Review: Succession season 3

I've followed this series since its first season in 2018, but this is only my second blog post about it, despite its big Emmy wins last year for a spectacular season 2.

It just crossed the halfway mark for season 3, and I can safely say it's going to surpass Dexter as my favourite TV show.

That's how terrific it is.

Sadly, no one in my social circles watches it, but there's a great fan club on Facebook, and we have the best time dissecting each new episode and delving deep into past storylines.

For the uninitiated, Succession is about the fictional Roy family, which owns a business empire called Waystar/Royco.

Primarily a media industry player, it also runs cruises and parks.

The head of the family is Logan, who has four children - Connor, Kendall, Siobhan and Roman.

Connor is a slacker who spends his time and allowance on frivolous pursuits; Kendall and Roman help dad with the business; Siobhan spent seasons 1 and 2 running a U.S. Presidential candidate's campaign, before being recruited for the family business in season 3.

The main arc of the show is the power struggle between Logan and Kendall, as the latter tries repeatedly to wrestle control of the company from a man he views as out of touch, as well as physically and mentally frail.

But there're also lots of subplots, mostly involving sibling rivalry, scheming and law-breaking.

It's impossible for me go into specific details because every episode is so jam-packed with memorable and shocking events, it makes my head spin.

And season 3 is even more unbelievable, with episodes 3 and 5 destined for eternal greatness. 

I've already watched seasons 1 and 2 twice, and am currently rewatching all the current season's episodes just to make sure I don't miss anything.

One of its greatest attributes is the writing.

Aside from the numerous twists and turns in the story, Succession's trademark is its wit, or more accurately, its unapologetically vulgar and politically incorrect humour.

In the current climate of tiresome tip-toeing around everything like it's a ticking time bomb, it's a breath of fresh air to hear people saying what they really think, even if it's clearly offensive.

To have a better understanding of Succession's essence, I recommend this compilation of clips from the show. 

No surprise that my favourite comedy series of all time is Seinfeld, which also skewers political sensitivities with glee.

Another of the show's strengths is its characters.

The Roy family is what I call a paradox. 

Every single member is nasty and self-serving in his/her own way, but we still love them.

In one episode, Logan's brother says they're "a nest of vipers" who will "wrap themselves around you and suffocate you".

But in the FB fan group, there're different teams rooting for various characters. ( FYI, I'm Team Kendall. :))

Maintaining this fine balance for 3 seasons is no small feat, and major kudos to the writers for achieving something that most cannot.

The magic ingredient, of course, is weakness.

Even the most vile being in the universe has one, and the Roys are no exception.

All of them suffer from hubris, resulting in lack of insight, bad decisions and a variety of disasters.

But each sibling also demonstrates insecurity and fear at one point or another, and vies for Logan's attention and approval like it's The Hunger Games.

If the parent-child relationship isn't warped enough, season 3 has the siblings turning on one another, with an exceptionally brutal exchange between Kendall and Siobhan.

Last but not least, the cast.

I can't begin to describe how amazing all the actors are, but my favourites are Jeremy Strong and Matthew MacFadyen.

Jeremy plays Kendall, aka the son who's constantly locked in an epic battle with his terrifying father.

From the very first episode of season 1, I knew Jeremy was really special, and my instinct turned out to be 100% correct when he won the Emmy for best actor in a drama series last year.

Kendall is, in my opinion, the most complex character in the show - deeply flawed and occasionally deplorable, but somehow likable and worth rooting for. 

He has good intentions but often fails miserably in the execution phase. He wants to dethrone Logan and become CEO, but is so thin-skinned he hides in a dark room and wallows in despair when Siobhan issues a press statement about his drug habits.

He sometimes says or does the craziest, stupidest thing, then in the next moment, gives a brilliant speech at a congressional hearing and saves a vital business deal from imploding.

His relationship with Logan is nail-bitingly unstable, with the latter having the upper hand most of the time.

Many fans - myself included - hope Kendall will finally get what he wants this season.

Apologies for digressing.

I described Kendall in great detail to illustrate what a complex character he is, and how challenging it is to portray him.

