House of Cards Season 6: Animus in the White House

Well, I thought I'd begin my reviews for December, the last month of the year, with House of Cards Season 6, presumably the final season of the series that broke the hold of cable television in stunningly original content back in 2013, and would soon see streaming well surpass cable and network television as the cutting edge on the home screen.

This final season came with two all but insurmountable problems:

1.  Kevin Spacey is a great actor, and his Frank Underwood character one of the most memorable ever on any television screen.  But due to numerous allegations of sexual misconduct throughout his life, Netflix removed him from the series that Spacey, more than any other actor, had helped put in such triumphant play.

2.  Donald Trump was elected (via the Electoral College) President in 2016.  Other than Frank literally murdering people who got in his way, Trump is in most ways more horrendous and pettily conniving that Underwood.  Life, in other words, surpassed art, before the sixth season even began.

Yet, somehow, against all those odds, the sixth season of House of Cards succeeded.  Although I missed Frank, Claire (peerlessly performed by Robin Wright) amply filled the role, as someone as brilliant, manipulative, and murderous as her late husband.  And, as a woman, Claire added a whole new feminist dimension to the story.  She cleverly turned her battle for survival and success into a battle for women in what is still a man's world, politically.

There are all kinds of surprises in this sixth season.  I won't be spoil any of them for you.  (I will say this:  I bet the man in the very last scene originally was Frank.)  We see a lot of old scores settled, vivid new characters in high gear, and it was great to see Petrov again (he's much better than Putin, as far as I can tell).

Everyone says this is the last season of the series.  It even says so on the poster.   But, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see another season somewhere down the road.  Indeed, I'd be delighted.

See also House of Cards Season 1: A Review ... House of Cards Season 2: Even Better than the First, and Why ... House of Cards Season 3: Frank, Claire, "Putin," and Superb ... House of Cards Season 4: Trump and Frank ... House of Cards Season 5: Reality Less Alternate

Elvis & Nixon on Amazon: History As It Could Have Been Written

I don't usually review comedies, but Elvis & Nixon isn't really a comedy, though it's billed as such, and even though it does have lots of laughing-out-loud scenes and lines.

But the Amazon original movie mostly is a seemingly cracked but deeply revealing double bio-pic, and a bio-pic not of two lives, but of what led up to a single moment in history when Elvis Presley met Richard Nixon in the White House.  The photograph above, the most requested from the National Archives, captured that moment.

The movie provides the background, true in general, but like all docu-dramas, replete with dialogue written for the movie.

What we learn about Nixon is nothing new, but ever fascinating to see.   He's a deeply insecure man, even in the most powerful office on the planet.  He complains to an aide, before the meeting, that he's not very good-looking, and doesn't have it as easy as guys like the Kennedys and Elvis who are.   Although Elvis doesn't hear this, he later compliments Nixon on his good lucks, as part of his successful effort to butter him up.

Elvis is riven with insecurity, too.  It's not only December 1970, but December or at very least the late Fall of Elvis's career.  Though millions of course know of him and still adore him, it's an older crowd, and he's no longer making the record-breaking records that launched him to superstardom, succeeding Frank Sinatra in the 1950s, gyrating on the Ed Sullivan show, and Elvis knows this.  He hates the Beatles, and is almost bored with his public.   Indeed his passion at this point is what brings him to the White House - collecting police badges, in pursuit of a badge as a Federal agent at large, a position he's conjured into being.

Kevin Spacey at Nixon is of course perfect and superb.  Michael Shannon, last seen to good effect on Boardwalk Empire, is outstanding as Elvis.  If you'd like to know what this off-beat movie most reminds me of it would be the second season of Fargo, which takes place in 1979.   Elvis & Nixon and Fargo have almost nothing specifically in common - the one point of similarity would be Reagan appearing in an episode of Fargo - but the two share a uniquely true, bizarre but incisive ambience you'll find in few other places on the screen.

House of Cards 3: Frank, Claire, "Putin," and superb

I half binge-watched the third season of House of Cards this week - my wife and I wanted more time to savor the episodes on Netflix - but there was nothing half-hearted about this third series of 13 chapters. Indeed, this season was rear-end-over-teakettle volcanic political drama, with aspects that exceeded even the first two extraordinary seasons.

