Spartacus: Gods of the Arena: "Missio"

Has Spartacus done the unthinkable this week and gained - gasp - thematic depth?

Answer: maybe.

For the second consecutive week, Spartacus crosscuts a sex scene with a fight. This time it's Gannicus getting it on with Melitta while her husband fights Doctore. It's a situation that nobody wants to be in, although Oenomaus eventually grows into the title of Doctore and Gannicus and Melitta appear to eventually give in to some dormant sexual tension. That latter development is going to have some consequences very soon, though. Whatever metaphor the show might be constructing with sex as an act of violence is blunted by how pervasive both are. Do the writers have a larger purpose at work, or do they just realize that since fight scenes and screwing are part of the show's calling card it makes sense to give both to the viewer at once?

A more likely intentional recurring theme would be that of freedom, or more accurately the lack thereof. For slaves in Capua, it's either work in servitude, fight as a gladiator, or be sent to presumably die working in the mines. The gladiators can only aspire to be champions - as Gannicus says, it's the only time he feels free. Some freedom, but hey, it's the best he can do. No wonder Crixus is looking past becoming a mere gladiator and has his sights set on champion. However, even masters like Batiatus aren't totally free. "Missio" has one of those classic Batiatus plans in which he ultimately gets what he wants but not before several mishaps, detours, and a death or two. He's confined initially by the legacy of his father and grandfather. Rising in stature and making a name for himself requires becoming beholden to Varus, Vettius, and Tullius. And as seen in the first season, as his ambition grows he becomes more and more dependent on slaves and patricians alike. To be truly free is rare.

Then again, life isn't so bad for Batiatus since he gets to have a threesome with Lucy Lawless and Jaime Murray. Murray is 2-for-2 in episodes with nude scenes, a third of the way towards what I predict will be a perfect season.

Spartacus is still a wellspring of trashy delights - namely, the aforementioned threesome and sex/fight scene. But it's slowly doing more than just delivering lurid thrills on a meager budget. Batiatus' flashback/nightmare in the beginning of the episode showed unexpected panache for a show that is usually content to steal all of its style from 300. Manu Bennett, completely out of his element in the first season when attempting to show his love for Naevia, does much better playing a desperate underdog looking to prove his worth as a gladiator. Murray's character may be one-note, but she plays that note for all it's worth. The show's ambitions will always be outpaced by its excess, and its romantic subplots will probably continue to be laughable. But at least in this season, it's not missing the target entirely.

Brief thoughts on Dogtooth

Dogtooth (Kynodontas). 2009, Greece, directed by Giorgos Lanthimos. Nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the 2011 Academy Awards.

"This is one weird movie but I can't help wondering what - OH GOD NO WHAT THE HELL SERIOUSLY PLEASE DON'T DO THAT HOLY CHRIST NO AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

In conclusion, I give it a 7/10.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena: "Past Transgressions"

Spartacus: Blood and Sand was the worst best show of 2010. Its conceit was wholly unoriginal (300 + Gladiator + Caligula). There was little character development to speak of, and that which did happen was laughable. Per the budget of a third-tier premium cable network, it was obviously shot on the cheap. But like a nightclub frequented by SNL's Stefon, this show had everything: penis candles, decapitations, abundant nudity, grudge sex, crucifixions, and statutory rape. That's just skimming the surface, incidentally. Although the show was purely plot-driven, it weaved storylines together brilliantly. The trump card was John Hannah's performance as Batiatus, the scheming, social climbing head of the ludus (gladiator school) who chewed scenery and spit out overwrought profanity with aplomb (the supporting cast as a whole was quite excellent, actually).

Spartacus was also a minor surprise hit, with the finale attracting nearly double the viewers of the premiere. Although most critics shrugged the series off after its admittedly choppy first episodes, those who stuck with it were generally enthusiastic. Unfortunately, Spartacus himself, Andy Whitfield, developed a lingering case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Not wanting to lose the show's momentum, Starz decided to produce a six-episode prequel series documenting Batiatus' rise and fleshing out the backstories of the other supporting characters.

The networked hoped that Whitfield could recover from cancer with enough time to film the follow-up to Blood and Sand this year. Sadly, the cancer returned. With Whitfield's blessing, Starz recast the role. While I wish no ill will towards Whitfield, he was the weak link in the cast and his absence is probably to Spartacus' benefit. The characters in Gods of the Arena are far more interesting; the actors more talented.

Enough backstory. On with the review.

Casting spoilers to the wind, "Past Transgressions" opens with a montage of events that happened in Blood and Sand, most of which occurred in the final episode, and chiefly among them Batiatus' death (the montage is also notable as perhaps one of the few "previouslies" that is actually a "consequently"). Those who tuned into GotA with no prior knowledge of the series may be dismayed to learn a character's fate so quickly, but the reveal makes sense. Rest assured, he gets what he deserves. For veterans of the show, the following ten minutes pack in everything they loved about the first season: nonstop profanity, lurid violence, full frontal nudity, and scandalous depictions of everyday Roman life.

