House of Cards

"Choosing money over power is a mistake almost everyone makes. Money is the big mansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after ten years. Power is that old stone building that stands for centuries. I cannot respect someone who does not see the difference." - Francis Underwood

Be warned, as soon as you start the pilot episode, you will be hooked. This show has some of the most compelling and interesting characters I have ever seen on a television show. Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is our "tragic hero" that we love, or hate, to watch as he deceptively destroys everything in his path. At the base of this show, it's all about the power in politics. I have never enjoyed the world of politics before because it normally bores me and I can't find a single person to cheer for. When most of America feels this way, it is actually fun to cheer for someone who is up front and honest about his unorthodox strategies. Frank's only value is his power to manipulate other people. It is astounding how little he gets done on his very own. He uses people left and right to spread ideas and thoughts throughout the government. One of my favorite lines that sums up his character is: "the best thing I like about human beings is that they stack so neatly."

Francis Underwood is a man all about power. He has calculated his every advance into Congress and has his sights set on the Presidency. He is cunningly supported by his wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), and his trusted chief of staff, Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly). As Francis moves in and out of the closest circles within the oval office and congressional courts, he plants seeds of blackmail, misguided advice, lies, half-truths, prostitutes, drugs, affairs, and suicides in his wake. He will literally stop at nothing to obtain what he deems to be the highest calling in life: power.

With thirteen episodes to tell a story, the producers weren't shy about spreading the love to other characters. We get to know Claire Underwood through her very own career in humanitarian work and her working/loving relationship Francis. A young female reporter, Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), is another critical character that could end up being Francis' best ally or worst enemy. Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) is a troubled politician from Pennsylvania who Francis blackmails in order to buy his votes and later guides him to run for governor. Many more characters come and go within this series, and somehow all end up being played one way or another by Francis.

One of the greatest tricks used in this series is how they use the fourth wall. Francis will momentarily pause, or turn from reality and discuss something with the audience. Whether he means to use that time to explain his plans for the next five episodes/minutes, show off his power over others by interpreting their next move, or just show us his annoyance of others when they say or do something slightly idiotic, it's always entertaining. By connecting with the audience in a one-on-one dynamic, you can choose to admire his passion, power, and intelligence, or hate his cunning, sly, and deceitful actions. When Francis says "I've worked too hard to get in arms reach of the prize only to have my hand cut off before I seize it," you either agree with him, or you just want to watch him fall back down. It's completely up to the audience whether or not they will cheer or scorn him. An audience rooting for him will want to watch him walk over people episode after episode. While an audience that chooses to hate him, will want to watch and see that there are still people that defy and overpower him anyway. Either way, audiences are left wanting to know what happens next.

You should give this show a shot. If you haven't already heard of it, or seen it, prepare yourself for an addiction. Once you start, it's an incredible ride.

Just as another example of who Francis is, here are a couple of my favorite quotes he has said:

"...and then he asked if I have no faith in God. I said you have it wrong. God has no faith in us."

"I pray to myself... for myself."

"That's how you devour a whale. One bite at a time."

And my all time favorite:

"I love that woman. I love her more than sharks love blood."

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Elysium

Neill Blomkamp is truly one of my favorite directors now because he doesn't cater to what the studios or trends tell him. He tells his story, his way. He follows his instinct. He won't back down to business executives when they start trying to guide his movie. He makes sure that he retains complete creative control. In Elysium, you can easily tell that this has Neill's creative stamp all over it.

This movie was pure entertainment. There weren't any hidden agendas or forced ideals shoved down my throat, it was just a fun movie. Sure there are ideas in this movie that should spark a conversation about how we are living in this world today and how that might affect our future, but I didn't feel like I had just watched Wall-e and was left feeling terrible about shopping at Walmart or sitting on my butt for longer than two hours. They simply presented a world with a problem, and then characters who decide to take action. That's what a movie is supposed to be! It's not always supposed to have a hidden agenda. It's okay to enjoy a movie simply because it's entertaining.