In many ways the best part in this third season was Victor Petrov, the Russian premier our President Underwood has to contend with, a dead ringer for Vladimir Putin in looks, style, and attitude, and masterfully played by Lars Mikkelsen.   This character was so well drawn and acted that what we get in this season of House of Cards is a portrayal of Putin that will stand as the definitive rendition of the real Russian leader in fiction for years to come.   In addition, we get a brutally charismatic character who is more than Underwood's equal in hardball politics, a rarity indeed in this powerhouse series.

The parts of the plot involving Underwood and Petrov exemplify the shift - at least, to some extent - from domestic to international politics, as befits Underwood's ascension to the Presidency.  But Petrov also figures in the pivotal event that sets Frank and Claire on a collision course - indeed, Petrov sets it motion.

Or perhaps Claire did, first with her unreasonable demand that Frank appoint her UN Ambassador - to which he accedes - and then her righteous denunciation of Petrov at a press conference, after a negotiation to free an American prisoner in a Russian cell goes very badly.  Her denunciation was morally justified but politically ill advised, and Petrov makes her and Frank pay for that, with his demand, later, that Claire be removed as UN Ambassador - a demand to which Frank, somewhat surprisingly, also accedes.

In our real world, it's difficult to image Putin or any Russian leader ever making such a demand, let alone the U.S. President agreeing to it, all the more so when the demand concerns the First Lady.  But it's just about believable in House of Cards, since Frank values success - his - about all else, including Claire's dignity.

This in turn sets up the stunning ending, which I saw coming as soon as Claire was fired, which I guess means was not so stunning, but I still much enjoyed.   Kevin Spacey's performance as Frank Underwood was better than ever - if that's possible - as Robin Wright's as Claire was also even better than in previous seasons.   The supporting cast, including Molly Parker as Rep. Jackie Stamper and Elizabeth Marvel as Helen Dunbar were especially superb.

See House of Cards 3 any way you want it - all at once, over a week, or a month - and it still adds up to one of the high water marks of television viewing.

See also House of Cards Season 1: A Review ... House of Cards Season 2: Even Better than the First, and Why



Jeff is traveling back in time to stop the Challenger
from exploding, but arrives in November 1963

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The Blacklist Season 1 Finale: Meets Keyser Soze

A superb Season One final for The Blacklist tonight, which leaves us with -

• Meera is dead.
• Tom is very likely dead.  Why just likely?  Lizzie tells Red that Tom is dead, but she asked him to leave the room after she shot Tom, and she has some reason to want to keep Tom alive.   Also, though Tom was shot a bunch of times, it wasn't in the head.  Still, he's likely dead.  Just not definitely.
• Either Berlin or Red is Lizzie's father.   They both have a picture of someone who almost definitely is her, when she was a girl.  I guess it's more likely Berlin who's her father, but Red has shown he's more than willing to dissemble when he sees that as protecting Lizzie.   Red also assured Lizzie that her father is dead - died in the fire.  Which means either that Berlin isn't Lizzie's father, or Red is lying.  But if neither Berlin nor Red are Lizzie's father, then who? Someone we haven't met before?   That wouldn't be as good a solution as either Berlin or Red being Lizzie's father, and since both of those possibilities require Red lying to Lizzie, I still prefer thinking that Red his lying to her along about not being her father.  I mean, why else would he be so devoted to her?  The very last scene clearly shows Red with scars from being burned.   So either he's the devoted friend who brought her to Sam, or he's Lizzie's father, who was burned but didn't die in the fire.  We'll see in the seasons ahead.
• Berlin is a great Keyser Soze character, the best I've seen so far on television.   But Red is a Keyser Soze kind of character, too.   They both run constant circles around the best police and their efforts.   As I was watching the season finale tonight, I realized that The Blacklist has both been inspired by The Usual Suspects - one of my all-time favorite movies - and has taken some of its cues from that movie, not easy at all to do on television, especially network TV.  And come to think of it, James Spader and Kevin Spacey both have that quirky, irrepressible power on any screen they're on.

See you back here in the Fall, with Season 2.