From there, the show goes about its considerable place-setting, introducing the multiple plotlines that will encompass GotA if not the series at large. Capua is a city on the rise, and Batiatus seeks to step out of his father's shadow and make a name for himself within it (he's also good friends with future rival Suetonius, who once again sports the douchiest hairstyle in all of the Roman Republic). Batiatus' prized gladiator is a hotshot named Gannicus, Crixus is a newly-purchased trainee, Ahsur walks without a limp, and Oenomaus has not yet assumed the mantle of Doctore. Meanwhile, one of Lucretia's typically slutty friends is back in town, fresh off a dead husband, and will be staying at the ludus for a while.

Seeing the familiar faces in unfamiliar positions is interesting enough, but it's the new blood that provides the most intrigue. The primary antagonists, Capuan bigwig Tullius and rival lanista Vettius, aren't around for Blood and Sand, and it would surprise nobody if both died due to Batiatus' machinations (Batiatus' infirm father is referred to but not seen, and it would be a bigger surprise if Batiatus doesn't eventually kill him). The biggest name in the new cast is Jaime Murray as Lucretia's friend Gaia. Murray was Lila in the second season of Dexter, and she's a perfect fit in Spartacus given her character's penchant for toplessness. Gaia will be appreciated the most by people who liked Paz de la Huerta in Boardwalk Empire but thought she didn't get naked enough, and it's a wonder that she nearly stays clothed throughout the entire episode.

The most notable new character is Dustin Clare's Gannicus, the "star" of Batiatus' ludus and given his placement in the show's marketing, not to mention how he looks shirtless compared to John Hannah, the star of the show. He's a hotshot gladiator who one-ups Crixus and Spartacus at their cockiest. He spends most of the premiere fighting, drinking, and screwing, so we don't have a good feel of what makes him tick yet. But a scene between him and Oenomaus is cleverly ambiguous - is he reckless, or genuinely suicidal? Either quality is, in some respects, necessary to be a gladiator. His fate is similarly up in the air. Perhaps Crixus' rises to prominence while he falls from favor, or perhaps he moves on to the "big leagues" in Rome, if such an achievement would realistically happen back then. I'll say this, though: don't Google him if you don't want a hint of his fate.

"Past Transgressions" is predictably heavy on exposition. It's not an unsatisfying episode but one wishes that there weren't so many pieces to put into position. Then again, the same could be said for the first episode of any season of The Wire. The bone-crushing violence still delivers, especially in the climactic marketplace brawl. The soap opera plotting hasn't skipped a beat. But best of all, it's good to see John Hannah back. Just hearing him curse brings a smile to my face. Even if Gods of the Arena can't match Blood and Sand's highs, the show will still have the best Villain You Love to Hate currently on television.

Top Chef All-Stars: week 7 power rankings

The post-Restaurant Wars breakdown is pretty easy this week.

1. Dale
2. Richard
3. Angelo
4. Carla
5. Fabio
6. Antonia
7. Tre
8. Mike
9. Tiffany

The top three are the top three. Duh.

Antonia has been on the losing team for three straight weeks. Last week almost shouldn't count, since the judges admitted she had one of the best dishes. But this is the second week in three where her team collapsed around her and she did nothing about it. To be fair, in the Chinatown episode everyone collapsed around her, but she still has a habit of observing chaos and staying outside of it. Tiffany cooked a bad dish and laid it on too thick as front of house. Mike did a good job at the Quickfire but couldn't handle working alongside Marcel (can't blame him, but still). Tre isn't in the bottom third because he's a bad chef, it's just that everyone else is better.

Top Chef All-Stars: week 6 power rankings

Feeling so fly like it's week six.

1. Angelo
2. Dale
3. Antonia
4. Richard
5. Carla
6. Marcel
7. Mike
8. Fabio
9. Tiffany
10. Tre

Our long national Jamie nightmare is finally over, but Tiffani? And I was just starting to get a crush on her. Mike finally gets chosen to be seen at Judge's Table, and Fabio is still wildly inconsistent. Antonia inches up for a very strong showing in a weak group. Richard inches down for a poor performance. You could tell from his body language that he was really pissed about how his team did. Tiffany and Tre aren't bad chefs - in fact, they placed high in tonight's show. But there aren't any noticeably weak links left. You could easily flip them with Mike and Fabio, but Mike does a great job of coasting under the radar and Fabio can follow up a crap performance with a brilliant one.

Let's talk about Black Belt Jones

I've had Winter's Bone languishing in my apartment now for about two weeks. It arrived in the mail while I was visiting my parents for Christmas, and then I was extraordinarily busy at work for the weeks following that. So this weekend has been the first time in a while where I've been able to set a few hours aside for a dvd. But it's been a long week. A long week. I've just torn through a big dinner and downed a few Rolling Rocks while flipping between college football and pro wrestling. It's not the kind of night for a grim, critically acclaimed drama.

