost has its own character in making everyday people seem not that everyday. They don't need superpowers to be fascinating, a sign that the writing is good. And the juxtaposition of what happens now with flashbacks to the character's past really works, for once. (It usually is a drag, men not here, where it does add depth and further mystery – especially to Evangeline's character.) I hope this one will run for number of additional seasons, that the writers will find a way of expanding on their mystery concept. But will the one-to-be conclusion fail as it did in the otherwise admirable Alias? It is after all easier to construct a mystery than to resolve it satisfactorily. – And yes, I want to see Rachel Nichols on the beach here. Evangeline needs competition! - One final note. Sci-fi used to be a marginal phenomenon in the world, and when it did appear on television it was at first regarded as somewhat nerdy and silly. But if one includes borderline SF, one finds that half a dozen (more in fact) of today's hit shows are sci-fi, or sci-fi-related. No wonder, we live in a science fiction world these days. And yet, the main point of Lost is, I repeat, that one finds oneself to be there, on that beach, hurrying through that nasty vegetation, happy to find water. It is not realistic, of course, but real.

Fox is, I gather, legendary for canceling shows. This one where all the episodes were not even sent is at present doing its second complete run over here, first TV3 and now TV6 – Sundays at 9 pm. Although the plots with a captured Rebecca Locke were a bit repetitive, they were nevertheless well executed and played with a peculiar somewhat alienated intensity by Ms. Nichols, who is not only beautiful but obviously has considerable acting potential, as she also showed in Alias. The rest of the cast were quite good also, and the show should have been given at least two full seasons to develop such things as the relationships within the group of investigators including their weird leader. For the series was developing, and the last episodes had a greater directness and also better scripting. The series might well have made better in the ratings had it been aired in the autumn, for example. As it is, one suspects Fox to have a very strange policy of producing shows they don't believe in and then doing their damnedest to ensure their non-success. It can't be a good business strategy.

This is one great movie, not only a thriller which it is also. Sometimes a movie will come out so that watching it will be like reading a good book. This is one of few. Excellent script, great acting and directing and photo – and the additional point in introducing Barkin's character far into the film makes for a much more convincing narrative. Both Pacina and Barkin have always been great actors, and here they are at their best, perhaps because of a certain tension between them – one cannot decide if they are friends personally or hate each other, or perhaps they create the ambivalence just because they are superb actors. Anyway, I don't know if this one got any major awards, but it sure should have. Besides Barkin is one hell of a woman, and I supposed that Pacino is one hell of a man.