It's a testament to Jeremy's immense talent that we're able to see and feel Kendall's emotional turmoil, and most importantly, become invested in his journey and fervently hope he succeeds.

Matthew plays a more peripheral character, i.e. Tom Wambsgans, Siobhan's fiance and later husband.

Tom isn't a nice guy at all, and naturally elicits a lot of negative comments on the fan group.

But this is exactly why he's worthy of special mention.

Even though Tom is technically a minor character, he's been given a disproportionately large number of unforgettable scenes and lines.

And Matthew pounces on every opportunity by hamming it up and burning every moment into our brains.

What's even more fun is the fact that Matthew's British and most well-known for his role as the dour, uptight Mr. Darcy in 2005's Pride & Prejudice.

I'm always amused by the stark contrast, and awed by his versatility.

Another fun fact about the cast is the freedom they're given to improvise the dialogue.

I found out about this in a few interviews, and it definitely adds more flavour to the viewing experience!

It really makes me wonder how many of the best lines were scripted versus off the cuff, and whether any of the latter changed the trajectory of the plot.

Succession season 4 was confirmed in late October, so we'll be seeing more of the Roys ( hopefully in late 2022 - please don't make us wait too long! ).

If you enjoyed this post, please watch the show!

Review: Midnight Mass

I've been trying to figure out how to write a proper review without including any spoiler, and my conclusion is that it's impossible. 

So if you haven't seen this yet, are planning to do so, and don't want to know the details beforehand, PLEASE STOP READING NOW. 

Mdinight Mass comes from Mike Flanagan, who helmed the excellent The Haunting of Hill House and the okay-only The Haunting of Bly Manor. 

That alone is a big clue regarding this series' genre and theme. 

The first episode started off very slowly, taking its time to introduce characters with nothing much else occurring. 

Episode 2 was equally leisurely, with only some excitement in the last 10 minutes, when a "miracle" takes place. 

Things start cooking from episode 3 onwards, and considering my high threshold for surprises, Flanagan did not disappoint. 

In a nutshell, an elderly priest from a small town takes a trip to the Middle East, gets lost, ends up in a cave and meets - I kid you not - a vampire. He gets bitten, the vamp feeds him its blood in return, the priest becomes young again, returns to the town and bring the vamp with him. 

The priest then uses the vampire blood during communion, resulting in a few "miracles" - e.g. a paralyzed girl gets up and walks, a sickly old lady becomes healthy again. 

Problems arise when the priest and a few religious fanatics decide to "bless" the entire town with immortality by feeding everyone a cocktail of poison and vampire blood, calling the creature an angel and carrying out mass murder during Easter to celebrate Christ's resurrection. 

Are you still with me? ;) 

It sound totally nuts when you read it, but kudos to Flanagan for being able to weave these ideas into something actually coherent and compelling. 

Factors contributing to this: 

1. Correct pacing 

I mentioned how slowly the story moves, which turns out to be advantageous. 

It helps to stage the shocking scenes further apart initially, before escalating in the last couple of episodes. There's a lot of dialogue in between the scary parts, most of which involve theological discussions / debates, which interest me greatly because I've been on both sides of religion ( former Christian turned atheist ). 

2. Great writing 

Compared to Flanagan's previous The Haunting... series, Midnight Mass definitely has the best script. And that's considering the very high bar set by Hill House. 

My most important advice to viewers is to be patient, and to pay close attention. The former because the story builds up gradually, the latter because every line of dialogue has significance. 

I was particularly drawn to the theological themes, which cover many Bible chapters and verses, with differing opinions from multiple characters. 

Some topics are perennial ( i.e. if God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen? Why doesn't he save the innocent? ), others new to me ( e.g. how to interpret Hebrews 9:14 correctly ). 

The Hebrews verse is especially interesting: "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" 

In the show, the characters use this to justify murder, the same way they call the vampire an angel, even though I'm sure they know it's evil and an abomination. 

What's also interesting is that the most devout of the Christians is the one who ends up twisting scripture to suit her own agenda. 