I only say that because the one thing that I hear people tripping over is that they keep comparing it movie to District 9, Neill's directorial debut. District 9 was an amazing surprise that came out of nowhere that garnered critical and financial success, along with a couple Oscar nominations. It didn't have an enormous budget, big name actors, or any big studios watching over them. But what really made that movie special was it's uniqueness. It was like capturing lightning in a bottle. A movie of that caliber, on that budget, and with a first time director, rarely ever happens. When people walked into the theater to see Elysium, they were already setting their sights on another District 9. I myself am at fault with this. I loved District 9, and I was hoping for something of that nature. What we got instead was a very expensive, explosive, entertaining movie, just without the poetry and heart that we were expecting.

With a budget of $100,000,000 ($70,000,000 more than what he had on District 9), I was surprised at how well they used the special effects. They were smart by only using it when it was absolutely necessary. The establishing shots, wide expanses, explosions, gore, etc were mostly CG, but they didn't rely on the availability of it to tell their story. They used practical effects and in camera techniques that made the believability of their world much stronger. Real sets, and props were used instead of dropping a green screen behind actors. This is something that I have to applaud Neill for because in today's day and age where CG is used for almost everything, using practical effects and actually going out and shooting something is brave. It always looks better to me and I love the fact that the money didn't get in the way of his style of storytelling.

One element in particular that I really enjoyed was the production design. The weapons, Elysium, and the exo-skeleton that Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley (who was awesome in this movie by the way) wore were spectacular. Neill has such a great eye for design that it gives his films a very unique perspective on the future. He doesn't just give them shape, he gives them special purpose. These aren't just toys or props, they are turned into story telling elements. The design of the robotics, ships, buildings, tattoos, weaponry, were all new. Some had a historical and classical base to them, but they were all twisted and given a new life through Neil's vision.

Obviously there are strong social elements and principles in this movie, that can't be ignored. Neill presents a social structure that is physically divided between the rich and the poor. The Earth has grown overpopulated and those in the upperclass of society have chosen to live in an eternal orbit of the Earth on the space station, Elysium. For those who live on Elysium, they want for nothing. Everything is taken care of, and you will never be hurt, sick, hungry, or in danger. Life is perfect. Life on Earth is the exact opposite. The split between those who have, and who have not, could not be seen in any easier way. It's even clearly stated at the very beginning of the movie just in case there is any way you missed it (which really wasn't necessary). What makes this issue special for Neill is that he has experienced this type of social rift personally as a young boy growing up in South Africa. I think one of the reasons he wanted to tell this story was to make people start asking questions about the social and economic structure of our world today.

Eve though I did enjoy this movie, there were a couple things that kept distracting me. One of them was Jodie Foster. Jodie is a fantastic actress, but for some reason they gave her a French accent. If you're going to do an accent, you'd better make sure your actress can do it, and then do it all over again in ADR. Most of her lines were so distracting, I was wondering the entire time why they didn't just case a French actress who could actually speak French! The ending was another problem I had. The entire time we're following Matt Damon serve no other purpose besides to better himself. Which is completely alright for a main character to do, as long as they learn something along the way, right? But right in the middle, they introduce another character that we assume he should start caring for. Does he do it? Nope. Not until the last fifteen minutes of the movie, does he start caring about saving others. I may have missed it, but I don't believe Matt's character had much of a story arc at all. It was all about saving himself and how he could do it the quickest. He really didn't care how it happened, he just wanted to survive. The ending threw me for a loop when all of a sudden they made his character have a change of heart. At that point I felt like I had just spent two hours with a character that I somewhat enjoyed, and then they flipped him over and made him something else. It was like they tied a nice pink ribbon over the end of the story when all it needed was honesty.

Overall, I would recommend seeing Elysium. It was a very entertaining movie that definitely belongs in the collection once it comes out on Blu-ray. If you have a problem with gore, or really poor ADR, you might want to skip this one then.

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