But it is a night to watch Black Belt Jones.

The title character is played by Jim Kelly, aka the black guy from Enter the Dragon (the two films share producers and the director). Jones has some nebulous involvement with law enforcement or maybe the FBI, who knows, and in his spare time he teaches white women how to jump on a trampoline by the beach. His superiors want him to go after some mafiosos because they have some photos that are important for some reason. Jones isn't interested until he learns that the mob is looking to muscle an old friend (Scatman Crothers!) out of the karate studio he owns so they can buy the land and then flip it to the city government for a planned civic center. But the black hoodlums who are sent to rough up the old man accidentally kill him, incurring both the wrath of Black Belt Jones and the man's daughter, Sydney (Gloria Hendry). Sydney is coincidentally a martial arts expert herself and a badass chick besides (as she awesomely intones to some lecherous gangsters, "I ain't your momma"). Now it's time, as the film's poster states, to clobber the mob.

Before Black Belt Jones, the only true blaxploitation film I'd seen was Blacula. If, like me, you thought that Black Dynamite was intentionally over-the-top, Black Belt Jones makes it look like a documentary. There's a funky soundtrack, afros galore, outrageous leisure suits, stereotyping, misogyny, bad dialogue, and worse editing. It's hard enough to not shout quotes at the screen ("But Black Dynamite, I sell drugs to the community!"). And even though Black Belt Jones isn't a parody, it's hardly playing the material straight. As the only actor in the cast with a combination of athleticism, presence, and talent, Kelly remains unflappable. Everyone else mugs it up.

That "anything goes" style is part of the movie's charm. I've largely seen the genre through retrospective eyes. The Last Dragon was too self-conscious and tried too hard to be something for everybody - comedy, kung fu movie, musical. Black Belt Jones, which I'm assuming was cranked out fast and cheap, just shrugs its shoulders and plays to the rafters. Its lack of aspirations is its greatest strength. The action scenes aren't earth-shattering but they are competent, which is really all that matters. It's Kelly's movie and he ably carries it.

I'll have to mine Netflix for more blaxploitation. As a white guy, I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to defend it (Black Belt Jones is largely inoffensive) but in this case it's a lot of fun.

Don't believe me? Check the trailer:

Top Chef All-Stars: week 5 power rankings

Had a break in the action thanks to the holidays. Back on board for week 5.

1. Angelo
2. Dale
3. Richard
4. Marcel
5. Antonia
6. Fabio
7. Carla
8. Tiffani
9. Mike
10. Tiffany
11. Tre
12. Jamie

Sure, Jamie has deserved to go home for a while now but Casey hasn't exactly been Grant Achatz this season. Mike got a big Quickfire win tonight but his season has been the definition of mediocre. Solid top three. After that, it's muddled. It doesn't help that some chefs are all over the place - for instance, Fabio, who has been in the top or bottom group in every single Elimination Challenge thus far.

Pop culture resolutions for 2011

Not the boring personal New Year's Resolutions. The fun kind. So, as inspired by The A.V. Club, my resolutions for 2011.

Read more. Right now I do virtually all of my reading on public transportation, which is fine since I spend a lot of time on the train or the bus, but reading shouldn't be something I do just because I'm not in the same room as a tv or a computer. I'm also looking to read more books by female authors, since everything I read in the second half of 2010 was written by dudes. I could stand to add a few minority authors to my "to-read" list, too. On a related note, I'd also like to...

Take advantage of the library. The neighborhood branch of the Chicago Public Library is small and unimpressive, but I can get books (or other media) from other branches sent there. Evanston also has a great library with a huge periodicals section, if I ever feel like killing an hour flipping through magazines like I did in college (I was a really cool guy in college). The Chicago library system has a fairly good selection of graphic novels from what I've seen online, and I'd like to take advantage of that because reading them doesn't come cheap. Part of the reason it's taken me over a year to slog through Preacher is that I don't cotton to paying $18 for something I can finish during a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Take better advantage of Netflix Watch Instantly: The advantage to renting movies from Netflix is that in order to get your money's worth, you need to watch rentals right away and get a good turnaround on your next one. Netflix has a treasure trove of documentaries, independent/foreign movies, and tv shows available through streaming, but since they're always there there's rarely an impetus to watch them. A long, cold winter could be just the reason I need to finally watch Sherman's March and Big Man Japan.

Watch more television. Remember when I was talking about Netflix Watch Instantly? I've had Friday Night Lights languishing on my streaming queue for a year now. If I'm not vigilant, Veronica Mars and Battlestar Galactica could suffer the same fate. I've been putting off the second season of Sons of Anarchy for a few months, I've only seen four episodes of Community, and I've still never watched a minute of Breaking Bad.