I found this the most significant element of the series, as it highlights the mentality of quite a large number of pious people ( in all religions, not just Christianity ). 

I was a devout Christian for about 15 years before I decided it wasn't for me. During that time, I encountered many church members whose beliefs and behaviour irritated, disgusted and shocked me.

For example, one woman claimed she resurrected a dead person, even though no one else witnessed the incident and she never brought this person to church to give a testimony. This same woman also convinced a young couple to refuse surgery for their child who had heart disease, telling them an operation was against God's will, that God would heal their child as long as they prayer fervently. The child died, and the couple left the church. No formal complaint or police report was ever filed. 

At another church, my cell group leader claimed sole credit when one of the members conceived after trying for many years, even though many of us prayed for her over a prolonged period of time. The CGL's exact comment was, "Oh, I prayed for her, that's why she got pregnant." 

So what are the rest of us - completely useless? 

There're many other examples of bad Christians but I won't write about them here. I think you get the general idea. That said, even though I've left the church and don't believe in the existence of any God, I have close friends from different religions, but they're not preachy or self-righteous. We even engage in healthy debates from time to time, so one's religious affiliation ( or lack of ) isn't a factor where friendship is concerned. Rather, it's your character. 

I've often been told that Christians are far from perfect, that I shouldn't judge the religion by its followers. My switch to atheism is multifactorial. Disillusion is a major component, but I think I've just never been fully invested, with a half-in half-out perspective of the Bible, which to this day doesn't really interest me that much. 

Apologies for the rant. Moving on... 

3. The cast ... is absolutely stellar. 

The biggest standout is Hamish Linklater, who plays the aforementioned priest. He isn't a very prominent actor but this role was made for him. 

He appears in many scenes, many of which are physically and emotionally demanding, and he nails every single one. 

Whether fervently preaching a sermon, orchestrating a miracle, quietly counselling a recovering alcoholic, or licking a dying man's blood off the floor ( I'm not kidding ) - he gives it everything he's got. 

I expect Golden Globe and Emmy nominations in 2022. Don't disappoint me please! 

There are of course plot holes here and there. 

Why is there only one vampire? Why is the transformation variable? ( You can become a vamp just by drinking its blood, but others turn after being killed by it first. Huh? ) How come the priest-vampire can handle the Bible, holy water, the crucifix and communion wafers? If the paralyzed girl and old lady became healthy after drinking vampire blood, why didn't they turn into full vampires? 

Another blemish is the final episode, in which the entire town is burned down, leaving only a church recreation centre for all the vampires to take refuge in after sunrise. So when one of the non-vamps torches the centre, everyone gets screwed. 

This was just plain stupid. 

Luckily it's at the end of the show, otherwise I might've stopped watching. 

So my final rating is 8/10. 

Worth watching, but quite out there so won't be to everyone's liking. 

Would be interesting to find out if Flanagan's Catholic / Christian / an atheist. Will find a few online articles to read when I have time.

Review: Dune

My first post since March 2020. 

The past 18 months have been hell, and I don't just mean COVID. 

The last movie I saw at the cineplex was Christopher Nolan's Tenet more than a year ago, and I didn't even have the time or energy to review that. 

After recent upgrades to Android TVs at home, I could've found Dune online, but chose to make the trip to the theatre so I could experience this the way it's supposed to be experienced - on a huge screen. 

I'm also a huge fan of Denis Villeneuve, Oscar Isaac and Timothee Chalamet, so I was more than happy to support their work. 

Verdict: I rate it an 8/10. 

Dune is 2.5 hours long. 

The first hour is awesome, the second hour's great, the last 30 minutes are rather draggy. 

First, the good parts. 

Villeneuve promised a visual spectacle, and he absolutely delivered. 

One notable shooting location is the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, where Lawrence Of Arabia and a few Star Wars movies were also filmed. 

I'm familiar with Villeneuve's work, from 2013's Prisoners and 2015's Sicario to 2016's Arrival and 2017's Blade Runner 2049. I saw similarities between Dune and Arrival in terms of scale and style, but of course Dune has a much larger cast and a lot more exposition to get through. 