See also The Blacklist Debuts: Alias Meets Jay Z ... The Blacklist 1.2: Mysteries ... The Blacklist 1.3: Construction Site Heights ... The Blacklist 1.6: Truth and Enigma ... The Blacklist 1.7: Natural Immunity ... The Blacklist 1.8: The Father and the Husband ... The Blacklist 1.9: Field Transfusion ... The Blacklist 1.10: Those Words ... The Blacklist 1.11: Red's Retribution ... The Blacklist 1.12: The DNA Meister ...  The Blacklist 1.13: Red Writ Large ... The Blacklist 1.15: The Husband's Other Shoe ... The Blacklist 1.16: True Colors ... The Blacklist 1.19: Leveling the Scales? ... The Blacklist 1.20: Unanswered Questions

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House of Cards 2: Even Better than Season 1, and Why

I saw the second season of House of Cards over the weekend - thanks to Netflix seamless streaming - and loved it.   It's better than the first, which is saying a lot, because the first was outstanding, too. Spoilers galore follow.

Among the highlights 

• Frank's killing of Zoe at the end of the first episode - not only a stunning bolt from the blue, but thoroughly plausible given what we saw of Frank last year.  The killing also had the virtue of getting Zoe off the show - her relationships with Frank last year was the least believable part of the first season.  Later on in the second season, Frank says to Claire that he's not risking any more affairs, which makes good sense for a Vice President
• Frank also establishes his direct commentary to the viewing audience at the end of the first episode - and, in general, this commentary works a little better than it did the first season
• Molly Parker, who's great at anything she does, was exciting and refreshing as the new Whip Jackie Sharp, the best new character in the series, who shined in every scene she was in, including those with Kevin Spacey, who gave another incandescent performance.   Her affair with Remy, who also had an even better season than last year, was also one of the two most interesting affairs on the show.
• The other interesting affair is Rachel's with her lover Lisa, also a compelling new character, albeit with limited screen time.
• Good to see Rachel kill Doug - not only justified for this sicko political henchman, but another character who, although he had his moments, was mostly a drain on the show.
• The Freddie story is not a highlight because, although it was ok, I would have rather seen Freddie and Frank continue as they were last year.  I suppose that couldn't last, though, because you can't have a President going out every morning for ribs.
• Frank's manipulation of events to finally become President of the United States is sheer genius.
• Ashleigh Banfield's interview with Claire, in which she reveals that she was raped, was superbly acted by Banfield.  (I can't say the same for most of the other real anchors who appeared in the second season.  Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity were ok.   Chris Hayes and Chris Matthews were stiff.  I don't know why real people have so much trouble playing themselves.  I know if I had to play the part of a professor, I'd do just fine :)
• I loved the opening credits and the music last year, and even more so this year.   When the strings come in near the end I grieve and soar.

So see House of Cards, second season, and treat yourself to one of the best pieces of television to come down the pike.

See also House of Cards Season 1: A Review

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House of Cards Season 1: A Review

Just finished watching House of Cards on my MacBook.   Watching a television series all at once, or over a few days time, rather than on a once-a-week basis, is nothing new.  And, in fact, ever since I saw the first few seasons of Alias, The Sopranos, and 24 that way back in the mid-2000s, I've been saying that's far and away the best way to watch television.  It's also a key characteristic of what I call "new new media," or the putting into consumer's hands the powers previously in the hands of producers - such as, in this case, being entertained on your not the producer's or network's schedule.

But House of Cards shuffles the deck in other new and crucial ways.  First and foremost, its entire first season debuted all at once on Netflix - unlike Alias, etc, in which the DVDs did not become available until after the season had aired on television.  This is a first, and made the series even more exciting.

The trappings of the series - the backdrops and tech environment in which the characters live and work - are also brand spanking new, and presented in the savviest way I've ever seen on television.  Texting, twitter, YouTube are not just throwaway references inserted in the story to make it seem hip, but crucial  components of the narrative.  Zoe, a reporter who moves from the equivalent of the Washington Post to the hypothetical successor to Politico, is aptly called a "twitter twat" by her rival in an early scene, and Zoe's knowledge of how information moves in our world is even more central to her success, or at least ability to stay above water, than her body, which she also uses to good effect.

The story is like Boss, but played on a much higher level, and without the literal insanity that the Mayor of Chicago had in that recently bygone series.  But House of Cards is also like Homeland, in that there are characters willing to commit murder to get to a heartbeat from the Presidency.

Kevin Spacey is better than ever as the lead character, and the rest of the cast, especially Corey Stoll, are the toppest notch.  I'd say House of Cards is among the top 3 best new television shows this 2012-2013 season, and I'm looking forward to more next year.

See also House of Cards Season 2 - Even Better than the First