As mentioned, the first hour is superb, as we're introduced to the main players and the story builds up to a mid-point twist. We're treated to scene after scene of breath-taking planetary vistas and jaw-droppingly massive spaceships, interspersed with intimate sequences involving various members of the Atreides clan. 

Hans Zimmer's score fits everything perfectly, evoking awe, excitement and dread in equal measure.

 

The main protagonists are well cast, but Timothee deserves special mention. 

I'm a big fan of his work - Lady Bird, Beautiful Boy, A Rainy Day In New York, The King and Little Women. 

He's always struck me as an old soul, which incidentally, is the exact description Villeneuve used in a recent interview. 

Casting him as Paul Atreides is spot on, though he's about a decade older than the actual character, who's only 15 in the novel. ( This isn't unusual, since Jennifer Lawrence was 21 when she played 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, and Dylan O'Brien was also 21 in the first Maze Runner movie ( his character, Thomas, was 16 in the book )).

Timothee's main advantage over other actors his age is his gravitas, which has served him well in dramatic roles. 

Dune, however, is a production of epic proportions, with a cast comprising many famous actors, a few of whom have been part of lucrative franchises as well ( e.g. Oscar Isaac - Star Wars, Rebecca Ferguson - Mission: Impossible, Jason Momoa - Aquaman ). 

I'm very pleased to report that Timothee is more than capable of holding his own, and is never dwarfed by anyone or anything, even the giant sandworm. 

He infuses all his scenes with quiet strength, occasionally shooting dagger stares at Paul's enemies. 

His main weakness is probably his relative lack of physicality, which is evident in the fight scenes. The way Villeneuve shot certain parts of these suggests Timothee had a stunt double, so a few of the impressive moves probably weren't performed by him. 

But the best part about watching any Timothee Chalamet film at the theatre is his face. From his teens to around 21 years old, he was charmingly boyish. These past couple of years, he has matured and now looks fully grown up. He's one of those lucky people whom the camera loves. With Dune's beautiful costumes, makeup and cinematography, it's impossible to look away every time he appears.

Now, the not so good parts.

If you haven't read Frank Herbert's novel, you'll have a very hard time following the story.

I got through about 100 pages before giving up, but thankfully, they were enough.

In addition to the large number of characters, there're a lot of complicated names to digest. 

E.g. Bene Gesserit, Sardaukar, Kwisatz Haderach.

The novel even has a lengthy appendix explaining these terms to the reader.

If this wasn't enough, there's the dodgy audio, which muffled some dialogue or drowned it out completely.

I had to read the Chinese subtitles to understand what was happening.

A few scenes were also very dark.

I expected the movie to condense many key events in the interest of time. 

One that's completely omitted is a welcome dinner after the Atreides arrive in Arrakis, during which the clan meets with diplomatic figures and everyone discusses politics.

A sequence involving Duke Leto's heroic rescue of a team from the spice harvester ( eventually swallowed by the sandworm ) is exciting, but pales in comparison to the book's description which, from what I can recall, took up almost 10 pages ( of tiny tiny font ), and concluded with high praise for Leto's leadership qualities.

( I don't remember Paul running out of the ornithopter and almost being left behind. Those of you who've read the novel, let me know if I'm wrong. )

There was also a section where Leto suspected Lady Jessica of being a traitor, which wasn't in the film.

The last half hour dragged as Paul and Jessica searched for the Fremen in the vast desert, before Paul defeated one of them and was accepted into the tribe. Perhaps Villeneuve wanted to illustrate the challenges they overcame, but I felt it could've been 10-15 minutes shorter.

I enjoyed Dune a lot, but encourage those who haven't read the book to do so, as it will add much more to the overall experience.

Although I got through only 100 pages on the first try ( Herbert's quite long-winded ), the movie convinced me to persist and finish the novel before Part 2 is released. 

I'm just glad these blockbusters are finally out after being delayed for a year.

My next trip to the cineplex will be for No Time To Die. Looking forward to it!